Marginalia1555. Iuly.would excuse other men, which exteriourly haue walked much more grossely then many of you haue done: but that I would prouoke you all as my selfe, to more harty repentaunce and prayer. Let vs more and more encrease to know and lament our doubting of God, of his presence, power, anger, mercy. &c. Let vs better feele and hate our selfloue, securitie, negligence, vnthankefulnes, vnbelief, impatience. &c. MarginaliaEarnest repentance maketh the crosse more pleasant.and thē doubtles the crosse shall be lesse carefull, yea it shall be comfortable, and CHRIST most deare and pleasant: death then shall be desired as the dispatcher of vs out of all misery, and entraunce into eternall felicity and ioy vnspeakeable: the which is so much the more longed for, by how much we feele in dede the Serpentes bittes wherewith he woūdeth our heeles, that is, our outward Adam and senses. If we had I say, a liuely and true feelyng of his poyson, we could not but, as reioyce ouer our Captaine that hath brused his head, so be desirous to folow his example, that is, to geue our lyues with him and for him, and so to fill vp his passions, MarginaliaColoß. 1.that he might cōquere and ouercome in vs and by vs, to his glory and comfort of his children.

Now the second (I meane the sequele, or that which will folow on the straungers) my dearely beloued, let vs well loke vpon. MarginaliaIf Gods iudgemēts be so sharpe to his children, what will it be to hys enemies?For if so be that God iustly do thus giue to Sathan and his sede, to vexe and molest Christ and his penitent people: oh what and how iustly may hee and will hee geue to Sathan to entreate the rechles and impenitient sinners? If iudgement begin thus at Gods house, what will follow on them that be without, if they repent not? Certaynely for them is reserued the dregges of Gods cuppe, that is, brymstone, fyre, and tempest intollerable. Now are they vnwilling to drincke of Gods cuppe of afflictions which he offreth common with hys sonne Christ our Lord, MarginaliaMath. 8.lest they should lose their pigges with the Gergesites. They are vnwilling to come into the way that bringeth to heauen, euen afflictions: they in their hartes crye, let vs cast his yooke from vs: they walke two wayes, that is, they seeke to serue God and Māmon, which is vnpossible; MarginaliaThe doinges and wayes of the wicked described, and what is the end thereof.they will not come nygh the strait way that bryngeth to life: they open their eyes to behold present thinges onely: they iudge of religion after reason, and not after Gods word: they follow the more part, and not the better: they professe God wyth their mouthes, but in their hartes they deny hym, or els they would sanctify hym by seruing him more then men: they part stake with God which would haue all, geuing part to þ^e world, to þ^e Romish rout, & Antichristian Idolatry now set abroad amongst vs publickly: they will haue CHRIST, but none of his crosse, which will not be: they will be counted to liue godly in CHRIST, but yet they will suffer no persecution: they loue this world wherethrough the loue of God is driuen forth of them: they fauer those things that be of men, and not that be of God: Summa, they loue God in their lippes, but in their hartes, yea and in their deedes deny him, as well by not repenting their euils past, as by continuing in euill still, by doyng as the world, the flesh, and the deuill willeth, and yet still perchaunce they will pray or rather prate: thy will be done in earth, which is generally that euery one should take vp his crosse and follow CHRIST. But this is a hard saying: who is able to abide it? Therfore CHRIST must bee prayed to depart, lest all theyr pigges be drowned. The deuill shall haue his dwelling agayne in them selues, rather then in their pigges, and therefore to the deuill shall they go and dwell with hym in eternall perdition and damnation, euen in hell fyre a torment endles, and aboue all cogitations incomprehensible, if they repent not.

Wherfore by them (my dearely beloued) be admonished to remember your professiō, how that in Baptisme you made a solemne vow to renounce the deuill, the world. &c. You promised to fight vnder CHRISTES stādard. You learned CHRISTES Crosse afore you begun with A. B. C. Go to then, pay your vow to the Lord: fight like men and valiaunt men vnder CHRISTES stādard: MarginaliaHe doth embolden them to take vp Christes crosse and to follow him.take vp your Crosse & folow your Maister, as your brethren M. Hoper, Rogers, Taylor, and Saunders haue done, & as now your brethren M. Cranmer, Latymer, Ridley, Farrar, Bradford, Haukes. &c. be ready to do. The Ise is brokē before you, therfore be not afrayd, but be content to dye for the Lord. You haue no cause to wauer or doubt of the doctrine thus declared by the bloud of the pastours. Remember that CHRIST sayth: He that will saue his lyfe shall lose it. And what should it profite you to winne the whole world, much lesse a litle quietnes, your goods, &c.

and to lose your owne soules? Render to the Lord that he hath lent you, by such meanes as he would haue you render it, and not as you would. Forget not, CHRISTES Disciples must deny thē selues, as well concernyng their will, as concerning their wisedome. Haue in mynd, that as it is no small mercy to beleue in the Lord, so it is no small kindnes of God towardes you to suffer any thing, much more death for the Lord. MarginaliaBlessed be they that die in the Lord: but more blessed be they that die for the Lord.If they be blessed that dye in the Lord, how shall they be that dye for the Lord? Oh what a blessyng is it to haue death due for our sinnes, diuerted into a demonstration & testification of the Lordes truth? Oh that we had a litle of Moses faith to looke vpō the end of the crosse, to looke vpon the reward, to see cōtinually with CHRIST & his people, greater riches thē the riches of Egypt. MarginaliaThe end and riches that follow the crosse.Oh let vs pray that God would open our eyes to see his hyd Manna, heauenly Ierusalem, the cōgregation of the first borne, the melody of the Saintes, the tabernacle of God dwellyng with men: then should we runne and become violent men, and so take the kyngdome of heauen as it were by force. God our father geue vs for his CHRISTES sake, to see a litle, what and how great ioy he hath prepared for vs, he hath called vs vnto, and most assuredly geueth vs for his owne goodnes and truthes sake. Amen.

My dearely beloued, repent, be sober and watch in prayer, be obedient, and after your vocations shew your obedience to the hygher powers in all thynges that are not agaynst Gods word, therin acknowledging þ^e soueraigne power of the Lord: howbeit so that ye be no rebels or rebellers for no cause: but because with good cōscience you can not obey, be paciēt sufferers, and the glory and good spirite God shall dwell vpō vs. I pray you remember vs your afflicted brethrē beyng in the Lordes bondes for the testimony of CHRIST, and abidyng the gracious houre of our deare and most mercyfull father. The Lord for CHRISTES sake, geue vs mery hartes to drinke lustly of his swete cup, which dayly we grone and sigh for, lamenting that the time is thus prolonged. The Lord IESVS geue vs grace to be thankefull, & to abyde paciently the prouident houre of his most gracious good will, Amen. Amen.

From the Counter in the Poultry.
Your in Christ Iohn Bradford.

MarginaliaA letter of M. Bradford to Ioh. Careles.THe father of mercy and God of all comfort, viset vs with his eternal consolation, according to his great mercies in IESVS CHRIST our Sauiour, Amen.

My very deare brother, if I shall report the truth vnto you, I cannot but signify that sithen I came into prison. I neuer receaued so much consolation as I dyd by your last letter, the name of God be most hartelye praysed therefore. But if I shall report the truth vnto you, and as I haue begun, speake still the verity, I must confesse that for mine vnthankfulnes to you wardes, and to God especially, I haue more neede of Gods mercyful tidings, then I had euer heretofore. Ah that Sathan enuieth vs so greatly. Ah that our Lord would treade hys heade vnder our feete shortly. Ah that I might for euer, both my self beware, and be a godly example to you and others to beware of vnthankefulnes. Good brother Careles, MarginaliaAfter a lightning, take hede of a foyle.we had more neede to take heede after a lightening, of a foile then before. God therefore is to be praysed euen when he hideth, and that of long, a chereful coūtenaunce from vs, lest we being not expert howe to vse it as we should do, do hurt more our selues thereby: so great is our ignorance and corruption. This my good brother and right deare to my very hart, I write vnto you as to one whom in the Lord I embrace, & I thanke God that you doe me in lyke maner. God our father more and more geue vs both his good spirite, that as by faith we may fele our selues vnited vnto him in CHRIST, so by loue wee maye feele our selues linked in the same CHRIST one to an other, I to you, and you to me, we to all the children of God, and all the children of God to vs, Amen, Amen.

Cōmend me to our good brother MarginaliaThis Skelthrop was a frewell man.Skelthrop, for whom I hartely prayse my God, which hath geuen hym to see hys truth at the length, and to geue place to it. I doubt not, but that he wyll be so heedy in all his conuersation, that his old acquaintance may euer therby thinke them selues astray. Wo and wo againe should be vnto vs, if we by our example shoulde make men to stumble at the truth. Forget not salutations in CHRIST, as you shal