N00802:452
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 › The danger and mischief of Sinful silence and evasions. DOCTRINE.
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. All this doth not remove the Guilt contracted by such sins. There is a certain Guilt cleaves to every Sin, as it is a transgression of the Law of God, and exposeth us to suffer the evil threatened, which it highly concerns every one to get removed; and the man is in a woeful case so long as that abideth on him, and all endeavours that will not help to take it off are unprofitable. Well, this course you take is not the way to remove it, but will increase it, it is but to add sin to sin, and a new Guilt to an old one: This hiding is of it self a Sin, and the means used for it, are so many Sins. How deeply then do you run on the score in this way? whiles you hide your sins, you will never fly to the Blood of Christ to have them washed away, and so long the imputation remains, and they are your Sins.
1. All this doth not remove the Guilt contracted by such sins. There is a certain Guilt cleaves to every Sin, as it is a transgression of the Law of God, and exposeth us to suffer the evil threatned, which it highly concerns every one to get removed; and the man is in a woful case so long as that abideth on him, and all endeavours that will not help to take it off are unprofitable. Well, this course you take is not the way to remove it, but will encrease it, it is but to add sin to sin, and a new Guilt to an old one: This hiding is of it self a Sin, and the means used for it, are so many Sins. How deeply then do you run on the score in this way? whiles you hide your sins, you will never fly to the Blood of Christ to have them washed away, and so long the imputation remains, and they are your Sins.
2. When you have done all you cannot hide them from God. What though you keep them from the sight and knowledge of men? They believe your denials, or are satisfied with your excuses, and hereby you prevent censures or reproach for the present? How poor a thing is this? Man is not to be your Judge, but God, who knows all; your secrecy is to him as the Sun light; midnight and noon day are alike to his all knowledge; when no eye seeth, he looketh on, and maketh an entry: your denials signify nothing to him, who knows and cannot be mistaken; your fig-leaf excuses cannot