A26955:245
The mischiefs of self-ignorance and the benefits of self-acquaintance opened in divers sermons at…
The mischiefs of self-ignorance and the benefits of self-acquaintance opened in divers sermons at Dunstan's-West and published in answer to the accusations of some and the desires of others / by Richard Baxter.
London: printed by R. White for F. Tyton, 1662
THE Mischief of Self-ignorance, AND Benefit of Self-acquaintance. › Part
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.
Two sorts of persons have great need of this caution, that they dwell not too much on themselves. One is poor Melancholy people that can think of almost nothing else: Their distemper disposeth them to be always ⟨p. 158⟩poring on themselves, and fir•• their thoughts on their sin and misery and searching into all their own miser• ages, and making them worse then inde•• they are: You cannot call off their though• from continual self-condemning, and […] on their own misdoings and unhappiness ▪ They have a God, a Christ, a heaven, a treasure of precious promises to meditate on […] and they cannot hold their thoughts to these, (unless as they aggravate their sin and sorrows,) but live as if they had nothing to think on but themselves; and were made to be their own tormentors: day and night even when they should labour, and when they should sleep, they are busy in a fruitless vexation of themselves▪ These poor afflicted souls have need to be called from the excessive study of themselves.
Two sorts of persons have great need of this caution, that they dwell not too much on themselves. One is poor Melancholy people that can think of almost nothing else: Their distemper disposeth them to be alwayes ⟨p. 158⟩poring on themselves, and fir•• their thoughts on their sin and misery and searching into all their own miser• ages, and making them worse then inde•• they are: You cannot call off their though• from continual self-condemning, and 〈…〉 on their own misdoings and unhappiness ▪ They have a God, a Christ, a heaven, a treasure of precious promises to meditate on 〈…〉 and they cannot hold their thoughts to these, (unless as they aggravate their sin and sorrows,) but live as if they had nothing to think on but themselves; and were made to be their own tormentors: day and night even when they should labour, and when they should sleep, they are busie in a fruitless vexation of themselves These poor afflicted souls have need to be called from the excessive study of themselves.