A confutacion of that treatise, which one Iohn Standish made agaynst the protestacion of D. Barnes in the yeare. M.D.XL. Wherin, the holy scriptures (peruerted and wrested in his sayd treatise) are restored to their owne true vnderstonding agayne by Myles Couerdale. Coverdale, Miles, 1488-1568. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A19466 of text S109263 in the English Short Title Catalog (STC 5888). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 305 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 103 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 A19466 STC 5888 ESTC S109263 99844913 99844913 9769 2240894698

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A19466) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 9769) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 33:03) A confutacion of that treatise, which one Iohn Standish made agaynst the protestacion of D. Barnes in the yeare. M.D.XL. Wherin, the holy scriptures (peruerted and wrested in his sayd treatise) are restored to their owne true vnderstonding agayne by Myles Couerdale. Coverdale, Miles, 1488-1568. [208] p. C. Froschauer, [Zürich : 1541?] Place of publication supplied and publication date conjectured by STC. Answers: Standish, John. A lytle treatise composyd by Johan Standysh .. against the protestacion of Robert Barnes at the tyme of his death. Includes both Barnes and Standish texts. At foot of title page: Nolie gloriari, [and] mendaces esse aduersus veritatem. Signatures: a-n (n8 blank). Reproduction of the original in the British Library. eng Standish, John, 1507?-1570. -- Lytle treatise composyd by Johan Standysh .. against the protestacion of Robert Barnes at the tyme of his death. Barnes, Robert, 1495-1540. eebo A confutacion of that treatise, which one Iohn Standish made agaynst the protestacion of D. Barnes in the yeare. M.D.XL. Wherin, the holy scriptures ( Coverdale, Miles 1541 206 54772 64 0 0 0 0 0 11.68 C The rate of 11.68 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the C category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2005-09 Assigned for keying and markup 2005-12 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2006-10 Sampled and proofread 2006-10 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

A confutacion of that treatise / which one John Standish made agaynst the protestacion of D. Barnes in the yeare . M. D. XL.

Wherin / the holy scriptures ( peruerted and wrested in his sayd treatise ) are restored to their owne true vnderstonding agayne by Myles Couerdale .

Iacobi iij.

Nolite gloriari , & mendaces esse aduersus ueritatem .

To the Reader . To all them that either reade or heare gods holy worde / and geue ouer them selues to lyue vnfannedly acording to the same / do I hartely wysshe the grace / peace and mercy of god the father in and thorow oure lorde and onely Sauioure Iesus Christ .

THe seuenth daye of Decembre / was delyuered vnto me a certayne treatyse / composed by one Iohn Standish Felow of Whittington college in london ( so is the tytle of it ) and prynted by Robert Redeman / Anno M. D. XL. iij. Nonas Octobris . At the reading wherof I mourned sore within my selfe for certayne occasions offred vnto me in the sande treatyse . First that vnder the Kynges priuilege any thing shuld be set forth / which is either agaynst the worde and trueth of allmightye god / or agaynst the Kynges honoure . Secondlye / that good / wholsome / and Christen wordes shulde be calumpniated and reuyled . Thirdly / that the sayde Iohn Standish pronouncyng Doctoure Barnes to haue taught heresye so longe / is not ashamed all this whyle to haue hold his penne / but now first to wryte agaynst him / whan he is deed . et ce.

As touching the first / whether I haue cause to mourne or no / I reporte me to all true Christen hertes . for ( as I am credibly enfourmed / Diuersyte amonge wryters . and as I partly haue sene ) there is now a wonderful diuersite in writing bokes and balates in England / one enueyenge agaynst another / one reuylinge and reprouyng another / one reioysinge at anothers fall and aduersite . And not onely this / but also at the ende of euery balate or boke in maner ( whether it be the better partye or worse ) is set the Kynges priuilege . Which as it is agaynst the glorye of god that one shulde reuyle another / Is it not euen so agaynst the Kynges honoure ( Yee the shame is it of all Englande ) that vnder his priuilege anye erroneous / contentious / or slaunderous boke or papyre shulde be prynted ? Men wonder in other contrees / that ther is so greate negligence of this matter / in a realme where so wyse and prudent a counsail is ▪ And they that are moued with godly compassion / do lament Englande . sory / that ther is so great discencion in it . Tryfles are prynted with the Kynges priuilege / vnknowing to him . sory / that blasphemous ieasting / and raylinge balates or bokes agaynst the manifest worde of god / shulde either be suffred or priuilegied . sory / that gods trueth shulde thus spitefully be intreated of so greate a nombre . Now the reformacion of this and all other defaultes lyeth onely in the hande of god / To whom I referre it / and to the rightfull admynistracion of his holy ordinaunce and auctorite in the kynges hyghnesse . who / whan he knoweth of the saide inconuenience ( how tryflinge and raylinge bokes and rymes are prynted vnder his priuilege ) wyll no doubte set a redresse herein .

Concernyng the seconde occasion aboue rehearced Is it not cause ynough forme and all other Christen / to be right sory / to mourne and lamente / that the wordes which are good / wholsome / and acordinge to the holy scripture and Chrisies faith / shulde be either blasphemed or taken to the worst ? Yf the Kynges grace / shulde put forthe an wholsome proclamacion / iniunction or commaundement ( as he doth many ) what true subiecte louynge gods holy ordinaunce and auctorite in his prynce / wold not be greue to se anye man either spytt at those his soueraignes wordes / or to defye them ? Yf we now which are Christen / haue so iust occsion ( and are bownde ) to be thus wise mynded in this outward regiment / wherein god hath appoynted us to be obedient to the hyer powers / how much more cause haue we to water our eyes with sory hertes / whan the proclamacion / iniunction / Good wordes are blasphemed . commaundement and worde of him which is kyng of all Kynges and lord of all lordes / is thus reuyled and euell spoken of ? That the wordes of . D. Barnes spoken at the houre of his death / and here vnder written / are good / wholsome / acording to gods holy scripture / and not worthy to be euell taken / It shal be euidently sene / whan we haue layed them to the twych stone / and tryed them by gods worde . To the open text wherof yf ye take good hede / ye shal se the peruerse doctryne and wycked opynions of Standish clerely confuted . And ( no doubte ) god wyll so haue it / because that vnder the pretence of bearing a zeale toward gods worde / he taketh apon him to be iudge and geuer of sentence agaynst gods worde / and to condemne it that gods worde aloweth .

And this ( as I sayde ) is another cause of the sorynesse of my hert / that he which darre auowe another man to be an open heretike / is not ashamed thus longe nether to haue written / ner openly preached agaynst him by name / but now to starte vp whan he is deed . Is it not a greate worshippe for him to wrestle with a shadow / and to ●●ll a deed man ? Is he not a worthy souldyer that all the battayll tyme thrusteth his hand in his bosome / St●ndish 〈◊〉 ●yll a deed man . and whan men are deed / then draweth out his swerde / and fighteth with them that are slayne allreadye ? Iudge ye ( gentle readers ) yf Standish playeth not such a parte with D. Barnes / To whom also he imputeth treason / and yet proueth neuer a poynte therof agaynst him . Yet were it as charitable a dede to confute all treason and to geue us warnynge of it by name / as either to establishe false doctryne / or to enueye agaynst good sayenges . Yee a Christen and charitable acte were it in reprouyng anye traytoure / to tell the Kynges subiectes in what thing he committed the treason / that they maye beware of the same . But thus doth not Standishe here in this his treatise / which because it is buylded on sande and on a false foundacion / I doubte not / but with gods worde ( which is the swerde of the sprete / Ephe. vj. and a weapen mighty / to ouerthrow euery ymaginacion that exalteth it selfe agaynst the knowlege of god ) To geue it a fall / ij . Corin. x. and with holy scripture to shewe euydently / that Standishe hath farre ouershott himselfe / in condemnynge the sayenges which gods word doth not disalowe . He that wolde wryte agaynst anye man / shulde leuell his ordinaunce agaynst his euell wordes ( yf he had spoken or written anye ) and not agaynst his good wordes . ffor god is the authoure of all good / which as his holy scripture aloweth / so will he himselfe defende the same . He that is therfore an enemye to the thinge which is good / or resisteth it / is gods aduersary / and withstondeth him . Wherfore let Standish from hensforth and all other beware / Let no man take parte agaynst the trueth . that they take no parte agaynst gods worde / ner defende any false matter / lest god be the auenger . ffor yf the lyon begynne to roare / he will make all his enemies afrayed .

And yf . D. Barnes dyed a true Christen man / be ye sure / his death shal be a greater stroke to ypocrisye / then euer his life coulde haue bene . Yf he was falsly accused to the Kynges highnesse / and so put to death / woo shall come to those accusers / yf they repent not by tymes . And yf D. Barnes in his hert / mouth and dede / committed no worse thinge towarde the Kynges highnesse / then he committed agaynst god in these his wordes at his death / he is like at the later daye to be a iudge ouer them / that were cause of his death yf they do not amende .

Now ( indifferent reader ) to the intent that thou mayest the more clearly / discerne light from darknesse / and knowe gods true worde from false docrine / I shall ( whan I haue sayde somwhat to Standish preface ) rehearce vnto the. D. Barnes wordes . Secondly though I rehearce not vnto the all Standish wordes ( lest I shuld make to greate a boke ) I shall poynte the to the begynning of his sentence / requyring the ( yf thou wilt ) to reade out the rest thy selfe in his treatise . Thirdly though he hath desserued to be roughly handled / yet do I purpose ( by gods onely grace ) to deale more gently with him beynge alyue / then he doth with the deed . This interpryse now as I take in hand agaynst Standishe in this behalfe / so am I ready to do the same agaynst the greate graundsire and captaine of false teachers / I meane greate Goliath of Rome and his weapen-bearer . That is / agaynst all such as are enemies to Kynge Dauid oure lorde Iesus Christ / for whose moost confortable sprete ( gentle reader ) I beseche the to praie with me vnto our moost deare father in heauen / whose name be praysid / whose kyngdome come / whose onely wyll be fulfilled now and euer Amen .

Here Foloweth the Preface of Iohn Standish to the reader . Standish .

TO se the most victoryous and noble Prynce oure soueraigne lorde the kyng / labourynge and watchinge contynually wyth all diligent studye / to expulse and dryue out / I maye saye / to pourge and clense this his catholike regyon / etce .

Couerdale

Though ye abuse youre termes in reporting that the Kyng goeth about to expell and dryue out his catholike region / I will impute those youre wordes to the weaknesse of youre brayne / and to the seacenesse of honest eloquence therin . But yf the Kynges laboure / watching / and diligent studye in pourging and clensyng his realme from all heresies and scismes / be occasion sufficient ( as it is in dede ) to compell euery true subiecte to helpe vnto the same / why haue ye then bene so slack therin all this while ? Youre owne wordes bring yo in to a shrewd suspicion . For ye knowe and haue sene with your eyes / Suspicion . that the kyng hath these many yeares bene labouring and busie in abolishing out of his realme the vsurped power of the. B. of Rome / his manifolde sectes of false religions / his worshipping of ymages / his disceatfull pardons / his ydolatrye and pilgremages / etc. Were not all these / great heresies and scismes ? Or can ye excuse your selfe of ignoraunce / that ye haue not sene / how the Kyng hath laboured in putting downe the same ? Yf ye then be a writer against heresies and scismes / why haue ye written agaynst none of these all this while ? Thus euery man which readeth your wordes / maye se / that ye haue bewraied your selfe to be a fauourer of such thinges .

Standish .

Wherfore / maruayll not ( gentle reader ) etc.

Couerdale .

Contrary now to your request / wil euery man maruail at you / not onely because ye declare your selfe to haue borne ( all this whyle ) no ryght loue toward gods word / to the saluacion of mens soules / ner to the dewtye that ye owe to your prynce / but also because that now thorow the occasion of a poore mans deeth / ye first starte vp to wryte / as though the Kyng had put downe no heresies afore . D. Barnes dyed . Is this the zele that ye bear toward gods word and towarde his people ? Such a zele had they / of whom the Apostle speaketh to the Galathians / sayenge / Gala. ●iij . They haue no good zele vnto you / but wolde thrust you out ( namely from the trueth ) that ye might be feruent to them ward . Where as ye write the daye and yeare of . D. Barnes death / it increaseth your owne confusion / and shall be a cleare testimonye agaynst youre selfe / for resistinge those good wordes of his protestacion / yf ye forsake not youre heresye in tyme . Yee euen by youre owne penne haue ye brought it to pas / that it shall not be forgotten till the worldes ende / what a Christen testament and last will . D. Barnes made at his death / and how paciently he forsoke this life .

Standish .

FOr in his protestacion / is both conteyned heresye and treason .

Couerdale .

For ( saie ye ) in his protestacion etcet . Is that the cause why ye do enterpryse and take in hande to wryte agaynst it ? Then verely declare ye youre selfe not onely to be parcial / but also a fauourer of heresye and treason / knowinge so many to haue bene attaynted therof within these seuen yeares .

Standish .

ALlbeit / do not thynke / that I wryte this thorow anye malyce toward him that is burned etc.

Couerdale .

He that compareth youre wordes to your dede / shall soone perceaue / that ye haue cast milk in youre owne face / and that ( for all youre holy pretence ) some spice of Cainish stomake hath made you now do more / then all the Kynges noble actes in abolishinge the saide abuses / coulde make you do many yeares afore / though the same ( yf ye were a true subiecte ) were by youre owne confession / sufficient cause for you so to do . Howbeit it is not I that go aboute to laye malice to youre charge / youre awne acte is not your best frende / I praye god your conscience accuse you not therof .

But why take ye god to recorde in a false matter ? Do ye not confesse yourselfe / that the Kynges graces laboure / watchinge and diligent studie is the thinge that causeth and compelleth you to write against . D. Barnes protestacion / and that thorow the loue and feruent zele ye beare towarde gods word and the saluacion of mens soules ? et cete . And now take ye god to recorde / Standish is afrayed . that ye do it for feare / lest the people schulde be infecte 〈◊〉 the multitude of copies of the saide protestacion . Against the which feare I knowe none other comforte for you ( as longe as ye will not harken vnto gods worde ) but that wisdome it selfe geueth you in Salomons Prouerbes . Prouer. j. Namely / that the thing which ye feare / shal come vpon you / and euen it that ye are afrayed of / shall fall in sodenly amonge you . This am I certified of / not onely by the same place of scripture / but euen by this youre present acte in putting forth youre treatise to be printed with and against the saide protestacion . For yf ye feare the great infection of the people thorow the multitude of copies therof / why caused ye it to be printed / or any man els for you ? Is the printing of the saide protestacion the nexte waie to kepe copies therof from the people ? Ye maie well haue witte / but sure ye lacke policie Such a like wise waie was taken in England within these few yeares by certaine abbottes / which thinkyng therby to vpholde their false religions / The enemies 〈…〉 worde 〈◊〉 ●gainst them selues . wrought / moued / or els consented to insurrection within diuerse parties of the realme / And yet was the same their wisdome / a cause that haisted their owne destruction . And euen so now by youre printinge of the saide protestacion / ye haue brought it so to pas / that the thinge whiche ye feared / is come to light . Thus can god pull downe his enemies houses with their owne hondes . Certainlie like as I neuer heard that ther was any copie therof / till I sawe it in youre boke / so am I credibly enfourmed / that it was neuer in printe afore .

Where as ye saie / that it is an erroneous and traiterous protestacion / it is sooner saide / then proued / nether maketh it greately for youre honestie / to knowe many secrete embracers of heresie and treason / and not to utter them . But ye maie twise saie it / afore ye be ones beleued / onely they that are of god / wil whan thei haue tried and examined al thinges / kepe that which is good / and eschuethe contrary .

Standish .

BVt I trust in allmightie god / yf it please you to rede this litle treatise with a louyng zele toward oure mother the holy church / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Here do ye manifestly declare / what zele moued you to write against . D. Barnes protestacion / Namely / not any iust zele or loue toward gods worde / or his people / but euen because / ye feare / lest your mother shulde come to shame / yf the trueth were knowne / therfore to shew youre mother a pleasure / ye thoughte to do youre best in defending her . Nether helpeth it your pretence anie thinge at all / though ye call hir holy / All is not gold that shyneth . for euery such secte as ye be of / hath a sundrie holinesse / which commeth not of the sprete that sanctifieth . Now like as your owne acte came of that zele which ye beare toward the church of the wicked / so wolde ye haue youre treatise red with the same zele / to the intent that the readers might smell heresie and treason / where none is / and be poysoned with such a corrupte iudgment / as ye be of youre selfe .

Agayne / how are ye ( or all men lyuinge ) able to proue / that this protestacion of . D. Barnes doth smell and sauoure nothinge but heresie and treason ? Is it heresie and treason to teach no erroneous doctrine / to teach onely those thinges that scripture leadeth vnto / to manteyne no erroure / to moue no insurrection / to be falsly slaundred / to confute the false opinion of the Anabaptistes / to deteste and abhorre all such sectes / Standish smelleth here nothinge but heresy and treason . to set forth the glory of god / obedience to the hyer powers / and the true religion of Christ ? Doth it smell and sauoure nothinge but heresie and treason to beleue in the holy and blessed trenite / to beleue the incarnacion / passion / death and resurrection of oure lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ ? Is it heresye and treason for a synner to desire god to forgeue him / to trust onely in the death of Christ / to set forth good workes / to beleue that ther is a holy church / to beleue a life after this / to speake reuerently of saintes / to call oure lady a virgin immaculate and vndefiled / to knowlege a Christen beleue concerning the body and bloude of oure lorde / to ascribe vnto saintes the honoure that scripture willeth them to haue / to praie for the Kyng and his counsaill / et cete . Do such thinges smell and sauoure nothinge but heresie and treason ? Wo vnto them that call good euell / Esa. v. and euell good darknesse light / and light darknesse / swete sower / and sower swete .

Though ye do also esteme them to be heretikes and traitours / that take parte with . D. Barnes protestacion / yet doth not youre estimacion or iudgment discorage me in this behalfe . Nether is it my minde or will to medle with his offence / ( yf he committed anie against the Kyng ) nether to defende this his protestacion with anie hand or weapen of man / but by the scriptures to beare recorde vnto the trueth / and to reproue youre peruerse and straunge doctrine / which ye do teach against the same .

Standish .

FOr surely such as do improue them et cete .

Couerdale .

This youre saienge proueth not the contrary / but that seinge ye resist the trueth / I maie tell you your faute / ij . Tim. ij . and enfourme you better ( acording to the Apostles doctrine ) yf god at any tyme will graunt you repentaunce for to know the trueth / and to turne from the snare of the deuell / et cete . If I can vnderstonde / that thorow this enfourmacion ye will geue place to the open and manifest trueth / godschall haue the praise / and I shall thincke my laboure well bestowed . Yf the trueth can haue no place in you by faire meanes / but he wil stil resiste it obstinately / and belye it / as ye do here in this youre treatise / then verely ye maie be sure to be afterward so handled / as the lymites and boundes of gods holy scripture wil suffre . I beseche god ( acordinge to his good pleasure ) that ye maie haue eies to se / eares to heare / and an hert to vnderstonde his holy worde / to consente vnto the same / and in all pointes to liue therafter . Amen .

Here foloweth the protestacion of S. Robert Barnes . Barnes .

I Am come hither to be burned as an heretike / and you shall heare my belefe / wherby ye shal perceaue what erroneous opynions I holde .

Standishe .

I am sory to se the obstinate blindnesse and finall induracion in this his protestacion / which wolde clere / iustifie / and excuse himself by colour and disceate .

Couerdale .

Christ oure sauioure makyng mencion of his owne death / afore he was hanged apon the crosse / saide these wordes / Matth. xx . Beholde / we go vp to Hierusalem / and the sonne of man shal be betraied / condemned / mocked / scourged / crucified . et cetera . Whan a true man commeth to be hanged on the galowes / Is it obstinate blindnesse and finall induracion for him so to saie ? Peraduenture ye will saie vnto me / Take ye . D. Barnes then for a true man ? I answere / Verely these his wordes proue him no false man / for he saide that he came to be brent / And sure I am / that he came not to the fire to be made a bisshoppe .

Morouer . D. Barnes tolde the people / that they shulde heare his beleue etcet . And ye laie to his charge for his so doinge / that he wolde cleare / iustifie / and excuse himselfe with coloure and disceate . As though he iustified himself with colour and disceate / j. Pet. iij. which ( acordinge to . S. Peters doctrine ) is ready allwaie to geue answere vnto euery man / that asketh him a reason of the hope which is in him . Was not . D. Barnes instantly required to shew his faith and to open his minde in sondrie thinges ? Againe / though he or anie man els wolde clere himfelse from such thinges as are wrongfully laied to his charge / Act. xxiij . xxiiij.xxv . did he euell therin ? Yf it be so / then did holy . S. Paul leaue us a shrewd ensample in the Actes .

Standishe .

Which ought to haue accused / condemned / and utterly forsaken all that he had offended in / si nos ipsos iudicaremus / non utique diiudicaremur a domino . j. Cor. xj

Couerdale .

I answere / By youre owne wordes / then it foloweth not / that he was bounde to accuse and condemne himselfe of the thinges that he had not offended in . But by youre leue / where as ye bring in this text of . S. Paul ( Si nos ipsos et cetera . ) ye peruerte it / not alledginge it as it standeth / but thus / Si nos ipsos iudicaremus / non vtique diiudicaremur a Domino . That is to saie / Yf we iudged oure selues / we shulde not be iudged of the lorde . But. S / Pauls wordes are these / Quod si nos ipsos diiudicaremus / non vtique iudicaremur . Dum iudicamur autem / a Domino corripimur / ne cum hoc mundo damnemur . Standish peruerteth the texte . That is to saie / Yf we wolde iudge ( or reproue ) oure selues / we shulde not be iudged . But whan we are iudged / we are chastened of the lorde / lest we shulde be damned with this worlde . Wherfore the peruerting of this texte now at the first bront / causeth me the more to suspecte you / and to trust you the worse / because the deuell himselfe is scolemaster to such chopping vp of the texte / As we maie se in the gospell of Mathew and Luke . Math. iiij Luc. iiij . out of the xc . Psalme . Now go to / Yf I finde anie moo such iugling castes with you / ye are like to heare of it / afore I come to the ende of your boke . For weaknesse and ignoraunce can I well awaie withall ( so longe as it is not wilfull ) but the peruerting or choppinge vp of a text of holy scripture / is not to be borne vnrebuked

Standishe .

Marke here / how he vseth Ironia / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Ye confesse / that . D. Barnes in his forsaide wordes doth vse ironia / and yet ( contrary to the significacion of the worde ) ye are not ashamed to affirme / that he confessed herewithall both heresie and erroneous opinions . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now is ironia asmuch to saie as a mockage / derision / or meaning of another thinge / then is expressed in the wordes . Which maner of speakynge is much vsed not onely thorow out the Prophetes in holy scripture but also among the Heithen Poetes . And the same phrase of speche haue we in Englische / As / whan a man saieth to ashrewde boie / Come hither good sir / ye are a vertuous childe in dede / et cete . meaninge nothinge lesse . For asmuch then as ye your selfe confesse / that . D. Barnes doth here vse ironia / it is euident / that whan he saide these wordes ( You shall perceaue what erroneous opynions I holde ) his meaninge was / how that the people shulde know / that he helde no erroneous opinions / As it appeareth by these his wordes folowinge .

Barnes .

GOd I take to recorde / I neuer ( to my knowlege ) taught any erroneous doctrine / but onely those thinges which scripture led me vnto .

Standishe .

Iustly pondre by the Prophet Psal. cxl . how greuous offence is partinax excusatio in peccatis / et cet .

Couerdale .

Like as ye can not iustly laie anie partinacite to . D. Barnes for those his wordes / Gen. xiiij . Rom. j.ij. Cor. j.ij. Cor. xj . Gal. j. Iudic. xj . so proue ye the greuousnesse therof full slenderly out of the cxl . Psalme / yf the true readinge of the text be wel and iustly pondred . Where as he taketh god to recorde in the trueth of so waightye a matter / the scripture is full of holy ensamples / that beare him therin . What partinacite is there then in that acte ?

He durst avowe also / that ( to his knowlege ) he neuer taught anie erroneous doctrine / and yet are ye not ashamed to ascrybe partinacite vnto him / and to call him an obstinate heretike / where as . Who is an heretike . S. Hierome in his fourth boke the xxiiij . chapter vpon Mathew writeth thus . He is an heretike that vnder Christes name teacheth the thinges which are agaynst Christ . Yf D. Barnes therfore had wittingly and willingy taught anye thing against Christ / ye might haue laied great partinacite to his charge . Trueth it is / that he beinge in ignoraunce / and disceaued somtime by a multitude as you be / did both erre and teach erroneous doctrine for the preferrement of the. B. of Romes vsurped auctorite and other abuses / acording as many other lerned men moo in the realme haue done / ( which haue sens both repented toward god / and also receaued the Kynges gracious pardon ) many yeares agoo . Againe / yf ye will laie partinacite to his charge because he was somtime in such grosse ignoraunce / Mar. vj.ix. Luc. ij . ix.xviij . Iohn ▪ xvj . by the same argument might ye condemne Christes disciples / of whose ignoraunce mencion is made in many places of the new Testament . I saie not this to excuse ignoraunce / but to reprehende the rashnesse of youre iudgment / which presume to condemne them whom god hath called to repentaunce .

But peraduenture the pertinacite that ye laye to his charge / is because he saieth he taught onely those thinges which scripture led him vnto . For that is no small corsie to youre sore . Ye wolde not haue scripture taught onely without other doctrines . Deut. xij . Mat. xxviij Gal. j.ij. Iohn . j. Hiere . xv . Matth. v Neuertheles they that loue gods commaundement / will teach nothinge but his worde onely / for so hath he himselfe geuen commission . Of his promises is mencion made both in Hieremie and in the gospell of Matthew . As for ensamples / we haue sufficient both of the Prophetes and Apostles / which / to die for it / ij . Cor. xiij . Rom. xv . wold teach nothinge but scripture . Reade the th irtenth chapter of the seconde Epistle to the Corinthians / the fiftenth to the Romaines / and the moost godly protestacion that . S. Peter maketh in his seconde Epistle . ij . Pet. j. Let us geue place and consente to the holy scripture ( saieih . S. De peccatorum meritis et remissione cap. xxij . The bisshoppes of England . Augustine ) for it can nether disceaue / ner be disceaued . The bisshoppes also and clergie of England in the Epistle of their boke to the Kynges grace / do affirme / that holy scripture alone sheweth men the right path to come to god / to se him / to knowe him / to loue him / to serue him / and so to serue him / as he moost desireth . Wherfore they are rather obstinate agaynst god / which in steade of his onely worde / preach and teach other doctrines . But let us heare what . D. Barnes saieth more .

Barnes .

And that in my sermons I neuer mayntayned any erroure / nether moued ner gaue occasion of anye insurrection .

Standish .

What blyndnesse wolde he leade us in to ? Who hath not heard him preach agaynst all the ordinaunce of Christes church ? et cete .

Couerdale .

As for blindnesse / ye nede no leader to bring you in to it / oure lorde ( whan his will is ) bringe you out of it . This man toke god to recorde / that he neuer mainteined anye erroure / Wherby like as he denied not but that he might erre ( as he did erre grosly / whan he lyued in the Papistry ) euen so lefte he us an ensample / A good ensample in . D Barnes . to forsake all errours / and to maynteyne none . Call ye this a leadinge in to blyndnesse ? Then farewell all good ensamples of humilite and repentaunce .

To the other parte of youre cauillacion I answere . It wolde be to longe a registre for you to rehearce the names of all those / which neuer heard . D , Barnes preach agaynst the ordinaunce of Christes church . I also am one of them / which haue heard him as oft as euer dyd ye / and yet ( as I hope to haue my parte of gods mercy in Christes bloude ) I neuer heard him preach agaynst any such / sens he was conuerted first from the wicked Papistrie . Agaynst some of the ordinaunces or ceremonies vsed in youre church / haue I heard him preach oft and many times . As for you ye are none of Christes church / Standish wryteth him self to be none of Christes church . by your owne saieng . For herafter in youre treatise ye confesse your selfe / that the congregacion of Christes church in this region of England / is the Kynges Maiestye with his lerned counsaill . And truly like as I am sure that ye are not Kyng of England / so do I perceaue by youre wryting / that ye are none of the Kynges lerned counsail / And so ( by youre owne confession ) none of Christes church . The ordinaunce of Christes church is / that euery one ( from the prince to the lowest subiecte ) shall be diligent to wayte vpon his office / and to do the thinge that god hath called him vnto . To the ordinaunce of Christes church pertaineth all that is written concerning the dewtie of euery estate / and also concerning such ordre as is mete to be kepte in the church / acordinge to the doctrine of the Apostle .j. Cor. xiiij . j. Cor. xj . Dyd you euer now heare . D. Barnes preach agaynst any such holy ordinaunce of god or of his church ? No verely I suppose . For then doutlesse we shulde haue heard of it in this youre thondringe treatise .

Where as . D. Barnes now hath kene erneste against youre wicked church of the Papistrie / and preached agaynst the horrible abuses therof / cal ye that erroneous railinge and traiterous speaking ? By that reason were the Prophetes erroneous raylers / which rebuked the abuses of the Iewes church so ernestly . Esa. j. lviij.lxvj . Zac. vij Amos. v.viij. Mal. ij Gala. iiij . Collo . ij . Esa. lviij Matth. vj. j. Cor. vij . Yee and agaynst the supersticious obseruynge of fasting dayes / did the Prophetes preach / as dyd also the Apostle . S. Paul . All these and many other moo of gods seruauntes did speake agaynst supersticious obseruynge of vayne fastes / and agaynst the abusinge of that fast which god had commaunded . But agaynst true fasting / wherof mencion is made in many places of holy scripture / haue not ye yet proued that . D. Barnes dyd euer preach in his sermons / nether agaynst such daies as by lauful auctorite are appoynted without supersticion for generall fastinges .

Yf ye will blame him for preaching against the abuse of prayer / why do ye not also blame the Prophet Esaye / Esa. j. Matth. vj. xxiij . Iaco. .j iiij . oure sauyoure Christ himselfe / the Apostle . S. Iames / S. Ambrose / Gregory / Barnard / Chrysostome / Hierome . Cirillus / Fulgentius / Origen etcet . Can ye saie now / that ye haue iustly blamed . D. Barnes in this behalfe ? But thankes be vnto god / agaynst the right vse of prayer ( wherof mencion is made by oure sauioure and his Apostles thorow out the new Testament ) haue ye not yet proued / that . D. Barnes at any tyme dyd preach / sens he forsoke the Papistrie / nether agaynst such laufull dayes as by iust auctorite are appoynted for generall prayers and thankesgeuynges to god / and for the accomplishinge of other spirituall exercyses grounded vpon gods worde .

Neuertheles / I maruayll the lesse that ye blame him vnworthy in this poynte / for ye are not ashamed also to belye him / and to reporte of him / that he denied godly ordinaunce to bynde vnto deedly sinne / contrary to . S. Paul Roman . xiij . Godly ordinaunce . which chapter with the contentes therof he defended in his sermons and writynges very ernestly / and diligently set forth due obedience to the hyer powers / to the great hynderaunce of ypocrites and their wicked church / whose ordinaunce he denied utterly to bind vnto deedly synne / because it is not grounded on gods worde . But godly ordenaunce / that is to saie / the ordinaunce and institucion of god / dyd not he denie / but that the breakers and offenders therof do committe deedly synne . As for mans ordinaunce ( not institute of god / ner iustly grounded vpon his worde ) what Christen man / hauynge witte to discerne betwene chalke and chese / will saie or graunt ( excepte it be such wauering redes as feare man more then god ) that it byndeth vnto deedly synne / seinge it is sinfull / wicked / and abhominable it selfe / Esa. xxix . Matth. xv . xxiij . Marck vij . Col. ij . Gal. iiij . j . Timo. ●iij . inuented by Sathan / and repugnaunt vnto gods worde ? Is not such stuffe most vehemently rebuked by gods owne mouth / and also by his holy Apostle ? Are ye not ashamed then to affirme / that man of his auctorite maie restrayne the thinges which are fre by the gospell ? Maye a man binde that god lowseth / condemne that god saueth / or holde him in preson whom god deliuereth ? Is man stronger then god / or mans auctorite aboue the auctorite of god ? Or be they both alyke ?

Where as ye saie / that it is the church which hath this auctorite / to restrayne the thinges that are fre by the gospell / I answere / The church of Cyrist is his spouse / and the folde of those shepe that harken to his voyce / vnto his voyce ( I say ) and not vnto the voyce of straungers . He him selfe also sendinge out his Apostles / biddeth them teach all that he hath commaunded them / and not to bynde that he hath made fre / nether to make fre that he hath bownd . Agayne / the nature and condicion of an honest wife / is / to harken to the wholsome wordes of hir husbande / to preferre his commaundement / and to se tyat his housholde folkes kepe it . A strompet ( in dede ) and an harlot / careth not to controlle hir husbande / to disobeye him / and to maynteyne euell rule in his house agaynst his minde . That church therfore which taketh vpon her anye such auctorite as is not geuen her by Cyrist / is not his laufull spouse / nether can ye proue that he hath geuen your church anye power to restrayne the thinges which he hath made fre / excepte ye do it with the wordes of . S. Iames that saieth / Iaco. iiij . There is one lawgeuer / which is able to destroie and to saue / Or els with the wordes of . S. Paul that asketh the Collossians this question / Collo . ij . Yf ye be deed with Christ from the ordinaunces of the worlde / why are ye holden then with such tradicions / as though ye liued after the world ? etc.

Standishe .

Who hath not heard him preach a carnal libertie with a damnable iustificacion of onely faith to iustifie ? et cete .

Couerdale .

Truly it wolde make youre headeake / to reade all the names of them / that neuer heard . D. Barnes preach anie such vnlauful libertie as you speake of . But first I praie you / what carnall or fleshly lybertye doth he preach / that exhorteth men with well doinge to put to silence the ignoraunce of foolish men / as fre / j. Pet. ij . and not as hauynge the libertie for a cloke of wickednesse ? How oft hath he taught this doctryne / as they that haue heard him can tell / yf they be not either malicious or els forgetfull ? Who can iustly denie / but he oft and many times ( vpon due occasion in his wrytinges and sermons ) did exhorte his hearers / Rom. viij . xiij . that they wolde not lyue after the flesh / ner accomplishe the lustes therof / but to cast awaie the workes of dacknesse / to put on the armoure of lighte / to walke honestly in the light that god hath geuen them / Rom. xiiij . to folow such thinges as pertaine to peace / and thinges wher by one maye edifye another / to walke euery man in his callynge / j. Cor. vij . x ij . Cor. vj Col. iij to geue no occasion of fallinge vnto eny man / to mortifye their erthly membres / et cet. acording to the wholsome doctrine of the Apostle ? Call ye this a preaching of a fleshly and carnall libertye ? Is this a doctrine that maketh men renne at ryote / and to do what they list ? I wondre verely / that ye shame not thus to belye the trueth so oft .

Iustificacion . As pertayninge to youre blasphemye whiche saie / that it is a damnable iustificacion where faith is preached onely to iustifye / it is damnably spoken of you / yee though an aungell of heauen shuld speake it / Gal. j. yf holy . S. Paul be true which saieth / he ought to be holden accursed / that preacheth any other gospell / then that he himselfe and the other Apostles had preached . Yf ye of a cancred hatred to the trueth / haue not wilfully and maliciously taken parte agaynst the holy goost / so that ye are but led ignorauntly by a blind multitude / to affirme the saide inconuenience / I praie god lende you a clearer fight in the Kyngdone of Christ . But yf ye be mynded as were the Pharises / Matth. xij . Nar. iij. Luc. xj . and maliciously ascribe damnacion to it / wherby onely we receaue saluacion ( as they ascribed vnto the deuell / it that was the onely workynge of the holy goost ) then am I sore afrayed for you / and for as many as are of that mynde . For yf it be damnable to teach or preach wittingly agaynst the expresse worde of god / then verely is this a damnable heresye to affirme / that faith onely doth not iustifye / seynge that holy scripture so teacheth . As Gene. The scriptures . xv . Esa. liij . Abac. ij . Mar. xvj . Luc. j. viij.xxiiij . Iohn . v. xvij . Acto . xiij . xvj· Rom. iij. iiij.v.x . Gal. ij . iij.iiij.v . Philip. iij.j. Pet. j. ij Heb. iiij . xj . Of this faith that scripture speaketh of so plentifully / haue I made sufficient mencion in the prologe of that litle boke which I lately put forth in Englische / concernynge the true olde faith of Christ . Now like as the scriptures afore alledged / do testifye for us / that we meane no false ner vayne faith / euen so is the same article of iustificacion defended and maynteyned by the doctous in many and sondrye places / specially by . S. Augustine in the ccclij . chapter de vera innocentia . De verbis Domini sermone .xl. De verbis Apostoli ser. xxvij . In the boke of the fiftye sermons / the xvij . sermon / In the first boke of the retractes the xxiij . chapter / the doctours In the cv . Epistle vnto Sixtus the bisshoppe / In the xxv treatise vpon Iohn the sixte chapter / In his manualle the xxij and xxiij chapter / In the exposicion of the lxvij and of the lxx Psalme / In the liij sermon de tempore / In the v boke of his homelis the xvij homelye / In the boke of the lxxxiij questions the lxvj chapter / And in the prologe of the xxxj Psalme / I might alledge Cyrillus / Ambrose / Origen / Hilarius / Bernarde / Athanasius / with other moo / but what helpeth it ? Yet shall all the world know / that youre heresye is not onely condemned by the open and manifest scripture / but also by many of the doctours . As for naturall reason / it fighteth clerely agaynst you also / Naturall reason . yf ye pondre well the parable of the mariage in the xxij . of Matthew / and in the xiiij . of luke / the parable of the vnthriftie sonne in the xv . of Luke / the parable also of the detter in the xviij . o● Matthew and in the seuenth of Luke .

God is not the authour of synne . Where as it was laied to . D. Barnes charge / how that he shulde teach that god is the authour of synne / verely he protested openly at . S. Mary spitle the tewesdaye in easter weke / that he was neuer of that mynde / howbeit he confessed ( as the trueth is ) that where as in his boke he had wrytten of predestinacion and fre will / ther was occasion taken of him by his writynge / that he shulde so meane . But verely yf he had in that matter bene as circumspecte / as the children of this worlde are wyse in their generacion / he might the better haue auoided the capciousnesse of men afore hand . Neuertheles it appeareth planely that he mistrusted no such thing / and therfore dyd to moch simplicite disceaue him in that behalfe / as it doth many moo / which are not so wyse as serpentes . Nether fynde ye in all his boke these wordes ( God is the authoure of synne ) but ye maie fynde these wordes / The gouerner of al thinges is most wise / D. Barnes wordes . moost rightous / and most merciful / and so wyse / that nothinge that he doth / can be amended / so righteous / that there can be no suspicion in him of vnrighteousnesse / et cet ▪ Item All thing that he doth / is well done . Wh●●fore yf they that laied that heresye to . D. Barnes charge / had remembred their owne distinction ( of malum pene and malum culpe ) at the reading of his wordes / aswell as they can note it in other places / they might easely haue perceaued his meanynge / and not haue mistaken him .

Ye saye also . D. Workes . Barnes dyd preach that workes do not profit . Yf ye meane workes inuented by mens owne braynes / not grounded on gods worde / then verely might he well saye / that such workes do not profit to saluacion . Rom. xiiij . For what soeuer is not of faith / is sinne . But yf ye meane such good workes as are comprehended in the commaundementes of god / Osie . xij and within the precyncte of his word / then truly ye fayle so to reporte of him / for though saluacion be gods worke onely yet . D. Barnes in his boke doth not onely condemne the fleshly and damnable reason of them / which saye / Yf faith onely iustifieth / what nede we to do anye good workes ? et ce. But also he affirmeth planely / that we must nedes do them / and that they which will not do them because they be iustified alonely by faith / are not the children of god ner childrne of iustificacion / et ce . For yf they were the very true children of god / they wolde be the gladder to do good workes etcet . D. Barnes wordes . Therfore ( saieth he ) shulde they also be moued frely to worke / yf it were for none other purpose ner profit / but onely to do the will of their merciful god that hath s●●●ely iustified them / and also to profit their neghboure / whom they are bounde to serue of very true charite . Are these wordes now asmuch to saye / as workes do not profit ? Lorde god / what meane ye / thus vntruly to reporte of the deed ?

I fond obiection against the iustificacion of faith . Where as ye make this blynde obiection and saye / of workes profit not / so that faith onely iustifieth / and Christes death be sufficient / then penaunce is voyde and superfluous / I answere A goodly consequent / gathered nether of wittye sophistry / wyse logyek / ner of good Philosophy / ( excepte it be of Philosophy vnnatural ) no ner of right diuynite . Workes profit not to saluation ergo they profit nothing at all / Is this a praty consequent ? Youre consequent is naught / saieth . S. lj . Pet. j. Peter / for by good workes must ye make your vocacion certayne and sure . Alike argument might ye make after this maner / and saye / Yron is not profitable to chew or to eate / ergo it is nothing worth . were not this a wise consequent ? The smyth will tell you a better tayle .

Peraduenture ye will excuse youre selfe / and saie / This consequent is not myne / but Barnes wordes . I answere . Yes verely / they be your owne wordes / for ye saie planely afterward in your treatise / Yf Christ had deliuered us from all payn satisfactory / et ce. ? we shuld nether mourne ner be penitent for our offence committed agaynst god / nether nede we to mortifye our flesh . This your fleshly and damnable reason / this your heresye / this foule stinckyng opinion / this pestilent erroure and spirituall poyson / Dyd . Barnes utterly abhorre / and condemned it by . S. Pauls owne wordes / in the xlix leafe of his boke . So that the more I loke vpon youre wordes / the mote I wonder at your shamelesse slaundring of the trueth . But as touchinge this / I shall haue more occasion to talke with you afterward .

Now to put you to youre probacion . How are ye able iustly to proue / that pennaunce is voyde and superfluous / where faith is preached onely to iustifie ? the true faith of Christ / Gal. v. is it that we speak of . Is it not occupied then / and worketh thorow godly loue and charite ? They then that duely receaue this faith / do not receaue it to lyue worse or as euell afterward / as they did afore god gaue it them . For though we be saued by grace thorow faith / and that not of our selues / Ephe. ij . though it be the gift of god ( I saie ) not of workes / Yet are we his workmanshippe / created in Christ Iesu vnto good workes / to the which god ordeyned us before / that we shulde walke in them . Nether hath oure sauioure geuen us anie libertie to receaue it in vayne / ij . Cor. vj. Tit. ij . but teacheth us to forsake al vngodlynesse and wordly lustes / and to lyue discretely / iustly / and godly in this worlde . Therfore who so despiseth to lyue vertuously / and to do good workes / j. Tessa. iiij . despiseth not man / but god . The same faith that onely iustifieth / setteth forth this doctrine / therfore doth it not destroye good workes and pennaunce . Take you hede them and beware what ye saie another i● me . I might pointe you also to . S. lib. j. cap. v●● Ambrose / who treatinge of the calling of the heithen / and declaringe the true origenal of oure saluacion / alledgeth the place afore rehearced of the ij to the Ephesians / and sheweth / that faith goeth as it were with childe / beynge replenished with all good thoughtes and dedes / and in due season bringeth them forth . De vera et falsa peniten . cap. ij . And. S. Augustine saieth these wordes / Yf faith be the foundacion of pennaunce / without the which ther is nothing that can be good / then is pennaunce ernestly to be required / which ( as it is euydent ) is grounded in faith . For a good tre can not bring forth euell frutes . Matth. xij . Pennaunce therfore which proceadeth not of faith / is not profitable / et ce . These are . S. Augustines wordes . Faith then destroieth nether pennaunce ner good workes / but is the wombe that beareth them both / and of whom they both proceade .

Touchinge the article of forgeuenesse / where ye saie / that it is contrary to the ordre of oure Sauiours prayer / that we must be forgeuen of god afore we can forgeue / are ye not ashamed thus to proceade forth in blasphemies agaynst the manifest worde of god / yee and clearly agaynst your owne wordes ? Do ye not confesse youre selfe / that first god of his mercy onely geueth us grace / with out which we can do nothinge that is good ? Is it not a good thing / j. Iohn . iiij one man to forgeue another ? Do ye not graunt also / that god first loued us / yee euen whan he was not loued of us ? Why then shame ye not to wryte / that it is agaynst the ordre of oure lordes prayer / to be forgeuen of god / afore we can forgeue ? Is the loue of oure sauioure agaynst the ordre of his prayer ? Or dyd he not forgeue us / whan he loued us first ? Can he loue / and not forgeue ? Thynke ye god to be of the nature of those / which forgeue and loue not / or that shew tokens and countenaunce of loue in outward appearaunce / and forgeue not in their hertes ?

A shame is it for you / to take vpon you the office of a teacher / of a reader / of a preacher / and to handle such a waightie matter as this is / so slenderly / so frowardly / so crokedly / so farre out of frame / so wyde from the ordre of Christes sincere and true doctrine . Red ye neuer the parable of forgeuenesse / Math. xviij that oure sauioure telleth in the eightenth of Matthew ? Which parable like as it setteth forth oure dutye / and teacheth us / euery one to forgeue oure brethrens trespaces from oure hert rotes / proueth it not likewise / that the lorde first pitieth us / dischargeth us / and forgeueth us oure greate dette ? Gal. v. Is not loue and gentlenesse ( that one Christen man oweth to another ) a frute of the holy goost ? Is it not a worke of faith then and of the holy goost ( yee a frute of that pennaunce which proceadeth of them both ) one man to forgeue another ? Doth not our lorde himselfe saye / A new commaundement I geue you / to loue one another / that euen as I haue loued you / Iohn . xiij ye also maie loue one another ? etc. Be ye curteous ( saieth . S. Ephe. iiij Paul ) one to another / mercifull / and forgeue one another / euen as god hath forgeuen you in Christ . Item . Col. iij. Now therfore as the electe of god / holy and beloued / put on tender mercy / kindnesse / humblenesse of mynde / mekenesse / long sufferinge / forbearing one another / yf any man haue a quarell agaynst another . Euen as Christ hath forgeuen you / so do ye also .

Be these scriptures now against the ordre of oure lordes praier ? The wordes wherof yf we rehearce in ordre as he taught them / Luc. xj . Matth. vj. then ( afore we aske anie peticion ) we first confesse / that almightie god is oure father / and we his children / which we can not be / excepte he hath graunted us forgeuenesse for Christes sake . Agayne / ther is no prayer good and acceptable without faith / for / how shal they call vpon him ( saieth . Rom. x. S. Paul ) in whom they haue not beleued ? They therfore that truly saie their Pater noster / Iob. iij. vj.xj Mar. xvj . are faithfull beleuers / to whom eternall life is promised by Christes owne mouth / and haue their sinnes forgeuen them of god .

Do ye not considre / that they to whom oure lorde taught this praier / were his Apostles / and true Christen men ? which like as they them selues first haue forgeuenesse of god ( they shulde neuer els be Christen men ) so vse they to forgeue other / ●ob . xiij . Math. xviij Ephe. v acording to the doctrine of scripture . For the Apostle saieth / Be ye the folowers therfore of god / as deare children / and walke in loue / euen as Christ loued us / et ce . And what Christen man beyng in his right witte / dyd euer denye / but that yf we ( which haue forgeuenesse of god ) will not forgeue oure trespacers / he shall withdrawe his forgeuenesse from us ? But you ( not regardinge the ordre that god hath taken in the saluacion of his people ) turne the roote of the tre vpwarde / draw the threde thorow afore the nedle / set the cart afore the horse . Yee your doctrine will haue us to be the fore goers of god / and not the folowers of him / as scripture byddeth us .

Standishe .

A reuocacion of these was red in octauis pasche / et ce.

Couerdale .

What reuocacions ye make in mens names ( they beinge absent ) I can not tell . But like as ye come to the sermon to take Christ in his wordes / so are ye not to lerne to turne the cat in the pan . This may all the world spie here in you / that as ye are craftie and sotell to bring men to reuocacions / so are ye malicious in diffaminge of them .

Standishe .

Furthermore / reade his detestable bokes / and you shal se what pestilent sede he hath sowid .

Couerdale .

Yf D. Barnes bokes be detestable and to be abhorred / why do ye bid us reade them ? Will ye haue the kynges subiectes to read abhominable bokes ?

As for the sede which he dyd sowe / I can not greatly maruail at you / that cal it a pestilent sede / for in his boke he said these wordes / D. Barnes words in the xxxiiij leafe of his boke . Whan I am deed / the sonne and the mone / the starres and the element water and fire / Yee and also the stones shal defende this cause against them ( meaninge the cause of gods word against the spiritualty ) sooner then the veryte shulde perishe / This is one corne of the sede that . D. Barnes dyd sowe . And verely so farre as I can perceaue / this same litle praiy sede ( veryte ) will growe and come vp . Yee I maye tel you / it wil grow in youre owne gardens / whan ye are most against it . ●or Christ tolde your predecessours planely / 〈◊〉 xix . that yf his disciples wolde not speake / the very stones shulde crye / acording to the prophecye of Abacue . 〈◊〉 . ij . It is no wonder therfore / though he cal this a pestilent sede . For pestilent is asmuch to saye as hurtfull or vnwholsome / so that yf ye suffre this sede of the verite to growe / it will hurt youre false doctrine / and the phisicians that haue sene your water / saie / that it is vnwholsome for your complexion .

Standish .

And therbye you shall perceaue / how shamefully now he doth lye ( like as he hath done euer heretofore )

Couerdale .

By. D. Barnes bokes maye euery man perceaue / that he confesseth the articles of the Christen beleue . And yf he lyed euer here tofore ( as you reporte of him ) then sayde he neuer trueth . Now is it manifest also / that in his boke to the Kynges highnesse / In the iiij leafe . he confesseth / that no man in England is excepte from the subiection of the Kynges power / nether bisshoppe ner other . He confesseth also / that the Kynges prerogatyue is alowed by gods worde . He saieth like wise in the nexte leafe / In the v leafe . that it is not laufull for the spiritualtye to depose a Kynge . Is not this trueth ? Will ye saye then that he hath lyed euer here tofore ? Let not the Kynge ner his counsaill here these your wordes / I will advyse you . Now like as . D. Barnes spake trueth in these thinges / so heard I him saye to a sorte of malicious enemies of gods worde / euen the sayenge of Christ to the wilful Iewes . Iohn . viij . Ye are of the father the deuell / and after the lustes of youre father wil ye do . He was a murthurer from the begynnynge / and abode not in the trueth / for the trueth is not in him . Whan he speaketh a lye / he speaketh of his owne / for he is a lyar / and father of the same / et ce . Ye will graunt these wordes to be true / I thinke .

Standishe .

Which wolde haue us here to beleue contrary to oure hearinge and seynge / that he neuer taught ner preached heresye / ner erroneous opynions .

Couerdale .

To that doth . D. Barnes saie himselfe / in his fore rehearced wordes / that to his knowlege he neuer taught anye erroneous doctrine . Somwhat also haue I sayde vnto you allready concernynge this matter .

Standishe .

I praye you / what was his owne reuocacion / et ce.

Couerdale .

Ye make answere to youre owne question your selfe . Ye saie that he utterly there forsoke many of his olde damnable heresies . Yf ( as you saye ) he forsoke there his olde damnable heresyes / then dyd he there as he dyd in other his sermons / euen shewed himselfe to abhorre the heresies of the papistrie / for those were the olde infections that he was tangled withall somtyme .

Barnes .

ALlthough I haue bene slaundred to preach that oure lady was but a saffron bagg / which I utterly proteste before god / that I neuer meant it ner preached it : but all my studie and diligence hath bene utterly to confounde and confute all men of that doctryne / as are the anabaptistes / which denie that oure sauioure Christ did take anie flesh of the blessed virgin Mary / which sectes I deteste and abhorre .

Standish .

A fond consequent . Here he cleareth himselfe to be no Anabaptist / as though ther were no heresie but that alone .

Couerdale .

Ye wolde be lothe youre selfe / that other men shuld so vnderstond your wordes / or gather such a consequent of them . Yf ye were accused to be a preuy these / and came before a multitude to cleare youre selfe from that vice / wold ye men shulde iudge you to be therfore of so fond opinion as to thinke / that ther were no moo vices but theft alone ? I doubte not / but yf ye were strately examyned / ye wolde saye / that ther were also the vice of lienge / the vice of malice / of slaundring / of bacbyting / of frowardnesse / of foolishnesse / of wilfulnesse / et cet .

Standish .

And yet this opinion / to saie Christ did passe thrugh the virgins wombe as water thrugh a cundeth / was none of the Anabaptistes owne opinion . It was one of the Maniches erroure and also Eutices errour / whom som of the Anabaptistes herin dyd folow .

Couerdale .

Whose erroure so euer it was / I referre that to you / for youre treatise declareth / that ye be wel acquainted with heretikes .

Standishe .

Therfore . M. Barnes hereby doth not pourge himselfe from the Anabaptistes heresie concerning the baptime of infauntes .

Couerdale .

His disputacions had oft times with them / his continual preaching against them / his dailie wordes also and conuersacion was recorde sufficient / that he abhorred their erroure also in that behalfe . Why / wolde ye haue him them to pourge himselfe therof ? Youre phisike is not good / to geue a man a purgacion / which is not infecte with such euell or grosse humours / as require a purgacion .

Standishe .

Here he saieth / he neuer gaue occasion to insurrecion / But how saye you ? Dyd he not offre himselfe to cast his gloue in defence of his errours at Pauls crosse ?

Couerdale .

He sayde at the crosse the thirde sondaie in lent / Here is my gloue / not in defence of anye erroure / ( as ye vntruely reporte ) nether with materiall swerde / buckler or speare to defende anye such thinge / but with the swerde of gods worde to proue / that god first forgeueth us / afore we can forgeue / and that they be no breakers of ordre which set forth gods worde and due obedience to their prince / but they that mainteine their owne tradicions / burne gods worde / and regarde not the Kynges iniunctions / et cet .

Standishe .

Dyd he not openly saye / these thinges ( meanynge his errours ) must be tryed by bloude ?

Couerdale .

Ye are to blame to be so malaperte / as to entre so presumptuously in to a mans thought / and so to iudge it / For his very death declareth / that he meant not to fight / nor to hurt anye mans bloude / nether to set men together by the eares for anye article of his beleue . But that they which are of the trueth / Math. x. xvj must in the cause therof suffre their bloude to be shed / and be content to dye for the name of Christ / yf they be called ther vnto .

Standishe·

What call you this / but geuyng occasion of insurrection ?

Couerdale .

Yf this be insurrection / Acto . xv then dyd the Apostles send out two sedicious men / Paul and Barnabas / for in their Epistle they testifye of them / that they ioperded their lyues for the name of oure lorde Iesus Christ . And yet their weapons were not carnall / as . S. Paul saieth . ij . Cor. x. Yf it be insurrection therfore whan a man offreth himselfe to dye in the cause of Christ / then dyd he himselfe preach insurrection whan he sayde / Math. x. xvj Mar. viij . he that looseth his life for my sake / shall fynde it . Whosoeuer looseth his life for my sake and the gospell / shall saue it . I saie vnto you my frendes . Luc. xij Be not afrayed of them which kyll the body / and afterwarde haue nomore that they can do . But I will shew you whom ye shall feare / Feare him / which after he hath kylled / hath power to cast in to hell . Yee I saye vnto you Feare him . D. Barnes therfore offeringe himselfe to dye in the cause of Cyrist and his gospell / shameth you / and all youre affinite ( as ye call it ) which will not ioperde to put youre litle fyngre / where he hath suffred his whole body to be brent for the triall of the trueth .

Standishe .

He sayeth he neuer called oure lady a saffron bagg / whether the dyd or no / I wote not / but I herd him at Barkyn two yeare and more before he was burnt in declaring the canticle Magnificat / slaunderously speake of her .

Couerdale .

Oure lady hath but a faynt frende of you / that hearinge one slaundre her in his sermon / coulde not fynde in youre hart ( by the space of two yeare and more ) to se him openly rebuked for it / but now like a cowarde / to stand vp whan he is deed / and to accuse him / that can not answere for himselfe . Verely like as he ( what so euer he be ) that slaundreth oure lady / is worthy of open punishment to the ensample of other / euen so seing that ( by youre owne confession ) ye heard him slaundre her so long afore his death / and complained not of it / ye make youre selfe giltye of the crime / by the same texte that ye alledge out of the Romaynes in the later ende of youre preface . Rom. j. Nether can I beleue / that anie of the Kynges counsaill hearing of anie such inconuenience / and hauinge sufficient profe therof / wolde differre the punishment solonge .

Standishe .

Makynge her no better then another woman ▪ et cetera .

Couerdale .

In dede it was not . D. Barnes ner anie other creature that made her better then other women / but euen the holy and blessed trenite / whose good pleasure it was / to chose her afore all other / to be the worthie mother of oure sauioure Iesus Christ in whom all faithfull shulde be blessed . But yf ye saye that he in his sermons reputed her no better then another woman / then declare ye youre selfe to be a very malicious slaunderer of the deed / agaynst whom like as ye proue nothinge / so were not onely his sermons gathered at his mouth in wrytinge / but also the lerned men that heard him preach and were then present at Barkyng / do testifie and reporte / that in their life they neuer heard man speake more reuerently of the blessed virgyn Mary / then he dyd in that place .

Barnes .

ANd in dede in this place there hath bene burnt some of them / whom I neuer fauoured ner mainteyned .

Standishe·

Here he saieth / that he doth deteste and abhorre some that hath bene burnyd in Smythfelde / wherby we man se / that in all thinges heretikes do not agree among them selues / et cet .

Couerdale .

By the same collection shulde ye haue inferred also / than an heretike agreeth not with himselfe / An heretike agreeth not with himselfe . and haue proued it whan ye haue done / as ye do wel fauouredly in that youre treatise / where whan ye haue said one thing in one place / ye affirme the contrary in another / as I shall shew more planely afterward .

Barnes .

BVt with all diligence euermore dyd I studye to set forth the glory of god / the obedience to oure soueraigne lorde the kynge / and the true and syncere relygion of Christ .

Couerdale .

Here ( gentle readers ) note well and forget not / that to these wordes of . D. Barnes / Iohn . Standish saieth nothinge / wher by it appeareth that he can not denie / but that . D. Barnes was a diligent setter forth of gods glory / of due obedience / and Christes religion . which thre thinges who so doth / is in my mynde no heynous heretike .

Barnes .

ANd now harken to my faith ▪ I beleue in the holy and blessed trenyte / that created and made all the world / and that this blessed trenyte sent downe the seconde person Iesus Christ in to the wombe of the blessed and most puryst virgin Mary . And here beare me recorde / that I do utterly condemne that abhominable and detestable opynion of the Anabaptistes / which saye / that Christ toke no flesh of the blessed virgin . For I beleue / that without the consent of mans will or power / he was conceaued by the holy goost / and toke flesh of her / and that he suffred honger / thirst / colde and other passions of oure body ( synne excepte ) acordinge to the sayenge of . S. Peter / he was made in all thinges like to his brethren excepte synne . And I beleue that he lyued here amonge us : and after he had preached and taught his fathers will / he suffred the most cruell and bytter death for me and all mankynde : And I do beleue that this his death and passion was the sufficient pryce and rawnsome for the synne of all the worlde : And I beleue / that thorow his death / he ouercame the deuell / synne / death and hell .

Standish .

This is well saide / but marke the deuel and Peter / the one Matth. xvj . the other Marke v. et ce.

Couerdale .

What / are ye so forgetfull of your selfe ? Saide ye not in your preface / that the protestacion of . D. Barnes doth smell and sauoure nothinge but heresie and treason ? And now ye confesse / that in these fore rehearced wordes he saide well / which coulde not be / yf they smelled either of heresie or treason . Standish contrary to himselfe . Thus are ye become not onely contrary to youre selfe / but also a defendoure of . D. Barnes protestacion / and approue the same . And in this do ye proue the sentence true that I spake of afore / namely that he which is geuen to false doctrine / agreeth not with himselfe / after the ensample of you / which teach one thinge in one place / and denie the same in another .

Where as ye compare the confession of . D. Barnes / to the confession of the deuell / we will trye youre doctryne by the texte of . S. Marke / and ther by shall we se / how well these two confessions do agree / and how clarkly ye haue ioined them together . S. Marke reporteth / Mar. ● . that the legion of deuels which had possessed a certaine man / and taken his right mynde from him / et cet. cryed out and saide vnto oure sauioure / What haue I to do with the / thou sonne of the moost hie god ? Here is it manifest / that the deuell cryeth out of oure sauioure Christ / and wolde haue nothinge to do with him . Whan dyd . D. Barnes crye out of him ? A greate parte of the world can testifie / that he hath cryed out of Antichrist and his chaplens / yee and that so lowde / that he hath awaked a great nombre with his cryenge .

Yee but to my purpose ( will ye saye ) the deuell also confesseth / Christ to be the sonne of god . I answere Their confessions be not alike . For. D. Barnes doth not onely confesse that Christ is the sonne of god / but saieth also / I beleue / that he suffred the moost cruell and bitter death for me / et cete . Whan dyd the deuell beleue / that Christ dyed for him ? Agayne / The confession of . D. Barnes . this confession of . D. Barnes condemneth the heresye of the Anabaptistes concernyng the incarnacion of the lord Iesus . Whan dyd the deuell condemne anye such false opinion ? Will ye make it not deuelish doctryne to be of that secte ? Beware what ye saye . Are ye not ashamed then to compare these blessed wordes / to the confession of the deuell / and yet to wryte that they be well sayde ?

Standishe .

This youre confession doth not proue you to be a good Christen man .

Couerdale .

By youre iudgment / to confesse the true beleue in the blessed trenyte / to confesse the incarnacion of Christ / to abhorre the false opinion of the Anabaptistes / to beleue in Christes death / resurrection / et cete . is no profe of a Christen man / No though Christ himselfe saie / Who so euer doth knowlege me before men / him will I knowlege also before my father which is in heauen . And. S. Paul / Math. x. Luc. xij . Roma . x. To beleue with the hert / iustifieth / and to knowlege with the mouth / saueth / for the scripture saieth / Who soeuer beleueth on him / shall not be confounded .

Esa. xxviij . Wherfore / yf men considre your wordes / ye bring youre selfe verely in to a shrewd suspicion / for ye seme to fauoure the miscreauntes and infidels / euen them that beleue not the articles of the Christen faith . It semeth / that ye beleue in some other thinge then god / els wolde ye make more of the Christen belefe / then ye do .

Standish .

For the most parte of the heretikes condemned by scripture and oure mother the church / et cet .

Couerdale .

Where fynde ye in the scripture / that he is condemned / which beleueth in the sonne of god ? all though ye call him and wryte him heretike ten thousand times ? But I se well / ye lack helpe . I will tell you where ye shall fynde a text of scripture for your purpose . S. Iohn . the baptist saieth / He that beleueth on the sonn of god / hath euerlastinge life . And Christ oure sauioure saieth a litle afore in the same chapter / God so loued the world / Iohn . iij. that he gaue his onely begotten sonne / that who so beleueth in him / shulde not perishe / but haue eternall life etcet . He that beleueth on him / is not condemned .

And where as ye saie / that then were condemned by the church / I answere . Yf ye meane the church of Christ ( which I doubte not to be in Englang / aswell as in other realmes ) then blaspheme ye it / for saienge / that it condemneth them / whom Christ with his owne mouth pronounceth not to be condemned . For Christes church neuer condemneth them / whom he saueth . Yee and in youre so reportinge / ye blaspheme the Kynges highnesse / chefe and suppreme head nexte vnder god of this saide church of England / without whose auctorite no execucion maie laufully be done within his dominion . Howbeit amonge the busshes and in a corner without the kynges knowlege / a true man somtime maie chaunce peraduenture to be hanged as soone as a thefe .

Yf ye meane youre owne mother the church of the froward and multitude of wicked doers / then verely ( like a good childe ) ye haue discloysed and uttered youre mothers secretes / and tolde us hir very nature / which as she is a very spirituall strompet and comon harlot / so is she a mother of murther / a shedder of innocent bloud / and ( by your owne confession ) a condemner of them / whom Christ darre advowe to be saued .

What ye meane by the censoure of the powers / a man can not well perceaue by youre wordes / ye speake so confusedly . But yf ye meane the sentence / iudgment / or determinacion of the hyer powers / then slaundre ye them ( as I saide afore ) in that ye reporte / how they shulde be the condemners of those / whom Christ hath not condemned .

Yf by the censoure of the powers ye meane your owne vsurped auctorite / or the stollen and vntruely gotten auctorite of youre mother the wicked church / then we beleue you . For in her ( as the aungell saieth ) is founde the bloude of the prophetes and sayntes . Apoc. xviij .

Yf ye meane the fyrepanne that ye cast incense in / then maye we se that youre censoure is wheter then other mens fyre / and therfore the more persons for anie man to medle withall .

Yf by the censoure of the powers / ye meane the censoure of youre excomunicacion / then declare ye youre selues to be the cursers of them / whom god hath blessed / and so are ye cursed of god / Gen. xij . Sach . ij . which saieth vnto Abraham ( and in him to euery faithfull beleuer ) I will curse them that curse the. And he that toucheth you ( sayeth the Prophet ) toucheth the apple of gods owne eye .

Barnes .

ANd that there is none other satisfaction vnto the father / but this his death and passion onely .

Standish .

Amonge other this was one of his errours / that he reuoked the last Easter at the Spittle .

Couerdale .

Here ye take youre pastyme vpon the deed / and straye abrode allmoost as farre as sixe leafes of youre treatise will extende . And now and then because the comon people that be vnlerned / shulde the better vnderstonde youre wordes / ye geue them a sentence of latyn / and now and then halfe a sentence . I coulde tell wherfore / yf I wolde .

Amonge other ( ye saye ) this was one of his errours . Ye iudge it an erroure to affirme / Standish is full of his latyn . that ther is none other satisfaction vnto the father / but the death and passion of Christ onely / and yet ( like a lerned man / full sure of youre selfe ) ye confesse planely on the other side of the leafe in youre boke / that no man can satisfie for the offence . Vpon this ye must geue me leue to demaunde this question of you . Yf it be erroneous to saie / that Christ is the satisfaction vnto the father / and ye youre selfe confesse / Standishe is contrary to himselfe . that no man els doth satisfie for the offence / To whom then shall we ascribe this honoure of satisfienge for oure sinnes ? A lasse what a grosse erroure be ye in ? O blinde gydes / what waie will ye leade the people of god ? Vnhappie is the flock / that is vnder your keping . And happie is the man / whom thou ( lorde god ) instructest / and teachest him out of thy lawe . It is time lorde to laie to thine hand / for they haue waisted awaie thy lawe . Psal. xciij Psal. cxviij .

This article ( that Christes death onely is the satisfaction to the father for all the sinnes of the worlde ) is plaine / manifest / and approued thorow out all the holy scripture / the whole sentences wherof are here to longe to rehearce / but the text is open and euident / though somtime it vse one vocable / and somtime another . For to this article perteine all those scriptures that reporte him to be the pacifier and reconciler of his fathers wrath / the clenser / the pourger / the maker of attonement / or agrement / the opteiner of grace / the sacrifice and oblacion for oure sinnes etcet . The father of heauen himselfe doth testifie / that it is his sonne Iesus Christ / Math. iij. xvij . ij . Pet. j Iohn . j. in whom or by whom he is pleased and content . Who taketh awaie the sinne of the worlde but he ? In whom are we complete ( and haue all heauenly and necessary thinges pertaininge to saluacion ) but in him ? Col. ij . I passe ouer the rehearsall of the scriptures written Esa. liij . Ose . xiij . j. Pet. j.ij.j. Iohn . j. ij.iij . Apoc. j. Heb. j. v.vij.ix.x . Tit. ij . Col. j.ij.j. Timot. j.ij.j. Corinth . j.ij. Cor. v. Rom. iij.v.

Whatsoeuer . D. Barnes reuoked ( as ye reporte of him ) I referre that to you / which seme to knowe more therof then I. Yf ye were compelled by force to write / reade / or saie anie thinge agaynst right and conscience / then like as they be to blame that wil feare man more then god in that behalfe / so will god certainlie be the visitoure of such extreme handlinge . I wolde wisshe with all my hert ( yf I might laufully so do ) that the kynges moost roiall persone might se as farre / The kynges grace knoweth not of all the euell that is done in his realme . as his hie auctorite extendeth / for I feare the comon prouerbe be to true / that there runneth by the myll much water / which the miller knoweth not of . Nether be all then gentle and louing intreaters of the Kynges subiectes / that speake to his maiestie faire wordes in his face / yee the Kynges grace maie haue Iudas in his realme / aswell as Christ had him in his small courte . I am sory at my hart rote / whan I remembre / how oft the Kynges highnesse hath proued his conclusion true in his time . I can saie nomore / but referre all secretes to god / who ( I am sure ) will do as he was wont / and bring all falshode to light at the last .

As for . D. Barnes preachinge at the spittle / so farre as I can lerne / there is nothinge maketh more agaynst you / then that same his daies worke . For like as he there openly gaue a good ensample of charite and fraternall reconciliacion / An ensample of charite . So is the same a confusion to you and all youre wanton secte / which belyenge the trueth / blasphemynge the holy gost / and slaundrynge them that are the pryce of Christes bloude aswell as you ( which poyntes smell of grater heresye / then ye can proue agaynst . D. Barnes in this his protestacion ) will not repent / ner aske open forgeuenesse . Which of youre cancred sorte hath yet of his owne fre mynde ( vncompelled ) come in to an open audience / and played such a parte / or desyred reconciliacion ? Not one of you all / that I knowe of / no though the Kyng hath commaunded you in his iniunctious / and though some of you hath not bene ashamed to burne gods worde .

Standishe .

As it was declared at Pauls crosse / et cet .

Couerdale .

A mans last will must stande . D. Barnes last will and testament ( wher vpon he taketh his death ) is this / that ther is no other satisfaction vnto the father / but the deeth and passion of Christ onely . Therfore though it had bene ten thousand tymes reuoked afore / yee and declared neuer so oft at Pauls crosse / either in the rehearsall sermon or other wyse / Yet shall no mans reuokynge / no ner your blastinge and blowing / your stampinge and stayringe / your stormy tempestes ner wyndes / be able to ouerthrow this trueth and testimonye of the holy goost thorow out the scriptures / that the death of Iesus Christ onely doth satisfye and content the father of heauen / j. Ioh. j.ij. and maketh the attonoment for oure synnes . Nether do ye ought but bark agaynst the Moone / so longe as ye laboure to mynishe the glory of Christ / as though he optayned not grace for all the synne of the worlde .

Youre opynion and doctryne will not suffre Christ to be a full satisfyer vnto his father for all synnes . Ye saye he delyuered us from origenall synne and actuall / and yet ye youre selues confesse / that ther be also venyall synnes / Which yf ye taught not to be washed awae with some other thinges of youre owne chosynge / No doubte ye wold confesse / that Christ delyuered us from them also / aswell as from the other .

In this youre doctryne ye confesse / Diuersite . that thorow Christ we maye auoyde and escape the eternall and seconde death / and yet afterward saye ye / that our satisfaction doth please and content allmightye god / as satisfactory for oure trespace .

But how fayntly bring ye out these wordes ( We maye ) O howe loth are ye / that Christ shulde haue his due honour ? Agayne / How stand youre wordes now together ? Yf we escape the eternall and second death by Christ / how can we ascribe the pacifieng and contenting of allmightie god to oure owne satisfaction ? Morouer / how doth god accepte oure satisfaction as satisfactory for oure trespace / whan no man ( by youre owne confession ) can satisfie for the offence ? Is not trespace and offence all one thinge ?

Heresie . Ye affirme in youre latyn wordes / that a man suffreth not the eternall and second death thorow the sinne of Adam / which saienge includeth a very heinous heresie / and is openly confuted by the Apostle to the Romaines / Roma . v. where like as he proueth that the saluacion of all men came onely by Christ / so affirmeth he also / that condemnacion came on all men thorow Adam .

Standishe .

No man can ( I graunt ) satisfie pro culpa / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Diuersite . Ye graunt now / that no man can satisfie for the offence / and yet ye saide afore / that oure satisfaction is accepted of god as satisfactory for oure trespace . Diuersite . Item / ye saie here / that euery man must satisfie for the punishment belonginge to sinne / and ye graunted afore / that thorow Christ we auoyde and escape the eternall and second death . loke better on youre boke man for shame . Is not the eternall and seconde death / euerlasting damnacion and punishment due for sinne ? How can we then satisfie for the punishment belonginge vnto sinne / whan ( by youre owne confession ) we escape it by Christ ? Alas that ye are so blind / or that ye shulde buylde vpon so weake a foundacion .

Standishe .

Acordinge to that of . S. Paul . j. Cor. xj . Sinos ipsos iudicaremus / et cet .

Couerdale .

Remembre youre selfe well / and forget not / that ye haue brought in this texte / to proue / that euery man must satisfie for the punishment belonging vnto sinne . Neuertheles let us se wher vpon the Apostle speaketh / and pondre the circumstaunce of his wordes / so shall we trye / whether Paul and you agree / and whether ye haue iugled with the texte or no. For I feare me / we shall fynd / that ye haue played another false cast / euen with this same poore texte . j. Cor. xj . The wordes of the Apostle are these / Yf we wolde iudge ( or reproue ) oure selues / we shulde not be iudged . But whyle we are iudged / we are chastened of the lorde / lest we shulde be damned with this worlde . These are . S. Pauls wordes .

Afore in another place of youre treatise / ye bring in this texte for another purpose / namely / to proue / that . D. Barnes ought to haue accused and condemned himselfe . And now forgetfull what ye sayd afore / or els wilfull blind ( as it semeth ) ye alledge the same text / to proue / that euery man must satisfye for the punishment belonginge vnto sinne . Thus make ye of gods holy scripture / a shipmans hose / wresting and wringing it to what purpose ye will . Verely such peruerting of the scripture can ye not vse without your awne damnacion / ij . Pet. iij. excepte ye amende / yf . S. Peter be true .

The Apostle shewing the Corinthians the true institucion of oure lordes holy supper / and the right vse therof / concludeth with these wordes / sayenge / The texte j. Cor. xj . Let a man examen himselfe / and so let him eate of this bred / and drinke of this cuppe . For he that eateth and drinketh vnworthely / eateth and drinketh his owne damnacion / because he discerneth not the lordes body from other meates . Therfore are many weake and sick amonge you / and many slepe . For yf we iudged oure selues / we shulde not be iudged . But whyle we be iudged / we are chastened of the lord / lest we shuld be damned with this worlde . Wherfore my brethren / whan ye come together to eate / tary one for another / et cet .

By the circumstaunce then of this chapter / it is euident / that these wordes of the Apostle extende to the right vse of the holy sacrament / teachinge us / that afore we come to the lordes boorde / we ought first to iudge / to trie / to proue / and to examen oure selues / in what case we stonde towarde god and oure neghboure / consideringe / that it is no childish playe / ner a thing lightly to be regarded / but a most waightie and ernest matter concernynge oure saluacion / the glory of god / and edifienge of the worlde . The holy supper of oure lorde . And whan we haue duely and vnfaynedly tryed oure selues ( by comparinge oure whole conuersacion both inward and outward to the iust commaundementes of god ) and by occasion therof haue hartely knowleged and confessed oure synnes / beynge sory and penitent for them / beleuynge stedfastly in the promises of god / receaued the absolucion of his worde / entred in to true repentaunce and ernest amendment of oure liuinge / beinge reconciled and at one with all men / purposinge without fayle so to contynue till oure lyfes ende / Then to come / and suppe with the lorde . This is now the thing that . S. Paul teacheth in this chapter / and proueth here no such article as ye go aboute . Therfore do ye wrong to the texte / in wrestinge it to this sense / that euery man must satisfye for the punishment belonginge vnto synne . By the which youre doctrine / O wicked opynion . like as ye robbe Christ of his worshippe / deface the merites and frute of his death / and set euery man in Christes rowme / Euen so doth your saide article condemne euery man . For like as Christ onely satisfied his heauenvly father for oure sinnes / and for the punishment due to the same / Euen so / yf we shulde not auoide the eternall paine of hel ( which is the second death and rewarde of sinne ) till we made satisfaction for it oure selues / we shulde contynue still in the wrath of god / and so be damned for euer .

Standishe .

And to proue this satisfaction / the wordes of I baptist Matth. iij. be very stronge / et cete .

Couerdale .

Be these wordes ( bringe forth the worthy frutes of pennaunce ) asmuch to say / as / Ye must satisfye for the punishment due vnto synne ? Prately well expounded of you . O shamelesse controllers of the holy goost . Will ye make Iohn the baptist contrary to himselfe ? Doth he not saie manifestly in another place / Who so beleueth on the sonne of god / Iohn . iij. hath euerlastinge life ? And what is it els to haue euerlasting life / but to escape the eternall and seconde death / euen euerlasting damnacion and punishment due vnto synne ? Which ( as ye confesse youre selfe ) we do auoyde thorow Christ . Why do ye then wrest the scripture to your awne purpose ? But one question will I aske you / Ose . xiij . who speaketh the wordes which are written in the Prophet Osee / saienge / From the hand of death will I deliuer them / from death will I redeme them ? O death / I will be thy death . O hell / I wil be thy stinge ? Finde me now anie creature in heauen or in erth / that maie of himselfe verefie and pronounce these wordes of Christes personne / and I shall graunt / that he maie make satisfaction for the punishment due vnto sinne / which ( as this text declareth ) is eternall death and hell . Els / yf there be but one Iesus / one sauyoure / one destroyer of damnacion and hell / then shall he verely haue my poore voyce / to be called also ( as he is in dede ) the onely satisfier for the punishment due vnto synne / aswell as he is the satisfier for sinne it selfe .

As for the wordes of Iohn the baptist / The wordes of Iohn baptist . they proue euydently / that whan men conuerte vnto god ( as those Pharises pretended to do at the baptime of Iohn ) then shall do it vnfainedly / and not to be ypocrites still / ner to leane to their olde leuen / but to bringe forth the worthy frutes of repentaunce / wherof he nameth parte in the thirde of Luke to the people / and speaketh of no such satisfaction as you fayne .

But Remembre / that ye haue named fasting prayer and allmes dedes to be the frutes of pennaunce / for I feare me / ye will denye it agayne anone / whan we come to Cornelius the captaine .

Standishe .

Fructus .ii. dignus penitentia / est opus restaurans ea / et cet .

Couerdale .

There are some of you / that call us English doctours / for writinge so much in English / as though in the vnderstondinge of other tonges we were inferiours to you / but now ye make us youre English interpreters / for putting us to the payne to English the wordes / which ye wrappe vp in latyn from the vnderstondinge of the people . For the worthy frute of pennaunce ( saie ye ) is a worke amendinge those thinges / Standish . wherof the pennaunce is / that is / repayringe such thinges as it repenteth us to haue left vndone / or to haue committed / and this is it that we call satisfaction for sinnes .

Couerdale . That to bringe forth the worthy frutes of pennaunce / is asmuch as to amende / wherin so euer we haue thought or done amisse / I graunt / for the scripture aloweth the same . But where as ye call that the satisfaction to god for sinnes / ye speake it not out of the mouth of the lorde .

Diuersite . Againe . Ye saide afore / that no man can satisfie for the offence / and now ye call the frute of pennaunce / the satisfaction for sinnes . Is not euery offence / sinne ? Lord god / what hold is there in youre wordes ? Fie on such doctrine .

Standishe

And here let us note / that it is not all one to bringe forth good frutes / and to bring forth worthy frutes of pennaunce .

Couerdale .

No ? where haue ye auctorite of gods word for you ? Be not the good frutes of penaunce / worthy frutes ? Or be not they good frutes that are worthy ? O vnworthy teachers . What an vnworthy doctrine is this ?

Standish .

For he that doth committe no deedly synnes / et cet .

Couerdale .

Yf I shulde teach anie man ( whan he hath vnlaufully bahaued him selfe ) to vse vnlaufull thinges still / I am sure / that like as gods word wolde therin condemne me / so wolde the prudent rulers of the worlde ( acordinge to their dewtie ) loke sharply vpon me / and iudge me litle better then a sedicious teacher . Yf the rulers therfore of the worlde will winck at such a pestilent doctryne / and suffre it to be sowne among their people / I beseche god to send them his discipline / to their better enfourmacion / and so to lighten the eies of their vnderstonding / that they maie aswell remembre what hurt commeth of sedicious doctrine / as many of their subiectes ( yee they them selues also ) haue proued it by experience . Well / yet remembre the ende .

Where as ye separate the frutes of innocency / of goodnesse / et ce. from the frutes of penaunce / where finde ye that in holy scripture ? For albeit that some man offendeth more then another / who yet I praie you is not bound to confesse himselfe a synner / to declare himselfe sory for the vnperfectnesse of his owne nature / to mortifie his flesh / and to liue in repentaunce all the daies of his life ? Yee be he neuer so innocent / iust or righteous in the estimacion of man ? Thus by your slendre diuision ye proue but slenderly / that the workes of Mary Magdalene and Dauid were not frutes of goodnesse / but onely frutes of pennaunce / as though penaunce were not good / or as though the frutes of pennaunce were not good frutes .

As for the carnall libertie of man / it must be all waie restrained / abuse of all thinges is utterly forbidden / Yet must the body of man haue his worshippe at his nede ( at his nede I saye / not at his lust ) Yf you now thorow anye s●●●e of wisdone / or chosen spritualtie will teach the contrary / then is youre doctrine condemned by . S. Paul to the Collossians . Col. ij .

Standishe·

Yee and acordinge to the qualite of the offence must be the satisfaction . Pro mensura peccati erit plagarum modus . Deute . xxv .

Couerdale .

This text verely as it is slenderly alledged / so proueth it youre purpose but faintly . Moses wordes which you bringe in / are these / Acordinge to the measure of the offence / shal be also the measure of stripes . But let us se the circumstaunce of the texte / and so shall we trye / whether ye haue played a iuglers cast / or no. And forget not ( I praie you ) that ye haue alledged this texte / to proue / that the satisfaction must be acording to the qualite of the offence .

Deute . xxv . Moses wryteth thus / Yf there be a matter of plee betwene anie men / and they come to the law / then loke whom the iudges considre to be iust / him shall then declare to be in the right cause / and him whom they perceaue to be vngodly shall they condemne for his vngodlynesse . But yf they se him which hath offended / to be worthy of stripes / they shall take him downe / and cause him to be beaten in their presence . Acordinge to the measure of the offence / shal be also the measure of the strypes / but so / that they passe not the nombre of fortie / et cete .

This lawe ( as it is euident ) was a ciuile ordinaunce / made for the commodite of the people / and not without mercy . The text also speaketh of no such satisfaction as ye meane . But here ( forgettinge the rules of youre logick ) ye wolde make a qualite of a quantite . Note well now how the text and Standish agreeth . For in your article ye speake of a qualite / and the texte maketh mencion of a quantite nombre or measure . Agayne / this lawe will / that the partie which is to be beaten / shal not haue aboue fortie stripes . And then ( by youre doctrine ) it must folowe / that though we be compelled to be punished / and so to make satisfaction for the paine due vnto oure synnes / yet shulde ech one of us haue but fortie stripes / for the text speaketh of no moo . Maie ye not be ashamed then / thus to mock with the scripture ?

Standishe .

Not like ner equall in the great offender and the lesse . Vnde Apo. xviij . Quantum quis se glorificauit et in delicijs fuit / tantum illi inferendum est tormentum .

Couerdale .

Where as the voice from heauen speaketh of the whore of Babilon / and saieth / Apoc. xviij . Come awaie from her my people / that ye be not partakers of her synnes / lest ye receaue of her plages / et cete . As much as she glorified herselfe and folowed her awne lustes / so much geue ye her of punishment and sorowe etcet . By the last parte of this texte wolde ye proue / that satisfaction maie not be equall in the greate offender and the lesse . Now saieth the texte / Asmuch as she glorified hir self / et cete / so much geue ye her of punishment . Here is rather equalite . Equalite .

And where as the texte speaketh of the whore of Babilon / The femynine gendre turned to the masculyne . ye saie . Quantum quis / et ce. turninge not onely the femynine gendre to the masculyne ( which a boie that goeth to the grammer scoole wolde not do ) but also prouinge an vniuersall by a perticular .

Agayne . This texte speaketh of her that is damned to hell / and the article that ye go aboute to proue / Mete this well . speaketh of those / whom ye haue affirmed allready to make satisfaction vnto god for their synnes by the frutes of pennaunce / which by youre owne iudgment are not damned vnto hell . Lord god / whan will this blindnesse haue an ende ?

Standish .

It is not ynough ( saieth Chrisostome ) et cet .

Couerdale .

Ioh. v.viij. The doctrine of god is / that whan Christ hath made us whole ( for without him is no remission ) we shall sinne nomore / Ephe. iiij . he that hath stollen / must steale nomore / he that hath not the gift of chastite / must for the auoiding of fornicacion take a laufull wife / j. Cor. vij . for better it is to mary then to burne . On the back syde of the boke therfore is that doctryne written / which teacheth / that whan a man hath long lyued in whordome / he shall than abstaine from the laufull vse of holy wedloke / for wedloke is the remedy appointed of god against all bodely fornicacion and whordome .

Standish .

Wherby we maie perceaue / et cet .

Couerdale .

Yes / there be worthy frutes of repentaunce to bring forth / there is a new man to put on / the tre hath good frutes to beare / the spouse of Christ ( which is euery true faithfull soule ) hath laufull children / that is / laufull thoughtes / laufull wordes / laufull dedes to bring vp and to norishe . Good workes must nedes folowe faith / but not that we maye set anye of them in the rowme of Christ / ner make them the satifaction to god for our synnes . God hath called us ( saieth the scripture ) vnto good wordes / to walke in them / Ephe. ij . but not to make our sauioure or satisfaction to god / of them .

Standishe .

Christ Luke . xj . whan he had rebuked the Pharises for their vyce / sayde / date elemosinam / et omnia munda sunt vobis .

Couerdale .

That texte ( yf it be not ironia ) proueth / that we are bound to do good workes / to the which though god ioyne his louing promes ( as he doth comonly thorow out the scripture ) yet calleth he not them the satisfaction to him for sinnes . But like as in the lviij . of Esa. the holy goost rebuketh the supersticion and ypocrisie of the Iewes / that had fallen to workes of their owne inuentynge / and then telleth them the true fast and good workes which god requireth / addynge a louinge promes to the fulfillers therof / Euen so doth oure sauioure here in this chapter . For whan the Pharise was so supersticious / that he maruayled why he wasshed not his handes afore dyner / then sayde he vnto him / The texte Luc. xj . Now do ye Pharises make cleane the outsyde of the cuppe and platter / but your inward partes are full of robbery and wickednesse etcet . Neuertheles / geue allmes of that ye haue / and behold / all thinges are cleane vnto you . Lo now / first he rebuketh their supersticion / secondly / sheweth them what good workes he aloweth / commaunding them to do the same / And thirdly addeth a promes therto .

Standishe .

And the preacher . Eccl. xxj . Fili peccastic et ce.

Couerdale .

Those are not the wordes of the preacher / whom the scripture calleth Ecclesiastes / but they are the wordes of Iesus Syrack / The texte Eccl. xxj . saienge / My sonne / hast thou fallen vnto synne ? Do nomore so / but praie instantly for thy former synnes / that they maie be forgeuen the. Flie from sinnes / euen as thou woldest flie from a non some serpent etcet . This text then proueth nomore your fained satisfaction / then it proueth the Iewes circumcision . And like as your fond alledging of it / declareth / that ye are an hider of the scripture from the vnlerned / so proueth the holy goost in the texte / that yf we haue broken the profession of our baptime / and be fallen vnto sinne / we shall do nomore so / but conuerte and turne vnto god / continuing in the feare of him and in feruent praier / to be at the staues end with sinne / and to abhorre it all the daies of our life .

Standishe .

He that thinketh this insufficient / et cet .

Couerdale .

Suspectinge ( as it apeareth ) that your wresting of the former scriptures will not be taken for a sufficient profe of youre fained satisfaction / ye bringe in ensamples of Dauid / Moses / Aaron / and the children of Israel / as though their punishment had bene their satisfaction . But where finde ye that in anie of those places of scripture ? Yf ye saie / Why doth god then punishe / after that he hath remitted the fault ? I answere / Like as he is the father of mercy and god of all comforte / Obiection . ij . Cor. j. Sapi. iij. Prouer. iij. Heb. xij . so doth he correcte and chasten his owne ( yee exerciseth and trieth them as the gold in the fire ) partly because he loueth them / and partly for the ensample of other / that they maie beware of such falles . The same ensamples therfore that ye bring in / make clerely against you / and proue manifestly / that ye are but blinde and ignoraunt of the scriptures . For the Apostle speakynge of the same children of Israel / j. Cor. x. and of their punishment / saieth planely / that all such happened vnto them for ensamples / but are written to warne us / that we shulde not lust after euell thinges as they lusted / that we shulde not be worshippers of ymages / that we shulde not committe whordome / that we shulde not tempte Christ / ner murmour against him as they dyd . Shame ye not then so vnreuerently to handle the holy worde of the liuinge god ?

Standishe .

Forthermore Daniel cap. iiij . exhorteth Nabuchodonosor / et cet .

Couerdale .

Yf that texte shulde proue anie satisfaction to be done by man to god ( as it proueth oure dewtie to oure poore neghbours ) it shuld rather mainteine a satisfaction for sinne / then for the paine belonging to sinne / for the texte speaketh of sinnes and iniquities / By sinne doth Standish vnderstond satisaction for synne . and maketh mencion of no punishment . Haue ye no better iudgment ner clearer sight in discerning of a texte ? Ye maie be ashamed verely .

The wordes of Daniel as they include in them a commaundement to do allmes dedes / and shew mercy to the poore ( which thing euery man is bound to do ) so include they in them a louyng promes / to all such as are mercifull in distributing to them that lack helpe . And as it is an eternall worshippe for them that folowe this most wholsome counsaill of the Prophet / so is it a shame and perpetuall confusion to all churlish hartes and vnkynde people ( specially to couetous princes / rulers / What a charitable hert Daniel bare toward the poore . and riche men ) that will not do their best in prouidinge for the poore / after the ensample of Daniel / who ( no doubte ) seinge so many poore presoners and helplesse people ( driuen from Iewry to Babilon ) had a singular respecte to their necessite / and therfore spake to the Kyng in their cause . Which thing wold god they that are great with princes or of their counsaill / were as diligent to do / as they are to make sute in their owne priuate causes . And doutlesse they wolde be the more enclined so to do / yf it were not for you and such other / which alledge not the scripture to such purpose as the holy goost hath caused it to be written for / but frowardly wrest it for the mayntenaunce of your owne fond opinions .

Standish .

Loke also Ionas . iij. what satisfaction the Niniuites made / et cet .

Couerdale .

The texte declareth / that god first sendeth his word / which whan it is preached ( as it was by Ionas the Prophet ) then the children of saluacion beleue / The storie of Ionas . after the ensample of the Niniuites / and ernestly turne vnto god from their olde euell waye / and from that tyme forth geue ouer them selues wholy to all maner of good workes . Then god approueth and aloweth their workes / accepteth them / hath mercy of them / and poureth not vpon them the wrathe that he hath threatened to such as will not repent . This is the summe of that whole thirde chapter of the Prophet Ionas . But in all the texte is ther no mencion made of anie such satisfaction as you fayne .

Is it not an vngodly thinge then / so to wrest and wringe the scripture violently ? The euerliuinge and mercifull god amende it . A thinge to be wisshed . It were greatly to be wisshed / that like as the Kynge of the Niniuites receauinge gods worde / made a proclamacion for all his subiectes to fast and praie / ther were euen such restraintes made likewise in euery countre / that noman shulde wrest the scripture of god / ner alledge anie thing ther of / which may not iustly be gathered by the wordes of the holy goost / that is / that no man shulde belie the text .

Standish .

This satisfaction Paul speaketh of Rom. xij . Obsecro vos / et cet .

Couerdale .

I besech you brethren ( saieth the Apostle ) for the mercy of god / that ye will geue ouer your bodies / The text Roma . xij . to be a liuing / holy / and acceptable sacrifice to god / which is your reasonable seruinge of god . And fashion not your selues like vnto this worlde / but be chaunged thorow the renewinge of your minde . These are . S. Pauls wordes / which as ye partly hide from the vnlerned / so cut ye them very short / lest ( I feare ) yf we heard out . S. Pauls minde / we shulde vnderstond him the better .

S. Pauls doctrine is / that we must mortifie oure bodies / but to what intent ? To make any such satisfaction as ye wolde proue ? Naie / so saieth not the texte / but to the intent that we maie serue god / as we shuld / serue him / to forsake vanite / and to be altred from an euel minde to a good .

Euen so like wise saieth the other text ( which I must English for you ) in the sixte to the Romaines / The text Rom. vj. Like as ye haue in times past geuen ouer youre membres to serue sinne from one wickednesse to another / so must ye now geue ouer youre membres / to serue righteousnesse / that ye maie be holy . That ye maie be holy ( saieth he ) and speaketh of no such satisfaction as ye inuente .

Standish .

Yf I do not thus satisfie / then I shall haue the rewarde and paine belonging to sinne / et cet .

Couerdale .

To the intent that ye maye spie the better in what case ye stand by your awne wordes ( I praie god ye maie loke to your selfe by times as a Christen man shulde ) I will make you an argument or two out of the scripture .

To deliuer from eternall death / is to satisfie for the paine due vnto sinne . Maior . Minor . Conclusio .

But Christ onely deliuereth from eternall death .

Ergo Christ onely satisfieth for the payne due vnto sinne .

The maior is manifeste by . S. Paul ( whom ye youre selfe alledge ) saienge / Roma . vj. The rewarde of sinne is death / euen eternall death / by youre owne confession . The minor is proued by the Prophet and by the Apostle . Ose . xiij . Heb. ij . Of these two premisses gather you the conclusion .

Another argument .

Maior . By what one so euer we are deliuered from the wrath of god ( both past and for to come ) by the same is made sufficient satisfaction for the paine due vnto oure synne .

Minor . But Christ onely deliuereth us from the wrath of god both past and for to come .

Conclusio . Ergo he onely satisfieth for the paine due vnto our sinne .

Rom. ij . The Maior is manifest / for the payne due vnto sinne is the wrath and indignacion of god .

The Minor is euident by the Apostle / first that we are deliuered onely by Christ from the wrath of god past / Ephe. ij Rom. v. Col. j. Rom. v.j. Tessa. j. for he hath made the peace betwene his heauenly father and us / and by him is the father reconciled . Secondly / that we are deliuered by him from the wrath to come / it is cleare / Rom. v. and j. Tessa. j. By these two premisses maie you gather the conclusion .

Maior . Now to youre wordes .

To satisfie for the payne due vnto sinne / is the onely office of Christ .

Mnior . But ye take vpon you to satisfie for the payne due vnto sinne .

Conclusio . Ergo ye take vpon you the office of Christ .

The Maior is proued by the scriptures alledged afore in the two first argumentes .

The minor is gathered of your owne playne wordes .

Of these two foloweth the conclusion .

Then thus .

Ye saie / that yf ye do not thus satisfie / ye shall haue eternall death . Maior . Minor . Conclusio .

But so ye can not do / for it is the onely office of Christ / Ergo ye shall haue eternall death .

Beholde now / what a daungerous case ye be in by your awne wordes . Alas man / that euer ye shulde be so blind / as to sit thus in iudgment / and to geue sentence agaynst youre owne soule / that Christ hath shed his bloude for / yf ye conforme your selfe to be partaker therof . Who wolde not note me to be fiue mile fro my right witte / yf I shulde make such an argument / and saie thus /

Yf I be not Christ the sonne of god / I shall haue eternall death and damnacion .

But so it is / that I am not Christ .

Ergo / et cete .

Yf I shulde thus beleue / and affirme this Maior / wolde not ye abhorre me ? Turne therfore / turne ( for gods sake ) in to youre owne conscience / and rebuke it ernestly betwene god and you / for suffring either your hand to write / or youre mouth to speake anie such inconuenience .

Standish .

And now of this satisfaction finally to conclude / yf there were nede of no satisfaction / after by repentaunce we be come in to the fauoure agayne with god / why then did Christ saie / Luke . vij . to them that loue much many sinnes are forgeuen / and to them that loue litle fewer sinnes are forgeuen ?

Couerdale .

Youre opinion vpon that place of the gospell / doth utterly destroie the parable of the lender and two detters / The place Luc. vij . yee and Simons answere / which oure sauioure Christ aloweth . For Simon saieth / that to whom most is forgeuen / the same loueth most . And againe / our sauioure sayeth . Vnto whom lesse is forgeuen / the same loueth lesse / By the which two sentences euery man maie easely perceaue / that the text speaketh of no such satisfaction as ye ymagin .

But I haue spied you now at the last . O very cruell enemies to gods holy worde / how falsely haue ye peruerted and turned oure sauiours wordes / to mainteine youre heresie withall ? Can not Christes wordes stand in the gospell for you / as he spake them / and as the Euangelist wrote them / but ye must teach him how he shulde saie ? Standish maketh a new texte . Doth he saie in that place / To them that loue much / many sinnes are forgeuen / and to them that loue litle / fewer sinnes are forgeuen ? Naie verely / these are his wordes / Many synnes are forgeuen her / for she hath loued much . But vnto whom lesse is forgeuen / the same loueth lesse . Will ye still then take vpon you to controlle the holy goost ? Well / beware / that this your iugling come not to light . Beware ( I saie ) that the breth of god blow not downe youre house / for a rotten foundacion can not stand long . Take hede by times / and saie ye be warned .

Standish .

This sayenge can not be concernynge culpam / et cet .

Couerdale .

Oure sauiour speaketh of sinnes / and of forgeuing the sinnes / And yet are ye not ashamed to affirme / that his saieng can not be concerning the faulte but concerning the punishment . Standish wold make Christ a liar . Can not Christ speake a thinge / and meane the same ? Can he not be true in his wordes ? O blaphemers of the sonne of god / Yee and of that blessed woman Mary Magdalene / which must nedes be yet in hir olde faultes and a sinner still / yf he meant not as he saide / yf his saienge were not concerning the fault / whan he spake these wordes / Many sinnes are forgeuen her / et cet .

Standishe .

Wherby we se / that post remissam culpam / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Ye haue here to fore called this satisfaction / the workes of pennaunce / Somtyme . and now saie ye ( but in latyn ) that there remaineth somtyme a dutye of punishment to be pourged ( or reconciled ) with a worthy satisfaction . Which yf it be a worke of pennaunce / what time can ye assigne me / in the which I am not bound to be exercised in some frute therof ? And now come ye in with somtime .

Agayne / Ye saide afore / that the satisfaction must be acording to the qualite of the offence / and now ye saie / that the punishment due vnto sinne must be pourged with a worthy satisfaction . An vnworthy qualite . Now is it manifest / that vnworthinesse is a qualite of euery offence ( for all faultes are vnworthy thinges ) wherfore by youre awne confession it foloweth / that the paine due vnto the same / must be satisfied with an vnworthy satisfaction . And verely so I take it / for vnworthy is it / what so euer a man of his owne braine inuenteth without some sure ground of gods worde .

Standishe

And this is signified by that of the Prophet Ioel / et cet .

Couerdale .

The wordes of the Prophet ( though ye choppe them very short ) are these / Now therfore saieth the lorde / The text . Iohel . ij . Be ye turned vnto me in your whole hert in fasting / weping and mourning . And rent your hertes and not your clothes / and be ye turned to the lorde your god / for he is gracious and pitefull / long suffringe and of great mercy / and will be intreated as touchinge sinne / et cet . Doth this text now signifie / that after the fault is forgeuen / there remaineth somtyme a duetie of punishment to be pourged with a worthy satisfaction ? Is this your iudgment in scripture ? O shameles beliers of the open and manifest text .

Standish .

Now yf you saie Esay ( Cap. liij ) saieth / our sauyoure bare oure sinnes on him / et cete .

Couerdale .

Of a trueth ( saieth the Prophet ) he hath taken awaie oure sorowes / The text Esaie . liij . and he himselfe hath borne oure paines etcet . The correction of oure attonement was laied vpon him etcet . These are the wordes of Esaie / which as they are manifest and plaine / so do not you truly rehearce them as they stand / and yet can ye not denie / but that yf we conforme oure selues vnto Christ / then hath he satisfied for us moost abundauntly . To what poynt now haue ye brought your former doctryne of satisfaction ? Verely euen to this poynt / that Christ hath taken awaye their sorowes and paynes ( yee and borne the correction of their attonement ) which conforme them selues vnto him .

For all this your confession / yet denie ye the trueth agayne / and saye / that he deliuered us not from all payne satisfactory . Now saieth the Prophet / that he toke away our sorowes and paynes . What payne satisfactory then is there / that he hath not deliuered us from ? Yf it be oure payne / then ( saieth Esay ) Christ hath borne it . But peraduenture ye do meane some payne of your owne . Ye seme to be yet dreaming of your painfull purgatory / for yf ye conformed youre selfe to Christ and to his doctryne / ye shulde be persuaded and certified in your conscience ( euen by the same chapter of Esay ) that Christ hath aswell satisfied his heauenly father for the paine due vnto your sinne / as for your sinne itselfe .

Standishe .

For yf he had so done / we shuld nether mourne / et cete .

Couerdale .

Ye saie / that yf Christ had deliuered us from all paine satisfactory / we shulde nether mourne ner be penitent for oure offence committed against god / An heynous heresie . ner we nede not to mortifie our fleshe . O damnable heresie . And are ye one of the authours therof ? Are ye one of the destroiers of pennaunce / of conuerting to god and of mortifienge the flesh ? But as touchinge such another like vngodly consequent / I haue talked somwhat with you afore . All the worlde therfore shall knowe / that ye are the teachers of such pestilent doctrine / and not we .

Behold now how vnsure ye are of your selfe . Ye saie / that yf Christ had deliuered us from all paine satisfactory / we shulde nether mourne ner be penitent for our sinne / ner mortifie oure flesh . And yet ye confessed afore / that thorow Christ we auoide and escape eternall death / which likewise ( by your owne confession ) is the paine due vnto sinne . How stond your wordes now tegether ?

Where as ye condemne your owne peruerse doctrine by the sixte chapter to the Romaynes / it were sufficient to deliuer you from suspicion / yf ye did bide therby . But that do ye recante / and fall to youre vomite againe / saienge /

Standishe .

But we shulde with their fleshly libertie haue a ioyfull pennaunce full of myrth .

Couerdale .

Your doctrine is / that yf Christ had taken awaie the paine due vnto your sinne / ye shuld not repent for your sinnes / but folowe / your owne fleshly libertie / et ce . Wher by ye declare your self to be still of that rotten opinion / which ye defended afore .

Now where as ye reporte of us / that oure pennaunce is with a fleshly libertie / I answere / Euen as by your former wordes ye proue your self to be one of their nombre / which saie ( Let us do euell / Roma . iij. Rom. vj. that good maie come therof . Let us continue in sinne / that there maie be abundaunce of grace . Let us sinne / because we are not vnder the lawe / but vnder grace ) Euen so Isaie / do ye declare your selfe to be one of them that speake euell of us / and reporte us to be the affirmers of youre wicked wordes . As though we were they that exhorted men to a fleshly libertye / or not to lyue in vertue and good works . Now god is the tru iudge / Psal. v. Deute . xxxij . Roma . xij . who as he abhorreth all liers / euen so referre I all vengeaunce to him / for it is his office by right . But in the meane season ( till all falshode be discloised ) oure ernest watching and labourynge for youre saluacion / the poore life which we leade in this world / and the frutes of oure good wil that grow in youre owne gardens ( for all youre wedes ) shall testifie somwhat with us also agaynst your euell tonges . And god which is able to restore the blind to their sight / shall lende men eyes to se / and vnderstonding to discerne / whether the doctryne and open worde of god which we teach / wold haue men to liue after ther awne lustes / Or whether your doctrine ( which is of mens inuenting ) be not rather cause of all wickednesse / robbing men of their wittes / and makynge them to renne at riote from gods word / from his ordinaunce / from his commaundementes / from his promises / and from the most vertuous ensamples of gods children .

Now as touchinge oure pennaunce / Ye wold make the worlde beleue / that whan we speake therof / we meane some moris daunce / some such delicate bancketting as is among the vngodly / some vnlaufull chambringe / some such excesse of eatinge and drynkynge / as ( god amende it ) is comonly vsed in the world . Againe / your doctrine is / that repentaunce shulde be without ioye . And oure beleue is / that yf the holy goost and the true faith of Christ go together / then like as repentaunce proceadeth of faith / Gal. v. so is the ioye of Christen men a frute of the holy goost / as the Apostle saieth . Thus also to be mery and ioyfull / are we taught by the scripture Hiere . ix.j. Cor. j.ij. Cor. xj . Rom. v.viij. Math. v. Luce. x. Shall we then be sory / because god hath done so much for us ? For oure sinnes and trespaces we wil be sory and mourne / though whan we fast / Ioel. ij . Esa. lviij . Math. vj. iij . Re. xviij Math. vj. Esa. j. Eccl. v. we rent not oure garmentes / ner put on sackcloth / nether disfigure oure faces to be sene of men / though whan we praye vnto god / we pricke not our selues with botkens / ner make to much babling of wordes . Such flinges / such morris dauncis / such wanton gestures / such light myrth we make not / for our ioye and gladnesse is inward / conceaued in our brestes / whan we fele the inestimable mercy and loue of god therin / yee euen whan we are put to trouble and aduersite .

Another ioye haue we also / and the same is likewise a frute of our repentaunce / appoynted in scripture / as whan we ioye with them that ioye / Rom. xij . whan we are glad of our neghbours welfare / glad and cherfull to do him good / ij . Cor. ix . Rom. xij . glad to geue him lodginge etcet . Wherfore to call such frutes of repentaunce / any light or wanton myrth / ye are to blame / and of a wanton iudgment .

Standishe .

As these new felowes wold haue pennaunce to be / et cet .

Couerdale .

To be called new felowes of your mouth / we do not greatly force . But first where as ye ieast vpon us for casting our sinnes and care on Christ / and for reioysing that he hath taken them on him / ye shew your self not onely ignoraunt in this spirituall cause of Christes faith / but also blasphemous both agaynst him and his . I praie you / who hath so broad a back or so mete to beare the sinnes of penitentes / as Christ hath ? Hath not his heauenly father laied our sinnes vpon him / as ye your self haue confessed out of Esaie ? And doth he not saie vnto us himself / Esaie . liij . Math. xj . Come to me all ye that laboure and are laden / and I shall refreshe you ? Is not he the lambe of god that taketh awaie the sinnes of the world ? Ioh. j.j. Ioh. j. And doth not his bloude clense us from all sinne ?

Secondly / where as ye blame us for castinge oure care vpon Christ / we do not greatly passe vpon it ( though we lament your blindnesse ) for we haue gods worde on oure side / Psal. liiij . Matth. vj. Luc. xij . yee not onely his commaundement and precepte / but also his promes / that ( so doinge ) he will norishe us / and not suffre us to lacke . Neuertheles in castinge oure care vpon god / we robbe not oure body of his dewtie / but set the handes to laboure / the fete to go / the mouth to speake / and euery membre to worke in his callinge / Deute . vj. lest we tempte god / contrary to his commaundement .

Standish .

This pennaunce Peter dyd not take .

Couerdale .

What / will ye belie . S. Peter ? Dyd not he caste his sinnes vpon Christ ? Saieth he not planely / j. Pet. ij . that Christ himselfe bare our sinnes on his body vpon the tre / to the intent that we might be delyuered from sinne / and liue vnto righteousnesse ?

Or dyd not holy . S. j. Pet. v. Peter cast his care vpon Christ ? Why biddeth he us then to cast all oure care vpon him / addyng also / that he careth for us ?

Agayne / Doth not . S. j. Pet. iiij . Peter also bid us reioyce / in asmoch as we are partakers of Christes passions ? et ce. Or thinke ye that he did not as he taught ? Was he not one of those disciples / Iohn . xx . which were glad whan they sawe / that their lorde was aliue ? Why are ye not ashamed them / to belie him ? Fye / fye / take better hede to your wordes another tyme .

Standishe .

But his pennaunce was mournfull .

Couerdale .

Though he mourned and wepte bitterly / whan he had denied oure sauioure ( as euery true penitent doth ) yet proueth not this the contrary / but that in consideracion of the goodnesse of Christ / he also reioysed / as appeareth by his owne wordes afore .

Standish .

Theirs glad and iocunde / et cetera .

Couerdale .

So glad are not we in our pennaunce / but we maie fynd cause ynough of sorinesse / though we considred nothinge els / saue the blind vnderstonding that is in you . Ye saie / that we thincke iustificacion to be without worckes of pennaunce . But like as ye are to malaperte to entre in to mens thoughtes / So am I glad that ye can not reporte / that we shulde preach / teach / talke or wryte / that we wolde haue iustificacion to be without workes of pennaunce folowinge . We haue sufficient testimonie of this For oure bokes / oure papyre / our pennes / our handes / oure whole conuersacion ( though we haue our faultes aswell as other men ) yee and the mouthes of them that know us / can testifie / that we are of a contrary opinion .

Standish .

Yf you saie / remission of sinne is frely forgeuen in baptyme / therfore we nede nomore pennaunce / et cet .

Couerdale .

I wondre in whose name ye make that obiection . Yf ye know anie man to affirme / teach or write / that we nede nomore pennaunce / because synne is frely forgeuen in baptyme / he ought to haue an open rebuke . Howbeit the same is like vnto your owne doctrine where ye saie / that yf Christ had taken awaie the paine due vnto your sinne / ye shulde not repent / but folow your carnall libertye .

Note this well . Now to your satisfaction / ye saie here / that it springeth out of the thirde kynde of pennaunce / and afore in the eight leafe of your treatise / to proue it strongly / ye bring in . S. Iohn . baptistes wordes / which ye ioyne now to the first kynde of pennaunce . Is it not now strongly proued ? Are ye not very sure now of the doctrine that ye teach ?

Agayne / To proue / that by the second kynde of pennaunce godly men are pourged from such sinnes / without which a man can not here lyue / ye alledge the first chapter of the first Epistle of Ihon / who in the same place saieth these wordes / Yf we saie that we haue felashippe with god / and yet walke in darknesse / we lie / The place j. Iohn . j. and do not the trueth . But yf we walke in light / euen as he is in lighte / then haue we falashippe together / and the bloude of Iesus Christ his sonne clenseth us from all sinne . This scripture now maketh clerely agaynst you / and proueth your opinion to be false / for Christes bloude clenseth us from all sinne ( none excepte ) so long as we walke in his light / and not in darknesse . Why ascribe ye then the purgacion of mens sinnes to anie kynde of pennaunce / seyng Christes bloude hath and must haue the honoure therof ?

Ye alledge here sondry places of scripture / the circumstaunces wherof doth utterly disaproue your doctrine / as planely apeareth to him that conferreth the same to the open wordes of the text / which I hartely require all indifferent readers to do .

The place of Ezechiel is manifest / Ezech. xviij . that god will nomore thinke vpon their synnes / that truly repent and turne from them . The place of Esaye sheweth / Esaie . lv . that god will haue mercy on such penitentes . The place of Hieremy is plaine / that yf people conuerte from their wickednesse / Hiere . xviij . Sap. xj . god will nomore plage them therfore . The xj . chapter of wisdome declareth euidently / that the punismentes which happened to the Egipcians / were sent thorow the indignacion of god / and that the trouble / nourture / and correction which the Israelites had / came of his fatherly mercy . The cxliiij . Psalme witnesseth / Psal. cxliiij . that the lord is gracious and mercifull / long suffringe / of great goodnesse / louing to euery man / et cet / lifteth vp all them that are cast downe / and is nie to all such as faithfully call vpon him . Math. xviij The xviij of Matthew is euident / hat who so euer conuerteth from his sinne / all mightie god will not that he shall perishe . Item that like as all true penitent sinners haue their det frely forgeuen them / so shall they be partakers of the same forgeuenesse still / yf they will hartely do vnto other / as they are dealt withall them selues . These places of scripture ( though ye tell not forth the wordes ) are of your owne alledging / and yet are ye not ashamed to write ( yee euen of penitentes ) that none of their sinnes shal be vnpunished . Now is it manifest in the said chapter of Ezechiel / Ezech. xviij . that like as god will not rewarde their good dedes that forsake him / and turne awaye agayne to their vomite of wickednesse / So will he not thincke vpon their sinnes that truly conuerte therfrom vnto him . Yet call ye them happie that punishe them selues / and take vpon them to be satisfactours in that behalfe . As though it were a blessed thinge for men to laie crosses vpon their owne backes . iij. reg. xviij . Esa. lviij . Esaie . iij. Thus by your iudgment were Baals prestes happie / and the ypocrites that the Prophet Esaie speaketh of . O disceatfull teachers . Full well might the Prophet saie vnto gods people of England in this behalfe / O my people / popule mens Oui te beatum dicunt / et cet . they that call the happie / do but disceaue the / and marre the waie that thou shuldest go in .

Now let us heare more of . D. Barnes wordes .

Barnes .

ANd that no worke of man dyd deserue any thing of god / but onely his passion / as touching our iustificacion .

Standishe .

This maner of iustificacion planely appeareth to be false / euen by that one place ( yf we had no mo ) of Cornelius Acto . x. et cet .

Couerdale .

The wordes of the text are these / The text Acto . x. There was at Cesarea a man named Cornelius / a captayne of the Italianish company / a deuoute man / and one that feared god with all his house / and gaue much allmes to the people / and praied god alwaie .

The text saieth in ordre / first / that Cornelius was a deuoute man and feared god with all his house / and then speaketh it of his good workes / as allmes / praier etcet . Wherby it is manifest / that he himself was first accepted of god and iustified / for ( as . S. Peter saieth afterward in the same chapter ) god hath no respecte of personnes / but ( in all people ) he that feareth him / and worketh righteousnesse / is accepted vnto him . And ( as the Prophet saieth ) The straungers / Esa. lvj . gentiles or Heithen which cleue vnto the lorde / in worshippinge him and louing his name / are accepted vnto him / as his owne seruauntes . Againe / The scripture saieth / Eccle. ij . Heb. xj . Rom. xiiij . They that feare the lord / geue credence to his worde . And without faith it is not possible to please god / Item / what so euer is not of faith / is sinne . By this is it manifest / that those good workes of Cornelius were frutes of his faith and of the feare of god / and he iustified afore he dyd them . Ye confessed also afore / that fastinge / prayer and allmes dedes / are the frutes of pennaunce / then must ye nedes graunt that the tre was afore them . Diuersite .

This text then proueth not / that oure iustificacion ( deserued onely by the death of Christ ) is a false iustificacion / ner that Cornelius workes deserued much of allmightie god afore he was iustified . For ( as I shall rehearce afterwarde ) ye confesse your selfe / not onely that we are iustified frely / Diuersite . but also that god first geueth us grace / without which we can do nothing that is good .

Standish .

As did the worke of Kyng Ezechie . iiij . Re. xx . et cet .

Couerdale .

Your purpose is by the ensample of Ezechias / to proue / that oure workes deserue much of allmightie god / afore we be iustified . And that worke of Ezechias which ye alledge / was done long after his iustificacion . For the texte saieth / that whan he laie sore sicke / the Prophet Esay came to him / and tolde him the message of god / iiij . Reg. xx . And that he then made his feruent praier and wepte . After the which god sent him word / that he had heard his praier and sene his teares etcet . And afore in the same boke / it is euident / iiij . Re. xviij that the same Kyng Ezechias dyd the thing that was good in the sight of the lorde / acording as his father Dauid had done / put his trust in the lorde god of Israel / et cet. cleued vnto the lord / went not out of his pathes / but dyd acording to all the preceptes that god had commaunded Moses / and therfore ( saieth the texte ) was the lorde with him in all that he toke in hand .

Wherfore by the circumstaunce of the text it is manifest / that Ezechias was iustified afore he laie sicke / and that his praier was a worthy frute of his repentaunce long after he was iustified / and no worke that deserued anye thing afore his iustificacion . Nether dyd his praier ner the work of the Niniuites chaunge the sentence of god / Heb. vj. Iacob . j. for god is nether chaungeable ner double in his wordes . But like as ( afore the Niniuites beleued in him ) he first sent his word / and thretened them / Ionas . iij. that yf they wold not conuerte / their citie shulde be destroyed after fortye daies / Euen so whan Ezechias was fallen in to sinne / ij . Par. xxxij . god threatened him / that yf he wold not repent / he shuld dye . And like as god ( whan we receaue his worde ernestly / beleue stedfastly in him / and bring forth good workes ) doth accepte us / Ionas . iij. as he dyd the Niniuites . Euen so though we haue fallen from the profession of our faith / yet yf we now do ernestly repent and conuerte / he is mercifull and true to forgeue us oure sinnes / iiij . Reg. xx . and to graunt us oure peticion after the ensample of . Ezechias . At whom like as all kynges and princes maie take instruction of good gouernaunce / Euen so in him haue all other sinners ( that haue broken their couenaunt with god ) a very notable ensample of true repentaunce .

But how rimeth the ensample ether of Ezechias or of the Niniuites / for the probacion of youre purpose ? Dyd either Ezechias after he was fallen in to sinne / or the Niniuites ( afore they beleued ) deserue any thinge of god ? Or doth anie of both these ensamples proue / that oure iustificacion ( deserued onely by the death of Christ ) is a false iustificacion ?

Afore in the tenth leafe of your treatise / ye alledge the ensample of the Niniuites / to proue / that after the sinne is forgeuen / Diuersite . we must make satisfaction vnto god for the paine due ther vnto . And now bring ye the same in / to proue / that our workes maie deserue much of allmightie god / afore we be iustified . Yf this be not a mockyng with gods worde / let them iudge that are lerned therin .

Standish .

Scripture is full of such ensamples / et cete .

Couerdale .

Scripture is full of ensamples / bot to bring us vnto the faith of Christ / and also to make us ryse vp by true repentaunce / whan we are fallen from the same . But in all the scripture finde ye no ensample / that teacheth you to call oure iustificacion ( deserued onely by the death of Christ ) a false iustificacion / or to affirme / that we maye deserue much of allmightie god afore we b●●●●tified . And yet wold ye faine proue the same / yee euen by the ensamples of those that were iustified afore .

Standish .

Notwithstanding I am not ignoraunt of the ordre of oure iustificacion / et cet .

Couerdale .

Are ye not ignoraunt what ordre god taketh in iustifieng his people / and will yet teach the contrary ? The more shame for you . Now maie euery man ( that noteth your former doctrine ) perceaue euidently / that ye are a wilfull teacher agaynst the ordre / of oure iustificacion . For yf god first of his mercy onely geueth us grace without which we can do no good thing / then teach ye contrary to this ordre / whan ye saie / that mens workes deserue much of allmighte god afore then be iustified . Thus doth your awne doctrine proue you not onely to be contrary to your selfe / but also a wilfull breaker of godly ordre .

Standishe .

Ille prior dilerit nos . j. Iohn . iiij . non dilectus dilerit / et cet .

Couerdale .

Here in this place of your treatise ye make along processe in latyn / which as it is fondly printed / and patched of you with litle morsels of scripture / so do the same make clearly against your purpose .

j. Iohn . iiij Roma . v Ye graunt / that god first loued us / afore we loued him . And that Christ died for us / whan we were yet sin̄ers / Which yf it be true / then is it manifest that god first forgaue us for Christes sake . Yf he first forgaue us / then is your doctrine false / whan ye call it against the ordre of our sauiours praier / that we must be forgeuen of god afore we can forgeue / And that oure iustificacion ( deserued onely by the death of Christ ) is a false iustificacion / seing ye confesse also / that the mercy of god goeth both before and behinde us / and that we are frely iustified .

Where as ye graunt also that thorow faith we opteine the grace of god / how agreeth that with your former doctryne agaynst the iustificacion of faith ? Yee euen the same third chapter to the Romaines ( that ye here alledge ) is against you / Roma . iij for S. Pauls wordes are these / The righteousnesse of god commeth by the faith of Iesus Christ / vnto all and vpon all them that beleue etcet . Item . Frely are they iustified euen by his grace / thorow the redempcion that is in Christ Iesu / whom god hath set forth to be the merciseate thorow faith in his bloude / et cet .

Barnes .

FOr I knowlege / the best worke that euer I did / is vnpure and vnperfecte .

Standish .

Takyng this saieng as it is Iob. xxv . et cet .

Couerdale .

Take . D. Barnes wordes none otherwise then he spake them / and let them be tried by the same place of scripture that ye alledge / where Baldad the Suhite saieth thus / Iob. xxv Maie a man compared to god / be iustified ? Or can he that is borne of a woman / apeare cleane ? Beholde / the mone is not cleare / and the starres are not cleane in his sight . How much more man / which is corrupcion / and the sonne of man / a worme ? And in the ix chapter saieth Iob himselfe planely / God is he / Iob. ix whose wrathe no man maie resiste / and vnder whom are subdued the proude of the worlde . Who am I then to answere him / or to talke with him in my wordes ? Yee and though I haue anie righteous thing / I will not answere / but make mine humble supplicacion to my iudge etcet . Yf equite of iudgment be required / no man darre beare recorde on my side . Yf I will iustifie miselfe / myne owne mouth shall condemne me . Yf I will shew my selfe innocent / he shall declare me to be naught .

Do not these scriptures proue now / that in consideracion of gods iudgment / all mens workes are vnpure and vnperfecte ?

Standish .

Vnde Esay . lxiiij . omnes nos immundi et qua si pannus menstruate / but thus to his purpos it can not be taken / et cet .

Couerdale .

What meane ye man / so peruersly to handle with the deed ? . D. Barnes confessed ( as appeareth by his wordes ) that the best workes which were done by him vpon erth / in this corrupte body / were not so purely and perfectly done / as the equite of gods lawe requireth / and therfore ( as appeareth afterward ) in consideracion therof / he made his praier with the Prophet / Psal. cxlij . Psal. cxxix . saieng / Lord entre not with me in to iudgment . Yf thou lord wilt strately marke our iniquities / lord who will abyde it ? Notwithstonding though his wordes be manifest / yet ye saie / not onely that it can not be taken to his purpose ( as Esay wrote in that chapter ) but also vpon the same ye gather an intent ( for ye are good at that / ye are well skylled in iudging mens intentes and thoughtes ) that he shuld meane / all good workes are naught / and that it is sinne to obeye the voyce of god / which your collection is clene contrary to . D. Barnes wordes .

And yf we conferre them to that place of Esaie whom you alledge / this matter shal be the more manifest . The wordes of the Prophet are these / Esa. lxiiij . All we are become as an vncleane man / and all oure rigyteousnesses are as a clothe stayned with the floures of a woman . This text as it maketh clerely for . D. Barnes purpose against youre selfe / euen so in alledging of it / haue ye minished it / and left out of it those wordes that make moost agaynst you . But the abbot of lies and father of falshode ( euen the deuell ) taught you that lesson / as I told you afore out of the fourth of Mathew / because ye plaie such another parte with a text of . S. Paul . j. Cor. xj .

In your latyn ye reade the text thus / All we are vncleane / and as a cloth stained with the floures of a woman . Standish doth mynish the text . So that ye leaue out ( All oure righteousnesses ) Now yf the text maie stand still for you / as the holy goost left it / that all oure righteousnesses and best workes are vncleane and not without some blemishe / then happlie will you haue litle thanke / not onely for holding agaynst it / but also for minishing the text .

As touching the Germaines ( to whom ye impute erroure in this behalfe ) Their doctrine is / that whan the seruauntes of god haue done all that is commaunded them / Luc. xvij . they must knowlege themselues to be vnprofitable / to haue occasion continually to crie vnto god and to saie / Matth. vj. Luc. xj . O forgeue us oure trespaces / to knowlege / that in their flesh dwelleth no good thing / ye and to confesse / Roma . vij . that though they delite in the lawe of god after the inwarde man / yet ther is another lawe in their membres / which striueth against the lawe of their minde / and taketh them presoners in the lawe of sinne / which is in their membres / iij. Re. v●ij ij . Par. vj Iob. vij That ther is no man but he sinneth / That the whole life vpon erth is a very battaill / where the flesh lusteth agaynst the sprete / and the sprete against the flesh / so that Christen men can not bring euery thinge to such a perfection / Gal. v. as they faine wolde .

This is now the doctrine of the Germaynes / and thus taught also . The scripture and. S. Austen mainteine the Germaines doctrine . S. Augustine writyng de verbis domini secundum Iohannem / sermo xliij . where he saieth these wordes / We can not do that we wold / why so ? For we wold that ther were no concupiscences / but we can not haue our will . For whether we will or no / we haue them / whether we will or no / they tickle / they flatre / they pricke / they vexe / they will vp / they are kepte downe / but not yet utterly extyncte / as long as the flesh lusteth agaynst the sprete / and the sprete agaynst the flesh . The same affirmeth he in the sixtenth sermon de verbis Apostoli . And in the xlix chapter de diffinitionibus orthodoxe fidei / he saieth after this maner / And therfore all holy men do truly in pronouncyng them selues sinners / for of a trueth they haue wherof to complayne / and though not thorow any reprofe of conscience / yet thorow the frayltie / et cet .

Such doctryne now ( though it be approued both by the holy scripture and by . S Augustine ) yet because the Germaynes teach it / it must nedes be condemned of you for an erroure . I wondre ye condemne them not also for holding so litle of the popes church / of his pardons / of his purgatory / for puttynge downe his religions / his chauntrees / his soule masses / and diriges / his trentals / Ther Germaynes clense their church from the Papistrie . pilgrameges / stacions etcet . For ministring the sacramentes in their mother tong / for setting their prestes dailie to preach the onely worde of god / for bringing in no new customes in to the church / for auoyding whordome and secrete abhominacion from among their clergy as well as from other / for bringing vp their youth so well in the doctrine of god / in the knowlege of tonges / in other good lettres and honest occupacions / for prouidinge so richely for their poore / nedie / fatherlesse and aged people / et cet .

Now to your ensample of Abraham / which obeyed the voyce of god / Doth it proue that his obedience was so perfecte / as the equite of gods iustice required ? Or that his owne wordes were false / whan he saide vnto god / Gen. xviij I am but dust and asshes ?

Standish .

Also it is said . Iob primo / In omnibus his non peccauit Iob.

Couerdale .

The later parte of the text ( which declareth the whole meanyng therof ) leaue ye quite out . The wordes of the scripture are these / The place Iob. j In all these dyd not Iob sinne / ner spake any foolish thinge agaynst god . The place ●o● . ●● Now is it manifest by the same chapter / that whan the scripture hath tolde of the great aduersite that Iob had in the losse of his goodes and children / it maketh mencion also of his notable pacience / and then concludeth the chapter with those wordes . The on parte wherof like as ye leaue out / and tell the other in latyn from the vnlerned / so make ye of a particular an vniuersall / asthough Iob might not offende in other thinges / though he grudged not here agaynst god . For manifest is it / that he did afterwarde curse the daie of his byrth / as the thirde chapter declareth . Ioh. ●ij Now because Iob was pacient in his first aduersite and blasphemed not god / doth that proue it an errour to holde with him whan he saieth / Yf equite of iudgment be required / no man darre beare recorde on my side ? Yf I will iustifie miselfe or shew miselfe innocent / mine owne mouth shall condemne me ? 〈…〉

Standishe .

And. S. Peter . ij . Pet. j. after he hath recyted certaine vertues / et cet .

Couerdale .

S. Peter afore those wordes / speakynge of the same vertues / saieth thus / Yf these thinges be present and plentifull in you / they shall not let you be ydle ner vnfrutefull in the knowlege of oure lorde Iesus Christ . Let one place of scripture now open and expounde another .

Standishe .

Furthermore a strong argument to proue it / maie be this . Omnis qui in deo manet / non peccat . j. Ioh. iij. Sed qui manet in charitate / in deo manet . j. Ioh. iiij / ergo qui manet in charitate non peccat / et cet .

Couerdale .

To your argument I answer / j. Ioh. iij. Like as it is true whan the scripture saieth / they that are borne of god sinne not ( partly because god hath couered their sinne / and imputeth it not vnto them / and part / Roma . iiij ly because they are at the staues end with sinne / and delite not in it but kepe them selues from sinne / Roma . vij Gala. v j. Ioh. j. as . S. Iohn saieth in the same fifth chapter ) So is it true also / that yf we saie we haue no sinne / we disceaue our selues / and the trueth is not in us / as holy . S. Iohn saieth . In the declaracion of the which words . S. Augustine noteth heresie in the Pelagians and Celestines / for affirminge / that the righteous haue utterly no sinne in this life . Take you hede therfore / that ye smel not of the Pelagians panne / for it stinketh afarre of .

Standish .

As Dauid speakyng in the personne of euery good man / said he did / seruaui mandata tua domine / Psal. cxviij .

Couerdale .

He saieth also a litle after in the same Psalme vnto god / The place of the psalme cxviij I haue gone astraie like a shepe that is lost / O seke thou thy seruaunt . The circumstaunce also declareth / that it is not onely a Psalme of consolacion / of doctrine and of thankesgeuing / but also an ernest praier of one that is very feruent in gods cause and in the defence of his word . So that like as somtyme he mourneth and wepeth to se the actes and statutes of god despised / Euen so complayneth he sore vnto god / of them that manteyne anye doctrine contrary to his worde . Thus in respect of them he darre boldly saie / that he kepeth gods commaundementes / and no mens doctrynes / for he abhorreth all the false lerning of ypocrites / But in consideracion of his owne infirmite / he saieth to god oft times in this Psalme / O teach me thy statutes / geue me vnderstonding / that I maie lerne thy statutes / saue me / helpe me / deliuer me / et cete . Like as in another Psalme ( where he confesseth to haue kepte the waies of the lord ) he saieth a litle after in the same Psalme / Psal. xvij O my god / geue thou light vnto my darknesse .

Standish .

Acording to goddes sayeng to Ieroboam . ijj . Reg. xiiij .

Couerdale .

Though god couered Dauids synnes / and imputed them not vnto him / yet made he his confession vnto god ( while he was in this body ) and said / Yf you lord wilt strately marke iniquities / Psal. cxxix Psal. cxlij lorde who shall abide it ? Lord entre not in to iudgment with thy seruaunt / et cet .

Standish .

And also as it maie be proued / by this that god commaundeth us nothinge vnpossible for us to do .

Couerdale .

One false opinion wold ye proue by another / and by this present article ( like as by the other afore ) ye declare your selfe to be a very Pelagian / and partaker of their heresie / confuted by . S. Augustine / in the sixtenth chapter of his boke de libero arbitrio / and in moo other places .

Standishe .

But he saieth not onely Matth. xix . si vis ad vitam / et cet .

Couerdale .

Your argument is this . God that commaunded us to kepe his lawe / ergo it is not vnpossible for us so to do . The place Math. xix : But whether your consequent will be alowed in the checker or no / we shall se by our Sauiours owne words . Who whan he had said to the yong man ( yf thou wilt entre in to life / kepe the commaundementes ) and tolde his disciples how hard it is for the couetous to entre in to heauen / They asked him and said / Who can then be saued ? Then answered he them / saieng / With men it is vnpossible / but with god are all thinges possible . Downe then goeth the Pelagians heresie / and litle thanke are ye like to haue / for holdinge with it .

Yf he aske / Obiection . Why then doth god commaunde us to decline from euell and to do good / yf it be not in our power ? To the same obiection doth . S. Augustine make a sufficient answere in the seconde chapter de correptione et gracia / Answere . and not onely refelleth it by . S.P. words ( saieng / Philip. ij It is god which worketh in you both the wil and the dede ) but also putteth us in minde / Rom. viij that yf we be the children of god / we are led by gods sprete to do good / that whan we haue done anie good thinge / we maie geue thankes to him of whom we are led etcet . And in another place / De lib. arb . cap. xvj Therfore doth he commaunde certaine thinges that we can not do / because we might knowe what thinge we ought to aske of him . The same doctrine teacheth he also in the lxiij sermon de tempore . Rom. vij . This is confirmed by holy scripture / for by the lawe commeth the knowlege of sinne / So that euen they which are renewed in Christ / fynd by the lawe / that whan they wold faine do good / ( for therin is their delite ) euell is present with them .

The wordes of oure Sauioure ( yf ye loue me / kepe my commaundementes ) proue nomore your purpose / then your wresting of them proueth you to be a true scolar of his . For after those wordes he himself saieth thus / I am the waie / the trueth and life . Ioh. xiiij . No man commeth to the father / but by me . Naie ( saieth your doctrine ) we maie come to god by oure selues / he commaundeth us nothing vnpossible for us to do . Now let me aske you this question / Yf Christ whan he saide these wordes ( Yf ye loue me / kepe / my commaundementes ) did meane / that it is not vnpossible for us so to do / why then immediatly after the same wordes / doth he promes us the sprete of conforte ? What nede haue we of him / yf we be not comfortles of oure selues / or yf nothing that he commaunded us / be vnpossible for us to do ? What nede haue the whole of a phisician ? And. S. S. Augustine de uerbis Apostoli . Augustine writing agaynst them that extolle their owne possibilite in the seconde sermon de uerbis Apostoli / saieth / Let us be glad to be healed whyle we are here in this church / Let us not make oure boast of health beinge yet sicke / lest by oure pride we do nothing els / but make oure selues incurable .

Standishe .

Which to the louers of them be but light . Math. xj.j. Ioh. v / and Deut. xxx .

Couerdale .

Ergo god commaunded us nothinge vnpossible for us to do ? Is that your consequent ? Full faintly are ye able to proue it by those thre chapters that ye do alledge . First / in the xj of Matth. Math. xj doth our Sauioure bid all them that are laden / et cet. to come to him . And yet saieth he in another place / that no man can come vnto him / Ioh. vj excepte his father draw him . Where is now oure possibilite ?

That fifth chapter of . S. j. Ioh. v Iohns first Epistle sheweth / that they which are borne of god / do ouer come the worlde by the victory of faith . Now like as we begat not our selues in the Kyndome of god / Iaco. j but he himselfe of his owne good will begat us with the worde of life / So is it manifest also that true faith is the onely workyng of god / Ephe. ij and not oures . Where is then ( I saie ) our possibilite ? forsoith euen fled into the yle of weaknesse .

Yf by the thirtieth chapter of Deuteronomion ye will proue / that god hath commaunded us nothing vnpossible for us to do / because Moses saieth / This precepte that I commaunde the this daie / is not aboue the ner farre from the / et cete . Then must I require you to take the answere of S. Paul / who saieth / that it is the righteousnesse of faith which speaketh those wordes / and that the worde which Moses there spake of / Roma . x is the worde of faith / that Paul himself preached .

Yf ye thinke there to proue your purpose / because Moses laieth before the people / life and death / good and euel / blessinge and cursinge / and biddeth them chose life / et ce . Then must I desire you / not onely to remembre the office of the lawe / wherfore it was geuen / and wher to it serueth / But also to considre / that in the begynnyng of the same thirtieth chapter / Moses himself saieth these wordes / Deute . xxx The lorde thy god shall circumcise thine hert / and the hert of thy posterite / that thou mayest loue the lorde thy god with all thy hert / and in all thy soule etcet . Wherby it is euident / that excepte god circumcise our hertes / we are not able to loue him / ner to kepe his commaundementes / So that these wordes of Moses do proue rather impossibilite in us . Roma . ij For the circumcision of the hert ( saieth the Apostle ) is the true circumcision / which is done in the sprete and not in the lettre / whose prayse is not of men / but of god .

All these thre chapters now proue / that like as to be saued / to kepe gods commaundementes / to haue circumcised hartes / and to ouercome the world with the lustes therof / is the onely workyng of god in us / j. Ioh. ▪ v Euen so to them that loue god are his commaundementes not greuous ( not thorow anye possibilite of man ) but partly because Christ hath taken awaie the curse of the lawe and deliuered them from the heuy burthens of their soules / Gala. iij Math. xj . and partly because they delite in gods commaundementes / Psal. cxviij and esteme his word sweter then hony / as Dauid did . For loue maketh all thinges light .

Standish .

Therfore I conclude / in all our workynge we do not committe sinne .

Couerdale .

Of an euell Maior and Minor foloweth a weake conclusion . Ye haue wrung and wrested the scriptures violently / to make them serue for your purpose / and now without anie scripture make ye youre conclusion / that in all youre workyng ye do not committe sinne . To the probacion wherof ( because ye bring no scripture your selfe ) I will helpe you with a text / where the scripture saieth thus There is no righteous man vpon erth / Eccle. vij that doth good / and sinneth not . Yf ye be a man ( I wil not reason much with you of righteousnesse / for I am a sinfull man miselfe ) then must ye nedes graunt this scripture to be true . Yf ye be no man / then am I sory that I haue disputed with you so long / for angels haue no nede of my wordes / and as for deuels / they will not be counsailed .

Standish .

No ner our dedes and actes which be good can not be called so / et cet .

Couerdale .

Of. D. Barnes secrete intent and meaning will not I presume to be iudge / but what maye be gathered by the circumstaunce of his wordes / I haue reasoned with you allready .

Now because ye can not proue this last parte of youre conclusion by scripture ( namely that your good dedes and actes are not vnpure ner vnperfecte in this life ) therfore the Prophet Esaie to recompence you the wrong that ye dyd him / in minishing his wordes afore / will yet take the paines for you to proue your purpose ( though it be litle to your minde ) Whan he saieth / All we are become as an vncleane man / Esaie . lxiiij and all oure righteousnesses are as a clothe stained with the floures of a woman . Prouer. xx And the wise man saieth also ? Who maie saie / My hert is cleane / I am pure from sinne ?

Barnes .

ANd with this he cast abrode his handes / and desyred god to forgeue him his trespas .

Standishe .

Extra ecclesiam nulla salus / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Without the church ( ye saie ) is no saluacion / Now is it manifest / that beside the church made of lime and stone / ther is also a congregacion church and multitude of frowarde and wicked doers / which not onely gather them selues together like roaringe lyons / fatt bulles / wanton calues and curre dogges agaynst Christ ( as the xxj Psalme complaineth ) but also make lawes / constitucions / statutes / ordinaunces and tradicions agaynst gods worde / Wherby it commeth to pas / that though they boast neuer so much of gods seruice / Esa. xxix Math. xv yet all is to them in vaine / as the Prophet and Christ himselfe doth testifie .

Another church is there / which is the holy spouse / congregacion and company of them / that are of the felashippe and communion of Christ / j. Ioh. j. and walke not in darknes / but in the trueth / hauing al their sinnes clensed by his bloude . Acto . ij . This church continueth in the Apostles doctryne / renneth not out from the heauenly felashippe of Christ and his membres / distributeth the sacramentes duely and truly / ceasseth not from praieng and well doinge / et ce. are of one minde and soule / Acto . iiij are glad to helpe one another / as it is manifest in the actes and Epistles of the Apostles . The men of this church praie in all places / liftinge vp pure handes etcet . j. Timo. iij Matth. vij Luc. xj . Math. xviij Luc. xxiiij In this church whosoeuer asketh / hath / he that seketh / findeth / and to him that knocketh / doth god open . In this church is fre pardon and remission of sinnes for all true penitentes . For god will not the death of sinners / Iohn . xx Ezech. xviij Math. xj . Iohn . vj. but yf they conuerte vnto him / they shall liue / and who so is laden with sinne and commeth vnto Christ / findeth rest and ease in his soule / and shall not be cast out .

Forasmuch then as ye condemne . D. Barnes thus doinge ( and iudge him to be none of the church / that desireth god to forgeue him his trespace ) it is euident / that in your church ther is no forgeuenes for poore sinners / and so is it not the church of Christ . Wherfore / seinge ye discente from Christes church / where the dore is euer opened to them that knocke / youre owne sentence condemneth you / Luc. xxiij that ye can trust to haue no saluacion by gods promes .

But alas / what blindnesse is in you ? Though a sinner doth erre or hath erred from the right faith and from the true vse of the holy sacramentes that be in the church of Christ / and now commeth to repentaunce / desiringe god to forgeue him his trespace / Is not this a damnable doctrine to teach / that he can not trust to haue saluacion by gods promes ? No ? hath god promised / that sin̄ers which repent / shal not be saued ? The thefe that hanged on the right hand of Christ / hath proued the contrary .

Agayne / Yf a sin̄er maie not trust to haue saluacion by gods promes / wherby them maie he trust to haue it ? By himselfe ? by his owne workes ? Or by youre merites ? Euen by your merites ( as it apeareth ) wolde ye haue him trust to haue saluacion / for ye must nedes be full of merites / that in all your workyng committe no sinne / as ye saye your selfe .

Morouer / the tenoure of your wordes separateth the mercy of god from his promes / as though they concurred not together . But I pray you who can trust to haue saluacion by gods promes / and trusteth not in his mercy ? Whan the Apostle saieth / Galat. God gaue the enheritaunce vnto Abraham frely by promes / was it not done by his mercy ? And whan he saieth in the same chapter / Ye are the heires of Christ acording to the promes / Tit. iij what meaneth he els but ( as he saieth to Titus ) that the kindnesse and loue of oure sauioure hath appeared / not for the dedes of righteousnesse which we haue done / but acordinge to his mercy hath he saued us ? et cet .

S. Iames wordes which ye bring in in latyn / Iacob . ij . denieth no forgeuenesse to them that repent / but like as he rebuketh them that are but Christen men in worde and not in good workes and dedes / so ( yf parcialite be sinne ) then doth the circumstaunce of the same text condemne your former conclusion / that saie / ye sinne not in all your workes .

Standishe .

Loke the reward of finalis impenitentia / et cet .

Couerdale .

D. Barnes words testifie what faith and repentaunce he had toward god / and what hert he bare toward the comon welth of all Christendome / and yet shame ye not to wryte / that he dyed without repentaunce and in errours / because he wold not denie Christ / and reuoke his worde with you .

Standishe .

Which died by his wordes / without signe or token of saluacion .

Couerdale .

Is it no token ner signe of saluacion to beleue in the holy and blessed trenite / the incarnacion / passion death and resurrection of our sauioure / and to knowlege the same before men ? Is all this utterly no token of saluacion ? Math. x. Roma . x. Christ and the Apostle Paul are of another iudgment .

Standishe .

And so his praier must nedes be voyde .

Couerdale .

D. Barnes cast abrode his handes / and desired god forgeuenes / and yet darre ye affirme / that his praier must nedes be voide . Matth. xviij Luc. xxiiij Ioh. xx . By the which wordes like as ye denie the article of forgeuenesse ( mencioned in our Crede / and promised in the scripture to euery one that truly repenteth ) so declare ye euidently / that ther is litle mercy in your mother the church of the wicked / for in Christes church yf the sonne aske the father a pece of bred / he will not geue him a stone / Matth. vij but good thinges .

Standish .

Marke how he trusteth with in an houre / et ce.

Couerdale .

Is it blinde arrogauncy / whan a man ( refusing all confidence in his owne workes ) trusteth to haue eternall life thorow the mercy of god ? What blynd arrogauncy was in the Apostle / whan he saide / we knowe certainlie / ij . Cor. v. that yf oure earthy house of this dwelling were destroyed / we haue a building ordeined of god / an house not made with handes / but euerlasting in heauen ? Ioh. v. Oure sauioure also geueth this comforte to such as beleue in him / that they shall not come to damnacion / but passe from death vnto life ? Are ye not a comfortable Phisician then to mens consciences / that shame not to teach other wise then Christ doth ? But surely these two places of scripture are not for the stablishinge of your soule masses and diriges / and therfore no maruaill that ye teach a contrary doctrine / For though the name of your purgatory be out of some of your bokes / Yet are not all purse pykers come to the pillary .

Barnes .

FOr allthough perchaunce you knowe nothinge by me / yet do I confesse / that my thoughtes and cogitacions be in̄umerable . Wherfore I beseche the entre not in to iudgment with me / acording to the sayeng of the Prophet Dauid / Psal. cxlij . non in tres in iudicium cum seruo tuo domine / Psal. cxxix and in another place / si iniquitates obseruaueris domine / quis sustinebir ? Lord yf thou strately marke our iniquyte / who is able to abyde thy iudgment ?

Standish .

Se I praye you / the deuell seduced him so farre / that he wold not knowlege any synne / but onely cogitacions / et cet .

Couerdale .

D. Barnes saide not that he had no sinne / but all though ( saide he ) perchaunce you knowe nothinge by me / yet I confesse / that my thoughtes and cogitacions are in̄umerable . Is this asmuch to saie as / I haue no sinne but onely cogitacions and thoughtes ? Or be not thoughtes and cogitacions sinnes greate ynough ? Dyd he not confesse also with the Prophet / that yf god wold strately marke his iniquities / he were not able to abyde it ? Is iniquitie no sinne ? Not in your iudgment ( as it appeareth ) for ye darre boldly affirme / that in all your workyng ye committe no sinne .

Standish .

Se how he iudged other men perchaunce to knowe no sinne in him / et cet .

Couerdale .

Yf it be an abhominable vice ( as it is no doubte ) to slaundre the scripture or to belye it / then verely are ye infecte with abhominable vice / that haue misreported it and belied it in so many places of this youre treatise . Now yf ye be of counsaill with so many good men that knew such vices in D. Barnes / I maruaill ye tell us not what those vyces are . As for your mother the vnholy church / he called her an harlot many tymes . And sure I am / that who so knoweth her thorowly / Ezech. xxiij . and compareth her with her frutes to Oolla and Ooliba / wil iudge her to be litle better .

Standish .

Iudge therfore your selues what auaileth him these his fained praiers / et cet .

Couerdale .

The praiers that . D. Barnes vseth here / are the holy wordes of gods scripture / and yet ye call them fayned prayers . Now yf the holy goost which is the authoure of the scripture / doth abhorre faynednesse ( as the wise man saieth ) then verely is it blasphemous to cal those fained praiers / Sapi. j. that he onely hath taught .

Againe / Yf they be fained praiers / why saie ye that ye doubte not / but to another man passing in the faith of Christ / they shuld haue bene acceptable yee and meritoryous before god ? Can fained praiers be acceptable to god ? Can fayned prayers merite or deserue any thing of god ? Or can he that dyeth in the fayth of Christ / vse fayned prayers at his death ? How agreeth faynedesse with the faith of Christ ? Full fained and false is your doctrine / Oure lord roote it ones out from among his people .

Barnes .

WHerfore I trust in no good worke that euer I dyd / but onely in the death of Iesus Christ .

Standishe .

To trust in our workes ( ut in deum credimus ) that they of them selues / et cet .

Couerdale .

What an vnstable doctryne is this / that ye bring in among gods people / and wold bear them in hand / that Christ alowed your saieng in the xx . of Matthew ? Matth. xx Where as the parable in the same chapter / and the processe of the last parte of the xix . chapter hard afore it / do utterly condemne your doctrine . Lord god / what a derogacion vnto gods hye glory is this / to teach / that we maye trust in oure workes / that we maie calenge our inheritaunce by our workyng / that our workyng maie deserue to receaue immortalite ? In the later ende of the xix . Matth. xix chapter of Matthew doth our lorde affirme / that to be saued is a thing vnpossible through the power of men / And in this xx chapter doth his parable testifie / that like as we are first called by him / receaue his promes / and are set a worke by his comaundement / so is not the rewarde geuen / for anie deseruing / or paynes takynge / but acording to his awne promes .

First / where finde ye in anie article of the Christen faith ( conteined within the holy bible ) ether commaundement or promes of god / or example of anie good man / that we maie put anie maner of trust in our workes ? Againe / Yf oure enheritaunce come by the death of Christ and his promes / how commeth it by our workyng ? Is our workynge the death of Christ or his promes ? Now yf our workyng maie deserue the inheritaunce of immortalite / Diuersite . then maie we make satisfaction vnto god for oure offence / and that ye haue denyed afore . O how well agree ye with youre selfe ?

Standish .

And this caused Paul boldly to saie .ij. Timo. iiij . Bonum certamen certaui / et cet .

Couerdale .

Whan that holy vessell of god . S. Paul had exhorted Timothy to the feruent executing of his dutie in preaching gods worde / and had tolde him afore of this present perlous time / that men will not suffre wholsome doctrine / et cete . The place ij . Tim. iiij He shewed him of his owne death saienge / For I am now ready to be offred / and the tyme of my departing is at hande . I haue foughten a good fighte / I haue fulfilled the course / I haue kepte the faith . From hence forth ther is layed vp for me a crowne of righteousnesse / which the lord the righteous iudge shall geue me in that daie / not onely vnto me / but to all them that loue his commynge .

What caused Paul now to saie these wordes ? Any trust or confidence in his owne deseruyng or workes ? Naye verely . He confesseth not onely that the crowne of righteousnesse is laied vp for him / but also that god shall geue it him / nether sayeth he here / S. Paul condemneth . Standish doctryne . that it shall be geuen him for his workyng sake / for then were he contrary to his owne doctrine / which utterly condemneth yours / Roma . iij. Ephe. ij . Philip. iij. ij . Timoth. j. Tit. iij Note well the places your selfe .

Standish .

All be it I feare me these his wordes / et cete .

Couerdale .

Yf whan he dyd anie good worke / he caused no trompettes to be blowne before him / ner mombled vp longe praiers in the corners of stretes / ner disfigured his face to be sene of men whan he fasted / then was there the lesse ypocrisie in him . It is a prouerbe as true as olde / A still pater noster is as good as a lowde .

Barnes .

I do not doubte / but thorow him to inheret the kyngdome of heauen .

Standish .

I beseche god / this false and erroneous beleue contrary allmost in euery sentence to our mother the holy church / et cet .

Couerdale .

Full vnholy and vngracious is your mother / ( and ye as vnwise to take hir parte ) that calleth it a false and erroneous beleue / whan a man doubteth not but to inheret the Kyngdome of heauen thorow Christ . Yf that beleue be contrary to your mother / then is she contrary to it / and so is she the sinagoge of Antichrist . Ye are afraied / that the innocente lambes of Christe / shulde harken to his voyce / and not to yours / Ioh. x but set your hart at rest / for they will not harken to the voice of straungers .

Standish .

Who doth beleue by anye other meanes contrary to Christ / et cet .

Couerdale .

Yes forsoyth euen you / yf ye beleue as ye wryte . For the same preemynence that is due to the death of Christ and his promes / Standish wordes rebuke himselfe . geue ye to your workyng in the viniarde / Yee ye put confidence / that your workyng shall deserue immortalite / Remembre your awne wordes well .

Standish .

But What Christian doth cast of and forsake all duties to oure parte belonginge / and so temerously / et ce.

Couerdale .

One dutye that belongeth to your parte / is the sincere / and true teaching of gods holy worde / which dutye though ye cast of and forsake / I will not saie all that I might by your awne wordes / but god amende it / that is amisse . Againe / this protestacion of . D. Barnes testifieth / that he doth not cast of and forsake al duties to a Christen man belonginge / This is no casting away of all honest duties . for he beleueth in the holy trinite / he extolleth the merites of Christ / he praiseth our lady / he abhorreth the Anabaptistes heresie / he praieth for the kynges highnesse / he exhorteth men to good workes / he besecheth god to forgeue him his trespace . Be these no duties of Christen men ? What hath moued you then thus vntruly to reporte of him ?

Where as ye laye presumpcion to his charge for trustinge to inheret the Kyngdome of heauen thorow Christ / I haue answered you afore / where ye imputed like arrogauncy vnto him for so doynge .

Standish .

Which go aboute being blind them selues / et cet .

Couerdale .

Math. vij . Those heretikes / of whom Christ biddeth us beware / are false prophetes / which come in shepes clothinge / but inward are rauenyng wolues . Ye shall knowe them ( saieth he ) by their frutes . Now in describing vnto us their frutes / he sheweth us / that they are such as boast of their workes / and saie / haue not we done this ? haue not we done that ? Other blindnesse speaketh he not of in that chapter . In the fiftenth chapter calleth he those blind leaders of the blynd / which ( thorow their owne tradicions ) make the commaundement of god to take none effecte .

Standish .

And Paul speaketh of them / prima Timo. iiij . et cetera .

Couerdale .

The heretikes whom . S. j. Timo. iiij . Paul prophecieth of j. Timo. iiij . are such as thorow their deuelish doctrines / forbidde men to liue in holy wedloke / and commaunde them to absteyne from the meates / which god hath created to be receaued of Christen men / with thankesgeuing .

The heretikes of whom he speaketh ij . Tim. iij. ij . Timo. ●ij . are such as ( among all other vices ) are couetous / boasters / proude / cursed speakers / et cet. false accusers / ryotous / fearce / despisers of them that are good / traytours / et cet. hauing a shine of godly lyuyng / but denyeng the power therof / resiste the trueth / beyng men of corrupte myndes / and lewde in thinges pertayninge to the faith / et cet .

The heretikes that he speaketh of in the xx of the Actes / Acto . xx . are such greuous wolfes as spare not Christes flock / and speake peruerse doctryne / to drawe disciples after them .

The heretikes whom . S. Peter speaketh of / ij . Pet. iij. are such mockers as regarde not gods promes / and are not onely vnlerned / but also vnstable / and peruerte Pauls Epistles / as they do the other scriptures also to their awne damnacion .

Iude. j. The heretikes whom . S. Iude speaketh of / are such as ( among other errours ) are craftely crepte in to the church / and turne the grace of oure god vnto wantonnesse / and denie god the onely lorde / and our lorde Iesus Christ / Euen such dreamers as defile the flesh / despise rulers / et cet. speake euell of the thinges that they knowe not / and in such thinges as they knowe to be naturall / do currupte them selues as beastes / folowing the waie of Cain / the erroure of Balaam for lucres sake / and the treason of Core / feding them selues / makyng feastes of other mens kyndnesse / and hauing men in greate reuerence because of aduantage / et cetera .

Haue ye not now well descrybed the papistrye and the vnholy pilers of your vnholy mother the church of the wicked ? Yf ye had ioyned the seconde chapter of . S. Peters seconde epistle and the xxiij of Matthew / to these places that ye haue here alledged / ye had done us the more pleasure . But we thanke you for pointing us to those scriptures / we knowe you now better then we did afore .

Hiere . xix Now to Hieremy the Prophet / Like as in the xix chapter god treateneth destruction to Hierusalem and Tophet / Hiere . xxiij for shedding of innocent bloud / and for their ydolatry / So in the xxiij chapter threateneth he sore punishment to those Prophetes or preachers / that speake of their owne heades and not out of gods worde . Hiere . xxvij And in the xxvij chapter he counceleth Kynge Sedechias and his people / to geue no credence vnto those Prophetes / that speake fayre wordes to them and wolde make them beleue / that there shulde come no such plage as god hath threatened .

As for the thirtenth chapter of Ezechiel which ye alledge / Ezech. xiij I will hartely desire all Christen readers / not onely to compare it to the xxiij of Hieremy / but also with due reuerence ( for so must gods worde be intreated ) to waye and pondre well euery sentence therof . And so doing I doubte not / but the holy goost shall mynistre such bright spectacles to their sight / that they shall clerely discerne and se / who be scismatikes / who be false Prophetes / and who be true . For I can wish no man so good a glasse to loke in / as the scripture .

Barnes .

TAke me not here / that I speake agaynst good workes . For they are to be done : and surely they that do them not / shall neuer come to the kyngdome of god / We must do them / because they are commaunded us of god to shew and set forth our profession / not to deserue or merite / for that is onely the death of Christ .

Standishe .

It is comonly sayde / No venim or poyson is worse / et cet .

Couerdale .

D. Barnes set forth good workes . Doth not he set forth good workes / that prayseth them / teacheth men to do them / and threateneth damnacion to them that do them not ? Here ye can not denie ( by your awne confession ) but that he praiseth good workes / and yet ye haue reported of him / that he cast of and forsoke all duties to oure parte belonginge . Is it not our dutye to prayse good workes ?

Standishe .

But marke / it is nought that he speaketh afterward / et cet .

Couerdale .

Is it naught and erroneous to saye that we must do good workes / because god hath comaunded them ? Eccl. xxix . The wise man saieth / Take the poore vnto the for the commaundementes sake etcet . Is it not gods commaundement to do good vnto the poore ?

Morouer / where find you in all holy scripture that god hath commaunded us to do good workes to the intent that we shulde merite or deserue / and not to shew and set forth oure profession ? Must we not let our light so shyne before men / Matth. v that they maye se our good workes / and glorifye our father which is in heauen ? Hath not our Sauioure chosen and ordeyned us to go and bringe forth frute / Ioh. xv . etcet . Were we not made heyres of eternall saluacion and baptised / Roma . vj Roma . vij to the intent that we shulde now malke in a new life ? Are we not deed from the curse of the lawe / and maried vnto Christ / to the intent that we shulde now bringe forth frute vnto god ? Ephe. ij Hath not god ordeined us to walke in good workes ? Are we not chosen of god to shew now his wonderful workes / which hath called us out of darknesse in to his maruelous light ? Must we not lead an honest conuersacion in the world / j. Pet. ij . that they which bacbyte us as euell doers / maye se our good workes and prayse god ?

Now to do good dedes / to bring forth good frutes / to walke in a new life / to shew gods wonderfull workes / to lead an honest conuersacion in the world / what is it els / but to shew and set forth our profession / the life that we haue promised and taken us to at the font stone / euen the holy couenaunt and appoyntment that we haue made with the eternall god ? Do ye not considre also / j. Pet. iij. that the scripture appoynting maried women their estate and dewtye / willeth them to be of so honest conuersacion / that euen they which as yet will not beleue gods worde / maye without the worde be won by theyr godly liuinge ? And not onely this / j. Timo. ij . but so to araye them selues in comly apparel with shamefastnesse and discrete bahaueour ( without excesse ) as it becommeth wemen that professe godlynesse thorow good workes ? What can be more planely spoken / then this ? How ernest is the scripture likewise in mouinge and commaunding ( us specially that take in hande to instructe and teach other ) aboue all thinges / j. Pet. v Timo. ij . to shew example of good workes in the doctrine of god / et cet. that such as resiste his trueth / maie be ashamed of their parte / hauinge nothinge in us to reporte amysse ? And immediatly after in the same chapter / how diligent is the Apostle in requiring Titus / to exhorte seruauntes to the doing of their dewtie to their masters / and to shewe all faithfulnesse ? But for what intent ? to merite or deserue immortal●●● ▪ Naye / to the intent that in all thinges they maie do worshippe to the doctrine of god oure Sauioure / that the name of god and his doctrine be not euell spoken of . j. Timo. vj Thus wolde he haue Timothy also to teach and exhorte / and then saieth he these wordes / Yf any man teach otherwise / and agreeth not vnto the wholsome wordes of oure lord Iesus Christ / and to the doctryne of godlinesse / he is puft vp / and knoweth nothinge / et cet .

Reade ye the text forth / and remembre your selfe well / considre in what case ye are / and how wyde your doctryne disagreeth from the wholsome word of god . Yf I shuld saye ye were puft vp / ignoraunt / a waist brayne / et cete . of a corrupte mynde / or robbed of the trueth / ye wolde happlie be angrie . Yet be content to let Paul speake to you / for though he rayle not / yet shall ye not find him a flatrer .

Standish .

Which thing beynge true ( as the church confesseth / et cete .

Couerdale .

The church of the wicked graunteth many moo thinges then it shall euer be able to proue / excepte it be with violence and shedding o●●nnocēt bloud / which is in very dede a fearce / sore and strong waye of probacion . Nether be they heretikes that denye this your doctryne / for I haue proued vnto you by open scriptures / that your doctryne is false .

Standish .

Be not oure owne good workes meritorious to ourselues ?

Couerdale .

Yes parde / for the prophet saieth / Esaie . lxiiij . All our righteousnesses are as the cloth of a menstruous woman .

Standish .

Whether shall we rather beleue . S. Hierome / et cete .

Couerdale .

Yf we receaue the witnesse of men / j. Ioh. v. the witnesse of god is greater / for this is the witnesse of god / which he hath testified of his sonne / et cete . Euen that god hath geuen us euerlasting life / and this life is in his sonne . S. Augustine saieth also /

All my hope is in the death of my lord / his death is my meryte / my refuge / my saluacion / my life / and my resurrection .

Standishe .

Which for their detestable opynions deserued iustly to be burnte as heretikes .

Couerdale .

Yf they were not burnte heretikes in dede / no force . And yf they were iust deseruers / it is a token that they medled the more with righteousnesse / for no man can iustly erre / ner iustly committe treason .

Standishe .

What a detestable heresie is it to saie / the cause that we be commaunded to do good workes / is to set forth oure profession ?

Couerdale .

Is not oure profession the promes and couenaunt that we haue made with god / to seke his glory and oure neghbours profet / euen to loue him with all oure herte / with all our soules / and with all oure strength / and oure neghbour as oure selues / In the which two pointes hangeth all the lawe and the Prophetes ? Are not we bound then ( by gods commaundement ) to set forth the glory of god / oure neghbours profit / and loue to them both ? Remembre what places of scripture I haue pointed you to afore / concernyng this matter .

Standish .

Before whom shulde we set it forth ? before god ? he knowoth oure profession before .

Couerdale .

What then ? Acto . xxliij Studye allwaye to haue a cleare conscience toward god and men / after the Apostles ensample .

Standish .

Before man ? So we maie haue good workes as the pharises had / et cet .

Couerdale .

Though Pharises do their workes to be sene of men / Matth. vj will you therfore ( beyng a preacher ) not geue good ensample to other / j. Pet. v. ner let your light so shyne before men / that they seinge your good workes / maie geue the glory vnto god ? What ? Matth. v are ye so farre from the knowlege of this geer / and yet a preacher / a reader / and a post of the church ? Who wolde thinke / that you ( which are so well aquaynted with him that can compare the deare bloud of Christ to the stinckynge bloud of a swyne ) shuld be so farre from the vnderstondinge of such thinges ? O wicked hogges / whom Sathan hath possessed of that sort . Is the worthy prynce of oure redempcion come to that worshippe amonge you ? No maruaill that ye are so blinded in your vnderstondinge / for ther was neuer enemie of Christes bloud / that had yet anye cleare iudgment in his worde / till he ernestly repented / and gaue him selfe wholy to the studye and life that it teacheth .

Barnes .

I Beleue that ther is a holy church / and a company of all them that do professe Christ .

Standish .

Allbe it that euery true Christian ought thus to beleue / et cet .

Couerdale .

Ye saye / that euery true Christian ought thus to beleue / and yet ye call the same belefe erroneous and damnable . Is the Christen beleue erroneous and damnable ? Or is it erroneous and damnable to beleue / as euery Christen man ought to beleue ? Thus are ye not onely contrary to youre selfe / but iudge Christen men also to be heretikes .

Standishe .

Diuersite . For you iudge ( as appeareth by your preaching ) et cet .

Couerdale .

D. Barnes wordes are playne ynough . He goeth no farther then the article of your crede / yf ye be a Christen man . What will ye more ? Do these his wordes iudge any good man to be none of Christes church ? Or be they good men / that professe not Christ ?

Standish .

For it can not be / but either your secte or the other be the malignaunt church .

Couerdale .

But so it is that ye which are of another secte / To make vp the argument . blaspheme Christes bloude / Ergo ye are of the malignaunt church .

Standish .

Two contraries can not stande both in one .

Couerdale .

It is not reason that they shulde / and yet can ye bringe it so to pas / for ye can prately well graunt to a thing in one place / and denie the same in another / as I tolde you oft afore .

Standish .

Hinc Iacobi . iij. Nunquid fons de eodem foramine / et cet .

Couerdale .

It foloweth a litle after ( euen in the same place ) yf anye man be wise and endewed with learnyng among you / Iacob . iij. let him shew the workes of his good conuersacion / in the mekenesse that is coupled with feare . Which text doth utterly confute your former doctryne / that will not haue us do good workes / to set forth oure profession .

Standish .

Vnde .ij. Corinth . vj. Que societas luci ad tenebras ? et cet .

Couerdale .

It foloweth immediatly in the text / ij . Cor. vj. What parte hath the beleuer with the infidell ? How accordeth the temple of god with images ? Now might I aske this question also of you / How do these places of scripture ( that ye haue now alledged ) agree to the confutacion of . D. Barnes wordes / which saieth / I do beleue / that ther is a holy church and a company of all them that do professe Christ ?

Standishe .

Wherby ye proue your selfe both an heretike and a traytoure .

Couerdale .

Do ye laie heresie and treason to him / for beleuyng that ther is a holy church / and a company of all them / that do professe Christ ? Saieth he here anie thinge els ? And do ye not confesse your selfe / that euery Christen man must thus beleue / yf he will be saued ?

Standish .

Makynge by youre deuelish doctrine not onely us to be the malignaunt church .

Couerdale .

To beleue that article of the Crede which . D. Barnes here affirmeth / is no doctryne to make you of the malignaunt church / but your blaspheminge of Christes deare bloude / your defacinge of his glorye / your wresting / peruerting and belieng of his holy worde / and disagreyng from the wholsome doctryne therof / maketh you ye maye knowe what / by . S. Pauls wordes .j. Timo. vj.

Ye plaie here with . D. Barnes ( though he be deed from this body ) as the false Prophet Sedechias did with Michee / Who whan he had exhorted the kyng not to breake gods commaundement / this Sedechias stepte forth ( among foure hundred of his secte ) and smote Michee vpon the cheke / and saide / What / hath the sprete of the lord forsaken me / and spoken vnto the ? ij . Par. xv●ij Euen thus do ye with the deed / whom though ye may not hurt with your fist / yet do ye your worst with your tonge against him . Notwithstondinge ye shall be of the malignaunt church still for all your facyng and bragginge ( yee though ye had ten thousand times foure hundred false Prophetes of youre side ) solonge as ye resist the manifest trueth of god .

Standish .

But also oure heade the Kynges graces maiestye and his honorable counsell .

Couerdale .

I darre saye / that the Kynges highnesse and his noble counsaill doth iudge no malignite to be imputed vnto them / whan anie subiecte beleueth that ther is a holy church / for they knowe / that it is an article necessary to be beleued of all Christen men . A pyke thanke . Wherfore this cauillacion declareth you planely to be but a pike thanke in this behalfe . Well yet remembre the ende of Sedechias / the storye is written for your warnyng . And verely like as myne humble expectacion in the Kynges highnesse doth persuade me / so heard I a very famous and prudent counsailour of his ( who yet is aliue ) saye within these few yeares / that of all prynces liuing his grace is the greatest enemie to flatrers / whan he ones hath thorowly spied them .

The Kynge also hath receaued his hie and suppreme office of god / to defend the worde / the faith / the congregacion and church of god within his dominion / and is no mayntener of anye such malignaunt church / Yf your doctrine come to light / it will doutlesse declare the same .

Standish .

By whose lawes you be now iustly condemned to be burnte .

Couerdale .

By what lawe he was condemned / I wote not / nomore than I can tell what poynt of treason was layed vnto him . But sure I am / that like as the ciuile lawes of euery realme ( excepte the prynce graunt his pardon ) condemne such as are accused by the mouthes of many witnesses / so do false witnesses oft tymes bring to death / euen innocent persons / as ye se by the storie of Naboth / of Susanna / iij. Reg. xxj Danie. xiij . Acto . vj. Matth. xxvj of holy . S. Steuen in the actes and of oure Sauioure Christ / Yee cleane contrary to the iudges minde . Neuertheles though Cain slaye Abel in the busshes / yet will murthur come out at the last .

Standish .

But now to speake of this parte of your belefe / et cete .

Couerdale .

What is the holy church and company of them that professe Christ / The holy church . but that true and faithfull church which is ruled by the holy goost acording to gods promes ? euen the congregacion of the electe and chosen children of god ? What els can ye iustly gather of . D. Barnes wordes / but he confesseth the same / whan he saieth / I beleue that ther is a holy church ? et cete .

Standish .

For this is the company that professe Christ with their mouth / et cet .

Couerdale .

So they do also with other good frutes aswell as with their mouth . Now yf this company of Christes church do professe Christ with their mouth / then haue they some iniunction of god so to do / for without his commaundement / will they do nothinge / ner consente to that / Profession set forth with the mouth . which they knowe not to be his will . And thus haue ye proued your selfe at the last / that it is not erroneous to saye / how that god hath commaunded us to do good workes for the settyng forth of our profession . Had it not bene more worshippe to you / for to haue graunted the same at the first / then now with shame to affirme it that ye denyed afore ?

Barnes .

ANd that all that haue suffred and confessed his name / be sayntes / and that all they do prayse and laude god in heauen / more then I or any mans tonge can expresse .

Standishe .

As you do take it / this is also erroneous / et ce.

Couerdale .

What so euer the cause were that he was put to death for ( wherof I am ignoraunt ) it is no euell token of a Christen man / at the very poynt of his death ( among other articles of the crede ) to confesse / that such a holy church ther is / which professeth the name of Christ / and ys content to laude and prayse it / and to lyue and die in his cause . Nether is it erroneous thus to saie . Of arrogauncye that ye laie to . D. Barnes charge / I haue talked with you afore .

Touchinge martirs / Like as we haue cause sufficient to prayse god dailie for his worde mynistred vnto us by those martyrs that ye here haue named / and for all such as be true folowers of them / So haue we no litle occasion to lamente and be sory / that anie man betaking himselfe to godlines / and makyng a couenaunt with god to lyue vnfaynedly after his worde / God warneth us by other mens fall . shulde not professe the same in true fidelite and good workes / Our lorde be praised yet / which thorow the fall of other men / hath warned us to beware of vnthankfulnesse . For whan they that pretende to be setters vp of godlynesse / are either ypocrites to god / vntrue in the effaires of their prince / maynteynours of pryde / of ydillnesse / of swearyng / of excesse / and of aduoutrye in them selues or in their housholde seruauntes / Gods good worde must weere the papyre / and be iack out of seruyce from other men . Now god shew the right .

Barnes .

ANd that allwayes I haue spoken reuerently of sayntes / and praised them / as much as scripture wylled me to do .

Standishe .

Here he planely sheweth himselfe to be an heretike / et cet .

Couerdale .

I am sure that Christes church hath made no such ordinaunce / nether geuen any sentence or iudgment / that men shall not speake reuerently of saintes / nether that men shall prayse them otherwyse / then scripture teacheth . How sheweth he himselfe them to be an heretike in this behalfe / that foloweth the example of Christes church / and not of your vnholy synagoge ? What maketh youre diffinicion of heresie / to proue / that he is an heretike / The diffinicion of heresie . which not onely speaketh reuerently of sayntes / but also prayseth them acordinge to the rule of scripture ? Verely your diffinicion commeth out at an importunite . Ye might also haue diffyned it thus / and haue sayde / 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deducitur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 / j. volo . decerno . That is to saie / I will so haue it / I am at a full poynt . For truly I se litle in youre writinge but wilfulnesse / and obstinate resisting of the manifest trueth . Well / god is able to brydle you .

Standish .

Also in this his saienge that he wil do nothinge but that scripture byddeth him / he planely goeth agaynst scripture / et cet .

Couerdale .

Is he not a worthy Apostle / legate / or messaunger / that hauinge commission of his prince what to saie in his message / will speake thinges of his owne heade / or more then his master commaundeth him ? Forsoith he declare manifestly whose Apostle ye be . But now let us se how the scriptute will mainteine this spirituall treason ( euen treason verely / and no better ) agaynst the Kyng of all Kynges and lord of all lordes .

Ioh. xx . Christ oure Sauyoure saieth vnto his Apostles these wordes / As my liuinge father sent me / so send I you . How did his father send him ? My doctrine ( saieth he ) is not myne owne / Iohn . vij . Mat. xxviij but my fathers that hath sent me . Therfore ( saieth he ) go ye youre waye / and teach all nacions / and baptise them / et cet. and teach them to kepe all thinges what so euer I haue commaunded you . j. Cor. iiij Ought not stewardes to be faithfull mynistres of their masters goodes / to paye euery man good money as they be commaunded / and not to geue false coyne in stead of syluer and golde ? Must we not contynue in the doctrine of Christ / ij . Ioh. j. j. Pet. iiij . and speake that thing which is agreable to gods worde ? Your doctrine wold haue us to renne at ryote / and not to kepe us with in the boundes that god hath appoynted us ?

Standish .

So that here he proueth himselfe to haue another propertye of an heretike / which is to go about with the worde of god / to destroye the worde of god / et cete .

Couerdale .

Like as ye proue not here with what text of scripture . D. Barnes shulde go aboute to destroie the scripture / so declare ye manifestly by this your opynion and wrestinge of the texte / to be one yourselfe / that with the worde of god / goeth aboute to destroye the worde of god . Now to your thre places that ye bringe out of gods worde .

Where fynde ye in the fiftenth chapter of the actes / Acto . xv . that we must obeye more then holy scriptuture byddeth us ? First . S. Peter confesseth there in that counsail / that it is a tempting of god to laie anie yock of the ceremonies of Moses lawe vpon the neckes of Christes disciples / or to trouble the weake consciences of those which lately we returned and conuerted to the faith / And afore in the same place he confesseth / that god appoynted and ordeyned him to preach the worde of the gospell / and maketh mencion of none other doctrine . Againe / Acto . xv . Galat. ij . like as by the comen consente of the Apostles in the same counsail ye se / that they wolde not be brought in to subiection / Acto . xv . Gala. ij . ner geue place to those false brethern that wolde haue brought in ceremonies of the law / to binde mens consciences withal / So wolde they not that the brethren which were turned to Christ / shulde abuse their libertie in him / but absteyne from certayne meates for offendinge of the weake / Roma . xiiij j. Cor. viij . which thinge also . S. Paul requyreth ernestly in his Epistles .

In the xvj chapter of the Actes Paul and Silas preach the worde of the lorde / and whan Paul sawe that to circumcise Timothye was a thing which might be done for the time / and was not requyred of the Iewes as a thing necessary / he was content / Wherby it is manifest / that like as in thinges indifferent they had allwaye respecte to the tyme in forbearinge weake conscientes for a whyle / so preached they none other doctryne but gods onely worde .

In the second chapter of the second Epistle to the Thessalonians . S. Paul ( whan he hath told them of the great departing from the faith ) doth geue thankes to god for calling them to his trueth of the gospel / in the which he requireth them to stand stedfast / and to kepe such ordinaunces as he and the other Apostles had taught than either by mouth or by epistle .

Acto . xv . Now let me demaunde of you this question / In the xv . of the Actes whan Peter preacheth the worde of the gospell / and forbyddeth the binding of weake consciences with supersticious thinges / and consenteth ( with the other Apostles ) to haue such a charitable respecte to the tyme / Is that as much as to will / that men shal obeie more then is grounded in scripture ?

In the xvj . of the Actes / Acto . xv● . whan Paul and Silas preach the worde of the lorde / and deale gently with the consciences of the weake acordinge to the tyme / will they that men shall obeie more then holy scripture teacheth them ?

ij . Tessa. ij . Whan . S. Paul requyreth them to stande stedfast in the trueth of the gospell / ij . Tessa. ij . and to kepe such ordinaunces as he and the other Apostles had taught than either by mouth or in their Epistles / willeth he them to obeye more then is conteyned in holy scripture ?

Thus is it euydent where about ye go / namely / euen by your false alledginge of such places of gods worde / to destroye the worde of god . This is verely ( as ye saie your selfe ) the propertye of an heretike / and this propertye lerne ye of the father of all heresye / euen father Satan / Who by ( angelis suis mandauit / et cete . ) wolde proue / Matth. iiij that a man maye tempte his lord god .

But like as Satan / wrestyng that place of scripture which made moost against him / was commaunded by oure Sauioure to auoyde / so be ye sure / that your false doctryne can not stand . Dawlbe your wall and spare not / Ezech. xiij for Ezechiel telleth you planely / that god wyll sende such a shower of rayne among all lyeng / prophetes / as shall ouerthrowe it . Your laboure is but lost / so long as ye dawlbe your wall with vntempred morter .

Standish .

Also where he saieth that he hath euer spoken reuerently of sayntes / et cet .

Couerdale .

Ye graunted afore / his wordes to be true whan he sayde / that all such as for confessyng Christes name and for his sake do suffre death / are sayntes in heauen . This reuerent talkynge and praysinge of sayntes dyd ye alowe afore / Diuersite . And now contrary to your awne wordes ye saye / that ye wote not whether he euer spake reuerently of them or no / Yet confesse ye that ye haue heard him fortye tymes . Who will now trust you / that are so double in your wordes ?

Barnes .

ANd that oure lady ( I saye ) she was a virgyn immaculate and vndefyled / and that she is the moost purest virgyn that euer god created / and a vessell electe of god / of whom Iesus Christe shulde be borne .

Standish .

Here yet ignorauntly / et cete . he goeth forther then the scripture speaketh / et cet .

Couerdale .

Be these his wordes out of the boundes of scripture / or not acording to the scripture ? Reade them ouer agayne .

Standishe .

He wolde neuer willingly graunt anye thynge but that is in scripture .

Couerdale .

Then like as ye proue him to haue bene a true messaunger of god in grauntinge to the holy scripture ( which by your owne confession is gods very worde ) so declare ye / What a reporte Standish geueth of . D. Barnes . that yf he reuoked anie thing that is in it / or graunted ought contrary vnto it / It was done agaynst his will . Haue ye not now a great cause to make such tryumphinge of reuocacions in your sermons ?

Standish .

Albeit here with the church he doth professe / that oure lady did continue a virgin still / et cete .

Couerdale .

Doth not the scripture affirme this doctryne / that the mother of oure Sauyoure is the purest virgin that euer god created ? Will not the Prophecies of Christes birth / the perfourmaunce of the same / and the practises of the holy goost in Christes blessed mother / alowe this doctrine ? Esaie . vij Matth. j Luc. ij Haue ye noted the worke of god in her no better ? Yf she had anye nede of you / ye shew her but a faynte frendshippe / in reportynge that her most pure virginite hath none other grounde but the auctorite of your church . Verely such your doting doctrine wil make both you and your church be lesse set by .

Standish .

Deus . n . tantam eam fecit / inquit quidam / et ce.

Couerdale .

Is not your doctryne now well sealed with butter ? Whan ye haue presumed to controll gods word / and to call the blessed mother of Christ with other names then the holy goost geueth her / Now to ratifye and confirme your false matter / ye bring in an heretike to helpe you . Can not Christes worthy mother kepe still the gracious names that the holy trenite hath geuen her / but she must now haue a sorte of hereticall Ruffyans / to become new godfathers vnto her ? Call her ( as gods worde teacheth you ) full of grace / blessed / immaculate virgin / et cete . Praye to god that ye maye folowe the fote steppes of her constant faith / her feruent charite and godly loue / her moost meke and humble behaueoure / her vnfained trueth / et ce . And whan ye talke in matters of Christes religion / bring forth playne and manifest wordes of his scripture / and no Romysh heretike / ner a text out of frame / to proue youre purpose withall .

Barnes .

THen saide . M. Sheriffe : You haue sayd well of her before . And he beynge afrayed that . M. Sheriffe had bene or shulde be agreued with any thing that he shulde saye / sayd : M. Sheriffe / Yf I speak any thing that you will me not / do nomore but becken me with your hand / and I wil straight waie holde my peace . For I will not be dishobedient in anie thing / but will obeye .

Standishe .

Now as he faineth he wold gyue no slaunder or offence / Sed sero sapiunt Phriges .

Couerdale .

At this poynt ye are with . D. Barnes / that ( though he be out of this life ) yet what so euer he sayd in this protestacion / or dyd at the tyme therof / ye iudge him to the worst / and slaunder him / But your owne prouerbe that ye bring in / Serv veni● doth admonishe you / that it is to laite / for though ye belye him and slaunder him neuer so much / it can not hurt him .

Standishe .

Now he saieth he is afraied to displease ( irep● dauerunt timore vbi non erat timor ) et cete .

Couerdale .

Like as ye referre to him the wordes which are not his owne / so reporte ye of him / that he was afrayed where no feare was . But was there no feare at the fyre syde ? Standish is a manlie man The manhode of our sauioure Christ feared death / and so dyd that holy Kynge Ezechias . As for you / ye must nedes be of some bolde and stowte kynde / that can kyll a deed man .

But how serueth those wordes of the Psalme to this youre purpose ? Standish peruerteth the wordes 〈◊〉 the xiij Psalme . The holy goost speaketh of such wicked workers as eat vp gods people like bred / call not vpon god / are afraied to se god stande on ryghteous mens syde / and mocke poore men for putting their trust in god . How maketh this scripture now to proue / that ther is no feare / where a man seyth death present before his eyes ? O wicked mockers with gods holy worde .

Standish .

Now se I praye you how obedient he saieth he will be / which before tyme was euer dishobedient / et cete .

Couerdale .

An ensample of obedience in . D. Barnes . Ye saye much and proue litle touching this man / whose present protestacion ( and his boke written afore ) declareth planely his obedience toward his prynce / whose wholsome commaundement yf he haue at anye tyme disobeyed ( contrary to this his doctryne and example ) I am the more sory . But yet haue ye not proued it to be so .

Touchinge bishoppes ( which are to be estemed acordinge to their estate ) I wote not what dishobedience ye haue to proue against him . Such bishoppes as laboure in the worde of god and in the doctryne therof / j. Timo. ● are to be counted worthye of double honoure / therfore in herkenyng vnto such / he dyd well / and yf he dispysed such / Matth. x he despysed Christ . But yf he folowed . S. Iohns bydding / ij . Iohn . j and dyd not receaue such false Apostles as bring not the doctryne of Christ / then can ye not iustly blame him .

Barnes .

AFter this / ther was one that asked him what he saide of the sacrament of the altare . Then sayde he vnto . M. Pope which was there present : M. Pope / ye know and. M. Ryche yf ye be alyue / that ther was one accused before my lord chaunceloure for denyeng of the sacrament : and for faulte of a better / I was assygned to the examynacion of him in the galery . And after longe reasonyng and disputacion I declared and sayde / that the sacrament beyng rightly vsed and accordinge to scripture / doth after the word spoken by the prest / chaunge the substaunce of the bred and wyne in to the body and bloud of Christ . Were not these my wordes ? ( sayde he ) Yee sayde . M. pope . Then beare me witnesse ( said he ) that I erre not in the sacrament .

Standishe .

Allthoughe you did not denie that sacrament / yet haue you / et cet .

Couerdale .

Ye call it slaunderous raylinge / whan a man with gods worde both ernestly rebuke such horryble abuses / as Antichrist and his malignaunt church hath brought in among Christen people / So lothe are ye to consent vnto gods worde / or to vse anie thing according to his holy institucion . What could it then haue helped you / yf he had opened his minde farther / seing that in his so godly and honest request / ye ascribe naughtynesse vnto him ? Standish wold not haue the sacrament vsed acording to the holy scripture . He did but shew that he wold haue the sacrament rightly vsed and acording to holy scripture / and ye are not content with him . Yet well worth the Corinthians / for though they were fallen in to abuse aboute this holy misterie / and aboute other thinges / we read not that they spurned against the holy goost ( as you do ) whan they were called to refourmacion .

Standish .

Se also I praye you / how he saieth / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Yf you shulde saye / that for lack of a better / ye dyd write agaynst this protestacion of . D. Barnes / wolde ye therfore be iudged to thynke / that there were not many better lerned men in England to take such a matter in hande / then you ?

Barnes .

THen sayde he : haue ye anye thing els to saye ? There was one then asked him his opynion of prayeng to sayntes . Then sayd he : Now of saintes you shall heare myne opynion . I haue sayd before somwhat ( I thynke ) of them / how that I beleue they are in heauen and with god / and that they are worthy of all the honour that scripture willeth them to haue . But I saye through out al scripture we are not commaunded to pray to any sayntes : therfore I can not ner will not preach to you / that sayntes ought to be praied vnto . For then shuld I preach you a doctryne of myne owne head .

Standish .

Ther is an olde heresie that saieth / sayntes be not yet in heauen / et cet .

Couerdale .

Is this your next waye to confute him that saieth / we are not commaunded in scripture to praie to anye saintes ? Ye brawll with the deed man / that saieth nothinge against you / in this article of saintes being in heauen .

Standishe .

How can it be in scripture ( thou impudent heretike ) the prayer vnto saintes ?

Couerdale .

Be good to the poore man / and take not the matter so whote . He goeth not aboute to proue / that your prayeng to sayntes is grounded in scripture .

Standish .

As for in the tyme of the olde lawe / et cet .

Couerdale .

The doctrine of god is / Apoc. xiij that Christ is the lambe which hath bene slayne sens the begynnyng of the worlde / that is / euen he / whose power and deliueraunce hath clensed and saued all them / that euer put their trust in him . Christ Iesus yesterdaie and todaie / and the same contynueth for euer . Heb. xiij .

Standish .

Therfore concerning praieng to saintes / et cet .

Couerdale .

Must we beleue the testimony of men / without it be grounded on gods worde ? Are ye become such an Apostle ? j. Cor. xiiij . j. Ioh. iiij j. Tessa. v Because the church and congregacion of Christ must discerne / iudge / trie and examen all maner of doctryne ( and so to eschue the euell / and kepe the good ) hath it therfore auctorite to make anye new article or to receaue a doctryne contrary to gods worde ? Ioh. xiiij and xvj . Because Christ hath promised his holy sprete of trueth to be allwaye in his faithfull congregacion / shall they therfore make / ordeyne / set vp / or beleue ought that is contrary to his owne teachinge ?

Standish .

Doest thou set nomore by the auctorite of it then so / in asmuch as . S. Augustyne sayde / Non crederem Euangelio nisi crederim Ecclesie ? et cet .

Couerdale .

Euen as ye peruerte the wordes of holy scripture / Standish peruerteth S. Augustines wordes . so do ye with . S. Augustine / As ye choppe and chaunge with it / so do ye with him . And as ye alledge the scripture for another purpose then the plaine circumstaunce of the text meaneth / so do ye here with this holy doctoure . For youre purpose is with . S. Augustines wordes to proue / that youre church by her auctorite / may make new articles / and that we are bounde to beleue as she beleueth / though the same be not grounded in scripture . But yf men diligently marke . S. Augustynes sayeng / the occasion of his wryting / and the circumstaunce therof / it shall be euydent / that ye are as like him in vnderstondinge / as the moone is like a grene chese .

S. Augustyne perceauynge the greate hurte that was growyng thorow the doctryne of wicked Manicheus / toke in hande to confute him and his secte / The secte of the Manichees . his errours were so noisome and deuelish . For he had not onely fayned a new gospell of his owne / and named himselfe Christes Apostle / but also mainteined the heresie ( which the Anabaptistes lately helde ) that the sonne of god toke not the nature of man of the blessed virgin / and denied rulers to beare office / denied mariage / denied certayne kyndes of meates to be of god / or to be graunted vnto Christen men / Taught also that some mens soules dye with the bodyes / despysed the exterior worde of god and mynistracion therof / and sought other visions without it / And many other fond and wicked opynions had he / vnknowne to the holy church and flock of Christ . Contra Epistolam Manichei / quam vocant fundamenti .

Now for the refelling of such pestilent doctryne . S. Augustine ( among other thinges ) wrote one speciall boke agaynst a certayne Epistle of the Manichees / which was called Epistola fundamenti / and whan he had shewed the occasions which moued him to abyde still within the vnyte of Christes catholike church / then in the fifth chapter he shewed the cause / that moued him / rather to geue credence vnto Christes gospell / then to Manicheus / where among other he saieth these wordes / Nostis . n. me statuisse / nihil avobis prolatum temere credere etcet . S. Augustines wordes . For ye knowe ( saieth he ) that I am determined to geue no haistie credence to anye thing that ye speake of your awne heades . I demaunde therfore / Who is that Manicheus ? Ye answere / An Apostle of Christ . I beleue it not . Now what canst thou saye / or do / thou shalt not opteine / for thou dyddest promes knowlege of the trueth / and now thou wilt compell me to beleue the thinge that I knowe not . Ego vero Euangelio non crederem / nisi me catholice Ecclesie commoueret auctoritas . Peraduenture thou wilt reade me the gospell / and therby wilt thou assaie to affirme the parson̄e of Manicheus . Yf I shulde fynde anye man then / which as yet beleueth not the gospel / what shuldest thou do to him that sayeth vnto the / I beleue not ? As for me / I shulde not beleue the gospell / vnlesse the auctorite of the catholike church dyd moue ( teach or warne ) me . Seing that I was obedient vnto them whan they sayde / beleue the gospel / why may I not obeie them whan they saye vnto me / beleue not Manicheus ? et cet .

The doctrine of . S. Augustine . By the circumstaunce now of . S. Augustines wordes / it is euident / first / that he wolde beleue no such doctrine as men brought vp of their owne heades . Secondly / that he wold beleue no vncertayne doctryne / ner that he knewe not to be true . Thirdly / that the occasion which moued him to beleue the gospell / was the whole consent / and auctorite of the catholike or vniuersall church . Now like as he reporteth not of them / that they preached anie other doctryne vnto him saue the gospell / so saieth he not / that he beleued anye other lernyng / saue onely it . And in confutinge of Manicheus erroure / he bringeth none other doctryne but the scripture / as it is manifest in the same fifth chapter of his boke .

What helpe haue ye now in . S. Augustines wordes / either to proue praieng to saintes / or that a particular church maye by her auctorite make anye article necessary to be beleued / Standish choppeth vp S. Augustines wordes . excepte it be grounded in scripture ? Ye meant somwhat / whan ye chopped vp . S. Augustines wordes of that fashion . It is not for naught that ye so haue peruerted his sayeng / and reade it otherwise then it standeth in his boke . For these are his wordes / I shulde not beleue the gospell / vnlesse the auctorite of the catholike church dyd moue me . Now is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as much to saye as vniuersalis . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which worde like as ye leaue out in youre lection / Franciscus ▪ Maronis . so folowe ye the mynde of Franciscus Maronis ( such another holy father as was your inquit quidam ) who commynge long after . S. Augustine / dyd gather of these his forsaid wordes / that the auctorite of the church is greater then the auctorite of holy scripture / where as . S. Aug. meant nothinge lesse / but teacheth us / that who so euer bringeth vp anye opynion / or setteth forth anye doctryne / we shall receaue none / but that which agreeth with the manifest doctryne of the vniuersall church of Christ / That is / we shall holde us to that doctryne / which was taught by the Prophetes / by the Apostles / and by such other as were true folowers of them in Christes holy congregacion and church .

Standish .

Is it not still fundamentum et columna veritatis ? et cet .

Couerdale .

The vniuersall congregacion and multitude of them that beleue in Christ / is still the house of god / j. Timo. iij. the church of the liuinge god / the piler / and stablishment of the trueth / For there dwelleth god / with his mercy / grace / trueth / forgyuenesse etcet . Nether dyd the Apostles contrary to Christes former institucion / whan they / to set vp his name ( which then was so sore spurned at ) dyd baptise in the same / yf ye remembre well the prerogatyue of holy baptyme / and the presence of the blessed trenyte therin .

Standishe .

Paul the vessel of election m. v. hundert yeres and more past / desired the Romaynes . cap. xv . the Collo. cap. iiij . the Tessa. j. Tessa. v. to praye for him / et cet .

Couerdale .

I turned not ouer two leafes of your treatise / sens I red these your wordes where ye saie thus / How can it be in scripture / thou impudent heretike / the prayer vnto saintes ?

Lorde Iesu / what meane ye man ? Will ye by scripture proue that thing / Standish will proue by scripture / the thing that can not be therin . which ( as ye your self confesse ) can not be in scripture ? Do ye not graunt your selfe / that the holy scripture is the very worde of god ? Wyll ye then by gods holy worde proue that thinge which can not be therin ? Wyll ye belye the worde of god ? Saye ye not your selfe in another place afore / that it is an abhominable vice to slaundre it ? To what poynt no to haue ye brought that worshipfull doctrine of your vnholy mother the malignaunt church ? Which teacheth / that we must now praie vnto . S. Paul and other sayntes / because that he beynge here in this body dyd requyre other men to praye for him and for all saintes . Now is his request such / that yf we shuld fulfill it yet for him ( aswell as whan he was lyuyng vpon erth ) then shuld we desire god to be good to his holy sayntes that are out of this life . And then god saue oure lady / helpe . S. Paul / and conforte swete . S. Anthony .

A mocker are ye with gods holy word / and a shameful slaūdrer therof / Vayne wordes require no answer / but reprofe . therfore as vnworthy to be answered vnto euery vayne sentence of your vnstable doctryne / so leaue I your long disputacion therin / Desiringe all Christen readers to note wel what scriptures ye bring forth / and to compare the same vnto the open texte / and then trie / which of oure two doctrynes is moost agreable to gods holy worde .

The doctryne of the Prophetes / of Christ oure Sauioure / of his holy Apostles / and of such as haue and do folowe them in the catholike or vniuersall church and congregacion of god / Is his holy worde and scripture / which ( as holy . S. ij . Timo. iij Holy scripture is suffici● Paul darre aduowe ) is able to instructe us vnto saluacion / which is thorow the faith in Christ Iesu etcet . Yf youre article therfore of prayenge to sayntes that be out of this life / were a thing belonging to saluacion / no doubte the same holy scripture of god wold haue taught it .

The awncient / firme / stable / and true doctryne of Christes catholike or vniuersall church / is this / that like as Christ Iesus toke vpon him oure flesh and bloude ( without sinne ) and deliuered us from eternall death and hell / Christ is our hie prest . Heb. jj . so is he still oure mercifull and faithfull hie prest in thinges concerning god / to make agrement for oure sinnes / and able to socoure such as are tempted / He is the seate of grace / Heb. v. The seate of grace Heb. vij . Heb. ix . to whom yf we resorte / we maie receaue mercy and fynde grace to helpe in tyme of nede / he is able also euer to saue them that come vnto god by him / and lyueth euer to make intercession for us / yee and appeareth now for us before the face of god .

This doctryne is confirmed by those same textes of scripture that ye bring in / j. Iohn . secundo Iohn . xiiij . j Timoth. secundo / and yet without open scriptures are ye not ashamed to resiste it .

Math. vij . Luc. xj . Psal. xlix . Hiere . xxix . We are commaunded thorow out all holy scripture ( both of the olde and new Testament ) to praie vnto Allmightie god / to call vpon him / to make oure peticions vnto him / and to aske of him what soeuer we lacke .

Psal. xc . and cxliiij . Math. vij Iohn . xvj Esaie . xxx . We haue his true and faithfull promes / that yf we so do / we shall be hearde / we shall haue oure request / we shall finde that we seke / we shall be delyuered / et cet .

We haue ensamples innumerable / that all those faithfull people whom the scripture maketh mencion of / dyd make their peticions and praier / to none other but vnto god / whyle they were in this life . Acto . x and xij Let Cornelius ( whom we spake of afore ) and the practise of the prymityue church beare recorde .

Shal we now refuse gods holy commaundement / thinke scorne of his louing promes / despise the ensamples of his catholike and vniuersall church / and defye gods holy ordinaunce ( as ye do ) and renne at riote with your doctryne ? Awaye from us ye wicked / the commaundementes of our god will we kepe / and not yours . Psal. cxviij .

Standish .

Which toke oure synnes on him ( penam pro peccatis ) j. Pet. ij . et cet .

Couerdale .

Ye taught afore ( wresting many scriptures for your purpose ) that euery man must satisfie for the punishment belonginge vnto sinne / Diuersite in Stan●is● doctryne . and now ye graunt / that Christ toke the paine vpon him therfore . As much hold is there at your doctryne / as at an elys tale .

Standish .

But we haue moo meanes concernyng intercession / et cet .

Couerdale .

The scripture is manifest / that euery one of us in this life is bound to praie for another / and dailie occasions haue we of such peticions and exhortacions as appertayne to oure estate . As for praieng to saintes that be out of this life / Ye haue myne answere allready .

Barnes .

NOtwithstonding whether they praye for us or no / that I referre to god .

Standish .

A good Christen man wold haue gone no further / then the congregacion of Christes church / that is to saie / in this region the kinges maiesty with his lerned counsaill .

Couerdale .

Like as your vnreuerent handling of the holy scriptures afore rehearced / and your wicked doctrine against the same / Standish . excludeth himselfe . declareth you to be none of Christes church ( vnlesse ye repent / and turne ) so do ye here exempte youre selfe from that holy congregacion . Maruaill not therfore / though ( whan I se you folowe your vnholy mother and not Christes deare spouse ) I call you now and then her owne whyte sonne .

In this region of England ( ye saie ) the congregacion of Christes church is the Kynges Maiestie with his lerned counsaill . But is this a sufficient diffinicion ? what a comforte is this now for so many of the Kynges subiectes ( both lerned and vnlerned ) to heare / that they are not of Christes congregacion ? Is it a greate consolacion for the foote / to be none of the body ?

Ye repute . D. Barnes no good Christen man / because he wolde not define whether sayntes praie for us or no / but referred that vnto god / and not to the Kynges maiestie and his lerned counsaill . What will ye make of the Kynges grace ? A prince that had rather haue secrete thinges referred vnto him / then vnto god the onely knower of all secretes ? Or do ye esteme the Kynges lerned counsaill to be such men / as will geue iudgment in thinges that be not euident ? Or thinke ye them to be ignoraunt of the scripture / Prouer. xxv Eccl. iij. which forbyddeth men to search out or to medle with secrete thinges / that god hath not commaunded ?

Barnes .

ANd yf saintes do praie for you / then I trust within this halfe hour / to praie for you . M. sheriffe / and for euery Christen man liuing in the faith of Christ / and dyenge in the same as a saynt . Wherfore yf the deed maye praye for the quicke / then I will surely praye for you .

Standishe .

O damnable presumpcion / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Because this man trusted thorow the onely mercy of god in Christ / to passe from this death vnto life / ye note damnable presumpcion / arrogaunt presumpcion / and presumptuous arrogauncy in him . And because ye maye seme to haue scripture to proue / that . D. Barnes wolde temerously appoynte and determyne the tyme himselfe / for his so sayeng / ye bringe in ( quod pater posuit in sua potestate ) as right as a rammes horne / and as nye to the purpose / as Pauls steple and mount Falcon. Acto . j. At the tyme of the ascension of oure sauyoure / whan the Apostles were come together / they asked him and sayde / Lord / shalt thou at this tyme set vp the kyngdome of Israel agayne ? He sayd vnto them / It belongeth not vnto you to knowe the tymes and seasons which the father hath kepte in his awne power / et cetera . A like answere to such another question / Mar. xiij Mat. xxiiij geueth he in another place / and saieth / Of that daye and houre knoweth no man / no not the angels of heauen / but the father onely .

〈◊〉 . v. What maketh this now to proue / that he which ( acordinge to Christes promes ) trusteth to pas from this death to life / doth temerously appoynt and determine the same time / daye or season which our Sauyoure there speaketh of ? Or that he is either presumptuous or arrogaunt / which ( acording to the ensample of holy scripture ) is certaine and sure / that after the destruction of his body he hath an euerlastinge dwelling in heauen ? ij . Cor. v Haue ye not now alledged the scripture well to the purpose ? Ye wold haue men beleue ( as it appeareth by you doctrine ) that whan they departe hence / they shall go from the hall in to the kytchen / or els in to the whole kylle of your purgatory .

Standish .

Loke what case he is in / that thus ended his life / et cet .

Couerdale .

To proue here that saintes praie for us in heauen / ye make a long disputacion / and with the scriptures ye do as ye were wont . They haue loue yet ( ye saie ) and therfore they praye for us / and are our aduocates . I answere / The same places of scripture that ye bringe in your selfe / are moost against you / for they declare manifestly / that it is the office of Christ to make intercession for us / Heb. vij j. Iohn . ij and that he is ( with the father ) oure aduocate / which opteineth grace for our sinnes . The saintes then that be in heauen knowinge this eternall will of god / loue us not so / that they desyre to be ( nether can they be ) against it . ij . Mac. xv The dreame of Iudas Machabeus

It is a token / that your doctryne hath but a weake foundacion / whan ye go aboute to proue it by a dreame / yee and that out of such a boke as serueth not for the confirmacion of the doctryne of Christes church / Prolog . in libros Salomonis . for though it be red among the stories of other bokes / yet dyd not the church receaue it among the Canonical scriptures in . S. Hieroms tyme .

Nether can ye proue that boke laufull by anye sayeng of Christ / Luc. xxiiij for thorow out all the new Testament he maketh mencion of none but of the lawe / the Prophetes and the Psalmes / Iohn . v and byddeth not search anye other scriptures but such as beare recorde and testimonye of him .

The xv of Ieremy proueth ( as doth also the vij / the xj / the xiiij of his boke ) that god will not be intreated where his worde is troden vnder foote / and where men will nedes spurne agaynst it . And verely in all the scripture could ye not haue brought in a more manifest place to confute your owne doctrine / if it be compared to the xiiij . of Ezechiel .

The xvj . of Luke / proueth nothing for your purpose / in that Abraham praied not to god whan he was desired . But like as it proueth that ther is no redempcion in hell / ner time of acceptable repentaunce and forgyuenesse after this life / So proueth it euidently / that we ought to holde us to the onely word and scripture of god / and not to loke for other doctrynes / visions / dreames / or reuelacions .

Gene. iiij The place Apoca. vj. proueth that the voyce of Abels bloude and of such as are slayne for the worde of god / cryeth vengeaunce from the erth ( and vnder the altare / as . S. Iohn saieth in his vision ) and that all such as are malicious persecuters therof / Matth. xxiij are giltie of the righteous bloude that is shed vpon erth .

Acto . v. S. Peters shadowe proueth your doctrine but weakly / Acto . xix . excepte ye can make us beleue that ther be shadowes in heauen . Nomore doth . S. Pauls napkyn / vnlesse ye can proue / that he hath not yet left wiping of his nose .

But where lerne ye to belye the word of god ? Where finde ye in the scripture / that Peters shadowe or Pauls napkyng could heale the sicke ? doth the text saie so ? Because the people brought their sicke in to Peters shadow / Acto . v. did it therfore heale them ? Peter confesseth him selfe / Acto . iij. that it was not his owne power which made the lame man hole . S. Luke also reporteth / that god wrought no small miracles by the handes of Paul . Acto . xix . And as Christ our sauioure himselfe witnesseth / that it was not his vesture / Matth. ix but the womans faith which made her whole ( though she touched it ) so saieth . S. Marke / Mar. xvj . that the lord wrought with the Apostles / and confirmed the word with tokens folowinge .

Morouer where as . S. Paul desired to be lowsed / and to be present with Christ / Philip. j. what proueth that the praieng to saintes ? He saied in the same place / that it were more nedefull for them to haue him yet lyuing among them / Which thinge were not so / yf this your article were so necessary as ye make it . But Pauls wordes shal be true still / for greate nede haue we of many such as he was / yf it were for nothing els / but to preach with his mouth ( as he hath done in his Epistles / agaynst youre and all other such false doctrines .

Standishe .

Nonne confortatus est principatus eorum ? Psal. cxxxviij .

Couerdale .

Like as that scripture maketh no mencion of anie such article as ye ymagen / The Psalme cxxxviij . so doth the content of them Psalme set forth the wonderfull care and prouision that god maketh for us / and teacheth us that gods secrete counsails and thoughtes are to hie for oure capacite .

Standish .

Hinc Iero. aduersus vigilantium / et cet .

Couerdale .

C. de Isaac . S. Ambrose saieth / Christ is oure mouth / by the which we speake vnto the father / Oure eye / by the which we se the father / oure right hand / by the which we offre vnto the father . Without whose intercession / nether we ner all sayntes haue any thing with god .

Standish .

Yf you saie / saintes do not heare us / et cete .

Couerdale .

iij. Re. viij j. Para. vj Luc. v. vj xj . xvj Math. ix . xij Mar. ij Matth. vj What knowlege the saintes haue / it is trulye aboue my capacite / but well I wote / that the scripture of the olde testament ascribeth onely vnto god the knowlege of mens hartes . Wherof the gospells also beare recorde sufficient / and so doth the first of the Actes . Now is it manifest likewise / that as the praier which commeth from the harte / is most acceptable / so doth our Sauyoure byd us praye vnto our father in secrete .

Where as ye bring in the ensample of Abraham and the worke of god shewed vnto him in this life for to serue youre present purpose / It proueth / that ye are an vnreuerent handler of gods worde / for the texte is plaine / that god dyd there shewe vnto Abraham ( being yet in this life ) the destruction of the Sodomites / of his onely accustomate goodnesse and mercy / Gene. xviij because Abraham was vnder his couenaunt and did faithfully cleue to his promes / and because he knew that Abraham wolde commaunde his children and housholde / to kepe the waie of the lorde / et ce . To affirme your purpose then by this place / is euen as much as to go aboute to proue / that saintes in heauen haue children yet and housholdes to teach in the waie of the lorde .

Standish .

Where as the leest of them ( qui minor est ) et cetera .

Couerdale .

Like as of a comparatiue degree ye make a superlatiue / Luce. vij and wrest the wordes to Abraham that oure Sauioure spake of Iohn the baptist / Euen so to the estate that saintes be now in / applye ye those wordes / which . S. j. Iohn . iij Iohn speaketh of the estate that gods electe shall haue at the seconde appearinge of Christ / euen whan they shal be like him / j. Cor. xv whan their bodies shall ryse vncorruptible as his is rysen / Philip. iij and whan he shall chaunge their vile body / that it maie be like fashioned vnto his glorious body .

Agayne / ye sayde afore / that there were no sayntes in heauen afore Christes ascension . And now to proue that the leest of the sayntes in heauen is more entyerlye beloued of god / then Abraham was in this life / ye alledge the wordes that were spoken long afore the death of Christ . Qui minor est in regno etcet . Remembre your selfe wel / what a clarklye parte ye plaie with that text .

As for sanctorum communionem / it is the declaracion of the holy catholike or vniuersall church of Christ / that they are a company or felashippe of all such as be sanctified in Christes bloude / and are partakers of his merites / and membres one of another / But no probacion is it / that sayntes in heauen do praye for us / yf ye note well the descripcion therof / j. Cor. xij . by . S. Pauls doctryne .

Now yf ye will proue youre purpose by the angels offices / then must ye proue that sayntes are mynistring spretes / sent for their sakes which shal be heyres of saluacion . Heb. j. But that will be hard for you to do . Nether doth the twentieth chapter of luke helpe your matter anye thinge at al / for ( though ye choppe vp the text at your pleasure with the shortest ) these are our Sauiours wordes / Luc. xx The children of this world do mary and be maried / but they that shal be counted worthy of yonder world and the resurrection from the deed / shall nether mary ner be maried / for they can die nomore / for they are like vnto the angels etcet . This answere now of our Sauiour to the Saducees / as it confuteth their heresie / so doth it proue / that the children of god in heauen be like the aungels / in life / in immortalite / and in that they are as fre from the necessite of mariage / as the angels be / but it proueth not that they are like angels in all thinges / for them shuld they haue no bodies to be raised vp / at the generall resurrection .

Standish .

But also that their merites do profit us / as by example we do reade Gene. xxvj . et cetera .

Couerdale .

Where as allmightie god saieth vnto Isaac ( Vnto thy sede will I geue all this land / et cet . ) because Abraham was obedient vnto my voyce / Gen. xxvj etcet . Vpon this are ye not ashamed to saye / that the cause is onely thorow the merites of his father Abraham . Now saieth not the text so / but thus / Vnto the and thy sede will I geue all this lande / and wil perfourme mine ooth that I sware to thy father Abraham etcet . This scripture then like as it proueth ( acording to . S. Galat. iij. Pauls wordes ) that they which are of faith are blessed with faithfull Abraham / so declareth it manifestly / that this same blessing commeth of gods promes in and thorow the sede of Abraham and Isaac / that is / euen thorow Christ .

But why bring ye in this or any other place of the olde Testament to proue / that the merites of sayntes in heauen do profit us / seyng ye saye your selfe / that afore Christes ascension ther were none in heauen / and seing also that those vertues of Abraham and Dauid were thinges practised here and not in heauen ? God is my recorde / I wonder greatly what ye meane / thus to daly with his worde .

Touchinge merites I haue answered you allreadie / but. S. Paul answereth you better / and saieth / Rom. viij that god ( geuing us his deare sonne ) hath geuen us all thinges with him / and that in him dwelleth al fulnesse / so that we are complete in him . Sure I am also / Col. j. ij that no true seruaunt of god wil be otherwise minded then was holy Iohn baptist which saide / that out of Christes fulnesse all we receaue grace / Iohn . j et cet. and that grace and trueth commeth by Iesus Christ . Yf the merites then that ye speake of / be anye parte of grace and trueth / then must ye nedes graunt that we receaue them onely of him . But surely ye haue some vngracious and false matter in hand .

Standish .

He speaketh nothinge of oure workes after our iustificacion / but onely of workes before faith / which in dede are not meritorius / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Afore ( to proue by Cornelius workes that our iustificacion deserued onely by the death of Christ / Diuersite in Standish doctryne . is a false iustificacion ) Ye saye / that his good workes before he was iustified / somthing deserued that he shuld be called in to the congregacion of our sauioure / and so through gods mercy his workes dyd deserue much of allmightie god . These are your awne wordes . And now cleane contrary to the same / ye graunte / that workes before faith are not meritorious . Thus by youre awne wordes condemne ye youre awne doctryne .

But though euery good worke done in true faith after gods commaundement / shal be rewarded / and hath his promes annexed vnto it ( as yf I be mercifull vnto my neghboure / Matth. v xviij . Gala. iij. god hath promised to haue mercy on me agayne ) shall that rewarde be geuen for my workes sake / and not rather because of his owne promes and blessing in Iesu Christ ? Is not all oure sufficiency of god ? ij . Cor. iij Philip. ij Can we thinke a good thought of our selues ? Is it not god / which worketh in us both the will and the dede ? Whan god rewardeth any good worke / August . doth he not crowne his owne giftes in us ? Stoppe your mouth then / and knowlege your selfe to be in gods daunger and in his dett . Rom. iij. Ephe. ij Why boast ye of your merites / agaynst the doctryne of gods worde ? Why graunt ye not with . S. Luke ( whom ye alledge your selfe ) that whan ye haue done all such thinges as are commaunded you / Luc. xvij ye are an vnprofitable seruaunt ? And with . S. Paul / Rom. viij that the paynes taken in this life / are not worthy of the glory for to come ? Do ye not saye your selfe also these wordes / We must think and surely beleue / that all commeth of Christes liberalite / which frely did cal us / and loue us before we loued him ? What practise then of anye wordly prynce / can proue this trueth to be false ? Your owne wordes and sentences / destroye your doctryne of merites . Folowe . S. Augustines counsaill then / De predest sane . and boast not of mens merites / but let the grace of god which raigneth thorow Iesus Christ / haue all the preemynence . And yf ye haue any workes folowinge the fre and liberall vocation of god / them graunt with Chrisostome / that they are his rewarde and youre dewtie / and that the giftes of god are his owne benignite / grace / and greatnesse of his owne liberalite .

Barnes .

WEl / haue ye yet any thing more to saye ? then called he . M. Shyreffe / and sayd / haue you any articles against me / for the which I am condemned ? And the sheriffe answered / no. Then said he / Is there here any man els that knoweth wherfore I die / or that by my preaching hath taken any erroure ? let them now speake and I will make them answere . And no man answered . Then sayd he / well I am condemned by the lawe to die / and as I vnderstond by an acte of perliament / but wherfore I can not tel / but belike for heresy / for we are like to be burnt

Standish .

Articles agaynst the ? What articles dyddest thou reuoke at the spyttle ? et cet .

Couerdale .

A very spittle fashion is it ( no doubte ) to aske questions of the deed . And I suppose verely / that ( excepte it be a coniurer / a iugler / or a worker with spretes ) there is none that vseth it .

Touchinge articles at the spittle / I am certaine / D. Barnes dyd not affirme there that faith doth not iustifie / or that Christes death was not the sufficient satisfaction for our synnes . Now where as he was enioyned to affirme / that though Christ be oure onely mediatour / sauyour / iustifier and onely satisfaction vnto god for the sinnes of them that beleue in him / Yet yf we loose this grace thorow sinne / then must we rise agayne by true pennaunce etcet . Yf for this article ( I saye ) ye will gather that he shulde reuoke / then do ye interprete his wordes contrary to his owne declaracion that he made of them in the same sermon . In so much that the sondaye after at Pauls crosse ( as I vnderstond ) . D. Wilson could laye no greater thing to his charge / then that he had expounded pennaunce after his wont maner by the office of the law and the gospell .

Now like as afore in your wordes ye compare this his confession to the confession of the deuel / so by this and such other your tawntes / ye wold make the world beleue / that he reuoked al trueth at the spittle felde / and that he had all his life tyme taught an vngodly and carnall libertye / the contrary wherof is euident not onely by this present protestacion / but also by his wryting and preaching afore / Namely / that to the true beleue and consent of the hert are necessarilie required good Christen frutes in euery man and womans conuersacion acording to the same . Wherfore this his confession so long as he mainteined no damnable errour contrary vnto it ( which in all your babling boke ye haue not proued / nether shal be able to do ) was a sufficient euidence at his latter ende / that he dyed a true Christen man . Nether can ye iustly condemne him / j. Iohn . iiij . that maketh no worse confession on his death bedde . Agayne . S. Iohn saieth / Euery sprete which confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh / is of god . Wherfore ye are to rashe in iudgment / to affirme that he was iustly condemned for heresie / seinge that he nether helde any doctryne ner manteined by euell conuersacion / enything / out of which ye can truly / deduce / that euer he denied the true faith of god / or any one of the benefites or offices of Iesus Christ .

As for the articles that were laied against him in Cambrige aboue xij yeares agoo / verely like as in repetinge of them ye accuse your church to pretende an outward forgyuenesse / and yet to kepe hatred stil many yeares / So appeare ye to fauour them that accused him of the saide articles / in som wherof he mainteined the prerogatyue of prynces against the tiran̄ie and vsurped power ye wote of whom . I saye nomore / but yf ye be at that poynt / and may so frely write what ye wil / I committe my part of the playe to god . Who ( as I doubte not ) wil defend the king in his right / so am I sure / that though ye be now in your ruffe / he is not yet hard aslepe . Where as ye saie / that at . D. Barnes death there were thre sortes of men / and that the first sorte which ( by your reporte ) wer moost contrary to him / wolde geue him no answere at his honest request / Ye declare planely that / either they had nothing to saie agaynst him / or els litle charite / seing that ( acording to . S. P. ij . Cor. xj . wordes which ye alledge ) they found not them selues greued to se the weake offended / yf it were as you saie . Nether proueth it them to leane stedfastly vnto the piler of trueth / to loue gods lawe / to haue true quyetnesse in their conscience / or to be endewed with feruent charite / that folow not the same law of loue in the tyme of nede . How do those places of scripture then that ye bring in / alowe their acte ? Let all indifferent readers iudge / how the cxviij Psalme / the third of the first to Timothe / or the eight to the Romaynes agreeth with their purpose .

In describing the seconde sorte of people that were at . D. Barnes death / ye faile also . First / in reporting of them / that they euer be and shal be as apte to receaue the euel preaching as the good . Secondly / that they are content in these matters to go whither they be led . Thirdly / that they are content to beleue what they be taught . Fourthly / that they know not whan they be in the right waye / ner whan they be forth of it . Matth. xviij Now saieth our sauyoure ( in the same text which ye your self do alledge ) that they beleue in him . Then like as they harken to his voice / Iohn . x Roma . viij j. Ioh. iiij j. Tessa. v Iohn . x and not to the voice of straunges / so folow they him / and are led of his holy sprete / And not onely proue all doctrines ( whether they be of god ) but also kepe that which is good / for they knowe Christes voice / and not the voice of straungers .

Morouer / yf that third sorte of people / did fauour no worse opinions / and were no fuller of fleshly and carnall sensualite / then this present protestacion of . D. Barnes teacheth them / that text ( dilexerunt magis tenebras / Iohn . iij et cet . ) maye rather be verified of you and your sorte / then of them .

Barnes .

BVt they that haue bene the occasion of it / I praye god forgeue them / as I wold be forgeuen my self . And. D. Stephin . Byschopp of wynchester that now is / yf he haue sought or wrought this my death ether by word or dede / I pray god forgyue him / as hartely / as frely / as charitably / and without fayning / as euer Christ forgaue them that put him to death .

Standishe .

Se now whether this be fayned charite / or nor / et cetera .

Couerdale .

It is no poynt of fained charite / a man to forgeue them that offend against him / Matth. v Luc. xxiij and to praie for them that persecute him / As it is manifest by our sauiours doctryne / and example also at his death .

Ye take vpon you here the office of a iudge afore ye be called ther to / yee euen gods onely office ( in iudging mens hertes ) take ye vpon you . As who saie / he goeth aboute to ouerthrow and cast downe a man / that agreeth not with him in his doctryne . As touching any contencious maner betwene my lord of winchester and. D. Barnes / though you and I both ( as I suppose ) be ignoraunt / what direction the Kynges highnesse dyd take therin / Yet seyng the one was reconciled to the other openly at the Spittle / ye shulde now not take the matter so whote .

But a pyke thanke will ye be still . What mynde hath he to be reuenged / that first asketh a man forgeuenesse / and than praieth god to forgeue him ( as Christ forgaue his death ) yf he be giltie ? Agayne / Will the. B. of winchestre iudge him selfe to be either sediciously or disdainfully named / or without reuerence / whan he is called a bisshoppe ? I darre saye / he will not . Why plaie ye Philippe flatrers part them / as though the name of a bisshoppe were not a reuerent name ?

Barnes .

ANd yf any of the counsaill or any other haue sought or wrought it thorow malice or ignoraunce / I praye god forgyue them their ignoraunce and illumynate their eyes / that they maye se / and aske mercy for it .

Standish .

O what ignoraunce ? et cetera .

Couerdale .

This praier is nether malicious against gods word / ner preiudicial to any man / and yf they that suffred . D. Barnes to liue so long / were to blame for their so doing / then make ye your selfe giltye of the same fault / that haue played the coward all that whyle / and not helped him to his death .

Barnes .

I Besech you all to pray for the kynges grace / as I haue done euer sens I was in preson and do now / that god maie geue him prosperite / and that he maie long raigne among you / and after him that goodly prynce Edward may so raigne / that he maye fynishe those thinges that his father hath begon . I haue bene reported a preacher of sedicion and disobedience to the kynges maiestie / but here I saye to you / that you all are bound by the commaundement of god to obeye youre prince with all humilite and with all your hert / yee not so much as in a looke to shew yourselues disobedient vnto him / and that not onely for feare of the swerd / but also for conscience sake before god .

Standish .

Thou hast bene truly reported a sedicious preacher / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Will ye then winke at sedicion so long / and not be an accuser therof / where as ( by your awne confession ) ye haue heard him preach so oft ? Ye and knowing his boke to haue bene so long prynted ? But how vntruly ye belye him / it shall be euydent to all the worlde / that will reade his boke . Ye reporte of him / that he shuld saye in his boke ( prynted ten yeares agoo ) that yf the Kyng wold by tiranny take the new Testament from his subiectes / they shuld not suffre him . Now is it manifest that like as he saieth here in this parte of his protestacion / so saieth he also in his boke / and bringeth in the same xiij chapter to the Romaynes that ye alledge / In the cxiij leafe . and addeth morouer these wordes / In no wise ( be it right or wrong ) maiest thou make any resistaunce with swerde or with hand etcet . Item / Yf the Kyng forbyd the new Testament / et cete . men shall first make faithfull praiers to god / and humble supplicacion to the Kyng / D. Barnes wordes in the cxv leafe of his boke . that his grace wold release that commaundement . Yf he wil not do it / they shall kepe their testament with all other ordinaunce of Christ / and let the Kyng exercise his tiranny ( yf they can not flie ) and in no wise vnder paine of damnacion shall they resiste him by violence / but suffre paciently / et ce . Nor they shal not go aboute to depose their prince / as my lordes the bisshoppes were wont / In the cxvj leafe . etcet . But yf the kyng will do it by violence / they must suffre it / but not obeie to it by agrement . Item / Now is it cleare / that we maie not resist this temporall power ( in no wise ) by violence / et cet. In the cxviij leafe . but yf anye thing be commaunded us that is against the word of god wherby oure faith is hurt / that shuld we not do in any wise / but rather suffre persecucion and also death .

Be these wordes now as much to saye / as yf the Kyng commaunde anie thing by tirannie men shall not suffre him ? What meane ye / so vntruly to reporte of the deed ? But no maruail / whan ye shame not to belie so many textes of gods holy word .

Touching mens lawes / it is manifest / that such as are not grounded in gods word / do not bind the conscience of man to deadly sinne . For yf they be not grounded in gods worde / and agreable to the faith therof / then are they synfull and naught . Who is bound now to obeie sinne ? But a man maie smel you a farre of / whose successours ye be . You will not sticke to call it a laufull acte for a prince / to condemne gods word / and to forbid that thinge which is institute and ordeyned of god / Yee yf oure prince wold take such a thing in hand ( which god forbid ) he shuld lacke no instigacion of your malignaunt church . Nether can I yet coniecture the contrary / but that ye are aboute such a tragedy . Now go to / set your watch men to kepe the sepulchre / suffre not Christ to ryse vp in any wyse / let not the souldiers lack money ( the church is riche ynough ) cast your greate heades together / and let Caiphas geue you his most so tel counsaill / For whan ye haue done your best / and lyed all that euer ye can / yet shall god make your policye to serue for the glorye of his trueth / Amen .

Barnes .

YEe and I saye further / yf the kyng shuld commaunde you any thing agaynst gods law / yf it be in your power to resist him / yet maye you not do it .

Standish .

Se here the stedfastnesse / et cetera .

Couerdale .

This man nether wrote ner sayd / that we must obeye an erthly prynce / more then allmightie god / and yet are ye not ashamed so to reporte of him . He saieth / that though the Kyng commaunde us anye thing agaynst gods lawe / yet maye we not resist him / Which saieng ye call an abhominable heresie . Thus declare ye your selfe manifestly / to be of the nombre of them that teach / how that it is lauful for a man to resist his prince . Which thing whether it be not both heresie and treason / let them iudge that haue auctorite .

Amos. vij Because Amos the Prophet preached agaynst ydolatry at Bethel / that false prest Amasias ( whom ye speake of ) told that Kyng / that he was a sedicious felow / and so found the meanes to get him out of the court . Yet played Amasias a more honest parte with Amos / then you do / for he laied rebellion to his charge that was alyue / and your accusacion is agaynst the deed . Agayne / Amasias ( being yet a false prest ) saieth not / that it is laufull for a man to resist his prynce / and you call it abhominable heresie to teach the contrary .

Though Peter and Iohn do teach / that we must obeye and harken vnto god more then vnto men / do they therfore teach / that we must resist our prynce ? Where fynd ye that example in them Peter smote of Malcus eare in dede / but litle thanke had he for his laboure . Doth he not teach us to endure grefe / to suffre wrong / and to take it paciently ? Saieth he not / j. Pet. ij . that we are called ther vnto ? Setteth he not Christ vnto us for an example of suffryng ?

Because our Sauioure wylleth us not to feare them that kyll the body / Matth. x must we therfore resist them ? Whan a prynce doth persecute us for gods wordes sake in one citie / must we resist him / and not rather flye in to another ? Matth. v Doth he call them blessed that resist / and not them rather that suffre for persecucion sake ? Luc. xxiiij . Dyd Christ entre in to his Kyngdome by resisting / or by suffryng ?

As for that saieng ( qui timet hominem etcet . I can not find it in the xix of the prouerbes / but I fynd ther written / Prouer. xix that a false witnesse shall not remayne vnpunished / and that he which speaketh lies / shall not escape .

Ye call it an abhominable heresie to teach / that we ought not to resist our prince / though he commaunde us any vnlaufull thing . And to proue your purpose / ye poynt us to the fifth of Esaye / where ther is no such words as ye speake of . But these wordes fynd I there / Esaye . v Wo vnto them that call good euell / et cet .

As for the ensample of the seuen brethren and their mother / it utterly condemneth you / for they saie these wordes / They saye not / we are ready to resist . We are ready rather to suffre / then to offende the lawes of god / et cete . And as they said / so they dyd / without makyng resistaunce / though the Kynges commaundement was vnlaufull . What other thing now dyd . D. Barnes teach in his fore rehearced wordes / but ( as he had said in his boke afore ) that yf the Kyng wolde commaunde us anie vnlaufull thing / we must suffre him / though we obeie not to it by agrement ? What daunger you be in then for teaching the contrary / I will not define . I praie god ( acording to his good pleasure ) haue mercy vpon you .

Barnes .

THen spake he to the shereffe and sayde / M. shereffe / I requyre you of gods behalfe / to haue me commended vnto the kynges grace / and to shew him / that I require of his grace these requestes / first / that wher his grace hath now receaued in to his handes all the goodes and substaunce of the abbayes . Then the shereffe desyred him to stoppe there . He answered / M. shereffe I warraunt you / that I wil speake no harme / for I know it is well done / that all such supersticion be taken cleane awaye / and the kynges grace hath well done in takyng it awaye . But seyng his grace is made a hole kyng / and obeyed in his realme as a kyng ( which nether his father ner graundfather ner his ancestours that raigned before him / euer had ) and that thorow the preaching of us and such other wretches as we are / which allwayes haue applied our hole studies / and gaue our selues for the setting forth of the same / and this is now our reward . Well / it maketh no matter . Now he raigneth / I praye god long maye he raigne among you . Wold god it might please his grace / to bestow the sayd goodes or some of them to the comforte of his poore subiectes / which surely haue great nede of them .

The second that I desire his grace / is / that he will se that matrymony be had in more reuerence then it is / and that men ( for euery light cause inuented ) cast not of their wifes / and lyue in aduoutry and fornicacion / and that these that be not maried / shuld not abhominably lyue in whordome / folowing the filthy lustes of the flesh .

The third / that the abhominable swearers maye be punished and strately loked vpon . For surely the vengeaunce of god will come on them for their mischeuous oothes . Then desired he . M. Pope which was present / to haue him commended to . M. Edgar / and to desire him for the deare bloud of Iesu Christ / that he wold leaue that abhominable swearing that he vseth . For surely excepte he forsake it / he will come to some mischeuous ende . The fourth / that his grace wil set furth Christes true religion . And that seyng he hath begonne / he go forward / and make an end / for many thinges haue bene done / but yet much more is to do . And that it wold please his grace to loke on gods word himselfe . For it hath bene obscured with many tradicions inuented of our owne braynes . Now ( sayd he ) how many peticions haue I spoken of ? And the people sayd : foure . Well / ( sayd he ) euen these foure be sufficient / which I desyre you / that the kynges grace maye be certified of them . And saye / that I moost humbly desyre him / to loke ernestly vpon them .

Standish .

It was high tyme to loke / et cet .

Couerdale .

Dani. liij The prophet Daniel ( I trust ) was no arrogaunt wretche / though he desyred his prince to make some prouision for the poore / j. Timo. vj Nomore than was holy . S. Paul / which taught Timothy to change the riche men of this world with the same lesson . All they also that were true messaungers of god / laboured to haue aduoutry / fornicacion / whordome / and abhominable swearinge expelled from among Christen men / as all the whole scripture testifieth . Nether dyd . D. Barnes in these his wordes requyre anye other thing . His wordes are playne ynough / and yet ( as your maner is in your treatise ) ye ymagen an intent and mynde cleane contrary to the same . Ye graunt that he spake ernestly for the poore and for the comons / and yet call ye him an arrogaunt wretch / and ( for his good will ) reporte of him / that he desired to haue a great stroke in euery matter of waight / et cetera .

D. Barnes sayd not that he and his felowes dyd refourme those thinges that were amysse ( for he knew that / to be gods office and the Kynges ) and yet surmyse ye the same vntruly vpon him . But he saieth that thorow the preaching of gods word in the mynistracion of him and such other / the Kynges grace is now more obeyed then / euer he was before . And I praye you / is it not so ? Or was it not gods holy word / that gat the Kyng his owne agayne ? Maye he thank anye papisticall doctrine therfore ? No verely .

Concerning . M. Edgar / yf . D. Barnes had not had a right good opynion in him / no doubte he wold not haue sent him that commendacion with such an honest request . But because he toke him ( as he might right well / I trust ) for a gentle man that wolde suffre a Christen exhortacion / as they will that perteyne vnto Christ / therfore was he the bolder of him . As for that swearing / I thinke verely it commeth rather of a custome ( which yet might well be left ) then of anye set purpose . Nether was . D. Barnes acte here agaynst the processe requyred in the xviij of Matthew / though he had not spoken with him afore / seyng he might not now come at him .

Barnes .

ANd that his grace take good hede / that he be not disceaued with false preachers and teachers and euell counsaill . For Christ saieth / that such false Prophetes shall come in lammes skynnes .

Standish .

O how great thanke be you worthy / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Ye shuld haue proued these wordes to smell nothing but heresie and treason ( as ye saye in your preface ) because they haue the swete odoure of the gospell / Math. vij xvj . xxiiij . where our sauyour byddeth us beware of false Prophetes / and of the leuen of pharises / and telleth us / that many such shall aryse / and disceaue many ( yee euen thorow swete preachinges and flatring wordes / saieth the Apostle ) and because the scripture byddeth us beware of such marchauntes / Nom. xvj . Mar. xij . Luc. xx . as goyng in long garmentes / et cete . deuoure wedows houses vnder the pretence of long prayers .

This man called not the Kynges moost honoble councell euell / and yet ( euen like a pyke thank still ) ye surmyse it vpon him . Yf a frend of the Kynges shuld saye vnto him / I besech your grace / take good hede whom ye receaue in to your preuy chambre / Doth he therfore call his chamberlaynes euell ? Or doth he therfore preferre his owne witte aboue the discrete wisdome of the Kynges noble counsaill ?

Holy . S. ij . Pet. j Peter ( as long as he was in this body ) thought it mete / to put Christen men in remembraunce of their dewtie / yee though they were of ripe knowlege them selues / and stablished in the trueth . And yet you call it obstinate pryde / treason / blyndnesse / and rash foolishnesse so to do . Such is your iudgment . Yee euen whan the partye doth most humbly desyre his prynce / to whom he speaketh .

Barnes .

THen desyred he all men to forgeue him / and that yf he had sayd any euell at any tyme vnaduysed / wherby he had offended any man / or geuen any occasion of euell / that they wold forgeue it him / and amend that euell they toke of him .

Standish .

Mark how he doth contynue one maner of man / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Stedfastnesse in the waye of gods trueth is to be commended . And an euident token is it / that he is of the same doctryne / which wittingly teacheth no euell / reconcyleth himselfe vnto all men / is sory yf he haue offended anye man ( or geuen any euell occasion ) and geueth other men at their death / an ensample of true repentaunce .

Barnes .

ANd that they wold beare him witnesse / that he detested and abhorred all euell opynions and doctrines against the word of god / and that he dyed in the faith of Iesu Christ and the sacramentes of the church / by whom he doubted not to saued .

Standishe .

I knowe that no good man / et cetera .

Couerdale .

Then it appeareth / that yf he had not detested and abhorred all euell and erroneous opynions / but had loued your straunge doctrines ( which are agaynst gods word ) and so dyed out of Christes faith / ye wold haue bene a recorde and witnesse to him / rather then fayle .

Barnes .

ANd with this he desyred them all to praye for him / and then he turned him aboute / and put of his clothes / makyng him ready to the fyre / and most paciently toke his death / yeldinge his soule into the handes of allmightie god .

Standish .

By this it doth appeare / that the first wryter of these his wordes was very charitable / et cete .

Couerdale .

What so euer he was that first wrote these his wordes / verely I can not tell / nether dyd I euer reade them or heare them / till I sawe them in your treatise . And though it may be suspected that this is not the trewest copie / because it commeth out of your handes / Yet truly a right charitable dede was it to wryte his wordes / and to certifye us of them / for els ( by your present practise ) we maye coniecture / that ye wold haue discanted of his deeth / as of one whom ye had ouercome with your doctryne . Now also that ye can stoppe the trueth no farther / ye wold beare us in hand / that it is the wryters iudgment onely / which ascrybeth vnto him / that he paciently toke his death / as though there were none els that herd him and sawe him dye / but the wryter alone .

Couerdale .

Allbe it I will iudge onely of the outwarde behaueour .

Couerdale .

Iohn . vij Iudge not after the outward appearaunce ( saieth our sauyour ) but geue a righteous iudgment .

Yet do ye not as ye saye / for in many places of your treatise ye iudge the mans mynde and intent yee contrary to his wordes .

Standishe .

Takyng occasion by his erroneous wordes / to iudge he dyed an obstinate heretike .

Couerdale .

Ye can not denye / but that after the open confession of his faith / and his humble requestes vnto the Kynges grace / he than reconcyled himselfe to all men / and at the last whan he had desyred them to praye for him / toke his death paciently / and yelded vp his soule in to the handes of allmightye god . For all this ye do not onely call his wordes erroneous / but also geue sentence / that he dyed an obstinate heretike .

Standish .

And as for the inward secretes / whether he be condemned or saued / whether he yelded vp his soule in to the handes of allmightie god / or no etcet . I remitte that to the secrete counsaill of the blessed trenite .

Couerdale .

A wonderfull thing is it / that ye are so vnstable in your wordes . Do ye not take vpon you afore / to iudge / that he dyed an obstinate heretike ? And now ye can not tell whether he be saued or condemned / whether he yelded vp his soule in to the handes of allmightie god / or no. But can an obstinate heretike yelde vp his soule / whan he is deed all ready ? Can an obstinate heretike be saued ? Beholde now / to what worshippe ye bring your doctryne at the last .

Standish .

Vnto whom be laude / honour / and glory for euermore . Amen .

Couerdale .

Amen . Euen to that same blessed trenyte ( father / sonne / and holy goost ) be honour and glory now and euermore . Amen .

The Apostle describing the office and dewtie of a ministre or preacher of gods word / ij . Timo. ij . wylleth him ( among all other qualities ) to shew himself such a laudable workman / as nede not be ashamed / handling the word of trueth iustly . Wherfore / seyng ye haue so vnreuerently handled gods holy word / peruerted it / wrested it and belyed it so oft and many tymes in your treatise / Maruaill not at this myne inuectyue agaynst your false doctryne . As for symple ignoraunce / and such frayll weaknesse as accompanyeth the nature of man ( whether he will or no ) it may be suffred and borne . But wilful spurnyng at gods holy word / froward and false belieng therof / must nedes be rebuked / and improued . Your zele ( for all your holy pretence ) is to suppresse gods trueth to mainteine that doctrine which the catholike or vniuersal church of christ neuer receaued / and to defend the church malignaunt in hir wickednesse . This is manifest by your present practise . But god allmightie which soweth the sede of his holy word / and dayly increaceth it in the hartes of his faithfull / shall ( though no man els will ) maynteyne and defende it himselfe . We also ( whom god will not to be ydle ) shall do our best / and be carieng stones to the makyng vp of the wal which ye haue broken downe / To the intent that Christ our sauyour maye haue his owne glorye ( which ye haue robbed him of ) our prince his honoure / and oure neghboure his dewtie .

To all true Christen readers .

Faynt not thou in faith ( deare reader ) nether waxe colde in loue and charite / though the enemies of gods worde be gathered together and growne in to such swarmes . Be thou strong in the lorde / and in the power of his might . And let it not discorage the / that the sayd worde is so litle in the estimacion of the world / so greatly despised / so sore persecuted / so wickedly peruerted / wrested and belyed / so vnthankfully receaued / so shamefully denied / and so slouthfully folowed .

Arme thy selfe therfore with the confortable ensamples of the scripture / And as touchinge those ioly Nimrottes that persecute gods worde / hunting it out of euery corner / whetting ther swerdes and bendyng their bowes agaynst it / Be thou sure / that the god of oure fathers Abraham / Isaac and Iacob shall do with them as he euer was wont to do with tirauntes in times past . Thou seist thorow out the stories of the holy byble / how that like as he turneth some of their hartes from crueltie to mekenesse / Euen so with death / with fyre / with water / and with such other his plages destroyeth he them that will nedes despise his warninge / Yee breaketh their bowes in peces / and killeth them with ther own swerdes . As for Iamnes and Iambres those wicked sorcerers and couetous chaplens that teach contrary to gods worde / and dissuade the greate men of the world from it / Their owne wrestinge and belyeng of it must nedes confound them / For though ther be many that resist the truth / yet whan it is uttered and commeth to light / their madnesse ( as . S. Paul saieth ) shall be manifest vnto all men . And as Moses rodd deuoured their roddes in the Kynges presence / So likewise the same places of scripture that they alledge for their wicked purpose / shall destroye their false doctryne in the face of the world . Yee euen as litle honestie as the papistry hath gotten by wresting of ( Tu es Petrus et cet . ) so small profit are they like to haue for belyeng of other textes . Nether is it to be feared / but god will do for one parte of his worde asmuch as for another / whan he seith his tyme .

Concernyng those bely beastes / that ( for no commaundement ner promes of god / for no example / warnyng ner exhortacion ) will be counsayled / but still blaspheme his holy worde thorow their vngodly conuersacion / let not that withdrawe the from the waye of righteousnesse . Loue not thou Christ the worse / though Iudas be a traytoure . Sett not thou the lesse by his wholsome doctrine / though dogges turne to their vomite / and though swine walow in their stinking mire agayne .

I knowe ( gentle reader ) that to all true Christen hartes / it is a great tentacion / to se gods holy worde either persecuted / belyed / or vnthankfully receaued . But first remembre thy selfe well by the practyse of all stories / whan was it without persecucion ? Whan was there not one tyraunt or other / that exercised all his power / strength / witte / and counsaill against it ? Whan were the children of Israel without some bloudy Edomites / Egiptians Assirians / Babilonians / Philistines / or other ?

Secondly / Whan was not gods worde belied / peruerted or euell spoken of by one false Prophet or other ? Were there not heretikes and flatringe chaplens in all ages / that withdrue men from the trueth / and misreported the straight waies of the lord ? Thirdly / whan were there not some multitudes / that pretending a loue toward Christes word / did but folow him for their own belies sake ? whan was the sede of Christes word sowen / but some parte of it fell vpon the stony ground where it withred / and among the thornes that choked it vp ?

Wherfore seynge thou art compased aboute with so great a nombre of witnesses / Heb. xij that is to saye / with the ensamples of so many godly and holy men / which not onely dyd chose rather to suffre aduersite with the people of god then to enioye the pleasures of synne for a season / but also eschued false doctryne and brought forth allwaye good workes in their liuinge / folowe thou the same trade / folowe thou them ( I saye ) as thou seist they folowed Christ / and no farther . And as touchinge anye maner of doctryne / beleue no man without gods worde / acording as . S. Hierome counceleth the. In Epistolam ad Gal. ca. v. For certaine it is / that like as many tymes thou shalt spie euen great faultes in the conuersacion of gods electe / so readest thou of very few teachers sens the Apostles tyme / which haue not erred ( and that grossely ) in sondry thinges .

Wherfore whom so euer thou hearest teach / preach or wryte / or whose bokes so euer thou readest / trye them by gods worde / whether they be agreable ther to or no. Whan thou knowest them ( I saye ) and art certayne and sure by Christes doctryne / that they are false / sedicious or abhominable / then hold them accursed / avoyde them utterly / eschue them in anye wise / and geue ouer thy selfe to the wholsome hearing and readinge of the scripture . But so / that thou be sober and discrete in the knowlege and vse therof / And that in confessing the true faith and beleue of Christ / thy hart mouth and dede go together / and that thou consent to none opinion contrary to the same / That god maye haue the prayse / and thy neghboure be edified in all thy conuersacion . So doyng / thou shalt not onely stoppe the mouth of euell speakers / but also allure and prouoke other men to be frutefully geuen to faith and good workes / and to helpe ( with such their vnfained faith and godly liuinge ) that the tabernacle of god maye be set vp againe . The grace of our lorde Iesus Christ be with us all . Amen .

Iacobi . iij. Yf ye haue a bytter Zele / and there be contencions in youre hartes / make no boast / nether be lyars agaynst the trueth .
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