A77983:494
Four books on the eleventh of Matthew
Four books on the eleventh of Matthew: viz: I. Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest. II. Christ the great teacher of souls that come to him. To which is added a treatise of meekness and of anger. III. Christ the humble teacher of those that come to him. IIII. The only easy way to heaven. By Jeremiah Burroughs, preacher of the Gospel at Stepney and Cripple-Gate, London.Four books on the eleventh of Matthew: viz: I. Christ inviting sinners to come to him for rest. II. Christ the great teacher of souls that come to him. To which is added a treatise of meekness and of anger. III. Christ the humble teacher of those that come to him. IIII. The only easie way to heaven. By Jeremiah Burroughs, preacher of the Gospel at Stepny and Cripple-Gate, London.
London: printed by Peter Cole, 1659
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.
Secondly, Another way to facilitate and make easy that we do is this, Labour to keep our hearts in ⟨p. 755⟩a constant readiness and preparation to every duty; Duties are very hard because we fall upon them unprepared, we are not in a readiness continually unto every good work, you know when you are set about any work, and if you have many things to prepare, and to look for, when you should go about your work, it will go off but heavily, and it will be more troublesome, but now, when every thing is prepared in a readiness, then how soon and how easy doth the work go on? when you are going to Sea, there is making a great deal of preparation aforehand, now when the Ship is rigged and trimmed & every thing ready, then you are at an instant able to put off, and set say, and go away, when all things are ready, you go off with ease. If you would entertain Guests, if they come upon you suddenly, and you have nothing ready, what a deal of stir is in the house? what running up and down this way and that way, but now, if things be ready when they come, they are entertained with a great deal of delight, and all things in the house are in order, and things go off very easily, and there is no trouble in it. Truly, thus it should be with a Christian, he should not only perform duties now and then, but his life should be a constant walking with God, so that he should be always in readiness for every duty that God requires of him, & so it comes to be easy. As now for the duty of Prayer▪ you should keep your hearts in a praying frame continually, and then prayer would be easy, it would be an easy thing for you to pour forth your souls to God, when you keep your hearts in a praying frame all the day long. It may be when you go to prayer, you find a great deal of trouble within you, your thoughts wander, and your affections are dead and dull, and you rise up discouraged: But what is the reason, you do not keep your heart all the day ⟨p. 756⟩long in a praying frame, in a heavenly temper and frame in the day time, and therefore when you come to pray at night, there is no readiness in your hearts to the duty, but you are altogether indisposed to it. And so to come unto the Sacrament, you find it a great labour and toil to prepare for the Sacrament as you should, I speak of those that make conscience of preparation, many times they find it a mighty toil, a hard work;