intents and purposes their Families have precious Souls as well as comely Bodies craving Souls as well as hungry Bodies and they should so provide for their Souls as that it may not be their fault if it be not well with their Souls and that both in time and to Eternity in the 2 d of Peter 1 2 ver the Apostle Peter speaking of God saith His Divine Power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto Life and Godliness O let us learn to admire and endear this God who is so gracious and liberal unto us now let us be followers of him as dear Children this is an excellent Copy for us to write after who are House holders let us provide for ours all that is necessary for this their Temporal Life yea and all that is necessary for Godliness But now can any one tell how they provide for the Souls of their Families which are under their Government and committed to their care who do not set up the Worship of God in their Families who do nothing towards their instruction and sanctification nothing towards the making of them understanding gracious and holy Are those Families well provided for in which there is no serving of God no religious exercises no Praying no Catechising nor reading of the Scriptures no Repeating of Sermons no Singing of Psalms no holy Discourses about God and Jesus Christ and the things of God no Holy Instructions nor good Councils nor provoking one another to love and good works we shall indeed sometimes hear people say of such or such a Man O he is a Man of a generous Spirit a brave House-keeper but ask them wherein how doth that appear the Answer is by his keeping a good Table a great Table he buyeth the best Meat the Market doth afford and a great deal of it so that the Servants have enough and to spare and you may see many poor lying at his door who are relieved there and this is indeed good and commendable and it is to be desired that all whose Estates will reach it were such they would be no losers by it it is one way to bring down a blessing upon their Callings and the works of their hands but give me leave to tell that Man if this be all if he stop here and his brave House-keeping amount to no more than this in a word if he doth not set up the Worship of God in his Family he is a pitiful a miserable House-keeper his House is the way to Hell though he keeps a Great Table yet he keeps a wicked House a godless graceless House he fills Bodies and starves Souls his Dogs have as much reason to commend him as his Wife and Children and Servants Well that is the first thing and oh that it may abide with you who are Governours of Families sit down and think seriously upon it that your Families are your charge you are charged with the Souls of your Families God hath put them into your hand and committed them to your care and therefore you are obliged to look after them and as God hath given them to you so it is your duty to train and bring them up for God But this will meet us again in the way of this Discourse and then I shall speak something more to it II. You are accountable for your Families as charged with them so responsible for them We read in the 25th of Matthew 14 c. of a Man Travelling into a far Country who called unto him his Servants and delivered unto them his goods to one five Talents to another two and to a third but one after a time he returned and reckoned with them God hath committed to every one of us some Talents to some more to some fewer and he will reckon with us all for them and enquire what we have done with them one hath a Talent of Parts another of Power another of Interest a fourth of Riches do not you let them lie dead upon your hands but be good Husbands Trade with them my Friends trade with them for God and know as God will reckon with you for your Talents so for Persons that are committed to your Charge and as God said to Cain Gen. 4.9 Where is Abel thy Brother so he will say to thee where is thy Wife where thy Son where thy Daughter where is thy Man Servant where thy Maid Masters of Families are accountable both for the Bodies and the Souls under their roofs First they are accountable for the bodies that are in their Families you know they are so not only to God but likewise to the Magistrate and to the Law So that if any of them doth miscarry and dies a violent death there is a very strict search made into it the Coroners Inquest sits upon the body all suspected Persons are called and examined and the great Question is How did this Person come by his death though it be the meanest Servant in the House the Scullion or Kitchin-Boy yet it is not past by nor is it fit it should No Murtherer ought to be Pardoned that is a standing Law which binds in all Ages and Places Gen. 9.6 who so sheddeth Mans blood by Man shall his blood be shed let the man destroyed have been never so poor and mean and despicable for his outward Condition and let the Murtherer be what he will tho' a person of never so great Quality as they Phrase it yet he must die for it God hath said by Man shall his blood be shed If the Master himself was the cause of his Servants death he shall answer for it and life shall go for life blood for blood if he Poisoned the meanest Servant he had or if he starved him it must be so and that Scripture tells you the reason of the thing lieth in this because Man was made in the Image of God and there was afterward another Law made Numb 35.31 Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a Murtherer which is guilty of death but he shall be surely put to death so that as the Iewish Doctors say though he could give all the Riches of the World and the Avenger of Blood were perswaded into a willingness to pass it by yet it could not be done Let Magistrates therefore consider what they do when they Pardon Murtherers whom God himself hath devoted to destruction But Secondly they are accountable for the Souls that are in their Families for God doth highly value the Souls which he hath Created and as carefully and curiously looks after Souls as his Law enjoyns and requires Men in place of Power and Authority to look after the Bodies of Men and to judge and avenge their blood when it hath been shed by wicked and cruel hands and when they do miscarry as too many do thousands myriads millions do he will make inquisition for their blood and see how it came to pass and if their Parents or Masters be guilty of it he will require it at
an Heaven for the good no other than the Habitation of his own Holiness and Glory in which there are many Mansions and Crowns and Thrones with unconceivable Felicity in his presence a fulness of Joy and at his Right Hand Pleasures for evermore and besides that an Hell for the wicked a bottomless Pit where there is a gnawing Worm that shall never die and a Fire burning that is unquenchable in which they shall for ever fry scorch and burn without being ever consumed and consequently they shall have weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Secondly Instruct them concerning the miserable lost and undone condition of all Man-kind by reason of the Fall of the first Man That when God had formed Man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his Nostrils the Breath of Life so that he became a living Soul he was pleased not only to make him upright and in his own Image induing him with all Natural Excellencies and Perfections befitting one who was to have Communion with his Creator and Dominion over this Inferiour World and to put him into a state of Happiness appointing Paradise for the place of his Residence or Royal Seat but also to enter into a Covenant of Friendship with him thereby binding Man to a continuance in a course of Personal and Perfect Obedience to his great Lord and thereupon by promise insuring to him an endless duration of his Life and Happiness but withal threatning that in case of failure and disobedience He should die the death viz. Temporal Spiritual and Eternal That this Covenant was not made with Adam alone but with all Mankind who were to descend from him and were considered as being then in his Loins and He as the great Parent and common Person representing them and so Adam breaking the Covenant by transgressing the Law of his Creation and in particular that positive Law which commanded him not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil All Mankind sinned in him and fell with him in that first Transgression and so all the World is be-become guilty before God and obnoxious to his Justice and Wrath all the World is become filthy and abominable Primitive Righteousness is lost and the Primitive Order broken and we are all unclean all of us by principle and disposition Children of disobedience and all by Nature Children of Wrath. And bring this home to them and let them know that it is as much their Case as the case of any persons in the World that they have the guilt of sin upon them the sentence of Death denounced against them a vile Heart and Nature within them the Seed and Principle of all sin which renders them prone to all manner of evils even the vilest and most monstruous This will tend to the hiding Pride from them and preventing those high towering Conceits which they are ready to hugg and swell with through their self-unacquaintedness this may awaken them to the greater vigilance and care and bring them to keep a stricter Eye upon their hearts and this may keep them from being much taken with and doting upon those trifling childish vanities and youthful follies which the Souls of others are so much addicted and devoted to while they hear there are things of infinitely greater importance and nearer concernment unto which they must attend Thirdly Make it much your business to convince them of the evil of Sin In order to their loathing it and themselves for it before God do you as much as you can set it before them in its ugliness and deformity look upon it in the Glass of God's Law and of Christ's Blood and then draw its picture and shew it to them History tells us this of the Lacedemonians that when they saw a filthy drunken Sott stagger and reeling in the Street vomiting like a Dog falling and tumbling in the Mire like a Swine they would run into their houses and fetch their young Children to the door that they might behold how much he was unman'd how like a Beast he made himself and by the way know it is far better to be a Beast than to be like a Beast that so they might betimes learn to abhor and detest that brutish practice Do you do the like I mean make unto them a true representation of the odiousness of Sin in general yea and of some Sins in particular specially those which are most rampant raging and abounding in the times in which they live and those Sins too with which they are most in danger of being infected paint them out in the blackest Colours that you can as black as Hell for indeed so they are You cannot disparage Sin beyond its demerit you cannot speak too bad of it you cannot make it look worse than it is As we cannot exceed nor rise too high in the commendation of God our greatest words are too little our highest thoughts are too low Angelical conceptions of God are infinitely short of his Perfection He is exalted above all blessing and praise So on the other side we cannot speak too much in the dispraise of Sin our greatest anger against Sin is not hot enough and our sharpest words against Sin are not keen enough There is not to be found so great an evil in all the World as Sin is Afflictions are not so bad as Sin Poverty Plague Fire Sword Famine all the desolations that be made in Towns Cities Countreys not matter of so great Lamentation as Sin They are Physick to cure this the Disease to destroy they are Fire to purifie this is Filth to pollute Death it self doth only kill the Body Sin ruins the Soul Death sends the Body to a Bed of Dust but Sin if unpardoned unmortified sends both Soul and Body into a Bed of Flames The Devil himself is not so bad as Sin For he was an excellent Creature a glorious Angel There never was any thing of goodness in Sin nor ever will He was the Workmanship of God himself but God had no hand in the making of Sin It was Sin that turned him into a Devil Hell is not so bad as Sin For though it be a place of gross utter Darkness yet there is seen the Purity and Holiness of God in his hatred of Sin the Justice and Righteousness of God in the condemning and punishing of Sin there he declares his Wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness but there is no good not the least good in Sin it is a meer Anomia disobedience to and transgression of such a Law as is holy just and good it is evil throughout only evil and that continually Sin is evil in its Nature being contrary to the pure holy infinitely perfect and glorious Nature of God There is nothing in all the World contrary to God but Sin and what Sin hath made so It s Nature is so bad that nothing can rectifie it nothing can mend it nothing make it good It is so bad that God would not allow it a
those good Men whom after a Life of Service God takes away from hence would you know what becomes of them whither it is that they go into what state they are put He tells you Isa. 57.2 They enter into peace they rest in their beds every one walking in his uprightness i. e. every one having walked in his uprightness while he was here they professed Religion and were true to that Profession they owned the Interest of God yea and to their power they served that Interest they have studied uprightness and integrity they have been faithful to God in their Generation and in their several places and when such do come to die they have no reason to be afraid of dying no reason for them to draw back and be unwilling to go say to them it shall be well with them they shall enter into peace into a compleat and perfect peace they shall live in peace and enjoy themselves in peace they were here sometimes fear round about buth henceforth they shall be peace round about and they shall rest in their Beds Poor hearts they had but a little rest while they were here a great many fears and a great deal of care and but a little rest alas it was broken and disturbed by Enemies without and by Sins within Head and Heart were discompos'd and out of order at sometimes there is no soundness in their flesh nor rest in their bones Psal. 38.3 But when once Death hath cast them into their last sleep they shall have placidam quietem a sweet and pleasant rest their Bodies for a time and but for a time in a Bed of Dust for that is not intended for the place of their abode they only Inn there by the way yet it is made easie for them and safe and perfum'd for it is the place where the Lord himself lay but their precious and immortal Souls shall rest for ever in a Bed of Spices in a Bed of Love in the Bosom of Abraham in the Arms of Jesus Rev. 14.13 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord not only the Martyrs that die for him but all Believers that die in him in the Faith of Christ in obedience to him in a state of Union to him and Communion with him for their works do follow them all their works of Charity and all their works of Piety all the good they have done abroad in the World and all the good they have done at home in their Families none shall be forgotten none dropt nor lost by the way but all shall follow them and in Heaven meet them in great glorious and inconceivable Rewards so that the Lord Jesus shall be both glorified in them and admired by them VIII You having made it your work and business to serve and worship God in and with your Families and brought them cheerfully to join with you therein you may leave them with the far greater hope and by consequence with the greater comfort And while they are mourning and sighing and weeping because they must now part with you yet you may be glad and rejoice because hereafter you shall meet with them in a better place and state and here again take into your Consideration these few things First That all these things must be dissolved You now see it is so as to many of these things and believe it will be so as to all the rest Death doth travel up and down and mows people down apace and will pursue his bloody work till he had snapt asunder the nearest and dearest Relations broken up all Houses and put an end to Families It would not by wise persons be counted incongruous at a Marriage-feast to have a Death's-head set upon the Board nor to dash your sweetest Contentments and Delights with dying Thoughts think my Friend often think that Husbands and Wives must part the Conjugal Knot shall be loosed Parents and Children must part sooner or later but how soon none of us do know the great God in whose Hand our Times are that lock'd that up among his Treasures and no Man hath a Key to let him into the knowledge of it the certainty of the thing doth engage us to diligence and our ignorance of the time is a strong Argument for our doubling of that diligence Secondly That will be a very sad parting which will be in despair As they must needs mourn bitterly who mourn without hope so they must needs die dismally who die without hope and what can be thought more likely than that such will be the death of those who in the days of their Health and Prosperity have forgotten God and liv'd without him in the World who have made it their work to sin together and to dishonour God together and profane his Name and abuse his good Creatures together If these believe there is a God and a Resurrection and a Judgment to come in which all Persons shall receive according to what they have done in the Body whether it be good or whether it be evil they may have such thoughts as these forcibly breaking in upon them I and my Family after we have lain a while and slept in the Dust shall rise again and we shall meet again but where Oh where shall we meet We shall meet at the Judgment Seat of Christ there to hear that Condemning Sentence pronounced upon us Go ye cursed we shall meet in Hell where we must make our Eternal abode we shall meet in Torments which will be both intolerable and eternal that so as we have sinned together we may smart together and burn together in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone and that which will render these thoughts more grievous and painful to them may be this that their Children and Servants coming thither will be the aggravation of their own misery since they were so much the cause of it which as some think was the great nay only reason why the rich Glutton of whom you read in Luke 16. being in Hell was so unwilling that his Five Brethren should come into that place of Torments it was not out of good nature and love to them for there is no such thing in Hell it was not out of a desire to prevent their misery but the aggravating of his won he having contributed so much to their ruin and destruction by his vile and wicked Example But then Thirdly Those of you who can at a dying hour look upon your Relations as having walked with you in the ways of God likely to follow you into a blessed Eternity may leave them with joy All of you that have made God your choice and his glory your end that have made Religion your principal business and Family-duty your work and been constant in the dispatch of it you may part with comfort and leave one another with joy though there will be a shower Bowels will yearn and Love will melt the Heart and make it drop Tears yet there need be no storm within you that are
more unfit and unwilling to morrow Convictions will wear off and the heart will grow harder and corruption stronger and the Devil will clap the faster hold and the Spirit of God may withdraw and move no farther strive no more and where are you then Thou saidst seek ye my face and my heart answered thy face Lord will I seek So David here was a sudden compliance he did not stand arguing and questioning he did not take time but immediately arose and girded himself to the work O! that it may be so with you strike Man Woman strike while the iron is hot as soon as the wind blows spread your Sails I beg of you yea with utmost importunity I beg that you would go home to day and do it do not dare to lie down in your Beds this night without the performance of Family-duty considering that it is Duty which I am calling you to it is not a thing indifferent I do not think it worth my while to contend for matters of that nature but this is none of them this is not a point of liberty no no it is Duty and Duty must be done Duty is Debt you owe it to God to your Families and Debts must be paid otherwise Divine Justice will Arrest you and you shall answer for it Now seeing it must be done the sooner it is done the better you do not know how soon you may die it may be too night and I am sure it is best and safest for you that when ever Death comes it should find Faith in you and you in the way of your Duty Blessed for ever blessed is that Servant whom when his Lord cometh he shall find so doing But I shall now proceed as indeed it is high time to a third head of Arguments drawn from your Children who are near and ought to be dear to you unto whom you were in the hand of God Instruments of conveying life and being Children that are parts of your selves that are your selves in a second Edition whose welfare therefore and happiness you are by all imaginable bonds obliged while you live to study and promote even as your own They likewise will in part be drawn from your Servants particularly your Apprentices who are under your roof and committed to your care and imployed for some time in your service and about your work And here I desire you seriously to ponder upon these following Particulars and to lay them close unto your hearts and wisely judge what there is of strength in them what a rational inforcement of this holy practice upon you 1. Think with your selves what they are by Nature both your Children and your Servants more particularly your Children because the nearness of the Relation doth strengthen the engagement upon you And here we will consider them both as to their Bodies and their Souls and that in three Particulars We will begin with their Bodies and outward Man which are indeed but dust but the Workmanship of Gods hands wonderfully made now First Some of them peradventure are objects of pity in the eyes of all that behold them some are defective and imperfect an integrating part is missing others of them are crooked or their Members are misplac'd or very much deformed so that Spectators turn away their faces from them as from loathsom and odious Creatures not fit to be exposed to the sight of any others of them are lame in their hands or feet one or both or blind others of them came excellent out of the hands of God and the wombs of their Mothers but since a disease hath seised them as the Small Pox or the Scrofulous Humour which have made sad work in them and utterly defac'd their Beauty digging pits and making seams in their faces distorting their mouths eating off a finger from this hand and another from that and so devouring them by piece-meal Now let me ask you is not this enough to draw out your compassions toward them and to cause the sounding of your Bowels could you be content that there should be no sound part in them but all throughout nothing but botches and boyls and putrifying Sores would you have their Souls as bad as their Bodies would you be content that they should have ignorant blind Souls crooked and perverse Souls ugly filthy and deformed Souls that as nice and curious Persons cannot abide to look upon them so the great and holy God should not endure to look upon them neither but say cast them out of my sight my mind cannot be towards them Methinks you should bestir your selves to the utmost and do all that in you lies that the loveliness of their Souls may compensate and make an abundant amends for the deformity of their Bodies look out for the best Beauty for them that Wisdom and Grace and Holiness may make even their faces to shine yea that their beauty may be perfect through Christs comeliness put upon them But Secondly There be some of your Children which are amiable and pleasant to behold curious pieces of God's Work Sons that are Plants of Renown and Daughters as Corner-Stones polished after the similitude of a Palace as you read in Psal. 144.12 They have bodies of a comely stature and exact shape Limbs of a due proportion Countenances lovely and lively in which you see excellent Features and admirable Complexion the Lilly and the Rose having met and concurr'd to render them accepted and desirable in the eyes of men and certainly this is a great Mercy for which you and they have cause to bless God only let them have a care they do not abuse it to Pride and Wantonness Besides this fair out-side this well-built Tabernacle of Clay they are inwardly adorned with good Tempers smart brisk and exquisite Parts which greatly accomplish them and render them fit for Converse so that all who know them are delighted with their Conversation And now sit down yet Parents sit down and consider is it not a thousand pitties that such Tabernacles should stand empty or be possess'd with an evil Spirit Is it not pity such Bodies should have in them wicked and vile Souls that those lovely persons who have so much without to commend them to Men should have nothing within to commend them to God Would it not be sad if these Persons who have almost Angelical Countenances should be no other than Cages of unclean Lusts Sinks of Sin Habitations of Divels meer painted Sepulchres fair to the eyes but within there is nothing but filth rottenness and a stink Oh how much better is it for them to resemble and take pattern by the King's Daughter mentioned Psal. 45.13 who hath not only her garments of wrought gold but is likewise all glorious within This is the way for them to become precious in God's sight and honourable this is the way for Jesus the Lord of Glory and King of Saints greatly to desire their Beauty though he himself is the cheifest of ten thousands and deserves to
hath crowned your Conjugal Relation with Posterity but what is your Posterity but the Seed of evil doers Children of those that have corrupted themselves those pure Souls which were created by God were polluted and spoiled as soon as they entered into those bodies that came of you you did convey a cross froward depraved nature to your Children who therefore are so bad because they are yours It is said Gen. 5.3 Adam begat a Son in his Image and after his likeness not in the Image and likeness of God as Adam himself had been made at first but in his own Image in his Image not only as he was Man but also as he was lapsed Man his Son was like himself in Body and in Soul and in Sin and thus have the Sons of Adam done ever since Iob saith Iob 14.4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Man being unclean cannot make himself clean let them wash in tears let them wash with Snow water he cannot fetch out the dirt the spots and stains he cannot wash himself clean and being himself unclean he cannot produce and bring forth that which is clean That which is born of the flesh is flesh weak flesh sinful flesh that water which is soil'd and muddied at the Spring cannot be pure and clear in the Stream Aethiopissae Filius nigrum ab eâ Colorem trahit The Son of a Blackmoor will be a Blackmoor too You know there are hereditary Diseases as the Gout Stone Spleen Lethargie which commonly run in the blood and are transmitted by the Parents to their Children Sin is one of them it is the worst of them it sticks close and descends from Parents to Children and that from Generation to Generation without interruption without exception unless that of our dear Lord Jesus who was to be holy harmless undefiled and separate from Sinners that he might be a Sacrifice and a Saviour and in order thereunto came into the World in an extraordinary way of generation being formed in the Womb of a Virgin by the power of the Holy Ghost who over-shadowed her otherwise Sin doth inseparably follow Nature and never goeth out of the blood So that I may call Parents the Channels the Kennels the Common-Sewers in and through which all that abominable filth runs which defiles their otherwise lovely and desirable Children rendring them odious and abominable unto God And never carry your heads high because your Children are of a Noble or Gentile descent come of such a Family bear such account or because you can leave them a great Estate there is one thing alass that stains and spoils all that Glory viz. It is from you they have it that they are born Sinners And truly as there is a great deal of joy at the birth of an Infant because a Man-Child is Born into the World so there is reason why that joy should be upon this account somewhat allay'd and mingled with grief and sorrow that a Sinner is born into the World Secondly Let us consider you as the Heads Governours of Families are not your Families the worse for you you that are Husbands and Wives should be the better for one another and fill your Relations and carry in your places as those that are Co-heirs of the grace of life that you may have cause of blessing God you ever came together But reflect and curiously enquire are not you the worse for one another and are not your Children and Servants in some respects the worse for you both You that have no Religious Duties performed in your Houses are for certain very injurious to them by that your omission for you teach them Atheism neglect and contempt of God you teach them to live without God in the World like so many Brutes you do thereby teach them to neglect their precious and immortal Souls and to mind nothing but the concernments of a vile and perishing Body and the inferiour good things of a Transitory World But what do you think of your selves who are the best who walk most closely with God do you foot it so right that you do not sometimes tread awrie do you demean your selves with so much exactness that nothing amiss is to be discerned in you do you order your carriages and conversations with so much judgement and circumspection that they are without fault and blameless David saith Who can understand his errours and if thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand and have you not read such passages as these in the Scriptures There is not a just Man upon Earth that liveth and sinneth not In many things we sin all If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us There are too many graceless Persons in the World but there is not one sinless Person there are many holy Persons who have been washed and justified and sanctified but not one that is cleansed from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit and who hath attained to a perfection in his holiness and can you think that your blemishes and miscarriages are invisible do not those that live and converse with you observe you yes they do and see more spots in your faces than you do in your own though you look in the glass and they will be exceeding apt to tread in your steps and to imitate you especially in that which is evil for unto that their own corrupt Nature doth incline and like a strong Bias carry them that way yea and your example shall be made use of and pleaded as their sufficient Warrant If they should be reproved by some sober judicious Persons for doing that which they should not they will justifie themselves thus I saw my Father or my Mother do so my Master or my Mistress do so and therefore I may do it too Poor things they do sometimes think of their Parents and Masters above that which is meet and not considering their imperfections and that body of Sin and Death which they carry about with them they do not in their following them make use of that caution which they ought to do Be serious my dear Friends be serious and consider whether your Children and Servants be not the worse for your Pride discovered in your haughty looks and lofty words and stately gestures and costly garbs and dresses the worse for your Passion shewn in sharpened Eyes furious Countenances and words like Swords and Daggers the worse for your mispence of time in vain visits frothy discourses games and recreations and lazy lying in Bed upon the Lord's Day till much of the morning is lost and a considerable part of the Publick Worship be over before you come into the Congregation In short are they not the worse for this and that and the other yea for many things which your own Consciences if you please to consult them and give them free leave to speak can and will inform you of far better than I can being every day
many among them to make Vessels of Honour fit for his Use and Service here and for his Kingdom and Glory hereafter 2. For that great and most blessed End he chose and sent his own Son his only Son his infinitely beloved Son who was the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the express Image of his Person Man not being in a capacity to help himself nor all the Angels in Heaven able to relieve him their back was too weak to bear that burden of guilt which lay upon him and their whole Stock too little to discharge those Debts which he had contracted and their Arm infinitely too short to reach him and draw him out of that horrible Pit into which he had cast himself and all his Posterity Now I say when things were at this pass God was pleased to send his Son to humble himself to empty himself to become poor to become our Brother and to assume our Nature with its sinless infirmities and to be in the form of a Servant of no reputation made under the Law that he might fulfil all Righteousness and be the End thereof for Righteousness to all that are found in him and to be made sin for us i. e. a Sacrifice for sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him a Ransom that he might be a Redeemer 3. The Son of God being thus chosen by the Father and sent did come he most readily and freely came in the fulness of Time and according to the Counsel of Peace which had been between them both he came to do the Will of God he was incarnate was manifest in the Flesh yea in the likeness of sinful Flesh and was numbred among Transgressors the Iniquities of all his People were laid on him and he did bear them in his own Body upon the Tree becoming obedient to the Death even the Death of the Cross he did die the Prince of Life did die his Blood was shed that therein might be opened a Fountain for Sin and for Vncleanness 4. Neither is there Salvation in any other there is no other Name under Heaven by which Man may be saved but his no Blood by which he may be washed but his nor Righteousness by which he may be justified but his and therefore it is altogether in vain meer lost labour to look for Salvation any where else Whither shall we go Lord said Peter with Thee alone are the words of Eternal Life And as it is in vain so it is altogether needless for Christ is able to save to the utmost all those that come unto God by him Mark it them that come unto God by him them without exception all them one and another be they never so many and be they what they will never so bad he is able to save them and that compleatly to the full perfection of Salvation to the utmost of their dangers to the utmost of their desires to the utmost of Eternity he is the Author of Eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him and truly be that hath a Salvation which will reach as far as Eternity doth not will not need one any longer 5. This Salvation doth come most freely from him to all thâ—se that humbly seek it Zech. 9.9 Behold thy King cometh unto thee he is just having Salvation He comes to poor Sinners and brings his Salvation with him He once came into the World in Person to work Salvation for them he still comes by his word and Spirit to bring Salvation to them We before said he is able to save and he is full out as willing as able Oh! that lost ruin'd Sinners were as willing to accept Salvation as he is to bestow it indeed what should hinder his being willing all the charge is over it did cost him a great deal but it will cost him no more no more blood no more sweat no more tears no more sighs no more sorrow or shame it is having the joy that was set before him it is seeing the fruit of the travel of his Soul that will issue in his satisfaction It is but his own taking possession of that which he purchased for himself and giving his People possession of that which he purchased for them Hence we have reason to conclude that his heart is in the work and that he doth it with joy and delight be much and often in speaking to your Families concerning this most sweet and precious Iesus and the good will which he bears to the Children of Men. How he stands with his gracious arms stretched out to receive and embrace them that are willing to accept of him and of Salvation upon the terms propounded in the Gospel and hath given us his faithful word for it which he can no more deny than he can deny himself that whosoever cometh to him he will in no wise cast out tho' he hath been never so vile though his Sins have been never so great yet if he will but come he shall find Grace to welcom him and meet with a most kind reception he will spread his skirt over him for the covering of his shame and nakedness and his wings too for the security of his Person and the healing of his wounds 5. Carefully instruct them about the Covenant of Grace that there is a two-fold Covenant 1. A Covenant of Works 2. A Covenant of Grace A Covenant of Works which had Grace in it upon this account that God should deal in a Covenant way with Man which he needed not to have done He was Mans Creator gave him his being and therefore was his undoubted and Sovereign Lord and might have proceeded with him altogether in a way of Sovereignty exacting obedience of him and let him refuse it or fail in it at his peril It was a gracious condescension in God to act in a Covenant-way and oblige himself to reward man for his obedience this is called a Covenant of Works because therein Life was promised to Man upon the terms of his personal perfect obedience and his perseverance therein Now this Covenant was transgress'd and broken by our first Parents soon after that it was made so that no good no happiness is to be hoped for from it by us or by another the Penalty indeed threatned upon the breach thereof may be most righteously exacted and so it will of all those who are found guilty and continue still under it not having fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hopes set before them i. e. not having closed with Christ and by Faith taken Sanctuary in him but no life is to be had by it the Law cannot justifie because it is grown weak through the flesh Rom. 8.3 weak to the purpose of justification and this was by accident through Mans fault Mans weakness is the reason of the Laws weakness the Law was able to have justified innocent perfect Man but it cannot justifie lapsed sinful Man Homo est impotens ad praestandam legem Lex ei Vires
his Talent in a Napkin That Gods Service is perfect Freedom and then do Men and Women walk at liberty when they keep his Precepts Whereas the Service of Sin is no better than Slavery and its work a drudgery the Sweet-Meats of Sin are wrapt up in a Curse and its most pleasant ways lead down to the Chambers of Death Whereas the Yoke of Christ is easie being lin'd with Love and his Burthen is light having both Wings and the Shoulder of God to help them to bear it In the service of Sin a poor Creature spends all at his own cost like the poor Israelites under Pharaoh and his Cruel Task-Masters who were not only forced to make Brick but likewise to find Straw to make it with and then the Wages given at last will be death Whereas God doth cut out Work for his Servants and give them strength to do it he chalks out their way and inlargeth their hearts to run it he giveth power to the faint when they have none of their own he supplies them with enough so that Paul said He could do all things thro' Christs strengthning him Shew to them the reasonableness of the Law of God which hath been given out to Man for the Directory of his Life and the Rule of his Actions that it is pure and perfect and worthy both of our obedience and our Love yea doth and will afford great singular delight to a person of a right frame and constitution and well it may seeing the Law is holy and the Commandments holy just and good Rom. 7.12 It is such a Law was fit for God to give and fit for Man to receive it being purity throughout and is suitable to the Nature of God who is an Infinite Holy and Righteous Being It was also suitable to the Nature of Man possible easie pleasant to him before he was degenerate corrupt and depraved Let us run through the Commandments and at the first view it will appear they are not grievious as the beloved Disciple saith 1 Iohn 5.3 What can be more reasonable than that we should have and own love and trust in fear and serve him for our God and him only who is God indeed and God alone besides whom there is none else What could with greater reason be forbidden than the making of any Graven Image or the likeness of any thing which is in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath or in the Waters under the Earth so as to fall down and Worship them for what can be more ridiculous than to give Divine Honour to that which Man himself gave being to what more gross and egregious nonsence than to call that a God part of which is consumed in the fire Is it not reasonable that we all should sanctifie the name of God and not prophane it nor take it in vain and that we should cheerfully spend some time in his Service who is the great Lord of time and keep holy the Sabbath Day laying out that seventh part of time which he hath chosen and sanctified and set apart for himself in his service and Worship what exceptions can be made against Honouring our Fathers and Mothers Childrens honouring their Parents Servants their Masters and Mistresses Inferiours their Superiours Subjects their Governours what more just than that Men should not kill others by violence nor themselves by intemperance and excess nay that they should not hate one another nor be angry without a cause nor too much nor too long What also can be with reason objected against that Law of God which forbids Rapine Theft Robbery Adultery and all Uncleanness all Reviling Slandering Backbiting and bearing false witness against our Neighbours and also coveting those things which are not our own but commandeth us to sit down contented with those things which we have whether they be more or less till God shall please to carve out for us a larger and more liberal allowance Surely as to all these things save only the seventh part of time the light of Nature would dictate and lead to the practice of them Reason it self doth suggest and teach that to be religious righteous good temperate chast kind meek humble and lowly is fit for Men it highly becomes them and doth greatly conduce and contribute to their honour and peace and prosperity to their welfare and comfort every way these things give them boldness make their faces shine and commend them to all that know them But on the other side injustice oppression disobedience drunkeness uncleanness theft lying subornation perjury false witness swearing debauchery and prophaneness of all sorts do offend Heaven and Earth they tend to the dishonour and displeasing of God and to the undoing of Persons and Families yea to the ruine of Societies and Kingdoms and the whole World for these things sake the wrath of God comes down upon the Children of disobedience To shut up this particular let them know there is none of Gods Commandments but what doth evidently and directly make for Mans own good it tends to the preserving of his Name that it may be like precious Ointment without a dead Flye in it and of his Life that his days may be long in the Land and of his Health that his life may be comfortable as well as long and of his Estate that that may prosper and increase and not be blasted with a Curse and so consume and melt like Snow before the Sun they have a benign and kind influence upon Mans whole interest Godliness being profitable for all things for Soul Body and Calling for Time and Eternity for the Life that now is and for that which is to come and there is nothing can be named by which we can possibly so much promote our own good as by a cordial and constant respect to all God's Commandments we shall not then be ashamed nor repent Oh! how sweet and pleasant will it be when we can in truth say with holy Paul Herein do we exercise our selves to keep a Conscience void of offence both toward God and toward Man Acts 24.16 Eightly Acquaint them with the present Advantages that come by Religion and a consciencious performance of Duty God's Israel have their Manna now and their Clusters by the way in the Wilderness as well as a Land flowing with Milk and Honey at the last As there are some drops before the Storm so First-fruits before the Harvest David saith God's Commandments are right and true more to be desired than Gold much fine Gold sweeter also than Honey and the Honey-comb and that in keeping them there is great reward Psal. 19.11 There is Meat in the very Mouth of duty he doth not say there shall be a great reward though that is true it shall be in Heaven but there is so God is now a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him and are careful to obey him his Servants shall not stay for all but have something down the Feast is to come but there are foretastes
to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence Now as there is a double end so there is a double way leading to them That way which leads to Life is a narrow way and the Gate strait there is not room enough for a Man and his Lusts Nature must be curb'd and the Flesh Crucified and the Body kept under and self denied That way which leads to Hell is broad and the Gate wide there a Man may take with him his Sins and his Pleasures he may fare deliciously every day and be wicked every day he may live without God in the World and have Fellowship with Devils and fulfil the Wills of the Flesh. He need not care what he doth who doth not care what becomes of him Well assure them of this that Sin ushers in Misery and the ways of Sin go down to death its steps take hold of Hell but a Life of Holiness and Duty a Life of Faith and Obedience to God carrieth to Heaven and the Happiness above Mark the perfect Man and behold the upright see the last of him for the end of that man is peace Though the way have its difficulties an up-hill way that calls for great pains and labour though it be hedg'd up with Thorns and lin'd with Enemies yet it hath a good end The good Servant that Trades with his Talent minds his business and is faithful in his little shall be made Ruler over much and when he hath finished his work enter into the Joy of his Lord. The Reward will be sure and great what will both issue in abundant satisfaction and raise the highest admirings so that the glorified Soul shall think and say as David did upon another account O Lord who and what are all my services and what my Fathers house that thou hast brought me hitherto Bring them by degrees to understand something of what it is to behold God's Face in Righteousness and to be satisfied with his Likeness to lye at the Fountain-head of Happiness and to delight ones self in the bottomless boundless Ocean of Goodness How pleasant it will be to reflect upon the troubles of the past Life the violent Storms they past thorough the scorns and abuses of a foolish and mad World the rage and fury of wicked unreasonable Men and what a change is made how ill it was how well it is how sweet it must needs be to be above the reach of all sorrows and wants of all Enemies and fears and to be incompast feasted fill'd with the best and choicest delights What a priviledge will it be to sit down as welcom Guests with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the Kingdom of God at a Feast of Glory there to take your fill of Love to all Eternity when you shall see so many shut out What an Honour will it be to sit upon Christ's Throne How easie to lye in the Bosom of Abraham How comfortable to be ever with the Lord How infinitely is this beyond all the Pleasures that Sin can afford its Votaries beyond having the Belly filled with hid Treasures Will you do this you that are Governours of Families Oh! How good is it How much your Duty and how much good may you do This is the way to render them serious and thoughtful the way to make Sin odious and abominable to them so that they shall not desire to taste of those Dainties this is the way to commend Godliness and Religion to them so that they shall be like the Chariots of Amminadab this also is the way to blunt the edge and break the force of a Temptation when it would at any time draw them away from God and take them off from the performance of that duty which they owe unto him I will here add these two things and desire you to put them in practice in order to the rendering these Instructions or Teachings the more effectual First Go over with these things again and again and insist much upon them yea though they be unwilling to hear yet be not you weary of speaking nay though they cast your words behind their Backs do you still follow them with more The Prophet Ezekiel was to continue speaking to the People of Israel though they were a Rebellious House nor might he be silent till God shut up his Mouth and struck him Dumb so must you do with your Families though they be dull and slow to learn yet teach though they be obstinate and stiff necked yet counsel and perswade let there be frequent repetitions of the same Truths and the same Advice and the same Arguments Gutta cavat lapidem Drops of Rain often falling make an impression upon a Stone Immortal Souls are so exceeding precious that the gaining the saving of one is worth the labour of a Life How long did God wait upon you And how often did he speak to you before you would hear do you the like to yours As Children must be often fed so they must be often taught Precept must be upon Precept and Line upon Line here a little and there a little The understandings of young ones are weak and therefore you must deal with them in all plainness and by degrees They are like narrow mouth'd Bottles not receptive of much at a time and you cannot pour in much at once but by little and little Drop in Truths Counsels and Instructions into them according to their ability to receive them Their Memories also are labil and slippery too tenacious of bad things but not of the best like Sieves that let the Flower go and only retain the Bran as they are not capable of receiving much at once so but weak in keeping that which they have received The Apostle saw cause of writing thus to the Hebrews Ye have forgotten the Exhortation which speaks to you as unto Children Heb. 12.5 It is certain there is too much of this to be found among Men grown Men yea grown Saints we read the Word and forget what we read we hear Sermons and forget the Sermons we hear we forget the Promises we make and the Mercies we receive and the Experiences we have had of the power care and goodness of God Men and Women are apt to forget Truths Precepts Counsels and Exhortation we did stand in need of an Ordinance the blessed Sacrament to put us in mind of Christ himself and it is no wonder then if young ones be so their Memories are leaking Vessels and those impressions which are made upon their Minds and Affections do quickly wear out again and therefore there is an absolute necessity of our going over with the same things again upon this account as well as that of the backwardness and great natural aversness of their wills from that which is good daily Instructions are as needful for them as their daily Bread Secondly Back your holy Instructions with holy Exhortations and let all your gracious Counsels be followed and prest upon them with earnest perswasions and
intreaties and so give forth and accompany the light with a due measure of heat by that means endeavouring to work upon their Hearts as well as upon their Heads that you may bring them to the knowledge of the Truth yea and to a receiving it in the love thereof to an understanding of the way wherein they ought to go and likewise to a sincere desire and fixed resolution through Divine Assistance of walking therein Whatsoever there is of wholesom and gracious Counsel which you apply to them be sure to chafe it in with a warm Hand it is sad to think how coldly some Ministers preach so that their Auditors may sit and freeze under them and also how some speak of God and the things of God in their Houses as if they were not concerned in them or rather as if they were ashamed of them do you so discourse of these things as become those who believe your selves and are affected your selves and do-know the Terrours of the Lord and are indeed in good earnest do what you can to convince them of these two things First That you have an high esteem and valuation of Religion and all that appertains and belongs to it The Truths of God and the Ordinances of God and the Day of God and the Ways of God that you do not look upon these things as trivial matters of none or but little importance but of a more excellent nature and higher concernment than any thing else in the World Again manage these Exhortations with so much prudence love and fervour as that they may be convinced Secondly That you are really and heartily set for the doing of them good and that your great aim is as the approving of your selves to God in the consciencious and faithful discharge of your duty so the doing of them good and the promoting of the Spiritual and Eternal welfare of their Souls and herein imitate David's example in the counselling of his Son Solomon 1 Chron. 28.9 And thou Solomon my Son know thou the God of thy Father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts if thou seek him he will be found of thee but if thou forsake him he will cast thee off for ever So much may suffice to be by me spoken as to these parts of your duty Family-Prayer and Family-Instruction the good Lord grant that what hath been declared and proved to be your duty may be forthwith and always put in practice by every one whose duty it is I now proceed to the third part of that Counsel which I purposed and promised to give unto you who are the Parents and Governours of Families and Oh! let it be acceptable to you and prevalent with you It is this Look wisely and carefully to your own Carriages and Conversations and be sure that you order them aright be circumspect curious exact think not that you may do what you please but labour to do what you should what becomes both your place and your profession in Psal. 123.2 the Prophet speaks of the Eyes of Servants looking to the hands of their Masters and the Eyes of a Maiden looking unto the hand of her Mistress for direction and supply for help and assistance I may likewise say the Eyes both of Children and of Servants are and will be upon the Lives and Actions of their Father and Mother of their Master and Mistress and therefore your Eyes should be very much upon your selves and I count it your wisdom and duty to weigh the words you speak in their hearing and the actions you do in their sight as well as in the hearing and sight of any other graver and greater Persons Never think it enough to speak to them good things as long as you set before them bad examples for they will sooner do as you do than as you say Praecepta docent exempla trahunt Precepts do but teach Examples draw This was Christ's manner of teaching he said Learn of me for I am meek and lowly Learn this by my Doctrine yea and by my Disposition also in his Mind Life and Death he sets us an example that we should tread in his steps and since that was his way of teaching it should be ours That was a good saying Oh! that it were at this day true of all those upon whom the Name of God is called Non magna loquimur sed magna vivimus we do not only speak great things but we live great things we speak of Christ and we live Christ we speak of the Gospel and we live the Gospel we profess Godliness yea and we practice Godliness know for certain it is your practising that which is good that is the best and most probable way of commending it to others by this means they may be induced to believe that Religion is not meer notion but a reality that it is a thing practicable yea and that it is pleasant It is your drawing up in your own lives a beautiful lovely Picture of Religion that is the most likely way to make them full in love with it and make it your business to see to it that there be as few spots in it as possible for however some vain Persons do absurdly think spots in their Faces are their Ornaments and set them off yet sure all will believe and grant that spots in the Life are blemishes and a meer deformity Hence it is that Wives are commanded to carry as becomes them in their Conjugal Relation Being in subjection to their own Husbands and of a chast conversation coupled with fear that if any do not obey the word they may without the word be won by the conversations of their Wives 1 Pet. 3.1 2. And this Oh! this is that which I would gladly have among all upon whom the Name of Christ is called as for the wicked and profane of the Age if they hate to be reformed and are resolved upon their way they may go on He that is unjust let him be unjust still and he that is filthy let him be filthy still Rev. 22.11 Yes if he will let him and see what will come of it But I say as for Professors let them live up to the Principles of their Religion let them abstain from all appearance of evil let their Conversation be as it becomes the Gospel of Christ and in all things adorn the Doctrine of our God and Saviour let your Conversation be a God-honouring Conversation and a World-condemning Conversation and a Soul-winning Conversation Oh! the good that might by this be done how much might the Credit and Honour of Religion be retrieved which hath sunk and lost so much in this Degenerate Atheistical and Wicked Generation in which there is nothing more common though most unjust than for vile Wretches to take up all the dirt which they find in the Lives of some Professors and throw it in the Face of our
glorious Religion but woe be to the Men and Women who give the occasion and by whom the offence cometh it had been better for them they had never been Born Woe to the Men and Women that pray in their Families and then contradict their own Prayers by an unsuitable Conversation that give very wholesom Counsel and Advice but live quite contrary to it What these Men Build with one hand they pull down with the other these are the Persons that do Religion a mischief through them it is that the Name of God is Blasphemed among others Rom. 2.24 Therefore here also I will give you some Directions and desire you carefully to follow them First Look to it that you be of an unblameable Conversation I know that while you are here you cannot be altogether sinless Paul groaned under a Body of Death but he could not get rid of it but if you will walk so wisely and circumspectly as you ought and have power to do you may be blameless Daniel was so so accurate in the management of himself so true to his trust that though his great Preferment drew upon him the Envy of the Court and his high Place render'd him the more conspicuous and visible and those that were his Enemies watch'd him narrowly yet they despair'd of finding any occasion against him save in the matter of his God Dan. 6.5 He would break the Laws of Men when they did cross the Law of God and that was his Duty and still will be his Honour It is an excellent thing that which nearly greatly concerns us all so to carry as that our own Consciences may not blame us one of which is more than a Thousand Witnesses and will be a greater evidence see that you do not arm them against you that they do not reproach you this was Paul's daily care and study his constant Employment and Exercise to keep his Conscience void of offence Acts 24.16 he would by no means offend his Conscience nor give it any cause of chiding and being angry with him It is also highly our Interest so to carry as that God may not blame us at the last that he may not reproach us when we come to appear in open Court before Angels Men and Devils and to be Tryed for our Lives and Sentence as to our Eternal State that God may not say You called your selves my Children but you were a company of disobedient Children you were a dishonour to me and now before all I do disown you you are none of mine I know you not Oh! do you please God now and obey him now and honour him now that he may not blame you at the last 1 Pet. 3.14 Be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless this doth require and deserve all the diligence you can use But that which I would press upon you now is an unblameable walking before Men that you may be able to look any Man in the face and being righteous be as bold as a Lion and do so in your Families behave your selves wisely by walking within your houses with a perfect heart and in a perfect way Some when they go abroad put on a Cloak of Morality and Religion but when they come home again they put it off they look like Saints good Men sweet temper'd Men in other folks in other Mens houses but they are Tygers or Devils in their own Be you every where what you should be in the fear of God all the day and in all places good every where best at home Let Godliness be no Underling but Commander in chief ordering and ruling both your words and actions See that your selves be not guilty of Lying Swearing Cursing Gaming Drunkenness Uncleanness neither let any filthy Communication proceed out of your mouths for it is infectious tending to the debauching of others and the corrupting of good manners The holy Scriptures which are the best and most exact Rule of Faith and Manners do very much insist upon this and loudly call for it 2 Tim. 2.19 Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity Whatever he did before while he was an Atheist an Heathen though he loved Iniquity and liv'd in it though he drew Iniquity with Cords of Vanity and Sin as with Cart-ropes yet now that he is a Christian he must turn over another Leaf if he would prove himself a Man in Christ he must lead a new Life and be a new Creature he must now be divorced from Iniquity and depart from it from all Iniquity from all sorts of Iniquity and that as far as ever he can saying of his Iniquity what Ephraim said of his Idols What have I to do any more with them Hos. 14.8 His very naming the Name of Christ professing Faith in that Name and calling himself by it doth strictly oblige him thereunto Again this blessed Scripture which is as Gold tryed seven times in the Fire doth require you to have the same Mind in you that was in Christ Iesus and to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling and also to be blameless and harmless the Sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation among whom ye live and to hold forth the Word of Life Phil. 2.15 16. Though your Lines are cast in a debauched place though you live among a company of profligate Wretches yet do not you learn their Manners they will not be the better for you be not you the worse for them keep you your selves pure though you live in a dirty World that lieth in wickedness be you as spotless as is possible imitating Noah of whom this admirable account is given that when the wickedness of Man was great upon the Earth which was filled with violence and all flesh had corrupted their way Gen. 6.5 12. yet he was a just Man and perfect in his Generation and walked with God Gen. 6.9 Indeed even he miscarried afterward for there is not a just Man upon Earth that liveth and sinneth not but hitherto he pleased God and set you an excellent Copy write after him This my dear Friends is the least that all Men have to expect from you who call your selves Christians and make a Profession of Godliness therefore I beseech you not to fail herein be sure to do this be ye blameless Secondly Be you always grave and serious Keep not only clear of Sin but also of Vanity which will abate your esteem and render you less valuable Really I have not seldom thought it more than enough to offend and turn the Stomachs of sober and wise persons to see the foolish tricks and Antick gestures of some whose Age and Stature did speak them Men. That is evidently true which Elihu said Great Men are not always wise neither do the aged understand Iudgment Iob 32.9 There may be and too often is want of Brains in an hoary Head Paul saith when he was a Child he did as