Lessons of Caution to Young Sinners, Declaration
The Declaration, DYING Warnings and Advice OF Rebekah Chamblit, A Young Woman aged near Twenty-ſeven Years, Executed at Boſton, September 27th. 1733.
BEING under the awful Apprehenſions of my Execution now in a few Hours; and being deſirous to do all the Good I can, before I enter the Eternal World, I now in the fear of GOD, give this Declaration and Warning to the Living.
I Was very tenderly brought up, and well Inſtructed in my Father's Houſe, till I was Twelve Years of Age; but alaſs, my Childhood wore off in vanity. However, as I grew in Years, my Youth was under very ſenſible Impreſſions from the SPIRIT of GOD; and I was awakened to ſeek and obtain Baptiſm, when I was about Sixteen Years of Age; and lived for ſome time with a ſtrictneſs ſomewhat anſwerable to the Obligations I was thereby brought under. But within two or three Years after this, I was led away into the Sin of Uncleanneſs, from which time I think I may date my Ruin for this World. After this, I became again more watchful, and for ſeveral Years kept my ſelf from the like Pollutions, until thoſe for which I am now to ſuffer.
And as it may be neceſſary, ſo doubtleſs it will be expected of me, that I give the World a particular account of that great Sin, with the aggravations of it, which has brought me to this Shameful Death: And accordingly in the fear of GOD, at whoſe awful Tribunal I am immediately to appear, I ſolemnly declare as follows;
That on Saturday the Fifth Day of May laſt, being then ſomething more than Eight Months gone with Child, as I was about my Houſhold Buſineſs reaching ſome Sand from out of a large Cask, I received conſiderable hurt, which put me into great Pain, and ſo I continued till the Tueſday following; in all which time I am not ſenſible I felt any Life or Motion in the Child within me; when, on the ſaid Tueſday the Eighth Day of May, I was Deliver'd when alone of a Male Infant; in whom I did not perceive Life; but ſtill uncertain of Life in it, I threw it into the Vault about two or three Minutes after it was born; uncertain I ſay, whether it was a living or dead Child; tho', I confeſs its probable there was Life in it, and ſome Circumſtances ſeem to confirm it. I therefore own the Juſtice of GOD and Man in my Condemnation, and take Shame to my ſelf, as I have none but my ſelf to Blame; and am ſorry for any raſh Expreſſions I have at any time uttered ſince my Condemnation; and I am verily perſwaded there is no Place in the World, where there is a more ſtrict regard to Juſtice than in this Province.
And now as a Soul going into Eternity, I moſt earneſtly and ſolemnly Warn all Perſons, particularly YOUNG PEOPLE, and more eſpecially thoſe of my own Sex, againſt the Sins which their Age peculiarly expoſes them to; and as the Sin of Uncleanneſs has brought me into theſe diſtreſſing Circumſtances, I would with the greateſt Importunity Caution and Warn againſt it, being perſwaded of the abounding of that Sin in this Town and Land. I thought my ſelf as ſecure, a little more than a Year ago, as many of you now do; but by woful Experience I have found, that Luſt when it has conceived bringeth forth Sin, and Sin when it is finiſhed bringeth forth Death; it expoſes the Soul not only to Temporal, but to Eternal Death. And therefore as a Dying Perſon, let me call upon you to forſake the fooliſh and live: Do not accompany with thoſe you know to be ſuch, and if Sinners entice you do not conſent. I am ſenſible there are many Houſes in this Town, that may be called Houſes of Uncleanneſs, and Places of dreadful Temptations to this and all other Sins. O ſhun them, for they lead down to the Chambers of Death and Eternal Miſery.
My miſpending of precious Sabbaths, lies as a heavy burden upon me; that when I might have gone to the Houſe of GOD, I have been …different, and ſuffer'd a ſmall matter to keep me from it. What would I wow give, had I better improv'd the Lord's Day. I tell you, verily, your loſt Sabbaths will ſit heavy upon you, when you come into the near proſpect of Death and Eternity.
The Sin of Lying I have to bewail, and wou'd earneſtly caution againſt; not that I have took ſo great a pleaſure in Lying; but I have often done ſo to conceal my Sin: Certainly you had better ſuffer Shame and Diſgrace, yea the greateſt Puniſhment, than to hide and conceal your Sin, by Lying. How much better had it been for me, to have confeſs'd my Sin, than by hiding of it to provoke a holy GOD, thus to ſuffer it to find me out! But I hope I heartily deſire to bleſs GOD, that even in this way, He is thus entring into Judgment with me; for I have often thought, had I been let alone to go on undiſcovered in my Sins, I might have provok'd Him to leave me to a courſe of Rebellion, that would have ripen'd me for a more ſudden and everlaſting Deſtruction; and am fully convinc'd of this, that I ſhould have had no ſolid eaſe or quiet in my mind, but the Guilt of this undiſcover'd Sin lying upon my Conſcience, would have been a tormenting Rack unto me all my Days; whereas now I hope GOD has diſcover'd to me in ſome meaſure the evil of this, and all my other Sins, and enabled me to repent of them in Duſt and Aſhes; and made me earneſtly deſire and plead with Him for pardon and cleanſing in the precious Blood of the REDEEMER of loſt and periſhing Sinners: And I think I can ſay, I have had more comfort and ſatisfaction within the Walls of this Priſon, than ever I had in the ways of Sin among my vain Companions, and think I wou'd not for a World, nay for ten Thouſand Worlds have my liberty in Sin again, and be in the ſame Condition I was in before I came into this Place.
I had the advantage of living in ſeveral religious Families: but alaſs, I diſregarded the Inſtructions and Warnings I there had, which is now a bitterneſs to me; and ſo it will be to thoſe of you who are thus favoured, but go on unmindful of GOD, and deaf to all the Reproofs and Admonitions that are given you for the good of your Souls. And I would adviſe thoſe of my own Sex eſpecially, to chuſe to go into religious Families, where the Worſhip and Fear of GOD is maintained, and ſubmit your ſelves to the Orders and Government of them.
In my younger Years I maintain'd a conſtant courſe of Secret Prayer for ſome time; but afterwards neglecting the ſame, I found by experience, that upon my thus leaving GOD, He was provoked to forſake me, and at length ſuffer'd me to fall into that great and complicated Sin that has … this Death: Mind me, I firſt left GOD, and then he left me: I therefore ſolemnly call upon YOUNG PEOPLE to cheriſh the Convictions of GOD's Holy SPIRIT, and be ſure keep up a conſtant courſe of fervent Secret Prayer.
And now I am juſt entring into the Eternal World, I do in the fear of GOD, and before Witneſſes, call upon our YOUNG PEOPLE in particular, to ſecure an Intereſt in the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and in thoſe precious Benefits He has purchaſed for His People; for ſurely the favour of GOD, thro' CHRIST, is more worth than a whole World: And O what Comfort will this yield you when you come to that awful Day and Hour I am now arriving unto. I muſt tell you, the World appears to me vain and empty, nothing like what it did in my paſt Life, my Days of Sin and Vanity, and as doubtleſs it appears now to you. Will you be perſwaded by me to that which will yield you the beſt Satisfaction and Pleaſure here, and which will prepare you for the more abundant Pleaſures of GOD's Right Hand for evermore?
Rebekah Chamblit. Boſton, Septemb. 26th. 1733.
The above Declaration &c. at the deſire of the ſaid Priſoner was for the Subſtance thereof taken from her own mouth, and carefully drawn up as near as poſſible in her own words, by me,
Samuel Kneeland, Printer.
N. B. In the Preſence of many Witneſſes ſhe Acknowleg'd and Sign'd it, with an expreſs and ſolemn deſire that it might be Publiſh'd to the World.
FINIS.
End of the text · Thomas Foxcroft, Lessons of Caution to Young Sinners (1733)