Compassionate counsel to all young men especially I. London apprentices, II. students of divinity,…

§ 3. And if a mans Sickness, Pain, or Distraction be a Calamity, the cure of which brings ease and joy; How much more ease and joy may it bring, to be cured from all the grievous Maladies of reigning sin? Sanctification will cure your minds of spiritual blindness and madness, that is, of damnable Ignorance, Unbelief, and Error: It will cure your affections of idolatrous, distracting, carnal Love; of the itch of fleshly Desires or Lusts; of the fever of revengeful passions, and malignant hatred to goodness and good men; and of self vexing envy and malice against others; of the greedy worm of Covetousness, and the drunken desire of ambitious and imperious minds: It will cure your Wills of their fleshly servitude and bias, and of that mortal Backwardness to God and holy things, and that sluggish dullness and loathness to choose and do what you are convinced must be done: It will make ⟨p. 57⟩good things easy and pleasant to you; so that you will no more think you have need to beg mirth from the Devil, or steal it from sin, as if God, Grace and Glory had none for you: But it will be so easy to you, to love and find pleasure in the Bible and good Books, in good Company and good Discourse, in spiritual Meditations and thoughts, in holy Sermons, Prayers, and Church Communion and Sacraments, even in Christ, in God, and the forethoughts of Heaven, that you will be sorry and ashamed to think that ever you forsook such joys for fleshly pleasure, and defiled your Souls with filthy and forbidden things. And is not the itch of Lust better cured than scratched? Is not the feverish and dropsy thirst after Drink, and Wealth, and Honour, better cured than pleased to the sinners death? And is not a lazy backwardness to Duty, better cured by spiritual health, than pleased with idleness and sleep?

§ 3. And if a mans Sickness, Pain, or Distraction be a Calamity, the cure of which brings ease and joy; How much more ease and joy may it bring, to be cured from all the grievous Maladies of reigning sin? Sanctification will cure your minds of spiritual blindness and madness, that is, of damnable Ignorance, Unbelief, and Error: It will cure your affections of idolatrous, distracting, carnal Love; of the itch of fleshly Desires or Lusts; of the feaver of revengeful passions, and malignant hatred to goodness and good men; and of self vexing envy and malice against others; of the greedy worm of Covetousness, and the drunken desire of ambitious and imperious minds: It will cure your Wills of their fleshly servitude and biass, and of that mortal Backwardness to God and holy things, and that sluggish dulness and lothness to choose and do what you are convinced must be done: It will make