as though we were either wearie of our time or afraid of the ayre wee breath in we vainly wish the long desired Sommer would now flye fast away and turne vs ouer to the cold and carefull Winter And because wee poysoned all things by our sins now thou iustly makest vs feare poyson in our very meate drinke and apparell Nay but for thy speciall mercy we are not safe in our Pues Pulpits in our Church And because we delighted not to come to thy house now thou makest vs glad to flye from our owne houses And because we cared not to come to thy house for the food of our soules thou hast iustly brought it to this that we knowe not whither to goe nor to what house safely to send for the food of our bodies because we haue wickedly set our hearts vpon the miserable Mammon of this World thou hast now in Iustice made a great number at their wits and not knowing what to doe with it where to hide it with whom to leaue it nor whom to trust with it neither can they carrie it with them nor dare they tarrie with it themselues and because they would lend nothing in Charitie they haue now none left to lend vnto at all And now they that loue it best by thy wonderfull Iudgement are affraid to touch it least that which formerly poysoned their soules should now infect their bodies O Lord how wonderfull are thy workes and how iust are all thy Iudgements And now O Lord that wée sée our case and are sensible of thy hand that is vpon vs what shall wée say what shall wée thinke might bée the cause of this so fearefull a Plague and that so mercifull and pitifull a Father is now become so seuere and angry a Iudge Shall we be so Foolish as to thinke it comes because our King is not Crowned as though former experience hath not proclaimed the contrary Or so Prophane as to ascribe it to the Summer and Season of the yéere as though thou wert not God as well of the Winter as the Summer Or so Proud as to thinke that because we haue hitherto held vp thy Religion better then some other Nations and haue in some measure maintayned the Preaching of thy Word and haue béene a Sanctuary and Refuge For some distressed Christians of other Countries wée may therefore with the Hypocritical Iewes trust vnto our externall Prefession and cry The Temple of the Lord The Temple of the Lord as though thou hadst néed of any Nation to kéep vp the credit of thy cause Or so Presumptuous as to thinke that because thou hast taken vs to be thy Church and some of thy Children are amongst vs thou canst not therefore be angry with vs Or because we haue done some good wée may be therefore the bolder in Cuill Or because there bee some holy Lots amongst vs therefore our Sodome cannot be consumed O Lord all these be the broken staues of Egypt these cannot comfort vs in this our Calamity These will not vphold vs in this day of our distresse and this houre of temptation that thou hast brought vpon vs No Lord all these and all other like to these are eyther lyes or vanities And thy holy Prophet hath told vs and wée beléeue it that those who trust to lying vanities forsake their owne mercies Therefore O Lord wee renounce for those our Idle and Idoll conceits haue spoken vanitie our Deuiners haue séene a lye and haue told false Dreames O Lord they comfort vs in vaine For contrariwise thy Word hath taught vs thy Spirit informes vs and now our owne Consciences tell vs that our own wayes and doings haue procured this vpon vs and none but our selues and nothing but our sins haue pulled down this Plague and that we haue forsaken thée the Lord our God who didst lead vs the right way but with thy people Israel we haue committed two euils we haue forsaken thée the Fountains of Liuing Waters and haue hewes our selues broken Cisternes that can hold no water Thus haue wee requited thee the Lord our God being a foolish people and vnkind therefore now our owne wickednesse both correct vs and our back-slidings doe reprooue vs and haue made vs know and sée and féele how euill and bitter a thing it is that wée haue forsaken thée the Lord our God and that thy feare was not in vs. And now O Lord that wée sée our case and sée also the cause of it now what shall we doe for remedie where shall we séeke reliefe whither shall wee goe to whom shall we flie but euen from thée vnto thée euen from thy deserued anger to thy vndeserued mercy For destruction is from our selues but Saluation is of thée O Lord and thou art hee that canst both wound and heale both kill and make aliue None but thou couldst haue laid this vpon vs none but thou canst remooue it from vs To thée therefore doe wee lift vp our eyes O thou that dwellest in the Heauens and do beséech thée helpe vs in this distresse for vaine is the helpe of Man and though our sinnes plead against vs and make thée for a time kéepe backe thy comfort from vs pet our eyes shall waite vpon the Lord our God vntill hee haue mercie vpon vs For whateuer wée be thou art the Lord that changest not for else thy Children should bee all consumed We therefore take comfort and say one to another Come let vs returne vnto the Lord for he hath torne vs he will heale vs He hath smitten and hee will bind vs vp after two dayes he will reuiue vs in the third day he will ravse vs vp and we shall liue in his sight For art not thou he in whom our Fathers trusted and were deliuered Art not thou the God that brought thy people through the raging Sea and through the barren Wildernesse into the Land of Peace and Plentie Art not thou he that saued thy Seruants in the fiery Ouen in the Lions den in the Whales belly And is there not mercy with thee else there should not be left a man on the earth to feare thee And is not that mercy of thine euerlasting endures to al Generations And though we be cast into the last ends of the World and may fears that the Store-house of thy mercies is exhaust and spent yet hast not thou taught vs twenty times in one Psalme that thy mercy endures for euer And in that mercy hast thou not made a couenant of Peace Parson and Reconciliation with the Sonnes of men And hast thou not sealed that Couenant and made it firme in the bloud of thy blessed Sonne And hast thou not proclaymed thy selfe to be the God that kéepes Couenant and Mercy to thousand Generations Séeing then thou hast vouchsafed to take vs and make vs thy people and to receiue vs into thy holy Couenant and hast pleased to place thy holy Tabernacle among vs and
vs if we doe not and will follow them whoeuer they bee that double and dissemble with their God in this case And if any that be abroad and yet vnvisited thinke I deale too farre and too freely in this Confession I aske no more but to forbeare his judgment til they be vnder the hand of God as we haue bin now three moneths and more and then they will iudge I am too short The while God in mercy pardon that and wherin I may be thought to go too far I shall easily answere it to God or Gods Anointed shal sigh sob in secret to consider the wrath woes that wait for those wicked ones who as they deeply haue had their hand in pulling downe this Plague so carelessely seeke to passe it ouer and looke not after the God that hath smitten them and the whole Land for their sakes and will if they turne not betimes smite them downe to Hell What stony hearted Stoicke can he be who sees more then forty thousand Christians many as good and some better then Himselfe laid in the dust in little more then twice forty dayes and is not humbled vnder the Hand that did it and sensible of the Sin that did procure it Can hee bee a good Seruant of God or Subiect to his Souereigne that besides ten thousand aged weake and poore shall see an Army of ten thousand more braue lustie and seruiceable young men and tenne thousand more comely and mariageble young women and ten thousand more young Infants whose proofe and hope had beene still before them already taken out of one Corner of this Kingdome and sits not downe in dust and ashes mourning to that God that tooke them for that King that lost them with that Land that wants them For that Sinne that pluckt them from vs I dare pronounce vpon him from God whoeuer hee bee that can or dare thus sleightly and sliely passe by the workes of God and laughes in his sleeue at such a judgement as this is markt vp by God for some greater vengeance as sure as the fourteenth of Ezekiel is Gods true Word For if hee that mournes for sinne be the man that is Markt by God for blessing and deliuerance what 's hee that makes a sport of sinne and layes from his heart the Iudgements thereby procured but one that 's sealed vp for confusion and destruction O therefore that my heart were a Fountaine and my eyes Riuers of teares that I might worthily bewaile the sinnes of our Nation together with mine owne and weepe for the slaine of the Daughter of my people So cried the holy Prophet of the abundance of his holy Zeale and so I am sure in their seuerall measures doe all the Ministers and men of God amongst vs that haue but tasted of the same spirit mourning for the desolations of this Citie and more for the Contagion that causeth it and most of all for the sinnes that procured them both And who would not care to sacrifice themselues what way the Lord should please so the wrath of God might bee pacified towardes this Church and Nation and those plagues remooued which are the cause of this Plague And till these be remooued we shall find the Prophets tell vs true that eyther this Plague shall stil stay creep like a Canker ouer our whole body or else only make make way to some more fearefull that shall follow after it That this may be preuented he cannot be a Christian that will not both cry to God and confesse to him the publike and priuate and personall sinnes that be the cause thereof And as all that are enabled and taught by the holy Spirit of God to poure out their soules in humble Prayer and hearty Confession will in holy obedience to the holy Prophets counsell Take vnto themselues words and returne vnto the Lord So for those that cannot open their mouthes as they desire and yet haue hearts that groane after God and soules that seeke the Lord. For their assistance only haue I beene perswaded to publish this which now I leaue to them and them and it together with our selues to the mercifull acceptation and gracious blessing of our Good God who grant vs all in these dayes of danger when somtimes almost a thousand a day are pickt vp and pluckt away before our faces So to liue and so to dye as when we dye we may be sure to liue for euer And so to part with one another here as we may be sure to meet in Heauen And here so to confesse our sinnes as at the last Day Christ may confesse vs to be his owne And so to pray here as we may prayse God eternally in Heauen LONDONS LAMENTABLE COMPLAINT to her GOD. Containing A Prayer for the time of Infection afore confession of SINNE A Meditation vpon the causes and remedie of this Plague A Thankesgiuing for Gods mercie euen in this Crosse Most high and holy Iehouah thou being of beings who giues life and being to euery Creature giue leaue vnto us the most unworthy oues of all thy Children to come before thee and present our petitions at the Throne of Grace Wee durst not rush so rudely into thy holy presence mightie Lord God nor beg so boldly so great a sauour were it not that thou hast gratiously vouthsafed not onely to call and inuite vs but euen command vs to come vnto thee and call vpon thee in the day of our affliction and hast moreouer mercifullypromised that thou wilt heare vs and deliuer vs that we may glorifie thy great Name In this confidence we take comfort to come to thee O Lord in this day of our trouble and common calamitie of our Church and Kingdome And first we doe all in the name one of another and wée for our parts euery one of vs for himselfe humbly and freely cousesse wee haue all had our hands in this blood and each one borne apart in pulling down these heauie plagues vpon this City and our Nation O Lord wée doe none of vs excuse our selues but wee doe euery one of vs accuse and arraigue our selues at the barre of thy Iustice and we doe all pronounce our selues guiltie in thy sight Nor are we onely tainted with Originall sin in our natures but Lord our liues are stayned with all actuall pollutions in our thoughts words and déeds by sins of Comission and Omission by sins not onely of Ignorance but euen of negligence carelesnesse and presumption Miserable sinners that wée are wée haue not only committed soule and fearefull things abhominable to thy pure and holy Maiestie dishonorable to thy holy Religion offensiue to thy holy Law and therefore iust prouocations of thy Wrath but alas we haue sometime totally omitted and at the best alwaies failed in all the good and holy duties required at our hands Wée haue not béene humbled for thy iudgements nor thankfull for thy mercies as wee ought to haue beene therefore thy mercies being abused haue
honoured vs with thy holy Word and Sacraments and hast among vs hundreds and thousands whom thou hast separated from the sinfull masse of Mankind and sanctified and sealed for thy selfe so as they runne not riot with the wicked World but waite on thee in the holy wayes of thine Ordinances Iudgements and Mercies and lay to heart thy words and warnings and mourne in Sion for the affliction of Ioseph and for their owne and the sinnes of others and for the iniquities of the Time Therefore our Faith bids vs beléeue and the truth and certainty of thy Couenants causeth vs to hope that thou wilt chastise vs to our correction but not plague vs to destruction And in this confidence wee come vnto thée thou Father of Mercies and are bold to beséech thée to call to mind thy Couenant whereby thou hast bound thy selfe to be our God and to take vs to bee thy People and neuer to forsake vs although by our sinnes we haue forsaken thée as long as by Faith we cleaue vnto thée and in Repentance and Humilitie doe seeke thy face And in the vertue and merit of that blessed bloud of thy holy Sonne which hee hath shed for vs and all Beléeuers we take boldnesse to our selues to challenge at thy hands the performance of those swéet promises thou hast made vnto vs and sealed in his bloud shedding And first we begge at the hands of thy holy Maiestie euen rather then our lines or beliuerances from this dreadfull Plague peace and pardon to our poore Soules and assurance of thy loue in Christ for our eternall happinesse and then wee beséech thée not so much to deliuer our bodies from this Plague as to saue our soules from sin which is the Plague of all Plagues and the true cause of this Plague therefore wee cry and pray with thy holy Prophet Lord haue mercie vpon vs and heale our soules which haue sinned against thee Then wee beséech thée thou God of compassions looke in mercie vpon this Land make vs not like Sodome Gomorrha as wee haue deserued wee confesse wee are vnder thy Hand and all the World could not haue laid this on vs but only thou O Lord And it was time for thee O Lord to lay to thy hand for wee had almost made void thy Law Thou hast therefore iustly taken vs vnder thy hand and because thy gentle warnings were despised thy holy Counsels contemned thy Iudgements neglected and thy Mercies abused thou hast therefore iustly giuen way to thy wrath and let loose thy heauy Iudgements vpon our Land Yet this is our comfort and Man nor Deuill can take it from vs that we are in thy hand O Lord and with thée is mercie And as we blesse thy Name that thou hast not giuen vs ouer into the cruell hands of mercilesse men the wicked bloudie Papists so in this our soules take comfort that we are vnder the hand of our heauenly Father whose mercies are great And in the multitude of those thy mercies we looke vp to thée O Lord and beséech thée be mercifull to this Land Thou art our Father and we haue fouly offended therefore thou must needs correct vs or else thou louedst vs not punish vs also or else thou wert not iust Correct therefore Lord and spare not but yet in thy Iudgement not in thy furie lest we be all consumed And forasmuch as corrections are to worke our not onely Humiliation but Reformation also we begge not the remoouing of thy Iudgement till it hath wrought thy worke and not onely brought vs down vnder thy hand but euen purged our hearts and renewed the face of our Church Common-wealth And séeing till then O Lord wee neyther may expect nor dare desire thou shouldst remooue it wee beseech thee to prepare vs all to bee both willing and ready to meete thee our God and now to be content thou glorifie thy selfe in vs and vpon vs by Life or Death so thou saue our Soules But when it hath done thy worke and finished that for which thou didst send it vpon vs then O Lord in mercie remooue it from vs And preuent the other grieuous plagues that must needes follow vpon and after this And howsoeuer thy iust and long forborne Decree is now gone out against vs so as yet our cryes and teares mooue thée not Nay the Prayers of our Prophets preuaile not with thee Insomuch as those Noabs Daniels and Iobs that are among vs are onely able to deliuer themselues and scarce that O Lord so great is the Contagion of our sinnes yet we beséech thée giue vs leaue to take comfort in beléeuing thine owne Word and trusting to that which no mortall Creature no Humane Assurance but thine owne holy Selfe hast told and taught vs Euen that in Wrath thou rememberest Mercie and that thou keepest not anger for euer but that thy mercies endure for euer And that thou hast not onely betrothed vs vnto thy selfe in faithfulnesse and truth but euen married thy selfe to vs and though we wickedly in our spirituall Idolatries and other sinfull courses cut off our selues from thee and whorishly giuen our selues to others yet most mercifully hast thou called vpon vs to returne againe to thee and thou wilt receiue vs But miserable Catiffes that wee are wee cānot turn to thée we could of our selues fal away from thée but of our selues wee cannot returne home vnto thee Cause vs therfore to returne O Lord and séeing thou so louest vs as thou wilt not leaue vs wee beseech thee also loose vs not nor suffer vs good Lord to loose our selues but renew our hearts towards thée and cause vs to cry and mourne after thée and say with Ephraim turne thou vs and wee shall bee turned conuert vs and wee shall bee conuerted thou art the Lord our God And bring vs backe againe O Lord the right and holy way First make our faces ashamed of our back-slidings and our Soules more grieued for the same then for the Plague that is vpon vs Then make vs seeke thee sincerely and not slauishly and out of Loue more then Feare and make vs turne vnfaynedly and with the whole heart And let vs not come with sorrow onely in our hearts but holy words also in our mouthes and take vnto our selues the words that thou hast taught vs and say vnto thee Take away all iniquitie and receiue vs graciously so will wee render the calues of our lips And that our Prapers be not bull let vs whet and sharpen them by Fatting nor let vs bring thee Bare words but let our humiliation be accompanied with works of Mercie Pietie Pittie and Compassion And that the Humiliation of vs bath Prince and People may bee both more acceptable to them and auaileable to vs stirre vp the holy heart of our holy Phineas thy Seruant and our Souereigne that hee may stand vp in the Zeale of his God and execute thy iust Iudgement vpon the Zimryes and Cozbyes that bee