N00592:39
Durable riches. Two brief discourses, occasioned by the impoverishing blast of heaven, which the…
Durable riches. Two brief discourses, occasioned by the impoverishing blast of heaven, which the undertakings of men, both by sea and land, have met withal. : The one, handling, the true cause of loosing; the other, giving, the true way of thriving. / By Cotton Mather. ; [Four lines of quotations in Latin]
Boston: printed by John Allen for Vavasour Harris, 1695
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
But a man may be so Awakened by his Losses, that he shall thereby come to be more Acquainted with God, more Conformed to Christ, more Established in Grace, more Experienced at his Christian Warfare, and more Prepared for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light, than ever he was before. Now, here are Blessednesses infinitely beyond all that this World can Enrich a man withal. Let us Learn more Godliness, and more Contentment, and we are sure of, Great Gain▪ Mallem bonum conscientiam, quam plenum marsupium, said he of old. It was the Advice of our Lord, in Matt. 6.19, 20. Lay not up for your selves, Treasures upon Earth, where Moth and Rust doth Corrupt, and where Thieves break through and Steal. But Lay up for your selves Treasures in Heaven. Let our Losses by Moth, and Rust, and Thief, make us more sedulous than ever we ⟨p. 28⟩were, in securing of that Heavenly Treasure, which never can be preyed upon. Since we cannot be sure of these things, Let us come to this issue, I'll give all Diligence to make my Calling and Election sure! It will be a sad symptom upon us, if we should Serve our Maker, one jot the less, for any of our Losses: it would help the Devil to a Truth, in that Accusation against us, which he brought with a Lye against Job of old; The man is mercenary in his Obedience; Do but put forth thine Hand, and Touch all that he has; and he will have soon have done serving of thee. No, No; Let us be more prayerful, more watchful, more Abounding in all the works of the Lord, because of our Losses; and so we shall be vast Gainers by the Losses. We shall be Wise Merchants, if by Loosing of all, we have a faster hold on, The Pearl of Great Price. Yea, And who can tell, whether we shall not shelter our selves against all sorts of Losses, by our giving to the Great Things of Eternity, the First and Chief Regards? This I can tell; that the Lord said unto Solomon, in 1 Chron. 1.11. Because thou hast not asked Riches, Wealth, and Honour; but hast asked Wisdom and Knowledge; Wisdom and Knowledge is granted unto thee, ⟨p. 29⟩and I will give thee Riches, and Wealth and Honour too.