The Pope confuted The holy and apostolic Church confuting the Pope. The first action.…The Pope confuted The holy and apostolique Church confuting the Pope. The first action.…

As though the wisdom of God, whose property is, and always hath bin most free to work where it pleased, might be possibly empaled, or hedged in, by any ordinance of man, or limited to any certainty of place, as the which by extraordinary means, utterly breaking or inverting ordinary courses of things doth many times dispose the riches of his grace, after a ⟨p. 36⟩certain preposterous manner and way, beyond all •ope, & contrary to the opinion of man, namely in things appertaining to God, not after the appointment of man, but according to his own good will and pleasure.

As though the wisdom of God, whose propertie is, and alwayes hath byn most free to worke where it pleased, might be poss•bly empaled, or hedged in, by any ordināce of man, or limited to any certentie of place, as the which by extraordinarie meanes, vtterly breaking or inuerting ordinary courses of things doth many times dispose the riches of his grace, after a ⟨p. 36⟩certein preposterous maner and waye, beyond all •ope, & contrary to the opinion of man, namely in things apperteining to God, not after the appointement of man, but according to his owne good will and pleasure.

On this wise in times past refusing Cain, Ismael, & Esau and others, to whom the honour of priesthood & promised seed appertained by right of ordinary succession, he made choice of Abel, Isaac, Jacob, to whom the ordinary succession was not dew. So also rejecting the family of Saul, he translated the kingdom into the offspring of David. In like manner supplanting the synagogue of the Jews, he planted the Gent•les in order, contrary to order, displacing the natural olives, and placing in the wild. And will you so strictly urge, and choke up as it were, within so narrow a pinfold, the incomprehensible, & far outstretched grace of Christ, to one place, and to one chair: That where all other churches may err, the only Romish Church may in no wise slip her foot? which also may moreover so replenish that one Romish vicar with all her absolute fullness, that she may not emparte any parcel thereof to any other pastors be they never so godly and true worshippers of Christ.