The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England, to which is added A Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England WitchesMather, Cotton
History
The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England, to which is added A Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches
Mather, Cotton
Witchcraft -- New England -- Early works to 1800
IV. Things in themselves _Allowable_ and _Convenient_, are oftentimes
turned into sore _Temptations_ by the Devil. He press'd our Lord unto
the making of _Bread_; Why, that very thing was afterwards done by our
Lord, in the Miracles of the _Loaves_; and yet it is now a motion of the
_Devil_, _Pray, make thy self a Little Bread._ The Devil will frequently
put men by, from the doing of a _seasonable Duty_; but how? Truly by
putting us upon another _Duty_, which may be at that juncture a most
_Unseasonable_ Thing. It is said in _Eccl. 8.5._ _A Wise Mans heart
discerns both Time and Judgment._ The _Ill-Timing_ of good Things, is
One of the chief Intregues, which the Devil has to Prosecute. The Devil
himself, will Egg us on to many a _Duty_; and why so? But because at
that very Time a more proper and Useful Duty, will have a _Supersedeas_
given thereunto. And, thus there are many Things, whereof we can say,
though no more than this, yet so much as this, _They are Lawful ones_,
by which Lawful Things----_Perimus Omnes._ Where shall we find that the
Devil has laid our most fatal Snares? Truly, our Snares are on the
_Bed_, where it is _Lawful_ for us to Sleep; at the _Board_, where it is
_Lawful_ for us to Sit; in the _Cup_, where 'tis _Lawful_ to Drink; and
in the _Shops_, where we have _Lawful_ Business to do. The _Devil_ will
decoy us, unto the utmost Edge of the _Liberty_ that is _Lawful_ for us;
and then one Little push, hurries us into a Transgression against the
Lord. And the _Devil_ by Inviting us to a _Lawful_ thing, at a wrong
time for it, Layes us under further Entanglement of Guilt before God.
'Tis _Lawful_ for People to use Recreations; but in the Evening of the
Lords Day, or the Morning of any Day, how Ensnaring are they! The
_Devil_ then too commonly bears part in the Sport. If _Promiscuous
Dancing_ were Lawful; though almost all the Christian Churches in the
World, have made a Scandal of it; yet for Persons to go presently from a
_Sermon_ to a _Dance_, is to do a thing, which Doubtless the _Devil_
makes good Earnings of.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account