Motives to holy living, or, Heads for meditation divided into consideratins, counsels, duties : together with some forms of devotion in litanies, collects, doxologies, &c.

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Title: Motives to holy living, or, Heads for meditation divided into consideratins, counsels, duties : together with some forms of devotion in litanies, collects, doxologies, &c.
Author: R. H., 1609-1678.
Publication: Oxford :: [s.n.],; 1688.
Rights/Permissions: This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this text, in whole or in part. Please contact project staff at eebotcp-info@umich.edu for further information or permissions.
Subject terms: Christian life -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item: "Motives to holy living, or, Heads for meditation divided into consideratins, counsels, duties : together with some forms of devotion in litanies, collects, doxologies, &c." In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A66967.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2024.

Pages

§. 121.

Length of Prayer.

33. As tasking your self to set times; so, at every of these times, to a large proportion thereof (measured by a glass, clock, or watch) indispensably to be bestowed on this holy exercise. This time of Prayer being the chief and most proper season of all good thoughts, and holy inspirations, and strong resolutions to Piety.

34. And this set, and large proportion of time: Both be∣cause so all festination, and sudden riddance of a set form (which most are liable-to, in this so burthensome-account∣ed duty) may be prevented; And also because much hesi∣tancy, dulness, unpreparedness, coldness, evagation of thoughts, hardly yet diuerted from our last employments, do accom∣pany

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the beginning of Prayer: but much tenderness, and consolation, and complacency, and incalescence of holy affections arise from the continuance of it (long meditation of God, as it were, irresistibly kindling, and then inflaming, our passions towards him.) For which reason it is said: motto pict vale il fin d'oratione, ch'il principio. So that who makes hast to end their Prayers entertain only the pain and toil, but forbear to tast the sweetness, and benefit, thereof. See several ways for enlarging Prayer below.