A Looking Glass for All Lordly Prelates, Part 4
The opposition and contrariety betweene Christs Apostles and Lordly Prelates.
FIrst our Saviours Apostles yea Peter (the Prince of all the rest, as the Papists vaunt) had neither silver nor gold Acts 3. 6. Lord Prelates have plenty of both: yea doe little or no worke for it, and lesse good with it, vnlesse it be out of a vaineglotious humor to get themselues applause by some Pontificall stately structure, or monument of their ambicion pompe and pride.
2. These Apostles were poore, and vet made many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all thing 2. Cor, 6. 10. Lord Prelates are rich, and yet by their oppression, tyranny injustice, great Fines, imprisonments, extortions and griping Officers make many Ministers and good Christians poore; they have all things their hearts can wish, and yet through covetous ambicion and desire of more, and il… use of what they have, truly possesse nothing.
3. The Apostles were made a spectacle unto the world unto Angells, and to men 1. Cor. 4. 9. Lord Prelates are not made but make others such for Christs sake.
4. The Apostles to their dying dayes, did both hunger & thirst & were naked, buffeted, despised, accounted fooles, defamed, reviled and persecuted, Yea they were made the very silth of the world and the ofscouring of all things for Christs sake, being in stripes often, in imprisonments, perills, and death often, in watchings often, in labours more abundant for Christ 1. Cor. 4. 10, 11, 12, 13. 2. Cor. 6. 5, c. 11. 23, 24, 25, 26. Lord Prelates are in no such condition at all, they sustayne no such hardship for Christ; but they eate and drinke of the best, are gorgeously clad, courted, yea flattered, honoured and accounted great Lords, praysed above measure, feasted, promoted and made the greatest Peeres the most swaying overruling Lord controllers of the world, & Primates of all others for Christs sake; being never in stripes &c. But only in voluptuous pleasures, stately Palaces, Princes Courts, downe beds, and lazy idlenesse for Christ; and when persecution or affliction for the Gospell come; they either turne chiefe persecutors, or turne-coates, rather then they will vndergoe any stripes, imprisonments, perrills, or deaths for Christ, by whom they enioye so much honour, pompe, wealth and worldly pleasures.
5. The Apostles had no certayne dwelling place and laboured, working whith their owne handes, and yet never gave over preaching for want of maintenance 1. Cor. 4. 11, 12. Acts 20. 34. 1. Thess. 2. 9, 2. Thess. 3. 8. Lord Bishops have divers certaine Palaces, Sees, Mannors, & Pontificall Mansions; their hundreds and thousands by the yeare; neuer labour with their hands (and seldowne with their tongues or braines) to get their livings; and yet preach not so oft in 2. or 3. yeares, as Paul and other Apostles did in a weeke, when they labored to.
6. The Apostles were troubled on every side, for Christ, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despaires persecuted, but not forsaken; cast downe, but not destroyed; alwayes bearing about in the body the marke; of the Lord Iesus, and being alwayes delivered unto death for Iesus sake: 2 Cor. 8, 9, 10, 11. Lord Prelates never were in such extremities, never suffered such things, as all or any of these for Christ, but have usually brought others into the Apostles condition far specified for Christs sake; As the Booke of Martyrs, and experience manifest.
7. The Apostles were called from the receipt of custome, from all other secular imployments, and seperated for the Gospell of Christ; forsaking all other things to preach and propagate it alone as soone as they were called to bee Christs Apostles and disciples, Math. 4. 18. to. 23. c. 9. 9. Marke 10. 28, 29. Rom. 1. 1. Acts 13. 2. Lord Prelates when they are made such, intrude themselves into secular offices and imployments, call themselves back againe to the receipt of custome shouldring themselves into Lord Treasurerships Lord Chancellorships & other such great temporall offices, tosupport and maintaine their part, power and antichristian throne; erect Popery and Romish superstition, and rule all things at their pleasures: yea they almost wholly seperate themselves from Christ, and the preaching of his Gospell, lay aside and give over their Ministry, &c. Preaching, that so they may wholely addict themselves to the world, the pleasures honours and preferments of it, to Court and State affaires, and Lord it over all men both in Church and State.
8. Christs Apostles, were all equall among themselves, and Lorded it not one over the other, nor yet over their fellow brethren, or the Lords inheritance never Pursevanting, imprisoning, fining, banishing or depriving of them like Pagan Princes, they being expressely prohibited so to doe, Math. 20. 25. 26. 27 Luke 22. 25, 26. 2. Cor. 1. 24. …. Pet. 5. 1, 2, 3, 4. Lord Prelates Lord it one over another and are not equall among themselves, witnesse their Popes, their Patriarkes, Cardinall, Bishops, Metropolitanes, Arch-Bishops, Bishops, and Bishops Suffragans, al subordinate unto another; they clayme a superiority Iure diuino over their fellow Presbiters (their equalls, and all one with themselves by diuine law & institution Acts 26. 17. 28. Phil. 1. …. 1. 7 …m. 3. 1, 2, 3. c. 5. 17. Titus 1. 5, 7. 1. Pet. 5. 1, 2, 3. Math. 20. 25, 26, 27, c. 28. 19: 20.) Yea they Lord and tyrannize it over their fellow Ministers, Diocesse, and the Lords inheritance suspending, silencing, excommunicating, pursevanting, fining, imprisoning reviling, depriving them, prescribing new Ceremonies, Injunctions, Articles, Oathes, Orders, and fining and punnishing them for the violation of them at their pleasures, like absolute Popes, Kings, Monarks, Parliaments, against all lawes of God, and the Realme; as ancient, and (above all others) present experience testifieth; So like are their Lordly Sanctities to the Apoftles, or rather to their holy-Father the Pope & divell.
9. The Apostles preached daylie the Lord Iesus, and his Gospell, to the people, because Christ, & God himselfe enioyned them to doe it, notwithstanding the high Priests & whole Counsels suspencions inhibitiōs, threats, imprisonments, and scourgings to hinder and deterre them Acts 4 & 5. 1. Thess. 2. 15, 16, 17. Lords Prelates (on the contrary) are so farre from imitating their examples, that they every where against the lawes of God and the realme, yea contrary to the very Booke of ordination and charge there given them when they were ordavned,) suspend & prohibit Ministers from preaching Christ & his Gospell to the people, that they may be saved, threatning to imprison deprive and ruine them if they doe it; notwithstanding Christ and his Apostles have expresly commanded them, (and their Lordships to if Christs Ministers, or their Successors) to doe it under payne of eternal woe (which Bishop wren commaunded to be blotted out of a Church wall in Ipswich Mat. 28. 19 20. Mark. 16. 15. Acts. 20. 281. Cor. 9. 16, 17. 1. Tim. 4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1 Tim. 4. 13. c. 5. 17. The very highth of al iniquity and impiety 1. Thess. 2. 15, 16. Yea, money base fainthearted Ministers forgetting this President of the Apostles, set now silence under these illegall impious suspensions, and some of them, like hirelings f…e from their flocks, and leave them to be devo…vred of these raging wolves, as full experience manifests, whereas if they were true Sheopards and faithfull Ministers, they would rather lay downe their lives then flie or give over preaching upon such vngodly, vnjust Suspentious, meerely void in law, which of Common, Civill, Canon or Diuine.
10. The Apostles dayly in the Temple; and in every howse (which now fotsooth were a Conventicle) ceased not to teach and preach Iesus Christ Acts 5. 42. (and that notwithstanding all the high Priests inhibitions, suspensions and imprisonments) Nay S. Paul as he spread and preached the Gospell of Christ almost over all the world ever from Ierusalem round about to Illyricum and where Christ was not once so much as named before, Rom. 15. 19. 20. So hee disputed and preached daily in the Schoole of one Tyrannus for two yeares space, Acts 19. 9. 10. Yea for three yeares space together, he ceased not day and night to warne every one at Ephesus, with teares, teaching them publikely and from house to house, (now a dangerous unlawfull conventicle in our Lord Prelates judgement) Acts 20. 20. 21. 31. he, and the rest of the Apostles, by their daily preaching and holy lives, converting thousands unto God & planting and watering many eminent Churches; as the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles, witnesse. Our Lordly Prelates are so farre from not ceasing thus to preach dayly, themselves, that few of them preach monthly, or quarterly, and it is much if they preach annually, and then only at Court: Others of them (as our great Archprelates) not in three or foure yeares space or more; some not at all, (as the dumbe Bishops of Oxford, Landaffe, and others:) yea, they doe all they can to preach, write and cry downe frequent preaching, as hurtfull and superfluous; suppressing all or most weeke…day Lectures, with Sermons on Lords dayes afternoone in many Diocese, (o impiety!) inhibiting all painfull, godly Ministers from preaching, some totally, other at least halfe so often as they desire to doe, or more: and, (which is a thing almost incredible, and most impious) suppressing Lectures and preaching in all infected places, and that on the solemne Fast-day, as a meanes to spread the pestilence, even then, when all former ages, and an eminent ancient Popish Councell, have cried them up as most necessary and usefull; the sicke having farre more need of spirituall physicke and Physitians, then the whole: Math. 9. 12. 13. As for preaching from house to house (bee it by a Minister in his owne parish only) our holy Lord Prelates are so farre from practising or approving it, though Apostolicall, that they most unchristinaly prohibit, most impiously condemne, most severely punish it, and the repetition of Sermons for a dangerous Conventicle, deserving imprisonment, excommunication, fining, deprivation and what not, is a clowd of late examples testify. Such holy successors of Christs Apostles are these ghostly Lords spirituall; I will not say, carnall, worldly, and diabolicall, as some too truly stile them: This being one of Satan the great dragon his *An Answer unto a letter sent by the Great Turke &c. compiled & imprinted by Iohn Mayler, an. 1542,principall instructions to the heard-men of his goates, Bishops and Archbishops; to see that they hate, despise and blaspheme both the word of God, and the true Preachers and lovers thereof, and not to suffer the truth and freedome of Gods Law to be knowne, but to keep it under as much as they can: to suffer no true Preachers to abide in their Diocesses, but quickly to bring them into great thraldome, charge and penury; and never to cease till they have driven them away and set up in their roomes and places Doctor Ignorance Domine drunkard, Sir Iohn Lacke-latin, with Sir William Wilde-oathes that hunteth after whores, and such also as can play dissembling hypocrites, whereby the divels empire of darkenesse doth exceedingly flourish, which much decayed in all places by the true and frequent preaching of Gods Word. As for their planting or watering of Churches, and converting store of soules to God, by their diligent frequent zealous preaching and pious lives, Alas, which of our great Archprelates can truly say, that hee ever yet truly converted one soule to God by his life or doctrine? Which of all our Lordly loyterers can shew mee one man that he thoroughly convetted to Christ or reduced to an holy life since he became a Prelate? (scarce one or two, I feare, of the whole paeke.) Or what men are they this day living in England who can say with comfort, that a Lord Bishop was the meanes of their true conversion? Such converts doubtlesse are so rare, that all their names, I feare, (like the good Roman Emperors) may bee ingraven in one ring; whereas the soules they have murthered and tumbled into Hell by their ill examples, unjust, ungodly, tyrannicall, atheisticall lives, supressing of preaching Lectures, godly Ministers, repetition of Sermons, private Fasts, and Christian private assemblies in all places; declamations against purity, Puritans, piety and precisenesse, making and countenancing ungodly, unworthy scandalous Ministers; stirring men up to prophane the Lords owne day by Dancing sports, &c. As wofull experience witnesseth past all deniall. O that these unprofitable Lord Prelates would consider that excellent saying of Pope Gregory the first. Pensemus ergo &c. Let us therefore diligently consider, who have ever been converted by our preaching; who being reprehended for their perverse actions, have repented upon our reprehension: who out of our instruction hath for saken his luxury; who declined his covetousnesse, who his pride? Let us consider what gaine wee have brought into God, who receiving a talent are sent by him to negociate with it. For he saith; Occupis till I come. Behold hee now commeth; behold hee requireth gaine out of our negotiation What gaine of soules shall wee shew unto him out of our negociation? How many sheaves of soules shall wee bring before his sight out of the croppe of our preaching? Let us set before our eyes that day of so great distresse, wherein the Iudge shall come and exact a strict account of those servants to whom he hath committed talents. There, shall Peter appeare with converted Iudaea, which hee hath drawne after him: There, Paul, leading, that I may so speake the converted world. There, also Andrew shall lead Achaia after him; there, Iohn Asia, Thomas India converted by them, and present them to the view of the Iudge. There all the Rammes of the Lords flocke shall appeare with the gaines of soules, who by their holy Sermons draw a converted subdued flocke after them. When therefore so many Shepheards shall come thus with their severall flockes before the presence of the eternall Shepheard, what shall wee poore wretches (what shall cur unpreaching, unprofitable Lord Prelates) say, who after our negociation returne empty to our Lord; who have the name of Pastors, and yet have no sheep at all to shew whom we have nourished and converted. Here were wee are called shepheards, and yet thus we lead no flocke at all… therefore we shall then be reputed … hireling and murtherers, not as Pastors. A speech which should make all our Lordly Prelates humble and give over their Lording, loytering and secular imployments, to fall a preaching & winne some soules to God.
11. Paul, (Christs most laborious Apostle) preached not only in the morning, but also in the evening on the Lords day, and continued his Sermon untill midnight. Acts 20. 7. Our godly devout Lord Prelates, not onelyonly give over preaching themselues on Lords day evenings, but professedly prohibit it as vnlawfull, by their printed visitation articles, suspending those that dare to preach, (though they catechize also) on the Lords day evening, that so the profane vulgar may hauehave more liberty, and spend that time in dancing and playing, which this Apostles spent in preaching. And are they not then his vndoubted Successors.
12 Finally, the Apostles had no quadrangular Ca…s for their round pates, no stately Miters for their heads, no rochets, Surplesses, Stoles, or other Pontificall disguised vestments for their backs or armes, no rings or Crosiers for their hands and fingers, no Altars for their Sacrament of the Lords Supper no Tapers, vestment Images, Crucifixes Altar clothes, Organs, or Arras hangings, Singing men, Cheristers, Prebends, Petty Canons, Canōs, Deanes or Chapters for their Cathedralls or priuate Chappells (which they wanted) no Vicars generall, Commissaries, Officialls, Registers, Purseuants, high Commissions, visitation Oathes, Articles, Orders, Injunctions, Canon lawes or Canonists for their Diocesse, no Coaches, Chariots, pamper… Palfreys, Footmen, Horsmen, Cookes, Butlers, Keepers Hunters Falkners, & traine of attendants for their pleasure, State, iournies, or hospitallity; no cringings and bowings to Altars, Tables, Crucifixes, or the name of Iesus, no standing up at Gloria Patri, Athanacius and the Nicene Creede, no kneeling at the Sacrament, no Procurations; Letters of Ordination, licenses to preach, or keepe Scholes, Probate of wills, Commissions of administration, Seales of armes, Tit'es of your Grace, your Lordship, your Holynesse, your Father hood, Primate, Patriarke, Metropolitan, Arch-bishop, most reverend Father in God &c. Alas poore silly Fishe…s and Michaniks, they neither had, nor knewe, nor euer dreamed of all these Pontificall Inuentions, ceremonies, vestements, Ornaments, Titles, which our Lord Prelates claime, enioye, enforce by diuine authority as their Successors, in which they place the very honour, luster, life and essence of their Episcopalities and Lotdlyresse; They; poore men, thought the Canon of the Scripture (as did their Master Christ) sufficient to rule and guide the Church to the end of the world Math. 28. 19, 20, Gal. 6. 16. Sufficient to make them wise to salvation, to build them up, to give them an inheritance among them that are sanctified, and to bring them safe to heaven Acts 20. 32. Gal. 6. 16. 2 Tim. 3. 15. Yea all sufficient for doctrine, reprooffe, correction, instruction inrighteounesse, that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good workes 2. Tim. 3. 16, 17. without any other Canons, Decretalls, Articles, Injunctions &c. Lord Prelates are of a quite contrary faith and judgment. They, poore silly Creatures, in their First generall Counsell at Ierusalem, would impose no Ceremonies at all upon the Gentiles, nor lay no other but these necessary things, as a burthen on them, to abstayne from fornication, and from bloud, and things strangled Acts 25. 28, 29. And Paul himselfe, without expresse Commaund from God, would not enjoyne or single vnmarried life to any, but only advise it, Yet so, as to leave every man to his owne free liberty and discretion 1. Cor. 7. 8. 9. 25. 26. 27. 28. to 40. Yea else where; Hee beates downe all humane Traditions and Constitutions as no wayes obligatory in diuine, or Ecclesiasticall matters. Col. 2. 20. 21. 22. 1. Cor. 7. 23. 1 Tim. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Gal. 1. 10. c. 2. 9. to 20. c. 3. 1. 2. c. 5. 1, 2. But our Lordly Prelates farre wiser and statelier then they, who were no Lords nor Peeres, of their severall divided heads without advise of Kings and Parliament, by their owne Lordly authorities in their owne names, can forge, prescribe enioyne, and that upon Oath and subscription, many hundred unnecessary Ceremonies, Articles and injunctions, not any where commanded by Christ; and impose them upon Ministers and people under paine of suspension, excommunication, imprisonment, deprivation, and what other penalties their royall Papall Majesties please, to inflict, enforcing Churchwardens (contrary to Gods Law, by the very Rhemists If thou bee put to an Oath to accuse … they ought to doe, or to utter any innocent man, to Gods enemies and his, thou oughtest to refuse such unlawfull Oeaths: but if thou have not constancy and courage so to doe, yet know, that such oathes binde not at all in conscience and law of God, but may and must bee broken under payne of damnation. For to take such vowes or oathes is one sinne and to keep them is another farre greater. Rhenists Notes on Acts 23. v. 12. A shrod blow to all visitation and ex officio Oathes.owne doctrine) to present the infringers of them upon Oath, (whereas they enioyne them not to present the violaters of Gods owne Ten Commandements, Or any of Christs, or his Apostles precepts (as they are such upon oath, which God himselfe never enforced to b… enquired or presented upon oath; a thing considerable) Such Gods, Popes, Kings, Tyrants, and absolute Lords are they now growne over mens consciences, soules, bodies and estates, all now made captive to their more then divine, Imperiall, Papall, pleasures; as experience every where testifieth to our griefe and payne.
Iudge now even you Lordly Prelates, and all ye people of the realme, by all the premised Parallels; wheither these great Lords and th…ir Prelacie bee of diabolicall or divine institution, wheither they are of Christ or the divell; the impes and spurious beats of the one; or Sonnes and genuine Children of the other; the successors and followers of the I…wish High Priests, or of the Apostles: Iudge, I say, of these things, not with passion or affection, but with imparciallitie and conscience; not by opinion or fancie, but by experience and truth; not with malice or prejudice eyther way, but with downe-right sincerity, as you desire CHRIST shall Iudge you at the day of Iudgement, and as your selves then shall judge. And when you have done his, then let our Lordly Prelates give up that verdict of themselves and others of them, as their soules and consciences shall sincerely dictate; And then I doubt not, but their pretended Ius diuin…m for their Lordly Hierarchie, will be a non est inuentus, and all their Lordlynesse, pompe, power, state, Pride, Canons, Articles, Oathes, Ceremonies, Titles, Innovations, Suspensions, and present fore-specified practises, cast and sentensed for ever to the pit of Hell, from which they sprung, if my poore weake Iudgment doth not misinforme me.
Iohn Rupescissa (a bold propheticall preaching Friere) told the Ro…ish Cardinals and Prelates some 300. yeares since, that they were the Peacocke whom all the birdes had enriched with their feathers, whereby shee was growne so proud, that shee would never know herselfe, till the Kings and Princes of the earth that had decked and enriched her, should come, and taking every one of them his owne feather, leaue her as bald and naked as they found her, and then as their pride & wealth was the begining of all the errors, Schismes and corruptions in religion that troubled the world, so their humiliation and fall should be the end of them. I may apply his Prophecie to our Lordly Prelates now: they are the only proud Peacockes of the world so adorned and swolne with worldly honour, power wealth, pompe, pride and greatnesse, that they will ne-ver know either God or themselves till the King & temporall Lords who have decked and enriched them with these gorgeous plumes, shall come, and taking eueryevery one of them his owne feather, leave them as bald and naked as they found them. And then as their pride, pompe, Lordlinesse, powre and worldy wealth hath beene the errors, Schismes, Innovations, corruptions in Religion that have troubled our Church and the whole world; (yea, of all the grievances, oppressions, Tallayes, and mischeifes, that have insteed our state of later yeares) so their humiliation and fall shall bee the end of them. Vp therefore o most gracious Soveraigne Lord King Charles, & all yee English Nobles, without more delayes, and unp…ume these luciferian proud Peacocks of all those royall Lordly feathers, they have unjustly stollen and usurped from you: and since they claime all of them from a divine Right and Title, (without any shadow or ground of truth, as I have been demonstrated in the preceeding Parallels, beyond all contradiction,) and will no longer enjoy or claime them as from your grace and bounty, leave them not one feather more to hide their nakednesse, but what Gods word hath clearly indowed them withall; then certainely they will be so bald and naked, that they will never play the divels, Lords or high Priests more. And that this dunghill generation of Lordly Peacockes may no more inf… either our Church or state; beseech you, follow the Counsell, that one Curghesis once gave to the King of Meth, when hee demanded of him, hom hee might destroy certaine noysome birdes then lately came into Ireland, where they did much harme to the Countrey? Nidos eorum ubique destruendos: Let their Nests bee every where destroyed, I meane, their pompous, papall unprofitab…e, unuseful Sees and Cathedralls, (now their very chaires of pestilence, the Seminaries of Popery, superstition, idolatry, pride, lasines, Nonresidency, Epicurisme and prophanesse,) or else turned to some better uses, as were our Abbies, Priories, Monasteries, Nunneries and Chauntries hertofore; else though they be cast out for a time, yet they will (as Popery now doth) creep in againe by degrees, and hatch more Lordly Peacockes, Ravens, Rookes noysome birdes, as bad, as ravenous and pernicious as themselves, to the utter subversion both of our Church and state, which now lie gasping out their last breath under their Papall pride and tiranny without some speedy rescue.
FINIS.
End of the text · William Prynne, A Looking Glass for All Lordly Prelates (1636)