ing to his will, and holy example, and with fincere intention of his glory. Hence,

4. Even the most neceffary actions of thy life, though lawful, yet muft thus be offered up with a true intention unto God, in the union of the most holy works, and bleffed merits, of Chrift; faying, "Lord Jefus, bind up in the merits of thy blessed "fenfes, all my feeling and fenfation, and all my "wits and fenfes, that I never hereafter use them "to any fenfuality!"

5. Thus labour to come to this union and knitting up of thy fenfes in God, and thy Lord Jefus, and remain fo faft to the cross, that thou never part from it, and still behave thy body, and all thy senses, as in the presence of thy Lord God, and commit all things to the most trufty providence of thy loving Lord, who will then order all things delectably and sweetly for thee; reckon all things befides for right nought; and thus mayeft thou come unto wonderful illuminations, and fpiritual influence from the Lord thy God.

6. If, for his love, thou canft crucify, renounce and forfake perfectly thyfelf, and all things; thou must fo crucify thyself to all things, and love and defire God only, with thy care and whole heart, that in this most stedfast and strong knot and union unto the will of God, if he would create hell in thee here, thou mightest be ready to offer thyfelf, by his grace, for his eternal honour and glory, to fuffer it, and that purely for his will and pleasure.

7. Thou must keep thy memory clean and pure, as it were a wedlock chamber, from all strange thoughts, fancies and imaginations; and it must be trimmed and adorned with holy meditations and virtues of Chrift's life and paffion, that God may continually and ever reft therein.

PRAYER.

8. "Lord, instead of knowing thee, I have fought "to know wickednefs and fin; and whereas my will

"and

and defire were created to love thee, I have loft "that love, and declined to the creatures; while my "memory ought to be filled with thee, I have paint❝ed it with the imagery of innumerable fancies, not only of all creatures, but of all finful wickedness. "Oh! blot out thefe by thy blood, and imprint thine "own bleffed image in my foul, bleffed Jefus, by "that blood that iffued out from thy moft loving "heart, when thou hangedft on the cross; fo knit my will to thy most holy will, that I may have no "other will but thine, and may be moft heartily and "fully content with whatsoever thou wilt do to me "in this world; yea, if thou wilt, fo that I hate "thee not, nor fin against thee, but retain thy love, "make me fuffer the greatest pains."

66

Rule 1. Exercise thyself to the perfect abnegation of all things which may let or impede this union; mortify in thee every thing that is not God, nor for God, or which he willeth and loveth not: Refigning and yielding up to the high pleasure of God, all love and affection for tranfitory things; defire neither to have nor hold them, nor beftow or give them, but only for the pure love and honour of God: Put away fuperfluous and unneceffary things, and affect not even things neceffary.

2. Mortify all affection to, and feeking of thyself, which is fo natural to men, in all the good they defire, and in all the good they do, and in all the evil they fuffer; yea, by the inordinate love of the gifts and graces of God, instead of himself, they fall into fpiritual pride, gluttony and greediness.

3. Mortify all affection to, and delectation in, meat and drink, and vain thoughts and fancies, which though they proceed not to confent, yet they defile

the

the foul, and grieve the Holy Ghoft, and do great damage to the spiritual life.

4. Imprint on thy heart the image of Jefus crucified; the impreffions of his humility, poverty, mildnefs, and all his holy virtues; let thy thoughts of him turn into affection, and thy knowledge into love; for the love of God doth most purely work in the mortification of nature; the life of the fpirit, purifying the higher powers of the foul, begets the folitarinefs and departure from all creatures, and the influence and flowing into God.

5. Solitude, filence, and the ftrait keeping of the heart, are the foundations and grounds of a spiritual life.

6. Do all thy neceffary and outward works without any trouble or carefulness of mind, and bear thy mind amidst all, always inwardly lifted up, and elevated to God, following always more the inward exercise of love, than the outward acts of virtue.

7. To this can no man come, unless he be rid and delivered from all things under God, and be so swallowed up in God, that he can contemn and defpife himself and all things; for the pure love of God maketh the spirit pure and fimple, and fo free, that without any pain and labour, it can at all times turn and recollect itself in God.

8. Mortify all bitterness of heart towards thy neighbours, and all vain complacency in thyfelf; all vain glory and defire of esteem, in words and deeds, in gifts and graces. To this thou shalt come by a more clear and perfect knowledge and confideration of thy own vilenefs, and by knowing God to be the fountain of all grace and goodness.

9. Mortify all affection towards inward, fenfible, fpiritual delight in grace, and the following devotion with fenfible fweetness in the lower faculties, or powers of the foul, which are nowife real fanctity and holinefs in themselves, but certain gifts of God to help our infirmity.

10. Mortify

10. Mortify all curious investigation or search, all fpeculation and knowledge of unneceffary things, human or divine; for the perfect life of a Christian confifteth not in high knowledge, but profound meeknefs; in holy fimplicity, and in the ardent love of God; wherein we ought to defire to die to all affection to ourselves, and all things below God; yea, to fuftain pain and dereliction, that we may be perfectly knit and united to God, and be perfectly fwallowed up in him.

11. Mortify all undue fcrupulousness of conscience, and truft in the goodness of God; for our doubting and fcruples oft-times arise from inordinate felf-love, and therefore vex us; they do no good, neither work any real amendment in us; they cloud the foul, and darken faith, and cool love; and it is only the stronger beams of these that can difpel them, and the ftronger that faith and divine confidence is in us, and the hotter divine love is, the foul is fo much the more excited and enabled to all the parts of holiness, to mortifications of paffions and lufts, to more patience in adverfity, and to more thankfulness in all eftates.

12. Mortify all impatience in all pains and troubles, whether from the hands of God or men, all defire of revenge, all refentment of injuries, and by the pure love of God, love thy very perfecutors, as if they were thy dearest friends.

13. Finally, Mortify thy own will in all things, with full refignation of thy felf to fuffer all dereliction, outward and inward, all pain, and preffures, and defolations, and that for the pure love of God: For, from felf-love, and felf-will, fpring all fin, and all pain.

A PRAYER.

14. "O! Jefus, my Saviour, thy bleffed humility! imprefs it on my heart; make me moft fenfible of thy infinite dignity, and of my own vilenefs, that VOL. II.

30

" I

"I may hate myself as a thing of nought, and be "willing to be defpifed, and trodden upon by all, as "the vileft mire of the ftreets, that I may ftill retain "these words, I AM NOTHING, I HAVE NO"THING, I CAN DO NOTHING, AND I DE"SIRE NOTHING BUT ONE."

SECT. IV.

1. Never do any thing with propriety and fingular affection, being too carneft, or too much given to it; but with continual meekness of heart and mind, lie at the foot of God; and fay, "Lord, I defire no

thing; neither in myself, nor in any creature, save "only to know and execute thy bleffed will, (faying

66

alway in thy heart), Lord, what wouldst thou have "me to do? Transform my will into thine; fill full, "and fwallow up, as it were, my affections with thy "love, and with an infatiable defire to honour thee, and defpife myself."

2. If thou afpire to attain to the perfect knitting and union with Gee, know that it requireth a perfect expoliation, and denudation, or bare nakedness, and utter forfaking of all fin, yea, of all creatures, and of thyfelf particularly: Even that thy mind and underftanding, thy affections and defires, thy memory and fancy, be made bare of all things in the world, and all fenfual pleafures in them, fo as thou wouldst be content that the bread which thou eateft had no more favour than a stone, and yet, for his honour and glory that created bread, thou art pleased that it favoureth well But yet from the delectation thou feeleft in it, turn thy heart to his praifes and love that made it.

3. The more perfectly thou liveft in the abftraction and departure, and bare nakedness of thy mind, from all creatures, the more nakedly and purely fhalt thou have the fruition of the Lord thy God, and

fhalt