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A28156
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The believer's daily exercise, or, The Scripture precept of being in the fear of the Lord all the day long explained and urged in four sermons / by John Billingsley ...
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Billingsley, John, 1657-1722.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing B2907; ESTC R6203
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37,871
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100
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burnt Incense to the Idol he went out without Prayer It 's ill going into infectious places fasting and it 's dangerous going into an infectious World prayerless Truly I cannot but look upon him as an unreasonably bold man that dares go out into the World without Prayer Dost thou know but Death may meet thee before thou comest in again Dost thou know but God may leave thee to do that that shall bring upon thee an infamous death and everlasting damnation Take heed to thy self therefore and go not out till thou hast prayed But then see also that thou pray in Faith and with Fervency Do not content thy self to have said a few words by rote that thou callest a Prayer but pray with understanding and pray with Feeling and Affection Confess thy sins both of Nature and Life and beg of God the Pardon of them for Christ's sake be earnest for Grace and Sanctification for guidance and direction to lead a holy Life and Support and Comfort that thou maist die in Peace Pray for the Church of Christ yea for the Heathen World for the Land of thy Nativity especially for the Continuance and Success of the Gospel therein Pray also for thy Relations for thy Friends yea and for thy Enemies And remember with thy Confessions and Prayers to join Praises and Thanksgivings adore the Divine Excellencies and Perfections and acknowledge thankfully the Favours and Benefits you receive from his hand Express an hearty sense of Creating Preserving and Redeeming Love Recount the personal family and publick mercies you have received or shared in and as you have the Use and Comfort so let God have the Praise and Glory of them If thou be Weak and Ignorant get some one that is able and willing to instruct thee Pray as thou canst make use of some good form till thou canst do better but take heed of formality and resting in the work done narrowly watch and observe thy heart thou givest God nothing if thou givest him not thy Heart 6. Join reading of the holy Scriptures and when time will permit especially on the Lords days the choicest practical Books with your morning Devotions For daily reading the Scriptures it is of absolute necessity and no more to be omitted than Prayer it self It is the Word of God you have Christ's command to search the Scriptures Joh. v. 39. It is the Godly man's Character that his delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his Law doth he meditate day and night Psal i. 2. It is the food of your Souls without daily supplies whereof you will famish Read with deliberation with intention of mind labour to understand what you read and to feel it read it as God's Word and above all bring to it a serious resolution of practising what you read Obj. But I cannot read Sol. The more shame for you if you be grown up and have your Eye-sight If you cannot read do your best to learn and that speedily If there were Lands to be settled upon all that could read the Conveyances of them we should see people learn apace will you do more for Pelf than for your Souls However till you can read or such of you as having been able to read may now be disabled through blindness or weakness of sight c. Get others to read to you and attend to the Word read with your utmost diligence as for your Life If you refuse this Counsel Remember when you come to die or when your ignorance and folly shall have thrust you into Hell that you were warned of the time when you would cry out Oh! how have I hated instruction and refused to be reformed For good Books I shall only say we have great choice of them and you will do well to redeem what time you can for the reading of them especially where there is seldom or sorry Preaching and age or sickness keeps any from the Publick Assemblies God is pleased to bless these to be the means of much good to many Souls Only take heed of erroneous Books of Antinomians Quakers Papists c. And of opposing private reading to hearing of the Word publickly Preached For my part I would hear the weakest Minister supposing him a true Minister that ever spake with a Tongue rather than stay at home to read the best Book that ever was written For God says Faith cometh by hearing Rom. x. 17. And though he can work Faith by reading and it may be hoped will do where people are deprived of opportunities of hearing yet that is not to be expected where they are slighted And here for the sake of beginners in Religion who are oft imposed upon to the loss of their time and the danger of their Souls by ill chosen Books I will venture to name a very few and those not bulky which I take to be exceeding sound and I will add a few hints how you may read them to best purpose I will name but these eight 1. The Assemblies Confession and Catechisms with the proofs at large lately reprinted in Octavo 2. Mr. Daniel Burgess 's four little Tracts Call to sinners Questions c. Twelves 3. Showers Reflections on Time and Eternity Twelves 4. Joseph Alleins Alarm to the Vnconverted Octavo 5. Richard Alleins Vindication of Godliness three parts Octavo 6. Steel 's Trades-mans Calling Octavo 7. Ford 's Practical use of Infant Baptism Octavo 8. Doolittel on the Lord's Supper two parts Twelves I would have you read these Books in the order I have named them one at once always continuing the joint reading of the Scriptures with and before all Books of humane composure read one thorow yea I would advise thrice over before you begin another with a Pen or Pencil mark weighty and affecting passages and at leisure write some of them out if you can write else read them the oftner over Now to such as are grown Christians I commend to you A Discourse concerning Old Age tending to the Instruction Caution and Comfort of aged People By Rich. Steel Minister of the Gospel And A Word to the Aged by Will. Bridge Minister of the Gospel Begin and end every reading with Prayer to God for his blessing and interline what you read with frequent pauses of Prayer and Meditation set your self heartily and speedily to the practice of every Duty and Direction you meet with and depend on God by Faith for Assistance and Acceptance thorow Christ These few Books thus read will yield you more comfort in a dying hour than Kings will then be able to fetch from their Crowns Misers from their Bags or hypocritical dogmatists from all their aiery speculations contentious wranglings or haughty and confident tho' empty and groundless pretensions and expectations 7. When you go out into tht World be watchful against it Remember you walk among snares consider what variety of Temptations you are daily exposed unto and be upon your guard especially look well 1. When you are alone to your Thoughts O
THE BELIEVER's Daily Exercise OR The Scripture Precept of being in the Fear of the Lord all the day long Explained and urged in Four Sermons By John Billingsley Minister of the Gospel Gen. 5. 24. And Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him 1 Tim. 4. 7. Exercise thy self unto Godliness 2 Pet. 3. 11. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns the lower end of Cheapside near Mercers Chapel 1690. To his Beloved Auditors the Inhabitants of S. in the County of N. and the Villages adjacent My very dear Friends THese Sermons were first Preached in your hearing at your desire they become thus publick which I should never have suffered them to have been had I not hoped your spiritual good might be some way advanced thereby For I am conscious that the World is already full of Books yea that divers have written on this very Subject and that I am no ways capable of doing it so well as it is done already But your extraordinary affection to my unworthy Person and Labours may by Gods blessing make a meaner thing from me more acceptable and so more useful to you than the more Learned Labours of others that you are less acquainted with My many infirmities both of body and mind tell me I am like to be of little use in the World but what little I am capable by Divine Assistance of doing for the glory of God and the good of Souls I am very desirous if God see it good it may henceforth be among you For this little Book I desire you will make it your Pocket companion read it frequently and practise it and I shall have no cause whatever censure it expose me to to repent its Publication nor you the Perusal of it That your best good may be effectually promoted by this and all my poor endeavours is the hearty prayer of An affectionate desirer of your Soul-prosperity John Billingsley The Believers Daily Exercise Prov. ch xxiii v. 17. Let not thine heart envy sinners but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long THE firmest Believers have their fits of Vnbelief and the strongest Faith has some intermissions and abatings of its vigorous exercise Peter that had Faith to leave the Ship and set his feet on the Waves to give his Lord the meeting yet when the Winds grew boisterous his unbelief had sunk him had not Jesus lent him a hand and by one word of his mouth stilled a double Tempest that of the Winds and Waves without and that of his Disciples Fear within Matth. ch xiv from v. 22 to 33. The People of God are a thinking People They are apt to take notice of and observe those passages of Providence which an unthinking World let slip unregarded And in their first thoughts of the Ways of God they are sometimes mistaken and often at a stand And in nothing are they more ordinarily at a loss or sooner surprized than in the consideration of the state of good and bad men here in this World They believe a just and holy Providence governs the Affairs of this lower World and this puts them sometimes to wonder how it comes to pass that the Righteous should be so often persecuted and perplexed while the wicked are in peace and safety flourishing like a green Bay-tree having more than heart can wish Psal xxxvii 1. Psal Lxxiii 3. And while they are thus intent upon the consideration of the present glory of the wicked and the poor and dejected state of the godly no wonder if the Tempter pursue his advantaâ—es against them and they feel in their hearts some motions of envy and emulation thinking the wicked's prosperity too much and inordinately wishing themselves a share of it This the wise men here warns us against Let not thine heart envy sinners q d. Let not their Prosperity seem a great matter in thine Eye entertain no thought of wishing to change places with them remember in whose choice and appointment both their and thine own Lot is Fear God and thou wilt not fret at or envy sinners The great Preservative against this as well as all other vices is to have the fear of God always before our Eyes Envying sinners is a disease the Godly are sometimes apt to fall into the Antidote prescribed by the best Physician is to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long This indeed is a Panpharmacon an All-heal the fear of God is an effectual remedy as against Envy so against Pride Covetousness Sensuality Hypocrisie and whatever distempers else our Souls are Subject and Liable to It is meet therefore that we should always be provided of it and carry it about with us continually Be thou This necessary Precept is directed to every one in particular Be we Young or Old Rich or Poor Learned or Vnlearned Superiours or Inferiours Bond or Free of whatever Rank or Condition we be this Precept belongs to us and we ought every one to take it to our selves In the fear of the Lord. Have a lively sâ—nce of the Being Attributes Presence and Providence of God that he beholds all thy actions and that he will render to thee according to thy works Fear in this place implies Reverence Love and Obedience Let a Principle of Religion possess thy Soul and be the Governor and Director of thy Life and Actions Walk with God Live by Rule order thy Conversation aright this is to be in the fear of the Lord. All the day long Continually throughout thy whole life every day and in every part of the day Religion is to be our whole employment we are not to own or allow our selves in any one action that is not Religious From our waking in the morning to our lying down it night we are to see that we be in the fear of the Lord. I do not say that we must turn Euchites and spend all our time in acts of immediate Worship Praying Hearing Meditation c. But we must do no deliberate act that for its principle and end does not deserve to be denominated a Religious action Our very Eating Drinking Sleeping Buying Selling Visiting Recreating of our selves must be a walking according to the Gospel Rule if we would have peace and a blessing from Heaven upon us The Doctrine I shall give you from the words is this Doct. That it should be the continual study and endeavour of every one of us to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long Or The Religious spending of our whole time should be our daily exercise The Method of handling this important truth shall be 1. To shew you what the nature of this exercise is to open to you this being in the fear of the Lord all the day long 2. Why we must be daily taken up and exercised in the religious