profess Religion and have joyned themselves in Communion with those who do really desire and aim at the greatest strictness and most exact holiness so that there is apparent necessity of doing what we can towards the reviving of this excellent practice which hath been by so many so unkindly so sinfully shut out of doors And to this end I shall do these two things First I shall prove that the setting up of the Worship of God and Religious Exercises in Families is a Duty Secondly Lay down some Arguments by which this may appear your reasonable Service We begin with the former That Family-worship is a Duty and that I prove by these three things The Practice of the Heathen The Precepts of the Scripture And the Practice of Saints I. This was the Practice amongst the Heathens though they had no more than the dim Light of Nature yet by that they did see this to be their Duty These not having the Law written were a Law to themselves and have done by Nature many of the things contained in the Law Rom. 2.14 And among others this We find they had their Lares their Penates such as they counted and called their Houshold-Gods and unto them they did offer up Sacrifices in their Families and unto them they did together perform acts of Religious Worship And therefore Prayer to God in Families is a part of Natural Worship because discovered by Natural Light and for the shameful neglect thereof the poor blind Heathen will rise up against multitudes of the Men and Women of this untoward Generation Shall they be more liberal to their Gods of Dung than we are to the Lord of Glory Shall they do more for the Honouring of their false Gods than some of us do for the living and true God who made Heaven and Earth and who is the Author of your Being the God of your Comforts and the Father of all your Mercies by the Hand of whose Power ye were made and upon whose Cost ye spend How sore and dreadful punishment will you deserve if the very Heathen shall condemn you If they were more observant of their Idols than you are of God it will be unspeakably more tollerable for them in the Day of Judgment than for you Think upon and apply to your selves what the Apostle Paul said to the wicked Jew Rom. 2.27 Shall not Vncircumcision which is by Nature if it fulfil the Law Iudge thee who by the Letter and Circumcision dost transgress the Law The clearer that Light is which men do enjoy if they rebel against it the greater is the Sin which they commit the greater is the guilt which they contract and therefore the fiercer that wrath which they deserve II. Family-Worshiping of God is the matter of the Precept It is a burden if any will be so vile as to think or call it so which the great God whose we are hath bound upon us Let me particularly instance in Family-Prayer which sweet and precious Incense I would gladly have all your houses perfumed daily with It must be granted that it is not expresly commanded in Scripture not totidem verbis in so many words but it is included in express commands and from those commands by necessary consequence it will appear to any one that doth not shut his own Eyes to be the Mind and Will of God concerning us For observe First We are expresly commanded to make use of all Prayer Take notice of that word All all Prayer i. e. all kinds of holy Prayer Ephes. 6.18 The Apostle had before told them they must wrestle with Principalities and Powers and Spiritual Wickednesses in high places and having thereupon counsell'd them to make sure of a sufficient strength being strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and Armour of Proof the whole Armour of God he doth here in this Verse advise them to a wrestling with God and indeed it is excellent advice for he that can like a Prince wrestle with God in a way of Supplication will come off a Conqueror when he is called out to wrestle with Devils in a way of Opposition Observe the words Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints Mark that with all prayer Now there are many sorts of Prayer namely Ejaculatory Prayer in which the holy Soul shoots out a Dart to Heaven and on a sudden lifts a Request up to God which may be done at any time and in any place in Company at Dinner in the Street as you are walking in the Shop as you are working or trading and in this way you may sweeten and sanctifie your worldly Affairs by mingling spiritual and gracious thoughts with them Thus while good old Iacob had his Sons before him and was telling them what should befal them in the last days in the midst of it his Soul got on the wing and mounted up to Heaven in that short but sweet expression Gen. 49.18 I have waited for thy Salvation O Lord and there is stated fixed prayer when a person doth at appointed times and in a solemn manner set it self to pour forth its Requests before God and make its desires known to him There is Publick Prayer in the Congregations and Assemblies of the Saints when not only two or three but scores hundreds thousands are met together in the Name of Christ and the Minister as the Mouth speaks to God and the hearts of the People go along with him by a real consent and to his Confessions Petitions and Thanksgivings add their Amen And there is Secret Prayer performed in the greatest retirement when a person hath withdrawn himself from all company and no body seeth nor hears but God alone and so it can be more free and open not hiding its groans from him but spreading all its desires before him and acquainting him with that which it would not have any one in the World besides to know And then there is Family-Prayer wherein the Governour gets the Children and Servants and all the Members thereof together and goeth with them to the Throne of Grace in order to the paying of their Homage unto God and the obtaining from God a blessing upon himself and upon them Now this kind of Prayer is in that Scripture required as well as any other God doth here by the Apostle require our praying with all prayer and if with all prayer then with Family-prayer Secondly We are commanded to pray every where 1 Tim. 5.8 I will that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every place not only in the Temple and in the Synagogue but every where in any place where it is convenient and you may be safe As God is no respecter of Persons so not of Places as Beggars go up down scattering their Vermin in all places and at every door so you should every where be scattering your Treasure
and by practising it they may fall in love with it for Childhood and youth are vanity and by consequence very apt to follow after vanity and in time they may come to love it so much as to consume and spend their time in it untill their purses be exhausted their Estates dwindled and shrunk into nothing and themselves with their Families reduced to beggery and a morsel of bread and at the same time their Souls are lost into the bargain and surely rather than that should come to pass it is a thousand thousand times more desirable that all the Cards in London in England yea in the World should with just indignation be Sacrificed in the Flames In short as to this I beg of you that you would do justly in giving to God the things which are Gods and let not Cards nor any other game hinder his Work and Service nor keep you from the performance of your Duty Many have been undone by gaming and thousands enrich'd by praying it was by this means that Iacob as a Prince had power with God and Men and did prevail Oh! that so much may suffice to be spoken to that complaint and Oh! that God would accompany it with his Spirit and Blessing There is another thing which is indeed the matter of a general Complaint and hath raised a great Cry that reached mine Ears and the Ears of many of my Reverend Brethren and that which renders it so much a Gravamen so grievous and afflictive to our spirits and those of other persons truly fearing God and concern'd for the Honour and Interest of our Religion which deserves to be dearer to us than our Lives is that it is the common yea daily custom not of the vile Debauchees of the Age the wicked and profane Crew from whom nothing is to be expected that savours of goodness and sobriety but even of sober Persons grave Citizens yea of Men eminent for their Profession Members of Churches worshipping God in that way which so many unjustly labour to fix a black brand of Infamy upon but our Heavenly Advocate will one day plead our Cause and bring forth the Righteousness of it as the Light But the thing is such Persons sitting so long as they do at Publick houses of one kind or another and spending there so much time that it is nine ten yea and often eleven of the Clock at night before they return to their home so deeply engaged are they in their Clubs and Discourses in telling and hearing of News I bless God I very seldom hear of Professors and Members of Churches being charged with Drunkenness Uncleanness or other gross Immoralities though I wish there were none of them guilty and do fear there be some who are Spots in our Communion yet this we can say we allow them not and if we did know them and there were just proof we should proceed against them according to Scripture-Rule Further to prevent my being mistaken I shall say these two things First I do not speak against mens inquiring after News or their being desirous to inform themselves concerning the State of Affairs and how matters go in the Nation and abroad and with the Church of God specially in such a time as this When the Army of Israel went out to War against the Philistines good old Eli could not stay at home but out he went and sate upon a Seat by the ways side watching for his heart trembled for the Ark of God 1 Sam. 4.13 And I look upon it as a duty yea a necessary part of duty in us all that so we may be accordingly affected and the better understand how to order our Spirits and demean our selves and how to direct our Prayers and Praises unto God that so there may be no unseemly discord and jarring between God's Providences and our Prayers but an harmony and consent Secondly I do not speak a word against Citizens having their Clubs in order to the better and more prudent management of their Trades this I am a stranger to and therefore do not meddle with for any thing I know it may be convenient for them and profitable and more than so needful but for Men to sit in those places so long and keep from their own houses till it be so late is indeed blame-worthy and calls loudly for a reformation and oh that I could help toward it I will do my endeavour and in order thereunto offer some things to your consideration First if any of you who are here present before the Lord and are Husbands be guilty of this thing and make an ordinary practice thereof I beseech you when you are most calm and composed seriously to reflect upon it and think with your selves whether this be kindness to your Wives Is this walking answerably to that near intimate conjugal relation into which you did voluntarily and of your own choice enter promising to express all love and tenderness Is this living up to the Law and doing the duty of that Relation Is this being as good as your word Is this your love and kindness to her in whose Company and Converse you ought to delight above all others except Gods Is this to be a Comfort to her as you ought to be Think that while you are abroad Merry Jocund Pleasant Delighting your self with your Friends and Wine she for want of you is at home Melancholick Concern'd Afraid Troubled lest you should Contract any Guilt or come by any Hurt at least she is solitary and alone Secondly To that thought add another While I am here doth not my Family want me May you not be more useful and do much more good at Home than you are capable of doing in one of those Publick Houses What becomes of your own Vineyard which you are bound to keep Would it not turn to a better account and prove far more advantagious both to you and yours to be teaching of your Family commending God and Godliness to them giving them good Counsels instilling into them sound Principles reading to them your selves or hearing them read the Holy Scriptures and other good Books by which they may be richly furnished for good Works and made wise to Salvation or Catechising them about the main Fundamental Points of Religion and examining them as to their knowledge in the things of God for want of due care wherein while they are young many when they come to be grown up prove unstable Souls and an easie prey to them that lye in wait to deceive Possibly you do not and I will hope that you do not Drink to Excess in those Houses nor spend too much Money upon them who will not thank you for it afterward but what saist thou Conscience Speak out to them speak plain do they not spend too much time there May they not spend it much better at home and about something else Thirdly Suppose the great and holy God should come to you at such a time and in such a place would you
it be jarring in their ears so long as it is musick in his know thou hast to deal with a good Master the God of all grace who if there be a willing Mind doth accept according to what a Man hath and not according to what he hath not The poor Publican was very short he had much to desire yet little to say his dejected looks and sorrowful gesture spake more than his Tongue did but though he was short yet he was sweet we read but of one Petition that he put up to God God be merciful to me a Sinner but he accompanied it with his heart and it came before God as incense who sent him home to his house justified Luke 18.13.14 God took away the filthy garments he came in and put on him a Robe of Righteousness The Sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite Heart O God thou wilt not despise Psalm 51.17 despise it no no he is so far from that that he requires it and approves it and will bind it up A broken Prayer from and with a broken Heart makes Melody in Heaven God will count it his delight Alas he seeth not as Man sees looks not at the flourishes of words but at the life fervency and Zeal of the Soul for those flowers may be strewed upon a dead and rotten carcass Indeed if a Man bring the Torn and the Sick and the Lame for an Offering to the Lord when he hath better it shall not be accepted Malach. 1.13 but if that Torn and Lame and Sick be the Male of the Flock if it be the best he hath God will receive it graciously and have respect to the Person and to his Offering and Grace will say he hath done what he could as our Lord pleaded for the Woman when his Disciples did absurdly trouble her Mark 14.8 Not only those Richer Persons who brought Gold and Silver and Silk and Precious Stones to the service of the Tabernacle were welcome but those also who came with their Goats-Hair and Badgers-Skins if they had no better I am willing to hope that by what hath been said the mouth of this Objection is stopt the edge of this Argument blunted and so this untoward rub removed which lay in the way of thy Duty therefore I beg earnestly of thee that thou wouldest defer no longer but get up break thro' all opposition and since God hath said seek ye my face let thine heart answer thy face Lord will I seek Before I go off from this Subject I shall direct my Discourse to two sorts of Persons First I would speak something to you whose hearts God hath touched so that you love your work and do it making Family-Prayer your every day business I bless you in the name of the Lord and the God of Heaven bless you while I beg it for you may he bestow it abundantly upon you and pour it out till you be rich in blessings the good Lord strengthen your hands and hearts more and more in this work and encourage you by his gracious answers may you find by frequent and large experience that he hath not said to you seek ye my face in vain The Lord teach you to pray and assist you by his Holy Spirit the Lord send you help from the Sanctuary and strengthen you out of Sion remember all your Offerings grant you according to your own hearts and fulfill all your Petitions which are according to his Mind and Will may you by the Bucket of Prayer draw Water with joy out of the Well of Salvation let him never turn away your Prayer nor his Mercy from you Secondly Do you also suffer the word of exhortation who have your lines cast in those Families in which there is Prayer and the Worship of God do you take special notice of it as a choice mercy and accordingly value it and bless the Lord for disposing you so graciously planting you not in a dry and barren Wildâ—erness where there is no Water but in a Paradise an Eden that is so well water'd You that are Wives and Married to Praying Husbands do you bless God and you Children who have been begotten by Praying Fathers and you Servants who work for and wait upon Praying Masters let all that is within you bless his Holy Name and see to it that you improve the Mercy lose not such a Season such an Opportunity Oh! how much good may you get how much the better may you be in case you be not wanting to your selves and who can tell how much Mercy such an Husband such a Father such a Master may obtain how many Blessings he may procure at the hand of God for you read what the Queen of Sheba said to King Solomon in the 1 of Kings 10.8 Happy are these thy Men and happy are these thy Servants which stand continually before thee and that bear thy Wisdom She had seen the House he had built and the ascent by which he went up to the House of the Lord and the Meat at his Table and the sitting of his Servants and the attendance of his Ministers and their Apparel but there was something above all this that she admired She did not look upon the happiness of his Servants as consisting in beholding the greatness of his State and Honour and the Splendour and Glory of his Court or in feeding every day upon his Royal Dainties and Drinking his Generous Wines but in hearing of his Wisdom I may as well yea and much more say of you in case you are your own Friends happy thrice happy are you who live in such a Family though as the lowest and meanest Members of it in which you may every day hear the Master of it speaking to God and conversing with Heaven and every day perfuming the House with the precious Odours of his gracious and holy Prayers So much may suffice to be spoken concerning that great and excellent Work of Family prayer and Oh! that it may not be in vain as to any of you if it be you must answer for it another day But that is not all Christians the whole of your work doth not lye in Prayer this you must do and not leave the rest undone no none of it undoneâ— I remember the holy Apostle Paul speaking of Epaephras whom he calls a Servant of Christ and of them a Citizen of Colos a Member of their Church and Teacher much set for their good saith Col. 4.12 He always labour'd fervently for them in Prayer that they might stand perfect and compleat in all the will of God which is a great thing and deserves our utmost endeavours and his so labouring in Prayer for them to this end spake him a good Man and a singular Friend of theirs and it is my Hearts desire and my frequent Prayer that it may be so with you And this should be the Desire and Prayer the Care and Endeavour of every one of you who are Godly Parents and Religious Governours
him and my Patience shall no longer wait upon him Do not therefore in this or the like case consult with flesh and blood make not carnal Reason your Counsellor listen not to Objections though never so seemingly fair and plausible for there is no sufficient Argument to be brought against any thing which really is a matter of Duty whether you owe it to God or Man All this while I have been speaking to you altogether in generals but now I shall descend to particulars and here with all the earnestness that I possibly can use I shall exhort you to these three things and give you some Directions for your help in the doing of them 1. To pray with your Families 2. To teach and instruct your Families 3. To set them a good Example in your own Lives and Conversations in order to the keeping or banishing sin and profaneness out of them together with the promoting of Morality and Godliness in them I shall begin with the great Duty of Family-prayer and oh that I might through the Grace of God persuade you all into the practice of it Oh that from this very day there may not be found one prayerless Family among you For I do not doubt to affirm that which is a prayerless Family is also a graceless Family Where there is no seeking of God there is no love to him no fear of him And that Family which is void of the Grace of God is without his Blessing and though there may be outward Plenty and Grandeur in it and the Sun of worldly Prosperity may shine upon it yet it stands open and exposed to the Wrath and Indignation of God who is and cannot but be angry with it every day seeing himself slighted and neglected by his own Creatures who live upon him and receive their All from him And there is standing upon Record in the Sacred Scriptures a dreadful Prayer against those Families which do not pray let those that are guilty read it and tremble for as it was indited by the Spirit of God so it shall be fulfilled by the Iustice of God Ier. 10.25 Pour out thy Fury upon the Heathen that know thee not and upon the Families that call not upon thy Name The Families that do not call upon God's Name do not know him for as those that know his Name will put their trust in him so they will seek him and they may very well be reckoned Heathen-Families though they are Christian by a verbal Profession Christians in Name but Heathens in practice and over these Families there hangs a great black Cloud of Divine Vengeance which at one time or another will disgorge and empty it self upon them there shall not only be some little small drops of Anger but the pouring out of Fury and methinks danger should be enough to drive you to Duty though he is not ingenuous not of a right temper who is moved by no other consideration I would have you walk with God and in the way of your Duty not for wrath only or chiefly but for Conscience sake not only that you might avoid being bound in Chains of Wrath but because you are allur'd and drawn with the cords of kindness Though we may and should use all the Arguments we can muster and those of all sorts for the persuading of our dull and heavy hearts that are so backward unto that which is spiritually good to that end therefore consider you have Family-sins and therefore ought to joyn together in your confessing of them mourning over them and humbling your selves before God for them and you have Family-sorrows and afflictions and therefore should be joynt-suitors to God both for the sanctifying of them to you and for the removal of them from you and you have Family-mercies in which you do all share and of which you tast the sweetness and therefore you should all bear your parts in a Song of Praise and chearfully joyn together in your acknowledgments of them and thankful returns to the God that gives them And withal be sure of this that if you do exclude Family-prayer you shut out God himself and at the same time you open the door to the Devil and let in together with him a croud of sins and by conseqence of mischiefs Therefore I beseech you mind and resolve upon the great and excellent work of Family-prayer yea and make Conscience of performing it And in order to the better management thereof I shall give you these following Directions which I desire you to observe and the good Lord grant you an heart to follow them I. Live in the performance of Secret Prayer When you are in your Retirements be upon the ascent when you are alone be with God You that are Parents and Masters of Families do this your selves and heartily commend it to all under your care your Servants and your Children which are in a capacity of doing it which you will not find to be any detriment or loss to you For this you have an express Command from our dearest Lord Jesus Christ Matth. 6.6 Thou when thou prayest enter into thy Closet and when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which seeth in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret will reward thee openly He doth not here take you off from praying with others but he puts you on praying by your selves that is not to be neglected and this is to be done therefore do you allow them time for it who are under your roof Let the Husband pray by himself and the Wife by her self the Children apart and the Servants apart It was a dreadful thing when in the 8th of Ezekiel the Lord in a Vision carried the Prophet from place to place and in them all he shewed him abominations in one place there was the Image of Iealousie in another place the form of creeping things Beasts and all the Idols of the House of Israel pourtray'd upon the Wall in a third place Women weeping for Tammuz and in a fourth place there were others worshipping the Sun toward the East Idolatry was committed in all those places hereupon God threatens to dwell with them in Fury But how sweet will it be when God looks into your houses and sees the Husband praying in one room and the Wife in another a Child upon his knees pouring its supplications out before him here and a a Servant doing it there this is the way to have him dwel with you in mercy and according to the exceeding riches of his Grace I desire you that are Servants to redeem some time for this work though you have enough to do your heads and hearts and hands full yet get some minutes for this for so you may comfortably expect that when you are about the business of your Calling God will strengthen you the more for it and bless you the better Wrest some time out of the hand of sleep Wrestling with God is better than an idle slothful lazying It is a thousand
not be startled at it and afraid of him When Elijah in danger of his Life upon the rage and threatning of Iezabel had fled and hid himself in a Cave the Lord came to him and said What dost thou here Elijah 1 Kings 19. Suppose God should then and there come to thee not in a great strong Wind nor in an Earthquake nor in a Fire but in a gentle manner as he did to him in a small still voice and say what dost thou here O Man Is it not high time for thee to be at home honest Men should be so specially such as call themselves by my name should be so what then dost thou here Could you give a satisfactory account of it unto God Could you justifie and maintain it before God Could you with boldness answer Lord I am where I should be I am where my work is I do not at all doubt but such a question as this propounded by the most holy God would raise a blush in your Cheeks for shame or cover your Face with paleness for fear it would leave you speechless and make you tremble it would cause rottenness to enter into your Bones and teach you to make more haste home the next time Well know though God doth not appear and act to such a purpose as this for the present yet if you do not amend and sue out your Pardon he will question you about it at the last and punish you for it too Fourthly When you come so late to your Houses do you in your Consciences think that you come soon enough to your duty Is so late at Night the best time you can pick out to bestow upon God It is more than probable that then you your selves are not in any fit condition to make your appearance before so glorious a Majesty who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity and very sensible of his Creatures neglecting him and who will not be mock'd no nor slighted neither Surely you are not then in a fit case to present your Petition to him in whose Hand your Souls and Lives and All are you are not then in a fit case to strive in Prayer and wrestle with Omnipotency though indeed the Door of Grace doth stand always open yet your Souls are not always active and at that time your Bodies will be a clog and hindrance to them At that Hour not only your Hearts it may be are down and flat and dead and your Spirits run very low but your very Heads are discomposed too and out of order and it is not likely that Grace should be lively and vigorous in its motions when Nature it self is jaded tir'd and calls for relief But how do you think it is with the rest of the Family who have stood in your Shops till their Legs have ak'd and been spent and wearied with the toyl and labour of the day doing your work and running from one end of the Town to another upon your Errands and after all have been impatiently waiting and wishing and looking for you till they could look no longer not being able to hold up their Eyes for though the Spirit be never so willing yet the Flesh is weak Now I appeal to you is this a good Praying-time And are not all in a right praying case when in such a case as this And the work is like to be done as it should be when they that set about it scarce know what they do possibly they are all asleep as soon as ever they are fallen down upon their Knees or if not so soon before the Master hath done and the Prayer is ended O Great God how art thou served by these pitiful Wretches that owe thee more than they are worth How would they put thee off Wert thou not what thou art God and not Man and were not thy Goodness thy Patience like thy Self Infinite Thou wouldst not nay more thou couldst not bear it and I leave you to think whether you have reason to hope that he will accept In short by this means at sometimes the duty is totally omitted and then they are sent to Bed as Swine to their Sties at other times it is slightly and shamefully perform'd and so there is short-praying and sleepy praying and dead heartless praying and indeed no praying for we have reason to be confident that God will not call that praying but a trifling and fooling not a seeking but a mocking of him If this be your Incense that you offer to him it must needs stink in his Nostrils and it is no wonder that he counts and calls it an abomination this is no other than offering unto him the Blind and the Lame for a Sacrifice and he may speak to you in the very same words that he us'd to those wicked Persons Mal. 1.8 If ye offer the blind for sacrifice is it not evil and if ye offer the lame and sick is it not evil Is it not evil Yes it is if it be not evil in your Eyes it is in mine and evil in it self and would be counted so by a Man thy Superiour therefore he thus goes on Offer it now unto thy Governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy Person saith the Lord of Hosts You see what pains I have taken about this one thing shall I entreat and prevail with you to consider and lay to heart what hath been said and if there be reason of which I do not doubt be rul'd by it And if any that have heard me this day be guilty herein let them humble themselves before God and implore his Pardon and let them be sure to reform this great abuse Go home and sin no more do so no more the time past may suffice VI. I do advise that you would neither in your Closets nor in your Families confine and tye up your selves to a form of Prayer I would do every thing that I do for good would both speak and write to the advantage and edification of others and not willingly anger the Wasp much less offend any of Christ's little ones therefore that I may as far as in me lies have peace with all Men and above and within too I say First I do not wholly condemn a form of Prayer I do not deny the lawfulness of it nor would I for a World charge any Man with sin for making use of one so that he do but pray with his Heart also It is far better to pray with a form than not to pray at all better to go to God with a good Prayer composed by another than with his own nonsense And I also add That a form of Prayer is not only lawful but necessary too for some namely those that know not how to pray without one Those who as Learned Mr. Tho. Fuller saith have not yet attained what all should endeavour to pray ex tempore by the Spirit for them a form of Prayer is as necessary as a Crutch is for a lame Man And I do
strength in those Arguments which have been us'd and urg'd for the pressing it upon us so that I am convinced of the goodness of the thing and own it to be my Duty and would be glad to do it if I could but I am not in a capacity my ignorance is exceeding great and my parts full out as little I have no such Gifts as other Men have and so tremble to think of undertaking so great and weighty a thing as this should I make an attempt for certain I should most shamefully miscarry and render my self ridiculous it is to be fear'd that this is really the case of too too many in this City yea and possibly of some in this Congregation Answ. To such an one I will answer in these following Particulars I. Thou who makest this Objection art a very great Object of Pity and I do heartily pity thee What! O Man canst thou converse in the World and discourse with thine Acquaintance manage thine Affairs and carry on thy Trade and yet not Pray Canst thou deal with thy Customers and not with thy God Thou hast scarce thy Fellow in any sort of Wretches there is not a poor Creature in Town or Countrey that wanteth Bread and hath a craving Stomach but he can beg though he doth not know one Letter in the Book yet he can ask for an Alms nor is there a Malefactor in danger of his Life but will find something to say for himself though he cannot make out his Innocency nor clear himself of the Crime laid to his Charge though he hath nothing to say why the Sentence of Death should not be past upon him yet he can fall down upon his Knees and say Mercy my Lord Mercy and canst thou not do as much when thy Case is as bad and worse Thy Soul Man is ready to starve and so are the Souls of thy Family all in extream necessity and canst thou not beg Thou art worthy of death and so are they Sentence hath been already past and hast thou not any thing to say for the staying of the Execution Thou and thy Family have a great number of great wants and canst thou not ask a supply when it may be had for asking Thou art a poor sorry pitiful Creature indeed if there be one in the World It is a thousand pities thou shouldest have a Family a Wife and Children who canst neither provide necessaries for their Souls nor beg for them Thou hast indeed but little very little love and kindness for thy self and Family in thy heart and as little brains in thy head who canst not go to God and speak a few good words for them II. Since thou dost not to this day know how to Pray I advise thee to learn to do it and that speedily for it is high time when thou wast young and little thou didst not know great A. but now thou canst read distinctly roundly yea and write a legible hand how came that about thou didst learn it So when thou wast first bound an Apprentice to thy Master thou couldest do nothing at thy Trade no not a stroak thou wast a very Ignoramus thou couldest not tell the Price of those Commodities which thou wast to deal in much less judge of their goodness nay thou couldest not so much as tell their Names but now thou art expert and skilful and there are very few Persons that can out do thee in thy business and how came this about thou didst learn it In the present Case go thou and do the like thou sayst thou canst not Pray I say go thou and learn to Pray be thou who thou wilt for thy Worldly Quality I am sure thou art not too good for it and I hope thou art not too old beg therefore of God that he would teach thee the Disciples desired this very thing of Christ Luke 11.1 Lord teach us to Pray as Iohn also taught his Disciples and without more ado he did it go you and do likewise fall upon your knees and say Lord I am a poor ignorant Creature I do not know how to Pray O! do thou teach me And for your comfort and encouragement know First It is the work of the Spirit to assist poor Souls in Prayer it is one of the works of his Office Rom. 8.26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our Infirmities for we know not what to Pray for as we ought that is as much as thou canst say of thy self neither know how to Pray to Pray as we should nor what to Pray for but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered Secondly God hath graciously promised this Spirit to his Church and Children and that under the very notion of a Spirit of Prayer Zech. 12.10 I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the Inhabitants of Ierusalem a Spirit of Grace and Supplication He will give much of it he will pour it out Thirdly God is most ready to make good his Promises this in particular He is both faithful and free Luke 11.13 If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Go therefore and beg of God that he would give this Spirit to thee III. Do thy endeavour making use of those means by which an ability to Pray I mean the gift of Prayer may be in some measure attained for we are not to please our selves with expecting much and doing nothing idle hopes are vain if you ask me what means you should make use of I briefly answer First Carefully observe others Godly Ministers and Christians when thou hearest them Pray mind how they pour out their requests unto God and get something out of their Prayers which is proper for thee as when Persons are in a Garden where they see variety of curious and pleasant Flowers they will pick one here and another there for themselves do the like with those apt and pertinent expressions which thou hearest from others make them thine own only in using them let tongue and heart go together Secondly Be very conversant in the holy Scriptures and there take notice of precepts and promises and turn them into Prayer begging that God would give what he commands and perform what he promiseth in particular acquaint thy self well with David's Psalms in which you will find abundance of excellent matter both for confession and petition for prayer and praise Thirdly Be much in studying your own and your Families State and consider how matters stand with you seriously think what sins there are and what afflictions what wants and what dangers and thereupon go to God and beg of him the pardon of those sins and power against them beg the sanctifying of those afflictions that they may be wholsom though bitter and out of the eater there may come Meat make a thankful acknowledgment of the Mercies you receive and give unto God the glory of them
Warriour And we may conceive him speaking thus to them O ye seed of Abraham if ye be given to change so am not I If after all that God hath been to you and done for you you will be so ingrateful as to forget and forsake him so will not I. He hath all along been so gracious a God to us all that he shall be my God for ever and ever I am so well so happy with him that I cannot mend my self I can be no where better no where so well therefore I will abide with him as in the Text I and my house will serve the Lord. This was his holy resolve and to this he would stand there could be no reason to the contrary and as for the example of Apostates it should wiâ—h with him be of no significancy nor would he be carried down by the stream He was and would be for God be they for whom they would In the words there are these things observable First The thing he resolved upon which he had in his heart and purpose that was to serve while others of towring and ambitious spirits are altogether for commanding and Lording it this good Man was for serving Though he was a Prince a great General yet did he not look upon it as a disparagement and below him to be a Servant No more did holy David afterward the King of Israel even when he had been called from following the Sheep and placed upon the Throne he knew how still to serve and lov'd to do it the King of Israel thought it no dishonour to serve the God of Israel and therefore he with joy took upon him the name Servant reckoning it his highest and most honourable Title Psal. 116.16 O Lord truly I am thy Servant I am thy Servant This service is made up of Acts of Worship performed to the Divine Majesty and a Life of Obedience to the Divine Will In it there is Liberty yea most perfect Freedom those that are strangers to it are the worst of Slaves in it is the highest honour To be one of God's Servants is more noble than to be one of the World's Monarchs And in it is the greatest comfort Isa. 65.13 14. Thus saith the Lord God Behold my Servants shall eat but ye shall be hungry behold my Servants shall drink but ye shall be thirsty behold my Servants shall rejoyce but ye shall be ashamed behold my Servants shall sing for joy of heart but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall howl for vexation of spirit Secondly Here is the Person to whom the Service is to be performed not to Idols not to Devils not to Sin the wages of which is death not to divers Lusts which are tyrannical and cruel but Iehovah that is the word in the Original the Lord the Lord of Lords the Lord of Life and Glory the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob the Lord God of Israel whose Commandments are not grievous but his Yoke is easie and his Burden is light his Yoke being lin'd with his Love and his Burden having Wings Thirdly Here are the Persons by whom this Service is to be performed unto this God We i. e. I and my house I my self not only call others to the work but also set my own hand to it lead them the way I will serve the Lord and all that are mine shall do it together with me Rather than not serve God at all he would serve him alone Ioshua would leave Israel if they would leave God But he would not serve God alone so long as he could have company so long as there were any that he could influence any that he could rule and command they that will live in my house shall serve my God they that would enjoy the comfort of my house shall joyn in the work and duty of my house We will serve the Lord. Exemplum proponitur Gubernandae Familiae saith Masius Here is set before us an excellent Pattern or good Example for the ordering and governing of a Family Oh that it may be followed by all those who call themselves Christians and own Iehovah for the Lord their God! That a Christian Profession and Practical Atheism may not meet in them The Doctrine which I raise from these words and offer to your most serious consideration as the Truth of God to be believed by you received in Love and obeyed from the Heart is this Doct. It is the great duty of all those whom God hath made Heads or Governours of Families to set up Religious Duties and the Worship of God in their respective Families Oh that God would so assist and succeed me in the handling hereof and accompany what shall delivered with such power upon your Consciences and Hearts as by that time I have finished these Discourses there may not be one Prayerless Family belonging to this numerous Congregation How greatly then would my Soul bless God and with what comfort and joy should I look upon you It is both a wicked and miserable thing for any to be without God in the World Ephes. 2.12 He is so great so necessary a good that nothing can possibly supply the want of him Notwithstanding Moon and all the Stars it is night with us when once the Sun is departed off our Horizon God is absolutely necessary for us and our All is due to him Single persons must know it to be their duty and interest to serve and worship God in their Capacities as Publickly in the Gates of Sion which God loves in the Assemblies of the Saints unto which they ought to joyn themselves as followers of the same Lord and Members of the same Body so singly and alone let their Chambers and Closets be Witnesses for them that they do not live in an ingrateful and wicked unmindfulness of God Let Children begin betimes with God Let young Men and Maids have early converses with God waiting upon him and walking with him And when they come to alter their condition and to have Yoke-fellows and Families let them be careful to set up the Worship of God in them though let them still remember to keep up their retirements It is not enough for them to worship God in their Families but they ought to do it in their Chambers too nor is it enough for them to worship God in their Chambers but they ought to do it in their Families too Let not these jostle nor exclude one another but as Sister-duties live sweetly together under the same Roofs In private Duties the holy Soul hath the greater liberty from Family-duties God hath the greater Honour Secret duties are plainer Evidences of Sincerity Family and publick duties are of larger influence and usefulness As for me and my house we will serve the Lord We will unite in his Service not only approve of it or consent to it but joyn in it Take here with you these two things First The Service of God should begin as soon as the Family begins This I
in gracious discourses and pouring out your Souls to God in prayer Now faith famous Mr. Perkins upon this very place if it be the duty of men to pray every where then certainly in their Families where God hath set them in so near a Relation one to another Thirdly We are commanded to pray continually or to pray always as in that fore-mentioned Ephes. 6. Praying always with all prayer Which words of the Apostle we are not to understand as if praying must ingross and take up all our time and we had nothing else to do but live Drones like a company of lazy Beggars that will not work though they are able Prayer indeed is a very considerable part of a Christians duty yet it is but a part There are various duties which he hath to perform and much other work of the Lord in which he ought to abound There is reading of the Scriptures singing of Psalms hearing the Word serious meditation and self-examination as well as prayer There is instructing of Youth and Catechizing of Children and exhorting one another and provoking one another to Love and to good works as well as praying Yea and there is tending of the Shop and working in the Trade and looking to the Children and washing of the house and providing for the Family and several other things and must be done We must have respect to all Gods Commandments and labour to fill up our places and to stand compleat in all the will of God concerning us Therefore when the Apostle speaks of our praying always understand it thus pray in every thing for so we are required to do in another Scripture Phil. 4.6 Be careful for nothing i. e. with a distrustful care with a solicitous and anxious care with a distracting disquieting care But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known unto God Pray in great things as believing the greatness of God's Power and pray in little things as believing also the extensiveness of his Care Pray over thy Calling because it is not the diligent hand alone but the Divine Blessing with it that makes rich Pray over your Meat and Drink and go not to your Tables as Swine to their Trough knowing that Creatures cannot befriend or serve you any further than as they are commissioned and assisted by God When Ministers go to study let them pray because it is the Spirit of Truth that must lead them into all Truth They will make sad work of it if God be not with their heads in studying their Sermons and with their mouths in delivering them And when People come to hear let them pray under and after all our Labours they will learn nothing to purppose they will not be wise to Salvation unless they are taught of God Thus to pray alway is to pray in every thing Again To pray always is to pray in every condition When you are High as knowing you are neither out of the reach of Trouble nor too good to serve and wait upon God And when you are Low as knowing you are not out of the reach of the Everlasting Arms but still there is hope in Israel concerning you Pray in Sickness and in Health too for it is God that must remove the former preserve and continue the latter Pray in Advrrsity for it is God that must support and comfort under that and Prosperity for it is God that must sanctifie that and give you an heart and wisdom to improve it Pray in Trouble that God would not be a Terrour to you in Danger that he would be a Defence to you and the Rock of your Refuge and in Peace that your Halcion days may neither be overcast nor abus'd By Prayer in Adversity shew your trusting in God and believing no case to be desperate which he will please to undertake and by Prayer in Prosperity shew to others your dependence upon God and your expectations being wholly from him and that you live more upon a Father in Heaven than you do upon any or all the Creatures here below Once again Pray always that is pray daily pray every day This is to be not only a Sabbath days work as I am inform'd some penurious strait-lac'd Professors make it no no it ought 〈◊〉 to be your every day-work Sure I am there is a great deal of reason for it We do commit sin and contract much guilt every day therefore it becomes us to repent and confess and it concerns us to sue out our pardon every day We have our Dangers visible and invisible Dangers every day therefore should be daily hiding our selves under our Fathers gracious wing and craving the Divine Protection We have Mercies every day a continued succession of them an innumerable number of them they follow us they load us they compass us about therefore we should have our Sacrifices of Praise and as persons of ingenuity pay our thankful acknowledgments to God every day Further we have our Wants every day we want our daily Bread and our daily Pardon we want daily Supplies Our Cistern would soon be empty if God should cut off the stream of his goodness we want daily Supports and should quickly drop into the Grave yea into nothing if God should withdraw his hand and let go his hold of us And we want a daily blessing without which all our contrivances are vain and all our endeavours fruitless If God do not say go and prosper we had as good sit still and therefore there is very great reason why we should have our daily prayers We are commanded by our Saviour to pray and not to faint for this end he spake a Parable Luk. 18.1 and by the Apostle to continue instant in prayer Rom. 12.12 that is to pray daily which was signified and taught by the daily Sacrifice under the Law concerning which you may read in Exod. 29. It is said in the 42 verse This shall be a continual Burnt-Offering thorow-out your Generations at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation before the Lord where I will meet you to speak there unto thee This shall be a continual Burnt-Offering this what If you look back to the 38th and 39th verses you will see This is that which thou shalt offer upon the Altar two Lambs of the first year day by day continually the one Lamb thou shalt offer in the morning and the other Lamb shalt thou offer at Even Where you may take notice of this that the offering up of these two Lambs every day is called a continual Burnt-Offering And Mr. Answorth upon the place tells us that daily Sacrifice signified the continual sanctification of the Church through Faith in Christ the Lamb of God by whose mediation we and our actions are accepted of God and likewise he there tells us the Hebrew Doctors say the continual Sacrifice of the Morning did make atonement for the sins that were done in the night and the Evening Sacrifices made atonement for iniquities
their hands and there are too many that will be one day found with their hands full of blood there are some Men among us that do corrupt and taint the Judgments of their Children and Servants and Poyson their Minds with their Cursed Doctrines and Damnable Heresies I ask no pardon for that expression as too harsh and severe for it is Scripture Language and by their sinful practices and vile debaucheries which are as bad as Rats-bane and they shall be sure to answer for it Others there are that do starve their Souls by not teaching them the way and fear of the Lord not instilling good Principles into them by not setting holy Examples before them which they should imitate not taking them by the hand and leading them in the ways of Righteousness the midst of those Paths of Judgments in which they ought to go by living themselves like so many Heathens and Brutes and teaching others to do the same bringing them up for Hell and fitting them for destruction as if they had taken up a resolution that they would not serve the Lord nor go to Heaven no nor any that belong to them if they can prevent it and these Men likewise shall answer it to God Such shall be dealt with in the same manner as God threatned he would do with the Prophet in case of his being false to his trust and unfaithful to those unto whom he was sent You may see it in Ezek. 3.17 18 Son of Man I have made thee a Watchman to the house of Israel therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me People are in eminent danger of being seduced by False Teachers of being prevailed against by Temptations of Satan and his instruments Ministers must watch over them they must go themselves to God for light teaching instruction and be faithful in teaching when taught and in giving out what they have received Now mark when I say unto the Wicked thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his evil way to save his life the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thy hands which saith Erasmus is fulmen non verbum not a word but a Thunder-bolt Duty is safe as long as that is done by Ministers they are out of danger out of harms way they shall be accepted and rewarded by God whatever the issue be as to the people among whom they labour Isa. 49.5 Though Israel be not gathered yet shall I be glorius in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength but neglect and carelesness is damnable it brings upon Ministers the guilt of other mens blood and the loss of their own Lives and Souls and believe it so it will upon you who are Parents and Masters of Families Oh consider it my dear Friends Beloved and longed for seriously consider it you are as I formerly said and without doubt you your selves know Prophets in your own Houses there you are to Teach and Rule God hath made you Watchmen to your own Houses and it is your business to study their peace and safety and to seek their good it is your business to acquaint them with their Duty that they may do it and to warn them of their danger that they may avoid it you are to cause your light to shine before them that so in your light they may see light you are to instruct them that they may not be naught for lack of knowledge you are to shew them and go before them in the way that they should go that they may not wander and go directly to Hell because they had none to direct them in a word you are to make use of all means possible that both you and yours may prove and approve what is the good acceptable and perfect will of God and so be and at last found to be wise unto Salvation But if you if any of you have been and will continue to be slothful careless negligent and wanting to your duty herein your Children and Servants may die in their ignorance and iniquity but verily you shall not escape unpunished for their blood shall be required at your hands the holy and righteous God will require it who is the great avenger of blood And here are two things that I lay before you First Your wretched neglect of Family-Duties may bring upon you the Curse of your Children and Servants I have known some when they have for their flagitious Lives been Condemned to the Gallows and not far from Execution laid their ill life at the Parents door crying out of the fondness of their Mothers for winking at and concealing of their faults and of the neglect of their Fathers giving them no better Education and setting before them such wicked and abominable examples and what do you think they and others in the same case with them are and will be doing for ever in the other World in the anguish of their Souls and the midst of intolerable Torments when such poor Creatures come to be cast upon a bed of flames and in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone when they come to feel the sinking weight and scorching heat of the wrath and indignation of a provoked God they will certainly curse themselves for their former follies and wicked courses and they will curse their Old Companions whom now they take so much pleasure in and will wish they had never seen their faces yea and they will curse you too and we may rationally conclude their passionate breaking out into such expressions as these I might have done better had I been Educated and brought up better I might have done my duty to God had my Parents or my Master done their duty to me I might have been kept from the path of the Destroyer and cleansed my way and come to a Blessed Eternity had I been taught to take heed unto my self and to my way according to the word Had my Father and my Master instructed me I might have known as much and done as well as those that are now saved and in Heaven But instead of taking pains to make me good their great desire and design was to make me Rich and Great in the World and so they have made me miserable I have all my days taken wicked Courses because they never took any care to instill into me right and holy Principles Had I but seen or heard them reading the Holy Scriptures and other good books themselves or to their Families I might have taken them up and read them too and got the knowledge of God and my self and my duty but they were for Romances and Plays and Cards the Devils Books and so we spent and lost our time and our selves too Had I heard them Praying in their Families seeking the face and favour of God begging his Spirit and Grace I might have prayed too and sought God too and beg'd the
with you and in you and keeping a Book of Accounts in which is inserted and recorded what it observes Now then ought you not to repair this damage to your utmost and since you have done and go on to do them so much hurt should you not do them all the good you can and be heartily glad when it is in your power to do it have you shewn them many things by which they have offended God and will you not shew them by counsel and practice those things that will please him I beseech you to bestir and lay out your selves and your all for the making of them amends and the recovering them out of that Snare of the Devil into which you have helpt to bring them In what I now say I do not put you upon impossibilities nor the doing of that which is without the reach of your power I do not bid you sanctifie them by forming Christ and planting Grace in their hearts I do not bid you raise them out of the Grave of Corruption and breath into their Souls the Breath of Spiritual Life that must be effected by the Arm of Omnipotency none else can do it none hath a Regenerating Power but he that hath a Creating Power but you may pray for them in your private Retirements and you may pray with them that God would be pleased to give them his Spirit and to work his Grace in them You may take your Children and your Servants with you and carry them to God and beg of him that he would pity and help them As you read when our Lord Iesus was here upon Earth Tabernacling among Men they came to him from all parts of the Land begging of him a Cure for themselves and their Children and their Servants as the matter did require Now Christ is in Heaven he hath the same power that you must needs believe and grant for here he was in his State of lowest Humiliation there he is in his State of highest Preferment and Exaltation After his Resurrection he told his Disciples all Power was given him both in Heaven and Earth and distance of place doth not hinder He can help afar off as well as at hand his Arm being long as well as strong There is no need of this great Physician leaving his Fathers Right Hand and coming down in Person to cure Diseased Souls by sending his Word he can heal them as he did formerly Psal. 107. v. 20. And his Glory hath not in the least detracted from his Mercy His Heart is now what it was as loving and tender his Bowels are not shrunk up nor do his Compassions fail Iesus Christ is the same yesterday and to day and for ever Heb. 13.8 As his Hand of Power is not shortened so his gracious Ear is not grown heavy therefore go to him taking Faith along with you and say Lord my Children were born blind O! do thou anoint them with thine Eye-salve that they may receive their sight Open their Eyes that they may see wonderful things out of thy Law and the precious things of thy Gospel that they may see the sinfulness of Sin and the beauty of Holiness that they may see their own undone condition and the absolute need they have of Christ together with the all-sufficiency of his Righteousness and the riches of his Grace the sweetness of his Government and the easiness of his Yoke Go to him and say Lord my Children are grievously troubled with a Devil a proud Devil a lying Devil a disobedient stubborn obstinate Devil O that thou wouldest make thy Power known in the casting of him out Once more go to him and say Lord My Children have got the Leprosie of Sin it hath spread it self all over them O do thou say I will be ye clean My Children are Enemies in their Minds by wicked works Enemies to Thee and all that is spiritually good O do thou reconcile them that of Enemies to Thee they may become Enemies to Sin and for the time to come they may love thy Father thy Self and Spirit thy Truth and Ways Lord My Children are the Slaves of Satan and they delight in their Chain they serve divers Lusts and are pleased with their Bondage and count their Drudgery a Recreation O! let these Lawful Captives of the Mighty be delivered break their Chains asunder and bring them into the Liberty of thy Children and as they have yielded their members Servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity even so now and for the time to come they may yield their members Servants to righteousness unto holiness Rom. 6.20 And what you do to this purpose for your Children do also for your Servants take them up in the Arms of your Love and Prayer and lay them at the foot of God and beg him that he would sanctifie and save them And as you can thus pray and plead with God for them so you can add hereunto if you will There are other things which you can do You cannot infuse into them a Principle of Grace but you may teach them the Principles of Religion you may shew the way in which they should walk though you cannot put that way in their hearts as we have that expression Psal. 84.5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee in whose heart are the ways of them You cannot bow their Wills to God's nor raise and spiritualize their Affections nor set them upon their proper Objects those things which are above but you may inform their Judgments You cannot write the Law of God in their hearts nor put his Fear into their inward parts but you may acquaint them with the Law of God and read the Bible to them and hear them read both it and other Othodox good Books but the Bible most and rather than the best Books in the World So again you cannot make them good but you may set a good Example before them and write a very fair Copy for them to imitate and invite them to tread in your steps saying to them as Paul did Be ye followers of me as I am of Christ and walk so as ye have us for an example It is certain all this is in your power you may do it and oh that you would Oh that you would abound in the doing of it considering how much you have done against them how greatly you have prejudiced them how much they have suffered through your means how much they have been tainted by you Really you are obliged to this this is no more than what you owe to these poor Creatures and if you are careless negligent and wanting herein you are unjust you with hold that which is meet and it tends to your own poverty and sorrow at the last it is in the power of your hand to do it therefore do not withhold it from them to whom it is due it is a Debt and that both of Charity and of Equity up then in your several Families and apply to this excellent
Will of God Hearing is not the whole work of a Christian The Scripture indeed saith Hear and your Souls shall live but if you would live you must do something more than hear Your much hearing is a sign of a good Appetite but there are some Bodies that have a caninum Appetitum a greedy ravenous Appetite and yet are meer Skelletons nothing but Skin and Bone You that have so great an Appetite will do well to look to it that you also have a good Concoction Under the Law those Beasts were by God declared clean that did chew the Cud. Hear and then ruminate do not only let Truths come crouding into your Ears for then one may thrust out another but ponder them in your hearts as Mary the Mother of our Lord did and hide them there as David did You should spend some considerable time in meditation that so what Truths you have heard you may chafe in and work upon your hearts Secondly I would speak unto you by way of Question thus When you spend all your time in hearing abroad what is done at home Where are Family-duties who is it that prays there who teaches and catechizes the young ones there Know O Soul no good thing is thy duty out of season nor art thou to prog for thy self by robbing thy house And know this also we that are Preachers of the Gospel have but little hope of doing much good upon your Children and Servants by our Labours in the Church if you who are Governours over them and have the power will be careless and negligent and do nothing at home How can we think that they will follow our counsels when you will not second them Alas their weak leaking Memories let them slip and their corrupt Natures reject them There had need be Precept upon Precept Precept upon Precept Line upon Line Line upon Line here a little and there a little and all little enough yea and all too little unless accompanied and set home by the All-conquering Power of the Eternal Spirit God indeed can do his work alone needs neither you nor us but as he did by his own Word without Means and Instruments call the World out of nothing and raise Lazarus out of his Grave so he can by the same Power in the same Way convert most obstinate Sinners and turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the Just or if he please to make use of Ministers for that end he can make them prosperous He honours us by imploying us and if he will doubly honour us by making us successful no difficulty shall be insuperable no opposition an impediment great Mountains in our way shall sink into Plains and Iron-Gates shall be opened His concurrence is enough alone through God the Weapons of our Warfare will become mighty so that strong holds shall be demolished and imaginations cast down carnal reasonings silenced and subdued together with those high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God and every thought brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.4 And therefore though some though many of you stand idle with your hands in your bosoms we will into the Vineyard and follow our business as long as we have any being sure our Labour shall not be in vain something will come of it Though Israel be not gathered yet shall we be glorious But as Paul said in another case Phil. 4.17 We desire fruit that may abound to your account and to the account of yours even the Salvation of you all the Conversion of the Youths and from thence Comfort to the Parents And as we love our work so we would do it with delight and we shall do so when you set your hands to it because when all hands are at work we may the more hope that God will work together with us and that his Spirit and Blessing shall accompany our joynt-endeavours and while we prophesie upon dry Bones he will cause breath to enter into them so that they shall live Up therefore I beseech you up and be doing come ye forth to the help of the Lord and of his Servants against that gross Darkness those corrupt Principles that are in the Minds of Young ones and those potent Lusts that are in their Hearts Do you teach as well as we that they may know the Lord do you back our wholesom and holy Counsels that they may follow them And while the Masters of the Assemblies come with their Nails of Truth which were given by one Shepherd even Jesus Christ who is the great Shepherd of the Sheep and take much pains for the driving of them home in order to the uniting them to God by Faith and to one another by Love do you who are Parents and Governours come with your Hammers and do what you can toward the fastening of them I am now at length come to the end of this discourse wherein I undertook to prove That setting up the Worship and Service of God in our Families is no other than our reasonable service Whether I have performed what I undertook you will judge and what evidence there is in the proof if I do not mistake you will find it clear and full And now my dear Friends may I hope I am indeed very willing to hope and I shall be exceeding glad to hear that by all these pains that I have taken and all these Arguments which I have used some of you who have been altogether strangers to this work hitherto and liv'd in the total neglect thereof have been persuaded the doing thereof is without question your duty and that therefore it is your present yea your fixed Resolution through the Grace and Assistance of God to set upon the doing of it And that since you are convinced and satisfied about it in your Judgments and your own Consciences do vote and plead for it you will take it into your practice The good Lord grant it may be so And I bless his Name I do hear something to that purpose and that these Labours have not been in vain oh that I might hear more and more that so my Joy both in the Lord and in you might be increased Will you begin this Evening I say this Evening for delays in Soul-matters are by no means to be allowed Whatsoever is Duty ought to be done and if it ought to be done why not presently Possibly you think afterward will be soon enough but God is not of your mind He saith in Psal. 95. To day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts and when God saith to day what art thou that thou shouldst say to morrow Come my Friends that sooner the better Hath not the great Majesty of Heaven waited long enough upon you for his Service and Honour oh do not make him wait any longer It is a dangerous thing to abuse Mercy and tire out Divine Patience Wo be to that Man concerning whom God saith My Spirit shall no more strive with
times better to break thy natural Rest than to lose thy Duty One quarter of an hours hearty fervent and believing Prayer will more revive thy spirits and be a far greater refreshing to thy Soul than an hours drousing and render thee more lively more good more comfort is to be got upon thy knees than upon the pillow therefore rouze up thy self awake thy Soul and Body and say with David Psal. 61.1 O God my God! early will I seek thee Get up get up the sooner in the Morning take unto thee the wings of the Morning and flee away that so thou maist get up to thy God and be with him Let me mention two things by way of Motive First The sweetness that is in Secret Prayer You Christians that have tasted it make your reports and commend it to your Friends and Acquaintance tell them what you have found David would not conceal the Loving-kindness of his God but invited others to come and hear what had been done for his Soul so to do argues a thankful spirit and in this very particular many of you may find abundant matter to inlarge upon for it is no jejune barren Subject It is a most pleasant Converse that a gracious Soul hath when it is alone with God O the intimacy and closeness of that Communion which it enjoys when there is no body else by O the humble familiarity and holy freedom that it can at such a time use The Prophet said Psal. 39.1 He would keep his mouth with a Bridle while the wicked was before him Yea and Prudence will tell the Saints there is a necessity for their doing so when the Saints are before them and their dearest Friends they are forced to suppress many things there are such black thoughts in their minds such stirrings and workings of corruption in their Heart as are not fit to be imparted unto any upon Earth So that though their Hearts are ready to burst they cannot ease themselves by giving vent but when they are got alone and no body hears but their Father which is in Heaven they know how to pour out their complaints into his Bosom and open their case though with shame and blushing because it is so bad and fetch things up from the bottom and tell God all that is in their Hearts Psal. 38.9 Lord all my desire is before thee and my groaning is not hid from thee Secondly There is great advantage comes in by secret Prayer As sweetness in it so good by it and that in this respect as it is a means to fit a Person for praying with others when thou hast been upon thy knees with God in thy Closet thou maist comfortably hope that thou shalt find him graciously accompanying thee into thy Family and there helping thine infirmities by giving thee a larger measure of the Spirit of Grace and Supplication for thy better inablement to manage and go thorough with thy Duty there When Scholars at the University have a Speech to make in the Colledge or Schools they will say it over by themselves first Chase thy own Soul in thy Retirements that so thou maist be warm and warm others in thy Family Now in the performance of your private Devotion I commend to you an holy freedom and that in these two things First Be very ingenuous in your Confession of sin this is one great special piece of your Duty It is a singular way of giving glory to God and of easing a burden'd oppressed Conscience When therefore you go about it do it thoroughly confess thy sins with shame but be not asham'd to confess them he that covers his sin shall not prosper no not in that not in his covering them for what he covers God will reveal who loves to bring to light the hidden things of dishonesty There are two Reasons for a free and full confession of sin to God the one is Because it is in vain to keep back any since he knows them all for he searcheth the Heart possesseth the Reins understands the Thoughts afar off compasseth the path knoweth our down-sitting and up-rising is better acquainted with us than we are with our selves having our secret Sins in the light of his Countenance The other Reason is Because he is ready to forgive and hath promised whoso confesses and forsakes his sins shall find mercy as much mercy in God as he finds sin in himself Doth the penitent Confessor find crying sins in himself He shall find tender mercies in God yea a multitude of them Secondly Be large in thy desires Let not modesty prevail against thy necessity and hinder thee in thy begging but open thy Mouth wide to ask as well as to receive Consider you go to one that is a Fountain never emptied by the streams it sends forth to one that hath an inexhaustible Treasure and doth not in the least impoverish or lessen himself by inriching of others The Sun hath never the less light by shining upon the World nor hath the Ocean less Water by feeding the Rivers God is able to make thy Cup run over and thy Cistern too yet retain his own Divine Fulness which can neither be more nor less than it is because it is infinite And as thou goest to such a Fulness so to one that is thy Father It might well discourage and damp thy Spirit hadst thou to deal with a Stranger or only with a Friend but it is thy Father to whom thou dost in Prayer address such a Father as hath not his Fellow neither for Fulness nor Affection Therefore when thou art in his Presence and at his Foot speak out and carry away no burden nor want which thou dost not acquaint him therewith let him have as full an account of all from thine own Mouth as thou canst draw up that is the way to have the removal of those burdens and relief under those wants and for thine encouragement frequently meditate upon those two Scriptures Iam. 1.5 God giveth unto all men liberally and upbraideth not and that in Phil. 4.19 My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Iesus Christ. II. Besides secret Prayer in your Closet or Chamber make Conscience of Family-prayer Having been alone with God and by thy self sit not down content with that but apply to the remaining part of thy Duty call those that are under thy charge and carry them to God together with thee As when the woman of Samaria had heard the discourses of our Lord Jesus while they were by themselves she was so taken with them that she left her Water-pot and went to the City and called her Neighbours to come and see him and converse with him too Would you not be willing to have your Family go to God in glory Sure you would and if so then bring them now with you to God in duty All that are capable of joining with you and of understanding what you do and say yea bring your little ones your young and
not doubt but such an one may have sweet Communion with God and find welcome and a gracious Entertainment so that he be upright in his Heart and fervent in his Spirit while serving of the Lord or to use the expression of the same worthy Person Though a Man hath not change of Raiment and cannot appear at the Court of Heaven every day in a new Suit but comes in the same Cloaths yet if he be a Loyal Subject he shall have free access to the King of Glory if he be a Child Heaven-born his Fathers Ear will be open to him and his Petition receiv'd and granted but while he goes to God with his old Prayer let him labour to carry with him new affections But Secondly I must needs profess to the Imposition of a form of a Prayer I am no Friend I have been pleas'd with the Composure of several for the spiritualness and variety of the Matter and for the aptness of the Expression but do not like the imposing of them neither some Mens taking upon them to impose them on others nor that any Man should impose one upon himself and I am sure it is not from a Spirit of Errour or of Division or of Contradiction that I believe and assert it far more excellent and desireable both for Ministers and private Christians to be able from an inward sense of and acquaintedness with their own case wants and necesties and from the abundance of their Hearts together with the gracious assistance of the Blessed Spirit of God to pour out their desires into his Bosom and make their Requests known to him than to borrow and make use of and tye themselves to the best form of anothers composing And I am perswaded our dear Lord Jesus did draw up and give out to his Disciples that most sweet full and comprehensive Prayer as a pattern for them to imitate not as a form with which they should sit down contented without looking after or making use of those Gifts and Abilities which he either had or should by his Spirit bestow and confer upon them And as for those who do ridicule and laugh at praying by the Spirit making it the matter of their scorn and derision I do not stick to charge them with a Spirit of Profaneness only I beg that God would shew them their sin and give them Repentance and a Pardon These things being thus premised I do as before Counsel you who are my Hearers not to tye your selves up to a form of Prayer and I shall give you three or four Reasons of my advising you so First Because it is my hearty desire that all of you who make Prayer your work and business should keep your selves at the greatest distance possible from a lifeless cold formality Do all that you can to avoid it not that I think formality is inseparable from form or that it cannot find room in him who prayeth extemporarily we all have need to watch both unto Prayer and in it else we shall have our Hearts to seek while we are seeking of God But I look upon it as a thing past question among experienced Christians that conceived Prayer as it is commonly called being rightly managed hath a greater and more direct tendency to the affecting both the Soul of him that utters it and the Souls of those that join with him and towards the raising of them up to a due warmth of Affection and preserving them in it I shall recite to you the words of a late Reverend Holy Divine of mine intimate Acquaintance that did Conform to the Church of England viz. Mr. Gurnal Famous for that excellent Piece of his The Christian in compleat Armour a Book worth Gold After he had there pleaded for the lawfulness of Forms of Prayer yea and that in the Church he hath these Expressions The evil is not in a Form but in Formality and that is a Disease which may be found in him that prayeth with a conceived Prayer A Man may pray without a Form and yet not pray without Formality and this I grant but now observe that which follows I confess he that binds himself constantly to a set Form especially in his private addresses seems to me to be more in danger of the two of falling under the power of that lazy Distemper Secondly There are some things which may and often do fall out which none can so well speak to as the Master of the Family himself can do supposing him furnished with such a competent measure of Abilities as doth become one in his place There are indeed common ordinary cases both of Persons and Families and Nations which some forms may reach and do very well suit but there are and may be some particular cases which the Governour of a Family who as he ought studieth both himself and it is best able to express and spread before God Prov. 14.10 The heart knoweth his own bitterness and a stranger intermeddles not with his joy And surely then he is the fittest Person to relate both the one and the other Supposing a sick Patient have the full use of his Reason the Physician doth expect from himself the best account of his state Thirdly Conceived Prayer is the most direct way to Spiritual Increases It is the duty of Christians not to sit down with present attainments but while they are on this side of Heaven and Glory to be continually aspiring and reaching after more more Grace in order to a greater fitness for the happiness hereafter and more Gifts in order to a greater serviceableness here Now what progress is he like to make who continually walketh in a round If a Child will always walk holding on a Bench he is not like to be a good Footman The old saying is Vse Legs and have Legs it holds true here use Parts and have them yea and more too To him that hath and imployeth what he hath shall be given I do not doubt but conceived Prayer is better than the constant use of a form for the inriching of a Person with praying-gifts if I may not say with Grace too Let serious and truly honest Christians both of one way and the other speak as they find I know nothing fitter to determine that than their Experience Fourthly The confining of your selves to a form of Prayer is a dishonour unto God whose Glory ye should be dear over and promote to your utmost Your Gifts are bestow'd upon you in order to his Honour but what Honour hath he from them when conceal'd This is ingratitude to God where are the returns you make to him for the benefits you have from him To have the Gift of Prayer and not to use it is no other than to bury the Talent in a Napkin and so to do is not the part of a faithful Servant nor the way to enter into the Joy of your Lord when you leave Earth Fifthly It is a dishonour to your selves as it would be for a Man to walk
Mercy even then let them see that you love them and that though their sinful Practices be odious to you yet their Persons are dear and all the fruit you aim at is the taking away their Sin and that you design your hottest anger for nothing else but a refining fire to separate their dross from them that afterwards they may come out like Gold When you chide them be sure it is not without a cause nor more than it doth deserve He is no Wise Man that for the roasting of an Egg makes a fire big enough to roast an Ox all that cost might have been saved and the thing better done In such a case a holy warmth is necessary and highly desirable but let not your tongue be set on fire with the fire of Hell no no let Grace be poured into your lips and out of them too mix your severest Chidings with convincing Discourses gracious Counsels and perswasive Arguments and while you would drive them from Sin at the same time draw them to Vertue and Godliness When you Correct them do it in Wisdom if Rods will do make no use of Scorpions yea and let Love lay on the Rod remembring God who contends in measure let them see clearly that your chastning of them is not for your pleasure but their own profit that they might be reduced from the errour of their way and made partakers of Gods holiness and when you Correct pray for them It is Gods Ordinance therefore beg a blessing of him upon his own Ordinance that through him it may prosper to the destruction of the corrupt Flesh and so the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Iesus 1 Cor. 5.5 This is the ready way to gain them a most proper course to render all the means you use effectual upon them then will they look upon your very smitings as a kindness and upon your reproofs as an excellent Oyl that will not break their heads This is the way to make your Counsels theirs and to make them yet more your own by gaining their hearts As kindness makes subjection most easie to the inferiour and most pleasant the Yoak will not gaul if it be lin'd with Velvet so it commands with the greatest power it draws suaviter fortiter sweetly and strongly so that the Soul runs it allures and constrains too and at the same time it makes Government pleasant to the Superiour plucking Thorns out of the Crown and instead of them sticking it with Roses Whereas an imperious froward Lord or Master doth not only make his Family uneasie but himself too as their Yoak is heavy so his Seat will be hard and while he is all for Whip and Spur it will make both his arm and his heart ake to hold the Bridle Remember that Gods way is to draw with the Cords of a Man i. e. with rational Arguments for the convincing of the Judgement and with loving kindness in order to a moving upon and winning of the affections be ye followers of him as dear Children The more there is of love in your hearts and lives the more there is of God the more do you express and glorifie him and here let me add that which followeth hereupon or rather most sweetly accompanies it Sixthly Be not severe and rigid in your dealings with them but tender and compassionate It is said of the Egyptians that they made the Children of Israel serve with rigour and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in Mortar and in Brick and in all manner of service in the Field all their Service wherein they made them serve was with rigour Tyranny Violence Fierceness citra ullam clementiam aut misericordiam without any clemency or mercy Exod. 13.14 therefore Egypt is called an Iron Furnace Deut. 4.20 but Israelites were forbidden to rule over one another after this manner If thy Brother be waxen poor and sold unto thee thou shalt not compell him to serve as a Bonds Servant Levit. 25.39 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour but shalt fear thy God ver 43. over your Brethren the Children of Israel ye shall not rule one over another with rigour v. 46. ye shall not rack him with labour nor with blows nor with threatnings ye Masters forbear threatnings Ephesians 6.9 not altogether sometimes they may be necessary but do not use them always nor often Well then God would have you not rigorous and oppressive but tender be so then as to instance in some particulars In their Sickness let them have what you can afford and their case doth require give them convenient Lodging due Attendance with all that is necessary both for Food and Physick that so they may see their Lives are valued by you and precious to you and that it is your will they should not want any thing that is fit for them How did the good Centurion regard his sick Servant Luke 7.2 3. His Servant who was dear unto him was sick and when he heard of Iesus he sent unto him the Elders of the Iews beseeching him that he would come and heal his Servant By taking care of them under their Distempers you will gain their hearts yet more and engage them to take the greater care of your business when their health shall be restored them In their Work do not over-task them do not call them to that which you know they have not skill to do nor lay upon them such heavy burthens as are above their strength to bear though such Task-Masters have been found among Egyptians let there be none such among professed Christians It is more becoming the Servants of Pharaoh who is called a Dragon-Leviathan than the followers of Iesus who is the Lamb of God a Lyon indeed for strength in his defending of them but a Lamb for meekness in his dealings with them when he invites Men and Women to take his Yoak upon them he tells them it is easie and his burthen is light and whether it be so or no ask one of his Servants who did draw in it and was able to speak from his own experience and he hath past his word for it and left it upon Record that his Commands are not grievious And in their failings be ye merciful to them if you are only concerned bear as much as is fit but if God be concerned too make them know your deep resentment but withall do what you can to restore them with a Spirit of meekness trample not upon them when down but lend them your hand toward the raising them up again to Repentance And by it I would not have you as I said before wink at Sin either in your Children or in your Servants for who knows how great a matter a little fire kindles how many Unclean Spirits may follow one that was admitted and found entertainment before Besides to bear with Sin in them is the way to provoke the anger of God against your selves because you do not punish Sin in them God