1576 Edition | Book 11 | Page 1818 
MarginaliaAn. 1556. Aprill.they moste stoutly and wyllyngly performed, the. xiiij. day of April,
CloseThe correct date is 24 April and is only found in 1563. A printing error caused it to be rendered as 14 April in the 1570 and subsequent editions.
CloseOne letter of Tyms' appeared out of sequence in the 1563 edition (pp. 1512-13). This letter was never reprinted and none of Tyms' letters were printed in the Letters of the Martyrs. All other letters of Tyms first appeared in the 1570 edition and were reprintedwithout change.
CloseThis letter was written on 20 March 1556 while Tyms was held in Bonner's London palace just prior to his condemnation.
MarginaliaA letter of Will. Tyms to Agnes Glascocke.THe grace, mercy, and peace of God our Father thorow Iesus Christ our Lord and Sauiour, with the sweet comfort of his holy and mightie spirite, to the performaunce of his wil, to your euerlasting comfort be with you my deare sister Glascock, both now and euermore, Amen.
[Back to Top]My most deare and entirely beloued sister, yea mother I may right well cal you for the motherly care which you haue alwayes had for me, I haue me most hartely commended vnto you, giuing God most harty thankes for you, that he hath geuen you so louing a hart to Christes poore Gospel, and his poore afflicted flocke for the same: and as you haue ful godly begone, so I besech God to geue you power, to go forward in the same, and neuer more to looke backe fearing neither fyre, neyther sword: and then I warrant you, you haue not farre to run.
[Back to Top]And now my deare hart, remember well what I haue taught you when I was present with you, and also writen being absent, and no doubt we shal shortly meete agayne with a most ioyful meeting. I go vpon Friday next to the bishop of Londons Colehouse,
I.e., the coal house of Bishop Bonner's London palace which was used as an ad hoc prison for prisoners being examined by Bonner. This is not a metaphor ; because of lack of ink, Tyms wrote some of his letters using his own blood. Letters written in their blood were produced at the trials of Richard Roth and Ralph Allerton (see 1563, pp. 1627-28).
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These words folowing were written with his own bloud.
Continue in prayer. Aske in fayth. And obteyne your desire. | By me William Tyms in the Kynges Bench for the Gos- pell of Christ. |
CloseThis letter was written before the previous letter. In the previous letter Tyms forgives Glascock for her having attended mass, which is described in this letter. This would date this letter to 28 August 1555.
MarginaliaAn other letter of Will. Tyms to Mistres Glascocke.GOd be merciful vnto you, pardon and forgeue all your sinnes, and send you fayth to beleeue the same, that you may be partaker of his heauenly kingdome, Amen.
My deare sister, I haue me most hartely commended vnto you: and as I haue lamented your fallyng from God, by beyng partaker with that Idolatrous Priest, so haue I since I heard of your earnest repentaunce, very much reioyced, and also praysed almightye God for his mercy shewed vnto you, in that he hath not left you to your selfe, but since your denyall he hath shewed his mercy on you by looking back on you as he did on Peter, and so caused you to repent as Peter did, and bitterly to weepe for your sinnes: where as if God had left you to your selfe, you had run forward from one euyll vnto an other, till at the length your harte should eyther haue bene hardened, or els you should haue dispayred of the mercy of God. And seyng that God hath bene so mercyfull vnto you as he hath bene, bee you not vnthankeful vnto him for the same. For I certifie you that your sorowfull harte that you haue had, doth declare vnto me that God hath pardoned and forgeuen all your sinnes for the bloud sheding of that immaculate lambe Iesus Christ our Lord and Sauioor.
[Back to Top]Therefore, as Peter, after the tyme that Christ had forgiuen him his sinne, did boldly confesse Christ before al his enemies: euen so my deare hart in the Lord, seyng that God hath so mercyfully pardoned and forgeuen your sinnes, now cleaue vnto hym and be at defiance with his enimies the Papistes: and as they do beare witnesse with their father the deuill by goyng to the Church and sheding of the innocent bloud of all those that wil not go with them, euen
[Back to Top]so do you beare witnes with Christ, by not comming there. For all those that do go thither shalbe partakers of their bretherns bloud that is shed for the testimony of Christ, except they repent and amend: which grace that they may so doe, I besech the eternall God for his Christes sake if it be his good wil, to giue them in his good time. And the same good God that hath bene so mercyfull vnto you to cal you to repentaunce, him I besech to keepe you in his feare and loue, that you may haue alwayes affiaunce in him and euermore seeke his honour and glory to your euerlasting comfort in Christ, Amen. Thus fare you wel from the kinges bench this xxviii. of August.
[Back to Top]By me William Tyms.
MarginaliaAn other letter of Will. Tyms to certayne godly women of his Parish.GRace, mercy and peace from God the father, through our Lord Iesus Christ be with you both now and euermore, Amen.
Deare Sisteres, I haue me most hartely commended vnto you, thanking you for the great kyndnesse shewed vnto me in this time of my imprisonment, and not only vnto me, but also vnto my poore wyfe and children: and also for the great kindnesse that you shew vnto al the liuyng Saints that be dispersed abroade, and are fayne to hide their heads for feare of this cruel persecution.
[Back to Top]Deare sisters, when I do remember your constancie in Christ, I cal to remembrance the constancie of diuers godly women, as Susanna, Iudith, Hester, and the good wife of Nabal, that through her godly conditions saued both her husbandes life and all her houshoulde, when Dauid had thought to haue slaine hym for his churlish aunsweare that he sent hym. Also I do remember Rahab that lodged the Lordes Spyes, how God preserued her and her whole houshold for her faithfulnes that shee bare to Gods people. So I do beleue, that when the Lord shall send his angel to destroy these Idolatrous Egyptians here in England, and shal finde the bloud of the Lambe sprinkled on the doore postes of your harts, he wyl go by and not hurt you, but spare your whole housholdes for your sakes. Also I do remember Mary Magdalen, how faithfull shee was: for shee was the first that preached the resurrection of Christe. Remember the blessed Martyr Anne Askew in our time, and folow her example of constancie. And for the loue of God take heede that in no case you doo not consent to Idolatrie, but stande fast to the Lord, as the good woman did that had her seuen sonnes put to death before her face, and shee alwayes comforting them, yea and last of all suffered death her selfe for the testimonie of her God, which is the liuyng God. Thus I beseech God to send you grace and strength to stande fast to the Lorde, as shee dyd, and then you shall be sure of the same kingdome that shee is sure of: to the which kingdome I pray God bring both you and me, Amen.
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By me William Tyms prisoner
in the Kinges Benche.
CloseThis letter was written on 12 April 1556, while Tyms was in Newgate awaiting execution.
MarginaliaAn other letter of Will. Tyms to his frendes in Hocley.THe grace of God the Father, through the merites of his deare sonne Iesus our Lord and onely Saueour, with the continual ayde of his holy and mighty spirit, to the performance of his wyll, to your euerlasting comfort, be with you my deare brethren, both now and euermore, Amen.
[Back to Top]My dearely beloued, I beseeche God to rewarde the great goodnes that you haue shewed vnto me, seuen folde into your bosomes: and as you haue alwayes had a moste godly loue vnto his worde, euen so I beseeche hym to geue you grace to loue your own soules, and then I trust that you wyll flee from all those thinges that shoulde displease our good and mercyful God, and hate and abhorre al the companye of those that woulde haue you to worship God any otherwise then is conteyned in his holy woorde. And beware of those maisters of Idolatrie, that is these papisticall priestes. My deare brethren, for the tender mercy of God, remember wel what I haue said vnto you and also written, the which I am now ready to seale with my bloud. I praise God that euer I liue to see the day, and blessed be my good and mercyfull God, that euer he gaue me a body to gloryfie his name. And deare hartes, I do nowe write vnto you for none other cause, but to put you in remembraunce, that I haue not forgotten you, to the end, that I would not haue you forget me, but to remember well what I haue simply by woord of mouth and writyng taught you. The whiche although it were most simply done, yet truely, as your own
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