The Practice of Piety, Treatise · Part 6
Brief directions how to read the Holy Scriptures once every year over, with ease, profit, and reverence.
BUt for as much, that as faith is the soul, so reading and meditating of the Word of God, are the Parents of Prayers: therefore before thou prayest in the Morning, first, read a Chapter in the word of God; then meditate a while with thy self how many excellent things thou canst remember out of it.
As first: what good counsels or exhortations to good works, and to holy life.
Second what threatnings of judgments against such and such a sin: and what fearful examples of Gods punishment or vengeance upon such and such sinners.
Thirdly, what blessings God promiseth to patience, chastity, mercy, alms-deed, zeal in his service, charity, faith, and trust in God and such like Christian vertues.
Fourthly, what gracious deliverances God hath wrought, and what sp…cial blessings he hath bestowed upon them, who were his true and zealous servants.
Fifthly, Apply these things to thine own heart, and read not these Chapters, as matters of Historical discourse: but as if they were so many Letters or Epistles sent down from God out of Heaven unto thee: for whatsoever is w…itten, is written for our learning, Rom 15. 4.
Sixthly, Read them therefore with that reverence, as if God himself stood by, and spake these words unto thee, to excite thee to those virtues; to dissuade thee from those vices; assuring thy self, that if such sins (as thou readest there) be found in thee without repentance, the like plagues will fall upon thee; but if thou doest practise the like piet▪ and vertuous deeds, the like blessi…gs shall come unto thee and thine.
In a word, apply all that thou readest in H Scripture, to one of these two heads chiefly; either to confirm thy faith; or to increase thy repentance; for as Sustine & Abstine, bear and forbear, Epictet. dict.was the Epitome of a good Philosopher's life, so Crede & Resipisee, believe and repent, is the whole sum of a true Christian's profession. One Chapter thus read with understanding, and meditated with application, will better feed and comfort thy soul, than five read and run over without marking their scope or sense, or making any use thereof to thine own self. If in this manner thou shalt read three Chapters every day; one in the Morning, and another at Noon, and the third at Night (reading so many Psalms instead of a Chapter as our Church Liturgy appoints for morning or evening Prayers) thou shalt read over all the Canonical aIn the Canonical Books of the Old Testament there are 931 Chapters, but distributing the 150 Psalms into 60 parts, thou shalt find but 841, which being added to 260 (the number of the Chapters in the New Testament) will amount to 1101, dividing which by three into …65, (the number of the days of the Year) there will remain but six, which thou maist dispose of as is prescribed.Scripture in a year, except six Chapters, which thou maist add to the task of the last day of the year. The reading of the Bible in order will help thee the better to understand both the History and scope of the H. Scripture. And as for thebHos viginti duos libros lege; cum Apocryphis verò nihil habeas nego…i: has tantùm studiosè meditare Scripturas, quas in Ecclesia confiden…r legimus Multo prudentiores te & religiosi…res fuerunt Apostoli & primi Episcopi veritatis duces, qui nobis e…s tradiderunt. Tu igitur cum sis filius Ecclesiae, non transgrediaris illius terminos. Ac Vet Testamenti (ut dictum est) viginti duos meditare libros. Cyrillus Hierosolymitan. Catechef. 4. Apocrypha, being but penned by Man's spirit, thou maist read them at thy pleasure, but believe them so far as they agree with the Canonical Scripture, which is indited by the Holy Ghost.
But it may be thou wilt say, that thy business will not permit thee so much time, as to read every morning a Chapter, &c. O Man, remember that thy life is but short, and that all this business is but for the use of this short life; but salvation or damnation is everlasting. Rise up therefore every morning by so much time the earlier; defraud thy foggy flesh of so much sleep, but rob not thy soul of her food, nor God of his service; and serve the Almighty duly whilst thou hast time and health.
Having thus read thy Chapter, as thou art about to pray, remember that God is a God of cExod. 26. 36.holiness, whereof he warneth us by repeating so often,dLev. 21. 44. & 19. 2. & 20. 7. Be ye holy, for I am holy. And when he devoured with a sudden fire, Nadab and Abihu, for offering unto him incense with*Lev. 10. 2. strange fire, (like those now-a-days, who offer Prayers from hearts fraught with the fire of lust and malice:) the Lord would give no other reason of his judgment but this, I will be sanctified in them that come near me. Ver. 3.As if he should have said, If I cannot be sanctified by them who are my servants, in serving me with that holiness that they should, I will be sanctified on them, by confounding them with my just judgments, which, their lewdness doth deserve. God therefore cannot abide any wilful uncleanness, or filthiness in them, who serve him: insomuch that he commanded the Israelites, That when they were in Camp against their Enemies, they should dig a hole with a paddle, Deut. 23. 13, 14.and cover their excrements: his reason is, For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst o… thy Camp, to deliver th…e, and to give thee thine Enemies before thee: therefore thy host shall be holy, that he see no filthy thing in thee, and turn away from thee. If he will have Men to be so holy in time of war in the Field, how much more holiness expecteth he at our hands in time of peace in our houses? therefore saith Zophar in Job: Job 11. 13, 14.If thou prepare thine heart and stretch out thine hand towards God to pray: if iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away, and let no wickedness dwell in thy Tabernacle. Isa. 1. 15.For, as Esay saith, If there be any uncleanness in our hands, (that is, any sin whereof we have not repented) tho' we stretch not our hands unto him, and make many prayers, the Lord will hide his eyes from us, and will not hear our prayers. Therefore before thou prayest, let God see that thy heart is sorrowful for thy sin: and that thy mind is resolved (through the assistance of his grace) to amend thy faults. And then having washed thy self, and adorned thy body with appar…l which beseemeth thy calling, and the Image of God, which thou bearest; shut thy chamber-door, and kneel down at thy bed-side, or some other convenient place, and in reverent manner lifting up thy heart, together with thy hands and eyes, as in the presence of God, who seeth the inward intention of thy soul, offer up unto God from the Altar of a contrite heart, thy prayer as a morning-sacrifice, through the mediation of Christ, in these or the like words.