N00802:575
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 › Right Confession, its nature and usefulness. DOCTRINE. › Proposition 4: PROPOSITION IV.
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.
2. There is a Fountain of Corruption within, from whence every actual Sin doth stream; and we ought to follow it up thither, and make Confession of that. There is an Evil root of Bitterness to be discerned in every departure from God; and when the Spirit of God Convinceth us of any Sin, we should ask our own hearts, whence cometh this? And on enquiry we shall find an undeniable Fountain. Mark 7.21, 22. Jer. 6.7. This then must be Confessed, hither David follows his, Psal. 51.5 and Paul his, Rom. 7.23, 24. And here we see a vile Nature, full of all abominations, the well head of every Iniquity, which affords matter of large and deep Confession. And let it be remarked, ⟨p. 207⟩that that Sin is not rightly Confessed by us, in which we are not led from the Act to the Original, and do not acknowledge the Sin it issued from, as well as the Sin it self.
3. There are a Multitude of other Sins the man hath been Guilty of; and it is now a proper season to reflect on, and make Confession of them. Now all his Evil ways and doings that have not been good, ought to come into consideration. This Sin tells us how terrible it is to have any Sin stand out unpardoned; and that will put us upon calling our selves to an account, to enquire what we have been and done, and what hath been done in order to obtaining a remission: and it is usual that old Sins do now procure new trouble to the mind, which maketh us to spread them before God: David runs up to the very Sins of his youth, Psal. 25.7.