as may appear to you by the book thereof, which we send herewith unto you; albeit, knowing your lordship's knowledge in the Scriptures, and earnest good-will and zeal to the setting forth of all things according to the truth thereof, we be well assured you will of your own good-will, and upon respect to your duty, diligently set forth this most godly order here agreed upon, and commanded to be used by the authority of the King's Majesty; yet remembering the crafty practice of the Devil, who ceases not, by his members, to work by all ways and means the hinderance of all godliness; and considering furthermore that a great number of the curates of the realm, either for lack of knowledge cannot, or for want of good mind will not, be so ready to set forth the same as we would wish, and as the importance of the matter and their own bounden duty requires; we have thought good to pray and require your lordship, and nevertheless in the King's Majesty, our most dread Lord's name, to command you, to have an earnest diligence and careful respect both in your own person and by all your officers and ministers; also to cause these books to be delivered to every parson, vicar, and curate, within your diocese, with such diligence as they may have sufficient time well to instruct and advise themselves for the distribution of the most holy Communion according to the order of this book, before this Easter time; and that they may by your good means be well directed to use such good, gentle, and charitable instruction of their simple and unlearned parishioners, as may be to all their good satisfactions as much as may be: praying you to consider, that this order is set forth to the intent there should be in all parts of this realm, and among all men, one uniform manner quietly used; the execution whereof, like as it shall stand very much in the diligence of you and others of your vocation, so do we eftsoons require you to have a diligent respect thereunto, as ye tender the King's Majesty's pleasure, and will answer for the contrary. And thus we bid your lordship right heartily farewell. From Westm', the thirteenth of March, 1548.

Your lordship's loving friends,

VOL. IV.

Tho. Canterbury.
R. Rich.

Wil. Saint John.
Henry Arundell.

ла

Anthony Wingfield.
William Petre.

Edward North.

Edward Wooton.

Burnet, Ref. vol. ii. App. B. 1.

No. 24. Wilkins, Concilia, vol. iv. p.

27.

XXXIII.

A Letter sent to all those Preachers which the King's Majesty
hath licensed to preach, from the Lord Protector's Grace,
and other of the King's Majesty's most honourable Council;
the 13th day of May, in the second year of the reign of our So-
vereign Lord, King Edward the VIth. [1548.]

AFTER our right hearty commendations: as well for the con-
servation of the quietness and good order of the King's Majesty's
subjects, as that they should not, by evil and unlearned preach-
ers, be brought unto superstition, error, or evil doctrine, or
otherwise be made stubborn and disobedient to the King's Ma-
jesty's godly proceedings, his Highness, by our advice, hath
thought good to inhibit all manner of preachers, who have not
such license as in the same proclamation is allowed, to preach,
or stir the people in open and common preaching of sermons,
by any means, that the devout and godly Homilies might the
better in the mean while sink into his subjects' hearts, and be
learned the sooner, the people not being tossed to and fro with
seditious and contentious preaching, while every man, according
to his zeal, some better some worse, goeth about to set out his
own phantasy, and to draw the people to his opinion. Never-
theless it is not his Majesty's mind hereby clearly to extinct the
lively teaching of the word of God by sermons made after
such sort, as for the time the Holy Ghost shall put into the
preacher's mind, but that rash, contentious, hot, and undiscreet
preachers should be stopped; and that they only which be
chosen and elect, be discreet and sober men, should occupy that
place, which was made for edification, and not for destruction;
for the honour of God, and peace and quietness of conscience to
be set forward, not for private glory to be advanced; to appease,
to teach, to instruct the people with humility and patience,
not to make them contentious and proud; to instil into them
their duty to their heads and rulers, obedience to laws and
orders, appointed by the superiors who have rule of God, not
that every man should run, before their heads have appointed
them what to do, and that every man should choose his own
way in religion: the which thing yet being done of some men,
and they being rather provoked thereto by certain preachers,

than dehorted from it, it was necessary to set a stay therein. And yet forasmuch as we have a great confidence and trust in you, that you will not only preach truly and sincerely the word of God, but also will use circumspection and moderation in your preaching, and such godly wisdom as shall be necessary and most convenient for the time and place, we have sent unto you the King's Majesty's license to preach; but yet with this exhortation and admonishment, that in no wise you do stir and provoke the people to any alteration or innovation, other than is already set forth by the King's Majesty's Injunctions, Homilies, and Proclamations; but contrarywise, that you do in all your sermons exhort men to that which is at this time more necessary; that is, to the emendation of their own lives, to the observance of the commandments of God, to humility, patience, and obedience to their heads and rulers; comforting the weak, and teaching them the right way, and to flee all old erroneous superstitions, as the confidence in pardons, pilgrimages, beads, religious images, and other such of the Bishop of Rome's tradi tions and superstitions, with his usurped power; the which things be here in this realm most justly abolished: and straitly rebuking those, who of an arrogancy and proud hastiness will take upon them to run before they be sent, to go before the rulers, to alter and change things in religion without authority, teaching them to expect and tarry the time which God hath ordained to the revealing of all truth, and not to seek so long blindly and hidlings after it, till they bring all orders into contempt. It is not a private man's duty to alter ceremonies, to innovate orders in the Church; nor yet it is not a preacher's part to bring that into contempt and hatred, which the prince doth either allow, or is content to suffer. The King's Highness, by our advice, as a prince most earnestly given to the true knowledge of God, and to bring up his people therein, doth not cease to labour and travail by all godly means that his realm might be brought and kept in a most godly and Christian order, who only may and ought to do it. Why should a private man, or a preacher, take this royal and kingly office upon him; and not rather, as his duty is, obediently follow himself, and teach likewise others to follow and observe that which is commanded? What is abolished, taken away, reformed, and commanded, it is easy to see by the Acts of Parliament, the Injunctions, Procla

mations, and Homilies: the which things most earnestly it be-
hoveth all preachers in their sermons to confirm and approve
accordingly; in other things which be not yet touched, it be-
hoveth him to think, that either the prince doth allow them, or
else suffer them; and in those it is the part of a godly man,
not to think himself wiser than the King's Majesty and his
Council, but patiently to expect and to conform himself thereto,
and not to intermeddle further to the disturbance of a realm,
the disquieting of the King's people, the troubling of men's con-
sciences, and disorder of the King's subjects.

These things we have thought good to admonish you of at
this time, because we think you will set the same so forward in
your preaching, and so instruct the King's Majesty's people ac-
cordingly, to the most advancement of the glory of God, and
the King's Majesty's most godly proceedings, that we do not
doubt but much profit shall ensue thereby, and great conformity
in the people, the which you do instruct; and so we pray you
not to fail to do; and having a special regard to the weakness
of the people what they may bear, and what is most convenient
for the time, in no case to intermeddle in your sermons, or
otherwise, with matters in contention or controversion, except
it be to reduce the people in them also to obedience, and fol-
lowing of such orders as the King's Majesty hath already set
forth, and no others; as the King's Majesty's and our trust is in
you, and as you tender his Highness's will and pleasure, and
will answer to the contrary at your peril.

Printed at London, June 1, 1548.

Fare you well.

Fuller, Church Hist. lib. vii. Wilkins, Concilia, vol. iv. p.

30.

XXXIV.

A Proclamation for the Inhibition of all Preachers; the second
of Edward the VIth, Sept. 23.

WHEREAS of late, by reason of certain controversious and
seditious preachers, the King's Majesty, moved of tender zeal
and love which he hath to the quiet of the subjects, by the ad-
vice of the Lord Protector, and other his Highness's Council,
hath by proclamation inhibited and commanded, that no man-
ner of person, except such as was licensed by his Highness,
the Lord Protector, or by the Archbishop of Canterbury,

should take upon him to preach in any open audience, upon pain in the said Proclamation contained, and that upon hope and assurance that those being chosen and elect men should preach and set forth only to the people such things, as should be to God's honour and the benefit of the King's Majesty's subjects: yet nevertheless his Highness is advertised, that certain of the said preachers so licensed, not regarding such good admonitions as have been by the Lord Protector and the rest of the Council on his Majesty's behalf by letters or otherwise given unto them, have abused the said authority of preaching, and behaved themselves irreverently, and without good order in the said preachings contrary to such good instructions and advertisements as were given unto them; whereby much contention and disorder might rise and ensue in this his Majesty's realm: wherefore his Highness, minding to see very shortly one uniform order throughout this his realm, and to put an end to all controversies in religion, so far as God should give grace, (for which cause at this time certain bishops, and notable learned men, by his Highness's commandment are congregate,) hath by the advice aforesaid thought good, although certain and many of the said preachers so before licensed, have behaved themselves very discreetly and wisely, and to the honour of God and to his Highness's contentation; yet at this present, and until such time as the said order shall be set forth generally throughout his Majesty's realm, to inhibit and by these presents do inhibit generally as well the said preachers so before licensed, as all manner of persons whosoever they be, to preach in open audience in the pulpit or otherwise, by any sought colour or fraud, to the disobeying of this commandment; to the intent that the whole clergy in this mean space might apply themselves to prayer to Almighty God for the better achieving of the same most godly intent and purpose, not doubting but that also his loving subjects in the mean time will occupy themselves to God's honour, with due prayer in the Church and patient hearing of the godly Homilies heretofore set forth by his Highness's Injunctions unto them; and so endeavour themselves that they may be the more ready, with thankful obedience, to receive a most quiet, godly, and uniform order to be had throughout all his said realms and dominions; and therefore hath willed all his loving officers and ministers, as well justices