N00354:136
Military duties, recommended to an artillery company
Military duties, recommended to an artillery company; at their election of officers, in Charles-town [sic], 13.d. 7.m. 1686. / By Cotton Mather, Pastor of a church in Boston. ; [Three lines of quotations in Latin]Military duties, recommended to an artillery company; at their election of officers, in Charls-town [sic], 13.d. 7.m. 1686. / By Cotton Mather, Pastor of a church in Boston. ; [Three lines of quotations in Latin]
printed by Richard Pierce, 1687
MILITARY DUTIES Laid before A TRAINED BAND 13. d. 7. m. 1686. › Application 5 › Rule 3: RULE III.
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 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 Enterprises. It was the Privilege of the Man Christ Jesus alone to say, The Devil finds nothing in me, when the Legions of Hell made an Attack upon him. The Father of Lies uttered a real Truth, when from the Throat of a possessed man, he said unto Mr. Balsam, 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 resign us up unto the power of all our other Enemies if the Grace of God prevent it not. Let These be well kept under and the Day is yours.
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 be well kept under and the Day is yours.
Among the many L••ts which are of the Devil's ⟨p. 71⟩Faction in us, every man hath, as a sort of Master-Be 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 War-fare, as having an Influence upon the Prosperity of it all.