little strength to stir one foot to do or say or think any thing that is good have you not great need to set out in good time and to continue unwearied in your course all the day that you may at last receive the glorious prize Ought you not forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before to press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. 3.13,14 Arise therefore from your sloth and laziness and run and be not weary and walk and do not faint Pray to God to hold up your goings in his paths that your footsteps may not slide to strengthen your weak hands and confirm your feeble knees to draw you that you may run after him and follow him fully Beg of him that he would be at your right hand to direct and defend you that he would perfect his strength in your weakness and would give you in all things both to will and to do according to his good pleasure that when you meet with enemies in your way he would teach your hands to war and your fingers to fight and that his Grace may be sufficient for you 4. Motive from the Account you must give how you spend your Time Fourthly Consider that you must give an account of your time how you spend and employ it God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the World in Righteousness by his Son Jesus Christ our Lord who is to come from Heaven very unexpectedly and suddenly in a most dreadful and terrible manner with Power and great Glory in the Clouds of Heaven in flaming fire with ten thousands of his holy Angels with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the Trump of God He shall send his Angels and they shall gather together his Elect from the four Winds from one end of Heaven to the other The Throne shall be set and all Nations shall be gathered before him The Books shall be opened and the hidden things of darkness shall be brought to light the counsels of the heart shall be made manifest and every work shall be brought into Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or bad There shall be no need of Witnesses against the guilty nor of Racks and Tortures to extort their Confessions Every Man 's own Conscience shall be instead of a thousand Witnesses Then shall the Judge pass Sentence on every Man according to his works The righteous shall be absolved and shall receive the reward of everlasting Life and Glory They shall be made partakers of a Crown of Glory which fadeth not away and of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken But the wicked shall be cast into utter darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth where the Worm dieth not and where the fire shall never be quenched Where they shall continue for ever deprived of the Favour and Love of God and exposed to the insupportable load of his anger and displeasure You profess to believe these things and therefore ought you not so to live and so to husband your time that when the Judge cometh he may not find you idle nor doing such things as are to his dishonour You may by the following Similitude conceive somewhat concerning the different thoughts of good and bad Men upon such a sudden appearance of the Judge Suppose a Prince going into a far Country should call together his Servants appointing them severally their work till his return which he tells them will be unexpected and promising great rewards of Houses and Lands and honourable Employments to the faithful and obedient Servants but threatning severe punishments and torments and a terrible death to the unfaithful and disobedient If after his departure some of the Servants mind their business observing as well as they can what their Master required them to do Others without any regard to his Commands take no thought of their business but are idle and eat and drink with the drunken and smite their fellow Servants and both by their words and deeds dishonour their Lord. You may easily imagine how differently these Servants will be affected when he returns suddenly and unexpectedly The good Servants will be glad and rejoyce at his coming and will meet him with great chearfulness and confidence as expecting the accomplishment of his Promises and being conscious to themselves of having done their Duty honestly and faithfully of having carried themselves as they ought to have done during his absence But the naughty and wicked Servants must needs be filled with shame and confusion upon the Coming of their Lord so as not to be able to look him in the face There is no other thing which they can do but to endeavour to fly from his presence that they may not fall under the weight of his terrible displeasure In this manner our Lord and Master Jesus before he left the World gave Rules and Commands to his Servants how to employ themselves and what to do till his return He promised Rewards to all who should believe and obey and threatned the unbelievers and the disobedient with heavy Punishments and most dreadful Judgments When he comes again in the great Day to judge the World the godly shall meet him with great hope and assurance of obtaining the end of their Faith even the Salvation of their Souls But the wicked and unbelievers shall be full of horrour and confusion and shall cry tho' in vain to the Mountains to fall on them to hide them from the face of their Judge who will be a consuming Fire to all the workers of iniquity and will in no wise clear the guilty Now do you desire heartily and sincerely to escape everlasting Condemnation and to obtain a glorious Reward in the Day of your Accounts Then you must study to redeem the time and to make use of all opportunities of doing good You must not be slothful in your great business but fervent in Spirit serving the Lord knowing that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. You see how the Men of the World bestir themselves when there is but a small appearance and probability of gain and advantage The Merchants make use of every favourable opportunity to buy and sell they go early to Market that they may not lose a good occasion and yet after all they may be and are frequently disappointed and make a very bad bargain But the Christian who redeems his time to buy Wisdom is sure to find it They who seek me early shall find me Prov. 8.17 The Mariners wait for a favourable Gale a fair and seasonable Wind to go to Sea And when it blows accordin to their wishes they are sure not to lose one moment Their desire of gain and their hopes of a prosperous Voyage makes them venture And yet after all they may and often do suffer shipwrack and lose their goods and their lives too But the Christian who redeems his
pastime who take pleasure in publishing their weaknesses and indiscretions that others also may laugh at them and despise them who when their Parents grow old and poor 〈◊〉 when themselves come to have more Wealth and Honour in the World than their Parents have do thenceforth turn their backs upon their poor Parents are ashamed to own them and will not any longer take notice of them How dreadful and terrible are the Curses and Judgments which God hath in store against such wretched Children Deut. 27.16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his Father or his Mother Prov. 30.17 The Eye that mocketh at his Father and despiseth to obey his Mother the Ravens of the vallies shall pick it out and the young Eagles shall eat it That is he who is a mocker and scorner of his Parents who despises and slights them shall die a shameful death and remain unburied and shall be exposed to the Birds and Beasts of prey to be eaten of them It does not follow from hence that all perverse wretched Children come to such a shameful and untimely end Only it shews what oft-times happeneth and is very usual to wit that such mockers and despisers of Parents are punished remarkably by the Justice of God in this World and are made Examples to all others who will open their Eyes to consider the hand of God against such ungodly Children As for Instances of the Divine Justice against Mockers of Parents all Ages and Countries are full of them C ham was made an Example of this Gen. 9.22,24,25 And C ham the Father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his Father and told his two brethren without And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him And he said Cursed be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren In which words the Canaan the Son of Cham is only mentioned yet Cham is not exempted from the Curse his punishment is hereby made so much the greater because he is not only pronounced accursed in his own person which is necessarily to be supposed he having committed the sin which caused the Curse but also in his Posterity which could not but increase mightily his grief and make his punishment lye more heavy upon him Ezekiel reckons this Sin of contemning and dishonouring Parents as one great cause of the dreadful Judgments which God inflicted upon the Jews Ch. 22.7 In ye have they set Light by Father and Mother 2. Duty to obey their Parents and to hearken to their Instructions Secondly Children are to obey their Parents to do what they bid them See this in the Example of Joseph when Jacob sent him to his Brethren Gen. 37.13,14 And Israel said unto Joseph Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem Come and I will send thee unto them And he said to him Here am I. And he said to him Go I pray thee see whether it be well with thy brethren and well with the flocks and bring me word again so he sent him out of the vale of Hebron and he came to Shechem See likewise the Example of David 1 Sam. 17.17 18,20 Jesse said unto David his Son take now for thy Brethren an Ephah of this parched Corn and these Ten Loaves and run to the Camp to thy Brethren And carry these Ten Cheeses unto the Captain of their Thousand and look how thy Brethren fare and take their pledge And David arose early in the Morning and left the Sheep with a Keeper and took and went as Jesse had Commanded him c. The Commands of Parents are either about the same things which God hath commanded or they are about things indifferent or about things unlawful First if they are about the same things which God hath commanded they are so much the more to be obeyed as being the will and pleasure both of their Father in Heaven and of their earthly Parents In this case the obligation to obedience is double Eph. 6.1 Children saith the Apostle Obey your Parents in the Lord for this is right that is it is agreeable to all Law to the Law of God of Nature and of Nations 'T is that which is due to the place of Parents 'T is their right to be obeyed by their Children Secondly If their Parents Commands are about things indifferent that is which are neither commanded nor forbidden by God Children are likewise to obey them God hath made it their Duty so to do Col. 3.20 Children obey your Parents in all things for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. * Agreeable to this was the Sense of wise Heathens See A. Gell. l. 2. c. 7. This Obedience is very acceptable to him he takes great pleasure and delight in it to see those obeyed and submitted to whom he hath appointed to be as it were in his own stead whom he hath cloathed with some beams of Divine Power whom with relation to their Children he hath made in some sense sacred persons whose Will ought to be a Law unto them tho' only in the Lord. For Thirdly if the thing commanded be plainly unlawful they are to refuse compliance therewith because they are bound to obey God rather than Man rather than Father or Mother rather than all the World In this case they ought to hearken to what our Saviour saith Luk. 14.26 If any Man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother c. he cannot be my Disciple In which Words Our Saviour is far from encouraging Children to hate or to disobey their Parents for we see how zealously he vindicates the Authority of Parents upon other occasions But his Design is to teach Children when the Will of God and the Will of their Parents stand in Competition that then they ought always to give the preference to the Divine Will and to chuse rather to incur the displeasure of their Earthly Parents than to offend and provoke their Heavenly Father They ought to consider their Obligations to God are much greater than to their Parents he is the Maker both of them and of their Parents They live by his Bounty the Earth they tread on is his the Air they breathe in the Heavens that cover them the Food they eat the Water they drink the Garments that Cloath them and all other things which they enjoy for their benefit and comfort in the World are the Lord's He is their great Master who appoints them their business in the World and assures them of a reward He also will reckon with them and either reward or punish them according to their Works and therefore his Commands are to be preferred to those of all others But even in this case Children are to express in their very denial and refusal of obedience all that Honour and Respect to their Parents that 's possible that they may see it is not stubbornness but the fear of God which makes them disobey By this means Parents may perhaps be convinced and made sensible of
Practices and with their rash and foolish Designs In a word they study a perfect Opposition to their Parents in all things they pull down whatever they built they root up whatever they planted they hate what they loved and love whatever they hated So unlike do they render themselves to their Parents in all their Manners and Customs that all who see them must needs call them a degenerate Seed Cursed Children unnatural Plants ready to be hewn down and cast into the Fire From what hath been said Children may see what their Duty is which they owe to their Parents which that they may perform there are several things which serve as powerful Motives and Arguments to excite them Motives to excite Children to do these things 1 Motive from the divine Commandment First It will tend mightily to move them to Honour their Father and Mother if they consider who requires this at their hands This Law proceedeth not from Men but from God It is a Law made by him who is their Maker and therefore by right of Creation may require their Obedience It is a Law made by their faithful preserver and rich provider and therefore by Virtue of his daily care over them and kindness to them may command them what he thinks good This is the will of their Father in Heaven of their Lord and King of him who will call them to an account and render to them according to their Works of him who is their greatest and best Friend if they do his Will and keep his Commandments but will be their most dreadful and terrible Enemy if they do not obey his Voice If therefore Children have any sense of God on their Souls If they consider his infinite greatness Power Wisdom Justice Truth Faithfulness Mercy and Kindness they cannot but endeavour to perform what he requires when once they know what is his holy will and pleasure Now as to what I speak of to wit the Duty of Children to Parents it is plain and clear not only from those Laws which are contained in Holy Scripture which were revealed from Heaven to Holy Men whom God made use of to be the publishers thereof to the World but likewise from the Laws of Nature those clear impressions which God hath made on the Minds of Men in all places and in all Ages whereby they are taught that Children ought to honour and obey their Parents to love them and to relieve them and provide for them if they stand in need of their help * See Simplicius upon Epictet Cap. 37. and Arrianus l. 2. c. 10. These have always been the calm and sober thoughts of all Men and when any were so wicked as to violate this sacred Law they were hated and abhorred by all others and in all well govern'd States were punished according to the demerits of their Crime and the degree of their disobedience and perverseness either immediately by the Parents or by publick Judges upon complaint made by Parents The Sense of all this ought to move Children to honour their Father and Mother that they may approve themselves to God who requires them to do so and that upon the severest Penalties if they shall dare to dishonour them and disobey them 2. Motive from the Divine Promise Secondly To encourage Children to perform their Duty to their Parents God hath been pleased to add a gracious promise That thy days may be long †Or that they i. e. Thy Parents may prolong thy days to wit by their Prayers and Blessing upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee He might only have commanded them to do this by Virtue of his absolute Power and Soveraign Authority which he has over all Men without proposing any Reward but such is his infinite Bounty and Goodness that he hath added a Promise to the Command thereby to make Childrens Duty the more easie As to the Promise it self it is not to be understood absolutely as if all good Children should live long promises of Temporal Blessings are made conditionally that is so far as God sees such things best and fittest for us So that as to this promise of long life God will bestow it if it be most for his own Glory and the good and Benefit of Children Oftentimes he does lengthen out the years of pious and dutiful Children whereas the years of wicked and undutiful Children are shortned by their prophane and wicked courses so that some of them are cut off immediately by the hand of God and others are put to death by the hand of Man As for those Children who live not to a great Age tho' they are very dutiful and obedient to their Parents God doth make up what is wanting in the number of their Years here with an everlasting Life and Glory in Heaven In which case there 's no cause to complain as if Cod did not fulfil his promise to them For as there is no reason for a Man to complain who is employed to work for so much a day if his Master see it fit to free him from his Work and pay him all his Wages before the third part of his time is out Even so if God think fit to set his Children at Liberty from the toil and labour of this life and to bestow upon them Glorious and Eternal Rewards while they are in the Morning or Noon as it were of their Age there is no ground of complaining upon his doing so but rather great matter of Praise and Thanksgiving unto him whose Mercy and Love is infinitely great But besides this Reward in the other World there are Temporal Blessings which God will bestow on those who keep this Commandment My Son saith Solomon Prov. 1.8,9 Hear the Instruction of thy Father and forsake not the Law of thy Mother For they shall be an Ornament of Grace unto thy Head and Chains about thy Neck That is if thou art obedient to the Commands of thy Parents this will make thee very amiable not only in the sight of God but even of Men who cannot but love and esteem such Children who carry themselves as they ought to do towards their Parents But further to encourage Children to honour their Parents there is a promise of Prosperity added to that of long life Deut. 5.16 That thy days may be prolonged and that it may go well with thee c. The same Promise is repeated Eph. 6.3 with this difference only that it is prefixed to the promise of long life that it may be well with thee and that thou mayest live long on the Earth When God does prolong the Years of his Children he often affords them more or less of Temporal Prosperity also as he sees it will turn to their good that so their long life may be the more sweet and comfortable to them How acceptable and pleasing to God was the Obedience of the Rechabites unto their Father tho' his Commands seemed very hard and severe to wit That they
should drink no Wine nor build House nor sow Seed nor plant Vineyard nor have any but should dwell in Tents Jer. 35.6,7 c. And ver 18. Jeremiah said unto the House of the Rechabites Thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel because you have obeyed the Command of Jonadab your Father and kept all his Precepts and done according to all that he hath Commanded you Therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts the God of Israel Jonadab the Son of Rechab shall not want a Man to stand before me for ever Which words import that he would take a particular care of them that he would be mindful of them and have them in his Eye that he would preserve them and shew them his favour and love and continue unto them those Offices and Priviledges which they enjoyed which some think were of being Scribes and Doctors of the Law and having some Charge in or about the Temple 3. Motive from the Example of our Blessed Saviour Thirdly Besides the Command of God and the Reward which he hath promised to them who honour their Parents how strong an Argument ought it to be unto all Children to excite them to this when they consider the Example of their Blessed Lord and Master their King and Saviour Jesus Christ of whom it is said that he was subject unto his Parents Luke 2.51 And if he who was so much greater than his Parents who was their Lord their King their Maker their Saviour and Redeemer if he who was the Son of God and thought it no Robbery to be equal with God I say if he was subject to his Parents ought not all Children to be so to their Parents and to esteem it their Glory to imitate their Prince and Saviour as in his other Virtues so in his Obedience and Subjection to his Parents Shall any Man think himself too good to do this when Christ did it before him Can it be too mean for a Worm to do that which a Man a great Man and a mighty Prince hath done Shall vile Sinners think themselves abased and dishonoured by doing that which was done before by him who knew no sin and in whose Mouth there was found no guile who was holy harmless and undefiled separate from sinners and made higher than the Heavens Heb. 7.26 As our Blessed Lord was a great and Noble Pattern to us in other things so particularly in his love to his Parents When he was upon the Cross a little before he gave up the Ghost he expressed how great his love was to his Mother and how tender a care he had of her John 19.25,26,27 Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus his Mother and his Mother's Sister Mary the Wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene When Jesus therefore saw his Mother and the Disciple standing by whom he loved he saith unto his Mother Woman behold thy Son Then saith he to the Disciple behold thy Mother And from that hour that Disciple took her unto his own home He commends his Mother to John Joseph in all probability being dead that he might take care of her as of his own Mother Tho' he was at this time in the midst of great pain and anguish tho' his hands and his feet were nailed to the Cross tho' his Head was Crowned with Thorns tho' he lay under the most insupportable Burden that ever Man lay under yet as if the sight of his Mother had made him forget all his Sufferings and Torments he affectionately recommends her to the care of another who he knew would perform all the Offices of a loving Son unto her He knew how great an affliction it would be to her to be deprived of the Comfort of his presence in the World he knew to how many necessities and wants she should be exposed by his leaving of her and therefore he gives it in charge to the beloved Disciple to do the Duty of a Son unto her to be to her in his stead to honour her to love her to serve her to take care of her and provide whatever might be fit for her This shews all Children what is their Duty towards their Parents to wit that they ought to take care of them so long as they live and are able to do it they ought with all respect and kindness to perform unto them all those Offices which the Laws of Nature and Christianity require 4. Motive from the Examples of some Heathens Fourthly May not the Examples of some Heathens which have already been mentioned excite Christian Children to perform their Duty to their Parents There are a great many more Instances might be added to this purpose I shall only mention a few The first is * Valer. Max. l. 5. c. 4. Plut. in Coriolaâ—… of the brave Coriolanus that Great Roman Commander who being very ill used by his Country-men fled to the Volscians who were at that time at War with the Romans Within a little time after his coming amongst them he was made General of their Forces in which Service he had great Success against the Romans gaining several Victories over them whereby he was encouraged to approach to the very Walls of Rome His Countrey-men were terribly alarmed with this so that they were forced to make humble Addresses to him to deprecate his displeasure but to no purpose They sent their Priests in their Sacred Vestments but to as little Effect But no sooner did his Mother attended with his Wife and Children come to him but he submitted himself to her Now says he you have overcome me indeed when the intreaties of my Mother are added to yours tho' Rome deserve my hatred yet for my Mother's sake I will spare it and immediately he withdrew his Army A second Example is that of the Worthy Athenian Captain Cimon * Val. Max. ibid. who not being able to redeem the Corps of his Father which was Arrested for Debt sold himself and became a Slave that his Deceased Father's Body might be freed from that Arrest that was upon it and so might have Honourable Burial This great Man was famous for his Noble and Valiant Exploits for his great Courage and Excellent Conduct in Military Affairs but there was not any thing for which he was so much admired and loved as for this wonderful instance of Affection and Respect to his Father A Third Example is * Sen. l. 1. Controversiarum c. 1. of a Son whose Father and Uncle were at great variance It happ'ned that the Uncle during this Contention fell into great want His Brother was so madly and wickedly set against him that he not only would not relieve him himself but also forbad his Son to do it The young Man considered his Uncles Case to be such as obliged his Father and himself both to help him all they could But if his Father through his violent Passion and Prejudice neglected his Duty which the Laws of Nature and Humanity required yet he judged
occasions of doing good that you may fortifie others in Virtue and Piety that you may rescue those that are carried down the stream by bad Example and may build up your selves in Holiness and that you may be made strong in the Lord and in the Power of his Might Or Because the days are evil may relate to the danger you are in through the fury and malice of your Enemies who are ready to do you all the mischief that is in their power the sense whereof should make you improve all occasions of doing good not knowing how soon you may be deprived of your present happy opportunities and seasons for working The design of this Discourse is to shew you 1st How you are to redeem your Time And 2dly To propose some Considerations to excite you to do so How Time is to be redeemed 1. Time to be redeemed from sleep First YOu are to redeem your Time from excessive and immoderate sleep It is necessary for all Men to refresh their Bodies with sleep and rest and the state of some Mens Bodies requires a great deal more than others so that no exact Rules can be given about the proportion of sleep that 's proper for every one Only in general it is fit that all Persons redeem as much time from sleeping as the health of their Bodies can permit that so they may employ part of that time to some good and useful purpose which they were wont to waste in the shadow of Death as it were whereof sleep is the picture and representation In the ancient Church we find many were wont to rise up in the night to pray that so they might day and night keep alive in their Souls Divine impressions that they might preserve a relish and taste of heavenly and spiritual things that excellent Objects might not be removed too far out of their sight This is a practice which perhaps very few in these cold Countries are able safely to imitate especially at some times of the year The weakness and tenderness of some bodies makes it to them impracticable because it would render them unfit at other times not only for religious performances but for the other necessary Actions of life Some likewise have so little time allowed them for their repose in the Night that they cannot do this in their present Circumstances As for such who are capable without any sort of inconvenience to follow this ancient Practice let them do it They want not sufficient Encouragement thereto if they consider that thereby they have the opportunity of flying as it were from these Regions of darkness and misery of sin and folly unto those glorious Regions of light and happiness of purity and perfection there to converse with God their chiefest Joy to behold his Face the light of his Countenance to taste and see how good he is to walk with him to be satisfied with his Salvation to drink of those Rivers of unmixed pleasure which are in his Presence the streams whereof make glad the City of God As for those who are not able to deny themselves of their repose in the night season all that I shall say to them is this When at some times it pleaseth God to take away their sleep and to keep them awake let them redeem a few moments from vain thoughts by lifting up their Souls to God darting up some pious thoughts and fervent desires Heaven-wards reflecting on the Goodness and Love of God admiring his glorious Perfections calling to mind and considering his gracious Providences longing for and breathing after that happy State when they shall be placed above all the infirmities and frailties of the flesh above outward necessities above Sin and Satan and all their Enemies And after this they may again compose themselves to sleep This is a means to keep the Soul awake to entertain it in a way worthy of it to accustom it to the contemplation of excellent and divine Objects to keep Heaven always near its view and not to suffer the things of another life to be removed too far out of sight We see in what temper of mind the Spouse was Cant. 5.2 I sleep but my heart waketh Even amidst her repose and sleep her thoughts were running after her desirable and beloved Object which possessed her heart and filled her thoughts when she was awake And so it is with pious Souls sometimes when their thoughts have been much imployed and busied about spiritual and heavenly things in the day time they dream of them in the Night season Tho' they sleep yet their heart waketh This watchful temper is an Excellent means to enrich the Soul whereas slothfulness and giving up ones self to drowsiness and sleep causeth spiritual beggery An idle Soul saith Solomon Prov. 19.15 shall suffer hunger And Prov. 20.13 Love not sleep test thou come to Poverty Open thine Eyes and thou shalt be satisfied with Bread Then was it that Samson lost his Hair wherein was his strength when he was asleep Judg. 16.19 As it is a fault at any time to waste our precious hours in this sluggish and lazy manner so especially when God affords very favourable opportunities of doing some great good to our selves or others He that sleepeth in Harvest saith the wise Man is a Son that causeth shame Prov. 10.5 that is he makes his Father and Friends ashamed of him and brings shame and disgrace on himself Now is the day of Grace now is the acceptable time now is the season of gathering the Fruits of Righteousness and of making sure an Harvest of everlasting Glory And therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober 1 Thes 5.6 2. Time to be redeemed from dressing the Body Secondly Redeem time from dressing and adorning the Body Let not more time be spent that way than is meet and fit Let your first care every day be to dress and adorn the better part to put on the true Ornaments to cloath your selves with Humility Meekness Patience Charity and with all other Virtues which are of great price in the sight of God Put off the Works of darkness and put on the Armour of Light Raise your Souls towards Heaven by some short and fervent Ejaculations Read the Word of God with great attention and humility with an earnest desire to know his Will and with a sincere purpose to do it Endeavour to feed and nourish your Souls by serious Meditation Call on God by humble and earnest Prayer to pardon you to bless you to direct and prosper you in all your ways and to save and preserve you from all Evils Ghostly and Bodily Form good purposes and strong resolutions to do what is good and right Set the Lord always before you Resolve to seek his Glory in all things whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do After having done those things which are needful for the Soul you may next do what is fit and decent as to your Attire
them Eph. 5.11 Follow the Psalmist's Example whose Eyes ran down with Rivers of Tears because they kept not God's Law Psal 119.136 Remember also how Lot's Righteous Soul was vexed with the filthy Conversation of the wicked amongst whom he lived 2 Pet. 2.9,10 Secondly You ought to make use of all favourable opportunities to endeavour to make them better and to rescue them from their evil ways and doings If you observe these things you are not partakers with them in their Sins and therefore God will not lay them to your charge But if you entertain unnecessary Company and hold a delightful Familiarity with Persons of a profligate Life 't is too certain a mark that your Religion goes not very deep You cannot justly be supposed to have much love to God if you take pleasure in the Society of his professed Enemies All Flesh consorteth saith the Son of Sirach according to kind and a Man will cleave to his like What Fellowship hath the Wolf with the Lamb so the Sinner with the Godly Ecclesiasticus 13.16,17 If at any time Atheistical and Prophane Persons follow after you and thrust themselves into your Company beware of them and shake off their Society unless you converse with them with a design to reform them and to bring them off from their evil Practices and have ground to hope that you may do them good But when after having tried twice or thrice to make them better you find you only cast Pearls before Swine and that there is more danger of getting hurt by them than of doing them good it is fit that you deal roundly and plainly with them and that you let them know that so long as they are no better you desire to be excused if you do not keep company with them Tho' plainness is very necessary in this case yet it is fit that it be tempered with all the discretion and sweetness that 's possible otherwise it may do more hurt than good Endeavour to make such Persons sensible that you are only an Enemy to their Vices and that as for their Persons you will be always ready to do them all good Offices Secondly As you ought carefully to avoid the company of those who are Prophane and Atheistical Persons so it is your Interest as well as Duty to visit those who are good and Religious They who feared the Lord saith Malachi Chap. 3.16 spake often one to another When you have the opportunity of enjoying the company of such Persons make the best use of it that you can Consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works Heb. 10.24 Exhort one another daily Heb. 3.13 Admonish comfort and in a friendly and loving manner reprove one another as there is need Make use of one anothers Counsel and Advice in any thing that is doubtful and difficult By all discreet and prudent ways endeavour to learn some good and useful thing from good and wise Persons with whom you have occasion to converse Counsel in the heart of a man saith Solomon is as deep waters but a man of understanding draws it out Prov. 20.5 Counsel that is a skill and dexterity to give good Advice and Counsel and to talk of things which tend to make men wiser and better This in the heart of a wise man is like deep waters that is it makes no great noise the wisest men being also the modestest and is not come at without some pains and some prudent Arts and Methods But a man of understanding draws it out that is by discreet and seasonable questions and other fit ways he gives his wise Friend an opportunity to discourse to communicate his thoughts and to discover his wisdom and experience Beware lest in good Company your Discourse vanish into air and smoak lest it be too trifling and about things vain and impertinent Let your words be seasoned with salt ministring grace to the bearers Col. 4.6 Endeavour to receive benefit from the Society of those who are good and wise and to do them good so far as you can by your Society As every Man hath received the Gift saith St. Peter even so Minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God 1 Pet. 4.10 It is true it is not only lawful but sometimes very convenient and necessary when virtuous and excellent Persons meet together that they recreate and divert themselves a little by chearfulness and innocent mirth that thereby their minds may be made more fit for serious and sacred things Such is the state and condition of Man while in the body that his Soul cannot be always employed about those things which are of a Divine and Spiritual Nature This vigour and strength of Soul is not perhaps attained to by any on this side the Grave However our care must be that the bent and inclination of our Hearts be toward those things that are good and useful This must be our business our way and course to be good and to do good And as for our Recreations and Divertisements they must only be subservient to the other 6. Time to be redeemed from worldly Business Sixthly Redeem time from your ordinary cares and worldly business that you may do some great good for the glory of God and benefit of Mankind In the ordinary course of your Lives you must mind the business of your Calling according to your settled and usual Method But then you are still to remember to let the concerns of your Soul take place and be preferred First seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness Mat. 6.33 At some times it is fit to deny your selves in the affairs and concerns of this Life to leave off your ordinary work and labour when your great Lord and Master affords you some extraordinary opportunity for doing good to your Christian Brother or to your own Souls Then you must sell things of lesser value that you may buy time for doing that which will make you rich in the true Riches that you may edifie your Brother and build up your selves in true Virtue The great matter is to know when you are to do so You must not every time when a sudden thought ariseth in your mind moving you to leave your Plough or your Trade and Calling and to give up your selves to some Acts of Religion and Devotion you must not I say presently set on this the stamp or seal of a Divine Inspiration and a Call from Heaven This if not taken heed to may lead you into great mistakes and errours and very dangerous delusions Sometimes Melancholly or other bodily Distempers may give occasion to a great many warm fancies and imaginations Therefore you are not to follow those private motions and inclinations if you are not some other way determined thereto by some concurring evidence of the hand of God For Example if when you are moved in your own mind to do some very good and pious work there happen about the same time an
outward Call to do the same thing you may conclude there is somewhat extraordinary in this to determine you By an outward Call I do not mean any extraordinary Voice from Heaven That 's not to be expected but a Call by some good wise and discreet Person who unexpectedly desires and invites you to do that which before his speaking of it to you you found your own heart moved and inclined to In which case you have a very mighty encouragement both from the goodness and usefulness of the thing it self and from the Call and invitation which you have had from another of whose Wisdom and Piety you are sufficiently assured Tho' there be no more but this Call from Man it is of great weight to move you and to determine you in this manner to redeem your time from your ordinary labour when there is some extraordinary occasion of doing somewhat for the honour of God or the good of Men. Thus if at any time you are invited to comfort one that is in any great trouble of Body or Mind or in any other great distress and affliction if there be any thing in your power to do for the comfort and encouragement of such a Person you ought to shew your readiness to do your utmost for his help and support You know not but the Lord may make use of you however weak and unfit you may think your selves to serve the designs of his Mercy and Love Likewise if you are called to reconcile those that are at variance to see if you can awaken a Person from his sin and folly especially when the Lord's hand is upon him to give your Counsel and Advice in some extraordinary case where it is judged needful for you so to do In these and the like cases you ought chearfully to Sacrifice your private gain and advantage and to let your lesser cares give place to those of a more publick and considerable Nature These things you are only to do so far as the necessity of your own occasions will permit They who are settled in a Calling and have a Family are under a very strict obligation to take care of their Family and to mind their Calling and Employment they must not neglect those necessary Duties which God hath given them to do in their several stations The Scripture accounts them worse than Infidels who provide not for their House and those of their own Family But if the Circumstances of your affairs will permit you to comply with the Opportunities of performing some eminent acts of Piety and Zeal you ought not to neglect them God will not fail plentifully to reward your Love to him and your Zeal for his Glory Short and fervent Ejaculations even in Time of Business recommended Tho' a great many cannot spare much time from their Worldly Business for extraordinary Exercises of Piety and Charity yet there are none who may not redeem some time from their Business by lifting up their Hearts now and then unto God by short and fervent Ejaculatory Prayers or Thanksgivings by earnest desires and breathings by humble Groans and secret Sighs by serious Acts of Adoration by frequent Acts of Love of Hope of Trust and Confidence and of Resignation to the divine Will There is great necessity for such short and fervent Acts of Devotion sometimes amidst your affairs and business considering the doubts and difficulties the hazards and dangers and the snares and temptations which you are often exposed to as also the many unexpected and kind providences you meet with when you are employed in the Duties of your Calling By observing this Course you do not hinder or interrupt your Business on the contrary this is the readiest way to do it successfully and most to your own comfort and satisfaction We see what Nehemiah did when he waited upon Artaxerxes as his Cup-bearer The King having said unto him Neh. 2.4 For what dost thou make Request 't is added So I pray'd to the God of Heaven He knew how great need he had of God's Direction and Assistance and therefore by a secret fervent Prayer or Ejaculation he lifted up his Heart unto the Lord And the Lord heard him and both assisted him to present his Petition to the King and inclined the King's Heart to grant his Request v. 8. Amongst other Advantages which attend this Religious Course there is this thereby you keep alive in your Hearts that sacred Fire which was kindled in the time of your more solemn Devotions This is the way to have your Conversation in Heaven to walk with God and to be continually with him this is to live like Citizens of the new Jerusalem like Men whose Hearts are in Heaven whose Treasure is there and whose Love is fixt and settled on God and upon divine things 7. Time to be redeemed from Idleness Seventhly Redeem your time from idleness and an useless way of living in the World A great many do not waste much time in sleep in dressing and adorning of their Bodies in eating and in drinking in gaming or in visiting and yet they waste their time But how In doing nothing in entertaining themselves with the vain imaginations of their foolish minds feeding on the Wind pursuing dreams and catching at shadows building Castles in the Air and sporting themselves with their own vain conceits and foolish fancies Their Eyes are as Solomon tells us in the ends of the Earth Prov. 17.24 They mind those things most which concern them least They busie themselves about what others say and do but do nothing themselves to any good purpose Some Men are full of vain and useless contrivances wherewith they do indeed busie themselves But to what end When all their designs and vain contrivances are accomplished they are but as so many Spiders Webs only sit to catch flyes This is to be busie in Trifles to be employed in doing as good as nothing Thus there be some who pursue a studious Life night and day with a wonderful diligence but their studies being only in impertinent Books and about designs of no use or perhaps of very bad use they gain nothing thereby yea so far are they from reaping any benefit by their great pains and labour that they are unspeakable losers they lose their time and sometimes they lose their Wealth and their Health if not their Reason and Understanding Consider first how unworthy this sort of Life is of Men and of Christians God hath made you to be useful to glorifie him to do good in the World to become daily more and more holy and religious to grow in grace and to perfect holiness in his fear and not to be like an useless Log or an insignificant Cypher not to be barren and unfruitful in his Vineyard Strive therefore to live up to the end and design of your being in the World to improve your selves in Piety and Virtue to do somewhat that may be of real advantage to the Souls and Bodies of others
time is in no such danger he is sure to arrive safely at the Harbour of everlasting Rest after all the storms and tempests which he meets with in the boisterous Sea of this World The Husbandmen wait for a good season to Plough and Sow and to do all other things belonging to their Employment and when the time is favourable they are sure to make use of it The desire and hopes they have of a Harvest of a fruitful Crop quickens their endeavours and excites their industry And yet after all they may be disappointed Their Corn may be drowned by violent Rains or scorched and burnt up with violent Heat or eaten up and consumed by Insects Fowls or Beasts But the Christian who sows in tears shall reap in joy Psal 126.5,6 You see that Men who run a Race strive with great earnestness to gain the Prize to obtain that which oft-times is of no very great value And yet some of those who run come behind and are disappointed of their hopes But the Christian runs not uncertainly he is sure to obtain not a corruptible Crown but an incorruptible 1 Cor. 9.25 Again you see that Men who besiege a City or a Castle wait for all advantages and are sure not to neglect a favourable occasion of making an Assault and surprising the Enemy The hopes of getting rich Spoils of gaining Honour and Renown makes them resolute and valiant And yet it often happens that they lose their lives in the Attempt or are taken Captive by those whom they did hope to overcome and subdue But he who fights the good fight of Faith is sure to lay hold on eternal Life He who fights under Christ's Banner and who has him for his Captain is sure to obtain the Victory over all his Enemies The Conclusion I shall conclude this Discourse with what is written by St. Peter 2 Epist Chap. 3. vers 10,11 c. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the Heaven shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of Persons ought you to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless FINIS THE CONTENTS OF Advice to Children THE Introduction 1 1. Duty of Children to Honour their Parents And how they are are to Honour them 2 The Poverty of Parents does not exempt Children from this Duty 6 Against those who dishonour their Parents 7 2. Duty of Children to obey their Parents and hearken to their Instructions 10 Against stubborn and disobedient Children 14 3. Duty to be faithful to their Parents and not to dispose of their goods without their consent 16 Against unfaithful and treacherous Children 18 4. Duty of Children to be determined by their Parents as to their Calling 20 Against Children who neglect this Duty 22 5. Duty of Children not to suffer themselves to be bestowed in Marriage against their Parents will 23 Against those Children who neglect this Duty 26 6. Duty of Children to submit to their Parents Reproofs and Chastenings 27 Against Rebellious Children 28 7. Duty of Children to love their Parents and how they are to express their Love 31 Against unkind and unnatural Children 35 8. Duty of Children to pray for their Parents 36 Against Cursers of Parents 37 The Duties of Children towards their Deceased Parents 38 1. Duty they ought to bury them decently 38 2. Duty to fulfill their last Will. 40 3. Duty to call to mind their good Advices and to follow their good Examples 40 4. Duty to do what they can lawfully to suppress Evil Reports concerning them 42 5. Duty to retain a firm kindness for their Friends 43 Against Children who neglect these Duties 44 Motives to excite Children to do these things 1. Motive from the Authority of him who commands them to do these things 46 2. Motive from the Promise made to those who do their Duty 49 3. Motive from the Example of our Blessed Master 53 4. Motive from the Examples of some Heathens 56 The Conclusion shewing how Children ought to improve what hath been said 60 The Duties of Children to their Step-Parents 70 Some Motives to stir up Children to be Dutiful to them 72 Against those who are undutiful towards their Step-Parents 74 THE CONTENTS OF The Discourse about the Right Way of Improving our Time THE Introduction 79 The Text explained 80 How Time is to be redeemed 1. Time is to be redeemed from sleep 82 2. It is to be redeemed from dresing and adorning the Body 86 3. It is to be redeemed from eating and drinking 90 4. It is to be redeemed from gaming 92 5. It is to be redeemed from visiting 97 6. Time is to be redeemed from Worldly Business 105 Short and fervâ—nt Ejaculations ev'n in Time of Business recommended 109 7. It is to be redeemed from idleness 111 8. It is to be redeemed in sacred and religious Perfomrances by doing them in the best manner 114. Some Motives to Excite you to do these things 1. Motive from the shortness of your Time 125 2. Motive from the uncertainty of your Time 129 3. Motive from the greatness and difficulty of the work you have to do 138 4. Motive from the account you must give how you spend your Time 145 The Conclusion 152 FINIS