A directorie teaching the way to the truth in a briefe and plaine discourse against the heresies of this time. Whereunto is added, a short treatise against adiaphorists, neuters, and such as say they may be saued in any sect or religion, and would make of many diuers sects one Church.

Chap. III Of the second certaine note of the true Church.

SEcondly this Catholike Ro∣man church, is of greatest an¦tiquity which is a sure note, or marke of the true Church, proper to no Church, but onely to our church, that is the true catholike church. For this catholike faith & religion, which at this day for example is preached at Rome, in the Indians, & in al the coasts of the world, is no new fangled vpstart opi¦niō & sect, as lutherans & protestants be, whose first rising is yet in our fathers me¦mory, but most ancient that is, both euer continued one, and the same Faith and church, for almost these 1600. yeers from Christes Ascention, euen vnto this day: whereas the Protestants can neither shew church, chappel, nor congregation of their faith & religion through the whole world, till only within these 80. yeres, till Luther & his fellows, licentious Lollards first arose, if their were anie of more an∣ciēt years as Wicliff, Hus, Ierom of Prague and the like, yet with their opinions they

held other damnable heresies, which the Protestants mislike, as-well as Catho∣likes, so that only our Catholike Church, is that which hath continued, not for fourescore yeers, but fifteene hundred & fourescore; which marke so auncient of Antiquity, because heretikes want, ther∣fore they cannot be members of Christs Catholike Church, against which, our Sauiour promised: The diuell and all his power, should neuer preuaile, but that it shoulde continue from his Ascention in∣to Heauen, to his comming againe to Iudgement, euē to the end of the world, when by his iust Iudgemēt he shal seuer, the good corne, and chaffe a-sunder, & make himselfe a glorious triumphant Church in Heauen, without spotte, or wrinckle. Nowe then, either it must fol∣lowe, that Christ failed of his promise, which to thinke, or saye, is extreame blasphemie; or else that our Church the Catholike Romane Church, and no other is only the true church, because no other Church but ours only hath beene seene, and openly continewed, and pre∣uailed against the deuil, and all his mem∣bers

from Christes time to this day. For their church if not you, yet your father knew when it sprong vp, & that of what ground and occasion it rose; that was of Couetousnes, Pride, and whordome; but our Catholike Church hath continued, by most of there owne confessions for a thousand yeares, yea some of them giue vs thirtene hundred yeares, but wee will take to vs, and are able to proue by all auntient authority, and the invincible truth sixteene-hundred yeres nowe well drawing on, that is euen frō Christs time to this day. Wherefore our Church be∣ing the only church, that hath euer visi∣bly beene seene, and florished in many times according to the promise of our Sauiour his Church shoulde doe: There∣fore it must needes followe, that noe Church, but▪ onely our Catholyke Ro∣mane Church is the true Church, as be∣ing by farre most antient euen from Christes time. But the heretike hath a∣nother shift for this, he granteth with vs that the Church of Christ shall euer con∣tinew, but he would haue it, an inuisible congregation, secrett in mennes hearts,

a congregation knowne to God alone, & to no mortall crea••ure, saue only to such as be of the same; whereupon he woulde haue the Church to consist of the onely Elect & saued soules, & that there be not of both sorts good and bad in the holie true Catholike Church; which wily shift of the heretikes, we easily shift off, & re∣proue plainly by Gods word, & his gos∣pel, which compareth his church, Vnto a citty set vpon a hill, to a tabernacle set in the sunne, that cannot be hid. Againe, he bid∣deth vs, if we cānot amend our brother, by brotherly correctiō, Totel the Church, which if he will not heare, account him as a Heathen, and Publicane, saith christ. But how should we tell that Church, or howe should a man hear that church, that can neither be seene nor heard, but is inuisi∣ble, as the heretiks would haue it. Where∣fore you see how slender a shifte this is of them, who like theues that hate the light, would haue the Church inuisible, con∣trary to Gods word, & his holy Gospell, which biddeth vs to haue recourse vnto it in time of neede, as the sure founda∣tion and piller of truth, so euident and

plaine that it may, and might euer, and shalbe seene to the worldes end, euen frō the rising of the sunne, to the setting of the same againe, as was foretolde by the Pro∣phets. Hereupon the Apostles write their epistles to such and such Churches, and to the whole Catholike Church, as in par∣ticular to the Romanes, the Cor. the Ephes &c. as visible that may be seene, that is. This position of theirs (heretiks I meane denying the Church to be visible) is so false, that before Christs time, whē things were but in shaddowe and figure, yet was there euer an opē visible Church of God whereunto men might haue recourse in all doubtes, especially since Moyses, as appeared in Elias time, whē it was so sore persecuted, that he cried out, Relictus sum ego solus, I good Lord thy seruant am lefte alone:, and yet aunswere was giuen him by God that he had left 7000. in Israell, besides the wel known citty of Ierusalem, & Cath. Iuda) that neuer bowed knee to Baal. Loe a visible cōpany at al times, yet in the visible church we be taught by Scriptures there be both good & bad, as appeareth by that parable of the gospell,

the Kingdome of Heauen, that is the Church of God which in holy scriptures is sometimes called the Kingdome of heauen) is compared to a field, where good corne cockle and weed grow toge∣ther, which our Sauiour the good man of the house his Church bad let grow both to gether, least in weeding out the cockle the good corne also should bee bruised, and plucked vp, but in the end of the world, then will he by his Anglles gather his good corne, his elect people and bind the weed, that is the wicked in bundles to be burnt with vnquenchable fire. For God suffereth wicked men, as saith Saint Augustine, to liue amongst the iust; that either they may be conuer∣ted by their example, or else good mens patience by them may be the better ex∣ercised; In an other place the church is compared to a net, cast into the Sea ga∣thering good, & bad fishes; & so likewise to the threshng place wherein is both corne & chaffe. So that you see how false the heretiksb, e & how contrary vnto the Gospell (whereof before the simple and vnlearned eares they so brag) that would

haue the church inuisible that no man might see their wily deceits, and would haue therin none but good, wheras in their Church can be none but bad: but we that by gods grace be catholikes doe according to Gods word affirme that in his holy Church be many good, & none good but onely those of Gods Church, yet amongst those good be some euel, til the last day of paiment when the goats, and lambes shalbe shed, or seperated by the good sheapheard a sunder: so that Gods Church is visible, that is open to the whole world to be seene and knowne and shall so continew euen til the end of the world; take then this for the second most certaine marke of the true Church of God, that our Catholike, and visible church is of the greatest Antiquity and longest cōtinuance. Wherfore none but our church is the true spouse of Christ.

Notes

• Though the church hath euer beene vi∣sible, yet I meane she hath espe∣cially flo∣rished since.
• Mat. 20. Mar. 12. Luc. 20.
• 3. Reg. 19.
• Mat. 13.
• Mat. 13.