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 What this ex∣perimentall knowledge is, and the pra∣ctice of it in many exam∣ples.

THe last priuate meanes (whereof I will speake) which may helpe and inable vs to leade a godly life, is experimentall knowledge, whereby wee apply whatsoeuer we know, ei∣ther concerning God, or our selues, vnto our owne parti∣cular vse, and indeuour to profit by it in the practice of holinesse and righteousnesse. Thus wee are not onely to know that God is a gracious Father in Christ, as to others, so vnto vs; but to labour to haue the experience of it in our selues, by feeling the beames of his fatherly loue warming our hearts, and inflaming them with vnfai∣ned loue towards God againe, by obseruing his fatherly prouidence watching ouer vs, and how often wee haue been thereby powerfully de∣fended from our many and mighty enemies, deliuered out of imminent dangers, freed from many afflictions, when as we saw no meanes of esca∣ping, and graciously relieued and prouided for in our wants and necessi∣ties, when we haue had no possible meanes to supply them. Thus knowing God to be Omnipotent in power, we must labour to haue a feeling expe∣rience of it in his continuall supporting vs, both in respect of our soules and bodies, notwithstanding our owne frailty and weaknesse, in which we should haue often perished, in respect of the one through worldly dan∣gers, and in respect of the other through spirituall tentations, did not he sustaine vs with his might, and glorifie his power in our infirmities and * 1.1 weaknes. And thus knowing God to be true of his word, yea truth it selfe, we must labor to haue the experience and feeling of it in our selues, by ob∣seruing how he hath at all times made good his promises vnto vs, euen then, when by reason of some delay we haue most doubted of them. Fi∣nally, knowing that he is good and gracious, mercifull and bountifull, both vnto all his elect, and particularly vnto vs, wee must seeke to con∣firme it vnto our selues, by our owne experience, and by calling to mind how often he hath pardoned our former sinnes, and sealed this pardon in our hearts and consciences by the testimony of his Spirit; how often we haue tasted how good he is in the fruits of his bounty, and in the sweet feeling thereof haue had our hearts comforted and refreshed. The which experience of times past, will much strengthen our faith and hope * 1.2 for the time to come, make vs wholly to depend vpon him, and to conse∣crate and deuote our selues to his worship and seruice, with all cheerful∣nesse and couragious resolution, notwithstanding all oppositions, seeing by manifold experience we haue found, that the God whom wee serue, is * 1.3 most mighty to defend vs, most gracious, true of his promises, and boun∣tifull in performance, richly rewarding all those who feare and depend

vpon him. Thus knowing the vertue and efficacy of Christs death, in ta∣king away, by the inestimable merit thereof, the guilt and punishment of our sinnes, we must striue to finde and feele it in our owne experience, by obseruing how it hath been powerfull and effectuall in vs, for the mortify∣ing and crucifying of our carnall lusts and sinfull corruptions, which here∣tofore haue ruled and raigned in vs. And this Paul meaneth, when hee saith, that he desired to know nothing but Iesus Christ, and him crucified; * 1.4 namely, this vertue and efficacie of it in himselfe, in the crucifying of his flesh, with the lusts thereof, and not onely to know the truth of it, which might easily be attained vnto by the relation and instructions of others. In which sense he saith in another place, that he accounted all things but losse, * 1.5 for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Iesus, and that he laboured aboue all things to know him, and the power of his Resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable vnto his death; that is, not barely to know these things, or to beleeue them by faith, but to haue the experience of the vertue of his Resurrection, in raising him from the death of sin, to holinesse and newnesse of life, giuing him a full conquest ouer his corrup∣tions, and spirituall life and strength to serue God in some perfection. Thus knowing the holy Ghost to be our sanctifier, we must neuer rest till we haue some good experience of it in our selues, in his purging vs tho∣rowout, body and soule from all sinfull pollutions, and in our spirituall re∣newing and reforming according to Gods Image, in wisedome, holinesse and righteousnesse. Thus we must know the workes of God both towards our selues and others, not onely by hearing, reading and discourse, but al∣so by our owne obseruation and experience. How liberally from time to time he hath rewarded our poore indeuours, and imperfect seruice, with manifold blessings; and how hee hath corrected our sloth, when as wee haue been cold and carelesse, formall and negligent in his seruice with his fatherly chastisements. How he hath visited our sinnes with crosses and afflictions; yea speciall sinnes with speciall punishments, which haue sprung as fruits from those cursed rootes, and by following them as at the heeles, haue plainly shewed from what causes they came, or else haue bin so fitted and proportioned vnto them, in likenesse and similitude, that the correction hath (as it were) by the hand led vs to the sight of our sinne. And how vpon our repentance and humiliation he hath graciously spared and freed vs from our afflictions, when wee least thought of any deliue∣rance. The which as it will notably preserue vs from falling into those sinnes, for which wee haue been formerly corrected; so when wee haue falne, it will effectually mooue vs to rise out of them by vnfained repen∣tance; and confirme thereupon our affiance in God, that seeing he is im∣mutable * 1.6 in his goodnesse, he will now againe be alike gracious vpon our humiliation, to deliuer vs from present and future euils. Thus also in Gods dealing with others, we may haue experience of his truth in his promi∣ses towards those that feare and serue him, and in his threatenings against those that are wicked, who make no conscience of their wayes, but rebel∣liously sinne against him; of his Iustice, by obseruing his Iudgements, exe∣cuted vpon the wilfull transgressours of his lawes, and his goodnesse and mercy towards those who indeuour to serue and please him; whereby we * 1.7

shall be made fearefull to offend him, and carefull to carry our selues so in an holy conuersation, as that we may be accepted in his sight. And as this experimentall knowledge of God and his workes, will bee a notable meanes to restraine vs from all sinne, and to further vs in all the duties of a godly life: so also the like knowledge of our selues, and our owne courses and actions, will be a singular helpe to the same ends; as when we not on∣ly know that we are wholly corrupted in our soules and bodies with ori∣ginall sinne, but also experimentally feele the venome and vigour of it working in vs, disabling vs vnto all good duties, and making vs prone vn∣to all wickednesse; whereby we are made more carefull in the vse of all good meanes, by which wee may be inabled more and more to mortifie and subdue it: when as wee not onely after a generall manner know our naturall weaknesse and frailty, whereby we are often ouertaken with ma∣nifold actuall sinnes, but also obserue by particular experience, our speci∣all slips and falls, what corruptions are most potent in vs, and vnto what sinnes our nature is most prone, and wherewith we are most often foyled, to the end that we may not rest vpon our owne strength, which so often faileth, but vpon the power and promises of God; and with more fer∣uency craue the assistance of his holy Spirit, to strengthen vs against our corruptions, and to subdue their power, that they may not preuaile a∣gainst vs as in former times. When as we see that wee are defectiue in all good duties, we must also by experience obserue vnto what speciall duties we are most auerse, and which we performe with most difficulty, bewray∣ing in them our greatest wants and imperfections; that so wee may goe about them with greatest resolution, and vse our best indeuours to per∣forme them daily in more perfection. When as wee not onely know that we are continually tempted by our spirituall enemies, but also finde by experience their particular tentations, wherewith they most assault vs, and most often foyle and ouercome vs, that so wee may in these regards keepe a more speciall watch, take more paines in repairing these particu∣lar breaches, and arme our selues with more courage and resolution to withstand them in the next incounters.

Notes

• * 1.1

  2. Cor. 12. 9.
• * 1.2

  Rom. 5. 4.
• * 1.3

  Dan. 3.
• * 1.4

  1. Cor. 2. 2.
• * 1.5

  Phil. 3. 8, 9, 10.
• * 1.6

  2. Cor. 1. 10.
• * 1.7

  Eccles. 8. 12.