N00772:35
A pillar of gratitude. Or, A brief recapitulation, of the matchless favours, with which…
A pillar of gratitude. Or, A brief recapitulation, of the matchless favours, with which the God of heaven, hath obliged the hearty praises, of his New-England Israel. A sermon delivered in the audience of His Excellency, the Earl of Bellomont, captain general, and governor in chief, and of the Council & Representatives, of the General Assembly of the province of the Massachusetts Bay, convened at Boston, in New England. On May 29 1700 the day, for the election of counsellors, in the province. / By Cotton Mather. ; Whereto there is appendixed, an extract of some accounts, concerning the wonderful success of the glorious Gospel, in the East-Indies. ; [One line of Latin quotation]A pillar of gratitude. Or, A brief recapitulation, of the matchless favours, with which the God of heaven, hath obliged the hearty praises, of his New-England Israel. A sermon delivered in the audience of His Excellency, the Earl of Bellomont, captain general, and governour in chief, and of the Council & Representatives, of the General Assembly of the province of the Massachusetts Bay, convened at Boston, in New England. On May 29 1700 the day, for the election of counsellors, in the province. / By Cotton Mather. ; Whereto there is appendixed, an extract of some accounts, concerning the wonderful success of the glorious Gospel, in the East-Indies. ; [One line of Latin quotation]
Boston: printed by B Green, 1700
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 is it not a Matchless Favour of our God unto us, that for the Propagation of Religion and Civility among us, there has been a COLLEGE Erected in these Ends of the Earth? Truly, God hath not so dealt with any Out-goings of our Nation! Had it not been for such Ministers as have Shone in most of our Towns, the Wild Beasts of the Desert, in a little while would have Lien there, the Houses would mostly have been full of doleful Creatures, and Owls would have dwelt there. A Learned and a Godly Ministry, hath been the Matchless Favour of God unto New-England: Men of whom that Account ⟨p. 27⟩might be given, which the Great Cranmer, in his Memoirs gave of one, for whom he des•gn'd prese•ment, Nihil appetit, nihil ardet, […] ••mniat, •is• Je•um […]; Men, of whom it might be said, as it was of a certain Scotch Divine, That he di• Eat and Drink, and Sleep the Kingdom of Heaven: Men that have been Timothies in their Houses, Chrysostoms in their Pulpits, and Augustines in their Disputations. Impostors have but seldom got in, and set up among us; and when they have done so, they have made but a Short Blaze, and Gone out in a Snuff; and some Hand or other, hath done such a Service for the Lord Jesus Christ, as to Scourge the Thieves out of the Temple But Ministers that have been Pastors after the Heart of God, these have still Flourished like a Green Olive tree in the House of God, and have been the means for their people to […] with them. If any undervalue this Matchless Favour of God, I will mind them of a Speech used by the Lord Burleigh, when he heard some undervaluing the Ministers of the Gospel; Well, God Bless them, by whom God Blesseth us ▪ This could not easily have been, if it had ⟨p. 28⟩not been for the Seminary of Good Letters and of Good Manners; for which our God may say unto us, as unto His Israel, I Raised up of your Sons for Prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites: Is it not even thus, O ye Children of New England? The Reverend Chauncey, once Prae•dent of our College, published a Sermon on those words of the Prophet, wherein he has a line or two, not improper now to be Repeated. Says he, This Great Blessing is not regarded by Covetous Earthworms, and many make wicked Returns for the Blessing, and seek to pull down Schools of Learning. How hateful unto the Lord is this Unthankfulness? Do ye thus requite the Lord, ye foolish people and unwise?