Ridley’S Farewell
RIDLEY’S FAREWELL
Dr. Ridley wrote the following letter to all his friends in Christ before his death:
As a man about to take a long journey naturally wants to say good-bye to his friends, so I, expecting to leave you any day now, want to bid all my sisters and brothers here on earth good-bye.
Farewell, my dear brother George Shipside, who has always been faithful, trustworthy, and loving. Now in the time of my cross, you have been my most friendly, steadfast supporter, always serving God’s cause.
Farewell, my sister Alice [Shipside’s wife]. I’m glad to hear that you have accepted Christ’s cross, which is now lain on your back as well as mine. Thank God for giving you a godly, loving husband; honor and obey him, according to God’s law. Honor your mother-in-law and love everyone in his family, doing them as much good as you can. As for your children, I have no doubt that your husband will treat them as though they were his own.
Farewell, my dearly beloved brother, John Ridley, and you, my gentle and loving sister, Elizabeth. The tender love you were said to have for me above the rest of your family binds me to you in love. I wish I could repay you with deeds instead of words. I say good-bye to your daughter Elizabeth, whom I love for her meek, gentle spirit. This is a precious thing in the sight of God.
Farewell, my beloved sister of Unthank, with all your children, nephews, and nieces. Since the death of my brother Hugh, I wanted to treat them as my own children, but the Lord God must and will be their Father, if they love and fear Him and live according to His law.
Farewell, my beloved cousins, Nicholas Ridley of Willi-mountswicke and your wife. I thank you for all the kindness you showed me and the rest of our families. Since God has made you a leader of our family and given you His gifts of grace above others, continue in truth, honesty, righteousness, and godliness and resist falsehood, unrighteousness, and ungodliness, which are condemned by the Word of God.
Farewell, my young cousin, Ralph Whitfield. Oh, your time was very short with me! I wanted to do good for you, but all you received was loss. I trust God will make that up to you.
Farewell, my family and countrymen; farewell in Christ to you all.
The Lord knows I wanted to bring Christ’s blessed Gospel to you all; it was my duty as a minister.
I warn you all: Do not be ashamed by my death. I think it is the greatest honor of my life and thank God for calling me to give my life for His sake and in His cause. He gave the same honor to the holy prophets, His dearly beloved apostles, and His blessed chosen martyrs. I have no doubt that I am dying for God’s cause and the cause of truth. Having a heart willing to stand for Christ to the death is an inestimable and honorable gift from God, given only to the true elect and dearly beloved children of God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. All of you that love me should rejoice that I, a sinful and vile wretch, was called to give up this temporal life in defense of His eternal, everlasting truth.
You, my family and countrymen, know you will always have reason to rejoice and thank God, and I know you will find favor and grace in my cause, for the Lord said He will be full of mercy to those who love Him.
Through the goodness and grace of Almighty God, the Church of England has recently enjoyed great substance, great riches of heavenly treasure, great plenty of God’s true Word, the correct administration of Christ’s holy sacraments—the whole profession of Christ’s religion. It also observed the Lord’s Supper correctly, observing Christ’s commands. Thanks was given for the bread and wine, and the Lord’s death was commemorated. The bread was broken in remembrance of Christ’s body being torn upon the cross, the cup was shared in remembrance of Christ’s shed blood, and everyone received both.
All this was done in English, so everyone would understand and give God the glory. Recently, all the services of this church were performed in English according to the command of the Lord and Paul’s doctrine, so people could understand and profit from them.
The Church of England also had holy, wholesome sermons urging people to lead godly lives, as well as those condemning the vices that used to reign in England. It had articles of belief grounded in scripture that could have expelled the errors and heresies almost overgrowing the church.
But alas, lately thieves have come in and stolen all this treasure. These robbers have robbed the Church of England of all its holy treasure, carried it away, and overthrown it. Instead of God’s Holy Word and true sacraments, they added their foolish fantasies and ungodly traditions.
Instead of the Lord’s Holy Table, they give the people their Mass—a mockery of the true supper of the Lord. They have bewitched the minds of simple people, brought them from true worship into idolatry, making the bread and wine into Christ our Lord and Savior, even though Christ said, “Do [this] in remembrance of me.”
Instead of prayers in English, these thieves give the people prayers in a language they cannot understand, preventing them from praying together with the priest. Paul called praying in a strange tongue barbarous, childish, unprofitable folly, and plain madness.
Instead of godly articles of unity in religion and wholesome sermons, these thieves provide the pope’s laws and decrees, lying legends, feigned fables and miracles.
I cannot consent to this robbery, because it is blasphemy against God, high treason against Christ. It is plainly against God’s Word and Christ’s Gospel, against my salvation and that of my brothers and sisters, which Christ so dearly bought for us all. This is why I am being put to death, which I willingly accept, sure that I will receive everlasting life in return.
These thieves are worse than a thief who robs and kills the body, for these kill both body and soul. These church robbers so disguise their spiritual robbery that they can make people believe that lies are truth and truth is a lie; light is darkness, and darkness light; evil good and good evil; superstition true religion and idolatry true worship.
These robbers cannot be fought as common robbers are, with spears and lances. Our weapons must be spiritual and heavenly. We must fight them with the armor of God, not intending to kill their bodies but their errors, their heresies, idolatries, superstitions, and hypocrisy, in an attempt to save both their bodies and their souls. Our weapons are faith, hope, charity, righteousness, truth, patience, and prayer; our sword is the Word of God. With these weapons, we will win by never yielding to the enemy, even though we are murdered like sheep. The crueler and more painful our deaths, the more glorious they are in God and the more blessed our martyrdom.
I tell you this so you won’t be ashamed by my death. If you love me, you will rejoice that God has called me to this honor, which is greater than any earthly honor I could ever attain. Who wouldn’t be happy to die for this cause? I trust in my Lord God, who put His mind, will, and affection in my heart, and choose to lose all my worldly substance and my life, too, rather than deny His known truth. He will comfort me, aid me, and strengthen me forever, even to the yielding of my spirit and soul into His hands. I most heartily beg His infinite goodness and mercy, through Christ our Lord. Amen.