Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	jesus_n	sin_n	sinner_n	3,659	5	7.4408	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97283	The penitent murderer. Being an exact narrative of the life and death of Nathaniel Butler; 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.	Yearwood, Randolph, d. 1689.	1657 (1657)	Wing Y23; Thomason E1660_2; ESTC R209007	51,603	133

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

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 sac●● 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

untill he came to be alone in his Chaines like Manasseh 2 Chron. 33 11.12 his prejudgment of the sentence of death brought in the thoughts of an eternall after-estate and then said he my conscience was enlightned and a wakened to see my self in the glass of Gods law and under the judgment of eternal death which wrought such horror consusion and astonishment that made me cry out in the bitterness of my soule as one under the wrath and tertors of the Almighty Moreover said he the thoughts of this second and after-death of my poor soule did blot out of my remembrance the death which was approaching Hereupon I began further to apply to him after this manner That in this your present condition there are two things of greatest concernment to your soule First that you be rightly regulated in your repentance Secondly rightly directed the way of beleeving in Christ I shall endeavor to make both plain and practicable 1. Not to swell the Narrative with the rehearsall of what I offered him about a true and right conviction of sin not of this notorious sin only but of others also and the corrupt root and fountain from whence all sprang with the nature and necessity of a Gospel-repentance pressing seriousness and sincerity upon him this not being a time to Trifle much less to dissemble about the weighty concernments of his soule a false and a faigned repentance being as bad as the sin it self with more the like as occasion was offered N. B. Answers very sensibly in these and such like words following not in a continued discourse but in an Intercourse of speech N. B. Oh saith he not only this one haynous sin but multitudes of other sins are set in order before me as well small as great and the smallest appeareth great to me as being against a holy God and an infinite good I never thought such things to be sins which I now see to be sins Oh what an ignorant dead Creature was I before I now apprehend the filthiness and feele the hardness of my heart my heart is discovered to the very bottome the whole trade and course of my life is brought to my remembrance and wringing his hands the most of the time Oh now saith he I discerne I was in a miserable and damnable condition before I committed this foule fact Others think themselves in a happy condition because they are not under the guilt of my sin and under the same sentence but alas they are lamentably mistaken as I also was Now do I apprehend the sinfulness of my thoughts and secret immaginations as wel as outward actions And all this and much more exprest with such a manner and measure of earnestness as did apparantly signifie that the two-edged Sword had past and pierced through the very powers of his soule discerning and abilitating him to discerne the inward thoughts and intents of his heart Oh saith he I dare not lessen my sins nor extenuate my great sin they are against the righteous law and holy nature of God and frequently in our discourse he would intermix this speech of Davids with hands wringing and strong affection against thee O Lord have I sinned against thee even thee O Lord have I sinned and done wickedly and Lord Pardon mine iniquity for it s exceeding great Psal 25.11 And when I proceeded upon the parts of repentance and contrition as one great branch of it he said That he did heartily repent to his utmost as before the Lord and did hope the Lord would break him more Oh saith he it s the griefe of my heart I can grieve no more and though my heart is broken yet I am sensible of hardness yet remaining and by way of concession to my words saying Oh it s not a time to Trifle indeed I know my heart is deceitfull but I desire nothing more then a through and faithful discovery of the deceitfulness of my heart by all that come to mee that I might not mistake and lose my soule and amongst other deceits I desire to avoid this of resting upon any repentance of mine but upon Christ only for salvation but I hate sin heartily not only for that it hath brought mee to this misery but also for its filthy nature and because against a holy and mercifull God 2. The second thing I endeavoured to mannage was the possibility of pardon and salvation notwithstanding the magnitude and multitude of his sins which when I began to speake his heart was raised to an earnest expectation and attention rejoycing to think there might be a dore of hope I proceeded to three or four considerations to evidence his sin pardonable and his soule salvable First because there was more grace in God to forgive and more vertue in the blood of Christ to save then was in his sin to damne him Secondly because God in the Gospel had determined all sins of all sorts pardonable except only the sin against the holy spirit Math. 12.31 1 John 5.16 which for sundry reasons he could not possibly be guilty of this I did inculcate the more that he might sted fastly and firmely beleeve the record and testimony hereof before he went further unto which he did profess a full and sound assent gathering herefrom hopes that he might be saved and exulted in those hopes Thirdly that God had recorded eminent examples in his word of shewing his mercy to such sinners who had committed the same sin and that with a higher hand viz. Manasseh 2 Kings 21.16 compared with 2 Chron. 33 11 12 13. I did endeavor to enforce the Parallel about the meanes and manner of Gods humbling by the same fetters of affliction upon which he said Oh I bless God for this affliction I bless God that I was discovered and taken I might have run out my course in sin and directly to hell had not God taken this course with me Oh I would not exchange my present imprisonment with my former liberty in sin for all the world I hinted also the Murder of David in the matter of Vriah and Davids prayer again Psal 25.11 which he said Mr. Samuel Jacombe of Lumbard Stret had preacht on in the Prison which did much help his hopes and he voluntarily called to remembrance the Jewes who murdered Christ Acts 2.36.37.38 and made a comfortable improvement thereof Fourthly I alledged that the Gospell did pronounce and proclaim pardon of sin and eternal salvation upon true repentance and beleeving on the Lord Jesus Christ and there was no visible barr to exclude him more then any other in world the substance of this faith lying in this that if upon the sight of his lost condition by sin and upon a firme assent to the record of God concerning his sons being an only and al-sufficient Saviour he could but cast himself upon the mercy of God and roule his sinfull sincking soule upon the Lord Jesus as a foundation heartily hateing sin and abhorring himself and cleaving to Christs righteousness

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

men whether would the heart of man run if there were not some rein upon it T is sad the Law of God will not keep men from sin but seeing it will not t is mercy we have the Laws of Man Many are afraid of the Gallowes which have no sense of Hell This great Sinner is represented to you as an eminent instance of the Grace of God and so we hope he was T is very necessary therefore we should here insert a Caveat against the abusing of this Grace of God How apt are we with the Spider to suck Poyson where with the Bee we should suck Honey How many will be apt from hence to encourage themselves in sin and to say Let us sin that Grace may abound Rom. 6.1 Or let us sin for Grace will abound Man is not more prone to any thing then to catch at eminent Acts of Grace and to make that Fewel to his Lust which God intended only to be Food to his Faith And never was there any age wherein there was more of this Spirit of Presumption then this wherein we live insomuch that upon this very account some of us were very inclinable to think That 't was better to have the story of this man suppressed then published But since providence hath so ordered it that it doth see the Light we cannot but annex to it an Antidote against presuming Sinners do not pervert this Grace of God God lets you have it to keep you off from the rock of despair not that you should run upon the rock of presumption Deut. 29.19 20. If you sin you may have mercy but if you presume to sin can you then expect mercy Grace rejected may yet save you though that will cost you dear but oh tremble to abuse the grace of God to incourage you in sins God sometimes gives some rare instances of his grace to notorious sinners that none may despair but he is very choice in these that none may presume T is true upon repentance the greatest sinner shall find mercy but how do you know that God will give you repentance How many are in the same condemnation that this offender was that die without any such work upon them we affectionately beseech you and warn you not to turn this grace of God into wantonnesse These things we hint in general More particularly we shall address our selves to you in the several capacities wherein you stand You the Right honourable Magistrates of the City with all submission and yet with all boldness we exhort you to do your duty T is not enough for you to punish sin when 't is before you but you are to endevour the preventing of it you see what is the sad fruit of Ale-houses Whore-houses and such places we hope your zeal will yet continue nay be heightned in the suppressing of them Down with them Down with them spare them not they are the Divels Shops and let him have no Free-Trade amongst us If you will none shall have so many Customers as he How many Labourers drink that away at these houses which should maintain their wives and children with bread How are the youth of this City debaunched at them where they have their Gaming Cheating Whoring and what not Oh let your Reformation be severe and throughout in this particular But herein blessed be God we have great cause as well to commend as to quicken your zeale We heartily wish that those who have power in the Suburbs of the City would be as active in the restraining of sin as you are that those places and persons which you will not indure in the City the naming of which would soul our pen might not be held up and harboured there otherwise it will be small advantage to smother Whores out of one Hive when they have another ready to receive them We hear and fear t is too true that Priests and Jesuites those Romish Locusts do swarm amongst us in the City and Suburbs We beseech you for the sake of Jesus Christ and for love to the Gospel to put forth your power to the utmost for the discovering suppressing of them And the rather because they and their party are so bold as to intrude themselves upon prisoners condemned to die to pervert them from the true Religion for this attempt they were bold to make upon N. B. before he was executed We should also speak to our selves and to our reverend Brethren in the Ministry Doth not this providence speak something to us Should we not from hence be stirred up in our several congregations more vigorusly to reprove sin and to deter men from sin Whither will sinners go if we let them alone Let our preaching be lively quick powerful by Gods blessing it may be a means to prevent these abominable practises However let 's do this and then let our hearers do what they will their blood shall be required at their own hands Ezech. 3.18 19. We shall be free from it Let us beat down drunkenness Adultery c. and such scandalous sins and while we labour to preach down unbelief let us take heed that presumption and gross sins do not break in upon us with a mighty breach Should we enlarge upon these things we should be tedious Our principal intendment was to speak a word to you the people and Citizens of the place which we shall dispatch with all plainness and brevity And here we will only take the liberty of advising you in the Notion of Governours and Governed You that are Governours we mean Governours of families give us leave to set in with this providence and to stir you up to make more conscience of the Family-duties and engagements that lie upon you in reference to your children and Servants Probably if things be not mis-repesented had there been a consciencious discharge of these duties in the Family where this young man lived he had never come to this sad end But we had rather awaken then censure Was not that a brave resolution of Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord. Josh 24.15 Gen. 18.9 Can you have a better Evidence of sincerity towards God then a faithful comming up to relative and Family-duties Do not parents that send up their children to you put a great trust into your hands Are not their children dearer to them then all their outward comforts and shall they miscarry under you for want of care Will not their blood be required at your hands if they perish through your neglect will it not be sad to have children and servanns to rise up in judgment against you and to bring in evidence at the great tribunall of Christ Lord my Father never minded me Lord my master never regarded me I might sin he never reproved me I might go to hell it was all one to him will not this be sad will not this be sweet to you when you come to die to be able to say Lord I have walked in my house with a perfect

recommending of this providence to you and the duty which it calls for Psal 9 16. The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth And surely this latter Age though an Age full of sin hath not set before you a more dreadful instance of mans sinfulness and Gods justice though in the end sweetned much with mercy then that which in and upon this notorious Malefactor hath been laid before your observation And therefore we cannot here be silent but must take this advantage with all humility and affection to your souls good plainly to open our hearts to you By some we know before hand we shall be slighted and censured as men too busy and may be as men too credulous but in the presence of God we can say our aim is publick good and the discharge of our consciences and therefore we are not discouraged And we are not wholly without hope but that some benefit may be reaped from these few lines which here with all sincerity we do present upon that late providence which hath been before you Exod. 14.20 That providence we say which like the Cloud is on one side very dark on the other side very bright very dark as to mans sin very bright as to Gods mercy T is the daily and inward grief of our spirits God knows it that our Ministry is so successeless that we see so little fruit of the word preached by us that in a City where there is such plain and powerful preaching such horrid sins should be committed Ezek. 19.14 This is a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation But possibly some secure sinners may be a little startled and awakened by this terrible judicial hand of God and so a word setting in with this providence may be more effectual then many in an ordinance We cannot but comply with the will of God in the use of all means for the furtherance of your salvation And oh that God would so bless this dispensation that you all may hear and fear and sin no more Touching the sad occasion we will not inlarge upon that the hainous murder the abominable uncleanness the wicked theft of which Nat Butler was guilty of the former but once which we speak not by way of extenuation for that 's too much of the two latter very often as also the shamefulness and dreadfulness of his death these we pass over as being very well known to all of you Neither shall we interest our selves in any narrative of the workings of God upon his heart during his imprisonment and at his execution though herein we could speak much as being for the most of us very often with him in this time and narrow observers of him Nor shall we expatiate upon some of those great truths of the Gospel which this famous instance doth lead us to Namely that sometimes it pleases God in the sovereignty and prerogative of his grace to ceaze upon the greatest sinners and out of the coursest rubbish to erect the monuments of his unlimited mercy 1 Tim. 1.16 The Lord doth sometimes take the vilest wretches and hangs them out as patterns of his infinite love that the freeness of his grace may be admired and the greatest of sinners may be incouraged but still in the way of Faith and Repentance we do not we dare not limit the Grace of God as to exclude this Notorious and Bloody sinner from it nay we have good hope that through the infinite Mercy of the Father and the All-sufficient Merits of the Son he is accepted to eternal Life Indeed when we consider the horribleness of his sin the greatness of his joy after a short humiliation yet deep and through we hope we easily conjecture that some will question both the prudence of any publication and the truth of his Conversion But we will meddle with neither of these leaving men to jude of the former and God alone who searches and knows the heart to judge of the latter Waving therefore all these things our only design and businesse in this application is to press upon you the inhabitants of this City to some of whom we are more neerly related in our respective Charges the several duties which do naturally result from this Providence We would exhort you in the first place To be thankful to God for his Restraining Grace which though it be short of his Renewing Grace yet t is with all thankfulness to be valued Oh! bless the Lord who keeps you from those sins which this poor Wretch was guilty of that you are not Adulterers Theeves nay Murderers and Malefactors to be punished by the Judge this is the Lords mercy 1 Cor. 4.7 Who makes you to differ from others Have not you the same Names Have not you the Seed and Spawn of all wickedness in you And should God leave you to the baseness of your own hellish hearts would you not also run to all Excess of sin and that with Greediness too When you read over this sad Story we beseech you lay your hands upon your hearts and say What a mercy is it I was neither the Murderer nor the Murdred We desire you to mourne over the crying sins that are to be found amongst us Oh! the Scarlet sins that swarm in London even in London Swearing Drunkenness Uncleanness Profanation of the Lords Day Contempt of the Gospel and of the Ministry thereof nay even Blood-guiltiness is to be found amongst us Should not your Souls like the Soul of Righteous Lot be vexed within you for these things 2 Pet. 2.7 Should you not all come up to be Ezekiel's mourners in the remembrance of them Ezek. 9.4 Especially considering that these things are done in times of Reformation and in a place of Vision even in London where the Light of the Gospel shines so gloriously where the Words is Preached so plentifully and powerfully even there these abominations are to be found Will you not lay them to heart And what reason have you to admire the patience of God to this City T is a wonder London is not made a Sodom that desolation doth not seize upon your houses that you are not all swept away with the Beesome of suddain destruction that you are not hung upon the Gibbet as Spectacles of Gods vengeance to all the Nations round about What so much provocation and yet the City to stand Oh the Patience and Long-suffering of God! Doubtless if God had not a Remnant amongst you who seek him daily and fear his Name you had been laid desolate long before now Isa 1 9. We need not from hence to stir you up to submit to Government and to bless God that you live in a place where Laws are Executed What a Chaos what a Wilderness of wild Beasts should we be if Malefactors were not punished What Confusion Cruelty Barbarousness would overspread all if by wholsome Laws and the care of good Magistrates in the Execution of them we had not some Boundaries set to the Lusts of