Londons Destroyer DETECTED; AND DESTRUCTION LAMENTED: OR, Some Serious Ruminations, and Profitable Reflections upon the late Dreadful, Dismal, and neverto-be-forgotten CONFLAGRATION. Where in is briefly comprehended several things considerable, in order to LONDONS present Recovery, and future Prosperity.
Psalm. 46. 8.
Come, behold the Works of the Lord, what Desolations he hath made in the Earth.
Lam. 1. 1.
How doth the City sit solitary that was full of People? How is she become as a Widdow, she that was great among the Nations, and Princess among the Provinces.
Vers. 9.
Her filthiness is in her Skirts, she remembred not her latter end, therefore she came down wonderfully.
Chap. 3. 40.
Let us search and try our wayes, and turn again to the Lord.
London, Printed in the Year, 1666.
Londons Destroyer Detected, and Destruction Lamented, &c.
HEarken, O Heavens, stand amaz'd, and be
Astonished, O Earth, to hear and see
The wondrous works the Lord hath lately shown,
To make his Justice and his Power known:
Call an Assembly now, of Old and Young,
And taketh assistance both of meak and strong:
Consult with, and examine Rich and Poor;
And see who can declare the like before.
Consider Soul, who e're thou art indeed;
If nothing yet hath made thy heart to bleed:
Me thinks, here's something now, might make it sore,
And make thee mourn, till thou canst mourn no more.
If thy heart be not like to Flint or Steel,
The thoughts of this will surely make thee feel.
Oh! wo is me. Alas, What shall I say?
Let every Soul bewail this woful Day:
Let every dry and barren heart lament;
And more then this, let sinners all repent;
Yea every one that can but shed a Tear,
Now show your grief, and learn the Lord to fear.
But what's the news, some sleepy Soul may say,
That thou complainst thus of a dreadful Day?
What is the cause, thou dost so strangely speak,
And seem to grieve, as if thy heart would break?
Why dost thou stir up people now to weep?
Thou dost disturb me, for I fain would sleep.
[Page 4]Thy startling words, I cannot well indure;
Wherefore leave off, and let me sleep secure.
Oh wonderful! Is any yet so blind!
And wofully besotted in their mind!
To live within the Borders of this Nation,
And ask a Reason of a Lamentation?
Such men as these, do make one Reason more;
And add another to the former store.
But hark a little, sleepy Soul, I pray,
Be sure to mind what I have yet to say;
Rouse up thy self from sleep and search about,
And thou mayst quickly find the Reason out:
Open thy eyes, and thou mayst plainly see,
That Wrath and Ruine doth encompass thee.
The Mighty God hath lately been at Work,
And hath amaz'd both Christian Jew, and Turk:
Yea, all the World hath cause to be afraid,
To think upon the Ruines he hath made;
The found whereof, hath gone both far and near,
And many thousands have been fill'd with fear,
To hear and see, what woful Desolation,
The Lord hath lately made in this our Nation:
We plainly see, what Work the Lord can make;
Who in his Anger can whole Kingdoms shake:
Nations confound, and Cities overthrow:
Alas, poor England, thou hast found it so.
But oh my heart even bleeds to think and tell,
What unto Landon lately hath befel.
London, I say, Englands once famous City,
The Lord hath strangely Ruin'd without pitty.
Yea, London, lately famous for Renown,
The Righteous God hath thrown it headlong down.
And all its Beauty into Ashes turn'd.
Yea London once the glory of the World,
Is sadly now into confusion hurl'd.
The large and famous Structures of the same,
Are buried in a strange devouring flame.
Let England mourn, let all the World admire,
To think how London was destroy'd by Fire.
Oh fearful flame, how matchless was thy rage,
No less than London could thy fury swage?
How terrible was thy devouring [...]ace,
To spoil great London quite in three dayes space?
No Tongue can tell, no Pen can fully write,
How strangely thou didst thousands sore afright,
And drive them from their setled dwelling places,
And swallow up their Goods before their faces.
How didst thou make all sorts of people fly!
How strangely didst thou make them run and cry!
How didst thou make them wring their hands; & mourn,
To see their Houses, and their Treasure burn!
Yea sick and lame, thou didst turn out of Door;
And many that were Rich, thou mad'st them Poor:
Thou mad'st the lofty-minded fear and quake,
To see what dreadful havock thou didst make;
Both great and small thou sorely didst perplex,
Without regard to Age, Degree, or Sex.
And nothing could thy raging power shun,
Till thou hadst famous London quite undone;
The Mart of Natious, and the Kingdoms Pride,
In Europe was not such a place beside.
London's destroy'd; Alas, Who can deny it?
Oh that our hearts were made the better by it.
[...]
[...]
Alas, poor London, is it thus indeed
What heart so hard, that will not melt and bleed,
To think upon thy sad and wretched state,
And how the Lord hath plagued thee of late.
Oh that THOU wouldst but think upon it so,
As to remove the cause of this thy WO.
Let grief and sorrow se [...] upon thy heart;
Let mirth and gladness from thy Soul depart;
Not altogether for thy dreadful fall,
But for thy sins, which is the cause of all.
Thy sins, thy sins, have made thy sufferings large,
Who can declare the greatness of thy Charge?
Oh that thou wouldst but once perswaded be,
To ruine that which hath so ruin'd thee.
Break off thy sins, or else be sure to know,
The Righteous God will never leave thee so;
But certainly will greater Vengeance take,
Unless thou timely dost thy sins forsake.
If thou from judgements therefore wouldst be freed,
Thou must repent, and turn to God with speed,
Or else thy sins will still increase thy sorrow,
Till thou art made like Sodom and Gomorrah.
However thou mayst yet my counsel slight,
The time will come, when thou shalt know t'is right.
Thou hast had many Warnings fairly sent,
From God and Man, thy ruine to prevent:
Yea oftentimes thou hast been told in love,
That sin espoused vvould thy ruine prove.
And by experience thou hast found it so,
Yet still in sin thou more and more dost grovv.
Thou often hast been soberly advised;
From time to time thou hast been advertised,
[Page]By such as sought thy wellfare most of all,
And through thy [...] did clearly see thy fall;
But thou from time to time didst take upon thee,
Most stubbornly to cast their Counsel from thee:
Yea for their love, thou hast abus'd them sore,
And for their sakes thou hast even sin'd the more;
Instead of kindly seeking of their good,
Thou wickedly hast rather fought their blood:
And none have been so cruelly rewarded,
As those which have thy wellfare most regarded;
Whilst those have kindly entertained bin,
That publickly have taught thee how to sin;
And still thy sins do more and more abound,
Though vengeance hath and doth besiege thee round.
Almost in every Corner, Street, and Place,
Prophanness still appears with open face,
What shall I say? Oh that I did but know
How to prevent a further Overthrow,
How would I Beg, and Crave, Intreat, and Pray,
If that would make thee cast thy sins away;
Because I know thou must more righteous be,
Before Gods anger will be turn'd from thee.
Mark what I say, Thou must of sin repent,
Or else in sorrow still thou must lament;
The Wrath of God will never let thee rest,
Until thou dost thy wickedness detest.
Alas, poor London, I am pain'd at heart,
For thy past, present, and thy future smart.
Yet once again, O London, I will see,
And try how Counsel yet will work with thee.
Consider, God hath Anger yet in store,
And for thy sins can plague thee seven times more.
[Page]His Power none is able to withstand,
Nor hide themselves from his avenging Hand;
His strength is great: Who can declare the same?
The Lord, the Lord Jehovah is his Name.
Remember how the noisome Pestilence
Did lately rage, and hurry thousands hence;
And fill'd the Earth with such a slaughtered store,
The like was hardly ever known before.
The bloody Sword hath also thousands slain,
Which in the Bowels of the Sea remain.
And thou thereby hast sorely been opprest;
Within thy Borders none could live at rest.
But most of all, before thou dost remember,
The fatal stroke thou hadst but last September.
Let all these strange Disasters greatly move
Thee now to make thy peace with God above.
Implore his Grace, and for his Mercy cry;
Whom thou by sin hast made thy Enemy.
Forsake thy sins, and utterly abhor them.
Humble thy self, and crave his Pardon for them.
The Lord may yet consider thy distress.
If this be done in Truth and Faithfulness;
And thou mayst be a place of praise once more,
And flourish as thou hast done HERETOFORE.
E. N.
FINIS.