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1THinke and looke on every day, as the last day of thy life: therefore so live every day, and walke before God so warily, as if it were the day of thy death, and thy day of Iudgement: and as if before night, thou wert to give an account of thy life before the Iudge of Heaven and Earth.
2 In what place soever thou art, in thy house or abroad, in thy bed, or at thy boord, whether by night, or by day, whatsoever thou art doing, set God alwayes [Page][figure][Page][Page] before thine eyes: thinke that God sées thée; and let the feare of him kéep thee from sinne, and guide thée in the wayes of holinesse, Psal. 16.8.
3 As soone as thou awakest, when thou first openest thine eyes in a morning, lift up thy heart to God, in thankfulnesse to him for thy preservation that night past: and doe the like at night for the preservation of the day; thou knowest not any night, but it may be thy last night: consider, sléepe is compared to death, and the bed unto the grave, and thou mayest sleep thy last sléep, Luk. 12.20. Let this be thy last thought upon thy pillow, Commending thy self into the hands of God.
4 See that thou neglect not thy solemne, and set times of prayer, humbling thy selfe upon thy knees, first in the morning as soone as thou art ready, before thou enter upon any worke, commending thy selfe, and all thy wayes unto God, and last at night, when thou goest to bed, kneeling at thy beds side, Psal. 55.17.
5 Taske thy selfe every day to reade some peece of holy Scripture, as some [Page] of the Psalmes, and one Chapter at the least of the old or new Testament, see that thou reade heedfully for the encrease of knowledge, and the bettering of thy spirituall estate, as also at thy best leasure take time to reade something out of some other godly booke: This thou mayst doe either morne or evening, or both, without any let or hinderance to thy calling, Acts 17.11.
6 Shew thy selfe to be a Christian, and a servant of God every day, by labouring diligently with thy hands in some lawfull and honest calling, knowing that he who will not worke, must not eate, and the idle person hath no right to apeece of bread, and a Christian must have a trade or calling, Ephes. 4.28. 1 Thess. 4.11. 2 Thess. 3.10.
7 As thou art following of thy calling, thou mayest often be lifting up thy heart to God upon every fresh occasion; This is one way of praying continually, as it is exhorted, 1 Thess. 5.17.
8 Labour to be acquainted daily more and more with the Law of God, the ten [Page] Commandements: get some godly book that may expound them fully, that thou mayst sée what is sinne, and what is not sinne in every action: by this means thou mayest daily learne how [...]o shun moe sins, and to performe mo duties, Psalm. 19.7. Psal. 119.104. Jam. 5.25.
9 Take heed of sinning against knowledge, and of entertaining at any time a purpose or resolution to sinne in any action, for a true faith and purpose of sinning against knowledge and conscience can never hold together: and such sinnes harden the heart, and in time may give a man up to a reprobate sense, Rom. 1.28. 1 Tim. 1.19.
10 Make conscience as much of idle, vaine, and ungodly thoughts, as of idle and unsavoury words, or of ungodly actions considering that with God, who sees and knowes the heart, idle thoughts and vain imaginations are sinnes, as well as sinfull words, or ungodly actions: and secret thoughts shalbe brought to Iudgement, Gen. 6.7. Eccles. 12.14.
11 Strive daily to see and feele that [Page] sinfull originall corruption that thou bearest about thee, how it dulls thee, and makes thee backward, and untoward to good, and how it inclines thee, and makes thee prone unto evill: grone under it, and bewaile it, as Saint Paul did, Rom. 7 18, 19, 23, 24. And let thy sinfull nature trouble thee, as well as grosse and actuall sinnes: and being burthened with it, betake thy selfe to Christ, and desire God on thy knees for Christs sake to pardon it.
12 Strengthen thy selfe every morning by a firme purpose, and resolution against thy speciall sinnes and lusts, to which by nature thou art most prone and ready to fall into, as pride, anger, covetousnesse, and the like: Argue and reason with thy selfe in this, or the like manner, shall I be proud? then I shall surely fall, and God will count mee his enemy, for God resists the proud, Iames 4.6. Shall I be angry? If I let passion in, I cannot keepe Satan out; nay, by anger I shall grieve the holy Spirit of God, Ephes. 4.30, 31. Shall I bee covetous? then I must needs bee exceeding sinfull, for the [Page] desire of money is the root of all evill 1 Tim. [...].10.
13 Yet because thou canst not of thy selfe shunne, and avoid these sinnes, thou must daily goe to God for strength, for he hath promised to give thee strength against them, if thou wilt beg it of him. Call for the power of Christs death, and the vertue of his Resurrection to mortifie thy lusts, that is, to kill and slay sinne in thee, and to quicken in thee all the graces of the Spirit. Call and pray that he may sprinkle pure water upon thee, to clense thee from the filthinesse and defilement of every sinne, and that he will cause thee to walke in his wayes, to doe his Commandements, Ezek. 36.25.27. By this means thou shalt every day somewhat weaken thy sinnes. Then see thou doe it every day, that thy soule may reape benefit thereby.
14 Doe not rashly enter upon any course of life, nor performe any action whatsoever it be, whether in thy calling, or in thy recreation, before thou be certified concerning it, and be sure it be not sinfull, [Page] but an action very good and lawfull: for hee that doubteth whether a thing be lawfull or no, and yet adventures on it, is condemned for sin, Rom. 14.23.
15 If at any time against thy purpose, or resolution thou be overtaken with any sinne, great or small, be sure thou doe not lye, nor continue in it, but haste unto Christ, with griefe and sorrow for it, and so recover thy selfe by timely repentance: and never rest till thou canst finde thy conscience satisfied and pacified, and that is, when thou feelest in thy soule a spirituall hatred against that sin, and an earnest desire and care to serve, and please God better, I say, when thou hast sinned, thou canst not bee at true peace within thy selfe, untill thou hast got thy heart to mourne for that sinne, and findest thy selfe to hate it in thy soule, and that thou art excéeding carefull to avoid it, 2 Cor. 7.11.
16 Labour to be content with thy condition, whether it be poverty, or sicknesse, or what estate soever: remember alwayes that to be the best condition wherein God [Page] hath placed thee, for all things worke together for good to those which love God. Poverty, sicknesse and afflictions, are but rods, and gentle corrections to scourge thee for sin, and to purge corruption out of thee, Rom. 8.28. Philip. 4.11, 12. Heb. 13.5.
17 When any crosse befalls thee, study to finde out thy particular sinne, which hath brought that crosse upon thee, and neither grieve, nor weepe so much for the crosse, as for the sin which hath caused it, so turne thy worldly into godly sorrow, Job 13.26. 2 Sam. 16.10. 2 Cor. 7.9, 10.
18 When any good thought or motion ariseth in thy heart, doe not let it die and vanish, for so thou quenchest the Spirit, but cherish these thoughts, and stirre them further up in thee by prayer, reading, and meditation, 1 Thess. 5.19. 1 Tim. 1.6.
19 Bee affected with the welfare or the misery of others, as if it were thine owne, Weepe with them that weep, and rejoyce with them that rejoyce, Rom 12.15, 16. Heb. 13.3.
[Page]20 Love even thine enemies as Christ commandeth thee, get an heart to forgive them, and an heart to pray for them: be not overcome of evill, but overcome evill with good, Rom. 12.21. Matth. 5.44.18.21.25.
21 Endevor thy selfe to do every day, what good thou canst to others, upon every good occasion, and rejoyce when thou canst find time, and any opportunity of doing good: The more good thou doest, the more comfort thou shalt have, when thou commest at night to make thy accounts with God, Gal. 6.10. 1 Tim. 6.18. John 14.21.
22 In doing good to others, be carefull not onely to the bodyes of poore people (which thou wilt bée to feed and reléeve them, if God hath blessed thee with riches) but also to their soules, doe what good thou canst to them, by teaching and instructing them: he that hath truly tasted of salvation, will study in what he can how he may save others and how he may pluck them as brands out of the fire, Iude 22.23.
[Page]23 Take héed of partaking of others sinnes, that is, to sée sin committed by others, and to say nothing of it, when as thou mayest either thy selfe reprove it, or informe against it, that it may bee punished: Hee that hath felt the weight and burthen of his owne sinnes, will be loath to encrease the burthen by the sins of others, Levit. 19.17. 1 Tim. 5.22.
24 Every night call thy selfe to a reckoning how thou hast spent the day, see what good thou hast done, and what good thou hast left undone, what temptations thou hast resisted, and what sinnes thou hast committed, thou mayest find comfort in the good, and thou must repent thee of the evill, and groaning within thy selfe, and grieving for the sins of the day, Call for the blood of Christ to wash and purge thee from them; thus gaining peace with God, thou mayest lay thee downe, and thy sléepe shall be swéet unto thée, Psal. 4.48. Prov. 3.24. and 2 Cor. 1.12.
These are as plaine Directions as I can give for thée, who hast béen ignorant, [Page] and now would be plainly directed. Let me advise thee, if thou canst, to reade; if thou canst not, to heare them read often over unto thee, even so often as that thou mayest get them by heart, or at least become very familiar with them, and the practise of them will be as sweet as honey to thy soule; yea, thou shalt find a secret swéetnesse in the practise of any one of them, even in mourning within thy selfe for thy secret corruptions, which the world doth not know of, thou shalt meet with such joy, as thou would'st not want for all the treasures of this world. Oh what joy then wilt thou find in observing them all? the practise of them will make thée walke with God, and he will come, and dine, and sup with thée, he will largely expresse his love to thée; he will marke thee out for his owne, and set the broad Seale of Heaven upon thee, then shalt thou find such cheerings of the Spirit, and such gleams of joy shed into thy soule, as will ravish, and transport thée with unexpected swéetnesse; a carnall and naturall man can never conceive it, none [Page] can know it, but those that have tasted of it; Eye hath not seene, nor eare heard, neither hath entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared (even here in this life) for them that love him, but God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit (saith the Apostle) 1 Cor. 2.9, 10. And if thou dost so love God, that thou wilt faithfully observe these Rules he will assuredly reveale these things unto thee. Consider then aright, and the Lord give thee heart to love, and practise them.