things for you having by his Grace brought you so farre in the way to Heaven and given you such great and singular priviledges and many more then I have named in the next place I intreat you to consider what manner of persons ought you to be in all manner of holy Conversation Godlinesse Oh study now to walke worthy of the Lord in all well pleasing being fruitfull in every good worke Oh consider what the Lord hath deserved at your hands what he hath redeemed chosen and called you for why he hath called you into the followship of his Son Jesus Christ and with each other and bestowed such great mercy upon you and labour to answer Gods ends Eph. 4.1 Col 1 10 1. Thess 2.12 1. Give up your selves wholly to God devote your soules and bodys and all your injoyment strength wisdome all the guifts that you have received of God unto him doe it freely and heartily say Oh Lord all that I am or have is all thine here Lord I freely give it to thee againe 1 Sam. 1.11.28 1 Pet. 4 19. 2. Love your Heavenly Father and Saviour as much as you can oh you heires of Hâ—aven the more you love him the fuller your hearts will be of Love to him the more cheerefully you will serve him and obey him the more you will fear to offend him or to grieve him Love will keep you from running out after the Creature oh t is a heart preserving grace NOw for the increasing and actuating your love to the ever blessed God Psal 18.1 2. 1. Consider and realize much the great Love the anspeakable love of the Lord Jesus to you it hath and it will for ever even astonish and confound men and Angels 1 Joh. 3.1 Rom. 5.8 9 10. 2. Consider and realize the freenesse of it he loved thee because it pleased him no other reason can be given for it but because he would he saw nothing in you worthy of his Love he might have hated you and loved others Rom. 9.11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Deut. 7.6 7 8 9. 3. Consider how this Love hath been expressed God hath not expressed it by giving you corruptible things by giving you earthly inheritances not in giving you a reprobates portion no nor yet in making you perfectly holy without spot but in parting with his own deare Son in giving the dearly beloved of his Soule unto a cursed death for you to redeem you from the curse of the Law from sinne and Sathan to make you righteousnesse with the righteousnesse of God 2 Cor. 5. ult Rom. 5.8 1 Joh. 4.10 4. Believe and pray much for hearts full of Love go to him and say Oh Lord thou that hast all fullnesse of love I pray thee supply me Oh Lord I am empty Oh fill me Oh Lord thou hast commanded me to love thee Oh I desire to obey thee Oh thou hast promised to give it Deut. 30.6 Rom. 5.5 5. Consider that God is infinite in Glory and in Holinesse All the excellency beauty and holinesse that is upon all the Creatures is but a reflection of his Holinesse and Glory Oh how should poor wormer love him Exod. 15.11 6. Consider he hath loved you with an unchangeable love your sins Could never hinder its nor shall never be able to breake it he will continue to Love you though you oftentimes abate in your love to him Is 55.3 Jer. 31 3. 2. Take heed of Hypocrily in all your undertakings and walkings your words and deportments towards God and men be sure to serve the great God in sincerity and in truth and whatever you professe promise or do to or for men do it without guile Coll. 3.23 1 Pet. 2.1 Jam. 3.17 1. Consider if you do any thing though never so Good an action never so worthy of praise from mâ—n hypocritically the blessed God will loose his glory 't is not a Pelievers doing of a good worke that glorifies God unlesse his whole heart be sincerely ingaged unto God in the performance And therefore the Apostle injoyns servants and all others to do what they doe heartily as to the Lord Col. 3.23 1 Chron. 28.9 2 Chron. 25.1 2. 2. Be sure that you will loose the Comfort God hath appointed his servants their imployments and in their faithfull and dilligent performing their duty to him he hath promised to give them Comfort Joy and Peace but now when men leave out the speciall qualification to which God hath promised acceptance and his presence and other benefits they shall loose the blessing promised 1 Cor. 28 9. 3. You will lose your reward hereafter you shall never heare at the day of Judgement one word for your comfort of any duty that you have performed but what hath been done in syncerity and Truth 25. Math 21. 4. Con if you doe not serve the Lord Christ in syncerity and in Truth you will grieve the heart of one of your greatest friends the Holy Ghost 4 Eph. 30. 4. Con. You will cause the blessed God to depart from you God cannot he will not hold communion with such as are hypocriticall in their duties you may not be hypocrities yet you may have much hypocrisie mixed with your duties and so much if you be not watchfull and very carefull as may cause the Lord to withdraw from you 3. I Beseech you endeavour to avoid all occasions of evill what ever may endanger and ensnare your hearts and cause them to forget the Lord and to depart from him as 1. The company of sinners a man can hardly touch pitch and not be defiled therewith he must be a strong Christian indeed that can associate himselfe much with sinners and not be insnared and seduced by them Psal 6.8 Psal 26.4 2. Be sure that you give not way to temptations but resist them yeeld not to the tempter a moment if you doe you will be foyld David and Sampson and Jehosaphat you know were overcome by temptations because they dallied with them and did not resist them 3. Take heed that you be not too bold in using your Christian Liberty it is easy to run too farre that way th people of God are not so often prejudiced by unlawfull things as by lawfull your hearts will be soon taken with these poor vain delights that perish wich the useing Gal 5.13 1 Cor. 6.12 4. Then you must be very carefull to turne away your eyes from beholding such objects as may probably provok and stirre up your Lusts those things that your hearts are soonest affected withall that are most apt to draw your minds and affections after them as the fashions and 〈◊〉 of this present age you will quickly loose your minds oh I like such cloathes and such fashions Psal 119.37 Joh. 31.1 5. Avoid occasions of evill in this walke not so much by example as by precept look not too much upon the practises of Rich Wise and Learned men it is not safe to follow examples especially of such men except they be
transcendently gracious men follow men so farre as their practises agree with the precepts of God Phil. 3.17 1 Cor. 11.1 4. IF you desire to live as Christians and to walke worthy of the Lord then be ware of Idlenesse be alwaies imployed in some honest businesse for Idlenesse is a very great sinne and it will bring you into many inconveniencies Prov 31.27 Ezek 16.49 1 Tim. 5 13. 1 Tim 5.10 1. You will thereby tempt Satan to tempt you the Divell will be often visiting of an idle person and tempting him to many sinnes as he did David 2. Sam. 11. 2. Idlenesse will indispose your soules and bodies for spirituall duties it will bind up your hands and hearts if you give up your selves to idlenesse you will not be able to pray or heare or meditate or examine your hearts you will be putting off duties from time to time resolve to day to be better and to morrow when to morrow comes then you will be as unfit as before and then you will put off God and quiet your consciences with new resolutions and so never bring any thing to passe that you desire to doe and God requires of you 3. You will thereby incurre deadnesse dulnesse and regardlesnesse upon your hearts which will prove a heavy affliction to you you will be uncapable of injoying God in his Ordinances or to worship God spiritually 4. Idlenesse will bring continuall guilts upon you to trouble and disturb your consciences you will never be at quiet but alwaies perplexed and tormented 5. Idlenesse will expose you to many sinnes God will permit many stumbling blocks to lye in your way God oftentimes punisheth one sinne with another you will meet with many occasions to draw you to the commitment of other sinnes as David found by sad experience 6. Idlenesse will imbolden your Lusts to break out it will give vent to Lusts Idle persons have one Lust or other continually breaking out in words or actions 5. IF you will walk worthy of the Lord be carefull not to give way unto the indispositions of your hearts take heed of an indifferent frame of heart when you find an indifferency and loathness upon your hearts to pray or meditate or to examine your hearts or practises or to any other duty when you begin to have a very low esteeme of any duty oh friends suffer it not to be in you with quietnesse but 1. Goe to God immediatly in Christ's name and acquaint him with your condition say oh Lord it is so and so with me I have low and undervaluing thoughts of thy Commandements and my duty to thee Oh Lord I intreat thee for Jesus Christ his sake deliver my poor soule that I may serve thee with gladnesse Psal 55 22 Psal 119.32 Psal 4.1 2. Consider how deare it cost you heretofore when you were through your carelesnesse and neglectfulnesse under such a frame of heart what expence of labour paines and care you were at in praying weeping waiting hearing and the like before you were delivered 3. If it be objected to you that you cannot Pray or use any meanes to remove it from you at such a time consider that you ought to doe what you can though you cannot doe what you would as you would If you can but creep to God and only acquaint him with your present burthens it is not your unfitnesse if you doe what you can in Christ's name that can altogether hinder your prayers from being accepted Rom. 8.26 27. Psal 103.13 14. 4. Be sure that it will be worse with you before it will be better if you yeeld to them The quieter you are and the lesse you doe to remove such frames of heart the more these indispositions will grow and increase in you if you cannot use means now to remove them you will be lesse able hereafter 5. Consider that so long as you are under such a frame of heart you cannot be fit for any spirituall duty you cannot do any good work well 6. Use such quickenings considerations and Arguments as may probably be a speciall meanes to help you out to free you from these indispositions 1. As first that the blessed God can remove them with a word if he please and that he is willing and able Rom. 4 20 21. 2. That Jesus Christ came into the world to give life and to give it more abundantly he came to give quickening grace to believers through the whole course of their lives as at the first to deliver them out of a state of death and to bring them into a state of life Ioh. 10.10 Jer. 13.3 3. That God hath promised to quicken dead soules to remove all your cloggs and fetters that hinder you from a comfortable walking with him Psal 119.25 Rom 8 11. 4. That the Lord hath delivered you when you sought unto him nay when you were wholly dead in sinnes yea before ever you desired him to doe it for you and surely he will not now refuse to heare and help you when you call upon him Psal 119.50 93. 2 Eph. 5. 5. That it is the Office and work of the Holy Ghost to quicken Believers hearts that he is imployed by the Father and the Sonne in such heart quickning work Ioh. 6.63 6. That it is the will of your heavenly Father that you should serve him with lively chearfull hearts that he cannot endure to have his children lye under a dead indifferent frame of heart 2 Cor. 9.7 7. Consider that God is still your Father and Jesus Christ is still interceding in heaven for you even then when you are so bound up in your hearts as that you cannot bring up your affections to follow your judgements you have still an interest in your Fathers love and in the covenant of Grace and in Christs prayers Rom. 8.34 Ioh. 14.14 Heb. 1.25 6. IF you desire to walk with God then labour much to be watchfull Christians keep a strict eye upon your hearts no Christian like unto a watchfull Christian none so holy so humble so strong so wise and faithfull watchfullnesse is a preserving duty and therefore the Holy Ghost is often pressing it upon the Lords people Math. 24.42 Math. 26.41 Mark 13.33 to the end 1 Cor. 16.13 Coll. 4.2 1 Thes 5 6. 1 Pet. 4 7. 1. Labour to spie out the very first turning away of your hearts from God and then you may prevent your hearts from going any farther when you are upon your watch you will find quickly which way your hearts are enclining and where they intend and for what if you do so constantly and faithfully you will be able to keep your ground and still be Lords over your own hearts under God 2. Watch that you may see and quickly find out what secret flatteries and flesh pleasing insinuations the Divell at any time shall suggest unto you Satan will draw you off from God if possible not by violent temptations but by some sweet suggestions pretending that you may do such and
you no account why he doth so Psal 5 6. 9. Consider that you cannot do any thing without him you can neither heare nor pray nor discourse without his wâ—sedome and strength and therefore how little cause have you to be proud of your selves 2 Cor. 3.5 6. Rom. 26 27. 10. Consider that God requires and Commands you to walke humbly what doth the Lord your God requires of you the Prophet answers to walke humbly with your God Mich. 6.8 Col. 3.12 10. LAbour to have and to keep always a tender Conscience that the â—ppearance of sinne may make some impression on it Conscience is an active stirring faculty it will not be quiet if you give it liberty if you do not offer violence to it take heed my friends you may soon get a seared sleepy Conscience in a great measure and know for certain that if you stop the mouth of Conscience you will also hinder the spirits workings who worketh in and by Conscience and if the Holy Ghost and your Consciences should once cease their operations you may be suffered to run into sin and so from sin to sin for you have as it were bound up the hands of your keepers 2 Chron 34.27 Act. 24.16 1 Tim. 1.5 Heb. 10.22 11. Take heed of taking the glorious and fearfull name of God in vain of using it commonly and frequently without feare and trembling you will not use the name of some great men without some reverence and respect consider what God hath spoken of Himselfe to his Creatures to beget in them a holy feare and reverence how ill the Lord hath taken it that men speak so slightly and carelessely of him the Lord will not hold such a person guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine that is that speaketh of God in a common ordinary manner Oh my friends if you love the Great and Holy God shew your Love to him in being tender of his honour never make mention of the name of God but with a self abhorring but with a deliberate purpose to exalt and honour him Oh my beloved for the Lord Jesus Christ his sake if ever you hope to see the face of the Holy God I beseech you when you speak of God or to him do it with feare reverence and trembling Exod 20.7 Deut 5.11 Deut. 28.58 13. Treasure up the word into your hearts when and after you have heard it Preached unto you one great reason why you do not grow faster in knowledge in mortification and holinesse is because you are I am afraid like unto the hearers that James speaks of Jam. 1.23 24. if ever you exspect good by the word you must take pains with your hearts before you heare and when you are hearing and after that you have heard to consider what you have heard to labour to have it turned into Grace in every faculty of your soules to heare for afterward to search and see what advantage you may make of every Sermon you heare 1 Cor. 15.2 Math. 13.18 to 24. Psal 119.11 13. Labour to walk joyfully and chearfully a holy serious mirth a spirituall rejoycing is very commendable in a Saint let your rejoycing be in God not in your selves let it appear that Religion is a reall thing that you tast and feele more sweetnesse and joy in the wayes of God that you walk in then others to doe in their own wayes 1. Consider that God hath promised it he hath promised to make his servants joyfull to comfort and cheare their hearts Oh you blessed of the Lord make out to God the Father and Jesus Christ for much of it Isa 35.1 2 10. Isa 56.7 Isa 65.13 14. 2. Consider that the Lord commands you to rejoyce therefore labour to be joyfull and chearfull in obedience unto the command of God Phil. 4 4. Psal 97.12 3. Consider that Jesus Christ hath prayed for it when Jesus Christ was about to take his leave of his friends you know he made a long prayer to his Father for his Servants and Friends that he was to leave behind him in a persecuting world and among other Petitions you have this Ioh. 17.13 I come to thee Father that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves 1. Be sure to call to mind and to realize what once you were and what you are now you were once Children of wrath and of the Divell but now you are the sonnes and daughters of God once the servants of sinne but now the servants of Christ Eph. 2.1 2 4 5. Tit. 3.3 4 5. 2. Call to mind what great things Jesus Christ hath done for you and what it hath cost him to make heirs of eternall glory Tit. 2.14 Rom. 5.8 9. 3. Be often minding of your heavenly Fathers Love and free grace to you how he continues still to love you how his heart and Christs heart stands affected towards you that he loves you really and heartily Ioh. 3.16 1 Ioh. 3.1 4. Remember your future estate what you shall be though now you have many heavy burthens on you yet the time is coming that you shall be freed from all and shall be partakers of the fulnesse of Christs ioy you shall see him as he is realize it to your own soules that so your hearts may be affected greatly therewith 1 Ioh. 3.2 Coll. 3.4 2 Cor. 4.17 Revel 2.10 14. TAke heed that you give not place to distrustfull unbelieving thoughts and reasoning in a carnall manner at any crosse dispensations you will then quickly fall into the commitment of other sinnes you will murmure and repine against God you will hinder your prayers acceptance you will quickly weaken the hands of grace if you give way to the raisings up of unbeliefe and entertaine it in your hearts you will quickly ruine your selves 1. Therefore to prevent it consider that it is your duty to believe and not to entertain any distrustfull thoughts of God and God takes speciall notice of you whether you be obedient unto him accordingly 1 Joh. 3.23 Isa 26.4 Isa 50.10 2. Consider that distrustfulnesse will grieve the Holy Ghost he hath wrought faith in your hearts and commands you to use it in order to the destroying of unbeliefe and therefore now expects that you should believe and reject all such wicked thoughts Eph. 4.30 3. Consider how exceeding hurtfull it will be to your souls if it be not kept in subjection it will hinder your spirituall comforts and make you goe sorrowfull to your graves and disinable you for all your work and service for God Rom. 15.13 4. Consider what grounds you have to believe what helps and encouragements you have Gods commands his promises his Oath his faithfulnesse power goodnesse mercy and love engaged for you you have the Lord Jesus interceding for you in heaven with his merits Rom. 1.17 Heb. 6.17 18. 1 Thes 5.24 Rom. 8.34 15. Labour to be of lively active publique spirits let not the Divels disciples be more lively and active for their Lord then you are for Christ your
the worlds complements Rom 12.9 Coll. 3.23 1 Pet. 1.22 Eph. 6.5 Rom. 9.2 2 Cor. 5.12 34 That all the members be carefull to avoyd as much as they can the Company of wicked men especially in any thing that is not of good report or may be an offence unto any godly person 2 Chron. 18.1 3. 1 Cor. 5.17 Psal 110.7 35. That all endeavour to hold forth the power and life of Godlinesse before others to manifest the Spirituality of their profession to take heed and beware of a formall dead saplesse profession which may predice the mindes of men against the waies of God Phill. chap. 1. v. 27. 1 Pet. 3.1 26 That no member withdraw Communion from the said Church untill the said member hath given convincing reasons for his or her withdrawing why he cannot hold communion with the said Church Heb. 10.24 25. Heb 3.13 37 That if at any time any member or members of other true Churches that walke in Gospell order shall be recommended to the said church by the Pastor or other Officers of the said Churches and the said persons so recommended shall desire to pertake of all Gods Ordinannces with the Church that then the said Church ought to admit them into Communion provided they be not scandalous or ignorant Rom 16.1 38 That if any member shall desire a dismission from the said Church to joyn with another Church of Christ walking in Gospell order and it shall upon tryall appeare to be for the advantage of his soule or the conveniency of its habitation as being nearer that Church that he is to be a member of that then the said person ought to have a free dismission 39 That every member endeavour to avoid bitternesse of Spirit or bitter railing words towards such persons as doe not walke in the same way and order with them waiting for and endeavouring by all good means Loving and wining deportments and arguments to convince them of their errours provided they be holy serious persons in appearance at least Eph chap 4. v. 31. 2 Tim. 2.25 Phill. 3.15 40 That every member in his place and capacity doe endeavour to promote the interest of Christ in the world by praying or by any other lawfull meanes Math 6.10 41 That all should be very sparing in judging such persons as doe differ from them or the way wherein the said Church walkes to be no true Saints knowing that they stand or fall to their own master and that they must give an account of themselves to God provided they are otherwise sober Spirituall and humble men Rom 14.10 Math 7.1 42 That every particular member should seek the weal and happinesse of his fellow member as his own all should look at one anothers wealth Phil. 2.4 5 6. 1 Pet. 4.10 11. 1 Cor. 10.24 43. That every member should patiently submit unto and receive with thankfullnesse all Reproofs Instructions Councell Admonition or exhortations from any member of the said Church Heb. 13.17 Coll. 3.16 Tit. 3.10 44. That all endeavour to improve all their priviledges for the Glory of God and to peforme every duty to God with the more Strength wisedome and comfort and also for the Comfort and edification of each other Eph. 1.12 1 Cor. 10.31 1 Cor. 14.31 45. That all Children that shall be baptized in the Church are to be accounted members of the same Church untill they shall justly deprive themselves by scandall or otherwise for of such is the Kingdome of God Mark. 10.14 15 16. 46. That so long as the said Children shall continue members of the said Church the Church ought to take care of them as fellow members to pray for them and to further by all good meanes their eternall Salvation in an especiall manner Gol. 6.10 47. That Rich and Poore walke together as fellow members of Christ as brethren and sisters without patiality and having respect to some persons because they are rich or disrespecting others because they are poor Jam. 2.1 6. 48. That all should greatly humble themselves and mourn before the Lord for their upholding of corruption and complying with the abominable practices of men for the worship of God and so have thereby prophaned the Lords holy Ordinances and exposed them to contempt and caused many to desert and cast them off as vaine things because they saw no distinction made between the precious and the vile but doggs and children eate together as fellow heires of Heaven and God being thereby greatly dishonoured was pleased to withdraw his presence from them in so much that many gracious hearts have said that they never meet with any soule comforting or soule quickning presence of God in receiving the Lords supper with a mixt multitude but as soone as they came out from among them their herats were filled with his presence Ezechiel 22.26 Ezechiel 44.5 10. Jerem. 15.19 2 Cor. 6.17 49. That all endeavour to performe all their lawfull promises that they shall at any time make to Believers or unbelievers and so to do to and deale with others as they would have others do to them or deale with them Psal 15.4 Math. 7.12 50. That all labour and endeavour to present sin in themselves and in others to keep each other from the commitment of sin to endeavour the destruction of each others Lusts and to study wherein they may be furtherers of one anothers joy and when they have found out their duty accordingly to practise it Heb. 3.12 13. Heb. 10.24 25 26. Phil. 4.3 FINIS REader I entreat thee to mend these few Erratas pag. 4. lin 24. read since l. 26. r. for l. 37. r. breaking p. 7. l. 25. r. the l. 39. r. thy pag. 9. l. r. insensibly p. 18. l. 16. r. with hearts that p. 23. l. 19. r. he should give p. 24. l. r. for it they p. 27. l. 2. leave out to l. 19. r. you p. 32. l. 20. this l. 24. r. the.