A10945:1895
Seven treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, leading…Seuen treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holie Scriptures, leading…
Seven treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, leading and guiding to true happiness, both in this life, and in the life to come: and may be called the practise of Christianity. Profitable for all such as heartily desire the same: in the which, more particularly true Christians may learn how to lead a godly and comfortable life every day. Penned by Richard Rogers, preacher of the word of God at Wethersfield in Essex.Seuen treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holie Scriptures, leading and guiding to true happines, both in this life, and in the life to come: and may be called the practise of Christianitie. Profitable for all such as heartily desire the same: in the which, more particularly true Christians may learne how to leade a godly and comfortable life euery day. Penned by Richard Rogers, preacher of the word of God at Wethersfield in Essex.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Man, 1603
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.
And to add the fourth and last kind of persuasions, to set us forward in this work of the Lord, which is hindered in us not a little, by thinking what we forgo and leave behind us, (if we should be ready to suffer persecution for Christs sake) as our pleasures, profits, preferments, friends: to this I answer: Besides that our Saviour saith (Whosoever forsaketh house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, 1or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my sake and the gospels, shall receive an hundredfold now at this present, and in the world to come life everlasting:) I say, beside this, alas what a poor life is this that we lead here? where few §Khave any great store of pleasures and commodities if they be religious: yet, if they have, they have them with much sorrow, fear and unquietness, though they have lawfully come by them. And yet, besides the uncertainty of them and of life it self, with reproach, unkindnesses, malice, ill will and disdain of our betters, the lewd tongues of our inferiors, and the repining and emulation of our equals, and the wearyings of us by all sorts, unto the which we are subject; ⟨p. 559⟩§Awhy should there be such shrinking and going back at the hearing of persecution and death? I confess, if it were not for the communion of Saints which we have in this world with God and his church, there is nothing of any weight to move a Christian to desire to live here, especially when the Lord calleth him hence: and yet the forgoing of Gods presence in this world, is recompensed largely with the enjoying of it in the life to come, which is always to be preferred before the best estate that may be here enjoyed. Oh, it is not the least piece of our misery, that we seeing what little good may be done of us here, but contrarily, how great cause of complaining we have, for that we §Bare led by the law of our members so many ways to evil; that we be not for all this, able to say every day, Come lord Jesus, come quickly: 2we desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.
And to adde the fourth and last kind of perswasions, to set vs forward in this worke of the Lord, which is hindred in vs not a little, by thinking what we forgoe and leaue behinde vs, (if we should be ready to suffer persecution for Christs sake) as our pleasures, profits, preferments, friends: to this I answere: Besides that our Sauiour saith (Whosoeuer forsaketh house, or brethren, or sisters, or father,