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Though the looking upon these examples, with a juditious and consi∣derate eye, would sufficiently con∣vince any man; that the heavy hand of God hangs alwaies over the heads of the opposers, and enimies of the Roman Church; which I suppose may without presumption be now called (as it only is) the Catholick Church, as onely having the true marks of Christs Church: yet the near∣er wee deduce this argument down to wards these our dayes, the greater in∣fluence it will have upon many.
Consider therefore First what be∣fel the protoparents of all these later sects. Luther (the Ring-leader of all the succeeding sectaries) after aplenti∣ful and merry-supper, in which he had exhilarated all his company with his discourse (the drift of which was or∣dinarily to make the Pope, and papists ridiculous, and odious) he went safe and sound to bed; but was ceazed up∣on by sudden death before the morn∣ing came.
Oecolampadius, going well in health to bed with his woman, was found next morning lying stone dead by her; an untimely end (as is to be feared) for one who had been not onely a Priest, but was tyed also to the religi∣ous order of St. Briget with the triple cord of his three Vowes: some Sup∣pose hee was killed by the Devil; o∣thers write that hee killed himselfe. Nor was the end of Carolstadius less ter∣rible: for of him the Ministers of Basil write: (in their Funeral Epistle of him (that hee was killed by the Devill
he had been Archdeacon of Wittenberg, and a Priest; but presently upon Lu∣thers revolt sided with him, and took a Concubine. Zuinglius, (who had been a Canon of Constance) the incendiary of a bloody civill warre in his own Country, was at last massacred in one of the battels himself: his pretence was to extirpate Popery, and to plant the Reformed religion, as they called it: But Erasmus (in his Epistle to Go∣clenius) sayes plainly, That the aym of Zuinglius (as also of Oecolampadius) was tyranny; and that they affected some temporall dominion: Osiander, before his miserable end, was suddenly struck dumb, like a beast; as may be read in Pra∣teolus: And Calvin's end was by being eaten up by Vermine; the horrour of which punishment, and the frightfull terrours injected into his conscience, made him spend his last minutes (as Hierom Bolsecus writes) in execrations and blasphemous ejaculations, with invocation of the Devils.
O dreadfull punishments! tragicall and dismall deaths! untimely ends! so truly spoke St. Paul, when he said, It is a hor∣rible
thing to fall into the hands of God: Heb. 10.31. so truly said David, that God is, Terrible in his counsels upon the sons of men: Psal. 66.5. and can you still adhear to those your sects, which had such founders? Still persecute the Church of Rome, and read such punish∣ments? Harken rather, to what the Pro∣phet saies, and fulfill his words; yea, the words of God: Love ye peace and verity, saith the Lord Omnipotent. Zach.8.
Consider lastly, the unsuccessefull af∣fairs, and finall ends of three secular Princes; who in their several coun∣tries did most harm to Roman Catho∣licks: King Henry the eighth in Eng∣land, William Nassaw in the Low coun∣tries, and Gustavus Adolphus in Ger∣many; they had been all three once Roman Catholicks; and how sad ene∣mies they proved afterwards to the persons, places, and practice of that Religion (and yet not so much out of hatred of that religion, as to compasse their other designs) few are ignorant: but they themselves were overwhelm∣ed in the ruines they made; and of the tragedies by them begun the Catastro∣phe,
fell chiefly upon them: The one was delivered over to his own sensu∣ality, and made a slave to it; even his very body was metamorphized out of that of a man almost into that of a monster: he sunk still deeper into sin, till his souls danger grew almost de∣sperate; and all his latter years were full of punishments of his Schisme and Sacriledge. The second, when death rushed in at the windows of those wounds, which the bullets made in his breast, and carried him presently to render up the accounts of his Steward∣ship to God and his King; was not the heavy hand of God upon him? The third, , after an ocean of Innocent bloodshed in his unjust invasion of the Empire; after such a ruine of Catho∣lick Houses, Villages, Towns, Cities, Monasteries and Churches; after such a ransack of Religion, and threats a∣gainst Rome, and the Vicar of Christ himself; to be killed, without a mo∣ments respite to repaire what was a∣misse; was not this a fearfull scourge of God? undoubtedly it was.
Hence infer, that the whole complex of these examples proves evidently that the Roman Catholicks are the true Church of Christ; and for this reason amongst others; because God hath laid so remarkable punishments upon their enemies, and persecuters: Secondly, gather that these examples efficaciously prove against Atheists, that, there is a God, who punisheth wickednesse. Thirdly, infer what mi∣sery and punishment Luther made him∣self lyable to, for his giving the first Allarum to all the Heresies of these la∣ter times.
O Luther, what got thou by imitating Lucifer? thy pride, and disobedience to the true Church, was like his to God: thy fall from that state, which is a kinde of heaven upon earth, was like to his: and I fear thy doom is not unlike to his.
Coclcus in ••jus vita.
King Heary she 8.
Prince of Orange
King of Sweathland
Note