VIII. and the ministers' houses stood, (which king Edward gave CHAP. them,) should be granted away. This seemed to be the counsel of the marquis of Winchester, lord treasurer, who Anno 1559. had obtained from that king all the situation of St. Augustine friars, except this church and premises, and had his house upon part of it; and so laboured, that as little of that monastery as might be should escape his hands: for of religion he had little or none. granted the But yet thus far the queen readily gratified them, and The Dutch yielded to their petition; that she gave them a letter, for church her purveyor to empty the said church or temple of all strangers. casks and vessels, and other stuff wherewith it was filled in queen Mary's days, (laying up there her naval stores and such like things,) and to restore the said strangers to the possession of the said temple. The next year, on the 29th of January, the same congregation did again renew their petition to the queen for the confirmation of king Edward's grant. But what success they then had, I cannot tell; but ever since, throughout all the succeeding kings' reigns, they have quietly enjoyed their temple and original consti tution. their The French protestants at this time did not concern The French themselves in this matter with the Dutch; though they protestants, were formerly included as members of this church of stran-church. gers; but contented themselves now with another church in Threadneedle-street, which they had either borrowed or hired, belonging to the dean and chapter of Windsor, and which they have to this day; being part of St. Anthony's hospital dissolved. of London assists the But the registers of this Dutch church do shew (and The bishop gratefully confess it) that their main assistance now was from bishop Grindal aforesaid; and whom therefore they strangers. submitted unto as their superintendent. I find a case or 119 two wherein he exercised his superintendency and authority in this church. In the year 1560, one of their ministers, namely Hamstedius, was convened before the said bishop judicially, for favouring some Dutch anabaptists, that desired to be received into this church, and had supplicated VIII. CHAP. the bishop to be admitted. He had asserted in their behalf concerning that heresy of theirs, (viz. that Christ took not Anno 1559. his flesh of the virgin Mary, but brought it from heaven,) that the doctrine of the incarnation of Christ, and his partaking of our nature, was not a foundation, [i. e. a fundamental doctrine,] but a circumstance only of the foundation: and that children and distracted persons were saved without faith. But the bishop required him to renounce these and other like errors; which he refused to do, and continuing obstinately in them, was excommunicated by the bishop. And so was declared the next Sunday in the said Dutch church. Soon after, Hamstedius retired beyond the sea. And in the year 1564 there happened again an earnest contention in that church concerning baptizing infants: which was finally referred to the bishop of London, as their superintendent, to decide. Knox comes into Scotland. Life of CHAP. IX. The reformation in Scotland. Knox's book against women's government: answered by an English divine. Christopher Goodman's book of that argument. Some account of that book. His recantation thereof. Knox's letter to John Fox concerning his book. The principles of these books entertained. The French king's funerals solemnized at St. Paul's. THE reformation was now carrying on in the neighbouring kingdom of Scotland, as well as here: and May the 2d, John Knox the Scotchman, being fifty-four years of age, arrived at Edinburgh from France. From whence, anno 1557, he had earnestly wrote to the Scotch nobility, who had taken upon them the public reformation: telling them, that "he had the judgment of the most godly and learned " in Europe," (meaning, no doubt, the ministers of Geneva where he sojourned,) "to warrant his and their consciences, "for their present enterprise." The position maintained by them was this, That if kings and princes refuse to reform religion, the inferior magistrates and people, being directed CHAP. and instructed in the truth before by their preachers, might IX. lawfully reform within their own bounds themselves: and Anno 1559. if all, or the far greater part be enlightened, they might make a public reformation. 66 enemy to book. In 1559, while he tarried at Dieppe, he wrote thus to one Mrs. Anne Lock, an English woman, from a mind sufficiently embittered against the English reformation: "A 120 "portion of his [the beast's] mark are these dregs of pa- Knox an pistry, which are left in your great book of England; the English "crossing in baptism, kneeling at the Lord's table, mum"bling or singing of the Litany, A fulgure et tempestate, "&c. any jot of which diabolical invention will I never "counsel any man to use. The whole order of their book 66 appeareth rather to be devised for the upholding of mass"ing priests, than for any good instruction which the sim 66 ple people can receive thereof. Their sacraments were "ministered for the most part without the soul, and by "these who to Christ Jesus are no true ministers; and "God grant that so they be not yet. Without the soul, I say, they were ministered, because they were ministered "without the word truly and openly preached. And your "ministers before, for the most part, were none of Christ's "ministers, but massmonging priests." And therefore towards the end of his letter he dissuaded this gentlewoman "from countenancing of such superstitious priests in their "corrupt, lifeless, liturgical services; and affirming with great fervency, that all things should be judged abomi"nable, yea, execrable and accursed, which God by his "word hath not sanctified in his religion." This is enough to shew the hot spirit of this man, and the prejudice he had, for some cause or other, conceived against this church and kingdom; where he had once been kindly harboured. gerous About this time were two books dispersed abroad, and Two danin the hands of people, set forth by certain protestant au-books disthors, and found many approvers: which did the protest-persed. ants very ill service, in making the court jealous of a reformation. In one of these books was asserted, that a wo CHAP. man could not by the law of God be queen, nor sway the IX. sceptre, and govern over men; to whom they ought to be Anno 1559. in subjection, by the scripture. The other allowed a private Knox the author of subject in some cases to rebel against, nay, to do to death the sovereign, supposing him a tyrant. Dr. Parker, and many other of the learned and sober divines of the church, were extremely nettled and offended with these books, and declared publicly against them. But to inquire into the authors of these books, and the one of them. particular arguments of them. Whosoever was the author of the latter, the former was composed by John Knox, the famous Scotch divine above mentioned, and printed at Geneva about the year 1556 or 1557, and entitled, The first Blast against the monstrous regiment and empire of women. Wherein he endeavoured to prove, that it was altogether unlawful for women to reign. This book was exceedingly ill taken, and ill-timed, being now fresh in the hands of the English people; many whereof began to doubt whether they should obey the queen, and when at this time she had France a powerful enemy. This treatise therefore by all the sober protestants of the church of England was much cried out against, and styled, a treasonous book; and the queen was most highly disgusted with Knox for writing it; though indeed he wrote it in spite to queen Mary, rather than levelled it at her. And when by certain messengers he desired leave of the queen to pass from France through England into his country, and to visit in the way the north parts of England, where he had formerly preached, there would no licence be granted him; nay, and 121 the messengers he sent had like to have been taken up. nay further, the English exiles that were newly returned mation of from Geneva (to whom Knox had been preacher there) felt the Church the effects of it here at home, being frowned upon, and havKnox writes ing no favour shewn them. However this book Knox stoutto secretary ly stood to in a letter to secretary Cecyl, saying, "he did this matter." no more doubt of the truth of the proposition, than he "doubted this was the voice of God, which first did pro History of the Refor of Scotland. Cecil about nounce this penalty against women, In dolour shalt thou 66 IX. "bear thy children." And threatened to reply to whom- CHAP. soever should answer his book, as there was then much talk that it was to be answered. But notwithstanding his book, Anno 1559. Knox was willing, by the help of a distinction, to own heartily queen Elizabeth and her government, though it were a woman's government: "because, as he said, he reckoned "her to be set up by God's extraordinary providence in "the-behalf of religion. Her he acknowledged God had "promoted for his miraculous work; comforting his af"flicted by an infirm vessel. He acknowledged and would obey his power, and his most potent hand in raising up "whom best pleaseth his mercy, to suppress such as fight "against his gospel; albeit that nature and God's most "perfect ordinance repugn to such regiment." And by this way only he would allow the queen to be obeyed, and not by virtue of her right by succession or the laws of the land. For so he told the secretary, and charged him, in the name of the eternal God, to acquaint the queen therewith, [in these words;] "That if queen Elizabeth would "confess, that the extraordinary dispensation of God's great 66 mercy made that lawful unto her, which both nature and "God's laws did deny unto all other women besides, then "should none in England be more willing to maintain her "authority than he. But if, God's wondrous work set "aside, she grounded the justness of her title upon con"suetude laws and ordinances of men, then, as he was as"sured that such foolish presumption did highly offend "God's supreme majesty, so he greatly feared, that her in66 gratitude should not long lack punishment.” And to the queen also he wrote a letter to the same pur- And to the queen, July pose, in the month of July, 1559, telling her, "that it was the 28th. "God's peculiar and extraordinary providence that brought "her to the kingdom, and that she was not to plead her " right by descent or law; and plainly said, that if she began to brag of her birth, and to build her authority and "regiment upon her own law, her felicity would be short, "flatter her whoso listed." This was written from Edin 66 |