good load Oh that I might so strike him down that he should never be able for to rise again But that stroke belongeth onely to the Lord to stâ—ike at his coming the which I trust will be shortly Oh hasten it good Lord and shorten these sorrowful and sinful dayes for thy great mercies sake Farewel my dear and faithful loving Brother The Loâ—d defend keep and preserve you from the power of your Enemies v sible and invisible and send us a most joyful and merry meeting here or elswhere as it shall please his goodness to appoint us In the mean space I shall most earnestâ—y desire you to pray for me for I never had more need in my life and doubtless you shall never want my poor prayer if it shall please God to accept the Prayer of so sinful a wretch as I am The Lord impute not my sins to me for Iesus Christs sake unto whose most merciful defence I do most heartily commit you The blâ—ssing of God be with you now and ever Amen I pray you do my most hearty commendations to Mr. John Glover I do not forget him in my daily Prayers and I trust he doth Remember me Your poor Brother alwayes mindful of you in my Prayer John Careles Prisoner abiding Gods pleasure To my dear Brother Henry Adlington Prisoner in the Lollards Tower THe everlasting peace of God in Iesus Christ the continual ayd strength joy and comfort of his most pure holy and mighty Spirit with the increase of Faith and lively feeling of his Mercies be most effâ—ctuously wrought in your heart my dear and faithful loving Brother Aâ—ingtoâ— and in the hearts of all your other godly Prison fellows to the full finishing of that good work which the Lord hath most graciously begun in you that the same may be to the setting forth of his glory the commodity of his poor afflicted Church and to your own eternal joy and comfort in him Amen My most dear and faithful loving Brother in our Lord I with all the rest of my loving Brethren here with me do most humbly and heartily commend us unto you with all faithful Remembrance of you in our daily prayers giving God earnest thanks on your most happy behalf for that he hath given you such hearty boldness and Christian constancy in the faithful confession of his everlasting Verity Blessed be God for thee my dearly beloved Brother which hath vouched thee worthy of so great a dignity as to suffer for his sake and the setting forth of his glory Oh glad in heart mayest thou be to whom it is given not onely to believe in thy Lord and Christ most lively but also to suffer for his sake as one of his silly sheep appointed to the slaughter Be of good comfort therefore my good Brother for your Calling unto the Cross of Christ was after a marvellous sort surely it was onely the Lords appointment and therefore he will well perform his own work in and upon you to the great magnifying of his glory and comfort of your Brethren whose hearts are mightily refreshâ—d to hear how heartily you have behaved your self hitherto This present day I received a letter from you at the reading whereof my Brethren and I were not a little comforted to see your Conscience so quieted in Christ and your continuance so stedfast in him which things be the special gifts of God not given unto every man but to you his dear darling Elect and chosen in Christ and such as you be And whereas you do require to know my simple minde concerning your answer unto Dr. Story and the Chancellor Truly I say you did answer them very well for there are but two Sacraments indeed that is to say the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ as you have full well answered them Praised be God for his good gifts who chuseth the weak to confound the strong and the foolish to confound the worldly wise If when you come before them again they do ask you what a Sacrament is say you That a Sacrament being ministred according to Christs Institution is a visible Sign of an invisible Grace What a Sacrament is and hath the promise of Gods Mercy annexed unto it available to all such as do worthily receive it and not unworthily worship it as they would have us to do contrary to Gods Commandment And these properties belonging to Christs true Sacraments cannot be applyed to any one of those five Sacraments which they have invented of their own brain since Antichrist began to reign to blinde the people withal I perceive dear heart that upon Friday they do intend to Condemn you and to give you your Judgement Therefore I think they wâ—ll have no great reasoning with you but bid you answer them directly either Yea or Nay to all such things as they have to charge you withal which they have gathered of you since you came into their cruel hands But if they will needs make many words with you because you are but a simple man and therefore perchance they will be the busier with you to trouble you with many questions to cumber your knowledge and then seem to triumph over you and that truth that you do hold if I say they do this as perhaps for some evil purpose they will then be you so plain and short as you can saying roundly unto them these or such like words as nigh as you can Be it known unto you that I in all points do believe as it becometh a true Christian He instructeth him how and what to Answer to the adversaries and as I have been truly taught in the dayes of that good King Edward of such godly Preachers and Prophets sent of God as have sealed their Doctrine with their Blood from whom I will dissent in no point for I am a poor man without learning but am commanded of God to follow the counsel of his constant Preachers and so do I intend to do God giving me grace and assistance thereto As for you I know you to be none of Christs Shepherds but ravening Wolves which come to kill and scatter the Flock of Christ as the Lord said you should and doâ—h will us to beware of you and your poisoned Doctrine bidding us to judge you according to your fruits whereby all men may see and know what you be We are bound to follow â—ur true Preachers that will not be wilfully blinde But the good Shepherds have given their lives for the defence of Christs Flock and I am commanded to follow their faithful and godly example and to confess with them one Truth even to the fire if God shall see it good and this as a true Christian I have hitherto done and henceforth by Gods grace intend for to do And if for the same God shall suffer you to take away my life as you have done theirs I am contented therewith His will be done God wil require accouÌ„t of
own strength or rather your own weakness you would have stood too much in your own Conceit or perchance have gloried in your self and have despised and condemned other weak persons that have committed the like offence Therefore now you may see what the best of us all can do if God leave us to our selves Which thing ought to move you to be diligent to call earnestly upon God for his grace and the strength of his Holy Spirit without the which we are not able to stand one hour and to be most thankful for the same when you have it and then to be more circumspect in time to come Therefore dear Sister seeing that you have done otherwise then the word of God and your own Conscience would allow yet dear heart do you not think that God therefore will cast you clean away but know that he hath mercy enough in store for all them that truly repent and believe in him although the sins of them were as many in number as the sands in the Sea and as great as the sins of the whole world It is a greater sin to mistrust the mercy promises of God then to commit the greatest offence in the World Therefore good Sister beware in any wise To trust to Gods Promises that you do not once mistrust the promises of Gods mercy towards you but know for a very surety that all your sins be utterly forgiven you for Christs sake be they never so many so griâ—vous or so great But now dear heart take â—eed and beware that you do not cloke that sin and increase the same daily in communicating with the wicked in their Idolatry and devilish doings at their den of Thieves Custome of sin a perilous matter Do not I say dear Sister come at any of their Antichristian service lest by little and little you utterly lose a good Conscience and at length esteem it for none offence as alas a great number doth at this day to the great peril of their Souls The Lord be merciful unto them and give them grace to repent in time and turn to the Lord and then they shall be sure to finde mercy at the Lords hand as doubtless you have done praised be his Name therefore Ah my dear Sister you may now see the words of Christ verified upon your self that a mans greatest foes shall be they of his own houshold A. G. entisâ—d by her husband to go to the Mass for your Husband hath gotten you to do that which all the tyrants in the World could never have made you to do Doubtless he may be sorry for it God give him grace to repent or else without doubt it will be laid to his charge one day when he would not by his will hear it for all the goods of the World Well I think my Brother Tyms will write him a letter shortly that shall touch his Conscience if he have any Conscience at all But now again to you dear Sister The thing that is done cannot be undone and you are not the first that have offended neither are you so good and so holy as hath at a time slipt forth of the way Therefore I would not have you to be so much discomforted as I hear say you be The raising up of a troubled Conscience after his fall as though God were not as able to forgive you your offence as he was to forgive his dear Saints that offended him in times past or as though God were not as merciful now as ever he was whereas in very deed there is with the Lord as the Prophet saith mercy and plentiful redemption and his mercy farre surmounteth all his works God turneth all things to the best to them that be hiâ— and he never faileth any that put their whole trust and confidence in him how great an offender or how wicked a trespasser soever he be No he maketh their falls and backslidings many times to turn to their profit and commodity and to the setting forth of his glory as doubtless dear Sister yours shall do if you put your whole Faith hope and trust onely in his infinite and eternal sweet mercies Oh what a subtile crafty lying Serpent is that Satan our old Enemy Satan when he cannot bring a man to his servâ—â—o he presseth him wâ—th distrust of Gods mercy that when he seeth that he cannot make us to continue in our wickedness to do him service would then bring us into a doubting and mistrusting of the mercy of God which is the greatest offence that can be yea infidelity is the root and original of all other sins Therefore my sweet Sister give no place to that cruel adversary of mankinde who hath been a lyer and a mutherer from the beginning but stedfastly believe the Lord who hath sent you word by me his most unworthy Servant that all your sins be pardoned forgiven and clean released for Jesus Christs sake our onely Lord and Saviour To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honour glory praise thanks power rule and dominion for ever and for ever Amen Farewel my dear Sister and be of good chear Believe in the Lord and you shall live for ever The Lord increase your Faith Amen Amen Your poor Brother and daily faithful Orator John Careles Prisoner of the Lord. Pray for me Another Letter of John Careles to A. B. a faithfull Minister of the Lord containing certain fruitfull Precepts of Matrimony I Beseech the same everlasting Lord my dear and faithful Brother that blessed young Tobias with his Wife Sarah and brought them together in due time with reverence and fear preserve and bless you both and your seed after you that they may increase the number of the faithful by thousands and thousands And as the Lord of his great mercy and fatherly Providence hath been alwayes careful for you and now hath for your comfort accomplished his good work in coupling you with a faithful Mate so see that you be thankful for his Providence towards you that it may every way in you be an increase of love and godliness yea of Christian joy and gladness in these sorrowful dayes but yet so that you mourn with the true mourners of Sion and be sorry yet in measure for the hurt of the same Pray also in faith for her prosperity that the Lord may build up the walls of Jerusalem again Psal 146. Oh that the Lord would turn Sions Captivity as the river into the South then should our hearts be made glad and our mouthes filled with laughter Then would the Heathen Hypocrites say The Lord hath done much for them Oh the Lord hath done great things for us already whereof let us heartily rejoyce and praise his Name therefore For though we now sow with tears yet shall we be sure to reap with gladness and as we now go forth weeping bearing forth good seed so shall we come again with joy The death of the Martyrs is
the life of the Gospel and bring our sheaves full of Corn. Yea the death of the Martyrs which is most precious in his sight shall be the life of the Gospel spight of the Papists hearts Pray for me dear heart that I may be counted worthy to sowe some seed amongst the sweet Saints of the Lord that I may reap the same again without ceasing A sowing time is Christs Church at the Harvest It is now sowing time of the year men say in the Country and I think I shall make an end of sowing before all March be past for I hear say that I shall prove how my Plough will enter into the stony ground of the hard hearted Papists within these four dayes I hope to hold fast and not to look back neither for fear nor flattery until I have made an end of sowing and then will I set me down and rest me and ask them all no leave and look for the lively fruit and increase thereof with joy and gladness My dear Brother the time approacheth near I praise God therefore that I must put off this siâ—ful tabernacle and go home to my heavenly Father where divers of my dear Brethren are already looking and wishing for me I beseech you therefore that you will help me forward with your faithful Prayers as I know you doe for I do feel the comfort and commodity thereof That you have observed my simple Counsell I am right glad This counsel was that he should marry notwithstanding certain lets whereby Satan sought to hinder his Marriage and I trust in the Lord God you shall finde comfort in the same And that you may so doe indeed I have been so bold to write these few words unto you because I shall see you no more in this corruptible life therefore mark them well First and above all things you must be very circumspect to keep the band of love and beware that there never spring up the root of bitterness between you If at any time there happen to rise any cause of unkindness between you as it is unpossible alwayes to be free from it see that you weed up the same with all lenity gentleness and patience The root of bitterness to be weeded out with the Spade of Patience and never suffer your self nor your wife to sleep in displeasure If you have cause to speak sharply and sometimes to reprove How and when the husband ought to reprove beware that you do not the same in the presence of other but keep your words until a convenient time which is the point of a wise man saith Solomon and then utter them in the spirit of meekness and the groaning spirit of perfect love which you must also let sometimes to cover faults and wink at them if they be not intollerable Whatsoever loss and mischance shall happen unto you Faults somtime must be covered with love take it patiently and bear it merrily and though the same should come partly through your wifes negligence yet let it rather be a loving warning to take heed in time to come then a cause of sorrow for that which is past and cannot be holpen I know by mine own experience that we are in this life subjâ—ct to many inconveniences and that of nature we are prone to displeasure Not to take unkindness for every trifle and ready to think unkindeness for every little trifle and specially with our best friends yea soonest with our loving wives which be most lothest to displease us But let us beware of this cankered corruption and consider that wrought most of all in love to bear with them according to Christs example towards his Congregation for whom he gave himself to cleanse it c. I had thought to have treated this matter at large but even now I am interrupted and otherwise letted I doubt not but you know your duty therein a great deal better then I can declare it unto you and as you know it so will do it but I love to be bold with you I intend also to write to your wife very shortly and so take my last farewel of you forever in this World And thus in great haste I am now constrained to make an end The blessing of God be alwayes with you Your own forever John Careles Pray pray pray with Faith Another Letter of John Careles to Elizabeth Wife of the said A. B. containing likewise certain godly Precepts of Matrimony pertaining to her duty THe everlasting peace of God in Iesus Christ the continual ayd strength and comfort of his most holy and mighty Spirit with increase of knowledge faith and perfect feeling of Gods eternal mercy be with you my dear and faithful loving Sister E. B. and with your godly loving husband and my dear and faithful Brother to the full performance of that good which he hath so graciously begun in you that in all things you may be madâ— rich and blessed in him and your seed after you now and ever Amen As I have been long desirous to write unto you my dear heart iâ— the Lord not onely being thereto bound of duty but also ofteâ— provoked of him to whom I owe my self and all that I am able to do I mean even that blessed of the Lords own mouth whom God hath joyned with you in that holy and Christian state of Matrimony even so at the last I have obtained time and occasion in some part to perform that which I have long purposed And forasmuch as the Lord of his great mercy and fatherly Care and Providence over you his dear childe hath now graciously accomplished that good work among many other which I as a friend of the Bridegroom have full heartily wished and often prayed for I think it good yea and my bounden duty to treat of such things as may be profitable to preserve mutual love and faithful amity between you Satan an enemy to all godly affairs which I know Satan will chiefly labour to diminish if he cannot altogether destroy the same lest by many joyful occasions you should be provoked continually to praise God for his good gâ—ft which that enemy hath by all means sought to hinder from you As for all other things I know you are sufficiently instructed and also have a most godly learned Companion who is well able further to teach you if need do require But in this thing I know my Experience is more then his Therefore my good Sister first and before all things see that you do diligently consider that as every good and perfect gift pertaining to Soul and Body is given from above and cometh from the Father of Light Even so to whomsoever the Lord dealeth any of his benefits of them he doth chiefly require alwayes a thankful heart for the same for else he will either take away his good gifts again or turn the same to their great discommodity and in the end to the increase of their condemnation So detestable in his
strait present care Commend me to all our Brethren and desire them to pray for me that I may overcome my temptations for the Dâ—vil rageth against me I am put in the Stocks in a place alone because I would not answer to such Articles as they would charge me withall in a corner at the Bishops appointment and because I did not come to Mass when the Bishop sent for me I w ll lye all the dayes of my life in the Stocks by Gods grace rather then I will consent to the wicked generation Praise God and be joyfull that it hath pleased him to make us worthy to suffer somewhat for his Names sake The Devil must rage for ten dayes Commend me to Mr. F. and thank him for his Law-books but Law neither Equity will take any place among these blood thirsty I would for your sake their unjust dealing were noted unto the Parliament-housâ— if it might avail God shorten these evil dayes I have answered the Bishop meetly plain already and I said to him If he will call me in open Judgemen I will answer him as plainly as he will require otherwise I have refused because I fear me they will condemn me in hugger-mugger The peace of God be with you my dear Brother I can write no more for lack of light and that I have written I cannot reade my self and God knoweth s is written farre uneasily I pray God you may pick out some understanding of my minde towards you Written in a Colehouse of daâ—kness out of a Pair of painfull Stocks by Thine own in Christ John Philpot. A Letter of John Careles answering to the loving Epistle or Letter sent to him before by Mr. Philpot. A faithfull friend is a strong defence whoso findeth such an one findeth a treasure A faithfull friend hath no peer the weight of gold and silver is not to be compared to the goodness of his Faith A faithfull friend is a Medicine of life and they that fear the Lord shall finde him Ecclesiast 6. A lettâ—r of John Careles to Mr. Philpot. THe Father of Mercy and God of all Consolation comfort you with his Eternal Spirit my most dear and faithful loving Friend good Mr. Philpot as you have comforted me by the mighty operation of the same The everlasting God be praised therefore for ever Amen Ah my dear heart and most loving Brother if I should do nothing else day and night so long as the dayes of Heaven do endure but kneel on my knees and reade Psalms I can never be able to render unto God condign thanks for his mercy fatherly kindness and most lovâ—ng compassion extended unto me most vile sinful wicked and unworthy wretch Oh that the Lord would open my mouth and give me a thankful heart that from the bottom of the same might flow his continual praise Oh that my sinful flesh which is the cause of my sorrow were clean separated from me that I might sing Psalms of Thanksgiving unto the Lords Name for ever that with good Samuels Mother I might continually record this noble Verse following the which by good experience I have found most true praised be my good God therefore 1. Sam. 2. John Careles raised up by the Lord out of great heaviness The Lord saith that good woman killeth and maketh alive he bringeth down to hell and fetcheth up again Praised be that Lord for ever yea and praised be his Name for that he hath given me true experience and lively feeling of the same Blessed be the Lord God whose mercy endureth for ever which hath not dealt with me according to my deep deserts nor destroyed me in his displeasure when I had justly deserved it Oh what reward shall I give again unto the Lord for all the great benefits that he hath done for my Soul I will gladly receive the Cup of Salvation at his hand and will worship his Name with Prayer and with Praise Ah my dear heart yea most dear unto me in the Lord think not this sudden change in me to be some fickle Phantasie of my foolish head as indeed some other would surely suspect it to be for doubtless it is the marvellous doing of the Lord most merciful unto me his unworthy Creature God for his great mercies sake give me grace to be more thankful unto him then I heretofore have been and keep me that I never fall forth of his favour again And now my dear Brother and most blessed Mâ—ssenger of the Lord whose beautiful feet have brought much glad tidings unto my Soul what shall I do or say unto you in the least part to recompence the fatherly affection and godly care that you continually keep for me Oh that God would give me the Spirit of fervent Prayer that I might yet that way supply some little part of my duty toward you Ah my true loving Friend how soon did you lay aside all other business to make a sweet Plaister for my wounded Conscience yea and that out of a painful Pair of Stocks which place must needs be uneasie to write in But God hath brought you into a strait place that you might set my Soul at liberty Out of your pinching and painful Seat you have plentifully poured upon me your precious Nard the sweet savour whereof hath greatly refreshed my tyred Soul The Lord likewise refresh you both Body and Soul by pouring the oyle of his gracious Spirit into your sweet heart Ah good Jeremy hath Pashur put thee in the Stocks why Jer. 20. now thou hast the right reward of a Prophet Thy glory never began to appear till now I doubt not but shortly Jer. 26. in stead of Ahikam the the Son of Shaphan Jesus the Son of the living God will come and deliver thee forth of the hands of all thine Enemies and will also make good against them and their Antichristian Synagogue all the words that thou hast spoken in his Name The Lord hath made thee this day a strong defenced Tower an iron Pillar Jer. 1. and a brazen Wall against the whole Rabble of Antichrist and though they fight against thee never so fiercely yet shall they not overcome thee for the Lord himself is with thee to help and deliver thee Jer. 15. and he will rid thee out of the hands of the wicked and will deliver thee out of the hands of the Tyrants And in that you are not busie in casting Pearls before Swine Matth. 7. nor in giving the holy things unto Dogs you are much to be commended in my simple judgement The circumspect behaviour of Mr. Philpot. And sure I am that your circumspect and modest behaviour hitherto hath been as much to Gods glory and to the shame and confusion of your enemies as any man's doings that are gone before you John Careles his advice to him Wherefore mine advice and most earnest desire is with all other of your loving Friends that you still keep that order with those
blood for that onely is good But of this be you sure the Lord will shortly call you to account for all the innocent blood that is shed within this Realm which you have brought into a most woful case and made many a heavy heart in the same and moe I perceive you will make so long as the Lord for our sins will suffer you to prosper and untill the time that your own iniquity be full ripe But then be you sure the Lord will sit in Judgement upon you as well as you do now upon his Saints and will reward you according to your deservings To whom with my whole heart I commit my cause and he will make answer for me when the full time of my refreshing cometh In the mean space I will keep silence with this that I have said trusting that I have sufficiently discharged my conscience in confessing my Faith and Religion to you declaring of what Church I am even of the Catholick Church of Jesus Christ which was well known to be here in England in our late good Kings dayes by two special tokens which cannot deceive me nor suffer me to be deceived that is to say The pure Preaching of his holy Word and the due administration of the holy Sacraments which is not to be seen in your Romish Church and therefore cannot be called the Church and Spouse of Christ I believe in the holy Trinity and all the other Articles of the Christian Faith contained in the three Creeds and finally all the Canonicall Scripture to be true in every sentence and I detest all Sects both of Arrians and Anabaptists or any other that divide themselves from the true Church of Christ which is his Mysticall Body the Ground and Pillar of Truth and the very House of the living God And if for these things you take away my life and make your selves guilty of my Blood you may for I am in your hands as the Sheep brought to the Shambles abiding the grace of the Butcher And be you sure your judgement sleepeth not but when you cry Peace peace and all is safe then shall your plagues begin like the sorrows of a woman travelling with childe 1 Thes 5. according to Christs infallible Poâ—mise This kinde of answer my dear heart it shall be best for you to make and by Gods grace I do intend to take the same order my self in time to come when the Lord shall vouch me worthy of that great dignity whereunto he hath called you And if they shall laugh you to scorn as I know they will saying thou art a Fool and an unlearned Ass-head and art able to make answer to nothing c. care not you for it but still commit your Cause unto God who will make answer for you tell them that they have bin answered again and again of divers godly and learned men but all will not help for you have one solution for all manner of questions even a fair Fire and Fagots this will be the end of your disputations Therefore I pray you to trouble me no more but do that which you are appointed when God shall permit the time I am no better then Christ his Apostles and other of my good Brethren that are gone before me This kinde of answer will cut their combs most and edifie the people that stand by so that the same be done coldly with sobriety meekness and patience as I heard say our sweet Brethren Thomas Harland and John Oswald did at Lewes in Sussex to the great rejoycing of the children of God that were in those parts and I heard say that they were dissolved from this earthly tabernacle at Lewes on Saturday last and were condemned but the Wednesday before so that we may perceive the Papists have quick work in hand 2 Chron. 2. that they make such haste to have us home to our heavenly Father Therefore let us make our selves ready to ride in the fiery Chariot leaving these sorry Mantles and old Clokes behinde us for a little time which God shall restore unto us again in a more glorious wise My good Brother Harry you shall understand that bragging John T. hath beguiled his Keepers who trusted him too well and is run away from them and hath brought the poor men into great danger by the same The one of them is cast by the Councils Commandment into the Gate-house at Westminster the other is fled forth of the Country for fear Thus you may see the fruits of our Free-will men that made so much boast of their own strength But that house which is not builded surely upon the unmoveable Rock will not long stand against the boisterous winds and storms that blow so strongly in these dayes of Trouble But my dearly beloved Brother blessed be God for you and such as you be which have played the parts of wise Builders You have digged down past the sand of your own natural strength and beneath the earth of your own worldly wisdome and are now come to the hard Stone and unmoveable Rock Christ who is your onely Keeper and upon him alone you have builded your Faith most firmly without doubting mistrust or wavering Therefore neither the storms nor tempests winds nor weathers that Satan and all his wily workmen can bring against you with the very Gates of Hell to help them shall ever be able once to move your House much less to overthrow it for the Lord God himself and no man is the Builder thereof and hath promised to preserve and keep the same safe for ever Unto his most merciful defence therefore I do heartily commit you and all your good company desiring him for his sweet Son Jesus Christs sake to confirm and strengthen you all that you may be constant unto the very end that after the final victory is once gotten you may receive the immercessible Crown of Glory of Gods free gift through his great mercy in Jesus Christ our alone Saviour To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour glory praise thanks power rule and dominion for ever and evermore Amen The Blessing of God be with you all John Careles To my most dear and faithfull Brother T. V. THe everlasting peace of God in Iesus Christ the continual joy and comfort of his most pure holy and mighty Spirit with the increase of Faith and lively feel ng of his mercy be with you my dear heart in the Lord and faithful lovâ—ng brother T. V. to the full accomplishing of that good work whâ—ch â—e â—ath so graciously begun in you that the same by all means may be to the setting forth of his glory to the commodity of his poor afflicted Congregation and to the sweet comfort and quietness of your Conscience in him now and evermore Amen With such due honour love and reverence as it becometh me to bear unto the sweet Saints dearly beloved children of God I have me most heartily commended unto you my dear Brother V.
our good Father for his mercies sake in Christ with his Eternal Consolation so comfort you as I desire to be comforted of him in my most need yea he will comfort you my dear Sister onely cast your care upon him and he never can nor will forsake you For his calling and gifts be such that he can never repent him of them Rom. 11. Whom he loveth he loveth to the end none of his chosen can perish Of which number I know you are my dearly beloved Sister God increase the faith thereof daily more and more in you he give unto you to hang wholly on him and on his Providence and Protection Gods Providence and Protection For who so dwelleth under that Secret thing and help of the Lord he shall be cock-sure for evermore He that dwelleth Psal 31.90 I say for if we be flitters and not dwellers as was Loâ— a flitter from Segor Gen. 19. where God promised him protection if he had dwelled there still we shall remove to our loss as he did into the Mountains Dwell therefore that is trust and that finally unto the end in the Lord my dear Sister and you shall be as Mount Sion As Mountains compass Jerusalem so doth the Lord all his people How then can he forget you which are as the apple of his eye for his dear Sons sake Ah dear heart that I were now but one half hour with you to be a Simon to help to carry your Cross with you God send you some good Simon to be with you and help you You complain in your Letters of the blindness of your minde and the troubles you feel My dearly beloved God make you thankful for that which he hath given unto you he open your eyes to see what and how great benefits you have received that you may be less covetous or rather impatient for so I fear me it should be called and more thankful Have not you received at his hands sight to see your blindeness and thereto a desirous and seeking heart to see where he lyeth in the mid-day as his dear Spouse speaketh of her self in the Canticles Oh Joyce my good Joyce what a gift is this Many have some sight but none this sobbing and sighing none this seeking which you have I know but such as he hath married unto him in his mercies You are nor content to kiss his feet with the Magdalen but you would be kâ—ssed even with the kisses of his mouth Canâ— 1. You would see his face with Moses forgetting how he biddeth us seek his face Psal 27. yea and that for ever Psal 10â— which signifieth no such si ht as you desire to be in this present life which would see God now face to face God cannot be se n but covered under something How faith seeth God where flesh seeth Hell whereas he cannot be seen but covered under something yea sometime in that which is as you would say clean contrary to God as to see his Mercy in his Anger In bringing us to Hell Faith seeth him bring us to Heaven in darkness it beholdeth brightness in hiding his face from us it beholdeth his merry countenance How did Job see God but as you would say under Satans cloke for who cast the fire from Heaven upon his goods who overthrew his house and stirred up men to take away his Cattel but Satan And yet Job pierced through all these and saw Gods work saying The Lord hath give he Lord hath taken away c. In reading of the Psalms how often do you see that David in the shadow of death saw Gods sweet love And so my dearly beloved I see that you in your darkness and dimness by Faith to see clarity and brightness by Faith I say because Faith is of things absent of things hoped for of things which I appeal to your Conscience whether you desire not And can you desire any thing which you know not And is there of heavenly things any other true knowledge then by Faith Therefore my dear heart be thankful for before God I write it you have great cause Ah my Joyce how happy is the state wherein you are The state of Gods Children described Verily you are even in the blessed state of Gods Children for they mourn and do not you so and that not for worldly weal but for spiritual riches Faith Hope Charity c. Do you not hunger and thirst for righteousness And I pray you saith not Christ Matth. 5. who cannot lye that happy are such How should God wipe away the tears from your eyes in Heaven if now on earth you shed no tears How could Heaven be a place of rest if on Earth you did finde it How could you desire to be at home if in your journey you found no grief How could you so often call upon God and talk with him as I know you do if your enemy should sleep all day long How should you elswhere be made like unto Christ I mean in joy if in sorrow you sobbed not with him If you will have joy and felicity you must first needs feel sorrow and misery The way to heaven is to go through hell If you will go to Heaven you must sayle by Hell If you will embrace Christ in his robes you must not think scorn of him in his rags If you will sit at Christs Table in his Kingdome you must first abide with him in his Temptations If you will drink of his cup of glory forsake not his cup of Ignominy Can the head Corner-stone be rejected and the other more base stone in Gods building be in this World set by you are one of his lively stones be content therefore to be hewn and snagged at that you might be made the more meet to be joyned to your fellows which suffer with you Satans snatches the Worlds wounds contempt of Conscience Frets of the flesh and frets of the flesh where-through they are enforced to cry Oh wretches that we are who shall deliver us Rom. 6. You are of Gods Corn fear not therefore the Flayle the Fan Milstone nor Oven You are one of Christs Lambs look therefore to be fleeced hayled at and even slain If you were a Market sheep you should go in more fat and grassy Pasture Gods sheep must feed on the bare Common where the devils ctatel are st â—â—â—d If you were for the Fair you should be stalfed and want no weal but because you are for Gods own occupying therefore you must pasture on the bare Common abiding the storms and tempests that will fall Happy and twice happy are you my dear Sister that God now haileth you whither you would not John 21. that you might come whither you would Suffer a little and be still Let Satan rage against you let the World cry out let your Conscience accuse you let the Law load you and press you down yet shall they not prevail for Christ is Emanuel
have received your Letter for the which I heartily thank you Indeed I think it very short although it seemeth something sharply to rebuke me in the beginning for the breach of my promise in not writing to you of this long time Well Brother I am content to bear it with patience considering that you are troubled otherwise the Lord comfort you and all heavy hearts neither will I spend Ink and Paper for my purgation in this point God be knoweth whether I be so mindless of my promise as it appeareth in your sight I am Your request I will truly perform to the uttermost of my power as gladly as any poor wretch shall do in the World and I thank God I have done no less of long time And as my poor Prayer shall be a handmaid to wait upon you which way soever you ride or go so I beseech you that my simple counsel may take some place in you in this time of your pilgrimage which you pass in no small peril God keep and preserve you for his Names sake He counselleth Augustine to be circumspect not rashly to thrust himself in danger I do not disallow but much praise and commend your hearty boldness in putting your self in prease when any one of Gods People needeth your help in any point But yet I would not have you thrust your self in danger when you can do them no good or at least wise when they may well enough spare that good you would do them for if you should then chance to be taken you shall not onely be no comfort unto them but also a great discomfort adding sorrow unto their sorrow I do not perswade you to absent your self from any place â—here your presence of necessity is required for in all such places I know God will preserve you as he hath hithe to wonderfully done praised be his Name therefore or if it shall please him to permit you in any such place to be taken I know he will most sweetly comfort your Conscience with this consideration That it is the very Providence and Appointment of God that you should there and then be taken up for a Witness of his Truth unto the world But I cannot allow nor be contented that you should rashly or negligently thrust your self into that place where your wicked enemies do continually haunt yea and lay wait for you when no necessity of your self nor of any other of Gods people doth require your company If they need any of your godly counsel you may write unto them that thing that you think good which I dare say will be sufficient unto them For continuall thanks and praises be given unto the Everlasting God there is none of those that be cruelly condemnâ—d for Gods Truth that now be weaklings for they have manfully passâ—d through the Pikes and they have boldly abidden the brunt of the Battel and therefore I reckon the worst is past with them already So that now and then a godly Letter from you to them shall do as much good as your company shall do and perchance more too for writing sticketh longer in the memory then word do yea though your Letters were as short to them as your last was to me so that the same be something sweeter and not all thing so sharp This dear Brother is the simple counsel which I would gladly have you observe partly for that I heartily pray for your preservation to the commodity of Christs Church and partly for that I unfeignedly wâ—sh the peace comfort and tranquility of your own Conscience which I know will be quickly ready to accuse you A good Conscience is soon troubled if you do any thing wherein you have not the Word of God for your warrant For in a glass that is clear a small mote will soon appear even so the good Conscience of Gods chosen children being more clear then Chrystal will quickly accuse them at the least fault they do commit whereas the wicked worldlings have their Conscience so clogged and corrupted through the custome of sin that they cannot see nor perceive their own shameful deeds and wicked works until God set the same before them for their utter â—â—struction and then despair they immediately But seeing that God hath given you a clear Conscience and a pure sharp quick and lively sight in your Soul I would wish you to beware that you do nothing unadvisedly Conscience of sin is sometimes taken where none is committed but upon a good ground for an accusing Conscience is a sore thing when death doth approach and then Satan will not stick to tell you that you have too much tempted God when peradventure you have done nothing so at all For this cause I say partly I have thought it good to admonish you as I have done often to be circumspect according to the counsel of Christ which biddeth you to beware of men Matth. 10. Other things I have not to write for I know this Bearer can certifie you of all things at large better then I can declare it by writing I beseech you good Augustine help me forward by your hearty Prayers for I trust I have but a small time in this troublesome World Dr. Story told our Marshal that we should all be dispatched so soon as he came from Oxford whither he and other bloody Butchers be gone to make slaughter of Christs sheep that lye there appointed to be slain God for Christs sake put them and such like besides their cruel purpose if it be his good wâ—ll and pleasure Amen good Lord. I pray you do my most hearty commendations to my good Sister and faithful Friend good Mris. Mary Glover I beseech God be her comfort as I doubt not but he is I am very glad to hear that she doth so joyfully and so patiently bear this great Cross that God hath laid upon her I pray God strengthen her and all other his dear Saints unto the end Amen Commend me unto my dear and faithful Sister Elizabeth B. I thank her most heartily for her Napkin and so I do you dear Brother for my shirt Truly that day that we were appointed to come to our Answer before the Commissioners which had sent word the same morning that they would come to the Kings Bench by eight of the clock and the house and all things were trimmed and made ready for them I got that Shirt on my back and that Napkin in my hand The Christian courage of Jâ—hn Careles and me thought that they did help to harness me and weapon me well to go fight against that Bloody Beast of Babylon And trust me truly if they had come I would have stricken three strokes the more for your two sakes as well as God would have abled me to have set them on as by Gods grace I will not fail to do at the next Skirmish that I come to wherefore I pray you pray for me that I may be strong and hardy to lay on