A guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties wherein it consisteth, the helpes inabling & the reasons parswading vnto it ye impediments hindering ye practise of it, and the best meanes to remoue them whereunto are added diuers prayers and a treatise of carnall securitie by Iohn Douname Batcheler in Diuinitie and minister of Gods Word.

§. Sect. 1 That scrupulo∣sity is a great impediment to a godly life.

THe third sort of carnall affections which are impediments to a godly life, are such as are in the quite contrary ex∣treme to the former, as anxious and superstitious scrupu∣losity, heauinesse and too much deiection of minde, feare and desperation. Superstitious scrupulosity is, when through naturall blindnesse and want of sound knowledge, we doubt of all our actions, whether they be lawfull or vnlawfull, and call euery thing into question, being ready to yeeld vnto euery tentation which abridgeth vs of our Christian liberty, when some fearefull iudgement is suggested and threatned by the deuil and our owne corruption, if we forbeare not the vse of things lawfull, or doe not such things as are vn∣lawfull. The which, we mistaking for our owne thoughts, and conclu∣ding that wee haue giuen our full consent vnto them (though in truth they are the meere suggestions and tentations of our spirituall ene∣mies) doe yeeld our selues ouer vnto them, as though wee were bound vpon some fearefull penalty, to obey them, though they haue no ground or warrant out of Gods Word, yea in truth are expresly contrary vnto it. The which is a notable impediment to a godly life; First, because it maketh vs to spend our thoughts and time about toyes and trifles, as the vsing or not vsing such creatures, the doing or not doing of such actions, as are in their owne nature indifferent, and of small importance; whilst in the meane while, wee neglect the maine duties of Gods seruice and of a godly life. Secondly, because these

scrupulous and superstitious feares, apprehending, vpon euery vaine suggestion and slight occasions, some dreadfull iudgement threat∣ned, if we doe not yeeld to the tentation, doe disturbe and disquiet the minde, and take away all inward peace and tranquillity which should comfort and incourage vs in well-doing, and so maketh vs to neglect altogether all good duties, or to performe them to no pur∣pose and profit, by reason of our doubting and incredulity, our trou∣ble of mind and disquietnesse. Yea oftentimes the body is so infeebled, partly by these inward vexations, griefe and heauinesse, and partly by beeing restrayned from the comfortable vse of Gods creatures, that they are disabled vnto all good duties, and become weake, sicke, and vnfit instruments to be vsed by the soule in the seruice of God. Now the cause of these scrupulous feares and troubles of minde are diuers. For first on Gods part, they are either fruits and effects of his iustice, hereby punishing our former sinnes, and especially because wee haue neglected his holy feare, and to performe vnto him the duties of his seruice which he hath required of vs; it being iust with God, that be∣cause we would not harbor his feare in our hearts, we should haue thē replenished & vexed with causles feares of Bug-beares & shadows, & because we would not serue him by yeelding obedience vnto his will, that therefore wee should become slaues to our owne superstitious phantasies, sometimes imposing vpon vs obedience vnto them, and when wee are ready to performe it, pulling vs backe with some new suggestion, so that wee stand in an astonished manner, neither daring to doe it, nor leaue it vndone, seeing both alike threaten the same dan∣ger. Or else it is an effect of Gods mercy, when as he conuerteth these effects of his Iustice to their good; vsing them as meanes of their contrition and humiliation, whereby they are fitted and prepared for true repentance, and haue a resolution and indeuour wrought in them of seruing God in all good duties, that so they may either be freed, or at least secured from all those euils, which these scrupu∣lous feares doe threaten against them. Secondly, on our part they are caused, first, by our sinnes, whereby we haue iustly brought these vexations vpon vs. Secondly, by our ignorance and want of iudge∣ment, which maketh vs that wee cannot distinguish betweene the suggestions and tentations of Satan and our owne thoughts; be∣tweene the bare imaginations of our mindes, vnto which we giue no entertainement, and the consent of our wills vnto them. By rea∣son whereof, wee either condemne our selues of such sinnes as we neuer committed, seeing we haue at the first entrance of such thoughts and suggestions resisted, and like Wilde-fire haue cast them out of our mindes and hearts, or that our sinnes in this kinde are much more grieuous then they are, as though we had giuen full consent vnto them, because we haue a while harboured them in our mindes, by reuoluing and thinking too long on them, before we haue beaten them backe, and quenched them by the shield of faith. Thirdly, such scrupulosities and superstitious feares, arise commonly from the naturall humour of melancholy abounding in vs, which maketh feareful impressions in our

imaginations, and disquieteth our mindes and hearts with terrible ap∣prehensions, which haue no true ground in themselues, especially when as this humour is (as it were) leauened and set a working and boy∣ling with the guilt of sin, tormenting the conscience, or with the sense and smart of some great and extraordinary crosses and afflictions. Last∣ly the diuell laboureth to hinder vs in the duties of a godly life, by ma∣king vs scrupulous and superstitious. For when he can keepe vs no longer in carnall security, by reason that wee are naturally timorous, and haue some feare of God, through the sight of our sins, and appre∣hension of his iudgements begun in vs, then he indeuoreth to turne our feare to false obiects, that so fearing those things which are not to bee feared, he may keepe out of our hearts the true feare of God, which should be in vs the fountaine of true obedience. And when he can no longer continue vs in open prophanenesse, being now resolued to per∣forme some seruice vnto God, he will moue vs, all he may, to spend all our time and strength about trifles and things of no worth, that in the meane while, we may neglect mayne and substantiall duties, which are necessary for the setting forth of Gods glory, and the furthering and assuring of our saluation. Secondly, by these scrupulous feares hee distracteth our mindes, turmoyleth our hearts, and disturbeth and dis∣quieteth our consciences, so as we cannot at all performe any duties of Gods seruice, or if wee doe, yet so vncomfortably, and with such anxiety and distraction, with such doubting and infidelity, that they can neither bee acceptable to God, nor profitable for our owne saluation. Lastly, when our hearts are possessed with these scrupu∣lous feares, he easily withholdeth vs thereby from performing those holy duties which God requireth, whilst hee suggesteth that some fearefull iudgement shall be fall vs, if we doe them, because we are vn∣worthy or vnprepared; or else presseth vs to doe them out of these feares, that wee may escape that which he threatneth to impose: And so to performe Christian duties not out of true grounds, and to right ends, as loue, filiall feare, and obedience to God, to the end we may glorify him, but out of slauish terrour, that we may escape that violēce which he threatneth vpon our neglect. Whereof it will come to passe, that the best duties thus performed, are not any true seruice of God, but rather of the deuil, seeing feare of him, & not the loue of God; his terri∣ble threatnings, and not faith in Gods promises moueth vs vnto them.