N20568:9515
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.
AND yet they that did this persecution, should think that they did well, and a great pleasure to God. And the apostles remembering this lesson of our Saviour Christ, were content to suffer such persecutions, as you may read in the Acts of the apostles, and the epistles. But we never read that they ever persecuted any man. The holy apostle St. Paul saith, That every man that will live godly in Christ Jesus, should suffer persecution. And also he saith further, in the epistle •o the Philippians, •• the first chapter, That it is not only given to you to believe in the Lord, but also to suffer, p••secution for his sake.
WHEREFORE take this for a sure conclusion, that ⟨p. 872⟩there where the word of God is truly preached, there is persecution, as well of the hearers, as of the teachers: and where is quietness and rest in worldly pleasures, there is not the truth. For the world loveth all that are contrary to it. And, to be short, St. Paul calleth the gospel, the word of the cross, that word of punishment. And the holy scripture doth promise nothing to the favourers and followers of it in this world, but trouble, vexation, and persecution, which these worldly men cannot suffer, nor away withal.
THEREFORE pleaseth it your good grace, to return to this golden rule of our master and only Saviour Jesus Christ, which is this, By their fruits you shall know them. For where you see persecution, there is the gospel, and there is the truth: and they that persecute, be void without all truth; not caring for the clear light, which (as our Saviour Jesus Christ saith, in the third chapter of St. John's gospel) is come into the world, and which shall utter and show forth every man's works. And they whose works be nought, dare not come to this light, but go about to stop and hinder it, endeavouring to prevent, as much as possible, the reading of the holy scriptures in our mother tongue, saying, that it would cause heresy and insurrection, and so they persuade, at least they would fain persuade your grace to keep it back. But here mark their shameless boldness, who be not ashamed contrary to Christ's doctrine, to gather figs of thorns, and grapes of thistles, and to call light darkness and darkness light, sweet bitter and bitter sweet, good evil and evil good; and to say, that that which teacheth all obedience should cause dissension and strife: but such is their belly-wisdom, where with they judge and measure every thing, to hold and keep still this wicked mammon, the goods of this world, which is their god, and hath so blinded the eyes of their hearts, that they cannot see the clear light of the sacred scripture, though they babble ever so much of it.