Sermons Upon all the Sunday Gospels, Sermon 37
The Sonday after the Ascension. ¶The Gospell. Ihon. xvi.
WHen the comforter is come whom I wyll send vntounto you from the father (euene the spirite of trueth, whiche procedeth of the father) he shal testifie of me, & yee shall beare witnesse also, because ye hauehave ben with me from the beginninge. These thinges hauehave I sayde vntounto you, because yee shoulde not be offended. They shall excommunicate you, yea the tyme shall come, that whosoeuer killethe you, wyll thinke that he doth God seruice. And such thynges wyl they do vntounto you, because they hauehave not knowen the father, neyther yet me. But these thynges I hauehave tolde you, that when the time is come, ye may remember then that I tolde you.
THE EXPOSITION.
IN this gospel are specially to be considered two thinges.The holye ghoste is almighte and euerlasting god The first is cōcerning the holy ghost. The second is of the persecution, whiche shall come to the confessours and professours of the gospell before ye worlde. As touchinge the holy ghost, we confesse that he is almightie & euerlasting god. Christ calleth him by a special name, euen the conforter. And by this he declareth, that true godlines can not be without the crosse and affliction. For what nede should there be of a conforter, if there were no troubles,The miseries of the true christians in thys worlde both outwardly & inwardly no persecutions? But Christ describeth & setteth forth ye persecutiō to be such, that, the godly shal not only be slaine, whiche is a most haynous offence, but also they shal be counted such people, as are verye aduersaries & open enemies of all true religion & godlines, and therefore by no meanes to be suffred, but by the iudgement of all men to be taken out of the earth by the most cruel death that can be deuised, as pestiferous persons, and intollerable heretikes, hated both of god & man, so yt the punishment of the Christians shal excede all other. And they are somtime also troubled in their conscience, by thincking that they hauehave ben to muche vehement, and hauehave gone to farre, or that they might hauehave done & spoken more circumspectly, & warely, and so shold lesse danger hauehave chaunced, & they hauehave liued longer & done more good. Thus are ye Christiās troubled outwardlye of the tyrantes of this world, & inwardly of the weakenes of their conscience.Why the holy ghost is called a conforter. In consideration herof doth Christ call the holy ghost a conforter, as though he should saye: I know into what great troubles, miserable afflictions, blouddy persecutions, & other vnrestful griffes ye shall fall, & howe the whole worlde and all that euer is in it shal be againste you. But I wil prouide helpe for you, & se that ye shall not stick in the myre, nor be left confortles. Yea when there appeareth no confort at al, no helpe, no succour, & ye your selues also thorow the weakenes of your cō science shalbe troubled inwardly:Note well. thē w…il I send vntounto you the holy ghost, which is the conforter, that he may cōfirme & make strōg your mindes yt ye despaire not, & encourage you to abide by that, which he shal say vntounto you. Now are there two maner of cōsolatiōs or cō forts. The one is a worldly cōfort,Two kyndes of conforte. which is but an vncertein & vaine cōfort. For it dependeth altogether on riches, power, glorie, frendship, & good wil of princes & great men. but saith Christ,The conforte of the worlde. none of al these shal you my disciples hauehave, yea these thinges shall be against you & not wt you. Notwitstāding let it not dismay you, yt ye finde no cōfort at ye worldes handes. For yt cōforte is of no great waight, neither is the cōtinuāce therof long. Som sodē mischaūce, displeasure of great mē, sicknes, agewe, plague, pestilence, misfortune, maketh sone an end of worldly cōforte. But I, saith he, wil prouide for you an other conforter, euen the spirite of truth, which shal then cōfort, confirme,The conforte of the holye ghoste. and strengthen you when ye shall be combred and opprest with terrours, fears, infirmities, miseries, calamities, outwardly before the worlde, & inwardly in your mynde. For, for this cause hath the holy ghost this name, yt he is called a cōforter, & not an accuser or troubler. For where sadnes & perturbation is: it is a token that the holy ghoste is not there. And this conforter is also called the spirite of truth. For he cōforteth not as ye world doth, where nothyng is sure & cōstant, but his cōsolation or confort is perpetual & euerlastīg, which no mā is able to destroie.
But here again is a scrupule or doubt: for the conscience answereth.An obiection. Thou speakest muche of conforte, but I fele it not. I fele rather the contrarie, that the worlde is mery and ful of pleasure.Ihon. 16. But the Christiās mourne, & are euer vnderunder the crosse. Iohn Baptiste is beheaded.Math· 14. Mar…. 6. Luc. 9. But Herode and his harlotte Herodias are frolike and mery. And euen so goeth it with vsus. The worlde enuieth vsus a bytte of breade, and eueryevery man thincketh, that whatsoeuer mischiefe he doth to a Christian, it is well done, when in the meane while ye pope, the Cardinalles,Antichristes disciples are in better case in this world then the disciples of christe. Christes humilitie. the Bishoppes, and all that hate the gospell, lyue all in pleasure and iolytie, in reaste and peace, in idlenes and heartes ease, and without all affliction & trouble. Is this therfore a conforte? Christ answereth, that it is a conforte, but we must make a distinction betwene confortes. The worlde also hath his cōforte: for if it had not, it could neuer be so secure, careles, mery and without all care, but that is not the conforte,the answer. whiche cōmeth from the spirite of truth, but it is a deceitfull confort. For it maye sodenly come to passe, that in those things, wherin the worlde reposeth his conforte and staye,worldly confort is vncerten. there may be founde no cōfort, nor helpe at all. But the holy ghost, which is the conforter of the Christians, is the spirite of truth, whiche inwardly conforteth vsus with most certein, sounde, and sure consolation.The conforte of ye holy ghost is most certen and sure. Therfore although Iohn hauehave not that conforte, that Herode with his whore, hath, but is caste of them into prison, where he lieth most miserably afflicted and withoue all consolation, tyll at the laste he looseth his head, yet the holy ghost conforteth & cōfirmeth him, & secretly in his hearte speaketh vntounto him on this maner: Be of good courage, O Iohn, and let no aduersitie dismaye thee, neither be thou disconforted, that yu art so miserably & vniustly caste into prison, and that the wycked worlde doth so hate thee and reuile thee. Thou knowest this, that all worldly thinges can not continew long, it now hath the ouerhand, but the tyranny therof shall not longe endure:1. Iohn. 2. For the worlde with all his tyranny shall shortly vanishe awaye, and for euer after be plagued in hel fyre. But contrariwise thy affliction shall not endure long, but euerlasting ioye shall come in place thereof, where a momēt of an houre is better, then a thousand yeres in this lyfe, although the worldly ioye were not entermedled with any greife or sorowe. This consolation & confirmation doth so replenish Iohns hearte with ioye, that he doth not only not feare death, but he also geueth God thankes, that by this meanes he is deliuered from this body of synne, and translated and remoued vntounto euerlasting lyfe.
But from whence hath the holy ghoste this cōfort?Iohn. 16. from the father, saith Christ here. For the holy Ghoste procedeth from the father. And this is a noble and notable sentence to confirme our article of the Trinitie. For if the holy ghoste procedeth from the father,The holye ghost is god. then must it nedes folowe, that he is euerlastinge. For nothinge can procede from the father, but that is of his owne nature, essence, and substance. Therfore as god the Sonne is euerlasting, because he was begotten of the euerlastinge father: (for god can beget nothynge, but that is like to hymselfe) so is this also a necessarie consequence, that the holy ghost whiche procedeth frō god, is euerlasting. But this article we will leaue at this presēt, & whē time requireth,The rewarde of the godlye in this lyfe. we will speake more largely of it. But where with doth the holy ghost cō forte? Of me saith Christe, shall he beare witnesse. As though he shoulde saye: In this worlde loke for nothinge els but for persecution, emprisonment, losse of goods, and at the last death. This is the rewarde of the true Christians in this lyfe.How the holy ghost cōforteh the faithful inwardly. But be not dismayde. The holy ghost shall come vntounto thee, & conforte thee. He shall testifie of me. He shall put thee in remēbrance of me. He shall so encourage thee, & enflame thee with the louelove of me, that thou shalt feare the tyranny of the worlde nothinge at all. He shal not encrease the with vaine richesse, as the worlde doth, but he shall beare witnes of me, so that although thou shouldest loose al that euer thou hast, thy wife, thy children, thy lande, thy possessions, thy houshold stuffe &c. Yea thy head & life: This yet should be thy confort, yt Christ Iesus remaineth vntounto thee safe, sounde & vntouched, which for thy sake, for thy health & saluation, for thy cōmoditie and profit, came down from heauē, was made man, died, rose again, ascended into heauen, according to the articles of ye Christen faith. If this be true, as nothing is more true, why thē sholdest thou feare? Thus speketh the holy ghost dayly in ye heartes of the afflicted Christiās vntounto their great encouragemēt & cōfort. And verely he yt died for our sake, can not hate vsus, nor beare any euill will against vsus. If he then loueth vsus, what shold we feare, as though he loued vsus not? Yea what shold we not be cōtent to suffer, & to lose, so yt we may obtaine Christ & his richesse,Phil. …. as ye Apostle saith: I thīcke al things but losse for the excellencie of the knowledge of Christ Iesu my Lord. For whome I hauehave coūted all thing losse, and do iudge them but vile, that I may wynne Christ, and be foounde in him &c.
And this is yt, which Christ here saith: He shal beare witnesse of me, for in this testimonie or witnes consisteth ye whole confort. Therfore these wordes Of me, are worthie to be writen in letters of gold, & diligently to be obserued.The holye ghost teacheth no newe doctrine. For these wordes are able to assure vsus, that the holy ghost bringeth no new doctrine, neyther setteth he forth vntounto vsus Moises, or any other thing to cōforte the conscience, but Christ alone & his worde. For nothing can cōforte the conscience, but the testimonie & witnesse bearing of Christ,The wytnes bearinge of christe only cō forteth ye troubled and weak conscience. of his death & resurrection. All other thinges trouble & fraye the conscience, by whatsoeuer name they be called, lawe good workes, Pilgrimages, worshippinge of saints &c. For god him selfe, when we deale with him withoute Christ,Note. is terrible neither can we finde any fauour or conforte at his hande but anger, wrath, & displeasure, as Christ sayth I am the waye, the truth, and the lyfe.Iohn. 14. lib. de Isaac et anima. No man cometh vntounto the father, but by me. Hereto agreeth the saying of S. Ambrose. Christ alone is our mouth, whereby we speake to the father: oure eye, whereby we see the father: our right hande, whereby we offer to the father: whiche Christ excepte he make intercession for vsus, neither we, nor all the saintes hauehave any thing to do with god. The doctrine that setteth forth. Christ, that bringeth true consolation, & maketh the heartes of men mery. All other bring to the afflicted conscience not conforte but disconforte, not lyfe but death, not saluation but damnation.
Therfore all the matter cōsisteth in this one point, yt thou truly, rightly, and certeinly know this consolatiō & confort: so mayste thou be bolde to saye: I beleue in Iesus Christe, whiche died for me. And I know that the holy ghost whiche is and is called a conforter, wil bring none other testimonie & confort, then this alone that he shal testifie and beare witnesse of Christ: which alone, and non other, will I admitte and receaue. For if there were any conforte better or surer then this, the holy ghost wolde also hauehave brought it, but he doth nothing elles then testifie of Christ.
But why doth Christ vse the worde of testifyinge or bearing of witnes?Galat. 1. Epist. 2. Iohn. This is don to this ende, that we should the more diligently attende and marke the worde. For this is certein and true, that the worke of the holy ghost is inwardly in the hearte. But yet will not he administer this worke otherwise, then by the outwarde worde, as Paule also saith, that fayth cō meth by the hearyng of the worde.The holye ghoste confortethe by the worde. Therfore Christe calleth the holy ghost a witnesse, nowe doth he beare wytnes by the mouth and word of the Apostles and Preachers, whiche sincerelye and purely set forth the gospell of Christ. Therfore he that desireth conforte, may not tarye,Rom. 10. tyl the holy ghost come personally and preache Christ vntounto him, or speake vntounto him frō heauē. He geueth forth his witnes openly in the worde: ther is he to be sought and loked for, tyll by ye worde, which thou outwardly hearest, he touche thy hearte, & so inwardly thorowe his workyng thou felest his testimonie of Christ. But this inward witnesse cometh not, except the outwarde witnesse of the worde goeth before, wherin it is declared, that Christ for oure sake became man, was crucified, died, and rose again. So that the summe of this gospel is, that if we entende to be Christians,What Christiās shal loke for this world we maye not in this lyfe loke for richesse dignities, renowne, glorie &c. But rather thincke most certeinly, that for this our profession we shall hauehave the world an enemy to persecute vsus, besydes the vexatiōs of synne, deuill and death. Therfore when these tormentes ryse vp in the breaste of a Christian, he is by and thynkethe on this maner with hymselfe: Alas, what haste thou doone? Thou myghtest welle hauehave bene a Christian, and yet neuer hauehave comme to this myserie and daunger. Thou art come to thys poynte thoroughe thyne owne faulte. &c. Nowe when suche horrible examples come also to mynde, as putteth vsus in remembraunce, howe greuously greate and vertuous menne hauehave in tymes paste fallen, and coulde not escape tentation: then (sayeth Christe) is it tyme for the comforter to come,vnconfortable thoughtes are of the deuyll. whyche without doubte will not longe tarye awaye, but wyll spedylye come, and teache you, that suche greuous and fearefull imaginations and thoughtes are not of hym, but of the deuyll. The reason is. For suche thoughtes bryng trouble and disquietenesse, yea and dryue vntounto desperation. But the holy Ghost maketh not afrayde, but comforteth, encourageth, and so handleth the matter, that he testifieth and beareth witnesse of me, that I hauehave ouercome the worlde with his prince and God, euen the deuyll. Therfore all other thoughtes, that brynge with them heauynes, sorowe, and discomfort, are not of me, but of the deuyll. But the holy Ghost bryngeth and geueth confortable and ioyefull thoughtes, for as muche as he beareth wytnesse of me, that I hauehave bestowed my lyfe for you, dyed for your synnes, and rose agayne for your Iustification.Rom. 4. Of thys testimonie or wytnesse ye maye easyly gather, that I hate you not, and that I doo not entende to condemne you, but to saue you.
The whole substāce of thys matter therfore resteth in this point: He shal beare witnes Of me. This is principally to be obserued and diligētly noted against the Sectaries and false teachers. For here it is surely determined, that when the holy ghost shall bryng foorth comfort, he shall doo it by the testimonie or witnesse of Christ, that he may stablish and print Christ in their hertes. Wher as contrarywise, the deuyll goeth about to plant in the heartes of men, feare the wrath of God, syn, death and damnation. This wicked spirite dothe the holy Ghost by his testimonie resist, & by the word speaketh in our hearts,A swete conforte. and sayth: Ah man, what dost thou? Canst thou doo none otherwise, but alwayes thynke on death, synne, and damnation? Turne thyne eyes from these greuous and terrible sightes, and loke vponupon me. Doest thou not know that man, whiche is called Christ Iesus? Of hym it is thus written: that he was conceaued of the holy Ghoste, borne of Mary the virgin: that he suffred vnderunder Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dyed, was buried: that he descended vntounto hell, rose agayne from death the thyrd day, ascended vntounto heauen. &c. Wherfore was all this doone, thynkest thou? Was it not doone for this purpose, that by this meanes thou shouldest comfort thy selfe againste deathe and synne? Therefore leaue of, and cease thus to feare & to trouble thy selfe: for thou haste no cause so to doo. If Christ were not, and if Christe had not doone these thynges for thee: so shouldest thou hauehave had a iuste cause to feare and to be sadde. But Christe is by thee, and rounde about thee, as he hym self saith: I am with you for euer euen vntounto the ende of the worlde.Math. 2…. Moreouer, hee hath suffered deathe for thee, and sytteth on the ryghte hande of GOD hys Father to comforte, and to defend thee agaynst all thyne enemies.
Where this doctrine soundeth, there is the voyce, wytnesse and worde of the holy ghoste. But what so euer soundeth not on this maner, be it neuer so fyne and pleasant, it may bee the witnesse of Moyses, or rather of subtill Satan, of hypocrites and heretikes, whyche seke saluation, peace, and reste of conscience by workes, and so trouble che consciences of menne, and dryue theym to desperation, but the wytnesse of Christ it is not, nor yet the voyce of the holy Ghoste. God for his mercies sake kepe vsus, and defende vsus agaynste all witnesses and voyces of Sathan, of the Pope, of ye Turk, of hypocrites, of sectaries, of heretikes, of scismatikes, and of all the wycked, and vntounto our laste ende conserue vsus in thys holy witnesse of the holy Ghoste. Amen.
This is the fyrst part of this our gospel concerning that comforter the holy Ghoste,Of the crosse and affliction. howe hee comforteth the Christians. Nowe lette vsus come vntounto the seconde part, as touchyng the Crosse and affliction. And here muste we note specially the sayenge of Christe to hys Disciples:Luc. 24. They shall excommunicate you out of their Synagoges. These wordes declare euidentely, that they whyche excommunicate the Christians, and driue them out of theyr synagoges, maintayn this title, and doo greatly glory, that they are the Synagoge, or true churche, yea and they wyll also be counted suche, as are alone the true woorshyppers of God, and that in handlyng the Christians on this wyse, they doo God great, true, and faithfull seruice. For ells what needed Christ to hauehave spoken these wordes? The houre commeth, that who soeuer kylleth you, shall thynke, that he doothe an acceptable sacrifice vntounto God, and an hygh greate seruice.
It is therfore necessarie at al tymes, that we make a difference betwene the true and false churche. That is the false churche,The true and false churche. whiche chalengeth this name, and is so called, and yet not withstandynge is not the trewe churche. The true churche is that, which is not suffered to bee called the churche, and yet is the trewe Churche in dede.The pope and hys Secte is not the true churche. But it is an harde thyng to discerne these two churches. For thys hyndreth greatly, that the false Churche also hath the office of mynisterie in it, as it is to be seene. We frankely and frely confesse, that the Pope and his sect is not the trewe churche, and therfore we condemne theim as the Synagoge of Satan: Notwithstandynge when they baptise, ordeyne pastors, confirme maryages, we fynde no fault wyth these thynges for the ministerie and wordes sake, but we confesse theyr baptisme to be trewe, and therfore doo not we baptise the chyldren agayne, whiche were baptised of them. Whyche thynge notwithstandyng Cyprian dyd not folowe,Ciprians erroure. who was of this mynde, that he thought, that the baptisme, which was ministred of heretikes, was no ryghte and true baptisme, and therfore that the chyldren whiche they had baptised, ought to be baptised againe, as thoughe they hadde neuer ben baptised. And this was his reason. Heretikes (saythe he) are not in the vnitie of the Christen churche: Therfore can they hauehave no Christen ministerie. But this is not true. For the mynisterie and the person ar to be discerned, & a differēce is to be put betwene them. A notorious synner also is not of the vnitie of the Churche, yet hys mynisterie that hee hath in the churche, is not to bee despised. The reason is thys. For the mynisterie is not hys, but Christes. If he woulde go aboute to alter or breake the cōmandement of Christ: if he wold otherwise baptise preache, and minister the Lordes supper, then Christe hymselfe hath appointed and cōmanded: then is there here a sufficient cause for men to depart from his baptisme, preachynge, ministration of the Lordes supper &c. But if he alter not, nor change the institution and commaundement of Christe, what soeuer he bee, although neuer so synfull and wycked persone, yet hyndreth that nothyng at all the ministerie.
Therefore he that wyll ryghtly and truely discerne these two churches, he maye not onelyonly hauehave an eye to the ministerie. For the false churche also may hauehave the mynisterie, and yet is it not the true Churche. As the false Churche in lyke maner vsurpethe the name of GOD, and glorieth of it, but we maye not therfore beleue it.Exod. 20. Deut. 5. For the thyrde commaundement chargethe vsus, that we take not the name of GOD in vayne. And where as we aske in the fyrst petition of the Lordes Prayer,Math. 6. that the name of God maye be sanctifyed: This doothe also argue, that this name of God is prophanated and dishonoured of many. Therefore when the false churche vnderunder the name of God, and of the Churche curseth and condemneth thee, it is nothynge to the purpose:The excommunicate and curse of ye false churche is not to be feared. neyther nedest thou feare any thyng at all theyr curse and cōdemnation, but streight wayes make thou a difference betwene the trewe and false churche, and saye: I heare well the name of god and of the Churche, but the vngodly also can and do vsurpe that. For excepte it were so, we shoulde hauehave no nede of thys commaundement, that wee shoulde not take the name of God in vayne. Wherefore we muste fyrst of all consyder thys, whyther they vse the name of God, and of hys Church aryght, or not.
And vntounto this matter dothe the rule greatly helpe, whyche Christe prescribeth in thys place,How the false churche maye be knowen. when he in the ryght colours poynteth and setteth foorth the fals churche. For the true churche doothe not vsurpe the power of the swearde and of temporall punyshement. But the false churche chalengeth this power, and moste cruelly persecuteth the trewe Churche, as Christe prophecied before, that it should come to passe. By thys mayst thou well knowe, whyche is the fals church. But yet this is a more certayn argumēt, that Christ saith: These things shal they do to you, because they neyther knowe me, nor my Father. Here is also the false churche paynted and sette foorthe in her right colours, with her ordinarie power. They may cloke theyr matters with the name of God, and of the churche, and so bleare the eyes of the vnwyse and symple, as theyr manner is to doo, but yet for all theyr fayre shewe and glorious pretence, Christe sayth, that they neither knowe hym, nor hys Father.
But what is it to know Christ and his Father? It is not to say Masse,What it is to knowe god. to be shauē in the crown, to wear a typpet & a long gowne, to be cladde with a monkes coule, to vowe pouertie, chastitie, and obedience at the appoyntement of Antichriste, to absteyne frome fleshe, and to enforce the bealy with all kynde of daintie fyshe to lyue idelly in the cloyster of other mens labours.Iohn. 1. &c. But to knowe Christe, is to beleue, that Christ is the lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the worlde,What it is to knowe christ. whyche for our sake became man, dyed for vsus on the crosse, rose agayn from the dead, ascended into heauen. &c. Wyth this full persuasion and assured hope, that God wyll be mercyfull vntounto vsus for his sonne Christ Iesus sake. And this is to know the Father,What it is to know ye father to be throughly persuaded, that he for his son Christes sake will hauehave mercy on vsus, and not impute our synnes vntounto vsus, but frankly & frely forgeue them for Christes sake. Where this knowledge is, there is the true churche. But where this knowledge is not, there is not the true churche, although the ministerie and the name of God be there.
Therfore we muste hauehave respect to this knowledge aboue all thynges, that the true churche may certainly be knowen. The scisme or dissention, that nowe a dayes is in the Churche, offendeth manye, that they can not telle, to what parte they shoulde ioyne themselues. But in thys they fayle and do not theyr duetie, in that they wyll not consyder this rule. Thys is our doctrine, that before God nothing can preuail against synne and death,The doctrine of the true churche. but the alone death and Resurrection of Christ: & that who soeuer doth truly beleue this, is saued. But whosoeuer beleueth not this, what soeuer workes he dothe besydes, he can not be saued. Nowe what foundation, confirmation, and probation we hauehave for this our doctrine, the scriptures both of the olde and newe testamente doo abundantly declare and it hath ben sette foorth afore vntounto you many tymes. But what hath folowed?The doctrine of the false churche. For this doctrin the Pope and his church most cruelly persecute vsus, excommunicateth, pronounceth, and killeth vsus as heretikes. For this is his doctrin: who soeuer loketh to be saued he hymself must make satisfaction for his own sinnes. Christe (saieth he) satisfied onelyonly for Originall synne, what soeuer wee offende after Baptisme, that muste eueryevery mā make amendes for, and with his good workes recompence the same, and so pacifye the wrath of GOD. But howe agreeth thys doctrine with the knowledge of Christ? For thys is a good consequence. If Christ hath satisfied for oure synnes: then are not we able to make satisfaction for them. Good workes ar not to be left vndone, but we must do them for an other purpose, then to make satisfaction for our sinnes and to deserue euerlastyng lyfe by them,whi we ought to do good workes. euen to shew our obedience to God and to his holy comaundementes, to sette foorth the glory of our heauenly Father, to stoppe the mouthes of the aduersaries, to declare our Faithe in Christe, not to be vayne, idle, or dead: to mortifie olde Adam, to profite our neighbour, to wyn other vntounto the trueth of the Gospell. &c.
Thus see you by this rule of Christ, whyche is the right and true churche. But notwithstandyng we are caste out of the synagoges, and excommunicate of the Pope and his sect, because we repose and set our righteousnes and acceptation before God in CHRIST in his deathe and Resurrection. Nowe where as the the Pope and hys churche chalengeth vntounto them saluation by theyr owne workes, merites, and satisfactions: it is an euidente argumente, that they neyther knowe Christ, nor the Father. Forasmuche as we be well assured and certain, that we know Christ aright and the Papistes knowe not Christ: it ought not to trouble or moue vsus any thynge at all, although suche a church as neither knoweth Christ nor ye father, dothe excommunicate vsus, and pronounce vsus Heretikes, and the church of the deuil. Let this rather confort vsus, that we know the sonne and the father, and nothing at all care, that the Pope doth so greatly auance & set forthe himselfe against vsus with the name of the church, whē in dede his church is nothing els then the very synagoge of Satan. Let vsus in the meane season looke for an other iudgement,Apoc. 2. where not men with their lewde iudgement, but God hym selfe shall truely iudge, and make voyde and of no force the Popes excommunication, and shal at the last day before God and his angels declare vsus to be his true churche. For it can none otherwise be in this lyfe, then as Christe sayeth here: that there shall be two churches, and one shall excommunicate an other, and by no meanes one abyde an other to dwell together. But excommunication is neuer publikely exercised of the true Churche agaynste the false churche. For the false churche hathe euermore for the moste parte the sworde in her hande, and is able to defende her selfe at all tymes against suche as it fauoureth not, as we may see by the Pope: which is a moste sure argument, that he and his can not be the true churche. For as concernyng the true churche, it is in thys our Gospell playnly declared, that it shalbe excommunicated, vngentilly intreated, and miserably handled. They shall (saythe Christe) caste you out of the synagoges. Who are those Yow? Are they not the disciples and Apostles of Christ? They shall kyll you, (saythe he.) Who? Euen they, that call theym selues the Churche.
And thus also goeth the matter euen at thys present daye. Therfore thys excommunicatyng and murderyng whyche the Pope and hys churche,The tokens of the true churche. vseth againste the sainctes of God, whyche are the trewe churche, ought not to make vsus afrayde, but rather to take it ioyfully & paciently, & learne, that these things are the right tokens and manyfest declarations of the true and christen churche, yet so, that there be lykewise aboue all thynges the true knowledge of Christe and of hys Father. For the Anabaptistes and other sectes do suffer persecution also, but they hauehave not the knowledge of Christe and of his father, but they brynge in, and sette vp a newe kynd of monkery, and thorough thys they looke to be saued, and to hauehave God mercyfull vntounto them. But contrary wyse, the true Churche knoweth Christe and hys Father, that is to saye, it beleueth and trusteth onelyonly in the goodnes and mercye of God for Christes sake, and for that Fayth, confidence and hope, it gladly suffreth persecution, so that whatsoeuer chanceth vntounto it,The true chureh taketh all troubles pacientlye and thankefuly. it grudgeth not, but paently take it, because it knoweth, that Christe prophecied and tolde afore hande, that these thynges should so come to passe. Therefore it is well contente quietly to beare the tyrannie of the Pope, beyng gladde of thys, that it knoweth Christ and hys Father, where as the Pope and all his adherentes, althoughe they bragge neuer so muche of the Church, neyther know Christe nor his Father, but rather persecute them, that hauehave thys knowledge. Wherfore with a gladde heart and wyllynge spirite it suffreth all kynde of persecution, wyth a sure hope, that after thys lyfe it shall reygne with Christe, and lyue with hym euerlastyngly in the kyngdome of his Father. To whome with the same Christe his sonne, and the holy Ghoste that moste swete comforter, be all honoure and glorye for euer and euer. Amen.