Gods Face Set Against an Incorrigible People, Title page – Errata
GOD's Face ſet againſt AN Incorrigible People.
A SERMON Preach'd at the Publick Lecture in Boſton, Thurſday July 30. 1724.
By Thomas Foxcroft, One of the Paſtors of the Old Church in Boſton.
With a Preface by the Reverend Mr. Cooper.
BOSTON, N. England, Printed by B. Green, for John Eliot, at his Shop at the South End of the Town. 1724.
TO THE READER.
THAT the beſt People may ſoon degenerate, is a Truth abundantly evident from the Cautions, Threatnings, and Hiſtories of the Word of GOD, without appealing to the Experience of all Ages. And that this People have ſadly done ſo, cannot but be own'd by every one who knows any thing of New-England's firſt Ways, and has his Mind at all exercis'd to diſcern things of this Nature. It is alſo as evident that GOD hath been reſtifying againſt our Apoſtacy, & puniſhing us therefore, in a Series of various & very awful Judgments. Our firſt days, as they were our beſt in reſpect of P…y, ſo alſo of Proſperity. Our Fathers indeed met with their Trials in their day; their GOD did prove and chatted them: But ſtill He was remarkably preſent with them; the Hand of his Mercy, and the Arm of his Power, were often made bare, for their Deliverance; and his Salvation was openly ſhewed in …he ſight of the Heath…n. They trusted in him, and were not confounded; they cried to him, & were delivered. He anſwered them by terrible things in Righteouſneſs upon their Enemies. They have told us what GOD did for them in their day, in the time of old; and we ſhould ſpeak of it to our Generation, and to thoſe that ſhall come after us, that our Fathers GOD may be exalted.
BUT as there has been a viſible Alteration in our Carriage to him of later Years, ſo there has been a ſignal Change in the Courſe of his Providence towards us; which may cauſe us to take up this mournful Lamentation, Oh that it were with us as in Years paſt, as in the days … God preſerved us: When the Candle of his Providence ſhined upon our heads, and by his light we walked thro' darkneſs! For tho' there are not wanting many Inſtances of the underſerved Favour of GOD to us, and ſome gracious Anſwers of Prayer (particularly in the late remarkable Succeſſes againſt the Enemy, and in the return of fruitful Seaſons, after a threatning Drought) which it would he a criminal Ingratitude and Stupidity in us not to take a thankfull Notice of; yet it muſt be ſaid. We have not ſuch …o…ed Appearances of GOD with aim for us, as our Fathers had; and the Tokens of his Diſpleaſure are to be read in deep and fiery Characters: It muſt be a ſleepy, or rather dead Eye, that does not ſee them, and a hard heart that is not affected with them.
NOW that which GOD expects of us is, That we be HUMBLED, that we FEAR, and turn our feet to walk in his Law, and is his St…t…tes, which he has ſet before us, and before our Fathers. This is the Call of the preſent day: Highly reaſonable in it ſelf, and of the laſt Conſequence to us: For it is the only likely Way to obtain the Removal of the Judgments, under which we are languiſhing, and the Return of GOD's Favour to us in which our whole Happineſs is bound up. This the Nature of the Duty, the Commands and Promiſes of GOD in his Word, and the Experiences of the People of GOD do abundantly prove.
AND this is what we are call'd to in the following Diſcourſe; wherein the Nature of this Duty is plainly and fully deſcribed, and, as … Motive to it, the fatal Conſequence of our Incorrigibleneſs under Divine Judgments is awfully repreſented. The Lecture Day before that on which it was deliver'd, was turn'd into a day of ſolemn Faſting & Prayer, particularly on account of the War, and the Drought which was then prevailing: And the Author well Judg'd it proper to follow that day with ſuch a Diſcourſe as this. And I deſire heartily to bleſs GOD who led his Servant into ſuch a Subject, and aſſiſted his Preparations on it; gave the Sermon ſuch Acceptance and Influence in the Delivery, and has inclin'd him to publiſh it.
IT comes abroad (at the Deſire of ſome pious and well-diſpos'd Perſons who heard it) juſt as it was preach'd; without tranſcribing or altering much: only he has (as he was deſir'd) inlarg'd the firſt Propoſition under the firſt Doctrine, by adding what he deliver'd ſome time ago from the ſame Text on a Faſt-day; which has ſwell'd the Diſcourſe ſomething beyond the Dimenſions of a ſingle Sermou. And tho' I know it was not the deſign of my dear and worthy Brother, in asking me to preface this his Sermon, that I ſhould give any Encomium of him or his Performance, which, (as he does not need it from any one, ſo) it would not be decent for me to go about; yet I will take the Liberty to ſay, that as the Subject is important, and very ſeaſonable for this People at this day, ſo it is handled in ſuch a manner as evidently ſhews the Breathings of a pious Spirit, and a hearty Concern for the great Intereſt of this People; and, I think, it cannot fail of being highly acceptable to every true Lover of Religion, and ſincere Friend of our Zien. And as to my putting a Preface to it, (which ſome perhaps may think needs an Excuſe) I ſhall only ſay, That this my Brother and I, are not only united in the Bonds of Friendſhip and Intimacy, but in carrying on alternately the laſt Turn in the Thurſday-Lecture: This made me think with him there would be but a Propriety and Harmony in it, if I ſubmitted to the Deſires of Him, and the Publiſhers, to accompany it to the Preſs with my humble and earn…ſt Prayers to the GOD of all Grace, that He would make theſe ſeaſonable and pungent Words, as G…ads, and as Nails fastned by the Maſters of Aſſemb…es, and given by that one Shepherd the Lord Jeſus; that they may ſtimulate all that ſhall read them, to the great and neceſſary work of Humiliation and Reformation, which is ſo loudly called for. For if after all we remain an unhumbled and an unreformed People, what can be expected, but that we ſhould come at laſt with Horrour to ſubſcribe to the Truth and Dreadfulneſs of this awful Threatning, Behold I will ſet my Face againſt you for evi…! But if we humble our ſelves, and Fear, and walk in God's Law, Then may we hope that GOD will cauſe his Face to ſhine upon us, and ſave us: That he will viſit us with his Favour, and make us glad according to the days wherein he has afflicted us, and the Years wherein we have ſeen evil: That we ſhould call, and He would anſwer us: That he would be our Arm every Morning; would ariſe as a ſtrong Man after new wine, plead our Cauſe for us, go forth with our Armys, bring us forth out of Darkneſs into light, ſet our feet upon a Rock, and put a new Song in our Mouth, even Praiſes to our God: That we ſhould poſſeſs this good Land which the Lord gave to our Fathers, and leave it, with the Advantages we enjoy in it, Civil and Religious, as an Inheritance to our Children after us for ever. To this I would put my humble, and fervent A MEN.
William Cooper. BOSTON, Sept. 9th. 1724.
ERRATA.
PAg. 6. line laſt, for In, Read, Under.
P. 8. l. 5., R And humble as Job.
P. 15. l. 26. R. Of the Ninevites.
P. 18. l. 12. dele His.
P. 30. l. 16. R. Sometimes.
P. 43. l. 3. from bott. R. Time.