have your questions fully answered and satisfied, and therefore I omit to write any more hereabouts presently; beseeching God our Father to guide you, as his dear child, with his spirit of wisdom, power, and comfort, unto eternal life, that you may be strong and rejoice in him and with his church, to carry Christ's Cross if he shall so think it need. 1. Peter i. which is a thing to be desired, wished, and embraced, if we looked on things after the judgment of God's word, and tried them by that touchstone. If you be accustomed to think on the brevity, vanity, and misery of this life, and on the eternity, truth, and felicity, of everlasting life; if you look on things after their ends, and not after their present appearance only; if you use yourself to set God's presence, power, and mercy, always before our eyes, to see them as God, by every creature, would you should; I doubt not but you shall find such strength and comfort in the Lord, as you shall not be shaken with all the power of satan. God's mercy in Christ be with you, and his good spirit guide you for ever, Amen. No. 35.* TO THE LADY VANE. As to mine own soul, I wish to your Ladyship grace and mercy, from God our dear Father in Christ our Lord and Saviour. I thank God that something he hath eased you, and mitigated his fatherly correction in us both; I would to God he had done so much, in the behalf of the grief of the body to you, as he hath done to me. For as for the soul, I trust you feel that which I pray God increase in you, I mean his fatherly love, and grant that I may with you feel the same in such degree as may please him; I will not say as you feel, least I should seem to ask too much at one time. God doth often much more plentifully visit with the sense of his Fox iii. 332. Cov. 335. mercy, them that humble themselves under his mighty hand, and are sore exercised, as you long have been; than others, who to the face of the world, have more shew and appearance. Therefore I wish as I do, and that not only for mine own commodity, but also that I might occasion you to the consideration of the goodness of God, which I by your letters do well espy, which is indeed the high way whereby, as God encreaseth his gifts, so sheweth he more lively his salvation. Ps. L. Cvii. I have received God's blessing from you, the which I have partly distributed unto my three fellow-prisoners, Master Ferrar, Master Taylor, Master Philpot; and the residue I will bestow upon four poor souls, who are imprisoned in the common jail for religion also. As for mine own part, if I had had need, I would have served my turn also. But because I had not, nor, I thank God, have not, I have been and will be your almoner, in such sort as I have already advertised you. God reward you, and give you to find it spiritually and corporally. Because otherwise I cannot talk with you, therefore on this sort, as occasion and opportunity will serve, I am ready to show my good will and desire of your help and furtherance in the Lord to everlasting life, whereunto God bring us shortly for his mercy's sake, Amen. Good Madam, be thankful to God, as I hope you be, be earnest in prayer, continue in reading and hearing God's word; and if God's further cross come, as therein God doth serve his providence, for else it shall not come unto you, so be certain the same shall turn to your eternal joy and comfort, Amen. JOHN BRADFORD. No. 36.* TO THE LADY VANE. The everlasting and most merciful God, which is the Father of our Saviour Jesus Christ, encrease in your Ladyship the knowledge • Cov. 336. and love of his truth, with the gift of perseverance to continue therein to the end, Amen. Albeit at this present, I have no convenient leisure to write as should be seeming to send to your personage, yet considering your gentle good will for God's cause towards me, I thought I might be the more bold to write something, although not in such sort as I would, and perchance on your behalf might be looked for. I doubt not but that your Ladyship considereth often with yourself, that you are the child of God, and a citizen of heaven by Christ, in whom God the Father, before the world was made, hath chosen you of his own mere mercy, and not of your deserts done or to be done. That you should with thankfulness call this to mind often, thereby to excite and stir up yourself to the love of God in his sight, and to all holiness of life in the sight of man, many things should move and occasion you justly; as that you were born of christian parents, that the name of God was called upon you in baptism, which is a sacrament of regeneration and adoption into the children of God, with all other benefits which hitherto you have received. Amongst which surely, your Ladyship should not think the least, even the cross that God hath hitherto exercised you withal; as the loss of your good husband, lands, and other worldly commodities, &c. But above all, next to Christ crucified, this is most thankfully to be considered, that God, as he hath given you patience, I trust, in your trouble; so in these dangerous days he hath given you a desire to know him, and to help them who for his sake be in trouble; for this I gather and evidently see by your twice sending to me, who am not otherwise known to you but by name. I pray God I may be heartily thankful to him for you, and so dispose your benefits as you desire. My best I will do by God's grace, but enough of this. My desire is, good Madam, although I have no doubt, as I said, but that you be diligent herein; that you would often call to mind your state before God, I mean how that you be his child through Christ; and this I would you did for divers causes. First, that you might be quiet in conscience before him in this troublesome world, as we never can be until this be something settled. Secondly, that • Mought. you might be careful to appear in his sight, and in the sight of man, as one of God's children. Thirdly, that you might in all troubles boldly by prayer through Christ, go to him and call him by the name of Father, with hope of his help always to your comfort. Fourthly, that you might not be dismayed if trouble come unto you, as it cannot be but more or less it must needs come; for the world loveth none but such as be his; the devil can never suffer the children of God to be quiet. I will not speak of our mortal and familiar enemy the flesh, which ceaseth not to fight against the spirit. But God your father being heartily called upon, in and through Christ; as he will with his holy spirit help you, so will he give you the victory at the length to your singular comfort; which I pray God you may daily more and more feel, Amen. From the King's Bench in haste as appeareth. Your Ladyship's own in Christ to command, JOHN BRADFORD. No. 37.* TO HIS OWN DEAR BROTHER, MASTER LAWRENCE SAUNDERS, Prisoner in the Marshalsea. God's sweet peace in Christ be with you, my good Brother in the Lord Jesus, and with all your concaptives, Amen. I was letted this morning from musing on that, which I was purposed to have thought on, by reason of you, against whom I saw myself guilty of negligence even in this point, that I would not write, I should say, that I had not written unto you as yet. Therefore out of hand in manner I prepared myself to purge myself • Fox iii. 320. Cov. 319. hereof; not that I will go about to excuse my fault, for that were more to load me, but by asking both God and you pardon, to get it no more laid to my charge. Now, then, as I was thus purposing, and partly doing, cometh there one with a letter from you, for the which as I have cause to thank God and you, howbeit not so that you should think I give not the whole to God, so I see myself more blameworthy, for thus long holding my peace. Howbeit good brother, in this I have given a demonstration to you, to behold my negligence in all other things, and especially in praying for you and for the Church of God; who for my sins and hypocrisy, hypocrisy indeed even in this writing, God deliver me from it, have deserved to be punished. Just is God, for we have deserved all kinds of plagues at his hands: but yet merciful is he that will on this wise chastise us with this world, ne cum mundo condemnemur. He might otherwise have punished us, I mean, he might have for other causes cast us into prison, me especially, than for his gospel and word's sake; praised therefore be his name, which voucheth us worthy this honour. Ah, good God, forgive us our sins, and work by this thy fatherly correction on us, on me especially, effectually to love thee and thy Christ; and with joyfulness unto the end, to carry thy cross through thick and thin. Always set before our eyes, not this gallows on earth if we will stick to thee, but the gallows in hell if we deny thee, or swerve from that we have professed. Ah, good brother, if I could always have God, his majesty, mercy, heaven, hell, &c. before mine eyes, then should I obdurare as Paul writeth of Moses.-Heb. xi. Obduravit, inquit, perinde quasi vidisset eum qui est invisibilis. Pray for me, as I know you do, and give thanks also; for, in Domino spero non mutabo. Si ambulavero per vallem umbræ mortis, non timebo quia tu Domine mecum es, Amen. I think we shall be shortly called forth; for now legem habent, et secundum legem, &c.—otherwise will they not reason with us; and I think their sheet anchor will be to have us to subscribe; the which thing, if we do, though with this condition, so far as the thing subscribed to repugneth not against God's word, yet, this will be offensive. Therefore let us vadere plané, and so sané; I mean, let us all confess that we are no changelings, but reipsa are the same |