THE TRUE SPEECH Delivered on the SCAFFOLD BY Iames Earl of Derby, IN The Market-place at Boulton in LANCASHIRE, on vvednesday last, being the 15. of this instant October, 1651.
WITH The manner of his deportment and Carrage on the Scaffold: his Speech concerning the King of Scots. And his prayer immediately before his Head was severed from his Body. As also his Declaration and Desires to the People.
Likewise, the manner how the King of Scots took shipping at Graves-end, on the fourth of this instant October, with Captain Hind, disguised in Sea-mens Apparel, and safely arrived at the Hague in Holland.
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY.
London, Printed for Robert Eles, for general satisfaction to the People.
A Speech delivered on the Scaffold in the Market place at Boulton in Lancashire by JAMES Earl of DERBY, on Wednesday last, being the fifteenth of this instant October, 1651.
ON Wednesday last being the fifteenth of this instant October, the Earl of Derby was brought to the place of execution, (the Scaffold being erected and set up in the place where the Cross formerly stood) attended by divers Gentlemen and others; And where were present many hundreds of People, who came from severall parts adiacent to behold this Object of compassion. As soon as his Lordship came upon the Scaffold, he took up the Block, and kissed it, saying; I hope there is no more but this Block between Me and Heaven; and I hope I shall never tire in my way, nor go out of it. Then turning to the People, and putting off his hat, he spake as followeth:
Christian Gentlemen, and People;
YOur business hither to day, is to see a sad Spectacle, a Peer of the Land to be in a moment unman'd, and cut off by an untimely-end: And though truly, if my general course of life were but inquired into, I may modestly say, there is such a morall honesty upon it, as some may be so peremptory as to expostulate why this great judgment is fall'n upon me: But know, that I am able to give them and my self an answer, and out of this breast (laying his hand upon his heart) to give a better accompt of [Page 2] my Judgment and Execution then my Judgers themselves or you are able to give; It is Gods wrath upon me for sins long unrepented, of many judgments withstood and mercies flighted; therefore God hath whipped me by his severe rod of correction, that he might not loose me; I pray joyn with me in prayer, that it may not be a fruitless rod, that when by this rod I have laid down my life, by this staffe I may be comforted, and received into glory.
As for my accusers, I am sorry for them, they have committed Judas his crime; but I wish and pray for them Peters tears, that by Peters repentance they may escape Judas his punishment, and I wish other people so happy, they may be taken up betimes, before they have drunk more blood of Christian men, possibly less deserving then my self
It is true, there have been severall addresses made for mercy, and I will put the obstruction of it upon nothing more then upon my own sin, and seeing God sees it not fit (I having not glorified him in my life) I might do it in my death, which I am content to do. I profess in the face of God, no particular malice to any one of the State or Parliament, to do them a bodily injury I had none.
For the cause in which I had a great while waded, I must needs say, my engagement or continuance in it hath laid ho scruple upon my Conscience, it was on principles of Law, the knowledgment whereof I embrace, and on principalls of Religion, my judgment satisfied, and Conscience rectified, that I have pursued those wayes for which I bless God I find no blackness upon my Conscinnce, nor have I put it into the bead-roll of my sins.
I will not presume to d [...]side controversies; I desire God to honour himself in prospering that side that hath right with it, and that you may enjoy peace and plenty, when I shall enjoy peace and plenty, beyond all you possess here: in my conversation in the world, I do not know where I have an enemy with cause, or that there is such a person to whom I have a regret; but it there be any whom I cannot recollect, under the notion of Christian men I pardon them, as freely as if I had named them by name, I freely forgive them, being in free peace with all the world, as I desire God for Christs sake, to be at peace with me. For the busines of death, it is a sad sentence in it self, if men consult with flesh and blood: But truly without boasting, I say it, or if I do boast, I boast in the Lord, I have not to this minute, had one consultaton with the flesh about the blow of the Ax, or one thought of the Ax, more then as my Passe-port to glory.
I take it for an honour, and I owe thankfullnesse to those under whose power I am, that they have sent me hither to a place however of punishment, yet of some honour to die a death, exceeding worthy of my blood, answerable to my birth and qualification, and this courtesie of theirs, hath much helped towards the pacification of my mind.
I shall desire God that those Gentlemen in that sad bedroll to be tried by the high Court of Justice, that they may find that really [...] nominall in the Act: An high Court of Justice, a Court of high Justice, high in its righteousness, though not in its severity, Father forgive them, and forgive me as I forgive them.
I desire you that you would pray for me, and not give over praying till the hour of death, nor till the minute of death, for the hour is come already, that as I have a very great load of sins; so I may have the wings of your prayers, to help those Angels that are to convey my soul to Heaven, hoping this day to see Christ in the presence of the Father, and my self there to rejoyce with all other Saints and Angels for evermore.
One thing more I desire to be clear in. There lieth a common imputation upon the Kings party, that they are Papists, and under that name we are made odious to those of the contrary opinion. I am not a Papist, but renounce the Pope with all his dependencies; when the distractions in Religion first sprang up, I might have been thought apt to to turn from this Church to the Roman, but was utterly unsatisfied in their Doctrine, in point of faith, and very much, as to their Dissipline. The Religion which I profess is that which passeth under the name of Protestant, though that be rather a name of distinction, then properly essential to Religion. But the Rellgion which was found out in the Reformation purged from all the errours of Rome, in the Reign of Edward the 6. practised in the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth, King James, and King Charles, that blessed Prince deceased, that Religion before it was defaced. I am of which I take to be Christs Catholique, though not the Roman Catholique Religion: in the profession and practice whereof, I will live and die, that for my Religion. Then he turned himself unto the Executioner, I have no reason to quarrell with thee, thou art not the hand that throws the stone, — [...] there is 3 l. for thee, [...] Now tell me what I lack. Executioner. Yo [...] [...]air to be [...]urned up my Lord, Shew me how to fit my self upon the block. After which his doublet being of, and hair turned up, he turned again to the People, and prayed a good while. Before he laid down upon the block, he spake again to the People, viz: There is not one face that looks upon me, though many faces, and perhaps different from me in opinion and practice, but (me thinks) hath something of pitty in it, and may that mercy which is in your hearts, fall into your own bosomes when you have need of it; and may you never find such blocks of sin to stand in the way of your mercy, as I have met with. I beseech you joyn with me in prayer. Then he prayed (leaning on the Scaffold) with an audible voice for about a quarter of an hour; having done, he had some private conference with Dr Green, then taking his leave of his friends,—, and acquaintance, saluting them all with a courteous valediction, he prepared himself for the block, kneeling down said, let me try the block, which he did, after casting his eyes up, and fixing them very intentively upon Heaven, he said, when I say Lord Jesus receive me, Executioner do thine Office, then kissing the Ax he laid down, and with as much undaunted, yet Christian courage as possibly could be in man, did he expose his threat to the fatall Ax, his life to the Executioner, and commended his soul into the hands of God, as into the hands of a faithfull and mercifull Creator, through the meritorious passion of a [...]acious Redeemer, saying the forementioned words; his head was smitten off at one blow.
The Earl of Derby his Funeral Sermon: Preached by Doctor Green, on Tuesday in the Afternoon before his Lordship was executed.
Beloved, when we come to die, we shall be stript naked of three things,
1. We shall be stript naked of all our worldly honour, riches and greatnesse. 2. We shall be stript naked of our bodies. And 3. Which is above all, we shall be stript naked of our sins. And that is the happines of a child of God, he shall put off, not only his mortal body, but the body of sin.
4. In the fourth place observe, As no man knoweth the time when he fals asleep, a man fals asleep before he is aware: So no man can tell the certain time when he must die. There is nothing so certain as that we must die, nothing so uncertain as the time when we shall die; Death comes suddenly even as sleep comes upon a man before he is aware.
4. When a man goeth to sleep, he goeth to sleep but for a certain time, in the morning he awakes out of sleep. So it is with the sleep of death; and therefore death is called a sleep, because we must all awake in the morning of the resurrection. We are in the grave, as in our beds and when the trumpet of God, and the voice of the Archangel shall sound, we shall all rise out of our grave, as out of our beds. Death is but a sleep for a certain time.
5. Sleep is a great refreshing to those that are weary and sick, and when the sick man awakes, he is more lively and chearful then he was when he fell asleep; and therefore sleep is called Medicus laborum, redinte gratio virium, recreator corporum, The great Physician of the sick body, the redinte-gration of mans spirits, the reviver of the weary body. And so it is with death, when Gods people awake out of the sleep of death, they shall be made active for God, then ever they were before; when you lie down in the grave, you lie down with mortal bodies; It it sown a morta body, but it shall rise up an immortal body, it is sown in dishonour, but it shall rise up in honour; it is sown a natural body, but it shall rise up a spiritual body.
6 When we rise out of our beds, we then put on our Cloathes So in the morning of the resurrection, we shall put on a a glorious body, like to the glorious body of Jesus Christ, we shall put on Stolam immortalitatis, the garment of immortality.
7 As no man when he layeth him down to sleep, knoweth the direct time when he shall awake. So no man can tell when the resurrection shall be. They do but couzen you, who say, that the general resurrection shall be such or such a year; for, as no man can know the minute when he shall awake out of his natural sleep, no more can any man know when we shall arise from the sleep of death.
8. It is a very easie thing to awake a man out of sleep, it is but jogging of him and you will quickly awake him.
9 As when a man ariseth in the morning, though he hath slept many hours; nay, suppose he could sleep 20 years together, yet notwithstanding, [Page 5] when he awakes, these 20 years will seem to be but as one hour unto him. So it will be at the day of Judgment, all those that are in their graves, when they awake, it will be tanquam somnus unius horae, but as the sleep of an hour unto them.
Lastly, and most especially, As sleep seizeth onely upon the body, and the outward senses, but doth not seiz upon the soul, the soul of man is many times most busie, when the man is asleep; And God hath heretofore revealed most glorious things to his children in dreams, when they have bin asleep; God appeared unto Abraham and many others in dreams, the body sleeps, but the soul awakes. So it is with the sleep of death, the body that dies, but the soul doth not die. There are some men that are not afraid to teach you, That the soul sleeps as well as the body and that when the body dies and fals asleep, the soul likewise continues in a dull Lethorgy veterno [...]o s [...]mno correptus, neither capable of ioy nor sorrow, untill the resurrection. Beloved, This is a very uncomfortable, and a very false Doctrine. They indeavour to prove it from my Text, they say, That Stephen when he died fell asleep; It is true in regard of his body, he sell asleep, but his soul did not fall asleep, that which was stoned fell asleep, which was his body onely; for when he was stoning, he saw Jesus Christ standing ready to receive his soul into heaven: Lord Jesus, saith he, receive my Spirit Stephens soul could not be stoned, though his body was stoned. So when Iesus Christ was crucified, his soul was not crucified. I mean, when his body was killed, his soul was not killed: indeed he did endure torments in his soul, which made him cry out, My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me? But yet his soul did not die. So when Stephen died, his soul went to Christ. It is true, when a child of God dies, the soul goes to sleep; How is that? The soul goes to sleep in a Scripture-sense, that is, it goes to rest in Abrahams bosom (O blessed sleep) it goes to rest in the imbraces of God, it goes into the arms of its Redeemer, it goes to the heavenly Paradise, it goes to be alwayes present with the Lord But take heed of that wicked opinion, to say, that the soul sleeps in an Anabaptistical sense; that is, That it lies in a strange kind of Lethargy, neither dead, nor alive; neither capable of ioy nor sorrow, untill the resurrection. Though Stephens body fell asleep, yet his soul did not fall asleep, but immediatly went unto Jesus Christ in Heaven. Thus I have given the Explication of the words.
Now give me leave to make some Application of all unto our selve.
If the death of Gods children be nothing else but a falling asleep, then let this comfort us against the deaths of our godly friends though they die unnatural and violent deaths, though they be stoned to death, though they be burnt to asbes, though they be sawn asunder, &c Here is a message of rich consolation, which as a Minister of Christ I hold out unto you this day, viz. That the death of a child of God, let it be after what manner soveer it will, it is nothing else but a falling asleep; he goes to his grave as to his bed; and therefore our burying places are called [...]oimeteria, do [...]mitoria, our sleeping-houses. A child of God when he dies he lies down in peace, and enters into his rest.
Dr. Green (he being upon the Sea fold) spake as followeth to the Earl of Derby.
You have this morning in the presence of a few, given some accompt of your Religion, and under generall notions or words, have given an accompt of your faith, charity, and repentance.
To those on the Scaffold, If you please to hear the same questions asked here, you shall find that it may be a general testimony to you all, that he died in the favour of God.
Now Sir, I degin to deal with you: you do acknowledg that this stroak you are by and by to suffer, is a just punishment laid upon you by God, for your former sins?
I dare not only not deny it, but dare not but confess it, I have no opportunity of glorifying God more, then by taking shame to my self, and I have a reason of the Justice of God in my own bosome, which I have put to your bosome.
You acknowledg you deserve more then this stroak hf the Ax, and that a far greater misery is due to you, even the pains and torments of Hell that the damned there endure?
I know it is due in righteous judgment, but I knw again, I have a satisfaction made by my elder Brother Christ Jesus, and then I say it is not due, tis due from me, but quitted by his righteousnesse.
Do you believe to be saved by that Mediatot and none others?
By that and that only, renouncing all secondary causes whatsoever.
Are you truly and unfainedly sorry before God, as you appear to us, for all those sins that have brought you hither?
I am sorry, and can never be sorrowfull enough, and am sorry I can be no more sorty.
On Satturday last came intelligence of the King of Scots arrival at the Hague in Holland: And of his taking Shipping at Graves-end on the fourth of this instant October, being disguised in a Sea-mans Apparel.