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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40042	An alarme for sinners containing the confession, prayers, letters, and last words of Robert Foulkes, late minister of Stanton-Lacy in the County of Salop, who was tryed, convicted and sentenced at the sessions in the Old Bayly, London, January 16th, 1678/9, and executed the 31st following : with an account of his life / published from the original written with his own hand, during his reprieve, and sent by him at his death to Doctor Lloyd ...	Foulkes, Robert, d. 1679.	1679 (1679)	Wing F1644; ESTC R14395	27,043	44

and to deliver me over to Judicial hardness that seeing I might see and not perceive and hearing I might hear and not understand I have served divers Lusts and Pleasures My Eyes and Heart were full of Adultery so that I could not cease from Sin Nor have I sinned alone O Lord for I have drawn many with me into the snare of the Devil so that my Sins are Innumerable and Aggravated by many Circumstances but most of all that I was called by thy Name so that thy Enemies do blaspheme it upon my account I have to all this added that Execrable Sin of shedding Innocent Blood and done what I could to stifle the motions of thy Good Spirit But now my Sins and thy Righteous Judgments have found me out I acknowledge this is in great Mercy to my Soul that I might not lye and perish in my Sins I am Confounded and Ashamed I Abhor my self in dust and ashes I Confess I do not only deserve to die this Infamous death but to be cast out of thy sight into Outer-darkness for thou art of purer Eyes then to behold Iniquity and the Deceitful and Blood-Thirsty man thy Soul abhorreth so that I may justly fear my Prayers are Abomination to thee yet whither shall I flye from thy Presence thy Hand hath overtaken me and I am now to appear at thy Judgment Seat My Soul is full of Terrour and I am afraid of thy Judgments The Remembrance of my Sins is Grievous to me the Burden of them is Intolerable Yet my only Hope is that thou art Gracious and Merciful Slow to Anger Ready to Forgive and thy Son gave Himself to die and bore our Sins on his own Body He ever lives and maketh Intercession for Sinners and is able to save to the uttermost all that come to thee O God by Him I confess I come at the last Moment when I have nothing else left me and so thou mayst justly reject me Yet O most Merciful God take pity on the Work of thine own Hands Beget in me for Christ his sake a deeper Sense of my Sin and Guilt that I may Tremble for fear of thy Judgments and Cry to thee Night and Day Let none of this little time that is given me to Repent be lost For thy Name sake pardon mine Iniquity for it is great And deliver me from Blood-guiltiness O God thou that art the God of my Salvation Open my Heart and Lips that my Mouth may shew forth thy praise That Sinners seeing thy Judgments and my Repentance may be Converted unto thee That I who by my vitious Life have so much Dishonoured Thee may by my Death Glorifie Thee O hear and have Mercy on me Pity and Pardon O most Merciful Redeemer wash my defiled Soul with thy most Pretious Blood and for the Glory of thy Mercy send down upon me thy free Spirit to Convince me of Sin and of Righteousness and of Judgment And Grant me a Wretched and Forlorn Sinner some of those Comforts that may Support me under those Agonies that are so terrible O Visit me with thy Salvation Speak Comfortably to me say to my Soul Thy Sins are forgiven thee Lord deliver me from the fears of Death and be with me in my last passage Give me some Glimpse of Hope that I may die with Assurance of thy Favour and Pardon I humbly submit to thy Justice in my Death but I most Fa●nestly pray that I may be delivered from Eternal Death and Everlasting Burnings and when my Soul is departed from this vile Body Let it be brought into thy Presence that I may Bless and Glorifie thy Name Eternally for the Riches of thy Grace and Mercy which has so Abounded towards me And for thy Names sake role away the Reproach from thine Heritage and thine own Tribe which I have brought upon it Preserve thy Church Let her Priests be Clothed with Righteousness and let her Saints sing with Joyfulness Be Gracious to the Nursing Father of it our Dread Soveraign Lord the King 's Most Excellent Majesty Protect his Person Prosper his Affairs As for his Enemies Cloth them with shame but upon Himself let his Crown flourish Grant that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy Honour and Glory And that all his Subjects duly Considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him in Thee and for Thee according to thy Blessed Word and Ordinance Be Merciful O Lord be Merciful to my Afflicted Family Comfort my Desolate Wife according to the Evil that I have caused her to see Teach my Poor Children by my Example not to sin against thee Give true Repentance to all whom I have tempted to Sin in particular to that miserable person who was my Partner in so much wickedness thou hast given her time to repent Lord give her grace to do it lest a worse thing befall her Provide a faithful Pastor for that Flock I have scandalized that may build up what I have pulled down And now into thy hands I commit my Soul and Conclude in his words who taught me when I pray to say Our Father c. Having thus shaken hands with the World I am too deeply Concerned to take a particular leave of my Friends especially my Dear tho distressed Relations I have done them little Good in my Life They may Live to Reap Benefit and Advantage from these my Dying Directions To my Good Wife Dear Wife IT is too late to make wishes that I had admitted of thy Counsels But 't is not too late nor unprofitable to Observe That thy Comminations have proved too Prophetical The God of Heaven is a Just and Righteous God and has clearly discovered which was in the right and which in the wrong Thee or I Dear Heart I am not now to Confess my Sins against thee Nor am I now to receive thy pardon and forgiveness I Rejoyce in the Entireness of thy Affection which all the cold Water I threw upon it could not quench The Constancy of it especially in this Extremity has given me the Comfort and thee the Character of being one of the best of Wives In order of Nature I might have longer enjoyed the happiness of thy Affections and I was resolved to have made it my only Happiness in that sense but my Sins and God's righteous Judgments hurry me hence yet before we part I will leave with thee a few Directions which is all the Legacy my vicious Courses have left me power to bequeath they proceed from entire though too late love to thee Therefore lay them up and peruse them now and then First For thy self thy constant course of private Devotion Reading the Scriptures according to the direction of the Church Fasting and Meditation before the blessed Sacrament save me the labour of any further or other Advice save that of the Apostle Be not weary of well-doing c. Only now thou must be sure to add to thy private Devotion what I too much neglected Prayer in thy little Family I have not time nor

words run Psal 50. 16. But unto the wicked saith God What hast thou to do to declare my Statutes or that thou should'st take my Covenant into thy mouth seeing thou hatest Instruction and castest my words behind thee and hast been partaker with Adulterers but then Consuetudo peccandi tollebat sensum peccati I was of proof against the stroaks of Divine Comminations But now that my Sins have found me out and Gods Justice has overtaken and arrested me so that I am to be a Spectacle to the World I may be heard to publish my Sin and leave this Warning behind me that all that shall hear or see it may fear and do no more so Wickedly And in particular that they who by my ill Life have been led to ill thoughts of that Holy Profession and Calling so dishonoured or of that pure Church of which I was an unworthy Member and a more unworthy Teacher may no more blaspheme the Function of the Ministry the Christian Faith or the Church of England but be rather struck with Horror at my base Apostacy and Impiety and that by my Example He that stands may take heed lest he fall and such as are fallen may be moved to Remember their first Love and doe their first Workes lest the like Horrible Judgments pursue and overtake them Let the Circumstances of my Condition add weight to my Words Dying men have no Temptation to warp them from Sincerity they cannot then be suspected either to Lye or Deceive And though my former preaching was blasted by my Scandalous Living and could not be of any Worth or Consideration yet these my last Words together with my sad Condition will I hope so Affect all Persons as to engage their Consideration of what I say I confess then to Gods Glory and my own Shame that the Hand of Heaven had been exceeding bountiful to me that great God that filleth with his Blessing every living thing had loaded me with Benefits of his Fulness I received Grace for Grace John 1. 16. that is Copia Abundantia Gratiae he had given me all things richly to enjoy I had no Reason to Murmur as if my Portion had been sparing and penurious either in Temporals or Spirituals 1. I had my Birth and Education not amongst them that are Aliens from the Common wealth of Israel and Strangers to the Covenant of Promise c. But in the Pale of the Church and not in a Church stuffed with Error and Superstition but in a Church so refined and reformed that it is become the purest upon Earth A Church that teacheth no other Doctrine but what Christ and his Apostles delivered derives none of its Principles from the puddled Fountain of vain and uncertain Tradition but a sure Word of Prophecy is that Spring that sends forth all her Doctrines a Church that gives no Encouragement to Sin nor Countenance to such vicious Persons as Alas I have been all her Articles all the Parts of her Worship all her Cannons and Constitutions are Pure and Holy and such as all they that sincerely observe them shall certainly be saved In this Church I lived though not according to its Rules and in this by Gods Assistance I shall dye 2. But this was not all God by the outward Ministration of his Word and the inward Operation of his Spirit wrought so on my Heart that for some time his Fear was before my Eyes so that I walked tenderly and endeavoured to keep my Conscience void of Offence towards God and towards Man I served him in Secret and Studyed to glorifie him in my whole Conversation In this Path I walked when I was dedicated more immediately to his Service and by Imposition of Episcopal hands was in Anti-Episcopal times ordained a Minister of his Holy Gospel This should have been my Crown and my Joy but is now my Shame and Reproach that I knew God and was an Instructor of the Foolish and a Teacher of the Simple to me therefore it may be said Thou who teachest another teachest thou not thy self Thou that sayest a man should not commit Adultery doest thou commit Adultery 3. God also blessed me with competent abilities for the discharge of that Function so that had I prosecuted my studies with that industry and diligence as I did other vanities I might have attained to greater improvements of my own and others understandings 4. God provided plentifully for me by the favour of a noble and an honourable Patron I was setled very comfortably as to all the concerns of humane life My lot was fallen in a very fair ground yea I had a goodly heritage my portion was so far from being scanty that I had enough and to spare and till of late I was beloved of my Parishioners and respected in my Neighbourhood 5. The same bountiful Providence blessed me with as worthy Relations a very faithful affectionate Wife tender of my person careful and industrious about my affairs one that had a very good right to Solomons Character Prov. ult One that blessed me with four sweet Children and brought me within the reach of that promise Like a fruitful vine Thus in all respects God dealt graciously with me so that I was happy as any of my Neighbours and now how much have I to answer for who had receiv'd so many Talents but instead of employing them in my Masters service did not so much as lay them up in a napkin but like a prodigal child wasted all this in riotous living And now I come to the last and worst of my condition wherein without any favour or partiality to my self I shall make a discovery of my shame and expose my vicious practices to the eye of the Sun That tenderness that was on my Conscience was not long-liv'd my own corruptions with the Devils temptations soon overcame it then returned the Devil attended with seven more worse than himself into my swept and garnished soul An unclean a filthy Devil he was Then I violated my Baptismal Vows and my Ordination Engagements and the Faith of Wedlock and delivered my self to work all uncleanness with greediness I had eyes full of adultery that could not cease from sin The Devil had prepared for me a sad companion and partner in my debaucheries she was easily tempted by me and proved afterward a constant temptation to me and has been the great occasion of this dismal conclusion of our wretched course of life This being so remarkably the sin of this present Age I will enlarge a little to conjure all Married persons to keep that Bed undefiled When that Faith is once broken the comforts of the married life quickly expire and come to an end nor is there any stop but such persons soon pass over all the stages of sin they run from one wickedness to another till at last they ruin both soul and body Open your eyes therefore and not only look but contemplate upon these dreadful and tragick instances oh Adulterers and Adulteresses and