OH England , England's Rulers from the highest to the lowest , hear the Word of the Lord yea Rulers and Inhabitants of this Land ; for behold thus saith the Almighty and dreadful God of Heaven & Earth , a happy Land or Nation might England have been if you had made your Lawes and Decrees for the suppressing of evil doers , works and workers of iniquity which aboundeth in this Land , and spared my People who fear my Name , and let the oppressed go free ; which was the thing I required at your hands , and for this very end and purpose I gave and betrusted you with power that you might have done the thing that pleased me , saith the Lord ; who raised you out of your suffering state ( wherein many of you was sensible of sufferings ) under the hands of your enemies , as many of my People were in their days , and I delivered them into your hands , and brought you to your Dominions again , because they did not the thing that was right before me ; therefore they had but their day , and you have had a day also ; they persecuted and imprisoned my People , in which sufferings several of them suffered untill death , and they were guilty of innocent blood , and my hand turned against them for their overthrow : But what have you done ? your day is yet , have you amended any of these things , or have you added affliction to affliction , and strengthened their bands , and caused the oppressed to groan under your cruelties , which many of you have not spared to exercise upon them that fear my name ? And how have you sought their ruine and destruction , and to separate them from the Land of their Nativity ? And how have you been renting and tearing with your might and strength the Husband from the Wife , the Wife from the Husband , and Parents from their tender Children ? is this done unto them for evil doing , or because they serve and worship me , saith the Lord ? What say you to it , if you have found wickedness and abomination amongst them you are the more excusable ; but if it be for the exercise of their Conscience towards Me , and because they can serve none but Me , then woe be unto you for ever except you with speed repent ; no longer harden your hearts against me , you shall know I am the Lord , for the day of your recompence is coming ; yea , the day is hastening upon you , wherein I will call you to account ; and where is the mighty Man amongst you , with all 〈◇〉 Lawes and Decrees that will be able to plead with me in the dreadful day of my Vengeance ; Oh what account can you give of your Stewardship ? you shall know the power and dominion is mine , saith the Lord God Almighty : Did my hand turn against your enemies and delivered them into your hands that you might be a scourge to them ? what think you concerning your selves ? are you more righteous then they ? did not many of you see the evil in them , and have not you exceeded them in a high manner ? who shall deliver you , or who shall be able to help you in the day of your distress , or where will you hide your heads in the day of your Calamity if you repent not ?

My soul even mournes within me for the Inhabitants of this Land , who have rejected the Councel of the Lord , and hardened their hearts against God : Oh that one might a little prevail with you , that you would set your selves to seek the Lord , and stand no longer in the gainsaying , but turn to the Witness of God in your selves , which reproves you for your evil deeds , that through true repentance you may meet the Lord in Sion , that a habitation and a hiding place you may know with the Lord in the mighty day that 's hastning upon all the workers of unrighteousness . As I was prest in my spirit to write to thy Rulers and Inhabitants oh England , being in deep exercise concerning such a weighty matter , I even set my self to wait upon the Lord , and after some hours waiting upon the Lord , my heart being exercised with him , the God of Israel spake on this wise , Great shall be the increase and gathering of my People , they shall be as the sands on the sea shore ; but upon the wicked and ungodly who have provoked me to jealousie , destruction , destruction , desolation , misery and woe , sore Calamities , sword and famine , plague and pestilence , such that never was from the beginning . Oh the sence of thy misery oh England caused my bowels to be moved with compassion for thee ; oh how doth my soul pitty thee with thy leaders , thy Rulers and all thy Inhabitants , who have set yourselves to make war with the Lamb and his Followers : Oh whether will you run , to whom will you fly for refuge ? neither hills nor mountains will cover you , neither can you hide your selves in the clefts of the Rocks ; oh the mighty day of dread and terrour that 's hastning , wherein you will remember your dealings when terrour and fear compasseth you about on every side ; then shall you say , blessed are they that fear God and not Men ; oh the cry that will be among you , then shall many come crying unto them , that you now seek to destroy who fear God in deed and in truth , and shall say , pray to your God for us , that he may shew us mercy in the day of our distress .

In which neither your Gods of Silver nor Gold shall be able to deliver you , your Lawes nor Decrees , nor power of darkness shall be able to help you ; and all you inferior Officers in this Land who have put your selves forward in this work of persecuting the People of the Lord ; and say , you have the King's law , and you must do your office : Oh that you considered what you are about , for it 's neither King nor Parliaments that can save , deliver , or excuse you in this approaching dreadful day of the mighty God , in which he will take vengeance upon his enemies ; and this know oh King and Parliament , that neither your Bishops , Deans , Prebends , Priests , nor Prelates that can be a saviour to you in the day wherein the dreadful God will execute his pleasure , though they have taught and instructed you in this way , who are ready to flatter with you , and say you do God good service in this work ; but it will be manifest , and you shall know in the day of your Visitation , whether you have done service for the Lord , or whether you have been fighting against God ; you Bishops with all your Priests , you have now a power to uphold you , and great revenues many of you have ; but the day of your desolation slumbers not , for the hand of the Lord is turned against you , and all your power and lawes to uphold you , it will all be too little for you , for one mightier then you all , hath sealed his decree concerning you , except you repent : And as I live saith the Lord you shall partake of what is aforesaid , according to your doings : Oh my soul pitties you , the time is fast hastning wherein your coverings will be rent and torne in sunder , and you shall appear as you inwardly are , and you shall deceive my People no more saith the Lord .

Oh King , oh King happy Prince might thou have been , and of renown in deed if thou hadst never inclined an ear to flattering Priests , who for self ends will cry peace , peace ; oh that the time past might suffice , and thou turn to the Lord : bear with me a little oh King , and receive a few plain words from one that loves thy soul , who dares not flatter with any but in plainness of speech declare the truth , hadst thou took the Lord for thy Councellor , and inclined thine ear to the witness of God in thee which would have taught thee to do as thou would , and also to have broke down oppression , and let the Israel of God gone free ; surely then Nations should have bowed before thee , and thine enemies not been able to stand against thee , but a prosperous Prince indeed thou should have been . But surely , surely my soul saith within me , well would it be for thee oh King that thou would yet return to the Lord , and wait to know him to be thy chief Councellor , and it may be thou mayest yet be happy ; and how honourable will it be for thee to have the Lord for thy Councellor ; and to do that which may please the Lord ; and herein thou mayest please him who is God of Gods , and King of Kings ; as time is yet given thee and power is yet in thy hand , to break off oppression and take the heavy burdens off from the afflicted suffering people of the Lord within thy Dominions . Break their bonds and let them go free in their exercise to the Lord their God , who are willing to be subject to whatever is good , and what better Subjects can a King desire ? and this is the truth there is no other way for thy safety , welfare and happiness . But it may be , thy Bishops and thy Priests will say no ; but take heed of their flatteries ; and this I have to say concerning them ; but I had rather be silent herein , but dare not but declare the truth from the Lord , for the day of their discovery is hastning , wherein they will be loathed , abhorred and hated above all people , because they have been the teachers , leaders and instructers , and have encouraged both Rulers and People in persecuting , imprisoning and banishing them that fear the Lord only , therefore shall they receive a reward according to their doings , but blessed are them who fear and trust in the name of the Lord , for well will it be with them whether living or dying .

And all you both high and low of what ranke or degree soever , who have not yet sinned out the day of your visitation , who have any breathings after the Lord , and desires life everlasting rather then death and destruction : Awake , awake in the name of the Lord , and look to your selves , now is the time , but you know not how long , how long , the Lord hath long borne and forborne , and long hath he waited for the returning of his people from iniquity , transgression and sin ; but how have you abounded therein ▪ many writing , exhortations and warnings have you had , but how slighted , rejected and contemned by the general part , and hath been accounted as a thing of nought , and many hardened their hearts ; but in vain do you harden your hearts against the Lord : be not so blind , be not so ignorant , know you not that when the hearts of a people is altogether hardened against God that destruction is near ; remember Pharaoh of old , how did he withstand the Lord and hardened his heart against God , and what was his end , put it not from your selves , the day draws near you , and whether you will hear or forbear the concernment is to your selves , and the thing it s very weighty , you will know and feel it so to be , and as one in the sence of the beholding of your sad and miserable state who fear Man more then God , and the sad calamity , which unavoidably will overtake you except you with speed forsake your iniquity , and turn to the Lord ; and now I have in dread and fear of the Almighty God given this my testimony amongst you in●●bitants of the Land of my Nativity , and in the day wherein you I see and behold these things come to pass , then will you remember me , and then may you say the Lord hath spoken by me : Oh that mine eyes were as a fountain that I might weep day and night for the Inhabitants of this Land ; I am pained , I am pained for thee oh England ; oh that I might stand in the gap in the terrible day ; unto what people under the Heavens hath the Lord been more favourable then to thee oh Land ? and how hast thou requited him . Much might be said , but I leave you , look what interest you have in God , for the Witness is near you , by which you for ever will be justified or condemned ; and as one who hath received mercy from the Lord my soul shall breath for your return , that your souls may also live ; I had been silent in this matter if I could have had rest and peace with the Lord in forbearing ; but now I have cleared my Conscience in faithfulness to God and also to you : my soul shall return to its rest with the Lord .