Marginalia1555. Iuly.dearly beloued) are cast into MarginaliaIesabels bed of securitie.Iezabels bed of securitye, which of all plagues is the greuousest plague that cā be. They are bastards and not sonnes, for they are not vnder Gods rod of correction.

A great mercy it is therfore that God doth punyshe vs: for if he loued vs not, he would not punish vs.MarginaliaApoca. 3. Heb. 12. Now doth he chastyce vs that we should not be damned wyth the world.Marginalia1. Cor. 11. Now doth he nourture vs, because he fauoureth vs. Now may we thinke our selues Gods house and children, because he begynneth his chastising at vs:Marginalia1. Pet. 4. now calleth he vs to remember our synnes past. Wherfore? that we myght repent and aske mercy. And why? MarginaliaThe end wherefore Gods Saintes be afflicted in this world.that he myght forgeue vs, pardon vs, iustify vs, & make vs his children, and so begin to make vs here like vnto Christ, that we myght be lyke vnto him elswhere, euen in heauen where already we are set by faith with Christ, and at hys commyng in very deede, we shall then most ioyfully enioy, when our sinfull and vyle bodyes shall be made lyke to Christes gloryous body, MarginaliaPhillip. 3.according to the power whereby he is able to make all thyngs subiect to hym selfe.

Therfore my brethren, let vs in respect hereof, not lament but laude God, not be sory but be mery, not weepe but reioyce and be glad, that god doth vouchsafe to offer vs hys crosse,MarginaliaRom. 8. Marginalia2. Timo. 3. MarginaliaMath. 19. thereby to come to hym to endles ioyes and comfortes. For if we suffer, we shall raigne, if we cōfesse hym before men, he wyll confesse vs before hys father in heauen: if we be not ashamed of his gospell now, he wyll not be ashamed of vs in the last day, but wyll be glorifyed in vs, crowning vs wyth crownes of glory and endles felicitie: MarginaliaMath. 5.For blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousnes sake, for theirs is the kingdome of heauen: Be glad (sayth PeterMarginalia1. Pet. 4. 1. Pet. 5.) for the spirite of God resteth vpon you. After that you are a little while afflicted, God wil comfort, strengthen, and confirme you. MarginaliaHe exhorteth them to take comfort in the crosse.And therfore my good brethren, be not discouraged for crosse, for prison, or losse of goods, for cōfession of Christes gospell and truth, which ye haue beleued & liuely was taught amongest you in the dayes of our late good king and most holy Prince kyng Edward. Thys is most certayne, MarginaliaMath. 19.if you lose any thyng for Christes sake, and for contemning the Antichristian seruice set vp againe amongest vs: as you for your partes, euen in pryson shall fynde Gods great and rych mercy, farre passing all worldly wealth: so shall your wyues and chyldren in thys present life fynde and feele Gods prouydence more plentyfully then tongue can tel. For he wil shew mercyfull kyndnes on thousands of them that loue hym. MarginaliaPsal. 37.The good mans seede shall not go a begging his bread. You are good men, so many as suffer for Christes sake.

I trust you all, my dearely beloued, wil consyder this geare wyth your selues, & MarginaliaGods mercy sene in the crosse.in the crosse see Gods mercy, which is more swete, & to be set by, then lyfe it self, much more then any mucke or pelfe of this worlde. This mercy of God should make you mery and cherefull: MarginaliaRom. 8.for the afflictions of this life are not to be compared to the ioyes of the life prepared for you. You know MarginaliaMath. 7. 2. Tim. 3. 2. Cor. 5. Math. 16. MarginaliaA straite way. A little flocke. MarginaliaRom. 14.the way to heauen is not the wide way of the world, which windeth to the Deuil, but it is a strait way which few walke in. For few liue godly in Christ Iesu, few regard the life to come, few remember the day of iudgement, few remember how Christ will deny them before his father, that do deny him here, few consider that Christ wil be ashamed of them in the last day which are ashamed of his truth and true seruice, few cast their accompts what will be laid to theyr charge in the day of vengeaunce, few regard the condemnation of their owne consciences in doing that which inwardly they disalow, few loue God better then theyr goodes.

But I trust yet you are of this few, my dearly beloued, I trust you be of MarginaliaLuke. 10.the litle flocke which shall enherite the kingdom of heauen, I trust you are the mourners & lamenters which shalbe comforted with comfort which neuer shall be taken from you if you now repent your former euils, if now you striue against the euils that are in you, if now you continue to call vpon God, MarginaliaEphe. 4.if now you defile not your bodies with any Idolatrous seruice vsed in the Antichristian churches, if you molest not the good spirit of god which is geuen you as a gage of eternall redemption, a counsailer and maister to lead you into all truth: which good spirite I beseech the father of mercy to geue to vs all for his deare sonnes sake Iesus Christ our Lord: MarginaliaActes. 20.to whom I commēd you all, and to the word of his grace which is able to helpe you all, & saue you all that beleue it, follow it, and serue God therafter.

And of this I would you wrre all certaine, that al the

heares of your heads are nūbred,MarginaliaMath. 10. Math. 8. Ioh. 1. Psal 104. Psal. 31. so that not one of thē shall perish, neither shall any man or deuill be hable to attempt any thing, much lesse to doe any thing to you or any of you, before your heauēly father which loueth you most tenderly, shall geue them leaue: and when he hath geuen them leaue, they shall goe no further then he wyl, nor kepe you in trouble any longer then he will. Marginalia1. Pet. 5.Therefore cast on him all your care, for he is carefull for you. Only study to please him, and to kepe your consciences cleane, and your bodyes pure from the Idolatrous seruice, which now euery where is vsed, and God wil meruelously and mercifully defend and comfort you: which thing he do for his holy names sake in Christ our Lord, Amen.

MarginaliaAn other letter of Maister Bradford vnto a godly couple, to the same effect as the other before.GOd our deare & most merciful father through Christ, be with you my good brother and sister, as with hys childrē for euer, and in all things so guide you with hys holy spirit the leader of his people, as may be to his glory & your owne euerlasting ioy & comfort in him. Amē. Because I haue oftentimes receiued from either of you, comfort corporally (for the which I besech the Lorde, as to make me thankfull, so to recompence you both now and eternally) I cannot but go about (Lord helpe hereto for thy mercyes sake) to write some thing for your comfort spiritually.

MarginaliaDayes of affliction to the godly are ioyful: to the vnrepēting sinners be dolefull dayes.My dearely beloued, loke not vpon these dayes, & the afflictions of þ^e same here with vs, simply as they seeme vnto you, that is, as dismall dayes and dayes of Gods vengeaunce, but rather as lucky dayes and dayes of Gods fatherly kindnes towardes you and such as you be, that is, towards such as repent their sinnes and euill life past, and earnestly purpose to amend, walking not after the will of the world & most part of men for the preseruation of their pelfe, which wil they nil they, they shal leaue sooner or later, & to whom, or how it shalbe vsed they know not. In deede to such as walke in theyr wickednes and wind on with the world, this time is a time of wrath and vengeaunce, and their beginning of sorow is but now, because they contemne the Phisike of theyr father, which by this purging time and MarginaliaCleasing dayes.cleansyng dayes would worke theyr weale, which they wil not: and because they wil not haue gods blessing, which both wayes he hath offred vnto them, by prosperity and aduersity: therfore it shall be kept far enough from them. MarginaliaGods phisicke not to be refused.As when the sicke man will no kinde of Physicke at the hands of the Physition, he is left alone, and so the malady encreaseth and destroyeth him at the length. To such men in dede, these daies are and should be douleful dayes, daies of woe and weeping, because theyr damnation draweth nigh.

But vnto such as be penitent, and are desirous to liue after the Lords will (among whom I do not only count you, but as farre as a mā may iudge, I know ye are) vnto such I say, this time is and should be confortable. MarginaliaGods chastisment to be receaued with comfort.For first now your father chastiseth you & me for our sinnes: for the which if he would haue destroyed vs, then would he haue letten vs alone and left vs to our selues, in nothing to take to hart his fatherly visitation, which here it pleaseth him to worke presently, because elswhere he wil not remember our transgressions, as Paule wryteth: He chastiseth vs in the worlde, lest with the worlde we shoulde perishe. Therefore my deare hartes, call to minde your sinnes to lament them and to aske mercy for them in his sight, and withall vndoubtedly beleue to obtain pardon and assured forgeuenes of the same, MarginaliaGod punisheth not twise for one thing.for twise the Lord punysheth not for one thing.

So that I say, first we haue cause to reioyce for these dayes, because our father suffereth vs not to lye in Iesabels bed sleeping in our owne sinnes and security, but as myndfull on vs doth correct vs as hys children. Whereby we may be certayne, that we bee no bastards, but children: MarginaliaDifference betwene bastards and children.for he chastiseth euery child whom hee receiueth. So that they which are not partakers of hys chastising or that contemne it, declare them selues to be bastardes and not children: as I know ye are, which as ye are chastised, so do ye take it to hart accordingly. And therefore bee glad my deare hartes as folkes knowyng certaynly euen by these visitations of the Lord, that ye are his deare elect children, whose faultes your father doth visite with the rod of correction, but his mercy will he neuer take away from you, Amen.

Secōdly, ye haue cause to reioyce for these daies, because