A NARATIVE of some of the SUFFERINGS of J.P. in the CITY of ROME
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and mouth near Aldersgate, 1661.
A Narative of some of the Sufferings of J.P. in the City of Rome.
It is moved in my Soul to leave a remembrance unto all Generations of my succeeding Seed, of the mercies of God unto me in the dayes of my Captivity and sore distresse in the City of Rome, that they all which may live in the feeling of the Power of the Spirit of Salvation, may tast of the secret streams of the thanks-giving and praises of my poor soul yeilded and offered unto my Maker, my compassionate God and my King, and in their true sence of the same rejoyce also in the spirit of praise, which liveth without end, Amen.
When I was cast into Prison, because I loved the Souls of mine enemies; when I was separated like Joseph from all my Brethren, and oppressed in a strange Land; when I was left like a poor silly Dove without a mate; when I was despightfully, ignominiously and approbriously contemned, scorned and mocked of all men, both Priests and People that came to view me in my misery; when I was extreamly abased in all things which bore the shew of helps unto me; When I was held in Irons untill one of my limbes failed me; When I was divers times cruelly tortured and tormented in my weak fleshly body; When I was tempted with Wine and with [Page 4] Women, and with meats, much, little, and none, with riches and honour, and with all delights and pleasures that ever my heart might desire; When I was threated with gally-slavery, with tortures on the soales of my feet, with death by fire, and also subtilly by poyson; When I was thus and unspeakably more proved by flatteries, threats and tortures, to turn from the Lord my God unto a Graven Image; when the hunters night and day hunted me like a forsaken Partridge in the barren Grounds, and like an alone Quail in the stubble fields; when I was as a Wren in a bush of Thornes, and the Eagles watched to teare me; when Wolves howled to prey upon me by night, and Lions most terribly roared to destroy me day after day; when the Seas raged on every side, and floods of the deeps heaped themselves like immoveable Mountains upon my back; when the wrath of Hell gaped as a gulf to swallow me in her belly of envy; when nets of Iron were spread about my habitation, and snares of steel set compassing my dwelling; when Serpents creeped over my body, and frogs danced on my face, when Scorpions ran over my head, and Dragons spat fire in my face, when the Spirits of infernal places encamped about me, and sirrounded me with their dreadful flames; when they pierced me as with Speares in my side, and that I daily felt their malice like the pains of arrows stuck fast in my heart; when they strove to slay me with vexation, and to murder me with the torments of oppression; when they spued out their vennome night and day in vileness of words against me, with bitterness of [Page 5] cursing in their mouths, and abominable oaths and blasphemies against the Righteous God of my Salvation; when they rejoyced and took pleasure to oppresse my righteous soul with oaths, and sought to vex me with numberless lies; when by their numberless unheard of wickednesses they laboured to make me languish in sorrow and perish in extream misery; when their Spirits came upon me in the night season, and often almost strangled me to death in my sleep; Then had I dreadful Visions by day, and most terrible dreams by night; then was my soul in a Sea of sorrows, and in an immence Ocean of miseries; then was my bread Affliction and my drink extream Tribulation; then did I water my Couch with my tears, and sowed them as seed on the ground; For then the Mountains did press me down with their weights, and rocks did even crush me to pieces; then did I make sobbs as an ease to my soul, and sustained my self with the grievousness of groanes; then were sighings as a spouse in my bed, and tears as my solace with her; And oh then did I cry unto my God and poured out my complaints before him; I wrestled with his Angel night and day, and cast the Rivers of my bleedings on his Altar; And then he shewed me the sorrows of his Seed in the Earth, and the oppression of his righteous life by all the Nations thereof; And though I could but discern the least part thereof, yet it was infinitely more then my sufferings; and then he made me put my neck to the yoake thereof, and my back to its heavy burthens, so that pangs were added to my paines, and mourning multiplied to my miseries, which made me roare [Page 6] for the revelation of mercies, dropping my tears under the Cherubim winges of his eternal compassions, and stood before him in the nakedness of my innocency, and in the simplicity of patience and content; for he stripped me as bare as I was born, and then his righteous eye saw that I murmered not against him in all my Tribulations, but cal'd all things good from his hand, and gave thanks to him for all my sufferings, as I did for my daily bread.
So it came to pass in his time that he remembred me his bruised Babe, and had compassion on me his wounded worm, and moved in his jealousie for me, whose righteous and pittiful Soul could not alwaies bear the grief of my sorrows, without streching out his hand to help me, because he saw that without him, I was as a helpless Lamb among Lyons; And therefore he passed in a secret dread through Hell, and brake the bars of her gates, he cut a path through the Clouds of her blacknesse, and divided a way through her burnings; he scattered Mountains like dust with a whirlewind, and dispersed Hills like the chaff of the summer thresshing floore; he made the raging seas as smooth as oyl, and the blustering storms as the gentle Northwind; he clave the craggy Rocks assunder, and made an easie path through the drowning deeps; for that he had pity on my broken heart, and most lamentable bleeding soul, knowing that I sought not Riches nor Honour, but the Remission of the sins and the Salvation of the poor Souls of mine enemies; nay, I desired not any thing in Heaven or Earth, besides the glory and praise of his eternall [Page 7] holy Name, and knew the Innocency of my simple Soul which cannot touch a worme to destroy it, and saw the openness of my heart of love, which can lay down my life for the very vilest of all my oppressors; wherefore he smote on the brazen earth, and tore down the bulwarks of her strength, and then he lifted up my head above the deeps, and set my feet upon the Tower of his strength, and made my meekness as the Arrows of his quiver, and my patience as Spears of the battle, and sent my Shafts among Armies, and dispersed their camps as smoak; and hosts that were as strong as steele he made become as towe before the breath of my mouth; who formed my nostrils as a bellowes, and my mouth as a flaming Furnace; So he gave me the Standerd of the battle, and put the Ensigne of victory in my hand, who instead of fear gave me wonderful courage, and instead of weakness, strength and valour, and took pleasure to visit me with mercies and with comfortable promises of Life; Yea in the time of my sore distress at midnight he appeared at my Prison window in a flame of Fire, which my fleshly eyes beheld, and then he smote upon the Iron bars thereof, which my fleshly ears did hear; So then I remembred him (in the spirit) that he was my God, and that he watched over me in the dayes of my affliction; moreover when my foes did oppress me, He roared with Thunders in the City, which made the houses and their foundations to tremble as a leaf, and made mine enemies to cry with fear, and then as I was laid down in my Prison, with mine eye on the chain of my leg, he cast in a barre of fire, in manner and bigness of a Jovelin, which smote upon the end therof which was fastened to a Ring in the Wall, by which he shewed me his [Page 8] might, and the wonderfulness of his glorious Power, and by the same did seal unto me his Covenant; for he swore unto me by his life that he would break my bonds assunder, and gave me Testimony upon Testimony of his faithfulness; And in the dayes of my misery he humbled himself as if he were lower then the Son of man, and came down and spake to me as a man doth speak with his friend, and so took delight to break my heart assunder, that he might bind me up in his bosome of pleasure; He divers times plainly told me saying, fear not worm Jacob, for I am thy God, no Inchantment shall ever prevail against thee, no weapon formed against thee shall prosper; Besides he carried me through deep places where he discovered unto me many wonders, yea, and shewed me things too wonderful for me; Ah the glory, the glory, the marvellous glory of his wonderful works my weakness can never declare, neither can I utter the proportion of his ravishing joyes whereof he made me to drink at the Fountain in abundance.
And when he had proved me by manifold waies, much more then any mortal man could imagine, and seeing that in my sorrows I forsook him not, but grew nearer and nearer into him, and in my joyes I swelled not above him, but more and more feared and trembled that I might live alwaies humble beneath him, and his tender pitties taking upon him the soreness of the sufferings of my poor earthly Tabernacle; at last through the way that he had broken, through the hard places reached me with the bowels of his servants, and with the prophecyes of many of his people, who spake in the one Spirit unto me the very things which he covenanted unto me in the time of my extream misery, [Page 9] which was as a seven-fold Seal in my soul, confirming his Testimonies unto me; and then he raised up his little babe my dear Brother Thomas Hart to set his tender soul nearer unto my sufferings, and made him take my burthens on his back, and the yoak of my Tribulation on his neck, and made him sup of my sore sorrows and drink of the bleedings of my grief; and in the eternal bowels of his loving kindness and mercies, made him attend me with constant consolations and with renewed comforts of his life; yea he made him unto me as the compassions of a Father to his Child, and as the bowels of a Mother to her babe, who took it as the delight of his heart to send swiftly unto me the refreshing streams of my Brethren and Sisters brookes; Ah he was as dayly bread to my hunger, and as the best wine to my thirst; yea the most high God made him as the dews of Heaven on mylocks, and as the drops of the clouds on my skirts, who over took me with a Sea of his love, and swallowed me in the deeps of his affection, so that he was a joy to me in my tedious bonds, and gladnesse unto me whilest I was grieved of mine enemies, and still he counted the most of his love too little, and the weight of his affection as a thing too light in the ballance, whose bowels did break me assunder, and the flames of his love melted me into many streams. Moreover the everlasting mercies of my God did stir up the bowels of other two of his tender babes, named in the tent, Jane Stokes and Charles Baylie to come to visit me whilest I was as forsaken of all men, who in the uprightness of their hearts and perfect faith in my God of wonders, came travelling through land towards me, bruised in their righteous souls in abstinence and fasting, in weakness and sore pains, yet spared not their bodies to the utmost, but in the faith persevered [Page 10] in their pilgrimage untill they arrived to Rome, where C. B. offered his life to ransome me, and both of them entered into captivity for the love which they bore to my life; and Charles wore the irons of my bonds in fastings and sore sufferings, which melted my heart like wax, and made me drop down the tears of mine eyes, which pretious visitations of my Fathers eternal love manifested unto me in tender compassions through the yerning bowels of these his beloved babes must never be forgotten of me, but remembred of me in a soul abounding with thansgiving and spirit of praise of the most high; yea for these and all his unspeakable favours I will laud, praise, honour, renown and magnify his holy Name and power for ever and ever, Amen: For his mercies are over all his works, and his compassions are without bounds or measure; and in the belly of a continual broken heart desire I to dwel, where I may evermore honour my God with my tears; for oh, oh, I am overcome, I am overcome of his infinite mercies towards me.
And this I leave for posterities and generations following, that my seeds seed and its seeding seed may know the love wherewith my God hath loved me, both in himself and in the bowels of these his babes, yea let the record of it be had in Israel unto the end of dayes and time to the glory of the God of my salvation, and and let the day of the birth of these innocent Lambs be had in memory of blessing in the hearts of Sions Seed for ever, whom the Lord God of my life made like so many long lines of his unsearchable loving kindness which reached me in the deeps of my biter calamities, and in the lamentable daies of my languishings. Oh blessed, blessed, blessed, praised and magnified be the God of my salvation, even for ever and ever, Amen.
Written in Rome Prison of Madmen.
JOHN.
The third of the sixth Month, 1661.
From the Common Goal in Burkdou in France, about thirty leagues from Dover, where I am a sufferer for speaking the Word of the Lord to two Priests, saying, All Idols, all Idolatries and all Idol Priests must perish.
Dearly beloved, as the streames of an endless Fountain this goes through me, which causeth my banks to over flow plentifully with the pleasant and delightful fruits of love, which gently streams and flows towards thee my Sister and my Brother; but as thou art my elder in my Fathers house, in the time of the excercise of thy strength didst freely minister to my weakness, which can never be forgotten by me, though I am at present, and have several times (since I saw thy face) been shut up in strong prisons, yet it hath not nor cannot blot out the remembrance of thee from me; For I can truly say in the fear of my Father, thou art as an engraven Adamant within my heart, and though through the natural I may speak this, it is because I feel thee in the eternal, I feel thee in the immortal, I feel thee in the unchangable, which was before the changable was, or shadows of turning were; my heart is exceeding full in me towards thee, unexpressable, undeclarable doth my measure flow towards thee; Therefore feel, feel me, and there only where I may be felt receive me, and as thou dost feel me, so let me be received and accepted in thy tender bosome.
And now it is in my heart to shew thee in brief somthing of the service I have had since I saw thy face, though it was not a little desired by me when I returned from G. F. but I being drawn in my life towards London, and my former service lay much before me, I [Page 12] choosed the Seas, and it was so with me, that I was much pressed in my spirit to pass away; And when I came to London I found in my life I might have stayed some time longer there then I did, but fearing least it might be an offence to any, I took my leave of Friends and passed away towards Dover, and it being wholly in my heart to do the will of my God whatsoever I suffered, and after I had some service for the Lord in Dover, which was well accepted of him, I took also my leave of friends at Dover and imbarqued my self for Calis, yet at that very instant I felt something in my life against going at that time; yet for my aforesaid reason I passed away, and after my arrival at Calis the Lord would not permit me to go forward, but by a mightly power was constrained to return back to Dover; It was also shewed me somthing of a woman going with me, to which I was constrained to consent, and returned to Dover, though it was in great crosse, yet the power of the Almighty was with me, and I had not liberty to leave that Town; and after about a month waiting, there came a dear servant of the most high God, whose name according to the world is Jane Stokes, who was commanded of the Lord for to go to the place where John Perrot was, and immediately so soon as she arrived in the meeting in Dover, I was shewed that she was to go over the Seas before I spoke one word to her; and suddenly after, I was like a man released out of Prison and had perfect freedom to pass away, which accordingly I did; and in relation to this Voyage I shall tell thee how it was with me before I returned into England the first time, For the Lord did shew it me before I came to Paris the first time, Therefore I writ it in my letter to thee, which I left with Anthony Holder, saying that I am given up if [Page 13] to Rome; So the same day my dear companion came, I passed away and set forwards towards Paris as aforesaid, it being the same way we were both shewed we should pass before we saw one anothers faces; and arriving at Paris I was drawn in my life to the Protestants meeting which I formerly told thee of, but there was much enmity against me, so that I had not the service I might have had at that time; but we being both drawn in our lives to pass away onwards of our Journey towards Rome, we soon set forwards in the good will of the Lord, whose presence was wonderfully with us; for truly as the dews distills morning by morning upon the tender grass, so did blessing and mercy distill upon our tender souls, so that we were kept over all fears, as we kept in the fear of our God, and as in his dread we walked, our enemies were dreaded before us, for we passed thorow the Nation of France without any molestation or trouble, and coming to Marcellis (from whence I sent thee a Letter,) we embarqued for Ginova, not having oppertunity for Legorn, as I did purpose; and after some 15 dayes to and fro with sore storms we arrived safe to our Port, and from thence we took our Journey by Land to Legorn, the Lord preserving us thorow many mountains and dangerous places, and arriving at Legorn, we had not of monies the value of an English penny left to buy us a little bread; But the Lord had not left us, but was near us in the time of need, and ordered it so that we wanted not a piece of bread; For though it was near night when we arrived, we met with a dear friend called William Ward, master of a Vessel, who received us with gladness of heart, he having other two friends with him who were also Sea-men, and after we had stayed some time with them, and being refreshed one [Page 14] in another, we took our leaves, taking courage as Paul did in his voyage to Rome, after he had seen the Brethren; and arriving safe at Rome we were drawn in our lives directly to the place where the dearly beloved J. P. was, and coming to the Prison door, I enquired for him, and having answer of his being there, I desired for to speak with him, but it would not be permitted us; So it was said in me write unto him, which I did, the which he answered us in the fulness of love, which refreshed us after our weary steps; For our souls were refreshed one in another, though one anothers faces we had never seen to the outward, and then we being kept in a holy fear not to do nor act one way nor other, but as we were moved of the Lord, least we should add to his bonds, I say being thus kept we were delivered out of the snare of the fowler, who secretly lay in wait to betray our innocency; And after a little time the Lord shewed me I should go to the inquisition, which I did, and enquired for the Inquisitor as I was shewed of the Lord I should do; And when I spoke to him, I told him I was come from England for to see my Brother I. P. to which he answered, I should see him, and appointed me to come to a certain place called Minerva, and there saith he, I will procure you liberty of the Cardinalls to see him; he had me also to the Inquisition office, where he asked many questions of me concerning our Religion, to which I answered in the simplicity of my heart in the fear of the Lord; and at the appointed time I came to the place aforesaid, and there I was shewed what further I should do, which was to tender my body for my Brother, and so from that time I hardly missed opportunity to speak to them as often as they met, for their manner was thus to meet twice a week, the one time at Minerva, and the other [Page 15] time at Monte-Cavallo where the Popes own dwelling is, where I also did the like, more then once, which stirred them up against me, in great emnity; And truly I was perswaded both by Jews and others, to save our selves, their emnity grew so much against us, at last they would not suffer us to give in a paper at the door to our dear Brother, after some time passed; and after that the Lord required me to go to the Jews Synagogue, where I had been several times before, and declared glad tidings to them from the mouth of the Lord; and after that I had been but a little time amongst them, the word of the Lord came to me saying, thou shalt be taken at Minerva, and whereas it is commonly reported in this place, that John Luffe starved himself to death, thou shalt fast for a Testimony against them, for it was so they had often cast his death upon me, saying he fasted 19 dayes, and the 20th day he died, wch thing grieved me many times; And it came to pass according to the word of Lord, I was taken 19 dayes after at the said place where the Lord told me I should, and from thence I was carried to the Inquisition, where I was shut up close, and after I had been there 3 dayes, the Lord said to me Thou must go to the Pazzarella which was the Prison or Hospital of mad men, where our dear Brother was prisoner; and it was also said unto me, thou shalt also speak to the Pope; And at the 17 dayes end, I was led from the Inquisition towards the other Prison, and by the way I met the Pope carried in great pomp, as it was the good will of the Lord that I should speak unto him, men could not prevent it, for I met him towards the foot of a bridge, where I was something nigh him, and when he came against me, the people being on their knees on each side of him, I cried to him with a loud voyce in the Italian [Page 16] tongue To do the thing that was Just, and to release the innocent, and whilest I was speaking, the man which me had not power to take me away untill I had [...] and then he had me to prison where my ende [...] Brother was, where I fasted about 20 dayes as a wi [...] against that bloody Generation; For in my fast [...] Lord shewed me what they had done with John [...] that true and faithful servant of his, for he shewed they had destroyed him. Now in the time of my [...] ing, it could not be perceived by any outward appearance that I did fast, as many of themselves did cor [...] that I looked better then when I did eat, and tru [...] cannot say that my flesh did decay at all, I [...] strengthened often times by the good word of [...] Lord which he spake thorow his faithful suffering Lambs to me, in the time that we had liberty to w [...] one to the other; my dear Sister being brought [...] the Inquisition, where she was retained from the [...] I was brought from thence, and from thence [...] brought to the same Prison where we were; and s [...] after my fast the Lord by an out-streched arm wrought our deliverance, being condemned to perpetual slavery, if ever we returned again unto Rome.
Charles Bayly.
My Soul praise thou the Lord in all his marvellous g[...] works, yea magnifie thou the Name of thy God, [...] holding the powerful works of his own right hand, [...] partaking of his everlasting compassions, love and [...] measurable mercies; Ah blessed, blessed, blessed, prai[...] magnified and honoured be the Name of the Lord the [...] high God, even for ever and ever Amen.
JOHN.
THE END.
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