Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	wretch_n	write_v	year_n	19	3	4.1889	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19465	Certain most godly, fruitful, and comfortable letters of such true saintes and holy martyrs of God, as in the late bloodye persecution here within this realme, gaue their lyues for the defence of Christes holy gospel written in the tyme of their affliction and cruell imprysonment.	Coverdale, Miles, 1488-1568.; Bradford, John, 1510?-1555, Exhortacion to the carienge of Chrystes crosse. Selections.; Cranmer, Thomas, 1489-1556. Copy of certain lettres sent to the Quene, and also to doctour Martin and doctour Storye. Selections.; Hooper, John, d. 1555. Soveraigne cordial for a Christian conscience.; Hooper, John, d. 1555. Whether Christian faith maye be kepte secret in the heart, without confession therof openly to the worlde as occasion shal serve.; Ridley, Nicholas, 1500?-1555. Frendly farewel.	1564 (1564)	STC 5886; ESTC S108888	571,783	726

know not sayde my Lorde that is a good question for I am sure that booke stoppeth all their mouthes Then said I my Lorde I thynke manye thinges be farre wyde from the truth of Gods word in that booke Then my lord sayd thou art a very varlet To that I aunswered that is as yll as Racha or Fatue Then my Lord sayd thou art an ignoraunt betyll browe To that I aunswered I haue redde ouer and ouer agayne the holye Scriptures and Saint Austines workes throughe and Saynct Cyprian Eusebius Origene Gregory Nazianzen with dyuers other bookes through oute therfore I thanke God I am not vtterly ignoraūt Besides these my lord I professed the Ciuil lawe as your Lordship dyd and I haue redde ouer the Cannon law also Then my lorde sayd with a corrupte iudgemente thou readest all things Touchyng my profession it is Diuinitie in whiche I haue written diuers bookes Then I saide my Lorde ye dyd wryte one booke De vera obedientia I would you had bene constant in that for in deede you neuer did declare a good consciēce that I heard of but in that one booke Then my Lord said tut tut tut I wrote against Bucer in priestes mariages but such bookes please not such wretches as thou art which hast bene maried many yeres To that I answered I am maried in dede I haue had .ix chidrē in holy matrimony I thanke god this I am sure of that your procedings now at this present in this realme against priestes mariages is the mainteinaūce of the doctryne of deuils against natural law Ciuil law Canō law generall Coūcels Canōs of the apostles aūciēt doctors gods lawes Thē spake my lord of Duresme saying you professed the Ciuil lawe as you saye then you knowe that Iustinian writeth that priestes at their takyng of Orders shoulde sweare that they were neuer maried and he bryngeth in to proue that Canones Apostolorum To that I aunswered that I dyd not remember any suche lawe of Iustinian but I am sure that Iustinian writeth in Titulo de indicta viduitate in cod that if one would bequeath to his wife in his testament al●egacie vnder a condition that she should neuer marye agayne and take an othe of her for the accomplyshyng of the same yet she shall marye againe if he dye notwithstandyng the aforesayd condition and othe taken and made agaynst mariage and an othe is an other manner of obligation to God then is a papisticall vowe Moreouer in the Pandectes it is contayned that if a man doe manumit his handmayd vnder a condition that she shall neuer marye yet she maye mary her Patrone shal loose ius patronatus for his adding of the vnnatural vnlawful conditiō against matrimony Then my Lorde Chauncelour saide thou sayest that priestes maye be maryed by gods lawe howe prouest thou that I aunswered by the playne wordes and sentences of S. Paule bothe to Timothy and to Titus where S. Paule doth speake most euidently of the mariage of priestes Deacons and bishops And S. Chrysostome writing vpon the Epistle to Timothy saithe it is an heresy to say that a Bishop may not be maried Then my lorde Chauncellour said thou lyest of Chrisostome but thou doest as all thy companions do belye euer without al shame both the scriptures the doctors Diddest thou not also saye that by the Cannon law priestes may be maried which is most vntrue and the contrary is most true I answered we reade in the decrees that the fower generall counsels Nicene Constantinopolitane Ephesme and Calcedon haue the same autoritye that the foure Euangelistes haue And we reade in the same decrees which is one of the chiefe bookes of the Canon lawe that the Councell of Nice by the meanes of one Paphnutius dyd allowe Priestes and bishops mariages therefore by the best part of the Canon law priestes may be maryed Then my Lorde Chauncellor said thou falsifiest the generall councel for there is expresse mention in the said decree that priests should be diuorced from their wyues which be maried Thē sayd I if those words be there as you say thē am I content to lose thys great head of myne let the booke be fetched Then sayd my lord of Duresme thoughe they bee not there yet they may be in Ecclesiastica historia which Eusebius wrote out of which boke the decree was takē Then sayd I it is not like that the pope would leaue out any such sentence hauing such authoritie making so much for hys purpose Then my lord Chauncelor sayd Gracian was but a patcher and thou art glad to snatch vp such a patch as maketh for thy purpose I aunswered my Lord I can not but maruaile that you do cal one of the chiefe papistes that euer was but a patcher Then my lord Chauncelor sayd Nay I call thee a snatcher a patcher To make an end wilte thou not returne againe with vs to the Catholike church and with that he rose And I said By gods grace I wil neuer depart frō Christes church Then I required that I might haue some of my frendes to come to me in prison And my lord Chaūcelor sayd thou shalt haue iudgemēt within this weke My lord of Durreme would that I should beleue as my father and my mother I alledged S. Augustine that we oughte to preferre gods word before al men And so I was deliuered againe vnto my keper R. T. The copy of a writing that D. Taylour sent to a frende of hys concerning the causes vvherfore he vvas condemned IT is heresie to defend any doctrine against the holy scripture therfore the Lord Chauncelor and byshops consenting to his sentence against me be heretikes for they haue geuē sentence against the mariage of priests knowing that S. Paule to Timothe and Titus writeth playnly that Byshops priestes and Deacons may be maried knowing also that by S. Paules doctrine it is the doctrine of deuilles to inhibite matrimony and S. Paule willeth euery faythfull minister to teach the people so least they be deceaued by the marked marchauntes 1. Tim. 4. These bishops are not ignorant that it is not only S. Paules counsel and lawful but gods cōmaundemēt also to marry for such as can not other wise liue chast neither auoyde fornicatiō 1. Cor. 7 Gene. 2. They know that such as do marry do not sinne They know that god before sinne was ordained matrimony and the in paradise betwene two of his principal creatures Mā Woman They know what spirite they haue whiche say it is euil to marrye seing God sayd Gene. 2. it is not good for mā to be alone without a wife hauing no speciall gift contrary to the generall cōmaundement and ordinaunce diuerse times repeted in the booke of Genesis Gene. 1. which is to encrease multiply They know that Abraham caried into the land of Chanaan his old yet barraine wife the vertuous womā Sara with him Gene. 12. leauing father mother

place for me to bryng in franlkely all that I could for the confyrmation of mine answers Now when he had promised all these thynges openly in the hearyng of other Commissioners and of the whole vniuersity of Oxforde yet good reader marke thys that in very deede he perfourmed nothyng of all that he promysed what faythe then shall a man looke to fynde at such iudges handes in the secrete mysteries of God which in theyrs promises so openly made and so duely det I will not speake of the witnesses of the matter are found to be so faithlesse both to God and man well I will leaue it to the iudgemente of the wyse And now for that is leste for vs to do let vs pray that God would haue mercy on his churche of Englande that yet once when it shall be hys good pleasure it may clearely see and gredely embrace in the face of Iesus Christ the wyl of the heauenly father and that of hys infinite mercye he would eyther turne to hym the ragyng and rauening wolues and most subtyll seducers of his people whiche are by them altogether spoyled and bewitched eyther that of hys most rightuous iudgement he would dryue these faythlesse feeders from hys flocke that they may no more bee able to trouble and scatter abroad Christes shepe from their shepeherd and that spedely Amen Amen And let euery one that hath the spirite as S. Iohn sayeth say Amen Yet further know thou that when Maister Prolocutour did put forth three propositions he dyd commaund vs to answer particularly to them all After our answers neyther he nor hys fellowes did euer enter into any disputation of any one of thē sauyng only of the fyrst Yea when that he had asked vs after disputations of the fyrst as ye haue heard for my part whether we would subscribe to the whole in such sort forme and words as there are set forth withoute further disputation whych thynge we denied by and by he gaue sentēce against vs all that is against me Doctour Cranmer Doctour Latimer my most dere fathers brethrē in christ cōdemning vs for hainous heretikes cōcerning euery of these propositiōs and so separated vs one from another sending vs seuerally into sundry and diuerse houses to be kept moste secretlye to the day of our burning and as before so still commaunded that all and euerye one of our seruauntes shoulde be kepte from vs wherto he added that at his departure thence pen inke and paper should depart from vs also He meaneth here that godlye and fruitefull report of his disputation in Oxford whiche he penned with his own hand But thanks be to God that gaue me to write thys before the vse of suche thinges were vtterly taken awaye Almyghty God whyche beholdeth the causes of the afflicted is wonted to lose loke mercifully on the bonds gronings of the captiues he vouch safe now to looke vpō the causes of hys pore church in Englād of his great wisdome vnspeakable mercy wyth speede to make an end of our misery Amen Amen Amen ❧ Letters of mayster Iohn Hoper late Byshoppe of Glocester wher after his long and cruel imprisonmente in the flete he was burnte wyth most terrible kindes of tormentes as you may reade in the boke of martyrs fol. 1062. for the defēce of the syncere truth of the gospell the 9. day of Ianuary in the yeare of our Lord. 1555. ¶ A letter which he wrote to certayn godly persons professours and louers of the truth instructing them howe they shoulde behaue them selues at the beginnynge of the chaunge of religion THe grace mercy and peace of God the father throughe our Lorde Iesus Chryste be wyth you my deare brethren and wyth al those that vnfaynedly loue and embrace his holye gospell Amen It is tolde me that the wycked Idole the masse is stablyshed agayne by a law passed in the Parleament house Lerne the truth of it I pray you what penalty is appointed in the act to such as speake agaynst it Also whether there be any cōpulsion to constraine men to be at it The statute throughlye knowne such as be abroade at liberty maye prouide for them selues and auoyd the daunger the better Doubtles there hath not bene sene before our tyme such a parleament as thys is that as many as were suspected to be fauourers of gods worde shoulde be banyshed out of both houses But we must geue god thankes for that truth he hathe opened in the time of hys blessed seruaunte kynge Edwarde the syxte and praye vnto hym that we denye it not nor dyshoner it with idolatrye but that we maye haue strength and patience rather to dye tenne tymes then to deny him once Blessed shall we be if euer god make vs worthye of that honoure to shede oure bloode for hys names sake And blessed then shall we thinke the parentes whiche broughte vs into thys worlde that we shoulde from thys mortalitye be caried into immortalitye If we followe the commaundemente of Saynte Paule that sayth if ye be risen agayne wyth Chryste Col. 3. seeke the thynges that be aboue where Chryste sytteth at the righte hande of God we shall neyther departe from the vayne transitorye goodes of thys worlde nor from thys wretched and mortall lyfe wyth so greate paynes as other doe Let vs praye to our heauenlye father that we maye knowe and loue hys blessed wyll and the gloryous ioye prepared for vs in time to come and that we maye knowe and hate all thynges contrarye to hys blessed wyll and also the payne prepared for the wicked men in the world to come There is no better waye to be vsed in thys troublesome tyme for your consolation then many tymes to haue assemblies to gether of suche menne and women as be of your religion in Chryste and there to talke and renewe amonge your selues the truth of youre religion to see what ye be by the woord of God and to remembre what yee were before yee came to the knowledge thereof to waygh and conferre the dreames and false lyes of the preachers that nowe preache wyth the woorde of God that retayneth all truth and by suche talke and familiar resortinge together ye shall the better fynde out all their lyes that nowe goe aboute to deceyue you and also both knowe and loue the truth that God hath opened to vs. It is muche requisite that the members of Chryste comforte one an other make prayers together conferre one with another so shall ye be the stronger and Gods spirite shall not be absent from you but in the myds of you to teach you to comfort you to make you wise in al godly thyngs patiente in aduersity and strong in persecution Ye se how the congregatiō of the wicked by helping one an other make their wicked religion themselues strong against Gods truth hys peple It ye may haue some lerned mā that can out of the scriptures speak vnto you of faith

the Sacrament I saide that forasmuch as the whole matter standeth in the vnderstandyng of these wordes of Christ Thys is my body Thys is my bloud I saye that Christ in these wordes made demonstratiō of the bread and wyne and spake figuratiuely The sacraments haue the names of those thyngs wherof they are sacramentes callyng bread hys bodye and wyne hys bloud bicause he ordeyned them to be the sacramēts of his body bloud And where the Papists say in these two pointes contrary vnto me that Christ called not bread hys body but a substaunce vncertayne nor spake fyguratiuely herein I sayde I woulde be iudged by the olde church and which doctrine could be proued the elder that I would stand vnto And forasmuch as I haue alleaged in my booke many olde autors both Grekes and Latynes which about a thousand yeres after Christ continually taught as I do if they could bryng forth but one old author that saith in these two poyntes as they say I offred vi or vij yeres agoe and doe offer yet styl that I will geue place to them But when I bryng for the any author that sayeth in moste playne termes as I do yet sayeth the other parte that the authors mente not so as who shoulde say that the authors spake one thyng and mente cleane contrarye And vppon the other parte when they cannot fynde any one authour that sayeth in wordes as they say yet saye they that the authors mēt as they say Now whether thei or I speake more to the purpose herein I refer it to the iudgemēt of all indifferent hearers Yea the old church of Rome aboute a thousād yeres together nether beleued nor vsed the Sacramēt as the church of Rome hath done of late yeares For in the beginning the church of Rome taught a pure a sound doctrine of the sacramēt but after that the church of Rome fell into a new doctrine of trāsubstantiatiō with the doctrine they chaūged the vse of the sacramēt cōtrary to that Christ cōmaūded the old church of Rome vsed aboue a M. yeares And yet to deface the old thei say that the new is the old wherin for my part I am cōtent to the tryal to stand But their doctrine is so fonde and vncomfortable that I marueile that any man would allowe it if he knewe what it is and what so euer they beare the people in hand The Papists make Christ two bodyes that which they write in theyr bookes hath nother truth nor comforte For by their doctrin of one body of Christ is made two bodies one naturall hauing distance of members with forme and proporcion of a mannes perfite body and thys bodye is in Heauen but the bodye of Christe in the Sacramente by theyr own doctrine must nedes be a monstruous body hauing neyther distance of members nor forme fashion or proporcion of a mans naturall body and such a body is in the sacrament teache they and goeth into the mouth with the forme of breade and entreth no farther than the forme of bread goeth nor tarieth no lōger thā the forme of bread is by natural heate in digesting so that when the forme of breade is digested that bodye of Christe is gone And forasmuch as euil men be as long in digesting as good mē the body of Christ by theyr doctrine entreth as far tarieth as long in wicked as in godly mē And what cōforte cā be herein to any Christian mā to receaue Christs vnshapē body and it to entre no father than the stomake and to depart by and by as sone as the bread is consumed It semeth to me a more sound and comfortable doctrine that Christe hath but one body that hath forme and fashion of a mans true body which body spiritually entreth into the whole mā body and soule and though the sacrament be consumed yet whole Christe remayneth and fedeth the receauer vnto eternal lyfe if he continue in godlines and neuer departe vntill the receauer forsake him And as for the wicked they haue not Christ within thē at al who cā not be wher Belial is And this is my faith and as me semeth a sound doctrine according to Gods word and sufficient for a Christian to beleue in that matter And if it canne be shewed vnto me that the popes authority is not preiudicial to the thinges before mencioned or that my doctryne in the sacrament is erronious whych I thinke can not be shewed then I was neuer nor wil be so peruerse to stand wilfully in mine owne opinion but I shall wyth al humility submit my self vnto the Pope not only to kisse hys feete but an other part also An other cause why I refused to take the B. of Gloucestre for my iudge was the respect of his own persō being more than once periured Fyrste for that he beynge diuerse times sworne neuer to consent that the B. of Rome shoulde haue any iurisdiction with in thys realme but to take the king and his successours for supreame heades of thys realme as by gods lawes they be contrary to this lawful oth the said B. sate then in iudgement by autority frō Rome wherin he was periured and not worthy to sit as a iudge The second periury was that he toke his bishoprike both of the Queenes Maiestye of the Pope makyng to eche of thē a solemne oth which othes be so cōtrary that in the one he must nedes be periured And furthermore in swering to the Pope to mayntayne his lawes decrees a constitutions ordinances reseruations and prouisions he declareth him selfe an enemye to the Imperial crowne and to the Lawes and state of this Realme whereby he declared himselfe not worthy to syt as a iudge within this Realme and for these considerations I refused to take him for my Iudge ¶ This was written in an other letter to the Quene J Learned by D. Martin that at the day of your maiesties coronacion you toke an othe of obedience to the pope of Rome and the same time you tooke an other othe to this realme to maintayne the lawes liberties and customes of the same And if your Maiesty did make an oth to the pope I think it was acording to the other othes which he vseth to minister to princes which is to be obedient to him to defend hys person to mayntayn his autority honour lawes landes priuileges And if it be so than I besech your maiestye to looke vppon youre othe made to the Crowne and the realme and to expende and way the two othes together to see how they agree and then to do as your graces conscience shall geue you for I am surelye perswaded that willingly your maiesty will not offend nor do against your conscience for nothyng But I feare me there be contradiction in your othes and that those which should haue enformed your grace throughly did not their dutyes therin And if your maiesty ponder the two othes diligently I thynke you shall

a like be very lettes impedimēts to your purpose You shal meete with slaūder contēpt of the world and be accōpted vngracious vngodlye you shal heare mete with cruell tyranny to doe you al extremities you shal now thē see the troubles of your own consciēce fele your own weaknes you shal heare that you be cursed by the sentence of the catholike church wit suche like terrours but praye to God followe the starre of hys word you shall ariue at the port of eternall saluaciō by the merites only of Iesus Christ to whome I commende you and all yours most hartely Yours in Christ Iohn Hoper To mayster Ferrar byshop of S. Dauids D. Taylor maister Bradford and mayster Philpot prisoners in the kinges Bench in South warke THe grace of God be wyth you Amen I am aduertised by diuerse aswell suche as loue the truth as also by such as yet be not come vnto it that ye I shall be caried shortlye to Cambrige there to dispute in the faith for the religion of Christe which is moste true that we haue do professe I am as I doubt not ye be in Christe redy not only to goe to Cambridge but also to suffer by gods helpe death it selfe in the mayntenance thereof Weston and hys complices haue opteined forth the commission already and spedely most lyke he wyl put it in execution Wherfore deare brethren I do aduertyse you of the thing before for diuerse causes The one to comfort you in the Lorde that the tyme draweth nygh and is at hand that we shall testifye before gods enemies gods truth The next that ye shuld prepare your selues the better for it The thirde to showe you what wayes I thinke were beste to vse our selues in thys mater also to hear of euery one of you your better aduise if mine be not good Ye know suche as shal be Censours and Iudges ouer vs breath thurst our blood whether we by gods help ouercome after the word of god or by force subtilty of our aduersaryes be ouercome this wil be the conclusyon our aduersaryes will saye they ouercome as you perceaue how they report of those great learned men and godly personages at Oxford Wherfore I mynd neuer to aunswere them except I haue the bookes present because they vse not only false allegation of the doctors but also a pece of the D. against the whole course of the doctors mind The next that we may haue sworne notaries to take thinges spoken indifferētly which will be very hard to haue for the aduersaries wyll haue the ouersyght of al thynges and then make theirs better then it was and ours worse then it was Then if we see that two or three or more will speake together or with scoffes and tauntes illude and mocke vs I suppose it were beste to appeale to be heard before the Quene and the whole Coūsel that would much setforth the glory of god For many of them know already the truth manye of them erre rather of zeale then malice and the others that be iudurate should be aunsweared fully to theyr shame I doubt not although to our smarte and bloodsheedyng For of thys I am assured that the commissioners appointed to hear vs iudge vs meane nothyng lesse then to heare the cause indifferentlye for they be enemies vnto vs vnto our cause and be at a poynt alredy to geue sentence agaynst vs so that if it were possible wyth Saynte Stephen to speake so that they could not resyst vs or to vse such sylence pacience as Christ did they wil procede to reuenging Wherfore my deare brethren in the mercye of Iesus Chryste I would be gladde to know your aduyse thys daye or to morrowe for shortlye we shall be gone and I verelye suppose that we shall not companye together but be kepte abroade one from the other They wyll denye oure appeale yet let vs challenge the appeale and take wytnesse therof of such as be present and require for indiffencye of hearynge and iudgemente to be hearde eyther before the Quene and the Counsell or els before all the parleamēt as they were vsed in kyng Edwards dayes Further for my parte I will requyre both bookes and tyme to aunsweare We haue bene prisoners now three quarters of a yeare and haue lacked oure bokes and oure memories by close keepynge and ingratitude of they re partes be not as present and quicke as theyrs be I trust God wil be with vs yea I doubte not but he wyll and teache vs to doe all things in hys cause godly and constātly If our aduersaries that shal be our iudges may haue theyr purpose we shal dispute one day be condēned the next day suffer the third day And yet is ther no law to cōdēne vs as far as I know so one of the cōuocatiō house sayd thys weke to D. Westō To whome Weston made thys aunswere it forceth not quoth he for a law wee haue commission to proceede wyth them when they be dispatched let theyr frendes sue the law Now how sone a man may haue such a comission at my Lord chaūcellours hād you knowe it is as hard to be opteined as an inditement for Christe at Cayphas hande Besides that the byshops hauinge the Quene so vpon theyr sydes may do all thinges both without the aduise and also the knowledge of the reast of the Lords of the temporalty who at this present haue founde out the marke that the byshops shoote at and doubtles be not pleased with theyr doings I pray you helpe that our brother Saūders the rest in the Marshalsey may vnderstād these things send me your aunswere be tyme. Iudas non dormit nec scimus diem neque horam Dominus Iesus Christus suo sancto numine nos omnes consoletur adiuuet Amen 6. Maii. 1554. Yours and with you vnto death in Chryste Iohn Hoper To my deare frendes in God mayster Iohn Hall and hys wyfe THe grace of God bee withe you Amen I thanke you for your louing and gentle frendship at all tymes praing god to shew vnto you such fauour that whatsoeuer trouble aduersity happen ye go not backe from hym These dayes be daungerous and full of peril but yet let vs comforte our selues in callinge to remembrance the dayes of our forefathers vpon whome the Lord sente such troubles that many hundrethes yea many thousandes died for the testimony of Iesus Christ both men women suffring with pacience constācy asmuch cruelty as Tyrannes could deuise so departed out of thys miserable world to the blisse euerlasting where as now they remayn for euer loking alwayes for the end of this sinful world whē they shal receiue their bodies again in immortality and see the number of the elects associated with them in ful and consummate ioyes Heb. 11 And as vertuous men suffring martyrdom and tarieng a litle while in this worlde with paines by

and at Couentrie by gods prouidence no doubt to confirme that he had in that countrey also fruitfully taught suffred with most valiant and chereful courage as ye may read in the boke of marters Fol. 1048. The .8 day of Febr. In the yere of our Lord. 1555. ¶ To my most deare and reuerend fathers in Christ D. Cranmer D. Rydley and D. Latimer prisoners in Oxforde IN my most humble wyse I salute you moste reuerend Fathers in Christ Iesus our Lord. Immortall thankes euerlasting prayses be geuē vnto that our father of mercies Collo 1. which hath made vs mete to be pertakers of the inheritaunce of saintes in light which hath deliuered vs from the power of darkenes and hath translated vs into the kingdome of his beloued sonne by whom we haue redemption through his bloud c. Oh most happie estate Collo 3. that in an vnspeakeable wise our life is hid with Christ in God but whensoeuer Christ which is our life shall shewe hymselfe then shall we also appeare with him in glory 1. Cor. i3 2. Cor. 5. In the meane seasō as our sight is but in a glasse euē in a darke speaking so we walke in fayth not after outwarde appearaunce The which fayth although for want of outward appearaunce reason reputeth but as vaine yet the chosen of God do know the effect therof to bring a more substantiall cast liuely fruition of very felicitie and perfect blessednes then reasō can reache or senses conceaue By this fayth we haue in our professiō all good things yea euen those which the eye hath not sene the eare hath not heard 1. Cor. 2. neyther haue entred into the hart of man c. Then if hereby we do enioy al good things it followeth that we must nedes possesse haue and inioy you most reuerend fathers who be no small part of our ioy good things geuen vs of God We heretofore haue had the fruitiō of you by bodily presence to our inexplicable benefite praysed be that our gracious God therfore and now in spirit we haue the experience of vnspeakeable cōfort by your reuerend fatherhodes Math. 5. for that in this so glorious sort ye become a towne set vpon a hill a candle vpon a Candlesticke 1. Cor. 4. Phi. 1. a spectacle vnto the world to the Angels and vnto men So that as we to our great comfort do fele ye also maye assuredly say with S. Paule that the thyngs which happē vnto vs do chaūce vnto the great furtherance of the Gospel so that our bondes in Christ are manifest not only throughout al the iudgement hal but in all whole Europa in so much that many of the brethren in the Lord being encouraged through our bondes dare more boldlye speake the woord without feare And herein as you haue with S. Paule greatly to reioyce so we do reioyce with you we do in dede with you geue thankes for this excellent worthy fauour of our God towards you that Christ is thus magnifyed in you yea and hereafter shal be magnifyed in your bodyes whether it be through life or death Of whiche thing truely we are assured in our prayers for you and ministring of the spirite And although for your owne partes Christ is vnto you life and death aduantage and that your desire is as in dede it were better for you to be loosed Phil. 1. and to be with Christ yet for the church of Christ were it muche more necessary that ye should abide in the flesh Yea that merciful god euen for his Christs sake graūt that ye may abide continue for the furtheraunce of the churche reioysyng of fayth that the reioycing thereof may be the more aboundaūt through Iesus Christ by your restoring again Amen Amen But if it seme better otherwise vnto the diuine wisedome that by spedy death he hath appoynted you to gloryfye him the Lordes wil be done Yea euen as we do reioyce both on your behalfes also on our own that god is magnifyed by lyfe should be more aboundauntlye glad for the continuaunce therof so we shall no lesse reioyce to haue the same wrought by death We shall geue thankes for thys honour geuē vnto you phi 1. reioycing that ye are accompted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ that it is geuen to you of god not only that ye should beleue in him but also that ye should suffer for his sake And herein we shal haue to reioyce in the be halfe of the church of Christ whose fayth may be the faster fixed vpō gods veritie being cōfyrmed with three such worthy witnesses Oh thanks be to god for thys hys vnspeakeable gift And now moste reuerend fathers that ye may vnderstande the truth of vs and oure estate how we stand in the Lorde I doe assure your reuerences partlye by that I perceaue by suche of oure brethren as bee here in bondes with me partly by that I heare of them which be in other places and partly by that inward experience which I most vnworthy wretch haue of Gods good comfort more abundaunce wherof I know there is in others ye may be assured I say by gods grace that ye shall not bee frustrate of your hope of our cōstant continuaunce in the chereful confession of Gods euerlasting veritie Ephe. i. For euen as we haue receaued the word of truth euen the Gospell of our saluation wherin we beleuing are sealed with the holy spirite of promyse which is the earnest of our enheritaunce Rom. 8 the whiche spirite certifyeth our spirit that we are the children of God and therefore God hath sent the spirite of his Sonne into oure heartes crying Abba father Gal. 4. so after suche portion as God measureth vnto vs we with the whole churche of Christ and with you reuerend Fathers receauing the same spirit of fayth according as it is written I beleued therefore I haue spoken we also beleue and therfore speake 2. Cor. 4. Psa 116. For the which we in this daungerous bondage and other afflictions hauing euen such a fyght as we haue sene in you and haue heard of you phil 1. we are in no wyse affrayde of our aduersaryes And forasmuch as we haue such an offyce euen as God hath had mercy on vs we go not out of kinde but euē with you after our litle power we labour to mainteyne the faith of the gospel knowing most certainly 2. Cor. 4. that though we haue this treasure in earthē vessels that the excellency of the power might be gods not ours yet shal we not be dashed in peeces for the lord wil put his hād vnder vs. When we are troubled on euery side yet are we not wtout shift when we are in pouerty we are not vtterly without somthing when we suffer persecution we are not forsaken therin when we are cast down yet we shal not perish but to communicate with