The Rules of a Holy Life, Chapter 13 – Chapter 17
CHAP. XIII.
Rules about prayer.
THVS of the Sacraments.
The Rules concerning prayer follow;Rules about prayer. where besides the generall Rules, that belong to all worship, these things in speciall must bee heeded concerning prayer.
1. Thy words must bee few, Thy words must bee few.Eccles. 5. 1, 2. and the reason is, because God is in heauen, and thou art in earth: Hee is full of Maiestie and Wisedome, and thou art an infirme and sinfull creature: Length of it selfe doth not commend prayer; we must speake as becomes the Maiestie of God, without vaine repetitions and babblings, pattering ouer of the same things is not pleasing to God: As affectation is ill in any thing, so much more ill in prayer. This Rule may bee vnsauory in the taste of some that are transported with rash zeale: But let them take heed of will-worship: the words are so plaine in the Text, as they must informe themselues about them: The Lord knew what was fittest for vsus, when hee gaue vsus this charge.
2. Thy heart must be lifted vp in the performance of this duty;2. The heart must bee lifted vp. This is often imported in diuers Scriptures, and this lifting vp of the hart hath diuers things in it.
1. Vnderstanding: thou must be aduised what thou prayest for, and know thy warrant, that what thou askest is according to Gods will. 1. Cor. 14. 15. 1. Ioh. 5. 14
2. Freedome from distractions: Thy heart must be cleansed from passions and lusts: Thy prayer must be without wrath, 1. Tim. 3. 8. And as the distractions arising from passion must bee auoided, so must a…l other distractions.
3. Feruency, or the stretching out of the affections according to the matter of prayer; thou must expresse the affections of prayer: for God looks at the prayer of thy heart, not at the prayer of thy lippes onelyonly.
3. Thou must pray with all manner of prayer, 3. Vse all manner of prayer.according to the occasions of prayer: Thou must pray at thy set times daily, and thou must pray also with eiaculations (as Diuines call them) that is, those suddain and short speeches to God, when thy heart is moued vponupon speciall occasion: Thou must vse Supplications, Deprecations, Intercessions, Confessions, giuing of Thankes, or the like, according to thy necessities, or the other occasions of thy life: Thou must striue to get a fitnesse and language to speake vntounto God for thy selfe in thine own words, as may best expresse the desires of thine hart, Eph. 6. 18
4. Thou must continue and perseuer in prayer without ceasing: 4. Thou must perseuer in prayer.prayer must bee the worke of thy whole life, not an exercise for a fit, for a day or two, or a week or two, or a month or two: thou must make conscience of prayer alwaies, Ephes. 6. 18. 1. Thess. 3. 17.
5. When thy prayer is grounded vponupon Gods will,5. Thou must bee instant, without fainting or discouragement. thou must be instant, and not faint, or be discouraged: Thou must pray without doubting and wauering, as resolued neuer to cease praying, till God heare and shew mercy. 'Tis basenesse of minde, not humility, to be quickly discouraged: if God entertaine vsus not according to our expectation, or liking, we must not bee weary of seeking to God, but set vponupon prayer, with a resolution to take no nay, Luk. 18. 1. Iam. 1. 6.
6. Thou must remember supplication for all Saints, 6. With supplication for all Saints.especially to pray heartily for Magistrates & Ministers; especially those vnderunder whose charge thou art, Ephes. 6. 18, 19. 1. Tim. 2. 1.
7. Thou must looke to it,7. In all things giuegive thankes. that in all things thou giuegive thankes: Let the Lord see the truth of thy heart herein, that what thou obtainest from God, especially by prayer, thou wilt with all gladnesse remember and acknowledge: This Rule must by no meanes be forgotten, 1. Thess. 5. 18. Colos. 4. 2.
CHAP. XIIII.
Rules about reading the Scriptures.
THus of the Rules that concerne praier: There remaines the reading of Scripture, and singing of Psalmes, as the other parts of the ordinary worship of God.
Concerning the reading of the Scriptures,Rules about reading the Scripture. I will instance in one place of Scripture onelyonly, which containes the charge giuen to Ioshua, chap. 1. 8, 9. which comprehends the substance of the necessary directions about priuate reading. I say necessary; for godly men may, and hauehave aduised diuers courses for reading of Scripture, which are not absolutely necessary, but arbitrary, as may stand with the leasure and capacity of the person that will reade: such are those directions, that shew how many chapters may bee read in a day, and what things may be obserued in reading, &c. which, as they may bee profitable to many Christians, & expedient too, yet they must not bee vnderstood so, as that those persons sinne, which reade not so often, or so many chapters, or the like. The things therefore that must necessarily be obserued by such as can reade the Bible, I take to be these:
First,1. R…ade daily. they must exercise themselues therin daily, they must constantly be imployed therin, & if their occasions interrupt thē at some time, they must redeeme it at other times: This is the praise of the blessed man, That he exerciseth himselfe in Gods Law day and night; that is, constantly, Psal. 1. 2.
Secondly,2. Meditate of what thou readest. in reading they must meditate therein, that is, they must obserue profitable things, as they reade, attending to reading, & marking what the Lord saith vntounto them by that part of the Word which they reade: This is that meditation, which is chiefly required of a Christiā, to get into their harts good thoughts frō the matter they reade of, so as they may the better bee inabled to imploy their thoughts all the day after.
Thirdly,3. Confer vponupon it. The Word of God must not depart out of their mouth; they must make the best vse of it they can, in conference to speak of it to others, for the edification of themselues and others.
Fourthly,4. Resolue to obey. They must obserue in their reading, what the Lord saith vntounto them, that concernes their practice: They must obserue to do according to those holy directions they reade of: They must bring a minde desirous, and resolued to let the Word of God both informe them, & reforme them, making conscience of it, to let God direct them by his holy Word read, and not onelyonly by the Word preached to them: Their liues must be bettered by their reading, and to that end they must obserue the chiefest things they can, out of their reading, to remember them in their practice.
CHAP. XV.
Rules about singing of Psalmes.
THe rules,Rules about singing of Psalmes. that concern the singing of Psalms, are summarily comprehended in that place, Col. 3. 16. and they are these:
1. First, they must teach one another by their Psalms, and Hymnes, and spirituall songs. They must learne to profit, and make good vse of the holy matter contained in the Psalmes they sing.
2. Secondly, they must sing with their hearts, they must attend to the matter they sing of, & lift vp their hearts, as well as their voices.
3. Thirdly, they must sing with grace in their hearts, they must imploy the graces of the holy Spirit, or Gods Spirit in singing of Psalmes, as wel as in prayer, or any other ordinance of God.
4. Fourthly, they must make melody to the Lord: They must direct their songs to God, and to his glory, and not vse them as meere ciuill imploiments, but as parts of Gods seruice.
CHAP. XVI.
Rules about Vowing and Swearing.
HItherto of the Rules, that concerne the most vsuall parts of Gods seruice: There are other parts of Gods seruice, which are to be vsed, but at certaine times, and vponupon speciall occasions, & these are Vowes, and Oathes, and Fasting.
The rules about Vowing are briefely comprehended in that place,The Rules about vowing. Eccl…s. 5. 3, 4. and they are chiefly two.
1. First, Before thou vowest, consider: consider, I say, thine owne strength, whether thou be able to do it: and consider also the end, that it bee to Gods glory; and consider the matter, that thou vow not things vnlawfull: and consider what may be the euents of thy Vow, for all Vowes being made before the Angell, that takes notice of all Couenants, it will bee in vaine afterwards to plead, it was an errour, thou wast mistaken: God may bee angry at thy voice, and destroy the worke of thy hands: Be not rash therefore, to cause thy flesh to sinne therein.
2. Secondly, when thou hast vowed thy vow to God, deferre not to pay it, be sure thou performe it: it is a grieuous offence to breake a lawfull vow: Better it is thou shouldst not vow, then that thou shouldst vow, and not pay.
Thus of Vowing.
Concerning the Oath,Rules about Swearing. when thou art called to sweare, thou must obserue these Rules:
First, that thou sweare not by any thing which is not God, Ier. 5. 7.
Secondly, that thou sweare in truth, that is, that thy conscience know, what thou swearest is true.
Thirdly, that thou sweare in iudgement, that is, with due consideration of the nature of God, and with sound deliberation, not rashly, and diligently weighing of all things, that belong to the matter thou swearest about.
Fourthly, that thou sweare in righteousnesse, that is about lawfull things, & iust matters: Thou must not sweare to do vniust things, as Dauid sware to kil Nabal: nor must thou swear about impossible things, or about things that are doubtfull and vncertaine: Nor in the forme of thy oath must thou vse such words, as be contumelious to God, or expresse not sufficient reuerence to the Diuine Maiestie, as they that wickedly sweare by any part of Christ, or such like.
CHAP. XVII.
Rules about Fasting.
THus of Vowes and Swearing; Fasting followes: Now if we would keep a religious Fast vntounto God, wee must obserue these two Rules.
First,The Rules about a religious Fast. wee must looke to the strictnesse of the abstinence in the day of our Fast; for we must abstaine from all sorts of meate as well as one, and from all labour also, and from our costliest apparell, and from recreations and vsuall delights: Wee must keepe the day, as wee keepe the Sabbath, in forbearing our own works, Ion. 3. 6, 7. 1. Cor. 7. 5. Ioel 1. & 2. Leuit. 16.
Secondly, the time must bee spent in religious duties, as a Sabbath, especially in the exercises that concerne the humiliation of the soule, in renewing of our repentance, for the obtaining of pardon of sin, or some speciall blessing of God, or the preuenting, or remouing of some great iudgement of God.
The former rule concernes onelyonly the ceremonie, or outward exercise of the bodie: but this rule containes the substance of the dutie, without which a religious fast is not kept vntounto God, who regardeth not the hanging down of the head like a bull-rush, if the soule bee not humbled before God for sinne: Leu. 16. 29. Ioel 1. 14. & 2. 16, 17.