MarginaliaAnno. 1555. Iuly.couraged for crosse, for prison, or losse of gooddes,MarginaliaHe exhorteth them to take comfort in the crosse. for confession of Christes gospell & truthe, which ye haue beleued, and liuely was taught amongest you in the daies of our late good Kyng and most holie Prince kyng Edward. This is moste certaine, MarginaliaMath. xix.if you lose any thyng for Christes sake, and for contemnyng the Antichristian seruice set vp againe amongest vs: as you for your partes, euen in prison shall finde Gods great and riche mercie, farre passyng all worldly wealthe: so shall your wiues and children in this present life, finde and fele Gods prouidence more plentifully then tonge can tell. For he will shewe mercifull kindnesse on thousands of them that loue hym. MarginaliaPsal. xxxvii.The good mannes seede shall not goe a beggyng his bread. You are good men, so many as suffer for Christes sake.

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I trust you all, my dearely beloued, wil cōsider this geare  

with your selues, and MarginaliaGods mercie seen in the crosse.in the crosse se gods mercy, whiche is more sweete, and to be set by, then life it self, muche more then any mucke or pelfe   of this worlde. This mercy of God should make you merie and cherefull: MarginaliaRoma. viii.for the afflictiōs of this life, are not to be cōpared to the ioies of the life prepared for you. You knowe MarginaliaMath. vii. ii. Timo. iii. ii. Cor. v. Math. xvi.the waie to heauen is not the wide waie of þ^e world, whiche windeth to the deuill, but it is a strait waie whiche few walke in. For few liue godly in Christ Iesu, fewe regard the life to come, fewe remember the day of iudgemēt, few remēber how Christ will deny them before his father, that do deny hym here, few cōsider that Christ will be ashamed of them in the laste daie, which are ashamed of his truth and true seruice, MarginaliaA straite way. A little flocke.few cast their accōtes what will be laied to their charge in the daie of vengeaunce, fewe regarde the condemnation of their owne consciences in doyng that whiche inwardly they disalowe, MarginaliaRoma. xiiii.few loue God better then theyr goodes.

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But I trust yet you are of this fewe, my dearly beloued, I trust you bee of MarginaliaLuke. x.the ltitle flocke, which shall enherite the kyngdome of heauen, I truste you are the mourners and lamenters which shalbe comforted with comfort, which neuer shall be taken frō you, if you now repente your former euilles, if nowe you striue against the euils that are in you, if now you continue to call vpon God, if now you defile not your bodies with any Idolatrous seruice vsed in the Antichristian churches, MarginaliaEphe. iiii.if you molest not the good spirit of God, whiche is geuen you as a gage of eternall redemption, a counsailer and maister to lead you into all truthe: which good spirite I beseche the father of mercie to geue to vs all, for his deare sonnes sake Iesus Christe our Lorde: MarginaliaActes. xx.to whom I commende you all, and to the woorde of his grace, whiche is able to helpe you all, and saue you all that beleue it, followe it, and serue God thereafter.

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And of this I would ye were all certaine, that al the heares of your heades are numbred,MarginaliaMath. x. Math. viii. Iohn. i. Psalme. Ciiii. Psalme. xxxi. so that not one of them shall perishe, neither shall any man or deuill be able to attempt any thyng, muche lesse to do any thing to you, or any of you, before your heauenly father, whiche loueth you moste tenderly, shall geue them leaue: and when he hath geuen them leaue, thei shall go no further then he will, nor keepe you in trouble any longer then he will. Marginaliai. Peter. v.Therefore caste on hym all your care, for he is carefull for you. Onely studie to please hym, and to keepe your consciences cleane, and your bodies pure from the Idolatrous seruice,  

whiche now euery where is vsed, and God wil merueilously and mercifully defende and comfort you: whiche thyng he doe for his holy names sake in Christ our Lorde. Amen.

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MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Bradford vnto a godly couple, to the same effect as the other before.GOd our deare and most mercifull Father through Christe, bee with you my good brother and sister, as with his children for euer, and in all thynges so guide you with his holy Spirite, the leader of his people, as maie bee to his glorie, and your owne euerlasting ioye and comfort in him. Amen. Because I haue oftentimes receiued from either of you, comforte corporall (for the whiche I beseche the Lorde, as to make me thankfull, so to recompence you bothe nowe and eternally) I can not but goe about (Lorde helpe hereto for thy mercies sake) to write some thing for your comfort spiritually.

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MarginaliaDaies of afflictiō to the godly are ioyfull: to the vnrepentyng sinners be dolefull dayes.My dearly beloued, loke not vpon these daies and the afflictions of the same here with vs, simply as they seme vnto you, that is, as dismall daies, and dayes of Gods vengeaūce, but rather as lucky daies, and daies of Gods fatherly kindenesse towardes you, and suche as you be, that is, toward suche as repent their synnes,

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and euill life paste, and earnestly purpose to amende, walkyng not after the will of the worlde, & moste parte of men, for the preseruation of their pelfe, whiche will they nil thei, thei shal leaue sooner or later, and to whō or how it shalbe vsed, thei know not. In deede to suche as walke in their wickednesse, and winde on with the worlde, this tyme is a tyme of wrath and vengeaunce, and their beginning of sorowe is but now, because thei contemne the Phisicke  

of their father, whiche by this purgyng tyme and MarginaliaCelsing daies.cleansyng daies, would worke their weale, whiche thei will not: and because thei will not haue gods blessing, whiche both waies he hath offered vnto them, by prosperitie & aduersitie: therfore it shalbe kept far enough from them. MarginaliaGods phisicke not to be refused.As whē the sicke man will no kinde of Phisicke at the handes of the Phisition, he is left alone, and so the malady increaseth, & destroieth hym at the lengthe. To suche men in deede, these daies are and should be doulefull daies, daies of woe and weepyng, because their damnation draweth nigh.

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But vnto suche as be penitent, and are desirous to liue after the lordes wil (among whom I doe not onely count you, but as far as a man maie iudge, I knowe ye are) vnto suche I saie, this tyme is and should bee comfortable. MarginaliaGods chastisment to be receaued with comfort.For firste now your father chastiseth you and me for our synnes: for the whiche if he would haue destroyed vs, then would he haue letten vs alone, and left vs to our selues, in nothing to take to harte his fatherly visitation, whiche here it pleaseth hym to worke presently, because els where he will not remember oure transgressions, as Paule writeth: He chastiseth vs in this worlde, least with the worlde wee should perishe. MarginaliaGod punisheth not twise for one thyng.Therefore my deare hartes, call to mynde your synnes to lament them, and to aske mercie for thē in his sight, and withall vndoubtedly beleue to obtain pardon, and assured forgeuenesse of the same, for twise the lorde punisheth not for one thyng.

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So that I saie, firste wee haue cause to reioyce for these daies, because our father suffreth vs not to lye in Iesabels bed, slepyng in our own sinnes and securitie, but as myndfull on vs, doeth correct vs as his childrē. Whereby we maie be certaine, that we be no bastards, but children: MarginaliaDifference betwen bastardes and children.for he chastiseth euery childe whom he receiueth. So that thei whiche are not partakers of his chastising, or that contemne it, declare them selues to be bastardes, and not children: as I knowe ye are, whiche as ye are chastised, so doe ye take it to harte accordyngly. And therefore be glad my deare hartes and folkes, knowyng certainly euen by these visitatiōs of the lord, that ye are his deare electe children, whose faultes your father doeth visite with the rodde of correction, but his mercie will he neuer take awaie from vs, Amen.

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Secōdly, ye haue cause to reioyce for these daies, because thei are daies of triall, wherein not onely ye your selues, but also the worlde shall knowe that ye be none of his, but the lordes dearelynges. Before these daies came, lorde God, how many thought of thē selues they had been in Gods bosome, and so were taken, & would be taken of the worlde? MarginaliaTrouble trieth who be of God, & who be not.But now we se whose thei are. For to whom we obeye, his seruauntes we are. If we obeye the worlde (whiche God forbid, and hetherto ye haue not doen it) then are we the worldes: but if we obey God, then are wee Gods. Whiche thyng (I meane that ye are Gods) these daies haue declared bothe to you, to me, and to al other that knowe you, better then euer we knewe it. Therfore ye haue no cause to sorow, but rather to syng, in seyng your selues to be gods babes, & in seyng that all Gods children do so count you.

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What though the worlde repine thereat? What though he kicke? What though he seke to trouble and molest you? MarginaliaA true louer of the worlde is declared by his life.My deare hartes, he doth but his kinde, he can not loue the lorde, whiche liueth not in the lorde, he can not brooke the childe, that hateth the father, he can not mynde the seruaunt, that careth not for the maister. If ye were of the world, the worlde would loue you, ye should dwell quietly, there would be no grief, no molestation. If the Deuill dwelt in you (whiche the Lorde forbid) he would not stirre vp his knightes to besiege your house, to snatche your goodes: MarginaliaThe deuill neuer entreth into his owne hogges.or suffer his frendes to enter into your Hogges. But because Christe dwelleth in you (as he doeth by faithe) therfore stirreth he vp his firste begotten sonne the worlde, to seke how to disquiet you, to robbe you, to spoyle you, to destroye you: and perchaunce your deare father, to trie, and to make knowen vnto you, and to the worlde, that ye are destinate to an other dwellyng then here on yearth, to an other citie then mannes eyes haue seen at any tyme:

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