The White Wolf, Title page – To the reader
THE WHITE WOLFE OR, A Sermon Preached at PAVLS Croſſe, Feb. 11. being the laſt Sonday in Hillarie Tearme, Anno 1627. and printed ſomewhat more largely then the time would permit at that preſent to deliuer.
Wherein Faction is vnmasked, and iuſtly taxed without malice, for the ſafetie of weake CHRISTIANS.
Eſpecially, the Hetheringtonian Faction growne very impudent in this Citie of late yeeres, is here confuted.
By STEPHEN DENISON, Miniſter of Katherine Cree-Church, London.
1. TIM. 1. 3.
As I be ſought thee to abide ſtill at Epheſus, when I went into Macedonis, that thou mighteſt charge ſome, that they teach no other Doctrine.
HIER. aduerſ. LVCIFERIAN.
Qu…modo deſtructa ſunt Diaboli Ciuitates, & in fine, hoc eſt in ſeculorum conſummatione, idola corruerunt
AT LONDON, Printed by GEORGE MILLER, dwelling in Blacke-Fryers. 1627.
TO THE HIGH And Mighty PRINCE CHARLES, By the Grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, Defender of the FAITH, &c.
Moſt Dread Soueraigne, &c.
SEneca ſaith,Lib. 1. de Clemē t…a c. 1. nullum ex omnibus clemētia magis quam Regem aut principem decet; Clemency becomes no man better then a King or Prince, and being fully perſwaded, that this, together with all other both Princely and ſauing graces meete in your Maieſties royall breaſt, euen as the lines of a circumference meete in the center or middle point: I am encouraged to preſent this Sermon to your Princely view. I know indeed it is not with Kings as*Eidyl. 15. v. 26. Theocritus ſaith, it is with perſons without imployment, foreign which keepe eueryevery day holy day: the imployments and labours of Princes are farre greater then ordinary Subiects can conceiue: yet I hope I may ſay of your Maieſty, as*Lib. 1 c. 1. ad Thraſimund regem. Fulgentius ſaith of Thraſimund the King vntounto whom he writes, te numeroſis Regni curis iugiter occupatum, feruenti cognoſcendae ſapientiae dilectatione flammari; that howſoeuer your royall heart be much taken vp with manifold cares cōcerning the Kingdome, for the common ſafety of all your Subiects, yet it is inflamed alſo with a godly zeale after the beſt things; your Maieſty is a Defender of the true Chriſtian Faith, in which reſpect you are highly honoured and ſincerely beloued of all your true hearted and truely Religious Subiects: no doubt they dayly pray for you, they bleſſe God for you, they eſteeme you the breath of their noſtrills, and this louelove of the Subiects is to be eſteemed by Kings their ſtrongeſt Defence or Caſtell in reſpect of ordinarie meanes; as*In Orat. ad Nicocl. de regno. Iſocrates ſaith to Nicocles the King, in his Greeke Oration made before him, foreign: i. e. thinke the louelove of the Citizens the ſafeſt guard of thy perſon: & indeede ſo it is vnderunder God. There hath bin diſcouered of late vntounto your Maieſties high Commiſſion-Court, a dangerous familiſticall ſectarie, one Iohn Hetherington, by trade a Boxmaker, who hath ſeduced and withdrawne many as well men as women from the Church of England, in the famous Citie of London, by his ſubtile ſuggeſtions, as hath bin proued againſt him. I cannot more fitly deſcribe him then by the words of my Text; Lupus eſt ouili pelle tectus: hee is a Woolfe in a Sheepes-skinne: for outwardly if he liue amongſt Proteſtants, hee will ſeeme to be a Proteſtant, if a bare profeſſion ore tenus, will ſerue the turne, whilſt in the meane time hee may gird at them in his writings, and condemne them as adulterous Congregations in his Conuenticles or otherwiſe. Secondly, hee will ſeeme to be a conformable man to the Doctrine of the Church, if ſubtile equiuocations and cunning euaſions will paſſe for conformitie. Thirdly, hee will ſeeme an innocēt perſon, if impudent denials or caſting of aſperſions vponupon honeſt witneſſes will goe for innocency. And in this, that honourable quickſighted and Eagle-eyed Court deſerueth great encouragement; in that, when they had to deale with one that would deny almoſt all that was laid to his charge, yet they diſcerned aright of him, and accordingly cenſured him; and thus the Greeke Prouerbe is verified foreign. The Woolfe thinkes to run from the Eagle, and ſo to eſcape, but all in vaine: and amongſt thoſe worthy and learned Commiſſioners, he that is the chiefe, optimo iure primas agit: whoſe acumen, whoſe ſoundneſſe in the faith, whoſe ſingular grauity, whoſe happy ſpeech, whoſe excellent parts eueryevery way are the very grace of that venerable Court: it may be ſaid of him as*Orat. 30. in laudem Baſil. Gregorie Nazianzen ſaith of S. Baſil Archbiſhop of Caeſarea (whom he ſtiles foreign) that he is like vntounto Noah, vntounto whom the Arke of the Church is committed, and ſo kept from drowning, whiles it floats in the turbulent waters amongſt Haereticks. And whiles I am ſpeaking of Eccleſiaſticall worthies, very dutie will not ſuffer me to be vnmindfull of him, vnderunder whom the Miniſters of London liue as children vnderunder the care of an indulgent Father: his great humility will not ſuffer him to Lord it ouer the Clergie, nor his peaceable diſpoſition to yrannize: it may be ſaid of him as*Lib. 4. epiſt. 9 Saint Cyprian Biſhop of Carthage ſaith of himſelfe in one of his Epiſtles; Humilitatem meam & fratres omnes & gentiles norunt & diligunt. I finde that I hauehave ſtirred vp to wrath againſt my ſelfe the moſt part of all the factions in England by this publike Sermon, which I made in the defence of Gods eternall truth, in louelove to my Country, and in compaſſion of weake brethren which are in the moſt danger of ſeduction. I remember Saint Paul ſaith, that he had fought with beaſts at Epheſus, after the manner of men, and in like ſort it befalleth vntounto mee at this time: I hauehave to deale with young Foxes which ſpoyle the Vine of the Church, and with Wolues, which ſeeke to ſtrangle the Sheep of Chriſt: but what then? ſo long as I ſtand for that truth, whereof your excellent Maieſtie is a defender, I doe not doubt of acceptation, and if my poore endeauours ſhall be ſo happy as to finde acceptation with your ſacred perſon as they hauehave found in the learned Court before your Maieſties Commiſſioners, and in the audience where the Sermon was preached, euen this acceptation greater then all the reſt, ſhall be all-ſufficient to blunt the edge of all the power of the aduerſary, and to ſecure the Author from wrong and violence; yea, it ſhall no doubt encourage many able men in the Kingdome to take paines in the ſuppreſſing of faction, both by preaching and writing, ſo farre as ſhall be thought fit by authoritie. Thus crauing pardon for my boldneſſe, I beſeech almighty God to bleſſe your Maieſty with long life, & many happy dayes, with abundance of all gifts and graces in this world, and with eternall glory in that which is to come.
Your Maieſties moſt humble ſubiect, STEPHEN DENISON, Miniſter of Cree-Church, London.
To the Chriſtian Reader.
THou which haſt a tender conſcience, and deſireſt nothing ſo much as to know the right way to heauen, hauing alſo many doubts, which cauſe thee to runne vp and downe, ſometimes to the publike Congregations, and other ſometimes to priuate Conuenticles, for reſolution. I hauehave for thy ſake and ſafety vndertaken this paines; whereby I hauehave incenſed many factious perſons againſt my ſelfe, expoſed my good name to the obloquie of a thouſand bad tongues, and made ſomewhat to bold with my owne Flocke whilst I was painefully imployed in this more laborious worke, which concernes a more generall and publike good I hauehave had no helpe in this ſeruice, ſaue onelyonly the good Aſſiſtance of Authority, for the which I hope I ſhall praiſe God as long as I liue, and the teſtimonies of honeſt witneſſes. For howſoeuer there were many which diſliked the Hetheringtonian Faction, abhorred their opinions, complained of them to Ministers in ſecret, and murmured againſt them which ſhould ſee theſe things reformed, yet for any that would lend their helping hand to ſet forward this matter of ſo great importance for the common ſafety of the Church: I found none, vnleſſe it were according to the Latine Prouerbe poſt bellum ſuppetiae. I met alſo with many diſcouragements, ſome in their ignorance would be ready to ſay, that though this faction held ſome abſurd points, yet that they held nothing againſt the foundation; not vnderſtanding how they vndermine Religion at the very roote of it: for grant vntounto them this, that our Church is no true Church of Christ, that our Miniſters are no true Miniſters of the Goſpell, that our beſt Profeſſors are Phariſees, page missing
The WOOLFE in a Sheepes Skinne.