the Sabbath take no long Journeys on it from doing thy pleasure on my Holy Day Honour him not doing thine own wayes nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words Indeed the Weekly Sabbath lays a claim to all the things here spoken of nevertheless I suspect that a Fasting Sabbath is here more peculiarly intended A Fast is no less than twice in one verse Lev. 23.32 called a Sabbath and why may not that be the Sabbath more especially meant throughout the whole fifty eighth Chapter of Isaiah An Expression twice used in the verse newly quoted namely Doiâ—â—â— thy pleasure and Finding thy own pleasure on the Sabbath occurs in the third verse In the Day of your Fast you find pleasure which finding of pleasure is opposed unto the Affliction both of Spirit and of Body wherein we are to Judge our selves on such a Solemnity Because we do not Fast with a due conformity to the Edicts of Heaven therefore as of old Pompey Siezed the Jewish Temple on their Fast-Day and Sosius on their Fast-Day took the City so we in this Land have on oâ— near our Fast-Dayes often felt such Rebukes of Heaven that it has become the just Astonishment of many that have wisely observed it and it should be the Humiliation of us all But now conform to this Expectation of Heaven on your Fast Then shalt thou Delight thy self in the Lord for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it III. That our Humiliation may bâ— Quickeneâ— Let us Humbly Awfully and Mournâ—â—ily Consider the most Humbling Circumstances which the Mighty Hand of God hath brought us into Iâ— was the Counsel in 1 Pet. 5.6 Humble your selves under the Mighty Hand of God Wicked and Hurtful men have been called The Hand of God see Psal 17.14 It may be Nero a Mighty man Raised by God for the Vexation of mankind may be more particularly designed in that passage The Mighty Hand of God And by a French Nero have we also been so vexed that we have cause to Humble our selves under what we have Endured from that Mighty Hand But indeed there is the Mighty Hand of God in all Afflictive Dispensations of His Providence and now O Let us Humble our selves by Considering how much the Dispensations of His Mighty Hand have Humbled us The Circumstances of Affliction are Humbling Circumstances It was said of the Afflicted in Psal 107.39 They are brought Low through Affliction It was said by the Afflicted in Psal 39 8. We are brought very Lâ—w. An Afflicted people may say as the Afflicted Paul said My God Humbles me Afflictions keep under our Aspiring Spiâ—its and make us feel and own our own wretchedness But Oh! what Afflictions has this poor people been Humbled withal It was a Prophecy concerning The Daughter of Zion in Isa 3.26 She being Desolate shall sit upon the Ground When Zion was Desolate by the Roman Conquest unto which this Prophecy might Extend there were Coins made in Commemoration of that Conquest and on those Coins there was a Remarkable Exposition of this Prophecy On the Reverse of those Medals which are to be seen unto this Day there is A Silent Woman sitting upon the Ground and leaning against a Palm-tree with this Inscription IUDAEA CAPTA Nor was any Conquered City or Countrey before this of Judaea ever thus drawn upon Medals as A Woman sitting upon the Ground Alas If poor New-England were to be shown upon her old Coin we might show her Leaning against her Thunder-struck Pine tree Desolate sitting upon the Ground Ah! New England Upon how many Accounts mayst thou say with her in Ruth 1 13. The Hand of the Lord is gone out against me An Excellent Minister who dyed among us a Young Man Considerably more than Twenty years ago It was Mr. John Eliot the younger when he lay on his Death-bed and was Drawing his Presagious Breath had these Memorable Expressions My Lord Jesus Christ hath been a Great while preparing a Mansion which is now ready for me He will quickly take me as He did John by the Right Hand and present me unto the Father who has Loved me with an Everlasting Love As for New England I believe that God will not Unchurch it but He will make a Poor and Afflicted People in it Boston and the Massachuset Colony is Coming Down Coming Down Coming Down a pace Expect sad and sore Afflictions but Oh! Get an Interest in the Lord Jesus Christ and you may Live on That all the World over So spoke an Eminent Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ when he was just Entring into the Joy of His Lord. Now this Praediction we have seen very terribly Accomplished It has been Strangely and Sadly Accomplished ever since the Time that it was uttered And in almost all our Concerns our Story hath been that in Judg. 2.15 Whithersoever they went out the Hand of the Lord was against them for evil as the Lord had said and they were greatly Distressed We have been Humbled with an Annual Blast upon our Daily Bread until at last the very Staff of the Countrey ha's been broken for Two years together and an horrible Cry for Bread Bread hath been heard in our Streets We have been Humbled with such Losses by Sea Land that Strangers afar off take notice of it Concluding Surely Almighty God is in ill Terms with that Country We have been Humbled by the Angels of Death shooting the Arrows of Death with direful Repetitions of Mortality in the midst of us We have been Humbled by a Barbarous Adversary once and again let loose to Wolve it upon us and an unequal Contest with such as are not a People but a Foolish Natiâ—n We have been Humbled by all Adversity vexing us in our Going out our Coming in and in the Constant Miscarriages of our most Likely Expeditions We have been Humbled by the Wrath of the Lord of Hosts Darkning our Land when Evil Angels broke in among us to do those Amazing Things of which no Former Ages give a parallel We have been Humbled by the Ireful and the Direful Rebukes of Heaven upon all our Precious and Pleasant Things But above all by Spiritual Plagues whereto we are abandoned The Plagues of a Blind Mind and an Hard Heart and an Astonishing Unfruitfulness under all the Means of Grace and a Stupid Insensibility of the Causes for which the Manners in which the Almighty God is Contending with us have Siezed upon us Some of our Seers have a mist before their Eyes Some of our Churches fall asleep till they are stript of their Garments under the Sharpest Chastisements of Heaven we grow worse and worse with such a Swift Apostasy that if we Degenerate the Next Ten Years as the most Impartial observers do say that we have done the Last God be Merciful unto us What a Swift Destruction are we likely to be overwhelmed withal Now there is a Loud Voice in all these things the Voice of them is Be Humbled O
able to bring my Fingers together to hold them fast yet under all these Hardships the Lord kept me from any Sickness or such Weakness as to disenable me from Travelling when they put us upon it My Indian Mistress was one that had been bred by the English at Black point and now Married to a Canada Indian turned Papist and she would say That had the English been as careful to instruct her in our Religion as the French were to instruct her in theirs she might have been of our Religion and she would say That God delivered us into their Hands to punish us for our Sins And This I knew was true as to my self And as I desired to consider of all my Sins for which the Lord did punish me so this Lay very heavy upon my Spirit many a Time that I had Left the Publick Worship and Ordinances of God where I formerly Lived viz. at Beverley to Remove to the North part of Casco-Bay where there was no Church or Minister of the Gospel and this we did for large Accommodations in the World thereby Exposing our Children to be bred Ignorantly like Indians and our selves to forget what we had been formerly instructed in and so we turned our Backs upon Gods Ordinances to get this Worlds Goods But now God hath stripped me of these things also so that I must Justify the Lord in all that has befallen me and acknowledge that He hath punished me less than my Iniquities deserved I was now Bereaved of Husband Children Friends Neighbours House Estate Bread Cloaths or Lodging suitable and my very Life did hang daily in Doubt being continually in danger of being killed by the Indians or pined to Death with Famine or tired to Death with hard Travelling or pinched with Cold till I dyed in the Winter season I was so amazed with many Troubles and hurried in my Spirit from one Exercise 〈◊〉 â—â—other how to preserve my self in daâ—â—â—â— and supply my sâ—lt in the want that was present that I had not time or leisure so composedly to consider of the great Concernments of my Soul as I should have done neither had I any Bible or Good Book to look into or Christian Friend to be my Counsellor in these Distresses But I may say The Words of God which I had formerly heard or read many of them came oft into my mind and kept me from perishing in my Afflictions As when they threatned to Kill me many times I often thought of the words of our Saviour to Pilate Joh. 19.11 Thou couldest have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above I knew they had no power to kill me but what the Lord gave them and I had many times Hope that the Lord would not suffer them to slay me but deliver me out of their Hands and in His Time I hoped return me to my Country again When they told me that my Eldest Son was killed by the Indians I thought of that in Jer. 33.8 I will cleanse them from all their Iniquities whereby they have sinned against me and I will pardon all their Iniquities I hoped though the Enemy had barbarously killed his Body yet that the Lord had Pardoned his Sins and that his Soul was safe When I thought upon my many Troubles I thought of Jobs complaint chap. 14 16 17. Thou numbrest my steps and watchest over my Sin my Transgression is sealed up in a Bag and thou sowest up my Iniquity This was for my Humiliation and put me upon Prayer to God for His Pardoning Mercy in Christ and I thought upon Davids complaint Psalm 13.1 2 and used it in my Prayers to the Lord How Long wilt thou forget me O Lord for ever How long wilt thou hide thy face from me How long shall I take counsel in my Soul having sorrow in my Heart How long shall my Enemy be Exalted over me I sometimes bemoaned my self as Job chap. 19.9 10. He hath stripped me of my Glory and taken my Crown from my Head He hath destroyed me on every side and I am gone and my Hope hath he removed like a Tree Yet sometimes Encouraged from Job 22.27 Thou shalt make thy Prayer to him and He shall hear thee and thou shalt pay thy Vows I made my Vows to the Lord that I would give up my self to Him if He would accept me in Jesus Christ and pardon my Sins and I desired and endeavoured to Pay my Vows unto the Lord. I Pray'd to Him Remember not against me the Sins of my Youth and I besought Him Judge me O God and plead my cause against an Ungodly Nation deliver me from the Deceitful and Unjust man Why go I mourning because of the Oppression of the Enemy And by many other Scriptures that were brought to my Remembrance was I instructed directed and comforted I Travelled over steep and hideous Mountains one while and another while over Swamps and Thickets of Fallen Trees lying one two three foot from the ground which I have stepped on from one to another nigh a thousand in a day carrying a great Burden on my Back Yet I dreaded going to Canada to the French for fear lest I should be overcome by them to yield to their Religion which I had Vowed unto God That I would not do But the Extremity of my Sufferings were such that at length I was willing to go to preserve my Life And after many weary Journeys through Frost and Snow we came to Canada about the middle of February 1690. and Travelling over the River my Master pitch'd his Wigwam in sight of some French Houses Westward of us and then sent me to those Houses to beg Victuals for them which I did and found the French very kind to me giving me Beef and Pork and Bread which I had been without near nine months before so that now I found a great Change as to Diet. But the Snow being knee deep and my Legs and Hams very sore I found it very tedious to Travel and my sores bled so that as I Travelled I might be Tracked by my Blood that I left behind me on the Snow I asked leave to stay all Night with the French when I went to beg again which my Master consented unto and sent me Eastward to Houses which were toward Quebeck though then I knew it not So having beggeâ— Provisions aâ— a French House and it being maâ— night after I was Reâ—reshâ—d my sâ—l and had Food to caâ—ry to the Inâ—iâ—â—s I sign sied as well as I could make the French Woman understand That I dâ—sirâ—d to stay by her Fire that Night Whereupon she laid a good Bed on the Floor and good Coverings for me and there I Lodged comfortably and the next Morninâ— when I had breakfasted with the Family and the men kind were gone abroad as I was about to go to my Indian Master the French Woman stept out and left me alone in her House and I then staid her Return to give her thanks
Express it Then came to mind the History of the Transfiguring of Christ and Peters saying Math. 17.4 Lord It is Good for us to be here I thought it was Good for me to be here and I was so full of Comfort and Joy I even Wished I could be so alwayes and never sleep or else Dy in that Rapture of Joy and never Live to Sin any more against the Lord. Now I thought God was my God and my Sins were pardoned in Christ and now I thought I could Suffer for Christ yea Dye for Christ or do any thing for Him My Sins had been a Burden to me I desired to see all my Sins and to Repent of them all with all my Heart and of that Sin which had been especially a Burden to me namely That I Left the Publick Worship and Ordinances of God to go to Live in a Remote Place without the Publick Ministry depriving our selves our Children of so great a Benefit for our Souls and all this for Worldly advantages I found an Heart to Repent of them all and to lay hold of the Blood of Christ to cleanse me from them all I found much Comfort while I was among the French by the Opportunities I had sometimes to Read the Scriptures and other Good Books and Pray to the Lord in Secret and the Conference that some of us Captives had together about things of God and Prayer together sometimes especially with one that was in the same House with me Margaret Stilson Then was the Word of God precious to us and they that feared the LORD spake one to another of it as we had Opportunity And Coloned Tyng and Mr. Alden as they were permitted did speak to us to Confâ—â—m and Strengthen us in the wayes of the Lord. At length the French debatr'd our coming together for Religious Conference or other Duties And Word was sent us by Mr. Alden That this was one kind of Persecution that we must suffer for Christ These are some of the Scriptures which have been my Support and Comfort in the Affliction of my Captivity among the Papists That in Ezek. 16.6 8. I applyed unto my self and I desired to Enter into Covenant with God and to be His And I Prayed to the Lord and Hoped the Lord would Return me to my Country again That I might Enter into Covenant with Him among His People and Enjoy Communion with Him in His Churches and Publick Ordinances Which Prayers the Lord hath now heard and graciously Answered Praised be His Name The Lord Enable me to Live suitably unto His Mercy and to those Publick and Precious Priviledges which I now Enjoy So That in Ezek 11.16 17. was a Great Comfort unto me in my Captivity Although I have cast them far off among the Heathen yet will I be a little Sanctuary to them I will gather you from the People where you have been Scattered I found that God was a Little Sanctuary to me there and hoped that the Lord would bring me to the Country from whence I had been Scattered And the Lord hath heard the Prayer of the Destitute and not despised my Prayer but granted me the Desire of my Soul in bringing me to His House and my Relations again I often thought on the History of the man Born Blind of whom Christ when His Disciples asked Whether this man had Sinned or his Parents answered Neither this man nor his Parents but this was that the works of God might be made manifest in him So tho' I had deserved all this yet I knew not but one Reason of Gods bringing all these Afflictions and Miseries upon me and then Enabling me to bear them was That the Works of God might be made manifest And in my Great Distress I was Revived by that in Psal 118.17 18. I shall not Dy but Live and Declare the works of the Lord The Lord hath chasten'd 〈◊〉 sore but He hath not given me over to Death I had very often a secret perswasion That I should Live to Declare the Works of the Lord. And 2 Chron. 6.36 37 38 39. was a precious Scripture to me in the Day of Evil. We have Read over and Pray'd over this Scripture together and Talk'd together of this Scripture Margaret and I How the Lord hath Promised Though they were Scattered for their Sins yet there should be a Return if they did Bethink themselves and Turn and Pray So we did Bethink our selves in the Land where we were Garried Captive did Turn did Pray and Endeavour to Return to God with all our Hearts And as they were to Pray towards the Temple I took it that I should Pray towards Christ and accordingly did so and hoped the Lord would Hear and He hath Heard from Heaven His Dwelling Place my Prayer and Supplication and mentained my Cause and not Rejected me but Returned me And Oh! how affectionate was my Reading of the Eighty Fourth Psalm in this Condition The means of my Deliverance were by reason of Letters that had passâ—d between the Governments of New-England and of Canada Mr. Cary was sent with a Vessel to fetch Captives from Quebeck and when he came I among others with my youngest Son had our Liberty to come away And by Gods Blessing upon us we Arrived in Safety at Boston in November 1695. our Desired Haven And I desire to Praise the Lord for His Goodness and for His Wonderful Works to me Yet still I have left behind Two Children a Daughter of Twenty Years old at Mont Royal whom I had not seen in Two years before I came away and a Son of Nineteen years old whom I never saw since we parted the next morning after we were taken I earnestly Request the Prayers of my Christian Friends that the Lord will deliver them What shall I render to the Lord for all His Benefits FINIS