UPON 1 the onely Scriptures doth | |
| Our Church foundation lay, | |
| Let pattriarchs, prophets, gospell, and | |
| Th’ apostles for us say; | |
| For soule and body we affirme, | 5 |
| And all-sufficient thay; | |
| Yet ye adde canons, part corrupt, | |
| Some books ye quite denay. | |
| We by the Hebrew, and the Greeke | |
| (Their primer penores) expound | 10 |
| Each Scripture, by the eldest clarks, | |
| Whom doubtful textes be found, | |
| Not by the Latin onely, as | |
| Ye would that all weare bound: | |
| So far forth yeat the Fathers and | 15 |
| The councels we approve, | |
| As doe their expositions tende | |
| To sincere faith and love. | |
| Els fully Scriptures, in themselves, | |
| Explain themselves, say we, | 20 |
| If searched with the humble spirit | |
| By which they written be: | |
| Through which is ofte from litrall speech | |
| A spirituall sence set free, | |
| Upon which sence the Catholic Church | 25 |
| Did, doth, and must agree. | |
| Nor doth our Church admit, at least | |
| Allow of those in her | |
| That teach not faith sincerely, winne | |
| To heaven, from hell deter. | 30 |
| That with new glozes tante the text, | |
| Or such as be unreade | |
| In that sweete promise of the seed | |
| Should brooze the serpent’s head— | |
| The Alpha and Omega of | 35 |
| All Scriptures, and whereby | |
| Of grace, through faith in Christ, our soles | |
| Revive, and sinne doth die: | |
| Our Church affects, how so effects, | |
| Such pure theologies | 40 |
| And guides, and to our naturall prince | |
| Grants sole supremacie. | |
| God’s cov’nant with the patriarchs, | |
| And extending to the seede, | |
| Us Gentiles to coequall, is | 45 |
| A primate in our creede; | |
| And Christ we know the end of it; | |
| In circumcision’s place | |
| Is baptisme; and intirely we | |
| The tables two imbrace, | 50 |
| Which God himselfe in Synia wrote, | |
| And gave to Moses then, | |
| To publish to the people, two | |
| Commandements in ten: | |
| Scriptures’ idæa, crouched in | 55 |
| Our love to God and men. | |
| Th’ Apostles’, Athanasian, Nice, | |
| And Bizain Creeds we hold | |
| Authentic, by the Holy Spirit | |
| In sacred Writ enrold. | 60 |
| One Godhead of Three Persons, | |
| In coequall Maiestie, | |
| Doe we beleeve; of whom the Sonne | |
| Did for beleevers die, | |
| The onely ransome that redeemes | 65 |
| From Sathan’s tyrannie; | |
| Even Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life, | |
| Not crooked, glozed, fraile, | |
| But right for rule, in promise firme, | |
| Guerdon near to faile; | 70 |
| Who to reprove the bad, approove | |
| The good, and to assure | |
| The wav’ring, and against the divell | |
| Our safetie to procure, | |
| Did giltless die, that we, lost soules, | 75 |
| Might live, naught els did make, | |
| That he, his Deitie adorn’d, | |
| Did humaine nature take. | |
| Nor, glorifide, disclaimes he us, | |
| Unlesse we him forsake. | 80 |
| And what is fruitles faith, but such | |
| Apostasie? and what | |
| Ensues apostasie, but to | |
| Be doomed dam’d for that? | |
| No doctrine or traditions we | 85 |
| Hold currant, save the same | |
| The Gospell, or the Apostles’ Acts, | |
| Or pennes include or name. | |
| Baptisme, incorporating us | |
| In Christ, and us in one, | 90 |
| Christ’s misticall last Supper, whearein | |
| Signe his death is knowne, | |
| Be sacraments, except which twaine | |
| Doe we accept of none. | |
| By only Christ our advocate | 95 |
| We to the Father pray, | |
| Nor think we saints deceased can | |
| Our sutes to him convay; | |
| Howbeit, still most reuerently | |
| Of saints we thinke and say. | 100 |
| Vnnecessarie burthens on | |
| Our Christian freedome laide, | |
| Contrarie thest, that beleefe and | |
| Vertuous life perswaide; | |
| Yea, only faith doth iustice, | 105 |
| Say we, of God’s free grace | |
| By Christ: nor faith is idle, but | |
| Doth charitie imbrace. | |
| Who may, but will not helpe, doth hurt, | |
| We know; and curious thay | 110 |
| That, dribling almes by art, disband | |
| Wel-meant from wel-don’s pay: | |
| And he that questions one’s distresse, | |
| And doth not helpe indevour, | |
| Than he that sees, and nothing sayes | 115 |
| Or eares, is less deceivour. | |
| Then hope we health when sinne is felt | |
| Repentantly in heart; | |
| Adde then new life, and we to God, | |
| God doth to us conuart. | 120 |
| Thus Peter vsed his keyes, nor thus | |
| Play popes S. Peter’s part. | |
| For cleargie-men and laye our Church | |
| Hath godly discipline, | |
| Lawes worthie better than sometimes | 125 |
| Are those the lawes define. | |
| Our princes in their policies | |
| And lawes do we obey; | |
| Though God his cause they seeke to crosse, | |
| Yeat we for them do pray | 130 |
| In patience, not peruerse attempts; | |
| For better times we stay. | |
| Not as denide, but as devout, | |
| We doe and should abstaine | |
| From meates euen meet, the prouder flesh | 135 |
| From sinne’s excess to waine; | |
| Which should we skant, and yet bee dronke | |
| With lust, or like, were vaine. | |
| Saue also publique pollicie doth | |
| Publique sparing craue, | 140 |
| In feast or differences of meates, | |
| No other keepe we have. | |
| Almes-deeds are workes of charitie | |
| We practively professe, | |
| And follow saints as they did Christ, | 145 |
| And leave wheare they transgresse. | |
| Such and so much, as said, are we; | |
| Forgive vs, God, if lesse. | |
| For godly though religion, prince | |
| And policie they are, | 150 |
| Yet things, that of themselves be good, | |
| Abuse brings out of square; | |
| And sundrie faultes in sundrie folks | |
| We sometimes must forbeare; | |
| Howbeit with best-gouerned states | 155 |
| Our state may now compare. | |
