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<DATE>2010-09-07</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<P>Cheap-&s;ide Cro&s;&s;e cen&s;ured and condemned BY A LETTER SENT From the Vicechancellour and other Learned Men of the fa|mous Vniver&s;itie of <HI>Oxford,</HI> in an&s;wer to a que&s;tion propounded by the Citizens of <HI>London,</HI> concern|ing the &s;aid CROSSE, in the yeere 1600, in which yeer it was beautified,</P>
<P>As al&s;o &s;ome divine Arguments taken out of a Sermon again&s;t the CROSSE, a little after it was la&s;t repaired,</P>
<P>By a learned and godly Mini&s;ter, M. <HI>Iohn Archer,</HI> &s;om|times Preacher at <HI>Alhallows Lombard&s;treet.</HI> about &s;ixteen yeers pa&s;t.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>2 CHRON. 31.1.</HI></BIBL>
<P>All I&s;rael that were pre&s;ent, went out to the Cities of Iudah, and brake the Images in pieces, &amp;c. untill they had ut|terly de&s;troyed them all.</P></Q>
<P>LONDON, Printed by <HI>A. N.</HI> for <HI>I. R.</HI> and are to be &s;old at his Shop in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, 1641.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="tract">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>Re&s;olved on this que&s;tion (being propounded by the Citizens of <HI>London,</HI> Ianuary 23. 1600) <HI>viz.</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Whether the Cro&s;&s;e in <HI>Cheap&s;ide</HI> &s;hould &s;tand or be demoli&s;hed.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>An&s;.</HI> By <HI>George Abbot,</HI> Vicechancellour of <HI>Oxford,</HI> for the yeere above|&s;aid, as follows.</HEAD>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<P>_COncerning the que&s;tion of &s;etting up a|gaine the Cro&s;&s;e or other Crucifix in Cheap&s;ide, I am of opinion,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, that the godly and di&s;creet zeal of the worthy City is much to be co~men|ded, who, on ju&s;t &amp; apparent grounds making a con|&s;cience of that which may be &s;candalous to many good Chri&s;tians, have not ra&s;hly nor tumultuou&s;ly proceeded therein, but are de&s;irous to be informed by Divines of the Univer&s;ities (which are under the protection of Almighty God, and her mo&s;t Sacred Maje&s;tie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Schools of the Prophets) what they may, and ought to doe, both unto the honour of Gods Name, and to the &s;etling of &s;uch their brethren as be in doubt.</P>
<P>Secondly, I am fully per&s;waded, that the ever-la&s;ting
<PB N="2" REF="3">God in his wi&s;dome hath offered unto this reverend Citie this occa&s;ion, to make tryall of their piety and devotion, whether they doe love the intire &s;ervice of him&s;elfe withall their hearts, and &s;ouls, or no, for which matter, how&s;oever it &s;eeme <HI>prima fa|cie</HI> to contain nothing of much moment in it, yet now, &s;ince the expectation of the whole Realme, and Church of <HI>England</HI> is, what will become thereof; it cannot be &s;uppo&s;ed of le&s;&s;e con&s;equence, then that either our Religion which is e&s;tabli&s;hed according un|to the Canon of the Scripture, or el&s;e that Papi&s;try &s;hould receive a wound, and blow thereby.</P>
<P>Being then orderly and fairly demanded my judg|ment therein, I doe purpo&s;e according to the &s;everall circum&s;tances in their &s;everall places, to touch divers things,</P>
<P>Praying that God would guide my Meditations and pen aright, to the glory of his Name, and good of their &s;oules who de&s;ire in this matter to be re|&s;olved.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, in the&s;e Crucifixes are re&s;embled God the Father by an old man, the Holy Gho&s;t by a Dove, which are both of them unlawfull in true Divinity, becau&s;e God is a Spirit, and he him&s;elfe forbids any &s;imilitude or &s;hape of him&s;elf, when he gave the law, intending that he filleth Heaven and Earth.</P>
<P>Confirmed by <HI>Origen,</HI> who &s;aith, we doe de&s;cribe with no &s;hape God who is without body invi&s;ible. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;aith, God is infinite, unmea&s;urable, &amp;c.</P>
<P>The Heathens, and <HI>Numa</HI> in <HI>Plutarchs</HI> Lives, did forbid his people to &s;hape out any of their Gods with the forme of a man.</P>
<P>And this te&s;timony <HI>Clemens Alexandrinus</HI> autho|ri&s;eth.
<PB N="3" REF="3">Nay, <HI>Thomas Aquinas part.</HI> 3. <HI>q.</HI> 25. <HI>a.</HI> 3. But unto God who is without any body, no bodily Ima|ges could be &s;et up, becau&s;e as <HI>Dama&s;cen</HI> &s;aith, it is a point of the highe&s;t folly or impiety to figure that which is divine, but becau&s;e God in the new Te&s;ta|ment is made man, he may be adored with the bodi|ly Image of him&s;elfe, this <HI>Aquinas</HI> &s;aith.</P>
<P>So Chri&s;t (the Frier thinketh) in his humanity may be pictured, and not God.</P>
<P>Long &s;ince, &s;ome of the choice&s;t learned <HI>Sorboni&s;ts</HI> directly &s;ay, they de&s;ire therefore that Images of the Trinitie &s;hould be removed from all publike and private places, becau&s;e they are forbidden by the Scriptures, by Councils, by many men of excellent worth and holine&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>This &s;hortly I &s;peak, but who li&s;teth to &s;ee more, the refutation of <HI>Bellarmines</HI> Cavils &s;peaking for tho&s;e Super&s;titions, as al&s;o the judgement of the Fa|thers, let him read Doctor <HI>Reynolds, de Idolatria.</HI></P>
<P>Being then that the Image of the Dove for the Holy Gho&s;t was upon the Cro&s;&s;e in Cheap&s;ide, and the retayning thereof is unlawfull, yea, one of the highe&s;t points of Popery, whereof many learned men of their &s;ide are a&s;hamed, I hold it a matter que|&s;tionle&s;&s;e in a reformed Church, that the Cro&s;&s;e is in no &s;ort to be &s;et up again, as it is was before with the Dove, le&s;t we &s;hould &s;eem to per&s;i&s;t in that palpable darkne&s;&s;e of <HI>Egypt.</HI></P>
<P>And in this point I being undoubtedly and irre|fragably re&s;olved, in that &s;ame burden&s;ome office of a Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate, which now under my Lord I doe beare, did upon &s;ound and mature advice this la&s;t Summer burn and con&s;ume with fire in the Mar|ket
<PB N="4" REF="4">place of <HI>Oxford,</HI> among&s;t others, a Picture where|in was the Image of God the Father over a Crucifix ready to receive the &s;oul of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>The next con&s;iderable matter is for the Crucifix it &s;elfe, what is to be judged of the Image, and whe|ther it may be retained at all.</P>
<P>I doe not certainly finde when the fir&s;t u&s;e in that kinde was taken up among&s;t men, although <HI>Con&s;tan|tine</HI> did cau&s;e &s;omewhat to be made, which repre|&s;ented the two fir&s;t Letters of Chri&s;ts Name, as they are written in Greek, and that which hee had made was to be u&s;ed only in Standards, but in this &s;ort, and to that u&s;e, as now commonly is framed, if it had never been began, I think I may boldly &s;ay, that the Church had been freed of a great deal of Super|&s;tition, which afterwards grew to little le&s;&s;e then bla&s;phemy.</P>
<P>It is very likely that they that fir&s;t u&s;ed it had this to &s;ay for it, that there might be an Hi&s;toricall u&s;e to put us in mind of him that died for us, and in as much as &s;en&s;ible and vi&s;ible things do much affect us, this memoriall might &s;tir our devotion to remember him, by who&s;e &s;tripes we are healed.</P>
<P>Now as this may be the only u&s;e thereof, much may be di&s;puted, and held not to be <HI>&s;impliciter malus,</HI> ab&s;olutely evill: So in my opinion, there are far more repugnant, and direct rea&s;ons which may make a|gain&s;t it altogether, as</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the wi&s;dome of God, which directed us to all things fit for our &s;alvation, hath given not the lea&s;t touch nor &s;emblance, directly or by con&s;e|quence, of any &s;uch matter, which might &s;erve to di|rect us unto Piety: but hath only appointed the
<PB N="5" REF="4">Word to be the mea&s;ure thereof, and the Sacra|ments which are vi&s;ibly (but not &s;o gro&s;ly as the Crucifix) pre&s;ented unto us as re&s;emblances of Chri&s;ts pa&s;sion.</P>
<P>Secondly, it implyeth great weakne&s;&s;e of faith when we cannot think of our Saviour, either by Me|ditation, or Prayer, or reading, or hearing the word, or by receiving of the Sacraments, but wee mu&s;t flie unto &s;uch means, as for the u&s;e whereof wee have no warrant, but on the other &s;ide there is much danger, le&s;t inconveniences &s;hould grow thereby.</P>
<P>It was a true ob&s;ervation of <HI>Philo Judaeus,</HI> that the minds of women are the weaker, and they can pre|ferve nothing but that which is &s;en&s;ible, &s;peaking of Images which they de&s;ire, but note hee a&s;cribeth it unto weakne&s;&s;e in them.</P>
<P>Thirdly, it was a very ready way unto Super&s;titi|on, which from a &s;mall beginning creepeth on, nei|ther hath it any way more increa&s;e then in Images, as the Church by lamentable experience hath too too much proved. Images (&s;aith <HI>Cyprian</HI>) at fir&s;t were made in honour of them that were dead, but after|wards they became &s;acred to their po&s;terity, &amp; were at fir&s;t taken only for comforts, this was true among the Heathen, and &s;o it was among the Chri&s;tians, who at fir&s;t made them, but offered not to bring them into Churches, yet within a while that al&s;o was attempted, but to the great griefe and indignation of the godly.</P>
<P><HI>Epiphanius</HI> comming into a Church, and &s;eeing a veile or hanging that had one of the Pictures of Chri&s;t or &s;ome Saint, tore it, as being in the Church contrary unto the Scriptures, and after in &s;teed there|of
<PB N="6" REF="5">he &s;ent a new veile thither, but that which was then &s;o re&s;i&s;ted by <HI>Epiphanius,</HI> did in proce&s;&s;e of time (as the purity of the Profe&s;&s;ours of the Go&s;pel de|cayed) grow &s;tronger, &s;o that by the time of <HI>Gregory</HI> the Great, Images grew to be ordinary in Churches, yet notwith&s;tanding hee that was &s;o earne&s;t for the having them, could not like that they &s;hould be wor|&s;hipped, but even then there were that repugned the opinion of receiving of them into Churches, and &s;o defaced the Images them&s;elves.</P>
<P><HI>Gregory</HI> di&s;liked the wor&s;hipping of them, but tho&s;e that came after him they mayntained the Adoration and wor&s;hip given unto them, appeareth by the &s;econd Councill of <HI>Nice,</HI> among many, no doubt, this of Chri&s;t hanging upon the Cro&s;&s;e was one of the principall, whereby Super&s;ti|tion went &s;o far, as that it was and is mayntained that the reverence and adoration due unto God him|&s;elfe (called <HI>Latria</HI>) is to be given to the re&s;emblance of Chri&s;t on the Cro&s;&s;e, which is directly laid down by <HI>Thomas Aquinas,</HI> yea, and practi&s;ed in their <HI>Mi&s;|&s;all.</HI></P>
<P>The perpetuall u&s;e of their adoration, may be ga|thered by their Roods in Churches, Crucifixes in windowes, the &s;ame al&s;o in their Service Books, and on the back&s;ides of them, where <HI>Mary</HI> and <HI>John</HI> &s;tand by Chri&s;t, by the like in Rings now growne a fa&s;hion, be&s;ides in &s;tones and metals, before which many of them doe &s;ay a large part of their devoti|ons, yea, the mo&s;t &s;uper&s;titious Papi&s;ts are ready to give veneration thereunto, where&s;oever they &s;ee it &s;olemnly &s;et up.</P>
<P>I remember in that Colledge where I fir&s;t lived,
<PB N="7" REF="5">a young man was taken praying and beating his bre&s;t before a Crucifix in a window, which cau&s;ed the Ma&s;ters and Fellows to pull it down, and &s;et up other gla&s;&s;e. Which example makes me nothing doubt but that the Cro&s;s in Cheap&s;ide hath many in the twilight and morning early which doe reverence before it.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides <HI>Campian,</HI> who&s;e act is famous, or rather in|famous for it, and I am informed, that &s;o much hath been &s;ignified by the neighbours, or inque&s;t making pre&s;entments, concerning the circum&s;tances of this cau&s;e. By all which I do conclude, that it is a Monu|ment of their Super&s;tition, a great inducement, and may be a ready way unto Idolatry, and that there can be no tolerable u&s;e of this matter, which may be able for to countervail the dangers and obloquie a|ri&s;ing upon the reteyning of it, and &s;o much the ra|ther, becau&s;e it is perceived, that many evill affected men doe make their advantage from hence to in&s;i|nuate into the minds of their credulous hearers, that it is a token of the returne of their faith againe into into this Land, &s;ince their Monuments are not ex|tingui&s;hed in the chiefe&s;t &s;treet of our greate&s;t City.</P>
<P>Upon which con&s;iderations I make no doubt but the religious Magi&s;trates are &s;ufficiently warranted by the Word of God to remove it away, for the Scriptures have laid before our eyes what ought to be done to remaynders of Idolatry, Yea &s;hall over|throw their Altars, Pillars, graven Images, &amp;c.</P>
<P>But the deeds of <HI>Hezekiah</HI> being well looked into doth put it out of all controver&s;ie, for when hee &s;aw the foule abu&s;e of the brazen Serpent, hee cau&s;ed it to be defaced, and yet it hath other manner of war|rant for it then this, it being commanded by God, e|rected
<PB N="8" REF="6">by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> a figure of Chri&s;t, in divers of which mo&s;t materiall circum&s;tances this Crucifix is mo&s;t defective.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Divers lear|ned Mini&s;ters then living do report. Though the judgement of both Uni|ver&s;ities was con&s;ulted with about the Cro&s;&s;e, and both de&s;ired it might be taken down, yet they could not pre|vaile with B. <HI>Bancroft,</HI> but he would have it re-edified, on|ly with much adoe they o|ver&s;wayed the Bi&s;hop to leave off the picture of Chri&s;t on the Cro&s;&s;e, that was &s;et on the top of it. Take notice of the blinde zeale of the Prelate in this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e.</NOTE></P>
<P>And here I pray the Reader to ob&s;erve, that I &s;ay the Magi&s;trates are to redre&s;&s;e &s;uch enormities, for I doe not permit inferiour men to run headlong about &s;uch means, and to rend, breake, and teare as well within as without the Churches, which was that that <HI>Luther</HI> reprehended, but the advice and con&s;ent of Superiour powers is to be had herein, that all things may be done decently and in order. In which re&s;pect I hold it nece&s;&s;ary that the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Canter|bury,</HI> and the Bi&s;hop of <HI>London</HI> be &s;ought unto, who doubtle&s;&s;e upon the &s;ober intention of the Gover|nours of that City will be plea&s;ed religiou&s;ly and gravely, according unto their manifold wi&s;dome which God hath given unto them, to looke into the matter, &amp; give in&s;tructions what is fitte&s;t to be done.</P>
</LETTER>
<P REND="italic">HEre Ma&s;ter Vicechancellour at large proveth that it was but omi&s;sion in our fir&s;t Reformers, and that our further reformation would not condemne or checke them, but commend, the pre&s;ent due occa&s;ion being offered, that it would be as the fact of<HI> Theo|do&s;ius </HI>and<HI> Jo&s;ias, </HI>that the further they went the more they did &s;till raze remnauts of Idolatry, and e&s;tabli&s;hed Gods true &s;ervice, then he &s;aith, Man hath not &s;ought for this op|portunity, but God hath rather put it upon the Citie, in as much as the Crucifix being worne out with time was ready to fall, there was a nece&s;sity impo&s;ed for taking it down.</P>
<P REND="italic">Now it is a greater matter to re-edifie a &s;candalous thing then to continue it, in as much as the one implyeth a winking connivance or permi&s;sion only, but the other intendeth an al|lowance and ratification, which giveth greater advantage un|to the adver&s;ary.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="6">
<P>This he confirmed by<HI> Marcus </HI>Bi&s;hop of<HI> Arethu&s;e </HI>in<HI> Con|&s;tantines </HI>time the Great, and<HI> Julianus </HI>per&s;ecuted him after that he refu&s;ed contribution to the rebuilding of overthrowne Idols Temples, Saying, that it was ungodly to afford one half|penny to a wicked maker thereof.</P>
<P REND="italic">And out of that Author he citeth one more example of<HI> Nu|das </HI>a<HI> Per&s;ian </HI>Bi&s;hop, pulling downe a Pyren or Temple dedica|ted to the fire the<HI> Per&s;ians </HI>god, and refu&s;ing to build it a|gain at<HI> I&s;digerdes </HI>the Kings command.</P>
<P REND="italic"><HI>Theodorets </HI>&s;aying of him, I doe admire him, and thinke him worthy of a garland, for in my opinion it is equall impiety to adore the fire, and to build a Temple to it.</P>
<LETTER LANG="eng">
<P>My advice therefore and judgement in the name of God is, that the Crucifix &s;hould not be erected there, but that upon this opportunitie advantage &s;hould be ta|ken to give &s;uper&s;tition a further blow, which will be very joyous to all that are already &s;incerely affected, and if there be any who truly love the Go&s;pel, and are not yet &s;o fully per&s;waded in this point, they al&s;o will in mildne&s;&s;e yield to rea&s;on, if the Superiour power &s;hall be plea&s;ed to give countenance to this deed of the City.</P>
<P>But if it &s;hould be mi&s;liked of hollow-hearted Pa|pi&s;ts, or maligned by profe&s;&s;ed Recu&s;ants, it mu&s;t be expected and not wondred at.</P>
<P>Now if it &s;hall be demanded what &s;hould be &s;et up in&s;teed of the other Monument. I thinke be&s;t to be &s;ome <HI>Pyramis</HI> or matter of meere beauty, and not any Angell or &s;uch like what&s;oever, for although in truth that de&s;erveth no reprehen&s;ion, yet by avoyding of that the moudies of the Adver&s;aries may be &s;topped, who would otherwi&s;e &s;torme and &s;ay, that the Creator
<PB N="10" REF="7">is taken down, and &s;uch a Creature is &s;et up in the place where hee &s;tood; and whereas it is &s;aid, that evermore it will be called the Cro&s;&s;e in Cheap &s;ide, yet it may be po&s;&s;ible that time may weare out the appellation, or if it doe not, the name &s;hall hurt no more then the name of <HI>Chri&s;tmas</HI> or <HI>Candlemas</HI> doth, from which a godly man may make that u&s;e as to pray&s;e the Lord, that the matter of the&s;e Super&s;titions are removed, and the name onely remaynes as a memoriall of Gods good|ne&s;&s;e, who hath done &s;o great good things for us. And by rea&s;on of the &s;ickne&s;&s;e and weakne&s;&s;e of him who more learnedly and judiciou&s;ly might have re&s;olved this point, have I not after that hot and ha&s;ty humour of &s;ome men who are moved rather by fancie then rea|&s;on, but after Chri&s;tian and &s;etled looking into the cau&s;e, and &s;atisfying of my owne con&s;cience, fully therein &s;et down my judgement upon the demand pro|po&s;ed unto me, &s;uppo&s;ing that this &s;hall al&s;o give acce&s;&s;e unto the honour of God, her Maje&s;ty, the Church of <HI>England,</HI> and that noble Citie, if it be &s;o &s;et up again as a matter of meere beauty or Pyramide.</P>
<P>But referring the direction, execution, and complea|ting of all to tho&s;e honourable per&s;onages unto whom under our &s;acred Sovereigne the Lord hath committed the ordering of &s;uch affairs. God Almighty ble&s;&s;e us, that wee may &s;till go forward in true Religion, and his holy Spirit direct our thoughts, words and actions, to the honour of his holy Name. AMEN.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>George Abbot,
Vicechancellour,</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>An. 1600.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<LETTER LANG="eng" SUBTYPE="approbation">
<PB N="11" REF="7">
<HEAD>The approbation of Ma&s;ter Vicechancellor's Letter, by five other learned men, then heads of the Vniver&s;itie.</HEAD>
<P>WE doe approve as &s;ound and true, the rather becau&s;e hee followeth that which was done with the brazen Serpent after that it was &s;uper&s;titiou&s;|ly wor&s;hipped by the people, and wi&s;h that the mate|riall Cro&s;&s;e, now it hath been &s;uper&s;tiou&s;ly adored, and is mayntained by <HI>Mart.</HI> in a Booke dedicated unto her Maje&s;ty, and by all the Je&s;uits and Seminary Prie&s;ts and all their Scholers this day in <HI>England,</HI> to be wor&s;hipped and adored, be not tumultuou&s;ly taken away, but in the &s;ame manner the brazen Serpent was by con&s;ent and authority of our gracious <HI>Hezekiahs,</HI> &amp; them whom cau|&s;es Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall have authorized under her Highne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>This only wee adde, that as the example of <HI>Heze|kiah</HI> be notably and &s;ufficient to encourage her Maje&s;ty and &s;uch as be in authority under her zealou&s;ly to re|move &s;uch occa&s;ions of Idolatry, and to remove them out of the peoples way, for the example of <HI>Gideon</HI> is terrible if they be let alone, and continued &s;till.</P>
<P>Hee erected an <HI>Ephod</HI> in <HI>Ophra</HI> after his victory over the <HI>Madianites,</HI> both to te&s;tifie his thankfulne&s;&s;e unto the true God of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> for his victory obtained, and al|&s;o to &s;hew the <HI>Midianites,</HI> that the God who&s;e &s;ervice in an <HI>Ephod</HI> without Idoll or Image they did refu&s;e had given unto them the overthrow, and thus farre <HI>Gideon</HI> is not reproved, but when hee grew old and knew that the people did wor&s;hip before the <HI>Ephod,</HI> becau&s;e he would not pull it downe, nor take it away, his po&s;terity was grievou&s;ly puni&s;hed after him, and the people became enthralled unto their enemies.</P>
<P><PB N="12" REF="8">
In <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> fact of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> his vi|ctory over <HI>Moxentius,</HI> in erecting the &s;igne of the Cro&s;s in <HI>Rome,</HI> was commendable, becau&s;e hee te&s;tified his thankfulne&s;&s;e to Chri&s;t crucified for the victory atchie|ved, and al&s;o it openly &s;hewed unto the Heathen and <HI>Gentiles,</HI> who fought again&s;t him, that hee whom they &s;o much de&s;pi&s;ed becau&s;e hee was crucified gave him victory. But now this outward and materiall &s;igne of the Cro&s;&s;e hath been, and is abu&s;ed to Idolatry and Su|per&s;tition, therefore if the chief Magi&s;trates erect &s;uch things now, when they be well taken away, and if they pull them not downe, when with peace and quietne&s;&s;e they may be removed, they leave unto the godly a fearfull expectation, as of that which came to pa&s;&s;e In <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> after the days of faithfull <HI>Gideon,</HI> for &s;o we call him notwith&s;tanding his grievous fault, for &s;o hee is na|named. But the danger of &s;uch negligence is mo&s;t carefully to be avoided.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>From the Vniver&s;itie of <HI>Oxenford,</HI> <DATE>January <HI>the</HI> 23. 1600.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</LETTER>
<P>This Letter is in the hand of a Merchant of good credit in this Citie thus &s;ub&s;cribed.
<Q><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Thomas Thornton.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Iohn Reinolds.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Leonard Tailor.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Henry Ayray.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>R. Kettley.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></Q></P>
<P>You have heard learnedly proved from Antiquity the unlawfulne&s;&s;e of this Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Here follow &s;ome arguments from Scripture again&s;t Cheap-&s;ide Cro&s;&s;e, as they were preached in <HI>Lombard</HI> Street.</P>
<FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="sermon extract">
<PB N="13" REF="8">
<P>THis <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> Mini&s;ter preaching on <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 10. Ver&s;. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.6. Shews di|vers &s;ignes of Gods wrath again&s;t a Nation, among others hee &s;hews this to be one Plague token.</P>
<P>When God gives over a Land to hainous &s;ins, when hee &s;uffers a Land that hath been delivered from Idolatry, againe to bee given up unto Idols. This is a certain &s;igne of Gods wrath again&s;t a Land.</P>
<P>For this is a &s;tanding rule, that when any Idoll is &s;uffered to bee in a Land, though it be not wor&s;hipped, yet it is a remarkable &s;igne, that they are a people of his wrath. See what the Lord &s;aith, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 81.8, 9. <HI>Heare, &ocirc; my people, and J will testifie unto thee, &ocirc; I&s;rael, if thou wilt hearken unto me, there &s;hall no &s;trange god be in thee, neither, &s;halt thou wor|&s;hip any &s;trange god.</HI> (Marke) he doth not only &s;ay thou &s;halt wor&s;hip no &s;trange god, but there &s;hall be no &s;trange god in thee, as the Lord commands them, <HI>Exod.</HI> 34.12. &s;aying, <HI>Take heed to thy &s;elf, that thou make no covenant with the inhabitants of the Land, whether thou goe&s;t, lest they be cau&s;e of ruine among you: but yee &s;hall overthrow their Alters, and break their Images in pieces, and cut downe their groves, for thou &s;halt bow downe to no other god, becau&s;e the Lord who&s;e name is</HI> Jehovah <HI>is a jealous God.</HI> For when ever Idols goe before, then certainly warre will follow after, and therefore to &s;uffer an Idoll to be in a Land, al|though unwor&s;hipped is no &s;mall &s;in, as the Lord &s;aith, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 6.10. <HI>I have &s;een villany in the hou&s;e of I&s;rael, there is whoredome in Ephraim, I&s;rael is joyned to Idols, let her alone, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee how greatly we provoke God to anger, when we &s;uf|fer an Idoll to be among us.</P>
<P>And though the Lord had formerly freed this Land from Idolatry, Are not the Images of <HI>Baal</HI> againe re-edified among us? this never went before, but a Plague came after it. For by this, if by any thing, a Land breaks covenant, nay, goes about to breake their Marriage bond with God. Therefore may I &s;ay to this Land, nay, to you of this Citie, (to goe no further into other places,) where the Word of God is mo&s;t powerfullly preached among you, that you are in an e&s;pe|cially manner guilty of this lowd crying &s;in. Witne&s;&s;e the Cro&s;&s;e in Cheap-&s;ide, that is lately beautified by you. I am troubled to think how God expre&s;ly hath beene provoked, and wrath I feare will be poured out upon you for this &s;ame golden Cro&s;&s;e. For whereas the Lord &s;aith, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 30.22, 23. <HI>Ye &s;hall defile the coverings of your graven <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> of &s;ilver, and the ornaments <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> your <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> Images of gold, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> cast them away as a men&s;truous cloth:</HI> and then &s;hall he give you a great ble&s;|&s;ing. You on the other &s;ide, have adorned the covering of your Ima|ges: now, all men know that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> Cro&s;&s;e is that which the Papi&s;ts make an Idoll of: and yet you have not &s;tained the covering thereof but have beautified and adorned it. So that as a ble&s;&s;ing came on them that &s;tained the covering of their Images, &s;o a cur&s;e will mo&s;t certainly follow the beautifying of the covering of tho&s;e Images of
<PB N="14" REF="9">that Cro&s;&s;e. For it is that which doth become a &s;nare unto the igno|rant people: As <HI>Gideon</HI> made an <HI>Ephod of gold,</HI> and put it in his City, Judges <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> 27. <HI>and all I&s;rael went thither, a whoring after it,</HI> which thing became a &s;nare unto <HI>Gideon,</HI> and to his hou&s;e: And &s;eeing Papi&s;ts will wor&s;hip a Cro&s;&s;e at <HI>Rome,</HI> &s;urely they will then wor&s;hip it al&s;o in <HI>Eng|land,</HI> and your &s;elves know al&s;o what re&s;pect hath been &s;he wed to this Cro&s;&s;e, by Popi&s;hly affected among&s;t us. Be&s;ides the beautifying of this Cro&s;&s;e, was a laui&s;hing of your gold. And though you lavi&s;hed it not on it, as on an Idoll, but as an ornament, yet it being an Idoll, your gold was lavi&s;hed on it, as on <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> Idoll. O, this Cro&s;&s;e, is one of the Jewels of the Whore of <HI>Rome,</HI> &amp; its left and kept here as a Love|token, And gives them hope, one day, that they &s;hall enjoy it; and us again. Therefore this is one of the &s;peciall plague tokens of Gods an|ger, and it &s;hews this Land in generall, nay, this City in particular, to be a people God is angry with.</P>
<P>What this Reverend mian feared then, and was much troubled at in his owne &s;pirit, (as his often expre&s;&s;ions yet in the memory of his familiar friends te&s;tified) namely, that the wrath and judge|ments of God &s;hortly would fall down upon this Kingdom and City, we have found, and with &s;ad hearts have cau&s;e to acknowlede, having felt the &s;mart of it not only in this the great decay of trade which hath occa&s;ioned the &s;inking of many chief Citizens among&s;t us, but that which is more then either our trades or lives, the great decay of the Go&s;pel, the faithfull Preachers thereof being hunted out from among&s;t us, And this religious pious man, a ble&s;&s;ed light, was en|forced in the mid&s;t of his days to breath his la&s;t in a &s;trange Land.</P>
</FLOATEXT>
<P>If more Arguments in this kind are de&s;ired, you may read at large a new Treati&s;e of Ma&s;ter <HI>Gurney</HI> again&s;t Images, extracted out of the Homilies.</P>
<P>There is not &s;uch a &s;uper&s;titious Monument in <HI>Spain, France,</HI> no not in <HI>Rome,</HI> nor in any part of the Chri&s;tian World as this Cro&s;&s;e is, as Travellers re|port: &amp; that we &s;hould gild it, &amp; Papi&s;ts adore it on their knees, (as many witne&s;&s;es te&s;tifie) is abomi|nable, wee doubtnot but our Worthies in the Ho|norable Hou&s;es of Parliament will take away the memory of it.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
