Protector's, Parliaments, and all, see, hear,  
And quake for fear: O do not jeer, nor swear  
'Gainst God, who roars from Zion on your sin,  
'Gainst such High-places which you worship in.  
Jah with his burning blasts of lightnings quells  
The People's Idols-Temples-Steeples-Bells.   

A most prodigious & fearful storm of wind lightning & thunder, mightily defacing With comb-church in Devon. burneing and slayeing divers men and women all this in service-time, on the Lord's day Octob: 21 〈…〉.   woodcut   

TO His Highness the Lord Protector, etc. AND To the Parliament of England.  
Valiant Swordmen, and Honourable Gentlemen,  
NAaman the Syrian was a man high and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance to Syri●: he was also a mighty man in valour; but he was a leper. And he was wroth against the Prophet of the Lord without a cause, and so went away in a rage. But his servants came near, and spoke unto him and said, My father, if the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much more rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in jordan according to the saying of the man of 〈◊〉: and his flesh name again like unto the flesh of a little child; and he was clean. And being thus cleansed of his leprosy he promised thenceforth not to offer unto other gods, but unto Jehovah. Yea, he knew it was a sin to go into the house of R●mmon to wait upon his Master the King (to be his leaning-stock in that Idols temple) when he worshipped there. 2 Kings 5.10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18.  
Sirs, I presented you formerly with a Book entitled Thunder from the throne of God (against the temples of Idols) which the foolish people count a work of madness, but indeed were solid words of truth and soberness: yet such thundering and convincing Arguments were not acceptable nor delectable unto you; being for the quite plucking down of the Idolatrous High-places, which are still kept up, under pretence of usefulness and convenience for Worship. But humane pretences without divine precepts, are like an empty  without members, or a Parliament without power: even so is a bare name of godliness, famous with men, but infamous with God, like that fear towards him which is taught by the precepts of men.  
Tell me, ye great men, did not Constantine the great give the Heathens Idol-temples for Christians to worship in? and was it not a snare to him and them, like the Cross in his Banners? And what followed at the last? was not Constantinople lost, and the head of Constantine held upon the top of a spear? And how can such your frequent appearances of evil avail you in your Spanish Wars, O ye mortal gods, who must die like men, and fall like one of the Princes? Psal. 28.7.  
Is it not remarkable, that the Jews for the space of these 1600 years were not so totally blinded, as to hold such a correspondency with God's enemies the Papists, as to uphold their Idols or Idols Temples: but do pray hearty for their utter destruction: And the Law of God [for the quite plucking down of all the Idols Temples] is not repealed by Christ. And although the Jews (whom the foolish people would convert as the Spaniards the Indians) are not permitted here by the Law of this Land; yet I would not that ye should be ignorant of this mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits) that blindness in part (I say not wholly but in part) ●●●●pened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved, Rom. 11.25, 26. But concerning the Idolatrous Gentiles, who profess Christ, but deny him in their works, there is no such promise; but contrariwise, it is prophesied concerning them, That (after the destruction of the third part of men, by the fire, and smoke, and sulphur) the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repent not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood, which neither can see, hear, nor walk; neither repent they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their Thefts. Rev. 9.18.20, 21.  
The Jews at mount Sinai had Ten Commands given unto them from God Exod. 20. Deut. 5. the Gentiles in mount Zion had Four given unto them in charge, Act. 15 20. for so it seemed good unto the holy Ghost, and the holy separated Church, to lay upon the Christian Gentiles no other burden then those four necessary things, vers. 28. amongst which, to keep themselves from things offered to idols was one principal, Acts 21.25. But the Idols Temples, with the Steeples and Bells, are so (as may appear unto you by this ensuing Treatise) and therefore they must be demolished, that the names of the Idols may be utterly destroyed out of the Land.  
O ye Senators of England, you are raising money now to maintain Wars against the Spaniards; and to Wars you will go: Go, and prosper: But be well advised, and take direction out of the book of the wars of the Lord: for there it is written, When the Camp goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every evil thing, Deut. 23.9. Idols Temples, the Steeples and Bells, are evil things, and aught to be thrown down. So long therefore as you will uphold them, how can ye expect the victory? for they are great stumbling-blocks to the Jews, and hinder them from embracing Christianity; and do encourage the Gentiles in their idolatry, and do give offence to the Church of God: yet you will uphold these Steeple-houses, under pretence of usefulness, and convenience for Worship.  
But what have you to say to the Steeples themselves? doubtless you cannot but confess they are very useless and unprofitable: yea, they are idolatrous, and aught to be utterly destroyed.  
Our first Parliament, after seven years' service and experience, driving a great trade in that Warehouse of Justice which you keep, began to be such perfect Craftsmen, that they had no further need of their Masters cunning: whereupon they were so witty, as in the very nick of time to cut off his Royal head, to strengthen themselves in the Regal power, and abolished the Kingly Office as useless and unprofitable: How much more ought these Steeples to be demolished, for the uselessness and unprofitableness thereof? And therefore you ought to root them out lest the great God of heaven root you out, as he did your predecessors.  
They took away the Crosses from the tops of the Steeples as idolatrous; but gave no order to demolish the Steeples: for their judgements were not informed, & they saw not that the Steeples were idolatrous, as the Crosses thereupon. But it is no new thing for better & wiser than they to be mistaken, like the Scribes and Pharisees, who held a tradition, that Whosoever sweareth by the Temple, it is nothing: but whosoever sweareth by the gold of the Temple, he is a debtor. But Christ saith, (Woe unto you ye blind guides) Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? Matth. 23.16, 17. So it may be said contrariwise of these; Whether is greater, the Crosses, or the Steeples the pillars and foundations thereof? Therefore when they pulled down the Crosses from off the Steeples they should have pulled down the Steeples also, the Steeples being as idolatrous and useless as the other. Therefore down with these old Chiming chimneys of the drunken whore of Babylon, that so the fire and smoke of abomination which maketh desolation may be utterly extinguished, with the names of the idols out of those places.  
It is written in the Law, Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations served their gods, Deut. 12.2. and you shall break down their idolatrous pillars, Deut. 7.5. & 12.3. And what are these Steeples? are they not the Pope's pillars? for they were erected by the Catholic Papists, in honour to their Popish gods?  
Therefore although these towers of Babel are builded to reach up to heaven 
* As Sin botolph's Steeple at Boston in Lincolnsh: upon which a thunderbolt came a year since. , and some of them have as many steps in height as there are days in the year; down with them and their Babylonish Bells to the very ground, and let not a stone of them remain upon another.  
And in so doing, ye shall do well.  
Far ye well.   

Postscript.  
BEing informed that the Parliament is about to establish the Cathedral of Gloucester to be used constantly as a place of public Worship; and knowing that God will have such places utterly rooted out: In discharge of my conscience, I have here published this following Letter, which hath lain by me divers years. Dated from Gloucester, the 24 day of the 11 Month, 1652. and directed to me,  

Loving friend Mr. Chidley,  
HAving received so many favours from yourself, I am thereby engaged to acknowledge your love to me, and to return you hearty thanks for all your kindness. Through the goodness of God, I am more satisfied in the justness of your public business, then when I was at London; though then I thought it my duty to endeavour the utter extirpation of superstition, and quite plucking down (not only of the abominable High-places, but also) of all the Idols Temples in general, as being no fit temples for the holy Ghost to be worshipped in. The honour of God is the chief moving cause (if my heart deceive me not:) The next motive is from what I have seen and heard since I came to this ancient (I may say) deluded City of Gloucester, where the people for the major part are so deluded by the Antichristian Priests, that they are even wedded to the grand Idol of that place, called the College (or Collegiate Church) so as they have some purposes to sell two or three of the Idols Temples, that thereby they might be better able to uphold that place, wherein doth still remain most abominable provocations to superstitious Worship. the Priest himself affirming a plain lie to the people the last first day in the open Auditory. And the chief end (for aught I hear) of their preaching in that place, is only to keep it from being accounted an useless Collegiate place: for they have eight or nine Steeple-houses, and but four Priests in the Town. And for my own satisfaction, and that I might write unto you something that my eyes have seen, I took an opportunity to go to see the place. But for me to set out the abominations that have been, and some of which still-remain, would be too tedious to recite. But the full conclusion of what I have to say of it, is only this: It is a pillar upon which Popery hath been established, There are about it several Cloisters. Within the Choir, at the East-end is the Altar: the steps to the Altar-place, and the Tables of the Commandments still remain. Behind this, is a place called Purgatory still standing with three open holes at the top thereof; the place being somewhat dark. In a Gallery over the high Altar, and over Purgatory, is a place which is called the Whispering-place; and behind it, is a place prepared for the Abbot's &c. to sit, where they could hear the people what they whispered by reason of the hollowness of the whispering place; and when the people came before them, they could tell the people what they had said: and so the people took them for Gods, by reason of this piece of knavery. Over the High-altar are two holes in the top of the Leads, over which are two round boards to cover the holes, and two strings, with which they could let down a Pigeon or two; and there they persuaded the people that the holy Ghost ascended and descended upon their Sacrifices through those holes: one of the strings are still on the top of the leads. Under the Choir is a place called The Bone-house, where at this day are heaps of dead men's sculls, and dead bones, piled up like piles of faggots, and locked up within that place: the Sexton keeps the key, There are several Chapels: in one whereof lies (the last Abbot that was) Abbot Parker, with a Lion at his feet, an Angel under his head, and a Mitre upon his head: his picture is not at all defaced. Much more might be written, but time will not give me leave at present. The Lord in his due time will root out all such abominations, and raze to the ground those idolatrous High-places.  
Thus with my respects to yourself, and all other friends in general, I at present take leave, and subscribe myself  
Your friend, etc.   
FINIS.