losse which shippmen do suffer in a tempest / which do cast out of their ship al their Goodes whẽ they be in daunger of shipp wracke: They seame truly to be compelled to do it / and yet willingly they do it / and therfor they are sayed .To do. bicause that withe deliberacion and aduise / they do determin / both with iudgemẽt and will / rather to abide the losse of their goddes / thẽ of their lyfe. Which thinge as the mariners do wisely determyne / so our men do folishly / which for the loue that they beare to their lyfe / bodie ãd goodes do not chose to abide the losse of thẽ all / in refusing to come to these detestable masses / to gayn therby lyfe / and saluacion euer lastinge. And so do they cõmitt doble synne. Furst they synne willingly. Thẽ they do prefer earthly thinges before heauẽly / outward thinges before inward / the bodie before the soule / their Goodes before God: Which is not done but of such / as ar the very childrẽ of the world. Of affectiõ verily / though they do saye nay / they do that which they do / but of that inordinate affection which they do beare to their riches. Wherfor this is no iust excuse which they make. For as well might the Corinthians / euen by the very same reason / haue sayde to Paule. If we do comme vnto these feastes wher the meates offered vnto Idols are eaten / we do it not with that mynde as thoughe we allowed such sacrifices / but we ar compelled therunto / for if we shuld auoide theise solemne feastes / we shuld be taken as sedicius men / euell citizens / vncourteous / we shuld loose our frends / ãd most profitable healp
and defence / Yea and paraduẽture our goodes and countrith, Paule hearith noone of all these thinges / but doth sharply reproue thẽ / as in the furst epistle which he wrote vnto thẽ it doth appeare. Exod. 32. Aarõ also by the same reason might haue excused the making of the goldẽ calf / and sayed / I did it not with my mynde / I was cõpelled / and if I hadd not folowed the mynde of the poeple / they wold haue stoned me. &c. But Moses / who did well perceyue that this was not of an absolute necessite / but did rise of such a corrupt grownd and matier as neither righteousnes doth suffer to be receyued / neither Godd doth admitt / he cõdemnith the act / ãd doth sharply reproue Aaron for it. Thise men ought also to thincke this: That the masse is as it wer the signe ãd sure marke / the pleadg / ãd seale / by which the papists do knowe who be theirs / frõ others. For whether a mã gyuith almos / whether he prayeth / whether he lyueth a chaste lyfe / and so forth / they passe not at all: This only they do regarde / whether he hearith Masses: which thĩg if they perceyue that he doth / for the which they thĩke that mã to be ther own / ãd on the other parte / to abhorr the Masse and not to heare it / is euen the begynninge of fallinge from ther kyngdõ / and from Antichriste. Wherfor we may call Massehearinge / The publique profession of poperie / the badge of the most vile and filthie Idolatrie which is vsed in our age. In this therfor / ĩ which papistes put so mutch confidence / that they make therof the very marcke wherby the godly are known from their men / no
Christian must dissemble. For if he do / then doth he publiquely professe hymself to be a papist / which is euen to denie Christes gospell: And this to do / is so greate a synne / as no mã cã extenuate by ony blind cloke or reason. But thow wilt saye: Ther be greate daungers / of which I am in present ieoperdie / and I shall also sett mi self forthe to other most heauy daũgiers / except I be partaker and do cõmunicate with papists in the Masse / and such popishe Idolatrie. I grant that ther are daungers / such is theyr Tyrannie. But remember thou / That Godd hath forseene all theise daungers before / and also hath shewed that they shuld comme / of which though he wer not ignorante / yet did not his wisdõ chaunge his lawe to haue them auoyded: He commaunded / and doth / that Idolatrie shall not be cõmitted but that mẽ shuld flye from it / which commaundement he wyll haue kept what soeuer perill dothe cõme theron. Wherfor let vs cast our care vppon hym which hath gyuen vs this commaundemẽt / for he which doth know righte well / that theise euels are ioyned with the obseruinge of his commaundementes / he will care for them which for rightuisnes shalbe persequuted. Truly the violence / and nature of persequution and daungiers is not such / that it can chaunge Godds lawe: neither that he will haue his lawes chaunged for them. Let persequutions be howsoeuer they be / yet Godds lawe remaynith vnmoueable. Let vs not seeke then to deuide and part ourselues / and our seruice / betwen
Godd ãd the deuell / as thoughe we wold gyue our mynde ãd affectiõ vnto Godd: ãd in poperie and supersticious Idolatries to gyue our bodyes doĩges / and outward actiõs vnto the deuell. 1. Cor. 6. Our mynde is Godds seate / our bodie is his Tẽple. Mat. 22. Gyue therfore to Godd / that which belongith vnto hym. Thincke what thow lust of doing and dissemblinge for thy commoditie: Yeat this Rule / and certayn Canon of the holy ghost must now either rule the / Roma. 3. or herafter in Godds iudgement cõfownde the. Euell thinges are not to be done that Goode shuld come theron.
Now seing that we haue sufficiẽtly spoken of priuate men and subiectes / in and through all the partes and membres of our distictions and diuisiõs / it remaynithe that we shuld entreate of Princes: for so at the begynning we ordered our diuision.
Of Rulers and Princes. Of Rulers and princes / I make this diuisiõ / Some there are which be chiefe princes / suche as do not depẽd and hange on other / of whõ the Ciuilians do saie / that they haue a mere Rule. Other are vnder Rulars and such as be of lesse authoritie then they / which do depende and hãge on the higher princes / either by the right (as they saie) of fee / or ells because they are their officers / and mynisters / that is to saye (as they be commonlye termed) their deputies / lieutenaũtes and executours of their office. I will firste speake of the higher / absolute / and mere Rulers: And of them A question I will both aske and answere this questiõ: Whether it be lawfull for thẽ to suffer and permite in their dominiõs the free and familiar conuersatiõ
and dwellinge togither of the vnfaithfull with the faith full: The answer I thinke that it is lawfull / but yet so that they muste take hede of certeyn thinges / and obserue ans kepe certeyn Rules and conditions.
The firste is / that they do not enforce nor compell their faithfull subiectes to ioyne with the vnbeleauers in their assẽbles / nor in such vnholy kyndes of worshipp of Godd as are cõtrary to Godds worde: for then shold they not be Godds ministers / as they are taughte to be in the epistle to the Romains / Rom. 13. but rather the ministers of the deuill / of Antichriste / and of their furie. Then sholde they be a feare vnto them that do well / and not to them that do euill / neither sholde they promote the worke of God / but the tyranye of Antichriste.
The secõde is / they muste not graunte nor suffer / the vnfaithfull to vse their supersticions and wicked Idolatries which are cõtrarie vnto Godds worde. For it is not sufficient / that they do not compell the godly to wicked supersticiõ and Idolatrie / but also they muste forbidde the same to the wicked Idolatrours: For not doinge of this Salomõ is greatlie accused: 3. Reg. 11. Indeed he did not compelle the Iues to worshipp Idolles / but yet did he permit and suffer his wyues and concubines, wich were straungiers, to haue their Chapells amonge the Iues / in which they worshipped Astaroth / Chamos ãd such idolls / For which cause the lorde was so angrie wyth him / that as he suffered his true worshippe to be parted ãd diuided / as he suffered seruice to be done partlie
to God and partlie to Idolles. Euẽ so was his kingdõ diuided / parte of it came vnto his sõne / ãd parte to Ieroboã the sõne of Nabat. And agayn for doing of this / Achaz / ãd other wicked kĩges wer reproued of the prophetes. Magistrates are apoĩted to be the defẽders / ãd executours of the first table of the lawe as well as of the secõde: with what obseruatiõ thẽ of iustice cã a magistrate graũte or suffer Idolatrie to be vsed? It is writõ that he hathe the sworde to punishe euill thĩges and vices. If it be his part to punishe theues / ãd not to permitt them / the same must he do to Idolatrours. Or ells we must saie that Idolatrie is no such synne ãd vice as theft is / or that with other vices it is not to be punished. And that theis prĩces maye do this the better / they muste thẽ selues take hede that they be cleare frõ these Idolatries ãd supersticiõs. Augustine writĩg againste the donatistes dothe ĩ manye places notablie intreate ãd hãdle this sentẽce of the psalme. Psal. 2. And nowe ye kĩges be wise be warned ye that iudge the earthe. Serue the lorde wyth feare. &c. It is reasõ ãd semyng faithe he that kinges sholde serue the lorde / neither is it spokẽ of kinges in respecte that they are mẽ / for so are they boũde to obserue cõmen lawes euẽ as other mẽ are / but as kĩges they be admonished to vse their power giuẽ thẽ of God / ãd their sword to defẽde the catholike truithe / and to represse the wicked which do oppugne the church ãd truithe of Christ: wherfore it is not lawfull for prĩces to graũt vnto the wicked and vnbeleuers their euill and vngodlie Godds seruice and Idolatries / but they muste maynteyn to their power / those holy rites ãd ordinaũces of godds seruice