'Wee shall be as a City upon a Hill Essay\r'

' beau i betray almighty in His most holy and refreshful providence hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some moldiness be rich, some poor, some high and exalted in power and dignity, others mean and in subjection. savvy: First, to hold conformity with the rest of His draws, being joyous to show forth the glory of His wisdom in the variety and difference of the creatures and the glory of His power, in order all these differences for the preservation and good of the whole. Reason: Secondly, that He might consume the more than occasion to licence the work of His spirit.\r\nFirst, upon the wicked in moderating and restraining them, so that the rich and mighty should not eat up the poor, nor the poor and despised rise up against their superiors and agitate off their yoke. Secondly, in the regenerate in use His graces in them, as in the great ones, their love, mercy, gentleness, temperance, etc., in the poor and inferior sort, their faith, patience, obed ience, etc. Reason: Thirdly, that every(prenominal) man might shake up need of other, and from therefore they might all be knit more nearly together in the bond of affable affection.\r\nFrom hence it appears plainly that no man is authorise more honorable than another, or more wealthy, etc., give away of any particular and singular respect to himself, tho for the glory of his creator and the common good of the creature, man. so stands the sweat between paragon and us. We are entered into concordat with Him for this work, we have taken out a commission, the gentle hath given us leave to draw our take in articles we have professed to enterprise these actions upon these and these ends, we have hereupon besought Him of prefer and conjure uping.\r\nNow if the Lord shall please to hear us, and hire us in peace to the place we desire, because hath He ratified this covenant and sealed our commission, [and] lead expect a strict performance of the articles contained in it, b ut if we shall neglect the observations of these articles which are the ends we have propounded, and trick with our God, shall fall to embrace this present world and act our carnal intentions take onking great things for ourselves and our posterity, the Lord volition sure break out in fury against us, be revenged of such a perjured people, and make us know the price of the br severally of such a covenant.\r\nNow the only way to avoid this wreck and to provide for our posterity is to follow the counsel of Micah, to do justly, to love mercy, to forefronting humbly with our God. For this end we mustiness be knit together in this work as one man, we must entertain each other in brotherly affection, we must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities for the supply of others’ necessities, we must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience, and liberality, we must delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own, rejoic e together, mourn together, labor and aim together, al slipway having before our look our commission and participation in the work, our community as members of the same automobile trunk So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.\r\nThe Lord will be our God and delight in all our ways, so that we shall see much more of His wisdom, power, goodness, and truth than formerly we have been acquainted with. We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a kelvin of our enemies, when He shall make us a approbation and glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantations, the Lord make it like that of New England.\r\nFor we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present admirer from us, we shall be made a story and aphorism throughout the world, we shall open the mo uths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all professors for God’s sake, we shall discompose the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.\r\nAnd to turn out up this discourse with that exhortation of Moses, that faithful servant of the Lord in His last farewell to Israel, Deut. 30., sexual love there is now set before us life and good, death and evil, in that we are commanded this mean solar day to love the Lord our God, and to love one another, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His ordinance, and His laws, and the articles of our covenant with Him that we whitethorn live and be multiplied, and that the Lord our God my bless us in the land whither we go to receive it.\r\nBut if our hearts shall turn away so that we will not obey, but shall be seduced and fear other Gods, our pleasures, our profits, and serve them, i t is propounded unto us this day we shall surely perish out of the good land whither we pass over this vast sea to possess it. thereof let us choose life, that we, and our seed, may live, and by obeying His voice, and cleaving to Him, for He is our life and our prosperity.\r\nView as multi-pages\r\n'