The Penitent Murderer BEING AN Exact Narrative Of the Life and Death of NATHANIEL BVTLER Who through Grace became a Convert after he had most cruelly murdered JOHN KNIGHT With the several Conferences held with the said Butler in Newgate by the Right Honorable the LORD MAIOR and several eminent Ministers and others As also his Confession Speech Prayer and the Sermon preached after his Execution with several useful Admonitions and excellent Discourses Collected by RANDOLPH YEARWOOD Chaplain to the Right Honorable the Lord Major of the City of LONDON Deut 13.11 And all Israel shall hear and fear and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you London Printed by T. Newcomb for J. Rothwell at the Fountain in Goldsmiths-Row in Cheapside and Tho. Matthews at the White-horse in the New Buildings in Pauls Church-yard 1657. London Saturday Sept. 12. 1657. Reader THis is that Exact Narrative concerning Nathaniel Butler which was some time since promised to come forth by my appointment under the hand of Randolph Yearwood Robert Tichborne Major To the Right Honorable Sr ROBERT TICHBORNE Kt Lord Major of the City of LONDON My Lord You have done being directed and enabled from on high many noble and good actions for this City the Government whereof is yet yours But really my Lord the right honorable act was this your personal and frequent visiting Nathaniel Butler when he lay a prisoner in Newgate His soul certainly was precious in your eyes and this engaged you to send others and to go your self to see him several times I verily believe you will see him yet once more not as a Malefactor in an obscure disparaging Goal but as an Angel of God in the Kingdom of Christ whither I am confident he is gone and you are going Before he went he desired me to give you humble thanks for all the favor he had received from you or by your means from others He was very thankfull to your Lordship and the rest of the Honorable Bench for his Fortnights Reprieval confessing that Court to be both just and merciful Just in condemning his body to death and merciful in sparing his life for some weeks after the Sentence upon design to save his soul And truly you may safely conclude that his soul is safe And is not such a Conclusion a rich Requital of all your Exhortations Tears and Prayers My Lord I shall rejoice to see you grow and abound yet more and more in Righteousness Holiness and as the Elect of God bowels of Mercies which will render you like unto and well liked of by the LORD of Lords To whom I leave you and remain Your Lordship's Servant RANDOLPH YEARWOOD THE EPISTLE TO THE READER Reader THE Malefactor mentioned in this following Narrative was none of mine acquaintance till for his horrid fact he was apprehended and imprisoned So that it was not any Relation of mine to him that put me upon this publication but I undertook this work as judging it of general concernment to all men both good and bad 1. As to the bad If thou art an evil wicked man er woman then this Narrative with the annexed admonitions and sermon c. much concern thee to make thee if possible penitent and truly reformed 2. Art thou a gracious good man or woman then thou hast reason to rejoyce on carth as God himself and the Angels of God rejoyce in heaven ever one repenting sinner Luke 15.7 and 10. I doubt not but thou wilt be well satisfied by the following Lines concerning the true conversion of a very hainous Offendor Now good Reader grant me one request not to look upon the following Discourses as a bare story or a piece of News and so having read and seen it there is an end But read and consider read and pray that this great and extraordinary passage of divine Providence may profit thy Soul which is the desire of my heart and Soul to God himself Otherwise I could not be as indeed I am thy Well-wisher Friend and Servant RANDOLPH YEARWOOD Three Conferences held with Nathaniel Butler during his Imprisonment by the Right Honorable the Lord Major under his Lordships own hand WHen Nathaniel Butler was first apprehended and brought before me he was in exceeding great burden of Spirit full of tears free to confess the Fact with all the aggravations thereof and was sollicitous for nothing but a few days respit for his poor Soul it seeming to me that nothing at that time was on his thoughts but what should become of his Soul At my first Conference with him which was about five or six days after his Condemnation I found him very ready to acknowledge his actual sins and to charge himself with them and the aggravations that did accompany them and this with sad tears of complaint and indignation against himself and his sins but did take no notice of his sinful Nature Which my self and a Friend with me Mr Griffith of the Charter house perceiving We endeavoured by Scripture to shew him his sinful Nature as the Root of all his sinful actions which he diligently hearkened to and was affected with but acknowledged his former Ignorance herein and that he had not so expresly before thougth hereof or been instructed hereabout and what he heard and received at this time among other Particulars was so far blest and wrought into his soul that to our selves and as we heard to others he did from that Night following much insist upon and bemoan his sinful nature and the state of sin he was born in as well as or together with those sinful acts he was guilty of At my second being with him after applying the free grace of God and Christ crucified to his faith for the pardon of his sins I asked him whether his heart could most willingly receive that pardon or a pardon for his life and bid him consider and tell me what his heart said in that Point After a little pause he made me this Answer That indeed he did not desire to live longer in this world for he had found sin so bitter a thing and himself so prone to sin that if he should live longer and sin against God it would be much more bitter to him then death and he did heartily Blesse God that had brought him to the hand of Justice and did truly love the party who as he thought was the Instrument to discover him acknowledging that the Devil had tempted him to lay violent hands on himself and after that temptation to fly beyond the Sea which if God had suffered him to do and so escaped Justice he might have gone on in his former course of sin without Repentance but did truly bless God that had delivered him from these temptations and had brought him to that condition that then he was in he did acknowledge with much thankfulness to God man the mercy of a few days between death and judgement and that God had given him so great a share in
forgiveness from all the world for the wrongs and injuries which I have done so I do here desire to declare and that freely and with all my soul that I do truly forgive all the World for all the wrongs that I have suffered from every one therein even those evil Companions of mine which have in any kind been the Devils instruments in tempting me and thereby have brought me unto that evil which here I am now to undergo even the losing of my life Confessing it was more mine own evil and sin in consenting to do those wicked actions which have occasioned me now to be here to suffer then theirs and I am more to blame my self in being here then any other whatsoever I am fully satisfied that through Gods assistance I might have resisted the temptation and avoided that evil I have done so that that the true cause of this my present misery is wholly mine own though I intend not hereby to excuse the Devil nor any of his Instruments I therefore here once more advise all young men and women to take heed of the beginings of evil and to take heed that they never forsake God nor his ways and counsels for I have found that there first began my ruine neglecting Gods Word and not regarding his counsels given me there he left me to mine own ways and unto mine own counsels to follow them as a just punishment for my great wickedness in leaving God and the directions which he had given me for my good And as I desire to forgive every one so it is my heary prayer that God for Christs sake will forgive them for all that is evil in any of them And let me say this to magnifie the infinite goodness of God who oft-times makes a poor Creatures extremity to be his own opportunity I might now have been going from this place to Hell had not the mercy of God prevented me which I hope he hath done for his own names sake and for his dear Son Jesus Christ his sake who is my blessed Redeemer who hath purchased life and salvation for all humble penitent and believing sinners of whom I hope I am one who defire to manifest the truth of my Faith by all the means which God hath enabled me and where I am not able to do what I would Phope God in mercy will accept the will for the deed I have now almost done As I have been a wondrous greast sinner and God hath shewed forth wondrous mercy to save me so it hath pleased God to shew forth wonderful kindness to me in stiring and moving my Lord Major to move the Bench to give me so large a time of Repentance and not only so but his Lordship hath used great means not only in sending me the assistance of good Ministers but he also came twice himself to visit me and prayed with me which kindness of his I pray God to reward a hundred sold into his bosom And here I desire to bless God as for the time and means for repentance so for the grace and heart to repent which all were effects of the wonderful love of God towards me so vile and wicked a sinner as I have been I have great reason also in all humili y to thank the good people of this City for their many prayers to God for me and for their kind visits of me I hope they will believe that God hath heard their prayers on my behalf and wil visit them even every one of them that in love to my poor soul have visited me in this my great necessity And it is my desire and hope that the good people of this City may by this experiment be so encouraged as never to cease seeking of God for his grace for any sinner whatsoever who of his infinite grace and mercy hath had respect unto so wicked so vile and sinful a Creature as I was out of whom I hope I may truly say he hath cast forth legions of sins and left in me none behind to hinder my access unto God by Jesus Christ I have now done What shall I say more Lord teach me what to say that I may glorifie thee who hast thus glorified the riches of thy mercy upon me a poor vile Creature as a close of what I have to say and so therewith to close up my life my wicked and sinful life and withall go into a life where I shall sin no more offend God no more but be in an estate of blessing and praising God for ever and ever And therefore unto that God of all grace who is able to keep that which I shall commit unto his trust and to preserve me both sould and body into thy hands O merciful Father and blessed Redeemer I commit my soul humbly beseeching thee to remember that good word whereupon I desire to rest and wholly cast my self even the sure word of thy faithfulness O blessed Saviour from whose sweet lips dtopped this sweet saying That whosoever cometh unto him he will in no wise cast out This blessed saying hath been and at present is the joy and comfort of my soul And for this body of mine which hath been a body of sin it is now through grace become the Temple of the Holy Ghost And as the blessed Apostle Paul believed and therefore he spake so I believe and therefore speak That he that raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise me up also by Jesus and present me unto God without blame I have done Good people all you that have had the patience to bear me thus long let me humbly beg your prayers with me and for me That he which hath begun a good work in me will finish it until the day of Jesus Christ Nathaniel Butler After he had read some part of this Speech the people pressing and making a noise I told Mr. Sheriff Milner that I humbly conceived it best for the Malefactor to forbear reading any further the people not being able to hear because of the noise and that he should rather speak briefly from his own breast without book whereunto Mr. Sheriff consented and the Prisoner put up his written Speech and spake then with a very loud voice and with abundance of tears to this effect That he would humbly desire the Magistrates of London to look after the suppression of Popish Priests and Jesuites for some of the Popish party had been with him in prison perswading him but in vain to die in the Roman Catholique Religion Then he addressed himself to Masters and Servants advising and pressing them strongly to be both very watchful and careful in their several capacities Masters to look well after their Servants and Servants to serve their Masters in singleness of heart admonishing and exhorting all men to fear the Lord saying If you love your souls leave off evil ways and be warned by mine example But if ye will keep your sins and hope for pardon God will keep his pardon and you shall keep
they are first checked for their sins Therefore good people as you love your own Souls take heed of the beginnings of sin and kill sin betimes before it grow too strong for you If I had done so I verily beleeve and think that sin had not at this time thus killed me as now it will certainly do But seeing it is so that I am here brought a poor distressed Captive unto my death by the Tyranny and cruelty of sin it is my desire that I may through the gracious assistance of God be enabled to do a greater mischief unto sin by my death then sin hath done unto me in bringing me to this death which will I hope but kill my body onely although it be a bitter cursed and a shameful death Oh hearken to what I have said unto you and let me for that purpose humbly beg of all that either hear me or shall hear of me and oh that I could prevail with every young person to cast away sin betimes to check it in the first beginning I do seriously think there is no such course to destroy the growing of it in the hearts of men and women as that would be Sirs I am now a dying man and truly if I knew of any better way to ruine sin then other in mine own observation I would surely now tell you For I bless God I can say it truly that I am a real enemie to sin because sin I find is such a great enemy to God to all Mankind and particularly I have found it my greatest enemy that ever I had Oh that I had taken this counsel which now through the great goodness and grace of God I have given to you certainly it would have prevented the growth of sin in this poor sad and now sorrowful soul of mine Certainly I had not now been here as I am to suffer this cursed and shameful death which I am justly to suffer both from God and Man for my most foul horrid and bloody sin The taking away the life of him who was unto me as dear as my Brother which sin I hope God for his Son Jesus Christ his sake hath in mercie to my poor Soul forgiven This sin this bloody sin I hope the onely wise merciful gracious and good God hath sanctified for the everlasting good of my poor Soul He who is able to bring light out of darkness and good from the greatest evill can by his infinite goodness bring from this sin of mine which is the destruction of my Body the eternal salvation of my Soul This is a Mercy never to be forgotten by my friends that although I have been so unhappie as to stain their Names and Reputations here yet I hope through the grace mercy and goodness of God I may be their joy and rejoycing hereafter Oh this sin that the Devil was suffered to tempt me to commit my wicked heart consenting thereunto I have observed since my imprisonment this blood-guilty sin was as a punishment of my other sins which I went on in without considering whither I was going Had I truly and timely repented of my former sins I verily beleeve and am fully perswaded I had prevented this this foul this horrid sin for which I can never be too much affected nor afflicted Yet nevertheless this sin I hope through the grace of God hath been a rousing and an awakening sin to me it hath caused me to call to remembrance all my former sins and to be humbled for them and I hope through the gracious assistance of God I have truly repented of them all I thank God for his mercy I can truly say that I am now another manner of Creature then formerly I was Formerly God came not into my thought with any joy and content but now to think of God is exceeding precious to my soul To think of the name of God and of his Son Jesus Christ is the chief joy and rejoycing of my soul This is some change and I think a great change and I hope a good change formerly I sinned with great delight and now through the grace of God I delight not in any sin nay I can truly say more I do now through Gods grace hate and loath sin and this I know to be true for I do even hate my most beloved sin The sin of Uncleanness which I do advise all Young-men to watch and pray against and for the more effectual prevention thereof to live very temperately and soberly making no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof This sin I bless God for his grace I can now truly say I hate it I hope if I were to live as many years in the world as I may do moments I should through the grace of God never commit more And the sin of Lying which formerly I made no conscience of I think I can truly say now through the grace of God thar I truly hate it as a wicked sin and Lying now is so base an evil in my sight that I could not be hired to tell a lye no not I hope if I had the promise of my life givenme which in my condition is the greatest gift which man can bestow upon me yet I hope even for my life to save it from this terrible death I should not be tempted to sin against so good a God who hath given me the hopes of an eternal life and delivered me from a thousand times a more terrible death nor against my blessed Redeemer who died to take away my sins and who hath thus graciously looked upon me so vile so wicked and so miserable a sinner as I have been and hath shewed mercy upon me not for any worth that is in me who am the unworthiest of all men but for his own names sake because mercy pleaseth him To whom therefore be glory for ever Amen I have now declared unto you the grounds I have of my hope that I have made my peace with God through Jesus Christ and have obtained through his grace and mercy my perfect reconciliation to God and my blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ I shall in the next place in deep humility as being very sensible that I have wronged very many and therefore I do here humbly beg my pardon from all the World for all the wrong and injury that I have in any kind done unto any one And indeed I should be glad if I could to make restitution to every one but that I am not able to do and therefore I must content my self with begging their pardon and forgiveness which I do here desire from every one man woman and child even for Jesus Christ his sake whom it is that they themse ves must all fle unto for his pardon or else be miserable for ever and as they desire the Lord Jesus should forgive them all their wrongs done against him so I hope they will for his sake forgive me all mine committed against them And as I have desired my pardon and
declare what the Lord had done for him and to speak also by way of Counsel to those that came to see his execution When we had withdrawn for two or three hours from him into the Lodge some of us observing in the mean time that he did slumber and as we supposed that he slept also then we all returned to him he lying covered upon the Bed in his cloaths when we came again about him he raised up himself and fell afresh to his former good Discourse Then I sat down by him and did read the 14 verse of the 51 Psalm Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God thou God of my salvation and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness I then divided the Verse into these two parts 1. Davids prayer Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God c. 2. Davids promise and engagement to God upon the granting of his desire And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness Then I made these Observations from the words of David Viz. 1. Obs Not only a wicked unregenerate man but a gracious godly man may possibly commit a most horrid murther David was blood-guilty 2. Obs The sin of Murther is a very dangerous sin where-ever it is found Deliver now that word implyeth danger Deliver me if David murther he is in danger of damnation 3. Obs 3. Prayer is a work for a person guilty of blood Deliver me this David said by way of desire and supplication yea most of this Psalm sets forth Davids prayer which was preferred upon the account of his bloodshed Prayer is the best way to obtain deliverance from blood-guiltiness 4. Obs From those words O God thou God of my salvation that There is salvation in God for men that have shed blood if those men become penitent and beg that salvation This Note did refresh Nathaniel very much 5. Obs From the Promise And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness that men who know what it is to have the guilt of sin guilt of blood or any other sin taken away will certainly sing aloud of Gods righteousness faithfulness truth And indeed this poor man did magnifie God and sing aloud of his righteousness making mention of his and his only he desired us to sing Psalms several times with him and to rejoyce with him which also we did About five a clock he fell into such a rapture and extasie of consolation as I never saw nor I beleeve any of my fellow-Spectators for he would shout for joy that the Lord should look on such a poor vile creature as he was He often cried out and made a noise and indeed did not know how to express and signifie fully enough his inward sense of Gods favour saying Must he be an heir an heir of God and a joynt-heir with Jesus Christ a fellow Citizen with the Saints c. He could not bear such a glorious discovery Now that his joy was right Evangelical joy appeareth thus in that mourning and bitterness went before it yea he rejoyced with trembling and could exceedingly often say that he would yet have a deeper and a more thorow sense of sin he could never be sufficiently abased before the Lord. Now the time was at hand that he should be carried forth to Execution but he thought it was not neer enough for he asked several times What a clock is it I demanded why he enquired so concerning the time of the day Would you gladly die said I. Yes yes saith he I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all About seven the Coach came to carry him away the Keeper knockt off his Irons and now he was a freeman indeed for the hand of Grace had before this time taken away the Fetters and Bolts about his Spirit and Conscience I went with him in the Coach and by the way his great desire was as he passed through the Streets to fix his heart more fully on God and to think with more intention and firmness of minde upon the riches the unsearchable riches of Grace In a short time having passed through many thousands of people many of whom prayer for his soul and shewed compassion otherwise to him he came under the Gibbet which stood in Cheapside just over against the end of Milk-street where he had done the murder he went up the Ladder the Executioner standing above him and I below upon the Ladder When he was tied to the Gibbet he began to speak to the people having a Speech written which he purposed to have read through A true Copie whereof followeth verbatim Beloved Friends I Am here a miserable Creature and had not God of his infinite Grace and Mercy looked upon me as sad a spectacle of misery as ever your eyes beheld by reason of my wicked and sinful life And now by the justly hand of God I am come here to die justly for my sins And it is my desire that all that see me or that hear of me might learn this most true Lesson from me that have not learned it from the Word of God in the Scriptures That the wages of sin is death I have been a very great sinner and as I think the greatest of sinners And my desires are that my repentance may be greater then my sins Which I am affraid is impossible to be without the infinite mercy of God who hath graciously promised to accept the will for the deed The particulars of my sinful life I have for all those who shall be pleased to look into it gathered together and given to my Lord Mayors Chaplain and intreated him to have it printed for a timely warning to all other young-men especially to the Apprentices of this City that by my harms they may through the Grace of God learn to beware Good people That which I shall speak unto you is but little because my strength is now but weak Indeed I wish I had more strength that my words might reach not onely unto the ears but unto the hearts of every rebellious and disobedient Child and Servant in this great City yea throughout the whole Nation And my counsel is that every one would take heed of the beginnings of sin I remember when I first was enticed unto evil ways and practices I was tender and fearful of them and trembled to think what those waies might bring upon me but I neither hearkened to the Word of God nor the voice of mine own Conscience which exceedingly checked me but resolved to go on therein and through the Devils enticements joyning with my wicked heart by degrees I grew more bold and hardy in evil waies every day more then other and at last came to be so far hardened in sin and wickedness that evil waies and actions were as familiar unto me as eating and drinking was Truly Sirs This is very true and this I speak by sad experience to warn every one that they would hearken either to Gods Word or unto their own Consciences when
your sins Having finished his Speech he then called on the Lord by Prayer intreating the people to join with him He prayed with an elevated voice and with many tears this Prayer following O Merciful GOD which according to the multitude of thy mercies doest so put away the sins of those which truly repent that thou remembrest them no mnore Open thine Eye of Mercy upon me wretched Sinner that I am who most earnestly desire pardon and forgiveness of all my former sins and particularly for my late horrid Blood guiltiness Lord if it be not too late and I trust no time is too late for thee to shew mercy wash away this blood of my Brother which sticks so close to my soul in the blood of my Saviour O let me call him so which was shed for my sins and the sins of the whole world Let not the voice of my murdered Brothers blood cry louder for vengeance then the blood of our crucified Jesus be heard to cry for pardon Give me Lord a truly penitent heart and then accept of that penitent heart of mine which is thine own gift Given me plenty of brinish tears but first steep and wash those tears of mine in the wounds of thy Son Make me here to abhor and loath and judge and condemn my self that in thy great day hereafter The great day of the Lord I may not be condemned eternally both body and soul Renew in me most loving Father whatsoever hath been decayed by the fraud and malice of the Devil or by mine own bloody carnal will and frailness Cause me to set all my sins before my face and then do thou cast them behind thy back Cause me to spread all my sins before thee my God as Hezekiah did the the blasphemous Papers of Rabshekah and then do thou blow them away with the blast of thy holy Spirit And forasmuch as I do humbly and earnestly desire to put my trust only in thy mercy Impute not unto me my former or latter sins the sins of my body and the sins of my soul sins of omission or sins of commission sins which I have done to please my self or others sins against the First or against the Second Table against thee my God against my Neighbor or against mine own Sonb Let this first death of mine which I am now ready to pay in satisfaction to Man's Law be acceptable in thy sight O God and so do thou deliver me from the second death Deliver me from my Blood guiltiness O God and take me yet into thy favour through the merits and blood shedding of thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ Amen! Amen! Wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from my blood guiltiness who shall deliver me from this body of sin and death Lord have mercy upon me a sinner Christ have mercy upon me a sinner Lord have mercy upon me a sinner A Merciless a Profane a Thieving a Bloody sinner Lord though I had no mercy upon my Brother yet do Thou have mercy upon me For Lord I have so much the more need of mercy for my soul by how much I had so little mercy upon his life Lord I confess with horror of soul that I killed him suddenly giving him no time to prepare for death Yet Lord I must confess to thy great glory and goodness that Thou hast given me time and respite to repent before I die He then desir'd me as I stood upon the Ladder to pray for him which I also did he joining therein very solemnly I then having done prayer asked him how he did He told me he doubted not of doing well he laid all behind him and would go to Christ alone for life and salvation saying Now I am lanching into the Ocean of Eternity Then he delivered to me the written Speech desiring the Executioner to forbear Turning him off till he lifted up his hands and said Lord Jesus receive my soul I then took him by the hands and took my leave of him After he had stood still a little while in a way of Ejaculations with his Cap over his eyes he lifted up his hands and said the words aforesaid Then the Executioner did his office and he was a dead man in a few moments And in a few moments more who knows which of us will not be dead men also Oh consider therefore all you that yet are alive the following Admonition An Admonition to all persons whatsoever especially to Parents and Children Masters and Servants c. TO Parents and Masters of Families hear what the Lord faith to you Ephes 6.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is a putting of a thing into the mind an urging and pressing of it an informing and instructing the mind Leigh crit sacâ—â— Now this Text tells you of two very great faults viz. First In case admonishing of Children and Servants be totally omitted where 's then your obedience to God who leaves their Education to your care Nay instead of giving good advice and examples to Youth you many times I mean many Heads of Families rather ruine them by living without Knowledge and without Conscience your selves Oh consider this and acquaint your selves with God and with Jesus Christ that you may be able to acquaint all committed to your nurture with the fame God and with the same Lord Jesus Christ the knowing of whom is the excellencie of knowledge Secondly A word to men of care but of very little care in this thing I grant you use prayer and you read Sermon-notes sometimes and the Scriptures themselves among your people at home but how often and how earnestly is that exercise Alas once it may be on the Lords day and then no great regard had how they profit or whether they profit or no so that something be done though nothing come by it by way of benefit to their Souls 'T is a wonderful weakness in many great Professors of Religion who will pray and beg of God strongly upon their knees for Light Knowledge Grace and Holiness to be given to their dear Children and to their Servants and yet these very persons will contribute little or nothing besides good wishes towards the conversion and welfare of souls that by their importunate supplications seem to be precious in their eye If praying be all you have to do for your Family what mean then those many Scriptures that command the doing of many other duties besides praying with and praying for your people and if prayer onely be not enough why do you onely pray Indeed 't is well done to wish well to them that dwell with you though it be part it is the least part of your duty doth not the Lord look for much more from you doth he not charge Fathers and Mothers and Masters to instruct rebuke correct their Children and Servants and to call them to account concerning their profiting in Gospel knowledge I am confident the carelesness of you in these things is that which renders Preaching so
heart Psal 101.2 Have you no love to religion to propagate it and to provide for it's flourishing when you are dead and gone Doth not your neglect of family-duties make all the endeavours of our godly magistrates and of godly ministers to be ineffectual and frustraineous God hath put it into their hearts to do good but t is but little they can do in publick because you are so remiss in private And t is the desire of our souls to beat down sin but we groan under the sense of sad disappointment and this is one reason of it what we do at the Church is undone by you again in your Families No setting on the word no praying over the word c. Oh that these things might be as so many spurs in your sides to quicken you to family duties Set up prayer in your Families There 's a curse pronouned upon the Families that do not call upon God The Lord be merciful to the thousands of Families in the City where there is scarce a purger by the master of the family from yeer to yeer How can such hope for the blessing of God to be upon them who though he gives mercy freely yet he will be sought unto for it Ezek. 36.3 7. How can such look for Gods bounty who deny him his worship Doth not prayer procure all your Family-comforts and sanctifie all your family-comforts Morning and Evening call upon God and call in your servants let them not want the benefit of prayer 't wil be poor to feed their bodyes and to starve their souls If you eate together by all means pray together Catechize your children and servants instruct them in the fundamentals of religion would you keep them from error in the Head from loosness in the life make conscience of this duty How excellent how necessary how profitable is this ordinance and yet how sadly is it neglected we may in a great measure blame you for the many Hereticks and erroneous persons with whom we swarm in these dayes Read and open the Scriptures to them but do this with all humility and sobriety or else there will be danger These are the Magazine the Treasury of all knowledge able to make you and yours wife to Salvation Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you and in all that belong to you See that they frequent the publick Ordinances let them follow you to the house of God not out of state but in love to their soules and when they are there see they keep there that they do not run out again to Ale-houses and Taverns as too many do to our grief and your shame be it spoken when a publick Ordinance is ended call them to an account see what they remember wherein they profit how they relish the word this is to do good indeed to their soules Keep them to a strict observance of the Lords-day you will not let them trifle away your day then you 'l hold them to their work Oh! let them not trifle away the Lords day Why do your children and servants stand gazeing at your doors upon the Sabbath Call them in put them upon reading wholsom books and other exercises which are proper to the day be not partakers of their sin What ever liberty you grant them at other times hold them to a close sanctification of the Sabbath And spend this day with them in prayer repetition singing of Psalms This is to make your Families as so many little Churches of Jesus Christ How little conscience do the generality of you make of Sabbath bath-duty we might sadly bemoan this before the Lord. For your selves you can make that day which is a day for Physick for the soul to be the Day for Physick for the Body you cannot spare time all the weeke long you 'l take it upon the Lords day And for your children and servants let them walk in the Field play in the streets sleep in their beds or drink in Taverns 't is all one to you Will God beare this from you Certainly this will be bitterness in the end Do not indulge your servants in idleness that is the bane of youth the Devils in-let to all temptations An idle person is like tinder that will take every sparke that falls upon it let them be out of imployment 't is a thousand to one but presently they are in some sin And yet those that know how to use their Liberty let them have it sometimes for lawful recreations but this we leave to your prudence In the pursuit of your own pleasures and conveniences have a care of your Families Many of you go to your Country houses we condemne you not for it but what becomes of your servants As Eliab said to David with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness Whilst you are in your pleasant gardens gratifying your selves in your creature-enjoyments who takes care of them that are left behind to pray with them to instruct them to see they sanctifie the Sabbath the health of some Masters bodies is the ruine of their servants souls Set them in all things a good example if they see you can strain in defraunding others they 'l easily come to strain in the defrauding of you let them see you fear to sin and that will be an awe upon their spirits against sin Take your Apprentices out of religious Families in the Country Many of you are punished with vexatious servants you may thank your selves for it you take your Apprentices by the pound not by good education who will give most not who will deserve most and you smart for it afterwards But how do these Heads swell upon our hearts though we do but name them These are some of the things which we should present to the serious consideration of you who are Governours Families and the Lord make them useful to you In particular it is of great use to prevent much wickedness to look to the keys and doors of your houses and to have them in your own custody not in your servants that so an occasion of sinning may be cut off from those that seek such occasions as most fit for their pernicious designs Keep up Discipline or rather restore it again How is it fallen in these times how is it almost lost amongst us in the City The reins which your predecessors held with a very strict hand are very loose in yours many of your servants will do what they list and you let them alone we do very much lament the low ebb of Discipline and Government and judg that to be one Cause of the many disorders which are among us we heartily wish it may be restored in Church in State in Families if this be wanting all things run up to strange confusion A Word to the Youth and Apprentices of this City and we have done Oh that you would hear us now least you mourne at the last and say How have we hated instruction and our hearts despised reproof And have
not obeyed the voice of our Teachers nor inclined our car to them that instructed us This Great Offendor was one of your Rank had he taken the advice of Gods Word his sin had not been so great nor his punishment so terrible Of all we fear our counsel to you will be the most successless Youth is rash inconfide ate vain proud but sometime or other you will remember what we say Take heed of lesser sins Little sins will make way for greater sins if you sip of sin you ll be drunk of it at last How modest is sin at first but when 't is gratified it growes impudent This poor man lately executed first he began to game then to steal then to Whore and then to Murder Be careful of your company associate with them that fear God say unto them that are vain and wicked Depart from us for We will keep the Commandments of God Psal 119.115 Bad company is the way to corrupt and spoil you Can a man touch pitch and not be defiled Read the Scriptures much by them you must stand or fall to all eternity when we walk by you in your Shops we see many have their Play-Book in their hands but few have the Bible in their hands the Shop-Book is open but the Bible is shut Entertain high thoughts of Holiness and holy men The froth of your wits runs out too often in jeering godlinesse but take heed that 's not a thing to be so dealt withal Many of you count sin to be gallantry and Religion but a low and disgraceful thing God convince you of your folly Frequent Publick Ordinances especially upon the Lords day because you have not opportunity so to do upon the week days You 'l find more comfort in the Word and Prayer then in all your youthful delights Keep the Sabbath You have six dayes let God have one can he have lesse God out of special respects to servants hath instituted and sanctified this day How can you hope to keep an everlasting Sabbath in heaven if this Sabbath on earth be profaned by you Many go to Tiburn lamenting the profanation of the Lords day as that which ushered in all their wickedness Every day spend some time in private prayer 't is but rising a little the earlyer and going to bed a little the later you shall never be the worse for that time you spend in the Service of God Be subject and obedient to your Masters study how to please them bear with their passionate infirmities Do not purloyn but shew all good fidelity that the doctrine of God our Saviour may be adorned Tit. 2.9 10. Be diligent in your Callings if you be idle Satan will get an advantage The sitting bird is easily shot and the standing water gathers filth Love those that curb you and restrain you in wayes of sin they are your best friends 't is better to beheld in then to have a wicked liberty 't is better to have lust restrained then satisfied Be not angry with those who cannot see you damne your souls and let you alone Enter upon the wayes of God betimes the sooner the better Shall the devil have the best draught and shall God be put off with the Lees and Dregs Eccl. 12.1 Live alwayes as in Gods sight and know if you sin God will certainly sind you out one time or other Alas how many wayes hath God to bring the most hidden works of darkness to light sometimes by startling mens own consciences to an accusation of themselvs sometimes by awakening some of their complices to the discovery of the rest If you sin together you shall smart together Let this sad example never be forgotten by you for this Those that were Confederates in sin are made instruments and occasions of misery each to other Look not upon sin in the pleasure of it but in the danger of it The Wine sparkles in the cup but 't will be poyson in the belly Fear the strokes of God more then the stroaks of man What 's a fetter a dungeon a gallows to hell fire Mortifie a spirit of pride Never such pride amongst the youth of the City as now What vanity in apparel what superciliousness in carriage what contempt of Authority Oh be clothed with humility 1 Pet. 5.5 Give not way to imaginaay speculative heart sins Murder in the heart will soon be Murder in the hand uncleanness allowed in the thoughts wil come to bodily uncleanness at the last Keep Satan at a distaace if he get in he 'l be too hard for you To sum up all A dreadful spectacle of Gods Justice and of the fruit of sin bath been lately set before you we beseech you in the Bowels of Jesus Christ break off from all your sinful wayes by repentance One is smitten that many may fear He 's a warning to you take heed lest you be made a warning unto others If you would avoid his end walk not in his sins as secure as you are if you will allow your selves in that which is evil you do not know whither the divel wil carry you in a way of sin or to what God will bring you in a way of punshment Stand in aw therefore and sin not Ps 4.4 Flee youthful lusts 2. Tim. 2.22 Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he sal 1 Cor. 10.12 Every day pray that God will keep you from and strengthen you against temptation Say not 't is not possible I should ever be so vile as this Malefactor was Alas if God leave you you 'l be as bad as he Blessed is the man that feareth alwayes Prov. 28.14 In all things so carry your selves according to the rule of the Word that you may neither fall into the hands of men nor into the hands of God which is far the most dreadful 'T is a fearful thing to fal into the hands of the living God Heb. 10.31 That Governors and Governed may thus discharge their duties shall be the great design of our Ministrie by Gods assistance and our constant prayer at the Throne of Grace Septemb. 11. 1657. Edmund Calamy Arthur Jackson James Nalton Tho. Jacomb Robert Hutchison Thomas White Thomas Parson Thomas Doelittle Simeon Ashe Thomas Case Will. Taylor Roger Drake Geo. Griffith Matthew Poole Dan. Batcheler Finis