A20762:1315
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
Book 3 › Chapter 39 › Section 1: §. Sect. 1 That we must spend the whole Day in religious exercises.
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. 1 That we must spend the whole Day in religious exercises.
And these are the duties which are to be performed in our preparation. In the Day it self the main duty is, that we consecrate it as an holy Rest unto Gods worship and service; and not in a part only, as it is the practice of many, who think that they have done all required of them, if they have spent some few hours in the public service of God, consuming all the rest of the Day about their own affairs which respect their pleasure or profit; but we must spend the whole Day in holy and religious exercises. For the Lord requireth at our hands, that we remember to keep holy, not some few hours only, but the whole seventh Day; and as he alloweth unto us for our own affairs; not some hours only of every day in the week, but the whole six days: so he reserveth unto himself for his service such a Day as he granteth unto us. In which regard we ⟨p. 382⟩shall deal deceitfully and ungratefully with God, if we use a double measure in sharing out the time, a shorter in allotting a Day to his service, and a longer for our own worldly employments. But as he alloweth unto us six days, consisting of 24. hours, so we are not to curtal his Day, and to shorten him of his due, but to allow unto his service a Day of like length and continuance, seeing God hath made a plain bargain with us, that he will have a whole Day for his service, as well as we six for our own employments. And therefore as we would think that our hired labourer should deal deceitfully with us, if being hired for a week to do our work, he should labour in our business some few hours every day, and spend all the rest of his time in his own affairs: so will God think of us, if we deal with him after the same manner; neither is it a less odious crime in his eyes to clip his precious time, when we come to pay unto him his due tribute, which he hath given unto us in full weight and measure; then it is unto our Prince, if we offer unto him for payment clipped coin, when we have received it good and currant out of his Mint. And if such a subject deserveth to be hanged and quartered though he payeth his tribute, because he hath payed it in clipped coin; how shall they escape unpunished, who deal no less deceitfully with God himself? Besides, as God requireth, so we profess, that we sanctify a day unto him;