MarginaliaAn. 1555. February.houres in the day. Death shall be welcome (say I) as being looked for long since, and yet do iustice ye were best, for Abels bloud cryed, ye wotte what. The spirit of God be vpon you, and God saue your honours. Thus departed I from them. Pray, pray. Ah, ah, Puer sum, nescio loqui. i. I am a childe, I cannot speake. My brother P. shal shew you more herein. By him send me word what you haue done. Fare ye well, and pray, pray. I woulde gladly meete with my good brother Bradford on the backe syde about a. xj. of the clocke. Before that tyme I can not start out, we haue such outwalkers, but then wyll they be at dynner.

Yours as you know, Laurence Saunders.

¶ A letter which Laurence Saunders did wryte to his wife and others of the faithfull, after his condemnation to the fire, written the last of Ianuary 1555. out of the Counter in Breadstrete.  

Commentary     Close

First in Rerum, pp. 415-17, then in 1563; Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 204-06 and subsequent editions of the Acts and Monuments. ECL 260, fo. 254r-v and ECL 262, fos. 167r-169r are copies of this letter.

MarginaliaA comfortable letter of M. Saunders to his wife and others of the faithful flocke.THe grace of Christ, with the consolation of the holy Ghost, to the keeping of fayth & a good conscience, cōfirme & keepe you for euer vessels to Gods glory, Amen.

Oh what worthy thankes can be geuen to our gracious God for hys vnmeasurable mercies plentifully poured vpon vs? And I most vnworthy wretch can not but poure forth at this present, euen from the bottome of my hart, the bewayling of my great ingratitude and vnkindnes towards so gracious a good god and louing father. I besech you all, as for my other many synnes, so especially for that synne of my vnthankfulnes, craue pardon for me in your earnest prayers, commēding me to Gods great mercies in Christ. To number these mercies in particular, were to number the drops of water which are in the sea, the sandes on the shore, the stars in the sky. O my deare wyfe, and ye the rest of my frendes, reioyce wyth me: I say, reioyce with thankesgeuing for this my present promotion, in that I am made worthy to magnifie my God, not onely in my lyfe by my slow mouth & vncircumcised lips bearing witnes vnto his truth, but also by my bloud to seale the same, to the glory of my God and confirmyng of hys true church. And as yet, I testifie vnto you, that MarginaliaThe sweete comfort of Christ taketh away the feare of death from Saunders.the comfort of my sweete Christ doth driue from my phantasie the feare of death. But if my deare husband Christ doe for my triall, leaue me alone a little to my selfe, alas I knowe in what case I shall bee then: but if for my proufe hee doe so, yet I am sure he wil not be long nor farre from me. Though he stand behynd the wall and hyde himselfeMarginaliaCant. 2. (as Salomon sayth in his mysticall ballet) yet will he peepe in by a crest to see how I do. He is a very tender harted Ioseph. MarginaliaIosephes handling of his brethren applyed to Christ.Though he speake roughly to hys brethren and handle them hardly, yea and threaten greuous bondage to his best beloued brother Beniamin, yet can he not conteyne himselfe from weping with vs and vpon vs, with falling on our neckes, & sweetely kissing vs. MarginaliaChrist a sweete brother vnto vs.Such, such a brother is our Christ vnto vs all. Wherefore hasten to go vnto hym as Iacob did wyth hys Sonnes and family, leauing their coūtrey and acquaintaunce. Yea this our Ioseph hath obtayned for vs, that Pharao the Infidel shal minister vnto vs chariots, wherein at ease wee may bee caryed to come vnto hym: as we haue experience how our very aduersaries doe helpe vs vnto our euerlasting blisse by their speedy dispatch, yea and how all thinges haue bene helpinges hereunto: blessed be our God. Be not afrayd of fraybugges which lye in the way. Feare rather the euerlasting fyre: feare the Serpent which hath that deadly sting of which by bodely death they shall bee brought to taste which are not grafted in Christ, wanting fayth & a good conscience, and so are not acquainted with Christ the killer of death. But oh my deare wyfe and frendes, we, we whom God hath deliuered from the power of darknes, and hath translated vs into the kingdome of hys deare Sonne, by putting of the old man, and by fayth puttyng on the new, euen our Lord Iesus Christ, his wysedome, holynes, righteousnes and redemption, we I say haue to triumph against the terrible spitefull Serpent the deuill, synne, hell, death, and damnation. For Christ our brasen Serpent hath MarginaliaThe sting of death pluckt out.pulled away the sting of this Serpent, so that now we may boldly in beholding it spoiled of hys sting, triumph, and with our Christ and all hys elect say: Marginalia1. Cor. 15.Death where is thy styng? Hell where is thy victorye? Thankes be to God, who hath geuen vs [Vs] the victory, through our Lord Iesus Christ.

Wherefore bee mery my deare wife, and all my deare fellow heires of the euerlasting kingdome, alwayes remember the Lord. Reioyce in hope, be pacient in tribu-

lation, continue in prayer, and pray for vs now appoynted to the slaughter, that we may bee vnto our heauenly father, a fat offering, and an acceptable sacrifice. I may hardly write to you. Wherefore let these few wordes be a wytnes of commendations to you, and all them which loue vs in the faith, and namely vnto my MarginaliaTo this his flocke the parishe of Alhallowes in Bredstret, he wrote also a fruitfull letter, exhorting and charging them to beware of the Romishe religion and constantly to sticke to the truth which they had confessed.flocke, among whō I am residēt by Gods prouidēce, but as a prisoner. And although I am not so among them, as I haue ben to preach to them out of a Pulpit, yet doth God nowe preach vnto them by me, by this my imprisonment and captiuity, which now I suffer among them for Christes Gospels sake, bidding them to beware of the Romishe Antichristian religion and kingdome, requiring & charging them to abide in the truth of Christ, which is shortly to be sealed with þ^e bloud of their Pastor: who though he be vnworthy of such a ministery, yet Christ their hygh Pastor is to be regarded, whose truth hath bene taught them by me, is witnessed by my chaynes, and shall be by my death, through the power of that high Pastor. Be not carefull good wyfe, cast your care on the Lord, and commend me vnto him in repentant praier, as I do you and our Samuel: whom euen at the stake, I will offer as my selfe vnto God. Fare ye well al in Christ, in hope to be ioyned with you in ioy euerlasting. This hope is put vp in my bosome, Amen, Amen, Amen. Pray, pray.

An other letter to Maistres Lucy Haringtō, a godly gentlewoman, and friendly to him in his troubles.  

Commentary     Close

First in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 212-15. ECL 260, fos. 42r-43v is a copy of this letter.

MarginaliaAn other comfortable letter of Maister Saunders.YOur most gentle commendations, wherof this messenger made remembraunce vnto me, was for two causes very comfortable. First, for that thereby I vnderstoode of the state of your health and bodely welfare, for the which I geue thankes vnto God, who graunt the long continuaunce thereof to hys honour and fatherly good will, whereunto I wyll dayly say, Amen. And farther, I was refreshed by the expressing of your myndfull frendship towardes me farre vnworthy thereof. Wherin I take occasion of much reioysing in our so gratious a God and mercifull father, who as hee hath in hys vnmeasurable mercy by fayth handfasted vs hys chosen children vnto hys deare Sonne our Christ, as the spirituall Spouse of such an heauenly Husband: so he lyncketh vs by loue one vnto an other, being by that bonde compact together with charitable readines to doe good one vnto an other: so that fyrst to the glory of our God and his Christ, then to our owne ioying in the testimonye of a good conscience, and last of all to the stopping of the mouthes and confusion of our aduersaries, we beare MarginaliaThe true badge of Christ.the badge as the right spouse of our Christ, which he himself noted in this his saying: MarginaliaIohn. 13.herein shall all men know that ye be my Disciples, if ye loue one an other. Then farther, by thys bond of mutuall loue, is set forth the fatherly prouidence of God towardes vs hys children, that though it be hee which careth for vs, in whom we lyue, moue and be, who feedeth all flesh with bodely sustenance, yet hath hee appointed vs in these present necessities, to stand in his stede one vnto an other. Wherin is not onely set forth our dignity, but also that vnspeakeable accord and vnitie among vs the many members in hys mysticall body. And though that eyther for lacke of habilitie, or els through distance of place, power and oportunitie of helping one an other do faile: yet wonderful is the working of Gods children through the spirite of prayer, as whereby they fetch all heauenly influence from Christ their celestiall head by hys spirite,MarginaliaIohn. 15. to be measured seuerally as may serue to the maintenāce of the whole body. Thus doth our faithful prayer which we make one for an other, MarginaliaPrayer distributeth Gods blessings from one to an other.distribute and scatter Gods bountifull blessings both ghostly and bodely, when ordinary habilitie lacketh, & when the arme may not reach forth such gods riches. According hereunto I well perceiue and vnderstand your readynes to do good vnto al, and esyecially I haue experience of your ready good wil towardes me in your harty desyre to stretch out your helpyng hand to relieue my lacke, and of your helpe to be extēded to me in the other spirituall sort by your good prayer, I doubt not: as I also therein assure you of my helpe, being all that I may doe, and yet the same not so much as I would doe.

My neede concerning bodily necessaries, is as yet furnished by Gods prouision, so that I am not driuen to any extremitie wherefore to bee burdenous to you, as your gentle beneuolēce prouoketh me, the Lord reward you therefore. If God make me worthy to be his wytnes at this present, in geuyng thys corruptible body to burne for the testimony of hys truth, it is enough for me