not look rather to be hardly entreated of them? O that we considered often and indeed, what we have professed in baptism; then the cross and we should be well acquainted together. For we are baptized into Christ's death; that is, as to be partakers of the benefit of his death, which is remission of sins; so to be made like thereunto continually, by dying to sin. O that we considered what we be; where we be; whither we are going; who calleth us; how he calleth us; to what felicity he calleth us; whereby he calleth us; then, my dear hearts in the Lord,. we should say to all worldly persuasions and persuaders; follow me, satan, thou savourest not those things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Shall we not drink the cup which our heavenly Father hath appointed for us? O Lord God, open thou our eyes, that we may see the hope whereunto thou hast called us. Give us eyes of seeing, ears of hearing, and hearts of understanding. In the favour thou bearest to thy people, remember us; visit us with thy saving health, that we may see the good things thou hast prepared for thy elect children; that we may have some sight of thy heavenly Jerusalem, and have some taste of the sweetness of thy house. O, dear Father, kindle in us an earnest desire to be with thee in soul and body, to praise thy name for ever, with all thy saints, in thy eternal glory, Amen. JOHN BRADFORD. No. 111.t To one, by whom Bradford had received much comfort and relief, in his trouble and imprisonment. THE mercy of God in Christ, peculiar to his children, be ever more felt of you, my dearly beloved in the Lord, Amen. When I consider with myself, the benefits which God hath shewed unto me by your means, if I had so good and thankful a heart as I would I Fox iii. 346. Cov. 456, had, I could not with dry eyes give him thanks; for certainly they are very many and great. And now being yet still the Lord's prisoner, I receive from him more benefits by you. For the which I think myself so much bound to you, my good brother, although you were but the instrument, by whom God wrought and blessed me, that I look not to come out of your debt, by any pleasure or service that I shall ever be able to do you in this life. I shall heartily pray unto God therefore, to requite you the good you have done to me for his sake; for I know that which you have done, you have done it simply in respect of God and his word. May he therefore give you daily more and more to be confirmed in his truth and word, and so plentifully pour upon you the riches of his Holy Spirit, and heavenly treasures laid up in store for you; that your corporal and earthly riches, may be used of you as sacraments and significations thereof: the more to desire the one, that is the heavenly, and the less to esteem the other, that is the earthly. For satan's solicitation is, to set before you the earthly, that therein and thereby you should not have access to the consideration of the heavenly; but as one bewitched, should utterly forget them, and altogether become a lover and worshipper of the earthly mammon; and so fall to covetousness and a desire to be rich, by that means to bring you into many noisome and hurtful lusts. As now-a-days I hear of many, who have utterly forsaken God and all his heavenly riches, for antichrist's pleasures and the preserving of their worldly pelf, which they imagine to leave to their posterity; whereof they are uncertain, as they may be most certain they leave to them God's wrath and vengeance, in his time to be sent by visitation; if they, in time, heartily repent not, and prevent not the same by earnest prayer. Wherein, my good brother, if you be diligent, hearty, and persevere, I am sure God will preserve you from evil, and from yielding yourself to do as the world now doth; by allowing in bodily fact, in the Romish service, that which the inward cogitation and mind doth disallow. But if you be cold in prayer, and come into consideration of earthly and present things simply, then shall you fall into faithless follies, and wounding of your conscience; from which God evermore preserve you, with your good wife and your babe, Leonard, and all your family; to the which I wish the blessing of God now and for ever, through Christ our Lord, Amen. I pray you give thanks for me to your old bedfellow, for his great friendship, for your sake shewed to me, when I was in the Tower. No. 112.* JOHN BRADFORD. TO A FAITHFUL AND DEAR FRIEND, Treating of Rom. viii. 19. GRACE and peace, with increase of all godliness in Christ, I wish unto you, my dearly beloved. Because this morning I had some knowledge, more than before I had, how that my life stood in great danger; and that even this week, so far as men might, both by the doings and sayings of such as be in authority, attempted and spoken concerning me, judge and perceive; I thought good, my right dearly beloved in the Lord, to go about something which might be on my behalf, as it were, cygnea cantio, a swan's song ;† and towards you, both a monument of the kind of my love, and also a help, or at the least, an occasion for you to profit in that, which, I bear you record, you most desire; I mean, everlasting life and the state thereof. And this will I attempt, upon the last talk we had betwixt us, when you were here with me. I know you have not forgotten, that we talked together of the place of St. Paul to the Romans, chap. viii., concerning the groanings of the Creature, and his desire of the revelation of the children of God. You demand whether this word creature was to be understood of man, or no; and I told you, that though some did take creature there for man, because there is no kind of creature • Cov. 478. + That is, which might be a special comfort to him, being then ready to be burned; as the swan's song is sweetest, a little before his death.-Cov. which may not be acknowledged in man; yet, said I, the text itself, considered with that which the apostle writeth of Christ, Eph. i. Col. i.-the Restorer and Reformer of all things that be both in heaven and in earth; and with the argument, which Saint Paul presently hath in hand there, doth enforce a godly mind to take every creature there, as also St. Chrysostom and St. Ambrose do, for the whole world, and every creature, both heavenly and earthly. All things, I told you, were made for man, and according to man's state so are they. When man was without sin, and in God's favour, there was no malediction, curse, or corruption. But when man, by sin, was cast out of favour, then was the earth cursed. For the wickedness of the inhabitants, fruitful lands are turned into salt ground; as for their piety, barren countries are made fruitful, Ps. cvii. The angels themselves do rejoice over one sinner that repenteth; thereby giving us notice, that in their kind they lament over the impenitent. In reading the prophets, you may see how all things do depend of man. When they prophesy any great blessing or plague to come to God's people, they do communicate the same both to heaven and earth, and to every thing else. As for example, when the prophets do foreshew the overthrows of realms and peoples, how do they say the whole shape of the world shall be moved thereat? Look upon Isaiah, how he, when he prophesieth the fall of Babylon, doth say, that the stars shall not shine from heaven; the sun shall be darkened in his rising; the moon shall not give her light. And afterwards he saith, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall be moved out of his place, Isaiah xiii. But the histories do witness, that there are wonderful changes of all creatures, both heavenly and earthly, in the overthrows and destructions of realms and people. Again, when Isaiah doth prophesy of the kingdom of Christ, he doth promise new heavens and a new earth, and that so excellent and new, that he sheweth the former heavens and earth to be utterly forgotten, Isaiah lxiii.; whereto the apostle agreeth, making Christ the repairer of all things in heaven and in earth, Eph. i. Col. i. How did both heaven and earth give their service to the Israelites coming forth of Egypt, as well in preserving them, as in destroying their enemies? How did the sun shine longer than it was wont to do, for Joshua to overcome his enemies? How did the very angels fight for Hezekiah, against the Assyrians? Read the 30th chapter of Isaiah. And behold the history of Christ; how the angels were ministers unto him in the wilderness; how the devils confessed him. In his death, how did all the whole world shew compassion? The sun was darkened; the earth did quake; the rocks clave asunder; the veil of the Temple rent asunder. When he arose, both heaven (for the angels with great heavenly brightness appeared) and earth, which was moved, did rejoice: the angels were preachers of it. In his ascension also, did not a bright cloud receive him and take him up? Did not the angels testify of his return? When he sent the Holy Ghost, and made his new covenant of grace, did not all the whole world serve thereto, by thunder, smoke, fire, and earthquake? Now how wonderfully they will do their service to Christ coming to judgment, is more plain than I need to rehearse. And inasmuch as we are the members of Christ, he being our Head, we may soon see how that all things have a certain compassion with man, and do after their kind, as the apostle writeth, look for a deliverance from vanity, which they shall obtain in their restoration. I therefore told you, how that I do take the apostle to mean, by every creature simply, even all the whole shape and creatures in the world. He doth attribute unto them, how that they look for the perfection of our salvation; how that they are subject to vanity; how that they are subject in hope; how that they groan and travail; attributing these things unto the senseless creature, by translation from man, to signify the society, cognation, and consent, which all and every creature hath with man; that as every and all things were made for man; so by the man Christ, all and every thing both earthly and heavenly shall be restored. These things you know in effect, I spake unto you, to stir up both myself and you, to a deeper consideration of our blessed state, which now we enjoy in hope, which will never deceive us; the more to occasion us to desire the full fruition of the same. But I do remember that you were something troubled, about some doubtfulness hereabout. Therefore I purpose now to write of this matter more at large, thereby to occasion us both to see better, through the help of God's Spirit, that which we desire; and I pray God grant |