ENGLAND's Fair Warning TO A Speedy Repentance: BEING An Earnest Exhortation to a Holy Life: Or, The only Deliverer from Eternal Death and Destruction.  
Wherein is plainly laid down  
The great Duty of Speedy Repentance; with the Wretched State of a Sinner, and the Blessed State of a Saint: Showing how the one (after Death) will be cast for ever into the dreadful Flames of Hellfire: And the other will be received up into Heaven, to celebrate Eternal Halelujahs to the Lord of Lords, who (sitting at the Right-Hand of his Father) will shortly come to Judge the World.  
Likewise, Some Pithy Arguments to persuade Men to close with Christ.  
Preached by R. Liford, B. D. since the dreadful Earthquakes that have lately happen●●; particularly that in Sicily, near Mount Aetna, where Seventy Six Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty Persons were destroyed: And now published, to awaken drowsy Sinners, who still lie in Security, whilst God's Judgements are of the Earth.  2 Pet. 3.9. The Lord is not slack concerning his pro●● (as some men count slackness;) but is long-suffering ●…us-ward: not willing that any should perish, but 〈◊〉 should come to repentance. 
LONDON, Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking-glass on London-Bridge, 1693.   

England's Fair Warning to Repentance, etc.  LUKE 13.5. 
I tell you nay; but except ye repent; ye shall all likewise perish.  
IN the first Verse of this Chapter, you have the sad piece of this News, that was told Jesus, concerning the Galileans, whose Blood Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices. ●er. 2. you have our blessed Saviour's Answer to his News: saith he unto them; Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners, above all the Galileans, because ●hey suffer such things? I tell you, nay: but except ●e Repent ye shall all likewise perish. And yet further, ●er. 4. Or those eighteen, upon whom the Tower of Siloe ●ell, and slew them; think you, that they were sinners, ●bove all men that dwelled in Jerusalem? I tell you, ●ay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise ●erish. This former part of the Chapter contains the Sermon of Repentance, that was ●reached by our blessed Saviour.  
Repentance is a pure Gospel-Grace; it comes 〈◊〉 by Jesus Christ; he hath purchased by his ●lood, that repenting Sinners shall be saved.  
The Doctrine I shall raise from these Words, is, That it is a great Duty incumbent upon Christians, to Repent, and turn to the Lord: Or It doth highly concern a People whom the Lord visiteth with his Judgements, to strive to turn 〈◊〉 him, by Repentance, and Faith in Jesus Christ.  
Repentance and Conversion, is the only way to Salvation I need not stay to open the Text to you, and to prove it by Scripture: For if thou be'st a Man or Woman, that dost believe the Word of God, than thou believest, that without Repentance, none can be saved, as the Text has it: But I say unto you, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Well then, What sayest thou Sinner? Dost thou believe, or no? Thou must either confess, that this is true; or say plainly, that you will not believe the Word of God: and if once you are come to that pass, there is but small hopes of you: Look to yourselves as well as you can; for 'tis like you will not be long out of Hell You would be ready to fly in the face of him that give you the Lie; and dare you give the Lie to God? If you will not believe the words of our blessed Saviour, whose will you? And doth not he say, That except ye repent; ye shall perish? He doth not say you may perish, but you shall: Nay, there is no doubt of it; let God be True, and every Man a Liar: Christ hath spoken it, Luke 10.12. I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom, at the day of of judgement, than it shall be for that people o● Nation, that believe not these words of our Saviour.  
Use 1. Is this a truth, That Repentance is the only way to prevent the Judgements of God, that hang over our Heads, because of our Sin; then, first of all, I would entreat you, observe the cursed nature of this cursed thing called Sin: you see, Sin must be repent of, or we shall all perish, or we shall all be damned: Sin will utterly destroy both our Bodies and Souls. I think it is one of the hardest things that is, to understand the deadly Poison that is in Sin: Sin is that which the Lord hates. The soul that sins, shall surely die: This was the Old Law. But the Gospel of Christ saith, Repent and forsake your sins: Or, Repent and believe, and you shall be saved.  
Use 2. Is Repentance the way and means to prevent a People or Nation from perishing? Then from hence you may learn the Excellency and the Usefulness of that Grace of Repentance. Oh! What an Omnipotent Grace is this! It is a Grace that can do any thing with God: This Grace of Repentance can redeem our mortgaged Blessings; it can make us a happy People, Jer. 31.18, 19, 20. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art my Lord my God. Surely, after I was turned, I repent, and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed; yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim, my dear Son, is he a pleasant Child; for since I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are turned for him I will surely have mercy upon him, saith th● Lord. From hence you may observe, That Repenting Sinners are exceeding precious in the sight of the Lord; his heart is turned toward them: Oh! What an excellent Privilege hath penitent heart with God My Beloved, How can you live without such a Grace? your Soul● want it; your Families want it; and the Nation stands in need of it: The greatest Want thi● day in England, is a broken Heart.  
Use 3. Is Repentance the only way to prevent Judgements? Then from hence gather, That when God either hath his Plagues upon a People, or continues threatening his Judgements towards them, it is a sign that those People are very guilty of Impenitency. If God threatens thee, O England, to give thee up to hardness of heart, and blindness of mind: Doth God do it at this day? They say (O England!) thou art an impenitent People at this day. O England this is my Charge against thee, You have been a stiffnecked People. O London! London! How long shall the Lord wait upon thee, before thou wilt repent! What can you expect, but that God will yet visit England with his Judgement, till we be humbled, and hearty repent us of our Sins: 'Tis for Sin, that the Nation mourns. Oh, the Swearing, Whoring, and Sabbath-breaking, Schism, and Disobedience to Magistrates, is this day in London! O you sinful Generation, is this your requiting of God for all his Mercies? Deut. 32.6. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O ye foolish and unwise! What say ye? Will you repent, or not? This is my Question, which ● have to ask you this day: Will you Repent? Do not flatter yourselves about Matters of so great concernment, as your Immortal Souls. Con●ider this (O Sinners) if you will repent, than you may live happy in the Land of your Nativity, and go to your Deathbeds in peace: But if you will not Repent of your Sins; then, I say, you must (instead of Blessings) expect nothing but Curses.  
It is plain, that God is angry with you; for God would never have sent so many Judgements after one another. Once more: Will you repent, or will you not? If you will not, your sins lie at your own doors. Do not think it is a hard Question, when I ask you to Repent; but consider, there are two places where there is no repenting; the one is in the Grave, the other in Hell. It were a vain thing for me, to go to the Gates of Hell, and cry to them, Repent; for the Day of Grace is past, and their Doom is passed upon them. I do verily think, that there is more sorrowing in Hell for sin, than there is this Day in England; but their sorrow is not a sanctified sorrow: If the Damned in Hell were delivered out of Hell, they would sin again; if they lived eternally, they would sin eternally. But I am not a speaking to Men in Hell, but to you Sinners in England.  
1. I say unto you, Repent: Because Jesus Christ hath commanded you under great Penalties, if you do not. Consider a little (O Sinner) who 'tis that calls for Repentance: it is not I but the great God; it is Jesus Christ: and doubtless Christ could never have pressed you to this work, if it were not necessary. He saith unto you, Repent: and saith unto you, If you do not your sins shall not be blotted out. Woe be unto that Man or Woman that repenteth not; better i● were that he had never been born, that he had never seen the Light: the Parents that bar● thee, they may repent that ever thou wert been It would grieve your Parents, to see you carried to the Gallows to be hanged; and will i● not much more grieve them, to see you cast Body and Soul, into everlasting Burn? ther● to be tormented with the Devil and his Angels for ever.  
2. Repent; for Christ hath encouraged yo● with many precious Promises: he will heal a● your back-sliding, and love you freely; though your Sins be as Mountains, he will make ther● as Molehills; though as Red as Scarlet, he wi● make them as White as Milk.  
But some will Object, and say, This is a ha● Work. What! shall we always go with Tear● in our Eyes? What will God give us for our Reward?  
Ah! poor Sinner! fear not; do not question your Reward: for as sure as God is true, so sur● thou shalt have Christ, Heaven and Glory, and be happy for ever. Sinners, methinks it should make you to quake, to think how God will deal with you at the great and dreadful Day of Judgement, when he shall say, Take him Devils, bind him hand and foot, and fling him into everlasting burning; where shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Oh! it is a dreadful Sentence, to be adjudged to Everlasting Fire; and look for it, Sinner, if thou wilt not repent, these are the words that thou shalt hear Christ pronounce against thee, Depart from me, I know you not. And thou may'st be sure (O Sinner) if thou art not with Christ, thou must be with the Devil, thou must be either in Heaven or Hell.  
3. Repent, because the Lord hath long waited upon you: How long hath God stood at the Doors of your Hearts, wooing and beseeching you to repent? How long (O thou proud Man or Woman!) hath God called unto thee? How often hath he knocked at your hard Hearts? but you would not let him in. Oh, thou grey-headed Sinner! God hath long waited on thee, it may be, ever since thou wast Fifteen or Sixteen Years of age, to see if thou wouldst repent, Rom. 2.4. Or despisest thou the Righteous of his Goodness, and Forbearance, and Long-suffering, not knowing that the Goodness of God tendeth thee to Repentance? There is not a Blessing that thou hast from God, but it hath this writ upon it, Repent of thy Sins. Wilt thou think of this? When God puts the Bread into ●hy Hands, he saith unto thee, Sinner, Take this Bread, Eat, and Repent: And when God puts the Cup of Beer into thy Hands, he saith unto the Sinner, Take this Cup of Beer, and Repent: When thou risest in the Morning, he faith unto thee, Sinner, Take this Suit of , put it on, and Repent: Every Mercy that thou receivest from God, calls to thee for Repentance.  
4. If you will Repent, and leave your Sins, God will not be angry with you. My Beloved, you have heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who when he had spent all, he returned home to his Father's House: so, my Beloved, God is your Father, but you are Prodigals: all the Sin you have committed against him, is Prodigality. But let me tell you, If you are willing to come to God's Feet, he will take you about the Neck: If you are willing to forsake your sins, God is willing and ready to pardon your sins, though you have been a wicked, rebellious, and sinful People; yet if you will turn to the Lord, he will turn to you.  
5. Repent; because the Lord sendeth his Messengers unto you, for to entreat you to Repent. Woe be unto you, therefore, if you neglect this great Salvation. You know, that it was one main Reason, why God took away his Prophets and Ministers from Jerusalem, because they would not hearken to their Messengers: as you may read, Mat. 23.37, 38, 39 O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them that were sent unto thee: How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not? Behold, your houses are left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. I may very well apply this to London: Oh! how often would the Lord have gathered you, even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens? but ye would not. What say you now, England? O London! will you Repent? or will you not? Will not all this that hath been said, prevail with you? Alas, I am hearty sorry, to see that nothing will prevail with you, but the Flames of Hell! Oh, than you would say, Oh! if we had but harkened unto the Voice of God's Messengers, that were sent unto us, to call us to Repentance.  
6. O England! Repent to day, and turn to the Lord. O! delay not an hour longer; Time is, a precious Jewel, more worth than the whole World; and if Time be once lost, there is no regaining of it. O fall down upon your Knees, and bless God that you have yet the Light of the Gospel, and that you have Time left to secure your Souls, and get an Interest in Jesus Christ.  
First, Consider how dreadful it will be to you, when you come to die, if you do not Repent and turn to the Lord, while you are in health. O how will you cry out, when your Hour of Death approaches, when you shall see all the things of the Earth fail you, and take their leaves of you for ever. All your outward Enjoyments, Parts, Parentage, Birth, Breeding, Wealth, Crowns, Kingdoms, Pearls, Diamonds, Houses, Lands, Wife, Children and Friends, when once your Breath is gone, all these are gone, Prov. 27.24. Hear now this, you that are given to Pleasure, that feast yourselves in doing evil; you that put far from you the Day of the Lord; you that say, It is time enough to Repent, when we come to die. Ah, Fools, how do you know whether God will give you Repentance then, or no.  
Sirs, I beseech you, Repent, while it is called to Day; for you know not whether you shall live till to morrow.  
O consider, with a trembling heart, how much depends upon this Repenting, and turning to God; namely, the gaining or losing thy dear and precious Soul; gaining or losing of God's Favour, the Fruition of God, the Joys of Heaven, or the Torments or Sorrows of Hell depend upon it. Poor Souls, I pity you with my very heart, to see how ignorant you are of so great Concernments: you Eat and Drink, Sleep, Lie, Sell, and get Gain in the World; but little do you mind to accumulate heavenly Treasure, to get your sinking Souls safe ashore. You consider not the evil day: woe be unto him that is alone in Life, and alone in Death, that has no Christ to befriend him, or stand by him in that day; that cometh to lie down in his Grave, without Peace or Pardon, without hearty Contrition, without Repenting of his Sins: and shall Rise again, and stand at the Bar of God's Justice, without an Advocate to plead for him.  
7. And Lastly, Try your Repentance by the Word of God; see whether it be true Repentance, or no; for the Devil hath many Cheats: search your own Hearts, to see whether those Sins you formerly loved, be now hated and shunned by you.  
Make ready for the other World; think ●pon the other World, think upon Death ●nd Judgement: Death, that King of Terrors, will, e'er long, terminate your Days, ●nd then all your Opportunities will be gone for ever. Let me ask you, as in the Presence of the Great Judge of Quick and Dead, at whose Tribunal you must all shortly stand, and giving an Account of your Deeds) be either Received up into Heaven, or plunged into Hell. I have some Queries to ask you:  
First, Are not they in a very happy Condition, that (Repenting) turns to the Lord with their whole Hearts; living a Life of Grace, ●nd truly preparing for Death, for fear of ●osing their own Souls, being in a hazard of ●osing Heaven? Rom. 8.7. Psal. 37.37.  
Secondly Do you believe that Death will come, and that Sin, that cursed thing, will sting; and that the Case of all impenitent Sinners, at the hour of Death will be sad and terrible, and desperate? Let me say to all such, there is not a Night you lie down on your Beds, but you run a very great hazard, if Death should call, and you not ready, you must go, though you are ruined to all Eternity, though you be damned for ever, Mat. 25.10, 11, 12, 13.  
Thirdly, Can you cheerfully entertain the thoughts of Death, and Judgements, all you hard hearted Sinners, that have not Repent? Suppose the dreadful Judge should at this instant send Death with the Names of Five, or Six of you in a Writ, or Forehead, and Death should say, You, and you, this Man, and that Woman, must go along with me; I have received a Command from the great terrible God, who hath the Power of Death and Hell, to bring you this Day, or Night, before the Judgement-Seat: I have often warned you by sending my Deputies this Ten or Twenty years. Every Grave, and Coffin you have seen, was so many Intimations of my coming: Now, saith Death, I am come, see my Dart, this Dart must kill thy Body, and send thy Soul into Eternity, I command you this moment, to bid adieu to this World, Luk. 12.19, 20. How can you think of your dying, and the World's burning, the Trumpets sounding, the Dead Corpse raising, and standing at the Bar of God's Justice, and not fear and tremble you that have not Repent: you, Sons and Daughters of Pleasure, did you consider what horror and astonishment dogs you at the Heels, which will inevitably come upon you, as Travel on a Woman with Child, you would not say unto God, depart.  
Fourthly, And lastly, Oh! what a kill and amasing sight will Christ's coming in the Clouds, be to all that either deny his coming, or will not prepare for it by speedy Repentance: His Incarnation was terrible, Mat. 2.3. His Crucifixion was more terrible, Luk. 23.44, 45.46, 47, 48. But his Judging the World at the Great Day, will be most terrible, then shall the Tribes of the Earth mourn Mat. 24.30. And men shall cry to the Rocks to fall on them, Rev. 6.15, 16. When they shall see so many Thousands, and Millions of Men and Women dragged down to that burning Lake of Fire, and Brimstone, there to be tormented for ever: How will they then cry, Oh that we had Repent! they will howl for vexation of Spirit, and in the bitterness of their Souls wish that they had never heard of a Christ, that they had been born among Heathens, or never had a Being, or enjoyed a Life of Pleasure upon Earth. How will the wretched Sinner beat his Breast, pluck off his Hair, tear his Bowels, crying when he is past Hopes, Oh that I had now no Soul, or that this immortal Soul were mortal, that I might not be tormented in these dreadful Feigns for ever