Marginalia1555. Febru.in all well doyng and keepe you blamelesse to the day of the Lord. Watch and pray for this day is at hand.

Yours assured in Christ, Iohn Hooper.

¶ To all my deare brethren, my relieuers and helpers in the Citie of London.  

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First printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 117-20. BL, Add. 19400, fos. 15r-26v is the original letter and also Bull's printing cast-off.

MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Hooper to his frendes in London.THe grace of God be with you. Amen. I haue receaued frō you (dearely beloued in our Sauiour Iesus Christ) by the handes of my seruaunt William Downton, your liberalitie, for the which I do most hartely thanke you, and I prayse GOD hyghly in you for you, who hath moued your hartes to shewe this kyndnes towardes me, praying him to preserue you from all famine, scarcitie, and lacke of the truth of his worde, whiche is the liuely foode of your soules, as you preserue my body from hunger and other necessities, whiche should happen vnto me, were it not cared for by the beneuolence and charitie of godly people. Such as haue taken al worldly goodes and landes from me, and spoyled me of all that I had, haue imprisoned my body and appoynted no one halfepeny to feede or relieue me withall. MarginaliaThe Christian charitie of M. Hooper to his enemyes.But I doe forgeue them and praye for them dayly in my poore prayer vnto God, and from my hart I wishe their saluation, and quietly and patiently beare their iniuries, wishyng no farther extremitie to be vsed towardes vs. Yet if it seeme contrary best vnto our heauenly father, I haue made my reckenyng, & MarginaliaM. Hooper fully resolued to suffer.fully resolued my selfe to suffer the vttermost that they are able to do agaynst me, yea death it selfe, by the ayde of Christ Iesu, who died the most vile death of þ^e crosse for vs wretches & miserable sinners. But of this I am assured, þ^t þ^e wicked world with all his force & power, shall not touch one of the heares of our heads without leaue & licence of our heauenly father, whose will be done in all thynges. If he will lyfe, lyfe be it: if he will death, death be it. Onely we pray, that our willes may be subiect vnto his will, and then although both we and all the world see none other thing but death, yet if he thinke lyfe best, we shall not dye, no although the sword be drawē out ouer our heads: as Abrahā thought to kill his sonne Isaac, yet when God perceaued that Abraham had surrendred hys will to Gods will, and was content to kyll his sonne, God then saued his sonne.

MarginaliaGods will to be obeyed in al thinges.Dearely beloued, if we be contented to obey Gods will, and for hs commaūdementes sake, to surrender our goodes and our selues to be at his pleasure, it maketh no matter whether we keepe goodes and lyfe, or lose them. Nothyng can hurt vs that is taken from vs for Gods cause, nor nothyng can at length do vs good, that is preserued contrary vnto Gods commaundement. Let vs wholy suffer God to vse vs and ours after his holy wisedome, and beware we neither vse nor gouerne our selues contrary to his will by our own wisedome, for if we do, our wisedome will at lēgth proue foolishnes. It is kept to no good purpose that we keepe contrary vnto his commaundementes. It can by no meanes be taken frō vs that he would should tary with vs. He is no good Christiā that ruleth himselfe & his, as worldly meanes serueth: for he that so doth shall haue as many chaūges as chaūceth in the world. MarginaliaDifference betwene the true Christian, and the worldling.To day, with the world he shall like and prayse the truth of God, to morow as the world will, so will he like and prayse the falshode of man: to day with Christ, and to morow with Antichrist. Wherfore deare brethrē, as touchyng your behauiour towardes God, vse both your inward spirites and your outward bodyes, your inward and your outward man (I say) not after the meanes of men, but after the infallible word of God.

Refrayne from euill in both, and glorifie your heauenly father in both. MarginaliaBoth the inward man and outward man must concurre in the honour of God.For if ye thinke ye can inwardly in the hart serue hym, and yet outwardly serue with the world in externall seruice, the thyng that is not God, ye deceaue your selues, for both the body and the soule must together concurre in the honour of God, as S. Paule plainly teacheth. 1. Cor. 6. For if an honest wife be bound to geue both hart and body to fayth and seruice in Mariage, and if an honest wiues fayth in the hart cannot stand with an whorish or defiled body outwardly: much lesse cā the true fayth of a Christian in the seruice of Christianitie, stand with the bodely seruice of externall Idolatry: for the mystery of Mariage is not so honorable betwene man and wife, as it is betwene Christ and euery Christian man, as S. Paule sayth.

Therefore deare brethren, pray to the heauenly father, that as hee spared not the soule nor the body of his dearely beloued Sonne, but applyed both of them with extreme payne, to worke our saluation both of body and soule: so hee will geue vs all grace to apply our bodyes and soules to be seruauntes vnto him: for doubtles he requireth as well the one as the other, and can not be miscontented with the one, and well pleased with the other. Either he hateth both, or loueth both: he deuideth not his loue to one and his hatred to the other. Let not vs therfore good brethren, diuide our

selues, and say our soules serue him whatsoeuer our bodyes do to the contrary, for ciuill order and policy.

But (alas) I know by my selfe what troubleth you, that is, the great daunger of the worlde, that will reuenge (ye thinke) your seruice to God, wyth sword and fire, with losse of goodes and landes. But (deare brethren,) way of the other side, that your enemies, and Gods enemies, shall not do so much as they would, MarginaliaGods enemies can do no more then he geueth them leaue.but as muche as God shall suffer them, who can trap them in their own counsels, and destroy them in the middest of their furies. Remember ye be the workmen of the Lord, and called into his Vineyard,MarginaliaMath. 20. there to labour til euening tyde, that ye may receaue your penny, which is more worth then al the Kinges of the earth. But he that calleth vs into his vineyeard, hath not told vs how sore or how feruentlye the Sunne shall trouble vs in our labour: But hath bid vs labour and committe the bitternes therof vnto him, who can and will so moderate al afflictions, that no man shall haue more layd vpon hym, then in Christ he shall be able to beare: Vnto whose mercifull tuition and defence I commend both your soules and your bodies. 2. September, 1554.

Yours wyth my poore prayer, Iohn Hooper.

¶ To a Marchāt of London, by whose meanes he had receaued much comfort in his great necessity in the Fleete.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 127-28. BL, Add. 19400, fol. 27r is the original letter.

MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Hooper to a good helper of hys.GRace, mercy, and peace in Christ Iesus our Lord. I thanke God and you for the great helpe and consolation I haue receaued in the time of aduersitie by your charitable means, but moste reioyce that you bee not altered from truth, although falshode cruelly seeketh to distayne her. Iudge not (my brother) truth by outward appearaunce, for truth now worse appeareth and more vily is reiected then falshode. MarginaliaTruth is not to be estemed by outward appearaunce.Leaue the outward shew, and see by the word of god what truth is, and accept truth, and dislike her not though man cal her falshoode. As it now, so hath it been heretofore, the truth reiected and falshode receaued. Such as haue professed truth, for truth haue smarted, and the frends of falshoode laughed them to scorne. The tryall of both hath beene by contrary successe: the one hauing the commendatiō of truth by man, but the condemnation of falshode by God, florishing for a tyme with endlesse destruction: the other afflicted a little season with immortall ioyes. Wherefore deare brother aske and demaunde of your Booke, the Testament of Iesus Christ in these woefull and wretched dayes, what you should thinke, and what you should stay vpon for a certayne truth: and what soeuer you heare taught try it by your booke whether it be true or false. The dayes be dangerous & full of peril, not onely for the world & worldly things, but for heauen and heauenly thinges. It is a trouble to lose the treasures of this lyfe, but yet a very payne if they be kept with the offence of God. Cry, call, pray, and in Christ daylye require help, succour, mercy, wisdome, grace, & defence, that the wickednes of this world preuayl not agaynst vs. We began wel, God preserue vs vntil the end. I would write more oftē vnto you, but I doe perceaue you be at so much charges with me, that I feare you would think whē I write I craue. Sende me nothinge till I sende to you for it, and so tell the good men your partners, and when I need I will be bold of you. 3. December. 1554.

Yours with my prayer, Iohn Hooper.

¶ To Maistres Wilkinson, a woman harty in Gods cause, and comfortable to hys afflicted members.  

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This was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 131-32. Joan Wilkinson was a friend and sustainer to many of the leading Marian protestants but her relationship to Hooper was especially close. She had loaned her collection of books to Hooper during his lifetime and, after her death in 1556, she left '20 for the education of Hooper's son Daniel (See Litzenberger, pp. 89-90).

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THe grace of God, and the comforte of hys holy spirite be with you, Amen.

MarginaliaThis Misteris Wilkinson afterward dyed in Exile at Franckford.I am very glad to heare of your health, and do thanke you for your louing tokens. But I am a great deale more glad to heare how Christianly you auoyd Idolatry and prepare your selfe to suffer the extremity of the world, rather thē to endaunger your selfe to God. You doe as you oughte to doe in this behalfe, and in suffering of transitory paynes, you shal auoyd permanent tormentes in the world to come. Vse your life, and keepe it with as much quietnes as you can, so that you offende not God. The ease that commeth with hys displeasure, turneth at length to vnspeakeable paynes, MarginaliaGaynes with Gods displeasure is beggary.and the gaynes of the world with the losse of his fauour, is beggery and wretchednes. Reason is to be amended in this cause of Religion: For it wil choose and followe an errour wyth the multitude if it may be allowed, rather then turne to fayth and folow the truth with the people of God. Moyses found the same fault in himselfe and did amend it, choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of God, then to vse the libertye of the Kinges daughter,MarginaliaHeb. 11. that accounted him as her sonne. Pray for contentation and peace of the spirite, and