The child's portion

Name: The child's portion
Author: Samuel Willard

The child's portion: or The unseen glory of the children of God, asserted, and proved: together with several other sermons occasionally preached, and now published. / By Samuel Willard teacher of a church in Boston, New-England. ; [Five lines from Psalms]

Samuel Willard 1640–1707printed by Samuel Green, 1684

[6], 144, [2], 145-227, [3] p. ; 15 cm. (8vo) · 56k words · Evans 380 · Wing W2271

Title page typeset from the transcription.

The only sure way to prevent threatened CALAMITY: As it was deliver…: The only sure way to prevent threatened CALAMITY: As it was delivered in a SERMON, Preac…The only sure way to prevent threatned CALAMITY: As it was delivere…: The only sure way to prevent threatned CALAMITY: As it was delivered in a SERMON, Preac…

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.

[ Earlier:426–441 of 522

:426p. 173¶4

4. God sometimes gives his servants a particular, special opportunity to declare his mind against a sinful Generation. Thus he did unto Jeremiah at this time, when the people were gathered out of all their cities to one of the great feasts at Jerusalem, and there was a general concourse of them to the Temple. And when it is thus, to omit the improving a price in our hands, is to play the fool egregiously. The wise-man tells us their is a season to every purpose, and sometimes this season comes once and no more, the neglect whereof proves irreparable, and leaves a woeful sting upon the Conscience.

4. God sometimes gives his servants a particular, special opportunity to declare his mind against a sinful Generation. Thus he did unto Jeremiah at this time, when the people were gathered out of all their cityes to one of the great feasts at Jerusalem, and there was a general concourse of them to the Temple. And when it is thus, to omit the improving a price in our hands, is to play the fool egregiously. The wise-man tells us their is a season to every purpose, and sometimes this season comes once and no more, the neglect whereof proves irreparable, and leaves a woful sting upon the Conscience.

:427p. 173–174¶5

5. There are also sometimes deep and powerful impressions upon the minds of God's Messengers, which by an irresistible impulse, constrain them to bear open and public witness against the sins of the times and places which they live in. I am far from pleading for, or justifying any thing that looks like Enthusiasm, or thinking that men should make a secret impetus upon their spirits the rule and plea of their words and actions. But, if men who are called by God to declare his counsels, advantaged by his providence ⟨p. 174⟩to proclaim his pleasure, directed by his word to speak nothing but what is agreeing there unto; are pressed in their spirits to a zealous witness bearing against these and those prevailing sins and solemnly to denounce the Judgements of God against them, if men repent not. I believe there is much of God in it, and it carries a great evidence along with it, that God is about to do some speedy, strange work there, if he be not prevented. When we are in such a frame as our Prophet was,

[ Earlier passages Later passages ]

Reformers309

Puritans1,782

Westminster Assembly24

Evangelicals36