Acts and Monuments Volume 2 Part 2, Book 11 · Account 39 · Letter 7 – Letter 8
¶To my deare and faythfull brother, William Tymmes, prisoner in Newgate.
THe euerlasting peace of God in Iesus Christ,An other letter of Iohn Careles priuately written to his b…dfellow W. Tyms. with the continuall ioy, comfort & strength of his sweete spirite be multiplied, and dayly more and more encreased in your good hart (my most faithfull and deare brother Tymmes) to the full quieting of your conscience, and beating backe of all the fiery dartes of the wicked, that you may shortlye receaue the glorious crowne of victorye, and in the same triumph ouer all your enemies for euermore. Amen.
I cannot expresse the exceeding great ioy and consolation of my poore hart, considering the marueilous works of God most graciously wrought vppon you, not onelyonly in prouing you and trying your fayth by his great and huge crosses both inwardly and outwardlye, but also in geuing you so great consolation & constancie in the middes of the same. Faithfull is God & true of his promises,Gods children neuer tempted aboue their strength. who hathe sayd: That he wil neuer suffer his chosen children to be tempted aboue theyr strength, but in the middes of their temptation will make an outscape for them, by such meanes as maye make to his glory & their euerlasting consolation. My deare heart great cause hauehave you to be of good cōfort, for I see in you as liuely a token of Gods euerlasting louelove and fauoure in Iesus Christ, as euer I perceiued in any man. In respect wherof I do euen with my hart, louelove, honor, & reuerence you, beseeching God for his glorious names sake in the bowels & bloud of our Lord & onelyonly sauiour Iesus Christ to finish his good worke in you,He confirmeth W. Tyms being condemned to the day of his Martyrdome. as I doubt not but he wil do, according to his infallible promises: yea I am well assured therof, for asmuch as you hauehave so effectually receiued his holy spirit into your hart, as a pledge and sure seale of your eternall redemption, & a testimony of your adoption in Christ Iesu. For which cause Satan so sore enuieth you that he hath nowe bent all his fierce Ordinaunce againste you, thinking thereby vtterly to destroy ye inuincible fort of you fayth founded moste firmely vponupon the vnmoueable rocke Christ, against the whiche, the deuill, sinne, nor yet hell gates shall neuer preuaile. Selah.
Therefore mine own bowels in the Lorde, be not discōforted for this your conflict, which doubtlesse shal greatly encrease your crowne of glory, triumphe, and victorye:It is the nature of Gods children to be tempted. Math. 4. but take a good hart vntounto you, and buckle boldly wt Sathan both in himselfe and his subtle members. It is the very Diuine ordinaunce of God, that all his regenerate children shall be tempted, proued, and tryed, as we see by the example of our sauiour Christe, who as soone as hee was baptised, was strayt wayes led of the holy Ghost into the wildernes, there to bee tempted of the Deuill. But there got he such a glorious victory of Satan, yt hee coulde neuer since finally preuaile against any of his poore members, but in eueryevery assault yt hee maketh either inwardly or outwardly he getteth a foyle and taketh shame: so yt nowe hee rageth with all the spite possible, speciallye because hee knoweth his time is but short.Sathans tempting tooles. 2. Cor. 2. S. Iames testifieth that he is but a very coward, that will soone flee, if he be faithfully resisted. And as for his tempting tooles, the Lord hathe made them manifest vntounto vsus, so that he cannot deceiue vsus though he assault vsus: for as S. Paule sayth: His very thoughtes are not vnknowne to vsus, as it doth in you largelye appeare, praysed be the Lordes name therfore.
You see, deare brother,Two principal pellet… of Sathan whereby he assaulteth Gods seruauntes. 1. Feare of sinne and death, and inf…delity of Gods …. that now to molest you & suche as you are, that be euen passing from this vale of misery, he hath but two wayes, or two peeces of Ordinaunce to shoote at you, with the which he cannot hurt you, because you hauehave two Bulwarkes to defend you. The first of these terrible Gunnes that Satan hath shot at you, is the very same that he continually shooteth at me, that is to say, fear and infidelity: for the vglesomnes of death, and horrour of my sinnes, whiche be so many, greeuous, and great. But this pellet is easily put away with the surer shield of faith in the most precious death and bloudshedding of our dear Lord and onelyonly Sauiour Iesus Christ,Remedy agaynst feare and infide…tye. whome the father hath geuen vntounto vsus wholy to be ours for euermore, and with him hath geuen vsus all things, as Paule saith: so yt though we be neuer so great sinners, yet Christ is made vntounto vsus holines,Anno 1556. Iuly. righteousnes, and iustificatiō. He hath clothed vsus with all his merites, mercies, and most sweete sufferinges & hath taken vntounto him all our miserie, wretchednes, sinne and infirmitie. So that if any should nowe be condemned for the same, it must needes be Iesus Christ, whiche hath taken them vponupon him. But in deede hee hath made satisfactiō for them to the vttermost iote: so that for his sake they shall neuer be imputed to vsus, if they were a thousād times so many moe as they be. This doe you moste effectuously feele and know, deare brother, a great deale better then I can tell you, blessed be God therfore.
And now Satan, seeing that he cannot preuayle wyth his boysterous battery agaynst this Bulwarke of faythe, which doth so quench all his fiery dartes, that they can doe you no harme, but rather do you good seruice to caste you downe vnderunder the mighty hand of God,The second …. that hee may take you vpp by his onelyonly grace and power, and so you maye render him all the glory by Iesus Christ, (whiche thinge the enimie cannot abide in no wise) therefore hee shooteth of his other Peece most pestilent, to prouoke you to put some part of your trust and confidence in your selfe, and in your own holines and righteousnes, that you might that way …ob God of his glory, Christe of his honour and dignitie of his death. But blessed be the Lorde God, you hauehave also a full strong Bulwarke to beat backe this pestiferous peller also,Remedy agaynst the … Peller. euen the pure law of God, whiche prooueth the best of vsus all damnable sinners in the sight of God, if he would enter into iudgement with vsus, according to the seueritie of the same, and that euen our best works are polluted and defiled in such sort,E…ay. 64. as the prophet describeth thē. With which maner of speaking, our free wil Phariseis are much offended: for it felleth all mans righteousnes to the ground, (I had like to hauehave sayd, to the bottome of hell) & extolleth onelyonly the righteousnesse of Iesus Christ, whiche is allowed before God, and is freely geuen to al those that firmely beleue, as blessed be God you doe.
Ah my good brother Tymmes, Sathan hath put hys hand in a wrong boxe when he beginneth to tempte you, either to vayne glory or mistrust: for you are an old beaten souldier, and hauehave had good experience of these manner of temptations,… both by your selfe and other, whome you know well were the beloued of God. Bee of good cheare therefore, deare hart, be of good cheare, for now Satā hath wrought all his malice, he hath done all that hee can, and hath shot of all his last Peeces, wherwith he had thought to hauehave done most mischiefe: but now he seeth hee cannot preuaile (the strong tower of your fayth being so inuincible) he will plucke vp all his tentes, and get him to some other place to practise the like assaultes: and then will the Aungels of God come and minister vntounto you the moste sweete & heauenly consolations of ye holy Ghost. To hym therefore who is able to do exceeding aboundantly aboue all that euer we can desire or thinke, I do most hartily cō mit you, with all the reste of youre godly prison fellowes, who comfort, strengthen, and defend you with his grace & mighty operation of his holye spirit, as hee hath hitherto done, that you hauing a most glorious victory ouer ye subtle serpent and all his wicked seede, may also receaue the crowne of glory and immortalitie prepared for you before the foundations of the world were layde, and is so surelye kept for you in the handes of him whose promise is vnfallible, that the Deuill, sinne, death, or hell, shall neuer be able to depriue you of the same. The blessing of God bee wt you now & for euermore. Amen. Pray, pray, pray for me.
Your owne for euer Iohn Careles.
*To my good sister. M.C.
THe peace of God in Iesus Christ, the eternal comforts of his sweete spirite,An other … of Iohn Care… to M. Co…ton a faythfull … and fauourer of the Gospel. be with you my deare and faithful sister, to the ful accomplishment of that good worke which hee hath most graciously begon in you, that the same may be effectuall to the setting forth of his glory, and to your euerlasting consolation in him. Amen.
My louing and faythful Sister in the Lord, I thanke you for all your louing kindnes shewed vntounto me in youre feruent and faithfull prayers, and for your most godly and comfortable letter, wherby you do not only much encrease my ioy and comfort, but also put me in remembraunce of my duetie towardes you.
Blessed be the Lord our God, which of his great merhath so beautified his Church in these our dayes, that euen vntounto many godly women hee hathe geuen most excellent giftes of knowledge and vnderstanding of his truth,Gods great … in …. so yt they are not onelyonly well able to enforme their owne consciences in all thinges necessarye to saluation, but also moste sweetly to comfort their sorrowfull brethren & sisters that susteine any trouble for the testimony of Gods trueth, yea & that which is more, euen in the middest of their great cō flictes of conscience. Of which most happy number of godly and vertuous women, my deare hart, you are one, and that of the chiefest, being plentifully endued with the gifts of Gods most gracious spirite, as it doth full wel appeare in your dayly doinges. God onelyonly hauehave the prayse therefore.
For asmuch then as God hath geuen you ye gift to write I shall moste hartily desire you to let me heare from you sometimes, be it neuer so little,Note how God sometyme geueth comfort by weaker vessels. for truely I take great cō fort and courage thereby, specially in my poore conscience, whiche is sore assaulted of subtile Satan, and in a manner oppressed of my sinnes. Pray, deare sister, yt GOD may geue me true, hartie, and earnest repentaunce, & increase my fayth, for they are bothe the good giftes of God onelyonly, and farre passe the reache of my power, to take at my pleasure.
Therfore deare sister, if you wil helpe me to begge the same of our deare louing father, I am sure that he both cā and will geue them in his good time.Iohn Careles nothing touched with feare of death, or of the fire, but onelyonly of his sinnes. As for the feare of death or terrour of the fire, I most hartily thanke my good God, I feele it not: onelyonly it is mine owne sinnes and vnthankfulnes, which holdeth hard battayle, & wageth strōg warre against me, which onelyonly goeth about to separate me from my good captayne Christ, that I shoulde not enioye his glorious victory: but God being on my side, (as I am sure hee is) that cannot continually preuayle agaynst me. Though God for a time permitte Satan to take his pleasure on me, as he did vponupon Iob, yet I doubt not but in the end all shall turne to my profite, through the merites of our Lord & sauiour Iesus Christ: to whose most mercifull defence, I commit you, deare Sister, with al the rest of the Lordes elect. Farewell in Christ.
Yours vnfaynedly, Iohn Careles, Pray, pray, pray, pray.