N00569:162
Early religion. Urged in a sermon. the duties, wherein, and the reasons wherefore, young…
Early religion. Urged in a sermon. the duties, wherein, and the reasons wherefore, young people should become religious. Whereto are added, the extracts of several papers, written by several persons, who are dying in their youth, left behind them those admonitions for the young survivors; with brief memoirs relating to the exemplary lives of some such, that have gone from hence to their everlasting rest. / By Cotton Mather. ; [Two lines of Scripture text]Early religion. Urged in a sermon. the duties, wherein, and the reasons wherefore, young people should become religious. Whereto are added, the extracts of several papers, written by several persons, who are dying in their youth, left behind them those admonitions for the young survivers; with brief memoirs relating to the exemplary lives of some such, that have gone from hence to their everlasting rest. / By Cotton Mather. ; [Two lines of Scripture text]
Boston: printed by B.H. i.e for Michael Perry, 1694
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.
At last, God by Providences Diminished my Outward Estate, and Refused to Bless the World unto me. And in February, 1690. I was visited by Lameness, and forced thereby to break up House keeping; whence all I had, came to Decay. Now! saw I had done wickedly; for which the Lord had (I feared) turned His Face against me, even for that I had not kept close to Him; as, The Face of the Lord is against them that do Evil. But yet notwithstanding, it was almost a Twelve month, before I had the Sense which I ought to have, of my Afflictions, and the Causes of them. And now, God has helped me to Consider, what should be the Sins, for which He did now Afflict me. I feared, Gods withdrawing of Himself, was not Probational, as it was to Job: but Penal, for my Spiritual Sloth, as with the Spouse, ⟨p. 92⟩who in Cant. 5.2. was called to Open unto her Love, which she denied; and then she sought Him, but He was Gone; and when she called Him, He would not answer. This I feared to be my Misery; because I had neglected to hearken to the Motions of the Holy Spirit, contrary to Gods Command, in 1 Thes. 5.19. Quench not the Spirit. I have also Committed some Sins, for which the Spirit checked me; and I have hearkened unto Satanical Delusions, rather than the Spirits Motions. Thus I hearkened unto my Enemy, and Left my Friend; and so Grieved the Spirit, contrary to that Command, in Eph. 4.30. and this I did with Reiterated Acts, until I did like them, in Isa. 63.14. They Rebelled and Vexed the Spirit. All these things I knew, were contrary to what I had been instructed in: Therefore sometimes I was startled with that place, in Heb. 10.26. If they Sin wilfully, after they have Received the Knowledge of the Truth, there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin. But I Read that in Mr. Loves Works that satisfied me,; I was not fallen into the Unpardonable Sin. I hoped, I could say with Paul, That I hated what I did. But yet my Comforts Ebbing and Flowing, these places came to my sight,