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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 › 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.
2. Horrible Pride. Prayerless Sinners are proud Sinners, and therein they discover it; it saith you count your selves too big to stoop to God: and what little reason have such to expect favour? they are the humble and the penitent that are most like to find favour: and the soul that is truly humbled will fall to prayer; but God seeth the proud a far off.
3. That God will have no praise for this mercy from such an one. He that cannot find in his heart to fall down before God, and beg his pardoning mercy, will never give him suitable thanks for it, if he should confer it on him. Where there is no gratitude, there is no thanksgiving; and where a kindness is not resented, how should a person be grateful? Take heed then of being deluded with false hopes.
USE II. Here we have a Rule to judge by, in what order we are towards forgiveness. And certainly it is a thing very desirable to be known; and they who have ever experienced what it is to stand Guilty before God, will be solicitous after satisfaction in this case; and the Rule is, doth the apprehension of our Guilt and misery so affect us, as to drive us to pray to God for his pardoning mercy? if so, we have a good hope of obtaining it of him, for Consider,
USE II. Here we have a Rule to judge by, in what order we are towards forgiveness. And certainly it is a thing very desirable to be known; and they who have ever experienced what it is to stand Guilty before God, will be sollicitous after satisfaction in this case; and the Rule is, doth the apprehension of our Guilt and misery so affect us, as to drive us to pray to God for his pardoning mercy? if so, we have a good hope of obtaining it of him, for Consider,