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CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.

No. 18.

JUNE, 1803.

[No. 6. VOL. II.

Religious Communications.

IGNAT

LETTER OF IGNATIUS TO The church at rome.

GNATIUS, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church of Rome beloved and enlightened, which hath obtained mercy through God the Father and Jesus Christ, health and salvation in the Lord.

By prayer to God I have prevailed to see your face, which I have greatly desired. For being now bound in the cause of Christ, I hope to salute you, if it be his will that I he conducted to the expected end; for the beginning promises well, if I can only obtain grace to finish my course without hindrance or interruption; for I fear your love lest it should be a stumbling block in my way. You, indeed, are free to act as you think best, but it will not be easy for me to attain unto God, if ye spare me not.

Seek not, brethren, to please men but God, which, indeed, ye do; for I shall never meet with another opportunity like the present of attaining unto God, neither can ye, if you will only forbear to interpose, ever be made either partakers or witnesses of a more excellent work. If ye be silent I shall be made an offering unto God; but if ye love my flesh, I must wait for an opportunity to run a second race: for surely ye cannot bestow a greater benefit upon me than in permitting me to be sacrificed to God, when the altar is already prepared; that, forming a choir around me, ye may sing praises to the Father in Jesus Christ, for that he hath thought a Syrian bishop worthy to suffer in the. west. It is good for me to die from the world unto God, that I may rise again in him.

Ye have never been deficient in the duty of instructing others: my only wish is that your instructions may have their full effect. Neither, I am persuaded, have ye been wanting in prayers on my behalf. Ask only for me strength within and without, that I may not only speak but CHRIST, OBSERV. No. 18.

will; that I may not only be called but be found a Christian: for if I am really found to be a Christian, I may also bear the name, and approve my self faithful though unregarded by the world. Nothing is good which is such only in appearance. A Christian is not the work of persuasion but of power*, and that more especially, because he is hated by the world. I write unto the Churches and inform them all, that I am about to offer myself willingly for God, if I am not prevented by you. I entreat you, hinder me not by an ill-timed compassion. Suffer me to become the food of beasts, by which I may attain unto God. I am his wheat, and may I be ground between the teeth of furious animals, that I may become pure and unmingled bread. Rather intreat the lions that they would become my sepulchre, that nothing of this body remain unconsumed, and that my relics may be troublesome to no one. Then shall I be the disciple of Christ indeed, when my body is become horrible to the world. Entreat him for me, that by these instruments of sacrifice I may become a victim unto God. Yet 1 do not enjoin you, after the example of Peter and Paul: they were apostles, I am a condemned man; they were free, I am yet a slave; but when my suffering is ended, I shall become the freedman of Christ, and shall rise to liberty indeed!

Even now the battle is begun; for in my journey from Syria to Rome I am engaged in an unceasing conflict, by night and day, by sea and land, tied as I am to ten leopards, for so I call the band of soldiers who guard ine, creatures who are exasperated even by kindness. But I am schooled by their insults. Would that I might en

* Meaning, probably, the power of divine grace. Tt

joy the beasts which are prepared for me: may they be swift to finish their work, to which I will even urge them that they may devour me the

sooner.

Pardon me, brethren, I know what is good for myself. Now do I begin to be a disciple of Christ; now do I aspire from things visible to things unseen, that I may attain unto him. Let me encounter fire and the cross, the assault of wild beasts, the rending asunder of the joints, and all the torments of the devil; only let me be found in Christ.

The difference between region and region, even all the regions of this world, affects me not. It is better for me to die in the cause of Christ than to reign from one extremity of the earth to the other. I seek him who died for us. I wish for him who rose again for us: he shall be my reward. Pardon me, brethren; restrain me not from that which is life indeed; make me not to endure a living death; and when I long to be with God and to be his, separate me not from him by means of the world, nor seduce me by the temptations of matter: suffer me to drink of the pure fountain of light: suffer me to copy after the passion of my God. If any man enjoy him in himself he will understand what it is that I wish for, he will sympathise with me as knowing the nature of those bands which constrain me.

The prince of this world labours to steal me away, and to weaken the desire which I have towards God. But let no one who may be present interpose*, but be on my side, or rather on that of God. Neither, should I then weakly entreat you, do ye obey me, but believe rather what I now write than what I may then be tempted to say. My love is crucifiedt, and the fire which is in me secketh for no water to extinguish it; but it is a living and speaking principle within me, calling inwardly unto me, Come to the Father.

I delight not in corruptible nutriment, nor in the pleasures of the sent life. I long to eat the bread of

pre

*(i. c.) At the scene of his martyrdom. + Meaning either Christ, the object of his love, or his own affections and lusts. It has usually been understood in the former sense. This sentence is, deservedly, one of the most celebrated in all Christian antiquity.

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God which is the fresh of Jesus Christ, of the seed of David; and to drink his blood which is love undefiled.

I wish not to live any longer the life of man; yet I could be content to do so, if it were your desire. Pray, therefore, that ye may be accepted. Believe me, I entreat you. That mouth uttereth no falsehood through which the Father speaketh. Intercede for me that I may attain. If I suffer, it is because ye have loved me: if I am rejected, ye have hated met.

Be not forgetful in your prayers of the Church which is in Syria, which hath now no other pastor than God. May Jesus Christ preside over it in the place of the bishop. But I am ashamed even to be accounted of their number, unworthy as I am, and one born out of due time. My spirit saluteth you, together with the love of all the Churches which have received me in the name of Christ, and that not merely as a passing guest; for those which did not meet me in the way received me honourably in their cities.

I write this to you from Smyrna by certain Ephesians. Crocus, a beloved brother, is with me, and many more. I think you are informed of those who are already arrived at Rome out of Syria to glorify God, and I desire you to inform thein that I am at hand. They are all worthy of God and of you. Refresh them, therefore, in all things. Written the 9th of the cal. of September Farewell in the Lord Jesus.

ACCOUNT

OF EMINENT PERSONS EXECUTED IN THE CIVIL WARS.

(Continued from p. 265).

EXECUTION OF THE EARL OF DERBY.

THE Earl of Derby, according to an order of the court martial, by which he was sentenced to die at Bolton in Lancashire, was brought to that town with a guard of horse and foot, on the 15th of October, 1651, betwixt twelve and one o'clock, the people weeping, praying, and bewailing him all the way from his prison at Chester to the place of his death.

There is in this paragraph a natural and unaffected struggle between the love of life and the desire of martyrdom, which would have been injured by an attempt to give greater consistency to the language,

He was brought to a house in the town near the cross, where the scaffold was raised; and as he passed by, said, VENIO, DOMINE, I am prepared to fidil thy will, Omy God: this scauffold must be my cross; blessed Saviour, I take it up willingly, and follow thee. From thence going into a chamber with some friends and servants, he was advertised by the commander in chief, that he had till three of the clock allowed him to prepare for death; for indeed the scaffold was not ready, the people of the town and country generally refusing to carry so much as a plank, or strike a nail, or lend any assistance to that work; their cry being generally in the streets, "O sad day! O woful day! shall the good Earl of Derby die here? Many sad losses have we had in this war, but none like unto this; for now the ancient honour of our country must suffer here!" And to add to his trouble, most of the timber that built the scaffold was of the ruins of Latham House: but nothing could alter his Lordship's resolution and courage; for with a stedfast, composed, and cheerful countenance, he called the company which were present to prayers with him, wherein he shewed admirable fervency, and a kind of humble importunity with Almighty God, that he would pardon his sins, be merciful to his soul, and be gracious to this land, in restoring the king, laws, and liberty; and that he would be a husband to his wife, a father to his children, and a friend to all that suffered by his loss, or had been friends to him.

Rising from prayer, he sat down with a very pleasing countenance, and assured the standers by, that God had heard his prayers, which the blessed spirit of God witnessed unto him in the present comforts he now felt in his soul: then he entered into a discourse of his life, and beseeched God to forgive him the days and time he had mis-spent; and said, it was his comfort, that although he had not walked so circumspectly as he ought to have done, yet he ever had a sense of his sins, and a tender respect to all the services, servants, and ordinances of his God; and that he knew God had mercy for him, that he had strengthened and comforted him against all the terrors of death.

After these and some other words to this purpose, he desired his friends,

and the people by, to pray with him again; which when he had ended, rising from his knees, he appeared fully satisfied of a gracious return to his prayers, and never after shewed any sadness in his countenance.

His next business was with his son the Lord Strange, whom he publicly charged to be dutiful to his sad mother, affectionate to his distressed brothers and sisters, and studious of the peace of his country: but especially, said he, son, I charge you, upon my blessing, and upon the blessing you expect from God, to be ever dutiful to· your distressed mother, ever obedient to her commands, and ever tender how you in any thing grieve or offend her; she is a person well known to the most eminent personages of England, France, Germany, and Holland, noted for picty, prudence, and all honourabie virtues; und certainly, the more you are obedient to her, the more you will increase in favour with God and man.

Then he desired to be private in the room himself; where he was observed to be about half an hour upon his knees, with frequent interjections of groans and sighs before his God, Then, when he called the company in again, his eyes witnessed to us, that he had abundantly mixed tears with his prayers. He told us, that he was very willing to leave the world, being assured by the testimony of God's spirit, that he should be carried from trouble to rest and peace, from sorrow to joy, from life to death; and that death had no bitterness in it to him, but that it took him from his dear wife and children, whom he humbly commended to the protection and providence of a better husband, and a better father; and that yet he did not doubt, but that the General, and they who sat in the seat of autho rity, would make provision for them, hoping that his death might satisfy all those who sought his life, whom he freely forgave, and desired God to do the like. Then calling for his son, he took his leave of him, and blessed him. It would have grieved any one's heart, though ever so hardened, to see the parting of him now with his son, and the day before with his two daughters, Lady Cathurine, and Lady Amely Stanley, upon the road betwixt Chester and Bolton.

This ended, he called the officer, and told him he was ready. In his way to the scaffold the people prayed,

and wept, and cried aloud: to whom his Lordship, with a cheerful countenance and courteous humbleness, said, Good people, I thank you, and I beseech you still pray for me, and our blessed God return your prayers back into your own bosoms. The God of mercy bless you, the Son of God establish you in righteousness, and the Holy Ghost fill you with all comforts. Coming near the scaffold, he look ed up, and said, God, I thank thee; I am not afraid to go up here, though I am to die there; there are but these few steps to my eternity. Then kissing the ladder, he went up, and saluted the people, and walked a turn or two upon the scaffold: then went to the east end of the scaffold, and pulled off his hat, again saluting the people with a cheerful countenance, and spoke as follows:

"I am come by the will of my heavenly father to die in this place; and I thank God, I do with all willingness and readiness, submit to his most blessed will. As for my crime, as some are pleased to term it, which was objected against me by the council of war; my crime, I say, though I hope it deserves a far better name, was, that I came into my own country with my own lawful king. I came in obedience to his Majesty's call, whom, by the laws both of God and of this land, I am bound to obey. So if it be my crime, I have confessed it again before God, angels, and men; that I love monarchy as the best government, and I die for the love and honour I bear to my master, Charles the Second, whom I myself, in this country, proclaimed king. The Lord bless and preserve him, and incline the hearts of those that have power in this nation to accept him to his father's throne with honour and peace. As for my being in arms in the beginning of this war, I profess here, in the presence of God, before whom, in a few minutes, I must make account of this profession, I only sought for peace, and to maintain the laws and settle the king my master in his just rights; and now by his enemies I am adjudged to die by new and monstrous laws which make me an enemy to my country for fighting for my country; a traitor to the laws for endeavouring to preserve them.

"But, O God! give me grace to consider him who suffered such contradiction of sinners; and, O my God,

assert the king to his father's throne, assert the laws to their former honour, and restore thy own religion in its purity; that all these shadows and julse pretences of religion may vanish away, and our children's posterities may serve thee in spirit, and in truth.

"Good friends, I die for the king, the laws of the land, and the Protestant Religion maintained in the Church of England; all which as I was ready to maintain with my life, so I cheerfully suffer for them in this welcome death. I am sentenced to death by a council of war, after quarter for life, and assurance of honourable and safe usage by Captain Edge. I had reason to have expected the council would have justified my plea, which hath been ancient, honourable, sacred, and inviolable, until this time that I am made the first suffering precedent: for I dare affirm it, that never gentle. man before, in any Christian nation, was adjudged to death by a council of war after quarter given. I am the first, and I pray God I may be the last precedent in this case. I must die, and I thank God I am ready for it: death would now be my choice had I the whole world in competition with it. I leave nothing behind me which I much care for, but my king, my wife, my children, my friends, whom I trust the never failing mercies of my God will provide for: I beseech God shew mercy to those, who neither had mercy nor justice to me. My blessed Saviour taught me by his example and command, both to pray for my enemies, and to forgive my enemies: I forgive them freely, even those that contrived my ruin, and pursued me to death. I thank God I never personally offended them to my knowledge in my life, and let me not offend against them at my death: I forgive them freely, and pray God for Christ's sake to forgive them also.

"Of my faith and religion I shall not, I hope, need to say much: herein I hope my enemies, if now I have any, will speak for me. I profess my faith to be in God only, from whom I look for my salvation through the precious merits and sufferings of my blessed Saviour Jesus Christ; which merits and sufferings, I hope, are applied to my soul by the blessed spirit of comfort, the spirit of God, by whom I am assured, in my own soul, that my God is reconciled unto me in Jesus Christ my blessed Redeemer.

"I die a dutiful son to the Church of England, as it was established in that blessed prince my late master's reign, which all men of learning and temperance will acknowledge to be the most pure and agreeable to the word of God, and primitive government, of any Church within twelve or thirteen hundred years since Christ, and which (to my great comfort) I left established in the Isle of Man; God preserve it there, and restore it

to this nation.

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And, O blessed God, I magnify thy name, that thou gavest me the happiness and mercy to be born in a Christian nation, and in a nation where thy truth was professed in purity. With honour to thy name, and comfort to thy people, I ascribe the comforts of thy holy spirit, which I feel in my bosom, to the ministry of thy word and sacraments conveyed unto me in thy Church, and made effectual by the operation of the same blessed spirit. In this faith I have lived, and in this I die: pray for me, and the God of mercies hear your prayers for me, and mine for you."

His speech was interrupted by the violence of the soldiers, who, for what cause is not known, suddenly rode up and down, cutting and slashing the people, killing some and wounding many.

Presently after the tumult was over, his Lordship called for the headsman, and asked to see the axe; and taking it in his hand, said, Friend, I will not hurt it, and I am sure it cannot hurt me; and then kissing it, said, Methinks this is as a wedding-ring, which is as a sign I am to leave all the world, and eternally to be married to my Saviour. Then putting his hand in his pocket, said to the headsman, Here, friend, take these two preces, all that I have; thou must be my priest, I pray thee do thy work well and effectually. Then handling the rough fürred coat the headsman had on, This, says he, will be troublesome to thee, I pray thee put it off, and do it es willingly as I put off this garment of my flesh, that is now so heavy for my soul. Then some of the standers-by bad the headsman kneel and ask his Lordship's pardon; but he did not, and was surly and crabbed: but his Lordship said, friend, I give thee the pardon thou wilt not ask, and God forgive thee also. Then turning up his eyes to heaven, said aloud, How long, Lord, how long?

Then gently passing over the scaffold, and seeing one of his chaplains on horseback among the people, Good Sir, said he, pray for me, and the Lord return your prayers into your own bosom, and I pray remember me kindly to your brother, and God remember him for his love to me and mine.

Then turning towards his coffin, Thou art, said he, my bridal chamber, in thee I shall rest without a guard, and sleep without soldiers.

Then looking towards the block, he asked, if all were ready: That, said he, methinks is very low, and yet there is but one step betwixt that and heaven; then turning his eyes to the people. he saluted them, and desired again their prayers; saying, I see your tears, and hear your sighs, and groans, and prayers. The God of heaven hear and grant your supplications for me, and mine for you, and the mediation of Christ Jesus for us all.

Here his Lordship caused the block to be turned, that he might look up upon the Church, saying, Whilst I am here I will look towards thy holy sanctuary, and I know that within a few minutes, I shall behold thee my God and King in thy sanctuary above: under the shadow of thy wings shall be my rest, till this calamity be over-past. Then he pulled off his blue garter, and sent it to his son, and pulling off his doublet, with a very religious cheerfulness, he said, I come, Lord Jesus, and O come thou quickly, that I may be with thee for ever. Upon this he said, Pray tell me how I must lie; I have been called a bloody man, yet truly I never yet had that severe curiosity to see any man put to death in peace then laying himself down on the block, after a few minutes he rose again, and caused the block to be a little removed; said to the headsman, Friend, remember what I said to thee; and be no more afraid to strike than I to die; and when I put up my hand, do thy work. So looking round about upon his friends and the people, he said, The Lord bless you all, and once more pray for me and with me; at which words, he kneeled down, and prayed privately within himself, with great sighing, about half a quarter of an hour, concluding with the Lord's Prayer; then rising up again, he said, (smilingly) My soul is now at rest, and so shall my body be immediately. The Lord bless my king, and restore him to his right in this kingdom, and the Lord

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