| OCR Text |
Show George B. Cheever. t.o obey God's law above jt, God's law ngnin. t it, ll1e confli ·t i- inepressil>lc, for God will r ' ig n, aml God's child1· •n mu ~ t maintain his so Y ~-reig nty, nnd the supremacy of' his law, ' V n unto dea th. Then the witue .. c. were cnllcd ngninst him, the fir..-t of whom testified tl1at '1 lJe neither rcganl<'<l prince nor JH..'oph•, law nor custom, but did all he conld to pos;-;e::;s all men with certain or hi;-; disloyalllotion , afnrming in particular, thnt Chri ._ tinnily anti til' cu~toms of our town oC Vanity were diametrically oppo:-;itc, and could not be recon ciled. By which ~ayi 11g, my lord he doth at once not only condc1nn ~111 our laudable d o ing~, bnt tL in the doing of tl1em. If need he, " ·hen the oth er g<'ntlemcn l1ave giv n in th ·ir evidc·ucc, rath er than any tl1ing shall be wanting that will d c~ pat eh him, I will cnbrge my tt•:-:; tim ony ngainst him. Then, when the witnessc. hacl fini :-:;hccl their testimony, Faithftd detlarcd, mnong other thing:;;, that l1e llCV('l' said aught. but this, that wlwt rule, or law~, or cu:-: tom, or people', were flat against the \Vortl of Go<J, are di:wwtrically oppo. .. ;it e to Cllri ...; ti:tnity." It i:-: alway~ the higher and the Jower law tl1nt arc brought into colli: ion in ev<• ry sueh tri:tl, und the vietim js <·onclC'mned for se tting forth and teaehing ancl :tcting out J1is allegiance to the Higher ngain~t the lower, hi ~ ob<'<li<·n<·e to God ratlwl' tl1an man. Accordingly, whc'n the .Jt,dg<' c·alled th<· ,Jury, he ~a i<l: ,, Gentlenwn or the jury, )'011 ~ee til is man, :tuont Wllom ~0 rrreat an uproar hath ueen mnd \in thi :-:; town; you have abo l1c·ard what th e~e worthy ge nt lenwn have witrw ~ed again~t l1irn; aL o, yon kwe hc•ard hi~ l'('ply and ronf(., ;-;ion: it lycth now in your brea. t ' to hnng ltim, or· save hi .· life; but yet I think meet to in::: trnct yo tt in our law. Th re wa , an act made in the days of' Pharaoh the GJ'(•at , .. en ·ant to our princc', tlmt, lest those of a contrary religion . hould multiply nnd g row too strong for him, th<·ir males . hottlll be t ln·own into the river. There was also an uct mad • in the dny~ of' N ebuclwdnezzar the Great, another of his servant~, tl1at whoever George B. Cheever. woula not fall <1own and wor:-:;hip l1is golden imag0, sltoul<l be thrown into a fit•ry f'umnee. TIH're was nl...:o an act maUf! in the days or Darius, that who:o f(H' SOllie time e:dled upon any croll but bim, should be rast into tl1e lions' den. Now, th' ;ubstance of' these law::; thi :-; reu ·1 lt:ttlt hroken, not only in thought, (which is not to be bonw,) hut also in word nnd dc<'ll; wllich must, theref{)rc·, n ec·d ~ lH ~ intoleral>lc. ] I' clisputct h again. L out· religion ; and f(>r t h • treason I hat he hath alr<'a<ly conf'c~sc <l, he dc:;c rvcth to die the dt':tth. "Then went the jury out, who <~ 11aHH's were 1\Lc·:-::'ir:-:. Blindman, No-good, 1\laliee, Love- ltt :-;t, Lin·-loo:-:<', Ilc·ndy, I I ighmind, Enmity, Liar, Crut•lty, Ilale- Light, allll lrnplaeahl(' ; who every on~ gay • in hi :-; priYalc verdi<.:t :t ga in ~t him :unc~11:.; t1 1c·m: el \. •s, and afterwards unanin10usly conrluded to l)l'lng Itim in guilty b<'fore the jttdge. Aud :-:;o thry did; therc·li>re he wn:3 presently condemnc>ll to be had f'rom th' pl:H·e whc•re he w:t ·, to the place f'rom w h<'nce he cnnw, anti there to be put to the mo:t crud <leath tlwL could ue inven.r cd. Tlu·.y thcr<'forc brourrht him out, to do with him n<·<·ordulg to then· law, burning him to n~h '·"' at the stnk<•," :lf't 'l' divers other torturcil. Aml tint. <'nme F:til hf'nl to his <'lHL Now thi:-; is a chapter f'rom past r<·nlity, which we nev<'r r xp<'eted to . cc reprodttccd in our own eount ry, under .a ~oc~ dk<l free government, under the full lighl or tl~e ~hn.st~an relicrion. The possibility of' it t'how:; that tlte llll11l of forlH'a~ anee from God to.,vard:-~ u~ i:-; re:tch<·d; the point n·ach.e<l where God will say, Ephraim i · joinetl to idoL~ ; let lum I B 1 I ,,.-a one. u" 1)1 11ot now llW<'ll ncC':r' ain upon thi s. Thl• 're i::~ a brighter, happi ·r pietur, in th · martyr's fate•, wlll <"h Bunyan hall ucscribe in hi :-; own IJrief word;-;, and there are ome sacrcc.l l cs 'Oil to b ' dra• wn from the whole eharactcr and tran:;action, per.;;onal, . o1cmn, jmportant. The. la:-;t thnt human eye can e . of Faithf'lll is the form of lti · ensped :md mangled body }1alf vi:.:;ible thr0'\1 gh fltunt~ and .' moke, an(~ the multitude or !-~pcctators stand gazing, ~ome no u~y, :-;ome silent, 20 |
