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

§. Sect. 4 That we must observe an order in doing these duties, & avoid confusion.

§. Sect. 4 That we must obserue an order in doing these duties, & auoid confusion.

The last rule, respecting the circumstances of a godly life, is, (which I have already in part touched) that for the avoiding of confusion and unsettledness in our course of Christianity, we do not confound and intermingle duties one with another, but that we, upon good advice and mature deliberation, propound unto our selves some good order in the doing of them, allotting unto every hour and part of the day, some special duties to be ordinarily performed in them: As such, and so much time for Prayer, Meditation, Reading, and other religious exercises; such, and so much for the duties of our callings, recreations, and civill employments; for sleeping, waking, rising, going to bed, eating and drinking, conferring, ⟨p. 464⟩and the like. The which, howsoever we may not superstitiously tie our selves unto for conscience sake, because God hath left the fitting of all times and occasions to our Christian liberty and to spiritual wisdom, as shall be most agreeable and profitable for us in our several places and callings; yet for order sake, and to avoid confusion, unconstancy and utter neglect of good duties; after that upon sound advice we have set down a good order and method for our proceeding in Christian duties, and what time is ordinarily to be spent in them, we are not easily and upon every slight cause to alter our course, but to keep our selves, as near as we can, unto it, unless either necessity, charity, or some unlooked for opportunity of better and more profitable employment, offering it self unto us, do move us in Christian wisdom and discretion, at some times to vary from our common course of proceeding. And this we shall find profitable, not only to avoid disorder and confusion, but also to settle our hearts in a constant practice of all good duties, which otherwise naturally affecting variety, novelties, and often changes in religious exercises, by reason of that satiety and carnal loathing which they bring to our corrupt nature, would every hand while be flitting and starting, sometimes performing them in a confused manner, and sometimes neglecting them altogether.