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
_III._ Inasmuch as the Devil is come down in _Great Wrath_, we had need
Labour, with all the Care and Speed we can to Divert the _Great Wrath_
of Heaven from coming at the same time upon us. The God of Heaven has
with long and loud Admonitions, been calling us to _a Reformation of our
Provoking Evils_, as the only way to avoid that _Wrath_ of His, which
does not only _Threaten_ but _Consume_ us. 'Tis because we have been
Deaf to those _Calls_ that we are now by a provoked God, laid open to
the _Wrath_ of the Devil himself. It is said in _Pr. 16.17._ _When a mans
ways please the Lord, he maketh even his Enemies to be at peace with
him._ The Devil is our grand _Enemy_; and tho' we would not be at peace
_with_ him, yet we would be at peace from him, that is, we would have
him unable to disquiet our _peace_. But inasmuch as the _wrath_ which we
endure from this _Enemy_, will allow us no _peace_, we may be sure, _our
ways have not pleased the Lord._ It is because we have _broken the
hedge_ of Gods _Precepts_, that the hedge of Gods _Providence_ is not so
entire as it uses to be about us; but _Serpents_ are _biting_ of us. O
let us then set our selves to make our _peace_ with our God, whom we
have _displeased_ by our iniquities: and let us not imagine that we can
encounter the _Wrath_ of the Devil, while there is the _Wrath_ of God
Almighty to set that Mastiff upon us. REFORMATION! REFORMATION! has been
the repeated _Cry_ of all the Judgments that have hitherto been upon us;
because we have been as _deaf Adders_ thereunto, the _Adders_ of the
Infernal Pit are now hissing about us. At length, as it was of old said,
_Luke 16.30._ _If one went unto them from the dead, they will repent;_
even so, there are some come unto us from the _Damned_. The great God
has loosed the Bars of the Pit, so that many _damned Spirits_ are come
in among us, to make us _repent_ of our Misdemeanours. The means which
the Lord had formerly employ'd for our _awakening_, were such, that he
might well have said, _What could I have done more?_ and yet after all,
he has done _more_, in some regards, than was ever done for the
awakening of any People in the World. The things now done to awaken our
Enquiries after our _provoking Evils_, and our endeavours to Reform
those Evils, are most _extraordinary_ things; for which cause I would
freely speak it, if we now do not some _extraordinary_ things in
returning to God; we are the most _incurable_, and I wish it be not
quickly said, the most _miserable_ People under the Sun. Believe me,
'tis a time for all people to do something _extraordinary, in searching
and trying of their ways, and in turning to the Lord_. It is at an
_extraordinary_ rate of _Circumspection_ and _Spiritual mindedness_,
that we should all now maintain a _walk with God_. At such a time as
this ought _Magistrates_ to do something _extraordinary_ in promoting of
what is laudable, and in restraining and chastising of _Evil Doers_. At
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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