404 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. " sermon, I was, as I understand, conceived by some, not " only to cast aspersions upon the present state of our " church, and some principal members and parts thereof, " thereby to bring it and them into scandal and dislike; but " even, under some ambiguous words, to move to take up " arms for redress, although by recalling and restraining " the same in terms afterwards, and saying thus Let us " pray these men either to conversion, if it be the will of " God, or to destruction, calling them crafty Ahithophels.' " I do here acknowledge and profess I had no such inten- " tions. Neither do I know any cause why myself or any " other, should so bitterly inveigh against any in our " church. I am, therefore, heartily sorry that I gave cause " to any of the hearers to conceive so; and humbly crave " pardon for it."* Mr. Bernard was required to make this vile and degrad- ing recantation publicly before the congregation where he had delivered the sermon ; but he absolutely refused. He could not sacrifice the testimonyof a good conscience, deny the most glaring matters of fact, and reject the counsel of God against himself. Though in his numerous letters and petitions to Bishop Laud, he professed his sincere sorrow and repentance for any oversightsand unbecoming expres- sions in his sermon, he could obtain no relief. He must either recant according to the above contemptible form, and thus degrade himself below the brutes, or be ruined. He was therefore detained in New Prison; where, after languishing a long time, he died.+ When the Lord maketh inquisition for blood, the blood of this righteous and faithful servant of Christ will assuredly be found ; but lamentable will be the case of that man in whose skirts it shall be found. There was another minister of the same name, who lived at the same time, andwas afterwards a considerable sufferer in the civil wars. This person was exceedingly zealous in the royal cause, and author of a sermon entitled " A Looking-glass for Rebellion, preached before the Parlia- ment at Oxford," 1644. as Prynne's Canterburies Doome,p. 365-267.-Rushworth's Collections vol. ii. p. 140-142. Prynne's Cant Dooms, p. 367.-Fulkr's Hist. of Comb. p. 167.
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