A saint or a brute the certain necessity and excellency of holiness, &c. ...…

These and such like are the sayings of God, by which thou mayst easily understand his mind concerning the necessity of a serious, diligent, holy life. And shall a blind and wretched worm come after, and dare to contradict him, and unsay all this, and say, What needs so much ado? What! darest thou thus openly resist God to his face? What art thou? and what is thy word, that we should regard it before the Word of God?

Quest. 27. Dost thou not know that by thy speaking against a diligent holy life, thou gratifyest the Devil, and openly servest him, and sayest the very things that he would have thee say? What can more please him, and advance his Kingdom, and suit his malicious ends, then to stop and cool men in the service of the Lord, and make them believe that holiness is but a needless thing? If the Devil might have leave to walk visibly among men, and speak to them in their language, he would speak to them as thou dost, and say the same things which he […] into thy mouth; and ⟨p. 82⟩would do all that he could to keep men from a holy life. And darest thou thus openly play his part?

Quest. 27. Dost thou not know that by thy speaking against a diligent holy life, thou gratifyest the Devil, and openly servest him, and saist the very things that he would have thee say? What can more please him, and advance his Kingdom, and suit his malicious ends, then to stop and cool men in the service of the Lord, and make them believe that holiness is but a needless thing? If the Devil might have leave to walk visibly among men, and speak to them in their language, he would speak to them as thou dost, and say the same things which he 〈…〉 into thy mouth; and ⟨p. 82⟩would do all that he could to keep men from a holy life. And darest thou thus openly play his part?