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A39567
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Fair warnings to murderers of infants being an account of the tryal, codemnation [sic] and execution of Mary Goodenough at the assizes held in Oxon in February, 1691/2 together with the advice sent by her to her children, in a letter sign'd by her own hand the night before she was executed, with some reflections added upon the whole : printed for the publick good.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing F105; ESTC R31491
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18,323
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20
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its Members to this World My Heart once flatter'd me the Change was wrought but alas 't was but a Cheat And do not I now want the issue of some time and trying Temptations to prove to me whether its present Pretensions to a Change be true or no Oh my Children don't think of delaying to begin Repentance till the time comes of Sickness or of Death when most begin it indeed but it's odds whether one in an Hundred of them ever end it to a long Eternity Every day you delay it every Sin you commit renders it more difficult to attain Every Delay draws on the Curse of God provoking him to give you up to a Judicial Hardness Begin this great Work betimes which you 'll see occasion never to break off till your Lives end Who would be so Mad as to have the whole Volumes of their Accounts of Sins to call over when they should have nothing to do but dye Lament your lesser Sins now that you may not have greater hereafter to lament Lament your Buding early Sins 't is the way wherein you are likely to prevent gross and more grown Sins resist the first springings of every Motion of Sin in your Thoughts that 's the way to prevent it's growing into sinful Thoughts and yet more sinful Actions Oh that I had thus us'd my self to fight against my Lusts surely thro' Almighty Grace I could not have been thus miserably foil'd by them surely I should have been more then Conqueror When now alas Behold what Shame covers me I am Contemn'd the Scorn of Bad Men and a Scandal to the Good and now whither shall I cause my Shame to go Well for all this I once thought I had repented Beware then rest not in Sorrow for some single Sin alone rest not in present Pangs of Grief for or hasty Resolves against Sin in general Pray Strive and wait upon the Grace of God in Gods way to have your Hearts deeply touch'd with Shame and Sorrow for with loathing of your natural Aversion from God and what is good Labour to see an evil in Sin greater than all you can suffer for Righteousness sake Labour to feel it an intolerable Burden which therefore you are glad to throw off on any Terms and by which you are brought to admire Gods Terms of Pardon through Christ I needed a Saviour Christ Jesus as soon as I was bron and so did you yea and every day you live your need of him greatly Encreases Is it too soon to look after an Interest in him or can you do without it You have an Interest in Christ if you unseignedly consent to have him on the Terms in your Covenant of Baptism for which see Mr. Allein's Book again Page 135. But Oh Fool that I was whilst I was Well at Ease in Business I saw no need I had of a Saviour Or if I thought I wanted him upon the sight of some affrightful Sin or in some serions Fit I took him for that time and banished him again when I had done with him I thought I could have him with a wet Finger almost A Lord have Mercy upon me an outward Reformation some cold Prayers now and then going to Church repeating my Creed I thought I could have serv'd my turn of Christ without any cordial Affection or sincere Consent I was for having him with the World and my Sins or when I could have these no longer But these Shadows are fled away now the Deceit lyes plain Christ Jesus is indeed to be had without Mony and without Price but I must give up my self to him if I will have him and that 's no Price neither for I am my self the Purchase of his Blood tho' I have unjustly detain'd it from him Now I am convinc'd I must Love Honour and Obey Christ Jesus and so must all that will receive him to the saving of their Souls And oh Blessed Jesus how can I be sure that I love thee now who a while since lov'd not thy Ways nor thy People for the sake of thine Image on them nor thy Laws the Image of thy self who was for the most part of my Life doing those Works which thou camest to destroy How can I assuredly know that I Honour thee who lately slighted and trampled under Foot thy Blood the Blood of the Covenant contemn'd the Methods of thy Government despis'd in my Heart the Mean and Garb of thy Subjects even the chief Glories of thy Person whilst on Earth viz. thy Deep Humility Extensive Charity Heavenly Mindedness Readiness to do thy Father's Will Faithfulness to advance his Glory Thy Submission and Pray'rfullness to him thy Patience thy Purity of Heart and Life thy strong Faith even under strong Hunger These I despis'd in that I endeavour'd not the Practice of them nay practis'd contrary to them How know I in short that I Honour thee now who know to my Sorrow a while since I prefer'd Sin my Name yea the Devil in Disguise before thee Oh my Lord how know I that I now have a fix'd and unalterable Disposition to obey thee when before I came into this Prison yea before I came into these condemned Circumstances other Lords had Dominion over me my Practice was quite contrary to thy Commands What have I learn'd the Christian Exercise and Discipline so soon learn'd habitually to deny my self that always us'd to please my self even to the Refusal of my self to thee Have I learn'd to Watch and Pray in good earnest that I enter not into Temptation whose Aim and Endeavour was chiefly for Profit Pleasure or Esteem in this World before What! have I learn'd to resist the Devil that never understood his way of Fighting his Baits and Snares before Have I learn'd to despise all this World for Christ Jesus that could not a while ago deny a lustful Thought sinful Word or Action for thee How do I forsake this World for thee from which I 'm forced by the Punishment of my Sins against thee Have I learn'd to believe all thou sayest practically that scarce a while since could give any reason why I believed any of it historically Oh Good God! what a Change is this who amongst my Neighbours will believe it 's wrought in my Heart Or how can I believe at least how can I be assured of it Only the Almighty Grace of God can effect and the Spirit of God assure this Change Thus thus it must be with me and every one before they dye if ever they be admitted into the Kingdom of Glory Did the World know and believe this would they not be startled at it But who hath believed this Report Children will you also be numbered amongst the Deceived and at the next Remove the Damned Multitude Oh be Wise be Instructed Kiss the Son of God lest he be Angry and ye Perish from the way when his Wrath is kindled but a little Blessed are all they who place a rightly grounded Trust in him Oh learn betimes to
but Unhappiness But as to this I 'm less concern'd if you shall but make a good use of it endeavouring to humble your selves under that mighty Hand of the Just God which falls so heavy even upon you thro' me Consider this your Affliction is righteous with God since you also were born in Sin and that it may by your due Improvement be a means of greatest good to your Souls That which is my greatest Trouble with reference to you is that I have not only conceiv'd and brought you forth in Sin but have neglected the means I should have us'd for the changing of you from Darkness to Light and bringing you from under the Power of Satan unto God And tho' I have indeed brought you to Baptism therein professing to give you up to God the Father Son and Holy Spirit to be his true and faithful Servants and to engage you by that Solemn Vow against the World the Flesh and the Devil Yet I have not instructed you about that Ingagement nor call'd upon you to perform it Had I consider'd how much I my self stood oblig'd to God in my Baptism and by my farther Resolutions upon sometime hearing of my Duty from Mr. Birch I had never fallen into those Depths of Sin which have brought me into the Depths of Misery that at present cover me 'T is now my last time to call and your last time of hearing me call in the Land of the Living this Call is accented to you with Groans and Sighs from the deepest Bowels of a Dying Parent 'T is a Call to which God and all good Men witness to be your Duty yea to which your own Consciences will witness to be so If you diligently listen to them and do not stifle and harden them by sinning against them 't is a Call to the performance of what I have laid you under the most Solemn Vow and Oath to Almighty God to perform in your Baptism 'T is a Call of both of you so soon as ever you come to understand your selves to sign or take upon you your parts of that Baptismal Covenant which you are brought under according to the Direction given you in Page 155 of the Reverend Mr. Allein's Sure Guide to Heaven Which I herewith send you that you may have all the Blessings of that Covenant for your Heritage in this Life and the alsufficient God for your everlasting Portion If you take not upon you this Covenant so soon as you ripen in Understanding but shou'd go on to neglect it to your Lives end I testify to you both that your Baptism will prove no other than a strong Band to tye you faster to everlasting and aggravated Misery And take notice this Call to you to this your Duty is from one who feels every Sin cut deeper into her Soul by its having been acted against such a Vow so early laid upon me so reasonable so beneficial a Vow A Vow which had I kept would have kept me from those Sins which now as Spears pierce my Heart and are the poysoned Arrows that drink up my Spiritis A Vow which if kept by you will sweeten the bitterest Miseries of your Life yea the most harsh and terrifying Embraces of the most painful and linguering Death A Vow which ought to curb all your sinful Inclinations and to constrain you to all vertuous and religious Conversation in the World A Vow which greatens all the Sins that the World count little tho' they will not so account them I 'm sure when they come either to repent of or suffer for them eternally In short it is the Vow upon you in force of which I conjure you both deeply to consider and diligently to observe this my Dying Charge that you may live eternally Let not the Devil cheat you of your Youthful days with the Promise of a long Life to come wherein you shall serve God and save your Souls Let him not cheat you with the fair out-side of Profit Pleasure Ease or Esteem in Sin no nor with the hopes of Secresie Impunity or the hopes of an after and late Repentance This last believe me is most difficult to attain most dangerous to trust to And as to Secresie and Impunity in Sin both which were promis'd me by the Father of Lyes behold how I enjoy them whose Crimes are brought forth and punish'd in the sight of the Sun and then depend on them if you can or dare 'T is a Mercy I bless the God of Grace for that I enjoy'd them not Believe Gods Word which tells you a Companion of Fools shall be destroy'd Be you so wise for your selves as to be Companions of those that fear the Lord whilst you shun all idle Company or loose or profane with more care because more dangerous than Persons infected with the Plague The former will corrupt your Souls the latter do but threaten the corrupting of your Bodies I charge you as you will answer it at the Tribunal of the great God that you get and labour to understand the Catechisms I herewith send you Two Questions at least every Week out of them that the Elder of you teach it to the Younger whilst you are together Hence shall you learn what God would have you be believe and do the Ten Commandments Lords Prayer and Creed being there Thus shall you not be destroy'd for lack of Knowledge which want highly greatens my present Misery I farther charge you that you read some part of Gods Word daily diligently and reverently in your Bibles since according to that Word you must finally be Judg'd I charge you to keep the Lords Day holy to the Lord spending it in publickly hearing Gods Word where most soundly and affectionately Preached And in privately reading and meditating on that Word and in Prayer because God has promis'd great Blessings to those who keep that day from polluting it And because your religious Conversation all the Week depends much that I say not altogether upon this I charge you that you pray to God devoutly and fervently on the Morning and Evening of every day at least confessing the Sins of your Natures and the Sins of your Thoughts Words and Deeds begging Gods Pardon and his Renewing Grace that you may amend and grow fitter every day you live for Heaven when you dye Beg also in your Prayers Gods Protection Provision Guidance and Blessing as those who are sensible that on him you depend for Life and Breath and all things Renounce particularly in your Prayers the Black Siâ—s for which I dye and pray to God that he will not farther visit them upon you yea Watch and Pray that you enter not into Temptation to them Be content with what Condition God shall assign you in this World Besure you Love your Neighbours as your selves do no body the least Injury in Thought Word or Deed yea Love your Enemies even those I charge you who you may think had the first hand in your poor Mothers Death whom with all