MarginaliaWhat benefite commeth by geuing to the church.And therfore it seemeth to me, that because the kynges of Fraunce and Barons of the same, more then anye other hath geuen to God and his churche: therefore they were happy and blessed aboue all other kinges, and the more they dyd geue to God, the more they receaued at hys handes. Examples whereof, we haue of Clodoue, Charles, and S. Lewys: the more one geueth to God, the more he receaueth of hym: For he in the vj. of Luke hath promised, geue & it shall be geuen vnto you. MarginaliaLuke. 6.Wherfore, a gift that a prince bestoweth vpō the church is rendered agayne with triple increase, & that no lesse in time of warre than in tyme of peace. MarginaliaTime of warreI say in warre tyme; because victorye procedeth of no other but only of God, for it is writtenin the j. Mach. iij. chap. The victorye of the battell standeth not in the multitude of the hoste, but the strength commeth from heauen. Marginalia1. Mach. 3.And likewyse, in the xvij. chap. of Exodus it is declared, that whā Moses held vp hys hand, Israell had the victorye: but whan he let downe hys hand Amalech had the victorye. MarginaliaExod. 17.To thys ende also serueth the last chapter Mach. ij. where Iudas being at the poynt to haue the victorie, thought he sawe Amon and Ieremye (which had been high priestes and very vertuous men) holding vp their hands toward heauen, & praying for their people & all the whole citie, &c. Marginalia2. Mach. 2.
Tyme of peaceIn peace tyme, because þ^e long dayes of the kyng of hys sonnes, peace, prosperitie, and obedience (by the prayer of the church) is maintayned and supported in þ^e realme. For as long as Salomon was bente and geuen in building the house of God, so long he had peace: who thus in the xvj. chap of the Prou. teacheth vs. Whan a mans wayes pleaseth the Lord, he maketh hys very enemyes to be hys frendes: MarginaliaProuerb. 61And also in i. Esdra. vj. chap. where it is red, how the priestes were commaūded to offer sweete sauours to the God of heauen, and praye for the kynges life and hys children. Marginalia1. Esdr. 6.And well therfore may it be called a gifte both fauourable and irreuocable, wherby victorie is geuen, life graunted, and peace with securitie conserued. To serue therfore God, and liberally to geue towarde the worshipping of hym: is the chiefest signe and token of deuine feare and loue. Eccle. chap. ij. O ye that feare the Lord beleue hym, and your rewarde shall not be emptie.MarginaliaEccle. 2.

MarginaliaThe 2 part of fearing God.Secondly, cōcerning the feare of God, I doo you to vnderstand, that among the preceptes of the Lorde, the fyrst and chiefest cōmaundement of the second table is, to honour thy father. Whiche precept is verye well expounded to the Hebrues in the. xij. chapter. MarginaliaHeb. 12.Where it is not onely ment of the fathers of our bodies, but also of the father of spirites. For as spirituall thinges farre exceedeth temporall matters: MarginaliaHonoryng of spirituall fathers.so much more a great deale the spirituall sonne is bound to reuerence the spirituall father, and to bee in subiection vnto him that hee maye lyue. And that the priestes and Prelates be the spiritual fathers, it is proued in the 4. booke of the kinges the. vi. chap. Wher the king of Israel called Elizeus father, saying: my father, shall I smite them? Marginalia4. Reg. 6.Vnto this effecte serueth the. x. of Luke, where our sauiour sayd to the Apostles (whose successors the Bishops are) he that heareth you, heareth me, and he that despiseth you, despiseth me. MarginaliaLuke. 10.Also in the. i. to the Thessal. iiij. chap. Hee that despyseth you, despiseth not men, but God. Marginalia1. Thes. 4.Wherefore, Iustinian the Emperour in an other place sayth: we haue great care to the churche of God, that therein maye bee true doctrine and integritie of priestes lyfe. Whych hauyng, we trust that for our great giftes we shall receyue such rewardes at Gods handes, both as be durable, and shal remayne: yea and also that hetherto hath not happened. Blessed saint Ierome in his Register wryting to a certayne Emperour, which is also to be sene in the decrees decr. xi. q. 1. sayth: Marginalia11. q. 1. cap. Sacerdotibus.Let not the Emperour disdain priests, but haue speciall regarde on them for hys sake whose seruauntes they be: and so let hym rule ouer them, thatdue and condigne reuerence be geuen vnto them. For they in deuine scriptures are sometyme tearmed Gods, somtymes named Angels, Exodus. xxij. Then shall both their causes come before the gods. MarginaliaExo. 22.Also Malachy. ij. the Priestes lyppes shoulde be sure of knoweldge, that men may seeke the law at his mouth: For he is a messenger of the Lord of hostes. MarginaliaMalac. 20
Honor to be geuē to priestes.And therefore it is no maruayle, if we should vouchsafe to honour them, when God hym selfe in hys speeche attributing to them honour, tearmeth them Gods and Angels. And here is to be noted, how Constantine the Emperour, when certayne of hys subiectes presented vnto hym libels accusatorie against the bishops, receiued them at their handes. But calling before him those bishops whyche were accused therein, cast in their sight those libels into the fire, saying: depart you hēce and discusse these matters within your selues: For it is not conueniēt and meete that we iudge gods, because it is written God stood in the sinagoge of gods, and in the myddest of them he did iudge gods: in which chapter it is declared, how that the Paganes who worshipped golden and wooden gods, attributed great honour to the Priestes. What maruell is it thē, if the godly and Christian Emperours do honour and reuerēce the priestes of the true God? And doubtles, it is their duty so do. And it is reason, which the Lorde Peter the last daye sayde, in thys poynt. MarginaliaTwo powers temporall and spiritual, and what difference betwene thē both.That there are two powers, priesthood and dominion, the one spirituall, the other temporall: which no lesse differeth one from the other, then the Sunne from the Moone, the heauen from the earth, and gold from leade. And therefore, if honour is due to be geuen to the lesser power, by them that be vndenearth hym: hee that is chiefe of the higher power, of right good duty is to be honoured and reuerenced of all vnder hym, as expressely is declared. Cap. Solit. De ma. et ob. MarginaliaDe mai & obed. cap. Solite.In the which chapter, answer is fully made to þ^e allegatiō of þ^e lord Peter (alledged by hym to make for his purpose) that is to say: Be ye subiect to all creatures for gods sake &c. MarginaliaDouble subiection vpō merite of vertue, and vpon duty of necessityThere he speaketh of þ^e subiection which stādeth vpon the merite of vertue, and not vpon the dutye of necessity. For els if he should speake of that subiecton which is by the dutye of necessity: then must it nedes folow, that euery bishop ought to be subiect to euerye beggerly Rascal in þ^e citie of Paris. For the text is, be ye subiect to all humain creatures: But a Rascal is a humain creature: Ergo bishops muste be subiecte to a Rascall. Of the dignity of a bishop, Ambrose talketh in his pastorall. MarginaliaThe auctoritie of a bishop and a king compared.
The pryde of the prelacy.The honour sayth he, and the maiestye of a bishop is without all comparison: If you compare it to the royaltie of a king, it is euen as you would compare mettel or leade, to the beuty of gold. MarginaliaStoupe kinges.For that is to be sene, that kyngs and princes stouping vnder the knees of priests, and kyssyng their right hand: thinke them selues to bee defended by their prayer. And because the kynges of Fraunce haue more then other, honored and reuerenced the prelates: they haue aboue oll other floorished and prospered. It is sayd in Ecclesia. 4. he that honoreth his father, shal reioyce in his sonnes. And it foloweth there, he that honoreth hys father, shall lyue a long lyfe. MarginaliaEccle. 4.Thys is therefore the signe of the feare of God. And as it is written in Ecclesiast. 4. He that feareth God, honoreth hys parentes.MarginaliaEccle. 4.

MarginaliaThe third part of fearing God.Thirdlye I saye, that a man ought to feare God, in the ful reuerencing and restoring vnto man that is his: For he that doth not geue to an other that is his, but goeth about to vsurpe, doubtlesse he feareth not God. Contrary, he that restoreth all agayne, he is sayd to loue and feare God. Ecclesi. 18. He that feareth God, wyl do good thinges. MarginaliaEccl. 18.And in the Psalme, I haue bene afeard of thy iudgements, and haue done iudgement and iustice. For as þ^e Lawyers say which is true: MarginaliaA thyng made myne dyuers wayes.A thing may be made myne diuers wayes, as by succession, cōmutation, prescription, or any other acquisition, eyther by law or cu-