Writings Author:John Bradford Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: tears should trickle down his cheeks. Sometime he would sit in it and come out of it with a smiling countenance. Oftentimes have I sitten at dinner and supper wi... more »th him in the house of that godly harbourer of many preachers and servants of the Lord Jesus, I mean Master Elsyng1, when, either by occasion of talk had, or of some view of God's benefits present, or some inward cogitation and thought of his own, he hath fallen into these deep cogitations: and he would tell me in the end such discourses of them that I did perceive that sometimes his tears trickled out of his eyes, as well for joy as for sorrow. Neither was he only such a practiser of repentance in himself, but a continual provoker of others thereunto, not only in public preaching, but also in private conference and company. For in all companies where he did come, he would freely reprove any sin and misbehaviour which appeared in any person, especially swearers, filthy talkers, and popish praters. Such never departed out of his company unreproved. And this he did with such a divine grace and christian majesty, that ever he stopped the mouths of the gainsayers. For he spake with power, and yet so sweetly, that they might see their evil to be evil and hurtful unto them, and understand that it was good indeed to the which he laboured to draw them in God. To be short: as his life was, such was his death. His life was a practice and example, a provocation to repentance: at his death (as the foresaid history witnesseth), when he was burned in Smithfield, and the flames of fire did fly about his ears, his last speech publicly noted and heard was this: Repent, ENGLAND2! Thus was our Bradford a [r A Letter from Bradford, inscribed " To my dear friends and brethren, R. and E. with their wives and families," i.e. "to two faithf...« less