Pen. Alas, far be it from vs, that euer we should intend any such actions; we onely put her Maiestie, and the state, in mind of the wrath of God that is likely to come vpon this land, for the vpholding of many Romish inuentions. We labor to save our owne sowles, and al those that wil be warned by vs, in auoiding al corruptions in religion, and practising the whole wil of our God, as neere as we can. Further then this we haue no caling to goe, and therefore dare not so much as once in thought conceiue of any thing that we should doe, in the altering or pulling downe of any thing established by her lawes.

Fan. Why then meet yow in woods, and such suspicious and secret places, if yow purpose no insurrection for the pulling downe of bishopes? Pen. I haue told yow the reason before; our meetings are for the pure and true worship of God, and ther is not so much is a word or thought of bishopes in our assemblies, except it be in praying for them, that the Lord would shew mercy and favour vnto them, which we wish, as to our owne sowles. Our meetings are secret, as I told yow, because we cannot, without disturbance, haue them more open. Our earnest desire and prayer vnto our God and our gouernours, is, that we might haue them open, and not be inforced to withdraw our selues from the sight of any creature. Of the Lordes pure worship in the congregation of his people, are we bound to be partakers, and that in woods, in mountaines, in caues, &c. as I told yow, rather then not at al.

Fan. Then yow are privy vnto no practise or intent of any sedition, or commotion, against her Maiestie and the state, for the pulling downe of bishops?

Pen. No, I thanke God, nor euer was; and I protest before heauen and earth, that, if I were, I would disclose and withstand the same, to the vttermost of mine abilitie, in al persons, of what religion soeuer they were.

Young. But what meant yow, Penry, when yow told me at my howse, That I should liue to see the day, wherin ther should not be a Lorde Bishope left in England?

Pen. You doe me great iniury, Sir, but I am contente to beare it. This was it that I said vnto yow, namely, That I gainsaid nothing in this whole cause, but what I could proue, out of the word of God, to be the remnants of the Popish antichristian kingdome; which religion, I said, the Lord hath promised vtterlie to ouerthrow and consume; in so much as yow, said I, may liue, though yow be already of great yeares (for my self, I may be cut of by vntimely death) to see al the offices, calings, works, and liuings, deriued from, or belonging, at any time, vnto the kingdome of Antichrist, vtterly ouerthrowne in this land; for the Lorde hath promised, that that man of sin, that body of the antichristian religion, shal be so consumed by the breath of his mouth, and the brightnes of his appearing in the power of his gospel, before his second coming, (2 Thes. ii.) as that false synagogue shal haue no power in any of her officers or partes, either to be lifted vp ouer the truth and saincts of God, viz. ouer any thing that is caled holy, or yet to oppose her self, as a bloody adversarie vnto those truthes and servants of Christ, who refuse to be in spiritual bondage and slauery to her. This I shewed yow to be verified in the type, Babylon of the Chaldeans, according to the word of

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the Lorde, spoken by Isaiah and Ieremiah, and the casting of the stone into Euphrates, by Sheraiah, at Ieremees commandement (Isa. xiii. 19, 20. Ier. l. 40. and li. 61, 64.) and this I shewed to be decreed by the Lorde of Hostes, against the true body, the antichristian Babel, vnder the New Testament, for so we are taught by the Spirit of God, that she shal be consumed and be no more; that her chapmen shal in this life bewaile, and the saincts of God reioice at her vtter ouerthrow, and at the spoile and decay of her merchandise, Revelat. xviii. The comparing of the act done by Sheraiah against the type, and what followed thervpon, with that of the angel against the true Babylon, I declared most fully to confirme my speech; for Sheraiah, throwing the stone into Euphrates, said, 'Thus shal Babel be drowned, and rise no more;' and so it came to passe, the angel, in the Reuelation, casting the great stone into the sea, saith, With such violence shal the great city Babylon be cast, and shal be found no more;' and so it wil be accomplished I am sure. This was my speech vnto yow, Mr. Young, and I beseech yow, yea and charge yow, as yow shal answer in that great day, not to misreport my speeches, but to relate them as they are vttered by me.

Young. I conceived some great matter of your speech, I tell Pen. Yow did me the greater wrong therin: I pray yow hereafter to conceive of my wordes, according to my meaning, and their natural yow. signification.

Fan. Yow say, that these offices and livings derived, in your conceit, from the body of Antichrist, shal be ouerthrowne by the Lord; we would know how you meane that this wil be accomplished?

Pen. I haue already shewed yow, that this worke shal be done by the appearing of lesus Christ, in the shining brightnes of his gospel, thro' the efficacie wherof, the Lord shal so lay them open, as he wil put into the hartes of princes and states, wherin they are now mainteined, to abolish their offices, calings, and works utterly from among men, and to imploy their livings unto the holy civil vses of the princes and states wherin they are. After this sort did the Lord consume the Popes primacie, office, and maintenance, which he had in this land; and after this manner did he consume by his gospel the cardinals, priors, abbots, moncks, friers, and nunnes, out of this land; and after this, or some other way seeming best to wisedome, shall he (I doubt not) consume the rest of that body of iniquitie, now remayning wheresoeuer. The worke, I am assured, shal be accomplished, because the Lord hath said it in his written word: The maner how, or the time when, it shal be performed, I leave to Him who ruleth all thinges according to the counsel of his owne wil, and whose wayes and iudgements are past finding out,

Fan. and Young. What yow doe or purpose to do in these your assemblies, we cannot tel; but this is sure, that the Papists seeme to be so incouraged by this dealing of yours, that ther were neuer so many in this land since her Maiesties reigne, as are at this present; and they themselues say, that them, wherby also they take occasion to doe the like. your separating from vs is a great stombling-block unto

Pen. What we doe in our meetings, and what our purposes are, I haue told you simply, as in the presence of the Lord; and we are ready, by the grace of God, to approue our actions and purposes to be in al

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good conscience both towards the Lord and our Prince; and toward al men: If the number of the idolatrous ignorant Papists be increased, it is no wonderful case, by reason of the smal teaching that the poore people of the land haue; and their increase is in the iust judgement of God, in that so many remnants of Popery are left vnbanished in the land, but specialy because these baits are retained here, wherby the Pope is continualy drawen to send ouer his Iesuits and Seminaries, wherby also they are most easily and willingly induced to come and pervert her Maiesties subiects from their obedience unto the Lord and his lievetenant, and to bestow their natiue Prince and countrie into the hands of aliants and strangers.

Fan. What are those baits that yow meane?

Pen. I meane, the former Popish offices and their livings, wherof I spake, as the offices and livings of archbishopes, lord bishopes, deanes, archdeacons, canons, preists, &c. the continuance wherof, and of the Popish corruptions belonging to them, keepeth the Pope, and his sworne subiects, in daily hope of replanting the throne of iniquitie againe in this land, wherof I trust in the Lord that they shal be vtterly disappointed, The traiterous Iesuits, and seminary prei-ts, hoping to possesse these execrable livings and offices againe, are also therby allured readily to become most vnnatural traitors against their natural prince and countrie; and the Papists at home are by this meanes kept stil in remembrance of that Romish Egypt, and in continual expectation of their longdesired day; whereas if these offices and livings were once removed (the devised works and calings would fal with them) the Pope and his trafiquers would be vtterly void of all hope, to set vp the standerd of the man of sin againe in this noble kingdome, here being not so much as an office, or one penny of maintenance, left for any of his members: The Iesuits and preists would haue no allurements to make them rebelles against their Prince, and the other seduced Papists at home would easily forget their idolatrie, ther being here neither office, nor any other monument of that antichristian religion left, to put them in mind of that Babel; and so the Lord would accomplish that which the apostle saithe shal be fulfilled, euen the vtter consuming of the man of sin in this land, (2 Thes. ii.) And therfor the reteining of these offices and livings are not onely ioyned with the great dishonour of God, and the offence of his saincts, but turned in the iust iudgement of the Lord to be a snare of the peace of this noble kingdome, yea, and of the prosperitie and welfare of her Maiesties most royal person (whom the Lord blesse, body and sowle, from al dangers both at home and abroad) as it is wel knowne by other many Popish treacheries intended against her. I marvaile not that the Papists dislike our separation, and yow may be assured, that, if they knew what may bring us into danger or discredit us with her Maiestie, with any of our superiors, the honorable and worshipful magistrats, under her Highnes, or any els of our countrymen, they wil be sure to vtter the same, though it were in their owne consciences neuer so vntrue. For they know, that, of al the men vnder heauen, we are the greatest enemies vnto their religion; we leaue the same neither branch nor root, but would haue al the world to be as clear of that spiritual contagion, as it was the same day wherin the Lord Icsus went up on

high, and led captiuitie captiue. Their reason of their separation, drawen from our example, is like their religion. We dare not ioyne with the assemblies of the land, notwithstanding that we know many of the truthes of Iesus Christ to be professed therin, because in the offices, and many of the workes remayning in them, we should have communion with the religion of the Roman Antichrist, in many of the workes and inuentions therof: They, on the other side, wil not ioyne with the publick worship of the land, because therby they should haue ouer-much communion with the doctrine of Christ, and ouer-little with the poisoned inuentions ordeined by Satan in the Romish synagogue, and who moved them to their treason and disobedience, before we took this course. Is their reason any thing tolerable, that, because we indevour to worship the Lord purely, they should take example therby, to giue themselues wholy to the worship of Satan?

Fan. But why refuse yow conference, that yow may be reformed in those things wherin yow erre?

Pen. I refuse none: I am most willing readily to yeeld unto any, as Mr. Young hath it to testify vnder my hand; onely my desire and request is, that I may haue some equal conditions graunted vnto me and my poore brethren in it, the which yet, if I cannot obteine, I am ready to yeeld unto any conference, though neuer so vnequal; yea, I am desirous of any conference that her Maiesty, and their honors, may be truly informed of that which I and my brethren do hold, and of the warrant that we haue therof from the word of the Lord. Onely I craue, that my judgement, my reasons, my answers, may be reported in my owne words, and herof I beseech your worships to beare witnes with me. Lastly, I beseech yow to consider, that it is to no purpose that her Maiesties subjects should bestowe ther time in learning, in the study and meditation of the word of God, in the reading of the writings and doinges of the learned men, and holy martyrs that haue bene in former ages, especialy the writings published by her Maiesties authoritie, if they may not, without danger, professe and hold those truthes which they learne out of them; and that in such sort, as they are able to conuince al the world that wil stand against them by no other weapons then by the word of God. Consider also, I pray you, what a lamentable case it is, that we may ioyne with the Romish church in the inuentions therof, without al danger, and cannot, but with extreme peril, be permitted in iudgement and practise to dissent from the same, wher it swarveth from the true way. And, as yow finde these considerations to carry some weight with them, so I beseech yow be a meanes unto her Maiestie, and their honors, that my case may be weighed in euen ballance. Imprisonments, inditements, yea, death itself, are no meet weapons to convince mens consciences.

ORDERS

SET DOWN BY

THE DUKE OF MEDINA,

Lord General of the King's Fleet,

TO BE

OBSERVED IN THE VOYAGE TOWARDS ENGLAND.

BY T. P.

Imprinted at London by Thomas Orwin, for Thomas Gilbert, dwelling in FleetStreet, near to the Sign of the Castle, 1588.

The wonderful deliverance, which England commemorates on the following occasion, is still more remarkable, from the due consideration of the following pam phlet; where the reader may observe, that not only the strength, and exceeding great warlike preparations, but the political and military orders, to preserve good harmony among the soldiers and sailors, and due obedience from both to their respective commanders; and to avoid all confusion, in case of a storm, or other disastrous accident, shew that our enemies had taken all the precautions that human prudence could conceive, to accomplish their iutrigues, and to ruin our establishment in church and state. Therefore, I have inserted these orders, thereby to encourage us in the like dangers, and to shew, that, when God is on our side, neither the power, nor the policy of man, is able to do us harm.

Don Alonso Peres de Guzman, the good Duke of Medina Sidonia, Count of Nebla, Marquis of Casheshe in Africa, Lord of the City Saint Lucar, Captain General of the Ocean Sea, of the Coast of Andalusia, and of this Army of his Majesty, and Knight of the honourable Order of the Golden Fleece.

I

DO ordain and command, that the general masters of the field, all captains, officers of the camp, and of the sea, pilots, masters, soldiers, mariners, and officers, and whatsoever other people for the land or sea service cometh in this army, all the time that it endureth, shall be thus governed, as hereafter followeth, viz.

First, and before all things, it is to be understood by all the abovenamed, from the highest to the lowest: That the principal foundation and cause, that have moved the King his Majesty to make and continue this journey, hath been, and is, to serve God, and to return unto his church a great many of contrite souls, that are oppressed by the hereticks, enemies to our holy catholick faith, which have them subjects to their sects, and unhappiness: And for that every one may put his eyes upon this mark, as we are bound, I do command, and much desire every