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. 3 What is requi∣red vnto the seeking of God. First, that wee daily la∣bour more per∣fectly to know him, and re∣member him.

And to this seeking of God and his fauour in Christ, there are diuers things required; first, that wee labour daily more and more perfectly to know him, not so much what he is in his owne nature, essence, and attri∣butes, as what he is in Christ vnto vs, that is, infinitely wise to gouerne vs, and all-sufficient by his Word and Spirit to make vs wise vnto saluation; that he is omnipotent to defend vs, and giue vs victory ouer all our ene∣mies; that he is immutable, not onely in his owne nature, but in his loue, goodnesse, and gifts vnto vs; that he is true to performe vnto vs his gra∣cious promises, and mercifull to forgiue vs our sinnes, and saue our soules; that Christ is an all-sufficient and perfect Redeemer, to deliuer vs out of the hands of all our spirituall enemies, and to bring vnto vs full redempti∣on; that the Spirit is not onely holy in his owne nature, but also to worke in vs sanctification and holinesse. In all which, and all other respects, we are not so much to labour to know these things in speculation, as in pra∣ctice and experience, nor to apprehend them in the braine, as to feele them in our hearts, nor to conceiue of their excellency and sufficiency as causes, but experimentally to feele and finde their efficacy, in producing their effects, and bringing foorth their fruits in vs. And this is that excel∣lent knowledge which the Apostle so much and continually laboured to * 1.1 attaine vnto, as a thing which being of most excellent vse, was also of great difficulty; and therefore he was content to be taken vp wholly of it, and in comparison of it, to neglect all other knowledge, not onely to know that Christ died and rose againe, and the vertue and sufficiency of them for his iustification and saluation, which were but the study of a few dayes or

houres, and is easie to bee found and learned in euery Catechisme; and therefore it is not to be thought that the Apostle, who was of such excel∣lent gifts, and illuminated with such an extraordinary measure of know∣ledge, did take so much paines, and spend his chiefest time and strength in attaining vnto it; but to finde and feele the power and efficacy of Christs death and resurrection in his owne heart, for the strengthening of his faith, the inflaming of his loue, the mortifying of his corruptions, and his spirituall quickening vnto new obedience and holinesse of life. And as wee are thus daily to seeke God, by labouring more perfectly and ef∣fectually to know him; so also by indeuouring to haue these things thus knowne in continuall remembrance, that thinking and meditating on them, wee may take all good occasions to reape the fruit and benefit of them for our owne vse, to speake of them as opportunity is offered, for the good and edification of others, and to draw this knowledge into con∣tinuall practice, for the reforming and amending of our liues and conuer∣sations. To which purpose, we must daily indeuour to purge our memo∣ries, and to cast out of these store-houses the rubbish and trash of sinfull vanities, which doe but cumber the roome, and take vp the place of spiri∣tuall riches and heauenly prouision, and as it were to blot out of these tables all lessons of impiety, which in the dayes of our ignorance were written in them, with all vaine, carnall, and corrupt motions and con∣ceits, which will bee so many distractions to withdraw our minds from God and spirituall meditations; and in place heereof wee must striue to write in them all profitable instructions, which we haue formerly learned, and those especially which we haue obserued in our last holy and spiritu∣all exercises. And if wee thus like scholers daily say our part, and recall to our remembrance the lessons which we haue learned the last Sabbath, or any day of the weeke besides, they will be so deepely imprinted in our memories, that they will not easily be forgotten, neither will the lear∣ning of new lessons, be a meanes to put out the old, and make vs forget what we haue formely learned.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Phil. 2. 10, 11. 1. Cor. 2. 2.