18. Remember that thy sloth is a sinning against thy knowledge, and against thy experience, and against thy own covenants, promises, and profession; and therefore an aggravated sin. These and such like serious thoughts will do much to stir up a slothful soul to zeal and diligence.
Direct. IV. Drown not your hearts in worldly business or delights;[601] for these breed a loathing, and averseness, and weariness of holy things. They are so contrary one to the other, that the mind will not be eagerly set on both at once: but as it relisheth the one, it more and more disrelisheth the other. There is no heart left for God, when other things have carried it away.
Direct. V. Do all you can to raise your hearts to the love of God, and a delight in holy things, and then you will not be slothful, nor weary, nor negligent. Love and delight are the most excellent remedy against a slow, unwilling kind of duty. Know but how good it is to walk with God, and do his work, and thou wilt do it cheerfully.
Direct. VI. A secret root of unbelief is the mortal enemy of zeal and diligence; labour for a well-grounded belief of the word of God and the world to come, and stir up that belief into exercise, when you would have your slothful hearts stirred up. When there is a secret questioning in the heart, What if there should be no life to come? What if the grounds of religion be unsound? This blasteth the vigour of all endeavours, and inclineth men to serve God only with hypocritical halving and reserves; and maketh men resolve to be no further religious, than stands with present, fleshly happiness.
Direct. VII. Take heed of debauching conscience by venturing upon doubtful things, much more, by known and wilful sin.[602] For when once conscience is taught to comply with sin, and is mastered in one thing, it will do its duty well in nothing, and zeal will quickly be extinct; diligence will die when conscience is corrupted or fallen asleep.
Direct. VIII. Live in a constant expectation of death. Do not foolishly flatter yourself with groundless conceits that you shall live long. There is a great power in death to rouse up a drowsy soul, when it is taken to be near; and a great force in the conceit of living long, to make even good men grow more negligent and secure.
Direct. IX. Live among warm and serious christians; especially as to your intimate familiarity.[603] There is a very great power in the zeal of one to kindle zeal in others; as there is in fire to kindle fire. Serious, hearty, diligent christians, are excellent helps to make us serious and diligent. He that travelleth with speedy travellers, will be willing to keep pace with them; and tired sluggards are drawn on by others; when he that travelleth with the slothful will go slowly as they do.
Direct. X. Lastly, Be oft in the use of quickening means: live, if you can attain it, under a quickening, zealous minister. There is life in the word of God, which, when it is opened and applied livelily, will put life into the hearers. Read the holy Scriptures, and such lively writings as help you to understand and practise them. As going to the fire is our way when we are cold, to cure our benumbedness, so reading over some part of a warm and quickening book, will do much to warm and quicken a benumbed soul: and it is not the smallest help to rouse us up to prayer or meditation, and put life into us before we address ourselves more nearly unto God. I have found it myself a great help in my studies, and to my preaching: when studying my own heart would not serve the turn, to awake me to serious fervency, but all hath been cold and dull that I have done, because all was cold and dull within, I have taken up a book that was much more warm and serious than I, and the reading of it hath recovered my heat, and my warmed heart hath been fitter for my work. Christians, take heed of a cold, and dull, and heartless kind of religion; and think no pains too much to cure it: death is cold, and life is warm; and labour itself doth best excite it.