N00802:1962
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
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.
6. They, and only they can truly rejoice in the Lord who are Righteous and Upright. Others can rejoice in other things▪ which is a poor matter; and if they pretend to rejoice in God, it is a self deceiving joy; for, whatsoever God be in himself, yet if they knew how they stand related to him, they would find these very things which render him delightful to his Children, to represent him as a terrible God to them: these glorious perfections of his, which are engaged to make the righteous man happy for ever, […] set against the ungodly man to ruin him; and the more wonderful these Attributes of his are, the more dreadful may they expect their ruin to be. Except then you know your selves to be of that number, you have no good hold of this title: let these considerations make us careful in this matter: And for help,
6. They, and only they can truly rejoyce in the Lord who are Righteous and Upright. O•hers can rejoyce in other things▪ which is a poor matter; and if they pretend to rejoyce in God, it is a self deceiving joy; for, whatsoever God be in himself, yet if they knew how they stand related to him, they would find these very things which render him delightful to his Children, to represent him as a terrible God to them: these glorious perfections of his, which are engaged to make the righteous man happy for ever, 〈…〉 set against the ungodly man to ruine him; and the more wonderful these Attributes of his are, the more dreadful may they expect their ruine to be. Except then you know your selves to be of that number, you have no good hold of this title: let these considerations make us careful in this matter: And for help,
1. If you are Righteous, you have cordially embraced the Righteousness of Christ, by a living Faith. It is vain to seek that Righteousness in your selves that may justify you before God; but there is such an one in Christ, and it is made over to every one that is in Gods account Righteous, and it is in regard of it's being so made over that God so accounts of him; and if it be thus with you,