A Comfortable Epistle to Gods Faithful People in England, Chapter 11 – Chapter 12
¶ The. xi. Chapter.
MOreouer / in the Actes of the Ap… stles Acto. 12.we rede / that after king Herode had kylled Iames / the brother off Ihon with the swearde / he layde hande on Peter / and put him in pryson / committing him to foure quaternions of souldiours to be kept / & entendinge after Easter to bringe him forth to the people / and so to kyll him. But prayer was made without ceasing of the congregacion to God for him. Here Peter was apprehended / caste into pryson / bounde with chaynes / warders appointed to kepe him / & all thinges so handled / that he should by no meanes escape / but all tymes be redy at the firste call to be broughte forth vntounto death. Peter loked continually for present deathe. Herode and the Iewes perswaded them selfs to be sure of Peter to kyll him at their pleasur / as though thei had slaine him all redy. But beholde the mightye power of God / whiche fyndeth a meanes to deliuer his seruaūtes / whan reason seeth no way to escape. The night before that Peter should be brought forth to death / there was a very diligente watche / because they wolde be sure of him. Peter him self was bounde with twoo chaynes. Two souldiours also kepte him in the pryson / one on the one side of him / and another on the other syde. Besydes this / there were kepers set before the dore to kepe the prysō. All thinges were as sure as might be. Peter was paste all hope of deliueraunce. He committed the matter vntounto God / & gaue him self to reste / loking the next daye after to hauehave bene slayne. And whyle Peter was Note vve… & despaire no….a slepe / and had geuē ouer the matter / God wrought / and sent his aungell into pryson vntounto Peter / which wonderfully broughte him out of pryson / and deliuered him from all daunger. Rede the chapter. O the almighty power of the Lord our God / in the deliueraunce of his seruauntes. If God de termineth too saue alyue / who is able too put to death? Here se we the sayeng of oure Math. 1…Sauiour Christ to be true / that all the hay res of oure head are numbred / and that not …ne of them shall perishe without the good will of our heauenly father. Here is that verified / which is spokē by the Psalmogra Psal. 34.phe / the aungel of the Lord py…cheth his tēt rounde about them / that feare him / & deliuereth them. Great are the troubles of the righteous / but the Lord deliuereth thē out of all. He kepeth all theyr bones / so that not one of them shal be brokē. The Lord deliue reth the soules of his seruaūtes / & all they that put their trust in him / shall not be forsaken. The tyrauntes of this worlde maye threaten / persecute / empryson / chayn / locke / Not….beate / buffet / &c. But the lyfe of a Christen man can they not take awaye before the tyme commeth / that God hath appoynted. If the deuitles coulde not enter intoo the swyne / and so droune them / before Christ Math. 8.gaue them leaue / much les can the lymmes of the deuyll kyll any faythfull man / before God geueth them lycence. What coulde sathan do to Iob / before God gaue hym libertie to plague hym? and yet coulde he exercyse Iob. 1. 2.hys cruelnes agaynste Iob / no further thā he was appoynted of God. Saul persecuted Dauid / purposynge cruelly too kyll hym / but Dauid escaped hys handes. That wicked quene Iesabell threatned and 1. Reg. 19 3. Reg. 19sware too slea the prophete Helias / but the Lorde preserued hym / and she afterwarde was moste miserably slayne. The Godly woman Susanne / thorow false accusatiōs of the two wicked Iudges / was at the point Dan. 13.to be stoned vntounto death / but God wonderfully deliuered her from the handes of her enemies. Esau burned with an immortall hatred agaynste hys brother Iacob / because Gen. 33.of the blessynge / wherewyth hys father had blessed hym / and purposed fully to kyll hys brother. But Iacob prayed to the Lord / and so mollifyed Esaus harte / in so muche that when Iacob thought / that both he and hys shoulde hauehave bene slayne / hys brother Esau came gentilly vntounto hym / louingelye embrased hym / kyssed hym frendly / and for very ioye wepte: so myghty is God to mollefye tyrauntes hartes / whan it pleaseth hym / and to make them gracious and fauorable too hys seruauntes. Howe ofte rede we in the historye of the Gospell / that the Iewes wente aboute too kyll Christe / and yet layde they no hande on hym. The Euangeliste sheweth the cause / sayenge: For Ioan. 7.hys houre was not yet come. But whan the tyme came that God hadde appoynted from euerlastynge / than preuayled the wycked agaynste the manhoode of Christe / layde hande on hym / bounde hym / and fynally putte hym too death / as Christ sayde vntounto them: Ye become out as vntounto a thefe Luce. 22.wyth sweardes and staues. Whan I was bayly with you in the Temple / ye stretched forthe no hande agaynste me. But thys is euen youre houre / and the power of darkenesse. Certayne of the Phariseis sayde vntounto Christe / Get the out of the waye / and Luc. 13.depart hēce. For Herode wil kil the. Crist aū swēred / Go tel the foxe / behold / I cast out deuels / & heal the people to dai & to morow & the. iij. day I make an ende. For it can not be / that the Prophet perish any other wher then at Ierusalē. Here se we both the tyme & the place apoīted / where Crist shuld dye. Euen so goeth it with the faithful. Where No….& whā God appointeth / the membres off Christ likewise shall dye. For it lygheth in no tyrauntes power to take awaye the lyfe of the faythfull / tyll God appointeth bothe the tyme & place / as Christ sayde vntounto Pylate / Thou couldest hauehave no power at all against Ioan. 19.me / excepte it were geuen the frome aboue. God alone hath the keyes of death & Apoc. 1hell. Rede we not in the Actes of the Apostles / that certayn men / about the number of. xl. conspyred Paules death / and made a Acto. 23.vowe / that they wold neither eate nor drink tyll they had kylled Paule? Yet for all their solēne vowe they were deceaued. For God deliuered Paule out of their hādes. Could …sau hurt Iacob / the sea hynder the Israe lites / the whale destroye Ionas / the fyre cō sume Gene. 33. Exod. 14 Ionas. 2. Dan. 3. 6 act. 12. 28the. iij. ionge men / the Lyons deuour Daniel / the falsse Iudges slea Susanna / Herode kyll Peter / the venomous adder destroye Paule at Milete? Nothinge les. God hath the deuell / the worlde / the fleshe and all thynges that are in hys power / and ruleth them all at hys pleasure. Loke how farre he suffer thē to go and to do / so farre go they and do they / and no further / seme they to rage neuer so muche / as Dauid witnesseth / the Lord hath geuen a commaunde Psal. 148.ment / and none shall go beyonde it. Fyre / hayle / snowe / yse / & vaporous stormy wyndes accōplish hys worde. Agayne / thou hast Psal. 118.limited the waters theyr boundes / whyche they maye not passe. God gaue vsus oure Note.lyfe / no man therefore can take it awaye withoute hys appoyntemente. We are Gods people / he therefore will defende vsus from all euell. We are the workemanshyppe of Gods handes / no man therefore shall destroye vsus / (I speake of oure bodyes) withoute hys fatherly prouidence. We are shepe of Gods pasture / no wolfs therfore shall deuoure vsus / but at hys appoyntetement. The Aungels of God hauehave chardge Psal. 34ouer vsus / they pytche their tentes rounde aboute vsus / and watche continually for the saffegarde and defence of vsus / what thā can miserable man do agaynste vsus / be he Emperoure / Kynge / Pope / Bishop / or any other tyraunte? If the deuell / the Lyons / the sea / the fyre / the wyndes / the serpentes / &c. can do no harme to the faythfull without bothe the sufferaunce and determination of God / let vsus not feare the worldlye tyraūtes / although neuer so mighty / fearce and cruel / whyche are nothyng els but vyle fleshe / earth / asthes / duste and dong / whose tyranny is lyke too a staffe of rede / whose imaginacions / counsayles and deuyses are vayne / folyshe and of none effect / whan the Lorde God take the parte agaynste them / & whose glorie was the floure of the felde. For they shall do no more against the ellecte and chosen people of God / than God both suffereth and appoynteth. Whan Pylate sitting in iudgement / sayde to our sauiour Christ / knoweth thou not / that I hauehave power Ioan. 19to crucifye the / and hauehave power to deliuer the? Christ aunswered / thou couldest hauehave no power at all agaynst me / excepte it were geuen the from aboue. Euen so maye we saye of the worldly tyrauntes: Thei shal hauehave no power at all against vsus / except it be geuen them from aboue. And the holy apostles in their prayer vntounto God / sayde / that whatsoeuer Herode and Pontius Pilate / with the Gentiles and people of Israel did Act. 4.against Christe / they did nothinge / but that the hande and the counsayl of God had determined before to be done. No more shall the tyrauntes of this worlde do any thynge agaynste vsus / but that / whiche God before hath determined to be done frō euerlasting. Of this historie of Peter therfore may we learn two notable thinges. Fyrst that God than moste chiefly helpeth / whan thinges be brought to greatest extremities. Secōdly that the tyrauntes of this worlde can not take away a Christen mans lyfe / nor yet do any more agaynste hym / than the good wil / pleasure / determinaciō & appointement off God is / in whose hande alone / as the wyse Eccle. 11man sayeth / is bothe prosperite & aduersite / lyfe & death.
¶ The. xij. Chapter.
SEyng / whan that we are taughte by so many credible histories that God dothe at all tymes helpe / but chiefly whā thinges be broughte vntounto an extremitie / agayne that no man can take away the lyfe of any faythfull man / tyll God apoynteth: let vsus not doubte / but that God will bothe heare oure prayers / and helpe vsus also / and deliuer vsus / althoughe for a season he semeth to differre hys helpe / and to leaue vsus in the bryers. He is the father of mercye / and God 2. Cor. 1. Esa. 39of all consolacion. Hys hāde is not so shortened / but that he is able too helpe / neither is hys eare so stopped / but that he both can and will heare vsus. God is faytheful / saieth 1. Cor. 10the Apostle / whiche will not suffer you too be tempted aboue your strengthe / but shall in the middes of the temptacion / make a waye / that ye maye be able to beare it. Let vsus not therefore despayre / though presente helpe commeth not from God at the fyrste callynge / but rather go for the to praye vntounto God / after the example of the Cananite / and not to be weary / tyll we hauehave obtayobtayned Math. 15.our request of the Lord our God / folowyng the counsayll of the Psalmographe / whych sayeth: O tarrye thou the Lordes leasure / be strong / take a good hart vntounto Psal. 31.the / and paciently abyde the pleasure of the Lorde. In silence and hope / sayeth the Prophet Esaye / shall be youre strengthe. Here to pertayneth the sayeng of Ieremy / It is Esa. 30. Lamē. 3.good wyth silence too abyde the sauynge health of the Lorde. If we on this manner behaue our selfs toward the Lord our god / we shal without fayle shortely beholde the wonderfull workes of God. We shal se the doune falle of oure enemies with all theyr tyranny / papistrie / Idolatrie / supersticion / ceremonies / masses / decrees / counsaylles / customes / &c. We shall se the glorious Gospel of our Sauiour Christ spring agayne / growe / encreace / prosper / florish and tryum phe. We shall se God truly honored / not after the fonde fantasye of men / but accordinge to hys blessed will and commaundement. We shall se Antichrist / that sonne of 2 Thes. 2perdiciō slayne wyth the breath of the Lordes mouth / and sathan troden vnderunder oure fete. God graunte it maye be shortely.
Amen.