N01446:255
A guide to Christ. Or, The way of directing souls that are under the…
A guide to Christ. Or, The way of directing souls that are under the work of conversion. Compiled for the help of young ministers: and may be serviceable to private Christians, who are enquiring the way to Zion. / By Solomon Stoddard, A.M. and Pastor of the church in Northampton. ; With an epistle prefixed, by the Reverend Dr. Increase Mather.
Boston: printed by J. Allen for N. Boone, 1714
Directions How to guide Souls through the Work of Conversion.
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. To be empty of all goodness. He has no inclination to any thing that is good, that there is no disposition to that which is good, but a total emptiness. It may be he does not think particularly of every grace that he is destitute of that, but sees that he is utterly void of spiritual life, that he has no power to do any good; he is dead in sin, wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Before that he was convinced of a weakness, but now he finds himself dead: he thought before that he had little strength, now he sees he has none: there is not one spark of goodness in him, nor any power to get any, he is stripped out of all his perfections, and sees an utter emptiness in himself of all that is good; he has no love, no godly sorrow, no thankfulness, no humility, no spiritual desires, those appearances that he had are all vanished out of sight, he can't do any thing, there is no seed of any goodness in him; if he be advantaged with all manner of helps, yet it is quite beyond his power to work up any good frame in his heart; he prays, but there is no goodness in his prayers, and he is uncapable of working up any, he is not in a swoon, rubbing and chasing will not fetch him to life, but he is everlastingly dead in sin, unless God will put a principle of life into him.
2. To be empty of all goodness. He has no inclination to any thing that is good, that there is no disposition to that which is good, but a total emptiness. It may be he does not think particularly of every grace that he is destitute of that, but sees that he is utterly void of spiritual life, that he has no power to do any good; he is dead in sin, wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Before that he was convinced of a weakness, but now he finds himself dead: he thought before that he had little strength, now he sees he has none: there is not one spark of goodness in him, nor any power to get any, he is stript out of all his perfections, and sees an utter emptiness in himself of all that is good; he has no love, no godly sorrow, no thankfulness, no humility, no spiritual desires, those appearances that he had are all vanished out of sight, he can't do any thing, there is no seed of any goodness in him; if he be advantaged with all manner of helps, yet it is quite beyond his power to work up any good frame in his heart; he prays, but there is no goodness in his prayers, and he is uncapable of working up any, he is not in a swound, rubbing and chasing will not fetch him to life, but he is everlastingly dead in sin, unless God will put a principle of life into him.