A guide to the godly, or, The dayly meditations of Returne Hebdon Gentleman who for his conscience (through the tyrany of the Bishops) suffered many years imprisonment in the Kings-Bench and their remained till death : being very useful for instruction of all those that desire to walke in the paths of Jesus Christ.

The 3. day of the week. (Book 3)

I Have seen how the Children of this world stu∣dy Athisme, or to live without God, in that whereas the Godly study to retoine God in all their knowledge by doing the worke of the word in all obedience to it, as to God. Rom 1.28. Jam. 1.22.25. with Iohn 1.1. These of the world on the other side will not have God in all their thoughts; but as ungodly do make voide all ungodlinesse and conscience of God above, and mind only the feare of men, and the love of this present world: so as they keepe their Conscience sanctified towards men, to shine forth onely from themselves to o∣thers,

though in words they professe to know God and Christ: yet all their thoughts and practi∣ces do manifestly shew, that they do deny to know God, as he is in spirit and truth, to live in all good Conscience to him, as all do that hold the power of the word, is it is from the authori∣ty of the living God, and not from men, as it re∣quireth obedience of all; without respect of Pope, Prelate, Emperour, King, Prince, Noble, Ignoble, Jew, Gentile, Bond or Free, Male or Female?

2. The tryall of Christians by torments to death, is to discover the man of God, that is the hidden man of the heart, which in Christ is re∣newed againe in knowledge, righteousnesse, and holinesse, which as the power and spirit of Christ, the word doth shew it solfe more lively in the sufferings of the mortall body; for whereas the persecutors are deluded to think that there is no immortall soule in man; but that their soules and bodies shall dye together: these Christians by their faith in the estate of immortality, ••o put a wonderfull difference, in that there is in them a mind and spirit to overcome all the paines and torments of their body, and to tryumph over all the power and authority of men and mortality: which doth evidently shew, that in such men the divine nature of Christ in immortality is distinct from the humane nature of mortality, as death is distinct from life; which spirit and divinity of Christ, as it doth sustaine them to suffer death, so

it shall raise from death every body that is sancti∣fied by its abiding within it.

3. The sufferings of Christ do also put difference between those which worship and serve God in spirit and truth, and those which worship him in word or outward forme; for whereas all men in the world have God without them, and the pow∣er of God without them; yea, and the heathen to shew the mouth of mans heart, do make Gods to looke upon without thom, and do within them∣selves retaine the wisdom, power, and authority of their Gods, and that without or against the true God, and his Law or authority on the other side the Christians, only have the living God, his word, power, and authority within them; and wheresoever, or in what estate soever they be, they carry their God within them, and their heart is to him as the Arke to hold his Law, and their body to containe his glorious essence so far as every one is capable of it, and this part or distribution of the spirit of God to every body, doth witnesse and testifie to the Conscience, to∣gether, with the invisible and inconceaveable Majesty of the spirit of God above, that they are of the seede and Children of the living God in immortality, whereby also they may serve God in truth without any legall forme or visible wor∣ship in place or company. The manifestation of this is first within every one to do according to the diverse effects the reo••: in so much as if it be

so that many do meete together which have the gift of the same spirit, the more there are, the greater is the presence and power of God, that even the place doth shake as the glory of the one invisible Majesty of God, inspiring and expiring the severall effects of the essence of Gods spi∣rit

4. I have understanding of the power of God in the word, which saith: that if thou shalt con∣fesse with thy month the Lord Jesus, and shalt be∣lieve in thy heart, that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart it is believed unto righteousnes, and with the mouth, it is confessed unto salvation. Rom. 10.9.10. And thus I propose it: There are all manner of Tor∣ments proposed, and threatned to be inflicted up∣on whomsoever shall confesse the Lord Jesus to be Christ the Judge of all, if none dare to confesse with his mouth what he believeth in his heart, for of the torments he goeth back from Christ; but if any see the prize in immortality, namely, Jesus the Authoux and perfecter of that faith rais∣ed from the dead, and believeth in his heart, that if he suffer death with Christ, God will also raise him by Christ to life, this faith will encourage a Christian to enter the conflict in the love of Christ, and without feare to confesse to his name: If after they enter combate with the seede of the serpent, are at length vanquished by intollerable payne, and are not able to indure the agony and

conflict of Martyrdom, they loose the glory of their confession; for they are to hold the confessi∣on of their faith constantly unto death without wavering: But if they looke to the end of the con∣flict, and set their eyes on the resurrection of Je∣sus, they by the power of his love, will hate their mortall life, and think it long before they can come to knock at the gates of death; whereof he hath the keyes to receive such into life Rev. 1.18.

5. These sufferings of Christ are of absolute ne∣cessity, to enter in life and immortality; for by meanes of the Serpent, we have put on the old and sinfull man, which is mortall by reason of the lusts of deceit. And therefore in Jesus Christ we must put off this body of sin by death, that we may put on the new and spirituall man, which is immortall, by reason of this love in the truth.

6. The necessity of chastisements in Christ are shewed by a Schoolmaster: The Child naturally hates his book, and would never learne it, except the Master did by his presence and chastisements keepe him to learne.

The Child is the Christian, the book is to learn Christ, Ephes. 4.20. the rod are men in authority, the Schoolmaster is the Law, or the heavenly Fa∣ther, discovering our miserable and mortall estate by the Law of his presence; And as a Child: so a Christian, if he should not learne obedience by

what he suffers, would soone grow wild and vain, such as are worldly Christians, that in time are grown so proud, as to blot the book and teare it, to despise and burne the rod and to correct, con∣troule, contradict and defie the good Master.