ENGLANDS REMEMBRANCER
OF THE
Day of her Visitation, and of the Woes
Near to be revealed, except She Repent.
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OH England, England, long hath been thy day,
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Great Signs and wonders God hath wrought in thee:
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Thy Visitation it will wear away,
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And then great Woes thou suddenly shalt see.
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God sundry ways hath sought thee to return,
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In peace and plenty he did to thee call;
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But thou wast proud, against him thou didst spurn,
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Yea thou wast vain, and so begun thy fall,
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To beat, imprison, and to persecute,
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Making strange Laws against Gods Innocent;
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With rage and fury thou didst prosecute
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Them, on all such as calld thee to repent.
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The lives of many of Gods servants have
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In stinking holes and prisons wore away:
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Yea prison bonds have brought them to their grave,
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So that they might not live another day.
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But know thou this, though we in secret die,
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And thou in holes our bodies dost destroy;
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Our blood aloud unto the Lord will cry,
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And bring such Plagues as shall thee sore annoy.
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Can ye not see what all your rage hath wrought,
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Your Persecutions and your Banishment?
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They have Gods Judgments much upon you brought,
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Though ye regard not what the Lord hath sent.
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Ye in your sins do but the harder grow,
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And wickedness doth more and more increase;
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[?] persecute will be your overthrow,
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Unless from that great wickedness ye cease.
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Repent and turn, come sit in dust and ashes;
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Oh weep and mourn, bewail your time mis-spent:
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Return and mend, while God gives gentle lashes,
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Or else his wrath shall you in shivers rent.
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Like to the potsherds of the earth, ye shall
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Be broke in pieces by his angry stroke:
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For he in fury will upon you fall,
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If that by sin ye do him still provoke:
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Ye grow so bad theres little hopes of ye;
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I would be silent and no more would say,
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And if I might I would in secret be,
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To wait on God, and pass my time away,
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Untill that day in which Gods Judgments shall
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Break peoples hearts, lay low the haughty mind;
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Bring tenderness to hearken to Gods call,
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In which the poor shall peace and comfort find.
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But yet again I must to England cry,
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And one more warning unto London give:
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O England, turn from thine iniquity;
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Repent O London, that thou yet mayst live.
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O English Nation hasten, Oh make hast
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To do the things that are both good and just;
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Or else Gods Judgments will soon make thee wast,
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And lay thy strength and honour in the dust.
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Unless thou turn, and do thy sins forsake;
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Unless thou do thy persecution cease;
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Unless for conscience thou indulgence make,
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Great woes on thee will yet again increase,
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Unless that good men shall have liberty,
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Unless thy penal Laws be done away;
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Unless thou cease from bloody cruelty.
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[I] must thee tell, that God will bring a day
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Of greater howlings and Calamities,
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And woes more dreadful shall beset thee round;
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Thou hast not yet seen half the miseries,
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That shall within thy bowels yet abound.
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My heart is sad, mine eyes for sorrow weep;
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My souls opprest, and I in secret cry:
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Oh that with peace I might in silence keep,
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And not a Prophet be of misery.
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Before the Lord my soul is bowed low;
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For who may stand when once Jehovah frowns.
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This I must cry, that woe all flesh shall know;
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Woes on the Land, Seas, Cities and in Towns.
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Woe ye false Prophets, that poor souls deceive,
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Who for self ends fear not to make a lie:
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No root nor branch of you the Lord will leave,
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But ye shall sink with your iniquity.
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Woe to you Lawyers, that corrupt the Law,
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And do not fear to pervert true judgment:
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On you your works destruction will draw,
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Except ye mend, and speedily repent.
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Woe to you Rulers, that have not done well;
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Your time will end, the Judge is at the door,
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Who will destroy and cast you into Hell,
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Except ye mend, and shall do so no more.
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Woe to all you that have done violence
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Against those that do meet to Worship God.
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As ye have used Gods poor Innocents
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So ye shall feel Gods woful smarting rod.
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Woe to all you that issue forth command,
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To force and prison unto Banishment:
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Evn so shall ye be driven by Gods hand,
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In fearful Plagues to endless punishment.
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Woe to all you whom yet the Lord doth spare,
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But though God smites, yet ye grow worse and worse:
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Your time is short, and then will come your share
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In endless pains, with Devils in the curse.
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Woe every man, both high, low, rich and poor,
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Who hath shed blood, and hurt Gods Innocent;
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Their blood for vengeance unto Heaven doth roar,
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For woes upon you till ye do repent.
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What shall I say! for God will make appear
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To great and small, that woful times hast on;
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In which all people shall both quake and fear;
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For God will not let such men long alone,
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As beat, imprison, and are violent
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Against all such as wish you to amend;
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And such as cry and call you to repent,
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Yee from their land in Banishment would send:
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O foolish folk, ye are both deaf and blind;
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Destructions neer, it hath beset you round;
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Plague, Sword and Famine of the sorest kind,
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Except ye mend, these will on you abound.
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Oh that ye could believe what good men say,
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Who see the end of what is now begun:
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This is the Eve of that most dreadful day,
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In which all faces shall grow pale and wan.
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O English people that ye could yet hear!
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Ah that ye could but mind the mournful cry
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That is for you, to hear this in Gods fear,
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Repent, repent, for why, why will ye die?
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Oh that ye would believe what Christ hath said,
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And be not like unto the World of old;
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Who in their sins were by the Floud destroyd,
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Because they would not mend when they were told,
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Though Noah preached they would not repent;
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The Lord did wait, but they would not amend:
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And when Gods suffering patience was spent,
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He did upon them utter ruine send.
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Remember what befell the Sodomites,
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And many others that I could unfold;
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Who did as Pharaoh by the Israelites,
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Lift up themselves, and hate to be contrould.
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Jerusalem would not believe those Signs,
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Which God did shew to call them to amend:
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For they knew not the preaching of the times,
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Untill God did destruction on them send.
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Like as did these, so dost thou do, O land,
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Thou eatst and drinkst, and risest up to play;
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Thou heapst up sin, and dost not understand
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That near is come the Lords most dreadful day,
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Wherein God now will inquisition make,
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And seek his slain, whose blood the earth doth hid,
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Therefore repent, and all your sins forsake,
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If ye have hope Gods judgments to abide.
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When silent voice shall in all souls preach loud,
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Then suddenly men shall be in amaze;
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Then woe, yea woe to all the wicked croud:
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For they with horror then shall fear and gaze.
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The dry bones noise shall cause the World to quake;
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For now on them the breath of life doth hover,
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The Lord to them doth now begin to speak,
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That they may live to shew Gods mighty power,
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Oh suddenly men shall themselves bewail
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With woful cryes, with gnashing teeth and pain,
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To find no moan nor tears shall then prevail;
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To seek repentance then will be in vain.
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O ye that live, a little time ye have;
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Break off from sin, your evil life amend;
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And let not wickedness your souls enslave,
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Untill God doth his wrath upon you send,
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And take you hence in fury and in hast,
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And in your sins ye die as many have,
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Who in their lusts their precious time did wast,
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Untill grim death did mark them for their grave.
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Yet from the Lord, I may to England tell
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The only way how to escape these woes;
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Cease Persecution, and it shall be well.
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Grant liberty, this will subdue your foes.
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Imbrace Gods truth, let it have place in thee;
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And let the Law in humane things take place:
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But leave mans Conscience in Religion free,
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To worship God, as guided by his Grace.
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Then ye shall know the truth that maketh free,
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With peace in God this Land shall be possest.
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If yel fear God ye shall victorious be,
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And Nations shall bow down to you as blest.
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But if ye will not cease from Banishment,
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From persecution and iniquity;
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Yet ye shall know the Lord hath to you sent
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Me, to forewarn you of your misery.
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