The rules of a holy life. Or A treatise containing the holy order of…

Concerning thy repentance,¹ as now it is to be urged upon thee; after thy assurance one rule is of singular use, and that concerns the Catalogue of present sins: By the directions in the first Treatise, I suppose thou hast delivered thy self from the body of sins, so as the most of those evils mentioned in thy first and great Catalogue, are shaken off, never to be committed again, ⟨p. 303⟩and so thou hast no more to do about them, but give God thanks for thy deliverance from them through Jesus Christ: Now because after thy first repentance, there will remain some corruptions, which as yet are not rooted out; thy course for thy whole life, for these remainders of sin, would be this: Make thee a Catalogue of thy present sins, even of such evils as thou findest thy self yet daily prone unto. Examine thy self seriously to this end: it may be thou wilt find 6. or 8. or 10. or ⟨p. 304⟩more, or fewer evils, which yet hang upon thy nature and life: Thy course for the use of this Catalogue may be this: I suppose thou art instructed so far, as to know the profit of daily calling upon God: Now whereas in prayer thou dost; or oughtst to make confession of thy sins, in stead of a more general confession, use still thy Catalogue, that is, labour every day to judge thy self distinctly for those sins that do presently annoy thee: Hold on this course constantly; till thou have gotten power against all, or ⟨p. 305⟩any of them, and as thou findest virtue against any of them, so alter thy Catalogue, giving thanks for the sins thou gettest head against, and putting them out of thy Catalogue. The pains is little, it is once done for a long time, and thy memory will easily carry thy special present faults: Besides, this distinct daily remembrance of thy present sins, will make thee more watchful against those sins; & thou mayest once a year, or once a quarter, or before every Communion, examine thy self anew, ⟨p. 306⟩and mend thy Catalogue, by putting in any corruption, which thou discoverest then, or at any time, to arise anew in thee, and putting out such evils, as by prayer thou hast gotten victory against: Thus mayest thou see the state of thy soul distinctly all the days of thy life, discerning when thou goest forward or backward: Besides, this course of daily judging thy self, keeps thee out of the danger of any wrath from God.