N00597:37
Solemn advice to young men, not to walk in the ways of their heart,…Solemn advice to young men, not to walk in the wayes of their heart,…
Solemn advice to young men, not to walk in the ways of their heart, and in the sight of their eyes; but to remember the Day of Judgment. / By Increase Mather, president of Harvard College in Cambridge, & preacher of the Gospel at Boston, in New-England. ; [Five lines of Scripture texts]Solemn advice to young men, not to walk in the wayes of their heart, and in the sight of their eyes; but to remember the Day of Judgment. / By Increase Mather, praesident of Harvard Colledge in Cambridge, & preacher of the Gospel at Boston, in New-England. ; [Five lines of Scripture texts]
printed by Bartholomew Green. Sold by Samuel Phillips, 1695
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.
1. In that they have not improved their Talents committed unto them as they might and ought to have done. There is no man but some Talent or other is committed to him, which he ought to make a good use of. ⟨p. 35⟩He who is the Lord of us all, ha's given to Every man his Work, Mar. 13. 34. One man ha's this Work, and another man ha's that Work, in the doing of which he must improve his Talent. Young men are favoured with several peculiar Talents: Time is a precious Talent: Health, and Strength, and those Vigorous Affections which are commonly in Young men, are great Talents which they must be accountable for. A day of Reckoning will come. It is said in the Parable concerning the Talents, After a Long Time the Lord of those Servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. Math. 25. 19. It is now a long time since our Lord ascended into Heaven, but He will come quickly to Judge the Earth, and then will reckon with His Servants: He will know of them how they have lived, and what they done in the World. A Servant that ha's been set to work, but spends his time in Idleness all the day, will have a miserable account to give unto his Master when night cometh. A Servant that ha's been trusted with Money or Goods to improve for his Masters use, if he shall Embezzle or misspend them can expect nothing but severity. Thus when God shall say to a Young man at the day of Judgment, I gave thee space to repent in, I suffered ⟨p. 36⟩thee to live on the Earth, Twenty years Thirty years; I put many advantages into thy hands, to be working out thy Salvation but instead of attending to my Counsels, thou didst walk in the ways of thy own heart and what account canst thou give for this now? What will thy Judgment! What thy Sentence be then? God in His Word ha's told all unprofitable Servants, what their Doom shall be. Math 25. 30. Cast ye the Unprofitable Servant into utter Darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth. Though a Young man, if he ha's been an unprofitable Servant, he must be cast into utter darkness, and the sad remembrance of lost opportunities never to be recovered again will cause Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth.