A96093:524
The beatitudes
The beatitudes: or A discourse upon part of Christs famous Sermon on the Mount. Whereunto is added Christs various fullness. The preciousness of the soul. The souls malady and cure. The beauty of grace. The spiritual watch. The heavenly race. The sacred anchor. The trees of righteousness. The perfume of love. The good practitioner. By Thomas Watson, minister of the word at Stephens Walbrook in the city of London.The beatitudes: or A discourse upon part of Christs famous Sermon on the Mount. Wherunto is added Christs various fulnesse. The preciousnesse of the soul. The souls malady and cure. The beauty of grace. The spiritual watch. The heavenly race. The sacred anchor. The trees of righteousnesse. The perfume of love. The good practitioner. By Thomas Watson, minister of the word at Stephens Walbrook in the city of London.
London: printed for Ralph Smith, 1660
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.
2. The hypocrites desire is conditional; he would have ⟨p. 165⟩heaven and his sins to; heaven and his pride, heaven and his covetousness: The young man in the Gospel would have had heaven, provided he might keep his earthly possessions; many a man would have Christ, but there is some sin he must not be uncivil to, but gratify; this is the hypocrites hunger; but true desire is absolute. Give me saith the soul, Christ on any terms; let God propound what Articles he will, I will subscribe to them. Would he have me deny my self? would he have me mortify sin? I am content to do any thing, so I may have Christ; hypocrites would have Christ, but they are loth to part with a lust for him; they are like a man that would have a Lease, but is loth to pay down the Fine.
2. The hypocrites desire is conditional; he would have ⟨p. 165⟩heaven and his sins to; heaven and his pride, heaven and his covetousness: The young man in the Gospel would have had heaven, provided he might keep his earthly possessions; many a man would have Christ, but there is some sin he must not be uncivil to, but gratifie; this is the hypocrites hunger; but true desire is absolute. Give me saith the soul, Christ on any terms; let God propound what Articles he will, I will subscribe to them. Would he have me deny my self? would he have me mortifie sin? I am content to do any thing, so I may have Christ; hypocrites would have Christ, but they are loth to part with a lust for him; they are like a man that would have a Lease, but is loth to pay down the Fine.
3. Hypocrites desires are but desires, they are lazy §3and sluggish; when one excited Lipsius to the study of virtue, saith he, My mind is to it. Prov. 21.25. The desire of the slothful killeth him, for his hands refuse to labour. Many stand as the Carman in the Fable, crying, Help Hercules, when his Wane stuck in the Mud, when he should rather have put his shoulder to the Wheel. Men would be saved, but they will take no pains. Doth he desire water that will not let down the Bucket into the Well? but true desire is quickened into endeavour.