MarginaliaAnno. 1555. Iuly.And doth not Christ saie: As it was thā, so shal it go now towardes the comming of the sonne of man? What meaneth Christ when he saieth: Iniquitie shall haue the vpper hand? doth not he tell, that charitie shal waxe cold? And who seeth not a wonderful great lacke of charitie in those, which would now be takē for Christes church? All that feare God in this realme truly, can tell more of this then I can write.

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Therfore deare mother, receiue some admonition of one of thy poore children, now goyng to be burned for the testimonie of Iesus. Come again to Gods truth: come out of Babilon: confesse Christ & his true doctrine: repent that which is past: make amendes by declaryng thy repentaūce by the fruites. Remember the readynges and preachynges of Gods Prophet and true preacher MarginaliaMartin Bucers preaching.M. Bucer. Call to mynde the threatnynges of God, now something seene by thy children Leauer and others. Lette the exile of MarginaliaLeauer. Pilkinton. Grindall. Haddon. Horne. Scory. Ponet.Leauer, Pilkintō, Grindal, Haddon, Horne, Scorie, Ponet. &c. somethyng awake thee. Let the imprisonment of thy deare sonnes, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer moue thee. Consider the Martyredome of thy chickens, MarginaliaRogers. Saunders. Taylour.Rogers, Saunders, Tailor. And now cast not awaie the poore admonition of me goyng to be burned also, and to receiue the like crowne of glory with my fellowes. Take to harte Gods callyng by vs. Be not as Pharao was: for then will it happen vnto thee as it did vnto hym. What is that? hardnes of hart. And what then? destructiō eternally both of bodie & soule. Ah therefore good mother awake, awake, repent, repent, buskle thy selfe and make hast to turne to the Lorde. For els it shalbe more easie for Sodome & Gomorra in the daie of Iudgemēt then for thee. Oh harden not your hartes: Oh stop not your eares to daie in hearyng Gods voyce, though it be by me a most vnworthie messenger. Oh feare the Lord, for his anger is begon to kindle. Euen now the axe is laied to the rote of the tree.

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MarginaliaBradford prophecied before þ^e Sweat tyme what would follow of carnall gospelling, if repentance did not come.You knowe I Prophecied truely to you before the Sweate  

came, what would come, if you repēted not your carnall Gospellyng. And nowe I tell you before I depart hence, that the eares of men will tingle to heare of the vengeaūce of God that will fall vpō you al, both toune and Vniuersitie, if you repent not, if you leaue not your Idolatrie, if you tourne not spedely to the Lorde, if you still be ashamed of Christes truthe whiche you knowe.

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MarginaliaPerne. Thomson.Oh Perne repent, Oh Thomson repent, Oh you Doctors, Bachelers, & Maisters repent, Oh Maior, Aldermen, and Toune dwellers repent, repent, repent, that you may escape the nere vengeaunce of the lord. Rent your harts, and come apace callyng on the lord. MarginaliaHee teacheth Cambridge too pray.Let vs all saie, Peccauimus, we haue synned, we haue dooen wickedly, we haue not hearkned to thy voyce O lorde. Deale not with vs after our desertes, but be mercifull to our iniquities, for thei are greate. Oh pardon vs our offenses. In thine anger remember thy mercie. Turne vs vnto thee, O Lord God of hosts, for the glory of thy names sake. Spare vs, & be merciful vnto vs. Let not the wicked people say: wher is now their God: Oh for thine own sake, for thy names sake, deale mercifully with vs. Turne thy selfe vnto vs, & vs vnto thee, and we shall prayse thy name for euer.

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If in this sort (my dearly beloued) in hart and mouth we come vnto our father, & prostrate our selues before the throne of his grace, then surely surely we shall finde mercie. MarginaliaGods mercy promised too Cambridge if it repent.Then shall the Lord loke merely vpon vs, for his mercy sake in Christ: then shall we heare him speake peace vnto his people. For he is gracious & mercifull, of greate pitie, and compassion: he cannot be chidyng for euer: his anger can not last long to the penitēt. Though we wepe in the mornyng yet at night we shall haue our sorowe to cease. For he is exorable, & hath no pleasure in the death of a sinner: he rather would our conuersion & turning.

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Oh turne you now, and conuert yet once againe I hūbly besech you, and then the kyngdome of heauen shall draw nighe. The eye hath not seen, the eare hath not heard, nor the harte of man is able to conceiue the ioyes prepared for vs if we repent, amende our liues, and hartly turne to the Lord. MarginaliaCambridge threatned if it repent not.But if you repent not, but be as you were, and goe on forwardes with the wicked, followyng the fashion of the world, the Lord wil lead you on with wicked doers, you shall perishe in your wickednesse, your bloud will be vpon your owne heades, your part shalbe with hypocrites, where shalbe weepyng and gnashyng of teeth, ye shalbe caste from the face of the Lorde for euer and euer, eternall shame, sorrowe, wo, and miserie shalbe bothe in body and soule to you world without ende. Oh therefore right deare to me in the lorde, turne you turne you, repent you, repent you, amende, amende your liues, depart from euil, do good, followe peace and pursue it.

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Come out from Babilō, cast of the workes of darkenesse, put on Christ, confesse his truthe, be not ashamed of his Gospell, prepare you selues to the Crosse, drinke of Gods cup before it come to the dregges: and then shall I with you and for you, reioyce in the daie of Iudgemēt, which is at hande, and therefore prepare your selues thereto, I hartly beseche you. And thus I take my vale in æternum with you in this present life, myne owne deare hartes in the Lorde. The Lorde of mercie be with vs all, and geue vs a ioyfull and sure metyng in his kyngdome. Amen. Amen. Out of prison the 11. of February. Anno 1555.

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Your owne in the Lorde
for euer, Ihon Bradford.

MarginaliaAn other letter of Maister Bradford to Lankeshire, Cheshire, and specially too Manchester.  

TO all those that professe the name and true Religion of our Sauiour Iesus Christ in Lankeshire and Cheshire, and specially abidyng in Māchester and thereabout, Ihon Bradford a most vnworthy seruaunt of the Lorde, now not onely in bondes but also condemned for the same true Religion, wisheth mercie and grace, peace and encrease of all godlines frō God the father of all pitie, through the desertes of our lorde Iesus Christ, by the workyng of the most mightie and liuely spirite the comforter for euer. Amen.

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I heard it reported credibly, my dearely beloued in the lorde, that my heauēly father hath thought it good to prouide, that as I haue Preached his true doctrine and Gospell amongest you by word: so I shal testifie and confirme the same by deede: That is, I shall with you leaue my life, which by his prouidence I firste receiued there (for in Māchester was I borne) for a seale to the doctrine I haue taught with you and amongest you: so that if from henceforthe you wauer in the same, you haue none excuse at all. I knowe the enemies of Christ, whiche exercise this crueltie vpō me (I speake it in respect of myne offence, whiche is none to thēwardes) thinke by killyng of me amōgest you, to affraie you and others, least thei should attempt to teache Christe truly, or beleue his doctrine hereafter. But I doubte not but my heauenly father wil by my death, more confirme you in his truthe for euer. And therfore I greatly reioyce to se Sathan and his souldiers supplanted in their owne sapience, whiche is plain foolishnes amongest the wise in deede, that is, amongest such as haue heard Gods worde, and do folowe it: for thei onely are counted wise of the wisedome of God our Sauiour.

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MarginaliaHe confesseth hys sinnes before God.In deede if I should simply consider my life with that which it ought to haue bene, and as God in his law requireth, then could I not but crie as I do, Iustus es domine & omnia iudicia tua vera. i.  

Righteous arte thou O lorde, and all thy iudgementes are true. For I haue muche greued thee and transgressed thy holy preceptes not onely before my professyng the Gospell, but sithen also: yea euen sithen my comming into prison. I do not excuse, but accuse my selfe before God & all his churche, that I haue greuously offended my lorde God, I haue not liued his Gospell as I should haue doen, I haue sought my self and not simply and onely his glory and my brethrens commoditie, I haue bene to vnthankefull, secure, carnall, hypocritall, vainglorious. &c. All whiche my euils the Lorde of mercy pardon me for his Christes sake, as I hope and certainly beleue he hath doen for his greate mercy in Christ our redemer.

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But when I consider the cause of my condemnatiō, I cannot but lament, that I doe no more reioyce then I doe. For it is Gods veritie and truthe: So that the condēnation is not a condemnation of Bradford simply: MarginaliaThe Papistes condemne not Bradford but Christ.but rather a condemnatiō of Christ and his truth. Bradford is nothyng els but an instrument, in whom Christe and his doctrine is condemned. And therefore my dearely beloued, reioyce, reioyce and geue thankes with me and for me, that euer GOD did vouchsafe so greate a benefite to our countrey, as to choose the most vnworthy (I meane my self) to be one, in whō it would please him to suffer any kind of affliction: much more this violent kind of death, whiche I perceiue is prepared for me with you for his sake. All glory and praise be geuē vnto God our father for his great excedyng mercy towards me, through Iesus Christ our lord. Amen.

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But perchaunce you will saie vnto me: what is the cause for the whiche you are condemned? we heare saie that ye deny all presence of Christ in his holy Supper, and so make it a bare signe and common bread, and nothing els. My dearly beloued, what is saied of me, and what will be, I can not tel. It is told me that M. Pē-

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