â—he slaughter of the sword they were so persecuted and impoverished that they were fain to go about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins needy in distress afflicted wandring in desarts in mountains in dens and caves of the Earth Dear Catholicks now in your present persecution think of this and be willing to follow these examples that you as in the same place it followeth being appointed as they were by the testimony of your Faith may receive ere long those better things which God as 't is there writ provides for you Happy those that have this Faith but thrice more happy those that suffer these persecutions for Faiths sake because by this Faith as St. Paul saith Gal. 3. 11. the just man lives and those that have not this Faith are dead to God because as 't is written Heb. 11. 6. Without saith 't is impossible to please God and yet though we have this Faith except we joyn when God requires our works of sufferings to this Faith both we and our Faith are dead to God because as St. James saith chap. 2. ver 17. Faith is to be shewed by works because Faith without works is dead And he further shews us in his first chap. v. 25. 't is the works make a man happy although there can be no good work without a firm Faith in nothing doubting as he saith ver 6. Christian Faith is a firm established and an infallible Faith because it is grounded upon a Rock against which the gates of Hell shall not prevail Matth. 16. v. 18. This Faith is firmly established by such Authority of God and his Church that he that will not own the Authority is as a Heathen and a Publican God hath declared him so and what the Church binds on Earth God binds in Heaven This Church and Faith is firmly establisht because our Saviour hath promised That the Holy Ghost the Spirit of Truth should teach the Believers all Truth remain with them for ever shew them things to come to be believed and should cause the Believers to remember all things which Christ had already taught which you read in John 14. and 16. chap. This Faith is firmly established because it was believed and published from the beginning throughout the whole world as St. Paul proclaims Romans the first where he speaks thus to all that be in Rome Beloved of God called to be Saints first I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your Faith is published throughout the whole world Finally this Faith is established and infallibly confirmed that it can never decay till the worlds end because our Saviour hath promised to be with the Believers unto the worlds end Matth. 28. 19 20. Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and behold I am with you alwaies even to the end of the world Thus much briefly concerning my Christian Faith in which I truly believe in all points infallible and in confirmation of which one only Faith and Catholick Church I will and do lay down my life and whosoever will as he ought consider the Text that proves this Faith and Church of the Living God to be the pillar and ground of Truth as 't is evident it is 1 Tim. 3. 15. I question not but who I say considers this will believe the same our Faith being assisted by our second Divine Vertue which is our Christian Hope This Hope is that Vertue which assures us that for the reward of our Faith and the profession and due practice of it as we ought there are those heavenly gifts laid up for the Christian Believers which neither eye hath seen nor ear hath heard nor the heart of man can conceive or comprehend as St. Paul declares This Hope gives such confidence that death cannot overcome it because as the Prophet saith Although he shall kill me yet I will hope in him Why then shall any sear to die for his Faith having this Hope 'T is for want of making due reflection and use of this Hope that causes so many to be fearful to suffer and makes them fly the field of persecution and forsake the banners of their Christian Faith that all ought to fight under and would still fight under would they make use of the divine hope of Gods promises which are such that as David saith Psal 125. That he that hopes or trusts in our Lord shall be as Mount Sion which cannot be removed but remain for ever As the Mountains saith God by the mouth of David are about Jerusalem so the Lord is round about his people that is such as will place their hope in him as the Prophet did and exhorts us to do the same saying Psal 130. 5 6. My soul hath hoped in our Lord from the morning watch even until night let Israel hope in our Lord that is from the beginning of the day of our life till the night of death as well in the morning of prosperity as in the evening of adversity because 't is also writ God is my Hope for ever and whosoever can truly say with David Psal 31. 1. In thee O Lord have I plac'd my Hope shall be assured of what there follows Not to be confounded for ever because as St. Paul saith Hope consoundeth not There is a contrary Vice to this Virtue a worldly Fear that brings all things to confusion it makes Worldlings swear and forswear and perjure For which Perjuries and False Oaths as the Prophet saith Judgment springs up as Hemlock in the Furrows of the Field And therefore Dr. Thorndick in his Book of just Weights and Measures saith That Coaction of Oaths is the crying Sin of this Nation to call down the wrath of God upon the Kingdom What better remedy than to secure our selves against all worldly Fears and these ensuing Dangers but by relying on the hope of future blessings which God if we fight and suffer for his sake hath promised God is the God of Hosts and we fight under him and if we trust in him we are happy as David saith Psal 84. 5. O Lord of Hosts blessed is the man that trusts in thee in whom to hope is to be secured and therefore David also saith Psal 91. He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wing shalt thou hope especially if we fight for our Faith and therefore he adds in the same verse His truth shall be thy shield and buckler if we will hope in him and his reward For if we hope for our great wages we shall easily undergo our little work As for example if we hope to drink of the torrent of pleasure as God hath promised we shall in his Kingdom who will fear to taste now of the Chalice of some small Persecution If we hope hereafter to be numbered amongst the Sons of God as he
against me before the Judge was this He swore he had been at Confession with me and that he had received the Sacrament at my hands about two years before at his Fathers house whil'st he was a Catholique and after he became a Protestant he said I told him afterward he should turn back from whence he had fallen else he would be damned The other three Witnesses that were forced to come in against me when they came before the Grand Jury and were urged to take their Oaths to tell that which they never had known nor seen concerning my being a Priest they all unanimously declared That they had nothing to say against me and that they were by violence forced to appear there and therefore they said they would never swear nor say any thing against me for they knew nothing to accuse me of which when the Jury heard they called for the Jaylor to take the Party that fitst denied to swear to Prison thinking by this violent way of proceeding so to afright them that they should say something out of which advantage should be taken against me which thē better to effect they made them first lay their hands on the Bible and then kiss it which they did Then the Jury told them that now they were to tell all the truth according as they were asked First they asked whether any of them had ever heard me read One answered yes the Bible and sometimes any other Book Then they asked Whether they had ever seen me pray It was answered yes Then they asked what Cloaths I had on when I prayed And whether I used to change my Cloaths when I came to pray In these and other like questions they sifted them to get out any thing that might do me hurt But how Charitable or Christian-like these Proceedings of the Jury were let the World judge Now as God will Hereafter For if this be a charitable way of proceeding among Christians that our Neighbors should by such strange violence as by Warrant and Oath be brought against their wills from any part of England to swear whatever they have seen heard or known of their Neighbors what horrid Confusions and Odium's must this make among all sorts of People both Friends and Foes But I do not blame those three Witnesses after they had been inconsiderately induced to lay their hands upon the Bible and kist it I suppose they judged themselves bound to say what they did After this when the Jury had got out of them what they could the four Witnesses and I were called before the Judge The first Witness that came to swear against me as the custom is repeated his testimony over again before the Judge and so did the other three that were forced which when I heard how absurd and insignificant some of their testimonies were I inconsiderately smiled at which the Judge being offended I humbly begged his Pardon and told him I was sorry for it But forasmuch as laughing or smiling were passions of Nature over which no man had a free course or power I hoped and beseeched him not to impute it to me he told me he would not be displeased at me for it Then he asking me whether I was guilty or not guilty of my Accusations and I answering Not guilty he bad me shew it by answering for my self I told him I was ready to do it but told him first I had an humble Petition to his Lordship which was that I desired a full and free liberty without hindrance to answer to every Objection and plead for my self I also desired he would reflect in my behalf that as he was to be my Judge so he was to be my Advocate And forasmuch as all earthly Judges were to imitate the heavenly Judge who as Advocate ten thousand times mitigates the severity of a Judge whil'st his hand of mercy is infinitely stretched forth beyond the hand of judgment And therefore I begged of his Lordship that I might find the favor of an Advocate from him rather than the tigor of a Judge especially in those things which according to Law may be advantageous or disadvantageous to me which I understanding not how to make the best use of them desired his Lordship would vouchsafe to do it for me which that the better he might be moved to do I desired he would be pleased to consider that this my Life and Concerns were in comparison of others greater not so much considerable I being but a private person yet my Little was to me Much because my Little was my All and my Life to me were as much as Caesars or Solomons were to them and as great a gift from God to me as theirs to them and therefore God has laid as great an obligation on me to defend my self and my life as he had on them for theirs and also had given to every one a strict command not to impair or prejudice me in the least no more than the greatest Potentate Therefore being I was now brought before him in a Case where the World as much as concerns me lay at stake and my Life and my Credit I did humbly beseech his Lordship to proceed accordingly with me as I presumed according to his prudence and worth he would He assented to what I petitioned and did bid me speak for my self In answer therefore to the first voluntary Witness against me I told his Lordship it was true I had been at such a night at his Fathers house and accordingly as I was desired by him I staid all night But as for this Witness I was a stranger to him and he to me as he confest himself Then the Judge asked him Whether he knew me before or no For he declared publickly That he never knew me nor saw me before or since till he saw me at Worcester and yet he said the next morning he made his Confession to me and I gave him the Communion at Mass as he supposed in my Chamber but he said that none of all the Family was present at that time only he and I alone whereupon I desired the Judge to consider what possible likelihood could be of the truth in this his affirmation that I should come to a house where I was acquainted with them all Father Mother and Children with all but this Witness who as he declared knew me not nor ever had seen me before what likelihood is there I should say Mass before him alone hear his Confession and give him the Sacrament and so go away without any one of the Family with whom I was so well acquainted hearing seeing or knowing the least of this that past between him and me I therefore desired my Lord to ask him Whether I spake of Confession or Communion or what I said to him when I gave it him or whether I told him I would give him the Sacrament which when the Judge had asked him he answered That indeed I never had spoken to him either about Confession or Communion to
will be saved 't is necessary before all things that he hold the Catholick Faith and that if he keep not that Faith whole and undefiled he shall perish everlastingly And as St. James saith Jam. 2. 10. He that keepeth the whole Law and yet offendeth in one point is guilty of all so they that believe must be all of the same Faith And that this ought to be done I appeal to all the Saints that are gone before of whom it is said That their Faith was such as by it they stopt the mouths of Lyons they turned the edge of the Sword and caused the Fire to cease that it should not burn so they were oppressed they wandered about in Sheeps-cloathing and Goats-cloathing Heb. 11. Therefore I say there must be an unity of Faith I desire all Catholiques to consider this That it is better to be reviled by man now in this World than be reviled by God in the World to come Mat. 16. it is said The Catholique Church is built upon a Rock And Mat. 18. He who will not believe the Church let him be as a Heathen and Publican This Faith must be establisht so in every one because Christ said He would send the Holy Ghost and he will shew us or them what to do This is the Rule of Faith This Faith was publisht at Rome And St. Paul writing to the Christians there rejoyceth that their Faith was renowned in the whole World Go ye therefore Baptizing all Nations in the Name of the Father And this is the Faith I confess and believe in and which I dye for I come now to speak of the second Virtue which is Hope I hope I shall have such Reward that neither eye hath seen nor ear heard nor can it enter into the heart of man to conceive Those that have Hope shall be as Mount Sion that shall not be removed Those that have firm Hope there 's nothing can disturb them as David faith God is round about those that do hope in him as the Mountains are round about Hierusalem I come to the third Virtue and that is Charity It 's true now this Body of mine in this shipwrack is full of sin but when that shipwrack is over I shall come to inherit that Rock that shall never fail Now welcome shipwrack that makes the Body suffer but brings the Soul to that Haven which is joyful Now many there be that talk much of Charity few understand it and fewer that practise it This is the greatest Virtue 1 Cor. 13. Though ye speak with tongues of Men and Angels and have not Charity it availeth nothing So then we ought to have Love and Charity or else it prevaileth nothing 'T is expected I should say something of the Plot. As to this I shall declare two Points of my Faith First I believe that all are bound to obey the King's Laws Secondly I do declare That those that do break the Law in word or any action or that do act any thing against His Majesties Life that is a Sin unto damnation as much as it was a Sin in Judas to betray Christ An Oath is a taking God to witness and is as much as if he took his Life and Justice to stake So that he who takes a false Oath is guilty of destroying the Life of God and his Justice and of his own Damnation And if I were but guilty of this I do declare That all the Sin of Damnation would fall upon me because I denied the Truth and so struck at God by my Sin in denying the Truth that 's one Damnation A second Damnation is That if any man know of an Evil against His Majesty His Kingdom and Nation and to hide and not discover it he shall answer for those mischiefs that come thereby so that a man would have made and committed as many Sins as there be men in England that had suffered A third Damnation is to dye in this Lye and with this Perjury in his mouth whereby he loses Heaven and all its enjoyments and dies in greater Sins than the Devils themselves Fourthly I should have been guilty of my own Death For that Judge Atkins offered me my Life if I would confess what I knew of the Plot which had I known and not discovered would have made me the cause of my own Death which would have been a fourth Damnation I would have said more but that I gave my Speech to a Friend to be Printed Mr. Sheriff I pray Sir speak on what you have to say and none shall interrupt you Mr. Johnson Now I have no more to do but to make my Address to Almighty God with all the powers of my Soul that I may have his mercy and pardon of my Sins And therefore I beg that all Catholiques who join in union of this same Faith would make an address unto God for me that we may receive pardon for our Sins -I have nothing now but wishes left -I wish I may imitate David in his Repentance and that my eyes may run down with tears because I have not kept God's Law I wish with the Prophet Jeremiah That Rivers of waters may fall from my eyes by reason of sin Lam. 3. 48. But Tears will not be proper for me at this time I have kept my self from them lest by shedding Tears some might say I was unwilling to dye or feared Death But instead of Tears I offer all the Blood in my veins and I wish every drop were an Ocean and I would offer it up to God I wish I might become a man like David I wish I had Mary Magdalens penitential Tears I wish I had her arms to embrace the feet of mercy I wish I had all the graces of Saints and Angels I would offer them all to God for the remission of my sin This is my desire and this I wish for as much as is in me I offer first my Life and I beseech and desire of God to turn his Face from my Sins but not from me I offer up my Life in satisfaction for my Sins and for the Catholick Cause And I beg for those that be mine Enemies in this my Death and I desire to have them forgiven because I go to that world of happiness sooner than I should have gone And I humbly beg Pardon from God and the world And this I beg for the merits and mercy of Jesus Christ I beseech God to bless His Majesty to give Him a long Life a nd a happy Reign in this world and in the world to come I beseech God to bless all my Benefactors and all my Friends and those that have been any way under my charge I beseech God to bless all Catholicks and this Nation and His Majesties Privy Council and grant that they may Act no otherwise than what may be for the glory of God who will bring to light and to judgment all both good and evil Luke 12. So I beseech God that he will give them grace