Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A49719
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A true copy of certain passages of the Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, his speech spoken on the scaffold on Tower-Hill immediatly before his death Jan. 10, 1644
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Laud, William, 1573-1645.
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1644
(1644)
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Wing L602; ESTC R3497
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5,090
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8
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〈…〉 according to the Religion by Law established as any man in this Kingdom And that He will venture His Life as farre and as freely for it and I think I doe or should know both His affection to Religion and his grounds for it as fully as any man in England The second particular is concerning this great and Populous City which God blesse Here hath been of late a fashion taken up to gather hands and then goe to the Great Court the Parliament and clamour for Justice as if that great and wise Court before whom the Causes come which are unknown to the many could not or would not doe Iustice but at their appoyntment A way which may endanger many an Innocent man and pluck his blood upon their own heads and perhaps upon this City also And this hath been lately practised against my selfe the Magistrates standing still and suffering them openly to proceed from Parish to Parish without Check God forgive the Abetters of this with all my heart I begge it but many well meaning People are caught by it In St Stephens case when nothing else could serve they stirred up the People against him and when Herod had killed St Iames he would not venture on St Peter till he found how the other pleased the People But beware you that cry so much for Iustice lest when you cry for your selves you have nothing but Iustice Take heed take heed of having your hands full of blood for there is a time best known to Himselfe when God above other sinnes makes Inquisition for blood and when that Inquisition is on foot the Psalmist tells us That God remembers that 's not all He remembers and forgets not the Complaint of the Poore that is him whose blood is shed by oppression vers. 9. take heed of this It is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God but then especially when he is making Inquisition for blood And with my Prayers to avert it I doe heartily desire this City to remember the Prophesy that is expressed Ier. 26.15 The third particular is the poore Church of England It hath flourished and been a shelter to other neighbouring Churches when stormes have driven upon them But alas now 't is in a storme it selfe and God only knowes whether or how it shall get out and which is worse then a storme from without it 's become like an Oake cleft to shivers with wedges made out of its own body and at every cleft Prophanenesse and Irreligion are entring in while as Prosper speaks in his second Book De vitae contemptu cap. 4. Men that introduce prophanenesse are cloaked with the name of Imaginary Religion for we have lost the Substance dwell too much in Opinion and that Church which all the Iesuits could not ruine is fallen into danger by her owne The last particular for I am not willing to be long is my selfe I was borne and baptized in the bosome of the Church of England established by Law in that profession I have ever since lived and in that I come now to dye what Clamours and Slaunders I have endured for labouring to keep a Conformity in the externall service of God according to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church all men know and I have abundantly felt Now at last I am accused of High Treason in Parliament a Crime which my soule ever abhorred this Treason was charged to consist of two parts An endeavour to subvert the Lawes of the Land and a like Endeavour to overthrow the true Protestant Religion Established by Law Besides my answers which I gave to the several Charges I protested my Innocency in both Houses It was said Prisoners protestations at the Barr must not be taken I can bring no other witnesse of my heart and the intentions thereof I must therefore come now to it upon my Death being instantly to give God an accompt for the truth of it I doe therefore here in the presence of God and his holy Angells take it upon my death That I never endeavoured the subversion either of Law or Religion and I desire that you would all remember this Protestation of mine for my Innocency in these and from all Treasonâ— whatsoever whereof I would not for all the World be so guilty as some are I have been accused likewise as an Enemy to Parliamentâ— Noe I understand them and the benefit that comes by them too well to be so But I did dislike the misgovernment of some Parliaments many wayes and I had good reasons for it Corruptia optimi est pâ—ssima and that being the highest Court over which no other hath Iurisdiction when That is misinformed or misgoverned the Subject is left without all remedy But I have done I forgive all the World all and every of those bitter Enemies which have persecuted me and humbly desire to be forgiven of God first and then of every man and so I heartily desire you to joyne in Prayer with me O Eternall God and mercifull Father look downe upon me in mercy in the Riches and fulnesse of thy mercies look upon me but not untill thou hast nayled my sinnes to the Crosse of Christ not till thou hast bathed me in the blood of Christ not till I have hid my selfe in the wounds of Christ that so the punishment due unto my sinnes may passe over me And since thou art pleased to try me to the uttermost I humbly beseech thee to give me now in this great instant full Patience prâ—portionable Comfort and a heart ready to dye for thy Honour the Kings happinesse and this Churches preservation My zeale to these farre from Arrogancy be it spoken is all the sinne humane frailty excepted and all incidents thereunto which is yet known to me in this particular for which I now come to suffer I say in this particular of Treason but otherwise my sinnes are many and great Lord pardon them all and those especially whatsoever they are which have drawn down this present iudgment upon me and when thou hast given me strength to beare it doe with me as seemes best in thine owne eyes Amen And that there may be a stopp of this Issue of blood in this more then miserable Kingdom O Lord I beseech thee give grace of Repentance to all Blood-thirsty people but if they will not repent O Lord Confound all their devices Defeat and Frustrate all their Designes and Endeavours which are or shall be contrary to the Glory of thy great Name the truth and sincerity of Religion the establishment of the King and His Posterity after Him in their Iust Rights and Priviledges the Honour and Conservation of Parliaments in their Iust power the perservation of this Poore Church in its Truth Peace and Patrimony and the settlement of this distracted and distressed People under their ancient Lawes and in their native Liberties And when thou hast done all this in meere mercy for them O Lord fill their hearts with thankefulnesse and Religious dutyfull obedience to thee and thy Commandements all their dayes So Amen Lord Iesus Amen and receive my Soule into thy Bosome Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. Exod. 12.8 Ioh. 19.11 Luk. 22.42 Dan. 3. Luk. 6.39 Joh. 11.48 Act. 6.12 Act. 12.3 Isa. 1.15 Ps. 9.12 Heb. 12.
A TRVE COPY OF CERTAIN PASSAGES OF THE Lord Arch-Bishop of CANTERBVRY HIS SPEECH SPOKEN on the Scaffold on Tower-Hill immediatly before his Death Ian. 10. 1644. OXFORD Printed by LEONARD LICHFIELD Printer to the Vniversity 1644. Good People THis is an uncomfortable time to Preach yet I shall begin with a Text of Scripture Heb 12. 2. Let us runne with Patience that race which is set before us looking unto IESUS the Author and finisher of our Faith who for the Ioy that was set before him endured the Crosse despising the shame and is set downe at the right hand of the throne of God I have been long in my Race and how I have looked to IESUS the Author and finisher of my Faith He best knowes I am now come to the end of my Race and here I find the Crosse a death of shame but the shame must be despised or no comming to the right hand of God IESUS despised the shame for me and God forbid but I should despise the shame for Him I am going apace you see towards the Red-Sea and my feet are now upon the very brink of it an Argument I hope that God is bringing me to the Land of Promise for that was the way through which he led his People But before they came to it He instituted a Passeover for them a Lambe it was it must be eaten with sowre Hearbs I shall obey and labour to digest the sowre Hearbes as well as the Lambe For I shall remember it is the Lord's Passeover I shall not think of the Herbs nor be angry with the hand that gathereth them but look up onely to Him which instituted that and governes these For men can have no more power over me then what is given them from above I am not in love with this passage through the Red-Sea for I have the weakenesse and infirmities of flesh and bloud in me And I have prayed as my Saviour taught me ut transiret Calix iste that this Cup of Red-wine might passe from me But if not God's will not mine be done and I shall most willingly drinke of this Cup as deep as He pleases and enter into this Sea yea and passe through it in the way that he shall lead me But I would have it remembred Good people that when Gods Servants were in this boysterous Sea and Aaron among them the AEgyptians which persecuted them and in a manner drove them into that Sea were drowned in the same waters while they were in pursuit of them I know my God whom I serve is as able to deliver me from this Sea of bloud as he was to deliver the three Children from the Furnace and I most humbly thank my Saviour for it my Resolution is now as theirs was then They would not worship the Image the King had set up nor I the Imaginations which the People are setting up I will not forsake the Temple and truth of God to follow the bleating of Ieroboams Calfe in Dan or in Bethel As for this Peoâ—ple they are at this day miserably misled God of his mercy open their Eyes that they may see the right way for now the Blind doe lead the Blind and if they goe on both will certainly fall into the ditch For my selfe I am and I acknowledge it in all humility a most grievous sinner many wayes by thought word and deed and I cannot doubt but God hath mercy in store for me a poore Penitent as well as for other sinners I have now upon this sad occasion ransacked every corner of my Heart and yet I thank God I have not found among the many any one sinn which deserves death by any known Law of this Kingdome And yet hereby I charge nothing upon my Judges for if they proceed upon Proofe by valuable witnesses I or any other Innocent may be justly condemned But I thanke God though the weight of the sentence lyes heavy upon me I am as quiet within as ever I was in my life And though I am not only the first Archbishop but the first man that ever dyed by an Ordinance of Parliament yet some of my Predecessors have gone this way though not by this meanes For Elphegus was hurried away lost his head by the Danes Symon Sudbury was beheaded in the fury of Wat Tyler his fellows long before these St Iohn Baptist had his head danced oft by a lewd woman And St Cyprian Archbishop of Carthage submitted his head to the persecuting Sword Many Examples great and good and they teach me patience for I hope my Cause in Heaven will looke of another dye then the colour which is put upon it here And some comfort it is to me not onely that I goe the way of these great men in their severall generations but also that my Charge as fowle as it is made looks like that of the Iewes against St Paul Acts. 25. For he was accused for the Law and the Temple that is the Law and Religion And like that of St Stephen Acts. 6. for breaking the Ordinances which Moses gave that is Law and Religion the holy place and the Law vers. 13. But you 'l say doe I compare my selfe with the integrity of St Paul and St Stephen No farre be it from me I onely raise a Comfort to my selfe that these great Saints Servants of God were laid at in their severall times as I am now And it is memorable that St Paul who helped on the Accusation against St Stephen did after fall under the very same Accusation himselfe Yea but here 's a great Clamour that I would have brought in Popery I shall Answer that more fully by and by In the meane time you know what the Pharisees said against Christ himselfe If we let him alone all men will beleeve in him Et venient Romani and the Romanes will come and take away both our place and Nation Here was a Causelesse Crye against Christ that the Romanes would come And see how just the Iudgement of God was they crucified Christ for feare the Romanes should come and his death was it which brought in the Romanes upon them God punishing them with that they most feared and I pray God that this Clamour of Venient Romani of which I have given no cause help not to bring them in for the Pope never had such a Harvest in England since the Reformation as he hath now upon the Sects and Divisions that are amongst us In the meane time by Honour and dishonour by good report and evill report as a deceiver and yet true am I passing through this world 2. Cor. 6.8 Some other particulars I thinke not amisse to speake of And first for His Sacred Majestie the King our gracious Soveraigne He also hath bin much traduced for bringinâ— in of Popery but on my Conscience of which I shall give God a very present account 〈…〉 ow Him to be as free from this Charge as any