torments in the world to come. Use your life, and keep it with as much quietness as you can, so that you offend not God. The ease that cometh with his displeasure, turneth at length to unspeakable pains; and the gains of the world, with the loss of his favour, is beggary and wretchedness.

Reason is to be amended in this cause of religion: for it will choose and follow an error with the multitude, if it may be allowed, rather than turn to faith, and follow the truth with the people of God. Moses found the same fault in himself, and did amend it, choosing rather to be afflicted with the people of God, than to use the liberty of the king's daughter, that accounted him as her son.

Pray for contentation and peace of the Spirit, and rejoice in such troubles as shall happen unto you for the truth's sake: for in that part Christ saith, "You be happy." Pray also for me, I pray you, that I may do in all things the will of our heavenly Father; to whose tuition and defence I commend you.

To

my

JOHN HOOPer.

dear Friends in God, Master JOHN HALL and his Wife.

The grace of God be with you. Amen. I thank you for your loving and gentle friendship at all times, praying to God to shew unto you such favour, that whatsoever trouble and adversity happen, ye go not back from him. These days be dangerous and full of peril, but yet let us comfort ourselves in calling to remembrance the days of our forefathers, upon whom the Lord sent such troubles, that many hundreds, yea, many thousands died for the testimony of Jesus Christ, both men and women, suffering with patience and constancy as much cruelty as tyrants could devise, and so departed out of this mi

serable world to the bliss everlasting; where now they remain for ever, looking always for the end of this sinful world, when they shall receive their bodies again in immortality, and see the number of the elect associated with them in full and consummate joys: and as virtuous men suffering martyrdom, and tarrying a little while in this world with pains, by and by rested in joys everlasting; and as their pains ended their sorrows, and began ease, so did their constancy and stedfastness animate and confirm all good people in the truth, and gave them encouragement and lust to suffer the like, rather than to fall with the world to consent unto wickedness and idolatry.

Wherefore, my dear friends, seeing God of his part hath illuminated you with the same gift and knowledge of true faith, wherein the apostles, the evangelists, and all martyrs suffered most cruel death, thank him for his grace in knowledge, and pray unto him for strength and perseverance, that through your own fault ye be not ashamed nor afraid to confess it. Ye be in the truth, and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it, nor antichrist with all his imps prove it to be false. They may kill and prosecute, but

never overcome.

more than man.

Be of good comfort, and fear God This life is short and miserable; happy be they that can spend it to the glory of God. Pray for me as I do for you, and commend me to all good men and women. December 22, Anno 1554. Your brother in Christ,

JOHN HOOPer.

To my dearly beloved Sister in the Lord, Mistress ANN WARCOP.

The grace of God be with you, Amen. I thank you for your loving token. I pray you, burden not yourself too much. It were meet for me rather to bear

a pain, than to be a hindrance to many. I did rejoice at the coming of this bearer, to understand of your constancy, and how that you be fully resolved, by God's grace, rather to suffer extremity, than to go from the truth in God which you have professed.

He that gave you grace to begin in so infallible a truth, will follow you in the same unto the end. But, my loving sister, as you be travailing this perilous journey, take this lesson with you, practised by wise men: whereof you may read in the second of St. Matthew's gospel. Such as travelled to find Christ, followed only the star, and as long as they saw it, they were assured they were in the right way, and had great mirth in their journey. But when they entered into Jerusalem, whereas the star led them not thither, but unto Bethlehem, and there asked the citizens the thing that the star shewed before: as long as they tarried in Jerusalem, and would be instructed where Christ was born, they were not only ignorant of Bethlehem, but also lost the sight of the star that led them before.

Whereof we learn, in any case while we be going in this life to seek Christ that is above, to beware we lose not the star of God's word, that only is the mark that sheweth us where Christ is, and which way we may come unto him. But as Jerusalem stood in the way, and was an impediment to these wise men; so doth the synagogue of antichrist, that beareth the name of Jerusalem, which by interpretation is called the vision of peace, and amongst the people now, is called the catholic church, stand in the way that pilgrims must go by through this world to Bethlehem, the house of saturity and plentifulness, and is an impediment to all Christian travellers; yea, and except the mere grace of God be, will keep the pilgrims still in her, that they shall not come where Christ is at all. And to stay them indeed, they take

away the star of light, which is God's word, that it cannot be seen as ye may see how the celestial star was hid from the wise men, when they asked of the Pharisees at Jerusalem, where Christ was born. Ye inay see what great dangers happened unto these wise men, while they were learning of liars where Christ was. First, they were out of their way, and next they lost their guide and conductor, the heavenly star. Christ is mounted from us into heaven, and there we seek him (as we say); and let us go thitherward by the star of his word. Beware we happen not to come into Jerusalem, the church of men, and ask for him. If we do, we go out of the way, and lose also our conductor and guide that only leadeth us straight thither.

The poets write in fables, that Jason, when he fought with the dragon in the isle of Colchis, was preserved by the medicines of Medea, and so won the golden fleece. And they write also that Phaeton, whom they feign the son and heir of the high god Apollo, would needs upon a day have the conduction of the sun round about the world; but as they feign, he missed of the accustomed course: whereupon when he went too high, he burnt heaven, and when he went too low, he burnt the earth and the waters.

These profane histories do shame us that be Christian men. Jason against the poison of the dragon used only the medicine of Medea. What a shame is it for a Christian man against the poison of the devil, heresy, and sin, to use any other remedy, than Christ and his word? Phaeton for lack of knowledge was afraid of every sign of the zodiac, that the sun passed by: wherefore he went now too low, and now too high, and at length fell down and drowned himself in the sea. Christian men for lack of knowledge, and for fear of such dangers as Christian men must needs pass by, go clean out of order, and at length fall into the pit of hell.

Sister, take heed: you shall in your journey towards heaven meet with many a monstrous beast: have the salve of God's word therefore ready. You shall meet with husband, children, lovers, and friends, that shall, if God be with them (as God be praised he is, I would it were with all other alike), be very lets and impediments to your purpose. You shall meet with slander and contempt of the world, and be accounted ungracious and ungodly; ye shall hear and meet with cruel tyranny to do you all extremities; you shall now and then see the troubles of your own conscience, and feel your own weakness; you shall hear that you be cursed by the sentence of the catholic church, with such like terrors: but pray to God, and follow the star of his word, and you shall arrive at the port of eternal salvation, by the merits only of Jesus Christ; to whom I commend you and all yours most heartily.

Yours in Christ,

JOHN HOOPer.

To the godly and faithful Company of Prisoners in both the Counters, which were taken together at Prayer in a House in Bow Churchyard.

The grace, favour, consolation, and aid of the Holy Ghost be with you now and ever: so be it.

Dearly beloved in the Lord, ever since your imprisonment, I have been marvellously moved with great affections and passions, as well of mirth and gladness, as of heaviness and sorrow. Of gladness in this, that I perceive how ye be bent and given to prayer and invocation of God's help, in these dark and wicked proceedings of men against God's glory. I have been sorry, to perceive the malice and wickednesa of men to be so cruel, devilish, and tyrannical, to persecute: the people of God, for serving of God,