N00802:506
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 distress of Conscience from Gods heavy hand. 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 As long as Gods hand abides heavy on you, your trouble will continue. It is vain to seek ease any other way: the hand that wounded you must heal you, if ever you be healed: nothing can afford you true comfort while his anger abides, Job 34.29. There is no flying from his hand, it will follow you where-ever you go, Psal. 139.7.
2. There is no hope to have his hand removed so long as you continue under your Guilt. This is the root of it; it is only by a pardon that you can have ease: and the hope of a pardon is the proper relief of a burdened Conscience: an unpardoned sin will be heavy when God layeth it on; and this is one way in which God is wont to ease mens Consciences, to set forgiveness before them: till then, if you ask, is it peace? it will readily be answered, What peace, so long as sin lies unforgiven?
3. There is no hope of pardon so long as you keep silence. It is a solemn word, Prov. 28.13. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper. If you should never commit that sin more, yet if you hide it, it will eat out your comfort, and lie in against you, though you never so carefully abstain from ⟨p. 188⟩the like. It is a duty to say, I will do so no more but it is not all your duty.
3. There is no hope of pardon so long as you keep silence. It is a solemn word,