There are several degrees of suffering for righteousness: there is
the scourge of the tongue, the ruin of an estate, the loss of
liberty, a jail, a gibbet, a stake, a dagger. Now answerable to
these are the comforts of the Holy Ghost prepared, like to like,
part proportioned to part; only the consolations are said to abound.
2 Cor. 1:5.
But the lighter the sufferings are, the more difficult it is to
judge of the comforts of the Spirit of God; for it is common for a
man to be comfortable under sufferings when he suffereth but little,
and knows also that his enemy can touch his flesh, his estate, or
the like, but little. And this maybe the joy of the flesh, the
result of reason; and may be very much, if not altogether, without a
mixture of the joy of the Holy Ghost therewith. The more deep,
therefore, and the more dreadful the sufferings are, the more
clearly are seen the comforts of the Spirit. When a man has comfort
where the flesh is dead, stirreth not, and can do nothing; when a
man can be comfortable at the loss of all; when he is under sentence
of death, or at the place of execution--if yet a man's cause, a
man's conscience, the promise, and the Holy Ghost, have all one
comfortable voice, and do all together with their trumpets make one
sound in the soul, then good are the comforts of God and his Spirit.
There are several degrees of sufferings; wherefore it is not to be
expected that he that suffers but little should partake of the
comforts that are prepared for them that suffer much. He that has
only the scourge of the tongue, knows not what are the comforts that
are prepared for him that meets with the scourge of the whip. And
how should a man know what manner of comforts the Holy Ghost doth
use to give at the jail and the gibbet, when himself for
righteousness never was there?
Persecution of the godly was never intended of God for their
destruction, but for their glory, and to make them shine the more
when they are beyond this valley of the shadow of death.
"We that are Christians have been trained up by his Son in his
school this many a day, and have been told what a God our Father is,
what an arm he has, and with what a voice he can thunder; how he can
deck himself with majesty and excellency, and array himself with
beauty and glory; how he can cast abroad the rage of his wrath, and
behold every one that is proud and abase him. Have we not talked of
what he did at the Red sea and in the land of Ham, many years ago;
and have we forgot him now? Have we not vaunted and boasted of our
God, both in church, pulpit, and books, and spake to the praise of
them that attempted to drive antichrist out of the world with their
lives and their blood instead of stones; and are we afraid of our
God? He was God, a Creator, then; and is he not God now? and will he
not be as good to us as to them that have gone before us? or would
we limit him to appear in such ways as only smile upon our flesh,
and have him stay and not show himself in his heart-shaking
dispensations until we are dead and gone? What if we must now go to
heaven, and what if he is thus come to fetch us to himself? If we
have been as wise as serpents and innocent as doves--if we can say,
Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor
against Caesar, have we offended any thing at all--of what should we
be afraid? Let heaven and earth come together; I dare say they will
not hurt us."
Religion that is pure is a hot thing; and il usually burns the
fingers of those that fight against it.
Ah, when God makes the bed, he must needs lie easy whom weakness
hath cast thereon: a blessed pillow hath. that man for his head,
though to all beholders it is hard as a stone. Psa. 41:1-3.
It is as ordinary as for the light to shine, for God to make back
and dismal dispensations usher in bright and pleasing.
Christian reader, let me beg of thee that thou wilt not be offended
either with God or men, if the cross is laid heavy upon thee. Not
with God, for he doeth nothing without a cause; nor with men, for
they are the hand of God: and will they, nill they, they are the
servants of God to thee for good. Psa. 17:14; Jer. 24:5. Take,
therefore, what comes from God by them thankfully. If the messenger
that brings it is glad that it is in his power to do thee hurt and
to afflict thee, if he skips for joy at thy calamity, be sorry for
him, pity him, and pray to thy Father for him: he is ignorant, and
understandeth not the judgment of thy God; yea, he showeth by this
his behavior, that though he as God's ordinance serveth thee by
afflicting thee, yet means he nothing less than to destroy thee: by
the which also he prognosticates before thee that he is working out
his own damnation by doing thee good. Lay therefore the woful state
of such to heart, and render him that which is good for his evil,
and love for his hatred to thee; then shalt thou show that thou art
moved by a spirit of holiness, and art like thy heavenly Father. And
be it so, that thy pity and prayers can do such a one no good, yet
they must light somewhere, or return again, as ships come laden from
the Indies, full of blessings into thine own bosom.
Poor man, thou hast thy time to be afflicted by thy enemies, that
thy golden graces may shine the more; thou art in the fire and they
blow the bellows. But wouldst thou change places with them? Wouldst
thou sit upon their place of ease? Dost thou desire to be with them?
O rest thyself contented; in thy patience possess thy soul, and pity
and bewail them in the condition in which they are.
The cup that God's people in all ages have drank of, even the cup of
affliction and persecution, it is not in the hand of the enemy, but
in the hand of God; and he, not they, poureth out of the same.
There are but two ways of obeying: the one to do that which I in my
conscience do believe that I am bound to do, actively; and where I
cannot obey actively, there I am willing to lie down and to suffer
what they shall do unto me.
A Christian, when he sees trouble coming upon him, should not fly in
the face of the instrument that brings, but in the face of the cause
of its coming. Now the cause is thyself, thy base self, thy sinful
self, and thy unworthy carriages towards God under all the mercy,
patience, and long-suffering that God has bestowed upon thee, and
exercised towards thee. Here thou mayest quarrel, and be revenged,
and spare not, so thou take vengeance in a right way; and thou wilt
do so, when thou takest it by godly sorrow. 1 Cor. 7:10,11.
It is a rare thing to suffer aright, and to have thy spirit in
suffering beat only against God's enemy, sin.
Let them that are God's sufferers pluck up a good heart; let them
not be afraid to trust God with their souls, and with their eternal
concerns. Let them cast all their care upon God, for he careth for
them.
"But I am in the dark." I answer, never stick at that. It is most
bravely done to trust God with the soul in the dark, and to resolve
to serve God for nothing, rather than give out. Not to see and yet
to believe, and to be a follower of the Lamb and yet to be at
uncertainty what we shall have at last, argues love, fear, faith,
and an honest mind, and gives the greatest sign of one that hath
true sincerity in his soul. It was this that made Job and Peter so
famous; and the want of it took away much of the glory of the faith
of Thomas. Wherefore, believe verily that God is ready, willing;
yea, that he looks for and expects that thou, who art a sufferer,
shouldst commit the keeping of thy soul to him as unto a faithful
Creator.
Is there nothing in dark providences, for the sake of the sight and
observation of which such a day may be rendered lovely, when it is
upon us? Is there nothing of God, of his wisdom and power and
goodness, to be seen in thunder and lightning, in hailstones, in
storms and darkness and tempests? Why then is it said, he hath his
way in the whirlwind and storm? And why have God's servants of old
made such notes, and observed from them such excellent and wonderful
things? There is that of God to be seen in such a day, which cannot
be seen in another. His power in holding up some, his wrath in
leaving others; his making shrubs to stand, and his suffering cedars
to fall; his infatuating the counsels of men, and his making the
devil to outwit himself; his giving his presence to his people, and
his leaving his foes in the dark; his discovering the uprightness of
the hearts of his sanctified ones, and laying open the hypocrisy of
others, is a working of spiritual wonders in the day of his wrath
and of the whirlwind and storm.
These days, these days of trial, are the days that do most aptly
give an occasion to Christians to take the exactest measures and
scantlings of ourselves. We are apt to overshoot in days that are
calm, and to think ourselves far higher and more strong than we find
we are when the trying day is upon us. The mouth of Gaal, Judges
9:38, and the boasts of Peter, were great and high before the trial
came; but when that came, they found themselves to fall far short of
the courage they thought they had. We also, before the temptation
comes, think we can walk upon the sea; but when the winds blow, we
feel ourselves begin to sink. Hence such a time is rightly said to
be a time to try us, or to find out what we are; and is there no
good in this? Is it not this that rightly rectifies our judgment
about ourselves, that makes us to know ourselves, that tends to cut
off those superfluous sprigs of pride and self-concitedness,
wherewith we are subject to be overcome? Is not such a day the day
that bends us, humbles us, and that makes us bow before God for our
faults committed in our prosperity? And yet doth it yield no good
unto us? We could not live without such turnings of the hand of God
upon us.
Thine own doubts and mistrusts about what God will do and about
whither thou shalt go, when thou for him hast suffered awhile he can
resolve, yea, dissolve, crush, and bring to nothing. He can make
fear flee far away, and place heavenly confidence in its room. He
can bring invisible and eternal things to the eye of thy soul, and
make thee see THAT, in those things in which thine enemies shall see
nothing, that thou shalt count worth the loss of ten thousand lives
to enjoy. He can pull such things out of his bosom, and can put such
things into thy mouth; yea, can make thee choose to be gone, though
through the flames, rather than to stay here and die in silken
sheets. Yea, he can himself come near, and bring his heaven and
glory to thee. The Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon them that
are but reproached for the name of Christ. And what the Spirit of
glory is, and what is his resting upon his sufferers, is quite
beyond the knowledge of the world, is but little felt by saints at
peace. They that are engaged, that are under the lash for
Christ--they, I say, have it, and understand something of it.
Look not upon the sufferings of God's people for their religion, to
be tokens of God's great anger. It is, to be sure, as our heavenly
Father orders it, rather a token of his love; for suffering for the
gospel and for the sincere profession of it, is indeed a dignity put
upon us, a dignity that all men are not counted worthy of. Count it
therefore a favor that God has bestowed upon thee his truth, and
grace to enable thee to profess it, though thou be made to suffer
for it.
Let God's people think never the worse of religion because of the
coarse entertainment it meeteth with in the world. It is better'to
choose God and affliction, than the world, and sin, and carnal
peace.
It is necessary that we should suffer, because we have sinned; and
if God will have us suffer a little while here for his word, instead
of suffering for our sins in hell, let us be content, and count it a
mercy with thankfulness.
The wicked are reserved to the day of destruction, they shall be
brought forth to the day of wrath. How kindly, therefore, doth God
deal with us, when he chooses to afflict us but for a little, that
with everlasting kindness he may have mercy upon us.
Since the rod is God's as well as the child, let us not look upon
our troubles as if they came from and were managed only by hell. It
is true, a persecutor has a black mark upon him; but yet the
Scriptures say that all the ways of the persecutor are God's.
Wherefore as we should, so again we should not, be afraid of men: we
should be afraid of them, because they will hurt us; but we should
not be afraid of them as if they were let loose to do to us and with
us what they will. God's bridle is upon them, God's hook is in their
nose; yea, and God hath determined the bounds of their rage; and if
he lets them drive his church into the sea of troubles, it shall he
hut up to the neck; and so far it may go and not he drowned. Isaiah
8:7, 8.
"May we not fly in a time of persecution? Your pressing upon us that
persecution is ordered and managed by God, makes us afraid to fly."
Thou mayest do in this even as it is in thy heart. If it is in thy
heart to fly, fly; if it be in thy heart to stand, stand. Anything
but a denial of the truth. He that flies, has warrant to do so; he
that stands, has warrant to do so. Yea, the same man may both fly
and stand, as the call and working of God with his heart may be.
Moses fled, Moses stood; Jeremiah fled, Jeremiah stood; Christ
withdrew himself, Christ stood; Paul fled, Paul stood.
But in flying, fly not from religion; fly not, for the sake of a
trade; fly not, that thou mayest have care for the flesh: this is
wicked, and will yield neither peace nor profit to thy soul, neither
now, nor at death, nor at the day of judgment.
The hotter the rage and fury of men are against righteous ways, the
more those that love righteousness grow therein. For they are
concerned for it, not to hide it, but to make it spangle; not to
extinguish it, but to greaten it, and to show the excellency of it
in all its features and in all its comely proportion. Now such an
one will make straight steps for his feet, lest that which is lame
be turned out of the way. Heb. 12: 13.
Now he shows to all men what faith is, by charity, by self-denial,
by meekness, by gentleness, by long-suffering, by patience, by love
to enemies, and by doing good to them that hate us. Now he walketh
upon his high places, yea, will not now admit that so slovenly a
conversation should come within his doors, as did use to haunt his
house in former times. Now it is Christ-mas, now it is
suffering-time, now we must keep holy day every day.
The reason is, that a man when he suffereth for Christ, is set upon
a hill, upon a stage, as in a theatre, to play a part for God in the
world. And you know, when men are to play their parts upon a stage,
they count themselves if possible more bound to circumspection; and
that for the credit of their master, the credit of their art, and
the credit of themselves. For then the eyes of every body are fixed,
they gape and stare upon them, Psalm 22:17, and a trip here is as
bad as a fall in another place. Also now God himself looks on. Yea,
he smileth, as being pleased to see a good behavior attending the
trial of the innocent.
There are some of the graces of God that are in thee, that as to
some of their acts cannot show themselves, nor their excellency, nor
their power, nor what they can do, but as thou art in a suffering
state. Faith and patience in persecution have that to do, that to
show, and that to perform, that cannot be done, shown, nor
performed, anywhere else but there. There is also a patience of
hope, a rejoicing in hope when we are in tribulation, that is over
and above that which we have when we are at ease and quiet. That
also that all graces can endure and triumph over, shall not be
known, but when and as we are in a state of affliction. Now these
acts of our graces are of such worth and esteem with God, and he so
much delighteth in them, that occasion, through his righteous
judgment, must be ministered for them to show their beauty and what
bravery there is in them.
It is also to be considered that those acts of our graces that
cannot be put forth or show themselves in their splendor but when we
christianly suffer, will yield such fruit to those whose trials call
them into exercise, as will in the day of God abound to their
comfort and tend to their perfection in glory. 1 Peter, 1:7; 2 Cor.
4:17.
Why then should we think that our innocent lives will exempt us from
sufferings, or that troubles shall do us harm?
Alas, we have need of those bitter pills at which we so much wince.
I see that I still have need of these trials; and if God will by
these judge me, as he judges his saints, that I may not he condemned
with the world, I will cry, Grace, grace, for ever.
Shall we deserve correction, and be angry because we have it? Or
shall it come to save us, and shall we he offended with the hand
that brings it? Our sickness is so great that our enemies take
notice of it; let them know too that we take our purges patiently.
We are willing to pay for those potions that are given us for the
health of our body, how sick soever they make us; and if God will
have us pay too for that which is to better our souls, why should we
grudge thereat? Those that bring us these medicines have little
enough for their pains; for my part, I profess I would not for a
great deal be bound, for their wages, to do their work. True,
physicians are for the most part chargeable, and niggards are too
loath to part with their money to them; but when necessity says they
must either take physic or die, of two evils they desire to choose
the least. Why, affliction is better than sin; and if God sends the
one to cleanse us from the other, let us thank him, and be also
content to pay the messenger.
BUNYAN'S TRIAL AND IMPRISONMENT. FROM BUNYAN'S EXAMINATION BEFORE
JUSTICES KEELING, CHESTER, [Footnote: On the restoration of the
house of Stuart, Charles II. entered London, in May, 1600. In
November of that year, Bunyan was indicted for an upholder of
unlawful assemblies and conventicles, and for not conforming to the
church of England. "He was sentenced,"] ETC.
KEELING. Justice Keeling said that I ought not to preach, and asked
me where I had my authority; with many other such like words.
BUNYAN. I said that I would prove that it was lawful for me, and
such as I am, to preach the word of God.
KEELING. He said unto me, By what scripture?
BUNYAN. I said, by that in the first epistle of Peter, fourth
chapter and eleventh verse, and Acts eighteenth, with other
scriptures; which he would not suffer me to mention, but said, Hold,
not so many: which is the first?
BUNYAN. I said, This: "As every man hath received the gift, even so
let him minister the same unto another, as good stewards of the
grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of
God."
KEELING. He said, Let me a little open that scripture to you. As
every man hath received the gift; that is, said he, as every man
hath received a trade, so let him follow says Crosby, "to perpetual
banishment, in pursuance of an act made by the then parliament."
This sentence was never executed, but he was kept in prison for more
than twelye years.
Subsequently to this year, 1660, several oppressive acts were
passed, as the Corporation act, 1661, the act of Uniformity, 1662,
the Five-mile act, 1665, the Conventicle acts, 1666 and 1671, and
the Test act, 1673. The act of Uniformity required that every
clergyman should be reordained; should declare his assent to every
thing contained in the Book of Common Prayer, etc. By this act,
about two thousand dissenting ministers were ejected from their
livings, and the most cruel persecution followed. The Five-mile and
Conventicle acts imposed various fines, imprisonment, and death upon
all persons above sixteen years of age, who attended divine service
where the liturgy was not read; ordained that no non-conformist
minister should live within five miles of any town; and aimed to
suppress all meetings for worship among the non-conformists. These
in a short time made frightful desolations, and all the jails in the
kingdom soon became filled with men who were the brightest ornaments
of Christianity. The persecuted included both sexes and all ages,
from the child of nine or ten years, to the hoary-headed saint of
eighty. In Picart's Religious Ceremonies, it is stated that the
number of dissenters of all sects, who perished in prison under
Charles II., was EIGHT THOUSAND. On the accession of William III.,
these penalties and disabilities were removed by the Toleration act.
The Corporation and Test acts, however, disgraced the statute-book
of England till the year 1828, when they were triumphantly repealed.
Offer's Introduction, Hume's History, and Ency. Amer. it. If any man
hath received a gift of tinkering, as thou hast done, let him follow
his tinkering; and so other men their trades, and the divine his
calling, etc.
BUNYAN. Nay, sir, said I, but it is most clear that the apostle
speaks here of preaching the word: if you do but compare both the
verses together, the next verse explains this gift what it is;
saying, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;" so
that it is plain that the Holy Ghost doth not so much in this place
exhort to civil callings, as to the exercising of those gifts that
we have received from God. I would have gone on, but he would not
give me leave.
KEELING. He said we might do it in our families, but not otherwise.
BUNYAN. I said, if it was lawful to do good to some, it was lawful
to do good to more. If it was a good duty to exhort our families, it
is good to exhort others; but if they held it a sin to meet together
to seek the face of God, and exhort one another to follow Christ, I
should sin still; for so we should do.
KEELING. He said he was not so well versed in scripture as to
dispute, or words to that purpose. And said, moreover, that they
could not wait upon me any longer; but said to me, Then you confess
the indictment; do you not? Now, and not till now, I saw I was
indicted.
BUNYAN. I said, This I confess: we have had many meetings together
both to pray to God and to exhort one another, and we have had the
sweet comforting presence of the Lord among us for encouragement;
blessed be his name therefor. I confessed myself guilty no
otherwise.
KEELING. Then said he, Hear your judgment. You must be had back
again to prison, and there lie for three months following; and at
three months' end, if you do not submit to go to church to hear
divine service, and leave your preaching, you must be banished the
realm: and if, after such a day as shall be appointed you to be
gone, you shall be found in this realm, or be found to come over
again without special license from the king, you must stretch by the
neck for it; I tell you plainly. And so he bid my jailer have me
away.
BUNYAN. I told him, as to this matter I was at a point with him; for
if I was out of prison today, I would preach the gospel again
tomorrow, by the help of God.
I continued in prison till the next assizes, which are called
midsummer assizes, being then kept in August, 1661.
Now at that assizes, because I would not leave any possible means
unattempted that might be lawful, I did, by my wife, [Footnote:
"This courageous woman [his second wife] and lord chief-justice Hale
and Bunyan have long since met in heaven; but how little could they
recognize each other's character on earth! How little could the
distressed, insulted wife have imagined, that beneath the judge's
ermine there was beating the heart of a child of God, a man of
humility, integrity, and prayer! How little could the great, learn-
ed, illustrious, and truly pious judge have dreamed that the man,
the obscure tinker whom he was suffering to languish in prison for
want of a writ of error, would one day be the subject of greater
admiration and praise than all the judges in the kingdom of Great
Britain." Dr. Cheever's Lectures on Pilgrim's Progress, p. 158.]
present a petition to the judges three times, that I might be heard,
and that they would impartially take my case into consideration.
The first time my wife went, she presented it to Judge Hale, who
very mildly received it at her hand, telling her that he would do
her and me the best good he could; but he feared, he said, he could
do none. The next day again, lest they should through the multitude
of business forget me, we did throw another petition into the coach
to Judge Twisdon, who, when he had seen it, snapt her up, and
angrily told her I was a convicted person, and could not be released
unless I would promise to preach no more, etc.
Well, after this, she again presented another to Judge Hale, as he
sat on the bench, who, as it seemed, was willing to give her
audience; only Justice Chester being present, stept up and said that
I was convicted in the court, and that I was a hot-spirited fellow,
or words to that purpose; whereat he waived it, and did not meddle
with it. But yet, my wife being encouraged by the high-sheriff, did
venture once more into their presence, as the poor widow did to the
unjust judge, to try what she could do with them for my liberty
before they went forth of the town. The place where she went to them
was to the Swan Chamber, where the two judges and many justices and
gentry of the country were in company together. She then, coming
into the chamber with abashed face and a trembling heart, began her
errand to them in this manner.
WOMAN. My lord-directing herself to Judge Hale--I make bold to come
once again to your lordship to know what may be done with my
husband.
JUDGE HALE. To whom he said, Woman, I told thee before I could do
thee no good, because they have taken that for a conviction which
thy husband spoke at the sessions; and unless there be something
done to undo that, I can do thee no good.
WOMAN. My lord, said she, he is kept unlawfully in prison; they
clapped him up before there was any proclamation against the
meetings; the indictment also is false; besides, they never asked
him whether he was guilty or no; neither did he confess the
indictment.
ONE OF THE JUSTICES. Then one of the Justices that stood by, whom
she knew not, said, My lord, he was lawfully convicted.
WOMAN. It is false, said she; for when they said to him, Do you
confess the indictment? he said only this, that he had been at
several meetings, both where there was preaching the word and
prayer, and that they had God's presence among them.
JUDGE TWISDON. Whereat Judge Twisdon answered very angrily, saying,
What, you think we can do as we list! Your husband is a breaker of
the peace, and is convicted by the law, etc. Whereupon Judge Hale
called for the statute-book.
WOMAN. But, said she, my lord, he was not lawfully convicted.
CHESTER. Then Justice Chester said, My lord, he was lawfully
convicted.
WOMAN. It is false, said she; it was but a word of discourse that
they took for conviction.
CHESTER. But it is recorded, woman, it is recorded, said Justice
Chester; as if it must of necessity be true, because it was
recorded. With which words he often endeavored to stop her mouth,
having no other argument to convince her but, It is recorded, it is
recorded.
WOMAN. My lord, said she, I was a while since at London, to see if I
could get my husband's liberty; and there I spoke with my Lord
Burkwood, one of the House of Lords, to whom I delivered a petition,
who took it of me and presented it to some of the rest of the House
of Lords for my husband's releasement; who, when they had seen it,
said that they could not release him, but had committed his
releasement to the judges at the next assizes. This he told me; and
now I come to you to see if any thing can be done in this business,
and you give neither releasement nor relief. To which they gave her
no answer, but made as if they heard her not.
CHESTER. Only Justice Chester was often up with this, He is
convicted, and it is recorded.
WOMAN. If it be, it is false, said she.
CHESTER. My lord, said Justice Chester, he is a pestilent fellow;
there is not such a fellow in the country again.
TWISDON. What, will your husband leave preaching? If he will do so,
then send for him.
WOMAN. My lord, said she, he dares not leave preaching as long as he
can speak.
TWISDON. See here: what should we talk any more about such a fellow?
Must he do what he lists? He is a breaker of the peace.
WOMAN. She told him again, that he desired to live peaceably and to
follow his calling, that his family might be maintained; and
moreover said, My lord, I have four small children that cannot help
themselves, of which one is blind; and we have nothing to live upon
but the charity of good people.
HALE. Whereat Justice Hale, looking very soberly on the matter,
said, Alas, poor woman!
TWISDON. But Judge Twisdon told her that she made poverty her cloak;
and said, moreover, that he understood I was maintained better by
running up and down a preaching, than by following my calling.
HALE. What is his calling? said Judge Hale.
ANSWER. Then some of the company that stood by said, A tinker, my
lord.
WOMAN. Yes, said she, and because he is a tinker and a poor man,
therefore he is despised and cannot have justice.
HALE. Then Judge Hale answered, very mildly, saying, I tell thee,
woman, seeing it is so that they have taken what thy husband spake
for a conviction, thou must apply thyself to the king, or sue out
his pardon, or get out a writ of error.
CHESTER. But when Justice Chester heard him give her this counsel,
and especially, as she supposed, because he spoke of a writ of
error, he chafed and seemed to be very much offended, saying, My
lord, he will preach and do what he lists.
WOMAN. He preacheth nothing but the word of God, said she.
TWISDON. He preach the word of God! said Twisdon--and withal she
thought he would have struck her--he runneth up and down and doeth
harm.
WOMAN. No, my lord, said she, it is not so; God hath owned him, and
done much good by him.
TWISDON. God! said he; his doctrine is the doctrine of the devil.
WOMAN. My lord, said she, when the righteous Judge shall appear, it
will be known that his doctrine is not the doctrine of the devil.
TWISDON. My lord, said he to Judge Hale, do not mind her, but send
her away,
HALE. Then said Judge Hale, I am sorry, woman, that I can do thee no
good: thou must do one of those three things aforesaid, namely,
either to apply thyself to the king, or sue out his pardon, or get a
writ of error; but a writ of error will be cheapest.
WOMAN. At which Chester again seemed to be in a chafe, and put off
his hat, and as she thought scratched his head for anger; but when I
saw, said she, that there was no prevailing to have my husband sent
for, though I often desired them that they would send for him, that
he might speak for himself, telling them that he could give them
better satisfaction than I could in what they demanded of him, with
several other things which now I forget: only this I remember, that
though I was somewhat timorous at my first entrance into the
chamber, yet before I went out I could not but break forth into
tears, not so much because they were so hard-hearted against me and
my husband, but to think what a sad account such poor creatures will
have to give at the coming of the Lord, when they shall there answer
for all things whatsoever they have done in the body, whether it be
good or whether it be bad. So when I departed from them, the book of
statutes was brought; but what they said of it I know nothing at
all, neither did I hear any more from them.