CUSHING Family of Massachusetts.  A sammelband of five sermons, apparently assembled by or for Mrs. George Cushing (aka Elizabeth Cushing), three printed by Cushings. Boston or Salem: 1781-1799. 5 works in one volume (7 ¾ x 4 ½ inches). (Browned and stained). Contemporary sheep-backed decorated paper-covered boards (worn but still quite solid, see images). Provenance: Elizabeth Cushing (inscriptions, gifted to); Abby F. Winslow (inscription).

The first of the five sermons is probably the most celebrated: "On his eighty-fifth birthday [Ebenezer] Gay preached a sermon titled An Old Man's Calendar. In it he provided a classic description of aging within a spiritual, and fundamentally Puritan, framework: "As a ship which hath been long at sea, toss'd and weather beaten, which is shattered in its timber, and hath lost much-of its rigging, should do nothing in the case but work toward the port, there to find its safety and ease; so should a man, who having passed many storms and agitations of this world, is grievously battered and torn with age, strive only to die well, and to get safe into the harbors of eternal rest." A man should not go to his death bragging of his accomplishments, considering himself righteous in the eyes of God. Instead, Gay said, "Good men die repenting." And yet if a person has avoided an obsession with "worldly things," then "while our outward man is perishing, our inward man [may] be renewed day by day .... To die willingly, and go away rejoicing in hope of eternal life, is the crowning virtue of a good life." In its simplicity the sermon attracted much attention; it was published and republished in England and Europe as well as America." (see http://www.americanrealities.com/gay-ebenezer.html).

The contents are as follows:

1. Ebenezer GAY (1696-1787). The Old Man's Calendar. A Discourse on Joshua XIV. 10. Delivered in the First Parish of Hingham, on the Lord's-Day, August 26, 1781, the Birth-Day of the author. Boston: printed by John Boyle, 1781. Pp. [1-]24. Uncut lower margins. Signature to title ‘Elizabeth Cushing’. Evans 17170; ESTC W21393.
2. Daniel SHUTE (1722-1802). A Sermon, delivered at the meeting-house in the First Parish in Hingham, March 23, 1787, at the interment of the Rev. Ebenezer Gay, D.D. Pastor of the First Church in Hingham, who died March 18, 1787. By Daniel Shute, A.M. Pastor of the Second Church in Hingham. Salem: printed by Dabney and Cushing, 1787. Pp. [3-]32. (Lacks half-title, some tears and splits without loss). Evans 20708; ESTC W29143.
3. Thaddeus Mason HARRIS (1768-1842). The New Year's Wish of an Affectionate Minister for the People of his Charge; addressed to them in a sermon preached at Dorchester, January 1, 1796. / By Thaddeus Mason Harris, M.A. F.H.S. Boston: printed by William Spotswood, 1796. Pp. [3-]24. (Lacks half-title). Evans 30543; ESTC W28687.
4. Manessah CUTLER (1742-1823). A Sermon, delivered at Hamilton, on the day of the National Fast, April 25, 1799; appointed by the President of the United States of America. By Manasseh Cutler, LL.D. Minister of the Church in Hamilton. Salem, Mass.: printed by Joshua Cushing, 1799. Pp. [3-]32. (Lacks half-title). Evans 35367; ESTC W3023.
5. William BENTLEY (1759-1819). A Funeral Discourse, delivered in the East Meeting-House, Salem, on the Sunday after the death of Major General John Fiske, who died September 28, 1797. Aet 53. By William Bentley, A.M. Pastor of the Second Congregational Church in Salem. Salem: printed … by Thomas C. Cushing, 1797. Pp. [3-]37[-40], with final blank. (Lacks half-title). Evans 31800; ESTC W20348.