A CRY FOR REPENTANCE, UNTO THE Inhabitants of London chiefly, AND Unto all the WORLD, Whose fruits do shame their profession, and that they may come to yea and nay, in all their communications and deal, that their life may judge the world; for who are out of that, are in the evil, and falls into the condemnation of the DEVIL.  
Given forth for the information of the simple, that they may know the way of life, out of the evil communication which corrupts good manners.  
Lonnon, Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate. 1656.   

A Cry for Repentance.  
REpent, repent ye tradesmen of London; repent ye Merchants & great men of the City, the Day of the Lords hand is coming upon you; the day of the Lords Wrath is to be poured upon you who have lived in wickedness, fullness and gluttony, and serving the creatures more than the Creator, who is God blessed for ever; and serving your lusts more than Christ, and making your Bellies your Gods, fatting up yourselves with the Creature, until you have forgotten God, until you grow proud and wanton: Alas! heap not up Treasure upon earth, where Thiefs, and Rust, and Canker is, but consider all of you what Treasure you have in Heaven: Ye Tradesmen, and of whatsoever Calling you follow turn to the Lord by Repentance: Ye Watermen and Fishermen repent, and put away your evil, & turn to the Lord to Repentance whilst you have a day of Mercy offered you: Ye poorer sort of people, who are drudging labouring and toiling in the earth under the great ones, repent: All ye small and great, is not your labour for the mouth and Apparel, yet your Appetite, your Lust and Eye is not satisfied: Ye Teachers of the people, called Priests, who are got into the high places; Repent, and give over deceiving them, that ye may be found in the life of what you profess: And ye Rulers and Magistrates of what sort soever, high and low, small and great, repent, repent, that ye may be found all in Justice & Judgement, that this may run down your Streets, and in them righteousness reign, and the Streams and Floods of ungodliness may not run down, but be stopped: Ye proud and idle people, men andwomen, repent, and come to acknowledge the Lord the Creator; and ye proud of the earth, great, rich and small, turn, turn to the Lord: And all you Lawyers repent whatsoever, that oppression may be taken off, and exacting there may be no more; and mercy may be showed to the helpless, and the Jaws of the wicked may be broken that would woory and rend, and tear the innocent to pieces, that the oppressed, the needy, and the helpless may be sought out, and of his burden eased that the Lord may bless you: And all ye Husbandmen, tilers of the earth, or Keepers of Cattle, repent, that your minds may be brought out of the earth, and ye turned unto the Lord, and that your minds may be brought out of the greediness of gain; ye buyers and sellers of , and all others that are greedy of Gain, greedy after the earth greedy after riches, greedy after fashions, for this will men and women destroy one another, the world of ungodly ones will destroy one another with lies and flattery, through greediness after Gain and the earth; Repent, the voice and sound of Repentance is cried through you all, which reacheth to the root of you all; and the Axe is laid to the root of the Tree, and every Tree that doth not bring forth good fruit to the Lord God must be cast into the fire; for the cry and voice of Repentance is sounded and sounds through you all, rich and poor, small and great: All Tradesmen, Lawyers, Merchants, Seamen, Husbandmen, Traders among , Judges, Justices, Rulers and Magistrates, and ye idle people of the Land, repent, for the day of the Lords Wrath is at hand; his Vial is to be poured out on you all. And again all you Tradesmen, Merchantmen whatsoever, or Rulers, or Judges, or Justices, or Lawyers, or Husbandmen or buyers or sellers of , keep to yea and nay in all your communication, whatsoever is more is evil: Is it not as well to say yea, and nay, as to use so many words? Is it not as good to keep to yea and nay to keep you out of the evil? This is the Word of the Lord God to you all men whatsoever.  
And again you Tradesmen, Merchantmen of all sorts whatsoever, buyers and sellers, set no more upon the thing you sell or exchange but what you will have; is it not better and more ease to have done at a word, then to ask double or more? Doth not this bring you into many vain words, and compliments, and talks that fills the vain mind? This is deceitful before God and man. And is it not more savoury to ask no more than you will have for your Commodity, to keep to yea and nay in your Communication, when you converse in your Calling, then to ask more than you will take? and so is not there the many words where's the multiplying of sins? This is the Word of the Lord to you, Ask no more than you will have for your Commodity, and keep to yea and nay in your Communication, and here will be an equal balancing of things, and a consideration before you utter words, and a useing of this world as though you used it not; and a possessing as though you possessed not; and so you will come to show a life like Christians, and the spirit like Christians, & you a people in Christ's Doctrine, that loves his Doctrine which keep to yea & nay in your communication; & you will not be a people that be high, and proud, and lofty so a child shall trade with you as a man, because of the Equity, and yea & nay, and righteousness & true weighing of things, and true consideration of things, and people shall not be afraid of one cheating the other, or destroying one the other where truth and equity is among them, and mercy and righteousness, and no more is set upon the thing then what they will take, who are in their yea and nay in their Communication here is the consideration before words be uttered, and where the power is over the tongue, the life of a Christian is seen.  
Ye Porters and other Laborers, and light and lose people, repent; and all ye labouring people whatsoever, and Judges of the earth, repent, repent, and turn to the Lord God, lest against you the Lords hand be turned speedily, and you be found those that are convinced, and do not repent, to give glory to the Lord God, lest into the bed of sickness ye be cast, and sudden Judgements and Plagues come upon you, for God is able to abase the Pride & Vanity, who have boasted in Hills for salvation who cannot save themselves; therefore all ye that have lived unrepented, whose lives▪ are not changed, you are them that have cumbered the ground; fruitless Trees that hath not brought forth fruit to God; therefore hath the streams of ungodliness, streams of unrighteousness, rivers of wickedness, floods of many waters running so up and down the Nations of the World, which the woman set upon which sits upon the beast; so hath Christians been an ill savour, their Conversation, their Communication, who hath been out of the Yea and Nay, the Righteousness and Judgement and are more than at a word in their Calling and Trading, and Commerce with people, which the Heathen which are not Christians, these judge them as the Gentiles the Jews. Oh ye Christians, let your ways judge the Heathen, let your Lives, Communication, Conversation judge the heathen; let it not be in the earth, but in heaven; ask no more for the Commodity you exchange then you would have. You Tradesmen, Buyers and Sellers of all sorts, or Hirers of Labourers, at a word speak, and see before you speak keep to yea and nay in all your Communications, this will keep you out of the evil, whatsoever is more comes of evil; with this will you come to answer that of God in the Heathen, who in righteousness God will judge. Alas for you! all your Profession of the Scriptures, of the Apostles, Christ's and Prophet's words, and you be found out of the life of the Prophets, Christ and the Apostles, ye are but as the Jews were, which Christ said the Devil was their Father; and as the Pharisees, Scribes and Priests which Christ cried woe against, called whited walls and graves, vipers and serpents, venoming and poisoning one the other, being not in the life the Scripture was given forth from, are found such as the Apostles spoke of, vain Janglers about words, and vain Disputers, and bring the Scriptures to oppose one another, and disputing of Christ and the Saints words, brings Scripture as the Devil did, are out out of the life that gave it forth, and disputing about the Body of Mose, such be in the unrepented estate, which eat and drink damnation to themselves, not discerning the Lords Body; therefore be ye warned. This is the Word of the Lord God to you all ye Rulers of the earth, that righteousness mercy, & judgement and equity may run down, streaming in the Nation, that the oppressed may feel relief, and the peaceable eased, and the poor and needy may not be turned away, that this may run down; all that which is called Christendom, that professeth Christ who is come to reign, and set up his Kingdom in Power, and Authority, and Majesty, who raiseth up Jealousy as a man of War in all unrepented ones, that the thoughts of men are full, and their imaginations and conceivings are at work: But the Lord is risen and rising, who will make waste him that hath made desolate, who will judge righteously, according to the secrets of every man's heart, who will enter into the house, bind the strong man, and spoil his Goods. The heart of all will I search saith the Lord, the reins of all will I try; the ways of all will I bring to light; the spirits of all will I manifest, and according to them will I judge, who will make every one to confess that my ways and judgements are righteous, and rendereth to every one a reward according to his works, whether they be good, or whether they be evil; I come quickly, and my reward is with me saith the Lord God Almighty, and there is nothing shall escape in the heart, but its secrets shall be revealed, and the things that thou hast done in the body shalt thou give account for; I will exalt my kingdom, and set it upon the highest Throne who tread Dominions and Principalities under my feet, who puts down the authority, who bears my Government upon my shoulders; the Lord our righteousness is his name, who judgeth according to the secrets of every man's heart who doth enlighten every man that cometh into the world, with which he shall see when he doth evil, and when he doth wrong, which is his condemnation that hate it; but he that loves the Light which he is enlightened withal, and believes in it, shall receive the Light of Life.  
And all you makers of Images, and makers of Baubles and Toys to please the Lusts and Vanity of people; Repent, repent, lest God consume you with the Vanity; Repent, lest God lay you in the dust with them, and make you like unto them. And all you that delight in fine Houses, and Apparel, and the eyes are fixed in those things; repent, lest God destroy you with them. And all you Star gazers and Tellers of Fortunes, and drawing people to gaze after your fancy more than after the Lord, repent, and be silent, and cover your lips, and give over your witchcraft, lest God cut you off, and destroy you, and make a sudden end of you for your heap of confusion that hath long reigned and ruled against the Lord; Gods Arm is turned, with which he will gather his people to himself▪ the Furnace is prepared; the Oven is provided, and the high buildings shall be laid low, and the City's waste and without Inhabitants: The Lord God is bringing his people to his City, and many are in their way wand'ring to it; and many are entered into their rest. Therefore to you repent one's is this, and to you unrepented ones, that you may come to see the way hither out of the earth, clay and unrighteous, the way and path of life, which leads to God the Father of Life: And to you this is the word of the Lord God, from him that dwells in that which comprehends the world, and answered this shall be with that of God in every one of you,  
G. F.  
Have not Ribans, Jewels, Images and Baubles carried away the eyes and hearts of people, which bringeth them to lose sincerity; O repent ye whose hearts and eyes are given to vanity, lest the Lord come upon you like Mortar and Clay, and tread you to pieces like Potsherds:   
FINIS: