and murmur'd at thy Providence been discontent in my Condition and complain'd of thy Dealings towards me 'T is true O my God that thou of thine infinite goodness hast convinc'd my Conscience of sin affected my Soul with a sorrow for it and wrought in me Resolutions of amendment but oh how many have been my falls how many and grievous have been my Relapses how negligent have I been of the Covenant of my God! Oh how soon have the tears of my Repentance dried up how soon has the flame of my Devotion and Love slackened and even gone out O God thou holy God thou Witness of all my actions and Judge of all my thoughts and affections what would become of me if thou shouldest enter into strict Judgment with me how should I stand before thy Tribunal cover'd with the guilt and shame of so many sins But O thou God of Mercy O thou God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ I know that thou art always ready to pardon poor Penitents Lord I repent increase thou my Repentance trouble has taken hold of me my Soul is cast down and disquieted within me I am asham'd yea even confounded for I do bear the Reproach of the folly and ingratitude of my sins O be thou reconciled to me pardon me I beseech thee by the Merits and Intercession by the Agony and Passion and by all the painful Sufferings of thy Son pardon me O pardon me I beseech thee by thine own boundless goodness by those tender Mercies and Compassion which thou art wont to exercise towards Repenting sinners And Lord not only pardon my sins but deliver me I beseech thee from the Dominion and Power of 'em O assist me to break off those Chains of carnal Lusts and worldly Cares in which I have been held bound I have a false deceitful heart O give me Sincerity and Truth have a sluggish and drowsie body O enkindle in me fervency of spirit I am conscious to my self of great weakness and fraily O do thou confirm and strengthen me who alone canst make me a clean heart O O God and renew a right spirit within me give me a true Faith and enflame my heart with a holy Love that I may delight my self in thy Commandments that I may walk before thee in uprightness and fear diligently seeking thee constantly depending upon thee chearfully submitting to thy Will and doing the Duty of my place in singleness of heart as knowing that I shall be accountable to thee as well for those Duties which I owe Man as for those which are more immediately to be paid to thee O Lord keep me that my foot stray not out of the path of Justice O Lord keep me that I offend not with my Tongue and after I have done all O Lord suffer me not to fall short of my Reward through my pride or ingratitude but make me always thankful always humble neither defrauding thee of the Praise due to thine infinite Bounty and Mercy nor Man of the Thanks due to him for any act of kindness or charity towards me help me O my God to walk thus that my Soul may enjoy a true Liberty that my Life may be full of comfort my Death of peace and my Eternity of glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. And O my God bless not me only but this whole Family thou that art the God of Love the God of Peace sow in all our hearts the seeds of unfeigned Charity that we may all enjoy the comfort of a mutual Affection and of a mutual Assistance and Aid in our several places and Lord possess every Soul of this Family with a just sense of our Duty towards God and Man that all of us may be living Members of thy blessed Son and being protected by thy Providence directed by thy Word and assisted by the Influence of thy Spirit we may all at last meet in the Family of Heaven where we shall adore and praise thee love and enjoy thee to all Eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for the Evening O My God my Strength and the Rock of my Salvation the Day is past and the Evening is come O give me grace to remember that this Life will one time be past and Death will come that I may live so that my work may be then finisht as 't is this day and I may have nothing else to do but go to my Rest where I shall be invested with Liberty and Glory Eternal Eternal O blessed Wages of a short Lifes service how does my Soul praise thee O Lord in Transports and even Extasies thou hast called me indeed to be a Servant but thou hast called me too to be a Son thou hast not indeed given me any great portion of the Wealth or Honour of this Life but thou hast given me the blessed Jesus to be my Redeemer and thy holy Spirit to be my Sanctifier O do but ever continue thus to me the Light of thy Countenance thy Grace and thy Truth and I shall never think my self to stand in need of any thing that the World admires but O my God how often are these my Comforts abated nay even interrupted how often is this blessed this chearful Light obscur'd and orecast by my infirmities and sins my sins the only causes that keep good things from me my sins the only real troubles of my Life Thus O my God though I renew'd my Covenant with thee but this morning though I devoted my self to thee vowing Obedience to thee and faithfulness to my Master yet have I prevaricated my Duty here mention the Errours and Infirmities of the day past have mercy upon me O Lord have mercy upon me and forgive me these and all other my offences and give me grace to keep my self upon my watch and guard against them Enable me sincerely to endeavour to repair and reform 'em as much as in me lies that I may every day grow and increase in goodness and be so much the fiter for Death the nearer I do every day approach to it and whenever it comes let it find me O Lord with my Loyns girt and my Lamp burning in a disposition and frame of spirit fit to die possessed with an unshaken Faith with an humble Resignation and Submission of Mind with a holy Contempt of Earth and a devout Love of Heaven In the mean time thou keeper of Israel thou who never slumbrest nor sleepest watch over me and this whole Family protecting and delivering us in our coming in and going out particularly let thine Angels pitch their Tents about us this night let us lie down securely and let our sleep be sweet to us for thou Lord shalt make us dwell in safety Amen Amen Blessed Jesus If any one expects from me Directions here for Mental or Extemporary Prayers I must tell 'em freely that little less than a Volume much bigger than I purpose this is sufficient for such an undertaking What I have to say in a word here
will one day be Make me O Lord remember that I am always in thy sight and that thou dost ponder all my Paths that I may be fully convinc'd that both my Temporal and Eternal Interest depends upon the Conscientious performance of my Duty that so I may not be seduc'd or discourag'd by any Temptations whatever but still looking up to God and having regard to the recompence of Reward I may run with patience the Race that is set before me Amen Blessed Jesus So be it PART III. The Necessity of Communicating Concerning the Sacraments of the Lords Supper there are two things which Servants are to be Instructed in First Their Obligation to Receive it as often as they can have an opportunity Secondly What Preparation is necessary to it CHAP. I. The Servants Obligation to Receive the Sacrament General Obligations THE Obligations to Commemorate the Death of our blessed Lord which arise from the consideration of his great Love in dying for us and the great benefits we are made partakers of in that Holy Communion and from the need we stand in of the Grace and Mercy that is conveyed and sealed to us in this Sacrament these and such like are Universal Obligations and equally concern all Mankind the Servant as well as the Master the Poor as well as the Rich for the Son of God has died for all alike Mercy to pardon us and Grace to assist us is tender'd to all alike and all do alike stand in need of both And of this sort of Obligation is the command of Christ and the practice of the Primitive Church and the nature of the Duty as 't is the renewing of our Covenant all these do oblige all Men alike to frequent Communion for no sort of Men were excepted in the command of our Saviour no Rank of Men were excluded in the practice of the Church and since 't is a publick owning of our Covenant it seems to me that it cannot be utterly neglected much less contemn'd without Relinquishing the Communion of Saints Renouncing the Faith and falling almost into the guilt of open Apostacy All these Arguments and Motives to the frequent use of the Sacrament do as strongly bind and forcibly press Servants as any other sort of People whatever Obligations peculiar to Servants But besides these there are some considerations which may more peculiarly concern Servants than others and which seem to render the neglect of this Duty more inexcusable in them than in any others As First As they enjoy not the pleasures which Men of plentiful Fortunes do so neither are they distracted by the cares which Masters of Families may reasonably be supposed to be Nor are they engag'd in so many contentions as the many designs and interests of their Superiours do necessarily expose them to they live if it be not their own fault by constant Rules they have all the advantages of retirement in the midst of the World lying under no pressing Temptation either to care or contest or sensuality So that unless they be extreamly careless of their Souls unless they be extreamly insensible of the love of Jesus they must live in an habitual preparation for the Sacrament or at least they can have no tolerable excuse for the neglect of it It deserves well to be further consider'd that the great stress of business which lies upon many Masters of Families in their Trades and Imployments lies not alike upon them or if it do it may indispose and incapacitate the Master for the Communion and yet not the Servant 'T is the Masters choice but the Servants necessity that puts him upon it 't is often the Masters Ambition and Covetousness but 't is the Servants Obedience and Faithfulness that engages him so that the weight of business which may be the Masters fault is the Servants Duty and therefore tho' it keep the one it must not the other from the Sacrament for 't is impossible that any one should be made unfit for the Communion by doing his Duty 'T is true to advance a little further that the love of Jesus in dying for us was equal towards all for all were subject to the punishment of sin but if there were any difference the obligation would be greater on the poor and mean in one respect than on the rich Because such do need the support and comfort which they derive from this Blood not only to uphold 'em against the terrour of another Life but also under the troubles of this and certainly the more low and mean any mans State in this present World is the more unpardonable in him is the love of this Life or the neglect of another for the less pleasure we enjoy from without the more natural is it to seek the pleasures of Religion the pleasures of Faith the pleasures of the mind from all which it necessarily follows that a Servants coldness towards his blessed Lord and Master has something less of excuse in it than any other Mans For in what Heart shall the blessed Jesus find an Entertainment in what Soul shall he find place to dwell unless in that which has no Temptation to love the World Where should the love of Heaven the love of Jesus and the love of Virtue take deeper Root than in that Heart which hath rationally no Foundation no place to raise any other hopes on that are considerable Where might our dear Lord expect sooner to be receiv'd with open Arms and the whole Heart than by these who have no other Friend no other Patron to trust to According to this discourse this was the success the real issue of things in the first times The Poor had the Gospel Preach't unto 'em that 〈◊〉 these generally speaking were the only Men which were affected and wrought upon by the Preaching of the Gospel But now ah now The times are inverted the Servant and the mean Man appears as much more stupid and negligent in the things of another Life as he has less share than others in this they seem to be sunk as much beneath the Virtue as Fortune of their Superiours and being freed from the Cares and Emulations from the Ambition and Designs of those above 'em their Souls seem to be grown so unactive so thoughtless so dark that they carry not one Meditation beyond the works of their hands like him in Ecclesiasticus * Chap. 38.25 How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough and that glorieth in the goad that driveth Oxen and is occupied in their Labours and whose talk is of Bullocks For shame shew your selves men and convince us that you have Rational and Immortal Souls let me intreat you consider how great a dignity you are advanced to how great an honour you are vouchsafed by God in being invited by him to this feast you do here more nearly approach God you are feasted and entertain'd by him as his Children you are united in the closest Ties and Bonds with your dear Lord and
the Eye of the World but why should you think that Condition too mean for you which our dear Lord thought not too mean for him For he came in the form of a Servant Phil. 2. But if this trouble you I have shewed you before an infallible way of redeeming your selves from Contempt namely by a Religious and excellent Behaviour for true Virtue is much more honourable than Nobility of Blood or Ampleness of Fortune A Prayer for Contentment in your Condition O Eternal and gracious Lord God before whom a meek and humble spirit is of great price O God who givest Grace to the humble but resistest the proud keep me I beseech thee from pride and frowardness from discontent and murmuring and give me a meek and humble spirit Make me adore thy Wisdom and Goodness in every dispensation of thy Providence and chearfully submit to thy Will and follow thy Conduct O suffer me not to dispise or murmure at that state which my great Lord and Master honour'd by taking it upon himself for he came not to be ministred to but to minister Make me always thankful to thee for those Real Advantages which I enjoy in this state thou hast given me all the necessary Comforts of Life without the Cares and Troubles of it thou hast hedg'd in my ways and kept me from Idleness and Worldly and Carnal Lusts by my Necessities and indispensible Restraints of my Calling O never suffer me to break thorow all these to commit sin and die O grant that since my station has fewer Temptations to sin and more Encouragements to Virtue than that of others I may be so much more eminent and exemplary than others in all virtuous and holy living as knowing my offence more inexcusable So shall I ever have reason to bless thy Love for the meanness and necessities of my state when they shall have made me rich in goodness then shall I adore and magnifie thy Love for those Restraints and Confinements thou hast put upon me when they shall prove the meanest Instruments of my Eternal Preservation and Safety then shall I adore thy Mercy for the bodily hardships of my Service when they shall prove to me an excellent Discipline to train me up to Virtue and Glory Amen so be it blessed Jesus A Prayer for Fidelity to your Master and Trust in God O Holy and Righteous God whose Eyes are set upon the Righteous and thine Ears are always open to their Prayers who feedest those that fear thee and art a present help in time of trouble possess me I humbly beseech thee with such a sincere Faith in all thy Promises with such a firm persuasion of thy Wisdom Power and Goodness that I may ever trust and relie upon thee as my God and my Saviour and O let me never be ashamed of my hope in thee nor let my distrustful or fearful heart ever give thee occasion to be ashamed to be called my God And because O Lord the Sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination to thee and the Prayers of the unjust a mere prophanation of thy holy Name therefore I beseech thee let thy fear be before mine Eyes and make me faithful and diligent in the station to which it has pleased thee to call me I know O Lord that thou art a holy and a righteous God and an Avenger of all Covenant-breakers O suffer me not therefore to fall into breach of Trust with Man lest I fall under the Vengeance of my God I know that my Duty towards my Master is one great part of my Religion towards thee O suffer me not by idleness or falshood to lose the Eternal Reward of my Service I know O Lord that all things are naked and bare before thee and that though my Master's Eye cannot yet thine does in all times and in all places behold me that thou mayest render to me according to my works O how fatal then must that Laziness prove for which I must be condemn'd to everlasting pain O how fatal must my frauds be since though I may deceive my Master I cannot thee Lord therefore inable me so to serve with fear and trembling and singleness of heart that I may have a good ground to trust and depend upon thee for protection and provision in this World and for reward in another through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for right performance of Instrumental or Relative Duties O Lord my God I know that my Lamp will soon go out unless there be Oil to feed it that my Graces will soon languish unless they be nourisht and refresht by thy Word and Sacraments I know O Lord that my spiritual life my corporal life cannot be upheld but by a daily supply a supply of thy Grace the life and strength of my Soul and I know that this is not in thy ordinary course otherwise to be obtain'd than by fervent Prayer awful Meditatation of thy Word and a devout and frequent Use of the Communion I beseech thee therefore O my God not only that thou wouldest imprint upon my heart a just sense of the necessity of these Duties but also that thou wouldest instruct and assist me that I may perform 'em devoutly and conscientiously and persevere in them constantly to my lifes end O do thou teach me to pray in contrite groans and transporting love O do thou open my heart that it may receive thy Word with true Faith and devout Affection O do thou raise in me such a grateful passion for the love of Jesus that I may not only commemorate his Death in joy and tears but meet him with ardent love and be inseparably united to him and he to me But O my God how often shall I fall short of this through my own default Ah how seldom shall I come up to it O therefore pardon pardon the infirmities of thy Servant Ah! pardon me my want of preparation to these Duties my heaviness and distraction in 'em and whatever mixtures of other frailties may cleave to them and however weak my performances may be let 'em not be wholly unprofitable let 'em at least beget in me Humility clearer Convictions of my spiritual Poverty and Weakness greater Watchfulness and new Resolutions for the time to come and all this I most earnestly and most humbly beg for the sake of Jesus Christ my Lord. CHAP. II. Of the Servant's Duty towards his Master and Mistress consisting in Obedience Faithfulness Love I Think Injustice or Uncharitableness in Servants implies a double guilt nothing can be more evident than that every Servant owes his Master and Mistress in the first place all those Duties at least which every Man owes another whether he be Friend or Enemy Neighbour or Stranger namely Truth Justice and Charity nay I believe all will readily confess that the transgression of these Duties in Servants towards their Masters and Mistresses has many more and greater Aggravations in it than any Errour of this kind in one Man towards another for
there may be some little struglings of good nature and interest in opposition to your Duty in this point the first thing then you are to do is to reprove your guilty Fellow-Servant to lay before him as well as you can the hainousness of his sin together with the danger of it both with respect to his Temporal and Eternal Interest acquaint him with the Beauty and Pleasure the security and advantage of Vertue and the Fear of God advise and exhort him earnestly to expiate his sin by Repentance towards God and restitution towards man mix this Reproof ever and anon with Professions of tenderness and affections for him with expressions of your good meaning and sincere intention which he may discern by your accusing him only to himself and lastly with assurances that if he follow your advice he shall not suffer the least prejudice either in his credit or interest by your knowledge of his fault nay that it shall not diminish in the least your respect or Affection towards him For you are not insensible of the wiles of the Devil and the infirmity of man it being commonly incident to humane frailty to fall into sin and 't is the work of a true Faith to repent of it and therefore as your compassion is kindled in you upon the former account so should you necessarily be ingaged to honour and love him upon the latter now if you prove successful in this you gain a Soul to God a good Servant to your Master and an inseparable Friend to your self and what is more than all you gain peace and satisfaction to your Conscience together with the blessing of God the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the increase of his Holy Spirit Whereas suppose you connive at and he proceed in his sin Ah! How fatal an obligation do you lay upon him You incourage him in his sin and if he never repent you damn his Soul Eternally if he do repent how must he needs condemn you in the bitterness and grief of his Reflections as one false to God and him and no less unfaithful to his Eternal than your Master 's Temporal Interest And what the guilt is that you load your own Conscience with I have shewed you before But if you would do any good this way you must take care that you do it betimes and that you do not let his fault take air before you have thus represented it to him for if you first publish and then reprove his guilt I cannot wonder if he do question either your sincerity or discretion and his doubting of either must needs forfeit in him all respect for your advice or reproof and tempt him rather to stand upon his defence than trust you with his Confession or Repentance If you can effect nothing this way towards the reclaiming your Fellow-Servant you must communicate his offence with some body else as well that you may your self avoid the Imputation of Connivance and Consent as also that you may deliver if possible his Soul from guilt without the ruin of his Credit and Fortune And in the choice of such a Person you are if it may be to find out some one that is considerable with him one whose Vertue and Authority he Reverences and whose Affection and Discretion he can confide in this will make him more apt to be free in his Confession and if he has any modesty any ingenuity left in him he cannot but be wrought by this method into Repentance This very method may be made use of in other cases as well as this as in those injuries you see your Master suffer either by the negligence or wast of your Fellow-Servants only where the matter is little and trifling you are not to communicate it with others for this will look like a formal and solemn impertinence but if he refuse to reform upon your single reproof you are to go directly to your Master or Mistress for a slight wrong repeated daily may grow a very outragious one in time However they are the most proper Judges of what is slight and trifling or otherwise for what may seem to you very inconsiderable may seem otherwise to them who best know their own minds and their own Fortunes The same thing lastly you must do in matters of greater moment when those ways I have prescrib'd you fail you must not provoke God wrong your Master and wound your own Conscience for fear of displeasing nay of ruining your unjust slothful or wastful Fellow-Servant but you must honestly and couragiously do your Duty leaving the issue to God and to the prudencâ— and goodness of your Master and thoâ—… it should end in his ruin or in thâ— forfeiture of your own place or the disturbance of your quiet and peacâ— in it which I can hardly believe if you will pursue this method yeâ— you shall have delivered your own Soul God shall bring forth your Righteousness as the Noon-day whatever calumnies the wit or the malice of your Fellow-Servants raise to obscure it and you shall thrive and prevail in despight of all confederacies against you A second Vice of Servants Of Negligence by which a Master suffers is negligence by which I mean either a total Omission or neglect of Duty or such a careless and lazy performance of it that it were as good left undone as be thus done Or else Lastly heedlesness or want of care Now tho' this be very common you cannot upon due examination of the nature of this fault but confess it a very great one for as to the Master if he be hereby endamag'd is it not the same thing for him to suffer by your negligence as fraud And I need not tell you where there is much trust or confidence on the Master's side and no Industry or Care on the Servant's that all must necessarily go to wrack and ruin Or if he suffer not in his interest he must suffer in the peace and contentment of his mind for there cannot be a greater plague and vexation to any man than a confident and careless Servant Nor is it a small matter that the Master is forced to bear the rudeness and contempt which a Servant's heedlesness and idleness is too plain an expression of 't is a troublesom thing to a man to be levelled with his own Servant yet so he is in this case for if there be no authority in the Master nor fear or care in the Servant if tho' the Master may command the slothful Servant will perform only what he pleases 't is hard to say wherein is the difference and distinction between ' em Is it possible for any Servant to think that this is to do his Duty Can any one think that this is to obey with fear and trembling Can any one think that this sluggishness is any thing better than Eye-Service so much condemned by God Can any one who carries himself thus heedlesly ever persuade himself that he doth service as if he made it to
Master the Peace and Virtue of the Family and my own both Temporal and Eternal Happiness I know O Lord that no acts of injustice or unfaithfulness between Man and Man shall go unpunish'd I know that for these things sake the wrath of God is reveal'd from Heaven O what then must be my punishment if I heap upon the guilt of injustice and uncharitableness many others namely of Ingratitude Unfaithfulness Lying Perjury O preserve me therefore O my God from all falshood and wrong and suffer me not to forfeit thy favour and destroy my Soul for the sake of those things that perish O let me be fully convinced that the ways of Righteousness are ways of Pleasantness and that all her paths are Prosperity and Peace that so I may delight my self in the Law of my God and may find comfort and a blessing in the discharge of my Duty Teach me O Lord Humility and Obedience Faith and Truth Care and Industry Charity and Meekness that I may adorn the Doctrine of God my Saviour win others over to a love of Virtue and after an humble and contented tho' laborious life here may enter into Rest and Glory hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for Obedience O Glorious and Eternal Lord God who dwellest with those who are of a meek and lowly Spirit behold me I beseech thee and pour into my Heart that Virtue of Humility which is so highly esteemed by thee O Lord my Heart is too too apt to be filled with Pride and Vanity O do thou convince me every day more and more of my own vileness and worthlesness that I may be preserved from self-conceit and wilfulness O give me Grace often to consider the Humility of my Lord and Saviour that I may learn of him and obtain the peace which flows from a meek Spirit and Humble Obedience And O my God because I am to give an account to thee who art the searcher of the Heart and the tryer of the Reins the Judge of my most secret Thoughts as well as my most secret Actions teach me therefore to do my Duty chearfully and in singleness of Heart make me to abominate all Lying shifts and pretences as well as all proud wilfulness and sluggishness Make me careful to learn my Duty sincere in the performance of it patient under reproof and diligent in reforming whatever is amiss thus O my God whilst every part of my Duty towards Man shall prove an instance of my Obedience towards thee I shall enjoy the peace of a good Conscience and the hopes of an Eternal Reward Hear me and answer me O Lord for thy Mercies sake and thy Son Jesus Christs Sake A Prayer for Faithfulness O God thou God of Truth Right and Just art thou and there is no iniquity with thee fill my Heart I beseech thee with the love of Truth and Faithfulness make me true in all my words and upright in all my deeds O teach me to take heed to my ways that I offend not with my Tongue teach me to keep my Mouth as it were with a Bridle while the ungodly are in my sight O make me to abhor the sin of Unfaithfulness and let no such cleave unto me Let no slander or detraction no mischievous accusations proceed out of my Mouth nor suffer me ever to stretch forth my hand to iniquity O let me not fall through Covetousness or Distrust in God and let me never commit injustice to maintain my Pride or Riot or Idleness adding sin to sin If sinners entice me suffer me not to consent to 'em permit me not to have any Fellowship with the Unfruitful Works of Darkness but give me courage and discretion to reprove 'em that so my Righteousness may be as the Noon-day and thou mayest make me to prosper in the Land and I may at last obtain the Blessing Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into thy Masters Joy Amen Amen Blessed Jesus A Prayer for Love O Thou God who art Love give me thy Grace that I may practise more abundantly that Charity which I owe all Mankind towards those of the same Family give me a grateful sense of the benefits which I enjoy under this Roof of the care and kindness of my Master towards me in providing for me both spiritual and bodily Food that so I may make returns to him in the Fruit of Love Obedience and Faithfulness Lord let his interest and his honour let his quiet and content be dear to me as my own that I may not only serve him with Justice but Zeal too And O my God diffuse the gift of Charity through the Hearts of this whole Family that we may all live in Godly love and peace together that our Prayers be not hindred nor we kept back from thy Holy Table or approach it unworthily But that we all enjoy thee our God in the beauty of Holiness enjoy one another in the beauty of Charity and enjoy those Temporal Blessings which thou hast richly bestow'd upon us in the beauty of order and virtue and and all things may finally and uniformly tend to thy Glory and our Comfort through Jesus Christ our Lord. CHAP. III. Of the Duty of Servants § 1st Towards their Masters Children consisting of Affection due Respect Care of their Morals Care of their Honour and Care of their Interest § 2dly Towards Sojourners § 3dly Towards Strangers What the Servant owes his Masters Children WHatever it be that Servants owe the Children of the Family 't is only the result of that Duty which they owe their Master Children are as it were parts of their Parents their Blood and Birth gives 'em a just claim as to the care and love of their Parents so to a proper share of th' Affection and Service and all other advantages of the Family First Therefore a Servant owes the Children of his Master a sincere Affection Affection which will easily be granted if it be but consider'd that 't is impossible for a Servant to bear Faith and Love to his Master and have neither for his Children for Children are the dearest interest and most valuable Treasure of their Parents Children are the joys and hopes of their Fathers they double the pleasure of his prosperity by being sharers in it and ease the toil of his labours by being the Heirs of ' em How therefore can any one pretend to love his Master who hates or despises what is dearest to him Now this affection of the Servant must express it self towards his Masters Children 1st In a due Respect 2dly In his care for their Morals 3dly In a sincere Zeal for their Honour and 4dly For their Interest 1st In Respect Due Respect This their birth Challenges every slight or neglect offer'd the Children by a Servant is some diminution of the Reverence which he owes his Master for the Father must needs suffer in the contempt of the Son and yet this Respect ought to be wisely regulated for
by you that day For this must necessarily bring you and the Discipline of the Family into contempt nothing being a more certain symptom of Folly or Loosness or Poverty or at least Meanness than this is A Prayer answering the End and Design of this Chapter O Holy God our great Creator who dost delight to be remembred by us in the days of our Youth assist me with thy grace that I may both worship thee sincerely and devoutly my self and may also be instrumental both by my example and discourse to move others to do so particularly as to the Children of this Famimily I beseech thee that thou would'st give me a tenderness for their Souls that I may as far as lies in me promote in them the knowledge and love of thy truth and the fear of thy name But O never suffer me to be any example or occasion of sin to 'em that I bring not upon my own Soul the guilt of their ruin my Masters trouble and thy dishonour Possess me with such an affection for 'em as may express it self in a due respect and hearty care for their true good And O thou God of Peace and lover of Concord make me always study how to advance Love and Unity amongst Brethren and to sow the seeds of peace and mutual affection amongst all the Members of this Family that I may not only escape the Curses which attend Lying and deceitful Lips and all the Authors of strife and contention but also may be called the Child of God and inherit the blessing of the Peace-makerâ— Finally O Lord I beseech thee the God of Order and the Author of Wisdom that thou would'st give me prudence and discretion that I may behave my self towards all with that Truth Modesty and Respect that becomes me in my Station I desire O Lord to take heed unto my way according to thy word O let thy word be a Light to my Feet and a Lanthorn to my path and let Truth and Faithfulness never depart from me all the days of my Life Amen Lord Jesus So be it CHAP. IV. Of the Servants Duty towards his Fellow-Servants consisting in Justice Charity Concord Mutual Assistance The Grounds of Discord between Servants THE Duties which Servants owe one another are the very same with those which all Mankind are mutually oblig'd to that is Justice and Charity only their nearer Relation to one another ties this Obligation faster upon them by adding new motives and incitements to these Duties Of Mutual Justice between Servants Thus First for Justice they are oblig'd to it towards one another under pain of Damnation and by the hopes of Salvation as all other men are But then they must further consider that they are bound to it not only as Christians but as Fellow-Servants in which Relation the more indispensible necessity of Justice increases their Obligation to it and renders the Transgression of it more unpardonable Fellow-Servants are so necessarily exposed to the injuries of one another and those daily one 's too that their life would be intolerable without a strict observance of Justice I need say nothing of the injustice of pilfering and stealing every one being watchful enough to secure his own but there are other sorts of injustice to which Servants are more prone and against which they are less able to defend themselves such are for instance Laziness in one Insolence in another and Lying in a third the sluggish Servant shifts the burden off himself and this must lie somewhere now this is the highest injustice for 't is to ease one's own trouble by increasing anothers A second error to which Servants are prone is Insolence there are no Masters so tyrannical and domineering as is one Servant over another and this is commonly the use a disingenious Servant makes of that Authority which the favour or trust of the Master confers upon him namely to oppress insult over and despise his Fellow-Servants methinks it should now be difficult to convince any of you of the injustice of this behaviour for how can any one of you be so stupid as to think that behaviour just in him towards his Fellow-Servants which he would think were not to be endured in his Master towards himself besides I cannot tell whether the folly of this carriage be not greater than the injustice not only because such a Servant forgetting his own quality upbraids himself whilst he insults over his Fellow-Servants and renders the worst usage his Master and Mistress can treat him with just and reasonable for he has no reason to complain of his Superiors for that usage which he is guilty of towards his Equals but besides this such a Servant must expect to be undermined at home and most certainly defamed abroad and when any ill accident befalls him or lessens his interest in his Master he must expect the just return of his insolence in contempt and hatred I would have such Servants as these call to mind what our Saviour saith of that Servant who being by his Lord made Ruler of his Houshold * Matth. 24.49.50 51. Began to smite his Fellow-Servants and to eat and drink with the drunken The Lord of that Servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not ware of And shall cut him asunder and appoint him his Portion with the Hippocrites There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth Now tho' you should not eat and drink with the drunken yet if you smite your Fellow-Servant you shall have your share of this punishment in proportion to your guilt or if you do not smite with the Hand yet if you smite with the Tongue either by bitter and reviling Language or by froward or malicious accusations of your poor Fellow-Servants to their Master or Mistress your guilt is much the same he that doth the one doth not want Pride or Uncharitableness enough to do the other but is held in by some other motive than Justice or Charity A Third sort of Injustice incident to Servants is belying one another which whether it be by libellous discourses abroad or unworthy and base detraction in private at home which is a common Artifice to make parties and set one Servant against another Or whether it be lastly by sly insinuations or malicious accusations to the Master it matters little this is in each instance the fruit of a naughty and wicked Heart * Matt. 15.19 For out of the Heart proceed not only Murders Adulteries c. but also evil Thoughts false Witness Blasphemies And these are the things which defile a Man 'T is strange to observe that if this sin were to be estimated by the practice of Servants 't is so common one would be tempted to think it were no sin at all And yet if it were to be estimated from the word of God one would be tempted to think it were the greatest of sins for I do not know whether there be any sin
indeed to thee but comfortable and happy to us thou didst not only make an Oblation and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole World if they would believe and repent but also purchase for 'em an Eternal Kingdom I do therefore desire in this Holy Sacrament to make a publick Confession of my Faith in thee I am not asham'd of the Gospel of Christ for 't is the power of my God unto Salvation I am not asham'd of thee my Crucified Saviour for I know there is no other name given unto Man by which he may be sav'd but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I do therefore most earnestly desire to be made partaker of the benefits of thy Death and to have the assurance of my Redemption by thy Blood seal'd to me for I have O Lord a weight of sin that hangs upon my Soul from which unless thy Death deliver me it will sink me down into the lowest Hell therefore with impatience doth my Soul desire to approach this comfortable Sacrament where I may give thee the sincere assurances of my Faith Repentance and Love and may receive from the assurances and pledges of my Redemption wrought by thy Cross and Passion But Lord I know that they only can draw near with comfort to this Sacrament who with hearty Repentance and true Faith turn to thee I do therefore desire to place my self first as in the presence of God and under the awe of his all-seeing Eye to examine and try my Life and my Heart and to enter into the most sincere purposes of reforming what is amiss in me and help thou me O my God that I may do this as I ought to do give me that just sense of the weight and importance of this work that I may do it with care and vigour convince me so of the indispensible necessity of sincerity that I may neither hide nor disguise any sin in my Examination nor make any the least reserve for any in my Resolution of amendment And O my God if through the necessities of my Imployment or through the straitness of my time or through the ignorance or prejudice of my Education any thing shall escape me O impute it not to me but have compassion upon the Frailties of my Nature and the Infelicities of my State and upon whatever weaknesses unknown to me are grown upon me Secondly The Exercise of Repentance O Almighty God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Maker of all things and Judge of all Men thou Holy All-seeing and Impartial Judge I present my self before thee in the Humility of my Soul in the grief and bitterness of my Heart to confess and bewail my sins and actually and sincerely to renounce ' em Here consider first the course of your past Life in general Thus how you have behav'd your selves towards your Parents when under their Government I mean not the particulars of your actions which 't is impossible to recollect but such generals as these Whether you have been notoriously disobedient whether you have notoriously neglected the means and opportunities of your Education or by any other way procur'd the grief affliction or shame of your Parents Then consider your course of Life since you came into Service as whether you have lived carelesly and coldly towards God in an habitual neglect or it may be contempt of Religion whether you have been a Faithful and good Servant or on the contrary whether you have liv'd in the custom and habit of Disobedience or Unfaithfulness to your Master And lastly as to your selves consider whether you have lived in a habit of Drunkenness Gluttony Uncleanness Pride and Wilfulness now if upon Examination you find your selves to have been guilty of any of these things in your past lives it will be necessary to confess and bewail your error altho' you have now long ago renounc'd it broken off your sin and liv'd a new Life and it will not be amiss to consider what aggravations are to be found in these your sins for example what convictions you have resisted and stifled what restraints you have broke through what inconveniences you have suffer'd by your sins what extraordinary Mercies and Deliverances you have had what extraordinary Chastisements God has inflicted upon you what Opportunities of Grace you have slighted these and such like considerations serve to render the Soul more Humble and Contrite and to quicken the sense of Gods Goodness and Loving-Kindness towards you When you have thus examin'd what the State of your Life past has been you are secondly to examine what the present State of your Soul is and here you are to consider First Whether you are now under the dominion and power of any sin and this your Conscience if it be not sear'd will soon inform you for it cannot but tell you that it has accus'd you for the Commission of this or that sin But lest you should deceive your selves you may examine your selves in the former manner upon those several Heads of your Duty treated of in this Book as you stand related to God to your Parents to your Master and Mistress to their Children to your Fellow-Servants to your Neighbours in general and to your selves Weighing your present behaviour and affection towards each in this as you did your past in the former part of this Examination If upon this view of your selves it appears to you that you live in any sin you must not only bewail it and resolve against it but you must also make Restitution if you have wrong'd your Master your Fellow-Servant or any other if you have wrong'd 'em in their goods you must restore it if you can if you cannot you must confess the wrong and beg their pardon If you have wrong'd 'em by Lying you must discover the truth and take the shame to your selves If you have griev'd disturb'd and troubled 'em by rudeness contumelious Language or any such way you must make 'em what amends you can by confessing your error promising Reformation and begging Forgiveness If you have been injurious to the Souls of any you must be as industrious to reclaim 'em when you have done all this I would not have you make too much hast to the Sacrament But first make some trial of the Truth and Sincerity of your Repentance but in giving this Rule I would be understood to speak either of sins of habitual Omission or else of those notorious transgressions of Gods Laws which the Scripture calls the works of the Flesh the wickedness in which the Gentile World lay the filthiness of Flesh and Spirit for as to defects and frailties tho' we must strive against 'em we shall never be free from 'em As to Lukewarmness Stupidity or Lifelesness in Religion if you mean by it a form of Godliness without the power that is that you profess to believe and live civilly but the Duties that you perform are done heedlesly and perfunctorily without any seriousness or any relish and the whole
presence but I do also loath and detest my sin O deliver me from it aid me by thy blessed Spirit that I may conquer and subdue all my corrupt affections O let that Spirit which was in Jesus be in me also that the life of Jesus may be seen in all my actions and the image of Jesus may be form'd in my Soul and my conversation may be in Heaven and here O Lord I offer up and devote to thee even my Soul and my body resolving to live a life of Devotion a life of Justice and Charity a life of Meekness and Humility a life of Industry and Watchfulness a life of Purity and Sobriety O Lord strengthen me O Lord establish me by the might of thy Spirit by the power of thy Word by the protection of thy Povidence that I may persevere and be faithful unto the end and so obtain a Crown of Righteousness through Jesus Chirst our Lord. 3dly The Exercise of Charity O my my God thou hast taught me by thy holy Word that thou art love that he only who dwelleth in love dwelleth in thee and accordingly I do find that thou art long-suffering and merciful that thou fillest even the Wicked and thine Enemies with thy goodness and O my blessed Savour and Redeemer I find that in this also thou art the express Image of thy Father and the brightness of his glory for thou camest from Heaven to Earth to die for thine Enemies to reconcile man to God first and then to reconcile and endear us all to one another and has taught us that we cannot be thy Disciples unless we love one another I do therefore most readily forgive all those that have wronged me either by word or deed I do from my heart readily pardon all those who have or do wish me evil or who endeavour or design me any I do earnestly desire to be the Child of my Heavenly Father and the Disciple of my dear Master in this point and therefore being jealous lest my reconciliation should not be sincere or perfect enough I do firmly purpose upon every opportunity to express my Charity towards mine Enemies my acts of Love and Kindness and lest after all I should not be zealous enough to promote that Love and Unity which is so dear and acceptable to my God and my Saviour lest I should not throughly coppy out the Divine pattern that is set me I will not only with unfeigned Humility and Affliction of Soul confess my offence make reparation and beg pardon for any wrong I have done others but I will wooe and importune those who have wrong'd me into a reconciliation For how well must this become me when God himself courts and beseeches the sinner and the Son of God Preach't and Prayed and Wept and Died for those who were irreconcileably set against him To be us'd by such as are conscious of Undutifulness towards their Governours and O my God I do now call to mind how unkindly how unchristianly I have behaved my self towards those who are my Governours in Church and State I have often made false slanderous and spightful reflections upon 'em and have aided and countenanced others in the like I cannot make to them a Personal Acknowledgment of my offences nor sue to 'em in particular for the pardon of 'em Here therefore before thee my God and my Judge whom I have hereby offended I do confess and bewail my sin and folly humbly imploring thy pardon and the assistance of thy Grace that I may henceforth walk in Christian Charity towards those who are my Governours thy Ministers for my good not only forbearing all Disloyalty Disobedience Malice and Uncharitableness my self but also discountenancing and opposing it in all others as far as in me lies O thou God of Love fill me with thy Divine Spirit fill me with Brotherly Affection and with a Fervent Zeal for the good of my Neighbour nor suffer me ever to be wanting according to my capacity to increase the happiness of the Prosperous and the Pious or to relieve the misery of the Afflicted and the Sinner But O my God whilst I pray for a Spirit of Love towards my Neighbour I must not forget to beg and beg earnestly that by the same Spirit thou wouldst shed abroad the Love of thee my God in my Heart O Let me ever remember the great things which thou hast done for me O Let me ever think upon the Patience and Long-suffering which thou hast exercised towards me above all let my Soul ever adore and love and bless thee that thou hast given thine own Son out of thy Bosom to die for me and for all Mankind that whoever believed on him might not perish but have Everlasting Life And O let me ever love and glorifie that Son of thy Bosom who hast loved me and given himself for me and washt me from my sins in his own Blood and O may I ever express this my Love by a frequent Commemoration of it by Devout Addresses to thee my God by a Devout Zeal for thy Glory and the propagation of the Kingdom of my Saviour Amen Amen Fourthly The Exercise of Hope After all these reflections which I have made upon my sinfulness and the Divine goodness upon my guilt and the atonement and satisfaction wrought by the Blood of Jesus I find that as the consideration of the one begets sorrow so doth the consideration of the other beget hope in me and I find the trouble of my Soul clear up into Christian Peace and Comfort My past sins indeed and my present unworthiness fill me with grief and shame and reproach of Conscience but there are other things that lift me up from the Earth that wipe away my Tears and remove the Garments of my mourning and fill my Soul with chearfulness and delightsome expectations such are these when I consider the Divine Nature I am assured that God delights not in the death of a Sinner but delights in exercising Loving-kindness Righteousness and Mercy upon Earth When I consider the death of Jesus I am well assured that it is a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for my sins and the sins of the whole World when I lastly consider the tenour of the Gospel-Covenant as 't is publisht to the World by the Son of God and his Followers I find contain'd in it pardon of sins to all repenting and believing Sinners without Restriction without Limitation without Exception of any Person or Reservation of any case * Math. 11.28 Come unto me all that travail and are heavy laden and I will refresh you * John 3.16 So God loved the World that he gave his only Begotten Son to the end that all that believe in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life * 1 Tim. 1.15 This is a true saying and worthy of all Men to be received That Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners * 1 John 2.1 If any Man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins And now I lift up my Heart O Lord unto thee I approach near thee and Sacrifice to thee in the joy of hope and thankfulness For tho' I do not presume to come to this thy Table trusting in my own Righteousness yet I do firmly trust in the multitude of thy Mercies I know I am not of my self worthy to gather up the Crumbs under thy Table yet I do with all know that the Son of God has died for Sinners and that thou art the same Lord whose property is ever to have Mercy I do not therefore doubt but I shall be a welcome and acceptable tho' in my self an unworthy Guest to this Table and being assisted by thy Grace shall so eat the Flesh of thy Son Jesus Christ and drink his Blood that my sinful Body shall be made clean by his Body and my Soul washed through his most precious Blood and I shall evermore dwell in him and he in me Amen Amen Aug. 5. 1685. Imprimatur Liber cui Titulus The Duty of Servants c. H. Maurice R mo D no. W mo Arch po Cant. a sacris â—INIS There is lately published by the same Author a Book intituled An Enqutry after Happiness c.
Shall not God who in his compassion hears the cry of an injur'd Servant in his Justice behold the wrongs and crimes of an evil one Shall that God who will not wink at the transgressions of the Rich and Mighty the Monarch and the Potentate pass over and connive at those of the Servant No no assure your selves you shall be as accountable to Almighty God for your negligence falshood for your disobedience unfaithfulness and discontent as the rich and great shall be for their Luxury or Covetousness for their Ambition or Oppression for their Mutinies Factions and Disloyalty For these your sins are but a Copy and Transcript of their's tho' in an humbler stile and less character according to the circumstances of your Fortune and Station and when God shall enter into Judgment with you for these things it will be well for you if he punish you only with Temporal Chastisements you will escape well if your Pride end only in contempt your Frowardness in a general hatred and aversion your Carelesness and Wastfulness in Want and Beggary and your Unfaithfulness in indelible Reproach God will I say be extreamly tender and compassionate in distributing Justice if this be the worst that befals you if you buy repentance at so cheap a rate as the suffering any or all of these evils and yet how dreadful these appear to you I appeal to your own thoughts for I believe a sluggish and evil Servant can hardly read this without Impatience and Murmuring against me because I do not prophesie to him smoother things but alas I have not half vented the Burden which the Lord has charg'd me with against wicked and unfaithful Servants for I must tell you Tophet is ordain'd of old as well for undutiful Servants as tyrannical Kings for as your sins are sins of accumulated aggravations your acts of injustice and uncharitableness when they are put into the ballance being pressed down not only by their own weight but that also of Ingratitude Lying breach of trust an impudent contempt of all restraints and a bold defiance of all the necessities of Virtue which God's providence imposed upon you Your sins I say being of such an accumulated guilt you cannot but in reason expect that your punishment shall be laid on in good measure pressed down heap't up and running over Ah poor Souls my bowels are mov'd my compassions are kindled towards you when I consider this your wretched Fate must you pass from a state of travail and meanness to a state of Eternal Pain and Eternal Reproach Must your servitude end in a Hell at last and can you be content it should do so But that I may not seem to delight to prophesie evil and not good concerning you let me beseech you that you would deliver the World and your selves from all these evils with which your miscarriages plague and threaten them and you Let me beseech you that you would rescue your selves from the contempt from the insolencies and severities with which not your Fortunes but your Vices now oppress you and that you would by sincere and Christian Virtues recommend your selves to the love and esteem of Mankind and make your selves an useful and considerable part of the World as good Servants indeed are O redeem at least your Souls from slavery let not your Unfaithfulness and Pride your Disobedience and Frowardness your Loosness and Carelesness exclude you from Heaven and bereave you of Crowns and Glory which the meanness of your Birth or Fortune never can No no God is not such a fond accepter of Persons as partially to condemn any of his poor Creatures to meanness here and misery hereafter Your Service is but an opportunity of Merit and of Glory it puts you into a capacity to do and suffer more with design that you should receive more too than other men in another World at least proportionably to those hardships you undergo and these Virtues which you practise in this And the blessed Jesus who took your Form and Character upon him did not disdain the lowness of your condition but shed as much Blood for you as for the Rich and Noble he purchas'd for you the same Peace of God the same Favour the same Kingdom all that is requir'd of you is that you should live in those Virtues that are suitable to your condition that you should do the Duty of your Station when you are assured you shall have your Reward from God which shall be nothing less than a never-fading Crown of Righteousness Besides the love and esteem of Man and a Provision of all things necessary made for you by the blessed Providence of God nor let it seem strange to you that your Service in so low a Station should entitle you to such great Rewards your Virtue is as necessary in the World as that of Men in a higher Station the motion of the Feet and motion of the Hands is as necessary to the Body as the direction and guidance of the Eye 'T is by you the order and beauty of the World in a great measure subsists for were there no Servants there could be no Masters 'T is by your Travail that not only the necessities of Mankind in general are supplied but also the Pleasure and Grandeur of States supported for neither would the Earth bring forth it 's increase nor would our Tables be cover'd with the Fish of the Sea the Beasts of the Earth or the Fowl of the Air without your Ministry and Attendance nay farther 't is by you that we enjoy the Studies of the Learned and the Prudence of the States-man for the necessities of Life would so wholly take Men up that they would have little time for these Nobler Works were not those lower Cares devolved on you If we come to more particular effects the Prosperity the Virtue the Peace the Unity of Families depends not a little upon you Thus you see you are not the least useful Members of the Community and therefore 't is not to be wondred at if the Rewards design'd you should be proportioned to the Service requir'd of you Acquit your selves then like Men like Christians you serve God while you serve Man Faithfully and of him you shall receive your Reward A Prayer O Lord my God thou hast made and dost dispose of all things in a wise and excellent order thou hast placed me in this Rank of Mankind thou hast appointed me this my Station O grant that I may discharge the Duties of it Zealously and Faithfully enable me to imploy and improve the Talents thou hast intrusted to me and make me useful and serviceable in my Place Lord let not my Soul lie under the guilt of the discontent or ruin of any Family or Person but make me an instrument of Peace and Prosperity where I am I know O Lord that Humility and Industry are Virtues that are not so pleasing to a Carnal Mind but Lord make me sensible how great the recompence of my self-denyal