God's Controversy with England declared OR A WARNING-WORD By way of REPROOF to the INHABITANTS thereof, Even to such as FORGET GOD, and are adding one Sin unto another.  
UPon the second Day of the fifth Month, 1661. as I Traveled under the Burdens of the People, the Lord God of everlasting Power, Glory, Wisdom and Righteousness said unto me with a strong hand, Write my Controversy with this People of England, who are only Wise to do evil, but to do good have no Knowledge, who proceed from evil to worse, and Fear not me at all, saith the Lord God; whose Iniquities are greatly increased against me, and to such a height do the Floods of their Ungodliness make haste to arise, that all the Channels will be quickly full; And then Woe, Woe, unto them, saith the dreadful and holy One. For thus saith the Lord, I will Overturn, Overturn, until you wicked and profane multitude be no more; Even until you, O People, whose ears are wholly shut against the good be consumed and brought to nothing: For your Iniquities do burden my Righteous soul, saith God, and Sodom was not more grievous to me than you are. For O what studying and ●riving is in thy Multitude how they may exceed in their Vanities, in ●heir Riotings, Drink, Revel, and Heathenish Abominations of all forts! Hath not my Soul considered, saith God, what you have done, both the last Year and this, under pretence of honouring your King. What do you think by dishonouring Me, to honour your King? You and your King (if he allow of your doings) will I severely Judge, saith the Lord God, except ye speedily Repent, and all look better to your Ways than hitherto you have done. O consider this, ye forgetters of God, ye filthy hearted People, how have ye made the Land to stink before me, with your Abominations! O I have seen, saith God, how wickedly and with a high hand, as it were in despite of me you set up your Maypoles, that accursed thing, the last year, and I warned you of it, and called ye to Repentance; but, as if I had said nothing, you have doubled your wickedness in the same thing this year also, to provoke my Soul to arise up against you to your hurt: And the Besom on the top of some of them, signifies that I will sweep the Land of evil doers; And surely it shall come to pass, that if ye will not yet repent of your wickedness, that I will plague you with the Plagues of Egypt, and I will do such things amongst you in my judgement, and fury poured forth, that the Nations about that hear thereof, shall stand amazed at thee. O Revolted and Backsliden Nation; whither art thou gone already? and whither wilt thou run, if thou be suffered to go on? Into the Pit that thou art step already, and into the nethermost hell thou wilt fall if I let thee alone. But I will arise, saith God, I will execute Righteous Judgement in thee, with fire and sword will I plead with thee, and thy mighty men shall fall with thee, who sing thy Song, and take part with thy Lewdness, and strengthen thy ungodly hands in thy wicked ways, and say in their hearts, O this is a good day, these are good Subjects, this is the time we have long looked for; now we reign; now we may do what we will, and who shall control us? who shall hinder us from filling ourselves with all manner of delights? now we are settled in our way; now will we Build our decayed Houses, and Restore our fallen Worships; now will we Repair the broken Fences of our Parks, that we may have Game to the full; now shall our Horses be well fed for the Race, that they may fully please us; now let the Cockpits be looked to, for that (cruel) Sport, and let our Bowling-Alleys be well Dressed for our daily Recreation; Now shall the Stage-players for our delight, have their full Liberty, and all the Sons of Vanity have due Encouragement for the Old things we Love, and that which is New, though never so much the Better, our souls Loath; We like the Old Ways of our Fathers, because when they had Lord-Bishops and their Minster Services with Matins, and Evensong, with Organs, and Singing-boys, and such like Things, than there was Peace and Plenty; and when the Neighbourhood could meet together and sit about a Bonfire or Maypole, or under a Bower, and drink strong drink, and tell Stories, and Sing and Roar, than there was Love and Agreement; And when Plays, and Pastimes, and Wakes were duly frequented and observed, then was it a Merry Time, and a Joyful Land, and all went well in those Days, when such Things were on foot; And when those that said they feared the Lord, and so could not join with us, but rather Witnessed against us, and Reproved us for such Things, were taken a Course withal, O then was it a good Day, say many; And as it was then so would we have it now, saith your Vain and Wicked hearts, O ye fallen sons and daughters of Adam! And I see you, saith the Lord God, with both your hands endeavouring these Things, and abusing my Power, if possible to set up the Devil's Kingdom with it; And thus quite contrary to my Ordinance, saith the Lord, are you become as a Terror to the Good, and an Encouragement to them that do Evil, and mine Eye seeth you right well; and my Heart considereth you thoroughly, and I cannot Love you, for profaneness and hypocrisy is your covering, and you are as the clothes of a Menstruous Woman in my sight. Away with your vain Worships, saith God, my soul loathes your Sabbaths and Services thereon, yea, your Sacraments are a burden to me; I hate your Prayers, Praises, Professions and Confessions, for you mend not your lives and doings at all; I will stir up my Jealousy and it shall kindle like flames of fire upon you, and utterly consume the joy of your hearts, and for joy the bitterest of sorrows shall seize upon you, and you shall become a burden to yourselves, except you speedily Repent and turn to the Lord God, from whom you are far gone away. For I have a long time held my peace, saith the Lord, but now I will cry like a Travelling Woman, I will destroy and devour at once, I will lay waste the Mountains and the Hills, because they have not answered my Power with fruits of Righteousness to me. And the Multitudes of People who are as Grasshoppers in thy Bowels devouring every green thing, and spending my Creatures upon their Lusts, not regarding my Glory at all, shall be as heaps of fuel for the fire of my Jealousy, and it shall kindle upon them, and none shall quench it, neither shall it cease burning till I have consumed thy dross, and appeased my Wrath in the Consumption of thy Wicked Ones, saith the Lord God. For Tophet is prepared of Old, for the Purposes of my heart, according to the Scriptures, saith the Holy One.  
Thomas Taylor.   

London, Printed for Robert Wilson, at the sign of the Black-spread-Eogle and Windmill, in martin's Le Grand, 1661.