which knew all things and can do all things are so much my Friends and so highly concerned for my Welfare that I am never a Night or Day out of their watchful Providence but whatever I do I have their assistance and whatever I design their direction And then what further cause will you have to bear your sufferings with patience and say with the Philosopher Epictetus In these things which seem hard and grievous to me I do saith he thus dispose my self I consider they come from God and I do endeavour not merely to submit but to assent to him in his dealing not only out of necessity but out of choice Let not a Man take upon him saith he to reprehend Providence 't is best for a Man to bear what he cannot amend and to follow God by whom all events are disposed without murmuring Let us saith he bespeak God as Cleanthes did let the great Governour of the World lead me into what condition he pleaseth I am most ready to follow him though it be sighing and suffer that as an evil wretched Man which I ought to bear as a good Man with patience and submission Thus you may I think by your virtuous conversation make your Prison a place of comfort yea of rejoycing as it is said the Philosopher did in his homely Cottage who said that the Gods the Heavenly Spirits were there with him And a truly good Man will be easie and chearful under sufferings for he in truth hath always great Reason to be so as honest Socrates is said to be for Holy David exhorts and encourageth him to it Psal 33.1 To rejoyce in the Lord. And St. Paul also 1 Thess 5.16 Rejoice evermore And indeed a vertuous and good Man hath more Festivals and Holy-days then any others whatsoever for it is only sin that in truth interrupteth our Peace and spoils the Harmony of the Soul Make in your Prison therefore your Peace with God set your Accounts even between him and your Soul and thereby get that Peace of a good Conscience which passeth all understanding which made Paul and Silas to sing at Midnight when their feet were in the Stocks and in Prison And that blessed melody in singing Holy David's Psalms would far better become Prisons than to hear among Prisoners that Language of Hell Swearing and Cursing profane Singing and Roaring that daily Musick of our Prisons It is far more reasonable and fit to make that wise use of your worldly losses which that Merchant of Athens is said to do who when the News was brought to him of the loss of his Estate at Sea made this good Conclusion from it viz. That now Providence he saw would have him turn Philosopher so let your outward loss of your Estate be made up by you in vertue and goodness those greater better and surer Riches which you can never loose without you will your self And thus I hope I may easily perswade you to avoid the securing two Prisons to your selves two Hells and States of suffering one here in this Life and the other hereafter having with Lazarus your evil things and a State of suffering in this Life it very much concerns you to secure to your self a future happy State in the other World And may I not say truly that in several respects our Prisons have somewhat a resemblance of Hell by reason of Debauchery Profaneness and Wickedness there practised daily by the Prisoners as Quarrellings and Contests Swearing and Blaspheming but also their own Conscienees also tormenting them if their Keepers are so good natured as not to play the Devil with them by cruel and hard usage sometimes also for certainly many of them must needs have without true Repentance an uncomfortable yea dismal prospect of their ill-spent lives their folly or frensie either carelesly or prodigally spending their Estates and ruining themselves and their Families their Fraud Oppression and Injustice in their former trading and dealing in the World with the many sufferers occasioned by them and their unability to make satisfaction to those they have so wronged the Reflection upon which with their present Sufferings and Wants must needs I say without a hearty Repentance be like so many Devils continually tormenting them And now may I further here Caution you against these two Disadvantages or rather Temptations that you have attending your Condition The first is that of bad Company a Place where it may be said Men like Birds pent up in a narrow and streight Cage defile one another by their bad Conversations As to wicked Company one therefore gives us this advice to avoid them as you would avoid the Plague as also further saith truly of them they are so dangerous even as a mad Dog a Viper ready to burst with poyson therefore be sure to avoid them as you love your Souls The next I caution you against is the temptation of Idleness and want of Imployment and Business which you are in some measure as it were forced upon which as a great Divine hath told us doth even tempt the Devil to tempt us and fasten his suggestions upon us which made St. Hierom give this advice semper boni aliquid operis facito ut Diabolus te semper inveniat occupatum i.e. Always be doing something that is good that the Devil never find thee idle Therefore if you have no way of employing your selves in your Trades and Callings you may probably find opportunities of employing your selves in performing friendly Offices to your Fellow Prisoners who may stand in need of your help and assistance as also there is honest and lawful Recreation and Diversion which Religion alloweth to us but as one well saith he hath no such Reason to complain of his want of employment who hath a Soul and Mind to adorn with Knowledge Virtue and Religion and a Soul to save from Eternal Misery and Ruin In the last place let me propose to you that advice a worthy Divine hath given us That is saith he as much as a Man is able to keep up and maintain a constant chearfulness of Spirit and lightsomeness of heart for as he saith the heaviness of the mind as one of the Ancients is said to express it is the worm of the mind which eateth up his Parent that brought it forth and he further telleth us that chearfulness causeth the Soul to dwell in a wholesome and sweet inclosure it enlightens the mind it encourages the heart it adds Wings to the Affections therefore he that forbids it to our Souls keeps out the welcomest Guest and the best Friend that nature hath this chearfulness saith he exceedingly becomes good Souls Avoid saith he sadness under the notion of seriousness In short saith Seneca it is a Master-piece of skill to draw good out of evil and by the help of Virtue to improve Misfortunes into Blessings It is the mind of Man that makes him rich saith he in a Desert or Prison c. And he concludes thus all
Christian Charity TO Poor Prisoners especially those for DEBT Communicated in a Letter by a Gentleman to a Poor Prisoner his Friend in Prison in London June 1694. Matth. 25. â—6 I was in Prison and ye came unto me LONDON Printed for Eliz. Whitlock near Stationers-Hall 1696. Christian Charity to Poor Prisoners especially those for Debt communicated in a Letter by a Gentleman to a Poor Prisoner his Friend in Prison in London June 1694. CAptivity and Imprisonment cannot as I humbly conceive but be accounted in Reason in the number of the greatest and sorest Evils of this Life to Mankind therefore not unfitly represented in those two Verses following which I have long since met with A Prison is a House of Care a Place where few can thrive A Touchstone for to try a Friend a Grave to Men alive For Man doubtless is a vigorous active Being Created for Action and Business for Society and Conversation yea to have entercourse even with the whole World and this is no wonder considering with Seneca their Divine Original therefore those Restraints which a Prison puts upon Men's natural appetites and desires in those outward Concerns of the World must needs be apprehended by Man as a very great Evil and Affliction and in truth very burthensome to Mankind Now to be Instrumental somewhat to alleviate this weighty Affliction of a Prison and to make it if not easie yet portable and comfortable in some measure but further also very advantagious and beneficial to the Poor Sufferers especially as to the Improvement of their Minds and conducive to their Eternal Welfare in the other World as it is the main end of this intended Discourse so it will I humbly conceive be no contemptible piece of Charity and what God may accept from him who is not in a Capacity for the other external Charities to the Body and therefore hopes it may find a favourable reception with God and with all honest and ingenuous Minds It is most true what the Scripture speaks Heb. 12.11 That no Affliction or Chastisement for the present seems joyous but grievous but yet afterwards yieldeth the peaceable fruits of Righteousness to them that shall be exercised thereby that is as I humbly conceive who shall be so affected with their sufferings as to cause them to break off their Sins by true Repentance and to see to the well regulating of their Lives when they can say with good David Psal 119.67 Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I have kept thy word and vers 71. It is a good thing that I have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes and vers 75. I know O Lord that thy judgments are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me For then we may say truly O blessed Prison the shackling and fettering of the Body when it becomes a means of the freedom and enlargement of the Soul and Mind and to be thereby freed from the greatest Captivity and Slavery in the World the Drudgery and Bondage of Sin and Satan making us become the Servants of God the Favorites of Heaven This Blessing would make you to be free Prisoners indeed and give you cause to rejoice and triumph in your sufferings and say O blessed Prison and Confinement which caused me to consider of my ways and to become serious and wise to think of God and to consider my self and to make my Peace with Heaven and to make it my business to store my Soul with Grace and Vertue to capacitate me thereby for Eternal Happiness hereafter for as a late worthy Author discourseth since Man was Created for a supernatural and divine end so the Life which disposeth to that end is divine and supernatural according to that Maxim in Philosophy that the end and the means ought to be proportioned and of one and the same order And now may I not say that none but a Fool or a Mad-man but would desire that his Afflictions and Imprisonment might be thus blessed to him and made thus advantagious for his Eternal Welfare even a greater advantage than Joseph had from his Imprisonment in Egypt To the promoting of which great end may I present to your view those great benefits and advantage you may make by your Confinement to a Prison As first your Imprisonment hath freed you from many Temptations that usually attended you in your Trade and worldly Employments for as Solomon tells us Ecclesiast 27.2 As a nail sticks fast between the joyning of the Stones so doth sin stick close between buying and selling 2. You are in a present afflicted and suffering Condition and it is usually observed that the eye that sin shuts pain opens for if ever Men will be serious and consider and be wise it must be under sufferings And this in truth is God's end in sending them as the before-mentioned Scriptures with many others testifie That Holy Father St. Austin therefore says of himself Periissem nisi periissem i.e. I had perished and been undone for ever had I not been sorely afflicted in this Life for as another speaks Afflictio domat cupiditates ex erat fidem Coronat patientiam i. e. Affliction tames and subdues our lusts and vices quickeneth and exerciseth our Faith and Trust in God and Crowns our Patience 3. By your Imprisonment you have the great advantage of Time and Leasure for consideration reading meditating and performing your private Devotions which in the midst of the incumbrances of the World in your secular Employments and Trading here in this Life you could not enjoy for as the Son of Syrach speaks Ecclus 38.24 The wisdom of a learned Man cometh by opportunity of leasure and he that hath little business shall become wise Now consider these advantages you have from your Prison and make these wise uses of them More especially make use of your time and leasure in searching after Wisdom as after hid Treasure as Solomon adviseth Prov. 2.4 For indeed the Cause of all wickedness in the world ariseth from want of consideration men will not be brought to it It is observed by our Divines that inconsiderate Men are wicked Men therefore let your Afflictions make you serious wise considerate and let your Sufferings bring you Home as they did the Prodigal Son to his Fathers House Labour to improve your mind in necessary knowledge and in virtue and now ply your Devotions the Throne of Grace in Heaven stands open to you although you are never so close a Prisoner and you may rest assured if your Prayers are qualified as they ought to be and come from an honest and upright heart you will receive rich returns from Heaven for as Porphery a wise Heathen speaks viz. all wise Men in all Nations have been very diligent and frequent in Prayer And as St. James adviseth us James Chap. 5. vers 13. Is any man afflicted let him pray c. And you may there say as that honest Heathen in Plutarch Hermogenes did that the Gods
I desire is that my Poverty may not be a burthen to my self or make me so to others This short Essay I have made towards your relief and help under your sufferings which I hope may find acceptance with you it being only to perswade you to make your Afflictions medicinable as to the improvement of your Mind and the Eternal welfare of your Souls which doubtless is your great Interest and Concern as also to direct you to a chearful comporting with your present Condition of suffering And if I may be any ways instrumental herein in any kind to the benefit or advantage if but of one poor Prisoner I shall not repent my pains herein but account it a sufficient recompence and give God the praise without whose Blessing our endeavours signifie little And to all I have said may I add my hearty Prayers for you all that God would make useful and beneficial to you your present state of suffering and affliction more especially for your Eternal Welfare And also that God would open the hearts of your Creditors to deal Mercifully with you and that the hearts of the Rich might be enlarged to communicate to your necessities And may I further recommend to your use the following excellent Prayer compos'd heretofore by the Reverend Dr. Patrick Dean of Peterborough in his Book call'd the devout Christian published to the World Anno 1684. Page 61. A Prayer of a poor Prisoner for Debt O God who art present to us in all places and hast regard to the sighs and groans of the miserable who humbly implore thy pity and compassion towards them vouchsafe to look graciously upon thy afflicted Servant in this place which is most desolate and comfortless unless the Light of thy Countenance shine upon me I confess I have too much abused the liberty which I formerly enjoy'd and did not so carefully improve as I ought to have done those happy opportunities which therewith were put into my hands Many ways I am sensible I have offended thy Divine Majesty here saith he acknowledge the particulars of your sins for which I am heartily sorry and acknowledge my self infinitely indebted to thy goodness that I am not plunged into the depth of misery to bewail my sins in the bottomless pit I thank thee O Lord with all my Soul that I am not shut up in the place of outer darkness and that I have any hope to obtain the benefit of the Redemption which is in Christ Jesus in whose Name I beseech thee to pardon me and likewise to sanctifie and bless these straights wherein I lye to the freeing of my Soul from the bond of all Iniquity and the restoring me to the glorious liberty of thy Children help me seriously to follow the direction of thy Providence in this restraint and now that I am so much alone by my self to descend into my own heart and to search to try my ways and unfeignedly to turn to thee my God Enlarge my Spirit more than ever now that my Body is confin'd and in fervent Prayer for thy divine Grace and in chearful Thanksgivings for the innumerable Blessings that I have received from thy bounty and in tender pity and commiseration of the sad condition of all distressed People And be pleased to touch the hearts of my Creditors also with a sense of my miseries incline them to accept of what I am able to pay and make me willing conscientiously to satisfie them to the utmost of my Power In the mean time bestow upon me the blessing of a contented Spirit help me patiently to endure the inconveniences of this Place and preserve me from the danger of all the Temptations which I meet with in it especially from seeking a remedy of my sorrows in the pleasures of Intemperance or evil Company or any profane Mirth whatsoever Be thou my comfort O God my exceeding Joy and the full satisfaction of my Soul in all Conditions And when thou art pleased to deliver me from this place and to restore me again to my desired freedom O Lord make me ever mindful of my Vows wherein I am now forward to bind my self Dispose my heart then to be so sensibly affected with the least of those mercies which formerly I have little regarded that I may never forget to praise thee even for the benefit of a sweeter Air then now I enjoy and to acknowledge thee in the night season upon my Bed and to thank thee for the coursest food and especially I may rejoyce to go again into the great Congregation to praise thee with the most ardent love for all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus Preserve in me also a grateful Remembrance of the kindness of my Friends and Neighbours especially of those Persons to whom I stand particularly indebted when by their Charity I shall be releas'd And whatsoever loss they sustain by my Poverty Good Lord make it up abundantly to them and theirs out of thy rich Grace and Mercy Requite their Love with Plenty and Prosperity in this World and give them the Reward of eternal Life and Glory in the World to come through Jesus Christ. Amen The Collect for the third Sunday after Trinity O Lord we beseech thee mercifully to hear us and grant that we to whom thou hast given a hearty desire to Pray may by thy mighty Aid be Defended and Comforted in all Dangers and Adversities through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Lord heareth the Poor and despiseth not his Prisoners Psal 69.33 Farewel I am your assured Friend P. A. ADDENDA But where any ones Suffering and Imprisonment is truly for Righteousness sake how comfortable must needs be a Prison to them And I need say no more for their Support and Comfort then to put them in mind of that great assurance given them from the mouth of Truth it self their Lord and Master the Blessed Jesus and their Judge at the great Day of Doom so long before determining their Case Matth. 5.10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven FINIS