N04231:72
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.
How does God stir up the Heart to hope? It's worth the while to consider how this is maintained.
1. First; The Lord sweetly stays the Heart, and persuades it that his Sins are pardonable, and that the Good he wants may be supplied; this is a great Support to the Soul. ⟨p. 28⟩Hope is always of a Good to come. Now when a poor Sinner sees his Sins, the Number of them, the Nature of them, the Vileness of them, the Cursedness of his Soul, that he can take no Rest; he sees no Rest in the Creature, nor in himself. Tho' he pray all Day, yet he cannot get the Pardon of one Sin: The Soul is out of any Expectation of Pardon, or Power of Mercy in any Thing he hath or doth: Though all Means, all Helps, tho' all Men and Angels should join together, yet they cannot pardon one Sin of his. Now the Lord lifts up his Voice, and says from Heaven, thy Sins are pardonable. O the Infiniteness of God's Power! tho' the Guilt of Sin is powerful to condemn the Soul. But when the infinite Power of the Lord is considered, as able to over-power all his Sins, this lifteth up the Heart in some Expectation that the Lord will show Mercy to a Man; tho' it is a hard Thing to hope, when the Soul is thus troubled, (Can this Heart be broken? Can these Sins be pardoned? Can this Soul be saved?) Now comes in the Power of God: God can pardon them. Never measure the Power of God by that shallow Conceit of thine. All Things are possible to God, tho' not to Men. And as it is said of Abraham, He hoped above Hope; he looked to the Lord that was able to do what he had promised: He considered not that he had a dead Body, but that he had a ⟨p. 29⟩living God to hope on. Justice cannot be so severe to revenge thee, as Mercy is gracious to do Good unto thee. If thy Sins be never so many, God's Justice never so great; yet Mercy is above all thy Sins, above all thy Rebellions. This may support thy Soul.
1. First; The Lord sweetly stays the Heart, and perswades it that his Sins are pardonable, and that the Good he wants may be supplied; this is a great Support to the Soul.