N20568:8015
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.
"THE Lord is the protector of my life. The just shall live by faith, and if he withdraw himself, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
MY faith is, that there is one God, which is without beginning, and without ending. This God created all things visible and invisible. And after that he had made both heaven and earth, with all other creatures, he made man, and set him in the place which he had prepared for him▪ which place he called Eden: he gave to Adam his commandments and precepts, and said, Whensoever thou dost the thing which I forbid, thou shalt surely die the death; yet did man for all this disobey God his creator, and after his sin he fled from God, and himself, and was in a miserable desper••• case. But God, seeing man in his miserable estate▪ because he and all his posterity should not conti••• in death, promised Adam that the woman's […] should break the serpent's head; whereby is meant, that the Son of God should become man, and destroy the devil, who by his subtle persuasions […] deceived Adam. Then did Adam, by faith, take hold of God's promise, and became the servant of righteousness, through the faith which he had i• the promise of the woman's seed. So did Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah, with faithful Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of the faithful until Christ's time: as St. Paul saith, "They did all eat one spiritual meat, and did all drink of one spiritual drink; they did drink of that spiritual rock that followed them, which rock was Christ that saveth us." And when the time was fully come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, that is, he took flesh of the virgin Mary, and became ma•; not the shadow of a man, nor a fantastical man, but a very natural man in all points, sin only excepted; which God and man is Christ the promised woman's seed. This Christ was here conversant among men for the space of thirty years and more, and when the time was come that he should go to his Father, he gave unto us the mystery of our redemption, that we through faith should ••t his body, and drink his blood, that we might feed on him through faith to the end of the world. After this Christ offered up his body on the cross to pacify his Father, and to de•• ver us from the thraldom of the devil, in which we were through sin original and actual. And with that one sacrifice of his body once offered on the cross, he hath made perfect for ever all them that are sanctified.
MY faith is, that there is one God, which is without beginning, and without ending. This God created all things visible and invisible. And after that he had made both heaven and earth, with all other creatures, he made man, and set him in the place which he had prepared for him▪ which place he called Eden: he gave to Adam his commandments and precepts, and said, Whensoever thou dost the thing which I forbid, thou shalt surely die the death; yet did man for all this disobey God his creator, and after his sin he fled from God, and himself, and was in a miserable desper••• case. But God, seeing man in his miserable estate▪ because he and all his posterity should not conti••• in death, promised Adam that the woman's 〈…〉 should break the serpent's head; whereby is meant, that the Son of God should become man, and destroy the devil, who by his subtle persuasions 〈…〉 deceived Adam. Then did Adam, by faith, take hold of God's promise, and became the servant of righteousness, through the faith which he had i• the promise of the woman's seed. So did Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah, with faithful Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of the faithful until Christ's time: as St. Paul saith, "They did all eat one spiritual meat, and did all drink of one spiritual drink; they did drink of that spiritual rock that followed them, which rock was Christ that saveth us." And when the time was fully come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, that is, he took flesh of the virgin Mary, and became ma•; not the shadow of a man, nor a fantastical man, but a very natural man in all points, sin only excepted; which God and man is Christ the promised woman's seed. This Christ was here conversant among men for the space of thirty years and more, and when the time was come that he should go to his Father, he gave unto us the mystery of our redemption, that we through faith should ••t his body, and drink his blood, that we might feed on him through faith to the end of the world. After this Christ offered up his body on the cross to pacify his Father, and to de•• ver us from the thraldom of the devil, in which we were through sin original and actual. And with that one sacrifice of his body once offered on the cross, he hath made perfect for ever all them that are sanctified.
He descended into hell, the third day he rose again from death, and was conversant at certain times with his disciples for the space of forty days after he rose from death. Then in the sight of all his disciples he ascended into heaven: and as his disciples stood looking upward, and beholding him how he went into heaven, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said; "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into ⟨p. 739⟩heaven? This Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come even as ye have seen him go into heaven."
ST. PETER also saith, that the heavens must receive him, until the time that all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of the prophets, since the world began, be restored again, which is the latter day, when he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I do believe in the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of God proceeding from the Father and the Son, which Holy Spirit is one God with them. I believe that there is an holy church, which is the company of the faithful and elect people of God, dispersed abroad throughout the whole world; which holy church or congregation doth not look for Christ here, nor Christ there, neither in the desert, nor in the secret places whereof Christ warneth us, but as St. Paul saith, in heaven, where he fitteth on the right hand of the Father; they set their affections on things that are above, and not on things that are on earth. And their life is hid with Christ in God: and when Christ who is their life, shall show himself, then shall they also appear with him in glory. I believe that there is a communion of saints, even the fellowship of the faithful people which are dispersed abroad throughout the whole world, and are of one mind: they follow Christ their head, they love one another, as Christ loved them, and are knit together in one, even in Christ; which church or congregation hath the forgiveness of sins through Christ, and shall enter without spot before the face of God into his glory. For as Christ being their head hath entered pure and clean, so they entering by him, shall be like him in glory. And I am certain and sure, that all they which do die, shall rise again and receive their bodies. In them shall they see Christ come in his glory to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall appear and give a reckoning of their doings: he shall separate the good from the bad; he shall say to them which are his elect, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning:" but to the others that have always resisted his will, he shall say, "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels."
ST. PETER also saith, that the heavens must receive him, until the time that all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of the prophets, since the world began, be restored again, which is the latter day, when he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I do believe in the Holy Ghost, which is the Spirit of God proceeding from the Father and the Son, which Holy Spirit is one God with them. I believe that there is an holy church, which is the company of the faithful and elect people of God, dispersed abroad throughout the whole world; which holy church or congregation doth not look for Christ here, nor Christ there, neither in the desert, nor in the secret places whereof Christ warneth us, but as St. Paul saith, in heaven, where he fitteth on the right hand of the Father; they set their affections on things that are above, and not on things that are on earth. And their life is hid with Christ in God: and when Christ who is their life, shall shew himself, then shall they also appear with him in glory. I believe that there is a communion of saints, even the fellowship of the faithful people which are dispersed abroad throughout the whole world, and are of one mind: they follow Christ their head, they love one anorher, as Christ loved them, and are knit together in one, even in Christ; which church or congregation hath the forgiveness of sins through Christ, and shall enter without spot before the face of God into his glory. For as Christ being their head hath entered pure and clean, so they entering by him, shall be like him in glory. And I am certain and sure, that all they which do die, shall rise again and receive their bodies. In them shall they see Christ come in his glory to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall appear and give a reckoning of their doings: he shall separate the good from the bad; he shall say to them which are his elect, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning:" but to the others that have always resisted his will, he shall say, "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels."
THUS have I briefly declared my faith, which were no faith at all if I doubted of it. This faith therefore I desire God to increase in me. Praise God for his gifts.
THUS have I briefly declared my faith, which were no faith at all if I doubted of it. This faith therefore I desiere God to increase in me. Praise God for his gifts.
AND thus have you the martyrdom, with the confession of the blessed man, and witness of the Lord's truth, who for that gave his life, as is before declared.
LIKEWISE Richard Hook, about the same time, and for the same matter, gave his life at Chichester.
MENTION was made a little before the story of Mr. Bland, and Nicholas Sheterden, of certain other Kentish-men, who being the same time with them called forth and examined by Thornton, bishop of Dover, Dr. Harpsfield, Richard Faucet, and Robert Collins: yet notwithstanding because the condemnation and execution of them was deferred a little longer, till the latter end of the month of August; coming therefore now to the time of suffering, we will briefly touch some part of their examinations and answers as we find them in the registers. The names of these were W. Coker, W. Hopper, H. Laurence, R. Collier, Richard Wright, and William Stir. What the articles objected to Mr. Bland and them were, you heard before. To which articles they severally answered for themselves in effect as followeth.
MENTION was made a little before the story of Mr. Bland, and Nicholas Sheterden, of certain other Kentish-men, who being the same time with them called forth and examined by Thornton, bishop of Dover, Dr. Harpsfield, Richard Faucet, and Robert Collins: yet notwithstanding because the condemnation and execution of them was deferred a little longer, till the latter end of the month of August; coming therefore now to the time of suffering, we will briefly touch some part of their examinations and answers as we find them in the registers. The names of these were W. Coker, W. Hopper, H. Laurence, R. Colliar, Richard Wright, and William Stere. What the articles objected to Mr. Bland and them were, you heard before. To which articles they severally answered for themselves in effect as followeth.
FIRST William Coker said, he would answer no otherwise than he had already answered; and being offered to have a longer respite of six days more, he refused to take it; and so upon the same, sentence of condemnation was read against him, the 11th of July.
FIRST William Coker said, he would answer no otherwise than he had already answered; and being offered to have a longer respite of six days more, he refused to take it; and so upon the same, sentence of condemnation was read against him, the 11th of Iuly.
WILLIAM HOPPER first seemed to grant to the faith and determination of the Roman church, but calling himself better to mind, constantly stuck to ⟨p. 740⟩the truth, and was condemned the next week after, the 16th of July.
HENRY LAURENCE, examined the said 16th of July, and partly deferred to the 2d of August, answered to the articles objected against him; first denying auricular confession, and that he neither had, nor would receive the sacrament, because, saith he, the order of the holy scriptures is changed in the order of the sacrament.
MOREOVER, the said Laurence was charged for not putting off his cap, when the suffragan made mention of the sacrament, and did no reverence to the same: the said Laurence answered in these words, What? you shall not need to put off your cap: for it is not so holy that you need to put off your cap thereunto.
FURTHER, being opposed concerning the verity of the sacrament given to Christ's disciples, he affirmed that even as Christ gave his very body to his disciples, and confessed it to be the same; so likewise Christ himself said, he was a door, &c. adding moreover, that as he had said before, so he saith still, that the sacrament of the altar is an idol, and no remembrance of Christ's passion, and contrary he knoweth not. At last being required to subscribe his answers, he wrote these words under the bill of their examinations, "You are all of Antichrist and him you fol—and here his hand was hindered from writing any further: belike he would have written out [follow], &c. And so upon the same, sentence was given against him the 2d of August.
RICHARD COLLIER, of Ashford above-mentioned, having the 16th of August to appear, examined of the sacrament of the popish altar, answered and said, that he did not believe, that after the consecration there is the real and substantial body of Christ, but only bread and wine, and that it is most abominable, most detestable, and most wicked to believe otherwise, &c. Upon this, sentence was read against him, and he condemned the 16th of August. After his condemnation he sung a psalm. Wherefore the priests and their officers railed at him, saying he was out of his wits.
RICHARD COLLIAR, of Ashford above-mentioned, having the 16th of August to appear, examined of the sacrament of the popish altar, answered and said, that he did not believe, that after the consecration there is the real and substantial body of Christ, but only bread and wine, and that it is most abominable, most detestable, and most wicked to believe otherwise, &c. Upon this, sentence was read against him, and he condemned the 16th of August. After his condemnation he sung a psalm. Wherefore the priests and their officers railed at him, saying he was out of his wits.
