N00802:1568
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 2: Wicked mens Sorrows, great and innumerable. DOCTRINE II.
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.
A. The truth of this assertion is little believed in the world; and because men are apt to judge according to sense, and not to look beyond the present time, no small prejudices have been taken on this account: and there are three observations that mens corruptions have taken occasion from for this.
1. The promiscuous events of Providence to good & bad. The wise man hath such an observation, Eccl. 9.1, 2. And men have been ready to conclude from hence that God regards not the affairs of the world, and that neither doth Sin displease him, nor Godliness please him; and so to argue that there is no advantage at all in an holy life, nor any good to be gotten by the strict Service of God, as they are brought in, Job 21.14, 15. Thus do men nourish themselves in Atheism, & think it is with reason.
2. The little affliction, and great prosperity that ma•y wicked men meet with here. They see such as ⟨p. 510⟩give themselves up to all manner of lewdness and abominations, to succeed, and enjoy health, peace, grandeur, and all that is desirable, and more than heart can wish; and no notorious Judgments of God do befall them, but they spend their days in wealth, and have no bands in their death; this makes good men sometimes envious at them, Psal. 73.3. And wicked men to think that God approves of their wickedness,