An Answer to a Popish Rhyme, Poem 1
The Papiſts Ryme.
I Pray thée, Proteſtant, heare with mée,aIndeede a man had need to be very patient, that meaneth to heare thee.
To aſke thée Queſtions two or thrée:
And if an anſwere thou canſt make,
More of thy counſell I will take.bYet I feare, that thogh thou were brayed in a Morter with a Peſtell, among Wheat, thy fooliſhneſſe will not depart from thee: Pro. 27.22.
Many ſundry Sects appeare,
Now in the world farre and neere,
The Caluiniſt, the Proteſtant,
The Zuinglian, the Puritant:
The Browniſt, and the Family of LoueLove,
And many more which I can proue,
And the Romane fayth truely,
Which you call Papiſtry.
And eueryevery one confeſſe IESV,
Saying that their Fayth is true:
But amongſt theſe tell mee how,
The Trueth from fayned lyes to know.
All theſe in very deede,
Rehearſe all Articles in the Creede,
And eueryevery one of them ſayth,
That theirs is the Catholique Fayth:
But this it is that I doe ſéeke,cI beleeue, thou art one of thoſe, which are euer learning, & neuer come to the knowledge of the Trueth, 2. Tim. 3.7. Take the Lanterne which Dauid vſed, and thou ſhalt ſoone finde the true Church, Pſal. 119.105.
To knowe the Church Catholique,
The Communion or Company
Of holy men in Vnity.
Catholike.
IN your Bible I hauehave read,
The Church muſt through the world bee ſpred:
For Chriſt he his Apoſtles ſent
With power and Commaundement,
That to all Nations they ſhould goe,
To preach and to baptize alſo.
Who hath done this? to know I will,
For that is ſure the Church of Chriſt.dI hope thou wilt not ſay that Rome hath don this: the charge was giuen and vndertaken before Rome was conuerted.
As for example, let mee know,
And if thou canſt I pray thée ſhow,
What Church did take in hand
The firſt conuerſion of this Land?eThe Apoſtles Church for ought you can proue to the contrary.
And all other countries eueryevery where,
Throughout the world farre and neere:fWho but a Papiſt, would dare to ſay this?
If this were not the Church of Rome,
Then will I be conuerted ſoone.gYou build your Faith vponupon a very ſure groūd.
Saint Paul in his Epiſtle fayth,hDid Paul ſay that Rome ſhould neuer deny the Fayth?
The Romanes had the Catholique Fayth,
Saying it was renowned,
Spoken of, or publiſhed
Through the world, ouer all,
Catholique, Vniuerſall:
And if your Churches were euen ſo,iOur Church is a part of the Catholique Church, diſproue it if you can.
Then to your Churches I would go.kYou may come to our Churches, the Pope giueth you leaue, ſo that you keepe your heartes to him.
Prophets.
SO ſayth the Prophet Malachy,
There ſhould be offred farre and nye,
A cleane Oblation or Sacrifice,lWhen you read, Altar, and Sacrifice, you thinke ſtrait that makes for the Maſſe, not knowing, or not ſeeming to know the language of the Scripture.
From place where now the Sun doeth riſe,
To the going downe of the ſame.
And what is that, I pray thée name?
If it be not the holy Maſſe,
I will be a Proteſtant as I was.mIf thou hadſt bene of vsus, thou wouldeſt hauehave continued with vsus, 1. Iob. 2.19.
In the eightéenth Pſalme I found,
The whole world ſhould heare their ſound,nNamely, of the Apoſtles, and their doctrine; proue our Doctrine to diſagree with theirs.
And it this marke you doe not want,
Preſently I will recant.
Continuance.
THis is another marke moſt ſure,
The Fayth of Chriſt muſt ſtill endure,oChriſtes Fayth muſt endure, therfore Rome is the true Church. A hote Argument.
According as our Sauiour ſayd,
When for Saint Peter hee had prayd.
Simon, thy Fayth ſhall neuer fayle,
The gates of Hell ſhall not preuayle,
The holy Ghoſt your Comforter,
Shall remayne with you for euer.
And I my ſelfe, your ſureſt friend,
Will be with you vntounto the end.
Saint Paul hath the like ſpeach,
There ſhall be alwayes men to preach,
Apoſtles, pSome ſay they are Apoſtles, and are not, Re. 2.2.Doctours, and the like,
In the Church Catholike:
If this be not the Church of Rome,qBecauſe you ſay it, we are boūd to beleeue it.
Then will I be conuerted ſoone.
Viſible.
ANother marke there is moſt cleare,
The Church of God muſt ſtill appeare,
As a City on a hill,rSome wreſt the Scriptures to their owne deſtruction, 2. Pet. 3.16. Take heed.
Seene and continue ſtill;
As a light on a Candleſticke,
So is the Church Catholique.
Our Sauiour ſayth, If one offend,
And will not be ruled by his friend,
Tell all the Church without delay:sWould you hauehave vsus go to Rome with eueryevery cōplaynt? it ſeemeth ſo; for you tye the Church to that See.
And if he will not then obay,
Doe thou eſtéeme ſuch a man,
An Heathen or a Publican.
Is not that the Church, wherein we ſée
Two hundred Biſhops thirty thrée,
To hauehave ſuccéeded each other,
Since the time of Saint Peter?tYou muſt firſt prooue that Saint Peter was Biſhop of Rome.
Shew mee this marke in you,uThou thy ſelfe ſayſt, there hauehave bene ſucceſſiuely 63. Biſhops in England, ſince Peter: then eyther ours is the true Church, or elſe ſucceſſion of Biſhops is no ſure marke.
And I will ſay your Fayth is true:
If this be not in the Fayth of Rome,
Then will I be conuerted ſoone.
Vnity.
ANother marke there is truly,
The Church muſt hauehave Vnity,
As our Sauiour hath foretold,
One Shepheard and one Fold:
One is my Spouſe, one is my LoueLove,
One is my Darling and my Doue:
This is his Spouſe, and at ſome time
He doeth reſemble it to a Vine.
His Father is the Huſbandman,
A Branch is eueryevery Chriſtian,
This is his Body Myſticall,
The which he doeth his Kingdome call:
Whereof Saint Peter had the Keyes,wWhat became of the Keyes, when Pope Iulius 2. threw them into Tibur.
And his Succeſſors hauehave alwayes:xAs though no body did ſucceede Peter, but the Pope, who is rather the ſucceſſour of Romulus, then Peter, as Pope Hadrian the fourth ſaid when he dyed.
And likewiſe Saint Paul ſayth,
One Baptiſme and one Fayth,
And one Lord IESV:
HaueHave no diſſention among you.
If this be not the Church of Rome,
Then will I be conuerted ſoone.
Holy.
THis you ſay in very déede,
When you rehearſe the holy Créede,ySo you ſay in the Creede, that Chriſt ſitteth at the right hand of God, and yet you ſay alſo, he is in body preſent at the Maſſe.
One Church Catholique,
Holy and Apoſtolique.
This is another marke truely,
The Church of God muſt be holy:
Holy men, Holy Seruice,
Ceremonies, Sacrifice:
Sacraments and Holy dayes,
Are obſerued in her alwayes:
As for the Saints and Martyrs all,
And Virgins, which you Saynts doe call;
I aſke you when they liued and where,
Whoſe names are in your Calender:
In what Religion they dyed,
By whom they were Canonized?zWho made the Pope a Saint-maker?
Proue that theſe agrée with you,
And I will ſay your Fayth is true:
If they were not your company,aYou ſtand ſo much vponupon Company, that you will rather goe to the Deuill, then want Company.
Then is your Fayth an Hereſy.
Heretikes.
OVr Sauiour warneth vsus to hauehave care,
Of falſe Prophets to beware,bThat makes vsus take heed of you.
Which in his name ſhall come,
Not ſent, yet they ſhall runne:cThere bee many of your Church come amongſt vsus to work miſchiefe, before you bee ſent for.
Théeues, not entring by the Doore,dA liuely deſcription of the Popes Clergy.
That kill and ſteale and kéepe a ſtoore,
Woolues in Shepheards clothing,
That kill the Soule, and ſteale the tithing,
Dogges, Foxes, and Maſters of lyes,
That newe Sects will deuiſe,
Bringing in diſſention,
And heape thouſands to perdition.
Where hauehave you bene this many a yere,
That none of you durſt once appeare?
Euer ſince our Sauiours time,
To whom did your Light ſhine?eTo thoſe which had eyes to ſee it.
Where did your principall Paſtor ſit?fIn Heauen.
Who kept your keyes, who fed your ſhéep?gYou hauehave butchered a good ſort of them.
Shew ſome Churches you hauehave built:
I can ſhew many you hauehave ſpilt.
How might a man hauehave found you out,
To hauehave tryall in a matter of doubt:hYou be too proud to learne: It is the firſt leſſon you teach your Diſciples, to admit no conference.
Where for ſo many a yeere
No ſuch company did appeare?
Vntill Luther, a lying Fryer,iIf Luther had continued a true Frier, he had neuer bene good.
VponUpon whom the Deuill had deſire,
Brake his vowe, kHerods vow is better broken then kept.and marryed a Nunne.
And there your Sect lOur Sect is the ſame that Pauls was, Act. 28.22.firſt begun,mEyther thou knoweſt this to be a lye, or thou knoweſt nothing.
And fauoured in Saxony
By a Duke that loued liberty:
And in King Edwards time truely,nThere were Engliſhmen in England, who bare witneſſe to this truth, by ſuffering death for it long afore King Edwards time.
It firſt infected our Country.
For a thouſand yeres you ſay,
That Papiſtry did beare the ſway:
And during all that ſpace,
No Proteſtant durſt ſhew his face.oThe more they lay hid the greater was your Tyranny.
Who kept pIndeed you kept thē ſo faſt, that the people could hauehave no comfort by them.the holy Scriptures then
From the hands of wicked men?
Who had authority to ordayne,
Our Prieſts and Biſhops agayne?
For he that entreth without Order,
As a thiefe doeth kill and murder.
And one thing maketh me to muſe,
That no Prieſt you doe refuſe,qA very tale.
Being ordred by the Church of Rome,
But he was accepted ſoone:
If he would ſay the newe Seruice,
He ſhould hauehave a Benefice,
Without any further order,
And accounted for the better:rHe that hath once bin an eger Papiſt, & is conuerted truly, is to be the better thought of, becauſe hauing known the abomination of Popery, hee muſt needs deteſt it more.
How can ſhée make a lawfull Prieſt,
If ſhée be not the Church of Chriſt.
Anſwere this, O Proteſtant,
If thou canſt, I will recant,sI beleeue you wil not be ſo good as your word
But while an anſwere you deuiſe,tA man need not bee long in making you an anſwere.
I counſell all men that are wiſe,
To hold the fayth mayntained heere,
The ſpace of a thouſand yeere,
Brought vntounto vsus Engliſhmen
By our Apoſtle, uWho made him an Apoſtle?Saint Auſten,
Who from Rome was biſher ſent.
When Ethelbert was King of Kent,
Who learned his fayth of Gregory,wThis Gregory accounted him the Forerunner of Antichriſt, who ſo ſhould ſeeke to bee called Vniuerſall Biſhop: from this fayth you are gone.
His fayth was kept ſucceſſiuely,
By threeſcore Biſhops and thrée,
Since Saint Peters time truely,
Who learned his fayth of Chriſt Ieſu,
Who is the Sonne of God moſt true.