A50116	----	The declaration of the gentlemen, merchants, and inhabitants of Boston, and the countrey adjacent, April 18th, 1689 Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1689 Approx. 16 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 3 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50116 Wing M1094 ESTC R102 12767322 ocm 12767322 93605 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50116) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 93605) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 698:21) The declaration of the gentlemen, merchants, and inhabitants of Boston, and the countrey adjacent, April 18th, 1689 Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [4] p. Printed by Samuel Green, [Boston : 1689] Caption title. Imprint from colophon. The declaration is an order for the arrest of the officers of the Andros government, written by Cotton Mather. Reproduction of original in Huntington Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO. EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Boston (Mass.) -- History -- Sources. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2003-04 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE Declaration , Of the Gentlemen , Merchants , and Inhabitants of BOSTON , and the Countrey Adjacent . April 18th . 1689. § I. WEE have seen more than a decad of years rolled away , since the English World had the Discovery of an horrid Popish Plot ; wherein the bloody Devoto's of Rome had in their Design and Prospect no less than the extinction of the Protestant Religion : which mighty Work they called the utter subduing of a Pestilent Heresie : wherein ( they said ) there never were such hopes of Success since the Death of Queen Mary as now in our dayes . And we were of all Men the most insensible , if we should apprehend a Countrey so remarkable for the true Profession and pure Exercise of the Protestant Religion as New-England is , wholly unconcerned in the Infandous Plot ; to crush and break a Countrey so intirely and signally made up of Reformed Churches , land at length to involve it in the miseries of an utter Extirpation : must needs carry even a Super erogation of merit with it , among such as were intoxicated with a Bigotry inspired into them by the great Scarlet Whore. § II. To get us within the reach of the desolation desired for us , it was no improper thing that we should first have our Charter Vacated and the hedge which kept us from the wild Beasts of the field effectually broken down . The accomplishment of this was hastned by the unwearied solicitations and slanderous accusations of a man for his Malice and Fals-hood well known unto us all . Our Charter was with a most injurious pretence ( & scarce that ) of Law , Condemned before it was possible for us to appear at Westminster in the legal defence of it : and without a fair leave to answer for our selves concerning the crimes falsly laid to our charge , we were put under a President and Councill , without any liberty for an Assembly which the other American Plantations have , by a Commission from his Majesty . § III The Commission was as Illegal for the forme of it , as the way of obtaining it was Malicious and unreasonable : yet we made no resistance thereunto as wee could easily have done ; but chose to give all Man-kind a demonstration of our being a people sufficiently dutifull and loyall to our King : and this with yet more Satisfaction because wee took pains to make our selves believe as much as ever we could of the Whedle then offer'd unto us ; That his Majestys desire was no other then the happy encrease & advance of these Provinces by their more immediate dependance on the Crown of England . And we were convinced of it by the courses immedately taken to damp and spoyl our trade ; wherof decayes and complaints presently filled all th Countrey ; while in the mean time neither the Honour nor the Treasure of the King was at all advanced by this new Model of our Affairs , but a considerable Charge added unto the Crown . § IV. In little more than half a Year we saw this Commission superseded by another , Yet more Absolute and Arbitrary , with which Sr. Edmond Andross arrived as our Governour : who besides his Power , with the Advice and Consent of his Council , to make Laws and raise Taxes as he pleased ; had also Authority by himself to Muster and Imploy all Persons residing in the Territory as occasion shall serve ; and to transfer such Forces to any English Plantation in America , as occasion shall require . And several Companies of Red Coats were now brought from Europe , to support what was to be Imposed upon us , not without repeated Menaces that some hundreds more were intended for us . § V. The Government was no sooner in these Hands , but care was taken to load Preferments principally upon such Men as were strangers to , and haters of the People : and every ones Observation hath noted , what Qualifications recommended a Man to publick Offices and Employments , only here and there a good man was used , where others could not easily be had ; the Governour himself with assertions now and then falling from him made us jealous that it would be thought for his Majesties Interest , if this People were removed and another succeeded in their room : And his far fetched Instruments that were growing Rich among us , would gravely inform us , that it was not for His Maiesties Interest that we should thrive . But of all our oppressors we were cheifly Squeezed by a crew of abject Persons fetched , from New-York to be the tools of the adversary standing at our right hand ; by these were extraordinary and intollerable sees extorted from every one upon all occasions , without any Rules but those of their own insatiable avarice and beggary ; and even the probate of a will must now cost as many Pounds perhaps as it did Shillings heretofore ; nor could a small Volume contain the other Illegalities done by these Horse-leaches in the two or three years that they have been sucking of us ; and what Laws they made it was as impossible for us to know , as dangerous for us to break ; but we shall leave the men of I●swich and of Plimouth ( among others ) to tell the Story of the kindness which has been shown 'em upon this account . Doubtless a land so Ruled as once New-England was , has not without many ●ears and sighs beheld the wicked walking on every side and the vilest men exalted . § VI It was now plainly affirmed both by some in open Council and by the same in private converse , that the people in New-England were all Slaves and the only difference between them and Slaves is their not being bought and sold ; and it was a maxim delivered in open Court unto us by one of the Council , that we must not think the Priviledges of English men would follow us to the end of the world : Accordingly we have been treated with multiplied contradictions to Magna Charta , the rights of which we laid claim unto . Persons who did but peaceably obiect against the raising of Taxes without an Assembly have been for it Fined , some twenty , some thirty , and others fifty Pounds . Packt and pickt Juries have been very common things among us , when under a pretended form of Law the trouble of some perhaps honest and worthy Men has been aimed at : but when some of this Gang have been brought upon the Stage , for the most detestable Enormities that ever the Sun beheld , all Men have with Admiration seen what methods have been taken that they might not be treated according to their Crimes . Without a Verdict , yea , without a Jury sometimes have People been fined most unrighteously ; and some not of the meanest quality have been kept in long and close Imprisonment without any the least Information appearing against them , or an Habeas Corpus allowed unto them . In short , when our Mill-stones have been a little out of Money , 't was but pretending some Offence to be enquired into , and the most innocent of Men were continually put into no small expence to answer the Demands of the Officers , who must have Money of them , or a Prison for them : though none could accuse them of any Misdemeanour . § VII . To plunge the poor People every where into deeper Incapacities , there was one very comprehensive abuse given to us ; multitudes of Pious and Sober Men through the Land scrupled the mode of Swearing on the Book , desiring that they might Swear with an uplifted hand , agreeable to the ancient custome of the Colony ; and though we think we can prove that the Common Law amongst us ( as well as in some other places under the English Crown ) not only indulges , but even commands and enjoyns the rite of lifting the hand in Swearing ; yet they that had this doubt were still put by from serving on any Juryes ; and many of them were most unaccountably Fined and Imprisoned . Thus one grievance is a Trojan Horse , in the Belly of which it is not easy to recount how many insufferable Vexations have been contained . § VIII . Because these things could not make us miserable fast enough , there was a notable Discovery made , of , we know not what flaw in all our Titles to our Lands ; and , though besides our purchase of them from the Natives , and , besides our actual peaceable unquestioned Possession of them , for near th●eescore ●ears , and besides the Promise of K. Charles II. In his Proclamation sent over to us , in the Year 1683 . that no man here shall receive any Prejudice in his Free-Hold or Estate : we had the Grant of o●r Lands , under the Seal of the Council of Plimouth , which Grant was Renewed and Confi●med unto us by King Cha●les I. Under the great Seal of England ; and the General Court which consi●●ed of the Pattentees and their Associates , had made particular Grants hereof to the several Towns ( though 't was now deny'd by the Governour , that there was any such Thing as a Town ) among us ; to all which Grants the General Court annexed for the further securing of them , A General Act Published under the Seal of the Colony , in the Year 1684. Yet we were every day told , That no man was owner of a Foot of Land in all the Colony . Accordingly , Writs of Intrusion began every where to be served on People ; that after all their sweat and their cost upon their formerly purchased Lands , thought themselves Free holders of what they had . And the Governour caused the Lands pertaining to these and those particular men , to be measured out , for his Creatures to take possession of ; and the Right Owners , for pulling up the Stakes , have passed through Molestations enough to tire all the patience in the world . They are more than a few , that were by Terrors driven to take Pattents for their Lands at excessive rates , to save them from the next that might Petition for them : and we fear that the forcing of the people at the Eastward hereunto gave too much Rise to the late unhappy Invasion made by the Indians on them . Blanck Pattents were got ready for the rest of us , to be Sold at a Price , that all the Money and Moveables in the Territory could scarce have paid . And several Towns in the Country , had their Commons beg'd by Persons ( even by some of the Council themselves ) who have been privately encouraged thereunto , by those that sought for occasions to impoverish a Land already Peeled , Meeted out and Trodden down . § IX All the Council were not ingaged in these Ill actions but those of them which were true Lovers of their Country , were seldom admitted to , and seldomer consulted at the Debates which Produced these unrighteous things : Care was taken to keep them under disadvantages ; and the Governour with five or six more did what they would We bore all these , and many many more such things , without making any attempt for any Relief ; only Mr. Mather purely out of Respect unto the good of his Affl●cted Country , undertook a Voyage into England ; which , when these men suspected him to be preparing for , they used all manner of Craft and Rage , not only to interrupt his Voyage , but to ruine his Person too . God having through many Difficulties given him to arrive at White-Hall , the King more than once or twice Promised him a certain Magna Charta for a speedy redress of many things which we were groaning under : and in the mean time said , That our Governour should be written unto , to forbear the measures that he was upon . However , after this , we were injured in those very things , which were complained of ; and besides what wrong hath been done in our civil Concerns , we suppose the Ministers , and the Churches every where have seen our Sacred Concerns a pace going after them : How they have been Discountenanced , has had a room 〈◊〉 the reflections of every man , that is not a stranger in our Israel . § X And yet that our Calamity , might not be terminated here , we are again Briar'd in the Perplexities of another Indian War ; how , or why , is a mystery too deep for us to unfold . And tho' 't is judged , there are not one hundred of our enemies , yet an Army of one thousand English hath been raised for the Conquering of them ; which Army of our poor Friends and Brethren now under Popish Commanders ( for in the Army as well as in the Council Papists are in Commission ) Has been under such a conduct that not one Indian hath been kill'd , but more English are supposed to have died through sickness , and hardsh●p , and in a way little satisfactory to their Friends , then we have adversaries there alive ; and the whole War hath been so managed , that we can't but suspect in it , a branch of the Plot , to bring us Low ; which we propound further to be in due time enquired into . § XI We did nothing against these Proceedings , but only cry to our God ; they have caused the cry of the Poor to come unto him , and he hears the cry of the Afflicted . We have been quiet hitherto ; and so still we should have been , had not the Great God at this time laid us under a double engagement to do something for our security : besides , what we have in the strangely unanimous inclination , Which our Countrymen by extreamest necessities are driven unto . For first , we are Informed that the rest of the English America is Alarmed with just and great fears , that they may be attaqu'd by the French , who have lately ( 't is said ) already treated many of the English with worse then Turkish Crueltys ; and while we are in equal danger of being surprised by them , it is high time we should be better guarded , then we are like to be while the Government remains in the hands by which it hath been held of late . Moreover , we have understood , ( though the Governour has taken all imaginable care to keep us all ignorant thereof ) that the Almighty God hath been pleased to prosper the noble undertaking of the Prince of Orange , to preserve the three Kingdoms from the horrible brinks of Popery and Slavery , and to bring to a Condign punishment those worst of men , by whom English Liberties have been destroy'd ; in compliance with which Glorious Action , we ought surely to follow the Patterns which the Nobility , Gentry and Commonalty in several parts of the Kingdom have set before us , tho●gh they therein have chiefly proposed to prevent what we already endure . § XII . We do therefore seize upon the persons of those few Ill men which have been ( next to our sins ) the grand authors of our miseries : Resolving to secure them , for what Justice , Orders from his Highness with the Parliament shall direct , lest ere we are aware we find ( what we may fear , being on all sides in danger ) our selves to be by them given away to a Forreign Power , before such orders can reach unto us ; for which Orders we now Humbly wait . In the mean time firmly believing : that we have endeavoured nothing but what meer Duty to God and our Country calls for at our Hands , we commit our Enterprise unto the Blessing of Him , who hears , the cry of the Oppressed ; and advise all our Neighbours for whom we have thus ventured our selves to joyn with us in Prayers and all just Actions for the Prosperity of the Land. BOSTON Printed by Samuel Green , and Sold by Benjamin Harris at the London Coffee-House . 1689. 
A50154	----	A poem dedicated to the memory of the Reverend and excellent Mr. Urian Oakes, the late pastor to Christ's flock and præsident of Harvard Colledge in Cambridge ... Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1682 Approx. 30 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 11 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50154 Wing M1142 ESTC R31243 11796594 ocm 11796594 49323 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50154) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 49323) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1487:42) A poem dedicated to the memory of the Reverend and excellent Mr. Urian Oakes, the late pastor to Christ's flock and præsident of Harvard Colledge in Cambridge ... Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [4], 16 p. Printed for John Ratcliff, Boston in New-England : 1682. "Mather's first published work" cf. NUC pre-1956 imprints. Imperfect: cropped with some loss of print. Reproduction of original in the Harvard University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO. EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Oakes, Urian, 1631-1681. American poetry-Colonial period, ca. 1660-1775. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2003-04 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A POEM Dedicated to the Memory OF The Reverend and Excellent Mr. VRIAN OAKES the late Pastor to Christ's Flock , and Praesident of Harvard-Colledge , in Cambridge ▪ Who was gathered to his People on 25 d 5 mo 16●● In the fifty'th Year of his Age. 1 Sam. 25. 1. And SAMUEL dyed , an● the Israelites were gathered together , and Lame●●●● him . Scindentur Vestes , Gemmae frangentur , et Aurum Carmina quam tribuunt Fama perennis erit . O 〈…〉 Magna dabit qui magna potest ; mihi parva potent● Parvaque poscenti , parva dedisse sat est . 〈…〉 BOSTON IN NEW-ENGLAND , Printed for Iohn Ratcliff . 1682. TO THE READER WOrthies to Praise is a Praise-worthy thing Christ did it ; and will do it ! And to Sing ▪ The Elogyes of Saints departed in The Rhythm of Elegyes , has alwayes been Esteemed Reason ! David bids me go My Christian Reader ! and like him do so . Cotton Embalms great Hooker ; Norton Him ▪ And Norton's Herse do's Poet-Wilson trim With Verses : Mitchel writes a Poem on The Death of Wilson ; And when Mitchel's gone ▪ Shepard with fun'ral Lamentations gives Honour to Him : and at his Death receives The like from the [ like-Maro ] Lofty Strain Of admirable Oakes ! I should be vain To thrust into that gallant Chorus : Pride Ne'er made mee such an Icharus : I cry'd Of good Exemples [ Ahimaaz his Thought ] How if I should run after them ? And brought These as a Pattern , and a Plea for what I do ; that my cross Reader blame me not . But why so late ? my Naenia's some will deem Both out of Time , and Tune ! To some I seem Grief's Resurrection to essay ; and bee Iust like the Trojans who came late to see And sorrow with Tiberius ! — Only this Shall be Reply'd ! The fond Bookseller is Now guilty of this Paper 's ravishment When long supprest : Give him thy Discontent ! Since Oakes ( as Homer ) has all Places Claim ▪ Let Boston too forget its Anagram ! Memoirs of the Life and Worth ▪ Lamentations for the Death , and Loss of the every way admirable Mr. VRIAN OAKES . WEep with me , Reader ! Never Poet had His Quill employ'd upon a Theme so sa● As what just Providence ( Grief grumble not ) Do's with black Warrant Press mee to ! O what ? This ! OAKES is dead ! One of the bittrest Pil● ( Compounded of three Monosyllables ) That could have been dispensed ! Absalom Sure felt not more Distress , Death , Danger , come With the three Darts of Ioab ! — Blest Shade ! an Vniversal Tax of Sorrow Thy Country ows thee ! Ah! we need not borrow The Praefica's : Say , Oakes is dead ! and there ! There is enough to squeese a briny Tear From the most flinty Flint : Once at the Blow Of Moses , from a Rock a Stream did flow ; But look ! th' Almightye's Rod now smites us home Oh! what Man won't a Mourner now become ? Dear Saint ! I cannot but thy Herse bedew With dropping of some Fun'ral Tears ! I Rue Thy Death ! I must , My Father ! Father ! say , Our Chariots and our Horsemen where are they ? I the dumb Son of Craesus 'fore mine Eyes Have sett , and will cry when my Father dyes . Oh! but a Verse to wait upon thy Grave , A Verse our Custome , and thy Friends will have : And must I brue my Tears ? ah ! shall I fetter My Grief , by studying for to mourn in Metre ? Must too my cloudy Sorrows rain in Tune , Distilling like the softly Showrs of Iune ? Alas ! My Ephialtes takes me ! See 't ! I strive to run , but then I want my feet . What shall I do ? Shall I go invocate The Muses to mine aid ? No ▪ That I hate ! The sweet New-England-Poet rightly said , It is a most Vnchristian Vse and Trade Of some that Christians would be thought . If I Call'd Help , the Muses mother Memory Would be enough : He that Remembers well The Vse and Loss of Oakes , will grieve his fill . Ih'd rather pray , that Hee , in whose just Eyes The Death of his dear Saints most preciose is , And Hee who helped David to bewail His Ion'than , would not my Endeavours fail . A sprightly Effort of Poetick Fire Would e'en Transport mee to a mad Desire : How could I wish , Oh! that the nimble Sun Of thy short Life before thy Day was done Might backward Ten Degrees have moved ! or Oh! that thy Corps might but have chanced for To have been buried near Elisha's bones ! Oh! that the Hand which rais'd the Widows Sons Would give thee to thy Friends again ! But , Fy ! That Passion 's vain ! To sob , Why didst thou dy ? Is but an Irish Note : Death won't Restore His Stolen Goods till Time shall be no more . Shall I take what a Prologue Homer hath Lett mee Relate the Heavenly Powers Wrath ? Or shall I rather join with Ieremie , And o're our great and good Iosiah sigh , O that my Head were waters , and mine Eyes A fountain were , that Hadadrimmon's Cryes Might bubble from mee ! O that Day and Night For the Slain of my People weep I might ! Ah! why delay I ? Reader , step with mee , And what is for thee on Grief's Table see Memoria Praeteritorum is The Dish I call thee to : Come taste of this . Oakes vvas ! Ah! miserable word ! But what Hee vvas , Let Never , Never be forgot . Beleeve mee once , It were a worthy thing Of 's Life and Worth a large Account to bring To publick Vievv , for general Benefit . I would essay ( with Leave , Good Reader ) it , So far as feet will carry mee ▪ but know it From first to last , Grief never made good Poet. Hee that lasht with a Rod could versify , Attain'd , and could pretend far more than I ! Short was thy Life ! Sweet Saint ! & quickly run Thy Race ! Thy Work was , oh ! how quickly done ! Thy Dayes were ( David's measure ) but a Span ; Five Tens of Years roll'd since thy Life began . Thus I remember a Greek Poet Rhimes , They whom God Loves are wont to dy betimes . Thus Whit●ker , Perkins , Preston , Men of Note , Ay! many such , Never to fifty got . And thus ( Rachel New-England ! ) many Seers Have left us in the akme of their Years . Good Soul ! Thy Iesus who did for thee dy , In Heaven longed for thy Company . And let thy Life be measur'd by thy Deeds , Not by thy Years ; Thy Age strait nothing needs . Divert , My Pen ! Run through the Zodiac Of Oakes his Life : And cause I knowledge lack Of most Occurrents , let mee now and then Snatch at a Passage worthy of a Pen. Our Mother England , ev'n a Village there ( Fuller , insert it ! ) did this Worthy bear . Over the Ocean in his Infancy His Friends with him into New-England fly : Here , while a lad , almost a miracle ( As I have heard his Aged Father tell ) Sav'd him from drowning in a River : Hee Would ( guess ) a Miracle and Moses bee . Now did Sweet Nature in him so appear A Gentlewoman once cry'd out , If ere Good Nature could bring unto Heaven , then Those wings would thither carry Vrian . Prompt Parts , and early Pitty now made Men say of him , what once observers said Of great Iohn Baptist , and of Ambrose too , To what an one will this strange Infant grow ? Her Light and Cup did happy Harvard give Unto him ; and from her he did receive His Two Degrees : ( A double Honour to Thee ( Harvard ! Own it ! ) did by this accrue ! ) So being furnisht with due burnisht Tools The Armour and the Treasure of the Schools , To Temple-work he goes : I need not tell How he an Hiram , or Bezaleel Did there approve himself ; I 'le only add Roxbury his first-fruits ( first Sermon ) had ▪ Some things invite : Hee back to England goes ; With God and Man hee there in favour growes ; But whilst he lives in that Land , Tichfield cryes Come over , Sir , and help us ! He complyes : The Starr moves thither ! There the Orator Continu'd charming sinful mortals for To close with a sweet Jesus : Oh! he woo'd , He Thundred : Oh! for their eternal good How did he bring the Promises , and how Did he discharge flashes of Ebal ? Now Hee held Love's golden Scepter out before The Humble Soul ; Now made the Trumpet roar Fire , Death , and Hell against Impenitent Desp'rates , untill hee made their hearts relent . There did hee merit Sibs's Motto , I Iust like a Lamp , with lighting others dy . Ah! like a Silk-worm , his own bowels went To serve his Hearers , while he soundly spent His Spirits in his Labours . O but there He must not dy ( except Death Civil ) Here ( Why mayn't we Sigh it ! here dark Bartholmew This gallant and heroic Witness slew . Silenc't he was ! not buried out of sight ! A worthy Gentleman do's him invite Unto him ; and like Obadiah , hide Him , dear to them with whom he did reside , Finding his Prayers and Presence to produce An Obed-Edom's blessing on the House . A Spirit of great Life from God do's enter Within a while into him : Hee do's venture To stand upon his feet : Hee prophesy's ; And to a Congregation Preacher is , Join'd with a loving Collegue ; who will not Be buried , till Symmons be forgot . But our New-England Cambridge wants him , and Sighs , " Of my Sons none takes me by the hand , " Now Mitchel's gone ! Oh! where 's his parallel ? " Call my Child Vrian ! Friendly Strangers tell " An OAKE of my own breed in England is , " That will support mee Pillar-like ; and this " Must be resolv'd ; I 'le Pray and Send ! Agreed ! Messengers go ! and calling Council , speed ! The good Stork over the Atlantic came To nourish and cherish his Aged Dam. Welcome ! great Prophet ! to New-England shore ! Thy feet are beautiful ! A number more Of Men like thee with us would make us say , The Moral of More 's fam'd Vtopia Is in New-England ! yea , ( far greater ! ) wee Should think wee Twisse's guess accomplisht see , When New Ierusalem comes down , the Seat Of it , the wast America will bee 't . Cambridge ! thy Neighbours must congratulate Thy Fate ! Oh! where can thy Triumvirate Meet with its Mate ? A Shepard ! Mitchel ! then An Oakes ! These Chrysostoms , these golden Men , Have made thy golden Age ! That fate is thine ( To bee blest with the Sun 's perpetual Shine ) What Sylvius sais of Rhodes . Sure thou mayst call Thy Name Capernaum ! But oh ! the fall Of that enlightened Place wee 'l humbly pray Dear Lord ! Keep Cambridge from it ! — But Quill ! where fly'st thou ? Let the Reader know Cambridge some years could this brite Iewel show , Yet here a Quartane Ague does arrest The Churches Comfort , & the Countryes Rest. But this ( Praise Mercy ) found some Ague-frighter , Hee mends , and his Infirmity grows lighter , Ev'n that his dear Orestes smil'd , So small Your Illness , you 'd as good have none at all . Well! the poor Colledge faints ! Harvard almost ( An Amnesty cryes ' st ! ) gives up the ghost ! The branches dwindle ! But an OAK so near May cherish them ! 'T was done ! The gloomy fear Of a lost Colledge was dispell'd ! The Place , The Learning , the Discretion , and the Grace Of that great Charles , who long since slept & dy'd Lov'd , and Lamented , worthy Oakes supply'd . His Nurse he suckles ; and the Ocean now Refunds what th' Earth in Rivers did bestow . Pro Tempore ( a sad Prolepsiis ) was For a long time his Title ; but just as Wee had obtain'd a long'd for Alteration , And fixt him in the Praesident's firm Station , The wrath of the Eternal wields a blow At which my Pen is gastred ! — But Up ! — Lord ! wee 're undone ! — Nay ! Up ! and Try ! Heart ! Vent thy grief ! Ease Sorrow with a Sigh ! Lett 's hear the matter ! Write de Tristibus ! Alas ! Enough ! — Death hath bereaved us ! The Earth was parch't with horrid heat : We fea'rd The blasts of a Vast Comet 's flaming Beard . The dreadful Fire of Heaven inflames the blood Of our Elijah carrying him to God. Innumerable Sudden Deaths abound ! Our OAKES a Sudden blow laid on the ground , And gives him blessed Capel's wish , which the Letany prayes'gainst , To dy Suddenlie . The Saints hope to have the Lord's Table spread ; But with astonishment they find him dead That us'd to break the Bread of Life : O wee Deprived of our Ministers often bee At such a Season . Lord , thy Manna low In our blind Eyes we fear is wont to go ! The Man of God at the first Touch do's feel [ With a Praesage ] his Call to Heavens weal ; Hee sits himself for his last Conflict ; Saw The ghastly King of Terrors Icy claw ; Ready to grapple with him ; then he gives A Look to him who dy'd and ever lives ; The great Redeemer do's disarm the Snake ; And by the Hand his faithful Servant take , Leading him thorow Death's black Valley , till Hee brings him in his arms to Zion's Hill. Fall'n Pillar of the Church ! This Thy Translation Has turn'd our Joyes into this Lamentation ! Sweet Soul ! Disdaining any more to trade With fleshly Organs , that a Prison made , Thou' rt flown into the World of Souls , and wee Poor , stupid Mortals lose thy Companie . Thou join'st in Consort with the Happy gone , Who ( happ'er than Servants of Solomon ) Are standing round the Lamb's illustrious Throne Conversing with great Isr'el's-Holy-One . Now could I with good old Grynaeus * say " Oh! that will be a bright and gloriose Day , " When I to that Assembly come ; and am " Gone from a world of guilt , filth , sorrow , shame ! I read how Swan-like Cotton joy'd in Thought , That unto Dod , and such he should be brought . How Bullinger deaths grim looks could not fright Because t would bring him to the Patriarchs Sight . ( Well might it be so ! Heathen Socrates In hopes of Homer , Death undaunted sees . ) Who knows but the Third Heaven may sweeter be Thou Citizen of it ! ( dear Oakes ! ) for thee ? Sure what of Calvin Beza said ; and what Of thy forerunner Mitchel , Mather wrote , I 'le truly add , Now Oakes is dead , to mee Life will less sweet , and Death less bitter bee . Lord ! Lett us follow ! — Nay ! Then , Good Reader ! Thou and I must try To Tread his Steps ! Hee walk't Exemplar'ly ! Plato would have none to be prais'd , but those Whose Praises profitable wee suppose : Oh! that I had a ready Writer's Pen , ( If not Briareus hundred Hands ! ) and then I might limn forth a Pattern . Ah! his own Fine Tongue can his own worth Describe alone That 's it I want ; and poor I ! Shan't I show Like the man , whom an Hero hired to Forbear his Verses on him ! Yet a lame Mephibosheth will scape a David's blame . Well! Reader ! Wipe thine Eyes ! & see the Man ( Almost too small a word ! ) which Cambridge can Say , I have lost ! In Name a Drusius , And Nature too ! yea a compendious Both Magazine of worth , and Follower Of all that ever great and famose were . A great Soul in a little Body . ( Add ! In a small Nutshell Graces Iliad . ) How many Angels on a Needle 's point Can stand , is thought , perhaps , a needless Point ▪ Oakes Vertues too I 'me at a loss to tell : In short , Hee was New-England's SAMUEL ; And had as many gallant Propertyes As ere an Oak had Leaves ; or Argus Eyes . A better Christian would a miracle Be thought ! From most he bore away the Bell ! Grace and good Nature were so purely mett In him , wee saw in Gold a Iewel sett . His very Name spake Heavenly ; and Hee Vir sui Nominis would alwayes bee . For a Converse with God ; and holy frame , A Noah , and an Enoch hee became . Vrian and George are Names aequivalent ; Wee had Saint George , though other Places han't . Should I say more , like him that would extol Huge Hercules , my Reader'l on me fall With such a check ; Who does dispraise him ? I Shall say enough , if his Humility Might be described . Witty Austin meant This the First , Second , and Third Ornament , Of a Right Soul , should be esteem'd . And so Our Second Moses , * Humble Dod , cry'd , Know , Iust as Humility mens Grace will bee , And so much Grace so much Humilitie . Ah! graciose Oakes , wee saw thee stoop ; wee saw In thee the Moral of good Nature's Law , That the full Ears of Corn should bend , and grow Down to the ground : Worth would sit alwayes low . And for a Gospel Minister , wee had In him a Pattern for our Tyro's ; sad ! Their Head is gone : Who ever knew a greater Student and Scholar ? or beheld a better Preacher and Praesident ? Wee look't on him As Ierom in our ( Hungry ) Bethlechem ; A perfect Critic in Philology ; And in Theology a Canaan's Spy. His Gen'ral Learning had no fewer Parts Than the Encyclopaedia of Arts : The old Say , Hee that something is in all , Nothing 's in any ; Now goes to the wall . But when the Pulpit had him ! there hee spent Himself as in his onely Element : And there hee was an Orpheus : Hee 'd e'en draw The Stones , and Trees : Austin cryes , If I saw Paul in the Pulpit , of my Three Desires None of the least ( to which my Soul aspires ) Would gratify'd and granted bee . Hee might Have come and seen 't , when OAKES gave Cambridge Light. Oakes an Vncomfortable Preacher was I must confess ! Hee made us cry , Alass ! In sad Despair ! Of what ? Of ever seeing A better Preacher while wee have a beeing . Hee ! oh ! Hee was , in Doctrine , Life , and all Angelical , and Evangelical . A Benedict and Boniface to boot , Commending of the Tree by noble Fruit. All said , Our Oakes the Double Power has Of Boanerges , and of Barnabas : Hee is a Christian Nestor ! Oh! that wee Might him among us for three Ages see ! But ah ! Hee 's gone to Sinus Abrahae . What shall I say ? Never did any spitt Gall at this Gall-less , Guile-less Dove ; nor yet Did any Envy with a cankred breath Blast him : It was I 'me sure the gen'ral Faith , Lett Oakes Bee , Say , or Do what e're he wou'd , If it were OAKES , it must be wise , true , good Except the Sect'ryes Hammer might a blow Or two , receive from Anabaptists , who Never lov'd any Man , that wrote a Line Their naught , Church-rending Cause to undermine . Yett after my Encomiastick Ink Is all run out , I must conclude ( I think ) With a Dicebam , not a Dixi ! Yea , Such a course will exceeding proper bee : The Iews , whene're they build an House , do leave Some part Imperfect , as a call to grieve For their destroy'd Ierus'lem ! I 'le do so ! I do 't ! — And now let sable Cambridge broach her Tears ! ( They forfeit their own Eyes that don't ; for here 's Occasion sad enough ! ) Your Sons pray call All Ichabod ; and Daughters , Marah ! Fall Dovvn into Sack-cloth , Dust , and Ashes ! ( To Bee senseless Now , Friends , Now ! will be to show A CRIME & BADG of Sin and Folly ! ) Try Your fruitfulness under the Ministry Of that kind Pelican , vvho spent his Blood The feed you ! Dear Saints ! Have ye got the Good You might ? And let a Verse too find the Men Who fly'd a Sermon ! Oh! Remember vvhen Sirs ! your Ezekiel was like unto A lovely Song of ( Been't deaf Adders you ) One with a pleasant Voice ! and that could play Well on an Instrument ! And i'n't the Day , ●he gloriose Day , to dawn ( ah ! yet ! ) wherein You are drawn from the Egypt-graves of Sin Compelled to come in ? For shame come in ! Nay ! Join you all ! Strive with a noble Strife , To publish both in Print ( as vvell as Life ) Your preciose Pastor's Works ! Bring them to view That vvee may Honey tast , as vvell as you . But , Lord ! What has thy Vineyard done , that thou Command'st the Clouds to rain no more ? O shevv Thy favour to thy Candlestick ! Thy Rod Hath almost broke it : Lett a Gift of God , Or a sincerely Heaven-touch't Israelite Become a Teacher in thy Peoples sight At last I vvith License Poetical ( Reader ! and thy good leave ) address to all The children of thy People ! Oh! the Name Of Vrian Oakes , Nevv-England ! does proclame SVRE I AN OAK was to thee ! Feel thy Loss ! Cry , ( Why forsaken , Lord ! ) Under the Cross ! Learn for to prize Survivers ! Kings destroy The People that Embassadors annoy . The Counsil of God's Herald , and thy Friend , [ Bee wise ! Consider well thy latter End ! ] O lay to heart ! Pray to the heavenly Lord Of th' Harvest , that ( according to his Word ) Hee vvould thrust forth his Labourers : For vvhy Should all thy Glory go , and Beauty dy Through thy default ? — — Lord ! from thy lofty Throne Look dovvn upon thy Heritage ! Lett none Of all our Breaches bee unhealed ! Lett This dear , poor Land be our Immanuel's yett ! Lett 's bee a Goshen still ! Restrain the Boar That makes Incursions ! Give us daily more Of thy All-curing Spirit from on High ! Lett all thy Churches flourish ! And supply The almost Twenty Ones , that thy Just Ire Has left without Help that their Needs require ! Lett not the Colledge droop , and dy ! O Lett The Fountain run ! A Doctor give to it ! Moses's are to th' upper Canaan gone ! Lett Ioshua's Succeed them ! goes vvhen one room ! Elijah , raise Elisha's ! Pauls become Dissolv'd ! vvith Christ ! Send Tim'thees in their Avert the Omen , that vvhen Teeth apace Fall out , No new ones should supply their place ! Lord ! Lett us Peace on this our Israel see ! And still both Hephsibah , and Beulah bee ! Then vvill thy People Grace ! and Glory ! Sing , And every Wood vvith Hallelujah's ring . N. R. Vixêre fortes ante Agamemnona Multi ; sed illachrymabiles Vrgentur ignotique longà Nocte ; carent quia Vate sacro . Hor. Non ego cuncta meis amplecti Versibus opto . Virg. — Ingens laudato Poema : ● legito ! — Call. ●ui legis ista , tuam reprehendo , si mea laudes Omnia , Stultitiam : Si nihil , Invidiam . Owen . Non possunt , Lector , multae emendare Liturae Versus hos nostros : Vna Litura potest . Martial . Advertisement . THere is to be sold by Iohn Browning , at the Corner of the Prison-Lane next the Tovvn-House , a Sermon of the late Reverend Mr. VRIAN OAKES , preached from Eccl. 9. 11. Shevving that Fortune and Chance are infallibly determined by God : By vvhich alone , it might appear that the Elogyes of him are not a vain Hyperbole ; but as it were , the Eccho of those Words which his Works speak concerning Him. Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A50154-e990 t 〈…〉 
A50163	----	Souldiers counselled and comforted a discourse delivered unto some part of the forces engaged in the just war of New-England against the northern & eastern Indians, Sept. 1, 1689 / by Cotton Mather ... Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1689 Approx. 73 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50163 Wing M1154 ESTC W19438 11781356 ocm 11781356 49073 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50163) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 49073) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1488:1) Souldiers counselled and comforted a discourse delivered unto some part of the forces engaged in the just war of New-England against the northern & eastern Indians, Sept. 1, 1689 / by Cotton Mather ... Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [10], 38 p. Printed by Samuel Green, Boston : 1689. Reproduction of original in the Harvard University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Sermons, American -- 17th century. United States -- History -- King William's War, 1689-1697 -- Sermons. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-05 Jonathan Blaney Sampled and proofread 2003-05 Jonathan Blaney Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Souldiers Counselled and Comforted . A DISCOURSE Delivered unto some part of the FORCES Engaged in the Iust War of NEW-ENGLAND Against the Northern & Eastern INDIANS . Sept. 1. 1689. By Cotton Mather Minister of the Gospel in Boston , In publico discrimine omnis Homo Miles est . BOSTON Printed by Samuel Green. 1689. To my Much Honoured FRIENDS ; The Pious and Valiant COMMANDERS , Of the FORCES now engaged against our Indian Enemies . Gentlemen , A Request from One of you , was that which I esteemed a Command , for my Preaching of a Sermon fill'd with Counsils and Comforts to part of the Forces now under your auspicious Conduct . I was too dull to apprehend it either an Impudent or an Improper thing for me to do That , While I found a Minister ( and Him none of the oldest neither ) charged with a very great Solemnity , Preach the Word , Be instant in season , out of season , WATCH thou in all things , fulfil the Ministry . That which most wants an excuse is the Printing of it ; which is a Service that I have not been so much a Voluntier unto . But the Reasons that produc'd my Labour in Preaching , which were , my Desire to save the Souls , and mend the Lives , and promote the Edification of those , for whom my Hearts Desire and Prayer to God , is , That they may be Happy ; and my Ambition to Encounter and Abolish what I can , the Unchristian Temper of those who take advantage from the other Difficulties and Entanglements of the Country , to refuse doing their part in carrying on the Indian War ; the same Reasons have procur'd my Consent to Printing of this Little Sermon . As I never can endure that mischievous Impertinency , of making the first or chief Exercise after our Hearing , to be upon that Question , How did you like the Sermon to day ? So I am not much concerned about the Reception and Entertainment which may be given to this poor Sermon by the Readers of it . My not having more than half a day to prepare it in , made it incapable of being thus written , till since the Delivery of it ; and it is now written , as near as well could be to what it was when Spoken : without many more Additions , I suppose , than may somewhat Ballance the Omissions made in the Transcription . The Substaneous and so much Extemporaneous uttering of a Sermon , indeed I am so far from accounting a matter of Applause , that I do esteem it Evil and Sinful , and never free from Blame , unless Gods Providence , and not our Election have made it Unavoidable ▪ nor is any thing in the world more fulsome and nauseous , than for a Preacher to value himself upon such a Crime , as his not spending much time in Study . I do therefore beg pardon , that I offer you what is no better Studied ; not without expectations , that whether you pardon me , or no , there are those that will make me run the Gantlets of their Censures for it ; and yet had I never so much leisure for study , I would not , I could not offer you a more Needful Thing than the Matter , however I might offer you a more Curious thing than the Method of this Discourse . Accept the Sermon as a Little Messenger now sent into the Camp , after my Brethren , with a little parched Corn , to refresh them , against their Facing of the Philistines ; and I beseech you , let none of them have their Anger so kindled , as to tell me , Why camest thou down hither ? I know thy Pride ; for give me leave to say it , What have I now done ? is there not a Cause ? Gentlemen ! It is the War of the Lord which you are now Engaged in : and it is the Help of the Lord , that we are at Home affectionately imploring for you . We have made a fair and just purchase of our Country from the Natives here ; not encroaching on them after the Spanish Fashion , in any of their Properties and Possessions . Yet they are now molesting of us in the Enjoyment of what our God ( because our Right ) hath made our own ; which my Pen cannot mention without Jehoshaphats Ejaculation , We destroy'd them not , but behold how they Reward us , to come to cast us out of thy Possession , which thou hast given us to inherit . O our God , Wilt thou not Judge them ? I believe , I am perswaded , and Confident , He will. But your Wisdom and Courage is now to be Employ'd in order thereunto ; and we all wish you such large measures of Both , as the matter does require . Yow are some of you , such as in the former War , ventured as far as any men Alive ; and the God of Armies then blessed you , not only with safety , but with a success also , which we should be very unworthy if we should be unthankful for . As you have thereby learn'd what a Treacherous . Barbarous , Dangerous Enemy you have to deal withal ; so you are not without a gracious Invitation to Trust in God for your future preservation ; You may animate your selves with such an Hope as that , The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lion , and out of the paw of the Bear , He will also deliver me out of the Hands of the Philistine . Your former Deliverances whereof the Honourable Wounds upon some of you are perpetual Monitors and Memorials , are a Dish of Leviathans Heads well drest , for your Faith to feed upon . Feed and Fight now with a strong Faith ; By That you may wax Valiant in fight , and turn to flight the Armies of the Aliens . Gentlemen ! Your Forces are Happy in you ; none of you being that Debauched sort of Captains , which will Drink and Swear and Curse and profane the Sabbath and at the same time give out that Perilous Word of Command , Follow your Leader ; alas , whither do they Lead them ! But I assure my self that you are such as have long since Listed your selves under the Banner of the Lord Iesus Christ ; [ Let His Banner over you be Love ! ] and are concerned that all your men may under that Banner oppose the Lusts which war against their Souls 'T is the design of this Publication that you may be as Happy , in your Forces ; and that those For whom and With whom you are every day pouring out your Prayers to the Lord of Hosts , may not want Encouragements to any of those Combates , in which you would see them all Victorious . You are in the Head of Companies , whom you are generously willing not only to Live , but also to Dy withal ; and the chief thing that I am pursuing is , That whether Death join you to them , or part you from them , You may meet them all e're long at the Right-hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have had many Fears upon my Spirit , lest the wonderful Deafness to , and Contempt of the Everlasting Gospel found in the Rising Generation here , may not cause the Lord Iesus to say , That He will not have pleasure in our young men ; but that he will take them off , and lay them waste by the plagues of a destructive War. To prevent such Omens , may be motive enough unto many such endeavours as you are here treated with . May These Warnings reach some of them that had slighted too many others heretofore ! I have done when I have told you , That I hope you have not all your Forces with you ; all the praying people of New-England have Embarked themselves with you , and assist your present Expedition . It was not at all Displeasing unto His Majesty , our most Gracious and Illustrious King WILLIAM , to hear those words in a Speech made unto Him by one concerned for us , It may be Humbly spoken to Your Majesty , The very Prayers of your poor Subjects in New-England , may do Your Majesty as much Service as an Army of Forty Thousand Men. 'T will surely be a satisfaction unto you , to think what an Army of Prayers ( quasi manu facta , as Tertullian expresses it ) is every day besieging and beseeching of Heaven for your Prosperity . We are no ways tainted with a Popish Fancy , of I know not what , Protection to arise from the Bodies of the Dead Saints that are inhum'd among us ; though a very Rich Crop of them will be afforded by this little Spot of Ground , at the Resurrection of the Just. 'T is foretold of Antichrist , He shall honour the God of Mahuzim , besides , ( for so I read it ) the God which his Fathers knew not , : Besides , the Lord Iesus Christ whom they despise , our Neighbours , the French , like other Papists , have their Mahuzim , that is , their Defenders , or Guardians ; and those are the Saints Departed . Hence even some of the Ancients ( or shall I call them by a contrary Name ? for , Antiquitas seculi est Juventus mundi ) themselves , betimes became so vain , as to count the Reliques of the Dead Saints , the Towers and Ramparts of the places that Enjoy'd them ; and the Dead Bodies of two Apostles in the City made the Poet cry out , A Facie Hostili duo propugnacula praesunt . But instead thereof , you have the Prayers of Living Saints to increase your Protection in the worst of your Adventures . I hope they may make you Forty thousand strong . Our Lively Prayers to the God whom our Fathers knew , will be the best Mahuzim or Forces for you ; if we do but choose and love and serve the blessed God of our Fathers , and Reform the Sins that have provoked Him to Avenge with a Sword the quarrel of his Covenant ; which O that our God would enable us unto ! Gentlemen , Tho I am neither a Souldier , nor the Son of a Souldier , yet you will allow me that have heretofore published my concern for Military Persons by the pressing of Military Duties , to continue my Affection thereunto ; and to perform some part of my Devoirs unto yourselves , by now subscribing my self , Your Sincere Servant C. Mather . Souldiers Counselled and Comforted ▪ It is written in PSAL. CXIX . 109 . My Soul is continually in my Hand ; yet I do not forget thy Law. WHEN there was made unto the famous and faithful Iohn of old , that Application whereof we have that Account in Luc. 3.14 . The Souldiers demanded of Him , saying , What shall we do ? We find that He left them not without those Divine Words of Command ▪ which He thought proper and useful for them . 'T is in Conformity to his Great and Good Exemple , that I count my self under Obligations at this Time to attempt the satisfaction and answer the Expectation of the Souldiers , whose worthy Leader has brought them into this Assembly , that they might hear a short Sermon adapted unto Their peculiar Circumstances . We are informed in the Sacred Pages , that in the Expedition of the Israelites against the Canaanites , There came down those that Handled the Pen of the Writer . 'T is the unhappiness of the Expedition which we are at this day concerned in , that our present and pressing Dangers involve every person some way in it . Even Scholars must either Accompany or Encourage Souldiers ; and they that have handled none but Pens , must either carry or sharpen Swords . We are in the Briars of a Perplexity , wherein , Omnis Home Miles est , Every man is in his way to bear Arms ; and Those that I have to assist you with , I must fetch out of that Christian Panoply the Holy Bible . 'T is there , my Fellow-Souldiers , that I find the Copy of a Renowned Souldier , to suit your Enquiries , when you repair unto me with your What shall we do ? Behold in That of the Psalmist , both your own Condition , and your own Direction . Your Condition is , To have your Lives continually in our Hands . Your Direction is , To not forget Gods Law. The Text now offered unto your Consideration , is in the longest , and yet the sweetest of all the Psalms . 'T is in a Psalm , which ( as one saith ) consisteth of words , Non tam Legenda quam Vivenda , to be Lived rather than Read or Heard ; a Psalm , which ( as another says ) is , Quanto rolixior eo prestantior , having an Excellency transcendent like its Prolixity ; a Psalm which the wittiest of the Ancients in a Dream or Vision had presented unto him , as The Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God ; What shall I say more ? a Psalm which well deserves to be set as the Preface of the Scripture , being the Encomium , and indeed the Epitome of it all . A Coherence , and so an Analysis , of the several Paragraphs in the Psalm , is not sollicitously to be sought : the Regard had unto the Order and Number of the Hebrew Letters , throughout the whole , giving us cause to look for a Cohaerence of Letters rather than of Matters in it ; however in our Context there seems to be some Dependence . We have here the Lovely David , that Eminent Servant and Souldier of the Lord , asserting his own Integrity , against the Temptations of a Various Assault ; an Assault both from Snares and Swords . He was Assaulted one while by Fraud ; and as to the Temptations thereof he says , The Wicked have laid a Snare for me , yet I have not erred from thy Precepts . He was Assailied another while by Force ; & as to the Temptations thereof , he says , My soul is continually in my Hands ; yet I do not forget thy Law. Suppose this incomparable General , now skulking and scowring about the Woods , in the Wilderness of Palestine ; pursued like a Patridge , by that bloody Fowler Saul , with all his cruel setting Dogs about him . Suppose him , now in Arms , and thus Expressing of himself . Behold in our Text : First , the Affliction of a great Souldier . 'T is , my soul is continually in my Hand . By the Soul may be meant the Life , which does consist in a Vital Union between the Soul and the Body . But how may this be said to be , In the Hand ? remember Austin upon this place , confesses , he could not conceive what the Psalmist meant . But Ierom hits the Nail , by noting that it is an Hebraism , Quo significatur vitam habere periculo Expositam ; signifying to go in Danger of ones Life . The Graecians have a Proverb , as well as the Hebrews to the same purpose ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . He hath his Soul in his Hand . To put it out of Doubt , that this is the Intent of the Psalmist here , we find it elsewhere , that when the Life of this very person had been obnoxious to an extraordinary Danger , 't is thus deciphered in 1 Sam. 19.5 . He did put his Life in his Hand . And hence the never enough Regarded and Commended French Translation , so renders the passage , we are now upon , Ma Vie a este continuellement en Hazard ; my Life has been continually in Hazard . A Souldier must continually look to be Hazarding of his Life . Secondly the Affection of a good Souldier . 'T is Yet I do not forget thy Law. A Souldier must indeed Forget all things , but Gods Law , and his own Sword. For the Object which he is to be Affected with , 't is Gods Law. That is one of the Ten Words , one of which is used in almost every verse of this glorious Hymn , to denote , The ways and means by which the blessed God reveals His Will unto the Children of Men ; and the Will it self revealed in those ways and means . And then for the Respect which he is to place upon this Object , it is , Not Forgetting . But we are to bear in mind , That according to the Received Rule of Expounding Scripture Phrases to Remember , denotes also , to Know , to Love , to Do. All That is intended here . And hence the Doctrine here provided for you is , That the Remembrance of Gods Law , is a Thing of no small Importance to them that have their Lives continually in their Hands . As the little time given me for Preparation , will not allow me to be very Accurate and Pertinent in improving my present opportunity , which until too late yesterday I knew nothing of : so the little strength left me by the excessive . Labours of this morning supervening upon the Languors of a late Illness , will not permit me to be long , in this Discourse ; I have only two Propositions to entertain you with . Proposition I. To have their Lives in their Hands , is a Condition which the Children of Men are liable unto . There is indeed a Threefold Condition which brings the Lives of Men into the Hands of Men ; with a Gradual Descent from Generals to Specials , it may be set before you . The first Condition of this kind , is , that of All Men : Accordingly our Observation is , 1. Men have their Lives brought into their their Hands , in point of Mortality . Our Lives are come out from our Hearts unto our Hands ; and they are in a sort ready to shake Hands with us . Our Lives do as it were take us by our Hands , and say , Well , I am going , Fare you well . Our Lives are come into our Hands for the Brevity of them . Once indeed there was a Longevity in Fallen Man that seem'd almos● Aemulous of that Immortality , which Uprigh● man should have had experience of . The Antediluvian Patriarchs might have broke up Company , with probable Agreements to have met again in the same Place and Form an Hundred Years afterwards . But that LONG LIFE , i● by our Vice , and Gods Curse , now terribly Abbreviated . Our own Corruption has Enfeebled the principles of Life in our Successive Generations , and Gods just Malediction has confirm'd that Feebleness , whereby we Dy before our Time , for being wicked overmuch . The Sacred Law of God has now Abridged our Lives into Seventy Years , and the Common Law of Man , into Seven . Our Lives are now IN our Hands , and we have not an Handful thereof . The psalmist could say , in Psal. 39.5 . Behold , Thou hast made my Days as an Hands Breadth . In an Hands Breadth may be grasped the whole of the Lives which we have in our Hands . Our Lives are likewise come into our Hands for the Uncertainty of them . What is in our Hands is Extra nos , 't is uncertain whether we shall keep it or no. Our Lives are so in our Hands , that we know not whether they will stay with us They may be wrested out of our Hands : and in a Turn of an Hand they are gone , before we are aware . 'T is said in James 4.14 . What is your Life ? It is even a vapour . It is as a Vapour , or a Candle , that we bear ( not in Horns , but ) in Hands . 'T is liable to be Extinguished by every puss of Wind. The Second Condition of this kind , is , that of Old Men. And so our Observation is , 2. Men have their Lives brought into their Hands in point of Infirmity . Aged persons Lean with their Hands ; and on their Staves they carry their Lives . The Life may be put for the whole Man ; with the Old Man 't is come into the Hands ; his Feet cannot now support him . 'T is said of him in Eccles 12.3 . The strong men , ( i. e. his Legs ) bow themselves ; and so the Trembling Hands must be the Keepers of the House . All the strength left him , and all his Life is in his Hands . He does all things with a Staff in Hand , and so with a Life in Hand ; as 't is noted of the Gray-headed and Decrepit Iacob , in Heb. 11.21 . He Worshipped , leaning on the Top of his Staff : When he rose off his Couch to worship God , he could not rise without a Staff ; his Life was relieved and exerted mostly by his Aged palsey Hand . The third Condition of this kind , is that of Confessors , and that of Souldiers . And our Observation upon it is , 3 Men have their Lives brought into their Hands in point of Danger to Loose their Lives . 'T is the Chaldee Paraphrase upon this place , Anima mea periclitatur ac si esset 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in super ficie manus meae . Our Lives are sometimes by Dangers placed , as t' were on the Back of our Hands . We have no hold of them , but they will take wing , and be gone , in the Twinkling of an Eye . We are sometimes to venture our Lives ; and when we do so , We may say , as in 1 Sam. 28.21 . Behold I have put my Life in my Hand . That which is in our Hands , is easy to be Taken away ; yea , What is ready to be Given away , we take in our Hands . In both respects , our God often calls us to have our Lives in our Hands . We are sometimes to engage in those things , wherein 't is but a Peradventure , whether we shall ever come off Alive . Yea , we are sometimes not only to Expose our Lives , but also to Resign them , and let them go out of our Hands , and pour them forth as a Drink-offering before the Lord. This is the case of Confessors . They Dy Often ; they are as 't is said in 2 Cor. 11.23 . In Deaths often . Yea , they Dy Daily ; they can say as in 1 Cor. 15.31 . I Dy Daily . That is , They are Often , they are Daily in Danger in Dying ; and so they have their Lives in their Hands . There is a Number of people in the World , who profess the Truths and Ways of God , and serve Him according to His Word . This people are a sort of Army , under the Colours and Commands of the Lord Jesus Christ ; but the Ancient Legend ( pardon me that I call it so ) of the Thebaean Legion is verifyed in the usage that they meet withal . They have so many Hands against them , that their Lives are in their Hands ; and from that Flock of Slaughter , now one , and then another is made a prey to Wolvish Persecutors ; before whole Rabid Violence , they say , Lord , For thy sake We are killed all the Day Long. And this is the case of Souldiers too . It was remarked by a notable man of that Character , 〈◊〉 2 Sam. 11.25 . The Sword Devoureth One as Well as another . The Hebrews call War , by a Name that signifies , A Devourer . And Souldiers carry in their Hands , what the Monster feeds upon ; the Leviathan devours the Lives of them who do Encounter him . The Lives of Souldiers are where their Arms are , even in their Hands ; for they know not whether they shall return Alive , out of the Battels which they are push'd upon . And it is for a double Reason that our God carves out such a condition for us . First , It is to check our Worldly-mindedness : It was said unto that good man , in Jer. 45.5 . Seekest thou great things for thy self , seek them not ; for — thy Life will I give unto thee for a prey . When our Life is for a prey , our Life is then in our Hand ; we have it by a meer snatch as it were . This now prohibits our seeking of great things for our selves , in as much as we cannot secure to our selves the Enjoyment of That , which alone makes us capable of Enjoying all other Sublunary Things . By bringing our Lives into our Hands , our Hands are knock'd away from too fast a gripe or grasp after Secular Objects . When our Life is in our Hand , God has a voice in His Mouth to this purpose , Dream not of mighty Things , no , nor of any Things in this Transitory World , until thou hast better Assurance of thy continuance here . The blessed God thus inviteth us , and obligeth us , to look after the glorious Crowns and Ioyes in another VVorld . He Inviteth us , and obligeth us , To set our Affections upon the Things which are above ; and , To Look at the Things which are not seen and are Eternal ; and to make sure of an Hope in Christ , without which we see ( when we have Life in Hand ) our selves to be of all men most miserable . Secondly ; It is to cure our Creature-Confidence . It was said by the Apostle in 2 Cor. 1.9 . We had a Sentence of Death in our selves , that we should not trust in our selves , but in God , which raises the Dead . A Condemned Malefactor carries his Life in his Hand , from the Bar. VVe are sometimes in as perilous a Likelihood of Dying , as a condemned Malefactor ; and we are hereby called upon to Trust in God alone for the Reversing and Repealing of the Sentence . By having our Lives in our Hands , we are under a Necessity of Reliance upon God alone to keep them there . VVhen we have our Life in our Hand , we have also that call in our Ear , Do not Lean upon any Temporal Visible , Interest for the preservation of thy Life ; let all thy Expectations be , as all thy Salvations are , from God alone . The Lord breaks down the Hedge on every side of us , and we Ly open to Death every way : 't is that we may reserve our Dependance for all support , and all succour , to be placed upon God alone ; 't is that we may learn the Song of him that returned with his Life in his Hand from the maw of the great Shark ; Salvation is of the Lord. Proposition II. The Direction proper for them that have their Lives in their Hands , is to Remember the Law of God. VVhen you have considered a few Conclusions , your thoughts will rightly apprehend the Intent and Extent of this Assertion . Conclusion I. Their Memories being Fraighted and Stored with Divine Truths , do marvellously assist those that have their Lives in their Hands . Our Souls have an admirable Faculty of laying up in themselves the Images of Things , which have made their Impressions on us . This is our Memory . VVe have both a Retaining Memory , which is more Sensitive and a Regaining Memory , which is more Rational : a Memory , that can both keep Safe and fetch Back what Idaeas we have been Entertained with . This Memory is a Treasury , to be replenished with such Things as the Law of God affords unto us . 'T is Required in Prov. 3.1 . My Son forget not my Law. 'T is Resolved in Psal. 119.16 . I will not Forget thy Word . The Law of God contains Commandments , every one of which are Holy , and Iust , and Good ; it contains Promises , every one of which are Great and Precious ; it contains Threatnings , every one of which are Quick and Powerful : and these are all to be Treasured up in our Memories . VVhen they have been communicated unto us , we are to take heed that , Menasseh , or Forgetfulness be not the Name of our Souls . The Distillations of Gods Law , like Manna , fall about our Tents from Day to Day : our Duty now is that in 2 Pet. 1.15 . To have these Things always in Remembrance ; and Gods Law will not like Manna , corrupt , but rather sweeten , by being Reposited until To morrow . The Law of our God is both Written and Preached among us : now 't is declared in Heb. 2.1 . We ought to give earnest heed unto the Things , lest at any time we let them slip ; or , Lest we be like Leaky Vessels thereunto . The Truths couched in the Law of God are to be like Nails fastned in our Souls ; never to be remov●d , never to be displaced . After we have been sitting under the Dispensations of Gods Law , He will ask of u● ▪ as in Heb. 12.5 . Have you forgotten the Exhortation ? To which we should be able to Reply as the Psalmist of old , Lord , I have not forgotten thy Law. And hence we should Receive the Truths therein offered unto us , with that Affectionate and Agreeable Ejaculation , Lord , keep it for ever in the Imagination of the Thought of my Heart ! Now those of you that carry your Lives in your Hands will have this peculiar Benefit , by having of Gods Laws thus in your Minds . First , your Memory will suggest Necessary Truths unto you . You cannot always come at those Ordinances , which are the Wells of Salvation , being driven to wander in the Dry paths of a Solitary Wilderness . But your well-furnished Memories will supply you with the words whereby you may be saved , & bring a Little Sanctuary to you when you are Banished from the Great Ones . They will render you the Instructed Scribes which will not want Things New and Old , for the Repast of your Souls in the Desert which you range forth into . Salvation was to come unto you by your Hearing while you were here ; it may now come unto you by your Remembring ; for the Apostle said , in 1 Cor. 15.2 . Ye are sav̄ed , if you keep in Memory , What I Preached unto you . And , Secondly , Your Memories will suggest Seasonable Truths unto you . You are going into a Warfare , wherein you will often have occasion for some Advice from God. While you were among us , you could seldom labour under any Doubt , or Snare , but you would have it met withal , in the Ordinances , that you conscientiously repair'd unto ; you might say with him , I went into the Sanctuary of God , then I understood . But your Memories must now be your Monitors ; if they be not Empty , they will not be Silent . It was said by some that were hurried away from the place where the Institutions of the most High did use to be maintained , in Lam. 3.21 . I Recal to mind , therefore I have Hope . So you may quickly have cause to say , I Recal to mind , and I have Life ; and , I Recal to mind , and I have light ; and , I Recal to mind , and I know what I have to do . Conclusion 2. 'T is a Practical Remembrance of Divine Truths , which they that have their Lives in their Hands are to be most concerned for . Let Remembring and Practising go Hand in Hand , since you have your Life in your Hand . It is said in Numb . 15.39 . Remember all the Commandments of the Lord , and Do them . Behold , God has joined these two , and what God has join'd , Let no man put asunder . The Best Remembrance is that which produces Repentance . 'T was said in Matth. 26.75 . Peter Remembred the words of the Lord Iesus ; and he went out and wept bitterly . Thus we should so Remember the Law of God , as to weep for all our violations of it ; weep and Mourn and Bleed at the Thoughts of our own Unanswerableness thereunto . And , the Best Remembrance is that which produces Obedience . 'T was said , in Psal. 22.27 . They shall Remember , and Turn unto the Lord. Thus we should so Remember the Law of God , as to Turn from all our own Behaviours that are contrary thereunto to Turn from all Sin to God in Christ for ever . A little of this Remembring will go further than the Largest and Longest Repetition else . A Pious Person being asked , What do you Remember of the last Sermon ? Reply'd , I don't Remember much ; but so much I do Remember that I shall Endeavour to mend a miscarriage that the Sermon convinc'd me of . That was Well Remembred ! Tho' your Memories may serve you like a Sieve that seem'd full while it was in the Water , but has nothing in it , immediately on its Taking out ; yet therein however let them be like the Sieve , that they shall be made pure and clean by the Waters of Life that are passing thorough them . This is the Remembrance which you are to be most ambitious of . Conclusion 3. Our having our Lives in our Hands ought not to Affright us from any thing that the Law of God makes incumbent on us . This is , I suppose , the principal Intendment of the Psalmist here ; q. d. Tho' I have my Life in my Hand , yet I will do no Indirect Thing , to keep it there . We should never Warp , never Sin , to avoid any peril whatsoever . When we have our Lives in our Hands , we are then Try'd , whether we will put forth our Hands unto Iniquity to secure what is in them . But having a clear Call to your Service , you should say as the Martyr once , If every Hair of my Head were a man , I would have the Lives of them all sacrificed , rather than desert the cause I am engaged in . You should be above all carnal motions , or passions , or Impressions , that may discourage you in the work which you are to attend with your Lives in your Hands . 'T was said by that wise man , in Gal. 6.14 . I am Crucified unto the World. A crucified man has his Life in his Hands with a witness , when his Hands are Nailed and Hanging on the Tree . You should have no more Carnal Joyes and Griefs , no more Carnal Hopes and Fears , then a man whose Life is going out at his Hands Gratify not any Enemy , by a Sinful Compliance , to Escape Danger ; for God can Restrain your Adversary . 'T is said in Proverb 16.7 . When a mans ways please the Lord , his Enemies shall be at peace with him . Oftentimes to prevent mischiefs from Enemies our Way does Displease the Lord : but we then take a Wrong Way ! God can make Pharoah afraid of Moses , and Herod afraid of Iohn . The Lord has Hornets to buz and sting Terrors into those whom we may be too much terrified withal . And Gratify not any Corruption upon such a score ; for God will Reward your Fidelity : Said he in Matth. 19.27 . Behold , we have Forsaken All ; and what shall we have Therefore ? Good Sir , All What ? Why All a Net , All a Boat , All a small Craft which they had some Subsistence on . This was All ! yet it follows , Iesus said , Ye that have followed me , shall in the Regeneration , When the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of his Glory , then also sit upon Twelve Thrones . You cannot Receive the Exposition of it : but — surely then they that will forsake their very Lives rather than do amiss , will not miss a most glorious Recompence . Conclusion 4. Some people that have their Lives in their Hands , are more prone to Forget the Law of God , then others that undergo less Dangers are . This may seem an Intimation , or Insinuation of the Psalmist here ; q. d. l. I been't like other people who carry their Lives in their Hands . I extreamly Value the Law , which they commonly Forget . 'T is very strange , and very sad ; but also very True ; That there is often least Grace in the Hearts of those that most have their Life in their Hands . How it comes to pass , I don't know ; but so it is , That they whose nearest and oftnest Approaches unto Eternity should awaken them to be the Best people in the World , are frequently the worst of all . We see it in Sailors and in Souldiers . As for them that follow the Sea , 't is said of them , in Psal. 107.22 . They Reel to and fro , and Stagger like a Drunken Man ; and are at their Wits Ends Thus 't is with them in regard of Storm ; and when that is over , 't is thus again with them in regard of Sin too ; even after they come a Shore , still ( and upon a sadder Account ) they will many of them Reel to and fro , and Stagger , not like a Drunken man ; but thro' being really so . They make deeper Descents towards Hell by their Vice , than in their Ship ; and no Sea-sickness will turn into a Sin-sickness with them . Tho they may pray in a Tempest , how horribly will they Swear and Curse , and how filthily will they Talk , when they are out of their Amazements ! It has been doubted , Whether they were to be reckoned among the Living or the Dead . But the sense of this keeps few of them , from th●se Remarkable . Extravagancies ; which quickly plunge them down into the Congregation of those that Roar under the Waters for evermore . And as for them that follow the Field , Forgive the plain Dealing , my Fellow-Souldiers , if I tell you , That Wickedness , Impiety , Profanity , is one of the Things that has made their Character Extraordinary in the World. Their Names are up , for an Acquaintance with an Excess of Rudeness and Lewdness , and all manner of Debauchery . How rarely have Armies been the Schools of true Vertue and Honour ? but not rather the Nurseries of all those Abominations , that would render the lowest Hell Visible and Incarnate here . It was complained in Psal. 119 : 6. The Bands of the Wicked have Robbed me . How seldome do Bands consist of those who are not a who do not so ? It has been of old noted , Nulla Fides , Pietasque Viris , qui Castra Sequntur ▪ That Armies have but few Christians in them . We say , That Laws are not Heard , where Arms are Clashing . Alas , no Laws are so much drowned and slighted there , as the Laws of the Holy One of Israel . USE I The Improvement of these things remains ; & first the Whole Congregation is concerned in it . Unto you , I say , Take heed that your Lives be not snatch'd out of your Hands , before your Souls are well provided for . Your Souls are not well provided for without Regeneration ; for we are told , Except a man be born Again , he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nor without Conversion : for we are told , Except ye be Converted , ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven . Nor without Believing ; for we are told , If you Believe not , you shall Dy in your Sins . O Look after these Important things , they all make up The One Thing Necessary . I am to tell you , and I must loose the Life which I now carry in my Hand , if I tell you not , That Necessity is laid upon you , and Wo unto you , if you do it not . If your Souls are drag'd away before you have had a Comfortable Experience of these Needful Things , you are horribly undone ; Flatter not yourselves , He that made you will not have mercy on you , and He that Formed you , will shew you no Favour . The Souls which are now so much in your Own Hands , must then fall into Other Hands , which how can your Hearts be strong , or how can your Hands Endure at the fore-sight of ? Your Souls must then fall into the Hands of God , whose Hands ( whose fiery iron Arms ) 't is a fearful thing to fall into . And your Souls must then fall into the Hands of Satan too , Who goes about seeking whom to catch and gripe in his cruel claws . And are these the Hands , that , O ye Souls in peril , ye will rush into ? Hearken to that voice of the Eternal God , which says in Heb. 3.7 . To Day if you will Hear his voice . What you do for the Wellfare of your Souls , must be done To Day , To Day ! Your Souls may have taken Wing before To morrow . I may say as 't was once said in a worse case , What thou do● do quickly ! 'T is the Solemn Caution , in Prov. 27.1 . Boast not thy self of To morrow , for thou knowest not what a Day may bring forth . 'T is not safe , 't is a very dangerous Folly and Phrensy , to leave a Soul miserable for One Day together . A Renewed man has before now seen cause to say , I would not be in my Natural Estate again one Hour , for ten thousand Worlds ; Lest my Death should come in that Hour , and carry my miserable Soul away , to the Torments of the Pit below . O that every one of you then would this Night set yourselves to answer the Calls of the Everlasting Gospel ; O that you would this Night make yourselves Happy , by giving up yourselves to God in Christ with an Everlasting Covenant . If any Person go away , without Resolutions to make Essays hereunto , I have only this to add , Thou Fool ▪ This Night thy Soul may be Required of thee ; and where then will the wretched L●dgings of it be ? Where throughout Eternal Ages ? USE II. But I behold in the Congregation a part of the Forces , that are carrying their Liues in their Hands , against the Barbarous Enemies by which the Territory is at this time Distressed and Invaded , and unto these I shall Address the Rest of my Discourse , with a very particular Application , 'T is with a very due Respect and Esteem , that I look upon you , my good Friends and Neighbours ; as many of you as have given cause for that Acknowledgment of you , in Judge 5.2 . Praise the Lord , for the people willingly offered themselves : and while I am touch'd with an Ambition to Assist you ( I might have said , to Accompany you ) in your present Expedition , I cannot find a fitter way to do it , than by giving you that part of a Sermon , which your worthy Commander has asked for you . You may say like that Souldier , in Judg. 12.2 . I put my Life in my Hands , and passed over against the Children of Ammon : God grant you may quickly say the rest : And the Lord delivered them into my Hand . That you may Happily and Cheerfully go on , with what you have in Hand , a few Counsils , a few Cordials , and a few Blessings , are to make up the Remainder of our present Exercise . COUNSILS . By way of Counsil , give me leave to say , First , Be sensible that you go forth with your Souls , as well as your Lives in your Hands . That word , A Soul , A Soul ! methinks it sounds bigger than a World. A Precious and an Immortal Soul , O 't is too big a Thing to be thrown away . Think , That you have every one of you , a Soul , which is a Iewel too valuable to be Despised : he is a Fool indeed , of whom it may be said , He Despises his own Soul. Now you are going forth against Indians with your Souls in your Hands , pray , be apprehensive that you should not make Indian-Bargains about those Inestimable Souls . The Indians would sell to the Europeans at their first Arrival in the Southern Regions , the best Jewels , and Metals , for a few Glass-beads . Let your Thoughts be , that you have Souls not to be so basely Truckt away ; Souls not to be Sold for Songs , whatever the Flesh , the World , or the Devil may sing unto you . It is wholsome Advice , in Prov. 4 20. Keep thy Soul with all Diligence . Consider , That you have Souls , which will stand like Rocks in the Sea of Eternity for ever ; and O Consider , What will become of them Souls , if they be not New-born before their Departure hence . There was a profane Souldier , who on One side of his Sword , had a Shape of a God , on the other side the Picture of the Devil , With this Motto under it , Si tu non vis , iste rogitat ; If He won't have me , here 's One will. Hideous Monster ! But this Disjunction is too certain and Awful a Thing to be play'd withal . If your Souls are not seasonably interested in the Favour of God , they will be siezed by those Devils , whose Malice and Fury will inflict worse Tortures on you , than ever the most bruitish Indians do in their Executions of their unhappy Prisoners . I beseech you , be not prodiga Gens Animi , or unaffected with the Worth and the State of your own Souls . No , Take the First Opportunity to confess and bewayl your many Sins , with a sincere purpose , I will not offend any more . Take the First Opportunity to Accept and Embrace all the Sure Mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ , with a gracious Promise , Lord , I will now be thy Servant Devoted to thy Fear . You must quickly , and you should boldly , look Death in the Face , with your Souls in your Hands ; in order thereunto , Let me utter that proper word of Command , Make Ready ! I say , Make Ready ! Get out of your unrenewed Estate , and Make Ready , that at the first Alarum e're long , you may have nothing to Do , but , Fight and Dy. Secondly , Let them be none but Pure-hands in which you carry your Lives . We read in Isa. 1.15 . When you spread forth your Hands , I will hide mine eyes from you ; for your Hands are full of Blood. Even so , there are Hands full of Luxury , there are Hands full of Injustice ; but those Hands are not clean enough for your Lives to be carried in them . Wherefore as 't is said , in James 4.8 . Cleanse your Hands , ye Sinners : Let me call upon you , Cleanse your Hands , ye Souldiers . Let there be no Uncleanness , no Disorder found in your Hands . Endeavour to have a pure Camp ; and be Like the Host of God. We read sometimes of a Church in an House ; Why should you not as well study a Church in a Camp ? Keep your Camp as free from Swearing , Drinking , Gaming , Rioting , and Sabbath-keeping , as any Church in the World ; and let God be worshipped in your Camp as frequently , as Devoutly as in a Church . This , this will render you Terrible as an Army with Banners . You may have Military Valour enough to conquer an Indian ; but you must also have Christian Valour to subdue a Lust. When Peter had Armed people round about him , how nimbly , how stoutly did he draw upon them ! but presently after a sorry Damosel made him give way to that which Broke all his Bones . O be so Valiant , as to put out of your Hands , all that may not be Convenient for the Lives which you carry there . Thirdly . While you have your Lives in your Hands , Let your Ends in your Eyes be such as they ought to be . Be not acted by Lucre , by Revenge , by any sorry or Dirty Principles in your present Undertaking , but be acted by a sincere Desire to Defend the people of God , f●om a crew of Unjust Men , that are skilful to Destroy . 'T is said , in 1 Cor. 10.31 . Whatever you Do , Do all to the Glory of God. Even in the meanest Actions ; the Glory of God is to be the Star to Guide us , the Spur to move us . A Godly Man , among our first Planters here , while he was cutt●ng o● Wood , being asked , Who it was for ? answered I am Cutting of Wood for God. If in Cutting o● VVood , much more in Killing of Men , you should be able to say , I am at work for God. Be not th● Souldiers of Fortune , as they are called ; but b● the Souldiers of Iesus ; and let the Account tha● you may give of your Concerns be this , I woul● do all I can , that the Churches of God may have Res● and that therefore those may be cut off , who Troub● them . Let every Bullet be shot with an Eye taking aim at this White , when you are Firing up on the Blacks in the Swamps of the Howling Wilderness . Fourthly , Don't part with ●our Lives out of your Hands , without such Demonstrations of Courage as may Confound your Adversaries . Let it not be said at your Death , He Dyed as a Fool Dyes . Have Life in your Hands , while you have Lives in your Hands ; and let them be Lively Hands too , in which you carry your Lives . To run from a Press , is a thing not so generous ; and the speedy Rebukes of Heaven , have been Conspicuously Dispens'd unto some that have done it here . But to Run from a Fight , is a thing too Cowardly sure for any New-Englander to be guilty of it ! Let me Exhort you , in the words of that Famous General , 2 Sam. 10.12 . Be of good Courage , and let us play the men , for our people , and for the Cities of our God , and the Lord do that which may seem good unto Him. VVhen the Day of Battel comes , then ( to speak Apostolically ) Quit you like men , be strong . It is the Glory of the Horse , and much more is it for the Souldier , his Rider , So , then to mock at Fear , and not be affrighted nor turn back from the Sword ; but to go on Rejoycing to meet the Armed Men. Your Enemies have made themselves notorious for this Quality , That as Difficilius est invenire quam vincere , it is easier to kill them than to find them ; so they can rarely Take any but a shaking Trembling Aim at one that boldly faces them . Face them then , and when you do it , imagine you have that voice from Heaven sounding in your Ears ; Josh. 1.9 . Have not I commanded thee ? [ such a Commander have you ! ] Be strong , and of a good Courage ; Be not affraid , neither be thou Dismay'd ; for the Lord thy God is with thee , whithersoever thou goest . At the first Appearance of the Tawny Pagans , then Courage ! brave Hearts ; Fall on ! Fall on Couragiously , with the Assurance in Psal. 3.6 , 7. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me . O my God , thou hast smitten all mine Enemies . Yea , when once you have but got the Track of those Ravenous howling Wolves , then pursue them vigorously ; Turn not back till they are consumed : Wound them that they shall not be able to Arise ; Tho' they Cry ; Let there be none to Save them ; But Beat them small as the Dust before the Wind , and Cast them out , as the Dirt in the Streets . Let not the Expression seem Harsh , if I say unto you , Sacrifice them to the Ghosts of the Christians whom they have Murdered . They have horribly Murdered some scores of your dear Country-men , whose Blood cries in your Ears , while you are going to Fight , Vengeance , Dear Country-men ! Vengeance upon our Murderers . Let your Courage , in the Name of God be daring enough to Execute that Vengeance on them . But what Cordial shall I procure , which may inspire you with such a Valour ? Let me set before you , a few Thoughts which may raise your Spirits to an Elevation , beyond what the Rat●ling Noises of any Drums or Trumpets can fetch them to . CORDIALS . Wherefore , First , Know that your Quarrel is Iust. Indeed the Call and Press of your Superiours ; is enough to justify you in doing of your part , for prosecuting of the War. If the injustice of a War be notoriously Evident and Apparent , Judicious C●suists then determine , that every private Souldier is to declare his own Dissatisfaction , and render himself rather Passive than Active in it , and Suffer , sooner than Engage ; like Sauls Footmen , when bidden to fall upon the Priests of the Lord. But where a War is not thus evidently and apparently unjust , the private Souldier must use an Implicit Reliance on the Command of the Supream Power : They must answer for it . ☞ Besides this ; Your Superiours themselves have also enough and enough to justify Them , in pushing on the present War , with the utmost Expedition and Extremity . Such were the obscure measures taken at that time of Day , that the Rise of this War , hath been as dark as that of the River Nilus ; only the Generality of Thinking people thro' the Country , can remember when and why every one did foretel , A War. If any wild English ( for there are such as well as of another Nation ) did then , begin to provoke and Affront the Indians , yet those Indians had a fairer way to come by Right , than that of Blood-shed ; nothing worthy of , or calling for any such Revenge was done unto them . The most injured among them all , ( if there were any such ) were afterwards dismissed by the English , with Favours that were then admirable even to our selves ; and These too , instead of surrendring the persons , did ( as we are credibly informed ) increase the Numbers , of the Murderers . But upon the Revolution of the Government , the State of the War , became wholly New ; and we are more arriv'd unto Righteousness as the Light , and Iustice as the Noon Day . When the Helm of this little Vessel was taken out of the Hands of those whose palpable Enmity to the Glorious Designs of His Highness the Prince of Orange , added unto the innumerable Oppressions and Vexations which we had sustained under them , had made us as Suspicious as we were Ignorant , what Port they intended for ; we then found our selves actually Entangled in a War. A Great Sachim of the East , we then immediately applyed our selves unto , and with no small Expences to our selves , we Engaged Him , to Employ his Interest for a good understanding between us and the Party of Indians then in Hostility against us . This was the Likely , the Only Way , of coming at those Wandring Salvages ; But that very Sachim now treacherously ( by whose Advice , I know not ) of an Embassador became a Traytor , and annexed himself with his people , to the Heard of our Enemies , which have since been ravaging , pillaging , and Murdering at a rate , which we ought to count , Intolerable ▪ The Penacook Indians , of whom we were jealous , we likewise treated with ; and while we were by our Kindnesses and Courtesies endeavouring to render them utterly Inexcusable , if ever they sought our Harm ; even Then did These also , by some evil Instigation ( the Divels , no doubt ) quickly surprize a Plantation , where they had been civily entertained a Day or two before ; and commit at once more Plunder and Murder , than can be heard with any patience . What can be now said , by any Rational man , against the proceeding of the War ? Shall we permit the whole Province of Main to be over-run by the Indians ( and their Abettors ) because the Manners of some people there please us not ? But how can we answer this unto Their Majesties ? or , are we Rich enough to Loose without Regret , the Best part of the New-English Trade ? And are we so fond , so mad , as to imagine that the Indians will stop there ? No , they have already made their Incursion , into Pisca●aqua and in the Massachusets too have they been shedding Blood. Certainly , my Countrymen ; 'T is Time to Look about us , We are driven upon a purely Defensive War , which we may now make Iustly Offensive to the first Aggressors in it . If you now ask , as he in Job 13.14 . Wherefore do I put my Life in my Hand ? Behold , there is at Hand an Answer for you . 'T is Because a combination of Ill Men ( if such Beasts may be called Men ) have , without any cause Assigned by Them , or Afforded by us , been shedding the Blood of our Neighbours , whom we are to Love as our selves ; and whose Death is Designed by those Execrable Cannibals , but as a Breakfast , or a Prologue , to praecede our own . Secondly , Know that your Service is Good. You are Fighting for the Defence and Succour of the Blessed Thrones which our David , our Jesus has here Erected for himself . 'T is Christo Duce & Auspice Christo , 't is for Christ , and with Christ , that you are concerned . You are Fighting for them , for which the Lord Jesus has Bled , has Dy'd . It was boasted by that Great General Scipio , That such was the Love of his Army to him , Every Souldier would even Leap from a Rock into the Sea after him , if he would Lead them thereunto . O let the Son of God have as much of your Hearts , in the War now before you ; 't is Him whom you are Serving of . 'T was said in 1. John 3.16 . We ought to lay down our Lives for the Brethren . 'T is for such Brethren that your Lives are now called for ; here is a Country so replenished with them , that New England the Happy , might we be called for the Christians here , more than Arabia so , for the Spices in it . You are Fighting , that the Churches of God may not be Extinguisht , and the Wigwams of Heathen swarming in their room : You are Fighting that the Children of God may not be made Meals or Slaves to the veriest Tygers upon Earth . To Dy Fighting in such a Service , may pass for a sort of Martyrdome ▪ and if you are meerly for the sake of such a Service , willing to forego your Lives , you may hope to be found among the Blessed and Holy Ones , that shall have a part in the First Resurrection . Whether you Dy or Live , you shall be Honourable ; if you Scape , we will cast Roses upon you for having Acted your part well in our Tragedies ; if you fall , we will write that Epitaph on your Graves , Here Lies a sincere , and Valiant , Servant of his Country . Thirdly , Know that your Helper is Great . You will be Too many for your Adversaries ; in-as much as , you have with you , the Hosts of the Lord ; the very Angels are your Companions in your present Enterprize . An Angel said once to an Apostle , I am thy Fellow-Servant ; and many an Angel does now say to you , I am your Fellow-Souldier . 'T is mentioned as the Employment of the Angels , in Cant. 3.7 , 8. Behold His Bed , which is Solomons ; the Valiant are about it ; they all hold Swords , being Expert in War ; because of Fear in the Night . It is your Employment also ; thus you stand about this Bed , this Church of the Lord Jesus , and the Angels are with you in it . But wh●t cannot one Angel do ? An Army of an Hundred Fourscore Five Thousand cannot stand before Him. How much more will the Innumerable Company of Angels associating with you , give you cause to say with him of old , There are more with us , than against us ! Yea , and you have the Lord of Hosts Himself with you too . You may like Luther , sing the Forty Sixth Psalm , when you see the Difficulties that you are put upon ; and sing particularly , those Clauses in it . The Lord of Hosts is with us ; He makes Wars to cease unto the ends of the Earth . Know that I am God , I will be Exalted among the Heathen . When some Souldiers were talking together the Night before a Doubtful Battel , That their Enemies were thus and so Numerous , but that Themselves had but such and such Forces to match them with ; their Couragious General happening to over hear them , surprised them with that Expression , And I pray , how many do you count ME for ? In like manner , when you are anxious about the proportion of your Numbers , to those that may oppose you , the Blessed God interposes , And I pray , how many do you count me for ? The Confession that New-England makes to the God of Heaven , is , The Lord is my King , my Lord , my Law-giver . We may add , He will save us . And you may sing with him , Psal. 18.6 , 12. The Lord is on my side , I will not fear . The Nations compassed me about like Bees , but in the Name of the Lord , I will destroy them all . Tho' you carry your Lives in your Hands , yet they are not in your own Hands ; no they are in the Hands of that God , without whom not a Sparrow falls , and by whom every Bullet is directed . You may say , ( as the Syriac version of my Text expresses it ) My Life is continually in thy Hands , O God. The Good God will be careful of your Lives , and your Deaths will be precious to the Lord. Know , Lastly , That your Success is very probable . Indeed , God may Humble us , and Abase us , and vex us yet by that Foolish Nation , which he has let Loose upon us ; but we may believe that They shall all shortly perish by the Arms of His New English Israel . They ! What are they , but Bloody and Deceitful men ? And you may look to be Instruments of Executing what God has denounced on them , That they shall not Live out half their days . Even They themselves not only may , but perhaps Do expect utter Desolation , and Extirpation ; and they would soon lay down their Arms , if he that hurried the Swine of old , had not a wonderful possession of them . That old Sagamore and Conjurer Passaconnoway , whose Posterity 't is ( among the rest ) that we are now galled by ; When he lay Dying about Thirty Years ago , did in a great Assembly of Indians , thus take his Farewel of his Children , I am ready to Dy ( said he ) and I now Leave this Counsil with you ; Take heed how you Quarrel with the English ; for tho' you may do them some Hurt , you will yourselves be all rooted out of the Earth , if you do . I was as great an Enemy to the English at their first coming here , as any one ; & I try'd all ways to prevent their Settlement , but I am convinced , there can be no effecting of it . These Counsils and Commands are Disobeyed by some of his wicked Children ; whose Dayes we may therefore think , shall not be Long in the Land. Indeed , They have none to Assist them , but the worst Auxiliaries in the World ; the Divels and the Papists . The Divels have a great Hand in Exciting and Supporting of them ; and hence the last Winter , from the mouth of a possessed Child among us They gave ( I think ) a very broad Notice of the Slaughters which the Summer would produce . That These have had a Long , and an Old Interest in America cannot be reasonably questioned by them that shall read what was written even before the Birth of our Saviour , by Diodoras Siculus , In very Ancient Times says he , the Phenicians tossed with Storms , after many days , arrived unto this Vast Island ( as he calls it ) which then had stately Buildings in it . Hither the Divels did seduce a wretched party o● Mankind , that they might have them out of the Gospels Way when it spred thro' the Old World , by the Ministry of the Apostles ; and here they have Reigned as Kings , as Gods , without control , over millions of people for Ages not a few . It has given a terrible Alarum to them , that the Silver Trumpets of the Gospel , are now at length sounding in their Territories , and it puts them into a Flaming Rage , that the Way to Salvation by Iesus Christ , is proclaimed here . Many are the Wiles which they have used , for the Discouragement of these Notable Beginnings in which our Lord Jesus is taking the utmost parts of the Earth for his Possession . Hence 't is , that their Vassals , who have more than once been disquieting of us in our Properties and Possessions ; now have also taken Arms again to make us miserable . But as these Attempts and Attacques of Hell upon us , have been all Abortive heretofore , so we may Apprehend that they will still miscarry . The Barbarians may ( as 't is by Escaped Captives reported that they have ) by their Diabolical Charms , keep our Dogs from Hurting of them , but they shall not so keep our Swords from coming at them . Faith and Prayer among us , hath wonderfully made the Divels themselves to fly before it ; so shall These too find unto their Cost . Tho' the Papists may likewise contribute what Help they can unto these Miscreants , and say Mass with them ( as of Late ) after their Little Victories , yet we need not be disanimated ; but the rather from thence prognosticate their Approaching Ruine . For we too much Distrust our own Observation , if we do not now think , that the whole Papal Empire , ( which was of late replanting a Tabernacle in the Glorious Holy Mountain between the Seas ) is very near its End , when none shall help it ; and that the twelve Hundred and sixty Years , during which the people of God , were to be harrassed by it , are not far from their Expiration . In a word , you may go forth with such a Triumph as that in Psal. 20.7 , 8 : Some Trust in Chariots , and some in Horses ( some in Satan , and some in Antichrist ) But wee will Remember the Name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen ; but wee are Risen and stand Vpright . And for a close , Let me mind you , that while you Fight , Wee 'l pray . Every good man will do it , in secret and in private every day ; and publick Supplications also will be always going for you . We will keep in the Mount with our Hands lifted up , while you are in the Field with your Lives in your Hands , against the Amalek that is now annoying this Israel in the Wilderness . It was the Watch Word which a Battel once Commenc'd withal Now for the Fruit of Prayer ! Now for the Fruit of Prayer . To gather that Fruit will be your Errand into the Thickets of our Scythian Desart . I therefore conclude with a few BLESSINGS On you , which the whole people of God in this Land will say , Amen , unto . We wish , That you may be all good Souldiers of Iesus Christ , and not want the Spiritual Armour which may enable you to withstand Devils as well as Indians . We wish That since our Lord says unto you , as he said unto them , I send you forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves ; this Great Shepherd may preserve you from them , and with his mighty Crook defend you , when you come into the Valley of the shadow of Death . We wish , That your Enemies may not have their Lives in their Hands , but in Gods slings ; and that God would Sling them out , as out of the middle of a Sling : While you that have your Lives in your Hands , may have your Souls bound up in the Bundle of Life . Finally , we wish , That your Heads may bee Covered in the Day of Battle ; that you may by the Almighty God bee made the Liberatores Partie , the Saviours of your Countrey ; and that if any of you must Breath your last in the High places of the Field ▪ your Souls may bee Received by Him , that has Armies in Heaven , Clothed in fine Linen , White and Clean. 'T is with these Wishes , that wee Bless you in the Name of the Eternal God ; and the Whole Congregation will say , AMEN , AMEN ! Benedictus que dat Fatigato Robur . At the North Meeting House in Boston 1 d. 7 m. Afternoon . 1689. FINIS . 
A50157	----	Right thoughts in sad hours representing the comforts and the duties of good men under all their afflictions; and particularly, that one, the untimely death of children: in a sermon delivered at Charls-town, New England; under a fresh experience of that calamity. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1689 Approx. 79 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 32 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50157 Wing M1147 ESTC R220434 99831836 99831836 36303 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50157) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 36303) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 2128:4) Right thoughts in sad hours representing the comforts and the duties of good men under all their afflictions; and particularly, that one, the untimely death of children: in a sermon delivered at Charls-town, New England; under a fresh experience of that calamity. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [6], 54, [2] p. printed by James Astwood, London : 1689. Dedication signed: C.M., i.e. Cotton Mather. The final leaf contains "Extract of a letter", signed: E.T. Extract of a letter. Reproduction of the original in the Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. 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Death -- Sermons -- Early works to 1800. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 Jennifer Kietzman Sampled and proofread 2003-04 Jennifer Kietzman Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Right Thoughts in Sad Hours , Representing the COMFORTS and the DUTIES OF Good ●en under all their AFFLICTIONS ; And Particularly , That one , the Untimely Death of CHILDREN IN A SERMON DELIVERED At Charls-town , New-England ; under a fresh Experience of that Calamity . Unto the Upright there ariseth LIGHT in Darkness . Mercatur a est Pauca amittere , ut majora Lucreris . Tertul. LONDON , Printed by Iames Astwood . 1689. TO My very Worthy Friend , Mr. S. S. Ever Honoured Sir , THE Ensuing Sermon , delivered in a Neighbour-Congregation , under Afflicting impressions from the sudden Death of an only Child , with a bestowal of some Correction and Enlargement since upon it ; I know no fitter Person than Your self , to Present unto ; Your Self , I say , Who have had several Infants carried hence unto the Father of Spirits , in the Chariot of the same Distemper that fetched mine away . Books or Thoughts on such a Subject as that which is handled here , have been often offered by me unto others , that were Mourners ; and being made a Mourner my self , I thought it a fit occasion for me , to Write as well as Think more particularly , the things that may be serviceable to the sorrowful . Nor have I many Friends in this Evil World , whose Edification I can pursue with more Alacrity and Activity , by such pains as these , than Yours . I have often felt the Power , and almost as often the Sweetness of that perswasion , My God will never hurt me . Vnto Your self , that I may recommend the entertainment of that Comfort and Co●dial , under the Death of so many dear Children as you have been call'd unto the Resignation of , is the end of my putting these Meditations into your Hands . I cannot without some Affection read Gregory Nazianzen , in his Funeral Oration on the Death of his Brother , giving this account of his Aged and then Living Parents ; My Father and Mother , ( says he ) who are both Lovers of their Children , but more Lovers of their Saviour , after they had in spite of all the Moths , and all the Thieves , and all the Devils too in this World , laid up in a better World , a Rich Inheritance for their Children , they have now sent one of their Sons before , to take Possession of it . If your Modesty and Humility will not permit me to recite this as a Charecter of , let me however propound it as an Employment for Your self , and your Virtuous Consort . You cannot use too much care to secure unto your Children an Inheritance among the Saints in Light ; and for those which are departed , you may be joyfully assured , That they are made partakers of that Inheritance . What further possession of this Waste Wild America , the Lord Iesus may take yet before the Time of the Restitution of all things , we cannot Positively say ; only we may probably hope , that he has a Glorious Interest shortly to be erected and maintained in these utmost parts of the Earth . But this I am sure of , There are some rich plots of Ground in this Continent , which in the Approaching Day of God will yield no small Sheaves of pure Grain unto the Almighty Raiser of the Dead . This last Age has produced in these Western Indies , those Dormitories , which are fill'd with precious Dust , united unto the Son of God. Part of that Honour able Dust hath proceeded from your happy Loins ; Your deceased Children are part of the Turf , with which the Lord Iesus , as it were , takes a Livery and Seisin of this New World for himself . Sir , Be encouraged to go on , abounding in the Work of the Lord ; and go on , to believe it your Felicity , That you shall go to your glorifi'd Infants , and they shall not Return unto you . With these Testimonies of Respct , I am , Sir , Your Affectionate Friend and Servant , C. M. Right THOUGHTS IN Sad Hours , Gen. XLII . 36. Me have ye bereaved of my CHILDREN ; Joseph is not , and Simeon is not — all these things are AGAINST me . THE common , but causeless mistake of Pious Men , under and about Afflictions , is represented in these Words ; of which words the venerable Chrysostom in his Ancient Commentary on them , speaks truly , They are fit words to express the Relenting Bowels of a Parent ; and yet we may without ill manners venture to add , The words do not altogether so well become the Grace , the Faith , the Patience of a Christian. In this Book of the Worlds Beginning , which contains an admirable Narrative of Transactions for above Three and twenty Hundred Years from the first Dawn of Time ; the Revolutions which went over the Patriarch Iacob , are not the least spoken of by Moses , the Inspired Historian ; and there are especially Three Travels of that renowned Man , which the History of his Life and Death is Elegantly woven into : The last of those Journies was of near Two hundred Miles , namely from Canaan unto Goshen , occasioned by his Son Ioseph's Advancement to be Vice-Roy of Egypt , and the Relief which that Honourable Vice-Roy had provided against the sore Famine then raging in the Countries round about . This Chapter entertains us with a very affecting story of some accidents preparatory thereunto ; a story , How the Ten Brethren of Ioseph , by whose Villany he had been Spirited away into Egypt , made their Humble Address unto him for Corn , while his Grandure and his Policy concealed him from their knowledge : How by a contrivance he made one of them , Simeon by name , a Prisoner ; in the mean time obliging the rest to return with another Brother of his , by name Benjamin , who was by them left behind as the chief solace of their Aged Father , and the only remaining Child of his deceased Mother . Old Iacob was made acquainted with the true state of the Case , and in this Verse we have his grievous Resentment of it . In this Querimonious Lamentation of the good old Saint there are especially Two things intimated : First , Here seems to be a Suspecting of his Childrens Wickedness ; his words are , Me have ye bereaved of my Children , Joseph is not , Simeon is not , and ye will take Benjamin away . Methinks the sorrow of his oppressed Heart seems thus to vent it self , q. d. This is a strange , and a very sad thing ; I cannot trust you all together , but one or other of you , that you think I have a particular kindness for , must come short home . I am now confirmed in my doubts , that you were the Wild-beasts , the unnatural Tygres who tore my Ioseph to pieces . I am not without my Fears , that you are the Iaylors , Shall I say ? or the Hangmen who have got my Simeon out of the way . And I am jealous that you have some ill design upon my best Darling Benjamin too . Never had any man such mishaps in his Children , as your miserable Father has . Next , Here seems to be a Bewailing of his Makers providence : His words are , All these things are against me . Some render them , All these things are UPON me , q. d. As for you , you make light of these matters , as if they were no concernment of yours : For my part , I feel them , they go very near to me . But our Translation of it , seems more worthy of Approbation and Acceptation ; All these things are AGAINST me : And then this Paraphrase will carry the sence of it , q. d. The things which have been my Trouble , will be my Ruine ; they are a sort of things which I cannot conceive any advantage to my self consulted in , or accruing by . When I look upon the dealings of the Lord , I cannot but be full of awful Apprehensions that I am utterly banished from the mercies of the Lord ; these things render me an undone Man. Now , remember that the happy event proved him egregiously mistaken here ; Ioseph is not , said he ; yet , he was , and his Father had no cause to be sorry that he was what he was : Simeon is not , said he ; yet he was , and his Father might have been starved , if he had not been where he was . Those things which he so fondly counted against him , were the very things that not only try'd his Grace , but also sav'd his Life . Let us admit the deplored Child himself , to correct the sad mistake ; he said afterwards in Gen. 50. 20. God meant it unto Good. The Truth which from this Mistake we may raise for a Doctrine to be now insisted on , is therefore this : Doctrine . The People of God are apt very frequently , but not a little wrongfully to conclude , that the Afflictive Dispensations of the most High towards them , are very highly to their Prejudice , or but a little to their Benefit . The Propositions that may serve to state this Truth distinctly in your Thoughts , are such as these . Proposition I. The People of God are sure to be exercised with Afflictive Dispensations of the most High towards them in the World. There is in every Generation a Remnant , a Little little Flock of Men , who are effectually called from the Vanities which the biggest part of perishing Mankind is wofully drowned in , unto the service of the Living God ; who have chosen God as their Best good , and their Last end ; chosen Christ as their Lord Redeemer , and resolved to be for him and not for another . These renewed Children of Adam are the Mystical Children of Israel ; they may with an Eye to a Spiritual relation , point at Iacob , and say , A Syrian ready to perish was my Father . Now these must even in a peculiar manner expect to be like their Father Iacob , who in the close of his days was forced to say , Gen. 47. 9. Evil have been the days of the years of my Life . In every Age and in every Place , we may see the most High God afflicting of a Iacob in his Relations ; of them , some are Churlish , others are Profane , and others are Taken away . We may behold the Lord ●fflicting of an Heman in his Mind ; th● Man complains , Lord , Why dost thou cast off my Soul ? While I suffer thy Terrors , I am distracted . We may behold the Lord Afflicting of a Timothy in his Body , he feels a weak Stomack , with often Infirmities . We may behold the Lord Afflicting of a Lazarus in his Estate , he is reduced unto Beggery at the Doors of a wicked Belly-God . We may behold the Lord Afflicting of an Elijah in his Esteem , he is Libelled as a Seditions Boutefeau , always Troubling of his Country . In a word , we may ordinarily behold a David , a Iob , a Paul , Afflicted in all , or most of these regards . The Christian that promises himself an Immunity from Afflictions in this Evil World , is indeed a Christian only in the Italian , wicked , scoffing usage of the Word , that is , a Fool. It is one of the Names put upon the People of God , in Isa. 54. 11. O thou Afflicted . Nor can any particular Believer escape this common Lot : No , every one that is of Israel , must look to say with Israel , in Psal. 129. 1. Many a time have they Afflicted me from my Youth . Indeed the People of God will at last arrive unto a Quiet Haven . — Sedes ubi Fata quietas Ostendunt — [ Or in a better Dialect ] Where all Tears shall be wiped from their Eyes : But where ? But when ? Truly , this Bliss-land is not on this side the Water ; it is a Land a far off , and we shall not see it , until we put a-shore on the Land flowing with Milk and Honey , beyond the Stars : We must Sail through a turbid Ocean full of horrible Tempest , here , and , — Vt Fluctus Fluctum sic Luctus Luctum — One Wave will follow upon another , the last Wave still seeming the tenth Wave , untill we drop Anchor within the vail of Heaven it self . When the Ancient Martyr Ignatius was brought to have his Flesh torn from his Bones , and his Bones broken by the Teeth of Wild Beasts , he uttered such a speech as that , O now I begin to be a Christian ! Thus our Lord hath laid down this as the A B C of Christianity , in Matth. 16. 24. If any man will come after me , he must take up his Cross , and follow me . This is the first Lesson for a Disciple in the School of the Lord Jesus , Look for Afflictions here ! The Glorious God will lay over our Shoulders that ragged piece of Wood , a Cross ; when once we are associated with his people , who all Travel through the Valley of Baca , that is , of Weeping , unto their Everlasting Happiness . This was the condition of our Illustrious Fore-runner ; he ran thrô a way all strow'd with Briars and Thorns , as it is said in Luk. 24. 46. He must suffer , and enter into his glory ; and all his followers are to drink of his Cup : We cannot escape treading in the Bloody Tracks which he hath left behind him ; we have received this warning from our Lord himself , in Ioh. 16. 33. In the World you shall have Tribulation : We have received this Witness from his Apostles also , in Act. 14. 22. Through much Tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God ; and the experience of above Five thousand Years , hath now set a Seal to that Observation , in Psal. 31. 19. Many are the Troubles of the Righteous . Question . But from whose Hands do the Afflictions of the Lords people come ? This is that which we have said , They are the Dispensations of the most High. Indeed there may often be the Hand of Ioab in our Afflictions , there may be the Malice of Satan and his Instruments . Those fierce Natives of this dark Climate will be often as Thorns in the sides of the Pilgrims , that are Travelling to a better Country . But still these Rods are all in the Hand of God : We are told in Amos 3. 7. there is no such Evil in the City , and the Lord hath not done it . O that every Man would always remember this , the Griefs of thy Heart are all ordered by that God by whom the Hairs of thy Head are all numbred . Not so much as the Tongue of a Dog will ever stir against thee , unless managed by the Hand of the Lord. The King of Assyria himself , by whom a vast part of mankind may be Afflicted , is but a staff of Indignation in that all disposing Hand . Proposition II. The people of God are apt very frequently to conclude , that the Afflictive Dispensations of the most High towards them , are very highly to their prejudice . From the embittered Heart of a Iacob in his exercises , there is often sob'd that melancholy Groan , All these things are against me . Alas ! under Affliction we can usually speak no other Language but that in Lam. 3. 1. I have seen Affliction by the Rod of Gods wrath ; we see nothing but Wrath and Curse , and fiery Vengeance dispensed unto us in our Bitter things . Question . Whence do's this come to pass ? One reason of this Misprision is ; The best people of God are not without bad remainders of Flesh : Now every Affliction will grate hard upon That ; the galled Flesh of Afflicted Men , cannot forbear that shreek , I am hurt . This Flesh of ours will cloud our understandings , and beget in us very false Conceptions of our sharp Afflictions . The methods wherein the great God pursues our good , are very Certain , and very Glorious ; but they are also very Obscure . Silly shallow Creatures , who dwell in Houses of Clay , cannot fathom the Mysterious proceedings of the God whose Way is in the Deep , and whose Iudgments are a great Deep ; and when we go to Contemplate these deep things , then our Flesh offers unto us very injurious Glasses to view them in ; listen to this misjudging Flesh , and it will tell us , If thou dost not live surrounded with the Pleasures , and Riches , and Honours of this World , and leave a good Portion of them unto Children of thy own ; when thy time shall come to Dye , thou art a Miserable Man. The moan of Iacob in our Text is by some Englished so , All these things are Above me : Truly , 't is above the Reach , above the ken of our Flesh to imagine , That what impairs our Worldly greatness and glory , is no real Detriment unto us ; our Sense , our carnal perverse dim-sighted Sense , will not easily make sence of that Riddle , in Iudg. 14. 14. Out of the Eater came forth Meat . Another reason of this Error is ; The people of God have been guilty of much Sin against God. In the dark doleful days of their Unregeneracy , how many , how mighty , were our doings against the Lord ! Yea , and since the Lord made us know wisdom in the hidden Man ; how crooked , how faulty have our ways before him been ! The Psalmist complained in Psal. 49. 5. In the days of Evil , the iniquity of my heels doth compass me about : Our Heels formerly have step'd awry into dirty Iniquities , and those Iniquities we have been ready to lay at our Heels by our Impenitent forgetfulness : But in our Afflictions those Iniquities rising as it were out of their Grave , haunt us , dog us , and stare us full in the Face ; our Hearts now condemn us , and thereupon they likewise condemn God : We are prone to think that Gods designs cannot be good , because we know that our deserts are very bad . Sinful Man will not quickly believe that word of the Lord , My Thoughts are not as your Thoughts : Hence our own first misgiving , and then misjudging Hearts will in Affliction say , Now I feel the wounds of an Enemy : It is not possible that I should suffer these terrible things from one who is the God of my Salvation ; the Lord proceeds to Afflict me thus , because he intends to destroy me for ever . When once a thinking Man comes to say , God is Angry , he will soon add , I am undone . A Third reason ( to say no more ) of it , is ; The Devil of Hell often falls upon the people of God in their Afflictions , that soul Fiend falls foul on them , when he has them thus at a disadvantage . The Powers of Darkness take the Hours of Darkness therein to make their Assaults on the Faith of them that they would annoy . The Accuser of Men to God , is also an Accuser of God to Men ; and when it is a Gloomy time without them , then will Satan suggest within them , Terribilia de Deo , very frightful Visions of their Almighty Saviour ; he will pour in upon them those things which are call'd , in Eph. 6. 16. The fiery Darts of the Wicked one : He would have us entertain hard and Hellish thoughts of that God , whose Mercy endureth for Ever : Hence he will be still telling of us , God counts thee for his Enemy , and thy God hath forgotten thee , and the Mercy of the Lord is clean gone from thee for ever ; thou art before thy Maker as a Vessel wherein he will have no pleasure for evermore ; he will undo thee before he has done with thee . Now , What is the Result of all this ? Alas ! the people of God now frequently have cause to give that mean , that shameful , that pitiful account of themselves , in Psal. 77. 2. In the day of my trouble , my Soul refused to be comforted . Proposition III. The people of God conclude not a little wrongfully , when they think his Afflictive Dispensations to be but a little for their benefit . When Iacob would surmise , All these things are against me , it might have been reply'd upon him , No , you are greatly deceived , you and yours must have perished , if these things had not happened . When the Afflicted people of God cry out , Vndone ! Vndone ! they have cause to eat that word , and rather to say , Periissem nisi periissem , I had been quite undone , if I had not been thus undone . Instead of concluding , All these things are against me , we do much wrong , if we do not admit that Thought , in Rom. 8. 28. All things shall work together for good . Question . How do's this Appear ? One piece of Injustice attending of that conclusion is ; There is a wrong thereby done to the Kindness of God. With such a clap of Thunder as this may the Lord reprove your hard opinion of him , You think worse of me than I deserve ! Our good God hath assured us , in Rev. 3. 19. Whom I love , I rebuke and chasten ; why then shall we contradict him with such a vain imagination as this , I am Rebuked only that I may be ruined , I am Chastened only because I am abhorred by the Lord ? Another Injustice expressed in that conclusion is ; There is thereby a wrong done to the Wisdom of God. They of Old reflected hard , when they said , Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? Thus do they that say , Can any good thing come out of Affliction ? Well , and I pray , Why not ? What should hinder Good from coming out of that grievous thing ? Is it impossible unto that God , who is wise in Counsel , and wonderful in Working ? We are informed in 1 Pet. 1. 6. It is only if need be , that we are brought into Heaviness : The Lord would not let one Affliction give thee any Trouble , if some Occasion did not call for it , if much Advantage did not come by it . One more Evidence of Vnreasonableness in this conclusion is , The people of God at the Period of their Afflictions , will themselves confess , this conclusion to have been Vnreasonable . What our Lord said unto the Inquisitive Peter , the same he says unto the Afflicted Christian , What I do , thou knowest not now , but thou shalt know hereafter : Verily , when we do hereafter know , how God has at once Afflicted us and Amended us , then we shall say , He hath done all things well . When we have got through the black Vallies , out on the other side , then we shall see what now we will hardly believe , then we see that the Thoughts of God about us were Thoughts of Good and not of Evil ; then we see that the Aims of God were to do us Good in the latter end ; then do our Triumphing Souls declare as in Psal. 119. 71. It is good for me , that I have been Afflicted . Nothing is more common than to hear a Christian after many Afflictions professing , I could not have been well without any one of all my Afflictions , I had want of them all , I have good by them all : How much more will the Beauty and Benefit of all our Afflictions be thankfully acknowledged by us in the Land of light , where every Labyrinth of providence will be explained ; for every one of our Afflictions in this , we shall return a Million of Hallelujahs in another and a better World. The Improvement of these things remains . VSE . And now let these things incourage the people of the Saints of the most High , unto a due Faith and Patience under the Afflictive Dispensations , which their Heavenly Father tries them with . Christians , under all your Afflictions , labour to say stedfastly , to say joyfully , not , All these things are against me , but rather , Thanks be to God for his unspeakable Gifts . The Language that best befits us under our Afflictions is that , the frequent using of which gave unto a famous Jewish Rabbi the name of Rabbi Ganizoth ; namely , This Affliction was for my good ; and This too , and This too . I am this day visited my self with the sudden Death of a dear and only Child : Permit me to endeavour your Edification , for you all have been and may be under some Affliction , and most of you under such Affliction ; let me do it by tendering unto you such Considerations as I would this day quiet my own tempestuous Rebellious Heart withal . As our Lord Jesus Christ himself was Tempted for this cause in part , That he might know how to succour the Tempted ; thus the frail Men whom he employes , for this , among other that are worse causes , are Afflicted , even That they may more feelingly speak a word in season unto others in Affliction too . ¶ There is First a General and then a Special Case , which the following part of my Discourse must apply it self unto . The General Case . The more General Exhortation to be now Urged , is ; Let us under no Affliction whatsoever , be discomposed with any Apprehension , as if it were utterly Against us . I am speaking to many Children of Iacob that are Children of Affliction ; some of us are lamenting over our broken Estates , like Naomi , in Ruth 1. 21. saying , I was Full , but I am become Empty . Some of us are Lamenting over our blasted Credits , like David , in Psal. 69. 20. saying , Reproach hath broken my Heart ; and there are with us those who are Weeping over their Dead Children , like the distressed Women of Bethlehom , in Matth. 2. 18. Weeping for their Children , and not willing to be comforted , because they are not : And many more such Griefs are the minds of devout Persons among us Wounded with . That which Iacob sigh'd over his Ioseph and Simeon , is by multitudes Mourned over their other Enjoyments also . An Ezekiel , as in Ezek. 24. 16. Sighs over the Desire of his Eyes , She is not ! A Widow of one of the Sons of the Prophets , as in 2 King 4. 1. Sighs , My Husband is not . An Isaac , as in Gen. 24. 67. may Sigh over his Mother , She is not . An Israel , as in Gen. 35. 29. may Sigh over his Father , He is not . And if a Ionah have had any Gourd which he has taken much contentment in , he too , as in Ion. 4. 8. is made to Sigh , It is not . But that which puts a Sting into all these Afflictions , is , that the Afflicted say , All these things are against me . Now , O that there may be laid upon the thus talking Sorrow a charge of Silence ; Eternal Silence unto thee now , O thou inordinate Passion , before the Lord. Let this be as a Word upon the Wheels , running into the very Souls of them that are of an heavy Heart . Be entreated , O Afflicted Christians , to say no more , All these things are against me . No , be Comforted ; be Refreshed with Sentiments that are quite contrary thereunto . In your most cloudy hours , O strive to say with him in Psal. 94. 19. In the multitude of my Thoughts within me , O Lord , thy comforts delight my Soul. COMFORTS . It is the advice of the Wise Man , in Eccl. 7. 14. In the day of Adversity consider : Now there are these comfortable things , which it is fit for you to consider in this day of your Adversity ; let me advise you with some Good and Comfortable Words . Consider FIRST , Those very things which your Affliction lies in the absence of , might for ought you can say , be very much unto your prejudice . That very Ioseph , that very Simeon , that very Benjamin , which you are Afflicted for the want of , might do you more Hurt than Good. Even in outward Respects , you canot determine what is best for you : It were as much Arrogance in you to direct the Providence of God , as it was Blasphemy in the well-known Prince to Correct the Creation of God , when he said , Had I been by at the Making of the World , I could have shown how some things might have been better done . Perhaps you are Afflicted , because your Possessions about you are diminished ; but have you not read in Eccl. 5. 13. of Riches kept to the hurt of the Owners : Many a Mans Cash has been his Crime ; his House has cost him his Head , by his Land he has forfeited his Life ; the poor Heathen of old , cursing of his Enemy , wished that he might be a Rich man. Perhaps you are Afflicted because of a little Mud thrown upon your Reputations ; but have you not read in Prov. 27. 14. How pernicious a thing it is to have too much Applause in the World ? To be too well spoken of , procures that Envy , before which , Who can stand ? The Breath in the Trumpet of Fame not rarely carries a Plague , and a Bane to them whose Names it founds . It may be , your Affliction is the loss of Children ; well , have you not read such a Message sent to a godly Man , as that in 1 Sam. 2. 33. The Son of thine , whom I shall not cut off , shall be to consume thine Eyes , and to grieve thine Heart . T is possible , that if thy Child had liv'd , it might have made thee , the Father of a Fool , or ( that I may speak to the Sex that is most unable to bear this Trial ) the Mother of a Shame . It is a very ordinary thing for one Living Child to occasion more trouble than seven Dead ones . However , in Spiritual Regards , you may be exceedingly harmed by the secular Delights which you desire ; you may have cause to Rue what you Wish , because it may prove an Idol which will render your Souls like the Barren Heath in the Wilderness before the Lord. We do very Childishly often cry for a Knife that would cut the Fingers of our own Souls ; we pant after those things which may be to our Souls as bad as drink to the Thirsty craving Man in a Dropsie . It was the very direful calamity of the ancient Israelites , in Psal. 105. 15. The Lord gave them their Requests , but sent leanness into their Soul. A Lean Soul , a Wretched Soul , a Soul pining away in its iniquities , is oftentimes the effect of those fine things which we Dote upon . It is a blasted banned Soul that sets up a Creature in the Room , the Throne of the great God , that gives unto a Creature those Loves and those Cares which are due unto the great God alone : Such Idolatry the Soul is too frequently by Prosperity seduc'd unto . We are told in Prov. 1. 32. The prosperity of Fools destroys them ; many a Fool is thus destroy'd ! O fearful case ! A full Table , and a lean Soul ! A big Title , and a lean Soul ! A numerous Posterity , and a Soul e'n like the Kine in Pharaohs Dream ! Madness is in our Hearts if we tremble not at this , Soul-calamities are sore Calamities . Consider NEXT , The benefit which the Lord intends you by your Afflictions , is really very great and glorious . The sweet Influences which your Afflictions are like to have upon you , who can enough describe ? If you lose a Ioseph , or a Simeon , or a Benjamin , behold these are Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly things , with which God will abundantly make up your loss . That very rule which the Lord has given us about the Nurture of our Children , He observes in the Discipline of his own ; we are under our Heavenly Fathers executions of that Rule , even then when the Death of our Children is the Affliction under which we labour , Prov. 23. 14. Thou shalt beat thy Child with the Rod , and shalt deliver his Soul from Hell. In this World you are like to be much the Wiser and much the Better for your Afflictions , and much the more Blessed for them in the other World for evermore . What ? And are these things against you ? God forbid you should imagine so . I. Those things which you conclude to be against you , are the things , by which the most High designs to promote your KNOWLEDGE . It is affirmed in Psal. 94. 12. That those Whom God chastens , he also teaches out of his Law. The Almighty is now but putting of you to School , and [ Schola Crucis est Schola Lucis ; ] you are in a School where the Lord will have you to learn many very notable and surprizing Lessons : God will have Afflictions to be the Clay and Spittle that shall open those Eyes which Sin hath blinded ; horrible Cataracts have seized those Eyes , which are by these means removed ; the Physician recites to you the names of some Bitter Herbs , which the Eye-sight is relieved by . We are indeed all of us a sort of Creatures which can see best in the Dark ; it was the Aphorism of Solomon the Wise , in Prov. 29. 15. The Rod and Correction give Wisdom . It usually comes to pass that Correction and Instruction go together . You shall find that II 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that Quae Nocent Docent , that Maturant Aspera Mentem , and that Vexatio dat Intellectum ; or as the Proverb of the Ancients hath it , In Adversity Men find Eyes . You shall now know more ; but hear of What : § . The Lord resolves to make you know more , First of HIMSELF : We have been miserably deficient in the knowledge of God , ( we may say of our selves , as Paul of some ) we may speak it unto our shame ; Our Ignorance of God hath been the cause of ours Sins ; Heu ! Prima haec scelerum causa est mortalibus aegris Naturam nescire Dei — And our Knowledge of God will be the effect of our Sorrows for them : The Lord is carrying of you into the Clifts of a cragged Rock , and it is to make the Glory of his Attributes pass before you . When Iob had gone through his weary Months , he then said unto the Lord , as in Iob. 42. 5. Now mine Eye sees thee ! It is by Affliction that we are brought to see the Soveraignty of God , and to lie before him as Clay in the Hand of the Potter ; to see the Righteousness of God , and to own that he punisheth us far less than our iniquities deserve ; to see the Holiness of God , and to Reverence him as one that is of purer Eyes than to behold Evil ; to see the Power of God , and to think , that nothing is too hard for the Lord ; to see the Goodness of God , and to find him a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ; in a word , a little more Affliction will bring thee to say , Lord , I know thy Name , and I will put my Trust in thee . § . The Lord resolves to make you know more , Secondly , of his SON : What are all those Afflictions that make you groan ? Truly , they are a few Chips and Splinters of a Redeemers Cross : They are , as 't is said , in Col. 1. 24. That which is behind of the Afflictions of Christ ; some Vinegar and Gall was left by him for us to pledge him by tasting of : God will thereby make you sensible a little of the Agonies and Anguishes that made him to Roar , when there were Laid on him the Iniquities of us all . We were never yet enough affected with the Kindness of our Lord Jesus in the dark doleful day , when he endured the Cross , despising the Shame which was due unto us all . Art thou Poor ? God will have thee call to mind the Poverty which thy Redeemer underwent for thy sake , the Poverty which when our Lord Inventoried his Estate , rendred the Sum Total of it only this , The Son of Man hath not where to lay his Head. Art thou Pained ? God will have thee mindful of the strong Pains which thy Redeemer felt , when his Flesh was torn from his Bones , when from Head to Foot bloody Wounds and Stripes and Stabs were to be seen upon him . Art thou Fearful ? God will have thee bear in mind , the horrible Consternation which caused thy Redeemer to Sweat clots of Blood , tho' in a cold Night he were groveling on the cold Ground . Art thou Disgraced ? God will have thee mindful of the Ignominy cast upon thy Saviour , when he was used as a Traytor , as all that was Vile , and when the basest fellow in the City was counted a better Man than he . Do thy Friends deal unworthily ? Thou shalt then learn what the Exercise of thy Redeemer was , when even those of his own Family , all forsook him and fled : these things Affliction will make us Thoughtful of , and Thankful for : And as the Kindness of a Iesus , so the Value of a Iesus , comes to be duly rated by such means as these . The Afflicted man is driven to call every Creature , A lying Vanity , and from hence he comes to call a Christ , The Pearl of great Price : It hath been said , Vnto you that are Believers he is Precious ; we may add , He is Precious to you that are Afflicted also . The Afflicted man finds that Gold it self will do him no good ; whereupon a Saviour becomes more desirable than whole Mountains of Ophirs Gold unto him . § . The Lord resolves to make you know more , Thirdly , Of his WORD . There is a Glorious Letter which the God of Heaven , hath sent from the Third Heaven unto the Children of Men. Foolish man often throws it by like Wast-paper , until Affliction puts him upon the due , the diligent study of it . David that had a lesser Bible than we , could say in Psal. 119. 23. Princes did sit and speak against me ; but what was the issue of the Affliction which the Calumny and Obloquy of his Persecutors gave unto him ? It follows , Thy Servant did Meditate on thy Statutes . Bad weather in the World makes Afflicted men to keep their Eyes much upon the Light shining in a Dark place unto them . To Meditate on a fit portion of the Bible , dwelling on every Verse , till at least one Observation and one Supplication be drawn from it ; hath not seldomer been the Ease , than it hath been the Work of Afflicted Men : And God will hereby help you , as to a better Relish of , so to a fuller Comment on these Miraculous Lines than once you had : The bitter Tang of Afflictions will bring you to a better Taste of that Book , whereof the Psalmist could say , How sweet are thy words unto my Taste ! A Leaf of the Bible appears ( as to Luther ) not to be parted withall for all this whole World ; chiefly unto those whom Affliction hath convinced of the Vanity and Vexation here . But this is not all ; the best Expositors of not a few Assertions in the Bible are some sore Afflictions in the World. The Stars and the Scriptures are seen best in a Frosty Night . The Mysteries of a Well-ordered Covenant , the Maeanders of a Deceitful Heart , the worth and use of Great and Precious promises , you will best understand in your Afflicted Hours . Adversity makes a Verse of Scripture to be not like a Verse of Ovid , as it often is to them that are not in Trouble as other men . § The Lord resolves to make you know more , Fourthly , of YOUR SELVES . The Golden Rule , Know thy self , is that which our God will have us Learn , while we feel his Rod. A Wound will convince an Emperour that he is a Man. It was said unto Israel in Deut. 8. 2. The Lord Humbled them , that what was in their Hearts might be known : God will have us to see our own Follies and be Ashamed . God will have us to see our own Graces and be Refreshed ; and in the Furnace of Affliction we must undergo a Fiery Tryal in order thereunto . Scilicet ut Fulvum spectatur in Ignibus Aurum — Under Affliction , as God will bring you to say of your selves , I have perverted that which is Right , so he will find occasion for you to hear him saying to you , Now I know that thou fearest me . § . But where shall I stop ? About the advancements of Sight procured by Affliction , I may say as about the Instances of Faith , it is said by the Apostle , The time would fail me to mention them : Yet let me briefly add ; By the Afflictions whereof you complain , God will bring you to Know what SIN is . You that formerly counted Stollen Waters are Sweet , shall now see Sin in a truer uglier dress ; you shall see that it is as in Ier. 44. 4. The abominable thing , which I hate , saith the Lord. God will also bring you to Know what RELIGION is : You that sometimes have said , It is in vain to serve the Lord , shall now be reduced unto better Sentiments ; you will soon believe that in Psal. 111. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom . Finally , God will bring you to Know what all Sublunary things are . You have had your too high Thoughts in your good Times ; then your Song was , My Mountain is made strong . God will now show you what Creatures are , and give you cause to say of them , They are all Physicians of no value , and They are broken Cisterns that can hold no Water . Well then ; say not , All these things are against me : It is a matchless Priviledge to be thus Taught of God. We are told in Eccl. 1. 18. He that increaseth Knowledge , increaseth Sorrow : Behold , we may Invert the Words , and not Injure the Truth , Increase of Sorrow brings increase of Knowledge with it . II Those things which you conclude to be against you , are the things by which the most High designs to promote your VERTUE also . The interest of Holiness will be marvellously befriended in your Souls and Lives , by the influence of Affliction ; we are told in Heb. 12. 10. That God chastens us , to make us partakers of his Holiness ; that Holiness which he does like , and which is like to himself : These Three will the Holy Effects of your Affliction be . § . Your Afflictions will , First , Help your Disorders . Your Souls are depraved with , or exposed to dangerous deadly Disorders and Distempers : By Afflictions your Heavenly Father will Prevent them ; by Afflictions he will Redress them . What are you Afflicted for ? See a short and a sweet account given of this Physick , in Isa. 27. 9. By this the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged , and all the Fruit shall be to take away his Sin. The first ways of David were his best ways . Why so ? Truly , it was because the first days of David were his worst days : He doth himself assign this reason of it , Psal. 119. 67. Before I was Afflicted I went astray , but now I have kept thy word . Usually men Sin least when they Suffer most . God will have thy ways too to be good ways ; they shall therefore be ways Hedg'd with Thorns , that thy Soul may not step awry : Thy way must be incommoded by Thorns , that it may not be over-run with Weeds . There are great Sins which thy wild Lusts would hurry thee on unto ; there is a Madness in thy Heart that would produce all manner of Mischief in thy Life , if restraint be not laid upon it ; now the Iron Chains of Affliction are clapt upon thee to keep thee from thy Exorbitancies . What is said concerning the good Subjects of the Ancient Typical , Antiochal Perfecution , in Dan. 11. 35. is to be said concerning the good Subjects of any Affliction whatsoever , They are Purged and made White thereby . This more generally ; but more particularly , I would add : § . Again , Your Affictions will wean your Afflections from the wrong Objects of them . God will have you to look upon all things here below with such Affections as David had for a Kingdom in an Exile , and to say , I am as a weaned Child . To this end the Lord by Afflictions layes Wormwood on the Breasts which you have hung too much upon . He will cause Creatures to be our Grief that they may not be our God. Tertullian said very true of Idolatry , It is praecipuum crimen Humani generis , the grand Crime of Mankind : Affliction mortifies that Rebellion ; therefore , David , are thy Children cut off : therefore , Iacob , is the Wife of thy Bosom snatched out of it ; therefore , Hezekiah , is thy Treasure blasted and wasted : It is that Idolatrous Affections may be recalled . § . Once more ; both your Graces and your Duties will be quickened by your Afflictions . Afflictions will prove the Weights by the Hanging whereof upon you , you shall more flourish like Palm-trees in the Court-yards of the Lord : Afflictions will be the Feet which by treading upon you , will make you as the Chamomil , to grow the more . Afflictions will be the Fires , which like Viols , you shall make the better Musick by being disposed near unto : Afflictions will be the Spurs which shall cause you to mend your pace in Running the Race which is set before you . Afflictions — But room for enlargement is denyed — In short ; God by Afflictions is as it were pounding or grinding of his rare Spices in your Souls , the scent of them will now become very Fragrant , very Glorious . We have heard in Eccl. 7. 3. By the sadness of the Countenance , the Heart is made better : God will make that Heart of thine very Serious , very Circumspect , very Spiritual , and very Heavenly by the Afflictions which thou art prone to quarrel at . O'then say not , All these things are against me ; the price of these things is above Rubies . Well faith the sentence of the Ancient , O servum illum Beatum , cujus emendationi Deus instat , & cut dignatur ( sic ) Irasci . III. The most High designs likewise by the Afflictions to promote your HEAVEN for ever more . The Speech of the Apostle to this purpose is very Emphatical , 2 Cor. 4. 17. Our light Affliction here , which is but for a Moment , works for us a far more Exceeding and Eternal weight of Glory . O surprizing connexion ! Light Afflictions work a Weight of Glory ! Afflictions for a Moment work a Glory Eternal ; and this Glory shall be a far more Exceeding Glory ; or , as the Original intimates , a Glory which no Hyperbole upon Hyperbole can give a too Glorious Character of ! Your Afflictions do prepare you for , tho' they do not purchase for you , the Glories of the World to come . The Hebrew word for Glory signifies the same that your own sense of Affliction feels , a Weighty thing . Well , from the one Weight you shall pass to the other . Your Crown of Thorns will shortly be turned into a Crown of Glory ; a Weighty , a Massy , a never-fading Crown . A Roman Emperour once rewarded one that wore an Iron Chain in a Prison for his sake , with a Golden Chain as heavy in a Preferment afterward : Such , and more than such at last will be thy Felicity . Art thou Afflicted ? Be assured , — Dolor hic tibi proder it olim . After thy Sowing time in Tears , thou shalt have a Reaping time in Ioy ; after thy Bread of Adversity , thou shalt come to Eat of the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God ; after thy Water of Affliction , thou shalt come to Drink of the River of Pleasures at Gods right Hand for evermore . Let me say to thee as the Martyr to his Friend , Thy Affliction will scour and rub thee bright , that thou mayst be fit to be set upon an high Shelf in Heaven for ever : or , let me say to thee as the Martyr to himself , Hold out Faith and Patience , Heaven will quickly make amends for all . Thou shalt have the more of Heaven for all thy past Heaviness ; thou shalt e're long be received into the place of Rest , and there all thy former Difficulties will but sweeten the Times of Refreshing which now come from the Presence of the Lord. Say now , O Believer , Are all these things Against thee ? O what things can be for thy Good , if these are not so ? Sit down then , and whatever thy Afflictions are , let these words of the Lord Jesus al-lay thy Storms . Do not now practically say , These Consolations of God are small : Behold , thou art furnished with strong Consolations . Counsels . But that you may be able to apply these Consolations unto good purpose , under Affliction there are some Counsels to be set before you . In so many Scriptures you shall therefore have so many Counsels ; they will be both best Received and best Remembred if they come unto you with a , Thus saith the Lord. The First Counsel proper for you , is intimated in Eph. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ , who hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in Heavenly matters in Christ. Count Spiritual Blessings the most Desirable Blessings . A sufferer should be a Solomon ; under Affliction be of his temper who in 2 Chron. 1. 5. counted Wisdom preferrable to Riches and Honours and Life it self . Count an Acquaintance with God , that thing by which Good will come unto you ; then you will not count Afflictions from God , the thing which is Against you . On one side , be sure to judge so , If I lose in Temporals and get in Spirituals , I am an abundant Gainer . Be sure to judge so on the other side , If I lose in Spirituals and get in Temporals , it certainly fares very Ill with me . Souls , let SIN be the only thing of which you will absolutely say , It is Against me : But of every thing which makes you more conformed unto Jesus Christ , say , This is for me : O say , This is all my Salvation , and all my Desire . The Second Counsel pertaining to you , is expressed in Jam. 5. 13. Is any among you Afflicted ? Let him Pray . A time of Affliction should be a time of Supplication . It was the Precept of a good God , in Psal. 50. 15. Call upon me in the day of Trouble : And it was the Purpose of a good Man , in Psal. 86. 7. Lord , In the day of my Trouble , I will call upon thee . Has any remarkable Affliction befallen thee ? I would seriously ask , Was not the Spirit of Prayer abated in thee before that Affliction came ? Let me then a little alter the words of Deborah , and say , Awake , awake , O Soul , awake , awake , and utter a Prayer . The Title of the Hundred and second Psalm showes the Duty of all Afflicted men ; there should be , A Prayer made by the Afflicted when he is overwhelmed , and he should pour out his complaint before the Lord. It was a very wise proposal of Eliphaz , in Iob 5. 6 , 8. Affliction comes not forth of the Dust , nor doth Trouble spring out of the Ground : It may be thou hast lost a desirable piece of Dust , it may be one of thy Delights is put into the Ground : O look up , look above Chance , look beyond all second Causes : 't is added , I would seek unto God ; the most advisable thing in the World ! We are in Affliction prone to make sad complaints unto our Fellow-worms ; unto them we say , O my Dead Infant ! or , O my Lost Estate ! But Iob found cause to say , in ch . 21. 4. Is my complaint to Man ? If it were so , Why should not my Spirit be Troubled ? Then let us not keep saying , Have pity on me , O ye my Friends : But instead thereof let us be saying , The Lord be Merciful unto me a Sinner ! Do's not thy Affliction put thee upon more Prayer than thou didst use before ? It is a sad sign that the Sower Cup arrives unto thee , spiced with the dreadful Vengeance of God upon thy Soul. An Affliction will neither come in Mercy , nor go in Mercy , if much Prayer do not accompany it . In Affliction , Pray much . As soon as ever any Affliction befalls us , the First thing we do , should be to fall down upon our knees , to cry mightily unto the Lord that his Grace may be Sufficient for us . And still , as long as Gods hand is Lying in Tryals upon us , our hand should be lifted in Prayers unto God. We should Pray that our Affliction may be Moderated , that our Affliction may be Sanctified , that our Affliction may be Removed . The Pious Hannah of old found Prayer to be an Heart-ease . Let this be your good Character , your good Carriage , Lord , in Trouble have they visited thee , and poured out a Prayer when thy Chastening was upon them . The Third Counsel which you are to follow , is declared in Job 34. 31. Surely , it is meet to be said unto God , I have born Chastisement , I will not offend any more . Repentance of Sin should be the effect of Affliction on Men. The End of every Affiction in Sum , is the same that the End of every Mercy is ; we may say of it , as in Rom. 2. 4. O man , it leads thee to Repentance . God spoke by his Ten Iudgments unto Egypt , as well as by his Ten Commandments unto Israel . Every Affliction cries this in our Ears , O Repent , Reform , Return to him that Smites thee . We read of a gracious person , who upon having a Child taken away by Death , said in 1 King. 17. 18. My sins are brought unto Remembrance . This is that which perhaps all thy Sickness , all thy Reproach , all thy Poverty , and all thy Bereavments are sent upon ; God would have thee to remember some Sin with Grief and Shame , and Wherein thou hast done Iniquity , to do it no more . It was a black brand set upon a bad Man , in 2 Chron. 28. 22. In the time of his Distress , did he Trespass yet more against the Lord. Shall God Prune thee and Cut thee , and no good Fruit be found upon thee after all ? Shall God Prick thee and Lance thee , and all thy bad Blood be still running in thy Veins ? Then indeed , these things are Against thee . Ieroboam's withered Hand was Against him , because it rectify'd not his naughty Heart . There hardly ever was a more lamentable sight in this World , than , A Thief on a Cross continuing to dishonour the Lord Iesus Christ. Art thou Afflicted ? Then take the course which the Church propounded in Lam. 3. 40. Let us search and try our ways . O now , First Petition thy God ; Lord , shew me wherefore thou contendest with me ! And then Examine thy self , Wherein have I transgressed and exceeded ? Endeavour to find out what Controversie there may be between God and Thee ; let thy impartial Conscience , the Preacher in thy Bosom , inform thee , Whether thou hast not Overvalued , or Vndervalued the things which thy Affliction is in the privation of ; Whether thou hast not injuriously procured unto some other person , an Affliction like that which thou thy self now Smartest under ; or Whether no Circumstance of thy Affliction , as the Time of it , the Place of it , do loudly proclaim Gods quarrel in it . enquire thus , and immediately comply with what the Lord shall Require . Let thy Dead Friends cause thee to Repent of thy Dead works ; thou Mournest over a lost Child , or a lost Name ; O be concerned about a lost Soul that is loding in thee . Ask thy felf , What have my past Behaviours been ? And ask , What should my future Deportment be ? Bewail now , and Amend all thy miscarriages in the sight of God. We are very ready to fall out with Creatures when any thing happens amiss unto us : But O spend all thy Passion and all thy Indignation here . Thou mayst look upon thy Sins , and Curse them as the Authors of all thy Sorrows . O look upon Sin and say , Have I found thee , O mine Enemy ; Man , loath now , and leave every Sin. 'T was that Sin that kill'd thy Child ; 'T was that Sin that burnt thy House , that sunk thy Ship , that robb'd thee of thy Delights : Never after this be at peace with that mischievous Monster , Sin. The Fourth Counsel , big with which every Affliction saith unto us , as Eliud unto Eglon , I have a Message to thee from God ; we have specify'd in Job . 13. 15. Tho' he slay me , yet will I trust in him . An Holy Resolution for God is to be maintained under every Afflicition from God. Afflictions will not be Against us , if we Resolve under them to be still For him from whom they come . To lay aside no Devotions for all Afflictions , to serve a Smiting God as well as a Smiling God , to seek a God that is Frowning on us , as well as a God that is Owning of us , this will argue , An Israelite indeed . We should after all our Afflictions be still able to make that Appeal unto the Lord , in the Psal. 44. 17 , 18. All this is come upon us , yet have we not forgotten thee , O Lord. Resolve never to Renounce the Truths of God , Resolve never to Desert the Ways of God , whatever your Afflictions are ; still , With full purpose of Heart cleave unto the Lord. In Resolutions for God , O be like an Iron Pillar , and a Brasen Wall , that cannot be prevailed against . Resolve to be Holy tho' the Wrath of Man would molest you for it . Suppose a wicked World should Abuse you and Oppress you , yet say with Ioshua , I and my House will serve the Lord. Continue Sacrificing to , and Pleasing of your God tho' Cains bloody Club should be Cudgelling of you . Resolve to be Holy , tho' the Hand of God should distress you in it . When you feel the Discouragements of the Narrow way , still say with Paul , None of these things move me . Suppose God should inflict the stroke of his Displeasure on your outward Man , still say , Tho' my Life should be continually worn away with pining Sickness , yet to me to Live it shall be Christ. Still say , Tho' my Name should in the Reproach of the Drunkard have Cart-loads of Mud thrown upon it , yet will I labour all I can to honour the Name of God. Still say , Tho' I am Reduced to be among the Poor in this World , yet will I study to be Rich in Good Works . And still say , Tho' I cannot have my Children like Olive-plants about my Table , yet will endeavour to be my self a Dutiful Child of God , and as a Fruitful Olive-tree in the Courts of the Lord. Once more ; Suppose God should withdraw the light of his Countenance from your inward Man ; still say , The Lord shall be my God , my God , even when he forsaketh me . Still say , I will fear the Lord and obey his Voice , tho I walk in Darkness , and shall see no Light. Happy is the Afflicted Man , that is a thus Resolved Man. The followers of these Counsels may boldly and safely lay claim to all the Comforts which have this day been set before the Heirs of Consolation . The special Case . But there is a more special Exhortation to be pressed , which may give a Period unto this Discourse . Let not the loss of Children particularly , as a thing Against us , cause in us any irregular Discomposures . The loss of Children , did I say ? Nay , let me recal so harsh a Word ; the Catachresis is a little too hard for the Language of a Christian. The Children which we count Lost , are not so . The Death of our Children is not the Loss of our Children ; when all the Losses of Iob were made up with Doublings , yet the Number of his Children need not be doubled , in the Restoration . Our Children are not Lost , but given back , they are not Lost , but sent before . In such a Dialect have the Sager Heathen sometimes talked of this Affliction ; and shall the professors of Christianity , with bitter Groans enter this among their Losses , My Children are Dead ! O tell it not at Athens , publish it not at Rome ; lest the Heathen Philosophers hiss at our weakness , at our Folly ! Well , this is the Calamity which many of you at some time or other have experience of ; The Death of Children , this is a thing which the Children of Iacob seldome escape a resemblance of their Father in . Many carry themselves under the tryal , as if , A Death of Vertue , yea as if , A Death of Reason , had therewithal befallen them ; but recollect your selves , O dejected Christians , and be not like them that Mourn without Hope this day . Let Bereaved Parents be yet Believing Parents ; the Voice of the great God that formed all things is unto them that in Ier. 31. 16. Refrain thy Voice from Weeping , and thine Eyes from Tears , for thy Work shall be Rewarded , saith the Lord. Let the Thoughts which have been this day tendered unto our Improvement , gloriously compose and settle our Royled minds under this Affliction . Let us not say , This thing is Against us ; but let us say , The Lord that hath given hath also taken away , blessed be the name of the Lord. It is indeed very true , That this Affliction is none of the most easie to be born ; the Heart of a Parent will have peculiar Passions working in it , and racking of it , at such a time as this . Thô there be greater Sorrows than those with which we follow a Child unto the Grave ; I bless God , it is a more bitter thing to say , My Sin is mighty , or to say , My Soul is guilty , than it is to say , My Child is Dead ; that moan , I have pierced my Saviour , is more Heart-wounding than to Mourn as one mourneth for a First-born . Yet few outward Earthly Anguishes are equal unto these . The Dying of a Child is like the Tearing off a Limb , unto us . But , O remember , That if ever we had any Grace in our Souls , we have e're this willingly pluck'd out a Right Eye , and cut off a Right Hand , for the sake of God. Why should we not then at the Call of God readily part with a Limb , and leave Him room to say , Now I know that thou fearest me , because thou hast not withheld thy Child when I called for it ! It was from God that we did Receive those dear Pledges our Children , and it is to God that we Return them . We cannot quarrel with our God , if about those Loans he say unto us , Give them up , you have had them long enough ! We knew what they were , when first we took them into our Arms : We knew that they were Potsherds , that they were Mortals , that the Worms which usually do kill them , or at least will eat them , are but their Names-sakes , and that a Dead Child is a sight no more surprizing than a broken Pitcher , or a blasted Flower . But we did not , we do not know , What they might be , in case they were continued among the Living on the Earth . We cannot tell whether our Sons would prove as Plants grown up in their Youth , and our Daughters as Corner-stones polished after the similitude of a Palace ; or , whether our Sons might not , like Isaac's Son , do those things that would be a grief of Mind unto us , and our Daughters like Iephta's Daughter , be of them that Trouble us . Christians , let us be content that our wise and good God should Carve our Portion for us ; he will appoint us none but a goodly Heritage . Our Temptation is no more than what is common to Men , yea , and to good Men. The biggest part of those Humane Spirits that are now beholding the Face of God in Glory , are such as dwelt in the Children of Pious people , departed in their Infancy . And what have we to say , why we should not undergo it as well as they ! Was the Infant whose Decease we do deplore , one that was very Pretty , one that had pretty Features , pretty Speeches , pretty Actions ? Well , at the Resurrection of the Iust we shall see the dear Lambs again ; the Lord Jesus will deal with our dead Children as the Prophets ▪ Elijah and Elisha did by those whom they Raised of Old ; he will bring them to us , recovered from the pale Jaws of Death ; and how Amiable , how Beautiful , how Comely they will then be , no Tongue is able to express , or Heart conceive . Tho' their Beauty do Consume in the Grave , yet it shall be Restored , it shall be Advanced , when they shall put off their Bed-cloths in the Morning of the day of God. Again , Was the Infant now lamented , very suddenly snatch'd away ? and perhaps Awfully too ! not meerly by a Convulsion , but by Scalding , by Burning , by Drowning , by Shooting , by Stabbing , or by some unusual Harm ? Truly , it is often so , that the quicker the Death , the better . It is more desirable for our Children to feel but a few Minutes of Pain , than it is for them to lye Groaning in those exquisite Agonies which would cause us even our selves to wish that the Lord would take them out of their Misery . As for any more grievous and signal circumstance attending of our Dying Children , our best course will be to have it said of us , They ceased , saying , The Will of the Lord be done ! As the Love or Wrath of God is not certainly declared in , so , our Grief before him should not be too much augmented by such things as these . And it is a favour , if so much as one of our Children be left alive unto us . Let not the sense of one Trouble swallow up the sense of a Thousand Mercies . The Mother from whom a violent Death has taken one of her two Children , may immediately Embrace the other and say , Blessed be God that has left me this ! But once more , Is the gone Infant an only Child ? Are we now ready to sigh , All is gone ! Nay , Thou hast but a poor All , if this were All. I hope , thy only Child is not thy only Ioy. If thou hast ever passed through the New Birth , the sense of thy Soul is , One Iesus is worth Ten Children ; yea , One Christ is worth Ten Worlds . What tho' all thy Candles are put out ! The Sun , the Sun of Righteousness is arising to thy Soul for ever . An undone Man art thou indeed ! that hast thy little Glass of Water spil'd or spoil'd , while thou hast a Fountain , a Living Fountain running by thy Door ! The blessed God calls thee , My Child ; and that is infinitely better than , A Name of Sons and of Daughters . Finally , Have we any Doubts about the Eternal Salvation of the Children which we have Bur●ed out of our sight ? Indeed , as to grown Children , there is often too sad cause of suspicion or solicitude ; and yet here , the Soveraign disposals of God must be submitted unto . Besides , Thô it may be , we could not see such plain Marks and Signs of Grace in our Adult Children as we could have wished for , nevertheless they might have the Root of the matter in them . There are many Serious , Gracious , Well-inclined young People , who conceal from every body , the Evidences of their Repentance , the Instances of their Devotion . You cannot tell what the Lord did for the Souls of your poor Children before he took them out of the World. Perhaps they sought , they found Mercy , between the Stirrup and the Ground . The Child of a Godly Parent , is not to be despaired of , thô turned off the Gallows . But as to young Children , the Fear of God will take away all matter of Scruple in the Owners of them . Parents , Can you not sincerely say , That you have given , as your selves , so your Children , unto God in a Covenant never to be forgotten ? Can you not sincerely say , That you have chosen God in Christ for the Best Portion , as of your selves , so of your Children ? Answer to this : If your Children had been spar'd unto you , would it not have been your care to have brought them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord ? Would you not have used all Prayers and Pains to have engaged them unto the Service of the Living God , and unto a just prejudice against all the vile Idols and vain courses of the World ? Then , be of good cheer : Your Children are in a better place , a better state , than you your selves are yet arriv'd unto . The Faithful God had promised , I will be their God , as well as thy God. O say , This is all my Desire , thô the Lord suffer not my House to grow . Those dear Children are gone from your kind Arms into the sweet Bosom of Jesus , and this is , by far the best of all . To have Children this Day in Heaven ! Truly this is an Honour which neither you nor I are worthy of . But so it is ; The King of Kings hath sent for our Children to conferr a Kingdom on them . They are gone from a dark Vale of Sin and Shame ; they are gone into the Land of Light and Life and Love ; there they are with the spirits of Iust men made perfect ; there they serve the Lord Day and Night in His Temple , having all Tears wiped from their Eyes ; and from thence methinks , I hear them crying aloud unto us , As well as you love us , we would not be with you again ; weep not for us , but for your selves ; and count not your selves at Home till you come to be , as We , for ever with the Lord. I have done . The fit Epitaph of a Dead Infant , That , That alone is enough to be the Solace of a Sad Parent , Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven . FINIS . Extract of a Letter . Westfield , 14 th . 6 M. 1686. I Am sorry to hear that God hath laid you under that Exercise you spake of in your first Letter , in the Death of Children . But if Heathenish Men could take their little Babes and burn them in the red Fire , in Love and Honour to their Idol-God , the Devil ; how should we who have Hope in God , blush at the least Heart-risings against such Determinations as are made by his all-disposing Providence , whereby he picks and chooses what Flowers please him best . We have nothing too sweet for Him. I sometimes have been refresh'd in like Cases by such Thoughts as these : Viz. I pausing on 't , this sweet refresh'd my thought , Christ would in Glory have a Flower sweet , prime , And having Choice , chose this my branch forth brought : Lord tak 't : I thank Thee , Thou tak'st ought of mine . It is my Pledge in Glory : Part of me Is glorifi'd in it , now , Lord , with Thee . Grief or'e would flow , and Nature fault would find Were not thy Will my Spell , Charm , Ioy and Gem ; That as I said , I say , Take Lord , they 're thine : I piece-meal pass to Glory doe in them . I joy , may I sweet flowers for Glory breed ; Whether Thou gett'st them fresh , or lett'st them seed . E. T. 
A50142	----	Military duties recommended to an artillery company; at their election of officers, in Charls-town, 13. d. 7. m. 1686. By Cotton Mather, pastor of a church in Boston. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1687 Approx. 117 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 46 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50142 Wing M1128 ESTC W479523 99827393 99827393 31811 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50142) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 31811) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1892:1) Military duties recommended to an artillery company; at their election of officers, in Charls-town, 13. d. 7. m. 1686. By Cotton Mather, pastor of a church in Boston. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [8], 78, [2] p. printed by Richard Pierce: and are to be sold by Joseph Brunning, at his shop at the corner of Prison Lane near the Exchange, Boston in New-England : 1687. With a final advertisement leaf. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Military art and science -- Early works to 1800. Military art and science -- United States -- Early works to 1800. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-05 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2003-05 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion MILITARY DUTIES , RECOMMENDED to an ARTILLERY COMPANY ; At their ELECTION of OFFICERS , In CHARLS-TOWN , 13. d. 7. m. 1686. By COTTON MATHER , Pastor of a Church in BOSTON . Ubi nullus est Militarium Virorum ordo et cura , ibi nulli sunt R. P. Nervi . Herodot . Plus Togae laesere Rem-Publicam quam Loricae . Tertullian . BOSTON in NEW-ENGLAND , Printed by Richard Pierce : And are to be sold by Ioseph Brunning , at his Shop at the Corner of Prison Lane near the Exhange . 1687. The preface . IT was the Observation which judicious Capel began a Preface to a good Book with the mention of , Books are more necessary in a State than Arms. Let it pass for a Conveniency among us in this Scythian Desart , That the Gentlemen who handle Arms may be also presented with Books accommodated unto their Instruction and Encouragement . It is reported of an unparallel'd Souldier , no less an Hero than Julius Caesar , that being forc'd to swim for his life in an extremity , he employ'd one hand to preserve from the damage of the water , certain Books which he had a special value for . Nor is it any Disparagement unto men of a military Disposition or Improvement , that in all ages the most accomplisht of them , have been willing sometimes to make Books the entertainment of their vacant hours : Even a mighty Alexander must have a Book under his pillow , or he cannot sleep . Perhaps it is from somesomething of this Bookish Temper that this poor Sermon preached unto the Artillery of Middlesex , is by some Members of that worthy Company now desired to be printed ; that their eyes may dwell upon those things which He who gives favour to them that are not men of Skill made not altogether unacceptable unto their ears . It was a Souldier that found out the happy art of Printing at first ; and it seems that Souldiers will now and then press the Press into their Service still . My Education among Libraries , my Concernment only in such a Warfare as Timothy had recommended unto him , and my impatient Longings for the Revolution of a Golden Age wherein there shall be ( as about the Time of our Lords first coming it is noted by the Roman Historian that there was ) Totius Orbis aut pax aut pactio , a general Peace or Truce throughout the whole world , have made me the unfittest of all men to read Military Lectures . Aelian ' s Tacticks shall stand in the R●…re of my Authors , and will perhaps be left unstudied by me , till I have nothing else to do . That military mischievous Invention of Guns , and the Nitrous , Sulphureous , Charcoal'd matter which they vo●…it , was indeed first hit upon by a Clergy-man , yet one that I never would care to be a kin unto . But a Request from the Honoured Persons , at whose Invitation the ensuing Thoughts have been Spoken and Written , was a strong Summons not to be g●…in said by me , who ought to count Opportunities 〈◊〉 doing Good among the best of all my Treasures . They asked me to lay before them their Du●…yes , as farr as my Armory , the Bible , would inform me what they are : and I have with brief Hints attempted to let them know what those Words of Command are which come unto them back'd with a , Thus saith the LORD . They have also asked me to give them a Copy of those Words for the Publication of them ; and I consider'd that this being all , my case was not so hard as that of the Expedition against Sisera , wherein out of Zebulon were engaged they that handled the pen of the Writer , Gown-men became Sword-men , and Pen-knives ( as one saith on it ) were turned into Swords . But in this thing they had not found me ready to gratify them , if it had not been for the sake of Communicating those Meditations in the Close of the Discourse , which render every man a Souldier , and call upon all to encounter the invisible Enemies of their own souls . This part of the Discourse is no Diversion from the work which my Hand finds to do , however the other may : of this , if I had a voice as loud as the last Trumpet I must say , Let him that hath ears to hear , hear . Thousands of Praises , whole Ages of praises be given unto a good God , for the Abundance of peace wherein we in this Wilderness do delight our selves . 'T were well if the blessed leisure which Deus fecit , is given by God unto us , were employ'd unto spiritual Advantages by us all ; and particularly by them that have a kindness for the affairs of Souldiery . It would be an incredible benefit to the Church of God , for men to have their houses furnished with Treatises which shall teach them how to Spirituallize the outward occurrents of their Occupations , and set Pulpits , and faithful Preachers for them in every Business that they have to meddle with . I find that the Husband-man , and the Shepherd , and the Mariner , yea , and the Weaver too , are thus provided for , by the ingenious Labours of some heavenly-minded men . A Reverend Person among our selves , has in this way been an Obliging Friend unto the Souldier also ; His , Souldiery Spirituallized , well deserves the Perusal of them to whom it is directed , and hath given a just Super-Sedeas unto those Enlargements of that kind here which else might have been endeavoured . That they who will be Souldiers may likewise be serious ; That there may be Glory to GOD in the highest , and that there may be Peace on earth , and Good Will among men , is the grand Scope of this little Essay . MILITARY DUTIES Laid before A TRAINED BAND 13. d. 7. m. 1686. It is written in PSAL. CXLIV . I. Blessed be the Lord my strength , who teacheth my Hands to war , and my Fingers to fight . THat elegant Resemblance of our Lord Jesus Christ , in the close of His last Letter from Heaven to the Church on Earth , Rev. 22. 2. A tree of Life which bears twelve manner ( a blessed variety ) of Fruits , the leaves whereof also are for the healing of the Nations , hath been sometimes not unfitly apply'd unto the Scriptures , those precious Leaves of the Bible , which testify of Him. There is in these Oracles of God , a delicious Entertainment for the innumerable sorts of Readers to whom these presents come ; and the Benefit of the Souldier particularly is not left unconsulted in them . The blessed Suitableness of this miraculous Book unto the Affayrs and Concerns of all men , is , to be found ( as the Philosopher saith , of the Soul in the Body ) in every part thereof ; but the Book of Psalms ( a Little Bible , as Luther styl'd it ) in peculiarwise , is so remarkable on this score , that it was no imprudence in old Ierom to bid his Friend make This his Vade mecum , his constant Companion , it was no folly in the holy Minister of Constantinople being driven out of that City , to take no part of his Treasures but This , which was unto him pro et prae Divitiis , instead of and better than all the Riches of the World ; the renouned Basil therefore very rightly recommended it as A Divine Treasure , and the eloquent Chrysostom no less appositely reputed it as , a Panoply for the Christian. From this Panoply , from this well-furnished Armory , give me leave to offer something for the Use of this Armed , and much honoured Auditory . For this cause the name which the Holy Spirit in a certain place ( in Col 3. 16. ) putteth upon these Psalms is that of spiritual Songs ; partly because the Spirits of men are most singularly suited therein : every man may conceive , as Athanasius long ago observed , That they speak de se , in re sua , to his own case directly . T is to be hoped that the Spirit of the Souldier especially will anon herein meet with what shall not be impertinent unto him . That inspired person , whoever he were , that marshalled the Psalms into the Method wherein we now enjoy them , seems to have had some respect unto the Affinity of Subjects therein handled , in his doing of it . Hence this Hundred-and-forty-fourth Psalm , with the rest unto the end of our Psalter , is employ'd in that business which we expect at the end of our pilgrimage to be put upon ; even The magnifying of the LORD IEHOVAH . The P●…nman of this Composure , is by the Title of it , determined to be David , the sweet singer of Israel . Indeed some passages of it are by Him again repeated in both his first and his second Edition of the Eighteenth Psalm ; and if the Primitive Christians in their Publique Worship , are reported to have had no common satisfaction when they heard Aliquid Davidicum , any thing of David , sounded among them , t is to be suppos'd , that we shall not therein come behind them . But the Occasion of the Composure is to be variously guessed at , as an un●… th●…g . Those whom we ( upon uncertain grounds ) reckon the 〈◊〉 Greek T●…anslators , or rather Interpreters of the Old Testament , have so inscribed it , A Psalm of David against Goliah ; so the Ethiopic likewise , and so the Vulgar Latin. And perhaps David's victory over Goliah , may be one thing referr'd unto in this Song of Zion . I find a Iewish Commentary particularly favouring such a Sentiment . But good old Hilary for one , justly and honestly declames against the foisting in of this clause , where it should not be . Thus much then is all the Conjecture for which we have room left unto us : We may apprehend that the amiable David was now arrived thro an Iliad of Mischiefs and whole Seas of Difficulties , unto a Settlement in his Kingdom over Israel ; and that hereupon he now presents unto the Lord , both his Praises for the Vanquishent of the Enemies who had hitherto disquieted him , and his Prayers for the Continuance of his Tranquillity , maugre all future Opposition . The Rapturous Thanksgivings of the PsalPsalmist begin as soon as was possible ; even at the verse now before us . The gracious Saint is here uttering of his Wishes that the great GOD may forever be well-spoken of by all the world , and this on a double account . Something God hath been to him , and something God had done for him . Firstly , For Something that God was to him . He ascribes to the Lord that Title , my Strength , or ( Heb. Tzuri ) my Rock . q. d. The Almighty God has afforded a better Defence to me in all dangers than the ragged Rocks and Caves and Thickets did unto my poor Countrey men , before I by slaying the tall Pagan occasion'd the Routing of the Philistines , who had driven them thereinto . Nextly , For something that God did for him . He celebrates this Kindness of God unto him , He teaches my hands to war and my fingers to Fight . i. e. The good God enables me to go through the Military Performances which I am put upon . These Hands of mine that were once wont to hold the Shepherds Crook , and these Fingers of mine which were wont to solace me with their soft Notes upon my Harp , are now expert in those Martial A●…chievments which God hat●… bin my Teach●…r in . There is a divine Teaching herein acknowledged , and the Twofold Subject of it is taken notice of . The Good man first declares the Subject which received this Teaching : This was his Hands & his Fingers . These are by a Synecd●…che put for not only all the Members of his body , but also all the Powers of his mind . These may be singled out , because there is a special Use of these parts in all warly Encounters . There was so particularly , first in Choosing and then in Casting the Stone which laid the Philistean Champion sprawling on the ground . In the Hands also Strength is seated , and Skill is shewed by the Fingers . So both of those Qualifications may herein be glanced at . The good Soul next declares the Subject which this Teaching was Occupy'd about : This was Warring and Fighting . The former Expression [ Lakrob ] comes from a Root that signifies to Draw near ; the Latter [ Lammilchama ] comes from a Root that signifies to Eat up ; because in Warly Engagements , persons first Approach and then Devour one another . From hence then the Doctrine which Summons our present Attention is DOCT. That The Almighty GOD is to be acknowledg'd as the Author of whatsoever Military SKILL or STRENGTH any Children of men do excel in . THAT the Worthy Company who call'd me to this place and work , may not be too long detained from the Field , where no doubt , they love to be , all due Brevity shall be endeavoured , in our present Discourse . Only two Propositions shall be call'd upon , to ripen this Doctrine for it's Application . PROPOSITION I. It is the Priviledge of some Persons to excel in a Military Skill or Strength . There is a two-fold Military Excellency which some in the world are so priviledg'd as to reach unto . Firstly , There are some persons excellent for their military SKILL . There is such an happy unhappy Art used among Adam's wrangling Posterity in the world , as that of Tactics , or the Art of Warr ; and her●… and there we may find those who have the honour of being excellently well skill'd therein . The politic and most peaceable Monarch of old , made it one of his Aphorisms in Eccl. 9. 18. Wisdome is better than weapons of Warr. But some desireable persons there are , meriting for this to be called Deliciae humani generis , or Mankinds Delight , who at once have Weapons in their hands , and Wisdom in their Heads enabling them to manage the same unto very good account . There are persons very notable for Feats of Arms , like David , of whom t is reported in 1. Sam. 18. 5. He behaved himself wisely and he was set over the men of war : It seems he was so good a Souldier , that he was made Captain of the Artillery at Gibeon . Such brave men were those pious Trans-Iordanites , of whom wee have that Description in 1. Chron. 5. 18. They were men able to bear Buckler and Sword , and to shoot with Bow , and they were skilful in war. And such a Character we also have of several Tribes who were mustered at Hebron , to solemnize Davids Coronation there , in 1. Chron. 12. At verse 33. it is related of the Zebulonites , that they were expert in warr , with all Instruments of warr , able to keep Rank ; At verse 35. it is related of the Danites , and at verse 36. it is related of the Asherites likewise that they were expert in war. Some such Beauties is the face of the earth adorn'd withall ; Persons that understand well all the FIGURES or POSTURES which a Souldier is to use in the Handling of his Arms ; persons that are well acquainted with all the MOTIONS & ORDERS which a Souldier may be call'd unto , all the various FACINGS , and numerous DOUBLINGS , & intricate COUNTER-MARCHINGS , & comely WHEELINGS which are customary , and all the CHARGINGS which the many sorts & shapes of BATTAILS do admit , with innumerable STRATAGEMS of War ; persons , in a word , who can handsomely apply all the INSRUMENTS of Defence which a Souldier may Cap-a-pe be furnished with , and all the INSTRUMENTS of Offence which a Souldiers hand can be put unto , from the Half-pike unto the Granado and the roaring Canon . Nextly , There are some persons excellent for their Military STRENGTH also . There is a Two-fold Strength which Souldiers are sometimes to be admired for . Firstly , Some Souldiers have an Admirable Strength of BODY . Such a Souldier was that renowned Judge of Israel , Sampson , the History of whose Activity ( as well as the signification of his Name ) the Heathen have carried into their stories about their Hercules : 'T is storied of Him , in Iudg. 14. 6. That when a young Lion roared against him , he rent him as he would have rent a kid ; tho the Oracles of the Lion's Maker have determined him to be the strongest among Beasts . T is storied of Him , in Chapt. 16. 3. That he took the Gates of a City , Doors , Posts , Barrs and all , and carried 'em away up an high Hill twenty miles off . T is storied of Him in Chapt. 16. 27. that with main force he over-sett the two huge Pillars whereon lay the stress of a vast Temple , containing many more than three thousand people . There are Souldiers , that for the Strength of their Limbs , deserve the name wich once a King in England had , even that of Ironside ; they may almost affirm , what Iob deni'd , My strength is the strength of stones , and my flesh is brass . We have read of a Scanderleg who had an Arm that could make his sword strike through thick Iron , and who encountring a mighty wild Bull that had slain many , wi●…h one onely Blow of his Cimitar cutt his head clean from his shoulders . We have read of a Milo , of a Maximus , of some others , men made up of Sinewes , that would hold a club , or keep a place in spite of all possible Assaults , that would carry Burdens next to insupportable , and in every peece of action scorn a Match . Nextly , Some Souldiers have an Admirable Strength of SPIRIT also ; their Courage is marvellous and invincible . Such were those Captains which increased Davids Band , 1. Chron. 12. 21. all mighty men of valour . And such were the Simeonites , ( ibid. v. 25. ) mighty men of Valour , for the war : and such the Ephraimites ( ibid. v. 30. ) mighty men of Valour , famous throughout the house of their Fathers . There are Souldiers that for their Valour deserve the name of Caleb , which may signify All-heart , and who , like Caleb are not afraid to look a bigg son of Anak in the face . They are as undaunted as the Leviathan , ( the Crocodile ) which is made without fear ; it s a meer sport unto them , to out-brave the King of Terrours , to have Cannon Bullets flying & hissing , and drawn Swords clashing round about them , and dischargdischarged Pistols hurled at their heads ; they are like fiery metal-fome War-Horses clothed with Thunder , they go on to meet Armed men , they laugh at Fear , and are not affrighted , neither turn they back from the Sword , they shout among the loud Drums and the ●…hrill Clangors of the Trumpet Ha , Ha! the Thuuder of the Captains and the Shouting only adds Fire to their Magnanimity ; and if they are threatned with such clouds of Arrowes as shall darken the very sky , they make no more of it than the Persian , who reply'd to such a Menace , I am glad of that ! we shall then fight in the shade . Yea , almost every spot of ground affords a spectacle of more Fortitude than what appears in Fighting stoutly when Martial Noises do inspirit men . We may see men whose Blood chills not when they are call'd out to dy alone in cold Blood ; men that with a steady Countenance can take grim Death arrayd with all its pompous Horrors , by the cold clammy hand , and cheerfully say , Friend , do thy worst ! Such skill ! and such Strength many mortals have . PROPOSITION II. The Almighty GOD is to be acknowledged as the Author of these Excellences . All that have such Excellencies are beholden to GOD for them , and ought to own their being so . Among the Romans , there were those Officers who were called Campi Doct●…res , the Doctors of the Field . All true Christian Souldiers will acknowledge the Ever-living GOD for the supreme Teacher in the field unto them ; they say , He hath his chair in the Heavens , who is our Teacher . Shall we speak of SKILL ? Behold , the Blesse●… GOD , the Father of Lights is the Bestowe●… of That . The haughty Sennacherib is rebuked for saying of his military Exploits , in Isa. 10. 13. By my wisdom I have done them . We are informed concerning the Husband-man by the princely Prophet , His God doth instruct him to Discretion , and doth teach him . How fitly may that be said of the Souldier too ! There is a GOD that he hath his military Discretion from . Shall we speak of STRENGTH ? Lo , This also is to be ascribed unto God , the Rock of Ages . It was a check given to the Moabites in Ier. 48. 14. How say ye , we are mighty and strong men for the war ? As for Strength of Body this is from God. The Psalmist does most ingenuously confess , in Psal. 18 , 34. It is the Lord that teacheth my hands to war , so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms . As for STRENGTH of SPIRIT , this too is from God. When Arrowes are to be made Bright , and Shields to be gathered , t is said ( in Ier. 51. 11. ) that The Lord raiseth the spirits of men . That which makes this further evident is , that the Almighty God takes away military Skill and Strength from men , whensoever it pleaseth Him. This the poor Canaanites had experience of : The Hundreds of Thousands of armed men in those mighty Nations , advantaged with Chariots that were plated with sweeping slaughtering Hooks of Iron , could not stand — The Lord at once tormented them with great Wasps , hideously stinging of their Bodyes , and with black Fears weakning of their Spirits , they could not stand before an handful of men , to whom the Lord had promised in Exod. 23. 27. I will send my Fear before thee , and will make thine enemies turn their backs unto thee . The cruel crafty Indians among our selves , were t' other Day an instance of this too ; at a time when we expected utmost Ruin by their merciless hands , They fell before us like the leaves in Autumn , and themselves gave this reason of it , laying their hands on their breasts , Oh ( said they ) the Englisham's God makes us afraid here . This there is no question to be made of ; no means or helps will make us succesful Souldiers , if God deny His Smiles : An Host of sorry Mice will render all our Bow-strings utte●…ly unserviceable , if God say unto them , Go , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We have cause to say after the Psalmist in Psal. 44. 6. I will not trust in my Bow , neither shall my Sword save me . But the Improvement of these things remains . USE . I. There is a strong Invitation to an Attendance on Military Discipline hence given un●…o all that are capable thereof . This Truth should be as good as a Thousand Drums beating of a Troop in your he●…ing , engageing of you to repair in your 〈◊〉 unto a peaceable military Rendezvous . It 〈◊〉 lamentable to see how Military Discipline 〈◊〉 begun to languish among us ; to see how 〈◊〉 list themselves in military Societies , and 〈◊〉 delinquent in military Services they that 〈◊〉 listed often are . I would to God the T●… were come wherein we might have 〈◊〉 seasonable Sermon on that Text , Isa. 2. 4. They shall beat their Swords , into Plow-shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks ; for they shall learn warr no more . When will men chuse David's Motto , Anishallo●… ; i. e. I am peace ? When will those two make-bate Pronouns , Meum and Tuum leave off to set mankind together by the Ears ? But surely , till Gog and Magog are burnt up with flashes of hot Lightening , as their predecessors , the Assirians were of old , a fitter Theme to be preached on will be that in Ioel. 3. 12. Beat your Plow-shares into Swords , and your Pruning-hooks into Spears , and let all the men of War draw near . Thanks be to the God of peace , for the Peace wherewith we enioy the Gospel of peace . We have no occasion to kindle Becons , or to stick up a Scoth Fire-cross for the Summoning of all between Sixteen and Sixty , to oppose an invading enemy . The thing which our Civil Authority puts us upon this day , and all that I am concernd to speak a good word for , is , The regard to military Discipline , which our peace does give us a most happy advantage for . There is this Argument for the abundant use of military Discipline in the midst of us , now giving Encouragement thereunto ; The Almighty GOD is the Teacher of it . And what ! Will any of you be loth to go-to-School unto the Almighty ▪ GOD ▪ Will you play the Truant from the School of GOD ? Let the able Idle Spectators of military Exercises for shame count themselves concerned to rank and file with their honest and industrious Neighbours . T is desireable that all our Trained Bands might flourish , and become Terrible , as an Army of Banners . And it is particularly to be desired that our Artillery Companyes may be unto the utmost countenanced . In Persia once they had an Artillery Company consisting of Ten Thousand , which they called , The Immortal Company , because whenever any one was taken off , another was still chosen to supply his place . May THAT Artillery Company in special which I am now speaking unto , in this sense become an Immortal Company . CONSIDER , I. That Military Discipline is a very lawful thing . When the Souldiers satt under the Ministry of Iohn Baptist , he said not unto them , Lay down your Arms ; but as in Luc. 3. 14. Be content with your Wages ; which was as good as saying , Be content to be Souldiers . The believing CenCenturion did not look upon himself as obliged to throw up his Commission , tho it had a Roman Original : and yet of him it was said in Matt. 8. 10. I have not found so great faith , no , not in Israel , as in him . It is recorded of the Patriarch Abraham , ( of that Father of the Faithful ) in Gen. 14. 14. that he had a kind of Artillery Garden at his house ; an Artillery Company was under his Conduct , whereto about forty Files belonged . Shall we imagine that GOD will teach any unlawful thing ? No ; The ever-glorious GOD Himself is called , The God of Armies . But He is never called , The God of Theeves , or The God of Murderers ; or the God of any thing that is to be thought sinful . It is indeed said , that They that take the sword , shall perish with the sword . But this refers to taking up the Sword without a right Cause , and without a just Call. When men meddle with Swords without a sufficient Call from both God and man , they are wont to come off like those Ephraimites which the seventy eighth Psalm singeth of , among other ancient things , who would needs break prison out of Egypt and sieze upon Palestina , by Force of Arms , before they had a good Warrant for it , and were slain by the men of Gath , to the great grief of their Fa-Father , and the encrease of their Servitude . It is also said , Whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek , turn to him the other also . But private , personal Revenge is the thing forbiden there . T is to be suspected , that the people who make Out-cries against all Use of carnal Weapons , would ( as One ingeniously saith ) use the Weapons very carnally , yea , very bloodily , if they had them in their own Hands . CONSIDER , 2. That Military Discipline is also a Needful thing . It was a true Remark of the ancient Gre●…ian , That , A Common-Wealth wherein there is not a plenty of Military men , is as a Body without Sinews . A Wall of Stones about a City or a Countrey is good for little without a Wall of Bones defending of it . — Hi sunt Spartae m●…nia . It is threatned as a very direful Plague unto a Land in Isa. 3. 2. The Lord of Host●… doth take away the men of War therefrom . Why should any of us have an hand in bringing such a plague on the Land wherein we live . ¶ Don't plead , It s being a Time of peace may Excuse us from being in Arms while thes●… Halcyon dayes continue . For a Time of Peac●… ▪ is the time to prepare for a time of Warr. The prudent King Asa thought so of old . And the want of Preparation in us , may sharpen the Edge of an Enemies Desire to our Land ; Some West-Indian might have been upon our skirts before now , if the Military Appearances among us had not dampt them . You are not ignorant of what befel the Inhabitants of quiet and secure Laish long ago . Do not plead , I can't spare the time to Train . What! not spare time to go to School to GOD ? T is observ'd , that the people in this Countrey with moderate Diligence make themselves capable of greater Leisures than many in the world . Besides , Would you serve God with that which costs you nothing ? Or would you be made Souldiers by a Miracle ? Do not plead , There are enough to train with●…ut me . How if every one should plead so ? Certainly , people did not thus exempt themselves from the Artillery Company at Ierusalem , in the dayes of Iehoshaphat . It is noted ( for so I would understand it ) in 2. Chron. 17. fin . That while one man was Leader of that Company , they were an Hundred and Eighty Thousand : While another , they were Two hundred Thousand ; while another , they were two hundred and eighty Thousand ; and while another , they were no less than Three hundred thousand . There were Thousands exceeding the Unites in our Artillery Companies ! Should I now pretend to give Directions how Military Discipline may best be ordered among us , I might justly be derided no less than he that would read Military Lectures before the Martial Hannibal . Yet there are Two things which I would presume upon 〈◊〉 Liberty to say . ADVICE . I. It seems good Prudence to be most Attent o●… and Accurate in that peice of Military Discipline which is most Necessary . ; Or most accommodated for the SAFETY of the place which we belong unto . We have such a Parenthesis in the Preface of David's Elegy over Saul and Ionathan , 2. Sam. I. 18. He had them teach the Children of Iudah the — Bow. Some take that Word , the Bow , to be only the Title of the ensueing Song . But others thus conceive of it . The PhiliPhilistines had made fearful Slaughter among the Israelites by their being curious Archers ; and the study of David now was to have the Israelites out-shoot the Philistines in their own Bow. All that you shall now hear of this matter from one whose highest military Attainment is that he counts Military Discipline a thing not to be despised , is only This : There is a swarthy Generation of Philistines here , the Indian Natives , I mean , whom alone we are like to have any Warrs withal . These Salvages have ( not long since ) butchered several Hundreds in these Plantations ; in that bloudy gloomy-day , when the Alarm of Warr was heard , and it was said , Sword , go through the Land , the Canibals had many an Hellish Feast of English Flesh ; and the main thing wherein the wild Creatures out-did us and ●…n-did us was this , They were very yare Marks-men , and every tree was a Fort from whence they took their Aims . If ever those now - wounded Chaldeans should make an Attempt again upon us , there will be few Words of Command used , unless those two , Make ready , and Give fire . The best Marks-man will then be the best Souldier : The Benjamites that can shoot to an Hairs Breadth will probably carry the day . How comes it then to pass , that in our Trainings there seldome are any of Marks and Prizes set up for the promoting this Accomplishment ? ADVICE . II. They that give their presence to Military Discipline , should be ashamed if their Proficiency therein be not conspicuous and considerable . The Counsil which Paul gave to a Spiritual Souldier is very Proper here , in 1. Tim. 4. 15. Give thy self to these things , that thy profi●…ng may appear unto all . Do not look upon Training dayes as designed for meer Diversion and Recreation ; or to do nothing but make Smokes . Be not of them who unless to get off a Fine would never appear at their Colours ; Remember that , As you were , is not a fit word of Command for you all the year long . Behave your selves alwaies in your Trainings , as under the Eye of the Authority whom , under His Majesties favourable Protection , you are therein Obedient unto , yea , and as if you were by them also bid to expect the sight of an Adversary . At the End of each day , be able to make a good Reply unto that Question , Quid profeci ? or What progress have I made this day in military Discipline ? Give not your Tutors cause to blame your Non-proficiencies . USE . II. The Attenders on Military Discipline should hence be careful to Acknowledge God in what they do . Let them act according to that Acknowledgement , The Lord is my teacher . To particularize : FIRSTLY . There are some Acknowledgements due to God from you , WHILE you are using of Military Discipline . All the Trained Souldiers among you have these things incumbent on them , as so many Ackowledgments unto GOD their Teacher . In the first place , Souldiers should be Gracious men . O get on the Whole Armour of God ; Get gracious Principles into your Souls . Never dream That you are in all respects fit to war and to fight with any men ▪ till your peace be made with God. You that may some time or other carry your Liv●… in your Hands , had need alwaies to carry Grace in your Heárts . A very Heathen handling that Problem , Who is the best Armed Souldier ? Solved it so , Integer vitae scelerisque purus : the sincere godly man is the best Armed of any man in the world . You be n't so fit as you should be to handle a Sword ; till you come to use a Book as well as a Sword ; till you govern your lives by the Words of Command in the Book of God ; till you can say with that renowned Souldier in Psal. 119. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies , as much as in all riches . You are poor Souldiers , till you can with all Hilarity say to your own souls as that dying Ancient Hilary did , Egredere ▪ Anima , egredere , quid times ? or Turn out , O my Soul , turn out ; Scorn , Scorn to be afraid of Death ; which no uncoverted man can duly say . After all the Bravadoes which many Hectoring Dam-mee's make while no body is like to hurt them , it is the New-born , heaven-born Christian that will stand the most daringly before the mouthes of Cannons vomiting out Fire & Death ; Here , here is the man that is best able to look the most ●…errible of all terribles in the f●…ce & to scoff at the hisses of that Rattle-snake ▪ DEATH , saying , Where 's thy sting ? I have heard that not a very long ago , In the Low-Countryes an huffing Captain challenged one reputed a very pious man unto the Fighting of a Duel : the General taking notice of it said , Pray stay till to morrow , such a Town is then to be assaulted , I 'll then see which of you two can fight best . The Town was assaulted , and a Breath made in the Wall , Now ( said the General to the Challenger ) Now do you Enter : To this the couragious Coward reply'd with horrot , I beseech your Excellency excuse me , I be n't fit to dy . But the man whom the Changes of Regeneration have made fit to live , he is likewise fit to dy . He that hath Christ for his Life , will assuredly have Gain by his Death ; and may fall into Transports of Ioy , whenever the grim Ferry-man shall call upon him , Come away ! Moreover , Souldiers should be Praying men . The illustrious G●…stavus , Adolphus was , for a Souldier , the miracle of this last Age ; but scarce any thing more contributed to his being so , than the Army of Prayers which were ever in his Service : Hence he would say to his Counsellors , The greater our Army of Prayers , the more assured will be our victory . It is given as the Character of a man worthy to be a Captain , in Act. 10. 2. He was a devout man and one that pray'd unto God alway . The Emperor Aurelius was blessed with a Legion of such Souldiers in his Host : When the Army was like to perish for Thirst , this Christian-Legion with-drew to Prayer , and immediately God sent a plentiful Rain which relieved them , but sent such fearful flashes of Lightening therewithall as destroyed their Enemies ; from whence this was called the Thundering Legion . God grant that every Trained Company among us , may be a Praying Thundering Company ! PRAYER , was the great Field-peice of Iehoshaphat ; 't is said in 2. Chron. 20. 3. He set himself to seek the Lord. Yea , the most of the Prayers in the Bible were made by a Souldier ; The Psalms of David . Our late Indian-War gave us evidence enough of PRAYER's efficacy and importance , in military Executions . Luther was wont to style Prayer , the Gun-shot of the soul. Certainly , a Souldiers Weal is enwrapped in nothing more than in the well - discharging of it . Furthermore , Souldiers ought to be well - Aiming men . I would say about your Training , as Paul about Eating and Drinking , in 1. Cor. 10. 31. — Do all to the GLORY OF GOD. Let all that you do from the Girding on of your Harness , to the putting of it off , be aimed at the Glory of God , and the Good of His people , to the just Satisfaction of your King and Countrey . Let every one of your Weapons have that Motto which the Lord has provided for the Bells of the Troopers Horses in Ierusalem , Zech 14. 12. HOLINESS TO THE LORD . Let all inferior Ends be placed by you in a due Subordination hereunto , and not be the main Spring of your Artillery Motions . As a religious man once at work in the Woods , being asked , Who are you at work for ? very savourily answered , I am cutting of wood for God. So be you able to say of all your Trainings , That you are therein Obeying of God , and the Government , which is the minister of God unto you for good : thus preparing to Fight the Battails of the Lord. Once more , Souldiers ought to be Sin-having men . There has been a Scandal raised upon Souldiers , Nulla sides pietasque viris qui Castra sequunt ur . ] that Souldiers are seldom Christians . The slander has been most happily confuted-by the vertuous Lives which many men of a Military Profession have been exemplary for . That I may recite one Instance instead of many , give me leave to inform you of what the Learned Voetius relateth in his Ecclesiastical Polity , ( part . 1. Lib. 2. Tract . 4. ) concerning a young Scoth Gentleman of his acquaintance , then a Captain in the Low-Countryes . This devout Souldier was ( as Voetius testifies to the world in his Immortal Writings ) a Mirrour of piety , Gravity , Modesty and extraordinary Prudence . He was abundant in Reading the Scriptures , & sundry Treatises both of Divinity and History , and penning down in his private papers the memorable passages which he found pertinent & profitable to himself therein . Yea , it was common with him to spend whole Days in the Austerities of a Fast. He moreover kept a constant Diary wherein ( to use his own Phrase ) he had on one Side , a page For the Old man , on the other side , a page For the New man ; in these he did every day note down on the one side , How far the Interest of Sin decayed in him , on the other side , How far he grew in his Conformity to Iesus Christ. Doing thus until he dyed . Upon which th●…●…ction of that great man is to this purpose , ●…t is fit that many Ministers of the Gos●…el should read this , to make them sensible how much a Souldier has gone beyond them in the Exercises of Devotion . Now let your Accurate Conversation in like manner promote the Vindication and the Reputation of ●…he blemished Souldier . Beware of those Sins ●…hat Souldiers are most addicted unto . Iohn Baptist in his Advice to Souldiers Luc. 3. 14. hath enumerated some of those hateful Immoralities . It was a Proverb of old , Miles Romans , Aegyptum cave ; Roman Souldiers must be careful to shun Egyptian vices . Many a man is no less than a Leader unto a Trained Band , and yet so miserable as to be himself mis-led by a Foolish Lust. O be so valiant as to Fly ( here Valour it self turns its back ) the Fleshly Lusts whereof the Alarms of God have told you , That they war against the Soul. Abstain especially from the ordinary Epidemical Vices of Training Dayes . It is reported of the Carthaginian Souldiers , that they were not to meddle with any Wine all the time of their bearing Arms. Our Trainings are too commonly abused unto the contrary excesse●… of Surfeiting and Drunkenness . Let the Vanity , let the Rioting , let the pagan pr●…●…ane Health . Drinkings which are th●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…l , be abominable unto you , who have not 〈◊〉 ●…arned Christ. SECONDLY . There are some further Acknowledgement●… due unto God from you , WHEN you ar●… ●…hriving in Military Discipline . If you Thrive under your heavenly Teacher you are to pay unto Him such Acknowledgements as these . Your humble , your hearty Praises are first , to be rendred unto the Most High for an your military Endowments . Among the Ancients , when an old Souldier . came to have an honest honourable ●…ismission from the Camp , he dedicated his Arms with his Praises unto his Houshold Gods. Truly , there are Praises to be returned unto our God , when we are made Masters in military Practice . O' do a●… the Psalmist in the close of his military Psal●… , ( in 2. Sam. 22. 50. ) resolves to do . I will give Thanks to thee , O Lord , I will give Praises to thy Name . Again , You should now Submit unto any the hardest military Employment that the Most High God shall call you to . Stand like the Israelites in the Desart of old , pitching every man by his Standard about the Tabernacle of the Lord ; and when you have the full Warrant of GOD and His Vice-gerents , don't shrugg or shrink back for any Difficulty that you may be put upon . Let me speak unto you in the words which the Lord-General of Israel in his military Oration used , ( 2. Sam. 10. 12. ) Be of good Courage , play the men , for your people , and the Cities of your God. Here you are like the valiant of Israel , all holding of swords , and expert in war , — standing about the Bed of Solomon ; and if Solomon say the word , then count that the best way to save your lives will be to lose 'em ; and so the holy . Angels may at the first Arrival of your disengaged Souls into the spiritual ●…orld , welcome them with the Salutation which an Angel gave to Gideon , The Lord is with thee , thou mighty man of Valour . Finally , When you cannot possibly , or may not lawfully serve God as Souldiers , be willing to serve God as Sufferers . God knowes whether you may ever be put upon the ●…earing of any Testimonies to the Truths or Wayes of Jesus Christ , which may incurr the ●…rown ▪ of all Standers-by . Now it will be a greater magnanimity to suffer Disgrace and Poverty and Imprisonment cheerfully , than it is to defend a Feild of Lentiles singly against an whole Army of Philistines , or to slaughter six hundred of 'em with an Ox-goad . Be ready with a passive Obedience , to follow Him whom the Apostle styles in Heb. 2. 10. The Captain of our Salvation , made perfect through Sufferings . Souldiers have sometimes had their : Superstitions about Crosses , but most certainly it is the most real Christianity to take a Cross imposed by the Providence of the Lord Jesus on us , and to lay the ragged Tree upon our shoulders until it do there bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness . The name that our K. Edward I. ( the comliest of men . ) had , when called Crouch-back , because of the Cross which he wore on his Back , very well befits a Souldier , when Crosses and Tryals are carved out for him by the God of Heaven . Christan Souldiers should be as willing to entertain Crosses , I mean Sorrows , and Troubles , for the sake of the Gospel , as the Primitive Christian Souldiers were to throw by the military Crowns which were profered unto them . The Ancients have with very eloquent Lines celebrated those Forty Souldiers , who for the professing themselves Christians , were conten●… to undergo the fiery exquisite Anguish of being Frozen to death . Let every one of us in like sort be content to endure the bleakest , the most nipping and peircing winds that can blow upon us for our Faithfulness unto the Son of God. O be among the Armies in Heaven following the Lamb , and if ever you should ( thanks be to God you yet have not ) to do with Persecutors , be unto them no otherwise than as Sheep before the Shearers . USE . III. Hence , Men ●…pert in Military Discipline are to be had in high Account by us , as the great , Blessings of the Great God. If Acknowiedgements are to be made unto God as the Author of Military SKILL or STRENGTH ; surely the River of our Acknowledgements running into that infinite Ocean , may do well to call at the Banks of Earth , as they glide along , paying some kindness to the Men that have military Ornaments on them . He that would say , Blessed be God that teacheth my hands to war , and my fingers to fight , may also see cause to say , Blessed be God who has made any Hands & Fingers , expert at Military Discipline in the midst of us . Our Sight of a Trained Company , but especially of an Artillery Company , should not be perhaps without some special Expressions of our Value thereof ; Since we may say , There march the Scholars of the Almighty GOD. Persons well-acquainted with Military Discipline , have Honours and Roses cast upon them by the blessed God Himself . The most High and Mighty GOD Himself affects to be called ( in Exod. 14. 3. ) A Man of War. The Lord Jesus Christ also chooses to be represented ( in Psal. 45. 3. ) as a Mighty One with a Sword by His side . The glorious Angels , the bright Inhabitants of the Third Heaven , are styl'd in Luc. 2. 13. The heavenly Host , or Army . Their Excellent General calls 'em forth by twelve Legions at once , that is , to the number of Seventy two thousand Foot-men , and eighty four hundred Hors-men , the Number which a Roman Army consisted of O What matchless Fellow-Souldiers all well-qualified Souldiers have ! The Scriptures , these inestimable Treasures of Heaven , are filld with nothing more than Military Terms and Things And among Men have Souldiers in all ages had most remarkable Reputation . The best Souldiers were by David in 2. Sam. 23. 8. reckoned , the Worthyes of the Kingdom . In Solomons time , t is noted in 2. Chron. 8. 9. that the Best men in the Land were the men of war. It was made an Act among the war-like Spartans that no man should have an Epitaph , or so much as his Name written on his Grave , if he had not been a Souldier . Some of the chief Dignityes now in the world had a Military Rise : an Esquire , an Earl , a Duke , and some Orders of Knight-wood owe their Titles to the Field . Let us then manifest a special Esteem unto the Right Souldiers that this Countrey is favoured withal . But let me bespeak your peculiar Acknowledgements for them who Ieoparded their Lives on the high places of the Field , for us in the late Indian-war . My heart is towards those Souldiers , and , under God those Saviours of this people , who then willingly offered themselves . T is just that those Lovers of their Countrey , should have extraordinary Marks of Respect from all of us for whom they exposed themselves ; their very Countenances methinks carry Loveliness in them , & their wounds are B●…autyes ; If ever any of those dear men should be reduced to Penury , let all , their Neighbours testify more than common Kindness unto such well-deserving persons . I have the delight of seeing some of them in this Assembly ; and tho I must own unto them , as Tertullian did unto the Christian Souldiers of his time , Non tantus sum ut Vos Alloquar , and say , I am too mean a Person to render you the Thanks of your Countrey ; yea tho I must account no Tertullus able to make a due Address unto them ; yet by me let it be said , Seeing that by you , we enjoy great Quietness , and very worthy Deeds have been done for this people by your Fortitude , We accept it allwayes , with all Thankfulness . Blessed be the Lord for you , Ye blessed of the Lord. USE . IV. It is hence the Duty of all men to Acknowledge GOD as the Author of All their Mercies . If it becomes the Souldier to say , Blessed be God for my military Skill or Strength ; Surely it is fitting that every man should say , Blessed be God for every Mercy . It is a Iewish Custom to season all their Solemnities , with a Baruk Adonai , a Blessed be the Lord. An●… it sufficiently unchristian also to be seldom , or scanty in Blessing of a good GOD. The MERCIES of God are on every side , surrounding every one of us : O where are our HALLELUJAHs ? Our Antedatings of Heaven's Work ? Why do not we call upon our own dull Souls , as He in Psal. 103. 2. Bless the Lord , O my soul , and forget not all His Benefits . When Tamerlan the Tartar overcame Bajazet the Turk , He asked his Prisoner , ' Syr , Did you ever give Thanks to God , for making you such a potent Emperor ? The Turk answered , No , in Truth , I never thought of That ! Whereupon reply'd the Tartar , ' Ah , woful wretch , don't wonder then ' that God has made thee a Spectacle of the ' most rueful miseries in the world . Should a like Enquiry be made of us ; Man , hast thou ever from thy Heart , said Blessed be the Lord , who hath given me a Life full of provisions & preservations ? Or , Blessed be the Lord , who hath granted me a large Estate ? Or Blessed be the Lord , for the Friends that love me ? It is to be doubted , many of us must own , No , This hath been quite out of our minds . O shameful Ingratitude ! And Ingratitude , That — Ingratum dixeris , et omnia dixeris : That is too vile a thing for a Dog to be guilty of . Let this matter sink down into your hearts this day . The Lord could tell Elisha all that his man Gehazi had received ( how much above Three hundred & seventy five pound Sterl . ) from the Syrian . Noble-man . Verily , O Soul , this Lord Iehovah keeps an Exact Account of what all thy Receipts from Himself have been . O be not as a silent and a sensless Grave unto the Mercies of a gracious God. Incur not the Doom fore-told by the Apostle when he link'd those two together , unthankful , unholy . Dreadful will be the Danger of such Disingenuity ! This Non-payment of Rent , will procure your Ejectment from all that you take pleasure in . Christians , you should receive every mercy ( they of old would not speak of their very Afflictions without a Deo Gratias ) with a Blessed be God. And should it not be a part of your Task every Evening to reflect and ruminate on the Mercies of the Day foregoing ? Yea , And it were most proper , I am sure it were highly profitable , to draw up in your private Memorials a Bill of the principal Mercies for which you are indebted unto God ; to be subscribed with a , Lord , I Thank thee : Often affect your selves by Looking into ●…se Grateful Records , and leave them as an Inheritance with the Children whom you would bequeath your God and Christ and Religion to . It would moreover be far from Improp●… ●…or Unprofitable for you sometimes to keep whole dayes of secret THANKS GIVING unto your Father who seeth in secret ; Spending the dayes in Contemplating the Glo●…ies of God & Christ , in enumerating and admirin●…●…is merciful Dispensations towards your sel●… , and in contriving , what to render unto the Lord for all His Benefits . One such Day will bring Heaven it Self from on high into you●… souls ; & it will rarely be any other than a Presag●… or a Fore-runner of a more than ordinary Addition to your Mercies . 〈◊〉 short , Be ye THANKFUL . USE . V. Let every Christian acknowledge GOD for his Teacher in the Spiritual Warfare which he is calld unto . Among those Monuments of Antiquity , the Works of those gray-headed and Reverend men whom they use to call the Fathers , we may find this Text glossed with a variety of Allegorical Expositions ; we have it represented as the Speech both of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cursed Tree ▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Powers of Darkness in their o●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of every Christian also en●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 s●…en Battails of the Lord ag●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wickednesses which do annoy●… 〈◊〉 ●…ot meet that a Popular Auditory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…s'd with vain Quotations from the●… 〈◊〉 ●…is i●… as certain as what is mo●… 〈◊〉 every Christian shares with his Le●… 〈◊〉 Lo●…d Jesus Christ , in being ( as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…rases it ) a Praeliator interior , On●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spiritual Warfare to be sollicito●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Souldiers present , have this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the three kinds of Calls to regard the●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Duties . They have had not only , Verba m●… ▪ ta , the military Sights of Ensigns and Weapons display'd before them ; and not only Verba Semivocalia , the military Sounds that have been Knocking and Clashing in their Ears ; but they have also had Verba Vocalia , the Articulate Commands of Man and of God also , to acquitt themselves as good Souldiers ; the Lord open their ears to Disciplin●… ▪ But having done with Them for That , There now remains a very Solemn and Earnest Address to be made unto Them and Every Person in the Congregation , about a Thing of more Concernment farr away . Congregation , hear the Word of the Lord ▪ Well sings the Sententious Poet , Nunquam bella bonis , nunquam certamina desunt , Et cum quo certet , mens pia semper habet , i. e. The Godly man is never free From Warrs with some Soul-Enemie . There is an Holy Warr which indeed every Soul in this House ( or in this World , is call'd unto . There is no professor of Christianity among us all , who is not infinitely concern'd to be in Arms perpetually at Warr with the Enemies of his never-dying foul , his everlasting Weal . And how many millions of Woes will overtake the Soul that becomes not a good Souldier of Iesus Christ , no Tongue can express , or Heart conceive . Let these Admonitions then excite you and direct you to get the Help of GOD in Teaching your Heart to War and your Spirit to Fight against the Invisible Enemies whose Oppressions make you mourn . For your Awakening here . KNOW , First , There are innumerable and very formidabl●… Enemies dayly pursuing the Destruction of your Souls . It was an Out-cry sometimes made for the Rowsing of a sleepy man , in Iudg. 16. 9. The Philistines are upon thee , man. A more startling thing is to be signified unto every one of you , Christian , There are Foes and horrible Fiends all round about besetting of thee . Ever since we were born into the world , we have lived in the Territories of our Enemies ; and we can scarce take a step without Annoyances from the bloudy Murderers of our Souls . It is related concerning the Prophet's Servant , in 2 , King. 6. 17. Elisha prayed , and said , Lord I pray thee open his eyes that he may see 〈◊〉 and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man ▪ and he saw ; and behold , the mountains were full of horses and chariots of Fire . May I now p●… up such a petition unto the GOD of Heaven in the behalfe of them that I am speaking to ; O our God , our God , open our eyes we pray thee , that we may see the unseen Enemies which are dayly and hourly assaulting of us . Might the most High GOD pronounce an Ephatha over our slumbering eyes , we sh●…ld soon perceive the Ground about us cover'd and the 〈◊〉 about us crouded with Armies of Terrible ones whom our Souls are endangered by . There is a Sarco-cosmo-pneumato-machia a Warr with the Flesh , the World and the Devil , which you are all prest unto . The Apostle hath in Eph. 2. 2 , 3. given us the Names and Qualities of three Captains which the infernal Army of our Adversaries is under the Conduct of . It makes an hott Battle indeed when our Enemies fire by Salves , pouring in scalding sulphureous Showres of Lead upon us , by fireing three Ranks together . Behold such is the Fierce Combate which every one of you are put upon . Yea there are no less than Three mighty Armyes fireing upon you all at once . There are Three most potent , most wily , and most malicious Commanders , who with all their Hellish forces are attempting to sieze thy immortal Soul , O man ; Oh how fain would they make a Prize of it , and keep it in their horrid Clutches for evermore ! There is a Black Prince who has an unknown Power of Troops , raging , and ramping and roving , ( like wild Arabians ) within the Atmosphere of our Air , to which the Vengeance of God hath confined them for their Apostasie ▪ This Grand Seignour of Hell is , as Mahom●… is call'd in the Apocalypse , The Grand Abaddon or Appollyon of Souls . This Monarch of the Lapsed Angels cannot have his Envy at man , or his Hatred of God satisfyed without enslaving all the Children of Adam not only under his Condemnation , but under his Iurisdiction also . There are vast , hideous multitudes of desolate Spirits alwayes ready at a minutes Warning to serve him in Spoiling the Happiness of men by keeping a Distance between God and them . He , and all this his forlorn Crue are more unwilling to let any men please God , than Pharaoh was to Dismiss the Israelites from the Brick-kilns of their Bondage . David was not more dogg'd for his Life by Saul than we are by these roaring Dragons of the Wilderness . Besides these , The Subjects , the devoted Vassals which this Fly-God hath already gained unto his party , of the Humane Race , do sett themselves with might and main to promote his Interest every where , being led captive by him at his will ; and all the Pleasures , all the Profits , all the Preferments of Time , do afford Weapons to befriend this execrable Enterprize . But that which compleats our peril is , that we harbour in our own Breasts a treacherous Enemy whic●… sides with all these ; a Cage of unclean Lusts have lodg'd themselves within us , which at th●… first Summons would presently surrender us into the hands of the bitter and hasty Natio●… that are gaping for us . All the Arrows which the spiritual wickednesses in high places do shoot at us , are headed & feather'd from our selvs , fro●… our own Sensuality , or Coveteousness or Ambition , and a certain Old man that sleeps in our own Bosomes . If it were not for this perfideous Inmate , our Enemies would go grudging about the streets for want of Bread. Alas , we have within our own Bowels , a Sheba that riseth up in Rebellion against our Eternal King. This is our amazing case ; and it will be so untill we have fought our way quite through the Field of blood which the Church militant is groaning in . The Omnipotent GOD hath fired a Becon before our eyes , and given us that faithful Warning in 1. Tim. 6. 12. That we must fight a good Fight , or we cannot lay hold on Eternal Life . Such a Voice as that we have from the shrill Trum●…ets of God , in Matt. 11. 12. That we must like Souldiers , exert an Holy Force and Violence or be shutt out from the Kingdom of heaven in howling Anguishes , until the very Heavens be no more . Thus must we work out our own Salvation ; Thus must we strive to enter in at the strait gate . The real Christian is to be pitty'd on the same score that the Bird of prey is hated , namely , quia semper vivit in Armis ; as long as he breathes he never has it said unto him , Lay down your Arms. O the Besotment , the Lethal Stupidity of the Soul who●…●…hese Intimations will not awaken ! REMEMBER Next The Engagements whichly upon you to Encounter these Enemies , are many & very mighty Obligations . There are Obligations hereunto laid upon you by the Vowes of God , which you are under . The military Oath was call●…d a Sacrament of old . Verily you have taken Sacraments upon it , and Oaths of Fidelity unto the Lord Jesus Christ that you will never have any Peace , or so much as any Truce with these Enemies which would not have Him to reign over you . Were you not Baptized into the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ ? Then , in that day were you listed under the ●…er o●… that Poten●…e ; You were bound unto a neve●… ceasing Emnity and Watchfullness against th●… Tempters which would with-draw you from your Allegiance unto Him. But , Ah Lord how rarely are any among us duly mindful of our Baptismal Vow ! Souls , if ever after this you submit to the Wills of those Abominable things which would build a Partition-wall between God and you , You do then prophanely play the Traitor towards the great LORD whose Mark you have received in your Foreheads . Be assured , the Waters of Baptism will one day become like the Waters of Iealousie , or more direful than a River of burning Brimstone unto the Renegadoes that shall thus procure to themselves a Lott among the Fearful & the Unbelievers . Have not many of you also satt down at the Table of the Lord ? Verily , when the Lord so erected a Banner of Love over you in His Banquetting-house , there were fresh Tyes , rendering all Reconciliation or Accommodation between you and these A●…alekites the most Dishonest thing imaginable . The Lord Jesus Christ hath there said in plain Visible Words unto you , — Behold , I was thus murdered by those very enemies that are lying in wait for thy precious Life ; O never do thou admit any Friendship with them . Then with a pretence of as much Affection as the Citizens of Rome discovered when the Shew of stabb'd Caesar's bloody Robes made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…ury to demolish the Houses of the Assassinate●… , you have openly vowed never to have so much as a kind Parly or Treaty with those Destroyers ; you have most vehemently professed against them , with the Indignation which David had against the Injurious man in the parable , As the Lord lives , I 'le do what I can , that they who have done this thing may dy the Death . And can you find in your hearts after this , thus to break your Everlasting Govenant ? After you have ate and drank with Jesus Christ can you sit and side with the Assaylers of His Throne ? Yea , these Vows have you renewed as often as you have made any near Approaches unto God in Jesus Christ ; this hath been the Language of every good deed which you have applyed your selves unto ; I will even Resist unto blood , striving against Sin. Moreover both the Precepts of God have enjoyned this upon you in 2. Cor. 16. 13. Quitt you like men , ( like Souldiers ) and be strong ; and all the Providences of God , whether merciful or afflictive have been so many Spurs quickning of you unto these Warrs of the Lord. O let not all these Bonds of God be upon you , like the green Withes on Sampson easily burst asunder ! But there are still further Obligations here●…nto laid upon you in point of Interest . On the one hand , Be assured , if you do Combate strenuously , you shall Conquer gloriously . You have a General that never yet was overcome ; He is the King of Glory , the Lord mighty in Battail : No enemy can stand before a Look of His. Veni , Vidi , Vici , A Sight of Him , and a Flight by them , is the constant Tenour of His Successes . If you will sincerely but let Him bring you on , He will be sure to bring you off securely . And if you hold on , & hold out , if you continue Faithful unto the death , O the unparallelable Crowns and Kingdomes , and inexhaustible Treasures which you shall become the Possessors of ! Est Deus , est aether , precium certaminis hujus ; Haec faciant pugnam Praemia tanta levem . [ Mantuan . ] The Lord Jesus Christ will publish all your P●…ins in a big Convention of all the World ; in the near Day ; the Last and Great Day , when every Child of man shall stand before the Tribunal of Jesus Christ : He will then proclaim what you have been and done , and requite it with a Well done , good and faithful servant . Then shall He as the Cheif ( the Standard-bearer as in Cant. 5. 10. He is dedenominated ) among many Thousands , mar●… before you up unto the Mountaines of spices , and you shall in his blessed Army of Chosen and Galled and Faithful Ones , with him enter into the coelestial Mansions , where you shall be for ever with the Lord. On the other hand , Be assured you must either Fight or Dye . This Warr is like that of Death , whereof t is said in Eccl. 8. 8. There is no Discharge in that warr . When a person once confessed unto one of the Ancients , Nihil Pugnae sentio in corde meo . I don't feel that my soul is put upon Strugglings with any Enemies ; the good man made this Answer , Alas , then the City gates of thy soul are open , so that thy enemies do what they will without controul . Here indeed the Christian that is no●… a Souldier , is a perfect Slave , and what a deplorable thing is that ! It was the Speech of a famous Commander unto his Army , when they were penn'd up with the Sea on one side of them , and an huge Host of enemies on the other , Fellow Souldiers , you must 〈◊〉 ●…ither drink up this Sea , or eat up these men . Thus , there is no escaping here ; you must either beat the Eemies of your souls , or burn in a 〈◊〉 Ocean of God's Wrath for ever . If t●…e Cut-throats of our souls are not resisted sted fastl●… in the Faith , we shall become the Captives of those mighty ones ; and if they get us they will keep us , if they subdue us they will torment us , world without end : There will be no Remedy but we must welter under the Anguishes , the bitter Dolours of Everlasting fire with the Divel 〈◊〉 his Angels . And which of us all is not now Awakened to ask of God to Teach us to warr and to Fight against those Canaanites which would keep us out of the Land flowing with milk and honey ? But for the Counsilling of you then , RULE . I. Let Unfeigned Repentance put an end unto your Warring and Fighting against the GOD of Heaven . It is very proper to begin with the Caution which Doctor Gamaliel gave to the Iewish Sanbedrim , ( in Act. 5. 39. ) Be not found to fight against God. Until men are brought unto the Experience of a Conversion to and a Covenant with God in Jesus Christ , all the Affayrs of a Christian Warfare will be no less unsuitable than unacceptable to them . All Unregenerate m●…n which live in KNOWN Sins are so farr from warring and fighting against the Arm●… of Hell , that they desperately set themselves in Battle Array against the infinite GOD. The black Description of every Impenitent Transgressor is that in Iob. 15. 25 , 26. He stretcheth out his hand against God , and strenghens himself against the Almighty , He runneth upon Him , even upon his Neck , upon the thick Bosses of his Buckler . O that these foolish & unwise kind of people would now be perswaded to bethink themselves ! What a prodigious Phrensy is this , for them that lately came out of the Creating hands to cast themselves into the Avenging hands of God! The First and the best Direction that can be given to these Children of Folly , is , Oh Lay down your Arms , and make your peace with that terrible God , whom by your sin you have made your provoked Adversary . The secure Sinner perhaps is not aware of his own makeing these daring Adventures . But this must be plainly told unto every man that maintains a Trade of wilful Disobedience unto the Commandments of God : Man , thou art Sounding a Challenge against GOD Himself , thou art every Day Bidding Defiance to the Eternal GOD ; Thou art certain of that which which was only a mistake in Io●… of old : God counteth me for His Enemy . O that such hd●… less men and women would sit down in sobe●… s●…dness to think on the none-such Madness which hath possessed them . Are you not every day ( Conscience , do thine Office ) Are you not daily allowing your selves in those things ▪ for which you are not ignorant that the Wrath of God comes-upon the Children of Disobedience ? If you are not such hold Debauche●…s as to live in Swearing , in Uncleanness , in Drunkenness , in Sabbath-breaking ; and to make nothing of a vile Cheat , or a fl●…tt Lye ; yetdo you not make Light of a Prayer-less Life ? and so , of a Faithless and a Christ-less Life ? Now every such Sin of yours has a Tongue in it , a Blasphemous Tongue , that talks against heaven , and saith , I am for the Waging a Warr & a Fight with God. As they sometimes said in Isa. 5. 19. Let the Lord hasten his work that we may see . Such an insolent Bravado do you affront the most High withall . The faithful and holy God has said Cast away from you all your Idols , or I 'le break you sore in the place of Dragons : I will burn you in the fiery bottom of Hell for those Rebellions . But every unreclamed Sinner now , doth as bad as reply Let God do His worst ; His Darts are but Stubble and the shaking of his spear is but to be Laughed at . Thus the unrepenting and unrelenting Sinner , h●… knowes that he sins , and yet with an high-hand he rushes on , to the doing of those things whereof the Compassionate God saith unto him , O do not those abominable things which my soul hateth . But O venturesome unthinking Sinners , consider the doleful plight which you are in , Consider this ye that forget God , lest He tear you in peices and there be none to deliver you . The blessed God hath positively declared unto you , ( in Psal. 7 ▪ 12 , 13. ) that He has whe●… His sword and bent His Bow , and ordained the Instruments of Death against the Sinners who Turn not from their evil wayes ; He hath declared upon the word of a GOD , ( in Psal. 68. 21. ) that He will wound the Head of these His enemies , and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in His Trespasses . It was the short and smart Return which Iehu made unto Ioram in 2. King. 9. 22. Joram when he saw Jehu said , is it Peace ? and he answered , what Peace , so long as the Whoredomes of thy mother are so many ? Thus , if any unrenewed Sinner ask , Is there not a Peace between God and me ? It must be said unto him , No , such sins as thine are inconsistent with Peace , thy Sins render God thy dreadful enemy . But O now turn from all Sin unto God in Christ , Lest ye perish , Cry for Quartor , yea , cry for Pardon , and Agree quickly with your matchless Adversary . Let that Question be put unto you ( 1. Cor. 10. 22. ) Do you provoke the LORD to Iealousy ? are you stronger than he ? Surely you cannot presume that you shall make your party good against God , who can Thunder the whole world into nothing in a moment ? It is said in Luc. 14. 31. That one going to warr against another , sitteth down first , and consulteth whether h●… be able to meet him that cometh against him . Be you entreated to admit so much Consideration here as Common Prudence will suggest . I have heard of a man in the West-Indies a little while ago who being in a Boat with another when a High Wind made a rough Sea , at his Companion 's Expressing some Concernment about the Issue , which he was disturbed at , The Wretch flew out into this out-rage of Blasphemy , Let God Almighty blow , let Him blow if He list , I fear Him not ; And behold the words were but just out of his mouth , when he was blown over-board and drown'd , while the other gatt safe to shoar . All Deliberate Sinning soameth out such a Contempt of God , and verily the Event is like to be 〈◊〉 better : 〈◊〉 the black dead Sea of God's Wrath will swallow up such Despisers till they perish , it is written concerning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…mb . 32. 31. that when he saw a F●…ming Swo●…d in the hands of an Angel ch●…cking of his motions , it put him to 〈◊〉 ●…and . Oh 〈◊〉 durst you go on in a Course of ●…in , when you ●…erceive t●… great GOD with Flaming Sword●… and ●…ott Thunder-bolts opp●…ng of you ? L●… it not be f●…d that your sturdy Obstinacy in S●… out-goes the stout Stomach of the very Devil●… themselves , who believe and tremble , whi●… you sin and tremble not . It is no less tha●… an Omnipotent Enemy whom by Unforsake●… Sin you 〈◊〉 the just Revenges of ; and wi●… the sorry 〈◊〉 of the Earth make light of His hor●…dous Indignation ? It is the Exclamation of the Psalmist in Psal. ●…6 . 7. W●…●…ay stand in thy sight when once thou art ang●… O Lord ! O No more , No More Harden y●… selves against this GOD ; It is impo●… that you should prosper if you do . You 〈◊〉 ●…he Lord of Hosts against you ; and while y●… have , all the Hosts of the Lord are up in A●… against you too . While you are thus un●…●…he Curse of God , every Creature of Go●… hath been crying unto him against you , a●… 〈◊〉 King ●…to the Prophet about the 〈◊〉 Syrian●… , Shall I smite them , O Lor●… 〈◊〉 I 〈◊〉 them ▪ The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , shall I swallow them up alive ? as I d●… Corah and his Company ? The Se●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord , shall I run over the heads of 'em , as I did to Pharaoh and his Followers ? The Clouds have rumbled , Lord , shall we showre down fierce Lightenings upon them , as we did upon Sodom & Gomorrah ? Thus are even all the Creatures of God only staying for that Word Fall on ; and upon that Signal given , they would all joyn to Plague you , more than the Sun and Moon did Sisera of Old ▪ when by producing the Inundations of Kishon they did in their courses fight against him . But there is that which , is more tremendous yet : You must expect that if Repentance prevent it not , you will at length fall into the Hands of the everliving GOD Himself , whose Hands it is 〈◊〉 fearful thing to fall into . And O how ca●… you bear the Gripes of those Iron Arms , 〈◊〉 ●…e Immedeate stroaks where-with he will one day dispense his fiery Fury in those Ovens of Hell , the Souls of his Enemies ; Can your hands be strong or can your heart endure , in the day that I shall deal with you , saith the Lord ? The Hands of God! Alas those Ir●…ful Hands ●…o splitt the Everlasting Rocks , and make the very Pillars of Heaven Tremble . I Knew 〈◊〉 very stout man , who in the Ang●…ishes of Death thus express'd himself , I have ●…een said he ) among drawn Swords and Armed Souldiers ; I have stood before the mouths of roaring Canons , from whence th●… Bullets have flown about my ears , and yet I never knew what it was to be afraid ; but now I am apprhensive of my being exposed to the everlasting Anger of GOD , my heart shivers & fails-within me , at the though●… of that . Sometimes when my Visits have been call'd for by men on their Death-Beds , perceiving themselves on the Borders of Eternity , I have found them quaking and there very Beds shaking under them , and their first Speech has been to this purpose , O Sir , the Wrath of a dreadful GOD makes me tremble , I tremble , I tremble at it ! How full of Hellish Dimness , and Darkness and Bitterness , will Presumpteous Transgressors then be in the Day of God's Unmixed Wrath , in the Day when He shall fulfil that Threat in Psal. 50. 21. I will reprove thee , and set thy sins in Order ( in Battle-Array ) before thine eyes ? Now let every hitherto-unchanged Sinner count himself concerned to put a penitent Period unto the dangerous deadly Warfare , wherein he is warring and fighting against the Almighty God. In this case the Teaching which you have from God is , Lay down your Arms , O war and fight no more . All the Powers of your souls , all the Members of your Bodies have hitherto bee●… 〈◊〉 t is said in Rom. 6. 13. The Weapons of unr●…ghteousness . O find out now a better , a fitter employment for them ; otherwise your only Wages or Stipend will be ( as the Apostle ●…aith , alluding to the military Stipends of old ) Death , Death , forevermore . Wherefore ●…ere make a Pause . O Commune with your selves about what you have been and done . Now Confess , now Bewail before the Most High all your past miscarriages , entreating that thro' the Prince of Peace they may be all forgiven and the Breach be made up between God and you ; promising there-withal , that for the fu●…ure it shall be your hearty study to have no more to do with Idols . O say , It is enough , Lord , I have done Iniquity , and I will do so no more . But so much may suffice to b●… 〈◊〉 unto them who have not yet known th●… 〈◊〉 of Cana●…n . More Briefly in what remains . RULE . II. Become furnished with that Armour for your Warring and Fighting , which God in His blessed Word hath provided for you . There is a Tower of Solomon , wherein God hath hanged up Thousands of Shields & all the Weapons of strong men . See to thi●… that you do only put on the ARMOUR OF GOD , and that you have all your Armour to be both of God's Institution , and of God's Constitution also . Let GOD be Acknowledged as the Appoint●…r of all your Weapons . The Will-Worship , the fond Amulets , and Penances●… of the Papists , no less than the P●…ylacteries of the Iewes , are to be exploded as most trifling Insignificancies , and the Ridicules of those very Enemies whose Terror they are calculated for . A funeral Elegy for those wretched Warriours we have in Fzek. 32. 27. They go down to Hell with their Weapons of war ▪ they have laid their Swords under their heads , but their Iniquities shall be upon their bones . You have no need to go down to the Forges of the Philistines for the Weapons of you●… Souls . Whatever shall be offer'd as a serviceable Weapon for you , which you have not the Warrant of GOD for the using of , throw it by , as David rejected Sauls cumbersome useless Armour . Let God also be Accknowledged a●… the Bestower of all your Weapons . It is affirmed concerning one eminent peice of your Armour in Eph. 2. 8. It is the gift of GOD. Let that be your Sentiment of every Weapon which you shall have occasion for , It will do me no good unless , God be the Framer and Giver of it . Ever account a Weapon to be of no good Metal , if it come not thro' the hands of that God , without whom you can do nothing at all . Unless we look to this , the great Leviathan of Hell , will esteem our Iron to be but Sraw ; and our Brass but as Rotten Wood. Consult the sixth Chapter to the Ephesians , as a glorious Magazine wherein God hath sett before you all the Accoutrements of a Christian Souldier from Head to Foot. There is a little Cluster of four or five verses in that Chapter , which are fit to be called Enchiridion Mili●…is Christiani . You have no Armor there for the Back , because you must ( as the lame Androclid excused his going unto the Warrs ) expect to Fight and not to Flee . You are first to procure a Belt ; Now for this get your Loins girt with Truth . Let your Minds have a due Knowledge of , and yeild a full ▪ Assent to the Truths of God : Especially let Four Sorts of Truths be unto you as the Girdle of your Loins ; Namely , Fundamental Truths . And Truths immediimmediately refrerring to Iesus Christ , an●… such Truths as enwrap the Covenant , and lastly ▪ the present Labouring Truths of the Times : unto an Acquaintance with these Truths , adding all Sincerity Heart , and Integrity of Life . He will be a loose kind of Souldier for God , who is pore-blind in these Truths ; all his Notions and Actions must hang in much Disorder ; here the obsc●…re Proverb will be too much verify'd , Un-girt , Unblest . You have then a Breast-plate to take care for : Fo●… This , ( in imitation of your General ) put on Righteousnes as a Breastplate . O labour to preserve the Vitals of your Inner-man harmless , by endeavouring not only to render all men their Dues , but to keep a Conscience void of Offence towards GOD as well as towards man. A work of real thorough Sanctification in the soul of a man , will be as Aes . triplex circa Pectus , as Armour of Proof upon the Heart in an evil day . A Sufficient pair of Shoes are next to be procured . It is a rough cragged thorny way that we have to go . Well , Be●…shod with the Preparation of tho Gospel of peace : The Gospel of God , which is a Gospel of Peace ; Bringing the ●…ntelligence and producing the Settlement of a 〈◊〉 b●…twixt God and man ; This exhibi●…●…to u●… those Counsels and those Comfor●… which will be a good Preparative against the Worst that can befal us : O lay up a stor●… of these ; and so say , Tho' Warr should rise ●…gainst me , in th●…se will I be confident , But what shall we do for a Shield ? Especially since the Darts to be shott at us , like those among the Scythians , dipt in the Venempus Gall of Vipers , will horribly inflame and torment the Souls which they are smitten with . Broad Shields of Raw Ne●…s-Leather were wont to be held up against the violence of these . But here now ▪ above all take the Shield of FAITH . Let your Faith convey unto you the Substance of things hoped for ▪ the Evidence of things not seen . Especially let your Faith put you under the Conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ , and call in Him as an able and a ready Saviour , alwayes knowing how to succour the tempted . Here will be a Shield which will stand you in stea●… to keep off more than as many Darts ( two hundred and twenty ) as were stuck in th●… Shield of S●…eva at the Siege of Dyrrachium . Thus the Body is defended : But what shall ●…e done for the Head ? ●…o , an Helm●…t ! Tak●… the 〈◊〉 ●…t of Salvation , That is , as th●… 〈◊〉 postle else where has it , the Hope of Salvat●…●… . Let there be in your Souls , a lively Hope that God is your Friend , that Christ is your 〈◊〉 , that the Promises are your Portion ; and live and dy in such a well-grounded Hope , not only say , Dum spiro - sp●…ro , I will Hope while I Live ; but also Dum expiro sp●…ro ; I will Hope when I Dye . Thus will your He●…ds be guarded against those hard Thoughts of God and Grace , those . Terribilia de Deo , and Hor●…ibilia de Fid●… , which the Tempter would 〈◊〉 you with . All these Weapons are Defensive only : At least we must have One to Offend our Adversary with ; Where is our SWORD ▪ This it is , Take the Sword of the Spirit which is the WORD OF GOD. This , o●… English Iosiah , is reported to have call'd for , under the Term of a Third Sword when two Swords were presented him at his Coronation . You are blessed with the free Use of a Bible , which is a spiritual Sword , Shaped by the Inspiration of the Eternal SPIRIT . This is a Sword of which I may say , as David of Goliah's , There is none like it . Here is a sort of Sword , whereof it may be said unto every man , He that hath not such 〈◊〉 Sword , let him sell his Garment & buy one . The pious Husband-man who in a Scarcity of such now common-sleighted Treasures , gave a Load of Hay for a Leaf of the Bible , for even a few Filings of this Sword , has justified this Advice . Our Lord Jesus Christ hath by his own Example shewed you how to wield this Sword and manage it unto the Vanquishment of all Satanical Invasions : When the principal Tempter tryed His Over-throw by proposeing to him a Three-fold Bait of the same three Allurements which prov'd mortal to the First Adam , He still came of a Victor , by opposeing an , It is WRITTEN , thereunto ; and all the Swords or Words of this kind , used by Him , were fetch●…t out of that one Book of Deuteronomy , from whence we may collect how rich a Supply for our Warr the whole Bible then will afford unto us . Let this be our Method against the joint Fraud and Force of our wily Enemies . Whenever they urge us to any evil thing , still have some pertinent Text of the Bible to reply upon them . All the Commandments , all the Promises , all the Me●…ces in the Bible are like so many Swords all-Edge to be-friend you in this Concern . Thus particularly : Are you tempted unto Uncleaness ? Then reply , It is Written , Th●… God knowes how to reserve the unjust unto th●… Day of Judgement to be punished , but chiefly them that walk after the Flesh in the Lust of Uncleanness . Are you Tempted unto Revengfulness ? Then reply , It is Written , Avenge not your selves , but overcome evil with good . Are you tempted unto Distracting and Corroding Cares about the things of this Life ? Then reply , It is written , Cast all your Care upon God , for He careth for you . Thus may you conquer , as he said , sola unius Syllabae pronunciatione , with a words speaking . Verily these Writtens will be more gastly fearful things unto the Enemies of your Souls , than the Hand-Writing upon the Wall was to the Babylonian Monarch . Here are Swords that will be more Fatal to them , than the Sword of Ehud was to the Moabi●…ish Tyrant . The Captain of your Enemies dare not stand , when These , against which he hath a peculiar Antipathy , are Brandished against him : A little Resistance of this Kind will make the Field too hott for him . As the Poet hath it , Est Leo si fugias ; si stas , quasi musca recedet . Or rather as the Apostle has it more certainly , and more divinely , Resist the Divel , and he will flee from you . Wherefore , Let it be your daily Endeavour , That the Word of Christ may dwell richly in you ; and that you may have the Texts of it as ready as the Names of those that dwell in the same Houses with you ; or , as ready as that honest man , of whom Alsted , I think , somewhere saith , If all the Bible had been lost , it might have been in a good measure recovered by that good man's Readiness therein . Let not a Day ordinarily pass you , wherein you will not Read some portion of it , with a due Meditation and Supplication over it . The Ethiopian Nobleman would not omit this Exercise , even when he was on a Iourney . And he that shall accustom himself while he reads in his Retirements , to fetch at least one Note & one Wish out of every Verse as he goes along , will perhaps take as speedy a course as any man whatever to become a well-armed Christian. He was a Souldier and an Emperour too , that wrote out the New-Testament with his own Hand . And that gracions Man , Mr. Thomas Stoughton , asserts that he knew a young Gentlewoman , who before she was Nine years old , could say it All by heart . It will be our shame , if this ●…o-edged Sword be not often in our Hands and Hearts , and become like our Necessary Food unto us . And that Prince of Transilvania who read ●…ver the Bible Seven & twenty Times , wi●… condemn us if our Eyes are seldom placed o●… this Heavenly Sword. It was a dark time with the Church of God , when One was pronounced most Sufficient , at his Commencing Doctor of Divinity , tho he had never Read the Bible . Sure I am no man can be a Sufficient Souldier in Christianity , unless This be the man of his Counsil . These are now your Weapons ; O put them on , and go before the Lord Armed for the Battel . RULE III. Let the Sufferings of our LORD , ●…each you how to warr and to fight against that Lust which gives the most advantage unto all the Enemies of your Souls Let the Lord here , have the same Signification which in the New-Testament it is won●… to have , even the Lord JESUS CHRIST ; Now let Him be your Teacher in this matter . It hath been said , Crux pendentis est Cathedra Docentis , — thus , while you behol●… Him hanging on the Cross , let Him Teach you how to Warr and to Fight especially a-against the Sin which doth most easily beset you ▪ The Emperour Valentinian when he was dy ing , had his Friends comforting of him with the Remembrance of his past Victories ; he told them that he gloried in one Victory above all the rest , Inimicorum nequissimum vici ( said he ) Carnem meam . I have had a Victory over my , Flesh the enemy in the world . Let this 〈◊〉 our High Attainment . The Enemies of our Souls would , all of them together , be able to do us little harm , if there were not some peculiar Lust , like Trojan Horse , within us , assisting of all their Enterprizes . It was the Priviledge of the Man Christ Jesus alone to say , The Devil finds nothing in me , when the Legions of Hell made an Attacque upon him . The Father of Lies utter'd a real Truth , when from the Throat of a possessed man , he said unto Mr. Balsome , If God would-let me loose upon you I should find enough in the Best of you to make you all mine . And so truly there is in the best of us all , a party of Lusts which would resigne us up unto the power of all our other Enemies if the Grace of God prevent it not . Let These ●…e well kept under and the Day is yours . Among the many Lusts which are of the DeDevil's Faction in us , every man hath , as 〈◊〉 sort of Master-Bee in the Hive , one peculiar Lust , which he may call , as David did in Psal. 18. 23. My own Iniquity . There is in every one of you , a Lust which above other you are most impatient to have Reproved or Restrained . A Lust which above other doth most Disquiet you and Discompose you in the Service of God ; a Lust which gives most frequent Eclipses unto the Light of God's Countenance upon your souls . Of This let me say as he about the King of Israel in 1. Reg. 22. 31. Fight neither with small nor great in comparison of This. The Braining of this Giant is of as much Importance perhaps as any one thing in your Warr-fare , as having an Influence upon the Prosperity of it all . However they that write De re Militari , Lay this down as a Maxime , Quicquid tibi prodest , Adversario nocet ; Whatever is profitable for you is pernicious for your Adversary : That This is both , who can make any Doubt ? Now what shall be done in order hereunto ? This , Follow the Teachings of the Lord. Let the Death of Him that is Generalissimo of all the Celestial Armyes teach you 〈◊〉 to do ; He has Dyed in part for this Reason , that he might ins●… you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 right way of Warring and Fighting against th●… Enemies whom His Death hath also been the Price of your Redemption from . This th●… you have to do . Let your Principal Corruption be put unto such a Death as your Dying Saviour has given a S●…mplar of . It is 〈◊〉 by the Apostle in Rom. 6. 〈◊〉 . That we must be dead to Sin , even as Jesus Christ dyed for sin . This is the sanctified Way of Dealing with that Son of Anack which creates the most Warr and Evil for you ; Handle it with Severities analogous to those which Jesus Christ was Crucifyed withal . O then Receive this Mystery of Warring and Fighting against your own Iniquity . Did not the Iew●… with uninterrupted and unwearied Glamours , urge their Governour , against our Lord Jesus Christ , never ceasing their Out-cries , Let him be crucified ! until they had their Will ▪ Thus do you never leave Seeking and Sighing and Shouting unto God , Lord , this Corruption is worthy to 〈◊〉 ; it is a Traiter to thy Kingdom in me ; O by no meanes let it Reign and Rave in me as 〈◊〉 : Thus beg until God give Order , The Rebe●… shall dye . Furthermore did they draw 〈◊〉 ●…ny 〈◊〉 Indictments against our Lord Christ ▪ as guilty of Treason and Sedition ; and Bl●…phemy and Heresy , and the most villainous Impostures in the World ? Well , so do you lay unto the Charge of your Lust all the Dishonour to GOD , and all the Destruction to you and yours , which it has procured , Say , Thou vile Corruption , Thou art it that has●… made a Partition-Wall between me and my GOD ; Thou art it that hast exposed me unto all the Curses in the Flying Roll , Nothing has done so much wrong to GOD , or to me , or to all Heaven and Earth , a●… Thou . Speak and think the worst of it . Moreover , Did they offer unto our Lord Jesus Christ all the Indignityes that possibly they could devise ; Binding of Him , Spitting on Him , Jeering at Him , preferring a barbarous High-way man before Him , and at last hanging Him up naked ? between the worst of Malefactors . In like manner do you cast heaps of Shame upon your Lust ; Upbraid it as the Quintessence of Madness , as the Exaltation of ●…lly , as a most Loathesome Object , worthy to be Buffetted by all Hands , to be abhorred by God and man for ever ; and a Swine , in no wise sit to lodg'd in the Parlour of you●… Souls . Once more , Did they with-draw all Refreshment from our Lord Jesus Christ in His ruefu●… Agonies , and count a Cup of Gall good enough for Him ? Just so Do you withhold from your Lust that Sustenance which may enable it to hold out in its Insurrections . Be sure to make no provision for this Flesh to feed upon . Starve it out , and so Tame it ; Keep it under , and keep it bare of those things which you see to be the Support or Fuel of it . To say no more , Did they Torture our Lord Jesus Christ , until by the Dolonrs of His Wounds they hunted that Hind of the morning , his precious Soul , out of His Body ? Agreeably to this , Do you make your Lust undergo the Pains of an evil and a bitter thing . Let it Cost you those Prayers and those Tears , and manifold Austerities which may meerly ●…tire it out , and Discourage it from haunting of you . By these means cripple that Delictum dilectum , which is your most Darling Iniquity . And while you are thus in the Field , derive all the Virtue which may be , from abundant Thoughts on the Death of Jesus Christ. DeDevout Nazianzen said , that when his Lusts gave too busie molestations to him , he would by reading the Book of Lamentations quickly quell & curb those troublesome Guests . How much more mortifying a Spectacle would the Man who is God's Fellow , hanging on a Tree , be unto us ! Let your Thoughts often carry you to Mount Calvary , and for your War-fare you will soon be among the Worthyes of David . RULE IV. Cry mightily to GOD in CHRIST , that by Strength from Him you may be made Conquerers and more than Conquerers over the Enemies of your souls . When the Apostle had Arm'd his Christian Souldier from head to foot , he then concluded , Pray alwayes , and watch thereunto ( a military Order , take not a wink of sleep ) with all Perseverance . O cry mightily to God , for the Weapons of your War-fare are mighty thro' God alone . The best posture for you , wherein to War and to Fight against your Soul-Enemies , is ( that wherein a wounded thought-dead Souldier once gave a mortal stab unto a proud Conquerer that was pleasing himself with a View of them whom he had slain ) upon your Knees : In the midst of your Encounters , use to do as the Emperour Theodosius did in the Extremities of a furious dubious Battel ; betake your selves to importunate Prayers for Succour from above ; be praying Iacobs , and you shall be prevailing Israels . If any Temptation be more than or dinarily violent in besieging of you , do like those Warriors in 1. Chron. 5. 20. Cry to God in the Battel ; and therewithall put your trust in Him : do as Paul saith he did in such a case , ( in 2. Cor. 12. 8. ) I besought the Lord thrice ; perhaps he kept three dayes of Prayer . And O let the Spirit of Prayer cause you to fill your lives with frequent and servent Prayers unto God , that He would gird you with Strength unto all your Battels and subdue under you those that rise up against you I would conclude my Sermon as the Mertyr us●…d his Letters , O pray , pray , pray . You cannot contrive a more effectual preservative from the Hurts of Temptation than Prayer ; daily , wrestling , Restless Prayer . The infamous Day of Origen's foul Apostasy , was a day whereon he had been remiss in his morning Prayers . I will not tell you Nazianzen's Story of what a Devil was forc'd to own unto Cyprian , about his inability to work upon a praying Soul , in his dayes : But this I am sure of ; The Trumpets of Gideon did not more fright the Midianites , than the Prayers of the Faithful do all the Devils in the dark Regions . The Devil roars about the Prayers of the Beleever as the Scotch Queen did about Knox's Prayers ; I am more affraid of those Prayers , than of the biggest Armyes . Accustom your selves to Every Sort of Prayer ; and so keep your Hands lifted up , like Moses in the Mount , until the Lord Deliver you from your strong Enemy , and from your Haters which are to strong for you . Often set apart Whole dayes , for your thus rallying your disordered Forces against them ; and every day let your private and Secret Groans be sent up to your Eternal Helper on this Errand ; Yea , let scarce one waking hour in the day pass you without Shooting over the Camp of them that are strictly beleaguring of you , Requests ty'd to the Arrows of ejaculatory Prayer , that God would not be farr from you ; Happy is the man that has his quiver full of these arrowes . O Pray and plead as he in 2. Chron. 20. 12. Lord , I know not what to do , but my eyes are up unto thee . And while you thus pray without ceasing , Exercise a true Faith on the Bloud of Jesus Christ as the , meritorious Cause of all your Successes , which Bloud will more dismay and and confound all the Behemoths of Hell. than the Sight of Bloud could the Elephants in the Macc●…bees of old . And exercise a strong Faith on the Grace of Jesus Christ , as both enableing and enclining of Him to succour them that are Tempted as He once was Himself , which Grace is engaged to be sufficient for you . Thus Pray and Warr and Fight , until you come to shout as dying disconsolate Mr. Welch did , when the Word Victory came from the mouth of the person that pray'd with him , and he catch'd hold on it with over-powering never-ending Joy , Crying Victory , Victory , Victory now forevermore . Yea , leave not off , till you come to say with Paul. I have fought the good Fight , there is now laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness . Amen . And now , — Do thou grant unto us , O Lord our God , That we being delivered out of the hands of our Enemies , might serve thee in Holiness and Righteousness all the dayes of our Lives . Militat omnis homo qui dat sua nomina Christo ; Quique Deo fidit , Militat omnis homo . Books printed for , and sold by Ioseph Brunning at his Shop at the Corner of Prison Lane next the Exchange . A Discourse Concerning Com●…s , wherein the Nature of Blazing Stars is enquired into , by Mr. Increase Mather . — An Essay for the Recording Illustrious Providences — The Mystery of Christ opened & applyed . — The greatest sinners exhorted & encouraged to come to Christ , and that NOW without delaying . Also the exceeding Danger of men's Deferring their Repentance . Together with a Discourse about the Day of Iudgment . And on several other Subjects . — The Doctrine of Divine Providence opened and applied . To which is annexed A Sermon wherein is shewed , That it is the Duty and should be the Care of Believers on Christ to live in the constant Exercise of Grace . by Mr. Nathaneel Mather , Minister of the Gospel at Dublin in Ireland . A Practical Discourse Concerning the choice Benefit of Communion with GOD in His HOUSE , witnessed unto , by the Experience of Saints , as the 〈◊〉 Improvement of Time. By Mr. Ioshua ●…y Minister of the Gospel . Self-Employment in Secret , containing Evidences upon Self-Examination , Thoughts upon Painful Afflictions , Memorials for Practice , by Mr. Iohn Corb●… . An Arrow against Profane and Promiscuou●… D●…ncing . Drawn out of the Q●…iver o●… 〈◊〉 SCRIPTURES . by the Ministers of Boston . ERRATA . PAge 15. line . 2. read , English-man's p. 30. l. 12. r. Knighthood . p. 64. l. 12. r. which are Smitten with them . p. 70. l. 8. r. the worst Enemy . ibid. l. 12. r. a srojan horse . 
A50172	----	The way to prosperity a sermon / preached to the honourable convention of the governour, council, and representatives of the Massachuset-Colony in New-England on May 23, 1690 by Cotton Mather. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1690 Approx. 69 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 26 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50172 Wing M1168 ESTC R28821 10763443 ocm 10763443 45731 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50172) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 45731) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1406:13) The way to prosperity a sermon / preached to the honourable convention of the governour, council, and representatives of the Massachuset-Colony in New-England on May 23, 1690 by Cotton Mather. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [7], 36, 5 p. Printed by Richard Pierce for Benjamin Harris, Boston : 1690. Reproduction of original in the Harvard University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng God -- Omnipresence -- Sermons. Presence of God -- Sermons. Theology, Doctrinal -- Early works to 1800. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-05 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2003-05 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion The Way to Prosperity . A SERMON Preached to the HONOURABLE CONVENTION Of the GOUERNOUR , Council , and Representatives of the Massachuset-Colony in New-England ; on May 23. 1689. By COTTON MATHER . Jer. 23. 28. He that hath My Word , Let him speak speak My Word faithfully . BOSTON . Printed by Richard Pierce . for Benjamin Harris . Anno Domini MDCXC . A Prophesy in the Divine Herbert's Church-Militant . REligion stands on Tip-toe in our Land , Ready to pass to the American Strand . When height of Malice and prodigious Lusts , Impudent Sinning , Witchcrafts and Distrusts , ( The marks of future Bane ) shall fill our cup Unto the Brim , and make our measure up ; — Then shall Religion to America flee ; They have their Times of Gospel , even as we . — Yet as the Church shall thither westward fly , So Sin shall Trace and Dog her instantly . The Preface , THe Occasion which first produced the following Sermon , cannot be expressed in better Terms , than those which were used by the Worthy Gentlemen that were the Conservators of our peace , in their humble Address to Their Majesties , bearing Date , May 20th 1689. Wherein among other things they say , — Your three several Princely Declarations , Encouraging the English Nation , to cast off the Yoke of a Tyrannical and Arbitrary Power , which at that time they were held under , have occurred unto the View and Consideration of the people in this Countrey , being themselves under alike ( if not worse ) evil and unhappy Circumstances with their Brethren in England ; First by being unrighteously deprived of their Charter-Government , & Priviledges , without any Hearing or Tryal , and under utter impossibilities of having Notice of any Writt served upon them ; and then followed with the Exercise of an illegal and Arbitrary power over them , which had almost ruined a late flourishing Countrey , and was become very grievous & intolerable ; besides , the growing miseries , and daily fears of a total Subversion , by enemies at home , and Invasion by forreign force ; the people thereby excited , to imitate so noble and heroic an Exemple , being strongly and unanimously spirited , to intend their own safeguard and Defence , resolved to sieze upon and secure some of the principal persons concerned , and most active in the ill management of the illegal and arbitrary Government , set over them by Commission . Accordingly upon the eighteenth day of April last past , arose as one man , siezed upon Sr. E. Andros the late Governour , and other of the evil instruments , and have secured them for what Justice , Order from your Majesties shall direct . — Thus that Address . Upon the late Revolutions thus described , ensued various debates about the further Steps that were needful to be taken for the service of Their Majesties and this afflicted Countrey ; Which Debates quickly issued in the Return of our Government , into the Hands of our Ancient Magistrates ; who with the Representatives or Deputies of the several Towns in the Colony , made another Address unto Their Majesties , bearing date , Iune 6. 1689. in which Address there were these Words , — Finding an Absolute Necessity of Civil Government , the People generally manifested their Desires and Importunity once and again , That the Governour , Deputy Governour and Assistants , chosen and sworn in May 1686. according to Charter & Court as then formed , would assume the Government ; — — the said Governour , Deputy-Governour , and Assistents , then Resident in the Colony , did Consent to accept the present Care and Government of this people , according to the Rules of the Charter , for the preservation of the Peace and common safety , and the putting forth further Acts of Authority , upon Emergencies : until by Direction from England , there should be an orderly Settlement ; which we hope will Restore us to the full Exercise thereof , as formerly ; notwithstanding we have , for some time , been most unrighteously , and injuriously deprived of it . That Royal Charter being the sole Inducement and Encouragement unto our Fathers and predecessors , to come over into this Wilderness , and to plant the same at their own Cost and Charge . In Answer to this Address , His Majesty in a most gracious Letter , bearing Date the 12th of August 1689. unto the Government here , uses these Expressions , Whereas you give Us to understand , that you have taken upon you the present care of the Government , until you should receive Our Order therein , We do hereby Authorize and Empower you to Continue in Our Name , your Care in the Administration thereof , and Preservation of the Peace , until We shall have taken such Resolutions , and given such Directions for the more orderly Settlement of the said Government , as shall most conduce to Our Service , and the Security and Satisfaction of Our Subjects within that Our Colony . It was in the time of our greatest Heats and Straits , and at a time appointed for a General Assembly of this great Colony , that the ensueing Sermon was expected from me . Through the Grace of God , the Sermon Then was not altogether unacceptable to some who desired the Publication of it . But I gave not my full Consent unto their Desire , until now , they had an Opportunity ( with their Renewed Importunity ) to join it with another Discourse which they have obtained from me ; and tho' the little Differences which were among us , when the Sermon was preached , are now so well Composed , yet I slatter my self with an opinion , that the things here insisted on , will not , should not be judg'd Unseasonable . I confess it is a very Bold thing , for one every way so mean as my self , to Address the whole Countrey in such a manner as here I do ; but , Si crimen erit , crimen Amoris erit ; and if the general Dispositions of the year will not excuse a Breach of Order in me , I have but one thing more to offer by way of Satisfaction for it ▪ There was once a people in the world , with whom it was a Custome , That when men would Conciliate the Favour of the Ruler , they were to present his own Son before him , as a Sight which would speak more than any Advocate . Instead thereof , that I may not want the Favour of my Countrey , how blameable soever they may count my freedome with them , I shall only present them with my own Father ; whose cheerful Encounter with an hazardous Voyage unto a strange Land , and with innumerable Difficulties and Temptations there , for no other Cause , than that he might Speak FOR them , has at least merited a Pardon for Mee , with whom he has for near two years now left both his Church and Family , if I have transgressed by taking a Liberty of Speaking TO them at the same time , the things which may promote our Enjoyment of the Divine Presence with us . Now , may Salvation be nigh unto us , and Glory dwell in our Land ! Cotton Mather . The Way to PROSPERITY It is the Word of the Eternal GOD in II. Chron. XV. 2. Hear ye me , Asa , and all Judah , and Benjamin : the Lord is with you while you are with Him. IT is a Remarkable Occasion which has brought these Words to be the Subject of our present Meditations ; but it was much more a Remarkable Occasion which these Words were first uttered upon . We find them in the Sacred Book of Chronicles , which Chronicles are not the Civil Records , in other parts of the Bible refer'd unto ; but an Inspired History of things that concerned the Line of Christ and the Church of God for five hundred more than Three Thousand years . It seems as an Epitome of the Whole , ( for so t is in Ierom's Language ) to be written as late as the Last of all the Books in the Old Testament ; and the Hebrew Bibles give it a place accordingly . The Greeks choose to entitle it , The Book of things ( else where ) passed by ; because , as Lyra notes , according to the Rule of our Saviour , It gathers Fragments that nothing may be lost ; and if there were nothing else but the Story which affords our Text unto us , to justifie that Appellation , it were enough : 't is a Story passed by in the Book of Kings ; but worthy to be had in everlasting Remembrance . The ready Pen of Ezra ( for him we conjecture to be the Scribe of the Holy Spirit here , notwithstanding those few Clauses which may be judged to be added by another hand after his Decease , I say the Pen of Ezra ) is here informing us , That the people of God had newly been invaded by a vast Army of Cushites ; but we are yet at a loss who these Cushites were ? Far more Scholars in the World , than there were Souldiers in that Army have hitherto been content with our Translation , which renders them Ethiopians here . But that learned French-man Bochart , by whose happy industry , more than any man's , the Treasures in the Bowels of the Scriptures have been delv'd into , has with irrefragable Demonstration prov'd , That not Ethiopians but Arabians are the Cushites mentioned in the Oracles of God. These Arabians , tho they have not been called Saracens ( as has been thought ) from their word Sarak , that signifies , to Steal ; yet for their Furacious Inclinations , they well deserved such an Etymology ; they were a wild sort of men , that liv●…d much upon the Rapin and Ruin of their Neighbours ; and particularly , a Million of them now designed Ierusalem for a prey . The blessed God gave His people a notable victory over these Invaders , and they were now returning from Gerar ( a place between thirty and forty miles off ) unto Ierusalem . The Holy Spirit of God excited and inclined a Prophet whose Name was Azariah , to entertain them with a faithful & solid Sermon hereupon ; and in my Text you have the Sum and Substance of it . We may observe , First , The Praeface of it ; and that is very awful and earnest : Hear ye me Asa , and all Judah , and Benjamin . As he was probably none of the greatest , so t is like he was none of the oldest men ; for it seems by the eighth verse , that his Father was yet alive , & present at this time . Yet being to speak in the Name of the great and eternal God , he expects , he demands the attention of the whole Army to him . Secondly , the Design of it ; and that is , to decclare both the Rise and Use of their late Prosperity . The Lord is with you , while you you are with Him ; or as the Vulgar Latin has it , Inasmuch as you have been with him . What follows , is but an Explication , and Amplification of this . He saw they were taken up with various Businesses and Contrivances ; they had their Enemies under Hatches , and their minds were full of Thoughts and Cares , What to do next ? But he calls them off to acknowledge the Presence of God , as the cause of their coming off so well in their late Action , and above all things to obtain & secure the presence of God , that they might come off as well , in in their future Enterprises . I am therefore to call for your Attention unto this Faithful Saying . DOCT. That The GOD of Heaven will be with a people while they are with Him. 'T is by the ensuing Propositions , that the Explication of this Truth shall be endeavoured . PROPOSITION . I. It is the Interest , and should be the Desire , of Every people to have the God of Heaven With them . But we are to enquire , What is implied in that presence of GOD , which we are to be solicitous about ? For Answer to this ; There is a Threefold Presence of God , mentioned in the Scripture of Truth . First , God is Naturally present with all Creatures . He is an Immense Being , and no Creature can be without him . The Apostle thus argued in the Court at Athens , in Act , 17. 27. God is not far from every one of us . No , He is near us all , He is with us all . And Paul could have had the Gentiles themselves confessing it ; for besides what their Seneca did own , One of their own Poets had said , Iovis omnia plena . It is the Speech of our God , in Ier. 23. 24. Do not I fill Heaven and Earth , saith the Lord ? Yea , That He do's . The Jews call God by the Name of Makom , or of Place , because all things are in Him ; this is His Name in the Book of Esther , if I mistake it not . Whether we may count it proper and physical to speak of an Imaginary , Infinite space , beyond the utmost Selvige of the world , replenished with our God alone ; yet we are sure that the Heaven of Heavens gives no limits unto His Being ; and the Ancients were not mistaken when they said , Deus Ipse Sibi , et Mundus et Locus et Omnia . We cannot so well say , That God is in the World , as we may say , The whole World is in God ; & we may say with the Psalmist , in Psal. 139. ●… . Whither shall I flee from thy presence ? Secondly , God is Gloriously present with the Inhabitants of the Third Heaven . The Heaven of Heavens hath in it most intimate and marvellous manifestations of God. It is the Place , of which we may say , as t is said of that State , in Rev. 21. 23. The glory of God doth lighten it . There the blessed ones have God with them , so that they Alwayes behold His face ; and they are satisfied with His likeness for ever . When we come to Heaven , then as in 1. Thes. 4. 17. We shall ever be with the Lord. So the Lord will be with us for ever . Heaven is the Throne of the Most High ; He is there as a Prince in his Throne ; the Great KING is in a manner very ineffable residing there . To be there , is called in 2. Cor. 5. 4. A being present with the Lord. Hence unto the Heaven , and not unto a Bible , are we directed to make our Corporal Applications in our Prayers , or our Oathes before the Lord. But Thirdly , God is Graciously present with His people , by being Favourable unto them . And this Gracious presence of God is that which a people ought to be concerned for . It lies in The Engagement of Divine Providence for the Welfare of such a people . God is with us when God is for us . To particularize , First , God is with a people by Directing of them . When Israel was to pass thro' the Wilderness , they had that encouragement , in Exod. 22. 15. The presence of God going with them . What was that ? Why , They had a cloudy siery Pillar miraculously Leading of them every step of the way ; There was a wonderful Pillar which was a Cloud by day , and a Fire by night ; the Lower part of which rested on the Tabernacle , while the Upper part was to be seen by the whole Congregation : the Motions of this being managed by the Ministry of Angels , now God was with them , and He led them forth by the right way . A people are often brought into a Wilderness of Difficulties and Emergencies : but if God be with them , He guides them to a good Issue of them all . The Presence of God appears in His Directing and Inclining of a people to such Actions , as may be for His Honour and their Safety , and such Methods , as may extricate them out of all Distresses ! When God is with a people , He shapes their Counsels for them , and he disposes them to the Things that should be done . He supplies them with Apprehensions beyond the Reach and Verge of their own Wisdome , and He layes before them Invitations , and Provocations , which as it were push them into the way wherein they should go . When the Jews were upon a Re-Assumption of the desireable things which the Babylonians had deprived 'em of , they took a Right Way to dissappoint all that were desirous to interrupt them in it . We find in Neh. 4. 13. That while those Exercises continued , they waited in a posture agreeable thereunto ; and when the danger was over , then they returned every one to his work . How came this to pass ? 'T was because GOD was with them . Secondly , God is with a People , by Protecting of them . 'T was the promise of God unto His people , in Isa. 43. 2. When thou passest thro' the Waters , I will be with thee , and thro' the Rivers , they shall not overflow thee . On which Text , blessed Bilney after his Condemnation so sweetly paraphrased , that his Friends caused the whole Sentence to be fairly written on their Tables . A people may be ready to be swallow'd up , by a stormy , gaping Ocean of Troubles , but if God be with them , they shall escape clear of all . The Presence of God is a Defence , a Refuge to the people that are partakers of it . It was said unto David in 2. Sam. 7. 9. I was with thee , and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight . When God is with a people , He distracts and confounds their enemies , and He troubles those who trouble them . A people who have God with them , are too strong for all the Malice and Power of their enemies ; no Adversary , no Desolation , shall make such a people miserable ; they are the Iacob , unto whom in Gen. 28. 15. Behold , I am with thee , and I will keep thee , saith the Lord. Thirdly , God is with a people by His Assisting and Succeeding of them . When Ioshua had a vast Undertaking in hand , it was said unto him in Cap. 1. 9. Be of good Courage , for the Lord thy God is with thee , whither soever thou goest . q. d. God will Assist thee , and succeed thee , in thy undertakings . The Presence of God will carry a people comfortably through all that they take in hand . If they have Canaanites to subdue ; if they have Enjoyments to obtain or preserve , the Presence of God will prosper them in doing all . It was said unto Solomon , in 1. Chron. 22. 11. My son , the Lord be with thee , and prosper thou , and build the house of the Lord thy God. Thus , if the Lord be with a people , they shall prosper in all their Affairs ; in every Expedition , they shall come off with Satisfaction ; and they shall not miscarry in any of their Applications . This is the Presence of the Lord. Proposition . II. The Presence of God with a people in His Outward Providence , has a diverse Foundation and Continuance from His Presence with His People , in the Covenant of Grace . As t is well observed by the great Owen , in a Discourse unto the Parliament , These two are to be carefully distinguished . We must not reflect on the Stability of the New-Covenant , for what Variety and Soveraignty we may see in providential Dispensations , toward this and that people in the world . This matter seems determined by David , in 2. Sam. 23. 5. Tho' my house be not so with God , yet He has made with me an Everlasting Covenant , ordered in all things and sure . David had promises for the prosperity of his House ; He had also the sure mercies of the Covenant made over to him in the promises of God. These promises had now a different Establishment ; The Sure mercies of the Covenant , were unto him more Absolute and Immutable ; but the prosperity of his House , we find under another Law , and subject unto a dreadful Alteration . To bring these things into the case before us . God has in the Covenant of Grace , promised , That He will be with His people . This we read in Heb. 13. 5. He hath said , I will never leave thee nor forsake thee . The Alsufficient God , who is HEE that answers our Necessities , Let them be what they will ; the Unchangeable God , who is HE still , whatever He was to the Saints of old ; this God hath said [ and how much better is this Autos Eireken than the best Ipse dixit in the world ! He hath said it , and this ] with multipli'd Negatives , in the Original , heaped one upon another , I will not , I will not leave thee , I will not , I will not , I will not forsake thee . Well , but God is not with a people in His outward Providence just after the manner therein observed . This Two-fold Presence of God ; First , It has a Diverse Foundation . When we look on the Covenant of Grace , there the Sins of one are expiated by the Sufferings of another ; and so , God comes to be with His people , for whom the Atonement is thus Procured . Thus t is said in 2. Cor. 5. 25. Christ was made sin [ or a Sin-offering ] for us , that we might become the Righteousness of God in Him. Now come to outward Providence , and there you see other measures taken . Here God is with a people , according to those Terms , in Ezek. 18. 20. The Soul that sinneth IT shall dye ; one shall not bear the Iniquity of nother . Again , It hath a Diverse Continuance . When we look on the Covenant of Grace , there God hath bound Himself to be with His people for ever ; yea , to see that they shall therefore for ever be with Him. He there saies as in Jer. 32. 40. I will not turn away from them to do them good , but I will put My fear in their hearts , that they shall not depart from Me. Now come to outward Providence , and there you see t is otherwise . God is with a people for a while ; and upon their misbehaviours and provocations , He changes the Tenour of His Dispensations to them . T is with them , as it was with that family , in 1. Sam. 2. 30. I said indeed , that thy house should walk before me forever ; But now the Lord saies , that be far from me . The sense of these things will prepare your Thoughts for one Conclusion more , which is , Proposition . III. A People must be with God , or God will not be with them . And here also , to prevent Mistakes , Let that one Text be alwaies carried in our Minds ; Neh. 9. 18. Being merciful , thou for sookest them not ; there is Mercy in the Whole of this matter . Let it be noted , That tho' this Condition seems to be imposed upon us ; yet it is Grace , pure Grace , rich Grace that helps us , when we are helped unto the performance of it . When a people have so been with God , as that He has been with them , they are to shout , Grace , Grace ! concerning all . It is also to be noted , that this Benefit dos not depend upon that Condition , as an Effect upon the real and proper Cause of it . When a people has been with God , this does not merit , and so procure that God should be with them ; but that is barely the Antecedent unto which , this is the Conse - Having praemsed this I must now affirm , God is with you , while you are with Him. We need only reflect on the People of Israel , for an Instance of it . That whole History , which almost fills the Bible , proclames nothing more than this ; it loudly declares , That while a people are with God , God will be with them ; but that He will be very Terrible in His providential Dispensations towards such a people as do forsake Him. But , What is it for a people to be With God ? In short , Our being With God , implies the Whole of our Obedience to Him. Our Duty to God must be attended , that we may have the Presence of God. The Whloe of this Duty is comprised in that Expressir●… of our being with the Lord. Particularly the Hebrew Particle [ Gnim ] in our Text , admits of three Significations ; it signifies , With , and For , & Like , [ which last Signific●…tion I make the more free withal , because a little Philology will acquaint us with many Exemples of it : for instance , When David saith in Psal. 120 , 5. I dwell in ( Gnim Hebr. ) the tents of Kedar ; a very great Interpreter translates it so , I dwell As the tents of Kedar . i. e. Like the inhabitants of the Stony Sun-burnt Arabia ; whom indeed I don't Remember David ever was among . ] Accordingly , a people have Three Things incumbent on them , if they would enjoy the Presence of God. First , A People should be with God , by Communion [ With ] Him. This t is to be With Him ; There are Certain meanes of Communion between God and us ; and these we must be continually approaching to Him in . We are With God , while we are at Prayer before Him ; hence in our Context here , it immediately follows , If you seek the Lord , He will be found of you . While we do seek Him , we are with Him. The Psalmist was a man much in prayer , and therefore he could say as in Psal. 73. 23. I am continually with thee . A people much in Prayer may say the same , We are continually with the Lord. A people that will pray upon all occasions , a people that will pray over all Businesses , a peothat will retire into the Mount for Prayer ( and Fasting too ) at every turn ; that people is with the Lord. And the whole Worship of God must be , diligently , graciously , faithfully frequented by a people that would be with Him. We are with God , when we are at His House . A people should support & esteem , and use all the Ordinances of God among them . The Church of God hath His very special Preseuce in it ; the Name of the Church is that in Ezek. 48. 35. Iehovah Shamm●…h , the Lord is there . We should all be there too , and there give those Encouragements which are due to the Institutions of God ; So shall we be with the Lord. Secondly , A people should be with God by Activity [ For ] Him. To be For God is to be with God. It was once the Summons given in Exod. 32. 26. Who is on the Lords lide ? And all the Sons of Levi gathered themselves ; they were with God in doing so . T is a Summons given to the world in every Generation , Who is on the Lords side ? They that obey the Summons are with the Lord. A people full of Contrivances for the Interest of God , are with Him. A people should set themselves to advance the Glory of God ; they should own His Truths , and His Wayes ; and endeavour to draw all about them into the Acknowledgement of the same . A people should propound the Glory of God as their cheef End and the main Scope of all that they do ; and they should think much of no Cost , no Pains , nor ( tho , as a Martyr once expressed himself , tho' every hair on their heads were a life ) should a Thousand Lives be dear unto them , in the promoting of it . Then are they with the Lord ; they are so , when God can say of them , as in Isa. 43. 10. Ye are my Witnesses , saith the Lord , and my servant . Thirdly ; A people should be With God , by Behaviour [ Like ] Him. To be Like God is to be with God. They that are with Him , do not walk contrary to Him. God and we should be One. A people should have the same Designs , the same Desires , which the Written Edicts of Heaven declare to be in the blessed God ; and not only so , but the same Vertues too . Is God Holy ? Thus a people should not bear with them that are evil . Is God Righteous ? Thus a people should abhor all Injustice and Oppression . Is God Merciful ? Thus a people should be disposed unto all fair acts of Pitty and Kindness . Then they will be with the Lord ; and , O that this people were so with Him ! This is the USE to be now made of what has been delivered . Let us all now , Be with God , that God may Be with us . I suppose , whatever else we differ in , we generally concur in that wish , 1. King. 8. 27. The Lord our God be with us , as He was with our Fathers , let Him not leave us nor forsake us . O that we might all as much concur in an endeavourous Resolution , to be with God , as our Fathers were with Him ; not to leave Him , nor forsake him . There is as much of New-England in this great Congregation as can well be reach'd by the voice of one Address ; t is indeed , the best part of New-England , that is , at least Represented in this Assembly . As the great Council at Ierusalem satt near the Temple , thus the whole Convention of the Massachusets , is here come into the House of God this day : Wherefore I take the boldness to say , Hear ye me Asa , and all Judah , and Benjamin . The Cheef Sinner and least Preacher among all your Sons , now takes a Liberty to mind you , That God will be with you while you are with Him. Now that we may be all of us inspired with a Zeal for this great thing this Day , Let us Consider , First , How Desirable , How Necessary a Thing it is , that we should have God with us . Truly , This is the Unum Necessarium of New-England ! Nothing is more Desireable , for us , than the Presence of our God. The Jews have a Fable of their Manna , That whatever any man had a mind to tast , he presently found in the Manna a Savour & a Relish of it . It is very true of this Blessed Presence ; all manner of Blessings are enwrapped in it . There is a multitude of Blessings which we are desireous of ; but they are all contained in this comprehensive thing : It will give every honest man , all that he wants . This will extricate us out of all our Labyrinths ; This will set all things to rights among us ; This will wonderfully carry on all the Salvations which have been begun for us , by the God of our Salvations . If Christ , if God be aboard , our little Vessel will not sink in the gaping , roaring , formidable Waves now tossing of it . Well did the Apostle say , in Rom. 8. 31. If God be for us , who can be against us ? Thus , If God be with us , we have All for us . One GOD will weigh down more than ten Worlds . If we have the Presence of that God , Who made and moves the Universe by a Word ; if we have the Presence of that God , Who can Command and Create our Deliverances , O most Happy We ! We may then join in such Triumphant Acclamations as that in Psal. 118. 6. The Lord is on my side , I will not fear ; what can man do unto me ? We may then defie , even the Gates of Hell it self , for , Cur metuat hominem homo in sinu Dei positus ? and tho' abroad at this day , The earth is removing , and the Waters roar , and are troubled , and the mountains are shaking , splitting , tumbling , with the swelling thereof ; Tho' the great and the terrible God be at this Day , coming out of His place , to make all Europe a stage of blood and fire , and make the Nations everywhere drink deep of the Cup that shall make them giddy with all manner of Confusion & Astonishment ; Yet WE shall be helped right early , for God is in the midst of us . Add to this ; Nothing is more Necessary for us , than the Presence of God. We are undone , thrice , and four times Undone , if we have it not . Methinks I hear the Almighty GOD with a voice more awful than that of the loudest Thunder , saying over us , as in Hos. 9. 12. Wo to them when I depart from them . And Wo to us indeed ; we are in a most woful estate , if it come to that ! How can we endure the mention of it , without our most importunate Deprecations , O our God , leave us not ! We can have a prospect of nothing but horrible Disorders , Agonies and Vexations , if we lose the Presence of our Lord : We ly open to no less than a fearful Dissipation , and more than all our late Oppressors would rejoice to see brought upon us . We have lately been complaining of Burdens , that were grievous to us ; but I may warn you of our danger to feel one Burden more , which will infinitely exceed them all ; t is that in Jer. 23. 33. What Burden ? I will even forsake you , saith the Lord. Behold a Burden that will sink us into a bottomless Abiss of Calamities ! The Presence of GOD , This is no less than the very Soul of New-England ; We are dead and gone , if that withdraw . When Israel was nimbly enough possessing themselves of the promised Land , which God had given them such a CHARTER for , they perished in the Attempt ; for in Deut , 1. 42. The Lord said , go not up , for I am not among you . Alas , if we don 't in the first place look to this , That God be among us , we cannot avoid all manner of Dissappointments , Desolations . Let us Consider , Secondly : What uncomfortable Symptomes we have had of God's not being with us . It seems as if God had fulfilled that sad Word on this poor Land , in Deut. 31. 17. I will forsake them , and many evils shall befal them , so that they will say in that day , Are not these evils come upon us , because God is not among us ? There is a vast number of Calamities , which have given us lamentable cause to fear , That God has forsaken us . Why have we suffered such a Blast , both on our Trade , and on our Corn , that the Husband-man complaines , I Iooked for much , and lo , it came to little ! and the Mariner complains , I went out full , & came home empty ! T is Because our God is not among us . Why have we had Fire after Fire , laying our Treasures in Ashes ? What means the heat of this Anger , that Boston , the most noble , and vital Bowel of the Territory , hath with a twice repeted Conflagration suffered such a Loss of that which in the Body politic answers to Blood in the Body natural ? T is Because our God is not among us . Why have we had War after War , made upon us by a Foolish Nation ? Why have the worst of the Heathen had renewed advantages to disturb our Peace ? And why have so many of our Brethren and Neighbours been made a prey to the most Savage Murderers in the world ? It is Because our God is not among us . Give me leave to say , as in Judg. 6. 12. If the Lord be with us , why then is all this befallen us ? But we may find Humiliation enough to convince us of this deplorable thing , from what we have endured upon the Loss of our Government . She of old said unto our Lord Jesus , in I-h. 11. 21. Lord , if thou hadst been here , my brother had not dyed . So , If the Lord had been here , t is possible we had not Died. If the Lord had been with us , would he have made our Wall so feeble , that ( as they said of Ierusalem ) the going up of a poor Fox upon it , should break it down ? If the Lord had been with us , had all the wild Creatures that passed by this Vineyard , found such Opportunities to be plucking at it ? No , Our God would have kept us , as A vineyard of red Wine ; and lest any should have hurt us , He , ( the Lord ) would have kept it , night and day . If the Lord had been with us , had you ever thought you had seen cause to Declare , as you have lately & justly done , That a Company of abject strangers had made a meer Booty of us ? Had we ever felt the sore grievances of an illegal & arbitrary Government ? No ; The God of Heaven was not with that oppress'd people , to whom He said in Isa. 1. 7. Your Countrey is desolate ; your land , Strangers devour it . What shall I say ? It was an Appeal made in Ioel , 1. 2. Hear this , ye old men , ; hath this been in your dayes ? Even so , I may say to the old men within the hearing of it ; My Fathers , You Remember how we were , when God was with us ; pray , was it so in your dayes , as it has been in ours ? Were you visited with Plague after Plague , in a long Series of heavy Judgements , as We your poor Children are ? Surely , They will tell us ; God is not with us , as He was with them . In all these matters , our Case may at least have some Correspondence with that in Luc. 23. 28. He made as though He would havegone ; but they constrained Him , saying , Abide with us ! Let us Consider Thirdly ; If we are not With God , we shall be guilty of an Apostasie , and that under very shameful , very direful Aggravations too . We shall be Apostates , and O let us not be so , lest our God say , My soul can have no pleasure in them . But if we are so , we shall be of all Apostates the most inexcusable Let us Consider , what Fathers we have had ; they were with God. I may say of 'em as in hos . 9. 8. They were with my God : & they are gone to be so forever . What an unaccountable thing will it be for us , to have that Character , which we have been so much cautioned against , There arose another generation which knew not the Lord ? What ? Shall the Grandchildren of Moses turn Idolaters ? and shall the Children of Samuel become the Children of Belial ? Shall we forget the Hope of our Fathers , or forsake our Fathers Friend ? The very Graves of those blessed men , every Post , every Stone upon their Graves , is a Witness against us , if we do . With dismal Accents , Methinks , their very Ghosts , will groan unto us , Alas , Is our posterity come to this ! Nay , Abraham would be Ignorant of us , and Israel would not acknowledge us , if we should be so degenerate as to lose the Presence of the Lord. Let us also consider , what Warnings we have had . It may be said unto us , as in Jer. 25. 4. The Lord hath sent unto you all His Servants the prophets . This Countrey has been blessed with a most faithful Ministry , by which , I suppose , every Assembly in this Territory , has been called upon , to Be with God , and to keep with Him. Especially the Sermons which our ELECTIONS have put the Embassadours of God upon Preaching and Printing of ; these have been so many loud Warnings unto us , That we leave Him not . In them we have been faithfully warned , That our true Interest is Not to Lye unto God. We have been Warned , That the latter end of our Misbehaviours will be Destruction from the Lord. We have been Warned , That We must Repent and do our first Works , or have the Candlestick of the Lord Iesus removed from us . In a word , We have been warned from Heaven , That If we forsake our God , He will cast us off for ever . O miserable We , if we do it after all . These Considerations , will not have their due Force , unless they expire in a Threefold Request , which I must now lay before you ; and I may justly assert concerning the Things contained therein , They are not Vain Things , they are Our Life . Wherefore , Hear ye me , Asa , and all Judah , & Benjamin ; Hear ye these things , all ye people of the Massachusetts ! First , Let us Return to the Lord. We must Come to Him , if we would Be with Him. We have marvellously backsliden from our God , but He calls after us , Return ye backsliding Children , and I will heal your Backslidings . O that we may all as one man Reply what is in Jer. 3. 22. Behold , we come unto thee , for thou art the Lord our God! If we ask that Question , in Mal. 2. 7. Wherein shall we return ? Methinks , t' were an harder Quaestion , Wherin should we not ? But , Behold , We have had a great voice out of the Temple in answer thereunto . We have had the Elders and Messengers of our Churches , conven d in a SYNOD , solemnly informing of us , Wherein we shall Return . God forbid the Advice of that Synod , should only serve to Convict us and Condemn us , in the Day when He shall take vengeance on us for our Contemning of it . That were dreadful indeed ! But in Compliance with it , Let every man seriously now enquire of himself , What have I done ? Mark what I say , That man who does not suspect himself , of having a share in the Sins which have driven away from us the Presence of our God ; That man , I may safely affirm it , is one of the principal Troublers of this Israel ; I do without any Scruple say it , Thou art the man. Let us all then Examine our selves , and set upon the Reforming of our own Hearts and Lives , and the Renewing of our Covenants with the Lord. Indeed , both the Objects in which , and the Authors from whom we have endured our Calamities , those are enough to indigitate what Sins they are that have exposed us thereunto . Let me in two or three instances use a plain dealing with you , agreeable to my station here this day . What have been the Objects in which we have been afflicted ? Our Fruits have been blasted ; & were they not abused in the excesses of Sensuality ? Our Lands have been threat'ned ; and were not They the Idols , for the sake of which we have offended GOD , and almost Renounced all that was Holy , and Iust and Good ? The most happy and easy Government in the world , was changed with us , into what has by the most impartial men been confessed to have become Intolerable ; Why , Did not men despise the Best of Governments , and procure other things to be set over them , because they endeavoured to make Loggs of what they before enjoyed ? To pass on , Were we not in the late unreasonable Extortions of the Law , invited to consider , Whether our needless Multiplications of Litigious Contentious Law-Suits , formerly amongst us , were not a Scandal thus chastised ? Were we not in the late unsufferable Injuries , Abuses , and Exactions of them , that under the pretence of the Excise carried on very outragious Villanies , put upon Considering , Whether the Multitude or Quality of Drinking-Houses , in the midst of us , had not once been a Stumbling-block of our Iniquity ! Again , What have been the Authors from whom we have been afflicted ? Our Molestations have risen very much from Indian Hands . And Alas , have we not very much Injured the Indians ? I do not mean , by taking from them Their Land ; For it was Hardly possible they should be more fairly dealt withal than they have been in that particular ; but by Teaching of them , Our Vice. We that should have learn'd them to Pray , have learn'd them to Sin. Endeavors for their Conversion have by many people been blown upon ; but there have been wicked English , who have taught them to drink , yea , and to curse , and swear ; things which they knew not the meaning of , till they came to School unto such White Pagans as some that wear the Christian - Livery among our selves . And have not we also Followed the Indians ? The Indians are Infamous , especially for Three Scandalous Qualities : They are Lazy Drones , and love Idleness Exceedingly ! They are also most impudent Lyars , and will invent Reports and Stories at a strange and monstrous rate ; and they are out of measure Indulgent unto their Children , there is no Family-Government among them . But , O how much do our people Indianize in every one of those Abominable things ! We must repent of these our miscarriages , or else our God will take up that Resolution concerning us , I will even for sake them , saith the Lord. Secondly , Let not Sin be With us , and God will be so . T is the purpose of our God , in Josh. 7. 12. I will not be with you except ye destroy the Accursed Thing , from among you , Let us then Destroy that Accursed thing . Especially , Let us take heed of the Sins , which at this Time , we have a peculiar Disposition to . It was complain'd in Hos. 7. 1. When I would have healed Israel , the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered . It has bin thus , but God will not be With us , if it still be thus among our selves . Our good God , the Lord our Healer , is now Healing of us : O let us not now be impatient patients , lest that our blessed Physitian deal hardly and roughly with us . Impatiens aegrotus crudelem facit Medicum . Let us now no more discover Revengefulness against them that have deserved Ill of us . Let the Law , and not the Sword measure out their due unto them . No more discover an Unthankfulness unto them that have deserved Well of us . Requite them not with Censure and Hatred for their unwearied pains to preserve our Peace . No more discover a Contempt of the Ministers , who set themselves faithfully to Declare the Whole Counsil of God , and to Lift up their voice like a Trumpet in shewing us our sins . They are all agreed ( I hope ) as one man to live and dye studying of your Well-fare ; but if they are unjustly ill-treated with you , the great God , whose Messengers they are , will take notice of it , and say , Ye have despised Me ! And O let us no more Discover such a Spirit of Lying as we have made our selves worthy to be reproved for . We find mention of an Evil Spirit , that said in 1. King. 22. 22. I will go forth , and I will be a lying spririt in the mo●…th of all the prophets . Doubtthe same Devil has been saing for a License to go forth and be a Lying Spirit in the month of near all the people here : I would to God , this Devil were in a Shorter Chain ! I beseech you Let not this Land have that Character , A Countrey full of Lies . But of all our Errors , There is none of such dangerous and threatning Consequence as the 〈◊〉 which we are too prone to break forth into . We are too much a Con●…entio●…s , and that will soon render us a Wretched and a Ruin'd people . A Divided and Quarrelsome People , do even say to the Almighty , Depart from us ; for He is the God of Peace . But O , What is our meaning then , to make a fall submission & entire resignnation of our sel●…es to the Tyranny of our own Passions , as we have too much done , wh●…le we have been debating about the Measures of another Submission and Resignation in our various Revolutions ! I have read of a people with whom it was a Law , That in a Fray , where Swords were drawn , If a Child did but cry PEACE , they must End the Quarrel , or else he dyed that strook the first blow after PEACE was named . He that Considers the Feavourish Paroxysms which this Land is now raging in , through meer Misunderstandings about the Means leading to the End wherein we are generally agreed , and how ready we are to treat one another with siery Animosities , had need cry , Peace , Peace ! with a very speedy importunity . For my own part , I confess my self but a Child , and among the meanest , the smallest of your Children too ; but yet I am old enough to cry Peace ! and in the Name of God I do it . Peace ! my dear Countrey-men ; Let there be Peace in all our Studies , Peace in all our Actions , and Peace notwithstanding all our Differences . We cannot avoid having our Different Sentiments ; but Peace ! I say ; O let not our Dissents put us upon Hatred and Outrage , and every evil work . It has not a little surprised mee to read in a Greek Author , who wrote Fifteen hundred years ago ; that in the times long praeceding his , there was a Tradition among them , that Europe , and Asia , and Africa , were Islands , encompassed by the Ocean , without and beyond which was another as big as They : in which other World , were mighty and long-liv'd people , inhabiting of great Cities ; the two greatest whereof were called , one of them , The Fighting City ; the other of them , The Godly City . Behold very Ancient Footsteps of the knowledge which the old World had of our America , some Thousands of years ago . But I pray , which of them American Cities , must New-England become Incorporate into ? Truly , If we are a Fighting , or a Disagreeing People , we shall not be a Pious one . We have hitherto , professed our selves , A Countrey of Puritans ; I beseech you then let us have the wisdom to be first pure , then peaceable . Every man should count himselfe liable to follies , & mistakes , & Misprisions not a few . Are you so , or are you not ? If you are not , what do you here in this Lower World , where you can find no more of your own Attainments ? If you are so , then be patient and peaceable towards those who see not with your eyes ! Let us all condescend one unto another ; and let no man be in a foaming Rage , if every Sheaf do not bow to hi●… . There is one ingenious way to unite this people , if it were so heeded as it ought to be . I remember , an inquisitive person of old , that he might know which was the Best Sect among all the Philosophers , he asked one and another , and every one still preferr'd the Sect which he was of himself : But he then asked them , successively , Which do you reckon the next best ? and they all agreed , that next to their own , Plato's was the Best : upon which , he chose That , as indeed the Best of all . Thus , We all have our several Schemes of things , and every man counts his own to be the Best ; but I would say to every man , Suppose your Scheme laid aside , What would you count the Next Best ? Doubtless we should be of One mind as to That : And if we could act by the common measures of Christianity , we should foon be united in it . O that we could receive the Word of the Lord Jesus , in 2. Cor. 13. 11. Brethren , live in peace , and the the God of Love and Peace shall be with you . Thirdly . Let every man do his Part , and his Best in this Matter , That God may be with us . Behold , a work provided for all sorts of men . Pardon me , that I first offer it unto You , that are or may be our Superiours . It was said in Hos. 11. 12. Iudah ruleth with God. When Rulers are with God , O happy Government ! Unto YOU , much Honoured , I would humbly address this Petition , That Your first work may be to think on some considerable Expedient , by which the Presence of God may be secured unto us . A little Consultation may soon produce , what all New-England may bless you for . Yea , t is very much in your Power to do what may have a Tendency to perpetuate the Presence of God unto the succeeding Generations . I cannot for bear uttering the Wish of the great Chytr●…us in this Honourable Audience , Urinam potentes rerum Domini majorem Ecclesiae et Scholarum curam susciperent ! May a godly and a learned Ministry be every where encouraged : and no Plantations allowed to live without a good Minister in them . May the Colledge be maintained , and that River the wholsome streams whereof have made glad the City of God , and blest us with a priviledge above the other Out-goings of our Nation , be kept Running , with Issues beyond those from the Seminaries of Canada or Mexico ; may Schools be countenanced , and all good wayes to nourish them and support them in every Town , be put in Execution ; you shall then probably leave the Presence of God , as a blessed Legacy with such as may come after you . I know not whether we do , or can at this Day , labour under an iller Symtom , than the too general Want of Education in the Rising Generation ; which , if not prevented , will gradually , but speedily , dispose us , to that sort of Criolian Degeneracy , observed to deprave the Children of the most noble and worthy Europaeans , when transplanted into America . The Youth of this Countrey , are very sharp , and early ripe in their Capacities , above most in the world ; and were the Benefits of a Religious and Ingenuous Education bestowed upon them , they would soon prove an Admirable People ; and as we know that England afforded the first Discoverers of America in these latter Ages , whatever the Spaniards may pretend unto the Contrary ; for it may be proved that both Britains and Saxons , did inhabit here , at least Three or Four hundred years before Columbus was born into the world , which the Annals themselves of those times do plainly enough Declare ; So our little New-England may soon produce them that shall be Commanders of the greatest Glories that America can pretend unto . But if our Youth be permitted to run wild in our Woods , we shall soon be Forsaken by that God , Whom our Fathers followed hither , when it was a land not sown ; and Christianity , which like the Sun , hath moved still Westward , unto these Goings down of the Sun , will Return to the old World again , leaving here , not a New-Ierusalem , as Doctor ●…wiss hoped , but a Gog and Magog , as Master Mede feared ; for the last of the Latter dayes . Now may the God of Heaven , bless the Wisdome and Goodness of Your Endeavours , for the continuance of His Presence , with those that may rise up in your stead , when you shall be gone to be forever with the Lord. Allow me to say , unto the Fathers of this Countrey , what was said unto the Iudges of old , Deal courageously , and the Lord shall be with the good . And as for Us , that are and shall be Inferiors , Let us also do what we can , That our God may be still among us . We ought all of us humbly to lay before our worthy Rulers that Encouragement in Ezr. 10 4. Arise , for this matter belongs to thee , we also will be with thee , be of good courage & do it . Let there be a publick Spirit in us all , for the good of the whole ; the Rarity & Mortality whereof among us , New-England bewails among the greatest of its Calamities . Especially , Let us Pray hard , That God would not leave the Land. It was a Publique Spirit which was in that Famous Prince of Orange , who was the first Captain General of the United Provinces an hundred years ago ; and the Ancestor of that Illustrious Person , whose glorious Design and Service , we have lately with so much Unanimity Declared for ; that when he was basely murthered by the Pistol of a papist , His dying and only words were , O my God , take pitty of my soul , and of this poor people . When he had but one breath to draw in the world His poor people had half of it ! O Let this poor People have no less than Half our Cares , half our Prayers . Let no man say , I am a sorry Creature , of what account can my prayers be ? For You that can do little else but pray , can yet be the instruments of saving this poor people , by the Presence of the Lord. We find in Amos. 7. 2. That a poor Herdsman and Huckster , kept the great God from Leaving of the Land. A poor Husbandman , yea a poor Woman , by lively prayers , may do incredibly much towards the Keeping of our God yet among us . And if God be With us , then His Rod , and Staffe , His mighty Crook , which horribly breaks the bones of all that it falls upon , will crush and wound all that shall go to make this Wilderness , A valley of the shadow of Death unto us ; and beat away all that may essay to do us any Harm . So shall we be Led and Fed among the Sheep of our GOD ; He will Restore us , and His Goodness and Mercy shall follow us all our Dayes . MANTISSA . THus have the Words of God been Calling upon us , to beware of Loosing His gracious Presence . Now the Presence of God , will either go or stay with His Gospel ; and the Principal Danger of New-England lies in its giving an ill Entertainment unto that glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus . Let us then see wether the Works of God , have not also been calling upon us to take heed of that Epidemical Evil ; and let what has befallen some of our Neighbours , in our dayes be produced as a Warning unto us to avoid any Contempt of that Gospel , which others have smarted for the Slighting of . I would fill the Remaining pages of this sheet with a Discourse fetch 't from a Reserved Collection of MEMORABLE PROVIDENCES , not improper to be produced on this Occasion . MATTH . X. 14. 15. Whosoever shall not receive you , nor hear your Words , It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Iudgement , than for that City . To Despise and Reject the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ , is an Evil , than which none is more evil ; and yet nothing is more ordinary than this extraordinarily sinful Sin ; which Unbeleef may be accounted , as Tertullian of old esteem'd Idolatry , the Praecipuum ●…rimen Humani generis , the grand Crime of Mankind . Low thoughts about the Person , and the Office , and the Beauty of the Lord Jesus ; contemt●…uous Apprehensions of His Truths and His wayes , and His Ordinances ; these are the Things which bring the most Signal slery Wrath of God upon the Children of unperswadeableness . The peculiar Controversy of God with man , in the managing of which the most High God inflicts upon particular persons , at once a Blasting on their Estates , and a Blindness on their Spirits here , as the Prologue to the Hottest Vengeance of Eternal sire in the dismal vaults of Hell below , is not so much on the score of all their other Profanity & Iniquity , as this one thing , They sleight the Redeemer of their souls . And this is that thing , by which whole Nations & Peoples bring swift Destruction upon themselves ; that thing for which all the Seals , all the Trumpets , all the Vials in the Apocalypse , have brought in the direful plagues of the Almighty upon the Pagan and the Papal , after the Ruine of the Iewish World. They have maintained a vile Praejudice against the Saving and the Ruling Hands of a Gracious Mediator . O that , besides the other innumerable Rebukes of Heaven upon mankind for this Madness in their hearts , the following Instances of Divine Displeasure may awaken us to Take heed of an evil heart of Unbelief . Exemple I. ¶ AMong all the Nations of wild Salvages by which the vast Territory of New-England was inhabited , scarce any was more potent or populous than that of the Narragansetts . Unto those miserable Heathen was the Gospel , and a Gospel without charges too , offered by some English preachers of it , but they peremptorily with much affront & contempt refused the Glad tidings of Salvation by Iesus Christ , praeferring their own devillish Rites & gods before the New Thing tendered unto them . An holy man , then famous throughout our Churches , hereupon let sall a speech to this purpose , I speak altogether without the Spirit of God , if this nation be not speedily & remarkably destroyed . And so it happened . This Nation , much against the advice of the more aged men among them , engaged in the late bloody armed Conspiracy with the other Indians in the Countrey to cut off the English : in prosecution of which , after they had done many Acts of Hostility , the English Army took the just provocation in the depth of Winter to assault the strong Fort & Swamp in which was their General Rendezvouz . The Number of our Forces was much inferiour unto theirs , but with a wonderful Valour , & memorable Success , on our part , the Day was carried against the tawny Infidels . Their City was laid in Ashes , two and twenty of their Cheef Captains were kill'd , with we know not how many Hundreds or Thousands of the common Indians ; after which , mortal Sickness & horrid Famin pursued the Remainders of them ; so that there are scarce any of them that we know of , to be now seen upon the face of the Earth . Exemple . II. ¶ The Ringleader of the last Warr which the Indians asslicted the English in this Land withal , was Philip the Prince of the Wompanoags . That gracious and laborious Apostle of the Indians , the Reverend Iohn Eliot , made a Tender of the Gospel to this Monster , who after the Indian mode of joining signs with words , pulling off a Button on the good man's Coat , told him , He did not value what he said so much as that : and he moreover hindred his subjects from embracing the Christian Religion through a fear which he expressed , That it might obstruct something of their Civil absolute unlimited Obedience to him . After his Invasion of the English with some unhappy Success , the Hand of God so fell upon him , as that after many Calamities , one of his own Vassals upon a disgust at him , for killing an Indian who had propounded an Expedient of Peace with the English , ran away from him , informing our Forces where he was ; and they came upon him in the Thicket , just as he was telling his Counsellours of his Dream the night before , that the English had taken him , and while he endeavoured an Escape an Indian shott him thro' the heart , whereof he dyed immediately , nor are any considerable part of his people now to seen any wher out of their own place . Exem . III. Some time since there were Sundry well disposed persons in Virginia , upon whose affectionate Letters , full of desires , that they might enjoy the meanes of eternal Salvation , diverse worthy Ministers were sent from hence unto them , Mr. Thomson , Mr. Knowles , & Mr. Iames ; who after a passage so tedious & dangerous as made them almost suspect their Call , at length arrived there , where God gave them a blessed Success of their labours , with a loving & a liberal Entertainment in the Countrey : Yet it was not long before the Rulers of the Plantation drove them away by an Order , That all such as would not Conform to certain things , which the consciences of these Gentlewere known to scruple , should leave the Countrey by such a day . Before that black day came , the Indians , who for some hundreds of Miles had entred into a Confoederacy to cut off all strangers , made a dreadful massacre of the English , & 300 at least were suddenly kill'd by the natives there : A grievous Mortality by Sickness did also accompany the said Massacre , so that many removed from thence , & many of the Rest glorified & magnified the Iustice of God , thus avenging the Quarrel of His Refused Gospel . Finis . 
A50164	----	Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one Hugh Stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by Cotton Mather.] Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1690 Approx. 117 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 56 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50164 Wing M1156 ESTC W19439 11164395 ocm 11164395 46466 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50164) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 46466) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1426:6) Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one Hugh Stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by Cotton Mather.] Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [5], 87, 15, [1] p. 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Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Stone, Hugh, d. 1689. Execution sermons. Sermons, American -- 17th century. Murder -- New England. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 Rina Kor Sampled and proofread 2003-04 Rina Kor Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Speedy Repentance urged ▪ SERMON Preached at Boston , Decemb. 29. 1689. In the Hearing , and at the Request of One Hugh Stone , 〈◊〉 ●●●erable Man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●●●tence of 〈◊〉 for a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hor●●●●● 〈◊〉 〈…〉 COnscientia mea meruit Damnationem , & paenitentia mea non sufficit ad Satisfactionem : Sed 〈◊〉 est quod mis●ricordi● 〈◊〉 super at 〈…〉 THE Introduction . OUr Blessed Saviour , hath given that Character of his Ministers , That they be Rulers over His Houshold , and that Commandment to them , That they should give every one their meat 〈◊〉 du● Season . Whether or no our Good Neighbours will acknowledge our Government , which we Esteem to be not at all De●potio● but wholly Ministerial , and would rejoice 〈◊〉 we could therein , with more universal Edi●●●cation enjoy the Assistence of those that mig●● Rule well , though they Labour 〈◊〉 Word and D●ctrine ; yet I am sure 〈◊〉 ought with a very sollicitous Fidelity to 〈…〉 our Stewardship , in that 〈…〉 which conc●rns the Feeding of the Houshold . It is Food and not 〈◊〉 which we are to Entertain the Soul● 〈…〉 people with ; 〈◊〉 Windy and Empty 〈◊〉 , and Notions which 〈◊〉 dant quia non habent , are 〈◊〉 from us ; but solemn and useful 〈◊〉 , about Faith and Repentance and Holiness , which make up , The One Thing Needful , and about those things without ●word4 no man shall see the Lord. And if not Froth , much less is Poison , to be found in our Discourses : not a Snake instead of a Fish ; which alas , is now adayes no less frequently , than fatally met withal in Sermons about Iustification , more than about any one Article of Religion But in all this there is to be had a special Regard unto the Due Season too ; in which Every Thing 〈◊〉 Beautiful . For , tho' the Efficacy of Grace consist not in Moral Perswasions applyed ( as the Arminians Dogmatize ▪ ) Tempore & Modo Congruis , in a suitable and seasonable manner ; yet a Spiritual Physician ought t● wa●ch his Time , as well as weigh his Dose ; and we should prudently take what Advantage may be given by Provi●ence to make this 〈◊〉 that particular Truth awakening to the mind● of them with whom we have to do . The Sense of these things , caused me to Preach a Sermon , which might Excite and Assist Speedy Repentance , in that Congregation , which I would awfully Remember my self , Accountable to the Lord Iesus for . The Due Season , which this Homely , but I hope , wholsome Food , was adopted unto , was at the Request and Presence of a miserable Murderer , then under a just Sentence of Death , to be speedily Executed on him . The Man was one HUGH STONE , of Andover ; who npon a Quarrel between him and his own Wife , about Selling a piece of Land , having some words as they were walking together , on a certain Evening , very barbarously reached a stroke at her Throat with a sharp Knife , and by that one stroke , fetched away the Soul of her , who had made him a Father of several Children , and would have brought yet another to him , if she had Liv'd a few Weeks longer in the World. The wretched man , was too soon surprised by his Neighbour 〈…〉 be capable of denying the Fact ; and so he pleaded Guilty , upon his Trial. Being under Condemnation , and his End hastening upon him , he gave me his Desires to hear a Sermon from me , before he Dy'd ▪ Wherefore , I thought there was now before me a Due Season , to make a Food of such Things , as I now also per others ( and to permit them , is all I have done ) to Print for the Edification of such as the Publishers propound thereby to benefit . I confess that I had not so much as One Day allow'd me for my Original Preparations of the Sermon ; and therefore , not being able exactly to keep what I did not , could not write , necessitates me to Alter , and doubtless to Amend some Imperfections in it . Yet it is very near , what it was at its first Delivery ; and from the Experience which formerly I have had , in publishing a Discourse of this kind , I encourage my self , with Hopes , that notwitstanding all the Weaknesses in it , I may find in the Day of the Lord Iesus , That I have not Laboured in vain . The Sermon is plain ; but besides my inclination at all Times to make none but such , even an Heathen Seneca would have taught me , that on this occasion any other would have been improper . I excuse not the ●eanness of the Composure ; but am waitin●●pon the Eternal Spirit , 〈…〉 and blows where , He ●lease , 〈…〉 The SERMON . Iob. VII . 21. And why doest thou not pardon my transgression , and take away mine Iniquity ? for now shall I sleep in the dust , and thou shalt seek me in the morning , but I shall not be . VVE have now before us , a very miserable , but we cannot excuse the hardness of our own Hearts , if it be not also a very profitable , Spectacle . You see a poor man in Irons here , whose crying Murders have now procured unto him that Sentence , which will not permit him to live many hours longer in the world . His Case do's truly Preach to 〈…〉 ●ame that my Text will Preach 〈…〉 but while I have an Eye to his particular circumstances , I shall not so overlook yours , as to leave any one person in this vast Congregation without the Food proper in the present season for them . This Malefactor does know that he quickly must ; and all of you do not know but you sooner may come to sleep in the Dust ; wherefore let every one of you now hear as those that are concerned to get their Transgression pardoned , and their Iniquity taken away . The Book of IOB , in a sweet Poesy , gives us a true History , of strange Calamities , and stranger Deliverances befalling a famous Person , who made Arabia the Happy , by his dwelling there . Had it not been Real and Certain matter of Fact , which is here 〈…〉 , we may not imagine that 〈◊〉 Prophet Ezekiel , or the Apostle Iames , would have made such References , as they did unto it ; it only remains that we do our parts to make it as useful as 't is Real and Certain . It has been conjectured by some , that Moses was the Writer of this elegant Narrative ; and the Arabian Idioms here and there occurring in it ▪ consist very well with the Abode of Moses in his Exile : but it is as evident that Iob lived before Moses , as 't is that he lived after Abraham . Very wonderful Afflictions at once did surprize this Renowned Man ! and under his Troubles , we find him pouring out of his Complaints . Un●o whom ? It was a sigh that once passed from him As for me is my complaint to Man ? Alas , he found Man a Physitian of no value to be complained unto ; and therefore 't is unto God , that he now makes the Complaints , which our Context is the conclusion of . In the Verse before our Text , we have both a Confession , and a Petition of a Distressed Man. For the Confession , we have both the Matter of it , and the Object of it . The Matter of it , is contained in those words , I have sinned , what shall I do unto thee ? q. d. Tho' I am clear of many things which my Friends do accuse me of , yet my sins before God are so manifest and so multiplied , that I can do nothing for the vindication or expiation of my Miscarriages . The Object of it is intimated in those words , O Thou preserver of Men , which are by some rendred , O thou Observer of Men , q. d. God has Observed more amiss in me , than ever I found in my self . For the Petition , it is with an Expostulation . It is , Why hast thou set me as a Mark against thee ; so that I am a Burden to my self ? The Sorrows of men , are the Arrows of God ; they that 〈◊〉 shot full thereof are sensible of 〈…〉 in every one of their 〈◊〉 Why hast thou ? is here a Deprec●tion of the evil mentioned . Well , if we now pass on to 〈◊〉 Text , we shall have there , both● 〈◊〉 , and an Argument . For the Petition , it is here with an Expostulation too . T is , Why dost thou not Pardon my Transgression , and take oway my Iniquity ? As before , Why dost Thou ? was as much as to say , O do it not ; so here , Why dost thou not ? is equivalent unto saying , O do it . And it seems to follow upon the Title newly put upon the Great God , O thou Preserver of Men ; q. d. Lord , since thou art the Preserver and the Pardoner of so many Sinners in the World , why should not I share in thy Mercies among the rest ? For the Argument : the force of the plea for a Pardon here , seems to ly in this , It will else quickly be too late ! The terms of it are , For now shall I sleep in the Dust and thou shalt seek me in the morning , but I shall not be ; which in short is , I shall quickly be dead and 〈◊〉 ! To Not be , is a Scripture-Sacred-Phrase for Dying : denoting not a total 〈◊〉 but a vast Alteration comeing upon us by Mortality ▪ which is also here styled Sleeping , with respect unto the condition of the Body in the Grave . And whereas we read of the Morning , in this place , it may be an Allusion to the Morning Sacrifices usual among the people of God ; and it may carry this Import with it , q. d. Lord , if a Morning or two hence , thou shouldest Look to find me on my Knees as I am now before thee , it will be too late ; I shall be departed into that State , where in , I can make no Prayer to thee , and have no Pardon from thee , World without End. Wherefore the Doctrine unto which you are now to give a very great Attention , is this . Men should be very Impor●●●●● in their Prayers to the Eternal God , That their Transgression may be pardoned , and their Iniquity taken away , before the Sleep of Death bring their Great Change upon them . For the clearing of this Truth , we have now Two Enquiries that ly before us . Our first Enquiry is to be , What is implied in the Pardoning of Transgression and the Taking away of Iniquity ? For answer to this ; In general , The Glorious Benefit of JUSTIFICATION is herein implied . If you ask for a Description of Iusti●ication then know , That it is an Act of Gods Free Grace , Releasing a Believer from the Guilt of Sin , and Accepting him as Righteous , thro' the Obedience of the Lord Iesus Christ. There are two things which a Religion still pretends to make provision for ; to remove th● greatest of our Troubles , & to obtain the greatest of our Desires . The Christian Religion does both of these in a very admirable manner . The First is done in Iustification . The Distress of a Guilty Sinner lies in this point ▪ What shall I give for the sin of my Soul ? Behold , that matter in Iustification very wonderfully provided for . The Psalmist of old , called this a Parable , and A Dark Saying ; even this , The precious Redemption of a Soul , by the Messias alone . Blessed be God , that we can with satisfaction penetrate a little way into the Mystery . But I may not give you a full Discourse upon this illustrious Head of Divinity , whic● indeed the Standing or the Falling of the whole Church is concerned in the right stating of ; and as I may not ▪ so I need not insist upon it , because , you have the published Writings of many Learned Men ▪ on this very point ; which I 〈…〉 ●ecommend unto your 〈…〉 suppose you are all of the Disposition , which our famous Wilson would often express , by saying , I Love nothing so much as to see a Preacher keep close to his Text , and the Scope of it ; and therefore I shall now keep Close to my Text , by offering to you a few Conclusions relating to IVSTIFICATION , All which the Terms used in my Text suggest unto us ; but in all , I must also keep close to the Man whom I do here most particularly design the edification of . Conclusion 1. [ My Transgression ] The Hebrew word for it Notes , a Transgression out of Pride : And my Conclusion from it is , 〈◊〉 . There is a wicked and a cursed Pride in the Sins of men . The First of our sins was founded in a cursed Pride , & the most of our Sins are tainted with it . The first sin of Adam had Pride for a main ingredient of it . It was propounded unto him , in Gen. 3. 5. Ye shall be as Gods , Honour and Grandeur was the Bait which he was taken with , and his Pride affected a higher condition that that which his Maker had plac'd him in . The first Sin of Satan too had Pride for its Original . Hence we are advised in 1 Tim 36. he that is lifted up with pride , falls into the condemnation of the Divel . It is thought that his Dissatisfaction at some Priviledges , which he foresaw Mankind likely to be the subject of , was that which prompted him to the Rebellion and Apostasie , in which he is now King over the children of pride . T is thus in all the Sins which those have been the Parents of ; there lies Pride at the bottom of them all . What S●l●mon sayes of one Sin , Only by Pride comes contention ; the like may be said of All Sin , Mainly by Pride comes Transgression . Upon the Root of Pride it is , that there grows all the Disobedience to God , which is at any time com●mitted in the World. It was the S●ying of the Prophet , in 〈…〉 . If ye will not hear , my soul shall weep in secret Places for your pride . From our Pride it is , that we do not Hear the voice of God unto us in his Ordinances o● in His Providences ; T is Pride that makes us thick o● Hearing when ou● God councels us to Do Iustice and love Me●cy , and walk Humbly with Him. Every Sin ( as one sayes of every man ) hath a Pope in the Belly of it ; something that Exalts it self against all that is called GOD. The Sinners whom Solomon calls the Fools , are those whom David calls the pro●d . If men were not proud Fools they would never espouse a way of wickedness ; men Sin with an High Heart , and that makes them Sin with an High Hand against the God of Heaven . Through Pride it is , that we must have our Will , tho Gods Will be quite contrary thereunto . And when the most High 〈◊〉 his commands before us , we do , as if we were Above ▪ Him , say , We will not hearken therounto . Through pride it is that we can't bear the Order which the Sovereign God has ●ixt us in , but we take indirect wayes to relieve and alter our circumstances . And here is the R●se of all our Miscarriages . Be sure YOU that are now in Chains before us , must acknowledg this to be the Rise of yours . Your Proud Impatience of a little contradiction , and your Proud Resistance to the Rules of good living , have brought you to the Sin for which you are to dy . Conclusion 2. [ My Iniquity ] The Hebrew Word for it imports Iniquity with Crookedness and Perverseness . And hence I form this Conclusion . The Sins of Men have a World of ●●righteous Crookedness & Perversness in them . Our Sins are not Right Things , but there is a most uncomely Obliquity in all of our Iniquity . Every Sinner may say , as in Iob. 33. 27. I have perverte● that which is right . The Path which God in his Word has directed 〈…〉 , is a right path , or as 't is called A path of Righteousness ; but sin is a wandring from it ; the Sinner goes astray in the greatness of his folly . Sin is a Deviation from a strait Rule The Psalmist could say in Psnl : 119 : 128. I esteem thy precepts concerning all things to be right . But now every false way has a figure not conformed unto the precepts of God. The Sinner walks in crooked paths , when God has required , make strait pathes for your selves : And he has no constant course . One while 't is one Lust , and than another , which he is madly slaving unto ; Sin is that Harlot , whereof t is said , her wayes are moveable ! And the Sinner is herein a most unrighteous man : He defrauds both God and man of their dues , with an injnstice too black to be described . But if ever there were a perverse and an unjust man in the World , I am sure YOU that are in Irons here ought to account your self such an one . Your F●o●ardness has pusht you on to the most unreasonable thing that was ever done in the Land , in which you have not now long to live . Conclusion 3. [ Pardon my Transgression ] The word , Pardon , signifies the Removing of a Load ; yea , a Transferring of it unto him who takes it off . Whence this Conclusion doth arise ▪ In Iustification , the Burden of Sin is Translated from the Sinner unto the Lord Iesus Christ. Sin is an heavy Burden upon the Soul which it lies upon ; and the Sinner may justly roar under it , as in Psal. 38. 4. My Iniquities , as an heavy Burden , are too heavy for me . Hence , The Bearing of Iniquity , is a phrase that sometimes occurrs in the Book of God. Every sensible Soul , feels it like a ponderous Mountain of Lead upon him ; the Thousands of Talents which he owes unto the Revenge of God , are ● Weight upon him , which he finds there is no Enduring of . Ask the Undone Murderer that is now before you , whether he feels not Sin like a Load upon him ? That Malefactor will be prest to Death for ever , by the Dead Weight of Sin , who shall be so Mute under his Guilt ▪ as not to cr● out , Lord , I am oppressed , undertake for me . But in Iustification this intollerable . Burden is T●anslated unto the Blessed Lord Iesus Christ , who was made a Curse for us . And thus we are told in Isa. 53. 6. God hath laid on him the Iniquity of us all . The Burden of Sin ▪ 〈◊〉 the Obligation to make Satisfaction for it ; this is a Burden enough to Break the Backs of all the Angels in Heaven , if it were laid upon them . On Supposition of a Law given by God , and on Supposition of that Law broken by man , there follows a Necessity ▪ of a Satisfaction to be made unto the Justice of that Holy One , who will be known to be of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity . The Rule according to which the Almighty God acts as the Iudge of the VVorld , is the Re●titude and Holiness of His Nature ; and the Law which he hath given us is Ratify'd with such a Sanction , that there is now no pardoning of a Sinner without a Satisfaction to Him , Against whom only we have sinned . Now the Obligation to pay the Debt which our Sin has run us into , is in Iustification made to fall upon our Lord Jesus Christ , who is our Surety for Good. As one speaks well , Nostram causam Sustinebat , qui nostram sibi Carnem aduniverat ; and as I remember , Prosper expressed it , We were Crucify'd in Him ; or according to the Language of the ancient Cyprian , He bore both us and all our sins . The Lord Jesus now becomes the Antitype of the Ancient Scape-Goat , upon whose Head , is laid all the Sin , which we have to answer for . There is an Imputation in this Affair ; and as 't is said 〈…〉 5. 21. God made Him to be Sin for 〈◊〉 ▪ who knew no Sin , that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him ; 't is thus by a Divine Imputation and Constitution . Conclusion 4. [ Take away mine Iniquity ] The word , Take away , signifies a Causing to pass away , and indeed therein , a passing by . Whence we have this Conclusion . In Iustification the Great God causes the Sin of Men , to pass away , without Notice of it . Sin is passed by , and made to pass away , when it is Forgiven to us . Our God therein says unto us , as in 2 Sam. 12. 13. The Lord hath put away thy Sin. As we do by Gods Law , in Sinning , so God does by our Sin in Forgiving . Hence the same word , is used for both . In Sinning we pass by His Law , as a thing not worthy of our Notice ; thus in Forgiving , He passes by our Sin , without any such Notice of it , as to Damn us , or to Judge us , for the same . Our sin becomes now , in some sort as tho' it had never been at all ; but as 't is said , in Jer. 50. 20. Iniquity shall be sought for , and there shall be None ; and Sins , and they shall not be found . And Methinks , a poor Murderer , such an One as is within Hearing of what we are now speaking , should have his very Heart leap within him at the mention of such a thing . What ? For such an One , when He stands at the Bar of the Lord Jesus , to have such a Verdict brought in for him , as , Not Guilty , there ! But thus it is in Iustification ; God therein causes our Sin to pass away But 〈…〉 does it pass ? We have a Repl● 〈◊〉 ●hat in , Isa. 38. 17. Thou hast cast my Sins behind thy Back . Our Sin therein passes as far from the Avenging Eye of God , as what we cast behind us , never to be regarded any more . Whither did I say , it passes ? Nay , to advance a little further , 't is said in Mic. 7. 19 Thou wilt cast all their sins into the Depths of the Sea. But shall they not Rise and Float again ? Truly , a Milstone thrown into the deepest Ocean shall sooner be brought in sight , than the Sin of one who has been a Subject of Iustification , shall ever be brought up for his Condemnation any more . Conclusion 5. It is observed , that the same words [ Transgression , and Iniquity ] are used both for Sin it self , and for the punishment of Sin. Wherefore I shall here tender you this one Conclusion more . In Iustification the severe punishment of Sin , is Remitted , with the Fault it self . There has been a vain Distinction used about this matter , between [ Reatus Culpae ] Guilt , as Deserving of punishment ; and [ Rectus Paenae ] Guilt , as Obliging to punishment . But these are so inseparable , that when Guilt is Remitted , the punishment goes along with it . In Iustification , our Bonds are taken off , and nothing is demanded of us , as a price to A●one the Righteous God. It was said in in Isa. 33. 24. The Inhabitant shall not say , I am sick ; the people shall be for given their Iniquity . Thus , when men are Forgiven their Iniquity , they shall not by vindictive Justice be made to say , I am sick , or I am poor , or , I am pained , and the like . There are no proper Paenalties remaining for a justify'd man. Whatever Troubles he may afterwards meet withal , there shall not be the Wrath and the Curse of God spicing of them ; and in regard of the Second Death , it is very peremptorily declar'd unto him , Thou shalt not Dy. It was the cry of the Psalmist , in Psal. 143. 2. Enter not into Iudgment with thy Servant . The God of Heaven , acts not so much like a Iudg , as like a Father , to a justify'd man ; and He not only secures him from the vengeance of Eternal Fire , but also , puts a New and a Knd Respect upon all the Temporal Afflictions , which do befal such a Man. The Afflictions which happen to him , are not so much Punishments as Chastisements ; and a Reconciled God therein proceeds according to that Rule in Rev 3. 19. Whom I Love , I Rebuke and Chasten . Yea , if a Correction be at any time employ'd upon him , it is at the same time a Benefit , in that very thing which called for it . As the Dumbness of Zachary was as much an Argument for his Faith , as a Chastisement for his Unbelief . And I am to tell the wretched Malefactor here , That his Prison , and his very Gall●ws , will but be turned into his Advantages , upon his true Repentance . Man , you shall find Honey for your Soul , in the Bowels of those Devourers , if your Sins be once done away . But then , our Next Enquiry is to be : Why should men be Importunate in their Prayers to the Eternal God , for the pardon of their Sins , before the Sleep of Death bring their Great Change upon them . For Answer to this , Let these three Conclusions , all found in the Text , be laid together . Conclusion 1. None can Forgive Sins , but God. The Scribes of old were so far Well Instructed , as to say , in Marc. 2. 7. Who can Forgive Sin , but God only ? The true Answer is very short ; None . Injuries done to men , may so far be forgiven by Men , as men only are concerned in them . Hence t is among the solemn Charges of the Lord Jesus , to us all , in Mat. 6. 14. Forgive men their Trespasses . But as it was of old said , If a Man sin against the Lord , who shall entreat for him ? Even so If a Man sin against the LORD , who shall pardon him ? Injuries done to God , are to be Forgiven by Him alone , whose Great Name is that in Exod. 34. 7. The Lord Forgiving Iniquity , and Transgression , and Sin. It is a Maxim , Nemo potest Remittere de Iure Alieno ; No man can dispose of Anothers Right . Who then can Intrude , or dare Invade upon the Great God , so as to allow for a Wrong which has been done unto His Majesty ? To Forgive Sin , is a prerogative peculiar to the God of Heaven ; and it is therefore mention'd among ▪ His Regalia , in Mic. 7 8. Who is a God like unto thee , that pardoneth Iniquity ? 'T is one of His Incomparable Excellencies , and a Flower in His Glorious Crown ; T is the Glory which He will not give unto another . Look upon sin as a Debt ; still God is the Creditor ; Look upon sin as a Fault ; still God is the Governour , to whom alone belongs the Remission of it . VVe are advertised of this , Rom 8 33. It is God that Iustifies Ministerially to Declare a Pardon , is one thing . This may be done by the Churches of the Lord Jesus Chirst ; as the Priests were to pronounce upon the Cleanness of the Leper . 〈◊〉 which respect our Lord said in Iohn 20. 23. Whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted to them And in such a sense was the Prophet ▪ Ieremiah to pull down and pluck up Nations ; that was , to Declare what Nations were so to be dealt withal . But Authoritatively to Dispense a Pardon , is another thing , and it pertains to God alone . It was a passage of Moses , in Numb 14 ▪ 17 Let the power of my Lord be great [ The Iews find a Letter of a greater figure than usual there , to intimate , they say , something of an extraordinary Greatness ; but what is it ? it follows ] Pardon I beseech thee . None but one that has the great Power of a God can pardon Sin. The Popish Blasphemy and Villany upon this point , was the Scandal which first gave occasion to the Protestant Reformation ; and God forbid that any Pr●testant should Return to lick it up . Wherefore YOU that here stand Condemned both by God and Man , are now to be put in mind , not only that we have no ▪ Priest , to Absolve you and Deceive you , and that the Rulers of this place may not Pardon you , if they could : but also , if that your murdered Wife had Forgiven you before her Expiration , this would not acquit you before the Tribunal of the Eternal God. To invert the words of Elihu , When He gives quiet , who can make trouble ? I would say ▪ If he trouble you , who can Quiet you ? I● He do not forgive , none can Pardon you . Conclusion 2 ▪ The God of Heaven requires our Importunate Prayers , that our Sins may be forgiven to us . T is an Article in that Platform of Prayer , which our Lord has given us , O our Heavenly Father , Forgive us our Trespasses . When a certain Man had sinned at a grievous Rate , there was this Direction given to him , in Acts 8. 22. Repent of thy wickedness , and pray to God. And O that this Direction might penetrate into the very Soul of the sad man that is now before us here ▪ a Man ( if he be worthy to be called so ) of whom we may say , O this Man hath sinned a great Sin ! Behold , the course to be taken by every sinner . that would have a Pardon from the Lord ; Pray to God , if perhaps thy Sin may be forgiven thee . We have a promise of a Pardon , in Ezek. 36. 25. I will sprinkle clean water upon you , and ye shall be clean . But what follows ? Thus saith the Lord God , I will yet for this be enquired of , to do it . We must enquire of God , and entreat of God , if we would not perish without a Pardon forever ▪ There is no sign of a Pardon in any man , till it can be said of him , as in in Acts 9. 11. Behold he Prayes ! T is in Prayer that we confess our Sins , 't is in Prayer that we renounce our Sins , 't is by Prayer that we cast all our Sins , upon the Lord Jesus Christ ; and with out this , the least Sin in the World is utterly unpardonable . Even those that have been already Pardoned , are to continue praying for a Pardon still . T is a thing which none among the Disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ , are to be excused from . They need the comfort of a Pardon to be sensibly Renewed unto them ; and tho' it have been once told unto a David , The Lord has put away thy sin , yet he keeps praying still in the terms of the fifty first Psalm , a Prayer fitted for the lips of all that want a Pardon . Luther sometimes distinguished between a Secret pardon , & an open pardon ; a secret Pardon , every true Believer has , but an open Pardon implies an Assurance and Evidence of a Pardon , which many a Believer wants . Well , if we want Assurance , we are to pray that it may be vouchsafed ; if we have Assurance , we are still to pray , that it be continned . A Prayer for a pardon is never out of Season . Conclusion 3. The sleep of Death , brings upon men so great a change , that they had need make sure of a Pardon before they are overtaken with it . To set this Conclusion home , there are three Assertions , which methinks may sound like so many Claps of the loudest Thunder , in the Ears of all this Numerous Auditory ; but especially of that poor man , that must never come within these Walls again ▪ Assertion 1. The Death of Men , is a kind of sleep unto them . This is a Scheme of speaking used by the Holy Spirit of God. Death is a Sleep to the Godly : therefore it was said in Iohn 11 : 11 , 12. Our Friend Laz●rus s●eepeth ; Howbeit Iesus spake of his death . Death is a Sleep to the Wicked also . Hence it is said in Dan. 12. 2. many of them that sleep in the Dust shall awake , to shame and everlasting contempt . Our Burying places , are therefore not unfitly termed , Caeme●ries , or Dormitories , or Sleeping places . Thus the Psalmist feared , in Psal 13. 3. Lest I sleep , the sleep of Death . Death is a Sleep , How ? T is not for the Spirit so . A Psychopannychia , a sleeping of the Soul on Death , is too gross and sad a thing to be imagined : it is it self , a Dream . The Active Apostle would never have said , as in Phil. 1 ▪ 23. I desire to be dislodged and be with Christ ; if he should have had nothing to do but Sleep in the Lodging which he was thus desirous to go unto . Let no man imagine that his departed Soul shall become stupid and senseless ▪ and with out all Apprehensions after Death . God forbid it should be so ! N●r do YOU that are here a dying Prisoner , expect that within a few Hours , you shall be fallen into a Deep Sleep of all your Faculties . No , the Souls of M●n at the hour of Death , do rather begin to Awake out of the Slumbers and Phan●a●ms , which they are here buried in , and they have a most exquisite feeling of the condition which they then pass into . How then is Death a sleep ? T is thus for the Body . The Body then has a Rest , in a Bed ; a Rest from a million weary Travels : but as a Sleep will have an End , so this Rest will be not perpetual , not eternal ; the Resurrection when the Almighty God will call , Awake yee that ly in the Dust ! that is the Morning which will put a period thereunto . Assertion 2. The Pardon of Sin , is not after Death , a thing to be obtained . As 't is said in Isa. 38. 18 , 19. They that go down into the Pit , cannot hope for thy Truth ; The Living , the Living , he shall praise thee . Even so , The Living , the Living , he may get a Pardon , but if once a man be gone down to the Pit. he is past hope of such a thing . The Dead must cry out , as the Dying have sometimes done ▪ with a woful Desperation , 'T is all too late ! all too late ! When once a man is Dead , what is the next thing ? 'T is answered in Heb. 9. 27. After Death , the Iudgment . A Iudgment , and not a Pardon , is the thing to be then attended unto . And what kind of Iudgment will it be ? Truly , 't will be a Iudgment which no Pardon will Reverse , none can Repeal . We read an amazing property of it , in Heb. 6. ● . Eternal Iudgment ; even the Iews in their Confession of Faith call it so . When once we are Dead , we pass into a VVorld , where all is Eternal ; there we are fixed like Rocks in an astonishing Ocean of Eternity ; 't is an Eternity of VVeal , or an Eternity of Wo , nothing but Eternity which remains before us . And O how awful should the mention of Eternity , Eternity ! be to YOU , forlorn and setter'd man , who , if you do not get a Pardon of the Great God , before this week be ou● , must unto all Eternity be deprived of it . Assertion 2. But infini●e and Horrible Woes must be the Portion of those whom Death find● Vnpardoned . A● the Prophet said , Wo unto the Wicked , even so I say , Wo unto the Vnpardoned , it shall be ill with him , if Death find him so . It is testify'd unto us , in Rom. 6. 23. The wages of sin is Death . Our Sins are every Day crying in the Ears of the Lord of Hosts , pay us our wages , pay us our wages ! When Death arrives unto an Unpardoned Man , then pay-day comes , and the Wages of Death and Hell for ever , are pay'd unto the Sinner , whom 't is due unto . That Good Man took it for granted , If I be Wicked , wo unto me ! So may a man upon the Brinks of Death [ and ONE of you is very certainly so ] assure himself , Wo unto me , if I now be found Vnpardoned ! Then He that made me will not have mercy on me , and He that formed me , will show me no Favour . Where Sin is the Needie , there Destruction is the Thred ; if a pardon have not cut it off , before the T●●ed of our Lives be broken , Wo to us ! Nothing will then remain for an Unpardoned Sinner , but A Fearful Expectation of a Fiery Indignation to devour him ; Nothing will remain , but Everlasting Fire with the Divel and his Angels ; Nothing will remain , but , The Worm which Dyeth not and the Fire which never shall be Quenched . But no Tongue ma● Express or Heart conceive , the Dolo● , the Torment , and Anguish of that Estate , which after Death is reserved for the Unpardoned . By the Help of an Exalted Fancy , a man may represent unto himself , Racks , and Boots , and Fires , and Rivers of Ardent Brimstone and Running Bel-metal , to cruciate a Malefactor in , but all of them are little things in comparison of , That which is the portion of the Vnpardoned , and the Heritage appointed unto Him by God. As One in Trouble of Conscience for Sin , hearing some Discourse about Burning to Death , cryed out , This is but a Metaphor to what I feel ! Truly , the most hideous Tortures in the world , are but Metaphors unto the terrible Blows and Wounds , which with immediate Impressions of Divine Indignation , will in the other world , be inflicted , upon the Unpardoned World without End. Indeed , as a Painter being asked to draw unto the Life , the Horrors of the Spanish , Inquisition , only besmeared his Table with Blood , intimating that the Thing was too Bloody to be otherwise Described . So , could I cover my Pulpit with nothing but Blood and Fire , it would give some little expressive Characters of what the Vnpardoned at their Death are Doom'd unto . But all words are here swallowed up . What Remains must be the APPLICATION Of the Truths which have been thus cleared unto us . And 1. There is an USE of these things which every one of us All are to be addressed with . 'T is this ; Let every man among you seek , and Secure a Pardon before the Sleep of Death shall overtake you . We all own our selves to be Sinners before that God , whose Eyes are like a Flame of Fire . It was begg'd , by one , and may be begg'd by us all , as in Psal , 19. 12 , 13. Cleanse thou me from Secret Sins , keep back thy Servant also from presumptuous Sins . Besides , the Corruption brought with us into the world , which Concupiscence the Apopostle to the Romans , in two or three Chapters together , calls by the Name of SIN more than twice seven times ; there have been Actual Sins of all sorts , which we have defiled our selves withal . And besides our presumptuous sins many thousands of times Repeated in our Lives , whereof I may say to every man , as once 't was said unto One , Thou knowest the wickedness which thy own Heart , is privy to ; there are also our Secret Faults which every day , without Humble Recollections , we fall into . Some Sin thro' Ignorance ; and thus do many among us , with whom Clip'd Oathes are such frequent Things . Their common interjection is Marry ; and they think not , that they Swear by the Virgin Mary : ever now and then , a God so , passes from them , and they do not think that they swear , by Gods Soul , in speaking so . Others do sin thro' Carelesness , and Heedlesness : and hence they let more Spiritual Sins wonderfully have Dominson over them ; Pride , Passion , Malice , and By-Ends , do strangely carry them away . In short , it is impossible to reckon up , how many Regards there are , wherein we have cause to Acknowledge before the Great God , Father , we have sinned ! But why then do not we seek a pardon for our many and our mighty Sins ? know we not , That we shall quickly Sleep in the Dust ? As we are Sinners , we are also Mortal ; and we are Mortal Sinners too . Let me then urge a few Counsils upon you all ; and Let That man who is now just upon taking an Eternal Farewel of such Counsils , give ● very particular Attention thereunto . Counsel 1. Seek a Pardon , and seek it EARNESTLY . O be in Good Earnest , & ( to speak Scripturally ) be in Agonies about this Grand Concern . To awaken your zeal hereabout . Consider , The vast Blessings and Comforts which a Pardon is accompanied withal . T is an iterated Exclamation about a pardoned Man in Psal. 3. ● 1 , 2. O the Blessednesses of such a man There are Blessednesses in this Life which a pardon will bring unto us . A pardon will be the Sugar of all our mercies . This was that which made Health , to be Health indeed unto Hezekiah ; he could not only say , I am alive and Healthy ! but he could say therewithal , as in Isai. 38. 17. Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back . A Pardon will also be the sweetner of all our Troubles . It will be a piece of wood from the Cross of our Lord Jesus , to dulcifie the waters of Marah , whi●h are usually so bitter to us . When a man lay sick of a sore Disease , this Word was enough to make his Bed for ever easy to him , in Ma● . 9. 3 ▪ Son , be of good cheer , thy Sins be Forgiven thee . But there are more marvellous Blessednesses which a pardon brings in the Life to come ▪ 〈◊〉 a Link which the Apostle finds , it ▪ ( that which the Ancients call ) The Golden Chain of Salvation , Rom. 8. 30. Whom he Iustified , Them he also Glorified . There is no less than a Kingdom to follow upon a Pardon . Tho' the Sinner were here in the Fetters of Affliction , yet his very Chains will be turned into Crowns , when once a Pardon has made him capable thereof . O 'T is well worth your while , to be in Earnest , about so Desirable a Thing as this ! What shall I say more ? A Malefactor once receiving Sentence of Death , did with a most Earnest Noise cry to the Iudge for mercy ; and being rebuked , for being so clamorous , replyed , Why , it is for 〈◊〉 , it is for my Life●l and shall not ● be in Earnest for it . ? So , and more th●n that , may I say concerning a Pardon from the Hands of God ; Seek it ; it 〈◊〉 for the life of a precious 〈◊〉 Immortal 〈◊〉 which is worth your being in 〈…〉 . Counsel 2. Seek a Pardon , and seek it PRESENTLY . Be able to say , concerning your Seeking a Pardon from , as the Psalmist said about his Keeping the Precept of , the Eternal God ; I made Hast , and did not Delay to do it . To awaken your Hast here-about . Consider the Incredible Dangers of all Delays . Your main Business is to become well provided of a pardon for your Sins . Let me now say unto you , as in 2 Cor. 6. 2. Behold , Now is the Accepted Time , Behold Now is the Day of Salvation ! If you slip th●s N●w , you may never have another ; you may miss of Acceptance and Salvation for ever more . O do not say , as 〈◊〉 Unhappy Faelix did I 'll concern my self about these matters at a more convenient season ; for a More convenient Season will never com● The Great God says , To Day ! and our To morrow , cannot be a more convenient season than that which the all-wise God hath pointed us unto . You have Now about you , a thousand conveniencies for the getting of a Pardon , which no Season hereafter will have blowing in the Sails thereof . Nay t is possible , you may never have any other season at all . We are told , in Eccl. 9. 12. Man knoweth not his time . We are bid in Prov. 27. 1. Boast not thy self of Tomorrow . We do not know that the ●ime which is future , will ever come to be present with us , and he was but a well-advised man , who could say , I have not had a To morrow , for these many years . It was a prudent Admonition given by a Rabbi to a Scholar , among the Jews , Child , Be sure to Repent at least a day before you Dy. That person is worse than Mad who does not make sure of this . But you cannot make sure of 〈◊〉 , if you do not Repent within the 〈◊〉 three or four hours that are now before you . If any man propound an Hereafter unto himself , to make sure of a Pardon in , I would say unto him , Thou Fool , This Night thy Soul may be required of thee . And let me add the words once used in a case of sudden and extream Hazzard , save thy self to Night , for To morrow thou mayest be Slain . Counsil . 3. Seek a pardon , and seek it HOPEFULLY . Despair not of it , but that your sins which have been like Scarlet , may yet become as Wool , and that your sins , which have been as Crimson may become like Snow . To quicken this Hope in your Souls . Consider the Boundless Mercy of the infinite God. It may be that your sins have had most bloody Aggravations ; as being against much Light , and much Love , and against very solemn Vows unto the contrary . Yet a Pardon is attainable , if you slight it not . What is Gods Design , in our Pardon ? it is to magnifie His Grace , and ( as the Apostle speaks ) that he may Commend His Love. Well then , then greater our Pardon is , the greater will Gods Glory be . Hence it was the plea of the Psalmist , in Psal. 25. 11. O Lord , Pardon my Iniquity , for it is great . What a FOR is that ? How strange an Argument is this ? The Despairing Soul thinks , God will not Pardon my Iniquity FOR it is Great . But if we really Turn to God , the greatness of our sins will become no less than a plea for the Pardon of them . For Great Sinners will give Great praises , if they may tast of his pardoning mercy . Be not then Discouraged from industrious endeavours hereabout ; but remember , that when our Lord Jesus hath said , in Ioh. 6 37. Him that cometh to me , I will in no wise cast out ; None of our Names are excepted there . Remember also that there are some now Triumphing with God in Heaven that once were guilty of the very same Sins which We are now terrified withal . Where is Abraham , that once was an Idolater ? what became of Menasseh , the Conjurer ? and of Magdal●n the Strumpet ? Is it not an Epitaph written by the Apostle upon the Grave of Rahab , Rahab the Harlot perished not ? yea , did not even some of those that Murder'd the Lord Jesus Christ Himself , afterwards partake in the pardoning vertue of His Blood , which with wicked Hands they had been shedding of ? see also 1 Cor. 6. 9 , 10 , 11 , And why may not YOV come to be pardoned as well as the● , if you tread in their steps , by a serious and sedulous making after it ? Perhaps you have been ready to Sin. But it is an Attribute of God , in Neh. 9. 17. He is ready to pardon . Have you gone on a great while in Sin , and grown old and gray , and horribly Ripe in your Evil wayes ? yet hear that Charm , in Ier. 3. 1. Thou hast played the Harlot with many Lovers , yet Return unto Me saith the Lord. In the primitive times there was one Victorius , a very old Man , converted unto Christianity : the Church would not receive him for some time , for thought they , Old Sinners do not use thus to turn and Live : But he evidenced the Reality of his Conversion , so that they sang Hymns about it , in the Christian Assemblies , and it was every where proclaimed , Victorius is become a Christian ! Victorius is become a Christian ! Even so may it come to be a shout over the oldest Sinner among you all , That Old Wretch has got a Pardon after all ! Behold I have an Order to make an Offer of a Pardon within these Walls this Day ; and in the Name of the Eternal King , I make it unto every Soul among the many hundreds of People here . A Preface once Angrily made by Moses , let me Chearfully and Ioyfully make th●● Day ; Hear ye Rebels : But that which I thus Preface is , The glorious King ●f Heaven will receive every one of you to Mercy , if you will now at last lay down your Arms. I am to assure you There is Hope in Israel concerning this thing . Do not say with them , in Eze. 7 3 : 11. Our Hope is lost . No , to all your other Sins , I beseech you add not that of Despair , which will be at least equal to the greatest of them , which you have already perpetrated . What a nefandous Blasphemy was that of Spira , one of whose Roarings was , My Sin is greater than the Mercy of God! That is the Cursed Language of Despair , which let no man indulge ! Don't connt the Day of yet over with you . Saiest thou ? I am afraid the Spirit of God has done striving with me ? nay , if thou art afraid of it , then it is not yet come to pass ; He may be striving in those very Fears . Saist thou , I fear I have committed the Vnpardonable sin ? If thou fear it , then thou hast never Done it . They that are conscienciously solicitous and suspicious about it , are yet Clear from the great Transgression . O then come to God at the Door Hope thus opened for you . Counsel 4. Seek a Pardon , and seek it BELIEVINGLY . It is to be Enjoy'd by none but a Believing Soul. To Excite this Faith. Consider , The proper and only Gospel-way , to a pardon . 'T is by Faith ; as we are minded in Rom. 5. 1. We are Iustify'd by Faith. We must Request , and Expect our Pardon to come swimming down unto us in the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone ; and we must keep our Eye upon Him , under that Notion , in John 1. 29. The Lamb of God which takes away the Sin of the World. We must look upon our Pardon as purchased and procured for us , by the Death of our Lord Jesus Christ , who in the Eternal Covenant of Redemption Engag'd unto His Father , That He would make His own Soul an offering for the Sins of all His Chosen ones . We are to take the Merits of the Lord Jesus Christ , as they are profered unto us in the Tenders of the Gospel ; and lay the whole Stress of our Guilty Souls thereupon for ever . It is said in 1 John 1. 7. The Blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin. Wherefore we must Renounce all Dependence upon any Righteousness of our own for our pardon . Let us not place any Trust , in any Good Works , or in any Good Frames of our own , as tho' they could render the Holy God propitious to us . It is said in Job 9. 2 , 3. How should man be Iust with God ? If He will contend with him , he cannot answer Him one of a thousand . The Iews give this Exposition of it ; The pleas which men fetch from any Good thing in themselves , for the pardon of their sins , are so weak , and so trifling , and so foolish , that the Great God would scorn to give an Answer to one among a Thousand of them . Alas , we must not so much as ascribe the Inclinations of God to Impute the Righteousness of Jesus Christ unto us , ●nto any Humiliations and Reformati●ns which we may be dispos'd unto . We are to ly before the Lord , as Loathsome , Undone , Wretched Creatures , and Shout Grace ! Grace ! concerning all the Methods of our pardon . Here , to speak as Ierome of old , All Hands are Dissolved , because nothing done by our Hands will be found to answer the Righteousness of God. It was a thing prescribed in Ancient Directiores for the Visitation of the Sick , that the Sick Man should be taught to say , O my God , I now place the Death of the Lord Iesus Christ , between me and my Sins . Behold , words fitted for every Sin-sick Soul ! What else can we say , seeing we are told in Acts 26. 18. Men receive the Forgiveness of Sins , and are Sanctify'd by Faith in Christ Iesus . And hence even one of the greatest Giants among the Romish Philistines , having argued a great while , for the Interest of our own Merits , in the pardon of our Sins , at last he comes to that memorable issue of all [ Tutissimum est ] By Reason of the uncertainty of our own Righteousness , and the Danger of vain Glory , 't is the safest course to Repose our whole Trust , in the Mercy and Grace of God alone . Indeed ! I pray , why then did you , Bellarmine , Dispute with so long and strong a Sophistry , against the safest course in the World ? I beseech you , Let none of us take any other course for the pardon of our Sins . Counsel 5 Seek a Pardon , and seek it PENITENTLY . And there are especially Two Expressions of Repentance , which we are to be exercised in , They are conjoyned in Prov. 28. 13. He that Confesseth , and Forsaketh his Sins , shall find Mercy . VVherefore , 1. Confess all your Sins , if you would have the pardon of them . It was said upon a devout purpose of Confession , in Psal. 32. 5. I said , I will Confess my Transgressions unto the Lord , and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin. How much more , will an exact performance of it , have such a Consequence ? In some Cases our Sins must be confessed unto Men. Indeed , our secret Sins must not be divulged , until God Himself have in a manner brought them out ; but then we are by our own ingenuous Confessions to perfect the Discovery , So David , so Ionah thought , tho' they could say unto God , Against thee , thee only have I sinned ; scarce any but God being privy to their Miscarriages . And thus Achan , when others were made Sufferers by his being a Sinner , and God was pointing at him as the Troubler of all the Neighbourhood , his Duty then was that , My Son , Confess and Give Glory to God. But be sure , Sins committed before Men , must be Confessed unto Men. VVhen Ioseph● Brethren had been Brethren in Iniquity , they heard one another with a bitter Confession saying , We are verily Guilty ! When the Publicans and Souldiers & such people , that had sinned publickly of old , came to a better sense , they Confessed their sins , no doubt a● publickly as they could . We must give all men to see that we do not Approve of Sin , by our taking shame to our selves for what sin they have seen us overtaken with , and like the Convicted Leper crying out , Vnclean , Vnclean ! But in all Cases , our sins must be confessed unto God ; who knows them all ; and whom they have all affronted and ●●used , It is said in 1 John 1. 9. If we Confess our Sins , He is Faithful and Iust to forgive us our Sins . We are to confess our sins before the God of Heaven , both very particularly , and very sincerely . We may do well to take a Catalogue of Duties Required , and Sins Forbidden , in all the Commandments of God ; and Examining by that Glass , what Spots we have had in our Hearts and Lives , we should Bewayl them all before God. And Bewayl them , without any Excuses or Defences to Extenuate them , in our Lamentations . An Vpright man , lies in the Dust ; Let us lay our selves there , and so Enlarge upon our own Vileness , as becomes , A Spirit without Guile . Such a Confession as this , must be made if we would have any marks of a pardoned Soul upon us . 2. Forsake all your Sins , if you would make Genuine your Confession of them . When you have once Vomited up your Sins by Confessing of them , O do not return to them , as , A Dog to his Vomit . Come to say , as in Job 34. 31. I will not offend any more ; and study to Do what you say . As , The Burnt Child will dread the Fire , So let us Dread all the Sins which our Souls have been scorched with ; and let us not espouse any Way of wickedness . If any of us will go on still in our Sins , let us not forget what will come of it ; no less truly than that in Psal. 68 21. God shall wound the Head of such an one , as goeth on still in his Trespasses . But O what horrible wounds are those which the Omnipotent Hand of the Great God shall be the Inflicter of ! Do not venture to go on in any course of Sin ; but be able to say , I hate every false way ; and especially , be able to say , I kept my self from mine Iniquitie . Albeit any Sin may have been as dear as a Right-eye , or a Right-hand unto you , nevertheless , Away with it ! Whatever bad course you have heretofore been us'd unto , abhor it now , with a very hearty and zealous Detestation ; and say , What have I any more to do with Idols ? 'T is a New Life that we are now to be studious of ; and we may not promise a pardon to our selves , while we continue in Sin. Tho' God at first Iustify the Vngodly , yet he will not let a Iustified man remain ungodly any more ; no he teaches him to Deny all ungodliness , and Live Godlily , Soberly , and Righteously in this present Evil World. II. But there is a very particular USE of these things , to be Regarded by one among us , who is never to see the light of another Sabbath more . T is Hugh Stone , that I am now more immediately concerned with ; and therefore let him , as a man just come unto the very side of the black River of Death , give earnest heed , unto what shall now be said before we part . Unhappy Man ; you must now Dy before your time , for your being wicked ●vermuch , and because you have been a Man of Blood , you must not Live out all your Dayes . I am a little to invert the Words of my Text , in my Speech ●nto you , and say , Why don't you seek 〈◊〉 have your Transgression pardoned , and your Iniquity taken away ? For you shall sleep in the Dust , before this Week be out , and if we seek you next Friday Morning , you shall not be among us . T is a great Favour of God unto you ▪ that you have liberty to hear a Sermon or two ; before the Execution which you are Sentenced unto ; your Monstrous Hands hurried your poor Wife out of the World with a greater and more cruel Expedition . You may lament it with an inexpressible Bitterness , that you have no better improved those hundreds of Sermons which you have enjoyed heretofore . But I now beseech you , let not one more be lost . You are Hearing for your last ; O let it be as for your Life : Look out for a Pardon before it be too late , and let not the Divels cheat you of a Never-dying Soul. Every Drop of that innocent Blood in which you have imbrued your merciless Hands has a Tongue in it ; and it makes a fearful hideous Clamour in the Ears of the Great God , saying , Vengeance , O Lord , Vengeance on the cruel Murderer ! Methinks , you should be concerned for a Saving Interest in that Blood , that speaks better things Nothing but the Blood of the Lord Jesus , will drown the voice of that horrible Cry. This Blood speaks for , A Pardon , to them , whom it belongs unto 〈◊〉 O do you now speak for a Title to that Blood ; I say again , Before it be too late ! What shall I say , that may stimulate the Christward motions of you● Fettered Soul ! I am to tell you , First , That your Slit is very Great . The Sin , for which you now stand Condemned , is , a sin of a deep & bloody Dye ▪ Murder is the most Barbarous and Divelish , among all the Crimes that are Iniquities to be punished by the Iudge . Will a Wolf kill a Wolf ? no , and the very Bears agree among themselves . But shall a Man than be worse than a Wolf unto a Man ? If , He that loves another fulfils the Law , 't is easy to tell what he does , that Murders another . The most Wretched Pagans have observed of the Murderer , That Vengeance will not suffer him to Live. But your Murder is one hardly to be parallel'd in an Age ! 'T is said , No Man ( if he have but the Heart of a MAN in him ) ever hated his own Flesh. What then are you , that have Murdered yours ? Find a Name for yourself , if you think it possible ! You have Murdered Her whom you should have Loved above all the world ; Her whom you should have Cherished with all the Kindness and Goodness of an Holy Conversation ; Her whom you should have been willing even your self to have Dy'd for the preservation of . And with Her 't is said , you have Murdered an Infant , which never saw the Light. This is your Sin. And Doubtless , they were not few or small Sins , for which God left you unto This. You had long before , been guilty of those Impious both Omissions and Commissions , which gave the Divel at last a very entire Possession of you . O Consider of them all ; a●d especially Trouble your own Soul , for your Unbelief in Rejecting the Saviour of it . You have sat long under the Gospel ; but you have Refused , yea you have Crucify'd the blessed Redeemer , who therein besought you to be Reconciled unto God. How should the Remembrance of this be to you , as the Wormwood and the Gall , and cause your Soul to be Humbled in you . I am to tell you , Next , That your Case is very sad . Look round about , and say , Is there any Sorrow like your Sorrow ? Your House ; you have Troubled it , and it is turned upside down by what you have done ; and , what Anguish , what Horrour , have you fill'd the Hearts of your scattered Children with ? Your Name ; you have Blemish'd it , it must Rot , without a Grave-stone among Civil People , & you must hereafter be known by this Description , The Man that Murdered his Wife . Your Body ; it has undergone the pains of Chains and Gaols , & there is a little more pain reserved for it , before it feed the Worms . But above all , your SOUL , your Soul , is brought into Dangers too affrighting to be patiently thought upon . What is it that the Word of God , pronounces upon the Murderer ? No Murderer has Eternal Life . It says , The Murderer shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God. It says , The Murderer shall have his portion in the Lake that burns with fire and Brimstone . Surely , Thy very Heart must be moved out of its place , to hear of such an End as this , which indeed will never have an End What think you of Changing your Fetters , for the Chains of Darkness , in the Dismal Vault below ? What think you of changing your Prison , your Dungeon , for the Outer Darkness , in which there is gnashing of Teeth for eevermore ! Truly , it becomes you to lay your self in the Dust , and cry out , Wo is unto me , that I have Sinned ! I may tell you Thirdly , That your TIME is very short . You may not Entertain the least Thought of having your Life now prolonged in the world ; the very World , will be defiled if you continue in it . Were there a City of Refuge among us , which you were fled into , yet we ought to fetch you thence , and see you made a Sacrifice . The Great God has Required this co●cerning you ; Let him hasten to the Pit , Let no man stay him ; and you must before this Day S●'nnight be gone , thither , Whence you cannot Return . As it was said unto a better man than you , Set thy House in order , for thou shalt Dy and not Live. Thus , I would say to you , that cannot possibly set your Desolate House in order any more , Set thy Soul in order , for thou shalt Dy before this Week expire , Undone man , where shalt thou be within a few Hours ? Tho' this Day Se'nnight , you should Roar , Lord , Lord , One Sabbath more ! or , Lord , Lord , One Sermon more , and one Season more ! it will be in vain for ever and ever . And yet let me tell you , Lastly , That there is a May be of Mercy for you . Tho' with Cain , you have been a Murderer ; yet let not the out-cry of Cain be with you , My sin is greater than can be forgiven . You may be made a Manasseh , for Blessedness , as you have been such an one for Wickedness . A Pardon is to be had , if you slight it not ; and how should that mel● your very Heart within you ? In an English Plantation , that is not far from New-England , a while ago , there were two or three Men● Condemned to D● , as I have heard , for Piracy . After their Condemnation they broke Prison , and fled into the Woods ; from whence , after some weeks , they returned of their own Accord , and Surrendred themselves unto the Authority , saying , We got away only that we might have time to make our peace with God , and get the pardon of our Sins assur'd unto us , which thro' Grace , we have done , and now we tender our Lives , to satisfie the Justice of the Law. The Iudges were so pleased with this Ingenuity , that first they bestow'd a Reprieve on them , and then procur'd a Pardon for them ▪ For your part , you are utterly & for ever uncapable of a Pardon , from the Hands of Men ; but were you in earnest about it , you might yet get a Pardon from the Hands of God without flying any whither , but unto the Horns of the Altar , the Lord Jesus for it . One which Died of Bleeding had that Expression about the Blood of the Lord Jesus , One Blood kills me and another saves me . Truly , as the Blood of the person whom you have Murdered calls for your Death , so the Blood of our dearest Jesus will bespeak no less than eternal Blessedness for you , if by impenitence you put it not away . Our Lord said once to one that was Hanging on a Tree , Thou shalt be with me in Paradise . You may go from the Gallows to a Kingdom , if after your abominable doings , you yet will but consent unto the Terms of the New Covenant . But I must acq●aint you , that the only Remedy for you , is to carry a distressed Soul unto the Lord Redeemer , who is Exalted to be a Prince & Saviour ; O look unto him , whose call unto us is , Look unto me ! Look unto Him , and Sigh , and say , Lord , grant unto me , both Repentance and Remission of sins . And while you are thus looking to Him , study to do some Remarkable Thing for the Honour and Glory of God , and for the warning of such as are walking in those wayes , which have brought you to this , That Men clap their Hands at you , and hiss 〈…〉 of your place . This is the least you 〈◊〉 do by way of Gratitude unto Him 〈◊〉 has made you so capable of a Pardon 〈◊〉 you are . I have done . But O that you ma● not be Hard-hearted any more ! 〈◊〉 have the Name of STONE ; God forbid , that you should have the qualilities and properties of a Stone , in your obduration . May these Words 〈…〉 as deep into your●heart as your 〈◊〉 did into the Throat of your 〈◊〉 Wife ! may the God of 〈◊〉 therefore take away from you the 〈◊〉 of stone , and at the same time give you the white Stone of Absolution from 〈◊〉 many thousands of Sins , with which you stand charged in the Books of hi● Remembrance . And may the good God sanctifie the condition of this Man unto us all ; that all of us may learn to Abhor and Avoid Sin , and be thankful for the Grace without which , Lord , what should th● very best of us all Degenerate unto ! FINIS . THE Character and Carriage and Execution of Hugh Stone . THe foregoing Sermon having been Preached unto the Guilty Murderer , I thought it my Duty to observe what operation the Truth and Word of God might have upon him ; and to answer his own desires , that I would assist him in the last minutes of his life ; nor was I altogether ignorant that the Labours that the Famous Perkins used with Prisoners , were so successful , as to encourage those that should make an Example of them . I have hardly met with so unintelligible a man , as this Hugh Stone . He could and would frequently speak very well , but with many very Reasonabl● things which he uttered , he mingle as great Impertinencies . I know no whether the use of his Reaso● were not sometimes disturbe● by , the Horrour of his mind ; fo● he thought himself sometimes haunte● with the Ghost of his Murdered Wife . But his Conversation in the Prison before his Condemnation , was in diverse things very Scandalous ; and I could wish there had been more exactness in his Repentance afterwards . His Passions upon any Provocation were so inordinate , as that we did not wonder to see what he was come unto . And as on the one side , I never saw a Man express less fear of Dying , so on the other , I never heard a Man express more care about every Trifle , which he counted himself concerned in . There was a Minister that walk'd with him to his Execution ; and I shall insert the principal Passages of the Discourse between them ; in which the Reader may find or make something useful to himself , what ever it were to the Poor Man who was more immediately concerned in it . Minister . I am come to give you what Assistance I can , in your taking of the Steps , which your eternal Wea● or Wo , now depends upon the well or ill taking of . Hugh Stone , Sir , I Thank you , and I beg you to do what you can for me . Min. Within a very few Minutes your immortal Soul must appear before God the Iudge of all . I am heartily sorry ▪ you have lost so much time since your first Imprisonment : you 〈◊〉 need use a wonderful Husbandry of the little piece of an Inch 〈…〉 remains . Are you now prepared to stand before the Tribunal of 〈◊〉 H. S. I hope I am . Min. And what Reaso●● 〈◊〉 that Hope ? H. S. I find all my Sins made so ●i●ter to me , that if I were to have 〈◊〉 given me this Afternoon , to Live such a Life , as I have Lived heretofore , I would not accept of it ; I had rather Dy. Min. That is well , if it be True. But suffer me a little to search into the Condition of your Soul. Are you sensible , That you were Born a Sinner ? That the Guilt of the First Sin committed by Adam , is justly charged upon you ? And that you have hereupon a Wicked Nature in you , full of Enmity against all that is Holy , and Iust , and Good ? For which you deserved to be destroyed , as soon as you first came into this World. H. S. I am sensible of this . Min. Are you further sensible , 〈◊〉 you have Lived , a very ungodly Life ? That you are guilty of thousands of Actual Sins , every one of which deserves the Wrath and Curse of God , both in this Life , and that which is to come ? H. S. I am sensible of this also Min. But are you sensible , That ●ou have broken all the Laws of God ? You know the Commandments . Are you sensible , That you have broken every one of Them. H. S. I cannot well answer to that . My Answer may be liable to some Ex●eptions . — This I own , I have broken every Commandment on the Account mentioned by the Apostle James ; That he who breaks one is Guilty of all , But not otherwise . Min. Alas , That you know your self no better than so ! I do affirm to you , that you have particularly broken every one of the Commandments ▪ and you must be sensible of it . H. S. I cann't see it . Min. But you must Remember , That the Commandment is Exceeding Broad ; it reaches to the Heart as well as the Life : it includes Omissions as well as Commissions , and it at once both Requires and Forbids . But I pray , make an experiment upon any one Commandment , in which you count your self most Innocent : and 〈◊〉 whether you do not presently conf●s your self Guilty thereabout . I may not leave this point slightly passed ever with you . H. S. That Commandment , Thou shalt not make to thy self any Graven Image ; How have I broken it ? Min. Thus : You have had undue I●ages of God in your Mind a thousand times . But more than so ; that Commandment not only forbids our using the Inventions of Men in the Worship of God , but it also requires our ●sing all the Institutions of God. Now have not you many and many a time turned your back upon some of those glorious Institutions ? H. S. Indeed , Sir , I confess it ? I see my sinfulness greater than I thought it was . Min. You ought to see it . God help you to see it ! There is a boundless Ocean of it . And then for that SIN , which has now brought a shameful Death upon you , 't is impossible to Declare the Aggravations of it ; hardly an Age will show the like . You have professed your sel● Sorry for it ! H. S. I am heartily so . Min. But your Sorrows must be after a godly Sort. Not meerly because of the miseries which it has brought on your outward Man , but chiefly for the Wrongs and Wounds therein given to your own Soul ; and not only for the Miseries you have brought on your self , but chiefly for the Injuries which you have done to the Blessed God. H. S. I hope my Sorrow lies there . Min. But do you Mourn without Hope ▪ H. S. I thank God , I do not . Min. Where do you see a Door of Hope ? H. S. In the Lord Iesus Christ , who has died to save Sinners . Min. Truly , There is no other Name by which we may be saved ? The Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ , is that alone , in which you may safely anon appear before the Judgment Seat of God. And that Righteousness is by the marvellous and infinite Grace of God , offered unto you . But do you find , that as you have no Rightetousness , so you have no Strength ? that you cannot of your self move or stir , towards the Lord Jesus Christ , though you justly perish if you do not Run unto Him ? that it is the Grace of God alone which must enable you to accept of Salvation from the Great Saviour ? H. S. Sir , my Case in short is This , I have laid my self at the Feet of the Lord Iesus Christ for my Salvation ; and had it not been for His meer Grace and Help , I had never been able to do That . But there I have laid and left my self ; I have nothing to plead , why he should accept of me . If He will do it I am happy , but if He will not , I am undone for ever ; it had been good for me that I never had been Born. Min. And you must justifie Him if He should Reject you . You surprize me , with at once giving me so much of the Discourse , which all this while I have been labouring for ▪ I can add but this ! The good Lord make you sincere in what you say ! — Your Crime lay in Blood ; & your Help also , That lies in Blood. I am to offer you the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ , as that in which you may now have the Pardon of all your sins . Now you may try the sincerity of your Faith in the Blood of the Lord Jesus for a Pardon , by This. Have you an Hope in that Blood , for all the other saving effects of it ? shall I expl●in what I mean ? H. S. Do Sir. Min. The Blood of the Lord Jesu● , 〈◊〉 not only Sin Pardoning Blood , but 〈◊〉 Soul-Purifying and Heart-softening ●●ood . It embitters all Sin unto the 〈◊〉 , that it is applied unto , and 〈◊〉 every lust in such a Soul. Are are you desirous of this ? H. S. With all my Heart ? Min. The Lord make you so . The Lord Seal your Pardon , in that Blood , which is worth ten thousand Worlds ! But what will you do for that God , who has given you these hopes of a Pardon ? you must with a Holy ingenuity now do something for the Honour of that God , whom you have sinned so much against . H. S. What ' shall I do ? Min. Why , Confess and Bewail the Sins that have undone you , and publickly Advise , and Exhort , and Charge all that you can , to take heed of such evi● wages . H. S. I will endeavour to do it ●s God shall help me . Min. I pray tell me plainly what special Sin , do you think it was , t●a● laid the first Foundation of your D●struction ? where did you begin to lea●● God ▪ and Ruine your self ? H. S. It was Contention in my F●mily . I had been used unto something of Religion : and I was once careful about the Worship of God , not only with my Family , but in secret also . But upon Contention between me and my wife , I left off the wayes of God , and you see what I am come to . Min. I would pray you to Vomit up all Sin , with a very hearty detestation . You are going ( if I may so speak ) to disgorge your Soul ; if you do not first cast up your Sin , if your Soul and your Sin come away together you cannot but know something of the dismal condition which it must pass into . O what cause have you to fa●● out with Sin forever ? it has been your only Enemy . Here is the only Revenge which you may allow in your self . You must now bear any Mu●●ce against any one man in the World , 〈◊〉 forgive even those that have done 〈◊〉 the greatest Injuries . Only upon 〈◊〉 , be as revengeful as you can : 〈◊〉 ●ould have you like Samps●n so to 〈◊〉 taking of a just Revenge , H S. I hope I shall . Min. Well , we are now but a very few paces from the place , where you must breath your last . You are just going to take a most awful Step , which has this most Remarkable in it , That it cannot be twice taken . If you go wrong now , it cannot be Recalled throughout the Dayes of a long Eternity . I can but commit you into the Arms of a Merciful Redeemer , that he may keep you from a Miscarriage , which cannot be recal'd & redress'd throughout eternal Ages . The Lord show unto you the Path of Life ! Attend unto these , as the last words that I may speak before the Prayer , with which I am immediately to take a long Farewel of you . You are now just going to be Confirmed for ever . If the Great God presently find you under the power of Prejudice against any of His Truths and Wayes , or of Enmity against what has His blessed Name upon it , you shall be fixed , and settled , and confirmed in it , until the very Heavens be no more . But they are very Terrible Plagues and Pains , which you may be sure will accompany this everlasting Disposition of your Soul. On the other side , If God now find your Soul , under the power of Inclinations to Love Him , Fear Him , Serve Him ; and to esteem the Lord Jesus above a thousand Worlds ; you shall then be Confirmed in the perfection of such a Temper , and of all the Ioy , that must Accompany it . Which of these is the Condition that I now leave you in . H. S. Sir , I hope the latter of them . Min. The Good God make it so ; and grant that I may find you at the Right hand of the Lord Jesus , in the Day of his Appearing . May this Ladder prove as a Iacobs Ladder for you , and may you find the Angels of the Lord Jesus ready here to convey your departing Soul into the Presence of the Lord. After this Discourse ; ascending the Ladder , he made the following Speech . The Last Speech of Hugh Stone . YOung Men and Maids ; observe the Rule of Obedience to your Parents ; and Servants to your Masters , according to the Will of God , & do the Will of your Masters : If you take up wicked ways , you set open a Gate to your Sins , to lead in bigger afterwards ; thou can'st not do any thing but God will see thee altho● thou thinkest thou shalt not be catched , thou thinkest to hide thy self in Secret , when as God in Heaven can see see th●e , though thou hast hid it from Man. And when thou goest to Thievery , thy wickedness is discovered , and thou ar● found Guilty . O Young Woman that is Married , and Young Man , look on 〈◊〉 here ; be sure in that Solemn Engagement , you are obliged one to another ; Ma●●iage ●s an Ordinance of God , have a care of ●reaking that Bond of Marriage-Vnion ; if the Husband provoke his Wife , and cause a Difference , he sins against God ; and so does she , in such Carriage ; for sh● is bound to be an Obedient Wife . O you Parents that give your Children in Marriage , remember what I have to say , you must take notice when you give them in Marriage , you give them freely to the Lord , and free them from that Service & Command you ought to have , yet you ought to have a tender regard to them . O thou that takest no care to lead thy life civilly and honestly , and then Committest that Abominable Sin of Murder , here is this Murderer , look upon him ; and see how many are come with their eyes to behold this man , that abhors himself before God ; that is the Sin that I abhor my self for , and defire you take Example by me ; there are here a great many young people , and O Lord , that they may be thy Servants ! Have a care , do not sin ; I will tell you , that I wish I never had had the opportunity to do such a Murder ; if you say , when a person has provoked you , I will kill him : 'T is a thous●nd to one , but the next time you will do it . Now I Commit my self into the Hands of Almighty God. His Prayer . O Lord our Good God ; thou art a Merciful God , and a Gracious and Loving Father ; Alas , that thou shouldest Nourish up Children that have 〈◊〉 against Thee ! O Lord , I must confess , thou gavest me opportunity to read thy Written Word ; Thou art also my Crea●or and Preserver ; but , Lord , I have not done according to the Offers of thy Grace ; thou hast not hid from me the opportunities of the Good Things and Liberties of thy House and Ordinances , but I have waxed wanton under the Enjoyment of them . I have given thee just cause to provoke thee to Anger , and thou hast left me to Shame , not only on my self but on my Relations . O Lord God I do confess that I have sinned against thee , and done all these Iniquities against thee , and before thine eyes . Lord , I have sinned especially against thee ; pardon my Sins of Youth ; Lord , pardon this bloody Sin I stand here Guilty of ▪ O Lord , hide not thy face from me ; I humbly beg it of thee : for there is no man 〈◊〉 Redeem his Brothers Soul , but only the Blood of Jesus Christ must do it . Let it be sufficient to satisfie for my poor Soul. I h●●e not done any thing that thou shouldest be pleased to shew me thy Love , or that I should have any thing from thee , but only Everlasting Misery . I am unworthy to come to thee ; yet Lord , for thy Mercies S●●e have pity on me . Now I am coming 〈◊〉 Iudgment , Lord , let the Arms of thy Mercy Receive my Soul , and let my sin● be Remitted ; Good Lord , let not my sin● which Condemn me here in this world , rise up to Condemn me in the World to come though they have Condemned me in this world , shew mercy , Lord , when I come be fore thy Iudgment-Seat . If my Soul be not humbled , Lord , humble it ; let my Petition be acceptable in Heaven thy Holy Mountain . I am unworthy to come into thy Presence , yet O let me come into thy Kingdom ; and deliver my Soul from Blood Guil●iness , in the Blood of Jesus Christ ▪ O let my wounded Soul mourn for my sin that hath brought me here , Sin brings Ruine to the poor Soul ; wo is unto me for mine Iniquity . If I had gone to Prayer in the morning when I committed this sin , Lord God , thou wouldest have kept back my hands from shed●ing innocent Blood : O Gracious God , Remember thou me in Mercy ; let me be an Object of thy pity and not of thy wrath ; the Lord hear me and pardon my Sins . Take care of my poor Children . I have scattered them like stragling sheep flying before the Wolf ; pity the poor Children that go like so many Lambs that have l●st their Keeter ; that they may not come to such a Death as I do 〈◊〉 Lord , for the sak● of Jesus Christ , and the Righteousness o● thy Son , accept my Soul , and receive me into the Arms of thy mercy ; that I may enjoy Everlasting Rest. Pardon all my sins ; and let the Prayers of all those that have put up their Petitions for me , be accepted for the sake of Jesus Christ. Now I am coming , now I am coming , thou mayst say , I called to thee , and thou wouldst not come ; I must say , my sin brought me here , O the World , and the corrupt nature of man , that has proved my ruine ! O Lord , Good Lord , let me enjoy Rest for my Soul. The desire of my Soul is to be with thee , in thy Kingdom , let me have a share in that Kingdom . Now is the time , Lord Jesus ; the Grave is opening its mouth ; I am now living , though dead in Stn , let my prayers be heard in heaven thy holy place ; thy hands hath made me , & I know thou can'st Save me ; hide not thy face from me ; and affect the hearts of thy people with this sad Ob●●ct , that they may labour to serve thee betimes , and may not give themselves up to profaneness and Wickedness , especially that Sin of Drunkenness , which is an in let of all Ab●minations . [ When thou hast thy head full of Drink , the Remembrance of God is out of thy heart and thou art unprepared to commit thy self and Family unto God ; thou art unfit to come into Gods Presence . I have cause to 〈◊〉 out an● be ashamed of it , that I am guilty of it , because . I gave may to that Sin m●re than any other , and then God did leave me to practise wickedness , and to Murder that dear Woman , whom I should have taken a great deal of Contentment in , which if I had done , I had not been here to suffer this Death . ] Thou art Holy , Just , and Good , and therefore O Lord have mercy on me , for the sake of thy Son pity me , now Lord , I am coming . O that I could do thee better Service . [ Many of you that behold me , I know , wish you never had seen me here . ] Lord , Receive my Soul into a better place , if it be thy blessed will , 't is a day of great Trouble with me ; my Soul is greatly Troubled ; give me one Glimpse of Com●ort in thy Kingdom ; by & by let me have one dram of thy Grace . Accept of me now at this time , 't is the last time ; Good ▪ Lord , d●ny me not , give me , as the W●man , of Sam●ri● , a Taste of that Living Wa●er that my Soul may Thirst no more . I beg it for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen . After this , he was by the Prayers of a Minister then present , Recommended unto the Divine Mercy . Which being done ●he poor man poured out a few broken Ejaculations , in the midst of which he was turned over , into that Eternity which we must leave him in . The Speech of Hugh Stone , in the Prison , the morning before his Execution . When Young People are Married they make use of Prayer in their Families , and when they Pray , they do believe there is Sincerity and Affection in their Prayer ; but when Differance between a Man and his Wise doth arise , then that doth occasion hindrance of Prayer in their Family ; and when Prayer is wholly omitted , it lets in all confusion ; and every evil work : He said . That he used to Pray in his Family , but when he did pray , it was in a formal manner , but now from the Consideration of Eternity that he was going into , he was made the more Con●iderate in his Prayers that he made , and did hope that now he had the Spirit of Prayer in his Praying . FINIS . TO Contribute a little further unto the Design of this Book , I shall here Annex Two Articles of Observations , extracted from an Hitherto-Reserved Collection of MEMORABLE PROVIDENCES . I have Recorded them in such Words ( and the Rest in such Wayes ) as these . Article . I. Act. XXVIII . 4. A Murtherer — Vengeance suffereth not to live . AMong all the perpetrators of the more hideous and enormous Impieties in the world , there is no person mor● Abhorred by the Lord , than the Murtherer 〈◊〉 and there is none so much pursued by the Lord as that bloody Monster is . Those Children of Cain , that rob their innocent Neighbours of their lives , usually ●●dure first an Hell in their own Co●●●●nces , by which Mark upon them , they are made more incapable of avoiding the Halter which they are worthy of , and that Halter is but a Sling out of which their guilty Souls are hurled into a further , a lasting , an endless Hell. very trivial are the occasions and pretences for which often this peice of Devilism is committed . No greater provocations truly , than what the two Brothers at Pad●a had , between whom there Issued first Quarrel and then a Murder , only from this Original , that on a certain evening together , one was wishing for Oxen as many as the Stars , the other was wishing for A Pasture as large as the Firmament . But the Expectations of its Concealment scarce ever escape a Lamentable Dissappointment in them who are so vain as to promise unto themselves a Secrecy and Impunity in this Villanny ; for a ●●essus will find the very Swallowes to Chirr●p out his Murder of his Father . Nor can a Temporal Recompence for this atrocious I●iquity ordinarily be avoided by the 〈◊〉 Repentance it self ; besides the V●ngeance of eternal fire , which without 〈◊〉 ●nevitably followes thereupon . 〈…〉 his soul sw●● away to Eternity in his blo●● To the innumerable Exemples of these things , which all Ages do admire , Let these be added . EXEMPLE . I. The First Murtherer of his Neighbour in New-England ( as I take it ) was one Billington at Plimouth in the year 1630. He shott a poor man that he was a mortal enemy unto , & expected that for want of Power or of People in that Infant Plantation he should have evaded the execution due to him for his Capital Offence ▪ but Justice inflicted has deserved death upon him . Exemple , II. One Mary Martin , her Father going away from hence to England , had left her in the House of one Mr. Mitten , a Married man , who became so enamoured of her as that he attempted her Chastity ▪ Such was her weakness and Folly , that she● yeilded unto the vile Temptations ; tho' with such Reluctancies , that begging of God for deliverance from the wicked ●ollic●atio●● , she pleaded , If ever she were over●●●en again , she would leave her selfe unto his 〈◊〉 , to be made a publick Exemple , Howev●● 〈◊〉 governing her self , nor Remem●●●ng her promise , with the ●●me Sin a third time was she overtaken . Afterwards going to Service in Boston , she found her self to have conceived ; but living with a favourable Mistriss , who would not allow any Suspicion or Suggestion of her Dishonesty , and thinking her self unable to bear the shame or grief of the Discovery , she wholly concealed it until the Time of her Delivery . Being then alone by her self in a dark room she used violence to destroy the Child , once and again , before she effected the unnatural Ba●barity . Hereupon she wrapt up the Infant in her Chest for fifteen days until her Master & Mistress went aboard the ship which they were Transporting themselves to England . On this Occasion she was put to remove unto another House where some that before had apprehended , now perceived that shee had lately been delivered of a C●●ld . They charging it upon her , she at first denied the Murther , & said , It was still-born , but upon search it was found in her chest , and she being made to touch the Face of it , before the Jury , the blood came fresh thereinto ; whereupon she confessed the whole Tru●● 〈◊〉 her imprisonment and at her 〈◊〉 the carried her self so Exceeding ●●●●●●penitently , that the observers had great Hopes of her true Repentance . But this was particularly remarkable , That as she acknowledged her Twice Essaying to kill her Insant before she could make an end of it ; so , through the unskilfulness of the Hang-man , they were ●ain to turn her off the Ladder Twice before she co●id expire . Exemple . III. An English Ship sailing from some-where about the Mouth of the Streig●ts , was manned with some cruel Miscreants , who quarrelling with the M●●ter & some of the Officers , turn'd them all into the Long-boat , with a small quantity of provisions , about an hundred Leagues to the westward of the Spanish Coast. These fellowes in the mean while saile for New-England , where as Providence would have it , the Master and his afflicted Company in the Long-boat arrived too ; all except one who died of their Barbarous usage . His countenance was now become terrible unto them , who though they had Es●aped the Sea , yet Vengeance would not suffer them to live ashoar , 〈◊〉 his Instance , and complaint they were ●pprehended , and the Ring-leaders of this ●●●derous Piracy had a Sentence of Death 〈◊〉 on them . The horrours which attended the Cheef of these M●●●●actors in his D●ing hours were such as exceedingly astonisht the beholders . Though he was a very stout man , yet now his Tremblings and Agonies were inexpressible . One speech let fall by him was , I have been amongst drawn sword , flying bullets , roaring Canons , amidst all which I never knew what fear meant ; but now I have apprehensions of the dreadful wrath of God in the other world , which I am going into , my soul within me is amazed at it . Loud cries the spilt blood of a Brother ; He kills himself that slayes another . Clamitat ad Caelum vox Sanguinis . Article . II. Isa. LV. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the L●rd and He will have mercy , and to our God , for He will abundantly pardon . It was once the affectionate Out-Cry of a C●ndemned but a Converted and a Comforted Malefactor , God is a great forgiver , God is a great forgiver ! It is indeed rarely seen that Bad livers to , ever become Sincere Paenitents in Old Age. When the Devils have had a Possession of many years , they plead a sort of Praescription against the Holy Spirit of God , and make their interest so strong , that very Extraordinary must be the Influences of the Grace that shall destroy it . Scripture seems to pronounce a sinner of an hundred years old to be cursed , and Experience commonly discovers a Sinner of Fifty years old to be hardened beyond all recovery . The Generality of them that are brought home to God under the constant Dispensations of the Gospel , will find that between Fifteen and Thirty is the Age in which most of the Elect become Called ones . But as nothing is more Soveraign than the Free-Grace of God , He calls both Whom and When he will ; and He leaves many Civil and Moral - people in their , Vnbelief , when He Renewes the Worst of men , and those that not only have done evil an hundred times , but likewise an hundred years been in the rebellious Tents of the Ungodly ; So nothing is more glorious than that Free-Grace which pardons without bounds , and forgives the Sins which no Conscience has vigour enough to describe all the Aggravations of . Let no man that begins to have sad Thoughts about the State of his own soul , ●espair of Mercy from God in Christ ; it reaches even to , she Chief of Sinners . It is for a Cain to roar , My sin is greater than can be forgiven ! but perphaps his Despair was not inferiour to his Murder , and , Austin well replied upon him , mentiris , Cain , Cain , Thou liest . The Temp●er that once told thee ; T is too soon , may now tell thee , T is too la●e to repent ; and thou mayest have in thy Thoughts the Voice which once a flagitious man had in his Ears , a little before he dyed , No Mercy , No Mercy ▪ But When he speaketh hard unto thee , beleeve him not . Come , and Confess and forsake all thy sins , and thou shalt have mercy . Come , and cast the Burdens of a Guilty and Wretched soul upon the Lord Jesus , and thou shalt have Rest. Unto the Greatest and the Oldest Sinners , yet , Return unto me , saith the Lord. Exemple , I. A while since , there dyed at Lancaster , a man whose name was Richard Lenten , arrived in age to so many years above an hundred , That he had lived in Wedlock with his wife for Sixty three years , and yet she was Thirty five years younger than himself ; and he was able to follow his toils at Husbandry , very livelily but about a month before his End. This man had been all his dayes a poor ignorant carnal and sottish man , and unacquainted with the very Principles of his Ca●echism , after he had satt under so many hundreds of Sermons as he had : Nevertheless , when he was about an hundred years old , God blessed the Ministry of His Word unto this mans awakening ; and he became a diligent Enquirer after the things of the life to come , and a Constant Serious Attender on all that was Religious . He arrived unto such measures of a well-informed Devotion , that the Church which was very strict in the terms of their Communion , yet received him into their Fellowship about Two years before he dy'd ▪ Wherein he continued under a good Character , so long as he continued in the World. Exemple . II. There dwelt at a Village in this Countrey , one who dyed in December 1688. This man had been remarkable for his bad Life , till he had spent fifty years in the lewd and rude Courses if notorious Ungodliness . Though he had the Benefit of a christian and pious Education , yet he had shaken off all the yokes which that had laid upon him . Hee became a foul-mouth'd Scoffer at all good men and good things ; and a great mocker of Church-Members in particular . The Vices of Drunkenness and Swearing and Lying made the Characters of his Conversation . Sabbath-Breaking and Promise-breaking , made him infamous among honest people , and his Disobedience to his Parents was not unequal to the rest of his miscarriages . Original Sin , in the furthest efforts of it , fill'd his whole man , and his whole way , for half an hundred years ; at which age he left the world ; and he had sat under & sinn'd against the meanes of Grace all this while . But yet , which you will admire to hear ! Yet this enormous liver was iudg'd to be converted unto God some few weeks before he died , The great God so blessed & owned the Ministry which he enjoyed , that the Efficacy of it on him , became conspicuous to Astonishment . He became a serious Paenitent , and so devout , so pensive , that every one saw a New-Creature in him . He mourned for all his former faults , and caused his Complaints to reach unto the Plague of his Heart as the Root of all . He reformed what was amiss in him , and applyed himself with an exceeding Vigour to the Saviour , for the Salvation of his soul. While the Grace of God was thus beginning its Impressions on him , he fell mortally sick , and it was not long before he passed out of this world with a marvellous Assurance of his Interest in a better . It were Endless to reckon up the extraordinary Expressions that fell from him , & Behaviours that he had in the sick and last dayes of his life ; but some of them were such as these . — O ( said he ) What a wonder of Mercy is it to my soul , that God halh not cast me immediately into Hell , and given me no Time to repent , or to beg for an Heart to Repent ! But 〈◊〉 Mercy hath spared a great Sinner . — The stoutest man ( said he ) that ever lived , should he but seriously think on ETERNITY , and have no Christ to fly unto , it will so sink the the Heart of him , that he could never bear it ; but the Lord will show Mercy to my distressed soul. He gave himself wholly to Prayer , and would excuse Watchers from sitting with him , that he might be at leisure for Communion with God alone . Sometimes he would give a start as he lay , and being asked the Reason of it , he said , O I have a great work to do ! and but a little time to do it ! The Conflicts which he endured in his Spirit were unutterable , under which , he● day & night kept wrestling with God for His Mercy . One morning his Brother enquiring of him how he did , he replied , O I have had as doleful a night as ever man had , I have had three great enemies this night encountering with me ; the World , the Flesh , & the Devil . I have been this night , both in Hell & in Heaven ; and I can truly say with David , all this night long I have watered my couch with my ●●ars , but as the day broke , my Saviour came & vanquished the Devil , & told him that he had no right in me , for He had Redeemed with His own Blood. To his Father once he said , I have felt a great work on my distressed soul ; This your son was lost and is found , was dead and is alive . Doleful nights have I seen ; the Thoughts of my sins did sorely oppress me , when I would be crying to my dear Saviour for His mercy , He would seem not to pitty me , but to say , Thou hast been a servant of the Devil and of thy Lust , and dost thou now come to me ? I have been calling to thee , and thou hast been hardening thy heart at my Calls , and dost thou expect mercy after all ? And then the Devil would put in , saying , Thou hast been my Vassal so long , thy Cries for Mercy are now all too late . I have also seen the face of an Angry God , and that is the most terrible thing that was ever seen . I then found no s●ay for my distressed soul , but Free-mercy ! Free-mercy ! The Lord now put under me His everlasting Arms , and gave me an heart still to pray & say , Lord Iesus , Mercy for Thy own sake , Mercy for thy Name 's sake ! My Redeemer would say , Thou art a great sinner and an old sinner ! The Answer of my soul was , Truth , Lord , but even such sinners have already found mercy at thy hands , I come to thee , for with thee the fatherless find mercy . — He would break forth into very High Expressions ; his great Comfort was fetch'd from that Promise in Ma● . 11. 28. Come to Me — and I will give you rest . He would now cry out , O the Riches of Free-grace ! There are thousands of thousands , & ten thousand times ten thousand , in the third Heaven , rejoicing over a great and an 〈◊〉 sinner coming to Glory ! O glorify Free-grace for ever . — He would say , O blessed Sickness , blessed sickness ! what a friend hast thou been to me ! and now Welcome Death ! or Wecome Life , what my dearest Redeemer please . O that I could declare to my Relations and my Neighbours ! yea that I could declare to Kings and Worlds what the Lord has done for my soul ! — He would reflect on the Humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ , with an amazed & a transported soul ; he would break forth into a great Adoration of it , and say , O this wonderful mercy to undone sinners ! He would also make that one of his Admirations , O the glorious work of faith , which doth role it self on Christ alone ! [ He bewailed it with a peculiar Bitterness , That he had been for the change of Government . But 〈◊〉 said , he believed that God would restore 〈◊〉 us , the judges as at the first , & the counsellours as at the beginning , & pastors according to His own heart . He was likewise much concerned about the Interest of Christ in the world ; & about the Success of the Prince of Orange , whose glorious Expedition we had then by the edges , a small notice of , he talk'd in strains that seem'd surprisingly prophetical . ] His counsil to every one was , To make their Calling & Election sure . And he would often say , O I am an old sinner ▪ & & but a young Convert ! I am fifty yeers old , and have lived but seven weeks all this whi●● . To his Brethren he said , You are care full about a Garment for me under my weakness this winter , but Brothers , I have a better Garment than you can provide for me ; the long white Robe of the● Righteousness of Jesus Christ , will cover me all over . He kept praying & praising , & singing psalms till his end came ; and then being taken speechless & senseless , his friends apprehended they should hear him speak no more . Thus he lay for divers hours drawing on ; but at length he just came to himself again , and sprang up in his bed , spreading his arms abroad , as tho' going to leap into the Arms of a Redeemer , and Shouting , O my friends , Heaven rings all over at this ! They wonder at this , a great and an old sinner coming to Heaven ! Behold , in my father's house are many mansions ; if it had not been so , my Saviour would not have said it , But He is gone to prepare a place for one , O the Riches of Grace ! O glorifie Free-Grace for ever more ! And so he went away to the Rest of God. Despair not . That alone will mercy bar To faults that like the Sands & Mountains are . FINIS . ERRATUM . Page , 46. Line , 14. r. Day of Grace 
A51412	----	The spirit of man, or, Some meditations (by way of essay) on the sense of that scripture, 1 Thes. 1:23 ... by Charles Morton ... Morton, Charles, 1627-1698. 1692 Approx. 142 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 58 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A51412 Wing M2825 ESTC R31044 11766979 ocm 11766979 48797 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A51412) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 48797) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1489:13) The spirit of man, or, Some meditations (by way of essay) on the sense of that scripture, 1 Thes. 1:23 ... by Charles Morton ... Morton, Charles, 1627-1698. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. Mather, Increase, 1639-1723. [8], 100 p. Printed by B. Harris for Duncan Campbell ..., Boston : 1692. Perface signed: Increase Mather, James Allen, Samuel Willard, John Baily, Cotton Mather. Errata on verso of t.p. Reproduction of original in the Harvard University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Soul. Man (Christian theology) 2002-09 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2002-11 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2002-12 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2002-12 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE SPIRIT OF MAN : OR , Some Meditations ( by way of Essay ) on the Sense of that Scripture . 1 Thes. 5. 23. And the very God of Peace Sanctifie you wholly , and I pray God , your whole Spirit , and Soul , and Body , be Preserved Blameless unto the Coming of our Lord Iesus Christ. By Charles Morton , Minister of the Gospel at Charlstown in New-England . Mal. 3. 16. Take heed to your Spirit Luke 19. 55. Ye know not what manner of Spirit you are of . Boston Printed by B. Harris , for Duncan Campbell , at the Dock-Head , over-against the Conduit . 1692. ERRATA . PAge 23. line 19. for Casual r. Equally . p. 26. l. 2. after That r. Tho' p. 50. l. 30. for To. read in . p. 77. l. 29. for The r. They p. 78. l. 24. for Clears r. cleaves . p. 85. l. 21. for whence r. where . AS we have all manner of Demonstrations , to assure us , of what E●●hu asserted when he said , There is a Spirit in man ; so we have the Eternal Spirit of God Himself , by the Pen of His Inspired Solomon , Recommending this Blessed Oracle of Wisdom unto us , A man of Understanding is of an Excellent Spirit . Indeed , we have no Understanding till , believing that we have within us , a Spirit Excellent for the first Author and Nature of it , we Endeavour above all things to make that Spirit become yet more Excellent , by the Alterations of a New Birth upon it ▪ The Woful and Rueful Degeneracy , which has be●allen the Spirit of Man , by his Fall into Sin , is a matter of the most bleeding Lamentations , unto every Spirit that in the least measure begins to Awaken out of that Lamentable Fall. Yea , The whole Creation Groans over the vitiated Spirit of man , and sighs , How art thou Fallen , O thou Child of the Morning ! Accordingly , when once the Symptoms of a Recovery , from , The madness in our Hearts whil● we L●ve , do dawn in the Reflections of our Spirit , upon its own unhappy Depravations our chief Question and Study then is , What we shall do for the Salvation of that Spirit from the Distempers ●f it ; and we become wonderfully Thankful unto our God , for His accommodating of Us , with such means of Grace , as He never bestow'd upon the Apostate Spirits , whom He hath Reserved in Darkness under Everlasting Chains . If we duely consider , the Natural Faculties of that Spirit , which the Father of Spirit●s hath Breathed into us , or the provision which God has made For it , in the Spiritual World , we shall indeed reckon , that our Spirit is too Excellent a Thing to be neglected ; yea , that there is no Folly like that of the man , who Despiseth his own Soul. But if we again consider the Moral Pollutions , which have disordered our Spirit , we may be soon convinced , That we are in Danger of Dying without Wisdom , whereby the Excellency that is in us then will go away : And that there had need be some Essayes towards a Revival of the Primi●ive Excellency in our Nobler and Better Part , in order to our Meetness for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light. Now , as the whole work of Sanctification upon the Spirit , is necessary to make it Excellent , so , there is a notable stroke of that work performed in the Sanctification of the Humour , which is to be seen in the Temper and Biass of that Spirit . There is ● certain Air of our Complexion , which Results from some Circumstances of the Uni●● between our Souls and our Bodies ; and ●his Disposition , we ordinarily call , The Spirit of the man. Let This be Sanctify'd , and the Man will become one of , The Ex●cellent in the Earth . It would be a marvellous Renewal o● the Divine Image in our Spirits , and it would render us extraordinarily as well Serviceable to others , as Comfortable to our selves , if that Inclination which our Spirits have , as they are United , and therefore very much Conform'd , unto our Bodies , were Preserved Blameless : and were this remarkable Article of Sanctification , more considered , we should see perhaps , ●ar more Excellent Spirits , than are now too frequently beheld in those that wear the Name , that began at Antioch . To promote this Holiness and Happiness , the Reader is here blessed with the Worthy Labours , of a Learned , Pious , and now Aged Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Ministry of the Gospel . He is a person too considerable in his Generation , to want any of our Commendation ; and as for this his Judicious Treatise , 't will by its own Pertinency , and Usefulness , abundantly Commend it self unto every sensible person , that shall peruse it with a just Attention . All that belongs unto Us , is to follow it with our Prayers , That He who Forms the Spirit of man within him , would by this Book assist the Readers in Reforming whatever they may find in their own Spirits calling for that Reformation ; and in Glorifying of God , with the Spirits , which He has Made and Bought for His own Immortal Glory . Increase Mather Iames Allen Samuel Willard Iohn Baily Cotton Mather The CONTENTS . TExt Opened PAGE 1 VVhole man-what ● Expositors Differ . 6 The most proper Interpretation thought by the Author . 9 Spirit out of Man. 9 In Man. 10 Peculiar Genius , ( in Text. 14. Scripture Distinctions of Soul & Spirit 16 Constitution of our Spirit . 18 Spirits Hot. 27 Chearfulness . 28 Activity . 31 Courage . 34 Anger in zeal . 41 ●n Iealousie . 51 Spirits Cold , 54 ●orrowful . 55 ●ull . 63 Timorous . 65 Meek . 69 Spirits Moderate . 73 ●●ference , no strained Notion ▪ 88 THE SPIRIT of MAN. OR , Some Meditations ( by way of Essay ) on the sense of that Scripture . 1 Thes. 5. 23. And the very God of Peace Sanctifie you wholly , and I pray God your whole SPIRIT , and SOUL and BODY , be preserved blameless unto the Coming of our Lord Iesus Christ. THe Apostle , having given the Thessalonians , divers Exhortations in the preceding Verses , closes all with a profession of Prayer for them ; as well knowing , That all Counsels , or Charges by men , tho● sent from God himself , would be of no effect , unle●s God by his Sanctifying 〈◊〉 do give men Grace to Improve 〈◊〉 . He prayes , not only that they may be Sanctified , but that they may be wholly so ; And that the ●ulness of the Expression [ HOLOTELEIS , wholly perfectly ] may the better appear , He Descends to all the particulars , that are in Man ; he mentions the chief Heads of them , which are either all that is in Man , or To which All , that belongs to Meer Man , may be Referred . Your whole Spirit , and Soul , and Body ; that they may be Sanctified or filled with Grace ; and not only so , but also preserved blameless therein to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ; ( that is ) preserved to the End. We shall a little Explain the words : The very God of peace , ( Autos de O● Theos ) or the God of Peace himself : 't was a frequent Option , Benediction , Salutation or Valediction , [ Peace be to you . ] In the word Peace , all good was comprehended . So , to these same persons ▪ 2 Thes. 3. 16. Now the Lord of Peace himself , give you peace always , by all means . Here in the Text it seems to Referr to a Duty , peace with men , v. 13. be at peace among your selves . And a priviledge , peace with God , and in your Consciences . To both which Sanctification doth contribute , in the per●formance of the afore mentioned Dut●●● [ Sanctifie you ] HAGIAS Al , make you holy , or separate and consecrate you to himself , ( this is the Notation of the word . ) The Definition of the Thing , Sanctification , is A Renewal of the whole man , whereby we are enabled daily more and more to Die unto Sin and Live unt● Righteousness according to Gods Foreordaination . [ Wholly ] HOLOTELE●S , wholly-perfectly ( as is before noted ) is , To Extend this work of Grace , to all the parts of Grace , and all the parts of Man. The parts of Grace , both Habits and Acts ; and in both , the perfection of Degrees , and persistance of Duration . In the parts of Man , that which follows . [ And I pray God your whole Spirit ] HOLOCLERON TO PNEUMA . The word HOLOCLERON signifies properly ( Haeres ex asse ) a compleat Heir , from whom nothing is given away ; or one that has the whole Inheritance . It therefore ( I think ) does here signify all that Appertains to Man , expressed by the word Spirit , HUMON TO PNEUMA . All the Spirit that is in you , or all that may be called your Spirit . Your ; not the Spirit of God in you ; for He is not capable of Sanctification , being already , and always in himself perfectly Holy. TO PNEUMA , The Spirit : What it is , is the chief matter of our present Enquiry ; and therefore of it , more fully after ; only we shall here Note , That it seems to be a more General , and comprehensive word , in which the two that follow are Included [ And Soul and Body ] KI HE PSUCHE KI TO SOMA . The Latin [ Et Anima , & Corpus ] I should not scruple to Translate [ Both the Soul and the Body , ] and if ( et & et ) in Latin signifie [ Both , & And ] why ( KI & KI in Greek , does not as properly the same , I see no Reason . And then the Text would run thus . I pray that your whole compleat Spirit ( as a General ) Both Soul and Body ( two special Ingredients thereof , or contributers thereunto ) may be prese●ved , &c. [ Preserved ] TERETHEIE , may be carefully watched ; as those that keep Guard in a Gar●ison ; for this Spirit of a man , is most liable to Assaults by Temptation : And because men are apt to be Defective in this Spiritual Watch , I pray that God would take the charge of you , watch over you and keep you safe . [ Blameless ] AMEMPTOS , so as Momus ( the Carper ) shall find no fault in you ; so is the wo●d Rendred , ●hil . 2. 15. and 3. 6. 'T is supposed you are , or will be , wholly Sanctified ( according to the first Pra●er in the Text , ) but this notwithstanding your peculiar Spirit is apt to run out , and so be blameable , unless you are especially protected , guided and preserved . [ To the coming of our Lord. ] that is , to the end ; Till you come thro● Grace to Glory . This needs no farther Explica●ion as to the present Enquiry . The words thus Explained , we come now to view the parts of the Text , wherein we have . 1. Two Acts. Sanctification and Preservation . 2. The Author of them , God ; to whom the Prayer is Directed . 3. The Modification of them ; wholly , throughout , continually . 4. The Subject , the whole man , expressed by the Whole Spirit , both Soul and Body . And this Last it is , with which ( at present ) we are mostly concerned . The Whole Man is sometimes expressed by only two words [ Soul and Body , or Spirit and Body ] which are the two physical , or constituent parts of Man. SO 1 Cor. 6. 20. Ye are Bought with a price , therefore Glorifie God in your Body , and in your Spirits which are Gods. Also in 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having these promises , Let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit . In both which places Spirit is the same with Soul ; and Flesh in the latter , is the same with Body in the former . But w●y here the whole man ( for 't was the same to be preserved that was to be Sanctified ) why ( I say ) he should be here express●d by three particulars , is a matter wherein Expositors do differ , and I find these several Interpretations of the place . 1. Some will have Spirit and Soul to be put Exegetically ; as if both signi●ied but one and the same thing ; one being added only as Explication of the other ; so Austin . ) But ( indeed methinks ) this here seems a little harsh , because needless ; for Soul and Body , or Spirit and Body ( as it is in the two fore-cited Scriptures ) were Intelligible enough to express the two physical constituents of a man. Besides , the particle [ Kl. And , or rather Both ] seems to connect Spi●it , , And Soul , as two things that have some Distinction between them . 2. Others will have Spirit to signifie the Mind and Understanding ; and Soul the Will and Affections ( Calvin , Marlorate , and divers other ) from whom I would not willingly Dissent , and therefore shall not slight their Judgment ; yet I must humbly profess , however clear the Notion was to them , it is not so to me ; for that which they call Soul is as truly Spirit , as the Leading Faculty ( the Intellect . ) Yea , I find the Expressions quite Transverse ; As if Soul signified the Intellectual Faculty and Spirit the Volitive ) in Mary's Song . Luk. 1. 46 , 47. My Soul doth Magnify the Lord ; and my Spirit hath Rejoyced in God ●y Saviour . As if she had said ; My Soul , ( that is , my Mind and Understanding ) Doth Magnify ( i. e. Has high Thoughts of God , great Estimation of him ; which are Acts of the Intellect , and the only Internal Magnification of him ) And my Spirit , ( i. e. my Will and Affections ) hath Rejoyced ( which is their proper Act. ) This to me seems more currant , if in this place there be a Distinction between Soul and Spirit . But I will not Assert it , I rather think there is none here ; only her Inward Joy of heart , being great ; her Outward Expressions thereof in words , are Enlarged ; Soul and Spirit in a Pleonasm signifying only her Inner Man. But if Spirit here do present us with any Distinct Notion , I should take it to be , a Chearfu● Frame of Spirit , in which she then was ▪ 〈◊〉 then , it will fully fall in with our present Conceptions of the word Spirit in our Text , as shall be shewn anon . 3. Some will have Spirit ( in our Text ) to signifie the Higher Faculties ( both Understanding and Will ) the Rational part in man ; and Soul , the Inferiour Facul●ies common to man with Bruits and Plants ( Sensative , Vigetative , &c. ) This indeed i● a common Interpretation . But methinks it is harsh to Denominate Mans Soul from the Infe●iour Powers ( contrary to that Logical Rule . Denomination is from the better part . Nor do I find in Scripture ( to my Remembrance ) the word Soul , any where else to have this signification . Nor ( Lastly ) are these Lower Faculties capable of other Sanctification then that of the Body , which is to be but Instrumental to the Soul in Holiness ; and therefore thus to separate Soul from Spirit , is but to confound it with Body in the business of Sanctification and Preservation here spoken of . These three forementioned Interpretations I ●ill not Absolutely deny , nor Contend with their Authors about them ; Because they all agree well enough in the General Scope of the place , which is ( be sure ) that all , that is In Man be sancti●yed to God , However any one part be Distingui●hed from the other . Yet I am apt to think that a more Proper Interpretation may be found , which will give a more F●ll and 〈◊〉 sense to the place , then is ●ually a●●ribed to it . For the Enquiry after this we shall consider to what things the Name of Spirit i● given in Scripture besides those before men●ioned : And this I finde to be , to some things Out of Man , and some things In Man. 1 Out of Man the Word ( Spirit ) is ascribed bo●h to God and Creatures . 1. To God both Essential and Personal . 1. Essential , as in Iob. 4. 24 God is a Spirit , and they that worship him , &c. Not that Spirit is an Univocal Genus of God and any of his Creatures ; for then there would be a Common Nature ; but there is Infinite Distance between them : Only because Spirit i● the Name of the most Noble Created Nature , we Ascribe it also to God by Anal●gie , for that we have no better Name to give him . 2. Perso●al , the Third in the Blessed Trinity , under the Tide of the H●ly Ghost , or Spirit ; the Spirit of the Lord ; of Iesus &c. But ●his is not OUR Spirit ; nor is he to be Sanctified ●r Preserved ; and so cannot be here meant . 2. To Angels , both Good and Bad ; but Bad Angels cannot be Sanctified ; and Good need no Prayers in this Respect : Nor can they be called OUR Spirits , unless by Assignation of particular Guardia● Angels to particular men ; which ( whatever were the Opinion of some Jews , and Gentiles of old ) I know no ground to Believe . This of the Spirit Out of Man. 2. In Man , the Spirit is that , wh●ch belongs to a man in a proper and natural sense ; and of this kind there seem to be four distinct Significations of the word . Such as . 1. When taken for the Soul ( the forma hominis ) Resigned up to God in Death . So I understand David , Psa. 31. 5. Unto thee , O Lord I commit my Spirit ; ( however men deal with my Body ; ) And this the rather , because Christ , at his Death using the same words , must needs be so understood . Luk. 23. 46. Agreeable to Eccles. 12. 7. The Spirit returns to God who gave it . And in the same sense also , Ch. 11. 5. Thou knowest not the way of the Spirit , nor how the Bones grow in the womb . That is , ( as I take it ) Thou understandest not how the Soul doth form the Body , as an Habitation for it self . 'T is the Inward part of man ; so the Exegesis seems very plain , in that Isa. 26. 9. With my Sou● have I desired thee in the night ; yea , with my Spirit within me will I seek thee early ; i. e. with my inward man I have , and will , apply my self to thee : from whence arises a Tropical sense of Spirit , namely to signifie Sincerity . God is my witness , whom I Serve in my Spirit in the Gospel , Rom. 1. 9. 2 Spirit is taken for the Life , or Union of Soul and Body ; or Souls being in the State of Union . So I understand , Iob. 10. 12. thou hast granted me Life , and thy visitation hath preserved my Spirit ; namely to continue in and with my Body . And ch . 34. 14. 15 If God gather to himself mans spirit and his breath , all flesh shall perish to gether , and man shall turn again unto Dust. Thus t is said of the Damsel . whom our Saviour Raysed to Life ; Her Spirit came again , and she arose Luk 8. 55. came again ( ie ) to be again United to her Body . We Read Ecl. 3. 21. of the Spirit of a man , that goes upwards ; and the Spirit of a beast that goeth Downwards , If the Spirit in both parts be understood in the same sense ( as most likely it is ) ; then either Brutes have proper Spirits ( which many are loath to admit ; ) or the Spirit of man must signifie but the Life , which is all ( if not more , then ) some will allow to Beasts . Again , Chap. 8. 8. No man hath power over the Spirit , to Retain the Spirit in the Day of Death . i. e. No man is M●ster of his own Life to prolong it . To the same purpose is that Expression in Hezekiahs Prayer , Isa. 38. 16. O Lord by these things men Live , and in all these things is the Life of my Spirit , so wilt thou Recover me , and make me to Live. He me●ns not by the Life of his Spirit ; the continued Duration of his Ever-living Soul , but the continuance of its Union with the Body , whereby the Li●e of his person should be prolonged . The Spirit , in this sense taken , may indeed be Sanctified . The Life may be Devoted unto God ; according to that of the Apostle . Rom 14. 8. Whether we Live , we Live unto the Lord ; or Wh●ther we Dye &c. But this ( I think is not the direct meaning of the Spirit in our Text. 3. Spirit is taken for some special Faculties , or particular Acts of the mind ; such as , 1. Understanding , Prov. 20. 27. The Spirit of a man is the Candle of the Lord , searching all the Inward Parts of the Belly ; not in an Anatomical , but Moral Sense ; The Understanding is set up by God in man ( as a Candle ) to search and find out by its Exercise , all those Inward Acts and Inclinations which would othe●wise lie hidden and undiscovered . So that , Isa. 29. 24 ▪ They that Erred in Spirit , shall come to Understanding , and they that Murmured , shall Learn Doctrine . That is , they that had misapprehensions of Me , and my Ways , shall come to Understanding ( not the Faculty , but ) the Rectitude thereof ; and they that Murmured , whose Wills were averse to embrace Truth shall be graciously Inclined to Learn that which is Right . 2. The Fancy or Imagination is sometimes to be understood by Spirit . Ezek. 13. 3. Wo unto the Foolish Prophets , that follow their own Spirit , and have seen nothing , or that walk after the things which they have not seen ; ( as in orig . ) which God hath not Revealed to them , but they have fabricated to themselves out of their Evil Hearts and Foolish Fancies or Imaginations . 3. The Spirit is also taken for the Thoughts upon , or Remembring of some person or thing . Thus the Apostle Expresses his Thinking of the Corinthians I Cor. 5. 3. I verily as absent in Body , but present in Spirit , have judged already , as tho' I were present , concerning him that hath done this Deed. He thought of them and their Affairs ; tho' at a distance from them . So of the Colossians , Chap. 2. 5. Tho' I he absent in the Flesh , yet am I with you in the Spirit , Ioying and Beholding your order , and the stedfastness of your Faith in Christ. He Rejoyced to behold their Graces by the eye of his mind , his Cogitations of them . And thus much of the Souls Faculties or Acts , for which sometimes the word Spirit is ●aken . 4. Spirit is Lastly taken for some Qualifications , or Inclinations of the mind as United to the Body , and Conformed much thereunto . This is the product of Nature , Acquisition and Circumstances of Life , all which concur to form the GENIUS , Temper , or Disposition of man. Each man hath something peculiar to himself in this Respect ; as he has in the Features of his Countenance , Stature , Shape , Meen or Carriage of his Body , whereby he is Distinguished from any other . So , if we ask , [ What Spirit is he of ? ] we mean , of what Temper , Inclination or Genius ? How Disposed ? How Qua●ified ? And the true Answers will be as various , as men ; of whom one man is ( by Nature , Acquisition , or both ) of a sober , grave Spirit . Another of a Quick , Active , Chearful Spirit . Another of a weak , timorous , Careful ; Some are Gentiel , Generous , Courteous , Open Hearted ; Others Churlish , Clownish , Surly , Rough , Close and Reserved , &c. All these Spirit are viciated by Corrupt Nature ; and may by the Spirit of Grace be so Sanctified , as to Render men Serviceable , tho' in a different way , and of good acceptance both with God and man. Now , This I take to be the most proper meaning of the word Spirit Here in the Text ; And then the sense of it is , [ I Pray God you may be wholly Sanctifyed in every Part and Faculty every Power , Natural & Acquired and being Sanctifyed may be wholy also preserved In General your whole Spirit All that gives any of you a Distinguishing Character from other men ; more Particularly , your Soul ( the forma hominis ) the Inner part ; and your Body ( the Materia hominis ) or Outer part , Both which are Included in the Spirit , which Results from both : The Faculties of the Soul , with their Hab●●uations , or Improvements ; and the Temperament of the Body , attended with Outward Circumstances , contributing thereunto . ] ; ; ; ; This I think is the Apos●les meaning , i● I rightly understand him . Having thus l●id down the Notion in General , we shall Endeavour to make it plain , by opening some particulars . As 1. There is in Scripture such a Distinction between the Soul and Spirit , which we shall first shew by one place in the General , and after by more particularly in their proper places . The place in General is that of Hebr. 4. 12 , 13. The Word of God is quick and powerful , and sharper than any Two Edged Sword , piercing even to the Dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit , and of the Ioynts and Marrow ; and is a Discerner of the Thoughts , and Intents of the Heart ; neither is there any Creature , that is not manifest in his sight , &c. This Dividing asunder of S●ul and Spirit ; Is it a Philosophical Distinction , of the Powers and Facul●ies , into Superiour and Inferi●ur ( as some would have it ) I pray to what purpos● ? Is it to shew the S●periour , as clear , and untainted by the Fall ; but that the Inferiour and Bruital , or sensual part is ●iciated and corrupt , as some of the Heathen Philosophers have con●usedly suggested ? They say indeed that NO●S ( the mind ) is Divin● aurae particula , a Sacred , and Divine Thing ' not inclined to any thing Disallowed by Right Reason ; till it come to be Incarcerated in the Body : and then clogg'd by a Dull Material Flesh , and yoked with a couple of other silly Souls ( the Sensitive of Brutes , and the Vegetative of Plants ) It bec●me obstru●ted in all vertuous aspiring ; and born down to Sensual and Inferiour Acts and Objects . Thus they Dreamt ; and does the Scripture give any Countenance to such Fancies ? I think not . I rather take it thus . The Apostle ●aving Exhorted them to study and use Diligence , or Labour ( as we read it ) to Enter into the Rest before mentioned ; Tacitly implies that this work should be done , with all Sincerity , for that they had to do herein with a Heart-searching God ; This is manifest by the Energie of his Word , which openeth to a man the Secrets of his Soul ; for the word is ●iving or Quick , &c. As if he had said ; God , who made man , knows him altogether , and better understands what is in man , than man does what is in himself . Man has but Dark Apprehensions of himself , and therein oft times grosly does mistake ; B●t God by his Word Searcheth intimately , and Discovereth fully to him what he else would not take notice of : His Soul and Spirit lye close together ( as do his Ioynts and Marrow . ) But , as the Anatomists Knife lays open the one Difference ; so the piercing Two Edged Sword of the Word , does the other : That word shews him , How his Soul came pure out of the Hand of God ; but he hath added thereto a vicious Spirit , by the perverting of what God did make upright . Let not man therefore charge God foolishly , and say ( as Adam did concerning Eve ) From the Soul which thou gavest me all my faults do arise : No , It is from that Evil Spirit , which man hath to himself Acquired : His Soul indeed has the powers , but 't is his Spirit that gives the Inclinations , which ( in a natural corrupt State ) are wholly bent unto Evil. Thus the Malady is opened and searched by the word , and the Cure is also by the same word prescribed : As here in the Text ; Namely Sanctification . And thus much for the first particular ; That there is in Scripture such a Distinction , betwixt the Soul and Spirit . 2. That the Constitution of this Spirit or Genius , is an Aggregate or Resultant from the Connexion of divers things in Man : As his Souls Faculties ; his Bodies Temperament ; His Acquired Habits , by Instructions , Examples , or Customes ; And Lastly , The Outward Adjacents , or Circumstances of his present Life . A little of each of these . 1. The Faculties of the Soul , ( as Understanding , Will , Sensitive Appetite or Passions ) are all Ingredients as the Substrate Matter of this Spirit in Man ; But the Modification of them is from the other Causes . Souls in themselves are all Equal ; but the Spirits are vastly Different one from another . And this is from the particulars that follow , and in a chief manner from 2. The Temperament of the Body , which is ( more or less ) Different in every Individual Man. As there are scarce Two Pebbles on the Sea Beach , or Two Chips hewen from the same wood , exactly figured alike ; Nay , As there are hardly Two Faces , Gestures , or Meenes of Men ( which are the outward Indices of their Inward Constitutions ) But doe in some things Differ , tho' some are more alike than others : Even so it is with their Temperaments , which are a chief Ingredient into their Spirits , whereof we now speak . That saying of Philosophers [ Manners of the Mind follow the Temperament of the Body ] is true if rightly understood with a due Temper , or ( as we say ) with a Grain of Salt : By Manners , we must understand , not the Vertues , or Vices themselves ; But the Genius and Inclination , which leads and Disposes to them . And that 's the same with this our Spirit . Otherwise , skil●ul Physicians ( who may perhaps have the worst Manners ) might be accounted the best M●rallists , & they could easily mend all the world , who cannot mend themselves . Nor must we understand by this , our Substrate Matter ( the Faculties above-mentioned ) as if , The Body has an Operative Influence upon the Soul to Induce ( as it were ) a new form upon it ; for the Soul is the Active part , in Man , and the Body nothing so . But the thing stands thus . The Soul , which is a True Spirit ( in a Nobler Sense , than that whereof we are now treating ) being , by its Information of the Body , most Intimately conjoyned thereunto ; while it is in the State of Conjunction , and Union in Man , Uses the Parts , Humours , and Members , as its Instruments or Organs , in all its Operations . Now as a Workman Receiveth nothing of his strength or skill , from his Tools wherewith with he works ; yet in the Exercise of his Abilities he will find himself much furthered or hindred in his business , according as his Tool is either Apt , or Unapt , for his Work. So is it in this Case : The Soul Receives no power from the Body ; But in Exerting its own proper powers , is helped or hindred by the Bodys good or ill Temperament . Thus an 〈◊〉 Tempered Brain makes that Soul Act like a Fool , or Ideot , which had it a Brain Well● Tempered , would be both prudent and sagacious . And so also the Temperament of the Heart , Blood , and Natural Spirits , gives Help ▪ or Impediment to the ●ill and Affections ; even as , The Organs of Sense do , to their proper Senses . Hence that saying [ Anima Ga●bae male habitat ] The Brave Soul of Galba had but an Ill Lodging ; He being a brave Spirited Man , but very sickly . 3. Acquired Habits do much Alter the Genius or Spirit , from what it would be , if men were left to their Pure Naturals . These Habits arise partly , ( 1 ) From Instruction & Rules : so Intellectual & Moral Habits ( whether good or evil ▪ are formed much according to the Information men meet with , especially in their younger dayes . Thus ( as to Advantage ) every part of Philosophy contributes its share ; Logick and Metaphysicks , sharpness of Judgment ; Mathematicks Solidness and Sagacity ; Physicks good conjecture at the Reasons of things ; Moral Philosophy and History , Prudence ; Rhetorick , Fairness and Confidence of Address ; Poetry , quickness of fancy , and Imagination ; Any of these as they are better studied , do accordingly Enable and Incline the mind of Man. Didicisse fideliter Artes &c. And so on the Contrary ( as to Disadvantage ) All vicious and erroneous Principles , foolish and vain traditions , and such like evil Rudiments , being Instilled into Youth , do Taint and Darken the Judgment , Debauch the Will & Affections , and Debase the whole Spirit and Genius of the Man. 2. From Pattern . Example , and Converse , with People , make deeper imp●ession then Rules , and have a very great influence in forming the Genius ▪ especially of Youth , when they are stepping from Boy to Man , and are taking upon them to chuse their own way ; then , ( if ever ) Multum Refert quocum vixeris ; it concerns you to think where you dwell . The force of Example is set forth in that ( Prov. 22. 24. 25. ) Make no friendship with an angry man , and with a furious man thou shalt not go ; Lest thou learn his way , and get a snare to thy soul. T is called a Snare ; tho' the ill-favoured humour be no plausible bait to allure ; yet for that , all Custom has a secret and fascinating Insinuation , whereby , at least , the Aversation and Abhorrence of Ill things , to which we are enured is very much abated . So as , not only the Vices themselves under some false name ( such as Gallantry of Spirit , Greatness of Soul , Scorning to take an injury , &c. ) put fair for an approbation , and are contagious ; But even the Inclinations to them , & preparation of Spirit for them , do commonly spread themselves from one person to another . And , so also ( in some measure , tho' not casually ) may we expect in things of a better Character . Prov. 13. 20. He that walketh with the wise shall be wise , &c. Which place ( I think ) does not only intimate Gods usual Blessing upon fit means , but also discovers those proper means , which in their own Nature are apt to operate , in a Moral way upon the minds of men : not indeed to give the Truth of Grace ; for then all in Godly Families would be Religious , & Leave no ground for that complaint , In the Land of uprightness will he deal unjustly . Isa. 26. 10. And the contrary ( too often ) do we find by sad experience . Nor are those ●air Dispositions , which Conversation may work , such Preparations for Grace , as doth oblige God ( ex congruo ) to give the Truth thereof ; but only the whole is this ; If God please to give his Supernatural Grace , to one , that has fair Natural Disp●sit●●ns ; Those Graces will the more ●llu●●riously , appear , to Render a Man the more Eminen●●y Servi●●all . A●d to 〈◊〉 our daily Experience , and common ob●●●vati●n ; that men are much what the Cus●om and usual practice of the place is , where they live . He that is bred , or● much conversant , in the country ; gets there a simple plain heartedness ; or perhaps a Rough Rusticity : He that is much in the City , has more of Civility , Sagacity , and Cunning. One , who lives where News is frequently Talked , Gets somewhat of a Publick Spirit : Amongst good natured People , a Candid Spirit . Amongst Souldiers , a Bold and Boysterous one ; And so of all other Affections : which may be considered in an Indifferency ; Neither morally Good nor Bad , in themselves ; but only as Sanctification or Corruption makes the Difference . 4. Outward Circumstances do also Exceedingly vary mens spirits , and that in a shorter space of time , then Habits use to do . Thus Prosperity , Wealth , Honour , Health , friends &c. do commonly enlarge the mind of a m●n ; and make him bold and brisk : Whereas the contrary Poverty , Disgrace , Sickness , &c. do usually Contract and Emasculate the Spirit . If these are of a long continued Series , they do very much towards the forming of a setled and fixed Genius . But if only Occasionally , or at certain times they occur ; then they vary and Contemperate the Setled Spirit for a season ; and perhaps become a means to Reduce it to a better Mediocrity . Thus one of a Light and Airy Spirit , and for the most part in all good Circumstances , ( may at such times ) be unmanageable by Advice ; until perhaps , a particular sore A●●iction , hath somewhat abated of his Gallantry , and opened hi● Ear to Instruction , whereby his Spirit may be better Regulated for the futu●e . And thus much for the Aggregation or Resultance , of this our Spirit , from the concurrence of divers things , both within , and without the Man. 3. The next particular in order to the Explaining of our General Notion , shall be the taking Notice ; That all these do some way concurr to Constitute and Represent the Man , Abstracted from Grace and Sin ; yet the Internals and Essentials of Soul and Body , have the principal stroak herein : And then , that the other matters , that are External to the Essence of man ; the Accidental Inherents , and Adjacents ; do but somewhat Modify and Affect the former constitution , which will still appear in some Degree or other . Naturam Expellas , furca licet , ipsa recurret . Drive Nature out with Pitch forks , t will Return , And act its part , as sure as fire will Burn. And , because the Soules Primitive facultyes are supposed to be all Equal in every man ; t is the Bodyes Temperament , that especially gives the great Diversity in Mens Spirits ; we shall therefore speak of these more Distinctly ; And that not Exactly according to the common four First Qualityes ( Hot and Dry , Cold and Moyst ) which are said , by their Mixture , to give the four Complexions ( Sanguine , Cholerick , Melancholy , and Phlegmatick ) of which Physicians do so often speak . But I shall Treat of them , according to the Actives ( Hot , and Cold , ) with a Mean Temper between them ; Taking notice of the other By the way , only as occasion is offered . For it is not Physical composition , or Medical Di●posi●ion of spi●its , which we have now to do with ; But Spirits as they R●late to Humane and Moral Actions ; into w●ich these three ( Hot , Cold , and Mean ) h●ve the greatest In●luence . Besides , a●l men will admit of a Hotter , and a ●ooler Temperament ; even t●ose who Rej●ct Elementary Mixtures ; and have no great Regard to the four Comp●●xions . I● any like better to have it express●d by Matter , more or less , moveable or move● ; They may please themselves . There is no Di●ference in the Thing , however ●●pressions vary . I say therefore ; some mens Spi●its are Hot , and they do commonly Act war●● ▪ Others are Cold , and they usually Act Cooly ; Others have a Spirit of a fine Mean between these two Extreams , and their Actions are participant of both qualifications ; viciously , if Unsanctified , and under natural Corruption ; vertuously , if Sanctified , and mens Spirits be●guided , and act●d by the Spirit of God : All commonly according to their several Capacities : But if at any time a man be acted contrary to his peculiar Genius , 't is by a special hand of the Good or Evil Spirit upon him ; some special Instigation , and Assistance , upon a particular occasion . And according to this Method we shall Treat of the several Spirits ; first Describing themselves , and then their States , both of Unregeneracy and Sanctification . 1. The more Hot Spirit Discovers it self in Chearfulness , Activity , Courage , and Angry Zeal or Jealousy . 1. Chearfulness : Heat joyned with a convenient Moisture ( answerable to the Sanguine Complexion ) Renders a man Chearful , Vivid , Sprightly , and upon occasion ( with apt Circumstances ) Joyous , Refreshed , Merry and Comfortable . It makes him look Ruddy , and of a Beautiful Countenance ( like David in the flower of his Youth ) and pleasant , like the face of all things in the Spring . David ( we may suppose ) was of a Natural Chearful Spi●it : His Musical Inclination , whereby his skill was great , seems to speak so much : for this , and his prudence in matters ( so we Read in the Text , but in the Margin prudent of Speech . 1 Sam. 16. 18. ) for these things ( I say ) He was sent for by Saul ; that so his Musick and his prudent Mirth , might Drive away Sauls Evil ( Melancholly ) Spi●it . This Chearful Spirit , as it was , in Young David , Natural ; so it was in Old Iacob , upon occasion ; when he heard good News of Ioseph , and saw the Waggons that were sent for him , ( Gen. 45. 27. ) 't is said , The Spirit of Iacob their Father Revived . Such also were the Refreshed Spirits mentioned , 1 Cor 16. 17 , 18. I am glad of the coming of Fortunatus , for they have Refreshed my Spirit and Yours . And that of Titus his Joy , ( 2 Cor. 7. 13. Because his Spirit was Refreshed by you all . The meaning of all is : Their Spirits were Chearful and Vivid , upon these Comfortable occasions . The Spirit also signifyes Health and strength ; as in the Hunger●starved Egyptian ( 1. Sam : 30 ) who being left sick ( v 13 ) having now Eaten and Drank , after the three Days fasting ; t is said ( v 12. His spirit came again to him ; that is , He had now some life in him , and could do something like himself ; who before was as one Dead , with sadness and Desperation ; But now Doubtless , was glad that he was alive . This Chearful Spirit , If Unsanctifyed and Corrupt , is grosly abused to Levity , froth , vanity , and foolish Jesting , which is not convenient : To Lasciviousness in them , who make Provision for the ●lesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof : To Pride & Haughtiness , self●conceit and glorying i● their own strength and Beauty ; to forgetfulness of God feeding themselves without fear ; yea , to wax fat and Kick against their Maker ; and Rejoyce in their Beastings ; But all such Rejoycings are evil . Iames 4. 16. ●ut If Sancti●yed , The Ioy of their Spirit becomes Spiritual ●oy ; I● like Marys ( Luke 1 46. 47. ) My Soul doth Magnify the Lord , And my Spirit hath Rejoyced in God my Saviour . It Lisposeth them to Thankfulness , and adapts for Praysing and Glorifying of God. It fits men for Chearful Service to him ; which much commends Religion to the World , who are apt to be frighted from it by Conceits of nothing but Mortification and Self Denial therein . Chearful Christianity adds a Lustre to Profession ; and convinces men , That they may be merry and wise . Now , tho' this doth chiefly arise from the Tes●imony of a Good Conscience , and the Sealings of the Comforting Spirit of Adoption ; yet Subservient thereunto is this our Natural Spirit , which Renders men more apt outwardly to express it . David was ( as is b●fore noted ) of this Sanguine and Cheerful temper ; and he did Eminently Glorify God by his Musick and Psalmody ; agreeable to the Apostles Rule James 5. 13. Is any among you merry , Let him sing Psa●ms . This of Cheerfulness . 2. Activity is another effect of the Hotter Spirit ; it shews it self in a willingness and readiness to be employed ; as also sometimes in strong inclinations and vigorous motions ; in a great inquisitiveness and earnest search after things that are out of common view ▪ This Temper is very natural to Youth , which is usually fitter for Execution then Deliberation ; and because of this Spirit t is called the Sprightliest time of mens Lives . This Active Spirit , while Unsanctifyed is ( like as in a brisk Monkey ) a very unlucky thing ; It renders men Idle Busy-Bodys ; Medlers with other Mens Matters ; Grievously Troublesome , both to the Church and World ; Restless in themselves ; and suffering none to be quiet by them ; this fruitful Soyl uncultivated , brings forth a multitude of Weeds ; if set upon mischeif , one such will do more then many others ; like the active Element of Fire , where it is not employed in profitable Service , it works Destruction and Desolation . The Inquisitiveness , that attends such unsanctified Spi●its , does often make men Seekers in Religion ; never satisfi●d with setled Truths , but Scepticks , Rambling and Uncomposed Sect arys , tossed about with every wind of Doctrine ; or , if they hap to be Sect-Masters , they 'l compass Sea and Land to make a Proselyte . In a word ; They are the nimblest Servants of the Devil , and notablest Instruments he can find , to make use of , in the world . But if Sanctified , Then , none so Serviceable to God , or Man. Such Spirits will make men willing to do Service . ( as Exo. 35. 21. ) They came every one , whose Heart stirred him up ; and every one , whose Spirit made him willing ; and they brought the Lords Offering to the work of the Tabernacle . 'T is not said , [ whom Gods Spirit made willing ] Tho' that is most true , as to the First Cause ; But [ whose Spirit made him willing , whose heart stirred him up ] That is , his own Spirit , being Sanctified by the Spirit of God : Here the Second Cause is noted , being stirred up by the First . And indeed God often Warms and Raises up mens Spirits for any noble Designs , in which he intends to use them . So in those ( Ezra 1. 1. ) The Lord stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus , and then Cyrus communicates of his warmth , to stir up the Spirit of the poor Dispirited Jews . ( v. 3. ) Who is there among you of all the People ? What ? Have you never a Brave Man among you to undertake this Great & Worthy affair ? Upon this Giving●Fire their Spirits were Enflamed , Then rose up the chief of the Fathers , the Priests and the Levites , with all them , whose Spirit God had Raised to go up ( v. 5. ) Not All the People , but some Chief men : men ( its likely ) that were of Large Souls , active and Gallant Spirits in themselves , fitted for Noble designs ; but ( alas ; ) they were so shrunk , and sunk by their long Captivity , that neither In nate briskness , nor the Encouragement which Cyrus gave them , was sufficient to Chi●p them up , till God Sanctifyed their Spirits , and raised them above themselves to this Pious and Noble undertaking . Two of them are mentioned by Name ( besides others , Hag. 1. 14. ) The Lord stirred up the Spirit of Zerubbabel , the Governour ; & Joshua , the High Priest ; and the Spirit of all the Remnant of the People , and they came and did work in the house . Now , was it the Souls of these men ? Or , the men themselves ? Methinks t is more Genuine , The Spirits of those men in the sense we now propose . This Active Spirit , uses to discover and express it self ( as is befere noted ) in a strong Inclination , & vigorous Motion . Elihu speaks of a Spirit in man ( Iob 32 8. ) which I suppose is the same , to which he hath Reference . ( v. 18. ) I am full of matter ( or words ) and the Spirit within me ( or of my Belly ) constraineth me ( v. 20. ) I will speak , that I may be refreshed . Now Elihu was the youngest of Iobs Friends , as he himself intimates ( v. 6 , 7. ) and upon that account , in part , he is more earnest , and copious , then the rest ; the Ardour , and Activity of his Spirit , caused an eager desire in him to express his mind ; which he calls the Constraining of his Spirit . But because there was somewhat of anger in the case , ( besides his Youthful Warmth ) we shall have occasion to reflect upon this instance again ; and then shew more of this vigorous Motion , and strong Inclination , under the Head of Zeal , to which we shall referr it . 3. This Hotter Spirit , is a Spirit of Courage & Boldness , to address Difficultys , and meet with Evil. This shews it self divers ways . 1. Sometimes in a wrath for War ; which God Stirs up or Abates , as is agreeable to his own holy purposes . Thus to Impoverish , take , and lead Captive the Idolatrous Israelites , ( 1 Chron. 5. 26. ) The God of Israel , stirred up the Spirit of Pull , King of Assyria , and Tilgath Pilneser King of Assyria , and he carried them away . The former took their Goods ( 2 King. 15. 19. ) Menahem gave Pull a Thousand Talents of Silver ( that is an Hundred and Eighty Seven Thousand , One Hundred pounds ) And he turned back , and staid not in the Land. This was a Vast Sum ; But the other came and swept all both Goods , and Persons too . On the other hand , He Abates also Mens Courage , and takes down their Spirits . He shall cut off the Spirit of Princes ; He is terrible to the Kings of the Earth ( psal . 76. 12. ) Thus Moses Prophecy of the Dukes of Edom , and Inhabitants of Canaan ( Exod. 15. 16. ) Fear and Dread shall ●all upon them , by the greatness of thine Arm ; they shall be as still , as a stone , till thy People pass over , O Lord. And to the same effect is that Promise , ( Ex. 11 : 7. ) But against any of the Children of Israel , shall not a Dog move his Tongue . The Genius and Spirit of a Dog , is ( you know ) to Bark at Strangers : This is an effect of Heat and Boldness in that Animal , where it is but a little afraid ; but i● it be greatly Terrifyed , it will then Run and hide it self in silence : So some Men , that would in their wicked Inclinations , both Bite and Devour , may be yet so far over awed by Gods Providence , that they dare not so much as Bark at his People . 2. Sometimes in a stout Resolvedness of Mind , that will take no discouragement ; this is to have a Heart like that of a Lyon ( 2. Sam. 17. 10. ) Now a Lyon , when a multitude of Sh●pheards is called forth against him , will not be afraid of their voice , nor a●ase himself for the noise of them ( Isay , 31. 4 , ) The contrary hereunto is a Spirit failing ( Isa. 19. 3. ) The Spirit of Aegypt shall fail ( or be emptied ) in the midst thereof ; t is said in the Precedent ( v 2 ) I will set Aegyptians , against Aegyptians , & they shall fight : They shall spend their Spirits , or Courage among themselves ; but shall have no Spi●its left to defend their Country . So t is said of the Amorites and Canaanites , that heard of the drying up of Iordan , which they accounted as their Moate and Fence against Israel , Their heart melted neither wa● there Spirit in them any more ( Iosh. 5● 1 : ) So that you see both ways , in the Abundance and in the Defect , Spirit , Signifies Courage and Resolution . Now if this Spirit be Unsanctifyed , t is a stoutness in evil : that will be ready to say , ( with Pharoah ) Who is the Lord ? T is Obstinacy and Hardning ; Sihon King of Heshbon would not let us pass ; for the Lord had hardned his Spirit , and made his Heart Obstinate ( Deut. ● . 30. ) This may be also the meaning of the perverse Spirit mingled among the Egyptians , ( Isa. 19. 14. ) that is , a quarrelsome and contentious Spirit , among themselves , whereby their Councils were Divided , and their Affairs Unsetled , as a Drunken Man staggereth in his Vomit : They had Spirit , or Animosity , enough against one the other ; but for Publik defence , Aegypt shall be like unto Women , they shall be afraid and fear ( v 16 ) And this Discovers one fault more , in this Unsanctifi●● Spirit . That it is Unstable : Stout and Su●ly , were ▪ it should be Humble and Meek ; Mean and Poor ; where it should be Brave , and Resolute . Such were the Rebellious Israelites ( Ps. 78. 8. ) a stubbor● and rebellious Generation , that set not their hearts aright , whose Spirit was not Stedfast with God. It follows ( v. 9. ) that , how Sturdy soever they were against God ; yet against their Enemies they were very Cowards , or God , in Justice made them so , for their Stubborness against him . The Children of Ephraim being Armed , and carrying Bows , turned back in the day of Battel . But , If Sanctified , 't is an Excellent Spirit , and of great use . This was that other Spirit of Caleb ( Numb : 14. 24. ) The Spirit of the other Spies was Base and Cowardly , and caused the heart of the People to melt ( Iosh. 18. 8. ) at which God was greatly displeased ; but Calebs courage was approved , and accepted of God , tho' it had not its desired effect upon men ; and was Rewarded with admission into the Land of Promise , when others were excluded . This Spirit Sanctified , is a Spirit Bound Bent , and Resolved , in the service of God what-ever be the Hazards . And now bohold ( says Paul ) I go bound in the Spirit to Ierusalem , not knowing the ( particular ) things , that shall befal me there ( Act 20. 22. ) saving Bonds and Afflictions ( in general ) which I expect ( v. 23. ) But none of these things move me ( v. 24. ) Now this Bound Spirit I take to be , the Apostles Brave Spirit Bound ( that is ) strongly inclined by the Spirit of God to this special , and particular , Service , notwithstanding all these foreseen difficulties , to break thorow which he was Gallantly Resolved . And this his Courage is ( I think ) the same , that he prays might be given to the Ephesiaus , chap. 3. 16. That he would grant you , according to the Riches of his Glory to be strengthned with might , by his Spirit , in the Inner Man. This referrs to ( v. 13 ) I desire that ye faint not , at my Tribulations for you . Some men are so Weak Spi●ited , as to faint , when they see another Bleed ; or have a grievous Wound dressed , or the like ; But I would not have you to be so Feeble-Minded ; I would have you more Couragious ; and for that end , make this prayer on your behalf ; I should rather shrink that feel the trouble ; then you , that only behold it with your eyes . Such another Brave Spirit was in Nehemiah , when God had raised it up . See a taste of it ( Neh. 6 : 11. ) Should such a Man as I Fly ? And who is there being as I am , would go into the Temple to save his Life ? I will not go in . This Gallantry was of the Lord ; for ( whatever his Naturl Spirit was ) His Captive circumstances had rendred him but weak ; as we may Guess by his Timorousness to speak to the King ( tho' he was in good place about him ) He continually fetch'd his strength from God ; He was fain ( by Ejaculation ) to pray between a Question and an Answer ( chap. 2. 4. ) What is thy Request ? So I Prayed — And I said &c. He had not Courage to give the King an answer ; till he had his Spi●its Revived by the God of Heaven . 4. This Hotter Spirit is an Angry Spiri● is Ardent and Fervent in it sel● ; Eage● and Vigorous in motion ; with a vehemence in Inclinations ( all which may be better Referred to this head , then that of Activity , before mentioned ) Its chief ingredient is Chollerick Constitution tho' it may be also Habitually encreased , and Morally Fixt in men , by frequent occasions and provocations ; as also by much converse , with peevish and fretful persons this is intimated in that ( Prov. 22. 24. 25 , ) Make no friendship with an angry man , & with a furious man thou shalt not go ; Lest thou Learn his ways , and get a snare to thy Soul. His anger will , by degrees heat thy Spirit into a Disorder ; or , at least bring it into another frame ; then to what thou art naturally inclined . This Spirit Acts , and shews it self in ZEAL , and IEALOUSY . 1. Zeal , is a Fervour of Spirit , whereby a man does Act ( Valide & Valde ) All that comes to his hand , he presently does it with his Might . Here Anger is ( Cos Fortitudinis ) the Whetstone of Valour ; And tho' Courage hath it● Strength in it self , yet it commonly ha● the beginning , and more often the continuance of its motion , from this Zeal This is as the Touch-Powder , that catches the first Fire , and as soon inflames that which has all the force in it . T is a Natural Passion , and therefore ( in it self ) neither Good nor Bad. But if , 1. Unsanctifyed , 't is a Hellish Flame , that burns unmercifully , and does abundance of Hurt , to ones self and others . 'T is KAKOZELIA , a mischievous vehemence that spoyles the comfort of Humane Society ; and if it be any way concern'd in Religion , it m●kes Havock of the Church as is seen in the Bigots of a false Religi●n . An eminent example of which , was Paul ( while he was Saul ) before his Conversion to the true Faith. They shall kill you , and think they do God good Service ( Iohn 16 : 2 : ) In a word , it renders men ( like the Chaldeans ) Bitter & Hasty ( Habbac . 1. 6. ) 2. But if Sanctified , then the Warm-Spi●ited Paul is another Man. He now re●lects on his former course , as a Mad Hare Brain●d , Wicked Business . See the Account of it . ( Acts 26. 9 , 10 11. ) I verily thought ( His Hot Head mistook his way , and so ran on furiously in a Perni●ious Error ) That I ought ( Divilism is now taken for Duty ) to do many things contrary &c. Many ( not a few ) were s●itable to his Hot and Active Spi●its ; many places ( Ierusa●em ; every Synagogue ; even to s●range Cities ) many Persons ( Many of the Saints ) Many Ways did I ( shut up in Prison ; put to Death ; and compelled them to Blaspheme ) yea , when he was but a St●ipling , when he could not hu●ll Mortifying S●●nes , he gave his voice against them ; Held the Garments of those that Stoned Stephen , and was consenting to his Death All this he acknowledges to be meer madness : being exceeding mad against them . But being now Converted , Does his Grace quite extinguish his Fi●ry Nature , & Spirit ? Not at all ; only directs , & exerts it , to better purposes . Paul is the same Zealot ; but in other matters . His Active Spirit Labours more abundantly then they all . ( 1 Cor. 15. 10. ) Zeal he commends , exhorts , and practises . He commends Zeal in his Epistles , if it be rightly placed . 'T is always good to be Zealous in a good thing , ( Gal. 4. 18. ) To be Zealous of Spiritual Gists ( 1 Cor. 14. 12. ) of Good Works . ( Titus 2. 14. ) He also exhorts men to be Fervent in Spirit , Serving the Lord. ( Romans 12. 11. ) And he Allowed and Practised it in himself ; of which we have Divers Instances . Take a view of his Hot and Earnest Spirit in some particulars . At Athens his Spirit was stirred in him , when he saw the City wholly given to Idolatry . ( Acts 17. 16 ) 't was full of Gods , without the True God , and he was angry and vext to see it . So in Corinth , at the Jews Infidelity . He was pressed in Spirit , and Testi●ied that Jesus was the Christ. ( chap. 18. 5. ) Now when was this ? 'T was when Silas and Timotheus , were come from Macedonia . He had a good mind to it before ; even , when he was a poor Labouring Sojourner ( v. 3. ) Even then he Reasoned and perswaded every Sabbath , ( v. 4 ) But , now his friends are come , by them is his Countenance sharpened ( Prov. 27. 17. ) He had good Metall before , but now is a Keen Edg put upon it . Whether it were , that they brought him Contribution , which better'd his Outward Condition , and so Raised his Spirit a pegg higher : or else that they were to be his Fellow Travellers ; and so , being now Ready to Depart ( v. 7. ) He was bravely resolved to out with that , which had so long broyled in his Bosome . Some way or other ( whatever it were ) it had relation to their coming , whereby his Spirit was enlarged . He had a Good Spirit before , but now a Great one His Zeal before was kindled , but now it breaks out . He cares not now , what they said , or thought of him ; he now Ruffles them ; Roundly delivers his Testimony ; shakes his Raiment at them ; Tells them their own ; and throws the Blood of their Obstinacy upon their own Heads . So much may Outward Circumstances sometimes Help forward the actings of Grace and Nature , in a Sanctifyed Spirit : T is manifest he was of a vehement Spirit , and eager in all things . When he missed his friend , he could not stay at Troas ( tho' he might have done it to good purpose ; for there a Door was opened to him of the Lord ( 2 Cor● 2. 12. ) But he had no rest in his Spirit ; because he found not Titus his Brother there , and away he must , into Macedonia after him . ( v. 13. ) Doubtless , the Apostles Removes , were by direction of the Spirit of God ; but yet ( oftentimes ) they were according to Humane Affection or Spirit , Tho' secretly over-ruled by God for his Holy ends Thus , this Hot Spirited Man was parted from Barna●as in an anger ( Acts 15 : 39. ) The Contention was so sharp that they parted ; one to Cyprus , and the other to Syria & Cylicia ; but both about the same Evangelical Business . Another Instance of his Zealous , Sturdy , and Vehement Spirit , was his Carriage to Peter : 1 withstood him to the face ; ( Gal. 2 : 11 ) Peter , was Pauls elder Brother in the Faith ; another man ( perhaps ) in the case , would have handled him more respectfully ; but Paul cannot complement ; he must do all things like himself ; he not only Preaches against his blameable Practice and Complyance , but noses him for it in a publick presence . I said unto Peter before them all [ v. 14. ] And thus much of Pauls Zealous Spirit . The next Example shall be Apollos , who was by Nature ( t is likely ) as well as Grace , a man Fervent in Spirit ; and therefore Spake and Taught Di●●gently , according to the Knowledge that he had in the Gospel ; which as yet was not very great , Knowing only Iohns Baptism ; until a Tent-maker and his Wise ( Aquila and Priscilla ) had Expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly . He was indeed a man of a brave Spirit and Excellent Endowments ; He was Eloquent , and a great Textuary , Mighty in the ( Old Testament ) Scriptures ; and so , well furnished for an Eminent Preacher ; But 't was his Spirit , his Fervent Spirit , Subordinate to his Grace , that fitted him to Speak Boldly in the Synagogues ; and mightily to Convince the Iews , and that publickly . ( Acts 18. 25 , &c. ) A man of as much Grace , and more Knowledge , might not have been Able so well to perform this Service . Zeal for God , which is every mans Duty , will not Comport so well with every mans Spirit . [ Non omnia possumus omnes ] All cannot do All. When Father Paul at Venice was Discoursed by some Helvetian Ministers , concerning the Reformation , and he had owned to them the chief principles of the Reformed Religion ; tho' he still continued in the Papal Communion ; being demanded by them why he did not publickly profess his Faith ? He is said to have Answered , [ profecto Deest mihi Spiritus Lutheri ] Alas ! in Truth , I want Luthers Spirit . The Hearts of those Jews were so Callous and Hard , that they needed to be warmly fomented . They needed ( under the Law ) The Bitt●rness and Heat of Ezekiels 〈◊〉 ( Ezek. 3. 14. ) So the Spirit Lifted me up , and took me away , and I went in the Bitterness , in the Heat [ Hebr. and Anger ] of my Spirit . Gods Spirit moved him , and then his Angry Spirit was moved ; The Spirit of God made use of a vehement Spirit in the man , to deal sui●●bly with them . And so [ under the Gospel ] They needed the Like Spi●it . Therefore he sent Iohn as his Forerunner ; that Burning as well as Shining Light , to Imitate the Prophet 〈◊〉 . He shall go before him in the Spirit of Elias . ( ●uke 1. 17. ) Now Elias was a H●t-spirited man , and praved down ●ot Fire to Consume the Enemies . Iohn ( like him ) Preached Repentance with Severity ; Calling them Generation of Vipers ; and Laying the Ax to the Root of the Tree . He was a Rough Man in a Rough Garment , and handled them Roughly . And indeed this Spirit was proper in the ( praecursor , the ) Forerun●er of Christ , who came to Preach Peace , and Heal the Wounds of Conscience , which Iohns Doctrine had made . Iesus Christ himself , was the Meek and Holy Lamb of God , who Bare all Injuries with an Inimitable Patience ; and yet was not altogether without this warmth of Spirit upon occasion . The Zeal of thine House hath eaten me up ; was spoken of him ( Psal. 69. 9. ) And Applied to him [ Iohn 2. 17. ] When he whipped the Buyers , and Sellers out of the Temple ; and Overturned the Tables of the Money-Changers ; This he did Once , but commonly his sweet Conversation , was much otherwise . 'T was Prophesied of him . ( Isa. 42. 2. ) And Interpreted of him , ( Mat. 12. 19. ) He shall not strive , nor Cry ; neither shall any man hear his Voyce in the Streets . Nor does he allow the Hot and Fiery Temper an Ordinary Indulgence in his Disciples . When Iames and Iohn , would have had him Call for Fire from Heaven , on a Village of the Samaritans ( Luke 9. 54. ) He tells them , They knew not , what Spirit they were of ; ( i. e. ) either what they ought to be , if they would be his Disciples : or rather , they might mistake themselves ( as men are too often apt to do ) and think , That to be a Sanctified Zeal , which more appeared , but a Corrupt and Revengeful Fury . These two men were Bretheren ( the Sons of Zebedec ) whom Christ ( who knew their Spirits better , than themselves ) named ( according to their Nature ) And he Surnamed them Boanerges , which is , The Sons of Thunder . ( Mark 3. 17. ) He was not Deceived in them , when he chose them ; But knew how to Sanctify their Rough Spirit , and so make a very good use thereof : They might make good Thundring Preachers ; They might be fitted for Tough work ( as Luther after them was ) to Break through such Difficulties , 〈◊〉 would have likely Foyled and 〈◊〉 as good men , but of a meeker Spir●● [ Malus Nodus , malus Cuneus ] Rugg●● Wedges are fittest for a cross-grain'd pie● of Service . Fire in mens Spirits ( as 〈◊〉 as among the Elements ) may be necessa●● sometimes ; And Rendred very Servicea●● if it be well Governed . But here 's the Difficulty ; Many good Christians , by Reason of Natural Infir●●ty , are not always able to manage a 〈◊〉 Spirit ; nor can always Distinguish b●●twixt Fire from Heaven , in the strong Motions of Gods Holy Spirit , which 〈◊〉 ought to be Cherished ; and th● Fire , which arises from Hell in the vehmence of Temptation , Enkindling 〈◊〉 Reakings and Fumes of their Corrupte● Nature ; of which the Devil never fa● to take his Advantage . Young Elihu ( before mentioned ) 〈◊〉 a zealous , warm Spirited man ; And 〈◊〉 without great Piety ( as the Tenour of 〈◊〉 Discourse does manifest . ) Yet when 〈◊〉 Spirit constrained him , and his Belly was 〈◊〉 Wine , which hath no vent , and ready to Bu●● like New Bottles , ( Job 32. 18 , 19. ) i : e. ) When his Passion was stirred within 〈◊〉 He Breaks out , not only to Irreverence 〈◊〉 his Elder Brethren ( v. 9. ) Great men are not always wise ; neither do the Aged Understand Iudgment ; But he also Charges Iob ( I think ) very falsely ( ch . 33. 8 , 9. ) I have heard the voice of thy words saying , I am clean without Transgression ; I am Innocent , neither is there Iniquity in me . Where ( I wonder ) does Iob so speak ? Surely if he had , God would not have Justified him , as he does ( ch . 42. 7. ) Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is Right , as my Servant Iob hath . So much do Hot Spiririted Men , tho' Good Men , yet often overshoot themselves . The Rightest Temper of a Sanctified Zeal , was that of Stephens ; a mixture of Meekness , Wisdome and Courage , ( Acts 6. 10 ) They were not ahle to 〈◊〉 the Wisdom , and the Spirit , with which he spake . He spake with a Spirit , which I take to be Zeal and Earnestness ; and yet with Wisdome , so as no Exception could be justly taken ; and with Meekness too , which ( after all their horrid Injuries ) is Testified by his Last and Dying Words ; ( ch . 7. 6. ) Lord , Lay not this Sin to their Charge . And thus much of Zeal ; near of kin to which is . 2. Iealousie , a passion , to which , some mens Spirits are , more than others , prone ; And whereby men are Inclined to Suspicion , fierce Anger , Hatred , and Bitterness . 'T is called a Spirit of Iealousie coming upon a man , ( Numb . 5. 14. ) whether his Wife be Defiled , or not . This Spirit in Unsanctifyed persons and practises , is an Odious and Bitter Evil. 'T is Declared Hateful to God , and horridly Injurious to man. Hateful to God , ( Mal. 2. 16. ) I hate putting away saith the Lord. ● Therefore Take Heed to your Spirit ; namely , This Iealous Spirit , that you Entertain it not . And Injurious to man , as appears in the precedent words ( v. 15. ) Take Heed to your Spirit , Let none deal Treacherously ( or Unfaithfully : marg . ) Against the Wife of his Youth . 'T is a Treacherous Unfaithfulness , to Entertain groundless Jealousies : Love is Covenanted in Marriage ; and this is quite contrary thereunto : Love thinketh no Ill ; Iealousie thinking nothng else . Love covereth Faults ; Groundless Iealousie searcheth to Discover faults , where there are none . And then the Repetition of the words [ Therefore take Heed to your Spirit ] ( v. 15. and again v. 16 ) is well to be Noted ; for 't is a Rule , [ Repeated words in Scripture call for special observation . ] And as in Marriage , so in other Relations ; it Destroys Friendship ; spoyls Humane Society , and mutual Confidence ; and sometimes stirs up the most bitter Enmity ; for Ieal●usie is the ●age of a man , That takes no Ransome for Life . ( Prov. 6. 34. ) This is the Spirit that Dwelleth in us , ( i. e. ) our Corrupted Nature ) Lusting to Envy ( James 4. 5 ) And yet , ●or All this 〈◊〉 said of it ( nor can enough ●e said ) Abs●ract but a Iealous and Suspicious 〈◊〉 , from In-bred Corruptions ; Take it as a pure Natural Temper ; 'T is a Basis of Great Prudence , Wisdom and Wariness . Not to allow of that Rotten principle [ Suspect every man to be Knave , with whom you have to do ] But to take care in avoiding that Cha●acter of a Fool Noted in ( Prov. 14. 15. ) The Simple believeth every word ; But the prudent man Looketh well to his going . Not Uncharitably to Suspect , but prudently to be Circumspect , is becoming a wise and hon●st man. This pure Natural Cautious Spirit may be the Subject of Sanctif●cation , and may become God like , and a Godly Iealousie . God like , when a man so utte●●y Disapproves Sin and 〈◊〉 ; That he Dislikes the very Appearance thereof , and Tendency thereunto . Thou shalt not Bow down , for I the Lord thy God am a Iealous God. ( Exo. 20. 5. ) And by Sins ( however palliated ) is provokt to Iealousie . ( Deu● . 32. 16. 21. ) Every Likenese of Sin , may Deserve that name , ( Ezek. 8. 3 ) The Image of Iealousie , which provoketh to Iealousie . And as God-like , so 't is Godly . The Holy Prophet owned , and professed it . ( 1 King. 19. 10. 14. ) I have been very Iealous for the Lord God of Hosts . And so did the Holy Apostle . ( 2 Cor. 11 : 2. ) I am Iealous over you with Godly Iealousie ; for I have Espoused you to one Husband , &c. 'T is Godly , when the ●ent of Jealousie is only to promote Holiness ; when the Suspicion notes but care and watchfulness ; and the Bitterness ascribed to this Spirit , is but a Hatred of Sin ; it may so be of very Excellent Use , especially in those , who by Gods Order have the Oversight of others . And thus much of the Hotter Spirit , which is Chearful , Active , Couragious , Angry in zeal and Iealousie . We shall now take a view of its Opposite , and so better Illustrate both , by comparing them together . 2. The Colder Spirits , which are in some men , under the Temperaments of Phlegm , or Melancholly ; The more if Radicated by Habits , or excited and promoted by Ill Objects , or Outward Circumstances . These are in every point of the contrary Character , to those Hotter Spirits before-mentioned . As I. Is that Chearful and Brisk ; This is sorrowful and pensive : full of Grief and Mourning ; as if made up of Sighs and Tears . And whether it be from Natural Temper , or from that concurrence ( mentioned ) of sad and troublesome Circumstances ; Mens Spirits are hereby Formed and Disposed to Lamentations . Such was weeping Ieremiah ; such was our Blessed Saviour in his Humiliation A man of Sorrows and acquainted , with Grief , as was Prophesied of him , ( Isa. 53. 3. ) Now if this be Unsanctified it Disposes to many Evils ; especially , where the Dogged Melancholly is prevalent therein . 'T is an Evil Spirit in it self ; and of Evil Consequences . I. In it self ; probably this was the Evil Spirit from the Lord upon Saul . A Melancholly Spirit ; and perhaps sometimes even unto Fits of Distraction . I take it so to be ; for that it was Alleviated by Davids Musick ( 1 Sam. 16. 23. ) Surely Davids Harp could not Conjure down Devils ; Nor does give any Countenance to Popish Bell Baptism for the same purpose : No , rather it was a Natural Evil , an Evil Natural Spirit , sent of God in Judgment ; and Helped by Natural Means , thro' his Blessing . David played with his hand , so Saul was Refreshed , and was well ; and the Evil Spirit Departed from him . So ; by a Natural Means prescribed by his Doctors ( v. 16. ) [ Mus●ca Mentis Medicina Maestae ; ] was well ; It seems before he was Sick , Distempered , and his Spirit was out of Order . 'T is an Evil , both Natural , Moral , and Iudicial . A Natural ; ( Prov. 17. 22. ) A Merry Heart doth Good like a Medicine ; but a Broken Spirit Dryeth the Bones : ( i. e. ) Was●eth the Marrow , and Impaireth the Health . And it Tendeth also to Evil Moral and Iudicial too ; as you may observe , in 2. Its Consequences ; It Disposeth to Sullen Discontent , and peevish Frowardness ; both which are very Ugly , as well as wicked Humours . Sullen Discontent we may see in proud Haman , who , ( whatever his Natural Spirit was ) had a very Jolly one upon the Kings Favour . Haman went forth that Day , Ioyful , and with a Glad Heart . ( Esth. 5. 9. ) That Day , It seems it was not always so ; ( Aspiring Pride , and Sowerness of Spirit , are frequently conjoyned ; because of the many obstructions Real , and more apprehended , that cross his Ambition ) But That Day , and upon that particular Occasion , he was very Merry . This in him was Unsanctifyed , and therefore Unstable and soon Al●ered to the contrary , by a very slight matter ; for after he had Boasted among his Friends of all his Riches and Glory ; yet ( saith he ) All this availeth me nothing , s● long as I see Mordecai the Iew sitting at the Kings Gate . ( v. 13. ) What Remedy now in the Case ? His Wife advises him ( v. 14. ) Erect a Lo●y Gallows , and get Mordecai Hanged thereon ; and Then go thou in Merrily , with the King unto the Banquet . No Merriment , no Cure of the Sullens , till Mordecai be Dispatched ; He was in a Desperate Case ; his Bones were all Rotten , ( for that 's the Name of his Disease ( Prov. 14. 30. ) Envy is the Rottenness of the Bones ) and 't is likely , he might have Died of Discontent , if he had not ( soon after ) by the Gibbet . Another such an Instance of Sullenness was Covetous Ahab , whose Spirit was sad , because he was Denyed Naboth's Vineyard ( 1 King 21. 5. ) which caused him to Loll on his Bed , turn away his face , and would not eat Bread ( like a pou●ing Child ) vext at heart , that he could not have his Will ; proud Iezebe , like Zeresh , ( here 's another Wit of the Wi●e ) comes in with her Cur●ed Contrivance , to Dry up Ahabs Tears , by the Shedding of Naboth's Blood. One would have thought , that these Women ( because of the Natural Coldness and Moysture of their Sex ) should have been Authors of milder Counsels ; But their Unsanctifyed Hearts , being filled with Devillish Pride , makes them act contrary to that , which should be their very Nature ; so virulent are Feminine Humours , when Corruption ( on occasion ) turns them into Acids . Dismissing these Two , as they are ; you may ( if you please ) send in Iobs Wife ; with her Curse God and Die , ( Job 2. 9. ) to make up the Number , All. ( Tria sunt omnia . ) Note only ( by the way ) That Old Wives Prescriptions , are seldome good Remedies , for sad and melancholly Husbands . And this of Sullen Discontent . Of the Froward Peevishness , in this Colder and Mournful Spirit , we have a Notable Instance in the Israelites ; who could not hear what was Reasonable , and might be Comfortable , to them . God by Moses had sent them a very good and Gracious Word ; A Promise of their Deliverance ; of being their God , and taking them to be his People ; And Moses spake so , unto the Children of Israel ; But they hearkened not unto Moses , for Anguish ( or Shortness ) or Spirit , and for Cruel Bondage , which was the occasion thereof . ( Exod. 16. 9. ) They were in this Like weeping Rachel , who Refused , and would not be Comforted . ( Mat. 2. 18. ) From these Instances ( besides frequent Experience , ) we may Learn , That the Consequents of a sad Unsanctifyed Spirit are Deplorable ; All manner of Evil , Natural , Moral and Iudicial . Natural and Moral seem to be pointed at in that Expression ( 2 Cor. 7. 10. ) The sorrow of the world worketh Death . This may referr to both ; 't is both a Sin and a Mischief ; as appears by the Antitheta ( in the former part of the verse . ) Godly Sorrow worketh Repentance to Salvation , not to be Repented of ; Therefore ( by the Rule of contrari●s ) Worldly Sorrow is Sin , unto Destruction , and to be Repented of by those , who would avoid those Evils . But more expresly is it Iudicial , when God pronounces it as a Curse . Ye shall Cry for sorro● of heart , and shall Howl for vexation ( or Breaking . marg . ) of Spirit . ( Isa. 65. 14 ) This if Unsanctified . And yet by Sanctification , a Mournful Spirit may become a Blessing ; it may Adapt , and Incite to many Graces and Duties . In that ( 2 Cor. 7. 10. ) worketh Repentance to Salvation , not to be Repented of : You 'l have no cause to be sorry , for a so●rowful Spirit , if your Tears be set to Run in a right Channel . See more of the Bl●ssed Effects ( v. 11. ) Ye Sorrowed after a godly sort ; Behold what Carefulness it wrought in you ; what clearing of your selves ; yea what Indignation ; yea what Fear ; yea what vehement Desire ; yea what Zeal ; yea what Revenge . Understand Indignation , Fear and Revenge , to Respect Sin , and not men . A Mournsul Spirit Sanctified Disposes to Prayer . Hanna professes to Eli , ( who had misapprehensions of her ) I am a Woman of a sorrowful Spirit , and have poured out my Soul before the Lord ( 1 Sam. 1. 15. ) She wept inwardly , as she mentally pra●ed , and her Prayers and Tears were secretly mingled , and poured out to her God ; she was in Bitterness of Soul , and prayed unto the Lord , and wept sore ( v : 18. ) David often to this purpose , ( Ps. 77. 2. ) In the Day of my Trouble I sought the Lord. When was that ? VVhen my Spirit was overwhe●med ( v. 3. ) So ( Ps. 142. 2 , ● . ) I poured out my Complaint before him , I shewed before him my Tyouble , when my Spirit was overwhelmed within me . And in the next ( Ps. 143. 4. ) His Spirit was again Overwhelmed ; I stretched forth my hands unto thee . ( v. 6. ) That Spirit which was wont to be full Fraught with Harmonious Praises is now Overset , and another Service is appointed for him ; He Sayled joyfully in pleasant Gales , but Storms find him other work . The greatest Instance ( in meer man ) of a sorrowful Spirit , was that of Iob , in the Days of his Tryal ; His Complaint he Uttereth freely , and Justi●yeth his so doing , as of a natural Necessity : His Case was sad ; His Spirit was Drunk up , ( ch . 6. 4. ) Drunk up ( as he expresses it ) That he had None Left to bear his Troubles . The Spirit of a man will bear his Infirmity ( Pro. 18 14. ) But ( alas ) his Bearing Spirit is gone , and nothing but a Broken and Burthened one is Left in him : In this case , he says , I will not Refrain my mouth ; I will speak in the Anguish of my Spirit ; I will complain in the Bitterness of my Soul ( ch . 7. 11. ) But his Cpmpl●i●● i● To God , and not Of God. As 〈…〉 my Complaint to man ? And if 〈…〉 why should not my Spirit be 〈…〉 ( ch . 21. 4. ) And yet , we may say of him in all this , as was testified of him in the beginning , In all this Iob sinned not , nor charged God foolishly ( ch . 1. 22. ) Altho' Satan expected it from him . ( v. 11. and ch : 25. ) which indeed he would have done , had not God Sanctified his sorrowful Spirit : and preserved it Blameless . VVhen Nebuchadnezzar Dreamed Dreams , wherewith his Spirit was Troubled . [ Dan. 2. 1. ] VVe find this Unsanctified Heathen fret and vex , and require unreasonable things : The Thing is gone from me I have quite forgot it ; yet , Tell me the Dream , and the Interpretation , or ye shall be cut in pieces , and your Houses made a Dunghil . ( v. 5. ) So eager was he to be rid of his Troubled Spirit . But Daniel thro' Sanctification was of another Temper in the like case . ( ch . 7. 15. ) I Daniel was grieved in my Spirit , in the midst of my Body ( or sheath ) and the Visions of my Head troubled me . He then seeks for satisfaction from God , by Drawing near to his Angel ( v. 16. ) And though he say ; My Cogitations Troubled me , and my Countenance changed in me . ( v. 28 : ) yet he was not in haste to be Rid of it ; But I kept the matter in my heart ; namely , to be farther Meditated upon , and to wait the Issue : And indeed in all Troublesome Cases , This is the Guise of a Gracious and Sanctified Spirit . But of all other Ins●ances , the Great Exemplar the Lord Iesus Christ is most to be Admired and Imitated in his Holy Mournful Spirit . His Sorrow in Gethsemane , when he approached near his Passion , is thus set forth . He began to be sore Amazed , and to be very Heavy ; and saith , My Soul is exceeding Sorrowful unto Death . ( Mat. 14. 33 , 34. ) And what does he , but pray ? That this Bitter Cup ( as Mathew ) or this Hour ( of Temptation ) as Mark ) might pass from him ; and being in an Agony be prayed more earnestly , ( Luk. 22. 44. ) In this wrestling with God , His Sweat was as it were , great Drops ( or Clodders ( of Blood falling down to the Ground . And yet , notwithstanding all this Earnestness , it was with the greatest Submission . Nevertheless not as I will , but as thou wilt . ( v. 39. ) And thus much of the Sorrowful Cold Spirit . 2. Is that Hotter Spirit Active and Vigorous : This Colder is dull and weak ; a dull Spirit , or Spirit of Heaviness , as 't is call'd ( Isa. 61. 3. ) The Spirit of a man is the principle of his Activity . It Disposes him Diligently to Teach , ( as is before shewn ) and Diligently to Learn ; to make Diligent Search ( as t is expressed , Psal. 77. 6. ) But this Dull Soul ( in it self ) is fit for neither . The Spirit of man , is also the principle of his Vigour , and helps to bear his Burdens ; But this Spirit is ( in it self ) a Burden . The Spirit of a man will sustain his Infirmity ; ●ut a Wounded Spirit who can Bear ? ( Prov. 18. 14. ) 'T is a weak and ●ainting Spirit ; much like that , which was in the Queen of Sheba , when she saw the Effects of Solomons Wisdom , she was even astonished , and there was no more Spirit in her . ( 1 Kin. 10. 5. This Unsancti●yed is a pirtiful , base , and Useless Spirit ; Incli●ing only to Sottish Sl●th and Idleness ; It Renders unapt to Do , or Receive any good . When they should Teach , they are Dumb Dogs ; and when they should Learn , they have a Spirit of Sl●mber and of Deep Sleep ( Isa. 29. 10. ) and so proportionably in any other worthy Affair . But if Sanctified , Its slowness makes the surer work ; takes time for good Deliberation ; and helps to prevent much Rashness and Precipitance , which Nimbler Spirits are more liable unto . All Slowness is not Blameable ; Some are Duties ; as , Slow to Wrath ( Prov. 14. 29. ) Slow to speak . ( James I. 19. ) And where Slowness of Speech , is an Infirmity ; yet this hinders not Gods making use of such in very Eminent Service , as he did Moses , ( Exod. 1. 10. ) And as to the Weakness of this Spirit , It Leads to Dependance on Gods All-Sufficiency ; It is often an Effect of great Sorrow , By Sorrow of heart the Spirit is Broken. ( Prov. 15. 13. ) And the Crack'd or Broken Spirit ( as before noted ) is very weak ; but Sanctified it is accompanied with Faith. And then it makes Prayerful , in Applications to God for help . Hear me speedily O Lord , my Spirit faileth ; I have no strength of my own to Bear up against the Floods ; I will cry unto thee when my heart ( or Spirit ) is overwhelmed ; Lead me to the Rock , that is higher than I. ( Ps. 61. 2. ) 3. Is That Spirit Bold , Resolute and Confident ; The Colder one is Timorous , and humbly yielding . 'T is Little in it self ; and commonly Less in its own Eyes : It Designs no great things ; nor is fit for any Great Undertaking ; But is apt to shun all things , that appear any way Dangerous . This , if Unsanctifyed is a Base Pusitanimity ; a mean , poor , cowardly and creeping Spirit : Unfit for Doing and Notable Good ; or Suffering and Considerable Evil. Such will never be Martyrs for , or Confessors of , any valuable Truth . This Spirit ( like Issachar ) stoops under the Burden , of every Imposing and Tirannical Humour , without the least opposition , or Resentment ; so as it will easily let go Christian , or Civil Liberty ; And even Tempt the proud to Trample on their Neck . It gives way , not only for a moment , a short time ( in matters , that will bear it ) upon prudent Considerations ; But gives up for good and all ( as we use to speak ) without any consideration at all : The former is Good Fencing ; the latter is Base Cowardise , which opens a careless Gap , that not only Suffers , but Invites Trespassers . This Spirit is a Saddled Ass , ready to be Rid at pleasure ; and is most mischievous in a Church , where are Diotrephian Spirits , and Ruinous to a State , where Tyranny would be playing pranks . Such are men Born to be Slaves , for whose Unreasonable Yielding , their Posterity will have cause to Curse them . As to the performance of Necessary Duties , They always imagine Lions in the way , and in the least appearance of a Difficulty , they are ready to fancy Insuperables , and thereby Inhance Discouragements ; so that they Tremble , tho' it be , but at the shaking of a Lea● , ( Lev. 26. 36. ) I will send a faintness into their hearts , and the sound of a shaking Leaf shall Chase them ; and they shall flee , as fleeing from a Sword ; and they shall fall , when none pursueth . To Fear , where no Fear is , is not only a Iudicial Misery , but it is also too often a Sin , Derived from Unbelief , as against frequent Commands ; Fear not , neither be Dismayed : Fear not their Fear , be not afraid of their Faces , &c. And a Sin ( it seems ) of the worst Character , as Ushering in the Bedroul of Abominable Wickedness , in that Denunciation ( Rev. 21. 18. ) But the Fearful , and Unbelieving , and the Abominable , and Murtherers and Whoremongers , and Sorcerers , and Idolaters , and all Liars , shall have their part in the Lake that Burneth . This Spirit it self is not a Sin , so far as it Depends on Natural Causes ; 'T is no Evil for a Woman to be Less Couragious , then a man ; or to be more afraid upon apparent Danger ; But when Fear is Habituated , or Acted by Unbelief ; for ●hen it Impeaches Gods Glorious Attri●utes ; his Mercy , Truth , and All-sufflciency But if this Little , Low , and Timorous Spirit be Sanctified , 't is Exercised in a Gracious Humility , which Aspires not to things too high ( Ps. 131. 1. ) A Contrite Spirit , Sanctifyed , is no Base and Contemptible Spirit . 'T is Preferred and Esteemed by Wise men , Directed by the Holy Spi●it of God , who teaches men to put a due value , upon the good of Things , and Persons . Better it is to be of an Humble Spirit with the Lowly , then to Divide the Spoyl with the Proud. ( Prov. 6. 19. ) He shall be far from Contempt : A mans pride shall bring him Low ; but Honour shall uphold the Humble in Spirit ( Prov. 29. 23. ) Humility is a Lovely Grace amongst men ; it avoids Quarrels , which Pride and Haughtiness of Spirit commonly makes : It gives no Offence , and Removes the Offences that are Taken . Yielding pacifyeth great Offences . ( Eccl. 10. 5. ) And as 't is Acceptable to men , so it is well pleasing unto God. A Broken and a Contrite Spirit O God thou will not Despise , ( Psa. 51. 17. ) Not Despise is a MEIOSIS , yea he Favours and Approveth . The Lord is nigh to them . — and Saveth such , as be of ●●●●trite Spirit . ( Ps. 34. 18. ) This Favour 〈◊〉 the more Illustrates by setting 〈…〉 own Excellencies . The Great and 〈…〉 God Regards the Little and Low Spirit ; This is more than once shewn by the Prophet Isaiah . For thus saith the High and Lofty One , who Inhabiteth Eternity ; I Dwell in the High and Holy Place , and with him also , that is of an Humble and Contrite Spirit ; to Revive the Spirit of the Humble , and to Revive the Heart of the Contrite Ones ( Isa. 57. 15 , 16. ) And ( ch . 66. 2. ) Heaven and Earth hath mine Hand made ; But to this man will I Look , even to him that is poor , and of a Contrite Spirit , and Trembleth at my word . 'T is not that poor , mean , Spirit , that Trembles at the Shaking of a Leaf ; or sinfully feareth man , whose Breath is in his Nostrils ; but he that feareth the Lord and Trembleth at his Word . Such an one shall not only be Countenanced , and Comforted , by God here ; but bountifully , and graciously , be Rewarded hereafter ; 't is the first of the Beatitudes ( Mat. 5. 3. ) Blessed are the poor in Spirit ; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven . 4. Is that Hotter Spirit an Angry Spirit , fermenting in Zeal and Iealousie : This colder is meek and wholly Inclined to peace : 'T is Sheepish , Lamblike , and Inoffensive ; no great Doer , and a quiet Sufferer : 'T is patient and silent in bearing Injuries , and easily overlooks Faults : It 's apt to think well of all , and in general , all its motions are calm and soft . This quiet , calm Te●per , if Unsanctified , hath its spring , only in Bodily Temperament , and Worldly Wisdom ; and then Undecently bears oftimes , what it ought to shake off , with Indignation . 'T is indeed Inclined to good Offices , but still with Earthly Design . It does good , to Receive good , Looking for something again contrary to our Saviours Rule . ( Luke 6. 45. ) 'T is not the Subject of Anger , because it would not be the Object thereof ; always accompanied with self-secking ; and its greatest Design is to pass quietly thro' the World. 'T is utterly Indisposed for holy Zeal , so as never to contend earnestly for the Faith. Nor will it plead Gods Cause , when Wickedness is Rampant , nor Labour to Restrain or Rebuke Ungodliness . This Gallio-like Spirit cares for none of these things . ( Acts 18. 17. ) But wholly Leaves men to their own Course , without any Religious Controul . This was Elies Sin , for which both he and his Family were severely Dealt with ; God was Angry with him , because he was not Angry ●or God. T is a Listless Frame for Affectionate Duty ; Dead Hearted to and in , Heavenly Service ; A Professor of such a Spirit is but a Cold Christian , and will have but a cold Entertainment when he comes to seek his Reward . A true Christian should be always furnished with a Spirit , though not always Use it : There is a time for necessary Anger . And we should Use our warmth of Spirit , or forbear it , as occasion Requires . What will you ? Shall I come unto you with a Rod ; or in Love , and in the Spirit of Meekness ? ( 1 Cor. 4. 21. ) This Unsanctified softness of Spirit , Tho' it be thus Useless and Blamcable ; yet this must be acknowledged of it : That of all the Worldly Spirits 't is one of the best ; and as it does no good , so it does Least Harm and Mischief . It may Render a man a quiet and untroublesome Neighbour , and tollerable Member , of the Common●wealth ; But still a sapless and fruitless Branch in the Church , ; and is far short of true Christianity , whatever it professes . But if the Meek Spirit be a Sanctified one ; Oh! How Excellent , How Lovely and Desirable is it ? How much does it conduce to Brethrens Living together in Unity ? How many Brawls and Factions would it prevent ? It then ( when Sanctifyed ) has another principal Rise and End then was suggested by Nature and Circumstances . It then Arises from Conformity to the Great Exemplar ( Isa. 53. 7. ) Who was brought as a Lamb to the Slaughter : and as a Sheep before the Shearers is Dumb , so opened not he his Mouth VVh●n he was Reviled , he Reviled not again ; when he Suffered , be Threatned not ; but committed hims●lf to him , who Iudgeth Righteously . ( 1 Pet. 2. 23. ) Again , this is a fit Spi●it to Deal with Sinners . Restore such an one in the Spirit of Meekness . ( Gal. 6. 1. ) 'T is that which is peaceable with men , and pleasing to God ; and therefore is Honourable , as an Ornament . The Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit ; which in the sight of God is of great price . ( 1 Pet. 3. 4. ) Surely God knows the true value of Things , who hath put all Worth and Dignity into them . This is a proper Gospel Spirit , very much for its Honour , and promoting its Interest in the World : It oft-times holds the Hands and stops the Mouths of its Adversaries . That Rebuke of our Saviour to those Sons of Thunder , ( Iames and Iohn ) when they would have Fire from Heaven upon the Samaritan Village . ( Luke 9. 55. ) Intimates the True and Genuine Gospel . Spirit ; Ye know not what manner of Spirit you are of : You are not Spirited as you should be : The Spirit you have is a Chollerick , Revengeful Spirit , and you know it not : Or , you know not what Spirit , you should be of , as my Disciples : The Spirit of Elias ( under which you would cover your passions ) Has done its Preparatory work in Iohn Baptist ; But now the Evangelical-Spirit hence forward ; is quite another thing ; 'T is full of meekness , sweetness , and gentleness of mind ; which by your present talk , you seem little to understand ; You ( as my Disciples ) do profess to be of the Gospel-Spirit ; But alas , you have it not ; You know not what Spirit you are of ! And thus much of the two Opposite Spirits , the Hot and the Cold. We come now to the Mean , between them both ; which of all the Natural Spirits is the most Curious , Desireable , and best Manageable , to every good purpose . Therefore 3. Some men are of a more Temperate Spirit , which is Cool in Respect of the Heats ; and Warm , in Respect of the Chills of Spirit , in the former two Extreams . All the Conveniencies ; of those it has , without their Inconveniencies ; This is the Well-balanced Spirit , that moves Evenly , Smoothly , and Firmly ; The Vessel of due proportion , betwixt Hull , and Sayl , which usually well Arrives at its intended Port. 'T is the faelix Temperies of the Philosophers , that naturally Disposes to , and Adapts for , General Vertue . 'T is best enabled to Use its own Abilities ; and manage its own powers , whether Intellectual or Volitive to the best Advantage . 1. Intellectual by a moderation , and order of Thoughts ; of a sufficient Heat to Excite them , and yet of Coolness enough to Govern them , and their Effects , which otherwise might be Exorbitant . 'T is not the Dull Soul , that thinks not Intensely of any thing ; Nor the Phantastick Air , that Huddles , and is precipitant in all things . But it is such a well composed Spirit , as indeed Quickens a man to Act , and yet Renders him Sober , and Deliberate , in all his Actions . Hence arises Wisdom and Prudence in Matters , and a firm Iudgment , that will not suffer it self to be Biassed or Disordered by any unruly Passions ; But Governs them by Reason ; and brings and keeps them in their due Subordaination . Whence follows 2. The Volitive Powers are well used , and ordered by such a Moderate Spirit ; The Will is Benign , and the Passions Regular . The Will , and all the powers under its Commands are Disposed to Subjection unto Right Reason . Hence This Spirit is apt to be well governed In the man ; that has it ; And thereby Renders him more fit to Govern amongst other men in the world ; from both which it may be Denominated A Spirit of Government . Of this brave Spirit was Titus Vespasian , who from thence was called ( Humani Generis Deliciae ) The Delights of Mankind . Faithfulness , Candour , Beneficence , and all other things that are Excellent ( so far as Nature can go ) have their Derivation from this Spirit ; because it is not so liable to the Infirmity of Unruly Passions , which is the Natural Cause of all the contrary Vices . Yet if this Rare and Excellent Spirit , which is so very good in it self be Unsanctify'd and Corrupt ; 'T is all as Bad , if not worse , then the Rest. Corruption of the best is worst . For 1. It s Wisdom and Prudence , if Unsanctifyed , is ( at best ) but Worldly Wisdom , and Imployed wholly to serve Worldly Interests : But it seldome stops there ; for it commonly proceeds in a way of Enmity against God and Goodness ; And becomes too often a Devilish Policy . If the Enemies of the Church be men of this Spirit , they are most Dangerous : 'T is the men of this Temper , that are the Achitophels for Mischievous Counsels . The Hot Spirited Huffs , and Hectors , may have as great an Enmity , which they often shew in a storming rage ; But their vehement Passions do oft-times Deprive them , of a discreet consideration , whereby they overshoot themselves , and miss their Designs . The Smooth-bootes that look Demure , who can think and contrive , and are not in over-great Haste ; The Wolves in Sheeps-cloathing ; ( in a word ) The close and undiscerned Hypocrites ( who by means of this Moderate Spirit , may more easily so be . ) These are the Dangerous Enemies ; These under their seeming Vertues , have advantage to act their secret Vices . Lyons by Roaring , may Terri●ie the Sheep into their Safefolds , while the slie Foxes ( by surprise ) do Devour the Flock . As to the Spirit of Iudgment , and Government Unsanctified ; 't is that which maketh Nets and Snares , and perverteth Jugdment in the Gate . 'T is not the Bawling Sollicitor , so much as the subtile Judge , that Frames Mischief by a Law , ( Psa. 94. 20 ) and cover it over by a plausible pretence . Not the Clamarous Multitude , so much as the Cunning High-Priests , that do violence to the Law , and pollute the Sanctuary . ( Zeph. 3. 4. ) 'T is they , that say , VVe have a Law , and by our Law he ought to Die. ( Ioh. 19. 7. ) Thus they Turn Judgment into Hemlock , and make the Ordinance of God Minister to their Lusts and Passions . 2. It s calmness of VVill , and moderation of Affections , with those seeming Ver●ues , that attend it , all are nothing so , as they do appear , but are Evil , and Subservient thereunto . Evenness of Mind Unsanctified Renders a man but a Gallio , caring for none of these things ; Not concerned about the Greatest Interests of their own , or others Souls : This is that Odious Lukewarmness which God will Spue out of his mouth . ( Rev. 3. 16. ) Again , Benignity , Generosity , and Candour of Spirit , if Unsanctified , is , ( as Mr. Fuller calls it ) The Bad-good-nature , which is commonly , and most Abused by Parasitical Hang-byes . Such men are Led by a Thred ( not like Ariadne's Clew , out of , But ) into continual Dangers . Th● Gallantly follow Trappanning , and Deceitful Guides , to do Mischief ; like the men , that followed Absa●om in their simplicity , and they knew not any thing of his Designs . ( 2 Sam. 15. 11. ) These are oft Impos'd upon ; and made Tools , and Implements , in mischievous and ungodly projects , for want of Gracious Wisdom . On the same account of Bad●good-nature , they are apt to spare and favour , even VVickedness in men ; and Indulge them in their corrupt ways . They are apt to be prodigally Bountiful , to such as they should rather frown away . ( Prov. 29. 23. ) The North-wind Driveth away Rain ; and so doth an Angry Countenance a Backbiting Tongue . Lastly , as to the Fidelity and Stedfastness of this Natural Spirit , if Unsanctifyed , it fits men to keep the Devils Counsel ; He Heareth Cursing , and bewrayeth it not . ( Pro. 29. 24. ) A Thief may trust him with his Stollen Goods . Alas he is mislead by false names and notions of things , and ●he Clea●●● Immoveably to them : As for Instance ; An Oath , to which he will stick , tho' it be but a Bond of Iniquity , ( contrary to the very nature of an Oath ) Truth and Trust he so looks upon , under the Name of Moral Vertues , That he forgets the Christian Duty of not bei●g Parta●er in other mens Sins . So also , in Friendship , which ( through his Candour ) he often strikes with the Enemies of God ; He then thinks himself obliged to be faithful in all things to these his friends ; Tho indeed true Friendship is only in Vertue ; and other Friendship neither ought to be Begun , or Continued : Shouldst thou Help the Ungodly , and Love them , that Hate the Lord ? Therefore is VVrath upon thee from the Lord. ( 2 Cor. 19. 2. ) These Firm Spirited , are the unhappy men , who being once Ill-engaged , are hard to be Reclaimed : They will persist , tho' against the very Edge , and prickles of Cons●ience , and Convictions : They scorn to forsake their Colours , tho' it be to come under Christ's Banner : There is no hope to perswade ; no ; For I have Loved Strangers , and ( I 'le never be a base Changling or Turn●coat ) After them will I go . ( Jer. 2. 25. ) Thus this Noble Spirit is abused ; Thus its Silver is become Dross ; and those seeming Vertues , which use to Glitter therein , are no more than ( as Austin calls the Heathen Morals ) Splendida peccata ; meer Gloworms and Fire flies to the sight of a Moon-Ey'd World. But if Sanctified , if Light and Heat be put into them by the Baptism of Fire , How do the Excellencies of this Spirit Excel themselves ? This Governable Spirit is under a Twofold Government ; That of our own , and that of God too . This Fortified Spirit has a Double Guard ; That of our Discretion , and that of Gods Grace . Let us take a view of this Spirit , as Regulated by , and Set forth in , the Scripture . 1. 'T is a Temperate Spirit ; not Cold or Lukewarm , but Governably Cool . In ( Prov. 17. 27. ) we have ( in this Respect ) its Character , and its Commendation . He that hath Knowledge , spareth his words ; and a man of Understanding is of an Excellent or ( as in the Margin ) a Cool Spirit . By Knowledge and Understanding in Scripture ( and frequently in this particular Book ) is meant Gracious Wisdom , and Sanctified Knowledge : 'T is this that truly Tempers the Spirit to be excellently Cool ; and enables it to Govern it self and its Astions ; yea ; and that Unruly Little Member , the Tongue , which in Hot , and Gun-powder Spirited men is oft-times Inflamed and Set on Fire of Hell. ( James 3. 5 , 6. ) 'T is a Spirit of Government , both Passively and Actively . 1. Passively ( or fit to be Governed ) which gives Commendation to the man that has it , beyond the Triumphs of a Conqueror . He that Ruleth his Spirit is better , than he that Taketh a City . ( Prov. 16. 32. ) Fortior est , qui se ; quam qui fortissima vincit . That 's the brave man , that Rules his Spirit ; he Has the brave Spirit , where 't will Rules be . The Cold Spirit is too slow and heavy ▪ ●o follow the Dictates of Regulated Reason , unto any considerable Effect . The Hot Spirit over-runs it , and ( of the Two ) is the most Ungovernable . The Hasty and Disordered Spirit is chi●fly Denominated Unruly , which often Exposes a man to Dangers , as an Unfortify'd City . ( Prov. 25. 28. ) He that hath no Rule over his ( Royled and Ruffled ) Spirit , is like a City , that is Broken down , and hath no Walls . The Moderate Spirit sets Discretion in the Government of his Affairs ; But the Hasty Spirit ( not taking time to consider , what is to be done upon the present Emergence ) Exalteth Folly ( Prov. 14. 20. ) To the same Effect is that Comparison ; The patient in Spirit is better , than the proud in Spirit ( Eccl. 7. 8. ) which is Explained and Applied , in that Caution . ( v. 9. ) ●e not Hasty in the Spirit , to be Angry ; for ( proud ) Anger Resteth in the Bosome of Fools . The Moderate Spirit is well compact ▪ and firm , which keeps Foll● from Breaking in , or out ; But the Immoderate both Admits , and Discovers Folly , in all its Actions ; And most easily and commonly in the Tongue . A perverse Tongue is ( i. e. ) Betokens and Declares ) a Breach ( or Disorder ) in the Spirit . ( Prov. 1● . 4. ) This Cool and Temperate Spi●it Inclines to Wisdom , observed in Daniel , by the Babilonia●s , who Re●ommend him for it to Nebuchadnezzar , ( Dan. 5. 12. ) An Excellent Spirit , and Knowledge and Understanding , was found in him●to Dissolv● Doubts ( or Untie Knots . ) And for this he was Advanced ; Because an Excellent Spirit was in him ( ch . 6. 3. ) Now here we must Remember , that in Scripture phrase , the Excellent Spirit , is in the Margin Read , the Cool Spirit , ( as is before noted . ) It seems Daniel was a man of Temper , even in their Observation , who could not Discern his Grace ; 'T was his Prudence , and not his Piety , that they took notice of ; And tho' ( ch . 4. 8 , 9. ) The Spirit of the Holy Gods was by those Heathens acknowledged to be in him ; yet , it was not his Sanctification by the Spirit of the 〈◊〉 God , which they meant ; But ( according to their manner ) whatever Trans●●nded the common course of men , they 〈◊〉 wont to Diesy . Daniel had indeed ●●traordinary Assistance from God for Re●●●ling Secrets ; But this Help was above 〈◊〉 Cognizance ; they only observed such Excellency of his Spirit , as manifest●● it s●lf in his Covers amongst them ; for which also The King thought to set him ove● the whole Realm . ( ch . 6. 3. ) That phrase in ( Iob 20. 3. ) The Spirit of my Understanding causeth me to Answer . Signi●●es not ( I think ) his Understanding Faculty ; but rather , That Moderation and Government ▪ of his Spirit , whereby he was enabled ( without Disturbance ) to go on in Discourse of the Matters that were before them ; as if Zophar had said , I have heard the check of my Reproach ; But it does not so Disturb the order of my Thoughts , that I cannot have my Wits about me ; No , no , I know well enough , what to say ; I have still an Understanding ; Because a Well-governed Spirit , that is not Hurried by provocation ; I can Rule my own Spirit , tho' not your Tongue ; and therefore I can Answer what is meet : The Spirit , that accompanies another mans Understanding , might ( perhaps ) silence him from any prudent Reply , but the Spirit of my Understanding , ( or , that Spirit which accompanies it ) causeth me to Answer . And thus 't is a passive Spirit of G●vernment , or , a Spirit to be Governed . 2. It is also a Spirit of Government , Active ; or it is most fit to Rule in the world . So thought Darius , when he thought to set Daniel over the whole Realm . When Moses prayed for a Successor to Lead the people into the Land of Promise ( Numb . 27. 16. ) He does it in these very suitable words , Let the Lord , The God of the Spirits of all Flesh , set a man over the Congregation ; The Answer to this prayer is ( v. 18. ) Take thee Ioshua the Son of Nun , in whom is the Spirit , namely , which thou Desirest : He has Excellent Qualifications , as a man ; But Lay thine Hand upon him , as a Consecrating Act to the work , and I will follow it with a special Blessing ; He shall have from me somewhat above Meer Man ; He has a Brave Sptrit already ; But I will give him farther Additions in and by she . Laying on of Hands . This is mentioned , ( Deut. 34. 9. ) Ioshua was full of the Spirit of Wisdom ; for Moses had Laid his Hands upon him ; and they hearkened to him ▪ It gave him Authority , as well as Qualificatious ; He was before a choice Vessel , and now a Chosen Vessel ( the like as was said of Paul. ) Not that God needs any Excellencies of men ; yet because 't is his good pleasure , to Deal with men after a humane manner , he commonly ( in Providence ) suits , and singles out , persons , apt for the work , to which he does Design them . When God promised to shew Mercy to the Remnant of Israel ; 't is said , ( Isa. 28. 5 , 6. ) In that Day shall the Lord of Hosts be for a Crown of Glory , and for ● Diadem of Beauty , to the Residue of his People ; and for a Spirit of Iudgment to him that sitteth in Judgment ; and for Strength to them , that Turn the Battle to the Gate ; whe●●e the word [ for ] signifies either , as much as , or Instead of , and then it Imports , that a Spirit of Judgment is fit for Judges ; as Strength and Courage is for Souldiers : or else it signifies the same with that ( ch . 1. 26. ) I will Restore thy Iudges as at first , and thy Counsellors as at the beginning ; that is by Raising up either in Providential Dispensations , or special Qualifications , men , that should b● Repairers of their Breaches , and Restorers of paths to dwell in ; ( ch . 58. 12. ) from all which it appears , that this Moderate Spirit is not only apt to be Governed ; but also it is fit to Rule and Govern in the World ; because of the Wisdom and Discretion , that is used to accompany it ; especi●lly when it is Sanctified and Over-ruled by God. As to that General Vertue , in respect to the Will , or Volitive Faculty , to which it is Adapted , as the Philosophers ( faelix temperies ) happy temperament ; by Sanctification , these Moral Vertues become True Graces . In Heathens , where is no Sanctification , yet , if God Excites their Spirits , they become eminently Serviceable . So Cyrus , who was of a Generous Noble Temper in himself ; yet how much did he act above himself , when God stirred up his Spirit ( 2 Cor. 36. 22. ) The Lord stirred up the Spirit of Cyrus King of Persia ; upon which he Issues forth a Noble Proclamation . ( v. 23. ) It was Cyrus his Spirit , tho' stirred by God , and Inclined to this special Service . But where Sanctification Renews the whole man ; and gives New Principles and Ends in all their Actions ; The whole Nature of their Laudible Atchievements is also changed ; so that , their Natural Spirit of Candour becomes the Character of a Blessed man , in whose Spirit there is no Guile . ( Psal. 32. 2. ) Their Fidelity comes from that Faithful Spirit , which ( on just occasion ) Concealeth the matter , and is commended for it . ( Prov. 11. 13. ) Their Moderation of Affections is also from a principle , that , not only Restrains ( as Heathen Morals do ) but Mortifyes the Affections and Lusts. ( Gal. 5. 24. & Col. 3. 5 ) Their Firmness is farther fortifyed by Might in the Inner-man ; ( Eph. 3. 16. ) whereby they are stedfast , unmoveable , always abounding in the work of the Lord. ( 1 Cor. 15. 18. ) for , if their well-considered Reasons do fix their purposes ; Much more will their well-grounded Faith establish them . In a word ; it s own Nature is Lovely ; But Grace super-induced renders it most Exemplary , Amiable , and Useful in the World. And thus , we have done with the Diversity of Spirits that are in men . The Hot , the Cold , and the Moderate ; How they Differ in Themselves , and how they are farther Differenced by Natural Corruption , or Sanctifying Grace . We shall now Reflect upon what has been said ; and with some few practical Inferences conclude the present Discourse . INFERENCE 1. And by considering well the many Scriptures , that have been alledged , we may fairly see , That 't is no strained Notion , which is the Design of this present Treatise . It must indeed be acknowledged , that in many of those Scriptures , the word [ Spirit ] may be taken in some of the common Senses put upon it . As for Instance ; it may be taken for the Soul in general ; and in some , for the Inward Part , as an Expression of Sincerity : But to take it for the Higher Faculties of Intellect and Will ( as the Rational part , contradistinct from the Soul , or from the Liver ; This , tho' it be the most common and approved Interpretation of this Text ; I must confess I do not see sufficient Reason to allow it . I do not find ( to my Understanding ) the word so taken in any other Scripture : And therefore I take it to be , but a strained Sense , and thought of , only for this particular place , because of some Difficulty , that appeared therein . 'T is true indeed , there is one Scripture usually alledged ( Heb. 4. 12. ) wherein Soul and Spirit are Distinguished one from the other : of which place Dr. Smith in his Portraiture of Old Age hath Discoursed , and Laboured to Evince , That Spiri● , there signifies the Superiour Faculties of man ; And Soul , the Inferiour . This Discourse of the Doctor 's was Considered in a former Draught on this Subject ; which now , because that Ingenious Gen●leman is some Years since gone to his Rest , I think fit to omit , only he , that has Leisure may compare what is there said , with what we have said of the same Scripture in the beginning of this Discourse , and then judge as he sees meet . And as for the many other places quoted , wherein Mans Spirit is mentioned . ( on which I now Desire you to Reflect ) I suppose you will judg with me : That they may ( for the most part ) be very genuinely understood in our sense ; and that the Interpretation of those Scriptures will , according to our proposed sense , be very Currant . 2. We may also hence In●err ; That 't is Unjust and Unchristian to Cen●●re a●d Cond●mn men for their Humane Spirits : To blame the Diversity of them , is to quarrel Gods Work of Creation , or Providence . Why hast thou made me ( or him ) thus ( Rom. 9. 20. ) for Natural Temper , and Modification of it , by Outward Circumstan●es is more Dependent on his Will , then our Industry . We should rather observe how all this variety of Spiri●s may be made Eminently Servi●●●ble ; for that every Spirit has its particular Natural Excellency ; Tho' all have not that , wherein thou ( perhaps ) mayst peculinly Excel . One Servant of God is Chearful , and Sings at his work ; Another goes sadly and carefully about it , for fear of miscarriage ; yet both may be good , and Faithful Servants , and neither shall Lose his Reward , but Enter into his Masters Joy. Surely the Manifold Wisdom of God would not be so well made known by the Church in many Respects ; ( as Eph. 3. 10. ) Nor the Manifold Grace of God. ( 1 Pet. 4. 10. ) If every man ( having Diversity of Gifts ) Did not so Minister , even as he hath Received the Gift . In the ( 1 Cor. 12. ) is a Large Discourse of Diversities of Gifts ( v. 4. ) Administrations , ( v. 5. ) Operations , ( v. 6. ) All by the same Spirit ; and all Tending to the same holy Ends , Gods Glory , and the Churches good . The following verses set forth the Church under the Parable of a Humane Body ; wherein every Member has its peculiar Ability and Use ; so as the Eye cannot say to the Hands , or the Head to the Feet , I have no need of you ; ( v. 21. ) But all are Servicea●le in their place and kind . This ( he says ) he wrote , that there should be no Schism ; But the Members should have the same care or regard , one for another . ( v. 25. ) If this were well considered , and a Charitable Estimate made , of every mans several Spirit or Genius ; it would much advance Love , Unity , and Mutual Honour , among Christians ; Remove that Censorious , Offensive , and Froward Temper in many , that doth so much Disturb Peace and Tranquility , both in Church and State ; and incline every man to think and say , if I Excel any man in some things , He may Excel me in many more . USE 3. We may hence also Learn , who can Reform , and ( being Reformed ) preserve the Spirit of man ; even he , and only he , that Formed it ; That Stretcheth out the Heavens , and Layeth the Foundation of the Eart● and F●rmeth the Spirit of man within hi● ( Zech. 12. 1. ) This may indeed be u●derstood of the Soul , as one of the En●●nent Works of God , and so is here Rec●●oned among them . The like may 〈◊〉 said of that , Father of Spirits . ( Heb. 1● 9. ) And that ( in Isa. 57. 16. ) The Spi●●● should fail before me , and the Souls which● have made ; Spirit and Souls may be take● as put Exeg●tically ; yet , if you conside● what follow , ( in that Zach. 12. 2. ) I 〈◊〉 make Ierusalem a Cup of Trembling , to 〈◊〉 the People round about , when they shall be 〈◊〉 the Fire . ( v. 3. ) A Burthensome Stone 〈◊〉 all the people , gathered together against 〈◊〉 And ( v. 4. ) Smite every Horse with Ast●nishment , and his Rider with madness . 〈◊〉 ( I say ) considered , seems more to favo●●our Sense . As it the Prophet had sai●● The Malignant Spirit of Wicked Men 〈◊〉 set against Gods People ; But the For●●er of Spirits can quickly confound the● can dash and break them , be they as 〈◊〉 as the Horse Rushing into the Battle ; 〈◊〉 can soon fill them with Astonishme●● and promises so to do . Now if he can thus Over-rule the Sp●●rits of the Wicked ; He can as well Reg●●late the Spirits of his Elect ; Casting 〈◊〉 Imaginations and every high thing , that Exalteth it self against the Knowledg of God , and bringing into Cap●ivity every Thought to the Obedience of Christ. ( 2 Cor. 10 5. ) Thus the High Spirits ( who are like Hills ) are pulled down . And the mean , Low Spirits ( like to Valleys ) are lifted up ; yea , the Crooked and Rough Spirits , shall become as a straight and plain place , to prepare the way of the Lord , and make his paths straight . ( Isa. 40. 4. ) This Sense is agreeable to the Covena●● made with Christ for his People , ( Isa. 42 5 ) where Gods. Titles are much like those in Zechary ; Who Created the Heavens , and Spread forth the Earth ; H● that giveth Breath unto the People upon it ( There 's their Natural Life ) And Spirit to them that walk therein . ( This I take to be their Moral Life , or Conversation among men , to which the Spirit , we now speak of , does very much conduce ) He gives the Spirit , Temper , or Inclination not only as a Gift of Nature , but as an Eminent Gift of Sanctifying Grace , whereby they walk Uprightly in the Earth . INFERENCE 4. Hence also will naturally follow 〈◊〉 Exhortation of the Apostle , ( Eph. 4. 23. ) Be ye Renewed in the Spirit of your min●s . This means not , that you should hav● New Powers , or Faculties Natural ( wh●ther Superiour or Inferiour ) But new Inclinations , new Dispositions ; The Spirit of the mind , cannot be here new Intellec●s , or new Wills ( which some would ha●● to be the Spirit of Man ) But new Lig●● in the Understanding , new Bent in th● Will ; This is to have new Spirits of the mind , by Sanctification . In the Old man , they were Corru●● , according to Lusts ( v. 22 ) But in th● New Man ( v. 24. ) after ( or according to ) God , they are Created anew 〈◊〉 Righteousness , and True Holiness . This ●●ho●tation [ Be ye Renewed ] Does no● Suppose in man a power of Self-Renov●tion ; or Require of man , that which must be done by God , if ever done ; But it Requires , that man should do ▪ what in him Lyes , to Regulate , and O●der his Spirit or Inclination : It Require● our Endeavour ( to the best of our A●●lities or Means ) to Reform our Spirits , where they are apt to be Exuberant ; and bring our Reasons to Act , in Subordaination to God in the Renovation of them . And after all ; because our Endeavours in themselves ( in this matter of Governing our peculiar Spirits ) we see by daily sad Experience , they Do , and will miserably fall short of Effect , Therefore to Invocate Divine Assistance , and Influence , That the work may be Accomplished ; ( as we shall again touch in the End. ) Of these Endeavours in Subordaination to Gods Working a Chief one is , 1. To Discover and Know our own Spirits ( GNOTHI SEAUSON ) Know thy Self , was ( I think , in This Respect ) meant by the Ancient Morallist . In This Respect also ( as to the General ) was that Caution of the Prophet ; ( Mal. 2. 16. ) Take heed to your Spirit ; Tho' it was there Applied to a particular Case . And our Saviours Rebuke to his Disciples . Ye know not , what manner of Spirit , you are of , ( Luk. 9. 55. ) Referrs to the same matter ; namely , That men should be well acquainted with their own Spirits , and Inclinations ; so will they be better Enabled , To Resist Sin , and Address to Duty , in which two , consist● That Renovation of their Spirits , to whic● they are Exhorted . 1. To Resist Sin ; That you may kee● your s●lves ( like David ) from your Ini●quity . ( Psal. 18. 23. ) Know and Beway● your Infirmity ; That particular Breach i● your Spirit ; ( Prov. 15. 4. ) wher● th● Devil can most easily make his Assaults and Entrance . In the Spiritual Warfare of the So●l , Corruption in General is a Treacherou● Party , within the Garrison ; But the mos● Active and Dangero●s Traytors of that Party ; are ( as it were ) by Name Particularly Discovered , and brought forth , by a due study of our Own Spirits . The Blameless in the Text Notes , where the Blameable is usually to be found . 2. To Address to Duty , That we may be more Eminently Serviceable to God and Men in our Generation . Then are men most Servic●able when their Spirits are suited to their business ; and therefore a fit Choice of Callings in General , may much Depend on the Knowledge of our Spirits . When Other men make a Choice for an Affayr if they act prudently , they view 〈◊〉 Spirits of their Candidates . So the Apostle ordered the Primitive Christians 〈◊〉 ●o . ( Acts 6. 3. ) Look you out among 〈◊〉 seven men of honest Report , full of the Holy Ghost , and Wisdom , whom we may Appoint over this Business . Every Believer was not qualified for the Service . Every Godly Minister was not so fit to be sent to the Phillippians , as Timotheus ; 〈◊〉 whom 't is said , I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your 〈◊〉 ( Phil. 2. 20. ) Now as the Electors , do Regularly ●ind mens Spirits , so much more should 〈◊〉 Elected , in their Acceptance of Employments , to which they are Chosen . The 〈◊〉 of this Care makes many to vent●●● on Depths beyond their Stature ; Burdens beyond their Strength : Like the Ridiculous Aspiring of the Bramble ( in ●●thams Parable , Iudg. 9. 15. ) to be King of the whole Forrest ; Come ( says the silly Shrub ) and put your Trust in my Shaddow . Some are Imposed upon , by Others Hypocritical Flattery ; And they again Impose upon themselves , by their carel●●s Self-conceit . Some are over-valued by th● Esteem , that the partial Love of their Friends do put upon them : Passions are violent , and commonly Over-lash : Love thinks all Excellent , and Hate thinks nothing good . A mans Own Prudence , should rather guide him than Others Mistaking Affections . And truly , in those things wherein others may be greatly Deceived ; A man , who is well Acquainted with his Own Spirit , may rightly , and easily Inform himself . This is not said , that men should only Contemplate their Own Infirmities ; for then no Humble , Honest Man would ever be Employed ; All such would be ready to Answer with Moses upon a Great , and Illustrious Call ; I am not Eloquent ; I am slow of Speech ; I pray thee send by the hand of him , whom thou wilt ( or marg : shouldst ) send . ( Exod. 4. 10 ) Or with Holy , Humble Ieremiah ( ch . 1. 6. ) Ah Lord — I cannot speak , for I am a Child . But the meaning is ; every man ( prudently allowing graynes for Humane Infirmity ) Does , or may ( by the Study of his Own Spirit ) know , what in some ●●asure , he is good for ; and should ac●●●dingly apply himself to business . As 〈◊〉 is true ( on the one hand ) what is con●●●●ed in that old Proverbial Rithm . ●emo adeo est Tusus , quinullos Serviat Usus . 〈◊〉 is so good for nothing , but may be us'd in something And 't is as true ( on the other hand ) 〈◊〉 omnia possum●s omnes . We are not all 〈◊〉 for every thing . Invita Minerva , a 〈◊〉 Genius will never do Noble●● ploits . And thus much of Knowing our Spirits . ● . But when we know them , and 〈◊〉 Labour●d to Govern them according 〈◊〉 our best Discretion and Ability ; 〈◊〉 then finding an Insufficiency in 〈◊〉 selves , well to manage those Head●●●ong , and Impetuous things : we shall 〈◊〉 cause ( besides our own Endeavours , 〈◊〉 our own Spirits ) Humbly , Earnest 〈◊〉 and continually to crave Assistance 〈◊〉 on High ; That God by his ●●●ctifying Grace would do that for 〈◊〉 which our Natural Powe● will never be able to Compass for our selves . Not to Expell our Natures ; but to Order and Govern our Natural Dispositions and Inclinations , as may be most for His Glory and Service ; and so for our own Comfort and Advantage . We should Incessantly Pray for our selves , the same which the Apostle here does for the Thessalonians . That we may be wholly Sanctified , and that our whole Spirit , both Soul and Body , may be preserve● Blameless to the Coming of our Lord Iesus Christ. I have done ; and shall conclude this Discourse , with that frequent Benediction of the same Apostle : As to Timothy , ( 2 Epist. 4. 22. ) The Lord Iesus Christ be with your Spirit . Which is the same in Sense with that to the Galatians , ( ch . 6. 18. ) and Philemon , ( v. 25. ) Th● Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ be with your Spirit . Amen . FINIS . Advertisement 〈◊〉 little Treatises formerly Published by this Author . ● . THe Little Peace-maker , Discovering Foolish Pride the Make-bate ; from 〈◊〉 13. 10. Only by Pride cometh Con●●●ion ; but with the well-advised is Wis●●● . ● . The Way of Good Men , for Wise 〈◊〉 to walk in ; from Prov. 2. 20. That 〈◊〉 mayst walk in the way of good men , 〈◊〉 keep the paths of the Righteous . ● . Debts Discharge , being some Consi●●●ations on Romans 13. 8. Owe nothing 〈◊〉 man , but to Love one another . ● The Gaming Humour Considered and ●●proved , or , The Passion-Pleasure , Ex●●sing Mony to Hazard , by Play , Lot , 〈◊〉 Wager . Exami●ed . There are also two little things in English Meeter . The one , Meditations on the History Recorded in the First Fourteen Chapters of Exodus . The other , The Ark , its Loss and Recovery ; being like Meditations on th● beginning of 1 Sam , 
A50162	----	Small offers towards the service of the tabernacle in the wilderness four discourses accommodated unto the designs of practical godliness : preached partly at Boston, partly at Charleston / by Cotton Mather ; published by a gentleman lately restored from threatening sickness as a humble essay to serve the interest of religion, in gratitude unto God for his recovery. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1689 Approx. 215 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 70 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50162 Wing M1153 ESTC W479520 09382672 ocm 09382672 42919 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50162) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 42919) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1312:6) Small offers towards the service of the tabernacle in the wilderness four discourses accommodated unto the designs of practical godliness : preached partly at Boston, partly at Charleston / by Cotton Mather ; published by a gentleman lately restored from threatening sickness as a humble essay to serve the interest of religion, in gratitude unto God for his recovery. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [6], 128 p. Printed by R. Pierce, sold by Jos. Brunning, [Boston] : 1689. "The first concerning the methods wherein men ought to engage both themselves and their houses in the service of God, the second concerning the right and best waies of redeeming time in the world, the third concerning the carriage which we should have under trials used by God upon us, the fourth concerning the end which in our desires of life we should propound unto ourselves." Reproduction of original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Christian life. Piety. Spiritual life. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-05 Judith Siefring Sampled and proofread 2003-05 Judith Siefring Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion SMALL OFFERS Towards the Service of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness . Four Discourses , accommodated unto the Designs of PRACTICAL GODLINESS . The First , Concerning the Methods wherein men ought to Engage both Themselves and their Houses in the Service of God. The Second , Concerning the Right and Best waies of Redeeming TIME in the World. The Third , Concerning the Carriage which we should have under TRIALS used by God upon us . The Fourth , Concerning the END which in our Desires of Life , we should propound unto ourselves . Preached partly at Boston , partly at Charlston . By COTTON MATHER , Pastor of a Church in Boston . Published by a Gentleman lately Restored from threatning Sickness ; as an humble ESSAY to serve the Interest of Religion , in Gratitude unto GOD for his Recovery . Printed by R. Pierce . Sold by Ios. Brunning at his shop near the Exchange in Boston . MDCLXXXIX . ERRATA . PAge 11. Line 7. for Possession , r. Profession . p. 43. line . 3. after to , add Pray . p. 76. l. 7. blott out a. p. 112. l. 2. for and r. an p. 125. for ●hms r. Thus. To my Ever-honoured Father-in-Law , JOHN PHILIPS Esq Sir YOu cannot but Rememember , and I should not have this Occasion of Telling you so , if you did not well Remember , That many months are not passed since You encountred a Dangerous Fever ; by which the Vital Ty between what must Return to God that gave it , and what must Return into the Earth as it has been there , was very near burned asunder in you ; But God had then mercy on You , and not on You only , but on me also , lest I should have had sorrow upon sorrow . It was a darker Time in your House , than ( thro' Grace ) with your Soul , when we beheld You lying under what look'd like an Arrest laid on you by the cold Hand of Death , and saying , I shall go the gates of the Grave , I am deprived of the Residue of my years . But the Blessing which if you study to be a Blessing you can never want , was then your priviledge ; even , To be much pray'd for ; and behold , the Effect of those our Applications to the God of your Life ! On that very day when your faithful and worthy Pastor the Reverend Charles Morton , with your pious Neighbours were together praying for You , we had our Answer , and You are yet alive . The living , the living , they shall praise God ; and You have a blessed Opportunity , I hope not without some Inclination to be doing so . T was from such an Inclination , that your Vowes did accompany our Prayers , and your Sickness expired in Resolutions , To endeavour the doing of something for the Service of the Churches here , and this particularly , By the Publication of some little Book , accommodated unto the Designes of Practical Godliness in the Persons and Houses of this professing people . T is pitty indeed that ever any special Trouble , or any special Mercy should befal us , without producing some special service to the Name of our God , upon whose Orders and Errands every such Dispensation comes . Accordingly , you have commanded me to give you certain Discourses , which You thought agreeable to your serious purposes ; and These are They. Unto You first I ought to make the Dedication of them ; because it is by your Desire and Expence that they are to pass under any further Dedication ; they are now therefore no longer Mine but Yours , and to be Enti●uled , The Writing of a W●ll-willer to Religion , after he had been sick , and was Recovered of his Sickness . These Composures are singled out from other Effects of my Daily Studies , not because of any singular Excellency adorning of them ; for they are but the first , rude , untranscribed Notes of Sermons uttered in my ordinary Course of Preaching more than once or twice commonly in a Week ; and strangers abroad in the world may without the least wrong to me , believe , That New-England is a Countrey wherein there are every week in the year delivered more than Two Hundred Sermons , to be preferred unto the Best of These . But these are by You pitch't upon , because they are most Expressive of the Resolutions , and Exercises and Experiences , which your self would choose to recommend unto the Children of your People ; and tho they may amount to no better than Goat's hair and Rams-skins , it was thought they might be accepted among , Small offers to the Service of the Taberacle . There was once a great King , to whose Triumphs while many others made their more noble Offerings , a poor man in some Transport of Affection , having nothing else , took up his palm-full of water from the street , and offering of That , Received from the generous Conquerour a Gracious Recompance . Even such a King is our God! Sr. You have chosen to fetch a Thank-Offering for Him , from such a Kennel , such a Puddle ( alas , it is no better ! ) as the Head and Heart of the greatest Sinner in all the Rising Generation . But I can only say , T is as welcome from me to You , as I believe , t is from You to Him that made us Both. It is indeed a peice of Self-Denial that your Commands have obliged me unto ; for whatever others may think of Appearing in Print , my own Opinion of it is , that unless a man be extremely unacquainted both with himself , and with the world , he will be rather Afraid or Asham'd of it , than Taken with it ; Let him that wants Humbling become an Authour , and he shall have it , if mean Thoughts have not made him utterly Vnsensible . Nothing but a Respect unto the Interest of God and of Truth , and a Resolve to go cheerfully thro' much Contempt , Obloquy , Detrectation , can make any considerate Person to Salute mankind in the Quality of a Writer . But Since it is my Duty to be ( like holy Bradford ) alwayes doing Good , with Tongue , or Pen , or Purse , I should account it my Honour if my Pen may be employed for any Advancement of Practical Godliness , tho' it Cost me never so many Temptations , as it must cost me not a few . Accept then , Dear Sir , the Little Book which You have called for ; I may more fairly speak it than he of old unto his Father , I have done according as thou badest me ; arise , I pray thee , Sit , and eat of my venison , that thy soul may bless me . The Blessing which once Caleb gave to a Son-in-law as I do not Want , I need not Ask ; But the Blessing which I am now Craving is , That of your Prayers on my Behalf , to the EterEternal Father , for such Gifts , and Graces , and Improvements , as t is His Work alone to bestow upon us ; and especially that I may be preserved from the Sins and Snares which Ministers in their younger years are most endangered by ; of which I have long thought PRIDE ( the natural Effect of Self-Ignorance and Small Experience ) to be the principal . The Prayers of one so Related , have an Authoritative Blessing in them ; and that I may further earn them , I take the liberty to mention my own Supplications unto the God of Heaven for Yourself . May the Almighty God Long preserve your Life , and give your Hoary Head to be found in the way of Righteousness . May You have before you the Exemple of that Nehemiah who was , A man come to seek the welfare of the Children of Israel ; of that Cornelius , who was , A Devout man , that jeared God with all his House , and pray'd to God alwayes ; of that Treasurer , who made the Bible his perpetual Companion , and Beleeved with all his Heart : and as You have Opportunity , Do Good unto all men . May the Death ( I dare not say , the Loss ) of your Ten Children , the last of which going from you made a Tenth Wave in your Tryals , only promote your Vnion & Communion with Him who is Better than Ten sons ; and may you enjoy in the House of God , a Place and a Name better than that of sons & daughters . May all the Storms besides those which the Adventures of your younger years upon the Atlantic Ocean , made you betimes acquainte withal , in an unstable & a tempestuous World , prove so many fresh & fair Gales , to be friend your late but sure Arrival unto the Rest which remains for the people of God ; Wherein the Anchor of your Hope , is already Cast , and where to You are with the more-than-half Furled Sails of Time hastening apace , after him that said , I desire to loose Anchor and be with Christ , which is by far the best of all . T is by these Prayers that I would approve my self , Sir , Your Dutiful Son and very humble Servant , COTTON MATHER . THE GOOD MANS RESOLUTION . Josh. 24. 15. But as for MEE and MY HOVSE we will serve the Lord. SECT . I. NEVER was there in this world a People more obliged or encouraged unto the Service of the Great God , than we the New-English Israel are . The God of Heaven is Our God , and it becomes us to Fear Him ; our Fathers God , and how much ought we to worship Him ? To serve God was the very Errand which we were brought into this Wilderness upon ; and has hitherto been both our Glo-Glory & our Defence . That we now grow so dull and cold in this , we may write an Ichabod upon all our enjoyments , and therein see our Chariots and our Horse-men gone . To Revive the Decay'd Service of God among us , would be to reduce us into that Favour and Friendship of him who was The Hope of our Fathers , which would make us happy enough to refute all the Lies of our Enemies . Thus would God the Lord speak peace unto us . Thus would Salvation be nigh to us , and Glory dwell in our Land. SECT . II. TO do some , and gain more Service for our God , the Text now before us is to be Discoursed on . These words are among the last words of Ioshuah , the servant of the Lord ; they are a Dev●ut and a Divine sentence uttered by the renouned Ioshua in a Speech to The Parliament of Israel . The Dying Words of all Great and Good men , have usually been esteemed Remarkable by the Survivers ; and those books which contain Apo●●thegmata morientium have been reckoned perhaps among the most useful in the world . Tho the Dying Songs of Swans have not been such things as the Vulgar ▪ Error has reputed them ; yet the Dying Words of Saints have afforded a fit Moral for the Fable . The speech of a Dying Saint has as deep a favour of Heaven , as the Breath of a dying man has of Earth . But m●thinks , the Dying Words of a Ioshua should be peculiar Oracles ; peruse them , and you will find them so . He had been first , the Lord-General of Israels Army ; and was now the Lord Protector of Israels Common-Wealth . In this Capacity , a few months before he dy'd , he issued our orders for a Convention of States , to meet at Sh●chem , a place about forty miles from his own Abode . The Senate , the Iudges , & the Officers , and all the Representa●tives of the people being assembled , before the Tabernacle , which on this extraordinary occasion was removed hither , this famous Prince endeavours to settle & confirm them in the Service of the living God. It is likely he seared a secret Retaining of Idolatry among many , while he was yet alive ; but it is certain , he fore-saw an open Defection to Id●●atry hastening upon them , when he should be dead and gone . Wherefore , he laies in against it , by a most powerful and pathetic Speech , which has in it , First , An History of Memorable Providences wherein they had experienced the matchless kindness of God unto them . Secondly , An Inference from this History ; which is expressed in two things . First , A Counsil . He concludes , Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him. Therefore ! Wherefore ? Why , inasmuch as you find the Lord so bountif●l , that you cannot possibly A●mend your selves if you leave Him , or excuse your selves if you grieve Him. Therefore are you to fear Him , serve Him. Every Mercy of God hath a Therefore , in it ; it calls for Gratitude and Obedience . When God has been merciful to us , even common Ingenuity , end much more , holy Ingenuity will put us upon that Enquiry , What shall I render to the Lord ? Behold an Answer in this , Therefore ! We are Therefore to fear the Lord and serve him ; we are Therefore to put away all our Idols , all our Follies for ever more . Secondly , A Copy . He gives them a Precedent , an Exemple , to induce them hereunto . The Pattern of a considerable person , has no inconsiderable Influence upon the Observers of it . Such an one does good or ill , even like a Briareus , with an Hundred Hands . An Hundred , & an Hundred more will do like Him. If he be wickked , he does according to the Language of Solomon , Speak with his Feet . If he be Godly , he is , according to the Character of Iohn , a Voice , Such an One most effectually bespeaks all about him , as Gideon did once , Do what you see me to do . Thus Ioshua enforces his farewel Exhortation here ; saith he , Be it known to you , that I and my house will serve the Lord ; I was once your Leader , pray let me be so still . As I leadd you into the Canaan of the Lord , let me have so much credit with you , as also to lead you unto the Service of the Lord. Be assured , I shall be a Witness against you another day , if you do not now receive me as a Copy for you . You have here Ioshua's Resolution ; and it was founded upon such moral Reasons , that we may take it as Written for the Admonition of us all . Wherefore this is the Doctrine , which I would demand your Attention to . DOCT. Every man should engage both HIMSELF and HIS HOUSE in the Service of the Almighty GOD. SECT . III. VVE have diverse Propositions now before us , to discourse upon . The First of them is this . PROP. I. The whole Duty of man , is contained in the true Service of God. Both in the First Covenant , and in the New Covenant which God has made with man , there is a Duty which man must pay to God. In the First Covenant this Duty was to be paid in a way of meritorious Obedience ; in the New Covenant , this Duty is to be paid in a way of ingenuous Gratitude . But the Service of God , this ever comprizes all our Duty in it . It is the same that the Wise man refers unto , in Eccl. 12. 13. Fear God and keep His commandmens ; for this is the whole duty of man. There are diverse comprehensive and synonymous Terms , by which our Duty to God is expressed in the Scripture of Truth . Our Duty is called A Serving of God , as it refers to the Acts of our lives in which ; but it s also called A Fearing of God , and A Loving of God , as it refers to the Frames of our hearts , with which we are to do it . It is called , A Knowing of God , as it refers to the principle of it ; it is likewise a Living to Him , and Walking with Him , on the same accounts that it is a Serving of Him. The Service of God notes two things , which are to accompany our whole Duty to him . It notes , first , the Homage therein done to our God. The Service of God is His Worship , H●s natural Worship , and His appointed Worship . Hence the Septuagint so translate our Text , I and my house will worship the Lord. We serve God , when we render to him his Natural Worship . So t is intimated in Deut. 10. 12. Fear the Lord thy God , walk in His waies , love him , & serve the Lord thy God with all thy Heart . When we hope in God , when we call on God , when we cleave to God , then we serve Him. And we serve God when we render to Him his appointed Worship . This was intended in Exod. 8. 1. Let my people go , that they may serve me . We serve Him when we observe the Ordinances of God , when we adore him according to the Rules of His Word in His House , and wait upon him in the use of his blessed and sacred Institutions . It , Secondly , notes the Honour therein brought to our God. Service is perform'd to God , when Glory is procur'd for Him. His Essential Glory we can by no means advance , we may His declarative : and therein we serve the Lord. T is a passage in Isa. 43. 10. Ye are my witnesses , saith the Lord , and my servant . Our Testimonies to God's Excellencies are the things by which we serve Him. We serve God , when we acknowledge Him as our Best Good , and our last End , and our Omnipresent Iudge . We serve him when we think and speak well of him our selves , and obtain many others to do so too . A Witness for God is a Service to him . SECT . IV. THis being thus explained , I pass on to a Second Proposition . PROP. II. Every man should engage HIMSELF in the Service of the Almighty God. The purpose and study of every man should be this , I will serve the Lord. We should all be able truly to say of God , as in Act. 27. 23. His I am , and Him I serve . A Servant of God , this was the Title , not of Ioshua alone , but of other Worthies too ; when Abraham is mentioned , it is , Abraham the Servant of the Lord. When Moses is mentioned , it is , Moses the Servant of the Lord. When God speaks of Iob , he says , Iob my Servant . Thus was Ionah , thus was Eli●jah , thus was Zerubbabel also styled . And it is a style which Wee too should be ambitious of . If we would not be miserable for ever , we must be the mystical , the Spiritual seed of Israel ; but such are so saluted in 1 Chron. 16. 13. O ye seed of Israel his Servant . As our Fathers Friend , so our Fathers Lord , we must not forsake . We must all be the Servants of God , as our Father before us was . And this especially for the three ensuing causes . REASON I. We are to serve God , because God hath Mad● us . The Argument with which Paul perswaded Philem●n to receive a Run-away Servant of his own , was that in Phil. 1. 19. Thou owest unto me even thine own self . By that Argument should each one of us be perswaded to become a Dutiful Servant of the Lord , We owe unto him even our own selves . Man ! 〈◊〉 most fit thing that thy Maker should be thy Master . There are two Questions which I hope every Child within these Walls can give some right Answer to . The Answer to them will render it unquestionable , That you and I are to Serve God for ever . One Question is , By whom were you made ? We have an Answer to this , in Psal. ●00 . 3. Know ye , that the Lord , he is God , and it is He that has made us , and not we our selves . Thus ▪ 〈◊〉 the Psalmist once argue , O come , let us worship before the Lord our maker . Why ? If he be our Maker , He is to be the Object of our Service . And this the rather , because of another Question , which is , For What were you made ? We have an Answer to this in Isa. 43. 21. This people have I formed for my Self , they shall shew forth my praise . When we praise God , we serve God. Why , This is the very business which we were sent into the world upon . We had never appeared in the Rank of Actual Beings if God had not propounded some Service to be done unto Himself , by creatures of our shape and mould . We are Created by God and Endowed by him . What could it be for , but this ? That God may have some service from us . T is said in Act 17. 28. In him we live and move and have our being . Most absurd shall we be , if it be not for Him too . REASON . II. We are to serve God , because Christ has Bought us . Indeed , the Arminian universal Redemption we reject with a just abhorrence . The Satisfaction of our Lord Redeemer , was not Intended by Him , for the Redemption of all mankind ; nor was it Intended any further than his Intercession is , which reaches only to the Elect of God. The Virtue and Success of our Lords death depends not wholly on something to be done by men which God is not the Doer of ▪ otherwise , men would themselves be the Principals in procuring their own Salvation . But one scope of our Lord's Death was even to purchase for us , that Grace , that Faith , that Free-Will , which may qualifie us to enjoy the Virtue and Success of it . Certainly Peter was more beholden unto the Merit of Christ for his Redemption , than Iudas was for his . Yet the Purchase of Christ wonderfully binds us all to the Service of God. For First , the Redemption of Christ has made our Serving of God , a possible thing . Had it not been for this , poor fallen undone man had never been in a Capacity to serve the Lord. We had never heard this Call from heaven , O Repent , Return , Reform ! this voice from on high , O set your selves now to the serving of that God , whom you have been sinning against ; it had never sounded in our Ears , if the Lord Jesus had not made Himself a Sacrifice . We must have continued the Slaves of the devil for ever , if the Stings of the Dragon had not fastned on the Lord. The Lord Jesus has bought us all into such a Condition , that the Proffers and the Tenders of the Gospel might be made unto us . We are told of some in 2. Pet. 2. 1. Who Deny the Lord that bought them . Ovile Sacriledge and Impiety ! That we might all have the priviledge of 〈◊〉 Invitation to the Service of God , this has cost no less than the Heart-bloud of Christ ; and what a monstrous villany were it for us now to despise the Invitation ? Again , The Redemption of Christ has made our Serving of God , a Reasonable thing . We are all among the Redeemed , either in Reality , or at least in Possession , all the Chosen and Called of God , are most really interested in the Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus ; and therefore , for them to decline the Service of God , were as unequal as it is unlikely . But every one of us is at least professedly interested in it . Man , art thou willing to quit all claim unto the Death and Blood of the Lord Jesus ? O No , not for ten thousand worlds . Every one saies , I hope I am Redeemed ! Well then , The Service of God is that which we must count our selves Redeem'd unto . What saies the Appostle , in 1. Cor. 6. 20 Ye are not your own , for ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorifie God. We that have been the Captives of the mighty and the prey of the terrible , apprehend our selves to be set at Liberty from their horrible Tyrannies , by the Suffering of Christ ; What less than the Service of God , are we thereby obliged unto ? In a word , We are the Bought servants of God ; and wo to us if our Behaviours be not agreeab ▪ to our Obligations . REASON III. The Lords daily Mercy to us , requires our hearty Service to Him. It is noted of the rudest among the Gentiles , in Lu● . 22. 25. Their Benefactors exercise a Lordship over them . Never , Never had we any Benefactor like to our God , who daily loads us with his Benefits . Unthankful wretches are we , if we shake off the Lordship of such a Lord. It was an Address once made to a Governour in Act. 24. 2. By thee we enjoy great quietness ▪ and very worthy deeds are done unto us by thy providence . It were a disloyal , an unworthy thing , not to serve such a Governour . Truly , From God we enjoy great quietness ; by the Providence of God , we are delivered from a Thousand perils every day : and we are surrounded with ten thousand Comforts Every day ; by the Providence of God we are directed , protected , sustained and supplyed , every day . This calls for the Service of God at our hands . T is said , in Rom. 12. 1. I beseech you , brethren , by the mercies of God , that you present your bodies a living sacrifice unto Him. What a persuasive piece of Oratory is that ! I beseech you by the Mercies of God. He that urges you to the Service of God may thus plead with you , I beseech you , Brethren , by the Mercies of God , that God may not have one Servant in the world the less for you . I beseech you , Breth●●● ▪ that when the Goodness , and mercy of God is following of you , you do not turn your backs on the Service of God. To pursue , this Argument ; I beseech you Brethren , Whose Light is it , whereby you are every day revived ? It is God's Whose Air is it , whereby you are every day refreshed ? It is God's . Whose Fire is it that warms you ? Whose Meat is it that feeds you ? Whose Raiment is it that covers you ? All is God's . O then , Serve Him. These are the Cords of a man , with which we are bound to the Service of our Lord. This is the Poesie which God has inscribed in the Ring of every mercy , O learn to serve the Giver of this ! It was a sad Complaint which the Lord made in Isa. 1. 2. I have nourished them , and brought them up , yet have they rebelled against me . Alas , what a YET is there ? Our God has been as a Father to us ; and yet shall not we Serve Him as our Master ? He Relieves us , He Supports us , He Bestowes on us the mercies of Children , and shall not we yet return so so much as the Respects of Servants unto Him ? The Heavens will hear and be amazed , the Earth will give ●ar and be astonished , at a thing so much exceeding Brutality it self , as this . SECT . V. BUt we are not to be Alone in the Service of God Man is a sociable Creature ; & as he does need , so he must help Humane Society , in this Grand concern . Wherefore we have a Third Proposition yet to be reflected on . PROP. III. Every man should engage HIS HOUSE also in the Service of the Almighty God. We are all related unto some House or other . Sometimes a Nation is called by that name . So t is said in Exek . 3. 1. Speak to the House of Israel . And thus , every man should labour to promote the Service of God in the Nation which he belongs unto . All that can be properly done by him for his Nation , in his Station to set up and bring in the Service of God , so much every man is to do , if ever he would give a good Account of his Talents , in the Day of God's appearing . But most usually , a Family is called by this Name ; and so it is in the Text now before us . T is a Metonymie ; the House is put for them who dwell in the house . Those who cohabit in the same house are to endeavour that the same God may be served by all under the Roof . And this is incumbent especially on the Superiors in the House . All that are About us , but cheefly all that are Vnder us , are by us to be drawn or driven to the Service of God. The Master of the Family is to see unto it , that every one under his Charge become the Servant of the Lord. And this because of such things as these . REASON . I. We should engage our Houses to the Service of God , out of Respect to God Himself . To the Householder it may well be said , For God●s sake look after thy House ; For God's sake , Let there be God● Service 〈…〉 To speak particularly , First , The Commandment of God calls for it . We have this Commandment often repeated unto us , That we should be careful about the Instruction and Conversion of them that we are charged with . T is a Commandment inc●lcated in the Old Testament . We have in Deut. 6. 6 , 7. The words which I command thee , th●u shalt diligently teach them unto thy Children . We have it again , in Psal. 78. 67. He commanded our fathers , that they should make known unto their Children , that these might set their hope in God , and keep his Commandments . We have it once more in Deut. 4. 9 , 10. Gather the people , that they may learn to fear me , and that they may teach their Children . T is a Commandment not unmentioned in the New Testament also . We find in Eph. 6. 4. Ye Fathers , bring up your Children in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. Behold , How many solemn Charges are laid upon us to do our part , that God may be served by all that are under our Inspection . God does Command us , to command them , thereabout . Secondly ▪ The Interest of God calls for it . Our Lord said unto a Peter , in Ioh. 21. 15. Lovest thou me ? — Then Feed my Lambs . The like may be said unto a Master , If thou doest love God , then bring thy lambs to serve Him. To propagate Religion is to magnify and glorify the Lord. It is said in Prov. 14. 28. In the multitude of people is the Kings honour : as t is said of an earthly , so may it be said of the Heavenly King. Now if we cause our Houses to serve God in Conjunction with our selves , hereby we propagate Religion ; yea , to many generations . I remember , Solomon assigns this as one Cause , why he did well educate his own Children ; t was because his father had so dealt with him ; Saith he in Prov. 4. begin . Hear ye children the instruction of a father ; for I was my father's son , and he taught me . Let us fix our children in the Service of God , and they will afterwards do do so by theirs . Thus the Lord will alwaies have A seed to serve him , which Will be accounted for a generation . Our Children , did I say ? yea , our Servants too , may in like manner carry on a Succession of Service to the Lord. It was the Commendation of Solomon , in 1. King. 10. 8. Happy are these thy servants , which hear thy wisdome . Now many ages after , we find the posterity of them Servants , retaining a savour of Devotion and Affection to the House of God. REASON II. We should engage our Houses to the Service of God , out of Respect to our Houses too . T is said A righteous man regards the life of his beast . How much more will a righteous man regard the state of his House ? We have two things also to be particularized here . First , our Houses are miserable thro' us , if they do not serve God. It is hinted as a most extraordinary misery upon any person , in Prov. 5. 35. He shall dy without instruction . Fearful and woful will be the case of those in our Houses , whom our Instruction shall not endear the Service of God unto . Our Houses are starving , while our God is not serving in them . The Prophet said in Lam. 2. 11. Mine eyes do fail with tears , because the children swoon in the streets of the city ; they say to their mothers , where is the corn ? O doleful spectacle ! But while our Children are strangers to God , there is a worse Famine in our Houses , ; we suffer their Souls to pine and perish without the Bread of life . Yea , our Houses are Burning while our God is not Serving in them . What a terrible desolation was that on Sodom ! in allusion to which , t is said of a wicked man , in Iob. 18. 15. Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation . Why , there is a dreadful storm of ardent Brimstone , ready to fall upon those Houses , where the Children are not bringing up for God ; the Wrath of God , like an horrible Tempest of burning Brimstone is impending over them . What shall I say more ? Our poor Children are enslaved unto Satan , until they come to be serving of God. If a Devil had a Bodily Possession of our Children , how impatient should we be to see them delivered ? We should cry out like the Woman of Canaan , in Matth. 15. 22. Have mercy upon me , O Lord , my child is grievously vexed with a devil . But know , the Devil has a spiritual Possession of our Children , till they come to serve the Lord ; the evil spirit , he takes them , he tears them , and they fome and pine , and are thrown into the water , and into the fire . O pitty them ; if we are not more stupid than the Ostrich , pitty we our forlorn Houses , and let not the Service of God be wanting thro● any fault of ours . Secondly ▪ We are Accountable for our Houses , if they do not serve God. As the Daughter of Pharaoh said unto the Mother of Moses , in Exod. 2. 9. Take this child and nurse it for me , and I will give thee thy wages . Thus does the Lord say unto us ; Take these children , take these young ones , and bring them up to serve me I will reward thee for it . The Apostle saies , of Ministers , They watch for souls , as they that must give an account ; so it may be said of all House-keepers , They must give an account of the souls that belong unto their Families . T was confessed by the Prophet in the Parable , 1. King. 20 39. Behold a man turned aside , and brought a man to me , and said , Keep this man ; if by any means he be missing , then shall thy life be for his . This , This is a thing certainly to come to pass in the dreadful Day of God. Man , Thy life shall be for his life , who did not serve God , because thou didst not teach him , and Thy soul shall be for his soul , who is lost for ever , because thou didst not look after him . Iacob could say to his Uncle about his Lambs , That which was torn of Beast , of my hands didst thou require it . Behold , thou hast Lambs in thy Fold , Little ones in thy House ; God will strain for it , — if wild beasts , and Lusts carry any of them away from the Service of God through any neglect of thine , thou shalt smart for it in the fiery prison of God's terrible Indignation . Wherefore , as Paul saies , O keep , so I say , O Save , that which is committed unto thy trust . SECT VI. IT is now Time that we make a due Application of these Faithful Sayings ▪ And there is a double Exhortation which I have to manage . The First Exhortation , is , Let us all Resolve to engage OUR SELVES in the Service of God. To Quicken you to it ; Consider seriously , Who your Fellow-servants are , when once you serve the Almighty God. O come in , and serve God , for shame ; lest in the whole world , you have none but Devils to bear you company : And will you be of their side , of their sort ? Rebellion truly is as the sin of Witchcraft , for this peice of Madness in it . All other Beings make a Surrender of themselves unto the Service of God ; and it is said of the● in Psal. 119. 91. All are thy Servants . O do not you stand out . Hearken , ye immortal souls ; You have the call of Christians to entice you into this happy Service . All the Eminent Believers of the By-past-Ages , the men , of whom the world was not worthy , all these do with one voice , and a loud one , urge this upon you ; Come and serve our God , as we have done before you . Even Iames himself , the Kinsman of the Lord is ambitious rather of this Denomination The Servant of the Lord. And puissant Emperours before now , have gladly espoused , such a Title as that , The Vassals of the Lord. More than this , you have the Call of Angels to incite you thereunto . Those bright Morning stars ask this of you , Will you come and move in our Sphaere ? They all are the servants of the Lord , and they do his pleasure . At his Beck they clap their silver wings , and they do his Commandments . An Angel said once to Iohn the Apostle , I am thy Fellow-Servant . That Angel is yet alive ; & he makes the motion to every one of us , Wilt thou be my Fellow-Servant before the Lord ? Yea , the SON of GOD Himself gives you this Call. Of Him saith our God , in Isa ; 42. 1. Behold my Servant ! Shall God say thus of Christ ? and shall . He not say it of thee ? O do not scorn to be the Servant of that GOD , who has for a Servant , Him whom all the Third Heaven is with endless Raptures adoring of . Consider , yet again , What your Service is , while you serve the Almighty God. No Service was ever so delightsome as this ? t is , All peace , and perfect peace . No Service was ever fo profitable ; it brings in those things , The gain whereof is better than fine Gold ; you shall be sure to experiment the Truth of that Maxim , God is a Rewarder . No Service was ever so Honourable . It prefers us to be Favourites of a greater Monarch than he that had an hundred and seven and Twenty Provinces under him . A Service do we count it ? No , t is a Freedom . We are Lords , when we are The Lord's ; Then , as he said , sumus Domini , is true , not only in Genitivo singulari , but in Nominativo plurali . It is a Freedom , Yea , t is a Kingdom . It gives us to sing , Lord , Thou hast made us Kings and Priests . It has been well said , Deo servire est regnare . We have Crowns on our heads , all the while we are in the Service of God ; but how massy , how weighty will they be grown when our Pay-day comes ! Every Servant of God may now say , as in 2. Tim. 4. 8. Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness . But Then , Then , we shall ascend those glittering and glorious Thrones , which Eye hath not seen ; on them we shall be ever with the Lord. Consider , finally , ( and let me warn you faithfully ) . If you do not Resolve to serve God , it had been good for you , that you never had been born . All that forsake the Service of God , are employ'd in another Service , which every soul may tremble at the Description of ; 't is a Service to those hellish Tigres in Eph. 22. The course of this world , the prince of the power of the air , and the lust of the flesh . You cast off the Service of One ; but you incurr a Bondage to three : let Horror sieze thee , O man , and let thy ears tingle , at the intimations of it . The World , the Flesh , & the Devil are thy Lords , if God have not Service from thee . All the Galleys in the Mediterranean Sea , cannot shew a more dismal Vassalage ! And what will the Issue of that Service be ? Truly , The Wages — is Death . God will not save you , if you do not serve Him. You that now grind for the Phili●●ines of Hell every day , must one day be requited with only Coals and Wounds , for all your fatal Dr●dgeries ; and though you then roar , Lord , pitty me ! He will reply with a furious Rebuke , Depart , I know you not . Let me then address you in the Words of Ioshua ; Choose now , whom you will Serve . Come , speak up ; come to some Resolution . Say , Will you serve the cursed and cruel Enemies of your Souls ? or will you serve the GOD Whom it is good for you to draw near unto ? O make this Return , Lord , we come unto thee , for thou art the Lord our God. SECT . VII . YOu have been told Why ; now here How , you are to become , The Servants of God. There are diverse Counsils to be given hereabout . The First COUNSIL . Renounce and Forsake the Service of those Idols which you have heretofore been enslaved unto . We must , as Ioshua here assures us , we must put away other gods , if we we would serve the Lord. Our Lord has admonished us , in Matth. 6. 24. Ye cannot ●erve God and Mammon . Even so , Ye cannot serve God and Satan . And again , Ye cannot serve God and Sin. The Holy God may say of you as of them , long since , Ye have served strange gods . But , O do you now say to Him , as they in Isal. 21. 13. O Lord , other lords besides thee have had dominion over us ; but we will no● ▪ be for Thee alone . Become weary of your Captivity under those Task-masters which have hither to been torturing your souls . There are two sorts of Tyrants that every unregenerate man is a Servant unto ; his Tempers , and his Tempters . Let the Tempers within us , no more cause us to toil , and run , and sweat , for the gratifying of them . Let the Tempters without us , no more hurry us too & fro that their Humours may be pleased . Souls , I give you no bad counsil , when I propound this ; and I do propound it , O , Run away from your old masters . Come away poor souls , come away from the land of your Captivity . Look upon the grim face of the Patroons und●r which you groan ; say to them all , Farewel , you malicious , you bloudy , you for did Masters , Farewel ; We hope you shall never have any of our Service more . O look upon the Calamities of your Service under your invisible Adversaries , and say , T is enough ! Say , The time past may suffice ! Thus , Take ye the Wings of a Dove , and flee away . The Second Counsil . Bind your selves unto the Service of God by a Covenant never to be Forgotten . It was the good Counsil of Hez●k●ah , in 2. Chron. 30. 8. Yeild yourselves unto the Lord. In the Hebrew Original t is , Give the Hand unto the Lord. The giving of the Hand was a Rite in the making of a Covenant Men and Brethren , Look Zion●ards , I beseech you ; and say now , I will join my self to the Lord in a perpetual COVENANT . Think on the Service which God is to have of you , and be able then to declare , as in Psal. 119. 110. I have sworn it , and I will perform it . Make a solemn Covenant , that you will be the Lord's . Yea , a Written , a Formal , a subscribed Covenant for it , has by some been advised and practised . Written and Formal Indentures are made between man and man ; Why should not there be so between God and man ? when a Service is to be Entred into . Especially , since t is said , in ●sai , 44. 5. A man shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord ? In a Sacred Covenant say , I Renounce all the Vanities and Idols of this World. I Engage that I will cleave unto the Lord Iehovah , as my Best Good , and my Last End ; promising to live upon Him , and unto Him , hoping are long to live with Him for ever . I Engage , That I will cleave unto the Lord Iesus , as my Prophet , and my Priest , and my King ; Promising to acknowledge Him as the Author of all my Salvation . I Engage , That I will ever study what is my Duty in these things ; and wherein I find my self to fall short , I will ever count it my Grief , my Shame , and for pardon betake my self to the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant . All this I Engage , humbly imploring the Grace of the Mediator to be sufficient for me . It would hurt no Godly man , to set his Name with Hand and Heart to such an Instrument ; afterwards frequently Reflecting on it , frequently Renewing of it . However , let every man this Day , make this Confession , in Psal. 116. 16. O Lord , truly I am thy Servant , I am thy Servant . The Third Rule . And now demean your selves in all things as the Servants of God ought to do . There is a Four-sold Concernment that will now lye upon you . First . Be studious to know what Service God calleth for . Ly at His Feet , and say as Paul of old , Lord , What wouldest thou have me to do ? or like Samuel once , Speak Lord , for thy servant heareth . Be daily Reading of the Word , be daily Thinking on the Word : upon every opportunity say , I will hear what God the Lord will say . To all , add That , as your daily Petition unto God ; in Psal. 119. 115. I am thy servant , O Lord ; give me understandeng that I may know thy testimonies . Secondly , Be ready to Do what Service God calleth for . Never object , never cavil against any of Gods Commands ; never dispute any thing that He requires ; but own , 'T is all holy , and just , and Good. Be not more undutiful unto God , than the servants of the Centurion were to him , If He say , Go , then go ; if He say Come , then come ; if He say , Do this , then do it , without any Grumbling at it . Say not , I won't , altho there be Hard Sayings pressed upon thee . Albeit God may enjoin this , Pluck out thy right eye , cut off thy right hand ; and albeit the Injunction of God may be ; Take up thy Cross ; yet Comply , yet , Conform , without any Reluctancies ; and say with him in Psal. 119. 128. O Lord , I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things , to be right . Thirdly . Be greatly Contriving how to be most serviceable unto God. Ponder well , What you are , What you have , What you can ; and Ponder how all may be improved in the Service of the Lord. Thus be Zealous of good Works . Never be satisfied unless you can say , I am at work for God. Let even your Eating , your I ●●ding , your Visiting , be done as a Service for the Lord ; and let your Time , your Strength , your Estates , all the Powers of your Spirits , and all the Members of your bodies , be ingeniously la●● out in that Service . Often ask your own souls , What is there that I may do for God ? Even court , and hunt Advantages to be serviceable ; Say like the Prophet , in Isa 6. 8. Say Lord , if 〈◊〉 hast any Service to be done ; here I 〈…〉 me . Fourthly . Be sweetly Contented with all the Allowances of the Lord. Iohn Bapi●st gave this Counsel to the servants in the Roman Ga●●sons , Luc. 3. 14. Be content with your Wages . The Servants in God's Houshold , ha●e the same Counsel , in Heb 13 5 Be content 〈…〉 as you have . Tho you should have but ●hort Commons , and straw lodgings in the world ; tho you should be without many Flesh ●●leasing Curiosities and Conveniencies , let this quiet you , I am a Servant . Don't complain of the Lord , as the slothful and wicked servant once , He is 〈◊〉 hard Master . Let your Wills be moulded and melted into His ; and cheerfully leave Him to judge , What may be Food convenient for you . Count that you have enough , when God saies , you shall have no more ; and alwaies have a good Opinion of Gods Disposals . Learn Pauls Lesson , In whatever state to be content . It is not for Beggars , nor Servants to be Choosers . This , This t is to be a Servant of the Lord. Blessed is the servant , whom his Lord , when he cometh shall find so doing . SECT . VIII . BUt This is not all that we have to do . We have Houses too that we ought to be concerned for . Wherefore , The Second Exhortation , is Let us also study to Engage OUR HOUSES in the Service of God. It is the property of every Good man to desire Company in the Service of the Lord. O that we might have the Company of all that belong to our Houses in it ! But What shall we do ? In short , Would we truly say with Ioshua , My House shall serve the Lord ? We must then Do like Iesus . Iesus the blessed Name-sake , and Antitype of Ioshuah , hath a Three-fold Offfice ; that of a Priest , a Prophet , and a King. In His lesser Family of Disciples once , in His greater Family of Believers alwaies , we find Him so . Every Householder should be all of this in his own Family Each man pretends to he a King in his own house ; he should there be a Priest , and a Prophet too . There are Three great Cares lying upon us in our Families ; there is Family - Prayer , and Family - Instruction , and Family - Government . T is by the Discharge of these three things , that we engage our Houses to serve the Lord. Family-PRAYER . SECT . IX . FIrst , then . Let Family-Prayer be maintained in our Houses , that they may serve the Lord. My Neighbours , I have told you often , and I now tell you weeping , That it will be a sad thing , if so much as one Prayerless-Family be found among you all . The owners of that House will never be able to stand or live in the fiery day of of God's pleading with him . You have been Warned and Warned full many a time , that if your Houses be not Warmed with your Prayers , the fierce Wrath of God abideth on them ; and I hope , none of you will venture to meet me at the Bar of the Lord Jesus , with the fearful heavy guilt of this Omission upon your souls . The very Turks themselves at this day uphold a Family-Worship among themselves ; God forbid that any styled Christians here should be worse than they . SECT . X. THe Method in which I shall treat with you here about , shall be , I. To offer some Directions about Family-Prayer . The First Rule . Let all Persons that should attend Family-prayer , count themselves concernd to Pray without ●easing . Eve●y Master of an House , is to carry on the Pr●yer in it . That man is not fit to have a● H●use , that cannot make a Prayer . But if the Ma●ter be absent ? Then the Mistress is to see ●till that Prayer be not wanting . It seems affi●med of E●ther , a Woman , in Cap. 4. 16. That she Pray'd with her Maidens . There should not be one Prayer the less in a Family , because 〈◊〉 is become the Ruler there : No , the L●sses of a Family , should increase the Prayers of it . And let the Master of a Ship , remember , That the Sailers are his Family . He should pray with them aboard , every day while they are at Sea together . You that see the Wonders of God together , should together sing the Praises of God , and together beg the Mercies of God. Methinks , the poor Sea-men , should be the best 〈◊〉 in the world . With what face can you pray in a Storm , if you do not also pray in a C●lm ? Now Master , t is your Work , t is part of your Order ▪ from your great Own●r to see that this ●e done 〈◊〉 all Mariners call upon their Master , as thos● Mar●ners did upon the Passinger in , 〈◊〉 1 ▪ 6 Ar●●e , 〈…〉 God , that we perish 〈◊〉 ▪ Let the Master of 〈◊〉 School also ▪ Remember , That the Scholars are his Family ; He should pray with them , and bless them in the Name of the Highest . God provides Angels . and will not you afford Prayers for the safety of those little ones ? We read of some in Mark. 10. 13. who brought young children unto the Lord Iesus Christ : The Children that are brought to you , by Parents or Guardians , these are by you to be brought unto the Lord Jesus , that He would lay His Blessing and saving hands upon them . Yea , the Captain of a Train'd Band , is to esteem the Souldiers as his Family . That good Captain Cornelius , could s●y , in Act. 10. 30. I prayed in my House . As for those that will not pray in the Field , t is to be questioned , whether they will Fight there . Trainings without Prayings are like to degenerate into meer Debaucheries . The Prayeres● Captain gives a very dangerous and desperate Word of Command when he saies , Follow your Leader . Briefly , All Superiors generally have a Family in the Kind of their Superiority , which they are to attend Prayers withal . The Second Rule . Let all the Matters that would hinder Family-Prayer be put far from our Taberna●les . There are diverse Impediments of our family-Prayers , ●hi●h ●e are to be Cautioned against . As now , Let not family - Iarrs hinder family-Prayers ▪ The Apos●●●●aith to them that are in ● C●njogal Re●lation , that they should be meek , tender , lov●ng ; for this cause in 1. Pet. 3. 7. That your Prayers be not hindred . if Peace be gone from a family , then Prayer is gone . How can Scolding , and it may be Striking too , agree with Praying ▪ in which we are to lift up pure ●ands , without wrath ? Again , Let not family - Scabs hinder family-Prayers . Bad-Members in a family , often cause that there are no Prayers in it . Many men will not pray , because others will scoff and flout . But let your Houses have no such In-mates , no such Ishmaels in them . It is recorded of Elisha , in 2 King. 4. 33. he would not have a servant with him , which he could not pray withal . If any profane , graceless , Despisers of Prayer , would impose themselves upon us , let us then say to them , Depart ye workers of iniquity . for I will call upon the Lord. Once more , Let not Family-Prayers be hindred by unsuitable Times . The earlier we dispatch them , the easier . We should not ordinarily let Business royl us in the Morning , nor ●ro●siness drown us in the Evening , before Family Prayer be over . As To every purpose , ● thus to every Prayer there is a time and judgment ; and a wise mans heart will discern it . The Third Rule . Be frequent enough , and yet very serious in your family - Prayers . Very shameful is their neglect , who have Prayers in their Families but once a day . The Apostle saith in Col. 4. 2. Masters ▪ continue in prayer ; he speaks with a manifest Allusion to the daily Offering under the Law of old ; which was both morning and evening . We should have Morning-Prayers , and Evening-Prayers , correspondent unto the daily Sacrifice . And hence , because the Sacrifice was doubled on the Sabbath , I have known some pious people , pray four times every Lords-Day with their Families . Be sure , Twice a day is ordinarily the seldomest and slenderest Repetition that our Family-prayers are to have . O but we should therein stir up our selves to take hold on God. When you keel before the Lord , you should not be rash , hasty , sudden in it ; you should not be sleig●ty in this great Excercise of of Religion . Before we pray , we should think , Think seriously , To WHOM am I to pray ? and For What am I to Pray ? and How soon may I dye , and my praying seasons all be over ? And before we pray , we should Read. Read seriously something of the Things which are commanded you of God. The Scriptures are to accompany our prayers . T is said ▪ They are to dwell with us . The Bible is to be one of the House , When we betake our selves to our P●ayers , we should not let the Bible say , I should have been as one of the Family ; pray , why was not I called in ? The Fourth Rule . Let not your Family-prayers be your only prayers ▪ Understand , that Se●ret Prayers , ●s ●●ll as private Prayers , are to be performed by ●s all . For this , the word of our Lord is very positive , in Matth. 6. 6. When thou prayest , enter into thy closet , and when thou hast shut thy door , pray to thy Father which is in secret . T is a great fondness and folly in any of us , if private prayer cause us to lay aside secret prayer . No , There is Closet-Prayer as well as Parlour-Prayer which we ought to labour in . I would say , as our Lord in another case , One you ought to do ; & not leave the other undone . We have special Trans●●iss●●ns to be confessed in our prayers ; these are 〈◊〉 to be confessed . To divulge a secret 〈◊〉 , is to add a further sin , Our secret sins , do call for our secre● Prayers . We have special Temp●●●●s to be bewailed in our prayers ; and these 〈◊〉 sec●etly to be bewailed . Our Desires are sometimes to be too secret for our Neighbours . Our secret Griefs and our secret Fears call for our secret Prayers . And as one of the Ancients elegantly expresses it , Invisible prayers are to be often made to an invisible God. Secret prayer is one good sign of a gracious heart . Let the Lord oft see you like Nathanael at secret prayer under the 〈◊〉 , and He will say , Behold an Israelite i●deed ! Would you get Internal Blessings ? then pray in secret . Solomon got his Widom , his Vertue , by secret prayer . Peter by secret prayer in 〈…〉 car●ied with Tran●es and Raptures into the other world . Would you get External Blessings ? Then pray in secret . H●●nah with secre● prayer asked one Son , and had six . Iacob had all his House preserved by secret prayer . Yea , Would you be General Blessings ? Pray then in ●●c●et . Moses by secret prayer diverted wrath & plagues from all the Congregation . That infamous Apostate Iulian , was killed by the secret prayer of a good man , at that hour very far distant from him ▪ What shall I say ? No Supe sedeas , no Diversion should ever be given to your secret prayers . Moreover , besides your Prayers with all the Family , you may do well sometimes to Re●●r● unto prayers with this or that particular person in it . Some do so translate that passage in Gen ▪ 25. 21. Isaac entrea●ed the Lord with his wife . It were but a discreet and a decent practice , fo● married persons to 〈◊〉 likewise . Thus , holy P●rents , have often taken their Children , one by one alone ; and there pray'd and wept , and pour'd out their souls , over the poor lambs in secret places before the Lord. Thus are we to do , Thus to pray . SECT . XI . BUt the Sluggard will pretend , A Lion in th● way . Wherefore I pass on , II. To Remove some Obje●ctions against Family-Prayer . A Threefold want is plead●d by many , to ●●●cuse their Prayerless Conversation with ; a Want of Time , a Want of Confidence , and a Want of Vtterance . The First Excuse . One man doth so Excuse himself . I want Time for Family-prayer ; especially in a Morning , I can't spare the Time. This is a most horrrid and wicked Excuse . Thou Madman , From Whom hast thou all thy Time ? All thy Time is given by God , and shall None of thy Time be given to God ? What , No Time to pray with thy Family ? God ●uowes thou canst find time to eat with thy family , time to sleep with thy family , perhaps , time to smoke with thy family ; and no Time to pray with ●em ? Once more , What is it that does engross thy Time , and put by thy Prayer ? T is the World , the World ! And is that such a Portion indeed , as to bespeak thy Contempt of an Eternal GOD , and of an immortal Soul , in the pursuance of it . Thou shalt quickly take an everlasting Farewel of all this World ; This World will not stand thee in any stead ere long , when thy Soul , thy Soul shall ●e trembling on thy cold lips , just ready ( as the Atheist said ) to ●ake a great leap in the Dark . Yea , That very Day , wherein thou goest abroad without thy Family Prayers , may prove the very Day , wherein an Angry God may say ▪ This day shall thy soul be required of thee . And what a phrensy is this ? To be extreme busy & earnest about the trifles of this world , while a precious never-dying soul is unprovided for ? I wish that all Prayerless Houses , had this Admonition engraved on their walls , What is a man profited , if he gain the whole world , and lose his own soul ? Could you see it engraved on those walls , with an Hand writing , like what Belshazzer saw of old it would no doubt amaze and startle you . Look into these leaves , and see i● ▪ with a sharp Style engraven here ! Besides . Family Prayers are no real prejudice to Saecular Affairs . They should not be Long , Tedious , Burdensome ; and they 'le hinder no Iourney , no concern ; all will prosper the better for them . In short , God will find an Eternity to Damn the man that cannot find a Time to Pray . The Second Excuse . Another man doth so excuse himself , I wa●● Confidence for Family prayer ; I would pray , but I am Asham'd . This Excuse is little beter . To be ashamed of Prayer is to be ashamed of Christ : And it is the plain Word of our Lord JESUS in ▪ Marc 8. 38. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me , of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed . O direful Doom ! Will not such a smart Thunder clap , cause ●hee and th● Famil● to fall down ●pon their knees ? Never be ash●m●d of Pray●r but be asham●d of sin ; t is a 〈◊〉 to live without prayer . If you have any Scoffers in your Houses , whom t is not fi● you should pray before , then do as Abraham did ; e'en , ●urn ●em out of the doors . Better Turn them out , than Turn Go● out . They that use not Family-prayer , say to the Almighty , Depart from us . The Third Excu●e . But the Excuse of some is , I want Utterance for Family-prayer . I would pray , but I am not gifted for it . I cannot pray . To this I answer , we often say , I cannot , when I will not , is the Bottom of it . Suppose , a sevcre p●nal●y were by the Magistrate laid upon every prayerless Family . Daniel , because he would pray with his Family was thrown to the Lions for it . Suppose a lighter punishm●nt far away were to be inflicted on all them who do not pray in their Family ; Suppose a God , or a Fine were inflicted on you for it : Would you then continue Prayerless ? Behold , the great God has by the Statute Lawes of Heaven , ordeined that a Prayerless Family sahll have all manner of Calamities inflicted on it ; The Lions , the Devils of the pit below , shall devour the unhappy Master of such a Family . And will not this make you pray ? Besides , When you find that you Want things , then you don't wan● Words ; the poor man does not want words ; when he is to Ask Alms. O sit down and look upon the the Wants & Woes of your poo● Family , you cannot then but have something to say for them . And what tho you cannot pray Quaintly ? Yet you may pray Gracio●sly , and pray Acceptably . Florid ▪ Elegant Orations in your Prayers , God expecteth not ; a few humble ; penitent , broken-hearted Groans , are of more account with Him ▪ Tho you Chatter like a Crane or a Swallows , 〈◊〉 once Hezekiah did yet the success may be wonderful and glorious . What shall I say ? Moses was unwilling to do what God bade , on this very Score in Exod. 4. 10. I am not Eloquent ● But the reply of God was , Go , and I will teech thee what thou shalt say . O that you would make a Tryal of it . Friend , By'nd by Call thy Family together ; Tell them , That you must not let them remain prayerless any longer , lest the Wrath of God break out upon them . So Fall down before the Lord among them all , and pray as well as God shall enable thee : go , I am verily perswaded , God will teach thee what thou shalt say , I am sure , thou wilt never have cause to Repent of the Attempt . SECT . XII . YOu have not so much as a shadow of Reason to render , why you should not pray with your Families ; Let me now a little repre●●●● why you should ; for I am III. To propound some Incentives unto Family-Prayer . And there are cheef●y Two Considerations which I have to set before you . Consider , First , the Direful & grievous Curses which prayerless Families are exposed unto . Such Families , they are the very Suburbs of H●●● it self . A Prison , A Dungeon , is to be chosen before a Living in them . There is a Words ▪ a● awfull Word , which a Prophet of God ha● written in a certain place ; Methinks , that Word 〈◊〉 like a Thunderbolt of Death upon the Families , in which God is not prayed unto 〈◊〉 t is Written in ler. 10. 25. O Lord — pour out ●hy fury on the beathe● , which know thee not ; on the Families which call not on thy name . Strikes it no● cold unto the heart of the Reader ? Man ▪ These are the Treful and the direful words of the Lord Tesus Christ himself : He counts thy Prayerless Family no better than a Pagan Family . And now , he speaks not as an Advocate for thy poor Family ; He saies not , Lord , vouchs●se thy ▪ ●itty , and thy pardon to that Family ; But He saies , Lord , pour out thy fury upon that family ▪ because it calls not on thy Name . Alas , have yo● no more Kindness for your Families , than to lay them open to the Fury of a great and a terrible GOD ? cruel people , that you are . We read in Zech. 5. begin . about a Flying Roll , Twenty Cubits long , Ten Cubits broad , entring into these and those Houses , to consume them . I am to tell you , That Prayerless Houses are to feel the force of this Flying Roll. An huge Roll of Curses belongs to that House in which Prayer is not upheld . The Curse of God is the Sauce in every Dish , the Curse of God is the Cover to every Bed , in that lamentable Family . Houses molested with Devils , are not more miserable than Houses destitute of Prayers . I have seen it in an house , where the Devils have had Possession of a Child , that when Family-Prayer began , the Devils would make hideous Roarings and Noises in the Room , as being under a Vexation thereat , which was intolerable to them . Truly , The Devils have no Disturbance in Houses where Family-prayers is not maintained ; prayerless houses are haunted houses , and the Fiends of Darkness reign , and ramp , there without Contro●l . Indeed , Prayerless Families , are not only the Cages , but also the Causes of all Impiety . They bring an Irresistible Deluge of Disorder upon all the Town and Land ; and cause all the Countrey to swarm with the workers of iniquity who call not upon the Lord. And as the prayerless Householder is now cursed by God , so he will one day be cursed by all his House ; he brings curses on them , and they will spend curses on him , in the Day of Vengeance . In the ever-burning lake , they will curse the day that ever they saw thy prayerless house , and , That House brought me to this Hell ! This , this will be their Cry world without End. Consider , next , the marvellous Blessings which belong to all Praying Families . It was noted about the Family of Obed-Edom , in 1. Sam 6. 11. The Lord blessed Obed-Edom and his househould , while the Ark of the Lord was there . So shall it be noted about the Family of a praying Householder ; The Lord will bless that man and his Household , while that Prayer to the Lord is there . Family-prayers , are conjoined prayers , and united prayers ; thus they become very successful prayers . What Encouragement is there given to them , in that promise , Matth. 18. 19. If two of you shall agree on earth , touching any thing that they shall ask , it shall be done for them . O let your Families Agree in the Asking of grace , in the Asking of glory , in the Asking of every good thing ; Prayer in Confort , will obtain it all . When Cornelius was at his Family-prayer , what a signal favour did the Almighty God show unto him ? Some while since , a whole Town in Switzerland was very suddenly destroyed by an Earth-quake , all except one peice of an house , in which a good man happned then to be at Prayer with his Family . T is impossible to tell , O how great is the goodness which God has laid up for Houses that seek unto Him ! But besides all the other comforts of a praying Householder , he has This peculiar to him , He teacheth all his Family to . A praying Parent will have praying children . David prayed in his Family , and his Son Solomon prov'd a praying young man. A praying Master will have praying Servants . Abraham pray'd in his Family , and his Man Eliezer became a very praying person . Thus , O man , all thy young people , will be filling every corner of thy house with Prayers for thy Felicity . O consider of these things ; and such let the Impression of them upon you be ; That you may by Prayers with your Families Engage your Houses to serve the Lord. SECT . XIII . THere are two Things more , by the Discharge of which , we Engage our Hoxses to serve the Lord ; and those Two are in a manner One Family-Instruction ; and Family-Government . I link these together , because of their near Dependance and Agreement in their Exercise . This therefore is the Address now to be made unto us , Let Family-Instruction and so Family-Government be maintained in our Houses , that they may serve the Lord. Let there be no un●aught and unrul'd Families among us ; but let us be careful about the Education of such as belong to our Families . I beseech you , let there be a difference between English Houses and Indian Wigwams in the middest of us , and let not English Parents be as indulgent and negligent as they report the Indians are . And give me leave to say , You that are Mothers have a special Advantage to instil the Fear of God into the souls of them that sit upon your knees . T is said in Prov. 1. 8. My son , forsake not the law of thy Mother . Solomon was well instructed by his Mother , and it proved his eternal Benefit . T is not for Nothing , that in the Sacred Records , when men have proved good or bad , it is noted , Their Mothers were such and such . You that are Mothers may insi●uate Religion into your Children earlier and easier than their Fathers can . SECT . XIV . I shall Repeat the Method , which we were in before ; and under Family-Instruction take in that Family-Government which you are to be studious of . I am I. To offer some Directions about Family-Instruction . The Directions to be given hereabout , may ●e referr'd unto two Heads . First , The Matter of Family Instruction . The Family-Instruction , with which we urge our houses to the Service of God , are to have 〈◊〉 less than Four things composing of it . First , There are Holy Lessons , with which we are to Instruct our Families . We are to make them hear , and make them learn those Lessons , which may give to the young ones Knowledge and Discretion . Teach them the Scriptures of Truth . T was said to Timothy , in Cap. 3. 15. From a Child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures ; No doubt , his Godly Mother and Grandmother were the cause of his doing so . We should procure that our Young ones may read the holy Scriptures , and mind the holy Scriptures , and know the holy Scriptures , even from a Child . Let them have by heart , here and there a Verse , or a Paragraph ; Especially in the Psalms and in the Proverbs : if you would have them good , teach them the Psalmes of David ; if you would have them wise , teach them the Proverbs of Solomon . And Scripture● Stories are to be told unto them , as soon as ever they enquire after new things and strange . But while we do thus , we are also to teach them the Doctrines of God. Inculcate upon them the Principles of Religion , as often as you do the Knife on the Stone in the Whe●ting of it . T was said unto the Lord Jesus , in Matth. 22. 16. Master , Thou ●e●chest the way of God in Truth . Every M●ster should render his young ones able to say that unto himself , Master , Thou teachest the Truth of God. Especially , We should be sure that they be not ignorant of any Saving Truths . Tell them , What they are come to by the First Adam , and what they may come to by the Second Adam . Tell them what Covenant man was once , and What Covenant man is now to be saved by . Yea , let none of the Things to be believed , none of the Things to be practised , none of the Things to be pray'd for ▪ be left unmentioned in your Instructions . All the Lessons of the Creed , the Commandments , and the Lords Prayer are to be laid before them . And we are to be particularly faithful to them , in the present Truths ; the labouring Truths , the witnessed Truths of the Times , we should see ou● young ones well informed in . Give them at this day to be sensible , who is the Supreme Head , and King of the Church , and what Orders He has appointed to be observed there . Secondly . There are ferious Questions with which we are to Instruct our Families . And there are peculiarly Two Things which we are to question our young ones about . Some Questions we are to put unto them , First , Which Concern their Souls . And here , yet further to particularize , We are to try them with Questions about their Vnderstanding . Our Lord Jesus asked his Disciples , in Matth. 13. 51. Have ye understood all these things ? Thus are we to ask our young people , Do you understand the great Mystery of Godliness● O keep up the great Ordinance of Catechising in your houses . Before your little Folks have left off living upon Milk , let them be so well versed in their Milk for Babes , that they may readily answer any Question there . The Echoes of this Exercise , are a most refreshing Melody in the ears of God himself . Ask we our young ones , What they think of God , and of Christ , and of Themselves ; and let them be able to refound the Words of Truth . We are to search them also with Questions about their Experience . As our Lord asked His Family , in Joh. 16. 31. Do ye now believe ? So should we ask our young people , Have you Experieneed a work of Regeneration in your souls ? Ask them , Have you ever yet carried a labouring and heavy-laden soul unto the Lord Iesus Christ ? It was the Advice of Wisdom , Know the state of thy Flocks . Thus , we should endeavour to Know the state of the Souls which we are to be concerned for ; to know whether they are in a Natural , or a Renewed state . Once more , We are to help them with Questions about their Temptations . It was a Question once given to some , in Luc. 24. 38. Why do Thoughts arise in your hearts ? Even so we should Enquire of our young people , What Thoughts are you most troubled with ? Enquire , what Fears , enquire what Snares they are most endangered by . Be alwaies jealous , lest as the serpent beguiled Eve , so their minds be corrupted . Moreover Some Questions we are to put upon them , Secondly , which concern their Lives . It was once an Interrogatory which some were put unto , in Luc. 23. 17. What manner of communications have ye ? Thus we are to Examine our young people about the Words and the Works , that fill their Lives . There are especially three things which they should be Examined about ; their Prayer , their Time , and their Company ; Ask them , whether they live without Prayer or no ? Whether in Prayer they secretly and sincerely pour out their souls before the Lord ? Ask them , How they spend their Time ? How much Idle Time , and how much useful Time , they allow unto themselves ? And ask them , What their Company is ? Whom they sit withal ? Whether vain Persons and Fools , or the Saints which are the excellent , and all those that fear God ? Our Question will prove their Safeguard , if it be well administred . Thirdly , There are faithful Reproofs with which we are to Instruct our Families . T is said in Prov. 6. 33. The Reproofs of Instruction are the way of life . When we give Instruction , we shall have occasion to give Reproof , too often with it . There is no Family that has not Miscarriages that are to be reproved in it . Young people too commonly are wild people ; and without some Castigations they will rarely be kept in order . To some of them smart Wor●s , to others of them smart Blowes , will be too often due . T is said in Prov. 13. 24. He that spareth his Rod hateth his s●n ; but he that loveth him , chastens him betimes . Frowns are due to all , and Rods to some Transgressors in the Family . But there are two Negative and two Positive Rules to be minded in Reproving of them . The Negative Rules are these two . First , Reprove not Furiously . It is said in Iam. 1. 20. The wrath of man , worketh not the righteousness of God. Remember , Nothing will be so well done in a passion , but what may be done better out of it . If you are to chide , yet chide not in a Fury . Do not call vile Names ; much more , do not swear , do not curse , do not Rage with a Tongue set on fire of hell . If you are to smi●e , yet smite not in a Fury . Bloody , wounding , outragious Buffettings are to be avoided ; lest there be cause to say of you , Cursed is their Anger for it is fierce , and their Wrath for it is cruel . Secondly Reprove not for ever . T is said in Ps. 103. 9. God will not alwaies chide , neither will He keep his anger for ever . To be alwaies finding faults , is the way never to be curing them . A perpetual Warngling is a continual Dropping , which there is no enduring of ; it prejudices the minds of them that feel it , against all that shall be said unto them . The Positive Rules are these Two. First Reprove Reasonably . Let there be just Cause for it . When you reprove , it must be for a true cause . As it was said of our Saviour in Isai. 11. 3. He shall not reprove after the hearing of His ears . Thus , we may not go by meer Hear-say , when we reprove those that are under us . And it must be for a great Cause . T is said of the Spirit in Io● . 16. 8. He will reprove the world for SIN . The sinful thing , the thing for which the wrath of God comes , the thing which the soul of the Lord hates , this we are to reprove . We must not throw away Reproofs upon Nothing , or upon Every thing . Secondly , Reprove Scripturally . T is said in 2. Tim. 3. 16. All Scripture is profitable for Reproof . A Reproof with a Scripture comes with a more than ordinary Majesty and Authority . When we Reprove those that are under us , First , make them read a Text which does Condemn what we would rebuke , and then set it home with a very warm lively vigorous Application . Fourthly , There are solemn Charges with which we are to Instruct our Families . It was the Character which the Lord gives of Abraham , in Gen. 18. 19. I know him , that he will command his children and his household after him , and they shall keep the way of the Lord. O that this might be said of every Householder here ; I know him , that he will take all of his house , one by one , and Charge every one of them to keep the way of the Lord ! What saies the Apostle , in i● Thes 2. 11. We charged every one of you , as a father his children . We should call aside our young people , and lay upon them , the Charge of David , in 1. Chron. 28. 9. My son , know thou the God of thy Father , and Serve Him with a perfect Heart and a willing mind ; for the Lord searcheth all Hearts ▪ if thou seek Him , He will be found of thee , if thou forsake Him , He will cast thee off for ever . Charge them ; and this especially about four Things . Lay upon them that Charge of God in 1. Joh. 3. 23. This is His Commandment , that you believe on the Name of his Son. Charge them to accept of Christ Jesus , as their Prince and their Saviour ; Charge them to repair unto Christ Jesus for Wisdom , Righteousness , Sanctification , and Redemption . Lay also upon them that Charge of God , in Mat. 6. 6. Enter into thy Closet and pray to thy Father in secret . Charge them to Retire for their Devotions every day ; Charge them to let not a day pass them , without Crying to God for His Mercy , and Pardon , and Salvation . Once more , Lay upon them that Charge of God , in Prov. 1. 10. My son , if Sinners entice thee , consent thou not , Charge them , that they be not the Companions of Fools ; Charge them that they do not associate themselves into an Intimacy and a Familiarity with any but such as may be sober , discreet , blameless persons . Finally , Lay upon them that Charge of God in Hag. 1. 5. Thus saith the Lord of hosts , Consider your waies . Charge them , that they Consider what their present Condition is , and what their future Condition is like to be ; Charge them , that they consider of their past Behaviours , and of the Death , and Iudgment , and Eternity which is yet before them . A young man has become a real Convert by being obliged unto Consideration for one Quarter of an Hour in a Day . Wish for them , say to them , Oh that they were wise , that they would Consider ! In a word , Let your Charge on them , be that , which Holy Bolton gave to his Children , when he dyed , I charge you , that at the Day of Iudgement , none of you dare to meet me in an Unregenerate estate . Secondly . The Manner of Family-Instruction . T is to be performed in such a Manner , as may best Attain the Ends of it . Particularly . First , We are to Instruct our Families very Seasonably . We are told in Matth , 24. 45. The Ruler over the Household is to give them their meat in due Season . There lies much in the Time we take for the Work. We should indeed have our Frequent Times , to do it : We should speak what may be for the Instruction of our Families , every day , and often in a day ; and on various occasions be dropping our savoury Admonitions . Even when we sit at the Table , we should rarely Rise without feeding the Minds , as well as the Mouthes of our Attendents . Much more at the H●urs of Prayer , we should do something that may make them more acquainted with Divine Objects then they were before . But we should likewise have our Stated Times to do it . Especially Sacred Time will be very properly a Stated Time for it . On the Dayes of the Lord , we should instruct our Houses in the Things of the Lord ; that were infinitely better than to be Sleeping or Talking at an idle rate , as then too many do . But about the Stated Time for Family-Instruction , there is a double Discretion to be used . It is to be dispatched in a Quiet Time , in a Time when there is no Disturbance by Passions within , or Noises without . It is said in Eccles. 9. 16. The words of wise men are heard in quiet : and no wise man will speak when there is not Quietness enough to allow an Audience for him . And it is to dispens'd in a Lively , Time , in a Time when Spirits are stirring , and Affections are vigorous . T is said in Rom. 12. 11. Be ●ervent in spirit , serving the Lord ; thus , this peice of Service for the Lord , is to be done , when there is a Fervency of Disposition thereunto . Secondly , We are to Instruct our Families very pertinently . Accommodate our Instructions to their Conditions . Are there any Vnconverted persons in our Families ? Let them be Suitably Instructed . Say to them as in Psal. 34. 11. Hearken to me and I will Teach you the Fear of the Lord. Let them be warned of the Dangers which do threaten their miserable souls ; and let them be stirred to the Duties that may lay them at the Pool , in the way of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are there any Converted persons in our Families ? Let them too be suitably Instructed . We read in Joh. 8. 31. Iesus said unto the Iewes which believed on Him , continue in my word . Let them be quickned to continue in their Faith , and Love and Zeal . Let them have Weapons ●o furnish them against all their Difficulties , and Cordials to Revive them under all their Discouragements . Are there any Vnfruitful Souls , in our Families ? Instruct them suitably , by setting before them what is the Doom of the Barren Free , and of the Barren Ground ; even , to be cut down , and burnt up for ever . And say , O glorifie your heavenly Father by bringing forth much fruit . Are there any Back-sliding Souls , in our Families ? Instruct them suitably , by setting before them the Displeasure of God at such as draw-back , and His extreme Wrath on them whose Goodness is as the Morning cloud and the early dew ; and say , Remember whence thou art fallen , repent , and do thy first works . Thus are we to suit the the case of those whom we give Instruction to . Thirdly . We are to Instruct our Families very Diligently . T is a thing that we are to labour in . T was enjoind in Deut 6. 7. The words which I command thee , thou shalt teach them Diligently unto thy Children . It calls for our Hearts and our Pains . When we set about it , we should think with our selves , We know not how short our Opportunities may be ; we know not whether we shall ever speak more to those whom we now direct our selves unto . In this as well as in other such Cases , we should hear the voice of our own Vncertainty & Mortality ; t is that in Eccles. 9. 10. Do with thy might what thy hand finds to do , for there is no work , nor wisdom in the grave whither thou art going . T is the Work of the Lord , about which we are , when we are , Instructing our Families , t is not to be done slothfully ; we find in Ier. 28. 10. cursed is the man , who doth it so ; t is to be done heartily ; we find in 2. Chron. 31. 21. that is the way to prosper in it . O let us be as Diligent in Instructing of our young people , as the Emissaries of Hell are in Seducing of them . Fourthly , We are to Instruct our Families by Exemple . Be Exemplary ; and follow the Directory of that geat man , who said in Psal. 101. 10. I will walk within my house with a perfect heart . Let our Walk , as well as our Talk , show the young people with us how they are to walk and to please God ; and let us be able to call upon them , Do you follow me , as I follow Christ. Let us give such Expressions of Love to God and his Truths and His Wayes , that our Families may come after us in the like . Let them discern how to seek the Face of God , and how to bear the Hand of God , and how to prize the Word of God , by seeing how We do it our selves . When Elisha would get for himself a double Portion of the spirit in Elijah , he said in 2. King 2. 10. If thou see me , it shall be so unto thee . O that the Sight of us , that the Sight of our Piety , and Gravity might Instruct our Houses , and help them to a double Portion of those Graces and Vertues which are the Fruits of the Spirit . We shou'd study an Instructive Conversation ; and we should never permit a Cham , a young Cham in our families , to see us overcome with Drink , Disguised with Vice , or naked with Folly ; but In all things we should show our selves a Pattern of good works . Fifthly . We are to Instruct our Families with Authority . As the Minister is to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ , of whom t is said in Mat. 7. 29. He taught as one having Authority . So should the Householder do . And hence we are to keep up our Authority in our families ; not permitting the child to be have himself proudly against the Ancient . It is required in Lev. 19. 3. Ye shall fear every one his Mother and his Father , the Mother is here put before the Father , because commonly she first loseth her Authority : but neither Mother nor Father should suffer themselves to be trampled upon . T is an intolerable thing , for a saucy , impudent , unmannerly child to reply , I wont , when a Parent bids him do this or that . You sin grievously , if you do not curb and break the Wills of them that you are to bring up in the nurture of the Lord ; and if you don't make 'em tremble to break any of your commands . Wherefore let there be that Wisdom , that Meekness , that Reservedness , and Seriousness in our Deportments , with which we may Rule well our own house , and have our Children in Subjection with all g●●vity . This is that Family-Instruction and Family - Government by which we must bring our Houses to serve the Lord. SECT . XV. ONe might Rationally imagine , that no Exception could be taken at such a profitable and necessary thing as Family Instruction is . Yet this also has Exceptions made against it ; and therefore I am endeavouring II. To Remove some Objections against Family Instruction . Diverse things are by many pleaded , wherefore they take no care to have their Families par●akers of Instruction in Righteousness . The First Exception . One person will for this Plea Exempt himself . The Inferiors in my Family are very Dull : T is an hard thing to beat into them , any sense of Eternal Concernments . On this Pretense it is , that poor Negro's especially are kept Strangers to the way of Life : they are kept only as Ho●ses or Oxen , to do our Drudgeries ; but their Souls , which are as white and good as those of other Nations , their Souls are not look'd after , but are Destroyed for lack of Knowledge . This is a desperate Wickedness . But are they dull ? Then instruct them the rather ; That is the Way to sharpen them . T is said in Psal. 119. 130. The Entrance of thy word gives Understanding to the Simple . Be they never so simple , you may increase their Wit by God's Word . And are they truly Dull ? Then be not you so too ; Let your Labour be equal to their Dulness . We are told in Eccl. 10. 10. If the Iron be blunt , then a man must put to the more Strength . You must be at the Trouble to stoop unto their Capacities . Be you as plain , be you as breef in your Instructions , as they are dull in their Intellectuals . And be frequent , be patient in them ; give Line upon line , and Precept upon precept , here a little and there a little . Even Gutta cavat lapidem — a Stone will receive the mark of the Drop that shall often fall upon it . The Second Exception . Another person will for this Cause Exempt himself . The Inferiors in my Family are very Young. T is too soon to begin with them ; we shall only make them take the Name of God in vain by teaching them to talk like Parrots of Religion , before they can conceive better of it . To this I answer , No , You can't begin with them Too soon . ` T was said in Isai. 28. 9. Whom shall hee teach knowledge ? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts . They are no sooner wean'd but they are to be taught ; and God may give them righter and riper Conceptions of things , than you are well aware . What saies the Wise man , Trai● up a Child in th● way he should go . Let the first liquor that is put into them be sweet and good ; and they will keep the tang of it all their dayes . Quo semel est imbuta recens — Are they Young ? Yet the Devil has been with them already . T is said in Psal. 58. 3. They go astray as soon as they are born , speaking lies . They no sooner step than they stray , they no sooner lisp than they ly . Satan gets them to be proud , prosane reviling and revengeful as young as they are . And I pray , Why should not you be afore-hand with him ? And this the rather , since the Lord Jesus calleth for them . He saies in Marc. 10. 13. Suffer little children to come unto me . For know , T is not an Affront , but an Honour unto the Name of God , for such young ones to Learn the truth as it is in Iesus . It was very pleasing unto the Lord Jesus Christ , when in Matth. 21. 15. The Children cryed Hosannah to Him. If your Children do not cry Hosanna , they will call wicked Names , they will curse and lie , and take the Name of God in vain ; and which is best ? Iudge ye . Besides we have the Call of God , in Psal. 148. 12. Ye Children , praise the Lord. The Third Exception . A Third person will urge this against it . I want Abilities to manage this work , my Parts and Gifts are too mean to go thro it . To this I answer ; God will Accept you , tho● you do it meanly . The Prophet made this Apology for himself , in Jer. 1. 6. Ah! Lord God , I cannot speak . But God answered , Say not so . Tho you have but one Talent , yet let it not ly by . Though you have only Goats hair , or Badgers skins , yet employ them for the use of the Tabernacle . The Apostle tells the Hebrews , You need one to teach you the first principles of the O●●cles of God ; yet unto them he said , Exhort one ●nother . Moreover , God will Assist you to do it better . T was affi●med to him in Ioshua 1. 9. Have not I commanded thee ? Be strong and of a good Courage , for the Lord thy God is with thee . Thus be it affirmed here ; God has commanded thee , Do it as courageously and as comfortably as thou canst : His Presence will continually cause thee to grow in thy Accomplishments To him that hath shall be given . Keep watering the Olive-plants about thy Table . He that watereth shall be watered also himself . The Fourth Exception . A Fourth person perhaps will not blush to say , I want Opportunity to attend this Work , my Employment will not suffer me . But let no man argue so Man hast thou Time to Feed thy Family and no time to Teach them ? The poorest among you all should say , as in Psa. 119. 92. The Law of thy mouth is better to me , than thousands of Gold and silver . T is better to lay up for thy Family the Riches of God's Law , than Thousands of pounds . Nothing , nothing should put by their Instruction in the way of peace If you do not want an Heart , you will not want a Time for the Instruction of your Families . No man could have more business lying on his hands than David had who had the Affayrs of a mighty Kingdom to distract him ; yet of him could his own Son say as in Prov. 4. 4. He taught me . The Fifth Exception . T is possible a fifth person may have uncomfortable cause to plead , I have those in my Family that will not be Instructed ; I can't Order them so far as to make them submit unto it . In this unhappy Case , What shall be done but this ? We are to pray for these Creatures , that their Hearts may be tam●d and bow●d by Him , that has them in His Hand . We are also to watch when some Affliction or some Amazement is come upon them : then God opens their ear to Discipline ; then the Wild Asses are in the Month where you may find them . We may likewise call in the help of some grave , pious , holy Minister , who may come to them with the spirit and power of Elias , To turn the hearts of the Children to their Fathers . Finally . If your Children refuse to be Instructed , What saies the Wise man , A Rod for the fools back . If your Servants refuse to be Instructed , What saies the Good man , He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house . SECT . XVI . BEfore I have done , I must Endeavour III. To propound some Incentives unto Family-Instruction . Wherefore Consider , first , the Needfulness of it . Christians , Instruct your Families , for I may say , This is the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you . And as Gods Will , so their State calleth for it . O look upon the Ignorance of your Families . May it not be said of them as in Psal. 14. 2. The Lord looked on the Children — to see if there were any that did understand ; they are all gone aside . Instruct them ; lest they be destroyed for lack of knowledge . Look upon the Corruption of your Families . May it not be said of them , as in Eccles. 5. 3. The hearts of the Children is full of Evil. Instruct them , lest they be the Children of Belial , to consume your eyes and grieve your hearts . In a Word , Instruct your Families or else the Blood of their Souls will be required at your hands . It was complain'd of old , in Jer. 2. 34. In thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of poor innocents . What a dreadful word is that ! and what a dreadful thing will it be , for your poor Families to follow you in the ever-burning Lake below ; shrieking and roaring , If you had done your Duty to us , t is like we had never arrived here ! Consider , Secondly the Vsefulness of it . Instruct your Families and it will issue in their Good. They shall be brought home to God. As he said in Psal 51. 13. I will teach them , and they shall be converted unto thee . You may see converted Children , and converted Servants , filling of your Families . They may bless the name of God for ever , that ever they knew your House , or saw your Face ; because you have promoted in them that Knowledge which is Life Eternal . Instruct your Families ; and it will issue in your Ioy. They shall afford you that ●ight , of which the Apostle said , I have no greater Ioy. T is said in Prov. 10. 1. A wise Son makes a glad Father . T is a taught son that proves a wise son . What a joyful thing will it be , for you to see all your Children and Servants , calling you their spiritual Father , here ! But what a much-more joyful thing will it be for you to meet them all at the Right Hand of our Lord in the day of His Appearing ! O Consider of these Things ; and go away determined , [ I hope you are now determined ] Thus I and my House will serve the Lord. TIME DISCERNED . ECCLES . VIII . 5. A wise man's heart discerneth TIME THe Famous Writer of these Words was that Royal Preacher , Solomon . After much Experience of the World , and after much Repentance for that Experience , he drew up a Treatise De summo bono , concerning the chief Good of man. The penitent and inspired Monarch , having arrived unto the Top of this world , pitties the poor men whom he sees toiling and sweating to get up the rocky hill after him , and expecting to find Happiness there ▪ & with a loud voice he gives this warning to them , Sirs , You will be all mistaken , you will meet with nothing but Vanity and Vexation here . The Context here contains the Reflections of this wise prince on the Countenance which he had given to publick and open Idolatry in Israel , and the compliance which they that should have advised the contrary yeilded thereunto . Men seek out many inventions to excuse themselves from bearing an humble but a faithful Testimony against any sinful thing which their Superiors may invite them to . One of these Inventions is mentioned in the fourth verse of this Chapter ; it is drawn from the Vncontrouleable Power of them that sometimes enjoin a sinful thing . To this Excuse we have a two-fold Answer in the fifth verse . We have two things in it . First , the Good of Religion . T is sai● , Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing . q. d. Be true to Gods Commandments & thy own Conscience , let who will be offended at it ; the wonderful providence of the Almighty will in the mean time be concerned for thy Safety and Security . A man gets no real Hurt by doing of his Duty . Secondly , the Need of Discretion . T is said A wise mans heart discerneth both Time and Iudgment . q. d. In the doing of this , and every other Duty , two things are to be much regarded . Mind the Season of the duty , and mind the Manner of the duty : much harm will thereby be prevented in discharging of it . T is the former of these two Regardables that I would now insist upon . Behold a general Rule apply'd unto a particular Case : the Case is , the Rebuking and Refusing of Sin ; but the Rule is , A wise man alwai●s will discern his time to do what he has to do . To Discern the Time , — it must needs also signifie to Improve the Time. Wherefore the Doctrine is , A wise man will discern and improve his Time , to do what is incumbent on him . Our Propositions are to be such as these . Prop. I. The Blessed God affordeth to men in this World a Time to discharge the Duties incumbent on them . There are two things incumbent on us ; to Do good , and to Get good . The good we are to do , is to Honour God ; and the good we are to get , is to Enjoy God. Those two things comprise all our Duties ; and they make up the Errand which we come into the World upon . Now , while we are in this world , God allowes us a Time for this work ; we have time not only in the larger sense of it , but also in the stricter sense of it ; We have time not only in Duration , but also in Opportunity . There is not any Duty enjoined uppon us , but there is a Season for it allowed unto us . T is an Observation about the things that shall be , in Eccles. 3. 1. To every thing there is a Season , and a Time to every purpose . Thus it may be said about the things that should be , There is no Duty , but God hath provided us a Time and a Season for it . We have some golden spots of Time , whereof we may say , This is the Time for such a duty ; and again , This is the Time for another duty . First , We have a Time to do Good while we are here in the world . We have a time to exercise every Vertue , to use all that Piety and Charity , all that Holiness & Righteousness , which the Lord requireth of us . The Good which we are to do is expressed in Mic. 6. 8. He hath shewed thee , O man , what is good , to do justly , ●and to love Mercy , and to walk humbly with thy God. We meet with many Times to do those Good things before we dye . We have now our ●●me to acquaint our selves with God , in all the methods of Devotion ; our Time to acknowledge God in all the waies of New Obedience We have also our Time to advantage our Neighbours ; our Time to promote the internal and eternal Salvation , and the external Prosperity of them that are about us . Secondly , We have likewise a Time to Get Good while we are in the world . We have a Time to obtain all that Favour , and all that Fellowship with God which our Mighty Redeemer is the Authour of . The Good which we are to get , is comprised in Isai. 55. 3. The sure Mercies of David . We have our Times to secure all those Good things . Every man of us may say , I have a Time to get my Sin pardoned ; he may say , I have a Time to get my Soul renewed ; he may say , I have a Time to get all the Promises of the New Covenant fulfilled unto my soul for evermore . Prop. II. It is no small part of Wisdom for men to discern and improve the Time which God affordeth unto them . When the Gales of Opportunity blow in the Sails of Time , every man should see and watch his own Opportunity . To Discern the Time , is to mind the time , and to use the time , for the performance of our Duty . Now t is a wise man that will so discern the Time. Sapience or Wisdom is a Vertue of the Vnderstanding , whereby a man perceives the Dependence of things ; the Co●nexion of things , and the Consequence of things being understood , therein Wisdom is discovered . To discern the time is an instance of this . T is Wisdom for a man to lay his Time and his Work together . T is Wisdom for a man to fore-see what will be the Issue of such a Work at such a Time. But besides the Nature of Wisdom evidently appearing in this thing , we have a two fold further witness to the Wisdom of it . First , The Testimony of Scripture there about , shewes , that it is Wisdome for men to discern and improve their time . What the all - wise , the only - wise GOD calleth Wisdom , is unquestionably to be esteemed so . The Redeeming of Time is great Wisdom in the Language and the Account of God. T was said in Eph. 5. 16. Walk as wise , Redeeming the time — Much of the same Date and Tenour , was the Epistle to the Colossians . In that Epistle also we have the like passage , in Cap. 4. 5. Walk in Wisdom , Redeeming the time . T is probable the Apostle therein has a special Reference to Persecutions , which good men were then exposed unto . To Redeem the Time , was a proverbial Phrase of old , signifying , To Keep out of trouble as long as one can . Thus the Chaldean-Soothsayers were told in their distress , Dan. 2. 8. I know that ye would gain the time . This was the Counsil of the Apostle , By a prudent , holy , careful , and inoffensive Carriage towards them that would interrupt you in the worship of Iesus Christ , gain Time what you can for the quiet practice of it . Well , If it be Wisdom to gain time for the Service of God , surely , t is Wisdom to spend time in the Service of God. It was the singular Character & Commendation of the Issacharites , in 1. Chron. 12. 32. They had Understanding in the times , to know what Israel ought to do . T is an understanding man , who doth so know his Time , as to do his Work. Of a Time-losing man , the Scripture saith , He is a Fool. It saies in Prov. 18. 16. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a Fool ? Secondly , The Prevention of Sorrow thereby , shewes , That it is Wisdom for men to discern and improve their Time. It is great Wisdom to prevent great Sorrow . Now nothing in the world fills the heart of man more with Anguish and Anger , than the Missing of Time. When a man has missed his Time for his Work , it causeth an unspeakable Regret within him . We read of some professors , who missed their 〈◊〉 to Entertain Christ Jesus and His Mercy : with what a marvellous Agony did they cry out , in Matth. 25. 11. Lord , Lord , open to us ! Well might they be called Foolish , who thus cam● too late . The horrour of it being once only Represented by some profane people , who acted the Foolish Virgins in a Play , at a City in Germany , it even kill'd a Prince that was a Spectator of it . T is impossible to utter the Confusion which the slipping of time does put the souls of men into . When Esau had missed his Time to procure a Blessing for himself , how did he resent it ? We are told in Gen. 27. 34. He cry'd with a great and exceeding bitter Cry. Alas , how should it be otherwise ? The slipping of Time is an Ill , and an exceeding bitter thing . There are but two sorts of men ; both of them find the Loss of time , to prove at some time or other , a sad , an evil , a troublesome thing unto them , 'T is thus esqecially when their time is come to Dy , when their time is to be no more . As for Good men , the Loss of time usually strowes Thorns on their Beds when they come to dy . It grieves the best man to think , My Time , my Time , I have not so laid it out for God as I should have done . He was a painful & a pious Minister of the Gospel , who yet breathed out this among his last , Groans , O the Loss of Time ! it 〈…〉 on my spirit now . As for Bad men , the Loss of Time flash● Hell fire into their spirits when they come to Dy. It causes terrible wounds ▪ and pains in the departing soul of a Sinner to think I had , once a Time to Beleeve , a Time to Repe●t , a Time to lay up for Eternity , but now my Time is gone for ever . The sh●●ek of a poor man going out of the world sometimes has been , A would of Weal●h for an inch of Time. 〈◊〉 , t is Wisdom to prevent such things as these . The Vse of these things remains . USE . Let us all he hence advised to Discern and Improve Time , which we have to discharge our D●tyes in . The most of us , t is to be 〈◊〉 , may discern Iudgment ; we know 〈◊〉 our Duty is , and How it is to be dispatched . 〈…〉 us also discern Time : Suffer we not our time to run from us , while we neglect the great Ends which we , have it for . O let not the Lord have cause to complain of us as in Jer. 8. 7. The Birds in the Heaven know their appointed times , but my people do not know . That we may Discern time , and improve time , such Directions as these may well be followed . Direction I. Let us Discern our Time ▪ and not Mis-spend our Time. Avoid those Time-wasting things , Which would serve us about our Time , as the High-way men did the poor Traveller in Luc. 10. 30. in his way to Iericho . We are all Travelling in the the way to Eternity ; there are these and those Robbers in the way that would plunder us of our time : shun them , fly them . Count Mis-spenc● of Time one of the most wicked and woful follies in the world . Let us discern three things in all Time , and permit no Time to be devoured by two things which we may be under Temptation to . The things which we are to discern in all Time are these , First , let us discern the Worth of all Time. Let not an hour pass without this opinion of it , This hour is too good to be lost . If we prise the Jewel we shall not lose it . It is for our shame that even an Heathen made that complaint , Q●uem mibi dabis qui diem est●met ? Where will you find a man that esteems his Time as he ought to do ? Ponder well what a vast price our Lord paid for our Time. We had forfeited all our Tune into the hands of infinite revenging Justice ; the just wrath of God would have taken away ●ime and Life from us long ago , if our Lord Jesus had not laid down such a price as that in 1. Pe● . 1. 18. Ye were redeemed , not with silver and gold , but 〈◊〉 the precious bloud of Iesus Christ. O don't throw away any of that which cost so dea● . And ponder well what a vast price the dying & the damned set on their Time. We may say of it as Iob of another thing , in Cap. 28. 22. Destruction and death , say , we have heard the fame thereof with our ears . Even so , Destruction and Death set an high rate upon it . Ask men when Destruction and Death is near to seizing upon 'em , How much would you give now for a little of the time that is gone ? They will reply , O , whole mountains of gold for one hour of it ! Judge now as you will judge then . Secondly , Let us Discern the Irrevokableness of our Time. When our time is once gone , it remains Irrevokable , and Irrecoverable for evermore . We may say of every Time that is past , as in Psal. 49. 8. It is precious and it ceaseth forever . The Wish of Hezekiah could once bring back the shadow of the Sun , but never could any man procure a Return of his Time. Sometimes the doleful Cryes of distressed ones have been , Call Time again ! call Time again ! But alas , Time won't come back for Calling . Oh how should this make us to takeheed that we don't abuse any part of our Time , I shall never have this time again ! When once our Time has taken wing , what is said of Love ▪ in Cant. 8. 7. that may be said of Time , If a man would give all the substance of his house for it , it would utterly be contemned , When once Time is gone , 't is gone . Thirdly , let us Discern our Accountableness for all our Time. God maintains us and supplies us with Time continually . He keeps a Sun to measure it . The time will come when He will reckon with us about all our Time. T is said in Ecc. 11. 9. O young man walk in the wayes of thy heart ; but know thou that for all these things , God will bring thee into judgement . In like sort , let me say , Come , squander away thy Time , even contrive to get the dead commodity off thy hands ; but know thou that in the day , when God shall judge the world , all this Time of thine must be accounted for . It was the Law of old , in Exod 21. 18. If one man smite another , so that he keep his bed , and yet walk abroad again , he shall pay for his healing and the Loss of his Time : Truly so , if we impenitently lose any of the Time which God hath given us , He will make us pay for it , in the day of his pleac●ng with us . T is said in Matth. 12. 36. Men shall give an account of every idle wo●d . Much more in that day shall men give an account of every idle Hour . The God that hath numbred our Hairs , hath also numbred our Hou●es ▪ It will be a fearful thing , if at last He say unto us , Thou wicked and slothful servant , thy life has been made up of idle hours . These things are we to discern in all Time. For the sake hereof , let us now permit no Time to be misplac'd in such things as these . First , Let us mispend no Time in vanity , of them that live in vain pleasures 't is said in 1 Tim 5. 6. they are Dead while they live . They discrn no Time , and enjoy none . Too much Time is not to be laid out in Eating and Drinking . To affect Long Meals , or to tarry long at the Wine , does not become a Christian. Thy Soul is a little too noble a thing sure to be made the Cook of thy Body . Moreover , Too much Time is not to be laid out in Attiring and Adorning . It made an holy man among the Ancients to weep , when in a morning he ●aw a person longer in Dressing , than himself had been in praying . Thy Carcase that is to feed the Worms ere long should not put by thy cares about thy Spirit , which must be in Weal or Woe for ever . Once more , Too much Time is not to be laid out in Sporting and Gaming . There are some lawful Recrea●ions , of which we should be shy , lest they steal away our Heart and our Time. That blessed Martyr , Iohn Hus , just before he dyed , in a Letter thus bewaild himself , O beg of God to pardon me for the Time I have lost at such a Play , that yet in it self was very innocent . But there are some unlawful Recreations also , in which multitudes play away their Time. The plays which depend upon a pure Lot are such . The moral Heathen Zealously reproached them . And severe Statutes were made against them when the Roman Empire became a Christian. Men always loose at them , those things which are better than any that they win , their Time , if not their Soul. Secondly , Let us mispend no Time in Idleness . It was an ill world where the Apostle could say , as in 2. Thes 3. 11. There are s●me that walk disorderly , working not at all . Every man should be able to make a good Answer to the Question which Pharaoh put unto Ioseph's Brethren , I pray , What is your Occupation ? A big part of our Time should be laid out on our particular Callings . A Calling is an Ordinance of God ; Adam in Paradise had a Labour imposed on him . Be diligent in some one or other . No man so fully and foully falls into the possession of the Devil , as the idle man. The Ants , the Bees , and all the Creatures exclame against him . Idleness , ti● thundred against in Ezek. 16. 49. as one of the Sins that brought Hell out of Heaven upon Sodom long ago ; it will carry from Earth to Hell the souls of them that in it snore away their lives . When men do'nt misspend their Time , then do they discern it . Direction , II. Let us Discern our Time , and Attend every Duty in the proper Time. There is a two-fold Prudence which the Wise man's heart is to be no stranger to . The First Prudence is , Let no Duty be done out of its Time. We are told in Eccles 3. 11. God hath made every thing beautiful in the Time of it . There is a Nick of Time that we are to take for all we do . Not Snow but Fruit is beautiful in the Summer . T is not beautiful for the Duty of Prayer , to be done at a sleepy time , or at a busy time . T is not beautiful for the Duty of Reproof to be done at a time when it can do no good at all . Set not upon this or that Duty at a time when God calls to another Duty . T is said in Eccles. 8. 6. To every purpose there is a Time and Iudgement . We may render all our Duties like Apples of gold in pictures of silver , by well timing of them . The Second Prudence is , Let no Time pass away without its Duty : Let none of our times be unaccompanied with the Duties which belong unto them . As now , there are Duties that belong to a time of Prosperity , and Duties which belong to a Time of Adversity . T is said in Eccles. 7. 14. In the day of Prosperity be joyful , but in the day of Adversity Consider . In a time of Prosperity : now is a time for men to Remember their Creator before the evil days come ; Now is a time for men to set their heart and their soul to seek the Lord who hath given them rest on every side . In a time of Adversity , now is a time for men to bring sin to remembrance ; now is a time for men to meet the Lord in all the ways of Repentance and Obedience . This is to Discern the Time. But there are especially three sorts of times which we are to fill with the Dutyes of those Times . First . Let the Dutyes of Worshipping times , be done in those times . We have our times every day wherein the Lord saith , seek my Face . Now let the Echo of our souls be that in Psal. 27. 8. Thy Face , Lord , we will seek . We have every day our times for private Prayer , our times for secret Prayer , our times for Reading of , and Thinking on the Word of God. Let those things be faithfully done in those Times . Especially , Remember the Sabbath Day . Let Sabbath-time be sanctifyed time . On this day , ly all the day long at the pool of Mercy ; Mercy , Mercy , and Salvation for an immortal soul is this day to be traded for . T is a Time that the great God is very Jealous about . He does wonderfully curse the Souls , and blast the Houses , and ruin the Countryes where this Holy Time is not acknowledged . He will terribly break the rest of those whom His Rest shall not be regarded by . Secondly , Let the Dutyes of Visiting Times be done in those Times . T is too commonly seen that Amici temporis Fures ; our Friends are our Theeves ; they Steal our time , b●●●ause we don't use our time , when then they are with us . T is observable , in Col. 4. 6. as soon as the Apostle had said , Redeem the time ▪ he adds , Let your speech be always with Grace . That , that indeed is a rare way to Redeem the time . Let us ordinarily study to do some good , whatever Company we come into . It was observed of that excellent Vrsin by his renowned Friend , I 〈◊〉 was in his company , but I went away ( Doctior ●ut Melior ) the wiser or the better from him . Abhor , O abhor the useless visits that are quite contrary to all such designs . Mourn if you have been in any Company without being profitable thereunto . Thirdly , Let the Duties of Intervening times be done in those times . We have large Fragments of time , that are the Intervals of our businesses ; about these Fragments of time , I would say as our Lord said about the Fragments of Bread , in Joh. 6. 12. Gather up those Fragments that nothing be lost . How many thousands of happy thoughts might we have as we are sitting in the House , or walking in the Street , otherwise wholly unimployed ? The very Filings of Gold and of Time are not to be cast away . To discern our time , is to adapt our time . Direction . III. Let us discern our Time , and make none but Good B●●gains about the time . The Scripture once and again tells us , as in Eph. 5. 16. that we are to Buy up the time , or buy out the time . This is to discern the Time ! We must be at some Cost , and at some Charge for it , if we would not be ill-husbands of our time : We must pay down either Mony or Monyes-worth for it ; we must fore go and under go many things for it . Many things must we give up , that our time so may be well-imployed . The case is ordinarily so , that either we must resign many Pleasures , many Profits , many Honours , or else we must part with our time . Now rather give up all Delights , than suffer precious time to be pyrated away . All the things of time , are sometimes Expence little enough for time . Yea , many things must we give back , that so we may not misemploy our time . The Devil and our Lusts have been trucking for our time . The Devil , that hellish Hucster , would engross all our Time for his own . He deals with us as the Europeans dealt at first with the silly Indians , who le●● go their ●old , and Silver , and Diamonds for glass-Beads and tinsil-Toyes . The Answer that our Lust makes to the Tempter is , Let me have the pleasures of sin for a season , and every season of my time shall be thine . O but we should be content to give back all that Satan has proffer'd us for our time ; let it be never-so-much that we might have had for the misuse of time , begrutch it not . 'T was the Speech of Austin , Perde aliquid ut Deo vaces If you would have Time for God , or any Good , you must part with something for it . In a Word , Let us labour now to Regain the Time that we have been cheated of . The cheef way to do that , is , By a double Diligence for the time to come . Make up the time we have made an ill market of , by an extraordinary Industry and Activity in the time yet before us . The Israelites in their Journey to Canaan made more way the last year or two , than they had done in almost forty years before . All the many Sermons in the Book of Deuteronomy seem preached by Moses in the last month or two before he dy'd . O sit down and think well , How shall I lay out my time for the best Advantage ? Let that be said of us when we dye , Diu vixit , licet non diu fuit . He lived long in a little time . To Purchase our time , is to discern our time . Direction . IV. Let us Discern our time , and let us Improve the Present time , to make our peace with the Eternal God. Alas , All the sinful and woful time of our Vnregeneracy is Lost time . One that was converted but about seven years before he dyed , ordered that Epitaph to be inscribed on his Grave , Here ●●es an Aged man who dy'd but seven years old . Thou dost not live till thou dost repent , till thou dost beleeve . Be sure , there is no Duty so much incumbent on us , as that of Turning from Sin to God in Christ. Well , the great God hath stated the present time for the doing of it . T is the Warning , the solemn warning of the Holy God unto us , 2. Cor. 6. 2. Behold , Now is the Accepted time , Now is the Day of Salvation . Let those that are not yet born-again , discern this their time . O yee souls in peril , What is it that ye resol●e upon ? Your time is to Day , to Day , if you will hear the voice of God. Let me say about this Time , as Boaz about that Land in Ruth , 4. 4. If you will redeem it , redeem it . O Delay not ; Dally not , Trifle not about this grand Concern ; Do not say as the unhappy Felix did , I 'le mind it at a more convenient season . No , No , Discern it , that the most conv●nient season is just NOW . O that all unconverted men would consider the Danger the Madness of their Procrastinations . T is said in Eccles. 9. 12. Man knoweth not his time . Man , discern thy time as a flying time , and an uncertain time . A Jewish Rabbi gave that Co●nsel to a Scholar of his , Besure you repent at least a day before you dy . Truly , t is a fearful thing for a man when he comes to dye , not to be able to say , T is at least a day since that I made my peace with God. Well , who of us can say , that this day is not our last day ? We cannot be sure that we repent a day before we dy , unless we repent this very day . Suppose you were to suffer an horrible Death in case you had not finished some notable Undertaking before night . O how would every stroke of the Clock strike to your very hearts within you ! Behold O Sinner , be amazed , stand Astonished , and take the present time to get out of thy present state . T is possible thou mayst be a dead man before to morrow , t is possible this night thy soul may be required . Horrid will thy condition be , if this happen before thy peace be made with GOD. There are Graves in the Burying-Place shorter than the youngest of us all . Thou mayst Conclude with saying as David to Ionathan , As the Lord lives , there is but a step between me and death . Wherefore , let me Conclude with saying as Michal to David , O save thy self to night , for to morrow thou mayst be slain . Let no man Repent too late , but let every man Discern the time . T is the sigh of our GOD over us , O that they understood ! that they would Consider their Latter END ! The TRYED CHRISTIAN . A Discourse delivered , upon Recovery from SICKNESS IOB . XXIII . 10. When He hath Tryed me , I shall come forth as GOLD . THere was a Man in the Land of Arabia , whose name was Job ; and that man was perfect and upright . The Church of GOD is enriched with an excellent History , in an elegant Poesie , relating the great Prosperity , the sad Adversity , and strange Recovery of that perfect and upright man. T is probable , that he was an Edomite , and the very Iobab whom Esau was Great-Grandfather unto ; but this I am sure of , He was an Israelite indeed ! From a Rich and Fair estate , He suddenly became , As poor as Iob ; and while he was in this poor Condition , his noble Friends gave him their friendly Visits and Respects . Many admirable Dialogues now passed between them ; wherein they endeavoured to Accuse and Convince him of some remarkable Iniquity , as the Cause of his Calamity ; and he laboured to vindicate himself ; to assert his own Integrity and Sincerity . In our Context here , the good man is expressing his Willingness and Readiness to appear before the Judgement-seat of God ; and in our Text , he declares what he expects would be the Result of his Tryals by the Lord. He comforts himself by those two Considerations . First , that God's Knowledge did reach him . He saith , God knowes the way that is in me ; q. d. Tho I cannot see God , yet God can see me ; and the most inward Purposes or Appetites of my mind , are not concealed from Him. And Next , that God's Tryal would clear him . This is the Article that lyes before us to be Explained and Improved ; and the Doctrine , which may guide our Discourse upon it , is , That Good men come forth as GOLD , under and after the Trials of the Almighty God. It is by the ensuing Propositions that we may arrive to right thoughts about the Truth before us . Proposition . I. There is a various Tryal which the God of Heaven causes to pass upon His people . No Christian can be without his Tryals . But there are especialy two sorts of Tryals which ou● God will subject us all unto . First , There are the Trials of Divine Examinations , Which will be critical upon us . T is said in Psal. 11. 4 , 5. The Lords eyes behold , and His ey-lids try the children of men ; the Lord sounds ( as the French Translation hath it ) both the righteous and the wicked . Every man in the world falls under the Notice , and so , under the Tryal of the omniscient God. The all-seeing Eyes of God , as it were , Examine us , and His Ey-lids knit themselves for a Scrutiny into our Hearts and lives . The blessed God will pass a Iudgment , after a Trial upon us ; whether we truly love Him and seek Him , or no. We are told in Psal. 7. 9. The righteous God trieth the Hearts and the Reins ; an Assertion , an Expression , it may be , more than seven times repeted in the Word of God! The Examination and Observation of God , extends it self to the most interior parts of men ; the motions of their very Hearts and Reins come under His exactest Cognizance . Every man may so far say after that godly man , in Psal. 17. 3. Lord , thou hast proved my heart , thou hast visited me , thiu hast tried me . To use a Similitude made Legitimate and Canonical by the Apostle himself , in Heb. 4. 13. The Sacrificeing Knife of old , never did penetrate so far into the Bowels of the Creatures it was imployed upon ; it never laid them so ●aked and open , before the standers-by ; as the examining Eye of God makes a discovery of what is in our Souls and our wayes . Secondly , There are the Trials of Divine Dispensations which we must have Experience of ▪ God's Providences are our Probations ; by them we are tried what we are . The things which befal us in the world , fetch out of us , those things which manifest what metal we are made of . Particularly , t is said in 2. Cor. 6. 3 , 7. We are Approved by things on the Right hand and on the Left. First , The Merciful Dispensations of God , are Trials of us : these are Trials on the Right hand . It is a sacred Proverb , in Prov. 27. 21. As the Fining-pot for silver , and the Furnace for Gold , so is a man to his praise ; or so the mouth which praises any one , is to try him . As when a man is praised by his Neighbour , so when a man is Blessed of his Maker , he is then tried unto the utmost . Honours from below , do Indicare virum ; they soon Try & show the man that is perfum'd therewith ; and the same is done by Merc●es from above . Therein the Lord brings us , as He did the Souldiers of Gideon , to a River of Plenty , and He saies , as in Iudg. 7. 4. Now I will try them there . The Favours of God , as it were , put us into a Crucible , in a Furnace , where it soon becomes apparent , whether we fear him or no. They are so many Trials , Whether we will hear God speaking to us in our prosperity ; or whether when we wax fat , we shall kick against the Lord. Secondly , The Afflictive Dispensations of God , are likewise Tryals of us . And these are Trials on the Left hand . So much is intimated in 1. Pet. 1. 6 , 7. Ye are in heaviness thro' many Temptations , that the trial of your faith , being much more precious than that of gold which perisheth , though it be tried with fire , may be found unto praise . All Afflictions are Tentations ; by them we are tried whether we have the Grace of God in us or no. T is Faith , but not Faith alone , which our Troubles here are the Trials of . A Sick-bed is a Furnace , a Reproach is a Furnace , a Loss , or a Goal is a Furnace , in which t is tried whether we have the spirits , not of Bastards , but of Children in us . Hence we read of A great Tryal of Affliction . Afflicted persons may make that Confession in Ps. 66. 10 , 11 , Thou , O God , hast proved us , thou hast tried us as silver is tried ; thou hast laid Affliction upon our loins . Hereby we are Try'd whether we will despise the Chastning of the Lord , or whether we will faint when rebuked of Him. Proposition II. Upon the Trials of God , good men come forth as gold . There is that in Gold , which good men may be compar'd unto . We read in Deut. 1. 1. about the mountains of Dizahab : that is , the Golden mountains ; because Gold was probably dug from thence . The Churches of God in the world , are such Mountains of gold . Every true Believer is a rich lump of Gold before the Lord. Of such persons t is said in Lam. 4. 2. They are the precious sons of Zion , comparable to fine gold . There are diverse properties in Gold , which a good man will have a blessed Resemblance of . I should offer you not Gold , but Hay and stubble if I should read you here a Lecture of Metallogy , or discourse to you all that I could Philosophize about this King of Metals . Let me only touch on a few common Reflections , As now , Gold is a pure metal . Hence we read near some scores of times in the sacred Scripture , about pure Gold. It will not readily admit a Mixture ▪ or an Alloy with more imperfect Metals ; unless with Silver : Especially the Dust-gold of Guinea , Gold whereof Iob saith , t is Dust of gold : wonderful is the Purity thereof ! Thus a good man is a pure man ; He is one of those that are called in Matth. 5. 8. The pure in heart : He is pure in his Ends , pure in his principles , pure in his practises , pure from the dross of Lust : and he is not so much Nominally as really , A Puritan . Again ▪ Gold is a Ductil Metal . T is marvellously extensible when beaten into Leaves ; t were incredible to tell how far one Grain of Gold may be extended and continued . So dense and compacted , and united , are the parts of it , that an Ounce of it may be beaten ( I suppose ) into a Thousand Leaves . Thus a good Man can be Drawn forth into large Expressions of goodness and vertue . It was said by such an one in Psal. 11. 3. My goodness Extendeth . He extends his Piety , his Charity , he extends his lnfluence far and near ; and he is a Diffusive good . Once more , Gold is a Beautiful metal . 'T is called , Aurum , for that very cause ; ab Aura , i. e. a Splendore . T is a shining and glitt'ring thing ; and hence things that are very splendid , are said to be covered with ●ellow Gold. For this reason , an Hook of it once catch't 〈◊〉 by the Lust of the Eye . Thus , a good man has a transcendent Beauty in him . To such an one , t was said in Cant. 6. 4. Thou art Beautiful . There is a Lustre on the Face , and a Lustre in the Walk of such a man ; he has even the Splendor of A light in the world . Furthermore , Gold is a Durable Metal . Tho' the Bible affirms that it is Corruptible , and ●●●kerable , and Perishing , yet there is a mighty Strength to be ascribed unto it . It will endure the hottest Fire with small or no Dimin●●●on ▪ and Aqua-fortis it self will not eat into it . ●●ch an Enduring thing is a good man. His Character is that in Matth. 24. 13. He shall endure to the end . No Fire , no Water , no Vexation shall consume his Devotion . He is the Overcomer , whom neither the Flattery nor the Fury , neither the Frowning nor the Fawning of any Tempter can dissolve the Religion of . Moreover , Gold is a Ponderous Metal . Even Lead it self in its weight , is to Gold as far short as Sixty is of an Hundred ; if I mistake it not . Such is the Quality , such the Gravity of a good man. A godly man is a Weighty man. T is said in Prov. 12. 26. A righteous man is more excellent than his neighbour . One such man will weigh down multitudes and myriads of other men . His being a pondering man , it soon makes him become ponderous man. His unconverted Neighbourhood may own of him , Thou art worth ten thousand of us . Finally Gold is a precious Metal . It s precious for the Vse which t is of in Nature . Rich Cordials and Medicines are to be extracted from it . It s precious also for the Price which t is of in Esteem ; the Auri sacra fames , the unhallowed Appetite which men crave it with , prefers it above all common things . T is in Scripture-phrase a precious thing indeed , of which it might be said , It is more precious than gold . But of a good man might such a thing be spoken : it may be said of such a man , as in Isa. 13. 12. The man is more precious than fine gold ; even than the golden wedge of Ophir ; [ i. e. Peru , as some with much pretense of Reason do conjecture it ] A gracious man , is a precious man ; all Beholders ought to put a value upon him ; he is even , precious in the eyes of the Lord. Thus like to Gold will good men come forth , under and after the Tryals of the Lord ; which comprehends these two Conclusions in it . Conclusion . I. A good man is found good by the Examinations of God. When God comes to try a good man , He finds the heart of the man to be right before Him. The good man may say with him in ● . Chron. 29. 17. O my God , I know that thou triest the heart , and hast pleasure in uprightness ; as for mee , in the uprightness of my heart have I offered . Indeed our God uses not an Extremity of Justice and Rigour in our Trial ; He would find a world of Iniquity in us , if He did ; and He would utterly consume us . The Lord said in Isa. 48. 10. Behold , I have refined thee , but not like silver . No , the Refiner of gold or silver will not allow the the least measure of Dross therein . But our merciful . G●d overlooks many grains of Corruption many grains of Defilement & of Debasement in us ; for we all have our Grains . However upon the Trial of a good man , the good God pronounces this of h●m , This is a d●●r Son and a pleas●nt ch●ld , I will surely have mercy on hi● ; He pronounces this , I find good metal in the soul of th●●an , and he shall be mine in the day when I make up my Iewels . The Devil , the Satan , who is the Accuser of the Brethren , he may load a good man with Calumnies not a few ; that evil spirit will accuse a good man as guilty of Hypocrisie in the power of it ; but the Holy God brings it unto a Tryal , and then He pronounces as in Iob. 2. 3. I have tried him ; and he is my servant , a perfect and an upright man ; One that feareth God and escheweth evil ; and still he holdeth fast his integrity . Conclusion . II. A good man is made better by the Dispensations of God. It is to him that there is granted the Fulfilment of that promise in Rom. 8. 28. All things shall work together for good . As for the merciful Dispensations of God , these do encline as well as oblige a good man to all manner of Obedience ; they cause him to think , What shall I render to the Lord ? they cause him to say , I will fear the Lord and His goodness , I will never sin against so good a God as He. Thus we are told in Rom. 2. 4. The goodness of God leadeth to repentance . It even melts and breaks the heart of a good man , so that he cannot find in his heart after such deliverances again to break his commandments . As for the Afflictive Dispensations of God , these also cause a good man more than ever to Abound in the works of the Lord ; they put him upon more Thinking on his waies , and upon turning his feet more unto the testmonies of God. It was said in Psal. 119. 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I might learn thy statutes . A good man gets this good thereby ; his Wisdom and his Vertue is thereby augmented ; and he Learns Obedience by the things which he suffers . USE . There is a two-fold Exhortation which I must now bespeak your earnest Heed unto . I. Let us approve our selves as Gold under the Examinations of the Blessed God. There are who take notice that the Original in Job . 37. 22. is , Gold cometh out of the North. God grant that the best Gold may here be found in our North ! that you the inhabitants of the North may for your Vertues be as Gold before the Lord. Yea , that North-Boston may be like Havilah , and it may be said , The gold of that land is good ; or , there are Extraordinary golden and precious Christians there . T is a Three-fold Counsel which you may therefore be advised with . Counsil . I. Beleeve , and Expect the Trials of the eternal God. Beleeve that God now does Vnderstand what you are . It was an Article in that famous Prophets Creed , in Jer. 12. 3. Thou , O Lord knowest me , thou hast seen me , and tryed my heart towards thee . O that every one of us were enough sensible of that awful solemn Truth ! T is a common thing to say , God knowes my heart ; but who does enough lay that thing to heart ? Who reckons any more upon it than the false Gehazi did ? It was an Orthodox perswasion in Psal. 139. 3 , 2. O Lord thou hast searched me and known me ; thou understandest my thought afar off . T is very certain , that every one of our thoughts are known to the infinite God , even afar off , long enough before they come into our minds . But , O Lord , who has believed our Report ? Men and Brethren , do you beleeve it , and apprehend it , and reallize it . Beleeve it , that God is all Eye , and that He needs not a Glass Window in your breasts for the Exploration of you . Beleeve it , that the eyes of the Lord run to & fro , through the whole earth ; and that he will not by a Mistake drop a Blessing wrong as blind Isaac did of old . Yea , let it be a frequent Meditation with you , All that I am , and all that I think , is well known unto the Lord. And Expect that God will one day Discover what you are . There is a Day of Discovery that shall shine upon us all ; and , Behold the Day comes that shall burn as an Oven , and all that do wickedly shall be stubble in it . Expect that the great God will have a Snare in this world , for your Detection . Ever now & then there happen some Discriminating Things , That they which are approved might be made manifest . God will have His Times and His Wayes , possibly to uncase our hearts before all our Neighbours . It was said of that blessed man in 2. Chron. 32. 31. God left him ( in one thing ) to try him , that he might know all that was in his heart . You may look for some Temptation before you dye , which will make the Inclinations of your souls notorious to the world ; especially , If your Hearts be not right with God. It is a Simile us'd by one of the Ancients , for it ; You shall have an Ape drest in the Attire of a Man , for a while imitating the Look , and shape , and Gesture of a man : but if a Nutt , or an Apple be thrown before him , he soon showes what he is . Thou Hypocrite , the Lord will have something to throw before thee , which Object will decoy thee into a natural suitable Expression of thy self ; and as our Lord speaks , in Rev. 2. 23. All the Churches shall know , that I am He that searcheth the Heart . Expect also , that the great God will have a Bar for your Detection in another world . T is confessed by all Christians , as in 2. Cor. 5. 10. We must all appear before the Iudgment seat of Christ. O that we could every one of us now seriously place our selves before the Iudgment seat of God! Remember , O immortal souls , that you must all very shortly appear before a Iudge who hath Eyes like a flame of fire ; and you must then be exposed in the full view of Heaven & Earth . Remember that you shall then have no Vizard , no Disguise to cover you , but all men and Angels must hear truly what you are . It was the warning in Eccl. 11. 9. — know thou , that God will bring thee to Iudgment . Even so Know thou , that thou canst not avoid the day when God shall bring every worke into Iudgement , with every secret thing . Know thou , that when the dead , small and great stand before God , then thou shalt stand among ' em ! Know thou , that tho' thou shouldst then shriek , O Rocks , hide me , or O Mountains-defend me , the the Rocks and the Mountains would be deaf unto that lamentable cry . Holy Ierom could say , Wherever I am , or whatever I do , Methinks I hear the Alarums of the last Trumpet , Arise ye dead & come to Iudgement . O that you would often Reflect upon the Day , when God shall judge the secrets of men by Iesus Christ. Counsil . 2. Cry mightily to God , that He would give you the Gold which will endure all Tryals whatsoever . Our Lord saith unto us in Rev. 3. 18. I counsel thee to buy of me Gold tried in the fire . That Gold is Grace ; let us buy that is , let us beg it of Him. Let us make that our servent & our frequent Prayer , in Psal. 119. 80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes , that I may not be ashamed ! Be careful and prayerful , that you may be New Creatures and have the Root of the matter in your souls : Be careful and prayerful , That you may have Oyl in your vessels : Be careful and prayerful , That you may have in you , the well of water which springs up into everlasting life . Let your prayers be restless , till you find that you are indeed Born again , indeed Converted , indeed Sanctified . As for the Grace of God , my son , seek it as silver ; for indeed , the Gain of it is better than fine gold . Counsel , 3. Often bring your selves to the Tryals of a Self-Examination . T is the Charge of God , in 2. Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith ; prove your own selves . Your souls are as Vessels , then Pierce them to see what they have . Your souls are as Metals , then Touch them to see what they are ▪ Such are the Allusions of the Holy Spirit there . Know thy self , was a golden Rule of Old , and it will make a golden Saint when we make much use of that Rule , Try thy self . We are to use the Word of God as a Glass in which we are to behold our selves ; and we are often to compare our selves with what is therein required of us . When we are in a Meditation , as we should every day be upon some Truths of God , we should then examine ourselves , Whether we are moulded according thereunto . And when we are under a Visitation , as we sometimes are , by the Rods of God , we should then Examine our selves , as they that of Old said , Let us now search and try our wayes . Especially when we are approching to the Table of the Lord , Self-Examination is not then to be omitted . So hath the Apostle urged , in 1. Cor. 11. 28. Let a man examine himself , and so let him eat of that bread , and drink of that cup. T is a fearful Impiety and Presumption , for a man to sit down at the Holy Supper without enquiring , Have I a Wedding garment on , or no ? Yea t is convenient for a man every Evening , before he sleeps to examine himself and ask , If I dy this night , is my immortal spirit safe ? O tremble exceedingly least your doom should be that in Jer. 2. 37. The Lord hath rejected thy confidences , and thou shalt not prosper in them . Therefore be much in Examining your selves . Examine Whether you have true REPENTANCE . Wherefore Try whether you are at so much pains for no Outward and Earthly thing , as you are for the mortification of every lust . And Try whether Afflictions themselves are welcome to you , when you see you sins thereby embittered and subdued . Examine Whether you have true FAITH . Wherefore Try whether your Souls are extremely affected with the blessed Fulness & Glory which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Try whether your hearts most affectionately close with the Gospel-way of Salvation by Jesus Ch●ist , so as cheerfully to venture the Lives of your souls upon it . Examine , Whether you have true LOVE . Wherefore Try , whether any thing that has a Tendency to promote the Honour of God , be readily embraced by you , as a thing more desirable than all the Riches in the world . And Try whether you count no Service too much to be done for the People of the Saints of the Most High. Put the Question to your selves , and let the Preface of your Answer be that Request in Psal 139. 23. Search me O God , and try me , and help me to know my self . To be much in such Self-Examination is the way to be a Golden Christian , and indeed , none but such an one will have a Value for the Exercise . II. Let us also approve ourselves , as gold , under the Dispensations of the Blessed GOD. Particularly , First . Let them that are in Prosperity behave themselves well under the Tryals of the Lord. It may be that you are come to have store of Gold ; O that you may Be like what you Have ! T is possible that you have been in much Distress and Sorrow : But God has brought you forth , as t is said He brought Israel out of Egypt , in Ps ▪ 105. 37. He brought them forth with Gold. Consider , That God is now Trying of your Faithfulness . No doubt , you have sometimes promised the God of Heaven , That if you might have such a measure of Health and Strength , or , That if you might have such a Degree of Estate and Honour you would glorify God with a wonderful Activity . Well , saith our God , I 'll try . God is trying whether you will be true to those Professions and Engagements , which you made before He so smil'd upon you . God is trying whether you will not Confirm that Observation , in Jer. 17. 9. The Heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked . Consider moreover , That God is now trying of your Thankfulness . A very terrible Wrath is denounced against them in Deut. 28. 47. Who serve not God for the abundance of all things . God gives you an Abundance of all things , and it is to try whether you will serve Him , and praise Him for it . God is Trying whether you will now often say , Bless the LORD , O my soul , and all that is within me ! God is Trying whether you will now think , What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits ? Let us be as Gold by affording now a good Experiment . Secondly , Let them that are in Adversity , likewise behave themselves as under the Tryals of the Lord. We may most or all of us , Lament , I am the man that hath seen Affliction ; there is a Variety of Calamity which we are try'd withal . God forbid that we should procure to our selves the Brand set upon that wicked man of old , In the time of his Distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD . Never was there in this world a more doleful sight than that of a Theef on a Cross , yet Neglecting and Affronting the Son of God. We that have been lately under Affliction , ( particularly , under that Affliction of Sickness ) have as it were lain among the pots ; God has as it were laid us by among the meanest Lumps of clay ; but O that we may now come sorth Doves , having Wings covered with Silver , and Feathers with yellow Gold ! O that we may come forth of our Tryals more gracious , more Savoury , more Heavenly , than ever we were in our lives before ; that the Iron-Age of Grief may issue in a Golden-Age of Grace , unto us ; that our Adversity may procure more grace to to us , than ever the Prosperity of Solomon did gold to him . T is to be desired , that the Transmutation of Metals may be Exemplified in us ; and that the most exquisite Vitrioli● powder may not be so powerful , to make Natural gold , as the Dust of Affliction may be to make Spiritual gold of our souls . Look to it , Lest our Character be that , Reprchate Silver , which is rejected by the Lord. The First DESIRE . Let us come forth more out-of-Love with Gold which perisheth . Our GOD hath taught us that no gold will deliver from Death and Hell ; and that no gold can be carried away with , us at our Departure hence . Our God hath told us , That though we should have never so much gold about us , we may in a moment be taken away from all . Wherefore Let us become Indifferent unto gold , and all the Delights of this miserable World. Look , Look upon thy most golden Comforts , and imagine thou hearest that Voice of GOD , in Prov. 23. 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not ? When one of the Martyrs had money proffer`d unto him , he Refused it , saying , The Coyn is not current , in the Countrey to which I am going . O despise all gold but what will be Current there . The Second Desire . Let us come forth more Admiring of , more Affected with such things as are better than gold . The Fear of God is one of those things , Whereof t is said it Job , 28. 16. It cannot be valued with the Gold of Ophir . Let it be then our prime and cheef Study , to be daily acting of it ; yea , Since we have lately seen Time loudly calling on us to Redeem it , Let a Respect to God now ennoble all the Actions of our Lives . The Word of God is another of those things , Whereof t is said , in Psal. 19. 10. It is more to be desired than much fine Gold. Let us then set an unspeakable Value thereupon ; Yea , since we have lately seen an End of all Perfection elsewhere ; Let the Bible of God be now more than ever the Companion of your Solitary Hours . Finally , The SON of GOD , is the Pearl of great price , which no Gold is to be equaliz'd unto . We read of a Brazen-Serpent [ or more truly a Coper-Serpent ] marvellously useful to Israel of old , O let us now Esteem the Antitype of that Brasen or Coper Shadow , before the Richest Gold. The holy God has newly sent me back from the Sides of Eternity to tell you , That One CHRIST is worth ten Worlds . T is a thing whereof you have been heretofore advised with frequent , solemn , lively Warnings , from the Eternal God : As Ioshua could say , in Cap. 24. 27. Behold , this stone shall be a Witness , for it hath heard all the words of the Lord. So may I say , Let this Pulpit , and these Walls and Seats and Pillars Remember , if you have forgotten , That you have been often told , All the gold in the world is not worth one Christ. And behold , I repeat unto you one Warning more . Let this House be a Witness , and be you witnesses of it O ye Angels that are invisible here ; That it has been earnestly affirmed in our Hearing , A Christ is better than a Thousand Worlds , and they that sl●ight Him , will be miserable for infinitely more than ten Thousand Ages . LIFE DESIRED . Vpon the Death of a Relation . Psal. CXIX . 175. Let my Soul live , and it shall praise thee , and let thy Iudgements help me . SWeeter Words than these could not come from the Sweet Singer of Israel himself . The Hundred and Nineteenth , is the longest , and yet , if the Comparison be not odious , the sweetest , of all the Psalms ; and perhaps the Psalm , like the Grace wherewith it was Composed , has a growing Sweetness , towards the Conclusion of it . The one and twentieth Octonary in this excellent Psalm , is a Bundle of Heavenly Affections ; this two and twentieth Octonary is an Heap of Holy Petitions . There are especially Six Petitions in this last part of the Psalm . The fourth and fifth of them are in the words now before us . He begs , First , for his Life , then for God's Help . The Life petition`d for , may be understood as Two-fold : it is called , The life of the Soul ; both Natural Life , and Spiritual Life may be intended in that Expression . But cheefly the former . Let my soul live ; it is q. d. Let my Self live . T is an usual Hebraism . In that signification it was the Choice of Sampson , Let me dy , in the Hebrew it is , Let my Soul dy with the Philistines . The Help petition'd for , has Two Things declared concerning it . We have the For-What of this Help ; this is , That he might attend the Business for which he desired to live ; namely , To praise God. And we also have the From-Whence , of this Help ; this is , From the Iudgments of God. Thy Iudgments ▪ this is one of the Ten various Phrases used here , to signify , the Wayes and Means whereby God , reveals Himself unto the world . In short , the Doctrine before us , is , That While we pray to live , we should account the Praises of God to be the Cheef End of our Life , in which the Judgments of God are to be sought and used as our Help . The Propositions which may shape this Truth unto our minds are these . Prop. I. The Praise of God is to be accounted the cheef end of our Life on Earth . If our Souls do live in our Bodies , if we enjoy that Life which is an Union between Soul and Body , this is to be the End of it ; That we may praise the God of our lives . It was the pious Expectation of the Psalmist , in Psal. 118. 17. I shal not dy but live , and declare the works of the Lord. This is to be the Resolution of every man. Can we say , I do not dy but live ? We should add , I will then declare the Praises of the Lord. The first Question that the Thoughts of men should be employed upon is , What is the Cheef End of Man ? The true and Just answer To that Question is , The Cheef End of man is to glorifie God. Well , put the Question so , What is the Cheef End of Life ? The Answer to that Question too will be the same ; It is to glorifie God. To praise God , What is that ? To praise God , is to Render and Procure , a due Acknowlement of His Excellencies . Indeed all the Duties of Religion are Contained in this Comprehensive thing . When we own , when we serve , when we Adore the Great God in any or all the waies of His Worship , Then we praise Him ; and we further praise Him , when we provoke others to join with us in doing so . This , This Praise of the LORD is the End of our Life in the World. This is the End of our Being . We are told that We have our Being in God. Of all things whatever this is then most Reasonable , that We should have our Being for God ; and our Being for Him , is not expressed without our praising of Him. The blessed God looks from on high upon mankind , and saith , as in Isa. 43. 21. This people have I formed for my self , they should show forth my Praise . Now that which is the End of our Being , is the End of our Living too . Two things are to be affirmed of it , First , The Law of God doth Appoint this as as the End of our Lives . Unto every man living , this is the Voice of God , I spare thy life , that so thou mayst live my praise . It is said in Rom. 14. 7. If we live , we are to live unto the Lord. What the Apostle saith of Eating and Drinking , may much more be said of Living ; as in 1. Cor. 10. 30. It must be unto the Glory of God. God gives our Lives , God keeps our Lives , and this is His reveled , His Preceptive Will concerning our Lives ; Man , I suffer thy life , yea , I support thy life , that I may be praised , loved , admired by thee as long as thou livest . It was an heavy dismal Charge against Belshazzer , in Dan. 5. 23. God in whose Hand thy breath is , thou hast not glorified . The Almighty God gives us notice of this , Thy Breath is in my hand ; at the same time He also requires this of us , Let thy life be to my pr●ise . That man makes a sacrilegious Incroachment and Invasion upon Gods Right , who makes not God●s Praise , the End of his living upon God`s Earth . There is therefore , Secondly this to be added thereunto . The Heart of man should Embrace this as the End of our lives . It becomes every man to say , I live that God who is worthy to be praised , may have the praises of my Obedience to Him. It was the godly purpose of the Psalmist , in Psal. 147. 2. While I live I will praise the Lord. And a kin to this is the Right Thought , which every man should entertain , I do live , that I may praise the Lord. Hence this is one of the principal Pleas which the Saints have used in their Sup●lications for their Lives . Good Hezekiah pray'd in his Distress , Lord , let me live . And what was his Argument ? It was that in Isa. 38. 17. 18. The Grave cannot praise thee ; the living , the living , he shall praise thee . The heart of man should readily close with such an End for the life of man. Satan saies , Thou livest only to Enjoy the delights of the Flesh in the world ; thou livest only to seek , to get , and to tast the saecular pleasures provided for thee . The soul of man should rise with unspeakable Indignation at this wild proposal . On the other side , our God saies , The Business of thy life is to magnifie Mee , to make my Praise glorious . Here now , Here the Soul of every man should fall in , and Reply , This is all my Salvation , and all my Desire . But this leads to PROP. II. Prayers for life are then , and only then rightly qualified , when they have Respect unto the Praises of God. To clear this matter , there are these things to be conceived . One Conclusion is , That the Living on Earth have many peculiar Opportunities to be Praising of God. Indeed , Blessed are the dead who dy in the Lord , for they too are alwaies praising of Him. But yet they rest from some Praises , when they rest from their Labours here . The departed Saints are continually shouting , H●llelujah , Hallelujah , before the Throne of God. The Saints , they are joyful in glory ; and the High Praises of God are perpetually Proceeding from those blessed Souls . But Christians in this world have their peculiar Opportunities , to be Glorifying of Him that made them . This did the Psalmist speak in Ps 88. 11. Shall the dead praise thee ? To instance in some particulars : The Living here may be praising of God by the Discharge of many Relations , which the dead Saints are strangers unto . We may now praise God as Parents , as Masters , as Officers in the the Church or Common-Wealth . All those Capacities will dy with us , when we shall go hence and be-no more . Again , The Living here may be Praising of God , by Bearing many a Witness to the Truths and Wayes of the Lord Jesus Christ. We may now bestow many Rebukes upon the Errors and the Evils of a sinful World. We may part with and esteem , an Estate , with our Ease , and our Life it self , out of Respect unto the Name of God. But our Testimonies expire with our Lives . Once more , The Living may be Praising of God by Advancing His Kingdom here below . In this Life we may be instrumental to Convince and Convert Vnregenerate Sinners , to build up the Church of the Lord Jesus , and to Do good among the ignorant by an Exemplary Conversation . But this is to be done only below the stars . Furthermore , There are Graces proper to this Life which God is praised by the Exercising of . The Tears of Sorrow for Sin will be dry`d up , when we come to the State in which all Sorrow shall flee away . Charity in Giving and Forgiving to them that need it , — there is no occasion for that Charity among them that are above ; they are all perfect and happy there . Patience under Tryals belongs to our present Condition only ; there are no Afflictions to trouble us , when our few dayes full of trouble are passed away . In a Word . Our Spiritual Warfare is to be attended only in this Valley of the Shadow of Death . We cannot fight the Battles of the Lord , and therein we cannot shew the praises of the Lord , when we are arrived at the End of our Faith the Salvation of our Souls . Our Fight is done , our Crown is come when we have been Faithful to the Death . A Second Conclusion is , That Opportunities for the Praising of God are the things for which we should desire to be living on Earth . There is a Three-fold Desire of Life which the Living have . There is a Natural Desire of Life . This is common both to good men and bad men . Nature it self startles at the Approach of Death ; Innocent Nature shivers and recoyls , when this King of Terrors is ready to lay his cold l●y hand upon us . This was Ioab's Desire : that valiant Souldier , The Lord-General of Israel himself , in 1. King. 2. 28. being in cold blood under Apprehensions of Death , fled unto the Horns of the Altar , as a Sanctuary to save his Life . There is also a Sensual Desire of Life . This is that which Bad men are under the power of . Many are loth to dye because they would not leave the Pleasures and Profits and Honours which did surround them here . They are like the Miser who on his Death-Bed , hugg'd his Baggs of Gold , and cry'd out , Must I leave you ? Must I leave you ? Their Love of their Life , comes from their love of their Flesh. This was the Rich Fools Desire , in Luc 12. 20. He wished for many Years , that he might eat and drink , and be merry here . There is likewise a gracious Desire of Life . And this is that which good men are affected with : They desire to live , because they desire to praise . They would live , because they would honour God in those matters & those manners for which their Lives do afford them blessed Opportunities and Advantages . Now this gracious Desire of of Life is a Regular Desire . A Desire of Life for the Praise of God , is the only Desire of Life , that will have praise of God. This was David's Desire when he was visited with Sickness , when he was weak , and his Bones were pained , then said he in Psal. 6. 5. O save me , for in Death there is no Remembrance of thee , in the Grave who shall give thee thanks ? Such Desires are the only right and chast Desires . It is not fit for a Christian to say , I desire to live , because I am afraid to dy . Much less is it fit for him to say , I desire my life in the world , that I may turn and wind still the Affairs of the World. But This is that which Leg●timates the Desire of Life : As every thing is to be i●●roved for God , so every thing should be desired for God. And thus Life it self . We are daily Praying , as he in Psal. 102. 24. O my God , take me not away in the midst of my dayes . Well , Our God enquires of us , Why art thou unwilling to be taken away in the midst of thy dayes ? We should have this to be our true Account of it , Because , O Lord , I am loth to be taken away in the midst of my Praise . PROP. III. The Judgments of God are to be sought and used by us as our Help in those Praises of God which are the End of our life . There are blessed Helps , which God hath provided for us , by which we may be both Assisted in and Excited to , the work of our lives . Behold a double Help , both implyed in the Iudgments of God. And he that shall consult other passages in this Hundred-and-nineteenth Psalm , will find both under this Notion insisted on . The Scriptures of Truth , and the Troubles of Life . First , The Word of God is to be sought as the Help , of our Praising Him. The Prophet of old could say as in Mich. 6. 8. The Lord hath shewed thee , O man , the thing that good is . Thus , the Lord hath shewed us how to be praising of Him , by living to Him. But Where has he shewed it ? Truly in the sacred Bible . The Bible is the Directory given to us . Every Child is well taught to say , The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Rule which God hath given to instruct us how we are to glorify Him. To order a Life in a dark world , is as hard as to manage a Ship in a dark night , we are in the Dark about the Practises which our lives are to be employed in . What shall we then do that we may leave no part of our due Homage to God unperformed ? The Apostle speaks fully to this Case in 2. Pet. 1. 18. We have a sure word of Prophecy , whereto ye do well to take heed , as to a light shining in a dark place . There , There it is : our Bible is our Pole-Star : keep an eye to That and we shall shape a course Right . All the Directions , all the Promises , all the Threatnings of God , will be so many Helps , of our Obedience . If any man ask , How do the Scriptures of God help men in the Praises of God ? Know , The Scriptures themselves give an Answer thereunto , in Psal. 19. 7 , 8. The law of the Lord converts the soul , the testimonies of the Lord make wise the simple ; the statutes of the Lord rejoice the heart ; the commandments of the Lord enlighten the eyes . That Conversion , that Instruction , that Ioy and that Ligh● which the Word of God affords unto us , will be no little Help in the Praise of God. Secondly , The Rod of God is to be used as the Help of our Praising Him. The Lord sends many Afflictions upon us . An H●man , is afflicted in his mind : a Iob is Afflicted in his Estate ; a Gaius is afflicted in his Body , a Paul in his Credit , and a David in his Children , they live ill and they dy worse before him . What is the Use we are now to make of these things ? Truly our Afflictions are to be the Help of our Devotions . It is the Call of God in Mic 6. 9. Hear the Rod. As we should hear the Voice of the Rod , so we should use the Help of the Rod. By our Afflictions we should be helped unto more Seriousness , more Watchfulness , more Fruitfulness . Now those things are to the Praise of the glory of the grace of God. Our Afflictions are the purgings & the prunings bestow'd by our God upon us . What are they for ? but , That we may bring forth more Fruit : and we are told in Ioh. 15. 8. Herein is my father glorified , if ye bring forth much fruit . Observe it : a Learning the Statutes of God , is a Rendring of Praises to God ; those two things are one . Now see what the Psalmist saith , in Psal 119. 97. T is good for me that I have been afflicted , that I may learn thy Statutes . This then is incumbent on us under every Affliction ; Our study should be , What Advantage , what Engagement to be more holy , is now put into my hands ! Every Afflicted man should ask , How may the Sorrowes of my life promote the praises of my God ? But for the Vse of these things . USE . I. Some Evil Desires are hence Rebuked and Condemned . Especially two sorts of Desires . First , Impatient Desires of Death , are to be Reproved . Something is to be said by way of Concession ; and something by way of Correction about such Desires . First by way of Concession , I would say ; There are some Desires of Death well-becoming a Child of God. Such were the Desires of Paul , in Phil. 1. 22. I desire to be d●ssolved and be with Christ. When we think of the day , in which we shall go to the the Spirits of just men made perfect ; and to Iesus the Mediator of the New-Covenant ; When we think of the day in which the Lord will deliver us from the hand of all our enemies , and from the hand of SIN ; O the thoughts of it should fill our Souls with Raptures of Joy ! they should cause our hearts to leap and spring within us . In is an allowable thing to be almost angry with Time , to call upon slow Time , and say , Fly apaces Fly away , O Time ; Come , O Eternity , come and fetch me into the presence of the Lord. The Visions of the Lord Jesus may cause us to say humbly with aged , faithful Simeon , Lord , let thy servant depart in peace . The Chariots of Death , sent by the Lord Jesus to fetch us unto Himself should be as welcom to us , as the Waggons of Ioseph were to Iacob of old . It should cause us to Rejoice with joy unspeakable , and full of glory , when we think of the unspeakable joy and the full glory which we are going unto . There are holy longings and lookings of Soul , with which we may cry out , Why , why are His Churiots so long i'coming ? Why tarry the Wheels thereof ? But yet , Secondly , By way of Correction . If these Desires are with Impatience , much more if they are thro' Impatience , they become sinful before the Lord. The embittered spirits of Christians , have been sometimes too prone unto such Desires . It was an inordinate passion in Moses , when a froward people under his charge provoked him to say , in Numb . 17. 14. Kill me , I pray thee out of hand . Had God granted his Desire , he had lost Thirty years of eminent Service in the World. It was an irregular passion in Elias , when the persecutions of wicked men so tired him , as to make him say , in 1. King. 19. 4. O Lord , take away my life . It hath been an Observation , that Many good and , great men sit under Elias's Iuniper tree . As culpable was the Passion of Ionah , when the Withering of a Guord had that Effect upon him in Cap. 4. 8. He wished to dy . The like pang of Impatience , did that Pattern of Patience , Iob , fall into be spake as if he could hardly for bear laying violent hands upon himself . Even so far do the distempered , unbridled Wishes of many run . Their Desire of Death is a sort of Revenge on God ; they would as it were deprive God of the glory which He might have of them . Compose these desires , O ye raging Souls ; compose these Desires . Allay this Fever , this phrensy . It s not only an irreligious but an unnatural passion which you are carried away withal . You desire to dye ▪ Well , are you sure that the Death which you desire now , will not prove a Death which you shall Deplore throughout eternal Ages . It is said of the Believer in Psal. 91. 19. With long life will I satisfie him , and shew him my Salvation . It is a very disordered heart that will be dissatisfied with so great a mercy . Secondly , Vnsanctified Desires of Life are to be Reproved also . Of these Desires there are Three Sorts to be Reprehended . There are , first . Carnal Desires of Life to be blamed . Some desire to live , and wherefore is it ? It is because they desire to eat and drink and be merry . They cann't part with such Relations and Possessions as are here to be enjoyed . The Comforts of Life are the things that cause their Desires of Life . One once beholding his fine Accommodations made this Reflection thereupon , Haec faciunt invitos mori ▪ , these are the things that make us unwilling to dy . Unmortified Corruptions are the causes of these desires . Remember what the Lord hath said in Matth. 10. 37. He that loveth Father or Mother , or Son or DAUGHTER more than me , is not worthy of me . Thus may the Lord well say to the Subject of these Desires , If you had rather be with your friends on earth , than with your Father in Heaven , you are not worthy to be with me at all . And this by the way is to be said of them that desire the life of their Friends as well as of them selves . It is for the Interest of the Lord Jesus Christ that the dead Children which you lament , are dead ; or else they had not dyed at all . Now sais the Lord Jesus , If thou lovest those CHILDREN , those Relations more than me , and hadst rather have them with thy self , to my Prejudice , than to have them with me , to thy own Bereavement , thou art not worthy to have them with me at all . Secondly . There are Careful Desires of Life to be likewise blamed . Many desire to live only upon this account , Some Child , or some Charge they are concerned for . They have this or that Child which they cannot believe will be well provided for , when they are dead ; or they suspect what will become of such or such a Charge . There is indeed a Desire of Life on such a Score , which is not alwaies very severely to be found fault withal . But oftentimes there is too much Distrust in such a desire . Why cannot we venture our Families and the Concernments thereof , in the Hands of the faithful God ? The Lord has said in Jer. 49. 11. Leave thy fatherless Children , I will preserve them alive . And he still saies , I will be a better Father , and a better Friend unto them , than thou thy self canst be . Thirdly . There are Fearful Desires of Life which are blame-worthy too . When Death comes with that message , Set thy Soul in order , for thou shalt dy and not live , many persons are so terrified as to be even at their wits ends . O how they groan . I cannot dy ! Indeed Sinners that have not been born twice , may well tremble to dy once ; no body can blame them ; there is a Second Death , ready to sieze upon the forlorn souls that are not Regenerate . But such as have been truly turn'd to God in Christ , should not entertain Death with such Reluctancies . Can you not uprightly say , That if you were sure to be freed from Sin , you could be content to be struck by Death ? O then , be cheerfully willing to Dy. Thy soul will no sooner pass into Eternity but it shall experience that thing in Rom. 6. 7. He that is dead is freed from Sin. It is often pretended by men , I would live because , I would be more holy before I dy . T is well ; but there is not seldom a Deceit in the Pretence ; often something else is in the Bottom ; A Rebellion against the Will of God. Wouldst thou really and earnestly be holy ? Be willing then to dy as well as to live . Death is the way to Holiness in the Perfection of it . In short : Good was the Temper of that sick person who being asked , Which do you desire , to live , or to dy ? answered , I refer it to God ; and when it was again said , But suppose God should refer it to you ? reply'd , I would then refer it to him again . USE . II. Let us all be now Exhorted , that the Praise of Ged , may be duly accounted by us , as the End of our Life , in our Prayers for it . Let us not shoot beside our Mark , or live beside our End. Let us pray that we may live , and let us live that we may praise . It is the most lamentable plight in the world , that a man should spend his Life in Sinning against God , rather than in Praising of Him. But alas , This is the case of Multitudes , Multitudes among us . How few of us [ Consider of in seriously ] How sew of you that are now before the Lord , ever seriously thought with your selves , What is the Errand that I am come into the world upon ? Hast thou not lived above a Score of years in the world , and never yet seriously thought , What is it that God sent me hither for ? Every man here , I suppose , desires to live ; let your Prayers express those Desires ; and say after the Psalmist , Ps. 32. 8. My Prayer is to the God of my life . But more than so , Let those Desires be for the sake of your Praises ; and say after the Psalmist again , in Ps. 119. 17. Deal bountifully with thy Servant that I may live and keep thy Word . Three things are you to be advised unto ; yea Four things are to be impo●tunately prest upon you . First , Mark and Prize your Opportunities to be Pr●●●ing of God. Every man has his Opport●nities . Some have an Instrument of a Thousand Strings ; but the meanest of us all has an Instrument of Ten strings , for our God to be praised with . Let every man often enquire , What are my Opportunities to glorify God ? And let every man alwaies conclude , My Opportunities are my Treasures . Secondly . Let the Word of God Direct you in His Praises . Be often Consulting of that : Peace will be on al● , and Praise will be from all , that walk according to this Rule . A Bible , — Christians , let That be your Counsellour on all Occasions . The Psalmist could say in Ps. 119. 164. Seven times a day will I praise thee O Lord ; because of thy Righteous Judgements . Thirdly . Let the Rod of God provoke you to His Praises . If you cannot Bless God for your Afflictions , which yet , I think , is a thing attainable ; nevertheless , I 'm sure you should praise God in your Afflictions . Let God gain some Glory , and we shall gain some Good , by all our Sufferings . Take the counsil in Isa. 34. 15. Glorifie the Lord in the Fires . To Enforce these Three Things ; Consider that Thing wich is intimated in the Text. The Lives of your Souls are enwrapped in the praises of God. Saies the Psalmist , Let my soul live , and it shall praise thee . So I may say , Let thy Soul praise , and it shall live . A praising Soul , is a Thriving Soul. In this consisteth Life Eternal it self , The Life of thy Soul in the Third Heaven , will be the praise of thy God for evermore . Praise God for thy Life ; it is a mercy well worth praise . Praise God by thy life ; so thou wilt begin Heaven upon Earth . But there is a Fourth Counsil which more immediately concerns that part of the Congregation which are of my own Age , and have therefore a more peculiar interest in my Loves and Cares . T is to Young People here , that I take leave to say , Fourthly , Begin You now Betimes to live unto the Praise of the everliving God. My Brethren , you have not yet begun to live at all , if you have not begun to praise the Lord. You are Dead in Trespasses and Sins ; you are stark dead in the rotten , hideous , loathsome Graves of your Unregeneracy , if you have not yet begun to order your Conversation aright , and to ponder , How may I so offer praise as to Glorify God ? But is not this the deplorable Condition of many , many Young people here ? Conscience do thine Office ! Is not the Hour yet to come , is not the Day yet to dawn , when that young person ( whom thou art the Officer of God unto ) did by an hearty Covenant bind himselfe unto the Serving and the Praising of the Lord ? But what mean you , O ye inconsiderate Youths , to delay the Remembring of your Creator so ? In the Language of the young Prophet , whom God sent unto the Iews of old , let me say , thus saith the Lord , Consider your waies . Consider the Vncertainty of your Life which you have to be praising of God withal . As young as you are , you may dy before the most aged person here . It hath been truly noted , That The old man has Death before his face , but the young man has Death behind his back . The stroak of Death may sooner lay you in the Dust , than some whose Heads old Time hath snow'd upon . O look , and see , and let thy heart shake at the Apprehension of it . Thy Death stands , just behin● thee there with an Horrible Pole-Ax ready lifted up , saying as the Prince of old , Shall I smite them ? shall I smite them ? If the great God utter the word , Smite , smite , thou art gone beyond all Recovery . The Blessed God hath newly caused me to look into the Coffins of two very near and sweet Relations , neither of which had ever seen Twenty Winters in the World ; and with a strong hand He then said unto me , Go , Go tell the young people of Boston , and Charlestown , that this is that which they are all expos`d unto . Behold I am now come in Bitterness and in the heat of my spirit , I am come to Warn you of it , That You may dy before you are aware of such a dismal Change at hand . O do not procrastinate the praises and the Vertues which the God of Heaven Expects from you ; put not off until , Tomorrow ; For t is the admonition to be now set before you , in Prov. 2. 7. B●ast not thy self of Tomorrow , for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth . But Consider also , the Dreadfulness , of a Death , ensuing upon a Life not spent in the praising of God. O this Dying ! t is a solemn thing , 't is , A thing by it self : What followes it ? But that in Heb. 9. 27. After Death Iudgement . That Iudgment will be Eternal ; and if it come upon thee before thy turning and living unto God , it will be very Terrible . Hearken to this awful Truth and Voice of the Almighty God , and let thy heart quiver as under the loudest claps of Thunder at it ; If thou Dy before thy peace be made with God , and thy praise be given to Him , t is impossible thou shouldst escape the Vengeance of Eternal Fire ; Small Chip● as well as great Logs are horribly burn●●● 〈◊〉 there must thou too undergo most exquisite Anguishes , for infinitely more than as many Millions of Ages , as the Huge Ocean has Drops of Water in it . O Consider , these Terrors of the Lord , and immediately set upon His Praises . Now that you would come to these Resolutions , before you go from the present Exercise ! Entreat me not to leave you , or to turn from following after you ; but give me leave to press upon you at least this one Consideration more . Consider seriously , How exceeding Acceptable it will be to the great God , for such Young persons as you , to set upon praising of Him ! Your Praises , they are very much desired by the Lord , and not a little delightful to Him. He declares My soul desires the first ripe Fruit ; and He seem'd to express as it were some Hast , for the First Fruits under the Law of Old. The Lord in a sort longs to see you serving of Him with the First Fruits of your Age , and of your Praise . He saies as in Cant. 2. 14. Let me hear thy voice , for sweet is thy voice . The Voice of your Praises makes a matchless melody in the ears of the God that has call'd for them . The very Chatterings of our infants are pleasant unto us ; the Praises and the Devotions of young persons are so unto Our Father which is in Heaven ; and he asketh for them with ungainsayable Importunities . 'T was said unto a young man in 1. Chron. 28. 9. If thou seek the Lord , He will be found of thee , Even so . If thou ( that art a young person ) praise the Lord he will be pleased with thee . One that owns an Orchard full of many fruitful Trees , will take a most particular and affectionate Notice of a young Tree beginning to have some little Fruit upon it : Our Father is such an Husband man. Young Iohns , are they that prove the Disciples whom Iesus loves . Young Iosiahs will have special Comforts in this , and special Honours in another world ▪ And , yee Hearts of Adamant , are you not yet overcome to resolve , I will now praise and serve the great God! O let not your Answer be , I am almost perswaded ; but become Altogether so . As t was said of him , Behold he prayes ! thus let it be said of you , Behold he praises ! How , How can you be deaf Adders before the Charms of these Considerations ? Lord visit the hitherto-unperswaded young people here ; O make it the Day of thy power with them ; and keep these things in the Imagination of the thoughts of their hearts for Evermore . FINIS . 
A50139	----	Memorable providences relating to witchcrafts and possessions a faithful account of many wonderful and surprising things that have befallen several bewitched and possesed person in New-England, particularly a narrative of the marvellous trouble and releef experienced by a pious family in Boston, very lately and sadly molested with evil spirits : whereunto is added a discourse delivered unto a congregation in Boston on the occasion of that illustrious providence : as also a discourse delivered unto the same congregation on the occasion of an horrible self-murder committed in the town : with an appendix in vindication of a chapter in a late book of remarkable providences from the calumnies of a Quaker at Pen-silvania / written by Cotton Mather ... and recommended by the ministers of Boston and Charleston. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1689 Approx. 254 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 82 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50139 Wing M1123 ESTC W479486 11795621 ocm 11795621 49306 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50139) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 49306) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1487:38) Memorable providences relating to witchcrafts and possessions a faithful account of many wonderful and surprising things that have befallen several bewitched and possesed person in New-England, particularly a narrative of the marvellous trouble and releef experienced by a pious family in Boston, very lately and sadly molested with evil spirits : whereunto is added a discourse delivered unto a congregation in Boston on the occasion of that illustrious providence : as also a discourse delivered unto the same congregation on the occasion of an horrible self-murder committed in the town : with an appendix in vindication of a chapter in a late book of remarkable providences from the calumnies of a Quaker at Pen-silvania / written by Cotton Mather ... and recommended by the ministers of Boston and Charleston. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [10], 75, 21, 41, 14 p. by R.P., 1689, sold by Joseph Brunning ..., Printed at Boston in N. England : [1689] "A discourse on the power and malice of the devils" is on the 21 p. numbering. "A discourse on witchcraft" is on the 41 p. numbering. Appendix is on the 14 p. at the end. Imperfect: pages are blurred, cropped, stained with print show-through, and some loss of print. Reproduction of original in the Harvard University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Witchcraft -- New England. Supernatural. 2000-00 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2001-00 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2002-08 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2002-08 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2002-10 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion MEMORABLE PROVIDENCES , Relating to VVITCHCRAFTS And POSSESSIONS . A Faithful Account of many Wonderful and Surprising Things , that have befallen several Bewitched and Possessed Persons in New-England . Particularly , A NARRATIVE of the marvellous Trouble and Releef Experienced by a pious Family in Boston , very lately and sadly molested with EVIL SPIRITS . Whereunto is added , A Discourse delivered unto a Congregation in Boston , on the Occasion of that Illustrious Providence . As also A Discourse delivered unto the same Congregation ; on the occasion of an horrible Self-Murder Committed in the Town . With an Appendix , in vindication of a Chapter in a late Book of Remarkable Providences , from the Calumnies of a Quaker at Pen-silvania . Written By Cotton Mather , Minister of the Gospel . And Recommended by the Ministers of Boston and Charleston Printed at Boston in N. England by R. P. 1689. Sold by Ioseph Brunning , at his Shop at the Corner of the Prison-Lane next the Exchange . To the Honourable WAIT WINTRHROP Esq Sr. BY the special Disposal and Providence of the Almighty God , there now comes abroad into the world , a little History of several very astonishing Witchcrafts and Possessions , which partly my own Ocular Observation , & partly my undoubted Information , hath enabled me to offer unto the publick Notice of my Neighbours . It must be the Subject , and not the Manner or the Author of this Writing , that has made any people desire its Publication ; For there are such obvious Defects in Both , as would render me very unreasonable if I should with about This or Any Composure of mine , O That it were printed in a book ! But tho there want not Faults in the Discourse , to give me Discontent enough , my Displeasure at them will be recompensed by the Satisfaction I take in my Dedication of it ; which I now , no less properly than cheerfully make unto Your Self ; whom I reckon among the Best of my Friends , and the Ablest of my Readers . Your Knowledge has Qualified You to make those Reflections on the following Relations , which few can Think , and t is not fit that all should See. How far the Platonic Notions of Daemons which were , it may be , much more espoused by those primitive Christians and Scholars that we call The Fathers , than they seem countenanced in the ensuing Narratives ; are to be allow'd by a serious man , your Scriptural Divinity , join'd with Your most Rational Philosophy , will help You to judge at an uncommon rate . Had I on the Occasion before me handled the Doctrin of Daemons , or lanched forth into Speculations about magical Mysteries , I might have made some Ostentation , that I have readd something & thought a little in my time ; but it would neither have been Convenient for me , nor Profitable for those plain Folkes , whose Edification I have all along aimed at . I have therefore here but briefly touch't every thing with an American Pen ; a Pen which your Desert likewise has further Entitled You to the utmost Expessions of Respect & Honour from . Though I have no Commission , yet I am sure I shall meet with no Crimination , if I here publickly wish You all manner of Happiness , in the Name of the great Multitudes whom you have laid under everlasting Obligations . Wherefore in the name of the many hundred Sick people , whom your charitable and skilful Hands have most freely dispens'd your no less generous than secret Medicines to ; and in the name of Your whole Countrey , which hath long had cause to believe that you will succeed Your Honourable Father and Grandfather , in successful Endeavours for our Welfare ; I say , In their Name , I now do wish you all the Prosperity of them that love Ierusalem . And whereas it hath been sometimes observed , That the Genius of an Author is commonly Discovered in the Dedicatory Epistle , I shall be content if this Dedicatory Epistle of mine , have now discovered me to be , ( Sir ) Your sincere & very humble Servant , C. Mather . To the Reader . THe old Heresy of the sensual Sadducees , denying the Being of Angels either good or evil , died not with them ; nor will it , whiles men ( abandoning both Faith & Reason ) count it their wisdom to credit nothing but what they see & feel . How much this fond opinion has gotten ground in this debauched Age is awfully observable ; and what a dangerous stroak it gives to settle men in Atheism , is not hard to discern . God is therefore pleased ( besides the witness born to the Truth in Sacred Writ ) to fuffer Devils sometimes to do such things in the world as shall stop the mouth of gain sayers , and extort a Confession from them . It has also been made a doubt by some , whether there are any such things as Witches , i. e. Such as by Contract or Explicit Covenant with the Devil , improve , or rather are improved by him to the doing of things strange in themselves , and besides their natural Course . But ( besides that the Word of God assures us that there have been such , and given order about them ) no Age passes without some apparent Demonstration of it . For , Though it be Folly to impute every dubious Accident , or unwonted Effect of Providence , to Witchcraft ; yet there are some things which cannot be excepted against , but must be ascribed hither . Angels & Men not being made for civil Converse together in this world ; and all Communion with Devils being interdicted us ; their Nature also being spiritual , and the Word of God having said so little in that particular concerning their way of Acting ; hence it is that we can disclose but a little of those Mysteries of Darkness ; all reports that are from themselves , or their Instruments , being to be esteemed as Illusions , or at least covered with Deceit , filled with the Impostures of the Father of Lies ; and the effects which come under our consideration being Mysterious , rather Posing than Informing us . The Secrets also of God's Providence , in permitting Satan and his Instruments to molest His children , not in their Estates only , but in their Persons and their Posterity too , are part of His Judgments that are unsearchable , and His Wayes that are past finding out ; only this we have good Assurance for , that they are among the All things that work together for their good . Their Graces are hereby tried , their Vnprightness is made known , their Faith and Patience have their perfect work . Among the many Instances that have been of this kind , That which is Recorded in this Narrative , is worthy to be commended to the Notice of Mankind , it being a thing in it self full of Memorable passages , and faithfully recorded , acording to the Truth in Matrer of Fact , scarce any Instance being asserted in it , but what hath the Evidence of many credible Witnesses , did need require . Among others who had frequent Occasions to observe these things , the Reverend Author of this short History , was spirited to be more than ordinarily engaged in attending , and making particular Remarks upon the several passages occurring therein ; and hath accordingly written , very little besides what Himself was an eye-witness of , together with others ; and the rest was gathered up with much Accuracy and Caution . It s needless for us to insist upon the Commendation either of the Author or the Work ; the former is known in the Churches ; the latter will speak sufficiently for it self . All that we shall offer to stay the Reader from passing over to satisfy himself in that which follows , is only thus much , Viz. That the following Account will afford to him that shall read with Observation , a further clear Confirmation , That , There is both a GOD , and a Devil , and Witchcraft : That , There is no out-ward Affliction , but what God may ( and sometimes doth ) permit Satan to trouble His people withal : That , The Malice of Satan and his Instruments , is very great against the Children of God : That , The clearest Gospel-Light shining in a place , will not keep some from entring hellish Contracts with infernal Spirits : That , Prayer is a powerful and effectual Remedy against the malicious practises of Devils and those in Covenant with them : That , They who will obtain such Mercies of God , must pray unto Perseverance : That , God often gives to His people some apparent Encouragements to their Faith in Prayer , tho He does not presently perfect the Deliverance sought for : That , God Grace is able to support His Children , and preserve their Grace firm , under forest and Continuing Troubles : That , Those who refuse the Temptation to use doubtful and Diabolical Courses , to get the Assaults of the Devil and his Agents removed ; Choosing to Recommend all to God , and rather to endure Affliction , than to have it Removed to His Dishonour , and the wounding of their own Consciences , never had cause to repent of it in the end . And if these Observations , together with the solemn Improvement made of this stupend Providence , in the pertinent and Iudicious Sermons annexed , may but obtain such an Impression on the hearts of such as shall peruse them , whether young or old ; as therein will be their profit , so shall their Labour turn to the Praise of God , fully satisfie the Author for all his Care and Industry , and answer his sincere Aims : for which good Success we Commend it to the Blessing of God , to be followed with the importunate Prayers of us , who have been Eye - and Ear-witnesses of many of the most considerable things Related in the ensuing Narrative . Charles Morton . James Allen. Joshua Moodey . Samuel Willard . The Introduction . IT was once the Mistake of one gone to the Congregation of the Dead , concerning the Survivers , If one went unto them from the dead , they will repent . The blessed God hath made some to come from the Damned , for the Conviction ( may it also be for the Conversion ) of us that are yet alive . The Devils themselves are by Compulsion come to consute the Atheism and Sadducism , and to reprove the Madness of ungodly men . Those condemned prisoners of our Atmosphaere , have not really sent Letters of Thanks from Hell , to those that are on Earth , promoting of their Interest ; yet they have been forced , as of old , To confess that Iesus was the Holy one of God , so of late , to declare that Sin & Vice are the things which they are delighted in . But should one of those hideous Wights appear visibly with fiery chains upon him , & utter audibly his roarings & his warnings in one of our Congregations it would not produce new Hearts in those whom the Scriptures handled in our Ministry do not affect . However it becomes the Embassadors of the L. Iesus to leave no stroke untouch't that may conduce to bring men from the power of Satan unto God ; and for this cause it is , that I have permitted the ensuing Histories to be published . They contain Things of undoubted Certainly , and they suggest Things of Importance unconceivable . Indeed they are only one Head of Collections which in my little time of Obserservation I have made of Memorable Providences , with Reflections thereupon , to be reserved among other effects of my Diversion from my more stated & more weary Studies . But I can with a Contentment beyond meer Patience , give these rescinded Sheets unto the Stationer , when I see what pains Mr. Baxter , Mr. Glanvil , Dr. More , and several other Great Names have taken to publish Histories of Witchcrafts & Possessions unto the world . I said Let me also run after them ; and this with the more Alacrity because , I have tidings ready . Go then , my little book , as a Lackey to the more elaborate Essayes of those learned men . Go tell Mankind , that there are Devils & Witches ; & that tho those night-birds least appear where the Day-light of the Gospel comes , yet New-Engl . has had Exemples of their Existence & Operation ; and that not only the Wigwams of Indians , where the pagan Powaws often raise their masters , in the shapes of Bears & Snakes & Fires , but the Houses of Christians , where our God has had His constant Worship , have undergone the Annoyance of Evil spirits . Go tell the world , What Prayers can do beyond all Devils & Witches , and What it is that these Monsters love to do ; and though the Daemons in the Audience of several standers by threatned much Disgrace to thy Author , if he let thee come abroad , yet venture That , and in this way seek a just Revenge on Them for the Disturbance they have given to such as have called on the Name of GOD. Witchcrafts and Possessions . The First EXEMPLE . Section I. THere dwell at his time , in the south part of Boston , a sober & pious man , whose Name is Iohn Goodwin , whose Trade is that of a Mason , and whose Wife ( to which a Good Report gives a share with him in all the Characters of Vertue ) has made him the Father of six ( now living ) Children . Of these Children , all but the Eldest , who works with his Father at his Calling , and the Youngest , who lives yet upon the Breast of its mother , have laboured under the direful effects of a ( no less palpable than ) stupendous WITCHCRAFT . Indeed that exempted Son had also , as was thought , some lighter touches of it , in unaccountable stabbs and pains now & then upon him ; as indeed every person in the Family at some time or other had , except the godly Father , and the sucking Infant , who never felt any impressions of it . But these Four Children mentioned , were handled in so sad & strange a manner , as has given matter of Discourse and Wonder to all the Countrey , and of History not unworthy to be considered by more than all the serious of the curious Readers in this New-English World. SECT . II. The four Children ( whereof the Eldest was about Thirteen , and the youngest was perhaps about a third part so many years of age ) had enjoy'd a Religious Education , and answered it with a very towardly Ingenuity . They had an observable Affection unto Divine and Sacred things ; and those of them that were capable of it , seem'd to have such a Resentment of their eternal Concernments as is not altogether usual . Their Parents also kept them to a continual Employment , which did more than deliver them from the Temptations of Idleness , and as young as they were , they took a delight in it ; It may be as much as they should have done . In a word , Such was the whole Temper and Car-rings of the Children , that there cannot easily be any thing more unreasonable , than to imagine that a Design to Dissemble could cause them to fall into any of their odd Fits ; though there should not have happened , as there did , & thousand Things , wherein it was perfectly impossible for any Dissimulation of theirs to produce what scores of spectators were amazed at . SECT . III. About Midsummer , in the year 1688. the Eldest of these Children , who is a Daughter , saw cause to examine their Washer-woman , upon their missing of some Linnen , which t was fear'd she had stollen from them ; and of what use this Linnen might bee to serve the Witchcraft intended , the Theef's Tempter knows . This Laundress was the Daughter of an ignorant and a scandalous old Woman in the Neighbourhood ; whose miserable Husband before he died , had sometimes complained of her , that she was undoubtedly a Witch , and that whenever his Head was laid , she would quickly arrive unto the punishments due to such an one . This Woman in her daughters Defence bestow'd very had Language upon the Girl that put her to the question ; immediately upon which , the poor child became variously indisposed in her health , and visited with strange Fits , beyond those that attend an Epilepsy , or a Catalepsy , or those that they call The Diseases of Astonishment . SECT . IV. It was not long before one of her Sisters , and two of her Brothers , were seized , in Order one after another , with Affects like those that molested her . Within a few weeks , they were all four tortured every where in a manner so very grievous , that it would have broke an heart of stone to have seen their Agonies . Skilful Physicians were consulted for their Help , and particularly our worthy and prudent Friend Dr. Thomas Oakes , who found himself fo affronted by the Distempers of the children , that he concluded nothing but an hellish Witchcraft could be the Original of these Maladies . And that which yet more confirmed such Apprehension was , That for one good while , the children were tormented just in the same part of their bodies all at the same time together ; and the they saw and heard not one anothers complaints , tho likewise their pains and sprains were swift like Lightening , yet when ( suppose ) the Neck , or the hand , or the Back of one was Rack't , so it was at that instant with t' other too . SECT . V. The variety of their tortures increased continually ; and tho about Nine or Ten at Night they alwaies had a Release from their miseries , and ate & slept all night for the most part indifferently well , yet in the day time they were handled with so many sorts of Ails , that it would require of us almost as much time to Relate them all , as it did of them to Endure them . Sometimes they would be Deaf , sometimes Dumb , and sometimes Blind , and often , all this at once . One while their Tongues would be drawn down their Throats ; anotherwhile they would be pull'd out upon their Chins , to a prodigious length . They would have their Mouths opened unto such a Wideness , that their Iaws went out of joint ; and anon they would clap together again with a Force like that of a strong Spring-Lock . The same would happen to their Shoulder-Blades , and their Elbows , and Hand-wrists , and several of their joints . They would at times Iy in a benummed condition ; and be drawn together as those that are ty'd Neck & Heels ; and presently be stretched out , yea , drawn Backwards , to such a degree that it was fear'd the very skin of their Bellies would have crack'd . They would make most pitteous out-cries , that they were cut with Knives , and struck with Blows that they could not bear . Their Necks would be broken , so that their Neck-bone would seem dissolved unto them that felt after it ; and yet on the sudden , it would become again so stiff that there was no stirring of their Heads ; yea , their Heads would be twisted almost round ; and if main Force at any time obstructed a dangerous motion which they seem'd to be upon , they would roar exceedingly . Thus they lay some weeks most pittiful Spectacles ; and this while as a further Demonstration of Witchcraft in these horrid Effects , when I went to Prayer by one of them , that was very desireous to hear what I said , the Child utterly lost her Hearing till our Prayer was over . SECT . VI. It was a Religious Family that these Afflictions happened unto ; and none but a Religious Contrivance to obtain Releef , would have been welcome to them . Many superstitious proposals were made unto them , by persons that were I know not who , nor what , with Arguments fetch 't from I know not how much Necessity and Experience ; but the distressed Parents rejected all such counsils , with a gracious Resolution , to oppose Devils with no other weapons but Prayers and Tears , unto HIM that has the Chaining of them ; and to try first whether Graces were not the best things to encounter Witchcrafts with . Accordingly they requested the fo●● Ministers of Boston , with the Minister of Charlstown to keep a Day of Prayer at their thus haunted house ; which they did in the Company of some devout people there . Immediately upon this Day , the youngest of the four children was delivered , and never felt any trouble as asore . But there was yet a greater Effect of these our Applications unto our GOD ! SECT . VII . The Report of the Calamities of the Family for which we were thy concerned , arrived now unto the ears of the Magistrates , who presently and prudently apply'd themselves , with a just vigour , to enquire into the story . The Father of the Children complained of his Neighbour , the suspected ill woman , whose name was Glover ; and she being sent for by the Justices , gave such a wretched Account of her self , that they saw cause to commit her unto the Gaolers Custody . Goodwin had no proof that could have done her any Hurt but the Hag had not power to deny her interest in the Enchantment of the Children ; and when she was asked , Whether she believed there was a God ? her Answer was too blasphemous and horrible for any Pen of mine to mention An Experiment was made , Whether she could recite the Lords Prayer ; and it was found , that tho clause after clause was most carefully repeated unto her , yet when she said it after them that prompted her , she could not possibly avoid making Nonsense of it , with some ridiculous Depravations . This Experiment I had the curiosity since to see made upon two more , and it had the fame Event . Upon the Commitment of this extraordinary Woman , all the Children had some present ease ; until one ( related unto her ) accidentally meeting one or two of them , entertain'd them with her Blessing , that is , Railing ; upon which Three of them fell il again , as they were before . SECT . VIII . It was not long before the Witch thus in the Trap , was brought upon her Tryal ; at which , thro' the Efficacy of a Charm , I suppose , used upon her , by one or some of her Crue , the Court could receive Answers from her in none but the Irish , which was her Native Language ; altho she understood the English very well , and had accustomed her whole Family to none but that Language in her former Conversation ; and therefore the Communication between the Bench and the Bar , was now cheefly convey'd by two honest and faithful men that were Interpreters . It was long before she could with any direct Answers plead unto her Indictment ; and when she did plead , it was with Confession , rather than Denial of her Guilt . Order was given to search the old womans house , from whence there were brought into the Court , several small Images , or Puppets , or Babies , made of Raggs , and stuff't with Goats hair , and other such Ingredients . When these were produced , the vile Woman acknowledged , that her way to torment the Objects of her malice , was by westing of her Finger with her Spittle , and stroaking of those little Images . The abused Children were then present , and the Woman still kept stooping and shrinking as one that was almost prest to Death with a mighty Weight upon her . But one of the Images being brought unto her , immediately she started up after an odd manner , and took it into her hand ; but she had no sooner taken it , than one of the Children fell into sad Fits before the whole Assembly . This the Judges had their just Apprehensions at ; and carefully causing the Repetition of the Experiment , found again the same event of it . They asked her , Whether she had any to stand by her : She replied She had ; and looking very pertly in the Air , she added , No , He 's gone . And she then confessed , that she had One , who was her Prince , with whom she maintain'd , I know not what Communion . For which cause , the night after , she was heard expostulating with a Devil , for his thus deserting her ; telling him that Because hee had served her so basely and falsly , she had confessed all . However to make all clear , The Court appointed five or six Physicians , one evening to examine her very strictly , whether she were not craz'd in her Intellectuals , and had not procured to her self by Folly and Madness the Reputation of a Witch . Diverse hours did they spend with her ; and in all that while no Discourse came from her , but what was pertinent & agreeable : particularly , when they asked her , What she thought would become of her soul ? she reply'd You ask me a very solemn Question , and I cannot well tell what to say to it . She own'd her self a Roman Catholick ; and could recite her Pater Noster in Latin very readily ; but there was one Clause or two alwaies too hard for her whereof she said , She could not repeat it , if she might have all the world . In the up-shot , the Doctors returned her Compos Mentis ; and Sentence of Death was pass'd upon her . SECT . IX . Diverse dayes were passed between her being Arraigned and Condemned . In this time one of her Neighbours had been giving in her Testimony of what another of her Neighbours had upon her Death related concerning her . It seems one Howen about Six years before , had been cruelly bewitched to Death ; but before she dies , she called one Hughes unto her , Telling her that she laid her Death to the charge of Glover ; That she had seen Glover sometimes come down her Chimey ; That she should remember this , for within this Six years she might have Occasion to declare it . This Hughes now preparing her Testimony , immediately one of her children , a fine boy , well grown towards Youth , was taken ill , just in the same woful and surprising manner that Goodmins children were . One night particularly , The Boy said he saw a Black thing with a Blue Cap in the Room , Tormenting of him ; and he complained most bitterly of a Hand put into the Bed ; to pull out his Bowels . The next day the mother of the boy went unto Glover , in the Prison , and asked her , Why she tortured her poor lad at such a wicked rate ? This Witch replied , that she did it because of wrong done to her self & her daughter . Hughes denied ( as well she might ) that she had done her any wrong . Well then , sayes Glover , Let me see your child and he shall be well again . Glover went on , and told her of her own accord , I was at your house last night . Sayes Hughes , In what shape ? Sayes Glover , As a black thing with a blue Cap. Sayes Hughes , What did you do there ? Sayes Glover , with my hand in the Bed I tryed to pull out the boyes Bowels , but I could not . They parted ; but the next day Hughes appearing at Court , had her Boy with her ; and Glover passing by the Boy , expressed her good wishes for him ; tho I suppose , his Parent had no design of any mighty Respect unto the Hag , by having him with her there . But the Boy had no more Indispositions after the Condemnation of the Woman . SECT . X. While the miserable old Woman was under Condemnation , I did my self twice give a visit unto her . She never denyed the guilt of the Wittchcraft charg'd upon her ; but she confessed very little about the Circumstances of her Confederacies with the Devils only , she said , That she us'd to be at meetings , which her Prince and Four more were present at . As for those Four , She told who they were ; and for her Prince , her account plainly was , that he was the Devil . She entertained me with nothing but Irish , which Language I had not Learning enough to understand without an Interpreter ; only one time , when I was representing unto her That and How her Prince had cheated her , as her self would quickly find ; she reply'd , I think i 〈…〉 English , and with passion too , If it be so , I am 〈◊〉 for that ! I offer'd many Questions unto her , unto which , after long silence , she told me , She would fain give me a full Answer , but they would not give her leave . It was demanded , They● Who is that THEY ? and she return'd , that They were her Spirits , or her Saints . [ for they say , the same Word in Irish signifies both . ] And at another time , she included her two Mistresses , as she call'd them in that [ they , ] but when it was enquired , Who those two were , she fell into a Rage , and would be no more urged . I Sett before her , the Necessity and Equity of her breaking her Covenant with Hell , and giving her self to the Lord Jesus Christ , by an everlasting Covenant ; To which her Answer was , that I spoke a very Reasonable thing , but she could not do it . I asked her whether she would consent or desire to be pray'd for ; To that she said , If Prayer would do her any good , shee could pray for her self . And when it was again propounded , she said , She could not unless her spirits [ or angels ] would give her leave . However , against her will I pray'd with her , which if it were a Fault it was in excess of Pitty . When I had done , shee thank'd me with many good Words ; but I was no sooner out of her sight , than she took a stone , a long and slender stone , and with her Finger and Spittle fell to tormenting it ; though whom or what she meant , I had the mercy never to understand . SECT . XI . When this Wi 〈…〉 s going to her Execution , she said , the Children should not be relieved by her Death , for others had a hand in it as well as she ; and she named one among the rest , whom it might have been thought Natural Affection would have advised the Concealing of . It came to pass accordingly , That the Three children continued in their Furnance as before , and it grew rather Seven times hotter than it was . All their former Ails pursued them still , with an addition of ( t is not easy to tell how many ) more , but such as gave more sensible Demonstrations of an Enchantment growing very far towards a POSSESSION by Evil spirits . SECT . XII . The Children in their Fits would still cry out upon , [ They ] and [ Them ] as the Authors of all their Harm ; but who that [ They ] and [ Them were , they were not able to declare . At last , the Boy obtain'd at some times , a sight of some shapes in the room . There were Three or Four of 'em , the Names of which the child would pretend at certain seasons to tell ; only the Name of One , who was counted a Sager Hag than the rest , he still so stammered at , that he was put upon some Periphrasis in describing her . A Blow at the place where the Boy beheld the Spectre was alwaies felt by the Boy himself in the part of his Body that answered what might be stricken at ; and this tho his Back were turn'd ; which was once and again so exactly tried , that there could be no Collusion in the Business . But as a Blovv at the Apparition alvvaies hurt him , so it alvvaies help't him too ; for after the Agonies , vvhich a Push or Stab of That had put him to , vvere over , ( as 〈◊〉 a minute or 2 they vvould be ) the Boy vvould have a respite from his Fits a considerable vvhile , and the Hobgoblins disappear . It is very credibly reported that a wound was this way given to an Obnoxious woman in the town ; whose name I vvill not expose : for vve should be tender in such Relations , lest vve wrong the Reputation of the Innocent , by stories not enough enquired into . SECT . XIII . The Fits of the Children yet more arriv'd unto such Motions as vvere beyond the Efficacy of any natural Distemper in the vvorld . They would bark at one another like Dogs , and again purr like so many Cats . They would sometimes complain , that they were in a Red-hot Oven , sweating and panting at the same time unreasonably : Anon they would say , Cold water was thrown upon them , at which they would shiver very much . They would cry out of dismal Blowes with great Cudgels laid upon them ; and tho we saw no cudgels nor blowes , yet we could see the Marks left by them in Red Streaks upon their bodies afterward . And one of them would be roasted on an invisible Spit , run into his Mouth , and out at his Foot , he lying , and rolling , and groaning as if it had been so in the most sensible manner in the world ; and then he would shriek , that Knives were cutting of him . Sometimes also he would have his head so forcibly , tho not visibly , nail'd unto the Floor , that it was as much as a strong man could do to pull it up . One while they would all be so Limber , that it was judg'd every Bone of them could be bent . Another while they would be so stiff , that not a joint of them could be stir'd : They would sometimes be as though they were mad , and then they would climb over high Fences , beyond the Imagination of them that look'd after them . Yea , They would fly like Geese ; and be carried with an incredible Swiftness thro the air , having , but just their Toes now and then upon the ground , and their Arms waved like the Wings of a Bird. One of them , in the House of a kind Neighbour and Gentleman ( Mr. Willis ) flow the length of the Room , about 20 foot , and flew iust into an Infants high armed Chair ; ( as t is affirmed ) none seeing her feet all the way touch the the floor . SECT . XIV . Many wayes did the Devils take to make the children do mischief both to themselves and others ; but thro the singular Provindence of God , they always fail'd in the attempts . For they could never essay the doing of any harm , unless there were some body at hand that might prevent it ; and seldome without first shrieking out , They say , I must do such a thing ! Diverse times they went to strike furious Blowes at their tenderest and dearest friends , or to sling them dovvnstaires vvhen they had them at the Top , but the warnings from the mouths of the children themselves , would still anticipate vvhat the Devils did intend . They diverse times vvere very near Burning or Drowning of themselves , but the Children themselves by their ovvn pittiful and seasonable cries for Help , still procured their Deliverance : Which made me to Consider , Whether the Little ones had not their Angels , in the plain sense of Our Saviours Intimation . Sometimes , When they vvere tying their ovvn Nock-clothes , their compelled hands miserably strangled themselves , till perhaps , the standers-by gave some Relief unto them . But if any small Mischief happen'd to be done where they were ; as the Tearing or Dirtying of a Garment ; the Falling of a Cup , the breaking of a Glass , or the like ; they would rejoice extremely , & fall into a pleasure & Laughter very extraordinary . All which things compar'd with the Temper of the Children , when they are themselves , may suggest some very peculiar Thoughts unto us . SECT . XV. They were not in a constant Torture for some Weeks , but wore a little quiet , unless upon some incidental provocations ; upon which the Devils would handle them like Tigres , and wound them in a manner very horrible . Particularly , Upon the least Reproof of their Parents for any unfit thing they said or did , most grievous woful Heart-breaking Agonies would they fall into . If any useful thing were to be done to them , of by them , they would have all sorts of Troubles fall upon them . It would sometimes cost one of them an Hour or Two to be undrest in the evening , or drest in the morning . For if any one went to unty a string , or undo a Button about them , or the contrary ; they would be twisted into such postures as made the thing impossible . And at Whiles , they would he so managed in their Beds that no Bed-clothes could for an hour or two be laid upon them ; nor could they go to wash their Hands , without having them clasp't so odly together , there was no doing of it . But when their Friends were near tired with Waiting , anon they might do what they would unto them . Whatever Work they were bid to do , they would be so snap't in the member which was to do it , that they with grief still desisted from it . If one ordered them to Rub a clean Table , they were able to do it without any disturbance ; if to rub a dirty Table , presently they would with many Torments be made uncapable . And sometimes , tho but seldome , they were kept from eating their meals , by having their Teeth sett when they carried any thing unto their Mouthès . SECT . XV. But nothing in the World would so discompose them as a Religious Exercise . If there were any Discourse of God , or Christ , or any of the things which are not seen & are eternal , they would be cast into intolerable Anguishes . Once , those two Worthy Ministers Mr. Fisk and Mr. Thatcher , bestowing some gracious Counsils on the Boy , whom they then found at a Neighbours house , he immediately lost his Hearing , so that he heard not one word , but just the last word of all they said . Much more , All Praying to God , & Reading of His word , would occasion a very terrible Vexation to them : they would then stop their own Ears with their own Hands ; and roar , and shriek ; and holla , to drown the Voice of the Devotion . Yea , if any one in the Room took up a Bible to look into it , the the Children could see nothing of it , as being in a croud of Spectators , or having their Faces another way , yet would they be in wonderful Miseries , till the Bible were laid aside . In short , No good thing must then be endured near those Children , Which ( while they are themselves ) do love every good thing in a measure that proclaims in them the Fear of God. SECT . XVII . My Employments were such , that I could not visit this afflicted Family so often as I would ; Wherefore that I might show them what kindness I could , as also that I might have a full opportunity to observe the extraordinary Circumstances of the Children , and that I might be furnished with Evidence and Argument as a Critical Eye-Witness to confute the Saducism of this debauched Age ; I took the Eldest of them home to my House . The young Woman continued well at our house , for diverse dayes , and apply'd her self to such Actions not only of Industry , but of Piety , as she had been no stranger to . But on the Twentieth of November in the Fore-noon , she cry'd out , An [ They ] have found me out ! I thought it would be so ! and immediately she fell into her fits again . I shall now confine my Story cheefly to Her , from whose Case the Reader may shape some Conjecture at the Accidents of the Rest. SECT XVIII . Variety of Tortures now siez'd upon the Girl ; in which besides the forementioned Ails returning upon her , she often would cough up a Ball as big as a small Egg into the side of her Wind-pipe , that would near choak her , till by Stroking and by Drinking it was carried down again . At the beginning of her Fits , usually she kept odly Looking up the Chimney , but could not say what she saw . When I had her Cry to the Lord Jesus for Help her Teeth were instantly sett ; upon which I adued . Yet , child , Look into Him , and then her E●es were presently pulled into her head , so farr that one might have fear'd she should never have us'd them more . When I prayed in the Room , fi●st , her Arms were with a strong , tho not seen Force clap't upon her ears ; and when her hands were with violence pull'd away , she cryed out , [ They ] make such a noise , I cannot hear a word ! She likewise complain'd , that Good'y Glover's , Chain was upon her Leg , and when she essay'd to go , her postures were exactly such as the chained Witch had before she died . But the manner still was , that her Tortures in a small while would pass over , and Frolicks succeed ; in which she would continue many hours , nay , whole days , talking perhaps never wickedly , but alwaies , 〈…〉 ly beyond her self ; and at certain provocations , her Tortures would renew upon her , till we had left off to give them . But she frequently told us , that if she might but steal , or be drunk , she should be well immediately . SECT . XIX . In her ludicrous Fits , one while she would be for Flying ; and she would be carried hither and thither , tho not long from the ground , yet so long as to exceed the ordinary power of Nature , in our Opinion of it : another-while she would be for Diving , and use the Actions of it towards the Floor , on which , if we had not held her , she would have thrown her self . Being at this exercise she told us , That They said , she must go down to the Bottom of our Well , for there was Plate there , and They said , They would bring her safely up again . This did she tell us , tho she had never heard of any Plate there ! and we ourselves who had newly bought the house , hardly knew of any ; but the former Owner of the House just then coming in , told us there had been Plate for many years at the Bottom of the Well . She had once a great mind to have eaten a roasted Apple , but whenever she attempted to eat it , her Teeth would be felt , and sometimes , if she went to take it up , her Arm would be made so stiff , that she could not possibly bring her hand to her Mouth : at last she said , Now They say , I shall eat it , if I eat it quickly ; and she nimbly eat it all up . Moreover , There was one very singular passion that frequently attended her . An Invisible Chain would be clapt about her , and shee , in much pain and Fear , cry out , When [ They ] began to put it on . Once I did with my own hand knock it off , as it began to be fastned about her . But ordinarily , When it was on , shee 'd be pull'd out of her seat with such violence towards the Fire , that it has been as much as one or two of us could do to keep her out . Her Eyes were not brought to be perpendicular to her feet , when she rose out of her Seat , as the Mechanism of a Humane Body requires in them that rise , but she was one dragg'd wholly by other Hands : and once , When I gave a stamp on the Hearth , just between her and the Fire , she scream'd out , ( tho I think she saw me not ) that I Iarr'd the Chain , and hurt her Back . SECT . XX. While she was in her Frolicks I was willing to try , Whether she could read or no ; and I found , not only That If she went to read the Bible her Eyes would be strangely twisted & blinded , and her Neck presently broken , but also that if any one else did read the Bible in the Room , tho it were wholly out of her sight , and without the least voice or noise of it , she would be cast into very terrible Agonies . Yet once , Falling into her her Maladies a little time after she had read the 59th Psalm , I said unto the standers-by , Poor child ! she can't now read the Psalm she readd a little while ago , she listened her self unto something that none of us could hear , and made us be silent for some few Seconds of a minute . Whereupon she said , But I can read it , they say I shall ! So I show'd her the Psalm , and she readd it all over to us Then said I , Chil● , say Amen to it : but tha● she could not do . I added , Read the next : but no where else in the Bible could she read a word I brought her a Qulikers Book ; and That she could quic●ly read whole pages of ; only the Name of GOD and CHRIST she still skipt over , being unable to pronounce it , except sometimes with stammering a minute or two or more upon it . When we urged her to tell what the word was that she missed , shee 'd say , I must not speak it ; They say I must not , you know 〈…〉 G and O and D ; so shee 'd spell the Name unto us . I brought her again , one that I thought was a Good Book ; and presently she was handled with intolerable Torments . But when I show'd her a Iest-Book , as , The Oxford Iests , or the Cambridge Iests , she could read them ●●●hout any Disturbance , & have witty Descants upon them too . I entertain'd her with a Book that pretends to prove , That there are no Witches ▪ and that she could read very well , only the Name Devils , and Witches could not be uttered by her without extraordinary Difficulty . I produced a Book to her that proves , That there are Witches , and that she had not power to read . When I readd in the Room , the Story of Ann Caile in my Fathers Remarkable Providences , and came to the Exclamation which the Narrative saies the Daemons made upon her , [ Ah she runs to the Book ! ] it cast her into inexpressible Agonies ; and shee 'd fall into them whenever I had the Expression of , Running to the Rock , afterwards . A popish Book also she could endure very well ; but it would kill her to look into any Book , that ( in my Opinion ) it might have bin profitable & edifying for her to be reading of . These Experiments were often enough repeated , and still with the same Success , bofore Witnesses not a few . The good Books that were found so mortal to her were cheefly such as lay ever at hand in the Room . One was the Guid to Heaven from the Word , which I had given her . Another of them was Mr. Williard's little ( but precious ) Treatise of Iustification . Diverse Books published by my Father I also tried upon her ; particularly , his Mystery of Christ ; and another small Book of his about Faith and Repentance , and the day of Iudgement . Once being very merrily talking by a Table that had this last Book upon it , she just opened the Book , and was immediately struck backwards as dead upon the floor . I hope I have not spoil'd the credit of the Books , By telling how much the Devils hated them . I shall therefore add , That my Grandfather Cottons Catechism called Milk for Babes , and The Assemblies Catechism , would bring hideous Convulsions on the Child if she look't into them ; tho she had once learn't them with all the love that could be . SECT . XXI . I was not unsensible that this Girls Capacity or incapacity to read , was no Test for Truth to be determin'd by , and therefore I did not proceed much further in this fanciful Business , not knowing What snares the Devils might lay for us in the Tryals . A few further Tryals , I confess , I did make ; but what the event of 'em was , I shall not relate , because I would not offend . But that which most made me to wonder was , That one bringing to her a certain Prayer Book , she not only could Read it very well , but also did read a large part of it over ; and calling it Her Bible , she took in in a delight and put on it a Respect more than Ordinary . If she were going into her tortures , at the offer of this Book , she would come out of her sits , and read ; and her Attendents were almost under a Temptation to use it as a Charm , to make and keep her quiet . Only , When she came to the Lords Prayer , ( now and then occuring in this Book ) she would have her eyes put out , so that she must turn over a new leaf , and then she could read again . Whereas also there are Scriptures in that Book , she could read them there , but if I show'd her the very same Scriptures in the Bible , she should sooner Dy than read them . And she was likewise made unable to read the Psalms in an apelent meeter , which this prayer book had in the same volumne with it . There were , I think I may say ; no less than Multitudes of Witnesses , to this odd thing ; and I should not have been a faithful and honest Historian , if I had withheld from the World this part of my History : But I make no Reflections on it . Those inconsiderable men that are provoked at it ( if any shall be of so little Sense as to be provoked ) must be angry at the Devils , and not at me ; their Malice , and not my Writing , deserves the Blame of any Aspersion which a true History , may seem to cast on a Book that some have enough manifested their Concernment for . SECT . XXII . There was another most unaccountable Circumstance which now attended her ; and until she came to our House , I think , she never had Experience of it . Ever now and then , an Invisible Horse would be brought unto her , by those whom she only called , them , and , Her Company : upon the Approach of Which , her eyes would be still closed up ; for ( said she ) They say , I am a Tell-Tale , and therefore they will not let me see them . Upon this would she give a Spring as one mounting an Horse , and Settling her self in a Riding-Posture , she would in her Chair be agitated as one sometimes Ambleing , sometimes Trotting , and sometimes Galloping very furiously . In these motions we co●●● not perceive that she was stirred by the stress of her feet , upon the ground ; for often she touch't it not ; but she mostly continued in her Chair , though sometimes in her hard Trott we doubted she would have been tossed over the Back of it . Once being angry at his Dulness , When she said , she would cut off his head if she had a knife , I gave her my Sheath , ( wherewith she suddenly gave her self a stroke on the Neck , but complain'd , it would not cut . When she had rode a minute or two or three , shee 'd pretend to be at a Rendezvous with Them , that were Her Company ; there shee 'd maintain a Discourse with them , and asking many Questions concerning her self , ( for we gave her none of ours ) shee 'd Listen much , and Received Answers from them that indeed none but her self perceived . Then would she return and inform us , how [ They ] did intend to handle her for a day or two afterwards , besides some other things that she enquired of them . Her Horse would sometimes throw her , with much Violence ; but she would mount again ; and one of the Standers-by once imagining [ them ] that were Her Company , to be before her ( for she call'd unto them to say for her ) he struck with his Cane in the Air where he thought they were , and tho her eyes were wholly shutt , yet she cry'd out , that he struck her . Her Fantastic Iourneyes were mostly performed in her Chair without removing from it : but sometimes would she ride from her Chair , and be carried odly on the Floor , from one part of the Room to another , in the postures of a Riding Woman . If any of us asked her , Who her Company were ? She generally replyed , I don't know . But if we were instant in our Demand , she would with some witty Flout or other turn it off . Once I said , Child , if you can't tell their Names , pray tell me what Clothes they have on ; and the Words were no sooner out of my mouth , but she was laid for dead upon the Floor . SECT . XXIII . One of the Spectators once ask'd her , Whether she could nor ride up stairs ; unto which her Answer was , That she believe'd she could , for her Horse could do very not able things . Accordingly , when her Horse came to her again , to our Admiration she Ends ( that is , was tossed as one that rode up the stairs : there then stood open the Stuay of one belonging to the Family , into which entring , she stood immediately upon her Feet , and cry'd out , They are gone ; they are gone ! They say , that they cannot , — God won't let 'em come here ! She also added a Reason for it , which the Owner of the Study thought more kind than true . And she presently and perfectly came to her self , so that her whole Discourse & Carriage was altered unto the greatest measure of Sobriety , and she satt Reading of the Bible and Good Books , for a good part of the Afternoon . Her Affairs calling her anon to go down again , the Daemons were in a quarter of a minute as bad upon her as before , and her Horse was Waiting for her . I understanding of it , immediately would have her up to the study of the young man where she had been at ease before ; meerly to try Whether there had not been a Fallacy in what had newly happened : but she was now so twistted , and iprithen , that it gave me much trouble to get her into my Arms , and much more to drag her up the stairs . She was pulled out of my hands , and when I recovered my Hold , she was thrust so hard upon me , that I had almost fallen backwards , and her own breast was sore afterwards , by their Compressions to detain her ; she seem'd heavier indeed that three of her self . With incredible Forcing ( tho she kept Screaming , They say I must not go in ! ) at length we pull'd her in ; where she was no sooner come , but she could stand on her Feet , and with an altered tone , could thank me , saying , now I am well . At first shee 'd be somewhat faint , and say , She felt something go out of her ; but in a minute or two , she could attend any Devotion , or Business as well as ever in her Life ; and both spoke and did as became a person of good Discretion . I was loth to make a Charm of the Room ; yet some strangers that came to visit us , the Week after , desiring to see the Exporiment made , I permitted more than two or three Repetitions of it ; and it still succeded as I have declared . Once when I was assisting 'em in carrying of her u , she was torn out of all our hands ; & to my self , she cry'd out , Mr. M , — One of them is going to push you down the stairs , have a care . I remember not that I felt any Thrust or Blow ; but I think I was unaccountably made to step down backward two or three stairs , and within a few hours she told me by whom it was . SECT . XXIV . One of those that had bin concerned for her Welfare , had newly implored the great GOD that the young woman might be aable to declare whom she apprehended her self troubled by . Presently upon this her Horse returned , only it pestered her with such ugly paces , that she fell out with her Company , & threatned now to tell all , for their so abusing her . I was going abroad , and she said unto them that were about her , Mr. M. — is gone abroad my horse won't come back , till he come home ; and then I belieue ( said she softly , ) I shall tell him all . I staid abroad an hour or two , and then Returning , When I was just come to my Gate , before I had given the least Sign or Noise of my being there , she said , My Horse is come ! and intimated , that I was at the Door . When I came in , I found her mounted after her fashion , upon her Aerial Steed ; which carried her Fancy to the Journeys end . There ( or rather then ) she maintained a considerable Discourse with Her Company , Listening very attentively when she had propounded any Question , and receiving the Answers with impressions made upon her mind . She said ; Well what do you say ? How many Fits more am I to have ? — pray , can ye tell how long it shall be before you are hang'd for what you have done ? — You are filtlhy Witches to my knowledge , I shall see some of you go after your sister ; You would have killd me ; but you can't , I don't fear you — You would have thrown Mrs Mather down stairs , but you could not . — Well! How shall I be * Tomorrow ? Pray , What do you think of Tomorrow ? — Fare ye well . — You have brought me such an ugly Horse , I am angry at you ; I could find in my heart to tell all . So she began her homeward paces ; but when she had gone a little way , ( that is a little worse ) she said , O I have forgot one Question ; I must go back again ; and back she rides . She had that day been diverse times warning us , that they had been contriving to do some harm to my Wife , by a Fall or a Blow , or the like ; and when she came out of her mysterious Journeys , she would still be careful concerning Her. Accordingly she now calls to her Company again , Hark you , One thing more before we part ! What hurt is it you will do to Mrs. Mather ? will you do her any hurt ? Here she listened some time ; and then clapping her hands cry'd out , O , I am glad on 't , they can do Mrs. Mather no hurt : they try , but they say they can't . So she returns and at once , Dismissing her Horse , and opening her eyes , she call'd me to her , Now Sir , ( said she ) I 'll tell you all . I have learn'd who they are that are the cause of my trouble , there 's three of them , ( and she named who ) if they were out of the way , I should be well . They say , they can tell now how long I shall be troubled , But they won't . Only they seem to think , their power will be broke this Week , They seem also to say , that I shall be very ill Tomorrow , but they are themselves terribly afraid of tomorrow ; They fear , that to morrow we shall be delivered . They say too , that they can't hurt Mrs. Mather , which I am glad of . But they said , they would kill me tonight , if I went to bed before ten a clock , if I told a word . And other things did she say ; not now to be recited . SECT . XXV . The Day following , which was , I think about the twenty seventh of November , Mr. Morton of Charlestown , and Mr. Allen , Mr. Moody , Mr. Willard , and my self , of Boston , with some devout Neighbours , kept another Day of Prayer , at Iohn Goodwin's house ; and we had all the Children present with us there . The children were miserably tortured , while we laboured in our Prayers ; but our good God was high unto us , in what we call'd upon Him for . From this day the power of the Enemy was broken ; and the children , though Assaults after this were made upon them , yet were not so cruelly handled as before . The Liberty of the Children encreased daily more and more , and their Vexation abated by degrees ; till within a little while they arrived to Perfect Ease , which for some weeks or months they cheerfully enjoyed . Thus Good it is for us to draw near to God. SECT . XXVI . Within a day or two after the East , the young Woman had two remarkable Attempts made upon her , by her invisible Adversaries . Once , they were Dragging her into the Oven that was then heating , while there was none in the Room to help her . She clap't her hands on the Mantle-tree to save her self ; but they were beaten off ; and she had been burned , if at her Out-cryes one had not come in from abroad for her Relief . Another time , they putt an unseen Rope with a cruel Noose about her Neck , Whereby she was choaked , until she was black in the Face ; and though it was taken off before it had kill'd her , yet there were the red Marks of it , and of a Finger & a Thumb near it , remaining to be seen for a while afterwards . SECT . XXVII . This was the last Molestation that they gave her for a While ; and she dwelt at my house the rest of the Winter , having by an obliging and vertuous Conversation , made her self enough Welcome to the Family . But within about a Fortnight , she was visited with two dayes of as Extraordinary Obsessions as any we had been the Spectators of . I thought it convenient for me to entertain my Congregation with a Sermon upon the memorable Providences which these Children had been concerned in . When I had begun to study my Sermon , her Tormentors again seiz'd upon her ; and all Fryday & Saturday , did they manage her with a special Design , as was plain , to disturb me in what I was about . In the worst of her extravagancies formerly , she was more dutiful to my self than I had reason to Expect , but now her whole carriage to me , was with a Sauciness that I had not been us'd to be treated with . She would knock at my Study Door , affirming , That some below would be glad to see me ; when there was none that ask't for me . She would call to me with multiplyed Impertinencies , and throw small things at me wherewith she could not give me any hurt . Shee 'd Hector me at a strange rate for the work I was at , and threaten me with I know not what mischief for it . She got a History that I had Written of this Witchcraft , and tho she had before this , readd it over and over , yet now she could not read ( I believe ) one entire Sentence of it ; but she made of it the most ridiculous Travesty in the World , with such a Patness and excess of Fancy , to supply the sense that she put upon it , as I was amazed at . And she particularly told me , That I should quickly come to disgrace by that History . SECT . XXVIII . But there were many other Wonders beheld by us before these two dayes were out . Few tortures attended her , but such as were provoked ; her Frolicks being the things that had most possession of her . I was in Latin telling some young Gentlemen of the Colledge , That if I should bid her Look to God , her Eyes would be put out , upon which her eyes were presently served so . I was in some surprize , When I saw that her Troublers understood Latin , and it made me willing to try a little more of their Capacity . We continually found , that if an English Bible were in any part of the Room seriously look'd into , though she saw and heard nothing of it , she would immediately be in very dismal Agonies . We now made a Tryal more than once or twice , of the Greek New-Testament , and the Hebrew Old Testament ; and We still found , That if one should go to read in it never so secretly and silently , it would procure her that Anguish , Which there was no enduring of . But , I thought , ( at length , ) I fell upon one infirior Language which the Damons did not seem , so well to understand . SECT . XXIX . Devotion was now , as formerly the terriblest of all the provocations that could be given her . I could by no means bring her to own , That she desired the mercies of God and the prayers of good men . I would have obtained a Sign of such a Desire , by her Listing up of her hand ; but she stirr'd it not : I then listed up her hand my self , and though the standers by thought a more insignificant thing could not be propounded , I said , Child , If you desire those things , let your hand fall , when I take mine away : I took my hand away , and hers continued strangely and stifly stretched out , so that for some time , she could not take it down . During these two dayes we had Prayers oftener in our Family than at other times ; and this was her usual Behaviour at them . The man that prayed , usually began with Reading the Word of God ; which once as he was going to do , she call'd to him , Read of Mary Magdalen , out of whom the Lord cast seven Devils , During the time of Reading , she would be laid as one fast asleep ; but when Prayer was begun , the Devils would still throw her on the Floor , at the feet of him , that prayed . There would she lye and Whistle and sing and roar , to drown the voice of the Prayer ; but that being a little too audible for Them , they would shutt close her Mouth and her ears , and yet make such odd noises in her Throat as that she her self could not hear our Cries to God for her . Shee 'd also fetch very terrible Blowes with her Fist , and Kicks with her Foot at the man that prayed ; but still ( for he had bid that none should hinder her ) her Fist and Foot , would alwaies recoil , when they came within a few hairs breadths of him just as if Rebounding against a Wall ; so that she touch'd him not , but then would beg hard of other people to strike him , and particularly she entreated them to take the Tongs and smite him ; Which not being done , she cryed out of him , He has wounded me in the Head. But before Prayer was out , she would be laid for Dead , wholly sensless and ( unless to a severe Trial ) Breathless ; with her Belly swelled like a Drum , and sometimes with croaking Noises in it ; thus would she ly , most exactly with the stiffness and posture of one that had been two Days laid out for Dead . Once lying thus , as he that was praying , was alluding to the words of the Canaanitess , and saying , Lord , have mercy on a Daughter vexed with a Devil ; there came a big , but low voice from her , saying , There 's Two or Three of them ( or us ! ) and the standers-by , were under that Apprehension , as that they cannot relate whether her mouth mov'd in speaking of it . When Prayer was ended , she would Revive in a minute or two , and continue as Frolicksome as before . She thus continued until Saturday towards the Evening ; when , after this man had been at Prayer , I charged all my Family to admit of no Diversion by her Frolicks , from such exercises as it was proper to begin the Sabbath with . They took the Coun 〈…〉 ; and tho she essayed , with as witty and and as nimble and as various an Application to each of them successively as ever I saw , to make them laugh , yet they kept close to their good Books which then called for their Attention . When she saw that , immediately she fell asleep ; and in two or three hours , she waked perfectly her self ; weeping bitterly to remember ( for as one come out of a dream she could remember ) what had befallen her . SECT . XXX . After this , we had no more such entertainments . The Demons it may be would once or twice in a Week , trouble her for a few minutes with perhaps a twisting & a twinke of her eyes , or a certain Cough , which did seem to be more than ordinary . Moreover , Both she at my house , and her Sister at home , at the time which they call Christmas , were by the Daemons made very drunk , though they had no strong Drink ( as we are fully sure ) to make them so . When she began to feel her selfe thus drunk , she complain'd , O they say they will have me to keep Christmas with them ! They will disgrace me when they can do nothing else ! And immediately the Ridiculous Behaviours of one drunk , were with a wonderful exactness represented in her Speaking , and Reeling , and Spewing , and anon Sleeping , till she was well again . But the Vexations of the Children otherwise abated coutinually . They first came to be alwaies Quiet , unless upon Provocations . Then they got Liberty to work , but not to read : then further on , to read , but not aloud . at last they were wholly delivered ; and for many Weeks remained s●●● . SECT . XXXI . I was not unsensible , that it might be an easie thing to be too bold , and go too far , in making of Experiments . Nor was I so unphilosophical as not to discern many opportunityes of Giving and Solving many Problemes which the pneumatic Discipline is concerned in I confess I have Learn'd much more than I fought , and I have bin informed of some things relating to the invisible World , which as I did not think it lawful to ask , so I do not think it proper to tell ; yet I will give a Touch upon one Problem commonly Discoursed of ; that is , Whether the Devils know our Thoughts , or no ? I will not give the Reader my Opinion of it , but only my Experiment . That they do not , was conjectured from this : We could cheat them when we spoke one thing , and mean't another . This was found when the Children were to be undressed . The Devils would still in waves beyond the Force of any Imposture , wonderfully twist the part that was to be undress'd , so that there was no comming at it . But , if we said , untye his neckcloth , and the parties bidden , at the same time , understood our intent to be , unty his Shooe ! The Neckcloth , and not the shooe , has been made strangely inaccessible . But on the other side ; That they do , may be conjectured from This. I called the young Woman at my House by her Name , intending to mention unto her some Religious Expedient whereby she might , as I thought much relieve her self ; presently her Neck was broke , and I continued watching my Opportunity to say what I designed . I could not get her to come out of her Fit , until I had laid aside my purpose of speaking what I thought , and then she reviv'd immediately . Moreover a young Gentleman visiting of me at my Study to ask my advice about curing the Atheism & Blasphemy which he complained , his Thoughts were more than ordinarily then infested with ; after some Discourse I carried him down to see this Girl who was then molested with her unseen Fiends ; but when he came , she treated him very coursly and rudely , asking him What she came to the house for ? and seemed very angry at his being there , urging him to be gone with a very impetuous Importunity . Perhaps all Devils are not alike sagacious . SECT . XXXII . The Last Fit that the young Woman had , was very peculiar . The Damons having once again seiz'd her , they made her pretend to be Dying ; and Dying truly we fear'd at last she was : She lay , she tossed , she pull'd just like one Dying , and urged hard for some one to dy with her , seeming loth to dy alone . She argued concerning Death , in straine that quite amazed us ; and concluded , That though she was luth to dy , yet if God said she must , she must ; adding something about the state of the Countrey , which we wondred at Anon , the Fit went over ; and as I guessed it would be , it was the last Fit she had at our House . But all my Library never afforded me any Commentary on those Paragraphs of the Gospels , which speak of Demoniacs , equal to that which the passions of this Child have given me . SECT . XXXIII . This is the Story of Goodwins Children , a Story all made up of Wonders ! I have related nothing but what I judge to be true . I was my self an Eye-witness to a large part of what I tell ; and I hope my neighbours have long thought , That I have otherwise learned Christ , than to ly unto the World. Yea , there is , I believe scarce any one particular , in this Narrative , which more than one credible Witness will not be ready to make Oath unto . The things of most Concernment in it , were before many Critical Observers ; and the Whole happened in the Metropolis of the English America , unto a religious and industrious Family which was visited by all sorts of Persons , that had a mind to satisfy themselves . I do now likewise publish the History , While the thing is yet fresh and New ; and I challenge all men to detect so much as one designed Falshood , yea , or so much as one important Mistake , from the Egg to the Apple of it , I have Writ as plainly as becomes an Historian , as truly as becomes a Christian , tho perhaps not so profitably as became a Divine . But I am resolv'd after this , never to use but just one grain of patience with any man that shall go to impose upon me , a Denial of Devils , or of Witches . I shall count that man Ignorant who shall suspect , but I shall count him down-right Impudent if he Assert the Non-Existence of things which we have had such palpable Convictions of . I am sure he cannot be a Civil , ( and some will question whether he can be an honest man ) that shall go to deride the Being of things which a whole Countrey has now beheld an house of pious people suffering not a few Vexations by . But if the Sadducee , or the Atheist , have no right Impressions by these Memorable Providences made upon his mind ; yet I hope , those that know what it is to be sober , will not repent any pains that they may have taken in perusing what Records of these Witchcrafts & Possessions , I thus leave unto Posterity . POSTSCRIPT . YOU have seen the Trouble and the Relief of Iohn Goodwins Children , After which the Daemons were let loose to make a fresh Attacque upon them , tho not in a manner altogether so terrible & afflictive , as what they had before susteined . All the Three Children were visited with some Return of their Calamities ; but the Boy was the Child which endured most in this New Assault . He had been for some While kindly entertained , with Mr. Baily at Watertown where he had enjoyed a long time of ease ; the Devils having given him but little Disburbance , except what was for a short while after his first coming there . He no sooner came Home , but he began to be ill again , with diverse peculiar Circumstances attending of him . There was this particularly remarkable : That the Boy dream't he had a Bone within his skin growing cross his Ribs ; and when he awaked , he felt and found a thing there which was esteem'd a Bone , by them that handled it ; only every one wondered how it should be lodged there . An expert Chirurgeon , Dr. Iohn Clark , being advis'd with about it , very dexterously took it out ; and it prov'd not the imagined Bone , but a considerable Pin ; a brass Pin , which could not possibly have come to ly there as it did , withont the Prestigious Conveyance of a Misterious Witchcraft . Another time , on a Lord's Day his Father would have taken him to Meeting with him ; and when his Father spoke of going to some of the Assemblies in the Town ( particularly both the North and the South ) the Boy would be cast into such Tortures and Postures , that he would sooner Dy than go out of doors ; but if his Father spoke of going to others of the Assemblies in the Town , particularly the Quakers , the boy in a moment would be as well as could be . The tryal of this was more than five times repeated , and were it fully related , would be more than ten times Admired . Our Prayers for the Children were justly renewed , and I hope not altogether unanswered . Upon one Prayer over two of them , they had about a Fortnights ease ; and their Ails again returning , Prayer was again awakened ; with some Circumstances not proper to be exposed unto the World. God gave a present Abatement hereupon to the Maladies of the Children , and caused their Invaders to retire ; so that by degrees they were fully and quickly Delivered . Two days of Prayer obtained the Deliverance of two . The Third , namely the Boy , Remaining under some Annoyance by the evil spirits , a third Day was employ'd for him and he soon found the blessed effects of it in his Deliverance There were several very memorable things attending this Deliverance of the Children , and the Vowes , and the Pleas , used in the Prayers which were thereby answerd , but they were all Private , yea , in a sort , Secret ; Non est Religio ubi omnia patent ; and I understand , ( for I have some Acquaintance with him ) That the Friend of the Children , whom God gave to be thus concerned and successful for them , desires me not to let Reports of those things go out of the Walls of a Study , but to leave them rather for the Notice of the other World. I think it will not be improper to tell the World , that one thing in the Childrens Deliverance was the strange . Death of an horrible old Woman , who was presum'd to have a great hand in their Affliction . Before her Death & at it , the Alms-House where she lived was terrified with fearful noises , and she seem'd to have her Death hastened by dismal Blowes reveived from the invisible World. But having mentioned this : all that I have now to publish is That Prayer and Faith , was the thing which drove the Divels from the Children ; and I am to bear this Testimony unto the world , That the Lord is nigh to all them , who call upon him in truth , and , That blessed are all they that wait for Him. Finished , Iune 7th , 1689. MANTISSA . TO the foregoing Narrative , we have added an account given us , by the Godly Father of these Haunted Children ; who upon his Reading over so much of our History , as was written of their Exercise before their full deliverance , was willing to express his Attestation to the Truth of it ; with this further Declaration of the Sense , which he had of the unusual Miseries , that then lay upon his Family . 'T is in his own Style ; but I suppose a Pen hath not commonly been managed with more cleanly Discourse by an Hand used only to the Trowel ; and his Condition hath been such , that he may fairly have Leave to speak . IN the year 1688. about Midsummer , it pleased the Lord to visit one of my children with a sore Visitation ; and she was not only tormented in her Body , but was in great distress of Mind , Crying out , That she was in the dark concerning her Souls estate , and that she had mispent her precious time ; She and we thinking her time was near at an end Hearing those Shrieks and Groans which did not only pierce the ears , but Hearts of her poor Parents ; now was a time for me to Consider with my self , and to look into my own heart and and life , and see how matters did there stand between God and my own soul , and see Wherefore the Lord was thus contending with me . And upon Enquiry I found cause to judge my self , & to justify the Lord. This Affliction continuing some time , the Lord saw good then to double the affliction in smiting down another Child , and that which was most heart breaking of all , and did double this double affliction was , it was apparent and judged by all that saw them , that the Devil and his Instruments , had a hand in it . The consideration of this was most dreadful : I thought of what David said , 2 Sam. 24. 14. if he feared so to fall into the hands of Men , oh ! then to think of the Horror of our condition , to be in the Hands of Devils and Witches ! This our doleful condition moved us to call to our Friends to have pity on us , for Gods Hand had touched us . I was ready to say , that no ones affliction was like mine ; That my little House that should be a little Bethel for God to dwell in , should be made a Den for Devils ; that those little Bodies , that should be Temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in , should be thus harrassed and abused by the Devil and his cursed Brood . But how this twice doubled affliction is doubled again . Two more of my Children are smitten down , oh ! the Cries , the Shrieks , the Tortures of these poor Children ! Doctors cannot help , Parents weep and lament over them , but cannot ease them . Now I considering my affliction to be more than ordinary , it did certainly call for more than ordinary Prayer . I acquainted Mr. Allen , Mr. Moodey , Mr. Willard , and Mr. C. Mather , the four Ministers of the Town with it , and Mr. Morton of Charlstown ; earnestly desiring them , that they , with some other praying people of God , would meet at my house , and there be earnest with God , on the behalf of us and our Children ; which they ( I thank them for it ) readily attended with great servency of Spirit ; but as for my part , my heart was ready to sink to hear and see those doleful-Sights . Now I thought that I had greatly neglected my duty to my Children , in not admonishing and instructing of them ; and that God was hereby calling my sins to mind , to slay my Children , Then I pondered of that place in Numb . 23. 23. Surely there is no Inchanment against Iacob , neither is there any Devination against Israel . And now I thought I had broke Covenant with God , not only in one respect but in many , but it pleased the Lord to bring that to mind in Heb. 8. 12. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness , and their Sins & Inquities will I remember no more . The Consideration how the Lord did deal with Iob , and his Patience and the End the Lord made with him was some support to me . I thought also , on what David said , that He had sinned , but what have these poor Lambs done ? But yet in the midds't of my tumultous Thoughts within me , it was Gods Comforts that did delight my soul. That in the 18 of Luke , and the Beginning , Where Christ spake the Parable for that end , that men ought alwaies to pray and not faint . This , with many other places bore up my spirit . I thought with Ionah that I would yet again Look towards God's holy Temple ; the Lord Iesus Christ. And I did greatly desire to find the Son of God with me in this Furnace of Affliction , knowing thereby that no harm shall befall me . But now this solemn day of Prayer and Fasting being at an End , there was an Eminent Answer of it : for one of my Children was delivered , and one of the wicked instruments of the Devil discovered , and her own mouth condemned her , and so accordingly Executed . Here was Food for Faith , and great encouragement still to hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord ; the Ministers still counselling and encouraging me to labour to be found in Gods way , committing my case to him , and not to use any way not allowed in Gods Word . It was a thing not a little comfortable to us , to see that the people of God was so much concerned about our lamentable condition , remembring us at all times in their prayers , which I did look at as a token for good ; but you must think it was a time of sore Temptation with us , for many did say ; ( yea , and some good people too ) were it their case , that they would try some Tricks , that should give ease to their Children : But I thought for us to forsake the counsel of good old men , and to take the counsel of the young ones , it might ensnare our Souls , though for the present it might offer some relief to our Bodies ; which was a thing I greatly feared ; and my Children were not at any time free for doing any such thing . It was a time of sore affliction , but it was mixed with abundance of mercy , for my heart was many a time made glad in the house of Prayer . The Neighbourhood pitied us ; and were very helpful to us : Moreover , though my Children were thus in every Limb and Joynt tormented by those Children of the Devil , they also using their tongues at their pleasure , sometimes one way , sometimes another ; yet the Lord did herein prevent them , that they could not make them speak wicked words , though they did many times hinder them from speaking good ones ; had they in these Fits blasphemed the Name of the Holy God , this you may think would have been an heart-breaking thing to us the poor Parents ; but God in his mercy prevented them , a thing worth taking notice of . Likewise they slept well a nights : And the Ministers did often visit us , and pray with us , and for us ; and their love and pity was so great , their Prayers so earnest and constant , that I could not but admire at it . Mr. Mather particularly ; now his bowels so yearned towards us in this sad condition , that he not only pray's with us , and for us , but he taketh one of my Children home to his own house ; which indeed was but a troublesome guest , for such an one that had so much work lying upon his hands and heart : He took much pains in this great Service , to pull this Child , and her Brother and Sister out of the hand of the Devil . Let us now admire and adore that Fountain the Lord Jesus Christ , from whence those streams come . The Lord himself will requite his labour of love . Our case is yet very sad , and doth call for more Prayer ; and the good Ministers of this Town , and Charlstown readily came , with some other good praying people to my house , to keep another Day of solemn Fasting and Prayer ; which our Lord saith this kind goeth out by . My Children being all at home , the two biggest lying on the bed , one of them would fain have Kicked the good men while they were wrestling with God for them , had not I held him with all my power and might ; and sometimes he would stop his own ears . This you must needs think was a cutting thing to the poor parents . Now our hearts were ready to sink , had not God put under his everlasting arms of Mercy and helped us still to hope in his mercy , and to be quiet , knowing that He is God , and that it was not for the potsheards of the earth to strive with their Maker . Well might David say , that had not the Law of his God been his delight , he had perished in his Affliction . Now the Promises of God are sweet ; God having promised , to hear the prayer of the destitute , and not to despise their prayer ; and He will not fail the Expectation of those that wait on Him ; but He heareth the cry of the poor and needy . These Iacobs came and wrestled with God for a Blessing on this poor Family , which indeed I hope they obtained , and may be now worthy of the Name Israel , who prevailed with God , and would not let Him go till He had blessed us . For soon after this , there were two more of my children delivered out of this horrible pit . Here was now a double mercy , and how sweet was it , knowing it came in Answer of Prayer ! Now we see and know , it is not a vain thing to call on the name of the Lord. For He is a present help in the time of trouble ; and we may boldly say the Lord has been our helper , I had sunk , but Jesus put forth His hand & bore me up . My Faith was ready to fail , but this was a support to me that Christ said to Peter , I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not . And many other Promises were as Cordials to my dropping soul. And the Consideration of all those that ever came to Christ Jesus for Healing , that He healed their bodies , pardoned their Sins , and healed their Souls too ; which I hope in God may be the fruit of this present Affliction . If God be pleased to make the Fruit of this Affliction to be to take away our sin , and cleanse us from iniquity , and to put us on with greater diligence to make our Calling & election sure , then , happy Affliction ! The Lord said that I had need of this to awake me . I have found a prosperous Condition a dangerous Condition . I have taken notice and considered more of God's Goodness in these few weeks of Affliction , than in many years of Prosperity . I may speak it with shame , so wicked and deceitful , and ungrateful is my heart that the more God hath been doing for me , the less I have been doing for Him. My Returns have not been according to my Receivings . The Lord help me now to praise Him in heart , lip , & life . The Lord help us to see by this Visitation , what need we have to get shelter under the wing of Christ , to hast to the Rock , where we may be safe . We see how ready the Devils are to catch us , and torment our Bodies , and he is as diligent to ensnare our Souls , and that many waies ; but let us put on all our spiritual Armour , and follow Christ the Captain of our Salvation ; and tho we meet with the Cross , let us bear it patiently and cheerfully , for if Jesus Christ be at the one end , we need not fear the Heaft of it : if we have Christ we have enough ; He can make His Rod as well as His Staffe to be a comfort to us ; and we shall not want if we be the Sheep of Christ. If we want Afflictions we shall have them , and sanctified Afflictions are choice mercies . Now I earnestly desire the Prayer of all good people ; That the Lord would be pleased to perfect that Work He hath begun , and make it to appear that Prayer is stronger than Witchcraft . Iohn Goodwin . Decemb. 12. 1688. This is our First Example ; and it is This which has occasioned the Publication of the Rest. EXEMPLE . II. AMong those Iudgments of God , which are a great Deep , I suppose few are more unfathomable than this , That pious and holy men suffer sometimes by the Force of horrid Witchcrafts , and hellish Witches are permitted to break thorough the Hedge which our Heavenly Father has made about them that seek Him. I suppose the Instances of this direful thing are Seldome ; but that they are not Never we can produce very dismal Testimony . One , and that no less Recent than Awful , I shall now offer : and the Reader of it will thereby learn , I hope , to work out his own Salvation with Fear and Trembling . SECT . I. Mr. Philip Smith , aged about Fifty years , a Son of eminently vertuous Parents , a Deacon of the Church at Hadley , a Member of our General Court , an Associate in their County Court , a Select-man for the affairs of the Town , a Lieutenant in the Troop , and , which crowns all , a man for Devotion and Gravity , and all that was Honest , exceeding exemplary ; Such a man in the Winter of the Year , 1684. was murdered with an hideous Witchcraft , which filled all those parts with a just astonishment . This was the manner of the Murder . SECT . II. He was concerned about Relieving the Indigencies of a wretched woman in the Town ; who being dissatisfied at some of his just cares about her , expressed her self unto him in such a manner , that he declared himself apprehensive of receiving mischief at her hands ; he said , he doubted she would attempt his Hurt . SECT . III. About the beginning of Ianuary he began to be very Valetudinarious , labouring under those that seemed Ischiadick pains . As his Illness increased on him , so his Goodness increased in him ; the standers-by could in him see one ripening apace for another world ; and one filled not only with Grace to an high degree , but also with Exceeding Ioy. Such Weanedness from , and Weariness of the World , he shew'd , that he knew not ( he said ) whether he might pray for his continuance here . Such Assurance had he of the Divine Love unto him , that in Raptures he would cry out , Lord , stay thy hand , it is enough , it is more than thy frail servant can bear ! But in the midst of these things , he uttered still an hard suspicion , That the ill Woman who had threatned him , had made impressions on him . SECT . IV. While he remained yet of a sound mind , he very sedately , but very solemnly charged his Brother to look well after him . Tho' he said he now understood himself , yet he knew not how he might be ; but be sure ( said he ) to ha●● a care of me for you shall see strange things , There shal be a wonder in Hadley ! I shall not be dead when it is thought I am ! This Charge he pressed over and over ; and afterwards became Delirious . SECT . V. Being become Delirious , he had a Speech Incessant and Voluble beyond all imagination and this in divers Tones and sundry voices , and ( as was thought ) in various languages . SECT . VI. He cryed out not only of sore pain , but also of sharp Pins , pricking of him sometimes in his Toe , sometimes in his Arms , as if there had been hundreds of them . But the people upon search never found any more than One. SECT . VII . In his Distresses he exclaimed very much upon the Woman afore-mentioned , naming her , and some others , and saying , Do you not see them ; There , There , There they stand . SECT . VIII . There was a strong smell of something like Musk , which was divers times in the Room where he was , and in the other Rooms , and without the House ; of which no cause could be rendred . The sick-man as well , as others , complained of it ; and once particularly , it so siez'd an Apple Roasting at the Fire that they were forced to throw it away . SECT . IX . Some that were about him being almost at their wits end , by beholding the greatness and the strangeness of his Calamities did three or four times in one Night , go and give Disturbance to the Woman that we have spoken of : all the while they were doing of it , the good man was at ease , and slept as a weary man ; and these were all the times they perceived him to take any sleep at all . SECT . X. A small Galley-Pot of Alkermes , that was near full , and carefully look't after , yet unto the surprize of the people , was quite emptied , so that the sick man could not have the Benefit of it . SECT . XI . Several persons that sat by him , heard a Scratching , that seem'd to be on the Ticking near his feet , while his Feet lay wholly still ; nay , were held in the hands of others , and his hands were far of another way . SECT . XII . Sometimes Fire was seen on the Bed , or the Covering , and when the Beholders began to discourse of it , it would vanish away . SECT . XIII . Diverse people felt something often stir in the Bed , at some distance from his Body . To appearance , the thing that stirr'd was as big as a Cat : some try'd to lay hold on it with their hands , but under the Covering nothing could be found . A discreet and sober Woman , resting on the Beds Feet , felt as it were a Hand , the Thumb and the Finger of it , taking her by the side , and giving her a Pinch ; but turning to see What it might be , nothing was to be seen . SECT . XIV The Doctor standing by the sick man , and seeing him ly still , he did himself try to lean on the Beds-head ; but he found the Bed to shake so , that his head was often knocked against the Post , though he strove to hold it still ; and others upon Tryal found the same . Also , the sick man lying too near the side of the Bed , a very strong and stout man , try'd to life him a little further into the Bed ; but with all his might he could not ; tho' trying by ' nd by , he could lift a Bed-stead , with a Bed , and man lying on it , all , without any strain to himself at all . SECT . XV. Mr Smith dyes . The Iury that viewed the Corpse found a Swelling on one Breast , which rendered it like a Womans . His Privities were wounded or burned . On his back , besides Bruises , there were several pricks , or holes , as if done with Awls or Pins . SECT . XVI . After the Opinion of all had pronounc'd him dead , his Countenance continued as Lively as if he had been Alive ; his Eyes closed as in a slumber ; and his neither Iaw , not falling down . Thus he remained from Sattureday morning about Sun-rise , till Sabbath-Day in the After-noon . When those that took him out of the Bed found him still Warm ; though the the Season was as Cold as had almost been known in an Age. On the Night after the Sabbath , his Countenance was yet as fresh as before ; but on Monday Morning , they found the face extremely tumified and discoloured ; 't was black and blue , & fresh blood seem'd to run down his Cheek in the Hairs . SECT . XVII . The night after he died , a very credible person , watching of the Corpse , perceived the Bed to move and stir , more than once ; but by no means could find out the cause of it . SECT . XVIII . The second night , some that were preparing for the Funeral , do say , That they heard diverse Noises in the Room , where the Corpse lay ; as though there had been a great Removing and Clattering of stools & chairs . Upon the whole , it appeared unquestionable that Witchcraft had brought a period unto the life of so good a man. EXEMPLE . III. THe man of whom we have been Writing , is not the only good Christian whom evile Witchcraft has given Annoyance to . We shall add a Second Instance , wherein I shall Relate Something that I do not Approve ; and that is , The Vrinary Experiment . I suppose the Vrine must be bottled with Nails and Pinns , and such Instruments in it as carry a Shew of Torture with them , if it attain its End. For I have been told , That the bare Bottleing of Vrine with Filings of Steel in it , which can be better ( tho scarce well ) accounted for , has bin sound insignificant . Now to use a Charm against a Charm , or to use a Devils Shield against a Devils Sword , Who can with a good conscience try ? All Communion with Hell is dangerous ; all Relief and Succor coming by means whose whole Force is founded in the Laws of the Kingdom of darkness , will be ready to leave a sting on the Conscience of him that obtains it so . SECT . I. There was one Mr. St — n of North-hampton , who upon Complaint of an abused Servant unto him , had in plain and close Terms rebuked the Master of the Lad , for his too great Severity . He was a man of good Repute , and as good Courage ; but within as little a while as the man whom he had reproved could return to inform his Wife , who was a person under Suspicion for Witchcraft ; he was taken with many Ails and pains that increased on him to great Extremity . SECT . II. He languishes , decayes , and dies : but before it came to That , strange sights were in the house . A black Cat appeared in the night , with very affrighting Circumstances ; and then a Pigeon ; both of which they pursued in vain , tho both of them were in the house . SECT . III. They went to the Traditionall Experiment of Botteling Vrine ; but they could get no Vrine from him , a strange Hole through the Vrinary Passage , shedding the water before they could receive it into the Vessel . SECT . IV. The Corpse was view'd by the jury ; an Hole was found quite thro his Yard , which hindered their Saving of any Vrine , and and gave a Terrible Torture to him . About the small of his back , there was a multitude of small spots , the callous out side of which , being taken away underneath were Holes , as tho made by small Shott . Upon which all concluded with good Reason , the Occasion of his Death to be something preternatural . EXEMPLE . IV. SO Horrid and Hellish is the Crime of Witchcraft , that were Gods Thoughts as our thoughts , or Gods Wayes as our wayes , it could be no other but Vnpardonable . But that the Grace of God may be admired , and that the worst of Sinners may be encouraged , Behold , Witchcraft also has found a Pardon . Let no man Despair of his own Forgiveness , but let no man also Delay about his own Repentance , how aggravated soever his Transgressions are . From the Hell of Witchcraft our merciful Jesus can fetch a guilty Creature to the Glory of Heaven . Our LORD hath sometimes Recovered those who have in the most horrid manner given themselves away to the Destroyer of their souls . SECT . I. There was one Mary Iohnson tryed at Hartford , in this Countrey , upon an Indictment of Familiarity with the Devil . She was found Guilty of the same , cheefly upon her own Confession , and condemned . SECT . II. Many years are past since her Execution ; and the Records of the Court are but short ; yet there are several Memorables that are found credibly Related and Attested concerning her . SECT . III. She said , That a Devil was wont to do her many services . Her Master once blam'd her for not carrying out the Ashes , and a Devil did clear the Hearth for her afterwards . Her Master sending her into the Field , to drive out the Hogs that us'd to break into it , a Devil would scowre them out , and make her laugh to see how he feaz'd 'em about . SECT . IV. Her first Familiarity with the Devils came by Discontent ; and Wishing the Devil to take That and other Thing ; and , The devil to do This and That ; Whereupon a Devil appeared unto her , tendring her the best service he could do for her . SECT . V. She confessed that she was guilty of the Murder of a Child , and that she had been guilty of Vncleanness with Men and Devils . SECT . VI. In the time of her Imprisonment , the famous Mr , Samuel Stone was at great pains to promote her Conversion unto God , and represent unto her both her Misery and Remedy ; the Success of Which , was very desirable , and considerable . SECT . VII . She was by most Observers judged very Penitent , both before and at her Execution ; and she went out of the World with many Hopes of Mercy through the Merit of Jesus Christ. Being asked , what she built her hopes upon ; She answered ; on those Words , Come to me all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you Rest ; and those , There is a Fountain open for Sin and for Vncleanness . And she died in a Frame extremely to the Satisfaction of them that were Spectators of it . Our GOD is a great Forgiver . EXEMPLE . V. THe near Affinity between Witchcraft & Possession , invites me to add unto the Foregoing Histories . One that the Reader , I believe , will count worthy to be Related . It is but a Fragment of what should have been a fuller Story ; but I cannot without some Trouble or delay inconsistent with my present Designs put my self in a way to perfect it : and I was of the Opinion that , Let nothing be lost , was a Rule which I might very properly extend unto it . The thing happened many ( perhaps Thirty ) years ago , and was then much discoursed of . I don't Remember , that I have heard what became of the Boy concerned in the Narrative , but what I now publish , I find among the Papers of my Grand-father , of Whom the World has had such a Character , that they cannot but judge , no Romance or Folly , nothing but what should be seririous and weighty could be worthy of his Hands ; and it is in his own Hand that I have the Manuscript , from whence I have caused it to be Transcribed . It runs in such Terms as these . A Confession of a Boy at Tocutt ; in the time of the Intermission of his Fits : and other Passages , which many were Eye-witnesses of . THe Boy was for his natural Parts , more than ordinary at seven years old . He , with many others went to see a Conjurer play Tricks in Holland . There it was strongly suggested to him , He should be as good an Artist as he . From thence to eleven year old , he used the Trade of inventing Lyes , and Stealing mony , Running away from his Father , spending of it at Dice , and with the vilest Company and this Trade he used in that space ( he confessed ) above Forty times at least , and many strange Instances he gives of it . His Father following him with constant Instruction , and Correction , he was despertely hardened under all , and his heart sett in a way of Malice against the Word of God ; & all his Father did to restrain him . When he was about ten or eleven years old , he ran away from Rotterdam , to Delph ; and the Devil appeared to him there in the shape of a Boy , counselling him not to hearken to the Word of God , nor unto any of his Father●s Instructions , and propounding to him , to Enter into a Covenant with him . Being somewhat fearful at first , desired that he would not appear to him in a shape , but by a voice , and though his heart did inwardly consent , to what the Devil said , yet he was withheld that he could not then Enter into a Covenant with him . His Father not knowing this , but of his other Wickedness , being a godly Minister , procured many Christians to join with him in a day of Humiliation ; confessed and bewailed his Sins , prayed for him , & sent him to New-E . and so committed him to God. From that time to this being now about Sixteen years old , the Devil hath constantly come to him by a voice ; and he held a constant Discourse with him ; and all about Entring into a Covenant with him : and still perswaded to have it written and sealed , making many promises to allure him , and telling him many Stories of Dr. Faultus , and other Witches how bravely they have lived , and how he should live deliciously , and have Ease , Comfort , and Money and sometimes threatning to tear him in pieces if he would not . But ordinarily his discourse was as loving & friendly as could be . He hath been strangely kept , by an hand of God , from making a Covenant to this day . For he still propounded many Difficulties to the Devil , which he could not satisfie his Reason in : and though , he saith , he was never well but when he was Discoursing with the devil , and his heart was strangely enclined to write and seal an Agreement , yet such dreadfull horrour did seiz upon him , at the very time , from the Word of God , and such fears of his Eternal Perishing , that he could not do it then . He put off the Devil still , that he was not in a sit Frame , but desired him to come again that he might have more Discourse , and he would consider of it . The Devil appeared to him a second time at New-haven , in the shape of a Boy , and a third time at Tocutt in the shape of a Fox ; at which time , at first , they had loving discourse , as formerly ; but at last , the Devil was urgent upon him , and told him , he had baffled with him so long , now he must enter into an agreement , or he would tear him in pieces : he saying , How should I do it ? would you have me write upon my hands ? No , ( saith the Devil ) Look here , and with that , set Paper , and Pen , and Ink like Blood before him . The former horrours , from the Word of God , and special passages , which he named , set in upon him so that he could not do it . Only before they parted , the Devil being so urgent upon him , telling him he had baffled with him , he set a year and half time for Consideration . The last quarter of a year is yet to come . The Devil told him , if he let him alone so long , he would baffle with him still : he answered , if he did not yeild then , he would give him leave to torment him whilst he lived . Still the Devil would not away , nor could he get from him . Then out of Fear he cryed out , Lord , Iesus , rebuke the devil ! at which , the Fox , Pen , Ink and Paper vanished . Yet he continued in his course of unheard-of Wickedness , and still his Will was bent to write & seal the Agreement , having his Discourse yet with Satan by Voice . His Brother with whom he lives at Tocut , having Convulsion Fits , he laughed and mocked at him , and acted the Convulsion Fits. A while after God sent Convulsion Fits on himself ; in which time , his former Terrours , the Wrath of God , Death , Hell , Iudgment , and Eternity were presented to him . He would fain then have confessed his sins , but when he was about to do it , the Devil still held his mouth , that he could not . He entreated God , to release him , promising to confess & forsake his Sins , and the Lord did so ; but he being well , grew as bad , or worse than ever . About six weeks since , his Convulsion Fits came again three times most dreadfully , with some Intermissions , and his former Horrours & Fears . He would have confessed his Sins but could not . It pleased God to put it into the heart of one to ask him , Whether he had any Familiarity with the Devil ? he got out so much then as , Yes . He fetching Mr. Pierson , the Convulsion Fits left him , and he confessed all , how it had been with him . That very night the Devil came to him , and told him , Had he blabbed out such things ? He would teach him to blabb ! and if he would not then write and seal the Agreement , he would tear him in pieces , and he refusing , the Devil took a corporal Possession of him , and hath not ceased to torment him extremely ever since . If any thing be spoken to him , the Devil answereth ( and many times he barks like a Fox , and hisseth like a Serpent ) sometimes with horrible Blasphemies against the Name of Christ ; and at some other times the Boy is sensible . When he hath the Libertie of his Voice , he tells what the Devil saith to him , urging him to seal the Covenant still , and that he will bring Paper , Pen and Ink in the night , when none shall see , pleading , that God hath oust him off , that Christ cannot save him . That When He was upon earth He could cast out devils , but now He is in Heaven He cannot . Sometimes he is ready to yeild to all in a desperate way . Sometimes he breaks out into Confession of his former sins , as they come into his mind ; exceedingly judging himself , and justifying GOD in His for ever leaving of him in the hands of Satan . Once he was heard to Pray in such a manner so sutable to his Condition , so Aggravating his Sin , and pleading with God for mercy , and in such a strange , high , enlarged manner , as judicious godly persons then present , affirm they never heard the like in their lives , that it drew abundance of tears from the eyes of all present , being about twenty persons . But his torment increased upon him worse after such a time ; or if any thing were spoken to him from the Word of God by others or they pray with him . The last week after he had confessed one strange Passage , namely that once in Discourse he told the Devil , that if he would make his Spittle to scald a dog , he would then go on in a way of Lying and Dissembling , and believe that he should do it , which he said , he did with all his heart , and so spit on the dog , and with that a deal of Scalding Water did poure on the Dog. In pursuance of his Promise , he went on in a way of Lying and Dissembling : That when he was urged about it , that he had done some mischief to the dog , then he fell down into a Swound as if he had been dead . As soon as he had confessed this , the Devil went out of him with an astonishing Noise , to the terrour of those then , present : and so he continued one day . The next day being much troubled in himself for one special passage in his Discourse with the Devil , when he appeared to him as a Fox ; saith he to he Devil , I have formerly sought to God , an● H●●●th been near unto me : With that the Devil enraged , said unto him then , What , are you got hither and fell to Threatning of him . He said to him again , But I find no such Thoughts now , but do & will believe you now more than the Word of God which saith in Isa. 55 , Seek the Lord &c. and said further , What comfort you shall afford me , I shall rely upon you for it . Remembring this Passage the Devil appeared to him , ready to enter into him again . Thereby much astonished , having the Bible in his hand , he opened it , & , as it were of it self , at that place of Isai. 55 : his Eye was fixed upon it , and his Conscience accusing him for abusing the Word a year ago , his heart failing him , and the Devil entred into him again a Second time , railing upon him , & calling him , Blab-tongue , and Rogue ! he had promis'd to keep things secret , he would teach him to blabb , he would tear him in peices . Since , he hath kept his Body in continual Motion , speaking in him , and by him , with a formidable Voice : sometimes singing of Verses wicked and witty , that formerly he had made against his Father's Ministry , and the Word of God &c. When the Boy is come to himself , they tell him of them , and he owns them , that indeed such he did make . Mr. Eaton being his Uncle , sent a Letter to him , which he told of before it came saying also , it would be goodly stuff ! Jeering at him . By and by the Letter came in , and none of the people knew of it before . He speaks of men coming to him before they come in Sight : and once two being with him , their Backs turned , the Devil carried him away , they knew not how , & after search they found him in a Cellar , as dead , but after a little space he came to Life again . And another time , threw him up into a Chamber , stopped him up into a Hole , where they after found him . Another time he carried him about a Bow-Shot and threw him into a Hog-Stye amongst Swine , which ran away with a terrible noise . Here is as much to be seen of the Venome of Sin , the Wrath of God against Sin , the Malice of the Devil , and yet his limited Power , and the Reasonings of Satan in an ocular Demonstration , as hath fallen out in any Age. Also the strange & High Expressions of a distressed Soul , in a way of Judging himself and pleading for Mercy , such as may be wondered at by all that hear of it ; and more very observable passages could not be written for want of Time , which will after appear . Advertisement . OF what did after appear , I have no Account ; but what did then appear , is so undoubtted and so wonderful , that it will sufficiently atone for my Publication of it . EXEMPLE VI. and VII . HAd there been Diligence enough used by them that have heard and seen amazing Instances of Witchcraft , our Number of Memorable Providences under this Head , had reached beyond the Perfect . However , before I have done Writing , I will insert an Example or two , communicated unto me by a Gentleman of sufficient Fidelity to make a Story of his Relating Credible . The Things were such as happened in the Town whereof himself is Minister ; and they are but some of more which he favoured me with the Communication of . But , it seems , I must be obliged , to conceal the Names of the parties concerned , lest some should be Offended , tho None could be Injured by the mention of them . ¶ In a Town which is none of the yóungest in this Countrey , there dwelt a very Godly and honest Man , who upon some Provocation , received very Angry and Threatning Expressions , from two women in the Neighbourhood ; soon upon this , diverse of his Cattel in a strange manner dyed ; and the man himself sometimes was haunted with sights of the women as he thought , encountring of him . He grew indisposed in his Body very unaccountably ; and one day repaired unto a Church Meeting then held in the place , with a Resolution there to declare what he had met withal . The man was one of such Figure and Respect among them , that the Pastor singled out him for to pray in the Assembly before their breaking up . He pray'd with a more than usual measure of both Devotion and Discretion , but just as he was coming to that part of his Prayer , wherein he intended to petition Heaven for the Discovery of Witchcrafts which had been among them , he sank down Speechless and Senseless ; and was by his Friends carried away to a Bed ; where he lay for two or three hours in horrible Distress , fearfully starting , and staring and crying out Lord , I am stab'd ! and now looking whistly to and fro , he said , O here are wicked persons among us , even among VS ; and he complained , I came hither with a full purpose to tell what I knew , but now ( said he ) I ly like a Fool ! Thus he continued until the Meeting was over , and then his Fits left him ; only he remained very sore . One or two more such Fits he had after that ; but afterwards a more private sort of Torture was employ'd upon him . He was advised by a worthy man to apply himself unto a Magistrate ; and warned , That he would shortly be murdered , if he did not . He took not the Counsil ; but languished for some Weeks ; yet able to Walk and Work ; but Then , he had his Breath and Life suddenly taken taken away from him , in a manner of which no full Account could be given . The man had a Son invaded with the like First but God gave deliverance to him in answer to the Prayers of His people for him . ¶ In the same Town , there yet lives a very pious Woman , that from another Woman of ill Fame , received a small gift , which was eaten by her . Upon the Eating of it , she became strangely altered and afflicted ; and hindred from Sleeping at Night , by the Pulls of some invisible Hand for a long while together . A Shape or two of , I know not who , likewise haunted her , and gave her no little Trouble . At last , a Fit extraordinary Violent come upon her ; wherein she pointed her Hand , and fixed her Eye , much upon the Chimney , and spake at a rate that astonished all about her . Anon , she broke forth into Prayer , and yet could bring out scarce more than a Syllable at a time . In her short Prayer she grew up to an high Act of Faith , and said , ( by Syllables , and with Stammerings ) Lord , Thou hast been my Hope , and in Thee will I put my Trust ; Thou hast been my Salvation here , and wilt be so for ever and ever ! Upon which her Fit left her ; and she afterwads grew very well ; still remaining so . ¶ There were diverse other strange Things , which from the same Hand , I can both Relate & Believe , As , Of a Child bewitched into Lameness , and recovered immediately , by a Terrour given to the vile Authoress of the Mischief ; but the exact Print , Image and Colour of an Orange made on the Childs Leg , presently upon the sending of an Orange to the Witch by the Mother of the Child , who yet had no evil design in making of the Present . And of other Children , which a palpable VVitchcraft made its Impressions on ; but Manum de Tabula . I entreat every Reader , to make such an Use of these things , as may promote his own well-fare , and advance the Glory of God ; and so answer the Intent of the Writer , who , Haec scribens studuit , bene de Pietate mereri . There now remain two Discourses , for the Reader to be entertained With ; the Latter of which was delivered unto my own Congregation ; on the Occasion of what befel Goodwin's Children but the Former of them was deliver'd unto the same Congregation on the Occasion of a horrible Self-murder committed by a possessed woman in the Neighbourhood . The Discourses were suited unto a popular Auditory ; but things that are not accurate may be profitable , if the Blessing of God accompany them . A Discourse on the Power and Malice of the DEVILS I. Pet. V. 8. Your Adversary the Devil , as Roaring Lion , walketh about , seeking whom he may devour . IT is a Relation made by David of an Encounter by him once met withal in 1. Sam. 17. 34. Thy Servant kept his Father's sherp , and there came a Lion and took a Lamb out of the Flock . There is an horrid Lion by which your souls are pursued and endangered : This Lion fetch'd away , after a very dismal manner , one , that was with us , when this Flock was last before the Lord ; and he seeks , he longs he ruars , in that or some way to make a Prev of all . I am keeping my Fathers sheep , and would labour to resone from the hellish Lion every L●mb that may ly in his way . Accept therefore the Text now readd , as , The warning of the Lord. Multitudes of Iews , dispersed in diverse Countries , being Converted and Baptised by the Ministry of the Apostle Peter , at Iesuralem ; he writes to them an excellent Epistle to fortifie them against the Persecutions which their Christianity might expose them to . He advises them , first , unto the more general , and then , unto the more special Duties of the Christian Religion . The last of his divine Counsils is . To resist the temptations of the devil . And the Text before us contains the Argument whereby we are to be excited thereunto ; t is drawn from the Disposition of the Devil ; who is here exhibited , First , as an Aversary . Secondly , as a potent Adversary , a Lion. Thirdly , as a cruel Adversary , a roaring Lion. Fourthly , as a restless Adversary , a Lion seeking whom he may devour . This then is the Doctrine to be now attended unto , The Devil is a potent , a cruel , and a restless Adversary to the souls of men . Prop. I. There is a Combination of Devils which our Air is fill'd withal . A Devil is a spiritual and a national Substance , full of all Wickedness , confined by God unto our Air is his Gaob , for his Apostasy from the Company & Employment of the holy Angels . His Title is that Eph 6. 12. a spiritual wickedness ; that is a wicked spirit . A Devil was once an Angel , but Sin has brought him to be Fallen Angel ; an Angel full of Enmity to God and man ; an Angel made a Prisoner within the Atmosphere of the Earth which we tread upon . The Scriptures of Truth , allow us these Conclusions about the Devils of Hell. We may first conclude , That the Devils are not under meer Motions , or Qualities , or Distempers , as has been by some absurdly enough conceived . The fond Sadducee derides the Doctrine of Devils , which we all embrace . But I pray , What things were those that left their first estate , being now reserved in chains of darkness to the judgment of the great day ? What things be those that besought our Lord of liberty to enter into the swine ? But we have among our selves lately seen plain Demonstrations , That there are Spirits , which understand , and argue , and will ; and which are the enemies of all that is holy , and just , & Good. We may , Secondly , Conclude , That these Devils are an Army in our Air. They are called in Eph. 2. 2. the power ( or the Army ) of the air . There are diverse Miles of Air encompassing of this Terraqueous Globe ; to that space it is that the Devils are limited , since their High-Treason against the God that made them . Here it is that they have a Play-house , as well as a Prison ; here they play all their devillish Pranks until the everlasting Fire shall begin to flame . Indeed , some Devils may keep more constantly to one countrey , and some to another . Hence we read of some in Marc. 5. 10. They be sought our Lord much , that He would not send them away out of the Countrey . But still the High-Places of our air be the Receptacles of all the wicked Spirits . We may conclude , Thirdly , That these Devils are an Army under a Leader too . There is a Government , a Monarchy in the dark Regions ; and hence in Matth. 12. 24. we read about Belzchub , the Prince of devils . There you have the Name of the Grand-Segniour who is King over the children of pride . Probably , the Devils in their first Conspiracy and Rebellion against God , had a notorious Ring-Leader ; there was one of greater dignity and influence than the rest , by whom they were headed ; and they are all now under his Command . We have Mention in the Sacred Oracles , of , the devil and his angels . This cheef devil is called by way of eminency , the Devil ; but he has innumerable Slaves , and Officers , and Emissaries , which are under an entire Subjection to him . His Orders they all observe ; and therefore , when we speak of the Devil , it includeth each private Souldier as well as him that is principal Commander . We say , The Devil , as we say , The Turk , or The Spaniard ; it means any or every part of that infernal Rendezvous . As it is said in Ps. 34. 6. The Angel of the Lord encamps , i. e. the whole Host of Angels are as One in it . Prop. II. The Divels are the great Adversaries of humane Souls . T is here said about the devil , He is your Adversary ; or as the Article intimates , he is that your Adversary . If it be asked , How the Devils are our Adversaries ? In general they labour to do us all the mischief they can devise . They pursue our Hurt in all waies , and by all means . Yet in some sense they cannot come at us unless according to Law. Know , That the Greek word here notes properly an Adversary at Law ; t is a law-Term that is used here . Thus First , the Devils are our Adversaries as Accusers . T is the Character of the Devil in Rev. 12. 10. The Accuser of our Brethren , which accuseth them before God , day and night . He is called a Satan , and a Devil for this very Cause . The Devils are first our Tempters , and then our Accusers . They complain to God against us , that we do not fear Him , that we do not love Him , that we do not seek Him , as we ought to do : they represent our faults before the Lord , as things that make us unfit for any Mercy at His hands . There is a Court kept somewhere in the Invisible world , at which , Devils endeavour to prefer as many Complaints as they they can against us . They first gett and then bring matters of Accusation which we might be Indicted and Condemned for . Secondly , The Devils are our Adversaries as Destroyers . They plead and pray as so many Attourneys , that a Iudgment may be granted against us all ; and then they petition that they too may be the Executioners of it . T is illustrated in Iob. 1. 11. and 2. 5. Satan urges upon God against Iob , put forth thine hand now , and touch his bone and his flesh . They would fain have all manner of Miseries to be inflicted on us ; and they try all they can to gain Opportunities for doing their part that we may be miserable . A Devil is called a destroying Angel. They are Devils usually that are the Instruments of Divine Vengeance on the world . If it be asked , Why the devils are our Adversaries ? There is a double Reason to be Assigned of it . One Reason of it is , Their Hatred of God. The Devils have shaken off the Law , and the Rule of God ; and they cannot hear that the Name of God should be acknowledged in the world . GOD and the Devils are sworn enemies to each other ; and the Lord may say of them as in Zeb . 11. 8. My soul loathed them , and their soul also abhorred me . Now the poor Children of men , both do the Service of God , and have the Image of God. We do the Service of God. Man is the Priest of the whole visible Creation . T is by our Thoughts , t is by our Words , that all things else pay their Homage un - the Lord. The Devil , that would be in the Throne of God , would ruine us , that God may no more have the Honour of a Father , or the Fear of a Master in the world . We also have the Image of God. In our Nature there is much , in our Vertue there is more of God's Likeness . The Devil is a Tigre ; they report of that wild beast , it will tear the picture of a man , when it cannot reach the person of a man. There is a lively shadow , as it were , of God , upon us ; and this the Tigres of Hell cannot endure . A Second Reason of it is , their Envy at Man. The Devils behold Man exalted & advanced above themselves . T is said of the Leviathan in Iob 41. 34. He beholdeth all high things . T is fulfilled in the Pope also , and lastly in the Devil . He cannot brook it , that any should be higher than himself . The Apostle intimates , that Pride was at first , the Condemnation of the Devil . T is conjectured , that the Devil being informed of God's decree to have a Man subsist in the Second Person of the Trinity ; this provoked him and his Accomplices to their Disobedience . However , the Devil now sees Man Saved and himself dumned ; Man in the Bosom of God , and himself in the Bottom of Hell ; Well , now thinks he , I will do this Man all the spite I can . Prop. III. The Devils are potent Adversaries of our Souls . The Devil is a Lion , and as it was said in Judg. 14. 18. What is stronger than a Lion ? He has a Power , an Interest , that may make us all to tremble at his Roaring . Hence we read in Luc. 10. 19. about The power of the enemy : and he is compared in Cap. 11. 21. unto , A strong Armed man. There be three things that show the power of our Adversaries . First , The power of our Adversaries the Devils , lies in the Nature of them . T is said in Zph. 6. 12 , We fight not against flesh & blood only , but against principalities , and Powers , and spiritual wickednesses . They are spiritual , and therefore powerful . The Spirituality of the Devils enables them to strike us when we can't see them ; 〈◊〉 makes 'em ready to attack us and surprise us at unspeakable Disadvantages . The Divels are Spirits , and hence they count Iron but straw , & brass as rotten wood ; they are Spirits , and so they excel in strength ; when they seem afraid of little Spels and Charms , it is only a stratagem by which they seek to decoy us into their dreadful Power more than before . One of them let loose , perhaps could slaughter an Army of an hundred thousand in a night . Secondly , The Power of our Adversaries the Devils , lies in the Number of them . Even such little things as Mire , yea , and Lice have prov'd horrible plagues by becoming numerous . What then may the Devils be , whose Troops amount unto many Legions : How many devils care sometimes be spared , for the Vexation of one man ! In the bowels of one afflicted child , I have heard that murmur made , There are two or three of us ! Yea , we read in Luc. 8. 30. of a Legion that kept a Garrison in one single person a a Legion contain'd twelve Thousand and five Hundred in it . Doubtless , there are far more Devils than there are Men in the world . They swarm like the Frogs of Egypt in every chamber of our houses . We can go , we can stir no where , but those wild Arabians will be upon us . Thirdly , The Power of our Adversaries the Devils lies in their Confoederacies . The Devils are all as one themselves ; their Unity , their Agrement in their designs makes them formidable . We are told in Mat. 12. 26. Satan is not divided against himself . But more than so , The devils have of their party among our selves , yea , within our selves . Devils have Men on their side . All wicked men promote the ends of the devils . T is said , The lusts of the devil they will do ; 't is said . The divel works in the Children of disobedience . And the Devils have Hearts on their side Our wicked hearts will favour and humour the devils in their attempts , and betray us into their hands . When they made their assault on our Saviour , t is said , They found nothing in Him. But they find something in us , they find in us , an Inmate by whose Treachery we become their prey . This is the Power of the Enemy . Prop. IV. The devils are also cruel Adversaries of our souls . The Divel is not only a Lion , but a roaring , an hungry , an angry Lion. Yes , according to that in Rev. 20. 2. he is not only a Lion , but a Dragon too . He will have no more mercy than a Lion , he will have no more mercy than a Dragon upon all that comes in the way of his cruel Clutches . 'T was the description of the Chaldaeans in Hab. 1. 6. That bitter and hasly nation . To the devils does it much more belong ; they are a Bitter and a cruel nation . Never was there such a merciless and a pittiless Tyrant as the devil is , nothing so much pleases that bloody monster , as the pain and the death of our unhappy souls ; and he has no Musick like the groans of a deadly wounded man. What a Prodigy of Cruelty was the Roman Emperour , who wished that all his people had but one neck , that he might cut it off at a blow ! Why the cruel Devil not only wished , but in Paradise he had & he did such an horrid thing . And it is he that inspires vile men with all the Cruelty that their Inquisitions , and their Tortures give exemple of . Prop. V. The Devils are likewise Restless Adversaries of our souls . They go about , they are always in Action , always in Motion , that they may undo the souls of men . The Devil goes about . So could he say of himself , in Job , 1. 7. I come from going to and fro in the earth , and from walking up and down in it . This Prince goes in Progress , rides the Circuit thro his whole Dominions to see how his work is carried on . And all that are under the Inspection of this Prime Visier are continually travelling and labouring too for the destruction of immortal souls . They go about , but how ? We read in Iude 6. they are kept in chains ; T is by some rendered , they are kept for chains : but suppose them in chains ; their chains are so lengthened , & yet so limited that they go about , just where and when , and how far the Permission of God shall give them leave . As they are not now in all the Torment , so they are not now in all the Bondage intended for them . T was the Sentence of wicked cursed Cain , in Gen. 4. 14. A Fugitive and a Vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth . T is the Case of every devil ; he is A Fugitive and a Vagabond in our Air. They go about but Why ! For no good , you may be sure . T is with them as t is said to be with their Vassals , in Psal. 59. 15. They wander up and down for meat , and grudge if they be not satisfied . They go about upon the Catch ; they go about , that they may spy out objects to work upon ; they go about , with a raging appetite after Sin and the Wages of it on the world . You shall see what the Postures and Methods of the Devil are ; they are drawn with a Pencil of the Sanctuary , in Psal. 10 4. He lyes in wait secretly , as a Lion in his den he lyes in wait to catch the poor ; he does catch the poor when he drawes him into his net . Such a devildish Adversary have we to deal withal . USE . I. INFORMATION . There are two Lessons that we may learn from these things . We may say after the Apostle in ● . Iob. 3. 15. In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the Devil . First . We may see from hence , who the children of the devil are . Roaring Lions that go about seeking whom they may devour , what are they but the creatures whom the Devil is a Sire unto ? We read of one in Ezek. 19. 6. Who became a young Lion and learned to catch the prey , & devoured men . Such Lions there often are in the world ; sometimes there are men whose business , whose delight it is to devour their Neighbours ; men who go about to impair the Estate , who go about to blemish the esteem , who go about to debanch the souls of other men . What shall be said of such men ? Alas , the Devil is the Father of them all . I have no Blessing for any of them ; but yet I may say to them , This is a lions whelp , to the prey , my son , thou art gone up . This is just like the great old Lion : with him , even with him shall they one day he punished , and undergo the doom in Ier. 51. 38. They shall roar together like Lions , they shall yell as Lions whelps . The great and the terible GOD will one day make the Sires and the Whelps together to roar under the direful impressions of His everlasting wrath . Secondly . From hence we may also see who are the Children of God. T is said of our Lord Jesus Christ in Act. 10. 38. He went about doing good . There are some that go about seeking whom they may instruct , that go about seeking whom they may convert , that go about seeking whom they may relieve . The Lion of the tribe of Judah , is a Father to these holy men ; Not the Devil but the Saviour is their pattern . The blessed , the glorious Angels , and not the outragious Devils do thus improve themselves . Go on , Souls , go on thus to go about . I remember old Mr. Latymer in a Sermon , has that sharp Reflection upon the lazy Bishops of his Time , that seldom or never preached in any one Pulpie of all their Diocess , For shame , ( said he ) you negligent Prelates , if you will not learn of God , and Christ , and good men , then learn of the Devil , learn of the Devil , who is alwaies at work in in his Diocess . Truly , we may learn of the Devil , to go about seeking the welfare of those whom he goes about seeking the Ruin of . USE . II. EXHORTATION . We have two things now incumbent on us . I. Let us Avoid the Roaring Lion , who goes about seeking whom he may devour . Let us not be willingly in the way of Devils , who are even aiming at our Confusion . First . Let us get from the Roaring Lion , by a sincere Turning to God in Christ. Hear & quake all you that are yet in your unregenerate estate ; you are in the mouth of the Roaring Lion : Oh , how can you be satisfyed or contented there ? In Conversion , we are told in Act. 29. 18. men are turned from the power of satan unto God. Man , thou art under the under the power of satan , until thou art born again . O save thy self before it be too late . One once being ready to be devoured by a Lion , cry'd out , Help , help , I am yet alive ! held , I am yet alive ! O thou are yet alive , but if thou art not quickly redeemed from the Lion , it will ere long be All too late ! All too late ! Quickly then Renounce the service of the Devil ; Quickly loath , quickly leave all your Sins ; Quickly run to God in Christ , and say unto Him as in Isa. 26. 13. O Lord our God , other lords besides Thee have had dominion over us , but not we will make mention of Thy Name alone . Secondly . Let us Keep from the Roaring Lion , by a sincere Shunning of what will peculiarly bring us within his reach . Indeed every Lust , as it were surrenders us up unto the Devil : every time a man gratfies a Lust , a Devil is invited into the soul of that man ; and by every new Act of it , he takes a new Hold of the soul. But some Vices there are which give the Devils peculiar opportunities to devour us Of these take heed with a more than ordinary Caution . Particularly , First . Beware of Discontent . The devils are are wonderfully discontented Spirits ; and none more than discontented Persons , ly open to their Invasion and Annoyance . The discontented man is angry at God ; it is a rage at God , it is a Fret as God , which discomposes him . We are told about the man that is angry at his Neighbour , in Eph. 4. 27. He gives place to the devil . How much more may this be said about the man who is angry at his maker ? The devil finds a place in the soul of such a man. Be not Angry at any Poverty , be not Angry at any Calumny , be not Angry at any Affliction whatsoever . Discontent opens the doors of the soul for all the devils of Hell to enter in . Secondly . Beware of Idleness , If thou art Idle , know that the devil is not so ; the Idle soul is an empty House ; there happens to it that thing in Mat. 12. 44. The unclean spirit walks to and fro , and comes and finds the house empty , then gooth . He and taketh with himself seven other spirits , more wicked than himself , and they enter in . When the Devil finds an Idle person , he as in were , calls to more of his crue , Come here ! come here ! A brave prize for us all ! When was a David made a prize for a devil ? It was when he rose from his Couch in the Afternoon , and walked in his Balcony , as one that had nothing at all to do . Of Idleness comes no goodness . Thirdly . Beware of Bad Company . That is , ( I had almost said ) the greatest engine the devil has , to trepan the children of men withal , An evil Companion is a Gin for a soul. The devils will have thee fast enough , if thou walkest in the counsil of the ungodly , and standest in the way of Sinners , and sittest in the seat of the scornful . The Devils , nay , and the Gallows too , at length often devour those that bad Company shall seduce T was said to them of Old , Depart from the tents of the wisked men , left the earth swallow you up . Even so , Depart from the Knots , depart from the Cups of wicked men , list the Devil swallow you up . T is said in Prov. 13. 20. A companion of fools shall be destroyed . II. Let us Resist the Roaring Lion who goes about seeking whom he may devour . Do you find the Devil ready to devour you ? Be you as ready to oppose him . It is mentioned as a sore calamity in Psal. 109. 6. Let Satan stand at his right hand . Alas ! This is the condition of our souls ; we have Satan at hand , seeking to gribe us in his hideous clawes . How many Temptations does the Devil seek to to devour your souls withal ? Temptations to Vncleanness and Worldliness are devouring of many . Temptations to Atheism and Blasphemy are devouring of others . Perhaps , Temptations to Self-Murder have near devoured some unhappy souls . O Remember whence all these Temptations do arise . These things are the Roarings of the Hellish Lion ; and will you hearken to him ? Is there any thing in these cursed Roarings to perswade your Hearkning thereunto ? What Benefit , what Advantage , do you think these horrid Roarings can propound ? Come then , Resist the Temptations of this roaring Lion. T is said in Iam. 4. 7. Resist the devil and he will flee from you . If you fly , he will be a Lion , if you fight , he will be a Gnat before you . Est Leo , si fugias ; si stas , quasi musca recedit . Your Encounters call for two Things . One is , your Watch. Hence t is here said , Be vigilant , because your adversary the devil , as a roaring lion walketh about . When it was cry'd out unto the Champion of Israel in Iudg. 16 20. The Philistines be upon thee , Sampson ; Then he awoke out of his sleep . Thus it may be exclamed , The Lions are upon thee O soul. O how watchful , how wakeful should this cause thee to be . Be watchful against all the devices of the devil . Be watchful in every place , be watchful in every thing ; be jealous alwaies , Has not the devil now some design upon me ? The Second is your Faith. T is recorded in heb . 11. 33. some by Faith stopped the mouthes of Lions . Tho thou shouldst be in a Denful of them , yet Faith , true Faith would muzzle them all . By Faith repair to Christ , who is the true Sampson , which meets and slayes the Lions that roar upon our souls . By Faith repair to the Rock , even to the Rock that is higher than I ! Where you may sit and shout and laugh at all the Lions that roar in the Wilderness , and say , Where I am , there you cannot come . There are particularly two sorts of devouring Temptations , which I would conclude this Disourse with some surable Reflections on . Temptations to Atheism and Blasphemy , perhaps do molest some among us ; possibly , Terribilia de DEO , and Horribilia de Fide : Diabolical Suggestions about our God & our Creed , may cast some of us into grievous Agonies : these things make many a good man to say , I am aweary of my life ! What shall in this case be done ? My Advice is , Do not so much dispute , as deny the Injections of the wicked one . Don't glve the devil so much honour as to argue & parley about his Iewd proposals . Refuse them presently , refuse them peremptorily ; so you silence them . When once an Atheistic or Blasphemous Thought appears within your Minds , immediately hiss it away , as the Priests did Vzziah , when they first saw the Leprosie in his Forehead . Let such Thoughts , immediately occasion in you the savory & gracious Thoughts that shall be just contrary thereunto . If the devil would have you think , There is no God , then without any more a do , spite the devil by such a Thought with an Ejaculation contradicting of it , Lord , I beleeve that thou art , and that thou art a Rewarder too . Don't object , What if there be no God ? But suppose for once , That God is . T is by far the sater Supposal of the two . And then try whether to Weary the devil be not the best way to Conquer him . Let every Fiery dart of Satan fetch an holy dart of Prayer & Grace from thee , and the devil will soon be weary of his Methods . Temptations to Self-Murder , may likewise be fierce upon some unhappy people here . T is almost unaccountable , that at some times in some places here , melancholy distempered Ragings toward Self-Murder , have been in a manner Epidemical . And it would make ones hair stand , to see or hear what manifest Assistence the Devils have given to these unnatural Self-executions when once they have been begun . T is too evident , that persons are commonly bewitcth't or possess 't into these unreasonable Phrensies . But What shall these hurried people do ? My Advice is , Don't Conceal , much less Obey the motions of your Adversary . Failing in this , made a poor man , after a faithful Sermon in a Neighbouring Town , presently to drown himself in a pit that had not two foot of Water in it . If you will not Keep , that is the way not to Take the Devil's Counsil . Let not him tye your Tongues , and it is likely he will not gain your Souls . Complain to a good God of the Dangers in which you find your selves ; cry to Him , Lord , I am oppressed , undertake for me . Complain also to a wise Friend . Let some prudent and faithful Neighbour understand your Circumstances : T is possible you may thereby escape the Snares with which the cruel Fowlers of Hell hope to trepan you into their dismal Clutches for evermore . Your Neighbours may do much for you , and may prove your Keepers if God shall please . It may be the unkindness of some Friend , may have thrown you into your present Madness . Now the Kindness of some Friend may prove the Antidote . Manytimes , a Natural Destemper , is that by which the Devil takes advantage to get the souls of Self-Destroyers into his bloody hands . In this case , for the tempted persons to disclose their Griefs , will be the way to obtain their cures . Their Neighbours ought now to consult a skilful Physician for them ; and oblige , yea , constrain them to follow his Directions . When the Humours on & by which the Devil works , are taken away , perhaps he may be starved out of doors . Many times , again , The sin of Slothfulness gives the Devil opportunity to procure the Self Destruction of the sluggard . In this case too , the Tempted person may be succoured by the standers-by becoming sensible of their Circumstances . Their Neighbours may now compel them to follow their business . A Calling , the Business of a Calling , is an Ordinance of God , sanctified by Him to deliver us from the evil spirits that enter into the empty house , But most times , There may be some old and great Sin unrepented of , where Temptations to Self-Murder have a violence hardly to be withstood , There was once a man among us , who in the horrours of Despair , uttered many dreadful speeches against himself , and would often particularly say , I am all on a light Fire under the wrath of God! This man yet never confessed any unusual sin , but this ; that having gotten about Forty pounds by his Labour , he had spent it in wicked Company : but in his Anguish of spirit he hanged himself . There was once a woman among us , who under Sickness hade made vowes of a New Life ; but apprehending some defects in her conversation afterward , she fell into the distraction wherein she also hanged herself . And the Sin of Adultery and Drunkenness has more than once issued in such a destructive Desperation . In case of this or any such Guilt , Confession with Repentance affords a present Remedy . To fly from Soul-Terrour by Self-Murder , is to leap out of the Frying-pan into the Fire , Poor tempted People , I must like Paul in Prison , cry with a loud voice unto you . Do your selves no harm ; all may be well yet , if you will hearken to the Counsils of the Lord. Now , Do thou , O God of peace , bruise Satan under our feet world without end , Amen A DISCOURSE on WITCHCRAFT . I. SAM . XV. 23. Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft . AS it is the Interest of all Christians to Consider the wondrous Works of God , so it is the Duty of all Ministers to study those of His Words , with a peculiar Application , at which His Works like Hands in the Margin thereof do point , with Endeavours to make their Hearers understand what Lessons of the former the Voices of the latter do more especially direct unto . A pious Family in this Town has lately had befalling of it , a Providence full of many Circumstances very astonishing ; a Providence , wherein the Power of GOD , the Success of Prayer , & the Existence with the Operation of Devils , has been demonstrated in a manner truly extraordinary ; a Providence , whereof you have heard much , but I have seen more , and whereof neither you nor I can take a due Notice , without a solemn Discourse at this time upon it . 'T is a Tribute owing to God that I Dispense , and 't is a Revenge due unto Satan that you should Attend the Truths proper to be delivered on an occasion so remarkable . When some poor people fell into the hands of a Pilate , our Saviour saw cause to preach a Sermon about Repentance thereupon : What less than a Sermon can be call'd for when some poor Children have lately fall'n into the hands of a Divel ? tho' thanks be to our David , the Lambs are like to be delivered from the Hellish Monsters to which they were become a Prey . And this may seem the rather convenient , because the godly Father of the Children has desir'd it . For which cause the Text before us may be proper to be insisted on . The Great GOD had three seueral times declared that the Nation of the Amalekites was to be destroyed and extirpated forevermore . King Saul was now employed in an Expedition against them , to accomplish that Prediction , and to execute the Vengeance of Heaven upon the present Generation of them , not only for their own Cruelty and Villany , but also for the Wickedness of their Ancestors four hundred years before . The Soveraign God had Anathematiz'd every living thing among them , and ordered that both Man and Beast should fall in the day of Slaughter . The Army , on I know not what pretence , did not observe this Commission , for which reason Samuel is now sent unto their Leader with dismal Rebukes and heavy Tidings for his Disobedience . In the Text before us , the Prophet aggravates the Sin of Saul , 1. By Describing of the Sin. The right Name is here put upon it ; and it is called Rebellion against God. 2. By Comparing of the Sin. It is resembled unto Witchraft it self : not an Equality , but a Similitude between them is intended . It is not affirmed to be as a great an Evil , but as true an Evil as Witchcraft is . That Witchcraft was a Sin far from venial , must be own'd by Saul , who had lately scow'red all the Witches out of Israel : It is now said , Such a Fault is thine . The following Expression carries on the same sense ; and the meaning of that is , That they who adored and Idol , ( for so I would rather translate the word here rendred Iniquity ) or they who consulted at Teraphim , which was a sort of little Image from whence Daemons gave Answers to Enquirers ; even these are not more unquestionable Sinners than those that add Stubbornness to Rebellion against the Lord. But the DOCTRINE which wee have now before us , is , That Witchcraft is a monstrous & an horrid Evil. which yet all Rebellion against GOD may be too much compar'd unto . By the ensuing Propositions we may state and shape this Truth aright in our minds . PROP. I. Such an Hellish thing there is as Witchcraft in the World. There are Two things which will be desired for the advantage of this Assertion . It should first be show'd , WHAT Witchraft is : My Hearers will not expect from me an accurate Definition of the vile Thing ; since the Grace of God has given me the Happiness to speak without Experience of it . But from Accounts both by Reading and Hearing I have learn'd to describe it so . WITCHCRAFT is the Doing of Strange ( and for the most part Ill ) Things by the help of evil Spirits , Covenanting with ( and usually Representing of ) the wosul Children of men . This is the Diabolical Art that Witcthes are notorious for . First . Witches are the Doers of Strange Things They cannot indeed perform any proper Miracles ; those are things to be done only by the Favourites and Embassadours of the LORD . But Wonders are often produced by them , though chiefly such Wonders as the Apostle calls in 2. Thes. 2. 9. Lying wonders . There are wonderful Storms in the great World , and wonderful Wounds in the little World , often effected by these evil Causes . They do things which transcend the ordinary Course of Nature , and which puzzle the ordinary Sense of Mankind . Some strange things are done by them in a way of Real Production . They do really Torment , they do really Afflict those that their Spite shall extend unto . Other Strange Things are done by them in a way of Crafty Illusion . They do craftily make of the Air , the Figures and Colours of things that never can be truly created by them . All men might see , but , I believe , no man could feel some of the Things which the Magicians of Egypt , exhibited of old . Secondly . They are not only strange Things , but Ill Things , that Witches are the Doers of . In this regard also they are not the Authors of Miracles : those are things commonly done for the Good of Man , alwaies done for the Praise of GOD. But of these Hell-hounds it may in a special manner be said , as in Psal. 52. 3. Thou lovest evil more than good . For the most part they labour to robb Man of his Ease or his Wealth ; they labour to wrong God of His Glory . There is Mention of Creatures that they call White Whitches , which do only Good-Turns for their Neighbours . I suspect that there are none of that sort ; but rather think , There is none that doeth good no , not one . If they do good , it is only that they may do hurt . Thirdly . It is by virtue of evil Spirits that Witches do what they do . We read in Ephes. 2 , 2. about the Prince of the power of the air . There is confined unto the Atmosphere of our Air a vast Power , or Army of Evil Spirits , under the Government of a Prince who employes them in a continual Opposition to the Designs of GOD : The Name of that Leviathan who is the Grand-Segniour of Hell , we find in the Scripture to be Belzebub . Under the Command of that mighty Tyrant , there are vast Legions & Myriads of Devils , whose Businesses & Accomplishments are not all the same . Every one has his Post , and his Work ; and they are all glad of an opportunity to be mischievous in the World. These are they by whom Witches do exert their Devillish and malignant Rage upon their Neighbours : And especially Two Acts concur hereunto . The First is , Their Covenanting with the Witches . There is a most hellish League made between them , with various Rites and Ceremonies . The Witches promise to serve the Devils , and the Devils promise to help the Witches ; How ? It is not convenient to be related . The Second is , Their Representing of the Witches . And hereby indeed these are drawn into Snares and Cords of Death . The Devils , when they go upon the Errands of the Witches , do hear their Names ; and hence do Harmes too come to be carried from the Devils to the Witches . We need not suppose such a wild thing as the Transforming of those Wretches into Bruits or Birds , as we too often do . It should next be proved THAT Witchcraft is . The Being of such a thing is denied by many that place a great part of their small wit in derideing the Stories that are told of it . Their chief Argument is , That they never saw any Witches , therefore there are none . Just as if you or I should say , We never met with any Robbers on the Road , therefore there never was any Padding there . Indeed the Devils are loath to have true Notions of Witches entertained with us . I have beheld them to put out the eyes of an enchaunted Child , when a Book that proves , There is Witchcraft , was laid before her . But there are especially Two Demonstrations that evince the Being of that Infernal mysterious thing . First . We have the Testimony of Scripture for it . We find Witchcrafts often mentioned , sometimes by way of Assertion , sometimes by way of Allusion , in the Oracles of God. Besides that , We have there the History of diverse Witches in these infallible and inspired Writings Particularly , the Instance of the Witch at Endor , in 1. Sam. 28. 7. is so plain and full that Witchcraft it self is not a more amazing thing than any Dispute about the Being of it , after this . The Advocates of Witches must use more Tricks to make Nonsense of the Bible , than ever the Witch of Endor used in her Magical Incantations , if they would evade the Force of that famous History . They that will believe no Witches , do imagine that Iugglers only are meant by them whom the Sacred Writ calleth so . But what do they think of that Law in Exod. 22. 18. Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live ? Methinks 't is a little too hard to punish every silly Iuggler with so great Severity . Secondly . We have the Testimony of Experience for it . What will those Incredulous , who must be the only Ingenious men say to This ? Many Witches have like those in Act. 19. 18. Confessed and shewed their Deeds . We see those things done , that it is impossible any Disease , or any Deceit should procure . We see some hideous Wretches in hideous Horrours confessing , That they did the Mischiefs . This Confession is often made by them that are owners of as much Reason as the people that laugh at all Conceit of VVitchraft : the exactest Scrutiny of skilful Physicians cannot find any Distraction in their minds . This Confession is often made by them that are apart One from another , and yet they agree in all the Circumstances of it . This Confession is often made by them that at the same time will produce the Engines and Ensignes of their Hellish Trade , and give the standers-by an Ocular Conviction of what they do , and how . There can be no Judgment left of any Humane Affairs , if such Confessions must be Ridiculed to all the Murders , yea , and all he Bargains in the World must be meer Imaginations if such Confessions are of no Account . PROP. II. WITCHCRAFT is a most Monstrous and Horrid Evil. Indeed there is a vast Heap of bloody roaring Impieties contained in the Bowels of it . Witchcraft , is a Renouncing of GOD , and Advancing of a filthy Devil into the Throne of the Most High ; 't is the most nefandous High-Treason against the MAJESTY on High. Witchcraft , is a Renouncing of Christ , and Preferring the Communion of a loathsome lying Devil before all the Salvation of the Lord Redeemer ; 't is a Trampling under foot that Blood which is more precious than Hills of Silver , or whole Mountains of Gold. There is in Witchraft , a most explicit Renouncing of all that is Holy and Iust and Good. The Law given by God , the Prayer taught by Christ , the Creed left by the Apostles , is become Abominable where Witchcraft is embraced : The very Reciting of those blessed Things is commonly burdensome where Witchcraft is . All the sure Mercies of the New Covenant , and all the just Duties of it , are utterly abdicated by that cursed Covenant which Witchraft is Constituted with . Witchraft , is a Siding with Hell against Heaven & Earth ; and therefore a Witch is not to be endured in either of them . 'T is a Capital Crime ; and it is to be prosecuted as a piece of Devilism that would not only deprive God and Christ of all His Honour , but also plunder Man of all his Comfort . Witchcraft , it 's an impotent , but an impudent Essay to make an Hell of the Universe , and to allow Nothing but a Tophet in the World. Witchcraft , — What shall I say of it ! It is the furthest Effort of our Original Sin ; and all that can make any Practice or Person odious , is here in the Exaltation of it . It was the speech of Iehu to Ioram , in 2. King. 9. 22. What peace , so long as the Withchcrafts of thy mother are so many ? Truly , as Witchcraft would break the Peace of all Mankind , so 't is a thing that should enjoy no Peace among the Children of Adam . Nothing too vile can be said of , nothing too hard can be done to such an horrible Iniquity as Witchcraft is . PROP. III. REBELLION against God has very much like to Witchraft in it . Something like to Witchcraft there is in an Act of Rebellion ; But a Course of Rebellion has much more like to Witchcraft in it . Some persons there are whose way is that of wickedness , whose work is that of Iniquity . Those persons do what is like Witchcraft every day . For , First . In Rebellion , men cast off the Authority of God : The Witch declares a Will to be no more disposed & ordered by the Will of God ; she says , God shall not be my Governour . Such is the Language of Rebellion . When men rebel against God. They say like him in Exod. 5. 2. I know not the Lord , and I will not obey His voice . They say like them in Ier. 44. 16. As for the word — spoken — in the Name of the Lord , we will not hearken thereunto . There is indeed a sort of Atheism in Rebellion The Sinner is a Fool that wishes , O that there were no God! that resolves , God shall not be Lord over me . Secondly . In Rebellion men Refuse the Salvation of Christ. The Witch contemns all the Offers of the Gospel , and prizes the dirty proffers that Satan makes before them all . This is the plain English of Rebellion ; it sayes , What is tendred by the Devil , is better than what is tendred by the Saviour . The LORD said about Israel of old in Psal. 81. 11. Israel would none of Me. Thus 't is when men rebel against God. A Iesus may say , Those poor creatures will have none of Me , nor of My Bloud . A Pardon may say , Those guilty creatures will have none of me . A Kingdom may say , Those undone creatures will have none of me . Where Sin is committed , there Christ is despised . This doleful Phrensy is in all Rebellion against the Lord. Thirdly . In Rebellion men choose and serve the the Devil as their Lord. The Witch makes an horrible Agreement with Devils , to be theirs alone . This is the intent of all Rebellion too . It in short saies , Let the Devil rule ; it sayes , Let the Devil be humour'd and gratify'd . As that cowardly King said unto the Syrian , 1. King. 20. 4. My Lord , O King , I am thine and all that I have . Thus the ungodly man sayes unto the Devil ; Thou art my Lord and my King. All Rebellion against God , is in Obedience to the Devil . When men rebel , they lay their Wit , their Love , their Strength , and all the Instruments of that Rebellion before the Devil , and they say . This is thine , O Satan , and all that they have . They do even sell themselves to the Devil ! as we read of one , He sold himself to work wickedness . Fourthly . In Rebellion , Men cast the Bond and the Good of their Baptism behind their Back . Among the Customs of Witches , this is one , They Renounce their Baptism in a manner very Diabolical . The same thing is done in the Rebellion of a wicked man. We are told in 1. Pet. 3. 21. that the thing which renders Baptism available is The answer of a good Conscience . But in Rebellion against God , men give the answer of an Evil Conscience , and so make a Nullity of their Sacred , Baptism . The Demand of God is VVilt thou Beleeve as Baptised persons do profess to do ? The Rebel answers , No , I will continue shutt up in my Vnbeleef . The Demand of God is , VVillt thou put on Christ , as the Baptised profess to do ? The Rebel answers , No , I will put on the old man. The Almighty God puts that Question , VVilt thou forsake the World , the Flesh , and the Devil , as thy Baptism dos oblige to do ? In Rebellion the Answer of sinful man , is , No , I will serve them all ; they shall all be the Idols of my Soul. With what Conscience can they answer so ! But thus their Baptism is nothing with them . Fiftly . All that rebel against God , are very Mischievous in doing so . They are Mischiefs that VVitches are delighted in . Thus 't is the end of Rebellion to bring destruction upon all that are near unto it . 'T is said in Eccles. 9. 18. One sinner destroyeth much good . It is the ill-Hap of Sinners like Witches to do hurt wherever they come ; they hurt the souls of their Neighbours by the Venome of their Evil Communication ; they hurt the Names of their Neighbours by their slandrous Defamation ; they hurt their Estates by bringing down the fiery Judgments of Heaven upon all the Neighbourhood . Unto Rebellion against God , are owing all the Distresses and Miseries of a calamitous World. This is the Achan , this is the Troubler of us all . The Improvement of these things now calls for our Earnest Heed ; and unto each of our Three Propositions , we may annex Applications agreeable thereunto . I begin with The USE of the First Proposition . I. By way of INFORMATION . There are especially Two Inferences to be drawn from this Position , That , Such a thing there is as Witchcraft in the world . [ First . ] Since there are VVitches , we are to suppose that there are Devils too . Those are the Objects that VVitches converse withal . It was the Heresy of the ancient Sadducees in Act. 23. 8. The Sadducees do say , That there is neither Angel nor spirit . And there are multitudes of Sadducees yet in our dayes ; Fools , that say , Seeing is Beleeving ; and will beleeve nothing but what they see . A Devil , is in the apprehension of those Mighty acute Philosophers , no more than a Quality , or a Distemper . But , as Paul said unto Him of old , King Agrippa , Beleevest thou the Prophets ? Thus I would say , Friend , Beleevest thou the Scriptures ? I pray , What sort of things were they , of whom we read in Iude. 6. ? Angels that kept not their first estate , but left their own Habitation , and be reserved in chains unto the judgment of the great day . What sort of things were they , who in Matth. 18. 16. Besought our Lord , If thou cast us out , suffer us to go into the herd of swine ? What thing was that , which in Luc. 4. 33. cryed out unto the Lord Jesus with a loud voice , Let us alone ? Surely , These things could be none but Spiritual and rational substances , full of all Wickeness against God , and Enmity against Man. We shall come to have no Christ but a Light within , and no Heaven but a Frame of mind ; if the Scriptures must be expounded after the Rules of the modern Sadducees . Perhaps tho' the Scriptures are Fables to that sort of men . Come then , thou Sadducee , What kind of thing is that which will so handle towardly ingenuous well-disposed persons , That if any Devotions be performed , they shall roar & tear unreasonably , and have such Noises and such Tortures in them , as not only to hinder themselves wholly , but others too much from joyning in the Service ; and strive to kick or strike the Minister in his Prayers , but have their hands or feet strangely stopt when they are just come at him , and yet be quiet before and after the VVorship ? That if any Idle or Vseless Discourse be going , they shall be well , but at any serious Discourse they shall be tormented in all their Limbs ? That If a portion of the Bible be readd , tho they see and hear nothing of it , and tho , it may be , in Greek or Hebrew too , they shall fall into terrible Agonies , which will be over when the Bible is laid aside ? That they shall be able to peruse whole Pages of Evil Books , but scarce a Line of a good one ? That they shall Move and Fly , and Tell secret things , as no ordinary mortals can ? Let me ask , Is not the hand of Joab in all this ? or , Is there not a Divel whose Agency must account for things that are so extravagant ? I am now to tell you , That these eyes of mine have beheld all these things , and many other more , no less amazing . Christian , There are Devils : and so many of them too , that sometimes a Legion of them are spar'd for the vexation of one man. The Air in which we breath is full of them . Be sensible of this , you that obey God : there are Troops of Tempters on every side of thee . Awake , O Soul , Awake , Those Philistines of Hell are upon thee . Upon the least affrightment in the dark , many simple people cry out , The Devil ! The Devil ! Alas , there are Devils thronging about thee every day . O let the thought of it make thee a careful and a watchful man. And be sensible of this you that commit Sin : The Lord Jesus hath said of you , Ye will do the lusts of your father the Devil . How often do many of you make a Mock and a Ieer of the Devil while you are drudging for him ? But know , that there are dreadful Devils to seize upon thy forlorn forsaken soul , at its departure hence . O become a new man at the thought of this . 2. Since there are Witches and Devils , we may conclude that there are also Immortal Souls , Devils would never contract with Witches for their Souls if there were no such things to become a prey unto them . One of the Popas when he lay dying , said , I shall now quickly know whether I have an Immortal Soul or no. Within less than a hundred years , you & I shall be convinced of it , if we are not so before . We may truly say , Devils & Witches bear a witness against them that have any scruple of it . There are some dreaming Hereticks , that hold Man wholly mortal : I am sure the Apostle Paul was not of their breastly Opinion , when he said in Phil. 1. 21. I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Nor was the Martyr Stephen of their Opinion , when he expired saying , in Act. 7. 59. Lord Iesus Receive my spirit . Nor was our Lord Jesus Himself of that opinion , when He said unto Theef on the Cross in Luc. 23. 43. This day thou shalt the with Me in Paradise . 'T is an Opinion unworthy of a man that is owner of a Soul. The mistaken Indians , when first they saw a man on Horse-back , did conceit the Man and the Horse to be one Creature : it is as soul an Error to conceit that it is but one thing which man consisteth of . No , 'T is a right Anatomy of man , in Gen. 2. 7. The Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground , and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life , and man became a living SOUL . Remember , Thou hast in thee a living soul ; or a Spirit , able to know , and will , and argue so as nothing else in the visible Creation can . This living soul is the Candle of the Lord within thee , and no Wind , no Death can ever extinguish it . O make much of this living SOUL . Save it , and don 't sell it : It is a Iewel too precious to be thrown away . Do not sell thy soul for a song . Take heed that the Devils make it not theirs by any follies of thine . II. By way of Exhortrtion . There is one thing to be now pressed upon us all . Let us wisely endeavour to be preserved from the Molestations of all Witchraft whatsoever . Since there is a thing so dangerous , defend your selves , and shelter your selves by all right means against the annoyance of it . Consider the Multitudes of them , whom Witchcraft hath sometimes given Trouble to . Persons of all sorts have been racked and ruin'd by it ; and not a few of them neither . It is hardly twenty years ago , that a whole Kingdom in Europe was alarum'd by such potent Witchcrafts ; that some hundreds of poor Children were invaded with them . Persons of great Honour have sometimes been cruelly bewitched . What lately besell a worthy Knight in Scotland , is well known unto the world . Persons of great Vertue too , have been bewitched , even into their Graves . But Four years are passed since a holy man was kill'd in this doleful way , after the Ioy as well as the Grace of GOD had been wonderfully filling of him . This Consideration should keep us from censuring of those that Witchcraft may give Disturbance to : but it should put us on studying of our own security . Suppose ye that the enchanted Family in the Town , were sinners above all the Town , because they have suffered such things I tell ye Nay , but except ye repent , ye may all be so dealt withall . The Father of Lies vttered an awful Truth when he said through the mouth of a possessed man , If God would give me leave , I would find enough in the best of you all , to make you all mine . Consider also , the Misery of them whom Witchcraft may be let loose upon . If David thought it a sad thing to fall into the hands of men ; What is it to fall into the hands of Devils ? The Hands of Turks , of Spaniards , of Indians , are not so dreadful as those hands that Witches do their works of Darkness by . O what a diresh I thing is it , to be prick't with Pins , and stab'd with Knives all over , and to be fill'd over with broken Bones ? 'T is impossible to reckon up the Varieties of miseries which those Monsters inflict where they can have a Blow . No less than Death , and that a languishing and a terrible Death will satisfie the Rage of those sormidable Dragons . Indeed Witchcraft sometimes growes up into Possession it self : the Devils that are permitted to torment , at last do possess the Bodies of the bewitched sufferers . But who can bear the thoughts of that ! who can forbear crying out , O Lord , my flesh trembles for fear of Thee , and I am afraid of Thy Iudgements . What shall then be done for our Preservation ? Away with all superstitious . Preservatives ; about those Confidences the Word of God is that in Ier. 2. 37. Thou shalt not prosper in them . But there are Three admirable Amalets that I can heartily recommend unto you all . The First Preservative is , A fervent PRAYER . Pour out that Prayer before the Lord , in Psal , 59. 2 , 3. Deliver me from the workers of Iniquity , and save me from the bloody ones ; for lo , they lie in wait for my soul. And be much in Prayer every day . The Devils are afraid of our Prayers ; they tremble and complain , and are in a sort of Anguish while our Prayers are going . There was a house of a Renowned Minister in France insested with evil Spirits ; who tho' they had been very troublesome , yet when the good man was betaking himself to prayer , they would say , Now you are going to Prayer , I 'll be gone . Let us pray much , and we need fear nothing . Particularly , Let Ejaculatory Prayers be almost continually in our minds , and so we shall neverly open to the fiery darts of the wicked one . The Second Preservative is A lively Faith. The Psalmist well said , in Psal. 56. 2 , 3 , Mine enemies would daily swallow me up ; At what time I am afraid I will trust in thee . Be not afraid of any Devils ; If you are , turn the Fear into Faith. By Faith resign your selves to the Custody of Him that is the Keeper of Israel . By Faith perswade your selves that He is able to keep what you have committed unto Him. Thus , Run to the Rock , and there triumph over all the powers of darkness . Triumph and say , The Lord is on my side ; I will not fear ; What can Hell do unto me . The Third Preservative is , A Holy Life . There was a very Holy Man of old , a man , that feared God & eschewed evil ; and the Devils murmur'd , in Iob , 1. 10. God has made an hedge about him . The same have the Devils confest , when they have plotted against other holy men . Do not thou break the hedge of God's Commandment , and perhaps he will not let any break the hedge of his Providence , by which thou art secured . The holy Angels are the Friends , the Guardians , the Companions , of all holy men ; they may open their eyes , and see more with them than against them . A Camp , an Host of Angels will fight against all the Harpies of Hell which may offer to devour a Saint of GOD. Use these things as the Shields of the Lord ; so you shall be preserved in Christ Iesus from the assaults of the Destroyer . Suppose now that any Witches may let fly their Curses at you , you are now like a Bird on the Wing , in such Heaven-ward Motions that they cannot hitt you . Now the Devils and their Creatures cannot say of you , as the Daemon said of the Christian woman whom , at a Stage-play he took Possission of , and being asked , gave this reason of his taking her , I found her on my own ground . We pass on to the USE of the Second proposition . And that must be a Counsel from God unto us all . Particularly , Since Witchcraft is an Evil so horrible . 1. To them that may be Enticed unto the Sin of Witchcraft . To them we say , 1. Take heed that you be not by any Temptation drawn into this monstrous and horrid Evil . The best man that ever breathed was tempted hereunto ; that man who was more than a meer Man , was assaulted by the Cheef Devil of the lowest Hell with this Temptation in Mat. 4. 9. Fall down and worship me . But by the Sword of the Spirit our Lord kept him off . If any of you are by any Devil so sollicited , thus resist , thus repel all the Motions of the wicked one . Don't give your selves away to those Deceivers that will become Tormentors of your soul in another world . It may be the proposal of this Counsel may make some to say as he in 2. King. 8. 13. What ? is thy servant a dog , that he should do this great thing ? I answer , Alas , we should every one of us be a dog and a Witch too , if God should have us to our selves . It is the meer Grace of God , the Chains of which restrain us from bringing the Chains of darkness upon our Souls . The Humble and ( therefore ) Holy Martyr Bradford , when he heard of any Wickedness committed in the Neighbourhood , would lay his hand on his Breast and say , In this heart of mine , is that which should render me as wicked as the worst in the world , If God should leave me to my self . When we see a forlorn wretch executed for Witchcraft , you and I may say the same . They that are Witchee now , once little dream't of ever becoming so . Let him that stands , take heed lest he fall . If we would not fall into that horrible pit , Let us follow these Directions . DIRECTION I. Avoid those Ill Frames which are a Step to Witchcraft . There are especially Two ill Frames which do lead people on to the worst Witchcraft in the world . Shun a Frame of Discontent . When persons are discontented with their own state ; When persons through discontent at their Poverty , or at their Misery , shall be alwaies murmuring and repining at the Providence of God , the Devils do then invite them to an Agreement with , and a Reliance on them for Help . Down right Witchcraft is the up-shot of it . We find in Luc. 4. 2. our Lord , hungred , and then the Devil came in an audible or a visible manner to Him , tho he had been more spiritually long before assaulting of Him. They are needy persons whom Devils make the most likely attempts upon . And some persons are not only Hungry , but Angry too ; but then every Fret , every Fume is as it were a Call to the Devils ; it calls to them , Come and help me . Shun also a Frame of Ill-Wishing . There is a Witchcraft begun in the Imprecations of wicked people . Many profane persons will wish the Devil to take this & that , or , the Devil to do this & that ; and when they call , at last he comes , or at least the Divel do's what they wish Observe this , We are by our Sins worthy to have Mischiefs befalling us every day ; and the Devils are alwaies ready to inflict what we deserve . I am also apt to think that the Devils are seldome able to hurt us in any of our exteriour Concerns without a Commission from some of our fellow-worms . It is intimated in Gen. 4. 9. That every man is his Brother's Keeper : We are by our good Wishes to keep our Brethren from the Inroads of Ill spirits . But when foul-mouth'd men shall wish harm unto their Neighbours , they give a Commission unto the Devils to perform what they desire ; and if God should not mercifully prevent it , they would go thorough with it . Hear this , you that in wild passions will give every thing to the Devil : Hear it , you that will bespeak a Rot , a Pox , and a Plague upon all that shall provoke you I here Indict you as guilty of hellish Witchcraft in the sight of God. 'T is the little Wapping of smell dogs that stirs up the cruel Mastives to fall upon the Sheep in the Field . DIRECTION II. Avoid all those Ill-Charms which are a piece of Witchcraft : The Devils have pretty Ra●●●s , as well as fiery Arrows they that use the Ra●●●es , will come at length to use the Arrows too . Do not play on the Brink of the pit , lest you tumble in . It was complained in 2. King. 17. 9. The Children of Israel did secretly those things that are not right against the Lord their God. Even so it may be said , that people among us do secretly and frequently those things that have a sort of Witchcraft in them . There are manifold Sorceries practised among them that make a profession of Christianity against which I would this day bear a witness in the Name of the most holy Lord. First , There are some that make use of wicked Charms for the curing of Mischiefs . It is too common a thing for persons to oppose Witchcraft it self with Witchcraft . When they suppose one to be bewitched , they do with Burnings , and Bottles , and Horshoes , and , I know not what , magical Caeremonies endeavour his Relief . Mark what I say : To use any Remedy , the force of which depends upon the Compact of the Devils with the Witches , is to involve ones self in the cursed . Compact it is , as it were , to say , O Devil , Thou hast agreed with such a person that they shall be expos'd unto Torments by the use of such or such a Caeremony , we do now use the Caeremony , and expect thy blessing upon it . This is the Language foamed out by this foolish Magic . Do's not thy Conscience tremble at such Iniquity and Impiety ? This may be to heal a Body , but it is to destroy a soul. These persons give themselves to the Devils to be deliver'd from the Witches . And the people that are eas'd & helped by such meanes , they say , do usually come to unhappy Ends. Let me say as in 2. King. 1. 3. Is there not a God in Israel , that you go to Belzebub ? What ? will not Prayer and Faith do , but must the Black Art be used against our enemies ? It is likewise too common a thing in almost every Disease to seek an unlawful Medicine . Thus for the Ague , for the Tooth-ach , and for what not ? a Mumbling of some words must be made , or a Paper of some words must be worn . From what can the Efficacy of these words proceed , but from the Consent and the Action of the Devils ? The Witches have their Watch-words , which I list not to recite : upon those Watch-words the devils do their Commands . These kind of Spells are Watch-words to the Devils ; and when a man has any Benefit by them , he cannot say as in Psal. 103. 3. Bless the Lord , O my soul , who healeth all thy diseases . Man , First leave off the name of a Christian , before thou dost thus make thy self a Conjurer . I hope the Churches of the Lord Jesus will not bear it , that any in their Communion , should have this Fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness . But this is not all ; Turn we yet again , and we shall see greater abominations . For , Secondly . There are some that make Use of wicked Charms , for the Finding of Secrets . The Lord hath told us , in Deut. 29. 29. Secret things belong to God. But these impious people must needs have a Tast of them . They will ask the Devils to inform their minds , and resolve their doubts . This is the Witchcraft of them , that with a Sieve , or a Key will go to discover how their lost Goods are disposed of . This is the Witchcraft of them that with Glasses and Basons will go to discover how they shall be Related before they dy . They are a sort of Witches that thus employ themselves . And this is the Witchcraft of the Iudicial Astrologer . That Astrologer is a Cousin-German to a Conjurer . I think I know his Rules , and I am satisfied that his Iudgment must at last be determined by his Impulse , or it is not worth an hundredth part of what the silly Enquirer payes him for it : and from whom , from what shall that Impulse come ? Behold the Energy of Devils in it . It is likewise a sort of Sorcery , for persons to let their Bibles fall open , on purpose to determine what the state of their souls is , from the first word they light upon . And some among us , they say , are so extremely sinful , as to consult one whom they count a Conjurer , when they would understand what they know not otherwise . 'T is horrible , that in this Land of Vprightness there should be any such Prank of wickedness . I do earnestly testifie unto you that these things are abominables the voice of our God is , O do them not , my soul hates them . I do warn and charge you , Shun these execrable things , lest you he left unto the furthest Witchcraft committed by the abhorted of the Lord. 2. Take heed that you do not wrongfully accuse any other person , of this horrid and monstrous evil . It is the Character of a Godly man , in Psal. 15. 3. He taketh not up a Reproach against his Neighbour . What more dirty Reproach than that of Witchcraft can there be ? Yet it is most readily dast upon worthy persons , when their is hardly a shadow of any reason for it . An Ill-look , or a cross word will make a Witch with many people who may on more ground be counted so themselves . There has been a fearful deal of Injury done in this way in this Town , to the Good-name of the most credible persons in it . Persons of more Goodness and Esteem than any of their calumnious Abusers have been defamed for Witches about this Countrey , A Countrey full of lyes . I beseech you , Let all Back-biting , and all Evil-surmising be put away from among you : do not , on small grounds Fly-blow the precious ointment of the good-name that thy Neighbour should have . On the least provocation , I will never beleeve but such an one is a witch — that is presently the Sentence of some that might speak more warily than so . Alas , thou might'st with as much Honesty break open the House , or take away the purse of thy Neighbour : His Good Name is of more Account . They that indulge themselves in this course of Evil-Iudging , are usually paid home for it before they dy ; the just God sue's them in an Action of Defamation , and makes their Names to be up too , before they leave world . Wee 'l suppose the most probable Presumptions : Suppose that a Person bewitched should pretend to see the Apparition of such or such an one , yet this may be no infallible Argument of their being Naughty people , it seems possible that the Devils may so traduce the most Innocent , the most praise-worthy . Why may not spiritual Devils , as well as Devils Incarnate get leave to do it ? There was at Groton , a while since , a very memorable Instance of such a thing ; and what should hinder them that can Imitate the Angels of Light but that they may likewise personate the Children of Light , in their Delusions ? II. To them that have been seduced into the Sin of Witchcraft . And under this Rack , there are two sorts of persons to be addressed unto . First . Let them that have been guilty of Implicit Witchcraft , now repent of their monstrous and horrid evil in it . I fear that I speak to some Scores , that may lay their hands on their mouths , and cry , Guilty , Guilty ! before the Lord , in this particular . Let these now Confess and bewail their own sin in the fight of God ; and as it was said in Hos. 14. 8. What have I any more to do with Idols ? Thus let them say , What have I any more to do with Devils ? The things that you have done , have been payments of Respects unto Devils ; and it becomes you to abhor your selves in dust and ashes for your Folly. The great and terrible God sayes of you , as in Deut. 32. 21. They have provoked me to anger with their Vanities . Let the things that did provoke Him to anger , now provoke you to sorrow . Retire this evening , and humble your selves very deeply , in that you have been so foolish and unwise . Lament all your Acquaintance with Hell ; and let your Acquaintance with God be more . Let your Lamentations be more than ever your Divinations were . Let them that have been guilty of Explicit Witchcraft , now also repent of their monstrous and horrid evil in it . If any of you have ( I hope none of you have ) made an Express Contract with Devils , know that your promise is better broke than kept ; it concerns you that you . Turn immediately from the Power of Satan unto God. Albeit your sin be beyond all Expression or Conception Heinous , yet it is not unpardonable . We read of Menasseh in 2. Chron. 33. ●6 . He used Enchantments , & used Witchcraft , and deale with a Famillar Spirit , and wrought much Evil in the sight of the Lord. But that great Wizzard found Mercy with God , upon his deep Humiliation for it : Such a Boundless thing is the Grace of our God! The Prey of Devils , may become the Ioy of Angels : The Confederates of Hell , may become the Inhabitants of Heaven , upon their sincere Turning unto God. A Witch may be penitent in this , and glorious in another world . There was one Hartford here , who did with much Brokenness of heart own her Witchcraft , and leave her Master , and expire depending on the Free-Grace of God in Christ , and on that word of His , Come to me , ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest ; and on that , There is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness . Come then , Renounce the Slavery and the Interest of the Devils , Renounce your mad League with ' em . Come and give up your selves unto the Lord Iesus Christ , loathing your selves exceedingly for your so siding with the black enemies of His Throne . O come away from the doleful estate you are in . Come away from serving of the Devils that have ensnared your Souls . What Wages have you from those Hellish Task-masters ? Alas you are here among the poor , and vile , and ragged Beggars upon Earth . When did Witchcraft ever make any person Rub ? And hereafter you must be Objects for the intolerable in silence and Cruelty of those Cannibals , and be broken sore in the place of Dragons for evermore . Be take your selves then to Instant and Constant Prayer , and unto your old filthy Rulers now say , Depart from me , ye Evil Spirit , for I will keep the Commandments of God. But we must now Conclude with the USE of the Third Proposition . And that may be a Caution to every one of us . This in short , Since Rebellion is like VVitchcraft , O Let us not make light of any Rebellion against the Almighty GOD. Particularly , First , Let not a Course of Rebellion be followed-by us . It is the Course of unregenerate men , to be daily doing those things , for which the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience . When God requires , Repent of Sin , they do rebel and reply , No , I have loved Idols , and after them I will go . When God requires , Beleeve on Christ , they do rebel and reply . No , I will not have this man to reign over me . They rebel against all the divine Commands of Love to God or Love to Man ; They rebel against all the Precepts of the Lords , which are to be esteemed concerning all things to be Right . And they love every false way . O Consider of this , ye strangere to the new-Birth ; Consider what you are doing , consider where you are going every day . I would now say , alluding to that in Dan. 4. 27. O soul , let my counsel be acceptable unto thee , and break off thy sins . You have been doing of Iniquity ; O now say , I will do so no more . Consider , First , There is a sort of VVitchcraft charg'd on you . You shall as undoubtedly perish as any VVitch in the world , except you reform . Can you imagine that an obstinate Witch will have Admission into the Kingdom of God. ? Behold , & be astonish't , ye unrenewed ones ; as impossible it is for you to see the Lord. It is said in Ioh. 3. 3. Verily , verily , I say unto thee , except a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of God. That verily verily , which like a flaming Sword , stands to keep the vil oft Witches out of Paradise , the same there is to keep every unbeleever out . The Lord said unto some confident pretenders of old , Ye are as AEthiopians unto me . This doth God say unto all them that obey Him not ; this doth He say to every one of you that do not fear Him & keep His Commandment ; He saith , Ye are as Witches unto me ; though thy Birth be of godly or genteel Parents , tho' thy Parts & Gifts may be extraordinary , tho' thy Prayers may be twice a week , & thy Alms enough to fill a Trumpet , yet become a new-creature ; otherwise ye are as witches unto me , saith the Lord. Consider , Secondly , There is a sort of Witch . craft come on you too . All that leave the way everlasting , and take a way of wickedness , they are bewitched ; a grievous Witchcraft has siez'd upon them . The Apostle said to some in Gal. 3. 1. O foolish Galatians , who hath bewitched you , that you should not obey the Truth ? This may be an Expostulation us'd with all ungodly men ; O foolish Transgressors , who has bewitched you ? I 'le tell you who : Not an Hog , but a Lust has bewitched ' em . They that are bewitched , have a marvellous variety of calamity upon them . One while they can't see ; that is thy case ; Thou art wretched , but thou canst not see it ; Christ is lovely , but thou canst not see him . One while they cannot hear ; that is thy case ; God calls , Look unto me and be saved ; but thou hearest nothing of it . Another while they can't stirr ; that is thy case ; The Lord Jesus calls , Come unto me , but thou movest not . Sometimes they are as it were , cut , & prick't , and distorted in their Limbs ; the very same art thou in all the Faculties of thy soul. At othertimes they are pulled into the Fire , or into the Water , or thrown with violence upon the Ground ; the like happens to thy unhappy soul ; it is hurried thither , where the sire is not quenched ; it is hurried thither where they groan under , the waters ; it is also made to pant after the dust of the earth . The Drunken man is bewitched with strong Drink ; the unclean man is bewitch't with strange Flesh ; the tongue of a Swearer is acted worse than the tongue of a bewitch't man ; the covetous man is hideously bewitched with Bags & Lands . O pity thine own soul ; and give no sleep to thine eyes nor slumber to thine eye lids , until thine immortal soul be deliver'd from thy natural state . Let not VVitchcraft it felf be a more frightful thing to thee , than thy own present Unregeneneracy . Turn ye , turn ye , why will ye dye ? Secondly . Let not an Act of Rebellion be allowed by us . When Ioseph was incited unto an Ill Act , he said , in Gen , 39. 9. How shall I do this wickedness and sin against God ? Thus , when we are urged unto any Ill Act , Let us refuse it so , No , this is like Wicthcraft , shall I by such wickedness make my self as a Witch before the Lord ? Three Things are to be Recommend here First , Arm yourselves against all the Devices , with which the Devils would hook you into any Rebellion against the Lord. For Rebellion against God , there will be that clause in our Indictment . They were moved by the Instigation of the Devil . Now furnish yourselves with Armour to keep off the Dint of the Devils Instigations ; in short , put on the whole Armour of God. There is specially a double Care that will be of great use in your Encounters . First . Use your Watch well . We read in Eph. 6. 11. about the Wiles of the Devil . When the Devil would engage us in a Rebellion , there are certain Wily Methods by which he doth accomplish it . He works more by Fraud then by Forts ; and there is a cryptic method by which he doth gain us over to himself . A crafty Sophister has a three-fold Method , with which he prevails upon his Auditors ; and such the Method of the Devil is . Watch , First against the Deficient method of the Devil . The Devil will show us the Sin without the Curse , the Bait without the Hook : So he saies Eat the pleasant Fruit : but he saies not , Thou shalt dye if thou do it . The Devil will represent unto us the Difficulty of a Duty , but conceal the recompence of it . So he says , It 's a hard thing to pray in secret every day ; but he says not , Thy Father will Reward thee . And he will represent unto us the Excuse of a Sin , but conceal the Ill shape of it : So he saies , Many others have done this and that ; but he saies not , God was provoked at it . These are Tricks to be watched against . Watch , Secondly , against the Redundant Method of the Devil . Sometimes the devil will use a Digression . He will seem to give over his Intent in one thing , but make sure of his Intent in another . Such a Stratagem he uses as what Ioshua took A● withal ; he retires , and so he conquers . He will make Haughtiness and Security undo the soul , that he could not make of his party for grosser Wickedness . Sometimes the devil will use a Commoration . He will dog a man , and bring Perswasion upon perswasion , as Delilah did with Sampson ; and like a cnuning Fencer , he repeats blow after blow , till he smite home . These are Dangers to be Watched against . Watch , Thirdly , against the Inverting Method of the Devil . One while the Devil will endeavour to carry us on from Lesser sins to Greater sins . He will go to make our miscarriages like Elijah's cloud ; at first as an Hands-breadth , but anon so as to hide the whole Heaven from us . So Solomon multiplies first Horses , & afterward worse things against the command of God. Another while , the Devil will decoy us from lawful things to unlawful things . Thus from a Good-husband , a man shall grow a meer Muck-worm . Now and then also , the Devil will try to spoil Good works with Ill ends : Thus the Pride of Iebu shall be swell'd by the Zeal of Iebu . He will try to make our Duties Interfere ; the general Calling shall be regarded in the season of the particular , and the particular calling shall be attended in the season of the general . He will try to lead us from one Extreme to another ; We shall be excessively merry , and ere long excessively melancholly , if we hearken to him . O keep up your Watch. Well did the Apostle say , in 1. Pet. 5. 8. Be vigilant , for the Devil as a roaring lion , seeketh whom he may devour . Secondly . Use your Sword well . T is said in Eph. 6. 17. Take the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Devil cannot stand before the Brandishings of this Two-edged Sword. Our Saviour overcame the devil by making that Return , It is written , and It is written , against all his lewd attempts . Would he get you into any Rebellion ? One Text well managed will make him fly before you . Would he have you be unjust ? Then answer , It is written , The inrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Would he have you be unclean ? Then answer , It is written , God reserves to be punished them that walk in uncleanness . Would he have you be immoderately careful ? Say then , It is written , Cast thy burden on the Lord. This Warefare is directly contrary to that Witchcraft which the Devils are daily driving or drawing us unto . Secondly . Beware of that Rebellion against God particularly , which the Devils are most gratified withal . It is said in Eph. 4. 40. Grieve not the holy Spirit of God. The unclean devils are pleased most with such things as that Holy Spirit is most grieved with . Sometimes the Devils have been forced as it were , to discover their own Inclinations : thro the mouths of possessed persons , they have declar'd what was very grateful to them . The Children that have lately been under a diabolical Fascination in this Town , have given us diverse Intimations , which we might make useful Observations on . I observed , that tho they had much delight in prayer when they were well ; yet when they were ill , they could not endure it . The Damons would make them sing , & roar , and stop their ears , and plague them , and at last lay them for dead , if any prayer were in the Room . Whence it may be inferred , That you who can go without Prayer from day to day , do just as the Devils would have you . The Devils have an horrible Rendezvous in that Family , in that Closet , where Prayer is not maintained . I observed , that tho the Word of God were their Companion & Counsellor at other times , yet now they would fall into Convulsions , if one did but look into a Bible . Whence it may be suppos'd that you who read not the Scripture , for the most part every day , do humour the devils in it . The Devils are glad to see the Bibles that have dust upon them . I observed , that Haeretical , or Superstitious or profane Books , might be perused by some of them , when serious & Orthodox Books would put out their Eyes . Whence it may be suggested , That you who converse much with ill books , do as the devils would : The Devils would willingly be where Iest-books , & Play-books , & Romances , and Haeresies or Superstitions are made a Library . I observed , that tho they were exemplary for Honesty & Sobriety , yet now their Wishes to steal & be drunk , were frequently expressed ; and sometimes they were made very drunk tho no intoxicating Drink had bin in the least an occasion of it . Whence it may be gathered , That the Drunkard has a devil in him , the Stealer has a devil in him . The Devils have sport enough , when they see a man Reeling in the streets ; the divels are the Comrades of them that go to take what is none of their own . I observed , That tho few in the place were so diligent as they , nevertheless in their Fits they might not do any work at all . Whence it may be concluded , That of Idleness comes no goodness . The devils are the Play-mates of them that are Gaming when they should be working . An idle person is a Prentice of a divel . These things have been observed ; and now let these Vices be avoided . There is Witchcraft in them . O that the Divels might be out-shot in their own Bow , and that these Vices might be made odious by their Affection for them . Thirdly . Instead of Rebellion against God , let Obedience to God fill your lives . Make unto God that vow in ps . 116. 16. O Lord , truly I am thy servant , &c. And accordingly serve God with all obedience . Yea , often ask yourselves , What service may I do for God ? And let a respect of Obedience to God make even the meanest of your Actions honourable : even when you eat & drink & trade & visit & recreate yourselves , let there be some Obedience to God in it all . The Employments of a poor Carpenter or Shooemaker will hereby be rendred more noble things than the Victories of an Alexander or a Caesar. Not the devils but the Angels will have a most intimate Fellowship with a man thus obedient . Not witchcraft , but rather Inspiration will be in the man who does this , and the son of man who layeth hold on it . NOTANDUM . SInce the Finishing of the History which concerns Goodwin's Children , there has been a very wonderful Attempt made ( brobably by Witchcraft , on another Family in the Town . There is a poor Boy at this time under very terrible and amazing Circumstances which are a Repetition of , with not much Variation from those of the Children formerly molested . The person under vehement Suspicion to be the Authoress this Boy 's Calamities , is one that was complain'd of by those Children in their Ails and accordingly one or two of those Children has at this time some Renewal of their Afflictions also ; which perhaps may be permitted by the Great God , not to dissappoint our Expectations of their Deliverance , but for the Detection and the Destruction of more belonging to that hellish Knot , that has not yet perished as others of the Crue has done , before the poor prayers of them that Hope in God. The Book-sellers not being willing to stay the Event of these New Accidents , cause the Bridles here to be taken off . APPENDIX THere are one or two passages in the first of our foregoing Histories , which I fore-see , ( those usually no less Absurd than Angry people ) the Quakers , will come upon me with great wrath , for my writing of and the Incivilities lately shown to my Father , for a piece of one Chapter in his Book of Remarkable Providences , by one Keith , in a sort of a thing newly published at Pen-silvania , have made it necessary for me , not only to explain my self , but to defend him , upon the occasion that is now before me . As for what I have related concerning the strange liberty which the Devils gave unto Iohn Goodwin's Children , to enjoy both the Writings and the Meetings of the Quakers , when offers thereof were ( it may be too needlessly ) made unto to them , I need only acquaint the world , that I shall procuce good , legal , & sufficient Evidence to Confront what I do Affirm , whenever any man shall demand it of me ; And that the Books with which the Tyral happned to he made , were more than one , and such , as the Quickers give as general an Allowance to , as to their own Primers and their Catechisms . But undoubtedly , the matchless Candour and Sweetness of the Quakers will inspire them , with Inclinations to give me some of their public Thanks for the notice I have taken of them ; and in the mean time I must let my Neighbours understand , what ridiculous as well as odious Calumnies the Quakers have bestowed upon my absent Father , for his being an Historian ( they think ) unto their Prejudice . One would think , That if an Historian , did but secure his Veracity from being Impeached , most of his other Faults were pardonable ; and so truly they would be accounted , by any , besides Quakers , who are a people by themselves . But my Father had published a Book entituled , Illustrious Providences ; in one part of which , he has a Narrative of several very marvellous Occurrences , that certain deluded and possessed Quakers , in this Countrey were concerned in . The matter of Fāts , never could be dispured ; yet one Keith a Quaker , who had been compassing 〈…〉 und to make pr●selytes , visits New-Eng . in his progress , where meeting with small Applause , & less Success , instead of Converts , he picks up what Quarrels our Countrey could afford him , and among the Rest , this book of Providences . At his Return to Pen-silvania , he blesses the world with a little Volumn of Haeresies and Blasphemies against the Protestant Religion , the principle Articles whereof , he endeavours to undermine , with some farther Improvements of Nonsense , than the Abilities of the Quakers had heretofore help'd 'em to ; but , tho t is almost pitty that any Eagle ( pardon the Comparison , he himself calls us Night-birds ) should lose his time , by attending the motions of such a Fly ; yet I suppose , he will not be long , without the Castigations of a full , tho' short Answer to the Ipertinences with which he has been craftily assaving to spoyl out Vines . He entitles his Harrangues , The Churches in New-England brought to the Test ; and it might be expected ; that one so willing to be a Servant of those Churches as Increase Mather , would not escape the Vengeance of those whom these Churches are an eye-sore unto . Accordingly , the Title-page of his Discourses ( for truly-Reader , he will not now give us a Silent Meeting ) promises to us , An Answer to the gross Abuses , Lyes and Slanders of Increase Mather ; which he afterwards detects , just as one of his Predecessours after a Con●ersation with Hogishead , Trampled upon Plato's pride ; while he cannot instance in any one Abuse , Lye , or Slander of Increase Mather , without committing more than a few himself . However , he is pleas'd to say , when he comes to talk , Let any of his kindred answer for him in his absence ; and because I am somewhat a kin to the said Increase Mather , whom the Ani-mad-versions of this Keith have made such an Assault upon , that were I more dumb than the Son of Croesus himself , yet I must have spoken at the Provocation , I am willing to satisfie our little Authour so far as to Answer these Three Things upon him : Yet I would so far observe one of Solomon's Rules in my Answer , as not to use upon him some Terms of his Art which as a Specimen of his breeding he bestows upon Increase Mather ; but offer a few just Reflections on this new Apostle ( no doubt a Successor to one of the old ones ) unto the world . First . He charges my absent Father , with Gross Abuses , Lyes , and Slanders ; and yet he denies not the Truth of the Stories , the Resation of which flings him into this foaming Rage . He charges him just as last year he did the rest of the Ministers of Boston . He sent us a written Challenge , which begins , I being well assured by the Spirit of God , that the Doctrine ye preach to the People is false — and he then reckons up Twelve Articles ( he says ) of our Doctrine , the Twelfth of which is directly contrary to what we assert , and maintain and preach every day . This was his Inspiration then ! and such is his Narration now . Increase Mather penns Truths , and yet , it seems writes Lyes . But where is Increase Mather's Crime ? Why , our Animadvertor tells us , I. M. relates these stories on purpose to abuse the honest and sober people called Quakers , without making any Distinction — But what Metal is this man's Forehead made of ? Reader , you shall find my Fathers introduction to his Histories to be , All wise men that are acquainted therewith , observe the blasting rebukes of Heaven upon the late SINGING and Dancing Quakers . And his Inference from them is , That The Quakers are SOME of them undoubtedly possessed with evil spirits ; and his Conclusion is , We may , by this , judge whose servants the Singing Quakers are . Behold how carefully he has Repeated the very Distinction which this waspish man complains at the Omission of ! Besides , he had no need of making any Distinction at all . That the Quakers fall out among themselves , is but a natural Consequence of their Tempers and Errours , which cannot be otherwise than Incohaerent ; and sometimes , their Credit forces them to Explode in one a-another , what they ( wish they could but ) can't Excuse . Tho it seems if a Woman dress her self like a Devil , and fright some of her Sex almost out of their Lives , on a Lords Day , in one of our biggest Assemblies , G. K. can here canonize her for a Saint . Case's Crew are substantially of the same Drove with Keith's Crue ; both Mad , tho with some variety of Application in their Phrensies . What if those Ranters , and these Quakers be shaken together in a Bag ? 'T is a more allowable method of Sorting , that of this G. K.'s , who would make us a Crew of Ranters , because we hold , That God hath fore-ordained infallibly and unchangeably , whatever comes to pass . And whereas our Answerer tells us , that when those horrid monsters were whipt at Plimouth , for their wonderful hideous Devilism , Some of the honest people called Quakers , openly declared before the people , that the Quakers did not at all own them to he of their Society , I am to ask him , Who of this honest people then it was , That then declared them to be , The dear Children of God ? But Reader , pray observe , Tho he will not leave Urging , that for a Quaker to be Possessed , is no more than for a Presbyterian or an Independent so to be ; There is Difference enough , where our notable Disputant would contrive a Parallel . Because a Possession by evil Spirits , may besal one of our Communion , What then ? The Possession does not move any to be of that Communion : we see the contrary . But the Stories Recorded by my Father , ( plainly enough ) demonstrate , That Diabolical Possession was the Thing which did dispose and encline men unto Quakerism ; Their Quakerism was the proper Effect of their Possession ; and not an unconcern'd Consequent . 'T is our Logicians Fault here , that he cavils without making any Distinction ; if he would have pleased to distinguish a little , he might have spared the pains of his tedious Excursions , about Charging the innocent with the crimes of the guilty . But from such a G. K. what better Dealing might have been look'd for ? Secondly , I think , I may rather charge this G. K. with Gross Abuses , Lyes and Slanders , by him offer'd unto that Increase Mather whom he shows himself so much ( beyond the cure of Hellebore ) inflamed at . He saies , Increase Mather hath shew'd his Rashness and Folly in some other passages of his life , if not Malice , that hath occasion'd him for some time past to abscond , and depart from the place where he preached at Boston . I am sorry that this man obliges me to trouble the World with Stories about such Domestick and personal matters as these are . For me to Commend my yet living Father would perhaps be counted an Indecency . But if I should not now Defend him from such unhandsome Imputations , I were worse than the worse of the Sons of Noah , and it must be a greater Malice than what G. K. ever pretended to discover in Increase Mather , that shall criminate my Vindication of an absent and a wronged Parent . My Reader 's Patience must then permit me to tell him , that all New-England well knows , That Increase Mather never departed from hence , through any Rashness or Folly of his ewn , but through the Malice of unreasonable men . Our Charter being unjustly Vacated ( which even G. K. reckons among the Judgments of God upon us ) the Government of this Territory was fallen into the hands of men that immediately took all sorts of measures to make us miserable . A knot of people , that had no design but to enrich themselves on to the ruines of this flourishing plantation , were placed over us , & our Land strangers devoured in our presence . The sight of our Calamities made my Father willing to undertake a Voyage uuto England , for no other cause but meerly to endeavour the Service of his afflicted Countrey ; and not a few among the principal Gentlemen of the place , did both Advize and Assist his Undertaking . His Intent in Going he did not publish , but his Intent of Going he did ; and he had no sooner done it , but one Randolph , the late Secretary , whom ( like a Scavenger ) our late Oppressors cheefly used in their more dirty Businesses , gave Trouble unto him to obstruct and prevent his Voyage . The Circumstances of it were these : This Randolph some time since , carried unto Sr. Lionel Ienklns , a Letter which he assur'd him was Mr. Mather's ; Tho the Letter was a most Villanous Forgery , Filled with Treason and Madness in the Exaltation of it , and never was one line of it written by my Father . The Letter-Forger had so foolishly drawn it up , That Randolph could not get the Blood of the Gentlemen , whom he ( after his manner , that is ) falsly Charged with being the Authour it , yet care was taken thereby to blast his Name : The Observator , ( whom one calls The Father of Lyes ) here became Nurse , & printed it , with not a few scurrilous Observations on it . So that in all the Taverns and Coffee-houses throughout Three-Kingdoms , this innocent Person was made a Ridicule , and Barbados too , with other of the Lee-ward Islands , took this opportunity to spit their venome on one who had never done any thing to deserve it , but by being ( in the account of some that are Both ) somewhat of a Learned and Honest man. My Father to Vindicate himself , while our old Government yet lasted , wrote a Letter to Mr. Dudley , who had from White-Hall , Received a Copy of that bloody Forgery ; and in this Vindication , he intimates that several shrowd things would make him suspect Randolph himself to be the Director of it . It was Evident unto him That the whole Forgery was contrived for Randolph's advantage ; t is almost all of him and for him ; but could any rational man imagine , that he was then wholly a stranger to it ? Besides there were in it several other Expressions , which ( t was then thought ) no man in his Wits can dream that any without him should have . But Randolph upon his arrival here with our New Government getting a Copy of my Fathers Vindication , dos after so many months now sue him in an Action of Defamation , to Embarass the Affairs he had before him . The Jury which consisted partly of Church of E. Gentlemen , Found for my Father against the Plaintiffe . And yet just within a Week or two before his Voyage , Randolph renewed his Action ; his Abetters resolving ( as I am credibly informed ) That having laid the Arrest upon him , they would have secur'd his Person in the Goal , as the worse of Traytors ; for what Illegality would they stick at ? He happily understanding , what they would be at , by the counsel of his Friends withdrew , for about a week ; and then , tho both by Day and Night , both by Land and Sea , the late Spirits among us way-laid him , God carried him safely thro them all ; and when he came to Whitehall , what Favours the Greatest Men in the Kingdom have heap'd upon him , 't is not proper for me to tell . Whereas our Caviller now says , It wants to be insert in his Book , that what hath befallen him of late , is a Remarkable Iudgment of God upon him , for his Injustice to the Quakers . I join issue with him , and beg the Reader to insert it , if he be owner of that harmless Book Reader , inasmuch as none of Increase Mathers enemies were able to attain their ends upon him ; and inasmuch as this Increase Mather has in his whole Negotiation for New-England , been favoured by the merciful God , beyond the imagination of our fondest hopes ; pray count it , A Remarkable Iudgment of God upon him , for his Injustice to the Quakers . This G. K. has this Book of his bound up in Canvas ; because I suppose , like one of the Witnesses , he would Prophesie in Sackcloth . I confess , Fire proceeds out of his mouth ; but it is another sort of Fire than that which our Lords Witnesses are us'd unto ; and there is one small Qualification of a Witness which you see he wants , that is Truth ; the Contents of his Books require some other Covers for them , ne perpluat . Thirdly , Not Increase Mather alone , but all New-England , especially the Shepherds of the the Churches here , must thro the Lycanthropy of this man , be Barked at . One while his False-Histories misrepresent us to the world ; and he raises dismal Tragedies upon the Persecution which his Friends here have met withal . For my own part , I have long wished ; That the Civil Magistrate would never inflict a Civil Penalty , on an Heretick , until Humane Society receive such a Disturbance from him , as in one of mine , or any other perswasion were Intollerable . Yet there is more , far more to be said for the Justification of our ancient Severities on two or three Quakers here , than the world has yet been acquainted with . Oliver Cromwel himself , whose Toleration of Sectaries was notorious euough , yet would speak in the justification of what was here done to them . Since our Ierusalem was come to such a Consistence , that the going up of every Fox would not break down our stone wall , who ever meddled with ' em ? And since That , Though a Quaker-woman came ( as sometimes they have ) stark naked , into some of our Solemn Assemblies , declaring her self to be a Sign ; yet the Bruit has not been thought fit to be Hang'd up : but the Generality of the people are enough , & alwaies were , averse to the inflicting of Saecular Punishments on these doting Haereticks . Indeed a Grave Magistrate once ( t is said ) propounded unto the General Court at Plimouth , a Law that every Quaker might have his head shaved ; because they were distracted , & this would both shame & cure them . I believe this is all the Law that ever will be offered for the Suppressing of them here ; by long experience , we find , They perish by being let alone . But whereas , he twits the Ministers here , for their Accepting of Maintenance , with goods unjustly taken from the true owners ; I may inform the world , the Ministers here are of another Spirit than so ; their voluntary Poverty and transcendent Self-Denial , has scarce its parallel in the Christian world . If any maintenance extorted from Quakers hath ever been paid unto them , I am confident it was without their knowledge or consent . The chief Complaints of this kind are in Plimouth Colony ; but let the Reader consider , That the Grants of Lands there made by the Court , have still been with an Express Condition & Proviso , that the allowed Ministry be therewith supported . Quakers come and Accept & Improve these Grants , and then refuse the Duty annexed thereunto . Let all mankind judge whether they might not justly be compel'd unto the payment of it ? yet how rarely was it ever done ? G. K's . Barnstable Story is ( I hear ) a Romance of the same peice with the rest . But we must be terrified with his False Prophecies too . He pretends to Inspiration & foretells the utter Removing , Vndoing , & Destroying of all our Babylonish Buildings ; that is , our Churches ; and he adds , The time hastens , & blessed shall he be who receiveth the Warning ; and some pages after he praedicts , that In due time our Meeting-Houses shall no more receive us into them . Ay , no doubt of it , in due time ! But , I pray Friend George , when is this due time to bee ? Our late persecutors , who did last year admit thee to so much familiarity with them , did not so wisely to let thee know what they were driving at , for it seems thou art a Blab of thy tongue . When thy private Conversation with 'em , as well as their public Administration here , gave thee cause to griefs , That , our Churches were quickly to be over turned , & our Meeting houses made too hot for us , t was easie to prognosticate much more than this , I 'le assure thee , t was not for this that I put thee into my Book of Witchcrafts , there was no VVitchcraft in it : but some late things have a litle altered our Omens . I humbly beg of God , that he would require us good for this Cursing this day ; and that the malicious Vaticinations of men that hate his Truths and Wayes , may rather help to procure for us those happy Revolutions , which may cause our enemies to be found Liars unto us . I do also entreat the Reader , that he would not mis-interpret my approaches ( if I have made any ) towards Levity in my treating of the Adversary standing at my Fathers right hand to resist him ; T is almost impossible to look upon the Generality of Quakers , without applying to them the Humour which a Gentleman long since thought proper for the creatures contrived on purpose , to be made merry with . I shall only add , That George Keith has given sufficient cause why his own Sect should be ashamed of him , if Shame were compatible to such a perfect People . But as he thinks my Father wants , The true eye opened in him , so I suppose he will tell me , That I am in the dark ; and therefore it is time for me to bid him now , Good-Night . I am not willing to contend any further with him , For Hae scio pro certo , quando cum stercore certo Vinco , seu vincor , semper ego maculor . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A50139-e2970 * Note , on Tomorrow , the Ministers of the Town were to keep a day of Prayer at her FathersHouse 
A50176	----	The wonderful works of God commemorated praises bespoke for the God of heaven in a thanksgiving sermon delivered on Decemb. 19, 1689 : containing reflections upon the excellent things done by the great God ... : to which is added A sermon preached unto a convention of the Massachuset-colony in New-England ... / by Cotton Mather. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1690 Approx. 178 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 64 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-07 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50176 Wing M1171 ESTC W24924 09955470 ocm 09955470 44381 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50176) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 44381) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1363:7) The wonderful works of God commemorated praises bespoke for the God of heaven in a thanksgiving sermon delivered on Decemb. 19, 1689 : containing reflections upon the excellent things done by the great God ... : to which is added A sermon preached unto a convention of the Massachuset-colony in New-England ... / by Cotton Mather. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. A sermon preached to the honourable convention of the governour, council, and representatives of the Massachuset-colony in New-England on May 23, 1689. 124 p. in various pagings. Printed by S. Green & sold by Joseph Browning, Boston : 1690. 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Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Congregationalism -- Sermons. Thanksgiving Day addresses. Sermons, English -- 17th century. 2003-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-03 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-04 John Latta Sampled and proofread 2003-04 John Latta Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-06 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion The Wonderful Works of God Commemorated . PRAISES Bespoke for the God of Heaven , In a Thanksgiving SERMON ; Delivered on Decemb. 19. 1689. Containing Just REFLECTIONS upon the Excellent Things done by the Great God , more Generally in CREATION and REDEMPTION , and in the GOVERNMENT , of the World ; But more Particularly in the Remarkable Revolutions of Providence which are every where the matters of present Observation . With a POSTSCRIPT giving an Account of some very stupendous Accidents , which have lately happened in France . BY COTTON MATHER . To which is Added a SERMON Preached unto the CONVENTION of the Massachuset-Colony in NEW-ENGLAND . With a short Narrative of several Prodigies , which New-England hath of late had the Alarms of Heaven in . Printed at Boston by S. Green. & Sold by Ioseph Browning at the corner of the Prison Lane , and Benj. Harris at the London Coffee-House . 1690 Copy AT THE CONVENTION of the Governour and Council , and Representatives of the Colony of the Massachusets Bay. IT having pleased the God of Heaven to mitigate His many frowns upon us in the Summer past , with a mixture of some very signal Favours , and in the midst of wrath so far to remember Mercy ; That our Indian Enemies have had a check put upon their Designs of Blood and Spoil ; That others have not s●en their Desires accomplished upon us ; And that we have such hopes of our God's adding yet more perfection to our Deliverances : Inasmuch also , as the great God hath of late raised up such a Defence to the Protestant Religion and Interest abroad in the World , especially in the happy Accession of Their Majesties our Sovereigns , KING William and QUEEN Mary to the Throne . It is therefore Ordered , that Thursday the nineteenth instant , be kept as a Day of THANKSGIVING throughout this Colony ; And all Servile Labour Labour on said Day is hereby inhibited : And the several Ministers and Assemblies are Exhorted to Observe the same , by Celebrating the just Praises of the Almighty God , Of whose tender Mercies it is that we are not Consumed . By Order of the Convention , Isaac Addington Secr. Boston Decemb. 3d. 1689 : To the Right Worshipful Sir Henry Ashurst , Baronet . SIR , T IS an obscure Pen , among the Antipodes of that World in which you dwell , which now waits upon you , to let you understand , That there is an England in America , as well as One in Europe , which the Name of ASHURST has been no less Dear , than Known , unto . Upon that Expression in the Sacred Scripture , Cast the Unprofitable Servant into Outer Darkness , there is an Interpreter who imagines that the Regiones Exterae of America are the Tenebrae Exteriores , which the unprofitable are there Condemned unto . Doubtless The Authors of those Ecclesiastical Impositions and Severities , which drove our Predecessors into this American Wilderness , esteemed those old Puritans to be a very Unprofitable sort of Creatures ; and we their Children , desire with much Humiliation to Confess and Lament our own Unprofitableness ; not without our wonder , that any Party in our Nation , should propound unto themselves any profit , by Endeavouring our further Misery . We nevertheless flatter our selves with Hopes , that as while we sat under the shadows of our Charters we at least made the other parts of the English America to be profitable unto the Crown of our King , so the Church of our God in the other Hemil●h●re , will not Excommunicate us from their Fellowship and Affection , when 't is considered , that the Exercise of the Protestant Religion in the purest and fullest Reformation , is That very Thing which this considerable Plantation was first built upon . He that shall Travel over New-England , will find a large Countrey fill'd with Churches , which I may without vanity call Golden Candlesticks , in this Outer Darkness , and which are Illuminated with Able , Faithful and Laborious Ministers , among whom the person who now Addresses you , is no more worthy to be Reckoned , than the Seventh which appears not among the Pleiad●s , is to be counted One of the Seven Stars . These Churches , in their Doctrine , do profess , and in their Worship , do practise , most intirely the Protestant Religion , as our Confession of Faith , with our Platform of Church Discipline , has made notorious ; and though they want the Liturgies and Holydays and Ceremonies , which were not Conceived before the Man of Sin was Born , they do but approach thereby the nearer to that Primitive Christianity , which will be our Glory , while we continue in it . It is in these Churches that we have long seen the Goings of God our King , for the Regeneration , and Edification of multitudes , who after an Arrival to a pitch of Holiness equal to what any part of this Lower World affords , have gone to the Spirits of Iust Men made perfect ; and though a Decay of Piety has accompanied an Inercase of People in the midst of us , yet even among Vs of the Third Generation , the God of our Fathers , hath such a Number of Serious , Gracious , Fruitful Christians , as encourages our Hopes , that He still has Reserves of Mercy for us . 'T is in these Churches ( however Degenerate ) that One may see Discipline managed , Heresy subdued , Prophaness conquered , & Communion maintained , with a very beautiful subserviency to the Great Ends of the Gospel . And if after all the Printed Books , not only of our Cotton , Shepard , Hocker , Bulkley , Mather , Davenport , Cobbet , Norton , Newman , Whiting , Mitchel , and the rest now Asleep of the former Generation , but also of our Higgin●on , Fitch , Morton , Wigglesworth , Allen , Moodey , Torrey , Wil●ard , Baily , Stoddard , ( not to mention my own Fathers both English and Latine Composures ) thro' the Favour of God , yet Alive among us , we must be judg'd unprofitable to the Church of God abroad , yet the prodigious and Atlaean industry of the Reverend Eli●t and of those whom that Venerable Saint yet Lives to see succeeding him in cares for Evangelizing the poor Pagans here , must be own'd profitable to those , whose Outer Darkness we are sent into . But the Right of these Churches , to a good Reputation with all them , that have any value for the Protestant Religion , is not more palpable , than the Wrong which has been sometimes Ignorantly , and sometimes Maliciously done unto us , by them that have baited us for the sake of the Bear-Skins , which themselves have put upon us . Never was any thing more wicked than the Calumny , with Loads whereof our Enemies compelled our Fathers in the Infancy of this Plantation , to do as divers of those , whom they call , The Fathers , did of old , even , To write Apologies ; nor can any thing be more Slanderous and Romantic , than the Accusations that some Ill Men have more Lately traduced wit●al ; One may see the very Spirit of Persecution revived in them ! Nevertheless , after all the Banter of our Adversaries , as I would never desire an Easter Task , than to prove , That their Majesties have not in all their Dominions , more Loyal Subjects than the People of New-England , so 't is evident enough , That where any Real Miscarriage has procured One , our zeal for the Protestant Religion in the power of it ▪ has procured more than Ten of the Complaints that have been made against us . And therefore , we not only challenge an Interest among the Reformed Churches , in whose Comforts we cannot but Rejoice , as we have most inquisitively and affectionately mourned in their Sorrows ; but we also expect the Friendship of all those particular persons who are well affected unto the stones of Zion , and take pity on the Dust thereof . As 't is a thing too observable to be denyed , or concealed , That tho' we are a very unworthy people , yet the Haters of New-England stil find themselves pushing hard against the Great Stone , so I believe none of those Noble Persons who have been sincerely concerned for our Wellfare , will ever see cause to Repent of it ; but Goodness and Mercy shall follow them all their Days . Blessed be the God of our Fathers , that albeit we are as an Outcast , yet it may not be said , No man has cared for us ! There were Three Knights among our first Patentees ; it calls for our Extreamest Gratitude if there have been more of That , or Another Quality willing to be our Patrons . And Sir , whereas you have been pleased your self to let the World know , how much you are desirous to see New-England flourish , you will pardon it if One born and bred in that Countrey , and a Son of the Colledge there , take the Liberty to acquaint you , That we are not insensible . That you are , my Fathers Friend , is a thing that Lays me under Obligations ; but your being New-Englands Friend , is a thing which we would All Resent ; and though the Dedication of these two Little Sermons to your Name , does not , Take of the best Fruits of the Land , as a Present for you , yet I humbly ask your Acceptance of them , as a part of our Acknowledgments . Among the other Curiosities of New-England , One is that of a mighty Rock on a perpendicular side whereof by a River , which at High Tide covers part of it , there are very deeply Engraved , no man alive knows How or When , about half a score Lines , near Ten Foot Long , and a foot and half broad , filled with strange Characters ; which would suggest as odd Thoughts about them that were here before us , as there are odd Shapes in that Elaborate Monument ; whereof you shall see , the first Line Transcribed here . Sir , I take leave to add , That the English people here will study to have the Kindnesses of their Benefactors , not less Durably , hut more Intelligibly Recorded with them , than what the Indian People have Engraved upon Rocks ; And therefore it is , That you shall now publickly find your Person and Family mentioned in our prayers to the God of Heaven , for your Enjoyment of all the Prosperity engaged unto them that Love Ierusalem . The Voices that ascend from the Thrones of the Lord Jesus here are asking for you , Grace and Glory and every good thing : and among them , there are my own Wishes , That the Son ▪ and the Church of God may find you their KNIGHT which is to say ( in English ) an hearty Servant , and that in the day when such a Word will be esteem'd above ten thousand Worlds , you may hear a Well Done ! from the mouth of our Glorious Judge . 'T is with these , that I subscribe my self . SIR , Your most Humble and most Obedient Servant Cotton Mather . PRAISES Bespoke for the GOD of Heaven , In a Thanksgiving SERMON . It is Written in Isai. XII . 5 . Sing unto the Lord , for He hath done Excellent Things ; This is Known in all the Earth . OUr Blessed Saviour , being to Preach upon a Text , fetcht out of that very Book from whence we have now taken ours , began His Holy Sermon , with sayings This Day is this Scripture fulfilled in your Ears . 〈◊〉 is by an unhappy Encounter of Gods Mercies and your Desires , that upon the Reading of the Text now before us , I may in like manner , close the Book , and say , This day is this Text fulfilled amongst us . Truly t is known abroad , that our God has done excellent things ; and for this cause we are with no less Grounded than Solemn THNKSGIVINGS endeavouring to Sing unto the Lord. Behold a Word of the day in its day here provided for you . May our further considering and understanding of the Text , but promote our fuller Conformi●y thereunto , and more exactly imprint the shapes of this Heavenly Mould upon us . As the Noble Prophet Isaiah , is in the Books of the New-Testament quoted perhaps no less than threescore times ; thus the Dayes of the New-Testament are those which his Prophecies have their frequent and special References to . Among other Employments of this Angelical , and Evangelical Pen , one was the preparing of Sacred Songs , for the use of the Church , in the circumstances which there had been predictions of ; and so , besides the Psalms which common conjectures have ascribed unto this Prophet the composing of ; the forty-sixth particularly , which in imitat●on of the great Luther , we may at this day make the Anodyne of our cares ▪ we have two inspired Songs in this Chapter laid before us ; in the first of the Songs , the Confessors of God endeavour themselves to celebrate the praises of that Eternal one ; in the next they endeavour to excite and engage others unto a consort with them in this glorious Exercise . And here we have the Text which we are now to descant upon . [ In that Day ye shall say ] But What day is That day ? we must be beholden unto the foregoing Chapter , for an Answer thereunto . We there find , that there will a Day come , when the Lord will set His Hand again the second time , to recover the remnant of his People : which will be when the Tribes of lost Israel are converted unto the Faith of the Lord Jesus ; when according to the Language of the New-Testament , All Israel shall be saved . There will a Day come , when the Root of Iesse shall stand for an Ensign for the People : which will be at the second coming of our Lord ; when according to the phrase taken by our Saviour from this very place , the sign of the Son of man shall appear . There will a Day come , when the Lord shall with the Breath of His Lips , slay the wicked ; which will be when Antichrist shall perish by the fiery approach of the Lord Jesus , to take vengeance on His wickedest Enemy : when according to the phrase taken by the Apostle also from this very place , The Lord shall consume that wicked one with the breath of his mouth , and shall destroy him with the brightnesr of his coming . T is that day which the Song now before us , is peculiarly calculated for . But certainly , we that are only getting into the Dawnings of that day , are not excluded from all medling with it ; no , it is written for our Admonition . In the Words to be now Handled , we have two Things First , The Doings of God are here mentioned . It is said , He hath done Excellent Things : or as the Original imports , Great Things , and High Things : or as it may likewise be rendred Magnificent , and Illustr●ous Things . The Hebrew Word ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) is indeed a Substantive ; and it intimates , that the Works of God are even Excellency in the Abstract , and Majesty it self . And the Chaldee Paraphrase here fitly puts upon them the term of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Magnalia , noting in them something eminent and powerful . Such things are done by Him , who is Wonderful in Working ! Secondly , The Duties of men are then specified hereupon . Since excellent Things are done by God , there are two things to be done by us . First , We are to sing the Praises of God. It is ●here said , Sing unto the Lord. And such is the expression in the Holy style , as to signifie , not only an exactness , but also an instrument used in the Song . We are with a Sacred Musick to magnifie the God , who is worthy to be Praised . Secondly , We are to spread the Praises of God. It is here said , This is known in all the Earth ; but the version which is by some chosen for it rather is , Let this be known in all the Earth : We should not only our selves do it , , but likewise provoke and excite all the Earth to take notice of what Wonders have been done by Him who is fearful in Praises . Wherefore the Truth to be now entertained with us , is , That it should be our study to SING and SPREAD the Praises due to the Eternal God , for the EXCELLENT Things which are done by Him in the World. It is by the Propounding of two or three Conclusions that this Doctrine , will have its due Advantages . PROPOSITION I. There are multitudes of Praises due to the God of Heaven from us . To praise God , is to Acknowledge the persections that are in Him ; 't is to Acknowledge the infinite Power , Wisdom , Goodness , Justice and Holiness , which are His Attributes ; and this we are to do , In all our ways . We have received our Being for this End ; and our Grand , our Chief Errand into the World , is , That our God may have a Number of Rational Beholders to be sensible of His Excellencies . When Mankind came first out of His Glorious Hand , He then said , as in Isa. 43.21 . This people have I formed for my self , they shall shew forth my praise . In our Lower Little World , no Creatures can be found capable of Conceiving and Expressing those Acknowledgments of God , which are , The Glory due unto his Name , besides MAN ; who is therefore not unfitly called , The High-priest of the Creation . The devout Psalmist once called upon all Creatures , with a Repeated Invitation , Praise ye the Lord ; but they all reply that Man is to do it for them , and they all therefore conspire to offer the Notices of the Almighty God unto Mans affectionate Contemplation . To praise God , is to Acknowledge in Him something Excellent , as 't is said in Psal. 148.13 . Let them praise the name of the Lord , for His Name alone is Excellent ; thus , when we Acknowledge an Excellency in all those Manifestations which God maketh of Himself ; then 't is that we praise Him. Now the Praises owing to the God of Heaven from us , are obliged not only by what He Is , but also by what He Does : indeed by what He Does it is that we come to Learn what He is . We ought to Acknowledge an Excellency in the Nature of God ; which is to Ascribe Glory to Him. The Language of our praises is to be that in Psal. 89.6 . Who can be compared , who can be Likened , unto the Lord ? God should be truly Transcendent with us . We should apprehend , that as the Name of our God is , I AM , so all other Beings are as meer Non-Entities in comparison of Him ; subscribing to that in Isa. 40.17 . All are before Him as Nothing . We should apprehend the Being of God , so Independent , so Unchangeable , so Mysterious , as no other Being is ; and with Dazzled Souls fall into such praises as to say , I cannot find out the Almighty to perfection . The perfections that are in the Almighty God should even Astonish our Understandings ; and fetch the Exclamations of Moses from us , in Exod. 15.11 . Who is like unto thee , O Lord , who is like unto thee ? One while our praises are like Hannahs , to say . There is none Holy as the Lord ! Another while our praises are like Ethans to say , Who is a Strong God like unto thee ? Sometimes our Praises , like Pauls , are to say , God is only Wise ; and sometimes again , God is True , but every man a Lyar ; and then with David , we are to praise and say , O how great is thy Goodness ! But the Excellency which is in the Works of God , is that which renders the Glory of His Essence , most apparent unto us ; and the praises which we are to bring unto Him , are in a great measure to spring from thence . We are told in Isa. 28.29 . The Lord of Hosts is Excellent in Working . Our praises of God , are in This to find the Reasons of them , He has done Excellent Things . First , We ought with many praises to observe the Excellent Things which God has done for our selves . As the Psalmist call'd upon himself , in Psal. 103.1 . Bless the Lord , O my soul , and forget not all his Benefits ; thus ought we to Reflect upon the many Benefits and Kindnesses of the most High towards our selves , with praises too many to be Numbred , too Hearty to be ended . We ought to see something of God , in all our Circumstances , and upon all that happens to us , we are to say , The Lord be magnify'd ! But there are some Excellent Things done for us , by our God ; Things which no Friend , no Hand , none else could have done for our Good ; and These Things we should with suitable praises be particularly grateful for . It is the manner of the Iems , to receive the Comforts of their Lives , with a Baruk Adonai , or Blessed be the Lord. We that are Christians may not suffer our selves to be exceeded by any people , in Thankfulness unto God. It is related concerning our Lo●d Jesus Christ , in John 6.11 . that he would not Eat a Meals Meat , without a Thanksgiving over it . Much more ought the more Excellent Things that are done for us , to be so Acknowledged . When God had heard a Prayer , there was that praise returned for it , in John 11.41 . Father , I thank thee for it . We ought seriously to think , What Answers of our Prayers , what Reliefs of our Wants and Woes , the great God has in an excellent manner favoured us withal ; and the Result of all should be , Lord , I thank thee for these Excellent Things . A good Hezekiah himself may smart by failing here . Those persons are worse than Pharisees , in whose mouths God be Thanked , is not a frequent but yet solemn interject on . Secondly , We ought with many praises to observe the Excellent Things which God has done for Others as well as for our selves . Our praises must not be confined unto those mercies of God , which we our selves have been the Subjects of . But all His Dispensations abroad in the world , are to be the Occasion of our Hallelujahs to Him. A Soul that is Fill'd with all the Fullness of God , will be Filled with praises to Him for all his Workmanship . We should be like him that said , in Psal 139.14 . I will praise thee , for marvellous are thy Works . Whatever our God is Doing , we should upon the sight thereof be praising ; and we should Acknowledge Him , in all those Excellent Things , which we see done in any part of the Universe . It was said in Psal. 40.5 . Many , O Lord , my God , are the Wonderful Works which thou hast done . God has done many Wonderful Works , and many Excellent Things , in which we our selves have not an Immediate , or at least not a peculiar share ; but we should all render praises unto Him on the account thereof . It is mentioned as the priviledge of a Righteous man , in Psal. 112.9 . His Horn shall be exalted . What if one thing intended in it should be This ? That as the praises of God were sounded by His People , in Cornets of old , so there were Exalted Horns , or Exalted Notes , which He would have their praises to be Raised with . Thus we read in 1 Chron. 25.5 . of , Words to Lift up the Horn ▪ To accommodate the Allusion ; The Praises of God are to Sound High , in our Devotions . When we praise God for being Excellently Good unto our selves , we do well ; but we are to Raise our praises unto an Higher pitch than so ; they are to Expatiate upon all those things , wherein our God has exhibited Himself as Excellently Great , throughout the world Such Abstracted Praises are agreeable to the Inclinations of every Godly man ; he argues at that Rate , Great is the Lord , and therefore Greatly to be praised . PROPOSITION II. We ought both to Sing , and to Spread , the praises which we owe unto the God of Heaven . Behold , a double Office incumbent on us , with respect unto those Acknowledgments which we are to pay unto our God ; beside and beyond the first Motions of them , in our own Souls . Indeed the Spring of all the Acknowledgments which we make unto God , must be in our Hearts , and the gracious Opinions and Resentmen●s which are first formed there . We must first look to this , that God be praised by the Thoughts in our minds , and , as the Psalmist speaks , by , All that is within us Blessing his Holy Name . They never will praise God sufficiently or acceptably , who cannot say , as in Luke 1.46 . My Soul does Magnify the Lord. As all worship of God , so particularly , all praising of God , must be performed in Spirit ; otherwise it will not be in Truth . But the praises of God , being shaped in the Honourable Thoughts of our Souls , what are we then to do ? First , We are to Sing the praises due to God for the Excellent Things that He hath done . And if we keep close to the Text , we shall see two things here demanded of us . First , There should be an Exactness used , in our praising of God. There should be in our Praises ▪ as on one side an Amputation of all that is improper , so on the other side no Omission of any Article that calls for our meditations . The charge given to us is That in Psal. 103.2 . Forget not all His Benefits . We should not Forget so much as One of the Excellent Things , which we can Remember to be done by God. The skipping of One stroke in a Lesson , often spoils the grace of the Musick . So does the missing of One Thing , in a Commemoration of what God has done . We should be careful with an often , yea with a daily Examination , to inform our selves , about the Things for which God is to be praised . It is hardly convenient for a man to sleep at Night , until he have pondered , What New Excellent Thing has been done by God this Day , that I should particularly praise Him for ? And we should be careful that our Sorrows do not swallow up our praises . 'T is often so , that as that worthy woman of old could not eat of the Peace Offerings , which was a Thank-Offering , because She Wept ; thus we can't praise God , because He Smites us . We cannot see Excellent Things done by God , because we feel Terrible Thins done to our selves . But this is our Folly. Where we have One Trouble , we have a Thousand mercies of our own to be praising for . And if we were a million times more afflicted than we are , yet the Lord might challenge our Praises . It was a great Speech of the Renowned Gerson , Quiequid deme ordinaverit Deus , said He , However God may dispose of me for ever , whether to Eternal Weal or Wo ; yet This I know , that He is worthy of my praises , and He shall have them all . Indeed Praises are a Debt owing to Him , even from those woful Spirits that are broken in the place of Dragons , and covered with the shadow of Death . Secondly , There should also be an Instrument used in our Praising of God. But of what kind ? Far be it from us to plead for that which is properly instrumental Music in the Church of the Lord Jesus . Indeed before the coming of our Lord , there was in the Church a Divine appointment for such a thing ▪ and between the Neginoth and the Nehiloth , I find , if I miscount not , sixteen or more kinds of Instruments for the maintaining of it . But upon the Abolition of the Mosaic Pedagogy , we have no order for the continuance of this Temple Worship , by introducing of it into our Synagogues . The Primitive Church had it not , as even a Bellarmine tells you ; the Ancients often & loudly declaim against it , and Aquinas himself about four hundred years ago , notwithstanding all his Popery and Bigottry , yet bestows none of the kindest Remarks upon it . The Schoolmen themselves own , that Aliquid Fig●rabat , it was a Typical thing ; and we having in the Tydings of the Gospel that grace and joy which this was a figure of , ought not to Iudaize by upholding the shadow in the presence of the Substance ; nor ought we to bring into the House of God , a Troop of Officers which the Lord Jesus never instituted . What Instruments are we then to praise God withal ? we are all furnished with two at least . First , Our Lips are to be employed in the praises of God. The Psalmist called his Tongue my glory . Our Tongues are then our glory , when we glorifie God therewith all . 'T is a proper service for them ; Hence the Apostle sayes , Therewith we bless God. It is Desired for the Saints in Psal. 149 6. let the High Praises of God be in their mouthes . And it is Resolved by one of them , in Psal. 145.21 . My mouth shall speak the praises of the Lord. Hence the Apostle urges it , in Heb. 13.15 let us offer the Sacrifice of praises to God continually , that is the fruit of our lips . There were Offerings of many sorts , which God was praised withal of old ; but our Lips are to be instead of the Calves and Lambs , and other Euchrristical Offerings that then were customary . With our Lips we are to rehearse and recite the Excellent Things that have been done by God , especially when we are with bended Knees and listed Eyes , presenting our selves before him . With mentioning what God has done , we are to do as he said , in Psal 145.2 . Every Day will I bless thee my God. But there is one Exercise of our Lips which God is more peculiarly to be praised with ; and that is the Singing of Psalms . In those Commands of God which require the praises of God , even in our Dayes , we have such clauses as those , in Psal. 95 1. O come , let us sing to the Lord , let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our Salvation . The New Testament sufficiently inculcates this way of praising the most High ; and if you will believe Tertullian , the Primitive Christians hardly ever had a Feast without it . There are savoury Hymns , of an Humane Composure , which no doubt we may praise God by singing of . But Scriptural and inspired Hymns are those which we should principally thus put Regards upon . The Psalms of David are those which God is to be Praised by a Reverent , and Attentive Singing of . These were those , no doubt which our Saviour Himself Sang , at the Passover , more than a score of Times . And the very Angels whose Melodies the Shepherds overheard of old , seem to sing out of the Eighty fifth Psalm . Hence when the Apostle says , in Eph. 5.19 . Speak to your selves in Psalms and Hymns , and Spiritual Songs ; he alludes to the well-known Division of the Psalter . q. d. Go sing all the Psalms of David over . Till we can mend them , never let us leave them . He that shall sing those Blessed Psalms , and ordinarily spend at least one Observation , and one Ejaculation , upon every verse , as he goes along , will therein praise the great God , at no common rate . Secondly , Our Lives are likewise to be Employ'd in the Praises of God. We have Hands as well as Tongues for it ; and some thing there is that our Hand finds to do . The best Thanksgiving is Thanks-living . We should sometimes put that Question to our selves , in Psal. 116.12 . What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits ? As a return to God for the Excellent things that are done by Him , we are to order our lives in such a manner as may be pleasing to him . Hence in Psal. 50.23 . He that offers praise , and he that orders his conversation aright , are equivolent . There is a general Return of Obedience , which we are to praise God by yielding of . It is said in Phil. 1 . 1● . the f●uit's of Righteousness are unto the glory and praise of God. Where God had carried Israel over Iordan , there were Ston●s erected for His praise ; but what was inscribed on them ? was it any History of what and been done by God ? No , it was a Copy of the Law. Our keeping the Law is our praising of him that gave it . We praise God when we seen and blush to do any thing that he may be displeased at . There is also a special Return of well-doing which we should now and then praise God withal . As when David had seen many mighty things done by God , he became inquisitive , in 2 Sam. 7.2 What shall I now do for the House of God ? so some signal act of Piety , or of Charity should be done by us , that God may not be without his praise . We praise God when we are labouring to do some singular thing , for the advancement of His Truths and Wayes . Secondly VVe are to Spread the praises due to God for the excellent things that He has done . Yea , our outmost is to be done that they may be known in all the Earth . A good man desires that he may not be Alone in the praising of God , he would have all men to joyn with him in it . It is therefore said by such a man , Come , I will declare what God has done f●r my Soul. We are to praise God as publickly and as openly as we can ; and to say like him in Psal. 22.25 . My praise shall be of thee , in the great Congregation . And we are to do what we fairly can , that the excellent things done by God , may not be concealed things , but that all men may be acquainted with them : so are we advised in Psal. 105.1 , 2. Give thanks to the Lord , make known His Deeds among the people : sing unto Him , talk ye of all His wondrous Works . We should render them as Notorious as they are Notable ; and publish them among all our Neighbours , as the happy partakers did the healing Miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence it was the wish of the Psalmist , in Psal. 26.7 . That I may publish with the voice of Thanksgiving , and tell of all thy wondrous works . Yea , when God has done Excellent things , we are not only to speak of them , but ( if we can ) to write of them too . Every good man should leave to his Children , a Diary for a Legacy . Some written Memorials and Experi●nc●s of Excellent things which a good man in the time of his Pilgrimage hath seen done by the most High : these would be well worth beq●e●thing to them that should come after him , that they may set their hope in God. And the more considerable Appearances of God in every Generation , ought with a fuller Publication to be transmitted unto Posterity , by the Pens of good Historians , That we have no more Books of Remarkable Providences , is an Omission that has wrong'd and rob'd the Almighty God of more than a Million praises : There should be compiled sufficient Narratives of the excellent things , occurring in every Age and , every place ; like the Books of Iasher , and Nathan , and Iddo , and other Seers ; or like the Pillars among many Monuments of Antiquity . What shall I say more ? when God has done a more conspicuously excellent thing , He is to be praised after that manner , in Psal. 102.18 . This shall be written for the Generation to come , and the people that shall be Created shall praise the Lord. But it remains , that these things be made useful to us . APPLICATION . And O that we might all stir up our selves this Day to Sing and Spread the praises due to the Eternal God for the excellent things which He has done . It is an excellent thing indeed , that we may have a Day of Thanksgiving , while the World is in so much Confusion and Combustion , and every where Mens hearts are failing them for fear , and for looking after those things which are doing upon the Earth . Let us be at some pains , that this Day be not lost , or that it may not evaporate in a few sensual satisfactions . The Excellent things done by God , are now to be the Repast of our Souls . Days of Thanksgiving as they are among the most Heavenly , so they will be among the most prosperous of all our Devotions . There are Pious Men that will now and then in secret places , keep their Dayes of Thanksgiving before the Lord ; laying out whole Dayes in praising of the Great God for what He is , and what He does , and in pondering on What they shall do for God. And I 'll assure you , such persons ripen for Heaven a pace ; yea they live in Heaven upon Earth . But as for Dayes of Thanksgiving observed in the Assemblies of good men , all men have seen the wonderful successes of them . New Englands Prosperity has more visibly followed upon its Thanksgivings than upon its Humiliations , as in times both of War and of Sickness , has been more than once perceived . We have seen the fulfilment of that Word in 2 Chron. 20.22 . When they began to sing and to praise , the Lord set ambushments against their Enemies . Praises , thousands of high praises be to our God , that we may have a Day to celebrate His praises . But that our praises may be awakened , and that no man may make a Iar in our Harmony . Consider how Reasonable these praises are for us all . O consider with our selves , Who is God ? it is He that Humbles Himself to behold the things that are in Heaven . Consider , Who is Man ? a poor Worm , yea , a cursed Viper . Now that this GOD should look upon this man ! Lord , What is man that thou shouldest be mindful of him ? Yet the Eternal God has been doing of Excellent things , which we not only behold , but also enjoy . There is not one of us all , who has not excellent things to be this Day praising the Almighty for . They whose case is never so bad , yet have cause to carry on this Day of Thanksgiving with us , in that it is no worse . The most miserable person in all this Congregation , may with an eye to his own condition , say like him in Psal. 119.156 . Many are thy mercies O Lord. If I could find out the most unhappy , and the most complaining person among you all , even to that person would I say , God has done Excellent things for thee , and some that never sinned so much , yet suffer more than you . Consider Likewise , how profitable these Praises will be to us all . Behold an Expedient for the obtaining of all the Blessings that can be wish'd for . It was said in Psal. 67.5 , 6. Let the people praise thee ; then our God shall bless us . If the Earth send Vapours up to Heaven , Heaven will make Showers to descend on the Earth . Let our praises be continually ascending from us , and they will soon issue in those things that are called , The Showers of Blessing . When we have a Jealousie of a Leaky Vessel , we try it by first putting of Water , before we trust Better Liquors in it ; if we that have little more than Water to comfort us , will yet not permit it to Leak without Praises from us , then God has more Excellent Things to do for us . To be always Begging and Craving , as a Dog for his Morsels , ad Spem futuri semper hians , without multiplyed praises unto God ; this is a most vile Disingenuity . 'T is no less than a Loss of , yea , no less than a Curse on , all our Blessings , which we incurr by not praising the giver of them . But the praising Soul may fill himself with such a Ioyful Hope , as that in Psal. 71.14 . I will Hope continually , and will yet praise thee more and more . Those that are sollicitous least God should Loose any of His Praises , are the persons , for whom God will be concerned that they don't Loose any of His Blessings ; these are they that shall experimentally understand the Loving kindness of the Lord. Man , wouldest thou have any Excellent Things done for thy self ? Then bring thy praises for what Excellent Things have been done in the world . I suppose by this time , we have generally got our Hallelujahs ready ; but you call for a Catalogue of those Excellent Things , which they are to be fixed on . 'T is a Feast that you are this Day to be treated at ; and before you go out of these Doors , a Feast you shall have . I shall set before you a short Account of some Excellent Things , which I intend as a Feast for your praises ; and believe me , though your praises had [ and O that they may have ! ] no less than an Eternity to be Feeding on those matters in , they never would be glutted , never cloyed . First , The Excellent Things done by God , in the Works of CREATION , call for our Praises . It was once the out-cry of the Psalmist , in a Rapture , Praise the Lord from the Heavens , praise the Lord from the Earth , praise the Lord all ye His Armies . Truly , 'T is our Business to praise Him , for the Heavens , and for the Earth , and for all those Armies which He has replenished the World withal . We have a good pattern for us , in Psal 104.24 , 33. says the Psalmist , O Lord , how manifold are thy Works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all . Well , and what is now incumbent upon us , that have the view thereof ? It follows , I will sing praise unto my God , while I have any Being . Methinks the Children of Men too much imitate the Spider , when they Look after nothing but building a little House for themselves , and concern themselves with nothing but the petty Affairs thereof . We should remember that we are Citizens of the WORLD , and as far as we can , we should visit every Corner of it , with our Praises to Him , of whom and for whom is all ! I make no question , but that we do in a blessed manner Antedate Heaven , by doing so . The Praises of God are Exhibited in every part of the World , and we forfeit the priviledge of Reason , if we do not put as many of them as we can , into our A●knowledgments . There are above six Thousand Plants growing on that little Spot of the World , which we Tread upon ; and yet a Learned Man , has more than once , found One Vegetable enough to make a Subject for a Treatise on it . What might then be said upon the Hundred and fifty Quadrupeds , the Hundred and fifty Volatils , the five and Twenty Reptiles , besides the vast multitudes of Aquatils , added unto the rich variety of Gems and Minerals , in our World ? Our own Bodies are , to use the Phrase of the Psalmist , So Fearfully and Wonderfully made , that one of the Ancient Heathen at the sight thereof ▪ could not forbear breaking forth into an Hymn unto the praise of the great Creator ; 'T is impossible that any thing should be better shaped ! Indeed , All the Things that we have every Day before our eyes , have a most charming prospect in them ; and the very Deformities which the Flood has brought upon this Terraquecus Globe , are made Beauties , by the Disposals of the Lord that sat upon the Flood . There is not a Fly , but what may confute an Atheist . And the Little things which our Naked Eyes cannot penetrate into , have in them a Greatness not to be seen without Astonishment . By the Assistence of Microscopes have I seen Animals of which many Hundreds would not AEqual a Grain of Sand. How Exquisite , How stupendous must the Structure of them be ! The Wholes that are sometimes found more than an Hundred Foot in Length , methinks those moving Islands , are not such Wonders , as these minute Fishes are . But alas , All this Globe is but as a Pins point , if compared with the mighty Universe . Never did any man yet make a tolelerable Guess at its Dimensions : but were we among the Stars , we should utterly lose the sight of our Earth , although it be above twenty six thousand Italian Miles in the compass of it . Look upon the Wandring Stars , and you shall see so many Worlds , that swallow up all our Conjectures at the circumstances of them , and of their Satellites . Look upon the Fixed St●●s , and what shall we say about the Bigness of them ? Doubtless they many scores of times exceed the Bulk of this poor Lump of Clay , about a few Foot whereof the Inhabitants are so Quarrelsome . Or , what shall we say about the Number of them ? For though they are but a few above a Thousand , That we ever see , without a Telescope , yet that will tell us , that the Six , which we commonly call , The Seven Stars , have above Sixty among them , and the rest are like the Sand of the Sea , innumerable . But above all , the Sun , that p●●ncipal Engine , which the whole Visible Creation hath such a manifest Dependence on ; This declares the Glory of God , at such a Rate , that the Philosopher once thought himself Born on purpose , to Behold the Splendors of it . This at last hath glar'd out my Eyes , that at this Time , I can look no further upon the Marvels of the Creation . But , my Brethren , Let us take our Time to Travel over the World ; ( I hope , we shall one Day have Bodies more able to do it , than our Spirits at present are ! ) and then let us give many Thousands of Praises to Him , whose Omnipotent and Omniscient Hand hath Created all . O Sing unto the Lord , because He hath done Excellent Things , in making and managing the vast Fabrick of the World. Secondly , The Excellent Things done by God , in the works of REDEMPTION call for our Praises . It was the Exordium of a Psalm , in Psal. 107.1 , 2. O give Thanks unto the Lord , for He is Good ; Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so . Behold , a Constellation of Excellent Things here which the very Angels at this Day are with a million Praises adoring of . Could we steal a Look this Day into the Third Heaven , we should see the multitude of the Heavenly Host there clapping of their Golden Wings , and hear them reiterating that Heavenly Shout , in Luke 2.14 . Glory to God in the Highest , because there is on Earth Peace , and good will towards men . When the blessed Angels beheld the horrible Pit which Man by Sin was fallen down into , doubtless they were even at their Wits ends about a way for his Reeovery ; doubtless with pity and much Despair , they cry'd out , Alas , for miserable man ; He is helpless and hopeless now for ever ! But they have now seen a Remedy provided for undone wretched man , and therein they see , what they S●●●p and Bend themselves to pry into ; they see The manifold Wisdom of God ; and they have ever since , even for more than five Thousand years , been Praising of the God , that has Remembred us in our Low Estate , because his Mercy Endures for ever . That there should be a Man , who was Born perhaps in September , not seventeen Hundred years ago , and who yet is the Father of Eternity ; a Man who lay in a Cradle , and who yet cannot be contain'd by the Heaven of Heavens ; a man , who is his own Mothers Father , in a word , a man , in whom dwells the Fulness of the God-head , and from whose Fulness , all we receive ! behold an Excellent thing which the very Angels cover their faces at . No man Living is able to comprehend the Triumphant Praises that were among the Angels of God , when our Saviour was first Born into the world . When the Sun of Righteousness first shone in our Horizon , doubtless these Morning Stars were presently making their Acclamations at it . The Tidings of it were quickly carried through all the quarters of the Heavens , and the whole City of God was moved at the Report . When it was told , The Redeemer of L●st Man is Born ! it set them all on Praising the most High God , and saying , Glory , Glory to the Highest , in the Highest for ever ! Well , they call us , Their Brethren , and from the Lofty Battlements of the Third Heaven , they call unto us , that we would not Leave them to Praise Alone . A famous Minister Lying at the point of Death , after he had been for some Time sensless , fell to Singing in a manner very extraordinary , and gave this Reason for it , I heard the Angels , and shall not I joyn with them ! Surely our Interest in Redemp●●●● is not inferiour to Theirs ; but then strike up , Ye Redeemed of the Lord ; where , O where are the Praises due to Him that hath Delivered you from all the fiery plagues , which you have madly expos'd yourselves unto . What could we Children of wrath have imagined , but that a just and a terrible God would have said concerning us , I will aveng● me on those Adversaries ! But instead thereo● behold , He has ready for us , a Iesus , wh● saves His People from their Sins ; and th●● calls aloud unto us , O Look unto me , and 〈◊〉 saved . This is an Excellent Thing ! 'T is a● Excellent Thing which God has done , in 〈◊〉 Loving the World as to give His only begotte● Son , that whosoever Believes , may not perish ▪ but have Everlasting Life . 'T is an Excellen● Thing which God has done , in ordering that He who thought it no Robbery to be Equal with God , should take on him the Form of a Servant for us thereby to gain the Dignity of Chil●dren . 'T is an Excellent Thing , That He wh● knew no Sin , should be made Sin for us ; and w● be made the Righteousness of God in Him ; an● that we who have lain in the Belly of Hell should be Renewed by the holy Spirit , and 〈◊〉 made to sit together in Heavenly Places 〈◊〉 Christ Iesus . I am to tell you , That the Blackest of all the Devils are Saints , in comparison of that Man , whom these Excellen● Things do not Effectually bespeak all possible praises from . But you that by Regeneration are arrived unto a more Plenary , Actual sensible Interest in this Redemption , are 〈◊〉 be more abundant in your praises , O strai● the utmost of your Capacities , to shew fo● the praises of Him , who has called you out 〈◊〉 Darkness into his Marvellous Light ; Come , SING unto the Lord , because He has done Excellent Things in the Recovering of Lost Man to an intimate , and Eternal Fellowship with Himself . Thirdly , The Excellent things done by God in the Gover●ment of the World , call upon us to praise His blessed Name for ever . The continual providence of God , is disposing of all things in an Excellent subordination to His own praise ; the W●eels of providence are not carried on caeco impetu , but are full of eyes , and if we praise Him not for Things that every day occur unto us , t is because we are worse than blind . These two things are conjo●ned in Psal. 103.19 , 20. The Lords Kingdom ●uleth over all , Bless ye the Lord. We may see our eternal King after an excellent manner keeping all the World in a real Order , notwithstanding all the seeming Distractions of it . We may see him fulfilling of His promises and His Threa●nings , and giving Recompences among the children of men We may see him frustrating and confounding of His Enemies , and preserving his Church , As a burning Bush not consumed . We should pursue a distinct sight of these things , and Bless the Lord. When we see , that His is the Kingdome , we should adde , And thine is the Glory too . My arrival to this part of our Discours● puts me into a capacity to give you som● Recapitulations of the Excellent things which this Day of THANKSGIVING is more pa●●ticularly designed for . My Brethren , there are Excellent thing which our God has of late been doing i● the English World. He that moves the fo●● Wheels of Providence through all the fo●● parts of the Earth , has given the English Nation lately to see those Revolutions which the Histories of all Ages can hardly parallel And now let us this Day sing unto the Lord for He hath done excellent things . I. The Late Revolutions in the Land o● our Fore-Fathers Graves , afford unto us 〈◊〉 sight of Excellent Things which ought to b● had in Everlasting Remembrance . And here , The first and great and most comprehensive matter of our Praises is , The Happy accession of their Maiesties , King William , and Queen Mary , To the Throne of the Three Kingdoms . This was a Thing in all the parts of so Circumstanced , a● to make all men 〈◊〉 This is the Lords Doing , and it is Marvellous in our Eyes ! It made a Second EIGHTY EIGHT out-shining that in the former Century . For , Consider , the Season of it . It was when the Protestant Religion was Lying at the Stake ; and forreign Popish Writers did not stick to tell the World in Print , That there was a private League made between two of the most Potent Monarchs in Christendome , ( which one of their own Ambassadors also ▪ did in a manner own ) for the Extirpation of Haeresy ; and that not only the subduing of Holland , but also the Enslaving of England were steps to be taken in order thereunto . It was when the Indefatigable Drudges of the Papacy , who had more than Ten years before declared , We have here a Mighty Work upon our Hands , no less than the Conversion of three Kingdoms , and by that perhaps the utter subduing a pestilent Heresy , which has domi●●ered●a long time over a great part of this Northern World ; whereof never such Hopes as now ; had now got all the Advantageous Posts of the Nation into their Hands , and had so model'd all their Business that they counted themselves out of the Reach of chance for ever ; and were even ready like Haman to cast Lots for a Lucky Day to throw all their Vizards off . It was when the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom were overturned , and the Frogs of the Romistr Egypt were swarming in a m●in , to take possession of the Glorious Holy Mountain between the Seas ▪ When things were thought hastening to that pass , that every vacancy in the publick Employments would have made several Proselytes unto Popery ; when a great Creation would suddenly have given the Papists a majority in the House of Lords , and New Charters with Bold Returns might quickly have given them a Majority in the House of Commons too ; a Condition of Affairs that was formidable to all that penetrate into the Tendencies of Popery . THEN it was that the ( then ) Prince of ORANGE entred upon his Glorious Enterprize of Rescuing the Church of God from the Bloody Altar , which it was now bound upon ; and the Protestant Princes Combining with him , offered up their Vows to God , for the prosperity of this Important Undertaking , as counting that in the miscarriage of it , All was Lost. There had been one or two Attempts made before , but a wrong step taken in them , onely brought a Ruine upon the unhappy people Engaged therein . The Popish Party were then slash'd with their Successes , and forgot of sl●ghted the Dying Words of one whom they Burnt ( t is said ) for only Relieving Distrested Sufferer ; Though you are seemingly ●xed , and using your Violence against those whom ●ou have got under you , yet unless you can secure ●he Lord Iesus Christ , and all His Holy Angels , ●ou shall never do your Business ; but Vengeance ●ill be upon you , before you are aware . Consider also the Manner of it . It was ●he Expecta●ion which the Late Earl of Ar●le Expired withal , That God would ac●omplish His work , Not by Might , nor by ●ower , but by His own most Holy Spirit . And it has been done ! The Spirit of God incli●ed the Dutch to give their Great PRINCE 〈◊〉 the Assistence that could be given . When●e Navy , with such Wonderful Turns of 〈◊〉 Wind , as argued a particular Care of God ●out it , was come into its Harbour , the Spi●●● of God strangely inclined persons of all ●egrees to an Agreement with the Princes ●●claration : it was a Touch of God upon ●●eir Souls ! Whence , though the Nation ●re Debauched on purpose to make Popery ac●●ptable to them , yet many thousands that ●re of no Religion at all , could not s●ow 〈◊〉 for that Religion . The same Spirit ●t a Terror into the Great Oppressors of 〈◊〉 Nation , so that though there was a vast my to oppose the Prince , the very sound his Approach , put them to Rout , equal to one given by the clearest Victory ; and 〈◊〉 they had endeavoured by Shams to establish● themselves , One piece of Paper , which ( ' ti● said ) was a Sham , had no little Hand in th● Defeat of those Daring Criminals ; nor wa● any blood shed in all these Transactions , bu● of a Little and a desperate Party that seem●ed weary of their Lives , or they might hav● kept them . Hence ensued , by the unexem●pled and scarce accountable Desertion of th● Late King , such a Dissolution of the Govern●ment as never had been known ; and th● Throne becoming Vacant , the Crown is un●avoidably placed upon , those Illustriou● Heads , which , God grant Long to Reign ! And then , Consider the Prospect of it . Fo● what may be now hoped for , but a Protest●ant KING , Iust and Ruling in the Fear 〈◊〉 God , as a morning without Clouds unto th● Protestant World ! We now see upon th● British Throne , A KING , whose unpara●lel'd zeal for the Church of the Lord Jes●● at the Lowest Ebb , hath made Him the Ph●●nix of this Age ; A KING in whom Co●●rage and Prudence make a Temper which 〈◊〉 to be no where seen but in the Greatest H●●roes ; A KING that scornfully rejected 〈◊〉 Soveraignty over his own Countrey , wh● he might have have had it , by betraying 〈◊〉 A KING , that uses to say , That be can ●annot have so unworthy a Conception of God , 〈◊〉 so base Thoughts of Mankind , as to believe ●hat any one person should be designed by the Almighty King , to trample and oppress a Society ●laced under him ; A KING , that so abhors ●ll Persecution , that when he accepted the Crown of Scotland , he Explained a clause ●n the Coronation Oath , with this Proviso , 〈◊〉 will not be obliged to be a Persecutor : A KING , that has twice had a Crown of Light , appearing in the Heavens over his Principa●ity to signalize him unto the World : With him we see A QUEEN , whose Virtues ●ad long since Enthron'd her in the Hearts of the whole English Nation : We do not now see a Romish Dalilah for the Philistins to Plough withal ; nor is our Solomon under ●he Temptations which the greatest Monarchs have sometimes fell before . What can be hop'd for , but that the Chains with which the Tyrannous and Treacherous Grand Segniour of France had Fetter'd Europe , will now be broken ? and that the most monstrous Tygre in the world , having the Forces of Three Kingdoms let loose upon him , while he is Attack'd with such a General Storm on every side as was never seen before , must quickly either perish , or proclaim Li●erty for that Religion which he has out done all that ever Liv'd , for the Perscution of 'T is an unaccountable Coincidence wit● this , That some hundreds of People i● France are lately fallen into prod●gious . Ex●tasies wherein being Dead asleep , they bot● speak of Things and speak with Tongues which before they had nothing of ; an● they agree to tell us , The Late Revolutions England were to begin the Deliverance of th● Church of God. These are some of the Ex●cellent Things done by our God! Thus a● all the Affairs of Europe overturned . But there is a further matter for our Pra●ses which has followed hereupon ; and 〈◊〉 that are a Countrey of Nonconformists , ma● not pass it by unmentioned . It is , The Repeal of those Laws which the Protestant Dissenters wer● long Harassed with . It is well-known , That those whose Co●●sciences did not allow them , to worship Go● in some Ways and Modes then by Law E●stablished , were not many years ago , Perse●cuted with a violence , to be abhorred by a● sober Men. It is well known that Five an● Twenty Hundred Faithful Ministers of th● Gospel , were Silenced in one Black Day because they could not comply with som● things , by themselves justly counted , Sinful , but by the Imposers confess'd Indifferent . And it is affirmed , That by a modest Calculation , this Persecution procured the untimely Death of Three Thousand Nonconformists , by Imprisonment in Noisome Goals , and the Ruine of Threescore Thousand Fami●ies , within five and twenty years . As the Dissenters are far from charging their Sufferings upon all that the Church of England ●n its National Constitution acknowledges or her Sons ; for we have seen the most Learned and Worthy Members of that Church make their publick Pleas for the Nonconformists , and Boldly beg for Moderati●n to them ; and advance this Assertion , That ●or every man to worship God according to his Conviction , is an Essential Right of Humane Nature ; and we have Learnt , That the late ●ersecutors were mostly a Knot of Ill men ●ho professed , that they had rather be Pa●●sts than Presbyterians , and that they would 〈◊〉 soon be Turks as Papists ; and who sur●endred themselves as meer Tools to a Po●●sh Party , that thought to grow great upon 〈◊〉 Ruines , of both the Pa●ties whom they 〈◊〉 set together by the Ears : So , I hope , the ●issenters will now forgive and forget the most inhumane Injuries that they have ever 〈◊〉 sustained . The severity of that Persecution , which at last had broke up the Con●gregations of them that had perfected the Testimony to the Kingly Office of th● Lord Jesus , than Celebrating a Thanksgi●●ing for it , indeed caused the Dissenters 〈◊〉 Accept of Liberty , tho' upon some Ter● which they approved not . You are not i●●norant that we then told you , There wou●● quickly come an Earthquake that should ca●●ry on that Liberty to more perfection ; an behold it is now done in a Parliamenta● Way ! Blessed be God , that Protestants a● come to a better understanding of the true Interest ! May the Apples of Strife ●●mong them now be removed ! May all God men concur in pursuance of that Reformati●● which God now calls His Church unto and may the Reformers have Peace among themselves , and ( as one speaks ) War wi●● none but Hell and Rome . But for 〈◊〉 Church of God , in Scotland , as their Cal●●mities exceeded what their Neighbours fe●● which I suppose , the Martyrology they pr●●mise us will demonstrate ; so they have 〈◊〉 come behind them in Deliverances . what has God wrought ? my Brethren , looks as if God had begun the Resurrection His Dead People . O Lord God , Thou hast ●●●gun to shew thy Servants thy Greatness , and mighty Hand , for what God is there in Heav●● or in Earth , that can do according to thy works ? And if so , 't is time for us to Lift up our Heads , with at least some Examination , whether we shall not shortly see the Vintage of the Papal Empire ? Whether Italy be not near a greater Earthquake , than that which made hideous Desolations in above Thirty Cities , Towns , and Villages there , a little while ago ? Whether the Blast of the Second Wo Trumpet , be not just expiring , and the Turkish Power be not within two or three years ( at least ) of that End , which will make him incapable to Disturb Europe any more . Yea , Whether the Gospel of the Lord Jesus will not quickly have Liberty with an Efficacy , not only in Popish Count●eys where it is Restrained ; but also in Pagan Countreys , in One of which , we hear of near two Hundred Thousand Heathen , Converted unto true Christianity , within these few years ? In a word , Whether the Day is not at Hand , when the Kingdoms of the World , shall be the Kingdoms of our Lord , and of his Christ ! Whether we shall not very quickly see those , glorious Things which are spoken of thee , O thou City of God! II. The late Revolutions among our selves , have also been attended with some Excellent Things , where of we may say , The finger of God is here ! Indeed nothing in the World could more exactly imitate and resemble the late circumstances of our Mother England than the Revolutions here , in all the steps thereof ; and this , though we understood not one another . This was from the Excellent operations of that God who turns a Wheel in a wheel ! And what shall we now say ? The Judgments of God have been upon us heretofore ; but this poor Land has cry'd unto the Lord , and the Lord has heard and sav'd . And the Enemies of New-England have still perished before the Rebukes of that God who is our King , our Lord , our Lawgiver : It has been as dangerous to seek the Hurt of this poor Countrey , as ever it was to annoy the Piccardines of old ; and they that have stretched out their long Arms to make us miserable , have brought upon their own Heads the vengeance of the Temple . But we were grown a worldly , Sensual , Factious People ; and then our God fulfill'd unto us that Word of His , I will punish you yet seven times for your Iniquity . Our Charters were taken from us , and our Land , Strangers devoured in our presence . You have seen cause to Declare , That there were deny'd unto us the Common Rights , which all English-men justly , reckon themselves born unto ; and that all that was dear unto us , was entirely given up to the Arbitrary disposals of four or five Men , that beyond all measure hated us , and made no stick to tell us , We were but Slaves . You have seen cause to Declare , that we were now given to understand , Our Lands were none of our own ; and that a Storm of unjust Violence was every day falling upon the more Honest , and sober part of the Countrey , while the wicked walked on every side , and the vilest Men were exalted . Our Churches also began to feel the kindness of those , who had Sworn by the Living God , to ruine them ; and all Debauchery was coming in among us like a mighty Flood . All this while we were in a Sea of fire , miserably scorched and scalded ; and yet it was mingled with Ice ; there were great cakes of Ice over our Heads ; there was no getting out . That one person , who now hazarded his All to obtain us Relief , by carrying our Addresses for us , was made sensible of this . Remember , O New-England , how often that cry then went up from thee to the Lord , Return we beseech thee , O God of Hosts ! look down from Heaven and visit this Vine ; And now , behold , He is Returned . Our Adversaries are what and where they are ; and we see so far Our Iudges as at the first , and our Councellors at the Beginning . And there are several Excellent Things that have been done for for us by our God , while He has been effecting of our Deliverance . We have cause to Praise the God of Heaven , That in the Tumult of our Action , there was not the loss of a Drop of Blood , nor such Plunder and Outrage as would have been a Disgrace to our Profession . We have cause to Praise Him , that our Soveraign has Declared , He took very well what we had done for Him , and for our selves in the Revolution . We have cause to Praise Him , that we have been so comfortably carried through the Difficulties of a whole Summer , while we could not say That any Law was of any Force with us . Every Week erected a new Ebenezer for us ! We have cause to praise Him , for putting it into the Heart of a Person , well known unto you all , to take a Voyage into England , just before the late Overturnings there : on purpose to be in the way of those Opportunities , which his Faith was that he should have , to serve the Churches of the Lord Jesus here ; by which means , ( as our Friends there assure us ) it is that we have been preserved from being totally udome . We have cause to praise Him , for giving a check to those Indian Blood-Hounds , which have been worrying of us in the East ; who having destroy'd several Plantations , met with no full stop , till they assaulted the first Place where a Gospel Ministry was maintained ; but there they found such a Bar in their Carrier , that we now hear no more of them . And may I not say it ? We have cause to Praise the Glorious God , for some Excellent Things , which as yet we know not of . We gave Imperfect , but ( with many ) probable Accounts , of a Deliverance from a French Force , that the possession of this Territory , would have been a valuable Thing unto . But this is indubitable . If it had not been the Lord , who was on our side , may New-England now say , they had swallowed us up quick : Blessed be the Lord , who hath not given us as a prey to their Teeth . New-England , Be humbly Thankful to thy God , and exalt the God of thy Fathers . God forbid there should be any Murmurers among us all . A year or two ago , we would have been Thankful for a small mo●ety of what we now enjoy : But if our Praises are not yet enough animated , I pray then , let us make a comparison of our Condition . Compare our Condition with that of them in H●ngary . The Protestant Churches there , have been made a Desolation , and it would break an heart of Stone to Hear , what both Pastors and People have endured . Should you see one of the poor Confessors come out of an hideous Dungeon full of T●●ds , and Snakes , and Excremen●s ; with their very Throats putrified , their Teeth fallen out , and their Eyes gone into their Heads , and their Flesh mangled in a thousand places , you could not forbear preaching a Sermon on , Thankfulness to God Imagine your selves under the continual Executions of the most witty Divels , and all that shall but relieve you with a bit of Bread , torn to pieces by the hand of an Hangman , and you will see what has befallen the most venerable Ministers of that Kingdome , until the Protestant Religion has been almost extirpated there , and this after the Oathes of their Monarch to support it . Compare our Condition with that of them in Germany . The French King has there made even the Popish Provinces themselves a Stage of Blood , and laid all in Ashes for many Leagues together . He has given the Sun for his Device upon many of his Coines ; and by the Fiery Destructions which his Bombs have made , he has given us cause to suspect whether he be not the S●n in the fourth Vial , that has power to S●orch men with Fire . Imagine that you were put under the French Contributions , and not only Rob'd of all you have in the World , but also driven like so many Cattle before their Slaughterers . Imagine your Towns laid all in Heaps , and your Persons obnoxious to all manner of Rapine and Murders from the worst of H●rpyes : this is what thousands are now feeling of . Compare our Condition with that of them in France . Except in the matter of our Sabbaths , what are we better than the People of God in that rueful Countrey ? But all the Bloody Butcheries and Cruelties committed in the By-past Ages , are meer Trif●les in comparison of what that People have of late endured , and this after Faith given often ●nough unto the contrary . After they ●ad gone thorough intolerable vexations ●n all those things that they had ●ny kindness for , they have been at last ●iven up into the claws of the merciless ●ragoons : and were all the Divels of Hell In●arnate , they could not invent more or worse ●ortures , than these Dragons inflict upon ●ersons of all sorts , till they have compelled ●●em to abjure the Truth of God ; and thus all ●he Flocks of the Lord Jesus have been wor●ed and Ruined there . Imagine a Swarm of Lew'd Souldiers , like Locusts quartered 〈◊〉 your Houses , and there binding of you , that they might abuse your nearest Relations before your eyes ; imagine them Hanging of you by the Hair of your Heads and then half Choaking of you with Smoke , or half Roasting of you with Fire ; imagine them pricking of you with Knives and Bod●kins , and with ten thousand lingring Tortures , making you Desire , while you may not enjoy , such a priviledge as Death ; until at last you have been worried into an Abjuration , which makes the wounds on your Consciences no less than those on your Bodies were before . To have done , Compare our Condition , with that of our English Brethren , in woful Ireland , especially the more Southern Counties of it . Behold , their Estates Confiscate : the value of Four Millions was long since the Account of the Losses felt by only them who had Fled into England . Behold their persons Confind ; having sharp Skeins ready for their Throats , with just Fears day and nigh● of a new Massacre . What would you think , if you were driven like Dogs into the Goals of Galloway : if you were Enjoy●ed to carry your own Fathers Heads upon Poles in the Head of a Regiment , or if yo● lay at the mercy of a Wild Irish Rabble ? Behold these things , Behold them with Sympathy O New-England ; and be not ●canty in thy Praises to Him that has known thee above all the Families of the Earth . Come , and Sing unto the Lord , for the Excellent Things which He has done . But yet let us not put Him off with a Song . 'T is a thing very pleasing to God , that we have a Day of Thanksgiving to Praise Him in ; and if this Day , he duely kept , I doubt not but Good News will quickly put us upon the keeping of Another . He that Inhabits the Praises ●f Israel will keep House among us , if by Leaving off our Praises we turn Him not out of Doors . It was a Remarkable thing that befel One of our Neighbours , a while ago . By a Shipwrack , he was cast upon a desolate Island , where he was left many months Alone . After many a Day of Prayer , for succour , he at last kept a Day of Praise , ●or the support which he had so long En●oy'd ; and within a few Hours upon this , ●here came a Vessel by that saved him . New-England has been , and yet is , in so many Troubles , that some have questioned whether a Day of Thanksgiving would be Season●ble ! O Yes ! most highly Seasonable ! Keep it well , and it shall yet be said , Also in New-England , things went well . But the principal Thing in our Thanksgiv●●g , yet remains , and that is , a Thanks-Doing Let us all Repent , and Reform , and set up on the Lively Doing of the Good Thing which the Lord our God Requires . The Apos●stle speaks pathetically , I beseech you , Brethren , by the Mercies of God. It is This , I conclude withal ; I beseech you Brethren , by the Mercies of God , that New England ma● be as a Noble Person sometimes call'd u● The best people in the world ; and that no sca●●dalous Things may be done here , to offen● the God that has done Excellent Things for us . I beseech you by the Mercies of God , that as we profess the Protestant Religion with the most exalted Purity , so we may practise it , in such an Exemplary manner , that , A● New-England man , may be a Term of Honour in the world . I beseech you by the Mercies of God , that we may all sincerely intend th●●ame Ends , which brought our Predecessor● here , even to propagate the Spiritual King●dom of our Lord Jesus Christ. May all due pains be taken , that not only the Englis● may every where have the Knowledge o● God , but that the Indians too , may shar● with us in it ; for an Engagement whereunto God has given us to see , as that a ver● visible Blast has attended the Estates of the● who have grown Rich by Trading of Drin● with them , so a visible Blessing has acco●●panied them who have Laboured in Preach●●ng of Truth to those poor Pagans ; and since ●t this day , the most powerful Nation of ●hem , namely , the Mohawks , ask for the ●ospel , it cannot but be a piece of Policy as ●ell as Relig●on , in us to carry the Gospel unto ●●em , while they cannot be reconciled unto 〈◊〉 Superstitions of our French Neighbours , ●●at have been Tampering with them . O ●●at we might not forget the Errand of our ●ore-fathers hither ! We shall then Flourish ▪ ● spite of all that wish ill unto us ; Thus ●ill Salvation be nigh unto us , and Glory shall well in our Land. May our God sanctifie 〈◊〉 His Dispensations to us ; particularly those 〈◊〉 the Summer past , as well the Terrible as 〈◊〉 Merciful . 'T is a Metaphorical Earth●●ake which has lately been among us , and ●ere was a Literal one in some parts of the ●ountrey preceding of it . May these Earth●●akes produce better effects on us than those Lima in this our New-World America , 〈◊〉 upon the people there a little while ago . ●e are informed , That an horrible Earth●●ake , after some Warnings of it , shook that ●eat and Lewd City ; till with incredible ●o●se and Fury , it sunk a large Part of it ●o the Earth , and the Sea came hideously ●●lling in upon it . While the miserable ●●●niards were under Apprehensions of pe●●ing in speedy Ruines , they that had been Enemies one to another immediately made R●●conciliations ; they professed a Deep Repe●●tance of their former Vices ; their fine O●●naments and other Vanities , they burie● under ground ; and with consternation cr●●ed out , Our Oppression , our Injustice , the Ext●●vagancies of our Cloathings and our Houses , 〈◊〉 brought all this upon us ! We have newly be●● passing th●o ' a Figurative Earth-quake , whic● is not yet quite over with us . God forbi● we should be Impaenitent after all ; and , sin● I would End , where I began , God forbi● that we should be Unthankful for our prese●●vations . New-England is not used unto suc● Follies as Bonfires , nor do we think Ringi●● of Bells , but Sin●●ng of Psalms , to be a Than●●●giving Exercise . Come then , Sing unto 〈◊〉 Lord ; Sing the Praises which He may 〈◊〉 claim unto . It was a no less wonder●●● than undoubted Thing which happened France a few months ago , when , upon 〈◊〉 Dissolution of the French Congregations , a● a particular Interdict upon the Singing 〈◊〉 Psalms thro' the Kingdom , there were tho●●sands of persons , in hundreds of places , scores of Times , that plainly heard 〈◊〉 Singing of Psalms after the manner of 〈◊〉 French Assemblies with a most Ravishi●● Melody , by Invisible Singers in the Air ; thing so notorious that the very Psalms we often Distinctly as well as Audibly enough ●ung , to let the Hearers know what Psalms ●hey were ; such as the Fifth , the Forty Se●ond , the Hundred and Thirty Eighth particu●arly ; and even the Parliament of Pau made 〈◊〉 Decree that men should not go abroad to ●ear this unaccountable Singing under a for●eiture of Two Thousand Crowns ▪ upon which ●he Reflection of the incomparable Iurieu is ▪ This is a Reproach that the Providence of God ●akes unto us ; because you have not dared , n●r ●een willing any more to Sing His Praises and ●ongs of Thanksgiving . God has made mouths ●n the midst of the Air ! But behold an Happy Presage , that God will not suffer your ●oices and your Songs to Dy , the Angels have ●ezed on them . Thus , give me Leave to ●●y , That if we ●ill not Sing unto the Lord , there are others ●hat will ; and we that will not , never shall ! Yea , our Silence may provoke the very ●ocks and Stones to loud Shouts , in praising ●●e Eternal God. O come , and Sing unto the Lord ; and ●ough we do not certainly know what Changes yet may come upon us , nor how ●r the Clouds may Return after the Rain ; let ●s nevertheless be found , Singing to the Lord. They that Remember how many Princes ●nd Interests were concerned for the Protestant Religion threescore years ago , and how almost all of them afterwards Disappeared ▪ cannot yet be without Apprehensions in the midst of their Thanksgivings . But , though we may not Sing Requ●ems to our selves , ye● we may Sing Praises to our God : and what ever Fears may be upon us , I am now 〈◊〉 Repeat that Call ; Awake , Awake , O Congr●●gation , Awake , Awake , and utter a Song . 〈◊〉 was a memorable Accident which happened near one of the Lee-ward Islands some year● ago . A Ship with some pious people in it was by a violent Storm driven between two hideous Rocks ; where she lay on one side so that every moment they expected she would overset ; In this Distress , in this Despair , they agree to Dy Singing , and ther● they sat Singing the Hundred and Forty sixth Psalm . But behold , a Dutch Ship that had newly taken a Spanish Vessel , at that Instant came by , and not only delivered them from the perils of their own Ship , which immediately perished , but also bestowed an other Vessel on them . Methinks , this poor Countrey has been , and yet is , much in the condition in which That serious people were Well , but supose we should Sink after al● the Excellent Things which have been done for us , ( and yet we can't forbear saying , I● the Lord were pleased to kill us , would He have shewed us all these things ! ) Let us however Sink and Sing both at once , and keep Singing to Him that has done Excellent Things , while we have any Breath ; ( and when we have None , we shall do it Better ! ) such a Course it is , which gives the greatest Likelihoods , that He will with a perfection of Deliverance , Arise and Save us . FINIS . A Passage in Mr. Flavels Thanksgiving-Sermon , Preached Febr. 14. 1688 SHall we Ingratefully Overlook the Beginnings of Mercy , as small and Incon●siderable Things ? Shall we say , All this i● Nothing , because we have not yet All that we would have ? God forbid . When Israe● was in Egypt , then a Little Straw would have been Esteemed as a great Mercy ; but after●wards Quails and Manna were Despised . Brethren , Three or Four Years ago , you would have Accounted it a Special Mercy , to have Enjoy'd an Hour or Two together in Prayer or to have had a Little Spiritual Bread Handed to you , behind your Enemies Backs ; and is it nothing in your Eyes this Day , to behol● the Worship of God at Liberty ? Yea , to see the Success of the Gospel , in bringing home of many Souls to Christ ? The Fears of Potery vanished ? The Witnesses Risen ; the Tenth-part of the City fallen ; and such a prospect of far greater and more gloriou● Things before your Eyes ? O let not the Consolations of the Almighty seem small . A Postscript . Endeavouring the Satisfaction of them that are Inquisitive after the late Stupendous Extasies and Prophesies in France . THe Words of God are True , in the Notice which they have given us , That the Works of God are Great ; and certainly no Age did ever afford Instances of Greater than those which are Now the matters of Discourse and Wonder throughout the World. Among the Marvellous Things which at this Day strike the minds of Men with a just Astonishment , there are not many more considerable , than those of the late Extasies in France . Concerning which we have undoubted Information ; That about the beginning of the Year 1688 : a young Shepardess in the Province of Dauphine , fell into unaccountable Trances , wherein tho' the standers by , pull'd her , struck her , cut her and burnt her , yet it was impossible to awaken her . In this condition , her custome was to utter many Divine things ; and though she could neither write nor read , nor could speak any Language but that of her Countrey , which has nothing of pure French in it , yet she now Pray'd and Preach'd at a most prodigious rate , and Sang Psalms after the manner of the French Protestant Congregations : and when Auditors that could thereby be edified , were present , she expressed herself , not only in French of a Dialect most Exact and Correct , but also having occasion to speak Latin , in the Refutation of the Romish Superstitions , she did it with a distinctness that fill'd all the Hearers with Admiration - And though when she came out of her sleep , she remembred not what had befallen her ; yet she had her wits thereby made more Sparkling and Refined . Those new French Apostles , the Dragoons , quickly did their utmost , for the suppression of this Rare Thing ; but behold the event ! It was not long before other persons fell into the like Trances , with Symptoms not unlike to those which had attended her ; and the Number encreased unto several Hundreds of these Prophets , if I may call them so ? whereof even the Kings own Guards afforded One. And at length some that were Awake were carried forth unto Rapturous Exercises with an Eloquence and Energy equal to that of those that were Asleep . They are People of all Ages and Sexes ; but the greatest part of them are Boyes and Girles , from six or seven to five and twenty years of age ; and persons very old ; all of them the meaner sort of People : but of Families Exemplary for their good living ; the whole affair being indeed so prodigious , that the most obstinate Saddu●cees in the Kingdom confess it , A natural Distemper directed by Providence to procure the Repentance of a sinful World. The Ministry of these Extraordinary People , does chiefly consist of two things . One part of it is , the Admonition of those unhappy persons that have provoked God by many notorious Miscarriages , but especially by Apostasie under the late Persecution . They deride the Follies of the Mass , with a surprizing ingenuity ; and in a vast Assembly of perhaps two thousand People come together to hear these Preachers , if there be any that have abjured the Protestant Religion , they will call them before them , and address them in such powerful Terms , as usually make not not only the whole Congregation shed floods of Tears , but the Apostates themselves to become Penitents : and there comes not one away , who does not positively declare , That he had rather be torn to pieces with wild Horses than ever go to Mass again . No man is able to resist their Words ! And they make the Penitents now and then confess other particular sins , which they convince them of , though the Transgressors had imagined these Faults impossible to be discovered . A whole Council assembled could not manage any matter with more Authority than They do the Conviction of those , who have gone to Mass , that they may shun the Severities of the French Dragoons . It may not be unprofitable to recite a few of the Sentences , which fell from the mouths of these Extaticks . Have a care ( said one of them ) that you come not hither out of Curiosity . Better it were for the Wicked that hot Coals of Fire should pass through their mouths , than that they should mock at the Word of God ; they had better swallow a Serpent with all its Poison . If the Wicked ( said one of them ) had the same power over God , that they have over you , they would do the same to Him that they do to you : but God will pronounce the Sentence of Malediction on them , and will say , Go into Eternal Fire . Brethren , ( said another of them ) Pray hard ; and then though we should meet an Army of Enemies at the Door , God will place a million of Angels for your Guard. Brethren , ( said another of them ) We have alwayes apprehended more the Threats of Men than those of God , else what happened to us , would not have happened . One of them said , Your Riches have ruined you , and your Prayers must Relieve you . One of them said , I am afraid the first Persecution will make you return to Mass again ; but O suffer your selves rather to be first cut in p●e●es . Alas ! Iesus Christ has poured out all his Blood for us , and we can't endure the prick of a pin for Him. To the Apostates , they generally so conclude their Warnings ; You have sinned against the Father , you have sinned against the Son , take heed of sinning against the Holy Ghost , for God will then pardon you no more . And when the Children are told , They shall be Hang'd , they are not at all afraid , but answer , That is but a little harm for a greater , good . But the other part of their Ministry is , The Prediction of Things quickly to come to pass . They do indeed foretell many Things of a more private concern ; they foretell a thousand Things that must happen to themselves and their Friends : and the issue confirms the Prophesie . One of them being thrown into a Dungeon , said , The man who sent her thither should within eight Dayes fetch her out , and i● strangely was accomplished . But the Things of a more publick Concern , are chiefly those which they foretel . The Gentlemen , who give us the History , tell us , that they judge it not yet convenient to publish a large part of the Authentick and sufficient Collections which they have made of these Prophecies . However , they have given us a Taste . In general , The Subjects of this Enthusiasm all agree in foretelling , A Speedy Deliverance to the Church of God : and they declare , The Late Revolutions in England , to be the Beginning of that Deliverance . Tho' all France was fill'd with a Rumour , That the Late K. Iames had Defeated the ( ●hen ) Prince of Orange , both by Land and Sea , these then said , The Authors of these Reports commit a great sin , for the Prince of Orange has Chas'd , and shall Chase the King out of England ; and that is the Beginning of the Deliverance of the Church . They foretold a fresh Assault of Persecution in France , and it had a very dreadful fulfilment ; for after it Ensued a Terrible Storm of Outrage upon the Relicks of Prot●stantism in the Desolate Kingdom : in one Article of which , there was a Massacre , of about four hundred people ; but they foretold within how many Days the Persecution should b● over ; and they give hopes of a Protestant King , very quickly to be seen in France . They proclaim , The Divel is going to be shut up in the midst of Hell ! They say , The Accomplishment of the Prophetical Months and Dayes is at Hand ; but it must be accompanied with very Terrible Wars and Plagues . The whole is a Thing very unaccountable : and when I consider the Fate of the famous German Prophets , which made such a Noise in the World : or , when I consider , that while the Iews were under their Infatuations about their false Messiah , Sabatai Saevi , some Hundreds of people fell into Extasies ( as 't is Reported ) wherein they Prophesied , the speedy Deliverance of the Jews by that Impostor , and Little Children that could not stammer a word , yet repeated and pronounced the Name of this Deceiver , with Happy Omens of Him ; but consider on the other side , That not to Regard the Works of the Lord , is a Destroying evil ; I dare not make any Reflections on it . I dare not say , what Authority , or what Original is to be assigned unto these Inspirations ; but this I know , the Comfort and Counsil of the Church is without such things now sufficiently provided for ; and our Lord Jesus having foretold the State of the Church until He come again , hath so concluded His Predictions , If any man shall add unto these things , God shall add Plagues unto Him. Nevertheless , This also I shall , take for granted , That the Great God intends hereby to Awaken us unto a Consideration of what is before us ; That is a proper use of Miracles ; and when we are once Awakened , there is provided for our Entertainment A more Sure Word of Prophecy : which O that our God may help us to Give Heed unto Amen . The Way to Prosperity . A SERMON Preached to the HONOVRABLE CONVENTION Of the GOVERNOVR , Council , and Representatives of the Massachuset-Colony in New-England ; on May 23. 1689. By COTTON MATHER . Jer. 23.28 . He that hath My Word , Let him speak speak My Word faithfully . BOSTON . Printed by R. Pierce . for Ioseph Brunning , Obadiah Gill , and Iames Woode . MDCXC . A Prophesy in the Divine Herbert's Church-Militant . REligion stands on Tip-toe in our Land , Ready to pass to the American Strand . When height of Malice and prodigious Lusts , Impudent Sinning , Witchcrafts and Distrusts , ( The marks of future Bane ) shall fill our cup Unto the Brim , and make our measure up ; — Then shall Religion to America flee ; They have their Times of Gospel , even as we . — Yet as the Church shall thither westward fly , So Sin shall Trace and Dog her instantly . The Preface , THe Occasion which first produced the following Sermon , cannot be expressed in better Terms , than those which were used by the Worthy Gentlemen that were the Conservators of our peace , in their humble Address to Their Majesties , bearing Date , May 20 th 1689. Wherein among other things they say , — Your three several Princely Declarations , Encouraging the English Nation , to cast off the Yoke of a Tyrannical and Arbitrary Power , which at that time they were held under , have occurred unto the View and Consideration of the people in this Countrey , being themselves under alike ( if not worse ) evil and unhappy Circumstances with their Brethren in England ; First by being unrighteously deprived of their Charter-Government , & Priviledges , without any Hearing or Tryal , and under utter impossibilities of having Notice of any Writt served upon them ; and then followed with the Exercise of an illegal and Arbitrary power over them , which had almost ruined a late flourishing Countrey , and was become very grievous & intolerable ; besides the growing miseries , and daily fears of a total Subversion , by enemies at home , and invasion by forreign sorce ; the people thereby excited , to imitate so noble and heroic an Exemple , being strongly and unanimously spirited , to intend their own safeguard and Defence , resolved to sieze upon and secure some of the principal persons concerned , and most active in the ill management of the illegal and arbitrary Government , set over them by Commission . Accordingly upon the eighteenth day of April last past , arose as one man , siezed upon Sr. E. Ananos the late Governour , and other of the evil instruments , and have secured them for what Justice , Order from your Majesties shall direct . — Thus that Address . Vpon the late Revolutions thus described , ensued various debates about the further Steps that were needful to be taken for the service of Their Majesties and this afflicted Countrey ; Which Debates quickly issued in the Return of our Government , into the Hands of our Ancient Magistrates ; who with the Representatives or Deputies of the several Towns in the Colony , made another Address unto Their Majesties , bearing date , Iune 6. 1689. in which Address there were these Words , — Finding an Absolute Necessity of Civil Government , the People generally manifested their Desires and Importunity once and again , That the Governour , Deputy Governour and Assistants , chosen and sworn in May 1686. according to Charter & Court as then formed , would assume the Government ; — — the said Governour , Deputy-Governour , and Assistents , then Resident in the Colony , did Consent to accept the present Care and Government of this people , according to the Rules of the Charter , for the preservation of the Peace and common safety , and the putting forth further Acts of Authority , upon Emergencies : until by Direction from England , there should be an orderly Settlement ; which we hope will Restore us to the full Exercise thereof , as formerly ; notwithstanding we have , for some time , been most unrighteously , and injuriously deprived of it . That Royal Charter being the sole Inducement and Encouragement unto our Fathers and predecessors , to come over into this Wilderness , and to plant the same at their own Cost and Charge . In Answer to this Address , His Majesty in a most gracious Letter , bearing Date the 12 th of August 1689. unto the Government here , uses these Expressions , Whereas you give Us to understand , that you have taken upon you the present care of the Government , until you should receive Our Order therein , We do hereby Authorize and Empower you to Continue in Our Name , your Care in the Administration thereof , and Preservation of the Peace , until We shall have taken such Resolutions , and given such Directions for the more orderly Settlement of the said Government , as shall most conduce to Our Service , and the Security and Satisfaction of Our Subjects within that Our Colony . It was in the time of our greatest Heats and Straits , and at a time appointed for a General Assembly of this great Colony , that the ensueing Sermon was expected from me . Through the Grace of God , the Sermon Then was not altogether unacceptable to some who desired the Publication of it . But I gave not my full Consent unto their Desire , until now , they had an Opportunity ( with their Renewed Importunity ) to join it with another Discourse which they have obtained from me ; and tho' the little Differences which were among us , when the Sermon was preached , are now s● well Composed , yet I flatter my self with an opinion , that the things here insisted on , will not , should not be judg'd Unseasonable . I confess it is a very Bold thing , for one every way so mean as my self , to Address the whole Countrey in such a manner as here I do ; but , Si crimen erit , crimen Amoris erit ; and if the general Dispositions of the year will not excuse a Breach of Order in me , I have but one thing more to offer by way of Satisfaction for it ▪ There was once a people in the world , with whom it was a Custome , That when men would Conciliate the Favour of the Ruler , they were to present his own Son before him , as a Sight which would speak more than any Advocate . Instead thereof , that I may not want the Favour of my Countrey , how blameable soever they may count my freedome with them , I shall only present them with my own Father ; whose cheerful Encounter with an hazardous Voyage unto a strange Land , and with innumerable Difficulties and Temptations there , for no other Cause , than that he might Speak FOR them , has at least merited a Pardon for Mee , with whom he has for near two years now left both his Church and Family , if I have transgressed by taking a Liberty of Speaking TO them at the same time , the things which may promote our Enjoyment of the Divine Presence with us . Now , may Salvation be nigh unto us , and Glory dwell in our Land ! Cotton Mather . The Way to PROSPERITY It is the Word of the Eternal GOD in II. Chron. XV. 2. Hear ye me , Asa , and all Judah , and Benjamin : the Lord is with you while you are with Him. IT is a Remarkable Occasion which has brought these Words to be the Subject of our present Meditations ; but it was much more a Remarkable Occasion which these Words were first uttered upon . We find them in the Sacred Book of Chronicles , which Chronicles are not the Civil Records , in other parts of the Bible refer'd unto ; but an Inspired History of things that concerned the Line of Christ and the Church of God for five hundred more than Three Thousand years . It seems as an Epitome of the Whole , ( for so t is in Ierom's Language ) to be written as late as the Last of all the Books in the Old Testament ; and the Hebrew Bibles give it a place accordingly . The Greeks choose to entitle it , The Book of things ( else where ) passed by ; because , as Lyra notes , according to the Rule of our Saviour , It gathers Fragments that nothing may be lost ; and if there were nothing else but the Story which affords our Text unto us , to justifie that Appellation , it were enough : 't is a Story passed by in the Book of Kings ; but worthy to be had in everlasting Remembrance . The ready Pen of Ezra ( for him we conjecture to be the Scribe of the Holy Spirit here , notwithstanding those few Clauses which may be judged to be added by another hand after his Decease , I say the Pen of Ezra ) is here informing us , That the people of God had newly been invaded by a vast Army of Cushites ; but we are yet at a loss who these Cushites were ? Far more Scholars in the World , than there were Souldiers in that Army have hitherto been content with our Translation , which renders them Ethiopians here . But that learned French-man Bochaert , by whose happy industry , more than any man's , the Treasures in the Bowels of the Scriptures have been delv'd into , has with irrefragable Demonstration prov'd , That no● Ethiopians but Arabians are the Cushites men●tioned in the Oracles of God. These Ara●bians , tho they have not been called Sarace● ( as has been thought ) from their word Sa●rak , that signifies , to Steal ; yet for their F●●racious Inclinations , they well deserved suc● an Etymology ; they were a wild sort 〈◊〉 men , that liv'd much upon the Rapin an● Ruin of their Neighbours ; and particularly a Million of them now designed Ierusalem fo● a prey . The blessed God gave His peo●ple a notable victory over these Invaders ▪ and they were now returning from Gerar ( 〈◊〉 place between thirty and forty miles off ) un●to Ierusalem . The Holy Spirit of God exci●ted and inclined a Prophet whose Name wa● Azariah , to entertain them with a faithful & solid Sermon hereupon ; and in my Te● you have the Sum and Substance of it . We may observe , First , The Praeface of it ; and that i● very awful and earnest : Hear ye me Asa , an● all Judah , and Benjamin . As he was proba●bly none of the greatest , so t is like he wa● none of the oldest men ; for it seems by th● eighth verse , that his Father was yet alive , 〈◊〉 present at this time . Yet being to speak 〈◊〉 the Name of the great and eternal God , 〈◊〉 expects , he demands the attention of 〈◊〉 whole Army to him . Secondly , the Design of it ; and that is , to ●ecclare both the Rise and Vse of their late Prosperity . The Lord is with you , while you ●ou are with Him ; or as the Vulgar Latin has ●t , Inasmuch as you have been with him . What ●ollows , is but an Explication , and Ampli●ication of this . He saw they were taken up with various Businesses and Contrivances ; they had their Enemies under Hatches , and ●heir minds were full of Thoughts and Cares , What to do next ? But he calls them off to acknowledge the Presence of God , as the cause of ●heir coming off so well in their late Action , and above all things to obtain & secure the presence of God , that they might come off as well , in in their future Enterprises . I am therefore to call for your Attention ●nto this Faithful Saying . DOCT. That The GOD of Heaven will be with a people while they are with Him. 'T is by the ensuing Propositions , that the Explication of this Truth shall be endeavoured . PROPOSITION . I. It is the Interest , and should be the Desire , of Every people to have the God of Heaven With them . But we are to enquire , What is implied in that presence of GOD , which we are to be solicitous about ? For Answer to this ; There is a Threefol● Presence of God , mentioned in the Scriptur● of Truth . First , God is Naturally present with all Creatures . He is an Immense Being , and no Creature can be without him . The Apostle that argued in the Court at Athens , in Act , 1● 27. God is not far from every one of us . No● He is near us all , He is with us all . And Pai● could have had the Gentiles themselves confessing it ; for besides what their Seneca di● own , One of their own Poets had said , Iovis omnia plena . It is the Speech of our God , in Ier. 23.24 . Do not I fill Heaven and Earth , saith the Lord ? Yea , That He do's . The Jews call God by the Name of Makom , or of Place , because all things are in Him ; this is His Name in the Book of Esther , if I mistake it not . Whether we may count it proper and physical to speak of an Imaginary , Infinite space , beyond the utmost Selvige of the world , replenished with our God alone ; yet we are sure that the Heaven of Heavens gives no limits unto His Being ; and the Ancients were not mistaken when they said , Deus Ipse Sibi , et Mundus et Locus et Omnia . We cannot so well say , That God is in the World as we may say , The whole World is in God ; & we may say with the Psalmist , in Psal. 139.7 . Whither shall I flee from thy presence ? Secondly , God is Gloriously present with the Inhabitants of the Third Heaven . The Heaven of Heavens hath in it most intimate and marvellous manifestations of God. It is the Place , of which we may say , as t is said of that State , in Rev. 21.23 . The glory of God doth lighten it . There the blessed ones have God with them , so that they Alwayes behold His face ; and they are satisfied with His likeness for ever . When we come to Heaven , then as in 1. Thes. 4.17 . We shall ever be with the Lord. So the Lord will be with us for ever . Heaven is the Throne of the Most High ; He is there as a Prince in his Throne ; the Great KING is in a manner very ineffable residing there . To be there , is called in 2. Cor. 5.4 . A being present with the Lord. Hence unto the Heaven , and not unto a Bible , are we directed to make our Corporal Applications in our Prayers , or our Oathes before the Lord. But Thirdly , God is Graciously present with His people , by being Favourable unto them . And this Gracious presence of God is that which a people ought to be concerned for . It lies in The Engagement of Divine Providence for the Welfare of such a people . God is with us when God is for us . To particularize , First , God is with a people by Directing of them . When Israel was to pass thro' the Wilderness , they had that encouragement in Exod. 22.15 . The presence of God going with them . What was that ? Why , They had a cloudy fiery Pillar miraculously Leading o● them every step of the way ; There was ● wonderful Pillar which was a Cloud by day and a Fire by night ; the Lower part of which rested on the Tabernacle , while the Vppo● part was to be seen by the whole Congregation : the Motions of this being managed by the Ministry of Angels , now God was with them , and He led them forth by the right way . A people are often brought into a Wilderness of Difficulties and Emergencies : but if God be with them , He guides them to a good Issue of them all . The Presence of God appears in His Directing and Inclining of a people to such Actions , as may be for His Honour and their Safety , and such Methods , a● may extricate them out of all Distresses . When God is with a people , He shapes their Counsels for them , and he disposes them to the Things that should be done . He supplie● them with Apprehensions beyond the Reach and Verge of their own Wisdome , and He layes before them Invitations , and Provocations , which as it were push them into the way wherein they should go . When the Jews were ●pon a 〈◊〉 Assumption of the desireable thing which the Babylonians had deprived 'em of , they took a Right Way to dissappoint all that were desirous to interrupt them in it . We find in Neh. 4.13 . That while those Exercises continued , they waited in a posture agreeable thereunto ; and when the danger was over , then they returned every one to his work . How came this to pass ? 'T was because GOD was with them . Secondly , God is with a People , by Protecting of them . 'T was the promise of God unto His people , in Isa. 43.2 . When thou passest thro' the Waters , I will be with thee , and thro' the Rivers , they shall not overflow thee . On which Text , blessed Bilney after his Condemnation so sweetly paraphrased , that his Friends caused the whole Sentence to be fairly written on their Tables . A people may be ready to be swallow'd up , by a stormy , gaping Ocean of Troubles , but if God be with them , they shall escape clear of all . The Presence of God is a Defence , a Refuge to the people that are partakers of it . It was said unto David in 2. Sam. 7.9 . I was with thee , and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight . When God is with a people , He distracts and confounds their enemies , and He troubles those who trouble them . A people who have God with them , are too strong for all the Malice and Power of their enemies ; no Adversary , no Desolation , shall make such a people miserable ; they are the Iacob , unto whom in Gen. 28.15 . Behold , I am with thee , and I will keep thee , saith the Lord. Thirdly , God is with a people by His Assisting and Succeeding of them . When Ioshua had a vast Undertaking in hand , it was said unto him in Cap. 1.9 . Be of good Courage , for the Lord thy God is with thee , whither soever thou goest . q. d. God will Assist thee , and succeed thee , in thy undertakings . The Presence of God will carry a people comfortably through all that they take in hand . If they have Canaanites to subdue ; if they have Enjoyments to obtain or preserve , the Presence of God will prosper them in doing all . It was said unto Solomon , in 1. Chron. 22.11 . My son , the Lord be with thee , and prosper thou , and build the house of the Lord thy God. Thus , if the Lord be with a people , they shall prosper in all their Affairs ; in every Expedition , they shall come off with Satisfaction ; and they shall not miscarry in any of their Applications . This is the Presence of the Lord. Proposition . II. The Presence of God with a people in Hi● Outward Providence , has a diverse Foundation and Continuance from His Presence with H●● People , in the Covenant of Grace . As t is 〈◊〉 observed by the great Owen , in a Discourse unto the Parliament , These two are to be carefully distinguished . We must not reflect on the Stability of the New-Covenant , for what Variety and Soveraignty we may see in providential Dispensations , toward this and that people in the world . This matter seems determined by David , in 2. Sam. 23.5 . Tho' my house be not so with God , yet He has made with me an Everlasting Covenant , ordered in all things and sure . David had promises for the prosperity of his House ; He had also the sure mercies of the Covenant made over to him in the promises of God. These promises had now a different Establishment ; The Sure mercies of the Covenant , were unto him more Absolute and Immutable ; but the prosperity of his House , we find under another Law , and subject unto a dreadful Alteration . To bring these things into the case before us . God has in the Covenant of Grace , promised , That He will be with His people . This we read in Heb. 13.5 . He hath said , I will never leave thee nor forsake thee . The Alsufficient God , who is HEE that answers our Necessities , Let them be what they will ; the Vnchangeable God , who is HE still , whatever He was to the Saints of old ; this God hath said [ and how much better is this Au●os ●ireken than the best Ipse dixit in the world ! He hath said it , and this ] with multipli● Negatives , in the Original , heaped one upo● another , I will not , I will not leave thee , I wi●● not , I will not , I will not 〈◊〉 sake thee . Wel● but God is not with a people in His outward Pro●vidence just after the manner there in observed ▪ This Two-fold Presence of God ; First , It has a Diverse Foundation . Whe● we look on the Covenant of Grace , there t●● Sins of one are expiated by the Sufferings o● another ; and so , God comes to be with Hi● people , for whom the A●onement is thus Procured . Thus t is said in 2. Cor. 5.25 Christ was made sin [ or a Sin-offering ] for us , tha● we might become the Righ●eousness of God i● Him. Now come to outward Providence , an● there you see other measures taken . Her God is with a people , according to thos● Terms , in Ezek. 18.20 . The Soul that sinnet● IT shall dye ; one shall not bear the Iniquity 〈…〉 . Again , It hath a Diverse Continuance When we look on the Covenant of Grace , then God hath bound Himself to be with His people for ever ; yea , to see that they shall therefore for ever be with Him. He there saies 〈◊〉 in Jer. 32.40 . I will not turn away from them 〈◊〉 do them good , but I will put My fear in th● hearts , that they shall not depart from M● Now come to outward Providence , and the● you see t is otherwise . God is with a people for a while ; and upon their misbehaviours and provocations , He changes the Tenour of His Dispensations to them . T is with them , as it was with that family , in 1. Sam. 2.30 . I said indeed , that thy house should walk before me forever ; But now the Lord saies , that be far from me . The sense of these things will prepare your Thoughts for one Conclusion more , which is , Proposition . III. A People must be with God , or God will not be with them . And here also , to prevent Mistakes , Let that one Text be alwaies carried in our Minds ; Neh. 9.18 . Being merciful , thou for sookest them not ; there is Mercy in the Whole of this matter . Let it be noted , That tho' this Condition seems to be imposed upon us ; yet it is Grace , pure Grace , rich Grace that helps us , when we are helped unto the performance of it . When a people have so been with God , as that He has been with them , they are to shout , Grace , Grace ! concerning all . It is also to be noted , that this Benefit dos not depend upon that Condition , as an Effect upon the real and proper Cause of it . When a people has been with God , this does not merit , and so procure that God should be with them ; but that is barely the Antecedent unto which , this is the Consequent Having praemsed this I must now affirm , God is with you , while you are with Him. We need only reflect on the People of Israel , for an Instance of it . That whole History , which almost fills the Bible , proclames nothing more than this ; it loudly declares . That while a people are with God , God will be with them ; but that He will be very Terrible in His providential Dispensations towards such a people as do for sake Him. But , What is it for a people to be With God ? In short , Our being With God , implies the Whole of our Obedience to Him. Our Duty to God must be attended ▪ that we may have the Presence of God. The Whloe of this Duty is comprised in that Expression of our being with the Lord. Particularly the Hebrew Particle [ Gnim ] in our Text , admits of three Significations ; it signifies , With , and For , & Like , [ which last Signification I make the more free withal , because a little Philology will acquaint us with many Exemples of it : for instance , When David saith in Psal. 120 , 5. I dwell in ( Gnim Hebr. ) the tents of Kedar ; a very great Interpreter translates it so , I dwell As the tents of Kedar . i. e. Like the inhabitants of the Stony Sun-burnt Arabia ; whom indeed I don't Remember David ever was among . ] Accordingly , a people have Three Things incumbent on them , if they would enjoy the Presence of God. First , A People should be with God , by Communion [ With ] Him. This t is to be With Him ; There are Certain meanes of Communion between God and us ; and these we must be continually approaching to Him in . We are With God , while we are at Prayer before Him ; hence in our Context here , it immediately follows , If you seek the Lord , He will be found of you . While we do seek Him , we are with Him. The Psalmist was a man much in prayer , and therefore he could say as in Psal. 73.23 . I am continually with thee . A people much in Prayer may say the same , We are continually with the Lord. A people that will pray upon all occasions , a people that will pray over all Businesses , a peo - that will retire into the Mount for Prayer ( and Fasting too ) at every turn ; that people is with the Lord. And the whole Worship of God must be , diligently , graciously , faithfully frequented by a people that would be with Him. We are with God , when we are at His House . A people should support & esteem , and use all the Ordinances of God among them . The Church of God hath His very special Presence in it ; the Name of the Church is that in Ezek. 48.35 . Iehovah Shammah , the Lord is there . We should all be there too , and there give those Encouragements which are due to the Institutions of God ; So shall we be with the Lord. Secondly , A people should be with God by Activity [ For ] Him. To be For God is to be with God. It was once the Summons given in Exod. 32.26 . Who is on the Lords side ? And all the Sons of Levi gathered themselves ; they were with God in doing so . T is a Summons given to the world in every Generation , Who is on the Lords side ? They that obey the Summons are with the Lord. A people full of Contrivances for the Interest of God , are with Him. A people should set themselves to advance the Glory of God ; they should own His Truths , and His Wayes ; and endeavour to draw all about them into the Acknowledgement of the same . A people should propound the Glory of God as their cheef End and the main Scope of all that they do ; and they should think much of no Cost , no Pains , nor ( tho , as a Martyr once expressed himself , tho' every hair on their heads were a life ) should a Thousand Lives be dear unto them , in the promoting of it . Then are they with the Lord ; they are so , when God can say of them , as in Isa. 43.10 . Ye are my Witnesses , saith the Lord , and my servant . Thirdly , A people should be With God , by Behaviour [ Like ] Him. To be Like God is to be with God. They that are with Him , do not walk contrary to Him. God and we should be One. A people should have the same Designs , the same Desires , which the Written Edicts of Heaven declare to be in the blessed God ; and not only so , but the same Vertues too . Is God H●ly ? Thus a people should not bear with them that are evil . Is God Righteous ? Thus a people should abhor all Injustice and Oppression . Is God Merciful ? Thus a people should be disposed unto all fair acts of Pitty and Kindness . Then they will be with the Lord ; and , O that this people were so with Him ! This is the USE to be now made of what has been delivered . Let us all now , Be with God , that God may Be with us . I suppose , whatever else we differ in , we generally concur in that wish , 1. King. 8.27 . The Lord our God be with us , as He was with our Fathers , let Him not leave us nor forsake us . O that we might all as much concur in an endeavourous Resolution , to be with God , as our Fathers were with Him ; not to leave Him , nor forsake him . There is as much of New-England in this great Congregation as can well be reach'd by the voice of one Address ; t is indeed , the best part of New-England , that is , at least Represented in this Assembly . As the great Council at Ierusalem satt near the Temple , thus the whole Convention of the Massachusets , is here come into the House of God this day : Wherefore I take the boldness to say , Hear ye me Asa , and all Judah , and Benjamin . The Ch●ef Sinner and least Preacher among all your Sons , now takes a Liberty to mind you , That God will be with you while you are with Him. Now that we may be all of us inspired with a Zeal for this great thing this Day , Let us Consider , First , How Desirable , How Necessary a Thing it is , that we should have God with us . Truly , This is the Vnum Necessarium of New-England ! Nothing is more Desireable , for us , than the Presence of our God. The Jews have a Fable of their Manna , That whatever any man had a mind to tast , he presently found in the Manna a Savour & a Relish of it . It is very true of this Blessed Presence ; all manner of Blessings are enwrapped in it . There is a multitude of Blessings which we are desireous of ; but they are all contained in this comprehensive thing : It will give every honest man , all that he wants . This will extricate us out of all our Labyrinths ; This will set all things to rights among us ; This will wonderfully carry on all the Salvations which have been begun for us , by the God of our Salvations . If Christ , if God be aboard , our little Vessel will not sink in the gaping , roaring , formidable Waves now tossing of it . Well did the Apostle say , in Rom. 8.31 . If God be for us , who can be against us ? Thus , If God be with us , we have All for us . One GOD will weigh down more than ten Worlds . If we have the Presence of that God , Who made and moves the Universe by a Word ; if we have the Presence of that God , Who can Command and Create our Deliverances , O most Happy We ! We may then join in such Triumphant Acclamations as that in Psal. 118.6 . The Lord is on my side , I will not fear ; what can man do unto me ? We may then defie , even the Gates of Hell it self , for , Cur metuat hominem homo in sinu Dei positus ? and tho' abroad at this day , The earth is removing , and the Waters roar , and are troubled , and the mountains are shaking , splitting , tumbling , with the swelling thereof ; Tho' the great and the terrible God be at this Day , coming out of His place , to make all Europe a stage of blood and fire , and make the Nations everywhere drink deep of the Cup that shall make them giddy with all manner of Confusion & Astonishment ; Yet WE shall be helped right early , for God is in the midst of us . Add to this ; Nothing is more Necessary for us , than the Presence of God. We are undone , thrice , and four times Vndone , if we have it not . Methinks I hear the Almighty GOD with a voice more awful than that of the loudest Thunder , saying over us , as in Hos. 9.12 . Wo to them when I depart from them . And Wo to us indeed ; we are in a most woful estate , if it come to that ! How can we endure the mention of it , without our most importunate Deprecations , O our God , leave us not ! We can have a prospect of nothing but horrible Disorders , Agonies and Vexations , if we lose the Presence of our Lord : We ly open to no less than a fearful Dissipation , and more than all our late Oppressors would rejoice to see brought upon us . We have lately been complaining of Burdens , that were grievous to us ; but I may warn you of our danger to feel one Burden more , which will infinitely exceed them all ; t is that in Jer. 23.33 . What Burden ? I will even forsake you , saith the Lord. Behold a Burden that will sink us into a bottomless Abiss of Calamities ! The Presence of GOD , This is no less than the very Soul of New-England ; We are dead and gone , if that withdraw . When Israel was nimbly enough possessing themselves of the promised Land , which God had given them such a CHARTER for , they perished in the Attempt ; for in Deut , 1.42 . The Lord said , go not up , for I am not among you . Alas , if we don 't in the first place look to this , That God be among us , we cannot avoid all manner of Dissappointments , Desolations . Let us Consider , Secondly : What uncomfortable Symptomes we have had of God's not being with us . It seems as if God had fulfilled that sad Word on this poor Land , in Deut. 31.17 . I will forsake them , and many evils shall befal them , so that they will say in that day , Are not these evils come upon us , because God is not among us ? There is a vast number of Calamities , which have given us lamentable cause to fear , That God has forsaken us . Why have we suffered such a Blast , both on our Trade , and on our Corn , that the Husband-man complaines , I looked for much , and lo , it came to little ! and the Mariner complains , I went out full , & came home empty ! T is Because our God is not among us . Why have we had Fire after Fire , laying our Treasures in Ashes ? What means the hear of this Anger , that Boston , the most noble , and vital Bowel of the Territory , hath with a twice repeted Conflagration suffered such a Loss of that which in the Body politic answers to Blood in the Body natural ? T is Because our God is not among us . Why have we had War after War , made upon us by a Foolish Nation ? Why have the worst of the Heathen had renewed advantages to disturb our Peace ? And why have so many of our Brethren and Neighbours been made a prey to the most Savage Murderers in the world ? It is Because our God is not among us . Give me leave to say , as in Judg. 6.12 . If the Lord be with us , why then is all this befallen us ? But we may find Humiliation enough to convince us of this deplorable thing , from what we have endured upon the Loss of our Government . She of old said unto our Lord Jesus , in I-h. 11.21 . Lord , if thou hadst been here , my brother had not dyed . So , If the Lord had been here , t is possible we had not Died. If the Lord had been with us , would he have made our Wall so feeble , that ( as they said of Ierusalem ) the going up of a poor FOX upon it , should break it down ? If the Lord had been with us , had all the wild Creatures that passed by this Vineyard , found such Opportunities to be plucking at it ? No , Our God would have kept us , as A vineyard of red Wine ; and lest any should have hurt us , He , ( the Lord ) would have kept it , night and day . If the Lord had been with us , had you ever thought you had seen cause to Declare , as you have lately & justly done , That a Company of abject strangers had made a meer Booty of us ? Had Had we ever felt the sore grievances of an illegal & arbitrary Government ? No ; The God of Heaven was not with that oppress'd people , to whom He said in Isa. 1.7 . Your Countrey is desolate ; your land , Strangers devour it . What shall I say ? It was an Appeal made in Ioel , 1.2 . Hear this , ye old men , ; hath this been in your dayes ? Even so , I may say to the old men within the hearing of it ; My Fathers , You Remember how we were , when God was with us ; pray , was it so in your dayes , as it has been in ours ? Were you visited with Plague after Plague , in a long Series of heavy Judgements , as We your poor Children are ? Surely , They will tell us ; God is not with us , as He was with them . In all these matters , our Case may at least have some Correspondence with that in Luc. 23.28 . He made as though He would have gone ; but they constrained Him , saying , Abide with us ! Let us Consider Thirdly ; If we are not With God , we shall be guilty of an Apostasie , and that under very shameful , very direful Aggravations too . We shall be Apostates , and O let us not be so , lest our God say , My soul can have no pleasure in them . But if we are so , we shall be of all Apostates the most inexcusable Let us Consider , what Fathers we have had ; they were with God. I may say of 'em as in hos . 9.8 . They were with my God : & they are gone to be so forever , What an unaccountable thing will it be for us , to have that Character , which we have been so much cautioned against , There arose another generation which knew not the Lord ? What ? Shall the Grandchildren of Moses turn Idolaters ? and shall the Children of Samuel become the Children of Belial ? Shall we forget the Hope of our Fathers , or forsake our Fathers Friend ? The very Graves of those blessed men , every Post , every Stone upon their Graves , is a Witness against us , if we do . With dismal Accents , Methinks , their very Ghosts , will groan unto us , Alas , Is our posterity come to this ! Nay , Abraham would be Ignorant of us , and Israel would not acknowledge us , if we should be so degenerate as to lose the Presence of the Lord. Let us also consider , what Warnings we have had . It may be said unto us , as in Jer. 25.4 . The Lord hath sent unto you all His Servants the prophets . This Countrey has been blessed with a most faithful Ministry , by which , I suppose , every Assembly in this Territory , has been called upon , to Be with God , and to keep with Him. Especially the Sermons which our ELECTIONS have put the Embassadours of God upon Preaching and Printing of ; these have been so many loud Warnings unto us , That we leave Him not . In them we have been faithfully warned , That our true interest is Not to Lye unto God. We have been Warned , That the latter end of our Misbehaviours will be Destruction from the Lord. We have been Warned , That We must Repent and do our first Works , or have the Candlestick of the Lord Iesus removed from us . In a word , We have been warned from Heaven , That If we forsake our God , He will cast us off for ever . O miserable We , if we do it after all . These Considerations , will not have their due Force , unless they expire in a Threefold Request , which I must now lay before you ; and I may justly assert concerning the Things contained therein , They are not Vain Things , they are Our Life . Wherefore , Hear ye me , Asa , and all Judah , & Benjamin ; Hear ye these things , all ye people of the Massachusetts ! First , Let us Return to the Lord. We must Come to Him , if we would Be with Him. We have marvellously backslide● from our God , but He calls after us , Return ye backsliding Children , and I will heal your Backslidings . O that we may all as one man Reply what is in Jer. 3.22 . Behold , we come unto thee , for thou art the Lord our God. If we ask that Question , in Mal. 2.7 . Wherein shall we return ? Methinks , t' were an harder Quaestion , Wherin should we not ? But , Behold , We have had a great voice out of the Temple in answer thereunto . We have had the Elders and Messengers of our Churches , convend in a SYNOD , solemnly informing of us , Wherein we shall Return . God forbid the Advice of that Synod , should only serve to Convict us and Condemn us , in the Day when He shall take vengeance on us for our Contemning of it . That were dreadful indeed ! But in Compliance with it , Let every man seriously now enquire of himself , What have I done ? Mark what I say , That man who does not suspect himself , of having a share in the Sins which have driven away from us the Presence of our God ; That man , I may safely affirm it , is one of the principal Troublers of this Israel ; I do without any Scruple say it , Thou art the man. Let us all then Examine our selves , and set upon the Reforming of our own Hearts and Lives , and the Renewing of our Covenants with the Lord. Indeed , both the Objects in which , and the Authors from whom we have endured our Calamities , those are enough to indigitate what Sins they are that have exposed us thereunto . Let me in two or three instances use a plain dealing with you , agreeable to my station here this day . What have been the Objects in which we have been afflicted ? Our Fruits have been blasted ; & were they not abused in the excesses of Sensuality ? Our Lands have been threat'ned ; and were not They the Idols , for the sake of which we have offended GOD , and almost Renounced all that was Holy , and Iust and Good ? The most happy and easy Government in the world , was changed with us , into what has by the most impartial men been confessed to have become Intolerable ; Why , Did not men despise the Best of Governments , and procure other things to be set over them , because they endeavoured to make Loggs of what they before enjoyed ? To pass on , Were we not in the late unreasonable Extortions of the Law , invited to consider , Whether our needless Multiplications of Litigious Contentious Law-Suits formerly amongst us , were not a Scandal thus chastised ? Were we not in the late unsufferable Injuries , Abuses , and Exactions of them , that under the pretence of the Excise carried on very outragious Villanies , put upon Considering , Whether the Multitude or Quality of Drinking-Houses , in the midst of 〈◊〉 , had not once been a Stumbling-block of our ●●iquity ! Again , What have been the Authors from whom we have been afflicted ? Our Molestations have risen very much from Indian Hands . And Alas , have we not very much Injured the Indians ? I do not mean , by taking from them Their Land ; For it was Hardly possible they should be more fairly dealt withal than they have been in that particular ; but by Teaching of them , Our Vice. We that should have learn'd them to Pray , have learn'd them to Sin. Endeavors for their Conversion have by many people been blown upon ; but there have been wicked English , who have taught them to drink , yea , and to curse , and swear ; things which they knew not the meaning of , till they came to School unto such White Pagans as some that wear the Christian - Livery among our selves . And have not we also Followed the Indians ? The Indians are Infamous , especially for Three Scandalous Qualities : They are Lazy Drones , and love Idleness Exceedingly ! They are also most impudent Lyars , and will invent Reports and Stories at a strange and monstrous rate ; and they are out of measure Indulgent unto their Children , there is no Family-Government among them . But , O how much do our people Indianize in every one of those Abominable things ! We must repent of these our miscarriages , or else our God will take up that Resolution concerning us , I will even forsake them , saith the Lord. Secondly , Let not Sin be With us , and God will be so . T is the purpose of our God , in Josh. 7.12 . I will not be with you except ye destroy the Accursed Thing , from among you , Let us then Destroy that Accursed thing . Especially , Let us take heed of the Sins , which at this Time , we have a peculiar Disposition to . It was complain'd in Hos. 7.1 . When I would have healed Israel , the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered . It has bin thus , but God will not be With us , if it still be thus among our selves . Our good God , the Lord our Healer , is now Healing of us : O let us not now be impatient patients , lest that our blessed Physitian deal hardly and roughly with us . Impatiens aegrotus crudelem facit Medicum . Let us now no more discover Revengefulness against them that have deserved Ill of us . Let the Law , and not the Sword measure out their due unto them . No more discover an Unthankfulness unto them that have deserved Well of us . Requite them not with Censure and Haired for their unwearied pains to preserve our Peace . No more discover a Contempt of the Ministers , who set themselves faithfully to Declare the whole Counsil of God , and to Lift up their voice like a Trumpet in shewing us our sins . They are all agreed ( I hope ) as one man to live and dye studying of your Well-fare ; but if they are unjustly ill-treated with you , the great God , whose Messengers they are , will take notice of it , and say , Ye have despised Me ! And O let us no more Discover such a Spirit of Lying as we have made our selves worthy to be reproved for . We find mention of an Evil Spirit , that said in 1. King. 22.22 . I will go forth , and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets . Doubt-the-same Devil has been suing for a License to go forth and be a Lying Spirit in the mouth of near all the people here : I would to God , this Devil were in a Shorter Chain ! I beseech you Let not this Land have that Character , A Countrey full of Lies . But of all our Errors , There is none of such dangerous and threatning Consequence as the Contention which we are too prone to break forth into . We are too much a Contentious , and that will soon render us a Wretched and a Ruin'd people . A Divided and Quarrelsome People , do even say to the Almighty , Depart from us ; for He is the God of Peace . But O , What is our meaning then , to make a full submission & entire resignation of our selues to the Tyranny of our own Passions , as we have too much done , while we have been debating about the Measures of another Submission and Resignation in our various Revolutions ! I have read of a people with whom it was a Law , That in a Fray , where Swords were drawn , If a Child did but cry PEACE , they must End the Quarrel , or else he dyed that strook the first blow after PEACE was named . He that Considers the Feavourish Paroxysins which this Land is now raging in , through meer Misunderstandings about the Means leading to the End wherein we are generally agreed , and how ready we are to treat one another with fiery Animosities , had need cry , Peace , Peace ! with a very speedy importunity . For my own part , I confess my self but a Child , and among the meanest , the smallest of your Children too ; but yet I am old enough to cry Peace ! and in the Name of God I do it . Peace ! my dear Countrey-men ; Let there be Peace in all our Studies , Peace in all our Actions , and Peace notwithstanding all our Differences . We cannot avoid having our Different Sentiments ; but Peace ! I say ; O let not our Dissents put us upon Hatred and Outrage , and every evil work . It has not a little surprised mee to read in a Greek Author , who wrote Fifteen hundred years ago ; that in the times long praeceding his , there was a Tradition among them , that Europe , and Asia , and Africa , were Islands , encompassed by the Ocean , without and beyond which was another as big as They : in which other World , were mighty and long-liv'd people , inhabiting of great Cities ; the two greatest whereof were called , one of them , The Fighting City ; the other of them , The Godly City . Behold very Ancient Footsteps of the knowledge which the old World had of our America , some Thousands of years ago . But I pray , which of them American Cities , must New-England become Incorporate into ? Truly , If we are a Fighting , or a Disagreeing People , we shall not be a Pious one . We have hitherto , professed our selves , A Countrey of Puritans ; I beseech you then let us have the wisdom to be first pure , then peaceable . Every man should count himselfe liable to follies , & mistakes , & Misprisions not a few . Are you so , or are you not ? If you are not , what do you here in this Lower World , where you can find no more of your own Attainments ? If you are so , then be patient and peaceable towards those who see not with your eyes ! Let us all condescend one unto another ; and let no man be in a foaming Rage , if every Sheaf do not bow to hi● . There is one ingenious way to unite this people , if it were so heeded as it ought to be . I remember , an inquisitive person of old , that he might know which was the Best Sect among all the Philosophers , he asked one and another , and every one still preferr'd the Sect which he was of himself : But he then asked them , successively , Which do you reckon the next best ? and they all agreed , that next to their own , Plato 's was the Best : upon which , he chose That , as indeed the Best of all . Thus , We all have our several Schemes of things , and every man counts his own to be the Best ; but I would say to every man , Suppose your Scheme laid aside , What would you count the Next Best ? Doubtless we should be of One mind as to That : And if we could act by the common measures of Christianity , we should soon be united in it . O that we could receive the Word of the Lord Jesus , in 2. Cor. 13.11 . Brethren , live in peace , and the the God of Love and Peace shall be with you . Thirdly . Let every man do his Part , and his Best in this Matter , That God may be with us . Behold , a work provided for all sorts of men . Pardon me , that I first offer it unto You , that are or may be our Superiours . It was said in Hos. 11.12 . Iudah ruleth with God. When Rulers are with God , O happy Government ! Unto YOU , much Honoured , I would humbly address this Petition , That Your first work may be to think on some considerable Expedient , by which the Presence of God may be secured unto us . A little Consultation may soon produce , what all New-England may bless you for . Yea , t is very much in your Power to do what may have a Tendency to perpetuate the Presence of God unto the succeeding Generations . I cannot forbear uttering the Wish of the great Chytraeus in this Honourable Audience , Vt inam potentes rerum Domini majorem Ecclesiae et Scholarum curam susciperent ! May a godly and a learned Ministry be every where encouraged : and no Plantations allowed to live without a good Minister in them . May the Colledge be maintained , and that River the wholsome streams whereof have made glad the City of God , and blest us with a priviledge above the other Out-goings of our Nation , be kept Running , with Issues beyond those from the Seminaries of Canada or Mexico ; may Schools be countenanced , and all good wayes to nourish them and support them in every Town , be put in Execution ; you shall then probably leave the Presence of God , as a blessed Legacy with such as may come after you . I know not whether we do , or can at this Day , labour under an iller Symtom , than the too general Want of Education in the Rising Generation ; which , if not prevented , will gradually , but speedily , dispose us , to that sort of Criolian Degeneracy , observed to deprave the Children of the most noble and worthy Europaeans , when transplanted into America . The Youth of this Countrey , are very sharp , and early ripe in their Capacities , above most in the world ; and were the Benefits of a Religious and Ingenuous Education bestowed upon them , they would soon prove an Admirable People ; and as we know that England afforded the first Discoverers of America in these latter Ages , whatever the Spaniards may pretend unto the Contrary ; for it may be proved that both Britains and Saxons , did inhabit here , at least Three or Four hundred years before Columbus was born into the world , which the Annals themselves of those times do plainly enough Declare ; So our little New-England may soon produce them that shall be Commanders of the greatest Glories that America can pretend unto . But if our Youth be permitted to run wild in our Woods , we shall soon be Forsaken by that God , Whom our Fathers followed hither , when it was a land not sown ; and Christianity , which like the Sun , hath moved still Westward , unto these Goings down of the Sun , will Return to the old World again , leaving here , not a New-Ierusalem , as Doctor Twiss hoped , but a Gog and Magog , as Master Mede feared ; for the last of the Latter dayes . Now may the God of Heaven , bless the Wisdome and Goodness of Your Endeavours , for the continuance of His Presence , with those that may rise up in your stead , when you shall be gone to be forever with the Lord. Allow me to say , unto the Fathers of this Countrey , what was said unto the Iudges of old , Deal courageously , and the Lord shall be with the good . And as for Vs , that are and shall be Inferiors , Let us also do what we can , That our God may be still among us . We ought all of us humbly to lay before our worthy Rulers that Encouragement in Ezr. 10 4. Arise , for this matter belongs to thee , we also will be with thee , be of good courage & do it . Let there be a publick Spirit in us all , for the good of the whole ; the Rarity & Mortality whereof among us , New-England bewails among the greatest of its Calamities . Especially , Let us Pray hard , That God would not leave the Land. It was a Publique Spirit which was in that Famous Prince of Orange , who was the first Captain General of the Vnited Provinces an hundred years ago ; and the Ancestor of that Illustrious Person , whose glorious Design and Service , we have lately with so much Unanimity Declared for ; that when he was basely murthered by the Pistol of a papist , His dying and only words were , O my God , take pitty of my soul , and of this poor people . When he had but one breath to draw in the world His poor people had half of it ! O Let this poor People have no less than Half our Cares , half our Prayers . Let no man say , I am a sorry Creature , of what account can my prayers be ? For You that can do little else but pray , can yet be the instruments of saving this poor people , by the Presence of the Lord. We find in Amos. 7.2 . That a poor H●rdsman and Huckster , kept the great God from Leaving of the Land. A poor Husbandman , yea a poor Woman , by lively prayers , may do incredibly much towards the Keeping of our God yet among us . And if God be With us , then His Rod , and Staffe , His mighty Crook , which horribly breaks the bones of all that it falls upon , will crush and wound all that shall go to make this Wilderness , A valley of the shadow of Death unto us ; and beat away all that may essay to do us any Harm . So shall we be Led and Fed among the Sheep of our GOD ; He will Restore us , and His Goodness and Mercy shall follow us all our Dayes . MANTISSA . THus have the Words of God been Calling upon us , to beware of Loosing His gracious Presence . Now the Presence of God , will either go or stay with His Gospel ; and the Principal Danger of New-England lies in its giving an ill Entertainment unto that glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus . Let us then see wether the Works of God , have not also been calling upon us to take heed of that Epidemical Evil ; and let what has befallen some of our Neighbours , in our dayes be produced as a Warning unto us to avoid any Contempt of that Gospel , which others have smarted for the Slighting of . I would fill the Remaining pages of this sheet with a Discourse fetch 't from a Reserved Collection of MEMORABLE PROVIDENCES , not improper to be produced on this Occasion . MATTH . X. 14.15 . Whosoever shall not receive you , nor hear your Words , It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Iudgement , than for that City . To Despise and Reject the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ , is an Evil , than which none is more evil ; and yet nothing is more ordinary than this extraordinarily sinful Sin ; which Vnbeleef may be accounted , as Tertullian of old esteem'd Idolatry , the Praecipuum ●rimen Humani generis , the grand Crime of ●ankind . Low thoughts about the Person , ●nd the Office , and the Beauty of the Lord ●esus ; contemtuous Apprehensions of His Truths ●nd His wayes , and His Ordinances ; these ●re the Things which bring the most Signal ●ery Wrath of God upon the Children of un●erswadeableness . The peculiar Controversy ●f God with man , in the managing of which ●he most High God inflicts upon particular persons , at once a Blasting on their Estates , ●nd a Blindness on their Spirits here , as the ●rologue to the Hottest Vengeance of Eternal ●re in the dismal vaults of Hell below , is not ●o much on the score of all their other Profa●ity & Iniquity , as this one thing , They sleight the Redeemer of their souls . And this is that thing , by which whole Nations & Peoples bring ●wift Destruction upon themselves ; that thing ●or which all the Seals , all the Trumpets , all the Vials in the Apocalypse , have brought in the direful plagues of the Almighty upon the Paegan and the Papal , after the Ruine of the Iewish World. They have maintained a vile Praejudice against the Saving and the Ruling , Hands of a Gracious Mediator . O that , besides the other innumerable Rebukes of Heaven upon mankind for this Madness in their hearts , the following Instances of Divine Displeasure may awaken us to Take heed of an evil heart of Vnbelief . Exemple I. ¶ AMong all the Nations of wild Salvages by which the vast Territory of New-England was inhabited , scarce any was more potent or populous than that of the Narragansetts . Unto those miserable Heathen was the Gospel , and a Gospel without charges too , offered by some English preachers of it , but they peremptorily with much affront & contempt refused the Glad tidings of Salvation by Iesus Christ , praeferring their own devillish Rites & gods before the New Thing tendered unto them . An holy man , then famous throughout our Churches , hereupon let fall a speech to this purpose , I speak altogether without the Spirit of God , if this nation be not speedily & remarkably destroyed . And so it happened . This Nation , much against the advice of the more aged men among them , engaged in the late bloody armed Conspiracy with the other Indians in the Countrey to cut off the English : in prosecution of which , after they had done many Acts of Hostility , the English Army took the just provocation in the depth of Winter to assault the strong Fort & Swamp in which was their General Rendezvouz . The Number of our Forces was much inferiour unto theirs , but with a wonderful Valour , & memorable Success , on our part , the Day was carried against the tawny Infidel● ▪ Their City was laid in Ashes , two and twenty of their Cheef Captains were kill'd , with we know not how many Hundreds or Thousands of the common Indians ; after which , mortal Sickness & horrid Famin pursued the Remainders of them ; so that there are scarce any of them that we know of , to be now seen upon the face of the Earth . Exemple . II. ¶ The Ringleader of the last Warr which the Indians afflicted the English in this Land withal , was Philip the Prince of the Wompan●ags . That gracious and laborious Apostle of the Indians , the Reverend Iohn Eliot , made a Tender of the Gospel to this Monster , who after the Indian mode of joining signs with words , pulling off a Button on the good man's Coat , told him , He did not value what he said so much as that : and he moreover hindred his subjects from embracing the Christian Religion through a fear which he expressed , That it might obstruct something of their Civil absolute unlimited Obedience to him . After his Invasion of the English with some unhappy Success , the Hand of God so fell upon him , as that after many Calamities , one of his own Vassals upon a disgust at him , for killing an Indian who had propounded an Expedient of Peace with the English , ran away from him , informing our Forces where he was ; and they came upon him in the Thicket , just as he was telling his Counsellours of his Dream the night before , that the English had taken him , and while he endeavoured an Escape an Indian shott him thro' the heart , whereof he dyed immediately , nor are any considerable part of his people now to seen any where out of their own place . Exem . III. Some time since there were Sundry well disposed persons in Virginia , upon whose affectionate Letters , full of desires , that they might enjoy the meanes of eternal Salvation , diverse worthy Ministers were sent from hence unto them , Mr. Thomson , Mr. Knowles , & Mr. Iames ; who after a passage so tedious & dangerous as made them almost suspect their Call , at length arrived there , where God gave them a blessed Success of their labours , with a loving & a liberal Entertainment in the Countrey : Yet it was not long before the Rulers of the Plantation drove them away by an Order , That all such as would not Conform to certain things , which the consciences of these Gentlewere known to scruple , should leave the Countrey by such a day . Before that black day came , the Indians , who for some hundreds of Miles had entred into a Consoederacy to cut off all strangers , made a dreadful massacre of the English , & 300 at least were suddenly kill'd by the natives there : A grievous Mortality by Sickness did also accompany the said Massacre , so that many removed from thence , & many of the Rest glorified & magnified the justice of God , thus avenging the Quarrel of His Refused Gospel . Finis . An APPENDIX Touching Prodigies In NEW-ENGLAND . AS an Appendix to the Endeavours used in the foregoing Treatise , to Commemorate the Wonderful Works of God , and at the same time to awaken this Countrey unto such a Devotion and Repentance as the Works of God are calling for : It ought to be seriously enquired , Whether we have not been by any Prodigies Warned of the Evils near unto us ? tho' it must be confessed , that our Hearts were Pr●digiously obdurate and insensible , if we needed any , while we have Moses and the Prophets . The written Word of God is that Firmament , spread over the Spiritual , which answers the Expansum in the Natural World ; and the Threatnings with the Histories therein shining and Thundering , would givē to ā sinful People , as great a praemonition of impendin● Plagues , as the most Portentous Armies in th● Air , or Comets in the AEther of the Universe . Yet even Insolit Accidents of Nature , as well as Faithful Cautions of Scripture have been employ'd for our awakening in our late stupidity . Indeed there are some from whom we might have expected a less unreasonable Scepticism , who deride all Prodigies ; but these Gentlemen , like Those who deny Original Sin , do in their own Disputation confute themselves , by Giving , yea , by Being an Instance of the very thing , which they oppose . Nay , Let no more than the Authorities and Varieties recited by the Great Zuinger , in his Elaborate Theatre , upon the Head of Prodigies , be faitly considered , and I know not whether you will allow them to be called Gentlemen , that shall be so Disingenuous as to make a Ridicule of all in this kind , that has been hitherto Reported and Believed . I acknowledge , That there ought to be much Accuracy in the Observation of Prodigies ; and that those things ought not always to be accounted Prodigies which are Extraordinaries ; and that it is a simple thing to believe every word ; and since I have seen the Nonconformist . Reproched for their minding of Prodigies , by the loose Pens of certain Writers , whom , weighing well their Accomplishments , by their own Rule , we ought not to mind , I have been desirous that we may so far take the Informations , tho' we value not the Iudgments of their Malice , as to be sufficiently critical in this important point ; yet we may not by profanity maintain our own Security . Altho' that the Eternal God , Hate Robbery for burnt offering , and it is as Dangerous as 't is an officious thing , To Ly for Him : nevertheless those people , I am sure , were stigmatized for none of the wisest , Who Regard not the Works of the Lord , nor the Operation of his Hands ; and the Communion between Us and the Angels , either good or bad , which are Invisibly about us , is more frequent , and Upheld and Applied unto more purposes than Mankind is Happy enough to be well Aware . I therefore pass on to say , That New-England also seems to have had its Prodiges . We have had inded One Omen , which was rather a Prophesy than a Prodigy unto us . I Remember that Leontius , the Aged and Famous Minister of Antioch , pointing to his own White Head , said unto his people , Brethren , when this Bank of Snow falls , I can tell you , that you 'll have a dirty time on 't ; intimating the Troubles and Quarrels that should happen among them , after his Decease . Truly that sort of Snow fell so fast among us , and the precious , praying , Excellent Old Disciples were so fast interr'd , that we might well conceive as much of our Quiet , would go away with them , as there went of our Glory . But I yet speak too figuratively , to answer the Expectations of my Reader ; Let him then know : That Just before our late Vexations , we were terrified with an Earth-quake in the Southern Parts of the Countrey . And if so base a man as Polydore Virgil could reckon an Earth-quake in England long since , the Forerunner of a Bloody and Cruel French War , We that knew what Neighbours w● had , were not without ground of Conjectures that were none of the most Comfortable or Encouraging . In the Summer of the Year , 1688. just before the first eruption of our unhappy War , we had growing in Boston a Cabbage Root , out of which there sprouted three very wonderful Branches , one of them exactly re●e●bling a 〈◊〉 , another of them , as exactly resembling a Rapier , and a third , extreamly like to the Club used by the Indians in their Barbarous Executions . I was my self one among the Multitudes that visi●ed this Curios●●y , with no little surprize at the odness of it ; and the Characters of it in my thoughts have grown more 〈◊〉 and Solemn , since the 〈◊〉 of it have been so agreeable . I 〈…〉 imagine my self herein impos'd upon , as Lycosthenes who wrote of Prodigies , was in the Business of his Bearded Grapes ; but it would be Cranibe his cocta for me to offer the Reader what Exemples parallel hereunto are mentioned by the exquisitely Learned , and Curious Authors of the Renowned German Ephemerides . Moreover , it was credibly affirmed , that in the Winter of the Year 1688 , there fell a Red Snow , which lay like Blood on a spot of Ground , not many miles from Boston ; but the Dissolution of it by a Thaw , which with in a few hours melted it , made it not capable of lying under the contemplation of so many Witnesses as it might have been worthy of . The Bloody Shower that went before the suffering of the ancient Britains from the Picts , ( a sort of People that painted themselves like our Indians ) this Prodigy seem'd a second Edition of . And in the opinion of the most Critical Observers , throughout the Countrey , they were prodigious , or at least , Uncommon SIGHTS and SOUNDS , which on the first of October , in the Year , 1689. We were entertained withal , and not unlike those which Pliny mentions as presages to the Cimbric Wars of old ▪ For on that Day , in the Morning , while the Sky was too clear , to give us a suspicion of any thing like Thunder approaching , there suddenly Blazed a Flame● in the fashion of a Sword ; which Blaze after a continuance , far longer than that of an ordinary Lightning , expired in a smoke that gave Terror unto the Beholders of it . But hereunto succeeded immediately very terrible and Repeated Noises , exactly like Volleys of small Shot , not without Reports like those of Great Guns super added thereunto . This was a Scaene which all the Colonies of this large Countrey , and Thousands of People , at once were Spectators of , carrying in it , something , beyond the known Laws which ordinary Meteors are Conform'd unto . And herein was indeed One Circumstance , that gave Demonstration , of something Rare and Great in this Occurrent ; That persons which were Distant from one another many scores of Miles above an Hundred , yet at the same Time , both Saw and Heard the whole of what is now related ; and though I know , the Fancies of men applying themselves unto what is in the Clouds , are Fruitful even to a Ridicule ; strong imagination being able to find , even a Iuno in them ▪ and all that can be any where imagined ; the shapes of Clouds , like the Clinks of Bells , humoring the Thoughts ▪ of any one ; yet in This Accident , no small , Numbers of Gentlemen , who do not use to be imposed upon , but count no Trial severe enough to Examine Things of this Nature with , were so surprised as with one mouth to say , The Finger of God was here ! But with Him are left the Events of all . And in the mean time we are not ignorant , that Nunquam Futilibus Excand●it Ignibus AEther ▪ FINIS . ERRATA . PAge 1. l. Last , Read Saying . Page 9. Line 5. Read Iews . Page 37. Line 1. dele Can. Page 44. Line 1. Read as at . Page 44 Line last r. undone . Page 45. Line 13. for gave . r. have . 
A50177	----	The wonders of the invisible world observations as well historical as theological upon the nature, the number and the operations of the devils : accompany'd with I. Some accounts of the greievous [sic] molestations by daemons and witchcrafts ... and the trials of some eminent malefactors ... II. Some councils directing a due improvement of the terrible things lately done by the unusual and amazing range of evil spirits ... III. Some conjectures upon the great events likely to befall the world in general and New England in particular ... IV. A short narrative of a late outrage committed by a knot of witches in Swedeland ... V. The devil discovered, in a brief discourse upon those temptations which are the more ordinary devices of the wicked one / by Cotton Mather. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. 1693 Approx. 228 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 69 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A50177 Wing M1173 ESTC R26804 09546970 ocm 09546970 43586 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A50177) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 43586) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1335:20) The wonders of the invisible world observations as well historical as theological upon the nature, the number and the operations of the devils : accompany'd with I. Some accounts of the greievous [sic] molestations by daemons and witchcrafts ... and the trials of some eminent malefactors ... II. Some councils directing a due improvement of the terrible things lately done by the unusual and amazing range of evil spirits ... III. Some conjectures upon the great events likely to befall the world in general and New England in particular ... IV. A short narrative of a late outrage committed by a knot of witches in Swedeland ... V. The devil discovered, in a brief discourse upon those temptations which are the more ordinary devices of the wicked one / by Cotton Mather. Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728. [30], 104 p. Printed and sold by Benjamin Harris, Boston : 1693. "Published by special command of His Excellency the governour of the province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England": verso of t.p. Reproduction of original in the Bodleian Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. 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Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Witchcraft -- New England. Massachusetts -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775. 2003-04 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-05 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-07 John Latta Sampled and proofread 2003-07 John Latta Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-08 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion The Wonders of the Invisible World. OBSERVATIONS As well Historical as Theological , upon the NATURE , the NUMBER , and the OPERATIONS of the DEVILS . Accompany'd with , I. Some Accounts of the Grievous Molestations , by DAEMONS and WITCHCRAFTS , which have lately annoy'd the Countrey ; and the Trials of some eminent Malefactors Executed upon occasion thereof : with several Remarkable Curiosities therein occurring . II. Some Counsils , Directing a due Improvement of the terrible things , lately done , by the Unusual & Amazing Range of EVIL SPIRITS , in Our Neighbourhood : & the methods to prevent the Wrongs which those Evil Angels may intend against all sorts of people among us ; especially in Accusations of the Innocent . III. Some Conjectures upon the great . EVENTS , likely to befall , the WORLD in General , and NEW-ENGLAND in Particular ; as also upon the Advances of the TIME , when we shall see BETTER DAYES . IV A short Narrative of a late Outrage committed by a knot of WITCHES in Swedeland , very much Resembling , and so far Explaining , That under which our parts of America have laboured ! V. THE DEVIL DISCOVERED : In a Brief Discourse upon those TEMPTATIONS , which are the more Ordinary Devices , of the Wicked One. By Cotton Mather . Boston Printed , and Sold by Benjamin Harris , 1693. PUblished by the Special Command of His EXCELLENCY , the Governour of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England . The Authors Defence . 'T Is as I Remember , the Learned Scribonius , who Reports , that One of his Acquaintance , devoutly making his Prayers on the behalf of a Person molested by Evil Spirits , received from those Evil Spirits an horrible Blow over the Face : And I may my self Expect not few or small Buffetings from Evil Spirits , for the Endeavours wherewith I am now going to Encounter them . I am far from Insensible , That at this Extraordinary Time of the Devils Coming down in Great Wrath upon us , there are too many Tongues and Hearts thereby Set on Fire of Hell ; that the various Opinions about the Witchcrafts which of Later Time have Troubled us , are maintained by some with so much Cloudy Fury , as if they could never be sufficiently Stated , unless written in the Liquor wherewith Witches use to write their Covenants ; and that he who becomes an Author at such a Time , had need be , Fenced with Iron , and the Stuff of a Spear . The unaccountable Frowardness , Asperity , Untreatableness , and Inconsistency of many persons , every Day gives a Visible Exposition of that passage , An Evil Spirit from the Lord came upon Saul ; and Illustration of that Story , There met him two Possessed with Devils , exceeding Fierce , so that no man might pass by that way . To send abroad a Book , among such Readers , were a very unadvised Thing if a man had not such Reasons to give as I can bring , for such an Undertaking . Briefly , I hope it cannot be said , They are all so : No , I hope the Body of this People , are yet in such a Temper , as to be capable of Applying their Thoughts , to make a Right Use , of the Stupendous and prodigious Things that are happening among us : and because I was concern'd , when I saw that no Abler Hand Emitted any Essayes to Engage the Minds of this People in such Holy , Pious , Fruitful Improvements , as God would have to be made of His Amazing Dispensations now upon us , THEREFORE it is that One of the Least among the Children of New-England , has here done , what is done . None , but , The Father who sees in Secret , knows the Heart-breaking Exercises , wherewith I have Composed what is now going to be Exposed ; Lest I should in any One Thing , miss of Doing my Designed Service for His Glory , and for His People ; But I am now somewhat comfortably Assured of His favourable Acceptance ; and , I will not Fear ; what can , a Satan do unto me ! Having Performed , Something of what God Required , in labouring to suit His Words unto His Works , at this Day among us , and therewithal handled a Theme that has been sometimes counted not unworthy the Pen , even of a King , it will easily be perceived , that some subordinate Ends have been considered in these Endeavours . I have indeed set my self to Countermine the whole PLOT of the Devil , against New-England , in every Branch of it , as far as one of my Darkness , can comprehend such a Work of Darkness . I may add , that I have herein also aimed at the Information and Satisfaction of Good men in another Countrey , a Thousand Leagues off , where I have , it may be More , or however , more Considerable , Friends , than in My Own ; And I do what I can to have that Countrey , now , as well as alwayes , in the best Terms with , My Own. But while I am doing these things , I have been driven a little to do something likewise for My self ; I mean , by taking off the false Reports and hard Censures about my Opinion in these matters , the Parters Portion , which my pursuit of Peace , has procured me among the Keen . My hitherto Unvaried Thoughts are here Published ; and , I believe , they will be owned by most , of the Ministers of God in these Colonies : nor can amends be well made me , for the wrong done me , by other sorts of Representations . In fine , For the Dogmatical part of my Discourse , I want no Defence ; for the Historical part of it , I have a very Great One. The Lievtenant Governour of New-England , having perused it , has done me the Honour of giving me a Shield , under the Umbrage whereof I now dare to walk Abroad . Reverend and Dear Sir , YOU Very much Gratify'd me , as well as put a kind Respect upon me , when you put into my hands . Your Elaborate and most seasonable Discourse , entituled , The Wonders of The Invisible World. And having now Perused so fruitful and happy a Composure , upon such a Subject , at this Juncture of Time , and considering the Place that I Hold in the Court of Oyer and Terminer , still Labouring and proceeding in the Trial of the persons Accused and Convicted for Witchcraft , I find that I am more nearly and highly concerned than as a meer Ordinary Reader , to Express my Obligation and Thankfulness to you , for so great pains ; and cannot but hold my self many ways bound , even to the utmost of what is proper for me , in my present Publick Capacity , to declare my Singular Approbation thereof . Such is Your Design , most plainly expressed throughout the whole ; such Your Zeal for God ; Your Enmity to Satan and his Kingdom ; Your Faithfulness and Compassion to this poor people ; Such the Vigour , but yet great Temper of your Spirit ; Such your Instruction and Counsel ; your CARE Of TRUTH ; Your Wisdom and Dexterity in allaying and moderating , that among us , which needs it ; Such Your clear Discerning of Divine Providences and Periods , now running on apace towards their Glorious Issues in the World ; and finally , Such your Good News of , The Shortness of the Devils Time ; That all Good Men must needs Desire the making of this your Discourse , Publick to the World ; and will greatly Rejoyce that the Spirit of the Lord has thus Enabled you to Lift up a Standard against the Infernal Enemy , that hath been Coming in like a Flood upon us . I do therefore make it my particular and Earnest Request unto you , that as soon as may be , you will Commit the same unto the PRESS accordingly . I am , Your Assured Friend , William Stoughton . I Live by Neighbours , that force me to produce these Undeserved Lines . But now , as when Mr. Wilson , beholding a great Muster of Souldiers , had it by a Gentleman then present , said unto him , Sir , I 'l tell you a great Thing ; here is a mighty Body of People ; and there is not SEVEN of them all but what Loves Mr. Wilson ; that Gracious Man presently & pleasantly Reply'd , Sir , I 'll tell you as good a thing as that ; here is a mighty Body of People ; and there is not so much as ONE among them all , but Mr. Wilson Loves him . Somewhat so ; 'T is possible that among , this Body of People , there may be few , that Love the Writer of this Book ; but , give me leave to boast so far , there is not one among all this Body of People , whom this Mather would not Study to Serve , as well as to Love. With such a Spirit of Love , is the Book now before us written ; I appeal to all this World ; and if this World , will deny me the Right of acknowlèdging so much , I Appeal to the Other , that it is , Not written with an Evil Spirit : for which cause , I shall not wonder if Evil Spirits , be Exasperated by what is Written , as the Sadducees doubtless were with what was Discoursed in the Days of our Saviour . I only Demand the Iustice , that others Read it , with the same Spirit wherewith I writ it . Enchantments Encountred . S 1. IT was as long ago , as the year 1637. that a Faithful Minister of the Church of England , whose Name was Mr. Edward Symons , did in a Sermon afterwards Printed , thus Express himselfe ; At New-England now the Sun of Comfort begins to appear , and the Glorious Day-Star to show it self ; — Sed Venient Annis Saecula Seris , there will come Times , in after-ages when the Clouds will over-shadow and darken the Sky there . Many now promise to themselves nothing but successive Happiness there , which for a Time through Gods Mercy they may Enjoy ; and I Pray God , they may a Long Time ; but in this World there is no Happiness perpetual . An Observation , Or , I had almost said , an Inspiration , very dismally now verify'd upon us ! It has been affirm'd by some who best knew New-England , That the World will do New-England a great piece , of Injustice , if it acknowledge not a measure of Religion , Loyalty , Honesty and Industry , in the people there , beyond what is to be found with any other people for the Number of them . When I did a few years ago , publish a Book , which mentioned a few Memorable Witchcrafts , committed in this Country ; the Excellent ▪ Baxter graced the Second Edition of that Book , with a kind Preface , wherein he sees cause to say , If any are Scandalized , that New-England , a place of as serious Piety , as any I can hear of , under Heaven , should be Troubled so much with Witches , I think , t is no Wonder : Where will the Devil show most Malice , but where he is Hated , and Hateth most ; And I hope , the Country will still deserve and answer , the Charity so Expressed by that Reverend man of God! Whosoever travels over this Wilderness , will see it richly bespangled with Evangelical Churches , whose Pastors are Holy , Able , & Painful Overseers of their Flocks , Lively Preachers , and Vertuous Livers ; and such as in their Several Neighbourly Associations , have had their Meetings whereat Ecclesiastical matters of common Concernment are Considered : Churches , whose Communicants have been seriously Examined about their Experiences of Regeneration , as well as about their Knowledge , and Beleef and Blameless Conversation , before their Admission to the Sacred Communion ; although others of less but Hopeful Attainments in Christianity are not ordinarily deny'd Baptism for themselves and theirs ; Churches , which are Shy of using any thing in the Worship of God , for which they cannot see a Warrant of God ; but with whom yet the Names of Congregational , Presbyterian , Episcopalian , or , Antipaedobaptist , are swallowed up in that of , Christian ; Persons of all those Perswasions being actually taken into our Fellowship , when Visible Godliness has Recommended them : Churches , which usually do within themselves manage their own Discipline , under the Conduct of their Elders ; but yet call in the help of Synods upon Emergencies , or Aggrievances Churches , Lastly , wherein Multitudes are growing Ripe for Heaven every Day ; and as fast as these are taken off , others are daily Rising up . And by the presence and power of the Divine Institutions thus mentained in the Country , we are still so Happy , that , I suppose , there is no Land in the Universe more free from the Debauching , and the Debasing Vices of Ungodliness . The Body of the People are hitherto so disposed , that Swearing , Sabbath-breaking , Whoring , Drunkenness , and the like , do not make a Gentleman , but a Monster , or a Goblin , in the Vulgar Estimation . All this notwithstanding , we must humbly Confess to our God , that we are miserably Degenerated from the First Love , of our Predecessors ; however we boast our selves a litile , when Men would go to trample upon us , and we venture to say , Whereinsoever any is bold ( we speak foolishly ) we are bold also . The first Planters of these Colonies were a Chosen Generation of men , who were first so Pure , as to disrelish many things which they thought wanted Reformation else where ; and yet withal so Peaceable , that they Embraced a Voluntary Exile in a Squalid , horrid , American Desart , rather than to Live in Contentions with their Brethren . Those Good men imagined that they should Leave their Posterity , in a place , where they should never see the Inroads of Profanity , or Superstition ; and a famous Person returning hence could in a Sermon before the Parliament , profess , I have now been seven years in a Country , where I never saw one man drunk , or heard one Oath sworn , or beheld one Beggar in the Streets , all the while . Such great persons as Budaeus , and others , who mistook Sir. Thomas Mores UTOPIA , for a Country really Existent , and stirr'd up some Divines Charitably to undertake a Voyage thither , might now have certainly found a Truth in their Mistake ; New-England was a true Utopia . But alas , the Children , and Servants of those Old Planters , must needs afford many , Degenerate Plants , and there is now Risen up a Number of people , otherwise Inclined than our Ioshua's and the Elders that out-lived them . Those two things , our Holy Progenitors , and our Happy Advantages , make Omissions of Duty , and such Spiritual Disorders as the whole World abroad is overwhelmed with , to be as Provoking in us , as the most flagitious wickednesses Committed in other places ; and the Ministers of God are accordingly severe in their Testimonies . But in Short , Those Interests of the Gospel , which were the Errand of our Fathers into these Ends of the Earth , have been too much Neglected and Postponed , and the Attainments of an hand-some Education , have been too much undervalued , by Multitudes , that have not fallen into Exorbitancies of Wickedness ; and some , especially of our Young ones , when they have got abroad from under the Restraints here laid upon them , have become extravagantly and abom●…nably Vicious . Hence t is , that the Happiness of New-England , has been , but for a Time , as it was foretold , and not for a Long Time , as ha's been desir'd for us . A Variety of Calamity ha's long follow'd this Plantation ; and we have all the Reason imaginable to ascribe it unto the Rebuke of Heaven upon us for our manifold Apostasies ; we make no Right use of our Disasters , if we do not , Remember whence we are fallen , and Repent , and Do the first works . But yet our Afflictions may come under a further Consideration with us : there is a further cause of our Afflictions , whose Due must be Given him . S II. The New-Englanders , are a People of God settled in those , which were once the Devils Territories ; and it may easily be supposed that the Devil was Exceedingly disturbed , when he perceived such a people here accomplishing the Promise of old made unto our Blessed Jesus , That He should have the Utmost parts of she Earth for His Possession . There was not a greater Uproar among the Ephesians , when the Gospel was first brought among them , then there was among , The Powers of the Air ( after whom those Ephesians walked ) when first the Silver Trumpets of the Gospel here made the Ioyful Sound . The Devil thus Irritated , immediately try'd all sorts of Methods to overturn this poor Plantation : and so much of the Church , as was Fled into this Wilderness , immediately found , The Serpent cast out of his Mouth , a Flood for the carrying of it away . I believe , that never were more Satanical Devices used for the Unsetling of any People under the Sun , than what have been Employ'd for the Extirpation of the Vine which God has here Planted , Casting out the Heathen , and Preparing a Room before it , and causing it to take deep Root , and fill the Land ; so that it sent its Boughs unto the Attlantic Sea Eastward , and its Branches unto the Connecticut River Westward , and the Hills were covered with the Shadow thereof . But , All those Attempts of Hell , have hitherto been Abortive , many an Ebenezer has been Erected unto the Praise of God , by His Poor People here ; and , Having obtained Help from God , we continue to this Day . Wherefore the Devil is now making one Attempt more upon us ; an Attempt more Difficult , more Surprizing , more snarl'd with unintelligible Circumstances than any that we have hitherto Encountred ; an Attempt , so Critical , that if we get well through , we shall soon Enjoy Halcyon Days with all the Vultures of Hell , Trodden under our Feet . He has wanted his Inearnate Legions , to Persecute us , as the People of God , have in the other Hemisphere been Persecuted : he has therefore drawn forth his more Spiritual ones to make an Attacque upon us . We have been advised , by some Credible Christians yet alive , that a Malefactor , accused of Witchcraft as well as Murder , and Executed in this place more than Forty Years ago , did then give Notice , of , An Horrible PLOT against the Country , by WITCHCRAFT , and a Foundation of WITCHRAFT then Laid , which if it were not seasonably Discovered , would probably Blow up , and pull down all the Churches in the Country . And we have now with Horror seen the Discovery of such a Witchcraft ! An Army of Devils is horribly broke in , upon the place which is the Center and after a sort , the First-born of our English Settlements : and the Houses of the Good People there , are fill'd with the doleful Shrieks of their Children and Servants , Tormented by Invisible Hands , with Tortures altogether preternatural . After the Mischiefs there Endeavoured , and since in part Conquered , the terrible Plague , of , Evil Angels , hath made its progress into some other places , where other persons have been in like manner Diabolically handled . These our poor Afflicted Neighbours , quickly after they become Infected and Infested with these Daemons , arrive to a Capacity of Discerning those which they conceive the Shapes of their Troublers ; and notwithstanding the Great and Just Suspicion , that the Daemons might Impose the Shapes of Innocent Persons in their Spectral Exhibitions upon the Sufferers , ( which may perhaps prove no small part of the Witch-Plot in the issue ) yet many of the persons thus Represented , being Examined , several of them have been Convicted of a very Damnable Witchcraft : yea , more than . One Twenty have Confessed , that they have Signed unto a Book , which the Devil show'd them , and Engaged in his Hellish Design of Bewitching , and Ruining our Land. We know not , at least I know not , how far the Delusions of Satan may be Interwoven into some Circumstances of the Confessions ; but one would think , all the Rules of Understanding Humane Affayrs are at an end , if after so many most Voluntary Harmonious Confessions , made by Intelligent persons of all Ages , in sundry Towns , at several Times , we must not Believe the main strokes wherein those Confessuns all agree : especially when we have a thousand preternatural Things every day before our eyes , wherein the Confessors do acknowledge their Concernment , and give Demonstration of their being so Concerned . If the Devils now can strike the minds of men , with any Poisons of so fine a Composition and Operation , that scores of Innocent People shall Unite , in Confessions of a Crime , which we see actually committed , it is a thing prodigious , beyond the Wonders of the former Ages , and it threatens no less than a sort of a Dissolution upon the World. Now , by these Confessions 't is Agreed , That the Devil has made a dreadful Knot of Witches in the Country , and by the help of Witches has dreadfully Encreased that Knot : That these Witches have driven a Trade of Commissioning their Confederate Spirits , to do all sorts of Mischiefs to the Neighbours , whereupon there have Ensued such Mischievous consequences upon the Bodies , and Estates of the Neighbourhood , as could not otherwise be accounted for : yea , That at prodigious Witch-Meetings , the Wretches have proceeded so far , as to Concert and Consult the Methods of Rooting out the Christian Religion from this Country , and setting up instead of it , perhaps a more gross Diabolism , than ever the World saw before . And yet it will be a thing little short of Miracle , if in so spread a Business , as this , the Devil should not get in some of his Juggles , to confound the Discovery of all the rest . S. 3. Doubtless , the Thoughts of many will receive a Great Scandal against New-England , from the Number of Persons that have been Accused , or Suspected , for Witchcraft , in this Country : But it were easy to offer many things , that may Answer and Abate the Scandal . If the Holy God should any where permit the Devils to hook two or three wicked Scholars , into Witchcraft , and then by their Assistance to Range with their Poisonous Insinuations , among Ignorant , Envious , Discontented People , till they have cunningly decoy'd them into some sudden Act , whereby the Toyls of Hell shall be perhaps inextricably cast over them : what Country in the World , would not afford Witches , numerous to a Prodigy ? Accordingly , The Kingdoms of Sweeden , Denmark , S●…tland , yea , and England it self , as well as the Province of New-England , have had their Storms of Witchcrafts breaking upon them , which have made most Lamentable Devastations : which also I wish , may be , The Last . And it is not uneasy to be imagined , That God ha's not brought out all the Witchcrafts in many other Lands , with such a speedy , dreadful , destroying Iealousy , as burns forth upon such High Treasons committed here in , A Land of Uprightness : Transgressors , may more quickly here , than else where become a prey to the Vengeance of Him , Who ha's Eyes like a Flame of Fire , and , who walks in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks . Moreover , There are many parts of the World , who if they do upon this Occasion insult over this People of God , need only to be told the Story of what happened at Loim , in the Dutchy of Gulic , where , a Popish Curate , having ineffectually try'd many Charms , to Eject the Devil out of a Damsel there possessed , he Passionately bid the Devil come out of her , into himself ; but the Devil answered him , Q●…id mihi Opus est eum tentare , quem Novissimo Die , Iure Optimo sum Possessurus ? that is , What need I meddle with one , whom I am sure to have and hold at the Last Day , as my own forever ! But besides all this , give me Leave to add ; it is to be hoped , That among the persons represented by the Spectres which now afflict our Neighbours , there will be found some that never explicitly contracted with any of the Evil Angels . The Witches have not only intimated , but some of them acknowledged , That they have plotted the Representations of Innocent Persons , to cover and shelter themselyes in their Witchcrafts ; now , altho' our good God has hitherto generally preserved us , from the Abuse therein Design'd by the Devils for us , yet who of us can Exactly State , How far our God may for our Chastisement permit the Devil to preceed in such an Abuse ? It was the Result of a Discourse , lately held at a Meeting of some very ●…ious , and Learned , Ministers among us , That the Devils may sometimes have a permission to Represent an Innocent Person , as Tormenting such as are under Diabolical Molestations : But that such Things are Rare and Extraordinary , especially , when such Matters come before Civil Iudicature . The Opinion Expressed with so much Caution and Judgment , seems to be the prevailing Sense of many others ; who are men Eminently Cautious and Judicious ; and have both Argument and History to Countenance them in it . It is Rare and Extraordinary , for an Honest Naboth to have his Life it self Sworn away , by two Children of Belial , and yet no Infringement hereby made on the Rectoral Righteousness of our Eternal Soveraign , whose Iudgments are a Great Deep , and who gives none Account of His matters . Thus , although , the Appearance of Innocent Persons , in Spectral Exhibitions afflicting the Neighbourhood , be a thing Rare and Extraordinary ; yet who can be sure , that the great Belial of Hell must needs be es , and those bloody Felons , be wholly left Unprosecuted . The Witchcraft is a Business , that will not be Sham'd , without plunging us into sore plagues and of Long Continuance . But then , we are to Unite in such Methods , for this Deliverance , as may be unquestionably S●…fe ; Lest , The Latter End be worse then the Beginning . And here , what I shall say ? I will venture to say , thus much ; That we are Safe , when we make just as much Use of all Advice from the Invisible World , as God sends it for . It is a Safe Principle , That when God Almighty permits any Spirits from the Unseen Regions , to visit us with Surprising Informations , there is then something to be Enquired after ; we are then to Enquire of one another , What Cause there is for such Things ? The peculiar Government of God , over the Unbodied Intelligences , is a sufficient Foundation for this Principle . When there has been a Murder Committed , an Apparition of the slain Party Accusing of any man , altho' such Apparitions have oftener spoke True than False , is not enough to Convict the man , as Guilty of that Murder ; but yet it is a sufficient Occasion for Magistrates to make a particular Enquiry , whether such a man have afforded any ground for such an Accusation . Even so , a Spectre , exactly Resembling such or such a person , when the Neighbourhood are Tormented by such Spectres , may reasonably make Magistrates Inquisitive , whether the person so Represented have done or said any thing that may Argue their Confederacy with Evil Spirits ; altho' it may be defective enough in point of Conviction ; especially at a Time , when 't is possible , some Over-powerful Conjurer may have got the skill of thus Exhibiting the Shapes of all sorts of persons , on purpose to stop the prosecution of the Wretch●…s whom due Enquiries thus provoked , might have made obnoxious unto ●…ustice . Quaere , Whether if God would have us , to proceed any further than bare Enquiry , upon what Reports there may come against any man , from the World of Spirits , He will not by His Providence at the same time have brought into our Hands , these more Evident & Sensible Things , whereupon , a man is to be esteemed a Criminal . But I will venture to say this further ; That it will be Safe , to account the Names as well as the Lives of our Neighbours , too considerable Things to be brought under a Iudicial Process , until it be found by Humane Observations , that the peace of Mankind , is thereby disturbed . We are Humane Creatures ; and we are Safe while we say , they must be Humane Witnesses , who also have in the particular Act of Seeing , or Hearing , which enables them to be Witnesses , had no more than Humane Assistences , that are to Turn the Scale , when Laws are to be Executed . And , upon this Head , I will further add ; A Wise and a Just Magistrate , may so far give way to a common Stream of Dissatisfaction , as to forbear Acting up to the Heighth of his own perswasion , about , what may be judg'd Convictive , of a Crime , whose Nature shall be so abstruse and obscure , as to raise much Disputation . Tho' he may not Do what he should Leave Undone , yet he may Leave Undone something that else he could D●… , when the Publick Safety , makes an Exigency . S 7. I was going to make one Venture more ; that is , to offer some Safe Rules , for the finding out of the Witches which are at this Day our Accursed Troublers : but this were a Venture too Presumptuous and Icarian for Me to make . I leave that unto those Excellent and Judicious Persons , with whom I am not worthy to be Numbred : all that I shall do , shall be to lay before my Readers , a brief Synopsis of what has been Written on that Subject , by a Triumvirate , of as Eminent Persons , as have ever handled it . I will begin with , An Abstract of Mr. Perkin's way for the Discovery of Witches . I. There are Presumptions , which do at least Probably and Conjecturally note one to be a Witch . These , give Occasion to Examine , yet they are no Sufficient Causes of Conviction . II. If any man or woman , be notoriously defamed for a Witch ; this yeelds a strong Suspition . Yet the Iudge ought Carefully to Look , that the Report be made by men of Honesty and Credit . III. If a Fellow Witch , or Magician , give Testimony of any Person to be a Witch ; this indeed is not sufficient for Condemnation ; but it is a fit Presumption , to cause a strait Examination . IV. If after Cursing there follow Death , or at least , some mischief : for Witches are wont to practise their mischievous Facts , by Cursing and Banning : This also is a sufficient matter of Examination , tho' not of Conviction . V. If after Enmity , Quarrelling , or Thrèatening , a present mischief do's follow ; that also is a great Presumption . VI. If the Party suspected be the Son or Daughter , the man-servant or maid-servant , the Familiar Friend ; near Neighbour , or old Companion , of a known and Convicted Witch : This may be likewise a presumption : for Witchcraft is an Art , that may be Learn'd , and Convey'd from man to man. VII . Some add this for a Presumption ; If the party Suspected be found to have the Devils mark ; for it is Commonly thought , when the Devil makes his Covenant with them , he alwayes Leaves his mark behind them , whereby he knows them for his own : — a mark , whereof no Evident Reason , in Nature can be given . VIII . Lastly , If the party Examined be Unconstant , or Contrary to himself , in his Deliberate Answers , it argueth a Guilty Conscience , which stops the Freedom of Utteranee . And yet , there are causes of Astonishment , which may befal the Good , as well as the Bad , IX . But then there is a Conviction , discovering the Witch ; which must proceed from just and sufficient proofs , and not from bare Presumptions . X Scratching of the Suspected Party , and Recovery thereupon ; with several other such weak proofs ; as also , the Fleeting of the Suspected Party , thrown upon the Water ; These proofs are so far from being sufficient , that some of them , are after a sort , practices of Witcheraft . XI . The Testimony of some Wizzard , tho' offering to show the Witches face in a Glass ; This I grant , may be a good presumption , to cause a strait Examination ; but a sufficient proof of Conviction , it cannot be . If the Devil tell the Grand-Iury , that the Person in Question , is a Witch , and offers withal , to confirm the same by Oath , should the Inquest Receive his Oath or Accusation to Condemn the man ? Assuredly No. And yet , that is as much as the Testimony of another Wizzard , who only by the Devils Help , Reveals the Witch , XII . If a man being dangerously Sick , and like to Dy , upon Suspicion , will take it on his Death , that such an one hath Bewitched him , it is an Allegation of the same Nature , which may move the Iudge to Examine the Party , ; but it is of ●…o onement for Conviction . XIII . Among the sufficient means of Conviction , the first is , the Free and Voluntary Confession of the Crime , made by the Party Suspected , and Accused , after Examination . I say not , that a bare Confession is sufficient , but a Confession after due Examination , taken upon pregnant presumptions . What needs now more Witness , or further Enquiry ? XIV . There is a second sufficient Conviction , by the Testimony of Two Witnesses , of Good and Honest Report avouching before the Magistrate upon their own Knowledge , these two Things : either that the Party Accused , hath made a League with the Devil , or hath done some known practices of Witchcraft . And , all Arguments that do Necessarily prove either of these , being brought by two sufficient Witnesses , are of Force , fully to Convince the Party Suspected . XV. If it can be proved that the Party Suspected , hath called upon the Devil , or desired his Help ; this is a pregnant proof of a League formerly made between them . XVI . If it can be proved , that the Party hath Entertained a Familiar Spirit , and had Conference with it , in the Likeness of some visible Creatures : here is Evidence of Witchcraft . XVII . If the Witnesses affirm upon Outh , that the Suspected person , hath done any Action , or work , which necessarily infers a Covenant made : as that he hath used Enchantments ; Divined of things before they come to pass , and that peremptorily ; Raised Tempests ; caused the Form of a Dead Man to appear ; it proveth sufficiently that he or she is a Witch . This is the Substance of Mr. Perkins . Take , Next , The Summ of Mr Gaules Judgment , about the Detection of Witches . I Some Tokens for the Trial of Witches , are altogether Unwarrantable . Such are the old Paganish Sign , The Witches Long Eyes ; The Tradition , of the Witches not weeping ; The casting of the Witch into the Water , with Thumbs , and Toes , ty'd across . And many more such Marks , which if they are to know a witch by , certainly 't is no other witch , but the User of them . II. There are some Tokens for the Trial of Witches , more probable : and yet not so certain us to afford Conviction . Such are , strong and long Suspicion : Suspected Ancestors : some Appearance of Fact : The Corpse bleeding upon the Witches Touch : The Testimony of the Party Bewitched : The Supposed , Witches unusual Bodily Marks ; The Witches usual Cursing and Banning : The Witches lewd and naughty kind of Life . III. Some Signs there are of a Witch , more certain and infallible . As , Firstly , Declining of Judicature , or Fultring , Faulty , Unconstant , and Contrary Answers , upon Judicial and Deliberate Examination . Secondly , when upon due Enquiry , into a persons Faith and Manners , there are found all or most of the causes , which produce Witchcraft ; namely , God Forsaking , Satun invading , particular Sins disposing , and Lastly a Compact compleating all . Thirdly , The Witches free Confession , together with Full Evidence of the Fact. Confession without First , may be a meer Delusion ; and Fact without Confession may be a meer Accident . 4thly , The Semblable Gestures & Actions of suspected Witches , with the comparable Expressions of Affections , which in all Witches have been observ'd and found very much alike . Fifthly , The Testimony of the Party Bewitched , whether Pining or Dying , together with the joint Oaths of sufficient persons , that have seen certain prodigious Pranks or Feats , wrought by the Party Accused . IV. Among the most unhappy Circumstances , to Convict a Witch . One is , A Maligning and Oppugning , the Word , Work , and worship of God : and by any Extraordinary Sign seeking to seduce any from it . See Deut. 13. 1 , 2. Math. 24. 24. Act. 13 : 8 , 10. 2 Tim. 3 8. Do but mark well the places ; & for this very Property ( of thus Opposing and perverting ) they are all there concluded arrant and absolute Witches . V. It is not requisite , that so palpable Evidence of Conviction , should here come in , as in other more sensible matters . T is enough , if there be but so much Circumstantial proof or Evidence ; as the Substance , matter , and Nature of such an Abstruse Mystery of Iniquity will well admit . [ I suppose he means , that whereas in other Crimes , we Look for more Direct Proofs , in this there is a greater use of Consequential ones ] But I could heartily wish that the Juries were Empannelled of the most Eminent Physicians , Lawyers , and Divines , that a Country could afford . In the mean time , t is not to be called a Toleration , if Witches escape , where Conviction is wanting . To this purpose our Gaule . I will Transcribe a Little from one Author more . T is the Judicious Bernard of Batcombe ; who in his Guide to Grand-Iury men , after he ha's mentioned several Things that are shrow'd Presumptions of a Witch , proceeds to such Things as are the Convictions of such an one . And he says , A Witch , in League with the Devil , is Convicted by these Evidences ; I. By a Witches Mark ; which is upon the Baser sort of Witches ; and this , by the Devils either Sucking or Touching of them . Tertullian says , It is the Devils custome to mark his . And note , That this mark is Insensible , and being prick'd , it will not Bleed . Sometimes , it s like a Teate ; sometimes but a Blewish Spot : sometimes a Red one ; and sometimes the Flesh Sunk : but the Witches do sometimes cover them . II. By the Witches Words . As when they have been heard calling on , speaking to , or Talking of , their Familiars ; or , when they have been heard Telling of Hurt they have done to man or beast : Or when they have been heard Threatning of such Hurt ; Or if they have been heard Relating their Transportations . III. By the Witches Deeds . As when they have been seen with their Spirits , or seen secretly Feeding any of their Imps. Or , when there can be found their Pictures , Poppets , and other Hellish Compositions . IV. By the Witches Extasies : With the Delight whereof , Witches are so taken , that they will hardly conceal the same : Or , however at some time or other , they may be found in them . V. By one or more Fellow-Witches , Confessing their own Witchcraft , & bearing Witness against others ; if they can make good the Truth of their Witness , and give sufficient proof of it . As , that they have seen them with their Spirits ; or , that they have Received Spirits from them ; or , that they can tell , when they used Witchery-Tricks to Do Harm ; or , that they told them what Harm they had done ; or that they can show the mark upon them ; or , that they have been together in their Meetings ; and such like . VI. By some Witness of God Himself , happening upon the Execrable Curses of Witches upon themselves , Praving of God to show some Token , if they be Guilty . VII . By the Witches own Confession , of Giving their Souls to the Devil . It is no Rare thing , for Witches to Confess . They are Considerable Things , which I have thus Recited ; and yet it must be with Open Eyes , kept upon Open Rules , that we are to follow these things . S. 8. But Iuries are not the only Instruments to be imploy'd in such a Work ; all Christians are to be concerned with daily and servent Prayers , for the assisting of it . In the Days of Athanasius , the Devils were found unable to stand before , that Prayer , however then used perhaps with too much of Ceremony , Let God Arise , Let his Enemies be Scattered , Let them also that Hate Him , flee before Him. O that instead of letting our Hearts Rise against one another , our Prayers might Rise unto an high pitch of Importunity , for such a Rising of the Lord ! Especially , Let them that are Suffering by Witchcraft , be sure to stay and pray , and Beseech the Lord thrice , even as much as ever they can , before they complain of any Neighbour for afflicting them . Let them also that are Accused of Witchcraft , set themselves to Fast and Pray , and so shake off the Daemons that would like V●…per's fasten upon them ; and get the Waters of Iealousie made profitable to them . And Now , O Thou Hope of , New-England , and the Saviour thereof in the Time of Trouble ; Do thou look mercifully down upon us , & Rescue us , out of the Trouble which 〈◊〉 this time do's threaten to swallow us up . Let Sat●…n be shortly bruised under our Feet , and Let the ●…nted V●…ssals of Satan which have Traiterously brought him in upon us , be Gloriously Conquered , by thy Powerful and Gracious Presence in the midst of us . Abhor us not , O God , but cleanse us , but h●…l us , but save us , for the sake of thy Glory , Enwrapped in our Salvations . By thy Spirit , Lift up a Standard against our infernal adversaries ; Let us quickly find thee making of us glad , according to the Days wherein we have been afflicted . Accept of all our Endeavours to glorify thee , in the Fires that are upon us ; and among the re●… ; Let these ●…hy poor and we●…k essays , composed with what Tears , what Cares , what Prayers , th●… only knowest , n●…t w●…nt the Acceptance of the Lord. Amen . always Yoked up , from this Piece of Mischief ? The best man that ever lived has been called a Witch : and why may not this too usual and unhappy Symptom of , A Witch , even a Spectral Representation , befall a person that shall be none of the worst ? Is it not possible ? the Laplanders will tell us 't is possible : for Persons to be unwittingly attended with officious Daemons , bequeathed unto them , and impos'd upon them , by Relations that have been Witches . Quaere , also , Whether at a Time , when the Devils with his Witches are engag'd in an actual War upon a people , some certain steps of ours , in such a War , may not be follow'd with our appearing so and so for a while among them in the Visions of our afflicted Forlorns ! And , Who can certainly say , what other Degrees , & Methods of sinning , besides that of a Diabolical Compact , may give the Devils advantage , to act in the Shape of them that have miscarried ? Besides what may happen for a while , to try the Patience of the Virtuous . May not some that have been ready upon feeble grounds uncharitably to Censure and Reproach other people , be punished for it by Spectres for a while exposing them to Censure and Reproach ? And furthermore , I pray , that it may be considered , Whether a World of Magical Tricks often used in the World , may not insensibly oblige Devils to wait upon the Superstitious Users of them . A Witty Writer against Sadducism , has this Observation , That persons , who never made any Express Contract with Apostate Spirits , yet may Act strange Things by Diabolick Aids , which they procure by the use of those wicked Forms and Arts , that the Devil first Imparted unto his Confederates . And he adds , We know not , but the Laws of the Dark Kingdom , may Enjoyn a particular Attendence upon all those that practise their Mysteries , whether they know them to be theirs or no. Some of them that have been Cry'd out upon , as Employing Evil Spirits to Hurt our Land , have been known to be most bloody Fortune-Tellers ; and some of them have Confessed , That when they told Fortunes , they would pretend the Rules of Chiromancy and the like Ignorant Sciences , but indeed , they had no Rule ( they said ) but this , The Things were then Darted into their Minds . Darted ! Ye Wretches ; By whom , I pray . Surely , by none but the Devils ; who , tho' perhaps they did not exactly Foreknow all the thus Predicted Contingencies ; yet having once Foretold them , they stood bound in Honour now , to use their Interest , which alas , in This World , is very great , for the Accomplishment of their own Predictions . There are others , that have used most wicked Sorceries to gratify their unlawful Curiosities , or to prevent Inconveniencies in Man and Beast ; Sorceries ; which I will not Name , lest I should by Naming , Teach them . Now , some Devil is overmore Invited into the Service of the Person that shall practise these Witchcrafts ; and if they have gone on Impenitently in these Communions with any Devil , the Devil may perhaps become at last a Familiar to them , and so assume their Livery , that they cannot shake him off in any way , but that One , which I would most heartily prescribe unto them , Namely , That of a deep and long Repentance . Should these Impieties , have been committed in such a place as New-England , for my part I should not wonder , if when Devils are Exposing the Gres●…er Witches among us , God permit them , to bring in these Les●…er ones with the rest , for their perpetual Humiliation . In the Issue therefore , may it not be found , that New-England is not so Stock'd with Rattle Snakes , as was imagined ? S 4. But I do not believe , that the progress of Witchcraft among us , is all the Plot , which the Devil is managing in the Witchcraft now upon us . It is judg'd , That the Devil Rais'd the Storm , whereof we read in the Eighth Chapter of Matthew , on purpose to oversett the little . Vessel , wherein the Disciples of Our Lord , were Embarqued with Him. And it may be fear'd , that in the Horrible Tempest , which is now upon ourselves , the design of the Devil is to sink that Happy settlement of Government , wherewith Almighty , God , has graciously enclined their Majesties to favour us . We are blessed with a GOVERNOUR , than whom no man can be more willing to serve their Majesties or this their Province : He is continually venturing his All to do it : and were not the Interests of His Prince , dearer to him , than his own , he could not but soon be weary of the Helm , whereat he sits . We are under the Influence of a LIEVTENANT GOVERNOUR , who not only by being admirably accomplished both with Natural and Acquired Endowments , is fitted for the Service of Their. Majesties , but also with an unspotted Fidelity , applys himself to that Service . Our COUNCELLOURS , are some of our most Eminent persons , and as Loyal Subjects to the Crown , as hearty lovers of their Countrey . Our Constitution also is attended with singular Priviledges ; All which Things are by the Devil exceedingly Envy'd unto us . And the Devil will doubtless take this occasion , for the Raising of such complaints and clamours , as may be of pernicious consequence , unto some part of our present Settlement , if he can so far Impose . But that which most of all Threatens us , in our present Circumstances , is the Misunderstanding , and so the Animosity , whereinto the Witchcraft now Raging , has Enchanted us . The Embroiling , first , of our Spirits , and then of our Affayrs , is evidently , as considerable a Branch of the Hellish Intreague , which now vexes us , as any one Thing whatever . The Devil has made us like a Troubled Sea ; and the More and Mud , begins now also to heave up apace . Even , Good and Wise Men , suffer themselves to fall into their Paroxysms ; and the Shake which the Devil is now giving us , fetches up the Dirt which before lay still , at the Bottom of our sinful Hearts . If we allow the Mad Dogs of Hell to poison us by Biting us , we shall imagine that we see nothing but such Things about us , and like such Things fly upon all that we see . Were it not for what is IN US , for my part , I should not fear a Thousand Legions of Devils ; 't is by our Quarrels that we spoil our Prayers ; and if our Humble , Zealous , and United , Prayers , are once Hindred , alas , the Philistines of Hell have cut our Locks for us ; they will then blind us , mock us , ruine us . In Truth , I cannot altogether blame it , If people are a little Transported , when they conceive all the Secular Interests of Themselves and their Families , at the Stake ; and yet , at the sight of these Heart-Burnings , I cannot forbear the Exclamation of the Sweet-spirited Austin , in his Pacificatory Epistle , to Ierom on his Contest with Ruffin , O miserd et miser and a Conditio ! O Condition , truly miserable ! But what shall be done to cure these Distractions ? It is wonderfully necessary , that some Healing Attempts , be made at this time ; and I must needs confess , if I may speak so much , like a Nazianzen , I am so desirous of a share in them , that if , Being thrown Over-board , were needful to allay the Storm , I should think , Dying , a Trifle to be undergone , for so great a Blessedness . S 5. I would most importunately in the first place , entreat every man to maintain an Holy Jealousy over his own Soul , at this Time , and think , May not the Devil make me , tho' ignorantly , & unwillingly , to be an Instrument of doing something that he would have to be done ? For my part I freely own my Suspicion , Lest something of Enchantment , have reach'd more Persons and Spirits among us , then we are well aware of . But then , let us more generally Agree to maintain a kind Opinion , one of another . That Charity without which , even our Giving our Bodies to be Burned , would Profit Nothing , uses to proceed by this Rule , It is kind , it is not easily provoked , it is thinks no Evil , it believes all things , hopes all things . But if we disregard this Rule , of Charity , we shall indeed give our Body Politic to be Burned . I have heard it affirmed , That in the Late Great Flood upon Convecticut , those Creatures which could not but have Quarrelled at another Time , yet now being driven together , very Agreeably stood by one another . I am sure we shall be worse than Bruitish , if we fly upon one another , at a Time when the Floods of Belial make us afraid . On the one Side , [ alas , my Pen , must thou write the word , Side , in the Business ? ] there are very worthy men , who having been call'd by God , when and where this Witchcraft , first Appeared upon the Stage , to Encounter it , are earnestly desirous to have it Sifted unto the Bottom of it . And , I pray , which of us all , that should live under the continual Impressions , of the Tortures , Outcries , and Havocks , which Devils confessedly Commissioned by Witches , make among their distressed Neighbours , would not have a Biass that way , beyond other men ? Persons this way disposed , have been men eminent for Wisdome and Vertue , and men acted by a noble principle of Conscience : Had not Conscience of Duty to God , prevailed above other Considerations with them , they would not for all they are worth in the world , have meddled in this Thorny Business , Have there been any Disputed Methods used , in Discovering the Works of Darkness ? It may be none , but what have had great Precedents in other parts of the world : which may , tho' not altogether Iustify , yet much Alleviate a mistake in us , if there should happen to be found any such mistake , in so Dark a matter . They have done , what they have done , with multiply'd Addresses to God , for his guidance , and have not been Insensible how much they have exposed themselves in what they have done . Yea , they would gladly contrive , and receive , an expedient , how the Shedding of Blood , might be spared , by the Recovery of Witches , not gone beyond the reach of Pardon And after all , They invite all Good men , in Terms to this purpose , Being amazed , at the Number , and Quality of those Accused , of Late , we do not know , but Satan , by his Wiles , may have Enwrapped some Innocent persons , and therefore should Earnestly and Humbly desire , the most Critical Enquiry upon the place , to find out the Fallacy ; that there may be none of the Servants of the Lord , with the Worshippers of Baal . I may also add , That whereas , if once a Witch do ingenuously confess among us , no more Spectres do in their Shapes after this , Trouble the Vicinage ; if any Guilty Creatures will accordingly to so good purpose Confess their Crime to any Minister of God , and get out of the Snare of the Devil , as no Minister will discover such a Conscientious Confession , so I believe none in the Authority , will press him to Discover it ; but Rejoyce in , A Soul sav'd from Death ▪ On the other Side [ if I must again use the word , Side , which yet I hope , to Live , to blot out ] there are very worthy men , who are not a Little Dissatisfy'd at the Proceedings in the Prosecution of this Witchcraft . And why ? Not because they would have any such Abominable Thing Defended from the Strokes of Impartial Justice . No , those Reverend Persons who gave in this Advice unto the Honourable Council , That Presumptions , whereupon Persons may be Committed , and much more Convictions , whereupon Persons may be Condemned , as Guilty of Witchcrafts , ought certainly to be more Considerable , than barely the Accused Persons being represented by a Spectre , unto the Afflicted ; Nor are Alterations made in the Sufferers , by a Look or Touch of the Accused , to be esteemed an Infallible Evidence of Guilt ; but frequently Liable to be Abused by the Devils Legerdemains : I say , Those very men of God , most Conscientiously Subjoined this Article , to that Advice , — Nevertheless , we cannot but Humbly Recommend unto the Government , the Speedy and Vigorous Prosecution of such , as have rendred themselves Obnoxious ; aceording to the best Directions given in the Laws of God , and the wholsome Statutes of the English Nation , for the Detection of Witchcraft . Only , T is a most Commendable Cautiousness , in those Gracious men , to be very Shye lest the Devil get so far into our Faith , as that for the sake of many Truths which we find he tells us , we come at length , to believe any Lies , wherewith he may abuse us : whereupon , what a Desolation of Names would soon ensue , besides a thousand other Pernicious Consequences ? and lest there should be any such Principles taken up , as when put into Practice must unavoidably cause the Righteous to Perish with the Wicked ; or procure the Bloodshed of any Persons , like the Gibeonites , whom some Learned men suppose to be under a false Notion of Witches , by Saul Exterminated . They would have all Due steps taken for the Extinction of Witches ; but they would fain have them to be Sure ones : nor is it from any thing , but the Real and Hearty Goodness of such men , that they are Loth to surmise Ill of other men , till there be the fullest Evidence , for the surmises . As for the Honourable Iudges , that have been hitherto in the Commission , they are Above my Consideration : wherefore , I will only say thus much of them , That such of them as I have the Honour of a Personal Acquaintance with , are Men of an Excellent Spirit ; and as at first they went about the work for which they were Commission'd , with a very great Aversion , so they have still been under Heart-breaking Sollicitudes , how they might therein best serve , both God and Man. In fine , Have there been Faults on any Side fallen into ? Surely , They have at worst been but the Faults of a well-meaning Ignorance . On every Side then , Why should not we Endeavour with Amicable Correspondencies , to help one another out of the Snares , wherein the Devil would Involve us ? To Wrangle the Devil , out of the Country , will be truly a New Experiment ! Alas , we are not Aware of the Devil , if we do not think , that he aims at Enflaming us one against another ; & shall we suffer our selves to be Devil-Ridden ? or , by any Unadviseableness , contribute unto the Widening of our Breaches ? To say no more , There is a Published and a Credible Relation , which affirms , That very lately , in a part of England , where some of the Neighbourhood were Quarrelling , a RAVEN , from the Top of a Tree very Articulately and Unaccountably cry'd out , Read the Third to the Colossians , and the Fifteenth ! Were I my self to chuse what sort of Bird I would be transformed into , I would say , O that I had wings like a Dove ! Nevertheless , I will for once do the Office , which as it seems , Heaven sent that Raven upon ; even to beg , That the Peace of God may Rule in our Hearts . S 6 'T is necessary that we Unite in every Thing : but there are especially Two Things wherein our Union must carry us along together . We are to Unite in our Endeavours to Deliver our Distressed Neighbours , from the horrible Annoyances and Molestations with which a dreadful Witchcraft is now persecuting of them . To have an Hand in any thing , that may stifle or obstruct a Regular Detection of that Witchcraft , is what we may well with an Holy Fear , Avoid . Their Majesties good Subjects , must not every day be Torn to pieces , by Horrid Witch - A Discourse : ON The Wonders of the Invisible World. Uttered ( in part ) on Aug. 4. 1692. ECclesiastical History has Reported it unto us , That a Renowned Martyr at the Stake , seeing the Book of THE REVELATION thrown by his no less Profane than Bloody Persecutors , to be Burn'd in the same Fire with himself , he cry'd out , O Beata Apocalypsis ; quam bene mecum agitur , qui tecum Comburar ! BLESSED REVELATION ! said he ; How blessed am I in this Fire , while I have Thee to bear me Company . As for our selves this Day , 't is a Fire of sore Affliction and Confusion , wherein we are Embroiled ; but it is no Inconsiderable Advantage unto us , that we have the Company of this Glorious and Sacred Book , THE REVELATION , to assist us in our Exercises . From that Book , there is one Text , which I would single out , at this Time , to lay before you ; 't is that in Rev. XII . 12. Wo to the Inhabiters of the Earth , and of the Sea ; for the Devil is come down unto you , having great Wrath ; because he knoweth , that he hath but a short time . THE Text is like the Cloudy and Fiery Pillar , vouchsafed unto Israel , in the Wilderness of old ; there is a very dark side of it , in the Intimation , that , The Devil is come down having great Wrath ; but it has also a bright side , when it assures us , that , He has but a short tim●… ; Unto the Contemplation of both , I do this Day Invite you . We have in our Hands a Letter from our Ascended Lord in Heaven , to Advise us of his being still alive , and of his Purpose e're long , to give us a Visit , wherein we shall see our Living Redeemer , stand at the latter day upon the Earth . 'T is the last Advice that we have had from Heaven , for now sixteen Hundred years ; and the scope of it , is , to represent how the Lord Jesus Christ , having begun to set up his Kingdom in the World , by the Preaching of the Gospel , he would from time to time utterly break to pieces all Powers that should make Head against it , until ; The Kingdomes of this World are become the Kingdomes of our Lord , and of his Christ , and he shall Reign for ever and ever . 'T is a Commentary on what had been written by Daniel , about , The Fourth Monarchy ; with some Touches upon , The Fifth ; wherein , The greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven , shall be given to the people of the Saints of the most High : And altho' it have , as 't is expressed by one of the Ancients , Tot Sacramenta , quot verba , a Mystery in every Syllable , yet it is not altogether to be neglected with such a Despair , as that , I cannot Read , for the Book is Sealed : it is a REVELATION , and a singular , and notable Blessing is pronounc'd upon them that humbly study it . The Divine Oracles , have with a most admirable Artifice and Carefulness , drawn , as the very pious Beverley , has laboriously Evinced , an exact LINE OF TIME , from the First Sabbath at the Creation of the World , unto the great Sabbatism at the Restitution of all Things . In that famous Line of Time , from the Decree for the Restoring of Ierusalem , after the Babylonish Captivity , there seem to remain a matter of Two Thousand and Three Hundred Years , unto that New Ierusalem , whereto the Church is to be advanced , when the Mystical Babylon shall be fallen . At the Resurrection of our Lord , there were seventeen or eighteen Hundred of those Years , yet upon the Line , to Run unto , The Rest which Remains for the People of God ; and this Remnant in the Line of Time , is here in our Apocalypse , variously Embossed , Adorned , and Signalized with such Distinguished Events , if we mind them , will help us escape that Censure , Can ye not Discern the Signs of the Times ? The Apostle Iohn , for the View of these Things , had laid before him , as I conceive , a Book , with leaves , or folds ; which V●…lumn was written both on the Backside , & on the Inside , & Roll'd up in a Cylindriacal Form , under seven Labels , fastned with so many Seals . The First Seal being opened , and the First Label removed , under the first Label the Apostle saw what he saw , of a first Rider Pourtray'd , and so on , till the last Seal was broken up ; each of the Sculptures being enlarged with Agreeable Visions and Voices , to Illustrate it . The Book being now Unrolled , there were Trumpets , with wonderful Concomitants , Exhibited successively on the Expanding Backside of it . Whereupon the Book was Eaten , as it were to be Hidden , from Interpretations ; till afterwards , in the Inside of it , the Kingdom of Antichrist came to be Exposed . Thus , the Judgments of God on the Roman Empire , first unto the Downfal of Paganism , and then , unto the Downfal of Popery , which is but Revived Paganism , are in these Displayes with Lively Colours and Features made sensible unto us . Accordingly , in the Twelfth Chapter of this Book , we have an August Preface , to the Description of that Horrid Kingdom , which our Lord Christ refused , but Antichrist accepted , from the Devils Hands ; a Kingdom , which for Twelve Hundred and Sixty Years together , was to be a continual oppression upon the People of God , and opposition unto his Interests ; until the Arrival of that Illustrious Day , wherein , The Kingdom shall be the Lords , and he shall be Governour among the Nations . The Chapter is ( as an Excellent Person calls it ) an Extravasated Account , of the Circumstances , which befel the Primitive Church , during the first Four of Five Hundred Years of Christianity : it shows us the Face of the Church , first in Rome Heathenish , and then in Rome Converted , before the Man of Sin was yet come to Mans Estate . Our Text contains the Acclamations made upon the most Glorious Revolution that ever yet happened upon the Roman Empire ; namely , That wherein the Travailing Church brought forth a Christian Emperour . This was a most Eminent Victory over the Devil , and Resemblance of the State , wherein the World , ere long shall see , The Kingdom of our God , and the Power of His Christ. It is here noted . First , As a matter of Triumph . 'T is said , Rejoice , ye Heavens , and ye that dwell in them . The Saints in both Worlds , took the Comfort of this Revolution ; the Devout Ones that had out-lived the late Persecutions , were filled with Transporting Joyes , when they saw the Christian become the Imperial Religion , and when they saw Good Men come to give Law unto the rest of Mankind ; the Deceas'd Ones also , whose Blood had been Sacrificed in the Ten Persecutions , doubtless made the Light Regions to ring with Hallelujahs unto God , when there were brought unto them , the Tidings of the Advances now given to the Christian Religion , for which they had suffered Martyrdom . Secondly , As a matter of Horror . 'T is said , Wo to the Inhabiters of the Earth and of the Sea. The Earth still means the False Church , the Sea means the Wide World , in Prophetical Phrasaeology . There was yet left a vast party of men that were Enemies to the Christian Religion , in the power of it ; a vast party left for the Devil to work upon : unto these is , a Wo denounced ; and why so ? 't is added , For the Devil is come down unto you , having great Wrath , because he knows , that he has but a short time . These were it seems to have some desperate and peculiar Attempts of the Devil , made upon them . In the mean time , we may Entertain this for our DOCTRINE . Great WO proceeds from the Great WRATH , with which the DEVIL , towards the End of his TIME , will make a DESCENT upon a miserable World. I have now Published a most awful and solemn Warning for our selves at this day ; which has four Propositions , comprehended in it . Proposition I. That there is a Devil , is a Thing Doubted by none but such as are under the Influence of the Devil . For any to Deny the Being of a Devil must be from an Ignorance or Profaneness , worse than Diabolical . A Devil ! What is that ? We have a Definition of the Monster , in Eph. 6. 12. A Spiritual Wickedness , that is , A wicked Spirit . A Devil is a Fall●…n Angel , an Angel Fallen from the Fear and Love of God , and from all Celestial Glories ; but Fallen to all manner of Wretchedness and Cursedness . He was once in that Order of Heavenly Creatures , which God in the Beginning made Ministring Spirits , for his own peculiar Service and Honour , in the management of the Universe ; but we may now write that Epitaph upon him , How art thou fall●…n from Heaven ! thou hast said in thine Heart , I will Exalt my Thr●…ne above the Stars of God ; but thou art brought down to Hell ! A Devil is a Spiritual and a Rational Substance , by his Apostasy from God , Inclined unto all that is Vicious , and for that Apostasy confin'd unto the Atmosphere of this Earth ; in Chains under Darkness , unto the Iudgment of the Great Day . This is a Devil ; and the Experience of Mankind as well as the Testimony of Scriptu●…e , does abundantly prove the Existence of such a Devil . About this Devil , there are many Things , whereof we may reasonably and profitably be Inqusitive ; such things , I mean , as are in our Bibles Reveal'd unto us ; according to which if we do not speak , on so Dark a Subject , but according to our own uncertain , and perhaps humoursome Conjectures , There is no Light in us . I will carry you with me , but unto one Paragraph of the Bible , to be informed of three Things , relating to the Devil ; 't is the Story of the Gadaren Energumen , in the fifth Chapter of Mark. First , then ; 'T is to be granted ; The Devils are so many , that some Thousands , can sometimes at once apply themselves to vex one Child of Man. It is said , in Marc. 5. 15. He that was Possessed with the Devil , had the Legion . Dreadful to be spoken ! A Legion consisted of Twelve Thousand Five Hundred people : and we see that in one man or two , so many Devils can be spared for a Garrison . As the Prophet cry'd out , Multitudes , Multitudes , in the Valley of Decision ! So I say , There are multi●…udes , multitudes , in the valley of Destruction , where the Devils are ! When we speak of , The Devil , 't is , A Name of Multitude ; it means not One Individual Devil , so Potent and Scient , as perhaps a Man chee would imagine ; but it means a Kind , which a Multitude belongs unto . Alas , The Devils , they swarm about us , like the Frogs of Egypt , in the most Retired of our Chambers Are we at our Boards ? There will be Devils to Tempt us unto Sensuality : Are we in our Beds ? There will be Devils to Tempt us unto Carnality ; Are we in our Shops ? There will be Devils to Tempt us unto Dishonesty . Yea , Tho' we get into the Church of God , there will be Devils to Haunt us in the very Temple it self , and there Tempt us to manifold Misbehaviours . I am verily perswaded , That there are very few Humane Affayrs , whereinto some Devils are not Insinuated ; There is not so much as a Iourney intended , but Satan will have an Hand in Hindering or Furthering of it . Secondly , 'T is to be supposed , That there is a sort of Arbitrary , even Military Government , among the Devils . This is intimated , when in Mar. 5. 9. The Unclean Spirit said , My Name is Legion : they are under such a Discipline as Legions use to be . Hence we read about , The Prince of the Power of the Air : Our Air has a Power ! or an Army , of Devils in the High Plac●…s of it ; and these Devils have a Prince over them , who is , King over the Children of Pride . 'T is probable , That the Devil , who was the Ring-leader of that mutinous and rebellious Crew , which first shook off the Authority of God , is now the General of those Hellish Armies ; Our Lord , that Conquer'd him , has told us the Name of him ; 't is Belzebub ; 't is he that is , the Devil , and the rest are , his Angels , or his Souldiers . Think on , vast Regiments , of cruel , and bloody French Dragoons , with an Intendant over them , over-running a pillaged Neighbourhood , and you will think a little , what the Constitution among the Devils is . Thirdly , T is to be supposed , That some Divels are more peculiarly Commission'd , and perhaps Qualify'd , for some Countreys , while others are for others . This is intimated , when in Mar. 5. 10. The Devils besought Our Lord , Much , that he would not send them away out of the Countrey . Why was that ? But in all probability , Because These Divels were more Able , to , Do the Works of the Divel , in such a Countrey , than in another . It is not likely that every Divel do's know every Language ; or that every Divel can do every Mischief . T is possible that the Experience , or , if I may call it so , the Education , of all Divels , is not alike , and that there may be some Difference in their Abilities . If one might make an Inference from what the Divels Do , to what they are , One cannot forbear Dreaming , that there are Degrees of Divels . Who can allow that such Tri●…ing Daemons , as that of Mascon , or those that once infested our New berry , are of so much Grandeur , as those Daemons , whose Games are mighty Kingdomes ? Yea , T is Certain , that all Divels do not make a like Figure , in the Invisible World. Nor do's it look agreeably , That the Daemons , which were the Familiars of such a Man as the Old Apoll●…nius , differ not from those Baser Goblins that chuse to Nest in the filthy and loathsome Rags , of a Beastly Sorceress . Accordingly , why may not some Divels , be more Accomplished for what is to be done in such and such places : when others must be Detachd for other Terri●…ories ? Each Divel as he sees his advantage , Cries out , Let me be in this Countrey , rather than another . But Enough , if not Too much , o●… these Things . Proposition II. There is a Divellish Wrath against Mankind , with which the Divel is , for Gods Sake Inspired . The Divel is himself broiling under the intollerable and interminable Wrath of God ; and a fiery Wrath at God , is that with which the Divel is for that cause Enflamed . Methinks I see the posture of the Divels in Isa. 8. 21. They fret themselves , and Curse their God , and look upward . The first and chief Wrath of the Divel , is at the Almighty God Himself ; He knows , The God that made him , will not have mercy on him , and the God that formed him , will shew him no favour ; and so he can have no Kindness for that God , who has no Mercy , nor Favour for him . Hence t is , that he cannot bear the Name of God should be Acknowledged in the World ; Every Acknowledgment paid unto God , is a fresh Drop of Burning Brimstone falling upon the Divel ; He do's make his Insolent , tho' Impotent Batteries , even upon the Throne of God Himsel●… : and soolishly affects to have hims●…lf exalted unto that Glorious High Throne , by all people , as he sometimes is , by Ex●…rcable Witches . This ho●…ible Dragon do's not only wi●…h 〈◊〉 , Tayl st●…ike at the Stars of God , but at the God 〈◊〉 , wh●… made the Stars , being desirous to 〈◊〉 them all . God and the Divel are swo●…n Enemi●…s to each other ; the Terms between them , are those , in Zech. 11. 18. My Soul 〈◊〉 them , and their Soul also Abb●…rred me . And from this Furious Wrath , or Displeasure and Prejudice at God , proceeds the Divels Wrath at us , the poor Children of Men. Our doing the Service of God , is one thing that Exposes us to the Wrath of the Divel . We are the High-Priests of the World ; when all Creatures are call'd upon , Praise ye the Lord , they bring to us those demanded Praises of God , saying , Do you Offer them for us . Hence 't is , that the Divel has a a Quarrel with us , as he had with the High-Priest in the Vision of Old. Our bearing the Image of God , is another thing that brings the Wrath of the Divel upon us . As a Tygre , thro' his Hatred at a man , will tear the very Picture of him , if it come in his way ; such a Tygre the Devil is ; because God said of old , Let us make Man in our Image , the Devil is ever saying , Let us p●…ll this man to pieces . But the envious Pride of the Devil , is one thing more that gives an Edge unto his Furious Wrath against us . The Apostle has given us an hint , as if Pride had been the Condemnation of the Devil . 'T is not unlikely , that the Devils Affectation to be above that Condition which he might learn that Mankind was to be preferr'd unto , might be the occasion of his taking up Arms against the Immortal King. However , the Devil now sees Man lying in the Bosome of God , but Himself damned in the Bottom of Hell ; and this Enrages him exceedingly ; O , says he , I cannot bear it , that man should not be as miserable as myself . Proposition III. The Devil , in the prosecution , & for the execution , of His wrath upon them , often getts a Liberty to make a Descent upon the Children of men . When the Devil does Hurt unto us , he Comes Down unto us ; for the Randezvouze of the Infernal Troops , is indeed in the Supernal Parts of our Air. But as t is said , A. sparrow of the Air does not fall down without the will of God ; so I may say , Not a Devil in the Air , can come down without the leave of God. Of this we have a famous Instance in that Arabian Prince , of whom the Devil was unable so much as to Touch any thing , till the most High God gave him a permission , to go down . The Divel stands with all the Instruments of Death , aiming at us , and begging of the Lord , as that King ask'd for the Hood-winck'd Syrians of old , Shall I Smite 'em , shall I Smite ' em ? He cannot strike a Blow , till the Lord say , Go down and smite , but sometimes He does obtain from the High Possessor of Heaven and Earth , a License for the doing of it . The Divel sometimes does make most rueful Havock among us ; but still we may say to him , as our Lord said unto a great servant of his , Thou couldest have no power against me , except it were given thee from above . The Divel is called in 1 pet . 5. 8. your Adversary . T is a Law-term ; and it notes , An Adversary at Law. The Divel cannot come at us , except in some sence according to Law ; but sometimes he does procure sad things to be inflicted , according to that Law of the eternal King , upon us . The Divel First Goes up as an Accuser against us : He is therefore styled The Accuser ; and it is on this account , that his proper Name , does belong unto him . There is a Court somewhere kept ; a Court of Spirits , where the Divel enters all sorts of Complaints against us all ; he charges us with manifold sins against the Lord our God : There he loads us with heavy Imputations , of Hypocrisy , Iniquity , Disobedience ; where upon he u●…ges , Lord , Let 'em now have the Death , which is their Wages , paid unto ' em ! If our Advocate in the Heavens do not now take off his Libels , the Devil then with a Concession of God , Comes down , as a Destroyer upon us . Having first been an Attorney , to bespeak that the Judgments of Heaven may be Ordered for us , he then also pleads that he may be the Executioner of those Judgments ; and the God of Heaven sometimes after a sort signs a Warrant , for this Destroying Angel , to do what has bin desired to be done for the Destroying of men . But such a Permission from God , for the Divel to Come down , and Break in upon mankind , oftentimes must be Accompanyed with a Commission from some wretches of mankind it 〈◊〉 . Every man is , as 't is hinted in Gen. 4 9. His Brothers Kee●…per . We are to keep one another from the 〈◊〉 of the Divel , by mutual and Cordi●…l wi●…hes of prosperity to one another . When ungodly people , give their Consents in witchcrafts diabolically performed , for the Divell to annoy their Neighbours , he ●…nds a Breach made in the Hedge about us , whereat he Rushes in upon us , with g●…ievous molestations . Yea , when Impious people , that never saw the Divel , do but utter their Curses against their Neighbours , those are so many Watch words whereby the Ma●…ives of Hell are animated presently to fall upon us . ' Ti●… thus , that the Devil gets Leave to worry us . Proposition IV. Most Horrible Woes come to be inflicted upon Mankind , when the Divel do's in Great Wrath , make a Descent upon them . The Divel , is a Do-Evil , and wholly set upon mischief . When Our Lord once was going to Muzzel him , that he might not mischief others , he cry'd out , Art thou come to 〈◊〉 me ? He is , it seems , himself Tormented , if he be but Restrained from the Tormenting of Men. If upon the Sounding of the Three last Apocalyptical Angels , it was an outcry made in Heaven , Wo , Wo , Wo , to the inhabitants of the Earth by reason of the voice of the Trumpet . I am sure , a Descent made by the Angel of Death , would give cause for the like Exclamation : Wo to the World , by reason of the Wrath of the Divel ! What a Woful plight , Mankind would by the Descent of the Divel , be brought into , may be gathered from the Woful pains , and wounds , and hideous desolations , which the Divel b●…ings upon them , of whom he has with a Bodily Possession made a Siezure . You may both in Sacred and Profane History , read many a direful Account of the Woes , which they , that are possessed by the Divel , do undergo : And from thence conclude , What must the Children of Men , hope from such a Divel ! Moreover the Tyrannical Ceremonies , whereto the Divel uses to subjugate such VVoful Nations or Orders of men , as are more Entirely under his Dominion , do declare what VVoful Work , the Divel would make where he comes . The very Devotions of those forlorn Pagans , to whom the Divel is a Leader , are most bloody Penances : and what VVoes indeed must we expect from such a Divel of a M●…loch , as relishes no Sacrifices like those of Humane Heart-Blood , and unto whom there is no musick like the bitter , dying , doleful Groans , ejulated by the Roasting Children of men . Furthermore , the Servile , Abject , Needy Circumstances wherein the Devil keeps the Slaves , that are under his more sensible Vassallage , do suggest unto us , How woful the Devil would render all of our Lives . We that live in a Province , which affords unto us , all that may be Necessary or Comfortable for us , found the Province fill'd with vast Herds of Salvages , that never saw so much as a Knife , or a Nail , or a Board , or a Grain of Salt , in all their dayes . No better would the Devil have the World provided for ! Nor should we , or any else , have one convenient Thing about us ; but be as Indigent as usually our most Ragged VVitches are ; if the Devils Malice were not over-ruled by a Compassionate God , Who Preserves Man and Beast . Hence t is , That the Devil , even like a Dragon , keeping a Guard upon such Fruits as would Refresh a Languishing World , has hindred Mankind for many Ages , from hitting upon those useful Inventions , which yet were so Obvious and Facil , that it is every bodies wonder , they were no sooner hit upon . The Bemisted World , must jog on for Thousands of Years , without the knowledge of the Loadstone , till a Neapolitan stumbled upon it , about Three Hundred years ago . Nor must the world be blest with such a matchless Engine of Learning and Vertue , as that of , Printing , till about the middle of the Fifteenth Century . Nor could one Old Man all over the Face of the whole Earth , have the benefit of such a Little , tho' most Needful , Thing , as a pair of Spectacles , till a Dutch-Man , a little while ago accommodated us . Indeed , as the Divel do's begrutch us all manner of Good , so he do's Annoy us with all manner of VVo , as often as he finds himself capable of doing it . But shall vve mention some of the special woes with which the Divel do's usually infest the World ! Breefly then ; Plagues are some of those woes , with which the Divel troubles us . It is said of the Israelites , in 1. Cor. 10. 10 They were destroyed of the destroyer . That is , they had the Plague among them . 'T is the Destroyer , or the Divel , that scatters Plagues about the World : Pestilential and Contagious Diseases , 't is the Divel , who do's oftentimes Invade us with them . 'T is no uneasy thing , for the Divel , to impregnate the Air about us , with such Malignant Salts , as meeting with the Salt of our Microcosin , shall immediately cast us into that Fermentation and Putrefaction , which will utterly dissolve all the Vital Tyes within us ; Ev'n as an Aqua-Fortis , made with a conjunction of Nitre and Vitriol , Corrodes what it Siezes upon . And when the Divel has raised those Arsenical Fumes , which become Venemous Quivers full of Terrible Arrows , how easily can he shoot the delete●…ious M●…sms into those Juices or Bowels of Mens Bodies , which will , soon Enflame them with a MortalFire ! Hence come such Plagues , as that Beesome of Destruction which within our memory swept away such a Throng of people from One English City in one Visitation : and hence those Infectious Feavers , which are but so many Disguised Plagues among us , Causing Epidemical Desolations . Again , Wars are also some of those VVoes , with which the Divel causes our Trouble . It is said in Rev. 12. 17. The Dragon was wroth , and went to make war : And there is in Truth , scarce any VVar , but what is of the Dragons kindling . The Divel is that V●…lcan , out of whose Forge come the instruments of our VVars , and it is he that finds us Employments for those Instruments . We read concerning Daemoniacks , or people in whom the Devil was , that they would cut and wound themselves ; and so , when the Devil is in Men , he puts 'em upon dealing in that barbarous fashion with one another . VVars do often furnish him with some Thousands of Souls in one Morning from one Acre of Ground ; and for the sake of such Thyestaean Banquets , he will push us upon as many VVars as he can . Once more , why may not Storms be rekoned among those VVoes , with which the Devil do's disturb us ? It is not improbable , that Natural Storms on the World , are often of the Devils raising . We are told in Job . 1. 11. 12 , 19. that the Devil made a Storm , which Hurricano'd the House of Iob , upon the Heads of them that were feasting in it . Paracelsus could have informed the Devil , if he had not been informed , as be sure he was before , That if much Aluminious matter , with Salt-Peter not throughly prepared , be mixed , they will send up a cloud of Smoke , which will come down in Rain . But undoubtedly the Devil understands as well the way to make a Tempest , as to turn the VVinds at the Solicitation of a Laplander ; Whence perhaps it is , that Thunders are observed oftner to break upon Churches , than upon any other Buildings ; and besides many a Man , yea many a Ship , yea many a Town has miscarried , when the Devil ha's been permitted from above to make an Horrible tempest . However that the Divel has raised many Metaphorical Storms upon the Church , is a thing , than which there is nothing more notorious . It was said unto Believers , in Rev. 2. 10. The Devil shall cast some 〈◊〉 you into Prison . The Devil was he that at first 〈◊〉 Cain upon Abel , to butcher him , as the Apo●… seems to suggest , for his Faith in God , as a Rewarder . And , in how many Persecutions , as well as Haeresies , has the Devil been ever since Engaging all the Children of Cain ! That Serpent the Devil ha's acted his cursed Seed , in unwearied Endeavours to have them , Of whom the World is not worthy , treated as those who are , Not Worthy to live in the World. By the Impulse of the Devil , t is that first the old Heathens , and then the mad Arians , were Pricking Briars , to the true Servants of God ; and that the Papists that came after them , have out-done 〈◊〉 all , for Slaughters , upon those that have been Accounted as the sheep for the Slaughters . The late French Persecution , is perhaps the Horriblest that ever was in the World : and as the Devil of Mascon seems before to have meant it , in his outcries , upon , The miseries preparing for the poor Hugonots ! thus it ha's been all acted , by a singular Fury of the old Dragon inspiring of his Emissaries . But in reality , Spiritual Woes , are the Principal Woes , among all those that the Devil would have us undone withal . Sins are the worst of W●…es ; and the Devil seeks nothing so much , as to plunge us into Sins . When men do commit a Crime for which they are to be Indicted , they are usually , Mov'd by the Instigation of the Devil . The Devil will put Ill Men upon being worse . Was it not he , that laid in 1 King 22. 22. I will go forth , and be a Lying Spirit in the Mouth of all the Prophets ? Even so the Devil becomes an Unclean Spirit , a Drinking Spirit , a Swearing Spirit , a Worldly Spirit , a Passionate Spirit , a Revengful Spirit , and the like , in the Hearts of those that are already too much of such a Spirit ; and thus , they become Improv'd in Sinfulness . Yea , the Devil will put Good Men upon doing Ill. Thus we read , in 1 Chron. 21. 1. Satan provoked David to Number Israel . And so , the Devil provokes men that are Eminent in Holiness , unto such Things as may become eminently pernicious ; he provokes them especially unto Pride , and unto many unsuitable Emulations . There are likewise most lamentable Impressions , which the Devil makes upon the Souls of men , by way of punishment upon them for their Sins . 'T is thus , when an Offended God , puts the Souls of men over into the Hands of that Officer , Who has the Power of Death , that is , the Devil . It is the woful misery of Unbelievers , in 2 Cor. 4. 4. The God of this World has blinded their minds . And thus it may be said of those Woful Wretches , whom the Devil is a God unto , The Devil so Muffles them , that they cannot see the things of their Peace . And , The Devil so Hardens them , that nothing will awaken their cares about their Souls : How come so many to be Seared in their Sins ? 'T is the Devil , that with a Red Hot Iron fetch 't from his Hell , does cauterise them . Thus t is , till perhaps at last they come to have a Wounded Conscience in them , and the Devil has often a share in their Torturing and Confounding Anguishes . The Devil who Terrify'd Cain , and Saul , and Iudas , into Desperation , still becomes a King of Terrors , to many Sinners , and frights them from laying hold on the Mercy of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. In these regards , Wo to us , when the Devil comes down upon us . Proposition V. Toward the End of his Time the Descent of the Devil in Wrath upon the World , will produce more woful Effects , than what have been in Former Ages . The Dying Dragon , will bite more Cruelly , & sting more bloodily than ever he did before : The ●…th-pangs of the Devil will make him to be more of a Devil than ever he was ; and the Furnace of this Nebuchadnezaear will be heated seven times hotter , just before its putting out . We are in the first place , to Apprehend , That there is a Time fixed and stated by God , for the Devil to enjoy a Dominion over our sinful and therefore woful World. The D●…vil once Exclaimed , in Mat. 8. 29. Iesus , thou Son of God , art thou come hither to Torment us before our Time ? It is plain , That until the Second Coming of our Lord , the Devil must have a Time of plaguing the World , which he was afraid , would have Expired at His First . The Devil is , By the wrath of God , the Prince of this World ; and the Time of his Reign , is to continue until the Time , when our Lord Himself , shall , Take to Himself , his great Power and Reign . Then 't is that the Devil shall hear the Son of God , swearing with loud Thunders against him , Thy Time shall now be no more ! Then shall the Devil with his Angels , receive their Doom , which will be , Depart into the Everlasting Fire prepared for you . We are also to Apprehend , that in the mean time , the Divel can give a shrowd guess , when he drawes near to the End of his Time. When he saw Christianity enthron'd among the Romans , it is here said , in our Rev , 12 12 , He knows he hath but a short time . And how does he know it ? Why , Reason will make the Divel to know that God won't suffer him to have , the Everlasting Dominion ; & that when God has once begun to rescue the world out of his hands Hee 'l go through with it , until The Captives of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the Terrible shall be delivered . But the Divel will have Scripture also , to make him Know that when his Antichristian Vicar the seven headed Beast on the seven-hilled City , shall have spent his determined years , he with his Vicar must unavoidably go down into the Bottomless Pitt .. It is not Improbable , that the Divel often hears the Scripture expounded in our congregations ; yea that we never Assemble without a Satan among us . As there are some Divines , who do with more uncertainty conjecture , from a ●…eartain P●…ace in the Epistle to the Ephesians , That the Angels do some times come into our Churches , to gain some Advantage from our Ministry . But be sure our Demonstra ble Interpretations , may give Repeated Notices to the-Divel , That his time is almost out : and what the preacher says unto the Young Man , Know thou , that God will bring thee into Iudgment ! THAT may our Sermons tell unto that Old Wretch , Know thou , that the time of thy Iudgment is at hand ▪ But we must now , likewise , Apprehend , that in such a time , the Woes of the world , will be heightened , beyond what they were at any Time yet from the foundation of the world . Hence ti 's , that the Apostle has forewarned us , in 2. Tim. 3. 1. this know , that in the last days , perillous times shall come . Truly , when the Divel knows , that he is got into his Last days , he will make Perillous Times for us ; the times will grow more full of Divels , and therefore more full of Perils , than everthey were before . Of this if we would Know , what cause is to be assigned ; It is not only , because the Divel growes more Able and more Eager to Vex the world ; but also , and cheefly , Because the world is more worthy to be Vexed by the Divel , than ever heretofore . The Sins of men in this Generation , will be more mighty Sins , than those of the Former Ages ; men will be more Accurate & Exquisite , & Refined in the Arts of Sinning , than they use to be . And besides , their own sins , the sins of all the Former Ages will also lie upon the sinners of this generation . Do we ask why the mischievous powers of darkness are to prevail more in our days , than they did in those that are past & gone ! T is because that men by sinning over again the sins of the Former days , have a Fellowship with all those unfruitful works of darkness . As 't was said in Math. 23. 36. All these things shall come upon this generation ; so , the men of the Last generation , will find themselves involved in the guilt of all that went before them . Of Sinners t is said , They Heap up Wrath ; and the sinners of the Last generations do not only add unto the Heap of sin that has been pileing up , ever since the Fall of man , but they Interest themselves in every sin of that enormous Heap . There has been a Cry of sin in all Former Ages going up to God , That the Divel may come down ! and the sinners of the Last generations , do sharpen and louden that cry , till the thing do come to pass , as Destructively as Irremediably . From whence it follows , that the Thrice Holy God , with His Holy Angels , will now after a sort more Abandon the World , than in the former Ages . The Roaring Impieties of the Old World , at last gave Mankind such a Dista●…t in the Heart of the Just God ; that he came to say , It Repents me , that I have made such a Creature ! And however , it may be but a witty Fancy , in a Late Learned Writer , that the Earth before the Flood was nearer to the Sun , than it is at this Day ; and that Gods Hurling down the Earth to a further Distance from the Sun , were the cause of that Flood ; yet we may fitly enough say , that men perished by a Rejection from the God of Heaven . Thus , the Enhanc'd Impieties of this our World , will Exasperate the Displeasure of God , at such a rate , as that he will more Cost us off , than heretofore ; until at last , He do with a more than ordinary Indignation say , Go Devils ; do you take them , and make them beyond all former measures miserable ! If Lastly , We are inquisitive after Instances of those Aggravated Woes , with which the Devil will towards the End of his Time assault us ; Let it be Remembred , That all the Extremities which were foretold by the Trumpets and the Vials in the Apocalyptic Schemes of these things , to come upon the world , were the woes to come from the wrath of the Divel , upon the shortning of his Time , The horrendous desolations that have come upon mankind , by the Irruptions of the old Barbarians upon the Roman World , and then of the Saracens , and since , of the Turks , were such woes , as men had never seen before . The Infandous Blindness and Vi●…eness which then came upon mankind , and the Monstrous 〈◊〉 which thereupon carried the Roman world by the Millions together unto the shambles , were also such woes as had never yet had a Parallel . And yet these were some of the things here intended , when it was said , wo ! For the Divel is come down in Great wrath , having but a short Time. But besides all these things , and besides the Increase of Plagues & Wars , and Storms , and Internal Maladies now in our days , there are especially two most extraordinary Woes , one would fear , will in these days become very ordinary . One Woe that may be look'd for is , A frequent Repetition of Earthquakes , and this perhaps by the energy of the Divel in the Earth . The Divel will be clap't up , as a Prisoner in or near the Bowels of the earth , when once that Conflagration shall be dispatch'd , which will make , The New Earth wherein shall dwell Righteousness ; and that Conflagration will doubtless be much promoted , by the Subterraneous Fires , which are a cause of the Earthquakes in our Dayes . Accordingly , we read , Great Earthquakes in divers places , enumerated among the Tokens of the Time approaching , when the Devil shall have no longer Time. I suspect , That we shall now be visited with more Usual , and yet more Fatal Earthquakes , than were our Ancestors ; inasmuch as the Fires that are shortly to , Burn unto the Lowest Hell , and set on Fire the Foundations of the Mountains , will now get more Head than they use to do ; and it is not impossible , that the Devil , who is e're long to be punished in those Fires , may aforehand augment his Desert of it , by having an hand in using some of those Fires , for our Detriment . Learned Men have made no scruple to charge the Devil with it ; Deo permittente , Terraemotus causat . The Devil surely , was a party in the Earthquake , whereby the Vengeance of God , in one black Night sunk Twelve considerable Cities of Asia , in the Reign of Tiberius . But there will be more such Catastrophe's in our Dayes ! Italy has lately been Shaking , till its Earthquakes have brought Ruines at once upon more than thirty Towns ; but it will within a little while , shake again , and shake till the Fire of God have made an Entire Etna of it . And behold , This very Morning , when I was intending to utter among you such Things as these , we are cast into an Heartquake by Tidings of an Earthquake that has lately happened at Iamaica : an horrible Earthquake , whereby the Tyrus of the English America , was at once pull'd into the Jawes of the Gaping and Groaning Earth , and many Hundreds of the Inhabitants buried alive . The Lord sanctifie so dismal a Dispensation of his Providence , unto all the American Plantations ! But be assured , my Neighbours , the Earthquakes are not over yet ! We have not yet seen the Last . And then , Another Wo that may be Look'd for is , The Devils being now let Loose in preternatural Operations more than formerly ; & perhaps in Possessions & Obsessions that shall be very marvellous . You are not Ignorant , That just before our Lords First Coming , there were most observable Outrages committed by the Devil upon the Children of Men : And I am suspicious , That there will again be an unusual Range of the Devil among us , a little before the Second Coming of our Lord , which will be , to give the last stroke in , Destroying the Works of the Devil . The Evening Wolves will be much abroad , when we are near the Evening of the World. The Devil is going to be Dislodged of the Air , where his present Quarters are ; God will with flashes of hot Lightning upon him , cause him to fall as Lightning from this Ancient Habitations : And the Raised Saints will there have a New Heaven , which , We expect according to the Promise of God. Now , a little before this thing , you 'l be like to see the Devil , more sensibly and visibly Busy upon Earth perhaps , than ever he was before : You shall oftner hear about Apparitions of the Devil , and about poor people strangely Bewitched , Possessed and Obsessed , by Infernal Fiends . When our Lord is going to set up His Kingdom , in the most sensible and visible manner that ever was , and in a manner answering the Transfiguration in the Mount , it is a thousand to one , but the Devil will in sundry parts of the World , assay the like for Himself , with a most Apish Imitation : and Men , at least in some Corners of the World , and perhaps in such as God may have some special Designs upon , will to their Cost , be more Familiarized with the World of Spirits than they had been formerly . So that , in fine , if just before the End when the Times of the Iews were to be finished , a man then ●…an about every where , crying , Wo to the Nation ! Wo to the City ! Wo to the Temple ! Wo ! Wo ! Wo ! Much more may the descent of the Devil , just before his End , when also the Times of the Gentiles will be finished , cause us to cry out , Wo ! Wo ! Wo ! because of the Black things that Threaten us ! But it is now Time to make our Improvement of what has been said . And , first , we shall entertain ourselves with a few Corollaries : deduced from what has been thus asserted . Corollary I. What cause have we to bless God , for our preservation from the Devils wrath , in this which may too reasonably be call'd the Devils VVorld ! While we are in , this present evil world , We are continually surrounded with swarms of those Devils , who make this present world , become so evil . What a wonder of Mercy is it , that no Devil could ever yet make a prey of us ! We can set our foot no where but we shall tread in the midst of most Hellish Rattle-Snakes ; and one of those Rattle-Snakes once thro' the mouth of a Man on whom he had Siezed , hissed out such a Truth as this , If God would let me loose upon you , I should find enough in the Best of you all , to make you all mine . What shall I say ? The VVilderness thro' which we are passing to the Promised Land , is all over fill'd with , Fiery , flying serpents . But blessed be God ; None of them have hitherto so fastned upon us , as to confound us utterly ▪ All our way to Heaven , lies by the 〈◊〉 of Lions , and the Mounts of Leopards ; there are incredible Droves of Divels in our way . But have we safely got on our way thus far ? O let us be thankful to our Eternal preserver for it . It is said in , Psal. 76. 10. Surely the wrath of Man shall praise thee , and the Remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain But surely It becomes us to praise God , in that we have yet sustain'd no more Damage by the wrath of the Devil , and in that he has restrain'd that Overwhelming wrath . We are poor Travellers in a World , which is as well the Devils Field , as the Devils Gaol ; a World , in every Nook whereof , the Devil is encamped , with Bands of Robbers , to pester all that have their Face looking Zion-ward : And are we all this while preserved from the undoing Snares of the Devil ! it is , Thou , O keeper of Israel , that hast hitherto been our Keeper ! And therefore , Bless the Lord , O my soul , Bless his Holy Name , who has redeemed thy Life from the Distroyer ! Corollary . II. We may see the rise of those multiply'd magnify'd , and Singularly stinged Afflictions , with which aged or dying Saints frequently have their Death Prefaced , & their Age embittered . When the Saints of God are going to leave the World , it is usually a more Stormy World with them , than ever it was ; and they find more Vanity , and more Vexation in the world than ever they did before . It is true , That many are the afflictions of the Righteous but a little before they bid adieu to all those many Afflictions , they often have greater , harder , Sorer , Loads thereof laid upon them , than they had yet endured . It is true , That thro' much Tribulation we must enter in the Kingdom of God ; but a little before our Entrance thereinto , our Tribulation may have some sharper accents of Sorrow , than ever were yet upon it . And what is the cause of this ! It is indeed the Faithfulness of our God unto us , that we should find the Earth mo●…e full of Thorns and Briars than ever , just before he fetches us from Earth to Heaven ; that so we may go away the more willingly , the more easily , and with less Convulsion , at his calling for us . O there are ugly Ties , by which we are fastned unto this world ; but God will by Thorns and Briars tear those Ties asunder . But , Is not the Hand of Ioab here ? Sure , There is the wrath of the Devll also in it . A little before we step into Heaven , the Devil thinks with himself , My time to abuse that Saint is now but short ; what Mischief I am to do that Saint , must be done quickly , if at all ; he 'l shortly be out of my Reach for ever . And for this cause he will now fly upon us with the Fiercest Efforts and Furies of his Wrath. It was allowed unto the Serpent , in Gen. 2. 15. To Bruise the Heel . Why , at the Heel , or at the Close , of our Lives , the Serpent will be nibbling , more than ever in our Lives before : and it is , Because now he has but a short time . He knows , That we shall very shortly be , Where the Wicked cease from Troubling , and where the Weary are at Rest ; wherefore that Wicked one will now Trouble us , more than ever he did , and we shall have so much Disrest , as will make us more weary than ever we were , of things here below . Corollary . III What a Reasonable Thing then is it , that they whose Time is but short , should make as great Use of their Time , as ever they can ! I pray , let us learn some good , even from the Wicked One himself . It has been advised , Be Wise as Serpents : why , there is a peece of Wisdom , whereto that old Serpent , the Divel himself , may be our Monitor . When the Divel perceives his Time is but short , it puts him upon Great Wrath. But how should it be with us , when we perceive that our Time is but short ? why , it should put us upon Great Work. The motive which makes the Divel to be more full of wrath , should make us more full of warmth , more full of watch , and more full of All Diligence to make our Vocation , and Election sure . Our Pace in our Journey Heaven-ward ; must be Quickened , if our space for that Journey be shortened : even as Israel went further the two last years of their Journey Canaan ward , than they did in Thirty eight years before . The Apostle brings this , as a spur to the Devotions of Christians , in . 1. Cor. 7. 29. This I say , Bretheren , the time is short . Even so , I say this day ; some things I lay before you , which I do only think , or guess , but here is a thing which I venture to say with all the freedom Imaginable . You have now a Time to Get good ; even a Time to make sure of Grace and Glory , and every good thing , by true Repentance ; But , This I say , the time is but short . You have now Time to Do good ; even to serve out your generation , as by the Will , so for the Praise of God ; But , This I say the time is but short . And what I say thus to All People , I say to Old People , with a Peculiar Vehemency : Syrs , It Cannot be long , before your Time is out ; there are but a few Sands Left in the glass of your Time : And it is of all things the saddest , for a man to say , My Time is done but my work undone ! O then , To work as fast as you can ; and of Soul-Work , and Church-Work , Dispatch as much as ever you can . Say to all Hindrances , as the Gracious Ieremiah Burrows would sometimes to Visitants : You 'l excuse me if I ask you ●…o be short with me , for my work is great , and my Time is but short . Methinks every Time , we hear a clock , or see a watch , we have an Admonition given us , That our Time is upon the wing , and it will all be gone within a little while . I Remember I have read of a famous man , who having a Clock-Watch long Lying by him , out of Kilture in his Trunk , it unaccountably Struck Eleven just before he Dy'd . Why , there are many of you , for whom I am to do that office this day : I am to tell you , You are come to your Eleventh Hour ; there is no more than a Twelfth Part at most , of your life yet behind . But if we neglect our business , till our short Time shall be reduced into None , then , ●…o to us , for the great wrath of God will send us down from whence there is no Redemption . Corollary . IV. How wellcome should a Death in the Lord , be unto them , that belong not unto the Divel , but unto the Lord ! While We are sojourning in this world , we are in what may upon too many accounts be called The Divels Country : we are where the Divel may Come down upon us in Great Wrath continually . The day when God shall take us out of this world , will be , The Day when the Lord will deliver us from the Hand of all our enemies , and from the Hand of Satan : In such a day , why should not our Song be that of the Psalmist , Blessed be my Rock , and let the God of my Salvation be Exalted ! While we are here , we are in the Valley of the shadow of Death ; and what is it that makes it so ! Ti 's because the Wild Beasts of Hell are lurking on every side of us , & every minute ready to Salley forth upon us . But our Death will fetch us out of that Valley , and carry us where we shall be , For ever with the Lord. We are now under the daily Buffetings of the Divel , and he does molest us with such Fiery Darts , as cause us even to cry out , I am weary of my Life . Yea , but are we as Willing to Dy , as , Weary of Life ? Our Death will then soon set us where we cannot be Reach'd by the , Fist of Wickednoss : and where the , Perfect cannot be shotten at . It is said , in Rev. 14. 13. Blessed are the Dead , which Dy in the Lord , They Rest from their Labours . But we may say , Blessed are the Dead in the Lord , inasmuch they Rest from the Devils ! Our Dying will be but our Taking Wing : When , attended with a Convoy of Winged Angels , we shall be convey'd into that Heaven , from whence the Devil having been thrown , he shall never more come thither after us . What if God should now say to us , as to Moses , Go up and Dy ! As long as we Go up , when we Dy , Let us receive the Message with a Joyful Soul ; we shall soon be there , where the Devil can't Come Down upon us . If the , God of our Life , should now send that Order to us , which he gave to Hezekiah , Set thy House in Order , for thou shalt Dy , and not Live ; We need not be cast into such deadly Agonies thereupon , as Hezekiah was : We are but going to that House , the Golden Doors whereof , cannot be Entred by the Devil that here did use to Persecute us . Methinks , I see the Departed Spirit of a Believer , Triumphantly carried thro' the Devils Territories , in such a Stately and Fiery , Chariot , as the Spiritualizing Body of Elias had ; methinks , I see the Devil , with whole Flocks of Harpies , grinning at this Child of God , but unable to fasten any of their Griping Talons upon him : And then , upon the utmost Edge of our Atmosphaere , methinks I over-hear the Holy Soul , with a most Heavenly Gallantry deriding the Defeated Fiend , and saying , Ah! Satan ! Return to thy Dungeons again ; I am going where thou canst not come for ever ! O 't is a Brave Thing so to Dy ! And especially so to Dy , in Our Time. For , tho' when we call to mind , That the Devils Time is now but short , it may almost make us wish to Live unto the End of it ; and to say with the Psalmist , Because the Lord will shortly appear in His Glory , to Build up Zion . O my God , Take me not away in the midst of my Dayes ! Yet when we bear in mind , That the Devils Wrath is now most Great , it would make one willing to be , Out of the Way . Inasmuch as now is the Time for the doing of those things in the prospect whereof Balaam long ago cry'd out , Who shall live when such Things are done ! We should not be inordinately loth to Dy at such a Time. In a word , The Times are so Bad , that we may well count it , as Good a Time to Dy in , as ever we saw . Corollary . V. Good News for the Israel of God , and particularly for His New-English Israel ! If the Devils Time were above a Thousand Years ago , pronounced , Short , What may we suppose it now in Our Time ? Surely We are not a Thousand Years distant from those Happy Thousand Years of rest and peace , and [ which is better ] Holiness , reserved for the people of God in the latter days ; and if we are not a Thousand Years , yet short of that Golden Age , there is cause to think , that we are not an Hundred . That the blessed Thousand Years are not yet begun , is abundantly clear from this , We do not see the Devil bound ; No , the Devil was never more let Loose than in our Days ; and it is very much that any should imagine otherwise : But the same thing that proves the Thousand Years of Prosperity for the Church of God , UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN , to be not yet Begun , do's also prove , that it is not very Far Off ; and that is the prodigious Wrath with which the Devil do's in our Days Prosecute , yea , Desolate the World. Let us cast our Eyes almost where we will , and we shall see the Devils Domineering at such a rate as may justly fill us with astonishment ; it is Quaestionable whether Iniquity ever were so Rampant , or whether Calamity were ever so Pungent , as in this Lamentable Time ; We may truly say , T is the Hour and the Power of Darkness . But , tho' the Wrath be so Great , the Time is but Short : when we are perplexed with the Wrath of the Devil , the Word of our God at the same time unto us , is that , in Rom. 16. 20. The God of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet SHORTLY . SHORTLY , didst thou say , Dearest Lord ! O! Gladsome word ! Amen , Even so , Come , Lord ! Lord Iesus , Come Quic●…ly ! We shall never be rid of this Troublesome Devil , till , Thou do come to Chain him up ! But because the people of God , would willingly be told Whereabouts we are with reference to the Wrath and the Time , of the Devil , you shall give me leave humbly to set before you a few , Conjectures . The first Conjecture The Devils Eldest Son seems to be towards the End of his last Half-time ; and if it be so , the Devils Whole-time , cannot but be very near it's End. It is a very scandalous thing that any Protestant , should be at a loss where to find , The Anti-Christ . But , we have sufficient Assurance , that the Duration of Antichrist , is to be but for a Time , and for Times , and for Half a time ; that is for Twelve-hundred and Sixty Years . And indeed , those Twelve Hundred and Sixty years , were the very Spott of Time left for the Devil , and meant when 't is here said , He has but a short time . Now , I should have an Easy Time of it , if I were never put upon an Harder Task , than to produce what might render it extreamly probable , That Antichrist entred his last Half-time , or the Last Hundred and Fourscore years of his Reign , at or soon after the Celebrated Reformation which began at the year 1517 in the former Century . Indeed , it is very agreeable to see how Antichrist then Lost Half of his Empire ; and how that Half which then became Reformed , have been upon many accounts little more than Half-Reformed . But by this Computaion , we must needs bee within a very few years of such a Mortification to befall the See of Rome , as that Antichrist who ha's lately been planting ( what proves no more lasting than ) a Tabernacle in the Glorious Holy Mountain between the Seas , must quickly , Come to his End and none shall help him . So then , within a very little while , we shall see the Devil stript of the Grand , yea , the Last , Vehicle , wherein he will be capable to abuse our World. The Fires , with which , That Beast , is to be consumed , will so singe the Wings of the Devil too , that he shall no more set the Affairs of this world on Fire . Yea , they shall both go into the same Fire , to be tormented for ever and ever . The Second Conjecture . That which is , perhaps , the greatest Effect of the Divels Wrath , seems to be in a manner at an end : and this would make one hope that the Divels Time cannot be far from its end . It is in PERSECUTION , that the wrath of the Divel uses to break forth , with its greatest Fury . Now there want not Probabilities , that the Last Persecution intended for the Church of God , before the Advent of Our Lord , has been upon it . When we see the , Second We Passing away , we have a fair signal given unto us , That the Last Slaughter of our Lords Witnesses is over : and then what QUICKLY followes ? ( The Next thing is , The Kingdomes of this World , are become the Kingdomes of Our Lord ) and of His Christ : and then Down goes the Kingdome of the Divel , so that he cannot any more come down upon us . Now , the Irrecoverable & Irretrievable Humiliations that have Lately befallen the Turkish Power , are but so many Declarations of the , Second Wo Passing away . And the dealings of God with the European parts of the world , at this day , do further strengthen this our Expectation . We do see , At this Hour a great Earth-Quake all Europe over : and we shall see , that this Great Earth-quake , and these great Commotions , will but Contribute unto the Advancement of Our Lords Hitherto Depressed Interests . T is also to be Remark'd that , A Disposition to Recognize the Empire of God over the Conscience of man , does now prevail more in the world than formerly ; & God from on High more touches the Hearts of Princes & Rulers with an Averseness to Persecution . T is Particularly the unspeakable Happiness of the English Nation , to be under the Influences of that Excellent Queen , who could say , Inasmuch as a man cannot make himself Believe what he will , why should we Persecute men for not Believing as we do ! I wish I could see all good men of one mind ; but in the mean time I pray , let them 〈◊〉 Love one another . Words Worthy to be written in Letters of Gold ! and by us the more to be considered , because to one of Ours did that Royal Person Express Her Self so Excellently , so Obligingly . When the late King Iames published his Declaration for , Liberty of Conscience , a Worthy Divine in the Church of England , then st●…dying the Revelation , saw cause upon Revelational Grounds , to Declare himself in such words as these , Whatsoever others may intend or design by this Liberty of Conscience , I cannot believe , that it will 〈◊〉 be recalled in England , as long as the World stands . And you know how Miraculously the Earth Quake which then immediately came upon the Kingdom , ●…a's established that Liberty ! But that which exceeds all the tendencies this way , is , The Dispensation of God at this Day , towards the blessed Vaud●… . Those Renowned Waldenses , which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sort of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the Protestant Churches , were never dissipated , by all the Persecutions of many Ages , till within these few years , the French King and the Duke of Savoy Leagued for their Disspation . But just Three years and half after the scattering of that Holy people , to the Surprise of all the world , a Spirit of life from God is come into them ; and having with a Thousand Miracles Repossessed themselves of their antient Seats , their Hot Persecutor is become their great Protector . Whereupon the Reflection of the Worthy person , that writes the story is , The Churches of Piemont , being the Root of the Protestant Churches , They have been the first Established ; the Churches of other places , being but the Branches , shall be Established in due time , God will deliver them speedily , He has already delivered the Mother , and He will not long leave the Daughter behind : He will Finish what he has Gloriously begun ! The Third Conjecture . There is a Little Room for Hope , that the Great Wrath of the Devil , will not prove the Present Ruine of our poor New-England in particular . I believe , there never was a poor Plantation , more Pursued by the Wrath of the Devil , than our poor New-England ; and that which makes our Condition very much the more deplorable is , That the Wrath of the Great God Himself , at the same Time also presses hard upon us . It was a Rowsing Alarm to the Devil , when a great Company of English Protestants , and Puritans , came to Erect Evangelical Churches , in a corner of the World , where he had Reign'd without any Controll for many Ages ; and it is a vexing Eye-sore , to the Devil , that our Lord Christ should be known , and own'd , and preached in this Howling Wilderness . Wherefore he has left no Stone Unturned , that so he might undermine his Plantation , and force us out of our Country . First , The Indian Powawes , used all their Sorceries to molest the First Planters here ; but God said unto them , Touch them not ! Then , Seducing Spirits , came to Root in this Vineyard , but God so Rated them off , that they have not prevail'd much further than the Edges of our Land. After this , we have had a continual Blast upon some of our principal Grain , Annually diminishing a vast part of our Ordinary Food . Herewithal , Wasting Sicknesses , especially Burning , and Mortal Agues , have Shot the Arrows of Death in at our Windows . Next , We have had many Adversaries of our own Language , who have been perpetually assaying to deprive us of those English Liberties , in the Encouragement whereof these Territories have been Settled . As if this had not been enough ; The Tawnies among whom we came , have Watered our Soyl , with the Blood , of many Hundreds of our Inhabitants . Desolating Fires also have many times laid the chief Treasure of the whole Province in Ashes . As for Losses by Sea , they have been multiply'd upon us : and particularly in the present French War , the whole English Nation have observed , That no part of the Nation has proportionably had so many Vessels taken , as our poor New-England . Besides all which , now at last the Devils are ( if I may so speak ) in Person come down upon us , with such a Wrath , as is justly much , and will quickly be more , the Astonishment of the World. Alas , I may Sigh over this Wilderness , as Moses did over his , in Psal. 90. 7 , 9. We are consumed by thine Anger , and by thy Wrath we are Troubled : All our Dayes are passed away in thy Wrath. And I may add this unto it , The Wrath of the Devil ●…oh as been Troubling and Spending of us , all our Dayes . But what will become of this poor New-England after all ? Shall we Sink , Expire , Perish , before the Short Time of the Devil shall be finished ? I must confess , That when I consider the lamentable Unfruitfulness of men , among us , under as powerful and perspicuous Dispensations of the Gospel , as are in the World ; and when I consider the Declining State of the Power of Godliness in our Churches , with the most horrible Indisposition that perhaps ever was , to Recover out of this Declension ; I cannot but Fear lest it comes to this , and lest an Asiatic Removal of Candlesticks come upon us . But upon some other Accounts , I would fain Hope otherwise ; and I will give you therefore the opportunity to Try what Inferences may be drawn from these probable Prognostications . I say , First , That surely , America's Fate , must at the long run , include New-Englands in it . What was the Design of our God , in bringing over so many Europaeans hither of later years ? Of what Use or State will America be , when the Kingdom of God shall come ? If it must all be the Devils propriety , while the Saved Nations of the other Haemisphere , shall be , Walking in the Light of the New Ierusalem , Our New-England has then , 't is likely , done all that it was Erected for . But if God have a Purpose to make here a Seat for any of , Those Glorious . Things , which are spoken of Thee , O thou City of God ; then even Thou , O New-England , art within a very little while of Better Dayes than ever yet have Dawn'd upon thee . I say , Secondly , That tho' there be very Threatning Symptoms on America , yet there are some Hopeful ones . I confess , when one thinks upon the crying Barbarities with which the most of those Europaeans that have Peopled this New world , became the Masters of it ; it looks but Ominously . VVhen one also thinks , How much the way of Living in many parts of America , is utterly Inconsistent with the very Essentials of Christianity ; yea , how much Injury and Violence is therein done to Humanity it self ; it is enough to Damp the Hopes of the most Sanguine Complexion . And the Frown of Heaven which has hitherto been upon Attempts of better Gospellizing the Plantations , considered , will but increase the Damp. Nevertheless , on the other side , what shall be said of all the Promises , That our Lord Iesus Christ shall have the uttermost parts of the Earth for his Possession ? and of all the Prophecies , That All the ends of the Earth shall Remember and Turn unto the Lord ? Or does it look Agreeably , That such a Rich Quarter of the VVorld , equal in some Regards to all the Rest , should never be out of the Devils Hands , from the first Inhabitation unto the Last Dissolution of it ? No sure ; why may not the last be the first ? and the Sun of Righteousness come to shine Brightest , in Climates which it Rose Latest upon ! I say , Thirdly , That as it fares with Old England , so it will be most likely to fare with New-England . For which cause , by the way , there may be more of the Divine Favour in the present Circumstances of our Dependence on England , than we are well aware of . This is very sure , if matters Go Ill with our Mother , her poor American Daughter here , must feel it ; nor could our former Happy Settlement have hindred our Sympathy in that Unhappiness . But if matters Go Well in the Three Kingdoms ; as long as God shall Bless the English Nation , with Rulers that shall Encourage Piety , Honesty , Industry ; in their Subjects , and that shall cast a Benign Aspect upon the Interests of our Glorious Gospel , Abroad as well as at Home ; so long , New-England will at least keep its Head above Water : and so much the more , for our Comfortable Settlement in such a Form as we are now cast into . Unless , there should be any Singular , Destroying , Topical Plagues , whereby an offended God should at last make us Rise ; But , Alas , O Lord , what other Hive hast Thou Provided for us ! I say , Fourthly , That the Elder England will certainly & speedily be Visited with the Ancient Loving kindness of God. When one sees , how strangely the Curse of our Ioshua , ha's fallen upon the Persons & Houses of them , that have attempted the Rebuilding of the Old Romish Iericho , which has there been so far demolished , they cannot but say , That the Reformation there , shall not only be maintained , but also pursued , proceeded , perfected ; and that God will shortly there have a New Ierusalem . Or , Let a Man in his Thoughts run over ; but the Series of amazing Providences towards the English Nation for the last Thirty Years : Let him Reflect , How many Plots for the Ruine of the Nation , have been strangely discovered ? yea , How very unaccountably , those very Persons , yea ; I may also say , and those very Methods which were intended for the Tools of that Ruine , have become the Instruments , or Occasions of Deliverances ? A man cannot but say upon these Reflections , as the Wife of Manoah once prudently expressed her self , If the Lord were pleased to have Destroyed us , He would not have show'd us , all these things . Indeed , It is not unlikely , that the Enemies of the English Nation , may yet provoke such a Shake unto it , as may perhaps exceed any that has hitherto been undergone : the Lord prevent the Machinations of his Adversaries ! But , that Shake will usher in the most Glorious Times , that over arose upon the English Horizon : As for the French Cloud which hangs over England , tho' it be like to Rain Showers of Blood upon a Nation , where the Blood of the Blessed Jesus , has been too much treated , as an Unholy Thing ; yet I believe , God will shortly scatter it : and my Belief is grounded upon a Bottom , that will bear it . If that overgrown French Leviathan , should accomplish any thing like a Conquest of England , what could there be to hinder him from the Universal Empire of the West ? But the Visions of the Western World , in the Views both of Daniel and of Iohn , do assure us , that whatever Monarch , shall while the Papacy continues , go to smallow up the Ten Kings which received Their Power upon the Fall of the Western Empire , he must miscarry in the Attempt . The French Phaetons Epitaph seems written in that , Sure Word of Prophecy ! [ Since the making of this Conjecture , there are Arriv'd unto us , the News of a Victory obtain'd by the English over the French , which further confirms our Conjecture ; and causes us to sing , Pharaohs Chariots , and his Host , has the Lord cast down into the Sea ; Thy Right-hand has dashed in pieces the Enemy ! ] Now , In the Salvation of England , the Plantations cannot but Rejoyce , and New-England also will be Glad . But so much for our Corollaries , I hasten to the main Thing designed for your Entertainment . And that is , An Hortatory and Necessary ADDRESS . To a Country now Extraordinarily Alarum'd by the Wrath of the Devil . T is this , LEt us now make a Good and a Right use , of the Prodigious Descent , which the Devil , in Great Wrath , is at this day making upon our Land , Upon the Death of a Great Man once , an Orator call'd the Town together , crying out , C●…currite Cives , Dilapsa sunt vestra Maenia ! that is , Come together , Neighbours , your Town-Walls , are fallen down ! But such is the Descent of the Devil at this day upon ourselves , that I may truly tell you , The Walls of the whole World are broken down ! The usual Walls of Defence about mankind have such a Gap made in them , that the very Devils are broke in upon us , to Seduce the Souls , Torment the Bodies , Sully the Credits , and consume the Estates of our Neighbours , with Impressions both as Real and as Furious , as if the Invisible World were becoming Incarnate , on purpose for the vexing of us . And what use ought now to be made of so Tremendous a dispensation ? We are engaged in a Fast this day ; but shall we try to fetch , Meat 〈◊〉 of the Eater , and make the Lion to afford some Hony for our Souls . That the Devil , is Come down unto us with great Wrath , we find , we feel , we now deplore . In many wayes , for many years , hat the Devil been assaying to Extirpate the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus here . New-England may complain of the Devil , as in Psal. 129. 1 , 2. Many a time have they Afflicted me , from my Youth , may , New-England now say ; many a time have they Afflicted me from my Youth ; yet they have not prevailed against me . But now there is a more than Ordinary Affliction , with which the Devil is Galling of us : and such an one as is indeed Unparallellable . The Things Confessed by Witches and the Things Endured by Others , laid together , amount unto this account of our Affliction . The Devil , Exhibiting himself ordinarily as a small Black man , has decoy'd a fearful Knot of Proud , Froward , Ignorant , Envious , and Malicious Creatures , to List themselves in his Horrid Service , by Entring their Names in a Book by him Tendred unto them . These Witches , whereof above a Score have now Confessed , and shown their Deeds , and some are now Tormented by the Devils , for Confessing , have met in Hellish Randezvouzes , wherein the Confessors do say , they have had their Diabolical Sacraments , imitating the Baptism and the Supper of our Lord. In these Hellish Meetings , these Monsters have associated themselves to do no less a Thing than , To Destroy the Kingdom of our Lord Iesus Christ , in these parts of the World ; and in order hereunto , First , they each of them have their Spectres , or Devils , Commission'd by them , and Representing of them , to be the Engines of their Malice . By these wicked Spectres , they Sieze poor people about the Country , with Various and bloody Torments ; and of those Evidently Preternatural Torments there are some have Dy'd . They have bewitched some , even so far as to make them Self-Destroyers : and others are in many Towns here and there Languishing under their Evil Hands . The People thus Afflicted , are miserably Scratched and Bitten , so that the Marks are most Visible to all the World , but the causes utterly Invisible ; and the same Invisible Furies , do most Visibly stick Pins into the Bodies of the Afflicted , and Scald them , & hideously Distort , and Disjoint all their members , besides a thousand other sorts of Plagues beyond these of any Natural Diseases which they give unto them . Yea , they sometimes drag the poor People out of their Chambers , and Carry them over Trees and Hills , for diverse Miles together . A large part of the Persons tortured by these Diabolical Spectres , are horribly Tempted by them , sometimes with fair Promises , and sometimes with hard Threatenings , but alwayes with felt Miseries , to sign the Devils Laws , in a Spectral Book laid before them ; which two or three of these poor Sufferers , being by their Tiresome Sufferings overcome to do , they have immediately been released from all their Miseries , & they appear'd in Spectre then to Torture those that were before their Fellow-Sufferers . The Witches which by their Covenant with the Devil , are become Owners of Spectres , are oftentimes by their own Spectres Required and Compelled to give their Consent , for the Molestation of some , which they had no mind otherwise to fall upon ; and Cruel Depredations are then made upon the Vicinage . In the Prosecution of these Witchcrafts , among a thousand other unaccountable Things , the Spectres have an odd Faculty of Cloathing the most Substantial and Corporeal Instruments of Torture , with Invisibility , while the Wounds thereby given have been the most palpable Things in the World ; so that the Sufferers assaulted with Instruments of Iron wholly unseen to the Standers-by , tho' to their cost seen by themselves , have upon snatching , wrested the Instruments out of the Spectres Hands , and every one has then immediately not only beheld , but handled , an Iron Instrument taken by a Devil from a Neighbour . These wicked Spectres have proceeded so far , as to Steal several Quantities of Mony from divers people , part of which Money has before sufficient Spectators been dropt out of the Air into the Hands of the Sufferers , while the Spectres have been urging them to Subscribe their Covenant with Death . In such extravagant wayes , have these Wretches propounded , the Dragooning of as many as they can , into their own Combination , and the Destroying of others , with Lingring , Spreading , Deadly Diseases ; till our Country should at last become too hot for us . Among the Ghastly Instances of the Success which those Bloody Witches have had , we have seen even some of their own Children , so Dedicated unto the Devil , that in their Infancy , it is found , the Imps have Sucked them , and Rendred them Venemous to a Prodigy . We have also seen Devils First Batteries , upon the Town , where the First Church of our Lord in this Colony was Gathered , producing those Distractions , which have almost Ruined the Town . We have seen likewise the Plague reaching afterwards into other Towns far and near , where the Houses of Good Men have the Devils filling of them with terrible Vexations ! This is the Descent which , as it seems , the Devil has now made upon us . But that which makes this Descent the more formidable is ; The Multitude and Quality of Persons Accused of an Interest in this Witchcraft , by the Efficacy of the Spectres which take their Name and Shape upon them ; causing very many Good and Wise , men to fear , That many Innocent , yea , and some Vertuous Persons , are by the Devils in this matter Imposed upon ; That the Devils have obtain'd the power , to take on them the Likeness of Harmless People , and in that Likeness to Afflict other People , and be so abused by Praestigious D●…emons , that upon their Look or Touch , the Afflicted shall be oddly Affected . Arguments from the Providence of God , on the one side , and from our Charity towards Man , on the other side , have made This now to become a most Agitated Controversy among us . There is an Agony produced in the minds of men , Lest the Devil should sham us with Devices , of perhaps a finer Thred , than was ever yet practised upon the World. The whole Business is become hereupon so Snarled , and the Determination of the Question one way or another , so Dismal , that our Honourable Judges , have a Room for Iehoshaphats Exclamation , We know not what to do ! They have used , as Judges have heretofore done , the Spectral Evidences , to introduce their further Enquiries into the Lives of the Persons Accused ; and they have thereupon , by the wonderful Providence of God , been so strengthened with Other Evidences , that some of the Witch Gang have been fairly Executed . But what shall be done , as to those against whom the Evidence is chiefly founded in the Dark World ? Here they do solemnly demand our Addresses to the , Father of Lights , on their Behalf . But in the mean time , the Devil improves the Dark ness of this Affair , to push us into a Blind Mans Buffet , and we are even ready to be Sinfully , yea , Hotly , and Madly , Mauling one another , in the Dark . The Consequence of these things , every Considerate man trembles at ; and the more , because the frequent Cheats of Passion , and Rumour , do precipitate so many , that I wish I could say , The most were Considerate . But that which carries on the Formidableness of our Trialls , unto that which may be called , A wrath unto the uttermost , is this : It is not without the wrath of the Almighty God Himself , that the Devil is permitted thus to come down upon us in wrath . It was said , in Isa. 9. 19. Thro the wrath of the Lord of Hosts , the Land is Darkned . Our Land is Darkned indeed ; since the Powers of Darkness are turned in upon us , ; t is a Dark Time , yea , a Black Night indeed , now the Ty-Dogs of the Pitt , are abroad among us : but , It is thro the wrath of the Lord of Hosts ! Inasmuch as the Fire-brands of Hell it self are used for the Scorching of us , with cause Enough may we cry out , What means the Heat of this Anger ? Blessed Lord ! Are all the other Instruments of thy Vengeance , too Good for the chastisement of such transgressors as we are ? Must the very Devils be sent out of Their own place , to be our Troublers ? Must we be lash'd with Scorpions , fetch'd from the Place of Torment ? Must this Wilderness be made a Receptacle for the Dragons of the Wilderness ? If a Lapland should nourish in it vast numbers , the Successors of the old Biarmi , who can with looks or words bewitch other people , or Sell Winds to Marriners , and have their Familiar Spirits which they bequeath to their Children when they dy , and by their Enchanted Kettle-Drums can learn things done a Thousand Leagues off ; If a Swedeland should afford a Village , where some scores of Haggs , may not only have their Meetings with Familiar Spirits , but also by their Enchantments drag many scores of poor Children out of their Bed-Chambers , to be spoiled at those meetings ; This , were not altogether a matter of so much wonder ! But that New-England should this way be harassed ! They are not Chaldeans , that Bitter , and Hasty Nation , but they are , Bitter and Burning Devils ; They are not Swarthy Indians , but they are Sooty Devils ; that are let loose upon us . Ah , Poor New-England ! Must the plague of Old Egypt come upon thee ? Whereof we read in Psal. 78. 49. He cast upon them , the fierceness of his Anger , Wrath , and Indignation , and Trouble , by sending Evil Angels among them . What ? O what must next be looked for . Must that which is there next mentioned , be next encountered ? He spared not their soul from death , but gave their life over to the Pestilence . For my part , when I consider what Melancthon saies , in one of his Epistles , That these Diabolical Spectacles are often Prodigies ; and when I consider , how often people have been by Spectres called upon , just before their Deaths ; I am yerily afraid , Lest some wasting Mortality , be among the things , which this plague is the Forerunner of . I pray God , prevent it ! But now , What shall we do ? I. Let the Devils coming down in great wrath upon us , cause us to come down in great grief before the Lord. We may truly and sadly say , We are brought very low ! Low , indeed when the Serpents of the dust , are crawling and coyling about us , and Insulting over us . May we not say , We are in the very belly of Hell. when Hell it self is feeding upon us ? But how Low is that ! O let us then most Penitently lay ourselves very Low , before the God of Heaven , who has thus Abased us . When a Truculent Nero , a Devil of a man , was turned , in upon the World , it was said in , 1. Pet. 5. 6 , Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. How much more now ought we to Humble ourselves , under that Mighty Hand of that God who indeed has the Devil in a Chain , but has horribly lengthened out the Chain ! When the Old People of God , heard any Blasphemies tearing of his Ever-Blessed Name to pieces , they were to Rend their Cloaths at what they heard . I am sure , that we have cause to Rend our Hearts this Day , when we see what an High Treason has been committed against the most High God , by the Witchcrafts in our Neighbourhood . We may say ; and shall we not be Humbled when we say it ? We have seen an horrible thing done in our Land ! O 't is a most humbling thing , to think , that ever there should be such an abomination among us , as for a Crue of Humane Race , to renounce their Maker , and to unite with the Devil , for the Troubling of Mankind , and for people to be , ( as is by some confess'd ) Baptized by a Fiend using this form upon them , Thou art mine , and I have a full power over thee ! afterwards communicating in an Hellish Bread and Wine , by that Fiend Admnistred unto them . It was said in Deut. 18. 10 , 11 , 12. There shall not be found among you an Inchanter , or a Witch , or a Charmer , or a Consulter with Familiar Spirits , or a Wizzard or a Necromancer ; For all that do these things are an Abomination to the Lord , and because of these Abominations , the Lord thy God doth drive them out before thee . That New-England now should have these Abominations in it , yea , that some of no mean Profession , should be found guilty of them : Alas , what Humiliations are we all hereby oblig'd unto ? O 'T is a Defiled Land , wherein we Live ; Let us be Humbled for these Defiling Abominations , Lest we be driven out of our Land , It 's a very Humbling Thing to think , what Reproaches will be cast upon us , for this Matter , among , The Daughters of the Philistines . Indeed , enough might easily be said for the Vindication of this Country from the Singularity of this Matter , by Ripping up , what has been discovered in others . Great Britain alone , and this also in our Dayes of Greatest Light , has had that in it , which may divert the Calumnies of an Ill-natured World , from Centring here . They are the words of the Devout Bishop Hall , Satans Prevalency in this Age , is most clear in the marvellous Number of Witches abounding in all places . Now Hundreds are discovered in one Shire ; and , if Fame Deceive us not , in a Village of Fourteen Houses in the North , are found so many of this Damned Brood . Yea , and those of both Sexes , who have Professed much Knowledge , Holiness , and Devotion , are drawn into this Damnable Practice . I suppose the Doctor in the first of those Passages , may refer to what happened in the Year 1645. When so many Vassals of the Devil were Detected , that there were Thirty Try'd at one time , whereas about Fourteen were Hang'd , and an Hundred more Detained in the Prisons of Suffolk and Essex . Among other things which many of these Acknowledged , one was , That they were to undergo certain Punishments , if they did not such and such Hurts , as were appointed them . And , among the Rest that were then Executed , there was an Old Parson , called , Lowis , who Confessed , that he had a Couple of Imps , whereof One was alwayes putting him upon the doing of Mischief ; Once particularly , that Imp calling for his Consent so to do , went immediately and Sunk a Ship , then under Sail. I pray , Let not New-England become of an Unsavoury and a Sulphurous Resentment in the Opinion of the World Abroad , for the Doleful Things which are now fallen out among us , while there are such Histories of other places abroad in the World. Nevertheless , I am sure that we , the People of New-England , have cause enough to Humble our selves under our most Humbling Circumstances . We must no more , be , Haughty , because of the Lords Holy Mountain among us ; No , it becomes us rather to be , Humble , because we have been such an Habitation of Unholy Devils ! II. Since the Divel is come down in great wrath upon us , let not us in our great wrath against one another provide a Lodging for him . It was a most wholesome caution , in Eph. 4. 26. 27. Let not the Sun go down upon your wrath : Neither give place to the Divel . The Divel is come down to see what Quarter he shall find among us : and , if his coming down , do now fill us with wrath against one another , and if between the cause of the Sufferers on one hand , and the cause of the Suspected on t'other , we carry things to such extreames of Passion as are now gaining upon us , the Devil will Bless himself , to find such a convenient Lodging as we shall therein afford unto him . And it may be that the wrath which we have had against one another has had more then a little Influence upon the coming down of the Divel in that wrath which now amazes us . Have not many of us been Devils one unto another for Slanderings , for Backbitings , for Animosities ? For this , among other causes , perhaps , God has permitted the Devils to be Worrying , as they now are , among us . But it is high time to leave off all Devilism , when the Devil himself is falling upon us : and it is no time for us to be Censuring and Reviling one another , with a Devilish Wrath , when the Wrath of the Devil is annoying of us . The way for us to out-wit the Devil , in the Wiles with which he now Vexes us , would be for us , to join as one man in our cries to God , for the Directing , and Issuing of this Thorny Business ; but if we do not Lift up our Hands to Heaven , Without Wrath , we cannot then do it without Doubt , of speeding in it . I am ashamed when I read French Authors giving this Character of Englishmen [ Ils se haissent Les uns les autres , et sont en Division Continuelle . ] They hate one one another , and are always Quarrelling one with another . And I shall be much more ashamed , if it become the Character of New-Englanders ; which is indeed , what the Devil would have . Satan would make us Bruise one another , by breaking of the Peace among us ; but O let us disappoint him . We read of a thing that sometimes happens to the Devil , when he is foaming with his Wrath , in Mat. 12. 4●… . The unclean Spirit seeks rest , and finds none . But we give Rest unto the Devil , by Wrath one against another . If we would lay aside all fierceness , and keeness , in the disputes which the Devil has raised among us ; and if we would use to one another none but the , Soft Answers , which Turn away Wrath : I should hope that we might light upon such Counsels , as would quickly Extricate us out of our Labyrinths . But the Old Incendiary of the world , is come from Hell , with Sparks of Hell-Fire Flashing on every side of him ; and we make ourselves Tynder to the Sparks . When the Emperour Henry III. kept the Feast of Pentecost , at the City Mentz , there arose a Dissension among some of the People there , which came from words to Blows , and at last it passed on to the Shedding of Blood. After the Tumult was over , when they came to that clause in their Devotions , Thou hast made this day Glorious ; the Devil to the unexpressible Terrour of that vast Assembly , made the Temple Ring with that Outcry But I have made this Day Quarrelsome ! We are truly come into a day , which by being well managed might be very Glorious , for the exterminating of those , Accursed Things , which have hitherto been the Clogs of our Prosperity ; but if we make this day Quarrelsome , thro' any Raging Confidences , Alas , O Lord , my Flesh Trembles for fear of thee , and I am afraid of thy Iudgments . Erasmus , among other Historians , tells us , that at a Town in Germany , a Witch or Devil , appear'd on the Top of a Chimney , Threatning to set the Town on Fire : and at length , Scattering a Pot of Ashes abroad , the Town was presently and Horribly Burn't unto the Ground . Methinks , I see the Spectres , from the Tops of the Chimneys to the North , ward , threatning to Scatter Fire , about the Countrey ; but let us Quench that Fire by the most amicable Correspondencies : Lest , as the Spectres , have , they say , already most Literally Burn't some of our Dwellings , there do come forth a further Fire from the Brambles of Hell , which may more terribly Devour us . Let us not be like a Troubled House , altho we are so much haunted by the Devils . Let our Long Suffering be a Well-placed piece of Armour , about us , against the Fiery Darts of the wicked ones . History informs us , That so long ago , as the year , 858. a certain Pestilent and Malignant sort of a Daemon , molested Caumont in Germany with all sorts of methods to stir upStrife among the Citizens . He uttered Prophecies , he detected Villanies , he branded people with all kind of Infamies . He incensed the Neighbourhood against one Man particularly , as the cause of all the mischiefs : who yet proved himself innocent . He threw stones at the Inhabitants , and at length burn't their Habitations , till the Commission of the Daemon could go no further . I say , Let us be well aware lest such Daemons do , Come hither also ! III. Inasmuch as the Devil is come down in Great Wrath , we had need Labour , with all the Care and Speed we can to Divert the Great Wrath of Heaven from coming at the same Time upon us . The God of Heaven has with long and loud Admonitions , been calling us to , A Reformation of our Provoking Evils , as the only way to avoid that Wrath of His , which does not only Threaten , but Consume us . 'T is because we have been Deaf to those Calls , that we are now by a provoked God , laid open to the Wrath of the Devil himself . It is said in Prov. 16. 7. When a mans ways please the Lord , He maketh even his Enemies to be at peace with him . The Devil is our Grand Enemy : and tho' we would not be at peace with him , yet we would be at peace from him ; that is , we would have him unable to Disquiet our Peace . But inasmuch as the Wrath which we Endure from this Enemy , will allow us no Peace , we may be sure , Our Ways have not pleased the Lord. It is because we have Broken the Hedge of Gods Precepts , that the Hedge of Gods Provodence is not so Entire as it uses to be about us ; but Serpents are Biting of us . O let us then set our selves to make our Peace with our God , whom we have Displeased by our Iniquities : and let us not imagine that we can Encounter the Wrath of the Devil , while there is the Wrath of God Almighty to set that Mastiff upon us . REFORMATION ! REFORMATION ! has been the Repeated Cry , of all the Judgments , that have hitherto been upon us : because we have been as Deaf Adders thereunto , the Adders of the Infernal Pit are now hissing about us , At length , as it was of old said in Luc 16. 30. If one went unto them , from the Dead , they will Repent ; Even so ▪ There are some come unto us from the Damned . The Great God has Loosed the Bars of the Pit , so that many Damned Spirits are come in among us , to make us Repent of our Misdemeanours . The means which the Lord had formerly Employ'd for our Awakening , were such , that he might well have said , What could I have done more ? and yet after all , He has done more , in some regards , than was ever done for the Awakening of any People in the World. The Things now done to Awaken our Enquiries after our Provoking Evils , and our Endeavours to Reform those Evils ; are most EXTRAORDINARY Things ; For which cause I would freely speak it , If we now do not some EXTRAORDINARY Things in Returning to God , we are the most Incurable , and I wish it be not quickly said , the most Miserable , People under the Sun. Believe me , 't is a Time for all people to do something EXTRAORDINARY In Searching and in Trying of their Ways , and in Turning to the Lord. It is at an EXTRAORDINARY Rate of Circumspection and Spiritual Mindedness , that we should all now maintain a Walk with God. At such a Time as This , ought Magistrates to Do something EXTRAORDINARY in promoting of what is Laudable , and in Restraining and Chastising of Evil Doers . At such a Time as This , ought Ministers to Do something EXTRAORDINARY in pulling the Souls of men out of the Snares of the Devil , not only by publick Preaching , but by personal Visits and Counsels , from House to House . At such a Time as This , ought Churches to Do something EXTRAORDINARY , in Renewing of their Covenants , and in Remembring , and Reviving the Obligations of what they have Renewed . Some Admirable Designs about the Reformation of Manners , have lately been on foot in the English Nation , in pursuance of the most Excellent Admonitions , which have been given for it , by the Letters of Their Majesties . Besides the vigorous Agreements of the Iustices here and there in the Kingdom ; assisted by Godly Gentlemen and Informers , to Execute the Laws upon Profane Offenders : there has been started , A PROPOSAL , for the well-affected people in every Parish , to enter into orderly Societies , whereof every Member shall bind himself , not only to Avoid Profaneness in himself , but also according unto their Place , to do their utmost in first Reproving , and , if it must be so , then Exposing , and so Punishing , as the Law directs , for , others that shall be guilty . It has been observed , That the English Nation has had some of its greatest Successes , upon some special , and signal Actions this way ; and a Discouragement given unto Legal Proceedings of this Kind , must needs be very exerci●…ng to the , Wise that observe these Things . But , O why should not New-England be the most forward part of the English Nation in such Reformations ? Methinks , I hear the Lord from Heaven saying over us , O that my People had hearkened unto me ; Then I should soon have subdued the Devils , as well as their other Enemies ! There have been some fome feeble Essays towards Reformation , of late in our Churches ; but , I pray , what comes of them ? Do we stay till the Storm of his Wrath be over ? Nay , let us be Doing what we can as fast as we can , to divert the Storm . The Devils , having broke in upon our World , there is great Asking , Who is it that have brought them in ? and many do by Spectral Exhibitions come to be cry'd out upon . I hope in Gods Time , it will be found , that among those that are thus Cry'd out upon , there are persons yet Clear from the Great Transgression ; but indeed , all the Unreformed among us , may justly be Cry'd out upon , as having too much of an Hand in letting of the Devils in to our Borders ; 't is our Worldliness , our Formality , our Sensuality , and our Iniquity , that has help'd this Letting of the Devils in . O Let us then at last , Consider our Wayes . 'T is a strange passage recorded by Mr. Clark , in the Life of his Father , That the People of his Parish refusing to be Reclaimed from their Sabbath Breaking , by all the zealous Testimonies which that Good man bore against it ; at last , on a Night after the people had Retired Home from a Revelling Profanation of the Lords Day , there was heard a Great Noise , with Rattling of Chains , up and down the Town , and an horrid Scent of Brimstone fill'd the Neighbourhood . Upon which the Guilty Consciences of the Wretches , told them , the Devil was come to fetch them away : and it so terrify'd them , that an Eminent Reformation follow'd the Sermons which that man of God Preached thereupon . Behold , Sinners , Behold , and Wonder , lest you Perish ; the very Devils are Walking about our Streets , with Lengthened Chains , making a dreadful Noise in our Ears , and Brimstone , even without a Metaphor , is making an Hellish and Horrid Stench in our Nostrils . I Pray , Leave off all those things , whereof your Guilty Consciences may now accuse you , lest these Devils do yet more direfully fall upon you . Reformation is at this Time , our only Preservation . IV. When the Devil is come down in Great Wrath , Let every Great Vice which may have a more Particular Tendency to make us a Prey unto that Wrath , come into a due Discredit with us . It is the General Concession of all men , who are not become too Unreasonable for Common Conversation , That the Invitation of VVitchcrafts is the Thing that ha's now Introduced the Devil into the midst of us . I say then , Let not only all VVitchcrafts be duely abominated with us , but also Let us be duely Watchful against all the Steps Leading thereunto . There are Lesser Sorcertes which , they say , are too frequent in our Land. As it was said in 2 King. 17. 9. The Children of Israel did Secretly , those things that were not Right against the Lord their God. So t is to be feared , The Children of New-England have Secretly done many things that have been pleasing to the Devil . They say , That in some Towns , it ha's been an usual Thing for People to Cure Hurts with Spells , or to use Detestable Conjurations , with Sieves , & Keyes , and Pease , and Nails , and Horse-Shooes , and I know not what other Implements , to Learn the Things , for which they have a Forbidden , and an Impious Curiositie . 'T is in the Devils Name , that such Things are done ; and in Gods Name I do this Day Charge them , as vile Impieties . By these Courses 't is , that people play upon The Hole of the Asp ; till that cruelly venemous Asp has pull'd many of them , into the Deep Hole , of Witchcraft it self . It has been acknowledged by some who have sunk the deepest into this Horrible Pit , that they began , at these Little Witchcrafts ; on which 't is pitty but the Laws of the English Nation , whereby the Incorrigible Repetition of those Tricks , is made Felony , were severally Executed . From the like Sinful Curiosity it is , that the Prognostications of Iudicial Astrology , are so Injudiciously Regarded by multitudes among us ; and although the Jugling Astrologers do scarce ever hit Right , except it be in such Weighty Iudgments , forsooth , as that many Old Men will Dy such a year , and that there will be many Losses felt by some that Venture to Sea , and that there will be much Lying and Cheating in the World ; yet their Foolish Admirers , will not be perswaded , but that the Innocent Stars have been concern'd in these Events . It is a Disgrace to the English Nation , that the Phamphlets of such Idle , Futil , Trifling Star-gazers are so much Considered ; and the Countenance hereby given to a Study , wherein at Last , all is done by Impulse , if any thing be done to any purpose at all , is not a little perillous to the Souls of men . It is , ( a Science , I dare not call it , but ) a Iuggle , whereof the Learned Hall , well says , It is presumptuous and unwarrantable , & cry'd ever down by Councils and Fathers , as unlawful , as that which Lies in the mid-way between Magick , and Imposture , and partakes not a little of both . Men Consult the Aspects of Planets , whose Northern or Southern Motions receive Denominations from a Caelestial Dragon , till the Infernal Dragon at length insinuate into them , with a Poyson of Witchcraft that can't be cured - Has there not also been a world of Discontent in our Borders ? 'T is no wonder , that the Fiery Serpents are so Stinging of us ; We have been a most Murmuring Generation . It is not Irrational , to ascribe the late Stupendous Growth of Witches among us , partly to the Bitter Discontents , which Affliction and Poverty has fill'd us with : it is inconceivable , what Advantage the Devil gains over men , by Discontent . Moreover , The Sin of Unbelief may be reckoned as perhaps the chief Crime of our Land. We are told , God Swears in Wroth , against them that believe not ; and what follows then but this , That the Devil comes unto them in wrath ? Never were the Offers of the Gospel , more freely Tendered , or more basely Despised , among any people under the whole Cope of Heaven , then in This New-England . Seems it at all marvellous unto us , that the Devil should get such Footing in our Country ? Why , 't is because the Saviour has been slighted here , perhaps more than any where . The Blessed Lord Jesus Christ has been profering to us , Grace , and Glory , and every good thing , and been alluring of us to Accept of Him , with such Terms as these ; Undone Sinner , I am All ; Art thou willing that I should be thy All ? But , as a proof of that Contempt which this Unbelief has cast upon these proffers , I would seriously ask of the so many Hundreds above a Thousand People within these Walls ; Which of you all , O how few of you , can indeed say , Christ is mine , and I am his , and He is the Beloved of my Soul ? I would only say thus much : When the precious and glorious Jesus , is Entreating of us to Receive Him , in all His Offices , with all His Benefits ; the Devil minds what Respect we pay unto that Heavenly Lord ; if we Refuse Him that speaks from Heaven , then he that , Comes from Hell , does with a sort of claim set in , and cry out , Lord , since this Wretch is not willing that thou shouldst have him , I pray , let me have him . And thus , by the just vengeance of Heaven , the Devil becomes a Master , a Prince , a God , unto the miserable Unbelievers : but O what are many of them then hurried unto ! All of these Evil Things , do I now set before you , as Branded with the Mark of the Devil upon them . V. With Great Regard , with Great Pitty , should we Lay to Heart the Condition of those , who are cast into Affliction , by the Great Wrath of the Devil . There is a Number of our Good Neighbours , and some of them very particularly noted for Goodness and Vertue , of whom we may say , Lord , They are vexed with Devils . Their Tortures being primarily Inflicted on their Spirits , may indeed cause the Impressions thereof upon their Bodies to be the less Durable , tho ▪ rather the more Sensible : but they Endure Horrible Things , and many have been actually Murdered . Hard Censures now bestow'd upon these poor Sufferers , cannot but be very Displeasing unto our Lord , who , as He said , about some that had been Butchered by a Pilate , in Luc. 13. 2 , 3. Think ye that these were Sinners above others , because they suffered such Things ? I tell you No , But except ye Repent , ye shall all likewise Perish : Even so , he now says , Think ye that they who now suffer by the Devil , have been greater Sinners than their Neighbours . No , Do you Repent of your own Sins , Lest the Devil come to fall foul of you , as he has done to them . And if this be so , How Rash a thing would it be , if such of the poor Sufferers , as carry it with a Becoming Piety , Seriousness , and Humiliation under their present Suffering , should be unjustly Censured ; or have their very Calamity imputed unto them as a Crime ? It is an easy thing , for us to fall into , the Fault of , Adding Affliction to the Afflicted , and of , Talking to the Grief of those that are already VVounded : Nor can it be Wisdom to slight the Dangers of such a Fault . In the mean time , We have no Bowels in us , if we do not Compassionate the Distressed County of Essex , now crying to all these Colonies , Have pitty on me , O ye my Friends , Have pitty on me , for the Hand of the Lord has Touched me , and the Wrath of the Devil has been therewithal turned upon me . But indeed , if an hearty pitty be due to any , I am sure , the Difficulties which attend our Honourable Iudges , doe demand no Inconsiderable share in that Pitty . What a Difficult , what an Arduous Task , have those Worthy Personages now upon their Hands ? To carry the Knife so exactly , that on the one side , there may be no Innocent Blood Shed , by too unseeing a Zeal for the Children of Israel ; and that on the other side , there may be no Shelter given to those Diabolical Works of Darkness , without the Removal whereof we never shall have Peace ; or fo those Furies whereof several have kill'd more people perhaps than would serve to make a Village : Hic Labor , Hoc Opus est ! O what need have we , to ●…be concerned , that the Sins of our Israel , may not provoke the God of Heaven to leave his Davids , unto a wrong Step , in a matter of such Consequence , as is now before them ! Our Disingenuous , Uncharitable , Unchristian Reproching of such Faithful Men , after all , The Prayers and Supplications , with strong Crying and Tears , with which we are daily plying the Throne of Grace , that they may be kept , from what They Fear , is none of the way for our preventing of what We Fear . Nor all this while , ought our Pitty to forget such Accused ones , as call for indeed our most Compassionate Pitty , till there be fuller Evidences that they are less worthy of it . If Satan have any where maliciously brought upon the Stage , those that have hitherto had a just and good stock of Reputation , for their just and good Living , among us ; If the Evil One have obtained a permission to Appear , in the Figure of such as we have cause to think , have hitherto Abstained , even from the Appearance of Evil : It is in Truth , such an Invasion upon Mankind , as may well Raise an Horror in us all : But , O what Compassions are due to such as may come under such Misrepresentations , of the Great Accuser ! Who of us can say , what may be shown in the Glasses of the Great Lying Spirit ? Altho' the Usual Providence of God [ we praise Him ! ] keeps us from such a Mishap ; yet where have we an Absolute Promise , that we shall every one alwayes be kept from it ? As long as Charity is bound , to Think no Evil , it will not Hurt us that are Private Persons , to forbear the Iudgment which belongs not unto us . Let it rather be our Wish : May the Lord help them to Learn the Lessons , for which they are now put unto so hard a School . VI. With a Great Zeal , we should lay hold on the Covenant of God , that we may Secure Us and Ours , from the Great Wrath , with which the Devil Rages . Let us come into the Covenant of Grace , and then we shall not be hook'd into a Covenant with the Devil , nor be altogether unfurnished with armour , against the Wretches that are in that Covenant . Theway to come under the Saving Influences of the New Cove●…ant , is , to close with the Lord Jesus Christ , who is the Allsufficient Mediator of it : Let us therefore do that , by Resigning up ourselves unto the Saving , Teaching , and Ruling , Hands of this Blessed Mediator . Then we shall be , what we read in Jude , 1. Preserved in Christ Iesus : That is , as the Destroying Angel , could not meddle with such as had been distinguished , by the Blood of the Passeover on their Houses , Thus the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ , Sprinkled on our Souls , will Preserve us from the Devil . The Birds of prey ( and indeed the Devils most literally in the shape of great Birds ! ) are flying about : Would we find a Covert from these Vultures : Let us then Hear Our Lord Jesus from Heaven Clocqing unto us , O that you would be gathered under my Wings . Well ; When this is done , Then let us own the Covenant , which we are now come into , by joining ourselves to a Particular Church , walking in the Order of the Gospel ; at the doing whereof , according to that Covenant of God , We give up Ourselves unto the Lord , and in Him unto One Another . While others have had their Names Entred in the Devils Book ; let our Names be found in the Church Book , and let us be , Written among the Living in Ierusalem . By no means let , Church-Work sink and fail in the midst of us ; but let the Tragical Accidents which now happen , exceedingly Quicken that Work. So many of the Rising Generation , utterly forgetting the Errand of our Fathers to build Churches in this Wilderness , and so many of Our Cottages being allow'd to Live , where they do not , and perhaps cannot , wait upon God with the Churches of His People ! t is as likely as any one thing to procure the swarmings of Witch-crafts among us . But it becomes us , with a like Ardour , to bring our poor Children with us , as we shall do , when we come ourselves , into the Covenant of God. It would break an heart of Stone , to have seen , what I have lately seen ; Even poor Children of several Ages , even from seven to twenty more or less , Confessing their Familiarity with Devils ; but at the same time , in Doleful bitter Lamentations , that made a Little Pour traiture of Hell it self , Expostulating with their execrable Parents , for Devoting them to the Devil in their Infancy , and so Entailing of Devillism upon them ! Now , as the Psalmist could say , My Zeal hath Consumed me , because my Enemies have forgotten thy Words : Even so , let the nefarious wickedness of those that have Explicitly dedicated their Children to the Devil , even with Devillish Symbols , of such a Dedication , Provoke our Zeal to have our Children , Sincerely , Signally , and openly Consecrated unto God ; with an Education afterwards assuring and confirming that Consecration . VII . Let our Prayer Go up with Great Faith , against the Devil , that comes down in Great Wrath. Such is the Antipathy of the Devil to our Prayer , that he cannot bear to stay long where much of it is : indeed it is Diaboli Flagellum , as well as , Miseriae Remedium ; the Devil will soon be Scourg'd out of the Lords Temple , by a Whip , made and used , with the , Effectual Fervent Prayer of Righteous Men. When the Devil by Afflicting of us , drives us to our Prayers , he is , The Fool making a Whip for his own Back . Our Lord said of the Devil , in Mat. 17. 21. This Kind goes not out , but by Prayer and Fasting . But , Prayer and Fasting will soon make the Devil be gone . Here are Charms indeed ! Sacred and Blessed Charms , which the Devil cannot stand before . A Promise of God , being well managed in the Hands of them , that are much upon their Knees , will so , Resist the Devil , that he will Flee from us . At every other Weapon , the Devils will be too hard for us ; the Spiritual Wickednesses in High Places , have manifestly the Upper Hand of us ; that Old Serpent will be too Old for us , too cunning , too subtil ; they will soon out-wit us , if we think to Encounter them with any Wit of our own . But when we come to Prayers , Incessant and Vehement Prayers before the Lord , there we shall be too hard for them . When well-directed Prayers , that great Artillery of Heaven , are brought into the Field , There , methinks I see , There are these Workers of Iniqnity fallen , all of them ! And who can tell , how much the most Obscure Christian among you all , may do towards the Deliverance of our Land from the Molestations which the Devil is now giving unto us . I have Read , That on a Day of Prayer kept by some Good People for and with a Possessed Person , the De●…l at last flew out of the Window , and referring to a Devout , plain , mean Woman then in the Room , he cry'd out , O the Woman behind the Door ! 'T is that Woman that forces me away ! Thus , the Devil that now Troubles us , may be forced within a while to Forsake us : and it shall be said , He was driven away by the prayers of some Obscure and Retired Souls , which the world has taken but little notice of ! The Great God , is about a Great Work at this Day among us ; now there is extream Hazzard lest the Devil who by Compulsion must submit unto that Great Work , may also by Permission come to Confound that Work : both in the Detections of some , and in the Confessions of others , whose Ungodly Deeds may be brought forth , by a Great Work of God , there is Hazzard lest the Devil intertwist some of his Delusions . 'T is PRAYER , I say , 't is PRAYER , that must carry us well thro' the Strange Things that are now upon us . Only that Prayer , must then be , The Prayer of Faith : O where is our Faith in Him , Who hath Spoiled these Principalities and Powers , on His Cross Triumphing over them ! VIII . Lastly , Shake off , every Soul , Shake off the Hard Yoke of the Devil , if you would not perish under the Great Wrath of the Devil . Where 't is said , The whole World lies in Wickedness , 't is by some of the Ancients rendred , The whole world lies in the Devil . The Devil is a Prince , yea , the Devil is a God unto all the Unregenerate ; and alas , there is , A whole world of them . Desolate Sinners , Consider what an Horrid Lord it is that you are Enslav'd unto ; and Oh shake off your Slavery to such a Lord. Instead of him , now make your Choice of the Eternal God in Jesus Christ ; Choose Him with a most unalterable Resolution ; and unto Him say , with Thomas , My Lord , and my God! Say with the Church , Lord , other Lords have had the Dominion over us , but now thou alone shalt be our Lord for ever . Then instead of your perishing under the wrath of the Devils , God will fetch you to a place among those that fill up the Room of the Devils , left by their Fall from the Ethereal Regions . It was a most awful Speech made by the Devil , Possessiing a young Woman , at a Village in Germany , By the Command of God , I am come to Torment the Body of this young Woman , though I can ▪ not hurt her Soul ; and it is that I may warn men , to take heed of Sinning against God. Indeed ( said he ) 't is very sore against my will that I do it ; but the command of God forces me to declare what I do ; Howeveer I know that at the Last Day , I shall have more Souls than God Himself . So spoke that horrible Devil ! But O that none of our Souls may be found among the Prizes of the Devil , in the Day of God! O that what the Devil has been forc'd to Declare , of his Kingdom among us , may prejudice our Hearts against him for ever ! My Text saies , The Devil is come down in Great Wrath , for he has but a short Time. Yea , but if you do not by a Speedy and Thorough Conversion to God , Escape the Wrath of the Devil , you will yourselves Go down , where the Devil is to be , and you will there be sweltring under the Devils Wrath , not for a Short Time , but , World without End ; not for a Short Time , but for , Infinite Millions of Ages . The smoke of your Torment under that Wrath , will Ascend for ever and ever ! Indeed the Devils Time for his Wrath upon you in this World , can be but short , but his Time for you to do his Work , or , which is all one , to delay your turning to God , that is a Long Time. When the Devil was going to be Dispossessed of a Man , he Roar'd out , Am I to be Tormented before my Time. You will Torment the Devil , if you Rescue your Souls out of his hands , by true Repentance : if once you begin to look that way , hee 'll Cry out , O This is before my Time , I must have more Time , yet in the service of such a guilty Soul. But , I beseech you , let us join thus to Torment the Devil , in an Holy Revenge upon him , for all the Injuries which he has done unto us ; let us tell him , Satan , Thy Time with me is but short , Nay , thy Time with me shall be no more ; I am unutterably sorry that it has been so much ; Depart from me thou Evil-Doer , that would'st have me to be an Evil-Doer Like thy self ; I will now for ever keep the Commandments of that God , in whom I Live , and Move , and have my Being ! The Devil has plaid a fine Game for himself indeed , if by his Troubling of our Land , the souls of many People shoul come to , Think upon their Wayes , till eurn they turn their Feet into the Testimonies of the Lord Now that the Devil may be thus outshot in his own Bow , is the Desire of all that Love the Salvation of God among us , as well as of him , who has thus Addressed You. Amen . HAving thus discoursed on the Wonders of the Invisible World , I shall now , with Gods Help , go on to relate some Remarkable and Memorable Instances of Wonders which that World he 's given to ourselves . And altho' the chief Entertainment which my Readers do Expect , and shall Receive , will be , a True History of what ha's occurred , respecting the WITCHCRAFTS wherewith we are at this day persecuted , yet I shall choose to Usher in the mention of those Things , with A Narrative OF AN APPARITION Which a Gentleman in Boston , had of his Brother , just then Murdered in London . IT was , on the Second of May in the Year 1687 that a most ingenious , accomplished and well-disposed young Gentleman , Mr. Ioseph Beacon , by Name , about Five a clock in the Morning , as he lay , whether Sleeping or Waking he could not say , ( but judged the latter of them , ) had a View of his Brother then at London , altho' he was now himself at Our Boston , distanced from him a Thousand Leagues . This his Brother appear'd unto him , in the Morning , about five a Clock at Boston , having on him a Bengale Gown , which he usually wore , with a Napkin Ty'd about his Head ; His Countenance was very Pale , Ghastly , Deadly , and he had a Bloody Wound On one Side of his Forehead ! Brother ! saies the Affrighted Ioseph . Brother ! Answered the Apparition . Said Ioseph , What 's the matter , Brother ! How came you here ! The Apparition reply'd , Brother , I have been most Barbarously and Injuriously Butchered , by a Debauch'd , Drunken Fellow , to whom I never did any wrong in my life . Whereupon he gave a particular Description of the Murderer ; adding , Brother , This Fellow , changing his Name , is attempting to come cover unto New-England , in Foy or Wild ; I would pray you , on the first Arrival of either of these , to get an Order from the Governour , to Seiz the person , whom I have now described ; and then do you Indict him for the Murder of me your Brother : I 'le Stand by you , and prove the Indictment . And so he vanished . Mr. Beacon was extreamly astonished at what he had seen and heard ; and the People of the Family not only observed an extraordinary Alteration upon him , for the Week following , but have also given me under their Hands a : full Testimony , that he then gave them an Account of this Apparition . All this while , Mr. , Beacon had no Advice of any thing amiss attending his Brother then in England ; but about the latter end of Iune following , he understood by the common ways of communication , that the April before , his Brother going in hast by night to call a coach for a Lady , mett a fellow then in drink , with his Doxy in his hand . Some way or other the fellow thought himself affrontted in the hasty passage of this Beacon , & immediately ran in to the ●…-side of a Neighbouring Tavern , from whence he fetch'd out a Fire-fork , wherewith he grievously wounded Beacon in the skull ; even in that very part , where the Apparition show'd his wound . Of this Wound he Languished until he Dy'd , on the second of May , about five of the Clock in the morning at London . The murderer it seems , was endeavouring an escape , as the Apparition affirm'd , but the Friends of the Deceased Beacon siezed him : and prosecuting him at Law , he found the help of such Friends , as brought him off without the loss of his Life ; since which , there has no more been heard of the Business . This History I received of Mr Ioseph Beacon himself ; who , a little before his own Pious & Hopeful Death , which follow'd not long after , gave me the Story written and signed with his own Hand , and Attested with the Circumstances I have already mentioned . BUt I shall no longer detain my Reader , from His expected entertainment ; in a Brief Account of the Trials , which have passed upon some of the Malefactors , Lately Executed at Salem , for ●…he W●…hcrafts , whereof they stood Convicted . For my own part , I was not Present at any of Them ; nor ever Had I any personal prejudice at the persons thus brought upon the Stage ; much less , at the Surviving Relations of those persons , with and for whom I would be as Hearty a mourner as any man Living in the World : The Lord Comfort them ! But having Received a ●…mand , so to do , I can do no other than shortly Relate the Chief Matters of fact which accurr'd in the Trials of some that where Executed ; in an Abridgment collected out of the Court-Papers , on this occasion put into my Hands . You are to take the Truth , just as it was ; and the Truth will hurt no good man. There might have been more of these , if my Book would not thereby have been swollen too big ; and if some other worthy hands did not perhaps intend something further in these Collections ; for which cause I have only singled out Four or Five which may serve to Illustrate the way of dealing , wherein Witchcrafts use to be concerned ; and I Report matters not as an Advocate but as an Historian . They were some of the Gracious Words , inserted in the Advice , which many of the Neighbouring Ministers , did this Summer humbly lay before our Honourable Judges , We cannot but with all thankfulness , acknowledge the success which the Merciful God has given unto the Sedulous and Assiduous endeavours of Our Honourable Rulers , to detect the abominable Witchcrafts which have been committed in the Country ; Humbly Praying that the discovery of those mysterious and mischievous wickednesses , may be perfected . If in the midst of the many Dissatisfactions among us , the publication of these Trials , may promote such a pious Thankfulness unto God , for Justice being so far , executed among us , I shall Rejoyce that God is Glorified ; and pray that no wrong steps of ours may ever fully any of His Glorious Works . But we will begin with , A Modern Instance of Witches Discovered and Condemned , in a Trial , before that Celebrated Judge , Sir. Matthew Hale . IT may cast some Light upon the Dark Things now in America , if we just give a glance upon the Like Things lately hapening in Europe . We may see the Witchcrafts here , most exactly resemble the Witchcrafts there ; and we may learn what sort of Devils do trouble the World. The Venerable Baxter very truly sais , Iudge Hale was a Person , than whom no Man , was more backward , to Condemn a Witch , without full Evidence . Now , One of the Latest Printed Accounts , about a , Trial of Witches , is of what was before him ; and it ran on this wise . [ Printed in the Year 1682 ] And it is here the rather mentioned , because it was a Trial , much considered by the Judges of New-England . I. Rose Cullender , and Amy Duny , were severally Indicted , for Bewitching Elizabeth Durent Ann Durent , Iane Bocking , Susan Chandler , William Durent , Elizabeth and Deborah Pacy . And the evidence , whereon they were Convicted , stood upon diverse particular Circumstances . II. Ann Durent , Susan Chandler , and Elizabeh Pacy , when they came into the Hall , to give Instructions for the drawing the Bills of Indictments , they fell into strange and violent Fitts , so that they were unable to give in their Depositions , not only then but also During the whole Assizes . William Durent being an Infant , his Mother Swore , That Amy Duny looking after her Child one Day in her absence , did at her return confess , that she had given suck to the Child : ( tho' she were an Old Woman : ) Whereat , when Durent expressed her displeasure , Duny went away with Discontents and Menaces . The Night after , the Child fell into strange and sad Fitts , wherein it continued for Diverse Weeks . One Doctor Iacob advised her to hang up the Childs Blanket , in the Chimney Corner all Day , and at Night , when she went to put the Child into it , if she found any Thing in it then to throw it without fear into the Fire . Accordingly , at Night , there fell a great Toad out of the Blanket , which ran up & down the Hearth . A Boy , catch't it , & held it in the Fire with the Tongs : where it made an horrible Noise , and Flash'd like to Gun-Powder , with a report like that of a Pistol : Whereupon the Toad was no more to be seen , The next Day a kinswoman of Duny's , told the Deponent , that her Aunt was all grievously scorch'd with the Fire , and the Deponent going to her House , found her in such a Condition . Duny told her , she might thank her for it ; but she should live to see some of her Children Dead , and her self upon Crutches . But after the Burning of the Toad , this Child Recovered . This Deponent further Testify'd , That Her Daughter Elizabeth , being about the Age of Ten Years , was taken in like manner , as her first Child was , and in her Fitts complained much of Amy Duny , and said , that she did appear to Her , and afflict her in such manner as the former . One Day she found Amy Duny in her House , and thrusting her out of Doors , Duny said , You need not be so Angry , your Child won't live long . And within three Days the Child Dyed . The Deponent added , that the was Her self , not long after taken with such a Lameness , in both her Leggs , that she was forced to go upon Crutches ; and she was now in Court upon them . [ It was Remarkable , that immediately upon the Juries bringing in Duny Guilty , Durent was restored unto the use of her Limbs , and went Home without Her Crutches . ] III. As for Elizabeth and Deborah Pacy , one Aged Eleven years , the other Nine ; the elder , being in Court , was made utterly senseless , during all the time of the Triall : or at least speechless . By the direction of the Judge , Duny was privately brought to Elizabeth Pacy , and she touched her Hand : whereupon the child , without , so much as seeing her , suddenly leap'd up and flew upon the prisoner ; the younger was too ill , to be brought unto the Assizes . But Samuel Pacy , their Father , testify'd , that his Daughter Deborah , was taken with a sudden lameness ; and upon the grumbling of Amy Duny , for being denyed something , where this child was then sitting , the child was taken with an extreeme pain in her stomach , , like the pricking of pins ; and shrieking at a dreadful manner , like a Whelp , rather then a Rational creature . The Physicians could not conjecture the cause of the Distemper ; but Amy Duny being a woman of Ill Fame , and the child in fitts crying out of Amy Duny , as affrighting her with the Apparition of her person , the deponent suspected her , and procured her to be set in the stocks . While she was there , she said in the hearing of two Witnesses , Mr Pacy keeps a great stir about his child , but let him stay till he has done as much by his Children , as I have done by mine : and being asked , What she had done to her Children , she answered , She had been fain to open her Childs mouth with a Tap to give it Victuals . The Deponent added , that within two Days , the Fits of his Daughters were such , that they could not preserve either Life or Breath , without the help of a Tap. And that the Children cry'd out of Amy Duny , and of Rose Cullender , as afflicting them , with their Apparitions . IV. The Fits of the Children , were various . They would sometimes be Lame on one side ; sometimes on t' other . Sometimes very sore ; sometimes restored unto their Limbs , and then Deaf , or Blind , or Dumb , for a long while together . Upon the Recovery of their Speech , they would Cough extreamly ; and with much Flegm , they would bring up Crooked Pins ; & one time , a Two-penny Nail , with a very broad Head. Commonly at the end of every Fit , they would cast up a Pin. When the Children Read , they could not pronounce the Name of , Lord , or Iesus or Christ , but would fall into Fitts ; and say , Amy Duny says , I must not use that Nami . When they came to the Name of Satan , or Devil , they would clap their Fingers on the Book , crying out , This bites , but it makes me speak right well ! The Children in their Fitts , would often , cry out , There stands Amy Duny , or , Rose Cullender ; and they would afterwards relate , That these Witches appearing before them , threatned them , that if they told what they saw or heard , they would Torment them ten times more than ever they did before . V. Margaret Arnold , the Sister of Mr. Pacy , testify'd unto the like Sufferings being upon the Children , at her House , whither her Brother had Removed them . And that sometimes , the Children ( only ) would see things like Mice , run about the House ; and one of them suddenly snap't one with the Tongs , and threw it into the Fire , where it screeched out like a Rat. At another time , a thing like a Bee , flew at the Face of the younger Child ; the Child fell into a Fitt ; and at last Vomited up a , Two-penny Nail , with a Broad Head ; affirming , That the Bee brought this Nail , and forced it into her mouth . The Child would in like manner be assaulted with Flies , which brought Crooked Pins , unto her , and made her first swallow them , and then Vomit them . She one Day caught , an Invisible Mouse , and throwing it into the Fire , it Flash'd like to Gun-Powder . None besides the Child saw the Mouse , but every one saw the Flash . She also declared , out of her Fitts , that in them , Amy Duny , much tempted her to Destroy Her self . VI. As for Ann Durent , her Father Testifyed That upon a Discontent of Rose Cullender , His Daughter was taken with much Illness in her Stomach and great and sore Pains , like the pricking of pins : and then Swooning Fitts , from which Recovering she declared , She had seen the Apparition of Rose Cullender , Threatning to Torment her . She likewise Vomited up diverse Pins . The Maid was Present at Court , but when Cullender look'd upon her , she fell into such Fitts , as made her utterly unable to declare any thing . Ann Baldwin , deposed the same . VII . Iane Bocking , was too weak , to be at the Assizes . But her Mother Testify'd , that Her Daughter having formerly been Afflicted with Swooning Fitts , and Recovered of them ; was now taken with a great Pain in her Stomach ; and New Swooning Fitts . That she took little Food , but every Day Vomited Crooked Pins . In her first Fitts , she would Extend her Arms , and use Postures ; as if she catched at something , and when her Clutched Hands were forced open , they would find several Pins diversely Crooked , unaccountably lodged there . She would also maintain a Discourse with some that were Invisibly present , when casting abroad her Arms , she would often say , I will not have it ! but at last say ; Then I will have it●… and closing her Hand , which when they presently after opened , a Lath-Nail was found in it . But Her great complaints were of being Visited by the shapes of Amy Duny , and Rose Cullender . VIII . As for Susan Chandler , Her Mother Testifyed , That being at the search of Rose Cullender , they found on her Belly a thing like a Teat , of an Inch long ; which the said Rose ascribed to a strain . But near her Privy parts , they found Thre●… more , that were smaller than the former . At the end of the long Teat , there was a little Hole , which appeared , as if newly Sucked ; and upon straining it , a white milky matter issued out . The Deponent further said , That her Daughter being one day concerned at Rose Cullenders : taking her by the Hand , she fell very sick , and at Night cry'd out , That Rose Cullender woald come to Bed unto her . Her Fitts grew violent , and in the Intervals of them , she declared , That she saw Rose Cullender in them , and once having of a great Dog with her . She also vomited up crooked Pins ; and when she was brought into Court , she fell into her Fitts ▪ She Recovered her self in some Time , and was asked by the Court , whether she was in a Condition to take an Oath , and give Evidence . She said , she could ; but having been Sworn , she fell into her Fitts again , and , Burn her ! Burn her ! were all the words that she could obtain power to speak . Her Father likewise gave the same Testimony with her Mother ; as to all but the Search . IX . Here was the Sum of the Evidence : which Mr. Serjeant Keeling ; thought not sufficient to Convict the Prisoners . For admitting the Children were Bewitched , yet , said he , it can never be Apply'd unto the Prisoners , upon the Imagination only of the Parties Afflicted ; inasmuch as no person whatsoever could then be in Safety . Dr. Brown , a very Learned Person then present , gave his Opinion , that these persons were Bewitched . He added , That in Denmark , there had been lately a great Discovery of Witches ; who used the very same way of Afflicting people , by Conveying Pins and Nails into them . His Opi nion was , that the Devil in Witchcrafts , did Work upon the Bodies of Men and Women , upon a Natural , Foundation ; and that he did Extraordinarily afflict them , with such Distempers as their Bodies were most subject unto . X. The Experiment about the Usefulness , yea , or Law●…ness whereof Good Men have sometimes disputed , was divers Times made , That though the Afflicted were utterly deprived of all sense in their Fitts , yet upon the Touch of the Accused , they would so screech out , and Fly up , as not upon any other persons . And yet it was also found that once upon the touch of an innocent person , the like effect follow'd , which put the whole Court unto a stand ●…altho ' a small Reason was at length attempted to be given for it . XI . However , to strengthen the Credit of what had been already produced against the Prisoners . One Iohn Soam testify'd , That bringing home his Hay in three Carts , one of the Carts wrenched the Window of Rose Cullenders House , whereupon she flew out , with violent Threatenings against the Deponent . The other two Carts , passed by twice , Loaded , that Day afterwards ; but the Cart which touched Cullenders House , was twice or thrice that Day overturned . Having again Loaded it , as they brought it thro' the Gate which Leads out of the Field , the Cart stuck so fast in the Gates Head , that they could not possibly get it thro' , but were forced to cut down the Post of the Gate , to make the Cart pass thro' , altho' they could not perceive that the Cart did of either side touch the Gate-Post . They afterwards , did with much Difficulty get it home to the yard ; but could not for their Lives get the Cart nea●… the place , where they should unload . They were fain to unload at a great Distance ; and when they were Tired , the Noses of them that came to Assist them , would burst forth a Bleeding ; so they were fain to give over till next morning : and then they unloaded without any Difficult . XII . Robert Sherringham also testify'd , That the Axle-Tree of his Cart , happening in passing , to break some part of Rose Cullenders House , in her Anger at it , she vehemently threatned him , His Horses should suffer for it . And within a short time , all his Four Horses dy'd ; after which he sustained many other losses in the sudden Dying of his Cattle . He was also taken with a Lameness in his limbs ; and so vexed with lice of an extraordinary Number and Bigness , that no Art could hinder the Swarming of them , till he burnt up , two suits of Apparrel . XIII . As for Amy Duny , t' was testfi'd by one Richard Spencer ' that he heard her say , The Devil would not lett her Rest ; until she were Revenged on th●… wife of Cornelius Sandswel And that Sandswel testify'd , that her Poultrey dy'd suddenly , upon A●… Dunyes threatning of them ; and that her Husband●… Chimney fell , quickly after Duny had spoken 〈◊〉 such a disaster . And a firkin of Fish could not be kept from falling into the water , upon suspicious words of Duny's . XIV . The Judge , told the Jury , they were to inquire 〈◊〉 first , whether these Children were Bewitched ; and secondly , Whether the Prisoners at the Bar were guilty of it . He made no doubt , there were such Creatures as Witches ; for the Scriptures affirmed it ; and the Wisdom of all Nations had provided Laws against such persons . He pray'd the God of Heaven , to direct their H●…ts in the weighty thing they had in hand ; for , 〈◊〉 Condemn the Innocent , and let the Guilty go free , were both an Abomination to the Lord. The Jury in half an Hour , brought them in Guilty , upon their several Indictments , which 〈◊〉 Nineteen in Number . The next morning , the Children with their Parents , came to the Lodgings of the Lord Chi●…●…ustice , and were in as good Health , as ever 〈◊〉 their Lives ; being Restored within half an 〈◊〉 after the Witches were Convicted . The Witches were Executed ; and Confessed nothing ; which indeed will not be wondred by them , who Consider and Entertain the Judgment of a Judicious Writer , That the Unpardonable Sin , is most usually Committed by Professors of the Cristian Religion falling into Witchcraft . We will now proceed unto several of the like Trials among our selves . I. THE TRYAL of G. B. At a Court of Dyer and Terminer , Held in Salem . 1692. GLad should I have been , if I had never known the Name of this man ; or never had this occasion to mention so much as the first Letters of his Name . But the Government requiring some Account , of his Trial , to be Inserted in this Book , it becomes me with all Obedience , to submit unto the Order . I. This G. B. was Indicted for Witchcrafts ; and in the Prosecution of the Charge against him , he was Accused by five or six of the Bewitched , as the Author of their Miseries ; he was Accused by eight of the Confessing Witches , as being an Head Actor at some of their Hellish Randezvouzes , and one who had the promise of being a King in Satans Kingdom , now going to be Erected ; he was Accused by nine persons , for extraordinary Lifting , and such Feats of Strength , as could not be done without a Diabolical Assistance . And for other such Things he was Accused , until about Thirty Testimonies were brought in against him ; nor were these , judg'd the half of what might have been considered , for his Conviction : however they were enough to fix the Character of a Witch upon him , according to the Rules of Reasoning , by the Judicious Gaule , in that Case directed . II. The Court being sensible , that the Testimonies of the Parties Bewitched , use to have a Room among the Suspicions , or Presumptions , brought in against one Indicted for Witchcraft , there were now heard the Testimonies of several Persons , who were most notoriously Bewitched , and every day Tortured by Invisible Hands , and these now all charged the Spectres of G. B. to have a share in their Torments . At the Examination of this G. B. the Bewitched People were grievously harassed , with Preternatural Mischiefs , which could not possibly be Dissembled ; and they still ascribed it unto the Endeavours of G. B. to kill them . And now upon his Trial , one of the Bewitched Persons testify'd , That in her Agonies , a little Black hair'd man came to her , saying his Name was Band bidding her set her hand unto a Book which ▪ he show'd unto her ; and bragging that he was a Conjurer above the ordinary Rank of Witches ; That he often persecuted her , with the offer of that Book , saying , She should be well , and need fear no body , if she would but Sign it : but he inflicted cruel Pains and Hures upon her , because of her Denying so to do . The Testimonies of the other Sufferers concurred with these ; and it was Remarkable , that whereas Biting , was one of the ways which the Witches used , for the vexing of the Sufferers , when they cry'd out of G. B. biting them , the print of the Teeth , would be seen on the Flesh of the Complainers ; and just such a sett of Teeth , as G. B' s would then appear upon them , which could be distinguished from those of some other mens . Others of them testify'd , That in their Torments , G. B. tempted them , to go unto a Sacrament , unto which they perceived him with a sound of Trumpet Summoning of other Witch●…s ; who quickly after the Sound would come from all Quarters unto the Rendezvouz . One of them falling into a kind of Trance , afterwards af●…ed , That G. B. had carried her into a very high Mountain , where he show'd her mighty and glorious Kingdoms , and said , He would give them all to her , if she would write in his Book ; but she told him , They were none of his to give ; and refused the motions ; enduring of much misery for that Refusal . It cost the Court a wonderful deal of Trouble , to hear the Testimonies of the Sufferers ; for when they were going to give in their Depositions , they would for a long while be taken with fitts , that made them uncapable of saying any thing . The Chief Judge asked the prisoner , who he thought hindred these witnesses from giving their testimonies ? and he answered , He supposed , it was the Divel ? That Honourable person , then reply'd , How comes the Divel so loathe to have any Testimony born against you ? Which cast him into very great confusion . III. It has been a frequent thing for the Bewitched people , to be entertained with Apparitions of Ghosts of murdered people , at the same time , that the Spectres of the witches trouble them . These Ghosts do always affright the Beholders , more than all the other spectral Representations ; and when they exhibit themselves , they cry out , of being Murdered by the witchcrafts or other violences of the persons who are then in spectre present . It is further considerable , that once or twice , these Apparitions have been seen by others at the very same time that they have shown them selves to the Bewitched ; & seldom have there been these Apparitions but when somthing unusual & suspected had attended the Death of the party thus Appearing . Some that have bin accused by these Apparitions , accosting of the Bewitched People , who had never heard a word of any such persons , ever being in the world , have upon a fair examination freely , and fully , confessed the murders of those very persons , altho' these also did not know how the Apparitions had complained of them . Accordingly several of the Bewitched , had given in their Testimony , that they had been troubled with the Apparitions of two women , who said , that they were G. Bs. two wives ; and that he had been the Death of them ; and that the Magistrates must be told of it , before whom if B. upon his trial deny'd it , they did not know but that they should appear again in the Court. Now , G. B. had been infamous for the Barbarous usage of his two successive wives , all the Country over . Moreover ; It was testifi'd , the spectre of G. B. threatning of the sufferers told them , he had killed ( besides others ) Mrs Lawson and her Daughter Ann. And it was noted , That these were the vertuous wife and Daughter , of one at whom this G. B. might have a prejudice for his being serviceable at Salem-village , from whence himself had in Ill Terms removed some years before : & that when they dy'd , which was long since , there were some odd circumstances about them , which made some of the Attendents there suspect something of witchraft , tho' none Imagined from what Quarter it should come . Well , G. B. being now upon his Triall , one of the Bewitched persons was cast into Horror at the Ghosts of B's . two deceased wives , then appearing before him , and crying for , Vengeance , against him . Hereupon several of the Bewitched persons were successively called in , who all not knowing what the former had seen and said , concurred in their Horror , of the Apparition , which they affirmed , that he had before him . But he , tho' much appalled , utterly deny'd that he discerned anything of it ; nor was it any part of his Conviction . IV Judicious Writers , have assigned it a great place , in the Conviction of witches , when persons are Impeached by other Notorious witches , to be as Ill as themselves ; especially , if the persons have been much noted for neglecting the Worship of God. Now , as there might have been Testimonies Enough of G. B's . Antipathy to Prayer and the other Ordinances of God , tho' by his profession singularly obliged thereunto ; so , there now came in against the prisoner , the Testimonies of several persons , who confessed their own having been Horrible Witches , and ever since their confessions had been themselves terribly Tortured by the Devils and other Witches , even like the other Sufferers ; and therein undergone the pains of many Deaths for their Confessions . These now Testify'd , that G. B. had been at Witch-Meetings with them ; and that he was the Person who had Seduced , and Compelled them into the snares of Witchcraft : That he promised them Fine Cloaths , for doing it ; that he brought Poppets to them , and thorns to stick into those Poppets , for the afflicting of other People : And that he exhorted them , with the rest of the Crue , to bewitch all Salem-Village , but besure to do it Gradually , if they would prevail in what they did . When the LancashireWitches were condemn'd , I don't Remember that there was any considerable further Evidence , than that of the Bewitched , and then that of some that confessed . We see so much already against G. B. But this being indeed not Enough , there were , other things to render what had been already produced credible . V. A famous Divine , recites this among the Convictions of a Witch ; The Testimony of the Party Bewitched , whether Pining or Dying ; together with the Ioint Oathes of Sufficient Persons , that have seen certain Prodi●…ious Pranks or Feats , wrought by the party Accused . Now God had been pleased so to leave this G. B. that he had ensnared himself , by several Instances which he had formerly given of a Preternatural strength , and which were now produced against him . He was a very Puny man ; yet he had often done things beyond the strength of a Giant . A Gun of about seven foot barrel , and so heavy that strong men could not steadily hold it out , with both hands ; there were several Testimonies , given in by Persons of Credit and Honour , that he made nothing of taking up such a Gun behind the Lock , with but one hand , and holding it out like a Pistol , at Arms-end . G. B. in his Vindication was so foolish as to say , That an Indian was there , and held it out at the same time : Whereas , none of the Spectators ever saw any such Indian ; but they suppos'd the Black man ( as the Witches call the Devil ; and they generally say he resembles an Indian ) might give him that Assistence . There was Evidence , likewise , brought in , that he made nothing of Taking up whole Barrels fill'd with Malasses , or Cider , in very Disadvantagious Postures , and Carrying of them through the Difficultest Places , out of a Canoo to the Shore . [ Yea , there were Two Testimonies , that G. B. with only putting the Fore-Finger of his Right hand , into the Muzzel of an heavy Gun , a Fowling-piece , of about six or seven foot Barrel , did Lift up the Gun , and hold it out at Arms end ; a Gun which the Deponents , though strong men , could not with both hands Lift up , and hold out , at the Butt end , as is usual . Indeed one of these Witnesses , was over perswaded by some persons , to be out of the way , upon G. B. 's Trial ; but he came afterwards , with sorrow for his withdraw , and gave in his Testimony : Nor were either of these Witnesses made use of as evidences in th●… Trial. ] VI. There came in several Testimonies , relating to the Domestick Affayrs of G. B. which had a very hard Aspect upon him ; and not only prov'd him a very ill man ; but also confirmed the Belief of the Character , which had been already fastned on him . e. g. T' was testifyed , That keeping his two Successive Wives in a strange kind of Slavery , he would when he came home from abroad , pretend to tell the Talk which any had with them . That he ha's brought them to the point of Death , by his Harsh Dealings with his Wives , and then made the People about him to promise that in Case Death should happen , they would say nothing of it . That he used all means to make his Wives Write , Sign , Seal , and Swear a Covenant , never to Reveal any of his Secrets . That his Wives had privately complained unto the Neighbours about frightful Apparitions of EvilSpirits , with which their House was sometimes infested ; and that many such things have been Whispered among the Neighbourhood . There were also some other Testimonies , relating to the Death of People , whereby the Consciences of an Impartial Jury , were convinced , that G. B. had Bewitched the persons mentioned in the Complaints . But I am forced to omit several such passages , in this , as well as in all the succeeding Trials , because the Scribes who took Notice of them , have not Supplyed me . VII . One Mr. Ruck , Brother in Law to this G. 〈◊〉 Testify'd , that G. B. and he himself , and his Siste●… who was G. B's Wife , going out for Two or thre●… Miles , to gather Straw-Berries , Ruck , with his Sister the Wife of G. B. Rode home very Softly , with G. B. on Foot in their Company , G. B. stept aside a little into the Bushes ; Whereupon they Halte●… and Halloo'd for 〈◊〉 He not answering , they went away homewards , with a Quickened pace ; without any expectation of seeing him in a considerable while : and yet when they were got 〈◊〉 home , to their Astonishment they found him on foot , with them , having a Basket of Straw-Berries ▪ 〈◊〉 . 〈◊〉 . immediately , then fell to chiding his Wife 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 account of what she had been speaking to 〈◊〉 Brother , of him , on the Road : which when they wondred at , he said , He knew their thoughts . Ruck being startled at that , made some Reply , intimating that the Devil himself did not know so far ; but G. B. answered , My God , makes known your Thoughts unto me . The prisoner now at the Barr had nothing to answer , unto what was thus Witnessed against him , that was worth considering . Only he said , Ruck , and his Wife left a man with him , when they left him . Which Ruck now affirm'd to be false ; and when the Court asked G. B. What the Man's Name was ? his countenance was much altered ; nor could he say , who ' t was . But the Court began to think , that he then step'd aside , only that by the assistance of the Black Man , he might put on his Invisibility , and in that Fascinating Mist , gratify his own Jealous humour , to hear what they said of him . Which trick of rendring themselves Invisible , our Witches do in their confessions pretend that they sometimes are Masters of ; and it it is the more credible , because there is Demonstration that they often render many other things utterly Invisible . VIII . Faltring , Fau●…ty , unconstant , and contrary Answers upon Iudicial and deliberate examination , are counted some unlucky symptoms of gui●… in al●… crimes ; Especially in Witchcrafts . Now there 〈◊〉 ver was a prisoner more Emiuent for them , tha●… G. B. both at his Examination and on his Trial. H●… Tergiversations , Contradictions , and Falsehoods , 〈◊〉 very sensible ; he had little to fay , but that 〈◊〉 heard some things that he could not prove , Reflecting upon the Reputation of some of the witnesses ▪ Only he gave in a paper , to the Jury ; wherein , altho ' he had many times before , granted , not only that there are Witches , but also that the present sufferingsof the Countrey are the Effect of horrible Witchcrafts , yet he now goes to , evince it , That there neither are , nor ever were , Witches that having made a compact with the Divel , Can send a Divel to Torment other people at a distance . This paper was Transcribed out of Ady ; which the Court presently knew , as soon as they heard it . But he said , he had taken none of it out of any Book ; for which his evasion afterwards was , that a Gentleman gave him the discourse , in a manuscript , from whence h●… Transcribed it . IX . The Jury brought him in guilty ; But when he came to Dy , he utterly deny'd the Fact , whereof he had been thus convicted . FINIS .