sober Profession can be taken for an insufficient title Grudge not then at the Communion of any Professed Christian in the Church Visible though we must do our part to cast out the obstinately impenitent by Discipline which if we cannot do the Fault is not ours The presence of Hypocrites is no hurt but oft a Mercy to the Sincere How small else would the Church seem in the World Outward Privileges belong to Outward Covenanters and Inward Mercies to the Sincere Division is wounding and tends to Death Abhor it as you love the Churches welfare or your own The Wisdom from above is first pure and then peaceable Never separate what God conjoineth It is the Earthly sensual devilish Wisdom which causeth bitter envying and strife and confusion and every evil Work Blessed are the Peace-makers XIV Take heed of Pride and Self-conceitedness in Religion If once you over-value your own understandings your crude Conceptions and gross Mistakes will delight you as some supernatural light And instead of having compassion on the Weak you will be unruly and despisers of your Guides and censorious contemners of all that differ from you and persecutors of them if you have Power and will think all intolerable that take you not as Oracles and your words as Law Forget not that the Church hath always suffered by censorious unruly Professors on the one Hand and O what Divisions and Scandals have they caused as well as by the Prophane and Persecucutors on the other Take need of both And when Contentions are afoot be quiet and silent and not too forward and keep up a Zeal for Love and Peace XV. Be faithful and conscionable in all your Relations Honour and obey your Parents and other Superiors Despise not and resist not Government If you suffer unjustly by them be humbled for those Sins which cause God to turn your Protectors into Afflictors And instead of murmuring and rebelling against them reform your selves and then commit your selves to God Princes and Pastors I will not speak to Subjects and Servants and Children must obey their Superiors as the Officers of God XVI Keep up the Government of God in your Families Holy Families must be the chief preservers of the Interest of Religion in the World Let not the World turn God's Service into a customary lifeless Form Read the Scripture and edifying Books to them Talk with them seriously about the State of their Souls and everlasting Life Pray with them fervently Watch over them diligently Be angry against Sin and meek in your own cause Be Examples of Wisdom Holiness and Patience And see that the Lord's Day be spent in holy preparation for Eternity XVII Let your Callings be managed in Holiness and Laboriousness Live not in Idleness be not slothful in your Work whether you be Bound or Free in the sweat of your Brows you must eat your Bread and labour the six Days that you may have to give to him that needeth Slothfulness is Sensuality as well as filthier Sins The Body that is able must have fit Employments as well as the Soul or else Body and Soul will fare the worse but let all be but as the labour of a Traveller and aim at God and Heaven in all XVIII Deprive not your selves of the benefit of an able faithful Pastor to whom you may open your Case in secret or at least of a holy faithful Friend And be not displeased at their free Reproofs Wo to him that is alone How blind and partial are we in our own Causeâ— and how hard is it to know our selves without an able faithful Helper You forfeit this great Mercy when you love a Flatterer and angrily defend your Sin XIX Prepare for Sickness Sufferings and Death Overvalue not Prosperity nor the Favour of Man If selfish Men prove false and cruel to you even those of whom you have deserved best marvel not at it but pray for your Enemies Persecutors and Slanderers that God would turn their Hearts and pardon them What a Mercy is it to be driven from the World to God when the love of the World is the greatest danger of the Soul Be ready to die and you are ready for any thing Ask your Hearts seriously What is it that I shall need at a dying Hour And let it speedily be got ready and not be to seek in the time of your Extremity XX. Understand the true Method of Peace of Conscience and judge not of the State of your Souls upon deceitful Grounds As presumptuous Hopes do keep Men from Conversion and embolden them to sin so causless Fears do hinder our Love and Praise of God by obscuring his Loveliness And they destroy our Thankfulness and our Delight in God and make us a Burden to our selves and a grievous Stumbling block to others The general Grounds of all your Comfort are 1. The gracious Nature of God 2. The sufficiency of Christ And. 3. the Truth and Universality of the Promise which giveth Christ and Life to all if they will accept him But this Acceptance is the Proof of your particular Title without which these do but aggravate your Sin Consent to God's Covenant is the true Condition and Proof of your Title to God as your Father Saviour and Sanctifier and so to the saving Blessings of the Covenant Which Consent if you survive must produce the Duties which you consent to He that heartily consenteth that God be his God his Saviour and Sanctifier is in a state of Life But this includeth thâ—â— rejection of the VVorld Much Knowledge and Memory and Utterance and lively Affections are all very desirable But you must judge your state by none of these for they are all uncertain But 1. If God and Holiness and Heaven have the highest estimation of your practical Judgment as being esteemed best for you 2. And be preferred in the Choice and Resolution of your Wills and that habitually before all the Pleasures of the VVorld 3. And be first and chiefly sought in your Endeavours This is the infallible proof of your Sanctification Christian Upon long and serious study and experience I dare boldly commend these Directions to thee as the VVay of God which will end in Blessedness The Lord resolve and strengthen thee to obey them This is the true Constitution of Christianity This is true Godliness and this is to be Religious indeed And all this is no more than to be seriously such as all among us in general VVords profess to be This is the Religion which must difference you from Hypocrites which must settle you in Peace and make you an Honour to your Profession and a Blessing to those that dwell about you Happy is the Land the Church the Family which doth consist of such as these These are not they that either Persecute or Divide the Church or that make their Religion a servant to their Policy to their ambitious designs or fleshlâ— Lusts nor that make it
resolute in performing them Know all the Sins of the Tongue that you may avoid them for your Innocency and Peace do much depend on the prudent Government of your Tongues X. Govern your Thoughts with constant skilful Diligence In this right Habits and Affections will do most by inclining them unto Good It 's easy to think on that which we love Be not unfurnished of matter for your Thoughts to work upon And often retire your selves for serious Meditation Be not so solitary and deep in Musings as to over-stretch your Thoughts and confound your Minds or take you off from necessary converse with others But be sure that you be Considerate and dwell much at Home and converse most with your Consciences and your God! with whom you have the greatest Business Leave not your thoughts unimployed or ungoverned Scatter them not abroad upon impertinent Vanities O that you knew what daily business you have for them Most men are wicked deceived and undone because they are inconsiderate and dare not or will not retiredly and soberly use their Reason or use it but as a slave in Chains in the service of their Passion Lust and Interest He was never Wise or Good or Happy who was not soberly and impartially Considerate How to be Good to do Good and finally enjoy Good must be the sum of all your Thoughts Keep them first holy then charitable clean and chaste And quickly check them when they look towards sin XI Let Time be exceeding Precious in your Eyes and carefully and diligently redeem it What haste doth it make and how quickly will it be gone and then how highly will it be valued when a Minute of it can never be recalled O what important Business have we for every Moment of our Time if we should live a thousand Years Take not that Man to be well in his Wits or to know his God his End his Work or his Danger who hath Time to spare Redeem it not only from needless Sports and Plays and Idleness and Curiosity and Complement and excess of Sleep and Chat and Worldliness but also from the Entanglements of lesser Good which would hinder you from greater Spend time as Men that are ready to pass into another World where every Minute must be accounted for and it must go with us for ever as we lived here let not Health deceive you into the expectation of living long and so into a sensless Negligence See your Glass running and keep a reckoning of the expence of Time and spend it just as you would review it when it is gone XII Let the Love of all in their several Capacities become as it were your very Nature and doing them all the Good you can be very much of the Business of your Lives God must be loved in all his Creatures his natural Image on all Men and his spiritual Image on his Saints Our Neighbour must be loved as our natural selves That is our natural Neighbour as our natural Self with a Love of benevolence and our spiritual Neighbour as our spiritual Self with a Love of Complacence In opposition to Complacence we may hate our sinful Neighbour as we must our selves much more But in opposition to Benevolence we must neither hate our Selves our Neighbour or our Enemy O that Men knew how much of Christianity doth consist in Love and doing Good With what Eyes do they read the Gospel who see not this in every Page Abhor all that Selfishness Pride and Passion which are the Enemies of Love and those Opinions and Factions and Censurings and Back-biting which would destroy it Take him that speaketh Evil of another to you without a just cause and call to be Satan's Messenger intreating you to hate your Brother or to abate your Love For to perswade you that a Man is bad is directly to perswade you so far to hate him Not that the good and bad must be confounded but Love will call none bad without constraining evidence Rebuke Back biters Hurt no Man and speak evil of no Man unless it be not only just but necessarily to some greater Good Love is lovely They that Love shall be Beloved Hating and hurting makes Men hateful Love thy Neighbour as thy self and Do as thou wouldst be done by are the Golden Rules of our Duty to Men which must be deeply written on your Hearts For want of this there is nothing so false so bad so cruel which you may not be drawn to think or say or do against your Brethren Selfishness and want of Love do as naturally tend to Ambition and Covetousness and thence to Cruelty against all that 〈◊〉 in the Way of their Desires as the nature of a 〈◊〉 to kill the Lambs All Factions and Contentions and Persecutions in the World proceed from Selfishness and want of Charity Devouring Malice is the Devilish Nature Be as zealous in doing gòod to all as Satan's Servants are in hurting Take it as the use of all your Talents and use them as you would hear of it at last Let it be your Business and not a matter on the by Especially for publick Good and Mens Salvation And what you cannot do your selves perswade other to Give them good Books and draw them to the means which are most like to profit them XIII Understand the right Terms of Church-Communion especially the Unity of the Universal Church and the Universal Communion which you must hold with all the parts and the difference between the Church as Visible and Invisible For want of these how woful are our divisions Read oft 1 Cor. 12. Eph. 4. 1. to 17. Job 17. 21 22 23. Act. 4. 32. 2. 42. 1 Cor. 1. 10 11 13. 3. 3. Rom. 16. 17. Phil. 2. 1 2 3 4. 1 Thes 5. 12 13. Act. 20. 30. 1 Cor. 11. 19. Titus 3. 10. James 3. Col. 1. 4. Heb. 10. 25. Acts 8. 12 13 37. 1 Cor. 1. 2 13. 3. 3 4. 11. 18 21. Study these well You must have Union and Communion in Faith and Love with all the Christians in the World And refuse not local Communion when you have a just call so far as they put you not on sinning Let your usual meeting be with the purest Church if you lawfully may and still respect the publick Good But sometimes occasionally communicate even with defective faulty Churches so be it they are true Christians and put you not on Sin that so you may shew that you own them as Christians though you disown their Corruptions Think not your presence maketh all the Faults of Ministry Worship or People to be yours for then I would join with no Church in the World Know that as the mystical Church consisteth of Heart-Covenanters so doth the Church as Visible consist of Verbal-Covenanters which make a credible profession of Consent And that Nature and Scripture teacheth us to take every Man's word as Credible till Perfidiousness forfeit his Credit which forfeiture must be proved before any
wise in time XV. Think well what manner of Men these were whose Names are now honoured for their Holiness What manner of Life did St. Peter and St. Paul St. Cyprian St. Augustine and all other Saints and Martyrs live Was it a Life of fleshly Sports and Pleasures Did they deride or persecute a Holy Life Were they not more strictly Holy than any that thou knowest And is he not self-condemned that honoureth the Names of Saints and will not imitate them XVI Think what the difference is between a Christian and an Heathen You are loath to be Heathens or Infidels But do you think a Christian excelleth them but in Opinion He that is not Holier than they â—s worse and shall suffer more than they XVII Think what the difference is between a Godly Christian and an Ungodly Do not all the Opposers of Holiness among us yet speak for the same God and Christ and Scripture and profess the same Creed and Religion with those whom they oppose And is not this Christ the Author of our Holiness and this Scripture the Commander of it Search and see whether the difference be not this that the Godly are serious in their Profession and the Ungodly are Hypocrites who hate and oppose the practise of the very things which themselves profess whose Religion serveth but to condemn them while their Lives are contrary to their Tongues XVIII Understand what the Devil's Policy is by raising so many Sects and Factions and Controversies about Religion in the World Even to make some think that they are religious because they can prare for their Opinions or because they think their Party is the best because their Faction is the Greatest or the Least the Uppermost or the suffering Side And to turn holy edifying Conference into vain Jangling and to make Men Aâ—heists suspecting all Religion and true to none because of Mens diversity of Minds But remember that Christian Religion is but One and a thing easily known by its ancient Rule and the universal Church containing all Christians is but One. And if carnal Interest or Opinions so distract Men that one Party saith We are all the Church and another saith It is we as if the Kitchin were all the House oâ— one Town or Village all the Kingdom Wilt thou bâ—â— mad with seeing this Distraction Hearken Sinner all these Sects in the Day of Judgment shall concur 〈◊〉 Witnesses against thee if thou be Unholy because however else they differed all of them that are Christians professed the Necessity of Holiness and subscribed to that Scripture which requireth it Though thou canst not easily resolve every Controversie thou mayst easily know-the true Religion it is that which Christ and his Apostles taught which all Christians have professed which Scripture requireth which is first pure and then peaceable most Spiritual Heavenly Charitable and Just XIX Away from that Company which is sensual and an Enemy to Reason Sobriety and Holiness and consequently to God themselves and thee Can they be wise for thee that are foolish for themselves or Friends to thee that are undoing themselves or have any pity on thy Soul when they make a Jest of their own Damnation Will they help thee to Heaven who are running so furiously to Hell chuse better Familiars if thou wouldest be better XX. Judge not of a holy Life by hearsay for it cannot so be known Try it a while and then judge as thou findest it Speak not against the things thou knowest not Hadst thou but lived in the Love of God and the lively belief of endless Glory and the Delights of Holiness and the Fears of Hell but for one Month or Day and with such a Heart Hadst cast away thy sin and called upon God and ordered thy Family in 〈◊〉 holy manner especially on the Lord's Day I dare boldly say Experience would constrain thee to justifie a holy Life But yet I must tell thee it is not â—rue Holiness if thou do but try it with Exceptions and Reserves If therefore God hath convinced thee that this is his Will and Way I adjure thee as in his dreadful Presence that thou delay no longer but resolve and absolutely give up thy self to God as thy Heavenly Father thy Saviour and thy Sanctifier and â—ake an everlasting Covenant with him and then he and 〈◊〉 his Mercies will be thine his Grace will help thee â—nd his Mercy pardon thee his Ministers will instruct â—hee and his People pray for thee and assist thee his Angels will guard thee and his Spirit comfort thee and when Flesh must fail and thou must leave this World thy Saviour will then receive thy Soul and bring â—t into the participation of his Glory and he will raise â—hy Body and justifie thee before the World and make â—hee equal to the Angels and thou shalt live in the â—ight and Love of God and in the Everlasting Pleasures â—f his Glory This is the end of Faith and Holiness But 〈◊〉 thou harden thy Heart and refusest Mercy everlasting Wo will be thy portion and then there will be no remedy And now Reader I beg of thee and I beg of God on my bended knees that these few words may sink into thy Heart and that thou wouldest read them over and over again and bethink thee as a Man that must shortly die Whether any deserve thy Love and Obedience more than God and thy thankful Remembrance more then Christ and thy Care and Diligence more than thy salvation Is there any Felicity more desirable than Heaven or any Misery more terrible than Hell or any thing so regardable as that which is everlasting Will a few days fleshly Pleasures pay for the loss of heaven and thy immortal Soul or will thy Sin and thy Prosperity be sweet at Death and in the Day of Judgment As thou art a Man and as ever thou believest that there is a God and a World to come and as thou carest for thy Soul whether it be saved or damned I beseech thee I charge thee think of these things think of them once a day at least think of them with thy most sober serious Thoughts Heaven is not a May-game and Hell is not a Flea-biting Make not a jest of Salvation or Damnation I know thou livest in a Distracted world where thou mayest hear some laughing at such things as these and scorning at a Holy Life and fastning odious Reproaches on the Godly and merrily drinking and playing and prating away their Time and then saying that they will trust God with their Souls and hope to be saved without so much ado But if all these Men do not change their minds and be not shortly down in the Mouth and would not be glad to eat their Words and wished that they had lived a holy Life though it had cost them Scorn and Suffering in the World let me bear the shame of a Deceiver for ever But if God and thy
Conscience bear witness against thy Sin and tell thee that a holy Life is best regard not the Gain-sayings of a Bediam World which is drunk with the Delusions of the Flesh But give up thy Soul and Life to God by Jesus Christ in a faithful Covenant Delay no longer Man but resolve Resolve immediately resolve unchangeably And God will he thine and thou shalt be his for ever Amen Lord have Mercy on this Sinner and to let it be resolved by thee in him II. The Parts and Practice of a Holy Life for Personal and Family Instructions ALL is not not done when men have begun a Religious Life All Trees that blossom prove not fruitful and all Fruit comes not to perfection Many fall off who seemed to have good Beginnings And many dishonour the Name of Christ by their Scandals and Infirmities Many do grieve their Teachers Hearts and lamentably disturb the Church of Christ by their Ignorance Errors Self-conceitedness Unruliness Headiness Contentiousness Sidings and Divisions Insomuch that the Scandals and the Feuds of Christians are the great Impediments of the Conversion of the Infidel and Heathen World by the exposing Christianity to their contempt and scorn as if it were but the Error of men as unholy and worldly and proud as others that can never agree among themselves And many by their Passions and Selfishness are a Trouble to the Families and Neighbours where they live And more by their Weaknesses and great Distempers are Snares Vexations and Burdens to themselves Whereas Christianity in its true Constitution is a Life of such Holy Light and Love such Purity and Peace such Fruitfulness and Heavenliness as if it were accordingly shewed forth in the Lives of Christians would command Admiration and Reverence from the World and do more to their Conversion than Swords or Words alone can do and it would make Christians useful and amiable to each other And their Lives a Feast and pleasure to themselves I hope it may prove some help to these Excellent Ends and to the securing Mens Salvation if in a few sound Experienced Directions I open to you the Duties of a Christian Life I. Keep still the true Form of Christian Doctrine Desire and Duty orderly printed on your Minds That is Understand it clearly and distinctly and remember it I mean the Great Points of Religion contained in Catechisms You may still grow in the clearer understanding of your Catechisms if you live an hundred Years Let not the Words only but the Matter be as familiar in your Minds as the Rooms of your House are Such solid Knowledge will establish you against Seduction and Unbelief and will be still within you a ready Help for every Grace and every Duty as the Skill of an Artificer is for his Work And for want of this when you come among Infidels or Hereticks their Reasonings may seem unanswerable to you and shake if not overthrow your Faith And you will easily err in lesser Points and trouble the Church with your Dreams and Wranglings This is the Calamity of many Professors that while they will be most censorious Judges in every Controversie about Church-matters they know not well the Doctrine of the Catechism II. Live daily by Faith on Jesus Christ as the Mediator between God and you Being well-grounded in the Belief of the Gospel and understanding Christ's Office make use of him still in all your Wants Think on the Fatherly Love of God as coming to you through him alone and of the Spirit as given by him your Head and of the Covenant of Grace as enacted and sealed by him and of the Ministry as sent by him and of all Times and Helps and hopes as procured and given by him When you think of Sin and Infirmity and Temptations think also of his sufficient pardoninâ— justifying and victorious Grace When thou thinkest of the World the Flesh and the Devil think how he overcometh them Let his Doctrine and the Pattern of his most perfect Life be always before you as your Rule In all your Doubts and Fears and Wants go to him in the Spirit and to the Father by him and him alone Take him as the Root of your Life and Mercies and live as upon him and by his Life and when you die resign your Souls to him that they may be with him where he is and see his Glory To live on Christ and use him in every Want and address to God is more than a general confused Believing in him III. So believe in the Holy Ghost as to live and work by him as the Body doth by the Soul You are not baptized into his Name in vain but too few understand the sense and reason of it The Spirit is sent by Christ for Two great Works 1. To the Apostles and Prophets to inspire them infallibly to preach the Gospel and confirm it by Miracles and leave it on Record for following Ages in the Holy Scriptures 2. To all his Members to illuminate and sanctifie them to believe and obey this Sacred Doctrine beside his common Gift to many to understand and preach it The Spirit having first indicted the Gospel doth by it first regenerate and after govern all true Believers He is not now given â—s for the revealing of new Doctrines but to understand and obey the Doctrine revealed and sealed by him long ago As the Sun doth by its sweet and discreet Influence both give and cherish the natural life of things Sensitive and Vegetative so doth Christ by his Spirit our spiritual Life As you do no work but by your natural Life you should do none but by your spiritual Life You must not only Believe and Love and pray by it but manage all your Calling by it for Holiness to the lord must be written upon all All things are sanctified to you because you being sanctified to God devote all to him and use all for him and therefore must do all in the Strength and Conduct of the Spirit IV. Live wholly upon God as All in All As the first Efficient principal Dirigent and final Cause of all things Let Faith Hope and Love be daily feeding on him Let Our Father which art in Heaven be first inscribed on your Hearts that he may seem most amiable to you and you may boldly trust him and filial Love may be the spring of Duty Make use of the Son and Spirit to lead you to the Father and of Faith in Christ to kindle and keep alive the Love of God God's Love is our Primitive Holiness and especially called with its Fruits Our Sanctification which Faith in Christ is but a means to Let it be your principal End in studying Christ to see the Goodness Love and Amiableness of God in him A condemning God is not so easily loved as a gracious reconciled God You have so much of the Spirit as you have Love to God This is the proper Gift of the Spirit