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…

Thirdly, suppose there be no particular sin, suppose the grace you have, be acted, when you come to receive the Sacrament; yet there is a third thing required, a third qualification that must be found in the heart of him that will be a worthy receiver, and that is, to observe well what distance is grown between the Lord and him ever since the time, that he hath in a more particular manner been reconciled to him. This is another thing than what we named before, to consider what rust hath grown upon his soul, what soil his heart hath contracted, by conversing in the world, and by meddling with worldly and earthly things; for the soul gathers soil with meddling with them, even as the hands do; now thou must think with thy self, when thou comest to the Lord; and drawest near to him in this, or any other duty, thou must recover that distance again, and bring thy heart nearer to the Lord, thou must draw nearer to him, thou must get thy heart to a more close, a more near, & inward conjunction with him; thou must labour to have that hardness that thou hast contracted (as it will be in a little continuance of time) thou must labour I say, to have that took away and removed; to have thy heart softened, to have the rust rubbed off; ⟨p. 312⟩thou must labour to have all these things done. For thou must know this, That though there be not a particular sin committed, yet as we see, the outward man is subject to a wasting, though there be no wounds, though there be no sickness; though a man be in perfect health, and all is well with him, and he observe all the rules of diet, yet (I say) you see the outward man is subject to wasting, to fainting, to weakness, and decay; and therefore there must be a renewing of diet, and of strength, or else it cannot be able to hold out: So it is with the inward man; though there be no particular sin, though a man did keep some good course in the ways of godliness, without running out eminently or evidently, yet he is subject to a secret decay, so that sometimes he must have some special meat, some special feast, which the Lord hath appointed for that purpose, (for he doth nothing in vain:) And if this Sacrament could be spared, that a man might keep the strength of the inward man without it, the Lord would not have put you to this trouble;

Thirdly, suppose there be no particular sinne, suppose the grace you have, be acted, when you come to receive the Sacrament; yet there is a third thing required, a third qualification that must be found in the heart of him that will be a worthy receiver, and that is, to observe well what distance is growne betweene the Lord and him ever since the time, that he hath in a more particular manner beene reconciled to him. This is another thing than what wee named before, to consider what rust hath growne upon his soule, what soyle his heart hath contracted, by conversing in the world, and by medling with worldly and earthly things; for the soule gathers soyle with medling with them, even as the hands doe; now thou must thinke with thy selfe, when thou commest to the Lord; and drawest neere to him in this, or any other duty, thou must recover that distance againe, and bring thy heart neerer to the Lord, thou must draw neerer to him, thou must get thy heart to a more close, a more neere, & inward conjunction with him; thou must labour to have that hardnesse that thou hast contracted (as it will bee in a little continuance of time) thou must labour I say, to have that tooke away and removed; to have thy heart softened, to have the rust rubbed off;