The Tragical Death of David Beaton, Title page – To the reader
The Tragical death of Dauid Beatō Bishoppe of sainct Andrewes in Scotland. Wherunto is ioyned the martyrdom of maister George Wyseharte gentleman, for whose sake the aforesayed bishoppe was not longe after slayne. Wherein thou maist learne what a burnynge charitie they shewed not only towardes him: but vntounto al suche as come to their hā des for the blessed Gospels sake.
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❧ Roberte Burrant to the reader.
ATtendauntly consyderyng (most benigne reader) the effecte of thys Tragicall wrytte, suche was the tendernes of myne affection, that I could do no lesse then the same, wyth suche knowledge as in me lyeth, make manifeste to all mennes vnderstandynges, to the good exemple, and no lesse profit of all creatures, & especially of those whō God hath of his secrete motion, frely called to the administration of his spiritual gyftes. Wherein I do moste chiefly note the secrete iudgemente of God, The secret iudgement of God executed in all ages.whiche hath not onelyonly bene nowe declared by the moste wretched slaughter of thys member of Antichriste, but also heretofore in all tymes and ages euen frō the first creation of mā, to this presēt time of our sensible vnderstandynge of this exēple & many others chaūceinge to lyke effecte.
For after that God had made God fyrste entred into iudgement with Adam.Adam in his perfection and associated hym wt a cōpanion for his comforte: He gaue vntounto him incō tinētly certeyne preceptes, which he commaunded moste diligently to be obserued, that is, to vse all his heauēly giftes cōteined within Paradise to his most delectation, sauynge one pore seely tree, which he had reserued to his godly pleasure.
But this obliuious minister Adam, hauynge more respecte to the flattering tonge of Eua, who had receyued a corrupt doctrine of the serpent, and wyth lyght persuasion inkenled in his herte wyth the pestilent flame of vayne glorie, in that he thoughte to atteyne to the estimation to knowe boeth good and euyl, and so be made equal in knoweledge wyth God, was by iust and secrete iudgemēt of God depriued of his administration, ex pulsed out of Paradise, and made a slaue and vile bondmā to death and synne. Notwithstandyng the wrath of God dyd not so farre entre into iudgemente wyth Adam, that he dyd vtterly forsake hym, but yet once more made him a ministre vponupon the earth, & gaue hym Ciuile power geue to Adam in earth.ciuile power to rule all his creatures therin, & to constitute other rulers vnderunder hym. By the whiche authoritie Adam dyd substitute Cain his elder sonne & Abell his brother lyke ciuile officers vntounto God. But Cain beinge a spiteful Cain an enuious and couetous minister.and enuious minister, wyllynge his owne prefermente, boastynge his hypocritical deedes, iudgynge euyll of his brothers conscience, misusyng his function, vnsaylled in his administration, vnderstandynge not his vocation: yea couetyng hym selfe only to be in office, and his vnpure sacrifice to seme moste beste, beganne moste tyrannously to persecute his brother & at the laste slewe hym to the high displeasure of god: whereupon almightie god procedynge into definite sentence of his moste secrete The iudgemēt of god agaynste Cain and al his issue.iudgement wyth Cain, gaue hym vp into lyke death, and all his posteritie linially descendynge from hym was consumed in the floude of Noe. In the whiche floude is in lyke case to be noted the greate Ire and wrath of god agaynste the vniuersall worlde, for that The iudgemēt of god agaynste the whole worlde,they contempned hym. For theyr adulterie and tyrannte, wherein they moste abhominably dyd vse all kynde of fylthie and viciouse lyuynge. For the texte sayeth. The sonnes of the godlie beganne to wexe tyrannes vponupon the earth.
❧ After thys stoude, the seede of man beinge multiplyed agayne, to some numbre, among the Chaldeis The iustice of God agaynst the Chaldeis.they beganne to buylde a citie, and a stronge towre, and called it Babylon, whereby they thoughte in theyr folyshe cogitations to prostrate vntounto theyr obeysaunce the vniuersall earth.
But God of hys diuine power forseynge theyr folyshe thoughtes, and wycked Imaginations, preuented them, and ministred vntounto them hys iustice, confoundynge theyr speaches, whereby theyr workes were lefte vnperfected, theyr councelles broken, theyr Kyngdome in processe made desolate, and ledde awaye captyue by the Assiriās, and so came to an vtter destructiō. And not without iuste cause dyd God precede wyth this wycked generation into iudgement, for by them arose the first The fyrste occasion of Idolatrie.occasion of Idolatrie. For when the godly amonge them, made sacrifice vntounto God, it so pleased God to kendle their sacrifice (whiche they had prepared) wyth fier from heauen. The vngodly folowinge theyr maner of sacrifice, brunte it in lyke fashion wyth fier, and so of their imaginations and dreames made a newe sacrifice vntounto God, wythout expresse cōmaundement of the word of God, or els hauyng any truste in the promise of Christes commynge. The same vengeaunce of God was not absent frō Kynge Pharao, who wyth obstinate Pharao.wyll and purpose abusynge the myght of his ciuile power, did most cruelly persecute the chyldrē of God. God loked vponupon the house of Israel, and among kinges there sate he in iudgemente, where he found Abimelech giltie of his brothers Abimelechdeath, and hym lefte not vnplaged for his offence. Into the same iudgement entred god wyth Saule, who for his malicious stomacke and stubburne hert against the electe of God, miserably perished, the ceptre and kyngly honor beinge taken awaye from his posteritie, yea, he laste of all rigned amonge his generation, and together Saule.wyth hym vtterly dyed his generation. And the kyngdome was deliuered into the handes of Dauid the annoynted of god. Although that Asa deserued muche cōmēdation, for that he abrogated Asa.the vayne & superstitious honouring of god in so much yt he spared not to punishe his owne naturall mother in this behalfe, for she also vsed a certeyne superstition in hir religion: yet escaped not he thys strayght iudgemēt of god, for that he had wroughte a certeyne conspiracie, & had set apart his truste and hope in god. Ioram comman̄ ded the Elders of the realme & his Jorambretherne to be slayne, and he was the authour of a newe Idolatrie, wherfore god for his iniquitie plaged hym, and gaue hym ouer into the handes of the Philistians, by whom he was slayne, his wife and chyldren ledde away prisoners, sauing his yongest sonne Dchosias. Ochosias.who folowynge the steppes of his father renewed false religiō, wherfore god extēded his Ire agaynste hym, & gaue hym ouer into destruction. Howbeit his mother Athalia Athaliawhen she sawe hir sonne dead, dreadynge leste some of his kynred would take vponupon him the crowne, she comaūded yt al, whiche remayned of the kinges bloud shoulde be slayne. And so by thys meanes the Salomons bloude destroyed.stocke & whole house of Salomon was extinguished for ye only cause of disobeyinge goddes word, for the maintenaūce of Idolatry, & despising true religiō. And Athalia hir Athalia slayne.selfe for hir tiranny & vsurpation cōtrary the wil of god escaped not vnauenged. For the high priest cō maūded hir to be slaine as an enemie to goddes trueth, and vnmete ministre in the house of the Lorde. Ioas was an holy mā, & loued wel to heare Ioiada preache the worde Ioasof god, as lōg as he lyued, but whē Ioiada was dead, he fel to Idolatry, & kylled the prophete zachary Ioiada sōne before the tēple. And for this, gods wil was yt he should be punished among the Sirians, and at the laste he was strangled among his owne seruaūtes. A story of like effecte we reade of kynge Amasias. This Amasias when he was fyrst chosen kynge, wholy disposed Amasiashym selfe to godly lyuinge, and elected to heare the prophetes preache, & for that cause god made hym fortunate agaynste the Idumers. But incontinuaunce he beganne to were proud against god, and beinge constrayned of no necessitie, to fulfyll his owne sensual appetite, he woulde nedes hauehave warre, wherein he was taken prisoner, and so died wretchedly. And as Ozias, otherwyse called Asarias Ozias alias Asariassucceded hym in administratiō of the kyngdom, so lyke wise he folowed hym in state and condition of lyuynge, for at the begynnynge he was vertuous and a fauourer of the worde of God, and had thorowe the healpe of god, a notable victory against the Philistians.
Afterwarde where as he woulde hauehave done sacrifice in the temple contrary the commaundement of god, he was striken wyth an horrible leprosie. I maye not in thys place forget Achas, who also ordeined Achas.false religion, and of a peruers studie & affection conceiued in superstitiō, he buylded chappels and aultares eueryevery where thorowout al his realme, but god espied hym, and gaue hym and all his realme into the spoyle of straungers. No parcial iudge was god who spared not his anger from his onelyonly chosen people, and the posteritie and ofsprynge of Abraham, to whom he made so greate and fayethfull promises: but iustly punished thē in the sixt yere of Ezechias, when the kyng of the Assirians conquered the citie of Samaria, and led awaye captiue the. x. tribes of Israell. For that they had instituted The. x. tribes of Israell.a peculiar and a straunge religion wythin thē selues, taught a newe doctrine, and made sacrifice contrary the decrees whiche god had geuen ouer them, abusynge themselues vnderunder the pretence of Goddes worde and name, to maynteyne and vpholde theyr priuate power and vsurped Kyngdome. What secrete iudgement God vsed wyth Manasse, howe ryghtuously he deite wyth hym, let your Manasseconsciences iudge. Wicked and ab horninable was his administration, for of a false & diabolicall zeale of holynes he burned his owne sō nes in steede of sacrifice vntounto the lorde, he persecuted the prophetes, and sawed Esaias the holy one in sunder. Yet being takē of his enemies, knowledgyng his detestable factes, god toke hym into fauour. Did not god abbreuiat and shortten the kyngdome of Amon, and gaue hym ouer into the handes of Amonhis owne seruauntes to be slayne, for his wycked administration before the Lord: Who would thinke that God would hauehave ben displeased wyth Iosias, which suppressed all false religion, pulled downe, Iosias.the chapples and Idolles, and cō maunded the bones of the false preachers to be burned, whō they had tofore misused for reliques: Yea, he restored the bokes of Moyses whiche had bene hydden away a longe tyme. That not wythstandynge, where as he thoughte that all thynges woulde frame well and luckely wyth hym, because he was so holte a man, because he dyd so many good deedes of charitie, he woulde needes fyghie wyth the Kynge of Egypte, who woulde gladly hauehave lyued in peace and requiryng the same at Iosias hand.
But Iosias presumynge vponupon his holynesse, and trustyng in his owne strengthe, was stroken to death in the same battayle. And althoughe these were sufficient to feare any christiās hert, willing to subdue his stubberne & to muche swellynge stomacke againste the wyll of the Lorde, yet I wyl briefly recite (so that ye shal not thinke it tedious) howe god dyd prostrate and vtterly destroye the persecutours of his faythfull people, and the stoute rebellions agaynste his worde in the reste of the age of the world, as I hetherto hauehave begon. Dyd not the pertinacy and stoute stomacke of Sedechias despisynge the godly preachyng of Hieremias Sedechiasmake god angry wyth hym and suffre him to be taken prisoner, his owne sonnes to be kylled afore his face, his eyes to be plucked out of his head, the parētes to eate theyr owne chyldren for hunger, the citie of Hierusalem to be destroyed, the tēple (whō he had cōmaunded to be buylded) consumed wyth fyer, the most chosen part of the people of Iuda brought into captiuitie of the Babilonians. God of his moste secrete iudgemēt stirred vp the hertes of the Medtans and Persians agaynst Balthasar, who Balthasarblasphemed the name of God, and abused the vesselles of the Lordes house (dedicated to his holy administration) in the Bankatyng… his concubines. And so throught this blasphemynge and stoute resistaunce of goddesholy wyll, the citie of Babilō was cōquired and the whole empire of the Chaldeis and Assirians made subiect to the rule of the Persians. I cannot omitte the tyrannicall and bloudy persecution of Aman the vicegerent to hynge Assuerus who thorowe Amoshis power and subtil ingine had obteyned a commission of the kynge to destroye Goddes people vnderunder the name of Iewes, wherby he was sure to hauehave ye godly quene Hester put to death. But god being, a present remedy to his electe rewarded Aman wyth the same gibbet or haulter, whiche he prepared for goddes people. Howe longe dyd god defer his iudgemēt from Antiochus, the very figure of Antichrist, who commaunded goddes holy word to be burned, he sore punished those christiās that woulde Antiochusnot beleue vponupon his fayth▪ He also prophaned the temple of god, for he set vp there an Idoll of the gentiles. Howbeit the anger of god fel vpō hym. For his stocke & ofspring dyd not onelyonly perishe vtterly, but the whole Empyre also was ouerturned and subiected to the Siri ans. And nowe to perfourme my promise that I in the begynnynge dyd make, that is, in fewe wordes to notice the most notable hie stories cōcernying ye persecutiō of the christians executed in all ages, let vsus come to the tyme of Christ. In the which the fyrst and most cruel persecutiō was of Herode agaynst Iohn Baptist. For at the shameles requeste of Herodiades his brothers Herodedoughter, who had wel pleased hym wyth hir friscalles & most lasciuious daunsing, he graunted hir by an othe, to fulfyl hir request what soeuer she would demaunde. where vponupon she asked the heade of saincte Iohn Baptiste. But to the greate and miserable rueth of the boeth. For they were banished out of theyr countrey and depriued of their princely honoure by Caius Caligula. An other of the same bloud, called likewise Herode, neuy to the aforesayed Herode, slewe the Herodeapostle S. Iames the elder, wherfore god shortned their kingdoms and roted them out as vnprofitable ministers vntounto hym, & brought their posteritie into vtter confusion, and that wythin a shorte tyme. And foras much as: it is o…ē to eueryevery mans syghte, and easie to their vnderstandynges what persecution the apoostles and messengers of God dyd suffre, and vnderunder whose tyrannie: I thynke it therfore sufficient to admonishe you, that for their death lykewyse God alwaies entred into iudgemente, and spared not to plage the world for their obstinate and wylful blindnesse in despisynge their doctrine, and kylled them whiche preached the true Messias to hauehave redemed all men frely from sinne, and is a sufficient sacrifice to appease Gods wrath.
❧But nowe if ye wyll vouchsafe wyth diligēt eye to peruse these aforesayed storyes, and cōferre them (wyth indifferente iudgemente) wyth the lyke exemples chaunced in oure tyme: ye shall fynde God to be no lesse myndefull of his seruauntes nowe adayes, no slowar auenger agaynst them that iniuriously shed tye vioude of his electe, no vniuster in entrynge into Iudgemente wyth them, that stoutly, & stubburnly refuse to admit his holy worde. Thys diligētly marcked, what neede I make any rehearsal of their names, places or tymes? And as yet dayly practise of the same commeth in vre. For fyrste consydre, howe iustlie God hath ouerthrowen that babilonious The Bishoppe of Romeharlotte, and our great enemie the bishop of Rome, Christes onelie deceyuer in earth. Yea and not onelie hy. n, but also as manie (be they neuer so secrete in their wycked thoughtes) as maynteyne his superstitious traditions, and dampnable heresies. Amonge whome I founde none to appeare so notable, as thys Dauid Beaton, that obstinate Sedechias, Dauid Beaton of Scotlandyt harde herted Pharao, that blasphemous Balthasar, yt bloude suckar Aman, that cruell murtherar of the nobles and elders of his realme Ioram, that detestable Idolater Achas, and the peruerse hinderar of gods worde Antioch. I know not who hath most cause to reioyse and prayse the Lorde of his deliueraunce, whether Scotlande for that they are deliuered frō his trayterous tyranny, or els England who founde hym an obstinate and proude enemy. But well I knowe that the papistes of iust cause muche lamēt & mourne, for they loste a ryght trustie speare of their chiualry. Muche good reporte I hearde of hym, by his familiars that he vsed to sweare but in trifles, and in weighti matters to blaspheme stoutly. Whose othe was moste cōmunely gods bloude as most semely for his estate. Many tymes & oftē curssed he Englād for their doctrine. He rayled at their counselles as vayne, and con dempned the clergie as heritickes, Al countreis louelove winchester.and not one bishop to be good, but onelyonly Winchester, and that was bounde wyth an holie daye othe. What neede I make farther rehersall of his abhominable factes & tragicall dedes, whē they be manifestly declared in thys litle treatise folowing. But for asmuche as the cause of his death is not to eueryevery mā apparāt: I thinke it necessary The cause of Beatons deaththerefore to put you in mynde, that the last day of Marche, in the yere of oure Lorde. M. D. xlvi. he moste cruelly put to death in his castle of sainct Andrewes, the mā of god maister George wysehart a man descendyng of a noble house, for that he truly and sincerely preached George Wysehartthe word of god to the simple and ignoraūt people. But god (as it is manifestly afore declared) neuer leauing the bloude of his elece vnauenged, thorowe his secrete motion, he moued the hertes of cer teine gentlemen in Scotlande, to conspire the death of this tyranne & the oppressour of his people. So that ther by diuine policie intung the castle, & garded with the faithful hope of a good intēt to acquite their countrey of an intollerable burthen of tyranny & trayterous Dauid Beaton slaynerebellion, fynding al waies opē to their pretēsed purpose: slewe thys Antichrist lurkynge in his dungion the last day of May in the yere aforesayed. So that it may be wel verified in hym. He that stryketh with the sworde, shal perishe with the sworde. Therefore I woulde wishe that al those whiche are called to the administration of commune weales and also to the office and dignitie of Elders in the congregation woulde wyth moste circumspecte diligence marcke these forsayed stories and late exemples, and dayly sette them before theyr eyes as appoynted tokens by God, Lucifer.to auoyed lyke daungers, whyche assuredly are promised by the word of God to al them that striue so obstinately and wilfully agaynst his holy wyll. And as Lucifer could no longar be permitted to occupy the estate of an angel in heauen, when that he fel into obstinate and arrogant contention with God: lykewyse can no ministre of Christes here in earth (accordyng to his vndoubted promises longer obteyne a rule among his electe, then that the same ministre be subiected and obedient to Goddes ordinaunce, and wyllynglie doeth fulfyll the same, appliyng al his administration to the glorie of God, to the encrease of his faith amōg his people, & so necessaryly to the profit of the commune weale. And to suche a minister the scriptures do vouchsafe to attribute double honoure boeth for the worthinesse of his office, and also for his spirituall and Godlie councel. And beside al this Christe hath faythfully promised to glorifie hym amonge his sainctes, for that he in earth glorified his father whiche is in heauen.
Wyth whō the same Christ graunte all vsus to reste in lyke glorie.
Amen.
Here foloweth the Tragedy of the late moste reuerende father Dauid, by the merciemercy of God Cardinall and archbishoppe of sainct Andrewes. And of the whole realme of Scotland primate, Legate and Chaunceler, administrator of the bishopriche of Merapois in Fraunce, and cōmendator perpetuall of the Abbay of Aberbrothoke, compiled by sir Dauid Lyndsaye of the mounte knyghte. Alias Lione, kyng of armes.
❧ Anno. M. D. xlvi. Ultimo Maii.
¶ The wordes of Dauid Beaton the Cardinall aforesaied at his death.
Alas alas, slaye me not, I am a Priest.
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