How to live, and that well in all estates and times, specially when helps…How to liue, and that well in all estates and times, specially when helps…

Thus much of spiritual life. That our temporal life is lead by faith, I make it thus manifest. Temporal life is preserved and maintained by an honest calling: every calling hath his labour & work: and the labour of all callings ⟨p. 45⟩hath misery and trouble for his companion and fellow; and in all these faith reigns and bears the sway in them that believe.

Thus much of spirituall life. That our temporall life is lead by faith, I make it thus manifest. Temporall life is preserued and maintained by an honest calling: euery calling hath his labour & work: and the labour of all callings ⟨p. 45⟩hath miserie and trouble for his companion and fellow; and in all these faith raignes and beares the sway in them that beleeue.

For the first, that is for the choosing and holding of our callings with good conscience, there is required a double use of faith. For we must have a faith, whereby we must be assured that our callings are good & lawful in themselves: as Paul saith, What soever is not of faith, is sin. For the settling of this faith, this rule must be remembered, That offices and callings which serve to preserve the good estate of any family, Church, or commonwealth, are lawful and of God: because these are estates ordained ⟨p. 46⟩of God, and established in the commandments of the moral law, specially in the first, fifth, and sixth commandments. Again faith is required, whereby every man must believe that the calling in which he is, is the particular calling in which God will be served of him. For unless the conscience be settled in this, no good work can be done in any calling. And for the better establishing of the conscience, an other rule must be remē bred, That they which are furnished with gifts for their callings, namely aptness and willingness, and are thereunto called or set apart by men whom it concerns to call, are indeed called of God.