Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A49383
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The exceeding abundant grace of God displayed in the conversion of William Gymer a penitent malefactor and murderer, who was executed on the Castle-Hill in Norwich, Sept. 4. 1696. Written by John Lucas minister of the Gospel.
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Lucas, John, 1624 or 5-1703.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing L3393; ESTC R217744
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21,497
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35
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Sacrifice to Legal Justice But the Divine Wrath must be appeased and mercy obtained by a better Sacrifice and that is the Blood the most precious Blood of the Son of God our Saviour Jesus Christ This Blood is the only Medicine of Blood-guiltiness Lord wash me from this and I shall be clean And I should be in a higher degree of hope to obtain this blessing could I but hear you say as I hope you will to this prayer say Amen which is the most humble desire of a sorrowful Soul in Prison William Gymer Some have doubted and so have I whether these Lines were of his own inditing and composure yet I question not if the words were not but the sense was his own and his heart was in them He writ also a Letter to his Wife see p. 11 12. and another for his Child as I have been told which he never saw it being but about three quarters old for its use if the Lord should let it live and give it understanding He leaveth a paper also for others that may read it wherein he seems to be much affected with the sorrow and sufferings of Christ and prays that God would take away our stony hearts and give us to consider what he suffered for us Thou saith he whose property it is to have mercy hear and have compassion We commit our hearts unto Thee our God And let us as he addeth O my Friends take that due care to bring forth fruits that are meet for Repentance Matth. 3.8 The foundation of a holy life is true Repentance and where that is we may believe there is remission of sins and eternal life succeeds O then let us not put off our Repentance from day to day for to morrow is none of ours O let us repent to day for the day is at hand when we must render an account not only for one day but for our whole life Let us truly call upon God that he would turn his face from our sins and pray unto him that our sins may depart from us For sin is the distemper of the Soul which moved David to cry out Heal my Soul for I have sinned against thee Psal 41.4 Let us call upon God that he would not cast us away from his presence but restore unto us the joy of his salvation Psal 51.12 O let us not count calamity and punishment evil for many times good proceedeth from them Nay they may be called good because they are God's Messengers and proceed from him who is the Fountain of all good Moreover they lead us unto the chiefest Happiness which is life everlasting For Christ by his Passion entred into his glory and Christians by tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God Acts 14.22 O then let us count nothing evil but sin because it draws us from that which is good The Sinner is accused by his Conscience which he hath defiled by his Creator whom he hath offended and by the sins he hath committed Let us beg of God that he would grant us Grace to repent and endeavour to make our Calling and Election sure My Friends I leave these Lines behind me heartily desiring you to avoid all sin and to avoid Lying which I believe to be the fore-runner of other sins Solomon bids us Prov. 23.23 buy the Truth but doth not tell us what it must cost because we must get it tho' it be never so dear We must love Truth both shining and scorching Thus he writes and thus he spent part of that space of time given him for Repentance and owned scorching Truth in a free confession of those Crimes which he knew would cost him his life He admonished such as came to see him to take heed of Lying and Sabbath-breaking and let him saith he that standeth take heed lest he fall For I little thought or intended to commit those grievous Crimes I am guilty of half an hour before the commission of them And then he burst out into tears He was frequent in Prayer with Thanksgiving I do confess saith he it might be but Justice in thee to damn my Soul but O Lord I pray thee in Justice remember Mercy and in thine Infinite Mercy pardon me 'T is dreadful to lose the Body but O how much dreadful to lose the Soul to all Eternity Let my Soul praise thy Name for what thou hast done for me For I hope and do believe thou hast been at work upon my Soul in helping me to repent for which I give thee hearty thanks and am desirous to be most humble under the sense of my sins for they are very dreadful to me As he prayed so his prayers were mixed with Faithand a humble confidence He would tell me he had comfort in God upon his praying He often found the Lord ready to give what he asked and more ready to receive the contrite in heart into favour as he acknowledged then they to offer themselves by unfeigned Repentance Prayer was the employ in which he spent much of his time and he heartily desired the earnest prayers of Ministers and all good and pious Christians that he might grow more and more in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and many were put up for him The great mercies of God made his heart glad and the Company of those who came to instruct and help him forward in the way of Life was very acceptable to him and he would entreat them to come again and not leave him while he was in the Land of the Living His words were but few but his ingenious Confession and meek Conversation and his Works that declared his unfeigned Repentance won the hearts of many to him His Wife told me he writ twice a week to her In his last Letter to her he writeth thus My Dear Love THIS being the last Letter that ever I shall write I write to you to look to your Eternal Stat aend to prepare for it before it be too late which is my hearty prayer to Almighty God that you should so do and that you may not be found as some I once read of who cryed out O miserable Souls that we are How hath sin and the world blinded and bewitched us that we could not see our condition before it was too late God hath kept me in the thoughts of death for some time Once I thought my self just at the Graves side but he that laid me down was pleased to lift me up again But now he seems to be speedily finishing my days to whom through the infinite mercy of Jesus Christ I call with some comfort and boldness saying Come Lord Jesus come quickly And so farewel my Friends and Relations farewel eating and drinking and I hope within a few days to say Farewel sin and sinning And My dear I commend you and my poor Babe to him who hath promised To be a Father to the Fatherless and to plead the cause of the Widow And so I earnestly desire you to