A50172:61
The way to prosperity a sermon / preached to the honourable convention of the…
The way to prosperity a sermon / preached to the honourable convention of the governor, council, and representatives of the Massachuset-Colony in New-England on May 23, 1690 by Cotton Mather.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.
Boston: printed by Richard Pierce for Benjamin Harris, 1690
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Having premised 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, proclaims 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.
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 Whole 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 Signification I make the more free withal, because a little Philology will acquaint us with many Examples 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 ⟨p. 14⟩