bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death Jam. 1.14 15. If we provide for the flesh our prayers will but little avail and help us against the fulfilling of the lusts of it Remember Friend into whose hands these papers come while thou warrest against that wicked one thou standest on slippery ground thou fightest as it were with a burden upon thy Back and thy Enemy hath this Advantage against thee in that he is invisible and hath also a party within thee whom he too easily persuades and inticeth to joyn with him against thy Soul Be sober be vigilant and pray without ceasing and when he shoots in his fiery-darts hold up the Sword of the Spirit and the shield of Faith and lift up a cry to him who is the hope and help of his Israel and never yield consent if thou consent not he may disturb thee a while but cannot conquer 'T is written for thy encouragement Submit your selves therefore to God who giveth grace to the humble Resist the Devil and he shall flee from you Jam. 4.6 7. God will have mercy on whom he will have mercy Obser 4 and such as have much forgiven do love much and do more than others So did that wicked Woman call'd a sinner Luk. 7.37 who forsaking all other Lovers Luke 7.47 inquires after Christ and knowing where he was makes bold to enter in without the Pharissee Invitation She expresseth her love in washing his feet with her tears and wiping them with the hair of her head her heart runs out at her eyes as it were saying Alas my Lord that ever I should do as I have done O wonderful that ever thou shouldst admit such a wretch as I am to come into thy presence Sinners notorious for lewdness and vile practices have come to themselves and returned unto their Heavenly Father and have proved wonders to themselves and others and Eminent examples of redeeming time and glorifying the Lord in bringing forth much fruit and much more than many hundred that make some profession of Religion do O what a difference doth grace make between a bare Professor and a real Convert What a glorious change is made in the Heart and Life of a true Penitent What difference was there between Gymer when first imprisoned and the same man after at his apprehension at Yarmouth At first his heart is shut up and he openeth not his mouth to give glory to God in Confession and then he play'd at Cards and complied with his Fellow-Prisoners in doing as they did tho' his Conscience grumbled at it and rebuked him for it afterward he ingeniously confesseth his wickedness and all comes out freely he humbles himself greatly as Manitassch did in his affliction 2 Chron. 33.12 He is a man of sorrow and is solicitous about the state of his Soul Now his eyes being open his heart is affected and he is thankful to God that he was taken and did not escape the hand of the pursuers Now he is much taken with the wisdom and goodness of God in bringing him to Repentance in such a way and giving him a space of repentance He now sets upon the work in good earnest and help comes in and he blesseth the Divine Majesty of Heaven for exciting and stirring up the spirit of divers of his Servants both Ministers and others to assist him by their prayers and instructions Sinners that have gone on with an high hand in bloody and deceitful ways tho' the Lord give pardon upon repentance Obser 5 yet he usually takes vengeance on their inventions I read of one Wasoraw a Gentleman See fulfilling of Scripture p. 488. who was one who took delight in making difference between men and he stirr'd up a Neighbour Gentleman to kill another and finding him troubled in mind about the murder committed he told him more of that practice would be the best cure For he himself had killed six and at first he was much disquieted but the longer it continued it became the more easy But one day he riding to a place where two were to decide a quarrel by fighting his Horse stumbles on the side of a steep Rock and he falls a great way down his Sword falling out before him yet without any hurt Upon this the Lord brake in upon his conscience so that he turns home with great trouble and remorse and a most kindly change follows thereupon and for some years after he manifested much tenderness and repentance He spent much time alone in mourning before his de ath and that day he dyed he was heard in his Chamber wrastling in prayer and after long continuance they of the house knocking at the door and getting no answer brake it open and find him dead upon his knees and the whole blood of his body which from every passage had issued out swimming about him on the floor Tho' men may neglect doing of justice yet Divine Justice will not spare the murderer tho' upon his repentance God will remember his Soul in mercy The shedder of man's blood sometimes escapes the Justice of man but the righteous Lord of Heaven and earth will not let him go unpunished tho' he pardon the truly penitent sinner yet he declares to the world the abhorrency of his sin And thus he did deal with David 2 Sam. 12.9 10.13 14. And thus he dealt also with this poor Malefactor we treat of he set his sins in array against him which as a Lyon did sorely bruise and wound his Conscience He tells us in writing of tumultuous thoughts that he had in secret about his condition without Christ and considering saith he how Satan hath betrayed me and led me from one sin to another God was pleased to make me sensible of my sins and I was ready to despair of any mercy But in reading those words of Isaiah chap. 1.8 Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord tho' your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow tho' they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool And upon the thoughts of Mary Magdalen whose wickedness was great yet upon her repentance she obtained pardon I had comfort But many other times I have been almost distracted for fear God would not accept of such a vile wretch as I am But then I thought of the Thief on the Cross and put up many prayers and have been again refreshed And as he was under deep dejection of Spirit Obser 6 so afterwards he was sweetly lifted up As his afflictions abounded so did his Consolations in the free and preciouspromises His comfort arising from his hope in the word was so strong and steady that for some Months before he dyed he feared not death no not that kind of death he expected to die but rather greatly desired it O saith he Psal 55.6 that I had the wings of a Dove The time seemed long to him till he came to his rest He declined not in the least the
Sacrifice to Legal Justice But the Divine Wrath must be appeased and mercy obtained by a better Sacrifice and that is the Blood the most precious Blood of the Son of God our Saviour Jesus Christ This Blood is the only Medicine of Blood-guiltiness Lord wash me from this and I shall be clean And I should be in a higher degree of hope to obtain this blessing could I but hear you say as I hope you will to this prayer say Amen which is the most humble desire of a sorrowful Soul in Prison William Gymer Some have doubted and so have I whether these Lines were of his own inditing and composure yet I question not if the words were not but the sense was his own and his heart was in them He writ also a Letter to his Wife see p. 11 12. and another for his Child as I have been told which he never saw it being but about three quarters old for its use if the Lord should let it live and give it understanding He leaveth a paper also for others that may read it wherein he seems to be much affected with the sorrow and sufferings of Christ and prays that God would take away our stony hearts and give us to consider what he suffered for us Thou saith he whose property it is to have mercy hear and have compassion We commit our hearts unto Thee our God And let us as he addeth O my Friends take that due care to bring forth fruits that are meet for Repentance Matth. 3.8 The foundation of a holy life is true Repentance and where that is we may believe there is remission of sins and eternal life succeeds O then let us not put off our Repentance from day to day for to morrow is none of ours O let us repent to day for the day is at hand when we must render an account not only for one day but for our whole life Let us truly call upon God that he would turn his face from our sins and pray unto him that our sins may depart from us For sin is the distemper of the Soul which moved David to cry out Heal my Soul for I have sinned against thee Psal 41.4 Let us call upon God that he would not cast us away from his presence but restore unto us the joy of his salvation Psal 51.12 O let us not count calamity and punishment evil for many times good proceedeth from them Nay they may be called good because they are God's Messengers and proceed from him who is the Fountain of all good Moreover they lead us unto the chiefest Happiness which is life everlasting For Christ by his Passion entred into his glory and Christians by tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God Acts 14.22 O then let us count nothing evil but sin because it draws us from that which is good The Sinner is accused by his Conscience which he hath defiled by his Creator whom he hath offended and by the sins he hath committed Let us beg of God that he would grant us Grace to repent and endeavour to make our Calling and Election sure My Friends I leave these Lines behind me heartily desiring you to avoid all sin and to avoid Lying which I believe to be the fore-runner of other sins Solomon bids us Prov. 23.23 buy the Truth but doth not tell us what it must cost because we must get it tho' it be never so dear We must love Truth both shining and scorching Thus he writes and thus he spent part of that space of time given him for Repentance and owned scorching Truth in a free confession of those Crimes which he knew would cost him his life He admonished such as came to see him to take heed of Lying and Sabbath-breaking and let him saith he that standeth take heed lest he fall For I little thought or intended to commit those grievous Crimes I am guilty of half an hour before the commission of them And then he burst out into tears He was frequent in Prayer with Thanksgiving I do confess saith he it might be but Justice in thee to damn my Soul but O Lord I pray thee in Justice remember Mercy and in thine Infinite Mercy pardon me 'T is dreadful to lose the Body but O how much dreadful to lose the Soul to all Eternity Let my Soul praise thy Name for what thou hast done for me For I hope and do believe thou hast been at work upon my Soul in helping me to repent for which I give thee hearty thanks and am desirous to be most humble under the sense of my sins for they are very dreadful to me As he prayed so his prayers were mixed with Faithand a humble confidence He would tell me he had comfort in God upon his praying He often found the Lord ready to give what he asked and more ready to receive the contrite in heart into favour as he acknowledged then they to offer themselves by unfeigned Repentance Prayer was the employ in which he spent much of his time and he heartily desired the earnest prayers of Ministers and all good and pious Christians that he might grow more and more in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and many were put up for him The great mercies of God made his heart glad and the Company of those who came to instruct and help him forward in the way of Life was very acceptable to him and he would entreat them to come again and not leave him while he was in the Land of the Living His words were but few but his ingenious Confession and meek Conversation and his Works that declared his unfeigned Repentance won the hearts of many to him His Wife told me he writ twice a week to her In his last Letter to her he writeth thus My Dear Love THIS being the last Letter that ever I shall write I write to you to look to your Eternal Stat aend to prepare for it before it be too late which is my hearty prayer to Almighty God that you should so do and that you may not be found as some I once read of who cryed out O miserable Souls that we are How hath sin and the world blinded and bewitched us that we could not see our condition before it was too late God hath kept me in the thoughts of death for some time Once I thought my self just at the Graves side but he that laid me down was pleased to lift me up again But now he seems to be speedily finishing my days to whom through the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ I call with some comfort and boldness saying Come Lord Jesus come quickly And so farewel my Friends and Relations farewel eating and drinking and I hope within a few days to say Farewel sin and sinning And My dear I commend you and my poor Babe to him who hath promised To be a Father to the Fatherless and to plead the cause of the Widow And so I earnestly desire you to
The Exceeding Abundant Grace of God Displayed in the CONVERSION OF William Gymer A Penitent Malefactor and Murderer Who was Executed on the Castle-Hill in Norwich Sept. 4. 1696. Written by John Lucas Minister of the Gospel VVho was before a Blasphemer and a Persecutor and Injurious But I obtained mercy c. And the Grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant 1 Tim. 1.13 14. Nor Thieves nor Covetous c. shall inherit the Kingdom of God And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are Justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God 1 Cor. 6.10 11. LONDON Printed by Tho. Snowden for Edward Giles Bookseller in Norwich near the Market-place 1696. THE EPISTLE TO THE READER Courteous Reader I Here present to thy view one who was like a little Candle going out with a stinking snuff but in a little time lighted again by the Beams of the Sun of Righteousness and set upon a Hill He had been as a Bryer and Thorn that wounded his Friend to death and yet became a living Branch of the true Vine He was like a Worm that had killed another of its own kind and thereupon was trodden to death by the Devil that devouring Lion and yet was restored to life by his vertue who was as a Worm despised and rejected of men Psal 22.6 Isa 53.3 Of such a one I am writing who according to the judgment of Charity proved a sincere Convert Indeed some bid fairer for our Charity than others and in my Opinion he did so Reader come and see how he comes to himself and then writing to his Wife he tells her This is to let you know that I did commit the Crime This I have openly confest and since that I am much more at ease in my mind and for what I have done I am heartily sorry and earnestly beg pardon at the hands of God Almighty While David kept silence the hand of God was heavy upon him but in acknowledging his iniquity he found relief Psal 32.3 4 5. He discovered his disease and it much tended to its cure Being awakened with the sense of his guilt he cries unto God and calls upon his Wife and others to do the like For saith he God is able yea willing to hear but it must not be bare calling but that which is in sincerity of heart that will do Having obtained hope of pardon and life he desires to die and lay down his life as a debt to Justice and yet he would have his Friends assured that he despaired not of God's Mercy but did put his whole trust and confidence in him as knowing there was no pardon for him but through Jesus Christ I only saith he rely on the Merit of Christ hoping that he who invited those great Sinners who by their wicked hands crucified his dear Son to repent and live will of his mercy look upon my dejected Soul which I lift up with a humble confidence in him that he will not deny me the same mercy He discoursed of death as his familiar Acquaintance with his Friends in his writing to his Wife and tho' such Discourse might be unpleasing to some and put them into a cold sweat making them tremble as Pelshazzar did at the writing on the Plaister of the Wall in his Palace Dan. 5.5 6. yet his hearty desire was with tears in his eyes if you will believe him that his Relations would consider how their lives were like a Shadow and assure themselves they had no greater work to do than to prepare for death He lookt upon death as the end of misery to the faithful and beginning of blessedness but to the secure and careless as the end of their pleasure and beginning of eternal pain Of such like things he writes which I have seen and read in his Letters to his Wife and tells her that he writ not any thing to her as a ceremony but out of an earnest Zeal and well-wishing to her Souls welfare and happiness 1. His Soul being healed by pardoning Grace he admires the Physicians mercy we ought saith he above all things to admire the infinite goodness of God who hath set forth his Son a propitiation through Faith in his blood Rom. 3.25 We cannot often enough make mention of his great kindness who gave himself as a free-will-offering for our sins 2. He prizes the precious promises which he termeth Wonderful such as these God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble Psal 46.1 and they that know thy Name will trust in thee for thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee Psal 9 10. and others These were the Treasure he laid up and took comfort in 3. He pants after a sinless State and longed to be with Christ in that better Country and to live for ever with him 4 He was concerned for the Souls of others In was his extreme grief as he expresseth his mind to hear how some of his Relations who instead of being humbled under the great Judgment that had befallen her in his fall were rather hardened But he entreats them for God's sake to look upon it as a warning from Heaven not to presume for if God leave any of us to our selves we are so prone to sin that we may soon fall into great Transgressions He admonisheth He exhorts and prays for them that they might not live any longer without Christ and that the life they led in the Flesh might be by Faith on the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us the remembrance of which love he adds should be most dear and precious to us so as to set light by all wordly vanities He prays that they might pass their time here as it becomes those who expect shortly to give an account to him who will Judge all Men according to their Works Thus he opened his heart and shewed his good will and thus he poured out his Soul in his requests to God for the good of their Souls who were nearly related to him As to the Prisoners that lived with him and Lodged with him he would Read to them and Pray with them and according to the gift he had received he was willing to give them and others that visited him his advice and caution against carnal confidence and yielding to the occasions of sin Some of his last words at the place of Execution were Gentlemen You are come to see a poor Creature suffer and I justly deserve it Oh! the Infinite Grace and Mercy of God towards me that he did not immediately cast me down to Hell but gave me so long a space of Repentance Beware of the great evil of Sin beware of Lying and Sabbath-breaking which sins I believe were the Foundation of this my present suffering O! watch and pray and do not purchase your Repentance at so dear a rate as I have done And now Lord Jesus receive my Soul into thy hands I
stroke of death but that he might be sure to die he confest himself guilty three times upon his Inditement and Arraignment at the Bar. There could be no positive evidence produced against him but by his own Confession he saved the Judge and Jury the trouble of a Tryal I askt him afterwards whether he were satisfied in his so doing and his answer was very well He writ to his Wife that his sins had so troubled his conscience that if every limb of his Body had a several soul or life he would willingly yield up all to make restitution for the sorrow and shame he had brought her unto But all being not able to do it he desired of God so to sanctifie the affliction that it might be a blessed Instrument to purge her from the vain conceits of the pleasures of this life I know saith he our blessed Saviour liveth who suffered and died for us and that he hath great compassion towards those who would gladly follow him tho' it be through sufferings He desires above all things that he and all his Friends might be made like to him in meekness and patience and entirely resign themselves to God's holy Will and Pleasure whatever their condition be He gave diligence to make his Calling and Election sure Obser 7 and the Lord crowned it with a good hope through Grace He made it his business sometimes by night as well as by day to make his peace with God and his labour was not in vain He sought the Lord and he heard him He asked and receive Psalm 51.14 15. the remission of his sins and his joy in the Lord upon it was his strength God did deliver him from blood-guiltiness and his Tongue did sing aloud of his Righteousness The Lord did in blotting out his great Transgressions open his Mouth and his Lips shewed forth his praise He attained in a little time to a higher degree of true Christianity and in the Kingdom of God which consists in Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost than many Professors of long standing as they have gone to work could ever reach or attain unto He longed for his dying day and to go to Christ tho' it were by the Gallows He told me that way of dying did not dismay or terrifie him He rather wisht it as the desert of his heinous Crimes than feared it He lived a sweet and comfortable Life especially towards his latter end When I enquired how 't was with him his usual answer was I find comfort in seeking God and would often say Never better And so I understand he said in the Morning before his Execution Never better He gave glory to God in taking shame to himself and his ingenuous Confession was no disgrace to him turned to good account and his great advantage He left the world and laid aside the thoughts of Life some Months before he died and in so doing he found God and thereupon lived a contented and comfortable Life Comenius tell us The Brethren of Bohemia placed the beginning middle and end of Religion not in disputing but in doing i. e in true Conversion to God and solid Faith in Christ This was the way he walked in He was like a little Child considerate for nothing but simplicity not coveting any thing but the favour of God making it his business to serve the Lord in Spirit and Truth to look up to Heaven to renounce trust in Earth and take heed of nothing so much as of oftending God or Man by neglecting any duty And being taken up with these things he had learned to be content in a Prison He placed his Religion in the love of God and studying his love and goodness and in his praises He was more solicitous about his duty to God than about his dealings with him as knowing he would do all things well and he so lived as one devoted to his service He seemed to understand wherein the height of a Christian Life and the greatest part of his duty consisted viz in love to Christ and delight in him and thankful and cheerful obedience to his Will God call'd him to a thankful acceptance of Christ that made satisfaction for his sins and enabled him to proceed in a sweet compliance with the Will of the Redeemer he believed in One while I feared as I told him his resting on prayer and duties instead of trusting in Christ the only Foundation he must build upon But as I found he was thro' Grace disposed not only to hear but also to follow the directions that were given to him so I see reason to hope he hearkened to his caution and counsel as he did in other particulars which I observed In one of my Visits I askt him whether he could sing and would joyn with us in singing a Psalm He consented to the motion and did accordingly and afterwards seemed much to delight in that heavenly exercise to the last singing heartily as unto the Lord. He determined before-hand that on the morning before he came forth to suffer he would read the 12th chapter of Isaiah and so he did and read also the 40th chapter of the same Prophet and also Psal 46. and sang part of the 33d Psalm and after his withdrawing a while to pray with his fellow-suffer he came forth again and put on his dying-clothes and took his leave of the Prisoners cheerfully shaking them by the hand In the Grand-Jury Chamber earnest prayers were poured out for him and the other that suffered with him who would not confess he was accessory to the murder of the Child he was condemned for God stirred up the heart of divers Ministers to go to him to instruct and exhort him and to be fervent in Spirit while they prayed for him And I have grounds to hope God heard their cries He was much concerned for the Souls of others Obser 8 He did often read to and pray with the Prisoners He told a Friend the hardness of his fellow-sufferers heart had made him shed many tears He often was alone spending his time in reading thinking and praying and at times prayed with the Prisoners that would joyn with him Having obtained Grace he was willing to communicate it in the best manner he could He writ a Letter to the Father of the Maid he murdered wherein he confest whatever Charge he loaded him with it was still far less than his grievous Crime and yet he tells him there was no proportion between his Crime and the Infinite Mercy of God But what comfort is in this saith he if I have no share in it I am told there is mercy with God for me and that one way to it lies by your Door To you therefore I come in meekness of spirit beseeching you for God's sake to forgive your share and so to forgive as to become an earnest Suitor for my pardon from God Had every Limb of my Body a several living Soul I should willingly yield all up as a
put your whole Trust and Confidence in him who hath promised all them that so do never to leave them nor forsake them Which God Almighty grant he never may for the sake of his dear Son Christ Jesus our only Saviour and Redeemer into whose hands I commit you all bidding You and all the World adieu VVhich may be added to those he spake on the Ladder mentioned in the Epistle At last he concludeth his life with these words as may be seen in one of his Papers I resign up my Spirit most chearfully into the hands of God hoping to find mercy with him through Christ I know no other name under Heaven whereby I may be saved but his alone who was dead and is alive again and liveth for evermore And therefore I am confident of his most precious promises which I believe to be faithful and true as he is for pardon and immortal Life Therefore I beseech him to accept of my most hearty thanks for his great mercy shewn unto me hoping he will receive me into the Company of Spirits of Just Men made perfect to give him thanks for ever And as I desire to find mercy with him so I forgive all mine Enemies beseeching God to forgive them and to bless and comfort all my Friends that at last we may live together in everlasting life From the whole of this Narrative and Discourse we may learn 1. To despair of none tho' never so ignorant and ungodly but while the sinner is on this side the Grave let us use the means of Divine appointment It is the good pleasure of the Almighty here and there to cull out from among the Children of men the chief of sinners Sometimes he lays hold upon the most unlikely and draws them by his Spirit to his Son Sometimes he calleth the deformed and most despicable and hath a time of love for them Sometimes he rectifies by his Grace such as are of as crooked a Nature as is in Nature to be found and renewes in them a right Spirit Sometimes he who sweareth by himself that he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather that he return from his evil ways and live turneth the heart of a Swearer a Lyar a Thief and Murderer to mind his Salvation in good earnest O the unfathomable depth of goodness and mercy of the most High and Holy One of Israel I have more than once or twice read of such as have cryed out in the sense of Superabounding Grace Let none despair of the worst of sinners for our sake 2. Let not any dare to presume in a course of sin because God is gracious His mercy is over all but his special and saving mercy is bounded with his truth and granted only to the truly penitent If thou be a self-willd wretch and resolved to persist in the way of sinners I pray ask leave first of the Great Lawgiver before thou go any further Ah! but with what face darest thou beg such a liberty But if thou wilt go on without his leave then go out of his sight Jer. 23.24 where he cannot see thee but whither canst thou flee from his presence Can any man hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him saith the Lord. Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord. He threatens presumptuous ones that fear not his glorious and fearful Name to make their Plagues wonderful * Deut. 28.58 59. chap. 29.19 20 c. But if out of his unspeakable compassion he plucks here and there one as fire-brands out of the fire yet he usually makes such know by sad and bitter experience the evil of their ways and doings and what 't is not to fear this glorious and fearful Name The Lord thy God he will wound the hairy scalp of those that go on in their wickedness and tho he healeth some whom he seeth walking in destructive ways yet ordinarily he lays the foundation of the cure in trouble and anguish of spirit and deep distress of mind 3. Let us bless the Lord with our Soul who leadeth captivity captive and makes a Thief and Murderer happy in turning to him and sets him up as a monument of his stupendous Grace that we may behold and wonder Our Converts are so few and rare among those that walk at liberty that it cannot but be lookt upon as a singular Example of rich and special grace when we can find but one among those that are bound in Fetters truly converted Fishers of men that have not the liberty to cast their Net in the broad Waters or if they have find little success are glad to see what they can get in the narrow Straights And if they can get but one Soul they count the gain more worth abundantly than all their toil and labour Some heretofore have ransackt Prisons to rake out such wretches as they found willing to swear against their own Consciences to ruine others But it 's more refreshing to a Servant of Christ to find out one that will speak the Truth in his heart and from his heart tho' it be against his own life One that confest and gave glory to God one that prayed much and obtained great Faith greater than is found among many of a long standing in the profession of the true Religion and loved much because much was forgiven and his consolations thereupon were not small That wicked one at first prevailed with him but the good Spirit at last overcame the Devil Greater is he saith the Holy Apostle that is in you than he that is in the World 1 Joh. 4.4 The blessed Spirit inclined and enabled him to repent of his Evil Works and Wickedness but Satan could not make him repent of his ceasing to do evil he was not able by force or fraud to make him repent of his Repentance or of the forsaking of his sins or of his doing works meet for Repentance Converting Grace is the Sinners rescue and deliverance from the God of this World and Christ's subduing his iniquities Henceforth 1. The sincere Convert is one blessed of the Lord with all spiritual blessings He is one of the number of the Father's peculiar ones one among Christ's Brethren and Friends one in whom his Holy Spirit abideth He is one that hath the mark of God's Election upon him and the seed of everlasting Love in him that will never die nor leave him till it spring up to Eternal Life A sincere Convert was once a Prodigal that had wasted all and brought himself to a starving condition but now he is come to himself and returned to his Father humbly confessing his Folly and Wickedness and is made welcom He was as one wounded and lying in the High Way in his blood and Filth but now he is healed cleansed and revived Should you see a Christian among the Turks used like a Horse or a Dog would not such a sight make your bowels yearn towards him Why a poor
Unconverted Wretch hath worse usage from the Devil and ought we not then to pity him greatly and pray for him heartily But if afterwards we find this sinner set at liberty among his Friends and kindly used we may well say to such a one O Friend the World is well amended with you Blessed be the Lord who hath dealt thus wondrously with you 2. A sincere Convert whatever his condition be in the World in what Degree or Quality soever he stands among Men is a blessing Converted Souls are the Glory and Treasure of the Church the Riches of the World the Substance of any Land or Nation Isa 6.13 As good Corn in the Field is the Husband-Mans Substance and not the gay Weeds These are the Pillars of the Earth or as the Stones under Ground which support the stately structure which those parts which seem more glorious do not 3. God is greatly to be praised for the conversion of any poor Soul Act. 11.18 The Thessalonians being turned from Idols to the Service of the Living and True God the Apostle tells them We give thanks to God always for you all 1 Thes 1.2 and that he and other Saints were bound so to do 2 Thes 1.3 God be thanked saith he to the Romans that ye were the servants of sin but not now but have obeyed from the heart that form of sound Doctrine whereto ye were delivered Rom. 6.17 He glorified the Holy One for turning the ungodly from their iniquities and the Churches glorified God in his Conversion Gal. c. 1. ver 22 23 24. One Sinner that repenteth refresheth the heart of Saints on Earth and causeth joy in the presence of the Angels in Heaven Luke 15.10 Thus under many infirmities it hath pleased the Almighty to put me upon improving that little spare time he hath given me from other Employment in setting down a few things of many concerning this poor Malefactor In which Discourse tho' some Circumstances be omitted and others not so exactly related as some might expect yet for the substance I dare say the truth is here delivered I heartily desired this might have been done by a better hand but seeing none would engage in this service I the least of all and most unworthy of any of Christ's Servants have ventured to cast my mite such as it is into the Treasury The good Lord accept it in his Son and make it useful to some poor Soul for his Name sake Octob. 23. 1696. FINIS A Catalogue of Books Printed for and are to be sold by Edward Giles Bookseller in Norwich near the Market-place SEveral Discourses concerning Actual Providence A Word in Season Defensive Armour against four of Satans most Fiery Darts Sermons upon the whole first and second Chapters of the Canticles Thirteen Sermons upon several Useful Subjects The Happiness of Brethren dwelling together in Unity All published by John Collings D. D. of Norwich The Way of the Spirit in bringing Souls to Christ The Glory of Christ set forth with the Necessity of Faith in several Sermons both by Mr. Tho. Allen late Pastor of a Church of Christ at Norwich Enoch's Walk with God and Christ a Christian's Gain By Mr. Timothy Armitage late Pastor of a Church of Christ at Norwich A Discourse of the Preciousness of Christ and of the Preciousness of Faith Precious Promises the Portion of Overcomers Sermons on five several Useful Subjects All by Mr. John Lougher Minister in Norfolk The Saints Ebenezer By Mr. Francis English late Minister in Norwich Directions to Spell English right The History of the Protestant Reformation as it was begun by Luther The Dead Saints Speaking being a Sermon Preached upon the Death of Mr. Newcomb of Dedham in Essex The English Presbyterian The Miracles of Christ The Ordinary Matter of Prayer drawn into Questions and Answers Two Treatises the first of Rejoycing in the Lord Jesus in all Cases and Conditions The second Of a Christian's Hope in Heaven and Freedom from Condemnation by Christ Both by Mr. Robert Asty late Minister of Jesus Christ in Norwich Obedience to Magistrates recommended in a Sermon Preached Sept. 9. 1683. By Jonathan Clapham Rector of VVramplingham in Norfolk Two Discourses one of Spiritual Blessings the other that God hath an high account of the least Grace in the Saints By Mr. John Cromwell late Pastor of a Church of Christ in Norwich Infant