Re: OT but Important: Usenet Abuse and Impersonation by a sick individual using IP address 4.24.232.158
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but by the conversation I then had with her, it appeared to me, that
what she gave an account of, was a glorious work of God's infinite power
and sovereign grace; and that God had given her a new heart, truly
broken and sanctified. I could not then doubt of it, and have seen much
in my acquaintance with her since to confirm it.
Though the work was glorious, yet I was filled with concern about the
effect it might have upon others. I was ready to conclude (though too
rashly), that some would be hardened by it in carelessness and looseness
of life; and would take occasion from it to open their mouths in
reproaches of religion. But the event was the reverse, to a wonderful
degree. God made it, I suppose, the greatest occasion of awakening to
others, of any thing that ever came to pass in the town. I have had
abundant opportunity to know the effect it had, by my private
conversation with many. The news of it seemed to be almost like a flash
of lightning, upon the hearts of young people, all over the town, and
upon many others. Those persons amongst us, who used to be farthest from
seriousness, and that I most feared would make an ill improvement of it,
seemed to be awakened with it. Many went to talk with her, concerning
what she had met with; and what appeared in her seemed to be to the
satisfaction of all that did so.
Presently upon this, a great and earnest concern about the great things
of religion and the eternal world, became universal in all parts of the
town, and among persons of all degrees, and all ages. The noise amongst
the dry bones waxed louder and louder; all other talk but about
spiritual and eternal things, was soon thrown by; all the conversation,
in all companies and upon all occasions, was upon these things only,
unless so much as was necessary for people carrying on their ordinary
secular business. Other discourse than of
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underwent, she told her, that she lived a heaven upon ea
th for all that. She used sometimes to say to her sister, under her
extreme sufferings, It is good to be so! Her sister once asked her, why
she said so; why, says she, because God would have it so: it is best
that things should be as God would have them: it looks best to me. After
her confinement, as they were leading her from the bed to the door, she
seemed overcome by the sight of things abroad, as showing forth the
glory of the Being who had made them. As she lay on her death-bed, she
would often say these words, God is my friend! And once, looking upon
her sister with a smile, said, O sister, How good it is! How sweet and
comfortable it is to consider, and think of heavenly things! and used
this argument to persuade her sister to be much in such meditations.
She expressed, on her death-bed, an exceeding longing, both for persons
in a natural state, that they might be converted, and for the godly,
that they might see and know more of God. And when those who looked on
themselves as in a Christless state came to see her, she would be
greatly moved with compassionate affection. One in particular, who
seemed to be in great distress about the state of her soul, and had come
to see her from time to time, she desired her sister to persuade not to
come any more, because the sight of her so wrought on her compassions,
that it overcame her nature. The same week that she died, when she was
in distressing circumstances as to her body, some of her neighbors who
came to see her, asked if she was willing to die! She replied, that she
was quite willing either to live or die; she was willing to be in pain;
she was willing to be so always as she was then, if that was the will of
God. She willed what God willed. They asked her whether she was willing
to die that night. She answered, Yes, if it be God's will. And seemed to
speak all with that perfect c
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anything divine approaching to this.
734.... That Jesus Christ would be small in His beginning, and would then
increase. The little stone of Daniel.
If I had in no wise heard of the Messiah, nevertheless, after such wonderful
predictions of the course of the world which I see fulfilled, I see that He
is divine. And, if I knew that these same books foretold a Messiah, I should
be sure that He would come; and seeing that they place His time before the
destruction of the second temple, I should say that He had come.
735. Prophecies.--That the Jews would reject Jesus Christ, and would be
rejected of God, for this reason, that the chosen vine brought forth only
wild grapes. That the chosen people would be fruitless, ungrateful, and
unbelieving, populum non credentem et contradicentem.141 That God would
strike them with blindness, and in full noon they would grope like the
blind; and that a forerunner would go before Him.
736. Transfixerunt.[142] Zech. 12:10.
That a deliverer should come, who would crush the demon's head, and free His
people from their sins, ex omnibus iniquitatibus;[143] that there should be
a New Covenant, which would be eternal; that there should be another
priesthood after the order of Melchisedek, and it should be eternal; that
the Christ should be glorious, mighty, strong, and yet so poor that He would
not be recognised, nor taken for what He is, but rejected and slain; that
His people who denied Him should no longer be His people; that the idolaters
should receive Him, and take refuge in Him; that He should leave Zion to
reign in the centre of idolatry; that nevertheless the Jews should continue
for ever; that He should be of Judah, and when there should be no longer a
king.
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afraid to sin, shall be rejected by the people, and treated as senseless
fools."
Is. xlix: "Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken, ye people, from afar: The
Lord hath called me by my name from the womb of my mother; in the shadow of
His hand hath He hid me, and hath made my words like a sharp sword, and said
unto me, Thou art my servant in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, Lord,
have I laboured in vain? have I spent my strength for nought? yet surely my
judgment is with Thee, O Lord, and my work with Thee. And now, saith the
Lord, that formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob and
Israel again to Him, Thou shalt be glorious in my sight, and I will be thy
strength. It is a light thing that thou shouldst convert the tribes of
Jacob; I have raised thee up for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest
be my salvation unto the ends of the earth. Thus saith the Lord to him whom
man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers,
Princes and kings shall worship thee, because the Lord is faithful that hath
chosen thee.
"Again saith the Lord unto me, I have heard thee in the days of salvation
and of mercy, and I will preserve thee for a covenant of the people, to
cause to inherit the desolate nations, that thou mayest say to the
prisoners: Go forth; to them that are in darkness show yourselves, and
possess these abundant and fertile lands. They shall not hunger nor thirst,
neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; for he that hath mercy upon them
shall lead them, even by the springs of waters shall he guide them, and make
the mountains a way before them. Behold, the peoples shall come from all
parts, from the east and from the west, from the north and from t
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Conversation.--Scepticism helps religion.
392. Against Scepticism.--... It is, then, a strange fact that we cannot
define these things without obscuring them, while we speak of them with all
assurance. We assume that all conceive of them in the same way; but we
assume it quite gratuitously, for we have no proof of it. I see, in truth,
that the same words are applied on the same occasions, and that every time
two men see a body change its place, they both express their view of this
same fact by the same word, both saying that it has moved; and from this
conformity of application we derive a strong conviction of a conformity of
ideas. But this is not absolutely or finally convincing though there is
enough to support a bet on the affirmative, since we know that we often draw
the same conclusions from different premises.
This is enough, at least, to obscure the matter; not that it completely
extinguishes the natural light which assures us of these things. The
academicians would have won. But this dulls it and troubles the dogmatists
to the glory of the
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for their object, labour to no purpose. We know that we do not dream, and,
however impossible it is for us to prove it by reason, this inability
demonstrates only the weakness of our reason, but not, as they affirm, the
uncertainty of all our knowledge. For the knowledge of first principles, as
space, time, motion, number, is as sure as any of those which we get from
reasoning. And reason must trust these intuitions of the heart, and must
base them on every argument. (We have intuitive knowledge of the
tri-dimensional nature of space and of the infinity of number, and reason
then shows that there are no two square numbers one of which is double of
the other. Principles are intuited, propositions are inferred, all with
certainty, though in different ways.) And it is as useless and absurd for
reason to demand from the heart proofs of her first principles, before
admitting them, as it would be for the heart to demand from reason an
intuition of all demonstrated propositions before accepting them.
This inability ought, then, to serve only to humble reason, which would
judge all, but not to impugn our certainty, as if only reason were capable
of instructing us. Would to God, on the contrary, that we had never need of
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by many elsewhere-yet it proved a word spoken in season here; and was
most evidently attended with a very remarkable blessing of heaven to the
souls of the people in this town. They received thence a general
satisfaction, with respect to the main thing in question, which they had
been in trembling doubts and concern about; and their minds were engaged
the more earnestly to seek that they might come to be accepted of God,
and saved in the way of the gospel, which had been made evident to them
to be the true and only way. And then it was, in the latter part of
December, that the Spirit of God began extraordinarily to set in, and
wonderfully to work amongst us; and there were very suddenly, one after
another, five or six persons, who were to all appearances savingly
converted, and some of them wrought upon in a very remarkable manner.
Particularly, I was surprised with relation of a young woman, who had
been one of the greatest company-keepers in the whole town. When she
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forgotten your God to serve strange gods. I called, and ye did not answer; I
spake, and ye did not hear; and ye did choose the thing which I forbade.
"Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall
be hungry; my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed; my servants
shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry and howl for vexation of
spirit.
"And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord shall
slay thee, and call His servants by another name, that he who blesseth
himself in the earth shall bless himself in God, etc., because the former
troubles are forgotten.
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things
shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
"But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I
create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
"And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people; and the voice of
weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
"Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will
hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat
straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain."
Is. 56:3: "Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my
salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
"Blessed is the man that doeth this, that keepeth the Sabbath, and keepeth
his hand from doing any evil.
"Neither let the strangers that have joined themselves to me, say, God will
separate me from His people. For thus saith the Lord: Whoever will keep my
Sabbath, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
even unto them will I give in mine house a place and a name better than that
of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall
not be cut off."
Is. 59:9: "