N00619:20
Things for a distressed people to think upon. Offered in the sermon to the…Things for a distress'd people to think upon. Offered in the sermon to the…
Things for a distressed people to think upon. Offered in the sermon to the General Assembly of the province, of the Massachusetts Bay, at the anniversary election. May, 27. 1696. Wherein, I. the condition of the future, as well as the former times, in which we are concerned, is considered. II. A narrative of the late wonderful deliverance, of the King, and the three kingdoms, & all the English dominions, is endeavoured. III. A relation, of no less than seven miracles, within this little while wrought by the Almighty Lord Jesus Christ, for the confirmation of our hopes, that some glorious works, for the welfare of his church, are quickly to be done, is annexed. / By Cotton Mather.Things for a distress'd people to think upon. Offered in the sermon to the General Assembly of the province, of the Massachusetts Bay, at the anniversary election. May, 27. 1696. Wherein, I. the condition of the future, as well as the former times, in which we are concerned, is considered. II. A narrative of the late wonderful deliverance, of the King, and the three kingdoms, & all the English dominions, is endeavoured. III. A relation, of no less than seven miracles, within this little while wrought by the Almighty Lord Jesus Christ, for the confirmation of our hopes, that some glorious works, for the welfare of his church, are quickly to be done, is annexed. / By Cotton Mather.
printed by B. Green for Duncan Campbel, 1696
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.
When the General Assembly of Israel, poured out Water before the Lord, it is the Opinion of some, that they designed with an Hieroglyphic of much Humiliation, to express their own Calamitous Condition. A State Irretrievably calamitous, is thus described, in 2 Sam. 14.14. We are as water spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Thus the Intention of the General Assembly here, might be, most significantly to say, Lord, see whether we are not a People so utterly Lost▪ and Spoilt, and Gone, that it is as impossible to Retrieve our doleful Circumstances, as to gather up the Water which is poured out upon the Ground. Now, thy Condition, O poor New England, is indeed so very like that of Water poured out, that it pathetically obligeth us all, to pour out the Water of our Tears before the Lord. Weeping, is one of those Exercises, whereto the God of Heaven calls His people, to Humble themselves before Him. And in the Bible we have many Instances of a Practice, according to that Precept, in Joel 2.12. Turn ye to God, with all your Heart, with weeping, and with mourning. Indeed the Tears of the Eye, are to be expected of men, more or less, according to their Natural Constitutions. ⟨p. 8⟩It is desirable, that the Eye, which has been the Grand Broker for Sin, should by its Tears bear its part in discovering the passions of our minds thereupon. But where the Eye, does not Naturally afford so free a Channel to that Brine, which the compression and constriction of the Brain upon Grief produceth, we have still our Sighs, which Austin, well calls, our Interior Tears. And now, O our Tears, where are you!
When the General Assembly of Israel, poured out Water before the Lord, it is the Opinion of some, that they designed with an Hieroglyphick of much Humiliation, to express their own Calamitous Condition. A State Irretrievably calamitous, is thus described, in 2 Sam. 14.14. We are as water spilt upon the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Thus the Intention of the General Assembly here, might be, most significantly to say, Lord, see whether we are not a People so utterly Lost▪ and Spoilt, and Gone, that it is as impossible to Retrieve our doleful Circumstances, as to gather up the Water which is poured out upon the Ground. Now, thy Condition, O poor New England, is indeed so very like that of Water poured out, that it pathetically obligeth us all, to pour out the Water of our Tears before the Lord. Weeping, is one of those Exercises, whereto the God of Heaven calls His people, to Humble themselves before Him. And in the Bible we have many Instances of a Practice, according to that Precept, in