A20762:258
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. 5 That we must take special care for the purifying of our hearts, and wherein it chiefly consisteth.
§. Sect. 5 That we must take speciall care for the purifying of our hearts, and wherein it chiefely consisteth.
By all which it appeareth how necessary it is, that intending to lead a Godly life, we devote and consecrate our hearts, yea, our whole hearts, 1to the service of God. And because he being most pure, can endure no corruption or pollution, and therefore will abhor our most formal service, if our hearts continue and delight in their abominations, yea, will as much hate the heart it self polluted with sin, if it be offered unto him, as Swines blood, or a dogs head; therefore from hence also it appeareth how necessary it is, when we set our selves to please God by a godly life, to take special care to have in the first place, our hearts purged, and purified from the filth of sin. For naturally our hearts are full of all uncleanness, fountains of maliciousness, and sinks of sin, spiritually blind and foolish, but unto all impiety, witty, sharp-sighted, and, as the Prophet speaketh, wicked and despiteful above all things; averse unto all 2good, and prone to all evil, dead and dull to Gods service, and full of life and vigour to the service of the devil, the world, and our own carnal concupiscence. Finally, they swarm with all noisome lusts, as pride, hypocrisy, covetousness, voluptuousness, ambition, malice, envy, disdain, worldly love, and all manner of carnal corruption. And therefore it is most necessary that our hearts be first cleansed and purged, before we can offer unto God any acceptable service: for what can issue out of these sinks and puddles of corruption, but all manner of sinful impiety? and what streams of Gods service so pure in themselves, which will not ⟨p. 56⟩be polluted, if they run through these dens and ditches of all abominations? Now this purging of the heart consisteth in the mortification of the flesh, and its sinful lusts, and in spiritual renewing unto holiness and new obedience, whereby we begin to hate all that evil which we formerly loved, and to love that good which we formerly hated; to loath the tyranny of sin and Satan, unto which, with all willingness we subjected our selves in time past, and to embrace the true service of God, in all sincerity, which before, we either neglected, or performed after a formal, cold and careless manner: