its parts Confession Petitions For our Souls Bodiâ—â— Deprâ—cation Of sin Of punishmâ—â—t Intercession Thankâ—â—â—ving Spiritual Mercies Temporal Publick Prayer in the Church In the family Private Prayer Frequency in Prayer The advantages of Prayer Honour Benefit Pleasantness Carnallity one reason of its seeming otherwise Want of one another To ask nothing unlawful To ask in Faith In humility With attention Helps against wandring 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Prayer for Gods aid Watchfulnesse With Zeal With purity To right ends Bodily worship Repentance A turning from sin to God Times for this Duty Daily At set times In the time of affliction At Death The danger of deferring it till then The disadvantages of a death-bed repentance The custom of sin Bodily pains Danger of unsincerity Fasting Fasting a a revenge upon our selves Such revenges acceptable with God Yet no satisfaction for sins Times of fasting Second branâ—h of our dâ—ty to God Inward Idolatry Duty to our selves Humility The great sin of pride The danger Drawing into other sins Frustrating of remedies Betraying to punishment The folly In respect of the goods of Nature The goods of fortune The goods of grace Means of Humility Vain glory The sin The danger The folly â—elps aâ—â—inst vain â—â—â—ry Meekness Advantages of it Means of obtaining it Consideration Of our state The rule by which to trie our state The danger of inconsideration Our actions Before we do them After they are done Frequency of consideration Danger of omitting it Contentedness Contrary to murmuring To ambition To covetâ—usness Covetousness contrary to our duty to God To our selves To our neighbourâ— Contentedness contrary to envy Helps to contentedness Diligence Watchfulness against sin Industry in improving gifts Of Nature Of Grace To improve good motions The dangâ—â— of the contrary Chastity Uncleanness forbidden in the very lowest degrees The mischiefs of it To the Soul To the Body The Iudgments of God against it It shuts out from Heaven Helps to chastity Temperance In Eating Ends of eating Preserving of life Of Health Ru'es of Temperance in eating Means of it Temperancâ— in Drinkâ—ing False ends of drinking Good fellowship Preserving of kindness Cheering the spirits Putting away cares Passing away time Preventing reproach Pleasure of the drink Bargaining Degrees of this sin The great guilt of the strong drinkers The great mischiefs of this sin Exhortation to forsake it The difficulties of doing so considered Seeming nâ—â—â—ssity of drink Want of imployment Perswasions and reproaches of men The means of resisting them Which the advantages 〈◊〉 the hurt Reject the temptationâ— at the veâ—â— beginning The seâ—urity of doing so The efficaâ—y of these means if not hindred by love of the sin That lovâ— makes mâ—â— loth to beâ—lieve it dangerouâ— Sleep The rule of temperance therein The many sins that fâ—â—lâ—w tâ—e transgressing of it Other mischiefs of sloth Temperance in Recreation Cautions tâ—he observeâ— in them Undue end of sports Temperance in Apparel Apparel designed foâ— covering of shame Fencing from cold Distinction of persons Too much sparing a fault as well as excess Duty to our Neighbour Iustice. Negative To the Soul In the natural sence In the spiritual Drawing to sin the greatest injury Direct means of Indirect Men sadly to consider whom they have thus injured Heartily to bewail it Endeavour to repair it Negative justice to the body In respect of the life Several ways of being guilty of murder The Hainousness of the sin The great punishments attending it The strange discoveries of it We must waâ—ch diligently aâ—gainst all approaches of this sin Maiming â— great injury That which every man dreads for himself Yet worse if the man be poor Necessity of making what satisfaction we can Wounds and stripes injuries also This cruelty to others the effect of pride His possession Hâ—s wife The enticing a mans wife the greatest injustice To the woman To the man The most irrepairable His goods Malicious injustice Covetous injustice Oppression Gods vengeance against it Theft Not paying what we borrow What we are bâ—und for What we have promised Stealing the goods of our neighbour Deceit In Trust. In Traffick The sellers concealing the faults of his ware His over-rating it Fraud in the Buyer Many Temptations to deceit in Traffick The commonness of injustiee a reproach to Christianity It is not the way to enrich a man It ruines the Soul Eternally The necessity of Restitution His credit False witness Publick slanders Whispering Several steps towards this sin Despising and scoffing For infirmities For calamities Forsi â— Destroying the credit a great injury And irrepairable Yet every guilty person must do all he can to repaire the injury Iustice in the thoughts Positive Iustice. Speaking Truth a due to all men Lying expresly forbiden in Scripture The great commonness and folly of this sin Courteous behaviour a due to all men Not payed by the proud man Meekness a due to all men Brauling very inâ—ufferable It leads to that great sin of cursing Particular dues A respect due to men of extraordinary gifts We are not to envy them Nor detract from them The folly of both those sins A respect due to men in regard of their râ—nks and qualities Dues to those that are in any sort â—f want To the poor God withdraws those abilities which are not thus imployed Dues in respect of relations Gratitude to Benefactors The contrary too common Duty to Parents Dues to the Supreme Magistrate Honour Tribute Prayers for them Obedience Duties to our Pastors Love Esteem Maintenance Obedience Prayer for them Duties to our natural Parents Reverence Love Obedience Especially in their Marriage Ministring to their wants Duty to be paid even to the worst Parents Duty of Parents to children To Nourish them Bring them to Baptism Educate them Meane towards the educating of children The parent to watch over their souls even when they are grown up To provide for their subsistence To give them good example To bless them To give no unreasonable commands Dues to brethren Natural The necessity of love among brethren Spiritual brotherhood Our duty to hold communion with these brethren To bear with their infirmities To restore them after falls To sympathy with them The wife owes to the husband obedience Fidelity Love The faults of the Husband acquits not from these duties 〈…〉 Faithfulness Maintenance Instruction Husbands and Wâ—ves mutuâ—lly to pray for and assist each other in all good The vertue of the person the chief consideration in Marriage Unlawful Marriages Friendship It s dutiâ—â— Faithfulness Assistance Admonition Prayer Constancy Servantâ— owe to the Masters â—â—bedience Fidelity Submission to rebuke Diligence Masters owe to their Servants Iustice. Admonition Good example Means of Instruction Moderation in commandâ— Encouragement in well-doing Charity In the Affections To mens Souls To their Bodies Goods and Credit Effects of this Charity It casts out Envy Pride Censoriousness Dissembling Self-seeking Revenge Tâ—is charity to be extended even to enemies Motives thereunto Command of Christ. Example of God The disproportion between our offences against God and mens against us Pleasantness of this Duty Compared with the painfulness of the contrary If we forgive not God will not forgive us Gratitude to God The first riâ—ing of rancour to be supprest Charity in the Actions Towards the mind of our Neighbour His Soul Charity in respect of the Body Charity in respect of the Goods Towards the rich Towards the poor Motives of Alms-giving Manner of Alms giving Cheerfully The fear of impoverishing our selves by it vain and impious Give seasonably Of cruâ—lâ—y Prudâ—ntly Liberally Charity in respect of the Credit The acts of Charity in some respects acts of Iustice also The great rulâ— of Charity Peace Making He that undertakes it must be Peaceable himself Of going to Law This Chariâ—y of the Actions must reach to Enemies Self love 〈◊〉 hinderance to this Charity Prayer a means to procure is Christian duties both possible and pleasant Even when they expose us to outward sufferings The danger of delâ—ying our turning to God
then 't is so far from being valued that 't is not to be endured above ground but layed to rott in the Earth Yet to this viler part of us we perform a great deal of care all the labour and toil we are at is to maintain that But the more precious part the Soul is little thought of no care taken how it fares but as if it were a thing that nothing concerned us is left quite neglected never consider'd by us 3. This carelesnesse of the Soul is the root of all the sin we commit and therefore whosoever intends to set upon a Christian course must in the first place amend that To the doing wherof there needs no deep learning or extraordinary parts the simplest man living that is not a natural fool hath understanding enough for it if he will but act in this by the same rules of common reason whereby he proceeds in his worldly business I will therefore now briefly set down some of those motives which use to stir up our care of any outward thing and then apply them to the Soul 4. There be four things especially which use to awake our care the first is the worth of the thing the second the usefulnesse of it to us when we cannot part with it without great damage and mischief the third the great danger of it the fourth the likelyhood that our care will not be in vain but that it will preserve the thing cared for 5. For the first we know our care of any worldly thing is answerable to the worth of it What is of greatest price we are most watchful to preserve and most fearful to lose no man locks up dung in his chest but his money or what he counts precious he doth Now in this respect the Soul deserves more care then all the things in the world besides for 't is infinitly more worth First in that is made after the image of God it was God that breathed into man this breath of life Gen 27. Now God being of the greatest excellency and worth the more any thing is like him the more it is to be valued But 't is sure that no creature upon the earth is at all like God but the Soul of man and therefore nothing ought to have so much of our care Secondly the Soul never dies We use to prize things according to their durablenesse what is most lasting is most worth Now the Soul is a thing that will last for ever when Wealth Beauty Strength nay our very bodies themselves fade away the Soul still continues Therefore in that respect also the Soul is of the greatest worth and then what strange madnesse is it for us to neglect them as we do We can spend Days and Weekes and Moneths and Years nay our whole lives in hunting after a little wealth of this world which is of no durance or continuance â—nd in the mean time â—et this great durable treasure our Souls be stoâ—â— from us by the Divel 6. A second motive to our care of any thing is the usefulnesse of it to us or â—he great mischief we shall have by the â—osse of it Common reason teaches us â—his in all things of this life If our â—aires fall we do not much regard 〈◊〉 because we can be well enough withâ—ut them But if we are in danger to lose our eyes or limbs we think all the care we can take little enough to prevent it because we know it will be a great misery But certainly there is no misery to be compared to that misery that followes the losse of the Soul 'T is true we cannot lose our Souls in one sense that is so lose them that they shall cease to be but we may so lose them in another that we shall wish to lose them even in that That is we may lose that happy estate to which they were created and plunge them into the extremest misery In a word we may lose them in Hell whence there is no fetching them back and so they are lost for ever Nay in this consideration our very bodies are concerned those darlings of ours for which all our care is layed out for they must certainly after death be raised again and be joyned again to the soul and take part with it in whatever state if then our care for the body take up all our time and thoughts and leave us none to bestow on the poor Soul it is sure the Soul will for want of that care be made for ever miserable But it is as sure that that very body must be so too And therefore if you have any true kindnesse to your body shew it by taking care of your Souls Think with your selves how you will be able to endure everlasting burnings if a small spark of fire lighting on the least part of the body be so intolerable what will it be to have the whole cast into the hottest flames and that not for some few howres or days but for ever so that when you have spent many thousand of years in that unspeakable torment you shall be no neerer comâ—ng out of it then you were the first day you went in think of this I say and think this withall that this will certainly be the end of neglecting the Soul and therefore afford it some care if it be but in pity to the body that must bear a part in its miseries 7. The third Motive to the care of any thing is its being in danger now a thing may be in danger two wayes first by enemies from without This is the case of the sheep which is still in danger of being devoured by wolves and we know that makes the Shepheard so much the more watchful over it Thus is it with the soul which is in a great deal of danger in respect of its enemies Those we know are the World the Flesh and the Divel which are all such noted enemies to it that the very first act we do in behalfe of our Souls is to vow a continual war against them This we all do in our Baptism and whoever makes any truce with any of them is false not only to his Soul but to his vow also becomes a forsworn creature A consideration well worthy our laying to heart But that we may the better understand what danger the Soul is in let us a little consider the quality of these enemies 8. In a war you know there are divers things that make an enemy terrible The first is subtilty and cunning by which alone many victories have been won and in this respect the Divel is a dangerous adversary he long since gave sufficient proof of his subtlety in beguiling our first parents who yet were much wiser then we are and therefore no wonder if he deceive and cheat us Secondly the watchfulness and diligence of an enemy makes him the more to be feared and here the Divel exceeds it is his trade business to destroy us and he is no loiterer
whereas now there is a constant diet provided for them every Sunday if we will conscionably imploy it may be a festival day to them may bring them in such spiritual food as may nourish them to eternal life We are not to look on this day with grudging like those in Amos 8. 5. Who ask When will the Sabbath be gone that we may set forth wheat As if that time were utterly lost which were taken from our worldly business But we are to consider it as the gainfullest as tâ—e joyfullest day of the week a day of harvest wherein we are to lay up in store for the whole week nay for our whole lives 19. But besides this of the weekly Lords day there are other times which the Church hath set apart for the remembrance of some special mercies of God such as the Birth and Resurrectoon of Christ the Descent of the Holy Ghost and the like and these dayes we are to keep in that manner which the Church hath ordered to wit in the solemn worship of God and in particular thanksgiving for that special blessing we then remember And surely whoever is truely thankful for those rich mercies cannot think it too much to set apart some few dayes in a year for that purpose But then we are to look that our Feasts be truly spiritual by imploying the day thus holily and not make it an occasion of intemperance and discords as too many do who consider nothing in Christmas and other good times but the good cheers and jollity of them For that is doing despight in stead of honour to Christ who came to bring all purity and soberness in the world and therefore must not have that coming of his remembred in any other manner 20. Other dayes there are also set a part in memory of the Apostles and other Saints wherein we are to give hearty thanks to God for his graces in them particularly that they were made instruments of revealing to us Christ Iesus and the way of salvation as you know the Apostles were by their Preaching throughout the world And then farther we are to meditate on those Examples of holy life they have given us and stir up our selves to the imitation thereof And whoever does uprightly set himself to make these uses of these several holy dayes will have cause by the benefit he shall find from them to thank and not to blame the Church for ordering them 21. Another sort of dayes there are which we are likewise to observe and those are dayes of fasting and humiliation and whatever of this kind the Church injoynes whether constantly at set times of the year or upon any special and more sudden occasion we are to observe in such a manner as she directs that is not only in a bare abstaining from meat which is only the bodies punishment but in afflicting our soules humbling them deeply before God in a hearty confessing and bewailing of our own and the nations sins in earnest Prayers for Gods pardon and forgiveness and for the turning away of those judgments which those sins have called for But above all in turning our selves from our sins loosing the bands of wickedness as Isaiah speaks Chap. 58. 6. And exercising our selves in works of mercy dealing our bread to the hungry and the like as it there followes 22. Fourthly we are to express our reverence to God by honouring his Word and this we must certainly do if we do indeed honour him there being no surer sign of our dispising any person then the setting light by what he sayes to us as on the contrary if we value one every word he speaks will be of weight with us Now this word of God is expresly contained in the holy Scriptures the Old and New Testament where he speaks to us to shew us his Will and our duty And therefore to this Word of his we are to beare a wonderful respect to look upon it as the rules by which we must frame all the actions of our life and to that end to study it much to read in it as often as we can if it may be never to let a day pass us without reading or hearing some part of it read 23. But then that is not all We must not only read but we must mark what we read we must diligently observe what duties there are which God commands us to perform what faults they are which God there charges us not to commit together with the rewards promised to the one and the punishments threatned to the other When we have thus marked we must lay them up in our memory not so loosely and carelesly that they shall presently drop out again but we must so fasten them there by often thinking and meditating on them that we may have them ready for our use Now that use is the directing of our lives and therefore whenever we are tempted to the committing of any evil we are then to call to mind this is the thing which in such a Scripture is forbidden by God and all his vengeances threatned against it and so in like manner when any opportunity is offered us of doing good to remember this is the duty which I was exhorted to in such a Scripture and such glorious rewards promised to the doing of it and by these considerations strengthen our selves for resisting of the evil and performance of the good 24. But besides this of the written Word it hath pleased God to provide yet further for our instruction by his Ministers whose office it is to teach us Gods Will not by saying any thing contrary to the written word for whatsoever is so can never be Gods Will but by explaining it and making it easier to our understandings and then applying it to our particular occasions and exhorting and stirring us up to the practice of it all which is the end at which first their Catechizing and then their preaching aimeth And to this we are to bear also a due respect by giving diligent heed thereto not only being present at Catechizings and Sermons and either sleep out the time or think of somewhat else but carefully marking what is said to us And surely if we did but rightly consider how much it concern us we should conclude it very reasonable for us to do so 25. For First as to that of Catechizing it is the laying the foundation upon which all Christian Practice must be built for that is the teaching us our duty without which it is impossible for us to perform it And though it is true that the Sriptures are the Fountains from whence this knowledg of duty must be fetched yet there are many who are not able to draw it from this fountain themselves and therefore it is absolutely necessary it should be thus brought to them by others 26 This Catechizing is generally look't on as a thing belonging only to the youth and so indeed it ought not because the oldest are not to learn
may receive such Ghostly couâ—sel advice and comfort that his conscience may be relieved c. This is surely such advice as should not be neglected neither at the time of coming to the Sacrament nor any other when we are under any fear or reasons of doubt concerning the state of our Souls And for want of this many have run into very great mischief having let the doubt fester so long that it hath either plunged them into deep distresses of conscience or which is worse they have to still that disquiet within them betaken themselves to all sinful pleasures and so quite cast off all care of their Souls 22. But to all this it will perhaps be said that this cannot be done without discovering the nakedness and blemishes of the Soul and there is shame in that and therefore men are unwilling to do it But to that I answer that it is very unreasonable that should be a hinderance For first I suppose you are to chuse onely such a person as will faithfully keep any secret you shall commit to him and so it can be no publick shame you can fear And if it be in respect of that single person you need not fear that neither for supposing him a godly man he will not think the worse of you but the better that you are so desirous to set all right between God and your Soul But if indeed there were shame in it yet as long as it may be a means to cure both your trouble and your sin too as certainly Godly and faithful counsel may tend much to both that shame ought to be despised and it is sure it would if we loved our Souls as well as our body for in bodily diseases be they never so foul or shameful we count him a fool who will rather miss the cure then discover it and then it must here be so much a greater folly by how much the Soul is more precious then the body 23. But God knows it is not onely doubting persons to whom this advice might be useful there are others of another sort whose confidence is their disease who presume very groundlesless of the goodness of their estates And for those it were most happy if they could be brought to hear some more equal judgements then their own in this so weighty a business The truth is we are generally so apt to savour our selves that it might be very useful for the most especially the more ignorant sort sometimes to advise with a spiritual guide to enable them to pass right judgements on themselves and not onely so but to receive directions how to subdue and mortify those sins they are most inclined to which is a matter of so much difficulty that we have no reason to despise any means that may help us in it 24. I have now gone through those several parts of duty we are to perform before our receiving In the next place I am to tell you what is to be done at the time of receiving When thou art at the Holy Table first humble thy self in an unfeigned acknowledgement of thy great unworthiness to be admitted there and to that purpose remember again between God and thine own Soul some of thy greatest and foulest sins thy breaches of former vows made at that Table especially since thy last receiving Then meditate on those bitter sufferings of Christ which are set out to us in the Sacrament when thou seest the bread broken remember how his blessed body was torn with nails upon the Cross when thou seest the wine poured out remember how his precious blood was spilt there And then consider it was thy sins that caused both And here think how unworthy a wretch thou art to have done that which occasioned such torments to him How much worse then his very crucifiers They crucified him once but thou hast as much as in thee lay crucified him daily They crucified him because they knew him not but thou hast known both what he is in himself The Lord of Glory and what he is to thee a most tender and merciful Saviour and yet thou hast still continued thus to crucify him afresh Consider this and let it work in thee first a great sorrow for thy sins past and then a great hatred and a firm resolution against them for the time to come 25. When thou hast a while thus thought on these sufferings of Christ for the increasing thy humility and contrition Then in the second place think of them again to stir up thy Faith look on him as the sacrifice offered up for thy sins for the appeasing of Gods wrath and procuring his favour and mercies toward thee And therefore beleevingly yet humbly beg of God to accept of that satisfaction made by his innocent and beloved Son and for the merits thereof to pardon thee whatever is past and to be fully reconciled to thee 26. In the third place consider them again to raise thy thankfulness Think how much both of shame and pain he there endured but especially those great agonies of his Soul which drew from him that bitter cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Mat. 27. 45. Now all this he suffered only to keep thee from perishing And therefore consider what unexpressable thanks thou owest him and endeavour to raise thy Soul to the most zealous and hearty thanksgiving For this is a principal part of duty at this time the praising and magnifying that mercy which hath redeemed us by so dear a pâ—ice Therefore it will here well become thee to say with David I will take the Cup of Salvation and will call upon the Name of the Lord. 27. Fourthly look on these sufferings of Christ to stir up this love and surely there cannot be a more effectâ—al means of doing it for here the love of Christ to thee is most manifest according to that of the Apostle 1 Jo. 3. 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God towards us because he layed down his life for us And that even the highest degree of love for as himself tels us Jo 15. 13. Greater love then this hath no mâ—n then that a man lay down his life for his friend Yet even greater love then this had he for he not onely died but died the most painful and most reproachful death and that not for his friends but his utter enemies And therefore if after all this love on his part there be no return of love on ours we are worst then the vilest sort of men for even the Publicans Matth. 5. 46. Love those that love them Here therefore chide and reproach thy self that thy love to him is so faint and cool when his to thee was so zealous and affectionate And endeavour to enkindle this holy flame in thy Soul to love him in such a degree that thou mayest be ready to copy out his example to part with all things yea even life it self whenever he cals for
thing beseech God that he will inflame thy heart with this heavenly fire of devotiâ—n and when thou hast obtained it beware that thou neither quench it by any wilful sin nor let it go out again for want of stirring it up and imploying it 23. Fifthly we must Pray with purity I mean we must purge our hearts from all affections to sin This is surely the meaning of the Apostle 1 Tim. 2. 8. When he commands men to lift up holy hands in Prayer and he there instances in one special sort of sin wrath and doubting whereby doubting is meant those unkind disputes and contentions which are so common amongst men And surely he that cherishes that or any other sin in hiâ— heart can never lift up those holy hands which are required in this duty And then sure his prayers be they never so many or earnest will little avail him The Psalmist will tell him he shall not be heard Psal. 66. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me Nay Solomon will tell him yet worse that his prayers are not onely vain but abominable Pro. 15. 8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. And thus to have our prayers turned into sin is one of the heaviest things can befal any man we see it is set down in that sad Catalogue of curses Psal. 109. 7. Therefore let us not be so cruel to our selves as to pull it upon our own heads which we certainly do if we offer up prayers from an impure heart 24. In the last place we must direct our prayers to right ends And that either in the respect of the prayer it self or the things we pray for First we must pray not to gain the praise of devotion amongst men like those hypocrites Mat. 6. 5. Nor yet onely for company or fashion sake to do as other do But we must do it first as an act of worship to God Secondly as an acknowledgment that he is that great spring from whence alone we expect all good things And thirdly to gain a supply of our own or others needs Then in respect of the things prayed for we must be sure to have no ill aimes upon them we must not ask that we may consume it upon our lusts Ia. 4. 3. as those do who pray for wealth that they may live in riot and excess and for power that they may be able to mischief their enemies and the like But our end in all must be Gods glory first and next that our own and others Salvation and all other things must be taken in onely as they tend to those which they can never do if we abuse them to sin I have now done with that first part of worship that of the Soul 25. The other is that of the body and that is nothing else but such humble and reverent gestures in our approaches to God as may both express the inward reverence of our Souls and may also pay him some tribute from our very bodies with which the Apostle commands us to glorify God as well as with our Souls and good reason since he hath created and redeemed the one as well as the other whensoever therefore thou offerest thy prayers unto God let it be with all lowliness as well of body as of mind according to that of the Psalmist Psal. 95. 6. O come let us worship let us fall down and kneel before the Lord our maker 26. The ninth duty to God is REPENTANCE That this is a duty to God we are taught by the Apostle Acts 20. 21. where speaking of repentance he stiles it repentance towards God And there is good reason this should be a duty to him since there is no sin we commit but is either mediatly or immediatly against him For though there be sins both against our selves and our neighbours yet they being forbidden by God they are also breaches of his Commandements and so sins against him This repentance is in short nothing but a turning frâ—m sin to God the casting off all our former evils and in stead thereof constantly practising all those Christian duties which God requireth of us And this is so necessary a duty that without it we certainly perish we have Christs word for it Luke 13. 5. Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish 27. The directions for performing the several parts of this duty have been already given in the preparation to the Lords Supper and thither I refer the reader Onely I shall here mind him that it is to be lookt upon as a duty to be practised onely at the time of receiving the Sacrament For this being the onely remedy against the poyson of sin we must renew it as often as we repeat our sins that is daily I mean we must every day repent of the sins of that day for what Christ saith of other evils is true also of this sufficient to the day is the evil thereof we have sins enough of each day to exercise a daily repentance and therefore every man must thus daily call himself to account 28. But as it is in accounts they who constantly set down their daily expences have yet some set time of casting up the whole summe as at the end of the week or moneth so should it also be here we should set aside some time to humble our selves solemnly before God for the sins not of that day onely but of our whole lives And the frequenter these times are the better For the oftner we thus cast up our accounts with God and see vast debts we are run in to him the more humbly shall we think of our selves and the more shall thirst after his mercy which two are the special things that must qualify us for his pardon He therefore that can assign himself one day in the week for this purpose will take a thriving course for his Soul Or if any mans state of life be so busie as not to afford him to do it so often let him yet come as neer to that frequency as is possible for him remembring alwayes that none of his worldly imployments can bring him in neer so gainful a return as this spiritual one will do and therefore it is very ill husbandry to pursue them to the neglect of this 29. Besides these constant times there are likewise occasion all times for the performance of this duty such especially are the times of calamity and affliction for when any such befals us we are to look on it as a message sent from Heaven to call us to this duty and therefore must never neglect it when we are thus summoned to it lest we be of the number of them who despise the chastisements of the Lord Heb. 12. 5. 30. There is yet another time of repentance which in the practice of men hath gotten away the custome from all those and that is the time of death which it is true is
drink on by his example especially if he be one of any authority but if he be one whose company the rest are fond of his drinking is then a certain ensnaring of them for then they will drink too rather then lose him There is yet a greater fault that many of these stronger brained drinkers are guilty of That is the setting themselves purposely to make others drunk playing as it were a prize at it and counting it matter of triumph and victory to see others fall before them This is a most horrible wickedness it is the making our selves the Devils factors endeavouring all we can to draw our poor brethren into eternal misery by betraying them to so grievous a sin and therefore it may well be reckoned as the highest step of this vice of drinking as having in it the sin of mischieving others added to the excess in our selves And though it be lookt upon in the world as a matter onely of jest and merriment to make others drunk that we may sport our selves with their ridiculons behaviour yet that mirth will have a sad conclusion there being a woe expresly threatned by God to this very sin Hab. 2 15. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink that puttest thy bottle to him and makest him drunk that thou mayest look on their nakedness And sure he buyes his idle pastime very dear that takes it with such a woe attending it 13. I have now gone through the several motives to and degrees of this sin of drunkenness wherein I have been the more particular because it is a sin so strangely reigning amongst us no Condition no Age or scarce Sex free from it to the great dishonour of God reproach of Christianity and ruine not onely of our own Souls hereafter but even of all our present advantages and happiness in this life theâ—â— being no sin which betrayes each single committer to more mischiefs in his understanding his health his credit his estate then this one doth And we have reason to belâ—eve this sin is one of those common crying guilts which have long layen heavy upon this Nation and pulled down those many sad judgements we have groaned under 14. Therefore Christian Reader let me now intreate nay conjure thee by all that tenderness and love thou oughtest to have to the honour of God the credit of thy Christian profession eternal welfare of thine own Soul the prosperity of the Church and Nation whereof thou art a member Nay by that love which certainly thou hast to thy own Soul to think sadly of what hath been spoken And then judge whether there be any pleasure in this sin which can be any tolerable recompence for all those mischiefs it brings with it I am confident no man in his wâ—â—s can think there is if there be not then be ashamed to be any longer that fool which shall make so wretched a bargain but begin at this instant a firm and a faithful resolution never once more to be guilty of this swinish sin how often soever thou hast heretofore fallen into it and in the fear of God betake thee to a stâ—â—ct temperance which when thou hast done thou wilt find thou hast made not onely a gainful but a pleasant exchange For there is no man that hath tryed both courses but his own heart will tell him there is infinitely more present comfort and pleasure in sobriety and temperance then ever all his drunken revelliâ—gs afforded him 15. The main difficulâ—y is the first breaking off the custome and that arises partly from our selves partly from others That from our selves may be of two sorts the first is when by the habit of drinking we have brought such false thirsts upon our selves that our bodies seems to require it and this wants nothing bnt a little patience to overcome Do but refrain some few daies and it will afterwards grow easy for the hardness arising onely from custome the breaking of that does the business If thou say it is very uneasy to do so consider whether thou hadst 〈◊〉 me disease which would cerâ—ainly kill thee â—f thou didst not for some little time refrain â—mmoderate drinking thou wouldst not rather forbear then dye If thou wouldst not thou art so brutish a sot that it is in vain to perswade thee but if thou hadst then consider how unreasonable it is for thee not to do â—it in this case also the habit of drinking may well pass for a mortal disease it proves so very often to the body but will most certainly to the Soul and therefore it is madness to stick at that uneasiness in the cure of this which thou wouldst submit to in a less danger Set therefore but a resolute purpose to endure that little trouble for a small time and this first difficulty is conquered for after thou hast a while refrained it will be perfectly easy to do so still 16 The second difficulty is that of spending the time which those that have made drinking their trade and business know scarce how to disâ—ose of But the very naming of this difficulty directs to the cure get thee some business somewhat to imploy thy self in which as I have already shewed will be easily found by all sorts of persons but those meaner to whom I now write can sure never want it ready at hand they being generally such as are to be maintained by their labour and therefore to them I need only give this advice to be diligent in that business they have to follow that close as they ought and they will have little occasion to seek out this way of spending their time 17. There is another sort of difficulty which I told you arises from others and that is either from their perswasions or reproaches It is very lâ—kely if thy old companions see thee begin to fall off they will set hard to thee to bring thee back to thy old course they will urge to thee the unkindness of forsaking the company of thy friends the sadness of renouncing aâ—l that mirth and jollity which good fellows as they call them enjoy and if thou canst not thus be won they will affright thee with the reproach of the world and so trye if they can mock thee out of thy sobriety 18 The way to ove come this difficulty is to foresee it therefore when thou first enterest on thy course of temperance thou art to make account thou shalt meet with these perhaps many other temptations and that thou maist make a right judgment whether they be worthy to prevail with thee take them before hand and weigh them consider whether that false kindnâ—ss that is maintained among men by drinking be worthy to be compared with that reall and everlasting kindness of God which is lost by it Whether that foolish vain miâ—th bear any weight with the present joyes of a good conscience here or with those greater of Heaven hereafter Lastly whether the unjust reproach of
require more then others Every mans own exâ—erience must in this judge for him but then let him judge uprightly and not consult with his sloth in the case for that will still with Sâ—lomons sluâ—gard cry a little more sleep a little more slumber a litâ—lâ— more folding of the handâ— to sleep Prov. 24. 33. But take onely so much as he really finds to tend to the end forementioned 3. He that doth not thus limit himself fals into several sins under this general one of slâ—th As fiâ—st he wastes his time that precious talent which was committed to him by God to improve which he that sleeps away doth like him in the Gospel Mâ—â— 25. 18. Hides it in the earth when he should be trading with it and you know what was tâ—e doom of that unprofitable servanâ— vers 30 Cast ye him into outer darkness he that gives himself up to the darkness of slâ—ep here shall there have darkness without slâ—ep but with weeping and gnashing o◠〈◊〉 Secâ—ndly he injures his body immoderate slâ—ep fils that full of diseases makes it a very sink of humours as daily experiâ—nces shew us Thirdly he injuâ—esâ— is Soul also and that not onely in robbing it of the service of the body but in dulling its proper facâ—lties mâ—king them useless and unfit for those imploâ—ments to which God hath designed them of all which ill husbandry the poor Soul must one day give account Nay lastly he affronts and despises God himself in it by crossing the very end of his creat on which was to serve God in an active obedience but he that sleeps away his life directly thwarts contradicts that and when God saith Man is born to labour his practice saith the direct contrary that man was born to rest Take heed therefore of giving thy self to immoderate sleep which is the commâ—tting of so many sins in one 4. But besides the sin of it it is also very hurtful in other respects it is the sure baâ—e of thy outward estate wherein the sluggish person shall never thrive according to that observation of the wise man Proverb 23. 21. Drowsiness shall cover a man with rags that is the slothful man shall want convenient clothing nay indeed it can scarce be said that the sluggard lives sleep you know is a kind of death and he that gives himself up to it what doth he but dye before his time Therefore if untimely death be to be lookt upon as a curse it must needs be a strange folly to choose that from our own sloth which we dread so much from Gods hand 5. The fourth part of temperance concerns recreations which are sometimes necessary both to the body and the mind of a man neither of them being able to endure a constant toil without somewhat of refreshment between and therefore there is a very lawful use of them but to make it so it will be necessary to observe these cautions 6. First We must take care that the kind of them be lawful that they be such as have nothing of sin in them we must not to recreate our selves do any thing which is dishonourable to God or injurious to our neighbour as they do who make profane or filthy backbiting discourse their recreation Secondly we must take care that we use it with moderation And to do so we must first be sure not to spend too much time upon it but remember that the end of recreation is to fit us for business not to be it self a business to us Secondly we must not be too vehement and earnest in it nor set our hearts too much upon it for that will both ensnare us to the using too much of it and it will divert and take off our minds from our more necessary imployments like school-boyes who after a play-time know not how to set themselves to their books again Lastly we must not set up to our selves any other end of recreations but that one lawful of giving us moderate refreshment 7. As first we are not to use sports onely to pass away our time which we ought to study how to redeem not fling away and when it is remembred how great a work we have here to do the making our calling and election sure the securing our title to Heaver hereafter and how uncertain we are what timâ— shall be allowed us for that purpose it will appear our time is that which of all other things we ought most industriously to improve And therefore sure we have little need to contrive waies of driving that away which flyes so fast of it self and is so impossible to recover Let them that can spend whole dayes and nights at cards and dice and idle pastimes consider this and withal whether they ever bestowed a quarter of that tâ—me towards that great business of their lives for which all their time was given them and there think what a woful reckoning they are like to make when they come at last to account for that precious treasure of their time Secondly we must not let our covetousness have any thing to do in our recreations if we play at any game let the end of our doing it be meerly to recreate our selves not to win money and to that purpose be sure never to play for any considerable matter for if thou do thou wilt bring thy self into two dangers the one of covetousness and a greedy desire of winning the other of rage and anger at thy ill fortune if thou happen to loose both which will be apt to draw thee into other sins besides themselves Covetousuess will tempt thee to câ—eat and cousen in gaming and anger to swearing and cursing as common experience shews us too often If thou find thy self apt to fall into either of these in thy gaming thou must either take some course to secure thy self against them or thou must not permit thy self to play at all for though moderate play be in it self not unlawful yet if be the occasion of sin it is so to thee and therefore must not be ventured on For if Christ commands us so strictly to avoid temptations that if our very eyes or hands offend us that is prove snares to us we must rather part with them then be drawn to sin by them How much rather must we part with any of these unnecessary sports then run the hazard of offending God by them He that so playes layes his Soul to stake which is too great a prize to be played away Besides he loses all the recreation and sport he pretends to aime at and instead of that sets himself to a greater toil then any of those labours are he was to ease by it For sure the desires and fears of the covetous the impatience and rage of the angry man are more reall pains then any the most laborious work can be 8. The last part of Temperance is that of apparel which we are again to measure by the agreeableness to the ends
benefits deserve what a shameful unthankfulnesse is it then to deny him so poor a satisfaction as this the forgiving our brethren suppose a man that were ransomed either from death or slavery by the bounty sufferings of another should upon his release be charged by him that so freed him in return of that kindnesse of his to forgive some slight debt which was owing him by some third person would you not think him the unthankfullest wretch in the world that should refuse this to so great a benefactor yet such a wretch much worse is every revengeful person Christ hath bought us out of eternal slavery and that not with corruptible things as silver and gold 1 Pet. 1. 8. But with his own most precious blood and hath earnestly recommended to us the love of our brethren and that with the most moving arguments drawn from the greatnesse of his love to us and if we shall obstinately refuse him in so just so moderate a demand how unspeakable a vilenesse is it and yet this we do downright if we keep any malice or grudg to any person whatsoever Nay farther this is not barely an unthanfulness but there is also joyned with it a horrible contempt and despising of him This Peace and unity of brethren was a thing so much prized and valued by him that when he was to leave the world he thought it the most precious thing he could bequeath and therefore left it by way of legacy to his Disciples Jo. 14. 27. Peace I leave with you we use to set a great value on the slightest bequests of our dead friends to be exceeding careful not to lose them and therefore if we wilfully bangle away this so precious a Legacy of Christ 't is a plain sign we want that love and esteem of him which we have of our earthly friends and that we despise him as well as his Legacy The great prevailing of this sin of uncharitablenesse has made me stand thus long on these considerationâ— for the subduing it God grant they may make such impression on the reader as may be available to that purpose I shall add only this one advice that these or whatsoever other remedies against this sin must be used timly 'T is oftentimes the frustrating of bodily medicines the applying them too late and 't is much oftner so in spiritual therefore if it be possible let these and the like considerations be so constantly and habitually fixt in thy heart that they may frame it to such meekness as may prevent all risings of rancour or revenge in thee for it is much better they should serve as armour to prevent then as balsome to cure the wound But if this passion be not yet so subdued in thee but that there will be some stirrings of it yet then be sure to take it at the very first rise and let not thy fancy chew as it were upon the injury by often rolling it in thy mind but remember betimes the foregoing considerations and withal that this is a time and season of tryal to thee wherein thou mayest shew how thou hast profited in Christs School there now being an opportunity offered thee either of obeying and pleasing God by passing by this offence of thy brother or else of obeying and pleaseing Satan that lover of discord by nourishing hatred against him Remember this I say betimes before thou be inflamed for if this fire be throughly kindled it will cast such a smoak as will blind thy reason and make thee unfit to judge even in this so very plain case whether it be bettet by obeying God to purchase to thy self eternally bliss or by obeying Satan eternal torments Whereas as if thou put the question to thy self before this commotion and disturbance of mind 't is impossible but thy understanding must pronounce for God And then unless thy will be so perverse that thou wilt deliberately choose death thou wilt surely practice according to that sentence of thy understanding I shall add no more on this first part of Charity that of the Affections I prooceed now to that of the Actions And this indeed is it whereby the former must be approved we may pretend great charity within but if none break forth in the Actions we may say of that love as Saint James does of the Faith he speaks of that it is dead Jam. 2. 20. It is the loving indeed that must approve our hearts before God 1 Jo. 3. 18. Now this love in the Actions may lâ—kewise fitly be distributed as the former was in relation to the four distinct capacities of our brethren their Souls their Bodies their Goods and Credit The Soul I formerly told you may be considered either in a natural or spiritual sense and in both of them Charity binds us to do all the good we can As the Soul signifies the mind of a man so we are to endeavour the comfort and refreshment of our brethren desire to give them all true cause of joy cheerfulness especially when we see any under any sadness or heaviness then to bring out all the cordials we can procure that is to labour by all Christian and fit means to chear the troubled spirits of our brethren to comfort them that are in any heaviness as the Apostle speaks 2 Cor. 1. 4. But the Soul in the spiritual sense is yâ—t of greater concernment and the securing of that is a matter of much greater moment then the refreshing of the mind onely in as much as the eternal sorrwes and sadnesses of Hell exceed the deepest sorrowes of this life and therefore though we must not omit the former yet on this we are to imploy our most zealous charities Wherein we are not to content our selves with a bare wishing well to the Souls of our brethren this alone is a sluggish sort of kindness unworthy of those who are to imitate the great Redeemer of Souls who did and suffered so much in that purchase No we must add also our endeavour to make them what we wish them To this purpose 't were very reasonable to propound to our selves in all our conversings with others that one great design of doing some good to their Souls If this purpose were fixt in our minds we should then discern perhaps many opportunities which now we overlook of doing something towards it The brutish ignorance of one would call upon thee to endeavour his instruction the open vile of another to reprehend admonish him the faint and weak vertue of another to confirme and incourage him Every spiritual want of thy brother may give thee some occasion of exercising some part of this Charity or if the circumstances be such that upon sober judging thou think it vain to attempt any thing thy self as if either thy meanness or thy unacquaintedness or any the like impediment be like to render thy exhortations fruitless yet if thou art industrious in thy Charity thou mayest probably find out some other
intreaty no perswasion can prevail with them to make this so reasonable so necessary a change not but that they acknowledge it needful to be done but they are unwilling to do it yet they would enjoy all the pleasures of sin as long as they live and then they hope at their death or some little time before it to do all the business of their Souls But alas Heaven is too high to be thus jumped into the way to it is a long and leasurely ascent which requires time to walk The hazards of such deferring are more largely spoken of in the discourse of Repentance I shall not here repeat them but desire the Reader seriously to lay them to heart and then surely he will think it seasonable counsel that is given by the wise man Ecclus 5. 7. Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put not off from day to day PRIVATE DEVOTIONS For Several OCCASIONS London Printed for T. Garthwait at the little North Door of St. Pauls CHRISTIAN READER I Have for the help of thy devotions set down some FORMS of PRIVATE-PRAYER upon several occasions If it be thought an omission that there are none for Families I must answer for my self that it was not from any opinion that God is not as well to be worship'd in the Family as in the Closet but because the providence of God and the Church hath already furnish'd thee for that purpose infinitely beyond what my utmost care could do I mean the PUBLICK LITURGY or COMMON-PRAYER which for all publick addresses to God and such are family-Prayers are so excellent and useful that we may say of it as David did of Goliah's sword 1 Sam. 21. 9. There is none like it DIRECTIONS for the MORNING As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning lift up thy heart to God in this or the like short Prayer LORD As thou hast awaked my body from sleep so by thy grace awaken my soul from sin and make me so to walk before thee this day and all the rest of my life that when the last trumpet shall awake me out of my grave I may rise to the life immortal through Jesus Christ. WHEN thou hast thus begun suffer not without some urgent necessity any worldly thoughts to fill thy mind till thou have also payd thy more solemn devotions to Almighty God and therefore during the time thou art dressing thy self which should be no longer then common decency requires exercise thy mind in some spiritual thoughts As for example Consider to what temptations thy business or company that day are most like to lay thee open and arm thy self with resolutions against them or again consider what occasions of doing service to God or good to thy neighbour are that day most likely to present themselves and resolve to embrace them and also contrive hoâ— thou maist improve them to the uttermost But especially it will be fit for thee to examine whether there have any sin escaped thee since thy last nights examination If after these considerations any farther leisure remain thou maist profitably imploy it in meditating on the general resurrection whereof our rising from our beds is a representation and of that dreadful judgment which shall follow it and then think with thy self in what preparation thou art for it and resolve to husband carefully every minute of thy time towards the fitting thee for that great account As soon as thou art ready retire to some private place and there offer up to God thy Morning Sacrifice of Praise and Prayer PRAYERS for the MORNING At thy first kneeling down say O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity three Persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to thee by Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING O Gracious Lord whose mercies endure for ever I thy unworthy servant who have so deeply tasted of them desire to render thee the tribute of my humblest prayses for them In thee O Lord I live and move and have my being thou first madest me to be and then that I might not be miserable but happy thou sentest thy Son out of thy bosome to redeem me from the power of my sins by his grace and from the punishment of them by his blood and by both to bring me to his glory Thou hast by thy mercy caused me to be born within thy peculiar fold the Christian Church where I was early consecrated to thee in Baptism and have been partaker of all those spiritual helps which might aid me to perform that Vow I there made to thee and when by my own willfulnesse or negligence I have failed to do it yet thou in thy manifold mercies hast not forsaken me but hast graciously invited me to repentance afforded me all means both outward and inward for it and with much patience hast attended and not cut me off in the acts of those many damning sins I have committed as I have most justly deserved It is O Lord thy restraining grace alone by which I have been kept back from any the greatest sins and it is thy inciting and assisting grace alone by which I have been enabled to do any the least good therefore not unto me not unto me but unto thy name be the praises For these all other thy spiritual blessings my Soul doth magnify the Lord all that is within me praise his Holy Name I likewise praise thee for those many outward blessings I enjoy as Health Friends Food and Raiment the comforts as well as the necessaries of this life for those continual protections of thy hand by which I and mine are kept from dangers and those gracious deliverances thou hast often afforded out of such as have befallen me and for that mercy of thine whereby thou hast sweetned and alayed those troubles thou hast not seen fit wholy to remove For thy particular preservation of me this night and all other thy goodness towards me Lord grant that I may render thee not onely the fruit of my lips but the obedience of my life that so these blessings here may be an earnest of those richer blessings thou hast prepared for those that love thee and that for his sake whom thou hast made the Authour of eternal Salvation to all that obey him even Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O Righteous Lord who hatest iniquity I thy sinful creature cast my self at thy feet acknowledging that I most justly deserve to be utterly abhorred and forsaken by thee for I have drunk iniquity like water gone on in a continued course of sin and rebellion against thee daily committing those things thou forbiddest and leaving undone those things thou commandest mine heart which should be an habitation for thy Spirit is become a cage of unclean birds of foul and disordered affections and out of this abundance of the heart my mouth speaketh my
God and bewâ—â—â— of Asa's sin who sought to the Physicions and not to the Lord 2 Chr. 6. 12. Dispose also betimes of thy temporal affaires by making thy will and setting all things in such order as thou meanest finally to leave them in and defer it not till thy sickness grow more violent for then perhaps thou shalt not have such use of thy reason as may fiâ— thee for it or if thou have it will be thâ—n much more seasonable to imploy thy thoughts on higher things on the world thou art going to rather then that thou art about to leave we cannot carry the things of this world with us when we go hence and it is not fit we should carry the thoughts of them Therefore let those be early dispatched that they may not disturb thee â—t last A Prayer for a sick Person O MERCIFUL and Righteous Lord the God of health and of â—â—ckness of life and of death I most unfeignedly acknowledg that my great abuse of those many days of strength and wellfare which thou hast afforded me hath most justly deserved thy present visitation I desire O Lord humbly to accept of this punishment of mine iniquity and to bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him And O thou merciful Father who designest not the ruine but the amendment of those whom thou scourgest I beseech thee by thy grace so to sanctifie this correction of thine to me that this sickness of my body may be a means of health to my soul make me dâ—ligent to search my heart and do thou O Lord enable me to discover every accursed thing how closely soever concealed there that by the removal thereof I may make way for the removal of this punishment Heal my soul O Lord which hath sinned against thee and then if it be thy blessed will heal my body also restore the voice of joy and health unto my dwelling that I may live to praise thee and to bring forth fruits of repentance But if in thy wisdome thou hast otherwise disposed if thou have determined that this sickness shall be unto death I beseech thee to fit and prepare me for it give me that sincere and earnest repentance to which thou hast promised mercy and pardon weane my heart from the world and all its fading vanities and make me to gasp and pant after those more excellent and durable joyes which are at thy right hand for ever Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and in all the pains of my body in all the agonies of my spirit let thy comforts refresh my soul and enable me patiently to waite till my change come And grant O Lord that when my earthly house of this Tabernacle is dissolved I may have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens And that for his sake who by his precious blood hath purchased it for me even Jesus Christ. A THANKSGIVING for RECOVERY O GRACIOUS Lord the God of the spirits of all flâ—sh in whose hand my time is I praise and magnifie thee that thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption and restored me to health again it is thou alone O Lord that hast preserved my life from destruction thou hast chastned and corrected me but thou hast not given me over unto death O let this life which thou hast thus graciously spared be wholy consecrated to thee Behold O Lord I am by thy mercy made wâ—ole O make me strictly careful to sin no more least a worse thing come unto me Lord let not this reprieve thou hast now given me make me secure as thinking that my Lord delayeth his coming but grant me I beseech thee to make a right use of this long suffering of thine and so to imploy every minute of that time thou shalt allow me that when thou shalt appear I may have confidence and not be ashamed before thee at thy coming Lord I have found by this approach towards death how dreadful a thing it is to be taken unprepared O let it be a perpetual admonition to me to watch for my Masters coming And when the pleasures of sin shal present themselvs to entice me O make me to remember how bitter they will be at the last O Lord hear me and as thou hast in much mercy afforded me time so grant me also grace to work out my own salvation to provide oyl in my lamp that when the Bridgroom cometh I may go in with him to the marriage Grant this I beseech thee for thy dear Sons sake A Prayer at the approach of death O ETERNAL and everliving God who first breathedst into man the breath of life and when thou takest away that breath he dyes and is turned again to his dust look with compassion on me thy poor creature who am now drawing neer the gates of death and which is infinitely more terrible the bar of judgment Lord my own heart condemns me and thou art infinitely greater then my heart and knowest all things The sins I know and remember fill me with horrour but there are also multitudes of others which I either observed not at the time or have since carelesly forgot which are all present to thee Thou settest my misdeeds before thee and my secret sins in the light of thy countenance and to what a mountainous heap must the minutely provocations of so many years arise How shall one so ungodly stand in thy Judgment or such a sinner in the Congregation of the Righteous And to add yet more to my terrour my very repentance I fear will not abide the tryal my frequent relapses heretofore have sufficiently witnessed the unsincerity of my past resolutions And then O Lord what can secure me that my present dislikes of my sins are not rather the effects of my amazing danger then of any reall change and O Lord I know thou art not moâ—ked nor wilt accept of any thing that is not perfectly sincere O Lord when I consider this fearfulness and trembling comes upon me and an horrible dread overwhelmeth me my flesh trembleth for fear of thee and my heart is wounded within me But O Lord one deep calleth upon another the depth of my misery upon the depth of thy mercy Lord save now or I perish eternally O thou who willest not that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance bring me I beseech thee though thus late to a sincere Repentance such as thou wilt accept who tryest the heart Create in me O God a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me Lord one day is with thee as a thousand years O let thy mighty Spirit work in me now in this my last day whatsoever thou seest wanting to fit me for thy mercy and acceptation Give me a perfect and entire hatred of my sins and enable me to present thee with that sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart which thou hast promised not
ECCLESIA ANGLICANA Read Pray The WHOLE DUTY of MAN Plainly layd down for the use of the meanest Reader with PRAYERS 〈…〉 Take heed and beware of false Prophets Matt. 7. The Practice of Christian Graces OR The WHOLE Duty OF Man LAID DOWN In a Plaine and Familiar WAY for the Use of All but especially the MEANEST READER Divided into XVII CHAPTERS ONE whereof being read every LORDS DAY the Whole may be read over THRICE in the YEAR WITH PRIVATE DEVOTIONS For Several OCCASIONS Viz. For MORNING EVENING SACRAMENT The SICK c. Times of PUB CALAMITIES London Printed by â— Maxwell for T. Garthwait at the little North door of S. Pauls 1658. Mr. GARTHVVAIT YOu needed not any Intercession to recommend this task to me which brought its Invitations and Reward with it I very willingly Read over all the sheets both of the Discourse and the Devotions annext and find great cause to bless God for both not discerning what is wanting in any part of either to render it with Gods blessing most sufficient and proper to the great End designed the Spiritual supplies and advantages of all those that shall be exercised therein The subject matter of it is indeed what the Title undertakes The whole Duty of Man Set down in all the Branches with those advantages of brevity and Partitions to invite and support and engage the Reader That Condescension to the meanest capacities but with all That weight of Spiritual Arguments wherein the best proficients will be glad to be assisted that it seems to me equally fitted for both sorts of Readers which shall bring with them a sincere desire of their own either present or future advantages The Devotion part in the conclusion is no way inferior being a most seasonable aid to every mans infirmities and hath extended it self very particularly to all our principal concernments The Introduction hath supplyed the place of a Preface which you seem to desire from me and leaves me no more to add but my Prayers to God That the Author which hath taken care to conveigh so liberal an Alms to the Corban so secretly may not miss to be rewarded openly in the visible power and benefit of this work on the hearts of the whole Nation which was never in more need of such supplies as are here afforded That His Allsufficient Grace will bless the seed sown and give an abundant encrease is the humblest request of March 7. 1657. Your assured Friend H. HAMMOND A TABLE Of the CONTENTS of the several CHAPTERS or PARTITIOâ—S in this Book Which according to this Division by Reading one of these Chapters every Lords Day the whole may be Read over Thrice in the year PARTITION 1. OF the Duty of Man by the light of Nature by the light of Scripture Of Faith the Promises of Hope of Love c. page 1. PARTITION 2. Of Humility of Submission to Gods Will in respect of Obedience of Patience in all sorts of Sufferings and of Honour due to God in several wayes in his House Possessions His Day Word Sacraments c. page 34. PARTITION 3. Of the Lords Supper Of Preparation before Receiving of Duties to be done at the Receiving and afterwards c. page 67. PARTITION 4. Honour due to Gods Name Of Sinning against it Blasphemy Swearing Assertory Oaths Promissory Oaths Vnlawful Oaths Of Perjury Of Vain Oaths and the Sin of them c. page 98. PARTITION 5. Of Worship due to Gods Name Of Prayer and its several parts Of Publick Prayers iâ— the Church in the Family Of Private Prayâ—er Of Repentance c. Of Fâ—sting page 109 PARTITION 6. Of Duties to our Selves Of Sobriety Humility The great Sin of Pride the Danger the Folly of this Sin Of Vain-Glory the Danger Folly Means to prevent it Oâ— Meekness the Means to obtain it c. page 136 PARTITION 7. Of Contentedness and the Contraries tâ— it Murmuring Ambition Covetoâ—sness Envy Helps to Contentedness Of Dutie which concern our Bodies Of Chastity Helpâ— to it Temperance Rules of Temperance iâ— Eating c. page 158. PARTITION 8. Of Temperance in Drinking False Ends oâ— Drinking viz. Good fellowship Putting away Cares c. page 177. PARTITION 9. Temperance in Sleep The Rule of it c. Of Recreation of Apparel page 197 PARTITION 10. Of Duties to our Neighbours Of Justice Negative and Positive Of the Sin of Murâ—her Of the Hainousness of it The Punishments of it And the Strange Discoveries thereof Of Maiming Wounds and stripes page 206. PARTITION 11. Of Justice about the Possessions of our Neighbour Against Injuring him as Concerning his Wife His Goods Of Malice Covetousness Oppression Theft Of Paying Debts c. page 226. PARTITION 12. Of Theft Stealing the Goods of our Neighbour Of Deceit in Trust in Traffick Of Restitution c. page 238. PARTITION 13. Of False Reports False Witness Slanders Whisperings Of Despising and Scoffing for Infirmities Calamities Sins c. Of Positive Justice Speaking the Truth Of Lying Of Humility and Pride Of Envy Detraction Of Gratitude c. page 251. PARTITION 14. Of Duty to Parents Magistrates Pastors c. Of the Duty of Parents to Children c. page 278. PARTITION 15. Of Duty to our Brethren and Relations Husband Wife Friends Masters Servants page 305. PARTITION 16. Other Branches of our Duty to our Neighbour Of Charity to Mens Souls Bodiesâ— Goods c. page 329. PARTITION 17. Of Charity Alms-giving c. Of Charity in respect of our Neighbours Credit Of Peace-making Of going to Law Of Charity to our Enemies c. Christian Duties both Possible and pleasant page 358. A TABLE of the PRAYERS Prayers for Morning 562 Prayers for Night 570 Collects for several Graces 577 A Paraphrase on the Lords Prayer 591 Pious Ejaculations out of the Book of Psalms 594 Brief heads of Examination before the Sacrament 598 Prayers before the Sacrament 613 Ejaculations at the Lords Table c 619 Prayers after the Sacrament 621 Prayers for the Sick 631 Ejaculations for the Sick 63â— Prayers for Publick Calamities 644 A PREFACE To the ensuing TREATISE Shewing the Necessity of Caring for the Soul § 1. THE only intent of this ensuing Treatise is to be a short plain direction to the very meanest Readers to behave themselves so in this world that they may be happy for ever in the next But because 't is in vain to tell men their duties till they be perswaded of the necessity of performing it I shall before I proceed to the particulars required of every Christian endeavour to win them to the practice of one general duty preparatory to all the rest and that is the consideration and care of their own Souls without which they will never think themselves much concern'd in the other 2. Man We know is made up of two parts a body and a soul The body only the husk or shell of the soul a lump of flesh subject to many diseases and pains while it lives and at last to death it self and
at it he goes up and down seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet 5. 8. He watches all opportunities of advantage against us with such diligence that he will be sure never to let any slip him Thirdly an enemy neer us is more to be feared then one at a distance for if he be far off we may have time to arm and prepare our selves against him but if he be neer he may steal on us unawars And of this sort is the flesh it is an enemy at our doors shall I say nay in our bosoms it is always neer us to take occasion of doing us mischiefs Fourthly the baser and falser an enemy is the more dangerous he that hides his malice under the shew of friendship will be able to do a great deal the more hurt And this again is the flesh which like Job to Abner 2 Sam. 3. 27 Pretends to speak peaceably to us but wounds us to death 't is forward to purvey for pleasures and delights for us and so seeâ—â—s very kind but it has a hook under that baite and if we 〈◊〉 at it we are lost Fifthly the number of enemies make them more terrible and the world is a vast army against us There is no state or condition in it nay scarce a creature which dâ—th not at sometime or other fight against the Soul The honours of the world seek to wound us by pride the wealth by covetousness the prosperity of it tempt us to forget God the adversities to murmure at him Our very Table becomes a snare to us our meat draws us to Gluttony our drink to Drunkeness our company nay our neerest friends often bear a part in this war against us whilest either by their example or perswasions they intice us to sin 9. Consider all this and then tell me whether a Soul thus beset hath leisure to sleep even Dalilah could tell Samson it was time to awake when the Philistims were upon him And Christ tells us if the good man of the house had known in what hour the thief would come he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken up Mat. 24 43. But we live in the midst of thieves and therefore must look for them every hour and yet who is there among us that hath that common providence for this precious part of him his Soul which he hath for his house or indeed the meanest thing that belongs to him I fear our Souls may say to us as Christ to his disciples Mat 26. 40. What could ye not watch with me one hour for I doubt it would pose many of us to tell when we bestowed one hour on them thougâ— we know them to be continually beset with most dangerous enemies And then alas what is like to be the case of these poor Souls when their adversaries bestow so much care and diligence to destroy them and we will afford none to preserve them surely the same as of a besieged town where no watch or guard is kept which is ceâ—tain to fall a prey to the enemy Consider this ye that forget God nay ye that forget your selves lest he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you Psal. 50. 22. 10. But I told you there was a second way whereby a thing may be in danger and that is from some disorder or distemper within it self This is often the case of our bodies they are not only lyable to outward violence but they are within themselves sick and diseased And then we can be sensible enough that they are in danger and need not to be taught to seek out for means to recover them But this is also the case of the Soul we reckon those parts of the body diseased that do not rightly perform their office we account it a sick palate that tastes not aright a sick stomack that digests not And thus it is with the Soul its parts do not rightly perform their offices 11. The parts of the Soul are especially these three The Understanding the Will and the Affections And that these are disordered there needs little proof Let any man look seriously into his own heart and consider how little it is he knows of spiritual things and then tell me whether his understanding be not dark How much apter is he to will evil then good and then â—ell me whether his will be not Crooked And how strong desires he hath after the pleasures of sin and what cold and faint ones towards God and goodness and then tell me whether his affections be not disordered and rebellious even against the vice of his own reason within him Now as in bodily diseases the first step to the cure is to know the cause of the sickness so likewise here it is very necessary for us to know how the Soul first fell into this diseased condition and that I shall now briefly tell you 12. God created the first man Adam without sin and endued his Soul with the full knowledg of his duty and with such a strength that he might if he would perform all that was required of him Having thus created him he maks a covenant or agreement with him to this purpose that if he continued in obedience to God without committing sin then first that strength of Soul which he then had should still be continued to him and first that he should never dye but be taken up into heaven there to be happy for ever But on the other side if he committed sin and disobeyed God then both he and all his children after him should lose that knowledg and that perfect strength which enabled him to do all that God required of him and secondly should be subject to death and not only so but to eternal damnation in Hell 13. This was the agreement made with Adam and all mankind in him which we usually call the first covenant upon which God gave Adam a particular commandment which was no more but this that he should not 〈◊〉 of one only tree of that garden wherein he had placed him But he by the perswasion of the Divel 〈◊〉 of that tree disobeys God and so brings that cuâ—se upon himself and all his posterity And so by that one sin of his â—e lost both the full knowledg of his duty and the power of performing it And we being born after his image did so likewise and so are become both ignorant in discerning what we ought to do and weak and unable to the doing of it having a backwardnesse to all good and an aptnesse and readiness to all evil like a sick stomack which loaths all wholsome food and longs after such trash as may nourish the disease 14. And now you see where we got this sicknesse of soul and likewise that it is like to prove a deadly one and therefore I presume I need say no more to assure you our souls are in danger It is more likely you will from this description think them hoplesse But that you may
It is just matter of sadness to any Christian heart to see some in these dayes who profess much of Religion and yet live in such sins as a meer heathen would abhor men that pretending to higher degrees of light and holiness then their brethren do yet practice contrary to all Rules of common honesty and make it part of their Christan liberty so to do of whose seducement it concerns all that love their soules to beware and for that purpose let this be laid as a foundation That that Religion or opinion cannot be of God which allowes men in any wickedness 5. But though we must not put out this light which God hath thus put into our soules yet this is not the only way whereby God hath revealed his will and therefore we are not to rest here but proceed to the knowledg of those other things which God hath by other means revealed 6. The way for us to come to know them is by the Scriptures wherein are set down those several commands of God which he hath given to be the Rule of our duty 7. Of those some were given before Christ came into the world such are those precepts we find scattered throughout the Old Testament but especially contained in the Ten Commandments and that excellent book of Deuteronomy others were given by Christ who added much both to the Law implanted in us by Nature and that of the Old Testament and those you shall find in the New Testament â—n the several precepts given by him and his Apostles But especially in that divine Sermon â—n the Mount set down in the fifth sixth â—eventh Chapters of S. Matthews Gosâ—el 8. All these should be severally spoke to but because that would make the discourse very long and so less fit for the meaner sort of men for whose use alone it is intended I chuse to proceed in another manner By summing all these together and so as plainly as I can to lay down what is now the duty of every Châ—istan 9. This I find briefly contained in the words of the Apostle Tit. 2. 12. That we should live soberly righteously and Godly in this present world where the word soberly contains our duty to our selves righteously our duty to our neighbour and Godly our dâ—ty to God These therefore shall be the heads of my discourse our duty to God our selves and our neighbour I begin wâ—th that to God that being the best ground-work whereon to build bâ—th the other 10. There are many parts of our duty to God The two chief are these First to acknowledg him to be God Secondly to have no other under these are contained all those particulars which make up our whole duty to God which shall be shewed in their order 11. To aâ—knowledg him to be God is â—o believe him to be an infinite glorious Spirit that was from everlasting without beginning and shâ—ll be to everlasting without end That he is our Creator Redeemer Sanctifier Fatâ—er Son and Holy-Ghost one God blessed for eve That he is suject to no alterations but is unchangeable that he is no bodilâ— substance such as our eyes may behold but Spiritual and invisible whom no man hath seen nor can see as the Apostle tell us 1 Tim. 6. 16. That he is infinitely great and excellent beyond all that our wit or conceit can imagine that he hath received his being from none and gives being to all things 12. All this we are to believe of him in regard of his essence and being But besides this he is set forth to us in the Scripture by several excellencies as that he is of infinite goodness and Mercy Truth Iustice Wisdom Power All-sufficiency Majesty That he disposes and governs all things by his providence that he knows all things and is present in all places these are by Divines called the Attributes of God and all these we must undoubtingly acknowledg that is we must firmly believe all these Divine excellencies to be in God and that in the greatest degree and so that they can never cease to be in him he can never be other then infinitely Good Merciful True c. 13. But the acknowledging him for our God signifies yet more then this it means that we should perform to him all those several parts of duty which belong from a Creature to his God what those are I am now to tell you 14. The first is Faith or belief not only that forementioned of his essence and Attributes but of his word the believing most firmly that all that he saith is perfectly true This necessarily arises from that Attribute his truth it being natural for us to believe whatsoever is said by one of whose truth we are confident Now the holy Scriptures being the word of God we are therefore to concluâ—e that all that is contained in them is most true 15. The things contained in them are of these four sorts First affirmations such are all the stories of the Bible when it is said such and such things came so and so to pass Christ was born of a virgin was laid in a manger c. And such also are many points of Doctrine as that there are three Persons in the God-head that Christ is the Son of God and the like All things of this sort thus delivered in Scripture we are to believe most true And not only so but because they are all written for our instruction we are to coâ—sider them for that purpose that is by them to lay that foundation of Christian-knowledg on which we may build a Christian life 16 The Second sort of things contain'd in the Scripture are the Commands that is the several things enjoyned us by God to perform these we are to believe to come from him and to be most just and fit for him to Command But then this belief must bring forth obedience that what we believe thus fit to be done be indeed done by us otherwise our belief that they come from him serves but to make us more inexcusable 17. Thirdly the Scripture contains threatnings many texts there are which thâ—eaten to them that go on in their sins the wrath of God and under that are contain'd all the punishments and miseries of this life both spiritual and temporal and everlasting destruction in the life to come Now we are most stedfastly to believe that these are Gods threats and that they will certainly be performed to every impenitent sinner But then the use we are to make of this belief is to keep from those sins to which this destruction is threatned otherwise our belief adds to our guilt that will willfully go on in spight of those threatnings 18. Fourthly the Scripture contains Promises and those both to our bodies and our soules for our bodies there are many promises that God will provide for them what he sees necessary I will name only one Mat. 6. 33. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and
appliable to this love of God let us not love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth 43. A Fourth duty to God is Fear this arises from the consideration both of his Justice and his Power his Justice is such that he will not clear the wicked his Power such that he is able to inflict the sorest punishments upon them that this is a reasonable cause of fear Christ himself tells us Mat. 10. 18. Fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell Many other places of Scripture there are which commend to us this duty as Psal. 2. 11. Serve the Lord with fear Psal. 34. 9. Fear the Lord yea that be his Saints Pro. 9. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and divers the like and indeed all the threatnings of wrath against sinners which we meet with in the Scripture are only to this end to work this fear in our hearts 44. Now this fear is nothing else but such an awful regard of God as may keep us from offending him This the wise man tells us Prov. 16. 17. The fear of the Lord is to depart fâ—om evil so that none can be said truly to fear God that is not thereby withheld from sin this is but answerable to that common fear we have towards man whoever we know may hurt us we wil beware of provoking therefore if we be not as wary of displeasing God it is plain we fear men more then we do him 45. How great a madness this is thus to fear men above God will soon appear if we compare what man can do to us with that which God can And first it is sure it is not in the power of man I might say Divels too to do us any hurt unless God permit and suffer them to do it so that if we do but keep him our friend we may say with the Psalmist The Lord is on my side I fear not what man can do unto me For let their malice be never so great he can restrain and keep them from hurting us nay he can change their minds towards us according to that of the wise man Pro. 16. 7. When a mans wayes please the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him A notable example of this we have in Jacob Gen. 32. who whem his brother Esau was coming against him as an enemy God wonderfully turned his heart so that he met him with all the expressions of brotherly kindness as you may read in the next Chapter 46. But Secondly suppose men were left at liberty to do thee what mischief they could Alas their power goes but a little way they may perhaps rob thee of thy goods it may be they may take away thy liberty or thy credit or perchance thy life too but that thou knowest is the utmost they can do But now God can do all this when he pleases and that which is infinitely more his vengeance reaches even beyond death it self to this eternal Misery both of body and soul in hell in comparison of which death is so considerable that we are notto look upon it with any dread Fear not them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do saith Christ Luk. 12. 4. And then immediately adds But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea I say unto you fear him In which words the comparison is set between that greatest ill we can suffer from man the loss of life and those sadder evils God can inflicton us and the latter are found to be the only dreadful things and therefore God only to be feared 47. But there is yet one thing farther considerable in this matter which is this it is possible we may transgress against men and they not know it I may perhaps steal my neighbours goods or defile his wife and keep it so close that he shall not suspect me and so never bring me to punishment for it but this we cannot do with God he knows all things even the most secret thoughts of our hearts and therefore though we commit a sin never so closely he is sure to fit us and will as surely if we do not timely repent punish us eternally for it 48. And now surely it cannot but be confest that it is much safer displeasing men then God yet alas our practice is as if we believed the direct contrary there being nothing more ordinary with us then for the avoiding of some present danger we fear from men to rush our selves upon the indignation of God And thus it is with us when either to save our estates or credits or our very lives we commit any sin for that is plainly the chusing to provoke God rather then man 49. But God knows this case of the fear of men is not the only one wherein we venture to displease him for we commit many sins to which we have none of this temptation nor indeed any other as for instance that of common swearing to which there is nothing either of pleasure or profit to invite us Nay many times we who so fear the mischiefs that other men may do to us that we are ready to buy them off with the greatest sins do our selves bring all those very mischiefs upon us by sins of our own chusing Thus the careless prodigal robs himself of his estate the deceitful dishonest man or any that lives in open notorious sin deprives himself of his credit and the drunkard glutton brings diseases on himself to the shortning his life And can we think we do at al fear God when that fear hath so little power over us that though it be backt with the many present mischiefs that attend one sin it is not able to keep us from them surely such men are so far from fearing God that they rather seem to defie him resolve to provoke him whatsoever it cost them either in this world or the next Yet so unreasonably partial are we to our selves that even such as these wil pretend to this fear you may examine multitudes of the most gross scandalous sinners before you shall meet with one that will acknowledg he fears not God It is stranâ—e it should be possible for men thus to cheat themselves but however it is certain we cannot deceive God he will not be mockâ— and therefore if we will not now so fear as to avoid sin we shall one day fear when it will be too late to avoid punishment 50. A Fifth duty to God is that of trusting in him that is depending and resting on him and that is first in all dangers Secondly in all wants We are to rest on him in all our dangers both spiritual and temporal Of the first sort are all those temptations by which we are in danger to be drawn to sin And in this respect he hath
therefore who are not yet fallen into the custome of this sin be most careful never to yield to the least beginnings of it and for those who are so miserable as to be already â—â—sâ—ared in it let them immediately as they tender their Souls get out of it And let no man plead the hardness of leaving an old custome as an excuse for his continuing in it but rather the longer he hath been in it so much the more haste let him make out of it as thinking it too too much that he hath so long gone on in so great a sin And if the length of the custâ—me have increased the difficulty of leaving it that is in all reason to make him set immediately to the casting it off left that difficulty at last grow to an impossibility and the harder he finds it at the present so much the more diligent and watchful he must be in the use of all those means which may tend to the overcoming that sinful habit some few of those means it will not be amiss here to mention 10. First let him possess his mind fully of the hainousness of the sin and not to measure it onely according to the common rate of the world And when he is fully perswaded of the guilt then let him add to that the consideration of the danger as that it puts him out of Gods favour at the present and will if he continue in it cast him into Hell for ever And sure if this were but throughly laid to heart it would restrain this sin For I would ask a man that pretends impossibility of leaving the custome whether if he were sure he should be hanged the next oath he swore the fear of it would not keep him from swearing I can scarce beleeve any man in his wits so little Master of himself but it would And then surely damning is so much worse then hanging that in all reason the fear of that ought to be a much greater restraint The doubt is men do either not heartily believe that this sin will damn them or if they do they look on it as a thing a great way off and so are not much moved with it but both these are very unreasonable For the first it is certain that every one that continues wilfully in any sin is so long in a state of damnation and therefore this being so continued in must certainly put a man in that condition For the second It is very possible he may be deceived in thinking it so far off for how knows any man that he shal not be struck dead with an oath in his mouth or if he were sure not to be so yet eternal damnation is surely to be dreaded above all things be it at what distance soever 11. A second means is to be exactly true in all thou speakest that all men may believe thee on thy bare word and then thou wilt never have occasion to confirm it by an oath to make it more credible which is the onely colour or reason can at any time be pretended for swearing 12. Thirdly Observe what it is that most betrayes thee to this sin whether drink or anger or the company and example of others or what ever else and then if ever thou mean to forsake the sin forsake those occasions of it 13. Fourthly Endeavour to possess thy heart with a continual remembrance of God and if that once grow into a custome with thee it will quickly turn out that contrary one of profaning Use and accustome thy self therefore to this reverence of God and particularly to such a respect to his name as if it be possible never to mention It without some lifting up of thy heart to him Even in thy ordinary discourse when ever thou takest his Name in to thy mouth let it be an occasion of raising up thy thoughts to him But by no means permit thy self to use it in idle by-words or the like If thou doest accustome thy self to pay this reverence to the bare mention of his name it will be an excellent fence against the prophaning it in oaths 14. A fifth means is a diligent and constant watch over thy self that thou thus offend not with thy tongue without which all the former will come to nothing And the last means is prayer which must be added to all thy endeavours therefore pray earnestly that God will enable thee to overcome this wicked custom say with the Psalmist Set a watch O Lord over my mouth and keep the door of my lips and if thou doest sincerely set thy self to the use of means for it thou mayest be assured God will not be wanting in his assistance I have been the longer on this because it is so reigning a sin God in his mercy give all that are guilty of it a true sight of the hainousness of it 15. By these several waies of dishonouring Gods Name you may understand what is the duty of honouring it viz. A strict abstaining from every one of these and that abstinence founded on an awful respect and reverence to that sacred Name which is Great Wonderful and Holy Psal. 99. 3. I have now past through the several branches of that great duty of honouring of God PARTITION V. Of WORSHIP due to Gods Name Of Prayer and its several parts Of Publick prayers in the CHURCH in the FAMILY Of PRIVATE PRAYER Of REPENTANCE c. Of FASTING § 1. THE eight duty we owe to God is worship This is that great duty by which especially we acknowledg his Godhead worship being proper only to God and therefore it is to be lookt on as a most weighty duty This is to be performed first by our Souls secondly by our bodies The Souls part is praying Now prayer is a speaking to God and there are divers parts of it according to the different things about which we speak 2. As first There is Confession that is the acknowledging our sins to God And this may be either general or particular The general is when we onely confess in gross that we are sinful the particular when we mention the several sorts and acts of our sins The former is necessary to be alwayes a part of our solemn prayers whether publick or private The latter is proper for private prayer and there the oftner it is used the better yea even in our daily private prayer it will be fit constantly to remember some of our greatest and foulest sins though never so long since past For such we should never think sufficiently confest and bewailed And this bewailing must alwaies go along with confession we must be heartily sorry for the sins we confess and from our Souls acknowledge our own great unworthiness in having committed them for our confession is not intended to instruct God who knows our sins much better then our selves do but it is to humble our selves and therefore we must not think wâ— have confest aright
till that be done 3. The second part of prayer is petition That is the begging of God whatsoever we want either for our Souls or bodies For our Souls we must first beg pardon of sins and that for the sake of Jesus Christ who shed his blood to obtain it Then we must also beg the grace and assistance of Gods Spirit to enable us to forsake our sins and to walk in obedience to him And herein it will be needful particularly to beg all the several vertues as faith love zeal purity repentance and the like but especially those which thou most wantest And therefore observe what thy wants are and if thou beest proud be most instant in praying for humility if lustful for chastity and so for all other graces according as thou findest thy needs And in all these things that concern thy Soul be very earnest and importunate take no denial from God nor give over though thou do not presently obtain what thou suest for But if thou hast never so long prayed for a grace and yet findest it not do not grow weary of praying but rather search what the cause may be which makes thy prayer so ineffectual see if thou do not thy self hinder them perhaps thou prayest to God to enable thee to conquer some sin and yet never goest about to fight against it never makest any resistance but yeâ—ldest to it as oft as it comes nay puttest thy self in its way in the road of all temptations If it be thus no wonder though thy prayers avail not for thou wilt not let them Therefore amend this and set to the doing of thy part sincerely and then thou needest not fear but God will do his 4. Secondly We are to petition also for our bodies That is we are to ask of God such necessaries of life as are needful to us while we live here But these onely in such a degree and measure as his wisdom sees best for us we must not presume to be our own câ—rvers and pray for all that wealth or greatness which our own vain hearts may perhaps desire but onely â—or such a condition in respect of outward things as he sees may most tend to those great ends of our living here the glorifying him and the saving of our own Souls 5. A third part of prayer is Deprecation that is when we pray to God to turn away some evil from us Now this evil may be either the evil of sin or the evil of punishment The evil of sin is that we are especially to pray against most earnestly begging of God that he will by the power of his grace preserve us from falling into sin And whatever sins they are to which thou knowest thy self most inclined there be particularly earnest with God to preserve thee from them This is to be done daily but then more especially when we are under any present temptation in danger of falling into any sin In which case we have reason to cry out as St. Peter did when he found himself sinking save Lord or I perish humbly beseeching him either to withdraw the temptation or strengthen us to withstand it neither of which we can do for our selves 6. Secondly We are likewise to pray against the evil of punishment but principally against spiritual punishments as the anger of God the withdrawing of his grace and eternal damnation Against these we can never pray with too much earnestness but we may also pray against temporal punishments that is any outward affliction but this with submission to Gods will according to the example of Christ Mat. 26. 39. Not as I will but as thou wilt 7. A fourth part of prayer is intercession that is praying for others This in general we are to do for all mankind as well strangers as acquaintance but more particularly those to whom we have any especial relation either publick as our Governours both in Church and State or private as Parents Husband Wife Children Friends c. We are also to pray for all that are in affliction and such particular persons as we discern especially to be so Yea we are to pray for those that have done injury those that despightfully use us and persecute us for it is expresly the command of Christ Mat. 5. 44. and that whereof he hath likewise given us the highest example in praying even for his very crucifiers Luc. 23. 34. Father forgive them For all these sorts of persons we are to pray and that for the very same good things we beg of God for our selves that God would give them in their several places and callings all spiritual and temporal blessings which he sees wanting to them and turn away from them all evil whether of sin or punishment 8. The fifth part of prayer is thanksgiving That is the praising and blessing God for all his mercies whether to our own persons and those that immediatly relate to us or to the Church and Nation whereof we are members or yet more general to all mankind And this for all his mercies both spiritual and temporal In the spiritual first for those wherein we are all in common concerned as the giving of his Son the sending of his Spirit and all those means he hath used to bring sinful men unto himself Then secondly for those mercies we have in our own particulars received such are the having been born within the pale of the Church and so brought up in Christian Religion by which we have been partakers of those precious advantages of the word and Sacraments and so have had without any care or pains of ours the means of eternal life put into our hands But besides these there is none of us but have received other spiritual means from God 9. As first Gods patience and long-suffering waiting for our repentance and not cutting us off in our sins Secondly his calls and invitations of us to that repentance not only outward in the ministry of the word but also inward by the motions of his Spirit But then if thou be one that hath by the help of Gods grace been wrought upon by these calls and brought from a prophane or worldly to a Christian course of life thou art surely in the highest degree tyed to magnifie and praise his goodness as having received from him the greatest of mercies 10. We are likewise to give thanks for temporal blessings whether such as concern the publick as the prosperity of the Church or Nation and all remarkable deliverances offered to either or else such as concern our particulars such are all the good things of this life which we enjoy as health friends food rayment and the like also for those minuitly preservations whereby we are by Gods gracious providence kept from danger and the especial deliverances which God hath given us in time of greatest perils It will be impossible to set down the several mercies which everyman receives from God because they
the fountain of happiness and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore Psal. 16. 11. And therefore the nearer we draw to him the happier we must needs be the very joys of heaven arising from our neerness to God Now in this life we have no way of drawing so neer to him as by this of Prayer and therefore surely it is that which in it self is apt to afford abundance of delight and pleasure if it seem otherwise to us it is from some distemper of our own hearts which like a sick palate cannot relish the most pleasant meat Prayer is a pleasant duty but it is withal a spiritual one and therefore if thy heart be carnal if that be set either on the contrary pleasures of the flesh or dross of the world no marvail then if thou taste no pleasantness in it if like the Israelites thou despise Manna whilst thou longest after the flesh pots of Egypt Therefore if thou find a weariness in this duty suspect thy self purge and refine thy heart from the love of all sin and endeavour to put it into a heavenly and spiritual trance and then thou wilt find this no unpleasant exercise but full of delight and satisfaction In the mean time complain not of the hardness of the duty but of the untowardness of thy own heart 18. But there may also be another reason of its seeming unpleasant to us and that iâ— want of use You know there are many things which seem uneasie at the first tryal which yet after we are accustomed to them seem very delightful and if this by thy case then thou knowest a ready cure viz to use it oftner and so this consideration naturally inforces the exhortation of being frequent in this duty 19. But we are not only to consider how often but how well we perform it Now to do it well we are to respect first the matter of our Prayers to look that we ask nothing that is unlawful as revenge upon our enemies or the like secondly the manner and that must be first in faith we must believe that if we ask as we ought God will either give us the thing we ask for or else something which he sees better for us And then secondly in humility we must acknowledg our selves utterly unworthy of any of those good things we beg for and therefore sue for them only for Christs sake thirdly with attention we must mind what we are about and not suffer our selves to be carried away to the thought of other things I told you at the first that Prayer was the business of the soul but if our minds be wandering it is the work only of the tongue and lips which makes it in Gods account no better then vain babbling and so will never bring a blessing on us Nay as Jacob said to his mother Gen. 27. 12. It will be more likely to bring a curse on us then a blessing for it is a profaning one of the most solemn parts of Gods service it is a piece of Hypocrisie the drawing neer to him with our lip when our hearts are far from him and a great slighting and despising that dreadful Majesty we come before And as to our selves it is a most ridiculous folly that we who come to God upon such weighty errands as are all the concernments of our souls and bodies should in the midst forget our business and pursue every the lightest thing that either our own vain fancies or the Divel whose business it is here to hinder us can offer to us It is just as if a malefactor that comes to sue for his life to the King should in the midst of his supplication happen to espie a butterflie and then should leave his suit run a chace after that butterflie Would you not think it pitty a pardon should be cast away upon so wretchless a creature And sure it will be as unreasonable to expect that God should attend grant those suits of ours which we do not at all consider our selves 20. This wandring in Prayer is a thing we are much concerned to arm our selves against it being that to which we are naturally wonderful prone To that end it will be necessary first to possess our hearts at our coming to Prayers with the greatness of that Majesty we are to approach that so we may dread to be vain and trifling in his presence Secondly We are to consider the great concernment of the things we are to ask some whereof are such that if we should not be heard we were of all creatures the most miserable yet this wandring is the way to keep us from being heard Thirdly We are to beg Gods aid in this particular And therefore when thou settest to Prayer let thy first petition be for this grace of attention 21. Lastly Be as watchful as is possible over thy heart in time of prayer to keep out all wandering thoughts or if any have gotten in let them not find entertainment but as soon as ever thou discernest them suffer them not to abide one moment but cast them out with indignation and beg Gods pardon for them And if thou dost thus sincerely and diligently strive against them either God will enable thee in some measure to overcome them or he will in his mercy pardon thee what thou canst not prevent But if it be through thy own negligence thou art to expect neither so long as that negligence continues 22. In the fourth place we must look our Prayers be with zeal and earnestness it is not enough that we so far attend them as barely to know what it is we say but we must put forth all the affection and devotion of our souls and that according to the several parts of Prayer before mentioned It is not the cold faint request that will ever obtain from God We see it will not from our selves for if a beggar should ask relief from us and do it in such a scornful manner that he seemed indifferent whether he had it or no we should think he had either little want or great pride and so have no heart to give him Now surely the things we ask from God are so much above the rule of an ordinary almes that we can never expect they should be given to slight and heartless petitions No more in like manner will our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving ever be accepted by him if it be not offered from a heart truly affected with the sence of his mercies it 's but a kind of formal complementing which wil never be approved by him who requires the heart and not the lips only And the like may be said of all the other parts of Prayer Therefore be careful when thou drawest nigh to God in Prayer to raise up thy soul to the highest pitch of zeal and earnestness thou art able And because of thy self alone thou art not able to do any
it will be very fit for us whensoever we have need of any extraordinary directions or assistance from God whether concerning our temporal or spiritual concernments thus to quicken our prayers by fasting But above all occasions this of humiliation seems most to require it for besides the advantage of kindling our zeal which is never more necessary then when we beg for pardon of sins fasting carries in it somewhat of revenge which is reckoned as a special part of repentance 2 Cor. 7. 11. For by denying our bodies the refreshment of our ordinary food we do inflict somewhat of punishment upon our selves for our former excesses or whatever other sins we at that time accuse our selves of which is a proper effect of that indignation which every sinner ought to have against himself And truly he that is so tender of himself that he can never find in his heart so much as to miss a meal by way of punishment for his faults shews he is not much fallen out with himself for committing them and so wants that indignation which the Apostle in the forenamed text mentions as a part of true repentance 35. There is no doubt but such Holy revenges upon our selves for sins are very acceptable to God yet we must not think that either those or any thing else we can doe can make satisfaction for our offences for that nothing but the blood of Christ can do And therefore on that and not on any of our performances we must depend for pardon Yet since that blood shall never be applyed to any but penitent sinners we are as much concern'd to bring forth all the fruits of repentance as if our hopes depended on them onely 36. How often this duty of fasting is to be performed we have no direction in Scripture That must be allotted by mens own piety according as their health or other considerations will allow But as it is in humiliation the frequenter returns we have of set times for it the better so is it likewise in fasting the ofâ—ner the better so it be not hurtful either to our healths or to some other duty required of us Nay perhaps fasting may help some men to more of those times for humiliation then they would otherwise gain For perhaps there are some who cannot without a manifest hinderance to their calling allow a whole day to that work yet such a one may at least afford that time he would otherwise spend in eating And so fasting will be doubly useful towards such a mans humiliation both by helping him in the duty and gaining him time for it 37. I have now gone through the first branch of our duty to God to wit the acknowledging him for our God The second is the having no other Of which I need say little as it is a forbidding of that grosser sort of heathiness Idolatry the worshipping of Idols which though it were once common in the world yet is now so rare that it is not likely any that shall read this will be concerned in it Onely I must say that to pay divine worship to any creature be it Saint or Angel yea or the Image of Christ himself is a transgression against this second branch of our duty to God it being the imparting that to a creature which is due onely to God and therefore is strictly to be abstained from 38. But there is another sort of Idolatry of which we are generally guilty and that is when we pay those affections of love fear trust and the like to any creature in a higher degree then we do to God For that is the setting up that thing whatsoever it is for our God And this inward kind of Idolatry is that which provokes God to jealousy as well as the outward of worshipping an Idol I might inlarge much upon this but because some severals of it have been toucht on in the former discourse I suppose it needless And therefore shall now proceed to the second head of duty that to our selves PARTITION VI. Of DUTIES to our SELVES Of Sobriety other Humility the great Sin of PRIDE the Danger the Folly of this Sin Of VAIN GLORY the Danger Folly The Means to Prevent it Of MEEKNES the Means to obtain it c. § 1. THis duty to our selves is by St. Paul in the foremetioned text Tit. 2 12. summed up in this one word soberly Now by soberly is meant our keeping within those due bounds which God hath set us My business will therefore be to tell you what are the particulars of this sobriety And that first in respect of the soul secondly in respect of the body the sobriety of the soul stands in a right governing its passions and affections and to that there are many vertues required I shall give you the particulars of them 2 The first of them is humility which may well have the prime place not only in respect of the excellency of the vertue but also of it usefulness towards the obtaining of all the rest This being the foundaâ—ion on which all others must be built And he that hopes to gain them without this will prove but like that foolish builder Christ speaks of Luke 6. 49. Who built his house on the sand Of the humility towards God I have alreadâ— spoken and shewed the necessity of it I am now to speak of humility as it concerns our selves which will be found no less necessary then the former 3. This humility is of two sorts the first is the having a mean and low opinion of our selves the second is the being content that others should have so of us The first of these is contrary to pride the other to vain glory And that both these are absolutely necessary to Christians I am now to shew youâ— which will I conceive best be done by laying before you first the sin secondly the danger and thirdly the folly of the contrary vices 4. And first for pride the sin of it is so great that it cast the Angels out of heaven and therefore if we may judg of sin by the punishment it was not only the first but the greatest sin that ever the Divel himself hath bin guilty of But we need no better proof of the hainousness of it then the extreme hatefulness of it to God which besides that instance of his punishing the Divel we may frequently find in the Scriptures Prov. 16. 5. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. And again Chap. 6. 16. Where there is mention of several things the Lord hates a proud look is set as the first of them So Jam. 4. 7. God resisteth the proud and divers other texts there are to the same purpose which shew the great hatred God bears to this sin of pride Now since it is certain God who is all goodness hates nothing but as it is evil it must needs follow that where God hates in so great a degree there must
that no man is accounted wise without it A rash man we look upon as the next degree to a fool And yet it is sure there is not so much need of looking about us in any thing as in what concerns our souls and that not only in respect of the great value of them above all things else but also in regard of the great danger they are in as hath been shewed more at large in the beginning of the treatise 24 Secondly We are to consider our actions when they are past also that is we are to examine whether they have been such as are allowable by the Laws of Christ This is very necessary whether they be good or bad if they be good the recalling them helpeth us to the comfort of a good conscience and that comfort again incourageth us to go on in the like and besides it stirrs us up to thankfulness to God by whose grace alone we were enabled to do them But if they be bad then it is especially necessary that we thus examine them for without this it is impossible we should ever come to amendment for unless we observe them to have been amiss we can never think it needful to amend But shall still run on from one wickedness to another which is the greatest curse any man can lie upon 25. The oftner therefore we use this consideration the better for the less likely it is that any of our sins shall escape our knowledg It is much to be wisht that every man should thus every night try the actions of the day that so if he have done any things amisse he may soon check himself for it and settle his resolutions against it and not let it grow on to a habit and course And that he may also early beg Gods pardon which will the easier be had the sooner it is asked every delay of that being a great increase of the sin And surely whoever means to take account of himself at all will find this the easiest course it being much easier to do it so a little at a time and while passages are fresh in his memory thâ—n to take the account of a long time together Now if it be considered that every wilful sin must have a particular repentance before it can be pardoned me thinks men should tremble to sleep without that repentance for what assurance hath any man that lies down in his bed that he shall ever rise again and then how dangerous is the condition of that man that sleeps in an unrepented sin The weighing of these several motives may be a means by Gods blessing to bring us to the practice of this duty of consideration in all the parts of it PARTITION VII Of CONTENTEDNES and the Contraries to it Murmuring Ambition Covetousness Envy Helps to Contentedness Of DUTIES which concern our BODIES Of CHASTITY c. Helps to it Of TEMPERANCE Rule of Temperance in EATING § 1. THe fourth vertue is contendedness and this surely is a duty we much own to our selves it being that without which it is impossible to be happy This contentedness is a well-pleasedness with that condition whatever it is that God hath placed us not murmuring and repining of our lot but cheerfully well-câ—ming whatsoever God sends How great and withal how pleasant a vertue this is may appear by the contrariety it hath to several great and painful vices so that where this is rooted in the heart it subdues not only some such single sin but â— cluster of them together 2. And first it is contrary to all murmuring iâ— general which is a sin most hateful to God as may appear by his sharp punishments of it on the Israelites in the wilderness as you may read in several places of the book of Exodus and Numbers And sure it is also very painful and uneasie to a mans self for if as the Psalmist saith it be a joyful and pleasant thing to be thankful we may by the rule of contraries conclude it is a sad and unpleasant thing to be murmuring and I doubt not every mans own experience will confirm the truth of it 3. Secondly It is contrary to ambition the ambitions man is alwayes disliking his present condition and that makes him so greedily to seek a higher whereas he that is content with his own lies quiet out of the road of his temptation Now ambition is not only a great sin in it self but it puts men upon many other There is nothing so horrid which a man that eagerly seeks greatness will stick at lying perjury murder or any thing will down with him if they seem to tend to his advancement And the uneasiness of it is answerable to the sin This none can doubt of that considers what a multitude of fears and jealousies cares and distractions there are that attend ambition in its progresse besides the great and publick ruines that usually befal it in the end And therefore sure contentedness is in this respect as well a happines as a vertue 4. Thirdly it is contrary to covetousness this the Apostle witnesseth Heb. 13. 5. Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have where you see contentedness is set as the direct contrary to covetousness But of this there needs no other proof then common experience for we see the covetous man never thinks he hath enough and therefore can never be content for no man can be said to be so that thirsts after any thing he hath not Now that you may see how excellent and necessary a virtue this is that secures us against covetousness it will not be amiss a little to consider the nature of that sin 5. That it is a very great crime is most certain for it is contrary to the very foundation of all good life I mean those three great duties to God to our selves to our neighbour First It is so contrary to our duty to God that Christ himself tels us Luk. 16 13. We cannot serve God and Mammon he that sets his heart upon wealth must necessarily take it off from God And this we daily see in the covetous mans practice he is so eager in the gaining of riches that he hath no time or care to perform duty to God let but a good bargain or opportunity of gain come in his way prayer and all duties of Religion must be neglected to attend it Nay when the committing the greatest sin against God may be likely either to get or save him ought his love of wealth quickly perswades him to commit it 6. Secondly It is contrary to the duty we owe our selves and that both in respect of our Souls and bodies The covetous man despises his Soul sels that to eternal destruction for a little pelf For so every man does that by any unlawful means seeks to enrich himself Nay though he do it not by unlawful means yet if he have once set his heart
eat no more then will just keep us from starving but we may also eat whatsoever either for kind or quantity most tends to the health and welfare of them Now that eating which is agreeable to these ends is within the bounds of temperance as on the contrary whatsoever is contrary to them is a transgression against it He therefore that sets up to himself other ends of eating as either the pleasing of his taste or what is yet worse the pampering of his body that he may the better serve his lust he directly thwarts and crosses these ends of Gods for he that hath those aimes doth that which is very contrary to health yea and to life it self as appears by the many diseases and untimely deaths which surfetting and uncleanness daily bring on men 28. He therefore that will practice this vertue of temperance must neither eat so much nor of any such sorts of meat provided â—he can have other as may be hurtful to his health what the sorts or quantities shall be is impossible to set down for that differs according to the several constitutions of men some men may with temperance eat a great deal because their stomacks require it when another may be guilty of intemperance in eating but half so much because it is more then is useful to him And so also for the sort of meat it may be niceness and luxury for some to be curious in them when yet some degree of it may be necessary to the infirmities of a weak stomack which not out of wantonness but disease cannot eate the courser meats But I think it may in general be said that to healthful bodies the plainest meats are generally the most wholsome but every man must in this be left to judg for himself and that he may do it aright he must be careful that he never suffer himself to be enslaved to his palate for that will be sure tâ— satisfie its self whatever becomes of health or life 29. To secure him the better let him consider First How unreasonable a thing it is that the whole body should be subjected to this one sense of tasting that it must run all hazards only to please that But it is yet much more so that the diviner part the soul should also be thus enslaved and yet thus it is in an intemperate person his very soul must be sacrificed to this brutish appetite for the sin of intemperance though it be acted by the body yet the soul must share in the eternal punishment of it Secondly Consider how extreme short and vanishing this pleasure is it is gone in a moment but the pains that attend the excess of it are much more durable and then surely it agrees not with that common reason wherewith as men we are indued to set our hearts upon it But then in the third place it agrees yet worse with the temper of a Christian who should have his heart so purified and refined with the expectation of those higher and spiritual joyes he looks for in another world that he should very much despise these gross and brutish pleasures which beasts are as capable of as we and to them we may well be content to leave them it being the highest their natures can reach to but for us who have so much more excellent hopes it is an intolerable shame that we should account them as any part of our happiness Lastly the sin of Gluttony is so great and dangerous that Christ thought fit to give an especial warning against it take heed to your selves that your hearts be not overcharged with surfetting c. Luke 21. 34. And you know what was the end of the rich glutton Luke 16. He that had fared deliciously every day at last wants a drop of water to coole his tongue So much for that first sort of temperance that of eating PARTITION VIII Of Temperance in DRINKING False Ends of Drinking viz. Good Fellow-ship Putting away cares c. § 1. THe second is temperance in drinking and the ends of eating and drinking being much the same I can give no other direct rules in this then what were given in the former to wit that we drink neither of such sorts of liquor nor in such quantities as may not agree with the right ends of drinking the preserving of our lives and healths Only in this there will be need of putting in one caution for our understandings being in more danger to be hurt by drink then meat we must take care to keep that safe and rather not drink what we might safely in respect of our healths if it be in danger to distemper our reason This I say because it is possible some mens brains may be so weak that their heads cannot bear that ordinary quantity of drink which would do theâ—r bodies no harm And whoever is of this temper must strictly abstaâ—n from that degree of drink or that sort of it which he finds hath that effect yea though it do in other respects appear not only safe but useful to his health For though we are to preserve our healths yet we are not to do it by a sin as drunkenness most certainly is 2. But alas of those multitudes of drunkards we have in the world this is the case but of very few most of them going farr beyond what their health requires yea or can bear even to the utter destruction thereof And therefore it is plain men have set up to themselves some other ends of drinking then those allowable ones forementioned it may not be amisse a little to examine what they are and withal to shew the unreasonableness of them 3. The first and most owned is that which they call good fellowship One man drinks to keep another company at it But I would ask such a one whether if that man were drinking rank poison he would pledg him for company If he say he would not I must tell him that by the very same nay far greater reason he is not to do this For immoderate drinking is that very poison perhaps it doth not always work death immediately yet there want not many instances of its having done even that very many having died in their drunken fit but that the custome of it does usually bring men to their ends is past doubt and therefore though the poison work slowly yet it is still poison But however it doth at the present work that which a wise man would more abhor then death it works madness and frenzy turns the man into a beast by drowning that reason which should difference him from one Certainly the effects of drink are such that had being drunk been first enjoyned as a punishment we should have thought him a more then ordinary Tyrant that had invented it 4. A second end of drinking is said to be the maintaining of friendship and kindness amongst men But this is strangely unreasonable that men should do that towards the maintaining of friendship
negative justice layes a restraint on us in every of these That we do no wrong to any man in respect either of his Soul his body his possessions or credit 3. First This justice tyes us to do no hurt to his Soul and here my first work must be to examine what harm it is that the soul can receive it is we know an invisible substance which we cannot reach with our eye much less with our swords and weapons yet for all that it is capable of being hurt and wounded and that even to death 4. Now the soul may be considered either in a natural or spiritual sence in the natural it signifies that which we usually call the mind of a man and this we all know may be wounded with grief or sadness as Solomon saith Pro. 15. 13. By sorrow of heart the spirit is broken Therefore whoever does causlesly afflict or grieve his neighbour he transgresses this part of justice hurts wrongâ— his soul. This sort of injury malicious and spiteful men are very often guilty of they will do things by which themselves reap no good nay often much harm onely that they may vex and grâ—eve another This is a most savage inhumane humour thus to take pleasure in the sadness and afflictions of others and whoever harbours it in his heart may truly be said to bâ— possest with a Devil for it is the nature onely of those accursed spirits to delight in the miseries of men and till that be cast out they are fit onely to dwell as the possest person did Mar. 5. 2. Among graves and tombs where there are none capable of receiving affliction by them 5. But the Soul may be considered also in the spiritual sense and so it signifies that immortal part of us which must live eternally either in bliss or woe in another world And the Soul thus understood is capable of two sorts of harm first that of sin secondly that of punishment the latter whereof is certainly the consequent of the former and therefore though God be the inflicter of punishment yet since it is but the effect of sin we may justly reckon that he that drâ—wes a man to sin is likewise the betrayer of him to punishment as he that gives a man a mortal wound is the cause of his death therefore under the evil of sin both are contained so that I need speak onely of that 6. And sure there cannot be a hâ—gher sort of wrong then the bringing this great evil upon the Soul sin is the disease and wound of the Soul as being the direct contrary to grace which is the health and soundness of it Now this wound we give to every Soul whom we do by any means whatsoever draw into sin 7. The ways of doing that are divers I shall mention some of them whereof though some are more direct then others yet all tend to the same end Of the more direct ones there is first the commanding of sin that is when a person that hath power over another shall require him to do something which is unlawful An example of this we have in Nebuchadnezzars commanding the worship of the golden Image Dan. 3 4 and his copy is imitated by any parent or master who shall require of his child or servant to do any unlawful act Secondly there is counselling of sin when men advise and perswade others to any wickedness Thus Jobs wife counselled her husband to curse God Job 2. 7. And Achitophel advised Absolom to go into his Fathers concubines 2 Sam. 16. 21. Thirdly there is enticing and alluring to sin by setting before men the pleasures or profits they shall reap by it Of this sort of enticement Solomon gives warning Prov. 1. 10. My son if sinners entice thee consent thou not if they say come with us let us lay wait for blood let us lâ—rke privily for the innocent without cause c. and verse the 13. you may see what is the bait by which they seek to alure them we shall find all precious substance we shall fill our souls with spoile cast in thy lot among us let us all have one purse Fourthly there is assistance in sin that is when men aid and help others either in contriving or acting a sin Thus Jonadab helpt Amnon in plotting the ravishing of his sister 2 Sam. 13. all these are direct means of bringing this great evil of sin upon our brethren 8. There are also others which though they seem more indirect may yet be as effectual towards that ill end As first example in sin he that sets others an ill pattern does his part to make them imitate it and too often it hath that effect there being generally nothing more forcible to bring men into any sinful practice then the seeing it used by others as might be instanced in many sins to which there is no other temptation but their being in fashion Secondly there is incouragement in sin when either by approving or else at least by not shewing a dislike we give others confidence to go on in their wickedness A third means is by justifying and defending any sinful act of anothers for by that we do not only confirm him in his eviâ— but endanger the drawing others to the like who may be the more inclinable to it when they shall hear it so pleaded for Lastly the bringing up any reproach upon strict and Christian living as those do who have the ways of God in derision this is a means to affright men from the practice of duty when they see it will bring them to be scorned and despised this is worse then all the former not only in respect of the man who is guilty of it as it is an evidence of the great profaneness of his own heart but also in regard of others it having a more general ill effect then any of the former can have it being the betraying men not only to some single acts of disobedience to Christ but even to the casting off all subjection to him By all these means we may draw on our selves this great guilt of injuring and wounding the souls of our brethren 9. It would be too long for me to instance in all the several sins in which it is usual for men to ensnare others as drunkenness uncleanness rebellion and a multitude more But it will concern every man for his own particular to consider sadly what mischiefs of this kind he hath done to any by all or any of these means and to weigh well the greatness of the injury Men are apt to boast of their innocency towards their neighbours that they have done wrong to no man but God knows many that thus brag are of all others the most injurious persons perhaps they have not maimed his body nor stolen his goods but alas the body is but the case and cover of the man and the goods some appurtenances to that 't is the soul is the man and that
they can wound and pierce without all remorse and yet with the adulteress Prov. 30. 20. say they have done no wickedness but glory of their friendly behaviour to those whom they thus betray to eternal ruine for whomsoever thou hast drawn to any sin thou hast done thy part to ascertain to those endless flames And then think with thy self how base a treachery this is thou wouldst call him a treacherous villain that should while he pretends to embrace a man secretly stab him but this of thine is as far beyond that as the soul is of more value then the body and hell worse then death And remember yet farther that besides the cruelty of it to thy poor brother it is also most dangerous to thy self it being that against which Christ hath pronounced a woe Mat. 18. 7. ver 6. he tells us that whoever shall offend that is draw into sin any of those little ones it were bettter for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea Thou maist plunge thy poor brother into perdition but as it is with wrestlers he that gives another a fall commonly falls with him so thou art like to bear him company to that place of torment 10. Let therefore thy own and his danger beget in thee a sense of the greatness of this 〈◊〉 this horrid peece of injustice to the precious soul of thy neighbour Bethink thy self seriously to whom thou past bin thus cruel whom thou hast enticed to drinking advised to rebellion alured to lust stirred up to rage whom thou hast assisted or encouraged in any ill course or discouraged and disheartned by thy profane scoffings at piety in general or at any conscionable strict walking of his in particular and then draw up a bill of indictmtnt accuse and condemn thy self as a Cain a murderer of thy brother heartily and deeply bewail all thy guilts of this kind and resolve never once more to be a stumbling block as St. Paul calls it Rom. 14. in thy brothers way 11. But this is not all there must be some fruits of this repentance brought forth now in all sins of injustice restitution is a necessary fruit of repentance and so it is here thou hast committed an act perhaps many of high injustice to the soul of thy brother thou hast robbed it of its innocency of its title to heaven thou must now endeavour to restore all this to it again by being more earnest and industrious to win him to repentance then ever thou wert to draw him to sin use now as much art to convince him of the danger as ever thou didst to flatter him with the pleasures of his vice in a word countermine thy self by using all those methods and means to recover him that thou didst to destroy him and be more diligent and zealous in it for 't is necessary thou shouldst both in regard of hâ—m and thy self First in respect of him because there is in mans nature so much a greater promptness and readiness to evil then to good that there will need much more pains and diligence to instil the one into him then the other besides the man it supposed to be already accustomed to the contrary which will add much to the difficulty of the work then in respect of thy self if thou be a true penitent thou wilt think thy self obliged as St. Paul did to labour more abundantly and wilt be ashamed that when thou art trading for God bringing back a soul to him thou shouldst not pursue it with more earnestness then while thou wert an agent of Satans besides the remembrance that thou wert a means of bringing this poor soul into this snare must necessarily quicken thy diligence to get him out of it So much for the first part of negative justice in respect of the souls of our brethren 12. The second concerns the bodies and to those also this justice binds thee to do no wrong nor violence Now of wrongs to the body there may be several degrees the highest of them is killing taking away the life this is forbid in the very letter of the sixth Commandment Thou shalt do no murder 13. Murder may be committed either by open violence when a man either by sword or any other instrument takes away anothers life immediately and directly or it may be done secretly and tracherously as David murdered Vriah not with his own sword but with the sword of the Children of Ammon 2 Sam. 11. 17. And Jezabel Nâ—both by a false accusation 1 Kin 21. 13. And so divers have committed this sin of murder by poison false witness or some such concealed ways The former is commonly the effect of a sudden rage the latter hath several originals sometimes it proceeds from some old malice fixt in the heart towards the person sometimes from some covetous or ambitious desires such a one stands in a mans way to his profit or preferment and therefore he must be removed and somtimes again it is to cover shame as in the case of strumpets that murder their infants that they may not betray their filthiness But besides these more direct ways of killing there is another and that is when by our perswasions and enticements we draw a man to do that which tends to the shortning of his life and is apparent to do so he that makes his neighbour drunk if by that drunkenness the maâ—â—â—ome by any mortal hurt which he would have escaped if he had been sober he that made him drunk is not clear of his death or if he die not by any such sudden accident yet if drinking cast him into a disease and that disease kill him I know not how he that drew him to that excess can acquit himself of his murder in the eys of God though humane Laws touch him not I wish those who make it their business to draw in customers to that trade of debauchery would consider it There is yet another way of bringing this guilt upon our selves and that is by inciting and stirring up others to it or to that degree of anger and revenge which produces it As that sets two persons at variance or seeing them already so blowes the coales if murder ensue he certainly hath his share in the guilt which is a consideration that ought to affright all from having any thing to do in the kindling or encreasing of contention 14. Now for the hainousness of this sin of murder I suppose none can be ignorant that it is of the deepest dye a most loud crying sin This we may see in the first act of this kind that ever was committed Abels blood cryed from the earth as God tels Cain Gen. 4. 10. Yea the guilt of this sin is such that it leaves a stain even upon the land where it is committed such as is not to be washt out but by the blood of the murderer as appears Deut. 19. 12 13. The
doest to him Nay this injustice ascends higher even to God himself who hath reserved vengeance as his own peculiar right Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord Rom. 12 19. and then he that will act revenge for himself what does he but incroach upon this special right and prerogative of God snatch the sword as it were out of his hand as if he knew better how to weild it which is at once a robbery and contempt of the Divine Majesty PARTITION XI Of JUSTICE about the Possessions of our Neighbour against â—njuring him as concerning his WIFE His Goods Of Malice Covetousness Oppression Theft Of Paying of Debts c. § 1. THe third part of negative justice concerns the possessions of our neighbours what I mean by possessions I cannot better explain then by referring you to the tenth Commandment the end of which is to bridle all covetous appetites and desires towards the possessions of our Neighbour There we find reckoned up not only his house servants and cattel which may all pass under the one general name of his goods or riches but particularly his wife as a principal part of his possessions and therefore when we consider this duty of negative justice in respect of the possessions of our Neighbour we must apply iâ— to both his wife as well as his goods 2. The especial and peculiar right that every man hath in his wife is so well known that it were vain to say any thing in proof of it the great impatience that every husband hath to have this right of his invaded shews that it is sufficiently understood in the world and therefore none that does this injury to another can be ignorant of the greatness of it The corrupting of a mans wife enticing her to a strange bed is by all acknowledged to be the worst sort of theft infinitely beyond that of the goods 3. Indeed there is in this one a heap of the greatest injustices together some towards the woman and some towards the man Towards the woman there are the greatest imaginable it is that injustice to her soul which was before mentioned as the highest of all others 't is the robbing her of her innocency and setting her in a course of the horredst wickedness no less then lust and perjury together from which it is probable she may never return and then it proves the damning of her eternally Next it is in respect of this world the robbing her of her credit making her abhorred and despised and her very name a reproach among all men and besides itâ— is the depriving her of all that happiness of life which arises from the mutual kindness and affection that is between man and wife in stead whereof this brings in a loathing and abhorring of each other from whence flow multitudes of mischiefs too many to rehearse in all which man hath his share also 4. But besides those there are to him many and high injustice for it is first the robbing him of that which of all other things he accounts most precious the love and faithfulness of his wife and that also wherein he hath such an incommunicable right that himself cannot if he would make it over to any other and therefore sure it cannot without the utmost in justice be torn from him by any Nor is this all but it is farther the ingulfing him if ever he come to discern it in that most tormenting passion of jealousie which is of all others the most painful and which oft puts men upon the most desperate attempts it being as Soloman says Prov. 6. 34. The rage of a man It is yet farther the bringing upon him all that scorn and contempt which by the unjust measures of the world falls on them which are so abused and which is by many esteemed the most unsufferable part of the wrong and though it be true that it is very unjust he should fall under reproach only because he is injured yet unless the world could be new moulded it will certainly be his lot and therefore it adds much to the injury Again this may indeed be a robbery in the usual sense of the word for perhaps it may be the thrusting in the child of the adulterer into his family to share both in the maintenance and portions of his own children and this is an arrand theft first in respect of the man who surely intends not the providing for another mans child and then in respect of the children who are by that means defrauded by so much as that goes away with And therefore whoever hath this circumstance of the sin to repent of cannot do it effectually without restoring to the family as much as he hath by this means rob'd it of 5. All this put together will sure make this the greatest and most provoking injury that can be done to a man and which heightens it yet more it is that for which a man can never make reparations for unless it be in the circumstance before mentioned there is no part of this sin wherein that can be done to this purpose it is observable in the Jewish Law that the thief was appointed to restore fourfold and that freed him but the adulterer having no possibility of making any restitution any satisfaction he must pay his life for his offence Lev. 20. 10. And though now a days adulterers speed better live many days to renew their guilt and perhaps to laugh at those whom they have thus injured yet let them be assured there must one day be a sad reckoning and that whether they repent or not If by Gods grace they do come to repentance they will then find this to be no cheap sin many anguishes of soul terrors and perplexities of conscience groanes and tears it must cost them and indeed were a mans whole life spent in these penitential exercises 't were little enough to wipe off the guilt of any one single act of this kind what overwhelming sorrows then are requisite for such a trade of this sin as too many drive Certainly it is so great a task that it is highly necessary for all that are so concerned to set to it immediately lest they want time to go through with it for let no man flatter himself that the guilt of a course and habit of such a sin can be washt away with a single act of repentance no he must proportion the repentance to the fault and as one hath been a habit and course so must the other also And then how strange a madness is it for men to run into this sin and that with such painful pursuits as many do which he knows must at the best hand that is supposing he do repent of it cost him thus dear but then if he do not repent infinitely dearer it looses him all his title to heaven that place of purity and gives him his portion in the lake of fire where the burnings of his lust shall end in those
us But as this is due from the child to the Parents so on the other side there are other things also due from the Parents to the child and that throughout the several states and ages of it 18. First There is the care of nourishing and sustaining it which begins from the very birth and continues a duty from the Parent till the child be able to perform it to himself This is a duty which nature teaches even the savages beasts have a great care and tenderness in nourishing their young and therefore may serve to reproach and condemn all Parents who shall be so unnatural as to neglect this I shall not here enter into the question whether the mother be obliged to give the child its first nourishment by giving it suck her self because 't will not be possible to affirm universally in the case there being many circumstances which may alter it and make it not onely lawful but best not to do it all I shall say is that where no impediment of sickness weakness or the like does happen 't is surely best for the mother her self to perform this office there being many advantages to the child by it which a good Mother ought so far to consider as not to sell them to her own sloth or niceness or any such unworthy motive for where such onely are the grounds of forbearing it they will never be able to justifie the omission they being themselves unjustifiable But besides this first care which belongs to the body of the child there is another which should begin neer as early which belongs to their Souls and that is the bringing them to the Sacrament of Baptism thereby to procure them an early right to all those precious advantages which that Sacrament conveyes to them This is a duty the Parents ought not to delay it being most reasonable that they who have been instruments to convey the stain and pollution of sin to the poor Infant should be very earnest and industrious to have it washt off as soon as may be Besides the life of so tender a creature is but a blast and many times gone in a moment and though we are not to despair of Gods mercy to those poor children who dye without Baptism yet surely those Parents commit a great fault by whose neglect it is that they want it 19. Secondly The Parents must provide for the education of the child they must as Solomon speaks Prov. 22. 6. Train up the child in the way he should go As soon therefore as children come to the use of reason they are to be instructed and that first in those things which concern their eternal well-being they are by little and little to be taught all those things which God hath Commanded them as their duty to perform as also what glorious rewards he hath provided for them if they do it and what grievous and eternal punishments if they do it not These things ought as early as is possible to be instilled into the minds of children which like new vessels do usually keep the savour of that which is first put into them and therefore it neerly concerns all parents to look they be at first thus seasoned with Vertue and Religion 'T is sure if this be neglected there is one ready at hand to fill them with the contrary the devil wil be diligent enough to instil into them all wickedness and vice even from their cradles and there being also in all our natures so much the greater aptness to evil then to good there is need of great care and watchfulness to prevent those endeavours of that enemy of Souls which can no way be but by possessing them at first with good things breeding in them a love to vertue a hatred of vice that so when the temptations come they may be armed against them This surely is above all things the duty of Parents to look after and the neglect of it is a horrible cruelty We justly look upon those Parents as most unnatural wretches that take away the life of their child but alas that his mercy and tenderness compared to this of neglecting his education for by that he ruines his Soul makes him miserable eternally and God knowes multitudes of such cruel Parents there are in the world that thus give up their children to be possest by the Devil for want of an early acquainting them with the wayes of God nay indeed how few there are that do conscionable perform this duty is too apparent by the strange rudeness and ignorance that is generally among youth the children of those who call themselves Christians being frequently as ignorant of God and Christ as the meerest Heathens But whoever they are that thus neglect this great duty let them know that it is not onely a fearful misery they bring upon their poor children but also a horrible guilt upon themselves For as God sayes to the careless watchmen Ezeck 3. 18. That if any soul perish by his negligence that soul shall be required at his hands so surely will it fare with all parents who have this office of watch-men intrusted to them by God over their own children A second part of education is the bringing them up to some imployment busying them in some honest exercise whereby they may avoid that great snare of the Divel Idleness and also be taught some useful art or trade whereby when they come to age they may become profitable to the Commonwealth and able to get an honest living to themselves 20. To this great duty of educating of children there is required as means first encouragement secondly correction incouragement is first to be tryed we should endeavour to make children in love with duty by offering them rewards and invitations and whenever they do well take notice of it and encourage them to go on It is an ill course some parents hold who think they must never appear to their children but with a face of sowreness and austerity this seems to be that which St. Paul forwarnes parents of when he bids fathers not to provoke their children to wrath Col. 3. 21. To be as harsh and unkind to them when they do well as if they do ill is the way to provoke them and then the Apostle tels us in the same verse what will be the issue of it they will be discouraged they will have no heart to go on in any good course when the parent affords them no countenance The second means is correction and this becomes seasonable when the former will do no good when all faire means perswasions and encouragements prevail not then there is a necessity of using sharper and let that be first tryed in words I mean not by railing and foul language but in sober yet sharp reproof but if that fail too then proceed to blowes and in this case as Solomon sayes he that spareth his rod hateth his son Prov. 13. 24. 'T is a cruel fondness that to spare
or fault of a servant towards themselves and yet can without trouble see them run into the greatest sins against God 't is a sign they consider their own concernments too much and Gods glory and their servants souls too little This is too commonly the temper of Masters they are generally careless how their servants behave themselves towards God how disorder'd and profane their families are and therefore never bestow any exhortation or admonition to perswade them to vertue or draw them from vice such Masters forget that they must one day give an account how they have governed their families It is certainly the duty of every Ruler to endeavour to advance piety and godliness among all those that are under his charge and that as well in this lesser dominion of a family as in the greater of a Realm or Nation Of this David was so careful that we see he professes Psal. 101. 7. That no deceitful person should dwell in his house that he that told lies should not tarry in his sight so much he thought himself bound to provide that his family might be a kind of Church an assembly of Godly upright persons And if all Masters would endeavour to have theirs so they would besides the eternal reward of it hereafter find a present benefit by it there worldly business would thrive much the better for if their servants were brought to make conscience of their wayes they would then not dare either to be negligent or false 31. But as it is the duty of Masters to admonish and reprove their servants so they must also look to do it in a due manner that is so as may be most likely to do good not in passion and rage which can never work the servant to any thing but the despising or hating him but with such sober and grave speeches as may convince him of his fault and may also assure him that it is a kind desire of his amendment and not a willingness to wreck his own rage which makes the Master thus to rebuke him 32. A third duty of the Master is to set good example of honesty and godliness to his servants without which 't is not all the exhortations or reproofs he can use will ever do good for else he puls down more with his example then t is possible for him to build with the other and 't is madness for a drunken or profane Master to expect a sober and godly family 33. Fourthly the Master is to provide that his servants may not want means of being instructed in their duty as also that they may daily have constant times of worshipping God publickly by having prayers in the family but of this I have spoken before under the head of Prayer and therefore shall here say no more of it 34. Fifthly The master in all affairs of his own is to give reasonable and moderate commands not saying greater burdens on his servants then they are able to bear particularly not requiring so much work that they shall have no time to bestow on their souls as on the other side he is not to permit them to live so idely as may make them either uselesse to him or may betray themselves to any ill 35. Sixthly The Master is to give his servants encouragement in well doing by using them with that bounty and kindness which their faithfulness aud diligence and piety deserves And finally in all his dealing with them he is to remember that himself hath as the Apostle saith Eph. 6. 9. A Master in heaven to whom he must give account of the usage of his meanest servant on earth Thus have I briefly run through those several relations to which we owe a particular duty and so have done with that first branch of duty to our neighbours that of Justice PARTITION XVI Other Branches of our DUTY to our Neighbour Of CHARITY to mens Sâ—uls Bodies Gooâ—s c. THE second branch of Duty to our Neighbours is Charity or Love This is the great Gospel-duty so often injoined us by Christ the New Commandment as himself calls it Jo. 13 34. That ye love one another this is again repeated twice in one Chapter John 15 12. 17. and the first Epistle of St. John is almost wholly spent in the perswasion to this one duty by which we may see 't is no matter of indifference but most strictly required of all that profess Christ. Indeed himself has given it as the badge and livery of his Disciples John 13. 35. By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another This Charity may be considered two waies first in respect of the affections secondly of the actions Charity in the affections is a sincere kindness which disposes us to wish all good to others and that in all their capacities in the same manner that justice obliged us to wish no hurt to any man in respect either of his Soul his Body his Goods or his Credit so this first part of Charity binds us to wish all good to them in all these And first for the Soul If we have any the least spark of Charity we cannot but wish all good to mens Souls Those precious things which Christ thought worth the ransoming with his own blood may surely well challenge our kindness and good wishes and therefore if we do not thus love one another we are far from obeying that Command of loving as he hath loved for 't was the Souls of men which he loved so tenderly and both did and suffered so much for Of this love of his to Souls there are two great and special effects the first the purifying them here by his grace the second the making them everlastingly happy in his glory and both these we are so far to copy out in our kindness as to be earnestly desirous that all men should arrive to that purity and holiness here which may make them capable of eternal happiness hereafter It were to be hoped that none that himself carried a Soul about him could be so cruel to that of another mans as not sincerely to wish this did not experience shew us there are some persons whose malice is so divelish as to reach even to the direâ—â— contrary the wishing not onely the sin but the damnation of others Thus may you have some who in any injury or oppression they suffer make it their onely comfort that their enemies will damn themselves by it when alas that should to a Christian be much more terrible then any suffering they could bring upon him He that is of this temper is a disciple of Satans not of Christ it being directly contrary to the whole scope of that grand Christian precept of loving our neighbours as our selves For 't is sure no man that beleeves there is such a thing as damnation wishes it to himself Be he never so fond of the wayes that lead to it yet he wishes that may
instrument by whom to do it more successfully There cannot be a nobler study then how to benefit mens Souls and therefore where the direct means are improper 't is fit we should whet our wits for attaining of others Indeed 't is a shame we should not as industriously contrive for this great spiritual concernment of others as we do for every worldly trifling interests of our own yet in them we are unwearied and trye one means after another till we compass our end But if after all our serious endeavours the obstinacy of men do not suffer us or themselves rather to reap any fruit from them if all our wooings and intreatings of men to have mercy on their own Souls will not work on them yet be sure to continue still to exhort by thy example Let thy great care and tenderness of thy own Soul preach to them the value of theirs and give not over thy compassions to them but with the Prophet Jer. 13. 17. Let thy Soul weep in secret for them and with the Psalmist Let rivers of waters run down thy eyes because they keep not Gods Law Psal. 119. 136. Yea with Christ himself weep over them who will not know the things that belong to their peace Luk. 19. 42. And when no importunities with them will work yet even then cease not to importune God for them that he will draw them to himself Thus we see Samuel when he could not disswade the people from that sinful purpose they were upon yet he professes notwithstanding that he will not cease praying for them nay he lookt on it as so much a duty that it would be sin in him to omit it God forbid sayes he that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you 1 Sam. 12. 23. Nor shall we need to fear that our prayers shall be quite lost for if they prevail not for those for whom we pour them out yet however they will return into our own bosomes Psal. 35. 13. we shall be sure not to miss of the reward of that Charity In the second place we are to exercise this Active Charity towards the bodies of our Neighbours we are not onely to compassionate their pains and miseries but also to do what we can for their ease and relief The good Samaritan Luke 10. had never been proposed as our pattern had he not as well helped as pitied the wounded man 'T is not good wishes no nor good words neither that avail in such cases as St. James tells us If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food and one of you say unto them Depart in peace be ye warmed and filled notwithstanding ye give him not those things that are needful for the body what doth it profit Jam. 2. 15. 16. No sure it profits them nothing in respect of their bodies and it will profit thee as little in respect of thy Soul it will never be reckoned to thee as a Charity This releeving of the bodily wants of our brethren is a thing so strictly required of us that we find it set down Mat. 25. as the especial thing we shall be tried by at the Last Day on the omission whereof is grounded that dreadful sentence ver 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Divel and his Angels And if it shall now be asked what are the particular acts of this kind which we are to perform I think we cannot better inform our selves for the frequent and ordinary ones then from this Chapter where are set down these severals the giving meat to the hungry and drink to the thirsty harbouring the stranger clothing the naked and visiting the sick and imprisoned By which visiting is meant not a bare coming to see them but so coming as to comfort and relieve them for otherwise 't will be but like the Levite in the Gospel Lu. 10. who came and looked on the wounded man but did no more which will never be accepted by God These are common and ordinary exercises of this charity for which we cannot want frequent opportunities But besides these there may sometimes by Gods especial providence fall into our hands occasions of doing other good offices to the bodies of our neighbours we may sometimes find a wounded man with the Samaritan and then 't is our duty to do as he did we may sometimes find an innocent person condemned to death as Susanna was and then are with Daniel to use all possible endeavour for their deliverances This case Solomon seems to refer to Prov. 24. 10. If thou forbear to deliver him that it drawn unto death and them that are ready to be slain if thou sayst behold we know it not doth not he that pondereth the heart consider and he that keepeth thy soul doth not he know it shall not he render to every man according to his deeds we are not lightly to put off the matter with vain excuses but to remember that God who knows our most secret thoughts will severely examine whether we have willingly omitted the performance of such a charity sometimes again nay God knowes often now a dayes we may see a man that by a course of intemperance is in danger to destroy his health to shorten his dayes and then it is a due charity not only to the soul but to the body also to endeavour to draw him from it It is impossible to set down all the possible acts of this corporal charity because there may sometimes happen such opportunities as none can foresee we are therefore alwayes to carry about us a serious resolution of doing whatever good of this kind we shall at any time discern occasion for and then whenever that occasion is offered we are to look on it as a call as it were from heaven to put that resolution in practice This part of charity seems to be so much implanted in our natures as we are men that we generally account them not only unchristian but inhumane that are void of it and therefore I hope there will not need much perswasion to it since our very nature inclines us but certainly that very consideration will serve hugely to encrease the guilt of those that are wanting in it For since this command is so agreeable even to flesh and blood our disobedience to it can proceed of nothing but a stubbornesse and resistance against God who gives it PARTITION XVII Of CHARITY Alms giving c. Of Charity in respect of our Neighbours Credit c. Of PEACE-MAKING Of going to Law Of Charity to our Enemies c. CHRISTIAN-DUTIES both l'OSSIBLE and PLEASANT § 1 THE third way of expressing this Charity is towards the goods or estate of our neighbour we are to endeavour his thriving and prosperity in these outward good things and to that end be willing to assist and farther him in all honest wayes of improving or preserving them by any neighbourly and friendly office Opportunities of this do many times
hands act so that in thought word and deed I continually transgress against thee Here mention the greatest of thy sins Nay O Lord I have despised that goodness of thine which should lead me to Repentance hardning my heart against all those means thou hast used for my amendment And now O Lord what can I expect from thee but judgment and fiery indignation that is indeed the due reward of my sins But O Lord there is mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared O fit me for that mercy by giving me a deep and hearty Repentance and then according to thy goodness let thy anger and thy wrath be turned away from me look upon me in thy Son my blessed Saviour and for the merit of his sufferings pardon all my sins And Lord I beseech thee by the power of thy grace so to renew and purify my heart that I may become a new creature utterly forsaking every evil way and living in constant sincere universal obedience to thee all the rest of my dayes that behaving my self as a good and faithful servant I may by thy mercy at last be received into the joy of my Lord grant this for Jesus Christ his sake A PRAYER for GRACE O Most gracious God from whom every good and perfect gift cometh I wretched creature that am not able of my self so much as to think a good thought beseech thee to work in me both to will and to do according to thy good pleasure inlighten my mind that I may know thee and let me not be barren or unfruitful in that knowledg Lord work in my heart a true faith a purifying hope and an unfeigned love towards thee give me a full trust on thee zeal for thee reverence of all things that relate to thee make me fearful to offend thee thankful for thy mercies humble under thy corrections devout in thy service sorrowful for my sins and grant that in all things I may behave my self so as befits a creature to his Creator a servant to his Lord enable me likewise to perform that duty I owe to my self give me that meekness humility and contentedness whereby I may alwayes possess my soul in patience and thankfulness make me diligent in all my duties watchful against all temptations perfectly pure and temperate and so moderate in my most lawful in joyments that they never become a snare to me make me also O Lord to be so affected towards my neighbour that I never transgress that royall Law of thine of loving him as my self grant me exactly to perform all parts of justice yeâ—lding to all whatsoever by any kind of right becomes their due and give me such bowels of mercy compassion that I may never fail to do al acts of charity to all men whether friends or enemies according to thy command and example Finally I beseech thee O Lord to sanctifie me throughout that my whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blamelesse unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory for ever Amen INTERCESSION O Blessed Lord whose mercy is over all thy works I beseech thee to have mercy upon all men and grant that the precious ransome which was paid by thy Son for all may be effectual to the saving of all Give thy inlightning grace to those that are in darkness and thy converting grace to those that are in sin look with thy tenderest compassions upon the Universal Church O be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the wals of Jerusalem unite all those that profess thy Name to thee by Purity and Holiness and to each other by Brotherly love Have mercy on this desolate Church and sinful Nation thou hast moved the Land and divided it heal the sores thereof for it shaketh make us so truly to repent of those sins which have provoked thy Judgments that thou also mayest turn and repent and leave a blessing behind thee Bless those whom thou hast appointed our Governours whether in Church or State so rule their hearts and strengthen their hands that they may neither want will nor power to punish wickedness and vice and to maintain Gods true Religion and Vertue Have pity O Lord on all that are in affliction Be a Father to the fatherless and plead the cause of the widow comfort the feeble minded support the weak heal the sick releeve the needy defend the oppressed and administer to every one according to their several necessities let thy blessings rest upon all that are near and dear to me and grant them whatsoever thou seest necessary either to their bodies or their Souls Here name thy neerest Relations Reward all those that have done me good and pardon all those that have done or wisht me evil and work in them and me all that good which may make us acceptable in thy sight through Jesus Christ. For PRESERVATION O Merciful God by whose bounty alone it is that I have this Day added to my life I beseech thee so to guide me in it by thy grace that I may do nothing which may dishonour thee or wound my own Soul but that I may diligently apply my self to do all such good works as thou hast prepared for me to walk in and Lord I beseech thee give thy Angels charge over me to keep me in all my wayes that no evil happen unto me nor any plague come nigh my dwelling but that I and mine may be safe under thy gracious protection through Jesus Christ. O Lord pardon the wandrings and coldness of these petitions and deal with me not according either to my prayers or deserts but according to my needs and thine own rich mercies in Jesus Christ in whose blessed Name and Words I conclude these my imperfect prayers saying Our Father c. DIRECTIONS for NIGHT. AT NIGHT when it drawes towards the time of rest bethink thy self how thou hast passed the day examine thine own heart what sin either of Thought Word or Deed thou hast committed what opportunity of doing good thou hast omitted and whatsoever thou findest to accuse thy self of confess humbly and penitently to God renew thy purposes and resolutions of amendment and beg his pardon in Christ and this not slightly and onely as of course but with all devout earnestness and heartiness as thou wouldst do if thou wert sure thy death were as neer approaching as thy sleep which for ought thou knowest may be so indeed and therefore thou shouldest no more venture to sleep unreconciled to God theâ— thou wouldest dare to die so In the next place consider what special and extraordinary mercies thou hast that day received as if thou hast had any great deliverance either in thy inward man from some dangerous temptations or in thy outward from any great and apparent danger and offer to God thy hearty and devout praise for the same Or if nothing extraordinary have so happened and thou hast been kept even from the approach
of danger thou hast not the less but the greater cause to magnify God who hath by his protection so guarded thee that not so much as the fear of evil hatâ— assaulted thee And therefore omit not to pay him the tribute of humble thankfulness as well for his usual and daily preservations as his more extraordinary deliverances And above all endeavour still by the considerations of his mercies to have thy heart the more closely knit to him remembring that every favour received from him is a new engagement upon thee to love and obey him PRAYERS for NIGHT. O Holy blessed and glorious Trinity three persons and one God have mercy upon me a miserable sinner Lord I know not what to pray for as I ought O let thy Spirit help my infirmities and enable me to offer up a spiritual Sacrifice acceptable unto thee by Jesus Christ. A CONFESSION O MOST Holy Lord God who are of purer eyes then to behold iniquity now shall I abominable wretch dare to appear before thee who am nothing but pollution I am defiled in my very nature having a backwardness to all good and a readiness to all evil but I have defiled my self yet much worse by my own actual sins and wicked customes I have transgrest my duty to thee my neighbour and my self and that both in thought in word in deed by doing those things which thou hast expresly forbidden and by neglecting to do those things thou hast commanded me And this not onely through ignorance and frailty but knowingly and wilfully against the motions of thy Spirit and the checks of my own conscience to the contrary And to make all these out of measure sinful I have gone on in a daily course of repeating these provocations against thee notwithstanding all thy calls to and my own purposes and â—owes of amendmeut yea this very day I have not ceased to add new sins to all my former guilts Here name the Particulars And now O Lord what shall I say or how shall I open my mouth seeing I have done these things I know that the wages of these sins is death but O thou who willest not the death of a sinner have mercy upon me work in me I beseech thee a sincere contrition and a perfect hatred of my sins and let me not daily confess and yet as daily renew them but grant O Lord that from this instant I may give a bill of divorce to all my most beloved â—lusts and then be thou pleased to marry me to thy self in truth in righteousness and holiness And for all my past sins O Lord receive a reconciliation accept of that ransom thy blessed Son hath paid for me and for his sake whom thou hast set forth as a propitiation pardon all my offences and receive me to thy favour And when thou hast thus spoken peace to my soul Lord keep me that I turn not any more to folly but so establish me with thy grace that no temptation of the world the Divel or my own flesh may ever draw me to offend thee that being made free from sin and becoming a servant unto God I may have my fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A THANKSGIVING O Thou Father of mercies who art kind even to the unthankful I acknowledg my self to have abundantly experimented that gracious property of thine for notwithstanding my daily provocations against thee thou still heapest mercies and loving kindness upon me All my contempts and despisings of thy spiritual favours have not yet made thee withdraw them but in the riches of thy goodness and long-suffering thou still continuest to me the offers of grace and life in thy Son And all my abuses of thy temporal blessings thou hast not punished with an utter deprivation of them but art still pleased to afford me a liberal portion of them The sins of this day thou hast not repayed as justly thou might'st by sweeping me away with a swift destruction but hast spared and preserved me according to the greatness of thy mercy Here mention the particular mercies of that day What shall I render unto the Lord for all these benefits he hath done unto me Lord let this goodness of thine lead me to repentance and grant that I may not only offer thee thanks and praise but may also order my conversation aright that so I may at the last see the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. Here use the Prayer for Grace and that of Intercession appointed for the Morning For PRESERVATION O Blessed Lord the Keeper of Israel that neither slumbrest nor sleepest be pleased in thy mercy to watch over me this night keep me by thy grace from all works of darkness and defend me by thy power from all dangers grant me moderate and refreshing sleep such as may fit me for the duties of the day following And Lord make me ever mindful of that time when I shall lye down in the dust and because I know neither the day nor the hour of my Masters coming grant me grace that I may be always ready that I may never live in such a state as I shall fear to dye in but that whether I live I may live unto the Lord or whether I dye I may dye unto the Lord so that living and dying I may be thine through Jesus Christ. Vse the same concluding prayer as in the Morning As thou art putting off thy clothes thiâ—k with thy self that the time approaches that thou must put off thy body also and then thy soul must appear naked before Gods judgment feat and therefore thou hadst need be careful to make it so clean and pure by repentance and holiness that he who will not look on iniquity may graciously behold and accept it Let thy bed put thee in mind of thy grave and when thou lyest down say O Blessed Saviour who by thy precious death and burial didst take away the sting of death and power of the grave grant me the joyful fruits of that thy victory and be thou to me in life and death advantage I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thou God of truth IN the ANCIENT CHURCH there were besides morning and night Four other times every day which were called HOURS OF PRAYER and the zeal of thosâ— first Christians was such as made them constantly observed It would be thought too great a strictness now in this lukewarm age to enjâ—yn the like frequency yet I cannot but mention the example and say that for those who are not by very necessary business prevented it will be but reasonable to imitate it and make up in publick and private those FOUR TIMES of PRAYER besides the OFFICES already set down for MORNING and NIGHT and that none may be to seek how to exer I se their devotions at these
forgiven by thee may never exact pence of my brethren but that putting on bowels of mercy meekness long-suffering thy peace may rule in my heart and make it an acceptable habitation to thee who art the Prince of peace to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit be all honour and glory for ever For CHASTITY O Holy and immaculate Jesus whose first descent was into the Virgins womb and who doest still love to inhabite only in pure virgin hearts I beseech thee send thy Spirit of purity to cleanse me from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit my body O Lord is the Temple of the Holy Ghost O let me never pollute that Temple with any uncleanness And because out of the heart proceed the things that defile the man Lord grant me to keep my heart with all diligence that no impure or foul thoughts be harboured there but enable me I beseech thee to keep both body and Soul pure and undefiled that so I may glorify thee here both in my body and spirit and be glorified in both with thee hereafter For TEMPERANCE O Gracious Lord who hast in thy bounty to mankind afforded us the use of thy good creatures for our corporal refreshment grant I may alwayes use this liberty with thankfulness and moderation O let me never be so enslaved to that brutish pleasure of the taste that my Table become a snare to me but give me I beseech thee a perfect abhorrence of all degrees of excess and let me eat and drink onely for those ends and according to those measures which thou hast assigned me for health and not for luxury And Lord grant that my pursuits may be not after the meat that perisheth but after that which endureth to everlasting life that hungring and thirsting after righteousness I may be filled with thy grace here and thy glory hereafter through Jesus Christ. For CONTENTEDNES O Merciful God thy wisdom is infinite to choose and thy love forward to dispence good things to us O let me alwayes fully and intirely resign my self to thy disposals have no desires of my own but a perfect satisfaction in thy choices for me that so in whatsoever estate I am I may be therein content Lord grant I may never look with murmuring on my own condition nor with envy on other mens And to that end I beseech thee purge my heart of all covetous affections O let me never yield up any corner of my Soul to Mammon but give me such a contempt of these fading riches that whether they increase oâ— decrease I may never set my heart upon them But that all my care may be to be rich towards God to lay up my treasure in Heaven that I may so set my affections on things above that when Christ who is my life shall appear I may also appear with him in glory Grant this O Lord for the merits of the same Jesus Christ. For DILIGENGE O Lord who hast in thy wisdom ordained that man should be born to labour suffer me not to resist that design of thine by giving my self up to sloth and idleness But grant I may so imploy my time and all other talents thou hast intrusted me with that I may not fall under the sentence of the slothful and wicked servant Lord if it be thy will make me some way useful to others that I may not live an unprofitable part of mankind but however O Lord let me not be useless to my self but grant I may give all diligence to make my calling and election sure My Soul is beset with many and vigilant adversaries O let me not fold my hands to sleep in the midst of so great dangers but watch and pray that I enter not into temptation enduring hardness as a good souldier of Jesus Christ till at last from this state of warfare thou translate me to the state of triumph and bliss in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ. For JUSTICE O Thou King of righteousness who hast Commanded us to keep judgement and do Justice be pleased by thy grace to cleanse my heart and hands from all fraud and injustice and give me a perfect integrity and uprightness in all my dealings O make me ever abhor to use my power to oppress or my skill to deceive my brother and grant I most strictly observe that sacred rule of doing as I would be done to that I may not dishonour my Christian profession by an unjust or fraudulent life but in simplicity and godly sincerity have my conversation in this life never seeking to heap up treasures of wickedness but preferring a little with righteousness before great revenues without right Lord make me exactly careful to render to every man what by any sort of obligation becomes his due that I may never break the bond of any of those relations thou hast placed me in but may so behave my self towards all that none may have any evil thing to say of me That so if it be possible I may have peace with all men or however I may by keeping innocency and taking heed to the thing that is right have peace at the last even peace with thee through Jesus Christ our Lord. For CHARITY O Merciful Lord who hast made of one blood and redeemed by one ransome all Nations of men let me never harden my bowels against any that partake of the same nature and redemption with me but grant me an Universal Charity towards all men Give me O thou Father of compassions such a tenderness and meltingness of heart that I may be deeply affected with all the miseries and calamities outward or inward of my brethren and diligently imploy all my abilities for their succour and relief O let not an unchristian self-love possess my heart but drive out that accursed spirit and let thy Spirit of love enter and dwell there and make me seek not to please my self but my Neighbour for his good to edification even as Christ pleased not himself Lord make me a faithful steward of all those talents thou hast committed to me for the benefit of others that so when thou shalt call me to give an account of my stewardship I may do it with joy and not with grief grant this merciful Lord I beseech thee for Jesus Christ his sake For PERSEVERANCE O Eternal and unchangeable Lord God who art the same yesterday and to day and for ever Be thou pleased to communicate some small ray of that excellence some degree of that stability to me thy wretched creature who am light and unconstant turned about with every blast my understanding is very deceivable O establish it in thy truth keep it from the snares of seducing spirits that I may not be led away with the errour of the wicked and fall from my own stedfastness my will also O Lord is irresolute and wavering and doth not cleave stedfastly unto God my goodness is but as the morning cloud as the early dew it passeth away O strengthen and confirm
me and what ever good work thou hast wrought in me be pleased to accomplish and perform it until the day of Christ. Lord thou seest my weakness and thou knowest the number and strength of those temptations I have to struggle with O leave me not to my self but cover thou my head in the day of battel and in all spiritual combats make me more then conquerour through him that loved me O let no terrours or flatteries either of the world or my own flesh ever draw me from my obedience to thee but grant that I may continue stedfast unmoveable alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord and by patient continuance in well-doing seek and at last obtain glory and honour and immortality and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. A brief Paraphrase of the LORDS PRAYER To be used as a Prayer Our FATHER which art in Heaven O Lord who dwellest in the highest heavens thou art the Author of our being thou hast also begotten us again unto a lively hope and carryest towards us the tenderness and bowels of a most compassionate father O make us to render to thee the love and obedience of children and that we may resemble thee our father in heaven that place of true delight and purity give us a holy disdain of all the deceitful pleasures and foul pollutions of this world and so raise up our minds that we may alwayes have our conversation in heaven from whence we look for our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Hallowed be thy Name Strike such an awe into all our hearts that we may humbly reverence thee in thy Name which is great wonderful and holy and carry such a sacred respect to all things that relate to thee and thy worship as may express our reverence of thy great Majesty Let all the people praise thee O God let all the people praise thee 2. Thy Kingdome Come Establish thy throne and rule for ever in our souls and by the power of thy grace subdue all those rebellious corruptions that exalt themselves against thee they are those enemies of thine which would not that thou shouldst reign over them O let them be brought forth and slain before thee and make us such faithful subjects of this thy Kingdome of Grace that we may be capable of thy kingdome of glory and then Lord Jesus come quickly 3. Thy Will be done in earth c. Enable us by thy grace cheerfully to suffer thy will in all thy inflictions and readily to perform it in all thy commands give us of that heavenly zeal to thy service wherewith the blessed Angels of thy presence are inspired that we may obey thee with the like fervor and alacrity and that following them in their obedience we may be joyned with them to sing eternal praises in thy Kingdome to God and to the Lamb for ever 4. Give us this day our daily bread Give us that continual supply of thy grace which may sustein and nourish our souls unto eternal life And be thou pleased also to provide for our bodies all those things which thou seest fit for their support through this our earthly pilgrimage and make us cheerfully to rest on thee for them first seeking thy Kingdome and the righteousness thereof and then not doubting but all these things shall be added unto us 5. Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them c. Heal our souls O Lord for we have sinned against thee let thy tender mercies abound towards us in the forgiveness of all our offences And grant O Lord that we may never forfeit this pardon of thine by denying ours to our brethren but give us those bowels of compassion to others which we stand in so much greater need of from thee that we may forgive as fully and finally upon Christs Command as we desire to be forgiven for his merits and intercession 6. Lead us not into Temptation but deliver c. O Lord we have no strength against those multitudes of temptations that daily assalt us onely our eyes are upon thee O be thou pleased either to restrain them or assist us and in thy faithfulness suffer us not to be tempted above that we are able but in all our temptations make us a way to escape that we be not overcome by them but may when thou shalt call us to it resist even unto blood striving against sin that being faithful unto death thou mayest give us the crown of life For thine is the Kingdome the Power c. Hear us and graciously answer our petitions for thou art the great King over all the earth whose Power is infinite and artable to do for us above all that we can ask or think and to whom belongeth the Glory of all that good thou workest in us or for us Therefore blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne to our God for ever and ever Amen PIOUS EJACULATIONS Taken out of the Book of PSALMS For PARDON of SIN HAve mercy on me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences Wash me throughly from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin Turn thy face from my sins and put out all my misdeeds My misdeeds prevail against me O be thou merciful unto my sins Enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified For thy names sake O Lord be merciful unto my sin for it is great Turn thee O Lord and deliver my soul O save me for thy mercies sake For GRACE TEach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my God Teach me thy way O Lord and I will walk in thy truth O knit my heart to thee that I may fear thy name Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me O let my heart be found in thy statutes that I be not ashamed Incline my heart unto thy Testimonies and not to covetousnesse Turn away mine eyes least they behold vanity and quicken thou me in thy way I am a stranger upon earth O hide not thy Commandments from me Lord teach me to number my dayes that I may apply my heart unto Wisdome For the LIGHT of Gods COUNTENANCE LOrd why abhorrest thou my soul and hidest thy face from me O hide not thou thy face from me nor cast thy servant away in displeasure Thy loving kindnesse is better then life it self Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me Comfort the Soul of thy servant for unto thee O Lord do I lift up my Soul THANKSGIVING I Will alwayes give thanks unto the Lord his praise shall ever be in my mouth Thou art my God and I will thank thee thou art my God and I will praise thee I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will praise my God whilest I have my being Praised be God which hath not cast out my prayer nor turned his mercy from
me Blessed be the Lord God even the God of Israel which onely doth wondrous things And blessed be the Name of his Majesty for ever and all the earth shall be filled with his Majesty Amen Amen For DELIVERANCE from TROUBLE BE merciful unto me O Lord be merciful unto me for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge until these calamities be overpast Deliver me O Lord from mine enemies for I flye unto thee to hide me O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be confounded for I have put my trust in thee Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the net Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery The sorrowes of my heart are enlarged O bring thou me out of my troubles For the CHURCH O Be favourable and gracious unto Sion build thou the walls of Jerusalem O God wherefore art thou absent from us so long Why is thy wrath so hot against the sheep of thy pasture O think upon thy Congregation whom thou hast purchased and Redeemed of old Look upon the Tribe of thine Inheritance and Mount Sion where thou hast dwelt It is time for thee Lord to lay to thy hand for they have destroyed thy Law Arise O God and maintain thine own cause Deliver Israel O God out of all his troubles Brief heads of SELF-EXAMINATION Especially before the SACRAMENT Collected out of the foregoing Treatise concerning the breaches of our DUTY To GOD. NOt believing there is a God Not believing his Word Not believing it Practically so as to live according to our belief Despairing of Gods mercy so as to neglect duty Presuming groundlesly on it whilest we go on in wilful sin Not loving God for his own excellencies Not loving him for his goodness to us Not labouring to please him Not desiring to draw neer to him in his Ordinances Not longing to enjoy him in Heaven Not fearing God so as to keep from offending him Fearing man above him by committing sin to shun some outward suffering Not trusting on God in dangers and distresses Using unlawful means to bring us out of them Not depending on God for supply of our wants Immoderate care for outward things Neglecting to labour and expecting God should support us in our idleness Not looking up to God for a blessing on our honest endeavours Not having a high esteem of God Not submitting obediently to act his will Not patiently suffering it but murmuring at his corrections Not amending by them Not being thankful to him Not acknowledging his wisdom in choosing for us but having eager and impatient desires of our own Not honouring God by a reverend usage of the things that relate to him Behaving our selvs irreverently in his House Robbing God by taking things that are consecrated to him Profaning Holy times the Lords Day and the Feasts and Fasts of the Church Neglecting to read the Holy Scriptures not marking when we do read Being careless to get knowledg of our duty Chusing rather to continue ignorant then put our selves to the pains or shame of learning Placing Religion in hearing of Sermons without practising them Breaking our vow made at Baptism By resorting to witches and conjurers i. e. to the Devil By loving the pomps and vanities of the world and following its sinful customes By fulfilling the lusts of the flesh Profaning the Lords Supper By coming to it ignorantly without examination contrition and purposes of new life By behaving our selves irreverently at it without devotion and spiritual affection By neglecting to keep the promises made at it Profaning Gods Name by blasphemous thoughts or discourse Giving others occasion to blaspheme him by our vile and wicked lives Taking unlawful oaths Perjury Swearing in ordinary communication Not worshipping God Omitting prayers publick or private and being glad of a pretence to do so Asking unlawful things or to unlawful ends Not purifying our hearts from sin before we pray Not praying with Faith and Humility Coldness and deadness in prayer Wandring thoughts in it Irreverent gestures of body in prayer Neglecting the duty of Repentance Not calling our selves to daily account for our sins Not assigning any set or solemn times for humiliation and confession or too seldom Not deeply considering our sins to beget contrition for them Not acting revenges on our selves by fasting and other acts of Mortification Outward Idolatry in worshipping of creatures Inward Idolatry in placing our love joy and other affections more on creatures then the Creator To our SELVES Being pufft up with high conceits of our selves In respect of natural parts as beauty wit c Of worldly riches and honours Of Grace Greedily seeking the praise of men Directing Christian Actions as prayer almes c. to that end Committing sins to avoid reproach from wicked men Disturbing our minds with anger and peevishness Not carefully examining what our estate towards God is Not trying our selves by the true rule i. e. our obedience to Gods Commands Not weighing the lawfulness of our actions before we venture on them Not examining our past actions to repent of the ill to give God the glory of the good Uncontentedness in our estates Greedy desires after honour and riches Seeking to gain them by sinful means Envying the condition of other men Being negligent in observing and resisting temptations Not improving Gods gifts outward or inward to his honour Abusing our natural parts as wit memory strength c. to sin Neglecting or resisting the motions of Gods Spirit Uncleanness adultery fornication unnatural lusts c. Uncleanness of the eye and hand Filthy and obscene talking Impure fancies and desires Heightning of lust by pampering the body Not labouring to subdue it by fasting or other severities Eating too much Making pleasure not health the enâ— of eating Being too curious or costly in meats Drunkenness Drinking more then is useful to our bodies though not to drunkenness Wasting the time or estate in good fellowship Abusing our strength of brain to the makeing others drunk Immoderate sleeping Idleness and negligence in our callings Using unlawful recreations Being too vehement upon lawful ones Spending too much time at them Being drawn by them to anger or covetousness Being proud of apparel Striving to go beyond our rank Bestowing too much time care or cost about it Abstaining from such excesses not out of conscience but covetousness Pinching our bodies to fill our purses To our NEIGHBOUR Being injurious to our Neighbour Delighting causlesly to grieve his mind Ensnaring his Soul in sin by command counsel enticement or example Affrighting him from Godliness by our scoffing at it Not seeking to bring those to Repentance whom we have led into sin Murder open or secret Drawing men to intemperance or other vices which may bring diseases or death Stirring men up to quarrelling and fighting Maiming or hurting the body of our Neighbour Fierceness and rage against him Coveting our
impenitence and unworthiness frustrate these so inestimable mercies to me but qualifie me by thy grace to receive the full benefit of them O Lord I have abundant need of thee but am so clog'd with guilt so holden with the cords of my sins that I am not able to move towards thee O lose me from this band wherewith Satan and my own lusts have bound me and draw me that I may run after thee Lord thou seest daily how eagerly I pursue the paths that lead to death but when thou invitest me to life and glory I turn my back and forsake my own mercy How often hath this feast been prepared and I have with frivilous excuses absented my self or if I have come it hath been rather to defie then to adore thee I have brought such troops of thy professed enemies unrepented sins along with me as if I â—ame not to commemorate but renew thy passion crucifying thee afresh and putting thee to open shame and now of what punishment shall I be thought worthy who have thus trampled under foot the Son of God and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing yet O merciful Jesu this blood is my onely râ—â—â—ge O let this make my atonement or I perish eternally wherefore didst thou shed it but to save sinners neither can the merit of it be overwhelmed either by the greatness or number of sins I am a sinner a great one O let me find its saving efficacy Be merciful unto me O God be merciful to me for my soul trusteth in thee and in the clefts of thy wound shall be my refuge until thy fathers indignation be overpast O thou who hast as my high Priest sacrificed for me intercede for me also and plead thy meritorious sufferings on my behalfe and suffer not O my Redeemer the price of thy blood to be utterly lost And grant O Lord that as the sins I have to be forgiven are many so I may love much Lord thou seest what faint what cold affections I have towards thee O warm and enliven them and as in this Sacrament that transcendent love of thine in dying for me is shewed forth so I beseech thee let it convey such grace into me as may enable me to make some returns of love O let this divine fire descend from heaven into my soul and let my sins be the burnt offering for it to consume that there may not any corrupt affection any accursed thing be shelterd in my heart that I may never again defile that place which thou hast chosen for thy temple Thou dyedst O dear Jesu to redeem me from all iniquity O let me not again sell my self to work wickedness but grant that I may approach thee at this time with most sincere and fixed resolutions of an entire reformation and let me receive such grace and strength from thee as may enable me faithfully to perform them Lord there are many old habituated diseases my soul groanes under Her mention thy most prevailing corruptions And though I lye never so long at the pool of Bethesda come never so often to thy table yet unless thou be pleased to put forth thy healing vertue they will still remain uncured O thou blessed Physician of souls heal me and grant I may now so touch thee that every one of these loath some issues may immediately stanch that these sicknesses may not be unto death but unto the glory of thy mercy in pardoning to the glory of thy grace in purifying so polluted a wretch O Christ hear me and grant I may now approach thee with such humility and contrition love and devotion that thou maist vouchsafe to come unto me and abide with me communicating to me thy self and all the merits of thy passion And then O Lord let no accusations of Satan oâ— my own conscience amaze or distract me buâ— having peace with thee let me also have peace in my self that this wine may make glad this bread of life may strengthen my heart and enable me cheerfully to run the way of thy Commandments Grant this merciful Saviour I beseech thee for thine own bowels and compassions sake EjACULATIONS to be used at the LORDS TABLE LOrd I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof I have sinned what shall I do unto thee O thou preserver of men Here recollect some of thy greatest sins If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it But with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous Redemption Behold O Lord thy beloved Son in whom thou art well pleased Hearken to the cry of his blood which speaketh better things then that of Abel By his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion good Lord deliver me O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world grant me thy Peace O Lamb of God which takest away the sins of the world have mercy upon me Immediately before Receiving THou hast said that he that eateth thy flesh and drinketh thy blood hath eternal life Behold the servant of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word At the Receiving of the Bread BY thy Crucified Body deliver me from this body of death At the Receiving of the Cup. O let this blood of thine purge my conscience from dead works to serve the living God Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean After Receiving WHat shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Therefore blessing honour glory and power be to him that sitteth upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Amen I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments O hold thou up my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip not A Thanksgiving after the Receiving of the Sacrament OThou Fountain of all goodness from whom every good and perfect gift cometh and to whom all honour and glory should be returned I desire with all the most fervent and inflamed affections of a grateful heart to blesse and praise thee for those inestimable mercies thou hast vouchsafed me Lord what is man that thou shouldst so regard him as to send thy beloved Son to suffer such bitter things for him But Lord what am I the worst of men that I should have any part in this atonement who have so oft despised him and his sufferings O the height and depth of this mercy of thine that art pleased to admit me to the renewing of that Covenant with thee which I have so often so perversly broken that I who am not worthy of that daily bread which sustains the body should be made partaker of this bread of life which nourishes the Soul and
to despise that by this I may be made capable of that atonement which thy dear Son hath by the more excellent oblation of himself made for all repenting sinners He is the propitiation for our sins he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was on him O heal me by his stripes and let the cry of his blood drown the clamour of my sins I am indeed a child of wrath but he is the Son of thy love for his sake spare me O Lord spare thy creature whom he hath redeemed with his most precious blood and be not angry with me for ever In his wounds O Lord I take Sanctuary O let not thy vengeance pursue me to this city of refuge my Soul hangeth upon him O let me not perish with a Jesus with a Saviour in my armes But by his Agony and bloody Sweat by his Cross and Passion by all that he did and suffered for sinners good Lord deliver me deliver me I beseech thee from the wages of my sins thy wrath and everlasting damnation in thâ—s time of my tribulation in the hour of death and in the day of Judgment Heaâ— me O Lord hear me and do not now repay my former neglects of thy calls by refusing to answer me in this time of my grâ—atest need Lord there is but a step between me and death O let not my sun go down upon thy wrath but seaâ— my pardon before I go hence and be no more seen Thy loving kindness is better then the life it self O let me have that in exchange and I shall most gladly lay down this mortal life Lord thou knowest all my desire and my groaning is not hid from thee Deal thou with me O Lord according to thy Name for sweet is thy mercy take away the sting of death the guilt of my sins and then though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil I will lay me down in peace and Lord when I awake up let me be satisfied with thy presence in thy glory Grant this merciful God for his sake who is both the Redeemer and Mediator of sinners even Jesus Christ. PSALMES PVT me not to rebuke O Lord in thiâ—â— anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure There is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure neither is there any rest in my bones by reason of my sins For my wickednesses are gone over my head and are a sore burden too heavy for me to bear My wounds stink and are corrupt through my foolishness Therefore is my spirit vexed within me and my heart within me is desolate My sins have taken such hold upon me that I am not able to look up yea they are more in number then the hairs of my head and my heart hath failed me But thou O Lord God art full of compassion and mercy long suffering plenteous in goodness and truth Turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and in misery If thou Lord shouldst be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it O remember not the sins and offences of my youth but according to thy mercy think thou upon me for thy goodness Look upon my adversity and misery and forgive me all my sin Hide not thy face from thy servant for I am in trouble O haste thee and hear me Out of the deep do I call unto thee Lord hear my voice Turn thee O Lord and deliver my Soul O save me for thy mercies sake O go not from me for trouble is hard at hand and there is none to help I stretch forth my hands unto thee my Soul gaspeth unto thee as a thirsty land Draw nigh unto my Soul and save it O deliver me because of my enemies For my Soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto hell Save me from the Lyons mouth hear me from among the horns of the Vnicorns O set me up upon the rock that is higher then I for thou art my hope and a strong Tower for me against the enemy Why art thou so heavy O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance The Lord shall make good his loving kindness towards me yea thy Mercy O Lord endureth for ever despise not then the work of of thine own hands O GOD thou art my God early will I seek thee My Soul thirsteth for thee my flesh also longeth after thee in a barren and dry land where no water is Like as the hart desireth the water brooks so longeth my Soul after thee O God My Soul is a thirst for God even for the living God when shall I come to appear before the presence of God How amiable are thy dwellings O Lord of Hosts My Soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord my flesh and my heart rejoice in the living God O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flye away and be at rest O send out thy light and thy truth that they may lead me and bring me unto thy Holy Hill and to thy dwelling For one day in thy Courts is better then a thousand I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedness I should utterly have fainted but that I believed verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying EjACULATIONS O LORD of whom may I seek for succour but of thee who for my sins art justly displeased yet O Lord God most Holy O Lord most mighty O Holy and most Merciful Saviour deliver me not into the bitter pains of eternal death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of my heart shut not up thy merciful eyes to my prayer but hear me O Lord most Holy O God most Mighty O Holy and Merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judg eternal suffer me not at my last hour for any pains of death to fall from thee Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am no worthy to be called thy child yet O Lord do not thou cast off the bowels and compassions of a Father but even as a Father pittieth his own children so bâ— thou merciful unto me Lord the prince of this world cometh Oâ— let â—im have nothing in me but as he accuseth do thou absolve he layes many and grievous things to my charge which he can too well prove I have nothing to say for my self do thou answer for me O Lord my God O Lord I am clothed with filthy garments and Satan stands at my right hand to resist me O be thou pleased to rebuke him and pluck me as a brand out of the fire cause mine iniquities to pass from me and cloth me with the righteousness
and pitiful eyes with which thou didst once behold Peter that great Shepherd of thy Church and forthwith he remembered himself repented with which eyes thou once didst view the scattered multitude and wert moved with compassion that for lack of a good Shepherd they wandered as sheep dispersed and strayed a sunder Thou seest O good Shepherd what sundry sorts of Wolvs have broken into thy sheep cotes of whom every one cryeth Here is Christ here is Christ. So that if it were possible the very perfect persons should be brought into error Thou seest with what winds with what waves with what storms thy silly ship is tossed thy ship wherein thy little flock is in peril to be drowned And what is now left but that it utterly sink and we all perish Of this tempest and storm we may thank our own wickedness and sinful living we espy it well and confesse it we espy thy righteousness and we bewail our unrighteousness but we appeal to thy mercy which according to the Psalm of thy Prophet surmounteth all thy works we have now suffered much punishment being sousted with so many wars consumed with such losses of goods scourged with so many sorts of diseases and pestilences shaken with so many flouds feared with so many strange sights from heaven and yet appears there no where any Haven or Port unto us being thus-tired for lorn among so strange evils but still every day more grievous punishments and more seem to hang over our heads We complain not of thy sharpness most tender Saviour but we espy here also thy mercy forasmuch as much grievouseâ— plagues we have deserved But O most merciful Jesu we beseech thee that thou wilt not consider not weigh what is due for our deservings but rather what becometh thy mercy without which neither the Angels in heaven can stand sure before thee much less we filly vessels of clay Have mercy on us O redeemer which art easie to be intreated not that we be worthly of thy mercy but give thou this glory unto thine own Name Suffer not that the Jews Turks and the rest of the Panims which either have not known thee or do envy thy glory should continually triumph over us and say Where is their God where is their Redeemer where is their Saviour where is their Bridegroom that they thus boast on These opprobrious words and upbraidings redound unto thee O Lord while by our evils men weigh and esteem thy goodness they think we be forsaken whom they see not amended Once when thou sleptst in the Ship and a Tempest suddenly arising threatned death to all in the Ship thou awokest at the outcry of a few Disciples and straightway at thine Almighty word the waters couched the winds fell the storm was suddenly turned into a great calm the dumb waters know their makers voice Now in this far greater tempest wherein not a few mens bodies be in danger but innumerable souls we beseech thâ—e at the cry of thy holy Church which is in danger of drowning that thou wilt awake So many thousands of men do cry Lord save us we perish the tempest is past mans power yea we see that the endeavours of them that would help it do turn clean a contrary way It is thy word that must do the deed Lord Jesu Only say thou with a word of thy mouth Cease O tempest and forthwith shall â—he desired calm appear Thou wouldst have spaâ—ed so many thousands of most wicked men if in the City of Sodoâ— â—ad been found but ten good men Now here be so many thousands 〈◊〉 men which love the glory of thy name which sigh for the beauty 〈◊〉 thy house and wilt thou not at these mens prayers let go thine anâ—r and remember thine accustomed and old mercies Shalt thou â—ot with thy heavenly policy turn our folly into thy glory Shalt thou â—ot turn the wicked mens evils into thy Churches good For thy merâ—y is wont then most of all to succour when the thing is with us past â—medy and neither the might nor wisdom of men can help it Thou â—one bâ—ingest things that be never so out of order into order again â—hich art the only Author and maintainer of peace Thou framedst â—hat old confusion which we call Chaos wherein without order withâ—ut fashion confusedly lay the discordant seeds of things and with a â—onderful order the things that of nature fought together thou didst â—ly and knit in a perpetual band But how much greater confusion is â—is where is no charity no fidelity no bonds of love no reverence either of lawes nor yet of rulers no agreement of opinions but as 〈◊〉 were in a misordered quire every man singeth a contrary note Aâ—ong the heavenly Planets is no dissention all four Elements keep â—â—eir place every one do their office whereunto they be appointed And wilt thou suffer thy Spouse for whose sake all things were made â—hus bycontinual discords to perish and go to wrack Shalt thou â—â—ffer the wicked spirits which be authors and workers of discord 〈◊〉 bear such a swing in thy Kingdome unchecked Shalt thou suffer â—e strong Captain of mischief whom thou once overthrewest again 〈◊〉 invade thy tents and to spoil thy souldiers When thou wert here man conversant among men at thy voice flâ—d the Devils Send forth 〈◊〉 beseech thee O Lord thy spirit which may drive away out of the â—ests of al them that profess thy name the wicked spirits masters of riâ—â— of covetousness of vain-glory of carnal lust of mischief and of disâ—ord Create in us O our God and King a clean heart and renew thy holy â—pirit in our breasts pluck not from us thy holy Ghost Render unto us â—e joy of thy saving health and with thy principal spirit strengthen â—y Spouse and the Herdmen thereof By this Spirit thou reconciledst â—â—e earthly to the heavenly by this thou didst frame and reduce so â—any tongues so many nations so many sundry sorts of men into 〈◊〉 body of a Church which body by the same Spirit is knit to thee â—â—eir Head This Spirit if thou wilt vouchsafe to renew in all mens â—earts then shall also these foreign miseries cease or if they cease â—ot at least they shall turn to the profit and avail of them which love â—ee Stay this confusion set in order this horrible Chaos O Lord â—e us let thy spirit stretch out it self upon these waters of evil waâ—ering opinions And because thy spirit which according to thy Proâ—ets saying containeth all things hath also the sience of speaking make that like as unto all them which be of thy house is all one light one Baptisme one God one Hope one Spirit so they may also have one voice one note and song professing one Catholick truth When thou didst mount up to heaven triumphantly thou threwest out from above thy precious things thou gavest gifts amongst men thou dealtest sundry rewards of thy Spirit Renew again from above thy old bountifulness give
thou enterest the Church remember that it is the house of God a place where he is in an especial manner present and therefore take the counsel of the wise man Eccles. 5. 1. And keep thy foot when thou goest into the house of God that is behave thy self with that godly awe and reverence which belongs to that great Majestie thou art before Remember that thy business there is to converse with God and therefore shut out all thoughts of the world even of thy most lawful business which though they be allowable at another time are here sinful How fearful a guilt is it then to entertain any such thoughts as are in themselves wicked It is like the treason of Judas who pretended indeed to come to kiss his Master buâ— brought with him a band of souldiers to apprehend him Mat. 26. We make shew in our coming to Church of serving and worshipping God but we bring with us a train of his enemies to provoke and despite him This is a wickedness that may outâ—ie the profaneness of these dayes in turnâ—ng Churches into stables for sinful and â—olluted thoughts are much the worst sort of â—beasts 14. The Second thing to which respect belongs is his revenue or income that is whatsoever is his peculiar possessions set apart for the maintenance of those that attend his service those were the Priests in time of the Law and Ministers of the Gospel now with us And what ever is thus set apart we must look on with such respect as not to dare to turn it to any other use Of this sort some are the free-will-offerings of men who have sometimes of their own accord given some of their goods or lands to this holy use and whatsoever is so given can neither by the person that gave it nor any other be taken away without great that sin of sacriledg 15. But besides these there was among the Jews and hath alwayes been in all Christian Nations something allotted by the Law of the Nation for the support and maintenance of those that attend the service of God And it is but just and necessary it should be so that those who by undertaking that Calling are taken off from the wayes of gaining a livelyhood in the world should be provided for by them whose souls they watch over And therefore it is most reasonable which the Apostle urges in this matter 1 Cor. 9. 11. If we have sown unto you spiritual things is it a great thing if we shal reap your carnal things That is the most unreasonable for men to grudg the bestowing a few carnal things the outward necessaries of this temporal life on them from whom they receive spiritual things even instruction and assistance towards the obtaining an eternal life 16. Now whatsoever is thus appointed for this use may by no means be imployed to any other And therefore those tithes which are here by Law allotted for the maintenance of the Ministry must by no means be kept back nor any tricks or shifts used to avoid the payment either in whole or in part For first it is certain that it is as truly theft as any other robbery can be Ministers having right to their tithes by the same Law which gives any other man right to his estate But then Secondly it is another manner of robbery then we think of it is a robbing of God whose service they were given to maintain and that you may not doubt the truth of this it is no more then God himself hath said of it Mal. 3. 8. Will a man rob God yet ye have robbed me yet ye say wherein have we robbed thee in tithes and offerings Here it is most plain that in Gods account the withholding tithes is a robbing of him And if you please you may in the next verse see what the gains of this robbery amounts to Yea are cursed with a curse A curse is all is gotten by it and common experience shews us that Gods vengeance doth in a remarkable manner pursue this sin of Sacriledg whether it be that of withholding tithes or the other of seizing on those possessions which have been voluntarily consecrated to God Men think to inrich themselves by it but it usually proves directly contrary this unlawful gain becomes such a Canker in the estate as often eates out even that we had a just title too And therefore if you love I will not say your souls but your estates preserve them from that danger by a strict care never to meddle with anything set a part for God 17. A Third thing wherein we are to express our reverence to God is the hallowing of the times set apart for his service He who hath given all our time requires some part of it to be paid back again as a rent or tribute of the whole Thus the Jews kept holy the seventh day and we Christians the Sunday or Lords day the Jews were in their Sabbath especially to remember the Creation of the world and we in ours the resurrection of Christ by which a way is made for us into that better world we expect hereafter Now this day thus set a part is to be imployed in the worship and service of God and that first more solemnly and publickly in the Congregation from which no man must then absent himself without a just cause and Secondly privatly at home in praying with and instructing our families or else in the yet more private duties of the closet a mans own private prayers reading meditating and the like And that we may be at leisure for these a rest from all our worldly business is commanded therefore let no man think that a bare rest from labour is all that is required of him on the Lords day but the time which he saves from the works of his calling he is to lay out on those spiritual duties For the Lords Day was never ordained to give us a pretence for idleness but only to change our imployment from worldly to heavenly much lesse was it meant that by our rest from our callings we should have more time free to bestow upon our sins as too many do who are more constant on that day at the Alehouse then the Church But this rest was commanded first to shadow out to us that rest from sin which we are bound to all the dayes of our lives And secondly to take us off from our worldly business and to give us time to attend the service of God and the need of our souls 18. And surely if we rightly consider it it is a very great benefit to us that there is such a set time thus weekly returning for that purpose We are very intent and busy upon the world and if there were not some such time appointed to our hands it is to be doubted we should hardly allot any our selves And then what a starved condition must these poor soules of ours be in that shall never be afforded a meal
for which clothing should be used Those are especially these three First the hiding of nakedness This was the first occasion of apparel as you may read Gen. 3 21. and was the effect of the first sin and therefore when we remember this orâ—ginal clothes we have so little reason to be proud of them that on the contrary we have cause to be humbled and ashamed as having lost that innocency which was a much greater ornament then any the most glorious apparel can be From this end of clothing we are likewise eâ—gaged to have our apparel modest such as may answer this end of covering our shame And therefore all immodest fashions of apparel which may either argue the wantonness of the wearerâ— or provoke that of the beholder are to be avoided 9 A second end of apparel is the fencing the body from cold thereby to preserve the health thereof and this end we must likewise observe in our clothing we must wear such kind of habits as may keep us in that convenient warmth whâ—ch iâ— necessary to our healths And this is transgrest when out of the vanity of being in every phantastick fashion we put our selves in such clothing as either will not defend us from cold or is some other way so uneasy that it is rather a hurt then a benefit to our bodies to be so clod This is a most ridiculous folly and yet that which people that take a pride in their clothes are usually guilty of 10. A third end of apparel is the distinguishing or dâ—fferencing of persons and that first in respect of Sex Secondly in respect of qualities First clothes are to make difference of Sex this hath been observed by all Nations the habits of men and women have alwayes been divers And God himself expresly provided for it among the Iâ—ws by commanding that the man should not wear the apparel of the woman nor the woman of the man But then secondly there â—s also a distinction of qualities to be observed in apparel God hath placed some in a higher condition then others and in proportion to their condition it befits their clothing to be Gorgeous apparel our Saviour tels us is for Kings Coâ—â—ts Luk. 7. 25. Now this end of apparel should also be observed Men and women should content themselves with that sort of clothing which agrees to their Sex and condition not striving to exceed and equal that of a higher rank nor yet making it matter of envy among those of their own estate vying who shall be finest but let every man cloth himself in such sober atire as befits his place and calling and not think himself disparaged if another of his neighbours have better then he 11. And let all remember that cloths are things which add no true worth to any and therefore it is an intolerable vanity to spend any considerable part either of their thoughts time or wealth upon them or to value themselves ever the more for them or despise their poor brethren that want them But if they desire to adorn themselves let it be as St. Peter advises the women of his time 1 Pet. 3. 4. In the hidden man of the heart even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit Let them cloth themselves as richly as is possible with all Christian vertues and that is the raiment that will set them out lovely in Gods eyes yea and in mens tâ—o who unless they be fools and Idiots will more value thee for being good then fine and sure one plain Coat thâ—u puttest upon a poor mans back will better become thee then twenty rich ones thou shalt put upon thine own 12. I have now gone through the several parts of temperance I shall now in conclusion add this general caution that though in all these particulars I have taken notice only of the one fault of excess yet it is possible there may be one on the other hand men may deny theirbodies that which they necessarily require to their support and well being This is I believe a fault not so common as the other yet we sometimes see some very niggardly persons that are guilty of it that cannot find in their hearts to borrow so much from their chests as may feed their bellies or cloth their backs and that are so intent upon the world so moiling and drudging in it that they cannot afford themselves that competent time of sleep or recreation that is necessary If any that hath read the former part of this discourse be of this temper let him not comfort himself that he is not guilty of those excesses there complained of and therefore conclude himself a good Christian because he is not intemperate for whoever is this covetous creature his abstaining shall not be counted to him as the vertue of temperance for it is not the love of temperance but wealth that makes him refrain And that is so far from being praise worthy that it is that great sin which the Apostle tels us 1 Tim. 6. 10. is the root of all evil such a mans body will one day rise in judgement against him for defrauding it of its due portion those moderate refreshments and comforts which God hath allowed it This is an Idolatry beyond that of offering the children to Moloch Lev. 20. 3. they offered but their children but this coveâ—ous wretch sacrifices himself to his god Mâ—mmon whilest he often destroyes his health his life yea finally hâ—s â—oul too to save his purse I have now done wâ—th the second head of duty that to our selves contained by the Apostle under the word soberly PARTITION X. Of Dâ—TIES to our NEIGHBOURS Of JUSTICE Negative Positive Of the sin of MURTHER Of the Hâ—inousness of it the Punishmeâ—ts of it and the strange Discoveries thereof Of Maining wounds and stripâ—s § 1. I come now to the third part of duties those to our Neighbour which is by the Apostle summed up in gross in the word righteousness by which is meant not onely bare justice but all kind of charity also for that is now by the law of Christ become a debt â—o our neighbour it is a piece of unrigteousness to defraud him of it I shall therefore build all the particular duties we owe to our neighbour on those two general ones Justice and Charity 2. I begin with Justice whereof there are two parts the one negative the other positive the negative justice is to do no wrong or injury to any The positive justice is to do right to all that is to yeeld them wâ—â—at soever appertains or is due unto them I shall first speak of the negative justice the not injuriâ—g â—r wronging any Now because a man is capable of receiving wrong in several respects this first part of justice extends its self into several branches answerable to those capacities of injury A man may be injured either in his Soul his body his possessions or credit and therefore this duty of