THE Shepherds Prognostication, Fore-telling, The sad and strange Eclipse of the Sun, which wil happen on the 29. of March this present year 1652.

WHICH Eclipse will begin about eight of the clock in the fore-noon, and so con­tinue till past the hour of eleven, which will be the dismallest day that ever was known since the year 33. when our Savior Christ suffered on the Crosse for the sins of Mankind.

At which time, the Seas did roare, the earth did quake, the graves did open, the temple rent from the top to the bottom, Luk. 23.45.

And there was a darknesse over all the Land.

This Prediction also fore-tells of many strange Presages and Passages which will follow after that horri­ble Eclipse of the Sun, and what wil insue.

With a perfect way whereby to avoid the insuing danger.

By L. P.

London Printed for Fra. Grove on Snow-hill.

THE Preface to the Readers, and Hearers.

Beloved Friends and Country-men,

I Have caused this little booke to bee Printed, which I call the Shepherds Prognostication, and to be sent abroad into the several parts of England, Wales, & Scotland, whereby to give all men forewarning of many strange and wonderfull alte­rations that will come to passe this present year 1652. and of the great and terrible Ecclipse of the Sun, also predicting what will after come to passe: Marke, peruse, and note it well, it may through Gods assistance be both for your publick and private [Page] good. It is no fable, for whosoever lives to see the 29. of March shall surely find the matter here written too true, except the world be brought to an end before that day comes, Mat. 24.29. and immediatly after the tribula­tion of those daies, shall the Sun be dar­kened, and the Moon shall not give her light. Our Saviour Jesus Christ in the 24. chapter, verse 6, 7 concerning the end of the world, sayeth thus, there shall be Ways, and rumors of wars, Nation shall rise against Nation, the Father shal rise against the Son, and the Son against the Father, and the like, verse 33. when you shall see all these things come to passe know that the King­dom of God is neer, even at your doores. And now to go on forwards.

Concerning these sayings, let us proceed further, and also consi­der what hath been seen and knowne amongst us which are called Christi­ans, [Page] in these our late and sinfull times hath not the Father and the Sonne, the Mother and the Daughter, yea, and the Husbands and Wives, been, and fallen to great discords, about matters of Religion, they being of divers and severall opinions. And hath not the Lord for our unrepented sins? sent many plagues and afflictions amongst us, and poured downe his heavy judgements even upon the cheif­est of ten thousands?

Have wee not had the terrible Plague of Pestilence, both in Eng­land, Scotland, VVales and Ireland, rageing and devouring our people? and have wee not heard and felt of Wars, and rumours of Warres, with much blood shed and slaugh­ters, which would never have come to passe, if we had never of­ended God.

Are not all these fore-runners which I have named, sufficient tokens and evidences to prove that the Lord is angry with us, for our sinfull living, and that the end of the world is neare at hand; then I pray you consider what followes, and make good use of your time while yet you remaine alive.

Here followeth a briefe Description of that dreadfull and horrible Ecclipse of the Sun, which will happen upon Mon­day, being the 29th. day of March this present yeare 1652.
Shewing also By examples of fore-past times what will insue be­fore and after this prodigious ECCLIPSE.

THE Ecclipse of the Sunne which is here spoken of will bee on Monday March 29. 1652. beginning forty eight minites after eight of the [Page] clock in the forenoone, and end­ing seventeene minutes after e­leven, in which time the Sunne, which is the eye and light of the world, will suffer such a black E­clipse, that it will almost be over­come with darknesse, which E­clipse signifieth and betokeneth the fatall over-throw of some great Kings and Princes and men in Authority, within the limites of Christian Dominions, with many other troubles and sad disasters that will happen this yeare in our Cities, and Countries, as cruell dealings amongst Neighbours, hatred, envy, and malice, Wars, and blood-shed, house-burnings, great Robberyes by Land and Sea, violent and forcible deaths to many, Famine, Plagues, and other strange sicknesses: It also threatens a mighty disturbance be­twixt the inferior people and their [Page] Governors, together with slaugh­ter and captivity of many great persons, the ransaking and sack­ing of many great Cityes and Townes: Moreover, this Eclipse signifies alteration of Opinions, changes of Magistrates, new Re­ligions, and a great madnesse rag­ing and terrifying thousands of people.

Furthermore, it foreshews that there will follow unseasonable weathers with strange and pro­digeous sights to bee seene in the aire, with horrible tempests of thunders and lightnings, and blusterous Windes, which will destroy the ships at Sea, and o­verthrow many buildings on the Land, the Corne will be blasted on the ground and the Cattle of the field will dye of strange dis­eases

And thus loving Friends have [Page] I with much diligence and care­fulnesse, plainly and publikly laid open unto you the manner how this Eclipse of the Sun shall be, the time and day when, the length of its continuance, whilst it is e­clipsed, and the strange and sad ef­fects that will follow after accord­ing to the Scripture and the sense of Astrology.

Now will I with Gods leave also shew you a way and meanes, whereby to avoid those dangerous evills which is like to fall upon the chiefest parts of all Europe, of which England is the first to bee spoken of.

Here followeth the Au­thors directions, being the rea­diest way of all wayes to escape Gods anger and keep our selves out of danger in the proceeding perilous times, and thus it followeth.

IT is an old saying and worthy of observation how that God governes the starres, and the stars governe men, but this is a certaine thing, that God both can and will govern both stars and men, as you may read in the book of Joshua 10.13. How that the Lord God caused the Sunne and the Moon to stand still, until such time that the people of God had a­venged themselves of their ene­mies, [Page] whereby we may well un­derstand and know that God hath a greater power, then the Earth, and the Sea, the Aire, and the Firmament; the Planets, and the Stars, the Sunne and the Moon, and in a moment of time can the Lord cause them all to alter their properties, and to do what­soever he pleases to have done.

Looke againe in the booke of Isaiah how Hezekiah was sicke, and how the Prophet of the Lord came unto him, and bad him set his house in good order, and ther­withall told him that he should dye and not live: then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly, and be­hold the messenger of the Lord re­turned unto Hezekiah again and said, the Lord hath heard thy prayers, and seen thy teares, and behold hee will adde unto thy daies, and thou shalt [Page] live yet fifteen years longer; and this shall be a sign from the Lord, I will bring againe the shadow of the Sun ten degrees backward whereby it is gone down. So the Sunne returned ten degrees, as the Lord God had promised it should doe, Isaiah 28. vers. 8.

By this we see that the power of the Lord farre exceeds all other powers whatsoever they be or can be. Now let us draw into consi­deration, why and for what cause the Lord made the Sun and the Moon to stand still in the time of Joshua, and at another time, that the Sun should goe back ten de­grees, in the time of Hezekiah: Surely the reason was this, Jo­shua, was a righteous man, one that served, and obeyed the Lord in whatsoever he was commanded to doe: moreover Joshua was a Warriour, and had promised to [Page] fight the Lords battle which he performed with much diligence wherefore the Lord shewed him this wonderfull token of his love and care that hee had over Joshua and his followers by examples of the standing still of the Sun and Moon.

And as for Hezekiah he lamen­ted, he wept, and he prayed unto the Lord, in so much that the Lord God tooke pitty and compassion upon him, and withall prolonged his life and restored him to his for­mer health, so that the plague of Pestilence nor any other sicknesses with which his Country was an­noyed, had no more power over him.

Now here followes on the Direction.

LEt us strive to accompany Jo­shua in his faithfulnesse, and with all true obedience keep our promise with God and endeavour our selves to please his divine Ma­iesty that the Lord may assist us in whatsoever we take in hand and let us with good Hezekiah, be sure to set our houses in order for we have no lease of our lives: Let us I say call upon the Lord, and pray unto his holy name, that those ex­tream calamities and dreadfull de­stinyes which are like suddenly to come upon us, may be through the mercifulnesse of our good God tur­ned away from our sinful Nation & let every man and every woman be sorry for our time mispent, since we all have done amisse.

And so to conclude, let us with speed seeke to amend our lives, and that I hold to bee the ready way to preserve us alive: It is but a little while, and there­fore I pray you to looke to it in time. And so the Lord be merci­full unto us all, Amen.

FINIS.

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this EEBO-TCP Phase II text, in whole or in part.