MarginaliaAnno. 1555. October.the earth. And with this whore doeth spiritually medle and lyeth with her, and committeth most stinkyng and abominable adultry before God, all those Kynges and Princes, yea and all nations of the earth whiche doe consente to her abominations, and vse or practise the same: MarginaliaKinges cōmitting adultery with the whore of Babylon, what it meaneth.that is (of the innumerable multitude of them to rehearse some for example sake) her dispensations, her pardons and pilgrimages, her inuocation of Saintes, he worshipping of images, her false counterfait religion in her Monkerie and Frerage, and her traditions, wherby gods lawes are defiled: as her Massyng & false ministryng of Gods word & the sacramentes of Christ cleane contrary to Christes word, & the Apostles doctrine, whereof in particularitie I haue touched something before in my talke had with the Sea of London, and in other treatises more at large: wherein (if it shall please God to bring the same to light) it shall appeare I trust by Gods grace, plainly to the man of God, and to him whose rule in iudgement of Religion is Gods word, that that Religion, that rule and order, that doctrine and faith whiche this MarginaliaApocalip. 17.whore of Babylon, and the Best whereupon she doth sit, maintaineth at this daye with all violence of fire and sworde, with spoile and banishment (accordyng to Daniels ProphecieMarginaliaDaniel. 7.) and finallie with all falshed, deceit, hipocrisie, and all kinde of vngodlines: are as cleane contrarie to Gods word, as darkenes is vnto light, or light vnto darkenes, white to blacke, or blacke to white, or as Beliall vnto Christ or Christe vnto Antichrist hym selfe.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaHe speaketh to the lordes temporall.I knowe my Lordes, and foresawe when I wrote this, that so manie of you as shoulde see this my writyng, not beyng before indued with the spirite of grace and the light of Gods word, so many (I saie) would at these my wordes Lordlike stampe and spurne, and spit thereat. But sober  

your selues with pacience and bee still, and know ye that in my writyng of this, my minde was none other, but in God (as the liuyng God doeth beare mee witnes) bothe to doe you profite and pleasure. And otherwise, as for your displeasure, by þ^t tyme this shall come to your knowledge. I truste by Gods grace to be in the handes and protection of the almightie, my heauenly father, and the liuyng Lord, whiche is (as S. Iohn saith) the greatest of all, and then I shal not neede (I trowe)   to feare what anye Lorde, no nor what king or prince can doe vnto mee.

[Back to Top]

My Lordes, if in times past ye haue bene contented to heare mee sometimes in matters of Religion before the Prince in the pulpit, and in the Parlament house, and haue not seemed to haue despised what I haue saied (when as els if ye had perceiued iuste occasion, ye might then haue suspected in my talke, though it had bene reasonable, either desire of worldly gaine, or feare of displeasure) how hath then your Lordshippes more cause to harken to my word and to heare me paciently, seyng nowe ye can not iustly thinke of me being in this case appointed to die, and lookyng dailie when I shall bee called to come before the eternall iudge, otherwise but that I onely studie to serue my Lorde God, and to saie that thynge whiche I am persuaded assuredlye by Gods worde shall and doth please hym, and profit al them to whom God shall geue grace to heare and beleue what I doe say? And I do saie euen that I haue said heretofore both of the Sea of Rome and of the bishop thereof, I meane after this their present state at this daie. Wherin if ye will not beleue the ministers of God, & true preachers of his word, verely I denounce vnto you in verbo domini, except ye do repent betime, it shal tourne to your confusion, and to your smart on the latter day. Forget not what I saie my Lords, for gods sake forget not, MarginaliaPsal. 4.but remember it vpon your bed. For I tell you moreouer, as I know I must be countable of this my talke and of my speaking thus, to the eternall iudge (who will iudge nothyng amisse) so shall you bee countable of your duety in hearyng, and you shall bee charged, if ye wil harkē to gods word, for not obeiyng to the truth. Alas my Lordes, how chaunceth this, that this matter is now a new againe to be persuaded vnto you? Who would haue thought of late, but your lordships had bene persuaded in deede sufficiently, or that ye could euer haue agreed so vniformelie with one consent to the abolishment of the vsurpation of the bishop of Rome? Marginalia
If þ^e vnity of þ^e Popes church, stand vpon necessitie of saluation: why did þ^e lordes of this realme abiure this vnitie in K. Henry, and K. Edwardes dayes?
If it be otherwise, why then do they periure themselues turning to it againe?If that matter were then but a matter of policie wherin the prince must be obeied, how is it now made a matter, wherein (as your clergy saith now, and so saith the Popes lawes in deede) standeth the vnitie of the Catholike Churche, and a matter of necessitie

[Back to Top]

of our saluation? Hath the time, beyng so short since the death of the two laste Kinges, Henry the. viii. and Edward his sonne, altered the nature of the matter? If it haue not, but was of the same nature and daunger before God then as it is now, and be now (as it is said by the Popes lawes, and the instructions set forth in English to the curates of the dioces of Yorke) in deede a matter of necessitie to saluation: how then chaunced it that ye were all (O my Lordes) so light, and so little passed vpon the catholike faith and the vnitie thereof (without the whiche no man can be saued) as for youre Princes pleasures, which were but mortal men, to forsake the vnitie of your catholike faith, that is, to forsake Christ and his holy gospell? And furthermore, if it were both then and nowe is so necessarie to saluation, how chaunced it also that ye, all the whole bodie of the Parliament agreing with you, did not only abolish and expell the Bishop of Rome, but also did abiure hym in your owne persons, and did decree in your actes greate othes to be taken of both the spiritualty and temporaltie, whosoeuer should enter into anye waightie & chargeable office in the common wealth? But on the other side, if the law & decree which maketh the supremacie of the sea and bishop of Rome ouer the vniuersall church of Christe, be a thing of necessitie required vnto saluation by an Antichristian law (as it is in dede) and such instructions as are geuen to the Dioces of Yorke, bee in deede a setting forthe of the power of that Beast of Babilon by the craft & falshode of his false Prophetes (as of truth, compared vnto Gods worde, and truelye iudged by the same, it shal plainely appere that thei be) then my Lordes neuer thinke other, but the daie shall come when MarginaliaIeremy. 6.ye shall be charged with this your vndoyng of that, that once ye had well done, and with this youre periurie and breach of your oth, which oth was done in iudgement, iustice, and truthe agreable to Gods lawe. The whore of Babilon may well for a tyme dally with you, and make you so dronken with the wine of her filthy stewes  

and whoredome (as with her dispensations and promises of pardon à pœna & culpa)   that for dronkennes and blindnes ye maye thynke your selues safe. But be ye assured, when the liuyng Lorde shall trie the matter by the fire, and iudge it accordyng to his worde, when all her abominations shall appeare what they be: then ye my Lordes, (I geue your Lordships warnyng in time) repent if ye be happy, and loue your owne soules health, repent I saye, or els without all doubt, ye shall neuer escape the handes of the liuyng Lorde, for the gilt of your periurie and the breach of your othe. As ye haue banketted and laine by the whore in the fornication of her whorish dispensations, pardons, idolatrie, and such like abominations: so shall ye drinke with her (except ye repent betime) of the cuppe of the Lords indignation and euerlasting wrathe, whiche is prepared for the Beast, his false prophetes, and all their partakers. For he that is partner with them in their whoredome and abominations, muste also bee partner with them of their Plagues, and on the latter daie shall bee throwne with them into the lake burnyng with Brimstone and vnquenchable fire. Thus fare ye well my Lordes all. I praie God geue you vnderstandyng of his blessed will and pleasure, and make you to beleue and embrace the truth, Amen.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaAn other farwel of B. Ridley to the prisoners &c.FArewell my dearely beloued brethren in Christ, both ye my fellow prisoners, and ye also that be exiled and banished out of your coūtreis, because ye wil rather forsake all worldly commoditie, then the gospell of Christ.

Farewell all ye together in Christ: farewell and bee mery, for ye know that the triall of your fayth bringeth forth patience, and patience shall make vs perfect, whole and sound on euery syde, and such after triall (ye know) shall receiue the crowne of life, according to the promise of the Lorde made to his dearely beloued, let vs therfore be pacient vnto the comming of the Lord. MarginaliaIacob. 5.As the husbandman abydeth patiently the former and latter raine for the encrease of his croppe, so let vs bee patient and plucke vp our hartes, for the comming of the Lord approcheth apace. Let vs (my deare brethren) take example of patiēce in tribulatiō of the Prophets, which spake likewise gods word truely in his name. Let Iob be to vs as an example of patience, and the ende which the

[Back to Top]