selues, doo thyncke and perswade wyth them selues, that the prelates bee the churche whiche the Lorde will alwayes kepe and neuer forsake, as he hath promised in the persons of the Apostles Mat. 28. saying: And I will be with you to the end of the world, &c. But thys is to be vnderstād of faith, wherof Christ speaketh Lu. 21. I haue prayed for thee, that thy fayth shall not fayle. MarginaliaThe church where it is, in whom it cōsisteth.wherof we read Eccle. 40. fayth shall stand for euer, &c. MarginaliaEccles. 40.And albeit charitie waxe neuer so colde, yet fayth notwithstanding, shall remaine in fewe, in all distresses of the world: of the which distresses, our Sauiour doth prophecie of, in many places to come. And least peraduenture some should thinke themselues to be safe from tribulation because they be of the church, this opinion the Lord himselfe doth contrarye in Hierem. 7. Trust not sayth he in false lyeng wordes, saying, the temple of the Lorde, the temple of the Lord, and a litle after: but you trust in words and lying counsailes which deceaue you, and do you no good.MarginaliaHiere. 7.

MarginaliaThe second opinion.The second opinion is of them, which deferre tyme, for this they well graunt, that the church shall abide trouble, but not so shortlye: thinking thus with themselues, that all these causes & tokens afore recited, haue ben before at other tymes as wel in the church. For both by Gregorye and Bernard holy doctors, in time past the prelates haue been in lyke sorte reprehended, both for their brybinges, for their pompe and pryde, for the promoting of children and persons vnfytte vnto ecclesiasticall functions, and other vices moe, which haue reigned before this in the church of God more thē now, and yet by God his grace, the church hath prospered and stand. Do ye not see, that if an house haue stand and continued ruinous a long season, it is neuer the more nere the fall therby, but rather to be trusted the better? Moreouer, many tymes it commeth so to passe in realmes & kyngdomes, that the posteritie is punished for the sinnes of their predecessours. Wherof speaketh þ^e boke of Lamēt. cap. 5. Our fathers haue sinned, and are now gone, and we must beare their wickednes, &c. MarginaliaThren. 5.Against this cogitation or opinion, wel doth the Lord answere by the Prophet Ezech. cap. 12. saying: Beholde thou sonne of man the house of Israell sayth in this maner. Tushe as for the vision that he hath sene, it will be many a daye or it come to passe: It is farre of, yet the thing that he prophecieth. Therfore say vnto them, thus saith the Lord God: The wordes that I haue spokē shall be deferred no longer, loke what I haue sayd, shall come to passe sayth the Lord, &c. MarginaliaEzech. 12.We haue sene in our dayes things to happen, which semed before incredible. And the like hath been seene in other tymes also: as we read writen in the boke of Lament. cap. 4. The kinges of the earth, nor all the inhabitaūce of the world would not haue beleued, that the enemie and aduersarye shoulde haue come in at the gates of the citie, for the sinnes of her priestes, & for the wickednes of her elders that haue shed innocents bloud w^tin her, &c. MarginaliaThren. 4.by Hierusalē, as I said is ment the church.

MarginaliaThe thyrd opinion, or errour.The third opinion or errour is very perilous & peruerse, of all such as say, veniat, let come, that will come: Let vs conforme our selues to this world, and take our tyme with those Temporisers which say in the boke of wisedome. Sap. 2. Come let vs enioye our goods & pleasures that be present, and let vs vse the creature as in youth quicklye, &c. MarginaliaSap. 2.Such as these be, are in a dangerous case, & be greatly preiudiciall to good mē in the church: And if the heades and rulers of the church were so vile to haue any such detestable cogitation in thē, there were no place in hell to deepe for them. This church founded by the Apostles in Christ, consecrated with the bloud of so many martirs, enlarged and increased with the vertues and merites of so many saintes, & indued so richly with the deuotion of so many secular princes, & so long prospered hetherto: If it now should come into þ^e hands of such persons, it should fall in great daūger of ruine,and they for their negligence & wickednes wel deserued of God to be cursed, yea here also in this present worlde to incurre in temporall tribulation & destruction, which they feare more: by the sentence of the Lorde saying to them in the booke of Prouerbes cap. 1. All my counsailes ye haue despysed, and set my correctiō at naught. Therfore shall I also laugh in your destruction, whē tribulation and anguishe shall fall vpon you.MarginaliaProu. cap. 1.

MarginaliaThe fourth opiniō, or error.Fourthly, an other opinion or errour is of such as being vnfaythfull, beleue not any such thing to come. And this errour semeth to haue no remedie, but that as other thinges & other kingdomes haue their endes and limites set vnto them, which they can not ouerpasse: So it must nedes be, that such a domination & gouernment of the church haue an ende, by reason of the demerites and obstinacies of the gouernours prouoking and requyring the same: like as we read in the Prophet Hieremie. cap. 8. There is no man that taketh repentaunce for his sinne, þ^t will so much as say, wherfore haue I done this. But euery mā runneth forth still like a wilde horse in a battaile. MarginaliaHierem. 8.And the Prophet Hierem. in the 13. chapt. of his prophecie: Lyke as the mā of Iude may chaunge his skinne, & the catte of the mountaine her spottes, so may ye that be exercised in euill, do good. MarginaliaIerem. 13.Wherunto also accordeth that which is written of þ^e same Prophet. cap. 17 speaking of Iuda signifieng the church: The sinne of Iuda, sayth he, is written in the table of your hartes, and grauen so vpon the edges of your altars with a pen of yron, and with an Adamant claw, MarginaliaIerem. 17.which is as much to say, as indelible, or which can not be rased out: as also Ezechiell speaking of the punishment. cap. 21. sayth: I the Lord haue drawen out my sworde out of the sheth, and can not be reuoked. MarginaliaEzech. 21.Notwithstāding, all these signifie no impossibilitie, but difficultie, because that wicked men are hardly conuerted: for otherwise the Scripture importeth no such inflexibilitie with God, but if cōuersion come, he will forgeue. So we read in the Prophet Ionas cap. 3. Who can tell? God may turne and repent, and cease frō his fearce wrath that we perishe not. MarginaliaIonas cap. 3.And to the like effect saith the same Lord in Hierem. cap. 26. Looke thou kepe not one word backe, if peraduenture they will harken and turne euery man from his wicked way, that I also may repent of the plage which I haue determined to bring vpon them, because of their wicked inuentions, &c. MarginaliaHierem. 26.For the farther proofe wherof, Niniue we see conuerted, & remained vndestroied, &c. Likewise, the Lord also had reueled destructiō vnto Constantinople by sondry signes and tokens, as August. in a certain Sermon doth declare. And thus for the thyrd parte or member of my diuision.

MarginaliaThe fourth parte or mēber of the subdiuision.Fourthlye and lastlye remayneth to declare, some wholesome concluding now vpon the causes preceding: That is, if by these causes & signes (heretofore declared) tribulation be prepared to fall vpon the church, then let vs humble our myndes myldely and wyselye. And if we so returne with hart and in deede vnto God, verelye he wyll rescue and helpe after an inestimable wyse: & wyll surcease from scourging vs, as he promiseth by his prophet Ieremy. 18. If that people, agaynst whom I haue thus deuised, conuert from their wyckednes: immediatly I wyll repent of the plage that I deuised to bring vpon them: speaking here, after the maner of mē. &c. MarginaliaIeremie. 18.Now therefore, for so much as tribulation and affliction is so neare commyng toward vs, yea, lieth vpon vs already, let vs be the more diligent to call vpon God for mercye. For I thinke verely, these manye yeares there hath not been so many and so despitefull haters and ilwyllers, stout, and of such a rebellious hart agaynst the churche of God, as be now adayes: neyther be they lacking that would worke all þ^t they can agaynst it, & louers of new fanglenes whose harts the Lord happely will turne, that they shall not hate his people and worke deceite agaynst his seruaunts, I meane agaynst priestes whō they haue