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. 6 Duties to bee done in the night. And first, Prayer and Thanks∣giuing.

In the night also there are other duties to bee performed; for euen then we must seeke the Lord, according to the example of the Church, which * 1.1 professeth, that with her soule shee desired the Lord in the night, and that with her Spirit within her shee would seeke him early. So the Spouse in the Can∣ticles; By night on my bed I sought him whom my soule loueth. And the Pro∣phet Dauid was careful euen in the night to approoue himselfe vnto God, by performing these religious exercises; I haue (saith he) remembred thy Name, O Lord, in the night, and haue kept thy Law. And this the Lord requi∣reth of vs, as being Lord both of night and day, according to that of the Psalmist; The day is thine, and the night also is thine. And will be serued as * 1.2 with our whole hearts, so with our whole time, seeing he is the God of our saluation, who day and night preserueth vs, and multiplyeth his blessings vpon vs, whereby he incourageth vs to doe him seruice. Yea, euen in the night the Lord goeth in his visitation to see how wee carry our selues, and

will call vs to account, either to reward vs if we doe well, or to punish vs if wee neglect our dutie; as Dauid sheweth by his owne experience; Thou hast prooued my heart (saith he) thou hast visited mee in the night; thou hast * 1.3 tryed me, and shalt finde nothing. And therefore wee must in the night ap∣prooue our hearts and actions vnto him; and not thinke that the darke∣nesse giueth vs any priuiledge to doe the workes of darkenesse; seeing, as the Psalmist speaketh; The darkenesse hideth not from him, but the night shi∣neth as the day, the darkenesse and the light are both alike to him. Now the * 1.4 duties of the night doe consist chiefly in Prayer and Meditation. For when wee awake out of sleepe, we must not suffer our mindes to roue after worldly vanities, nor our hearts to be fixed vpon them, but as wee are to esteeme the Lord, and spirituall and heauenly things our chiefe treasure, so our hearts and minds at our first awaking must be exercised about them, as their chiefe ioy and comfort. And first, we must lift them vp vnto God in prayer, according to the example of holy Dauid, who professeth, that in the night his song should be with him, and his prayer vnto the God of his life. * 1.5 And againe; O Lord God of my saluation, I haue cried day and night before * 1.6 thee. The which is chiefly to be done, when the hand of God is heauy vpon vs by some grieuous affliction, because then being freed from all worldly distractions, we may with greatest zeale and feruency of Spirit, powre foorth our soules before God for helpe and deliuerance. And thus Dauid in his great extremity calleth vpon God day and night; O my God (saith he) I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not, and in the night season I am not silent. * 1.7 So the afflicted Church and people of God, in their heart cryed vnto the Lord; O wall of the daughter of Sion, let teares runne downe like a riuer day * 1.8 and night; giue thy selfe no rest, let not the apple of thine eyes cease. Arise, cry out in the night, in the beginning of the watches, powre out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord; lift vp thine hands towards him, for the life of the yong children that faint for hunger in the top of euery streete. And our Sauiour Christ himselfe in his bitter agonie, made choyce of the night, as * 1.9 the fittest time for those powerfull and effectuall prayers which hee made for himselfe and his Church vnto God his Father. Whereby wee learne, that when we haue suits of great importance, which wee would sollicite with all earnestnesse and importunity, the night is a fit time to commend them vnto God in our feruent prayers. Yea euen at ordinary times, if there be any speciall suite which we would make vnto God, either for the assist∣ance of his holy Spirit, for the mortifying of some strong corruption which cleaueth vnto vs, or the pardon of any sinne, which hath lately wounded our consciences, or for the obtaining of some speciall grace, wherein we finde our selues most defectiue, or for deliuerance from some imminent danger; it is most profitable that at our first waking we present∣ly pitch vpon them, and in some short Prayer and earnest desire of the heart, offer vp our suites vnto God in the mediation of Iesus Christ. And as we are thus in the night to pray for the things we want, so also ought we to praise and giue thankes vnto God for his gifts and blessings already re∣ceiued; according to the example of Dauid, who did not content him∣selfe to shew foorth Gods louing kindnesse in the morning, but also his faithful∣nesse * 1.10 in the night. The which duty, vpon extraordinary occasions, must be

extraordinarily performed, and in some set and solemne manner; as when our hearts are rauished with the apprehension of Gods mercy and boun∣ty, after the receiuing of some speciall and singular benefit; as we see also in Dauids practice, who at midnight did rise to giue thankes vnto the Lord, as * 1.11 he professeth. The which his night-songs as they were his solace in the time of his flourishing prosperity, so the remembrance of them were his chiefe comfort in his deepest distresse, as being infallible signes of Gods loue, and his owne integrity. For when his afflictions both of body and mind were so great, that he had no manner of consolation in his present sense and feeling, he calleth to remembrance his songs in the night, and the sweet visitations of Gods holy Spirit in these spirituall exercises. * 1.12 Which example let vs learne to imitate; and if no other occasion come presently to our minds, yet at least let vs when we awake, lift vp our soules vnto God, praising him for his gracious preseruation hitherto, and our quiet rest, and commending our soules and bodies into his gracious pro∣tection for the rest of the night, desiring the continuance of his fauour for our preseruation, and of our quiet sleepe, for the refreshing and streng∣thening of our fraile and weake bodies.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Esa. 26. 9. Cant. 3. 1. Psal. 119. 55.
• * 1.2

  Psal. 74. 16. Infoelix tota qui∣cunque quiescere nocte sustinet: & somnos praemia magna vocat. Ouid. Amor. El. 9.
• * 1.3

  Psal. 17. 3.
• * 1.4

  Psal. 139. 12.
• * 1.5

  Psal. 42. 8.
• * 1.6

  Psal. 88. 1.
• * 1.7

  Psal. 22. 2.
• * 1.8

  Lam. 2. 18, 19.
• * 1.9

  Luk. 22. 44.
• * 1.10

  Psal. 92. 2.
• * 1.11

  Psal. 119. 62.
• * 1.12

  Psal. 77. 6.