MarginaliaAnno. 1556. Iuly.nour, glorie, praise, thankes, power, rule and dominion for euer and euermore, Amen. The blessing of God be with you all.

Iohn Careles.

MarginaliaA Letter of Iohn Careles writtē with heauenly power to comfort an afflicted brother oppressed with pensiuenes and mourning for his sinnes.THe euerlasting peace of God in Iesus Christ, the cōtinuall ioy and comfort of his most pure, holy, and mighty spirite, with the increase of faith and liuely feeling of his mercy, bee with you my deare hart in the Lord, and faithfull louing brother T. V. to the full accōplishing of that good worke which he hath so graciously begon in you, that the same, by al meanes, may be to the setting forth of his glory, to the cōmoditie of his poore afflicted cōgregation, and to the swete comfort & quietnes of your cōscience in him now and euermore. Amen.

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With such due honour, loue, and reuerence, as it becōmeth me to beare vnto the sweete Saintes and dearely beloued children of God, I haue me most hartely commended vnto you, my deare brother V.  

with all earnest and faithful remembraunce of you in my dayly prayers, thanking God right hartely that you do likewise remember me in yours, assuring you that my poore harte doth dayly feele great consolation therby, God onely haue the praise for the same & all other his benefites. Ah my deare harte in the Lord, well is me that euer I was borne, that God of his great mercy and infinite goodnes hath vsed me most miserable wretch at any time, as his instrument, to minister any thing vnto you either by worde or writing, that might be an occasion of your ioy and comfort in the Lord, & a prouoking of you to praise and thākesgeuing vnto God for the same, as your most louing and godly letter seemeth to import. Oh happie am I that the Lord hath appointed me vnto so good a groūd to sowe his seede vppon: but much more happie are you whose harte the Lorde hath prepared and made so meete to receiue the same so effectuously, geuing thereto the sweete showers and heauenly dewes of his grace and holy spirite, that it may bring forth fruite in due season accordingly: the increase whereof we shal shortly reape together with perfect ioy and gladnes, and that continually.

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Therfore (my deare brother) I say vnto you as good Elizabeth did to her deare cosin Mary: MarginaliaLuke. 1.Happy are you, & happy shall you be for euermore, because you haue beleued. The most sweete and faithfull promises of your redemer Iesus Christ you haue surely laid vp in the treasury of your hart. His comfortable callinges you haue faithfully heard: his louing admonitions you haue humbly obeyed, MarginaliaRemission of sinnes.and therefore you shall neuer come into iudgement: MarginaliaMich. 7.your sinnes shall neuer be remembred: for your Sauiour hath cast them all into the bottome of the Sea: MarginaliaPsal. 103.he hath remoued them from you as farre as the East is from the West, and hath geuen you for an euerlasting possession his iustification and holines: so that now no creature neither in heauen nor in earth shalbe able to accuse you before the throne of the heauenly king. Sathā is now iudged: he is now cast out from you: he hath no part in you: you are wholy geuen vnto Christ, which will not loose you your stedfast faith in him hath ouercome that sturdie and bragging prince of the world: Christ hath geuen you the finall victorie ouer him and all his armie, that they shall neuer hurt you. What would you haue more? Oh my deare hart, how great treasures are laid vp in store for you, and how glorious a crowne is already made and prepared for you?

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And albeit the holy Ghost doth beare witnes of all these things in your hart, and maketh you more sure and certaine therof,MarginaliaTestimony of gods spirite. then if you had all the outward oracles in the world: yet I being certainely persuaded and fully assured by the testimony of Gods spirit in my cōscience, of your eternall and sure saluation in our swete Sauiour Iesus Christ, haue thought it good, yea and my bounden duetie, not onely at this time to write vnto you, and to shew my ioyful hart in that behalfe: but also by the word and commaundement of Christ, MarginaliaPractise of the true keyes of the Gospell.to pronounce and affirme in the name and word of the heauenly king Iehouah, and in the behalfe of his sweete sonne Iesus Christ our Lord, to whom all knees shall bow, whom all creatures shall worship: and also by the impulsion of the holy Ghost, by whose power and strength all the faithfull be regenerate: I doe (I say) pronounce to the my deare brother T. V. that thou art already a Citizen of heauen. The Lord thy God in whom thou doest put all thy trust, for his deare sonnes sake, in whom thou doest also vndoubtedly beleue, hath freely forgeuen thee all thy sinnes, clearely released all thine iniquities, and fully pardoned

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all thine offences, be they neuer so many, so greuous, or so great, and will neuer remember them any more to cōdemnation. As truly as he liueth, hee will not haue the dye the death, but hath verely determined, purposed, and eternally decreed, that thou shalt liue with him for euer. Thy sore shalbe healed, and thy woūdes bounde vp euen of him self for his owne names sake. He doth not nor wil not looke vpon thy sinnes in the: but he respecteth and beholdeth the in Christ, in whom thou art liuely graffed by faith in his bloud, and in whom thou art most assuredly elected and chosen to be a sweete vessel of his mercie and saluation, and wast thereto predestinate in him before the foundation of the world was laid. In testimonie and earnest whereof, he hath geuen the his good and holy spirite which worketh in the, faith, loue, and vnfained repentaunce, with other godly vertues, contrary to the corruption of thy nature.

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MarginaliaExperience of Christ working in his church.Also he hath commaunded me this day (although a most vnworthy wretch) to be a witnes hereof by the ministerie of his holy word, grounded vppon the truth of his most faithfull promises: the whiche thou beleuing, shalt liue for euer. Beleuest thou this my deare hart? I knowe well thou doest beleue. The Lorde increase thy faith, & geue the a liuely feeling of all his mercies: wherof thou art warranted and assured by the testimonie of the holy Ghost, who confirme in thy conscience (to the vtter ouerthrowing of Sathan, and those his most hurtfull dubitations, whereby he is accustomed to molest & vexe the true children of God) all that I haue sayd: and by Gods grace I will, as a witnes therof, confirme & seale the same with my bloud, for a most certaine truth.

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Wherfore (my good brother) praise the Lord with a ioyfull hart, and geue him thankes for this his exceding great mercy, casting away all dubitation and wauering, yea all sorrow of hart and pensiuenes of minde: for this the Lord your God and most deare and louing father, cōmaundeth you to doe by me, nay rather by his owne mouth and word pronounced by me. But now my deare brother, after that I haue done my message: or rather the Lordes message in deede, I could finde in my harte to write ij. or iij. sheetes of paper, declaring the ioy I beare in my hart for you, myne owne bowels in the Lord: yet the time being so short (as you doe well know) I am here constrained to make an ende, desiring you to pardon my slacknes, and to forgiue my great negligence towardes you, promising you still that so lōg as my poore life doth last, my prayer shall supplie that my penne doth want: as knoweth the almightie God, to whose most merciful defence I do hartely cōmit you and all other his deare children, as well as though I had rehearsed them by name, desiring them most hartely to remember me in their hartie and dayly prayers, as I know right well they doe: for I feele the dayly comfort & commoditie therof, & therfore I neither will nor can forget them, nor you, or any such like. The blessing of God be with you all, Amen.

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Yours for euer vnfaynedly, Iohn Careles.

MarginaliaAn other Letter of Ioh. Careles to a faythfull frend of his, of thankesgeuing.BLessed be God the father of all mercy, for the great comfort and Christian consolation which he hath so mercifully ministred vnto my poore afflicted harte by your meanes, my most deare and faithful brother. Truly me thinketh your wordes or rather Gods wordes by you vttered, haue a wonderfull power and efficacie working in my hart at the hearing or reading of them. Reioyce therfore my deare brother, and be thankefull vnto God: for verily he both is and will be mightely magnified in you, and that diuers and many wayes, both to the strengthening of them that stand in his truth, and also to the raising vp of such as are fallen from the same. God make me thankefull for you and on your behalfe, for verily great is the goodnes of God towardes me in geuing me acquaintaunce in faithfull loue and amitie with you: Gods name for euer be praised therfore, and he performe all his merciful promises vpon you, as I doubt not but he will, for his sake in whom you trust.

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MarginaliaHe geueth him thankes.I thanke my God most hartely, and also you my good brother, for that you are carefull for me in your faithfull prayers, remembring my iust deserued sorrowes, as though they were your owne, and labouring so much to solace the same. Ah my gracious good God, what am I, for whom thou and thy deare childrē should be so carefull? Oh sweete Lord, forgeue me my great ingratitude and sinne, and graunt that I neuer abuse thy great bene-

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