Against a Rank Papist, Part 1 · Opinion 5

Against a Rank Papist · Part 1 · Opinion 5

Censura.

¶ Of all these heauye burdens and p. xc…arke mystye shadowes, yea, from the feast of trompet blowynge and al, hath y^• sonne of God most mercyfully deliuered vsus. The brotherhed of S. Beorges gylde at Norwyche, may obserue thoseChriste. vowes by theyr owne appoyntment, if they lyste, to make them selues myrry therwyth. But Christes redemed brotherhede are clerely dyscharged, & …ede nomore therwyth to meddle. He that from hens fourth vncircumspectly and vnbrotherly seketh to clogge vsus wyth these vowes, myndeth to sēd vsus againeA clogge. backe to Moyses, and so vtterly to depryue vsus of that saluacion whych we hauehave in Christ Iesu. Bala. v.

Obiectio.

☞ Take away your groūd, that is to say, that vowes be heauy burdens and darke misty shadowes, and so abrogate by Christ, thā wyl al the rest fal, whych is buylded vpō thatCoelebatus. grounde. To kepe a vowe that is lawfullye made, is a commaundemēt of Gods law natural, and so commaūded in hys moral lawe, and also in his Euangelical law. And is not a ceremony or a shaddowe, as yow saye. And is conteyned vnderunder the seconde commaundement. Non assumes nomen Dei tui in vanū.Borowed. Thus dyd I alwayes conceyue of the doctours befor. If nature abhorre, that one man should breake promyse wyth an other, muche more it abhorreth, that a man shoulde breake promyse wyth hys Lorde God. Ecclesiastes saith, Ca. l. Si quid vouisti Deo, nō moreris reddere. Displicet enim ei infidelis et slul… Eccle. v.Eccl 5promissio. Sed quodcumque voueris, redde. Multoque melius est non vouere, quam post votum, promiss a non reddere.

Responsio.

My grounde is so sure, so stedy, and so stronge, that neyther yow, your dreamingDeuyls. doctours, your dyrty dawbers, nor yet all the deuyls of darkenes, which hath mainteyned your cursed generacion in all kyndes of deceyte, sens the dayes of Cain, shal be able ones to remoue it. As Iohā Baptist in the wyldernesse declared the comminge and offyce of Christ, he begāne by and byGospel. to buylde vponupon thys foūdacion. By Moyses (sayth he) was the lawe fyrst gyuē, but grace and veryte commeth only by Iesus Christe, Iohan. i. In stede of the lawe, he hath giuen vsus a Gospel of fre forgiuenes, and a sauyng veryte in stede of vnprofitable shadowes. Christ hath gyuen it also to vsus as a grounde to buylde vponupon, that the lawe & prophetes were no longar in force, thā vntounto the tyme of Iohan Baptist, Mat. xi. Ther they ceased, ther were they fully discharged, and went no further. S. Paule saith, that the lawe wurketh pre, Rom. iiii. The lawe is a power of synne. i. Cori. xv.The lawe The law bryngeth no man to perfeccyon. Heb. vii. By the lawe is no man iustyfyed. Roma. iii. We are not vndre the law (saith he) but vnderunder grace, Roma. vi. If we be ledde by the sprete, tha… are we no subiectes p. xcito the lawe. Gala. v. Christ is the ende of the lawe, and a ful ryghteousnesse to thē that beleue, Roma. x. Thys foundacion of myne, wyll not be puffed awaye wyth allFoūdaciō your sophystycal blastes, for it is not builded vponupon the sande, but vponupon the harde rocke. Math. vii. The power of hell shall not preuayle agaynst it. Math. x.

Now come I to your specialtees, as burdens, mystes, and shadowes of the lawe.Burdens. Christ earnestly promised, not only to take from vsus the heauye burthens of the lawe and of synne, if we resort vntounto hym, but also to refreshe vsus wyth hys Gospel (which is a law of lyberte, S. Iames sayth) and to gyue vntounto our consyences a perfyght quietnesse in hym. Math. xi. S. Paule wyllethBondage. al Christes seruauntes to stande fast in the lyberte, wherwyth Christ hath made them fre, and not to wrappe themselues agayne in the yoke of bondage (as are ceremonyal vowes) for so many ar gone frō Christ, as think to be instified by any point of y^e law. Gal. v. The false teachers (S. Peter saith) which bryugeth in dāpnable sectes (by vowes) lyuynge at pleasure in all deceyuable waies (by vowes) ar clouds carried about of a tēpest (by those vowes) to whō is reser ued y^• mist of darkenesse for euer. ii. Per. ii.The lawe The law (saith s. Paule) had but a shadow of good thinges to come, & not the thinges themselues in theyr owne proporcion, for it rather sygnified sumwhat, than braught thynges to effecte, Hebre. x.

Christ hath brokē downe y^• walle, which was a stoppe betwene vsus and the Iewes, and hath also put away through hys flesh, the cause of hatred, that is to say, the laweHatred. of commaundementes conteyned in y^e law written, Ephe. ii. He hath abolyshed vtterly the hande writing of obligaciō that was agaynst vsus, conteyned in the law written, and clerely taken it out of y^e way fastening it to hys crosse, Collo. ii. What ground wyl ye nowe hauehave, to proue your ceremonyall vowes, no heauy burdens, no cloudy mystes, no darke shadowes, and so not abrogated by Christ, whan thys grounde wyll not holde them but vtterly reiecte them?Grounde. Heauen and earth shal passe, but thys doctryne wyl neuer be founde vntrue, dispute what ye can to the contrary for your beggerly vowes. Take that grounde awaye (ye say) and than wyl al the rest fal, which is knylded therupō. And it is truth in dede I am glad we hauehave broughte yow to that conclusyon. But your heade is so madde that ye wyl not there staye, but folowe on styl fourth in your frenesy. Ye can fyndeFrenesy. it now, that to kepe avowe, that is lawful ly made (whych can not of your vowes p. xciihe veryfyed) is a commaundement of god. Afore ye coulde not fynde it in Anna and the Nazarees. I see it wel now, that ye can at your pleasure both fynde and not fynde.

But ye hauehave stretched your g…atte so farre, that he must nedes burste, no remedy.of vowes. Ye saye, the obseruacyon of vowes is commaunded of God, in the lawes natural, moral, and Euangelicall. It is sonner sayde, than proued. Of lykelyhode ye are some prothonotary of Rome, that ye wold your wurdes to be beleued without reasonable proues. It is like here to remaiue for a fabulouse lye, tyll ye hane proued it by the scriptures, a lawe of commaundemēt in the lawe of nature. And also tyl ye hauehave made it good, that the ceremonials and iudicialsA fable. of Moyses lawe, are all one wyth with the morral preceptes and the Gospel. Ye saye, that obseruacion of vowes, is neither ceremony nor shadowe. It was both, whan vowes were in strengthe, that is to saye, for the tyme of Moyses lawe, If ye thynke them now chaunged, bryng fourth your honest probacyons, and ye shall beProues. heard. If ye hauehave none other thyng to stay it by, but the seconde commaundement, ye are farre wyde. For thys is y^e seconde cō maundemēt of god. Non facies tibi sculptile. Thu shalt make the no grauen image, Exodi. xx. Thys helpeth not your matter, but vtterly confoundeth it. For vowes are lyke as ymages are, wurkes onelyonly of māsYmages. ymaginacion, wythout commaundement of God. For ye hauehave graūted al this time, that they are wurkes voluntarye, and so hauehave ye dyffyned them.

If ye ment the thyrd commaundement,Ouersene Non assumes nomen Domini Dei tui in vanum. Thu shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vame, than were ye fowly deceyued, to take the thyrd for the secōd. It is a playne token, that ye are much better exercysed in the Iewyshe ceremonies, than in Gods holye commaundementes, whan ye knowe not the one frō the other. In dede I wolde wyshe, ye were sūwhatSwearing wyser. Thys thyrd commaundement wyl not serue your turne, for it pertayneth to swearing & not to vowyng, as Christ hath expownded it. If ye take vowynge for a kynde of swearing, than hath Christ vtterly dyscharged yow, by this myghty wurd of hys. Dico vobis ne iuretis omnino. Math. v. I charge yow, y^t ye swear not at al, that is to saye, that ye vowe in no wyse. …o, wher are your vowes become now, bi your own cōfessiō? Now hauehave ye, by your owne procurement, brought them euen toAl loste. nothing, your old doctours were yet much p. xciiimore wyse than yow are. For they iudged thē wyth al the other ceremonies of Moyses▪ to pertayne to the forth commaundement,Sucked. concernyng the Saboth daye.

Though ye hauehave alwaies cōceiued much (as ye boast your self here) bi your exercise in the doctours, yet toke ye no hede in this poynt. Ye hauehave succked muche of the diui…te doggerel of that dronken papist Iohā Eckius, in thys matter. As the sayinge is, lyke wyl to lyke, as the deuyl fyndeth out the colyar. I maruel muche of your ygnoraunt beastlynesse, or els of your obstinate hypocrisye. Ye playe here the PelagyanePelagyan ryght oute, geuynge to our corrupted and synnefull nature, that is onelye due to the grace and mercy of God. In thys ye take from faith her perfeccion, ye defraude her of her offyce, and depryue her of her glory. Ye know not Gods eternal power, ye vnderstande not his wurkes wonderful, neither gloryfy yow hym as the authour of al goodnesse. But become obstinate, wicked, and vnthankeful, yea, ye were ful of vanitees in your ymaginacyons, your folyshe harte couered wyth a dampnable blyndnesse, for contemning hys truthe, Roma. i.Al vapu…. Of nature are we, the fleshly, synfull, and wycked chyldren of Goddes great indygnacion and curse, Ephesians. ii.

Than is it not nature that abhorreth to breake promyse, but fayth, whych only is the gyft of God. If we be faythful to god and our neyghbour, it is not of vsus but ofFaythful. hym. All that is not of faythe (S. Paule sayth) is synne. Roma. xiiii. And wythoute faythe can we kepe no promyse to Gods pleasure, Hebre. xi.

In your allegacion of Ecclesiastes, ye seme to be a greate multyplyer. For hys boke hath but. xii. Chapters in all, and yetEccle. v.Eccl 5 yow can allege the. l. Chapter, ere ye come to the myd part therof. It is some fygure, ye wurke by, eyther of falsehede or els of forgetfulnesse. If thu hast made a vowe to God (saythe Ecclesiastes) be not slacke to perfonrme it. As for folyshe vowes, he hath no pleasure in them. If thu promyse any thynge, paye it. For better it is, that thu make no vowe, than that thu shuldest promyse and not paye. Ecclesi. v. for whatPurpose. purpose ye brought in thys text, I can not coniecture: vnlesse it were to put vsus in remembraunce, that all your prestyshe and monkysh vowes, are vanite, ydelnesse, folishnesse, frenesy peuyshnes, madnes, and myschefe vnspeakeable. Not pleasing, but dylpleasynge our almyghtye maker, for so much as they are but mockyng promyses of thynges impossyble, vnprofytable, parelouse, p. xciiiiwycked, vncertayne, aboue our strengthes, and al cōtrary to Christes doctryne. Thys texte allurynge men to perfourmeThe texte. theyr vowes, wylleth them to be very circumspect in the makynge of them. For if they be made after mānis wysdome and not Gods (as ye say, your vowes are voluntary) than are they wycked and folyshe. And the fulfyllyng of them, is both a dyspleasure and a mocke to God.

Obiectio.

☞ Also the breakynge of a lawful vowe, is one kynd of infidelyte, which Paule proueth i. Time. l. Habētes damnationem, quia primam fidem irritam fecerunt. How shoulde aInfamy. man bynde himselfe to God, to do any thing, but by a vowe or an othe, which is a testimony of hys promise or vowe? Therfore a christen mānys obedyence, in kepynge hys promyse wyth God, is the true inwarde seruyce of God, and requyred by gods playne commaundement, as I take it. Not an outwardTake it. ceremony or shadow pertaynyng to one feast, whych is abrogate by Christes commyng.

Responsio.

If ye onelyonly mynde to speake of vowes lawful, thā are ye much to blame to troubleSole lyfe. vsus wyth your vowe of the sole or syngle lyfe for swearynge marryage, for that vngodly vowe was neuer yet lawfull. I wyl proue it by Ecclesiastes in the fourth chaptre. Ue soli (sayth he) quia cum cecid… rit, non habet subleuantem se. Wo to hym that is alone, for if he fall, he hath not an other to helpe hym vp agayne. If wo, be…ods ordre here a curse or dāpnacion, as it is holden in the scriptures for y^t more part, it is double to yow that hath made therof a vowe or perpetual bande. To thys ende hath God ordeyned hys creatures, y^t one shuld helpe an other. He created mā & womā y^t the one shuld be a solace, an ayde, & a cōfort to y^t other. Thys ordre are yow able to dysolue, by the impotēcy (omnipotēcy I wold say)Exempt. of your vowe, as a God of your selfe. But more parelouse is your fall, both wayes, than ye be aware of. Ye wyll parauēture obiect agaynst me, that Christ was syngle. I must desyre yow to graunt him extraordynary, or exempte frō the commē ordre of men, beynge the only sonne of the highest. If ye laie Mary Christes mother, ye must lose your laboure, for she was marryed to Ioseph, & neuer dysdayned y^t godly estate.

If ye brynge fourth Hieremy and Iohā Baptist, I answer you, that it was in them and certeyne other by specyall priuilege, and not by any vowe voluntary. If ye cā shewe vsus by the sacred scryptures, that yePriuilege. hauehave the same priuylege, eyther yet if we se in yow, that ye bryng fourth lyke frutes of doctryne, thā wyl we credyte yow for p. xcvdoctryne and priuileges sake, but not for your vowes sake, for we know to much therof. Ye wryte in your Chronicles, thatEdward. Etheldrede and Edwarde remayned styll byrgins after longe marriage. Suffre maidenhede than, rather to dwell vndre marryage than vndre your doubtful vowe, for so shoulde it be in muche lesse daunger. I coulde muche commende your synglenesse without vowes, if ye cared for the thingesA vowe. of the Lord. i. Cor. vii. But I can not away wyth your synglenesse in vowes, for in thē ye seke but bell ye profyghte. Thoughe the breakynge of a lawful vowe, whyche is a vowe allowed by the scriptures, be a kind of infydelyte, Yet is not the breakynge of your fylthy and popish vowes, whych are both vnlawful & cōdempned by the scriptures, yea, your presthode & all, a kynde of infidelyte in thē y^t breake thē, but an euidētNombers profe of most faythful obedience to God. Ye are but weakely sene in nōbers, whā ye know not. v. frō. l. Ye allege y^e. l. chap of S. Pauls first epistle to Timothe, & y^• wholepistle hath nomor but. vii. litle ca. But this wil I ons again ascribe to your ouersight

Your text, habētes dānacionem, is in the. fyft Chapter, and is thus Englyshed▪ HauingFyrst fayth. dampnacion, bycause they hauehave brokē theyr fyrst faith. By this wold ye proue, y^t the breking of your popish vows were a kynde of infydelyte. But it is nothynge to the purpose, for ye are no yonge widowes. Neyther is prima fides a vowe of our makyng, but the necessary couenaunt of oure christen professyon. And the dampnacyon ther, is a blotte of infamy, or an vncomely report, to the greate blemishyng of christianite and slaunder of the Gospell, as I tolde ye afore. Your question, how shouldQuestion a man bynde hymselfe to serue God, but by a vowe or othe? is both wycked and folyshe. For all we that beleue in Christes name, are chyldren & no seruauntes. Iohā. i. Our estate and relygyon, is a state of lyberte, and no bondage. Iohā. Our law is a law of liberte & no bōdage. Iaco. i. Now ar we become sonnes by elecciō, fre heyres and inheritours wyth Christ, Gala. iiii. If we be made fre by his death, we ought noBondage. lougar to serue that way, in bondage. For the seruaunt knoweth not the minde of his maistre. But to vsus as to hys dere chyldren and frendes, hath he opened al, Ihoan. xv. If we nowe do anythyng to God, it must come of a louelove in fredome, & not of a vowe or an othe in bondage.

Men hauehave done thynges to god, which neuer bounde themselues by vowe. We reade of many whych after the due searchGood mē. of hys holy w…rde, hauehave shewed thēselues p. xcvigodly wyse, humble, gentyl, meke, mercyful, kynde, peaceable, pytyful, temperaūt, chaste, sober longe sufferyng, forgyuynge, thankeful to God, and faythful to al men. They hauehave embraced louelove, whych is the che…e of perfecciō, Col. iii. Yea, they hauehave therwyth fulfylled the lawe, Rom. xiii. etCharyte. Gala. v. and all wythout profession of vowes. Ye call an othe a wytnesse of a promyse, and a vowe a testimony of a vowe, whych is a straunge kynde of dystynynge. I might aske yow here, how a vowe could be both a vowe, and the witnes of a vowe, an othe and the testimony of a promyse, so well as ye axed of me afore, howe a vowe coulde be both a promyse and the thyngeA vowe. promysed. But I thinke it to folyshe, to bestowe any tyme therupō. Bycause a vowe is the wytnesse of a vowe, and men bynde themselues therby to do thynges to God, therfore (ye saye) a christen mannis obedience in kepyng hys promyse wyth God, is the true inwarde seruyce of God, and requiredSeruyce. by hys commaundement. I thinke, a more folishe conclusiō was neuer heard. And therfore ye do well to adde, as yow take it.

A christen mannis obedyence standeth not in the fulfyllyng of fanaticall vowes,In faythe. as they hauehave bene vsed, better broken than kepte) but in the faythfull obseruacion of Gods holy preceptes, declared by Christe in hys Gospell. Though I hauehave taken the vowes of the olde lawe for ceremonyes & shadowes abrogated by Christ, Yet ded I neuer take your vowes for ceremonyes, but for horrible supersticious, Antichristes dyrte, and most filthy dregges of y^• deuyll, pertayning to the feast of Sathans intronizacyonA feast.

If we wyll nedes serue, beynge the chyldren of the fre woman, Gala. iiii. Lete vsus seke to serue in lyberte and not in bondage. Lete vsus beare no longar a straūgers yoke wyth the vnbeleuers. ii. Cor. vi. Lete them to whom god hath gyuē knowledge, shake of those shackles, and repēt of thoseSnares. snares of the deuyll ii. Tim. ii. for they are the very charactes or markes of the infernall beast, wherby Antichristes mynisters hauehave power to bye and to sell in that blasphemouse kyngdome, Apocalip. xiii. They that wyll holde of that marke, must drinke of the cuppe of Gods wrathe, Apocalips. xiiii. and fynally be turned ouer into the lake of burnynge fyre and brymstone, Apocalips.priestes. xir. Hauynge theyr names clerely wyped out of the boke of lyfe. S. Paule woulde neuer entangle the Corinthianes wyth suche a snare, as these your vowes p. xcviiare, but gaue them erudycious honest and comely. i. Corinth. vii.