Three sermons preached at the Collegiate Church in Manchester by Richard Heyricke.

TO THE RIGHT Honourable, the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of the Commons House of Parliament, now ASSEMBLED.

VEspatian the Emperor, sent to ELVIDIUS PRISCUS, a Senator of ROME, charging him not

to appeare in the Senate; If hee did to speake no other∣wise then what he would have him, to whom he returnd; As a Senator, it was fit he should be there, and being there, hee would freely speak his consci∣ence; The Emperor replyed, if he did, he should dye for it: He answered, hee never said he was immortall; doe what you will, J will doe what J ought. Jt is in your power unjustly to put mee to death: It is in my power to dye con∣stantly.

It is your Royall privi∣ledge, Your persons are under his Majesties sacred pro∣tection, your liberty of speak∣ing, granted to be without in∣terruption, Awake,* 1.1 your glory, doe yee your selves awake right early; Let your hearts be fixed, fixed in the Lord, as the Poles of Heaven, and the center of the earth, Let Righteous∣nesse, bee your Parliament Robes, let Iudgment be your Crown and Diadem, * 1.2 let cau∣ses at your great Tribunall

hee heard to speake, not persons; That the bles∣sing of three perishing Kingdomes may come upon you.

I was but lately Remov'd into these parts, and one of speciall note forewarnd me, I should be Crucified, as CHRIST was be∣twixt two Theeves; The Papist, the Puritan. The Papist, like the Rayling and Blaspheming Theefe, soone discovered himselfe. They swarme, and are

terrible, the shew of their countenance witnesseth a∣gainst them;* 1.3 Like de∣struction, they shew themselves at Noone-Day: The Puritan (if it bee not onely a name, without an existence) is worthy your wisdome, to tell us who he is; It may be, for feare of crucify∣ing, with the good Theefe he is stollen into Paradise; the name is of Vast, and a∣mongst many of Odious signification: Papists doe

charge the Church of Eng∣land with the heresie of Pu∣ritanisme: King Iames, by Bellarmine, metamorpho∣sed into his Chaplaine, was said to bee a Puritan; The English Parliament is called a Puritanicall Parliament. The Vniversity of Ox∣ford, the strength of Puri∣tanisme. Bristow speakes out. All Protestants in ENGLAND are Puri∣tans, Protestants at large, such as are Ambitious of the credit, not of the truth

of their holy profession; Hea∣thens in lives, Christians in faith; They reproach civill morall Jnfidels with that name: They Phari∣saicall Professors; They powerfull CHRISTI∣ANS.

Yea, of late I have al∣so heard them much bran∣ded with the name, that would not yeeld up their Soules, and their Con∣sciences, to the Chaire of Bishops, with their e∣states, Liberties, and Lives,

to the will of their Supe∣riors. The name is very large and very reproach∣full: A Bishop affirm'd he could as easily fetch one off from the guilt of Fe∣lony, as from the imputati∣on of Puritanisme; My humble motion is, make us all Puritans, or to leave no Puritan amongst us.

There are wals of par∣tition, (when those that were of GODS Institution, became enmity, Eph. 2.14.

CHRIST layd them as flat, as the Walls of Ieri∣cho, with Iericho's curse upon them.) Bee pleased to batter down these Wals, lay the Canons in the face of them, and JERƲ∣SALEMS curse upon them; Let not one stone be left upon another: At the first of the Reforma∣tion they were, though not necessary, yet, law∣full, our Reformers were modest and moderate; They would not unnecessarily of∣fend

the weake Romanist, GOD had a People a∣mongst them, the waters of BABYLON were ebbing: But now since the Sea of ROME, like the waters of JORDAN, begin to swell, and over∣flow the Bankes, since the great River TIBER flowes apace, since the Papists are emboldned, and hard∣ned in their Idolatrie and Superstition, since the strong, as well as the weake Protestant, are grieved

and vexed with them, and there are indeed too many false Apostles, that earnestly contend for them, and with a strong and mightie hand obtrude them upon us. Take unto your selves the Zeale of Our LORD and SA∣VIOUR; The Evangelist records, hee twice purged the Temple: The multi∣tude of offenders, the might and malice of the obser∣vers, the danger of the action, nor the perill of the consequence staies his hand.

The King of Scythia slew Anacharsis the Philoso∣pher, for the worshipping the mother of the GODS, after the Athenian man∣ner; If the Plague of Le∣prosie could not bee clensed, by taking away a few stones out of the house, but the Leprosie would returne a∣gaine, then the house, the Timber,* 1.4 the Morter must down: when Ceremonies be∣come scandalous, they are to be abolished.

These Sermons sute well

with two of the greatest workes, the Kingdome ex∣pects from you; They breath enmitie to Rome, Peace amongst our selves, Preached when the times ranne Counter to both; The man of sinne of late yeares hath reviv'd amongst us, (it may bee a lighte∣ning before death,) Po∣pery hath multiplyed a∣bundantly. In Lanca∣shire it hath superaboun∣ded above an Hyperbole: The Masse hath out∣faced

our Christian mee∣tings, Iesuites have jee∣red our Ministers, con∣fronted and abused authori∣tie.

MANCHESTER, the Goshen (accounted) in this Egypt, is of late yeares, darkned with the blacknesse of it, some of our prime men in dignitie, authority, power, have re∣volted to them; Their ex∣ample commands many, Great men have their fol∣lowers, of their Vices, as

of their persons, and when they please to bee Idola∣trous, their children, ser∣vants, tenants, their poore kinred, and Jdolizing Neighbours, will to the Masse with them. One speciall cause of this en∣crease of Popery, is the vastnesse, and the great∣nesse of many Parishes, prefer'd to the trust of such, that adde Church unto Church, themselves re∣siding at neither, or if they are with their people, they

are non resident in the midst of them, yea too often when they are in the Pul∣pit; These Mother-Churches have many daughters, seaven, eight, nine CHAPPELS, subject to them, to which belongs no certaine, or no competent maintenance; Hence ignorance and pro∣phanenesse, desolate places, full of dolefull Creatures, Ziim and Ochim:* 1.5 King Iames in his piety and wis∣dom, appointed 4. Lanca∣shire

Preachers, to perfect his work: Let every Gol∣den Candlestick have his Lamp burning and shining in it: devils could not stand before the Gospell; there∣fore Popery shall be consu∣med by it.* 1.6

J had served in these parts, the same time that PAUL did at Athens, and my spirit was troubled to heare and see, the su∣perstition; Hence, I ven∣tred (with danger enough) to preach these Sermons;

may they strengthen your hands in that great worke you are about;* 1.7 Jt would be the glory of this latter age, could there such a sheete be let downe to the Church,* 1.8 as there was in vision to Peter, that the difference of cleane and uncleane may be taken away, such a gol∣den Scepter reach'd out that all may be subdued unto it, and embrace it; O what an honour would it be to the present, and a blessing to the future age, that a con∣sent

of Doctrine and disci∣pline might be confirmed by you, that we that professe one Lord, one Faith, one Baptisme, one GOD and Father of all under one King, may be one Church; That a Trinity of King∣domes, may be a Church in Ʋnity. Pardon my pre∣sumption if my zeale for the publicke peace, points at the meanes; A Roy∣all Convocation, rightly constituted unto which all the Kingdomes may send

their Clarks would facili∣tate the businesse, (It would adde much to the glory of it, and be a Crowne unto his Crowne who accounts it the most glorious in all his Crowne to be worthy of that Title, Defender of the Faith, if from all the re∣formed CHƲRCHES, some may be invited, if not to vote, yet at least to as∣sist.

The reason wherefore Ge∣nerall, Nationall, Provin∣ciall Councells, have in this

last Century beene so fa∣tall, and therefore by some of singular eminency beene disclaimed, as a meete meanes for the settling of peace, is because the great∣est part have their stand∣ing Votes, who will ever maintaine a strong partie for themselves; Is it equall that Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Deanes, Arch-Deacons, Chapter men, should of course, and by reason of their digni∣ties have their places & their suffrages, when but two Clerks

are elected by the choise of the Clergie; May the Election of the Clarks for the Convocation be as free as yours for the Parlia∣ment, and in some propor∣tion unto it, J doubt not but we should be as happy in our Canons, as we are in your Statutes.

There hath been strange batteries made upon our Re∣ligion, the thirty nine Ar∣ticles are challenged by the Harlot, Papists and Ar∣minians claime them as

theirs, the Booke of Ho∣milies are disclaimed, un∣heard of violation hath bin offered to the second, to the fourth Commandements, Preaching is cryed downe, Preachers discountenanced. The Sacraments have beene defiled, the people of the Lord have beene made to abhorre the offering of the Lord, Presse and Pulpit have vomited forth corrupt and undigested matters. Augustus made a Bone∣fire of all such bookes, that

corrupted the Roman Eth∣nick Religion, it would be your wisdome to make a dili∣gent search for all Apocry∣phall books, Hereticall, Po∣pish, Semi-pelagian Pamph∣lets, slanderous Libels, and impertinent writings, and to sacrifice them to Vulcan. We pray for great things to be done by you, we have open our mouthes wide to the Lord we have heard of great things of you:* 1.9 the Lord prosper you to an happy, and blessed con∣clusion, for a glorious refor∣mation

of Church and Common-Wealth; The Counsellor, The mightie God, the everlasting Fa∣ther, the Prince of peace, he upon whose shoulder the government lyes;* 1.10 in∣crease your government and peace, order you and stablish you with judgment, and ju∣stice, henceforth for ever: the Zeale of the Lord of HOSTS, performe this.

Your Honours in all sincerity service and dutie, Richard Heyricke.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Psal. 108 1.
• * 1.2

  Iob 29.14.
• * 1.3

  Psal. 91.6.
• * 1.4

  Lev. 14.43, 45.
• * 1.5

  Isa. 13.21
• * 1.6

  2 Thes. 2.8.
• * 1.7

  Ezra 6.14.
• * 1.8

  Acts 10.11.
• * 1.9

  Ps. 81.10
• * 1.10

  Isa. 9.6, 7