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<DATE>2012-03-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<P>The ymage of bothe Pa&s;toures / &s;ette forth by that moo&s;te famou&s;e Clerck, Huldrych zwin|glius, &amp; now tra~&s;lated out of La|tin into Engli&s;he, By Iohn Ve|ron Sinonoys. A mo&s;t fruite|full &amp; nece&s;&s;ary Boke, to be had &amp; redde in all Chur|ches, ther wyth to en|arme all &s;ymple &amp; ignorant folc|kes, agayn&s;t the raue|ninge wolues and fal&s;e prophetes.</P>
<P>M.D.L.</P>
<P>Cum Priuilegio ad Imprimendum Solum.</P>
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<HEAD>Actu. xx. Chap.</HEAD>
<P>&para;Take hede to your &s;elfes, and to the whole flocke, whervpon thee holye gho&s;te hath appoynted you, By&s;hops, to gouerne the Church of God, whych he hath purcha&s;ed wyth hys bloude.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="quotation">
<HEAD>Math vii. Chap.</HEAD>
<P>&para;Beware of fal&s;e Prophetes, that come vnto you in &s;hepes clothinge, but inwardely, they are rauening wolues.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
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<HEAD>&para;To the Mo&s;t mighty Prince Edwarde, Duke of Somer&s;et, Earle of Harforde, Vycount of Beaw Champe, &amp; Vncle to our mo&s;t &s;ouerayn Lord the King. Iohn Veron wy&s;heth peace &amp; grace, health of &s;oule &amp; body, &amp; encreace of diuine knowledge, and godly honour, fro~ God the fa|ther, through our Lorde &amp; &s;auiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HEAD>
<P>_COn&s;ydering w^tin my &s;elf, mo&s;te redoubted Prince, y^e vn&s;peakea|ble &amp; exceding great mercy, of our moo&s;te bou~teous heaue~ly fa+ther, whych &s;o ple~te|ou&s;ly hath now at this pre&s;ent, &s;ente a|mo~g vs, y^e mo&s;t plea&s;au~t, &amp; ioyful light of his holy &amp; &s;acred woorde, y^t &s;ens the byrth &amp; natiuitie of oure Lorde, &amp; &s;aui|our Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, it was neuer in thys illu&s;tre &amp; flori&s;hing realme, &s;o purely &amp; &s;incerely preached, as it is now in our tyme, &s;et forth to the great co~fort &amp; co~|&s;olatio~ of our poore wretched co~&s;cien|ces, which &s;o lo~ge haue be~ dete~ted &amp; hol+de~ captiues in y^e thicke darknes of me~s traditio~s: I haue a good cau&s;e to won|der, &amp; meruail at y^e i~gratitude, &amp; vntha~k+fulne&s;&s;e
<PB REF="3"> of manye and &s;undrye folkes, whyche, in thys mo&s;te gracyous tyme, that &s;aluatyon is &s;o frely, in the word of God, and holye &s;cryptures, offered euerye where vnto them, yet to theyr vtter vndoynge and de&s;tructyon haue rather to &s;tycke to the dregges of men|nes dreames and deuylly&s;&s;he inuen|cyous of Antichri&s;te, than to embrace the ioyfull tydynges of thee Go&s;pel, where onely they maye fynde re&s;te too theyr poore wearye &s;oules. Chry&s;te the euerla&s;tynge wy&s;edome of the father doeth crye oure there &s;ayinge:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. xi</NOTE> Come vnto me, all ye that laboure, and are laden, and I wyll ea&s;e you. And yet the&s;e madde and bewytched per&s;ons wyll in noo wy&s;e harken vnto hym, but mo&s;te wretchedly labouryng and &s;weatynge, vnder the intollerable bur+den, of Antichri&s;te tradycions, do wyt+tynglye, and of all ob&s;tynate purpo&s;e and mynde, renne head longe into per|dytyon, folowynge in it theyr blynde guydes, whyche doo yet at thys pre|&s;ente, contrarye bothe to gods worde and the kynges mo&s;te godlye procedin+ges, leade them into all kyndes of de|uely&s;&s;he erroure.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">One of the princypall cau&s;es of the blynde+ne&s;&s;e y^t yet now a day+es rayg|neth amo~|ge the peo+ple,</NOTE>The&s;e blynde guydes, I &s;aye, are the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, that poy&s;one the &s;ymple and yg|noraunt
<PB REF="3"> people and are cau&s;es of their vtter vndoyng and de&s;truction. Then wyl they not &s;uffre to come into thee ryght way, and to folow the for goin|ge lyght of the go&s;pell, of oure &s;auy|oure Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, who&s;e doctryne and worde, they per&s;wade the&s;e poore ygnoraunte and blynde folckes to bee playne here&s;ye, and that they, whych now preache, &s;et forthe, and bryng vn|to theym, the gladde and comfortable newes of &s;aluatyon, are mo&s;te perny|tyous heretykes, whyche goo aboute, to bryng all men, from thee olde and auncyent relygyon, that was &s;ette vp, alowed, and e&s;tably&s;&s;hed, by the holye fathers of the prymatiue churche, in to a newe kynde of relygion that they inuented them &s;elfes out of their own braynes, thereby too take awaye and bany&s;he from amonge men thee true wor&s;hyppynge of the lyuing God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The vn|godly per+&s;wa&s;yons of the pa|pi&s;tes.</NOTE> Are not (wyll the&s;e Antychri&s;tes &s;ay) thoroughe thys newe learnynge, all lamable ceremonyes, dryuen out of the churches? where bee nowe thee holye Saynctes become, that ye, in al youre afflyctyons, and trouble were wonte too flye vnto. As for thee holye and ble&s;&s;ed Sacramente, of thee Aultare they haue mo&s;te vngodlye plucked it
<PB REF="4"> downe. Within a while (&s;yth that they haue al&s;o put downe that mo&s;t holy &amp; &s;acred Ma&s;&s;e) they wyll leaue no God at all vnto vs. Beware, take hede too your &s;elfes, good folkes, herken not vn+to them. We waraunt you, they &s;hall not continue longe. Wythin there two or thre yeares and le&s;&s;e, ye &s;hall &s;ee all thinges clene altered and chaunged.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e and many other lyke thinges, doo the&s;e rauenynge wolues, and fal&s;e Prophetes, not only why&s;per in mens eares, but al&s;o mo&s;t boldely (as though they feare nether God, nor King) blow out abroade, among the louing &s;ubiec|tes of thys Realme. I tell the truth, I lye not (god &s;hall beare me recorde of the &s;ame). Not longe a goo, I was in communication wyth one of the chie|fe&s;t ringe leaders of that vnlucky com|panye (who&s;e name I do here witting+ly pa&s;&s;e ouer) whych is a man of great learnynge, and in the Philo&s;ophie and doctrine of Ari&s;toteles, mo&s;te conninge and experte. Thys man after that we hadde rea&s;onned a whyle in matters of Relygyon, &s;odeynlye brake forthe wythe the&s;e wordes: No, no, &s;ayde he, (and called me by my name) &s;ette your harte at re&s;te, I doo not doubte, but that wythin the&s;e two or thre yeares,
<PB REF="4"> al the&s;e felowes, that now are bu&s;ye&s;t, and moo&s;te earne&s;t, in &s;ettinge forthe of thys here&s;ye (for &s;o dyd he cal the prea+chinge of the go&s;pell, that is nowe v|&s;ed amonge vs) &s;hall be gladde to re|cante euery one of them, as fa&s;te, to cal backe theyr erroniou&s;e opinions, and to &s;aye: tongue thou dydde&s;t lye. Now mo&s;te myghtye Prince, yf thys man, not wyth&s;tandinge the Kynges procea+dinges, and other godly actes, &s;et forth by the Kinges mo&s;te honourable coun|&s;ayll, to thee vtter &s;ubuer&s;yon of fal&s;e doctryne, vngodly traditions, and Ido+latrye, and agayne to the mayntenau~ce of true relygyon, dur&s;te be &s;o bolde too haue &s;oche talcke, and communication wyth me, whom he knewe ryght well, though that I haue but very &s;mal lear+ninge and knowledge (how beit I do mo&s;te hyghely thancke god, that he of hys goodnes dyd vouche&s;afe, to directe that lyttle y^t I haue, to his glory) yet to be mo&s;t earne&s;t, in y^e defence of this true doctrine &amp; religion. What wil both he, and other of y^e vngodly fact, do among the~, who~ they know to be both vnlear|ned &amp; weake? Truely they wyl vtterly &s;ubuerte the~. They wyl make the~, that whe~ thei heare of chri&s;t, &amp; of his go&s;pel, they &s;hall &s;toppe theyr eares &amp; crye out
<PB REF="5"> wyth the vngodlye multytude of thee Iewes, &s;ayinge: Awaye wythe hym, crucyfye hym. Marke ye thys, o ye Chri&s;tyan Magy&s;trates (who&s;e parte and duetye it is, to beware and take heede, that thee people commytted vn|to you, doo not fall agayne into darke+ne&s;&s;e and ygnoraunce).<NOTE PLACE="marg">math. xxi Luke. xix marke. xi</NOTE> When oure Sauyoure Ie&s;us chry&s;te, Kynge of all Kynges, and Lorde of all lordes, made hys &s;olempne entrye into Hieru+&s;alem: howe ioyfully with &s;onges and hymnes was he receaued of thee com|mune people? Ble&s;&s;ed be the kyng (&s;ay+de they) that cometh in the name of the lord: Peace in heue~, &amp; glory in the hig|he&s;t: But w^tin a while after this poore &s;ymple and ygnoraunte people, that thus &s;o ioyfullye receaued oure &s;auy|oure chry&s;te, beynge moued and per|&s;waded by the hyghe prye&s;tes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">mat. xvii Luke. xxiii Ioh. xviii marke. xv.</NOTE> &s;cry|bes, and Phary&s;es, dyd preferre that thefe and &s;hamefull murtherer Bar|rabas vnto hym, whome a lyttel why+le before they called Kynge, de&s;yryng of Pouryous Pylate, wythe a loude voyce that thee &s;ayde rebelle and cru|ell murtherer Barrabas, &s;houlde bee lette loo&s;e vnto theym, and that Ie&s;us &s;houlde be delyuered vppe, for too bee crucyfyed. In lyke maner nowe a
<PB REF="5"> dayes, it doethe happen and chaunce here amonge vs. For when thee Go&s;|pel and gladde tydynges of &s;aluaty|on, are by hone&s;te and godlye menne preached and &s;ette forthe vnto thee good folckes of thee contreye: it is a greate wonder and maruayle too &s;ee, howe gredely the mo&s;te parte of them do receaue it, noo le&s;&s;e reioycynge, at tho&s;e ioyfull newes of heauen, than thee multytude of thee Iewes, dyd at the comynge of theyr Me&s;&s;ias. But as &s;oone, as the&s;e fal&s;e prophetes (thee true preachers beynge departed from thence, into &s;oome other place) are come amonge them, and haue &s;hreuen theym a whyle, they are made a thou+&s;ande tymes wor&s;e, than they were a|fore thee hearynge of thee Go&s;pell. The&s;e rauenynge wolues are &s;o ar|med wyth hypocry&s;ye, with blaundi|loquence, fayre &s;peakyng and flattery, that it is a thynge impo&s;&s;yble, for the poore &s;ymple folkes of thee contreye, whyche are no&s;eled in the olde &s;uper|&s;tition of theyr forefathers, that they &s;huld at any tyme wythout the &s;pecy+al grace of god, beware and take hede of them: yea manye witted and lear|ned per&s;ons that are not yet &s;tronge, &s;tedfa&s;t, fyrme, &amp; &s;ound in the fayth, at
<PB REF="6"> oftentymes by them ouerthrowen and clene &s;ubuerted.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The na|mes of the hygh lear+ned Papi|&s;tes, who&s;e learninge con&s;y&s;teth onli, in phi+lo&s;ophye &amp; prophane di&s;ciplines ar hurtfull</NOTE>What &s;hall we &s;aye? thee names of them are noi&s;ome and hurtful. Which thing we do &s;e now a daies to be mo&s;t true. I know &s;ome, which yf they were a lyttel otherwy&s;e handeled, or &s;ome what more &s;trayghtly loke vpon, but eue~ halfe &s;o moch, as they dyd loke vp+pon vs, when they bare rule and were in high auctoritie, hauing tho&s;e lawes in their ha~des, which (no man, of what degre &s;oeuer he was bearing open hys mouth again&s;t the~) they had made the~ &s;elues. We &s;huld &s;e, &amp; that &s;hortlye, al tho&s;e &s;hyres, that haue not yet receiued the worde, to come merelye, &amp; wythe a lu&s;ty corage, and ioyful hart, vnto thee trueth and go&s;pel, which are noe on|ly letted and &s;topped, by y^e glorious na+mes and titles, of &s;och high renowned per&s;o~s.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reade my boke that I made a|gayn&s;t the lybertins &amp; rebelies.</NOTE> Wel, it was not for nought (as I haue often &s;ayd, and now I &s;ay it a+gaine) that tho&s;e godly kinges, which in times pa&s;t dyd put down al ydola|try, &amp; &s;uper&s;titio~, &s;etting vp again, w^tal godly &s;tudye &amp; dylyge~ce,<NOTE PLACE="marg">iii. Regu. xviii. iiii. Reg. x iiii. Regu~. xxiii,</NOTE> the true wor|&s;hipping of the liuing god, did &s;laye &amp; kyl vp al Baalles prie&s;tes, &amp; fal&s;e pro|phetes of groues, &amp; hille altars. Why+che thing truly they did, becau&s;e that
<PB REF="6"> they &s;houlde not brynge the people a|gayne into errour. Nor let anye man thynke here, that it was cruelly done, no more, than when a rotte~ remember is cutte of, from the bodye, le&s;te that it &s;houlde infecte al the whole. Is it not (I praye you) moch more expedyente, that .viii hundrethe and .L. fal&s;e pro|phetes, &s;houlde bee kylled vppe, by &s;o|me Helyas, tha~ that al the whole I&s;|raell &s;houlde pery&s;&s;he. Iudge ye all, that haue anye wytte in youre heads. Howe be it, it is not my wyll,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What mo+deration mu&s;t be v|&s;ed in roo|ting out of y^e papi&s;tes</NOTE> that a|nye man &s;houlde be murthered or put to death, onele&s;&s;e it be w^t the &s;worde of the &s;pyrite, &amp; as the lorde &s;peaketh him &s;elf by the prophet, &s;aying: I wyl &s;my+te the earth w^t the rode of my mouth, &amp; w^t the breath of my lippes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;aye. xi</NOTE> wyl I &s;laye the vngodly, I wold wi&s;he, y^t all &s;uche per&s;o~s &s;huld be allured &amp; won, by chari+table meanes, y^t they myght perceiue &amp; &s;e, y^t moch more ge~tylnes is &s;hewed vn+to the~, then they haue afore times &s;he|wed vnto vs, &amp; agayn that y^e magy&s;tra+tes, doo &s;eeke onelye for theyr amende|mente, and &s;aluacyon of theyr &s;oules, and not for theyr che&s;tes and coffers. Neuertheles, yf they be ob&s;tynate &amp; &s;tubborne, or goo aboute &s;ome tumulte and nouatyon of thynges, or elles
<PB REF="7"> hynder &s;tyll the people, &amp; kept the~ back fro~ the truth of the go&s;pel, &amp; fro~ Chri&s;t, the commen &s;auiour of al me~: let them hardely feele that the Magi&s;trate bea|reth not in vayne the te~porall &s;worde. In dede, it is tyme that &s;ome of theim be tyed vp &s;horter, &s;yth that thei be not afrayed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The bolde threatenin|ges &amp; &s;ha|meful lyin+ges of the papi&s;tes.</NOTE> to threaten vs, (&amp; that, to thee great aba&s;hme~t of the weaker) that fo|renne Princes, yf we do not &s;hortely re+cant, &amp; come agayne to the olde fa&s;hio~, wyll inuade, &amp; come vpon t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is noble &amp; flori&s;hing Realme. Yea, &s;ay they (whe~ they be vpon theyr ale benches, and in corners,<NOTE PLACE="marg">the co~mu+nicatio~ of Papi&s;tes vpon their ale be~ches and in cor|ners, wher they dare vtter oute theyr poy|&s;on.</NOTE> where they thincke, they may vtter out &s;oche doctryne) the proude&s;te of them all, meaning the head rulers &amp; mage&s;trates, through who&s;e vigilante care, true religio~ hath ben re&s;tored, and &s;et vp agayne, be in doubte, what they may do. They tre~ble &amp; quake for feare, yf they do but heare ones, that noble &amp; mo&s;t redoubted emprour, named. They do almo&s;t crepe into a mou&s;e hole, whe~ they heare daylye, howe he handeleth theyr brethren in Chri&s;te beyonde thee &s;ea. They woold geue (yea marye wold they) thou&s;ande thou&s;andes, that thee holy and ble&s;&s;ed Ma&s;&s;e, had neuer bene put downe by the~. They woulde fayne haue it vp agayne, yf they knew, howe
<PB REF="7"> they myght do it hand&s;omely, and not to theyr &s;hame and rebuke.</P>
<P>Soche is theyr communication a|broade, among the &s;ymple &amp; ignorant people, and that of late. It is no mer|uayle then, that the mo&s;te parte of thee louinge &s;ubiectes of thys Realme, do yet bothe abhorre, and vtterlye refu&s;e the whol&s;ome doctrine of theyr &s;alua|tion, &s;ythe that &s;o many fal&s;e Prophe+tes, are yet &s;uff<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">red, to be among them, and &s;o fewe faythfull Pa&s;tours pro|uyded for, and &s;ent vnto them. For true+ly, thys is one of the chiefe&s;te cau&s;es of the blyndne&s;&s;e of the people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Another cau&s;e of y^e blyndne&s;&s;e of the peo|p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e.</NOTE> and that they are &s;o ea&s;ely &s;educed, and brought into erroure, by fal&s;e Prophetes, that dayelye and hourely come vnto theym in &s;hepes clothynge. They lacke trewe Pa&s;tours. They wante faythfull tea|chers and guydes. Theyr watche men are all blynde, they haue all togeather no vnder&s;tandinge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay. lvi.</NOTE> they are all domme dogges, not beynge able to barke, they are &s;lepye, &s;loggy&s;h, and lye &s;nortyng, they are &s;hamele&s;&s;e dogges, that be ne|uer &s;ati&s;fyed. Theyr &s;hepehardes in lyke maner, haue noo vnder&s;tandinge, but euery man turneth hys owne way euery man after hys owne coueteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, wyth al hys power. How (I be|&s;eche
<PB REF="8"> you) can the people, hauyng &s;uch blynde bou&s;ardes too theyr guydes &amp; pa&s;toures, get anye vnder&s;tandynge or knowledge? How &s;hall they dy&s;cerne the fal&s;e prophetes, from the true pa|&s;toures and faythfull miny&s;ters. They trulye, as yonge innocente babes, wyl embrace poy&s;one, for whole&s;ome mea|te, and take vppe a &s;corpyon for all egge. But nowe, whome &s;hall wee blame moo&s;te chyefelye, for thys? Thee By&s;&s;hoppes? thee Kynge and hys honourable Coun&s;aile?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marke &amp; waygh the &s;e thinges o ye Prin|ces of thee world, and hygh prela+tes of chur+ches, lette the~ not be forgotten.</NOTE> for&s;othe, yf there were anye &s;u&s;pycyon, that anye forenne prynce or nacyon, wolde invade thys Realme: by and by &s;hul+de in all thee ha&s;te, and wythe all dy|lygence, watche meane bee &s;ette oute, in all thee portes and vttermoo&s;te pla+ces of thee countreye, too e&s;pye out the commynge of thee enemyes, and to geue warnynge thereof. And why &s;o, A praye you? becau&s;e that the louyng Subiectes of thys Realme, &s;huld by theyr &s;odayne comyng &amp; arryuing, ta+ke no maner of harme in theyr goodes &amp; bodies, How moch more then. &s;yth y^t &s;o many cruell and myghty enemyes, do alwayes wythout cea&s;&s;ing, and in|termi&s;&s;ion, be &s;et vs rounde about, en|deuouri~g the~ &s;elf, both night &amp; day, w^t
<PB REF="8"> all their myghte and power, to &s;poyle vs, of that mo&s;te precyous Iewell, that chri&s;te hym &s;elf the onely begotten &s;o~|ne of the father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">We ar al|wayes in peryl &amp; ieo+pardye to be &s;poyled by our gho+&s;teli enemy+es, of that precious iewel that chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed vnto vs.</NOTE> hath wyth the &s;hedyn+ge of hys dere bloude, purcha&s;ed vnto vs, and &s;o to murther mo&s;t my&s;erablye both our bodyes and &s;oules, hauynge be&s;ides that theyr e&s;pyes, euery whe|re here amonge vs, &s;o ma&s;ked and di&s;|guy&s;ed in &s;hepes clothynge and &s;kyn|nes, that they can &s;car&s;ely be knowen, from oure frendes and wel wyllers: oughte true and faythful watche men to be &s;ent out into al corners? to bee a|poynted and &s;et in al places? O prepo|&s;terous, peruer&s;e, and ouerthwarte iud+gement. In thynges that are tran&s;ito+ry, and fade away lyke the gra&s;&s;e, y^t is to &s;ay, in thynges y^t belong to our cor|ruptyble bodyes, and thee pre&s;eruaty|on, or &s;auegarde of the &s;ame, wee are mo&s;t dilige~t &amp; careful, but in thynges that belonge vnto thee &s;oules, whyche are immortall, and neuer dye, but af|ter thee deathe of thee bodyes, bee alwayes, eyther in excedynge greate ioye, or elles in paynes and tormen|tes vn&s;peakeable, yea, the bodyes at y^e daye of iudgemente, being vnyted and ioyned agayne vnto theyr &s;oules,
<PB REF="9"> &s;hall be partakers of eyther of theym: it is impo&s;&s;ible to tell, howe carele&s;&s;e &amp; negligente we are. Whych thinge, be|&s;ydes all other argumentes, maye bee proued by thys. In all thee townes of warre, of thys Realme, &s;tronge gar|ri&s;ons, (as it is mo&s;te conueniente and mete) are &s;ette, noble and valiant Cap|taynes, and faythfull, or tru&s;tye watch men are appoynted, nothinge is lefte vncared for, that maye be for the &s;aue|garde of tho&s;e fortes and townes: But nowe home many pary&s;he churches in England,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Churches are y^e wat+chinge or e&s;pyinge towres of the kingdo~ of Chri&s;te.</NOTE> whych Churches, by ryghte maye be called, the watchinge or e&s;py|inge towres of the euerla&s;tinge Kyng|dom, of oure heauenly Kyng and &s;aui|our Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, are prouided of true and faythfull watche men? Not &s;carce+ly one amonge .xl. hathe a true pa&s;toure or mini&s;ter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;e why pary&s;+&s;he Chur|ches are not prouy|ded of true and fayth|ful mini&s;ters.</NOTE> and why? Thys is one of the cau&s;es why. Lordes and gentilme~, haue all mo&s;t all the lyuinges of Chur+ches in theyr handes. And as longe as they maye gette &s;yr Iohn lacke latyn, to &s;erue theyr cure vnder them, for a lyt+tle or nothinge, that is to &s;aye: for .vi. or viii.li. a yeare, where as they theyr &s;elfe, receaue and take yearely vpon it, &s;ome lx &s;ome .C.li. &s;ome more, &s;ome le&s;&s;e, it wyll neuer be, that they &s;hal &s;et
<PB REF="9"> godlye learned men in them. O mercy|ful god, what meane the heade rulers, and gouernoures of thys worlde (here I do vnder&s;tand Kinges, Emperours, hyghe Prelates and By&s;&s;hoppes) whome the &s;cryptures and woorde of god do call, pa&s;toures and &s;hepeherdes of thee people? What aun&s;were &s;hall they make vnto hym, that is thee pa|&s;toure of all, when he &s;hall requyre oute of theyr handes, thee bloude of hys dere boughte &s;hepe, that dyd pe|ry&s;&s;he, and daylye doo pery&s;&s;he, tho|roughe theyr neglygence and fawlte. My mynde abhorrethe too remember, howe horryble and greuous puny&s;|&s;hementes are prepared for theym. God, of hys mercyfull bountuou&s;ne&s;&s;e graunte, that oure noble and &s;ouerai|gne Lorde thee kynge, and all hys ho|nourable coun&s;ayle, for thee dy&s;char|ge of theyr con&s;cyences, maye &s;horte|lye &s;ee an order in it, that all thee pa|ry&s;&s;hes thoroughe oute all Englande and other of thee kynges dominyons, maye bee prouyded of true pa&s;toures and myny&s;ters.</P>
<P>In the meane &s;ea&s;on, that thys &s;hal bee a doynge, too fence and arme thee louynge &s;ubiectes of thys Realme a|gain&s;t tho&s;e rauenynge wolues y^t come
<PB REF="10"> to them in &s;hepes &s;kinnes, I haue here, accordyng to the lytle, that I can doo, tran&s;lated out of latyn into Engly&s;h, a boke, whyche maye ryght wel be cal+led: Thee ymage of bothe pa&s;toures, &s;ette forthe by that mo&s;t famous cler|ke Huldryche zwinglius By&s;&s;hop of Tigure, and called by hym Pa&s;toure. It is a verye profytable and nece&s;&s;a|rye booke, and mo&s;te worthye, not one|lye to bee tran&s;lated into all tongues, but al&s;o to bee hadde and reade in all thee Churches of Chri&s;tendome.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The dyui|&s;ion of the whole worcke</NOTE> For there fyr&s;te and formo&s;te the con|gregacyon &s;hall &s;ee, thee true and faythfull pa&s;toure, moo&s;te lyuelye de|pycted,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What is contayned in the fir&s;t parte.</NOTE> and &s;ette oute in hys owne coloures, whyche are taken oute none other where, than oute of thee che&s;tes and coffers of thee holye and &s;acred &s;cryptures. Whereby, anye man &s;hall learne, howe farre from all voluptyes and plea&s;ures of thee fle&s;&s;he, thys of|fyce and vocatyon is. For who &s;o e|uer taketh thys myny&s;terye and func|tyon in hande, mu&s;te continually with out cea&s;&s;ing &amp; intermi&s;&s;io~, warre, &s;try|ue, and fyght, agayn&s;t all fle&s;he, and al the power and &s;trength of it, agayn&s;te his owne patentes, kyn&s;efolkes, bre|thren, and &s;y&s;ters, yea again&s;t his own
<PB REF="10"> &s;elfe, and al the concupy&s;cences, and lu+&s;tes of hys owne fle&s;&s;he, agayn&s;te all pompe and pryde of thys worlde, and all the myghtye Prynces of it: Fynal+lye, what &s;oeuer, is in anye maner of thynge, repugnaunte vnto god, he &s;hal profe&s;&s;e and declare hym &s;elfe, an o|pen enemye agayn&s;te it. Thee con|&s;yderatyon of whyche thynges,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Yf a man doth admy+ni&s;ter &s;uffi+ciently the office of a Pa&s;tour, it is the ve+ry worcke of god and not of ma~.</NOTE> doeth playnelye teache vs, that too admini|&s;ter thys greate and peryllous offyce, worthelye and &s;uffycyentelye, is thee verye worcke of God, and not of man|nes &s;trengthe. To doo it, I &s;aye, tru|lye and &s;yncerely, it commethe not of manne, but onelye of God, whych ge+uethe vs &s;trengthe, too beare &s;o heauy a burden. In thee &s;econde parte,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What is contayned in the &s;eco~+de parte.</NOTE> the rauenynge wolues, whyche beynge clothed in &s;hepes &s;kynnes, doo coun|terfeyte thee true &s;hepeheardes, are de&s;crybed and &s;ette forthe to thee eyen of thee congregatyon, and in a ma|ner, &s;hewed wythe thee fynger. For, there anye manne &s;hall &s;ee, theyr wyde gapynge mouthes, theyr &s;har|pe teethe (wherewythe they alwayes threaten &s;laughter and murther) and woluy&s;&s;he pawes (for thee &s;hepes &s;kynnes, wherewythe they haue dy&s;|guy&s;ed theym &s;elues can not hyde all
<PB REF="11"> thynges) to appeare out. To be &s;hort, all the congregatyons and churches, that are not yet prouyded of true my|ny&s;ters, &s;hall by thys lyttel boke (yf it be trulye peru&s;ed and reade) learne, in the meane &s;ea&s;on, too dy&s;cerne and knowe thee true and faythfull pa&s;tou+res, from thee deuely&s;&s;he rauenynge wolues, be they neuer &s;oo ma&s;ked and dy&s;guy&s;ed. Whych truely, wyl be noo &s;malle helpe vnto theym afterwardes (when true pa&s;toures, &s;hall thoroughe thee fatherlye care of oure &s;ouereyn lorde the kynge, and hys honourable coun&s;ayle, bee &s;ente vnto theym (too come vnto the true relygyon, and god|lyne&s;&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A prayer vnto God for to &s;en|de true &amp; faythfull Pa&s;tours.</NOTE> O mercyfull prye&s;te, and chye+fe By&s;&s;hoppe Ie&s;us Chiy&s;te, vouche|&s;afe (wee be&s;eche thee) of thy bountu|ous mercyfulne&s;&s;e, to &s;ende oute, true and faythefull labourers, into thy ho|lye harue&s;te, for too breake and dy&s;try|bute thee breade of thy holye worde, vnto theym, that hunger for it. Vou|che&s;afe al&s;o, o moo&s;te true and fayth|full &s;hepehearde, to &s;trengthen, wythe thy holy &s;pyrite, all preachers and tea+chers, y^t thou ha&s;te &s;ente, and dayly do &s;ende, to fede thy dere boughte flocke, too thee intente that they maye bolde+lye and earne&s;tlye &s;ette theyr &s;oules
<PB REF="11"> in the defence of thy holye worde, and for their &s;hepe, agayn&s;t all the threate|nynges, and fal&s;e enterpry&s;es, of thee rauenynge wolues and fal&s;e prophe|tes that goo aboute too &s;educe and bryng vs oute of the ryght waye, for theyr belyes &s;ake, throughe theyr fal&s;e doctryne. And that they maye &s;o teache and declace vnto vs, thy holye lawe, and Go&s;pell, that we beyng tau+ghte and edyfyed, maye daylye more and more magnyfye thy godlye ho|noure.</P>
<P>Now I haue &s;hortly declared and &s;hewed, the chyefe and pryncypal cau+&s;es of thee blyndne&s;&s;e, that yet at thys pre&s;ente, raignethe amonge thee &s;ym|ple and ygnoraunte people, and what moued me too tran&s;late thys golden booke, and moo&s;te excellente worcke. Whyche trulye, yf that godlye Nehe|mias, thee reparatour of Hieru&s;alem were amonge vs, I woulde haue dedi+cated vnto hym, and too none other. Sythe then that youre grace hathe bene a verye Nehemias vnto vs (for, thoroughe youre vigilaunte care, the true Hieru&s;alem, whiche is the Chur|che that was all couered wythe thee rubbi&s;&s;he of Antichri&s;tes tradityons, is now at this pre&s;ente, newe builded
<PB REF="12"> vp agayne) I coulde do no le&s;&s;e, but to dedicate it vnto your grace. And thou|ghe it is not &s;o eloquentely and fynely tran&s;lated, as manye, y^t were natural|ly borne and brought vp in thys coun+treye, myghte haue done it: Yet not wythe&s;tandynge, haue I a good hope, that youre grace (&s;uche is your Pryn+cely gentylne&s;&s;e) wyll take it in good worthe, not &s;o muche con&s;yderyng the thinge it &s;elfe, as the beneuolent hart, that it comethe from. The Lorde kno|wethe howe greate a loue and affccty+on, not onelye I, but generallye all true Chri&s;tyans, doo beare vnto you, and that, for the excedynge great zea|le that youre grace, hathe had alwayes to true relygyon and godline&s;&s;e. This loue and affectyon, was ryght wel de+clared and manyfe&s;ted, by thee teares and daylye prayers of thee faythfull, when that euerlyuyng and almyghty God (who alwayes cha&s;ty&s;eth theim, whome he louethe) dyd &s;uffre youre grace to be tryed, wythe thee fyre of trouble and afflyctyon. As then, all thee whole congregation of thee faythfull dyd withe mournynge tea|res, make earne&s;te interce&s;&s;yon and prayer vnto almyghtye God, for your graces delyueraunce: &s;o nowe I doo
<PB REF="12"> moo&s;te humblye be&s;eche hym, that is the auctoure of all good thynges, that he vouche&s;afe of hys goodne&s;&s;e and mercye, &s;o wythe hys holye &s;pyryte too rule, guygde, and gouerne you, in all youre wayghtye affayres, withe that mo&s;t gracyous Ladye, your true louing &s;pou&s;e and wyfe, that what &s;oeuer youre grace &s;hall thinke or do, may be to the glory of god, to the co~mune weale of this Real|me, &amp; &s;aluacion of youre &s;oule.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>&para;Youre poore oratour Iohn Verou.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB REF="13">
<HEAD>The Image of both Pa&s;tours, or mini&s;ters &s;et forth by that famou&s;e Clerck Hul|driche zwinglius, and now tran&s;lated out of Latyn into Engli&s;&s;he by Iohn Vtron Seuonoys.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y we|re called A+po&s;tolyke men that were di&s;ci+ples of the Apo&s;tles, as Luke &amp; marke we|re.</NOTE>_THat in tymes pa&s;te, ma|ny admonitio~s were ge+uen by the prophetes, in the olde Te&s;tament, &amp; in the newe by apo&s;tolyke men, yea, &amp; the Apo&s;tels the~ &s;elues, whych were the chief mini|&s;ters of Chri&s;tes churche, vnto the Pa|&s;tours of the people, euerye man doeth know, that only hath redde with a di|ligent mynd, their bokes &amp; writinges, in the which, moo&s;te deare brethren in Chri&s;t, &amp; mo&s;t faythful &s;eruauntes, and mini&s;ters in the hou&s;e of god, we may deprehende and fynde very &s;ute toke~s of this thinge. Wherfore I haue thou|ghte that it was al&s;o lawfull for me, to &s;peake, talcke, and rea&s;on, wyth all the fydelytie and diligence that ca~ be, of oure commune offyce and admyny|&s;tration, and that moo&s;te e&s;peciallye in
<PB REF="13"> thys godly and dyuyne Sinode,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A Synode is an a&s;&s;e~|ble or con|vocatio~ of y^e clergye togeath .x.</NOTE> wher &s;o many hu~dreth of Pa&s;tours, &s;o great numbre of learned menne, and al&s;o &s;o great a multitude of brethre~, that with a feruent de&s;yre do thyr&s;te for the word of God, are a&s;&s;embled. Let vs therfore, in gods holy name begynne oure mat|ter.</P>
<P>The Chri&s;tian Pa&s;tour, and flocke, whych he taketh vppon hym to feede, doeth wyth &s;oche euydence and lyuely|ne&s;&s;e expre&s;&s;e the type &amp; fygure of thee dyuyne Maie&s;tie, and of vs al:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;crip+ture of the old Te&s;ta+me~t, doeth adumorate &amp; &s;hadowe the diuine prouyde~ce of god vn+der the &s;i|militude &amp; &s;hadow of a &s;hepeher+de.</NOTE> that the Scripture of thee olde Te&s;tamente is wonte often tymes too &s;hadowe vnder thee &s;imilitude and Image of a Pa|&s;toure or &s;hepeherde, that euerlar&s;tynge prouydence of thee hyghe God, where wyth he doeth beholde, care for, rule, &amp; as a faythfull hou&s;holder, di&s;po&s;e all thynges, that is to &s;aye, when it doeth depicte and &s;ette forth that mo&s;t hygh gouernour of the worlde, vnder the per+&s;onne of a &s;hepeherde, and vs vnder the &s;imilitude of &s;hepe. What &s;houlde we &s;aye? Syth that the &s;auiour of vs all, Ie&s;us Chri&s;te doeth vouche&s;afe to call hym &s;elfe by the name of a &s;hepeherd? Iohn .x chap. For he is thee true fode, in hym the fatte Pa&s;tours of the &s;oules
<PB REF="14"> are layde forth vnto vs, to be &s;horte, he is that true leader &amp; &s;hepeherde of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ocke, which hath brought vs mi&s;era|ble &amp; wretched &s;inners, out of the thick darckene&s;&s;e of ignoraunce, and &s;nares of mennes traditions, into that plea|&s;aunte lyghte, of gods wy&s;dom, and in to the lybertye of the &s;onnes of God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Wher the offyce of a &s;hepeherde or pa&s;tour oughte to be learned</NOTE>Wherfore it &s;hall be nece&s;&s;arye for all theym, that are &s;ente as Pa&s;tours, to feede the flocke of thee LORDE, that they receaue and take thee admy|ny&s;tration and lawes of theyr offyce oute of none other Doctryne, than out of thee pure, and &s;yncere woorde of God, whyche in the&s;e latter tymes dyd declare, manyfe&s;te, expound and expre&s;|&s;e it &s;elfe vy&s;yblye and moo&s;te lyuely, wythe greate lyghte&s;omne&s;&s;e and eui|dence in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us thee trewe and naturall &s;onne of thee Father, whyche thynge was al&s;o done before in thee olde Te&s;tament (thoughe it was &s;ome what darckelye) in thee tymes of thee Patriarches and Prophetes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The diui|&s;ion of the whole wor+ke.</NOTE> We &s;hall therefore looke fyr&s;te vppon Goddes woorde at Chi&s;tes mouthe, and in hys Actes (whyche Chri&s;te is al&s;o a trewe God.) Then by and by, we wyll &s;eke oute thee &s;ame in thee Prophetes and
<PB REF="14"> Apo&s;tles, that we maye knowe there|by, howe excellent, and of what digni|tie and worthyne&s;&s;e the offyce of a Pa|&s;tour is, whom by other names we doo cal ether a By&s;hop, or Per&s;on, a Vicar, or Curate, a preacher, prophete or Euan+gely&s;te. Secondely we &s;hall lykewy&s;e depicte and &s;et forth the fal&s;e prophe|tes in theyr owne coloures, that they may the better and more ea&s;ely be kno|wen and taken hede of. We wyll al&s;o declare and &s;et forth the puny&s;hmente, whych is prepared for theym, that thee knowledge, and vnder&s;tandinge of it, may ether bring them to amendement, or yf they refu&s;e it, moue the Magi&s;tra+tes, to remoue &amp; put them fro~ theyr be|nefyces and rowmes that they are in.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t is y^e true exa~ple of a good Pa&s;tour.</NOTE></P>
<P>But lea&s;t we &s;huld be fayne to tarye longe vpon the moo&s;te holy &amp; profunde my&s;teryes of that wonderfull incarna|tion and natiuitie of oure Lorde Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, we wyll begynne to &s;peake of tho&s;e thynges, whiche he both dyd and taughte, &s;ence thee tyme that he was manyfe&s;ted vnto thys worlde. Amonge thee whyche, we fynde thys thynge fyr&s;te, that he, beynge broughte into thee Temple, accordinge to thee pre&s;|cripte of thee lawe, was receaued in|to
<PB REF="15"> Symeons armes, and not wythout hyghe gratulation and ioye, which af|ter that he hadde declared wyth many wordes, that he was thee Sauiour of all the whole worlde, turned hym &s;elfe to his mother, and &s;ayd:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke ii.</NOTE> Behold, this chylde is &s;ette to be thee fall and vpry|&s;ynge agayne of many in I&s;raell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|&s;toure is y^e &s;tone of of fence &amp; vp+re&s;inge a|gayne</NOTE> and for a &s;ygne, whych is &s;poken agayn&s;te. And more ouer the &s;worde &s;hall pearce thy &s;oule, that the thoughtes of manye hartes may be opened. Thys therfore, &s;hall the Pa&s;tour, afore of all thynges per&s;wade hym &s;elfe in hys mynd, that there &s;hall be many, whych &s;hall waxe wor&s;&s;e by hys fode, doctryne, and la|boure, and al&s;o that manye beyng tau|ghte and in&s;tructed by hym, &s;hall ry&s;e from theyr &s;ynnes and fylthyne&s;&s;e ther+of. And al&s;o that there &s;hall be alway|es &s;ome vngodlye and vnfaythful per|&s;onnes, whyche &s;hall wyth&s;tande hys Doctryne and godlye endeuours. For, thee fle&s;&s;helye man doeth not re|ceaue that &s;pyrytuall woorde of God, but rather doeth re&s;y&s;te it wythe all hys whole &s;trengthe. Whereby, it is wonte to en&s;ue and folowe al&s;o, that thee Pa&s;tour beynge mo&s;te greuou&s;lye hated and layde wayt for,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|&s;tour is in not wyth|out peryl &amp; ieopardye</NOTE> by tho&s;e wic+ked
<PB REF="15"> and vngodlye enemyes of Goddes worde, is alwayes in peryll and ieo|pardye. Thys thynge al&s;o the paren|tes, kyn&s;folckes and frendes mu&s;te be &s;urely per&s;waded, nor oughte to loke for any other ende of thys myny&s;tery and function, but that theyr chyldren, kyn&s;efolckes and frendes beynge cal|led to thys office, &s;hal be hated, mocked derided and laughed to &s;corne of al me~, yea, and that before theyr owne eyen. For thee nature of fle&s;&s;he, is not &s;oche, that it can &s;uffice it &s;elfe to be kept and holden in &s;o, that it doeth not breake forth at &s;ome tymes, and goo about to folowe hys owne &s;tudyes and affecti|ons. Here therfore a greate grief and &s;orowe doeth &s;prynge and ry&s;e in thee myndes of the parentes and kyn&s;folc|kes, here al&s;o they do feele that &s;werd, whiche not wythoute greate griefe &amp; dolour dyd pearce thee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oule of Mary. For it is &s;o ordeyned by nature, that pa+tentes do loue theyr chyldren &s;o tender+ly, that they are wonte to haue excea|dynge great compa&s;&s;yon on them, not onely, when they are afflicted without a iu&s;te cau&s;e, but al&s;o when they are pu+ni&s;hed de&s;eruingly. Dauid is an exam+ple or proue of this thinge, which doth
<PB REF="16"> &s;o &s;ore lament and bewayle the de&s;truc+tion and death,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Regum xviii.</NOTE> of hys mo&s;te vngodly and vnfaythfull &s;onne Ab&s;alon.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">It is y^e of fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e of a pa&s;tour ne+ther to d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, nor to lear|ue vndone any thinge for the lo|ue &amp; re&s;pec+te of hys parentes</NOTE>Agayn it is the duety and part of a faythfull pa&s;tour, to renunce, &amp; for&s;ake the loue, frend&s;hip, and amytye of hys parentes, and to do nothing in fauour of them, but go on &s;tyll, &amp; per&s;y&s;te &s;ted|fa&s;tly in the worke of the Lord, without any re&s;pecte of the~, whych thing Chri&s;t with his owne example doeth teache in the &s;ame place. For, when Io&s;eph, and the vyrgyn Mary hys mother, had by thee &s;pace of .iii. dayes, wyth a heauye harte &s;ought hym, and at length hadde found hym in the mydde&s;t of the Doc|tours &amp; Scribes, hys mother dyd &s;ome what &s;harpely reprehe~de or rebuke him &s;aying: Sonne, why ha&s;t thou &s;o done vnto vs. Beholde, thy father and I dyd wyth a heauye harte &s;eeke the: He dyd an&s;were, why dyd ye &s;eke me? Dyd ye not know that I mu&s;te be in tho&s;e thin+ges, that belonge to my father. A Chri|&s;tian pa&s;tour then mu&s;t be of that mynd and mu&s;t be &s;o affectioned, lea&s;t perad|uenture, he beynge moued, wyth thee grief of his parentes, doeth &s;lowely ad|mini&s;tre Gods worcke, and thee offyce that he hath receaued of hym. He &s;hall
<PB REF="16"> (I &s;aye) regarde nothynge, nor pa&s;&s;e vppon thee wepynges of hys chyldren, nor thee mournynge and bewaylynge of hys wyfe, nor the affection and loue of hys &s;y&s;ters and brethren, nor yet the teares of hys frendes, and kyn&s;folkes. For he &s;eeth, that Ie&s;us Chri&s;te thee &s;onne of the Vyrgyn Mary (whych els was moo&s;te obediente) dyd thee &s;ame.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mathe .x.</NOTE> Wherfore, when de dyd &s;end hys di&s;|cyples too preache thee go&s;pell, he dyd &s;aye vnto theym: He that loueth hys father and his mother aboue me, is not worthy of me. And he that loueth hys &s;onne and hys daughter aboue me, is not worthye of me, or he is not mete for thys offyce and vocation. Al&s;o a fayth|full pa&s;tour &s;hall not &s;uffer hys paten|tes too haue anye auctoritye, or beare anye rule in thee admyny&s;tratyon and preachynge of Goddes woorde, that is too &s;aye, he &s;hall in noo wy&s;e admy|ny&s;ter or preache the Go&s;pell, and wor|de of God, accordinge too their myn|de, affection and Iudgemente. For, it is knowen howe &s;harpely chri&s;t did &s;peake vnto his mother, when &s;he be|ing moued with a womanly affection, did begynne to exhort him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn .ii.</NOTE> as he &s;at at the mariage, that he &s;houlde mira|culou&s;lye
<PB REF="17"> helpe theim withe wyne, for they wanted it. Did he not &s;aye wo|man what haue I to do with thee? Let this, I &s;ay, be the &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e and con+&s;tancie of a pa&s;toure, lette this be thee firme, &s;tedfa&s;t, and con&s;tant purpo&s;e of his minde, to re&s;pecte or regarde thee auctoritie of no mortal men, no, not of his owne mother, that bare him, but folowe on &s;tyll the ryght cour&s;e of his admini&s;tration and office. And yf his parentes wyll to importinatelye with &s;tande his godlye purpo&s;e, &amp; w^t &s;tubber+nes and ob&s;tinacye re&s;i&s;te thee euerla|&s;tinge worde of God, lette then a faith+full pa&s;toure counte hym &s;elfe their vt+ter fooe and enemye, he &s;hall for&s;ake them, yea and hate them. For Chri&s;t &s;e~+dinge forthe his di&s;ciples doeth &s;pea|ke vnto them after this maner:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math .x.</NOTE> Thi~+ke not that I am come to &s;ende pea+ce into the earthe. I came not to &s;end pea+ce, but a &s;worde, for, I am come to &s;ett a man at variaunce, again&s;t his owne father, and the daughter agayn&s;te the mother, and the daughter in lawe, a|gain&s;t her mother in lawe. And againe in Luke:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke .xiiii</NOTE> Yf anye man, &s;ayeth he, doth come vnto me, and doethe not hate his father, and his mother, his wyfe, and
<PB REF="17"> hys chyldren, and &s;y&s;ters, yea and hys owne lyfe, al&s;o he can not be my di&s;cy|ple. For, a faythful pa&s;tour of the Lor|des flocke, mu&s;te bee &s;o wholye geuen and addicted to God the father,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Though y^e children oughte ra|ther to for+&s;ake theyr parentes, tha~ to &s;wa+rue one io|te fro~ thee trueth of gods wor|de, yet not+wyth&s;tan|dynge we do not tea+che the~ too withdraw theyr hel|ping hand fro~ the~ in the time of nece&s;&s;itie &amp; nede.</NOTE> that he &s;hall al&s;o be readye to hate hys owne parentes (who&s;e loue, and carefull lo|kyng to, the lawes of god do in an o|ther place commende) yf at anye tyme they go aboute to let his godly functy+on and offyce, howbeit, the&s;e thynges, that we haue rehear&s;ed nowe, are not commaunded to the Pa&s;tours onely, but to all mankynde, but yet fyr&s;te of all, they are requyred of Pa&s;toure, too whome al&s;o they oughet chyefelye to be referred. Now therfore, I do thyn|ke, that we haue declared &s;uffycyently ynoughe, and that ye doo well &s;ee and perceaue, howe a Pa&s;toure ought to be haue hym &s;elfe, towardes his paren|tes, le&s;te the re&s;pecte of theym &s;houlde brynge hym anye let or impediment. And agayne it hathe bene &s;hewed how the parentes ought to be affectyoned &amp; minded, that is to &s;ay, how they ought in no wy&s;e to hope, loke, or gape, for a|ny honours, and glorye of this worlde in their childre~, that be &s;e~t to this me&s;+&s;age and cho&s;en to this office, yea let
<PB REF="18"> them know this al&s;o for a &s;urety, that theyr chyldren can not but hate theim, yf they goo aboute at anye tyme too lefte theym in thys functyon and bu|&s;yne&s;&s;e of thee Lorde.<NOTE PLACE="marg">how a fay+thful Pa|&s;tour ough+te to be af|fectioned towardes hym &s;elfe.</NOTE> But nowe wee &s;hal &s;e how the Pa&s;tour oughte to be affectyoned towardes hym &s;elfe.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t the &s;auyoure of the world, and infallyble example of oure lyfe. Math xvi. chap. and Luc. ix. chap. &s;peakethe after thys maner: Yf any manne wyll come after me, lette hym for&s;ake hym &s;elfe, and take vppe hys cro&s;&s;e and fo|lowe me, for he that wyll &s;aue hys lyfe, &s;hall lo&s;e it. And agayne: he that &s;hall lo&s;e hys lyfe for my &s;ake, &s;hall fynde it. Here fyr&s;te and forme&s;te we doo &s;ee that it is requyred that a manne do vtterlye for&s;ake hym &s;elfe. For, thee nature of man is &s;uche that he thynkethe alwayes hym &s;elfe to be &s;omewhat, or too bee worthye of no &s;mall honoure, promy&s;ynge vnto hym &s;elfe alwayes mountaynes of golde, of hys owne &s;trengthe and wy&s;edom. But here nowe, it is nece&s;&s;arye that a manne doo as a &s;eruaunte all togea|ther oppygnorate, bynde, and gyue hym &s;elfe ouer vnto almyghtye god, and therewythe, ca&s;te or throwe hym
<PB REF="18"> &s;elfe wholye downe in hys &s;yght. For he &s;hall alwayes haue an eye onelye too God, to learne hys wyl, nor he &s;hal in no wy&s;e enterpry&s;e too doo anye thynge of hys owne &s;trength and wy&s;+dome, but &s;tyll &s;hall con&s;yder, behol|de and loke vppon, that one onely and infallyble example of hys lyfe why|che is God, and doo all thynges, accor+dynge to thee pre&s;crypte of hys wor|de. But as &s;one as he hathe doone thys, by and by &s;hall thee cro&s;&s;e offer it &s;elfe, whyche euerye daye mu&s;te bee taken vpon oure &s;houlders, for euerye daye he &s;hal feele newe cares, new hea+uine&s;&s;e, and &s;ome new mi&s;fortune, whi+che all, he &s;hall &s;uffre pacyentlye, nor &s;hall in anye wy&s;e, or at anye tyme &s;hake of the yoke, that the Lorde hath &s;ette vppon hym For, yf any man doethe for&s;ake hym &s;elfe, and &s;o, lea|uynge the fle&s;&s;he and Sathan, cometh vnto Chri&s;t, for to haue, or that he may haue onelye, in all his doynges, an eye vnto God, euerye daye, he &s;hall &s;ee a greate numbre of theym, that haue not yet for&s;aken theym &s;elues, which companye &s;hall farre pa&s;&s;e thee num|bre of the godly and faythfull. Now, the&s;e contrarye kyndes of people
<PB REF="19"> or of menne, can no more agre amonge them &s;elues, than fyre and water. For the fle&s;he doethe couet agayn&s;t the &s;py|ryte, &amp; the &s;pyryte agayn&s;te the fle&s;he.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. iii.</NOTE> The fle&s;he chalenging vnto it &s;elfe no le&s;&s;e knowledge &amp; admini&s;tracio~ of the truth and of good thinges, tha~ the &s;pirit:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The natu+re of oure corrupted fle&s;&s;he.</NOTE> &s;he thinketh alwaies y^t &s;he ca~ do &s;ome thyng, &amp; doeth promi&s;e vnto her &s;elf, a very great knowledg of holy thi~+ges. And although &s;he doth plainely &s;e y^t her workes in co~pari&s;o~ of the diuyne workes of god ar nothi~g els but a vai+ne painting, dece~itfulnes, &amp; as yf a ma~ myght &s;ay, a chyldy&s;he play &amp; game: yet notw^t&s;tandyng doeth &s;he di&s;dayne to geue place of the ouer hande to thee diuine maie&s;tye. How beit though &s;he doth counterfeyt before men no &s;mall godlynes, and true religion, yet in the meane &s;ea&s;o~ can &s;he in no wy&s;e e&s;cape the iudgment of a godly and faythe|ful man, which hath wholye and from the very hart for&s;ake~ hym &s;elf. For, he doeth quickly &s;melle out the affectio~s of the fle&s;he, &amp; the co~<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">umacie or &s;tubber+nes y^t is naturally toted in her: as &s;one as &s;he ones begynneth to &s;et forthe her &s;elf. But yf he ones enterpry&s;eth or go about to bryng to lyght the paynting,
<PB REF="19"> hipocry&s;ie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Who &s;oe|uer goeth a+bout to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e+tecte &amp; ope~ y^e hipocry|&s;ye of thee fle&s;he &s;hall fele &s;orow &amp; trouble.</NOTE> &amp; deceytefull nature of the fle&s;he, by and by, &s;hall he feele her ene|mytye &amp; armure. For, &s;trayght wayes armyng, and weapynge her &s;elfe, wyth mo&s;t ygnominio~s, reprocheful, and op+probrious wordes, &s;he &s;hall furiou&s;lye flye vppon hym, that hath touched her payntinge and hypocry&s;ye, neuer cea&s;+&s;ynge too &s;pende all her whole &s;tren|gthe agayn&s;te him, tyll &s;he can eyther ouerthrowe or vtterlye de&s;troye hym. Chri&s;te therefore, wyllethe vs afore all thynges to bee per&s;waded, that euerye day, we mu&s;te beare a cro&s;&s;e, for y^t more, that gods word doth encrea&s;e &amp; flori&s;h, the more doth the cro&s;&s;e, &amp; per&s;ecutyon ry&s;e and folowe, the greater that thee proceding of gods word is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The godli oughte ne|uer to loke for peace &amp; quietnes in this world</NOTE> the more fu+ryous &amp; angrye doeth the fle&s;he waxe. Therfore they are all together decea|ued and erre all the worlde wyde, y^t are wonte to hope and gape for peace and quietne&s;&s;e, nor wyll &s;u&s;taine or abyde y^e greuous &s;cornes of per&s;ecutio~s, for the holy wordes &s;ake, or thinke y^t they mu&s;t &s;uffre none For, though the peo|ple doth by flockes &amp; &s;warmes flie to y^e word of god, &amp; w^t ferue~te &s;tudies come vnto chri&s;t, yet not w^t&s;tanding, we &s;hal feele, that euer moch per&s;ecutyon, and
<PB REF="20"> cro&s;&s;e, &s;halbe &s;tyrred vp agayn&s;te vs, by the mighty rulers of the world, which wyl alwayes, w^t al their &s;trength ende+uours, &amp; myght, with&s;tand &amp; re&s;y&s;t the eua~gelical doctrine. Yes, put y^e ca&s;e, y^t ther be no &s;uch in the world, or that the Princes &amp; rulers do fauor y^e truth of y^t go&s;pel yet &s;hal we neuertheles &s;e fal&s;e teachers &amp; fal&s;e Apo&s;tles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The natu+re of fal&s;e teachers &amp; fal&s;e apo|&s;tle.</NOTE> ry&s;e daylye, which hauing more learnyng, &amp; know+ledge, tha~ charitie &amp; loue, wyl &s;et forth them &s;elues not wythout great hynde+rau~ce of the truth of gods worde. For, they w^tout any vrgent cau&s;e, &s;tyrryng vp contentious and &s;tryfes, for euerye lyght tryfle, &s;hal greuou&s;ly offend the weake and meke harted, they care not though they al offend y^e worlde, &s;o that they may be counted of the &s;imple and ygnoraunt people greate clerkes and well learned. Here therefore &s;hall a newe gryef and cro&s;&s;e ri&s;e and come vp on vs, which doth require in vs a new &amp; whole &s;tre~gth. For, they that at &s;ou~d &amp; &s;tedfa&s;t or co~&s;tant in y^e faith mu&s;t ne|des be &s;ore greued in their mindes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">It is a gre+ate <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ro&s;&s;e to the god+ly to &s;e the weake too be offe~ded</NOTE> whe~ they &s;e the weake to be offended, and truly ther can be no greater, greuou&s;er, or bytrerer gryefe vnto a godly man, as Paule te&s;tyfyethe of hym &s;elfe to
<PB REF="20"> the Corinthi. &s;ayinge?<NOTE PLACE="marg">ii. Cori. xi.</NOTE> Who is offen|ded, and I burne not? What neadethe many wordes? Euerye daye we mu&s;te take a newe cro&s;&s;e vpon vs: for, chry&s;te lyeth not, when he doth &s;ay:<NOTE PLACE="marg">math, vi</NOTE> Suffyci+ent vnto the day, is the trauaile therof. And in an other place:<NOTE PLACE="marg">math .x.</NOTE> He that wyll &s;aue his life, &s;hal lo&s;e it. Wher ye mu&s;t marke &amp; note, y^t this word, anima (whi+che communely is taken for the &s;oule or lyfe of ma~) doth not only in this pla+ce &s;ignifie, y^e lyfe, y^t we do lyue in thys body but al&s;o y^e mind, inte~t purpo&s;e or coun&s;ail of ma~. Who &s;oeuer the~, for to &s;aue this frayle &amp; tran&s;itory life, doth vnfaithfully fal from the word of god, &s;hal lo&s;e hys lyfe, who &s;oeuer tru&s;tyng in his owne learnyng, wy&s;dom, coun|&s;ailes, &amp; intent or purpo&s;e of his myn+de, wyl not &s;uffre hym &s;elf to be pluc|ked fro~ it, but rather honeth, y^t by it he &s;hal obtaine the true beatytude &amp; euer la&s;tyng felicitie, &s;hal al&s;o lo&s;e his lyfe and ca&s;te awaye hys &s;oule. Therefore, the pa&s;tour &s;hall vtterly for&s;ake hym &s;elf, he &s;hal al together ca&s;te and throw down him &s;elf before god, he &s;hal vtter+ly take and bani&s;he away the froward intent or purpo&s;e of is ob&s;takle &amp; &s;tub+borne mynde, &amp; euery day prepare him
<PB REF="21"> &s;elfe to beare &s;ome newe cro&s;&s;e. For, chri&s;t dyd al&s;o folow y^e &s;ame way and rule, euer &s;ubmitting his wyll to hys fathers wyl, which he dyd alwayes o|beye, bearing the cro&s;&s;e that was lay|de vpo~ him, tyl he was take~ vp, to that glory that he &s;hulde &s;yt at thee ryghte hande of the father.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">After that the pa&s;tour hath for&s;a+ked hi~ &s;elf he mu&s;t be repleni&s;|&s;hed w^t the &s;pirite of god</NOTE>As &s;one the~, as y^e pa&s;tour (&amp; not only he, but al&s;o euery mortal ma~) hath for &s;ake~ him&s;elf, &amp; by this for&s;aking, hath wholy euacuated him &s;elf, y^t is to &s;ay, hath made hi~ &s;elf of no reputatio~ i~ his own &s;ight, next of al it behoueth y^t he be filled or repleni&s;hed w^t God, y^t is to &s;ay, that he put al his hope &amp; tru&s;t in y^e one only god. Our lorde Ie&s;us chry&s;te did both performe &amp; expre&s;&s;e thee &s;ame in his di&s;ciples, who~ by &amp; by as &s;one as they leauing al thinges did &s;tick &amp; cleaue only to him, he did not only pro+uide for, concerning externe &amp; outwar+de thinges, y^t is to &s;ay, meate &amp; drinke and clothing, &amp; that &s;o lyberally, that they beinge a&s;ked, whether they wan+ted any thing, when they were &s;ent to preach the go&s;pel w^tout &s;crip or wallet, dyd an&s;were that they did lack no ma+ner of thyng: but al&s;o wylled them to bee withoute all care, and too take no
<PB REF="21"> thought, what they &s;huld aun&s;were, yf at any tyme they &s;huld be brought be|fore Kynges and Princes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. x.</NOTE> for in the &s;ame &s;elfe houre, &s;ayth he: it &s;halbe ge+uen you, what ye &s;hall aun&s;were. Be|&s;ydes that he dyd not commit vnto the~ the full offyce of preachinge, afore that he blowing vpon them (as we may &s;ee in the .xx. cha. of Iohn) dyd &s;ay: Recea|ue ye the holy gho&s;t, &s;ignifying therby that no ma~ is mete to fede the people, &amp; that no man can well &amp; truely execute the offyce of a Pa&s;tour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">To euacu|ate hi~ &s;elfe whyche is halfe a la|tin phra&s;e, is too e&s;te|me hi~ &s;elfe of no repu+tatio~. Phi+lip .ii.</NOTE> excepte he vtter+ly for&s;akinge &amp; euacuatinge hym &s;elfe hath God inhabytinge, dwellinge, and &s;peakinge in, or by hym. Be&s;ydes that, he doth commaunde the~ al&s;o, that they &s;huld not depart fro~ Hieru&s;ale~, tyl that they had receaued the &s;pirite,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Actuu~. i</NOTE> y^t was promy&s;ed unto the~. Which, being recea+ued, they dyd by &amp; by beginne, and not without great gratulation and ioye of myndes, the function &amp; offyce of prea|chinge, for &s;o it behoueth to be, lea&s;t the Pa&s;tour do le<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">de the &s;hepe co~mitted vn+to him, into any other pa&s;tours, than in to the &s;ame, out of the whych, he hathe pycked &amp; gathered y^e fode of gods wor|de, that is to &s;aye, into the knowledge of the true god, &amp; into a con&s;tant &amp; mo&s;t
<PB REF="22"> &s;ure confide~ce in him only. Yf he wyll the~ &s;et forth the&s;e thi~ges vnto y^e people, that is co~mitted vnto him, he mu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> him+&s;elfe learne to know god fyr&s;t, and put hys hole affi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">unct tru&s;t, and confidence in hym onely.</P>
<P>The&s;e thinges being thus promi&s;ed &amp; done, he &s;hal begin to preach y^e worde, after y^e &s;ame maner that chri&s;t him &s;elfe dyd v&s;e. For, he being about to teach y^e worlde, dyd &s;aye: Repe~t ye, for, the king+dom of heaue~ is at hand.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Repe~ta~ce is the fyr&s;t part of the preachyng of the go&s;|pel.</NOTE> Whych forme and maner Iohn bapti&s;t, the fore renner of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us dyd ob&s;erue. But who wyll repent, who wyl amende his lyfe, that afore doeth not vnder&s;tande and knowe howe wycked and euyll he is? Therfore the &s;yckene&s;&s;e &amp; dy&s;ea&s;e mu&s;t be fyr&s;t &s;hewed and declared, &amp; than af+terwardes y^e &s;aluatio~ ought to be prea+ched. No ma~ ought to be moued, y^t oure lord &amp; &s;auiour Ie&s;us chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. x marke .xvi</NOTE> doth com+maunde to preache only &s;aluatio~, &amp; the go&s;pel. For, the &s;ickenes mu&s;t be knowe~ afore y^t any ma~ wyl &s;uffre the medicine to be mini&s;tred vnto him. Chri&s;t al&s;o in tho&s;e places y^t we now haue made men|tion of, doth by a more &s;wete plea&s;ant &amp; co~fortable word, denominate, &amp; cal the preaching of the go&s;pel grace, becau&s;e that the go&s;pell is the ioyful tyding of
<PB REF="22"> that mo&s;t &s;ure &amp; infallible grace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What the knowledg of &s;ynne doth wor|ke in vs.</NOTE> which of god is grau~ted, &amp; geue~ vnto vs. The knowledge of &s;ynne, which we do nede here mo&s;t of al, bringeth vs to y^e poynte, y^t we doo vtterly di&s;payre of oure owne &s;elfes, wherfore, it co~pelleth, dryueth &amp; forceth vs, to flye vnto the gratuite, and free mercy of god, of the whych we are mo&s;t &s;ure, &s;yth y^e god y^e father dyd geue his only begotte~ &s;o~ne for vs. Wherfore chri&s;t (as it is &s;ayd before) dyd vouch&s;a|ue to call the hole mi&s;ery of our &s;alua|tio~, a medicine. And in an other place, as Luk. xxiiii. he doth ioyne both togea+ther&punc; y^t is to &s;aye, repe~taunce &amp; forgeue|nes of &s;ynnes, &s;aying: So it behoueth y^t chri&s;t &s;huld &s;uffer &amp; ri&s;e agayn fro~ death the thyrd daye, &amp; that repentau~ce, &amp; re|mi&s;&s;ion of &s;ynnes &s;hulde be preached a|mong all natio~s in my name. Beholde, how he hath here ioyned both together &amp; &s;etteth forth vnto vs, both repe~ta~ce &amp; forgeuenes of &s;ynnes. For no man can worthely delight in the preachinge of y^e go&s;pel, no ma~ can worthely receaue it w^t a full ioye, excepte he hathe afore a full knowledge of his &s;yckene&s;&s;e &amp; di&s;ea&s;e, that is to &s;aye, of hys &s;ynnes.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;eco~d care of a pa&s;tour is to take he|de&punc; y^t they, which doo repent, pe|ri&s;h not a|gayne.</NOTE>But now as &s;oone as the wretched &amp; mi&s;erable ma~ doeth know his &s;icknes,
<PB REF="23"> infirmitie &amp; di&s;ea&s;e, &amp; &s;eing y^e filthines of his &s;ynnes, doth al&s;o e&s;pye, deprehe~d and fynde a &s;ure knowledge, &amp; hope of &s;aluation in Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: he oughte in no wy&s;e afterwardes to lyue in &s;ynne. For &s;ith y^t in chri&s;t Ie&s;us we are al dead to &s;ynne, we can not afterwardes lyue in &s;ynne, as the holy Apo&s;tle S. Paule doth largely &amp; copiou&s;ly declare &amp; &s;hew<NOTE PLACE="marg">Roma, vi.</NOTE> This &s;hal therfore be one of the chie|fe&s;t and greate&s;t care of a Pa&s;tour, and true &s;hepeherde, to watche diligently, and as nyghe as he can, to take hede &amp; beware, that the &s;hepe, which are alrea+dy wa&s;hed &amp; clen&s;ed, do not voyltre the~ &s;elfes agayne in the &s;tinking myre, and puddell of &s;ynne. For, after y^t the fayth+full, are ones come into the knowledge of theyr &s;aluacion, and haue ta&s;ted of the gratuite &amp; free mercy of god, which the heauenly father doth mo&s;t liberal|ly graunt &amp; gyue vnto vs: it is mo&s;t co~|uenient, that they do leade an innocent lyfe and pure, from all contagiou&s;e fyl thyne&s;&s;e of &s;ynne, lea&s;t parchaunce they dye agayne. For as Chri&s;t, beyng ones ry&s;en from death, dyeth nomore, death hath nomore power ouer hym: &s;o they doyng or putting of the olde man, &s;hal put on the new, whych is created after
<PB REF="23"> the lykenes of god, that is to &s;aye: oure Lorde Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hym &s;elf.<NOTE PLACE="marg">what it is to putt on Chri&s;t.</NOTE> They do (&s;ayth the &s;cripture) put on chri&s;t, that walke and lyue, as Chri&s;t him &s;elf dyd lyue here in the earth. Therfore he doth byd and commaund his di&s;ciples after the &s;ame maner:<NOTE PLACE="marg">mat. xxviii</NOTE> Go ye therfore and teache all nations, and bapti&s;e them in the name of the father, the &s;onne, &amp; the holy gho&s;t, teachinge them to ob&s;erue &amp; kepe, what &s;oeuer I haue commau~ded you. For, who &s;oeuer doth not thincke euery day vpo~ y^e ame~deme~t of his lyfe, after that he feleth him &s;elf to be rede|med by Chri&s;t, &amp; renewed, doth co~temp|ne the name of chri&s;t, abu&s;ing the &s;ame mo&s;t &s;hamefully, yea, rather he is thee cau&s;e, that the holye name of chri&s;t is e|uyll &s;poken of, and bla&s;phemed among the infidels and vngodly. We do reade therfore, that the holye Apo&s;tle S. Pe|ter doth not wythout a good cau&s;e &s;ay:<NOTE PLACE="marg">i. Pet. ii.l.</NOTE> for as moch then as Chri&s;t hath &s;uffred for vs in the fle&s;he, arme ye your &s;elues lykewy&s;e wyth the &s;ame mynde, for he, which &s;uffreth in the fle&s;he, cea&s;&s;eth fro~ &s;ynne, that hence forward he &s;huld lyue (as moche tyme, as remayneth in thee fle&s;&s;he) not after the lu&s;tes of men, but after wyll of God. For it is &s;uffici|ente
<PB REF="24"> for vs, y^t we haue &s;pent thee tyme, y^t is pa&s;t of our lyfe, after the wyl of the Be~tils, walking in wa~tounes, lu&s;tes, in exce&s;&s;e of wyne, in exce&s;&s;e of eatinge, in exce&s;&s;e of drinking, or dro~kenes, &amp; in ab+hominable Idolatrie. By the whyche wordes, we maye ea&s;ely &s;ee &amp;perceyue or vnder&s;tand, y^t we haue not yet fulfyl+led nor done fully our duety, yf we &s;he|we and declare the &s;aluation which is pourcha&s;ed by Chri&s;t, for, we haue mo&s;t nede too beware and take hede, that we do not lo&s;e agayne the &s;aluation which is gotten and purcha&s;ed vnto vs therby, as mo&s;t vnfaythfull Apo&s;tates &amp; Tray+tours, mo&s;t vngodly bla&s;phemyng the holye and ble&s;&s;ed name of thee lyuinge God.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">It is y^e du+t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e of a pa+&s;tour to ly+ue accordi~+ge too hys doctryne y^t he teacheth</NOTE>Which thing y^t it may be co~modiou&s;+ly brought to pa&s;&s;e &amp; done, ther is none other way more co~modiou&s;e &amp; redy, tha~ yf the hone&s;tye of the pa&s;tour be &s;oche, y^t he &s;hal with his workes &amp; dayly exam|ple of lyuing expre&s;&s;e the thing, that he doth teache wyth his mouth, and wor|des. Which thing, Chri&s;t doeth highlye requyre.<NOTE PLACE="marg">mathew. v</NOTE> Who &s;oeuer (&s;ayeth he) &s;hall breake the lea&s;t of the&s;e co~maundemen|tes, &amp; teache men to do &s;o, he &s;halbe cal|led le&s;&s;e in the kingdom of heaue~. But
<PB REF="24"> who &s;oeuer &s;hal both do &amp; teach, he &s;hal be called great in the kingdo~ of heaue~. For, this is mo&s;t &s;ure, no man is able to denye this, but that it is a playne payn+tinge and hypocry&s;ye to &s;peake gaylye of god, and in the meane &s;ea&s;on to lyue nothing after the rule &amp; pre&s;cript of his word. Which thing S. Paul doth ma|nife&s;tly declare, wryting to Titus,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Titum. i.</NOTE> whe~ he &s;ayeth: They confe&s;&s;e, y^t they knowe god, who~ w^t their dedes, they do vtterly denye, &s;yth y^t they be abhominable &amp; di&s;+obedient, &amp; vnapte to euery good worc|ke. And again,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Roman. ii</NOTE> he writeth after this ma+ner: Which teache&s;t another, and doe&s;te not teache thy &s;elf, which preache&s;t y^t a man &s;huld not &s;teale, &amp; thou &s;teale&s;t, whi+che &s;aye&s;t y^t a man &s;huld not commit ad|ultery, and thou breake&s;t wedlock, why the abhorre&s;t ydols, &amp; robbe&s;t god of his glory, which boa&s;te&s;t in the lawe, &amp; by y^e breaki~ge of the law doe&s;t di&s;honor god, for the name of god is yll reported and &s;poken of, among the Be~tyls for your &s;akes. Therfore the pa&s;tour &s;hall wyth all care and &s;tudy beware &amp; take hede, y^t he do not de&s;troye, with his fylthyely|uyng &amp; co~uer&s;ation, the thinge, that he doeth buyld &amp; &s;et vp with his doctrine and traditio~s, for the nature of mans
<PB REF="25"> wit is &s;oche, that y^e weaker per&s;ons are &s;ore offended with this thing, they wyl not &s;uffre the~ &s;elfes lightely to be won, drawen, &amp; allured with gods worde, yf they &s;ee that the lyfe and conditions of the pa&s;toure, do not agree with the doc|tryne, whych is pure, holy and &s;ounde.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The pa&s;to+ur oughte diligent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ie to &s;hu~ne y^e hypocrity|cal faynyn+ge of rely|gion.</NOTE>Finally here, with a diligent mynd and mo&s;t vigilant care hede mu&s;t be ta|ken y^t the pa&s;tour be not decked wythe any hypocritical clothing &amp; fayned co|louring of godlynes, rather than with that true, and pure wedding garment, which for the mo&s;t parte, is wont to be now a dayes: that is to &s;aye, good bede mu&s;t be taken, that he be not clothed in a &s;hepes &s;kynne, wearing a lo~ge gowne downe to the fete, a longe fattynet tip|pet, or a wyde &amp; broade hoode, cominge downe to his very myddell (the&s;e thin|ges,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Many yet do &s;eke by the&s;e try|me trames to crep<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in to the e&s;ty|mation of the people</NOTE> god woot, haue ben, and are yet ta|ken of &s;ome, for mo&s;t infallible tokens, and &s;ygnes of a godly &amp; deuout mynd) wher as he doth beare a mynd repleni&s;+&s;hed and flowinge ouer wythe auarice and coueteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, as all mo&s;te all thee Doctours of diuinitie are wont to be, &s;pecially &s;oche, as the worlde hathe in e&s;timation: Agayne, that he god not a|broade in y^e &s;tretes, with a bowed necke,
<PB REF="25"> lokynge downe, wythe his face to the ground,<NOTE PLACE="marg">O ye hypo+crites wa&s;+&s;he ye ra|ther the in+ner part of the cup.</NOTE> wher as he hath a harte pufte vp, with all kynde of arrogancye and pryde: Item that he doo not weare a whyte rotcher, which is a &s;ygne of cha+&s;titie, &amp; clenlyne&s;&s;e, where as he is more la&s;tiuious, wantonne, and lecherous, than anye he gote, or &s;tynkynge bore: Farthermore that he doo not weare hygh &s;hoone aboue the ankles, &amp; a depe cappe downe benethe his eares, where as he doth nouri&s;he and cloke inward+ly in his hart, the mo&s;t pernityous mo~+&s;ters of enuye and hatered: Fynallye that he do not mummell euerye fote a, m. P&s;almes, and in the meane &s;ea&s;on doth leaue and neglect the plaine, light &s;ome, and euerla&s;tyng worde of God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;ym|ple &amp; rude people by y^e outwar|de &s;hew of ceremony|es is brough+te to hypo+cry&s;y &amp; &s;u|per&s;tition.</NOTE> For, yf the &s;imple &amp; rude people, doeth &s;e &s;uch outwarde &s;hew of worckes, &s;et forth before their eyen, in their teacher or Pa&s;tour, what &s;hal they &s;uck out of it, but a vayne &amp; vngodly hypocry&s;ye? which the pa&s;tour or teacher, doth out|wardlye &s;hewe, but inwardlye in his harte, is not a lytle troubled, and exer+cy&s;ed, with the alureme~tes &amp; cou~&s;ayls of his affections. This therfore &s;halbe the duty &amp; offyce of a Pa&s;toure, to fra|me &amp; order his lyfe, not according to y^e
<PB REF="26"> pre&s;crybed rules of mens tradytions, but according to the rule of gods wor|de, wherof he is a mini&s;ter, For, excepte he doth the &s;ame, he &s;hal plant nothin|ge elles, but a playne hypocry&s;ie, as it is &s;ayde euen nowe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t is a mo te per|fect exa~ple of the Pa+&s;tours life</NOTE> And &s;ythe that he hathe chri&s;te, for a mo&s;te perfect exam|ple of hys lyfe, he ought wyth all care and dilige~ce to folow him. Wherfore, yf chri&s;te was farthe&s;t from all hypo|cri&s;ye, and hypochriticall workes: we ought in no wi&s;e to be &s;tudious or folo+wers of the~. For, he is y^e highe&s;t &amp; mo&s;t perfect God, which as it wa~teth or lac+keth nothing, &s;o by mans indu&s;try, la|bor, &amp; &s;tudy nothi~g ca~ euer be added vn+to it to make it more perfect. In tho&s;e thinges then, y^t pertaine &amp; belo~g to the mini&s;tery of the church, y^e pa&s;tour &s;hall folow the condicio~s &amp; nature of a god+ly &amp; a louing father. A louing &amp; wy&s;e fa+ther, doth in no wi&s;e come forthe ma&s;|ked into the &s;yght of hys chyldren, to begge any thing of the~, but al his hole inte~t, &s;tudy &amp; endeuour is, to teach, in|&s;truct, &amp; bryng them vp &s;o, y^t they maye liue a cha&s;t &amp; impolluted life, that they may be frendly &amp; ge~tyl vnto al men, y^t they may be hurtful to no man liuing vpo~ the earth, y^t they may in al thi~ges,
<PB REF="26"> folow temperaunce &amp; &s;tubbernes or mo+de&s;tye, and alwayes abhorre al kyndes of temperaunce. The&s;e are thee chyefe thynges wherein a Pa&s;tour oughte to exercy &s;e hym &s;elfe, whych therfore is called by chri&s;t, a hou&s;holder or &s;tewar+de. And Paul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">i. Cor. iiii.</NOTE> not w^tout great &s;orow &amp; grief, doth co~plaine of y^e Corinthia~s, y^t although they had a great nu~bre of &s;co+le mai&s;ters &amp; teachers yet they had ve+ry few fathers. Wherby we do,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Excepte y^e teacher is a father he is a p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ayn deceauer.</NOTE> &amp; that by a &s;ure &amp; infallible demon&s;tratio~ ga+ther, y^t they can in no wi&s;e be true tea|chers, except they be al&s;o very fathers of the congregatio~. For, y^e nature of fa+thers is &s;uch, y^t they directi~g both their dedes &amp; &s;ayinges, to this ende, y^t they may profyt, and do good, vnto other y^t ca~ neuer be &s;ene to &s;eke their own pro|fyt &amp; adua~tage, of y^e di&s;profit, &amp; harme of theyr chyldre~, wherfore, no man can be a faythfull, &amp; true Pa&s;toure, excepte he doeth beare a fatherly affection, to|wardes the flocke, that is commytted vnto hym. And yf the teachers do not delyght &amp; haue a plea&s;ure in tho&s;e thi~+ges, y^t they do teach, they ar very decea+uers of y^e people, but yf thei do exerci&s;e the~ &s;elues in tho&s;e thinges y^t they doo &s;et forth &amp; inioine vnto other, by their
<PB REF="27"> doctrine: that lyuely example of y^e true Pa&s;tour, &s;hal bryng more vtilitie &amp; pro+fyte, to the &s;hepe committed vnto him, &amp; &s;hall take greater increa&s;e, than yf they &s;huld, as tynkelyng bra&s;&s;e, re&s;ou~de a. M. tymes the holy oracles &amp; word of god. Agayne yf they neglectyng the word of the Lorde do teach hym value traditions &amp; fables expre&s;&s;ing as nigh as they can, the &s;ame doctrine of their, both in theyr bedes &amp; lyuyng: They ar fal&s;e prophetes, whom thee lorde hath oftentymes co~maunded to &s;laye, kyll, and roote out of the earth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">ye &s;hal not euery man do y^t thing y^e &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">th good to you, but y^e thing <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">at I co~meu~d you, y^t doo ye onli &s;ay+eth y^e lord.</NOTE> But of the~, we wyll &s;neake hereafter. Therfore, the pa&s;tour &s;hal not initiate &amp; folowe, n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> yet expre&s;&s;e in his owne lyuinge, y^e exemplary and paterne of tho&s;e thin|ges, that eyther he hym &s;elfe, or other do iudge to be good, &amp; acceptable vnto god, but he &s;hall frame hys lyfe after, or accordynge too tho&s;e thynges, that god doeth requyre of vs by hys word.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">What the faythfull pa&s;tour ou+ght too preache</NOTE>Now any man may ea&s;elye know, vnder&s;ta~d &amp; gather, by this, that hathe bene &s;ayde hetherto, what thynge it is that a chri&s;tian pa&s;toure oughte too preache: Truly none other thyng, but the pure worde &amp; &s;cryptures of the eternall &amp; euerla&s;tynge god. For, oure
<PB REF="27"> of theym &s;hall he brynge forthe tho&s;e thynges that &s;hall induce and brynge the people commytted vnto hym, in to y^e knowledge of their infirmitye, wea+kene&s;&s;e, and di&s;ea&s;e, that is to &s;aye, of theyr &s;ynnes. Whyche after that they haue ones knowen perfectly, they &s;hal al&s;o feele that there is no maner of &s;trength in man, wherewyth he maye obtayne &s;aluatyon. Then &s;hall he by and by declare and &s;hew vnto them, the mercy of god, vnto whome they maye with their hole harte and vndoubted fayth &amp; affyaunce commyt the~ &s;elues, and that chyefely for thys cau&s;e, y^t they &s;e that mo&s;t hyghe&s;t &amp; merciful father, to haue delyuered vs, his one only be|gotten &s;onne, oure lorde and &s;auyoure Ie&s;us chri&s;t, for a mo&s;te &s;ure pledge of his grace, by whom, we haue alwaies, a moo&s;te free acce&s;&s;e and pa&s;&s;age vnto thee throne and &s;eate of thee dyuyne grace and mercy. After, then, that they haue, wyth a &s;ure and vndoubted faith knowen and vnder&s;tanded ones, thee hole matter of their &s;aluacyo~ and that mo&s;te &s;ure wrytynge and pledge of the mercye of god, &s;o that they are alrea|dy made the children of god, our heaue~+ly father, which afore, were the childre~
<PB REF="28"> of the fle&s;h &amp; euerla&s;ting da~pnacio~, this duety &s;halbe requireth of the~, that they folowe hence forwarde thee lawes and rules or gods holy wyll: For, they are, a newe creature,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. vi.</NOTE> as we maye &s;ee. Ther+fore the Pa&s;toure, &s;hall wythe an ear|ne&s;t care &amp; &s;tudye beware and take he|de, that the &s;hepe, whych are alreadye cured and healed from their &s;ycknes &amp; di&s;ea&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The kno|wledge of the worde of God is nece&s;&s;ari to a pa&s;tour.</NOTE> &s;hall not fall agayne into thee &s;ame dy&s;ea&s;es. But &s;yth y^t this thyng can &amp; ought to be mini&s;tred, by the ope+racion of gods worde onelye, no &s;mall knowledge of gods word is requyred in him. Which oughte to be &s;oughte none other wher, tha~ in the holye &amp; &s;a|cred &s;cryptures of both Te&s;tamentes. But it &s;hal profyt and auayle lytle or nothyng, to loke vpon the outward let+ter except god doeth vouche&s;afe wyth hys inwarde vertue to draw the harte and mynde of man, and cau&s;e hym by hys &s;pirite to credit hys word, and not too wra&s;te it at hys owne plea&s;ure, ac|cordynge too hys inordynate, affectes, lu&s;tes, and pa&s;&s;yons, but rather folow the free, &s;yncere, and playne meaning, &s;en&s;e, and vnder&s;tandynge, of it, why|che the holye &s;pyryte and grace of god hathe in&s;pyred. Paule doethe in fewe
<PB REF="28"> wordes, mo&s;t lyuelye comprehende all the&s;e thynges, in thee later epy&s;tle too hys dy&s;cyple Timothe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">ii. Tim. iii</NOTE> wrythyng after thys maner: All &s;crypture geuen by the in&s;pyratyon of god, is profytable, to teache, to improue, to amende, and to in&s;tructe in ryghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, that thee man of god maye be perfect, and prepa+red vnto all good workes. All in&s;tituti+on, then, or teachynge, wherwythe the faythful Pa&s;tour wyl fede hys people, &s;halbe ordered after thys fourme and rule. Whyche bokes bee Canonical &amp; which be not, I haue no neade in thys place and at thys tyme to declare, for, I thynke that no man is ygnoraunte thereof, yf onely he hathe anye &s;yght in the knowledge of the tongues.</P>
<P>After y^t the Pa&s;tour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|&s;tour mu&s;t rebuke &amp; rote away vyc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s.</NOTE> is wel in&s;truc|ted in al tho&s;e thi~ges, y^t pertaine to his kin&s;efolkes, his owne life &amp; doctrine (for, of the loue of god, we wyll &s;peake hereafter in a due time and place) y^t is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary for hym, to know &amp; vn|der&s;tand how he ought to be haue him &s;elf in other externe &amp; outward thi~ges, &amp; what reward he oughte to loke for. The fyr&s;t thing, y^t offereth it &s;elf, here in this place, is that he mu&s;t wythe a bolde and &s;toute courage rebuke all
<PB REF="29"> noy&s;ome and pernicyous vyces ney|ther fearyng the vayne pride &amp; threate+ninges of thys worlde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The pa&s;to+ure oughte too dreade nothynge.</NOTE> nor yet beynge aba&s;hed, that he is on euery &s;yde layd wayte for, for, the lorde doeth inioyne the &s;ame to Hieremy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierem. i.</NOTE> &s;aying: Behold, I put my wordes in thy mouth, and be+hold, this day do I &s;et the ouer the peo+ple &amp; kyngdomes, that thou may&s;t rote out, breake of, de&s;troy, &amp; make wa&s;te, &amp; that thou may&s;t build vp, &amp; plante. Let therfore y^e pa&s;tour be mighty, &amp; of able+nes to ouerthrow euery hygh thing, y^t exhalteth it &s;elf, again&s;t y^e pre&s;cript of gods worde&punc; let him&punc; w^t a bold &s;tomack a&s;&s;awte and de&s;troy all &s;uch thynges, as Paul doth teach in the later epy&s;tle to the Corinthians.<NOTE PLACE="marg">ii. Corin. x</NOTE> Chri&s;t him &s;elf did leaue a mo&s;t &s;ure &amp; euident exa~ple of y^e &s;ame thing which example is to be fo|lowed of al me~.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of chri+&s;te.</NOTE> For, after that he had ones, by his euerla&s;ting wy&s;do~ percey|ued, that the hipocry&s;ie, &amp; vn&s;atyable couetou&s;nes of y^e pre&s;tes &amp; &s;cribes, was y^e cau&s;e &amp; occation y^t the rude &amp; vnlear|ned people dyd fall from the true and euerla&s;tynge god, whyche &s;ymple peo|ple beynge as yf a man myghte &s;aye, captyuated, and &s;narred, wyth the co|uetous deceates, tradityons, dreames,
<PB REF="29"> and fayned inuentions of thee pri&s;tes, dyd he, wrapped in al kyndes of errour, he dyd rebuke no kynde of men, wythe &s;oche &s;eueryte, and &s;harpene&s;&s;e, as he dyd v&s;e agayn&s;t them, &s;peaking alway openly agayn&s;t theyr paynted hypocry+&s;ye, &amp; fylthy coueteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, for, he dyd, and not wythout great grief of mynd, pytye alwayes the poore people, whom thee deceyptfull craftes of thee prie&s;tes dyd deceaue, and that, becau&s;e that he dyd &s;e the~ de&s;tituted of the fode of gods worde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mathe. i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> which is that mo&s;t plea&s;aunte &amp; gratious meate of thee &s;oules, and that they dyd wante a true &amp; faythful Pa|&s;tour, whych &s;houlde beare a fatherlye mynde &amp; affiction towardes the~. Many tymes al&s;o, he doth teache and in&s;truct the~ gentely. And yf at any tyme nece&s;&s;y+tie doth requyre, that he mu&s;t al&s;o rebu+ke them, yet doth he neuer v&s;e &s;och au|&s;terite &amp; &s;harpene&s;&s;e in rebuking, as he was wont to v&s;e agayn&s;t the vngodlye prie&s;tes, that &s;o deceaued and &s;educed y^e people. For, layinge to theym lacke of knowledge, &amp; ignoraunce of the trueth, he calleth them blinde guydes, vipers, generation of Sathan, hypocrites, &s;ha+meles crauers, lyers, and other lyke na|mes, whych thinge any man may &s;ee &amp;
<PB REF="30"> learne in the bokes &amp; wrytinges of all the Eua~geli&s;tes, wherfore we &s;hal haue no nede here of many te&s;timonies. But now, &s;yth that in our tyme, this poy&s;o+ned euyl of hypocri&s;ye, is growe~ to &s;o great a power, hath gotte~ &amp; pourcha&s;ed lo great a &s;trength &amp; myghte, &amp; is come vp to that poynte, that it can or dare no more for &s;hame hyde it &s;elfe, but rather defende wyth &s;tronge hand theyr deuy|ly&s;he craftes and deceates, &amp; that mo&s;te &s;hamefully, what (I praye the, o fayth+full myny&s;ter in thee hou&s;e of God) is be&s;te for the to doe? for, yf thou doe&s;te holde thy peace, the bloud of them that peri&s;&s;he, &s;halbe requyred at thy hande, which thing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezechi~. iii.</NOTE> we may learne by the wor+des of God in Ezechiel. And y^u &s;ee&s;t that the hypocri&s;ye of the Papi&s;tes (here I do call papi&s;tes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Al y^e &s;piri|tualty and clergie are Papi&s;tes except they do ether fa+uour or preach &s;in+cereli gods worde.</NOTE> al the &s;orte of the~ that are called &s;pirituall, or the clergye, the~ beynge excepted, which preache purely and &s;incerely the worde of God) hath gotten &amp; pourcha&s;ed &s;o great trea&s;ours of ryches, and &s;o great myght &amp; &s;tre~gth that they haue no more nede of a cloke, to cloke theyr deceytful craftines with all (whyche thynge neuerthele&s;&s;e was mo&s;te nece&s;&s;arye to the Prie&s;tes of thee Iewes, in the tyme of chri&s;t) but rather
<PB REF="30"> be not a&s;hamed to defende them &s;elfes openly, wyth mo&s;t myghty and &s;tronge armes, y^t is to &s;ay, w^t rewardes &amp; giftes, with warres, &amp; fyering of villages and townes, w^t &s;poyling &amp; de&s;troying of fel|des &amp; &s;laughter of the innoce~tes, and al other kindes of crudelite,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Kyn|ges of Sci+cilia were counted to be y^e cruel|le&s;t tirau~ts of y^e worl|de.</NOTE> in &s;o much y^t the tyrauntes of Scicilia, whych were of mo&s;t famous crudelitie coulde deale no cruellier. For, they dyd neuer handel a man cruelly, afore that his cau&s;e was hearde, but the&s;e our &s;piritual prelates, do with al care &amp; diligence &s;tudye thys one thinge, that they maye in all regi|ons and countreys, winne to the~ &s;elfes, wyth large gyftes and rewardes, thee myndes of the myghtye rulers and ma|gi&s;trates, whom they &s;o intoxicate and poy&s;onne, that they thyncke, that they haue well and truelye done theyr duety yea, that they do hygh &s;eruice vnto god when they do mo&s;t cruelly per&s;ecute al them, y^e preache the word of the go&s;pell, without any hearinge of the cau&s;es or trying of y^e doctrine. And yf they their owne &s;elues haue the &s;ecular &s;werde in theyr ha~des (as they do cal it, by and by they do without any mea&s;ure &s;lea, kyl, and murther the innocentes, beynge in thys poynt, more cruell, than Tygres,
<PB REF="31"> and Crocodiles. And onles they &s;hulde feate, y^t thei &s;huld be &s;o &s;erued, yf at any tyme y^e world &s;huld alter &amp; chau~ge they wold in no wy&s;e be conte~t w^t y^e co~mune &amp; v&s;ed kindes of puni&s;hme~ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phalaris was kinge of the Ar|genti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s &amp; mo&s;t cruell tyrau~t whi+che daylye inuented new ki~des of torme~ts</NOTE> to exerci&s;e their ragiou&s;e crudelitie, but wold as a mo&s;t cruell Phalaris, day<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ly inuente &amp; fynde out newe facions and kyndes of tormentes, to afflicte there wyth accor|ding to their inordinat lu&s;tes, the fayth+ful mini&s;ters of gods minde.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">the iniqui|t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e &amp; vnry|ghtfull go+uernement of y^e Ma|ge&s;trates of ouer ty|me.</NOTE>Be&s;ydes that, thou doe&s;t before thyne owne eyen &s;ee this thing al&s;o, o fayth|full &s;eruaunt, which ha&s;t wholy con&s;e|crated thy &s;elf vnto god, that many of the hygh powers, who&s;e part it was to admini&s;ter the &s;wearde of iu&s;tice, do v&s;e exerci&s;e iu&s;tice (yf that maner of rul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ng that they do v&s;e may be called iu&s;tyce) rather accordinge too theyr coueteou&s;e myndes, inordinate lu&s;tes, &amp; bold ra&s;he|ne&s;&s;e, that they may be hygh, &amp; voyltre theym &s;elfes in all kyndes of plea&s;ure than of any loue or feare of God &amp; true religion.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The peo|ple is &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">een to y^e verye bones w^t importa|ble tar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s exactyo~s &amp; &s;ub&s;ydies.</NOTE> For, they doo my&s;erable vexe theyr owne &s;ubiectes, wyth pryde, hau|tene&s;&s;e of mynde, &amp; in&s;olent arroga~cye, yea, they do oppre&s;&s;e them, they torme~t and afflicte them, they pylle and poole, robbe &amp; fley the~ to the very bones, wyth
<PB REF="31"> vnlawfull exactions, taxes &amp; &s;ub&s;ydes. They trouble forenne nations, and peo+ples, wyth wartes, excur&s;io~s, or ho&s;tile renninges out, with dayly &s;carmychin+ge &amp; battailes. And at home (yf y^u doe&s;t beholde &amp; loke vpo~ their priuate maner of lyuing) they do nothing els, but ry|otte, eate, and drinke &amp; make mery, v&s;e vnlawful games, in theyr abhominable dronckenes, mo&s;t &s;hamefully polluting all theyr &s;tudyes and doynges, wyth fil thye whoredom &amp; adultery. This, is the &s;ickenes, and mo&s;t pe&s;tile~t boyle, where with the heades of the Chri&s;tian people, are infected. Wherefore,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezechi iii.</NOTE> o fayth+ful Pa&s;tour take good hede to thy &s;elf, and &s;e how the&s;e euyls can be remedyed For, yf thou doe&s;t not &s;et forth y^e truth of the worde of God, the bloud of them that pery&s;he (as it is &s;ayd before)<NOTE PLACE="marg">The office of a Pa|&s;tour is ve+ry peryl|lous.</NOTE> &s;hal be requyred at thy ha~d. Agayn, yf thou doe&s;t beginne to &s;peake &amp; tel the truth, thou &s;halt fall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nto the handes of them that be able to do the no &s;mall harme. For, the deceate, fraud, &s;ubtyltie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The craft of y^e papi|&s;tes in win+ning y^e her+tes &amp; fauou+re of Prin+ces.</NOTE> &amp; craft of the papi&s;tes is &s;oche, that they haue crepte into y^e palaces of al princes, Em+prours, &amp; Kinges, craftely at the fyr&s;te promoting the chyldre~ of certayn Prin+ces. For, they dyd make &s;ome of theym
<PB REF="32"> Cardinals, &s;ome By&s;hops, &s;ome agayn Abbates, Prious, Co~mendours, Admi|ni&s;tratours, or Coadiutours: yea, they dyd al&s;o make the &s;ame &s;elfe Princes parteners wyth theym, of the money y^t they gotte of the &s;ymple &amp; ignoraunte people by theyr pardons &amp; indulge~ces. Whereby it came to pa&s;&s;e, that they ha|ue almo&s;t all earthly princes, not a litle &s;ubiect &amp; bound vnto the~. Wherfore, yf thou folowinge the example of Chri&s;te doe&s;t go about to a&s;&s;aute &amp; expell &amp; dry|ue out thys deceyptful co~pany &amp; flocke of hypocti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es, by &amp; by thou &s;halt &s;ee the Princes leape forth, to defend the&s;e hy|pocrites with dothe and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ale. Agayn, yf thou ca&s;ting away thy weapons and harneys, wyll runne away and &s;eeke a meane, howe thou may&s;te co~modiou&s;ly rydde &amp; delyuer thy &s;elf, fro~ that pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">yl|lous function &amp; office, thou &s;halte be re|kened among the vnfaythfull pa&s;tours, which &s;einge the wolfe doo for&s;ake the &s;hepe, and take them &s;elfes to their fete, &s;auing the~ &s;elfes by runninge awaye. Here, as yf it were by y^e way, the vertue &amp; &s;trength of fayth is knowe~, for, when a man, being in extreme daunger, is in perplexitie and all together doubtfull of mynde, he may not flye to none other
<PB REF="32"> (yf he be faythfull in dede) than to thee o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> god &amp; his word, as vnto a mo&s;t &s;ure refuge, that he being fully in&s;truc|ted by i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, may p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t his ho&s;t tru&s;t and co~|fidence in hym onely.</P>
<P>Hauing therfore a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> eye vnto Chri&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A pa&s;tour ought in no wi&s;e to feare dea|th.</NOTE> hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e, take hede and marke diligently, what he doth &s;peake, Iohn x. When he &s;aithe a good pa&s;tour, doth ieoparde his lyfe for his &s;hepe. Yf then thou wylt be counted a faythful &amp; good pa&s;tour, and de&s;yre&s;t to be numbred and rekened a|mong them, that haue wrought and la|boured faithfully in y^e worke of y^e lorde thou mu&s;te nedes ieoparde thy lyfe for thy &s;hepe. Be&s;ydes that, he doeth moue &amp; &s;tyrre vs, with other wordes. Math. x when he &s;ayth<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> That thing, that I &s;aye vnto you in darkene&s;&s;e, tell ye it in thee light, &amp; that thing that ye heare in your eares, preache ye it vpo~ hou&s;es. And, be not ye afrayed of them, y^t kyl the bodye, but the &s;oule they ca~ not kyl, but rather feare ye him, y^t ca~ ca&s;t both body &amp; &s;oule into y^e fyre of hel. By the which wordes we do mo&s;t playnly learne, y^t we oughte in no wy&s;e to kepe clo&s;e, or hyde Gods word: but rather y^e lord doth co~mau~d, y^t we putti~ge a&s;ide al feare, do &s;peake it a|broade. Al&s;o he y^t is the mini&s;ter of God
<PB REF="33"> &s;hall in no wy&s;e dreade the mana&s;&s;hes and threateninges of the world. For, as it is our duety and office, to &s;peak bol+dely agayn&s;t all the~, that lyue in &s;ynne lycentiou&s;ly and wythout &s;hame (as y^e Lorde doth co~maunde the prophet, &s;ay|inge:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierem. i.</NOTE> Thou &s;halt go to whom &s;oeuer I &s;hall &s;end the, &amp; crye oute, cea&s;&s;e not,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay. iviii</NOTE> lyft vp thy voyce, as a trompette, and &s;hewe vnto my people theyr &s;ynnes) &s;o it is the duety of a Pa&s;tour, to coope o|penly wyth the enemyes of the trueth, and to with&s;tande them to theyr faces, that &s;o he may defende the flocke com|mitted vnto hym, and helpe hys &s;hepe out of thee myre and puddell of &s;ynne, for, onle&s;&s;e &s;oche thinges were done, ca|red for, and take~ hede of, we &s;huld haue no nede of a Pa&s;tour, for, whyles no pe|ryl doeth hange ouer the &s;hepe, they ha+ue no neade of a pa&s;tour, nor of a watch man, that &s;hould watch for theym: but rhey haue nede of a pa&s;toure, that they may throughe his fatherly care &amp; dili|gence both for &s;ee and &s;hunne the peryl, Yf then the pa&s;tour, when there is any daunger, peryl &amp; ieoperdye, doth runne away, as touching the &s;hepe, it maketh no matter at al whether that they haue any &s;hepeherde or not.</P>
<PB REF="33">
<P>Wherfore it is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of chri+&s;te.</NOTE> that afore all thynges we haue an eye vnto chri&s;t, whych &s;ayeth. Iohn. x. I do ieo|parde my lyfe for my &s;hepe. For, he dyd not onely &s;peake the&s;e thinges, w^t wordes, but al&s;o he dyd fulfyll and per+forme them in dede. For, when he was goynge to Hieru&s;alem he dyd wythe plaine and manife&s;t wordes declare vn+to his di&s;cyples, what paryl &amp; dau~ger he &s;huld bryng his lyfe to<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. xv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> &amp; whe~ Pe+ter dyd go about to turne hym fro~ the minde and purpo&s;e, he turned hym &s;elf to Peter &s;ayinge: Goo after me, Sa|than, thou hyndere&s;t me, for thou doe&s;t not &s;auoure tho&s;e thinges that are of god, but tho&s;e thynges that are of me~. And afterwardes beyng entred into y^e citie, he did ca&s;t the biers &amp; &s;ellers out of the temple, fearyng nothynge thee malycyous intentes of thee Scrybes and prie&s;tes, whom he knewe dyd hate hym deadly. Yea, he dyd al&s;o ope~ly in the audyence of all thee people, wythe greate grauitye and &s;harpe wordes re+buke theyr &s;ynnes and vyces, that is to &s;aye, theyr couetou&s;nes ambition, &amp; hypocry&s;ye.<NOTE PLACE="marg">math. xxii<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> And when the appoyn+ted houre or tyme of hys deathe was come, that he &s;houlde delyuer hym &s;elf
<PB REF="34"> for vs, &amp; his enemies bei~ge y&s;&s;ued forth dyd &s;eeke too take hym, he dyd come forthe to mete theym, and that we be|ynge in&s;tructed by hys owne exam|ple, myghte vnder&s;tande that it is al|&s;o thee offyce of a Pa&s;toure, to beware and kepe of, tho&s;e outewarde perylles and ieopardyes, whyche maye hurte the lyues and goodes of the &s;hepe, he dyd not onelye delyuer hym &s;elfe too deathe for vs all, but al&s;o dyd deliuer hys dy&s;cyples from thys bodelye dea|the, &s;auynge theyr lyues when he, not wythout a dyuyne &amp; godly maie&s;tie &amp; power dyd &s;aye: Yf ye &s;eke me, &s;uffre, the&s;e to go away. Therfore, he y^t wylbe a faythful &amp; good pa&s;tour of the &s;hepe, of our lord and &s;auyoure Ie&s;us Chry|&s;te, folowynge chry&s;tes example, mu&s;te &s;et hym &s;elfe agayn&s;te all peryllous tem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;tes and &s;tormes and come forthe again&s;t al the enemies of Chri&s;t, which, for goddes &s;ake, and hys euerla&s;tynge worde, and al&s;o for the faythfull care, y^t he taketh for hys &s;hepe, do go aboute to per&s;ecute and afflycte hym, fearyn|ge nothyng, nor yet regarding y^e per&s;o~ of any man. Lette hym not be afrayde nor aba&s;&s;hed in hys mynde. thoughe he were co~pelled to reproue, rebuke &amp;
<PB REF="34"> &s;peake again&s;t the great Kynge Alex|ander magnus, or Iulyus Ce&s;ar,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The true Pa&s;tour &s;hall al&s;o rebuke and reproue pri~+ces, yf they v&s;e any ex|tortion, or burden o|uer &s;ore their poore &s;ubiectes.</NOTE> or thee By&s;&s;hoppe of Rome hym &s;elf to be &s;hort, again&s;t al y^e mightie&s;t &amp; mo&s;te pui&s;&s;aunt kynges &amp; Princes of y^e worl+de. Which thing he &s;hal not only do, yf they do ob&s;tinateli re&s;i&s;t y^e word of god, but al&s;o, yf they do oppres y^e poore peo+ple that is vnder their &s;ubiectio~, with intollerable burdens of &s;ub&s;idyes ex|actio~s &amp; taxes. Which thinges we wyl proue nowe, w^t plaine &amp; euident exam|ples, and al&s;o wythe manife&s;t te&s;timo|nies of the &s;cryptures.</P>
<P>Whe~ y^e almighty &amp; merciful father. did &s;e, that y^e people of I&s;rael, was op|pre&s;&s;ed w^e exceding great &amp; vnmea&s;ura+ble afflictio~s, &amp; with an ouer heauy yo+ke of &s;eruitude, by y^e mo&s;t cruel tirau~t Pharao, &amp; al the people of Egipt: by &amp; by he did &s;e~d Mo&s;es to delyuer them, fro~ &s;o hard a thraldom &amp; bodage. For, he could beare no longer, y^e tyrannicall &amp; vniu&s;t affliction, of his people. Exo. iii. And although Moy&s;es excu&s;ynge him &s;elfe, by his &s;implicitie and rude|ne&s;&s;e, dyd al that he could, to put from hym that functyon &amp; office, yet did he profytte or auayle nothing prayed he neuer &s;o moch, but beynge compelled
<PB REF="35"> and con&s;trayned of the lorde, dyd bryn+ge forth, that great people and innume+rable multytude of men, women, and chyldren, yea again&s;t the tyraunt Pha+raos wyl, and how? Through the myd+de&s;t of the &s;ea, through y^e de&s;ertes, tho|roughe thou&s;andes of their enemyes, thorough infinit parylles of hunger, thyr&s;te, &s;yckne&s;&s;es, &amp; puny&s;&s;hementes. So that to haue reade, or harde &s;uche great paynes, labours and trauayles, wolde make anye man to tremble and quake for horrour God, notwyth&s;tan|dynge, althoughe they were be&s;et on euerye &s;yde with parylles &amp; mo&s;t dau+gerous ieopardyes: yet remembrynge his promy&s;e dyd geue the vyctorye to his people. Thys therfore &s;halbe y^e of|fice &amp; duety of euery Pa&s;tour, to come forth, and to &s;tand vp manfully for the health &amp; &s;aue garde of hys &s;hepe yf at any tyme the tyrauntes of this world, do begynne vniu&s;tly, and after newe &amp; vngodly wayes, to aggrauate or bur|den, and oppre&s;&s;e thee people. For, they that myny&s;ter thee lames of natyons and peoples,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The du<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e of chri|&s;tian ma|gi&s;trat. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> and are gouernoures of publyke weales, oughte too be bene|fycyall, not iniuryous or wrongefull, not pyllers, and pollers, not robbers,
<PB REF="35"> and theues. Luke .xxii. Wherefore that famous &amp; godly philo&s;opher Seneca,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> dyd ryght wel and iu&s;tely cal y^e offyce or ruledomme of a Kynge, Benefecy|um, that is to &s;aye, a benefytte. No man, I &s;uppo&s;e, is ygnoraunte, what is dued of &s;ubiectes, to magy&s;trates, whych thynge, Paule doeth playnelye &s;et forthe Roma. xiii: but here in thys place we &s;peake of tyrauntes, whyche doynge intollerable wronges vnto all men, haue in theym no &s;parkle of loue towardes theyr neyghboure nor yet of true relygyon or godlyne&s;&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A digre&s;&s;i|on.</NOTE> What &s;hall we &s;aye, o faythfull &s;oule? &s;hall wee not beleue, that thys is doone, by thee &s;yngulare loue, mercye, and boun+teous worcke of God thee father, that in thys oure mo&s;te wycked tyme, why+che is polluted, w^t all kyndes of vyce, we &s;ee thee bryghtene&s;&s;e of hys holye worde, too &s;hyne forthe, wythe &s;o grea+te vertue and lyghte&s;omne&s;&s;e? In this oure tyme, I &s;aye, that all inorydynate lu&s;tes &amp; fle&s;hely affectyons, vnryghte+ou&s;ne&s;&s;e iniquitie, a dy&s;&s;olute or lycen+tyous corruptyon of all good lawes do raygne euery wher: that we &s;e al &s;ta+tes and orders of menne, yea thee greate&s;te parte of thee myghty Pryn|ces,
<PB REF="36"> corrupted, co~taminated &amp; pol+luted, with fylthye whoredom adulte+rye, rauy&s;hyng of mayden, vnfaithful+nes, impudency or vn&s;hamefa&s;tnes, w^t robberyes theftes, dete&s;table v&s;urye, &amp; all other lyke horryble &s;ynnes. Wher+fore, &s;ythe that it is playne and eueden+te, that the word of god, was neuer he|therto, &s;ens that the fayth of chry&s;t, be+ganne fyr&s;t to bee preached and &s;prea|de abroade, &s;et forth with &s;uche power vertue &amp; lyuelyne&s;&s;e, as we do &s;e before our owne eye~, to be done now a dayes, and that euerye where almo&s;t, it maye ea&s;ely be gathered therby, that thys is done by the deuyne prouidence and not wythout our great good, that we beyng in&s;tructed wyth the knowledg of our &s;aluation &s;huld rather rote out, thys deceateful hypocry&s;ye of humay+ne tradytyons.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wo be to y^e pa&s;tour which hy|deth the lyghte of gods wor|de vnder a bu&s;hel.</NOTE> Wo therfore, be vnto y^e pa&s;tour, which now, in this our time, y^e children &amp; fooles can &s;peake, is not a|&s;hamed to hold his peace, which hidi~g the lyghte of gods word vnder a bu&s;|&s;hel, doth the worke of the lord fraudu+lently or deceatfully, nor endeuoureth him &s;elf al y^t he can y^t the people of the lord, may be delyuered.</P>
<P>God, w^t expre&s;&s;ed &amp; plaine wordes,
<PB REF="36"> reueled by Samuel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of Sa+ul and Sa+muel .i. Re+gum xv</NOTE> had in tymes pa&s;t co~maunded Saul y^e fyr&s;t king of y^e I&s;|raelites, y^t he &s;huld make warre again&s;t y^e Amalechites, &amp; de&s;troy the~ al, and kil w^t the &s;weard all liuing &s;oules, &amp; y^t he &s;hulde &s;aue either to him &s;elf, or to hys &s;oldiours no maner of thing of the ry|ches &amp; &s;potles of tho&s;e vngodlye men. But Saul breaking y^e co~maundeme~te of god, dyd bring aliue Agag y^e Kyng of y^e Amalechites, &amp; al&s;o he doubted not to re&s;erue &amp; &s;aue a great nu~bre of catel, for to offre vnto the lord, with the mo&s;t precious &amp; co&s;tely garme~tes and many other thinges. This proude pre&s;ump|tio~ of Saul, that faithful prophet Sa|muel could not &s;uffre, nor abide, which fearinge him nothinge, y^t both was la|tely made a kinge, &amp; al&s;o was not a lyt+tle pufte vp, w^t y^e pro&s;perous v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ctory y^t y^e lord had geue~ him doth boldly wyth &s;uch wordes blame &amp; rebuke his di&s;o|bedie~ce: Wherfore, ha&s;t y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not harkened vnto y^e voice of y^e lorde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Soche are oure good intentes y^t ar not gro~+ded vppon gods wor+de.</NOTE> but ha&s;t turned to the pray, &amp; ha&s;t done that, which is wycked in y^e &s;yght of thee lorde? But Saul excu&s;ing him &s;elf, aun&s;wered y^t he had performed &amp; fulfylled the wor|de of thee lorde, &s;ayinge: I haue gone the way, which the lord hath &s;ente me
<PB REF="37"> vnto, and haue broughte Agag thee kyng of Amaleke, &amp; haue vtterlye de|&s;troyed y^e Aamalechites. But the people toke of the &s;poile, &s;hepe, oxen &amp; the che+fe&s;t of the thinges, which &s;hulde haue be~ de&s;troied, to offre vnto y^e lord thy god in Gilgal.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ke ye this, that wil may a|taine good intentes</NOTE> Which thinges being hear+de, Samuel dyd agayne blame &amp; rebu|ke hym very &s;harpely, &s;aying: Hath y^e lord as great plea&s;ure in burnt &s;acry|fices &amp; offringes, as when y^e voice of y^e lord is obeyed? Behold to obeye, is bet+ter than &s;acryfyce &amp; to herken is bet|ter than the fat of Rammes. For, rebel+lyon is as the &s;ynne of wytchecrafte, and &s;tubberne&s;&s;e, is as the wyckedne&s;&s;e of Idolatryr Becau&s;e thou ha&s;t ca&s;t a|waye the word of the Lorde, therefore, hath the lord ca&s;t away the, from beyn|ge kynge.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A good pa+&s;tour ou|ght to fo|low y^e exa~|ple of Sa+mu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ll.</NOTE> Howbeit the&s;e thynges be+ing thus pa&s;te, &amp; after that Samuell had executed &amp; done the co~maundement of god he dyd hewe in peces Agag the king of Amaleke, which was brought too hym pry&s;oner, Thys dede then, of that mo&s;t holye and &s;tronge prophete. Samuel, doth &s;uffycyently teache vs, that it is y^e office and duety of a pa&s;tor, to &s;pare neither kinges nor myghtye magi&s;trates, but as &s;one as he &s;hall
<PB REF="37"> perceaue them, to be deceaued, and too go out of the way, by &amp; by, he &s;hal rebu+ke their errour, y^t they may learne both to acknowledge theyr faultes, and al&s;o to amende.</P>
<P>Therfore,<NOTE PLACE="marg">again&s;t the~ y^e will not haue &s;i~nes to be rebu|ked by the Pa&s;tours.</NOTE> a certayn of tho&s;e hygh pre+lates of the Romi&s;&s;he churche (who&s;e name I wil wittingly pa&s;&s;e ouer) was not all togeather foly&s;he, whych when he dyd co~mitte the cure &amp; admini&s;tratio~ of a pari&s;he, whych dyd belonge to hys Dioce&s;ys vnto a certayn mini&s;ter, or pa+&s;tour, he dyd bynd hym to the&s;e conditi|ons, that he &s;houlde in no wy&s;e rebuke or touche &s;harpely his order, yea, not as moche as wyth a word: Agayne that he &s;houlde &s;o tempere and moderate thee preachinge of the go&s;pell, that he &s;huld in hys &s;ermons blame and rebuke no|man. What &s;hall then, thys poore wret+ched Pa&s;tour, beinge thus bounde, en|treate vpon, in hys publyke &s;ermons? Behold, y^e whole world doth lye buried in the &s;tinking puddel of &s;ynne, &amp; is all togeather drowned in vyces: and yet, it &s;hall not be lawefull too rebuke or blame it. What nede haue the~ the poore &s;hepe of a Pa&s;tour? In the meane &s;ea|&s;on, I knowe ryghte well, what thys good and wy&s;e father, dyd &s;aye, when
<PB REF="38"> he gaue thys commaundement, for&s;oth, that the condition &amp; nature of the go&s;|pell was, to rebuke no man to &s;harpely. But, o reuerende father, open your eyes a lyttle, and loke diligently vpo~ Math. iii. &amp; xiii. Item Ioh. iii. &amp; .viii. &amp; other innumerable places, of the Euangeli|call &s;cripture, that ye maye vnder&s;tande what wordes, and maner of &s;peaking, Chri&s;te and Iohn dyd v&s;e in rebukinge mens &s;ynnes I know that he wyll ge|ue thys aun&s;were: For&s;outh, that it is thee duetye of a pa&s;tour: to rebuke thee &s;ynnes of the commune &amp; ra&s;call peo|ple, and to bringe the~ of the ba&s;e&s;t &s;orte, from theyr acco<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">umed vyces &amp; maner of lyuinge. For, in thys one thyng, that holy and reuerende father, dyd not a lit|tle &s;hewe and declare hys godlynes, &s;ay+inge: that he dyd in no wy&s;e gayn &s;aye or contrarye the Euangelicall doctrine but rather that he dyd fauoure it, wyth all hys harte. Beholde then, howe the&s;e men, do bewray theyr owne nature and mynde. He<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e, here, a &s;nake lurketh in y^e gra&s;&s;e. For, the myghty Princes and ru+lers of this world,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he world|li~ges coul|de wel <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">+de y^e prea|ching of y^e go&s;pell, yf it &s;huld not rebuke their vici|ous liuing</NOTE> coulde well abyde or beare the preaching and doctrine of the trueth, yf they &s;hulde not feele and per|ceaue, y^t therby theyr tyra~ny is brought
<PB REF="38"> to lyght &amp; rebuked, or yf they were not afrayed, to lo&s;e theyr temporall commo+dities and profytes. Another thing &s;hal al&s;o the faythful pa&s;tour learne in thee example of Samuell: that he oughte in no wy&s;e to &s;pare the Princes and gouer+nours, but blame and rebuke &s;harpely theyr faultes. Which thing, yf they can not abyde:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actuum. v</NOTE> he heareth what Saynte Peter &s;ayth: Better it is to obeye God, than man.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e the annoynted &s;orte of the Papy&s;tes, are not a&s;hamed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of y^e true obedye~ce <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> di&s;obedie~|ce agayn&s;t y^e papi&s;tes</NOTE> to affyr|me, &s;trengthen, and e&s;tably&s;he that obe|dience, that they doo requyre of al kyn|des of men, by thys example of Samu|ell, we mu&s;te better looke vpon it, and al+&s;o &s;peake more largelye of it. When Saule, in hys factes and dedes, had ra|ther folowed and ob&s;erued hys intente and mynde, than thee playne decree of Goddes worde: he dyd commyt a great &s;ynne of di&s;obedience. Wherfore Sa|muel &s;ayth, that it is playne Idolatrie yf a man doeth not applye and &s;ubmyt hym &s;elfe too the lawes of God, and in hys doynges felowe theym as a moo&s;te &s;ure and infallible rule: yea, that it is a thynge, not onely hurtefull and perui|tious, but al&s;o mo&s;t deceyptful, wherw^t
<PB REF="39"> a man is wonte to be no le&s;&s;e deceaued, than &s;orcerers, wytches, and iugglers, be wont to delude &amp; deceaue thee &s;ym|ple and ignoraunt per&s;ons wyth theyr merye inuentions and iuggelinge ca|nes. Whych &s;ayinge of the Prophete, ought to be taken after thys meaning, &s;en&s;e, and vnder&s;tanding: When a man by thee iu&s;tincte and coun&s;ayle of hys owne rea&s;on, doeth fourge and ymagy|ne vnto hym &s;elfe &s;ome thinge, as iu&s;te, good, and holy determining to ob&s;erue and folowe it, and in the meane &s;ea&s;on wyll not learne of that one onely God, and hys wordes, what is good, righte|ous and holy, he hath already &s;et vp in hys mynd, a fal&s;e and deceyptfull God, that is to &s;aye, hys owne rea&s;on &amp; wyll of hys owne fle&s;&s;he. Now, when thys fal&s;e God is ones erected &amp; &s;et vp, it is an harde &amp; difficulte thing, to put hym downe, or to bani&s;he him away. For, by and by, he doeth &s;hewe and declare hym &s;elfe in externe and outwarde thynges, and that wyth wonderfull my&s;tes iug|gelinges, and hypocri&s;y, wherwyth, vn+der the colour of godlynes, he goeth a|bout to deceaue all men. For, as an ape doth lyke her yonglinges, though they be mo&s;t deforme &amp; euyl fauoured, better
<PB REF="39"> than the whelpes or yonglinges of al o|ther bea&s;tes, &s;o al men generally ar wo~t to prefarre the inuentio~s of their owne rea&s;on &amp; brayne, vnto al other ordinaun+ces, &s;tatutes and lawes, that euer were ordeyned, eyther by god or by man.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The good intente of Saul.</NOTE> For the &s;ame cau&s;e, Saul dyd thincke, that it was a iu&s;te, an equal &amp; &s;emely thing that one Kynge &s;hould not handle ano|ther Kynge too cruellye, nor &s;laye hym with the &s;weard, but rather that it was a Royall and Kyngly thinge, to leade hys enemye, beynge ouercomed, capty|ue and bounde. Lykewy&s;e he dyd iudge that it was neyther commodious, not profitable, that the co&s;tely garmentes, and other precious thinges, which were found in the trea&s;ors of the Amalecht|tes, &s;huld be de&s;troyed wyth fyre &amp; thee &s;weard, or that all the herdes of cattell, &s;huld thus vnprofitably peri&s;he: Wher+fore, he dyd &s;uffre the &s;ouldiers to take vnto theym &s;elues, tho&s;e thynges, that were co&s;telye and precious, (as thoughe he &s;huld &s;tudy &amp; go about, by thys mea|ne to fulfyll thee charitie of his neygh|bour, expre&s;&s;ed in the law). And al&s;o he dyd iu&s;titute, and ordayne a greate and &s;olempne &s;acrifice vnto God hys Sa|uyour, thereby &s;tudyinge to fulfyll the
<PB REF="40"> fyr&s;te lawe, that commaundeth to ho|noure, &s;erue, and wor&s;hyppe one onelye God. Samuell hauinge an eye too hys &s;ounde &amp; fle&s;hely intent of Saul, &s;ayth: Better it is too obeye, than &s;acrifice, and what &s;hall a man call that obedi|ence? That obedience of Saul, wherby he &s;uffereth both the Kynge to be kepte a lyue, and thee people too take of thee &s;poyle, co&s;tely garmentes and precious iewels, and to &s;aue a lyue great heardes of cattell for a &s;acrifice vnto almighty God? No, Haue not all the&s;e thynges a gteat &s;hewe of godlyne&s;&s;e? Yeas for|&s;outh. But the Lorde doeth requyre an|other obedience: that is to &s;aye, that we folowe thee pre&s;cripte and rule of hys worde, whych onely, King Saul ought to haue ob&s;erued and folowed, and not to haue preferred hys owne good intent to the deuyne oracles of Gods woorde.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The obedi+ence y^t Sa+muel doth &s;peake of, doth main+tayne no|thing y^e ty|ranny of y^e Papy&s;tes.</NOTE> By thys do Monkes, Popi&s;he prie&s;tes, Nonnes, and all the flocke of thee Pa|pi&s;tes vnder&s;tande, that this &s;ayinge of the prophete Samuel, where he &s;ayeth, that obedience is better than all &s;acry|fyces, doeth make nothynge, to the e&s;ta|bli&s;hment and &s;trenghtening of their ty|rannye, but that it doeth rather directe|lye
<PB REF="40"> contrary theyr &s;tatutes and ordinau~|ces. For, by the&s;e wordes euery man is commaunded to obeye goddes woorde wythoute all tergiuer&s;ation and con|trouer&s;ye (truely thys wor&s;hyppynge is mo&s;te acceptable vnto god) and that we oughte too &s;uffre oure &s;elues to be brought awaye or plucked from it, by no mans aucthoritie, nor by the coun|&s;ayle of oure owne rea&s;on. Therefore, &s;ythe that all thee whole flocke of thee papi&s;tes, do teache onely, theyr owne tra+ditions, &s;et forth theyr coun&s;ayls, and leane vpon theyr inuentions &amp; dreames whych are all togeather repugnaunt &amp; contrary vnto goddes worde, it &s;hall be oure parte and duetye to oppone &amp; &s;ett agayn&s;t &s;oche traditions of theyrs, the veritie of the dyuyne worde of God, When then they crye and thounder out that Prelates, by&s;hoppes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Whe~ Bi&s;+&s;hops &amp; pre+lates do co~+maund vs any thinge we mu&s;t lo+ke whether it agreeth w^t goddes worde or not.</NOTE> and Prie&s;tes mu&s;te be obeyed, lette vs by and by loke whether that the&s;e men, doo commaun|de and &s;ette forthe thynges, that maye be proued and allowed by goddes wor|de. Yf the thynges, that they commaun+de, are &s;oche, as maye be borne by gods woorde, we haue all ready in thys thin|ge, noo neade at all, of theyr Precep|tes, and Commaundementes, &s;yth that
<PB REF="41"> we haue Goddes worde it &s;elfe, whyche ought onely to be broughte forthe and adduced, whych ought only to be ob&s;er+ued of vs after who&s;e pre&s;cript all our lyfe ought to be ordered, nor it is conue+niente and mete that we &s;houlde a&s;cri|be it to any mo~rtall man. Agayne, yf theyr commaundementes be &s;eche, that the trueth of Gods worde, toth neyther admitte, nor alowe them: and yet in the meane &s;ea&s;on be of &s;oche impudencye and vn&s;hamefa&s;tne&s;&s;e, that they be not a&s;hamed to &s;aye: Our decrees &amp; lawes, though, they be all togeather contrarye to Gods holye lawes, mu&s;te be obeyed: for obedience is better, tha~ al other thin+ges, we &s;hal by and by aun&s;were, that tho&s;e thynges, whych they do trifing|ly alledge for the ob&s;eruaunce and ke|pynge of theyr traditions oughte to be referred to god onely: Yea, we &s;hall dye rather a. M. deathes, than neglecte in any maner of thinge the pre&s;cript and rule of gods worde, for, there can be no|thynge more plea&s;aunte and acceptable vnto god, than yf we do diligently her|ken to hys voyce nor &s;uffre oute &s;elfes to be deceaued by the auctoritie of any man, be he neuer &s;o greate, and holye in the &s;yght of the worlde. As often then
<PB REF="41"> as ye co~maunde thinges contrary to y^e oracles of the diuine wo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d of god,<NOTE PLACE="marg">It is an hygh &s;erui+ce to God to be di&s;o|bedient to the vngod+ly tradity|ons of the papi&s;tres.</NOTE> as of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ini<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t hygh <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> pury thee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">ghrye; and that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ynge god, yf no man <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> ouer tradityous.</P>
<P>When <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> the kyng of I&s;raell, had with mo&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">table and filthy ad+ultery de&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="7 letters"> of that mo&s;te va|liaunt and godly man <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uas,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of Da+yud &amp; Na|tha~ .ii Res|guin .xii</NOTE> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">y&s;ing him mo&s;t treattiou&s;ly (whych &s;ought manfully agayne the vnfaythful ene|myes of god ieoperdynge alwaye his lyfe for the weale of hys owne coun|trey) to be &s;tay <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">therd, with the &s;weathe <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> enemyes: God did by and by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">de Nathan the prophete vnto hym, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;huld &s;harply <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e and rebu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">, for thys mo&s;t wyc+ked and abho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ble dede: becau&s;e that be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> ye contem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ynge the diuine maie&s;tie, was nothing neyther afrayde nor a&s;hamed to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> thys filthy wickedne&s;&s;e in the &s;ight of god, onely <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ing dede to thys thyng, that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;huld not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> the heynou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his faci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> al&s;o he co~m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">ed, y^t the puni&s;hm<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hich en&s;ued, &s;huld be, with &s;harpe wordes, denunced, and &s;he med vnto hym .ii. Reg. xii. for he &s;ay|eth: Thou ha&s;t &s;taine with the &s;weard,
<PB REF="42"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ias thee herbyte, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> maryed hys wyfe: and therfore tho&s; death &s;hal <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">enet departe from the hou&s;e. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">than the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">yph<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">s, compel|led to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">, that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">yaunte and mightye kynge D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">d too hys face, and to rebuke hym for thee cryme of adulterye and trayteou&s;e murther, that he hadde &s;o &s;hamefully commyt|ted.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Many pa+&s;tours are faynt h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">|ted &amp; tolde in rebuki~g y^e vyt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s of the princes</NOTE> What &s;hall we &s;aye then of tho&s;e faynte harted and &s;olde Pa&s;toures, whyche &s;eynge baylye and hourtlye the &s;tynkyng adulteryes of their high rulers and couer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">, before theyr owne <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> doo not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> muche as open theyr mouthes <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;peake agayn&s;te th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> but rather (whyche is an hor|ryble thyng to be &s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">) are coadin|toutes and helpers, vnto theym, that they ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> thee ea&s;ely<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> poll<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ge all the who<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> world, wyth adulteryes? What can bee &s;poken of y^e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">thy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The dete|&s;table cha|&s;titie of y^e Papy&s;tes.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ynge and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eggy &s;he ab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ytye of the Papy|&s;tes, who&s;e for<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ycatyon and adultes <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> me mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;hamefully exce+<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> them as the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> of all men&punc; And yet in thee m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ne &s;ea&s;on the&s;e wycked hypocrytes wyll hee coump|ted cha&s;te of all men. Whyche thyn|ges thought they bee ungodlye and
<PB REF="42"> moo&s;te wycked yet they were too bee borne in &s;ome of them, yf they woulde kepe them &s;elues, mythe theyr dete&s;ta|ble lecherye, wythin thee Limytyes &amp; bondes of nature.</P>
<P>Hieroboam the fyr&s;t kyng of the .x.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The &s;exam+ple of Hie+roboam &amp; of the pro|phet .ii. re+gum .xiii.</NOTE> trybes, dyd conceyue &s;uche a pryde, an dacytie, and vngodlyne&s;&s;e in his myn+de, that he dyd &s;ette vp .ii. calues for too wor&s;hyppe, one in Bethell, and all other in Da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, boldelye peruertyng the fea&s;t of the Tabernacles, which ought onely to be celebrated in thee trybe of Iuda, lea&s;te thee people &s;houlde haue anye occa&s;yon too returne too Hieru+&s;alem: He as the fyr&s;te of thee Kyn|ges, that dyd &s;o we the &s;edes of Idola trye, and fal&s;e relygyon in I&s;raell, as we maye .iii. Reg .xii. and .xiii. But when thee tyme appoynted for relygyon was at hande or come, and the vngodlye kynge &s;tandynge at thee aultare, dyd burne incens: beholde, thee manne of God, whome we call &amp; Prophete, beynge &s;eure from Iuda, dyd &s;odaynely appeare before the kyn+ge, whyche dyd blowe forthe and de|clare wythe a lowde voyce, thee com|maundeme~tes that the was charged w^t all, by almyghtye god, &s;ayinge:<NOTE PLACE="marg">iii. Re. xiii.</NOTE>
<PB REF="43"> aulter aulter, The Lorde god &s;ayethe the&s;e thynges, Beholde, a &s;onne &s;hall be borne vnto the hou&s;e of Dauid (cal+led Io&s;ias) and vppon thee, wal he of|fre thee pryenes of thee hyll aultates, that burnte incen&s;e vppon thee, and mennes bones &s;hall bee brente vppon thee. And he gaue a token thee &s;a|me tyme &s;aying: Thys is thee token that thee Lorde hathe &s;poken it. Be+holde, the aultate &s;hall tente, and thee a&s;&s;hes that are vppon it &s;hall fall out. And when thee Kynge hearde the &s;ay+inge of thee man of god (whyche had ceyed agayn&s;te thee aultare in Bethel) he &s;tretched oute hys hande, from thee aultate, &s;ayinge helde hym. And hys hande, whyche he put forthe agayn&s;te hym, dryed vp, and be coulde not put it in agayne too hym, the aultare al&s;o claue a&s;&s;under, and the a&s;&s;hes fell out from the aultare accordynge to the to+ken, whyche the manne of god hadde geuen, by the worde of the lorde. And when thee &s;ame prophete hadde made interce&s;&s;yon vnto god, for thee healthe of that vngodlye Kynge, hys hande was myraculou&s;lye re&s;tored to bee for|mer &s;tate, and yet for all that, he woul|de not thus leaue and for&s;ake the Ido|latrye,
<PB REF="43"> whyche he hadde ones begonne and &s;ette vp, &s;o greate was thee indu|taryon and hardene&s;&s;e of hys harte. Nowe wee are taughte by thys, that it is thee duetye and offyce of a Pa|&s;toure, too &s;uffre in no wy&s;e hys &s;hepe to bee broughte into anye peryll of I|dolatye, or into anye kynde or &s;pere of vngodlyne&s;&s;e: yea thoughe &s;ome vn|godlye and ra&s;&s;he Hieroboam doethe ty&s;e agayn&s;te hym,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|&s;tour ough+te not to leaue of, though he knowethe, y^e he &s;hall profyte no+thinge.</NOTE> yet he oughte too te&s;y&s;te hym, too hys face, and not too cea&s;&s;e or leaue of, thoughe he knoweth that he &s;hall &s;pende all hys laboure in vayue. For god, dyd ryght wel knowe thee harde harte of Hieroboam, and that no rea&s;ons coulde per&s;wade him from hys vngodlynes: yet notwythe|&s;tandynge he doethe vouche&s;afe to &s;en+de a Prophete vnto him. This thyn|ge doethe make agayn&s;te tho&s;e Pa|&s;toures, whyche be woute too excu&s;e theyr &s;ylence that they doo v&s;e, wythe thys rea&s;on, &s;ayinge that they doo &s;pende and be&s;towe all theyr laboure in vayne. For, Chry&s;te doethe not therefore cea&s;&s;e too teache, whyles he was amonge that frowarde and &s;tub+berne natyon of thee Iewes, becau|&s;e that he dyd &s;ee theym too bee ob&s;ty|nate,
<PB REF="44"> and that they coulde wythe no rea&s;on bee per&s;waded too receaue hys doctryne.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of A|chab &amp; of Elias thee Prophete. iii.xi.xviii</NOTE>Achab al&s;o kynge of thee people of I&s;raell, beynge no le&s;&s;e vngodlye and ra&s;he, dyd walke in the wayes of Hie|roboam: yea, he dyd pa&s;&s;e all other Kynges (were they neuer &s;o noughte and vngodlye) in mayntaynynge of fal&s;e relygyon and wyckedne&s;&s;e. For, ve&s;ydes thee Idolatrye, whyche hys forefathers hadde broughte in, he dyd al&s;o execte and &s;ette vp thee Idoll of Baall, in&s;tytutynge or ordarynynge a great multytude and numbre of prie|&s;tes to wor&s;hyppe Baal, and to vp hol|de hys relygyon: Wherefore thee heauenlye father, beynge not a lytle moued dyd &s;tutte vppe thee heauens, that by thee &s;pace of thre yeares no raigne dyd come downe, or fall vppon thee earthe: afterwardes he dyd &s;ende y^e Prophet Elias, whych &s;huld bothe &s;hame the prelates of Baals relygion, and al&s;o reduce or brynge thee poore people again into the true knowledge of god. When then, that mo&s;te wicked and ungodly king Achab, the extreme enemye bothe of god hym &s;elfe, and al&s;o of true relygyon, dyd mete thys
<PB REF="44"> holy prophete, he dyd incontynentlye &s;ay: Art thou not be that trouble I&s;|raell: Whome thee prophete dyd aun|&s;were: I haue not troubled I&s;rael, but thou, &amp; the hou&s;e of thy father, whych haue for&s;aken y^e comaundeme~tes of y^e Lord, &amp; haue folowed Baall. Howe be it &s;ende nowe, and a&s;&s;emble all whole I&s;raell togeather vnto me, in thee meaunte Carmell, and thee foure hun|drethe and fyftye Prophetes, and the foure hundrethe propthes of the gra|ues. Whome when, he hadde gathered, (that is to &s;ayt Achab the kynge) De|ltas comynge too hee people of I&s;ra|ell, &s;ayde: How long halte ye betwene two opynyons? Yf the Lorde be God, folowe hym: but yf Baall bee he, goo after hym. And when he hadde offered vnto theym thys condytyon, that they &s;houlde by fyre commynge downe form heauen, for too con&s;u|me the &s;acryfyce, declare and &s;hewe, thee dyuyne power of Baall, they coulde in noo wy&s;t doo it. But be callynge vppon thee dyuyne po|wer, and name of the hyghe and true lyuynge God, dyd &s;ee hys &s;acryfice to bee con&s;umd withe fyre, that came
<PB REF="45"> downe from heauen. Thou &s;ee&s;t then, wyth what &s;tedfa&s;tnes and con&s;tancye of mynde, Elyas doeth a&s;&s;awte Ido|dolatrye, before that furyous and cru|ell kynge Achab,<NOTE PLACE="marg">iii. Re .xix.</NOTE> and al&s;o before &s;o greate, a multytude and numbre of fal&s;e Prophetes and Baalles pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;tes, thoughe he dyd thynke hym &s;elfe too haue bene lefte alone of all thee num|bre of thee Prophetes. Lette the faith full Pa&s;toure learne by hys example, that it is hys duetye, too mayntayne, defende and vpholde, boldelye, and wythout anye feare the auctorytie of gods worde, yea thoughe he doethe &s;ee all the whole worlde too bee agayn&s;te hym: be&s;ydes that, let hym not &s;uffer hym &s;elfe to bee frayde or dy&s;coraged, by that infinit numbre of fal&s;e tea|chers, &amp; prelates of Baals relygyon, or the people to halte betwene two opi+nyons,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A haltinge in religion</NOTE> that is too &s;aye, lette hym not permyt &amp; &s;uffre, y^t the rude &amp; poore &s;im+ple people, bee intangled or wrapped wythe that erroure, wherewythe ma|nye nowe a dayes beynge deceaued, are wont to &s;ay: that in dede, they doo tru&s;t in y^e high and tru lyuinge god, &amp; yet in the meane &s;ea&s;on (&s;ay they) we haue &s;ome co~fide~ce in tho&s;e creatures,
<PB REF="45"> whych are alreadye partakers of the e|uerla&s;ting ble&s;&s;edfulnes, for the people of I&s;raell was wont at &s;ome tymes to geue &s;ome honoure vnto the true God: but that almyghty and mercyfull crea|tour of all thinges, doeth not admitte, receaue, or alowe &s;oche kyndes of wor|&s;hippinge.</P>
<P>When the &s;elfe &s;ame ra&s;&s;he,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The hy&s;to+rie of Na|both, and what thee trewe Pa|&s;tour ough+te by it. i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i Regu~ .xxi.</NOTE> wicked and ungodly Achab, wold haue bought of Naboth thee I&s;raelite, a vertuous and godly man, the vyneyarde, whyche he had nyghe to the Kynges palayce, affyrminge vnto hym&punc; as moche as he woulde haue for it: he dyd take &s;o gre|uou&s;lye, that he was &s;ayde naye, that he dyd &s;odayulye fall into a &s;yckene&s;&s;e, or ague, whyche ague, that vngodly Ie+&s;abell hys wyfe, dyd by and by, by tray+terous meanes put away. For, &s;he dyd by fal&s;e wytne&s;&s;es whych &s;hould accu|&s;e that vertuous man Nabothe as a bla&s;phemet of the holy name of the ly|uinge God, bringe to pa&s;&s;e that the in|nocent man &s;hould be &s;toned to death. Whych thinge beyng done, &s;he dyd dyd her hu&s;bande to be merye, and to ry&s;e, and to go take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion by the kinges lawes, of the vyneyearde of Naboth. Here was the Prophete Elias &s;ent the
<PB REF="46"> &s;econde tyme, whych &s;hould rebuke the Kynge, for this wycked facte, and dete|&s;table murther. Whych, when he came to the Kyng, dyd &s;aye vnto hym: Thus &s;ayth the Lorde. Ha&s;t thou kylled and taken po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion? Thus &s;ayth the Lord. In the place, where dogges lycked the bloude of Naboth, &s;hall dogges lycke thy bloude al&s;o. And of that vngodly &amp; wycked Ie&s;abell, ye dyd prohetye af|ter this maner: Dogges &s;hall eate Ie&s;a+bell in the fielde of I&s;raell. The &s;crip|ture doeth te&s;tifye, that all the&s;e thyn|ges were done, according to the prophe|cye of Elias. By this example the~, &s;hal the faythfull Pa&s;tour learne, that it is requyred of hym, and that it is hye due+tye and ocfyce, to wyth&s;tande manful|lye, and wyth a bolde &s;tomacke, the wic+ked purpo&s;es of cruell tyrauntes, not onely, when he &s;eeth all the people, and thee whole commune weale too be op|pre&s;&s;ed, but al&s;o yf he perceaueth that one pryuate man alone doth &s;uffer wro~+ge and iniurye.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of Mi+cheas &amp; of the fal&s;e prophetes. iii. re .xxii.</NOTE>Agayne, when all thee whole flocke of the fal&s;e Prophetes dyd promy&s;e vn+to the Kynges, Achab and Io&s;aphat, a moo&s;te wyefull, pro&s;perous, and fortu|nate &s;ucce&s;&s;e of thee matte, exhortynge
<PB REF="46"> theym, too &s;etteforthe theyr armye a|gayn&s;te the Syrians: one onelye Pro|phete, called Micheas, dyd &s;ette hym &s;elfe agayn&s;te all them, tellinge theym before wyth a con&s;tant and holde myn|de, al the fortune, chaunce, and &s;ucce&s;&s;e, that they &s;houlde haue. He coulde be letted in no wy&s;e, nether by y^e greuou&s;e iniuryes of the proude Sedechiab, nor wyth the opprobrious blowe, nor wyth hys hyghe woordes, whee wyth he dyd boa&s;te hys Propheticall &s;pyryte, to per+&s;euere and contynue &s;tyll in thee decla|rynge and &s;ettynge forthe of Goddes commaundemente and holy woorde: Yea, when he was ca&s;te into pry&s;onne, he per&s;euered &s;tyll in hys pourpo&s;e. And thee oracles or prophecyes of gods woorde, werer &s;o fulfylled, that Io&s;a|phat dyd retourne home, beynge &s;ore wounded, Achab beynge &s;layne wythe an arrowe. And when hys charette, where in he dyd ryde in thee battayle,<NOTE PLACE="marg">They that haue gods word alwa+yes i~ their mouthes &amp; yet in thee meane &s;ea|&s;o~ ar liers, mu&s;t be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">+&s;i&s;ted by y^e faythful pa&s;tour.</NOTE> was wa&s;&s;hed in thee poole of Sama|tia, that, whyche was prophecyed be|fore by Elias, dyd happend ant chaunce. For, thee dogges dydde lycke there thee bloude of Kynge Achab. By thee whyche example wer are taughte
<PB REF="47"> agayn, that a good and faythfull Pa|&s;tour ought to re&s;y&s;te theym, that haue gods worde in theyr mouthes, and are wont to boa&s;te and crake of it, wher as in the meane &s;ea&s;on they be lyers, and &s;et forth eyther of &s;ome pryuate affec|tion, or of a flattering mynde, the coun+&s;ayls of theyr owne rea&s;on. Whether a|ny man doth &s;et forth and handle gods worde of a fraudulent and deceyprfull mynde, it may ea&s;ely and euydently be gathered, knowen and tryed, by goddes worde it &s;elfe. Agayne, we do &s;e that it is the duetye and offyce of a Pa&s;tour, to rebuke and lette, as moche as in hym lyeth, that inordinate lu&s;te and de&s;yre, that almo&s;te all Princes haue to make watte one agayn&s;t another. Let nowe therefore,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Again&s;t po+pi&s;he By&s;|&s;hoppes, y^e &s;tyyre and mayntayn warres</NOTE> tho&s;e hyghe popi&s;he prelates come forth. Let the proude company of my&s;ted By&s;hops, and of all other, that ate by a fal&s;e and wronge name, called &s;pirituall, &s;hewe theyr heades, that it maye be knowen of all men, what they haue done hether to. Who doeth not knowe, that by thee &s;pace of fyftene yeares, and much more, great and migh+ty nations haue wyth deadly and irre|conciliable hatred, through the crafyte working and couueyaunce of the&s;e An|tichri&s;tes
<PB REF="47"> warred, and yet (thee more is the pyrie) do warre one again&s;t another Oh Lorde God, how many &s;oules haue in the meane &s;ea&s;on pery&s;hed, how ma|ny poore innocentes haue bene cruellye murthered, howe greate trea&s;ours, and tyches haue ben wa&s;ted and &s;pent? and yet we &s;e no ende, but rather feare, that wor&s;e tymes wyll folowe. And as often as they doo rea&s;on amonge them &s;elfes of peace &amp; concorde, they do it for none other cau&s;e, but that they hauing got|te~ &s;ome profyt, may afterwardes &s;tyrre vp greater tragedyes of marres, in &s;o moch that to heare theym at any tyme, &s;peake of peace, wyll make any man a|frayed. For truely, when &s;oeuer they do it, they intende to &s;ende forth into thys my&s;erable and wretched world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ate, is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> hurtful &s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+rite alway+es doynge+yll to men.</NOTE> that vn+luckye Ate, which troubleth al thinges But that I maye in fewe wordes con|clude all the&s;e thynges, who &s;oeuer is &s;tudious of true peace, and godlye con|corde, let hym fyr&s;te receaue the woorde of God, who&s;e lyght &s;hineth forth now a dayes, wyth &s;o great lyght&s;omne&s;&s;e, for onele&s;&s;e a man receaueth it, he &s;hall neuer euioye the true peace. The are is all readye layde too thee roote of thee tree.</P>
<PB REF="48">
<P>But what neade we to proue, wyth any longer demon&s;tratio~, out of the bo|kes and wrytynges of the prophetes, af+ter what facion, and maner, the pa&s;tour ought to re&s;y&s;te &amp; with&s;tand the &s;ynnes and vyces of the hygh powers &amp; gouer|nours? Let the faythful &amp; diligent pa|&s;tour reade theyr &s;ermons, and there he &s;hal fynde none other thinge, but a con|tinuall fyghte, whych they haue had w^t the myghty princes &amp; theyr vicious ly|uing. For, who doth not heare and &s;ee, with what wordes E&s;ay both rebuke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;aye</NOTE> the rulers of the commune weale, when he &s;ayth: E&s;aye. i. Heare the worde of the Lorde, ye princes of Sodoma, and herken vnto the lawe of our God, thou people of Gomorra. Thy prynces are wycked and companions of theues. They loue gyftes all togeather, &amp; gape for rewardes. As for the fatherles, they helpe hym not to hys ryght, nether wil they let thee wydomes cau&s;es come be|fore theym.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hieremye.</NOTE> and Hieremye doeth al&s;o complayne, that he can not fynde a ryghteous man, or that mini&s;treth iu|&s;tice in all the &s;tretes of the &s;ytie: why|che he &s;peaketh not of the commens or ra&s;call people, but of thee Lordes and chief rulers, who&s;e &s;ynnes and vnfayth+fulne&s;&s;e
<PB REF="48">do farre pa&s;&s;e the wyckedne&s;&s;e of the people. Therfore, the princes and rulers of oure tyme, be wy&s;e ynoughe, whych forbyd by theyr lawes, that no man &s;hall &s;peake agayn&s;t theym, nor a|gayn&s;t theyr vycyous lyuinge, wher as the fountaynes of all vyces and deuy|ly&s;he wyckedne&s;&s;e, do &s;pringe fro~ none other, than from thee Prynces, &s;piritu|all prelates, and gouernoues. Agayne, wyth what &s;harpene&s;&s;e, doo they &s;pea|ke agayn&s;te fal&s;e Prophetes? How cru|ell, dreadfull, and horrible a puni&s;hme~t doeth Ezechiell .xxxiiii. Chapter, threa|ten to tho&s;e Pa&s;tours,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezechi <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> whych are wont to fede theym &s;elues onely? Of whom, wythout doubte, there is, and &s;halbe al|wayes a great number, and yet neuer|thele&s;&s;e the prophetes do not therefore &s;pare theyr craftye deceyptfulnes and hypocry&s;ye. What &s;hal we &s;aye of the prophete Amos,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos.</NOTE> whych mo&s;te &s;harpelye rebuking the &s;ynnes of the head rulers doeth call theym fat bullockes, &amp; al&s;o doeth prophecie &amp; tell before, what mi&s;|fortunes, plagues, &amp; calamities are pre|pared for them? What,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ionas.</NOTE> Ionas was co~|pelled by the deuyne commaundement of God, to goo into a &s;traunge Cytye, whych was al drowned in wyckedne&s;&s;e
<PB REF="49"> and &s;ynne, and to deuounce and tell vn|to them the puni&s;hementes and plague that &s;huld folowe, wythin the &s;pace of xi. dayes. To be &s;horte, what &s;eueritie &amp; &s;harpene&s;&s;e dyd they all v&s;e, whych be|fore the captiuitie of Babilon dyd pro|phecye of the vtter de&s;truction of thee people, and yet for all that, they coulde auayle or profyte nothinge.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The exam+ple of Io|hn again&s;t Herode. marke. vi.</NOTE> That valyant and noble fore tenner of Ie&s;us chri&s;t, Iohn bapti&s;t, dyd right well know the &s;trength, might, and fyce+cene&s;&s;e of Kyng Herode. whych was &s;o great, that none of al hys contrey dur&s;t contradicte, or gayne&s;aye it: and yet in the meane &s;ea&s;on, he doeth al&s;o vnder|&s;tande, that he ought not therfore to be &s;pared, nor yet to be &s;uffred at his owne plea&s;ure, wythout the blame of any ma~ to exercy&s;e and v&s;e hys inordinate leche+ty: &amp; becau&s;e that ther was none other, that dur&s;t reprehend or rebuke thys ab|hominable dede of thee Kynge, he hys owne &s;elfe cometh vnto hym, &amp; layinge thee heynou&s;ue&s;&s;e of thee facte before hym &s;ayth:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark. v.</NOTE> It is not lawfull for the to haue thy brothers wy&s;e. The Kynge therfore, beynge offended at hys bolde|ne&s;&s;e, dyd bothe ca&s;t hym into pry&s;on, &amp; at length put hym to death. Whereby,
<PB REF="49"> we do gather, that a Pa&s;toure is dry|uen to thys nece&s;&s;ytye, that he mu&s;t re+buke, blame and reprehende, all tho&s;e fawtes, vyces, and &s;ynnes, that none other mortall man date rebuke:<NOTE PLACE="marg">marke ye thys, o ye faynt har|ted pa&s;tou+rs, y^e dare not freeke again&s;te a+gnatter,</NOTE> here we &s;ee no manne too bee excepted, but that he mu&s;te re&s;y&s;te the verye Princes them &s;elues, and al&s;o y^e myghtye prela+tes of the churche, and that, too theyr owne faces: lette hym not &s;uffre hym &s;elfe, to be di&s;mayde wythe the vayue feares, neyther of mans &s;trengthe, nor of dignytye and power, nor of thee fo|ly&s;&s;he and madde multytude: but as &s;one as thee lorde doethe warne hym of hys duetye, lette hym goo aboute it, wythe a &s;oute and bolde &s;tomache, and neuer leaue of, tyll he feele and perceaue in theym a manyfe&s;te amend+mente of lyfe. For, &s;o doethe the lorde commaund Hieremye, &s;ayinge: And therefore gyrde vppe thy loynes, ary&s;e, and tell theim all, that I geue thee in commaundement, feare them not, le&s;te I de&s;troye the before them. For behol|de, thys day do I make the, a &s;trong de+fenced towne, and yron pyllet, &amp; a bra&s;e walle again&s;t the whole lande, again&s;t the kinges and myghty men of Iuda, again&s;t the prie&s;tes &amp; people of the la~d.
<PB REF="50"> They &s;hal fyght agayn&s;t the, but they &s;hal not be able to ouercome therfor I am with the to delyuer the. They &s;hal conuerte vnto the, and thou &s;halte not conuerte vnto theym.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">It is the duetye of Pa&s;tours, too rebuke cho&s;e vices y^e none o|ther ma~ da+re rebuke.</NOTE>For, as among the Lacedemonians there were certayne offycers called Ephori, and among the Romaynes, o|ther, whome they called Tribuni, and at thys pre&s;ence, in certayne cytyes of Germanye, there be hygh wardens of companyes or trybes, whyche do re&s;y&s;t and wyth&s;tande the heade ruler, yf at any tyme,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephori &amp; tribuni were offy|cers amo~g the Lacede+monians &amp; Romayns too who y^e people, yf they were not wel v|&s;ed myght haue aupel+led fro~ the hygher ma+gi&s;trates.</NOTE> through ouer greate power, he wareth out of facio~, &s;o god did in|&s;titute &amp; ordaine Pa&s;tours amo~ge hys people, as certayne offycers, whyche &s;hulde alwayes watche. For god wyll haue no man to be &s;o hygh nor of &s;ech auctorytie, y^e al me~ &s;houlde be afrayde to rebuke his &s;ynnes, or tel hym of his fawres. And yf the magi&s;trate, who&s;e offyce and dutye it is to do it, beynge eyther letted wyth feare or infected &amp; &s;yck w^t the &s;ame di&s;ea&s;e, dare not bold+ly re&s;i&s;t &amp; wyth&s;ta~d the &s;upreme ruler &amp; gouernour: yet &s;hall he that is a Pa+&s;tour neuer &s;lepe: In dede yf thautory|tie of the magi&s;trate be ioyned w^t hys &s;tudye, laboure, and godly endeuoures
<PB REF="50"> or enterpry&s;e: Vyces and wyckednes, &s;hal the more ea&s;elye, and withe grea|ter quietnes, or more commodiou&s;ly be taken awaye. But yf he be &s;louthfull, or negligent, the pa&s;tour &s;hal take vpo~ hym thys harde cure yea, w^t the peryl and ieopardye of hys owne heade, and &s;hall loke for helpe and delyueraunce, from none other, that from god only. Thee Pa&s;toures mu&s;te watche,<NOTE PLACE="marg">il. Croni. xxxvi. Hiere. xxv</NOTE> and &s;toppe the waye vnto wyckedne&s;&s;e and &s;ynne. For god ary&s;ethe yerly &s;endyn+ge for the hys prophetes in tyme, to mo+ny&s;he, correcte, and amende the world, which altogether is polluted, w^t y^e &s;tyn+king filthines of &s;ynne, as we may &s;e. Hierem xxv. and xxix. But after that, thee admonycyon &s;ente of God, is ones come, there is none other reme|dye, but that wee mu&s;te chaunge our former lyfe, and amende oure &s;el|ues. For, excepte thys be doune, a grea+ter euyll or plague is at oure owne doores, whyche daylye drawethe nerer and nerer, and is aggraguated, tyll ex|treme and vtter de&s;tructyon do en&s;ue and folowe. Wee haue examples in readyne&s;&s;e, wherewythe thys can bee proued. For, who doethe not
<PB REF="51"> &s;e thee lamentable de&s;truction of So|doma, and of the Niniuites?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exo. xxxii</NOTE> Al&s;o y^e people of I&s;rael, when they had wor|&s;hipped the golden calue in the de&s;ert, were receaued into fauour agayn, but whe~ afterwardes dwellyng in the lan+de of promi&s;&s;ion, they had vngddly de&s;+pi&s;ed the voices of the prophetes, they were extremely plaged, &amp; caryed away captyues into Babylon.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">What ar|mure a pa+&s;tour mu&s;t bee armed wyth all.</NOTE>Syth then, that it is the offyce and duetie of a Pa&s;tour, to &s;et hym &s;elfe a|gain&s;t, to re&s;y&s;t &amp; with&s;ta~d, al the Prin+ces, &amp; myghty rulers of thys worlde, and to fyght again&s;t them, &amp; theyr vy+cious lyui~ges, w^t al his might, &s;tre~gth, &amp; power it is very nece&s;&s;ary and nede+full, that he bee well armed, afore that he take vppon hym thys harde bur|den or charge. Wherfore, he mu&s;te bee brought into the armory of Chri&s;t, that out of it, he maye be decked and armed, wythe thee &s;ame armure, that Chry&s;te dyd afore hand arme his di&s;cyples w^t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">math. x marke vi. Luk. ix. &amp; x</NOTE> For, he &s;ending forthe his dy&s;cyples, dyd &s;ay: Go, and preach &s;ayinge: Thee kyngdom of heauen is at hand heale y^e &s;yck, cle~&s;e y^e leapers, rai&s;e y^e dead, ca&s;te out deuyls, &amp; preach that y^e kyngdo~ of god, is already at hand, or at the verye
<PB REF="51"> dooore. Freelye ye haue receaued, geue frely. Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e not gold, nor &s;yluer, nor bra&s;&s;e in your pur&s;es, not yet &s;crippe to+wardes your iorney: neither .ii. cotes, neither &s;hoes, nor yet a rode. For the worke ma~ is worthy of his meate. In the which place, Chri&s;t doeth diligent|ly beware &amp; take hede, y^t the pa&s;tour be not inta~gled w^t any cares of earthli thi~+ges, or w^t any &s;tudy &amp; thought, howe he &s;hal get his lyuynge, yea, he wyl haue him in no wi&s;e to prouide him &s;elf of a liuing: but doth co~mit vnto him, that chiefe &amp; principal fode of thee &s;oules, who~ he biddeth him to &s;et forth, w^t all faythful labour &amp; dilige~ce, beleuing &amp; y^t w^tout al doubte, y^t they &s;hal wante no maner of externe &amp; outward thinge, y^t is nece&s;&s;ary for y^e lyfe of the body. For, there &s;halbe almaies euery wher &s;ome godly &amp; liberal me~, which wyl not &s;uf+fre the~ that labour faithfullye in thee lordes vineyard to lack or want anye &s;uch thinges. Be&s;ides that, he can not denye a liui~g, and other nece&s;&s;ary thin+ges, vnto his mini&s;ters &amp; worke men, that prouydeth &s;o liberally for the bry|des of the ayre, &amp; floures of the fyelde. Moreouer, her co~maunded the~ to geue frelye vnto other, y^e giftes of y^e &s;piryt,
<PB REF="52"> which they had receaued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;taf is both grau~+ted &amp; for|bidde~ to y^e Apo&s;tles.</NOTE> by y^e free libe+ralytye of god. In marke he doth &abper;nit or &s;uffre the~ to weare a &s;taffe, which is nothing repugnau~t to tho&s;e thi~ges, y^t we haue now here aledged. For, ther a &s;taffe is permitted or grau~ted vnto the~, to helpe the~ in theyr way or iourney, y^t &s;o they &s;huld vnder&s;ta~d that all pompe &amp; pride of charets &amp; hor&s;es was forbid+den the~, In Mathew, he doth forbyd y^e &s;ame le&s;t they &s;huld thi~k, y^t they might bryng their matter to pa&s;&s;e w^t &s;tryppes, &amp; force of armes: be&s;ydes that, becau&s;e they &s;huld wholy co~mit the~ &s;elues, vn+to his diuine wil prouide~ce &amp; promi&s;e, nor go about to prouyde for the~ &s;elues w^t theyr owne wy&s;dome and &s;tudye.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The keies of binding &amp; lou&s;inge, ar geue~ to y^e apo&s;tles</NOTE>A lytle after, Chri&s;t doth al&s;o adde: And who &s;oeuer &s;hal not receaue you, nor heare your preachyng, when ye de|parte oute of that hou&s;e, or that cytye, &s;hake of the du&s;te of youre fete. Vere|lye, I &s;aye vnto you, it &s;hall be ea&s;yer for the lande of Sodoma and Gomor|ra in the day of iudgement, then for y^e cytye. Euen as in the fore aledged pla+ces he dyd byd theym to v&s;e the keyes of lo&s;ynge and forgeuyng that is too &s;aye, when he commau~ded theym to preach the go&s;pel, and to tel forth, that the kingdo~ of god is at ha~d: &s;o now, he
<PB REF="52"> doth byd the~ to bynd &s;uch, as wyl not receaue the go&s;pel or glad tydinges of &s;aluac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o~ offered by the~. For, when he doth co~maund them, to &s;hake of, y^e du&s;t of their fete, he doth teach thereby, as by a certaine &s;igne &amp; token, that the in+fydels ar &s;narred &amp; bou~d w^t &s;o &s;traight bondes of infidelitie, mi&s;beleue, &amp; in|credulitie, that they that are faythful, may not haue, as moch as y^e du&s;te, (tha~ y^t which, nothi~g is more vile &amp; abiect) co~mune w^t the~. After the &s;ame faction &amp; maner,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actu. xviii</NOTE> Paul afterwardes (as we may &s;e in the Actes) byd v&s;e the keyes of bi~+ding. For whe~ certain vngodly &amp; &s;tub+borne Iewes with&s;ta~ding y^e Eua~gely|cal doctrine, did mo&s;t vngodly bla&s;phe+me y^e name of chri&s;t&punc; he did &s;hake his gar+me~tes, &amp; du&s;t of his fete again&s;t the~, &s;ay|inge: Your bloude be vpon youre owne heades. Fro~ hence forth wyll I go bla|mele&s;&s;e vnto the gentyls. Al&s;o, in thys place, we may &s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">chri&s;t wyll haue no ma~ to be compelled viole~tly to thee fayth.</NOTE> y^e chri&s;t doth violently co~pel no ma~ to y^e faith, nor wil haue any ma~ to be co~cayued (as we do &s;ee many now a dayes to be fowle deceaued, whi|che thinkinge that it is lawfull, make y^e faithfull afrayed, y^t they do rather &s;eke y^e riches &amp; kingdo~ of this world, than y^e kyngdo~ of chri&s;t) that al vertue, power,
<PB REF="53"> and glorye, may be ad&s;crybed too hys word alone.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Apo|&s;tels &amp; Pa+&s;tours, are de&s;tytuted of al exter|ne and out+ward help</NOTE>By &amp; by agayne Chri&s;te &s;ayth: Be|hold, I &s;e~d you forthe as &s;hepe amo~ge wolues. Be ye therfore wy&s;e as &s;erpe~+tes, and innocent as doues. But bewa+re of tho&s;e men, for, they &s;hall delyuer you vp to the coun&s;ailes, &amp; &s;hal &s;cour|ge you, in theyr &s;ynagoges. And ye &s;halbe broughte to thee heade rulers, and kynges, for my &s;ake, in wytne&s;&s;e to them and to the Gentiles &amp;c. Behol+de he taketh from the~ all earthlye de|fence of this world, al hope of comfort and helpe. For, what could be &s;poken, more greuous, dreadeful, and horryble vnto the fle&s;he,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fle&s;he ca~ not wel away with the&s;e thyn+ges.</NOTE> then that? ye &s;hall bee delyuered vp to coun&s;ayles, ye &s;halbe broughte vnto heade rulers, kynges, and al&s;o before iudges, they, whome ye do thinke mo&s;te frendely, &s;hal trea+terou&s;lye betraye you, ye &s;hall be &s;courged in Synagoges, one brother &s;hall delyuer an other to deathe, thee father &s;hall brynge hys &s;onnes into extreme ieopardye and peryll of theyr own lyues, nor the &s;onnes wyl in any wy&s;e &s;pare theyr poore pare~tes. And yet in y^e meane cea&s;on he &s;ayeth, y^t amo~+ge or in y^e midde&s;t of &s;o many &amp; greate
<PB REF="53"> peryls, they &s;halbe naked, and as tou|ching the bodye de&s;tituted of all helpe, as &s;hepe that be in the mydde&s;te of wol|ues. For, as wolues do in no wi&s;e pytie the &s;hepe, nor acknowledge that they be bothe innocente and meke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;imilitu+de.</NOTE> but rather runnynge vpon them, do &s;catter, teare, rente, deuoure, and de&s;troye all aboute, &s;o they, that are the true wor&s;hyppers of God, &s;hall fynde no maner of mercy before tyrauntes, whyche wyll e&s;teme them as &s;hepe, appoynted to the &s;laugh+ter, yea, they runninge furiou&s;lye and mo&s;t ragiou&s;ly vpon theym, wyll thin|ke that they doo hyghe &s;eruyce vnto God, yf they do roote out fro~ the earth and murther cruelly as manye, as he &s;oche.</P>
<P>Thys armure, I &s;ay, and other lyke, (as whe~ he &s;aith: The di&s;ciple or &s;coler is not aboue the may&s;ter, nor the &s;erua~t aboue his Lord. Agayne: yf they haue called the good man of the hou&s;e, Beel|zebub, howe moche more &s;hall they hys hou&s;holde &s;eruauntes? And when he &s;ayeth: And the worlde ye &s;hall haue per+&s;ecution. Item: They &s;hall &s;peake all yll woordes agayn&s;te you) maye &s;eme vnto &s;ome, lettes rather, and &s;toppes, than anye defence, or &s;trengthenynge,
<PB REF="54"> wher as in very dede, they are nothing<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> els but a very armure. For, yf any man be already before fullye per&s;waded in hys mynde, that the&s;e thinges wyl hap+pen and chaunce vnto him, lokinge for the~ wyth a bolde &amp; coragious &s;tomack, all feare being bani&s;hed from his mynd he is already wel armed, &s;o that they ca~ neyther hurt nor harme him any more. Yf then, the&s;e thynges can nether hurt nor harme the Pa&s;tour, we mu&s;t neades b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">leue, that he is &s;urely fenced and ar|med, and that wythe a &s;tronge complete armure, agayn&s;te all th&s;e thynges. And yet I doo not &s;ette forthe here the de|&s;cryptyon, of that armure, whereof Saynte Paule maketh mention. Ephe+&s;ians .vi. Chapter. but I bringe forthe the &s;ame, whyche Chri&s;te dyd briefelye and wyth playne wordes de&s;cribe and &s;ette forth. For, when he hath, Math. x. rehear&s;ed an infinite number of my&s;|fortunes and perylles, whych do dayly and hourely hange ouer the Pa&s;tours,<NOTE PLACE="marg">To be w^t|oute feare is y^e mo&s;te &s;tronge a|m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re of a Pa&s;toure.</NOTE> he &s;ayeth by and by: doo not ye feare theym. And a lyttle after: do not ye fea|re theym that kyll thee bodye, but thee &s;oule they can not kyll, but rather drea+de hym, that can de&s;troye both y^e bodye and &s;oule in thee fyre of hell. Not to
<PB REF="54"> feare then, not to be di&s;mayde, for anye dreade, feare or horrour of perylles, is a moo&s;te &s;tronge and &s;ure armure. But paraduenture, thou wylte make an Obiection, and &s;aye: <MILESTONE UNIT="Obiection"> What newe thynge hathe Chri&s;te taughte here? for, alreadye afore I dyd vnder&s;tande, that I &s;houlde lu&s;telye and wythe a bolde &s;tommacke goo aboute thee offyce and charge, whyche is geuen and enioyned vnto me, yf I feared nothynge at all. Wherfore I hadde more nede of hym, that &s;houlde geue me that mynde, whi|che wyll be afrayed of nothinge. For excepte &s;oche a mynde be geuen me, I can not per&s;euere, but Chri&s;te hym &s;elfe doeth make aun&s;were to all the&s;e Ob|iections. For, <MILESTONE UNIT="Solution,"> when he hadde commaun+ded theym, that they &s;houlde not be a|frayed in tho&s;e waues of perylles: by and by he dyd &s;hewe, wher they myght gette &s;oche a mynde, as &s;hould be with out feare, for he &s;ayth, Iohn xvi. The&s;e thynges haue I &s;poken vnto you, that in me, ye maye haue peace, for, ye &s;hall haue affliction in the world. But be ye of a good chere, for I haue ouercommed the worlde. Doe&s;t thou &s;ee nowe, howe Chri&s;t is our defendour? He byddeth vs to be of a good chere, &amp; that we putting
<PB REF="55"> awaye all feare, do per&s;y&s;te con&s;tantelye in hys worcke, though mo&s;te greuou&s;e afflictions do ouerwhelme vs. For, this is the nature of the worlde thus alway|es to exercy&s;e and trouble the true wor+&s;hyppers of God. Here doeth lye a mo&s;t &s;ure hope of oure comforte, and an vn|doubted defence, that Chri&s;t hath ouer|commed the worlde. For, yf we be hys faythfull myny&s;ters, he &s;hall al&s;o ouer|come the worlde for vs. Wherfore, he byddeth vs to be of a good cheare, and to putte awaye al feare. After the &s;ame maner Moy&s;es doeth comforte the chil+dren of I&s;rael &s;aying:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. xiiii</NOTE> The Lord &s;hal fyghte for you, and ye &s;hal holde youre peace and be &s;tyll. The Pa&s;tour then, beynge endued, or rather armed wythe &s;oche a mynde, &s;hall wyth all care dili|gence, and fidelitie admyni&s;tre the wor|ke of hys Lord, co~mitting al the re&s;idue vnto hym, who, according to hys good and deuyne wyll, &s;hall geue a ioyefull and pro&s;perous ende or &s;ucce&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e the pa&s;tour myght here make another obiection, <MILESTONE UNIT="Obiection"> &amp; &s;ay: Truely, I do heare the voyce &amp; worde of Chri&s;t, which promi&s;eth that he wilbe both an helper &amp; a defendour vnto me, but I &s;ee in the meane &s;ea&s;on, how he is wont to
<PB REF="55"> defende hys myni&s;ters, euen &s;o, that at length they be fayne to &s;uffre death. I aun&s;were that then thou art very well defended, <MILESTONE UNIT="Solution."> when thou doe&s;te &s;uffre death for Chri&s;tes &s;ake For, no man &s;uffreth death for the name of god, excepte he be a chyld of God. But here in this place, thou &s;halt knowe the chiefe and moo&s;te principall foundations of fayth &amp; cha|ritie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The pri~ci|pal fou~da+tions of faith &amp; cha+ritie.</NOTE> wher wyth the whole buyldinge of a Chri&s;tian man is &s;et vp, as it hath bene promy&s;ed afore. Doe&s;t thou beleue that there is one onely almighty God? I beleue, wylt thou &s;aye. Doe&s;t thou be+leue, that the &s;ame is thy god, thy Lord and thy father? I beleue wylt thou &s;ay. Tell me then, doe&s;t thou putte all thyne hope and confydence in hym onelye? Yes, wylte thou &s;aye. Wythout doubt then, thou doe&s;te beleue thys al&s;o, that the &s;ame God hath promy&s;ed nothyng vnto the, but that he wyl perfourme it. That do I al&s;o beleue, wilt thou &s;aye. Yf thou doe&s;te then acknowledge God to be thy father, I doubte not, but that thou wylt loue hym, &amp; in all his co~mau~+deme~tes, be obedie~t vnto him. And yf y^u be thus mynded, thou wylte be glad, I trow, yf thou can&s;t at any tyme do &s;er|uyce, vnto &s;o bounteous, mercyfull and
<PB REF="56"> gentyl a father, or yf thou can&s;te do any maner of thinge, that may plea&s;e hym. Or that fayth then, wherby thou doe&s;t acknowledge him, to be that mo&s;t hygh and almyghty God, wherby thou doe&s;t acknowledge hym to be thy God, and thy father, that al&s;o is wont to en&s;ue &amp; folowe, that thou conceaue&s;te a verye great hope to come into the pre&s;ence of thys God, yea, thou wylte make ha&s;te to come vnto hym, as &s;oone as may be. For, yf thou doe&s;t acknowledge hym to be thy father, thou &s;halte loue hym. Yf thou doe&s;t loue hym, as thou oughte&s;te to do, thou can&s;te neuer abyde that hys name be bla&s;phemed, that hys honoure and glory be any thing myny&s;hed, that his worde be not beleued, that his com|maundementes be thus &s;o vngodly and wickedly contempned and troaden vn|der fete.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;imilitu+de.</NOTE> As then, thou wylt rather dye, than to &s;uffre thy father to be broughte into an yll name, or too be diffamed: &s;o &s;halt y^u moch more wy&s;he and de&s;yre to &s;uffre this bodely death, rather than to &s;ee gods glory to be dimini&s;hed. Agayn yf thou doe&s;te beleue that Gods worde is con&s;tant, &s;ure, and infallible, y^u &s;halte al&s;o knowe and vnder&s;tande, that noo greater glorye can vppon the earth hap+pen
<PB REF="56"> vnto man, and that we can doo no greater &s;eruyce vnto God, than yf we &s;uffer death for the glorye of hys name. Therfore, the le&s;&s;e feare and horrour of death is in thee, &s;o moche thee greater and &s;tronger fayth is in thyne harte, on the contrarye, thee more thou doe&s;te feare and dreade thys bodelye death, &s;o moche the le&s;&s;e doe&s;t thou loue Chri&s;te, and tru&s;te in God. For, who&s;oeuer is en+dued wyth a true faythe and is fyered wyth an vnfayned and &s;yncere loue of God, he doeth already vnder&s;tand, that thys death, whyche we mu&s;te &s;uffer for the name and glorye of Chri&s;t: is a very lucre and a mo&s;t true waye,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The death y^t we &s;uf|fer for chri+&s;tes &s;ake is a true w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y to co|me to euer+la&s;ti~g lyfe</NOTE> to come to y^e euerla&s;tinge lyfe. Be&s;ydes that, he doth know, that he is in no wi&s;e ouercomed which, for the confe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;tes na|me, &s;uffreth death, but rather that he is both ouercomed &amp; all together vndone, that for thee loue of thys mortall lyfe, doth &s;uffre him &s;elf to be plucked away from God. He then, that vnder&s;tandeth all the&s;e thinges perfectely, &s;hall in no wy&s;e excu&s;e thee peryll of death, for, it is the nature of the fle&s;he, to feare death and to complayn of it, but he that hath in hym a &s;yncere and &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nde loue of GOD, noo fyre, noo concupy&s;cence,
<PB REF="57"> or coueteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of earthlye thynges, &s;halbe able to quenche that deuyne heat whych is in hym We mu&s;t nedes, with the myghte and power of thys loue, as wyth a mu&s;te &s;ure armure, to ouercome the enemyes of god, as Paule doth tea|che, when he &s;ayeth: Roma .viii. I am &s;ure, that neyther death, neyther lyfe, neyther aungels nor rule, nether power neyther thinges pre&s;ent nor thinges to come, nether heyght no: lowene&s;&s;e, nor any creature &s;halbe able to departe vs fro~ the loue of god, whych is in Chri&s;te Ie&s;u our Lorde.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Why and wherefore loue is re|quired in a Pa&s;tour.</NOTE>Nowe becau&s;e that charitie is afore all thinges, and mo&s;t chiefely requyred in a pa&s;tour, as very nece&s;&s;ary, the cau&s;e mu&s;t be &s;hewed why he hath nede of it, and al&s;o we mu&s;t tell, wher he maye get it, Loue is therfore nece&s;&s;ary in a Pa|&s;tour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;imilitu+de.</NOTE> becau&s;e that all hys actions and doynges, all hys endeuours, and coun|&s;ayls mu&s;t be proued, tryed and righted by the rule and lyne of charitie or loue. For, as no carpenter, be he neuer &s;o con|uinge and indu&s;trious, is &s;o well eyed, or hath &s;o perfect a &s;yghte that he nea|deth no rule &amp; lyue. So, nether y^e &s;tre~gth of the mind, nor y^e &s;cience &amp; knowledge, nor yet fayth, is any thinge worthe, ex|cepte
<PB REF="57"> it be righted by y^e rule of charitye.<NOTE PLACE="marg">i. Cor xiii,</NOTE> For, Paul doth &s;peake of it after thys maner: Loue &s;uffreth long, &amp; is courte+ous: Loue enuyeth not loue doeth not frowardlye, &s;welleth not, dealethe not di&s;hone&s;tly, &s;eketh not her own, is not prouoked to anger thinketh not euil, re+ioyceth not in iniquitie, but reioy&s;eth in the truth, &s;uffereth al thinges, bele|ueth al thinges, hopeth in al thi~ges, en+dureth al thinges. loue calleth neuer away. It may then ea&s;ely be gathered by the&s;e condicions of loue, that afore al other vertues it is nece&s;&s;ary &amp; nede|ful to a pa&s;tours. For, as a &s;hepeherde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;imilitu+de.</NOTE> doth &s;courge &amp; beate &s;ome of his &s;hepe, &s;ome he dryueth forwardes w^t his han+des, &s;ome with fete, &s;ome againe he doth wy&s;tell forwardes, &s;ome he doeth allure w^t bread &amp; &s;alt, &s;ome, y^e ar weake, he doth beare vpo~ hys &s;houlders, &s;ome agayn he leaueth in y^e tables &amp; foldes, tyl they be growe~ &amp; of &s;trength, &amp; in al the&s;e thinges he &s;eketh y^e &abpro;rofit of hys mar&s;ter, hauing a re&s;pect only, y^t the nu~+ber of y^e &s;hepe may encrea&s;e, &amp; that thei may be &s;afe &amp; &s;ound: So, y^e Pa&s;tour of y^e &s;oules, being kyndeled w^t the fyre of gods loue, &s;hal do al that he can, that y^e &s;hepe of god, may bothe encrea&s;e, and
<PB REF="58"> abydyng &s;tedfa&s;tly in y^e true fayth, may alwayes, through hys dyligence, be in &s;afegarde. Wherefore he &s;hal, now in tyme; now out of tyme cal vpon them, as the nature of &s;hepe is wonte to re|quyre, and as God, accordynge too the true meanynge of hys worde doth ad|myt. But, what nead<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> we manye wor|des? &s;he that hath loue, doth neuer, de|ceaue or fayle, nor is deceaued, for, loue is not ydle, but moueth man, to promo+te &amp; &s;et forth alwayes the honour and glory of god, bearyng, &amp; &s;ufferynge in the meane &s;ea&s;on wyth a con&s;tant and &s;tedfa&s;te mynde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Withoute the loue of God it is an ea&s;y things to fall into pryde.</NOTE> all tho&s;e thynges, that mu&s;te be &s;uffered for it. But yf a man doeth want thys charytye and loue, he &s;hall ea&s;elye fall and that headlonge into thee bottomle&s;&s;e pyt of pryde: for without the loue of god, what is man, but an arrogante pryde, &amp; mere hypo|cry&s;ye.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Wher the loue of god ought to be &s;oughte.</NOTE>Now, and where a man &s;hall bothe &s;eke and fynde thee loue of god, it is ea&s;ye to bee knowen by the wordes of Chry&s;te, where Ioh. vi. he &s;peaketh af+ter thys maner: No manne cometh vnto me, except my father doth drawe him. Ergo, it cometh of god y^e draweth vs, y^t we do &s;tyck vnto him, leaue vpon
<PB REF="58"> him, &amp; tru&s;te in him. For, god him &s;elfe, is loue, as Iohn .i. Ioh. ii:i doth te&s;ti|fye. He the, y^t dwelleth in loue, dwel|leth in god, and god dwelleth in hym. Wherfore, it is mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary &amp; nede|ful for a pa&s;tour, to cal earne&s;tly vpon god, y^t he vouch&s;afe to kindel in him y^e fyre of his loue. But how &s;hal he call vpo~ him, in whome he beleueth nor. in who~ he tru&s;teth not? Ro x. The inuoca+tyo~ the~, or prayer, cometh or &s;pringeth of fayth: For, no ma~ is wonte too cal vpo~ him, of who~, he can not hope, to re+ceaue &s;aluatio~ &amp; helpe: be&s;ydes y^t, men do not cal vpo~ him, of who&s;e good wyl &amp; loue thei do hope to haue al goodnes yf in the meane &s;ea&s;o~, they know him, to be &s;o weake, y^t he ca~ not helpe &amp; aide them. Yf then, we do in our myndes ac+knowledge god, both to be mercyful &amp; louyng towardes vs, &amp; al&s;o almighty, that is to &s;ay, y^t he is not wyllyn|ge, but al&s;o able to helpe our nece&s;&s;y|ties: it is alredye mo&s;t &s;ure, y^t god is in vs. For our fle&s;h, ca~ not haue, of it &s;elf, &s;uch a knowledge of god. Yf therfore, ther is in vs, &amp; in our myndes, &s;uche a knowledge of god, &amp; &s;uch confyde~ce, &amp; tru&s;t in him, that &s;ame is not of oure &s;elues, but it cometh of god. For, it is
<PB REF="59"> he that learneth vs, both hys power, &amp; hys wyl &amp; certyfyeth vs of the~ by hys onelye begotten &s;onne Ie&s;us Chry&s;te. And who &s;oeuer, doth receyue hym for the &s;o~ne of god, he is alredy &s;ure in his mind, that god both wil &amp; ca~ helpe vs: for he hath delyuered to death his one+ly begotte~ &s;onne for vs: thau the why|che, nothing ca~ be found in this world greater, or more excellent. He therfore, which is certified by Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, is borne of god, and god dwelleth in him i. Ioh. iiii. For, we ca~ not by our owne rea&s;on and &s;trengthe receaue Chry&s;te, wyth a &s;ure, and &s;tedfa&s;t faith, for that is wrought in vs, by god only. And he, that hath god dwellyng in him, is al|redy certyfyed in hys mynd, that God wyll both heare hys prayers, and al&s;o performe hys de&s;yres. By the&s;e thi~ges the~, y^t haue ben reher&s;ed hitherto, it is mo&s;t &s;urely to be gathered y^t they&punc; why+che ar wo~t to complayne of y^e feblenes of gods loue, and of theyr cold affecty+on towardes hym, nor ca~ abyde to &s;uf|fre death, for his names &s;ake, haue not yet receaued chri&s;t, w^t a true and &s;ound fayth. For, he y^t hathe embraced chri&s;t. from hys verye harte, can not, but bee a&s;hamed, yf he feelethe hys fle&s;he too
<PB REF="59"> go aboute &s;ome let or &s;toppe, &s;yth y^t he &s;eeth god the father, to haue delyuered &s;o liberally his onely begotte~ &s;o~ne for vs. Who &s;oeuer then,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of whom we oughte to de&s;ire y^t loue of God.</NOTE> de&s;yreth the loue of god, he mu&s;t a&s;ke of god y^e father, the true knowledge of Ie&s;us chri&s;t, and of his whole mi&s;tery, &amp; that he may leane vpon him wyth a &s;ure, true &amp; vndoub|ted fayth: and by &amp; by he &s;hall feele in him &s;elf y^e fyre of loue. He &s;hal al&s;o af|terwardes geue high tha~kes vnto god, y^e he doeth vouch&s;afe to &s;pe~d, be&s;tow &amp; co~&s;ume, thys foule &amp; vyle body, to the honour and glory of hys name. For, al+though our fle&s;he doth dreade &amp; feare death (for chry&s;te hym &s;elfe, was not a lytle moued wythe the feare and hor|rour of deathe) yet notwyth&s;tanding, beynge by and by &s;tyrred, w^t that mo&s;te &s;tro~g fire of loue, &amp; ince~&s;inges of faith, will be co~&s;trained to folow the faithful &s;oule, into y^e very death. Such I &s;aye, is the nece&s;&s;itye of gods loue whyche may be drawen out of tho&s;e fountay|nes, that we haue &s;hewed euen nowe.</P>
<P>We thinke the~,<NOTE PLACE="marg">What the loue of God is a|ble to doo</NOTE> y^t it is &s;ufficie~tly &s;he+wed &amp; declared, y^t the loue of god one|lye, can performe or brynge too pa&s;&s;e al tho&s;e thinges, that are nece&s;&s;ary for a pa&s;toure, whych ar the&s;e: that he vt|terlye
<PB REF="60"> for&s;ake his parentes &amp; hys owne &s;elf, that he take vpon hym thys mo&s;te peryllous office, w^tout &s;crippe, pur&s;e, &amp; without any rode or &s;tyck, that al&s;o, he &s;uffre hym &s;elfe to be broughte before heade rulers, before kynges and Iud|ges, that he &s;uffre him &s;elf, to be &s;cour|ged, to be reuiled &amp; yl &s;poken of, and at|le~gth to be mo&s;t cruelly put to deathe: Whyche loue againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">the rewar|de of a good Pa|&s;tour.</NOTE> it is impo&s;&s;yble to &s;tande, wythoute a true and a&s;&s;ured fayth in god. Now al&s;o, the greatenes of the reward mu&s;t be co~&s;idered, yf per|chaunce, according to the nature of ma~|nes wytte, thee hope of thee rewarde may encorage the Pa&s;tour, hoth to la|boure, and al&s;o to bee pacyente, in hys troubles and afflyctyons. Oure lorde Ie&s;us Chry&s;t doth appointe the rewar+de. Marke .x. For, when Peter had in the name of all y^e di&s;ciples a&s;ked hym, &s;ayinge: Beholde, wee haue for&s;aken all thynges, and folowed thee. What &s;hall we then haue? Chri&s;te dyd aun|&s;were: Verely, I &s;ay vnto you, Ther is no man, that hath for&s;aken hys hou&s;e, or hys brethren, or his &s;y&s;ters, or his fa|ther, or hys mother, or hys wyfe, or his chyldren, or his fyeldes, for my &s;ake &amp; the go&s;pel, but that he &s;hal receaue an
<PB REF="60"> hundreth fold in thys world, houres, &amp; brethren, and &s;yners, &amp; mothers, &amp; chyl+dren and fyeldes wyth per&s;ecutions, &amp; in the world to come, lyfe euerla&s;ting. Here, chry&s;te doethe promy&s;e an ample and an excedynge greate rewarde, but he doethe adde a verye &s;owre &s;awce, he maketh it very bytter, and hatefull or heynou&s;e vnto our fle&s;&s;he, when he tel|leth before, that we &s;hal haue, y^t rewar|de w^t per&s;ecutions. Wherfore, we mu&s;t better loke and con&s;yder, wher, the &s;a|me hundreth fold reward that he doth &s;peake of here, was euer geuen. For, it is a very ea&s;ye thing. to fyud per&s;ecuti+on in this worlde, but we &s;e, that it is not &s;o ea&s;ye to fynd an hundreth hou|&s;es, &amp; &s;o manye brethren &amp; fyeldes &amp;c. Wherfore po~der more dilyge~tly, what hath ben done.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actuum .ii.</NOTE> Whe~ Peter, as y^e Actes do te&s;tyfie. dyd vpon wyt&s;onday, prea+ching chri&s;te, conuert thre.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Howe it oughte to be vnder|&s;tanded, y^t we &s;hal re|ceaue an hundreth folde in this world</NOTE> M men too the chri&s;tian fayth, dyd he not get vnto hym, a muche greater numbre of &s;y|&s;ters and brethren, and al&s;o manye mo hou&s;es, fyeldes, and much greater ple~|tye of all thynges than euer he hadde before? For, he dyd loue all theym whi+che dyd take thee name of chry&s;te vp|on them, and dyd beleue in him, no les
<PB REF="61"> than hys owne brethren, he dyd no le&s;&s;e care for theyr ryches and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;yons, than yf the &s;ub&s;taunce of all theym, had bene hys owne, takinge hede mo&s;t dili|ge~tly to this thing, that they &s;huld not &s;et theyr myndes to moch vpon earthly ryches, nor abu&s;e them ra&s;hely. Truely all faythful pa&s;tours were of this myn+de. In dede this reward doth in no wi&s;e &s;erue for the body, nor for bodely co~mo|dities, but rather it doeth increa&s;e the care &amp; &s;olicitude of a Pa&s;tour, which he hath ouer the &s;hepe co~mitted vnto him. What nedeth to &s;peake of the promi&s;es of &abper;&s;ecutio~, wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ch we do &s;e to be &s;o ful+fylled, y^t by the &s;pace of many yeres, the pa&s;tours &amp; mini&s;ters of y^e churches haue ben mo&s;t cruelly put to death? wherby, it may ea&s;ely be gathered, y^t the Pa&s;tours do in no wy&s;e mini&s;ter and execute this function &amp; office,<NOTE PLACE="marg">whether a Pa&s;tour y^t is fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">thful doeth take this offyce vpon him, in re&s;pecte of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uer+la&s;ting re|warde, or not.</NOTE> for any externe &amp; out|warde reward. But becau&s;e, the rewar+de of euerla&s;tinge lyfe is promy&s;ed al|&s;o wythe the&s;e outwarde thynges, we mu&s;t con&s;yder &amp; luke, whether y^t the Pa+&s;tour doth take vpon hym this office, in re&s;pecte of it, or not. Where agayne we &s;hal deprehend &amp; fynd, y^t the Pa&s;tour, yf &s;o be that he be true &amp; faythfull, is not principally moued wyth thee promy&s;e
<PB REF="61"> of y^e euerla&s;ti~g reward, to take thys of|fyce vpon him. For, he y^t &s;eeueth for an euerla&s;ting hier &amp; rewarde, mu&s;t nedes afore all thynges to know, where this hyer or reward is promi&s;ed vnt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> him, agayne, who is the author of this pro|my&s;e, &amp; that he, whych hath promy&s;ed, is true, whych can neytherlye, nor de|ceaue. Yf then, a man knoweth, that a rewarde is promy&s;ed vnto him, by and by doth he enquyre, wyth al dylyge~ce &amp; &s;tudye, whether that he which hathe promy&s;ed it, is true. Yf he be eues a&s;&s;u+red and certyfyed in hys mynde there|of, he hath al&s;o gotte~ y^e true &amp; mo&s;t a&s;&s;u+red or &s;trong faythe in god the father. And where faythe is, there al&s;o mu&s;te the loue of god en&s;ue and fol<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">w. For, who coulde acknowledge god, for that hyghe and infallyble good, for a mo&s;te benigne, bou~teous, &amp; mercyful father, &amp; not loue hym, from hys very hart? e&s;+pecyally &s;yth that hathe certyfyed vs of hys grace and loue, wyth that mo&s;t chyef Iewel, pryce&punc; and pledge, of hys only beg<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tte~ &s;o~ne Ie&s;us chri&s;t. No ma~ then that is a faythfull pa&s;tour, hath a re&s;pect to y^e reward or hyer. For, yf he be alredy before a&s;&s;ured &amp; certyfyed of the reward, knowynge that it can not
<PB REF="62"> be taken from hym, he mu&s;te al&s;o haue fayth before in hym: Yf he hath fatyh, he hathe al&s;o an in&s;eparable company|on wyth it, whyche is called thee loue of God. Yf then the Pa&s;tour hath both faythe and loue, the&s;e two &s;hall moue hym: to doo hys duetye. and to execute truely hys offyce, wythout any re&s;pect of rewarde or hyer. Seruauntes and hyerlynges do laboure and worcke for the hyer, and haue an eye onelye to it, the chyldren not &s;o: but becau&s;e they are chyldren they do &s;o faythfully wor+ke in the hou&s;e of their father, wyth|out any &s;olycitude or care of the hyer, or rewarde, for, they do committe who|ly the retribution or paying of it, what &s;oeuer it &s;hall be at length, vnto theyr father.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Galat. iiii</NOTE> And we are chyldren and eyres wyth Chri&s;te, why &s;houlde we then as &s;eruauntes and hyerlynges haue a re|&s;pecte onely to the hyer and rewarde, and not rather to the glory and honour of our father, whych accordynge to his ryghteous wyl, and euerla&s;ting wy&s;do~, doeth appoynte and a&s;&s;ygne a portion of hys enheritaunce for vs? What Pa|&s;tour &s;oeuer is not come to this mea&s;ure of gods loue, he &s;hal in y^e fla~mes of te~p|tacion &amp; per&s;ecutio~, ofte~ tymes wauer.
<PB REF="62"> For this cau&s;e Chri&s;te dyd &s;trengthen his di&s;ciples wyth his holy &s;pyryte, a|fore y^t they went to preache, &amp; that with an outwarde &s;ygne and token of fyrye tonges, of a vehement noy&s;e &amp; impetu|ous wynd.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actuum. ii</NOTE> For, the wynd dyd go be|fore in toke~ of y^e mo&s;t troublous tempe&s;t wher with afterwardes the world was &s;haken &amp; moued: which &s;igne and toke~, fyrye tongues dyd folowe, wherby the &s;trengthening &amp; confirming of god the father, through hys loue, beynge kynd|led in our hartes, is &s;ygnyfyed and be|tokened.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="essay">
<HEAD>&para;Of fal&s;e Pa&s;tours / &amp; vnpreachinge Prelates.</HEAD>
<P>_FAl&s;e Pa&s;tours, are they,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Who be fal&s;e Pa|&s;tours.</NOTE> whyche are called fal&s;e Prophetes, whom that mo&s;t wy&s;e &amp; euerla&s;tinge God, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oeth in many pla|ces lyuelye depicte, &amp; &s;et forth, in theyr owne colours, and yet for all that, &s;och is the ignoraunce &amp; blynd+ne&s;&s;e of our hartes, y^t we wyl not know them. But Chri&s;t doth &s;o lyuely, Math. vii. &s;et the~ forth before oure owne eyen, that he may &s;eme to haue &s;hewed them
<PB REF="63"> wyth hys fynger, &s;aying after thys ma+ner: Beware of fal&s;e Prophetes y^t come to you in &s;hepes clothing, but inwarde+ly they are raueninge wolues, ye &s;hall knowe them by theyr fruytes. Do men gather grapes of thornes, or fygges of thy&s;tels? In the&s;e wordes, we do &s;e a ge+nerall rule &s;et forth by Chri&s;t, whych y^e trueth it &s;elfe dyd de&s;crybe, that therby we &s;hould know all fal&s;e Pa&s;tours and prophetes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The hipo|cri&s;y of fal+&s;e prophe|tes is ap|plyed to y^e Papy&s;tes.</NOTE> For, at the fyr&s;t they come as yf a man myghte &s;aye, vnarmed or na|ked, beynge decked in &s;ymple &amp; homely apparell, contrefeytinge thee &s;hepe, as though butter could not melte in theyr mouthes, y^t is to &s;aye, as thoughe they coulde hurte no man wyth theyr owne &s;trength and armure. Such as we do &s;ee now a dayes the Papi&s;tes to be, yf a ma~ &s;huld con&s;yder and loke vpon the wor|des, that they doo v&s;e, for, as touchinge theyr outward apparell, that both they and theyr trayne are wonte to v&s;e, it is &s;o repleni&s;hed, with the pryde &amp; pompe of this worlde, it is &s;o garni&s;hed wyth all kyndes of watrely weapons &amp; ar|mure, that a wolfe can not be ea&s;elyer knowen, by hys wyde gaping mouth, and longe rauening teeth tha~ the&s;e ty|rauntes are knowe~ by it. But lettinge
<PB REF="63"> the&s;e th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nges pa&s;&s;e, we wyll con&s;yder &amp; loke vpon theyr wordes. Yf they do &s;ee any where the pure and &s;yncere doctry|ne of the Go&s;pell too be &s;owen, by and by, they come to the Magi&s;trates wyth &s;oche woordes: We do &s;ee, o men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The hypo+criticall o|ratio~ of y^e Papi&s;tes.</NOTE> not without a bytter griefe of mynde, that vn&s;ewed coate of Chri&s;te, to be mi&s;era|bly rente and torne, and that the holye catholyke Church, whych Chri&s;te hath pourcha&s;ed vnto hym &s;elfe, wythe hys mo&s;te precious bloude, is troubled, yea, and almo&s;t ouerwhelmed wyth &s;ondry, and diuer&s;e calamities, &amp;c. And who,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ironia, y^t is to &s;ay a playn moc+kinge of y^e hypocrite|cal Papy|&s;tes.</NOTE> beyng a true faythful man, could kepe him &s;elf fro~ weping, whe~ he heareth the bitter death of chri&s;t, &amp; the &s;heding of his mo&s;t precious bloud, thus, with &s;och la|mentable wordes to be rehear&s;ed? But when they are come to the ende of their Oratio~: thou &s;halt ea&s;ely perceaue and vnder&s;tande, whether that they do &s;eke chri&s;t, or rather the fillinge of theyr che|&s;tes. For they are wonte all mo&s;t to v&s;e &s;och a co~clu&s;ion. The laudable traditi|ons of the holy fathers are &s;cornefullye co~tempned &amp; altogether de&s;py&s;ed, (here they do vnder&s;tand &s;oche con&s;titutions, as do mayntayne theyr prebendes, their rentes &amp; reuenues, their fir&s;te fruytes,
<PB REF="64"> thythes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Why y^e pa+pi&s;tes doo co~playn of the Go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|pellers</NOTE> &amp; excommunication or &s;u&s;pen|dinge for money, theyr iuridicial power and iuridictions). Many &s;aye that the Ma&s;&s;e is no &s;acrifyce, (for, thys was y^e mo&s;t gaynful hawking, wherwith they dyd e&s;cape vnto them &s;elfes al the trea|&s;ures &amp; ryches of the world.) Confe&s;&s;io~ is euery where reiected &amp; &s;et at naught (for by it, they dyd leade the con&s;cie~ces of all men captyues and pry&s;onners, whych in dede they dyd neuer delyuer, or &s;ette at large, tyll they had alwayes wra&s;ted from the poore wretches an in|e&s;timable raun&s;ome. As for that true &amp; nece&s;&s;arye confe&s;&s;ion, whereby a man maye come into the true knowledge of hys &s;ynnes, and into a repentaunce, ac|ceptable vnto God, they cared neuer for it.) The holy and ble&s;&s;ed mother of god, the Vyrgyn Mary, is of al men vngod|lye de&s;py&s;ed (and why? becau&s;e that they do not &s;ee her, as &s;he was afore ty|mes hytherto, too be decked and trym|med wythe golden and &s;yluer gyftes, wherby they had euery yere a newe har+ue&s;t of money: but y^e al thinges are di&s;tri+buted &amp; geuen to the poore, as we reade y^t the poore &s;onne of Mary dyd). Mon|kes &amp; Nonnes, breakinge forth of their cloy&s;ters, treadinge moo&s;te vngodly all
<PB REF="64"> theyr lawes and rules vnder fete, do for|&s;ake theyr Mona&s;teries.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mona&s;te|ryes &amp; Ab|beys were thee garri|&s;ons of the Bi&s;hop of Rome &amp; of hys &s;haue|linges.</NOTE> (For in them was the &s;tronge&s;t garri&s;on of the By&s;|&s;hop of Rome &amp; of his adherentes, for, they dyd allure into Mona&s;teries, thee &s;onnes and daughters of the noble me~, of thee ryche and myghtye rulers, that they hauing theyr chyldren as pledges &s;huld feare and dreade theyr power the le&s;&s;e: Whych thing, we may &s;ee nowe a dayes by manyfe&s;t and playne tokens. For, in tho&s;e places where ther be fewe or no Mona&s;teries, men are wont to re|&s;y&s;te le&s;&s;e the Euangelicall doctryne,) prie&s;tes do take wyues (doeth not God hym &s;elfe commaunde the &s;ame?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of deuy|ly&s;hne&s;&s;e.</NOTE> but yf they &s;huld v&s;e concubynes and harlots, &s;o that the By&s;hop myght yearely get of euery one of them iiii. crownes, whe~ eyther the chyldre~ that are thus vnlaw+fully gotte~, are redemed, or the charges and co&s;tes of the vi&s;itacion, as they cal it, payde, &s;o that the Bi&s;hop might that way &s;crape .iiii.M. crounes euery yere they wolde co~playne nothyng.) The&s;e newe preachers, do &s;et forthe thynges vnadui&s;edly in theyr &s;ermons that wil &s;hortlye brede tumultes and &s;edycyons (In thee meane &s;ea&s;on that all mens goodes at morgaged vnto you, that ye,
<PB REF="65"> chalenge vnto your &s;elfes all mens ry|che&s;&s;e and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, that ye oppre&s;&s;e the poore with an intollerable yoke of rentes and &s;eruitude, &amp; that wyth &s;uche an vngodly viole~ce, as was neuer heard of: ye thincke that there can be no cau&s;e of &s;edition, where as euery man doeth know, that all &s;editions &amp; tumultes, y^t euer were &s;ens ther beginninge of the worlde, dyd acy&s;e of the pryde &amp; tyran|ny of the ryche and myghtye men of the worlde.) The&s;e thinges, I &s;aye, &amp; other lyke, are they wont to bringe about the latter ende of their Oration, wherby a|ny wy&s;e man may ea&s;ely gather, that the&s;e men wyll colour or cloke mo&s;t de|ceyptfully,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The papi+&s;tes do ma+ke y^e mi&s;te|ry of chri&s;t a cloke too hyde theyr carnall lu|&s;tes &amp; affec+tions.</NOTE> craftely and hypocritically, theyr inordinate lu&s;tes and affections, wyth that moo&s;t free and gratuite my|&s;tery of our Lorde and Sauyour Ie&s;u chri&s;te. But go to, let them not bewraye theyr fylthynes and impietie of theyr coun&s;ayle by &s;oche addition, yet euery man doeth vnder&s;tand what the&s;e men go about, by theyr vnmea&s;ureable pride and exceadinge great trayne: Whether that they do &s;eeke chri&s;te and the glorye of God <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eyth a &s;yncere harte, or rather be di&s;plea&s;ed that theyr cyches myght, gaynes, and plea&s;ures are myny&s;&s;hed,
<PB REF="65"> for, Chri&s;t neuer drewe w^t hym &s;uche a multitude of &s;erua~tes nor &s;uch a grea+te trayne.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e they do make me~tio~ of the Chri&s;tian &amp; Catholike church,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the ca|tholike churche of Chri&s;t.</NOTE> whi+che chri&s;t hath doth redemed w^t the me|rite of his bitter deathe, &amp; al&s;o in&s;titu|ted &amp; e&s;tabli&s;hed by his own auctoritie. We mu&s;t fetch dilige~tly, what is that Chri&s;tian and Catholyke church. But wher &s;hal we fynde it, more playnelye &s;et forth, than in the wordes &amp; oracles of our lord Ie&s;us chri&s;t, whych he him &s;elf hath &s;poke~, of thys thyng? Yf the~, we may deprehe~d &amp; fynde by y^e wordes of chri&s;t, that the con&s;piracie &amp; congre+gatio~ of y^e Papi&s;tes, is the chri&s;tia~ chur+che, truly it is co~uenyent &amp; mete, y^t we do acknowledg it &s;o. But yf chri&s;t hath not in&s;tituted it: with what boldne&s;&s;e, and impudency do they bo&s;t, crake, and &s;et theym &s;elues forthe by that tytle? Truely they may be a Papi&s;tical chur+che, thys we do not denye vnto them. But they can be no more called,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Yf Belial may be cal+led god. Y^e co~gregati|on or co~&s;pi+ratie of y^e Papy&s;tes may be cal+led thee Churche</NOTE> y^e Chry+&s;tian churche (whych we do confe&s;&s;e in the Crede, or &s;ymbole, and is the com|munio~ of al thee faythful, &amp; &s;pou&s;e of chri&s;t) than Belial is god. For, onele&s;&s;e this were true, y^e fou~dacio~ of our fayth
<PB REF="66"> and beleue, that we haue of the church, &s;hulde leaue vpon wretched, fraile and mortall men. Howe foly&s;&s;he, ab&s;urde and impo&s;&s;yble thys thynge is, anye Chri&s;tyan harte doeth ea&s;ely vnder&s;ta~d and perceaue.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The bny|uer&s;al chur+che of all the godly.</NOTE>The church the~ (y^t we may al&s;o &s;pea+ke of it, as much as y^e nece&s;&s;itie of thys place &amp; tyme doth requyre) in hys fyr&s;t &s;ignification is taken for all the~ that put theyr whole tru&s;te, hope and confy+dence in Chri&s;te onelye, and in him do &s;eeke all theyr &s;aluacyon, accordynge to Chri&s;tes &s;ayinge where Math. xvi. he &s;ayethe of hym &s;elfe: And vppon thys &s;tone (whych thou Peter had con+fe&s;&s;ed euen nowe and therfore act cal|led Peter) I wyll or &s;hall buylde my churche, that is to &s;ay, I wyl reconcile my people, with god my father, by this one only meane. I am that true imma+culate lambe, and therfore I wyl offer my &s;elf an omni&s;ufficient &s;acrifice, for y^e &s;innes of al y^e whole world. Who &s;o|euer the~ doth put his whole tru&s;t &amp; co~|fyde~ce vpon this rocke or &s;tone, he &s;hal be &s;aued, &amp; is a membre of my &s;aintes, y^t is to &s;ay of my people, &amp; of my chur|che. By chri&s;tes wordes the~, it is mani+fe&s;t &amp; playne, y^t al they, which do tru&s;te
<PB REF="66"> in chri&s;t, put al theyr hope and co~fide~ce in him, are the chri&s;tian church. For he that is builded vpon this rock or &s;tone, mu&s;t nedes to be in the church, &s;ythe y^t the church is builded vpo~ y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ame &s;tone.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Part<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+re chur|ches.</NOTE> Secondlye, the churche is taken other whiles for euery pary&s;he. For, after y^e &s;en&s;e and &s;ignificatio~, we do cal y^e chur+che of y^e Corinthia~s, that part of y^e vny+uer&s;al church, y^t was in times pa&s;t ga|thered at Corinthus in y^e fayth of chri|&s;te, where as in the meane &s;ea&s;on, they were al membres of that catholike and vniuer&s;al church: and yet not wyth&s;ta~|ding, bei~g gathered together, they dyd receaue y^e name of a church or co~grega+tion. After the &s;ame maner, we cal the churche of London, the &s;ame congrega+tyon, that is in London: wher as in the meane &s;ea&s;on, al they that be co~tayned in it, are membres of that vnyuer&s;all chri&s;tia~ church which is that true chur+che, which we do co~fe&s;&s;e in the crede,<NOTE PLACE="marg">the church of y^e papi|&s;tes hathe no power, or iuri&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ic+tion ouer y^e Catholike or vniuer|&s;al church</NOTE> or &s;ymbole of the Apo&s;tles. But as the&s;e partyculare churches of Corynthus &amp; of London, may nor oughte nor, to bur+den thee vnyuer&s;all Churche of thee Chri&s;tians, whyche dwel di&s;per&s;ed vp on the whole face of the earth, with a|ny newe lawes and tradycyons: So y^e
<PB REF="67"> Romy&s;he or Papi&s;tical church (which is only a particulare churche, yf &s;o bee that they haue fayth in chri&s;te Ie&s;u) ought in no wy&s;e to prefarre it &s;elf vn+to other nor to make all men &s;ubiecte vnto their traditions. Al&s;o the&s;e thin|ges might be proued, w^t many te&s;timo|nies of the &s;criptures, but becau&s;e thei are &s;ufficiently &amp; largely ynough aled+ged in other places,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oke vpo~ his arti|cles &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> an+&s;were y^t he made too one called Valentin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Compar.</NOTE> we &s;hal not neade here to bryng the~. For, the matter doth not admitte, nor &s;uffre vs to &s;peake of thys thynge as muche, as neade requy+reth. Wherfore when the Papi&s;tes to complaine of any deui&s;ion or &s;ubuer|&s;yon of the churche, they care for none other thyng, but for theyr own y^t is to &s;ay, al their care is, for y^e lucre gaynes &amp; co~modities of their churche, which they &s;e euery day to lo&s;e moch profyt. For, the more do come to y^e true know+ledge of chri&s;te, and beleue in hym thee greater the church is, though no Pope at all, or mytred By&s;&s;hoppe, or hyghe prye&s;te or patriarch were founde in al thee whole world. But that, that they complayne vpon, doeth get vnto them no &s;mall fauour, and why? it hathe no &s;mall &s;hew of godline&s;&s;e: for, they wil be coumpted &s;uch, as care for the &s;hepe
<PB REF="67"> wheras they &s;eke the wolle, &amp; wold ra+ther, be clippers and &s;herers, than Pa|&s;tours or &s;hepeherdes. For, the crafty &amp; &s;ubtyl men, knew ryght wel, that thee churche of god, or &s;hepe or people of god, ought to be brought into none o|ther pa&s;toure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The papi|&s;tes, yf thei were trew pa&s;tours, haue more cau&s;e to be glad than to be &s;ory.</NOTE> but y^t the true and onely fode of gods word ought to be myny|&s;tred vnto them. Sythe then, that thee faithful pa&s;tours do euery where, mini+&s;ter lyberally this whol&s;om &amp; health|ful fode of the go&s;pel, it is mete, that they &s;huld make no complaynte of the deui&s;yon of thee churche, but rather, oughte to reioyce, and bee gladde, that they &s;e thee pa&s;toures of &s;aluacyon, to &s;prynge vp and flory&s;&s;he, &s;o goodly euery where.</P>
<P>Here,<NOTE PLACE="marg">again&s;t the~ y^e wil haue y^e fathers to be ob&s;er+ued &amp; folo|wed in the expo&s;ition of y^e &s;crip+tures.</NOTE> I do not greatlye pa&s;&s;e vppon theyr obiectyon, wher they do commau~+de y^t the preachyng of y^e go&s;pel, &s;hulde be ruled, guyded, &amp; moderated, after, or accordyng to the expo&s;ityon of the fa+thers. For, chri&s;te our &s;auyour, did not a&s;&s;ubiectize or make &s;ubiect, thys wor+de, wherof he &s;peaketh Math iiii &s;ay+ing: Man doth not liue, w^t bread only, but w^t euery word, that cometh out of gods mouth: vnto y^e Iudgemente of y^e fathers, y^t they &s;huld pronou~ce or geue
<PB REF="68"> &s;ente~ce vpo~ it, but he wil haue y^e worde to be vnder&s;ta~ded, which cometh out of Gods mouth, as we may &s;e Deut. viii. But y^t the&s;e thi~ges may be more plain, &amp; ea&s;yer to be vnder&s;ta~ded of euery ma~: Let the&s;e felowes tell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Let the pa+p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tes aun+&s;were to the&s;e.</NOTE> I praye, what was y^e condicio~ of the chri&s;tian faith. &amp; how the go&s;pel &amp; Eua~gelical doctrine could be preached, afore y^t the&s;e fathers were borne into y^e world? Howe &s;hall, we &s;ay that y^e Apo&s;tles did preache the go&s;pell, or after what maner dyd they it? Now therfore, their deceateful craf+tes ar detected, wherby they dyd go a|bout, to deceaue y^e &s;imple witted me~, vn+der y^e name of y^e fathers, &amp; to include w^t in certaine limities &amp; bou~des, y^e liber|tie of gods worde. For, thys we maye boldely affirme &amp; &s;ay, y^t the chri&s;tia~ peo+ple did neuer liue a more innoce~t &amp; god+ly lyfe, tha~ whe~ ther were no humaine tradityo~s at al, the pre&s;criptyon &amp; tea+chynge of the Euangelycall doctryne being then admix&s;ted w^t &s;implicitie.</P>
<P>They are wa~t therfore to &s;peake the&s;e &amp; other lyke wordes, about the begyn|nyng of their oracyo~, or this one cau|&s;e, y^t they may deceaue the &s;ymple and ygnora~t people. But pray&s;ed be god, y^t they begynne theyr tale after this ma+ner,
<PB REF="68"> &amp; fa&s;hyo~. For, two or tri actes ha|ue ben &s;et forth by the&s;e me~, wher they &s;eme y^t thei haue forgotte~, to co~me~d at the fyr&s;t beginning, the faithful &amp; dyli+gent preachi~g of y^e go&s;pel vnto al me~: which we haue mo&s;t nede of, of al thin+ges. How beit, they maki~g a very cold me~tio~ of y^e go&s;pel, almo&s;t about y^e ende of their Actes, be wo~t to &s;ay: And yet for al y^e, we ought not to be coumpted enemies of the go&s;pel. For we wyll y^t it be preached &amp;c. Now, tha~kes be vn|to god, thee matter is come to y^t, y^t they be fayne at le~gth to &s;peake &amp; make me~+tio~ of the go&s;pel, &amp; to co~mau~de the pa|&s;tours to preach it dilyge~tly: but by &amp; by, le&s;t thei &s;huld &s;eme to haue grau~ted to much, they do bryng y^e meani~g, expo+&s;itio~, &amp; iudgeme~t, or &s;e~te~ce of y^e fathers &amp; the co~mune mynd, or agreeme~t of all y^e faythful, &amp; by them wyl they haue y^e preachi~g of gods word to be ruled. In good &s;outh, a ma~ might thynke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">&s;arca&s;mus y^t in to &s;ay a playne mocke.</NOTE> y^e god hath a very good turne, that the&s;e doc+tours and fathers ar come for onele&s;&s;e the&s;e fathers had ben, it had ben lawe|ful for no ma~, to preach his word. For, let vs faigne, y^e none of al y^e fathers, did expound or went aboute to expounde, the worde of god and thee &s;cryptures,
<PB REF="69"> w^t theyr wrytynges and co~mentaryes, lett theym tell, I praye, wyll they &s;uf|fre then goddes worde to bee preached or not? Yf then, goddes worde can bee preached and &s;ette forthe purelye and &s;yncerely, wythout the expo&s;ityo~ and labour of the fathers, what &s;hame and impudencye is thys, that they be not a &s;hamed, to alligate and bynde goddes worde to thautorytye of thee fathers. Wheras theyr decrees do teach plaine+ly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">that booke I haue al|ready tra~&s;+lated in to Engli&s;h, &amp; is called a &s;hort path|way to co|me thee ryghte vn|der&s;ta~ding of Gods word.</NOTE> that the fathers mu&s;t gue place geue place vn+to gods worde, and not the worde, vnto the fathers, as we maye fynde Di&s;tin. viii. a. &amp; .ix. a. from whome the true &amp; &s;yncere vnderta~di~g of gods word doth come, &amp; wher, it ought to be &s;ought. I haue &s;ufficiently declared in a booke, which is intituled, De claritate verbi dei, y^t is to &s;ay of the playnelyne&s;&s;e or lyght&s;omnes of gods word.</P>
<P>It is euident &amp; playne the~, by this, y^t hath ben &s;aid hetherto, y^t al they, y^t ar wo~t to haue alwayes our lorde Ie&s;us chri&s;t in theyr mouthes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The hipo|cri&s;i of the papi&s;tes, &amp; of y^e wo|ues.</NOTE> therby to com+med, &s;et forth, &amp; colour their hypochry+tical co~plaintes, wherew^t now, y^t the go&s;+pel begi~neth to flori&s;h, thei do tragical+ly fyl y^t whole world, whereas in y^e mea+ne &s;ea&s;on they haue not in the~ a cro~me
<PB REF="69"> of the chri&s;tian fayth, wherby they may be knowen, do &s;eke none other thing, by this theyr hipocri&s;ye, but that they may be taken for true pa&s;tours, for, yf y^u doe&s;t loke vpon, con&s;yder &amp; beholde them, fro~ the top to the toes, thou &s;halt alwayes &s;ee wolui&s;h clawes to appeare out, whi+che they can neuer hyde. We wyll not haue thys thing to be vnder&s;tanded only of tho&s;e hyghe Prelates, &amp; mytred Bi&s;|hops, but it ought to be referred to all the mini&s;ters of the church by who&s;e &s;er+mons any man may ea&s;ely e&s;pye &amp; per|ceaue, whether y^t they doo &s;eke in their doctryne, the health &amp; &s;aluation of thee &s;hepe, or rather theyr owne <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ryuate pro+fyte.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The fruy|tes, where|by fal&s;e pa+&s;trous are knowen.</NOTE> Soch are they y^t do defend the pa|pi&s;tical church, &s;aying ope~ly: that y^e co~|&s;titutions of it, &s;tatutes and traditions ought to be no le&s;&s;e accepted tha~ the &s;a|cred &amp; holy &s;criptures And what grea|ter bla&s;phemye can be agayn&s;te God? What greater apo&s;ta&s;ye or rebellio~ can be agayn&s;te our heauenly Kynge? For, by what rea&s;on can we make the crea|ture equall wyth the creator? Soch are they al&s;o, y^t do ex<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">enuate the pa&s;&s;io~ and death of chri&s;t, &amp; almo&s;t make it nothing worch, whe~ they &s;aye: that man can not only, but al&s;o mu&s;t nedes get &amp; obtayne
<PB REF="70"> his &s;aluatio~ by the merites of his wor|kes. For, yf ryghteou&s;nes doth come vp workes Chri&s;t dyed in vayne, Galat. ii. But the&s;e deceyptfull wretches, do v&s;e thys &s;ubtyltie and crafte, for thys one cau&s;e, they know ryght well, that gene|rally all men do di&s;payre of the merites &amp; righteou&s;nes of theyr owne workes. Yf then, they do neuerthele&s;&s;e a&s;cribe &amp; attribute &s;aluation to workes, by &amp; by they turne them &s;elfes to the workes of other me~, crauing of the~ help &amp; &s;uccour. The~, by &amp; by the cold prayers of popi&s;h prie&s;tes, the mummelinges of Mo~kes, y^t rehear&s;inges of p&s;almes, the byinges &amp; &s;ellinges of Ma&s;&s;es, thee deckinges &amp; trimmi~ges of churches do come forth, &amp; offer the~&s;elues, which, as &s;one as y^t my|&s;erable ma~ doeth tru&s;t, &amp; put hys confi|de~ce in, this foli&s;he beleue of his, doeth with al liberalitie, geue vnto the&s;e fal&s;e &amp; vnfaythful pa&s;tours, doth mylke and wolle. The&s;e thinges dyd chri&s;t meane in Mathew,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. vii</NOTE> whe~ he &s;ayth: Ye &s;hal kno|we the~ by theyr fruytes. That is to &s;ay, by a diligent lokinge vpon, wayinge, &amp; con&s;yderation of tho&s;e thinges, y^t they be wont to &s;eeke, ye &s;hall ea&s;ely vnder|&s;tande, whether y^t they do fede the &s;hepe, of anye loue, that they haue towardes
<PB REF="70"> God, or of coueteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and auarice.<NOTE PLACE="marg">It is y^t of fire &amp; part of al god|ly per&s;ons too iudge of pa&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o|urs.</NOTE> Thys iudgement and tryall god doeth co~mitte <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">niuer&s;ally to all chri&s;tian me~, and to all the faythfull people. Wher|fore, the Papi&s;tes &s;hal neuer e&s;cape, but that they &s;halbe fayne to &s;ubmit them &s;elues to the iudgement and criall of o|ther, yea, the vyl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;te and &s;ymple<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e, that is in the Congregation, &s;hall be iudge ouer theym, whyche thynge they maye not refu&s;e. For, Chri&s;te &s;peaketh the&s;e wordes y^e me haue now alledged, to the whole multytude of hys &s;hepe. Let the fathers then togeather, wyth the whole &s;tocke of By&s;hoppes and hyghe Prela|tes, &s;ubmytte them &s;elues to thee com|mune tryal of all men, whether they be Pa&s;tours or wolues. And yf the chri&s;ti|an church do perceaue, that they be wol+ues and not Pa&s;tours, they ought in no wy&s;e to be hearde, but to be diligentlye taken heede of: thoughe they rage ne|uer &s;o moche, and take on lyke Ty|rauntes.</P>
<P>But now, we wil returne to y^e rule of Chri&s;t, wherby he teacheth vs to trye &s;och pa&s;tours, for, in Mat. he doth adde:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. vii</NOTE> So, euery good tree bri~geth forth good frutes, and a rotten tree, can not bringe forthe good fruyte. A good tree can
<PB REF="71"> not bringe forth yll fruyte: nor a rotten tree can bringe forth no good fruyte. E|uery tree that bringeth forth noo good fruyte, is hewed downe, and hurled in|to the fyre: therfore ye &s;hall know them by theyr fruytes. Here, we mu&s;t dilige~t+ly note &amp; marke, what was &s;ayd before of y^e faythful pa&s;tour, y^t is to &s;ay, y^t it is hys office &amp; duetye, to be earne&s;tly &s;tu|dious of tho&s;e thinges, whych he &s;eeth to be contayned in gods worde, &amp; com|maundeth other to ob&s;erue &amp; kepe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">By what workes fal+&s;e pa&s;tours mu&s;t be knowen &amp; tryed</NOTE> and that he mu&s;te in no wy&s;e &s;et forth hym &s;elf, wythe hys owne, or any other hypo|critical workes. And &s;o lykewy&s;e thee chri&s;tian people oughte to iudge &amp; trye theyr Pa&s;tour, not by tho&s;e workes that are required in mens traditions, but by them, which god doeth co~maunde vs in hys holy worde. Whych, becau&s;e it is not done now a dayes, we do &s;ee manye &s;ymple &amp; ingnoraunt per&s;ons come forth which crye out.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The com|playnts of the &s; mple &amp; igno<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ant people.</NOTE> See ye not, where vnto all thinges are come? The deuotion of the ble&s;&s;ed Ma&s;&s;e is clene fallen awaye, the Images are nether wor&s;hipped nor trimmed, the goodly &s;ingu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ge in chur|ches is co~tempned &amp; nothing &s;et by, In+dulgences are nothing regarded, y^e prie|&s;tes, Monkes, &amp; Nonnes receaue fewe,
<PB REF="71"> or no offeringes at al no man geueth to+wardes the mayntenance of our Ladys &s;eruyce, nor towardes the buyldinge of her church, wher vnto they do adde ma|ny lyke thinges with mornefull &amp; lame~+table voyces or woordes. But yf the&s;e good folkes knew y^t the bying &amp; &s;elling of Ma&s;&s;es, doeth hyghly di&s;plea&s;e god, and that to cloth &amp; decke the lyuing I|mages of god,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marke ye thys, o ye &s;imple and vnlearned people, &amp; &s;uffer you &s;elfes noo lo~ger to be deceaued w^t y^e poyn+ted babels of the Pa+py&s;tes.</NOTE> which are the poore nedy me~bres &amp; lymmes of Chri&s;t, not blockes and &s;tones, is a wor&s;hipping, mo&s;t accep+table vnto god: Be&s;ydes that none o|ther &s;inging is more plea&s;ant vnto him than when we do wor&s;hip him in &s;pirit and trueth, &amp; not when the churches do re&s;ounde with pypinge, lulling, below|inge and roaring: agayne, that y^e wares of pardons &amp; Indulgences, dyd induce and bringe into chri&s;tendom, all kyndes of evorme &s;ynnes &amp; vyces (for men tru|&s;ting in them, geue the~ &s;elues vp to pyl|ling &amp; pooling, to capines, to theftes, to v&s;ury, to warres, to &s;laughter and mur|ther, to playne trea&s;on, &amp; to al other hey+nou&s;e &amp; enorme vyces) moreouer, what great harme the chri&s;tian people &s;hould get, yf &s;o greate a multitude and nu~ber of ydell lubbers, as popy&s;&s;he Prie&s;tes, Monkes and Nounes are, &s;houlde bee
<PB REF="72"> maytayned and kepte, wher as we &s;ee them, to be not onely the folowers but al&s;o thee very autours and fynders of all vncleane tybaudrye and fle&s;helye plea&s;ures or carnall lu&s;tes: al&s;o, that no mans worcke, be he neuer &s;o godly and holye, can helpe or further the &s;aluatio~ of another, onelye thee merite of oure Lorde and Sauiour Ie&s;us Chri&s;te, very God and man, beynge excepted: fynal|ly yf they &s;houlde vnder&s;tande, that the chyefe honour, whyche can be geuen to the Vyrgyn Marye, doeth not con&s;y&s;te in thys thynge, that we &s;houlde buylde vp goodlye Churches, that we &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oulde &s;ette vp the arrogant and proude <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ha|nones, vppon hyghe pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">frayes, keping theym at our owne co&s;tes and charges, wythe theyr &s;hamele&s;&s;e harlottes and whores:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The trew wor&s;hyp|p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nge of y^e vyrgin ma+rye.</NOTE> but moche rather that we &s;hul+de be&s;towe all the&s;e co&s;tes and charges vpon theym, that do beleue and tru&s;t in Ie&s;us Chri&s;te the &s;onne of Mary, and that tho&s;e thynges that are b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">wed vppon buyldinge of churches, &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oulde be geuen to Vyr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">yus and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">one&s;te wo|me~, who&s;e cha&s;titie is for extreme nede and pouertye, in no &s;mall peryll and daunger, that &s;o they maye thee better
<PB REF="72"> kepe theym &s;elues hone&s;te. Yf, I &s;aye, the&s;e tude and vnlearned per&s;onnes, vnder&s;tode the&s;e and other lyke good worckes, that Chri&s;t doeth requyre of vs, they woulde al&s;o learne too knowe theyr Pa&s;toure, by theym onelye. But nowe, for lacke of thys knowledge, thoughe thee poore &s;ymple and fooli&s;h &s;heepe, do &s;ee hym, that &s;houlde be theyr Pa&s;toure, to bee &s;hamefull ye geuen to coueteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, rybaudrye, dronckene&s;&s;e and ryottous bancketting to carthyng and dycynge, and other moo&s;te abho|mynable vyces: Yet not wyth&s;tanding yf he can haue &s;ome &s;hewe of deuoty|on or godlyne&s;&s;e, eyther by often &s;ay|inge of Ma&s;&s;e, or by &s;ome other oute|warde ceremonyes or toyes, they wyll take hym for a trewe &s;hepehearde of Pa&s;toure, where as he is none other thynge, but a verye rauenyuge Wol|fe.</P>
<P>I haue for thee nones,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A de&s;crip|tion of the fal&s;e Pa|&s;tour by a col<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">o~ or co~pary&s;on of y^e trew.</NOTE> and of a &s;et pourpo&s;e, deferred the de&s;cription, ey|ther of a By&s;hop, or Pa&s;toure, whyche Paule hath &s;ette forth. Titu i.i. Timo iii. vnto thys place, y^t by the light&s;om|ne&s;&s;e and true beholdinge of the lyght, we maye knowe the backene&s;&s;e, and by
<PB REF="73"> the nature and propertie of the true pa|&s;tour, we may al&s;o e&s;pye oute the fal&s;e. Paul wryteth after this maner: A Bi&s;|&s;hop therfore mus&s;t be blameles, the hu&s;|band of one wyfe, dilige~t, &s;obre, di&s;cret, a keper of ho&s;pitalitie, apte to teach, not geue~ to ouer moche wyue, no fyghter, not gready of fylthy lucre, but gentyll, abhorring fyghting, abhorring couete|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, one that ruleth well hys owne hou&s;e, one that hath chyldren in &s;ubiec|tion wyth all reuerence. And agayne, a by&s;hop mu&s;t be blamele&s;&s;e as y^e &s;teward of God, not &s;tubborne, not angrye, not geuen to moche wyne, noo fyghter, not geue~ to fylthy lucre, but a keper of ho&s;|pitalitie, oue that loueth goodne&s;&s;e, pru+dent, &s;obre, righteous, godly, temperate, and &s;oche as cleueth to the true woorde of doctryne, that he may be able al&s;o, to exhorte by whole&s;ome learninge, and to improue them, that &s;aye agayn&s;te it. In the&s;e wordes, Paule doeth &s;et forth vnto vs &s;ynges and tokens, wherby we oughte to know and choo&s;e a pa&s;tour. Wherby, this al&s;o doeth nece&s;&s;arely fo|lowe, that they be all fal&s;e pa&s;tours, and vnapt to the mini&s;tratio of this offyce as many as are not enoued wyth the&s;e vertues. Yet all the&s;e thinges, y^t Paule
<PB REF="73"> doeth reher&s;e, are comprehended wyth in loue and charytye, as we haue decla+red before.</P>
<P>Now, althoughe &s;ome pa&s;toure,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|&s;tour mu&s;t be blame|le&s;&s;e.</NOTE> bee through &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">aunderous per&s;ons yll re+ported, and by bacbyters &amp; fal&s;e kna|ues diffamed and al&s;o accu&s;ed, yet it ought no to be hurtfull vnto hym, ex|cepte he be conuinced of thee cryme, that is layde agayn&s;te hym, by true wytne&s;&s;es, and &s;ute argumentes and tokens. For,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Manye of an yl wyll that they beare to y^e truth &s;cla~|der y^e mini&s;ters of gods wor|de.</NOTE> nowe in thys mo&s;te wyc|ked worlde, we doo &s;ee a greate &s;orte, (whych is more the pitie) that of a ma+lyce, hatered, and yll wyl that they bea+re vnto thee truthe, are not a&s;hamed, &amp; that, wyth mo&s;te manyfe&s;t and playne lyes, to &s;klaunder and dyffame the mi+ny&s;ters of goddes worde. But yf he be accu&s;ed of &s;ome notable cryme, and thereof, lawfullye by &s;ure wytne&s;&s;es conuynced, he is not worthye to my|ny&s;ter any lo~ger y^e &s;acred &amp; holy office. O, how I might now dre&s;&s;e, ha~del, de|pict, &amp; &s;et forth in their owne colours, certaine of tho&s;e hygh prelates, which do &s;klau~derou&s;ly lay to my charge, all heinous crimes, that they ca~ ymagine, or thynke vpon, yf I &s;hulde any thyng be moued, wyth their &s;hamefull back|bytynges
<PB REF="74"> and &s;klaunders.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Thee Pa|&s;tour yf he hath not y^e gift of cha+&s;tite, mu&s;te marye.</NOTE>Againe it is manife&s;t &amp; playne by y^e wordes of Paul, y^t they are al fal&s;e pa|&s;tour, y^t haue rather to liue abhomina+bly, tha~ to take wyues. For, they that are &s;uch, are growe~ &amp; come, to that im+pudencie, &amp; vn&s;hamefa&s;tnes, y^t not one|ly, they be not a&s;hamed of their abho|minable lyuing, but, al&s;o are nothing a&s;hamed to myny&s;ter vnto other, occa|&s;yon of euyl,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|&s;tour mu&s;t be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">obre.</NOTE> &amp; of dete&s;tablenes. Paul doth geue like iudgeme~t, &amp; &s;e~te~ce of bib+bers, dro~kardes. &amp; riotous per&s;ons. Yet in y^e meane &s;ea&s;o~, we do not fobid any ma~ to v&s;e, a moderate eati~g &amp; drinki~g.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">I pa&s;tour mu&s;t not be &s;tubbur+ne, nor w^t|out mode|ration.</NOTE>Lykewi&s;e he is commaunded, that he be not &s;tubborne, &s;tyfnecked, &amp; w^tout moderacyon, in hys wordes and other ge&s;tures of hys: whereby we do vnder+&s;tande, that the&s;e lyars, tey&s;ters, &amp; fan+ta&s;tycall reuylers, are fal&s;e prophetes. Al&s;o they, that v&s;e no moderatyon, or &s;obrenes in theyr apparell, ge&s;ture, or other behauoyour of theyr body, ar not Pa&s;toures, but rauenynge wolues. As many,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Thee Pa|&s;tour is bounde to kepe ho&s;pi+talitie.</NOTE> as kepe no ho&s;pitalytie, e&s;|pecyally towardes the poore and nea|dye, are fal&s;e pa&s;tours. Yet in thys place, maye thee commune &s;orte of pa|&s;tours be excu&s;ed, which haue &s;ca&s;cely, any thynge le&s;&s;e to lyue vppon: for, al
<PB REF="74"> thinges, as we &s;e, at come to that poi~t, that thee myghtye prelates and By&s;+&s;hops yea the &s;eculare rulers al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Oye. vnge~+till ge~tilme~ y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> dayli do impropera+te benefy|ces, re&s;tore for &s;hame, vnto y^<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> pa+&s;tors theyr lyuinges.</NOTE> ha|ue take~ away fro~ them, their liuinges &amp; thythes, &s;carcely leauing any thing to the poore pa&s;tours, wherw^t they may lyue at hom a poore lyfe. Wherfore, it is thee duetye of churches and pary&s;|&s;hes, to prouyde lyberally of their rhy+thes &amp; other reuenues, for their pa&s;tour y^t he may both haue that, whych is ne|ce&s;&s;ary, &amp; al&s;o helpe them, that ar in ne+ci&s;&s;itie &amp; nede. Yf this were done, wee &s;huld &s;e by &amp; by al tho&s;e actes, craftes, and deceates, wherwith they haue alu+red the people committed vnto theym, to offerynges, to fall awaye of theyr owne &s;elues.<NOTE PLACE="marg">A pa&s;tour mu&s;t be a|ble to tea|che.</NOTE></P>
<P>But afore al thinges, they are vnwor+thye of the name of a pa&s;tour, y^t be not apte or able to teache, or thoughe they can teache, yet they will not &s;tycke or cleaue to the doctryne, that they maye &s;trongely and wyth a con&s;tant &amp; &s;toute corage confound and reproue theym,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A faithful father.</NOTE> y^t &s;peake again&s;t the truth. The faithful pa&s;tour mu&s;te haue al&s;o mode&s;te or &s;o|bre chyldren, godly, and well brought vp. Whereby, it maye bee gathered al&s;o, that yong me~, which are vnexpert
<PB REF="75"> of the worlde, &amp; are yet ruled by theyr affectyons and lu&s;tes, oughte not to be admytted too thys mo&s;te peryllous and harde offyce, but menne of rype Iudgemente, whyche haue alreadye &s;hewed a proue of thyr &s;tudye and god+lyne&s;&s;e in the bryngynge vppe of theyr chyldren: except we myght fynde &s;ome Timothes that is to &s;aye yonge men endued w^t all gyftes, appertayning to a By&s;hop. That, whyche folowethe in Paul, any ma~ may ea&s;ely vnder&s;tand, For, they are &s;o playne that they nede no farther expo&s;ition. Wherefore, we &s;hal by this meane, accordynge to thee &s;aying of chri&s;t, know a fal&s;e pa&s;tour &amp; hypochrite, by his fruites, or worckes, &s;o that we &s;hal al&s;o vnder&s;tand, whych be the good &amp; godly frutes, and agayn whych be euyl &amp; deuely&s;h, le&s;t paradue~+ture, we &s;hould receaue the cockyl for thee good wheate, or the tares beyng &s;aued, we &s;hulde ca&s;t awaye, the good &s;ede. We wyll tell afterwardes, what chry&s;t doeth meane, by the rotten tree, whych being hewed and cut downe is hutled and ca&s;t into the fyre.<NOTE PLACE="marg">They are fal&s;e Pa|&s;tours y^t haue ney|ther faythe nor charite</NOTE></P>
<P>Moreouer, they that haue vnfayth+full, and my&s;beleuyng hartes, nor bee fyred or kyndeled wythe thee loue of god, as it was &s;hewed by the example
<PB REF="75"> and wordes of chri&s;t, when we &s;pake be+fore of the true pa&s;tour, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r no le&s;&s;e fal&s;e pa&s;tours, than they, that we haue &s;po|ke~ of, alredy. Thou &s;halt playnelye &s;e theyr my&s;beleue, infidelitie &amp; mi&s;tru&s;t or incredulytie, by theyr owne fruites &amp; workes. For afore, we dyd learne by the wordes of chri&s;t that it is y^e offyce and duetie of a pa&s;tour, to for&s;ake vt|terly, for the loue of god, &amp; hys worde, his parentes, &s;y&s;ters, brethren &amp; other kyn&s;efolkes: it is playne then &amp; mani+fe&s;t, that they at fal&s;e pa&s;tours, that ta|ke thys offyce vpon them, to this inte~t, that they may euryche them &s;elues, &amp; al theyr kynred. Whych thing now at thys pre&s;ent, we maye &s;e, in tho&s;e my|tred By&s;hoppes, which w^t faygned in|dulgences, ab&s;olutions, and other like deceates and craftes, do promote &amp; in|haunce al their kynfolkes to hygh ho|nours &amp; riche&s;&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">the popi&s;h prelates do guide y^e goodes of poore, to y^t their kyn&s;|fokes &amp; to their han|des,</NOTE> yea they geue al&s;o vn|to bawdes, which whe~ they were yo~g, brought vnto the~, whores and harlots, greate and fat benefyces. Wherefore, when we do &s;e them, whiche were poore and nedy afore, after that they be outs made By&s;hops, to enrych them &s;elues, and al theyr kyn&s;efolkes, it is a mo&s;te &s;ure, vndoubted and infallyble token
<PB REF="76"> that they bee fal&s;e pa&s;tours. For, the&s;e are the goodes of the poore, whom god byddeth vs, to do good to, and not too the~ that abu&s;e the&s;e ryche&s;&s;e to vayne orientacyon, arrogante pryde &amp; glory. Chri&s;t doeth byd vs to for&s;ake our pa|rentes and kyn&s;efolkes: but they, whe~ they be made By&s;&s;hops and pa&s;tours, do imbra&s;e them mo&s;t, and geue theym great goodes and ryche&s;&s;.<NOTE PLACE="marg">They are fal&s;e Pa|&s;tours. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> do abhorre the cro&s;&s;e.</NOTE></P>
<P>Be&s;ydes that, we haue heard, y^t it is requyred of a pa&s;toure, that he bee al|wayes readye, ta take vp hys cro&s;&s;e vp on hys &s;houlders and to folow chri&s;te. Whereby we do &s;ee agayne, that they are fal&s;e pa&s;tours, and vntrue By&s;hop+pes, that be &s;o farre from that con&s;tan+cye, and &s;trengthe of mynde, that they do not onely thynke and harde and an intollerable thyng to &s;uffer death, but al&s;o, can not abyde or &s;uffre pacyently any myny&s;hynge of their worldly co~|modities, nor any rebuke, for the name of Chri&s;te for &s;ome of them, do &s;o loue the~ &s;elues, and their own lyues, y^t they do not care, though they do &s;et all thee nations of the worlde together by the eares,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In exhor|tation too Princes</NOTE> &s;o y^t they may p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;iblye, enioye &s;til theyr owne plea&s;ers: Lyft vp your eyen, o ye Princes, y^t haue y^e ruledo~ &amp; gouerna~ce
<PB REF="76"> of Publyke weales, and looke aboute you. For, the&s;e fal&s;e pa&s;tours can light+ly moue and &s;tyrre you to maddenes &amp; futye, and too take vengeaunce one of an other, for naye tryflynge matter: but what hathe ben the ende of &s;uche coun&s;ayles and enterpry&s;es, not fewe examples of oure tyme, do manyfe&s;tly declare. Wherby we &s;e clerely, that al pe&s;tylent warres, haue bene &s;tyrred vp thoroughe the worcke &amp; coun&s;ayle of fal&s;e pa&s;tours, whiche afterwardes they neyther could, nor yet wold que~|che nor pacifie. Wherby, infinit cala|mityes &amp; extreme pouertye dyd en&s;ue, both to the Princes &amp; to the poore peo+ple, wher as in the meane &s;ea&s;o~ the in+uentours, or cau&s;ers of thee yll, dyd lawghe and reioyce &s;ecretely in theyr owne bo&s;ome.</P>
<P>It is playne and manife&s;t al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">They are fal&s;e Pa|&s;tours y^t do not &s;hewe &amp; decla|re the~ &s;el|fes fathers of the con|gregatyon</NOTE> that they are fal&s;e pa&s;tours, whiche do not, in al theyr actes, doinges, &s;tudyes and coun&s;ayles, &s;hewe and declare the~ &s;el+ues to be fathers, nor e&s;teme and take, al the afflyctyons, troubles, cares and &s;olicitudes of theyr &s;hepe, as theyr own mole&s;tyes, and cares, but rather &s;eeke theyr owne profyt and aduantage or lucre, thondryng oute, alwayes thys
<PB REF="77"> one thing: Pay me that, which is mine owne. I a&s;ke my duetye, I a&s;ke that, that is my ryght What &s;hal we &s;ay of the~, which though they do not buyld, &amp; edyfye by their preachyng &amp; doctrine, yet they doo alwayes breake down &amp; de&s;tcoye, wyth theyr abhomynable ly|uynge and dete&s;table dedes, &s;ythe that it hath ben &s;hewed alredy before, by the wordes of chri&s;t that they, whyche do teach, &amp; do not expre&s;&s;e y^e &s;ame in theyr workes &amp; dedes<NOTE PLACE="marg">math. v.</NOTE> are les in the kyng|do~ of heauen, y^t is to &s;ay, in the church. Sythe then that the&s;e vaine doctours or teachers, ought by ryght to be num|bred amo~g the fal&s;e pa&s;tours, amonge who~ I pray, &s;hal we nu~bre and recken the~, which do neither teache, nor do y^t, that they &s;huld teache, wher as in thee meane &s;ea&s;o~, they glory, boa&s;t, crake &amp; &s;et forth the~&s;elues by the titles of By&s;+&s;hops &amp; fathers &amp; take away fro~ chur|ches y^e liuynges or reward &amp; hier dued to the true pa&s;tours? (I wyl not haue the, who &s;oeuer thou be that art godly, and loue&s;t true relygion, to be any thin+ge offended. For the&s;e &s;ayinges pertai+ne nothyng to the) they are rauenyng wolues agayne, it is playne, and mani+fe&s;te, that they are fal&s;e Pa&s;toures,
<PB REF="77"> whych do &s;eke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">They are fal&s;e Pa|&s;tours that &s;et forth, a+nye other workes tha~ chri&s;te hath co~mau~ded</NOTE> or &s;ette forthe any other worckes, than God hath commaunded. Be&s;ydes that, &s;yth that we haue hearde al ready before, that it is the chiefe and principall office of a pa&s;tour, to preache Gods worde, and that it is requyred in the preaching of it, that &s;ynnes and vy|ces be rebuked and blamed: it is euide~t that they are fal&s;e Pa&s;toures, and vn|true By&s;hoppes that doo neglecte thee preachinge of Gods worde&punc; nor rebuke vyces, as they oughte to be rebuked.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Agai~&s;t vn|preachinge prelates, y^t nether pre|ach nor re|buke &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nne</NOTE> It is al&s;o mo&s;te euydent, and playne, that they are all rauenynge wolues, whych do puni&s;&s;he &s;ynnes onely for this, that they may &s;crape and get to them &s;elfes therby a greate &s;umme of moneye. For,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marke ye this, o ye officials co~+mi&s;&s;aries &amp; dotrours of y^e arches</NOTE> yf the &s;ynnes of the people &s;hould gre|ue theym, thys gryefe coulde not be mi|tigated and a&s;&s;waged, nor yet taken a|waye from theyr hartes by moneye: but rather they &s;houlde &s;tudye, laboure, and doo all that in theym lyeth, that &s;ynners beynge in&s;tructed, and taughte by the rules of Goddes worde, &s;houlde leaue and for&s;ake theyr &s;ynfull wayes, whych thynge, &s;yth that they doo not, they geue a manyfe&s;t proue of the~ &s;elfes that they onely &s;eke for the che&s;tes and pur&s;es of theyr &s;hepe, or of them that ar
<PB REF="78"> vnder them, for by the fruyte, that they doo &s;eeke, we maye vnder&s;tande, what they are. Truely, it is to be lamented, that the&s;e men, whom it is manyfe&s;t to be rauenynge wolues, do v&s;urpe and take vppon theym, the names of Pa|&s;tours. Agayne, &s;yth that the rewarde of per&s;ecution and cro&s;&s;e was promy|&s;ed, vnto the trew pa&s;tours, we can not nor maye not call theym pa&s;tours, but rather &s;agitiues, rennegates,<NOTE PLACE="marg">They that will beare no cro&s;&s;e, are renne|gates and hyerlinges</NOTE> and hyer|linges, that wyll beare no cro&s;&s;e. But, by what worthye names &s;hall we call theym, that do trayterou&s;ly laye wayte for the true pa&s;tours, per&s;ecuting them wyth al theyr might, &s;trength, &amp; power and when &s;trength fayleth theym, doo hyre other to per&s;ecute theym? Many &s;oche could I name, who&s;e bloudy wor+kes al&s;o, I myght de&s;cribe: How be it, I doo wittingly pa&s;&s;e theym ouer: for nowe, it is not tyme to do it, for the mea+&s;ure of theyr wickednes mu&s;t be fulfyl|led, whych beynge done, theyr iniquitie &s;halbe reueled to all men. For, nothing is &s;o hydden, but that it &s;hall be reueled Marke .iiii.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">They that do not re|buke y^e fau+<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es &amp; vices</NOTE>Al&s;o they, that do not rebuke y^e fau|tes of Kynges, Princes, Magi&s;trates, and of the people, nor re&s;y&s;te, or wyth|&s;tande
<PB REF="78"> theym, but rather &s;uffre theym,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of Pri~ces, &amp; voylter in the~ their &s;elfes are fal&s;e Pa|&s;to<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rs.</NOTE> and not withoute a greuou&s;e offence of all godlye per&s;onnes, to voyltre theym &s;elues in the &s;tinckinge myre of &s;ynne, are no le&s;&s;e fal&s;e Pa&s;tours. But thys myghte in a maner be borne, yf the Doc+tours or teachers theym &s;elues, &s;houlde not wyth theyr abhominable lyuinge, farre exceade and pa&s;&s;e the naughtynes and wyckednes of other. For I am &s;ore a&s;hamed, too &s;peake any more of theyr rybandrye, and dete&s;table dedes, that they do &s;ecretely Ephe. vii. And yf any man myghte &s;ee thorough the walles theyr &s;ecretes and priuities, as in times pa&s;&s;ed, thee Lorde dyd reuele vnto hys holy prophete, Ezechiel viii. he &s;houlde &s;ee horrible thinges, that is to &s;aye, he &s;houlde &s;ee mo&s;te vngodlye Idolatrye, dete&s;table playes, mo&s;te &s;hameful who|redom, an oppre&s;&s;ing and murtheringe of &s;oules, and &s;oche a puddel of all ab|hominable vyces, that we myght com|playne wyth Chri&s;t, that the earth doth not vomite, &s;oche vngodly and abhomi+nable knaues. Neuerthele&s;e, we doo acknowledge, and take theym for Pa|&s;tours. And yet the&s;e vngodly per&s;ons are not content wyth the&s;e thinges, for we may fynde &s;ome of theym, that are
<PB REF="79"> not a&s;hamed to do tho&s;e thinges openly, whych no man beinge &s;ober, or in hys ryght mynd, yf he dyd but feare &amp; reue|rent the lyght, or the cleare and bryght daye, wolde or dur&s;t do<NOTE PLACE="marg">Math. v. &amp; xviii Marke. ix</NOTE> Chri&s;t our &s;a|uiour doeth commaunde to plucke our &amp; ca&s;t awaye &s;och eyen, but we are come to that madne&s;&s;e, that we do plante and &s;ett theym&punc;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">They that v&s;urpe he|re an earth+ly kingedo~ ar wolues</NOTE>Chri&s;t doth forbyd hys di&s;ciples, be|ynge gone forth to preache, y^t they &s;huld not beare a rode in their ha~des, nor po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e any &s;crip or pur&s;e. Wherby it ap|peareth, that they are not pa&s;tours, but mo&s;t raueni~g wolues, that beare a rode, that is to &s;aye, v&s;urpe here an earthlye kingdo~. For chri&s;t doeth forbid the Pa|&s;tour al kynde of ruledom, that princes of this worlde do v&s;e, when he &s;ayeth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke .xxii. mathe .xx.</NOTE> The princes of nations do beare rule ouer the~, and they that are greate, haue power vpo~ the~, it &s;hal not be &s;o among you. Yf the~ they haue the rode that the Lord hath forbidde~, they ar in very dede fal&s;e pa&s;tours. Yet not wyth&s;tandinge, they haue not only take~ the rode, but al|&s;o the &s;crip, pur&s;e &amp; beget, for, they are &s;o bent, &amp; geue~ to get gold &amp; &s;yluer and al other ryches of this world, that they could not do it, with any greater &s;tudye
<PB REF="79"> care &amp; dilige~ce, yf the Lord had &s;trayght+ly charged &amp; co~maunded the~, to gette al the whole world vnder their &s;ubiectio~. For, we &s;ee the~ to be &s;o &s;piritual, y^t they haue brought the chief part of y^e whole world vnder their dominio~, ruling and gouerning almo&s;t al other men. What? do we not &s;e the princes the~ &s;elfes wyth empty handes to depende wholy of the~? Dyd chri&s;t co~maunde &s;o to leaue &amp; for|&s;ake the &s;crip and the pur&s;e? Yet in the meane &s;ea&s;on, they were hytherto take~ for true Pa&s;tours, yea, no man for hys lyfe dur&s;t haue called them rauenynge wolues, for, &s;och is theyr crafte &amp; &s;ubtil+tie, that they be not a&s;hamed, to colour and cloke their coueteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, or rather theyr robbery, with chri&s;t &amp; hys mother the vyrgin Mary, al&s;o w^t Iohn Bapti&s;t or with &s;ome other Saynt, which, whe~ he dyd lyue, dyd e&s;teme the worlde noo better, tha~ pot&s;hardes. For, &s;aye they,<NOTE PLACE="marg">the &s;hame|full cro&s;&s;e of y^e papi|&s;tes in cra+uing &amp; beg+ginge.</NOTE> al that we a&s;ke is for god: y^t, which ye ge|ue is for our ble&s;&s;ed lady. &amp;c. which god wote, being now in hygh felicitie &amp; bea+titude or ble&s;&s;edfulnes, are by theyr mo&s;t &s;hameful lyes, faygned to begge, to ex|ercy&s;e v&s;ury, to beare rule, to gather ry|che&s;&s;e, &amp; to fleye the poore &s;hepe. They, I &s;ay, which whe~ they were alyue, dyd
<PB REF="80"> for&s;ake all for Chri&s;tes &s;ake, &amp; be&s;towed vpopn the poore. And what is to mocke the poore &s;ymple people, yf thys be not to mocke theym?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Thee Po|pi&s;h prela|tes are r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|uen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g wol+ues amo~ge &s;hepe Mathe .x.</NOTE>But there is another &s;ygne, and to|ken, wherby they maye be knowe~. For, Chri&s;te dyd byd hys Pa&s;tours, that is to &s;aye, hys di&s;ciples, to goo forth in|to the mydde&s;t of tyrauntes, as yf a ma~ * &s;houlde &s;ence &s;hepe among wolues: but the&s;e oute goodly prelates behaue them &s;el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es amonge &s;hepe, as rauening wolues. For, what is it that they doo not &s;natche vp to theym &s;elfes? What thinge is it that they doo not teare and rente? Whom do they not kyll &amp; mur|ther? What is it, that they do not &s;cat|ter and de&s;troye? As &s;oone as they doo heare, that the go&s;pell of Chri&s;t is prea|ched any where, and receaued of &s;ome people, wherby they &s;ee, that they &s;hall lo&s;e &s;ome praye or botie, by and by they &s;hewe what they are. For, they trouble they rente, and teare all thynges: They fyll al the whole world with tumultes and &s;edit<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o~s, alwayes in the meane &s;ea+&s;on mo&s;t deuyly&s;hely layinge thys cry+me to the preachers of the go&s;pell, that they are the auctors of al troubles, hur+lis, burlis, in&s;urrectio~s and tumultes.
<PB REF="80"> But thanckes be vnto thee Lorde God, that he doeth &s;o mercyfully fauour his people, that he wyl &s;uffre no longer the ioyefull tydinges of &s;aluation too be hyden and kept from them, who&s;e bo|dyes be my&s;erably afflicted. But thys can not the&s;e hyghe prelates abyde in any wy&s;e, for, the people beyng taught and in&s;tructed by the worde of God be|gynneth to waxe wy&s;er and wy&s;er eue|ry daye, and learneth to helpe and &s;uc|cour the nece&s;&s;itie of theyr neghbour, nor wyl geue any longer theyr ryche&s;&s;e to thys vngodly &s;orte,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Why y^e pa+pi&s;tes doe cal y^e prea+chers of gods wor+de auctors of tumulte &amp; &s;edition.</NOTE> or wanton com|pany of the Papi&s;tes. Therfore, they beinge angrye at this, do &s;ay: that they (I meane the preachers and the people y^e receaueth y^e go&s;pel) breadeth tumulte and &s;edition: &amp; why? becau&s;e that they are not pampered &s;tyll wyth great trea|&s;ours and ryche&s;&s;e, that they maye ther+by trouble al y^e whole world. But &s;och complayntes are not to be regarded, for theyr lewdene&s;&s;e hathe bene wyncked at, longe ynoughe, they haue felte and &s;ene longe ynoughe, howe frendly &amp; gentylly theyr erroure hath bene layde before them. How beit, they are moued w^t no fre~dly and gentyl exhortacions &amp;
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<PB REF="82"> warni~ges: therfore, y^e pure &s;imple &amp; &s;in+cere worde of the truth, mu&s;t be brought forth, that the lyght, &amp; brightnes therof may &s;myte into their eyen: as for y^e &s;uc|ce&s;&s;e, it ought to be co~mitted vnto god. But we wyl gather together in one, all the &s;ignes and tokens, wherby, as by a mo&s;t infallible touche &s;tone, the fal&s;e pa+&s;tours may be tryed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">I. Commune notes &amp; to|ke~s, wher|by fal&s;e pa&s;toures may be di&s;+cerned fro~ the true.</NOTE>As many as do not teache, are wol|ues, how &s;oeuer they glorie, boa&s;t, crake co~mende and &s;et forth the~ &s;elfes, by the tyteles, eyther of Pa&s;tours, or of By&s;|&s;hops, or of Kynges, and I praye, how manye of the&s;e mytred By&s;hoppes, do nowe a dayes execute the offyce of prea+chynge?</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="ii."> As many as do &s;et forth in teaching of gods worde, theyr owne inuentions and dreames, are wolues, and not Pa|&s;toures.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="iii."> As many as teache gods worde, and do not referre all thinges to the honour and glorye of god, but &s;eke theyr owne, and hauinge a re&s;pect to theyr head, the By&s;hop of Rome, do goo about to e&s;ta|bli&s;he hys tyranny, and v&s;urped power, are mo&s;te noy&s;om and hurteful wolues, whych come, beynge clothed in &s;hepes clothynge,</P>
<PB REF="82">
<P><MILESTONE N="iiii,"> As many as do teach the very word of god in dede, but in the meane &s;ea&s;on do not re&s;y&s;t &amp; wyth&s;tand the vyces &amp; &s;ynnes of the hygh rulers, &s;ufferynge theyr tyrannye, &amp; y^t w^t a greuous offe~ce of all men, to encrea&s;e doylye &amp; waxe &s;tronger: are flatterynge wolues, and betrayers of the people.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="v."> As many as do not expre&s;&s;e in their workes and doynges, that, which they do teache, ought to be of no e&s;timacyo~ in the churche of chry&s;te. For, they de|&s;troye more, w^t theyr workes &amp; doinges, than they do buylde and edifie w^t theyr teachynge and doctryne.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="vi."> As many, as do not care for y^e poore, but &s;uffre them to be afflicted, &amp; oppre&s;+&s;ed, are fal&s;e pa&s;tours.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="vii."> As many as do glory in the name &amp; tytles of pa&s;tours, &amp; in the meane &s;ea|&s;on do v&s;urpe an earthelye kyngdome ruling and gouernng as hyghly, as y^e Prynces of thys worlde, are mo&s;t pryn+tyous wolues.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="viii."> As many as, with gathering, &amp; hea|py<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g vp of trea&s;ours and ryche&s;&s;e, doo fil their pur&s;es, che&s;tes, garners, &amp; wine &s;ellers, are rauenynge wolues. Too bee &s;horte, as manye as, doo prefyre, or &s;ette vnto theym &s;elues anye other
<PB REF="83"> &s;cope, or marcke, than that they maye pla~te, &s;et &amp; edifye among me~ the know+ledge feare, and loue of god ar rauenin+ge wolues which, yf they be not quick+ly kept of, from the flocke of the &s;hepe, do teare, rente, and deuoure all the whole flocke.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="ix."> As many, be&s;ydes y^t as bryng and al|lure vs from god the creator, to make vs, to &s;erue vnto creatures, &amp; to make vs to a&s;ke helpe and &s;uccour of them, are fal&s;e pa&s;tours.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">an exhorta+tion vnto the~, that ar deliu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">red from fal&s;e pa&s;tors, y^t thei do not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> the~ &s;elfes to be begyled a|gayne.</NOTE>But now, &s;yth that almyghty god, hath determyned to puny&s;he &s;o long y^e enormytye of oure &s;ynnes, by fal&s;e pa|&s;tours, whych dyd take thee foode of gods worde awaye from oure &s;oules, and by rauenynge wolues, which dyd &s;poyle vs of our outward and te~poral goodes, yea dyd bryng vs all together, vnder theyr &s;ubiectyon and tyrannye: and now doeth vouche&s;afe to kyndell againe, &amp; to reuyle, y^e lyght of his euer+la&s;tyng truth, &s;o y^t we may bothe &s;e o|penlye and knowe fal&s;e Pa&s;tours and rauenynge wolues: it is the duetye of Chri&s;tia~ people in no wy&s;e for to kyck agayn&s;te, but rather to &s;uffre theym &s;elues wythe a gladde harte, to bee de|lyuered from that harde captyuytye
<PB REF="83"> and thraldome of rauenynge wolues. For here, we oughte not too con&s;yder and loke vppon the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">terne and oute|warde incommodytyes of oure bodye: but lette thys thynge moue vs rather that we &s;ee goddes worde, bothe depra+uated, and taken awaye from vs. For, thys hathe bene thee cu&s;tome of fal&s;e pa&s;tours, that they dyd eyther hyde goddes worde all togeather,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The papi|&s;tes haue deprauea|ted Gods word w^t mens tra|ditions.</NOTE> or els de|prauate it, w^t fal&s;e expo&s;itions. Which thing now a dayes they go aboute to bring to pa&s;&s;e, intending this one this, in al their craftes and &s;ubtilties, that eyther gods worde bee not preached at al, or els that it maye be all togeather corrupted &amp; deprauated, wythe hu|mayne or mens tradicions, fal&s;e drea|mes, &amp; expo&s;itio~s. For, yf we &s;uffre our &s;elues, to be brought agayn into dark|nes, it is plaine, y^t it is done for none o|ther cau&s;e, but y^t becau&s;e y^e heynou&s;nes &amp; abhominacyon of oute &s;ynnes is &s;o greate, y^t we can not abyde gods word: Syth that the brightnes of the truth, ca~ not &s;mite into our eyen, w^tout grea|te payne, gryefe &amp; dolour. We are ther+fore, de&s;eruinglye dampned: it is oure owne merite &amp; de&s;eruynge, y^t our bur|den and yoke is encrea&s;ed, and doub|led.
<PB REF="84"> For, the lyght dyd come into thee worlde, and men dyd loue rather darke+ne&s;&s;e than the lyghte. Ioh. iiii. Wher|fore, that my&s;erable alteratyon and chaunge, and fallinge agayne into darkene&s;&s;e, is wythe all dylygence, and wyth mo&s;t vygylaunte care to bee taken hede of, in al commune weales. For our &s;auiour, and lord Ie&s;us chri&s;t, is readye, and offereth freelye hys grace vnto vs: it is oure part, coragy|ou&s;ly to folowe hym, beyng our guy|de or forgoer. Yf we wylde the chil+dren of god, it is mete &amp; conuenient, y^t we do harken to his worde onely: We &s;hal al&s;o take hede, y^t we do not herke~ vnto the~, that do pluck vs away, from gods worde: but rather we &s;hall kepe of, or dryue they, awaye, farre from vs, nor &s;uffre them in anye wy&s;e to be in oure companye. Thys thynge are all parentes wont to requyre of theyr chyldren: how moche more the~, &s;hall y^e heaue~ly father of vs al require y^e &s;a|me of his children? who~ he hath adu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ted or cho&s;e~ in his &s;o~ne as a peculiare &amp; mo&s;t dere beloued people vnto hym? We &s;hal therfore, &s;hew the wayes and meanes, wherby, we may quyckely be delyuered fro~ fal&s;e pa&s;tours, And fir&s;t
<PB REF="84"> of al, we wyl reher&s;e &amp; &s;hew, the rewar+de, and horryble puny&s;hmente, that is prepared for them, yf perchaunce, they beynge frayde, wythe the con&s;yderati+on of it, wyll for&s;ake theyr wycked &amp; vnryghteous wayes.</P>
<P>That hygh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Of the pu+ni&s;hment &amp; vtter de|&s;tructio~ of fal&s;e po|&s;tours or prophetes</NOTE> &amp; almyghtye god &s;pea|keth after thys maner Deut. xiii. Yf ther ary&s;e among you a prophete, or a dreamer of dreames, &amp; geueth y^t a &s;igne or wonder, and thee &s;ygne or wonder, which he hath &s;poken of do come too pa&s;&s;e, and they &s;ay: let vs go after <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rau~+ge gods, whych thou ha&s;t not knowe~ &amp; &s;erue them: herken not thou vnto thee wordes of that prophet, or dreamer, of dreames, for, the lorde thy god proueth the, to wyte, whether ye loue the Lord your god wyth all your harte, &amp; wyth al your &s;oule: ye &s;hal walke after thee Lorde youre god, and feare hym, kepe his co~maundementes, &amp; herken vnto hys voyce, &s;erue hym and cleaue vnto hym. And thee prophete or dreamer of dreames &s;hal dye, becau&s;e he hath &s;po|ken to turne you away, from the Lord your god (whych brought you oute of the la~de of Egipt, &amp; deliuered you out of y^e hou&s;e of bo~dage) to thru&s;t or put y^t out of y^e way, which the lorde thy god
<PB REF="85"> hath commaunded the, to walke in, &amp; therfore thou &s;halt put away the euyl fro~ the: This is a very great te~ptacy|on, o brethren, which, y^e lord &s;uffreth to cha&s;tice &amp; happe~ vnto vs by fal&s;e Pro|phetes, that is to &s;ay, that y^e thynges, that they haue told of before, &s;houlde come too pa&s;&s;e. For, by this meane, not only they, that are weake, may be offen+ded, but al&s;o the elect (yf it myghte be po&s;&s;yble) brought into errour, &amp; frau|de as our &s;auyoure him &s;elfe &s;ayeth. Math. xxiiii. But in the meane &s;ea&s;on, the lord doth requyre thys one thyng of vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The word oughte to be beleued afore mira+cles &amp; wo~|ders.</NOTE> that we beleue and credite more, hys &s;ymple, and infallible word, than wonders &amp; myracles: be&s;ydes that, he doeth wythe this temptacion trye vs, whether we loue him with al our hart or not. But that this te~ptacion &s;hould not ary&s;e to moch, or gather &s;trengthe~, by dayly encereaces, he commaundeth to kyl vp the fal&s;e prophet. Truly this reward is apointed of god, for al fal&s;e prophetes which pluckinge vs from y^e true, &amp; one onely god, doo go aboute to copple or ioyne vs to &s;traunge goddes. For they y^t be &s;och, by y^e co~maundeme~t of god, ought to be roted out of y^e earth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Obeictio~.</NOTE> And yf they do make here anye obiec|tio~,
<PB REF="85"> &amp; &s;ay: y^t they &s;et forth no kynde of Idolatry nor yet wor&s;hippi~g of fal&s;e gods: again y^t the yoke of y^e law, ought in no wy&s;e to be put vpo~ them, that be vnder y^e new Te&s;tament:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Solution</NOTE> we wyll an|&s;were them after thys maner. As tou+chyng the fyr&s;t part of their obiectyo~, it is playne &amp; manyfe&s;t that al they, y^t haue not directed the myndes of men to one only god, but plucking them a &s;yde cau&s;ed the~ to &s;erue to creatures,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The papi+&s;tes dyd &s;eache too wor&s;hippe &s;traunge Goddes.</NOTE> or other outward thi~ges, did &s;et forth &s;traunge, &amp; fal&s;e gods vnto vs. For, y^t, is to euery ma~ a god, wherin he putteth al his hope, confydence &amp; tru&s;te. More ouer, we may &s;e, that the papi&s;tes haue more dowtingly and foli&s;hly brought the &s;ymple to theyr Idol the By&s;hop of Rome, makynge theym to tru&s;te in hym, than euer anye Idolatres, or pre|lates of the ethnike relygio~ dyd. For, they dyd wor&s;hyppe the Idols of Iu|piter, Iuno, Venus, Mars, &amp; of other, none other wy&s;e, tha~ as y^e ymages of the gods (who~ they thought verely to be in heue~) nor euer were brought, to y^e madne&s;&s;e, y^t they &s;huld take &amp; wor&s;hyp any ma~, yet lyuing vpo~ thee earthe, in+&s;tede of god. What? were they nor all called flatterers among y^e Heathen, y^t
<PB REF="86"> dyd offer &s;acrifyce, vnto certaine men as vnto gods? For, thei that were wi&s;e, neuer agreed to &s;uch wor&s;hippinges: Therfore, the Papi&s;tes, ar moch more foly&s;he, y^t be not afrayde, nor yet a&s;ha|med to cal y^e Idol of theyrs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|pi&s;tes do cal theyr fle&s;hly I|doll, the By&s;&s;hop of Rome, an earthly god.</NOTE> an earthe|ly god, exhibiting &amp; geuing more ado|ratio~ more honour, more wor&s;hip &amp; ve+ueracion vnto y^e mi&s;erable, &amp; wretched mortal ma~, than vnto y^e true euerla&s;tin+ge god, &amp; lord of all thynges. Be&s;ydes y^t, they, euen now a dayes, daughynge to &s;corne, mocking, &amp; deriding, the po|uertie of our lord, &amp; &s;auyor Ie&s;us chri|&s;te,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The papi+&s;tes ar bla+&s;phemous agayn&s;te Chri&s;t.</NOTE> which he &s;uffered for vs, do mo&s;t de&s;+pitefully bla&s;pheme hi. For (&s;ay they) chri&s;te knewe no better e&s;tate nor yet could obtaine no better: but oure mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed god &amp; father being not foli&s;he|ly wy&s;e, ca~ both ea&s;elyer, &amp; al&s;o moche better, rule &amp; gouerne y^e world. Wher|fore, ther is now an other coudycyo~ of the church whych the hygh By&s;hops, haue &s;et vp an hygh, with honours, re+nowne, might, riches a force of armes, we maye not then folowe here after y^e poore and nedye chri&s;t. Yea, they do o|penlye accu&s;e Peter of foly&s;&s;hene&s;&s;e. Oh moo&s;te &s;hamefull, and mo&s;te de|te&s;table kynde of bla&s;hphemye.</P>
<PB REF="86">
<P>But nowe, o Papi&s;tes, I requyre thys thing of you, that ye vouch&s;ake to aun|&s;were me to that, whyche I wyll a&s;ke you. Dyd your By&s;&s;hop of Rome in&s;ti+tute, and &s;ette vp, &s;oche pryde, pompe, and arrogancye, accordinge to the pre|&s;cripture and rule of Goddes worde? No for&s;ooth, no. Therfore, it is hys owne inuention, he folowing hys owne drea|mes, dyd ymagyne &s;oche thynges, and by theym he dyd plucke vs awaye from God.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Bi&s;|&s;hop of to me accor|dinge to y^e law of god, is gil+tye of death.</NOTE> He is then according to the lawe gyltie of death, and ought by and by to be rooted out of the earth. For, god can+not abyde &s;oche dreamers. For. Hiere. xiiii. chapter, the prophete &s;peaketh af|ter thys maner: O Lorde God, the Pro|phetes &s;aye vnto theym: Tu&s;he, ye &s;hall neade to feare no &s;wearde, and no hun|ger &s;hall come vpon you, but the Lorde &s;hall geue you continuall re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e in thys place (In lyke maner, now at this pre|&s;ente, that all thynges are infected and corrupted wyth dete&s;table wyckedne&s;&s;e, fal&s;e pa&s;tours are wo~t to promy&s;e peace which they the~&s;elfes neuer folowed: yf they had any vnder&s;tanding of the &s;crip+tures, they &s;huld ryght wel know, that &s;o greate and enorme wyckedne&s;&s;e of thys worlde, eyther mu&s;te be chaunged
<PB REF="87"> left, and amended, or els that great pla|gues oughte to be looked for, as hun|ger, pe&s;tylence, warres, captyuytie, and other lyke de&s;tructions: But they crye peace, where no hope of peace is, callin+ge thys peace and re&s;te, yf they maye pea&s;yblye po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e, and enioye theyr great rentes and reuenues). And then the Lorde an&s;wered me: The prophetes, preache lyes in my name, wher as, I ha+ue not &s;ent theym, neyther gaue I the~ any charge, nor yet &s;pake vnto theym. Not wyth&s;tanding they preache vnto you vy&s;yons, charmynge, vanytye, and deceytfulnes of theyr owne hart. Ther+fore, thus &s;ayth the Lordes As for tho&s;e prophetes y^t preache in my name (who~ neuerthele&s;&s;e I haue not &s;ent) and that &s;aye: Tu&s;he, there &s;hall nether &s;wearde nor hunger be in thys lande. Wyth &s;wearde and hunger &s;hal tho&s;e prophe|tes pery&s;he. &amp;c. Beholde, howe he doeth threaten agayne the &s;weard to the fal&s;e Prophetes. But becau&s;e we &s;hulde not thinke, that here any other are noted &amp; ment, &amp; not they, that popi&s;hly do teach mens tradictions, he doeth afterwardes depicte and &s;et them forth more lyuely in theyr owne colours, when he &s;ayeth: Wo be vnto the &s;hepeherdes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hitr. xxiii.</NOTE> that de|&s;troye,
<PB REF="87"> and &s;catter my flock. (Doe&s;t thou not now heare him &s;peake of rauening wolues, which do pluck and &s;catter the flocke into &s;undry opinio~s &amp; errours?) I haue not &s;ent them, &amp; yet they tanne, I haue not &s;poken vnto theym, and yet they preach. I haue heard wel ynough what the Prophetes &s;aye, that preache lyes in my name, &s;ayinge: I haue drea|med, I haue dreamed. How longe wyll thys continue in the Prophetes harte, to tell lyes and to preache thee craftye &s;ubtiltye of theyr owne harte? Who&s;e purpo&s;e is (with the dreames that eue|ry one telleth to hys neyghbour to ma+ke my people forget my name, as theyr forefathers dyd, when Baal came vp. The Prophete that hath a dreame, lette him tel it, and he that vnder&s;tanded my worde, let hym &s;hew it faythfully. For, what hath cha&s;te and wheate to doo to|gether, &s;ayth the Lord? Hereby, any ma~ may vnder&s;tand, of what Prophetes the Lorde doth &s;peake, truely of dreamers. lyers, &amp; tale tellers. But what rewarde doeth he promy&s;e vnto theym? Where|fore &s;ayth he, theyr waye &s;hal be &s;lyppe+ry in the darckene&s;&s;e, wherin they may &s;tacker and fall &amp;c. And a lyttle after: I wyll fede them wyth wormewood &amp;
<PB REF="88"> make the~ drinke the water of gall. Be|hold, how he doth denaunce &amp; tell forth theyr &s;lyppery waye, &amp; greuou&s;e fall of ignorau~ce, &amp; al&s;o theyr exceading great bitterne&s;&s;e, whych as it doeth dayly en|crea&s;e, &s;o at length, theyr greuous and peryllous tuyne or fall, as the broken walles &s;hall en&s;ue and folowe, E&s;aye. xxx. The &s;criptures are full of &s;uch Te|&s;timonies, whereby, we may knowe, and e&s;pye out fal&s;e Prophetes, but they are mo&s;t lyuely depicted and &s;et forth. Eze|chiel xxxiiii. Chapter. Which place, the &s;hortenes of oure matter wyll not &s;uf|fre vs, nor admytte, to wryte oute here. Yet the ende of theym is &s;hewed euery where of thee LORDE,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Thee ende of fal&s;e prophetes.</NOTE> that they oughte wythoute remedye to be rooted out of the earth.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">How &amp; by who~ fal&s;e pa&s;tours mu&s;t be ta|ken away and roted fro~ y^e earth</NOTE>But now, it is doubtfull by whom they ought to be roted out of the earth. For, there bee &s;ome that are de&s;yrous to kyll them, where &s;oeuer they fynd the~. But it is playne, that it is lawfull for no pryuate per&s;on, to kyll any man, w^t|out the law, &amp; a iudgeme~t geue~ vpo~ him or without a &s;peciall co~mandement of god. Wherefore, certayn hote and fierce Chri&s;tians, do greatly erre, whyche, as &s;one as th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i &s;e a faile prophet, do thinke
<PB REF="88"> that any man may kyl hym: for, &s;o they &s;tycke to the letter of gods lawe, &amp; &s;eeke or &s;earche out, no deper &s;ence or vnder|&s;tandinge. We mu&s;t beware then, y^t we geue not to much the brydell to our af|fections. For al this whole matter and bu&s;yne&s;&s;e ought to be co~mitted to god, who, yf he wyll haue the~, to be taken a|way, &s;hal ca&s;ely bring it to pa&s;&s;e, by hys myni&s;ters, that is to &s;aye, by the Magi|&s;trates. In the meane &s;ea&s;on, be thou of a good comfort, &amp; thinking within thy &s;elf, of who&s;e &s;pirite thou arte, &s;ubmit thy &s;elf obediently, to y^e meke iudgeme~t of our mo&s;t mercyfull ma&s;ter and &s;auy|our Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, which &s;ayeth. Math. vii. Euery tree that bringeth forth noo good frute, &s;halbe hewed downe, &amp; ca&s;te into the fyer. Yf his craftes, &amp; deceypt|full &s;ubtilties were knowe of y^e whole church, he ought to be depo&s;ed and put from the office of teaching, by the com|mune a&s;&s;ent &amp; agreement of all the con|gregation. But yf the churche, hath no &s;och auctorytye, nor may do it, lette no man herken vnto hym: but rather &s;uf|fre death, than ye &s;hulde hearken vnto a raueninge wolfe, who, wyth his doc|tryne and traditions, goeth aboute too plucke you awaye from the one onelye
<PB REF="89"> God and heauenly father. All the&s;e thin+ges, are manyfe&s;te &amp; playne, by the pla|ges of the &s;criptures, afore alledged, &s;o that, they haue no neade of any more de+mon&s;tratio~. Be&s;ydes that, the Lord him &s;elfe Math .v. bydeth vs to plucke out and ca&s;t awaye from vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mathe .v.</NOTE> our ryght eye, yf it doeth offend vs. Therfore, it is our part &amp; duetye, to pluck out that wicked eye, that is to &s;ay, the fal&s;e pa&s;tour, whi+che leadeth not to the true pa&s;tures, and to pulle vp by the rootes, the rotten and vnfruytefull tree: but after, that it is done let vs commit the iudgement vn|to the Lord, who wil ca&s;t it into the fyre when he &s;hal thinke be&s;te, when he is re|moued, &amp; put fro~ the office of teaching, we &s;hall reken hym amonge the tares,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. xlii.</NOTE> whyche oughte not be pulled vp. tyll the tyme of the harue&s;t be come, as our &s;auiour him &s;elf &s;ayth. After the &s;ame maner,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">et. xxxiiii</NOTE> y^e Lord &s;peaketh, Ezech xxxiiii. I my &s;elf, wyl vpon the &s;hepehardes: &amp; requyre my &s;hepe from theyr handes, &amp; make them cea&s;&s;e from fedinge of my &s;hepe: Yea, the &s;hepehardes &s;hal fede the~ &s;elfes no more.<NOTE PLACE="marg">By who~ y^e &s;ente~ce of &amp; Lorde. Deut. .xiii oughte to be executed</NOTE> Wherefore, lette theym that beare the &s;wearde of iu&s;tye, dely|uered vnto theym by God, put too exe|cution that &s;entence of the Lord, which
<PB REF="89"> is expre&s;&s;ed. Deu. xiii. For, they &s;hal ea|&s;ely vnder&s;tand, what they ought to do for the glorye of god, &amp; when they mu&s;t puni&s;h extremely tho&s;e fal&s;e prophetes. And yf they beyng of that mynde, that the fal&s;e pa&s;tours are, wyl neyther pu|ni&s;he them, nor kepe the~ &s;horte: we mu&s;t patiently beare thys yoke, layde vpon vs, as yf it were another capt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uitie of Babylon, tyll the Lord hym &s;elf vouch|&s;afe to delyuer vs, wyth hys myghtye hand. For, this that we &s;uffre in the meane &s;ea&s;on, is no lo&s;&s;e, nor harme vn|to vs, but an exercy&s;e and tryall, wher|by our faith being exerci&s;ed,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> xxxviii</NOTE> &s;hal &s;hyne afterwardes with greater glorye. The lord is ge~tyl, meke, &amp; of moch mercy, in many thinges al&s;o he doeth &s;pare, &amp; is wont to differre lo~ge, y^e plage &amp; puni&s;h|me~t: for, no ma~ is able to e&s;cape his ha~d Be&s;ydes y^t, no &s;och example of crudelitie is &s;et forth to vs, in Chri&s;t or in hys A|po&s;tels: which neuer puni&s;hed no ma~ w^t death, &amp; &s;heding of bloud. In dede it is lawful for al churches, to put awaye, &amp; reiecte y^e fal&s;e pa&s;tour, y^t he do not teache And yf they begin ob&s;tinately, &amp; &s;tub|burnly to per&s;euere &amp; co~tinne, nor wyll cea&s;e to pluck away from god, it is the parte and duetye of thee Magi&s;trates,
<PB REF="90"> to kyll them vp with the &s;weared. But thou, that art a pryuate ma~, do not raye and defyle thyne handes wyth bloude. For, the Lord &s;hal not fayle, yf the&s;e ra|uening wolues can not pea&s;ibly, or w^t|out tumulte, and in&s;urrection be expel|led &amp; out awaye, he wyl wythout fayle ray&s;e vp &s;ome Helias,<NOTE PLACE="marg">iii. re. xviii</NOTE> which &s;hall at one clappe kyll vp. iiii. hundreth and .l. prie&s;tes of Baal, and .iiii. hundreth pre|lates of groues &amp; hyll aulters. He &s;hall not fayle, I &s;aye, take y^e onely in good worth this differringe and delayinge. Chri&s;t wolde not co~dempne to death, y^e wycked woman (as we may &s;ie, Iohn. viii.) which was take~ in adulterye, and whom the lawe dyd co~dempne. But a|gayne, what great calamities and mi&s;e+ries, hoe horrible a de&s;truction, dyd he bringe vpon the whole people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reade ye Io&s;ephus &amp; Sabelli|cus vpo~ y^t</NOTE> whe~ Ti|tus both gotte the towne, and &s;ubdued all the whole countreye? We mu&s;t ther+fore folow the leuge &s;ufferaunce of our mo&s;te, bounteous father. In the meane &s;ea&s;on, as moche as in vs lieth, we mu&s;t take hede, that rauenynge wolues doo not occupye the towmes of Pa&s;tours, whych thynge, yf we can not lette, we mu&s;te paciently abyde the delyueringe hande of the Lorde, for, the ge~tyll, meke
<PB REF="90"> and mercyful example of chri&s;t doethe moue me more, tha~ y^t &s;euere &amp; cruel &s;en+tence or puni&s;hme~t of Mo&s;es. How be it, in y^e meane &s;ea&s;o~. I know y^t the drea|deful iudge Chri&s;t, wyll come, whyche wyl arme eyther the Prynces or y^e peo+ple theym &s;elues to vengeaunce.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="epilogue">
<HEAD>&para; The Epilogus or Conclu&s;yon.</HEAD>
<P>THerfore, o ye fal&s;e pa&s;tours, yf ther be any &s;parkel of godlines in you, that doeth &s;auour, anye knowledge of god, yf any cro~me of hu|manytie doeth remayne in your har|tes, I pray, for the honoure and glorye of god, for y^e co~mune felow&s;hip &amp; amy+tie of me~, &s;pare the poore people, why|che, &s;o lo~g a tyme, hath thorough you, &s;uffered a mo&s;te greuous hanger, of gods word: being in the meane &s;ea&s;o~, my&s;erablye burdoned and oppre&s;&s;ed, with mo&s;te heauye, &amp; intollerable bur|dens of traditions. And afore al thyn|ges, doo I &s;peake vnto you, o mo&s;te myghty By&s;hoppes and prelates of churches. Delyuer ye now at length, &amp; &s;et at large, the people of god, whom, ye haue bolde~ captyue &s;o lo~ge. Thinke no le&s;&s;e, but that it is a dete&s;table and
<PB REF="91"> vngodly thyng, to brynge al the whole worlde, for your couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e. &amp; pryde &s;ake, into peryll, ieopardye &amp; tumulte. Yf ye do beleue, that ther is any god, &amp; that the &s;ame god, is the co~mune iudge of al men, what quyete, tranquilitie, &amp; peace, can ye haue, in your own con&s;cy+ences, and &s;oules, when ye &s;e all youre whole ceate, and all thee condycyons wherewyth, it is &s;en&s;ed, to be an vnrea+&s;onable burden, and al&s;o an intollera+ble yoke of all thee chri&s;tyan people. Thyncke ye, that ye mu&s;te relea&s;&s;e no|thynge. Are ye not a&s;hamed to burden euery daye the people, wyth new bur|dens.<NOTE PLACE="marg">popi&s;h pre+lates do ne+ther feare God nor hys iudge|ment.</NOTE> Thys, truelye, is a manyfe&s;te token, that ye feare neyther god, nor hys ryghteous Iudgemente. For, where ther feare of god is, three mu&s;te nedes folowe an amendement of lyfe. Sythe then, that we &s;ee none of you, that wyll lyghten tho&s;e mo&s;te vnrea|&s;onable burdens, it is mo&s;te euydente, that ye care neyther for god, nor for his iudgeme~tes. And what other name is ther, wherin ye may glorye? Who&s;e mini&s;ters, and &s;eruauntes are ye? But I &s;e playnelye wherin ye tru&s;t. For, ye leane, or &s;taye your &s;elues, vppon thee rede,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. xxxvi.</NOTE> or bryckel &s;taffe of Egipt, that is
<PB REF="91"> to &s;ay, ye tru&s;t in the helpe of Princes &amp; kynges of this world. But the &s;taffe &s;hal breake in your hand, &amp; not w^tout a greuous &amp; fore wou~d. For, what other power, might, &amp; &s;trength, hath a kyng but his owne people? Yf therefore the people beynge taughte &amp; in&s;tructed by gods word, wyl not, at y^e kynges com|maundeme~t (for in this matter of god lyne&s;&s;e, better it is to obeye God than ma~) helpe, &s;uccour, &amp; aide you:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Pa|pi&s;tes ne|uer ob&s;er|ue theyr &s;afe con|ductes nor kepe theyr promy&s;es, for &s;aye they: Noo promy&s;e oughte to be kepte to an herety|ke, &s;o was Iohn Hul &amp; Hierome &s;erued. The blou|de of mar|tyrs is the &s;ede of the go&s;pell.</NOTE> &s;hal not both ye, and your lyues be in ieopar|dye? Or what &s;halbe the power of the kynge? Therefore, excepte ye do cea&s;&s;e and leaue of, ye &s;hal both feele and &s;ee greuous commotions &amp; bortyble cala|mities, to happe~ daylye, both to you, &amp; to your Prynces. And yf in the meane &s;ea&s;on ye wyl not abyde by the letters or &s;afe conductes, that be zealed wythe your owne zeales, nor kepe youre pro|my&s;es, y^t ye make, but go on &s;tyl, to per|&s;ecute afflycte, and murther mo&s;t cru|elly the faythful myny&s;ters of y^e Go&s;|pell ye mu&s;t nedes to prouoke darlye, more &amp; more, the wrath of god agayn&s;t you, nothing elles can ye get thereby. For, the go&s;pell is both planned or &s;et, &amp; al&s;o doth encre&s;ce or growe by thee cro&s;&s;e and per&s;ecutyon, tyll that thee
<PB REF="92"> Lord doeth &s;ende a delyueraunce. For, after the &s;ame maner, the I&s;raelytes dyd grow &amp; increa&s;e, and gat &s;trength when y^e tyraunt of Egypte dyd yma|gyne all the crudelytye, that he coulde agayn&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> them, tyll that they were de+lyuered by thee hande of Moy&s;es. Exo. i. Al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exodi. i.</NOTE> it wyll auayle you no|thynge, yf ye do appele to coun&s;ayles. For, nowe it is come to that, that ye mu&s;te lyue iualye and godly, and cea&s;&s;e to burden the people of God, thoughe that no coun&s;ayle at all be kepte: Doo ye not remembre Helias, whyche vn|der that mo&s;t wycked tyraunte Achab, dyd kyll vppe. viii. hundrethe and .L. of Baals prye&s;tes, and of thee Prophe+tes or prye&s;tes of thee groues and hyll aultares. Due onely Prophete, I &s;aye, dyd preuayle &s;o moche, vnder &s;o cruell and vngodlye a Kynge. iii. Reg xviii. And after hym,<NOTE PLACE="marg">iii, Regum xviii.</NOTE> Iehu, by a god|lye deceate and crafte, dydde de&s;troye, all thee rablement of Baals prye&s;tes iiii. Regum. x. What &s;hall I &s;aye of Io&s;ias,<NOTE PLACE="marg">iiii. Reg. x</NOTE> whyche dyd kyll vppe all the prye&s;tes of thee hyll aultates? iiii. Regum, xxiiii. Hauynge &s;oche good|lye admouytyous,<NOTE PLACE="marg">iiii. Regu~ xxiii.</NOTE> &s;ee that ye repente by tymes. For, it is &s;o farre, that
<PB REF="92"> ye &s;houlde recouer youre olde &s;tate, &amp; dygnytye, that rather. Lucifer or Sa|than maye hope and loke for hys &s;al|uacyon. Therefore, tru&s;te ye, and put youre hope or confydence, in an other thynge, that is too &s;aye, in God. who comfortethe, and quyeteth the mindes and con&s;cyence of all men. Hym, I do mo&s;te mekelye be&s;ech and pray, that he vouche&s;afe to bryng you, into thee true knowledge of hym &s;elf, that hu~blyng your &s;el|ues, vnder hys myghtye hande, &amp; cro&s;&s;e of chri|&s;te our &s;auyour, ye maye euioye the eternal, &amp; euer|la&s;ting felici|tye wythe all the cougre+gacyon of the faythfull Amen.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="history">
<PB REF="93">
<HEAD>&para; Of the me|tynge of May&s;ter Iohn Hoo|per By&s;&s;hop of Gloceter, &amp; of Maie&s;ter Doctoure Cole, quonda~ chaunceler of Londo~, and now Wardeyn of the new college in Oxeforde.</HEAD>
<P>HEre I am co~pelled, for the great zeale, that I beare vnto y^e truth, &amp; vnto the maintainers therof, to detect &amp; bring to light, a mo&s;t crafty &amp; &s;ubtyll pollicye, which y^e Pa+pi&s;tes ar wont to v&s;e at this pre&s;ent: be+yng in this poynt mo&s;t lyke vnto cer|tayne warriours, which, whe~ they fele them &s;elues, to be ouer weake for their enemyes, eyther cau&s;e an oure crye too bee made vppon theym, wythe the&s;e or like wordes: They flye, they flie: y^t &s;o they may encorage theyr me~ of warre, whych afore were mo&s;t lyke to for&s;ake thee fyelde and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">enne awaye, and al&s;o make the enemies that are wythin the hearynge of it, too bee dy&s;mayed and a&s;tonyed, and to thinke, that theyr com+panye, whome they &s;e not, bee put too flyght, &amp; haue vtterly for&s;aken theim: or elles beyng beaten and ouercomed.
<PB REF="93"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o &s;end tydinges about, that they haue gotten thee ouer hande or vyctorye thereby comfortyng theyr adherentes and fre~des, whych elles, yf their ouer|throw were knowen, wold haue &s;war|ued, from the~. A very lyke thynge dyd chaunce &amp; happen in thys la&s;te, Iulye Anne. M.D.L. That mo&s;t valyaunt &s;oldiour of the lord, and &s;trong propug+natoure or defendoure of gods trueth Mai&s;ter Iohn Hooper, as he returned fro~ my lorde Chauncelour, y^t then was in the countie of E&s;&s;ex, did (whether it was by a chaunce, or of a &s;et purpo&s;e, I know not) come vnto &amp; certayne ma+nour or place of my good May&s;ter, Syr Iohn Yorke Knight the~ Shreue of London, whych place is caller Mar+kes .ix. myle fre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> the cytie: wher a cer+taine learned ma~, named Mai&s;ter Doc+tour Cole, quo~dam Chau~celour of Lon+don~, &amp; now Wardeyn of the new college in Oxeford, was a&s;&s;erua<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed &amp; kept pry+&s;oner (.Wherfore it is, all the worlde doth know) when the&s;e great clerkes were mette and come together, after a mutual congratulacion, they dyd, w^tin a while, begyn to rea&s;o~ of &s;o~dry &amp; ma|ny thinges y^e belo~g vnto learnyng, but mo&s;t e&s;pecyally of tho&s;e poyntes of re+ligio~, y^t now are in co~trouer&s;y betwene
<PB REF="94" MS="y"> the Orthodoxes, I meane the true and faythful Chri&s;tians and the Papi&s;tes. Thys was not &s;o &s;one begunne, but that is was by &amp; by blowe~ abroade, a|mong the &s;ymple &amp; ygnouraunt people, that dwel, v, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">. vi, myle of, y^e May&s;ter <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ooper had not one word to an&s;were, and that he was &s;o handeled &amp; beaten by the Doctoure that he was fayne, w^t moch &s;hame both to hym, &amp; to al the&s;e newe hererykes, to graunt him the vic+tory. Whych rumour wyth in two or thre dayes, was &s;pred al abrode here in thys noble cytye of London, &amp; euerye wher elles: So that in Cambrige ther is no &s;mall reioy&s;ynge, yet at thys houre, among them, that wyth al their hartes do fauour and mayntayne Po+py&s;hne&s;&s;e: (Howebeit thankes be vn|to god, ther be very fewe &s;oche in that flory&s;hyng vniuer&s;itie) How the mo&s;t part of Oxeforde do tryumphe at the mattttr, all men that haue anye wytte or iudgement may iudge. Is not this, o Chry&s;tyan Reader, a maruayllous and a verye wonderfull Pollycye of thee Sapy&s;tes? They &s;ee that they are ouer weake to with&s;tand the truth of Goddes worde, and that it is im|po&s;&s;yble for theym to recouer by open dy&s;putacyon or rea&s;onynge (yf onelye
<PB REF="94"> the pure and &s;yncere worde of God, be as a mo&s;te &s;ure and infallyble lyghte, brought and aledged, to decite or deter+myne al matters, their e&s;tate, that they haue lo&s;t, by the bryght &s;hinyng forth of the Euangelycal verytie. Therfore, they doo wythe all crafte and de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eate noy&s;e abroade, and that by theyr com|plyces and adherentes, that the defen|dours of thee trueth (whome they doo mo&s;t &s;hamefully cal peruitious hereti|kes, &amp; &s;edicious per&s;o~s) dare not coope w^t them, &amp; yf perchaunce they haue coo|ped with the~, &amp; manfullly w^t the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">erd of the &s;pirit, which is gods word, ouer comed them: yet wyll the&s;e ranke Pa|pictes, being thus ouerthrowe~, by &s;ome &s;ubtyll meanes, make all thee whole world to beleue, and e&s;pecyally them, that are ygnoraunte and &s;ymple, that the Orthodoxes or faythful mere ouer throwen, and (as theyr commune ter|mes be) made very fooles. Which thin+ge was well &s;ent at that dy&s;putacy|on, that was kepte or hadde, at Oxe|forde betwene thee Papy&s;tes, and that godly learned manne Peter Mar+tyr, in the matter of the Lorde &s;up|per: but nowe moue euydentlye, in
<PB REF="95"> thys rea&s;onynge and communycatio~, that was betwene May&s;ter Hooper, and Mai&s;ter Cole (though the matters were not of like importau~ce &amp; weyght) For thou &s;halte knowe and vnder&s;tan+de, good Chri&s;tyan reader, that it is nothynge &s;o, as thou arre informed, or as it is noy&s;ed abroade and that thou maye&s;t be &s;ure thereof: I (whyche was pre&s;ent at it, and departed neuer from theym, not as moche, as thee bredthe of a &s;trawe, &s;o longe as they rea&s;oned, togeather) wyll &s;hewe and declare and that by order, whereupon theyr dy&s;putacyon was, that thee thyn|ge beynge well and truelye knowen. (For that whyche I wryte nowe, I wyll iu&s;tyfye before May&s;ter Cole hym &s;elfe, and all theym, that were there pre&s;ente) thou maye&s;te now at lengthe perceaue and vnder&s;tande, how thou ha&s;te ben: deceaued: and yf thou bee a true chry&s;tyan, howe thou ha&s;te bene ca&s;te into a vayne feare and dreade, or yf thou be a Papy&s;te (why|che thynge God for feude) howe thou ha&s;te be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e broughte into a fooles pa|rady&s;e, by &s;uche lyinge tales, that immedyatelye en&s;ued vppon they, rea|&s;onynge
<PB REF="95"> and talke. The fyr&s;te poynt of theyr dy&s;putacyon was thys: May&s;ter Hooper dyd affyrme, that the By&s;hoppe of Rome dyd by hypocryty|call wayes growe to that auctorytye, power, and Maie&s;tie, that he dyd cho&s;e the Emprours, whych thinge May&s;ter Cole dyd denye, and that &s;toutely. For, yf he had graunted the &s;ame, by and by it hadde folowed, that thee Emperour hadde bene &s;o vnder thee &s;ubiection of that Antichri&s;te, that he dur&s;te do none other thinge in matters of relygyon, but as that Antichri&s;te &s;hould wyl him to do And therfore, y^e myghte well go &s;hoe the goes, that loked for any re|dre&s;&s;e in Relygyon at the Emperours handes. Another thynge al&s;o &s;houlde haue en&s;ued, and that by good con&s;e|quence, that is to &s;aye, that thee By&s;|&s;hoppe of Rome &s;houlde haue bene <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> very Antychri&s;te, &s;yth that clene contra+rye to thei precepte of Chri&s;t, he dyd ta|ke vppon hym to rule Emperous and Kynges: Where as Chry&s;te dyd &s;aye: Thee Prynces of natyons &s;hall rule theym, but ye &s;hall not &s;o doe. That coulde not thys greate Doctoure a|byde, and therefore he denyed May&s;ter
<PB REF="96"> Hoopers propo&s;ytyon, whyche he dyd proue after thys maner: Thee By&s;|&s;hoppe of Rome, &s;ayde he, doeth by his Chanon lawe choo&s;e and appoynte out thee Electours. That doo I graunte, &s;ayde May&s;ter Cole. Then &s;ayde May|&s;ter Hooper agayne: Al&s;o when the E|lectours haue choo&s;en oute the Empe|rour: thee Electyon doeth not &s;tande, onele&s;&s;e the By&s;&s;hoppe of Rome doeth allowe and approue it. I doo not denye that, &s;ayde thee other. Ergo &s;ayd May+&s;ter Hooper, thee By&s;hoppe of Rome choo&s;eth the Emperour. I denye thee argumente, &s;ayde thee other, is to &s;aye, that thee By&s;&s;hoppe of Rome doeth choo&s;e thee Emprour. Here thou &s;ee&s;te, that thys Doctour coulde e&s;ca|pe no waye. He dyd graunt (for he coul+de doo none other) that the By&s;hoppe of Rome, dyd by thee Chanon lawes, make thee Electours, and agayne that thee Electyon dyd not &s;tande, onele&s;&s;e the By&s;&s;hoppe of Rome dyd auowe it. What other thynge. I praye you, ca&s;t we conclude there vppon, but that the By&s;&s;hoppe of Roome dydde electe and choo&s;e thee Emperoure. That
<PB REF="96"> &s;ome thinge al&s;o was well proued, by notable Hy&s;toryes, whyche doo teache, declare, and &s;ette forth, howe tho&s;e An|tichri&s;tes haue in tymes pa&s;&s;ed, handled the poore &s;ely Emperours. The &s;econd poynte, that they rea&s;oned vpon, was, that Gods worde doeth &s;ufficientlye, wythoute thee helpe of thee fathers or coun&s;ayls, expounde it &s;elfe, that is to &s;aye, that one place of thee Scripture, oughte too be expounded by another, whiche opinion May&s;ter Hooper dyd holde. Thys thinge was rea&s;onned in the fieldes betwene theym bothe, in the latyn tongue, (onely I beynge pre&s;ent wyth theym.) And when May&s;ter Hoo+per dyd brynge innumerable te&s;timoni+es and places of the &s;criptures, to proue thys trueth wyth all, the other re&s;y&s;ted hym &s;toutelye. But &s;urelye they were not bothe armed and weapened in lyke. For Ma&s;ter Hooper being armed with a very eloquent latyne tonge, (In dede I haue, thanckes be vnto God, &s;ome knowledge in the latyn to~gue, and ma|ny haue I hearde &s;peake in my dayes: but yet I neuer heard an Eccle&s;ia&s;tical man &s;peake more <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et and cleane latyn, then he dyd extempore) was al&s;o wea|poned wyth &s;tronge Scriptures, and word of god, wheras the other, be&s;ydes
<PB REF="97"> hys haulte eloquence, hadde nothynge els but the fathers, coun&s;ayles, and I can not tell what church, or yf he brou|ghte any &s;criptures, they were &s;o wra|&s;ted oute of tune, that they &s;erued no|thinge le&s;&s;e, than for the pourpo&s;e, that they were alledged for. Vpon this mat+ter they were aboute three houres by thee clocke. At length, when May&s;ter Hooper coulde gette nothinge of hym, but: The fathers, the fathers, the coun|&s;ayls, the coun&s;ayls, and I can not tell what church (for the trew Church, why the is the &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t, and is ruled by hys &s;pyryt onely, &s;ettinge forth no|thynge be&s;ydes or agayn&s;t gods worde, May&s;ter Hooper dyd well allowe) they made an ende of that argument or mat+ter. And as they were at dyuer, they be|ganne to talcke of thee coun&s;ayll that was lyke to be, by the appoyntmente of the By&s;&s;hoppe of Rome, Whych May|&s;ter Hooper dyd thincke to be vnnece&s;&s;a|rye, becau&s;e that there nothynge could be redre&s;&s;ed, or determyned, but as the By&s;&s;hoppe of Rome woulde haue it. And who, I praye, woulde thinke, that the &s;ame Antythry&s;te woulde haue any thynge to pa&s;&s;e agayn&s;te hys dete&s;ta|ble pryde and deuyly&s;he coueteou&s;nes?
<PB REF="97"> Nexte after that, they dyd conferre of thee offyce and duetye of a Kynge, whom May&s;ter Cole wyll not haue too bee learned and &s;ene in Gods lawes. But that fonde and deuili&s;he opynyon dyd Mai&s;ter Hooper confute wyth &s;tron+ge and infallyble te&s;tymonyes of thee Scryptures, and woorde of God, &s;he|wynge that it was moo&s;te nece&s;&s;arye of all, that a Kynge &s;houlde haue a per|fecte knowledge of Gods worde. How coulde he elles rule and gouerne hys people, accordynge too thee wyll and plea&s;ure of God? But May&s;ter Hoo|per dyd in fewe woordes &s;hewe, what was the cau&s;e, why he woulde not ha|ue thee Kynges and Princes too haue learnynge. Trewely, becau&s;e that they woulde haue &s;tyll the whole worlde vn+der theyr iuri&s;dictio~. Becau&s;e that they woulde haue &s;tyll Prynces and rulers too &s;ee thoroughe theyr &s;pectacles, and too be blynded wythe thee my&s;tes of theyr tradytyons. La&s;te of all at thee in&s;taunce of my Good May&s;ter, Syr Iohn Yorke, they &s;houlde haue rea&s;onned vppon thee Supper of thee LORDE, but May&s;ter Cole woul|de not meddle in it. Then dydde May&s;ter Hooper offere too dy&s;pu|te
<PB REF="98"> wyth hym in Hebrewe, Greke, and Latyn, and wythall theym that be of hys facte or &s;ecte, vpon al matters of Relygyon, that be nowe in controuer|&s;ye. Whom Mai&s;ter Cole dyd an&s;were, that, as for the Latyn and the Greke, he coulde well &s;kyll in them bothe, but as for the Hebrewe, he was not &s;ene in it. And thoughe he were neuer &s;o &s;kyl|full: yet &s;ayde he: that he wolde not put hys foote farther into the fyre. Then &s;ayde May&s;ter Hooper vnto hym: Ye depredicate and &s;aye euery where, that we are in errour, and not only that, but that ye be able to co~uince vs of errour. Syth then that ye can confounde oure errour, that we are in: and wyll not do it. I &s;aye vnto you: that as many of vs, as do, or &s;hall pery&s;he, thorough youre negligence or fayntene&s;&s;e of harte, thee bloude of all theym &s;halbe requyred at youre handes. Thus they ended theyr communycation. And then my good Mai&s;ter Syr Iohn Yorke, dyd take the matter in hande, exhortinge May&s;ter Cole, not to hyde his talente, but to em|ploye or be&s;tow it diligently, accordyng to the wyll and plea&s;ure of god. Thys is the whole matter, good Chri&s;tian rea+der, trewely and faythfully &s;ette forth vnto thee: whereby thou may&s;te vnder|&s;tande
<PB REF="98"> whether of theym two hadde the vyctorye. Weyghe and poudre the mat|ter thyne owne &s;elfe. Examine &amp; trye it wyth that infallible touch &s;tone, that can neuer fayle or deceaue, Suffer not thy &s;elfe to be &s;educed, wyth tho&s;e re|prochefull and opprobryous termes, wherwyth, &s;ome of theym mo&s;t lying lye doo lode thee trewe me&s;&s;enger of God, &s;ayinge: May&s;ter Hooper is but an a&s;&s;e, he is but a dy&s;he cloute to May+&s;ter Cole, for trewely, though May&s;ter Cole is exceadinglye well learned, in all lyberall Artes, in Philo&s;ophie, and other of thee prophane &s;ciences, where+vnto ye maye annexe thee eloquence in bothe the tongues: Yet not wyth&s;tan|dyng, May&s;ter Hooper doth farre pa&s;&s;e hym, in heauenly knowledge and vnder+&s;tandynge, and beynge not inferior vn|to hym in the knowledge of both the&s;e tongues, he is well &s;ene in the Hebrew and Chaldeike tongue, whych thee o|ther doeth lacke. Howe beit, I woulde that May&s;ter Hooper, or anye of vs, myghte be a dy&s;he cloute vnto hym, for then, we &s;houlde make thee inner parte of thee ve&s;&s;ell cleane, (for it is the pro|pertye of dy&s;&s;he clouttes &s;o for to doo) but I am afrayed, that the inner parte of the ve&s;&s;ell is &s;o cankered, wyth Po|py&s;he
<PB REF="99"> &s;uper&s;tition, &amp; deuyli&s;he doctrine that it &s;hall nede of a &s;weard, to &s;crape it out clene. The Lord God of heauen, from who~ al goodnes doth come, vouch+&s;afe to bringe him &amp; all other, that are yet in errour, into the ryght know|ledge of his truth. That we may all together pray&s;e &amp; laude his holy and ble&s;&s;ed name. Amen.</P>
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<P>&para;Imprinted at Londo~ by Wylliam Seris &amp; Rycharde Kele, dwelling in Lombard &s;trete, nere vn|to the &s;tockes market, at thee &s;ygne of the Egle.</P>
<P>&para;Cum gratia et priuilegio ad impri|mendum Solum.</P>
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<HEAD>&para;Fautes e&s;caped by the Printer.</HEAD>
<P>In A. i. for Sinouoys, reade Senonoys, in A iii. for then wyll they not &s;uffre reade theym wyl they not &s;uffer. ibidem. for lamable cere|monies, reade laudable ceremoni. in A. v. for bearing open, reade daring open. in B. ii. for do &s;end, reade doe&s;t &s;ende. in. B. v. for in him y^e fatt pa&s;tors, reade in him y^e fatt pa&s;tures. in C. iii, for greuous &s;cornes of per&s;ectio~s, rea+de greuous &s;tormes of per&s;ecutio~s. ibidem or there. for though they al offend y^e world, reade
<PB REF="99"> though they offend al y^e world in C.v. for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> to any other Pa&s;tours, reade into anye other pa&s;tures, ibide~. for being thus promi&s;ed, read beinge thus promi&s;&s;ed. in C.viii. for a longe fartinet typpet, reade a long lartinet typpet. in D.i. for la&s;tiuious, reade la&s;ciuious. in D <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i. for te~perau~ce &amp; &s;tubburnes, reade te~ptra~ce &amp; &s;obernes ibidem or in the &s;ame place, for all kindes of te~perance, reade al kindes of inte~|peraunte ibidem for vnto oth. r y^t can neuer, reade vnto other can neuer. ibidem for do tea+che him vayne, reade do teache them. in D. v, for of the prie&s;tes dyd he, reade of the prie&s;tes dyd lye. in D vi. for do v&s;e exercy&s;e, reade do v&s;e &amp; exercy&s;e. in E. i. for to turne him fro~ the mynde, reade to turne him fro~ y^t mynd. in E. vii. for to his &s;ound &amp; fle&s;hely, reade to thys fonde &amp; fle&s;hely. in F. iii. for into any kynd or &s;pere, reade into any kinde or &s;pece, in F. iiii. for the prophetes of graues, reade the prophe+tes of the graues. in F. v. for Naboth y^e I&s;|raelite, reade Naboth the Ie&s;raelite. ibidem. for affyrminge vnto him reade offeringe vnto hym. ibidem. for the field of I&s;rael, reade the field of Ie&s;rael. in y^e margyne. for y^e pa&s;tour ought by it, reade the pa&s;tour ought to learne by it. in G.iii. for alwayes, reade alwayes. in H.v for &s;yth that hath, reade &s;yth y^t he hath. in H.viii. in the margyne, for of deuyly &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s reade o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deuyli&s;&s;hnes. in I.iii. for into none other pa&s;tour, reade into none other pa&s;ture, ibidem for wher they &s;ee the pa&s;tours of &s;al+uation. reade the pa&s;tures.</P>
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