Four books on the eleventh of Matthew

11. Another Rule is this, Take heed in any duty of disturbing passion, the disturbance of passion puts people ou• of frame, that they are fit for nothing when they are passionate, passionate with God, passionate with men, because they cannot have what they would have, fling up all. As Children, that when they cannot have their desires, fling a way all, this makes every thing hard, but if you could but keep your selves in a constant quietness, you should have every condition and every duty delightful but I have spoken of that (you know) of the evil effects of it, and of meekness, & the gracious effects of that, but I bring it only now as a rule, that you may present all these rules together. As now suppose a company that are in a Boat, and there cometh a strong wind and tosseth the Boat, you shall have some silly people, that will be shrieking out, and mightily troubled, and through their passion will be rising up in the Boat, and be ready to tumble down all through their passionate carriage in the Boat, whereas those that have skill; will sit still, and be quiet▪ and give up themselves to the stream, and that is the best way to come with the greatest ease, you make the Boatman's labour so much the more difficult, by your unquietness in the Boat; So certainly, you make the work of God more difficult when your hearts are unquiet. Let the thing be what it will, you will say, Oh, no bodies condition is so as mine, Certainly, your unquietness will not help you, you will not come the sooner to your landing place, if people toss from one side of the Boat to the other, and be unruly in their carriage, they will not come the sooner to their landing place, the ⟨p. 768⟩quieter they sit in the Boat, the sooner they will come to land. So it is in a Christians course, he must not think to come to have his desires satisfied by his froward carriage, to be angry with God or man, or the means, that they do not work as they would have them, but the quieter they sit, and give up themselves to God, the sooner they come to their desires.

11. Another Rule is this, Take heed in any duty of disturbing passion, the disturbance of passion puts people ou• of frame, that they are fit for nothing when they are passionate, passionate with God, passionate with men, because they cannot have what they would have, fling up all. As Children, that when they cannot have their desires, fling a way all, this makes every thing hard, but if you could but keep your selves in a constant quietness, you should have every condition and every duty delightful but I have spoken of that (you know) of the evil effects of it, and of meekness, & the gracious effects of that, but I bring it only now as a rule, that you may present all these rules together. As now suppose a company that are in a Boat, and there cometh a strong wind and tosseth the Boat, you shall have some silly people, that wil be shriking out, and mightily troubled, and through their passion will be rising up in the Boat, and be ready to tumble down all through their passionate carriage in the Boat, whereas those that have skil; wil sit stil, and be quiet and give up themselves to the stream, and that is the best way to come with the greatest ease, you make the Boatmans labor so much the more dfficult, by your unquietness in the Boat; So certainly, you make the work of God more difficult when your hearts are unquiet. Let the thing be what it wil, you wil say, Oh, no bodies condition is so as mine, Certainly, your unquietness will not help you, you wil not come the sooner to your landing place, if people toss from one side of the Boat to the other, and be unruly in their carriage, they wil not come the sooner to their landing place, the