A Faithful Admonition, Letter
A FAYTHfull admonition made by Iohn̄ Knox, vntounto the professours of Gods truthe in England, wher by thou mayest learne howe God wyll hauehave his Churche exercised with troubles, and how he defendeth it in the same.
Esaie. ix.
After all this shall not the Lordes wrath ceasse, but yet shall hys hande be stretched out styll.
Ibidem.
Take hede that the Lorde roote thee not out bothe heade and tayle in one daye.
THE EPISTLE OF A BAnyshed manne out of Leycester Shire sometyme one of the Preachers of Goddes worde there, to the Christen reader wysheth health, delyueraunce, and felicitie.
THere hath bene no tyme syth the fyrst fashionynge of man whiche hath not had her manyfold myseries and great troubles by which God chaistened and punished all men for their euel lyfe and vnthanckfulnes to hym, continually refusyng his callyng and warnyng, wherof the ryghteous and iuste had their partes, althoughe it was for their cōmoditie & profit, (but to the vtter destruccion of the wycked and vngodly) for iudgement begynneth at the faythful, which are called the housholde of God in the Scripture,1. Petri. 4. and the punyshment wherby God chasteneth them cōmeth alwayes to them for the best, either to the bringyng of pacience, or the acknowlegyng of their synnes, or for the auoidynge of the eternall condempnatiō: And their fashion is, when they perceaue the hāde of the Lorde to be vponupon them, or vponupon others, by any maner of trouble, as pouertie, sycknes, banishment, fallynge awaye of faithful frendes, encreasyng of foes, or any other lyke trouble. Immediatly they turne to God, are hertely sorye for their synnes and vnthankful nes, confesseth them selues giltie, & calleth earnestly for mercye, whiche God for, and in Iesus Christ graū teth vntounto thē, of his great goodnes according to his promise. So as in ye myddest of their troubles he hath vsed al wayes to comforte them, yea, helpe and deliuer them, as it appeareth by Noe, Abrahā, Loth, and the patriarkes, Dauid and Ezechia kynhes: Helye, Hieremy, and Daniel, prophetes, Susanna, a woman. Peter, Paule, and the reste of the Apostles together with al good persones, in all tymes and ages, who in their great troubles, chaunges of estates and kyngdomes, and destruccion of their cōmō wealthes, after they had turned to God. from whence those plagues came, foūd reliefe, helpe, cō forte and deliueraunce in these and the lyke miserable necessities. Thys was the onelyonly remedye and defence for all good men: thyther hath bene their chef refuge, there fastened they their hope, and rested not cōtinually callyng vponupon hym, vntyl they obreyned their requestes: or els yt whiche made moste for Goddes glorie and their commoditie and profyt, but cō trarie wyse it is wyth the peruers & vngodly. For so sone as they are plaged or punyshed they grudge agaīst God, they hate hym, and speake dispitefully against hym, they ascribe theyr plagues to euel luck or to misfortune, they are nothyng moued by them to acknowledge their great sinnes, therfore they call not vponupon him, but eyther they do runne in dispaire or in contempt of God, and therfore it can not be thought yt their punyshmentes are tokens of the rest & quietnes that they maye hauehave after thys lyfe, but rather to be the begynnyng of their tormentes whiche they shallGenes. 4 thē suffre. The examples wherof are lykewyse set out to vsus in ye holy Scri ptures, as of Cain, of the Iewes as wel before the cōmyng of Christe as after his ascention, of wycked Iesabel, of Iudas the traitor, and of the thefe whiche was hanged vponupon the left syde of our Lorde Jesus Christe, with diuers & many mo who in all their troubles, either grudged againste God, forsoke hym, or spake wordes of despite against hym, and his prophetes, or els fell into dispaire, or in contempt of hym, any of which are causes of goddes further displeasure, and of sendyng of his greater plages to haist their destruccion, yet the order of the punyshmē tes of God (wherin he declareth his merciful nature) is to be obserued of vsus, which is, he plageth not cōmōly al offenders with one maner plages & in one tyme, although they be all a lyke gyltie, but he stryketh some sorer thē others, & begynneth in some one coūtre, or citie that ye residue mighte be moued by the example of their punishmentes and hauehave tyme, & place to turne to hym, who seketh not the death of a synner but hys amendement and lyfe, as it appeareth by the storye of Achab after his wyfe IesabelEzechie. 18. had caused Naboth to be put to death: howbeit where he threatneth3. Reg. 21. to punyshe the earth wyth some oneEzebie. 14. plague, as honger, noisome beastes, the sworde, or pestilence, he threateneth all. iiij. at once vponupon Ierusalem which bear the name of his people, but were disobediēt vntounto hym, whiche may worthely make vsus feare the more because we (the people of England) are in the lyke case: amonge whom he hath sent alreadye the deuourynge swerde, and a greate sort of slowe bellyed hote and cruel beastes to destroye. But let vsus follow the exāples of all good men: in doinge as the Lorde our God commaundehPsal. 50. vsus yet in these our plages whyche is, to turne to hym wyth all oure hartes, and call vponupon hym, it is he onelye that maye, can and wyll delyuer vsus: let yt vaine truste of mās helpe be forgotten, leaue of to seke swete water in filthy puddels, what comfort can the sycke mā hauehave of one that is moche sycker then hym selfe: and loketh for nothynge els but for death, let the noble men of England leaue inconstancie, luste, and couetousnes and turne to God a ryght, and let the people do the same, lyke as there is no man that feleth not, or feareth not, some great plague to come vpō him because of his synne, euen so let eueryevery mā repent, turne to God & cal for helpe betyme, for there hath bene no tyme sence the ascencion of our Lord Iesus Christ wherin there hath ben greater plages, then ther is now in oure tyme, for besyde bloody warre, soden death, great vntruth, opē periurie, diuision, straūge cō sumyng fyres, chaūge of great estates, & cōmon wealthes, ouerflowyng of great cities & lādes by water, honger, & pouertie without petie, so as it should appeare yt God causeth the very elementes to fyght agaynst the world: which somtyme he caused toExodi. 14. defend his people, he hath suffred al so yt trueth of his word & the true maner of worshipping of him accordig to the scriptures, to be cleane takē away as it was by Christ threatned to the Iewes in ye gospel of S. Math. & in token of his further indignatiō:Mathei. 21. the honger and thirst after hym and his kyngdome is takē from the most parte of ye whole realme, that it may be altogether voide of that good blessyng which Iesus Christ our Lorde speaketh of in ye gospel of S. Math. sayeng: Blessed are they which honger & thrust after ryghteousnes &c. Ho suffreth for thy vnthankfulnes (O Englande) false teachers to be a burthen vntounto thee, whiche yf thou doest receaue & allowe their doctrine be thou wel assured his great wrath cōmeth shortly after to thy distructiō this is the accustomed ordre of God when he is mynded to destroy. First he sendeth lyeng spirites in the mouthes of their prestes or prophetes which delyted in lyes: then suffred he them to be disceaued by the same, to their destruccion as he dyd wyth Achab. Be warned yet, by this and other suche good and true bokes, gentel reader so shal thou be sure to be kept in sauegarde in ye tyme of the plague to come, wherein yu shalt also fynde moche cōforte. It wil moue ye to styck fast to ye trueth of gods word, & to flee frō the wicked ydolatrie of the abhominable masse which doth no more saue thee frō hurte then dyd the painting of deuelysh Iesabel saue4. Reg. 9. her frō death when she was head long hurled out at a wyndow, at the cōmaundement of Iehu.