Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A63959
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The Dying speeches, letters and prayers &c. of those eminent Protestants who suffered in the west of England (and elsewhere) under the cruel sentence of the late Lord Chancellour, then Lord Chief Justice Jefferys : with an account of their undaunted courage at the barr, and afterwards : with the most remarkable circumstances that attended their execution : never before published.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing T3372A; Wing D2956_CANCELLED; ESTC R42261
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33,759
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40
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be Serviceable to God therein And after said GOD is a strong Refuge I have found him so indeed The next opportunity was at Dorcester where they were both carried and put in Prison and by reason of their strait Confinement our Converse was much interrupted but this I found from them that they had still the same presence and support from God as formerly no ways being discouraged at the near approach of their Tryal nor of the issue of it though it might appear to Flesh and Blood to be terrible The 6th of September my Brother Benjamin was ordered at Taunton to be Tryed then taking my leave of him he chearfully said Blessed be God for Afflictions I have found such happy Effects of them that I would not have been without them for all this World I remaining still at Dorcester to see the issue of my Brother William to whom after he was Tryed before his Sentence I had free Liberty to go to whose Mouth was filled with Admiration of the Grace of God in Christ Jesus that had been manifested unto him in calling him out of his natural Estate suddenly seizing on his Heart when he thought not of it in his Abode in Holland finding secret Whisperings in his Heart to seek the Face of God who enabled him to answer his Gracious Call and to reflect upon his own Soul whereby he came to see the Evil of Sin and his need of Christ from that time carrying him on to a sensible Adherence to Christ for Pardon and Peace of Soul where he said He found a Spring of Joy and Sweetness beyond all the Comfort of the whole Earth He further said He could not but admire the wonderful goodness of God in preparing him for what he was bringing him unto which then he thought not of giving hope of Eternal Life before he call'd him to look Death in the Face So that he did Chearfully resign his Life to God before he came having sought his Guidance in it and that the Cause did appear to him both then and now very Glorious notwithstanding all that which he had suffer'd in it or further might although God had with-held those good things from us As to himself he said God had carried on his Work in his Soul in and by all sufferings and whatever the will of God were Life or Death he knew it would be best for him After he had received his Sentence when he return'd to Prison he said Methinks I find my Comfort in God increase since my Sentence there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus it is God that Justifieth who shall condemn When I came to him the next morning when he had received News of the time of his Execution and in order to it was to be carried to Lyme that day I found him in a most excellent Spiritual Frame more then ever before he was in he said He was satisfied God had done best for him he knew what the Temptation of Life might be I might have lived and forgotten God but now I am going where I shall Sin no more O it it is a Blessed thing to be free from Sin and to be with Christ O how great were the Sufferings of Christ for us beyond all that I can undergo How great is that Glory to which I am going It will now swallow up Sorrow here When he was at Dinner just before his going from Dorcester to Lyme he dropt many Expressions of his inward Joy such as these O the Grace of God the Love of Christ O the Blessed Supper of the Lamb to be for ever with the Lord He further said When he went to Holland You knew not what Snares Sins and Miscarriages I might have fallen into or whether we might ever meet again Now you know whether I am going and that we shall certainly have a most joyful meeting and never part more for ever He said Pray give my Recommendations to all Relations with Acknowledgments for all their Kindness I advise them all to make sure of an Interest in Christ for he is the only Comfort when we come to dye One of the Prisoners seemed to be troubled at the manner of Death they were to dye to whom he replyed I bless God I am Reconciled unto it all Just at his going he writ these few Lines to his Mother being hardly suffered to stay so long I am going to Lanch into Eternity I hope and trust into the Arms of my Blessed Redeemer to whom I commit you and all my Relations My Love to my Dear Sister and the rest of my Friends William Hewling As they passed through the Town of Dorcester to Lyme multitudes of People beheld them with great Lamentation and bitter Cryes admiring at his Carriage and Behaviour at his parting with his Sister As they passed along the Road betwixt Lyme and Dorcester his Discourse was exceeding Heavenly and Spiritual as those present have since declared taking occasion from every thing to speak of the Journey they were going looking out upon the Country as they passed along he said This is a Glorious Creation but what then is the Paradice of God to which we are going When he was come to Lyme one reading the 14. of John and the 18 Verse I will not leave you Comfortless I will come to you said Christ will come unto us he will be with us to the very last At Lyme that morning he was Executed one taking Leave of him he said Fare-well till we meet in Heaven presently I shall be with Christ I would not change Conditions with any I would not stay behind for Ten Thousand Worlds To another that ask'd him how he did he said Very well I Bless God and farther ask'd him if he could look Death in the Face with Comfort now it approached so near He answered I can I bless God with Comfort God hath made this a good Night to me my Comforts are much increased since I left Dorcester Then taking leave of him said Farewell I shall see you no more To which he repiyed How see me no more Yes I hope to meet you in Glory To another which was by him to the last he said Pray Remember my Love to my Dear Brother and Sister and tell them I would desire them to Comfort themselves that I am gone to Christ and we shall quickly meet in the Glorious Mount Zion above Afterwards he Prayed for about three quarters of an hour with the greatest Fervency exceedingly blessing God for Christ Jesus Adoring the Riches of his Grace in all the Glorious Fruits of it towards him Praying for the Peace of the Church of God and for this Nation in particular with such Eminent Assistance of the Spirit of God that it Astonished Convinct and Melted the most Malitious Adversaries forcing Tears and Expressions of Sorrow from them some saying They knew not what would become of them after Death but it was evident he was going to great Happiness When he was just going
his present Majesty for I was in the East Country when the Duke Landed and from thence I went directly to him when he was at Shipton-Mallet not one Man accompanying me from thence But hitherto as I lived so now I dye owning and professing the true Reformed Christian commonly called the Protestant Religion which is founded on the pure written Word of God only and which I acknowledge likewise to be comprehended in the Articles of the Doctrine of the Church this Religion I have made a reasonable and free Choice of and have heartily embraced not only as it protests against all Pagan and Mahometan Religion but against the Corruption of the Christian and I humbly and earnestly Pray to God that by his Infinite Wisdom and Almighty Power he will prevent not only the utter extirpation but diminition thereof by the heighth and influence of what is contrary thereto and for that end the Lord make the Professors of it to live up more to its Principles and Rules and bring their Hearts and Conversations more under the Governmeâ—t and Power of the same I dye also owning my Ministry Non-conformity for which I have suffer'd so much and which doth now obstruct the Kings Grace and Mercy to be manifested and extended to me For as I chose it not constrainedly so I appeal to God as a dying Man not moved from sullenness or humour or factious temper or erroneous Principles of Education or from secular Interests or worldly advantages but clearly from the Dictates of my own Conscience and as I judged it to be the Cause of God and to have more of Divine Truth in it than that which is contrary thereto so now I see no Cause to repent of it nor to recede from it not questioning but God will own it at the last Judgment-day If no more had been required after the late King's Restauration to qualifie Ministers for publick Preaching than was after the first Restauration from the time of Charles the first probably I might have satisfied my self therewith and not scrupled Conformity thereto but the Terms and Conditions thereof by a particular Law made in 1662. being not only new but so strict and severe that I could never have satisfaction in my own Conscience after all endeavours used for a Complyance therewith and a Conformity thereto to say nothing of the Covenant which I never took but the giving my Assent and Consent have been too difficult and hard for me to comply with And I very well remember that about fourteen years agoe entring into a Discourse with Mr. Patrick Heldore and Irish-man who was Contemporary with me in Dublin concerning Conformity which he much endeavour'd to perswade me to I urg'd the severity of the forementioned Conditions against it and after some Debates and Reasons with him I told him I did believe they were contrived and designed on purpose to prevent our publick Preaching and to keep us out of the Church to which he ingenuously reply'd he judged it was so For said he a Bishop in Ireland whose Name I have forgot told me the very same But though I could not wade through and conquer this Difficulty yet I censure not those that did it and I believe after all the hottest Disputes and most vehement Debates and violent Contests between Conformist and Non-conformist there are of both Parties will be glorified in Heaven hereafter According to the 29th Article of the Church of England a visible Church is a Congregation of faithful Men in the which the pure Word of God is Preached the Sacraments of the Lord duly administred according to Christ's Ordinance and all those things that of necessity are requisite and necessary to salvation so with such a Church I have held the most intimate Communion and with such did I live could hold it I would not therefore be so Incorporated with any Church as to exclude me from and render me uncapable of holding Communion with other Churches I was never strongly bound up to any form of Ecclesiastical Government but that under which a pure and undefiled Religion doth flourish and that which contains and really practises Holiness and advances the Kingdom of God in the World that can I approve of and submit to and willingly live under were I to live I did approve of the ancient and present form of Civil Government English Monarchy I am fully satisfied with and do also declare that it is not warrantable for any Subject to take up Arms against and resist their lawful Soveraigns and rightful Princes And therefore had I not been covinced by several things that I have read and heard to believe that the late Duke of Monmouth was the Legitimate Son of his Father Charles the second I had never gone into his Army judging that without this I could not be freed from the guilt of Rebellion which I always resolved to keep my self clear from And tho his Father denyed that he was marryed to his Mother I thought it might be answered with this That Kings and Princes for State-reasons often cannot be fathomed by their Subjects affirming and denying things which otherwise they would not do and make even their natural Affections to truckle and stoop thereto I exhort all to abhorr all treasonable Plots and pretences of all Rebellion with the highest Detestation and to take the plain Text of sacred Scripture to walk by in honouring and obeying and living in Subjection to rightful Kings and not readily to Receive or suddenly to be Impress'd with evil Reports and Defamations of them also not Rashly to be propagators of the same I desire God to forgive all mine Enemies and to give me an heart to forgive them which are many some mighty and all most malicious Particularly Barter of Lisnel who betrayed me and proved such a Traytor to James D. of M. his old and intimate Friend I am grievously afflicted that I should prove the occasion of the great sufferings of so many Persons and Families But this hath fallen under the Just and wise ordering of Divine Providence as Davids going to Abimelech when he proved the occasion of the Death of all the Persons Men Women and Children in the City But who shall say unto God What dost thou The care of my most dear Wife and a great many Children I cast upon God who I hope will be better than the best of Husbands unto her and the best of Fathers unto them God knows how Just and Legal Right my Wife hath unto her Estate to him therefore I commit her to defend her from the violence and oppression of men particularly from a most inhumane and unnatural Brother But no wonder if he will lay violent hands upon his Sisters Estate that hath so often laid them on his own Father I dye a deeply humbled self-judging and self-condemning Sinner loathing and abhorring my many and great Iniquities and my self for them earnestly desiring full Redemption from the bonds of Corruption under which I have groaned so many