Rand, William. Sermons
Collection History
Rev. William Rand (1699-1779) was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1721. He was the minister at Sunderland, Mass. from 1722 until 1745, when he was dismissed due to his opposition to the Great Awakening. He subsequently replaced the Rev. Thaddeus McCarty as minister at Kingston, Mass. when the latter was dismissed for inviting the evangelist George Whitefield to preach there. Rev. Rand remained at Kingston from 1745 until his death in 1779. The volumes below contain a large number of Rev. Rand's sermons preached after his move to Kingston. These were largely delivered in his home parish, but also in neighboring communities such as Plymouth and Duxbury. Dates and places are generally listed at the end of the sermon text.
The original manuscripts in this collection are owned by our project partners, the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Further information about the collection can be found in the NEHGS catalog.
Digital Materials
This volume contains handwritten notes for sermons first delivered at Kingston, Massachusetts in 1746 and 1747. Some sermons were preached multiple times.
- Ephesians 4:1 – "…I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…"
first preached 7 December 1729
- Hebrews 2:1 – "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip…"
first preached at Kingston, 7 May 1746
- 1 Corinthians 15:57 – "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ…"
first preached at Kingston, 18 August 1746
- Matthew 10:28 – "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul…"
first preached at Kingston, 12 October 1746
- Isaiah 46:10 – "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done…"
first preached at Kingston, 6 March 1747/8
This volume contains handwritten notes for sermons given at Kingston, Massachusetts and elsewhere between 1747 and 1778. Some sermons were preached multiple times.
- Matthew 6:6 – "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret…"
first preached 7 March 1741/2
- Genesis 3:19 – "Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return…"
first preached May 1750
- Isaiah 51:6 – "But my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished…"
first preached at Kingston, October 1751
- Revelation 2:4 – "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love …"
first preached at Kingston, December 1751
- Romans 3:31 – "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law…"
first preached at Kingston, June 1752
This volume contains handwritten notes for sermons given at Kingston, Massachusetts and elsewhere between 1748 and 1778. Some sermons were preached multiple times.
- Luke 19:13 – "And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come…"
first preached at Kingston, 27 March 1748
- Amos 4:6 – "And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places…"
first preached at Kingston, 9 June 1748
- Ephesians 2:18 – "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father…"
first preached January 1749/50
This volume contains handwritten notes for sermons given between 1756 and 1777 and delivered at Kingston, Duxbury, and Plymouth on James, John, Matthew, Romans, Psalm 30, and Psalm 119. Some were preached multiple times.
- James 4:9-10 – "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness…"
first preached May 1756
- John 8:36 – "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed…"
first preached March 1779
- Psalms 30:7 – "Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong…"
first preached at Kingston, November 1761
- Matthew 19:26 – "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible…"
first preached at Kingston, October 1762
- Romans 8:21 – "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God…"
first preached at Duxbury, July 1762
- Psalms 119:60 – "I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments…"
first preached at Kingston, January 1763
This volume contains handwritten notes for sermons given on Luke, John, Psalm 138, Ephesians, Mark, and Peter, written between 1754 and 1778 and presented at Sunderland and elsewhere.
- Luke 12:1 – "Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy…"
first preached at Kingston, December 1754
- John 6:33 – "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world…"
first preached 15 December 1774
- Psalms 138:6 – "Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off…"
first preached at Kingston, October 1767
- Ephesians 3:9 – "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God…"
first preached 7 January 1778
- Matthew 16:26
first preached at Sunderland, undated
- Peter 2:7 – "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious…"
undated
This volume contains handwritten notes for sermons given on Numbers, Isaiah, and Job, written between 1766 and 1776, and given at Plymouth, Duxbury, and elsewhere. Some sermons are undated.
- Partial sermon
undated
- Partial sermon
first preached February 1776
- Deuteronomy 32:47 – "For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life…"
undated
- Job 35:6-8 – "If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him?"
first preached at Kingston, February 1766
- Isaiah 2:2 – "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains…"
undated
This volume contains handwritten, largely fragmentary notes for sermons given on Luke, John, Hebrews, Matthew, and other subjects. The sermons are undated.
- Partial sermon
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
- Hebrews 1:2 – "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…"
undated
- 1 John 3:9 – "Who forever is born of God…"
undated
This volume contains handwritten, largely fragmentary notes for sermons given on John, Romans, and Ecclesiastes, written in 1747 and 1748. All the sermons are undated.
- John 20:31 – "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…"
undated
- Jeremiah 17:9 – "The heart is deceitful…"
undated
- Romans 12:15 – "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep…"
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 – "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart…"
undated
This volume contains handwritten, largely fragmentary notes for sermons given on Ecclesiastes, Psalms 34, Romans, and other subjects, written between 1724 and 1750. Some of the sermons are incomplete.
- Ecclesiastes 7:10 – "Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?"
undated
- Job 6:7
undated
- Psalms 34:8 – "Blessed is the man that trusteth in him…"
undated
- Romans 4:25 – "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification…"
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
This volume contains handwritten, largely fragmentary notes for sermons given on John, Matthew, Romans, and other subjects.
- John 15:5 – "I am the vine, ye are the branches…"
undated
- Matthew 3:10 – "Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down…"
undated
- Galatians 6:9 – "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not…"
undated
- Romans 8:32 – "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all…"
undated
- 1 John 4:19 – "We love him, because he first loved us…"
undated
This volume contains handwritten, largely fragmentary notes for sermons given on Acts, Isaiah, and other subjects, written between 1747 and 1757. Some sermons are incomplete.
- Partial sermon
undated
- Isaiah 55:7 – "Let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him…"
undated
- Partial sermon
undated
- Acts 20:24 – "But none of these things move me..."
undated
- 1 Peter 2:24 – "That we, being dead to sins…"
undated
- Acts 2:39 – "For the promise is unto you, and to your children…"
undated
This volume contains handwritten, largely fragmentary notes for sermons given on Romans, Luke, Acts, Psalms 34, and other subjects.
- Romans 2:4 – "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering…"
undated
- Luke 6:32-36
undated
- Acts 5:31 – "For to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins…"
undated
- Romans 5:6 – "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…"
undated
- 2 Corinthians 6:1 – "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain…"
undated
Miscellaneous records, undated
This volume includes a handwritten sermon, an undated diary covering several months in one year, and confessions of faith for John and Mercy Weston.
| undated | by Rev. Rand | notes for sermon on 1 John 4:9 |
| undated | by [unknown] | diary entries |
| undated | by [unknown] | relation of faith |
| undated | by John and Mercy Weston | relations of faith of John and Mercy Weston |
Special Thanks
These digital resources have been made possible in part by the Council on Library and Information Resources, through a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this resource do not necessarily represent those of the Council on Library and Information Resources.
