THE Rule of the new CREATURE To be practised every day, in all the particulars of it which are ten Gal. 6.16. Printed, Anno 1644. THE Rule of the New Creature to be practised every day, in all the particulars of it which are ten Gal. 6.16. 1. BE sensible Of thy original corruption daily, how it inclines thee to evil, and indisposeth thee to good; groan under it, and bewail it, as Paul did, Rom. 7.24. Also take special notice of your actual sins, or daily infirmities, in thought, word, deed. Endeavour to make your peace with God for them before you go to bed. By Repenting, and confessing them to God, working your heart to grief for them, by some melting considerations, as of God's goodness to you, the unreasonableness, and unprofitableness of sin, the prejudice, and damage thereof to the soul, john. 1.1.9. Believing, or casting yourself wholly on Christ's righteousness, for remission thereof, and reconciliation with God, Rom. 3.22 24.25. Cleaving to God's promises of pardon, & peace, Isaiah 43.25. Rom 5.1. waiting till the Lord shall speak to you, Psal. 85.8. 2. Get your union with Christ, and interest in Christ, cleared, & confirmed to you daily more and more, that you are a branch in his vine, a member in his body, Cor. 2.13.5 This may be done 3 ways. 1. By daily renewal of your faith in Christ, especially of that act of faith, whereby the soul knits, or ties itself unto Christ, casts, or rolls itself on Christ for salvation. 'Cause your heart in a solemn manner every day to act this part, or put forth this primitive act of faith in the view of the whole soul. The daily exercise hereof will increase, & strengthen the divine habit of faith in the soul, & make the soul sensible of the very act of it. By frequent believing you shall feel at your very heart, that you do believe; so shall you have a witness in yourself, that you are in Christ, 1. john. 5.10. 2. By examining your heart upon what grounds you take Christ to be yours. Are They 1. A sight, and sense of your sins, of the guilt, power, punshiment of them, & of your misery by them? Math. 9.13. 2. Your want of Christ seen, and felt at your very heart, to justify, sanctify, redeem, save you, else you are utterly lost, and undone everlastingly? Luke 19.10. 3. God's free, and general offer of Christ to any that will take him by faith john 3.16. manifold promises to this purpose. The ground of all God's offers, & donations of Christ being free grace, rich mercy, undeserved love, Eph. 2.4.5.7. Titus 3.4.5.6. 4. Christ's sweet, and gracious invitation of such to come to him as are weary of sin. Math. 11.28. to buy as have no money. Isaiah 55.1. no worth, or desert in themselves. 5. As sinful vile wretches as you are have been sought of Christ, and found in Christ, as 1. Cor. 6.9.10.11. 1. Tim. 1.13. Phil. 3.7.8.9. why may not you? The more clearly you discern upon what grounds you take Christ, the more clear is your title to Christ. 3. By survaying, & observing in what manner you take Christ daily. Whether 1. You do wholly renounce all opinion, and conceit of your own righteousness, & desert, Mark. 8.34. Phil. 3.7.8.9 so that you come to Christ empty of yourself, very vile, yea nothing in your own eyes, unworthy to receive him. 2. You lay hold on Christ alone with an empty hand of faith, joyninge nothing at all with Christ in the matter of salvation. 3. You find the Father drawing your heart after Christ joh. 6.44. in hungering, panting desires, that will never be satisfied without him; so that the stream, both of your judgement, Phil. 3.7.8. and affections 1. Cor. 2.2. Gal. 6.14. run towards him. 4. You take Christ as a Lord to rule you as well as a jesus to save you, Col. 2.6. As one that is all. To you your all, your wisdom, your righteousness, your sanctification, & redemption 1. Cor. 1.30 your spiritual food. john. 6. Raiment Rom. 13.14. Strength, Phil. 4.13. Life Gal. 2.20. Col. 3.3. 5. You seek, and wait for Christ (out of the sense of your spiritual penuty) in every ordinance, public, & private, word, Sacraments, Prayer, Meditation, Conference; not as they are your own works of sanctification, but as they are Gods Ordinances appointed of purpose for the manifestation, & communication of Christ to the soul. Frequent perusal hereof will clear to you your manner of taking Christ, which will evidence to you your right in Christ. 3. Labour to draw, and derive from Christ (by the pulling attractive force of faith) ability sufficient for the day. Phil. 4.13. 2. Cor. 3.5. john. 1.16. 1. To perform all the duties. 2. To exercise all the graces. 3. To resist & overcome all the tentations, and corruptions. 4. To undergo all the trials, and afflictions thereof. Make your provision of grace, and strength from Christ every morning, fetch so much as you shall have occasion to use all day long, yea and upon all occasions, that fall out in the day go to Christ still for the wisdom, that must direct you, for the holiness that must character you; for the shoulder, which must bear them, if they be crosses; for that strength, that must resist them, if they be tentations; perform them, if they be duties. To this end act your faith daily in the promises of grace, and strength, as john. 1.16. Ezek. 36.26.27. Isaiah 44.3. Zech. 10.12. which are both security given you by God, that you shall receive grace, and conduit-pipes, or instruments of conveying the same from Christ unto you. This is the means to do all in the strength of Christ, and to take forth a great deal of Christ into your soul, that not you, but Christ may live in you Gal. 2.20. 4. Perform daily duties both in family, and closet (especially these 3. of Prayer, Meditation, reading) with serious intention, heat of affection, diligence, and delight, jer. 48.10. Mal. 1.14. 1. Chron. 21.24. To this end. 1. Watch to these duties, 1: e. keep the heart in a good frame for them, Ephe. 6.18. undefiled with sin, untainted by the world. 2. Take fittest time for performance of them all; when you are least dull, and sluggish. Begin the day constantly with the thoughts of God. 3. Be very real, serious, and substantial with God in them, Endeavour to feel all duties at your heart, inliving, enlarging, inflaming your affections. These be duties of most importance, and consequence, commodity, & comfort to the soul, because they properly aim at, and reach to soule-good, and celestial happiness, to train up a soul for heaven. 5. Fortify yourselves every morning against your special lusts to which you are by nature most prone, or shall be most tempted, be it pride, passion, covetousness etc. 1. By arguments, and holy reasonings within yourselves, drawn from the sad effects thereof, as disprofit, discomfort, disgrace, or the like, to discover the unreasonableness of your sin, and make your soul ashamed of it. For example shall I be proud? then I am sure to fall, for pride goes before a fall, and God will count me for his enemy, for God resisteth the proud. Shall I be angry? If I let passion in, I cannot keep Satan out, Ephe. 4, 26.27. I shall grieve the holy spirit of God Ephe. 4.30.31. Shall I be covetous? I cannot but be very sinful, sigh the love of money is the root of all evil 1. Tim. 6.10. 2. By pondering in your mind precepts in God's book against your sin judgements threatened, or inflicted for it, on proud Herod, voluptuous Dives, churlish Nabal. 3. By applying promises of mortification close to your hearts, as a plaster to the sore, for subduing your iniquity Micah. 7.19. Rom. 6.14. 4. By drawing virtue from Christ's death into the soul, which hath in it a killing force of sin, Rom. 6.4.5.6. Phil. 3.10. 6. Get your hearts strongly fixed on God, by trusting on him Psal. 112.7. and submitting to him 2. Sam. 15.26. 1. Sam. 3.18. against all the fears, cares, doubts, trials, afflictions of every day, for sufficient to the day is the evil thereof Math. 6.34. To this end. 1. Be prudent to foresee your personal trials, & troubles, whatsoever they are like to be Prov. 22.3. 2. Go hide, and lay up yourself in God, run unto his name, for God is a rock of habitation to which a poor soul may continually resort, God will give commandment to save him Psal. 71.3. 1. Peter. 4 19 3. Especially cornmit that very thing to God, put it into his hands, whatsoever you desire to keep, or fear to lose, 2. Tim. 1.12. be it life, liberty, name, friends, maintenance, etc. what you would have resolved, if it be a doubt Psal. 37.5. or supplied, if it be a want, removed, if it be a cross, Psal. 50.15. & together with the thing, cast all your care, fear, sorrow, & trouble of mind about it wholly on the lord. Math. 6.31. 1. Peter. 5.7. Psal. 55.22. 4. Renew your faith in those promises every day which most concern your present state; as in promises of supplies, if you be in want. Psal. 34.8. and 37.3. and 84.11. Math. 6.30. of protection, if you be in danger. Psal. 34.7. of direction, if in doubt; of deliverance, if in trouble, of a good end, and sanctified use of all. Deut. 8.16. jam. 5.11. Rom. 8.28. Heb. 12.10. 5. Labour to see God's hand. Psal. 34.9. believe his love. Heb. 12.6. Rev. 3.19. and with all meekness, and patience to resign up yourself wholly to his will in every affliction. Math. 26.39. 7. Get, and keep a savoury relish continually of your christian privileges, wherewith you are invested as you are new creatures in Christ: to wit. 1. Of your dignity, that you are God's sons, Christ's brothers, heavens heirs, partakers of a high, and heavenly calling. 2. Of your liberty, that you are the Lords freemen delivered out of the hands of all enemies. 3. Of your victory, that you are thourough Christ more than Conquerors over all the world of Creatures. 1. john. 5.4. of evils, of temptations, of persecutions Rom 8.35.37. 4. Of your safety, that you have almighty God for your place of refuge, Psal. 18.2. a hedge of providence. job. 1.10. a Guard of angels. Psal. 91.11. an enclosure of mercy. Psal. 32.10. and God's promise as a writ of protection for your defence. Heb. 13.5.6. 5. Of your riches, as durable substance in heaven. Heb. 10.34. an incorruptible inheritance, 1. Pet. 1.4. a kingdom of glory, and crown of life, for you are heirs of God, & coheirs with Christ. 6. Of your joy, and pleasure, precious for kind, and plentiful for measure. Psal. 16.11. peace unconceivable phillip 4.7. joy unspeakable 1. peter. 1.8. the master's joy. Get your hearts affected with all these as being yours. Chew, and suck them by serious Meditation, work, and warm them on your hearts by close application, rubbing them into your affections. Oppose these your spiritual privileges to all your temporal pressures, setting the one against the other; as your heavenley friends to your earthly foes, your high dignity in Christ to your meaner in outward condition? your wealth above to your want below; your future joys, and rest to your present troubles, and sorrows. This will make you not only patiented under the afflictions of this life Rom. 12.12. but joyful in them. Rom. 5.3. and triumphant over them. 1. Cor. 15.55. Thus did the Apostles. Rom. 8.18. 2. Cor. 4.17.8. and 6.8.9.10. These will provoke to duty 1. Peter. 9.11.12. and preserve from fainting 2 Cor. 4.16.17. and from trouble of heart john 14.1.2. 8. Sanctify God in your heart daily 1. Peter 3.15. make him your fear, Isaiah. 8.14. your love, and delight Psal. 37.4. To this end. 1. Have often high, and honourable thoughts of God, serious meditation of his glorious Attributes, as his wisdom, power, truth, mercy, justice, etc. and work them vpon your hearts, that they may Echo to them with pure, & melting affections. This will increase, and nourish up the divine nature fast in you. 2. Labour to be affected with all the works of God, as to behold, & admire the wisdom of God in the creatures. Psal. 136.5. to see, and taste God's goodness in every mercy Psal. 34.8. to take notice of, and tremble at the anger, and displeasure of God in all judgmentes. Psal. 119.120. Habb. 3.16. that you may answer the dispensations of God's providence with suitable dispositions; your hearts carrying a counterpane in affection to all God's actions. 3. Wrestle with God by praying, and beleevinge for an heart of flesh. Ezek. 36.26. which will receive impressions from the very thoughts of God in the mind Also apply promises of particular affections. as of love. Deut. 30.6. fear. jer. 32.40. delight, Isaiah. 58.14. There is heat, and life in these promises sufficient to quicken, and warm thy dead, and frozen affections. 9 Get a public spirit to mind the things of jesus Christ, as naturally as if they were your own things. phillip 2.20.21. to look on the things of others, and prefer jerusalems' welfare before your chiefest joy psal. 137.5.6. and the Gospel's liberty before your own, as Paul did; to mourn for the sins of the times, as the Godly in jerusalem did, Ezek. 9.4. Especially lay to heart. 1. The Church's misery, when God's Ordinances go down, & superstition goeth up, when God's cause, and fide are put to the worse, when any thing falls out, which gives a blow to Religion, or proves an impediment to the Gospel. If the Ark be taken call your comforts Ichabods. Sam 4.21. 2. The afflictions of joseph, Amos 6.6. The sufferings of God's servants, whether Ministers, or people. Oh sympathise with them. Heb 13.3. Nehem. 1.4. labour to feel their troubles, and sorrows at your very hearts; and pray earnestly for them, as the Church did for Peter Act. 12.5. 3. The signs of the times. Math. 16.3. which hypocrites cannot discern, though they be well versed in the face of the sky, to wit, the sad symptoms, & presages of approaching judgement, as 1. The commonesse of sin; for all sorts transgress in all kind of open sinfulness with a high hand against light of nature, and means of grace. Gen. 15.15. Ezek. 22.4. 2. Contempt of God's ordinances, misusing of his Ministers. 2. Chron. 36.16. 3. Departure of God's glory from his house. Ezek. 9.3. 4. Incorrigibleness after former, and under present judgmentes. lev. 26.14.11 5. The death of many righteous men. Isaiah. 57.1. the carrying away of others to hiding places. 6. The vials of God's wrath poured on the Churches beyond the Seas. jer. 17.12.14. 7. An Inundation of spiritual judgmentes, as a spirit of error, superstition, apostasy etc. which do commonly end in temporal plagues Isaiah. 6.10.11 Now the Holyghost is a public spirit breathing, and acting in all the members of the body mystical. Pray for it. Luke. 11.13. believe for it, Gal. 3.14. Ezek. 36 27. 10. Get your hearts weaned daily from the world, and from those creatures, and comforts in itt, which are dearest, and sweetest to you. Wife, children, friends, Goods, liberty, house, life. This Christ requires of those that follow him. Luke 14: 26.27 Mark. 10.29.30. this will prepare you either to suffer, or to die, either of which may put you upon itt to lose all. To this end consider seriously. 1. That these things cannot satisfy your heart, when you have enjoyed them to the full. Eccles. 4.8. and 5.10. you soon grow weary of them, or glutted with them; so that you desire some new delights, or more of the old, or some over again. 2. Nor can they sanctify you, but expose you oft to many lusts. 1 Tim. 6.9.10. tentations, distractions, to a spirit of the world, and they hinder from following Christ. Math. 19.22. 3. Nor can they save you from God's wrath, from death, or judgement. pro 11.4. 4. The wicked whose portion is only here have often the greatest share of them, Psal. 17.14. job 21.7. to 14. 5. They serve only for this life, whilst we are on this side, of the grave; they shall not be the least Ingredients into our celestial happiness. When we do come to be happy in heaven, we shall stand in no need of food, raiment, Physic, marriage etc. Math. 22.30. for we shall be like the angels of God in heaven, we shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. Rev. 7.16. we shall live by the all-sufficient spirit of God, which never needs refreshing; we shall be clothed with long white robes of immortality Rev. 7.9. In a word, when we come to heaven the place of God's Habitation we shall enjoy the face, and beatifical presence of the most glorious jehovah blessed for ever, as an object, wherein all the powers of our souls will be satisfied with ineffable delight, and everlastingness. God will be unto us all in all. 1. Cor. 15.28. FINIS.