A67922:6578
Acts and monuments of matters most special and memorable, happening in the Church. [vol.…Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol.…
Acts and monuments of matters most special and memorable, happening in the Church. [vol. 1] with an universal history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitive age to these latter times of ours, with the bloody times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions against the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperors, as now lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realm of England and Scotland. Newly revised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time again published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the help of Christ our Lord) John Fox, which desireth thee good reader to help him with thy prayer.Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.
London: printed by John Daye, 1583London: printed by Iohn Daye, 1583
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
And if your Bishops and teachers counsel you to come to no hearing with us, then do it whether they will or no, & suffer not your selves at any time to be so foolishly seduced with their foolish pardons, but tarry at home in your houses with your wives and children. And let the pope of Rome come to us with all his Cardinals and bishops, and with all his priests, with his own person & power to war with us, & let themselves deserve the absolution of sins, grace, and pardon, which they preach to you (for they have great need of forgiveness of sins, grace, & pardon) & by the grace of god we will give them pardon enough as they shall need. But their subtle excuse is this: they say that it belongeth not to priests to fight with bodily weapons & true it is that belongeth not to them:1 but it belongeth as little to them to stir up, to counsel, & to fortify others thereto: For Paul saith in the the 1. to the Rom. & in the fifth to the Galath. that all that do such things are worthy of everlasting death.2 And if ye will not determine to do any other thing then to fight against us, then will we take the Lord to our help and his trueth, & we will defend it to the death, & we will not be afraid for the excommunication or curse of the Pope, or his cardinals, or of the bishops, because we know that y• Pope is not god as he maketh himself, that he can curse and excommunicate when he will, or bless when he will: ⟨p. 654⟩who hath now these many years cursed and excommunicated us,3 & yet notwithstanding, God and his gracious blessing hath been our help. But peradventure ye will say, that though we see that bishops and priests be evil & wicked, yet we cannot lack them: for who should baptise our children, who should hear confessions, & minister the holy sacraments? and then also we should be within the excommunication of the pope & of his bishops.4 Well beloved, ye need to take no care for these matters. The excommunicating of the Pope hurteth you nothing. Fear ye the excommunicating of God, and the Lord will provide for those things well enough. If ye would banish evil bishops and priests, ye should have good priests which should baptise your children, hear confessions, and minister the holy mysteries, because when the devil is banished, then place is made for the holy ghost: