My purpose, beloved in the Lord, concerning that which oft and now last ye crave, I wrote to you before, from which I can not be moved, and, therefore, of my friends I will ask pardon, howbeit on that one head I play the churle, retaining to myself that which will rather hurt me than profit them, during my days, which I hope in God shall not be long, and then it shall be in the opinion of others whether it shall be suppressed, or come to light.[358] God for his great mercies sake put such end to the troubles of France, as the purity of his evangell may have free passage within that realme; and idolatry, with the maintainers of the same, may once be overthrown by order of justice, or other ways as his godly wisdom hath appointed. In my opinion England and Scotland have both no less cause to fear than the faithful in France, for what they suffer in present action is laid up in store, let us be assured, for both countries. The ground of my assurance is not the determination of the council of Trent, for that decree is but the utterance of their own malice; but the justice of God is my assurance, for it cannot spare to punish all realmes and nations that is or shall be like to Jerusalem, against whose iniquity God long cried be his servants the prophets, but found no repentance. The truth of God hath been now of some years manifested to both, but what obedience, the words, works, and behaviour of men give sufficient testimony. God grant Mr Gudman a prosperous and happy success in the acceptation of his charge, and in all his other enterprises to God’s glory and the comfort of his kirk; and so will I the more patiently bear his absence, weaning myself from all comfort that I looked to have received be his presence and familiarity. Because I have the testimony of a good conscience, that in writing of that treatise, against which so many worldly men have stormed, and yet storm, I neither sought {396} myself nor worldly promotion, and because as yet I have neither heard nor seen law nor scripture to overthrow my ground,[359] I may appeal to a more indifferent judge than Dr Jewell. I would most gladly pass through the course that God hath appointed to my labours, in meditation with my God, and giving thanks to his holy name, for that it hath pleased his mercy to make me not a lord bishop, but a painful preacher of his blessed evangell, in the function whereof it hath pleased his majesty for Christ his son’s sake to deliver me from the contradiction of moe enemies than one or two, which maketh me the more slow and less careful to revenge be word or writ whatever injury hath been done against me in my own particular. But if that men will not cease to impugne the truth, the faithfull will pardon me if I offend such as for pleasure of flesh fear not to offend God. The defence and maintenance of superstitious trifles produced never better fruit in the end than I perceive is budding amongst you, schisme, which no doubt is a forerunner of greater