N00802:1338
The truly blessed man
The truly blessed man: or, The way to be happy here, and for ever: being the substance of divers sermons preached on, Psalm XXXII. / By Samuel Willard, teacher of a church in Boston. N.E. ; [Five lines from Isaiah]
printed by B. Green for Michael Perry, 1700
Sermon › Doctrine 3: Divine Teachings are to guide us in our way. DOCTRINE III.
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.
5. That he may thus hold on in his way, he must be kept in it. Perseverance is a gift of God, we have the reason of it, Psal 37.24. The Lord upholdeth him with his hand. The many falls Gods Children take in hours of Temptation, are an evidence who is their keeper. Hither it is to be ascribed that any get through their way, the difficulties whereof would be too hard for them: Sin, Satan and World, that withstand, would also overcome them, stop up their way, and make them to give out.
3. What is the way in which men may come to have pardon and felicity?
A Mans blessedness consists in his enjoying of Gods favour, and fellowship with him: Now there have been two ways in which men have been pointed to this, one displayed in the Covenant of Works, and the other in the Covenant of Grace.
1. The old way of the Covenant of works was laid out to man in his primitive state: He then stood entirely in Gods favour; he had no Guilt upon him that needed a pardon; had the glorious Image of God imprinted upon him, which fitted him for Communion with his Maker. God then gave him a Law sited to his nature, and not exceeding his cread abilities, in conformity to which he was to be happy for ever: had he not declined from this, there had needed no other; but he turned out of it by Apostasy, and so ei under Guilt and a Curse, and now the Law could no longer give him life,