N00617:30
The Christian thank-offering. A brief discourse on the returns of gratitude & obedience whereto…
The Christian thank-offering. A brief discourse on the returns of gratitude & obedience whereto men are obliged, by the mercies of God. Made on a solemn thanksgiving, kept in a private meeting of Christians, on the occasion of some deliverances. / By Cotton Mather. ; [Five lines of quotation]
printed by B. Green for Michael Perry, 1696
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.
We are herewithal to Resolve that the Service of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, shall with His Assistances, be our Everlasting Employment. It is not a Cold Assent, but a Full purpose of Heart, with which we are to Cleave unto the Lord. And with a Resolution to undergo […] the Self denial therein called for, we must be able to say, Lord, I have inclined my Heart, […] perform thy Statutes always, even unto the End.
We are herewithal to Resolve that the Service of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, shall with His Assistences, be our Everlasting Employment. It is not a Cold Assent, but a Full purpos• of Heart, with which we are to Cleave unto the Lord. And with a Resolution to undergo 〈…〉 the Self denial therein called for, we must be able to say, Lord, I have inclined my Heart, 〈…〉 perform thy Statutes alwayes, even unto the End.
We are herein to give the full consent of our Souls unto the New Covenant, wherein ou• Bonds to the Service of the Lord JESUS CHRIST are to be Signed by us. In the Covenant of Grace, it is demanded of us, whether we are willing that the Lord JESUS CHRIST ⟨p. 11⟩should Enstate us in the Favour of God, by the virtue of His Obedience and Intercession, and by His Gracious Influences Enable us, as persons United unto Himself, to Glorify God for ever, and by His own Divine Methods, both Instruct •• and Incline us, to come at that Final Blessedness? And whether we are willing to Express our Thankfulness unto Him, for Delivering us from Spiritual and Eternal Miseries, by sincere Endeavours to Serve Him in Holiness and Righteousness all our Days? We are now to give up our selves unto the Lord JESUS CHRIST, by declaring our most Hearty Consent unto this COVENANT, in all the Terms of it. Our Baptismal Vow is thus to be Renewed, by our Professing in the most early years of our Youth and Choice, That we do for ever approve of the Dedication to the Service of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, which was visibly passed upon us in our Infancy.