N00747:170
Spiritual desertions discovered and remedied. Being the substance of divers sermons preached for the…
Spiritual desertions discovered and remedied. Being the substance of divers sermons preached for the help of dark souls, labouring under divine withdrawings. / By Samuel Willard, teacher of a church in Boston. ; [Four lines from Isaiah]
printed by B. Green for Michael Perry and Benjamin Eliot, 1699
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.
3. As long as we live here, we are in hazard of provoking God to desert us. We observed in the Doctrinal part, that the more bold transgressions, or more gross sinful neglects of the people of God are the procurers of this, and that by it he corrects them for such follies: and we are not secure against these. We have a deceitful heart in us, a carnal part that will betray us, if it can: a vigilant Adversary ⟨p. 80⟩that lieth in wait to hurt us, and we walk in the midst of snares, and traps, and pits that are covered, and if we be not the more watchful, we shall be ensnared in them.
4 Nay, God may, if he sees meet, so exercise us, when we are most heedful to our selves: for we observed, that God may do it for the farther exercise and advancement of the Grace of his Children; and accordingly dispenseth himself, in this regard, with a great deal of arbitrary liberty; so that though we take heed to our selves, and diligently attend to Gods counsels, that we may be brought into the dark; for this is presumed of such as fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his Servants, Isa. 50.10. not but that the most likely way to enjoy the most of God with us, is to walk close with him, in obedience to his revealed will: however, he is Sovereign, and his wisdom knows what is best; we therefore ought not to be secure.
4 Nay, God may, if he sees meet, so exercise us, when we are most heedful to our selves: for we observed, that God may do it for the farther exercise and advancement of the Grace of his Children; and accordingly dispenseth himself, in this regard, with a great deal of arbitrary liberty; so that though we take heed to our selves, and diligently attend to Gods counsels, that we may be brought into the dark; for this is presumed of such as fear the Lord, and obey the voice of his Servants, Isa. 50.10. not but that the most likely way to enjoy the most of God with us, is to walk close with him, in obedience to his revealed will: however, he is Soveraign, and his wisdom knows what is best; we therefore ought not to be secure.