The Government of the Thoughts, Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIV. Rules in External Actions.
FIRST, Neither Propose, nor Act any thing Evil or Unjust, for any Worldly profit, Honours, or Pleasures: For it is an apparent detriment to acquire the World with the loss of thy Soul, Mat. 16.26. What can Secular Honours advantage thee, when thou art condemned by the Almighty? Should all the World extol thee, and thou be Canonized a Saint in the opinion of the multitude, or thy Actions be highly applauded, equivalent to Herod's Speech, and be rendred Supernatural: God's Angel may smite thee, and the Worms destroy thee. What are Pleasures? In their Birth they look towards a Precipitate End; and the Vicissitude of this Scene serveth only to aggravate the misery: Like that ungrateful sound, which reached the Ears of Dives in Hell, Son remember that thou in thy life time, receivedst thy good things, Luke 16.25. Present remembrances of past pleasures, embitter the Torment.
2. LET God's Law be thy Rule and Counsellor, and weigh all thy Actions by his Standard, before thou Execute any Purpose. David could not enterprize before he had consulted God's Oracles: Nor the very Heathens, before they sent for the double Effataes of their Priests. When the Word of God is our Rule, we abhor setting up strange God's in our Hearts, like those who adore their own Inventions, in Will-worship and voluntary Religion; wherein all, even the most zealous and painful Actions, as Pilgrimages, superstitious Fasts, foolish Penance and idolatrous Oblations, or costly Dedications, shall be rejected, with a Who required this at your Hands? Isa. 1.12. And the Prophet tells you, Micah 6.7, 8. The Lord will not be pleased with thousands of Rams, or with ten thousand Rivers of Oil: And, He hath shewed O Man, what is good: And what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love Mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
3. IN Religious Acts, God left not Israel to their own disposing in minor things, but commanded Moses, See thou make all things according to the Pattern shewed thee in the Mount, Heb. 8.5. Also when God's Word is our Rule, we will neither lay Snares upon our own Consciences, placing Religion in those things which God hath left Indifferent, (as they who prohibited certain Meats or Marriage, 1 Tim. 4.3.) Nor will we dispense with that Word in any one point which any humane Authority pretends, or imposes to the Contrary.
4. IN all thy acts and designs, before thou execute them, duly and seriously consider the Event, which is like a Ship's Rudder, tho it comes last, it directs first and last. Endeavour to gain a fore-sight, and consider the Sequel. O that they were Wise, saith the Lord; That they understood this; That they would consider their latter End, Deut. 32.29. By which means thou wilt in all sinful Actions, with the Holy Apostle, be ever ready to conclude, That the end of those things is Death, Rom. 6.21.
5. IN all thy actions fix thy self in the presence of God, by following David's Example, Psalm 16.8. Ever remember thou art in his Sight, and that neither thy Thoughts nor Actions can be excluded from him; for neither Solitude nor Darkness can vail thee from his All-seeing Eye, Psalm 139.11, 12. In all thy Undertakings accustom thy self to the rule of Charity, for that is the fulfilling of the Law, Rom. 13.10. and the Fruit of God's Spirit, Gal. 5.22. And there can be no performances acceptable to God, if we omit this Duty and Command of the Apostle, Let all things be done in Charity, 1 Cor. 16.14.
6. IN all Religious Duties, act not the Impostor, for the Hypocrite doth but personate, act and counterfeit the Saint; he seems good, but is doubly Impious, as the Orator said of the Servilii, which were very like, but not the same; so resembling, that they were not d… stinguished abroad amongst Strangers, but were known at home by their own Acquaintance. But when the Hypocrite hath deceived all the World, he can never defraud his own Conscience. Therefore let this advice be thy faithful Monitor, to be just and sincere in thy Deportment, before God and Man: Let Christ's Rule be thy constant Pattern, Whatsoever ye would that Men should do to you, do ye even so to them: For this is the Law and the Prophets, Matt. 7.12.
7. TRANSACT nothing which must cost thee a bitter Repentance. When the Philosopher had a great price set him upon Folly, replied, I will not buy Repentance so dear. Never act any thing against thy Conscience, for fear or favour of Men; but rather esteem a good Conscience before all Treasure on this side Heaven: In some things we Sin all, But happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth, Rom. 14.22. Lastly, In all thy undertakings beseech and humbly implore the Almighty to Direct, Counsel and Bless thee; and according to the Apostle's Direction, In every thing by Prayer and Supplication, let your requests be made known unto God, Phil. 4.6. For he is unworthy to receive a Blessing, who omits the duty of Asking.
A Prayer for Directions in all our Actions.
MOST Merciful Father, who hast promised, that if the Wicked turns from his Sins that he hath committed, and doth that which is lawful and right, he shall live, and his Transgressions shall not be remembred. In humble acknowledgment of our manifold sins, the equity of thy Judgments to give us over to our own unhappy Ways, who have so long refused to be guided by thy holy Word, and our own helpless Impotency, to stay our selves, turn unto thee, or fix our selves in any good way to Serve and Please thee.
2. WE humbly beseech thee O Father, for the sake of thy dear Son, to pardon all our Offences, and to vouchsafe to lead us in thy Paths, and the way thou appointest us to walk in: We have long gone astray like lost Sheep; and thou best knowest, O, our God, how dangerous Satan's Snares are to us, how many the Distractions of a deceitful vain World; how frail and infirm sinful Flesh and Blood; and how many our Errors: But, O Lord, thy Wisdom cannot Err, which is immutable; therefore renouncing our own Conduct, we render our selves into thy Gracious Hands, humbly beseeching thee, who freely givest Wisdom to all that ask, and upbraidest no Man; hold thou up our goings in thy Paths, that our Footsteps slide not; direct all our ways, that we neither incline to the right nor to the left hand to offend thee; but give us the Shield of our Salvation, and let thy Right hand uphold us.
3. O thou that hearest the Prayers of them that call upon thee, hear us, for our Souls wait on thee; direct and guide us; keep us and counsel us in all our Actions, that we neither design nor perform any thing but that which is pleasing to thee, and which thou wilt bless unto us; that we may walk unblamably and prudently towards all Men, and in Sanctity before thee: And grant that in all our actions we may Glorifie thee, and adorn the Gospel of Christ by our holy Conversations, give good Examples to our Neighbours, and stop the Mouths of all malicious Adversaries; so that when these days of Sin are ended, that we rest from our Labours, we may enter into that promised Rest which remaineth for thy People, where shall be no more Sin, Error, nor Curse. Hear us, O Lord, in these and all other things necessary for our Bodies or Souls, for Jesus Christ his sake.
Amen.