MarginaliaAn. 1555. Iuly.selues, but in respect of Christ your Captaine, your Pastour, your Keeper, out of whose handes none shall bee able to catch you. MarginaliaAll our hope is only in Christ and for hys sake to be receaued.In hym be quiet, and often consider your dignitie, namely how that ye be Gods childrē, the Saintes of God, Citizens of heauen, temples of the holy Ghost, the thrones of God, members of Christ, and Lordes ouer all.

Therefore be a shamed to thinke, speake, or doe anye thing that should be vnsemely for Gods children, Gods Saintes, Christes members. &c. Maruayle not though MarginaliaTo beare the crosse.the deuill and the world hate you, though ye be persecuted here: for the seruaunt is not aboue his maister. Couet not earthly riches, feare not the power of man, loue not this world nor thinges that bee in this world: but long for the Lord Iesus hys commyng,MarginaliaMortification. at which tyme your bodies shall be made like vnto his glorious body. When he appeareth, you shall bee lyke vnto him: when your lyfe thus shall bee reuealed, then shall ye appeare with hym in glory.

In the meane season lyue in hope hereof. Let the lyfe you lead bee in the fayth of the sonne of God: MarginaliaWe must liue in the fayth of Christ.For the iust doth lyue by fayth, which fayth flieth from all euyll, and foloweth the word of God, as a lanterne to her feete and a lyght to her steps: her eyes be aboue where Christ is: MarginaliaThe property of fayth.she beholdeth not the thinges present, but rather things to come: she glorieth in affliction, she knoweth that the afflictions of this lyfe are not lyke to be compared to the glory which God wyll reueale to vs, and in vs. Of this glory God graunt vs here a lyuely taste: then shall we runne after the sent it sendeth foorth. It wyll make vs valiant men to take to vs the kingdome of God: whether the Lord of mercy bring vs in hys good tyme thorowe Christ our Lord, to whom with the father and the holy Ghost, three persons and one God, be all honour and glory world wythout ende, Amen.

My dearely beloued, I would gladly haue geuen here my body to haue bene burned for the confirmation of the true doctrine I haue taught here vnto you. MarginaliaAfter the condemnation of M. Bradford, it was purposed of the aduersaries that he should be burnt in Lankeshire, but theyr purpose altered. Pag. 1789.But that my countrey must haue. Therfore I pray you take in good part this signification of my good wil towards euery of you. Impute the want herein to time and trouble. Pardon me mine offensiue and negligent behauior when I was amongest you. With me repent, and labor to amende. Continue in the truth which I haue truely taught vnto you by preaching in al places where I haue come, Gods name therefore be praysed. Confesse Christ when you are called, what soeuer commeth therof, and the God of peace be wyth vs all, Amen. This. xj. of February. An. 1555.

Your brother in bondes for the
Lordes sake, Ioh. Bradford.

MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Bradford to the vniuersitie of Cambridge.TO al that loue the Lord Iesus and his true doctrine being in the Vniuersitye and towne of Cambridge, Iohn Bradford a most vnworthy seruaunt of the Lorde, now not onely prisoned but also cōdemned for the same true doctrine, wisheth grace, peace, & mercy, w^t increase of all godlines from God the father of al mercy, through þ^e bloudy passion of our alonely Sauiour Iesus Christ, by the liuely working of the holy spirite for euer, Amen.

Although I looke hourly when I should bee had to the stake (my right dearely beloued in the Lord) and although the charge ouer me is great & strait: yet hauing by the prouidence of God secretly pen and inke, I could not but somthing signifie vnto you my solicitude which I haue for you, and euery of you in the Lord, though not as I would, yet as I may. You haue often and openly heard the truth (especially in this matter where in I am condemned) disputed and preached, that it is nedeles to doe any more but onely to put you in remembraunce of the same: but hetherto you haue not heard it confirmed and, as it were, sealed vp, as now you do and shall heare by me, that is, by my death and burning. For al be it I haue deserued (through my vncleanes, hipocrisye, auarice, vainglory, idlenes, vnthankfulnes, and carnalitye, whereof I accuse my selfe, to my confusion before the world, that before God through Christ I myght, as my assured hope is I shall, finde mercy) eternall death and hel fire, much more then this affliction and fire prepared for me: yet my dearely beloued, MarginaliaThe Martyrs persecuted of the prelates, not for theyr sinnes, but only for Christ.it is not these or any of these thinges, wherefore the Prelats doe persecute mee, but Gods verity and truth: yea euen Christ him selfe is the onely cause and thing wherefore I now am condemned, and shall bee burned as an hereticke for because I wil not graunt the Antichrist of Rome to be Christs vicar generall and supreme head of his church here, & eue-

ry where vpon earth, by Gods ordinance, and MarginaliaThe cause of his condemnation declared.because I wyll not graunt such corporal, reall, and carnall presence of Christes body and bloud in the Sacrament, as doth transubstantiate the substance of bread and wyne, and is receyued of the wicked, yea of dogges and mice. Also I am excommunicated, and counted as a dead member of Christes church, as a rotten braunch, and therefore shall be cast into the fier.

Therefore ye ought hartely to reioyce with mee, and to geue thankes for me, that God the eternal father hath vouched safe our mother to bring vp any child in whom it would please hym to magnifie hys holye name as he doth, and I hope for hys mercy and truthes sake, wil do in me and by me. Oh, what such benefite vpon earth can it be, MarginaliaA great mercy of God to turne the death of his saintes iustly deserued, to serue for a confirmation of his owne glory.as that that which deserued death by reason of my synnes, should be diuerted to a demonstration a testification and cōfirmation of Gods verity and truth? Thou my mother the Vniuersity hast not onely had the truth of Gods word plainly manifested vnto thee by reading, disputing, and preaching publickly and priuately: but now to make thee altogether excuseles, and as it were, almost to synne against the holy ghost if thou put to thy helping hand wyth the Romish rout to suppresse the verity and set out the contrary, thou hast my life and bloud as a seale to confirme thee, if thou wylt bee confirmed, MarginaliaCantabrisienses bene moniti.or els to confound thee & beare witnes against thee, if thou wilt take part with the Prelats & Clergy, which now fil vp the measure of their fathers, which slew þ^e Prophets & Apostels, that all righteous bloud from Abel to Bradford shed vpon the earth may be required at theyr hands

Of this therefore I thought good before my death, as time and liberty would suffer me (for loue and dutye I beare vnto thee) to admonishe thee good Mother, and my Sister the Towne, that you would call to minde frō whence you are fallen, and study to do the first workes. Ye know (if you will) these matters of the *Marginalia* Read before the letter of Cābridge to Henry 8. agaynst the Popes supremacy. Pag. 1204. Romishe supremacie and the Antichristian transubstantiation, whereby Christes supper is ouerthrowen, his priesthod euacuate, his sacrifice frustrate, the ministery of his word vnplaced, repentance repelled, fayth faynted, godlynes extinguished, the Masse maintained, idolatry supported, and all impiety cherished: you know I say (if you wil) that these opinions are not onely besydes Gods word, but euen directly agaynst it, and therefore to take part with them, is to take part against God, agaynst whom you can not preuaile.

Therefore for the tēder mercy of Christ, in his bowels and bloud I besech you, to take Christes colliryum & eye salue to annoynt your eyes, that you may see what you do and haue done in admitting (as I heare you haue admitted, yea alas authorised, and by consent confirmed) the Romish rotten rags, which once you vtterly expelled. Oh be not Marginalia* The dogge returned to his owne vomit.* Canis reuersus ad vomitū, be not *Marginalia* The Sow that was washed returned to her walloing in the myre. 2. Pet. 2.Sus lota reuersa ad volutabrum cœni. Beware lest Sathan enter in with seuen other spirites, and then postrema shall bee woorse then the first. It had bene better ye had neuer knowen the truth, then after knowledge to runne from it. Ah, wo to this world and the things therein, which hath now so wrought wyth you. Oh that euer this dirt of the deuill should daube vp the eye of the Realme. For thou (O mother) art as it were the eye of the Realme. If thou bee lyght & geue shine, all the body shall fare the better. But if thou the light be darknes, alas how great wyll the darknes be? What is man whose breath is in his nosthrels, that thou shouldest thus be afraid of him?

Oh what is honour and lyfe here? Bubbles. MarginaliaThe glory of thys world a vayne thing.What is glory in this world, but shame? Why art thou afrayd to cary Christes crosse? Wilt thou come into his kingdome and not drinke of his cup? Doest thou not know Rome to be Babylon? Doest thou not knowe that as the olde MarginaliaBabylon hath Iuda in captiuitie.Babylon had the chyldren of Iuda in captiuitie, so hath this Rome the true Iuda, that is the cōfessors of Christ? Doest thou not know that as destruction happened vnto it, so shall it do vnto this? And trowest thou that God will not deliuer his people now when the time is come, as he dyd then? Hath not God commaunded his people to come out from her? and wylt thou geue ensample to the whole realme to runne into her? Hast thou forgottē the wo that Christ threatneth to offence geuers? Wylt thou not remember that it were better that a Mylstone were hanged about thy necke, and thou throwen into the sea, then that thou shouldest offend the litle ones?

And alas, how hast thou offended? yea how doest thou stil offende? MarginaliaThe church standeth not in the outward shew.Wilt thou consider thynges accordyng to the outward shew? Was not the Synagoge more semely & like to be þ^e true church, then the simple flocke of Christes