A10945:420
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.
1But to proceed: There is a third sort, which come yet more near to the godly life, and may seem to have great wrong offered them, if they be not so taken: who because they keep within some civill course of honesty, and are free (some of them especially) from gross offences, think themselves to be of the best sort of good livers, and scorn to be accused, though their open faults are many: whom though God doth sufficiently brand, when he saith,§I That harlots shall enter sooner into his kingdom then they: 2yet because they take no warning by his word; he doth further bewray them, and set them out in deed to be known, such as he never took pleasure in, by suffering now and then, here and there, in all ages some such to hang and drown themselves, or to die in despair, or other miserable manner, if possibly he might bring some of the rest to repentance. These persuade themselves that they do live godly, and yet by apparent proof of Scripture may see plainly, that they do not so: for of such our Saviour speaketh when he saith to his Disciples, Matth. 5.20. Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. These (it feareth me to utter §Kit, but that it is Gods truth) as far off as they be from Gods kingdom, go in sundry points far before the two former sorts, who yet think their estate to be good. Oh therefore how many perish! And *yet some of all these three sorts, are sometime pricked in conscience, and sore disquieted in themselves for their sins (which is hardly procured and wrought in the most hearers, no not even by oft and sound teaching) but yet in deed this is only a ⟨p. 129⟩§Aslavish terrifying of them, for fear of the punishment:4 in which fear they do also confess their sin, and that in tears sometime. There may be seen in them also a leaving for the time of some of their old evil qualities, that a man would marvel at them, as John Baptist did, when he saw the Pharisees resort to his baptism. For this is but external, in some things, and for a season as Herod, who did many things at John his teaching: and as Ephraim in Hosea,