N00747:220
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. But now they find all this to fail them, and they are brought into a deep plunge. Now they are made to see that they can do nothing: they are either left to some foul sin, or conscience is awakened to tell them, they have deceived themselves, and that they are in the gall of bitterness; that the Wrath of God is upon them, their whole profession is a mere cheat, & their building is upon the sand; and this puts them into fears, and possibly they take it for a desertion; whereas indeed it is but a discovery. In such a case as this, let me offer two things.
4. But now they find all this to fail them, and they are brought into a deep plunge. Now they are made to see that they can do nothing: they are either left to some foul sin, or conscience is awakned to tell them, they have deceived themselves, and that they are in the gall of bitterness; that the Wrath of God is upon them, their whole profession is a meer cheat, & their building is upon the sand; and this puts them into fears, and possibly they take it for a desertion; whereas indeed it is but a discovery. In such a case as this, let me offer two things.
1. This calls you to search your selves to the bottom: the case of such hath some resemblance to that of deserted Saints: when therefore it is so, the first business is a trial of our selves throughly; and herein we must prove our selves, whether ever we were in the faith, as they are advised, 2 Cor. 13 5. whether ever we were throughly broken off from every other object, and brought over to Christ, and built upon him: yea, and to beg of God also to search us, that we be not mistaken in the very foundation; for an error there cannot be repaired in any other way, but in laying it ⟨p. 118⟩a new, and digging deep enough for it.
1. This calls you to search your selves to the bottom: the case of such hath some resemblance to that of deserted Saints: when therefore it is so, the first business is a trial of our selves throughly; and herein we must prove our selves, whether ever we were in the faith, as they are advised,