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…

¹²The third Cause of distractions in the Service of God, is, unpreparedness unto it. Job 11.13. If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands to hins— If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away— Then shalt thou be steadfast. First, prepare the heart, then stretch out the hands. He that keeps not his foot, when he goes into the house or service of God, a thousand to one he stumbles, and offers but the sacrifice of fools. He that's unfitted for any work, must needs be unfixed in it^*. As holy Mr. Dod used to say of Afflictions, when we are prepared for them, they are like a sword that only strikes upon our Armour; but when we be unprepared, they be like a sword striking on our bare skin: Even so, when the heart is well fixed and prepared for the Lord's service, an impertinent thought or suggestion falls on our Armour, but when we come unprepared, it meets with our very hearts, and runs away with them. If a man chop into a Prince's presence undressed, unbrushed, or ⟨p. 77⟩without his band, you may easily imagine how, when he is aware of the feathers or dirt up and down, he is distracted: so is the Soul woefully carried off, when approaching to God, the follies of sin, and vanities of the world disfigure and divert it from a close converse with God; and therefore a serious Christian doth not only pray, and watch in prayer, but watcheth unto prayer. We so eat our meat (says Tertullian of their primitive Supping) as remembering we must go pray before we go to bed