ix. x.

nor building his house? What causes most part of those people to whom St Paul wrote his epistles, which we have to this day, and many other countries too, among whom the other apostles preached, to be given up now into the Turks' and heathen's hands, but that they fell from their faith, which they first received by the apostles' preaching, and forsaked their christian religion? What caused those grievous. plagues in Egypt, but that Pharao would not let the people Exod. viii. worship God, as Moses sent from God did will him? What caused Nabuchodonozor of a mighty king to be made a vile Dan. iv. beast, and eat hay as oxen do, but that he would not know God and his own wickedness, and set up idols, and killed them which would not worship them? What caused the children of Israel to have such wealth for the most part under David, Salomon, Josaphat, Ezechias, and Josias, which were good kings and restored religion; and other times to be plagued under Jeroboam, Athalia, Achab, Manasses, and other wicked kings, of whom it is so oft written, and of every king in Israel, that they walked in the way of Jeroboam, maintaining idolatry? Nothing surely, but the good kings defended God's true religion, set forth his word, builded his house, and God blessed them therefore: the other pulled it down, set up idols, persecuted his prophets, burned or hid up his scriptures and holy word, following their own fantasies and the teachings of the false prophets and preachers, and God plagued them therefore.

and the

their autho❤

time.

And if ye mark the history of the pope and Mahomet, Mahomet ye shall find that at the same time that the pope in the pope began west part of the world began to get authority over kings rity at one and countries, to set abroad his superstition, and the people received it, forsaking God's religion, Mahomet then began in the east part to grow in authority, and conquer countries, and hath evermore so done since that time, because the people fell from true religion: and the more that countries have fallen to following of superstition and forsaking Christ, his word and religion, the stronger waxed the Turk and pope, as God's plagues to punish us, and be like to do every day more and more, until they be driven out of God's church, and Christ's word, religion, and sacraments, be restored to their simplicity, as Christ did ordain them.

Gregory.

sires to be

above all

bishops is

of Rome is

granted to

be above all other bishops.

When Gregory', the first pope of that name, had denied He that de- John archbishop of Constantinople, striving with him afore the emperor Mauritius, that Constantinople should be the chief antichrist. church, and that the bishop there should be the chiefest bishop, in authority above all other bishops, and said that whosoever desired that blasphemous name or authority, was the forerunner of antichrist; Phocas, the next emperor following, The bishop granted by much suit Boniface the Third, about the year of our Lord 607, that the bishop of Rome should be the chiefest bishop of all other; and therefore is he the blasphemous forerunner of antichrist, as Gregory said full well. It was a worthy grant of such a wicked emperor, to set up a bishop like himself. Phocas murdered his lord and master, Maurice the emperor, killed his wife and children in his own sight, and made himself emperor. Afterward he made Boniface the pope head bishop over all, and in Rome the chief. Thus our holy father gat his supremacy by a wicked emperor, and not from Peter, as he says; but one thief set up another. Peter, Acts iii. says, "Gold and silver I have none:" but the pope says, as the devil said to Christ when he tempted him, and shewed him all the kingdoms and riches of the earth, "All these are mine, and I give them to whom I lust; I will give thee them, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." So So says the pope: but he lies, as his father the devil

[John viii. 44.]

did.

This thing once granted, the twelfth year of Heraclius, the next emperor after Phocas, Mahomet the great prophet

[Ego autem fidenter dico, quia quisquis se universalem sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sua antichristum præcurrit, quia superbiendo se ceteris præponit. Gregor. Registr. Epist. Lib. vII. Ind. xv. Ep. 33. ed. Bened. Paris. 1705.

Sed absit a cordibus christianis nomen istud blasphemiæ, in quo omnium sacerdotum honor adimitur, dum ab uno dementer arrogatur. Id. Lib. v. Ind. XIII. Ep. 20. ED.]

["Cujus rei causa factum est, ut cum ex more litteras ad eum Phocas imperator scriberet, in odium Cyriaci Constantinopolitani patriarchæ professus sit Romanum pontificem esse dicendum œcumenicum, nempe universalem, episcopum, Constantinopolitanum nequaquam: id quidem ipsum Bonifacium ab eo obtinuisse, Anastasius his verbis testatur. Hic,' inquit, 'obtinuit apud Phocam, &c."" Baronii Annales Eccles. Tom. VIII. p. 200. ED.]

of the Turks invaded Christendom the year of the Lord 623, Honorius being pope, and almost drove the emperor out of his empire, and made him glad with money to buy peace unhonourably. And since that time the Turk hath grown bigger and bigger in the east countries, subduing all to himself, but the emperor weaker and weaker; and the pope hath taken from him most part of his empire, and rules in the west parts, and is emperor indeed, the other having only the name of an emperor.

The religion and authority of Mahomet, the Turks' great prophet, and the pope's religion, or rather superstition, and supremacy, began thus in one age within sixteen years together: and as it were dividing the whole world betwixt them, the one in the east, the other in the west, have waxen great rulers, that a man could scarce tell whether was the mightier, as just scourges sent of God to punish the world for not maintaining his word. But now the pope's wickedness and subtilty by God's word being declared and opened to the world, his power waxes less, and the Turk's power increases, because he keeps his people in ignorance: so that if God's mercy be not much more than our deservings, it is to be feared that he shall overcome Christendom. For the cold slackness of the people and princes to build God's house and true religion will care for no religion at all, if they may not have the old dirty dregs of popery. So God gives up unto all blindness them that forsake his light; and forsakes them that forsake him and cast him off.

But many would have not long ago said, What need we to fear these plagues? are not we come home again to our holy father the pope, and to our holy mother the church? is not our old little God come home again to us? have we not our altars, copes, masses, and trentals, that will bring us through purgatory for a little money, how wickedly soever we had lived? Our holy father the pope by his legate the cardinal Carnal fool or by his pardons will absolve us a pœna et culpa, that is, from pope's all punishment, from sin, yea, and from all fault or guiltiness of sin, and give us as many days and years of pardon as we

[Carnal fool: a play upon the name, Cardinal Pole.-In other places in this work the old editions have Carnal, for Cardinal. See p. 65. ED.]

and the

church.

Acts vii.

Matt. xi.

No religion is to be had but that whichChrist

list. What should grieve our conscience, having thus many ways to heaven? Are not we much better than our holy brethren, which will none of all these to save them, but only Christ, and think him only sufficient for the sins of the whole world? Is not this house well builded, that hath so many strong pillars? Can God be angry with us, that have bought and brought him so many things into the church to delight him withal? We have gilded many goodly images, pleasant to look at and delight the eyes: if he will have any mirth, we have goodly singing and striving who can fet' the highest note: we have sweet organs for the ear, and sweet frankincense for the nose: what would God have more? Were not the churches before like barns, bare and naked; and now are they trim, that any God would dwell in them?

Have we not done God good service, trow ye? No, surely; for God dwells not in temples made with hands of wood and stone, but in the heart of man: nor yet is worshipped with man's inventions, but as he willed and taught himself. And this is it that pulls all these plagues on our heads. For as the Jew is most stiff in his religion, so the Turk defends his by might and power; the pope maintains his with fire and fagot; the Anabaptist, Arian, and libertine, are as busy in corners to turn many unto them: and yet all these be enemies to Christ, seeking to serve God another way than he taught them, and to save themselves by some other means, than by only faith in him which was sent to teach us his Father's will (which none knew but only he, and they to whom he hath taught it), and to save them all which shall be saved; so these and all other which build their religion other ways than God appointed, are traitors unto him, and procure his vengeance. For "he that is not with me," saith Christ, "is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scatters abroad."

Moses, when he was in the hill with God, had the fashion of the tabernacle and tent shewed unto him, like unto the taught. which God willed him to make another, where the people should resort to worship him, until the temple was builded by Salomon. And lest he should devise any thing of his own head, or invent another fashion, God gives him warning, say

Exod. xxv.

[Fet: i.e. fetch. ED.]

ing, "See that thou make it like unto that fashion which was shewed thee in the hill;" devise nothing of thyself, neither put to, take away, nor change any thing; but only content thyself with that which I shewed thee. This is so notable a lesson, that it is repeated in the seventh of the Acts, and the eighth to the Hebrews, because it should be kept in memory, and diligently observed of all men in all ages; that they should not be curious in devising a new way to serve God of their own imagination, but submit their wit to God's wisdom, and be content with that which he hath appointed for that only is good, and all inventions of man (as they be of man) displease him. Likewise David, when he would have builded God a house to have been worshipped in, God appeared unto him and told him he should not do it, but Salomon his son should build it. God shewed him. also the fashion that he should build it after, (which fashion David taught Salomon, and prepared all metals necessary to do it withal in his life time,) lest they should have devised some fashion of their own: as man's brain is never content to be ruled by God's wisdom, but pleases himself in his own inventions better than in that which God teaches him. And this temple also that the prophet speaks of here, which they were sent home to build hy King Cyrus (whose mind God Ezra vi. moved to restore them to their country, and so liberally to help them to the building of so costly a work), is appointed to them by commission, how broad, wide, long, high, and thick it should be, as it was unto Salomon before. If none of these, Moses, David, Salomon, Esdras, nor none of the people, might build these temples and houses of wood and stone, so high, wide, long, thick, broad, or any other fashion, as they lust themselves, but must follow (and are straitly charged often and sundry times so to do) that pattern, copy, example, and fashion, precisely, which God appointed them; much less in this spiritual house of God's building, which is chiefly by the preaching of his word, may we devise anything of ourselves, but exactly follow that which God hath taught us, and content ourselves therewith; thinking that most sufficient learning, able to save our souls, most true and holy, and all other to be dreams, lies, fantasies, and vanity, in comparison of this. "The law of the Lord," saith David, Psal. xix.xii.