faithfull servant I shall not neede I hope in this my exceeding great weaknesse hauing gone alreadie beyond my present strength in a halfe blinde condition to write these lines my selfe without Inke unto you being aboue measure pressed in my spirit to do it inregard I am so exceeding tormented with bodilie Paine especially in my head by reason of my long closenesse and the crueltie that I under went in the daie of my publicke suffering that my soule is not able to containe it selfe in silence any longer seast I become guiltie of my owne blood To laie down any more arguments vnto you but desire you to read two late printed bookes the one is called The Beast is Wounded Or the Scots Newes and put forth by Iohu Bastwicks Younger Brother [a] It is pitty that young Bastwick puts not forth more bookes but it may be he hopes their ruin is at hand in that regard thinkes it not necessary to write the other is Called A Light for the ignorant And in them you shal find your dutie punctually laid down how to detest the wicked Lordlie Bb. as the Divel himself whose officers they are with all lawfull power to keep assist those that groan under their tirannie in a lawful right waie seeke deliuerance from them So remembring my brotherly loue vnto you and returning my humblest thankes vnto you for your loue alreadie manifested vnto mee and bestowed vpon mee for which the Lord hath a recompence in store My soule now lying a bleeding before my God (b) That which giues us case to think that their cursed Kingdome is comming down It is in regard of the many effectuall prayers which are dayly put up to God against them and it is obserued how the Lord doth in a speciall manner now moue the harts of his Children this way to seek him as if he meant to prepare away by their prayers for to bring in his judgments upon the Kingdom of the Beast earnestlie and uncessantlie crying vnto him with manie teares proceeding from a too too much burdened and wounded spirit and his Sion and the downfall of all Gods enimies which he for his mercies sake hasten and accomplish Now vnto Iehovah the Lord of Hosts and our faithfull and powerfull God I committ and commend you rest From the Fleete my refining furnace in which though my soule thriue in Godlinesse yet my bodie and blood is almost spent This present Friday being one of the Bishops Idoll-daies commonly called St. Thomas-day December 20. Anno. 1638. Your faithfull courraigious Brother in great tribulation for the purity of the truth of Christ and publique bearing witnesse theretoo JOHN LILBVRNE Etatis suae 22. The fore-mentioned Petition followes To the Right Honourable the Lords and others of his Majestyes most Honourable privie Councill The humble Petition of IOHN LILBVRNE Close prisoner in the Common Jayle in the Fleete HVmbly sheweth that your Petitioner hath beene about ten moneths close prisoner the greatest part whereof hath been in the wards of the Fleete where hee hath beene so closely kept that no friends haue beene suffered to come at him to reliefe him to speake with him And alsoe for a great time together hath layen in letters of Iron vpon both handes and legs and so it hath pleased God inregard of the exceeding greatnesse of his sore punishment and misery which he hath layen under to bring bodily weaknesse upon him and a heavy and dangerous sicknesse which he hath laid many moneths together which hath brought him many times even to deaths doore which yet with weaknesse and patience hee hath undergone though hee rather hath desired to haue chosen present death then to haue felt the constant bitternes of those bodily torments paines which in this miserable condition he hath groned vnder Now forasmuch as your petitioner hath in all humble manner besought his Majesty and your Honours for a little liberty to take some aire for the preseruation of his life but no answere could he receiue being now out of all hopes to obtaine his humble and reasonable request yet remaines as close as ever in which regard he hath continued very weake and in exceeding much bodily paine and misery being forced in this his weaknes to keepe the coldnesse of his Irons from his Tender flesh to lye for a long time together in his bed in stockings and bootes which sicknes in regard of the greatnes and long continuance of it and being forced to a constant course of Physick and to keepe a dyet of Phisicall things to keepe life in his body which hath beene extraordinary chargeable to him and hath exhausted and spent all his estate and being from the first beginning unto this day forsaken by his kindred and friends and left to the world Hee is therefore forced in regard of want of meanes to keepe life substain nature in this his sicknes To Petition most humbly to your honours that out of compassion to him in his great distresse who suffers for his conscience sake in which he is like to perish to grant him a competent allowance to preserue life that he may not dye for want of food And as in duty bound shall ever pray FINIS
THE POORE MANS CRY Wherein Is shevved the present miserable estate of mee IOHN LILBVRNE Close prisoner in the Fleete ALSO An humble Petition to his Maiesties Honorable privy Councill for meantenance that I famish not Pro. 21.13 Who so stoppeth his eares at the cry of the poore he also himselfe shall cry and not be heard Published by a backe friend of the English Popish Prelates 1639. Courteous Reader IT is not without the special wisdome of God to set forth the kingdome of Antichrist vnder the name title of a Beast For looke as Beasts do exercise all kinde of cruelty and no favour is to be expected from them so it is with the inhuman Prelates their delight is only in the blood of the Saints and as for Pittie Compassion Charritie c. there is no more in them then in Dogs I could giue many instances * Witnes lately their offering of two hundred pounds to one in London to betray his friend into their bloody hands It seemes there is now some scarsity among these Wolues that they will giue soe much monie for one poore sheep of their beast-like doings this way but it needs not considering how the same is already knowne vnto all men in all places Besides in this short Relation thou shalt haue as much proued as I do here affirme of them namely that they are without naturall affections inhumane barberous Such as Please not God and are contrarie to all men 1 Thess 2.15 fulfilling herein as did Iudas the Prophesies recorded of thē in the Revelation viz. to be Serpents Scorpions and the Spirits of Divels making warre against the Saints and to overcome them The consideration of whose cruelty is to advertise euery faithfull man to looke to it that he well prepare himselfe to fight with these Beasts that so whensoever the Lord shall call him to warree this way he may by the power of the Lambe overcome and possesse the Crowne of life Thy exiled friend and namelesse Country-man To all the people of God that loue the Lord Iesus Christ in truth and sincerity and desire the vvelfare and prosperity of his poore afflicted Saints Seruants DEarely beloued Brethren and fellow heires of the same Kingdome and Crowne of Glory with mee I am at this present constrained to declare vnto (a) If we will be like vnto God we must haue our eares open to heare the cry of the oppressed and our hāds ready to releeve them in what we are able you and truely to say with the Prophet Jeremiah in the third of his Lamentations that I am the man that haue seene felt afflictions by the rod of Gods wrath Also I am aboue measure forced to send forth vnto you and cry out aloud to make my grievous deplorable lamentable complant knowne vnto you of the barberous cruelty tiranies that Prelates and Iaylors haue for a long time together and still do exercise vpon mee labouring by vnheard of cruelty to take away my life privatly (b) This hath been constantly their practice barberously to murder the Saints in secret knowing their cause to be so wicked that if it should come to be openly discouered all good men would detest it them in a hole and corner that so it might be noysed abroad not daring in regard of my vnspotted innocency to bring me againe into the publique view of the Kingdome and therefore doe they tortour my poore weake body with vnparaleld Paganish and Heathenish cruelty (c) Howsoever wee cannot but greeve to heare of such cruell sufferings yet wee maie herein rejoyce that we se these marked slaves of Antich so farre to fulfill the scriptures as that we may infallibly conclude that they are the Locusts which came out of the bottomlesse pit A breife Relation of part of which you may read after these lines in my Humble Petition to the Noble Lords for meantenance which J sent the last week to the Wardens of the Fleete having leave of them for a Scribe to write it and they kept it all night and Warden Jugram sent me this word back againe that he would deliuer no Petitiō vnles I would recant and submitt (d) That is turne Papist and see he might be sure to haue liberty enough and preferment also J answered him back again that if any of my adversaries would shew mee wherein I had broken any of my Soveraignes Lawes J would submit without any conditions to all that they wovld desire of mee Or if they see that I am erronious in my Iudgment J would dispute it with them and if they could groundedly by the authority of the word of God shew and proue that I hold one errour I will be bound publiquely to recant in every Citty of the Kingdome And I said to my Keeper at severall times and so I do still I desire no favour at his hands nor any Bishop in the Kingdome for if I be an offender I desire the extreamity of the law may be inflicted vpon me to the vtmost for J had rather I professe vnto you chuse to morrow to dy at Tyburne or (e) It is no marvaile that the Scotsmen will haue no Bishops among them Considering that it is better that aman were put to the cruelst death that could be devised then to be vnder their hands Smithfield then to bee still induring of my Constant Extraordinarie bodily paines and torments which haue been so great that I do assure you many times they haue almost distracted me of my sences And if they will not do this then seeing my owne estate is spent and all my kindred hath from the beginning left mee (f) Gods people when they suffered vnder the pagans had this favour shewed them that ther friēds might come freely to them supply their wāts But the Prelates for cruelty are far worse then the Heathens for when they once get a man into their prison they will not suffer any body to visit him but rather do seeke by some secret way to murder him my weake condition is so exceeding chargable vnto me standing mee in more in one week now then would keep me fiue weekes if I were wel And also seing that any that will take compassiō of my low estate are not suffered to come at me to releeue mee I desired the Warden having none at all to do it for me besides him that hee according to his place office would truly make my miserable condition known to to the LORDS that J may haue a competant allowance from them to sustaine nature that so I may not perish in this deplorable weake condition and this said I hee being my chiefe Keeper hee is bound to do it at his your perrell be it for I know if my innocent blood should this night by cruelty be takē awaie the Lord would raise vp some that will require of you him a strict account how it was shed though you keep me so close that
there be but few at my death yet you knowe not what great troupes may com to my burial (g) Who shall accompany thy body to the grave I know not But this J know Angels shall accompany thy soule to Heaven But as for that blood sâ—cker Laud J verily beleeve except he repent the Devill will accompany him to hell torment remember but the late great multitude (h) Such a company would follow Laud and his crew If they knew when the king state would hang them at Tiburne that came to the Fleet attended M Burton M. Prinne out of the Cittie and if any thing but good follow vpon this you hee are the sole cause of it therfore as you wil answer it before King and State look to it for I am my Soveaignes faithfull and leige subject (i) Let it be observe that it was never yee seene nor I hope shall be that ther was any man of his profession iustly tainted for a Traitor to the King cuntry whereas the Prelates in all ages since the Devill erected them haue beeÌ„ proved the most notorious traitors that ever were in the world might iusttice take place it would bee proved that they who are now aliue are notorious ones yea one as faithfull to his Crowne as any whatsoever that breathes in all his Dominions for if it can be proued that ever I broke any of his lawes I will submit vnto and suffer whatsoever authoritie wil laie vpon mee therefore be not you hee the Bishops Agents to take awaie my life in my close imprisonment for you vse me worse more tiranically then ever any traitour in England was vsed yea worse then the Gun-powder traitours were vsed I haue read a great part of the Booke of Martyrs with some Histories of the like kinde and J will meantaine it that such an vnparaleld Act of crueltie and barborous tiranie as haue been exercised vpon mee is not to be found in them all Yea wicked bloodie Bonner (k) Seing thier wick ednes is come to such a height fulnesse and they doe go beyond in cruelty the crelst Tirants that ever were My hope is that their destruction ruin is at haÌ„d and that hee will cause the laÌ„d to spue them out and so sâ—nd them packing to their owne place Amen Amen himselfe never did the like to any of the Saints as haue been done vnto mee for while they lived he would either suffer their friends to come at them to releeue them or else he would allow them meantenance to preserue life in them but neither of these can I enjoy also hee would dispute with them himselfe and send for others likewise to do it and vse all meanes to winne them to himselfe but none of these haue I yet found though J haue often desired it and promised to recant if it could be shewed that I held any errors Againe hee would take away their lines (l) Without doubt the Prelates would do so too but are restrained Now it is humlby desired that they who thinke it not fit that the Bishops should haue their will in taking our lines away that they suffer them not in the meane time to use us worse if they broke any of the lawes or would not submit vnto them but though I haue not broken any of the Kings lawes and haue offered so faire as I haue done and haue desired longed to meet with death yet can I not be rid of my misery but you keep me in a tormenting (m) When these Tormentours feele hell torments then they will know what it is to torment others condition full of extreamitie and bodiliepaine that I can neither get ease sitting nor lying being vnable to go without great miserie being alwaies as it were in the panges of death yet cannot meet with it But said I to M. Iohn Murry M. Morgan a Papist tell the Warden from mee that vnlesse the Bishopps by the law of the land and the word (a) They can shew as much word of God for what they doe as they doe shew mercy and goodnesse in their actions and that is in both none at all of God will shew me my offence I will never submit nor recant in the least while breath is in my body and therefore it is but in vaine to hâ—pe for it for if he and I should liue together as longe as Methusalah did which was almost a thousand yeares yet he should never get mee to goe against the sweet peace of a good conscience or recant that which J am perswaded is a truth yea if hee should exercise all the cruelty in the world upon mee though he should locke mee in an Iron chest that I could neither stirre hand nor foote and feede me with channell water and with bread made of saw dust hee might well take away my life and beeing from the earth but he should never make me goe against my conscience for I am kept by the power of God through faith vnto salvation and Crowne of glory that is so rich in my eyes that I dare not deny Christ nor his truth though all the crueltie in the world should be inflicted upon mee least he deny mee before his father which is in heaven Yet most miserable it is that I should perish by cruelty in my close condition being a faithfull subject to the King neuer broke any of his lawes And let my tormentors looke to it as they will answer it for I haue heard that the Honorable Lords (b) Howsoever the Bishops do cause the Godly to be cruelly vsed in Preson Yet I am perswaded that neither the King nor the Temporall Lords of his majesties council do know of it For it is not possible if they did that they would suffer it considering how much it is against nature to exercise cruelty vpoÌ„ any creature much lesse on man who carries Gods owne image which haue beene made acquainted with my cruell vsage protested they would not beleeue that the Warden dealt so with mee this with much more that then I said with some prisoners taking notice of my condition but especially Sr. Richard Gravenner a worshipfull Knight (c) J do not marvaile that the knight would not receive it for atruth For the truth is such is their cruelty shewed to such as are against their places that vnles it were seen with the eyes one would scarce beleeve it For this I do affirme will make it good that no Rogue in any Iayle of the Land is so basely barberously handled Not that the Keepers desire to vse theÌ„ so but are charged secretly by the Bb. so to do threatened to loose their places if they shew favour to them who sent to the Warden about it which I think put him in some feare that he durst not well denie my reasonable request in delivering my petition so hee sent a scribe to me to draw it oner a