A20762:448
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. 1 Of the love of God, what it is, and wherein it consisteth, and of the measure and means of it.
§. Sect. 1 Of the loue of God, what it is, and wherein it consisteth, and of the measure and meanes of it.
The next main and principal duty is the love of God, when as knowing, believing, and remembering his infiniteness in all goodness, excellency, beauty, and all perfection, and his inestimable love, grace, and bounty towards us, we do love him again with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, above all things, and all other things in him, and for his sake. So that the causes of our love towards God, are his goodness, excellency, beauty and perfection in himself; and his goodness, grace, and benignity towards us. For goodness is the only object of love, neither do we love any thing which is not either truly good, or at least appeareth good unto us. And therefore seeing God is the summum bonum, and chief goodness, when his nature appeareth to be so, we should love him chiefly, and place our chief happiness in his fruition. But yet because in this state of corruption we are full of self-love, therefore we cannot love God perfectly and absolutely for himself as we ought, till we be assured of his love towards us, and have it shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost: for we love him, because he loved us first, as the Apostle speaketh. Now the 1measure of our love, wherewith we are to love God, ought to be without measure, both because he is immeasurable in goodness in his own nature, and also because his love towards us hath exceeded all measure; the which appeareth not only in our creation, whereby he hath given us unto our selves, and made us his most excellent creatures, but also in our Redemption, wherein he hath given himself unto us, even his only begotten and dearly beloved Son, of the same nature with himself, to die for our sins, and rise again for our justification; and that, when we were not friends, but of no strength, strangers, sinners, enemies unto him and his grace, the slaves of Satan, and children of wrath as well as others. And therefore if he thus loved us, when we merited no love, yea when we deserved wrath and hatred, how much more, if it were possible, should we