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…

Sixthly,¹ if the ways of God are full of difficulty, then labour for a full mortification of sinful lusts: do it not by halves. Whence is it that religion is so hard? All difficulty is from some disproportion and disagreement; and this difficulty here, is from the disproportion between the Law and us: we cannot bend the Law to us, but we must wind up our minds to it. As we say of grief, that it is a reluctancy of the will; so there is a reluctancy here, between the corruption of our nature, and the Law; and this breeds the difficulty: One of them must needs yield. If you put fire and water together, there is no quiet but a continual strife, till one of them get the victory; then all is quiet: So it is in sicknesses; Let a man have a strong disease, and a strong body, he shall never have any rest, as long as they both continue in their strength: But let one of them get the victory, then there is rest and ease: If nature get the victory, then we have our perfect health: If the disease get the victory, yet we are at quiet: and hence are those, lucida intervalla, before death. So it is here; if lusts get the victory, then there is peace indeed, such a peace as it is; men have rest and content in their forlorn estate: but if grace get the victory, then there is a perfect peace. To have quietness and sweetness in religion, is to ⟨p. 240⟩come to an agreement; and without this agreeing, there will be no facility: the way to make it easy, is to heal your natures. Religion is not difficult in its self; it is as light that is pleasant to good eyes, but yet to bad eyes nothing is more offensive; it is like good meat, that is pleasant to a good stomach, but yet to a bad, nothing is more odious. Heal your natures, and get perfect health, then these ways of God will be easy to you.

Sixtly,¹ if the wayes of God are full of difficulty, then labour for a full mortification of sinfull lustes: do it not by halves. Whence is it that religion is so hard? All difficulty is from some disproportion and disagreement; and this difficulty here, is from the disproportion betweene the Law and us: wee cannot bend the Law to us, but wee must winde up our minds to it. As we say of griefe, that it is a reluctancy of the will; so there is a reluctancy here, betweene the corruption of our nature, and the Law; and this breeds the difficulty: One of them must needs yeeld. If you put fire and water together, there is no quiet but a continuall strife, till one of them get the victory; then all is quiet: So it is in sicknesses; Let a man have a strong disease, and a strong body, hee shall never have any rest, as long as they both continue in their strength: But let one of them get the victory, then there is rest and ease: If nature get the victory, then we have our perfect health: If the disease get the victory, yet we are at quiet: and hence are those, lucida intervalla, before death. So it is here; if lustes get the victory, then there is peace indeede, such a peace as it is; men have rest and content in their forlorne estate: but if grace get the victory, then there is a perfect peace. To have quietnesse and sweetnesse in religion, is to