A Double Summons to Repentance and Worthy Receiving the Lords Supper, Preface
To the Chriſtian READER, Thomas Samſon wiſheth the felicity of ſpeedy and full conuerſion to the LORD.
GOdly Learned men doe write & publiſh bookes, to profit ye age in which they liue, and the poſterity. This deſire was in the Authour of this Treatiſe, M. Iohn Bradford, who preached & publiſhed this Sermon of Repentance. And now that we, which do liue after him, and are the poſterity, may take as much or more profit by it, then they did for whom it was firſt preached & publiſhed it is by new imprinting publiſhed againe. Nothing is added to this Sermon, or altered in it: only to the Sermon of Repentance is added another Sermon of the Lords Supper, which he alſo made, and was neuer printed before. And aptly are they ioined together. For in peruſing of the laſt, thou ſhalt ſee how neceſſarily he draweth the doctrine of Repentance to them al, which do with due preparation receiue the holy Sacrament of Chriſt. They are counted the moſt profitable Teachers, which hauehave good experience by practiſe in themſelues, of that which they doe teach to others: ſuch as may ſafely ſay; Brethren, be ye followers of me, & look on them which walke ſo, as ye hauehave vsus for an example, Phil. 3.17. And ſurely, ſuch a patterne was M. Bradford in his life time, of this doctrine of Repentance: for I knew him familiarly, and muſt needes giuegive to God this prayſe for him, that (among men) I hauehave ſcarce knowne one like vntounto him. I did know when, and partly how it pleaſed God, by effectuall calling to turne his heart vntounto the true knowledge, and obedience of the moſt holy Goſpell of Chriſt our Sauiour. Of which God did giuegive him ſuch an heauenly hold and liuely feeling, that as he did then know, that many ſinnes were forgiuen him, ſo ſurely hee declared by deeds that he loued much. For where he had doth giftes and calling, to hauehave employed himſelfe in ciuill and worldly affaires profitably; ſuch was his louelove of Chriſt, and zeale to the promoting of his glorious Goſpel, that after that God had touched his heart, he changed, not onelyonly the courſe of his former life, as the woman did, Luke 7. but euen his profeſſion and former ſtudy, as Paul did.
Touching the firſt, hee preſently ſold his Chaynes, Rings, Brooches, & Iewels of gold, which before he vſed to weare, and did beſtow the price of this his former vanity, in the neceſſary reliefe of Chriſts poore members, which he could heare of, or finde lying ſicke, or pining in pouerty. Touching ye ſecond, the change of his ſtudy; and being in the inner Temple in London, at the ſtudy of the common Lawes, hee went to Cambridge to ſtudy Diuinity, where he heard D. Martin Bucer diligently, and was right familiar and deare vntounto him. In this godly courſe he did (by Gods bleſſing) ſo profit, that that bleſſed Martir, D. Ridley, then B. of London, did, as it were, inuite him and his godly companion, M. Tho. Horton, to become fellows of Penbrooke Hall in Cambridge: And afterwards, the ſaid D. Ridley called our Bradford to London, gaue him a Prebend in Pauls Church, lodged him in his owne houſe there, and ſet him on worke in preaching. And beſides, often preaching at Pauls Croſſe, and els where in London, and ſundry places in the country, and ſpecially in Lancaſhire, *His natiue country (for he was borne at Mancheſter.)he preached before K. Edward the ſirt, in Lent, the laſt yeare of his reigne, vponupon the 2. Pſalm: and there in one Sermon, ſhewing the tokens of Gods iudgement at hand, for the contempt of the Goſpel, as yt certain Gentlemen, vponupon the Sabboth day, going in a Whirry to Paris Garden, to the Bearebaiting were drowned: and that a dogge was met at Ludgate, carying a piece of dead child in his mouth: he with a mighty and Propheticall ſpirit ſayd. I ſummon you all, euen eueryevery mothers child of you, to the iudgement of God, for it is at hand; as it followed ſhortly after, in the death of K. Edward. In which ſtate and labour of preaching he continued, till the cruelty of the Papiſts cut him off; as the hiſtory of his life and death (compiled by that faithfull ſeruant of the Lord Ieſus, M. Iohn Foxe) ſheweth.
In all ſtops and ſtayes, in his laborious calling, he was much helped forward by a continuall meditation, and practiſe of repentance & faith in Chriſt; in which he was kept by Gods grace, notably exerciſed all the dayes of his life. Euen in this meane time hee heard a Sermon, which that notable Preacher, M. Latimer made before K. Edward the 6. in which bee did earneſtly ſpeake of reſtitution to bee made of things falſly gotten: which did ſo ſtrike Bradford to the heart, for one daſh of a pen which hee had made, without the knowledge of his maſter (as full often I hauehave heard him confeſſe with plenty of teares) being Clarke to the Treaſurer of the Kings Campe beyond the Seas, and was to the deceiuing of the King, that he could neuer be quiet, till by the aduice of the ſame M. Latimer, a reſtitution was made. Which things to bring to paſſe, hee did willingly forbeare and forgoe all the priuate & certaine Patrimony which he had in earth. Let all bribers and poling Officers learne their leſſon here.
But beſides this, our Bradford had his daily exerciſes and practiſes of repentance. His maner was, to make to himſelfe a Catalogue of all the groſeſt & moſt enorme ſinnes, which in his life of ignorance he had committed, & to lay the ſame before his eyes when he went to priuate praier, that by the ſight & remembrance of them, the better to ſtir him vp to offer to God the ſacrifice of a contrite heart, and to pray for pardon and the increaſe of grace, to the deteſtation of ſin, and louelove of obeying the good will of God.
His manner was this: Hee vſed in the morning to go to the Common prayer in the Colledge where hee was, and after that, hee vſed to make ſome prayer with his Pupils in his Chamber. But not content with this, he then repaired to his own ſecret praier, by himſelf, as one that had not yet praied to his own mind: for he was wont to ſay to his familiars, I hauehave prayed with my ſelfe. Let ſecure men mark this, which pray without touch of breſt, as the Phariſe did; and ſo that they hauehave ſayd an ordinary prayer, or heare a common courſe of prayer, without any thing els, they thinke they hauehave prayed wel, and as the terme is, they hauehave ſerued God wel. Let vsus learne by Bradfords example, to pray better, that is, with the heart, and not with the lips alone, Quia Deus non vocis, ſed cordis auditor eſt, as Cyprian ſayth: that is, Becauſe God is the hearer of the heart, and not of the voice: that is to ſay, not of the voice alone without the heart, for that is but lip-labour. This conſcience of ſin, and exerciſe in prayer had Bradford, cleane contrary to that curſed cuſtome of thoſe graceleſſe men, which doe ioy to make large accounts of their lewdneſſe, and do glory therein; ſo feeding their delights with their liues paſſed, as the dogge returneth to ſmell of his caſt gorge, and the horſe to his dung; ſuch as the Prophet, Eſay 39. ſaith: They declare their ſinnes as Sodome, they hide them not, woe be to their ſoules.
Another of his exerciſes was his: He vſed to make vntounto himſelfe an Ephemeris, or a Iournall, in which he vſed to write all ſuch notable things, as either he did ſee or heare, each day that paſſed. But whatſoeuer he did heare or ſee, he did ſo pen it, that a man might ſee in that booke, the ſignes of his ſmitten heart. For, if hee did heare or ſee any good in any man, by that he found and noted the want thereof in himſelfe, and added a ſhort prayer, crauing mercy, and grace to amend. If hee did heare or ſee any plague or miſery, hee noted it as a thing procured by his owne ſinnes, and ſtill added, Domine, miſerere mei, Lord, hauehave mercy vponupon me. He vſed in the ſame booke to note ſuch euill thoughts as did riſe in him; as of enuying the good of other men, thoughts of vnthankfulneſſe, of not confidering God in his workes, of hardnes of heart, when he did ſee other moued and affected. And thus he made to himſelfe, and of himſelfe, a booke of daily practiſes of repentance.
Beſides this, they which familiarly kept company with him, might ſee how he vſed to fall often into a ſudden and deepe meditation, in which hee would ſit with fixed countenance and ſpirit moued, yet ſpeaking nothing a good ſpace. And ſometimes in this ſilent ſitting, plēty of tears ſhould trickle downe his cheeks, Sometime he would ſit in it, and come out of it with a ſmiling countenance. Oftentimes hauehave I ſate at dinner and ſupper with him, in the houſe of that godly harbourer of many Preachers and ſeruants of the Lord Ieſus, I meane M. Elſyng, when either by occaſion of talke had, or of ſome view of Gods benefits preſent, or ſome inward cogitation and thought of his owne, he hath fallen into theſe deepe cogitations, and afterward he would tell me of them, that I did perceiue, that ſomtimes his teares trickled out of his eyes, as well for ioy, as for ſorrow. Neither was hee onelyonly ſuch a practiſer of repentance in himſelfe, but a continuall prouoker of others thereunto, not onelyonly in publike preaching, but alſo in priuate conference and company: for in all companies where he came, hee would freely reproue any ſin and miſbehauiour which appeared in any perſon; eſpecially ſwearers, filthy talkers, and popiſh praters: and this hee did with ſuch a diuine grace and chriſtian maieſtie, that euer he ſtopped the mouthes of the gaine-ſayers: for be ſpake with power; and yet ſo ſweetly, that they might ſee their euill to be euill, and vnderſtand that it was good indeede, to the which hee laboured to draw them in God.
To be ſhort, as his life was, ſuch was his death: for at his death, as the Hiſtory witneſſeth, when the flames of fire did fly about his eares in Smithfield, his laſt ſpeech, publikely noted & heard was this, Repent England. Thus was our Bradford a Preacher, and an example of that repentance which he preached: As Ionas preached to Niniue (and yet doth) hee preach repentance; and ſurely England hath now much more cauſe to repent, then it had when Bradford liued: for all ſtates and ſorts of perſons in England, are now more corrupt, then they were then.
Let therefore now Bradfords Sermon, his life, his death, moue thee, O England, to repent; I wiſh and warne, that duplicate page duplicate page as in Niniue, ſo in England, all from the higheſt to the loweſt, doe vnfainedly repent. The Court, the Church, the Citie, the Countrey, Princes, Prelates and people: let all and eueryevery one repent, and depart from that euill which he hath in hand, and turne wholly to the Lord. And I do humbly beſeech thy Maieſty (O glorious Lord Ieſus) to worke now by thy Spirit in our hearts, the ſame ſound repentance, which thy holineſſe did firſt preach to men, when thou ſaydeſt: Repent, for the Kingdome of God is at hand. This worke in vsus, O gracious God our Sauiour. AMEN.