Mary. 1555. The re We do look now every day when we shall be called on, blessed be God! I ween I am the weakest many ways of our company; and yet I thank our A.D. Lord God and heavenly Father by Christ, that since I heard of our dear brother Roger's departing, and stout confession of Christ and his truth even unto the death, my heart (blessed be God) so rejoiced of it, that since that time, joicing of (I say) I never felt any lumpish heaviness in my heart, as I grant I have felt the con- sometimes before. O good brother! blessed be God in thee, and blessed be stancy of the time that ever I knew thee. Farewell, farewell. Ridley at Rogers He exhorteth the bre thren to stand fast. Your brother in Christ, Nicholas Ridley.-Brother, farewell. To the Brethren remaining in Captivity of the Flesh, and dispersed abroad in sundry Prisons; but knit together, in Unity of Spirit and Holy Religion, in the bowels of the Lord Jesus.' Grace, peace, and mercy be multiplied among you. What worthy thanks can we render unto the Lord for you, my brethren; namely, for the great consolation which through you we have received in the Lord, who, notwithstanding the rage of Satan that goeth about by all manner of subtle means to beguile the world, and also busily laboureth to restore and set up his kingdom again, that of late began to decay and fall to ruin; ye remain vet still unmovable, as men surely grounded upon a strong rock. And now, albeit that Satan by his soldiers and wicked ministers, daily (as we hear) draweth numbers unto him, so that it is said of him, that he plucketh even the very stars out of heaven, whiles he driveth into some men the fear of death, and loss of all their goods, and showeth and offereth to others the pleasant baits of the world, namely riches, wealth, and all kind of delights and pleasures, fair houses, great revenues, fat benefices, and what not; and all to the intent they should fall down and worship, not the Lord, but the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil,2 that great beast and his image, and should be enticed to commit fornication with the strumpet of Babylon, together with the kings of the earth, with the lesser beast and with the false prophets, and so to rejoice and be pleasant with her, and to be drunken with the wine of her fornication; yet blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath given unto you a manly courage, and hath so strengthened you in the inward man, by the power of his Spirit, that you can contemn as well all the terrors, as also the vain flatterings and allurements, of the world, esteeming them as vanities, mere trifles, and things of nought: who hath also wrought, planted, and surely established in your hearts, so steadfast a faith and love of the Lord Jesus Christ, joined with such constancy, that by no engines of Antichrist, be they never so terrible or plausible, ye will suffer any other Jesus, or any other Christ to be forced upon you, besides him whom the prophets have spoken of before, the apostles have preached, the holy martyrs of God have confessed and testified with the effusion of their blood. In this faith stand ye fast, my brethren, and suffer not yourselves to be brought under the yoke of bondage and superstition any more. For ye know, brethren, how that our Saviour warned his beforehand, that such should come as would point unto the world another Christ, and would set him out with so many false miracles, and with such deceivable and subtle practices, that even the very elect (if it were possible) should thereby be deceived: such strong delusion to come did our Saviour give warning of before. But continue ye faithful and constant, be of good comfort, and remember that our grand Captain hath overcome the world; for he that is in us, is stronger than he that is in the world, and the Lord promiseth unto us that, for the elect's sake, the days of wickedness shall be shortened. In the mean season abide ye and endure with patience as ye have begun: "Endure," I say, "and reserve yourselves unto better times," as Patience one of the heathen poets said; cease not to show yourselves valiant soldiers of necessary the Lord, and help to maintain the travailing faith of the gospel.s for all Christians. Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye may receive the promises, "for yet a very little while, and he that shall come, will come, (1) This letter of Ridley to the persecuted flock of Christ was written in Latin, and translated into English. [This translation is the same as is contained in Coverdale's "Letters of the Martyrs;" where it is also given in Latin. See also the first edition of the Acts and Monuments, page issi; and in the Appendix to this volume.-ED.] (2) Rev. xii. (3) Rev. xvii. (4) Gal. v. (5) Matt. xxiv. rel of the is just and will not tarry:" and "the just shall live by faith; but if any withdraw Mary. himself my soul shall have no pleasure in him," saith the Lord. "But we are not they which do withdraw ourselves unto damnation, but believe unto the A.D. salvation of the soul." Let us not suffer these words of Christ to fall out of 1555. our hearts by any manner of terrors or threatenings of the world. "Fear not them which kill the body;"2 the rest ye know: for I write not unto you as to men which are ignorant of the truth, but which know the truth; and to this end only, that we, agreeing together in one faith, may take comfort one of another, and be the more confirmed and strengthened thereby. We never had The quara better or more just cause either to contemn our life, or shed our blood; we martyrs cannot take in hand the defence of a more certain, clear, and manifest truth.3 For it is not any ceremony for the which we contend; but it toucheth the very and true. substance of our whole religion, yea, even Christ himself. Shall we, either Martyrs can we, receive and acknowledge any other Christ instead of him, who is alone death, bethe everlasting Son of the everlasting Father, and is the brightness of the glory cause and lively image of the substance of the Father, in whom only dwelleth cor- acknowporally the fulness of the godhead, who is the only way, the truth, and the life? ledge no Let such wickedness, my brethren, let such horrible wickedness be far from us. more For although there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as but one. there be many gods and many lords, yet unto us there is but one God, which is the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him; but every man hath not knowledge. "This is life eternal," saith St. John, "that they know thee to be the only true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ."3 If any therefore would force upon us any other God, besides him whom Paul and the apostles have taught, let us not hear him, but let us flee from him, and hold him accursed. put to they will Christs of Satan. Brethren, ye are not ignorant of the deep and profound subtleties of Satan; The profor he will not cease to range about you, seeking by all means possible whom fundities he may devour: but play ye the men, and be of good comfort in the Lord. And albeit your enemies and the adversaries of the truth, armed with all The marworldly force and power that may be, do set upon you; yet be ye not faint-have hearted, and shrink not therefore, but trust unto your captain Christ; trust prophets, unto the Spirit of truth, and trust to the truth of your cause; which as it may apos by the malice of Satan be darkened, so can it never be clean put out. For we cient have (high praise be given to God there-for) most plainly, evidently, and clearly writers on our side, all the prophets, all the apostles, and undoubtedly all the ancient on their ecclesiastical writers which have written, until of late years past. Let us be hearty, and of good courage there-for, and thoroughly comfort ourselves in the Lord. Be in no wise afraid of your adversaries; for that which is to them an occasion of perdition, is to you a sure token of salvation, and that of God for unto you it is given, that not only ye should believe on him, but also suffer for his sake. And when ye are railed upon for the name of Christ, remember that by the voice of Peter, yea, and of Christ our Saviour also, ye are counted with the prophets, with the apostles, and with the holy martyrs of Christ, happy and blessed there-for: for the glory and Spirit of God resteth upon you." apostles, side. us not to On their part our Saviour Christ is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified for what can they else do unto you, by persecuting you, and working all cruelty and villany against you, but make your crowns more glorious, yea beautify and multiply the same, and heap upon themselves the horrible plagues and heavy wrath of God: and therefore, good brethren, though they rage never He exso fiercely against us, yet let us not wish evil unto them again, knowing that horteth while, for Christ's cause, they vex and persecute us, they are like madmen, wish evil most outrageous and cruel against themselves, heaping hot burning coals upon to our their own heads; but rather let us wish well unto them, knowing that we are tors. thereunto called in Christ Jesus, that we should be heirs of the blessing 10 us pray therefore unto God, that he would drive out of their hearts this darkness of errors, and make the light of his truth to shine unto them, that they, acknowledging their blindness, may with all humble repentance be converted unto the Lord, and together with us, confess him to be the only true God, which is the Father of light, and his only Son Jesus Christ, worshipping him (1) Heb. x. (6) Rev. ii. (2) John x. ¡ (7) 1 Pet. v. (3) Heb. i. Coloss. i. (4) 1 Cor. viii. (5) John xii, Let (10) 1 Pet. iii. persecu The Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ comfort your Mary. in Spirit and verity: Amen. A.D. 1555. hearts in the love of God, and patience of Christ: Amen. Your brother in the Lord, whose name this bearer shall signify unto you, ready always by the grace of God to live and die with you. A Letter of Bishop Ridley, wherein he confirmeth the Brethren in To the brethren which constantly cleave unto Christ, in suffering affliction with Grace and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, be multiplied unto you: Amen. Although, brethren, we have of late heard nothing from you, neither have at this present any news to send to you; yet we thought good something to write unto you, whereby ye might understand that we have good remembrance of you continually, as we doubt not but ye have of us also. When this messenger, coming unto us from you of late, had brought us good tidings of your great constancy, fortitude, and patience in the Lord, we were filled with much joy and gladness, giving thanks to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath caused his face so to shine upon you, and with the light of spiritual understanding hath so lightened your hearts, that now being in captivity and Commu- bonds for Christ's cause, ye have not ceased, as much as in you lieth, by words, nion and but much more by deed and by your example, to stablish and confirm that thing, which, when ye were at liberty in the world, ye laboured to publish and set abroad by the word and doctrine; that is to say, holding fast the word of life, ye shine as lights in the world, in the midst of a wicked and crooked nation,' and that with so much the greater glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and profit of your brethren, by how much Satan more cruelly now rageth and busily laboureth to darken the light of the gospel. unity of saints. Reasons the reli gion in queen Mary's And as for the darkness that Satan now bringeth upon the Church of Engproving land, who needeth to doubt thereof? Of late time our Saviour Christ, his apostles, prophets, and teachers, spake in the temple to the people of England in the English tongue, so that they might be understood plainly, and without time not any hardness, of the godly and such as sought for heavenly knowledge in matters which of necessity of salvation pertained to the obtaining of eternal life; but now those things, which once were written of them for the edifying of the congregation, are read in a strange tongue without interpretation, manifestly against St. Paul's commandment, so that there is no man able to understand them, which hath not learned that strange and unknown tongue. to be of God. Scriptures in king Edward's Of late days those heavenly mysteries, whereby Christ hath ingrafted us into his body, and hath united us one to another; whereby also, being regenerate, time and born anew unto God, he hath nourished, increased, and strengthened us; known; whereby moreover, either he hath taught and set forth an order amongst them in queen which are whole, or else to the sick in soul or body hath given, as it were, unknown. wholesome medicines and remedies: those, I say, were all plainly set forth to Mary's, In king Edward's time the people knew what they Mary's, the people in their own language, so that what great and exceeding good things every man had received of God, what duty every one owed to another by God's ordinance, what every one had professed in his vocation, and was bound to observe, where remedy was to be had for the wicked and feeble, he to whom God hath given a desire and willing heart to understand those things, might soon perceive and understand. But now all these things are taught and set forth in such sort, that the people, redeemed with Christ's blood, and for whose sakes they were by Christ himself ordained, can have no manner of understanding thereof at all. prayed. Of late (forasmuch as we know not how to pray as we ought) our Lord Jesus In queen Christ in his prayer, whereof he would have no man ignorant, and also the they nei- Holy Ghost in the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs which are set forth in ther knew the Bible, did teach and instruct all the people of England in the English what, nor tongue, that they might ask such things as are according to the will of the Father, and might join their hearts and lips in prayer together: but now all prayed. these things are commanded to be hid and shut up from them in a strange to whom they (1) Phil. ii. tongue, whereby it must needs follow, that the people can neither tell how to Mary. pray, nor what to pray for; and how can they join their hearts and voice together, when they understand no more what the voice signifieth, than a brute beast? A.D. 1555. forth in time for time for Finally, I hear say, that the catechism which was lately set forth in the The cateEnglish tongue, is now in every pulpit condemned. O devilish malice, and chism set most spitefully injurious to the salvation of mankind, purchased by Jesus Christ! king EdIndeed Satan could not long suffer that so great light should be spread abroad ward's in the world; he saw well enough that nothing was able to overthrow his king- children, dom so much, as if children, being godly instructed in religion, should learn to in queen know Christ whilst they are yet young; whereby not only children, but the Mary's elder sort also, and aged folks that before were not taught to know Christ in bidden. their childhood, should now, even with children and babes, be forced to learn The Cato know him. Now therefore he roareth; now he rageth. But what else do tholic they, brethren, which serve Satan, and become his ministers and slaves in maintaining of his impiety, but even the same which they did, to whom Christ our Saviour threateneth this curse in the gospel: "Woe unto you which shut up the kingdom of heaven before men, and take away the key of knowledge from them; you yourselves have not entered in, neither have ye suffered them that would enter to come in." Phari sees. And from whence shall we say, brethren, that this horrible and mischievous darkness proceedeth, which is now brought upon the world? From whence, I pray you, but even from the smoke of the great furnace of the bottomless pit, The pit of so that the sun and the air are now darkened by the smoke of the pit? Now, opened. even now, out of doubt, brethren, the pit is opened against us, and the locusts begin to swarm, and Abaddon now reigneth." locusts stand con Ye therefore, my brethren, which pertain unto Christ, and have the seal of ExhortaGod marked in your foreheads; that is to wit, are sealed with the earnest of tion to the Spirit to be a peculiar people of God, quit yourselves like men, and be stant in strong; for he that is in us, is stronger than he which is in the world, and ye Christi know that all that is born of God overcometh the world; and this is our vic- truth. tory that overcometh the world, even our faith.3 Let the world fret, let it rage never so much, be it never so cruel and bloody, yet be ye sure that no man can take us out of the Father's hands, for he is greater than all, who hath not spared his own Son, but hath given him to death for us all; and therefore how "shall he not with him give us all things also? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who then shall condemn? It is Christ that is dead, yea rather which is risen again, who also is at the right hand of God, and maketh request also for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" The rest ye know, brethren. We are certainly persuaded with St. Paul, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that no kind of thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; which thing, that it may come to pass by the grace and mercy our Lord Jesus Christ, to the comfort both of you and of us all, as we for our parts will continually (God willing) pray for you; so, dear brethren in the Lord, with all earnest and hearty request we beseech you, even in the bowels of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye will not cease to pray for us. Fare ye well, dear brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all evermore : Amen. Yours in the Lord, N. Ridley. of A Letter of Bishop Ridley, answering to a certain Letter of one I wish you grace in God, and love of the truth, without the which truly esta- (2) Rev. ix. (3) Rev. vii. 1 John v. A.D. No creature can whom Mary. saved, whom the Redeemer and Saviour of the world shall before his Father deny. This the Lord grant, that it may be so grafted, established, and fixed in my heart, that neither things present nor to come, high nor low, life nor death, 1555. be able to remove me thence. It is a goodly wish, that you wish me deeply to consider the things pertaining unto God's glory; but if you had wished also, that neither fear of death, nor hope of worldly prosperity, should let me to be saved, maintain God's word and his truth, which is his glory and true honour, it would Christ de- have liked me well. You desire me, for God's sake, to remember myself. nieth be- Indeed sir, now it is time so to do; for, so far as I can perceive, it standeth me Father. upon no less danger, than of the loss both of body and soul; and I trow, then What it is it is time for a man to awake, if any thing will awake him. He that will not for a man fear him that threateneth to cast both body and soul into everlasting fire, whom well to re- will he fear? With this fear, O Lord, fasten thou together our frail flesh, that himself. we never swerve from thy laws. You say, you have made much suit for me. Fear God. Sir, God grant that you have not, in suing for my worldly deliverance, impaired and hindered the furtherance of God's word and his truth. fore his member Confession to the minister in the way of asking counsel, not mis liked. Ridley ever a handler of the sa- 66 crament. You have known me long indeed; in the which time it hath chanced me, as you say, to mislike some things. It is true, I grant; for sudden changes without substantial and necessary cause, and the heady setting forth of extremities, I did never love. Confession unto the minister which is able to instruct, correct, comfort, and inform the weak, wounded, and ignorant conscience, indeed I ever thought might do much good in Christ's congregation, and so I assure you, I think even at this day. My doctrine and my preaching, you say, you have heard often, and after your judgment have thought it godly, saving only reverend for the sacrament, which thing although it was of me reverently handled, and a great deal better than of the rest, as you say, yet in the margin you write warily," and in this world "wisely;" and yet me thought all sounding not well. Sir, but that I see so many changes in this world, and so much alteration, else at this your saying I would not a little marvel. I have taken you for my friend, and a man whom I fancied for plainness and faithfulness, as much I assure you, as for your learning: and have you kept this so close in your heart from me unto this day? Sir, I consider more things than one, and will not say all that I think. But what need you to care what I think, for any thing I shall be able to do unto you, either good or harm? You give me good lessons to stand in nothing against my learning, and to beware of vain-glory. Truly sir, I herein like your counsel very well, and by God's grace I intend to follow it unto my life's end. The part only to Master. To write unto those whom you name, I cannot see what it will avail me: of a true for this I would have you know, that I esteem nothing available for me, which bishop, also will not further the glory of God. And now, because I perceive you have seek the an entire zeal and desire of my deliverance out of this captivity and worldly glory of Christ his misery, if I should not bear you a good heart in God again, methinks I were to blame. Sir, how nigh the day of my dissolution and departure out of this world is at hand, I cannot tell the Lord's will be fulfilled, how soon soever it shall come. I know the Lord's words must be verified on me that I shall appear before the uncorrupt Judge, and be accountable to him of all my former life. And although the hope of his mercies is my shoot-anchor of eternal salvation, yet am I persuaded, that whosoever wittingly neglecteth and regardeth not to clear his conscience, he cannot have peace with God, nor a lively faith in his mercy. Conscience therefore moveth me, considering you were one of my repenteth family, and one of my household, of whom then I think I had a special cure, and of all them which were within my house; which indeed ought to have been more ear- an example of godliness to all the rest of my cure, not only of good life, but also in promoting of God's word to the uttermost of their power (but alas, now, when the trial doth separate the chaff from the corn, how small a deal it is, God knoweth, which the wind doth not blow away): this conscience, I say, doth move me to fear, lest the lightness of my family shall be laid to my charge for lack of more earnest and diligent instruction, which should have been done. But, blessed be God which hath given me grace to see this my default, and to lament it from the bottom of my heart, before my departing hence. Ridley that he was not nest in stablish ing the con sciences of his family and cure. Dr. Har vey This conscience doth move me also now to require both you, and my friend charged. Dr. Harvey, to remember your promises made to me in times past, of the pure (1) Luke xii. |