N01732:30
Five sermons on several subjects. I. A birth-day sermon, preached on the day when…
Five sermons on several subjects. I. A birth-day sermon, preached on the day when the author attained to the eightieth year of his age. II. A dying testimony to the sovereign grace of God in the salvation of his elect, containing three sermons. III. Believers encouraged to pray from the consideration of Christs interceding for them, and with them. / By Increase Mather, D.D ; [Six lines of quotations]
Boston: printed by B. Green for Daniel Henchman, 1719
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.
(1) Men are Naturally indisposed unto that which is good. Jer.4. 22. To do good they have no knowledge. Tit. 1. 16. They are unto every good work reprobate. A work that is Spiritually good, the Natural Man has neither skill nor will for the performance of it. • Cor.2. 14. T•e natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, neither can be know them. He is not only unable, but averse to that which is Spiritually good. Therefore, when any good Motion is proposed to Sinners, presently they make excuses; it is natural for them to make excuse, Luke 14.18. When the offers of the Gospel was set before them, it is said, They all with one consent began to make excuse. And the better the Motion is, the more averse are Men naturally to close with it. What can be better than to come to Jesus Christ: Yet Christ complains, Joh.5.40. Ye will not come to me that ye might have life. Hence, Men are presently weary when engaged in a thing that is good: They say, as in, Mal.1.13. What a weariness is it? Thus the Jews concerning the Sabbath Day, Amos 8.5. They said, When will the Sabbath be gone. ⟨p. 8⟩Do we not see Men are weary of Sabbaths, and hardly allow to GOD the ful• of the time they ought to do, the Seventh part of time. Are not Men weary of Sermons? How many come & sleep at Sermons. Men by Nature do not love that which is holy; they don't love holy things, nor holy Men, they don't love the Holy GOD, by nature. Rom. 1. 30. They are haters of God: They are [Greek or Hebrew] there is in their hearts a Stygian, a hellish hatred of the blessed GOD; and they are haters of JESUS CHRIST the Holy One of GOD. Christ therefore says, Their Soul abhorred me,