Men sowing and reaping; a man threshing and a woman sifting; a woman cooking and a man drinking ale; a man gleaning and a woman sweeping. 
The Rebels hanging a shepherd up by the thumbs.  
The Rebels being drinking, each man slew his fellow.   stylized section of a tree 
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S BISHOPS: OR, A BRIEF DECLARATION OF THE WICKEDNESS OF THE GENErality of those Bishops of ENGLAND that lived in the purest times of King EDWARD the sixth, and Queen EIIZABETH, and some things concerning ours.  
WRIT OF PURPOSE TO KEEP THE KING'S GOOD SUBJECTS FROM BEing cheated of their Loyalty, Honesty, Peace, Wealth, Religion, God and Salvation, all which they had like to have lost of late.  
LONDON, PRINTED 1642.   

THe Work of the begun Reformation in K. Edward the Sixths' days, was a glorious Work of the All-glorious God, by the instrument of men; and such a Work hath crowned the names of the Instruments thereof with eternal honour: but who were they? not those that pretended to be the only Fathers and Builders of the House of God: the Bishops they had pulled it down, and laid Jerusalem waft: and when the foundation of a true Church began to be laid, they were against it might and main: witness Martin Bucer in a Speech of his to King Edward: 
Martin Bucer de regno Christi. lib. 2. cap. 1.  Your Majesty (saith he) doth see that this restoring again the Kingdom of Christ which we require, yea which the salvation of us all requireth, may in no wife be expected to come of the Bishops, seeing there be so few among them, which do understand the power and proper Offices of this Kingdom, and very many of them by all means (which possibly they can and dare) either oppose themselves against it, or defer and hinder it. And had not King Edward, though young, set his heart for Reformation more than all, yea then the best of the Bishops, it had never proceeded so fare as it did: when Cranmer and Ridly pressing him to permit his Sister the Lady Mary to have Mass in her house: the King having heard what they could say, replied out of the Scriptures so fully, that they were enforced to give place to his Replication, and grant the same to be true: Then they after long debatings with his Majesty in this manner, laboured politicly in another sort, and alleged what dangers the denying thereof might bring to his grace, what breach of amity on the Emperor's part, what troubles, what unkindnesses, and what occasions sundry ways it would enforce unto? whom the King answered, willing them to content themselves, for he would he said, spend his life and all he had, rather than to agree, and grant to that he knew to be against the truth: the which when the Bishops heard, notwithstanding they urged him still to grant, and would by no means have his nay: then the good King seeing their importunate suit: in the end his tender heart bursting out into bitter weep and sobbing, he desired them to be content, whereat the Bishops wept as fast as he, and acknowledged the good King had more divinity in his little finger than they had in all their body's Fox, Acts Mon. p. 653. Edit. 1631.  
Almost all of the Bishops, all King Edward's Reign, even after Reformation, were base dissembling Hypocrites, Popish, Athesticall fellows, for though they made a show of true Religion, all while that good King was living, yet when Queen Mary survived, they all turned bloody persecuting Papists, except Hooker, Ridly, Frarrer, and Cranmer. The unholy men of that unholy Order of Bishops were such inhuman, beastly-caniball-blood-sucking-persecutors of the true professors of Christ's Gospel in Queen Mary's Time, that they made themselves drunk with the blood of many of our great Grandfathers, and great Grandmothers, which yet cries to God for vengeance, either upon the Bishops and Papists, who were the spoilers of it, or else upon the Land for omitting in a Parliamentary way the execution of it.  
Thus you have seen what manner of creatures the Bishops in King Edward the Sxiths' time were. Now to declare what the Bishops of Queen Elizabeth's time of Ever-blessed Memory were too: I thought good to cause to be Reprinted an Epistle of many Reverend and learned Divines and Gentlemen of those times, viz. Mr. Udall, Mr. Penry, Mr. Cartwright, Mr King, Mr. Prudler, Mr. Pain, Mr. Knightly, Mr. Wigston, and others, to the then Bishops of England verbatim to a Copy I have by me in Print, Printed long ago, without adding or diminishing a word, wherein they are notably set out to the Life.  
TO THE SUPPOSED GOVERNORS Of the Church of ENGLAND, the Archbishops, Lord Bishops, Archdeacon's, and the rest of that order.  
MAny and most evident have our declarations been concerning the truth of that government which Christ hath prescribed in his Word for the ruling of the Church, which we have manifested unto you, both by our writings and speeches, as occasion hath been offered: Never hath any one of you taken in hand to say any thing against it, but it hath made his eyes to dazzle as the clearest Sunshine, whereby he hath been driven to wander hither and thither, groping for evasions, and yet could not escape, but hath fallen into infinite most monstrous absurdities, and blasphemous assertions, (as by their writings yet extant may appear) so forcible is the truth to amaze the gainsayers thereof, and so pregnant is falsehood to beget and bring forth thousands of absurdities, and every one worse than other. And will you still continue in your damnable, and most devilish course? Have you sold yourselves unto Satan, to fight for him until you be damned in hell with him? Have you mortgaged the salvation of your souls and bodies, for the present fruition of your pomp and pleasure? is it because you see not what you should do? It may be so, for many are so blind, that they grope even at noon day. but me thinks it can hardly be so, unless you be they that have eyes and see not, for the cause hath been (by the blessing of God) so managed, that many Ploughman, Artisicers, and children do see it, and know it, and are able by the Word of God to justify it, and condemn you to be adversaries unto the Gospel in resisting it. But you think that government not so needful, and your fault but small (if it be any) in continuing your course begun. The necessity of the thing to many ways apparent, both in that it hath so plentiful warrant from Gods own Word, (as the course of this book doth evidently declare) and also in that the Gospel can take no root, nor have any free passage for want of it: And the greatness of your fault appeareth by this, that in so doing you are the cause of all the Ignorance, Atheism, Schisms, Treasons, Popery and ungodliness that is to be found in this Land, which we challenge to prove to your faces, if we may indifferently be heard, and whereof in the mean while we will give you a taste: For the first it is clear, that you are the causers of that damnable ignorance, wherein the people are so generally wrapped, for that you have from time to time stopped the streams of knowledge in those places where the Lord in mercy bestowed the same, and instead of able and painful Ministers, have pestered the Church, either with presumptuous proud persons, that are esteemed learned, and take no pains to bring the people unto the knowledge of jesus Christ, or (which is the greatest number) such ignorant asses, and filthy swine, as are not worthy to live in a well ordered Commonwealth: And that you are the cause of all Atheism, it is plain, for one may (as indeed many do) profess it, and you say nothing to him for it. If the most filthy liver will fawn upon you, and bribe your servants, you will not only favour him, but assist him against any godly Minister or other: but if any that fear God, refuse to come under the least of your Popish ceremonies, he shall be molested, till his purse be empty, or else by your traitorous dealing he have made shipwreck of a good conscience. And are not you the cause of all Schisms, that make a hotchpotch of true Religion and Popery, and so give some an occasion to fall into this course, and others into that? And it is as clear, that you are so far the cause of all Treasons, as without you they had not been: For if every Church had had her government according to Christ's institution, our young Gentlemen, and Students had not been (for want of teaching and careful oversight) made a prey unto the seducers, and consequently to those practices which have brought the bodies of so many unto Tyburn, and their souls into hell: And who but you be the cause of Popery, whilst you use them so well, let them do what they list, yea, and keep them in office and authority under you, yea, (which more is) give them such offices as none that is not Popish can execute: I speak not of the ignorance which by your means reigneth every where, which (as they confess) is the mother of their devotion, and you are the wretched fathers of that filthy mother, whereby you must needs be grandfathers (at the least) to all kind of Popery. 
Omnia cum liceant, non licet esse bonum.  And who can (without blushing) deny you to be the cause of all ungodliness, seeing your government is that which giveth leave to a man to be any thing, saving a sound Christian. For certainly it is more free in these days, to be a Papist, Anabaptist, of the Family of love, yea, any most wicked one whatsoever, then that which we should be, and I could live these twenty years any such in England (yea, in a Bishop's house it may be) and never be much molested for it: so true is that which you are charged with, in a Dialogue lately come forth against you, and since burned by you, that you care for nothing but the maintenance of your dignities, be it to the damnation of your own souls, and infinite millions more: Enter therefore now at the last into the serious consideration of these things: remember that one day you must be presented before the Tribunal seat of jesus Christ, to be arraigned for all the souls that have gone to hell (seeing you will needs be the rulers of the Church) since the Gospel first appeared in this Land, then shall you not be excused with this, the Queen and Council will have it so: nor with that, our State cannot bear it. For it shall be said unto you, why do you not inform them better of my will, why taught you them not to worship with trembling and fear, and to kiss the Son lest he be angry? Why did you not tell them, that all States must be ruled by my Word, and not my Word by them and their policies? When these things shall be laid to your charge, your consciences shall answer, that if you had done so, you should have lost your dignities, which you loved and sought for especially: Then shall you wish that the Mountains would fall upon you, and the hills cover you from the presence of the Lamb, and from the presence of him that sitteth upon the Throne. And I am persuaded that you are in league with hell, and have made a covenant with death: yea, you do persuade yourselves that there is no God, neither shall there be any such day of account: or it were impossible that you should give your eyes any sleep, or take any rest in your beds, until you had unto the Lord by repentance, and the Church by confession, unburdened your souls of these hellish ways wherein you have so long walked. Repent, repent, be not ashamed to amend, though others have found you out the way, judge yourselves while you have time, lest you be made firebrands of hell beyond all time. Let our challenges that we have made in the name of the Lord be harkened unto: Let us be disputed with before indifferent judges, let the holy word of God be the touchstone to try our dsiputaitons by, and then shall it easily appear who hath the Lord on his side, and who not. The truth will prevail in spite of your teeth, and all other adversaries unto it, (for God disdaineth to be crossed by dust and ashes.) Therefore be not obstinate so long, as until you be found fighters with God, but prevent his wrath, lest it break forth against you like fire that none can quench, because of the wickedness of your inventions. Venture your Bishoprickes upon a disputation, and we will venture our lives, take the challenge if you dare: if the truth be on your side, you may hereby be restored to your dignities, and be no more troubled by us: but if the truth be against you, what shall it profit you to win the whol-world, and afterwards lose your own souls. If you refuse still our offer, then must you needs be guilty either of this, that you know your cause will not abide the trial, or of this, that you will take no pains to confute us that keep such a stir in the Church: do not think that because you have humane authority on your side, therefore you are safe, for he whose authority is on our side, is the greatest, to whose voice all the devils in hell shall stoop, much more the silly arm of sinful flesh. We have sought to advance this cause of God by humble suit to the Parliament, by supplication to your Convocation house, by writing in defence of it, and by challenging to dispute for it, seeing none of these means used by us have prevailed: If it come in by that means, which will make all your hearts to ache, blame yourselves, for it must prevail, maugre the malice of all that stand against it, or such a judgement must overtake this Land as shall cause the ears that hear thereof to tingle, and make us be a byword to all that pass by us. The Lord open your eyes, that you may see the confusions whereof you are the cause, and give you true repentance, or confound you in all your purposes that be against him and the regiment of his Son jesus Christ. The same Lord for the love he beareth to his poor people, open the eyes of her Majesty, and the honourable Councillors, that they may see your godless practices, and in pity to God's people, rid us from you, and turn away his judgements, which the rejecting of his holy yoke hath deserved, not punishing them that mourn for the desolation of Zion, with those that spoil and make havoc of the Lords Inheritance, Amen.  
The end of the Epistle.  

I shall here add some instances not mentioned in the former Epistle.  
AT the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign the better half of the Protestant Bishops were those that but a little before had been Popish Prelates in Queen Mary's time: it seems they were very indifferent men for their Religion.  
Bishop Bancraft licenced some Popish books, in one of which it is maintained, that it was in the Pope's power as a gift appropriate to Saint Peter's Chair, to depose the Kings of England.  
They made a great many ignorant, and lewd unpreaching, and some almost, or altogether unread Priests, or Sir john's. And the Bishop of London made the Porter of his Gate, when he was old and blind, and so unserviceable, the Minister of Paddington.  
The Bishop of Saint david's had two Wives living at once.  
Many of them were common swearers, and one of them in print pleaded for the lawfulness of swearing by his Faith, from Christ's words Verily, verily I say unto you, which were said he, as much as By my faith, by my faith I say unto you.  
They made an Idol of the Common-prayer book, for the Bishop of Winchester in a Sermon at Saint Mary Oueris blasphemously said, that a man might as well find fault with the Bible, as the Common-prayer book.  
The same Bishop also in the 49. page of his Book against Martin-Marprelate, said, that the Creed of the Apostles, Athanasius, and the Nicene contained in them many palpable lies.  
They silenced some hundreds of learned and godly preachers of Christ's Gospel, outing them of their live and livelihoods, to their undoing.  
So much of Queen Elizabeth's Bishops.   

THe Bishops are much more now the cause of all those forementioned evils of Ignorance, Atheism, Schisms, Treasons, Popery, and ungodliness in the Land: Yea more, they have been the cause of all these late commotions between England and Scotland, as all men know by their labouring to bring in Popery, witness the horrible superstition and Idolatry of our Bishops in their setting up Altars and Images, and bowing to them, their practice of Will-worship, and endeavouring that the like Superstition and Idolatry might be practised all the three Lands over, most cruelly persecuting all that should oppose them: Witness Master Smart, Master Burton, Doctor Bastwicke, and Master Prinne, with many hundreds more. Yea, travellers do say that the Pope, and the Popish rabble in Rome are not so superstitious as they: and they are the men that have thereby caused the State to be so much impoverished as it is, emptying the King's Treasury, [That he hath many times wanted money to uphold his Majesty's honour, and the honour of the Nation, whereas otherwise he would have been the greatest moneyed Prince in the Christian world] causing those unjust taxations of Ship-money, (to the undoing of many) and the necessitated expense of all the late Subsidies, and the Pole-money, to the great weakening and impoverishing of the Commonwealth: Oh the Millions of money that they have caused to be drawn out of this State within this three years: Nay farther, it will be maintained that the Hierarchy of Bishops have been the cause of all that precious Christian blood that hath been spilt in Christendom for this many years, and of the spoiling of that which runs down the Channels of Germany at this time, so that they have made godly Master tindal a Martyr's words true: Woe saith he is the Realm where they are of the Council, as profitable are they to the Realm with their Council, as the Wolves unto the Sheep, or the Foxes unto the Geese: Obed: of the Chri: man, pag. 116. 152.  
Oh England, England, cast out the accursed thing which else will certainly work thy ruin. O our Royal King CHARLES, do this one thing for God, purge his House of this rabble of Officers which are none of his, that labour all they can to keep the door shut upon Christ, and good men, so shalt thou bring a blessing upon thee and thy posterity to the world's end. And O ye Worthies of Israel, be strong and courageous in this work of the Lord, and all the inhabitants of the Land, put to your helping hand, Ministers, preach them down, all true Christians, good Protestants, pray them down: And let God arise, and let his enemies be scatrered, let them be as chasse before the wind, and as wax before the fire, that they may melt at the presence of the Lord: Amen, Amen.   

Certain questions resolved.  
Quest. THen Sir it seems you would have us be without Church-government, and then we shall have nothing but Sects and Divisions.  
Answ. To be against the present government of Bishops, is not to be against Church-government, but against Church-ruining, and spoiling, and against that which is the only let and hindrance of good Government.  
2. Where the false government of Bishops hath been, there hath been Sects and Divisions in all Ages, but not so in any other Church where there are no such Bishops.  
Quest. But the name and office of a Bishop are set forth in the New Testament, as good things.  
Answ. It is not the name that is opposed (for every good Pastor of a Congregation is a good Bishop) but it is that evil present government of Diocesan Bishops which God never ordained, and yet is masked under that honourable name of Bishop, like unto a Wolf in Sheep's clothing, which we are admonished by our Saviour to take heed of.  
Quest. What government would you have?  
Answ. I wish, and continually pray to God to move his sacred Majesty, and the honourable Parliament to labour to find out and establish the government of Jesus Christ, even that government which shall be most consonant to the Scripture, that so our Israel may be blessed with the glorious presence of Christ, and freed from all those Sects, Divisions, and distempers which this Land hath been tormented with. * ⁎ *   
FINIS.   
MARK 9.34, 35. 
But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.  
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.  MAT. 20.25, 26, 27. 
But jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the Princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great, exercise authority upon them.  
But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your Minister.  
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.  1 PET. 5.3. 
Neither as being Lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  The 3. Epistle of S. John, ver. 9, 10. 
I wrote unto the Church, but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not.  
Wherefore if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doth, prating against us with malicious words, and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the Church.