Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 12 · Account 124
❧A briefe declaration, shewing the vnprosperous successe of Queene Mary in persecuting Gods people, and how mightily God wrought agaynst her in all her affayres.
NOw, for so much as Queene Mary, during all the time of her reigne, was suche a vehement Aduersary and Persecutour agaynst the sincere Professours of Christ Iesus and his Gospell:The raygne … Queene …ary now … it was … to her r…lme to her … in al … for the which there be many which do highly magnify & approue her doinges therein, reputing her Religion to be founde and Catholicke, and her proceedinges to be most acceptable and blessed of almighty God: to the intēt therfore: that all men may vnderstande, howe the blessing of the Lorde God did not onelyonly not proceed with her proceedings, but cōtrary, rather how his manifest displesure euer wrought agaynst her, in plaguing both her and her Realme, and in subuerting all her counselles and attemptes, whatsoeuer she tooke in hand: we will bestow a litle time therein, to perpend and suruey the whole course of her doinges and …heuaunces: and cōsider what successe she had in the same. Which being well considered, we shall finde neuer no reigne of any Prince in this Land, or any other, whiche had euer to shew in it (for the proportion of time) so many arguments of Gods great wrath & displesure, as was to be sene in the reigne of this Queene Mary, whether we behold the shortnes of her time,Q Mary … had … any … about. or the vnfortunate euent of all her purposes? who seemed neuer to purpose any thing that came luckely to passe, neither did any thing frame to her purpose what so euer she tooke in hande touching her owne priuate affayres.
Of good kinges we read in the Scripture, in shewing mercy and pity,… in seeking Gods will in his word, & subuerting the monumentes of Idolatry, howe God blessed theyr wayes encreased theyr honours, and mightely prospered all their proceedinges: as we see in king Dauid, Salomon, Iosias, Iosaphath, Ezechias, with such other. Manasses made the streetes of Hierusalem to swimme with the bloud of his subiects▪ but what came of it the text doth testify.
Of Queene Elizabeth, whiche nowe raigneth among vsus, this we must needes say, which we see, that she in sparing the bloud, not onelyonly of Gods seruauntes,Comparison betweene the raigne of Q. Mary and Queene Elizabeth. but also of Gods enemies, hath doubled now the raygne of Queene Mary her sister, with such aboundance of peace and prosperitie, that it is hard to say, whether the realme of England felt more of Gods wrath in Queene Maryes tyme, or of Gods fauour and mercy in these so blessed & peaceable dayes of Queene Elizabeth.
Gamaliell speaking his minde in the Counsaile of the Phariseis concerning Christes religion, gaue this reason,Gamaliels reason. Actes. 5. that if it were of God, it should continue, who soeuer sayd nay: If it were not, it could not stand. So may it be sayde of Q. Mary and her romishe Religion, that if it were so perfect and Catholicke as they pretend, and the contrarye fayth of the Gospellers were so detestable and hereticall as they make it, how commeth it then, that this so Catholicke a Queene, suche a necessarye piller of his spouse hys Church, continued no longer, till shee had vtterly rooted out of the land this hereticall generation? Yea how chanced it rather, y• almightye God, to spare these poore heretickes, rooted out Q. Mary so soone from her throne, after she had reigned but onelyonly v. yeares and v. monthes?
Now furthermore, howe God blessed her wayes and endeuours in the meane tyme,Q. Mary prospered so long as she went not against the Lord. while shee thus persecuted the true seruauntes of God, remayneth to bee discussed. Where first this is to be noted, that when shee first began to stand for the title of the Crowne, and yet had wrought no resistance agaynst Christ and his Gospell, but had promised her fayth to the Suffolke men,Q. Maryes promise to the Gospellers broken. to mayntayn the religion left by king Edward her brother, so long GOD went with her, aduaunced her, and by the meanes of the Gospellers brought her to the possession of the Realme. But after that she breaking her promise with God & man began to take part with Steuen Gardiner, and had geuē ouer her supremacie vntounto the pope, by and by Gods blessing left her, neyther did any thing wel thriue with her afterward during the whole time of her Regiment.
For first incontinently the fayrest and greatest ship she had, called great Harry, was burned:The ship called the great Harry burned. suche a vessell as in all these partes of Europe was not to be matched.
Then would she needes bring in king Philip, and by her straunge maryage with him,Q. Maryes maryage with a straunger. Q Mary disappoynted of her purpose in Crowning king Phillip. Q. Mary stopped of her will in restoring Abbey landes, make the whole realme of England subiect vntounto a straunger. And all yt notwtstanding, either that she did or was able to doe, she coulde not bring to passe to set ye crowne of England vponupon hys head. With king Phillip also came in the Pope and his popishe Masse: wt whom also her purpose was to restore agayn ye Monkes and Nunnes vntounto theyr places, neyther lacked there all kind of attemptes to the vttermost of her ability: & yet therin also God stopt her of her wil, that it came not forward. After this, what a dearth happened in her tyme here in her land? the like whereof hath not lightly in England bene seene, in so much that in sundry places her poore subiects were fayne to feed of accornes for want of Corne.
Furthermore, where other kinges are wont to bee renowmed by some worthy victory and prowes by them achieued,The victory of K. Edward. 6. in Scotland. let vsus now see what valiaunt victory was go…en in this Queene Maryes dayes. King Edward the vi. her blessed brother, how many rebellions did hee suppresse in Deuonshyre, in Northfolke, in Oxfordshyre, & els where?The ill lucke of Q. Mary in losing of Calice. what a famous victorye in hys time was gotten in Scotlād, by ye singular working (no doubt) of Gods blessed had rather then by any expectation of man? K. Edw. the thyrd (which was the xi. K. frō ye conquest) by princely puissance purchased Calice vntounto Englād,The 11. king of the Conquest got Calice, and the 11. agayne after him lost it which hath bene kept english euer since, til at length came Quene Mary, ye xi. likewise from the sayd K. Edward, which lost Calice frō England agayne: so that the winninges of this Queene wer very small: what the losses were, let other men iudge.
Hetherto the affayres of Queene Mary hauehave had no great good successe, as you hauehave heard.The ill lucke of Queene Mary in her childebyrth. But neuer worse successe had any woman, thē had she in her childbyrth. For seing one of these two must needes be granted, that either she was with child or not with child, if she were wt child & did trauaile, why was it not seene? if shee were not, howe was al the realm deluded? And in the meane while where were all the praiers, ye solemne processions, ye deuout masses of the Catholicke Clergy? why did they not preuayle with God, if theyr Religion were so godly as they pretēd? If theyr Masses Ex opere operato be able to fetche Christe from heauen, and to reach down to Purgatory, how chā ced then they could not reach to the Queenes chamber, to helpe her in her trauayle, if she had ben with child in deed? if not, howe then came it to passe, that all the Catholicke Church of England did so erre, & was so deeply deceiued? Queene Mary, after these manifold plagues and correctiōs, which might sufficiētly admonish her of Gods disfauour prouoked agaynst her, would not yet cease her persecution, but stil continued more and more to reuenge her Catholicke zeale vponupon the Lordes faithfull people, setting f…e to theyr poore bodyes by dosens and halfedosens together. Wherevpon Gods wrathfull indignation increasing more and more agaynst her, ceased not to touche her more neare with priuate misfortunes and calamities. For after that he had taken from her the fruit of children (whiche chiefly and aboue all thinges she desired) then he bereft her of that,Q Mary left desolate of king Phillip her husband. which of all earthly thinges should hauehave bene her chiefe stay of honor, and staffe of comfort, that is, withdrew from her the affectiō and company euen of her owne husband, by whose mariage she had promised before to her selfe whole heapes of such ioy & felicity: but now the omnipotent gouernour of all thinges so turned the wheele of her owne spinning agaynst her, that her high buildinges of such ioyes & felicities, came all to a Castle come downe, her hopes being confounded, her purposes disappointed, and she now brought to desolation: who semed neither to hauehave the sauour of God, nor the harts of her subiectes, nor yet the louelove of her husband:The ill lucke of Q Mary with her husband. who neither had fruite by him while she had him, neither could now enioy him whō she had maryed, neither yet was in liberty to mary any other whom she might enioy. Marke here (Christian Reader) the wofull aduersity of this Queene, and learne withall, what the Lord can do when mans wilfulnes will needes resist him, and will not be ruled.
At last, when all these fayre admonitions would take no place with the Queene, nor moue her to reuoke her bloudy lawes,The finall ende and death of Q. Mary. nor to stay the tyranny of her Priestes, nor yet to spare her owne Subiectes, but that the poore seruauntes of God were drawne dayly by heapes most pitifully as sheepe to the slaughter, it so pleased the heauenly Maiesty of almighty God, when no other remedy would serue, by death to cut her of, which in her life so litle regarded the life of others: geuing her throne, which she abused to the destruction of Christes Church and people, to an other who more tēperatly and quietly could guid the same, after she had reigned here the space of fiue yeares and fiue monethes.Q. Mary raygne… 5. yeares & 5. monethes▪ The shortnes of Queene Maryes raigne noted. The shortnes of which yeares and reigne, vnneth we finde in any other story of King or Queene since the Conquest or before (being come to theyr own gouernment) saue onelyonly in king Richard the thyrd.
And thus much here, as in the closing vp of this story, I thought to insinuate, touching the vnlucky and ruefull r…ign of queene Mary: not for any detraction to her place and state royall,An admonition … Christian rulers. wherunto she was called of the Lord, but to this onelyonly intēt and effect, that forsomuch as she would needes set her selfe so confidently to woorke and striue agaynst the Lord and his proceedings, all readers & rulers not only may see how ye Lord did work agaynst her therfore, but also by her may be aduertised & learn what a perillous thing it is for men and women in authority, vponupon blind zeale & opinion, to styrre vp persecution in Christes Church, to the effusion of Christian bloud, least it proue in the end with them (as it did here) that while they think to persecu…e hereticks, they stumble at the same stone as dyd the Iewes in persecuting Christ and his true members to death, to theyr owne confusion and destruction.