N00802:1398
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 1: Contumacy to be avoided if we would have true peace. DOCTRINE I.
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.
1. What is that Contumacy under the means used by God, which we are carefully to avoid?
A. We may here first observe something about the means themselves, from whence we may the better judge of it. Now the means are the courses that God takes to convince men of sin, and bring them to Repentance, in order to their being pardoned, and having the comfort of it; and there are two sorts of men to whom God thus applieth himself, viz Unregenerate Sinners, in order to their Conversion, and the Regenerate, when fallen into such sins as make a breach between God and them; and the courses that God takes are either in his Ordinances or Providences. In his Ordinances he sends Messages to them, to show them their sins, to convince them thereof, to reprove them, to discover their danger, and to call them to Repentance. In his Providences, especially when the other do fail of the desired Efficacy, by some sore afflictions that he brings on them, as a proper chastisement of their folly. Now men do show their Contumacy, when their corruptions do so withstand the means, as they remain impenitent under them: and this may be the case, as of Sinners, so of fallen Saints for a season; and is fitly expressed by the carriage of the Horse and Mu•• to ⟨p. 459⟩them that would break them: and is discovered by these things.
A. We may here first observe something about the means themselves, from whence we may the better judge of it. Now the means are the courses that God takes to convince men of sin, and bring them to Repentance, in order to their being pardoned, and having the comfort of it; and there are two sorts of men to whom God thus applieth himself, viz Unregenerate Sinners, in order to their Conversion, and the Regenerate, when fallen into such sins as make a breach between God and them; and the courses that God takes are either in his Ordinances or Providences. In his Ordinances he sends Messages to them, to shew them their sins, to convince them thereof, to reprove them, to discover their danger, and to call them to Repentance. In his Providences, especially when the other do fail of the desired Efficacy, by some sore afflictions that he brings on them, as a proper chastisement of their folly. Now men do shew their Contumacy, when their corruptions do so withstand the means, as they remain impenitent under them: and this may be the case, as of Sinners, so of fallen Saints for a season; and is fitly exprest by the carriage of the Horse and Mu to