A WARNING-PIECE FOR ENGLAND.  
By that sad and fearful Example that hath happened to Mèn, Women, and Children, all sorts of Cattle and Fowls; by Storms, Tempests, Hailstones, Lightning and Thunder, June 25. 1652.  
Written by Charles Hammond.  Joel 2.30, 31. 
And I will show Wonders in Heaven, and in Earth, Blood and Fire, and Pillars of Smoke.  
The Sun shall be turned into darkness, and the Moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.  
Printed for Richard Burton, at the Horse-shoe in Smithfield.   

A Warning-piece for all ENGLAND.  
BEloved Friends,  
I have here presented to you a small Book called, A Warning-piece for all England; which I would desire all true Christians to hearken to it; and being forewarned by those wonderful Examples of Almighty Gods heavy judgements, which I shall here relate unto you, that hath happened in this our Nation of late, that you may be hereafter forewarned by Prayer to prevent & stop the heavy wrath of God, which deservedly is like to be poured out upon us all.  
This is no Fable, nor invented Story, which is here to been related, but such truths, that thousands can witness it: but now adays many folks in this our Nation, are so hard of belief, that they will not beléeus unless they see; who are like Thomas Didimus, or like those People in Noah's time, that all the time he was building the Ark, would not believe the Flood, till such time as it came upon them and drowned them all.  
So in these our times, we have heard of the judgements that Almighty GOD hath sent in this our Nation, and yet we will not believe it; and if we did, we never strove by hearty Prayer and sound Repentance to keep the like from us: but to our great grief, we have of late both seen, heard, and felt the Wonders and judgements of the Lord here amongst us; and yet our hearts are as hard as ever they were: and so stiffnecked we are, that we will not humble ourselves, nor bow down neither our necks nor our knees by Prayer to the Lord our GOD, that he may stop his Wrath and judgements, and withdraw his heavy hand from this sinful and profane Nation.  
How many sad and woeful Accidents hath there befallen many people since the beginning of this present Year, by hanging, drowning, and killing themselves, and one another? It may justly be called a year of Wonder and Admiration, the like whereof hath not in any age been known.  
Therefore, all you that are true Christians, and loves the Name of our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ I desire you all that read or hear this Book, to love, honour, and fear that great God of Gods, and King of Kings, who by his Almighty power can make the Earth shake and tremble, and the Foundations of the Hills to move, as you shall find it written in the 18 Psalm (when David called upon the Lord to deliver him from his Enemies) and the 11, 12, and 13 verses; He made Darkness his secret place, his Pavilion round about him were dark Waters, and thick Clouds of the Skies: At the brightness that was before him his thick Clouds passed, Hailstones and Coals of Fire: The Lord also Thundered in the Heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; Hailstones, and Coals of Fire.  
The LORD hath a long time spoken to this sinful Nation, by the voice of the Gospel, and by his Ministers; which we not regarding, he now gins to speak loud to us, by the terrible voice of Thunder and Lightning, which many places of this our Land hath of late felt; as for example:  
On the twentieth of June last, at a place called Laughton, a Town in Cheshire, there happened such a tempestuous storm of Thunder, Lightning, and Hail, in the Church of that Town, that amazed all the People therein, killed a great many in the said Church, to the number of eleven, and also hurt many: Whilst the Minister was executing his place, there came a flash of fire into the Pulpit, which struck him down, but God be praised it did him no hurt. It is a wonderful Relation concerning the passages of it: for they that were strucken dead, never groaned, nor spoke not a word before they died; and some that sat next them never hurt, and yet touched them, to the astonishment of all those that saw it: Some were strucken and lay for dead, but recovered again; and others were wounded, and died since: there was a Child in the Mother's arms killed with the flashing of Lightning, and the Mother not hurt.  
In several places of this our Nation, there was Houses and Barns burned and shattered down, & many great Trees torn up by the roots.  
At Greenwich in Kent▪ there happened such a Storm of Thunder, Lightning, and Hail, that it broke not only many glass-windows, but it broke down the tops of many Houses in the said Town, and overthrew the gates of the Park by the violence thereof.  
At Uxbridge, by the violence of the Thunder, it threw a great door of from the hinges, & broke a great part of the house, a man being at the door blew him down, yet did him no harm▪  
Also, at Westchester, the side of a Church was beaten down, but did no hurt.  
At Ingerstone in Essex, a piece of that Steeple was beaten down, and a Pillar of the Church.  
Three Maids being together disputing one with another, one of them having a Bible in her hand, which Maid was a Papist, it is said immèdiatly came a flash of lightning and struck her dead, and the other two had no harm, nor the Bible hurt.  
Besides, in sundry places, Hogs, Sheep, Oxen, Horses, & divers other Cattle, were killed in this tempest of Thunder, Lightning, & Hail, Great storms & showers of Hail & Rain in some places, and in some none at all; in some Towns the people hath seen the storms and showers round about them, and no Rain at all with them: There hath been great harm done by the floods & waters in some places, and within five miles again, great want of rain & water, to refresh the thirsty land, which wanted.  
Now, you may see the wonders of the Lord, & the power of the Almighty; some of those Hailstones that fell, 'tis reported by many credible people that they were as big as eggs, & very Icy and hard, some had the print of a Rose and Crown, & some the print of Death.  
A most miserable sad Accident happened in the Church and Town of South-Okenton in Essex, the 21 of this instant June, about six a cloak at night, at which time was heard a most terrible great Thunder, with much Lightning: it burned a Barn full of Corn down to the ground, and then took hold of the Church, burned a great part of the same, melted the Bells and Led of the Steeple, and dispersed the same in little pieces all about the Church.  
The tenth of June last, it was such a storm in Wales in Glamorgan-shire in Breknoc-shire, & divers other parts of that County, that by the storm & flood that fell after, it drowned many sellers of salt, & carried away many fields of corn & hay; & to the wonder & astonishment of all that hears it, it carried away 7 dwelling-houses in one place, & 5 in another, & a great bridge; it carried not only the houses, but the people & all that was in them, a sad woeful sight to behold.  
The Lord destroyed the world in Noah's time with a flood, & he destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, & he made a Covenant that he would not destroy the world no more by water: he hath kept his Covenant with us, but how many Covenants, Oaths, and Protestations have we broken with him? Let us consider with ourselves, & not provoke the Lord our God, he shows us by these signs & wonders, that he is the ssame God, & that he hath the seas & waters at his command; he shows us that fire & water are his ministering spirits to extend the viols of his wrath on all rebellious & stiffnecked people  
The Foolish hath said in their heart (saith David) that there is no God; I am afraid, that in these sad and miserable times, that there are too many of such Opinions in this our Nation, that do not stick to speak it openly, and say, that all things comes by Nature, and there is neither God nor Devil: but I desire all true Christians to beware of such Atheists; for though they shall not have the happiness to see there is a God, yet they shall acknowledge one day, to their everlasting sorrow, that they then feel the powerful hand of God in punishing of such Blasphemy; and that there is a God that can cast them into that place, where they shall see there is a Devil to torment and punish all such Blasphemers. You see the Lord gins to speak loud to us, to make us know there is a God, and that he will be feared by all sorts of People.  
How many several Warnings hath the LORD sent to this our sinful Nation? First, he sent the Pestilence amongst us, which swept away thousands; and hath not the Sword a long time been amongst us, insomuch that we have sheathed it in one another's bowels? hath not the Father been against the Son, and the Son against the Father, and one Brother against another? We know not how soon the Lord may send a Famine amongst us, for all we have such plenty now, the Lord been praised.  
Hath not the Almighty showed Wonders in the Heavens above, and Signe● in the Earth below; and will none of all these soften and mollitie our stonie-hearts, to seek the Lord our God by unfeigned Prayer, and sound Repentance, and never let him go, as Jacob did when he wrestled with him, he would not let him go till he had blessed him, as you may read, in Gen. 32.26.  
Beloved Friends, I would not have you think, that those on whom the hand of the Lord hath fallen by these accidents, are greater Sinners than we; for remember what Christ saith in the 23 Chap. of Luke, speaking of those eighteen on whom the Tower of Siloe fell; for, saith he, Unless ye Repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Therefore let us take warning by those examples, for we know not whose turn it is next.  
Prayer is the safest Bulwark that we shall find in these times, to protect us against all our Enemies; if any thing will prevail with God, to stop his Wrath, which is like to be poured out upon this land, it must be by that means. When Jonah proclaimed yet forty days and Niniveh shall be destroyed, yet by Prayer & Fasting the Lord repent him of the evil he pretended, and he did it not; as you may read in the 3 of Jonah; again, you may read in Martin Luther's time, one had made a Covenant with the Devil, & had sealed a Bond with his blood, and delivered it to him, and when he had made it known to Martin Luther, of his sad condition; by Prayer that zealous Father prevailed so much with God, that the Devil was forced to come and deliver the Bond up, and so saved this poor Soul, which was as it were almost lost.  
By Prayer Joshua prevailed with God, that the Sun and Moon stood still till he had avenged himself of his Enemies, as you may read in Joshua 9.13.  
By Prayer Moses prevailed with God, so that he destroyed not the people, as he intended, when they made the molten Calf, & worshipped it: But pray hear what the Lord said unto Moses, Let me alone that I may destroy this people, Exod. 33.10. So that you may see that Prayer did, as it were, bind the hands of God, so that he could not destroy the people, by reason Moses prayer was so fervent to him for them.  
By Prayer the Plague ceased in David's time, & by Prayer and Repentance he had his sins forgiven.  
There is a many that are living at this present, that can remember how wonderfully God did afflict the City of London, and divers other places in this our Nation, by his Scourge of Pestilence, but yet by their earnest Prayers and Supplications to Almighty God, it pleased the Lord to stay his hand.  
Nay, what is it that Prayer will not do, if it be done with earnestness and sincerity? Therefore I desire all true Christians whatsoever, whether they be rich or poor, old or young, to arm themselves by Prayer and Repentance, against the Assaults of the Devil; that they may not run headlong to ruin and despair, as many of late hath done since this Year begun, and made away themselves, to the great grief of their friends.  
Likewise, arm yourselves by Prayer and Supplications to Almighty GOD, in the Name of jesus Christ our blessed Saviour, and you need not fear what man can do against you, for he hath promised Mercy to all those that call upon his Name.  
When had we not more need of Prayer, and when was it less used than now; some holds it superstition to use the form of Prayer, but let them poor souls that hath not the Spirit of Prayer, let them seek by Form of Prayer, for the Lord will hearken to the cries of his People: I called unto the Lord (said David) and he heard me, and delivered me out of all my troubles.  
Again I say, arm yourselves by Prayer and Repentance, and you need not fear Thunder and Lightning, Sword, Pestilence, nor Famine: it will be your best Buckler in the time of War, it will be your best Physician against sickness, it will be a good Storehouse for you in the time of Famine; and so I conclude, in that short Prayer that once was used in the Church of England; in which I am persuaded no good Christian can say that there is any hurt.  
From Lightning and Tempest, from Plague, Pestilence, and Famine, Good Lord deliver us.  
FINIS.  
 depiction of a congregation