• Table of Contents
 
• CHAPTER 1. Concerning the nature and extent of Christian devotion.
 
• CHAPTER 2. An inquiry into the reason, why the generality of Christians fall so far short of the holiness and devotion of Christianity.
 
• CHAPTER 3. Of the great danger and folly, of not intending to be as eminent and exemplary as we can, in the practice of all Christian virtues.
 
• CHAPTER 4. We can please God in no state or employment of life, but by intending and devoting it all to His honour and glory.
 
• CHAPTER 5. Persons that are free from the necessity of labour and employments, are to consider themselves as devoted to God in a higher degree.
 
• CHAPTER 6. Containing the great obligations, and the great advantages of making a wise and religious use of our money and worldly possessions.
 
• CHAPTER 7. How the imprudent use of an estate corrupts all the tempers of the mind, and fills the heart with poor and ridiculous passions, through the whole course of life; represented in the character of Flavia.
 
• CHAPTER 8. How the wise and pious use of an estate naturally carrieth us to great perfection in all the virtues of the Christian life; represented in the character of Miranda.
 
• CHAPTER 9. Containing some reflections upon the life of Miranda, and showing how it may, and ought to be imitated by all her sex.
 
• CHAPTER 10. Showing how all orders and ranks of men and women, of all ages, are obliged to devote themselves unto God.
 
• CHAPTER 11. Showing how great devotion fills our lives with the greatest peace and happiness that can be enjoyed in this world.
 
• CHAPTER 12. The happiness of a life wholly devoted to God farther proved, from the vanity, the sensuality, and the ridiculous poor enjoyments, which they are forced to take up with who live according to their own humours. This represented in various characters.
 
• CHAPTER 13. That not only a life of vanity, or sensuality, but even the most regular kind of life, that is not governed by great devotion, sufficiently shows its miseries, its wants and emptiness, to the eyes of all the world. This represented in various characters.
 
• CHAPTER 14. Concerning that part of devotion which relates to times and hours of prayer. Of daily early prayer in the morning. How we are to improve our forms of prayer, and how to increase the spirit of devotion.
 
• CHAPTER 15. Of chanting, or singing of psalms in our private devotions. Of the excellency and benefit of this kind of devotion. Of the great effects it hath upon our hearts. Of the means of performing it in the best manner.
 
• CHAPTER 16. Recommending devotions at nine o'clock in the morning, called in Scripture the third hour of the day. The subject of these prayers is humility.
 
• CHAPTER 17. Showing how difficult the practice of humility is made, by the general spirit and temper of the world. How Christianity requireth us to live contrary to the world.
 
• CHAPTER 18. Showing how the education which men generally receive in their youth makes the doctrines of humility difficult to be practised. The spirit of a better education represented in the character of Paternus.
 
• CHAPTER 19. Showing how the method of educating daughters makes it difficult for them to enter into the spirit of Christian humility. How miserably they are injured and abused by such an education. The spirit of a better education, represented in the character of Eusebia.
 
• CHAPTER 20. Recommending devotion at twelve o'clock, called in Scripture the sixth hour of the day. This frequency of devotion equally desirable by all orders of people. Universal love is here recommended to be the subject of prayer at this hour. Of intercession, as an act of universal love.
 
• CHAPTER 21. Of the necessity and benefit of intercession, considered as an exercise of universal love. How all orders of men are to pray and intercede with God for one another. How naturally such intercession amends and reforms the hearts of those that use it.
 
• CHAPTER 22. Recommending devotion at three o'clock, called in Scripture the ninth hour of the day. The subject of prayer at this hour is resignation to the Divine pleasure. The nature and duty of conformity to the will of God, in all our actions and designs.
 
• CHAPTER 23. Of evening prayer. Of the nature and necessity of examination. How we are to be particular in the confession of all our sins. How we are to fill our minds with a just horror and dread of all sin.
 
• CHAPTER 24. The conclusion. Of the excellency and greatness of a devout spirit.

A Serious Call To A Devout And Holy Life

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by William Law

*Edited Version

The text has been edited, and both the orthography and the punctuation have been conformed to American conventions.

This electronic version has been especially edited by those at truthaccordingtoscripture.com, updating some of the early modern English expressions to modern English, in order to make the text more comprehensible to the modern reader. Care has been taken not to alter the author's original thought and meaning of the text. The changes are as follows:

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture references have been updated using the text of the ESV bible translation. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service

Roman numeral scripture references have been converted to Arabic.

Archaic words, phrases, and spellings have been updated. The following is an example:

[Original sentence] You will find that riches, prosperity, pleasures, indulgences, state equipages, and honour, are just as much the happiness of Eusebius as they are of Leo. And yet if Christianity has not changed a man's mind and temper with relation to these things, what can we say that it has done for him? For if the doctrines of Christianity were practised, they would make a man as different from other people, as to all worldly tempers, sensual pleasures, and the pride of life, as a wise man is different from a natural;

[Updated sentence] You will find that riches, prosperity, pleasures, indulgences, status, and honor, are just as much the happiness of Eusebius as they are of Leo. And yet if Christianity has not changed a man's mind and nature with relation to these things, what can we say that it has done for him? For if the doctrines of Christianity were practiced, they would make a man as different from other people, as to all worldly dispositions, sensual pleasures, and the pride of life, as a wise man is different from an idiot;