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 — John Shaqi
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
How welcome should a _Death in the Lord_ be unto them that belong not
unto the Devil, but unto the Lord! While we are sojourning in this
World, we are in what may upon too many accounts be called _The Devils
Country_: We are where the Devil may come upon us in _great wrath_
continually. The day when God shall take us out of this World, will be,
_The day when the Lord will deliver us from the hand of all our Enemies,
and from the hand of Satan_. In such a day, why should not our song be
that of the Psalmist, _Blessed be my Rock, and let the God of my
Salvation be exalted!_ While we are here, we are in _the valley of the
shadow of death_; and what is it that makes it so? 'Tis because the
_wild Beasts of Hell_ are lurking on every side of us, and every minute
ready to salley forth upon us. But our _Death_ will fetch us out of that
_Valley_, and carry us where we shall be _for ever with the Lord_. We
are now under the daily _Buffetings_ of the Devil, and he does molest us
with such _Fiery Darts_, as cause us even to cry out, _I am weary of my
Life._ Yea, but are we as _willing to die_, as, _weary of Life_? Our
Death will then soon set us where we cannot be reach'd by the _Fist of
Wickedness_; and where the _Perfect cannot be shotten at_. It is said in
_Rev. 14.13._ _Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord, they rest
from their labours._ But we may say, _Blessed are the Dead in the Lord,
inasmuch as they rest from the Devils!_ Our _dying_ will be but our
_taking wing_: When attended with a Convoy of winged Angels, we shall be
convey'd into that Heaven, from whence the Devil having been thrown he
shall never more come thither after us. What if God should now say to
us, as to _Moses_, _Go up and die!_ As long as we _go up_, when we
_die_, let us receive the Message with a joyful Soul; we shall soon be
there, where the Devil can't _come down_ upon us. If the _God of our
Life_ should now send that Order to us, which he gave to _Hezekiah_,
_Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live;_ we need not
be cast into such deadly Agonies thereupon, as _Hezekiah_ was: We are
but going to that _House_, the Golden Doors whereof, cannot be entred by
the Devil that here did use to persecute us. Methinks I see the Departed
_Spirit_ of a Believer, triumphantly carried thro' the Devils
_Territories_, in such a stately and Fiery Chariot, as the
_Spiritualizing Body of Elias_ had; methink I see the Devil, with whole
Flocks of _Harpies_, grinning at this Child of God, but unable to fasten
any of their griping Talons upon him: And then, upon the utmost edge of
our _Atmosphaere_, methinks I overhear the holy Soul, with a most
heavenly Gallantry, deriding the defeated Fiend, and saying, _Ah! Satan!
Return to thy Dungeons again; I am going where thou canst not come for
ever!_ O 'tis a brave thing so to die! and especially so to die, _in our
time_. For, tho' when we call to mind, _That the Devils time is now but
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account