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God, does he turn,-to whom does he pour out the sadness of his heart? Still it is to one of his brethren of the reformed churches of the Continent. He, the lukewarm friend, had conjured the excellent Peter Martyr to quit England, wishing to save his life; but ready, he, the coward, to lay down his own; and had declared to him, "that he (Cranmer) must of necessity abide a trial, that no justice was to be expected from his adversaries, and that it was certain that he should never see him again." Do we not seem to hear Paul addressing the elders of Ephesus? But now, when Peter Martyr had escaped, when the solemn moment was approaching for Cranmer, he composes himself in the presence of his God, and traces in his frightful prison these admirable lines, addressed to that same Continental brother: "Yet I have not deemed it right to pass over this one thing, which I have learned by experience, namely, that God never shines forth more brightly, and pours out the beams of his mercy and consolation, or of strength and firmness of spirit, more clearly or impressively upon the minds of his people, than when they are under the most extreme pain and distress both of mind and body, that he may then more

especially shew himself to be the God of his people, when he seems to have altogether forsaken them; then raising them up, when they think he is bringing them down, and laying them low; then glorifying them, when he is thought to be confounding them; then quickening them, when he is thought to be destroying them. So that we may say with Paul, "When I am weak then am I strong; and if I must needs glory, I will glory in my infirmities, in prisons, in revilings, in distresses, in persecutions, in sufferings, for Christ. I pray God to grant that I may endure to the end!" (Cranmer's Letters, p. 458.) Is this nothing but a "saintly profession?" Nay, are not these, my lord, the words of a truly Christian soul, of a heart profoundly versed in communion with its God?

This very testimony declares it; God did not abandon him in his dungeon; the Lord Jesus forsook not the poor prisoner. We follow his example. If again he is insulted in the nineteenth century, as in the sixteenth; if again he is clothed with robes of rags and canvass, a mock mitre and pall,-if the hand that strikes him is an English hand; if even some bishops, although not joining in the attack, at

humble myself, saying, O Lord, my God, my sins be great, but yet have mercy upon me for Thy great mercy! The great mystery that God became man, was not wrought for little or few offences. Thou didst not give thy Son, O heavenly Father, unto death for small sins only, but for all the greatest sins of the world, so that the sinner return to Thee with his whole heart, as I do here at this present. Wherefore, have mercy on me, O God, whose property is always to have mercy! have mercy upon me, O Lord, for Thy great mercy! I crave nothing for mine own merits, but for Thy name sake, that it may be hallowed thereby, and for Thy dear Son Jesus Christ's sake. And now, therefore, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name!"

And let us remember what every body knows, although it seems forgotten by many. Let us remember, that on approaching the stake, deploring the fault of which he had been guilty, he exclaimed "Forasmuch as my hand offended, writing contrary to my heart, my hand shall first be punished therefore; for may I come to the fire, it shall be first burnt!" True to this purpose, as soon as the flame arose, he held his hand out to meet it, and retained it there

steadfastly, so that all the people saw it sensibly burning before the fire reached any other part of his body; and often he repeated with a loud and firm voice, "This hand hath offended! this unworthy right hand!" Never did martyr endure the fire with more invincible resolution; no cry was heard from him, save the exclamation of the proto-martyr Stephen, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" He stood immoveable as the stake to which he was bound, his countenance raised, looking to heaven, and anticipating that rest into which he was about to enter; and thus "in the greatness of the flame," he yielded up his spirit. The fire did its work soon,. and his heart was found unconsumed amid the ashes." * No, no, that man was not a coward in action!

Churches of England! be mindful of "them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation."

But if we call to mind their piety to imitate it, we must also remember their faults to avoid them. The pastors of the church have in our times a more easy task than what fell to the lot of a Cranmer, a Ridley, or a Latimer. • Fox Acts, Strype's Memorials, Southey's Book, &c.

Great tyranny has been followed by great liberty, and it is less dangerous in our days to be faithful to the Gospel, than it was in presence of the axe of Henry VIII., or the burning pile of Mary. If the men whose memory I have recalled, and many others feared not to shed their blood, and to seal with their lives the testimony to the truth which is in Christ; in our days, no doubt, all that have the rule over the church, whatever may be their rank or office, will be able for the same cause to withstand the frowns or flatteries of the world, to bear an attack in a public paper, or in the councils of the nation, to brave the accusations of a semi-popish party, and to suffer much more, were it even the loss of their ecclesiastical position. Our times require men of resolution, steadfast and immoveable in the work of the Lord. (1 Cor. xv. 58.)

Much more might be said of the relations between England and the Continent during the sixteenth century. What has been stated will suffice to show that I have made no rash assertion. The British church cannot be isolated. Just as a member, when separated from the other members, dies-to a church separated from other churches, is in an ailing condition,

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