N00802:973
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 3: God to be sought in a finding time. DOCTRINE. III.
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. The proper design of these Judgments, is to awaken them to seek him. A professing people may so far provoke him, as to fall upon them in his fury, and make his Judgments a Sword to cut them off; but it is not so at first; they are ••rt of his Discipline, hence called his Corrections, ⟨p. 336⟩and God, speaking after the manner of men, te•• them what he expected, Zeph. 3.17. I said thou wilt receive instruction, &c.
3. He is wont to stir up some at least of his Servants, to take this occasion to be earnest with men: He affecteth them, and makes them to cry aloud; they see his anger, and are afraid, and upon it blow the Trumpet: Thus in the times of the Apostasy of Israel and Judah, God sent such Prophets to them; who dealt faithfully with them.
4. And he usually toucheth mens hearts at such times. Indeed it is a natural operation of Judgments to put men upon thoughtfulness; but the Spirit is wont to set in, and put such a people, at least many of them, upon enquiring after his mind, and to affect them with Convictions of sin, and fear of his Wrath. And this is a great advantage now to seek him.