A09965:410
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant…Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant…
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant and lively description of spiritual death and life. III. The doctrine of self-denial. IV. Upon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, John Preston, Doctor of Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty; master of Emanuel College, and sometime preacher of Lincolns Inn.Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant and lively description of spirituall death and life. III. The doctrine of selfe-deniall. IV. Vpon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Doctor of Divinitie, chaplaine in ordinarie to his Majestie; master of Emanuel Colledge, and sometime preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by Thomas for Michael Sparke, 1633
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.
If none can have any interest in CHRIST without denying himself,1 then join not both together: make no conjunction whereas God hath made an absolute disjunction; deny all that is in you, the whole body of sin, ⟨p. 163⟩all it can desire; deny every request of the flesh, every desire of it without all exception: Christ saith not, deny your Covetousness, every such particular sin, but your selves, every sin, stock and branch, both cannot be joined: if there be any pleasure, any thing that ye delight in, have ye any commodity in such a thing, ye cannot be saved without a Divorce from it, when it comes in competition with GOD. So if there be any Cross that ye will not suffer for GOD, ye cannot be saved. Put case a man will not endure Obloquy; if he will endure this, yet he will not loose his estate: if this, yet he will not loose his liberty and life, such a man as this denies not himself. Those who would follow CHRIST, must do as the Apostles did, Mark. 10.28. Forsake all and follow him: GOD will try us all one time or other, whether we will forsake all and follow him. Mark. 6.22. He that will follow CHRIST, must have a single Eye: that is, if the eye be fixed only on God, without joining any thing with him, then it is single; it is said to be single, in regard of the object; when as that is single. When we can be content with GOD though we have nothing else, then is our eye single, and we are light: but if our eye be wicked, that is, eyeing of our credit and estate and the like, all the body is dark; that is, we are Unregenerate. James, 1.8. A double-minded man, GOD hates: the ⟨p. 194⟩mind is double when it hath an eye to GOD and our selves too; such a man as this, is unstable in all his ways, he will follow GOD but in some things. Jeroboam will follow GOD, but not in the matter of the Kingdom: without a single eye, we are unstable in our ways. This joining of both together, makes many thousands loose their Souls. Many that live in the Church will not abandon all, they will do many things to satisfy natural Considerations; this doth destroy many, having eyes to GOD and themselves too.