but in so far as it proceeds from his Displeasure because of Sin yea sometimes is want more behoveful to sinful man then a full enjoyment and surely God will make good that Promise of turning all his Dispensations for the best to them that love and fear him It is to be wished that if some little Peece were published some short Directions to every state of Mankind Nobility Gentry and Commons for none living upon Earth but are to do what may be said to be their Calling and the Greatest of Mortals will at the Great Day of Account see their Misery in not living up to it neither are they nor these of the most mean and low Condition exempted from Duty towards God themselves their Neighbour their Relations and their Servants I tell you it is beyond my Capacity to hold forth the same as may be convincing it is true to willing Learners they depending humbly upon God for Direction their Duty will be very obvious and their Adventage of doing thereof is not only great to all Eternity but even whilest in the World the serene Peace of Conscience and entire depending upon God and expectation of being blessed eternally by Him is incomparably valuable beyond all that wretched men can propose to themselves by following the Dictats of their corrupt and wicked Inclinations indeed almost all Mankind may be said to live without the sense of God's Being and that they are undoubtedly to receive from Him either the Sentence of their being forgiven and accepted of in and for Christ's sake or that of being rendered miserable with the Devils to all Eternity for generally doth Ignorance abound and we are not aware that without Knowledg at least iâ— some competent Measure we are not able to serve God and where there is some measure of Knowledge Corruption doth so far prevail 〈◊〉 there are â—ew that lives up to it and all precessing themselves to be Christians may be considered as these that are either openly prophane and however with their mouth they profess yet in their practise they deny their belief of God or such as says they do and seems to believe and rely upon God for Mercy or such as from a true sense and feeling of their sin flies with all their heart to God in Jesus Christ as the only Sanctuary for Sinners of the last of which there is surely the least number the difficulty of truly coming to Christ being greater then the most do conceive for in doing thereof a Sinner must first have a heart-real sense and feeling of its lost Condition and being fully satisfied and convinced of its own unworthiness and inability to any good in all humility and entirely to throw it self in the Arms of the merciful Saviour of Sinners whose Blood is only able to purge from Guilt and this every Sinner may be fully convinced of that it can never seek or come to Christ acceptably but as it sees it self lost and undone beyond all possibility of help without Him and albeit our utmost endeavour to perform religious and moral Duties must not be omitted yet must there be a full Conviction that as it is possible for us to perform them they avail nothing in our Access to God I remember to have read one saying when thou comest to Christ in Faith thou must leave behind thee thy own Righteousness and bring nothing but thy Sin O! that is hard leave behind all thy Holiness Sanctification Duties Humblings c. And bring nothing but thy Wants and Miseries else Christ is not fit for thee nor thou for Christ Christ must be a pure Redeemer and Mediator or Christ and thou will never agree and the same Person when pressing to a true and cordial Believing in Christ says to Believing there must go a clear conviction of Sin and of the Merits of the Blood of Christ and of Christ's willingness to Save upon this consideration only that thou art a Sinner I seem herein to express to you my sense of the need of something directing Mankind by some short Rules to their Duty towards God their Neighbour and themselves and has said that the novelty and succinctness of it might induce to a perusal thereof in which you may justly tax me of Imprudence for as the word Novelty is improper to such a Subject so you may alledge there is already much written that directs to Duties of which I am sensible but they being either enlarged upon or done in other Writings whereby the brevity that is taking to the most of Readers is wanting and for what I have seen in little Rooks containing Matters of this kind there is either apparent indifference in directing to religious Duties or at least the want of life and zeal in principally endeavouring God's glory as if living so as might gain worldly Repute were most to be desired But I hear of other Pieces which are not come to my hand particularly one done by an English Marquess and another said to be Argyls and if in these or in some others already printed which I have not seen that Want be not made up I think there Wants not Reason to induce Persons qualified yet to give some brief Directions therement for surely the most of Mankind do's generally by their Converse declare that the Laws of God are not the Rule of their Walk which is much to be lamented for if frail man could guard against Corruption and live according to the Rules in the Gospel an Society so constitute would be to all Degrees of Persons desireable almost beyond humane Comprehension But having exceeded Bounds in this Letter to you I shall only add that I do sincerely wish there may be pressed in some short Directions what may be useful and that God by his Holy Spirit accompany the same and the Endeavours of Godly men in books already written that in this Age and in these Lands may be fulfilled that Prophesy Is 11.8 9. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the Asp and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice-den And They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea I am Sir Your c. A Fathers Advice to his Son Son However unfit I am for the Discharge of the Duties incumbent to a Parent yet have I upon my Heart a sense of the Obligation I ly under to endeavour with all my Strength your wellfare in this World but especially to all Eternity which has made me resolve in these following Lines to send you some Advice and Directions in order to it BEing now past your Childish years you are to know that your end of living is undoubtedly the Glory of God your Maker and Redeemer and you are called to missimploy no part of your time but to live in every thing as minding you are ever in God's sight and presence Your Duty holden forth in his blessed Word
especially in the New Testament by our Lord and his Apostles is beyond exception the most rational and convenient even for the well-being of Society and good of Mankind in the World and far preferable to the best of Rules and Laws that ever were given by any man or Societie of men I shall forbear writing of many things which might occur to me and does intreat your whole Conversation may evidence the belief of your Being to appear before the Tribunal of God in Judgment and shall recommend your being careful of some few things in your Walk First towards God Secondly Towards your self and Thirdly Towards our Neighbours You are in all you do to respect the Glory of God there being no action of your life but it truly ought to be done to that end We are with all carefulness to avoid every thing sinful and to go about even the most indifferent of our Concerns in obedience to his Command Love to him being the Motive and his Glory the Aim of all we do wherefore make Conscience of seeking of God strength enabling you to every Duty I shall not nor am I fitted to enlarge upon what might be said to what is Duty and shall recomend your reading practical Pieces of Divinity but above all be in a constant and humble dependence upon God for his Grace enabling you to serve him and seek for Christ's sake a broken heart and strength against every Corruption Cry with earnestness that you never be left to the power of your wicked self and beware of seeing any Merit in what ever is possible for you to do for only in Christ is your acceptance with God Son whilst I am writing what occurs to me of your duty God-ward I am sensible it may be truly said to be duty towards your self the Salvation of your Soul not of Merit but Free-grace being what is annexed thereto 1. Have your heart filled with faith in God and his Son Christ Jesus and love to him and the fear of his holy Name seek not to satisfie your shallow Reason in divine things but as the Apostle requires 2 Cor 10.5 Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ For to give your Assent meerly upon a sensible or rational Demonstration is no divine faith and truly to believe in a divine sense is to assent to a preposition upon the credit of the Revelation though we cannot make it out by our Reason And this is to have our thoughts brought into Captivity unto the Obedience of Christ for mans reason being corrupted by Adam's fall it objects against several divine Propositions Saying how can one be three and three one How could the divine and humane Nature unite in one Person How can the Dead rise These and what else are above â—â—r Reason and contained in the blessed Word of God are to be believed because asserted therein and at all times our hearts ought to be fill'd with Love to God and his Son our Saviour and Redeemer whom we are to love with all our Soul with all our Mind and with all our strength for whatever in Creatures may be a Motive to love as Goodness Power Kindness Veracity c. Are in our blessed God in an unspeakable superlative degree He is of infinite goodness and excellencie and there is nothing good in the world but what hath received all its Goodness from him and he is wonderfully Kind and Merciful to Souls and Bodies of poor Sinners Having when miserable Man had lost himself by sinning against his Command offered that wonderful way of satisfying Divine Justice by sending his Son to the world who took upon him the nature of frail Man and suffered that shamefull death of the Cross and all to stand betwixt Sinners and Justice And are not our Bodies supplyed with all good things we enjoy through his care and providence 2. Make Conscience of living as in the sight of Him the only living and true God before whose Tribunal you must appear to give an Account of your Actions Be diligent having Faith with Knowledge and attention of Mind in reading the Scriptures and seek of God and depend upon him for his Holy Spirit enabling you to that and every Duty I have from my experience observed that being up late at night and lying a Bed in the morning are a hinderance of the Duties required of us for not only has God appointed the Night for rest and sleep and the Day for Exercise but you will find the advantage of making use of the Morning for your private Devotion and that so early as you may have convenient and uninterrupted time for the performance thereof before either Business or Companie may have the occasion of tempting you to a Diversion You will find David's practise in the 5th Psalm and 3 v. In the morning O Lord will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up 3. The end of your living being Gods Glory your last thought at night and first in the morning ought to be of God Think with seriousness of your own misery through your Original and Actual Sin and of the unexpressible Goodness and Mercy of God in Jesus Christ to you and every lost Sinner that shall have grace to lay hold on him in and by Christ And when you arise endeavour by meditation to bring your heart to such a Frame as may fit you for drawing near to God who albeit he be merciful yet is the great and only God altogether unaccessible to sinners not coming to him in and through Christ And surely an Ignorant Wandering Unbelieving and hardned Heart has no ground to expect Access to God in Christ our Lord. You would stirr up your self not only to Prayer in the morning but to reading some part of the Scriptures and I do advise you when first you do retire your self after you have endeavoured by some suitable Mediation to bring up your heart to an awfull Sense of the presence of God to whom you are about to dare to speak that you fall down upon your Knees and lifting up your heart to God in some few and suitable words seek to him with earnestness for Grace enabling you to read his Word aright and suitably to put up your desires in prayer and whenever you do pray always express your thankfulness and magnifie the Name of God for his Mercy to lost Sinners in Jesus Christ then read a portion of Scripture as you find convenient to stint your self to I think it would not be amiss you did every morning read a Psalm or two and an Chapter of the new or old Testaments as you have read through the Psalms you would begin again and think it not too much if you should read them a thousand times and for the old and new Testament there is no part of either ought to be omitted but especially you would read the new Testament
to and keeping it in a tender frame yea the advantages thereof are so great as may stir up to the redeeming time for the exercise thereof even from what may lawfully be allowed to our worldly Concerns or bodily Refreshment and how much more then ought we when we are alone guard against our minds going out after foolish and vain fancies if not what is grossly sinful in the sight of God Surely if we had an awful sense of his omnipresence and omniscience we would dare to be thinking upon what is unallowable in his sight and if we had a sense of our miserable condition through sin our hearts would ever be ready to take hold of all occasions of serious thinking how we should evite the Curse and Wrath of God to all eternity which unavoidably will be the Portion of hardned sinners not coming to God in and through Christ David in Ps 4.4 Requires we stand in aw and sin not and that we commune with our hearts upon our beds whereby you may be satisfied it hath been the practise of the Godly seriously to meditate at all times The subject Matter for your meditation is obvious and will easily occur as the Debt we ow to the Justice of God for sin the certainty of Death and after that of Judgment the misery of such as shall be Doomed to Hell with the Devils and so for ever separate from the Presence of God His incomprchensible Mercy to lost sinners in Jesus Christ and the Fulness of the unspeakable Joys that is secured to such as heartily and humbly lays hold thereof yea innumerable are the Subjects of that exercise that will with ease offer themselves and I advise for your Direction and encouragement to that Duty that you read the last Part of Mr. Baxter's Saints rest which doth fully Treat thereof 8. Every Evening set some short time apart and state your self as before God's Tribunal take a back-look upon your Actions of that day and what you have done towards God or your Neighbour amiss acknowledge it with contrition and brokenness of heart and seek of God Grace enabling you to a due Reparation either by a sorrowful even publick acknowledgment thereof in so far as they are sins against our good God providing the same may tend to the Edification of His Church and People or by repairing the prejudice of any hurt done to your Neighbour in so far as it is possible within your power and in your Evening Prayer acknowledge the goodness of God throughout all the days of your time and in particular acknowledge Him for the Mercies of that day and enlarge your self in Prayer as in the Morning 9. As you are called to own a Profession of Godliness so you are to avow the publick performance of Duty wherever Providence shall tryst your Being yet for the most part you would endeavour its Being as retired and as private as possible at least beware that to be seen or heard of men or any self end be not a Motive to your doing thereof I remember to have heard of a woman meeting with godly Mr. Fox upon the Street and after some discourse she pulling out her Bible told him she was going to hear a Sermon upon which he said to her if you will be advised by me go home but said she when shall I then go to Church To whom he answered when you tell no body of it 10. Beware of Hypocricie and be assured God will not be dissembled with he hath in many places of Scripture ranked Hypocrites with the worst of sinners you will find Mat. 23.13 they are amongst the number of such against whom our Lord denounces a Wo and in Chap. 14.51 the misery of their condition is held forth in the Sentence of the unjust Servant where as an aggravation of his punishment it is said his portion shall be with the hypocrites where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Do not you appear to be what you are not and let the design of being thought religious or the making use of a Profession to cloak your carnal and worldly ends be far from you I acknowledge to be morally honest is not to be religious but mind that without endeavouring to be so in all your Actions there is no Religion And it is the height of folly for any to think that their being of a Perswasion with those that are the most godly or their own practising even with much appearing sincerity the Duties of Religion where there is not Moral Honesty doth so much as truly entitle them to the name of Christians it is true every man is subject to Failings and an entire doing of what is required of us is not within the power of sinful man but as truly are our Failings in Moral Duties either where they are customary and habitual or not repented of and endeavoured against difect indications of the want of Religion and that our Lord notwithstanding the Name and Profession of such will disown them in their greatest extremity and you may see the Prophet Micah holding forth that the outward performing of what was legally required of the Jews was not the principal part of their Duty and says in Chap. 6.7 8. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oyl shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God And God by the Prophet Jeremiah Chap. 4.24 saith Let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness judgement and righteousness in the earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord. Yea our Lord himself in that most excellent Sermon upon the Mount hath said Mat. 7.21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven 11. Mind what you are engaged to in your being Baptized and live up to that solemn engagement you are to fight out your Warfare under the Banner of Christ our Lord and renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh seek of God for Jesus sake that He may give you knowlegde and enable you to see and live up to the solemn Tyes you are under through your baptismal Covenant and as ye will answer to our good God at the day of your Appearance before his Tribunal be not among the number of such as never thinks of Baptism being otherwise useful then as a Ceremony for their having a Name 12. I expect that you will be able as the Apostle requires to give an Answer to every man that asketh you a Reason of the Hope or Belief that is in you with Meekness and Fear Forbeâ—â— Debates and Disputings upon Controversies in Religion what
Whatever may be the Station that God shall call you to make Conscience of doing therein what is required of you Evite idleness as the Bane of well-being in this side of time or to Eternity Your acting diligently in your Station is commended from 2 Thess 3.10 11 12. For even when we were with you this we commanded you that if any man would not work neither should he eat c. In many places of Holy Scriptures is diligence in our Calling not only commended but required and the temporal inconveniencies following idleness are manifest from Prov. 19.15 Sloathfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger 20. Such a competency of Riches and other temporal Blessings as is consistent with a comfortable Being in this World is desireable and what you may not only by lawful Means in your worldly Station endeavour to acquire but you are allowed yea required with submission to seek them of God only in this and whatever else you do make your principal end His Glory Do not exceed to satisfie your carnal and worldly Appetites either in your Prayers for or your Endeavours after temporal Enjoyments Let the Prayer of Agur the Servant of God be your Rule Prov. 30.8 9. Remove far from me vanity and lies give me neither Poverty nor Riches feed me with Foâ—d convenient for me lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord Or lest I be poor and steal and take the Name of my God in vain And what it pleases God to bless you with you would mind your Tyes to the Gracious Giver and endeavour with all your strength so to use it with relation to your self and others as may evidence your thankfulness and if it shall please our Wise and infinitely Good God to refuse your desires and render your Endeavours without success seek of Him that His Dispensations to you may be sanctified and beware of repining for the frailty of foolish man under any cross Dispensation befalling him makes him but unwillingly examine why the Lord contendeth and sinking under his trouble do's not readily fly to Him in and through Christ Jesus by fervent and earnest Prayer but is rather poring upon his Calamities and aggravating them to the raising in his heart thoughts inconsistent with Faith and true Love to the Glorious and Merciful God which upon serious Reflection will appear the most unreasonable of Practices for every man upon due consideration will see what befalls him to be God's dealing with him in wonderful Mercy and far from what in Justice his Iniquity calls for And man's being tempted to lament his troubles in comparison of others and to aggravat them from Circumstances too readily occurring to him under any affliction will upon little examination evidence the height of folly for by a true comparison betwixt the Circumstances of the Afflicted and these of such as He judgeth more desirable if they were alike apparent to Him it is more then probable he would have no desire to exchange and undoubtedly such as are most pressed under worldly Calamities has manifold Mercies to be thankful for and it will be their own default if such of God's Dispensations as are even burdensome to corrupt carnal man tend not it is like to their temporal but surely their spiritual advantage sometimes because He loveth he chastiseth indeed miserable man from his blindness cannot rightly see into the Causes of God's dealing with him yet however blinded with Ignorance he may be and surrounded with all imaginable difficulties it it is obviously apparent that he hath infinit reason to magnify God's Mercy in not only allowing but inviting the most miserable of Wretches to draw near to Him as their God and Portion in and through Christ Jesus the merciful Saviour of Sinners And I do advise your being earnest in seeking after Grace enabling to true contentment with your Condition for being content with what God in His Providence is pleas'd to tryst you with as it is your duty toward Him so it is what contributes most to your worldly satisfaction yea it is uncontravertedly apparent that it is not our attaining to what in the World we propose as the Means of reaching satisfaction that answers our expectation be it Riches Honour Pleasures or whatever else And as it can be truly said that true Happiness consists only in an Interest in Christ so one of the great Consequents of that Happiness is the quiet and peaceable acquiescing with a contented mind in whatever is our worldly Lot I remember to have heard one asked the Question if he were to have one wish granted what would it be To which it was answered an Interest in Christ Jesus nay but says the Inquirer that I grant is beyond all exception the only answer to my Question but I desire to know what you could wish as most conducive to your worldly satisfaction To which he again answered a contented mind with whatever in Providence is dispensed to me which is indeed beyond what it is not possible for man to wish for as the ultimat end of all the desires the toil and labour of man is his reaching contentment so it is apparent the attaining what he desires toils and labours for reaches not the end and mans endeavour to do with diligence what he is called to do and resting contented with what Providences dispenses to him is truly most to be desired in things relating to our temporal Being and is attainable if we would but put in exercise the little Reason we have for discontent and anxiety avails nothing to the bettering of our Condition and doth certainly more fret and torment Solomon in Prov. 19.3 tells you The foolishness of man perverteth his way and his heart fretteth against the Lord. Yea mans wickedness and stupidity is manifest in repining against what is done by our Creator and Disposer of what concerns us for every thing be it great or mean is ordered by Him as in Psal 113.5 6. Who is like the Lord our God who dwelleth on high Who humbleth himself to behold â—he things that are in Heaven and in the Earth And so particular are the Providences of God in relation to mankind as our Blessed Lord hath said Mat. 10.29 30. Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father but the very hairs of your head are all numbred And it may be said the great and only Mean of attaining true Contentment is a free and absolute Resignation of our Wills to the Will of God who is not only able but willing to do for the best to such as trust and love him as the Apostle tells you Rom. 8 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God c. Let us make sure the full resignation of our Wills to Him and Contentment will undoubtedly follow the doing thereof yea consider that all Endeavours after true Contentment
Souls eternal Interest and Well-being accustome your self to Truth in every circumstance of your Speech and Actions for as Lying is so obviously hateful to every person but pretending to Honour and Honesty so it is abominable to God Prov. 12.22 Lying lips are abomination to the Lord and a Lye being in the mouth of any Person does prognosticate the Devils being in the heart for lying may properly be said to be his Language he being the father of Lyes And ye find in the 22. Rev 15. such to be debarred from the new Jerusalem as loveth and maketh a lye 32. As you are to abominat that dishonourable Vice of Lying so ye would forbear what has any likelyhood to or appearance thereof Beware of reporting Stories having any thing of incredulity in them since you may thereby soon procure to your self such a Stain of dishonour as even your after-life albeit of great prudence and veracity will with difficulty delet I hope my confidence in your being nothing inclined to this Vice shall not deceive me and I give you this Caution lest by unnecessar reporting of Truths which has any appearance of impossibility you begin to weaken your Credit for I think any at least whilst they are entering upon the World and whil'st their Solidity and Veracity be nottour should be cautious they do not in Discourse or otherwise what may have a tendency to weaken their Reputation 33. Being talkative and a love to Discourse much has many inconveniencies attending it and however some persons truly of Worth may be inclined thereto yet has it ever to me most usually proclaimed their folly Whil'st ye are in company of any Superior it will be Wisdom to speak but when required unless it be with modesty in few and apposite Words to evidence some desire or seek to be resolved of some Question and in all Companies whatsoever shun the taking upon you of much Discourse as what is not only Nauseating but often in the abundance thereof is something said which the Speaker or such as is concerned in him would heartily wish were not said And Solomon in the 10. Prov. 19. Holdeth forth to you that in the multitude of Words there wanteth not sin but he that refraineth his Lips is wise And the 17.28 Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a a man of understanding 34. I have told you ye are to evite Idleness and so live as to be useful in your Station and that you may continue the more fitted for so doing Recreation both to Body and Mind is necessary but your Care must be that it be allowable both in Quality and Quantity Let it be what is suitable to persons in your Station and by not exceeding in the use thereof free your self from that too epidemick Fault of making Recreation as if it were your Calling Surely it is most irrational that men should so little value precious time as the most of their Thoughts should be how they shall cheat themselves of what they would find to be Irrecoverable and for which to have it redeemed from the Wickedness and Folly of our vain way of living would willingly be given all within the power of wretched Man Forbear such Recreations as may be sinful or offensive I shall not determine anent the lawfulness of Games wherein there is Lottorie knowing that some good Men have allowed thereof but many are of the Opinion of their being unlawful and since you may have suitable Diversions without using such it is surely safest to forbear And it is evident that the playing at Cards and Dice from which I absolutely disswade you is obviously accompanied with such sinful Inconveniencies as the advantage of the Recreation of your whole life will be dearly bought by any part thereof I shall not say but it is possible to use that Diversion with moderation yet seldom are Youth enabled so to do and to me it is not the least Argument against that and some other Games there being not much allowable that there is not only upon the most of persons using them a kind of bewitching Inclination to the frequent doing thereof but often are these given up to their immoderate use so far deserted of God as they are otherways in their conversation Offensive Yea I may say there are not many that uses them without what is very sinful for if they be not as the most are tempted to Swear and Curse do they not at the best in the practice of that Exercise evidence such an intent and serious diversion of mind as is inconsistent with Recreation and disables from Duty 35. As you would not do what is offensive to all good Men and above all sinful in the sight of God frequent not wicked and sinful Company let not their complacency or any other inducement from their Converse overcome you for the Frailty of man is most likely to prevail under the temptation of evil Company I intreat your ordinar converse be with such as may rather further than hinder you in the ways of Godliness and endeavour to frequent such Company as you would desire to be found with at the day of Death or your appearance before God's Tribunal You find by Psal 119.63 That David was a Companion of all them that did fear God and did keep His Precepts And Solomon in Prov. 28.7 Telleth that who so keepeth the Law is a wise Son but he that is a Companion of riotous Men shameth his Father I acknowledge whilst men are in the World it may be said to be impossible to be altogether out of the Company of the Prophane but let it be evident from your whole Conversation that your delight is not in any such Fellowship for undoubtedly a young man's frequenting evil Company is an Evident and undenyable Demonstration of his beginning to be such as the Company he keeps if he be not already come their height 36. Having in what I have written minted at directing you in some things that hath relation to your self in the discharge of your Duty God-ward and in the beginning thereof urged your making conscience of Prayer Yet such is the unvaluable Gift of God in allowing Sinners to come to Him as I shall before I say any thing to you that concerns your Duty to your Neighbour again intreat your Diligence in drawing near to him which you must do in Faith under a sense of your very many Wants your great Unworthiness and apprehending and taking up God as able to help dreadful in his Justice yet wonderful in Mercy and accessible to lost Sinners in Jesus Christ and as we are called in whatever we do to consider aright the motive to and the manner of our doing Duty so I desire it may be your care to prevent your Guilt in either of these Your motives to Duty would be allowable in His sight who not only allows of but requires our concernment in our selves and others which may
herein mentioned Consider what I have said to you upon it I do not intend ye should think it any ways full or Perfect my Capacitie not allowing me to pretend to any fitness for doing thereof and having but in some things given you my Opinion but if from your heart ye seek after God and depend upon him for Direction He will for Jesus sake give Knowledge and what else will be necessar for you And I intreat ye may consider this as the Advice of an affectionate Father that with his Heart and Soul wishes your eternal Wel-fare You are now at a distance from me and in a Society that makes me the more solicitous anent you for often do's Youth at Colledges instead of acquiring Learning and any thing desirable procure to themselves an habite of vitious Living and this sometimes happens to such as may be judged in probability would without the temptation be free thereof I intreat you beware of keeping such Company as may be a Snare to you and seriously ply your Book which is the end of your being in the place Be careful not only in giving a dutiful obedience to your Regent and the other Masters of the University but also of paying that due Reverence and Respect that is owing to their several Places be observant of their Orders not from fear but for Conscience sake and attend duely to the Diets appointed for your Class let your Converse where you lodge evidence your Discretion and Respect not only to the Head of the Family but to your Comrads and all within it and be sure you be not absent from Family-exercise nor from your Chamber at late or unseasonable hours Mind my Directions to you anent the Sabbath and beware of spending any part thereof in idle Converse forbear in that day your being in the Streets except when you go and come from the Church and attend the Diets of your Class before and after Sermon but above all make Conscience of seeking with earnestness of heart that our God for Jesuâ—â— sake may keep you from all evil let it be you great Work to grow in greater nearness to God for surely the World is Vanity and every thin we so much pursue after will appear to us wheâ—â— Death is at our door as the height of Vanity and most contemptible Think often of thâ—â— certainty of Death and that to the healthiest 〈◊〉 Youth it may come in a Moment mind thâ—â— also certainly after Death will come Judgment where even the most secret of our sinful thought shall be laid open before the Tribunal of a Juâ—â—â— God and a most dreadful and horrible Sentence pronounced against all such as shall 〈◊〉 be found in Christ our Blessed Lord who 〈◊〉 only able to stand betwixt Sinners and the Stroke due to them in Justice It is most lamentable that the Generality even of such as profess to be Christians are either truly Atheistical and among the number of such Fools as in Psal 14.1 Says in their heart there is not a God Or they vainly pretend an Interest where they have no Title the Apostle in Heb. 12.14 Having expresly said that without Holiness it is impossible to see the face of God It is true all that possibly wretched man can perform do's little deserve to be call'd Holiness but our hearty endeavour after Duties a serious continued sense of our Failings our hearts mourning because thereof and our humble coming to and relying upon Christ our Saviour in Faith for Mercy is graciously accepted of by our infinitely Good and Merciful God Ye would consider how our corrupt hearts agreeing with the general Practice and Belief of almost all owning themselves to be Christians seeks to perswade us to an Indifferency and Unconcern'dness in our Souls well-being and would make us believe that the punctual performing of Duty as Christians is but an over-doing if not Hypocrisy and every Person is ready to befool themselves with a groundless Confidence that they will be saved where they are little concerned in the Salvation of their Souls or the means of attaining to it wherefore think ye often with seriousness upon what is said Mat. 7.13 Enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it This â—aying ought to be much in your mind for stirring you up to Duty lest you be found to be amongst the great number that goes in the Broad-way to everlasting and dreadful Damnation for in any worldly Concern if to a Society of Persons were offered that a few number of them upon doing of some Duty required should undoubtedly have Riches and worldly Honour every one without Arguments inducing them to it would be earnest in doing what might include them in that Number and what unspeakable Degrees are poor â—inners more concerned to endeavour with all their Power the giving Obedience to the Gracious Commands of our God that we may enter in at the Strait Gate leading into that everlasting Blessed Life I have already something signified to you the excellency of Humility it is truly most desirable and without which a Sinner hath not any Ground to expect access to God for as Pride in ordinar Converse and in worldly Affairs is hateful so in what relates to our Duty as Christians any tincture of Conceit and Pride is utterly to be abominat as being a principal Engine of the Devil for the destruction of the Souls of Mankind and that Excelling Grace of true Humility is the great Ornament of a Christian as Pride is the undoubted Marâ— of corrupt Natures prevailing yea so great 〈◊〉 the excellency of Humility as it may be saiâ— without Hyperbole that our infinitely Merciful God will not yea such is His free Mercy cannot refuse the Acceptance of a sincerely humbled Sinner it is indeed much to be prized and most advantagious and it necessarly must be where there is a true sense of our miserable Condition I do again intreat your being frequent and serious in your Prayers to God from whom every thing must come to you and let every one of your Thoughts and Actions speak forth your being truly humble in the sight of God and Man The Apostle Peter in Cap. 5. vers 15. of his First Epistle desires ye may be cleathed with Humility for God resisteth the Proud and giveth Grace to the Humble Let all your Actions flow from a true Principal of love to God and sincerely designing His Glory Often is Duty gone about when the motive to the doing thereof is sinful Self which is our very great Enemy for it wickedly leads and forces us to every evil Thought and Action therefore strive with all your might that no selfish sinful Inclination prevail over you and that the Principle moving you may be truly love to God and the end
by Writ at sometimes so express our imaginations thereof as may be through the blessing of God a mean to bring us to an affectionate endeavouring to perform what as Christians we are called to and a heart hatered to the innumerable Evils the Devil the World and the Fesh drags us daily to commit We need be at little pains in finding out subject for Meditation and that from all that is the practice of both the Great and Mean in the world at this time what we heard the other day from that worthy Minister M. G. M. anent the frailtie of Man and his being by the Prophet Isai excellently likened to Grass his goodliness to the flower of the field may very usefully be taken under our consideration And since this morning some spare time invits me I shall imploy this little Paper and Ink in telling you that all men and I my self in particular does in so little minding our approaching Death not only speaks out fullâ— but the hight of Stupidity yea the Actions of almost all men and Women does proclaim their being Atheists For however every one is ready to say they believe in God and hopes to be saved in and through the Merits of Christâ— yet does almost every thing we do say or think manifestly declare we have no sixed Belief that there is a Judgment to come Oâ— the unexpressible Madness that is in poor Man who does with so much eagerness pursue after empty Vanities and utterly to slight the great End of his being in the World Yea I may say that all sublunary Enjoyments are Vanities to Degrees beyond expression and that the truth of this saying is beyond contradiction paâ—pably obvious even to mean Capaâ—â—â—â—â— whilst they are in the true 〈…〉 Reason for if we 〈◊〉 our Eyes upon Meâ— of all Ranks and Qualities is it not apparant that there is in every one a Toyling and Endeavouring after what they propose as the Mean for reaching their Satisfaction which Mean when attained proves always such as reached not the end and often it is as casting Oyl into Fire whereby the Hear and Violence thereof is more increased and truly there is nothing in all that occurs to Man but the due Consieration thereof will not only stir us up to live as muâ—â—ing we must certainly die but will satifie that we endeavouring with all our Strength to live up to the Rules in the Gospel there is into doing not only a serene Peace and Satisfaction which is unknown to the most of Men but thereby the Terror and Sting of death is â—one away in and through Christ our blessed Saviour â—â— would take much time even to 〈◊〉 at the particulars in all our dealing and Conâ—â—â—â— that we are called to manage as having a prospeâ—â— of our approaching death And I shall only mind you of that common Adagie Hâ—â—â—age quâ—â— cras moriâ—urus agas I remember the desireable Author of the Winter Evening Conference taxeth this saying as if thereby Christians were to do nothing but what they would do being to die the Morrow but I conceive the meaning of it is not as to the Matter but Manâ—â—â— of performing what ever we do which is to be so done as if we were to die the Morrow And surely if we were at all times under the due apprehension of approaching Dâ—â—â—th of the uncertainty of the time thereof and thâ—â—â—tainty of a Judgment to come where we shall appear before a Tribunal whose Judâ— albeit wonderful in mercy yet is a God of Jâ—stice unacessible to sinners not coming to Hiâ—â— in and through Christ our Lord. it would of 〈◊〉 self God blessing the same be sufficient 〈◊〉 deter from all Injustice toward God our Neighbour or our selves let us therefore stir up 〈◊〉 Hearts to an awful sense of God's Omnipresenâ— and Omniscience and of the certaintie of Death and of our Beeing to account for all our guâ—â— before a just and omnipotent God that there by we may be induced to endeavour in all hâ—mility a suitable Christian Conversation aâ— wherein we come short with all our Heart at all our Strength to flie to Christ who is the 〈◊〉 lone Refuge of sinners which that we may serously and cheerfully perform is the Prayâ— of Your affectionate Neighbour 〈◊〉 Servant THEOCRITVS Jan. 8. 1692. D. THEOPHILUS IN my last I exprest some sense I had of it being our interest to advantage our selves by Meditation upon what does hourly occâ—â— from the Actions of men And indeed but seriously othink upon what is the common Practicâ— of all without Exception not only offers ground for Meditation but for Wonder for if we could divest our selves of our own corrupt Inclinations and habitual Byass to do as the world generally does we would in looking upon Mankind as they live in the world clearly see how extravagantly ridiculous the Actions of almost all men are Consider Rulers and these that ought to be ruled of all Degrees and Qualities and not one of a thousand will be found to act with a true Design of living up to his Calling and therein serving God in his Station for surely as God the Creator of all things made every Creature for some rational use in the world so Man particularly is to be serviceable to his Creator in the Station which in Providence he is called to live in Sometimes when I am alone I fancie an over-flowing fullness of Matter for meditation of this kind yet having this morning taken my Pen in hand resolving to express something thereof I find the shortness of my Reason bounds my Fancie and hinders my giving you any rational Account of my thoughts herein but since what I do is to meet with no critical Censure and that it may offer ground for being bettered from your Meditation I shall give you a view of my thoughts of the actions of persons of several Stations I am sensible it is not the part of every one to enquire into the Actions or meddle with what is the Duty of Rulers yet so strange and wonderful are the late Providences in relation to them as such as are least concerned in enquiring into the Actions of supream Magistrats cannot forbear the having of what is past under Consideration I can truly for my self say I not only had in some competent Degree that due respect for Magistracy which I think is necessar for all Subjects and made me consider it our Interest at least in our particulaâ— concerns to suffer to Degrees of extremity rather than by our Resentments to trouble thâ— Peace of a society but I had also that Veneration for the persons of our late Kings as induâ—ed me to an affectionat and serious wishing that they might by their Government gain that trâ—â— Honour of being serviceable to God in their Stâ—tions It were an improper Task for me 〈◊〉 canvass the late Kevolutions and approve 〈◊〉 censure what has been lately acted in thir Kingdoms I am satisfied that as all required 〈◊〉 Man is