N04231:35
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.
[1] First; The distressed Soul, being (haply) truly humbled, takes notice of the ⟨p. 4⟩Beauty of Holiness, and the Image of God stamped on the Hearts of his Children, and of all those precious Promises which God hath made to all that are his; now the Soul seeing these, begins thus to Reason with it self and saith, Surely if I were so holy and so gracious, then I might have hope to receive the pardon of my Sins: Or were my Heart so enlarged to Duties, and could my Heart be so carried with Power against my Corruptions, to master them, then there were some Hope: But when I have no Power against Sin, nor any Heart to seek so importunately for a Christ, how dare I think that any Mercy belongs to me, having so many Wants? Thus they dare not come to the Promise; and they will not venture upon it, because they have not that Enlargement to Duties, and that Power against Corruption which sometimes the Saints of God have.
[1] First; The distressed Soul, being (haply) truly humbled, takes notice of the ⟨p. 4⟩Beauty of Holiness, and the Image of God stampt on the Hearts of his Children, and of all those precious Promises which God hath made to all that are his; now the Soul seeing these, begins thus to Reason with it self and saith, Surely if I were so holy and so gracious, then I might have hope to receive the pardon of my Sins: Or were my Heart so enlarged to Duties, and could my Heart be so carried with Power against my Corruptions, to master them, then there were some Hope: But when I have no Power against Sin, nor any Heart to seek so importunately for a Christ, how dare I think that any Mercy belongs to me, having so many Wants? Thus they dare not come to the Promise; and they will not venture upon it, because they have not that Enlargement to Duties, and that Power against Corruption which sometimes the Saints of God have.
But we must know, this doth not hinder; and that we make that a Hindrance, which, in Truth, is none. For (observe it) we must not think to bring our Enlargements and Hope to the Promise, but go to the Promise for them: Hope must be stirred, and Desire quickened, and Love and Joy kindled by the Promise. But who made this Condition of the Covenant, That a Man must have so much of Enlargement, before he can come to the Promise? Our Saviour being our Husband, requires no