Three Sermons, Title page – Dedication
Three Sermons preache… at the Collegiate Church in MANCHESTER.
The firſt, on Pſal. 122. ver. 6. Iuly 8. 1640. the publike Faſt day: Shewing the miſery of Warre, with our feares and hopes and meanes of Prevention.
The ſecond, on 2 Theſ. 2.15. November 5. 1638. Diſcovering the Man of ſinne, with his deluſions, abominations and deſolations.
The third, on Geneſis 49. ver. 5.6, 7. November 5. 1639. Laying open the Perjuries, Treacheries, Treaſons, the Murthers, Maſſacres, Cruelties, of Rome-Chriſtian.
By Richard Heyricke, VVarden of the ſaid COLLEDGE.
LONDON, Printed by T. B. for L. Fawne, and are to be ſold at the ſigne of the Parat, in Pauls Church-Yard 1641.
TO THE RIGHT Honourable, the Knights, Citizens and Burgeſſes of the Commons Houſe of Parliament, now ASSEMBLED.
VEſpatian the Emperor, ſent to ELVIDIUS PRISCUS, a Senator of ROME, charging him not to appeare in the Senate; If hee did to ſpeake no otherwiſe then what he would have him, to whom he returnd; As a Senator, it was fit he ſhould be there, and being there, hee would freely ſpeak his conſcience; The Emperor replyed, if he did, he ſhould dye for it: He anſwered, hee never ſaid he was immortall; doe what you will, J will doe what J ought. Jt is in your power unjustly to put mee to death: It is in my power to dye conſtantly.
It is your Royall priviledge, Your perſons are under his Majeſties ſacred protection, your liberty of ſpeaking, granted to be without interruption, Awake, Pſal. 108 1.your glory, doe yee your ſelves awake right early; Let your hearts be fixed, fixed in the Lord, as the Poles of Heaven, and the center of the earth, Let Righteouſneſſe, bee your Parliament Robes, let Iudgment be your Crown and Diadem, Iob 29.14.let cauſes at your great Tribunall hee heard to ſpeake, not perſons; That the bleſſing of three periſhing Kingdomes may come upon you.
I was but lately Remov'd into theſe parts, and one of ſpeciall note forewarnd me, I ſhould be Crucified, as CHRIST was betwixt two Theeves; The Papiſt, the Puritan. The Papiſt, like the Rayling and Blaſpheming Theefe, ſoone diſcovered himſelfe. They ſwarme, and are terrible, the ſhew of their countenance witneſſeth againſt them;Pſal. 91.6. Like deſtruction, they ſhew themſelves at Noone-Day: The Puritan (if it bee not onelyonly a name, without an exiſtence) is worthy your wiſdome, to tell us who he is; It may be, for feare of crucifying, with the good Theefe he is ſtollen into Paradiſe; the name is of Vaſt, and amongſt many of Odious ſignification: Papiſts doe charge the Church of England with the hereſie of Puritaniſme: King Iames, by Bellarmine, metamorphoſed into his Chaplaine, was ſaid to bee a Puritan; The Engliſh Parliament is called a Puritanicall Parliament. The Vniverſity of Oxford, the ſtrength of Puritaniſme. Briſtow ſpeakes out. All Proteſtants in ENGLAND are Puritans, Proteſtants at large, ſuch as are Ambitious of the credit, not of the truth of their holy profeſsion; Heathens in lives, Christians in faith; They reproach civill morall Jnfidels with that name: They Phariſaicall Profeſſors; They powerfull CHRISTIANS.
Yea, of late I have alſo heard them much branded with the name, that would not yeeld up their Soules, and their Conſciences, to the Chaire of Biſhops, with their eſtates, Liberties, and Lives, to the will of their Superiors. The name is very large and very reproachfull: A Biſhop affirm'd he could as eaſily fetch one off from the guilt of Felony, as from the imputation of Puritaniſme; My humble motion is, make us all Puritans, or to leave no Puritan amongſt us.
There are wals of partition, (when thoſe that were of GODS Inſtitution, became enmity, Eph. 2.14. CHRIST layd them as flat, as the Walls of Iericho, with Iericho's curſe upon them.) Bee pleaſed to batter down theſe Wals, lay the Canons in the face of them, and JERƲ SALEMS curſe upon them; Let not one ſtone be left upon another: At the first of the Reformation they were, though not neceſſary, yet, lawfull, our Reformers were modeſt and moderate; They would not unneceſſarily offend the weake Romanist, GOD had a People amongst them, the waters of BABYLON were ebbing: But now ſince the Sea of ROME, like the waters of JORDAN, begin to ſwell, and overflow the Bankes, ſince the great River TIBER flowes apace, ſince the Papiſts are emboldned, and hardned in their Idolatrie and Superſtition, ſince the ſtrong, as well as the weake Proteſtant, are grieved and vexed with them, and there are indeed too many falſe Apoſtles, that earnestly contend for them, and with a ſtrong and mightie hand obtrude them upon us. Take unto your ſelves the Zeale of Our LORD and SAVIOUR; The Evangeliſt records, hee twice purged the Temple: The multitude of offenders, the might and malice of the obſervers, the danger of the action, nor the perill of the conſequence ſtaies his hand. The King of Scythia ſlew Anacharſis the Philoſopher, for the worſhipping the mother of the GODS, after the Athenian manner; If the Plague of Leproſie could not bee clenſed, by taking away a few ſtones out of the houſe, but the Leproſie would returne againe, then the houſe, the Timber,Lev. 14.43, 45. the Morter must down: when Ceremonies become ſcandalous, they are to be aboliſhed.
Theſe Sermons ſute well with two of the greatest workes, the Kingdome expects from you; They breath enmitie to Rome, Peace amongſt our ſelves, Preached when the times ranne Counter to both; The man of ſinne of late yeares hath reviv'd amongſt us, (it may bee a lightening before death,) Popery hath multiplyed abundantly. In Lancaſhire it hath ſuperabounded above an Hyperbole: The Maſſe hath outfaced our Chriſtian meetings, Ieſuites have jeered our Miniſters, confronted and abuſed authoritie.
MANCHESTER, the Goſhen (accounted) in this Egypt, is of late yeares, darkned with the blackneſſe of it, ſome of our prime men in dignitie, authority, power, have revolted to them; Their example commands many, Great men have their followers, of their Vices, as of their perſons, and when they pleaſe to bee Idolatrous, their children, ſervants, tenants, their poore kinred, and Jdolizing Neighbours, will to the Maſſe with them. One ſpeciall cauſe of this encreaſe of Popery, is the vaſtneſſe, and the greatneſſe of many Pariſhes, prefer'd to the truſt of ſuch, that adde Church unto Church, themſelves reſiding at neither, or if they are with their people, they are non reſident in the midſt of them, yea too often when they are in the Pulpit; Theſe Mother-Churches have many daughters, ſeaven, eight, nine CHAPPELS, ſubject to them, to which belongs no certaine, or no competent maintenance; Hence ignorance and prophaneneſse, deſolate places, full of dolefull Creatures, Ziim and Ochim: Iſa. 13.21King Iames in his piety and wiſdom, appointed 4. Lancaſhire Preachers, to perfect his work: Let every Golden Candleſtick have his Lamp burning and ſhining in it: devils could not ſtand before the Goſpell; therefore Popery ſhall be conſumed by it.2 Theſ. 2.8.
J had ſerved in theſe parts, the ſame time that PAUL did at Athens, and my ſpirit was troubled to heare and ſee, the ſuperſtition; Hence, I ventred (with danger enough) to preach theſe Sermons; may they ſtrengthen your hands in that great worke you are about;Ezra 6.14. Jt would be the glory of this latter age, could there ſuch a ſheete be let downe to the Church,Acts 10.11. as there was in viſion to Peter, that the difference of cleane and uncleane may be taken away, ſuch a golden Scepter reach'd out that all may be ſubdued unto it, and embrace it; O what an honour would it be to the preſent, and a bleſsing to the future age, that a conſent of Doctrine and diſcipline might be confirmed by you, that we that profeſse one Lord, one Faith, one Baptiſme, one GOD and Father of all under one King, may be one Church; That a Trinity of Kingdomes, may be a Church in Ʋnity. Pardon my preſumption if my zeale for the publicke peace, points at the meanes; A Royall Convocation, rightly conſtituted unto which all the Kingdomes may ſend their Clarks would facilitate the buſineſſe, (It would adde much to the glory of it, and be a Crowne unto his Crowne who accounts it the moſt glorious in all his Crowne to be worthy of that Title, Defender of the Faith, if from all the reformed CHƲRCHES, ſome may be invited, if not to vote, yet at leaſt to aſſiſt.
The reaſon wherefore Generall, Nationall, Provinciall Councells, have in this last Century beene ſo fatall, and therefore by ſome of ſingular eminency beene diſclaimed, as a meete meanes for the ſettling of peace, is becauſe the greateſt part have their ſtanding Votes, who will ever maintaine a ſtrong partie for themſelves; Is it equall that Arch-Biſhops, Biſhops, Deanes, Arch-Deacons, Chapter men, ſhould of courſe, and by reaſon of their dignities have their places & their ſuffrages, when but two Clerks are elected by the choiſe of the Clergie; May the Election of the Clarks for the Convocation be as free as yours for the Parliament, and in ſome proportion unto it, J doubt not but we ſhould be as happy in our Canons, as we are in your Statutes.
There hath been ſtrange batteries made upon our Religion, the thirty nine Articles are challenged by the Harlot, Papiſts and Arminians claime them as theirs, the Booke of Homilies are diſclaimed, unheard of violation hath bin offered to the ſecond, to the fourth Commandements, Preaching is cryed downe, Preachers diſcountenanced. The Sacraments have beene defiled, the people of the Lord have beene made to abhorre the offering of the Lord, Preſse and Pulpit have vomited forth corrupt and undigested matters. Auguſtus made a Bonefire of all ſuch bookes, that corrupted the Roman Ethnick Religion, it would be your wiſdome to make a diligent ſearch for all Apocryphall books, Hereticall, Popiſh, Semi-pelagian Pamphlets, ſlanderous Libels, and impertinent writings, and to ſacrifice them to Vulcan. We pray for great things to be done by you, we have open our mouthes wide to the Lord we have heard of great things of you:Pſ. 81.10 the Lord proſper you to an happy, and bleſſed concluſion, for a glorious reformation of Church and Common-Wealth; The Counſellor, The mightie God, the everlaſting Father, the Prince of peace, he upon whoſe ſhoulder the government lyes; Iſa. 9.6, 7increaſe your government and peace, order you and ſtabliſh you with judgment, and juſtice, henceforth for ever: the Zeale of the Lord of HOSTS, performe this.
Your Honours in all ſincerity ſervice and dutie, Richard Heyricke.