Mather, Increase. A Faithful Man Described and Rewarded. A Sermon preached at Malden, June 24, 1705, occasioned by the death of that faithful and aged Servant of God, Mr. Michael Wigglesworth. Boston: Republished by John Putnam, 1849. Reprint Edition. [12127]
Removed, no wrapper, 7 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches, 35 pages. Good. Pamphlet.
Michael Wigglesworth was the second pastor of the Church in Malden. The introduction states that little is known about him apart from what is contained in this sermon. He graduated at Harvard College in 1651 and was twenty-four years of age when ordained over the Malden Church in 1655.
"The Funeral Sermon before us, by Dr. Increase Mather, the venerable pastor of the Second Church in Boston, may claim a high place among the numerous discourses of the kind." - p. iv.
The text of the sermon is Revelation 2:10, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
Increase Mather (1639-1723), b. Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay; d. Boston, Massachusetts Bay. He was the son of Richard Mather, the son-in-law of John Cotton, and the father of Cotton Mather. Increase entered Harvard College at age 12 and received a bachelor's degree at age 17. He next went to Dublin, Ireland, and received a Master's degree from Trinity College, where he was chosen a Fellow, but refused the post. He preached in England and at the Restoration of Charles II. he refused to celebrate or drink to the king's health. He returned to Massachusetts and became the pastor of the North Church, Boston.
In 1688 he was sent as a representative to James II. to thank him on behalf of the colonists for the restoration of their religious liberties. Remaining in England, in 1689 he obtained from William and Mary the removal of "the hated governor of Massachusetts," Sir Edmond Andros.
He returned to his native land and was made president of Harvard College.
His reasonings and influence brought an end to the Salem witch trials of 1692; his interviews of Salem prisoners revealed that their confessions had been forced.
Mather remained a staunch Puritan throughout his lifetime, although later in life he accepted the Halfway Covenant promoted by Solomon Stoddard.
