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

The next point to be considered in our recreations, is the rules and cautions which are to be observed in the manner of using ¹them. The first whereof is this, that as much as in us lieth, we so compose our minds and hearts, as that we take our chief delight in those which most tend to Gods glory, and the furthering of our own salvation. In which respect it were much to be desired, that we were so heavenly-minded, and so weaned from worldly vanities, as that we could take our chief pleasure in holy duties, and esteem it our meat and drink to do the will of our heavenly Father; recreating ²our minds, like the Saints and Angels in heaven, in glorifying God by singing of his praises, holy conferences tending to mutual edification, and stirring up one another to perform service unto God with all cheerfulness and delight. Or if we cannot, being clogged with the flesh, attain unto this perfection, our next care must be, that we delight our selves in things indifferent, with such lawful and laudable recreations, as that we may in all things, and even in our sports, have, with the Apostle, a good conscience, willing to live honestly. Secondly, because in nothing more ³then in recreation, we are apt to forget & overshoot our selves, by taking unto us an excess and over-measure, we are to take special care that we use them with due moderation. For seeing recreation in the use of things indifferent, is not simply and absolutely good, but only as it is rightly used according to the rule of reason, and that is superfluous which exceedeth this rule, and defective which cometh short of it; therefore we must carefully conform our selves unto it, and not recreate our selves more or less then nature requireth, or then is necessary for the preserving of our health and strength, and our better fitting for more serious employments. More specially this moderation in our recreations must extend both to our minds and hearts, and to the time which is spent in them. We must moderate our minds that we do not too highly value them, but esteeming them in the number of things indifferent, we must cause them to