A50164:21
Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689
Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one Hugh Stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tense of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amongst us / by Cotton Mather.]Speedy repentance urged a sermon preached at Boston, December 29, 1689 : in the hearing and at the request of one Hugh Stone, [a mis]erable man [under a just sen]tence of [death] for a [tragical and] hor[rible murder : together with some account concerning the character, carriage, and execution of that unhappy malefactor : to which are added certain memorable providences relating to some other murders, & some great instances of repentance which have been seen amonst us / by Cotton Mather.]
Boston: printed by Samuel Green, 1690
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Our first Enquiry is to be, What is implied in the Pardoning of Transgression and the Taking away of Iniquity?
For answer to this; In general, The Glorious Benefit of JUSTIFICATION is herein implied. If you ask for a Description of Justification then know, That it is an Act of Gods Free Grace, Releasing a Believer from the Guilt of Sin, and Accepting him as Righteous, through' the Obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are two things which a Religion still pretends to make provision for; to remove th• greatest of our Troubles, & to obtain the greatest of our Desires. The Christian Religion does both of these in a very admirable manner. The First is ⟨p. 8⟩done in Justification. The Distress of a Guilty Sinner lies in this point▪ What shall I give for the sin of my Soul? Behold, that matter in Justification very wonderfully provided for. The Psalmist of old, called this a Parable, and A Dark Saying; even this, The precious Redemption of a Soul, by the Messiah alone. Blessed be God, that we can with satisfaction penetrate a little way into the Mystery. But I may not give you a full Discourse upon this illustrious Head of Divinity, which indeed the Standing or the Falling of the whole Church is concerned in the right stating of; and as I may not▪ so I need not insist upon it, because, you have the published Writings of many Learned Men▪ on this very point; which I […] recommend unto your […] suppose you are all of the Disposition, which our famous Wilson would often express, by saying, I Love nothing so much as to see a Preacher keep ⟨p. 9⟩close to his Text, and the Scope of it; and therefore I shall now keep Close to my Text, by offering to you a few Conclusions relating to JUSTIFICATION, All which the Terms used in my Text suggest unto us; but in all, I must also keep close to the Man whom I do here most particularly design the edification of.