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
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
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
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
the hearts and prayers of his people he did several times throw himself on the free grace of God in the blood and merits of Jesus Christ alone for his Salvation renouncing all but Christ acknowledging that he beleeved to be washed from his bloody Fact and all his other sins by no means but by the blood of Jesus Christ At my third and last time of being with him which was the night before he died I indeavoured to hold forth to his faith from Scripture the glorious state in heaven to all Eternity that Jesus Christ had purchased and was in the possession of for true believers and into which such souls should immediatly enter when they leave the body and abide there with Christ their Head for ever To which he gave very great heed and attention and though his lips said little yet to my apprehension his soul spake very much for it wrought in his body as if it were raised up by Faith through what was held out to him even to the admiring of that grace and glory The working of his soul was mixt with Tears as I conceive of Joy for he mentioned nothing of the fear of Death though he was often minded of it how neer it was at hand nor did I then perceive any paleness in his face or sinking of Spirit the Symptomes of the fear of Death But that those workings of his Soul were reachings after that glorious Inheritance held out in Rom. 8.17 To be heirs of God joynt heirs with Christ which Scripture was then opened to him And that glorious inheritance set forth by the concurrence of several other Scriptures with an indeavour to give him a View by the eye of faith of that which in a very few moments after his soul should to all Eternity be made partaker of in joy and glory with Christ in Heaven which was infinitely more then could be expressed or conceived and this I judge did make his Soul so work within him After some time in prayer I parted with him and almost the last words I had from him were these He told me he was really offended with himself because he hated sin no more which had caused him to offend God so much he told me Satan was busie to perswade him That all his Faith and Repentance was false but he had beleeved the Divel too long and he would trust him no longer but now cast his eternal soul on the free grace of God in the Blood of Christ alone for Salvation renouncing himself wholly In this resolution and frame of Spirit I left him And as I am informed through the free grace of God he did abide and increase in it to his last breath Upon the whole I am truly perswaded from that Work of God that I observed to be wrought in him and the degrees of it that though his former life was full of all wickedness his soul exceeding ignorant of God and his own sinful nature all that time and his Repentance and Faith in Christ very late yet that the free grace of God who is not bounded to time did make both his Faith and Repentance true and do beleeve he is with Christ in glory I do not give this Publike Attest to encourage sin but to magnifie the free grace of God in Jesus Christ to Sinners and I do assure whosoever reads this that poor soul which is the Subject of it found sin to be exceeding bitter before he had any tast of the sweetness of Gods free grace in Christ Hoping this may be of Publike Use I am free to Attest it with my Name September 10. 1657. Robert Tichborne Major A brief Account of a Visit given to Nathaniel Butler a Prisoner in Newgate upon the Friday before he suffered by Tho. Case a Minister of the City of London wherein he made these following Observations THE said Nathaniel Butler expressed 1. A deep sense of that desperate Bloody fact which he had committed which he loaded with all the blackest aggravations that might be especially with this Consideration That for ought he knew he had destroyed body and soul with oue blow He had begg'd and obtained a space of Repentance from his Judges but had not afforded his Brother one moment to beg pardon at the hand of God This Consideration stuck so deeply upon his spirit that it had well nigh sunk him into despair had not God sent in some relief by the hand of one that visited him in prison in the instance of Manasseh who having sacrificed his sons unto Devils and shed much other innocent blood upon his repentance finding mercy did not despairingly afflict himself with the consideration of what became of the souls of those whom he had so cruelly murdered Secret things belong unto the Lord c. 2. He exprest not only sense of the guilt of Blood but a right Gospel-notion of the sinfulness of sin All sin the least sin not as destroying only but as defiling not as contrary to the Creature in the effects of it but as contrary to God in the nature of it A grieving of the Spirit a crucifying of Jesus Christ afresh a most unworthy requital of the love of a crucified Saviour 3. He discovered also that which indeed was the thing which I came purposely to the Prison to enquire after viz. A right apprehension of Original sin the Corruption of his Nature which he lookt upon as the Fountain and Spring-head of his Murder Theft and all other actual wickedness bewailing them all with David in their first source and spring Behold I was born in sin and in iniquity did my mother conceive me Ps 51.5 In a word He had as right a notion of the state of Unregeneracie as ever I found in any new Convert 4. He exprest also an high appretiation of Jesus Christ not only for pardon of sin but for power against sin not only to deliver the soul from the wrath to come and everlasting burning but from the state of Nature As a Fountain of Holiness as well as a Fountain of Happiness 5. An high apprehension and admiration of Free-grace in pardoning such a sinner as he was Which he exprest with much self-abhorrencie as one that had no regard to the Sabbath never acquainted himself with the Bible or Catechism never prayed And if a good Thought were entring his heart he would thrust it away from him with greatest indignation The pardon of these with other sins he admired in some such language as the Apostle did 1 Tim. 1.13 6. God had vouchsafed him a sweet taste of the Promises some whereof most suitable to his condition God had pitched his soul upon which he repeated with so sweet a relish as a man might perceive his soul was even ravished with the sence thereof 7. Wonderfully did he bless and admire the goodness of God in calling such a cruel enemy to mankind as he was in murdering his Brother into the prayers compassion and care of so many of his precious
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
as all along he was ready to take all occasions of a full free and impartial confession of Sins cloathing them with their agravating Circumstances to make them out of measure sinfull His high admiring thoughts of the Love and Grace of God several ways he expressed in a most serious affectionate manner both in generall and in reference to himself and his sence of his interest in them He was much in Repetition with thankful wonderment of many proomises of God some I had before spoken of in preaching and some others such as set forth Gods readiness to pardon the freeness largeness and unchangeableness of the Pardoning mercy of God and again and again speaking in the words of Paul And that such an one as I should obtain mercy Such an one as I find mercy Admiring the distinguishing grace of God towards him that when other Prisoners though in lesse danger then himself of Death whom we then heard above makeing a noise were without thought of Sin or God God should snatch him as a Fire-brand and that in such a way making sin so great sin to be overruled to his great good He expressed his appretiating thoughts of Gods promises savourly descanting upon them and comfortably applying them to himself saying I could formerly find no thing desirable in a Promise or any Word of God it was a burthen to me but now that the promises were the rejoycing of his heart He said Satan had sorely winowed and buffeted him but Christ was on his side And using the words of the Apostle This is our rejoycing the Testimony of our Consciences he added God hath said whosoever repenteth and beleeveth shall find mercy and be saved my Conscience telleth me and witnesseth to me that I unfeignedly repent and really beleeve in Christ and I am one of those Whosoever therefore Christ is mine c. As to his Condition in general from what I found or otherwise heard I conceive there are many things very remarkable 1. As to his sin committted 1. That this great Sin was clearly a judiciall sin the punishment of former Sins for which God left him 2. That as it was the deserved fruit of a bad Cause so it was the accidentall cause of good fruit the Lord overshooting Satan in his own bow when and by what meanes he took to make sure of him God startled and roused Conscience which would not with the noise of lesse guilt be awaked and humbled the Sinner c. Secondly It seemeth to me very observeable as to the Work of God upon him that it was so orderly gradual he being first bound up partly through his ignorance in which he had been brought up partly through the amazing guilt that with an overwhelming stupifying power came upon him he afterwards by degrees and that at last to such a measure of clearness and distinctness of Understanding in the things of God had an extraordinary beam of divine light darted into his Soul and that by degrees his sence of the sinfulness of sin increased as I have been credibly informed to a deep humiliation not without horror and so ingenious confession And then upon the alone and most sufficient foundation of the rich and precious promises of the Gospel he was raised up to the apprehension of mercy and at last of his particular interest in it 3. The hand of the Lord upon the hearts of his People Magistrates Ministers and other Christians in some measure evidencing the thoughts of God towards the poor man to be thoughts of Peace and good-will In that favour he so high an Offendor found to have time of repentance and reconciliation who himself gave none to his Friend In the means afforded him and manifold helps for his spiritual advantage which he in my hearing took notice of with admiring thankfulness Sermons Visits generall pitty of Gods people in the importunate enlarged fervency of Ministers and Christians in praying for him scarcely to be parallel'd in the memory of men THO PARSON Some PassAges between Nath. Butler and a Friend of his that came to visit him which have been omitted in the other Conferences Friend HOw do you Nathautel N. Butler Very well blessed be God only I must tell you that even now here were with me some Popish Ladies who asked me concerning my Faith and what Religion I did intend to die in I told them in the true Protestant Religion of the Church of England They answered if I died not in the Roman Catholick Religion I could not be saved and prest it with several Arguments Pray inform me therefore what is this Popish Religion Fr. It is such a Religion that dares not trust in Christ alone without mingling their own merits with the merits of Jesus Christ Nath. That is saddest Religion in the world for me I shall never be of that Religion clapping his hand on his brest for I am the vilest wretch that lives I have not a good thought to trust to I must be saved only by the merits of Christ if ever I be saved The same Friend watching with him the night before he dyed wished him to think of the free mercy of God in Jesus Christ that God should call him at the eleventh hour He answered I desire to be vile in mine own eyes and admire free grace About five of the clock that morning he was to suffer death he was raised to a high pitch of joy and cried out Oh sirs help me Help me to glorifie God! shew me how to do it I cannot do it enough I cannot contain my self yet suspecting himself he asked those about him Was it so with you and with you when God wrought on you They replied it was Oh then said he it is right blessed be God Come let us sing the 100 Psalm which he sung with much alacrity About an hour after they knockt off his shackels now said his Friend Come Nat. now thy shackles are off I will get thee out and thou shalt run thy old course and have money enough and take thy fill of lust and pleasure again He seriously replied Really Really Really clapping his hand on his breast if I know my own heart I would not for ten thousand worlds lose the opportunity of this morning I am now going where I shall never sin again So leaving the dark Dungeon wherein he was Prisoner in order to his execution he uttered these expressions to his friends about him O this dark Dungeon The best Room that ever I came in and this contemptible Bed the best that ever I lay in AN EXACT NARRATIVE Of the Life and Death of NATHANIEL BUTEER With the several Conferences held with him by the Right Honorable the Lord Major and several eminent Ministers As also his Confessions Speech Prayer c. together with the Sermon preached the Evening after his Execution BEfore I enter upon the Narrative give me leave very briefly to premise how Nathaniel Butler behaved himself before this Murther committed viz. That he was a
very lewd Young man being addicted to divers sins which he himself hath freely confessed For instance 1. He was a great Company-keeper and given to Gaming very much whereby he gain'd money and several Watches of Young men one whereof he restor'd to the Owner after his Conscience was awaked in prison 2. He enticed some Servants to purloin from their Masters and sell the Goods then would he and they go together and spend the money among themselves 3. He lived in Fornication frequenting the company and the houses of Harlots in so much that as he himself under his own hand informed me he judged this very sin of Whoredom did draw him on to that of shedding blood Concerning which fact I shall now speak as also concerning his carriage in Prison and at his Execution being an Eye and Ear-witness thereof THis Nathaniel Butler came from Alton in Hampshire where he was born and at the time of his Apprehension was an Apprentice with one Mr. Goodday a Drawer of Cloth in Carter-lane London during which time he became acquainted with one John Knight an Apprentice also in the same City These two were much together but especially when Mr. Worth John Knight's Master was gone to Bristol-Fair then did these two young men lie together several nights at Mr. Worth's house at the Rose in Milk-street where in the shop on Wednesday morning being the 6. of August 1657. Nathaniel Butler seeing some Bags of money he was thereupon tempted to take away the life of his Friend and Bed-fellow that he might securely convey away the Money which he had now seen in the Till of the shop After they had been abroad that day at night they lay again together the bloody design running still in the mind of Butler he intending about the dead of the night for so he expressed himself to me to destroy the Young man by cutting his throat Accordingly he took his knife in his hand but his heart would not suffer him to do it then he laid down the knife again yea he took up and laid down hi sknife several times so he told me before he acted his cruelty But in the morning very early he did indeed fall very violently and inhumanely on the Youth who lay harmlesly asleep upon the bed The first wound not being mortal awaked him whereupon he strugled and made a noise not considerable enough which was heard into another room of the same house Then Butler chopt his fist into the mouth of the Young man and so they two lay striving and tumbling very near half an houre before the fatal blow was given but at length he did most barbarously murder the Young man giving him a very ghastly deadly wound cross the throat And then he went down taking away out of the shop a sum of money in two bags being about One hundred and twenty pounds And so with his double guilt of Robbery and Murder leaving his bloody Shirt behind him and a Lock of his own Hair in the hand of the dead Young man which Hair was pull'd off in their striving together one to commit the other to prevent the fact after he had so done he went to his masters house in Corter-lane where he privately laid the Money in a new Trunk that he bought with part of the Money This Murderer abode for certain days that is from Thursday to Saturday at his Masters house unsuspected following his business at home as formerly Many thoughts and jealousies were working in men who should be the Murderer And in a few days one in Milk-street the street where the Murder was done knowing that Butler used sometimes to be with the Young man who was now murder'd went to Butler's Master's house in Carter-lane and spake with him by whose words and carriage he supposed he might be guilty and so caused him to be apprehended But yet for some small time the said Butler denied the Fact but at length confessed That he and he only did it After his apprehension he was brought before the Lord Major of London to whom he declared the Murder and the Circumstances of it crying out for a little time for his soul and much lamenting his sin That night he was committed to Newgate and there lay exceedingly startled about the state of his soul saying often What will become of my poor soul What shall I do to be saved beginning now to see the sinfulness of sin Whom I may compare to Manasseh in three respects 1. As to matter of fact for Manasses shed much innocent blood 2 King 21.16 so did he shed too much innocent blood 2. He something resembled Manasses in his imprisonment mentioned 2 Chr. 33.11 As Manasses was taken and bound with fetters so was he clapt in the Hole or Dungeon of Newgate with heavy irons about his legs 3. Manasses and he were one and the same in this sense that when they were in affliction they besought the Lord God and humbled themselves greatly before the God of their fathers For this great Offender could often say He could never be humbled enough Upon the 13 of August when he was arraigned at the Sessions in the Old-Baily he pleaded Guilty to the Indictment with very much shame confusion of face and sorrow of heart And on Friday the 15. of August he demeaned himself very humbly before the Bench heartily submitting to the Sentence of Death that then passed upon him saying He had destroyed the Image of the Eternal GOD alluding as I verily believe to those words in Gen. 9.6 For in the image of God c. After his Sentence he was conveyed back to prison penitently acknowledging that he had neglected the good Word of God and therefore was the longer kept off through ignorance of the Gospel from closing with Christ Jesus But after a few days discourse with several Ministers and others who opened the Scriptures to him he began to understand through the grace of God the Word of Grace And though he had many good Books brought to him by divers visiting Friends yet he chiefly looked into the holy Scriptures themselves and found very much advantage light and peace by these following passages out of the Old Testament viz. 2 Sam. 12.9 Where Nathan spake sharply to David for despising the Commandment of the Lord to do evil in the sight of the Lord in killing Vriah the Hittite with the sword Vers 13 David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said to David The Lord also hath put away thy sin From hence he understood the readiness of God to forgive confessing repenting sinners though they are guilty of innocent blood Job 33.27 28 He the Lord looketh upon men Oh that men would look after the Lord and if ANY say I have sinned and perverted that which was right and it profited me not he that is the Lord will deliver his soul from going into the pit and his life shall see the light Isa 45.18 19. I said not unto the
design and in God's sense and esteem who searcheth the heart As a man that doth not commit the act of Adultery is an Adulterer nevertheless if his heart lust after a woman Mat. 5.28 So if a man never lay violent hands upon another yet if his heart disaffect and hate him he is a Murderer And ye know that no Murderer whether he be a Murderer in the sense of this Scripture or any other hath eternal life abiding in him that is hath the promise of eternal life or the evidence of it abiding in him Do not conceive from this clause that a man who was at any time guilty of blood by murthering another or hating another cannot be saved or enter into life for Manasseh David and others were blood-guilty but upon repentance were pardoned I doubt not of Nathaniel Butlers life eternal though he did destroy and take away the life of his Brother because God gave him repentance and humiliation The meaning is this No Murderer hath eternal life abiding in him if this man abide in his malice hatred and under his murder impenitent and stupid Is he whosoever he be that hateth another a Murderer Then Vse 1. Examine your selves Is Hatred so hainous a sin How may we know then whether we are not haters of any man Now Hatred is manifested thus 1. By refusing to rebuke thy brother or neighbor for his sin Lev. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy brother and not suffer sin upon him Prov. 13.24 He that spareth the rod hateth his son 2. By keeping without cause at a distance from men Gen. 26.27 And Isaac said unto them Wherefore come ye to me seeing ye hate me and have sent me away from you If ye cry Away with him away with him to banishment imprisonment Away with such an one out of my sight I cannot endure this or that person in my sight Thou art an hater and a murderer See Judg 11.7 And Jephtah said unto the Elders of Gilead Did not ye hate me and expel me out of my fathers house 3. Warlike language Gen. 37.4 They hated him and could not speak peaceably to him When men cannot give one another a good word what is this but malice and hatred in the heart Gen. 49.29 The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him Bending the bow and shooting bitter words speak out bitterness and hatred within 4. Lying in wait for rising up against and mortally wounding another Deut. 19.11 But if any man hate his neighbor and lie in wait for him and rise up against him and smite him mortally that he die c. Rev. 17.16 These shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire Harsh usage shews hatred Try your selvs by these and other Scripture-signs and try impartially Vse 2. Exhort men to lay aside their sin See what the word chargeth upon 't 1. 'T is from the Devill as love is of God 1 Thes 4.9 Ye are taught of the Devill to hate 1 John 4.11 12. This is the Message that ye heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as Cain who was of that WICKED ONE meaning as Cain was a man of cruelty and hatred so he was of the Divell hatred is all hatcht in Hell O then retain it no more in your hearts 2. It proves a man to be yet unregenerate Titus 3.2 3. For we our selves also were sometimes foolish and disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in MALICE and ENVY hatefull and hateing one another But after that the kindness and love of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 appeared c. It s too too apparent from this passage that the kindness and love of God hath not wrought kindly upon mens hearts so long as they live in malice envy and hatred how can a man be a cut throat and a Christian at the same time a man of hatred and a child of God 3. Thou art a murderer I have here transscribed some suteable passages of a very reverend Godly man I mean Mr. Joseph Caryl who in his excellent exposition upon the 5th Chapter of Job and 2 verse speaketh thus concerning wrath So in like manner wrath is said to slay a man first because it thrusts him headlong upon such things as are his death he runs willfully upon his own death sometimes by the dangerousness of the action when a casuall sudden death surprises him sometime by the unlawfulness of the action which brings him to a legal judiciary death Secondly his wrath is said to kill him because his wrath is so vexations to him that it makes his life a continual death to him and at last so wearieth him out and wasts his Spirits that he dies for very grief and so at once commits a threefold murder First he murders him intentionally against whom he is wroth Secondly he really murders his own body And thirdly he meritoriously murders his Soul for ever except the Lord be more merciful then he hath been wrathful and the death of Christ heale those wounds by which he would have procured the death of others and hath as much as in him lies procured his own This is true of hatred as well as of wrath for he that hateth his brother is a Murderer 1. He murthers his Brother whom he hates hatred is a wishing and seeking for at least in heart the slaughter death and destruction of his Brother when the Apostle John affirmeth whosoever hateth his Brother is a Murderer his meaning is he is a Murderer of that Brother whom he hateth and he is so because he hateth him 2. He that hateth his Brother is a Murderer more then once he doth not only murder his brother but himself by bringing eternal death upon himself for hateing his Brother he that murders himself is felo de se a Self-murderer is manifest from these words and ye know that no murderer meaning a malicious man hath eternal life abiding in him To be a murderer is 1. A crying sin Gen. 4.10 And he said what hast thou done the voyce of thy Brothers blood cryeth unto me from the Ground If men would think what am I doing now I am hateing my Brother I am murdering in Gods account and murder is a loud sin Surely then we should harbour no hatred Murder 2 It is a very reproachful shameful sin considered in the act that followes it to prove a man guilty of willfull murder renders him a shame to himself a blot to his relations thou that hatest art a murderer O be ashamed of this shameful hatred 3. Murder is a sin that sets the vengeance of God against a man the very Barbarians beleeve that vengeance and death will fall strangely and speedily on Murderers Acts 28.4 And when the Barbarians saw the venemous beast hang on his hand they said among themselves very confidently no doubt this
man meaning Paul is a murderer whom though he hath escaped the Sea yet vengeance suffereth not to live Rev. 21.8 But the fearful and unbeleeving and abominable and MVRDERERS heart-murderers and hand-murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all Liers shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the Second death T is not torture enough for a Murderer to die only once God hath designed for him a second death an eternal death no Murderer remaining a man of hatred hath eternall life abiding in him the Devil himself will as soon be saved as he that hateth his Brother Rev. 22.15 For without are Dogs sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers malicious angells devills and malicious men devils incarnate must be excluded together heaven is no place for men of hatred and malice Three Objections Object 1. But some may say 'T is no danger to hate a poor man Prov. 14.20 The poor is hated even of his own e Neighbour but the rich hath many Friends no man nor God himself as some men think mindeth the poor man Obj. 2. A man surely may hate him that speaketh evil that prophesieth damnation against me as in 1 King 22.8 And the King of Israel said to Jehosophat there is yet one man Macaiah the son of Imlah by whom we may enquire of the Lord but I hate him for he doth not prophesie good concerning me but evil Obj. 3. He hateth me saith another he is mine enemy may I not hate him Matth. 5.43 Ye have heard that it hath been said Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy but I say unto you Love your enemies or else you will prove your own worst enemies for it is death the second death to hate a poor man an enemy or any man Is hatred a Man-murdering sin and a Soul-murdering sin Then take heed of helping on this hatred any way As there are ways to provoke to love which few love to walk in so there are tricks and devices of the Devil to drive on the design of hatred in mens hearts that he may drive men to destruction Decline especially naming men by this or the other name of reproach D. Hall late Bishop of Norwick who was a very worthy learned and godly man in a small Treatise of his called Pax terris p. 44. speaks thus Damnentur ad imum usque barathrum illa nominum opprobria Lutheranorum Calvinianorum Arminianorum Puritanorum Praelaticorum Presbyterianorum Independentium quae fidei ejusdem professoribus vulgò objectari solent i. e. Let those terms or names of reproach and disgrace saith he of Lutherans Calvinists Arminians Puritans Prelaticals Presbyterians Independents which are commonly objected to the Professors of the same faith let them be condemned to the lowest hell I am confident they were coined there and they prove an occasion of much hellish hatred among Christians It 's often known that one man hateth another meerly because he passeth in the world under one or other of these dividing names whereas it may be the man deserves no such name but if he do I am fure it is not fit nor Gospel-like to leave loving a man of a different minde in some circumstantial matters of Religion You will not be able to come off in the day of account by this plea. Indeed I hated such a man and I thought I did well for he was called an Episcopal man or a Presbyterian or an Arminian or Anabaptist or a Schismatick and Sectary The Lord God will demand Was not such a man thy brother was he not thy neighbour nay did he not fear my name notwithstanding this or that nick-name maliciously put on him and shouldst thou have hated thy Brother thy Christian Brother a man that lived in all good conscience by thee considering this startling Text Whosoever hateth his Brother is a murderer and ye know O then hate no more that no murderer hath eternal life abideing in him Lastly We see the excellency of Love in 1 Cor 12. ult and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 'T is the way of life as hatred puts mens lives in hazard and jepoardy so love looks after the saving of life it permits others to be in peaceable possession of their own lives and then love to brethren is an evidence of that mans life eternal that loves his brethren 1 Joh. 3.14 We know we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren Hatred is deadly and perillons to men every way and love is of a soul-protecting tendency Love is excellent and lovely in this respect A Philanthropie in us a love to men as men and a love to regenerate men as such assures our hearts we are in the path-way to heaven as malice and hatred is the high-way to hell from which the Lord of heaven deliver your souls 'T is the way the high-way to Heaven a man never goes after God till he walks in love Ephes 5.1 2 Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us So long as men caled Christians live in bitterness wrath anger and clamour evil speaking and in malice they are the Children of the Devil for him they obey but when we are kind one to another TENDER-HEARTED forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake is ready to forgive us this God-like and Christ-like life this love-life is a lovely evidence of our following God our heavenly Father as dear children and of following our dear Lord and Saviour Consider Ephes 4 end and Ephes 5.1 2. and I hope that context will make smooth and sweeten your rough and bitter spirits towards each other mutually A Recollection of the sum of two Discourses between S. T. and N. B. in Newgate on Thursday Aug. 13. and Thursday Aug. 20 1657. both continuing several houres HAving by the Providence of God upon due occasion and call bin with N. B. as an eye Ear witness among others of the wonderfull grace of God to him in his last dayes to the rejoycing of my heart and being desired and prest to contribute some thing to the Narrative by those worthy persons concerned in the publication thereof I shall do it very briefly according to my best knowledge and remembrance My first address unto him was to know what serious sense he had of his hainous sin and his soules condition In answer to which he did in a very mournfull manner largely lay open the strong convictions he had upon his conscience of the sinfulness and damnableness of his sin ennumerating himselfe the several aggravating circumstances thereof with the time and manner of his conviction which began not untill his imprisonment and fetters began For albeit he was followed and filled as he said with distraction amazement and disquietment from the time of the fact making him restless in all places Yet he told me he had no solid conviction of his sin
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
he should be certainly and undoubtedly saved according to Mat 11.28 Joh. 6.37 Acts 16.31 Esay 55.7 also 1 Tim. 1 v. 15. hee hereupon brake out I see my self undone for ever without the mercy of God in Christs blood I know not whether to go but to Christ but intermixing interrogatively is there mercy for me Is there hope for such a one as I am well I will adventure my soule upon this foundation I am resolved I will trust and hang here adding that common Phrase I can but perish I can but dye and if I do it shall be in trusting upon Gods grace and Christs righteousness but I will hold fast that word John 6.37 he hath said those that come I will in no wise cast out I do come to him and I will cleave to him surely he will not cast me off I told him that upon this Gospell ground he might soundly and surely gather to himself comfort and if his repentance and faith thus farr were but sincere he might assuredly conclude upon the faithfulness of God and truth of his Gospell that he should be saved the which I endeavored to make plaine and practicable to him also The Lord was pleased so wonderfully to enable him by his spirit to lay hold upon and embrace these considerations that his heart was filled with Joy and Peace through beleeving in so much that he was in such a brearhing panting Extasy that he put his hands upon his sides and cryed out Oh my heart will break is there hope for me is there salvation for me Oh what comfort is this I never felt nor tasted the like before I formerly thought there was no comfort but in my sinfull way nor no joy but in sinfull pleasures with much more the like and to the amazement of several persons present But in the midst of this Joy correcting himself he breaks out Oh what is become of the soule of him I have murthered to whom I gave no space to repent I told him that was indeed a high aggravation of his sin and therefore should be improved to humble him the more but withall the state of the others soule was to him a secret and all his distracting thoughts about it would contribute nothing to the other or himself and therefore that he should spend the rest of his time and thoughts about his own soule finally and principally Manasseh might as well have had doubtfull thoughts about the multitudes of soules whose Innocent blood he shed in Jerusalem but this hindred not his pardon Oh saith he what a mercy is it that I have space to repent that I was not served as I served him I might have escaped apprehension and some way or other have died suddenly in my sins He took much notice of the patience of God and of the tenderness of the Lord Major from whose visits and Instructions he had reapt much benefit also that his souls condition was so much upon the hearts of such who knew the weight of sin and the worth of a soule to be instant with God for him Oh but saith he I am afraid of Presumption lest I should take comfort too soon I told him that as a person might be presumptuous in crying peace whiles going on in sin so might he if he were not sincere and sound in his repentance and faith but if that were true he could not be presumptuous in concluding and applying the promise of the Gospel to himselfe nor on the other hand could he presume too farr in coming to and resting upon the grace of God in Christ but the more he did the more accepted He said I am sure I am humbled for my sins as in the sight of God and I would be more I do abhor my selfe and my sin that if I had oportunity I durst not commit sin against so good a God to offend and dishonor him and mentioning that Text. 1 John 3.20.21 my heart doth not condeme mee of hypocrisy in this and hereupon hiis heart was greatly raised again to a strong confidence in God I do hope saith he according to that word Phil 1.6 that God hath begun this work and will performe it to the day of Jesus Christ and whiles I do live I will trust in him and seek to him and yet not rest on any thing Some Papists have come saith he told me I must be a Roman Catholick or no salvation but alas what works have I to rest upon but my murder and my other many evil workes before that would sink me for ever but for the mercy of God on which I trust Others doubt saith he I dissemble but alas what wil that availe me now the Lord knows I do discover what I can of persons and their sins that I may do the utmost good I can in preventing sin against God and the ruine of others soules and I have a heart to do more if I could for God before I dye Finally he exprest much bope and comfort joy several times in a panting breathing manner and that Mr. Yearwood had been an instrument of great refreshment to him in his frequent Visits to whom I refer the Reader for a more perfect Narrative he oft exprest not only his willingness but desire to dye both because of that just law of God blood for blood and because he had such good hope through grace that his sin and sorrow should both have an end much admiring at his gift of memory to retain all spoken to him and also wondring at the change in his heart his comforts joys as being new strange things to him greatly wondring and magnifying God that he should take the occasion upon this his most foule sin to bring him to a sight of all other sins and save his soul The Lord grant it may have the like effect on others in the same pernicious pathes and that especially yong men may hear and fear and be converted and healed FINIS A SERIOUS ADVICE TO THE CITIZENS OF LONDON By some MINISTERS of the GOSPEL in the said CITY Upon occasion of the HORRID MURDER And DREADFUL DEATH OF NATHANIEL BUTLER An high Malefactor Beloved in Christ AS we thought it a great duty lying upon us before the execution of the sentence of death upon Nathaniel Butler to lay out our selves to the utmost for the promoting of his spiritual and eternal good in frequent praying with him in constant praying for him in endevouring to convince him of the superlative greatness of his sins and in spreading of the freeness of the grace of God in Christ before him according to the penitential workings we observed in him So having done our duty to him who is dead under the stroke of justice and as we hope with some success too through the grace of God for which we bless him we humbly judge there is a further duty incumbent upon us unto you the inhabitants of this famous City who have been spectators of this Tragedy in a serious
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