N02155:38
A call to the tempted. A sermon on the horrid crime of self-murder, preached…
A call to the tempted. A sermon on the horrid crime of self-murder, preached on a remarkable occasion, / by the memorable Dr. Increase Mather. ; And now published from his notes, for a charitable stop to suicides. ; [Five lines of quotation in Latin]
Boston: printed by B. Green, 1723
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.
THERE is another poor Creature thus Tempted of the Devil. I am a Reprobate, and I am sure I shall ⟨p. 11⟩not be saved; and therefore, if I destroy my self, I shall have less punishment in Hell, than if I lived longer in the World. I Answer; Thou canst not know thy Reprobation. It is not GOD, but Satan, who tells thee, That thou art a Reprobate. Thou art not sure, that thou shalt not be Sav'd. The Lord says no such thing unto thee; but says, Isa. XLV.22. Look unto me, All the ends of the Earth, and be ye Saved. Be it how it will with thee, Do thy self no Harm: Thou mayst, for ought any one can say, yet be Saved for ever. Nor is this true, that thy Damnation will be the less, if thou Destroy thy self. For Damnation and Punishment in Hell will be the greater, and the deeper, according to the Aggravations of the Sins which have brought the Sinner thither. Now Self-Murder is a Sin so heinous and Aggravated, that if thou Die Impenitently under the guilt of it, thy Damnation will doubtless be the greater for it.
THERE is another poor Creature thus Tempted of the Devil. I am a Reprobate, and I am sure I shall ⟨p. 11⟩not be saved; and therefore, if I destroy my self, I shall have less punishment in Hell, than if I lived longer in the World. I Answer; Thou canst not know thy Reprobation. It is not GOD, but Satan, who tells thee, That thou art a Reprobate. Thou art not sure, that thou shalt not be Sav'd. The Lord says no such thing unto thee; but says, Isa. XLV.22. Look unto me, All the ends of the Earth, and be ye Saved. Be it how it will with thee, Do thy self no Harm: Thou mayst, for ought any one can say, yet be Saved for ever. Nor is this true, that thy Damnation will be the less, if thou Destroy thy self. For Damnation and Punishment in Hell will be the greater, and the deeper, according to the Aggravations of the Sins which have brought the Sinner thither. Now Self-Murder is a Sin so heinous and Aggravated, that if thou Dy Impaenitently under the guilt of it, thy Damnation will doubtless be the greater for it.