Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A27129
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A grievous lamentation over thee O England or, the greatest part of thy inhabitants, who have withstood the day of their visitation : with the word of the Lord to thy rulers and teachers, who continue persecuting and oppressing the dear children and people of the Most High ... / ... William Bayly.
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Bayly, William, d. 1675.
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1663
(1663)
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Wing B1529; ESTC R16359
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5,403
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8
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more bruitish then the Beasts of the field then mightest thou hear or see something of thy Visitations What is persecution and cruelty about Religion and Worship yet found in thee Are thy Teachers yet like Bryars and thy Rulers like Thorns in the sides of the tender Lambs of the most High Be advised O Land what thou do'st against his people For God hath yet a smal Remnant to be gathered out of thy bowels whose cries and groans he hath heard and will plead their Cause against all their oppressors by the fire of his jealousie which shall consume the Briars and Thorns in one day O thou England my native Country Art thou become a wilderness Is the Remnant of the Lord in thee like the Apple tree in the midst of the trees of the forrest and as a Lilly among Thornes Are the Tearers Devourers Scratchers and Prickers yet found in thee Is not the Land cursed that bringeth forth these after so much rain fruitfull seasons And is not their end burning Yea everlasting burning What! is preaching the Gospel of Christ Jesus freely and publiquely in Villages Towns and Cities become a transgressions What! Must the meetings of the dear children and Servants of God be called unlawful and be broken up by the leud drunkards swearers and prophane persons scoffers and scorners in thee as mine Eyes have seen and trickled down with Tears to behold it with an heart breaking Lamentation over thee O England England that I could plead with thee as with one man face to face Didst thou ever persecute me and my Brethren before we turn our faces towards the Paradice of God from whence we were driven in Adam by transgression Didst thou ever abuse beat or imprison me didst thou ever reproach or revile me when I walked in vanity wantonness and pride and in the foolish fashions and gestures of this World Nay didst thou not say well of me when Gods witness in my own Conscience did reprove and condemn me Didst thou ever cast me into Prison for breaking Gods Laws for lying or for swearing or any other kind of prophaneness But how soon didst thou lay hold on my innocent throat when I began to turn my face towards Sion and to speak the language of Canaan How often hast thou dragged me upon the stones of thy streets and smitten me on the cheek-bone and plucked off mine hair which God hath numbred How often have thy Priests Teachers and chiefest professors abused me How often have thy souldiers mocked and beaten me with the rude people shouting and renting my garments How often have I been imprisoned since my heart was turned with brokenness and desires to seek the living God in truth and righteousness Surely above these ten times as unjustly as a child from its Mothers breast Yet for all this I never sought revenge against thee but often wept in secret to my God for thee who did still quiet my heart in the contentedness of his own life and will seeing his Counsel and end through all these things And I am yet so far from seeking revenge though now again in bonds through the unjust dealing of some of thy Priests and Rulers that I have said in my heart with tears unto God O that I might lay down my life for England that I might dye for England which the Lord knoweth I could freely do that she might yet repent and be saved In whose presence I have freely forgiven all mine enemies that have thus dealt with me and can say to Richard Brown the greatest amongst many called Aldermen of London as my dearly beloved Brother E. B. did on his death bed the Lord forgive thee if it be yet possible whose prisoner he died and yet lives in my bosome and the rest of my brethrens as he is a Martyr of Jesus Oh thou England Have not we the witness of Heaven and Earth that we are the Children of the most High whom thou hast thus abused and persecuted robbed and spoiled and dost thou think to prosper by persevering in these things against them Nay let me once more tell thee from the everlasting God That it shall be thy ruine What canst thou do with us who fear not man who can but kill the body and after that hath power to do no more We have given up our lives freely to live and to die unto our God and to hold fast his Name which is truth and righteousness and to confess him before men while we have a being and thou shalt never overcome us though thou shouldst kill or imprison to death all our persons or bodies if it were possible thy Fathers have not overcome the Prophets Apostles and Martyrs of Christ Jesus in the days past neither hast thou overcome them whom thou hast beaten and imprisoned to death among us in these dayes but they have overcome thee and their Life is risen again of which we are witnesses and it s with us and remains with us for ever whose blood cries loud in the Ears of the Lord Almighty who will avenge and plead their Innocent cause O England are thy Rulers yet again saying that the Quakers will spread and over-run the Land Have not I heard them say we must prevent them least they become very Numerous or more then we and have not thy teachers run and complain'd to them that they might be suppressed yes surely in my sight and hearing And was not this the language of Egypt their Magicians wise-men and Rulers let us deal wisely with them least they multiply and become great in Number c. And were not the plagues poured forth upon that Land till Pharioh and his Hoast were destroyed and is not God the same and his seed and children the same for ever Hear O England and all thy Rulers and teachers and all the Inhabitants of spiritual Egypt and Sodom thus saith the Lord God Your Counsel shall come to nought your purposes shall be abolished and made void your rage is in vain your subtilty and wisdom shall be confounded my dread shall fall upon you ye light and vain rulers who have taken upon you to sit in Judgment against my people Behold you shall sit in the dust and you shall gnaw your tongues for pain and vexation the day of your howling is at hand in which you shall cry to the Rocks and Mountain to hide you from my presence Ye hypocrites ye wanton ones will ye not tremble at my presence have not I set bounds to the Sea that though it tosse and mount up roar and swell it cannot pass my decree Will you strive with your Maker ye potsheards will ye fight against God Are you stronger then he that made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all things therein by his Power Am not I he that overthrew Sodom and cut Rahah and wounded the Dragon and drowned the Egyptians in the Sea Behold I will put my hook in your nose and my Bridle in your Jaws turn you backwards ye devourers ye beasts of the field and my people shall spread and my seed shall increase and be as the sand and as the stars of Heaven and the Earth shall be filled with the knowledg of my Glory as the waters covers the sea And you shall not prevail against them Nay though the whole earth should be gathered together against my people they shall not prosper but be confounded and broken to pieces and become as the chaffe before the winde and as stubble before a consuming fire I the Lord have spoken it When they heard that they were cut to the heart and took counsel to slay them then stood there up one in the counsel a Pharisee named Gamaliel a Doctor of Law c. And said unto them Ye men of Israel take heed to your selvs what ye intend to do as touching these men c. And now I say unto you refrain from these men and let them alone for if this work be of men it will come to nought but if it be of God ye cannot everthrow it least happily ye he found even to fight against God Read Acts. 5.27 to the end and consider it From my prison Chamber at Hartford the 3d. Month. 1663. THE END