way and it is visible what were a man the better for these directions would he not thinke such a guide out of his wits Especially when he shall see both wayes alike old alike beaten both vvayes to haue passengers successiuely alike frequent both wayes to be intire and singular both wayes to be called old and both wayes to be visible Thus both wayes doubtlesse he would be wilde except he had better directions And yet this is the case of the Church which some would thus marke out to the beleefe and obedience of all men But to conclude all these are no true markes but the Scripture is the true and vnfallible Euidence to bound the Church out to him that vvill be heedfull to obserue and faithfull to beleeue and humble to obay as we hope to manifest Heere then it were meete I should giue you some infallible and inseperable note of the true way hauing showne or rather pointed at the defect of these which the Church of Rome produceth But then I should offer violence both to your patience and to the Text the time not permitting so large a discourse and my Text leading me to discouer the false way with seemes right but giuing no warrant to proceede farther Only to conclude all since it is within my Commission to manifest the false way I will giue you one note a sure one whereby you may know when you are out of the right way that so you may shun error and seeke truth and ensue it till death that in the end you may finde euerlasting life Briefly Christ himselfe saith I am the way the truth and the life Ioh. 4. no man commeth to the Father but by me He is the way to walke in the truth to guide you the life wherewithall you walke And if you would finde this way hee himselfe learnes you a rule Ioh. 5. 39. Search the Scriptures for in them you thinke to haue eternall life and those are they that beare witnesse of me And he there vpbraydes the Iewes because they gaue no credit or heede to the Scriptures but preferd the traditions and doctrines of their forefathers before it Iohn 5. 46. 47. saying Had yee beleeued Moses yee would haue beleeued me for he wrote of me But if you beleeue not his writings how shall yee beleeue my words Therefore the Apostle cals all Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. Tim. 3. 16 as a doctrine inspired by God to make men wise to saluation and so beleeuing himselfe and teaching others to beleeue he praiseth Timothy for being from a childe brought vp in them 2. Tim. 3. 15 and he exhorts all men to follow him as he keepes in this way and vvalkes after Christ Iesus and no otherwise For so long he is sure he goeth right and they may follow him with security Now then I do not say vvheresoeuer thou seest the Scripture set forth for a signe there Christ is vvithin there is the true way the true Church But I say wheresoeuer thou canst not see the Scripture be assured thou art out of the way for the Scripture must be euer in thy eye being that setled Land-marke by vvhich thou must try and know and to vvhich thou must reduce and bring all thy other coast-marks and sea-marks So it is that Antiquity vvhich agrees vvith the verity of the Scripture that multitude vvhich vvorship God according to the rules of the Scripture that Sucession vvhich suceeed in the truth of doctrine deliuered in the Scripture that vnity vvhich beleeues the Trinity taught in the Scripture that Catholique Church vvhich is founded vpon and vniuersally agreeth vvith the truth of the Scripture that visible congregation vvhich are seene to God and vvhich see God as he reueales himselfe in the Scripture that become notes by vvhich thou maist safely trauaile in this doubtfull vvay of mortality So that the Scripture must euer be present to make these infallible though perhaps it be not of absolute necessity that all these be euer present vvith the Scripture to make the Church true The Heathens of old burnt the books of Numa because he bewrayd therein the prophane misteries of their Idolatries The Turks at this day keepe their people in ignorance no man must see into no man must dispute or argue of their Sect. And thus our Adversaries of Rome deale vvith the Scriptures resembling heerin the Heathens Turkes vvould yet make the vvorld beleeue that they are the only Christians And lest they should seeme insanire sine ratione they haue a seeming reason why they permit not the Scriptures to be in the mother-tongue of euery Nation publiquely to be read by them lest forsooth as the Rhemists say in their preface they should hurt themselues as vvith fire or water or kniues or swords or the like And vvhy do they not put out the Sunne because it hurts the gazers eyes or why put they not out their eyes to preuent hurting especially since they mis-leade many a man to lust and vanity To argue from the abuse of things indifferent to remoue the lawfull vse of them is an abuseof sence and reason But in things of this kinde of absolute necessitie it is an intolerable and presumptuous foolery Nature cannot bee so blinde as to suffer any but naturals to beleeue this their doctrine and to vvalke in this their way Pro. 4. 18. 19. for Salomon saith The way of the wicked is as darknes they know not at what they stumble But the path of theiust is as the shining light that shineth more and more vnto the perfect day True but vvill some say All Heretickes hang out this flagge and all boast of the Scriptures how shall wee then know the true vvay from the false by that which is common to all vvayes or vvhich all vvayes at least chalenge and make shew of Obserue euen from this obiection the force and authority of the Scriptures vnder which falsehood aswell as truth seeks to shelter herselfe because falsehood by this glasse learnes to trimme herselfe vp like truth And looke as the Heathens by their Idolatries proued aswell that there vvas a God Act. 17. 23. Rom. 1. as the Iewes by their true vvorship because nature taught the most barbarous Nation to adore some Deity and rather to make a God of a Calfe a beast a bird a stone then to be a godlesse Atheist so all Heresies and falsehoods beare witnesse for the truth and authority of the Scriptures vvhilst they striue to iustifie themselues thereby knowing without the Scripture all other their arguments notes and pretences how plentifull or plausible soeuer they bee are nothing to the purpose and therefore they labour to wrest the Scripture to their fancie And could the Church of Rome by this euidence approue her present practise and doctrine I assure my selfe she would looke no farther but vvould permit euery man to reade the same at pleasure nay she would command the reading thereof vnder the paine of
the Church is lost So saith Stapleton in his proaem lib. 4. Againe they must bee so proper to the Church as they cannot be found in any other society or company of Men besides And so notable as they may bee more eminent and notable then the Church it selfe and so inseperable as the Church cannot subsist without them Such as these Bellarmine requires in his 2. Chap De Notis Ecclesiae Againe they must be such as Valentia assignes Tom 3. in 22. disp 1. q. 1. de obiect fideâ— punct 7. In notis requiritur vt Ecclesiae verae conueniant at pque etiam vt illi soli This premised come wee now to bring the notes they giue to these rules that thereby we may trie their truth 1. The first note is Antiquity but this is neither cleere nor proper for the malignant Church is neere as old Mat. 13. 30 â—inite vtraâ—â—rescere vsâ—â— ad mesâ—â—em nay perhaps elder then the true Church militant of which we now speake vvhich consists of Men lapsed by sin and restored by Grace For the Church is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est euocare Because the elect are by the outward preaching of the Gospel and the inward operation of the Spirit called out of the Masse of corrupted mankind mixed in a confused lumpe where they were first euill before the grace of God wrought their wils to desire to bee good therefore Quae nascentia mala sunt ea crescentia peiora And so Antiquit as sine veritate est vetus error Error and Antiquity may dwell together 2. Secondly they brag of Multitude as of a certaine note But the most passengers trauaile as our Sauiour saith in the broade way which leades to death so that heere it may be sayd as Liuy sayd of old in his first Decad Ferè fit maior pars vincit meliorem And therefore it is that our Sauiour comforts his Church heere with those gratious words Luk. 12. 32 Feare not little Flocke it is your Fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdome as if he should say You are but few a handfull your enemies many a multitude therefore you haue cause to feare yet feare not God is stronger then man or Sathan your Father is stronger then your Aduersary and his Legions You are but little and weake you cannot conquer this Kingdome by force no more then Abraham could It shal be giuen to your faith as it was to Abrahams you cannot merit it if you could then you neede not feare it shal be given freely therefore though in regard of your selues you haue cause to feare yet feare not in regard of the Donor God Lastly you shall haue a Kingdome you haue it not heere for then you neede not feare no more then Rome doth but make all Kingdoms feare you rather but it shal be giuen heereafter IO. 20. 27. therefore feare not but be faithfull Hope well and haue vvell 3. Thirdly they bring forth Succession But euill men succeede one an other in euill places this note therefore is defectiue Succession of Persons without succession of Doctrine is a decession a defection The Preists and Scribes condemned Christ and his doctrine out of the visible chayre of Moses as Antichrist may doe out of Peters 4. Fourthly Luc. 11. 1â— they boast of vnity But there is a wicked vnity in hell And the Scribes and Pharisies and Sadduces though they could agree together no better then the Franciscans and Dominicans or the Secular Preists and Iesuits yet they bound themselues in a common band of obedience vnder one head the high Preist and the then visible Church of the Iewes against our blessed Sauiour and his Apostles 5. Fiftly they call themselues the Catholique Church and presume to carry it by that name But the Iewes before them did boast of the Church the Church the Temple the Temple and called Christs doctrine both new and singular Ier. 7. 4. Mar. 1. 27. and their owne old and vniversall though Christ told them he was before Moses Mat. 19. 8. and ab initio noâ— fuit sic there was a time when it was otherwise when their traditions now growne fusty with age were nouelties or stale newes Thus likewise they called Saint Paules Doctrine Act. 24. 14. Heresy More they could not say against Luther or can say against vs. 6. Sixtly they bring visibility for a note But this is not a note of the thing but the thing it selfe which wee secke for could the true Church be discerned to be the true Church by all there were an end of this argument and no farther vse of these notes But because though her being be visible and her true being bee visible yet her being true is not visible to all wee inquire for notes whereby wee may not only discerne her true being but the being of her truth Now all these notes with diuerse others of the same kind are not such as are required by their owne rules as able to constitute the being of the true Church for a false Church may haue all these and more too they are not proper for other societies haue them And if these would carry it then the South-Church might contend for supremacy and the East-Church would doubtles carry it against all pretenders as the Mother Church For she is before Rome in time she hath larger bounds and multitudes of people Almost all the Apostolique seas most of the Patriarches An Empire Seauen vniversall Counsels The Syrian language wherein Christ spake The Greeke wherein the Scriptures of the new Testament was written She hath Succession euen from the Apostles themselues lineally without interruption They are at Vnity vnder one Chiefe and they call themselues Catholiques And yet for all these the Church of Rome and that rightly makes such exceptions against her as wee doe against the Church of Rome Since therefore these notes are not essentiall but accidentall not proper but common not permament but transient wee ought to be wary how wee altogether trust to their probable direction since all or the most part of these are such notes as may accompany this way which seemes right and is not so and so may be made meanes to insnare and intangle our affections with preiudice and parciality and so to blinde our iudgements that hauing these wee shal be satisfied with shew and apparance though wee walke as Ioseph and Mary did three days iourney with the multitude of our friends Luk. 2. 44. and neuer misse Christ as if he were none of our Company And I pray obserue to hold vs to our Allegory of a way if there were doubt of two wayes which were the right or the wrong way and one that would vndertake to direct you to finde out the right should say You shall know the right way by these markes It is an old way a beaten way a way where Passengers trauell one after another It is a way by it selfe or one way it is called the old
30 but this seemes good yet it is not so Then this is spoken of the vvayes of Man and they are likewise twofold Either the vvay of knowledge and vnderstanding Or the vvay of Practise or Action The way of knowledge 1. Vrim is that Faith or Religion which a man beleeues to be the truth so farre as he vnderstands and by vvhich he hopes to attaine lâ—fe and happines hereafter Act. 24. 14. And in this sense it is taken Act. 14. 16. 19. 9. And so it sounds as if Salomon had sayd There is a Religion which a man supposeth to be the truth and the right way to Heauen but it is false and erroneous and the next way to Hell The way of Practise or Action is our conuersation 2. Thummim manners and fashion of liuing and dealing betwixt man and man in vice or in vertue Iustice or injurie equity or iniquity and so it is taken Mat. 21. 32. And then the sense is as if Salomon had sayd There is a course of life which a man thinkes very upright and iust and so iudgeth himselfe a holy Man whilst he liues heere in it but it is a most deceitfull trade of life bringing a man to death dishonor and destruction But for our more cleere vnderstanding and discerning of this point we will speake first of the way of Religion being the Speculatiue part whose obiect is truth and falshood And then of Practise being the actiue part whose object is good and bad And this the rather because knowledge or the Theory better suites and answeres the way then action or the practique and action more properly corresponds to our passage trauaile and walking in that way So for doctrine wee will only speake of the truth or falsehood of Religion and vvill reserue the practique part our life our manners and conversation for the vse and application of those points of doctrine which from hence shall naturally and properly flow And thus much for subiect that we may know what it is that Salomon vailes vnder this shadow The way 2. The Quality Which seemes right This is the Quality of the Way which whilst Salomon thus describes he affoords vs from hence a foure-fold diuision according to that common Proverbe The Italian seemes wise and is wise the Spaniard seemes wise and is a foole the French seemes a foole and is wise and the English seemes a foole and is a foole So here There is a way which seemes right and is wrong and to that is opposed A way which seemes wrong and is right and there is A way which seemes wrong and is wrong and to that is opposed A way which seemes right and is right Now these seeme foure diuerse wayes Terminus a quo Terminus ad quem but indeed are but two as two crosse or ouerthwart wayes seeme to him that stands in the midst to bee foure yet haue but two beginnings and two ends so here the difference is not so manifold in the subiect but in the Iudges to vvhose sight these vvayes appeare after a diuerse manner according to the truth or error of their apprehensions For that the right way seemes vvrong or the vvrong vvay seemes right proceedes à deceptione visus from error of judgement For we see an euill vvay may to one man seeme right and yet be wrong and the same vvay to another may both seeme wrong and be wrong and a good way may to an euill sight seeme wrong 1. Sam. 12. 23. and yet bee right and the same way to a good sight may both seeme right and be right Now vvhilst I speake of a good way and a bad vvay I intend a true Religion and a false Religion for as a vvay may be faire which vvee call a good vvay and yet be indirect so a Religion may be glorious to the eye and furnished with faire pretences yet be false And as a vvay may be foule vvhich wee call a bad vvay and yet carry vs directly to the place whither we tend so a Religion may bee naked poore plaine in shew persecuted afflicted scorned contemned of the greatest part of the vvorld of the mighty noble learned politicke and yet be the true Religion and the true direct vvay to happinesse hereafter the lesse happinesse it hath here Having then Religion for our subiect if we looke vpon it vve shall finde three Religions in the vvorld especially justling for the truth of this way The Turkes the Iewes the Christians nor need any man to vvonder at this that I should mention Turkes and Iewes vvith Christians for the Iewes Religion yea the Turkes superstition seemes in their eyes to them as true and as right as ours doth to vs and vve haue nothing but the Scriptures to distinguish them and vs asunder I meane the consent of Scripture Lawe and Prophets Olde and New Spirit and Letter for some passages and obscure places they pretend though vnjustly to be for them But because vve know vvhatsoeuer they boast that their Religions are wayes vvhich both seeme vvrong to all good or indifferent judgements as they are wrong in Gods judgement and because our hope is to haue no hearers here but Christians vvee vvill leaue them to themselues speake of the diuersitie of wayes amongst vs vvhich appeare principally to bee foure euery one clayming truth and holding their Relâ—gion to bee Orthodoxe and so the onely right vvay to heauen 1. The first of these are the Grecians or the East Church 2. The second the Abissins or South Church vnder Presbiter Iohn 3. The West Church or Church of Rome vnder the Pope 4. The fourth is the Reformed Church vnder diuers Princes vvhich for distinction sake and perhaps situation hauing respect to some of these vvee may call the North Church Now if any man expect I should sub-divide the Reformed Religion because there are some differences amongst vs and such as in some times and with some hot-headed persons breed great combustions in the Church I shal not need neither truly ought I to do it because all of vs except the Heretiques who are generally cut off from the body of Christ by vs all or those Schismatickes who separate and cut themselues off as persons that haue no way that haue no tract of Antiquity or any footestep to follow directly in the Scripture agree in the way it selfe though perhaps some of vs may vary either in the manner of walking in that way or in some ceremony and circumstance of deuotion or discipline which is as the hedge and ditch and fence of this way and no essentiall part of the way it felfe but rather for the order ease and conveniencie of the Traueller And thus those whom our aduersaries miscall Lutherans Protestants Puritans walke as Iacobs sonnes did out of Egypt to fetch their good old father thither to whom their brother Ioseph knowing their stubborne crosse proude and peruerse natures gaue them this admonition aforehand See that you fall not out by