‘DEVS VL­tionū domi­nus, deus ul­tionum libere egit’, O Lorde god almighty, that haste made with thy worde, Heuen and Erthe, with all the be­aultie thereof, and doest with the same, fede all kynde of beastes, in tyme requisite, and haste put vn­der mannes subiection, beastes in the erthe, byrdes in the ayre, and fyshe in the see, so that he is lyttell lesse in dignite than angelles, and at the last crowned hym with glo­rie and honour, as thou hast done our moste victorious prince, ma­kynge hym thyn annointed king, to rule vnder the, the Empyre of Englande, whiche hathe, doothe, [Page] and intendeth alwayes to defende thy worde: We pray the, with de­uoute hartes, to assist hym, in sup­pressynge the prowde heed of the poluted citie of Babylon, the Ro­mysshe bysshop. Deus ultionum dominus, that is to say, thou that woldest we shulde cōmitte al ven­gynge to the, reuenge vs ageynst this serpent, that wolde, to mayn­teyne his power, deuoure thy holy worde, if his myght were as great as his malyce.

¶It is not to me vnknowen, my sauyor & redemptor Iesu, y^t whan thy holy wyll is, in lyke maner as thou diddest defende the people of Israel, by thy duke & leader Moyses, from the prowd and obstinate [Page] Pharao, Iosua from the .xxxi. kinges, Gedeon from the Amolytes, Sampson from the Phylistiens, Dauid frome Golyas, Ezechias, from the Assirians, Asa frome the Ethiopians, Iudas Machabeus from Antiochus, & Nycaor Con­stantine from Maxentius, Theo­dosius from Eugenius, the noble Henry the fyfte frome the frenche men, the wyse Henry the seuenth, from the tyrant kynge Rycharde, with infinite mo: all be it they se­med to be inferior to the innume­rable multitude of their aduersa­ries, yet thou ouerthrewest them, in exaltyng thy power. Gyue than my lorde, and my helper, power to our prince, to thruste downe this byshop of Rome, not only his ad­uersarie, but chiefe ennemy to thy glorie, which seketh by tyrannous [Page] presumption, to bryng in his sub­iection, all pryncis of the worlde. I cry to the good lorde, Exaltare, qui iudicas terram, that is to saye, Be thou lyfte vp on hygh, and as­cende vp to thy seate, that arte the iudge of the vniuersall erthe, and render to the proude bysshop as he hathe deserued.

¶All be it mercyfulle Iesu, thou dost permytte by thy secrete iuge­ment, euyll persons to prosper, I my lorde and god, that knowe not, but as man knoweth, saye to the, O good god, howe longe shalte thou suffre, I say from the botom of my hart, howe longe wylt thou suffre this seate of Satan, to glo­rifie it selfe in euill doinge? What [Page] great damage to al Christendom, and what great mischief wrought Honorius agaynst Frederike the good emperour in his iourney a­geynste the Turkes? This wyc­ked bysshoppe sente letters to the Soudan, shewynge hym whyche wayes he myght distroy the chry­sten armye. What shulde I say of Bonifacius the third, of Alysan­der the .vi. of Iulius the seconde, the greatte thefe of the worlde, of Leo the tenthe, of Clemens, and nowe of Paule, that dyuellyshlye alway go about to set one christen prynce agaynst an other, onely to maynteyne theyr vsurped and ty­rannous estate? ‘Vsquequo pec­catores domine, usquequo pec­catores gloriabuntur?’ How long shal such proude prelates prosper? howe longe tyme wolte thou suf­fer [Page] theym?

¶ Those that be adherentes to his cursed courte, they murmure, they grudge, and do that in them is, to resyste the holy zele, whiche our kinge hath, to set forth the ho­ly worde of god. But our prynce, that hath goddis worde feruently and moste constantly fyxed in his hart, wyll with his assistens, per­seuer agaynst all them, that wolde ought do to the contrary. And as the royall kyng Dauid, although he were rebuked of his father, his bretherne, and his frendes, let not to go naked, to fyght against gret Golyas: euen so let them saye all, that do euyll, what they wyll, our prince woll not cesse to resyst with [Page] all his power, the obstinate wylle & vsurped authorite of the proude byshop of Rome.

¶And not withoute cause oure prince dothe and woll withstande the malycious power of this syn­fulle seate of Rome. For sythens the tyme that Syluester chalen­ged by gyfte, that that Constan­tyne neuer gaue hym, he and his successours, enioyenge temporall possessions, felle frome thy holye faithe, whiche before was spredde by thy apostelles througheout the vnyuersall worlde. And as it had great successe, and dayly increased in all countreyes more and more, as longe as they that were in the [Page] apostels place, folowed theyr hu­militie, pouertie, and obedience: so by the pride, couetousnes, and ty­ranny of this Babylonicall mon­ster, it hath lefte Asia and Affrike, and scasely remaineth in Europa, a small corner of the world. Wher­fore this may be well sayde, They haue put downe thyne electe peo­ple, and they haue vexed thyn in­heritance. Who ought not with al his hole hart, to bewaile this pite­ous decaye? Or who wylle not be glad to resyst the malyce of those that be the causers therof?

¶As this decayer of the monar­chye of Christendome, is for the moste parte occupied in greattest mischeues, as in stryuynge ayenst [Page] truthe and goddis gospell, in ba­nysshynge true religyon, and set­tynge vp hypocrisy and ydolatry: in hurlynge downe al good order, and obedience, soo sometyme that all men and women to, maye haue iuste cause to hate hym, he com­meth from the grettist to the smal, and falleth to the spoylyng of wy­dowes, to the slaughter of straun­gers, to the murder of orphanes. And as he and his, somtime sturre vp themperour ayenst the French kynge, somtyme the frenche men ayenst the imperyals, brefely eche kingdome in other neckes, so som­tyme they come to lower matters, and sette one priuate man to poy­son an other, one cytezen to mur­der an other. In so moch that men thynke, fewer chrysten men to be aliue at this day, than they, for the [Page] maynteynynge of their quarelle, haue caused to dye by fyre, swerde, hunger, and pestilence.

¶They perceiuing, that al thing came to passe as they wolde haue it, and that the blynde worlde be­leued, they myght pull out of he­uen, and throwe into helle, whom they lusted, handeled the mattier in suche sorte, that who soo euer sayde the contrarie, had all princis in his toppe, redy with the swerd, to take theyr parte. Anone they were exalted in such pride, that as Lucyfer dydde, they presumed to pitche their trone equal with god, and letted not to boste, to bragge, and to say: God shall nat see oure abusion, the god of Iacob shall [Page] nat perceyue wheraboute we go.

¶But our prynce, most mercyful sauior Iesu, whiche is thy Christ, y^t is to say, thyn annoynted kyng, euen as his regal maiestie, requi­reth of hym, ceasseth nat to warne all people, specially those, that be symple & vnlettred, to gyue them monition by the worde of god, to be wyse, to take hede, howe they haue fallen into extreme darknes, in gyuynge credite to his erroni­ous doctrine, and fals traditiōs, in leanyng to moche to his lawes, and commaundementes: and wi­sheth all men to trust in god, whi­che woll the deathe of no synner, but all menne to be saued. And yf they do not this, they fall clene frō [Page] god, vnto a frayle temporal mans arme, whiche is but flesshe, and shall come to duste.

¶He that consydereth welle with hym selfe, the wonderfull workes of god, must nedes see, that he is alone almighty. He that marketh howe faythfull he hath bene in all his promyses, can not but thynke, that he alone is to be trusted? he that seeth what power he hath gi­uen to other thynges, must nedes graunt, that he hym selfe hath all power. He created all thynges, he made the eares to here, and the eyes to see, now, is it lyke, that he, whiche sette eares vppon youre hedes, & gaue you power to here, [Page] can be deafe, and here nothynge hym selfe: And if he be any thing quycke of herynge, shall nat the voice of the innocētes bloud, shed by your crueltie, which crieth still, at the laste come vp to his eares? Can they lament styll, & neuer be herde? Shall he that hath set eies in your forheades, and gyuen you power to see, not se thē great abu­ses, the fals wrestynge of his holy worde, the wycked desyre that this papisticall sort hath, to maynteine theyr pompe, pride, and tyranny? Shal he here them, and se al these your mischeuous intētes, and nat see you one day punyshed?

¶Shall nat he, that chaungeth all worldly monarches, and dothe [Page] transpose, as Daniel the prophete saythe, realmes, countreyes, and empires, nowe to rule, nowe to be ruled, shall not he hurle downe this seate of Satanas? He chan­ged the dominion of the Assiriās, and gaue it to the Medes, frome the Medes to the Persians, from the Persians vnto the Greekes, frome the Grekes vnto the Ro­maines, and wolle not he brynge the proude and vsurped estate of these, that ought to serue, from the noughty, to naughte at all? or to saye, as it oughte to be, restore it rightfully to theym, that a longe season haue ben wrongfully kepte from it? Thou arte styll that same selfe god, y^t taughtest Paul thyne apostell, the secrete hyd science of scripture. Thou art he that dydste soo illuminate the mynde of thyne [Page] electe and tenderly beloued disci­ple Iohn, that he, whyche before was a fyssher man, vtterly vnler­ned, nowe excellynge the reste of the Euangelistes, vttered manye hygh mysteries, and suche as the other thre left vntouched, writing that wonderfulle piece of worke, ‘In principio erat verbum’. No meruail, if thou that taughtest the vnler­ned suche hygh mysteries, teache the lerned at length, to knowe the false doctrine, the wylye wayes, the abhomynable hypocrysye, the detestable ydolatrye of this wyc­ked mōster of Rome. Can he that teacheth the hethen to folow thin­ges iuste and righte in the face of the lawe, suffre the Christians, stil to blonder, styll to be in blyndnes, styll to be seduced by this Baby­lonycall strompette?

¶I myght greatly meruayle, ye and more then meruayl, how this chaire of pestilence coulde so long stande in honour, sauynge that I knowe verye welle, bothe to what folyes the vayne cogytations of men bryng them, and howe lyght­ly the people are illuded by super­stition, and colour of religion. The Iewes sometyme thyn electe people, not withstandynge they sawe with theyr eyes the red sees deuyded, to gyue theym passage, water sprynge oute of the harde stoone, to quenche theyr extreme thurste, meate descende downe from heauen, to fede them, whan they were full hungrye, yet whyle Moyses was in the moūt Sinai, [Page] they forgettynge al these myracles and benefites of god set vp a calf, and toke it for their god. I myght meruayle, and greatly meruayle▪ that the christen people coulde be so fonde, to leaue the word of god, and his heuenly doctrine, and fo­low this wicked byshop of Rome, and his dyuellyshe dreames. But as this is not the fyrst euyl chāge, that foolyshe man hath made, soo let vs assure our selfes, that vayn cogitations dure nat euer, the se­duced tourne ageyne, whan good guydes shewe them the way.

¶Blessed mayste thou be callyd, moste christen kyng HENRY the VIII. supreme heed of the churche [Page] of Englande. Blessed arte thou, whome god hath taught, to espie out the peryllous doctryne of the byshop of Rome, wherby the peo­ple of Englande ar brought from darkenes to lyght, from errour to the hygh way of righte knowlege, from daunger of dethe eternall, to life that neuer endeth, to be shorte, euen from hel to heuen. By the O sage kynge, the worde of god, that in tyme paste was cloked and hyd to the elders of thy realme, is now manyfest to chylderne, that ceasse not to prayse with their mouthes, god, and his holy worde. For the mayntenance wherof, most royall kynge, thy prayse shall styll conti­nue vpon erthe, and than depart, whan all menne haue taken theyr leaue of it. Happy, happy is that man good lorde, whom thou tea­chest, [Page] happy whom thou endewes [...] with thy doctrine.

¶Albeit O lorde, thou hast long forborne, and suffred this greatte deceyuour of the worlde, this Ro­mayne bysshop to reygne after a cruell sorte, proudely commaun­dynge all princis, all estates to o­beye his lustes, yet thy goodnesse be euer praysed, thou haste at the last reysed vp a prince, and by him digged a pytte, to hurle this wyc­ked wretche in, where bothe he, his false doctrine, his hypocrisye, and idolatrie, shall as oure truste is, be buried for euer. This pitte hath ofte bene a makynge, many haue dygged and lefte of, er euer the pytte hath ben fully made. [Page] Noble HENRY the eyght is he, whom we trust, thou wolt always ayde and presorue, not only vntyll all popyshe power be brought in­to the diche here in Englande, but also vntylle all Christian nations shall haue soo couered this dyche, that Romish power be neuer able to ryse ageyne.

¶Let England I say, put other nations in memorie, of the great falle, that the estate of Christen­dome toke, whan kynges began to obey the lewde doctrine of prie­stis, whan pristes presumptuously toke vpon theym, to rule goddis worde after their fantasyes, and not theyr lustes, accordyng to his [Page] lawes. Let fortunate Englande whiche nowe in spyte of tyrantes tethe, hathe recouered her inhery­taunce, be an exaumple to the reste of Christendom, that goddis wyll is not, to forsake his people, to see their right inheritance wrongful­ly kept from them. God hateth all suche as vsurpe vpon his anoyn­ted kynges. Awake christen kyn­ges awake, Englande blowethe the trompe, and sheweth you all, how ye may auoyde bondage, and howe accordinge to your title and name, ye may as kynges rule and Reygne. God chose not you his kynges, for to be reuled, but to rule. Ye maye haue offycers vn­der you, as many as you wyll: be­ynge kynges, you oughte to haue none aboue you.

¶ God a longe season suffered Pharao, to vexe his people, to heape affliction vppon affliction, and yet at the laste he mette with hym, and in a day was euen with hym for all the iniuries, he hadde done to his people. He forbare a great whyle, and yet a tyme came, that he wolde suffer no longer, but conuerted iustyce to iudgement, & rightuously executed suche sentēce ayenst him, as he had long before differred. The tyme is at hande, y^t Christe shall for their great abho­minatiō, se these tyrātes at Rome, turned out of their triūphant thrones, wherin they syt as gods, trea­dinge downe the lawes of Christ, [Page] settynge vp theyr decrees and de­cretals, as rules, or rather misru­les, to disordre almooste, all that god had welle ordred before. The tyme is at hande, that they shalbe brought from pride, to mekenesse, from superfluities, to honeste po­uertie, from voluptuous luste, to sober and chaste lyfe, frome haute and imperious commaundemen­tes, to humble and lowely obedi­ence, from feined holynes and hy­pocrisie, to godlynes and ryghte religion, and than shall we haue good cause to saye, as saynt Iohn sayde in the Apocalyps, Cecidit Babylon, cecidit Babylon ciuitas magna, that is, the greatte Babylon, the greatte citie of Babylon is fallen downe, she is fallen, that made al nations dronke with the wyne of her hooryshe fornication.

¶Lyke as the excellente kynge and prophete Dauid, greatly meruaylynge, dydde demaunde, who shulde ryse with hym, to subdewe euyll doers, workers of wycked­nesse, so may our moste noble and Christen kynge saye, who ought not to rise with me, to the vanqui­shyng of this monstruous hydra, considering the innumerable mis­cheues, the ciuile discord, the cruel warres, the effusion of Christian bloudde, that hath bene shedde by the practises of these Romayn bi­shops? Who hath not harde, how these good prelates, haue set prin­cis subiectes ayenst their souerai­nes, [Page] moch cōtrarie to the doctrine of Peter & Paul, which expressely commaunde, and woll all subiec­tes to obeye their pryncis, vnder peyne of perpetuall damnation. They ceasse not to encomber all pryncis realmes with Sedytion, where they perceyue any thyng in hande, touchynge their refourma­tion, & wol kynges styl suffer such sowers of hatrede and mischiefe, styll to haue to do in their realms? Ought they not rather to giue ere to our moste noble prince, sayenge with Dauid, Quis cōsurget mi­hi aduersus malignātes? aut quis stabit mecum aduersus operan­tes iniquitatem? Who wolle ryse with me ayenst these wicked men? what prince wolle folowe, to take parte with me, ageinst these moste [Page] vngodly persons?

¶If there were none that wolde folowe the godly wayes, and fur­ther the vertuous procedynges of the most worthy Henry our kyng, yet god, that euer doth assiste and exalte the good, resyste and with­stande the proude, shall vnder the shadowe of his holy wynges, de­fende all rightuous causes. They that seke rightuousnes, may ofte be broughte into manye straytes, moch trouble, great distresses, but yet if the confidēce and trust, that they oughte to haue in god, fayle theym nat, they are euer sure to es­cape. Dauyd was broughte into many dangers, and yet euermore [Page] delyuered. And who knoweth nat what ieoperdies the kinges high­nes hath escaped only by the helpe of god?

¶The kynges hyghenesse maye say, as wel as euer Dauid might, when so euer I said to the, my fote slypped, or fayled me, my frēdis or subiectis, whom I entierly trusted & loued, were not as I toke them, thy mercy good lord, alwayes did helpe me, and kepte me euermore from fallynge. The byshoppe of Rome hath sought many wayes, to make his gracis feete slyppe: but god be thanked, his highnesse standethe euerye daye more surer than other, euery daye more faster [Page] than other.

¶It is not to be douted, but his highnesse moste tender and gentil harte, felte great dolour, whan he sawe suche to haue intended hym moste hygh displeasure, whom he toke to be his trustiest seruauntes, and as the dolours were greatte, soo muste his gracis gladnesse be greatter, to see the wakynge eye of god, so redy to vndo his enemies, so prest to preserue and defend his highnes. His wysedome, hath de­uoured a great multitude of pey­nes, folowyng the feruent studye and desyre he hathe to maynteyne the word of god, ayenst the proud [Page] Babylonicall byshop, and yet the consolation and comfortes, which he taketh by the ouerthrowe of soo intollerable a monster, of suche an ennemy to truthe and goddis ho­nour, is farre greatter than euer were his peynes.

¶Can the seate of wyckednesse, be ioyned with the good lorde? Is it to be thought, that thou chosest hym to thy vycar, whiche worketh all thinges in maner contrary to thy wylle and pleasure? Wolt nat thou declare one daye in other re­almes, as well as thou haste done in this noble realme of England, that thy wyll is, the bysshoppe of Rome, which abuseth the pretense [Page] of thy commaundementes, to the settynge forthe of his abhomyna­ble doctryne, be taken to be as he is, thyne ennemye, a deceyuour of as many as truste hym? he hathe seditiousely swarued frome that state, and degree, whiche thou set­test hym in. He is made of an humble sheparde, an ymage for pryn­cis to kisse his shoes, wol nothing moue the good god, that thou styl with suche pacience suffereth hym thus to abuse thy pacience? Moy­ses coulde hurle Chore, Dathan, and Abiron into helle, for disseue­ryng them selues from his gouer­nance. And shall not other princis brynge this runnagate, this stray­eng byshop, vnder the yocke of o­bedience, as Henry the eyght hath done? Helpe them good lorde, as thou haste holpen hym, open their [Page] eyes, as thou haste doone his, the popysshe power is vtterlye con­founded.

¶He & his neuer cesse, to seke the distruction of the rightuous, styll condemnyng the innocentes blod. Here if a man wolde but reherse, howe many they haue condemned by fals processe, chargynge theym with errors, that died for truthes sake, he shuld find a great slaugh­ter, a great quantitie of innocen­tes bloud drawen by these bloud suckers. But he that lusteth to put in writynge, what bloudde hathe bene shedde, what a noumber of men haue dyed at suche tymes, as these haue set christen princis one [Page] against an other, he shulde be able to iustifie, that gret mylles myght be driuen with bloude, if that that hath ben shedde, coulde runne to­gether. A piteouse case, that the innocent shoulde be taken for the gyltie, a worlde to be lamented, that the wycked shoulde sende the godly to be slayn, euen as lambes in the fleshambles. Our lorde be thanked, Englande is nowe oute of that case, and none slayn, in es­peciall by proces and iudgemente, but suche as are vnworthy to lyue.

¶Men knowe, what wayes this byshop and his adherentes, haue sought and dayly seke, to hurt no­ble Henry the .viii. men se, howe [Page] his hyghnesse maye stylle saye, as Dauid sayde, The lord is he, that I fly vnto for helpe, he is the comforte of my hope, he is myn hoole truste and shote anker. If he con­tinue his aide and succour toward me, I woll nothynge doubte, but as I haue passed ouer the Baby­lonycall walles: that soo one day, other princis woll come to the sac­kynge of this harlot, that hath so longe deluded them, I truste eue­ry byrde woll take his fether, and that the prowde crowe of Esope, beinge ones naked, shal make the worlde to laughe, whiche a longe season hath made it to wayle.

[Page]¶He hath played the tyraunte to many yeres, prowdely vexynge whome he lusted, sparyng neither kynge ne Keysar. God, styrred by the synnes of the people, and an­gry with the ygnorāce of princis, hath suffered hym thus to reygne and rage ouer them both, a longe a longe season, and yet sufferethe him to rule in many nations, both as moche their losse and damage, as he and his pyrates, I wolde haue sayde prelates, can deuyse. God is a god fulle of compassion, and one that longe suffreth, stylle lookynge for, and desyrynge a­mendement. But where he seeth no hope of redresse, he payeth in one houre all dettes. Assuredly, yf we woll vse, the knowlege, which god hath sent vs, to his honoure, [Page] the time is come, that he intendeth to execute his ryghtuouse sentence ayēst this sect of Sathan, ageinst this dronken strompette, so used in the bloudde of sayntes and mar­tyrs. All the worlde shall cyre out, and saye, Woo woo to the, thou greatte Cytie of Babylon, thou myghty stronge citie, soo buylded vppe with blyndenesse of people: the houre is come, thy iudgement is giuen, though yet not executed. They that haue bene enryched by the, shal stande afarre of, wepyng and wailinge. The kynges of the erthe, shal nowe lament, that euer they medlyd with thy marchaun­dyse: lamente, that euer they toke thy parte: lamente, that they con­sented with the, to the vexation, trouble, prisonment, banyshynge, spoylynge, and sleing of innocen­tes. [Page] They shall nowe stande afar of: they wolle noo longer fauour thy wycked doinges: They woll sorowe, that they soo longe haue suffred the, and be moche aferde, leste god be lykewyse angrye with them. And so thou lefte alone, for­saken of all princys, hated of all the godly and good men, shalt wofully come to a mysera­ble ende. The lord our god hym selfe shall brynge the, to shame, so­rowe, ru­ine, and vtter confusion.