A Reply to an Answer Made by Doctor Whitgift, Reply · Part 9
To that in the. 34. and. 35. page.
VVHere in effect doe they ſay / that the church of Englande is boide of preaching and miniſtring of the ſacraments? is it all one to ſay / that the word in the church of England is not purely preached / and the ſacraments ſincerely / and diſcipline ſeuerely adminiſtred / wyth this / that the churche of England is voyde of all theſe? Againe / where do they reaſon thus / that the worde of God is not truely preached / becauſe the miniſters are not rightly proued & elected when as they hauehave not one worde of true preaching? is it all one to ſay it is not purely preached / & to ſay it is not truely preached? S. Paul is glad that the goſpel Phil. 1. 16. 18.be preached / although it be not purely / but he wold neuer hauehave bene glad / y• it ſhuld hauehave ben preached falſly or not truly. Again / he inueyeth not againſt ye falſe Apoſtles in the church of Corinth / becauſe they preached the word vntruely / but becauſe they vſing paynted wordes and affected eloquence / and making a great ſhew of learning and tounges / dyd not preache the Goſpell ſincerely. So that you ſee that it is one thing not to preache truely / and an other not to preache purely: and you ſee their reaſon is not ſo euill: for the want of a good calling / may geue occaſion to ſay / that the word of God is not ſincerely taught / becauſe there is not a lawful and ordynary calling. For although for the ſubſtance of doctryne / and the manner of handling of it / they that S. Paul ſpeaketh of to the Phillip. dyd no fault / yet S. Paul ſayth that they dyd not preach purely / becauſe they dyd it of contention or of eniue / which was no fault in the doctryne / but in hym that taught. Therefore let men iudge how iuſt your waights are / that expounde not purely / not truely: and whether thys be to confute other mens arguments / rather then to ſkirmiſhe wyth your owne ſhadowes.
I know no papiſtes reaſon thus / that becauſe we hauehave no miniſters / therfore no word / no ſacraments / no diſciplyne / no church. For they deny we hauehave the word or ſacramēts / becauſe we hold not theyr word & ſacrifice / but if there be that ſo reaſon / yet theſe men that you charge / hauehave neyther any ſuch antecedent or ſuch a conſequent: for they neuer ſayde that there is no miniſterie in Englande / nor yet do euer conclude / that there is no worde / no ſacraments / no dyſciplyne / nor church. For in ſaying that the face of the church doth not ſo much appeare (for ſo the whole proces of their booke doth declare that they meane / when they ſay that we hauehave not ſcarſe the face of the church) they graunt / that we hauehave the church of God: but that for want of thoſe ornaments / which it ſhuld hauehave / and through certayne the deformed ragges of poperie which it ſhould not hauehave / the churche doth not appeare in her natiue colours / and ſo beautifull / as it is meete ſhe ſhould be prepared to ſo glorious a huſband as is the ſonne of God. Say you certaynly? and doe you beleue / that the authors of thys booke are conſpired wyth the papyſtes to ouerthrow thys church and realme? Now certaynly I will neuer doe that iniury vntounto them / as once to go about to purge them of ſo manifeſt ſlaunders / nor neuer be brought by the outrage of your ſpeaches / to proue that noone day is not mydnight. And therfore as for you / I will ſet your conſcience and you together: The reader I will deſire not to thinke it a ſtrange thing: For it is no other / then hath happened to the ſeruaunts of God euen from thoſe which hauehave profeſſed the ſame relygion / which they dyd / as it appeareth in Ieremy / whiche 37. Cha. 12. 13was accuſed of certayne of the Iſraelites / that he had conſpyred with the Babylonyans their mortall ennemyes / and layde to hys charge / that he was going to them when he was going to Beniamin.