5 Rules for Hearing or Rea- The 14 feveral kinds of Spi-

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THE

Rule and Exercises

OF

Holy Living.

CHAP. I.

Confiderations of the general Instruments and Means serving to a Holy Life, by way of Introduction.

I

Tis neceffary that every Man should confider, that since God hath given him an excellent nature, wisdom and choice, an understanding foul, and an immortal spirit, having made him Lord over the beafts, and but a little lower than the Angels; he hath also appointed for him a work and a service great enough to employ those abilities, and hath also design'd him to a state of life after this to which he can onely arrive by that service and obedience. And therefore as every man is wholly God's own portion by the title of Creation: so all our labours and care, all our powers and faculties must be wholly employed in the service of God, even all the days of our life, that this life being ended, we may live with him for ever.

Neither is it sufficient that we think of the service of God as a work of the least neceffity, or ofsmall employ

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it; that it be done with great earne with much zeal and defire; that w that we bestow upon it much tim beft guides, and arrive at the end o ways of grace, of prudence and reli

And indeed if we confider how is taken up by the needs of nature are wholly spent before we come to how many years more before that us to any great purposes, how imp is made by our evil education, falfe pany, bad examples, and want many parts of our wifest and beft eating and fleeping, in neceffary b cessary vanities, in worldly civiliti circumftances, in the learning arts guages or trades, that little portic left for the practices of piety and with God is so short and triffing, goodness of God infinitely great, reasonable or impoffible for us to e nal joys in Heaven, even after the v few minutes which are left for God after we have served our selves and

And yet it is confiderable, that comes from the many days of rec is very little, and although we fca gather but little profit: but from spend in prayer and the exercises of return is great and profitable; and the minutes and spare portions of a up to crowns and scepters in a hap Eternity.

1. Therefore although it cannot the greatest part of our time be f actions of devotion and religion, y not only a duty, but also a great afide for the services of God and the Spirit as much as we can because minutes with long and eternal ha greater portion of our time we give to God, the more wetreasure up for our selves; and No man is a better Merchant than he that lays out his time upon God, and bis money upon the Poor.

2. Onely it becomes us to remember and to adore God's goodness for it, that God hath not onely permitted us to serve the neceffities of our nature, but hath made them to become parts of our duty; that if we by directing these actions to the glory of God intend them as instruments to continue our perfons in his service, he by adopting them into religion may turn our nature into grace, and accept our natural actions as actions of Religion. God is pleased to esteemit as a part of his service, if we eat or drink: so it be done temperately, and as may best preferve our health, that our health may enable our services towards him: And there is no one minute of our lives (after we are come to the use of reason) but we are or may be doing the work of God, even then when we most of all ferve our selves.

Πυθομένο τινὸς, πῶς ὀξὶν ἐπίειν ἀρετῶς θεοῖς; εἰ δικαίως όξιν, ἔφη, κὶ εὐγνωμόνως, κι ίσως, ἐγκραζῶς, κ κοσμίως, γκ αξεσῶς τοῖς θεοῖς; Arian. Epist. 1.1.6.13.

3. To which if we add, that in these and all other actions of our lives we always stand before God, acting, and speaking, and thinking in his prefence, and that it matters not that our confcience is fealed with fecrecy, fince it lies open to God, it will concern us to behave our selves carefully, as in the prefence of our Judge.

These three Considerations rightly managed, and applied to the several parts and inftances of our lives, will be, like Elisha, stretched upon the child, apt to put life and quickness into every part of it, and to make us live the life of grace, and do the work of God.

I shall therefore by way of Introduction reduce these three to practice, and shew how every Christian may improve all and each of these to the advantage of Piery in the whole course of his life: that if he please to bear but one of them upon his spirit he may feel the benefit, like an universal instrument, helpfull in all spiritual and temporal actions.

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SECT.

SECT. I.

The first general Instrument of Holy Living..

Care of our Time.

HE E that is choice of his time will also be choice of his company, and choice of his actions; left the first engage him in vanity and loss, and the latter by being criminal be a throwing his time and himself away, and a going back in the accounts of Eternity.

God hath given to man a short time here upon Earth, and yet upon this short time Eternity depends : but so, that for every hour of our Life, (after we are perfons capable of Laws, and know Good from Evil) we must give account to the great judge of Men and Angels. And this is it which our blessed Saviour told us, that we must account for every idle word: not meaning that every word which is not designed to Edification, or is less prudent, shall be reckoned for a fin; but that the time which we spend in our idle talking and unprofitable Discoursings, that time which might and ought to have been employed to spiritual and ufefull purposes, that is to be accounted for.

For we must remember that we have a great work to doe, many enemies to conquer, many evils to prevent, much danger to run through, many difficulties to be mastered, many neceffities to serve and much good to doe, many Children to provide for, or many Friends to support, or many Poor to relieve, or many Diseases to cure, befides the needs of Nature and of Relation, our private and our publick cares, and duties of the World, which neceffity and the Providence of God hath adopted into the Family of Religion.

And that we need not fear this Instrument to be a snare to us, or that the duty must end in scruple, vexation and eternal Fears, we must remember that the life of every Man be so ordered, (and indeed must) that it may be a perpetual serving of God: The greatest Trouble, and most busie Trade, and worldly Incumbrances, when they are necessary, or charitable,

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