HOnorable, wor­shipfull, and de­uout christiā au­dience, the holy prophet Dauid, in his hundreth and xvii psalme (whēce the wordes of my theme are taken out) dothe in treate of foure pointes moste mete to bee duety cōsidered, and effectually of vs all practiced at this presēt. Fyrst he declareth that himselfe had been in extreme perill and daunger of life, and in great af­fliction & tribulation of mynde. Secondely, he acknowledgeth that God of his infinite mercye and goodnes did delmer him. [Page]Thirdelye that he doeth esteme those daungers and vexacions as a scourge for synne. Fourth­lye and laste he geueth thankes vnto GOD his deliuerer, and exhorteth al other to do the like.

Concerning the perill he was in, he sayth: Circundantes circun dederunt me sicutapes. My ene­mies compassed me round about as thicke as it had ben a swarm of Bees. And againe within a while after. Impulsus euersus sum ut caderem, I was thruste at so sore, that I was lyke to be ouer-throwne: and after that he cal­leth him selfe, lapidē quem repro­bauerunt ędificātes. A ston which the builders did refuse and cast awaye: meaning in those .iii. pla­ces, the persecution whiche he susteyned at the handes of wic­ked [Page]Saul, who (as it is written in the fyrst booke of the kinges) sometime threwe a darte at Da­uid: sometyme sent men sodenlye Dauids house, to take him in his beed and bringe him vnto him, that he might be slain: som­time persecuted him with an opē armye. Concerning the seconde pointe, whiche is how Dauid in the forsaied Psalme dothe con­fesse and acknowledge that god of his mere goodnes miraculous lye protected and deliuered hym, it is there written. Dominus sus­cepit me, God was my help. For­titudo & laus mea dominus, & fac­tus est mihi in salutem, God is my strength & my reioysing, and is become my saluatiō. Dextera do­mini fecit uirtutem, dextera domi­ni exaltauit me, dextera domine fe­cit [Page]virtutem. The ryght hande of God hathe done myghtelye, the right hande of God hath exalted me, the right hande of God hath done myghtely. Concerning the thirde pointe, whiche is that the prophet Dauid coūteth his trou bles and persecutions as a cha­stisement for sinne, he sayth. Cas­tigans castigauit me dominus. God hathe chastened & corrected me. The laste and fourthe pointe is thankes geuing & prouoking all other to the like. This point is to be foūd in many places of the Psalme, but most notably in the wordes of my theme when he saieth: Constituite diem solennem in condensis vso (que) ad cornu altaris. Appoint you to kepe a solempne feaste, in great frequencies or multitudes, & cōcourse of people [Page]euen reachinge to the corners of the alter. It was commaunded in the old lawe that at solempne feastes the people should bringe Oxen, Calues, lambes, or Goa­tes, to be offred vp vpon the aulter in sacrifice, and that the preist shoulde sprynkell of the bloude vpō the corners of the aultar: & he nowe exhorteth them so to do, in geuynge thankes to God, for that he had deliuered him out of the handes of Saul: and he mo­neth them to kepe a newe solemnetie for this purpose, besides the accustomed feastes cominaū ­ded in the lawe. Accordynge to this example geuen vs by kynge Dauid, it is our parte to vse our selfes this present daye. First to remember what miserable and parilous case we were in of late [Page]yeres. Nexte to consider howe God by his myghtye hande, and thoroughe hys infinite mercye hathe deliuered vs. Thirdlye to perswade oure selues, that wee worthely suffered those miseries for oure synnes. Fourthlye to be thankefull, and induce other to thākes geuing for our deliuery. Whiche that ye may the rather do, I intende by Goddes grace and your patience, to stande vp­on the twoo fyrste pointes, and to set forth the excedinge greate benefite of oure reconciliation to the vnitie of the catholike chur­che, and the horrible miseries which we were in, in the tyme of schisme and diuision, & then no more, but touche the other two partes, and so committe you to God. And that the thinges to be [Page]vttered at this presente by me, may be to Gods honour, to your edification and comforte, I de­syre you fyrste to helpe me with your prayers.

The prayers.

I Fynde in holye scripture that there wer two comen weales, instituted, ordei­ned, and appoynted by God him selfe. The one emonge the chyl­dren of Israell, the other emong the christians. The cōmon weale of the Israelites or Iewes, was in tyme before the comminaltie of christendome. But this in wor thines is farre before it. For the thinges belōging to that estate, were figures, types, and shado­wes of thynges belonginge too christianitie. The children of Is­rael were vnder cruel Pharao, in [Page]great captiuitie & thraldom, un­til such time as god of his good­nes called them outs of Egypte, and drowned their enemyes in the redde Sea: lykewise is all mankinde thrall to the spiritual Pharao, that is the deuil, before they comme to passe thoroughe baptisme, whiche because it ta­keth his force and strength of the bloud of our sauiour, and is mi­nistred in water, maye well be lykened to the read Sea, and in it all power of the deuill is quite ouer whelmed and destroyed. The chyldren of Israell hauing passed the read Sea, were not furth w ^t directly conueied to the lande of promise: but were faine to traueill in the baren & vnpleasaunt wyldernes, a longe space, there abiding muche trouble and [Page]vexation. Euen so christen peo­ple after their Baptisme are left in this vale of miserie, here to endure many sharp & perilous stormes, and are not immediatly frō the Font, had vp to the lande of the liuyng, whiche is the lande promised to the iust. In many other pointes the laws of Moy­ses was a shadowe of christiani­tie, but moste especially in the kynd & maner of gouernement, is liuely represented the gouernment vsed in Christes churche: whiche is the matter I specially purpose to set furth vnto you, & therfore desire you to geue good eare vnto it. The cōmen weale of the Iewes, in that their pas­sage from Egypt to the lande of promise, hadde twoo milers, by Gods own appointmēt set ouer [Page]them, Moyses and Aaron both preistes: but the one, that is Moyses, which was the higher, made preist immediatly by God, the other, that is Aaron, made preist at Goddes commaunde­ment by Moyses. Of those two rulers, the higher and worthier receiued at Gods hande all that God woulde haue sayed to the people, and he deliuered it to Aa­ron, and then Aaron deliuered if to the people, or at the least in­structed the people therin. Con­trariwise whē the people would haue any question demaunded of God, Aaron did moue that ques­tion to Moyses, and Moyses to God: So that Moyses was Aarōs mouth, in thinges to be mo­ued from the people to God: and Aaron was Moyses mouthe in [Page]thinges to be reueled from God to the people: as it is written in the .iiii. of Exodus, where god speketh thus to Moyses. Ipse loque­tur pro te ad populum & erit os tuum. Tu autem eris ei in his quae ad deum pertinent, that is. Thy brother Aaron shalbe thy spokes­man to the people, he shalbe thy mouthe. And thou shalte be hys spokesman, and hys mouthe in thinges that come from GOD. Againe Moyses went vp to the toppe of mount Sinay, & there talked face to face with GOD: but Aaron in the meane season taried beneth at the foote of the hyll emonge the people to in­structe and guyde them. These iii. pointes in Moyses & Aaron, as they were thinges fulfilled in dede in their persons, so were [Page]they significations of thynges to come, in the state of christia­nitie. For as S. Paule saieth in the first to the Corinthyans the tēth chapitre. Haec omnia in figura contingebant illis, All these thin­ges chaunced to the Iewes in a type or figure. And in the tenthe to the Hebreues heal soo saieth, Vmbram habens lex futurorū non ipsā imaginem rerū. The lawe of Moyses hadde but a shadowe of thinges to come, & not the true shape of those thinges in dede. To come therfore to the publike weale of Christendome, and the gouernement therof: There are in the churche of Christ alwayes two head rulers, bothe preistes, that is, Christ oure hyghe preist made by God the father immediatlye, accordinge as we reed in [Page]the hundreth and ninth psalme, Tu es sacer dos ineternum secundū ordinem Melchisedech. The other preist inferior to Christ, and yet gouernour of the whole church, first was saint Peter, and now is his successor. Now Peter was made preist by Christ, as Aaron was by Moyses; and his successours are made preistes by men as Aarons successours were. Christe is Peters spokesman to God, and Peter was Christes mouthe to the church as appea­reth in the .xxii. of Luke, in these wordes, Simon, Simon, ecce Satha­nas experiuit uos, ur cribraret, sicut triticum, Ego autem rogaui pro te ur non deficiat fides tua. Tu autem aliquando conuersus, confirma fra­tres tuos. Simon, Simon, be­hold Sathan hathe desired you [Page]to sifte you as it were wheate: but I have prayed for the, that thy faieth faile not: & when thou shalt be conuerted, confirme thy brethren. In that Christe prai­eth for Peter to God the father, that Peters faieth shoulde not faile, he is Peters mouth to god ward, as Moyses was Aarōs. Agayne in that Peter confir­meth his brethren, in the trueth of christes religion, he is christes mouthe to the people. Christ is ascended in to the highe mount of heauen, Vt appareat nunc vul­tui dei pro nobis. That he might appeare before the face of God for vs. But the other ruler that is christes vicar, remaineth here on earth, to gouerne the churche militaunt, as did Aaron emong the Israelites, as shall anone [Page]appere mooste euidently by ine­uitable authorities of the new testamēt. Now when God had placed those two priestes in the gouernment of the Iewes, hee would such obedience to be giuē vnto, them of the whole people, that none might once repine a­gainste the authoritie of either of them, as is euidēt in the .xvi. of Numbres, where Chore, Da­than, and Abiron, for making rebellion against Moises, and Aaron, were swalowed vp in to the earth aliue, and most terri­bly perished, that the rest myght by their example, feare at any time to attempt the like. And in the .xvii. of Numbres, GOD to declare, that hee had appointed Aaron as wel as Moises, to be rular ouer the Israelites, caused [Page]euery captain of the twelue tri­bes to bring in a rodde to Moy­ses, and al the twelue roddes to bee layed in the tabernacle all night, and whose rodde shoulde burgin on the morowe, that he was the chefe gouernour vnder Moyses. Which being done, on the morow, Aarons rodde was founde with buddes on it. The same authoritie that was in Aarō at that time, and thus cō ­firmed miraculously, remained in the high priest, Aarons suc­cessour from tyme to tyme so long as the estate of that cōmon weith endured. Euen so is it ut Christendome. Peter fyrst was placed in the chief gouernement vnder Christ, and after Peter his successours continue in the same, and haue the rule of the [Page]whole church. But you wil per­aduēture require farther proofe hereof, and woulde gladly here whether this may be established by the ghospel, and the auncient fathers: wherin for your contētaciō I will sōwhat say. And fyrst touching Peter and his autho­ritie wee reade in the .xvii. of Mathew, how the gatherers of the tribute money came to aske the tribute of Christ, and how Christ bade Peter cast hys angle into the see, & looke what fishe he tooke first, he tolde him that in his mouth he should find so much money as two mē were bound to pay and said, da eis pro me et te. Paye that money to thē for me and thy selfe. Vpon this facte of Christe S. Augustine saith Didrachma capitum solutio [Page]intelligitur. Saluator cum pro se et Petro dari iubet, pro omnibus exol­uisse videtur: quod sicut in salua­tore erant omnes causa magisterii, ita et post saluatorē in Petro omnes continentur: ipsum enim constitu­it caput eorū: that is to say, The tribute money was hed money or paiment which euery hed or ruler was bound to pay. Wher­fore when our sauiour cōmaun­ded the tribute to be paied for himself and for Peter, he semeth to haue paied for them all. For as they were all in our sauiour by reason he was their maister, so after our sauiour they were all conteined in Peter. For he had made Peter their hed or ru­ler. The same S. Austine wri­ting vpō that place of S. Luke in his .xxii. chapter where Christ [Page]saieth that he praied for Peter, hath these wordes, Non orauit pro Iacobo et Ioanne et reliquis, sed pro Petro in quo reliqui con­tinentur, Christe did not pray for Iames and Iohn and for the rest of his Apostles, but for Peter, in whome the rest are cō ­tained. In the .xxi. of Mathew we finde how our sauiour sayed vnto Peter in most speciall and earnest maner, pasce agnos, pasce agnos, pasce oues, fede my lambes fede my lambes, fede my shepe: And though certē of the other a­postles, & thei also the most nota blest, were then present, Yet he gaue the charge onely to Peter. Wherupō Cipriā, Chrisostome, Ambrose, Austine, gather that Peter was made rular aboue & ouer them all. Now as concer­ning [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page]Peters successours, where they are to be found and of their authoritie writeth the aunciēt father Ireneus, in his third boke against y ^e; heresies of Valentinus, and other heretikes, and in the thirde chapiter of the same boke in this maner. Quoniam valde longum est omnium ecclesiarum enumerare successiones, maximae et antiquissemae et ōnibus cognitae a gloriosissimis duobus Apostolis Petro et paulo Romae fundatae et constitutae ecclesiae, eam quā habet ab apostolis traditionē et annūciatā hominibus fidem per successiones episcoporū perueniētem vsque ad nos, indicantes confundimus eos omnes qui quoquo modo vel per sui complacentiam malam, velva­nam gloriam, vel per caecitatem et malā sententiā, preterquàm opor­tet [Page]colligunt. Ad hāc enim ecclesiā propter potentiorem principali­tatem necesse est omnem cōuenire ecclesiam, hoc est eos qui sūt vndi (que) fideles, that is to say. Forasmuch as it were a long processe to re­cite the succession of all christen seas, we showe the succession of Bishoppes in the greatest, the most aunciente, and the moste knowen sea, founded and stabli­shed at Rome by the most gloria apostles Petre & Paule: and we declare what is the tradicion, which that sea hath receiued frō the apostles and what faith hath ben preached to men there, and is comen by succession of byshoppes euen vnto vs, and so do­ing we confound and put to sy­lence al those, which by any meanes either by standing to muche [Page]in their own cōceite, or for vaine glorye, or through blinde igno­raunce, or throughe wrong opi­nion, dooe gather otherwise in matters of religion then is be­houable. For vnto this sea, by reson of the higher gouernment, euery sea, that is, all faithful, whersoeuer they dwel, must ne­des haue recourse. The like is also in Sainct Austine in hys, cxlv. epistle, where he improuing the secte of the Donatistes wri­teth in this maner, Si ordo episco porū sibi succe dentium cōsideran­dus est, quāto citius et vere salubri ter ab ipso Petro numeramus, cui totius ecclesiae figuram gerenti do­minus ait. Tu es Petrus, et super hanc Petrā aedificabo ecclesiā me­ā, If the order of Bishops succe­ding one a nother is to be consi­dered, [Page]howe much more soner & in dede more wholsomly doe we recken from Peter himself, vn­to whom bearing the figure of the whole church, our lord saith: Thou art Peter, and vpon this rocke will I builde my churche: And within a litle after he saith In hoc ordine successionis nullus Donatista inuenitur. In this or­der of succession no Donatist is founde. Thus concerning the primacye of S. Peter and hys successours, we haue matter sufficient both in scripture and in the fathers to content vs. But it may not here be omitted, that though in the numbre of many successours of Sainct Peter it might somtime chaūce some one or mo to be euil: yet that nothig can preiudicate to the authorite [Page]nor mē ought therfore to with­draw their obedience. And that in this point also ye may se good mater to content you: I shal re­cite a notable sayeng of Sainct Austin in his forsaied epistle to this effecte, where he writeth in this maner. In illū autem ordinē episcoporū qui ducitur ab ipso Pe­tro vso (que) ad Anastasiū, qui nūc eādē sedet cathedram, etiā si quisquàm traditor per illa tempora surrep sis­set, nihil praeiudicaret ecclesiae, et innocētibus christianis, quibus dūs prouidens ait de praepositis malis: Quae dicūt facite, quae autē faciunt nolite facere. Dicunt enim & non faciunt, vt certa sit spes fidelis quae nō in homine, sed in deo collocata nunquàm tempestate sacrilegi scif matis dissipetur, that is to saye. Thoughe some traitour had by these days crept into that order, [Page]or numbre of Bishoppes, which is reckened from Peter vnto Anastasius, which now sitteth in that sea, yet were it not pre­iudicial to the church, and to the innocent christen folke, for whō our lord prouiding saieth. Doe the thinges which they say, but that they do, do ye not: for they saye and doe not, that the hope of a christen man might be sure, and being set not on man, but on god, should neuer be shaken with any tempest or storme of wicked scisme. Nowe that ye haue heard how necessarye it is for al christendome to be vnder y ^e gouernemēt of the Apostolike sea, and thereby must needes perceiue that the benefite of our reconciliation and reduction to that sea, is a most excellent and exceadyng gret benefit: I think [Page]good to note vnto you the circū ­stances incident with the same, wherby the benefit is made the more notable. This most ioyful reconciliation came vnto this realme on the first feastiual day in the whole yeare, by the order of the ecclesiasticall seruice, that is, on sainct Andrewes day. It came in the feast of S. Andrew brother to S. Peter, to whose sea we are reconciled, in the day of such a saint as was crucified, as bothe Peter was, the firste that enioyed this autoritie, and as Christe was, whoe gaue the autoritie vnto Peter. It chaū ­ced in the tyme of a parliament, and by the full consent and glad approbatiō of the whole realme, in that parliament represented: It came vnto vs by oure owne [Page]countrey man the most honora­ble lorde Legates grace, who neuer swarued from that sea: In the raigne of our soueraines kynge Phylip and quene Mary, who alwayes continued in their obedyence to that supremicye. It came by see vnto vs, a mete passage for the authoritye of hym, whiche was called to that autoritie frome the see, and in his feast, who was made an a­postle from the see, that is of a fyssher. I shall not nede muche to speake of the great euils that this realme is ryd from by this benefit. Euery mā feleth in him self the great relife, that he hath by his reconciliation: I meane not onely for the temporall cru­elte, myserye, tumult, feare, and tyrannye, whiche ceasse by this [Page]benefyte, but most of all for the inwarde ghostly relyfe, of which saincte Paule speakynge in the seconde chapiter of his first epi­stle to the Corinthians, sayeth: Quisscit hominū quae sūt hominis, nisi spiritus hominis qui ipso est? Ita et quae dei sunt nemo nouit nisi spi­ritus dei, what man knoweth the thinges whiche are in man, but the spirite of manne whiche is within him? Euen so those thin­ges whiche longe to god, none knoweth but onely the spirite of god. In whiche wordes saincte Paule geueth vs to wete, that who so hath not y ^e spirite of god in him, knoweth not gods truth. Now the spirite of god can not be but in them that are of the body, whiche is gouerned with goddes spirite, and this bodye is [Page]the Churche: whereof they are not, whiche deuyde theim selues from the gouernment appointed by god to be in the churche, whi­che gouernment is as you haue hearde, the obedience to the sea of Rome, from whiche we haue deuided our selues of late yeres: and wher vnto we were by thys dayes benefit vnited and recon­ciled againe. We were I say rid from that mysery, which sainct Paule speaketh of in the second chapiter of his Epistle to the E­phesians, sayinge: Eratis illo in tempore sine christo, alienatia con­uersatione Israel, et hospites tes­tamentorum, promissionis spem non habentes, et sine deo in hoc mundo. Ye were at that tyme without Christe: Ye were strai­inge from the conuersacion of [Page]Israel, ye were strangers from the testamentes hauyng no hope of the promysse, and men with­out god in this worlde. Yf wee nowe perceaue these two poin­tes whiche I haue declared, the one of goddes singular benefyte as this day conferred and besto­wed vpon vs, the other touching the dredfull daungers we were in before, we haue then a thirde parte to playe with kynge Da­uyd, that is, to acknoweledge these miseries to haue comen vp­pon vs for oure offences in say­inge euery one of vs. Castigans castigauit me dominus, et morti non tradidit me. God hath chaste­ned me, but he hath not delyue­red me into death. The fourthe poynt also is to be ioyned to the other three, that is to giue than­kes [Page]as Dauid dyd, and to exhort all other to do the same, whithe for my parte I shall do with the wordes of my theme, sayinge unto you. Constituite diem solen­nem in condensis vs (que) ad cornu altaris. Of late men pulled downe aultars, contempned the seruice and sacrifice of the aultar, but now we must come in gret mul­titudes to the aultar, to the ser­uice of the aultar, and the sacri­fice of the aultar, I meane to the Masse. And in consideration of the highe worke of god done on the aultar, we must make great solempnity, specially on this day And beholde besides the benefyt of our reconciliacion chauncyng on this daye, we haue yet by S. Andrewe a confirmacion of our beliefe in the sacrament and sa­crifice [Page]of the aulter by that hee saide and did this daye. For a­monge other aunsweres whiche the blessed apostle S. Andrewe made to the cruel Aegeas, he said: Omnipotēti deo qui vnus & verꝰ est, ego omni die sacrifico. Non thurisfumū nec taurorum mugi­entium carnes, nec hircorum san­guinē, sed immaculatum agnum quotidle in altari sacrifico cuius car­nes posteaquàm omnis populꝰ mā ­ducauerit, & sanguinē eius biberit, tamen integer parmanet & imma­culatus, that is. I do offer sacri­fice euery day to God almighty, not the smoke of franckencens, nor the fleshe of roring bulles or the blood of goates, but I sacri­fice euery daye on the aultar the immaculate lambe, whose flesh after that al the people hath ea­ten [Page]and hath dronke his bloud, yet he abideth whole and immaculate. What can bee plainer spoken either of the presence of Christes body & bloud in the sa­crament of the aultar, or of the sacrifice of the Masse, then here is spoken? And as plainely the same blessed apostle vttereth in that that foloweth, a nother point worthy to be considered. For when Aegeas maruailinge at his talke saied vnto him: Quomodo potest hoc fieri: howe can this bee done? S. Andrewe aunswered. Sivis scire quomodo potest fieri, assume formā discipuli vt possis discernere quod quaeris, It thou wilt know how it may be done, take vpō thee the shape or fourme of a disciple or lerner, that thou may discerne y ^e thing [Page]that thou askest. Which because Aegeas would not do, he could not vnderstād the mistery, as in our days, so many as would pre supteously teache themselfes, & not lerne of Christes church, er­red in the truthe of Christes sa­craumentes. Wherfore I ethorte you with the woordes of my theme: kepe this day a solemne day: kepe solempne procession, make great solēnitie, so as your deuotion may stretch euen to the aultar: or rather the prophete Dauid foreseyng in spirite the benefite of christian vnitie, doth exhort you therto, and with the prophete Dauid, S. Peter the prince of the Apostles (to whose authoritie wee are recouered) exhorteth you, and with Dauid & S. Peter, Peters brother saint [Page]Andrewe, whose feast we kepe, exhorteth you: and with the, & aboue them, Christ our sauiour exhorteth you, to reioyce and be thankeful for the great benefite of god comen this day vnto you, that we keping our selues with in his folde on earth, maye bee found in the numbre of those lā ­bes, which srāding on his right hand at the daye of Dome shall heare our lorde say vnto them. Come ye blessed children of my father possesse the kyngdome which was prepared for you frō the beginning of the worlde. Which send vnto vs al, the father, the sonne, and the holy ghost, to whome be al honour & glory world with­out ende.

Amen,