University of Virginia Library

THE PERSECUTIONS Mentioned in the Old Testament.

SECT. I. The Persecution of the Church in the first Ages of the World, and so forward till Christ's Incarnation.

Adam being left unto his own free-will,
Satan the Primo-genitor of ill,
Maligning his so prosperous estate,
Did exercise his Diabolick hate,
Under the hood of friendship, to o'rethrow
Both root, and branch at one pestiferous blow.
VVith large-pretending promises, his suit
He varnish'd thus; if the forbidden fruit
But kiss their lips, they should more clearly see,
And full as wise as their Creator be.
Thus Satan's Engines play'd, till in conclusion
He took the Fort, by his so smooth delusion.

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Poor man made shipwrack of his Innocence,
Thwarting his God-requir'd Obedience:
Thus Adam fell, and by his hapless fall,
Hath lost his happiness, his God and all,
For ever; Ah! he cannot any more
Enjoy those blessings he enjoy'd before
In his first state; and all that he can win,
Is death, Death is the VVages due to sin.
But what of that? yet hath it pleas'd the High'st
To give eternal life through Jesus Christ
Our blessed Lord: whoever do believe
In him alone, are certain to receive
A glorious Crown: O see what God hath done,
To save poor sinners, he hath sent his Son,
His onely Son, who willingly came down,
To bear the cross, that we might wear the Crown.
Strange condescention! the great God above
Is pleas'd t'embrace us in the armes of love.
O groundless depths! O love beyond degree!
The guiltless dies, to set the guilty free!

Nor ceas'd the malice of the black-brow'd Prince
Of the Low-Countries, hell; for ever since
Mans forfeiture of his heav'n-granted lease,
He hath been active to molest the Peace
Of Christ-confiding Saints, and like a Lyon
Hath seiz'd on those who bear good will to Sion:
Amongst the wheat, he sows seditious tares;
And setteth men together by the ears.
Nay more unnatural then that, one brother
He instigates to persecute another:
VVitness nefandous Cain, whose brothers bloud
To heaven for vengeance cry'd, and cry'd aloud:
Did not curs'd Ham his naked Father mock,
(A graceless branch, sprung from a righteous stock.)

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Did not the Sodomites deride Just Lot?
And spurious Ishm'el Isaac, did he not?
Jacob rough Esau hates; young Joseph's sold
To Ishma'itish Merchants; and behold
Oppressed Isr'el, how their shoulder grones
Beneath their massy loads, hard hearted ones!
And must the new-born Males be stifled by
The Mid-wives? O unheard-of cruelty!
And if these fail, may they not live a while?
No; drown'd they must be in septemfluous Nile.
Breast-hardned Phar'oh, what did Moses do
VVorthy thy wrath? and may not Isr'el go
From thy enslaving hands, but bear the print
Thy scourges leave? O heart wall'd round with flint!
Years not a few the Isra'lites were drudges
Unto th' Idolatrous and self-law'd Judges;
Compel'd to leave their homes, and hide themselves
In dens and caves, from persecuting Elves:
And when Gods bounty fertiliz'd their land,
All was destroyed by the Midian band:
The Philistins thirty four thousand slay
Of them, and carryed Gods Ark away;
A Smith in Israel could not be found
To fit their instruments to till the ground,
The land was so enslav'd; they rather chose,
Then starve, to be beholding to their foes.
VVith his keen javelin, spirit-haunted Saul
Assay'd to stick up David 'gainst the wall.
Prophetick David, with a patient ear,
Did Shimei's railing accusations bear.
Egyptian Shishak prov'd Jerus'lems rod,
And took the treasures from the house of God.
And (which is strange) good Asa's spirit risen
Against Gods Prophet, casts him into prison.

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Ahab hates Micah. In Jehosaphat
His reign, the Church of God was stormed at.
Elijah, was despis'd by Jezabel,
By whom so many holy Prophets fell.
Elisha suffers; in Jehorams reign
Judah's oppress'd. Good Zechariah's slain
By Joash, for's reproof. Israel's King
Thousands of Judah slew, did thousands bring
Into captivity. Poor Judah pines
By th' Edomites, Assyrians, Philistines.
The Prophet Esay by Manasses Law,
Was sawn in sunder with a wooden saw.
And Jeremiah after slandrous mocks,
VVas beaten sore, and put into the stocks.
Then was he (liberty deny'd him) flung
Into the myry dungeon, where he clung;
At last drag'd thence, into th' Egyptian land
He needs must go, the Captains him command:
And his Thren-odes those pious Elegies,
Lament the falling Churches miseries.
Nebuchadnezzar in a rage doth throw
Shadrach, and Meshech, and Abednego
Into the furnace hot: By wicked men
Daniel is cast into the Lyons Den.
Proud Haman persecutes poor Mordecay,
And a decree procures, that in one day
Gods people should be killed murth'rously.
The Jews returning from captivity,
Judah's disturb'd and opposition's found
When they would raise Gods Temple from the ground:
Build it they do: though men and devils conjoyne
They'r Powers, they cannot frustrate Gods designe.

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SECT. II. The Persecution of the Church from Nehemiah to Antiochus his time; and also under Antiochus Epiphanes, before the nativity of Christ, about 168 years.

Antiochus Epiphanes did go
Unto Jerusalem: nor friend nor foe
Escap'd his fury; he the Temple spoil'd
Of all her Ornaments, and it defil'd:

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Yea, he inhibited the godly Jews
Those daily sacrifices they did use;
And having made their goodly structures void,
He led some captive, many he destroy'd,
Forc'd others to forsake God, and adore
Those Idols he himself fell down before:
But they that minded not his menacings,
VVere whip'd and maim'd, had cruel torturings;
Some crucifi'd; they hang'd the female sex,
And hung young Children at their parents necks.
VVhat books of Sacred VVrit they found, the same
VVere cast into the all-devouring flame.
Upon a Sabbath day these merc'less slaves
Did stifle thousands hid in unclos'd caves.
And now Mathias pious and devout,
Led forth the Christians 'gainst this impious rout,
Destroy'd their Altars; Providence did bless
All his endeavours with defir'd success.
His sons, Mathias, Judas, and the rest
Did scowre their country, and their foes supprest.

SECT. III. The Martyrdom of the Maccabees, under the same Antiochus.

Onias acts with a religious care
His High-priests office, and may therefore fear
Degrading; nay, Antiochus is bent
To turn him out: the moving Argument
Drawn from the Justness of Onias cause,
Subjects Onias to th' Imperious Laws

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Of wilfull Tyranny, by whose compunction,
This good man leaves his Sacerdotal function,
For one that least deserved it; no other
Might take it up, but his false-hearted brother:
VVho now but Jason! Jason is the man
Must drive on the design; Jason began
To force the people to renounce the true
And old Religion, to embrace a new;
T'abjure their Temples, to extruct them baths:
To quit their beaten and accustom'd pathes,
For prosecution of more choice delights,
And abrogate their ceremonial Rites;
To drink in Greekish customes, and betimes
Train up their striplings to unlawful crimes.
But mark th' event, a sin-provoked God
Doth flame in fury, making them a rod
(Whose Laws were studiously observ'd,) to scourge
Those Mimick emulators, who would urge
So good a God; their friends become their foes,
T'inflict on them innumerable woes.
For an edict is forthwith by the King
Set forth, and sealed with his Royal Ring;
The sence is this, Whoever of the Jews,
Or Hierosolymitanes, refuse
To offer up a Sacrifice unto
The gods, he without any more ado
(Besides those beatings he was like to feel)
Should have his members Racked on a wheel.
Antiochus perceiving this Edict
VVas little prevalent, although so strict,
So rigorous, but that a many chose
Rather to die, then their Religion lose;
He took th' advantage of an em'nent place,
And summoning the Jews, his graceless Grace

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Caus'd sacrific'd swines flesh be given about
To ev'ry man. Amongst the mixed rout
Stood Eleazar honor'd for his age,
Reverend, Pious, Vertuous and sage,
In whom the graces all in one combin'd;
Indeed he had an heaven-enamel'd mind:
To whom Antiochus doth break the chains
Of silence thus: Old man, avoid those pains
VVait on the obstinate, for once b'advis'd
By me, and eat what here is sacrific'd:
Cherish thy rev'rend age, and do not scorne
The benefit of life: what though th' art born
A Jew? yet eat: no wise man will refuse
That meat which nature hath ordain'd for use:
VVhy should this beast be more abominable
Then other beasts? canst tell? sure th' art not able:
VVhy was it made, if not to be injoy'd?
And gifts unus'd, what are those gifts but voy'd?
Admit your Laws are just, yet may coaction
Excuse thee; 'tis no voluntary action.
To whom this Nestor (whose undaunted brest
VVas flam'd with zeal) an answer thus exprest:

We, O Antiochus, love not vain shows
But true Religion; nor Racks, nor blows,
Nor brest all gor'd with darts, hands worn with chains,
Nor ease exchanged for a thousand pains;
Famine nor sword, nor all, should make us smother
Our lov'd Religion, to embrace another:
Know then Proud King, I nothing weigh thy threats,
As to profane my lips with profane meats:
I'le joy to suffer for a righteous cause,
Rather then violate those Heav'n-made Laws:
'Tis but a death at most, if I fulfil not
Thy will; and disobey my God I will not:

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Urge me no more, for do it I will never;
This I resolve, and will herein persever.
Expose me to the ravenous Lyons paw,
Yet I'le not make a rupture in the Law;
Rip up my Entrails, do; and when that's done,
Fling, fling m'into an hate-light Dungeon:
Pluck out these eyes with Pinsers; let the flame
Burn me to cinders, I'll be still the same.
Think not that I'll recant because I'm old
And feeble no; torments shall make me bold:
I am content to suffer for my God,
And patiently sustain his chastning rod:
The zeal I bear is not a zeal that founds
It's happiness on such unstable grounds,
As once to move me or to make me totter;
No, Tyrant, were thy fury ten times hotter.
I'le laugh death in the face, when I lay down
This life, to take up an immortal Crown.
Blest I shall be, although by thee accurst;
Tyrant I challenge thee, do, do thy worst.
With that the soldiers hale him to the place
Of torment, strip him, whip him, and do lace
His back with stripes, till bloody streams out-gush,
And in the face of the tormentor blush:
While he was under the afflicter's hand,
One stood, and cry'd, Obey the Kings command:
But patiently this worthy man endur'd
A world of wounds, too dang'rous to be cur'd:
And darting up his venerable eyes,
He knew for whom he was a sacrifice;
In whom he did believe: then casts a look
On his afflicted self, and sees a brook,
A bubbling brook, with uncontrouled tides,
Crimson their passage from his mangled sides:

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And when his sufferance over-flow'd the banks
Of torment, he admir'd, gave God the thanks.
They loathsome liquor int' his nostrils pouring,
Did then commit him to the flames devouring:
Yet when his nat'ral life began to fail
And his approaching death would take no bail;
Having his wafting eyes on Heaven laid,
His dying breath breath'd forth these words, & said,
Thou O my God art he who bringest down
To th' grave, giv'st life, and with that life a Crown;
Behold (dear Lord) I'm swallow'd by deaths jaws,
For the strict keeping of thine own-made Laws.
Sweet Father hear me; O be pleas'd to keep
Thy bosome-Nation, suffer not thy Sheep,
To be devour'd by Wolves, that are too bold
To worry them, or scare them from their fold:
O let my death conclude all miserie,
And grant in dying I may live to thee.
Now I am found in thee, can I be lost?
He ceas'd, and ceasing yeilded up the Ghost.

The Kings displeasure waxing now more strong,
Sent for sev'n Hebrew children, who being young,
He thought them weak, unable pains to bear,
He therefore either by entreats, or fear,
Presum'd he should induce them to abjure
Their Law, and eat what by their Law's impure.
The crafty Tyrant ambushing his guile,
Beholdeth them with a dissembling smile,
And thus reveal'd himself: Admir'd young men,
I wish your good, O do not madly then
Shun my Behests; prevent the torments due
Unto the refractory, not to you;
As for my part, I desire nothing more
Then to advance you, and increase your store:

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Contemn your superstitious vanities,
And come along our tracts, if you be wise:
Tis no such crime if you your Law fulfil not.
If you neglect ours (as I hope you will not)
With ling'ring deaths I'll study to torment you;
You may it may be then too late repent you.
Am I a King? and shall contempt accrue
To me a King, from such low worms as you?
Bring forth those Wheels Rods, Cauldrons, Hooks & Racks,
Grid-irons, Cages; here's not all, here lacks;
Let's see the Engines to torment the hands,
Gauntlets, Auls, Bellowes, Brass-pots, Frying-pans.
Obey, young men; if I enforce a fact
Not good, 'tis not your voluntary act,
You do not sin; be prudent then, I say,
Not actively but passively obey.

The zeal-inflam'd young men do vilify
His threats, intreats, retorting this reply,
Speak Tyrant, say, say, why art thou so bent
To persecute us that are innocent?
We will observe, for all afflictions rod,
What Moses taught us from the mouth of God;
Know, we detest your sense-deluding shows,
Nor will we be seduc'd by words or blows:
No Tyrant, no, do thou the best you can
To do thy worst, we will fear God, not man:
Our cause is God's, and death is our desire;
Heaven is our portion, yours eternal fire.
Th' enraged Tyrant after one another
Lop'd off these hopeful sprouts: the eldest brother,
Named Macehabous, first was stretched out
Upon a Rack, and beaten round about
His naked ribs, with a Bulls-pizle, till
His wearyed tormentors had their fill

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Of long continued strokes, and did desire
Rather to leave, then he did them require:
Nor was this all; fresh tort'rers have extended
Him on a wheel, weights at his heels appended:
While yet his sinews and his entrails brake,
He call'd on God, then to the Tyrant spake:
Blood-guilty wretch, who labor'st to disthrone
Gods Majesty it self; know, I am one
Am for the cause of God a sufferer,
And no witch, nor inhuman murtherer.
When the afflicter with compassion sway'd,
Bid him submit unto the King, he said,
Accursed ministers of Tyranny,
Your wheels as yet, are not so sharp, that I
Should thereby be enforced to abjure
Heaven, wherein is my foundation sure.
See, tyrant, see how resolute I am;
Winde off my flesh with pinsers, do, and cram
Young Vultures with the bits before mine eyes:
Put, put me to the worst of cruelties:
Rost (if you please) by a soft fire my flesh,
And if that will not serve, invent a fresh:
Inflict, inflict, till there cannot be found
A place, whereon t'inflict another wound.
So said, thus rack'd, into a fire he's thrown,
And now his wasting bowels stared on
The Tyrants face; yet with an unmov'd brest
He to his brethren thus himself exprest:

Beloved brethren, learn by my example
To scorn the worlds alluring baits, and trample
All torments under foot; obey God rather
Then this proud Tyrant: God's a gracious father;
And when him pleases, with a smile or frown,
Can raise the humble, strike the lofty down.

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This torment's not enough to end his pain,
For he is snatch'd out of the fire and flame
Alive; his tongue was plucked out and then
His life he ended in a frying pan:
And now his soul enjoy'd what he desir'd,
His friends rejoyced, and his foes admir'd.

Then was the second brother, Aber call'd,
Who with the tort'ring Engines unappal'd,
Refus'd to eat, chains did his hands restrain:
His skin (the garment of his flesh) was flain
From head to knees; the tort'rer did devest
His intrails peeping from his unglaz'd brest,
Too grievous to behold; and him at last
Unto a famine-pined Leopard cast:
The beast (though truculent) did onely smell,
And went her way, forgetting to be fell,
Nor was sh' injurious to him in the least.
The Kings displeasure but the more increas'd,
And Aber grown more constant by his pain,
Thus, thus his dying voice did loudly strain:
How sweet! How pleasant is this death to me!
Yea 'tis most welcome, for I'm sure to be
Rewarded by my God; the cross I bear
On earth, in heav'n a glorious Crown to wear;
I thank my God, that I am more content
To suffer, Tyrant, then thou to torment.
And yet is not this misery of mine
In suff'ring, so exorbitant as thine
Is by inflicting; keeping of the Laws
Thus aggravates my pains, and thou the cause
Shalt by the justice of the Holy One
Be banished from thy usurped throne,
And be reserved for those horrid chains
Of utter darkness, and eternal pains.

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He said no more; his soul forsook his brest,
To take possession of aye-lasting rest.

Judas is next, whom neither menacing
Nor flattries, could induce t'obey the King:
Your fire (said he) shall me attract more near
Gods holy Law, and to my brethren dear:
I tell thee Tyrant, thou shalt be acurs'd,
And true believers blest: thou that art nurs'd
By cruelty it self: I bid thee try me,
And see if God will not also stand by me.
Hereat the Tyrant in a hot displeasure
Hastily left his chair t'afflict by leasure;
He charg'd his tongue to be cut out, in brief;
T'whom Judas thus; Our God is not so deaf
As you imagine; his attentive ear
Hears the dumb language of his servants pray'r:

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He hears the heart, not voice; our thoughts he sees
A distance off; distongue me if you please:
Divide me limb from limb, do Tyrant, do,
But know, thou shalt not long scape Scot-free so.
He's tongueless, and with ropes ends beaten sore,
Which he with much admired patience bore:
At last upon the Rack his life was spent,
And to his brethren (gone before) he went.

Now the sixth brother Areth must be try'd,
Honour and dolour's put unto his choice;
But grieving at it, with a constant voice
He shot forth this reply: I weigh not either;
As we like brethren liv'd, wee'll die together

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In Gods fear; and the time which in exhorting
Thou hast a mind to spend, spend in extorquing,
His down-ward head unto a pillar ty'd,
Antiochus rosts him by a soft fires side;
And that the heat might enter to the quick,
And multiply his paines, sharp Auls must prick
His tender flesh; about his face and head
Much blood like froth appear'd; yet thus he said,
O Noble fight! O honourable warre!
Glad grief! O pious! and O impious jarre!
My bretheren are gone, and I ally'd
To them in blood, would not that death divide
Our love-united souls: invent, invent
More horrid pains, indeavour to torment
This flesh with greater torments; study, study
New wayes t'afflict me, more severe, more bloody:
I thank my God, these are o'recome already;
Let thousands worser come, I will be steady.
We young men have bin conqu'rours of thy power;
Thy fire is cold, nor can thy rage devour
Our faith-fenc'd souls; we have a greater joying
In suffering, then thou hast in destroying:
As God is just, so will he right our wrongs.
These words scarce out, a pair of heated tongs
Eradicate his tongue; then being cast
Into the Frying-pan, he breath'd his last.

And now the youngest brother's onely left,
Jacob; who coming forth, compassion cleft
The Tyrants heart, who took aside the child
By th' hand and spake, and as he spake, he smil'd:
Thy bretheren may teach thee to expect
The worst of ills, if thou my will neglect:
Thou shalt, if thou wilt of thy self be free,
A Ruler, Gen'ral, and my Counc'ller be.

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This not prevail'd, he thus the mother dons;
O worthy woman, where are now thy sons?
Yet thou hast one, turn him, lest thou be reft
Of him likewise, and so be childless left.
The mother bowing to the king, bespake
Her child in Hebrew; Pity, for Christ's sake,
And chear thy woful mother: O despise
These pains, and be a willing sacrifice,
As were thy bretheren; that in the day
Of grace, in heaven receive you all I may.
Unbound, he forthwith to the torments ran,
And with a serene countenance began;
Blood-wasting wretch, what dost thou but adde fuel,
To make hell hotter, by persisting cruel?
Worm that thou art, who crown'd thee? who gave thee
Those Purple robes thou wearest? was't not be
Whom thou in us dost persecute? but die
Thou must at last, for all thou perk'st so high:
I crave no favour at thy hands, but will
Follow my brethren, and be constant still.
Torments ensue: through mouth and nose he bled;
His mothers kinde hand held his fainting head:
His arms cut off, Lord take my soul, he cry'd;
Distongu'd, he ran into the fire, and dy'd.
Now Salomona (all her children dead)
Enflam'd with zeal, came to be Martyred;
Herein excell'd them all, in that sh' endur'd
Sev'n painful deaths, before her own's procur'd,
She tearless could abide to see them spurn'd,
And rack'd, and torn, and beat, and flaid, and burn'd:
And kowing well, death cutteth off our dayes
By Fluxes, Agues, and a thousand wayes;
That pains were momentary, she exhorted
Them thus in Hebrew, ere they were extorted:

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Most choyce fruits of my womb, let's hasten hence,
And fear not, heaven will be our recompence:
Shall's bear what Eleazar undergon?
You know good Abram sacrific'd his son:
Remember Daniel, in the Lyons den;
And cast your eyes on the three childeren.
The restless Tyrant caus'd her to be stripp'd,
Then hang'd up by the hands, and soundly whipp'd,
Her paps pull'd off: she while her body fryes,
Lifts up her hands and eyes, and prayes, and dyes.

SECT. IV. The Persecution of the Church from Christs time to our present age; and first of those mentioned in the New-Testament.

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