THE Great & Dreadful DAY OF THE Lord God Almighty (Which is hastening as a Flood upon the whole World of the Ungodly) Once more Proclaimed: That All People may again be Warned to REPENT with speed, and so be left without EXCUSE. O The Great, Terrible and Dreadful Day of the Lord God Almighty, that is at hand, a Day of Anguish, Distress and Great Perplexity, a Day of sore Trouble and Vexation unto the Wicked, a Day of Darkness and Gloominess, a Day of Terrors and Alarm of War, Destruction upon Destruction, even such a Day as was never before it, nor shall ever be like it for evermore; a Day of Fears and Amazements, Howl and Dreadful Astonishments: Woe is me, Woe is me for you the Inhabitants of the Earth; Alas, alas! the Day is Great, and very Terrible, which is approaching; Who shall be able to abide it? O my Soul! be thou quiet, and exceeding still and low in the Dread and Power of the Almighty, and very watchful in the inward retired Place of the Most High forever, that thou mayst be preserved; for the Day is exceeding Great, and very Terrible, that hastens as a Woman in Travail; a Day of Shaking of all things that are since the Foundation of the World, and of Quaking and Trembling through the whole Earth; a Day of Vengeance and Indignation, of Fierce Wrath and Dreadful Judgements upon the Ungodly. woe, woe, woe to the Inhabitants of the Earth, and of the Sea, the Devil is come down among you in great Rage and Fury, knowing he hath but a short time: Repent, Repent, Repent, and fear, dread and tremble before the Lord God Almighty, and turn ye every one from his Evil Ways; for he will dash the Ungodly in pieces like a Porter's Vessel against the Rocks. Howl, Howl, Howl all you that live in Pleasures, Vanities and Fading Delights of this World: the Day of your Fears, Distress and Anguish shall overtake you. All you profane Esau's, who have sold your Birthright for a Mess of Pottage, your Day of Crying with Tears, to seek a Place to Repent with Carefulness, is at hand; but you (who have lost the Blessing) will be rejected. And all you wild Ishmaelites, Mockers and Scoffers, ye will be cast out into utter Darkness, where is Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth for evermore. And all you Oppressors and Persecutors about Religion, Cain's generation, your Punishments will be greater than you can bear; ye are the Vagabonds from God, and Fugitives in the Earth. And all you Nimrods', mighty Hunters before the Lord, your Kingdom is of Babel, the Great Whore, ye must partake of her Plagues. Howl, Howl, and Lament bitterly all ye Idle Shepherds, greedy devouring Wolves, and all you Dumb Dogs, who have made a Prey upon the Sheep, tearing their Fleece and Flesh from off their Bones; your Day is at hand, of such Judgements, Plagues and Vengeance, as hath not been known in Ages: For the Terrible and Dreadful God is come to Reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his Ancients Gloriously; and he will tread and trample you in his Fury, as one that treadeth upon Mortar; your Vine is the Vine of Sodom, your Grapes are Grapes of Abominations; you must be cast into the Wine-press of the Wrath of the Almighty God, there to be tormented Day and Night forever and ever, except ye speedily Repent: the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Howl and be Astonished, and Tremble all ye Councils and Confederacies of Ungodly Men, who lie upon your Beds of Mischief, and sit in the Nest of Wickedness; you hatch Cockatrice Eggs; and he that eateth of your Eggs, dyeth; and that which is crushed, breaks forth into a Viper: Woe to the Crown of Pride, and to the Drunkards of Ephraim, who feed upon the Head of the fat Valley: And Woe to you who decree Unrighteous Decrees, and write Grievous Things, which you have prescribed; for you have cast the Fear, Law and Counsel, Wisdom, Mercy and true Judgement of the Righteous God behind your Backs. Therefore fear, bow and tremble, all ye who are as Fed Horses and Fatted Beasts for the Slaughter of his fierce Indignation; for his terrible Stroke will come upon you, and consume you off the Earth, and ye shall not escape it. And all you Proud, Scornful, Deceitful, Wanton Ones, and Abominable Men and Women, who are exalted above God's Witness in you, making merry over it; weep and howl, for your Miseries are coming upon you; your Riches shall not save you, your Deceit and Policy (with all your Outside Profession) shall not hid or cover you from the fierce Wrath of the Almighty. A wake, awake, O all ye Hypocrites, Double-minded & Time-Servers, who have the Changeable Suits of Apparel, and wear the Round Tires like the Moon, and use the Crisping-pins; if you have Ears, hear: you have Changeable Suits, and Round Tires like the Moon, this is your State, who know not the Woman clothed with the Sun, with the Moon under her Feet; your Well-set Hair is become Baldness, and instead of a Girdle there is a Rent, and Burning instead of Beauty: Therefore dread and tremble before the Lord God, and Repent speedily, while you have yet a Day to breathe; for ye are the unstable People, Double minded, ye will be driven and shaken as with an East Wind by the Breath of the Almighty; ye are the Waters on which the Whore (and Beast, at this day) sits; ye bow down, ye worship the Beast and his Image, ye receive his Mark in the Hand and in the Forehead; ye are of those Bondslaves of Babylon, the Fear of Man hath ensnared you; ye are the Fearful and Unbelieving, who will be shut out among the Dogs, Persecutors and Whoremongers, Idolaters, Abominable and Liars forever, except you speedily Repent. Awake, Howl, Howl and Tremble, all ye Drunkards, Sporters, Players, Fiddlers, and ye that tolerate them; the Zeal of the pure Righteous God burns like Fire against you all, which will consume you, ye Corrupters of the Earth, ye Ministers of the Devil, who beget and raise up Lightness, Wantonness and Vanity in the Minds of People, whereby the Lord and his Fear is forgotten, and his Holy Spirit grieved, and his Name dishonoured, and the Righteous Souls of sober People vexed from day to day, which cries mightily against you, and the Lord will hear them, and answer the Cries of his Chosen Seed for his own Name sake. And all you Cheaters, Whores and Whoremongers, Idolaters, Unclean and Ungodly Ones, you shall be judged, condemned, plagued and tormented by that you daily strive against and make merry over: Come down all ye Exalted, Stiffnecked & Rebellious Ones, who are out of God's Fear; his Vengeance, as a Besom of Destruction, will sweep you all down into Endless Misery; your Songs shall be turned into Howl, and your Vain False Joy into Heaviness, the days of your Pleasures shall be short; you who are adding Sin to Sin, and drinking down Iniquity like Water, you are drawing down Fury upon your own Heads as with a Cart-rope, you are filling up your Measures of Abominations, you are hastening as a Bird to the Snare, and as an Ox to the Slaughter, and a Fool to the Correction of the Stocks, and know not that it is for your Life, and that your Paths lead to the dark Chambers of Death and Eternal Destruction, and your Steps take hold of Hell; behold God's Indignation is against you, and he will be avenged on you for his Righteous Seed's sake, which (in you) is daily grieved and vexed, even as Lot in Sodom. Therefore awake, all ye Drunkards (of all sorts), Rioters, Cursers, Swearers, Blasphemers, Hypocrites, Persecutors, Scoffers, Mockers, Ragers, and all ye Ungodly Ones every where, and dread the Living God; for he will fill your Bowels with perpetual Sorrow, Vexation, Woe and Everlasting Burn, if ye proceed in these Abominations, which the Soul of the Righteous God abhors: Stand still, stand still, be still all ye Heathen, and mind God's Witness in your Consciences, which sometimes (like a Bridle in your Jaws) checks you; ye who are like mad Horses, raging, rushing, ranting and vaunting in all manner of Ungodliness, wallowing in the height and depth of Wickedness, as if you had not room enough to vent the Strength and Substance of the Devil's Power in you. Remember that Hell hath enlarged her Mouth, and Tophet is prepared of old, and ye will descend into it, with the Devil and his Angels, except you speedily Repent; the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. So consider your Latter-end, and the Last Day of your Visitation; for the Righteous God beholds you, and sees all your Do, though never so secret, and hears all your Blasphemies, Oaths and Cursed Speeches, ye wilful, headstrong and stiffnecked Ones, who have despised Reproof, and abhorred Good Counsel: But now behold the Lord is coming a swift Witness against you all, and he will plead with you for all these things; and you shall know, that our God is a Consuming Fire, when you feel the Vengeance and the Righteous Judgements come upon you for all your Wickedness, which will be executed speedily. Therefore I say again, Repent, O all ye Workers of Iniquity, and Fear the Living God, and with speed leave off all your Evil Ways and Do, and learn Righteousness and Truth; for the great and terrible Day of the Lord God hastens upon you, as a Woman in Travail, and none in Transgression shall escape it. So this is your Warning once more to Repent with speed, and ye are all left without Excuse; so while you have an Inch of Time, prise it. Written in the Year 1664. By William B●yly. The Lord tryeth the Righteous; but the Wicked, and him that loveth Violence, his Soul hateth: Upon the Wicked he shall reign Snares, Fire and Brimstone, and an horrible Tempest; this shall be the Portion of their Cup, Psal. 11.5. For in the Hand of the Lord there is a Cup, and the Wine is Red; it is full of Mixture, and he poureth out of the same: but the Dregs thereof all the Wicked of the Earth shall wring them out, and drink them, Psal. 75.8. Let this be spread to the Ends of the Earth.