N00124:74
Woe to drunkards. Two sermons testifying against the sin of drunkennessWo to drunkards. Two sermons testifying against the sin of drunkenness
Woe to drunkards. Two sermons testifying against the sin of drunkenness: wherein the woefulness of that evil, and the mystery of all that are addicted to it, is discovered from the word of God. / Preached by Increase Mather, teacher of a church in Boston in New-England. ; [Ten lines of Scripture texts]Wo to drunkards. Two sermons testifying against the sin of drunkenness: wherein the wofulness of that evil, and the mistery of all that are addicted to it, is discovered from the word of God. / Preached by Increase Mather, teacher of a church in Boston in New-England. ; [Ten lines of Scripture texts]
printed by Marmaduke Johnson. 1673., 1673
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.
The last word of Exhortation shall be unto those that have been guilty of this woeful sin of Drunkenness; Be this day excited and persuaded to repent, and turn from this Transgression. Some of you have through Temptation been drawn into this Evil. How many guilty, accusing Consciences are there here before the Lord? Oh repent of what you have done, if ever you have given way to Temptation, so as to be overtaken with this so vile an abomination. Others (and many too) live in this sin, in their ordinary course they commit it, and therefore are servants to it; Oh repent, repent, before it be too late. Remember, that are long Repentance for it will be too late. Did not damned drunken Dives repent when it was too late? when his Soul was dropped down into the place of Torment, and he was crying for one drop of water to cool his tongue, then he bitterly repented of all the drunken merry-meetings, which in his life time he had seen, but then ⟨p. 33⟩Repentance was too late. Think seriously on that Scripture, Rom. 13.11.12.13. Now it is high time to awake out of sleep, the night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness—Let us walk honestly, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness. Do not delay your Repentance, but now practice it. Anstine I remember confesseth, that he lived in those sins, in his vain youthful days, before his Conversion, and he had many secret Convictions upon his Conscience, thinking with himself that tomorrow, or sometime hereafter, he would repent of, and turn from those vanities: but on a certain time it seemed to him as if he heard a voice from Heaven saying to him, Tolle & lige, Take up and read; a Bible being by him, he taketh it up, and goeth to reading in it, and the first place which his eyes fixed on, was this Scripture last mentioned, and the Lord set in with it upon his heart, so as that he cried out, And why not now Lord? I have said, that hereafter I would leave my rioting, and drinking, and chambering, and wantonness, but let me do it now Lord. Do you that are Drunkards say and do the lake, resolve upon present Repentance without delaying one day, or one hour longer. And know for your encouragement, that in case you do truly repent of this iniquity, God will forgive you. Do not think that Have to scare you with the •••• visions of that Eternal Night which is […] your Souls.