London's Destroyer DETECTED AND DESTRUCTION LAMENTED OR Some Serious Ruminations and Profitable Reflections upon the late Dreadful Dismal and never-to-be-forgotten CONFLAGRATION Where in is briefly comprehended several things considerable in order to LONDON'S 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 Widow she that was great among the Nations and Princess among the Provinces Verse 9 Her filthiness is in her Skirts she remembered not her latter end therefore she came down wonderfully Chap. 3. 40. Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord London Printed in the Year 1666. London's Destroyer Detected and Destruction Lamented etc. Harken O Heavens stand amazed 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'er 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! woe is me Alas What shall I say Let every Soul bewail this woeful Day Let every dry and barren heart lament And more than 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 complain'st 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 Thy startling words I cannot well endure Wherefore leave off and let me sleep secure Oh wonderful Is any yet so blind And woefully 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 thyself from sleep and search about And thou mayst quickly find the Reason out Open thy eyes and thou mayst plainly see That Wrath and Ruin doth encompass thee The Mighty God hath lately been at Work And hath amazed both Christian Jew and Turk Yea all the World hath cause to be afraid To think upon the Ruins he hath made The found whereof hath gone both far and near And many thousands have been filled with fear To hear and see what woeful 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 City's overthrow Alas poor England thou hast found it so But oh my heart even bleeds to think and tell What unto Landon lately hath befell London I say England's once famous City The Lord hath strangely Ruined without pity Yea London lately famous for Renown The Righteous God hath thrown it headlong down The stately Buildings of the same are burned And all its Beauty into Ashes turned Yea London once the glory of the World Is sadly now into confusion hurled 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 destroyed by Fire Oh fearful flame how matchless was thy rage No less than London could thy fury suage How terrible was thy devouring ●ace To spoil great London quite in three day's space No Tongue can tell no Pen can fully write How strangely thou didst thousands sore affright And drive them from their settled 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 havoc 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 Kingdom's Pride In Europe was not such a place beside London's destroyed 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 persuaded be To ruin that which hath so ruined 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 ruin to prevent Yea oftentimes thou hast been told in love That sin espoused would thy ruin prove And by experience thou hast found it so Yet still in sin thou more and more dost grow Thou often hast been soberly advised From time to time thou hast been advertised By such as sought thy welfare 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 abused them sore And for their sakes thou hast even sinned 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 welfare most regarded Whilst those have kindly entertained been That publicly 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 Profaneness 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 Entreat and Pray If that would make thee cast thy sins away Because I know thou must more righteous be Before God's anger will be turned 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 pained 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 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 filled 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 oppressed 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 thyself 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