The wonders of the invisible world. Observations as well historical as theological, upon the…
The wonders of the invisible world. Observations as well historical as theological, upon the nature, the number, and the operations of the devils. : Accompanied with, I. Some accounts of the grievous molestations, by daemons and witchcrafts, which have lately annoyed the country; and the trials of some eminent malefactors executed upon occasion thereof: with several remarkable curiosities therein occurring. II. Some councils, 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 days. 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.
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 councils, 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.
Cotton Mather 1663–1728Boston : printed, and sold by Benjamin Harris, 1693 i.e., 1692
[32], 151, [1], 32 [i.e., 24] p. ; 16 cm. (8vo) · 56k words · Evans 657 · Wing M1173
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.
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 burned 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!
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 Commissiion 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 •ong and loud Admonitions, been calling us to, ⟨p. 62⟩A Reformation of our Provoking Evils, as the only way to avoid that Wrath of His, which does not only Threaten, but Consume us. 'Tis 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 Providence 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 on• went unto them, from the Dead, they will Repent; Eve• so, There are some come unto us from the Damned ▪⟨p. 63⟩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 Employed 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;
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 •ong and loud Admonitio•s, been calling us to, ⟨p. 62⟩A Reformation of our Provoking Evils, as the only way to avoid that Wrath of His, which does not only Threaten, but Consume us. 'Tis 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 on• went unto them, from the Dead, they will Repent; Eve• so, There are some come unto us from the Damned ▪⟨p. 63⟩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, 'tis a Time for all people to do something EXTRAORDINARY In Searching and in Trying •f 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 ••ch 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 […] public Preaching, but by personal Visits and Counsels, from House to House. At such a Time as this, ought Churches to Do something EXTRAORDINARY, ⟨p. 64⟩in Renewing of their Covenants, and in Remembering, 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 Justices 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 exercising 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 some feeble Essays towards Reformation, of late in ⟨p. 65⟩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 Devil•, 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 cried out upon. I hope in Gods Time, it will be found, that among those that are thus Cried out upon, •here are persons yet Clear from the Great Transgression; but indeed, all the Unreformed among us, nay justly be Cried out upon, as having too much of an Hand in letting of the Devils in to our Borders; 'tis our Worldliness, our Formality, our Sensuality, and our Iniquity, that has helped this Letting of the Devils in. O Let us then at last, Consider our Ways. 'Tis 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 L••ds Day, there was heard a Great Noise, with […] of Chains, up and down the Town, and […] horrid Scent of Brimstone filled the Neighbourhood. Upon which the Guilty Consciences of the Wretches, told them, the Devil was come to fetch them away: and it so terrified them, that an Eminent Reformation followed the Sermons which that man of God Preached thereupon. Behold, ⟨p. 66⟩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, le these Devils do yet more direfully fall upon […] 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 Witchcraft• is the Thing that ha's now Introduced the Devil into the midst of us. I say then, Let not only all Witchcrafts be duly abominated with us, but also Let us be duly Watchful against all the Steps Leading thereunto. There are Lesser Sorceries which, they say, are too frequent in our Land. […] it was said in 2 King. 17.9. The Children of […] did Secretly▪ those things that were not Right against the Lord their God. So tis 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, & Keys, and Pease, and Nails, and Horse-Shoes, an• I know not what other Implements, to Lear•⟨p. 67⟩the Things, for which they have a Forbidden, and an Impious Curiosity. 'Tis 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 '[…], that people play upon The Hole of the Asp; till that cruelly venomous Asp has pulled 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 'tis pity 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 Judicial Astrology, are so Injudiciously Regarded by multitudes among us; and although the Juggling Astrologers do scarce ever hit Right, except it be in such Weighty Judgments, forsooth, as that many Old Men will Die 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 persuaded, but […] the Innocent Stars have been concerned in […] Events. It is a Disgrace to the English Nation that the Pamphlets of such Idle, Futile, Trifli 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 perilous ⟨p. 68⟩to the Souls of men. It is, (a Science, I dare not call it, but) a Juggle, whereof the Learned Hall, well says, It is presumptuous and unwarrantable, & cried ever down by Councils and Fathers, as unlawful, as that which Lies in the mid-way between Magic, and Imposture, and partakes not a little of both. Men Consult the Aspects of Planets, whose Northern or Southern Motions receive Denominations from a Celestial Dragon, till the Infernal Dragon at length insinuate into them, with a Poison of Witchcraft that can't be cured▪ Has there not also been a world of Discontent in our Borders? 'Tis 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 filled 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 Wrath, against them that believe not; and ••at follows then but this, That the Devil comes […] 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, 'tis because the Saviour has been slighted here, perhaps more than any where. The Blessed Lord Jesus Christ ⟨p. 69⟩has been proffering 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 […] All; Art thou willing that I should be thy All? •ut, 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 Pity, 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 •o Goodness and Virtue, of whom we may say, Lord, ⟨p. 70⟩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 bestowed 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 […] 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 Wounded: 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 pity on me, O ye my ⟨p. 71⟩Friend•, Have pity 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 pity be due to any, I am sure, the Difficulties which attend our Honourable Judges, do demand no Inconsiderable share in that Pity. 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 to those Furies whereof several have killed 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 Reproaching 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 Pity to forget such Accused ones, as call for indeed our most Compassionate Pity, till there be fuller Evidences that they are less worthy of it. If Satan have any where maliciously ⟨p. 72⟩brought upon the Stage, those that have hitherto had a just and good stock of Reputation▪ for their just and good Living, among […]; 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 always 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 Judgment 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.
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 to 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
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 hooked into a Covenant with the Devil, nor be altogether unfurnished with armour, against the Wretches that are in that Covenant. The way to come under the Saving Influences of the New Covenant, is, to close with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is ⟨p. 73⟩the All sufficient 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 Jesus: That is, as the Destroying Angel, could not meddle with such as had been distinguished, by the Blood of the Passover 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 Clucking 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 Entered in the Devils Book; let our Names be found in the Church Book, and let us be, Written among the Living in Jerusalem. 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 allowed to Live, where they do no•, and perhaps cannot, wait upon God with the Churches of His People! tis as likely as any one thing to ⟨p. 74⟩procure the swarmings of Witch-crafts among […] But it becomes us, with a like Ardour, to bring […] 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, Confess••• 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 […] 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 […] hath Consumed me, because my Enemies have forgott•• thy Words: Even so, let the nefarious wickedness of those that have Explicitly dedicated their Children to the Devil, even with Devilish 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.
Even poor Children of several Ages, even from seven to twenty more or less, Confess••• 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 〈…〉 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 〈…〉 hath Consumed me, because my Enemies have forgott•• 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 Scourged out of the Lords Temple, by a Whip, made and used, with the, Effectua• Fervent Prayer of Righteous Men. When the De•vil ⟨p. 75⟩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 •e will Flee from us. At every other Weapon, […] 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 subtle; they will soon […]-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 Iniquity 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 Devil at last flew out of the Window, and referring to a Devout, plain, mean Woman then in the Room, he cried out, O the Woman behind the ⟨p. 76⟩Door! 'Tis 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 Obscu•• 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 extreme Hazard lest the Devil who by Compulsion must submit unto that Great Work, may also by Permission com to Confound that Work:
both in the Detections o• some, and in the Confessions of others, whose Ungodly Deeds may be brought forth, by a Great Work of God, there is Hazard lest the Devil intertwi•• some of his Delusions. 'Tis PRAYER, I say, 'tis 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 i• our Faith in Him, Who hath Spoiled these Principalities and Powers, on His Cross Triumphing over them!
both in the Detections o• some, and in the Confessions of others, whose Un•godly Deeds may be brought forth, by a Great Work of God, there is Hazzard lest the Devil intertwi•• some of his Delusions. 'Tis PRAYER, I say, 'tis PRAYER, that must carry us well thro' the Strange •hings that are now upon us. Only that Prayer, must then be, The Prayer of Faith: O where i• 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▪ […] the Great Wrath of the Devil. Where 'tis said, The whole World lies in Wickedness, 'tis by some of the Ancients rendered, 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 Enslaved unto; and Oh shake off your Slavery to such a Lord. Instead of him, now make your ⟨p. 77⟩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, •eft by their Fall from the Ethereal Regions. It was a most awful Speech made by the Devil, Possessing 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 cannot hurt her Soul; and it is that I may warn men, to take heed of Sinning against God. Indeed (said he) 'tis very sore against my will that I do it; but the command of God forces me to declare what I do; However 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 forced to Declare, of his Kingdom among us, may prejudice our Hearts against him for ever!
VIII. Lastly, Shake off, every Soul, Shake off the Hard Yoke of the Devil, if you would not perish▪〈…〉 the Great Wrath of the Devil. Where 'tis said, The whole World lies in Wickedness, 'tis 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 ⟨p. 77⟩
My Text says, The Devil is come down to 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, yon will yourselves Go down, where the Devil is to be, and you will there be sweltering under the Devils Wrath, not for a Short Time, but, World without End; not for a ⟨p. 78⟩Short Time, but for, Infinite Millions of Ages. Th• 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 Roared out, Am I to be Tormented before my Time. You will Torment the Devil, i• you Rescue your Souls out of his hands, by true Repentance if once you begin to look that way, he'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 s• much; Depart from me thou Evil-Doer, that wouldst have me to be an Evil-Doer Like thy self; I will now for ever keep the Commandments of that God, in whom […] Live, and Move, and have my Being! The Devil ha• plaid a fine Game for himself indeed, if by his Troubling of our Land, the souls of many People should come to, Think upon their Ways, […] •urn 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 […] God among us, as well as of him, who has thus Addressed You. Amen.
My Text saies, The Devil is come down to 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, yon 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
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 ha'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
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 ha'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
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, 'tis a Time for all people to do something EXTRAORDINARY In Searching and in Trying •f 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 ••ch 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 〈…〉 publick Preaching, but by personal Visits and Counsels, from House to House. At such a Time as this, ought Churches to Do something EXTRAORDINARY,
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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 Justices 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 exercising 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!
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There have been some some feeble Essays towards Reformation, of late in ⟨p. 65⟩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 Devil•, 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, •here are persons yet Clear from the Great Transgression; but indeed, all the Unreformed among us, nay justly be Cry'd out upon, as having too much of an Hand in letting of the Devils in to our Borders; 'tis 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. 'Tis 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 L••ds Day, there was heard a Great Noise, with 〈…〉 of Chains, up and down the Town, and 〈…〉 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, ⟨p. 66⟩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, where•of your Guilty Consciences may now accuse you, le•• these Devils do yet more direfully fall upon 〈…〉 Reformation is at this Time, our only Preservatio•▪
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IV. When the Devil is come down in Grea• 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 VVitchcraft• 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 Sorceries which, they say, are too frequent in our Land. 〈…〉 it was said in 2 King. 17.9. The Children of 〈…〉 did Secr••ly▪ those things that were not Right a••inst the Lord their God. So tis 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, an• I know not what other Implements, to Lear•⟨p. 67⟩the Things, for which they have a Forbidden, and an Impious Curiositie. 'Tis 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 '〈…〉, 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 •cknowledged by some who have sunk the deepest into this Horrible Pit, that they began, at these Little Witchcrafts; on which 'tis 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 Judicial 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 Judgments, 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 〈…〉 the Innocent Stars have been concern'd in 〈…〉 Events. It is a Disgrace to the English Natio• that the Phamphlets of such Idle, Futil, Trifli•• 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 ⟨p. 68⟩to the Souls of men. It is, (a Science, I dare not call it, but) a Juggle, whereof the Learned Hall, well says, It is presumptuous and unwarrantable, & cry'd ever down by Councils and Fathers, as un•awful, 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? 'Tis 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 Wrath, against them that believe not; and ••at follows then but this, That the Devil comes 〈…〉 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, 'tis because the Saviour has been slighted here, perhaps more than any where. The Blessed Lord Jesus Christ ⟨p. 69⟩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 〈…〉 All; Art thou willing that I should be thy All? •ut, 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;
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 •o Goodness and Vertue, of whom we may say, Lord, ⟨p. 70⟩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 〈…〉 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 ⟨p. 71⟩Friend•, 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 Judges, doe demand no Inconsiderable share in that Pitty. What a Difficult, what an Arduous Task, have those Worthy Personages now upon their Hands?
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brought upon the Stage, those that have hitherto had a just and good stock of Reputation▪ for their just and good Living, among 〈…〉; 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 Judgment 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. The way to come under the Saving Influences of the New Covenant, is, to close with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is ⟨p. 73⟩the All sufficient 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 Jesus: 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 Jerusalem. 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 no•, and perhaps cannot, wait upon God with the Churches of His People! tis as likely as any one thing to ⟨p. 74⟩procure the swarmings of Witch-crafts among 〈…〉 But it becomes us, with a like Ardour, to bring 〈…〉 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;
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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, Effectua• Fervent Prayer of Righteous Men. When the De•vil ⟨p. 75⟩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 •anaged in the Hands of them, that are much upon their Knees, will so, Resist the Devil, that •e will Flee from us. At every other Weapon, 〈…〉 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 〈…〉-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 Iniquity 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 Devil 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 ⟨p. 76⟩Door! 'Tis 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 Obscu•• 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 com• to Confound that Work:
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, •eft by their Fall from the Ethereal Regions. It was a most awful Speech made by the Devil, Possessing 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 cannot hurt her Soul; and it is that I may warn men, to take heed of Sinnin• against God. Indeed (said he) 'tis 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!
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Short Time, but for, Infinite Millions of Ages. Th• smoke of your Torment under that Wrath, will As•cend 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, i• you Re•scue 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 s• 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 〈…〉 Live, and Move, and have my Being! The Devil ha• 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, 〈…〉•urn 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 〈…〉 God among us, as well as of him, who has thus Ad•dressed You. Amen.
