N00747:171
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.
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.
3. It will greatly increase the perplexity of a desertion, when it comes unexpected. We are wont to say, forewarned, sore armed. Desertions are hard to ⟨p. 81⟩bear, when we are best prepared for them: though Job could say, Chap. 3.26▪ 27. the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, &c. Yet the temptation of i put him too much out of frame. But out of doubt Davids trouble was the greater, because he was secure against it never looked for the wind to blow any more from that quarter. Sudden surprises are astonishing, and discompose us much; whereas expected evils are fore pondered, and accordingly we are laid in the better to meet with them; and they are not strange.