OF ABSOLUTION.
God bindeth. He blcsscth where God curscth, and curscth where God blesseth. He takcth authority also to bind and Purgatory is loose in purgatory. That permit I unto him; for it is a ra4E3e:*he,,.., may there- creature of his own making ]. He also bindeth the angels: [^ebc^° ^ for we read of popes that have commanded the angels to fet 2 The pope divers out of purgatory. Howbeit I am not yet certified angeis. W.T. whether they obeyed or no.
Understand therefore that to bind and to loose is to.Th(;.true, preach the law of God and the gospel or promises; as thou w°ST.g' mayest see in the iiid chapter of the second epistle to the 2 Cor- m> Corinthians, where Paul calleth the preaching of the law the ministration of death and damnation, and the preaching of the promises the ministering of the Spirit and of righteous ness. For when the law is preached, all men are found siri^l ners, and therefore damned: and when the gospel and glad I tidings are preached, then are all, that repent and believe, / found righteous in Christ, And so expound it all the oldj doctors. Saint Hierome saith upon this text, "Whatsoever thou st Jerome bindest," * The bishops and priests, (saith he,) for lack of ^°j£aiM* understanding, take a little presumption of the Pharisees upon w. T." them; and think that they have authority to bind innocents, and to loose the wicked:' which thing our pope and bishops do. For they say the curse is to be feared, be it right or The curse is wrong. Though thou have not deserved, yet if the pope curse w. T. thee, thou art in peril of thy soul, as they lie: yea, and though he be never so wrongfully cursed, he must be fain to buy abso lution. But Saint Hierome saith, ' As the priest of the old The right law made the lepers clean or unclean, so bindeth and unbindeth }°°- the priest of the new law3/
The priest there made no man a leper, neither cleansed any man, but God; and the priest judged only, by Moses' law, who was clean and who was unclean, when they were brought unto him.
So here we have the law of God to judge what is sin and what is not, and who is bound and who is not. Moreover, if any man have sinned, yet if he repent and believe the promise, we are sure by God's word, that he is loosed and forgiven in Christ. Other authority than thiswise to preach, have the priests not. Christ's apostles had no other them selves, as it appeareth throughout all the new Testament: therefore it is manifest that they have not.
under- $t Paul saith, 1 Cor. xv. "When we say all things are under Christ, he is to be excepted that put all under him." God the Father is not under Christ, but above Christ, and Christ's head.
far otherwise Christ saith, J olm xii. " 1 nave not spoken oi mine own johnxiT'1'' nead> but my Father, which sent me, gave a commandment what I should say and what I should speak. Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as my Father bade me so I speak." If Christ had a law what he should do, how happeneth it that the pope so runneth at large, lawless? Though that all power were given unto Christ in heaven and in earth, yet had he no power over his Father, nor yet to reign temporally over tem poral princes, but a commandment to obey them. How hath the pope then such temporal authority over king and emperor? How hath he authority above God's laws, and to command the angels, the saints, and God himself?
Christ's authority, which he gave to his disciples, was to fpostfes8 preach the law, and to brinsr sinners to repentance, and then to preach unto them the promises, which the Father had made unto all men for his sake. And the same to preach only, sent he his apostles. As a king sendeth forth his The right judges, and giveth them his authority, saying, 'What ye do, l^iygthat do I; I give you my full power:' yet meaneth he not, by that full power, that they should destroy any town or city, or oppress any man, or do what they list, or should reign over the lords and dukes of his realm, and over his own self; but giveth them a law with them, and authority to bind and loose, as far forth as the law stretcheth and maketh mention: that is, to punish the evil that do wrong, and to avenge the poor that suffer wrong. And so far as the law stretcheth, will the king defend his judge against all men. And as the temporal judges bind and loose temporally, so do the priests spiritually, and no other ways. Howbeit, by falsehood and HOW the subtlety the pope reigneth under Christ, as cardinals and g^uS" bishops do under kings, lawless.
The pope (say they) absolveth or looseth a pcena et A pa?na et culpa; that is, from the fault or trespass, and from the pain |^>ersa due unto the trespass. God, if a man repent, forgiveth the offence only, and not the pain also, say they, save turneth the everlasting pain unto a temporal pain; and appointeth seven years in purgatory for every deadly sin. But the pope The PoPe is for money forgiveth both, and hath more power than God, ™j]?gpf<^ and is more merciful than God. ' This do I,' saith the pope, 'of my full power, and of the treasure of the church; of deservings of martyrs, confessors, and merits of Christ1.'
First, the merits of the saints did not save themselves, but were saved by Christ's merits only 2. w- T-
Secondarily, God hath promised Christ's merits unto all ™c that repent; so that whosoever repenteth, is immediately heir w' T> of all Christ's merits, and beloved of God as Christ is. How SiX then came this foul monster to be lord over Christ's merits, SyS so that he hath power to sell that which God giveth freely?
O dreamers! yea, 0 devils, and 0 venomous scorpions, what poison have ye in your tails! O pestilent leaven, that so turneth the sweet bread of Christ's doctrine into the bitter ness of gall!
Friars. W.T. r£foQ friars run in the same spirit, and teach, saying, 'Do good deeds, and redeem the pains that abide you in purga-
Serchandi? toiT 5 J™' S^ve us somewhat to do good works for you.' And thatis.w.T. £ilus js gm become the profitablest merchandise in the world. 0 the cruel wrath of God upon us, because we love not the truth!
For this is the damnation and judgment of God, to send a false prophet unto him that will not hear the truth. " I know you," saith Christ, John v. " that ye have not the love °f God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye re-
Sdtoid why ceivc me not; if another shall come in his own name, him shall come?uw.T. ye receive." Thus doth God avenge himself on the malicious hearts which have no love to his truth.
All *ne promises of God have they either wiped clean out, or thus leavened them with open lies, to stablish their confes- W.T. g^on -withal. And, to keep us from knowledge of the truth,
Latin 'w T *key ^° a^ thing 'm Latin. They pray in Latin, they christen in Latin, they bless in Latin, they give absolution in Latin; only curse they in the English tongue1. Wherein they take upon them greater authority than ever God gave them. For in their curses (as they call them) with book, bell, and candle, they command God and Christ, and the angels, and all saints,
The pope to curse them: ' Curse them God (say they), Father, Son, and
G«UO curse. Holy Ghost; curse them Virgin Mary,' &c. O ye abominable! who gave you authority to command God to curse? God commandeth you to bless, and ye command him to curse!
Rom.xii. " Bless them that persecute you: bless, but curse not," saith St Paul, Rom. xii. What tyranny will these not use over men, which presume and take upon them to be lords over God, and to command him? If God shall curse any man, who shall bless and make him better? No man can amend himself, except God pour his Spirit unto him. Have we not a com mandment to love our neighbour as ourselves? How can I love him, and curse him also? James saith, " It is not pos sible that blessing and cursing should come both out of one mouth." Christ commandeth, Matt. v. saying, " Love your Matt. v. enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them that do you wrong and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your heavenly Father."
In the marches of Wales it is the manner, if any man have A custom
• that is used in an ox or a cow stolen, he cometh to the curate, and desireth JJ him to curse the stealer; and he commandeth the parish to w< Tgive him, every man, God's curse and his: ' God's curse and mine have he,' saith every man in the parish. 0 merciful God! what is blasphemy, if this be not blasphemy, and shaming of the doctrine of Christ?
Understand therefore, the power of excommunication is this: if any man sin openly, and amendeth not when he is warned, then ought he to be rebuked openly before all the parish. And the priest ought to prove by the scripture, that all such have no part with Christ. For Christ serveth not, but for them that love the law of God, and consent that it is good, holy, and righteous; and repent, sorrowing and mourn ing for power and strength to fulfil it. And all the parish ought to be warned to avoid the company of all such, and to take them as heathen people. This is not done that he should perish; but to save him, to make him ashamed, and to kill the lusts of the flesh, that the spirit might come unto the know ledge of truth. And we ought to pity him, and to have com passion on him, and with all diligence to pray unto God for him, to give him grace to repent and to come to the right way again; and not to use such tyranny over God and man, commanding God to curse. And if he repent, we ought with all mercy to receive him in again. This mayest thou see Matt, xviii. and 1 Cor. v. and 2 Cor. ii.
IF Confirmation have a promise, then it justifieth as far as the promise extendeth. If it have no promise, then is it not of God, as the bishops be not. The apostles and ministers of God's sacra- od preacn (jods word; and (rods signs or sacraments sisr- God's pro- nity (rods word also, and put us in remembrance of the promises which God hath made unto us in Christ. Contrari- The pppe> wise, antichrist's bishops preach not; and their sacraments speak not; but as the disguised bishop's mum, so are their superstitious sacraments dumb. After that the bishops had left preaching, then feigned they this dumb ceremony of con firmation, to have somewhat at the leastway, whereby they mig'ht reign over their dioceses. They reserved unto them selves also the christening of bells, and conjuring or hallowing of churches and church-yards, and of altars and super-altars, and hallowing of chalices, and so forth; whatsoever is of honour or profit. Which confirmation, and the other conjura- ^ons ^&0> ^eJ h&ve now committed to their suffragans; be w!nf.d* cause they themselves have no leisure to minister such things, for their lusts and pleasures, and abundance of all things, and for the cumbrance that they have in the king's matters and
J.^bishops business of the realm. One keepeth the privy seal; another arnong them. faQ great geal; the third is confessor, (that is to say, a privy traitor and a secret Judas;) he is president of the prince's council; he is an ambassador; another sort, of the king's secret council. Woe is unto the realms where they are of the council. As profitable are they, verily, unto the realms with their counsel, as the wolves unto the sheep, or the foxes unto the geese.
ceremonies They will say that the Holy Ghost is mven through such
KoiyGhost. ceremonies. If God had so promised, so should it be; but
Gai. m. pau| gajth? (Gal. iii.) that the Spirit is received through preaching of the faith. And (Acts x.) while Peter preached the faith, the Holy Ghost fell on Cornelius and on his house hold. How shall we say then to that which they will lay against us, in the eighth chapter of the Acts of the apostles, where Peter and John put their hands on the Samaritans, and the Holy Ghost came? I say, that by putting, or with put ting, or as they put their hands on them, the Holy Ghost came. Nevertheless, the putting on of the hands did neither help nor hinder: for the text saith, " They prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost."
God had made the apostles a promise, that he would with such miracles confirm their preaching, and move other to the
Mark xvi. faith. (Mark, the last.) The apostles, therefore, believed and prayed God to fulfil his promise; and God, for his truth's sake, even so did. So was it the prayer of faith that brought the Holy Ghost; as thou mayest see also in the last of James.
James v. " If any man be sick," saith James, " call the elders of the