To the brethren remaining in captiuitie of the flesh, and dispearsed abroad in sundry prisones, but knit together in vnity of spirit and holy Religi∣on in the bowels of the Lorde Iesu.
GRace, peace & mercye be multiplied among you. What worthy thankes can we render vnto the Lorde for you my brethren,* 1.1 namely for ye great cōsolation which through you we haue receiued in the Lorde, who notwithstanding the rage of Sathan that goeth about by all maner of sub∣till meanes to beguile the worlde, and also bu••l•• laboreth to restore and set vp his kingdome againe, yt of late began to decay and fall to ruine: ye remaine yet stil 〈◊〉〈◊〉, as men surely grounded vpon a strong rocke. And nowe, albeit that sathan by his souldiors and wicked ministers, daily (as we heare) draweth numbers vnto hym, so that it is sayd of him that he plucketh euen the very starres out of heauen, whiles hee driueth into some men th•• feare of death and losse of all their goods, and sheweth and offereth to other some the pleasaunt baites of the worlde, namelye richesse, wealth, and all kinde of delightes and pleasures, faire houses, great reuenues, ••at benefices, and what not? and all to the intent they should fall downe & worship, not the Lorde, but the Dragon the olde Serpent, whych is the deuil, that great beast and his image,* 1.2 and should be in••iced to commit fornication with the strompet of Babilon, toge∣ther wyth the kings of the earth, wyth the lesser beast, and with the false Prophetes, and so to reioyce and be pleasant wyth her, and to be drunken wyth the wine of her fornica∣tion: yet blessed be God the Father of oure Lorde Iesus Christe, which hath geuen vnto you a manly courage,* 1.3 and hath so strengthened you in the inwarde man by the pow∣er of his spirite, that you can contemne as well all the ter∣rours, as also the vaine flatteringe allurementes of the worlde, esteeming them as vanities, mere trifles, & things of nought: Who hath also wroughte, planted, and surely stablished in your hearts so stedfast a fayth and loue of the Lorde Iesus Christe, ioyned with such constancie, that by no engines of Antichriste, be they neuer so terrible or plau∣sible, yee will suffer any other Iesus or any other Christ to be forced vpon you▪ besides him whom the Prophet•• haue spoken of before, ye Apostles haue preached, the holy Mar∣tyrs of God haue cōfessed and testified with the effusion of their bloud.
In thys Faith stand ye fast my brethren and suffer not your selues to be brought vnder the yoke of bondage and superstition any more. For ye know, brethren, howe yt our sauiour warned his beforehand, that such shoulde come as would poynt vnto the world an other Christ, and woulde set him out wyth so many fals myracles,* 1.4 and with such de∣ceiueable and subtill practises, that euen the very electe (if it were possible) should be therby deceiued: such strong de∣lusion to come, did our Sauiour geue warning of before:* 1.5 But continue ye faithful and constant, and be of good com∣fort, & remember that our graund captaine hath ouercome the world: for he that is in vs, is stronger then he that is in the world, and the Lorde promiseth vnto vs, that for the e∣lects sake, the daies of wickednes shall be shortned. In the meane season abide ye & endure with patience as ye haue begun: endure I say,* 1.6 and reserue your selues vnto better times, as one of the heathen Poetes said,* 1.7 cease not to shew yourselues valiant Soldiours of the Lorde, and helpe to maintaine the trauelling faith of the Gospell.
Yee haue neede of patience, that after ye haue done the wil of God, ye may receiue the promises. For yet a very litle while, and he that shall come will come, and wil not tarie, and the iust shall liue by faith: but if anye withdrawe him selfe▪* 1.8 my soule shall haue no pleasure in him (sayth the Lorde.) But we are not they which doe withdrawe oure selues vnto damnation,* 1.9 but be∣leeue vnto the saluation of the soule. Let vs not suffer these woordes of Christ to fall out of our hearts by any manner of terrours or threatnings of the worlde. Feare not them which kil the body: the rest ye know. For I wryte not vn∣to you, as to menne which are ignoraunt of the truth, but which know the truthe, and to this ende onely, that we a∣greeing together in one faith, may take comfort one of an other, and be the more confirmed and strengthened there∣by. We neuer had a better or more iust cause either to con∣temne our life or shed our bloud:* 1.10 we can not take in hande the defence of a more certaine, cleare, and manifest truthe. For it is not any ceremonie for the which we contend, but it toucheth the very substance of our whole Religion, yea, euen Christ him selfe. Shall we,* 1.11 either can we receiue and acknowledge any other Christe in steade of hym, who is alone the euerlasting sonne of the euerlasting Father, and is the brightnesse of the glory, and liuely image of the sub∣staunce of the Father, in whome onely dwelleth corporal∣ly the fulnesse of the Godhead, who is the onely waye, the truth and the life? Let such wickednesse (my brethren) lette such horrible wickednesse be farre from vs. For althoughe there be that are called Gods, whether in heauen either in earth, as there be many Gods and many Lordes, yet vnto vs there is but one God, which is the Father, of whome are al things, and we in him, and one Lord Iesus Christ, by whome are all things, and wee by him: but euery man hath not knowledge. This is life eternal (sayth S. Iohn) that they know thee to be the onely true God,* 1.12 and whome thou haste