Exhortation to Repentance, Dedication 3
TO THE RIGHT worſhipfull and Reuerend Iudges, Sir Iohn Sauile Knight, one of the Barons of his Maieſties Exchequer, and Sir Chriſtopher Yeluerion Knight, one of the Iudges of his Majeſties Court of Kings Bench, and Sir Edward Phillips Knight, his Maieſties Sargeant at Lawe, now or late the worthie Iudges of our Northeren Circuite, The ſpirit of wiſedome, zeale & courage be multiplied.
RIght worſhipfull, it is ſayd in other Nations, and written in ſome of their bookes, that there are three diſgraces of the Engliſh Nation: The Ignorance, or (that I may ſo call it) the vnlearned of our Gētrie & Nobilitie, the beggery of our poore, & the Baſenes of the bodie of our Miniſterie, The firſt blot, our Nobilitie and Gentrie hauehave well wiped off, ſince the firſt daies of our bleſſed Queen Elizabeth, partly by ſtudie at home, partlie by trauell abroade, and I hope they will do it more & more: The ſecond hath beene well leſſened by good lawes of late, and would hee more, if the Execution were as good as our lawes b…e, & it were much honour to our Nation, and more to our Religion, if it were quite taken away: for hee that tells vsus there ſhall bee poore euer with vsus, ſaith alſo, there ſhall not bee a begger amongſt Mat. 26. 11.vsus; If there were no poore, what ſhould become Deut. 15.of Charitie? for it is Charitie, to relieue Pouertie, not to maintaine Beggerie: Pouerty may bee a Croſſe, but it is no Curſe: but Beggerie is a fearefull curſe, threatened on the enemies of God▪ and Dauid ſaith not, hee neuer ſaw a righteous mans child poore, but that Pſalm. 109. 10.hee neuer ſaw him begge his bread. The daily cries in our ſtreetes, crie for yet further reformation Pſal. 37. 35.heereof, that the impotent poore may bee ſufficiently prouided for, that he neede not, and the Sturdie begger complied to worke, that hee may not be ſuffered to begge. Happy you, or whoſoeuer can hauehave a hand in effecting this bleſſed worke, wee who can doe little elſe, ſhall pray for it, and for them that labour in it. But now for the third, I feare none but the verie hand of God, can wipe out that ſtaine from our Church: The baſeneſſe of the generall body of our Miniſterie, whence is it, but either from the vnworthineſſe, or Pouertie thereof: and the vnworthineſſe, whence is it, but from the Pouertie, and baſe maintenance of our Miniſtry, which was once robbed by the Abbies, and after by ſome in our owne State, which was then Popiſh, and Poperie that ſtands ſo much vponupon Non dimittitur peccatum niſi reſtituatur ablatum, yet for all that, would not reſtore vntounto the Church her tenthes againe. But as popiſh Abbies ſtole them, ſo a popiſh State kept them, and to their ſhame ſome of the good Profeſſors of our Religion hauehave of late reſtored ſuch as were in their hands, and there is hope that all our Profeſſors, (vnleſſe they care not to bee accounted hypocrus) will make ſome conſcionable reſtitution We doe not craue that they would with Zacheus reſtore foure-fold (though it is apparant, that the Luke 19. &c.tenthes were got from vsus in old time, by moſt falſe and forged Cauillations) we onelyonly craue our owne, we would aske no more, nor willingly take leſſe: for our whole duetie is ſtill required: then why ſhould not our whole due be payd? And yet that the world may learne of vsus contentedneſſe, as well by our practiſe as our doctrine, we would for the preſent take in good part, & reſt contented with a part of our owne: And ſome competent portions out of the Impropriations, (proportioned to the quantitie of the charge impoſed, and the giftes and paines required) would for a time be a reaſonable ſatisfaction in our Miniſterie, vntil our ſtate found it ſelf, either better enabled or more ſtraightly tied in Conſcience to full reſtitution. But as I ſaid, this is a worke of God himſelfe, for if a man could doe it ſo many Parliaments would not hauehave ſlipt it, but ſome of them would hauehave eternized it ſelfe, with this honourable name to all posterities. The Parliament that reſtored Impropriations, but til that, or ſome other courſe (as good) bee taken▪ it is both vnſeaſonable and vnreaſonable to complaine of the Ignorant, or to craue a learned Miniſterie. For ſhal the Oxes mouth be mouſled, 1. Corinth. 9. 7. 9. 14.which treads out the corne, or ſhall a man goe to warre at his owne coſt? and hath not God ordained (marke, it is his Ordinance) that thoſe which teach the Goſpel, ſhall liue of the Goſpel? But alas, how ſhal the Miniſterie of England liue of the Gospel, when my ſmall experience can ſhew that in one Corner of one Countie of this Kingdom, wherin there are ſome 105. pariſhes, or parochial Chappels, The Eaſt-Riding of the County of Yorke.almoſt a 100. of them, (if not a full 100.) are Impropriate: and amongſt them I can ſhewe the moſt pariſhes hauehave but 10 pound or thereabouts ſome 8. li ſome 6. li. ſome …. li ſome foure pounds, ſome not 4. pounds yearly liuing for the Miniſter and thoſe impropriations worth ſome 300. li many 200. li. almoſt all 100 li. per an yea there is one worth 400 pound per an: where there were but 8 li. left for the Miniſter, vntill of late with much adoe, 10. pound more was obtained for a Preacher, and ſo there is out of 400, 8. pound ſhared for a Miniſter, and 10. pound caried for a Preacher, in that pariſh where there are 2000. Communican…s. Of all the reſt the Crowne hath ſome 100 pound rent, or not ſo much, & the remainder of 180. pound being a rich liuing, for a worthy learned Miniſter, a competent liuing for 2. and more then ſome 7 painful & able miniſters hauehave) I know not what becomes of it, vnleſſe it go to the feeding of Kits & Cormorats. Are not theſe goodly liuings for learned men? and may not wee expect a learned miniſterie, where there is ſuch maintenance? & I hartily with that other countries, be not able to ſhowe the like Preſidents. I hauehave the rather made relation hereof, that our high Court of Parliament, may ſee how great cauſe they hauehave, to go forward with that motion already by the made, for the eſtabliſhing of a learned Miniſterie. But if they bring it not to paſſe, what then remaineth, but to hope that the great God of heauen, will put into the heart of the God on earth our noble king (into whoſe hands he hath put the ſword of ſoueraigne authoritie) an irre…o…able and unreſiſtable reſolution to execute his ſupreme power, for the reformation of this euill, which as Maiſter Perkins ſaith in this treatiſe) may well be called the Kings euill, for it will hardly be healed, but by the will & power of a king. In the meane time this. Treatiſe of that worthy man, may be a motiue to our zealous profeſſors, who hauehave any impropriations in their owne hands, to excite and prouoke them to a conſcionable reſtitution, in whole or in part, as their eſtate may beare, or their, conſcience ſhall mooue them. For heerein are layd downs and mixed together, both the duties to be done by faithfull Miniſters, and the Dignities due vntounto them for their duties: and ſo ſeeing the dignities of that calling to bee moſt honourable, and the duties ſo chargeable, it cannot but grieue their christian harts to ſee the maintenance ſo miſerable.
This Treatiſe I firſt of all ſend to you, & vnderunder your names to the world, & to you firſt, for as I am ſure you loued the Author, and honoured thoſe excellent gifts of God in him, ſo you cānot but accept this after birth of his (as a fatherles child for the fathers ſake. And for my ſelf, to cō ceale al perſonal & priuat reſpects, in the name of many thouſands in the Northeren countries, I praiſe God, for the good done in thoſe parts, by your painful courſes, & religious care, not doubting, but if your ſelues, or the like bee imployed there, to aſiſt our honourable and Religie us Lord Preſident that the multitude of Popiſh Prieſtes there lurking, will bee dayly leſſened, the number of preachers augmented, Poperie put downe, and the Goſpell maintained more and more. Which bleſſing GOD graunt to that and all other Counteries of this Kingdome, for his mercies ſake: and giuegive vntounto you, & all others in your place, the ſpirit of courage and conſtancie, in theſe declining dayes, that being faithfull in your great charges, vntounto the end, you may receiue the Crowne of life: for which he hartily prayeth, who will euer rest,
VV. Craſhawe.