Marginalia1556. Iuly.my good God, I feele it not: onely it is myne owne sinnes and vnthankfulnes, which holdeth harde bataile, and wageth strong warre against me, which onely goeth about to separate me from my good captaine Christ, that I shoulde not enioy his glorious victorie: but God being on my side, (as I am sure he is) that can not continually preuayle against me. Though God for a tyme permit Satan to take his pleasure on me, as he dyd vppon Iob, yet I doubt not but in the end all shall turne to my profite, through the merites of our Lord & Saueour Iesus Christ: to whose most mercyfull defence, I cōmyt you, deare sister, with al the rest of the Lordes elect. Farewel in Christ.

Your vnfainedly, Iohn Careles.
Pray, pray, pray, pray.

¶ To my deare brother. T. V.  

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This letter to Thomas Upcher (whose name is given in the original letter) was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 582-85. The original letter is ECL 260, fo. 241r-v; ECL 262, fos. 127r-129v is a copy.

MarginaliaAn other Letter of Iohn Careles wherein he comforteth the afflicted mind of a certeine good brother mourning for lacke of Gods feeling.THe euerlasting peace of God in Iesus Christ, the continual comfortes of his most pure and holy spirite, be with you my most deare frend and faithfull brother V.  

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This is an abbreviation for Upcher.

In the myds of my manyfold crosses & troubles, wherin I am constrained to flee vnto God for refuge & succour by earnest & faithful prayer, I can not forget you (my deare hart in the Lord) but esteeming your state for myne owne, I doo poure forth my complaint for you, as I doo for my selfe, and rather more as I thinke presente need doth require, desiring most hartily to heare of the good successe of the same in you. The Lord God for his great mercyes sake, accomplishe my desire, as I doubt not but he wyl, when he seeth it good and most to his glory, and to your comfort & cōmoditie. Oh that I might once see you so meery in Christ, as you haue iuste cause to be, that you might say with Dauid: MarginaliaPsal. 57.Awake my glory, awake Lute and Harpe, bring forth the Psalter with the meery song, that I might sing a newe song of prayse and thankesgeuing vnto the Lord for the light of his fauorable countenaunce, his helpe, and deliuerance. MarginaliaPsal. 45.Oh, that would refreshe me as a moste precious oyle, and gladden my poore hart, which is assaulted with sorowe, moe wayes then one. MarginaliaComfort for a sicke conscience.I doubt not but the same shall by your meanes receyue much comfort, though for a tyme it doth mourne with you, that we may be made both glad together, yea & that w^t such gladnes as shall continue for euer. MarginaliaMath. 9.But in the meane space (I say) most happy are you, that so hartily mourne the absence of the bridegrome. If you were not a wedding childe, you coulde neuer doo it. Onely Christes true Disciples doo mourne for his absence: therfore shall they doubtles reioyce at his presence, which wyll be so much more ioyful, by howe much the absence is more sorowful.

Therfore, my good brother, take a good hart vnto you, & be of good cheare. Say with the Prophet Dauid: MarginaliaPsal.42.O my soule why art thou so heauie, and why art thou so disquieted within me? O put thy trust in God, for I wil yet geue hym thankes for the helpe of his louing countenaunce, and because he is my God. Reade the Psalm, the. xli. and. xlij. for your cōfort, & consider that the holy king & Prophet, at the making & first saying of them, was euē in the same case that you are now in: but he styl cōforted hym selfe with the sweet promises of God: and so doo you my deare hart, for to you they doo as wel pertaine, as they dyd to hym, & as surely shal they be performed vpon you, as they were vpō hym: for he is one God and deare father vnto you both, & for his mercy, truth, and promise sake, he muste needes make good vnto you al that he hath said.

MarginaliaGods loue goeth not by our deseruinges, but by fayth in Iesus.If his loue towardes you, stoode in the respecte of your owne merite or worthynes, you might wel mourne, lament and complaine: yea, you had good cause to doubt, feare, and mistrust. But seeyng he loueth you onely for and in Iesus Christe, who is your whole holynes, righteousnes, and redemption: laye away all mournyng, lamentyng, and complaynyng: banish from you all feare, mistrust, and infidelitie, and knowe that as long as Christ doth continue Gods sonne, so long muste the loue of the Father continue towardes you immutable, and his good wyll vnchaungeable, and can not be altered through any of your infirmities. For this is moste true, that as long as the cause of any thyng doth last, so long must the effect remayne: MarginaliaChrist onely is the cause why his father loueth vs.but Christ is the whole cause, why the Father loueth you, and he also continueth for euer: then must I needes conclude, that the loue of the father continueth towardes you for euer, and (as the Psalmist most ioyfully so often singeth) his mercy endureth for euer and euer.

This is most true, myne owne deare hart, although the

MarginaliaWhy God sometyme hydeth hym selfe from vs.Lord for a tyme hide it from your senses, that you might be the more earnest in prayer to hym for the feeling of it, and also the more thankful for it when he doth geue the liuely tast of it, as doubtles he wyll doo ere euer it be long: and then shal you be well able to comfort other in the same state that you are nowe in, with the same comfort wherwith you are and further shalbe comforted of God.

Therefore, MarginaliaHeb. 12.lyft vp your hands that are nowe a litle fallen downe, and stretche forth the weake knees of your troubled mynde, whiche nowe mourneth with a godly mournyng, and therefore shall it be full wel comforted with that sweete peace of God which passeth all vnderstanding: and you are sure already to enioy the blessing that Christ gaue vnto the godly mourners of Sion vppon the Mount, at the first sermon that he made. Oh happy V. in whose mournyng company I had rather be, then in the house of myrth and bankettyngMarginaliaEccle. 7. of suche as see not what cause they haue to mourne and be sorye. But yet my good brother, MarginaliaMeasure ought to be in mourning.vse a measure in this your godly mourning, and make not your faithfull frendes too muche sorye for you. Let the perswasions of suche godly louers as you doo dayly company withall, or rather the perswasions of the holy Ghost by them, moue you to some godly myrth and reioysing. Consider that you are commaunded of God by the mouth of Saint Paul, thereto: MarginaliaPhil. 4.Reioyce in the Lorde (saith he) and I say agayne reioyce. Marke howe he doubleth the sentence, that wee may perceiue it is a most earnest and necessary thing he requireth. Obey the commaundement of God in this behalf: wherein as you can not but highly please hym, so I assure you, you shall very muche reioyce my poore harte, MarginaliaExample of Christian charitie and compassion towardes his afflicted brother.and the hartes of other which pray for you with mourning teares, and make that cruell enimie Sathan and all your aduersaries sorie, which wyll reioyce and laugh to see you mourne. Oh my good brother, let it manifestly appeare, that the lord of his great mercy hath hearde our faithfull and hartye requestes for you. Oh how would that reioyce me in the myds of my troubles?

Therfore now to conclude, because the darknes cōstraineth me to make an ende for this tyme, I say, my deare and faithful brother V. in respect of the great cause you haue of your owne part through Christ, and for the glory & honour of almighty God: the comfort, ioy, and reioysing of your dere brethren and sisters in Christ: also your owne duetie by the commaundement of God: and last of all to vexe, molest, and greeue Satan withal, reioyce in the Lord, and be most hartily glad in hym, who is wholy yours, and you are his and shalbe for euermore. Selah.

Farewel myne owne bowels in the Lord, & praise God with ioyful lyps & a meery hart, & pray for me his most vnprofitable seruant, which haue more cause concernyng my selfe, to lament, then any one man liuyng: but my good bridgrome is present, and biddeth me cast away my mourning garmentes, and therfore I must needes be mery with him: and so he biddeth you to be, by my mouth, for he is present w^t you, although for sorow you cā not know hym, as Magdalen could not in the garden, vntyl he spake vnto her. The Lord God speake these words of comfort in your hart, and open the eyes of your mynd: that you may perfectly perceiue & feele his blessed presence, & so reioyce in the same for euermore, Amen. Comfort your hart in Christe, and cast your care vpon hym, for he careth for you.

Your brother in the Lord, abiding his
good pleasure, Iohn Careles.

¶ To my deare and faithful brother, Augustine Bernher.  

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This letter was first printed in Letters of the Martyrs, pp. 607-11. ECL 260, fos. 215r-216v is the original of this letter.

MarginaliaAn other Letter of Iohn Careles to faythfull Augustine Bernher counselling hym to be circumspect in those daungerous dayes.THe peace of God in Iesus Christ, the helpe comfort, and assistance of his eternal spirite be with you, my deare and faithfull brother Augustine, and with al the rest of my good brethren and sisters of the houses of Baxterley and Manceter (whiche mourneth for the miserie of Gods people)  

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Mary Glover, the wife of the martyr Robert Glover and Agnes Glover, the wife of John Glover. Mary was mourning her executed husband and Agnes was mourning her husband who died of natural causes fleeing the authorities.

Right glad I am to heare (my deare and faithfull brother Augustine) that God of his great mercye and infinite goodnes, hath yet so graciously deliuered and preserued you out of your enimies handes, beseeching almighty God also, from the bottome of my hart, to be your continual defence vnto the ende, as hitherto he hath most graciously bene, that you may liue & die to gods glory, the cōmoditie of his Church, & to the increase of your owne euerlasting ioy and comfort in hym.

Knowe you, deare brother, that I haue receyued your Letter, for the whiche I hartyly thanke you. In deede I thinke it very short, although it seemeth somthing sharply to rebuke me in the begynnyng, for the breache of my promise, in not writing to you of this long tyme. Well brother, I am contente to beare it with pacience, considering that