Letter 56. To the worshipful Sir William Fitzwilliams, then being knight marshal of the King's Bench
The peace of God proper to his people, the Holy Ghost work daily and deeply in your heart through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I thank my Lord and God, through his Son our Mediator and Saviour, for his mercies and graces given to your mastership; which I beseech his goodness to increase in you continually for your everlasting comfort in him. By his mercies towards you, I mean not in your lands, possessions, offices, natural wisdom, riches, health, form, &c. which indeed are gifts of God given to you of his mercy without your deserts, and therefore he should be daily praised by you for the same, as I doubt not but he is, for else your ingratitude would provoke him to punish you in them and by them, if he love you. But I mean his mercies towards you in the knowledge and love of his truth in religion. Since you amongst the 'not many' of your estate and condition, as St. Paul witnesses, (1 Cor. i.) have received this benefit as a very testimonial of your election in Christ, I would be sorry that you should need any such as I am, to move you to thank fullness; for I am not in a mammering (hesitation, editor) whether you are thankful to God for this great mercy, which is much more to be esteemed than all that ever you have. I humbly beseech God in his Christ to increase the same in you to the very end. And that he might do the same by me in some part, I thought it good and also my bounded duty deeply deserved on your behalf towards me, for the which I beseech the Lord to reward you, to send you this treatise of the doings of Master Ridley at Oxford, concerning his disputation about the sacrament. I know that divers copies have gone abroad, but none of them were as, I know, this is; for I have translated it out of the copy in Latin, which was corrected with his own hand, which came unto me with his consent, and therefore I dare be bold to say that it has not before been seen like this. In reading whereof you shall well see that this I speak is most true, and also that which causes me to suppress commendations of it (the excellency and worthiness thereof I mean,) because I think I cannot speak anything so worthily as undoubtedly these his doings deserve (he refers to the public disputation at Oxford, in April, 1554, whither Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer were sent as prisoners, and compelled to dispute respecting transubstantiation - the account drawn up by Ridley is given in Fox's Acts and Moruments, and shows the able reasonings of the reformers, and the sophistries of their opponents, editor). Unto your mastership I send them, as a token of my duty towards you, thereby to declare, that you deserve much of me, and I would show myself willing to recompense them same if I could; but since I cannot, and since also your doing is simply in respect of God and his cause, I will, according to your expectation, leave the recompense unto him. In the mean season praying him, that of his goodness he would increase the knowledge and love of his truth in you, and strengthen you after your vocation, both to walk purely, and manfully to confess his gospel, if he shall think it needful to call you to that honour; for surely, of all honours, it is the greatest to suffer anything for Christ's sake. Most happy may that man think himself that has anything to lose for his cause. As he shall be sure to find for his own part eternal felicity and honour endless, so shall his posterity even temporally prove this to be most true. I beseech you therefore, right worshipful sir, consider well this matter, and weigh it not as the world and your mother wit (natural understanding, editor) will move you to do, but as the word of God teaches you; there shall you see that this I speak of is matter of much mirth, joy, and glory, though to the world it seem quite contrary. God's good Spirit always guide you to his glory, and give you the spirit of prayer, continually to pray that God may never tempt you further than he will make you able to bear. Amen. Since this copy is not so fair written as I wish and would have I had it, I shall desire you to consider where I am, and how I cannot have things so done as I would, and therefore you have it as may be, when it may not be as I would it were and it should be.
From the King's Bench.
Your humble
John Bradford.
Letter 57. To my good brother, Master Coker, at Maldon, in Essex
Although I have at present both little time and less opportunity to write as I would, yet I thought it better to write something, as I may, than to be entirely silent. For if I should not do so, having so convenient a messenger, as I might incur the suspicion of ingratitude and forgetfulness towards you, and I might not satisfy the desire of this my poor brother and friend, John Searchfield, who comes unto you for help and comfort in this troublesome time. This dare I say, that the man fears God, and for Gods sake, and conscience towards him, sustains both loss and labour. For our common Father's sake therefore in Christ, help him to some hole to hide himself in for a little time, if you may conveniently, and remember, that he that receives one of Christ's little ones, receives Christ, as he himself in the last day will acknowledge, which last day let us often look on and set before us, as the thing which most tends to our comfort. Now we sorrow and sigh to see the sea swell and rage in this manner as it does; and, to confess the truth, we have double cause, as well because we have deserved this sour sauce, by reason of our unthankfulness and many sins (which the Lord pardon,) as because God's glory is trodden under foot. But this comfort we have, that as God our good Father wills not the death of a sinner, so will he order this most to his glory and our joy and comfort, if we repent now, and heartily lament our evils, use earnest, humble, and often, yea, continual prayer, and cast ourselves wholly on him and his goodness, still labouring to loath this life, and longing for the life to come. For we should account this as it is, a very vale of misery, much to be mourned in, because the time of our habitation and our exile herein is prolonged. God grant us his Holy Spirit, to strengthen us in his truth professed, that we may persevere to the end, in the joyful and courageous confessing of his Christ. Amen.
I pray you continue, as I trust you do, to keep both soul and body pure in God's service; strive to enter in at the narrow gate, though you leave your lands and goods behind you. It is not lost which for Christ's sake we leave, but lent to a great usury. Remember that this time is come only to try us. God make us faithful to the end. God keep us always as: his children. Amen.
I pray you commend me to Master Osbourn, and to all our good brethren in the Lord. The peace of Christ be with us all.
Amen. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
John Bradford.
Letter 58. To mine own good brother, Master John Philpot, prisoner in the King's Bench
My dear brother, God our Father he praised for the good he works in you and by you. Even now I have received your loving letters, wherein I see cause to bless God for the wisdom, love, and efficacy he has worked and does work in you and by you. Go on, for God's sake, to seek unity in Christ. If any will go to work dissemblingly, refuse it not; either it shall increase his damnation, or occasion the sooner his conversion. Judas's dissembling turned to the hurt of himself only. If once we come into unity and love, then shall we not respect (examine, editor) one another, neither take things in the worse part. Nothing hinders them more, than that they now hear all that are speak with prejudice (he means certain freewill men, Letters of the Martyrs), where, if unity be had, this prejudice will be taken away, and so then shall they see the truth the sooner. Therefore, mine own dearest brother go on, and bring it to a good end. God our Father be with thee for ever. Amen.
Pray, my good brother, and desire mine own fellow and beloved brother, J. Careless, to do the like. I shall pray for you, both in my prayers with others, and with myself alone, as for my most dear brother upon earth. I will not forget, by God's grace, to write in the behalf of our brethren in necessity. Jesus Christ, our sweet Saviour, be with us all, Emmanuel, for ever. Amen.
Your own in the Lord,
John Bradford.
Letter 59. To my good brother, R. Cole
Mine own good brother, our good and most merciful Father, more and more embrace us in the arms of his mercy, as his loving and own natural children, and give us one to embrace another in the arms of love as true brethren, that with one heart and mind we may praise his holy name in Christ our Saviour; and through the grace of his Spirit may every one fight mightily against sin, and all that is against the kingdom of Christ, whereunto, my beloved, we are called effectually to our everlasting felicity, (I doubt not,) praised be the name of our good God therefore, for ever and ever. Amen.
My own heart in the Lord, desire our brethren that every one would bend himself to bow; let us never break. Love suffers long, and seeks not herself. We all have one Father, we all are brethren. God keep us from dissension. If we cannot agree in all points, either the points perchance are not so necessary, or else by love we shall hereafter be brought to see that which yet is hid. If love appear in all our doings, and we seek one another with a simple and a single eye in God's sight; doubtless all prejudice, whereby we are hindered from seeing manifest things, will be had away, and we shall take things spoken and done in the best part, and so doubtless the name of our Father shall be sanctified in us and by us, as by instruments of grace; and God's kingdom shall increase apace in us and by us also, which may he grant for his mercy's sake. Amen.
Commend me heartily, I pray you, to both those good women; good I call them, because I am persuaded that God will deliver them, especially my good Mary. I will not cease, but even as for myself to pray to God for them and for you, my right dear brother in the Lord. If you were acquainted with M. Robert Harrington, you would find a plain Nathaniel; you should see the worst at the first. I dare say for him, his only desire is to please God, and he is afraid to offend him. Pray for him, and for my good sister, J. H., as I know she does for you. The peace of God be with you, mine own in the Lord.
John Bradford.
Letter 60. To Mistress Brown
Good sister, I beseech God to make perfect the good, he has begun in you unto the very end. Amen.
This life more and more becomes unto us as it should be, that is, a miserable life, a weeping life, a woeful life, and therefore let us long for our happy life, our laughing life, our joyful life, which we shall enjoy, and then have in very deed, when we depart by death out of this dangerous state, wherein we now are, by reason of this sinful flesh which we carry about us. Therefore let us prepare ourselves accordingly, and in misery and sorrow be glad through hope. Now we are dispersed, but we shall be gathered together again there, where we shall never part, but always be together in joy eternal. In hope hereof let us bear with better will our bitter burdens which we do feel, and shall feel in this miserable world: we have cause to thank God, that makes this world a wilderness unto us. If we are patient therein, kiss God's rod, and humble ourselves before God, assuredly we shall come into the most pleasant land of rest; wherefore, good sister, as I said, I say again, be merry with sorrow, rejoice in hope, be patient in trouble, pray in affliction; and, amongst others, I pray you pray heartily for me, that God would forgive me my unthankfulness, not only against you, which is great indeed, but also against all his people, but especially against his Majesty. As I can, I shall commend you unto the tuition of our shepherd Christ, who always keeps us as his lambs, for his holy name's sake. Amen,
