A61386:133
An antidote against distractions, or, An endeavour to serve the church, in the daily…An antidote against distractions, or, An indeavour to serve the church, in the daily…
An antidote against distractions, or, An endeavour to serve the church, in the daily case of wanderings in the worship of God by Richard Steele M.A. and minister of the Gospel.An antidote against distractions, or, An indeavour to serve the church, in the daily case of wandrings in the worship of God by Richard Steele M.A. and minister of the Gospel.
London: printed for Elizabeth Calvert, 1667
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.
Answ. 1.1 This argues the excellency of it, the more hard, the more honourable, and therefore this should rather whet, than dull thy courage. If you except all hard points out of the practice of piety, you will leave but few to be practised; It is the idle Scholar, that skips over the hardest words of his lesson, but the rod must fetch him back unto them: neither must you expect that God will take any notice of your easy duties, if you turn off the hard; he could have servants enough to do his easy work, but Religion must go all together, and almost Christianity will not serve the turn.
Answ. 1.1 This argues the excellency of it, the more hard, the more honourable, and therefore this should rather whet, than dull thy courage. If you except all hard points out of the practice of piety, you will leave but few to be practised; It is the idle Schollar, that skips over the hardest words of his lesson, but the rod must fetch him back unto them: neither must you expect that God will take any notice of your easie duties, if you turn off the hard; he could have servants enough to do his easie work, but Religion must go all together, and almost Christianity will not serve the turn.
- 1Answ. 1.
2. The way to Heaven is hard,1 and this ⟨p. 54⟩you were told at first: Mat. 7.14. Because strait is the Gate and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life. If you like it not, let it alone, but see you exchange for the better. To get a Kingdom is not easy, its easy to lose one. Who gets a race without sweating, or a victory without bleeding, or Heaven without striving? Hence Mr. Latimer to one that objects against the duty he was pressing, (which was that Landlords should send for their Tenants and end differences among them) that this were a good work indeed, but marvellous hard. O saith he, my friend, It is an hard matter to be a Christian. Heaven was never gotten yet without violence, and there is no new way found of coming there. But if Christ Jesus had not done harder work than this for thee, thou must never have come there.