The vvhole workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn Frith, and Doct. Barnes, three worthy martyrs, and principall teachers of this Churche of England collected and compiled in one tome togither, beyng before scattered, [and] now in print here exhibited to the Church. To the prayse of God, and profite of all good Christian readers.

¶ Of Order.

SUbdeacon, Deacō, Priest, Byshop, Cardinall, Patriarch and Pope, be names of offices and seruice, or should be, and not Sacraments. There is no promise coupled therwith. If they mi∣nister their offices truly, it is a signe that Christes spirite is in them, if not, that the deuill is in them. Are these all Sacramentes, or which one of them? Or what thyng in them is that holy signe or Sacrament? The shauyng or the annoynting? What also is the pro∣mise that is signified thereby? But what word printeth in them that cha∣ract: that spirituall seale? O dreamers and naturall beastes without the seale * 1.1 of the spirite of God: but sealed with the marke of the beast and with cank∣red consciences.

There is a word called in Latine Sa∣cerdos * 1.2 in Greeke Hiercus, in Hebrue Co∣han, that is, a Minister an officer, a sa∣crificer or a Priest, as Aaron was a Priest and sacrificed for the people and was a mediator betwen God & them. And in the English should it haue had some other name then Priest? But An∣tichrist hath deceaued vs with vn∣knowen and straūge termes, to bring vs into confusion and superstitious blyndnes. Of that maner is Christ a Priest for euer, and all we Priests tho∣rough hym and neede no more of any such Priest on earth to be a meane for vs vnto god. For Christ hath brought vs all into the inner temple within the vayle or forehanging, and vnto the mercy stoole of God. And hath cou∣pled vs vnto God, where we offer e∣uery man for himselfe y^e desires & peti∣tions of his hart, & sacrifice and kil the lustes & appetits of his flesh with pray¦er, fasting, & all maner godly liuing.

An other worde is there in Greeke called Presbiter, in latin, Senior, in eng∣lishe an elder, and is nothing but an * 1.3 officer to teach, and not to be a media∣tor betwene God and vs. This nedeth no annointing of man. They o•• y^t olde testament were annointed with oyle, * 1.4 to signifie the annointing of Christ and of vs thorough Christ with the holy ghost. This wise is no man Priest but he that is chosen, saue as in time of ne∣cessitie euery parson Christeneth, so may euery man teach his wife & hous∣holde, and the wife her children. So in time of neede if I see my brother sinne, I may betwene hym and me rebuke him, and damne his deede by the lawe of God. And may also comfort them that are in dispayre with the promises of God, and saue them if they beleue.

By a Priest then in the new testa∣ment * 1.5 vnderstand nothing but an elder to teach the younger, and to bring thē vnto the full knowledge and vnder∣standing of Christ and to minister the Sacramentes which Christ ordeyned, which is also nothyng but to preach Christes promises. And by them that geue all their studie to quench the light of truth, and to holde the people in darcknes, vnderstand the disciples of Sathan and messengers of Antichrist, what soeuer names they haue, or what soeuer they call themselues. And as concerning that our spiritualtie (as they will be called) make themselues

holyer then the lay people, and take so * 1.6 great landes and goodes to pray for them, and promise them pardons and forgeuenes of sinnes, or absolution, without preachyng of Christes promi∣ses, is falsehode and the woorkyng of Antichrist: and (as I haue sayd) the ra∣uenyng of those wolues which Paul (Act. xx.) prophesied, should come af∣ter hys departyng not sparyng the flocke. Their doctrine is that mar∣chaundise wherof Peter speaketh say∣ing: through coueteousnes shall they with fayned wordes make marchaun∣dise of you. ij. Pet. ij. And their reasons wherewith they proue their doctrine are (as sayth Paul. i. Timo. vj.) super∣fluous disputynges, arguynges or braulyngs of mē with corrupt mindes and destitute of truth, whiche thinke * 1.7 that lucre is godlynes. But Christ sayth. Math. vij. by their frutes shalt thou know them, that is by their filthy couetousnes and shamelesse ambition and dronken desire of honor, contrary vnto the example & doctrine of Christ and of his Apostles. Christ sayd to Pe∣ter, the last Chapter of Iohn. Fede my sheepe, and not shere thy flocke. And Pet. sayth. i. Pet. v. Not being Lordes ouer the Parishes: but these shere, and are become Lordes. Paul saith. ij. Cor. ij. Not that we be Lordes ouer your faith: but these will be Lordes & com∣pel vs to beleue what soeuer they lust, without any witnes of Scripture, yea cleane contrary to the Scripture, whē the opē text rebuketh it. Paul sayth, it is better to geue, thē to receaue. Act. xx. But these do nothyng in the world but lay snares to katch and receaue what so euer cōmeth, as it were the gapyng mouth of hell. And. ij. Cor. xij. I seeke not yours but you: but these seeke not you to Christ, but yours to thē selues, and therfore lest their dedes should be rebuked will not come at the light.

Neuerthelesse the truth is, that we are all equally beloued in Christ, and God hath sworne to all indifferently. According therfore as euery man bele∣ueth Gods promises, longeth for thē, and is diligent to pray vnto GOD to fulfill them, so is his prayer heard, and as good is the prayer of a cobler, as of a Cardinall: and of a bocher, as of a Byshop: & the blessing of a baker that knoweth the truth, is as good as the blessyng of our most holy father the Pope. And by blessing vnderstand not * 1.8 the wagging of the popes or Bishops hand ouer thyne head, but prayer, as when we say, God make thee a good man, Christ put his spirite in thee, or geue thee grace and power to walke in the truth, & to folow hys cōmaūde∣mentes &c. As Rebeccas frendes bles∣sed her whē she departed, Gene. xxiiij. saying. Thou art our sister: grow vn∣to thousand thousandes, and thy seede possesse the gates of their enemies. And as Isaac blessed Iacob Gene. xxvij. say∣ing. God geue thee of the dew of hea∣uen, and of the fatnes of the earth, a∣boundaunce of corne, wyne and oyle &c. And Gene. xxviij. Almighty God blesse thee and make thee grow, and multiply thee, that thou mayst be a great multitude of people, and geue to thee and to thy seede after thee the bles∣sings of Abraham, that thou mayst pos∣sesse the land wherin thou art a straū∣ger which he promised to thy graund∣father and such lyke.

Last of all one singular doubt they haue: what maketh the Priest, the an∣noynting or puttyng on of the handes or what other ceremonie or what wordes. About which they braule and scolde one ready to teare out an others throte. One sayth this, & an other that, but they cā not agree. Neither cā any of them make so strong a reason which an other can not improue. For they are all out of the way, and without the spi¦rite of God to iudge spirituall things. Howbeit to this I aūswere, that whē Christ called. xij. vp into the moūtaine and chose them, then immediatly with∣out any annointing or ceremony were they his Apostles, that is to witte, mi∣nisters chosen to be sent to preach his Testament, vnto all the whole world. And after the resurrection whē he had opened their wittes, and geuen them knowledge to vnderstand the secretes of hys Testament, & how to bynde & loose, and what he would haue thē to do in all thynges, then he sent them forth with a commaundemēt to preach and bynde the vnbeleuyng that conti∣nue in sinne, and to loose the beleuyng that repent. And that commaundemēt * 1.9 or charge made thē Byshops, priestes, Popes and all thyng. If they say that Christ made thē priestes at his Maun∣dey or last Supper when he sayd, do this in the remembraūce of me. I aun∣swere, though the Apostles wist not then what hee ment, yet I will not striue nor say that agaynst. Neuer the latter the commaundement and the charge which he gaue them made thē Priestes.

And Actes the first, when Mathias was chosē by lotte, it is not to be dou∣ted but that the Apostles, after their common maner, prayed for him that God would geue him grace to mi∣nister his office truely, and put their handes on him, and exhorted him and gaue him charge to be diligent & faith∣full, and then was he as great as the best. And Actes. vj. When the Disci∣ples that beleued had chosen. vj. Dea∣cons to minister to the widdowes, the Apostles prayed and put their handes on them, and admitted them without more adde. Their putting on of hands * 1.10 was not after the maner of the dome blessing of our holy byshops with two fingers: but they spake vnto them, and tolde them their dutie and gaue them a charge and warned them to be fayth∣full in the Lordes busines: as we chuse temporall officers and read their duty to them, and they promise to be fayth∣full ministers, and then are admitted. Neither is there any other maner or ceremonie at all required in makyng of our spirituall officers, then to chuse an able person, and thē to rehearse him his dutie and geue him his charge and so to put him in his rowme. And as for that other solemne doubte, as they call it whether Iudas was a Priest or * 1.11 no, I care not what he then was: but of this I am sure, that he is now not onely Priest, but also Byshop, Cardi∣nall and Pope.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Character.
• * 1.2

  Sacerdos.
• * 1.3

  Presbiter.
• * 1.4

  Priestes now ought not to be annointed with oyle.
• * 1.5

  The office of a Priest.
• * 1.6

  They will be holier, but their deedes be not holy at all.
• * 1.7

  Compare their dedes to the doc∣trine end deedes of Christ. and of his Apo∣stles, and iudge their fruites.
• * 1.8

  What bles∣sing mea∣neth.
• * 1.9

  The com∣maunde∣ment ma∣keth Priestes.
• * 1.10

  Putting on of hāds.
• * 1.11

  What Iu∣das is now.