66 II. "thy so great and continual goodnes and favour, though we BOOK "should bestow al our life, power, travail, and understand❝ing thereabouts, only and wholly. When we were yet as "clay is in the potter's hands, to be framed at his plesure, "vessels of honour or dishonour, of thy only goodnes with❝out deserving, (for how could we deserve any thing before we were any thing,) thou hast created and made us of no"thing; not dumb beasts void of reason; not vile vermin 66 creeping upon the earth, but the noblest and most honour"able of al thy worldly creatures, little inferior to thy hea"venly angels: endued with understanding, adorned to al "excellency both of body and of mind; exalted to the do"minion over al other the earthly creatures; yea, the "sun and the moon, with other heavenly lights appointed to "our service; enriched with the possession of al things, "either necessary for our use, or delectable for our com"fort. 66 66 "And as thou hast made us so excellent of nothing, so "hast thou restored us being lost, by thy Son our Saviour "Jesus Christ dying for us upon the cross, both more mer“vaillously and mercifully than thou didst first create us of nothing. Besides that, thou dost continually forgive and pardon our sins, into the which we daily and hourly fal "most dangerously, yea, deadly also, damnably, and desperately, were it not for this thy present and most ready help "of thy mercy. And what have we that we have not by "thee? Or what be we, but by thee? Al which unspeak"able benefits thou hast like a loving Father bestowed upon 36 "us; that we therby provoked, might like loving children "humbly honour, and obediently serve thee our God and our most gacious Father. 66 66 "But for so much as we have dishonored thee by and "with the abusing of thy good gifts, thou dost even in this ❝also, like a father correcting his children, whom he loveth, "when they offend, no less mercifully punish us for the "said abuse of thy gifts, than thou didst bountifully before give them unto us; scourging us sometimes with wars and troubles, sometimes with famine and scarcity, sometimes 66 66 II. BOOK "with sickness and diseases, and sundry other kinds of plagues; for the abusing of peace, quietnes, plenty, “health, and such other thy good gifts, against thy holy “word and wil, and against thy honour and our own health, "to thy great displesure and high indignation: as thou now "of late terribly, but most justly and deservedly, hast plagued "us with contagious, dreadful, and deadly sickness. From "the which, yet thou hast most mercifully, and without al 66 deserving on our parts, even of thine own goodnes now "again delivered us, and saved us. By the which thy most " merciful deliverance; and especially in that, among other "thy great and manifold benefits, it hath pleased thee of "thine infinite goodnes, most mercifully and miraculously, "not only heretofore to deliver our most gracious Queen and governour from al perills and dangers, yea, even from the gates of death; but now also to preserve her from this "late most dangerous contagion and infection. Like as thou "hast exceedingly comforted our sorrowful hearts, so we for "the same do yield unto thee, as our bounden duty is, our "most humble and hearty thanks, O most merciful Father, 66 66 66 by thy dear Son our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In whose "name we pray thee to continue this thy gracious favour to"wards us: and stay us in thy grace: defending us from "time to time, not only from this perillous plague of sick"nes, but also from al the dangerous devices and cruel at"tempts of our adversaries, who seek our destruction, and the "utter subversion of this thy realm, O Lord: and finally, defending us against the assaults of Satan: that we conti 66 66 nually enjoying thy favour, with the health of our souls, "which is the quietnes of our consciences, as a tast here in "earth of thy heavenly joys, and as a pledge of thy eternal "mercy, may always in this life render therfore al laud and "honour to thee: and after this transitory and miserable life, 66 may ever live and joy with thee, through the same, our "only Saviour and Mediator, Jesus Christ, thy only Son; "who, with thee and the Holy Ghost, one immortal Majesty, "of thy most glorious Godhead, is to be praised and magni"fied, world without end. Amen." PSALMES, Whereof may be used in the stead of the ordinary Psalms in· the Morning Prayer, one, two, or three, in order, according to the length therof. And also one of the same may be said or sung in the beginning or ending of public prayer. Psalm xxxiii. xlv. xlvi. c. ciii. cvii. cxvi. cxlii. cxlv. cxlvi. cxlvii. cxlviii. BOOK II. Number XXIII. The common places of Archbishop Cranmer's two volumes of Collections out of the Fathers. 1. SACRÆ Scripturæ Intellectus et Utilitas. 2. Authorum Scripta sine verbo Dei non sunt accipienda pro articulis fidei. 3. Scripturæ confirmantes idem. 4. Doctores idem probantes. 5. Rationes in idem. Foxii MSS. 6. Conciliorum Decreta sine Scriptura non sunt accipi-37 enda pro articulis fidei. 7. Veteres Canones abrogati. 8. Ex Angelorum Oraculis non licet idem facere. 9. Nec Miraculis idem probare fas est. 10. Nec etiam Apparitio Mortuorum idipsum satis astruit. 11. Sed ne Consuetudini hac in re fidendum est. 12. Traditiones non scriptæ. 13 Objectiones, quod præter Scripturæ authoritatem recipiendi sunt novi articuli fidei. 14. Rationes in idem. 15. Nec Miracula, nec Christi Professio, nec Locus, nec externum aliquod, faciunt hominem sanctum aut Deo gratum, sed Observatio Mandatorum Dei. 16. Novæ Doctrinæ. 17. In Ceremoniis fere omnibus Judæos imitamur. BOOK II. 18. Osiander. 19. De Sacrificiis Christianorum 20. De Sacramentis. 21. De Charactere. 26. De Matrimonio. 27. De Ordinibus Ecclesiasticis. 28. De Unctione. 29. De Impositione Manuum. 30. De Confirmatione. 31. De extrema Unctione. 32. De Unctione pedum. 33. De Aqua benedicta. 34. De Feriis. 35. De Sanctorum Invocatione 36. De Imaginibus. 37. De Divorum Reliquiis. 38. De vera Religione et Superstitione. 39. Ut oremus, ut peccatorum veniam consequamur, non est ullus locus præ alio, Deo acceptior; nec pro hiis opus est longè peregrinari. 40. De Religiosis. 41. De Votis. 42. De Virginitate, et Voto Castitatis. 43. De Ecclesia. 44. De Ecclesiis ædificandis, dedicandis, et earum Or natu. 45. De Horis Canonicis. 46. De Oratione, et Cantu Ecclesiastico. 47. De Jejunio. 48. De Eleemosyna. 49. De corruptis Ecclesiæ Moribus. 50. De Excommunicatione. 51. De Sepultura Mortuorum. 52. De Missa. 53. De Divinis Præceptis. 54. De Gratia et Meritis. De Purgatorio. Contra Purgatorium. 55. De libero Arbitrio. 56. Semper orandum est, Deus ut condonet peccata, etiam piis filiis, quibus jam omnia peccata dimissa sunt. 57. De Beatiss. Virgine. De Conversione Impii. 58. De Obedientia erga Magistratus. 59. Gratia præcedit Meritum. De Operibus ante Sp. Sanctum. 60. De Fide. Contra merita humana. BOOK II. Number XXIV. To the Archbishop of Canterbury, from the Queen's Majesty, Jan. 25, 1564. lian. Requiring him to confer with the Bishops of his province, and others having ecclesiastical jurisdiction; for the redressing disorders in the Church, occasioned by different doctrines and rites; and for the taking order to admit none into preferment, but those that are conformable. MOST reverend Father in God, &c. We greet you wel. MSS. CeciLike as no one thing in the government and charge, committed unto us by the favourable goodnes of Almighty God, doth more profit and beautify the same to his pleasure and acceptation, to our comfort, and ease of our government, and finally to the universal weal and repose of our people and 38 countries; than unity, quietnes, and concord, as wel amongst the public Ministers having charge under us, as in the multitude of the people by us and them ruled: so contrariwise, diversity, variety, contention, vain love of singularity, either in our Ministers or in the people, must needs provoke the displeasure of Almighty God, and bee to us, having the burden of government, discomfortable, heavy, and troublesome; and finally, must needs bring danger of ruine to our people and country. Wherefore, altho' our earnest |