the Fountain of Life now let it come flowing upon our poor souls that we may be presented before thee with exceeding Joy Lord let us hear that same joyful Sound Come ye blessed of my Father O though we be despised of men and some they reproach us ô but Lord forgive them and the Lord pardon them whosoever hath done us any wrong the Lord pardon them through Jesus Christ we beg it And blessed Father we pray thee let us hear this joyful sound Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you O there is a Crown of Life laid up for them that love the Lord. Thou knowest thy poor Worms desire to love thee ô dear Lord shed abroad thy Love in our hearts and though we be now dying yet we desire to love thy Name though thou art now correcting us yet we have cause to love thee and bless thee ô shed abroad thy Love in our poor souls O Lord we pray thee come and accept us and let our cry come and pierce the heavens ô Lord let us now be looking for and hastening to the glorious appearing of that blessed hope our Lord Jesus Christ. He that shall come will come and will not tarry Come quickly Lord. O that thy Servants could see thee as thy Servant Stephen in much-what such a condition as we are in he saw Jesus Christ standing at thy Right-hand Though we cannot look upon thee with our bodily eyes yet we desire to see thee with the eye of faith O we pray thee look down upon us and Lord strengthen our Faith and that our Faith may not fail O let us obtain the end of our Faith the salvation of our Souls And ô that thou wouldst strengthen us according to thy Glorious Power with all Patience in this hour O Lord though our hearts would faint and flesh faint ô Lord thou art the God of our strength come lay hold upon us lead us by thy Righteousness and let thy Everlasting Arms be under us O dear Lord let us taste of Love in this bitter Cup ô we pray thee let us see thee in Mercy do not correct us in thy Wrath. O we bow our knees to thee let not this Affliction be in thy Wrath We are under the wrath of men but Lord do thou forgive and let us be under thy Love and lay no more upon thy poor Worms than the strength that thou shalt now give us through Jesus Christ will enable us to bear and come and take us into those Mansions that our Lord Jesus Christ hath prepared Is it not thy promise to go and provide Mansions for us our fore-runner is gone to appear for us in Heaven now before the Throne of Grace O hear us now in him and dismiss us now with a blessing And the Lord blesse this Nation the Lord blesse the Government the Lord continue thy Truth keep the Gospel still in this Nation which hath been the glory of it O let thy poor People glorifie the Gospel in their lives 't is that we beg of thee for the Lord's sake and do thou prevent those heavy Judgements that hang over our heads Lord pardon those great Abominations that thine eyes do see that Prophanation of the Sabbath O the spirit of Prophaneness is broken out among us O we desire to be humbled and mourn for it Lord turn from thy Wrath and dear Father continue thy Gospel in the purity of it O the Lord forgive the sins of those that bear thy Name thy Wrath is kindled against us and therefore it is that thou dost rebuke us but we pray thee give thy People a Spirit of returning to thee and do thou heal our back-slidings and give us a Spirit of Love to Thee and to thy Truths and one to another and take away the Envy betwixt Ephraim and Judah Thou seest these bitter Contests we pray thee put a stop to them and let thy People be of one heart and one mind and let them minde the great things of Jesus Christ and those Truths that are after Godliness let those be more and more enquired after and imbraced by the People of these Nations and the Lord grant that those Superstitions and Idolatries that are a provocation in thy sight may not be brought into the Nation for thou art a jealous God and if we go that way thy Wrath will be kindled once more but Lord shew Mercy to England and do not take away the Gospel nor remove thy Golden Candlestick from the midst of us And the Lord bless the Government and the King thou hast set over us that which we beg of thee for him is That he may rule righteously and let him hate whom thou hatest and love those whom thou lovest And blesse the Ministers of the Word them that are faithful to thee Lord continue them in their Liberties and let not our Teachers be removed into corners blesse them that are faithful to thee and make them more faithful Being interrupted after a while he proceeded as followeth O Father we have many Suits to put up unto thee but we now commit our selves unto thee here we are Lord we will roul our souls upon thee and rest and wait for thy Salvation We pray thee accept of us forgive the sins of this duty O sprinkle the Blood of the Lord Jesus upon us and take us into thy Arms. Father of Mercy that comfortest us in all our Tribulations come and comfort us in this hour and do thou accept of us in Christ for through him we offer up ourselves our souls a sacrifice Father accept of us and our sacrifice c. The Conclusion was omitted because of a busling among the horses Then Col. Okey addressed himself to Prayer as followeth Colonel Okey's Prayer MOst Glorious most Holy Eternal and most blessed Lord God who art the glorious Creator and the blessed Maker of all things who art from Everlasting to Everlasting blessed for evermore Thou art worthy to be praised from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof Thou art the mighty God that art cloathed with Glory and Honour and Majesty as with a garment and Thou art the Fountain of all that 's good and the Well-spring of Everlasting-life O Lord we are once more in thy glorious Presence the Lord hath been pleased to give us this opportunity that we may once more pour out our souls to thee in the Name of Jesus Christ before we go hence and be seen no more Now we pray Thee for the Lord Jesus sake as thou hast been pleased to put a price into our hands so O Lord we pray thee for Jesus Christs sake give us hearts to improve it O Lord we pray thee convince us in whose glorious presence we are and of the great work we are now about we are before Thee the Eternal and Unchangeable Lord who searchest the hearts and knowest our thoughts and Thou knowest with what intents we pour out our souls before Thee at this time
that he had not left me to the wickedness of my own heart as he hath left thousands that do live in pleasure and vanity and so are dead while they live Now the good Lord grant that as he hath done for me more than he hath done for many thousands so I may love Him more than many thousands do that I may yet live and die for the Glory of his holy Name and that the few hours I have to live I may wholly spend to the praise of God I humbly desire to bless the Lord that hath made me willing to live or die as may be most for his Glory and the Good of his People for I can say through Christ that strengthens me I can do all things in some measure and have learned how to want and how to abound and can say to live is Christ and to die is gain praised be the Lord that hath made my heart fit in some good measure for the work which he hath called me unto and as I hear my departure is at hand so through the Lord 's rich Grace and free Mercy to me his poor unworthy Servant I am willing to be offered up and if I be offered upon the Sacrifice of your Faith I joy and much rejoyce therein I hope by the continual Prayers of you and the rest of the People of the Lord he that hath begun that good work in me will carry it on till the coming of the Lord Jesus When I look upon my self then I have cause to fear and tremble for my strength is as weak as water but when I look to the Lord Jesus then am I strong for he hath promised He will never leave nor forsake me nor all those that trust in Him And I know that through the Lord I shall do those things that may tend to the praise of his great Name in this evil day and I hope by his Grace to honour Him more by my Death than in all my Life before for indeed although I had a desire in the day of liberty to do that which was most for the glory of God and the good of his People and on that account I did not think my Life nor any thing I had near or dear to me and can say I do believe no man did more rejoycingly go to lay down his Life than I did yet I was accompanied with so many failings in my best doings that I have cause to be ashamed and humbled for the best of all my services that ever I have performed and praised be his holy Name although I have nothing in my self to glory in yet in Christ Jesus I can and will rejoyce giving thanks to the Father of our Lord Jesus who hath made me meet to be partaker of the Inheritance of the Saints in light and for his unspeakable love to me in the Lord Jesus for being justified by Faith I have peace with our blessed God through our Lord Jesus Christ to whom be praise and glory both now and for evermore And now a word concerning the Cause for which I am to suffer all that is near and dear unto me I shall as before the Lord who only knoweth the hearts and thoughts of all men tell you my Faith I do believe at long-run there is not a man that fears the Lord will have any reason to be sorrowful for engaging in that Good Old Cause which I am now to seal with my Blood again as I have many a time done I am satisfied in my soul that it is a most just and glorious Cause as hath been in many years asserted and although the Lord hath been pleased for the sins of his People and for a great judgment to the wicked of the three Nations to let it be in respect of the Cause as it were the Sun setting for a night yet it will certainly arise the next morning very gloriously though now it be never so much reproached by the wicked of this day And when I die I shall die in the Faith thereof And that most of the Reformed Churches in the world by report are all of that mind and I my self have heard the same from many among them where I have been abroad I bless the Lord I have no guilt upon me in reference to that Cause if I had I would let you know it And although many object against me that place 1 Pet. 4.15 Let none of you suffer as a Murderer yet I cannot after much seeking the Lord be convinced that I am such a one And in case any did it out of base ends of their own I praise the Lord I had none but looking at the Glory of God and the Good of his poor People in what I did and I bless the Lord I find the comfort of it at this day And for the Cause I shall say no more of it than what the Parents said to the Pharisees when they asked them if that were their son they told them he was of age he should speak for himself So I say this Cause hath spoken in most parts of the Christian World and will speak more when we are dead when the Fowls have eaten of our vile Bodies that are to be set up on the Gates of the City I shall only add a word to the People of the Lord to comfort them against sufferings for the Cause of God for it is a most glorious thing and honourable and therefore saith the Apostle James Count it all joy when ye fall into divers Temptations And so the Apostle Paul Rom. 5 We glory in Tribulation Also the like in Phil. 1.28 29. To you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for his sake And so again the Apostle sayes Jam. 1â— 12. 2 Cor. 12.10 Act. 2 13. Blessed is the man that endureth Temptation for when he is tryed he shall receive a Crown of life So the Apostle Paul rejoyced in his Infirmities Reproaches Necessities in Persecutions in Distresses And he professes himself to be ready not only to be bound but to dye at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus Further It is the duty of Saints to suffer as the Apostle speaks He that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer Persecution 2 Tim. 3.12 We are also commanded not to fear their fears nor to be terrified by any thing that evil men can do against us but suffer as good Souldiers of Christ Jesus We are likewise to rejoyce in as much as we are partakers of Christs Sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed 1 Pet. 4.13 we may rejoyce with exceeding joy And as it brings peace to a man 's own soul so it rejoyceth the hearts of the Saints for saith the Apostle We live if ye stand fast in the Lord. And therefore dear Brethren fear none of these things for the Devil shall cast some of you into Prison and you shall have Tribulation for ten dayes
THE SPEECHES DISCOURSES AND PRAYERS OF Col. JOHN BARKSTEAD Col. JOHN OKEY and Mr. MILES CORBET Upon the 19 th of April being the Day of their Suffering at TYBURN Together with an Account of the Occasion and Manner of their Taking in Holland As also of their several Occasional Speeches Discourses and Letters both before and in the time of their late Imprisonment Faithfully and Impartially Collected for a general Satisfaction Prov. 29.26 Every Man's Judgement cometh from the Lord. Heb. 11.13 These all dyed in Faith Printed in the Year 1662. To the READER READER THou art here presented with a most famous and pregnant Instance of the weakness and incapacity of Death yea of the worst of Deaths to disturb or in the least to discompose the Spirits of Saints who through the Faith of the Gospel have entred into Rest. Death is indeed a King of Terrors to the children of this world Col. 3.15 but it is neither King nor terrible to him in whose heart the Peace of God rules and reigns Christ hath said Oh Death I will be thy death how can it then have any Terror in it when there is no life in it it is now no more to a Believer than a dead or painted Lion which because of the want of life can upon no other account be reckoned terrible We have seen Death conquered before our faces and a company of poor frail men subject to like passions with our selves enabled by the Lord to bid defiance to that the fear of which makes the highest and greatest of men all their life-time subject to Bondage Certainly these men did familiarize Death to themselves by those many qualified and easie Notions of it which do so frequently occur in Scripture Job calls it a going to bed and a lying down to rest and sleep Job 14.1 13 14. a hiding in the Grave till the Indignation be overpast a great and signal change infinitely for our advantage yea he looks upon it as that which is in a near relation to him calling it his Father Mother and Sister Job 17.1 Old Simeon calls it but a Discharge from our Imprisonment And the Apostle looks upon it as a way to bring unto Jesus Christ Luk. 2.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is best of all Surely these men had no other apprehensions of Death than what did comport with all the fore-going Scriptural Representations of it whereof we have a most plain and clear Evidence in that they did without the least fear play on the hole of this Asp Isaiah 11.8 and with so much courage put their hand on the den of this Cockatrice and so often with Agag though in a more elevated sense and upon far better grounds express with so great and open confidence 1 Sam. 15.32 that the bitterness of Death was past And surely upon a serious and impartial reflexion upon the several Passages contained in the ensuing Narrative relating to the Lives and Deaths of these men the best grounded and the most critical Charity notwithstanding the Obliquity and Odium that lies upon the Fact for which they suffered will command us to hope and believe that they were wonderfully supported and strengthened by the Lord to drink of that bitter Cup which their Father had given them Joh. 18.11 Heb. 12 1 2. We cannot but believe that while they did run with such patience the Race which was set before them they did look to JESUS their fore-runner the Author and Finisher of their Faith and so for the Joy that was set before them endured the Cross and despised the Shame and having overcome are now set down with CHRIST upon his Throne Rev. 3 21. even as He overcame and is set down with his Father on his Throne What remains then but that we should be continually above the fear of Death which looks most gashly at a distance but when we approach it and begin to converse with it we finde that it hath neither strength nor sting and though before we came near to it we suspected it to be an Enemy yet now we perceive it is a Friend and comes to us onely upon this errand to let us know that the Bridegroom stayes for us and would have us partake of his Joy by a present entrance with Him into the Bride-Chamber Yea though thy Death comes in great Pomp and Solemnity in its Fiery Chariot yet do thou the rather for this smile upon it and give it a chearful welcome For if Believers are capable of any honour in this world it is that they are accounted worthy to suffer for the Name and Cause of their Lord and Master JESUS CHRIST This was that which gave the Church at Philippi the preheminence Phil. 1.29 that unto them it was given in the behalf of CHRIST not only to believe on him but also to Suffer for his sake Oh if the Servants of God did but believe this there would be as much crouding at the Court of Heaven for this Preferment as there is at the Courts of earthly Princes for Promotion and Advancement in their Church and State How did the primitive Christians long for Martyrdom seeking and pursuing after it publickly and boldly to the very Teeth of the Tyrants and Persecutors proclaiming their Christianity and therewith their zeal and readiness to water it with their Bloud If we are not attained to this yet let us with much courage and chearfulness conflict with it when it first sets upon us let the Gibbet and the Stake be the most pleasant and delightful prospects to us when the Providence of GOD for Christ's Cause and Interest brings us to them being assured of this that if the LORD vouchsafe so much of his comforting and supporting Presence to his People who declaredly suffer for Him in a Cause that is at least very doubtful to many good and holy men then He will much more stand by those who lay down their Lives in behalf of that which is clear and certain to all Hebr. 12.1 and concerning the truth of which we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses Let not therefore the Worm Jacob be discouraged seeing the LORD hath promised to be with him to strengthen him to help him and to uphold him with the right hand of his Righteousness Onely look well to the setling of your Spiritual state else your hearts will not be quiet and setled when you come to dye Get an Interest in JESUS CHRIST who alone hath abolished Death and brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel 2 Tim. 1.10 If thou art in CHRIST then though thou dyest the Covenant is still alive the Relation of GOD to Abraham was as firme and strong when he had been a long time dead as when he was alive therefore sayes he I AM the God of Abraham Matth. 22.32 c. And to conclude Get your hearts loosened from this present evil World be ye first crucified to
respect may resemble the Dove that Noah sent out of the Ark that could find no place to set the foal of her foot on thus hath it been for some moneths with me so that I could not with any conveniency because of those that bear an evil will to Zion write to you but my Dear Friend though I have been absent from you in the body yet I can say truly I have not been so in my Spirit the Lord knows how my Soul hath both night and day longed after you and all the rest of my Christian Friends in Christ Jesus and in all my approaches to the Throne of Grace I have made it my earnest request to the Lord Jesus Christ that the Father of all glory would give unto you more and more the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Christ And that you may walk worthy of the Lord unto all well pleasing being fruitful in all good works increasing in the blessed knowledge of our God and that you may be filled with all the love of God to his glory and your everlasting comfort I know you are ignorant why I left my Native Country and all that was near and dear unto me in this world but which is most of all the pretious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of his people a losse of losses not to be made up but in Christ and in him alone and therefore my dear Friend though now you enjoy the light yet you do not know how soon it may be taken from you or you from it it is and shall be my continual prayers that it may not be for it is indeed the Judgement of all Judgements The Lord God pardon unto me in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that great neglect of it whereof I was guilty while I was with you that I did not improve it more to the comfort of my own soul. Oh my Dear Friend did you but see and hear that which I have seen and heard in my Travels especially among those that profess Popery it would make your hearts to tremble that blaspheming the Blessed Name of the Lord all manner of wickedness the horrid prophanation of the Lords day and other abominations and Oh that I could have said that I had not seen and heard too much of the same even among those that term themselves of the Reformed Religion Alas alas the best of what they enjoy here is but as the bran to the wheat in comparison to what the Lord hath bestowed on you and therefore I beseech you prize the Gospel more and more and those Godly Ministers that it hath pleased the Lord to send among you for the Lord hath not done for other people as he hath done for you I am verily perswaded it is one great cause among many others that the Lord hath dealt so severely with his own people as to give them up into the hands of his and their enemies hath been the slighting despising contemning and undervaluing the precious Gospel and the faithful Ministers of Jesus Christ the Lord in great mercy pardon it not only to his own people but to the whole Nation if it be his blessed will that they may yet know the things that concerns the glory of God and their own everlasting â—â—st before they be hid from their eyes Oh the pretious Jewel of the Gospel to which all the other enjoyments even the quintessence of whatever this world can afford are not to be compared What is there in this base world but vanity of vanities what is there in great men or great things a sparkle of fire or a storm at Sea or a treacherous Friend brings all to nothing in a moment As we have seen by sad experience every day do witness the Truth of it Therefore saith the Apostle love not the World not the things of the World a little grace is worth ten thousand worlds It was a notable saying of that worthy Marquess that he was not worthy of Christ that would not give the whole World for one dayes Communion with him Oh it is a good thing to have a heart established in grace it is good in times of prosperity it is good in dayes of adversity Oh it is good in such a day as this when one wave comes on the neck of another yet the Lord even then remembers those whom he hath promised he will never leave nor forsake yea though their troubles be many yet the Lord will deliver them out of all in his blessed time for all things shall certainly work for the glory of God and the good of his own people And now my Dear Friend do I most humbly beg in the Name of the Lord Jesus the continuance of your Prayers to the Lord for me that he would be pleased to give me more and more of his Holy Spirit that while he is pleased to give a being in the Land of the living I may in some measure live answerable to the many unexpected mercies he hath bestowed on me his poor and unworthy Servant both in relation to my soul and body and that too since I came into a strange land and truly as I want a heart to be thankful to the Lord so I want expressions to let you know it I shall onely at present say it was good for me that I have been Afflicted and if the Lord gives me life I shall not fail to let you know the goodness of the Lord to me in this day of my greatest of troubles which have not been a few And as I humby desire your Prayers for me so do I also beg your thanks to the Lord for me who hath been so gracious to me every way And oh that now with a chearful heart I might honour the Lord in this day of very great troubles and that I might be very humble and thankful and be fitted to live or to dye as the Lord shall be pleased to call me forth That which lyeth with some waite on my Spirit is not so much the losse of these outward things for I praise the Lord he hath carried me in some measure above them but that I should sin against so blessed a God and loving a Father as I have done and that I should with many of his own People provoke the Lord to give up so many of his People so far into the hands of his and their enemies as he hath done at this day would an ordinary chastisement have prevailed certainly the common Enemy had not had their will over them the good Lord sanctifie his present hand of affliction to all his more and more and oh that now in this day of his East wind he would be pleased for his Name sake to stay his rough wind and that that may be the fruit to purge them from their sin and that his People may yet live to praise him in the great Congregation and there to declare the goodness of the Lord to them in the
Knife are I have often set them before me and have been often going up the Ladder to see if they would terrifie me but blessed be the Lord they have not hitherto given me the least disturbance no no in all that is past I could never yet suffer so much as such a wish to pass through my thoughts Oh that I had not been engaged in this thing or that I had before 1648 deserted this Cause no the Lord would not to this day suffer such a thought to pass through my thoughts much less through my heart no I have over and over gone through the Cause from first to last even from the Blood of Rochel to Irelands Massacres the Blood of Scotland and the Blood of both the Wars in England My dear Friend and reconciled Friends on the best account I must at present leave you earnestly begging the constant continuance of yours and the People of the Lord's Prayers with and for me that as he hath so would continue to support and bear up the spirit of his unworthy Creature and in those few dayes or hours he hath yet to remain on this side Eternity he may neither do nor speak any thing wherein or whereby he should in the least dishonour God grieve the Spirit of Jesus Christ or give the least trouble to any of the meanest of the Saints or desert that Glorious Cause that the Lord doth and will own and will raise up at his appointed time in despite of all the Devils in Hell and all the Kings Princes and Great-men of the Earth whose flesh must become meat to the fowls of the Air and their Carcasses dung to the Earth for the Kingdoms of the Earth or of this world are to become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever This from your truly reconciled Friend J. B. Praise and pray pray and praise and above all watch unto prayer pray alwayes and watch continually Several occasional Passages Speeches and Letters of Col. John Okey during the time of his Imprisonment in the Tower till the day of his Suffering ON Wednesday the 16th of April 1662. being the day that Col. Barkstead Col. Okey and Mr. Corbet had Sentence passed upon them at the Kings-Bench Bar after which a Friend went to visit Col. Okey and found him in a sweet and blessed frame of spirit and very chearful not in the least under any discouragement but acquainted the said Friend that they had been up at Westminster and that Sentence was given against them and declared he was not in the least disquieted at it but thankfully owned the Providence of God in bringing them from the place where they were beyond Sea to their present condition wherein he professed himself to be much satisfied and declared he had rather lay down his Life here than to have been buried in another Nation and expressed further that for what he was charged withal and condemned he had not the least trouble upon his spirit He also told this Friend that he desired to bless God for the Prayers of the Lord's People for he found the benefit and advantage of them in this time of his Tryal And with much chearfulness of spirit afterwards he did bless the Lord for his Goodness to him declaring he had got more benefit and advantage in the time of these his troubles than in many years before and one day especially since his coming into the Tower he said he was reading some verses in the 16th chapter of John and the Lord did so set home upon his spirit ver 26 27. especially that word The Father himself loveth you that he was so much refreshed in his soul that for an hour together he was as it were ravished with the Joy of the Lord the sight of which was much comfort to his dear Wife and did much refresh and chear her spirit And upon Friday the day before his Suffering several Friends went unto him about one of the clock and were with him some hours he several times spake to them saying Well Friends I shall now get to Heaven before you and shall go out of a sinful evil world into that place where I shall sin no more nor sorrow any more I bless the Lord he is good to me in all his dispensations and I could not have been without any of these afflictions Then he mentioned divers choice places of Scripture as 2 Cor. 4.8 9 and the 17 verse explaining the words to sweet advantage As for afflictions said he they are but slight and momentary and that they work to glory yea an exceeding yea a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory And much strengthening himself with the Promises of God Isa. 43.1 2. upon which Scripture he did thus descant Though Jacob was but a worm and so trodden upon by every one yet the Lord would be with him and so with all his Saints and People in their sufferings He insisted also upon that Scripture Heb. 13.5 6. together with many others which were proper to his condition and the Lord was pleased to make every one of them a strengthening cordial to him The next day being the day of Execution several Friends went again to Col. Okey by six of the clock in the morning where they found him ready dressed and with a sweet chearful spirit bid them welcome They asked him how he did he said Never better in his life and had found the benefit of prayers and it had been a sweet night unto him being sweetly refreshed which also did much appear by his chearful and fresh countenance for it was observed that he never looked better in all his dayes He declared he had much quietness in his spirit and said As for the loss of his Estate it did not in the least trouble him Then a Friend hinted to him the parting with his Wife and Relations he answered she had been a very tender Wife to him and had exprest her abundant love and tenderness in this his distress but he was not in the least troubled at their parting being assured the Lord would be better to her than he could be And also said that though his Wife had lost much since she knew him as to outwards yet she had gained much as to the better concernments for so his Wife had declared unto him which doubtless well considered will out-weigh all other losses Some of these Friends spent some time in prayer with him also the Colonel himself went to prayer and the Lord appeared very much in carrying forth his spirit to own his hand and to see his goodness in all his dispensations and to implore further assistance and between the times of prayer they had much sweet conference with him in all which he manifested a very gracious and holy frame of spirit and often declared with great chearfulness that he was ready to be offered up He was heard often to ask whether his Chariot was yet come or no and some
Friends told him Well now the time draws nigh who answered I am ready I am ready Then came the Order for his going to the Sled upon which he went with all chearfulness and so went forward with undaunted courage to meet Death in the face like a Christian Souldier indeed who through the Lord's assistance presently obtained more than a Conquest over all his Enemies As he was in the Sled and drew near to the place of Execution a Friend came to him and said Sir I have a great desire to know how it is with you and how the Lord is pleased to manifest himself unto you in the condition you are now in The Colonel replyed Friend I thank you I bless the Lord I have great cause to praise and magnifie his great and glorious Name for his unspeakable goodness towards me especially in this present dispensation for I can truly say and that by experience that the Goodness of the Lord endures for ever and praised be God for this present tryal The same Friend further replyed and said I pray Sir are you not at all dejected in your spirits are you not cast down in your mind have you not hard thoughts of God for this his strange providence towards you The Colonel replyed Friend I shall endeavour to satisfie you as well as I can in this matter and I let you know that I have not the least trouble upon my heart nor the least burden upon my spirit upon the account of my Sufferings neither have I any hard thoughts of God but on the contrary can speak to the praise of his Grace that his Goodness hath carried me forth above the fear of all these things And my Friend let me tell you further That I have had more experience of God and more acquaintance with God within these three or four dayes than ever I had in all my life and at this present I am so far from being dejected or cast down in my spirits as that I am so much elevated and lifted up in my soul that I am not able to tell you how it is with me And when he was ready to rise out of the Sled another Friend came to him and asked him how he did To whom he answered I bless the Lord I am very well and do no more value what I am now going about than this straw taking up a piece of a straw in his hand I have sayes he made many a Charge in my time but now I have but one Charge more to make and then I shall be at rest Here followeth two Letters of his to two of his old faithful Friends eminent persons in the City of London A Letter from Col. John Okey directed to a Relation of his to be by him communicated to some Christian Friends of his acquaintance about the City of London SIR HAving a little time in this place before I am removed to Newgate where I am to go as I am informed I thought good to give you some account how it is with me concerning my better part I bless the Lord I never found so much spiritual joy some years before as I have in Prison it is according as the Apostle speaks 2 Cor. 1.3 4 5. And therefore let the People of God not fear a Prison or to suffer in the Cause of God I shall give you a touch but of three things viz. 1. How it is with me in my spiritual condition 2. I shall speak something of the Cause for which I suffer the loss of all things which are near and dear unto me in this evil world 3. In the last place What a Mercy it is when the Lord is pleased to call forth a creature to suffer for the Truths of our Lord Jesus Christ in such a day as this is I believe you have heard these from some other of the Servants of the Lord that have gone before in whole dishes but you are like to have them in a broken dish and but a few scraps in comparison to that great feast you have had before from them that are now with the Lord. Our Afflictions sanctified are good Cordials to the soul and therefore it is no marvel that David said It is good for me that I have been afflicted And as one observeth and saith well a Prison being the place where wanting other Books a man may there best study the Book of the knowledge of himself being separated from all business but praying and praising the Lord God in Christ by the Spirits assistance And since I have by the help of the Lord looked in some measure into my heart I could not have thought there had been so much ignorance and impatience pride inordinate affection to creature-comforts revenge difidence of God self-love and iniquity of all kinds in me as I now find there is and although the Lord in great mercy hath kept me by his mighty power and restraining grace from those Jayl-bird sins as Swearing Drunkenness Lying Uncleanness and hating of his People yet I find a mass of corruption in me and a multitude of transgressions so that my sins are as the hairs of my head which cannot be numbred for the multitude of them and all this darkness and filthiness of spirit is only discovered by the light of Christ By his lowliness in washing the Apostles feet I see the height of pride in my own spirit and want of condescention when I was in prosperity and my unfruitfulness under the means of Grace and little good I did when I had an opportunity thereunto and therefore I adore and acknowledge the Justice of God that he hath most righteously deprived me of my Liberty and Estate truly now I am thereby brought nearer to Christ whereby I find through Grace that Christ is become very precious to me And more to be desired than Gold yea 1 Pet 2.7 than fine Gold and sweeter than the Honey or the Honey-comb And this I can say through Mercy I do desire to love the good Word of the Lord before my appointed food I have begged of the Lord that he would enable me more and more that I may lay open before him all my sins known or unknown and to loath my self for them and that not only for the shame which sin bringeth but rather because I should sin against so good a God and loving Father in Christ Jesus as I have done and especially for my actual known sins committed against so much Love Light Promises and Covenants from a gracious God that will not destroy me for all my abominations blessed be his holy Name for ever and for ever I desire continually to go out of my self and to rely on the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ who only is the Fountain of Life and in his Light we shall see light Oh! what Mercy is it that the Lord should be pleased out of his great Love and Compassion to cast the mantle of his free Grace upon such a poor worm as I am and
but be faithful to the death and you shall receive a Crown of life Oh my dear Friends it is better to fall with Christ than to stand with Caesar let us be willing to follow our Captain the Lord Jesus who is gone before as also the blessed Saints and Martyrs of Christ. We use to say He is not worthy the name of a Souldier that will not follow his Leader Let us then follow Christ the Captain of our Salvation who hath said to us Fear not him that can but kill the body and can do no more Oh let us I pray you fear the Lord and take heed of all sin for let me tell you there is more evil in the least sin than there is good in any thing this base world can afford And although here we may suffer and be condemned of men as evil-doers as our Lord Jesus and was called Beelzebub and the like yet this will be our comfort that although men do condemn us the Lord doth acquit us You know what Christ saith to his Disciples Blessed are ye when men speak all manner of evil of you for my Name sake and the Gospel then do ye rejoyce and be exceeding glad Thus I have given you to know in a few words my thoughts concerning those three things I spake of in the beginning of this Paper I had thought to have been more large but am strangely prevented by my Keeper and for want of time Only one word to let you know that blessed be the Lord for his great mercy towards me I am at present in a peaceable and comfortable condition although sometimes fainting fits do seem to seize upon me for when I look on my self then I have cause to mourn for my unworthy walking but when I look up to the Lord I have cause to rejoyce and to be glad and do desire to praise his holy Name Oh it is good to have our portion in the Lord who is our only Good for one smile of his Countenance is better than Life And therefore my dear Friends above all things labour to give your selves up to the Lord and appear for his Cause and Glory and for the Gospel and stand up for the Truth for all Truth and for the poor Saints at such a day as this is so that you may with the Apostle say experimentally I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the Faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Glory and not only for me but for all those also that love the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now my dear Brethren in the Lord I bid you farewel and commit you and yours to Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy Now to the only wise God be glory for evermore Yours for ever in our Lord Jesus Christ. J. O. Post-script Oh my Brethren I have one request to you that is That you would beg of the Lord that the Saints may dwell more together in Love And although they be not of one form yet let them labour to be of one mind in the things of the Lord and love as Brethren and take heed of judging one another which hath been a great fault Give no offence to those that are within nor to those that are without as near as you can That those that are out of the way may be won by your holy conversation in Christ Jesus Another Letter of Col. John Okey's directed to an intimate Friend and old Acquaintance of his in London Hon. Friend I Do much rejoyce to hear of your good health with your dear Wife and that the Lord doth so much comfort and strengthen you in the day of your trouble it is a great honour that he hath put upon you in this backsliding time wherein iniquity doth so much abound and most men are making shipwrack of Faith a good Conscience in this day of Jacob's sorrows now that wickedness is established by a Law Now the worse the times are the Lord grant we may be the better Oh Sir suffering-times are very glorious when the Lord is pleased to come in by his holy Spirit into the heart of a poor worm there can be no restraint where the Spirit of the Lord is for there is liberty for the loving-kindness of the Lord is better than any thing that this base world can afford My dear Friend what a favour hath the Lord been pleased to cast upon you and me that we should be called forth to bear witness to and for the Old Cause the Lord himself hath so often owned by fighting our Battels and in destroying of the proud Enemies of God and his Saints so that the sound of it is gone through the whole World And now I shall trouble you with a word to let you know how it is with me at the present concerning the inner man I do humbly desire to speak to the glory of the Lord 's free Grace that although I am in trouble on every side yet not distressed something perplexed but not in dispair persecuted but not forsaken cast into Prison but not destroyed and therefore blessed be the Lord I faint not for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory 2 Cor. 4.16 We reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed Rom. 8.18 and therefore the Lord grant that we may watch and stand fast in the Faith quit our selves like men be strong in his strength and in the power of his might and as Joab said Be of good Courage let us behave ourselves valiantly for our People and for the Cities of our God and let the Lord do that which is good in his sight 1 Chron. 19.13 Sir I hear my time is short and I am in some measure through much mercy ready to be offered up and if I be offered up upon the sacrifice of the Faith of the Lords People I shall joy and much rejoyce Alas you know I am a poor worm and of my self can do nothing but in the strength of the Lord I shall be able to do what the Lord shall be pleased to call me to for he hath promised to lay no more upon me than he will enable me to bear and therefore I do humbly beg your prayers for me and the rest of my suffering Brethren that are in trouble with me here or elsewhere that the Lord would be pleased to stand by us so that we be not ashamed of the Cause of the Lord and his poor People it would have been better we had never made a profession of the Gospel than for to deny any of the Truths of the Lord or the Cause of his People What are our lives in comparison of the Glory of God better ten thousand of us should dye than the Gospel
should suffer and therefore I do again beg your prayers to the Lord night and day that the Lord would strengthen us with all might according to his rich and glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness giving thanks to the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light who hath called us to suffer for the Truth and not to fear base man whose breath is in his nostrils and although they seem to be in honour yet in a few dayes they shall fall and perish and become as the dung of the Earth and men like themselves shall see them no more Oh we have no cause to be troubled when we see wicked men made great for when they die none of their pomp shall follow them for as they lived undesired so will they dye unlamented My dear Friend I am fain to break off for want of time and I hope you will cover my weak lines you have them from the heart that wisheth you as well as my own soul. Thus with my love to you and my prayers to the Lord for you and yours and to the rest that love the Lord Jesus and now for the present I leave you to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God be glory and power now and ever Your faithful Friend till death J. O. A Letter of Col. John Okey to his Daughter My dear Daughter I Salute you in the Lord wishing you all Grace here and Glory hereafter I am something troubled at the cruelty of wicked men that will not let me see you in such a day as this is But it 's not to be wondred at for you know what the Scripture saith The mercies of the ungodly are cruelty it self But blessed be our good God though they can keep our Relations from us they cannot keep us from coming to our heavenly Father within a few dayes we shall be out of their hands where they shall afflict us no more for there the Oppressed shall be free from the Oppressor and therefore be not troubled for these things I thank you for your love to me as much as if I had seen you and although we are kept one from another in the body yet we are not so in the spirit but do rejoyce in one another and be not much cast down for these outward troubles that we meet with in this evil world where we are pilgrims and strangers for it 's the lot and portion of the dearest of God's People to suffer here in this world but rather rejoyce that we are accounted worthy to suffer shame for his most holy Name and I beg that you would be earnest with the Lord that he would be pleased to keep my heart close to himself that I may not dishonour the Lord nor bring a reproach to the glorious Gospel of our Lord Christ and his Cause which the Lord hath from Heaven so gloriously owned by scattering of his Enemies so often as he hath done in the sight of the Sun in bringing many of them to Justice so that the sound of it is gone thorow the whole World that it is the talk of the most part of the World and this you may be confident of that the day is not far off when God will give a glorious Resurrection to this Good Cause that is so much scorned by the basest of men who as Daniel saith shall fall in a few dayes like their own dung and perish and be seen no more for God hath set them in slippery places and therefore be not troubled at their prosperity but wait on the Lord and he shall give you the desire of your soul. And therefore my dear Daughter I humbly desire you that you would more and more give your self up wholly to the Lord to walk in all his wayes and to delight in all his wayes for his wayes are all wayes of peace and paths of pleasantness to all them that fear and love him and although earthly fathers leave you he will never leave you nor forsake you but will bless you here and for evermore therefore rejoyce in the Lord and again I say rejoyce I am very sorry that I am not able to do that for you which I desire and did intend for you and yours which I should have delighted to have done but the Providence of the Lord hath been pleased to order things other wayes praised be his Name and I hope the good Lord will supply all your wants through the riches of his Mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ to whom I shall commit you and yours who hath promised to do you good both in soul and body for he hath said When father and mother forsake you he will keep you for ever And therefore my loving Daughter be comforted in the Lord for although I go before you I shall not be lost but we shall meet again in Glory through mercy where we shall part no more for ever where we shall sorrow no more nor sin no more but shall be for ever praising his holy Name to all Eternity I shall desire you to remember me kindly to your Husband if it please the Lord to bring him home and to your Brother and so to the rest of my Friends and let your Husband know that if it please the Lord to return to his People he or his shall have a Portion in the mean time the Lord will bless that little to you that shall do you and yours more good than the treasures of the wicked like to the widows oyl and the barrel of meal that wasted not until the Lord sent more You know what David said I have been young and now am old yet he never saw the Righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread and Paul said We brought nothing into this world and it 's certain we shall carry nothing out having food and raiment let us therewith be content I am forc'd to break off at present but I hope to see you once more before I go hence and be seen no more I shall desire you would have a great care of those little Children that the Lord hath given you to bring them up in the fear of the Lord whilst the Lord is pleased to let you be with them And do also desire as you would do any thing for me or mine that you would be kind and loving to my dear Wife when I am gone that is the last Request that I beg of you And thus with my hearty love to you and your dear Husband and to your Children and to the rest of my Friends and to John and desire him that he would beg of the Lord to give him an heart to love the Lord and to walk in his wayes and it shall be well with him here and for evermore Thus in haste I commit you to the Lord beseeching the Lord
pity them and then spake to such as were present that they would shew what Kindness they could to his desolate Wife there standing by him at which when she fell a weeping he turning to her said Ah my Dear shall we part in a shower may I not say saith he as our Saviour did to the daughters of Jerusalem Weep not for me but weep for your selves and the Calamities that are coming upon you for verily saith he you are entring into great Sufferings and such as I am perswaded saith he will shortly send some of you after us up into our Country lifting up his eyes towards Heaven Not long after the noise of the Horses and Sleds were heard as they came in at the Tower-Gates which one telling him of and saying that the Sleds were come he turning quick about Call you them Sleds saith he they are the Chariots which are sent to fetch us to Heaven adding presently thereupon I shall now go from the Tower to my Coronation which words he uttered again before he went that morning As the Discourse went on for he was alwayes dropping some excellent speech or other when it was his turn to speak he affectionatly touched upon that place in Rom. 8.19 to 24. where mention is made of the earnest expectation of the Creature to be delivered from bondage the word saith he signifies such an expectation as one hath that puts his head out at a window to see whether the party looked for be coming and within sight Even so saith he it is with me now moving his head towards the window Me-thinks I look for the Bridegroom me-thinks he is nigh yea very nigh even at the door there pointing that way with his hand His Opinion being asked what he thought of the Cause of God that now seems to lye in so forlorn a condition and to have miscarried so much besides the hopes and expectations of them that fear and love the Lord Truly saith he how justly it is come upon us I need not relate and by what means too it is visible enough God's own People have done foolishly yea have sinned greatly How worldly did they grow how high and stiff against each other How solicitous and busie was every one to set up his own Party and Interest when power was in his hand without minding the general and common welfare of their Brethren The truth is saith he all Parties have been blame-worthy and every one more or less hath contributed to the common heap of Guilt and may look to share in the Punishment yet saith he could we see an humble self-denying self-judging and reforming Spirit among all parties of good men and an hearty readiness and endeavour in every one to unite heal and close up breaches between God and themselves much might be hoped but without this how weak and feeble must our hopes needs be so that though I doubt not saith he but God will revive his Cause again and in due time not only give it a new life but make it flourish more than ever yet not till his People have repented and gotten their Pardon sealed I remember saith he that Text in Psal. 79.8 Remember not against us former Iniquities or saith he as the Dutch Notes hath it the Iniquities of them which have been before And sure then said he if former Iniquities and the Iniquities of them that have been before must be prayed against till they be forgiven and forgotten ere better times can be expected then present Iniquities must be done away also The People of God had need look about them and see what it is that hinders Mercy that keeps good things from them and remove it as fast as they can else in vain will their hopes be Indeed we are apt saith he to be quick in our expectations for good but slow in our amendments I remember a passage saith he in the Dutch Anotations upon the words of Eve Gen. 4.1 when Cain was born I have gotten a man said she from the Lord understanding thereby the promised Seed which should break the Serpents head as if Cain had been that promised Seed when as it proved quite otherwise God having another channel for that precious Seed to be conveyed through not so soon by far in the time of it as Eve dreamed of Even so said he we are apt to conclude upon promised Mercies to be accomplished about such or such a time and by such or such Instruments but we may be deceived and yet God will not be worse than his Word or let the Faith and Prayers of his People go away ashamed As for his Enemies they sometimes seem to carry all before them and think to remove every person and thing that crosseth their design but they consider not that God is able to finde or make new Instruments for his own Service and Glory when the old ones are gone but the worst that they do or can do even then when their Power and Rage is greatest is more Gods work than their own For what is it can come to pass without his fore-ordination and appointment or can possibly happen contrary to his wise Decree Our Adversaries think now by this their severity towards us to advantage their own cause whereas who can tell but that God may get himself more honour and we may do him more service by our Deaths how sharp and ignominious so ever they be than ever we did in all the time of our Lives His Wife weeping as she often did at his heavenly discourse saying Oh! what a precious Husband shall I lose he said to her Ah! my dear heart why dost thou weep thus may I not say unto thee as Paul did to his Friends at Cesaria Act. 21.13 What mean you to weep and to break my heart for I am ready not to be bound only but to dye for Christ. He died for me and gave his Life for me and what greater honour can befall me than to die for him and taking his Wife by the hand said Truly Mol thou wilt greatly engage my heart to thee if thou wilt now willingly yeeld me up to God Time hastening the Warders desired the Company to depart and left only two or three Friends in the Room with him besides his Wife and Son Now saith he as ere-while I took leave of the Creatures let me take leave of Duties too at least in this place and with you my Friends and dear Relations for I may now say Farewel Faith and farewel Hope but welcome Love for that shall remain still even for ever since I may truly say with my old Friend Dr. Preston I shall only change my place but not my Company words uttered by him when with a sudden death he went to Heaven Then he prayed briefly but with most pithy words full of life and power some of which were as followeth Oh holy and dear God and Father the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and my Father look down upon thy poor Worm with
to keep you in all his wayes and rest Your loving Father in bonds for the Cause of God and his People till death John Okey I bless the Lord I am at present well wanting nothing but an humble and thankful heart to praise his Name There was another Letter written by Col. Okey to his Son beyond the Seas to the same effect An History of the Life and Death of Mr. Miles Corbet being intended shortly to be made publick and so many things reserved till then in the mean time it is thought convenient that a taste be given of some of those occasional Passages which fell from him whilst he was a Prisoner in the Tower in the hearing of several Friends who have faithfully collected them to be carefully laid up and wisely improved by them that survive ABout ten dayes before his Execution an old Friend having obtained leave to come to him while yet a Close-Prisoner Mr. Corbet imbracing him and rejoycing greatly to see him asked how he durst be so bold as to adventure to give him a Visit at that time and in that place and in that condition His Friend answered he was afraid of being charged at the day of Judgment with cowardise or want of love to Christ in not visiting his Members in Prison To which Mr. Corbet smilingly replyed And let it be remembred to you at that day that you were one of the Visiters there meant by our dear Lord whose Servant I hope I am and desire to be But Sir said his Friend to him I was in hopes you had been safe enough or at least would have taken care to be so when once you were abroad and had escaped so long And truly I thought so too said Mr. Corbet but God would not have it so Alas who can be hid whom he shall please to discover It seems he hath other work for me to do and I bless his Name for it I am not dismaid at all When I was beyond Sea I did the best to secure my self and was careful not wilfully to run into danger it was a meer hand of God that I was seized on for having not sent a Letter saith he in eight months time to my Wife I went to the place where I was taken to consult how to convey one safely to her and being ready to go thence to my own Lodging I was surprized suddenly and though at first I was startled at it yet I saw there was an over-ruling Providence in it and so was quieted in my own thoughts after a little space and found a power enabling me to submit And now that the Lord hath brought me hither and upon such an account as I am here for His holy Will be done for through grace I can truly say with the Apostle Col. 1.9 that I am filled with the Will of God Had I continued abroad I might have died in obscurity and have been carried out into some hole in a dust basket where my death would have signified nothing but now God hath honoured me in calling me forth to fight for him with my blood and in my own native Country too and in that famous City where I have had my breeding and education for many years and where I have endeavoured to do my Master Christ the best service I could while opportunity was in my hand And this I can truly say in some measure through grace a word which he often used that I account it an high favour All my desire is that I may not faint nor any way dishonour the Cause that I am to suffer for by my weak and unworthy carriage which I confess I am afraid of and therefore earnestly desire the prayers of Friends on my behalf that God will be pleased to support me and carry me well through this so hard and difficult a task Being asked what his Age was He answered Sixty seven years the greatest part of which time saith he God hath been pleased to use me more or less in publick services having for thirty seven years been still a Member in the several Parliaments that have been called In all which time saith he I bless God I have not sought my self nor any worldly ends And when I was without any of my own seeking freely chosen to be a Member of the Long Parliament I saw my Call so full and clear that I durst not deny but that it was of God and though saith he the Trust and Work which I was to undertake were very great and like to prove dangerous to as many as would be faithful to Christ's Interest yet through grace saith he I was resolved to go through it and accordingly I have done so to the utmost of my ability even to the prejudice of my own Estate and nearest Relations as themselves can witness and do now find pointing to his Wife and one of his Sons there standing by Proceeding further upon this subject Now in my Age saith he when I have most need of all outward comforts they are and have been of late furthest off from me I have neither Estate nor Habitation nor wherewith to keep a Servant yet in all this saith he I am comforted because it is come upon me in the performance of my duty and the defence of my Master's Cause and do well know I shall be no loser at last by Him he having been alwayes found to be a good Pay-master to them that serve Him in truth as I have desired and endeavoured to do Nay saith he I can say He hath payed me already for though I have nothing of my own no not so much as to buy Bread for me and mine yet I want nothing Ah! how good is God! and how good is his Word how faithful and how true is He that hath promised He hath said Matth. 19.29 Every one that hath forsaken Houses or Brethren or Sisters or Wife or Children or Lands for my Name sake shall receive an hundred fold and that even in this life besides the Inheritance of everlasting life hereafter I am sure saith he I have found it so I have had many houses in mine Exile as free as my own have found as much care and tenderness from strangers as from my own Wife and Children every body is kind to me every body shews their love and their bounty to me Ah! blessed be God saith he blessed be God! and so went on very largely in this melting and moving manner adding among many other sweet expressions a reflexion upon the Speech of good old Polycarpus for even as he said That Christ had been a good Master to him and never did him hurt for eighty six years so saith he may I say the like Christ hath been a good Master to me these threescore and seven years Another time discoursing of the frailty of humane life and the many maladies and accidents that it is liable unto he took occasion to speak of the manner of his own approaching Death Alas saith he I might have dyed long