MarginaliaAnno 1555. February.ther for lacke of ability, or els through distaunce of place, power and opportunity of helping one another doe fayle: yet wonderfull is the working of Gods children through the spirite of prayer, as wherby they fetch all heauenly influence frō Christ theyr celestiall head by his spirite, to be measured seuerally as maye serue to the maytenaunce of the whole body.MarginaliaIohn 15.

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Thus doth our faythfull prayer which we make one for another, distribute and scater Gods bountiful blessinges both ghostly and bodely, when ordinary ability lacketh, and when the arme may not reach forth such Gods riches. According herunto I well perceiue and vnderstand your readines to do good vnto all, and especially I haue experience of your readye good will towardes me in your hartye desire to stretch out your helping hand to relieue my lacke, and of your helpe to be extended to me in the other spirituall sort by your good MarginaliaPrayer distributeth Gods blessinges from one to an other.prayer, I doubt not: as I also ther in assure you of my helpe, being all that I may do, & yet the same not so much as I would do.

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My need concerning bodely necessaryes, is as yet furnished by Gods prouision, so that I am not driuē to any extremity wherfore to be burdenous to you, as your gentle beneuolence prouoketh me, the Lord reward you therefore. If God make me worthy to be eis witnes at this present, in geuing this corruptible body to burne for the testimony of his truth, it is enough for me to say vnto you that I haue a poore wife and childe whom I loue in the Lord, and whome I know for my sake you will tender when I am departed hence. &c.

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MarginaliaAn other letterof M. Saunders.GRace and mercy. &c. It happeneth oftentimes that aboundaunce of matter bringing with it much vehemēcy of frendly affection, maketh men dumbe, and euen then chiefely when there is most eger purpose of speaking, silience doth suppresse, and causeth the party so affected, vnperfectly to expresse that he goeth about to vtter. Such impediment by much matter mingled with feruency of affection, feele I some times in my selfe, letting the vtteraunce either by tongue or writing, of the aboundance of the hart. The loue of our most gracious God and heauenly Father bestowed vpon vs in the merites of Christ our Sauiour, who may by cōceipt of minde comprehend, passing in deed al vnderstanding? much lesse may the same by any meanes be expressedly vttered. And as suche heauenlye blessinges which by fayth we fetch from aboue, be inexplicable: so is it hard to vtter, when the faythfull are set on fire by loue, their readines to reach forth and to geue by charity, as by fayth they haue receiued. But (alas) we cary this treasure in earthen vessels. Marginalia2. Cor. 4.Many times MarginaliaFayth many tymes in vs is feeble.fayth is feble and then loue loseth her feruor. Pray we therfore, Lord encrease our fayth, and loue forthwith will be on fire. And immortall thanks be geuen vnto our God, who in our Christ hath bestowed vpon vs the first fruites of his spirite, who cryeth in our hartes Abba Father. MarginaliaRom. 8.And (as S. Paule sayth) seeing we haue the same spirit of fayth, according as it is written: I beleeued and therfore haue I spoken? we also beleue and therfore we speak: Marginalia1. Cor. 4.Yea God knoweth this spirit putteth in vs a minde to speake, but in attempting therof, we are driuen w^t Moyses to say: O Lord, I am slow mouthed and of vncircumcised lippes:MarginaliaExod. 8. & with Ieremy: O Lord I cannot speake.MarginaliaIerome. 1.

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Albeit that this infancy restraineth the opening of such aboundance of hart in my tender Christian duety to be declared towardes you, yet I beseech you let this be setled in your vnderstanding, that as S. Paule expresseth vnto his Corinthians that they were in his hart eyther to liue or to dye, with many other such sayings vttered vnto them and the Galathians, expressing his vehement affection towardes them: so in some part I would be like affected towardes all Gods children, and especially towardes you whō I know in Christ and to whom I will not say, how muche I am indebted. I thanke you for your great frendshyp and tender good will towards my wife: yea that good gracious God recompēce you, which may worthely with the more counteruayle  

the same, and fulfill that which lacketh of thankefull duety in vs. And because of that which heretofore I haue conceiued of you and of your more then naturall loue towardes me and mine: I make my selfe thus bold to lay this burdē vpon you, MarginaliaM. Saunders commēdeth the care of his wyfe to Maistres Harrington.euen the care and charge of my sayd poore wife I meane, to be vnto her a mother & mistres to rule and direct her by your discreet counsell. I know she conceiueth of you the same that I do, & is thankfull vnto God with me for such a frend, and therfore I beseech you euen for Christes sake, put neuer from you thys frendly charge ouer her, whether I liue longer or shortly depart. But to charge you otherwise, thankes be to God, neither I neither she haue any such extreme neede: if we had I would be as bold with you as mine owne mother. I beseech you geue my harty salutations vnto M. Fitzwilli-

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ams & my good Lady, with thankes also for my poore wife and child, the Lord recompence them.

Laurence Saunders.

Furthermore as touching his fatherly care & affection to his wife and his litle child, the same is liuely set forth in an other letter, which he did write to his wife: wherein he admonished her, that she should not resort much to the prison, where he was, for daūger of trouble that might ensue, the tenour of whose letter here foloWeth.

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MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Saunders to his wyfe.GRace and comfort. &c. Wife you shall do best not to come often vnto the Grate where the Porter may see you. Putte not your selfe in daunger where it needes not: you shall I think, shortly come farre enough into daunger by keeping fayth and a good conscience: which (deare wife) I trust you do not slacke to make reckoning and account vpon by exercising your inward man in meditation of Gods most holy word, being the sustenance of the soule, and also by geuing your selfe to hūble prayer: for these two thinges be very meanes how to be made members of our Christ meet to inherite his kingdome.

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Do this (deare wife) in earnest, and not leauing of, and so we two shall with our Christ and all his chosen children, enioye the mery world in that euerlasting immortality, wheras here will nothing els be found but extreme misery, euen of them which most greedely seeke this worldlye wealth: and so, if we two continue Gods children graffed in our Christ, the same Goddes blessing which we receiue, shall also settle vpon our Samuel. Though wee do shortly depart hence and leaue the poore Infant (to our seeming) at all aduentures, yet shall he haue our gracious God to be his God: for so hath he sayd and he cannot lye: I will be thy God (sayth he) and the God of thy seed. Yea if you leaue him in the wildernes destitute of all helpe, being called of God to do his wil either to dye for the confession of Christ, either any worke of obedience: that God which heard the crye of the litle poore infant of Agar Saraes handmayden and did succour it, wil do the like to the child of you or any other fearing him and putting your trust in him. MarginaliaCare of children in tyme of necessitye ought to be left to God who will not see thē forsaken.And if we lacke fayth (as we do in deede many times) let vs call for it and we shall haue the encrease both of it and also of any other good grace needefull for vs: and be mery in GOD, in who also I am very mery and ioyfull. O Lord what great cause of reioycing haue we, to thinke vpō that kingdome which he voucheth safe for his Christes sake, freely to geue vs, forsaking our selues and folowing him? Deare wife this is truely to MarginaliaWhat it is to follow Christ.follow him, euen to take vp our crosse and followe him, and then as we suffer with him, so shall we raigne with him euerlastingly. Amen. Shortly, Shortly,  

Amen.

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MarginaliaAn other letter of M. Saunders to his wyfe & other frendes.GRace and comfort, &c. Deare wife reioyce in our gracious God, and his our Christ, and geue thankes moste humbly and hartely to him for this dayes worke, that in any part I most vnworthy wretch should be made worthy to beare witnes vnto his euerlasting verity, which Antichrist with his, by mayne force (I perceyue) and by moste impudēt pride and boasting, wil go about to suppres. Remember God alway my dear wife, and so shal gods blessing light vpon you and our Samuel. O remēber alwaye my wordes for Christes sake: be mery and grudge not agaynst God,. and pray, pray. We be al mery here thanks be vnto God, who in his Christ hath geuē vs great cause to be mery, by whō he hath prepared for vs such a kingdom, and doth and will geue vnto vs some litle taste therof, euē in this life, and to all such as are desirous to take it. Blessed (sayth our Christ) be they which hunger and thirst after righteousnesse, for such shall be satisfied. Let vs goe, yea let vs run to seeke such treasure, and that with whole purpose of hart to cleaue vnto the Lord, to finde such Riches in his heauenly word through his spirite obteyned by prayer. My deare Frendes and Brethren Mayster Harryngton and Mayster Hurland, pray, pray. MarginaliaMath. 26.Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. That is. The spirite is ready, but the fleshe is weake. When I looke vpon my selfe, quid ego stupidus & attonitus habeo quod dicam, nisi illud Petri, exi a me Domine quia homo peccator sum? i. Being astonished and confoūded, what haue I els to say, but those wordes of Peter: Lorde goe from me: for I am a sinnefull man? MarginaliaLuke. 5.But then feele I that sweete comforte: Lucerna pedibus meis verbum Domini, lumen semitis meis, & hæc mea est consolatio in humilitate mea. i. MarginaliaPsal. 119.The word of the Lorde is a Lanterne to my feete, and a light vnto my pathes: and this is my comfort in my trouble. Then waxe I bolde with the same Peter to say: Domine ad quem ibimus, verba vitæ æternæ habes. i. MarginaliaIohn. 6.Lord to whom shall we go?

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