Another trumpet sounded in the ears of the inhabitants of England, rulers, priests and people that they might be awakened and raised out of the grave of sin and trespasses ... / written in tender love to you all by James Parke ...

Another Trumpet ſounded, &c.

OH People of England, that have been talking much of Chriſt's Coming and Kingdom: He is come a Light into the World; and to them that have ſat in darkneſs, and under the region of the ſhadow of death, hath the true Light ſhined, and ſhineth forth out of the darkneſs, doing the works in and for them that believe in it, which none elſe can do; rooting-out the vain thoughts and imaginations, and what the Devil hath wrought in the heart, Chriſts appearance and coming is to deſtroy that: and this is the glorious effect of Chriſts coming, to purge that out of the heart in which he takes no pleaſure; to purge out the filthineſs of the fleſh, and the luſtings after evil things: for the fleſh luſteth againſt the Spirit, and warreth againſt the Spirit; and all who believe in Chriſt Ieſus the Light, and wait in it, a ſpiritual warring againſt the fleſh begins to ariſe in them: for a man's enemies lie near, even the fleſhly part in him, ſo a ſpiritual warfare almoſt none paſs through before they be overcomers of Sin, or know the Devils works deſtroyed in them: before any man be a conqueror he muſt be armed with the Armour of Light, which is Gods Armour, that muſt be put on, and then people are fit to war againſt Sin, this deadly enemy of their own houſe: But moſt people remain altogether ſtrangers to this ſpiritual warfare, becauſe they come not to believe in CHRIST the Light, and ſo never come to know the houſe of Saul, or the deadly enemy that lies near them deſtroyed, and yet will talk of the coming of Chriſt, and what he did for them at Ieruſalem without them; and that they are juſtified (in their wicked works) by the death of Chriſt, though they never knew the variance begun in them againſt the fleſh, but have cryed Peace to themſelves in the fleſh and deeds of darkneſs; but Chriſt ſaid, I come not to ſend Peace on Earth, but a Sword: and this none knows but thoſe who are turned to the Light of Chriſt within them, which ſhews them Sin, and that which will cut it down, even all the roots and branches of it, and ſets a man at variance againſt it. And thus is the Word of the Lord known as a Sword to cut down ſin, and break mans peace in ſin and tranſgreſſion: and herein is Chriſt's coming witneſſed, who comes not to ſend Peace on Earth, but a Sword, and to ſet a man at variance againſt himſelf, againſt all his lovers, againſt all his ſelf-actings and ſelf-righteouſneſs; and hereby doth he work that which none elſe can do; he ſets a man againſt himſelf, to lay down ſelf, and to deny ſelf and his own will, and they are Diſciples indeed: others who love ſelf and their evil deeds, and will lay down nothing for Chriſt's ſake, they may be Diſciples in words and in tongue, but none in deed and in truth, but thoſe only who can leave all, and deny all for Chriſt's ſake; as Chriſt ſaid, Except a man deny himſelf, and take up the daily-Croſs, he cannot be my Diſciple. The Croſs muſt be learnt, ſubjected unto, and taken up: for while people deſpiſe the Croſs of Chriſt, they are not his Diſciples indeed; whatever they profeſs him in words, in works they deny him; and, he that would ſave his Life ſhall loſe it, but be that will lay down his Life for Chriſts ſake ſhall ſave it.

So ye People of England, come to Chriſt the Light of the World, and own his appearance and coming to break your falſe peace in your ſins; and your agreement with Death, and covenant with Hell, it ſhall not ſtand before him, he will diſanul it, who by Fire and Sword is come to plead with all fleſh, and to break your falſe fleſhly peace, which your Leaders have begotten you into, and cryed to you while you are in your ſins, and not in a true variance againſt your ſin, not in a true war againſt ſin, or ſtriving againſt it, but rather into an eaſe in it, out of which you muſt be brought, if ever you come to have peace with God and be ſaved from your ſins; Therefore come away out of Self, out of Self-love, out of your own wills. O people, return while you have time, out of folly and tranſgreſſions, out of the Devils works, and ſay not within your ſelves, nor one to another, that you are ſaved by the Death of Chriſt, while you are in your Drunkenneſs, Whoredoms, Covetouſneſs, Lying, Cheating, Swearing, and Curſed-ſpeaking and Diſſembling with God and man; for theſe are all the Devils works: And Chriſt being known a Saviour, he faves out of Sin, the Devils works, and deſtroyes the Devil and all his works; and he died for that very end, and he riſeth in all them that fear him for that very end, to bring down the Man of Sin. Thou Drunkard, Chriſt died to bring thee off thy Drunkenneſs; thou Swearer, to bring thee to fear an Oath; and thou Liar, to bring thee off thy Lying; and thou Covetous one, to bring thee off thy Covetouſneſs; and all you Adulterers and Adultereſſes, to bring you off the Luſt of the Eye, and the Luſt of the fleſh, and your Whoredoms and Uncleanneſs; and you Proud and Lofty ones, who are lifted up in Pride and the Faſhions of the World, O lay it away; for Chriſt who was meek and low of heart, of whom you ought to learn, and who is come a light in you, comes to bring down every high thought, and all that which is lifted up over the pure Light in you, which ſhews you your ſins, your pride of life, your highmindedneſs, being out of the fear of God, and in rebellion againſt the true Light, wherewith you are enlightned, which is manifeſt to deſtroy that which is contrary to God; Oh be not ſtiffnecked but hearken to the Voice of Chriſt Jeſus, the only way to God, whoſe way is out of ſin: Thou Drunkard and prophane perſon, doſt thou not know the Drunkard ſhall not inherit Gods Kingdom, nor the Swearer, nor Liar, nor Covetous Worldling, nor diſſembling Hypocrite, nor the Adulterer, nor Unclean Perſon, nor the Proud, whoſe King the Devil is. O People, while you have time think of this, you that forget God, that are wanton upon the Earth, and that nouriſh your hearts as in a day of ſlaughter: it's no marvel to ſee the Lord, who is juſt in all his wayes, and righteous in all his judgments, ſtrike down many thouſands in a ſhort time, by his deſtroying Angel that is gone forth to ſmite the Earth, and to ſhorten the dayes of the Wicked. Oh Earth, hear; thou Nation of England be awakened and warned, for a great Deſtruction and Calamity is begun in thee, becauſe of thy great wickedneſs and ſin againſt God, becauſe of thy Oaths, Drunkenneſs, Covetouſneſs and Lying, Curſed ſpeaking and Whoredoms, and Pride of life, and Perſecution of the Innocent which hath been found in thee, the Land is coming into a Deſolation, and the Deſtruction from the Almighty hangs over it, and haſtens to cut off the wicked Perſecuters of the Innocent People that fear God, and have good will towards all men.

If you repent not, O you Inhabitants and People of England, from the higheſt to the loweſt, that have had any hand in Perſecuting, Impriſoning and Baniſhing them that fear the Lord, that by you in diriſion have been called Quakers, who made themſelves a prey by departing from Iniquity, and the great wickedneſs that abounds in the Land; know ye aſſuredly that Judgment is towards you. O ye Rulers, Prieſts and People, conſider your wayes and your doings, whereby you have incurr'd and brought upon your ſelves and the Nation the great diſpleaſure of God; and how ſhould the Lord now plead with you but in his Wrath, ſeing you have ſlighted the tenders of his love and long-ſuffering towards you? Did not the Lord viſit you, and give you time and ſpace to repent? Did not the Lord by his Servants warn you in time, and told you what Perſecuting of an innocent People would bring upon you? Are you not left without excuſe, if God now break forth in a way of Indignation and Judgement againſt you? Is it not juſt? Can you ſay, God did not not call you, and viſit, and warn you? Nay verily, the Lord hath called you time after time, and the everlaſting Goſpel hath been ſounded in your ears, Oh People of England, more than any other Nation or Kingdom whatſoever. But O you Rulers, Prieſts and People, you have not anſwered the Love of the Lord, by breaking off from your ſins, but you remain in your ſins; you have not obeyed the Voice of the Lord, nor anſwered when the Lord hath called you out of your ſins, to ſave you from your ſins; he that hath ſhed his Blood a ranſom for all, and taſted death for every man, you have done, and are doing, evil in his ſight; and none of you repents you of your evil deeds, ſaying, What have I done? but goes on in evil, and drinks up Iniquity as an Ox drinks up Water: Therefore now is the fire of God's Jealouſie kindled againſt you, after a long day of Mercy; and they that have ſinned out their day, by walking deſpitefully againſt the Spirit of Grace, and the Viſitation of God's Love, the Indignation of the Lord they muſt feel; and the Lord will laugh at their calamity, and bring fearfulneſs upon them, which all the force and ſtrength of Armies and Ships cannot keep off.

And O ye Magiſtrates of England, who live in ſin, envying that which is good, and perſecuting them that do well; God hath viſited you, and warned you in great love and tenderneſs, but you have not hearkened unto, nor owned the Lord in his way of viſiting you, but diſ-regarded, and have ſtopped your ears againſt thoſe whom God ſtirred up by his Spirit to viſit you, and warn you of your ungodly wayes and practices; therefore muſt you feel trouble, wrath and Judgement from God. And remember you are once more warned to take heed how you partake with any in perſecuting of them that fear the Lord, and are real well-wiſhers of your Souls.

Oh beware of following a multitude to do evil, and ſin againſt God, for all who are partakers any way with Perſecutors in their fin, maſt aſſuredly drink of their Plagues, Woes, and Miſery, which is come and coming upon this Land; and ſome Perſecutors God will make ſignal Examples of his Wrath, becauſe they have gone in the way of Cain, that wicked one, that ſlew his Brother for the Righteous works he did. O People, ſlow of heart to believe what the Prophets ſaw and ſpoke, though you will talk of their words, touching Chriſts coming into the World to ſave ſinners, but you witneſs not Chriſts coming to put an end to ſin in you, and ſo you periſh in your ſins. Oh! why will ye die in your ſins? Oh ſinful Nation, a Seed of evil doers, why will you not hear the Law of God, the Light of Chriſt, what it ſpeaketh in you? Why do not you come to Chriſt, in whom is Life, and this Life is the Light of men, which you are to believe in, that you might be ſaved from your ſins, and come out of all your dead Wayes, Worſhips, and Sacrifices, and vain Traditions, which profit you not at all, but keep you in death; herein you long have lain out of the holy pure Life. Chriſt is come, and hath appeared in you, that you might be partakers of Life, and therefore deſires not your death, but rather that you might live, and turn from your ſins, unto him that cleanſeth from all ſin, that you might know a life out of ſin, out of the fleſhly luſtings that war againſt the Soul; and as you come into the Life of God, the luſts of the fleſh, the luſt of the Eye, and the pride of Life will die in you; and Life and Salvation you muſt witneſs through death, by keeping to that which ſlayes the old man with his deeds; the Lord hath called you again and again, but how have you ſtopped your ears, and cloſed your eyes, and rebelled againſt his Light? The Lord hath ſtretched forth his hand all the day long, and Wiſdom hath cryed in your ſtreets, but you have not regarded, but ſlighted God's Meſſage to you, and his Arm And Wiſdom to gather you out of the crooked wayes, and bypaths; and many years hath God preached Repentance from dead works to you, that ye might turn from the evil of your wayes, and ceaſe to do evil, and learn to do well: But alaſs, how have you deſpiſed the Meſſengers of the Lord, whom he ſent unto you to preach Repentance, and to warn you to fly from the Wrath to come? but you have not brought forth fruits to Repentance, but have hardned your hearts againſt them, Stocking, Stoning, Whiping, Impriſoning, Baniſhing, and deſpitefully uſing them. And oh fooliſh people, how have many of you mocked, abuſed, and ſhamefully intreated God's People, and peculiar Children, when in pure obedience to the Lord they were ſent amongſt you, as Sheep amongſt Wolves? How have they been haled and beaten in your Cities, Towns, and Markets, and the Prieſts and Hypocritical Profeſſors have been chief in this work? alſo inſtigating poor blind people to beat and hale out of Steeple-houſes, them that came in Gods fear and dread to pronounce Woes, Vengeance, & Plagues upon them that had gotten the Sheeps cloathing, but inwardly were ravening Wolves, and upon them that ſaid fair, but did not; and now hath the Lord made them of the Synagogue of Satan, that ſaid, They were Jews, and were not, but did lie in their hearts, and diſſembled with God and Man; and with the Prieſts God is pleading, and will yet more and more plead with them in his Wrath, and they ſhall have no cover nor cloak for their ſins, becauſe Chriſt is come, and manifeſt in our day, doing the works which none elſe can do, in and for all them that believe in him; and the chief Prieſts in this day, as of old, have appeared againſt his Work, and coming in ten thouſands of his Saints; and how have they many wayes ſought to deform God's Work and Image in his People? How many falſe ſlanders and falſe reports have they invented and raiſed, ſeeking and endeavouring to render the begotten of God odious, and Truth to be error? And how have they put Light for Darkneſs, and Darkneſs for Light; ſweet for bitter, and bitter for ſweet?

Oh people, how have you been cheated by thoſe you call your Miniſters and Leaders? How have you been led into error, and kept in error by them? And how full of lightneſs are they? And how are they like to be inſtrumental to beget you out of lightneſs, lying and vanity, who are in it themſelves? And how are they like to beget you out of pride and covetouſneſs, who are in it themſelves? And how are they like to beget you out of Whoredom and Swearing, who are in it themſelves? And theſe are Miniſters God never ſent, that profit not the people at all, but keep them alwayes learning, but laden with corruption, and led away with divers luſts; Are they not Miniſters of Antichriſt, that keep people ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of Truth, which would ſave, & ſet them free from their ſins. O people, ſlow of heart to believe what the Lord hath ſpoken by his Prophets and Servants unto you, beſeeching you in Chriſts ſtead to come out of your ſins, that you might be reconciled to God, that you might unload your ſelves of that heavy and dark burthen of ſin, and leave your ſins, and forſake your ſins, and break off from your ſins by timely Repentance. Oh poor ſhattered people, I do believe you have not all ſinned out your day, though certainly many have, but there is large love and bowels of pity yerning in my heart towards you: Therefore to you I call, while it is to day, hear the Voice of Chriſt Jeſus, hear, that your Souls may live; hear, that you may come out of the Grave of ſin and treſpaſſes where you are dead, that you may come out of the way of evil men, and not walk in the way of the ungodly, nor any longer ſtand in the way of ſinners; for that brings death, and keeps you in death. O ſit no longer in the ſeat of the ſcornful and mockers, leſt your bonds be made ſtrong, ſo ſtrong in iniquity, that you will never be able to get out. Oh people come out of Hell, come out of the Graves, come out of Death, be warned and awakened, ſtand up from the Dead, where you long have lain aſleep, that Chriſt you may feel a Light to your feet, and a Lanthorn to your path, and then he will lead you out of the way of the Wicked, and the wayes of Death, the wayes of Hell, if ye hearken to him; ye that have been at eaſe from your Youth, at eaſe in vain thoughts that lodge in you, at eaſe in bad wicked words, in curſed ſpeaking, ſwearing and lying; The Lord is coming to take your peace and eaſe from you, and to bring terror and perplexity upon you; God's hand is lifted up againſt you, Vials, Vials, Plagues, Plagues; Wo, wo, to the Inhabitants of the Earth, & the Sea, and all the wicked that do wickedly, on them will the Lord pour forth the Vials of his Wrath. He hath begun dreadfully to warn thee, O England, of the evil of thy wayes, by Sword and other Judgements, to the cutting off many of thine Inhabitants; and yet how few in thee take notice of the Hand of the Lord which is lifted up againſt thee? Hadſt thou hearkened to the Counſel of God, through his Servants and Meſſengers, which he ſent unto thee ſeveral years agoe, foretelling what wo would befal thee if thou wenteſt on in thy ſins, which if thou hadſt hearkened unto, ſurely theſe Miſeries, Plagues and Calamities, that are come and coming, would not have come upon thee; but now in way of Judgement is the Lord pleading with them that would not own his hand of Love; and miſery after miſery ſhall overtake them, unleſs they ſpeedily repent and turn to the Lord God. Oh! do you not ſee the hand of the Lord, which is lifted up to ſmite and cut down the wicked workers? Surely you prophane wicked ones, you Hypocrites and Diſſemblers, you ſhall ſee it, and feel it more and more, if you repent not, and come out of your wickedneſs, which abounds in the Nation as in Sodom; and if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom and Gomorah, they would have repented of their wickedneſs.

Truly when I conſider thy ſins, O England, thy great Abominations wherewith thou haſt grieved the Lord, and kindled his diſpleaſure againſt thee, I could expect nothing but utter ruine and deſtruction from the Almighty to come upon thee and thy Inhabitants, onely this ſtayes me in hope, knowing God hath raiſed a ſmall remnant of Righteous Ones, that are vexed with the filthineſs of thine Inhabitants, and their wicked Converſations; if the Nation be not wholly ruined, it's for their ſakes, whom you, O people of England, have ſought to caſt out and baniſh from amongſt you for Chriſts ſake; but onely for their ſakes, I have no ground in me to believe, but that great miſery, yea even utter ruine would come upon this Nation and People. You have been ſo wicked and ſtiffnecked againſt the Lord, that it may be the Lord will not permit the Righteous Perſons amongſt you to interceed for you; but that in this day of calamity the Righteous Man muſt onely deliver his own Soul, but not be able to deliver any of you that have ſold your ſelves to work wickedneſs; it may be, if Noah, or Daniel, or any of the Apoſtles or Miniſters of Chriſt ſhould intercede the Lord for you, yet the Lord will not be heard of them on your behalf, ſo as to turn away his Wrath and Judgement which is towards you, O People of England. So you that have not ſinned out your day, be awakened out of your ſins, be no longer partaker with the wicked in ſin, nor at eaſe in your ſins, but come to that which condemns ſin, and deſtroys the Devils works, that you may be ſaved and be hid in the day of the Lords Wrath, that you may truſt in the Lord, and ſtay your ſelves upon the God of Jacob, who is ariſing in his might and Power to puniſh the wicked for all their ungodly deeds which they have done, and all the hard ſpeeches which they have ſpoken againſt him and his People; and he will ſweep away the refuge of lies; and he will render vengeance on all them that know him not, and that obey not the Goſpel; yea, he will pour fury on his Adverſaries, and juſt recompence on his Enemies, and all that are at eaſe in ſin, and waxed wanton on the Earth; terror ſhall ſhortly take hold on them, and fearfulneſs ſhall ſurprize the Hypocrite; and they ſhall call to the Mountains and Hills to cover them, and hide them from the Wrath of the Lamb, and ſhall not be able to dwell with devouring burning, when the Lord appears in his terrible Majeſty, in a way of fierce Wrath, Judgement, and fiery Indignation.

Therefore, O people, take warning if it be not too late; to them that have ſinned out their day it is: but for their ſakes that have not quite ſinned out their day is this written, that they may be awakened, and turn to the Lord at his reproof, before their day be over, and Gods Spirit leave ſtriving with them, and the door of Mercy be ſhut againſt them, ſo as they ſhall find no place of Repentance nor entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, though they cry, Lord, Lord, open unto us!

THE END.