Hypocrisy

But none are worse than learned reverend fools, Who vend their folly under wisdom’s name,

And are Abaddon’s keenest hurtful tools, By usurp ‘d grandeur and religious fame.

Who teach untruths, or live not as they teach, Pretend to watch for other men’s salvation,

And hate the holy life for which they preach, And as a trade preach their own condemnation.

Who atainst Christ ldo fight lwith saWed arms;

His name and words, church-order, forg’d commission, And reverend titles are made potent charms,

To win the ignorant to their conditions.

They praise God’s word, but make it first their own, The words are God’s, the church must make the sense, It’s no law, till their sentence make it known, Not their mere teaching by truth’s evidence.

Religion they corrupt by forg’d traditions,

They think God’s laws too big, and yet make more,

All’s not enough without their vain additions, Religion was an infant -thing before.

And under Christ, the churches only head,

They Ve found one King, or one church -parliament, Whose Sovereign rule the Christian world must dread And all that will be saved, must consent.

This Sovereign ’s kingdom is the whole round earth, The lands where they can never have access;

From it their canon -law receiv’d its birth, To which they all obedience profess.

But the false name of council-general, Is now a cheat to serve the Roman King,

Where are those councils? whence? who must them call? Who them from all the earth together bring?

Could not our Lord without all this ado,

Have made sufficient universal law, But our religion must have so much new,

Which th’ ancient Christians never heard, or saw?

Communion’s made subjection by this cheat, None can be saved that are not canon-proof;

Obey them or they ’11 say you separate;

They build the church, beginning at the roof.

Thus can the flesh such learned men deceive, And make them love their enemies as friends,

And rule their faith, and make them all believe, That all is good, which serves their worldly ends.

How wise and holy should that person be, Whose daily business is to search God’s law?

Who should in heavenly pleasure live, but he, That Heaven and Hell, as in a map, still saw?

Doth pride and envy, bitter strife and wrath, Church tyranny, or hatred of the good,

Become that man, who such an office hath, To preach God’s love, seal’d with Christ’s flesh and blood?

What is his calling, but souls to convert,

And build them up in faith and love with peace?

In what art should he rather be expert, Than to breed love, and hurtfulness suppress?

If he love Christ, he ’11 gently feed his sheep, Cherish and love the good, strengthen the weak,

The flock from wolves and hurtful beasts he ’11 keep, And not against the just and upright speak.

Self-contradicting is a madman’s mark;

Judge then what these malignant preachers are, Self-damning, self-confuting, in the dark,

Heart, tongue, and hand, are in a constant war.

They are Church -shepherds, and yet hurtful wolves, They preach for love to foes, yet hate Christ’s friends;

Preach life to others, choose death to themselves; Heavenly words they speak, for worldly ends.

They pray that God’s great name may hallow’d be, Which they profane, by pleading it for evil:

They pray, as if Christ’s kingdom they would see, But mean their own, that ’s ruled by the Devil.

They hate God’s will, and pray it may be done, E’en as it is in Heaven: a high degree!

Yet if one plead God’s will against their own; Who’s hated more, or used worse than he?

They pray for daily bread; for life and health: But without plenty are not satisfied:

But seek preferment, fulness, rule, and wealth; And grudge if fleshly lust be not denied.

Th’ ask pardon of the sin they love and cherish, And that but as themselves forgive another,

Yet to fear God, sin, hell, as loath to perish, They ’11 not forgive to a dissenting brother.

They pray God not to lead them to temptation, Yet tempt themselves, and love most tempting things;

Strong baits of flesh are their chief consolation, Greedy of all that deadly pleasure brings.

They ask deliverance from all that ’s ill,

Yet sin the worst, they love and will not leave:

They ask, what’s full against their vicious will, That which God offers, they ’11 not receive.

They seem to own a God they preach his law, But man and flesh must be before him serv’d.

The world’s more lov’d, of man they’re more in awe. As if God but the tongue and knee deserv’d.

The image is their God, and hath the heart;

God made an image, and hath but the name: Religion is with them mere form and art,

Kept up for peace, by custom, fear, and shame,

Christ is their Saviour call’d; their King and Lord;

To preach his grace and glory is their trade. But to be sav’d from lust and sins, abhorr’d,

And he an underling to flesh is made.

They say they do believe the Holy Ghost;

But his refining work will not be borne, A fleshly, worldly life doth please them most,

The Spirit’s name and work some make a scorn.

And yet for holiness, who hath more zeal?

Meaning great names, and interest of their own: They against sacrilege to God appeal,

As it would rob their flesh, and it dethrone.

It’s none to hurt Christ’s flock, withhold their food,

His faithful Ministers to alienate, Nor feed proud flesh with what belongs to God,

All’s holy that to it is dedicate.

Religion ends with them as it begun,

They were baptized, and made the sacred vow;

But this was by a strange godfather done, It ’s with great grief that I must tell you how.

It’s known an infant hath no will to choose, The parents’ will and choice do stand for his,

Till he be capable his own to use,
He in the power of his parents is.

And God obligeth Christians to devote Themselves and theirs, in covenant, to Christ, This he accepts, as many Scriptures note, The parent being dedicated first.

But now some other doth the parents* part, Vows for the child, and its due education;

And (though he never meant it in his heart) To see it taught all needful to salvation.

Atheists, and Infidels, and Sadducees, Their children are all freely taken in,

If they have “but such godfathers as these, Baptism is said to save them all from sin.

Men forbid parents godfathers to be, And Ministers their presence to require;

Foreign Kings stand for those they never see; Poor men get such as they for money hire.

Parents these undertakers do not ask,

Will you these vows and promises perform?

Baptismal vows are made a formal task;

Thus they began: thus men Christ’s laws reform.

Thus Christians by false ceremony made,

Religion ’s made a ceremony now, Not minding what suborn’d men vow’d or said,

They boldly break what others falsely vow.

And when in play and sin their childhood’s spent,

For canting a few words not understood, Mindless what faith is, or their baptism meant, Confirm ‘d, they boldly claim Christ’s flesh and blood.

A lifeless image being thus received, More forms and ceremonies it adorn,

And hypocrites by shadows thus deceived, The unknown holy life do hate and scorn.

Thus life is fool’d away, till death seem near, Which doth disrobe their splendid, cheating sins,

But to ease conscience weaken’d now by fear, Forced penitence man’s absolution wins.

And at the grave, when men as bad as he, Do hear that God in mercy took his soul;

And charity for this hope pleaded be, [whole.

False hopes which should be broken, are kept

Thus sinners are befool’d till time is done, From first to last spent in hypocrisy;

And endless sorrows when all hope is gone, Tell them what mercy they did long deny.

Yet still the reverend Masters of the game, Cherish the malady with zeal and art;

Being themselves diseased by the same, By mortal habit both of head and heart.

Tradition, ceremony, pomp, and rule,

A human image without divine life 5
By Pharisees was used as a tool,

Of self-deceit, and of malignant strife.

Dead saints they honour’d, and the living kill’d, The dead molest them not by their reproofs;

Their relics, days, and monuments, they held, In their devotion as of great behoof.

Yet none were fiercer enemies of Christ,

Nor did his truth and servants more oppose;

None with more zeal for holy blood did thirst, None did more mischief to the church than those.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing, by their fruits are known, By hurtful fangs, devouring bloody jaws, As thorns and briars, prick men to the bone, So these by hurtful hands and cruel laws

They’re humble ministers, but rule as lords, Servants of all, yet vice-kings under Christ:

On pain of hell, all must obey their words,

If you will serve God, you must serve them first.

Heav’ns keys are theirs, their right we must not doubt To curse and cast out those whom Christ takes in.

These they by words, themselves indeed shut out, By mortal, fleshly, and malignant sin.

Christ’s house a place of merchandize is made, Children cast out, his table spread for dogs;

To make sound Christians odious is their trade, To curse God’s saints, and cast their pearls to hogs.

The holy Catholic church is in their creed, Which is, all true believers upon earth;

Of whom Christ only is the king and head, To him they joined are in the new birth.

But these men mean one corrupt sect alone, About the fourth part of the whole are they;

Cut off, and separated from the rest as none, Their pope and councils that do not obey.

The saints communion they in words profess Themselves, and dead men’s images they mean;

None pass for saints who do not wear this dress, The best, if not their subjects are unclean.

Call them but heretics, and they may kill

A thousand saints, and by it Heaven may win;

Such is the power of a papal will, To make a virtue of the greatest sin On Catholic communion they lay,

Not only all men’s duty, but salvation,

For schism rends men from the church, say they, And so from Christ, and therefore brings damnation.

Yet that’s man’s duty which they schism call;

To own no human, universal king,
No legislative power over all,

In councils, pope, or any human thing.

None ’s capable to rule all, but the Lord,

Give church or state, law, judgment, or defence;

Man’s universal sovereignty’s abhorr’d, By nature, reason, and experience.

Among the mad, those princes monsters are

Who subjects be to this church-sovereign’s claim;

And yet with scorn and just disdain would hear, An universal civil sovereign’s name.

When certainly it is a harder thing,

To rule all earth by the church power and word, Than for the wisest parliament or king,

To rule the whole world by the civil sword.

Thus they impossible communion make, And yet damn all that do it not observe:

None can tell whom for sovereign we must take, Nor which the laws are from which none must swerve.

Must pope or councils, this great sovereign be,

Is ‘t monarchy, or aristocracy? Or is it mix’d, and must they both agree,. Or is it the diffused democracy?

Whom must we take for Pope? who must him choose?

Which is the Pope, when there are two or three? Must they that give the power which they use,

Superiors, equals, or inferiors be?

When oue at Rome, one at Avignon was, And each a council had which took his part;

Which for the true communion then must pass, Which was the church from which none must depart?

Must all th’ Abassians and Armenians know,

(And in cosmography so skilful be,) Whether there ’s such a place as Rome, or no?

Whether there be a Pope, and which is he?

Is ‘t the whole church on earth that he must rule?

Why then hath not the whole a choosing vote? Is all the world, save Rome, but the Pope’s mule,

And that his crown ’s elective all do note?

It’s like, that all the church consent, they’ll say, Then he ’s no Pope whom three fourth parts disclaim,

How shall three parts then know whom to obey? Will any serve that will usurp the name?

When Popes damn Popes, and councils damn them all, And Popes damn councils, what must Christians do?

When they each other’s laws damn and recal, How shall we know whose power then was true?

The French say councils have this sovereignty, The first three hundred years it was not so;

The Sovereign Power, the church doth unify, Was it then none, or how could man it know?

An universal council never was,

‘Twas but one empire that did make that name; Now that ‘$ dissolv’d how should it come to pass,

That any prince on earth should do the same?

Hath anyone the common rule of all,

Or will Turks, papists, and all kings agree,

Such a true council, when and where to call? Or can one-third part universal be?

The church of councils’ power is not agreed, Therefore this doth not now it unify.

Those that stand for their sovereignty indeed, Which were those councils, differ shamefully.

Some are for four, some six, some eight, some all, Some such as by the Pope approved were;

Divers each other heretics did call,

And which we must obey cannot appear.

And is church -unity no better known,

And yet is necessary to salvation-And to all those that Christ himself will own,

What follows hence but general damnation?

An universal council none shall see, Till the world have an universal king;

This the triple-crown ‘d Pope pretends to be, Though not the name, he challengeth the thing.

The poor fifth-monardiy seekers they pity, As seeking that which long hath extant been:

No monarchy ever match’d the holy city, 3y his church-keys thus rules the man of sin And if we knew which power to obey,

Which be the canons, which so needful are:

If some, who knows them? if all, then are they More necessary than God’s Scriptures far.

Christ hath the terms of church-communion made;

These wiser men, who make so many more, Will shortly find their legislative trade,

Among their greatest sins set on their score.

Baptism Christ made, what was there to require?

The church still knew, and by God’s mercy knows, The words then us’d, the requisites desir’d

Scripture and sure tradition fully shews.

The church by baptism was specified,

Christ did command all such to love each other; Holy communion was to none denied,

All were to take a Christian as a brother.

Till by some heresy or great offence,

He brought his covenant-keeping out of doubt;

And having added prov’d impenitence, Was not so much cast as declared out.

None were baptized into Peter’s name, Much less to general council or the Pope;

They had one God, one Christ, their creed the same, One spirit, body, and one future hope.

But as the serpent tempting Eve at first,

By pride and promis’d knowledge did man kill,

So from the pure simplicity of Christ,

By promis’d wisdom, he befools man still.

To know this subject better read a book, Call’d the remains of Fulk Grevile, Lord Brook.