A27016:896
A saint or a brute the certain necessity and excellency of holiness, &c. ...…
A saint or a brute the certain necessity and excellency of holiness, &c. ... / by Richard Baxter.
London: printed by R.W. for Francis Tyton, 1662
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Do you want recreation? Be acquainted with his Praise. Is there not a better cure for Melancholy here among the servants of the Lord, then in an Ale-house, or in the company of transgressors? Their carnal pleasures are unwholesome for you, like luscious fruits that will make you sick: But the delights of Faith are safe and healthful. Fleshly pleasure is windy and deceitful, and weakeneth and befools the soul: But the Joy of the Lord is our strength, Neb. 8. 10. A little may be too much of fleshly pleasures; and it is of very hard digestion, and leaves that behind that spoils the sport: But the further you go in the Delights of Faith, the better they are, and the sweeter you will find them. You may quickly catch a dangerous surfeit of your fleshly pleasures; but of spiritual Delights, the more, the better: For they are curing, reviving, and much confirm and exalt the soul. Our spiritual pleasures are so heavenly, and have so much of God and Glory in them, that they must needs prepare the soul for heaven, and be excellent helps to our salvation.
Do you want recreation? Be acquainted with his Praise. Is there not a better cure for Melancholy here among the servants of the Lord, then in an Ale-house, or in the company of transgressors? Their carnal pleasures are unwholsom for you, like luscious fruits that will make you sick: But the delights of Faith are safe and healthful. Fleshly pleasure is windy and deceitful, and weakeneth and befools the soul: But the Joy of the Lord is our strength, Neb. 8. 10. A little may be too much of fleshly pleasures; and it is of very hard digestion, and leaves that behind that spoils the sport: But the further you go in the Delights of Faith, the better they are, and the sweeter you will find them. You may quickly catch a dangerous surfet of your fleshly pleasures; but of spiritual Delights, the more, the better: For they are curing, reviving, and much confirm and exalt the soul. Our spiritual pleasures are so heavenly, and have so much of God and Glory in them, that they must needs prepare the soul for heaven, and be excellent helps to our salvation.
O therefore if you would live a Pleasant life, draw near to God, and by Faith behold him, and by Love adhere to him, and take a view of his infinite Goodness and all his perfections; and behold him in his wondrous works, and then break forth into his cheerful praises, and you shall taste such pleasures as the earth affordeth not. Launch forth into the boundless Ocean of Eternity,