The practice of Christian perfection wherein several considerations, cautions, and advices are set down, for the perfecting of the saints, and completing them in the knowledge of Christ Jesus / by Thomas White ...

Cautions.

1. Caut. First, Take heed of the perfunctory performance of holy duties; for many mischiefs come by them.

First, They puffe up, not e∣difie; if thou powrest out thy soule before God in prayer, fee∣lingly, spiritually, and faithful∣ly, thou never departest without some spirituall profit; but if thou dost it carnally and formal∣ly, thy prayers are but wind,

and they puffe thee up; for thy carnall heart would plead these carnall performances to thy con∣science, and make thee beleeve, because thou hast many pieces of this counterfeit coyne, that thou art rich and wantest nothing, though thou art poor, and blind, and naked, and miserable; for thy duties have not the right stamp, having neither the image nor superscription of God upon them, being neither performed for the glory of God, nor by the Spirit of God, nor in the name of Christ: and between car∣nall and spirituall duties, this is the difference, that we u∣sually pride our selves in the one, and are humble by the o∣ther.

Secondly, Which followes upon the former, we shall

grow weary in time of perform∣ing carnal duties; for needs must we be weary of these things from which we get no profit nor strength: when duties are dry brests unto us, it is no marvel if we are weary of drawing them; by spiri∣tuall duties we get strength; and such prayers do enable us to pray more; but carnall prayers tire us.

Thirdly, Consider the same time is spent in the one as in the other, whether thou hearest or prayest with zeal and attention, or without, it takes up the same time in the Publick Congregati∣tion, though not the same pro∣fit.

Fourthly, Consider that you spoyle both, by mixing the thoughts of worldly businesse with spirituall duties; for thy out∣ward

performance of the duty keeps thy thoughts of businesse from coming to maturity, and the thoughts of worldly things keep thy prayers from doing thee any good, so that they spoil one another; I mean, of those wan∣dering thoughts that we let lie in our duties, for those that are resi∣sted, and removed, and mourned for, do somwhat hinder, but not putrifie the duty; for as the Wise man saith, That dead flyes cause the oyntment of the Apothe∣cary to send forth a stinking sa∣vour; if one takes out a fly as soon as it is come into it, so much of the oyntment that sticks about the fly is lost, but the rest remains sweet and pure, as it was before: so wandering thoughts spoyle something of our prayers, though they be resisted and

removed, they make a little hole in our prayer, by taking up that time which should have beene fill'd up with better thoughts; but if they continue, they eat up the fat of those sacrifices, and make the sweet odours of our prayers noisome. But to conclude this Caution, if we were but in any measure sensible of the Majesty of him to whom, and the ne∣cessity of those things for which we pray, (to instance in that du∣ty) for they are our life, and of the necessity of having them from God; we need no other motives to deterre us from per∣functory performances.

2. Caut. Secondly, Take heed of worldly company, for who∣soever delights in that, will find that he never comes out of it but worse then he comes into it;

for when one goes into such a company among whom there is nothing spoken of God, of Christ, or of the Spirit of the Word of God, and of spirituall experien∣ces, where there is no spirituall duty performed; except one be exceeding carefull to sequester ones mind from their discourses, and keepe a stricct communion with God in the secrets of our hearts, our graces, if they were strong, would grow weak; and our corruptions, though they were weak, would grow strong; and that spirituall advantage which you have got by many prayers, you will find will be lost in a little time spent in such company, except their discour∣ses be as dry brests unto you, and as Meshech and Kedar were unto David; they must either

be a grief or sin unto them, ex∣cept in some cases, as in case of businesse, thy particular calling, or charity, if thou comest as a Physician, either of their bodies or of their souls, then thou not on∣ly mayst, but oughtest to come unto them; in such cases, our Savi∣our did frequently eat with Pub∣licans and sinners, not out of any love he had to their worldly con∣versation, but to their conversion; and this must be taken as a rule, He that knows not how to be a∣lone, knows not how to be in company with profit.

3 Caut. Thirdly, Take heed of idleness; for as the Wise man says, Seest thou one wise in his own eyes, there is more hope of a foole then of him. For to make such a man wise, there are two things to be done.

First, You must bring him to that, that he may know himself to be ignorant, and then you must teach him wisdom; wheras he that is ignorant and knows himself to be so, needs only the last; so he that is in any honest employment, Satan hath two works to do to make him sin.

First, He must get him to leave off what he is doing, and then perswade him to the evill that he tempts him to: as a bowle that is running must be first stopped, before it can be made to run the contrary way; whereas the bowle that ••ies still may without stopping be cast what way one pleases: a bird that is flying one can hardly take any aime at, as one may at that which sits stil; so Satan cannot le∣vell his temptations so at a busie,

as at an idle man: but I shall not prosecute this common place of idlenesse, but my main de∣signe is to give you caution a∣gainst spirituall idlenesse; for that which is not taken notice e∣nough of, that is not avoidied nor mourned for enough, is that we think that we are not idle, if we are busied in worldly im∣ployments, if we are selling of wares in our shops, or riding of a journey, or busied in some such imployment of our parti∣cular calling. The man thresheth and plowes all day, and thinks that he is free from idlenesse; but we should know, that if our thoughts are not imployed upon spirituall things when they may, it is the worst idleness of all: and very few worldly businesses there are that stand in need of the con∣tinuall

intentions of our thoughts upon them; for it is rather our love of the world that fixeth our thoughts upon worldly matters while we are imployed about them, then because they might not be done without halfe that intention of mind: doubtlesse, there are many disseminata vacua, in all imployments of the world, which might and ought to be fil∣led up with spirituall thoughts; and as it is with Bees, though they gather honey from a flower, they leave it as fragrant and as fresh as they found it; so we gathering and mixing spi∣rituall thoughts with and from our worldly businesse, we hin∣der it not at all; for as a vessel that is full of sand will hold al∣most as much water as if there were no sand in it; so when we

are full of imployments, we may hold a thousand holy thoughts; and as a ship can hardly be so fild with chests or other la∣ding, but there will be so ma∣ny corners unfild up, where∣in Diamonds of such great va∣lue might be put in, that they would be more worth then all the lading of the Ship; so those thoughts of God and spi∣rituall things which we might have in the midst of our o∣ther employments, may be of farre greater value then they.

Fourthly, Take heed of per∣functory and careless resisting of temptations; but what thou dost in that particular, as in spirituall things, do it with all thy might; for to think and weakly to resolve against sin, will not hinder, but

aggravate thine offence; and it is one of the Divels policies, to let a man alone to thinke of severall Motives, and make some faint resolutions against any sin, when hee sees that hee hath him fast enough; for he knows, that the more Motives and Resoluti∣ons wee sin against, the more wee are hardened, and GOD is provoked: And as it is with a Town that is besieged, they will willingly let so many of their enemies in, as they know they are able to master: so Sa∣tan, when hee sees that the Mo∣tives and Resolutions that en∣ter into the soul are too weak, hee willingly suffers them to enter; for, perfunctory perfor∣mance of duties, and feeble re∣sisting of temptations are equally dangerous, if the later be not

the worst; by the former we get no spirituall good, and by the later we overcome no spirituall evill.

5. Caut. Take heed of making others sin, either by scandall, or being a temptation to them by example or provocation; it is a good way, when one hath to deal with a passionate man, not onely to prepare our selves for the Combate by prayer and resolutions and kee∣ping a strong guard upon our hearts, that we may not be o∣vercome with passion, how∣soever he shall use us, either in word or in deed; but to take special care and to use all means to keep him from passion; for there is a wretched joy that our hearts are subject to take in the sins of others, thinking them to be

a foil to our innocency, to have others very passionate when we are very meek; there is a secret de∣light that the heart is prone to take, but it proceeds from a de∣sperate pride in us, who desire to have our excellencies made mani∣fest, though with the dishonour of God and damnation of our brother; but there is a great deal of hel in it, and charity rejoyceth not in ill. 1 Cor. 13.

6. Caut. Take heed of study∣ing high speculative points what∣soever; for when our thoughts are exceedingly intent in find∣ing out truths, all the fire is in the top of the chimney, and none is left upon the hearth: generally high speculations leave the heart cold without devotion; for generally there is a great deal of curiosity and

pride in such studies, for com∣monly we desire to be accoun∣ted knowing men, in searching into whys and hows of Gods works and truths; as why God made the tree of knowledg of good and evill, and how there can be three persons, and but one God: therefore in all rea∣ding, joyn prayer, whether it be in the reading of humane or divine things, and take speciall care that the love of God go not out, nor grow cold in you. That which I have heard of one, is a good practice, that whatsoever book he was reading, every leafe that he turned over he would look what was become of his heart, and of God, and would not begin till he had sent up some prayers to the Lord for dire∣ction.