Dedicatorie. 123 in thefe daiespa"(fèby thisargument of the Sabboth,and that otherof Tithe, as r ill, hat meere fhadowesand ceremonies : it wereto bewifhed,that asthis reuercnd man ,tñ of-tb ofGod,andMafterD.B. haue painfully trauailed in the one fo the learnecf nd sabbotb,and faithfull feruants of Chrift, would communicatetheir knowledge and iudge- o,èiJ,o oere e Ally ment ofthe other,vnto the Church and people ofGod. handled by Thefeuenth portion isfhort,but containeth verygoodnotesoffaluation,and forgegodly ofan vpright heart. ue Sedvs. The eight and !aft part or treatife, teacheth vs eerie profitable and neccffa- rie rules for the reading and vnderftanding of the holie Scripture, which bee thefe: z. That Gadspeople which willprofitbypreaching,muflremember to attendcarefully the readingoftheholySeriptures:firthat none (faithhe) canfowellprofit bypreaching, as theythat hauebeen trainedvpin reading theSeriptures,orhearing them read. z. Wext toprofitby reading oftheScripture, beerequiretheightfpeciall things to be obfeerued: e. Diligence. z. Wfedome: 3. Preparation. g.c meditation. 5.Conference. 6.Faith. y.Prafï f . S. Prayer. Diligence maketh aroughwayplaineandeafe :herekeepeaneuencourfe,andper- feuerewithout wearinesor f artingfrontit. 2. With diligence defreto ioynery f dame: firchoifeofmatter what,oforder how, of timewhen,toreade. Formatterfearchthingsreuealed,,andhuntnotaferthingsnotre- u, In things reuealed,feekeafterthings»záffnecefrie, andthen* thingslef necef *Geteatogies. ,ealed. rie. For order,firfldelre to laythefoundationofChriilian religion,thenbuildupon it, as Godglues the increafoffaith:and knowledge. For time, wee muffnot readealwayes, but keepeour appoyntedtimes.TbeSabbathday wemayfpendagreatpart ofit inreading: theweeke daies,in the rnorning,atnoane,andeuening,whenwe mayredeeme the dayfrom thewor,kesoofourcalling. -f 3..dgain,aduepreparation isrequired,whereuntaappertaine: fzrff,theAareafaods maieflie,whichfeerueswell tocorrei?theprideofreafon, and tofubdueouraffeIlions,and fo to fit vsforthePoole ofChr f .Secondly,faithinChr f ,for thatbeealone openethour ¿,Ut,Z4,4f, vnderilanding,that weemayvnderffand theScriptures.Thirdlygreatdefreintheheart tofeede opan thegoodwordafGod. 4. Thefourthpropertie itmeditation,which is the lifeo fallgoodlearning,andmakes thatwe haueheardto beour atone : and this is twofold : frlf ofthe minds or vnderffan- ding,difeourfingof thingsreador heard. Secondly,oftheaftlion,when likingany thing . in iudgement,wee labourthatit mayworkealfoupon ouraffetlions. Here thisruleù to lie noted, that meditation without reading is erroniosu, and reading without meditation barren. S. Thefift helps here is conference. Forifinnaturali things,and in all things apper- tainingtothis life,man flandeth in needeofthe helpeofather men,muchmorein fpirituall things. 6. Thefixtpropertie afterreading,meditation,and conference,isfaith, which hee re- quiresas anincreafe ofthat afaregoingpreparation. We muffbeleeue in leftsChr f by a general'faithgoingbefore : but weemuff vfe (faithhe) all the means before named, to increafeour knowledgeandfaith inall particulars after. 7. Thefeuenth isprac7f :for thisis agoodway toincreaf ourflore, toputtogood vfe that mediecritieafknowledge,andgiftswee haue receiued. c/Ind*redlyaccording to Chrfswords,wefeebydaily experience theirgiftsdecay,whichput themnot inpratlife. M z S The
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