N04231:33
The poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ. Wherein the main hindrances, which keep men…
The poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ. Wherein the main hindrances, which keep men from coming to Christ, are discovered. : With special helps to recover God's favour. / By Thomas Hooker. ; With an abstract of the author's life. ; [Four lines from Isaiah]
Boston: printed by Green for D. Henchman, 1743
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
4. If he sees this fails him too, then he goes yet further, and confesseth he cannot come to Christ, except Christ give him his Hand, and help him up; therefore now he will attend on the Ordinances, and labour and bestir himself hard in the use of all good Means, conceiving thereby to hammer out at last a Faith of his own to make him happy. And here he rests, hanging as it were upon the outside of the Ark so long, till ⟨p. 3⟩at last the waves and winds growing fierce and violent, he is beaten off, and so sinks for ever.
II. Besides these, there are OTHER kinds of Hindrances which do not indeed deprive a Man of Title and Interest to eternal Happiness, but make the way tedious and uncomfortable, so that be cannot come to Christ so readily as he desires and longs to do: The ground whereof is this; when Men, out of carnal Reason, contrive another way to come to Christ than ever he ordained or revealed; when we set up our Standards by God's Standard, or our Threshold by his, Ezek. 43.8. and out of our own Imagination, make another state of believing than ever Christ required or ordained. No marvel that we come short of him: For thus we put Rubs, and make Bars in our way: We manacle our Hands, and fetter our Feet, and then say that we cannot take, nor go: Thus it is with you poor Christians, and the Fault is your own But, amongst many, there be three Hindrances which are chiefly to be observed,1 by which many gracious Hearts are marvellously hindered from coming to, and from receiving that Comfort from Christ which they might, and he is willing to impart unto them.
II. Besides these, there are OTHER kinds of Hindrances which do not indeed deprive a Man of Title and Interest to eternal Happiness, but make the way tedious and uncomfortable, so that be cannot come to Christ so readily as he desires and longs to do: The ground whereof is this; when Men, out of carnal Reason, contrive another way to come to Christ than ever he ordained or revealed; when we set up our Standards by God's Standard, or our Threshold by his,