N00802:821
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 › Doctrine 2: Forgiveness obtained in the way of Prayer. DOCTRINE II.
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.
5. That this faith is most suitably expressed in Prayer. That prayer is a duty of Natural worship, the light of Nature, as well as the word of God, informeth us: that we should can, our wants to God in Prayer, appears from the nature of it; that all our Prayers are to be made in faith, we are assured, because such Prayers only is Effectual. We must ask all in the Name of Christ; we have no other way of access to God. Now forgiveness is one of ou• great wants▪ and that to pray in faith for it is most suitable, will appear, if we consider,
5. That this faith is most suitably expressed in Prayer. That prayer is a duty of Natural worship, the light of Nature, as well as the word of God, informeth us: that we should can, our wants to God in Prayer, appears from the nature of it; that all our Prayers are to be made in faith, we are assured, because such Prayers only is Effectual. We must ask all in the Name of Christ; we have no other way of access to God. Now forgiveness is one of ou• great wants▪ and that to pray in faith for it is most sui•able, will appear, if we consider,
1 Herein we testify our self want of it. It is sense of need that drives men to Prayer. All formalities without this feeling, are •ut idle strains of complement which God hath no regard for. And indeed ⟨p. 292⟩the end of Prayer is not to acquaint him with our necessities, for He knows them before, Math 6.8. but to affect our selves with them. God would have us know our need, that we may put the better value on his kindness: it is therefore upon felt want that we are advised to ask, Jam. 1 5