IT is no new matter to see the faithfull and pro­fitable admonitions of God his preachers cur­rishly reiected of them / which should gladly and thankfully heare and embrace them / which should obay them / which should to their vttermoste pro­mote them / which should employ themselues to defend them: and yet it is as olde a custome as it is lamentable / to finde such as shuld be most frends / most foes. To leaue the eldest times / when *Gen. 4. 8. A­bel found no worsse freende then Came / his owne brother / when Ismael *Gal. 4. 29. persecuted Isaac / when Esau *Ge. 27. 41. Iacob / when Ioseph *Ge. 37. 23. was persecu­ted by his owne brethren / when Moses *Exod. 12. 13. 14. was fame to flee from Egipte bicause of the Iewes / and so forthe till the time of the Prophetes / when *Iere. 26. 8 [...] Ieremie found least fauor at the priests hands / when Ozeah saythe that Gilead the *Ose. 6. 8. colledge of priestes was a citie of wicked doers / and polluted with bloud / when Amos was so ill entreated by *Am. 7. 10. Amazia the priest of Bethel / yea leauing these / and comming nearer / when our sauioure Christe crieth *Math. 23. 13. 14. &c. woe to the Scribes and Phariseis / exact intexpreters of God his lawe / bicause of their hy­pocrisie / who though they would faine seeme ho­ly / yet had they not the heartes to yeelde to the truth preached by oure sauioure / bicause their cre­dite [Page] and gaine (as they thought) lay another way: they therfore yeelded not / but in steede therof they slaundered Christes person / and his doctrine / they bent themselues wholely against hym / they perse­cuted hym / yea the texte is plaine / that Phariseis and priestes all of them / *Ioh. 11. 47 counselled againste hym / lefte him not till they broughte him to hys death / nay which is more / one of his owne compa­me / one of the principall / one of the *mat. 26. 48 twelue / Iu­das letrayed him. Lette vs caste oure eyes vppon the Apostles / they founde not onely the Phari­seis & priestes theyr masters cheefe persecutors / to be theirs also / but diuers *2. Corinth. 11. 26. false brethrē / I say brethren / but false brethren / neuertheles they wēt and were taken for brethren / these I saye they were endanngered by: so then / to ouerpasse the examples of the church since / as they are reported in the Ecclesiasticall histories (bicause we haue and may haue euer best lighte by the scriptures) this is it I wold say / that in these our dayes / the preachers finde not lesse fauoure / nay they are not more slaundered and persecuted / by any / then not onely by the learned of the popishe professyon / but also by suche as woulde seeme pillers of the true religion. And surely a straunge thing it is / and a maruellous case / and muche to the dismay of ma­ny that it should be so / sauing that in perusing the scriptures / it is found to haue beene commonly v­sed. There were two little Treatises lately sette forthe / both tending to one ende / namely to admo­nishe the parliament / what it had to doe touching religion / and tending to one ende / they beare one name / that is / an Admonition to the parliament. The matters therin contained / howe true so euer they be / haue founde small fauoure. The persones that are thoughte to haue made them / are laide in no worsse prison then Newgate. The men that sette vpon them / are no worsse men the Bishops. [Page] The name that goeth of them / is no better then rebelles / and great woordes there are / that theyr daunger will yet proue greater: well / whatsoeuer is said / or done against them / or whosoeuer speake or worke against them / that is not the matter: but the equitie of their cause is the matter. And yet this I will say / that the state sheweth not it selfe vpright / if it suffer them so to be molested / for that which was spoken only in the way of admonition to the parliament / which / was to consider of anye suche admonition / and to receiue it or reiecte it / without further matter to the Authors: except it contained some wilfull maintenaunce of manyfest rebellion / or treason / which it cannot be proued to doe. Againe appealing as they doe to that hyghest Court of Parliament / from the lower of the Bi­shops / and Commissioners / bicause they finde not equitie at their handes / nor cannot / the Bishops / who are in their Admonition most touched / being cheefest in Commission / alledge the Parliament what it will (as some say it was not in fourme of lawe / and Imprinted / and yet I trowe there may be founde presidentes of the like / as that of Rode­rike Mors / the way to Common wealthe / the Complaint of the beggers / and such like.) All ho­nest men shall finde lacke of equitie / if their safetie be not prouided for in this respecte / yea / and their appeale thought vppon / heard / and yeelded vnto. If it were the case of any number / for worldly respectes / this high Courte were to prouide for it / but being the case of the whole church of Eng­lande / and Irelande / and in deede God his cause / all good consciences shall condemne that Courte / that prouideth not for it / but reiecteth it. The scripture is plaine / it *Math. 10. 14. 15. shall be easyer for So­dom and Gomorrha in the day of iudgement / then for such a Court. God giue it grace to prouide for it / or euer it be dissolued / and pardon the negligēce [Page] already committed / for otherwise surely / there is none other thyng to be loked for / then some spee­die vengeance to lyght vpon the whole land / pro­uide as well as the politique Macheuils of Eng­lande thinke they can / though God do his worste: but shut God out of your assemblies and courtes / as hetherto in this youre laste Parliament you haue don nothing therin as you ought / no though you haue bene solicited / but haue suffred them that were your solicitoures / to be molested / you shall finde / bothe that you oughte to haue soughte the *Mat. 6. 33 kingdome of God first / and also you shal finde / if you consider not youre owne wayes in youre heartes / howe you thinke it a time to builde seeled houses / to deuise lawes for the preseruation and prosperitie of your common wealth / and neglecte God his churche / leaue that waste / prouide not for that / you shall finde (as the *Ag. 1. 5. 6. Prophet saith) yee shall sowe muche / and bring in little / yee shall eate / and not haue inoughe. As for the Conuoca­tion house / whereof many haue conceiued a mar­uellous opinion / and which should of duetie loke to these matters / common experience dothe proue / that they doe for the most parte apply them selues to the time / and seeke rather to please and followe worldly pollicie / then sincerely to promote Gods cause / and to publishe his truth. And hereof their last conuocations can be good witnesses. But you say the Bishops are good men / & great clearkes / they knowe what they haue to doe / and possyble some of them doe / excepte the God of thys worlde haue bl [...]nded their eyes / and so did some of the po­pishe bishops: but you were deceiued by them / and you are like to be deceiued by these / if you truste them so farre / as experience teacheth. Neuerthe­lesse you shall die in * [...]ze. 33. 8. your synnes / you shal both * [...]at. 15. 14 fall into the ditche. But some will say that the admonition hindered other things. As who shuld [Page] say that to further Gods cause / is to hinder other matters that be profitable for the cōmon wealth / doth the knowledge of God / and the promoting of hys glory / hinder profitable lawes? that is a thyng that I would gladly learne / for I coulde neuer vnderstand it before. VVherfore this may be as a seconde Admonition / wyth the like mynde as afore by them / to craue redresse of the great a­buses in oure Reformation of Religion / some be­ing continued from the papistes / some deuised by the fantasticall heades of vayne menne / and some though not maintayned / yet suffered and not re­formed vnto thys day / yea and further / as they a­fore / doe againe appeale to thys hyghe Courte of Parliament from all other Courtes / being ready to defende that whych I wryte touching the sub­stance of it againste all men / and that vppon the pearill of my lyfe. Let me be but vprightly heard and interpreated. The matter is Goddes / ouer­passe it not lightly / for we maye not (thoughe you deuised lawes to cutte vs off / as by some one by­shop you haue bene ere nowe prouoked) for oure partes thus leaue it. The other bokes are shorte (as it was requisite to present to you) and there­fore they haue not so muche tolde you how to Re­forme / as what to Reforme. They haue tolde you of many things amisse / and that very truely / they haue tolde you in generall / what were to be resto­red / but howe to doe these things / as it is the har­dest poynte / so it requireth / as themselues saye / a larger discourse. I meane therfore to supplie (as shortly as I can / bicause I wryte as they dyd to you) some thing that may make to the expressing of the matter / so plainely / that you may haue suffi­cient lyght to proceede by / till they whych are en­dued wyth greater giftes / discusse it more exactly / or till we our selues / who haue begon / maye haue further oportunitie to proceede / if it be neglected of [Page] theyr part which coulde we it better. And yet this I dare say / for the substance of those Treatises (which is it that galleth the aduersaries mooste / howe so euer they quarrell w^t them vpon wordes) that it is so grounded vpon the vndoubted truthe of God his booke / that the diuell of hell / cannot wyth his coloures blemishe it / saue he may seeke to suppresse it by violence: nor any but he / and those whome he hathe deceiued / or whome God hath not yet giuen so much light vnto / will or can stand against it. I would / and doe therefore ear­nestly admonishe them that knowe / to knowe as they ought / and to doe as they knowe / and to be­ware of the vnderstād this of the deuill / as Ioh. 12. 31 Ih. 14. 30. Ephe. 6. 12 2. Cor. 44. Ma [...]. 2. 2. 3 Rom. 10. 2 God of this worlde / that he deceiue them not / for the time will come / that this * dung shall be throwne openly in their faces / to their e­uerlasting shame / that maintain it / like as at this day it hathe befallen to the sencelesse Papistes / who will neuer giue ouer / til they can neither wil nor chuse with shame inough. Next I woulde / and doe earnestly ad [...]onishe those that are igno­rant / to learne to knowe / and to beware of a blinde zeale / which is more violent & vniust / then oughte else / carying men headlong / to maintain that / they haue no reason for / and wickedly to gainstand the expresse truth / to their endlesse perdition. Now to the matter / I say that we are so skarce come to the outwarde face of a Churche rightly refor­med / that although some truth be taught by some preachers / yet no preacher may withoute greate danger of the lawes / vtter all truthe comprised in the booke of God. It is so circumscribed & wrapt within the compasse of suche statutes / suche pe­nalties / suche inst [...]uctions / suche aduertisements / suche articles / suche canons / suche sober caueats / and suche manifo [...]e pamphlets / that in manner it doth but [...]epe out from beh [...]de the screene. The lawes of the lande / the booke of common prayer / [Page] the Queenes Iniunctions / the Commissioners aduertisements / the bishops late Canons / Lind­woodes Proumetais / euery bishops Articles in his d [...]ocesse / my Lord of Canterburies sober caue­ates / in his licences to preachers / and hys highe Courte of prerogatiue or graue fatherly faculties / these together / or the worste of them (as some of them be too badde) may not be broken or offended against / but with more daunger then to offende a­gainst the Bible. To these subscribing / and sub­ [...]ing againe / and the third subscribing / are re­ [...]red / for these / Preachers and others are endi­ [...] are fined / are priso [...]ned / are excommunicated / are banished / and haue worse things threatned them: and the Bible / that muste haue no further s [...]pe / then by these it is assigned. Is this to pro­fesse God his worde? is this are formation? He that could not abide straunge fire in the olde law / but burnt *Leui. 10. 12 them that vsed it / what will he doe to vs in the newe lawe / that erect a new and straunge course / or worde / to rule his church by? What did the Pope but so? he did suffer God his worde to haue a course as farre as it pleased him / so that he might haue the whole authoritie aboue it. so dyd the Popishe churche: but we say the * worde is a­boueEphe. 2. 20 the church / then surely it is aboue the Eng­lishe churche / and aboue all these bookes afore re­hearsed. If it be so / why are not they ouer ruled [...] / and not it by them? Here falleth forthe to be [...]swered a shift of descant to turne and winde this [...]er. Forsothe these are not repugnant / saythe [...] to the woorde of God / no nor yet say we / are [...] consonante / no more is chaffe like to quenche [...] no nor yet can it abide the fire. But gold can. [...]uen so are these vnable to quenche the lighte of [...] gospell / no *1 Corrin. 3. nor yet can they▪ abide the courte o [...] the gospell / but true religion abideth the triall of the word of God. As wel reasoned / it were to say / [Page] lay hay or stubble on the fire / for it wil not quench the fire / and therefore it will not be consumed by the fire / as to say receiue this reformation / for it is not repugnant / therefore it will abide the triall of the word / but the scripture abideth no suche di­stinction of contrary / and diuers / for he that is not with me / take he the Iewes parte / the Turkes / the Papistes / or the hipocriticall Englishe prote­stantes parte / * Mat. 12 30 he is against me sayth Christe. Another / he talketh for the Quenes supremacie / Out saythe he / may not the Queene doe thys and that / but you muste [...]her to a reckening: howe allowe you then hir supremacie in Ecclesiasticall things / (which are in deede to be determined in conferences and councels / and that by the warrāt of the worde) you will proue very Anabaptistes / not suffering Magistrates / nor any politique or­ders besides / and so he runneth away with allea­ging scriptures that commaunde obedience to ma­gistrates / and say things must be done orderly and decently / and he deuiseth many foule names / and reproches for vs. But heere hir Maiestie is to be humbly intreated / that of hir clemencie / shee will abide vs (who are bound by duetie / and obedience to God) freely to discusse all things as they are set Deu. 4. 4 Ios. 1. 8. forthe in the woorde of God / though her Maie­stie otherwise thinke it straunge / and also haue in owe to exasperate hir Maiestie against vs pore men / who are farre vnable to abide hit displesure / and would be sory to offende her / if it might please God to encline her Maiesties heart to consider of our cause / and not to be turned from vs by the im­portunatenesse of oure aduersaries / nor by other preiudice of oure persones or places: but to deale with vs euen according to the truthe of the mat­ters we deale in / which are according to the very woorde of almightie God / or else if it will not fall out so / we will be content to abide hir displeasure [Page] and sharp punishment. Out if it fal out [...]o / then as an [...]oure Magistrate may not take the authoritie of the highest into hys hantes / no more may any Magistrate v [...]urpe Gods. To Ce [...] Math. 11▪ 21. geue that whych is Cesars / & to God that whych is hys / saythe oure sauioure. Non [...] is so high at her common wealthe / as hir maie­stie: none so vse the sweard but shee / and whom shee appointeth vnder hir / according to y^• lawes 10 of thys land / so that it be not repugnant to their vocation / as to ministers. Likewyse / none is so hygh in the churche as Christe / none to doe any thing / nor any thing to be done in hys churche / but as it is appointed in hys woorde / eyther by precise or generall direction. And therfore it is allowed and commaunded to Christian men / to trie all 1. Th. 5 / 21 * things / and to holde that whiche is good / whosoeuer forb [...]dde wythoute exception / Prince / or other / so that if we examine euerye thyng done in thys churche of God in Englande 20 by the worde of God / and holde that whiche is good / though the lawe be offended / that lawe is to be reformed / and not we to be punished / for whatsoeuer our personnes or places be / if oure matters we deale in / be Gods / her maiestie we trust / remembreth what the scripture sayth: he that despiseth you * Lu. 10 / 1 [...] despiseth me / and he that receyueth you / receyueth me. As we know thys case to be cleare / so we trust and dayly pray / that God wyll open her maiesties heart / to consider of it and vs. But to these men agayne / let them shewe vs (if they can) by what aucthoritie they may en [...]oyne vs (if God hys worde beare them to be magistrates) to obserue the boke of Com­monMore say [...] for this bo­ke / then we say for the Bible. prayers / bothe in matter and manner / as in theyr laste Canons they forbid theyr ministers to depart from one or other? it is wycked to say no worse of it / so to attribute to a booke / in deede [...]ulled out of the vile popish seruice booke / with [Page 10] some certaine rubrikes and gloses of their owne deuise / suche authoritie as only is due to God hys booke: and inditements / imprisonments / and suche extremities vsed agaynst them which breake it / is cruell persecution of the membersCruel per­secution. of Iesus Christe. And of all other greeuous e­normities layde vppon thys churche of God in England / this is the greatest / that it is not law­full to vtter that whych we learne truely oute of the scriptures. We must be in daunger of a 10 premunire if we folowe not the lawes of y^e land / thoughe they be agaynste the scriptures / and in daunger of a twelue monthes imprisoment / if we speake agaynst the booke of common pray­er / though it be agaynste the word of God. In deede if there were order taken for conferences / Acts. 15. 2 such as the scriptures commendeth to y^e church for the triall of truthe / when it is hard & darke / then were the dealing not harde / but vprighte. As for the Conuocation house I tolde you be­fore 20 what it was / and what may be looked for at theyr handes / and somewhat more shall be sayde of it heereafter. If that were sayd for the Bible / whych is sayd for the booke of common prayer / and whych God sayth in his law for hys Deut. 4. 2 woorde / then were the dealyng vpryght and and good. Now if they meane by / not repugnāt that it is consonante in all and euerye the con­tents thereof wyth the woorde of God / that can they neuer proue. But coulde they proue that / 30 yet they snare the church of God betweene that boke and other bookes / whych they obtrude w^t straight charge to be obserued / whych bookes doe differ amongs themselues: as the booke of common prayer / and the iniunctions about wa­fers / the boke of common prayer and the aduer­tisements about the churche vestures / the Ca­nons against the pontificall / in not ordering of ministers / sine titulo, the preface of the last boke [Page 11] of homilies / and of the last newe Bible agaynst the booke of Common prayer in the manner of reading of y^e scriptures. And in many things the bishops articles in theyr seuerall diocesses differ from thys booke / as aboute the standyng of the communiō table / & fetchyng the dead to church / and such lyke / but the courte of Faculties / thatThus shal they be perplexed / that follow mēs heades. for marrying wythoute asking the banes / and many moe things differeth from it and all other theyr bookes / but cheefely from God hys Bi­ble: 10 what say we to thys case? we are neyther free to folowe the Bible / nor out of doubt what to doe by these bookes / but to followe God and hys woorde / we are so free / that we are by the Apostle forbidden to become seruāts 1. Cor. 7 / 23 of men. If thys be true / as who can denye it / then is it your partes to rid our churche of these shrewde encombrances. And whereas it was meant to bridle papists / make direct lawes against them.Directe lawes a­gaynst pa­pistes. Further / wheras our church yet misseth of the right course of the scriptures in our reformatiō / let youre learned men be driuen to drawe a plat­forme out of God his boke (wher it is descrybed at ful) according to hys will in y^e same reuealed / and the examples of the best Churches beyonde the seas / as Geneua / Fraunce / &c. And the on­lyThe cause y^t all [...] ches [...]o no [...] agree. cause why our church differeth from y^e chur­ches reformed of the straūgers / or amongs our selues / or they amongs themselues / is because one church suffereth not it selfe so to be directed by the course of the scriptures as an other doth / except it be in those things of order / wherin one parishe may many times differ from an otherChurches may differ in matters of order. wythout offence / folowing the generall rules of the scripture for order / as in appoynting tyme and place for prayers / and so forth. So that we are so farre off from singularitie wherwyth we are commonly charged / that we desire to drawe by one line with the primitiue churche / and the [Page 12] churches best reformed at thys day / for we say there is but one * Phil. 3. 16 line throughout all coūtreis / and at all times as the scripture speaketh / there is one * Eph. 4. 4. body / one spirite / one hope / one Lorde / one fayth / one baptisme / one God and Father of all which is aboue all / and through al / and in vs all. The persons and causes that are to deale and to be dealt with in the church are certayne / and expressed in the scriptures. The lyfe of the worde is the ministerie of the same / howe shall 10 they heare wythout a *Ro. 10. 14 preacher sayth the A­postle. The former tretises therfore haue right­ly spoken against the bastard / idol / and vnprea­ching ministerie of thys church. And therefore thys I say / that first you must prouide a suffy­cientSufficient [...]rouisyon for the mi­nsteric. mayntenance for the ministerie / that in e­uery parishe they may haue a preaching pastor / one or moe / that may only entend that charge. Is not the scripture plaine: Thou shalt not * [...]. Cor. 9. 9. 10. 11. 12. &c. Deu. 25. 4 [...]. Ti. 5. 18 Ro. 15. 27. Deu. 18. 1 mousel the mouth of the Oxe▪ that treadeth out 20 the corne? for our sakes no doubt thys is wryt­ten / that he that careth should care in hope / that they whych sowe you spirituall things / myght reape of you temporall things / whych is no bad exchaunge for you. Nowe / to your handes oure auncestors haue raised a maintenance / which is not so embeseled away / nor the propertie so alte­red / but that (though mennes deuotion be colde to the ministers) the state may easely by law re­store 30 the same prouision againe / without losse in manner to any partie. If none other way may be founde / then haue the bishops and cathedrall churches temporalties inough / to redeme those liuings that be impropriated / or otherwyse out / and to better those liuings whych are too small / and as I thynke to be employed to other good vses of the church also. But we will not stande wyth you so muche in the manner of the raisyng of theyr prouision / for raise it as it shall please [Page 13] God to put you in minde / so y^• you prouide suffi­ciently for your ministers / that they maye be of abilitie to maintaine their charge / and to be­stowe vpon fitte furniture of bokes and honest hospitalitie. But in the meane while / vntill a sufficient prouision be made / it is no better then sacrileage and spoyling of God to kepe backe a­ny way the prouision which hath bene made in that respecte / and the cursse of God threatned by Malachie to those that spoiled y^• *mal. 3. 8. 9 Leuites then of their prouision / belongeth / and wil light vpon our spoilers nowe / & vpon them in whose hands it is to redresse it / if they doe it not. Also there must be orders taken and looked vnto / forbestowing of vniuer­sity liuings the bestowing of the liuings prouided in the v­niuersities (now dennes of many theeuish non­residentes:) not to the greedy vse of many cor­morant masters of colledges / and at theyr wic­ked pleasure / as they are / but to the brynging vp for the moste parte of such as wil be content to be employed vpon the charge of the ministe­rie / whē as the church shall haue nede of them / and to take from them that haue moe liuings / all saue one / and that to / except they will be resi­dent / and be able and willyng to discharge it / hauing besides the allowāce which afterwards shalbe spoken of by God hys grace. And thys prouisiō must so sufficiently be established / that it may be paide wythoute adoe / and not to bemat. 10. 17 2. cor. 2 67 Ministers maintnāce is not to be recouered by excōmu­nication. Vnburde­ning of be­nefices. sought for / or worme by suspensions / or * excom­munication 30 / which are applied by y^• scriptures to a farre more proper and spirituall vse / & not at all to thys. And also there are many charges going out of benefices / wherof they shoulde be vnburdened. Next / you must repeale your sta­tute or statutes / whereby you haue authorised that ministerie that now is / making your estate partly to consist of Lordes spiritual (as you cal [Page 14] them) and making one minister hygher then a­notherRepealing of statutes / appoynting also an order to ordayne ministers / which order is cleane differing from the * scriptures / wherefore you muste haue theAct. 1. 31. Act. 6. 3 Act. 14. 23 1. ti. 3. 2. 7 Tit. 1. 6. order for these things drawne oute of the scrip­tures / which order is this. When any parishe is destitute of a pastor / or of a teacher / the same parish may haue recourse to the next conferēce / and to them make it knowne that they maye 10 procure cheefely from the one of y^e vniuersities / or if otherwise / a man learned / & of good report / The chu­sing of mi­nisters. whome after triall of hys gyftes had in theyr conference / they may present vnto the paryshe which before had bene wyth them aboute that matter / but yet so / that the same parishe haue him a certaine time amōgst them / that they may be acquainted wyth his gifts and behauioure / and geue their consentes for his stay amongste them / if they can alleage no iust cause to the cō ­trary: 20 for he may not be sent away again / which is so sent to a parishe / except a iust cause of mis­liking / the cause alleaged being iustly proued a­gainst hym / either amongst themselues in theyr owne consistorie / so that he will appeale no fur­ther for hys triall / or els in the next conference / or counsell prouinciall / or nationall / vnto which from one to another he may appeale / if he fynde hymselfe cleare / and if he geue ouer / they maye proceede as afore for another. And when suche an one is founde / to whome the parishe muste 30 geue consent / bicause there is no iust cause to be alleaged agaynste him / the nexte conference by whose meanes he was procured / shall be certi­fied of the parishes liking / wherupon they shall amongst themselues / agree vpon one of the mi­nisters / which shall be sent by them to the same parishe / and after a sermon made according to the occasion / and earnest prayer to God wyth [Page 15] fasting according to the example of y^e scriptures made by that congregation to God / y^e it would please him to direct them in theyr choise / and to blesse that man whome they choose / he shall re­quire to know their consent / which being graū ­ted / he & the elders shall lay their hāds on him / 1. ti. 4. 14. to signifie to him y^t he is lawfully called to y^t pa­rishe to be pastor there / or teacher. Now / for as much as I haue made mētion of a pastor / and a 10 teacher / of a consistory in each parish / of a cōfe­rence / and of a counsell prouincial / and national / I wil as brefely as I can declare / what eache of these meaneth / and what the vse of them is. Ther is required in euery wel reformed church these two things: A righte ministerie *mat. 9. 38 of the worde and sacraments / and a right mat. 18. 17 * gouerne­ment of the churche / which two things are by our sauioure commended to hys church / before there were any churches gathered. And in the Apostles time / when they had gathered seue­rall churches or congregations / they not onely teache what shoulde be / but they establishe or­ders accordingly. In the ministerie therefore / after rehearsall made of those rare and extraor­dinarie functions of Apostles / Prophets / and Euangelistes / there is declared in the last place those ordinarie functions of *Ephes. 4 [...] 11. 12. 13. Two sorts of miny­sters only. The diffe­rence of their offy­ces / and wherein they are a­lyke. shepheards and teachers / which endure in euery well ordered 30 church / till we all meete together into the vnity of faythe and knowledge of the sonne of God. There are then in the ministery only two sortes of ministers / namely pastors & teachers / which doe not differ in dignitie / but in distynction of office / and exercise of theyr gifts / and yet in ma­ny things their office is so like / that they are confounded in the name of Elders / as also the gouernours are with the ministers in the same name confoūded. But these two offices differ in [Page 16] this / y^• the pastor or pastors / are they y^• haue y^• ouersight & charge of y^e whole parish / to instruct to admonish / to exhort / & to correct bi doctrine al and euery one in the assemblies or in the priuate houses of the same parishe / and to minister the sacraments in y^e same parish. The teacher (saue that in the consistory of the same parishe / and in all conferences of ministers / he is to beioyned w^t the ministers) shall in such places as prouision is 10 made for him / & being lawfully called as afore / onely intend lectors / and expositions of the scrip­tures / to the end that there may be set furth / and kepte a soundnes of doctrine / a right & naturall sence of the scriptures / and playne and manifest proues of the articles of the Christian religiō / so that he oughte to be an exquisite and mighty man in the scriptures. The vse of suche an oneThe vse of the doctors office. is most nedeful / wher the frie of the churche (as I might call it) is / to enter them well which af­ter 20 shuld be emploied to the ministrie / whether it be in the vniuersitie or elswhere / that such be brought vp to this turne. So that in deede the titles of oure vniuersitie doctors / and bachelors of diuinitie / are not onely for vayn glory soughtVniuersi­tie doctors and bachi­lers of di­uinitie. and graunted / but there they are the names of course / cōferred rather by y^• prophane iudgmēts of them that know not what office of y^• church they belong too / and by the importunate sute and meanes made / by such vaine men as desire to clime / and to haue hygh names / and also of a 30 blinde custome partly / which (besydes the gra­ces gotten easely by frendship / or corrupt brthe­rie / compounding I should say / althoughe no shew of learning be vttered / nor exercises kept) doth in respect of cōtinuāce of stāding in māner throw these titles vpon many dolts / which nei­ther do / nor can do any thing y^• is required in a teacher or doctor. And a plaine case it is / y^• ostē ­tation [Page 17] and outwarde glorye is soughte by these names / & by the name of master of Arte / which is esteemed many degrees beneathe the titles of Doctor / or Bachelor in diuinitie / for otherwise they would not offer those titles to suche as the vniuersities would shewe pleasure vnto / as to noble men and others / as though they were no­ble names / nobilitating them that otherwise wer vnnoble / and adding to their nobilitie that with­out 10 them were noble. And thus haue they tur­ned vpside downe / and made a mockery of God hys or [...] / conferred vpon his churche for the be­nefite of the same / excepte they will not be asha­med to professe themselues heerein to folowe theHeathenish tradition. heathenish tradition of prophane scholes which rather seke by suche titles to aduance learning / as they say / then by their learning to aduan̄tage the church of God. For none other are true tea­chers or doctors / but they which doe teache / and 20 be founde meete / and be called by the churche to teache / how so euer the vniuersitie doctors seeme to haue some indelible Caracter / that once and euer doctor / as the popishe priestes once shauen / were euer priestes / and can neuer be no priestes after / but such doctors as these / though they had neuer so many graces / shall be but idol doctors / as truely doctors / as an image [...]s a man / whych hath nothing but the shew of a man / eyes and see not / eares and heare not / and so they / teachers & doctors / and teache not. These vaine names be­come 30 suche vaine men / but the churche of God they become not / and are forbidden by oure saui­oure. * Mat. 23. 8▪ Be not you called Rabbines / and to be called Rabbines is the matter with oure doc­tors / but to teach / that is to base or needelesse for them. I haue spoken the mere of thys / bicause the abuse is great / and not thoughte of / for how­soeuer it will be faced out / y^e name is not a name [Page 18] [...]f dignitie / but a name of duety to be done to the church of God / by him that hath y^• excellent gyft of faithfull & right expounding of the scriptures / and of the vndoubted prouing and auouching of all the articles of our christian religion / whych is moste requisite in place where I said before / and very requisite euery where / & is to be had where competent prouision may be made for suche an one. Thus you see breefely howe these two dif­fer / and what is the vse of y^e teachers or doctors 10 office. Now the pastors in their charges and pa­rishesThe vse of the pastors office / and that it is requisite in e­uerye con­gregation. / haue not only to propounde sounde doc­trine / but also charge to exhort / and to admonish publiquely and priuately them that they finde to neede it / and to examine them / and to Cathechise them in their faith / vpon whome onely lyeth the charge of the whole cōgregation / whether there be a teacher / or doctor or no. For if the doctor faithfully kepe his lectures / and answer hys cal­ling by godly life there is no further thing to be 20 required of him / saue y^• in the consistorie (againe I say) he app [...]y hymselfe w^t the pastors to guide and directe the rest of the assistantes / and in lyke sorte ioyne himselfe with the pastors in theyr cō ­ferences councels / and such like meetings. But euery congregation must haue a pastor / I saye not a parsone vicare or stipendarie priest / or cu­rate (as they call him) but a pastor or shepherd / which is able / and dothe intend feeding of them / euery way / by preaching doctrine / by exhorting 30 to the same / and to godly life / by admonishyng offenders / by conference wyth them / by visityng the sicke / to teache and counsell them / by Cathe­chising the congregation / by making prayers / by ministring the sacraments / and examining before hand the communicantes / and whatsoeuer he is directed vnto by the prescripte of the woorde of God. And these two offices thus set vp / accor­ding [Page 19] to the scriptures / there remaineth no vseThe good y^t ensueth of the erecting of a ryghte ministerie. of fat canons / prebendaries / petie canons / syn­ging men / quiresters / virgirs / and the rest of y^t crue / nor yet of rouing preachers / which preach quarter sermons / nor of stipendarie curates / & that vnbrideled (vntituled cleargye I shoulde say) but that the liuings of the former might be [...]estowed vpon the maintenance of the righte ministerie / and the latter to be no longer an vn­profitable 10 burden to the churche. And further / such prouision being made / there shalbe no nede of such dignities / as they call them / nor of qua­lifications for many beneficēs / as pluralities / trialities / totquors / and I wot not what con­ferring of benefices / or prebends vpon bishops / to amende their liuings forsothe. All thys good commeth of the erecting of a right ministerye / besides the faithfull discharging of so greate a charge as the feedyng of Chrystes flocke is. And also thys I say / it is so farre of that anye can take vyon him the charge whych our Lord Bishops do / as they say / one of them to be par­sonL. bishops take farre more charge vpon them / thē they are able to dis­charge. (pastor they seme to meane) of a whole dio­cesse (moste diocesses containing diuers shires) yea / and some one of a prouince (containing ma­ny diocesses) that in de [...]de it is in manner too much for one to take charge of one only parish / and to say truth / if euery parysh were able (as it wold be prouided for / by restoring impropri­ations 30 by augmenting of the liuings / & by ioy­ning moe paryshes in one) if euerye paryshe IRespects require [...]a­ther two p [...] stors ouer one flocke then one o­uer many. say / were by some suche meanes made able / it were meete euery paryshe had two pastors at least / bothe for the common charge that lyeth vpon the shoulders of the pastors / and for son­dry vses that theyr congregations haue to em­ploy them vpon / or cheefely / bicause in the syck­nesse of the one / the other myght supplye. And [Page 20] the pastor or pastors being ryghtly called / maye not be put away / but for such causes / and in such sort as was sayd before / nor he or they maye not leaue their charge / for he or they haue a necessy­ty * [...]. cor. 9. 16. The pastor maye not [...]eaue hys [...]lock at hys [...]wne plea­ [...]ure. of tarying on theyr charge laide vpon them w^t their charge / except by y^e good order o [...] y^e chur­ches it be thought expediēt / or when y^e shepe are wolues / & so they dryuē to flie frō them: so y^• our resignatiōs wil not stād w^t y^• word of god / m [...]ch lesse wil our non residēts abide y^• triall / both ser­uing 10 y^e couerousnesse of gredy bellied wolues / the one to fleece wythout care of feedyng / excepte it be themselues eyther in some chaplams roume / or in some other stye / to spare theyr labor where they should entende: The other serueth hym that euer gapeth for a greater pray / or to make mony when other shyftes sayle. And further / I wyll not excuse all those that eyther resygne / or suffer them selues to be depryued to auoyde further trouble / wythout consyderation of theyr flocke / 20 if the same conspire not generally against them / seeing they oughte to giue theyr lyues for theirIh. 10. 11. flocke. But thys is not thought to be so neede­full / nor in deede were so nedefull / if to reade the scryptures / the homilyes / and the course of oure booke of common prayers were mough / for then a boy of ten yeares olde may do the ministers of­fice / for the substance of their offyce is not in the yeares / but in the reading. And in deede boyes and sencelesse asses are oure common minysters 30 for the moste parte / for / but common reason may serue thys turne / and doe thys feat well mough. It is in deede les [...] busye then popyshe priestesOur course [...] religyon [...]estroyeth [...]ys care of Chrystes [...]ocke. seruyce / bycause the kalender and the rubrikes of the booke are fewer: and playner then his por­tuise and pie were / so that lesse clarkes then po­pyshe priestes / whych had but some blinde La­tin in their b [...]lly / may serue for our store / & ther­fore [Page 21] in deede the blindest bussarde of them / if hee wyll keepe hys conscience to hymselfe / nay he is not so narowly loked vnto / if he wyll subscribe to our Articles of Christian religyon before hys ordinarye / and blindely reade them at hys bene­fyces / he shall not onely be seruing priest (I vse their owne termes) but he may haue one Bene­fyce or moe / and nothyng shall / nor may be sayde against hym / and so he proui [...] hys quarter ser­mons 10 or pay his Ordinarie for that default and suche lyke / he is as good a Pastor as the [...]st. And yet I thynke verely / the laste ParliamentA good sta­tute of y^• last parliamēt / taketh little effecte / by y^• negligence and corrup­tion of the Ordinaries as they call them. saue thys / meant very well in this respecte / by a statute prouided in this case / so that many a leud Priest of them (if the Ordinarie had bene good / not being corrupted by bribes / or by their bribed offycers and seruaunts) would haue bene remo­ued / and the benefyces readye for better pastors / but I can heare of none / of few so badde / but he 20 is where he was / and my Lorde Byshoppe hys great frende commonly / for it seemeth by some of them / that they sin [...]ll my Lords the Byshoppes meanyng / is to make their hande nowe / and to money themselues nowe / and prouide for their wyfe and children somewhat, honestly (I will not say pompously) for fear of after claps against a rainye day / whatsoeuer tyme or change come / and thys humoure these Priestes / and all other Time seruers f [...]e [...] full handsomely / and it ser­ueth their purposes in deede fullye. No / no / thys is not that mynisterie / whych we haue ne [...]e of / and whych God erected in hys churche / readingReading of Homilyes came in by abuse / and maintenieth an [...]ooll [...] ­ [...]. an Homilie / is Popishe and s [...]nd / whether they [...] [...]edes homilies / or anye other auncient wry­ters homilies / whych in tymes past vpon y^e lyke erroure were [...]sed so supplie the lyke lacke of preaching a [...] thoughe afterward they red them or sung them in an vn [...] tongue: or they [...] [Page 22] our bishoppes homilies in oure owne tongue / for fayth commeth by hearing / and hearing not by homilies: but by the * Ro. 10. 17 The mini­stery of faith is the prea­ching of the same. worde of God / & in deede readyng of the word is as good / and better preaching / then readyng of homilies / but the mini­sterie of faythe is the preaching of the same / oute of the woorde of God / by them that are sent of God. How cā they preach except they be * Ro. 10. 15 sent / as it is wrytten / howe beautifull are the feete of them whych bryng good tidings of peace: they 10 must be sent of God / endued wyth the gyftes of God / furnyshed wyth hys graces vnto that mi­nisterie / that they may be able to bring the good tidings of peace / and good thyngs to their con­gregations / that their feete may be beautifull to them / that they may knowe that they are iewels of God bestowed vpon hys churche / that euerye churche may be assured they haue a treasure of their minister or ministers. Thys is the ryghte 20 way to bryng y^• ministerie into credyte and esti­mationThe waye to bring the ministerie [...]nto credite [...] estimatiō. / their giftes giuen them of God / & theyr paynfulnesse / and honest lyfe amongst their con­gregations / & not to make some of them Lordes / Graces / Earles / Prelate / and Register of the Garter / Barons / Suffraganes / some of them ryche Deanes / Archdeacons / masters of Col­ledges / Chauncellors / Pre [...]ndes / rych persons and vicares / and thoughe some of them be poore inoughe / to gette them credite by their rochets / hoodes / cappes / clokes / tippets and gownes / or 30 suche lyke implements vsed by the * Math. 23. [...]. 6. 7. 11. [...]ur sauior orbiddeth [...]ys miny­ [...]ers to seke [...] be noted [...] outward [...]parel and [...]uises. Phariseis whyche claimed hyghe roumes / and made large borders on their garmentes / & loued to be gree­ted / and to be called Rabbi / whyche thyngs by our sauioure are forbidden his ministers / and an order enioyned / that they which loke for it / shuld not haue it / but be least esteemed. Thys is true / reade the scriptures youre selues I pray you / if [Page 23] you finde it not so / disproue vs / if it be founde so / strengthen vs by your authorities / and lette the worde of God haue the free course that it ought to haue. They be but pretences to serue the glo­rious course that some of oure ministers are en­tred into / when they say / it is the credyte of the ministerie / and the vpholding of the same / and thys way of oures / is the discrediting and ouer­throwing of the ministerie / & of all good orders / 10 and to bring confusion into the churche / and as they pretende playne Anabaptistrie. But they are no better but pretences and flat vntruthes / for it is God hys owne order set by our sauioure and hys Apostles in his church / and I trust (as breefely as I can) to make it appeare to be God his order / and the lest order / and the onely order which should be in the churche of God. And asThe coue­tous abuses that are too common a­mong the byshops. for the order whych they pretend to be maintai­ned by them / it may be that they knowe their or­der when they ride in their scarlet roa [...]es before 20 the Queene / and howe to poll their cleargye as they call them / and all other in their diocesses / & howe to lease oute benefices to the patrones / or by the persone or vicare and patrones meanes royally to lease them out to some other / or to ali­enate the house / or the gleebe for a round summe of money to their Lordships chestes / or brybes to their wiues / or to their children / or to their offycers / or seruauntes / that they may haue their share thereby / or how to kepe their courtes / and 30 gette them officers for their best aduauntage / or howe to rattle vp these new fellowes / these yong boyes that will not obey at a becke to their arti­cles / aduertisements / canons / caueates / and such lyke stuffe of their owne forging / or whatsoeuer proceedeth / or is from / or: for their Lordly estate and degree / or howe to pleasure their frende / or frendes / or freendes freende / with a Benefice / [Page 24] or wyth a Pr [...]: so that it maye bee a good turne to themselues / comming by simonie away / or howe to lease out their owne temporaltyes of their bishopprickes / yea & possible akenate them from their successors / and howe to matche their sonnes and their daughters together / with great summes of money passing betweene them / and how to purchase lands and leases in their wiues & childrens names / bicause if they were priests / their children cannot inherite / nor are legitimate 10 by the lawes / and howe to raise fines and rentes / and many suche good orders moe / they are verye skilfull in / and keepe very diligently. I woulde for experience / some of their doings were exami­ned / and then no doubt we shoulde see manye ofExamination of y^• by­shops do­ings very expedient. these goodly orders brought to lyght. And tyll it be examined / I would that they whych are ho­nest men / woulde bryng to lyghte their doings whych they knowe / for as finely as they haue hādled the matters / there are some which know 20 inough / and I trust they will impatt it ere long to the state / y^• they whych are of so sharp a sight to see who offende them / may themselues lie opē / and shew how they offend God and his church / and howe vtterly vnnecessary they are / and to be remoued from their roumes / and their roumes from the churche / whych by them are continued to stall the popishe Bishops in their pompe a­gaine / if euer their tyme serue them heere. For good orders / lette vs heare any one they make / 30 but euen as the lawe directeth them / which any other temporall officers myght / and woulde doe as well as they / if the lawes dyd not prohibite it. And there is none other but lawes w^t them / no God his booke / no brotherly talke w^t them / they will not runne in a premunire for any of all their brethren / nor for any of God hys matters neyther / they will not haue the Queenes dis­pleasure [Page 25] for any of them all / they wil not be defa­cedThe Bi­shops owne talke / and extreme cruelties. whatsoeuer commeth of it / nay they wil raile vpon / and reuyle their brethren / they will perse­cute and prisone them / they will stirre her maie­stie and all other agaynst them / they will sterue / stiffle / and pine them to death. Howe many good mennes deathes haue they bene the cause of / by an inwarde sorrowe conceyued of their doings? howe sodainly dyed master Pullen after they be­gan to rage? M. Horton? M. Caruell and ma­ny 10 others? and howe did they kill y^• good mannes heart / olde good M. Couerdale? although they pretended they wold prouide for him / after much adoe from the counsell / and as they say / from the Queene to them / & yet they allotted hym a small portion / and paide hym by fittes / and sometymes wyth base golde / and mony if they had any worse then other / whych I haue heard very crediblye reported. Olde D. Turner was muche behol­ding 20 to them / being a good man / & an auncient preacher / neuer shauen nor greased / & yet he had no small stirre by them / M. Leauer / M. Sam­son / and some other / at this day learned & godly / howe haue they greeued their good heartes? vt­terly leauing some of them wythout lyuing / to the wyde worlde / to shifte as they can. And yet they may not shyfte some of them by those giftes whych God hath giuen them / they may neyther preache / nor teache chyldren publikely nor pri­uately. 30 And they that are in some liuings / what sorowe doe they holde them wythall / and howe ticklishly doe they holde them to / euermore in dā ­ger of being called before the hyghe Commissio­ners / and to loose those liuings. How many haue they driuen to leaue the ministerie / and to liue by Phisicke / and other suche meanes / or to leaue their countrey? Howe many students haue they discouraged from the studie of diuinitie / and to [Page 26] chaunge their mindes since they sawe their dea­lings / and to chaunge their studies also? Howe many poore Artificers and other commoners in this citie / and elsewhere / haue they ill entreated? brought vp slaūders vpon? and by their ill vsage and lacke of diligent conference / haue they not suffered to fall / but haue bene the cause that they haue fallen into errors? Contrarywise / what in­couragement and fauor haue they shewed to pa­pists? how haue they opened their eares to their 10 complaints against the ministers / and shut their eares when Papists haue bene complained vp­on / or slightly ouerpassed it. Yea some of them haue sayde / that cōformable Papistes were moreI wis you shall synde Precisiōs / as you call them / bet­ter subiects then these / as b [...]d as you make them. tollerable then these precisians and godlye men that seeke for reformation? Hanson of Oxforde / whych amōgst other articles was charged iust­ly / and is yet to be proued that he sayde Storie was an honest man / & was put to death wrong­fully / and had frendes alyue would reuenge hys 20 death one day / howe slightly dyd the Byshop of Canterbury vse hym: what frendshippe founde Thurlbie in hys house? may poore preachers be halfe so wel vsed / or such other poore men / which led by the word of God / doe freely vtter their cō ­sciences against the abuses in our Reformation? Or rather shal not they find harder dealyng then Hanson did: will not they take on more agaynste the author of thys booke and suche lyke / then a­gainst Hanson? Lette vs proceede / who be their 30 Chauncelloures? but most suspected papistes / I heare not of one of them that is no briber. Who be their summers but the vertest varlets? What are the Canonistes? What are they but suspec­ted Papistes? and where haue they their moste countenaunce / but of the byshops? to be theyr cheefest doers / and hyghe Commissioners wyth them / to wryng their brethren / if they be God [Page 27] hys children / and to let papistes scape scotterfree / or to be punyshed but lyghtly: what causes deale they in for the good of the church? certainly fewe at all / but as they should doe they deale in none. How are matters dealt in in their courts / but all for mistresse money? who can recken their disor­ders? in those former Treatises you reade of a blessed companie / doe you not? howe stiffe & stur­die are they in the maintenāce of their disorders? how haue they shaken of the honest sutes of ma­ny 10 honest worshypfull citizens and others: yea / of honorable personages whych haue dealt with them for those whome themselues ought to haue had most care of? Howe lyghtly haue they estee­med the learned letters of manye famous men at home / & abrode / wrytten vnto them in the same case? howe many honest men haue they by their flatterie and tirannie peruerted / and drawne to their side? wherof many lyue wyth wounded cō ­sciences at thys day amongste them / and yet for 20 feare of losse of lyuyng (for they muste haue a ly­uing they say) doe therfore serue the bishops ap­petites. What a charge are they to their clear­gie? and what a summe haue they yeerely / that myght be saued? and it is no smal matter y^• mam­tayneth their courtes / all whych charges myght be saued also / and matters belonging to the go­uernment of the church myght be better / & more godly ended. To conclude thys parte wythall / what is more expresly forbidden in y^• scriptures / 30 then those names and offices whych they haue. Oure sauioure sayth expresly to hys Apostles / Luke. 22. 25. 26. you shal not be called gracious Lords: and sure­ly they were as Apostles as worthy to haue ben Lordes / as our bishops but they might not / being ex­presly for­bidden it. worthy as any ministers were since / or shall be / yea / they were the Archbuyl­ders / not the Archbishops / nor was there anye Archbuilder of them one more then another / and not anye since are allowed to haue the name of [Page 28] Archbuilders. And albeit any woulde haue cal­led them gracious Lords / and geuen it them / yet they myghte not haue taken it / but oure menne though they haue vsed the same texte / and other learned men as a playne text vse it also / agaynsteOf y^• lord­ship of by­shops. the dignitie that the Pope chalengeth aboue all other byshops / and against hys two swordes▪ yet it meaneth no suche matter wyth oure men / but that they may be Lords ouer their brethren / and vse ciuill iurisdiction also. It forbiddeth them to 10 seeke it / they say / but if it be offered to them / they take it. Our sauioure refuseth to deuide the landLuke. 12. 13. 14. Ioh. 6. 15. Ih. 18. 36. mat. 20. 28 betweene the two brethren when it was offered hym / he auoydeth when they soughte to make hym a king? what thinke you he would haue ta­ken it / if it had bene orderly offered by the whole state? no / he sayth: my kingdome is not of thys worlde / or a worldly kingdome / I came not to be ministred vnto / but to minister / and euen so he telleth hys disciples / it muste be amongste them. 20 And yet further / dothe that text forbid ambition in the ministers / and allowe it in princes? for he disproueth not the kings that they are lordes / and exercise authoritie ouer their nations / and haue great titles / for not onely there / but the scripture is playn / that they may so doe / and yet not be am­bitious / whych they may be / if they contente not themselues wyth their owne countreys / and ti­tles / but couet others. But in thys place he she­weth 30 / that they muste not exercise authoritie asmat. 20. 27 If bishops [...]oe take Lordshyp vpon them others are forbiddē to [...]iue it thē. 1. Pet. 5. 3 ciuill magistrates doe / and may doe / nor be one a­boue another / you shall not be so / he that is cheefe among you / let hym be your seruaunte / so that if they will take it / it may not be giuen them. The apostles / they also auoided it amongst thēselues / and they forbid it in others / as the place of Pe­ter is playne / and so playne / that it is a worldly wyse way to seeke some other shyfte to face oute [Page 29] the matter / and to vnderprop thys ruinous Hie­rarchie wythall. The scryptures are playne a­gaynst it / and therfore some other deuice must be found at a pynche / to flap the world in y^• mouth wyth somewhat: to tel them that good and aun­cient chronicles make mention of the lordly de­gree of bishops / and to bring forthe the heraldes craft to helpe out the matter / to blase the armes of such worthy prelates as haue ben of long time before. This were a worldly wise way / and as 10 I heare / is entended to be practised. But sure­ly if thys be practised / they must also practise to stoppe the course of the scriptures / for else the scriptures will on the other side display as faste / the follie of suche proude men. Heere some keepe hote schooles / what say they / euery one as good as another amongst the ministers? shall not one be better then another? what is disorder if thys be not? well thys is God hys order / and in dede as I sayd afore / the best order. How is that saith 20 another? Thus I say. First / let no one mini­ster meddle in any cure saue hys owne / but as heNot one minister to meddle in anothers cure w^tout order. is appointed by common consent of the next con­ference / or counsels (as afore) prouinciall or na­tionall / or further if it may fall out so / generall of all churches reformed: A conference I call the meeting of some certaine ministers / and other brethrē / as it might be the ministers of London / at some certaine place as it was at Corinth / or1. Cor. 14 A confe­rence. of some certaine deanrie / or deanries in the coun­trie 30 / as it might be at Ware / to conferre and ex­ercise them selues in prophesying / or in interpre­ting the scriptures / after the which interpretati­on / they must conferre vppon that whiche was done / and iudge of it / the whole to iudge of those that spake / and yet so / as some one be appoynted by all / to speake for them / as they shall amongs them selues agree what shall be spoken / whych [Page 30] thyng was alwayes vsed among the Apostles / one to speake for the rest / whych cōferences may sometime be more generall then other sometime / as occasion of the Churches may require / to call the brethren together. At which conferences / a­ny one / or any certaine of the brethren / are at the order of the whole / to be employed vppon some affaires of the church / which they shall shewe to be needefull for the same. So was Iohn & Pe­ter 10 sent by the Apostles to Samaria / to cōfirmeAct. 8. 14. Philips worke. So was Paule and Barna­bas sent from Antioche to the businesse appoin­ted them by the Lord / and yet so (which I woldAct. 13. 2. haue well marked) that the holy Ghost sayde to the congregation: Separate me Barnabas and Saule for the worke whereunto I haue called them / he myght haue called them forth wythout these words to them of the assemblie / but that he would shewe how he approued of that order / and the more the order is commended / that he would 20 haue Saule / one of his Apostles / to be thus sent by those wherof none were of the Apostles. At thys assembly also / the demeanours of the mini­sters may be examined / and rebuked / as Paule witnesseth he did in an assembly rebuke Peter.Gala. 2, 14 Thys is that which I call a conference / where sondry causes within that circuit / being brought before them / may be decided and ended. But it is to be vsed continually / for the exercise of the ministers / and others / as it shoulde seeme by the 30 Apostle in the place to the Corinthes / to exercise their gates in the interpretation of y^e scriptures. I call that a [...]ynode pro [...]nciall / whych is the meeting of certaine of the cons [...]storie of euery pa­rishe [...]f Synode prouincial / [...]ationall & [...]nersall. wythin a prouince / which is of manye con­ferences / as it myghte be that whyche is called Canterburies prouince / if it be not to large / and therefore of some one or moe diocesses: where [Page 31] great causes of the churches / whych could not be ended in their owne consistories / or conferences / shall be heard and determined / and so they shall stande / except when a more generall Synode / and councell of the whole land be / whych I call nationall / and they will haue it hearde there / to whose determination they shall stande / excepte there be a more general Synode of all churches / and that they will haue it heard there / and deter­mined / 10 whereto they shall stande / as it was at Ierusalem / except it be a great matter of y^e fayth / or a great matter expresly agaynst y^e scriptures / as that was in the Nicene councell of the mari­age of ministers / where the whole councel wold haue concluded agaynst it / had not one manne Paphnutius wythstoode them / or that assemblyIoh. 7. 51 where Nicodemus onely withstoode the rest / or that at Antioche where Peter and BarnabasGal. 2. 14 and all the Iewes were entred into a dissimu­lation 20 / and onely Paule wythstoode them. In which case the scripture saythe / you haue one fa­ther / one master / and heare him / and examine all things / and holde that whych is good / and trye the spirites whether they be of God / or no / andMat. 23. 8. 9. Mat. 17. 1. Th. 52 1. Ih. 4. 1 Galat. 1. againe sayeth the apostle: Though we or an an­gell from heauen preache any other gospell vnto you then that whych we haue preached vnto you let hym be accursed. Except I say it be in suche 30 a case / they must stande to the determinations as afore. And otherwyse then thus / let no one mi­nister vse / or chalenge any authoritie out of hys owne charge. And there let hym / or them (if they be two pastoures or moe in one charge) not only alone meddle wyth the charge of preachyng / and other suche partes of the pastor / but also let hym or them in that consistorie / and in all other confe­rences and councels▪ let the ministers go before / as I might say / and guide the other of the assi­stantes [Page 32] and elders / in the gouernment / as it is in the councell at Ierusalem. But before I speakeAct. 15. 12 more of the gouernement / let vs a little consider of thys order of the election of the ministers / and these exercises and conferences for the continu­aunce of sounde religion / and of the equalitie of ministers / whether the bishops course be better / or thys be the best. First / this is well warran­tedA compa­rison be­tweene the former de­scription of the mini­sterie / and the bishops order. by the scriptures / and theirs is not. Theirs hath already bene the cause of many mischeefes / 10 and thys the cause of muche good in the primi­tiue churche / and is so still where it is practised in the reformed churches beyond the seas. This alloweth only painful and true preachers / theirs ignorant Asses / loytering and idell bellyed Epi­cures / or prophane and heathenishe Oratoures / that thincke all the grace of preaching lyeth in affected eloquence / in fonde fables to make theirProphane preachers. hearers laughe / or in ostentation of learning of their Latine / their Greke / their Hebrue tongue / 20 and of their great reading of antiquities: when God knoweth / moste of them haue little further matter then is in the infinite volumes of commō Common places and A potheg­mes. places / and Apothegmes / culled to their hands. But if they carye away the praise of the people for their learning / thoughe the people haue lear­ned little or nothing at their handes (for they can not learne muche / where little is spoken to pur­pose) or for some mery tales they haue tolde / or 30 Merye [...]ales. such like pageāts to please itching eares wyth­all / suche a fellowe muste haue the benefices / the prebendes / the Archdeaconries / and suche lyke loyterers preferments / especially if he can make lowe curtesie to my Lordes / and know his man­ners to euery degree of them / or can creepe into some noble mannes fauoure to beare the name of hys chapleine / this is he y^• shall beare the pre­ferments awaye from all other / and to flaunte it [Page 33] out in hys long large gowne / and hys tippet / andFlaunting preachers. hys little fine square cappe / with hys Tawnie coates after hym / fisking ouer the citie to shewe him selfe / none can haue that he may haue / except some certaine fatte fellowes / with long baggesLong bags at their girdels / and some in their sleeues / or w^t a dyshe of M. Latuners apples. Corruption / too muche corruption in these matters. Thys order auoydeth intrusion into any benefices / but to be 10 chosen by the consent of that parishe where they shall be minysters / and there to tary. Theirs / so the patrone present / and the bishoppe institute / thrusteth vppon parishes suche / as what so euer they are / they cannot be refused / and may resigne or otherwyse departe as they liste. Theirs ap­poynteth not onely moe hoy ministers / & dumbe dogges not able to barke / then they wot where to bestowe / but also many rouing preachers / to preache in whose cure they list / out of all order. 20 Thys / appoynteth euery pastor to hys charge / and by a very good order / none to meddle out of hys owne charge. By thys / all wythout excepti­on / are drawne & driuen to exercise them selues among them selues / for the encrease of know­ledge / and for the cōfirmation of them in the vn­doubted truth. Theirs appoynteth at their lord­shippes pleasure / and their Archdeacons / their men eyther to say a parte of one of the Epystles wythout booke / or to turne it out of Latine into 30 Englyshe / or to wryte their fantasyes of some Theme geuen them / wherein there is muche good stuffe if it were well knowne / or to learne M. Nowels Catechisme by roate / rather then by reason / or if they haue some exercises of pro­phesying any where / it is so rawe / and wythoute order / except perhaps an order not to speake a­gainst any of their proceedings / that as good ne­uer a whit / as neuer the better. Thys sheweth a [Page 34] ready and a right way / to resolue all doubts and questions in religion / and to pacifie all contro­uersies of the churches / to passe from one or few to moe / & from moe / to moe godly and learned / to be decided by them / according to the truthe and worde of God. Theirs raiseth many douts and questions in religion / breedeth many trou­bles and contentions / and wyl haue nothyng ex­amined that they doe / but many must ab [...]e for y^e 10 pleasure of some one of them / and all must abide the determination of one / suche Lordshyp they claime ouer the faithe of their christian brethren. [...]r. 1. 24. The Apostle renouncing it / and acknowledging hymselfe to be a helper. If they say Lordshyppe of bishops is agreeable to the word of God / who may say agaynst them / wythout much trouble? yea / dare say against them? yea / what preuay­leth it to say against them / if they hold together? to whom it is to swete to say say agaynst it / or if my Lords grace / Metropolitane of al England 20 holde / & sticke fast in the matter? for so it goeth / many must to one / & so frō one to one / til it come to the Pope of Lambeth / as it was wont in the Po [...]ishe church / cleane contrary to the course of the scriptures / for there is no more ones / but on­ly one one / to whome all the churche must obey / and from him / the whole church hath authoritie ouer the membres of the same / for so goeth the scriptures / you haue but one maister / all you are 30 [...]. 23. 8 [...]. 17. 5 18. 17 [...]e him / [...]ell the [...]h. brethren / heare him / and tell the church / thys is the scripture. Now / except they will followe the Popes rule / and bryng the vniuersal churche to be but a particulare place / and a particulare man in that place / as Rome is the place / and the pope is y^• man / or as Caunterbury or Lambeth might be the place / and my Lorde hys grace the man / the scriptures and their doings will not agree. And hys Lordship shallbe a Pope / and his con­federates [Page 35] the Popes vnderlings / excepte they leaue their Lordlynesse / and submit them selues to the church of God / to be ordered by the same / according to the woorde. And take them for bet­ter / who shall / they are none other / but a rem­naunt of Antichristes broode / and God amende them / and forgeue them / for else they bid battell to Christ and his church / and it must bid the de­fiance to them / all they yeelde. And I protest be­fore 10 the eternall God I take them so / and there­after wil I vse my self in my vocation / and ma­ny moe to no doubt which be careful of God his glory / and the churches libertie / wyll vse them­selues agaynst them / as the professed ennemies of the churche of Christ / if they proceede in thys course / and thus persecute as they doe. What talke they of their being beyond y^• seas in Quene Maries dayes because of the persecution / when they in Queene Elizabethes dayes / are come 20 home to rayse a persecution. They bost they fol­lowePersec [...] raised. the steps of good maister Ridley the mar­tir: let them followe hym in the good / and not in the badde. What man / Martyr or other / is to be followed in all things? why follow they not M. Hooper as well as him / who is a martir also? or Rogers / or Bradforde / who are martirs also? They say all those good men in Quene MarresThe m [...] tyrs in Mary o [...] dayes / they sufred? dayes died for the booke of common prayer / but they slaunder them / for they toke not so slender a 30 quarel / they dyed for god his boke / and for a true faith grounded vpon the same. Diuers of those martires / would not in those dayes of king Ed­warde / abide all the orders in that booke / but if they had had such a time beyonde the seas in the reformed churches / to haue profited and encrea­sed in knowledge of a right reformation as these men had / it is not to be doubted / but that they would haue done better then he promised / y^• had [Page] rather all England were on a fishpoole / then he would be brought to matters f [...]r lesse / then now of hys owne accorde he wilfully thrusteth hym selfe vpon. Why we they not followe the exam­ples which they sawe beyonde y^• seas? In which of the reformed churches saw they a Lord bishop allowed? or the Canon lawe to direct church or­ders? or will they translate the boke of common prayer into Latine / and their pontilicall / and vse 10 the Latine of the popishe portuise / manual / andTurning y^• [...]oke o [...] cō ­ [...]ion prayer [...] the pon­ [...]ficall / unto [...]ortuis la­ [...]iue / to try y^• [...]dgemē [...]s [...]f y^• refor­ [...]ed chur­ [...]hes con­ [...]rmng thē [...]equired. pontifical in those matters wherin they haue fo­lowed those bokes / and but translated them out of Latin / and will they require & abide y^• iudge­ments of the reformed churches concerning the matters? If they be not singulare / if they meane plainely / lette them doe thus. If it will abyde the triall / then let them vse it still. They shal not be disgraced / but we for disquieting of thē. They haue f [...]cendes that will saye for them / they are a learned company and ne [...]oe not the helpe of any 20 other churches. Then let them offer to defende their course by learning. Let them neuer goe o­uer sea for the matter (and yet surely I woulde some toke that translation in hande / & toke some paynes in the matter / to procure the iudgements of those reformed churches) but lette them offer free conferēce heere at home. Nay / let them take our offer for conference (by wryting to auoyde muche brabble if they will) and shew themselues ready to the state / wythoute cunning practise to 30 stoppe it by their freendes / and let vs ioyne in it freely / and then we will thincke better of them / and yeelde oure selues to haue beene deceiued in them / if they deale plainly. O Lord that we wer deceiued [...]n them. That they were not wickedly bent / to maintaine that which they are entred in­to / to the great disquieting of thys Churche of Christe in Englande / vntill the Maister come / [Page] (which they thinke will deferre hys commyng) and disquiet them / whome he fynedeth like lord­ly Epicures / eating & drynking wyth y^• worldly drunkardes / and beatyng their fellow seruaūts. They that are poore men / already beggered by them / and which haue many wayes b [...]ne mole­sted and imprysoned / some in the Marshalsey / some in the white Lion / some in the CatchouseThere is no persecu [...] tion n [...]we [...] they say / [...] reporte m [...] to these examples. at Westmi [...]ster / others in the counter / or in the Clynke / or in the Ficete / or in Bridewell / or in 10 Newgate / they whych haue these many wayes and times bene hampered & ill handled by them / they stil offer themselues to al their exercinities / and therefore put for the their treatises / because they passe not howe deare they bought it / so they myght redeme our state out of this defor [...]ed re­formation / to a ryght platforme drawne oute of the scriptures. They say / such are men pleasers. Surely / if they sough [...]e aduauntage that way / it were best for them to please my Lords. They say they are desirous to be sayd to be in pryson / &Vaine an [...] wicked o [...] iections. that they profite by it / they would not then kepe themselues out of the way / nor whē they are in / be suche suters to come toor [...]he / nor abide to be stifeled and choked with the stench of the prison / but that is an old shift and cunning of he aduer­sary to say so. No, no / God hys cause is the ma­ter. You pretend a reformation / and followe not the worde of God / nor will be led by that. The 30 summe of all therfore is thys / that eyther you of the Parliament muste [...]ake order to haue all re­formed according to the worde of God / whereof already you haue heard a parte / and sh [...]ll heare breefely the rest by God his grace / or else they to bryng your reformation to the trial of the word of God / and to ouerthrowe by the same all that we say / and al that the other of the [...]st reformed churches doe vse. Well they may conferre and [Page] yeelde / for neuer shall they ouerthrow the truthe which we vtter / and which the reformed chur­ches doe practise / nor shall they be able to main­taine their owne doings / but by crueltie / & wl, at successe that hath euer had / iudge by y^• scriptures and by the papistes experience. For this order of chusing of ministers for their conferences and equalitie therefore / you shall proue none to be so good as thys / which I haue mentioned / nor dis­proue 10 / but that thys oughte to be in a reformed churche. Shall I examine their other orders? y^• were infinite / but yet for the booke of common prayer / which of all other muste not be touched / Booke of common prayer. because they haue gotten the state so to beare it out / Euen for the very states sake / for the prin­ces sake / for the churches sake / and for consci­ence sake / he hath but a badde conscience that in thys time will holde hys peace / and not speake it for feare of trouble / knowing y^• there are suche intollerable abuses in it / as it is plaine there are. First I say / that if it were praying / & that there were neuer an ill woorde / nor sentence in all the prayers yet to appoynt it to be vsed / or so to vse it as Papistes did their mattens and euensong / In intolle­rable abuse of prayer. for a set seruice to God / though the woordes be good / the vse is naught. The wordes of the fyrst chapter after S. Iohn / be good / but to be putte in a tablet of golde / for a soueraigne thyng to be worne / that vse is superstitious and naughte / 30 and so is the vse of thys seruice / for the order must be kept / and that being done / they haue ser­ued God. And if they alledge that that vse was not meant / and that it is an abuse. I say and cā proue it / that if it be an abuse / it is so setled it wil not be refor [...]ed / till there be a reformatiō of prai­er. Agayne / wherelearned they to multiplye vp many prayers of one effect / so many times Glo­rye be to the Father / so manye times the Lorde [Page] be wyth you / so many times let vs pray. WhēceGloria pa­tri. Dominus vobiscum. Oremus. Kyriele [...]sō. Many pa­ter nosters. learned they all those needelesse repetitions? is it not the popishe Gloria patri? their Dominus vobiscum? their Oremus? Lorde haue mercye vpon vs / Christe haue mercy vpon vs / is it not kyrie eleeson / Christe eleeson? their many Pa­ter nosters / why vse they them? But as though they were at their beades. The words be good / so were they when they were in Latine / but the vse is naught / forbidden by oure sauioure: you when you pray vse not vaine repetitions as theMat. 6. 7. heathen doe / saythe he. And then the Collect for the day to be vsed at ende of mat [...]ens / what shall I call it? and afore the epistle and gospel as they call it. The boke is suche a peece of worke as itReading prayers no praying. In praying many gui­ses takē vp [...] vsed ra­ther of cu­stome / then of reason & knowledge or cōsciēce▪ is straunge we will vse it / besydes I cannot accompt it praying as they vse it commonly / but only reading or saying of prayers / euē as a childe that learneth to reade / if hys lesson be a prayer / he readeth a prayer / he dothe not pray / euen so is it commonly a saying / and reading prayers and not praying / the childe putteth of hys cap as wel as the minister. For thoughe they haue manye guises / nowe to knele / and nowe to stande / these b [...] of course / and not of any pricke of conscience / [...] pureing of the heart most commonly. One he kneeleth on hys knees / and thys way he loketh / and that way he loketh / another he kneeleth him selfe a sleepe / another kneeleth wyth suche deuo­tion that he is so farre in talk / that he forgetteth to arise till hys knee ake / or hys talke endeth / or seruice is done. And why is all thys? but y^• there is no suche praying as should touche the hearte. And therfore another hath so little feeling of the common prayer / that he bryngeth a booke of hys owne / and though he sitte when they sitte / stand when they stande / kneele when they kneele / he may pause sometime also / but mos [...]e of all he in­ [...]endetly [Page 40] hys owne booke / is thys praying? God graunt vs to feele oure lackes better then thys / and to take a better order then thys for prayer / it is & will be all naught else. Againe / the Psalmes be all red in forme o [...] prayer / they be not all pray­ers / the people seldome marke them / and some­time when they marke them / they thinke some of them straunge geare / and all for that they areReading [...]t psalmes. bu [...] only red / and scarse red oftentimes. It is a very simple shift that you vse to shift it wyth an Homilie / to expounde darke places of scripture / for they be darkly expounded that be expounded / and many places more darke then you rehearse [...]ny whiche are not once touched. Simple and homely geare in diuers homelies there is. There is none other helpe I came tell you / but playne pre [...]ching whych is God hys plaine order.

What reason to sing the chapters of scriptures / [...]inging of [...]ers. and yet so they may in a plaine tune. Are all the 20 praiers that are [...]ed / agreeable to y^• scriptures? to let passe the Benedi [...]tus / where I woulde [...]enedic­ [...]s. knowehowe I might say in my prayer: for thou childe shalt be called the Prophet of the highest / and the Magnificat / where I woul [...]e knowe [...]agnifi­ [...]. howe any man / yea / or woman eyther might say the tenure of these very wordes: for he hathe re­garded the low degree of hys handmayde / for be­holde from henceforthe all gencrations shall call me blessed? marke this well / and you can neuer 30 answere it well / but that it is a palpable follye / and vaine praying. To let these passe / I woulde knowe in what canonicall scripture they fynde thys prayer: O all ye workes of the Lorde? and what they meane when they say O Anamas / A­zariasAnani­ [...] / and Misael prayse the Lord? which part of prayer is not according to the scripture / if all the rest be / but the whole thankes geuing is A­pochriphall / and yet those men that are named / [Page 41] were then aliue / & sayde it themselues / if it were truely their prayer / and it belongeth not to vs to speake to them nowe / that are deade / and why to them more then to the virgin Marie / Peter or Paule. &c? Let hym that speaketh / speake as the1. Pe. 4. 11 woorde of God / sayeth the Apostle. wyth what truthe can we say / that one Collect which is ap­poynted to be saide from the Natiuitie to New­yearesCollectes at the feast of the nati­uitie and Whition­tite. day? which is / that vpō the natiuitie day I must say / that Christe vouchsafed this day to be borne / & when I read it another day / I must say he vouchsafed thys day to be borne / and the next day againe this day. Surely I lie / one of y^e dayes / and suche a prayer is at whitsontide ap­poynted. I would know wher vpon they groūd their Collect appointed for the seruice of s. Bar­tholomew (for we haue Sametes / and Angels / A Collecte on Bartho lomewe day. and all Hallowes seruice whych the first treati­ses speake of) I w [...]ulde I say knowe whereon they ground that Collect? wherein they pray y^• they may follow Bartholomews sermons / see­ing there is neuer a sermon of hys extant / and so we shall folow we w [...]t not what? or y^• they pray y^• the church may preach as he did. when as they neyther haue his sermones / nor yet the whole church may preach / but the ministers of y^• church only. Is thys praying? God forgeue vs / it is a wicked pratling. By what scripture haue they Lent seruice: A sowedensday seruice? thre Col­lectsSeruice for Lent / [...] shwe­densday. & for that day? There is also A Com­mination. a Comminati­on grounded vppon great reason / if that be well marked / which the priest (forsothe) must say at the entraunce into the matter / that is / what a peece of Discipline was in former times kept a­bout the holy time of Lent / which vntill it be re­stored / would be supplied wyth this Iewishe Deu. 27 13. 14. order. But what place of scripture dothe induce them to reduce thys ceremonie? or what place of [Page 42] scripture woulde warrante suche a peece of dis­cipline / as there they seeme verye desirous to haue restored? as who shoulde saye suche deui­ses of obscruances for Galat. 4. 9. 10. 11. dayes and tymes were profitable or sutterable in Christes churche. Let them endeuoure to commend god hys discipline / whych should be all the dayes and tymes of oure lyfe exercised in Christes churche. Let them re­quire that. I would knowe what there is in A­thanasius 10 Creede / that that must be vpon hygheAthanasi­us Creede. Venite. dayes (as they terme them) rather then the A­postles Creede: I woulde knowe why Venite may not serue at Easter as it must all the yeare afore / and after folow Domine labia? it is surely a straunge thyng to see the fansies that this boke is full of. I ouerpasse the dry Communion (as they call it) the Epistle / the Gospel / the Offerto­rie / and because they haue in the former treati­ses touched many things of y^e sacramēts / of ma­trimonie 20 / of confirmation / & of y^• rest / I y^• more willingly skippe ouer manye things else / saying shortly y^• the sacraments are wickedly māgled & prophaned. But as for Confirmation / as it hath no ground out of the scriptures at all / so I woldConfirma­tion. haue their prayer marked / how they recken vp y^• seuenfold grace as the papistes did? neither more nor lesse / where they haue one grace more / then the. 11. of Esay hath / which they allude to. And again / they haue farre fewer then are mentioned 30 in the rest of the scriptures. Lorde / to se [...] these very follies / may not thys booke be altered ney­ther in matter nor manner? Surely / then haueA manner­y sorte of ministers. Iere. 6. 6. 17. 18. 9. 20. 21. you a mannerly sort of ministers that strain cur­tesie to forbeare to lie / and to forbeare superstiti­on / when they seeme to present themselues before the Lord / which can worse like such seruice then you can to forbeare it. I haue thus much further [Page 43] [...]xamined the orders that these men vse in prayer / beside the generall obseruation / that they allowe prayer in publique place without a sermō / which is rightlye prohibited in Churches reformed. Would the word of God thus negligently / thus santastically / prophanely / and heathemshly be preached? or the sacraments be so wickedly / with out examination at y^e supper / or sinceritie at bap­tisme / be so (I say) wickedly ministred? woulde prayers be made eyther that were so folyshe / or so 10 superstitious / or so false / or y^• best of them so vn­deuoutlye / if there were suche righte orders as were in the churches planted by the Apostles / as is in the best reformed churches / and ought to be in oures? What though these men be / and wil be taken so learned / so right / that they neede learne of none other / are not these their orders? doe they not maintaine them? doe they not persecute them that speake agaynste them? and yet I praye you are they not starke naught? yea / and so are diuers 20 of them / not onely for their bribing and corrupti­on / and their arrogancie / their tyrannie / but for flat heresie in the sacrament / and some bee sus­pected of the heresy of Pelagius. For the first / y^• Byshops thēselues / some of thē in heresies / and some suspected. The boke of Articles of christian religion. is concerning the sacrament / the bishops are no­toriously knowne which erre in it / and for Free will not onely they are suspected / but others al­so. And in deede the booke of the Articles of chri­stian religion speaketh very daungerously of fal­ling 30 from grace / which is to be reformed / bicause it too muche enclineth to their erroure. Other thyngs there are maintained by some of them whych are not agreeable wyth the Scrypture: namely the false interpretation of thys clause in our Creede (he descended into hell) whych is ex­preslyThe Crede in meter. set downe contrary to the scriptures in the Creede made in meter in these wordes: Hys spi­rite dyd after thys descend into the lower parts / [Page 44] to them that lōg in darknesse were / the true light of their heartes. If they can warrant thys oute of the scriptures / then Limbus patrum / & with­in a while purgatorie will be founde oute there. And yet thys must be priuiledged / and suche like diuers matters disagreeing with the scriptures / The hum­bl [...] sute of a synner. The last great Bi­ble. as in the humble sute of a synner it is sayde / that the Saintes and Angelles see Christes bloudye woundes as yet / and in their last great Bible in 10 the first edition of it / such a sight of blasphemous pictures of God the father / as what they deserue for it / I will referre them to none other iudge then their owne note vppon the. 15. verse of the fourth of Deuteronomie / we holde I wotte not what heresies that speake agaynst their pride & traditions / but they that expresly speake and we againste the scriptures / holde nothyng I trowe but [...]. But lette these guides weyghe the scripture / which saythe / you strame a gnatte / and 20 swallowe downe a Camell. Wel now / seeing wemat. 23. 24 haue thus farre weyghed / partly God his orders for the ministers election / for their exercises / and for their equalitie / that it is better then oure L. Bishops / for the continuing of sounde religion / and that the order of bishops is contrarye to the scriptures / and that they make and maintaine w^t crueltie agaynst the scriptures many wicked or­ders / let vs nowe come to the other parte / which is of the gouernment of the churche / to see howe 30 that standeth by the scriptures. I haue alreadye made mention of a Consistorie / which were to beConsisto­rie wherof it cōsisteth. The mini­sters first [...]. had in euery congregation. That consisteth first of the ministers of the same cōgregation / as the guides and mouth of the rest / to direct them by y^• scriptures / and to speake at their appoyntment / that whych shall be consented vpon amōgst them all / bicause of their giftes / & place amongst them / whych maketh them more fit for those purposes / [Page 45] The assistants are they / whome the parish shallWho the assistantes must be. consent vpon and chuse / for their good iudgemēt in religiō and godlinesse / which they know they be of / wherby they are mete for that office / vsing the aduise of their ministers therin cheefely / and hauing an eye to a prescript forme drawne out of the scriptures / at the appointment of the Prince and state / by the godly learned menne of thysHowe the assistantes must be chosen. realme / b [...]cause of y^• rawnesse of this people yet / 10 and also vsing earnest prayers / wyth fasting / as in the choise of the minister / & hauing made their choise thereafter / they shall publishe their agree­ment in their parishe / and after a sermon by their minister / at their appoyntment / and vppon their consent the minister may lay hys handes vppon euery of them / to testify to them their admission. This consistorie is for that onely congregation / wherefore thys consi­storie ser­ueth. and must doe that which they we / wyntly in any common cause of the churche. And these are to 20 employe themselues / and to be employed by that congregation / vpon the necessary and vrgent af­faires of the same churche. These are they in y^• church / to whome our sauiour cōmaundeth them that haue twise / or oftner admonished an offen­der / and he heareth them not / to vtter such an of­fender: when he sayth / tell the church. These are they / whose last admonition he of that church / or they which regarde not / shall be taken as a pub­licanemat. 18. 1 [...] or heathen. These are they / that shall ad­monishe all suche in that congregation / as they 30 knowe to liue with offence to the church / or as be presented to them / by good testimonie of their of­fence committed. These be they / which shall ex­communicate the stubburne / making the whole church priuie to their doings / and shall vpon re­pentāce / take order for the receiuing such an one in againe / making open profession of hys or their repentance / to the satisfying of y^• congregation. [Page 46] Yet euer so must they excommunicate / & receiue the excommunicate in againe / that they require the assent of their whole congregation / shewingAssent of their whole congrega­tion. the greuousnesse of hys fact / and howe they haue proceeded wyth him by admonition / and hys con­tempt / whych they shall doe / bothe bicause their vpright dealing may appeare to y^• whole church / and bicause they may not vsurpe authoritie o­uer the whole churche / whereby we might caste 10 out the tirannie of the bishops / & bryng in a new tyrannie of theirs: who are appointed by good order / to haue the examination of matters / & the rest of the dealing / in the name of the whole con­gregation. Neuerthelesse / what they do wel / the congregation cannot alter / neither shall the con­gregation put them / or any of them out / but vpō iust cause proued / either in that consistorie / or in some one of the counsels / and the cause accepted for sufficient. Neither may they / or any of them 20 leaue to deale in that turne / except they can shew good cause to that consistorie / and it to be appro­ued by them / wyth the consent of the whole con­gregation / and good liking. For neyther muste they lightly be broughte into suspition / nor they must not lightly cast of so waighty a calling / and1. Tim. 5. 19. Disorde­ [...]ed cere­ [...]onies. function of suche importance / no more then the ministers may. They also shall examine all dis­ordered ceremonies vsed in place of prayer / and abolishe those which they finde euill / or vnprofi­table 30 / and bring in suche orders / as their congre­gation shall haue neede of / so they befew / and ap­parant / necessary both for edifying / and profite & decent order: prouing it plainely to the wholeNecessary [...]rders. [...]eude cu­ [...]omes. church that it is so. And in like sorte shall they suffer no lewd customes to remaine in their pa­rishe / either in ga [...]es / or otherwise / but hauing conferred of suche things amongste themselues / they shall admonish him or them brotherly / that [Page 47] he or they / vse them not any more / as vnseming to Christian men to vse the lyke / or if they be common / they shall geue open admonition / and it shall be left. In all these things / & in all things of the church / they shall not meddle wyth the ci­uill magistrates office / nor wyth any other pu­nishmentThey may not meddle wyth the ciuil magi­strates of­fyce. but admonition / and excommunicati­on of the obstinate. Yet this they must doe / that he which hath lyued w^t offence to that congrega­tion 10 / although he hath suffred the punishment of the law for hys offence against it / yet he shall by them be admonished / to satisfie the congregation to whom he hath geuen offence / & amongs whō he dwelleth. As for example: he that hath vsurieVsurie. proued agaynst him / so that he lose hys principal for taking aboue ten in the hundred / yet shall he also for committing so hamous offence agaynste God / and hys churche / to the very ill example of others / not be allowed to the Sacraments / vn­till 20 he shewe hymselfe repentaunt for the faulte / and study thereby to satisfie the congregation so offended by him. These shal receiue the informa­tionsInforma­tion and accoumpts of the dea­cons. of the deacons / for the releefe of the pore / & their accomptes for that which they shal lay out that way / and of their diligēce in visiting them / that the congregations maye by the Consistorie be certefyed of all thyngs concerning the poore / 30 bothe y^• there may be made prouision according­ly / and that the prouision made / may be wel hus­banded / and the pore may by the deacons be visi­ted / comforted / and releeued accordyng to their lack. Lastly / one or moe of these assistants / with one of the ministers / & a deacon or deacons shallWho shu [...] repaire to the coūsels for y^• chur­ches affaires. be those / y^• shall at their churches charges meete at the prouincial councell / or nationall / if there be any businesse that concerneth their churche. Es­pecially / one of the ministers shall not faile / and one of this assistance / to be parties in any gene­rall [Page 48] cause of all the churches that may be dealte in there / whether it be concerning doctryne / or manners. Now a word or two of excommunica­tion / and deacons / because I haue made mētion of them / and then I will shew vpon what scrip­tures these orders are gros [...]ed / and a little com­pare them wyth those which we vse / and some certaine matters incident to these / & then I will draw to an ende by God hys grace. Excommu­nicat [...]on 10 may not be vsed / but after sondrye bro­therlyOf excom­municatiō. and sharpe admonitions too & great occa­sions / offences / and contemptes shewed / as the scripture is pla [...]e. And in these cases they are by the persons / and order asore / not shut oute of the church dore as we vse / but o [...]t of the churcheShutting out of the churche dore. of God / and communion and felowshippe of the saintes / they are deliuered to sathan / and to be esteemed / and to be no more taken for Christian men / till they repent / then Heathens or Turkes 20 are / saue that / as they may be allowed / yea and procured if it may be to come to heare sermons / so also they may be conferred w^t by the brethren / to bryng them to repentance. But they shall not be allowed to the sacrament / the pledge of Christ hys league with hys church / vntill by repentāce they may be admitted as afore is sayde / into the fellowship of the church againe. Neyther shall any brother / or sister / vse hys or their companie / but to admonishe them / and exhort them to repē ­tance 30 / or as he or she may the heathēs company / for their necessary affaires in the world / as they may haue dealing together / or as a wife / whych1. Cor. 5. [...]. 10. [...]. Cor. 7. [...]2. [...]3. may not depart from her husband if he wil abide with her / and yet shee may be admitted to the fe­lowship of the congregation / if she contemne not the doing of the churche / but do her vttermoste to call her husband home. In like case / if it were y^• wife that were excommunicated / he shuld be ad­mitted / [Page 49] and not shee. Shortly to say: Excom­municationNo punishment so gr [...] uous in this world / as Excom­municatiō. is a fearfull thing / as it is prescribed by the scriptures / and vsed by the Churches of Christ reformed accordingly. No punishment to it in thys worlde / but onely hell eternally / for he that is in it / eyther he hath hys conscience seered wych a hote iron / I meane it is brawned / and he hath no feelyng / or else he cannot be wythout a hell [...]n hys conscience: for he is out of the felow­shyp of the Sainctes / he cannot claime to be of Christ his body / nor that his promises and mer­cy belong to him / if he seeke not to be receiued by repentance into the congregation of Chryste a­gayne / nor he may not haue that comfortable pledge of Christ hys supper in fruition with the churche / till hys repentance be accepted by that churche. Neyther may any other church receiue hym / tyll he haue satisfyed that churche / but thesome shar [...] punishmēt would be prouided b [...] the ciuill magistrate for him y^• cōtemneth excommu­nication / but w^t less [...] charge thē a significa­uit. What a deacon is. Act. 6. 3. minister and consistorie of that church / whereto he newly repaireth / shall inquire from whence he came / and haue testimonye from thence / and not admit hym / no more then the other churche / or if otherwyse / to answere it at some conference or councell prouinciall / or national. And besides / the ciuil magistrate / the nurse and foster father o [...] the churche / shall doe well to prouyde some sharpe punyshment for those that contemne thys censure and discipline of the church / for no doubt it is in the degree of blasphemie / of a heathen our sauioure sayth / that renoūceth God / and Christ / and thus much of that. A Deacon is an offycer of the church for the behoofe of the poore / chosen to thys offyce by y^e congregation / by such meanes as afore is prescribed in the choyse of Elders / by aduise and consent / being a noted man for godly iudgement / and faythfulnesse / as it is playne out of the scryptures / that such a one he shoulde be. Hys offyce is to visite the poore in deede / to loke [Page 50] diligently what they lacke / and howe many they be / and what be their names / and to certefye the Consistorie / or suche a number in one paryshe they may be / that they shall neede a general con­tribution / and then the deacon / or deacons / wyth those of the Consistorie afore named / may certe­fye the counsell prouinciall / that a prouision may be leuied for the sustentation of those pore / which prouisyon shall be delyuered into these deacons 10 handes / to be destributed and turned to y^• behoofe of that pore / and to giue an accompt of that they destribute / and the rest in their handes to their owne Consistorie / for that whych is collected there / or they / and those of the consistorie / as a­fore / to certefie it to the councell prouinciall / for the generall contribution / howe it is truely em­ployed. Thys offyce howsoeuer papistry [...] hat [...]e conuerted / or peruerted it / is an offyce needeful / and commaunded to the church of God / vsed byLuk. 11. 4. 3. h. 13. 29. the Iewes before the cōming of Christ / Christ 20 hymselfe vsyng in hys small companye to haue one to beare prouisyon for the pore / the Apostles toke it vp in the church of Ierusalem. The A­postle Paule not onely maketh mention of that [...]t. 6. 13. offyce to the Romanes / shewing thereby that it was there / but he and Timothie saluteth them / wrytyng to the Philippians / shewing therebyPhil. 1. 1. [...]. T [...]. 3. 8. that they were of great accompt. And wryting to Timothie / he prescrybeth their election what 30 it shuld be / to direct not onely the choise of them / but to commend the vse of them to the churche. And therfore such ther must be procured in this Englyshe church / as at thys day there is in re­formed churches. Nowe to let passe the order of deacons at thys day / hauyng no ground out of y^• scryptures / but folyshe / and accordyng to the po­pishe canons / whereby they may as well make them the bishops garde / to defend hym when he [Page 51] preacheth / as in those canons they are / & the eye of y^• byshop to loke about many things touching hys person / as thus employ them. To let passe to speake thereof / seeing it is noted in the former treatises / thys I say further / that thys is God hys order for the pore / and none that wyll fyt it so well. Surely God be thanked for that careThe laste statute for the pore. whych you haue had thys Parliament of the poore / and of the suppressyng of idle and wycked 10 vagaboundes / being in so good a way / it may be easie to practise thys way / to fortifie by law th [...]s course of the scriptures for the pores prouisyon / and to continue that other braunche still / for the suppressyng of idle and wycked vagabonds. For as touching the pore / whych are pore in deede / they must haue further prouision / & further com­fort / then in dede can be procured by this statute. For besydes the naming and knowing of them / they are not enioyned to visit and comfort them / 20 wherby they myght be prouoked to godlynesse / they may seke and waite for their prouision / and peraduenture haue many a hard word to greeue them wyth / and no christian consolation / & they may lacke many thyngs whych they oughte to haue. And these collectors shall not be subiect to the consistorie / & congregation / to geue accompt not only of the summes collected / but also whe­ther they haue visited the poore / and comforted them. For in the primitiue churche / there was 30 suche care had of the poore / that there were also widowes appoynted and maintained / that shuldWidowes washe / picke / and kepe the thyngs about y^• pore / sweete / and cleane / and intend them for their ne­cessaries1. tim. 5. 5 / that should entertaine the pore straun­gers that trauailed / and were driuen from place to place for then conscience / and were not suffici­ent to maintaine their owne charges / to enter­taine them I say / to bathe and washe their feete / [Page 52] surbatted wyth going / and to intende to minister to them / the necessaryes there prouided by that church for that vse. O godly care / and very chri­stian custome. I would / we wold in some part / in thys our great wealth and abundance / resem­ble the care for the pore (our owne brethren / ou [...] owne fleshe) whych the pore churches had in the time of their owne trouble / for the poore y^• then were amongst them / and repaired frō other pla­ces to them / we should not then thus vnnatural­ly 10 / hardly be drawne by lawe to paye that we are rated at / but we would willingly stretch out our pursses / yea and straine our selues farre / rather then eyther they of oure owne paryshes / shoulde lacke any thing / or yet the afflicted churches of the straungers / whiche are amongste vs from [...]ore stran­ [...]ers [...]o be [...]tyed. Fraunce / Flaunders / Italie / Spaine / or any o­ther place should be des [...]itute / or lacke any thyng for their comfort. And yet God knoweth / moste vnchristianly / and wakedly / many of vs cry out 20 against pore strangers / as though we neuer had bene straungers / nor were neuer releued by thē / or that we were not all of one body. Thanks be geuen to God for the Queenes maiestie / and the counsel / and the rest of the honourable / worship­full / and others by whose meanes they are heere supported and maintained. And I am sure of it / we all fare the better for it at God hys handes. And I beseche the whole state / & beseeche God / that the whole stare may bend thēselues to haue 30 more and more care for the godly straungers y^• are of the churches in deede / and not to be gree­ued that they are so many / but to pitte their pre­sent persecution / and to comforte them. For the other swine that are not of the churches / I pray God they may fynde litle fauoure / except they re­pent & ioyne themselues to the churches. Thus muche also of the Leacons. Thys order of the [Page 53] church gouernment / is grounded vpon that say­ing of our sauioure. Mat. 18. 17. Num. 11. Tei the churche / wherin it is certayne he alludeth to that consistorie of the Iewes / and the scriptures that directe their go­uernement. And it is so certain / that such a con­sistory they had / and such elders / as it shall notDeu. 31. [...] 2. chr. 19. [...] Synedriū [...] mat. 5. 22▪ [...] 1. tim. 5. 1 [...] nede further to examine those scryptures / but to come to the practise of the Apostles / & the chur­ches plāted by them. The apostle noteth y^• there 10 are in the church bearing offyce / & ruling / which should be had in estimation for their offyce / two sortes of elders and rulers / wherof the one sort also ruleth / but they laboure in the woorde and doctrine to / and their offyce is the principall. He distinguisheth them to the Corinthes / the tea­chers1. Cor. 12. 28. and the gouernoures / because all gouer­noures are not teachers / but because al teachers are gouernoures / as to Timothie before is said / so to the Romaines / deuiding the offyces of theRom. 11. 6. 7. 8. churche into two sortes / gouernment / and mini­string 20 to the pore. To the first office he assigneth doctors / pastors / and gouernors / calling them by these names / teachers / exhorters / and rulers / and to the second offyce / he assigneth deacons & widowes / callyng the first those that minyster / and the widowes those that shew mercy. Of the widowes I will say no further / but vpon lyke decasyon it is God hys order. But for the other orders / they must be in all well ordered churches of Christians. The Apostle Paul and Barna­basAct. 14. 2 30 set suche order in the churches whyche they planted. It was so in the churches of Rome / of Cornith / of Ephesus. An order is sette downeAct. 20. 1 what mē they must be. How they are to be cho­sen / the ministers / the assistantes / the deacons / yea and the widowes / is declared in the Actes of the Apostles / and the epistle to Timothie / as [...] sore is noted. Howe they are to procede against [Page 54] offenders / is declared by our sauioure / and prac­tisedMath. 18. 15. 16. 17. 2. Thes. 3. 14. 15. 1. Cor. 5. 4. 5. 2. Cor. 2. 7. 8. 1. Cor. 11. 16. 1. Cor. 14. 40. Act. 15. amōg the Thessalonians / & the Corinths / and likewyse of the receiuing agayne of an ex­communicate persone / and howe they should vse hym while he abydeth excommunicate. And the ordering of things comely / and remouing abuses euery one to keepe hymselfe wythin his vocati­on / so playne y^• places be that it nedeth no more / but that it would please you to reade them / and waighe them. And in lyke sorte for conferences 10 and councels to d [...]ale for the stay of the churches in true doctrine / and in godly order and quyet­nesse to the Corinthes it is plaine / and the coun­cell at Ierusalem / wherein is dealt for all those causes of the churches at once. The persons that were sent to the councel / the persons that chefe­ly dealt / and how / and the generall consent of the Apostles / Elders / and brethren / would be well obserued / as geuing great light for many purpo­ses. Well / now who are our doers in this church 20 gouernment? how are they chosen? what causes doe they deale in? and how do they deale? In eue­ryWhat or­ [...]er wee [...]aue / and what oure [...]ighe pre­ [...]ates maye [...]oe by their [...]an [...]n lawe [...] cōmissiō. parishe a consistorie there is not / nor in euery great towne containing many paryshes / nor in euery shire / but onely one in a diocesse / whych contayneth diuers shires. I may peraduenture d [...] deceyued / for there may be so many in adio­cesse / as there are Archdeaconries / besydes the graund consistorie of y^• byshop / or his su [...]stitute the Chauncellor / for they say the Archdeacon or 30 his substitute y^• officiall / may visite oftner then y^• bishop / & kepe courts oftner then y^• Chancellor / & there are in some diocesse diuers Archdeacōs. But what of all thys? whence haue they their aucthoritie? who called them? what causes deale they in? and how? of God they haue not their au­thoritie / they hold it by the Canon lawe / and by the bishop. And some of them pay the bishop full [Page 55] well for it / they say. And so they say / that Chan­cellors offyces are so gainfull / that some of them are in fee wyth their byshops for them / yea they say some bishops haue payed for their byshop­pricks other wayes / though not to the Quene / and that some of them haue large fees going out of their bishopprickes / to their frends that holpe them to their preferments. These are not right­ly called. And whereas there is a statute to a­uouche 10 thys calling and aucthoritie that the by­shops vsurpe / the statute may make it good by lawe to holde suche titles and dignities / but not before God. I haue spoken of it before / and see­ing ministers must be equall / and the order must be / that some must be gouerned by all / and not all by some in the church gouernment / then y^• same argument is of force against Archdeacons / and all such highe prelates / which is agaynst Lorde byshops / Lord byshops (I say) for the name bi­shop is not the name of a Lord / but of a painfull 20 minister / and pastor / or teacher: and yet in deedeBishop in Englande is the only name of a Lord minister / but in scrypture [...] is no lorde [...] name at all▪ in England euery byshop is a Lorde. I knowe the common people would maruel / yea / and ioly wyse men too / if they heard their pastor say / I am your byshop / a byshoppe on God hys name / when were you made Lorde / and so take him to be proude / for no man is a byshop heere / but he is also a Lord / whych thyng I say / because I doe not meane that the scripture alloweth not a by­shop / but not a Lord byshop. A byshop or ouer­seer 30 / or pastor / and teacher in euery congregati­on the scripture doth allowe / and hym or them to be the principal of the consistorie of their congre­gation it doth allowe / but thys hyghe Prelacie it alloweth not / but forbiddeth it vtterly. Nowe then / seeing they haue no lawfull callyng / howe can they deale in any causes lawfully? but yet they doe deale / though not lawfully before God / [Page 56] and that in infinite causes. And the proctors and doctors of that law / say the studie of y^e lawe is infinite / because the causes are infinite / one I trow en gendering another / and so surely are the delayes and fees of those courtes infinite. They haue to examine all transgressions agaynste the boke of common prayer / the iniunctions / the ad­uertisements / the canons / the metropoliticall ar­ticles / the bishops articles of the diocesse / all the 10 spirituall causes (as they call them) of the whole diocesse / or euery Archdeacon of hys circuite / and the Archbishop of hys prouince / and the Arches of the whole realme / and for certayne causes the prerogatiue court of my Lord his grace of Can­terburie / is ouer the realme also. Also of spiritu­all / yea and many carnall causes also / and that so handled / that it woulde greeue a chaste earc / to heare the bawdie pleading of many proctors and doctors in those courtes / and the sumners / yea / 20 and the registers themselues / master Archdea­con / and master Chauncellor / are eiten faine to [...]nchaste [...]leading. laughe it oute many times / when they can keepe their countenance no longer. An vnchast kinde of pleading of vnchast maters. They haue much adoe in marriage matters: when folke maye not marrie: what degrees may not marrie / and much more adoe about diuorcements / then either God or equitie would / restraining bothe parties from marriage / as long as they bothe are aliue togy­ther. 30 Besides they haue the triall of titles to be­nefices / and trial of tithes / & trial of testaments / and by their high commissyon they may do many moe things / and vse other then spirituall coerti­on (as they call it) they may do what they will / sauing life (I thinke) beat / prison / punysh by the purse / banishe / & I wot not what? All persons / dicares and curates / all church wardens / all side men / sworne men / and many forsworne / and all [Page 57] paryshes are at their commaundement. TheyA large scope. may commaund al Matres / Bailiffes / Consta­bles / and such like officers. All persons are open to them / all iaylors obay them / receiue their pry­soners / and hamper them as they enioyne them. They haue good causes and bad brought before them / and punish both sometimes / but the worst seldomest & least / and the best oftenest and moste. Many of their causes / & much of their dealings 10 are declared in the former treatises / therefore I wil be but brefe. And thus I say / y^• neither they / nor any order we haue in Englād this day doth / or can do that / which only God his order can do / and was appoynted to do. Neither their prouin­cials / nor y^e whole course of their canon lawe / nor their articles / nor commissions / can rightly order Christes church / nor any statute auaileth there­vnto / but only that lawe / which bindeth y^e whole land to God hys orders for the gouerning of hys 20 church. And therfore to make lawes it auayleth not / saue mere ciuil / as in thys case (which they count spiritual) for the prouisyon of the ministe­ry / & a law to stablysh a ryght reformatiō drawnConuoca­tio house. out of the scriptures. I would leaue to speake a­ny further of their conuocation house / bicause y^e force of it depēdeth vpon the other houses of par­liament / and my lords the bishops pleasures / for nothyng they doe but for a fashion / vntyll they come to the subsidie / and they haue had prety de­uises 30 to stop their doing / they haue had an order ere now to speake nothing but latin / which wasClarkes of the par­liament house. the way for many to tell but short tales / for fear of shame. But yet among abuses of these clergye men / thys is a great one / the whole house is a great abuse / but the polling of their cleargye for their clarkes fees / and theyr disorderous chusing of their clarkes may be numbred among the rest of their enormities / following none other order / [Page 58] but for the face of a thyng / sauing only my Lord byshops pleasure / or else he will know why / and yet it shalbe as he wil / when at is done / for either his Archdeacon shal haue one roume to beare his charges wythall / whych otherwise must be there Ex officio / & so ware hys owne charges / or some other of hys frends shall haue that roume / & hys Chancellor shall haue the other to pleasure hym wyth / not for any pleasure commonly y^• the Chā cellor can do in thys house / who ca scarse say (as 10 they say) shue to a goose / and if they had neede ofClarkly deuin [...]s. a deuines answer or hym / wing most commonly a dudging Canonist / & sometime a Doctor. But when he is best / best is to bad. Thus I say / for thys matter the byshop dealeth / or to testowe it vpon hys chapleyne / whych shall wayte at the stirrop / or at y^• brydle / to buy hym a new gowne / & somewhat wyth / but as vnfit for the house as the former commonly / but the byshop wyll haue the apoynting of bothe ro [...]me [...]. O the tyrannie 20 that they vse many / many wayes. I haue thus brefely as I could / and handling matters as I ought / passed through many abuses in the mini­stery / and gouernment of the church of Christ in England / and I haue accordyng to my pore ta­lent declared / what shoulde be the state of a well ordered and reformed church. How many sortes of ministers / how they shuld be called to y^• func­tion / what their effice is / what order should be a­mongst them / what metings & conferences there 30 should be for the continuing of true religion / and for them to increase in knowledge by. And in like sorte I haue waded in declaring what offycers there should be in the gouernment / what stroke they may b [...]are / so it be by the cōgregation / what a consistorie is / what excommunication is / what prouision there shuld be made for the pore / what the deacons office is / and or al other orders of the [Page 59] consistorie / which it pleased God that I had in mynde / and thought most profitable to vtter. It remayneth for me now to returne agayne to the state. To the Queenes most excellent maiestie / the hou [...] able Co [...]rs / all the Nobilitie & all the worshypfull Commons of thys realme. And I humbly [...]eseeche her Maiestie in princi­pallAppeale. to vouchsafe the hearyng of vs / and lyke as [...] make our appeare from the L. byshops to be vprightly heard / what may be sayd of our partes 10 further / and more [...]ghly in thys matter of Gods / by diuers o [...] no small learning and iudge­ment / & [...]tie of li [...]e / so it will please her ma­iestie / and you all / [...]erem to accept our appeale / y^• not only we may [...] jus be oppressed / & wrungVrgent causes. as we are / against all equale and conscience / but also that God hys cause should not i [...] so troden vnder foote / the benefite of hys churche so lyttle regarded / suche daily contentions raised by / and not pacified / such greeuing of godly mennes con­sciences 20 / & they not releeued. In so quiera raigne of our soueraigne / that Papists for pitie are not much disquieted / and yet there should be a perse­cution of pore christians / and the professors of y^e gospel suffered not farre vnlike to the s [...]e articlesThe s [...]xe Articles. whych cratty heades deuised / and prought y^• king her noble father vnto as they wold do her maie­stie how. That we should haue God his cause by vs truely and faithfully propounded / & by others wyckedly oppugned / and withstode / & yet it may 30 not by vs againe be maintained wythout great per [...]l. We beseeche you to pitie thys case / and to prouide for it. It is the case already of manye a thousand in this land / yea it is the case of as ma­ny as seeke the Lord aright / & desire to haue hys owne orders restored. Great troubles will come of it / if it be not prouided for / euen the same God that hath stirred me / a man vnknowne to speake / [Page 60] thoughe those poore men which are locked vp in Newgate / neither do / nor cā be suffred to speake / wil dayly stir vp moas yet vnknown / though I wer knowne & an hundred [...]o / wel able to write and speake in y^e matter. Except you will professe to persecute vs (whych we hope her maiestie of her wonted rare clemencie will not suffer though no doubt she shalbe by many importunately soli­cited / and in manner forced) our cause vnheard / we do require and humbly beseche you / if by these 10 bokes you be not resolued what to do / yet to pro­uide for our safetie / & giue vs the hearyng. They would beare men in hand that we despise autho­ritie / and contemne lawes / but they shamefully slaunder vs to you / that so say. For it is her ma­iesties authoritie we slye to / as the supreme go­uernourThe ma­gistrates authoritie / and the lawes we flie to. in all causes / & ouer all persones within her dominions appoynted by God / and we flie to the lawes of this realme / the bonds of all peace & good orders in thys lād. And we beseche her ma­iestie 20 to haue y^• hearing of thys matter of Gods / and to take the defence of it vpō her. And to for­tifie it by law / that it may be receiued by common order throughout her dominions. For though the orders be / & ought to be drawne out of the booke of God / yet it is hir maiestie that by hir princely authoritie shuld see euery of these things put in practise / and punish those that neglect them / ma­king lawes therfore / for the churche maye keepe these orders / but neuer in peace / except y^e comfor­table 30 and blessed assistance of the states & gouer­ners linke in to see them accepted in their coun­treys / and vsed. For otherwise the churche may and must keepe God hys orders / but alwayes in troubles and persecution / whych is lyke to light vpon vs / except a reformation of Religion / or a direct Prouiso for vs be made / for surely onely thys is God his order / & ought to be vsed in hys [Page 61] church / so y^• in conscience we are forced to speake for it / and to vse it / & in conscience / & in the reue­rence of God / we are forced to speake as we doe of that reformation / which we now vse / not so much for oughte else / as to set out the deformi­ties therof / that we might thinke vpon y^e amen­ding of them. It is shewed in the former treati­ses / how we thynke of the time and the persons / when / and by whome it was first made and auc­thorised: yea & we know / that hetherunto y^• state 10 that now is / hath not bene sufficiently instructed in any better then they vse / wherfore we lay the fault where the fault is / vpon the bishops / & that sort who are so soft set / & fat fed / that they think they cannot better themselues by god his orders / not for worldly ease & pompe / and therefore they neyther haue dealt / nor will deale themselues / to chaunge y^e course / nor for ought I see / wil suffer any other to deale / but their authoritie & frendes shall fayle them / but they wyll oppresse them. 20 They pretend much y^• her maiestie is sore bent a­gainst vs / and y^t it is not so much their doing: if y^• were so / then should they themselues deale forQuarel­lous iusti­ces. vs to her maiestie / and cease y^t course they haue gon. But we know because it most toucheth thē / they must hate vs. Wherefore we beseeche your godly wisdomes to haue consideration of y^e mat­ter / and not to leaue vs in their daunger / nor in danger of such iustices & other / which be glad to haue a quarell to vs for oure conscience / which 30 can finde none in oure liues / enditing vs / fyne­ing vs. &c. Now it is thus propoūded vnto you / if it seeme strange & harde to you (as no dout to them y^e are not acquainted w^t the mater it wil do / bicause they are better acquainted wyth another course / we beseche you to suffer / & to procure it to be further discussed by free conference among the learned men in this realme. There are many [Page 62] well able to doe it / & wil be ready to doe it / if theyCertaine obiectious answered. were called vpon / & so shall you haue sufficient light. There be that say. It wil be troublous to procede in these thyngs by publique authoritie / & that it cannot be done. I wold desire them y^• say so ▪ to remember how troublous it is / and wil be the while / to many good consciences / & how that God cannot but be hyghly displeased in y^• meane tyme / & how y^• he cannot but reuenge thys trou­ble 10 / that is raised against pore men hys faithfull seruaunts. There are y^e say this order cannot be throughout a realme / we cānot erect a consisto­rie in euery towne / we cānot finde in euery town faithful men / & some p [...]ish hathe small choise of any kinde of men. Surely there would be some­what thought of the vniting of small parishes in one. But yet there is no parish so small / but if it haue nede of Christ / and to be saued / then it hath nede of Christes orders. And there is no subiect 20 (though in deede it be a raw time for to fynde in moste parishes a competent number of faithfull mē to deale / or to haue skil to deale in these mat­ters / there is no subiect I say / but if (making y^e best choise) he wer chosen as it is directed afore / and a great penaltie vpō him to deale in it faith­fully / but he could not chuse but deale in it / & that trustely & wel / so that withall there wer drawne certaine general orders / to direct him or thē how to deale / & an honest learned pastor placed ouer euery s [...]ocke. But some say it wil be hard to finde 30 a preacher such a one as I spake of before for e­uery parish to furnish the realme any thing like. To thys I say / vse those you haue. First place in manner as afore / all your bishops in benefices / y^• be of a sound religion / and you shall furnish so many benefices as they be in nombre / for they haue none. Yet they say / some of thē haue some benefices / as I sayde before to amende their ly­uings [Page 63] wythall. Besides / vse all you haue abrode which be fit for it / and in the vniuersities. And let such exercises be taken vp / as I haue spoken of / and let the towardliest of those y^t already haue bene in benefices / if they wil be content to goe to their bokes / & afterward be employed vppon the ministerie / let them be sent to the vniuersities / or such like places / and be prouided for / by y^• col­le [...]ges / y^• they may procede in learning. And you 10 know not the store y^• God will raise you [...] short time / if you go about this godly purpose throughly. Take order y^• those faithfull ministers which you haue / may be placed in the greatest congre­gations. And for the sacraments / let those pari­shes / y^t are yet vnprouided / repair to the parishes next adioyning y^• are prouided of pasto [...]s / y^t they may vse the sacraments as they ought / not with­out the preaching of the word so that they be cō ­tent to be examined & allowed / as in that churche 20 wherto they shall resort / they shall finde it orde­red. And in y^e meane whil [...] / til preachers increase to furnish the places vnfurnished / if vpon confe­rence among the learned / it be thought meete / letWhat prayer should be made. y^e places vnfurnished be appoynted some discrete man / or to make some entier prayer / publiquely wyth them for all the churche / thys realme / oure soueraigne / the state / and the particular occasiōs of that congregation / for suche prayer shoulde bePatrons / presentati­ons / i [...]sti­tu [...]ions & inductions now vsed must cease. made. He maiestie / and other that haue had the gift of benefices are to be desired to depart with it that in manner as afore / the choise of the mini­ster may be free / without al corruption / the mini­ster being soughte and receyued for hys fytnesse only. For the contrary cannot be continued w^t ­out great tyrannie exercised ouer the Churche of God / and many corruptions necessarily [...]oent therupon. Thus will I conclude / desiring them that thinke I haue bene too round wyth the by­shops [Page 64] / and that sort / to remember howe rounde they are with vs / and how cruel / and againe how iust my speach is / and further how it concerneth them not / any longer then they kepe thys trade / no more then the vpbraiding of popishe priestes / which toucheth not those which haue renoūced it / and I desire those that amongste themselues haue a right remorse of God hys glory / and the churches good / to giue ouer / that we may bro­therly ioyne together / and be holpen by the good 10 giftes which God hath geuē them. And we shal prayse God for them wyth all our heartes. And oure admonitions / oure God knoweth / hathe no worse meaning. And I beseeche him so to blesse our labour / and those that deale in this his cause / that though our sinnes deserue no increase / yet for hys Christes sake pardoning vs / we maye euery day be more and more lightned in godlye iudgemēt / and stirred to embrace godlinesse / that as we professe to be hys churche / we may keepe 20 hym our louing God and father / and be kept by hym to be hys obedient seruauntes and sonnes / here to serue hym / & after to inherite with him / that crowne purchased and promised vnto vs of hys owne great vnspeakeable mercies in Christ hys sonne our deare sauioure / euer to praise and magnifie hym in that eternall blessednesse and glory / being God moste hyghe and vnsearchable in hys wisedome and iudgements. To whom be all prayse / power / and dominion as­cribed 30 & yeelded as is right / and due nowe / and for euer. So be it.