MarginaliaAnno. 1555. Iuly.wil not for a little heate or sunburnyng, wither, but stifly will stand & grow on maugre the malice of all burning showers and tempestes. And for as much as (my beloued in the Lord) I am perswaded of you, that ye be in deede the children of God, Gods good ground, whiche groweth and will growe on (by Gods grace) bringyng forth fruit to Gods glory after your vocations, as occasion shall be offered (burne the sunne neuer so hot) therfore I can not but so signifie vnto you, and hartely pray you and euery one of you, accordyngly to goe on forwards after your Maister Christ, not stickyng  

at the foule way and stormy weather, which you are come into and are like so to do, of this being most certaine, that the end of your iourney shall be pleasant and ioyfull in such a perpetuall rest and blissefulnes as can not but swallowe vp the showers that ye now feele and are soussed in, if ye often set it before your eyes after Paules counsell in the later ende of the. 4. and beginnyng of the. 5. chap. of the seconde Epistle to the Corinthians. Reade it I pray you, and remember it often, as a Restoratiue to refreshe you, lest ye faint in the way.

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And besides this, set before you also, that though the weather be foule and stormes grow apace, yet go not ye alone, but other your brothers and sisters pad the same path, as S. Peter telleth vs, and therfore company should cause you to be the more couragious and cherefull. But if ye had no company at all to goe presently with you, I pray you tell me, if euen from the beginnyng the best of Gods frendes haue found MarginaliaFoule way and foule weather to the kingdom of heauen.any fairer weather and way to the place whether ye are going (I meane heauen) then ye nowe finde and are like to doe, except ye will with the worldlinges, which haue their portion in this life, tary stil by the way till the stormes be ouerpaste, and then either night will so approch that ye can not trauaill, either the doores will bee sparred before ye come, and so ye shall lodge without in wonderfull euill lodgings. Reade Apocal, 22. Begin at Abel, and come from him to Noe, Abraham, Isaac, Iacob, Ioseph, the Patriarches, Moses, Dauid, Daniell, and all the Saintes in the old testament, and tell me whether euer any of them found any fairer waie then ye now finde.

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MarginaliaThe passage of all Gods saintes both in the old and newe Testamente, hath bene thorough afflicti?.If the old Testament wil not serue, I praie you come to the new, and begyn with Mary and Ioseph, and come from them to Zachary, Elizabeth, Iohn Baptist, and euery one of the Apostles and Euangelists, and search whether they all found any other way into the City we trauel towards, then by many tribulations. Besides these, if ye should call to remembraunce the primatiue Church, Lord God, ye should see many to haue geuen cherefully their bodies to most greuous torments, rather then they would bee stopped in their iourney, that there is no daye in the yeare, but (I dare say) MarginaliaRead the story of the primitiue Church aboue described.a thousand was the fewest that with great ioy lost their homes here, but in the City they went vnto,  

haue found other maner of homes then mans minde is able to conceiue. But if none of all these were, if ye had no company now to goe with you, as ye haue me your poore brother and bondman of the Lord, with many other, I trust in God: if ye had none other of the Fathers, Patriarches, Kings, Prophets, Apostels Euangelistes, Martyrs, and other holy Saintes and children of God, that in their iourney to heauenward, found as ye now finde and are like to finde if ye go on forwarde as I trust ye will: yet ye haue MarginaliaChrist Iesus the ringleader of all Gods children afflicted.your Maister and your Captain Iesus Christ, the deare dearling and onely begotten and beloued sonne of God, in whom was all the fathers pleasure, ioye, and delectation, ye haue hym to goe before you, no fayrer way but much fouler, into this our City of Ierusalem. I neede not (I trust) to rehearse what maner of way he found. Begyn at his birth, & till ye come at his buriall, ye shall finde that euery foote & stride of his iourney, was no better, but much worse then yours is now.

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Wherefore (my dearely beloued in the Lord be not so deintie as to looke for that at Gods hands your deare father, which the Fathers, Patriarckes, Prophetes, Apostels, Euangelistes, Martyrs, Saintes, and his owne Sonne Iesus Christe did not finde.MarginaliaWe must not be so daintie to looke for fairer weather then Christ hym self went through. Hetherto we haue had fayre way (I trow)  

and fayre weather also: now because we haue loitered by the way, and not made the speede wee shoulde haue done, our louyng Lorde and sweete Father hath ouercast the weather, and stirred vp stormes and tempests, that we might with more hast runne out our race before night come, and the doores bee sparred. The Deuill standeth now at euery Inne doore in his city and countrey of this world, crying vnto vs to tary & lodge in this or that place till the stormes be ouerpast: not that he would not haue vs wet to the skyn, but that the tyme might ouer

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passe vs to our vtter destruction. Therefore beware of his entisements. Cast not your eyes on things that be present, how this man doth, and how that man doth: but cast your eyes on the gleue  

ye run at, or els ye will loose the game.MarginaliaPhilip. 3. The Deuils entisments not to be trusted. Ye know that he which runneth at the gleue, doth not looke on other that stande by, and go this waye or that way, but altogether he looketh on the gleue, and on them that runne with hym, that those whiche be behinde ouertake hym not, and that he may ouertake them which be before: euen so should we do, leaue of lookyng on those which will not run the race to heauens blisse by the path of persecution with vs, and cast our eyes on the ende of our race, and on them that go before vs, that we may ouertake them, and on them which come after vs, that we may prouoke them to come the faster after.

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He that shooteth, will not cast his eyes in his shootyng on them that stande by, or ride by the waies (I trowe) MarginaliaTo looke to the marke.but rather at the marke he shooteth at, for els he were like to win the wrong waie: Euen so my dearely beloued, let your eyes be set on the marke ye shoote at, euen Christ Iesus, who for the ioye set before hym, did ioyfully cary his crosse, contemnyng  

the shame, and therefore he now sitteth on the right hande of the throne of God.MarginaliaHebrewes 12. Let vs followe hym, for this did he that we should not be faintharted. For we maie be moste assured, MarginaliaRomans 8. 2. Timoth. 3. Mathew. 12.that if we suffer with him, we shall vndoubtedly raigne with him, but if we deny hym, surely he will deny vs: for he that is ashamed of me (saieth Christ) and of my Gospell, in this faithles generati?, I will be ashamed of him before the Angels of God in heauen. Oh how heauy a sentence is this to all suche as knowe the Masse to be an abominable idol, MarginaliaWhat daunger it is to go to the blasphemous Masse.full of idolatry, blasphemy, & sacriledge against God & his Christ (as vndoubtedly it is) and yet for feare of m?, for losse of life or goodes, yea, some for adua?tage and gaine, will honest it with their presence, dissemblyng both with GOD and manne, as their owne harte and conscience doth accuse th?? Better it were that suche had neuer knowen the truth, then thus wittyngly, and for the feare or fauour of man, whose breath is in his nosethrels,MarginaliaEsay. 2 to dissemble it, or rather (as in deede it is) to deny it. The ende of such is like to be worse then their beginning.Marginalia2. Peter 2. Suche had neede to take hede of the twoo terrible places to the Hebrewes in the sixte and tenth Chapiters,MarginaliaHebre. 6. 10. least by so doyng they fal therein. Let them beware thei plaie not wily begile   th? selues, as some doe, I feare me, which go to Masse, and because thei worship not, nor knele not, nor knocke not as others doe, but sit still in their pues, therefore thei thinke thei rather doe good to others then hurte.

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But (alas) if these men would looke into their own c?sci?ces, there should thei see that thei are very dissemblersMarginaliaDissemblyng Gospelers. & in sekyng to deceiue others (for by this meanes the magistrates thinke them of their sort) they deceiue th? selues. Thei thinke at the eleuation tyme,  

all mennes eyes are set vp? them, to marke how   thei doe. Thei thinke others hearyng of suche men goyng to Masse, doe see or enquire of their behauiour there. Oh if there were in those men that are so present at the Masse, either loue to God, or to their brethr?, then would thei for the one or bothe, openly take Gods part, and admonishe the people of their Idolatrie. MarginaliaMathew. 10. 3. Reg. 8. Apocalip. 3.Thei feare man more then hym, which hath power to cast bothe soule and bodie into hell fire: thei halte on both knees: thei serue twoo Maisters. God haue mercie vppon such, and op? their eyes with his eye salue, that thei may see, that thei whiche take no parte with GOD, are against God, and that thei whiche gather not with Christ, do scatter abroade. Oh that thei would reade, what sainct Ihon saieth, will be doen to the fearefull.MarginaliaApocalip. 21. Apocalip. 3. The counsaill giuen to the Churche of Laodicea, is good counsaill for suche.

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But to returne to you again (dearely beloued) be not ye ashamed of Gods Gospell. It is the power of God to saluation, to all those that doe beleue it. Marginalia2. Timoth. 1. Romans. 1.Be therfore partakers of the afflicti?s, as God shall make you able, knowyng for certaine, that he will neuer tempt you farther then he will make you able to beare:Marginalia1. Corinth. 10. Philip. 1. and thinke it no small grace of God to suffer persecution for Gods truthe, for the spirit of God resteth vppon you, and Marginalia1. Peter. 3 Math. 5.ye are happy, as one daie ye shall se. Read. 2. Thess. 1. Heb. 12. As the fire hurteth not gold but maketh it finer, so shall ye be more pure by sufferyng with Christ. 1. Peter. 1. MarginaliaPersecution compared to the flayle whiche hurteth not but clenseth the wheat.

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The flaile and winde hurteth not the wheate, but clenseth it from the chaffe. And ye dearly beloued) are Gods wheate: feare not therfore the flaile, feare not the fannyng winde, feare not the milstone, feare not the ouen, for all these make you more meete for the Lordes owne tooth. Sope, though it be blacke,  

soileth not the cloth, but rather at the length maketh it more cleane: so doeth the blacke crosse helpe vs to more whitnesse, if

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