¶ Letters of M. Iohn Hullier Minister.  

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Hullier's Letters

Hullier's second letter and his prayer first appeared in the Rerum (pp. 538-42). His first letter was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs (pp. 517-22). In the 1570 edition, both of his letters were reprinted but his prayer was deleted. No further changes were made to this material in subsequent editions. A letter of Hullier to his Cambridge congregation, which was never printed by Foxe or Bull, is ECL 260, fos. 153r-156v.

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¶ A letter of Iohn Hullier to the Christian congregation, exhorting them faithfully to abyde in the doctrine of the Lord.  

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This letter was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 517-22. Incomplete manuscript copies survive in Foxe's papers: ECL 260, fos. 157r-159v, 173r-v and 207r-v.

Marginalia1556. Aprill.MarginaliaA letter exhortatory of I. Hullier to þ^e flocke of faithfull Christians.IT standeth now most in hand (O deare Christians) all thē that looke to be accōpted of CHRISTES flocke at that great and terrible day, when a separation shall be made of that sort that shall be receaued, from the other which shall be refused, faythfully in this tyme of great afflictions, to heare our Maister CHRISTES voyce, the onely true shepeheard of our soules, which sayth: MarginaliaMath. 24.whosoeuer shall endure to the ende, shall be safe. For euen now is that great trouble in hand (as here in England we may well see) that our Sauiour CHRIST spake of so long before, which should follow the true and sincere preaching of hys Gospell. Therefore in this tyme, we must nedes eyther shew that we be his faythfull souldiers, & continue in hys battell vnto the end, MarginaliaEphe. 6. 1. Thess. 5.putting on the armour of God, the buckeler of fayth, the brest plate of loue, the helmet of hope and saluation, and the sword of his holy word (which we haue heard plentifully) with all instance of supplication and prayer: or els if we do not woorke & labor with these, we are Apostataes and false soldiours, shrinking most vnthankfully from our gracious and soueraigne Lord and Captaine CHRIST, and leaning to Beliall. For as he saith plainly: MarginaliaLuk. 14.who soeuer beareth not my crosse & followeth me, he cannot be my Disciple. And: MarginaliaMath. 6.No man can serue two Masters: for either he must hate the one, and loue the other, or els he shall leane to the one, and dispise the other. The which thing the faithfull Prophet Helias signified, when he came to the people, and said: Marginalia3. Reg. 18.why halt ye betwene two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him, or if Baal be he, thē follow him. Now let vs not thinke, but that the same was recorded in writing for our instruction, whom the endes of the world are come vpon, as the Apostle S. Paule sayth: MarginaliaRom. 15.whatsoeuer things are written aforehand, they are written for our learning. If CHRIST be that onely good and true shepheard, that gaue his lyfe for vs, then let vs that beare his marke, & haue our consciences sprinkled with his bloud, follow all together for our saluation, his heauenly voyce and calling, according to our professiō and first promise. But if we shall not so do, certainly (say what we can) although we beare the name of CHRIST, yet we be none of his sheepe in deede. For, he saith very manifestly: MarginaliaIohn 10.My shepe heare my voyce, and follow me: a straunger they will not follow, but wyll flie from him, for they know not the voyce of a straunger.

Therefore let euery man take good heede in these perilous daies (whereof we haue had so much warning aforehand) that he be not begiled by the goodly outwarde shew and appearance, as Eue was of our old subtill enemy, MarginaliaThe wilines of the subtile Serpent.whose craft and wilynes is so manifold and diuers, and so full of close windings, that if he cannot bring him directly and the playne strayght way to consent to hys suggestions, then he will allure him and wynde hym in by some other false wayes (as it were by a traine) that he shall not perceaue it, to deceaue him withall, and to steale frō hym that goodly victory of the vncorruptible & eternall crowne of glory, which no man els can haue, but he that fighteth lawfully: Marginalia2. Tim. 2.As at this present day, if he can not induce him throughly, as other do, to fauour hys deuelish religion, and of good will and free hart to helpe to vphold the same, yet he wyll enuegle him to resort to his wicked and whorish scholehouse, and at the least wyse, to be conuersant and keepe company with his congregation there, and to hold his peace and say nothyng, what soeuer he thinke, so that he be not a diligent soldiour and a good labourer on CHRISTES syde to further his kyngdome: by that subtyl meanes flattering him, that he shall both saue hys lyfe, and also his goods, and lyue in quiet. But if we looke well on CHRISTES holy wyll and testament, we shall perceiue that hee came not to make any such peace vpō earth, nor yet that he gaue any such peace to his Disciples: MarginaliaMath. 10. Iohn. 14. 15. 16. The peace of Christ, to them that sustaine the troubles of this worlde. Luke. 6. 14.I leaue peace with you (saith he): my peace I geue you, not as the world geueth it, geue I vnto you. Let not your hart be troubled, nor fearefull. These things haue I spoken vnto you, that in me ye should haue peace. In the world ye shal haue afflictiō, but be of good chere, I haue ouercome the world. The seruant is not greater then his Lord and Master: if they haue persecuted me, they shall also persecute you. If any man come to me, and hateth not his own father and mother, wyfe, children, sisters, yea and moreouer his own lyfe, it is not poßible for him to bee my Disciple. Blessed be ye that now weepe, for ye shall laugh: and wo be vnto you that nowe laugh, for ye shall mourne and weepe. He that wyll finde hys lyfe, shall lose it.

MarginaliaIohn. 12.Therfore the God of that true peace and comfort, preserue & keepe vs, that we neuer obey such false flattering, which at length will pay vs home once for all, bringyng for temporall peace and quietenes, euerlastyng trouble, vexation, and disquietnes: for these vayne and transitory goodes, extreme losse and vtter dammage of the eternall treasure and inheritaunce: for this mortall life, depriuation of the most ioyfull life immortall: finally, the entraunce into endles death most miserable, vnmeasurable payne and torment both of body and soule.

MarginaliaThe strait way of Christ better then the broad way of this world.Now, conferryng these two scholemasters together, let vs consider the thyng well, and determine with ourselues which way we ought to take, and not to take the common broad way which seemeth here most pleasant, and that the most part of people take. Surely I iudge it to be better to go to schole with our master CHRIST, and to be vnder hys ferula and rod (although it seeme sharpe and greuous for a tyme) that at the length we may be inheretours with him of euerlastyng ioy, rather then to kepe company with the Deuils scholers, the adulterous generation, in his Schole that is all full of pleasure for a while, and at the ende to be payd with the wages of continual burnyng in the most horrible lake, which burneth euermore with fire & brimstone without any end. What shall then these vayne goodes and temporall pleasures auayle? Who shal thē helpe when we cry incessantly, wo, wo, alas & weale away, for vnmeasurable payne, grief, and sorrow? O let vs therfore take heede betime, and rather be content to take paynes in this world for a tyme, that we may please God. Our Sauiour CHRIST the true teacher sayth: MarginaliaIohn. 15.Euery braunch that bryngeth not forth fruite in me, my father will take away.

It is also written not in vayne: MarginaliaEccle. 41.the children of the vngodly are abominable children, and so are they that kepe company with the vngodly.MarginaliaVngodly company to be auoyded. What doth he els I pray you, that resorteth to the ministration and seruice, that is most repugnant and contrary to CHRISTES holy Testament, there kepyng still silence and nothyng reprouyng the same, but in the face of the world by his very deede it selfe, declareth hym selfe to be of a false, fearefull, dissemblyng, fayned and vnfaythfull hart, and to haue layd away from hym the armour of light, discouragyng, asmuch as lyeth in hym, all the residue of CHRISTES hoste, and geuyng a manifest offence to the weake, and also confirmyng, encouragyng, and reioycyng the hartes of the aduersaries in all their euill doyng? By which example he doth shew him self, neither to loue God, whom he seeth to be dishonoured and blasphemed of an Antichristian minister, nor yet his neighbour, before whom he should rebuke the euill, as it is expressely commaunded in Gods holy law, where it is sayd: MarginaliaLeuit. 18.Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, that thou beare not sinne for his sake. Wherefore let such a one neuer fantasie to deceiue him selfe, MarginaliaGods stipend commeth not, but to such as play his souldiours.that his name is registred in the booke of lyfe to haue the stipend of CHRISTES souldiour, except he do the duety and performe the part of a faythfull, and right true souldiour, as other haue done before. For such fearefulnes commeth not from God, as testifieth S. Paul saying: Marginalia2. Tim. 1.God hath not geuen vs the spirite of feare, but of power and of loue. Be not ashamed, saith he, to testifie our Lord, but suffer aduersitie also with the gospell through the power of God, which saued vs, and called vs with an holy callyng.

MarginaliaFearefulnes in Christes cause disproued.To be now fearefull, whē most nede is that we should be of strong hartes, is vtterly the reiectyng of the feare of God, and plaine vnfaithfulnes and disobedience to the expresse commaundemēt of our Sauiour CHRIST, which sayth in his holy gospel: MarginaliaMath. 10.Feare not thē that kill the body. &c. For what faithfulnes do we expresse towardes hym, whē he sayth thus to vs, & yet we declare in our doynges the very contrary, being euer fearefull, euen as the vnbeleuyng Israelites, which vnfaithfully feared Gods enemies the heathen Cananites, where as he had oftentimes geuē them commaundement by his true Prophet Moses,MarginaliaNum. 13. 14. to do the contrary? for the which cause, all the whole number of þ^t secte were destroyed in processe of time in þ^e wildernes, & enioyed not the pleasaunt land of promise. MarginaliaExample by the fearefull Israelites.Which was a bodily figure shewed before, and now agreyng to the promise of the heauenly inheritance, which shall be geuen to none other, but onely to all such as with loue vnfayned, be wholy bent, without any feare of man, to fulfill Gods holy will & pleasure. But all they that pertaine to the liuely faith to the winnyng of the soule, will faithfully sticke to the commaundement, trustyng most firmely and faithfully, that he that gaue the same, will also geue strength plentyfully to performe it euen in the weakest vessels of all, as we haue heard and sene by many and diuers examples, he onely be praysed therfore.