unto thy Testimonies and not unto Covetousness O knit my heart to thee which is somwhat tam'd I hope under the weight and punishment of its Sin that I may ever fear thy Name and walk in thy Truth O give me good Lord the Comfort of thy Help and establish me with thy free Spirit for the sake of Iesus my Redeemer IV. It is most agreable that more particularly every Morning and Night there be an appointed and set Recommending of our Labour and Rest to God's gracious Guidance and Protection This may be in the manner following IN THE MORNING THe Blessing of God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his Holy Spirit be with me this day and evermore Keep Protect and Prosper me in my Calling to his Glory Amen I thank thee O Merciful Father for thy Protection the Night past and all other Benefits Spiritual and Bodily I now recommend my self both Soul and Body and whatever thou hast appointed me to do for the Maintenance of either in my Emploiment and Labour Be thou the Beginning the Middle and the End of all my Undertakings And be pleas'd so to sanctify I beseech thee the Necessities of my corrupt Nature to thy Service that every thing may turn to the honour of thy Name and I fail not finally of obtaining thy Benefits To this end let thy Holy Spirit guide me in the beginning and thoro-out that I may by the Help of this thy outward Establishment continually recal my Mind into inward Acts of pure and undefiled Religion quietly do my own Business bear my Burden with joy and labour in my particular State and Emploiment as I ought and as becomes thy most obedient Servant be just in all my Dealings harmless in my Conversation meek and patient under cross events be perfectly contented with what I have well pleas'd with the prosperity of other Men and heartily desirous of the good of all the World that every one in their several Stations may truly and godlily serve thee thro' our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. AT NIGHT After Examination of the foregoing Day ALL Glory be to thee most merciful Father for that thou hast stood by me and preserv'd me this day in my Emploiment from all the Evils and Mischiefs which might have befall'n me I give thee most humble and hearty Thanks as for all thy Blessings so especially if I have in any measure serv'd Thee this Day in my Calling I am heartily sorry for whatever I have therein offended thee my good Lord I humbly fly to Thee for Succour and Forgiveness and I fully and stedfastly purpose by the Assistance of thy Grace to take such care for to Morrow and the future if thou wilt allow me any longer time who have made no better use of this that I never fall into the same snare more or if I am so unhappy presently to recover my self in which firm Resolution and entire Resignation I commit my Soul Spirit and Body this Night and ever to thy most wise Disposal Defend me from all works and dangers of Darkness possess me sleeping and waking let thy good Angel stay with me that in thy power and strength I may rest safely and my wearied Limbs being refresh'd with moderate Repose may be inabled to perform the Duties of the Day following as I wish and as I ought thro' the Love and Merits of Iesus my Saviour Amen V. Lastly I advise thee to bear in thy Mind some few short Sentences which will be a sure Comfort and Support to thee whatever falls out if thou canst apply them to thy heart And for this purpose Hear what comfortable Words the Holy Psalmist saith to the Poor that truly turn to the Lord. The Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they who seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good Psal. xxxiv 10 O cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall nourish thee Psal. liv 23 Hear also what our Saviour Christ saith Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Mat. vi 33 Thus dear Christian Friend I have sought to serve thee to the Glory of God and to thine own everlasting Good that so after a little pain and trouble in this Life underwent for the sake of God with respect to all his righteous Ends and in imitation of thy Saviour thou may'st at length enter into the Rest from thy Labours thy Works following thee to give thee admittance into the company of those Blessed and Noble Spirits who are gone before in the same way many or most of whom were the very scorn and off-scouring of the World and are rais'd to a Crown which fadeth not but stands fast for ever from quite as mean if not meaner a condition than thine which Iesus the Righteous Judge will not fail to give to thee if thou seek but in good earnest according to the said Methods to prepare thy self Only be of good courage and faint not Thank God for every good thing and thy self for every evil one If by this thou hast reap'd any Benefit give all the thanks to God and forget not him I pray thee in thy Prayers who is the Instrument of conveying this charitable Assistance to thee and who will abundantly rejoice if it can but in any wise promote those Ends for which it is design'd FINIS ADVERTISEMENT THo' this Discourse might properly have gone along with Another of like Nature it was thought fit to be Publish'd Separately for the Sake of those for whose Use it is Compos'd Which the Reader is desir'd to consider if he meet with in it some few Expressions that relate to this Other being A Practical Discourse of the Labour of the Mind grounded in like manner with This on Gen. iii. 19 But which descends to the Particular kinds of that Labour which would not only have swell'd This to an excessive bulk but also not have been agreeable to the Design which was barely to hint some Reflexions on the Constitution of this Labour in General in the World
World and as nearly united to God as either He hereby designs and invites me to be or as I have need of For as much as I am assur'd that He cannot deny me any Assistance of his Holy Spirit which I beg through the Merits of his only begotten Son my Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ. Amen II. Next after this Protestation made and Resolution declar'd as in the presence of God and of the whole Court of Heaven that it may become Effectual in thy Life thou art to keep every Branch of it in thy Mind and to secure the same in thine Heart by fervent and faithful Prayer For this purpose after I have directed thee how to form in thy Spirit a General Abhorrence of Sin and to express thy Acknowledgments to God for his wonderful Goodness I will teach thee on all occasions according as thy needs shall direct to call down the Divine Assistance to enable thee in the performance of every part But before all things it 's necessary that thou beg it of thy Heavenly Father that there may be imprinted on thee a just Detestation and Abhorrence of all manner of Sin the fruitful Mother of thy Misery To which end say ALmighty God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ grant I beseech thee that I may have that due sense as well of Thine infinite Purity and Happiness as of mine own Deformity and Misery that I may abhor my self in dust and ashes before Thee and while I eat my Bread in the Sweat of my brow may never forget to detest and fly that Monster which has laid this Yoak on my shoulders that I may confess to Thee my strange Vileness and Folly and feeling thus in part the bitter Effect of Sin may not only detest and confess but be also ever ready to satisfy any Condition that will release me from its accursed slavery for the Love and thro' the Merits of Him who submitted himself to bear so large a share that mine might be no more even thy most glorious and most adorable Son my only Redeemer and Mediator Iesus Christ. Then in the deepest Humility of thy Soul address thy self to the most Merciful God in the following or like Form of Thanksgiving ALmighty God Father of all Mercies I thine unworthy servant do give Thee most humble and hearty thanks for thy great goodness and loving kindness towards me in that thou didst not only send Thy only begotten Son to deliver me from the Bondage of Sin and Death and so restore me to the Influences of thy Favour which are Light and Ioy everlasting by suffering together with me what I had brought upon my self but didst also make the Burthen for me so easy and the Chastisement so light as I can wish it in Prudence neither easier nor lighter But especially I bless thee O heavenly Father for that thou wert pleas'd even to turn this remaining Effect of Sin thro' the Efficacious Mediation of this same dearly beloved Son into a most powerful Remedy against it that it may be to me if I please the proper Instrument of my Happiness thro' the same Iesus Christ to whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory world without end Amen Now in nothing more fitly canst thou shew thy Abhorrence of Sin or Thankfulness than by carefully watching thy Soul and on all occasions as thou either find'st thy self inwardly mov'd to some particular Exercise or assaulted by any Temtation strengthening thy self by Supplication to thy Heavenly Father for such Graces as thou standest most in need of who when thou askest Bread will not refuse it thee or give thee a Stone in its stead Wherefore Ask and it shall be given Seek and thou shalt find PRAYERS For Resolution MOST gracious God who of thine infinite Goodness wast pleas'd both to make my Burthen so light and even to condescend to accept this if born according to Thine Appointment as a Qualification for that Heavenly Rest and those boundless Joys which Thou hast prepared for such as love and seek thee I humbly beseech Thee so to assist me with Thy Grace that I may be able in such wise to bear and undergo the same with entire conformity to thy most blessed Will and all thy righteous Designs herein that I fail not after having felt the weight of Sin for a while of being remov'd thither where Death and Sin have no power that so I may enjoy the pleasures of Thy presence for evermore thro' the alone Merits of thy well-beloved Son Iesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Amen For Obedience O Almighty God to whom all things both in heaven and Earth ow entire Obedience grant I beseech thee that I constantly considering how Thou hast appointed Labour for Man may thereby at all times be put in mind of the great evil of Disobedience to thy righteous Law and learn to submit my self sincerely to its Guidance and study to obey all thy Commands thro' Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen For Humility MOst Glorious aud Eternal God who resistest the proud and art pleas'd to dwell with the humble Spirit and who hast for this end appointed Bodily Labour for me that my proud Heart may be tam'd and humbled by it so as to be fit to receive the light and gladsom Influence of Thy Countenance do thou powerfully convince me of mine own wretchedness and folly that I may no longer nourish or covet any high opinion of my self but above all things seek that most excellent grace of Humility which is the Fountain of all Blessing Grant this O Lord for his sake who humbled himself not only to the meanest of Services but even to the Death of the Cross Iesus Christ. Amen For Industry MOst Wise and Righteous God who hast ordain'd that Man should be born to Labour never let me I pray thee resist that design of Thine but so hedge me in all the time of my Pilgrimage and press me forward that I may never give my self up to Easiness and Idleness of life but maâ— so employ my time as not to fall under the sentence of the Slothful and the Unprofitable Servant Hear O Lord and assist me for the sake of Iesus Christ. For Temperance BLessed God who art graciously pleas'd to give me this daily Warning to withdraw my Mind from the pleasures of the Body assist me I beseech thee with thy Holy Spirit that I may ever listen to His merciful Counsels and make such use of the weight that surrounds me that the Flesh being thereby subdued to the Spirit I may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness and true Holiness to the honour and glory of thy holy Name thro' Iesus Christ. For Charity GRacious Lord who hast in thy Wisdom ordained Labour whereby to succour the needs of our frail Nature grant that I may by Diligence and Industry ever study to be useful not to my self alone but likewise to others and to attain that most excellent Gift of Charity the very Root and
not be lost which is contain'd under this Outward Institution nor the Designs of God in it frustrated and made void So by this means thou shalt be able to perform a most essential and most acceptable piece of Service to the Author of thy Being and thy Happiness Nor is there the least glimpse of Reason for thee to doubt in the last place as if he would ever fail to send his Blessing along with it as often as it is thus perform'd according to his Institution For which purpose it will be fit to keep in thy mind those wise and righteous Designs of His for the bringing thee back to Himself by an Establishment so unpleasant in it self These Designs thou wilt find to be such as these viz. § I. First Bodily Labour was instituted by the most wise and just God and commanded Man to the end to bring forth in him a constant Obedience and Submission to his Commands Since therefore whoever thou art that God has commanded thee to work do thou learn hereby continually and on every occasion chearfully to submit thy self to the Orders of his Divine Majesty and resolutely obey all his Precepts as being assured that this was the main End for which he was pleas'd to impose so seemingly an hard Command § II. Secondly Bodily Labour was instituted for Man in his faln Estate by the same most wise and just God that his proud and haughty Heart might be humbled by mean and vile things Nothing can fit the Soul for the Receiving lightsom and comfortable Influxes of God beside Humility as nothing more widely withdraws her from him and tumbles her into Darkness and Grief then Pride that loathsom Monster which first threw Man out of Paradise and now continues to barr the way back Art thou not happy O Christian that thou art farther than a great many others remov'd from the Temtations and Attaques of this foul Fiend◠if thou art wise thou wilt think so and thank God I hope at least thou art wiser than to wish after that which in all likelihood would be a Serpent in thy Bosom would secretly sting thee to death and then cast thee into such a state as I am perswaded thou canst not think on without shaking Nothing indeed naturally more conduces to the beating down and Conquering the proud Heart of Man than Affliction and Labour nothing can be found out a more sensible sign of his Meanness and Necessitous condition than this And let me tell thee my dear Christian that if this has its proper effect on thee thou art a great deal more Happy than if thou worest a Crown and didst enjoy all earthly Happiness For if the Great Persons of the World do undergo less trouble and pains than thee which too I very much doubt I am sure their Pleasures and Enjoyments are far more dangerous than thy most painful Labours By them they have only so much the more to resist and conquer than thou hast What thinkest thou canst thou envy them this No sure Say rather in thy self I thank thee O Heavenly Father that thou hast plac'd me in this State in which its necessary for me by the sweat of my Brow to gain my Bread and that I am not expos'd to those great Dangers and Temtations with those above me which would most likely have overpower'd me and lifted me up against thee my kind Benefactor since I am so little able at this distance from them to repress and conquer this proud Heart of mine Do thou O my Father break it do what thou wilt so it be broken and humbled and fit to receive Thee my Love my Light and my Ioy. O let me ever chearfully submit to thy Dispensation and never call that hard which Thou thinkest best for calling me to Thee § III. Thirdly As soon as the Heart of Man was turn'd away from God by Pride there presently crept into it a slothful Disposition strongly inclining it to the love of Ease and sensible Pleasure Now it being no less necessary to mortify this than the former God who is wise and good and just in all his Institutions ordain'd Labor for Man that by the mortification of his Sloath Ease and Pleasure he might be brought to have a due value for what he had lost and to labour after that Rest and Delight that are only capable to satisfie a Creature of Original so noble and of Desires so boundless The Mischiefs that Sloath and Ease bring both to Soul and Body are so very Many and so very Great as but to hint at them would take up a large Discourse of which I doubt not but thy own Experience may afford plenty of miserable Instances enough As if it were indeed true in the most literal sense That the Working and Industrious Person is exposed only to one but the Lazy and the Sloathful to all the Devils in Hell Nor are those which proceed from the Pleasures of the Body either fewer or less considerable Thou may'st be certain of this that thou hast not made the least step to true Happiness unless thou art fully convinced that thou art not otherwise capable to relish those noble and exalted Pleasures of the Spirit which thy good Father invites thee to partake of than according to the measure that thou art withdrawn from those mean and ignoble ones of the Flesh. Tell me therefore O my Friend hast thou not reason to thank this kind Father of thine that he hath put thee in a State in which thou hast so much less to do toward the subduing and bringing under the Body to the Spirit than many others of his Children Let me tell thee thou art insensible if thou dost not bless him I hope thou dost with all thy Heart But if which God forbid thou dost hanker after the Onions and Garlick of Egypt then I would have thee e'en fairly set down and never expect to enter the Promis'd Land flowing with Milk and Hony Well but I will hope better things as that thou wilt endeavor with all thy might to destroy this silly hankering and so fit thy self for an Admission to those pure Delights that are prepared for refined Souls § IV. Fourthly As Man who in his Original State was but a little lower than the Angels and stood not in need of any thing having all his desires abundantly satisfied as long as they stood in the first place directed toward God became through sin a poor and needy Creature This God in his Wisdom and Goodness thought fit to appoint a Rule whereby to releive the Poverty and succor the needs of this miserable Creature and thereby bring him back to Himself Thou oughtest therefore to remember O Man that in Conformity to this Rule thou art obliged not only to exercise an Act of Charity toward thy Own self by seeking to preserve thy Life for the sake and love of God and out of a sense of his righteous Law but also for the same love of God to work for
to produce those so needful Qualifications of Humility Mortification and Meekness Thus have I endeavour'd to teach thee in short how thou oughtest to look Always on thy Labour as the Effect and Punishment of thy Sin to remember that thou must never expect to be sav'd unless thou be content to tast its evil be sincerely thankful for that it is no heavier be resolv'd by a wise and chearful Submission unto thy share of the Cross to seek for those things that are Above and to balk at no difficulty that so thou maist but at last enter into the Rest of the Lord Nor is this all for thou hast here both a Warning and a Method how thou maist even sweeten all its Bitterness turning it into a most acceptable piece of Service to thy most kind Creator and Benefactor by directing it according to his Designs and learning thence those most necessary Graces of Obedience Humility and Industry of Temperance Charity and Patience of Meekness Contentedness and even the highest pitch of Spiritual Recollection and Conversation with Him that thy Nature is capable of on this side Heaven And is this such a mean or pitiful estate that thou canst in the least envy that of those who by being the Lumber of this World make themselves Fuel for a worse No I am perswaded thou canst not Methinks I hear thee make this Answer I will not hereafter account any Estate too mean or any Labour too hard which is capable of compassing such glorious Ends No Toil can be too great which draws me nearer to my God No Condition too low which lifts me thus high Well then suppose what is at this time the lot of so many Christians better every way than thee that thou werst a slave chain'd to an Oar or werst condemn'd to some dark Mine there to be depriv'd of all the Light and Enjoiment of this World could'st thou by such Acts as these set thy self free and no more than exchange a few paltry and fading for great and constant Delights Examine thy Heart seriously what in such a case thou would'st do If thou could'st do so then hast thou truly learnt Christ but if not I can never flatter thee to tell thee that thou art a Member of Christ or a Child of God But perhaps thou wilt say This is afar off from me God be thank'd there 's little danger yet of my falling into such a state Well but however I advise thee as thou lovest thy self not to put it far from thee but to make it by all manner of ways familiar to thee that so thou may'st not be unprovided against any disposal of Providence But if dear Christian and Countryman the Lot be fallen to thee in a better Ground consider what reason thou hast to thank thy good God for laying so little upon thee in comparison of what the poorer sort in most other Nations do bear And forget not to offer up thy prayers to their Father and thine even the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ that he would be pleas'd to support them with his Spirit under their most heavy Oppression and also enable thee to undergo it couragiously if he should call thee to drink with them of the same bitter Cup. Nothing else now remains but that after such a Prospect of Labour as renders it both the Natural Punishment for Sin and an Acceptable Act of Worship to God which in the Bowels of Mercy I intreat thee dear Christian not to forget I shew in the last place to the end I may make what I have said for thy sake the more Useful how thou may'st draw Hence such proper Exercises of Religion as are aforemention'd I. IN the first place therefore if thou hast any sense as I hope thou hast a great one of what thou hast hitherto read which God grant may never be brought into Judgment against thee I am fully satisfied that thou wilt presently without any longer put-offs or delays resolve and purpose to convert thy Work into a Service of God and so Worship Him in all the Designs of this His most ancient Establishment for the rest of thy Life And especially thou wilt be to much the more earnest in this if it appear that thou hast dishonour'd Him heretofore by that wherein thou oughtest only to have consider'd thy own Baseness and His Honour If hitherto thou hast mistaken its Ends thou wilt be truly glad that thou art now at last undeceiv'd and wilt labour more diligently for the time to come to keep them constantly in thy view And if thine Heart accuse thee for having ever turn'd it into a Worship of the Devil and of thy Lusts thine Heart will also admonish thee to Consecrate it now for ever hereafter to God according to his Blessed Institution and will the more powerfully press thee to do this Effectually and wholly not faintly or partially by vigorously stirring thee up to begin with as much Solemnity and Particularness as either Thy self or the Matter is capable of thereby to make the Impression the deeper and more lasting Place then thy self in the presence of God reflect seriously on thy past Estate and that which by his Grace thou art invited to enter into and when after having minutely and impartially weigh'd the Advantages or Disadvantages of both thou art fully Resolv'd then with the most ardent Affection and Resentment that is possible declare this thy Resolution and Purpose Which thou may'st do in the manner following But first meditate upon and consider it a while Then upon thy bended Knees from the bottom of thy Heart say IN the Name of God Amen I A. B. resolve henceforward never more to Labour again as the Horse and the Mule without Understanding but constantly to look on and resolvedly to embrace that State of Labour to which I am by my good God appointed as a Chastisement for my Rebellion against and a Mean to reduce me back to that Loyalty and Allegeance which is due to his Divine Majesty I will evermore detest and abhor as I do now most sincerely from the bottom of my Heart detest and abhor in the Sight of God and of all the Court of Heaven Sin which is its accursed Cause I will quietly nay thankfully undergo it for that it is no greater and will study to make it serve all those good and wise Ends of which it is capable I will Labour to be perfectly obedient to all the Commands of my God I will humble my self before Him as low as I can because it is not possible as low as I deserve I will strive to the utmost to be as diligent and industrious in my Calling as sober and temperate in the government of my Senses as charitable and assisting towards my Neighbours and Friends as patient under all hardship and pain as meek under every harsh usage and injurious insultings from my Fellow-creature as contented and chearful in the meanness of my Condition and lastly as far remov'd from the