MarginaliaAn. 1556. July.your owne worldly wisedome, and are now come to the hard stone and vnmoueable rocke CHRIST, who is your onely keper: and vpon him alone you haue builded your faith most firmely, without doubting, mistrust, or waueryng. Therfore neither the stormes nor tēpestes, windes nor weathers that Sathan and all his wily workemen can bring against you, with the very gates of hell to helpe them, shall euer be able once to moue your house, much lesse to ouerthrow it: for the Lord God him selfe, and no man, is the builder therof, and hath promised to preserue and kepe the same for euer. Vnto his most mercifull defence therfore, I do hartely commit you and all your good company, desiring him for his swete sonne IESVS CHRISTES sake, to confirme and strengthen you all, that you may be constant vnto the very ende: that after the finall victory is once gotten, you may receiue the immercessible crown of glory, of Gods free gift, through his great mercy in IESVS CHRIST our alone Sauiour. To whom with the father and the holy Ghost, be all honour, glorie, praise, thankes, power, rule and dominion for euer and euermore, Amen. The blessing of God be with you all.

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Iohn Careles.

MarginaliaA Letter of Ioh. Careles written with heauenly power to comfort an afflicted brother oppressed with pensiuenes and mourning for hys sinnes.THe euerlasting peace of God in IESVS CHRIST, the continuall ioy and comfort of his most pure, holy, and mighty spirite, with the increase of faith and liuely feeling of his mercy, be with you my deare hart in the Lord, and faithfull louing brother T. V. to the full accomplishing of that good worke which he hath so graciously begon in you, that the same, by all meanes, may be to the setting forth of his glory, to the commoditie of his poore afflicted congregation, and to the swete comfort & quietnes of your conscience in him now and euermore. Amen.

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With such due honour, loue, and reuerence, as it becōmeth me to beare vnto the sweete Saintes and dearely beloued children of God, I haue me most hartely commended vnto you, my deare brother V.  

with all earnest and faithfull remembraunce of you in my dayly prayers, thanking God right hartely that you do likewise remēber me in yours, assuring you that my poore harte doth dayly feele great consolation therby, God onely haue the praise for þ^e same and all other his benefites. Ah my deare harte in the Lord, wel is me that euer I was borne, that God of his great mercy and infinite goodnes hath vsed me most miserable wretch at any time, as his instrumēt, to minister any thing vnto you either by worde or writing, that might be an occasion of your ioy and comfort in the Lord, & a prouoking of you to praise and thankesgeuing vnto God for the same, as your most louing and godly letter seemeth to import. Oh happie am I that the Lord hath appointed me vnto so good a ground to sowe his seede vppon: but much more happie are you whose harte the Lord hath prepared and made so meete to receiue the same so effectuously, geuing therto the sweete showers and heauenly dewes of his grace and holy spirite, that it may bring forth fruite in due season accordingly: the increase wherof we shall shortly reape together with perfect ioy and gladnes, and that continually.

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Therfore (my deare brother) I say vnto you as good Elizabeth did to her deare cosin Mary: MarginaliaLuke. 1.Happy are you, and happy shall you be for euermore, because you haue beleued. The most sweete and faithfull promises of your redemer IESVS CHRIST you haue surely laid vp in the treasury of your hart. His comfortable callinges you haue faithfully heard: his louing admonitiōs you haue humbly obeyed, MarginaliaRemission of sinnes.and therfore you shall neuer come into iudgement: MarginaliaMich. 7.your sinnes shall neuer be remembred: for your Sauiour hath cast them all into the botcome of the Sea: MarginaliaPsal. 103.he hath remoued them from you as farre as the East is frō the West, and hath geuen you for an euerlasting possession his iustification and holines: so that now no creature neither in heauen nor in earth shalbe able to accuse you before the throne of the heauenly king. Sathan is now iudged: he is now cast out from you: he hath no part in you: you are wholy geuen vnto CHRIST, which will not lose you: your stedfast faith in him hath ouercome that sturdie and bragging prince of the world: CHRIST hath geuen you the finall victorie ouer him and all his armie, that they shall neuer hurt you. What would you haue more? Oh my deare hart, how great treasures are laid vp in store for you, and how glorious a crown is already made and prepared for you?

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And albeit the holy Ghost doth beare witnes of all

these things in your hart, and maketh you more sure and certaine therof,MarginaliaTestimony of gods spirite. then if you had all the outward oracles in the world: yet I being certainely persuaded and fully assured by the testimony of Gods spirit in my conscience, of your eternal and sure saluation in our swete Sauiour IESVS CHRIST, haue thought it good, yea and my bounden duetie, not onely at this time to write vnto you, and to shew my ioyfull hart in that behalfe: but also by the word and commaundement of CHRIST, MarginaliaPractise of the true keyes of the Gospell.to pronounce and affirme in the name and word of the heauenly king Iehouah, and in the behalfe of his sweete sonne IESVS CHRIST our Lord, to whom all knees shall bow, whom all creatures shall worship: and also by the impulsion of the holy ghost, by whose power and strength all the faithfull be regenerate: I do (I say) pronounce to thee my deare brother T. V. that thou art already a Citizen of heauen. The Lord thy God in whom thou doest put all thy trust, for his deare sonnes sake, in whom thou doest also vndoubtedly beleue, hath freely forgeuen thee all thy sinnes, clearely released al thine iniquities, and fully pardoned all thine offences, be they neuer so many, so greuous, or so great, & will neuer remember them any more to condemnation. As truly as he liueth, he will not haue thee dye the death, but hath verely determined, purposed, and eternally decreed, that thou shalt liue with him for euer. Thy sore shalbe healed, and thy woundes bounde vp euen of him selfe for his owne names sake. He doth not nor wil not looke vpon thy sinnes in thee: but he respecteth and beholdeth thee in CHRIST, in whom thou art liuely graffed by faith in his bloud, and in whom thou art most assuredly elected and chosen to be a sweete vessell of his mercie and saluation, and wast thereto predestinate in him before the foundation of the world was laid. In testimonie and earnest whereof, he hath geuen thee his good and holy spirite which worketh in thee, faith, loue, and vnfained repentaunce, with other godly vertues, contrary to the corruption of thy nature.

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MarginaliaExperiēce of Christ working in hys church.Also he hath commaunded me this day (although a most vnworthy wretch) to be a witnes hereof by the ministerie of his holy word, grounded vppon the truth of his most faithfull promises: the which thou beleuing, shalt liue for euer. Beleuest thou this my deare hart? I know well thou doest beleue. The Lord increase thy faith, and geue thee a liuely feeling of all his mercies: wherof thou art warranted and assured by the testimonie of the holy ghost, who confirme in thy conscience (to the vtter ouerthrowing of Sathan, and those his most hurtfull dubitations, wherby he is accustomed to molest and vexe the true children of God) all that I haue sayd: and by Gods grace I will, as a witnes therof, confirme & seale the same with my bloud, for a most certaine truth.

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Wherefore (my good brother) praise the Lord with a ioyfull hart, and geue him thankes for this his exceding great mercy, casting away all dubitation and wauering, yea all sorrow of hart and pensiuenes of minde: for this the Lord your God and most deare and louing father, commaundeth you to do by me, nay rather by his owne mouth and word pronounced by me. But now my deare brother, after that I haue done my message, or rather the Lordes message in deede, I could finde in my harte to write ij. or iij. sheetes of paper, declaring the ioy I beare in my hart for you, mine owne bowels in the Lord: yet the time being so short (as you do well know) I am here constrained to make an end, desiring you to pardon my slacknes, and to forgeue my great negligence towardes you, promising you stil that so long as my poore life doth last, my prayer shall supplie that my penne doth want: as knoweth the almightie God, to whose most mercifull defence I do hartely commit you and all other his deare children, as wel as though I had rehearsed thē by name, desiring them most hartely to remember me in their hartie and dayly prayers, as I know right well they do: for I feele the dayly comfort & commoditie therof, and therfore I neither will nor can forget them, nor you, or any such like. The blessing of God be with you all, Amen.

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Yours for euer vnfaynedly, Iohn Careles.

MarginaliaAn other Letter of Iohn Careles to a faythfull frende of hys, of thankes geuing.BLessed be God þ^e father of all mercy, for the great cōfort and Christian consolation which hee hath so mercifully ministred vnto my poore afflicted harte by your meanes, my most deare and faithfull brother. Truly me thinketh your wordes or rather Gods wordes by you

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