Part 12

There is _little room_ for hope, that the _great wrath_ of the Devil, will not prove the present ruine of our poor _New-England_ in particular. I believe, there never was a poor Plantation, more pursued by the _wrath_ of the _Devil_, than our poor _New-England;_ and that which makes our condition very much the more deplorable is, that the _wrath_ of the _great God_ Himself, at the same time also presses hard upon us. It was a rousing _alarm_ to the Devil, when a great Company of English _Protestants_ and _Puritans_, came to erect Evangelical Churches, in a corner of the World, where he had reign'd without any controul for many Ages; and it is a vexing _Eye-sore_ to the Devil, that our Lord Christ should be known, and own'd and preached in this _howling Wilderness_. Wherefor he has left no _Stone unturned_, that so he might undermine his Plantation, and force us out of our Country.

First, The Indian _Powawes_, used all their Sorceries to molest the first Planters here;[107] but God said unto them, _Touch them not!_ Then, _Seducing Spirits_ came to _root_ in this Vineyard, but God so rated them off, that they have not prevail'd much farther than the Edges of our Land.[108] After this, we have had a continual _blast_ upon some of our principal Grain, annually diminishing a vast part of our _ordinary Food_. Herewithal, wasting _Sicknesses_, especially Burning and Mortal Agues, have Shot the Arrows of Death in at our Windows. Next, we have had many Adversaries of our own Language, who have been perpetually assaying to deprive us of those _English Liberties_, in the encouragement whereof these Territories have been settled.[109] As if this had not been [38] enough; The _Tawnies_ among whom we came, have watered our Soil with the Blood of many Hundreds of our Inhabitants. Desolating _Fires_ also have many times laid the chief Treasure of the whole Province in Ashes. As for _Losses_ by Sea, _they_ have been multiply'd upon us: and particularly in the present _French War_, the whole English Nation have observ'd that no part of the Nation has proportionably had so many Vessels taken, as our poor _New-England_. Besides all which, now at last the Devils are (if I may so speak) _in Person_ come down upon us with such a _Wrath_, as is justly _much_, and will quickly be _more_, the Astonishment of the World. Alas, I may sigh over _this_ Wilderness, as _Moses_ did over _his_, in Psal. 90. 7. 9. _We are consumed by thine Anger, and by thy Wrath we are troubled: All our days are passed away in thy Wrath._ And I may add this unto it, _The Wrath of the Devil too has been troubling and spending of us, all our days_.

But what will become of this poor _New-England_ after all? Shall we sink, expire, perish, before the _short time_ of the Devil shall be finished?[110] I must confess, That when I consider the lamentable _Unfruitfulness_ of men, among us, under as powerful and perspicuous Dispensations of the Gospel, as are in the World; and when I consider the declining state of the _Power of Godliness_ in our Churches, with the most horrible Indisposition that perhaps ever was, to recover out of this declension; I cannot but _Fear_ lest it comes to this, and lest an _Asiatic_ Removal of Candlesticks come upon us. But upon some other Accounts, I would fain _hope_ otherwise; and I will give _you_ therefore the opportunity to try what Inferences may be drawn from these probable Prognostications.

I say, _First_, That surely, _America's_ Fate must at the long run include _New-Englands_ in it. What was the design of our God, in bringing over so many _Europeans_ hither of late Years? Of what use or state will _America_ be, when the _Kingdom of God_ shall come? If it must all be the Devils propriety, while the _saved Nations_ of the other Hæmisphere shall be _Walking in the Light of the New Jerusalem_, Our _New-England_ has then, 'tis likely, done all that it was erected for. But if God have a purpose to make here a seat for any of _those glorious things which are spoken of thee, O thou City of God;_ then even thou, _O New-England_, art within a very little while of better days than ever yet have dawn'd upon thee.

I say, _Secondly_, That tho' there be very _Threatning_ Symptoms on _America_, yet there are some _hopeful_ ones. I confess, when one thinks upon the crying Barbarities with which the most of those _Europeans_ that have Peopled this New world, became the Masters of it; it looks but _Ominously_. When one also thinks how much the way of living in many parts of _America_, is utterly inconsistent with the very Essentials of _Christianity;_ yea, how much Injury and Violence is there[39]in done to _Humanity_ it self; it is enough to damp the Hopes of the most Sanguine Complexion. And the _Frown_ of Heaven which has hitherto been upon Attempts of better Gospellizing the Plantations, considered, will but increase the _Damp_. Nevertheless, on the other side, what shall be said of all the _Promises_, That _our Lord Jesus Christ shall have the uttermost parts of the Earth for his Possession?_ and of all the _Prophecies_, That _All the ends of the Earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord?_ Or does it look _agreeably_, That such a rich quarter of the World, equal in some regards to all the rest, should never be out of the _Devils_ hands, from the first Inhabitation unto the last Dissolution of it? No sure; why may not the _last_ be the _first?_ and the _Sun of Righteousness_ come to shine _brightest_, in Climates which it rose _latest_ upon!

I say, _Thirdly_, That _as_ it fares with _Old England_, so it will be most likely to fare with _New-England_. For which cause, by the way, there may be more of the Divine Favour in the present Circumstances of our dependence on _England_, than we are well aware of. This is very sure, if matters _go ill_ with our _Mother_, her poor American _Daughter_ here, must feel it; nor could our former Happy Settlement have hindred our sympathy in that Unhappiness. But if matters _go Well_ in the Three Kingdoms; as long as God shall bless the English Nation, with Rulers that shall encourage _Piety_, _Honesty_, _Industry_, in their Subjects, and that shall cast a Benign Aspect upon the Interests of our Glorious Gospel, _Abroad_ as well as at _Home;_ so long, _New-England_ will at least keep its head above water: and so much the more, for our comfortable Settlement in such a Form as we are now cast into. Unless there should be any singular, destroying, _Topical Plagues_, whereby an offended God should at last make us _Rise;_ But, _Alas, O Lord, what other Hive hast thou provided for us!_

I say, _Fourthly_, That the _Elder England_ will certainly and speedily be Visited with the _ancient loving kindness_ of God. When one sees, how strangely the Curse of our _Joshua_, has fallen upon the Persons and Houses of them that have attempted the Rebuilding of the _Old_ Romish _Jericho_, which has there been so far demolished, they cannot but say, That the _Reformation_ there, shall not only be maintained, but also pursued, proceeded, perfected; and that God will shortly there have a _New Jerusalem_. Or, Let a Man in his thoughts run over but the series of amazing Providences towards the English Nation for the last _Thirty Years:_ Let him reflect, how many Plots for the ruine of the Nation have been strangely discovered? yea, how very unaccountably those very _Persons_, yea, I may also say, and those very _Methods_ which were intended for the tools of that ruine, have become the instruments or occasions of Deliverances? A man cannot but say upon these Reflec[40]tions, as the Wife of _Manoah_ once prudently expressed her self, _If the Lord were pleased to have Destroyed us, He would not have shew'd us all these things_. Indeed, It is not unlikely, that the Enemies of the English Nation, may yet provoke such a _Shake_ unto it, as may perhaps exceed any that has hitherto been undergone: the Lord prevent the Machinations of his Adversaries! But that _shake_ will usher in the most _glorious Times_ that ever arose upon the English _Horizon_. As for the _French_ Cloud which hangs over _England_, tho' it be like to Rain showers of _Blood_ upon a Nation, where the _Blood_ of the Blessed Jesus has been too much treated as an _Unholy Thing;_ yet I believe God will shortly scatter it: and my belief is grounded upon a bottom that will bear it. If that overgrown _French Leviathan_[111] should accomplish any thing like a Conquest of _England_, what could there be to hinder him from the Universal Empire of the _West?_ But the _Visions_ of the Western World, in the _Views_ both of _Daniel_ and of _John_, do assure us, that whatever Monarch, shall while the _Papacy_ continues go to swallow up the _Ten Kings_ which received _their Power_ upon the Fall of the Western Empire, he must miscarry in the Attempt. The _French Phaetons_ Epitaph seems written in that, _Sure Word of Prophecy_.

[Since the making of this Conjecture, there are arriv'd unto us, the News of a Victory obtain'd by the _English_ over the _French_, which further confirms our Conjecture; and causes us to sing, _Pharaohs Chariots, and his Hosts, has the Lord cast down into the Sea; Thy right-hand has dashed in pieces the Enemy!_][112]

Now, _In the Salvation_ of England, the Plantations cannot but _Rejoyce_, and _New-England_ also will _be Glad_.

But so much for our _Corollaries_, I hasten to the main thing designed for your entertainment. And that is,

FOOTNOTES:

[76] This was printed at the Time (1692) in a Separate Tract.

[77] Whoever has the Inclination to turn over the Pages of the Martyrology may perhaps find who this "Renowned Person" was.

[78] To this elaborate Definition of the Devil and his Attributes it will hardly be necessary to add or diminish. But taking what Tillotson says of God, not quite so much need be said of the Devil. The Archbishop says, in his happy Manner: "We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it." It naturally follows then, that all else comes from the Devil.

The famous Isaac Ambros says, "The first Period wherein Satan first begins to Assault the Elect, it is from their quickening in the Womb."--_War with Devils_, P. 29, 2d Ed. 1738. "So may we say of every Child, as soon as it is quickened in the Womb, that the Great Red Dragon, the Devil, stands ready to devour it."--_Ibid._ Our Author was not alone in remarkable Ideas.

[79] It does not appear how the Devil-in-chief came by his Appointment; whether his Office was by Election, or in what Manner he attained his high Station. It is not very material however.

[80] A very different Decision will be found elsewhere in our Pages.

[81] "The Devil of Mascon" was one of the Productions following the "Glorious Restoration," as Carlyle ironically calls it. Full Title in Bohn's Lowndes, ART. DEVIL.

[82] AMEN will doubtless be the Response of every one; but do not flatter yourself, Reader, that you are thus soon delivered from the Devil.

[83] Perhaps it may not be irrational to conclude that the Abode of the Devil, in those _supernal_ Parts is at least as far from the Earth as the fixed Stars; the nearest of these, our Author informs us, in his _Christian Philosopher_, Page 18, is 2,404,520,928,000 Miles from the Earth. Now, allowing Lucifer to be able to fly with the Velocity of Sound, he could not reach this Planet short of 50,000 Years! Hence he must have set out on his Journey thousands of Years before the World was created. But the Arabians believe that Mahomet performed that Journey several Times in the space of a few Years. That Mahomet should beat the Devil is not extraordinary.

[84] The Author doubtless viewed the Stories in the _Arabian Nights_ as Realities and actual Occurrences.

[85] "Nay, though wee make Profession to seeke GOD alone in our Troubles; yet when it comes to the Pinch, doe wee not runne vnto the Deuill?"--Cooper, _Mystery of Witchcraft_, 18-19.

[86] If Spectacles were invented as far back as 1269, "a little while ago" would hardly have applied to the Fact; but the Author probably had Reference to Z. Jansen, a Maker of Spectacles, living in Middleburgh, in 1590. The Inventor was a Monk of Pisa, named Spina.

[87] A great Plague in London was not then (1692) a very remote Event. That which raged in 1665 carried off 68,000 People, according to the best Estimate which could be made at the Time.

[88] This fabulous Monster was considered a Reality among a large Portion of the human Family. A satisfactory Account of what a Dragon is or is not, may be seen in that useful little Work entitled The _Home Cyclopedia_, compiled by Messrs. George Ripley and Bayard Taylor.

[89] A very considerable Part of the learned John Scheffer's _History of Lapland_ is taken up in Details of Witchcraft, as observed in that Country. He was a Native of Germany, born 1621, resided some Time in Sweden, died 1679. For later Transactions of the same Kind, and in the same Country, the Reader may consult Dr. Horneck's _Account_, before referred to, "Done from the High-Dutch."

[90] This will all be found verified (if the Reader can command sufficient Credulity) in a curious little Work entitled _England's Warning Pieces_, printed in 1642, and fully illustrated by Engravings. Among _Prodigies_ related, the Writer says: "I remember our Brethren in New England, not long since, made use of another most prodigious and mishapen and monstrous Birth, brought foorth by a Gentlewoman of that New Plantation, who had beene a maine Fautrix, if not originall Broacher of very many most wicked, dangerous and damnable Opinions in their Church." Page 27. For further Particulars see Savage's _Winthrop's Journal_, i, 261-3.

[91] This has Reference to the then late Persecution of the Huguenots in France. They had been protected by the Edict of Henry the Fourth (Nantes, 1598), which was revoked in 1685 by Louis XIV; by which Revocation about 50,000 Protestants were forced to fly the Kingdom. Some fled to Germany, Holland, Switzerland, England, and some even took Refuge in New England, where their Posterity are yet well known, respected and honored.

[92] If, according to our Author, there is anything good or bad, that the Devil does not do, and is not the Author of, one might not unreasonably inquire what it is? Certainly in his Charges against the Devil every Accusation imaginable is exhausted, not one left even to father upon a Witch. Erratic Brains thus overdo themselves.

[93] Rome was built on seven Hills. It is to that he alludes.

[94] Ray refers to the Subject of the Earth having been once nearer the Sun than at present. See _Physico-Theological Discourses_, P. 381; also Dr. John Woodward's _Natural History of the Earth_, 245, Edition 1695, 8vo. Other Authors might be referred to.

[95] So far as the Annotator's Reading goes he has not found the Devil charged with making Earthquakes previous to our Author's Time. He certainly was in Advance of all Philosophers, ancient and modern, as respects that Discovery.

[96] Claudius Nero Tiberius died A. D. 37, aged 78.

[97] On the 7th of June, 1692, Jamaica was partly destroyd. Some 1500 People perished. Why Jamaica or its Capitol is compared to the ancient _Tyros_ or _Tyrus_ it is not easy to understand, as it might be difficult to find two Places differing wider in most Respects. See Ray's _Discourses_, 258, where may be seen a particular Account of this Earthquake.

[98] The Annotator is very greatly out in his Reckoning if the Reader does not decide that the Author was of all Men the most "bedeviled" of any ever heard or read of by him. This is the Editor's _Corollary_.

[99] This is related by one Mr. Balsom. See Clarke's _Martyrology_, ii, 179. The Devil had Possession of the Body of the Man, and uttered the Language italicized in the Text, making Use of the Man's Organs of Speech.

[100] It may not be easy for the Reader to discern how the whole Earth and the infinite Realms of Space about it can be much of a _Gaol_, especially with such a liberal Yard. The Doctor's Imagination is singularly at random sometimes.

[101] A noted Puritan of the Time of Cromwell. In such of his Books as have come under my Notice, his Name is uniformly _Burroughs_. His _Rare Jewell_, 410, 1648, was formerly very popular, and there is a handsome Edition of it as late as 1845.

[102] One has indeed a very "_easie Time_ of it" in prophecying, and it is quite as easy to be laughed at for such Folly by those who come after such shallow-pated Soothsayers. The Author felt very sure that by the Year 1697, only five Years from the Time he was writing, that the Devil would have "his Wings so singed that he should no more set the Affairs of this World on Fire." That is to say--the Millenium would then begin!

[103] The Turks had not received their greatest Check until after our Author wrote. Mahomet IV commenced with renewed Vigor the War against Germany in 1663. It was continued with alternate Success and Disaster, until 1683, when John Sobieski, King of Poland, raised the Siege of Vienna; but it was not till 1699 that the Turks were driven out of Transylvania.

[104] The reported Utterance of Queen Mary (Consort of William the Third) at an Interview between her and the Author's Father, at Whitehall, April 9th, 1691. See _Parentator_, p. 130.

[105] This refers to the coming in of the Prince of Orange, and the Overthrow of James the Second's Government.

[106] On the 15th of March, 1691, Louis the XIV captured Nice in Piedmont, defended by the Duke of Savoy. But in the following Year the French lost the Supremacy of the Sea in the terrible Battle off La Hogue. That Supremacy they have never yet obtained.

[107] See _Morton's Memorial_, P. 38, Edition 16º. Edition 1721. Mather's _Relation_, 110, Ed. 4º, 1864. Johnson's _Wonderworking Providence_, 51.

[108] Having Reference, probably, to the Antinomians, as the more liberal Christians were called.

[109] The Difficulties with the Episcopalians.

[110] The absurd Notion that the Devil's _Time was very short_ in 1693, was generally entertained by Christians. This Matter has already been referred to. When the World and its Affairs can go on without antagonistic Forces it is pretty certain the Devil's _Time_ will be about out.

[111] Although the Affairs of the French King had begun to decline when the Author wrote the above, his Opponents were not without great Fear from him, as he achieved several considerable Victories on the Land after the signal Defeat of his Fleet mentioned in a previous Note.

[112] This Paragraph, though bracketed, is in the original Edition, _Page_ 47.

AN HORTATORY AND NECESSARY ADDRESS, TO A COUNTRY NOW EXTRAORDINARILY ALARUM'D BY THE WRATH OF THE DEVIL. _TIS THIS_,

LET us now make a good and a right use of the prodigious _descent_ which the _Devil_ in _Great Wrath_ is at this day making upon our Land. Upon the Death of a Great Man once, an Orator call'd the Town together, crying out, _Concurrite Cives, Dilapsa sunt vestra Mœnia!_ that is, _Come together, Neighbours, your Town-Walls are fallen down!_ But such is the descent of the Devil at this day upon our selves, that I may truly tell you, _The Walls of the whole World are broken down!_ The usual _Walls_ of defence about mankind have such a Gap made in them, that the very _Devils_ are broke in upon us, to seduce the _Souls_, torment the _Bodies_, sully the _Credits_, and consume the _Estates_ of our Neighbours, [41] with Impressions both as _real_ and as _furious_, as if the _Invisible_ World were becoming _Incarnate_, on purpose for the vexing of us. And what use ought now to be made of so tremendous a dispensation? We are engaged in a _Fast_ this day;[113] but shall we try to fetch _Meat out of the Eater_, and make the _Lion_ to afford some _Hony_ for our _Souls?_