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A41668
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The young man's guide through the wilderness of this world to the heavenly Canaan shewing him how to carry himself Christian-like in the whole course of his life / by Tho. Gouge ...
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Gouge, Thomas, 1605-1681.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing G1387; ESTC R32454
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122,357
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176
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acknowledge the wrong he hath done If satisfaction cannot be made by Restitution then it must be by Humiliation 3. He must shew himself willing to restore whatsoever he hath unjustly and fraudulently gotten and promise satisfaction whensoever God shall inable him thereunto Q. What if the Party wronged be dead A. Then restitution ought to be made to his Executors ' or Administrators or Heirs and if they cannot be found then to the poor making them his Heirs and thereby thou wilt turn thy Debt into an Alms and in shewing thy self just do a work of Mercy What thou dost herein let it be done speedily As thy Repentance must be speedy without delay so must thy Restitution For what true Repentance can there be without Restitution Zacheus we read upon his Conversion made present Restitution Luk. 19. 8. knowing his Repentance without it was but counterfeit and vain It is not sufficient to purpose and promise Restitution but it must be presently done For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth thou mayst either be taken from thy riches or thy riches may be taken from thee and thou thereby be altogether disinabled to restore according to thy purpose Though for the present thou mayst please thy self with thine ill-gotten goods yet if ever thy Conscience be enlightened and made sensible of the evil of sin thou wilt find no quiet therein till thou hast made restitution Ill-gotten goods will be to thy Conscience as the Canaanites were to that good Land It is said the Land groaned till it had spewed them out So thy Conscience will travel with grief till it be delivered of thine ill-gotten goods Seneca tells us of a Philosopher at Athens who having bought a pair of Shooes upon trust and afterwards hearing that the Shoo-maker was dead flattered himself for a while with a conceit that the Money due for the Shooes was his own and that he should never be called upon for the same But his Conscience being afterwards awakened he was so terrified with the thought of his injustice that as one affrighted he ran with all speed to the mans Shop and finding the door shut he flung the Money in at the Window saying Though the good man be dead yet the Money is due from me If an Heathen made such conscience of restoring what was anothers and not his own how much more shouldst thou who art a Christian make Conscience of restoring whatsoever thou hast stoln or fraudulently gotten from another and doth not properly belong unto thee Obj. Happily thou wilt say I am willing to make restitution but unwilling to have the thing known because thereby my Credit and Reputation will be exceedingly blasted A. For the preservation of thy Reputation thou mayst make choice of some honest faithful friend who will deliver the Money or Goods and conceal thy name Be sure restitution be made one way or other of thine ill-gotten goods 1. Because otherwise they will prove a Moth to consume the rest of thine estate 2. It is the only way and means whereby thou canst make recompence and satisfaction for the wrong thou hast done unto thy Neighbour 3. Common Justice and Equity requireth restitution so far as thou art able Cicero and divers others amongst the Heathens by the Light of Nature acknowledged as much What a shame then must it needs be for Christians who have the light of the Gospel added to the light of Nature not to acknowledge and practise this necessary duty 4. This is the fruit worthy of repentance which we are commanded to bring forth Mat. 3. 8. And which will evidence the truth thereof Hereby Zacheus testified the truth of his repentance Luk. 19. 8. It is not thy confession unto God of the wrong done to thy Neighbour nor thy mourning and sorrowing for the same that will obtain the pardon of the sin without restitution so far as thou art able where that is wanting all thy sorrow and repentance will do thee little good This was the Judgment of S. Austin confirmed by all Divines to this day that Non remittitur peccatum nisi restituatur oblatum No remission of sin without restitution of goods or money so far as the party is able Hast thou therefore O Young Man in the time of thine Apprenticeship been unfaithful to thy Master and stoln any thing from him or any other as thou expectest to find mercy from God and to obtain the pardon of thy sin resolve forth with to restore the same otherwise it will prove not only a Moth in thine estate but the ruine of thy Soul If thou part not speedily with thine ill-gotten goods thy Soul is like to go for them And what will it profit thee to save thy goods and lose thy Soul CHAP. XXX Sheweth the necessity of performing Relative Duties VII HAve special regard to the Duties thou owest to thy Relations wherein consisteth a great part of a Christians work If God hath blessed thee with a Family let thy care be that God may be honoured therein by a constant conscionable performance of holy and religious duties Relative Duties do more demonstrate Piety and true Godliness than General Duties The work of Grace in mens Conversations doth appear much in the Duties of their Relations If therefore thou profess Godliness manifest the truth and power of it in performing the Duties of thy Relations Whatsoever men may talk of Godliness except it appear in a conscionable discharge of the duties of their Relations all their talk and profession of Religion is 〈◊〉 no purpose Except a Servant be diligent and faithful to his Master a Child dutiful to his Parent a Wife loving and obedient to her Husband all their profession of Religion is in vain So unless Masters Parents and Husbands be careful and conscionable in the discharge of the duties of their Relations all their talk of Godliness is to no purpose Therefore O Young Man have special regard to thy Relative Duties if thou be not good therein thou art not good at all what shew of goodness soever thou makest A good man but a careless Master careless of the Souls of his Servants A good man but an harsh unkind Husband these cannot well stand together Men are really what they are relatively except thou art relatively good thou art not really good Be therefore exactly conscionable in the duties of thy Relations If thou beest a Master a Governour of a Family be just and merciful to thy servants careful for the saving of their Souls If thou beest an Husband be kind and loving to thy Wife let all thy Commands be in love then will they be more chearfully obeyed If thou beest a Father be careful in the education of thy Children bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord As God hath made them thy Children by Natural Generation do thou endeavour to make them his Children by a Religious Education Know that relative duties and graces do very much grace Religion Q. What are those
special relative duties which are incumbent upon Masters and Governours of Families in reference to those under their charge A. 1. Let your houses be daily perfumed by a Morning and Evening Sacrifice of Prayer and Praise unto God Both which were appointed under the Law Exod. 29. 38 39. and this shadowed what was to be performed under the Gospel God renews his mercies to you every Morning and protects you every night from manifold dangers whereunto you are subject and can you be so ungrateful and unmindful of him who is every moment so mindful of you as not to offer up unto him a Morning and an Evening Sacrifice 2. Let the Word of God be frequently read in your Families which is not only the Foundation of Faith and the Well-spring of Saving Wisdom but also the ground of Godliness and the Guide of Practice able to make you wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3. 15. We cry out against the Pope and Popish Clergy for locking up the Scriptures in an unknown Tongue from the Laity not suffering them to have a Bible in their Mother-tongue whereas many Masters amongst us deal much alike with those under their charge who if they do not lock up the Scriptures from them yet neither do they unlock them to them by causing them to be read among them Certainly did you seriously consider the benefit that might redound to your servants by a frequent hearing the Word read you could not but be more frequent therein Are any of them addicted to Drunkenness Lying or Swearing who knows but upon hearing the threaâ—…nings in Gods Word denounced against those sins they mâ—…y for the â—…ime to come abhor and avoid the same Or are any of thy servants unprofitable and disobedient unto thee who knows but upon hearing the duties of servants read out of the Word of God where they are commanded to be obedient to their Masters in all things and to serve them not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ with singleness of heart as Ephes. 5. 5 6. they may become more obedient and profitable unto thee So that methinks for thine own good as well as theirs thou shouldst cause the Word to be frequently read in thy Family 3. Set some time apart in every Week to Catechize those under thy charge teaching them the chief Principles of Religion than which there is no better means to keep them from the errours of the times If he be worse than an Infidel who provides not for the bodies of those in his Family what then is he who takes no care of their Souls neglecting to instruct them in the Principles of the Oracles of God Content not thy self with a dead distracted manner of serving God but stir up thy self to a lively spiritual performing those holy duties thou takest in hand To draw near unto God with our bodies and honour him with our lips when our hearts and spirits are removed from him is no better than a mocking of God which he abhors and detests V. As a means and help for the constant performing these Family-duties have special care of the choice of thy Yoke-sellow that thou marry a Vertuous woman one who is related to Christ at least one that liketh and approveth the best things If thy Wife be not a promoter of Godliness in the Family she will be a hinderer thereof The Scripture in setting forth the wickedness of Iehoram renders this as the reason thereof that he had the Daughter of Ahab to Wife 2 Chron. 21. 6. Therefore O Young Man in seeking after a Wife it will be thy wisdom 1. To look more after righteousness than after riches to inquire more after her Piety than after her Portion to know rather with what Religion she is indued than with what Estate she is indowed Alas what is the richest Portion the most exquisite Beauty and the rarest parts in comparison of a mind inobled with Grace and Verâ—…ue A Wife as well as an Husband is the greatest outward comfort or cross in the world So that to err once in the choice of a Wife is in a manner to be undone for ever Therefore O Young Man be sure thou seek unto God by Prayer for his direction and assistance in this great work upon which much of thy future happiness or misery doth depend 2. Next to Piety Prudence and Discretion is to be looked at in a Wife For wisdom exceeds solly as much as light exceeds darkness Eccles. 2. 13. And indeed what is Beauty without discretion but as a Iewel of Gold in a Swines snout Prov. 11. 22. And Solomon by way of commendation setteth forth a prudent Wife to be a special gift and principal blessing of God such as excelleth all other temporal blessings whatsoever 3. Marriage-affection requires some external amiableness that she be a pleasing person in whom thou mayst delight Though as the Wise Man speaketh Prov. 31. 30. favour be deceitful and beauty vain because they are subject many ways to decay and vanish away yet favour and beauty may serve for the rooting and settling of affection at the first 4. In regard that Marriage is the Foundation of a Family and Posterity a Portion is not to be contemned though not chiefly to be desired Therefore in seeking a Wife let not wealth and riches be chiefly in thine eye as if thou wert going about a Purchase and wert to Wed not the Woman but her Wealth but look more to her inward goodness than to her worldly goods Lastly For a conclusion of the whole In the careful observation of all these directions give diligence to make thy Calling and Election sure It will not suffice me to press thee to do something that so thou mayst have hope I would perswade thee to thy whole duty that so thou mayst have assurance that it shall be well with thee And less than I have here advised thee to will not suffice thee to make sure for everlasting He must be an Universal Christian that will be an assured Christian there is as much required to assurance as is required in the whole Scripture Well what sayst thou wilt thou henceforth adventure thy Soul on conjectural and deceitful hopes or wilt thou set to it to make sure for Heaven What shall I say more to perswade thee Give me leave e're I dismiss thee to urge upon thee an argument or two Whatever thou hast to do here make sure for hereafter For. 1. Nothing temporal can be made sure 2. If things eternal be made sure it 's no great matter though things temporal remain at the greatest uncertainties 1. Nothing temporal can be made sure This World is a World of uncertainties The riches of it are uncertain riches 2 Tim. 6. 17. The pleasures of it are uncertain pleasures worldly Friends are uncertain Friends The Wheel of Providence is ever turning Now one 's at the top of the Wheel and then another and another and he that was just now at the top by