A20762:1013
A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the dutiesA guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties
A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the duties wherein it consisteth, the helps enabling & the reasons persuading unto it the impediments hindering the practise of it, and the best means to remove them whereunto are added divers prayers and a treatise of carnal security by John Douname Bachelor in Divinity and minister of Gods Word.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.
London: printed by Felix Kingstone and William Stansby for Ed, 1622
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
§. Sect. 2 Of the duties which ought to be performed before we eat, and first, that we must sanctify the creatures to our use by the Word.
§. Sect. 2 Of the duties which ought to be performed before we eate, and first, that we must sanctifie the creatures to our vse by the Word.
Let us therefore in the next place consider the duties which belong to all Christians in receiving of their food; the which are to be performed, either before we eat, at our meals, or afterwards. Before we eat, our duty is to sanctify the creatures by the Word and prayer; for howsoever every creature of God is good in it self, yet it is not so unto us, unless it be sanctified unto our use. They are sanctified by the Word, when as the use of them is warranted unto us by the Scriptures, that is, when as we do not receive them as absolute owners of them, but acknowledging God the Author and chief Lord both of them and us, do receive them at his hands as his free gifts, the which he bestowed upon us, first, by his law of 1creation, not only making all the creatures for mans use, but also by his word, giving him dominion and lordship over them, and liberty to use them for his food and nourishment. But this first gift and donation from God is no sufficient warrant unto us, seeing through the fall of our first parents we lost all our dominion, right and interest which we had unto the creatures, unless our Charter be renewed by Christ, who by satisfying Gods Justice for our sins, hath recovered our right, and reentered us into our possession which we lost by Adam; and hath purchased for us that glorious liberty of the sons of God, whereby we may with a good conscience freely use all Gods creatures, without any doubting, scruple or superstition, for our necessity and profit, yea for our comfort and delight. So that now we are not to put any difference between meats, seeing unto the pure all things are pure, and every creature thus sanctified is