The Pope's usurped Supremacy.

22, 23.

18.

605 of the covenant of salt, which is the Scripture. For the children in our streets do now laugh them to scorn, when they force, "Thou art Peter," to this purpose. The pope hath no more reason to draw the charter of his universal authority from hence, than the brethren had to gather by the words of Christ in the last of St. John, that the disciple which Jesus loved should not die. "If I will that he tarry till I come, John xxi. what is that to thee?" saith Christ. "Straightways a report was raised amongst the brethren, that this disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Christ hath said in the sixteenth of St. Matthew's Gospel to Simon the son of Jonas, "I say to thee, Thou art Peter." Hence an Matt. xvi. opinion is held in the world, that the pope is universal head of all churches. Yet Jesus said not, The pope is universal head of all churches; but, "Tu es Petrus," Thou art Peter. Howbeit, as Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon, rose up and rebelled against his lord, and there were gathered unto him vain men and wicked, which made themselves strong against Roboam, the son of Solomon, because Roboam was but a child, and tender-hearted, and could not resist them; so the son of perdition and man of sin, (being not able to brook the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which forbade his disciples to be like princes of nations, "They bear rule that Luke xxii. are called gracious, it shall not be so with you,") hath risen up and rebelled against his Lord: and, to strengthen his arm, he hath crept into the houses almost of all the noblest families round about him, and taken their children from the cradle to be his cardinals; he hath fawned upon the kings and princes of the earth, and by spiritual cozenage hath made them sell their lawful authority and jurisdiction for titles of Catholicus, Christianissimus, Defensor Fidei, and such like; he hath proclaimed sale of pardons to inveigle the ignorant; built seminaries to allure young men desirous of learning; erected stews to gather the dissolute unto him. This is the rock whereupon his church is built. Hereby the man is grown huge and strong, like the cedars which are not shaken with the wind, because

a Conc. delect. Card. Laud. Surius Com. de reb. gest. a Pio V. Francisc. Sansovin, de gubern. Rerum pub. 1. xi. cap. de Jud. Marescal. et Sold.

606 The Pope cometh as Jeroboam against Judah.

princes have been as children, over-tender-hearted, and could not resist.

Hereby it is come to pass, as you see this day, that the man of sin doth war against us, and not by men of a language which we cannot understand, but he cometh as Jeroboam against Judah, and bringeth the fruit of our own bodies to eat us up, that the bowels of the child may be made the mother's grave; and hath caused no small number of our brethren to forsake their native country, and with all disloyalty to cast off the yoke of their allegiance to our dread sovereign, whom God in mercy hath set over them; for whose safeguard, if they carried not the hearts of tigers in the bosoms of men, they would think the dearest blood in their bodies well spent. But now, saith Abiah to Jeroboam, Ye think ye be able to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of the sons of David. Ye be a great multitude, the golden calves are with you, which Jeroboam made you for gods: have ye not driven away the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests like the people of nations? whosoever cometh with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. If I should follow the comparison, and here uncover the cup of those deadly and ugly abominations, wherewith this Jeroboam, of whom we speak, hath made the earth so drunk that it hath reeled under us, I know your godly hearts would loath to see them. For my own part, I delight not to rake in such filth, I had rather take a garment upon my shoulders, and go with my face from them to cover them. The Lord open their eyes, and cause them, if it be possible, at the length to see how they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Put it, O Lord, in their hearts to seek white raiment, and to cover themselves, that their filthy nakedness may no longer appear. For, beloved in Christ, we bow our knees, and lift up our hands to heaven in our chambers secretly, and openly in our churches we pray heartily and hourly, even for them also though the pope hath given out, as a judge, in a solemn declaratory sentence of excommunication against this land, that our gracious lady hath quite abolished prayer within her realm; and his scholars, whom he hath taken from the midst of us, have in their published writings charged us, not

Concluding Appeal against the Papists.

607

only not to have any holy assemblies unto the Lord for prayer, but to hold a common school of sin and flattery; to hold sacrilege to be God's service; unfaithfulness, and breach of promise to God, to give it to a strumpet, to be a virtue; to abandon fasting; to abhor confession; to mislike with penance; to like well of usury; to charge none with restitution; to find no good before God in single life, nor in no well-working; that all men, as they fall to us, are much worse, and more than afore, corrupted. I do not add one word or syllable unto that which Mr. Bristow, a man both born and sworn amongst us, hath taught his hand to deliver to the view of all. I appeal to the conscience of every soul, that hath been truly converted by us, whether his heart were never raised up to God by our preaching; whether the words of our exhortation never wrung any tear of a penitent heart from his eyes; whether his soul never reaped any joy and comfort, any consolation in Christ Jesus by our sacraments, and prayers, and psalms, and thanksgiving; whether he were never bettered, but always worse by us.

O merciful God! if heaven and earth in this case do not witness with us, and against them, let us be razed out from the land of the living! Let the earth on which we stand, swallow us quick, as it hath done Corah, Dathan, and Abiram! But if we belong unto the Lord our God, and have not for- 2 Chron. xiii. 10, 11. saken him; if our priests, the sons of Aaron, minister unto the Lord, and the Levites in their office; if we offer unto the Lord every morning and every evening the burnt-offerings and sweet incense of prayers and thanksgiving; if the bread be set in order upon the pure table, and the candlestick of gold, with the lamps thereof, burn every morning; that is to say, if amongst us God's blessed sacraments be duly administered, his holy word sincerely and daily preached; if we keep the watch of the Lord our God, and if ye have forsaken him: then doubt ye not, this God is with us as a captain, his priests with sounding trumpets must cry alarm against you; "O ye children of Ver. 12. Israel, fight not against the Lord God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper."

SERMON II.

[Psal. cv.

15. Rev. vii. 3.]

JUDE 17-21.

But ye, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how that they told you, that there should be mockers in the last time, which should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These are makers of sects, fleshly, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, edify yourselves гп your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. And keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto eternal life.

I. HAVING Otherwhere spoken of the words of St. Jude, going next before, concerning mockers which should come in the last time, and backsliders which even then should fall away from the faith of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; I am now, by the aid of Almighty God, and through the assistance of his good Spirit, to lay before you the words of exhortation which I have read.

II. Wherein, first of all, whosoever hath an eye to see let him open it, and he shall well perceive how careful the Lord is for his children, how desirous to see them profit and grow up to a manly stature in Christ, how loth to have them any way misled either by the examples of the wicked, or by enticements of the world, and by provocation of the flesh, or by any other means forcible to deceive them, and likely to estrange their hearts from God. For God is not at that point with us, that he careth not whether we sink or swim. No, he hath written our names in the palm of his hand, in the signet upon his finger are we graven; in sentences not only of mercy, but of judgment also, we are remembered; he never denounceth judgments against the wicked, but he maketh some proviso for his children, as it were for some certain privileged persons; "Touch not mine anointed, do my prophets no harm: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads." He never speaketh of godless men, but he adjoineth words of comfort, or admonition,

or exhortation, whereby we are moved to rest and settle our hearts on him. In the second to Timothy, the third chapter, "Evil men (saith the Apostle) and deceivers, shall wax worse [Ver. 13, 14.] and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned." And in the first to Timothy, the sixth chapter, "Some men lusting after money, [Ver. 10, 11.] have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows: but thou, O man of God, fly these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." In the second to the Thessalonians, the second chapter, “They have not received the love of the truth, that [Ver. 10, 11. 13.] they might be saved; God shall send them strong delusions that they may believe lies. But we ought to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and faith in the truth." And in this Epistle of St. Jude, "There shall come mockers in the last times, walking after their own ungodly lusts. But, beloved, edify ye yourselves in your most holy faith."

III. These sweet exhortations, which God putteth every where in the mouths of the prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ, are evident tokens that God sitteth not in heaven careless and unmindful of our estate. Can a mother forget her child? Surely a mother will hardly forget her child. But if a mother be haply found unnatural, and do forget the fruit of her own womb; yet God's judgments shew plainly that he cannot forget the man whose heart he hath framed and fashioned anew in simplicity and truth to serve and fear him. For when the wickedness of man was so great, and the earth so filled with cruelties, that it could not stand with the righteousness of God any longer to forbear, wrathful sentences brake out from him, like wine from a vessel that hath no vent: "My Gen. vi. Spirit (saith he) can struggle and strive no longer; an end of 3. 13. all flesh is come before me." Yet then did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord: "I will establish my covenant with thee Ver. 8. 18. (saith God); thou shalt go into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."

IV. Do we not see what shift God doth make for Lot and for his family, in the nineteenth of Genesis, lest the fiery destruction of the wicked should overtake him? Over-night the