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A10152 The righteous mans way Wherein are given certaine directions, how men may profitably meditate upon the Commandements of God: that so through such manner of meditation, the Lordes Commandements may finde place in mens hearts, to serve in them as guides unto all their actions and thoughts. Directions most needfull for these times, seeing most men laying the commandements of God aside, doe leade their lives in disobedience to Gods commandements; and this, not onely to the scandall of Christian religion, but also to the extreame hazard of their own salvation. Proctor, Thomas, fl. 1621. 1621 (1621) STC 20411; ESTC S110512 50,262 77

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also be disobedient to my God shall I also be wicked What were this but to double my miserie therfore I will rather set my selfe now to the Word of the Lord that yet my estate to Godwards may mend even under this declining of my estate to the worldwards And indeed who will not condemne him who addeth wickednesse to his poverty or him who when the Law hath punished for some wickednesse he will yet then increase his wickednesse Are not mens hearts even set against such a man Doe they not commonly account the utter perishing of a man of such a disposition just Therfore learne from this holy Prophet that if ever Afflictions come upon you you make this use of them that now yet you will turn you to the Law of your God to keep it For the third Meanes which was Meditation we haue also great need thereof for such are the incessant withdrawings from minding the things of God as that unlesse we purposely set our selues to minde the Commandements either the continuall care of getting Gaine or the continuall laying hold of all meanes of aspiring or the continuall delight of advantage unto lustfull pleasures is such that we shall hardly ever so much as once minde the Commandements of God Wherfore it is surely necessary that you sometime say thus or to like effect with your selfe Shall I never think of Gods commandements Shall I be alwaies carried away of my Cares of my Imployments of my Pleasures Shall these wholly ●●uffe my minde Shall I never once Meditate on any Commandement of the Lord What will become of me if I thus goe on For if thus you say some time with your selfe this will touch your heart this will startle you this will moue you to break off sometimes your cares imployments or pleasures taking some fit time wherein purposely to reade or heare read the commandements of the Lord at which time you suffering your selfe to discourse upon each one unvayling its Rightenesse Goodnes and utility to mans Societie this wil greatly further your keeping the commandements of God The discourse of the soule upon a Commandement fastens a Commandement in our Memory wherby ever after it shall not come after but goe before every Action Speech or Thought of ours And truely we fall into much evill even for want of having a ready and impressed knowledge of that Commandement which concernes the Action Speech or Thought we are at present about Therfore I commend in a man a dividing of the Gospell into parts taking the commandements apart and then taking him to studie either in bed or in solitarinesse now of one part then of another For this same generall Notion onely of the Gospell whilst we know all but study not advisedly any speciall particular part of the same comes farre short of that use which we ought to make of the Gospell And indeed all is best comprehended by dividing all into parts and then studying well the parts one at one time another at another time 10. CHAP. THus having shown you as for an excellent example how David received the Cōmandements of God next having shown you some special Motiues tending to make a man the more willing delightfully to keep the Cōmandements and lastly having shown you three very speciall Meanes by which may be furthered your keeping the commandements of the Lord I think it fit in the next place to shew you two things wherof I would warne you The first is that you in an eager disposition to keep the commandements begin not to fall into that old ●rrour of trusting unto justification by works rather then by faith onely the second is that you be not discouraged from observation of the Commandements neither by the impossibility perfectly to fulfill them nor by the manifest evidence that other Men minde them not to obserue them towards you in that wherin you haue to doe with them Men desire much to be justified for their obedience and therfore to doe works commanded that they make themselues righteous by their obedience now unto obedience indeed righteousnes is imputed but men consider not that the obedience in beleeving is that whereunto truely righteousnesse is imputed They would faine be righteous by their works but God that knoweth how imperfectly men fulfill the righteousnesse of workes hath imputed Righteousnesse to Beleefe not to Workes As it is said in the Scriptures of the old Testament Gen. 15. 6. And Abraham beleeved the Lord and He counted that to him for Righteousnesse which thing is made use of in the new Testament by S. Paul to draw us to seek Iustification not in our workes but in our faith in Christ Rom. 9. 4. Therefore let no man be discouraged for that he cannot perfectly fulfill the Lords Commandements concerning workes but rather let him be sure that he fulfill that great Commandement concerning Beliefe that so he with Abram beleeving God may haue by God Righteousnesse imputed unto him for that Few men in our times consider as they ought what an excellencie it is to Beleeue in God and in Christ manifesting themselues so vailed as they haue done but God knowing how rich a thing it is for man to beleeue that which he saith as abram not onely heard but also indeed beleeved the Lord vouchsafed to account Beleefe unto man for Righteousnesse Verily men heed not this in these times as they ought therfore also they accounting of Beleefe but as of a light inclination of the mind onely trust rather to works then to beleefe for Iustification but they ought to informe themselues that though the faithfull must indeavour to fulfill also the righteousnesse of workes yet God hath chosen to justifie Beleevers for their beleeving not for their works because they beleeue in him who onely fulfild the Righteousness of works commanded To beleeue the Lord is a worke of workes as we may perceiue by that which our Lord answered the Iewes Iohn 6. 29. saying This is the worke of God that ye beleeue in him whom He hath sent And truely all the Scripture shewes that the Lord hath ever more freely accepted of mens beleeving in him then of any the best workes that they haue done therfore though Abraham performed that great worke of offering up to God his sonn Isaak yet there we reade not that God counted that to him for Righteousnesse but when he beleeved God God counted that indeed unto him for Righteousnesse Blessed therefore ●e the memory of those first Angels of the Reformation who perceiving how Poperie lead people to trust to works for their Iustification before God drew them back againe to consider Beleefe more advisedly Which thing though at that time they had more reason to doe then wee now of the Reformed Churches haue because at that time workes were taught people as for workes meritorious which indeed merited rather punishment yea damnation such as was the doing worship not before onely but even to the very Image directly contrary to the commandement