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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 6: PROPOSITION VI.
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.
3. He only can forgive us our sins. Our great encouragement to confess, is our hope to obtain mercy and pardon, and therefore the Gospel, which made discovery of forgiveness through Christ, is the great motive to poor Sinners to fall down before God, and acknowledge their Sins to him. Well, this is his Prerogative, and he will not give it another, Dan. 9.9. To the Lord belong mercies and forgivenesses. Men indeed may remit to us the injury done to them, so far as they are concerned; and too often that is all that we trouble our selves about; but the Sin may yet lie upon us: they may do their work, but they cannot do Gods work; and if he be not atoned, that Sin will undo us; but if he forgive us, all is well, and we are happy.
3. He only can forgive us our sins. Our great encouragement to confess, is our hope to obtain mercy and pardon, and therefore the Gospel, which made discovery of forgiveness through Christ, is the great motive to poor Sinners to fall down before God, and acknowledge their Sins to him. Well, this is his Prerogative, and he will not give it another, Dan. 9.9. To the Lord belong mercies and forgivenesses. Men indeed may remit to us the injury done to them, so far as they are concerned; and too often that is all that we trouble our selves about; but the Sin may yet ly upon us: they may do their work, but they cannot do Gods work; and if he be not atoned, that Sin will undo us; but if he forgive us, all is well, and we are happy.
4. If we hope to obtain forgiveness of him, we must seek it in his way. As there is forgiveness with him, Psal. 130.4. So there is a course to be taken by such as would obtain it of him: and among other things which he requireth, this is one, viz. that we confess it to him humbly, heartily, fully: hence the promise is connected with it,