that be the Proposition and then I shall not want is a good conclusion by no means to be denied Psal 23.1 whereas setting Affections upon things below is the way to miss of those things which are above Dunghil-rakers do not find the Pearl of Price Saul indeed seeking the Asses lighted upon the Kingdom but I think the Bible affords not such another instance Paul tells us Destruction is the end of those whose God is their belly and who mind earthly things Minding earthly things as the chiefest good is the high way to Beggary and Ruin in the end They that will be rich fall into Temptation and not seldom under Heart-wounding Heart-breaking Disappointments Our dear Lord Jesus who is the faithful and true Witness and the wisest Counsellor hath given us excellent Advice commended by a sure and comfortable Promise Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you Mat. 6.33 All these things added Yes so far as your Heavenly Father sees them necessary for you nay more so far as he seeth them good for you no good thing shall he with hold and truly that is far enough farther than so they are not to be desired farther than so they are not worth the having Lastly In your Families and among them who are committed to your Charge direct your Speech very much to the great things of the other World and that recompence of Reward which is to come God took Abram after Lot was separated from him and said to him lift up now thine Eyes and look from the place where thou art northward and southward and eastward and westward for all the Land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever Gen. 13.14 15. So do you take the Members of your Families and bid them lift up their Eyes and look off from this dirty World up to that glorious Canopy over their Heads the Firmament bespangled with Sun Moon and Stars that is but the Floor or Pavement of the Presence Chamber of the King of Glory the Bride-Chamber of the Lamb the Seat of the Blessed which he will give for an Everlasting Inheritance unto them who have chosen and love and obey him Be often and often discoursing to them of Heaven the Company there the Imployment there the Felicity and Satisfaction there the Vision and Fruition that the Saints shall have there of God and Christ whom they shall see not as in a Glass darkly but Face to Face the sweet Fellowship and Communion they shall there have with God in the greatest Intimacy without the least disturbance or interruption there being no sinful withdrawings from God on their part and no angry withdrawings from them on God's part and no Enemy to divert the Mind or break the Peace or abate the Delight but a fulness of Joy they shall have in the presence of their God and Saviour and at his Right Hand Pleasures for evermore Let them know what you can of the greatness of those Preparations which he hath made for them that love and fear him even such things as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor hath entred into the Heart of Man There is an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for them As there are all dimensions in the love which Christ bears to them heighth depth length and breadth so there are in that Happiness and Glory which he hath prepared for them Mind them of the nature of this their present Life that it is but transitory in a continual flux we die daily look how much we have liv'd so much we are already dead our Candle is burning down into the Socket and the Oil of our Lamp spends apace not a Day Hour nor Minute passeth over our Heads but it bringeth us nearer to our Grave which is the House of all the Living and unto it we are continually travelling It is a troublesome Life sin deserves it should be a lamentation thoroughout and God might make it so however they will find it checquer'd be their Morning never so fair and serene yet their Day will be overcast before Night comes and though at the first setting out they have a pleasant Gale yet they must expect to meet with many a furious Storm before they come into their Harbour Children come crying into the World Men and Women go sighing thorough it and groaning out of it Many are the afflictions of the very righteous though God will deliver them out of all It is an uncertain Life Who knows what is in the Womb of Providence or what may be the product of a day we are but short-sighted and cannot tell what stands at the Door ready to draw the Latch Samson found Honey in the Carcase of a Lion but many find Wormwood and Gall in the very Hive where they expected Honey and what they did hope would have been their greatest comfort doth prove their bitterest vexation their greatest torment and what wise Man would take up with such a Life since a better may be made sure of But again this is but a short Life a span long three or fourscore Years to come seem a great while but when past they are as a Tale that is told Few and evil said good Iacob have the days of the years of my Pilgrimage been and truly since sin and sorrow do make them evil it is a Mercy that God doth make them few But since our Lives are short we should not be covetous for a little will serve the turn a little will serve to carry us thorough our Journey See that there be but Oil in the Vessel against the Bridegroom's coming and then it is no great matter though there is but a little Meal in the Barrel let them have their Bellies filled with hid Treasures whose Portion is in this Life let them hunt after great things here who are to have their good things their all here But insisth much among them upon that Life which is to come that will know no end but hath an Eternal duration O Eternity Eternity maist thou strike us all with astonishment and fill our Souls with an aweful regard There will be another state into which we must every one pass at death that will be unalterable a state that is altogether a stranger to hope or to fear that will know nothing to abate its sorrows or to lessen its comforts that hath either Meridian brightness without any obscuring shade or scorching Flames without the least refreshing drop such a state as will be either inconceivably Happy or unspeakbly Miserable and that to all everlasting The Blessed shall from their heighth of Bliss look down without any danger of falling and the Damned shall in their Abyss of Misery and Woe look up without any possibility of rising So Abraham told the Rich Glutton in Hell Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence
needful work for the Lord's sake apply to it with diligence and chearfulness what your hand findeth to do herein do with all your might And since your planting and watering will turn to no account unless God give the increase begin and second all these holy endeavours with prayer Beg of God that he would open their understandings and hearts that he would work together with you and by you and that he would be pleased to out-do you that he would work that in them and for them which you cannot III. Considâ—r seriously whose your Children and Servants are they are yours yea and they are God's as well as yours God's more than yours First They are yours Your Children are yours by Nature begotten or born of you parts of your selves from you under God they had their Being Your Servants are yours by Compact or Covenant And here let us call again to mind what was said before they are both your Charge and therefore they ought to be your Care you are to look to them you will look to your Money and Goods and not lose them if you can help it The Countrey-man will look to his Corn and Cattel that he may not lose them and is there not reason for as great care here and greater too Our Saviour said It is the will of him that sent me that of all whom he hath given me I should lose none and I am sure it is so here It is the will of him that sent you into the World that of all whom he hath given you you should lose none There may be indeed as there was in Christ's Family so in yours a Son a Daughter of Perdition who lose themselves who will ruin and destroy themselves and their Blood will be upon their own heads But have you a care that you do not lose them through your wilful carelesness and neglect For as I have said they are your Charge and believe me the Charge of a Family is a great Charge of mighty weight and importance as all the World all ranks and degrees of Men will find it when that day shall come in which the Eternal God will reckon with them You know that if any one come by an untimely Death whether it be in the City or in the Countrey the Coroners Inquest must be called and sit upon the Body who ought to make a strict and impartial Enquiry about it that the Murderer might be discovered and brought to condign Punishment because there is not only the Loss of a Relation or a Servant but also the King hath lost a Subject Bring this to the present case before us here is such an one a Soul lost in this Family and there is another lost in that Family and so in a great many more the Lord only knows how great the number of them is How many thousand of Souls do every day drop into Hell If people would give themselves leave seriously to consider it it would make their hearts to ake and dissolve into Tears and peradventure it is nay I do not in the least question but it is the case of some of your Families You have lost a Child and you a Daughter and you a Servant in that sense in which the compassionate Father said concerning his Prodigal This my Son was lost he was dead He was dead in trespasses and sins the poor mournful Father had lost him and the Devil taken him up for a Stray but these of yours are lost beyond the possibility of a recovery their Souls are lost for ever they are dead and dead in sin their Bodies are laid in the Grave in a Bed of Dust and their Souls are gone down to Hell and there laid upon a Bed of Flames which Divine Justice hath prepared for them and the Breath of the Lord like as a stream of Brimstone doth feed But now here God hath lost a Creature one that was the work of his own hands and you may be sure that He will make Inquisition for Blood How did this Soul and that Soul come thus to miscarry was it their own doing was it through their own folly and madness because they would not hearken to the Voice of their Teachers or was it through the neglect of those to whose care and tuition they were committed The guilt of every ones Blood shall be laid some where and God will lay it where it ought to lie and there is as you may gather from what hath been said reason why God should thus proceed because Secondly They I mean your Children and Servants are God's as well as yours nay they are more God's than yours He indeed gave them to you as Iacob told his Brother These are the Children which God hath graciously given to thy Servant But when he gave them to you he did not alienate them from himself nor part with his own Right but reserves that whole and entire to himself He so gives them to us that still they are his Yea they are more his than ours And so it is with all our other Enjoyments Take one Scripture or two for the proof of this first as to our Enjoyments some Men think their Estates are their own and their Money their own so that they may do with them whatsoever they please but it is no such matter we are but Stewards God is the Lord of all For this see Hos. 2.8 9. I gave her Corn and Wine and multiplied her Silver and Gold They were his and he gave them to her But observe now he retain'd a propriety in them and therefore upon her misemploying and abusing them he threatned to take them away I will return and take away my Corn in the time thereof and my Wine in the season thereof and recover my Wooll and my Flax. They were hers by vertue of God's donation but they were his also and now she should know as much for he will turn her out and take the Possession of all again This consideration should make all wary that they do not sin with their Enjoyments nor maintain their Lusts at God's cost nor with God's allowances make provision for the Flesh and it should also teach rich Men to do good with what they have and quicken them to acts of Piety and Charity Your Estates are yours but they are God's too and therefore as you ought to use them for your own good and comfort so you must lay them out for God's honour and for God's poor for the Sovereign right in your Estates is in God and it is the same as to your Children God lays his claim to them Ezek. 16.20 21. Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters whom thou hast born unto me and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured Is this of thy Whoredoms a small matter that thou hast slain my Children and delivered them to cause them to pass thorough the fire for them Mark it the Lord grants they were her Children but he doth also call them his Children he
remove do it the sooner the better Let not meer secular advantages keep thee there It is better being out of the warm Sun than out of Gods blessing And you that are fixed as a Wife Child an Apprentice count the want of Family-duty as your Affliction and groan under it as such and in your private addresses beg down if possible Mercy and Grace upon them Pray heartily for them who will neither pray for you nor for themselves the godly Wife for the ungodly Husband the gracious Child for the profane Parent and the Religious Servant for the Wicked Master or Mistress yea wrestle mightily in Prayer for them and with Iacob weep as well as make supplication and be sure to live up to the Laws of the Relations you stand in filling up your days with the duties of your places that though they will not practise Godliness they may see the power of it in its influences upon you If the Wife be peaceable and quiet loyal and loving respecting and reverencing her Husband the Children very dutiful and obedient the servants submissive diligent and faithful every one walking in the fear of God giving no cause of quarrelling with you or blaspheming Religion for your sakes In a word let your whole conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ. You see I have spent a great deal of time and taken no small pains in studying preaching and writing out all this discourse Oh! that it may not be in vain but all the better that have heard or shall read it to that end the good Lord accompany it with his Spirit and blessing bring you to this work keep you at it and help you so to manage your selves and families that after a Life of Prayer on Earth you may be taken up to a Life of Praise in Heaven where all your Wants shall be supplied all your Prayers answered and all your hopes accomplished then you will see the Word was your best rule the Ministers of Christ your real Friends and Religion your grand Interest when fury shall be poured out upon them that know not God and Hell shall receive the Families that call not upon his Name where there shall be no end of their torment and pain nor of their roaring cursing and blaspheming of that holy and righteous but terrible God whom they would not be persuaded to love seek and serve 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A POSTCRIPT HAVING said so much as I have done in this Book to the graver sort of Persons your Parents and Governours dear young ones and that not only for their sakes but yours also I have judged it fit to accompany that advice and counsel to them with a few words to you because you likewise are very nearly and greatly concerned and all means possible are to be made use of for the preventing your present miscarriage and eternal ruine You are now in the Morning of your Age and prime of your strength you have set forth and entred upon that Journey which will certainly bring you to your last home where you must take up your everlasting abode from whence there can be no remove and that will be either Heaven or Hell the Glorious Mansions above or the Bottomless Pit below where it is absolutely necessary for you to take heed to your ways and ponder all your goings to set out right at first and then to go straight on without turning either to the right hand or to the left otherwise you will be lost for if the way be not good the end cannot be peace as for such as turn aside unto their croâ—ked Paths the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity Psal. 125.5 It is too evident that multitudes of young ones through corrupt inclination and bad conduct have gone out of the way of life betimes and could never find it afterward Having made an early choice of Sin they grew harden'd in it and there being a judicial Tradition of them to the power thereof they went on to commit it with greediness living and dying its Votaries and Vassals and is it not sad to consider may it not well be matter of bitter lamentation that such Excellent Noble Creatures should be spoiled such precious immortal Souls should be irrecoverably lost that such sweet and lovely Blossoms should be utterly blasted that they who once were the hope of their Parents and might have been the Ornaments and Blessings of their Country should prove burthens and curses to them both God forbid that any of you should be so too for we have too many such already Therefore I pray God that you may and desire that you would be serious betimes get alone sit down and consider what you are where you are whether you are going what is for your interest and what against it labour to know and knowing mind those things which belong unto your peace youth will not always last nor the pleasures of it which you do now count so very sweet and delicious and run such desperate ventures for the enjoyment of A Sickness may quickly be sent of God and cover your faces with a dismal paleness pick the Marrow out of your Bones suck all the Milk out of your Breasts and convert all your strength into weakness faintness and tremblings your smiles may be turned into frowns your mirth into mourning your laughter into heaviness and your songs into sighs groans and shrieks Your own Consciences may arm against you as your enemy and God may so appear as to be your terrour and you may be then made to possess the iniquities of your youth when all the honey is spent and nothing but the sting left the pleasure is over and only the guilt remains whereby you are bound over to the suffering of the judgment written If you be not wise in this condition you may live and die and then you will see cause to wish you had never been born O! be you I beseech you be ye your own friends provide for your own peace and welfare and instead of working out your Damnation with joy jollity and self-pleasing chuse to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling since all the pleasures of Sin are but for a season do you seek out for and make sure of those which are at Gods right hand for evermore and since this life will be but short when drawn out to its greatest length do you lay hold upon that which is quite out of the reach of death that life which came from God and will be perfected in him And know how great a number soever the Prodigals and Profligate Youths of the present Age do amount to yet if you will be serious and truly religious you will not be alone there have been many choice and excellent Persons that went before you the Names of some together with their Character you meet with in the Sacred Records an Isaac who loved Meditation a Iacob that was set for the blessing and by a Vow bound
Warriour And we may conceive him speaking thus to them O ye seed of Abraham if ye be given to change so am not I If after all that God hath been to you and done for you you will be so ingrateful as to forget and forsake him so will not I. He hath all along been so gracious a God to us all that he shall be my God for ever and ever I am so well so happy with him that I cannot mend my self I can be no where better no where so well therefore I will abide with him as in the Text I and my house will serve the Lord. This was his holy resolve and to this he would stand there could be no reason to the contrary and as for the example of Apostates it should wiâ—h with him be of no significancy nor would he be carried down by the stream He was and would be for God be they for whom they would In the words there are these things observable First The thing he resolved upon which he had in his heart and purpose that was to serve while others of towring and ambitious spirits are altogether for commanding and Lording it this good Man was for serving Though he was a Prince a great General yet did he not look upon it as a disparagement and below him to be a Servant No more did holy David afterward the King of Israel even when he had been called from following the Sheep and placed upon the Throne he knew how still to serve and lov'd to do it the King of Israel thought it no dishonour to serve the God of Israel and therefore he with joy took upon him the name Servant reckoning it his highest and most honourable Title Psal. 116.16 O Lord truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant This service is made up of Acts of Worship performed to the Divine Majesty and a Life of Obedience to the Divine Will In it there is Liberty yea most perfect Freedom those that are strangers to it are the worst of Slaves in it is the highest honour To be one of God's Servants is more noble than to be one of the World's Monarchs And in it is the greatest comfort Isa. 65.13 14. Thus saith the Lord God Behold my Servants shall eat but ye shall be hungry behold my Servants shall drink but ye shall be thirsty behold my Servants shall rejoyce but ye shall be ashamed behold my Servants shall sing for joy of heart but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall howl for vexation of spirit Secondly Here is the Person to whom the Service is to be performed not to Idols not to Devils not to Sin the wages of which is death not to divers Lusts which are tyrannical and cruel but Iehovah that is the word in the Original the Lord the Lord of Lords the Lord of Life and Glory the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob the Lord God of Israel whose Commandments are not grievous but his Yoke is easie and his Burden is light his Yoke being lin'd with his Love and his Burden having Wings Thirdly Here are the Persons by whom this Service is to be performed unto this God We i. e. I and my house I my self not only call others to the work but also set my own hand to it lead them the way I will serve the Lord and all that are mine shall do it together with me Rather than not serve God at all he would serve him alone Ioshua would leave Israel if they would leave God But he would not serve God alone so long as he could have company so long as there were any that he could influence any that he could rule and command they that will live in my house shall serve my God they that would enjoy the comfort of my house shall joyn in the work and duty of my house We will serve the Lord. Exemplum proponitur Gubernandae Familiae saith Masius Here is set before us an excellent Pattern or good Example for the ordering and governing of a Family Oh that it may be followed by all those who call themselves Christians and own Iehovah for the Lord their God! That a Christian Profession and Practical Atheism may not meet in them The Doctrine which I raise from these words and offer to your most serious consideration as the Truth of God to be believed by you received in Love and obeyed from the Heart is this Doct. It is the great duty of all those whom God hath made Heads or Governours of Families to set up Religious Duties and the Worship of God in their respective Families Oh that God would so assist and succeed me in the handling hereof and accompany what shall delivered with such power upon your Consciences and Hearts as by that time I have finished these Discourses there may not be one Prayerless Family belonging to this numerous Congregation How greatly then would my Soul bless God and with what comfort and joy should I look upon you It is both a wicked and miserable thing for any to be without God in the World Ephes. 2.12 He is so great so necessary a good that nothing can possibly supply the want of him Notwithstanding Moon and all the Stars it is night with us when once the Sun is departed off our Horizon God is absolutely necessary for us and our All is due to him Single persons must know it to be their duty and interest to serve and worship God in their Capacities as Publickly in the Gates of Sion which God loves in the Assemblies of the Saints unto which they ought to joyn themselves as followers of the same Lord and Members of the same Body so singly and alone let their Chambers and Closets be Witnesses for them that they do not live in an ingrateful and wicked unmindfulness of God Let Children begin betimes with God Let young Men and Maids have early converses with God waiting upon him and walking with him And when they come to alter their condition and to have Yoke-fellows and Families let them be careful to set up the Worship of God in them though let them still remember to keep up their retirements It is not enough for them to worship God in their Families but they ought to do it in their Chambers too nor is it enough for them to worship God in their Chambers but they ought to do it in their Families too Let not these jostle nor exclude one another but as Sister-duties live sweetly together under the same Roofs In private Duties the holy Soul hath the greater liberty from Family-duties God hath the greater Honour Secret duties are plainer Evidences of Sincerity Family and publick duties are of larger influence and usefulness As for me and my house we will serve the Lord We will unite in his Service not only approve of it or consent to it but joyn in it Take here with you these two things First The Service of God should begin as soon as the Family begins This I
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
place in Heaven and the day is coming after which it shall be found no more upon Earth but be for ever confin'd and shut up in Hell Sin is evil in its Consequents and Effects Indeed who did ever gather Grapes of Thorns How can any good Fruit grow upon this Root of bitterness Let me briefly name some of those Mischiefs which Sin hath done and still goeth on to do in the World 1. Sin hath defac'd the Beauty of Man sullied and stain'd his Glory thrown him down from his Excellency turn'd the Nazarite into an Ethiopian so that he who at first was but a little lower than the Angels is now become like unto the Beasts that perish yea worse than they 2. Sin hath spoiled Man's Communion with God which was inconceivably more and better than the Delights of Eden or his Dominion over the Creatures As his Holiness did consist in his conformity to God so did his Happiness in Communion with him but as soon as he had committed Sin that stood as a middle Wall of Partition between them 3. Sin hath broken Man's Peace that Peace which once he had with God and sown Enmity So that God is angry with him and he a Traitor a Rebel against God That Peace which was once in himself The faculties of his Soul were once harmonious Reason sitting in the Throne Judgment ruling and governing the Will and Affections knowing keeping their place and following the Dictates of the Understanding but now there is discord and jarring the Understanding mistakes the Will and Affections mutiny so that frequently there are disorders and confusion in the Soul And oh how dismal are the Contests oftentimes between a Man and his Conscience he crosseth his Conscience and that will not bear it he wounds his Conscience and then that rageth and storms and laies about it as a fury and wheresoever he goes it follows him with its clamours so that he becomes a terrour to himself 4. Sin hath brought in all the Troubles of Life How many are they and how great Who can understand his Errours who can sum up his Sorrows Most come into the World crying and go complaining thorough it In sorrow do Women bring forth Children some are grieved because they have none and some more because those they have are so bad How are the endeavours of many vain and unsuccessful their hopes blasted and their expectations disappointed how are some wasted and consumed with sickness others ground and tortur'd with pain Now a Fire comes and devours your pleasant things burying your Habitations in their own Ashes and then a War which knows no compassion but turns fruitful Lands first into Fields of Blood and then into Wildernesses 5. Sin hath introduced Death and Arm'd against us that King of Terrours Had not Man made Sin his Work he had never receiv'd Death for his Wages had not Sin been Man had either continued in a perfect and Paradisical State upon Earth or else been translated into the Region of Light and Life and Love above but now if ever he would come thither he must walk thorough the dark Shades and be dissolv'd in order to his being glorified We now mourn over a dead Friend a dead Relation let us remember that Sin kill'd them Rom. 5.12 By one Man Sin entred into the World and Death by Sin and so Death passed upon all Men for that all have sinned 6. Sin hath digg'd Hell This is that Tophet which is mentioned in Isa. 30.33 that is made deep and large the Pile whereof is Fire and much Wood the Breath of the Lord like a Stream of Brimstone doth kindle it The Hell in the Conscience which some Men do feel now and that Hell into which all wicked wretches shall be tumbled at the last are both of them the fruit of Sin Now my Friends will you be careful in this matter will you consider what Natures all brought into the World with them how Sin dwells in you and yours Oh! shew unto them the evil that is in it and the mischiefs that come by it for by doing so you take a course to damp the Tinder that it may not catch Fire when the Spark is struck and to arm them against Temptations when they come out in their greatest violence this will tend to the preserving them from the path of the Destroyer though it be such a beaten Road and so full of Travellers This was the Antidote that secur'd Ioseph from the Poison that was offer'd him in the Cup of Fornication He was shreudly assaulted and that more than once the on-set was renewed day by day and he was in his youthful Blood and on that account a great deal more in danger of being prevail'd upon and wrought to a compliance but it was labour in vain he looked upon the vile sinfulness of the thing and that was more powerful to affright him from it than the Charms of his Mistress were to allure him to it and therefore with a Pathos or Zeal of Soul he cryed out Gen. 39.9 How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God He saw such a filthiness in that Sin as that he loathed to touch either it or her that had tempted him to it but fled from them both Fourthly Be much in acquainting them with our Lord Iesus Christ and the way of ruin'd Man's recovery by him and by him alone He being the only Mediator between God and Man and the only Redeemer of God's Elect. Let them know that by Nature and by reason of Sin their case is extreamly deplorable When once our first Parents had transgrest it was dark round about them nothing offer'd it self to their Eye that had a promising aspect God that had been before their chiefest comfort was then their greatest terrour his Voice that had been so sweet and pleasant to them was then in their Ears like Thunder As soon as Adam heard it he was afraid and hid himself but as deplorable as sinful lapsed Man's case is now blessed be free and rich Grace it is not desperate unless he himself by obstinate impenitency and unbelief do make it so There is hope in Israel concerning this thing because all-sufficient help is laid upon One that is mighty 1. Though God was greatly affronted by the work of his own hands whom he had so obliged and by that affront had been so highly provoked yet being a God of bowels whose compassions do not fail in wrath he remembred mercy and though he had no yearnings over the sinning Angels but immediately banished them from his presence threw down from their first estate and with indignation tumbled them into Hell where he hath clapt upon them everlasting Chains in which he reserves them to the Judgment of the great day yet he had it in his hearty to pity and shew kindness to fallen Man it was the fixed resolve and purpose of his Grace to mend the marr'd Girdle and to repair the broken Potsherds of the Earth and of
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
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