To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
WE neuer rede in anye wryters whether they be holy or prophāe of anye kynge∣dome or comune wealth that continually endu∣red without tumultes, sedicion or warre, eyther by foreyn and outwarde enemies, eyther a∣monge it selfe by conspiracye, treason, & disobedience of sub∣iectes of the same realme, and the same euyll not beynge in tyme taken hede of, and redres∣sed, brought alwayes the king¦dom or commune wealth from trouble and sedicion vnto vt∣ter
ruyne, and confusion. We wyll omitte and passe ouer to speake of the kyngdome of the Assirians, the Persians, Gre∣kes, & Romaynes (althoughe of theyr originall, continuaūce and distruccion, the holye By∣ble maketh in Daniell the pro¦phet, and other places of the Scripture, muche mencion of) we wil speake but of two king∣domes, of Iuda, and Israell. What troublers, contencion, warres, sedicion, and rebellion they suffred, and at laste came cleane to noughte, the bookes of the Kyngs, and Chronicles doth recorde, and the Prophet Ieremye. What the causes of these troubles and dystruccion were, the godlye readers of the scriptures he not ignoraunte:
But the men of that tyme, the Princes, the kynges, neyther the priestes would vnderstād, but assigned false causes, the preachynge of goddes worde .iii. Regum. xviii. For thus say¦eth Ahab vnto Elias the pro∣phet: arte not thou he that tro∣bleth Israel? and so sayeth the people. Hiere. xiiii. The worde of god yt thou hast spoken vn∣to vs in the name of the lorde, we wyll not receyue it, but we will do whatsoeuer seme vnto vs good, yt we may do sacrifice vnto the Quene of heauē, and offer oure offerynges vnto her, as we haue done and oure fathers, our kinges, & our prin¦ces, in the cities of Iuda, and in the stretes of Ierusalē. Thē had we aboūdaunce of al thin∣ges,
and wel was it wyth vs, & we felte no yuell. Assone as we lefte offerynge to the Quene of heauen, and sacrificed no more sacrifyce vnto her, we lacked al thynges, and be con∣sumed wyth warre, and hun∣gre. But the true Prophetes of GOD shewed the true cau¦ses of these euils, to be the con∣tempt of goddes word, as Eli∣as saide vnto Ahab: I trouble not Israell, but thou and thy fathers house, troubleth it. For ye haue forsaken the commaū¦demente of the Lorde, and thou goest after Baalim. But the princes and the people cō∣tinually defēded ye falle causes & accōpted ye prophetes of god yt wold haue corrected theyr er∣ror, to be sedicious, & trayterus
persons, and euen so persecu∣ted and kylled them for there true preachynge: Till at the last they perished and theyr re∣alme wyth theym, as ye maye rede .iiii. Regu. xvii. and in the last booke of the Cronicles in the last Chapiter. Unto the les∣sō of those two Chapters I ex∣horte the wyse, and godly hea∣rer. For ye shal gather of those places that the contempte of goddes worde was the occasi∣on of the losse of these realmes.
The same euyll vexeth vs at thys presente daye. The ship of thys commune wealthe of Englande is tossed vpsyde downe, and the occacion there∣of is imputed and layed vnto Christe and hys holye worde, though falsly, for Christes na∣ture
is to apeace and quiet all troubles and tempestes wyth hys presence. Iohn .vi. There∣fore thys false and preposte∣rous cause of trouble muste be taken hede of, if we wyshe the shyp of this kyngdom to come to rest. We shal neuer bryng it to passe vntyll suche tyme as we agree and confesse that Io¦nas is the occasion whye the realme is thus vnquieted, that is to saye, as manye as be in this realme, that neglect, or per¦uerte theyr appoynted voca∣cyon.
I sayde O Kynge that Io∣nas myght be founde amonge foure sortes of people wyth in youre maiestyes Realme, a∣monge the priestes, noble men, lawers, and the commune peo∣ple.
But lest anye man shulde thynke I condempned euerye man within the shippe of your commune wealthe, we wyll fo∣lowe the wisdome and comen∣dable doinges of these shippe∣men which were not only con∣tent to haue found out Ionas (the cause of theyr trouble) by Lottes, but also diligētly they examin him. So ye same thing most gracious kyng we muste do. But before we take vpon vs theyr examination, we wyll praye vnto almightye god for his holye spirite of wysdome, lest in this necessarye and pro∣fitable examination we erre and be deceiued. And also that they vpon whome the Lottes do fall, and can not iustelye ex∣cuse theyr faultes, maye learne
to amende theym, and tourne vnto the Lorde, and from hensforth maye lyue in puritie and in nocencye of trueth and vertue all the dayes of theyr lyues. So be it.