A66111:740
The truly blessed man, or, The way to be happy here, and forever being…
The truly blessed man, or, The way to be happy here, and forever being the substance of divers sermons preached on Psalm XXXII / by Samuel Willard.
printed by B. Green and J. Allen for Michael Perry, 1650
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.
2. That this Confession is the way to obtain the evidence or witness of our pardon. God is sometimes said to forgive, when he witnesseth in us to his pardoning mercy; and the reason is, because the man was before, in his own, apprehension unpardoned, though his state were good. Now as it is usual for God to come in and refresh the heart, with telling it, its Sin is forgiven, whiles the bleeding Soul is bemoaning it self, with most humble confessions to him; so there is matter of evidence in the confession it self, and when we can truly say we have so confessed, as before, we have the character of one that hath received this grace of God, and so is in a state of forgiveness; whereas the want of this is just reason to make us call it in question; at least to think that sin is not forgiven which is not thus confessed.
2. That this Confession is the way to obtain the evidence or witness of our pardon. God is sometimes said to forgive, when he witnesseth in us to his pardoning mercy; and the reason is, because the man was before, in his own, apprehension unpardoned, though his state were good. Now as it is usual for God to come in and refresh the heart, with telling it, its Sin is forgiven, whiles the bleeding Soul is bemoaning it self, with most humble confessions to him; so there is matter of evidence in the confession it self, and when we can truly say we have so confessed, as before, we have the characte• of one that hath received this grace of God, and so is in a state of forgiveness; whereas the want of this is just reason to make us call it in question; at least to think that sin is not forgiven which is not thus confessed.
USE. I. For Caution; Take heed of abusing this truth unto presumption. It is a great policy of Satan, to hold men as long as he can in carnal security, unto which their own natural inclination leads them: and among other devices he hath to insinuate into them by, this is one main engine that he useth with those that live under the Gospel, and enjoy the privileges of it, to blow them up with false surmises about God, and thence to draw ungrounded conclusions about their good ⟨p. 264⟩