N20568:11541
The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being…
The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of martyrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of marytrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].
New-York: printed by William Durell, 1794
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
ON the incomparable good things, and heavenly treasures laid up for us in heaven by Jesus Christ; for the obtaining whereof, we ought to set light by all temporal grief and transitory afflictions, so much the more, in that our God is faithful, and will not suffer us to be tempted above our strength, and that namely in the end of our life, when the tree where it falleth lieth still, as the preacher saith, Eccles. xi. for else before the end he suffereth his sometimes to fall, but not finally to perish: as Peter sinked upon the sea, but yet was not drowned▪ and sinned grievously upon the land through infirmity denying his master, but yet found mercy: for the righteous ⟨p. 141⟩falleth often times. And Christ's holy apostles are taught to say, Forgive us our trespasses. Yea though the righteous fall, saith David, he shall not be cast away, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. On the bottomless mercy of God towards us miserable sinners! May he vouchsafe to plant in my heart true repentance and faith, to the obtaining of the remission of all my sins in the mercies of God, and merits of Christ his Son, and thereto I pray you say, Amen.
O my dearly beloved, it grieveth me to see the spoil and havoc that Saul maketh with the congregation of Christ: but what remedy? This is God's will and ordinance, that his people shall here both be punished in the flesh, and tried in their faith: as it is written, "Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of all;" for by a strait path and narrow door must we enter. Whither? Into the joyful kingdom of heaven: therefore blessed are you and others that suffer persecution for Christ's sake, for the profession of the same. Pray for me and my fellows, good brother, that we may fight a good fight, that we may keep the faith, and end our course with joyful gladness, for now the time of our deliverance is at hand. The Lord guide, defend, and keep us and you, and all his people in our journey, that we may safely through' a short death pass to that long lasting life.