ENGLNADS alarm-bell. To be rung in the ears of all true Christians, to awaken them out of dead sleep of Sin and security; that they may arm themselves by Prayer and Repentance, and seek the Lord while he may be found, before the evil day cometh. Written by Charles Hammond.  Joel 2.1. Blow the Trumpet in Zion, and sound an Alarum in my holy mountains; let all the Inhabitants of the Land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. 
LONDON, Printed for Richard Burton, at the sign of the horse-shoe in Smithfield. 1652.   

England's alarm-bell.  
THis alarm-bell, I have sent to be rung in the ears of all true Christians, whereby it may arowse them from the dead sleep of sin & security: & to beware of God's judgements, which he threatens against all obstinate, presumptuous, & stiff-necked people: behold friends, I would not have you think, that I will take upon me to prophesy or Prognosticate any thing in this book, but what is warranted me by the Scriptures. That little talon that the Lord hath lent me, I would not hide it, but willingly so lay it out, that the use may redound to the glory of God, & the good of all those that fear him: my desire is, that this my small Book, called England's alarm-bell, may be as powerful in your ears, & work so much for your souls, to stop God's wrath by Prayer and Repentance, as the Preaching of Jonah to the Ninivites, as the Lord commanded him; who at the hearing of Jonah, when he said, Yet forty days & Niniveh shall be overthrown: they fasted and mayed with such earnestness & sincerity to the Lord, that God repented him of the evil that he said he would do, & did it not: as you may read in the 3 of Jonah; You have heard lately, & do hear by the judgements & Prognostications of many men now lately, of many sad things that are like to befall, not only this Nation, but all Christendom besides; whether they will prove true or false, none but the Lord knows: the stars & planets I must confess are the Messengers of God, & are sent as fore runners of many things, which they do dive much into, yet fail in their judgements many times: & many times I am persuaded that the Lord doth call back the terror of those signs and tokens that he sends, to make them know, that they are but men.  
There is many I am persuaded, the did look to see the 29 of March last, to be a terrible day, as all writers did prognosticate. I must confess the Eclipse was true, both of the Moon the 15 day, & the Sun the 29, according as they had written; the Moon indeed a very sad one, & great winds rose upon her eclipse, according as M. Culpepper writ in his almanac; For the Sun, 't was eclipsed so much, as the appearance of it was like a new Moon; 9 parts of 12 of her were darkened, or more, but the splendour of that that did appear of it, was so bright and glorious, & so clear the air was, that the day was not so terrible to behold: But the power of the Lord was admirable in this Eclipse: I would desire all you that have seen this Eclipse, to consider this thing the power of God over man was this, (that I may with Reverence say) He caused light out of darkness: for the splendour of the part of the Sun that was not eclipsed was so glorious, that it gave a luster on earth from the dark heavens; which if the Lord had suffered the clouds to have covered the part of the Sun that was not eclipsed, with such clouds & darkness that was in the morning before she was eclipsed, it would have been then (I think) a dismal day to look on indeed; & then perhaps more glory would have been given to some men on earth, then to God above, and afterwards would have been so extolled for their prognostications by so many silly people in these times, that they would have took their almanacs for Scripture, & have looked more in them, then in the Bible. They writ very largely of the effects that will follow; what the effects will be the Lord knows: & if they do know by the stars & planets, that the Lord doth intend those things that they writ on; yet let this my alarm-bell sound so much comfort in the ears of all true Christians, that if we will but truly & with a sincere heart repent us of our sins, & leave them, the Lord will repent him of the evil that he pretended, & leave punishing: you shall find in the 13 of Hosea the 9 & 10 ver. the comfortable words of the Lord which he spare to his people after he had afflicted them; saith he, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help; I will be thy King, where is any other that may save thee in all thy Cities? by this you may see the Lord hath no delight to the destruction of a nation or people. I desire you likewise, that the brightness of the Lord's mercy in this eclipse of the Sun, may not be a means to harden your hearts, as I am afraid it doth too many in this Land, that makes a laughing at it, & thinks, because it was not so dismal a day as it was spoke of by the Astrologers, that God sent those signs & tokens in vain: I desire you to be careful what you do, & scoff not at the wonders of the Lord, for though he lightened the glory of the Sun, in the eclipse; without repentance, he will darken the glory of this Nation, & we may feel the effects. Remember what the Lord saith by the mouth of his Prophet, Isaiah, cap. 5.12 They regard not the works of the Lord, neither consider the oppression of his hands; therefore my people are gone to Captivity, because they have no knowledge. I look upon this eclipse in my opinion in two several ways, that it is a forerunner both of Mercy & judgement. First, I take it as the Lord's mercy, that he shows these signs in heaven to forewarn us on earth of his judgements to come, & that all his people may prepare to meet him by repentance, before the day of his wrath comes upon us. Next, I look upon it as his judgements, which he threatens by it; for the Lord may say by us as he did by the Children of Israel, Amos 3.2. You only have I known, of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you for your iniquities": For truly I think, no Nation under the Sun hath the Lord done more then for us, & yet no nation hath provoked him as we have done. Look again in the 4. of Amos, 9, 10, 11. verses I have sent amongst you the Pestilence, after the manner of Egypt; your young men have I slain with the Sword, and have taken away your Horses; and I have made the stink of your corpse to come up in your nostrils; ye: have you not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have overthrown some of you, as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, & you were as firebrands plucked out of the burning, yet have you 〈◊〉 returned unto me, saith the Lord: therefore thus will I do with thee, O Israel; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.  
I think if we rightly understand these words, the Lord may say as much to England as he did to Israel, & we may apply it to ourselves: therefore I conclude this matter concerning the Eclipses; & desire you to take notice of this, that when God shows wonders in the heavens above, and signs in the earth below, 'tis high time to look about us, & not to be as they were in the time of Noah, for, They were eating & drinking, & marrying, & giving in marriage, till the flood came upon them all. But if you will take my advice, look upon them as they are men; & though God hath endued them with more knowledge than other men; Yet all the wisdom of this world is but foolishness, in regard of the knowledge & wisdom of God above. Now give me leave to ring this my alarm-bell once more to this sinful Nation, & to show you in this book, by the help of God & the Scriptures, the reason & cause that the Lord hath to enter into a controversy with us; & truly I think there is none that hears or reads this Book, that hath the fear of God before their eyes, but will acknowledge this alarm-bell hath just cause to be rung lou● in the ears of all this Nation, to tell England of her sins, that by prayer we may stand in the gap, to keep out the judgements of God which is like to be poured out upon this Land.  
I refer the consideration of this Book to any Christian, that hath any feeling of the grace of God in them. Was sin ever at a greater height than it is now at this time in our Land? and the more God strives to humble us by his judgements & afflictions, the more do we presume in sin: what sins is there in the Scriptures to be pronounced against, but we are guilty of? what Nation under the sun doth more abound in iniquity then we do, & especially now of late times? and briefly, these four sins which I shall name, are like four loadstones, to draw down the heavy wrath of God upon us; that is, Pride, coveteousness, Blasphemy, and drunkenness; & indeed Pride & coveteousness are ringleaders of most sins under the sun: Pride was one of the chief sins of Sodom. Look in Ezek. 16.49. what the Lord saith to Samaria. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom; Pride, fullness of Bread, & abundance of idleness was in her, & in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And at vers. 50. And they were haughty, & committed abomination before me; therefore I took them away as I saw good. May not the Lord say so to our Nation? did you ever see or hear, that pride was ever grown to the height in Town & City, as 'tis now? nay, there are some that are so puft up with the pride of heart, that they will pine their carcase inwardly. What fashiō● is there invented every day, to fulfil the pride of this nation? & we do as 'twere almost tell God to his face, that the more he seeks to humble us by his judgments which he hath sent amongst us, the more we presumptuously seek to exalt ourselves, by our pride & ambition: but remember what the Lord saith, He will pull down the proud and lofty, and exalt the humble and meek.  
Covetousness is a sin that is linked with Pride, for neither of them both hath any Charity in them: the poor may lie & starve in the streets, rather then pride or covetousness will either clothe their nakedness, or fill their bellies: no, no, they will rather eat up the poor (as the Lord saith) rather then feed them. But look to it, thou that hast corn, & wine, & riches; you are but stewards for the poor, & where the Lord gives much, much he requires, either temporal or spiritula: thou must give an account one day, how thou hast spent that talon that God hath lent thee; without you use it the beteer, he will say, Depart, I know you not; I was a hungry, and you gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you took me not in; naked, & you clothed me not; sick, and in Prison, and you visited me not: Mat. 25.42, 43. I think you understand, he meant his poor Members on earth; how many poor souls in these times are ready to starve, & where is the pity or charity that is showed unto them? Did not Job say, The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh, blessed be his Name. And know'st thou, O man, what ere thou be, how soon the Lord may take thy wealth from thee, or thee from it? do not be fed with the fancies of these times; that it is a relic of Popery to give alms or be charitable; no, if thou hast faith & no good works, it is a dead faith: all thy gold & riches cannot buy thee one dram of Repentance, nor procure one blast of breath, more than the Lord (out of his mercy) doth bestow upon thee: thou mayst covet riches here on earth, but thou canst not covet life; thou mayst covet, but it is in vain.  
The Scriptures are fulfilled in these our times, & indeed look in Mat. 24. & read it, & you shall find all things fulfilled, only the calling of the Jews, & we know not how soon that may be. Our Saviour saith, And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold: & indeed so it doth now, for there is little Love or Charity to be found amongst us; look what the Lord saith by the mouth of his Prophet Hosea, Chap. 4.1, 2. Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye Children of Israel; for the Lord hath a Controverfie with the Inhabitants of the Land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the Land. By swearing, & lying, killing, & stealing, & committing adultery, they break out, & blood toucheth blood: therefore shall the Land mourn, & every one that dwelleth therein shall languish. We may apply this to ourselves, if we consider prophesy: if the Lord will not hold him guiltle; that taketh his Name in vain; How will he hold him guiltless, that takes a glory in swearing, as many do in these times, who boast in their oaths, & scarce ever think of God but when they swear by his name, whether it be false or true? look in Zechariah 5.3, 4. you shall see what the Lord sent against that thief & the Swearer, for the Lord join & them both together; for the Swearer robs God of his honour: & he sent out a Curse to destroy them, & it shall remain in the midst of their house, till it had destroyed both them & it. I desire you that are addicted to that sin beware, for it is such a sin that you can make no excuse for it; it brings you neither pleasure nor profit, unless it be the wrath of God, which he threatens against presumptuous sins: it is such a sin in this Nation (the Lord be merciful to us) that you shall scarce walk the streets but you shall hear little Children, the scarce knows the right hand from the left, yet they can learn to swear, & their parents scarce correct them for it. The Lord may well visit the sins of the father upon the Children, when you suffer your Children to take his most sacred Name in vain.  
The last sin which I have to name: for indeed 'tis not for me to number, nor to reckon all the several sins of this Nation, for I think we exceed Sodom & Gomorrah in our wickedness; only I have touched these four sins, as namely, Pride, covetousness, Blasphemy, & drunkenness, which is the four crying sins of this Nation: my alarm-bell rings loud in the ears of all those that loves the sin of drunkenness: see what the Lord saith by the mouth of his Prophet Joel, 1.5. Awake ye Drunkards, and weep, & howl all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is out off from your mouth. Read the Chapter, & you shall find what the Lord did do for abusing those creatures; for in time of plenty, they made a wast: therefore the Lord brought a Famine & scarcity, because of their drunkenness & Gluttony.  
Again, look in Habakkuk 2.15, 16. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, & makest him drunk also, that thou Mayst look on his nakedness. The cup of the Lord; right hand shall be turned unto thee, & shameful sponge shall be on thy glory. Let us take heed: we have, the Lord be thanked, plenty; but by our riotousness, & drunkenness, it is just with God to bring a scarcity. How many poor souls, in this nation, would be glad of a draught of Béer to quench their thirst; when many thousands take so much, they are fain to disgorge it up again, & worst then beasts, most shamefully abuse those creatures that God hath sent for the nourishment of man? I desire you to beware of that sin, for a man is not himself when he is in drink, he is subject to all kind of wickedness. How many dangerous & desperate sins hath many men fallen into when they have been in the case, and such great ones too, that hath endangered both soul and body.  
Now, I have given you warning by my alarm-bell, that you may prepare your salves by flying from sin, and flying to the Lord by repentance; which if we undoubtly do, we need not fear what man prognosticates; for the Lord hath promised, At what time soever a sinner doth repent him of his sins from the bottom of his heart, he will blot out all his iniquities. But we must not delay our repentance; & take our own time, for we know not how soon the Lord will come; but let us be like wise Virgins, to be ready at all times to meet him, that we may enter into glory with him: for thus much assure yourselves, there is like to be great troubles throughout all Christendom: for all nations are preparing for the destruction of one another. Just as the Lord speaketh shall be in the latter days: There shall be great Tribulations, such as was not since the beginning of the world, Mat. 24.21. For Nation shall rise against Nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be Famines, and great troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrow, Mark 13.8.  
And now to conclude, desiring you to look in Amos 5.14, 16. seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of Hosts, shall be with you, as he hath spoken. Hate the evil, and love the go●d, and establish Judgements in the gate; It may be the Lord of God of Hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph: For the Lord hath promised he will hide his people in the day of his wrath. Then let us seek the Lord while he may be found, before the evil day cometh; for if we get under the protection of his Wings, we need not feet the day of doom, nor the day of Death: neither Sword, Pestilence, nor Famine shall hurt us, for the Lord will bring his people out of all their troubles.  
So the last sound of this my alarm-bell, concludes with the sweet harmony of Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, Chap. 8. vers. 38, 39 Which I would desire all Christians in these sad times, to arm themselves with the same resolution, and then assure yourselves you shall be more than Conquerors. For, I am persuaded, saith S. Paul, That neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other Creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  
FINIS.