Page:The Holy Scripture (Myles Coverdale).djvu/3

 &#x017f;hulde not deceaue the people. Oure Balaam calleth defendynge of the fayth, the &#x017f;uppre&#x017f;&#x017f;yng, kepyng &#x017f;ecrete, and burnyng of the worde of fayth: le&#383;t the lyght there of &#x017f;hulde beter his darknes:  le&#383;t his owne Decretales &amp; Decrees, his owne lawes and con&#383;titucions, his owne &#383;tatutes and inuencions &#x017f;hulde come to none effecte:  le&#383;t his intollerable exactions and v&#x017f;urpacions &#x017f;hulde lo&#x017f;e theyr &#383;trengthe:  le&#383;t it &#x017f;hulde be knowen what a thefe and murtherer he is in the cau&#x017f;e of Chri&#383;t, and how haynous a traytoure to God and man in defraudynge all Chri&#383;ten kynges &amp; prynces of theyr due obedience:  le&#383;t we youre graces &#x017f;ubiectes &#x017f;hulde haue eyes to the worde of God, at the la&#383;t to &#x017f;pye out his crafty conueya&#363;ce and iuglynges:  and le&#383;t men &#x017f;hulde &#x017f;e, how &#x017f;ore he and his fal&#x017f;e Apo&#383;tles haue deceaued all Chri&#383;tendome, &#x017f;pecyally youre noble realme of Englonde.

Thus your grace &#x017f;eyth how brotherly the Jewy&#x017f;h by&#x017f;&#383;hoppe and oure Balaam agree together, not onely in myter and outwarde appearaunce: but as the one per&#x017f;ecuted the Lorde Je&#x017f;us in his owne per&#x017f;one, &#x017f;o doth the other per&#x017f;ecute his worde and re&#x017f;y&#383;teth his holy ordynaunce in the auctorite of his anoynted kynges. For &#x017f;o moche nowe as the worde of God is the onely trueth that dryueth awaye all lyes, and di&#x017f;clo&#x017f;eth all inglyng and di&#x017f;ceate, therfore is oure Balaam of Rome &#x017f;o lothe that the &#x017f;cripture &#x017f;hulde be knowē in the mother tonge: le&#383;t yf kynges and prynces (&#x017f;pecially aboue all other) were exercy&#x017f;ed therin, they &#x017f;hulde reclame and chalenge agayne theyr due auctorite, which he fal&#x017f;ely hath v&#x017f;urped &#x017f;o many yeres, and foly tye hym &#x017f;horter:  and le&#383;t the people beyng taught by the worde of God, &#x017f;hulde fall from yt fal&#x017f;e foyned obediēce of hym and his di&#x017f;guy&#x017f;ed Apo&#383;tles, vnto the true obedience commaunded by Gods owne mouthe:  as namely, to obey theyr prynce, to obey father and mother, &amp;c. and not to &#383;teppe ouer father and mothers bely to enter in to his paynted religions, as his ypocrites teache: for he knoweth well ynough, that yf the cleare Sonne of Gods worde come ones to the heate of the daye, it &#x017f;hal dryue awaye all the foule my&#383;t of his deuely&#x017f;h doctrines. Therefore were it more to the mayntenaunce of Antichri&#383;tes kyngdome, that the worlde were &#383;tyll in ignoraunce and blyndnes, and that the &#x017f;cripture &#x017f;hulde neuer come to lyghte. For the &#x017f;cripture (both in the olde te&#383;tament and in the new) declareth mo&#383;t aboūtdauntly that the office, anctorite and power geuen of God vnto kynges/is in earth aboue all other powers: let them call thēselues Popes, Cardynalles, or what &#x017f;o euer they will, the worde of god declareth them (yee and commaundeth them vnder payne of dampnacion) to be obedient vnto the temporall &#x017f;werde:  As in the olde Te&#383;tament all the Prophetes, Pre&#383;tes and Leuites were. And in the new Te&#383;tament Chri&#383;t &amp; his Apo&#383;tles both were obedient them &#x017f;elues, and taught udedience of all men vnto theyr prynces ād temporall rulers : which here vnto vs in the worlde pre&#x017f;ent the per&#x017f;one of God, and are called Goddes in the &#x017f;cripture, bycau&#x017f;e of the excellēcy of theyr office. And though there were no mo auctorites but the &#x017f;ame, to proue the p&#772;eminence of the temporall &#x017f;werde, yet by this the &#x017f;cripture declareth playnly, that as there is nothyng aboue God, &#x017f;o is there no man aboue the kynge in his realme but that he onely vnder God is the chefe heade of all the cōgregacyon and church of the &#x017f;ame. And in token that this is true, there hath ben of olde antiquite (and is yet vnto this daye) a louynge ceremonye v&#x017f;ed in your realme of Englonde, yt whā your graces &#x017f;ubiectes reade your letters, or begynne to talke or come of your hyghnes, they moue theyr bonettes for a &#x017f;igne &amp; token of reuerence vnto your grace, as to their mo&#383;t &#x017f;oueraigne lorde &amp; heade vnder God, which thyng no man v&#383;eth to do to eny by&#x017f;&#x017f;hoppe, wherby (yf oure vnder&#383;tondyng were nat blynded) we myght euydently perceaue, that euen very nature teacheth vs the &#x017f;ame, that &#x017f;cripture cōmaūdeth vs: and that lyke as it is agayn&#383;t Gods worde that a kynge &#x017f;hulde not be the chefe heade of his people, euen &#383;o (I &#x017f;aye) is it agayn&#383;t kynde that we &#x017f;hulde knowe any other heade aboue hym vnder God.

And that no pre&#383;t nor by&#x017f;&#x017f;hoppe is exempte (nor can be lawfully) from the obedience of his prynce, the &#x017f;cripture is full both of &#383;trayte cōmaundemētes, &amp; practi&#x017f;es of the holye&#383;t men. + Aaron was obedient vnto Mo&#383;es, and cal led hym his lorde, though he was his owne brother. Elea&#383;ar and Phyneas were vnder the obediēce of Jo&#383;ua. + Nathan the prophete fell downe to the grounde before kynge Dauid, he had his Prynce in &#383;uch reueraunce(He made not the kynge for to ky&#383;&#383;e his fote as the by&#383;&#383;oppe of Rome maketh Emperours to do) Not with&#383;tondynge he &#383;pared not to rebuke hym, and that ryght &#383;harply whan he fell from the worde of God to adultery and man&#383;laughter. For he was not afrayed to reproue hym of his &#383;innes, nomore than Helyas the prophete &#383;tode in feare to &#383;aye vnto kynge Achab: + It is thou and thy fathers hou&#383;e that trouble I&#383;rael, becau&#383;e ye haue for&#383;aken ye commaundementes of the Lorde, and walke after Baal. And as Johan Bapty&#383;te dur&#383;t &#383;aye vnto Kynge Herobe: It is not lawful for the to take thy brothers wyfe. But to my purpo&#383;e I pa&#383;&#383;e ouer innumerable mo en&#383;āples both of the olde. Te&#383;tament and of the new, for feare le&#383;t I be to tedyous vnto your grace. Sūuna, in all godly regimentes of olde tyme the kynge and tēporall iudge was obeyed of euery man, and was alwaye vnder God the chefe and &#383;uppreme heade of the whole congregacyon, and depo&#383;ed euen pre&#383;tes whan he &#383;awe an vrgant cau&#383;e, as Salomon dyd vnto Abiathar, who coulde than &#383;tonde agayn&#383;t the godly obedience of his prynce(excepte he woulde be at defyaunce with God and all his holy ordynaunces) that were well acquaynted with the holy &#383;cripture, which &#383;o earne&#383;tly cōmendeth vnto euery one of vs the auctorite and power geuen of God vnto kynges and temporall rulers. Therfore doth Mo&#383;es &#383;o &#383;treately forbyde the I&#383;raelites to &#383;peake &#383;o moche as an euell worde agayn&#383;t the prynce of ye people, moche le&#383;&#383;e than to di&#383;obeye hym, or to with&#383;tonde hym. Doth not Jeremy the prophete and Baruc al&#383;o exhorte the people in captiuite, to praye for the pro&#383;perous welfore of the kynge of Babilon, and to obeye hym, though he was an infidele: In the new Te&#383;tament whā oure &#383;auioure Chri&#383;t(beyng yet fre &amp; Lorde of al kynges &amp; prynces) &#383;hewed his obedience in payenge the trybute to oure en&#383;ample, + dyn he not a miracle there in puttynge the pece of money in the fy&#383;&#383;hes mouth(that Peter myght paye the cu&#383;tomes therwith) and all to &#383;tably&#383;&#383;he the obedience due vnto prynces + Dyd not Jo&#383;eph and Mary the mother of our &#383;auiour Chri&#383;t departe frō Nazareth vnto Bethleē, &#383;o farre from home, to &#383;hewe theyr obedience in payenge the taxe to the prynce? And wolde not oure Sauioure be borne in the &#383;ame obedience: + Doth not Paule pronounce hym to re&#383;y&#383;te Gad hym &#383;elfe, that re&#383;y&#383;teth the auctorite of hes prynce? And (to be &#383;horte) the Apo&#383;tle Peter doth not ouely &#383;tably&#383;&#383;he the obedience vnto prynces and temporall rulers but affirmeth playnly the kynge(and no by&#383;&#383;hoppe) to be the chefe heade. Innumerable places mo are there in &#383;cripture, which bynde vs to the obedience of oure prynce, and declare vnto vs, that no man is nor can be lawfully excepte from the &#383;ame: but that all the myni&#383;ters of Goddes worde are vnder the temporall &#383;werde: + Prynces onely to owe obedience vnto God &amp; his worde.

And where as Anthicri&#383;t vnto youre graces tyme dyd thru&#383;t his heade into ye imperiall crowne of your hyghnes(as he doth yet with other noble prynces mo) that lerned he of Sathā the authour of pryde, and therfor doth he both agayn&#383;t the doctryne &amp; al&#383;o agayn&#383;t ye en&#383;ample of Chri&#383;te: whiche becau&#383;e his kyngdome was not of this worlde, medled with no temporal matters, as it is euydent both by his wordes and practy&#383;e: Luc. xij. Math. xxvi. Job. vi. Joh.t vijj. where he yt hath eyes to &#383;e, maye &#383;e: &amp; he yt hath eares to heare, maye heare, yt Chri&#383;tes admyni&#383;tracion was nothyng tēporall, but playne &#383;piritual, as he hym &#383;elfe affirmeth &amp; proueth in the fourth chapter of &#383;aynt Luke out of the prophete Clay: where all by&#383;&#383;hoppes and pre&#383;tes maye&#383;e, how farre theyr byndynge and low&#383;ynge extendeth, and where in theyr office con&#383;i&#383;teth, namely in preachynge the Go&#383;pell, &amp;c.

Wherfore(mo&#383;t gracyous prynce) there is no tonge I thyoke, that can fully expre&#383;&#383;e and declare the vntollerable iniuries, which haue bene done vnto God, to al prynces and to the conuynalties of all chri&#383;ten realmes, &#383;ence they which &#383;hulde be onely the mini&#383;ters of Gods worde, became lordes of the worlde, and thru&#383;t ye true