Ability It is that ingages him in Conscience if he have any concern in the Plantations beyond Sea no way to incourage that ungodly Trade of spiriting away either Christians or Infidels against their Wills but rather to indeavour the Instruction and Conversion of the poor Negros who have Souls as precious and immortal as his own and not to be indifferent about their eternal Salvation much less to hinder their Instruction as some are said wickedly to do to the great affront of the Christian Religion No he knows that no Gain can countervail the Loss of a Soul and that where Christ gains he can never be a loser This true Piety guides him in giving his voice in any Election neither any private Respects nor Inducements from others neither the Frowns of one nor Smiles of another shall sway him but his fixed Design directs him which is the Glory of God and the common Good This makes him to run among the first to further any Parish Business this makes him ready to promote the good of his Company to draw out his Purse for the Maintenance of godly Ministers and to relieve the Poor And if he be not the first he will readily second any good Work And if things go well with him the Country shall fare the better for it his Charity shall be accordingly For he knows that pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this Not only to be frequent and devout in the Worship of God but To visit the Fatherless and the Widows in their Affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the World Jam. 1. 27. And the like Zeal he will express in discouraging Sin for he that cannot indure it in himself cannot indure it any where else He first drives it out of his Family to this end reads often the 101st Psalm a Psalm it is for Houshoulders and there you 'l find that a truly Religious Man hates the Works of them that turn aside cannot abide a froward Person will not know a wicked Person indures not a Slanderer a Liar a deceitful or a proud Person If he be invested in any Office he takes that opportunity to express his hatred to Sin by due execution of the Laws against it for he considers that he may never have the like advantage again to serve God and his Generation He sets himself to detect and root up all Frauds all Debauchery and whatsoever is contrary to Justice and Holiness By this indeed he runs a hazard of contracting some ill-will from some ill Men but that he still expresses a Friendship to their Persons and lays all fitting Obligations upon them that so they cannot but see that it's Iniquity which he only dislikes and that he only prosecutes a common Enemy When they come to themselves they will give him Thanks and if they do not his Witness and his Reward is above The best of Men will applaud him and the worst of Men will reverence him Now to further a Tradesman in this his heavenly Trade it is very convenient that he be furnished with some good Books with which this Nation praised be God is richly stor'd These will be Entertainment for him in vacant Hours and on Winter-Evenings and so preserve him from Idleness and from vain Imaginations and from fruitless Company Here he may inrich his Understanding instruct his Conscience warm his Affections and increase his Graces your Shop-Books may help you to be rich for a while but your Closet-Books will help you to be rich for ever But herein take Direction 1. How to chuse them Be well-advised not to buy every Book that you fancy nor every Book that is commended to you nor that hath a taking Title nor that hath a great Bulk and small Price But consult your faithful Minister or some judicious Friâ—nd in the buying of your Books unless you have a mind to throw away your Money and which is more your Time yea and your Souls too which is most of all For as some have been corporally poison'd by reading a Letter so many have been spiritually poison'd by reading infectious Books Neither be covetous after more Books than will comport with your Estate to buy and with your time to peruse Too much variety confounds a few Books well chosen and well read will make you solid Christians Above all Books read the Holy Bible let no day pass without tasting of some heavenly Manna thence And to assist the Frailties of your Memories buy a Concordance Downham and Wickens are the least Cotton or the Cambridg-Concordance are larger and better whereby if you remember but one Word you may find in what Book Chapter and Verse the Sentence is And then to open to you what is difficult in Scripture buy Bishop Hall's Parephrase on the hard places of Scripture or which is fuller the Dutch Annotations To ground you and your Family in the Christian Doctrine you may have the Assemblies Confession and Catechisms to which you may add Mr. Ball 's Catechism with the Exposition or Bishop Vsher's Body of Divinity and also Dr. Gouge on the Lord's-Prayer Dr. Pearson on the Creed Mr. Dod on the Commandments and Mr. Vines with Mr. Dolittle on Sacrament and then the Practice of Piety and the Whole Duty of Man will be very useful both for your Instruction and Devotion Mr. Dent's Plain Man's Path-way to Heaven Mr. Shepherd's Sound Reliever Mr. Baxter's Call to the Vnconverted and Mr. Allen's Vindiciae Pietatis will all of them be of great use for the promoting the Work of Conversion in your selves and Family buy also Dr. Gouge's Book of Domestical Duties whereby Husband and Wife Parent and Children Master and Servant will be instructed in their Relative Duties read also as many of the Lives and Letters of learned and holy Men as you can whereof you have a large Collection in Mr. Clark's Lives and Martyrology You should also have Mr. Perkins Dr. Ames or Bishop Hall's Cases of Couscience to which you may resort in dubious Cases for Direction Bishop Jewel will largely and Mr. Pool's Dialogue will briefly sufficiently arm you against Popery And then for Practical Divines these following are the best I remember Dr. Preston of the New Covenant and on the Attributes Mr. Perkins Mr. Hildersam Mr. Rob. Bolton especially his Directions for a comfortable walking with God Mr. Tho. Hooker Mr. Fenner Mr. Scudder's Daily walk Mr. Capel of Temptations Dr. Harris Mr. Reyner Dr. Reynolds Mr. Gurnal his Christian Armour Dr. Tho. Goodwin Mr. Baxter's Directory and everlasting Rest Dr. Manton's and Dr. Tillotson's Sermons And because you should have some Diversion For History read Mr. Fox's Acts and Monuments Dr. Fuller's Church History of England And for other History you may have Mr. Speed's History of England The wealthier may add to these Cambden's Britannia Sir Rich. Baker's Chronicle Isaackson's Chronology and Plutarch's Lives and Morals And having the present State of England and of London in particular and a Statute-Book you are
competently provided for Books in the English Tongue Tho you may read yet you need not buy many more That Money which others spend in superfluous Treats and Vanities will in a short time furnish you with these Companionsâ— and that time which they bestow in doing nothing will serve you for this Employment which will advance both your Intellectuals and your Morals here and your Eternal Happiness hereafter But then you must learn 2. How to use these Books when you have them They must not lie by you in the dust but they must be read and read throughout not by parcels here and there and yet not too much at once for the Mind and Memory are frail and finite and you should leave them as you should your Sermons and Meals with an Appetite But besure you read with a deliberate Attention and Application of what you read to your own Souls and as occasion is offered interline holy Ejaculations to God to bless what you read unto you If the Excellency or Difficulty of matter require it grudg not to read it twice or thrice and if you have time and convenience extract and transcribe those things which most eminently concerns you or make some Index whereby to find them again Lend them also to any that will be sure to read them and restore them so you may have a Trade going of saving Souls when you are asleep Finally let not your reading intrench upon your necessary Business nor make you more contentious proud censorious but more holy and humble and useful that the Divinity of your Books may be read in your daily Practice and that your Works may commend your Authors IV. Vse 1. Then I pray cast back your Eye and review these ten Particulars and then turn your Eyes inward upon your selves and your behaviour in the Premises Thus saith the Lord of Hosts Consider your Ways Hag. 1. 5. Hath the Fear of God accompanied you into your Shops to the Exchange every where What hath been your inward frame How have you exercised Faith What care hath been taken of God's Worship What Rule have you observed and what Ends have you propounded What spiritual use have you made of earthly things in your Callings How have you kept the Sabbath what Watchfulness what Ejaculations what Exercise of Grace what Good have you promoted or what Sins have you prosecuted Of these things you will be examined when you cannot avoid answering It were better to judg your selves than to be judged by the Lord. The Day is at hand when the Secrets of all Hearts and the Ways of all Men will be discovered and impartial Sentence pronounced And if you do reflect in good earnest I conclude that you will see cause to abhor your selves and to repent in Dust and Ashes You will find that some of you have been so far from being religious in your Callings that you have been earthly in your Devotions there you can spare some Looks and Thoughts about the things of this World when in your Vocations you will scarce lift up one Look or Thought to a better instead of mixing Prayers with your Cares you have mingled Cares with your Prayers Nay in many of your Houses no Prayers at all lest you should be accounted Fanaticks you chuse to be Profanaticks Where 's any constant praying If every Door were but mark'd where there is no Prayer within I fear many Houses would stand crost as for the Plague with a Lord have Mercy upon us written upon them We have had the Gospel in Power and Purity now above an hundred and twenty Years and there is yet so much bare-fac'd Wickedness and so little of the Power of Godliness that the Lord may justly say to us as he did to the old World Gen. 6. 3. My Spirit shall no more strive with Man We preserve the Name of Christians Reformed Christians but we dishonour that worthy Name by which we are called How do we trifle in Religion God and Christ and Satan and Death are all in good earnest and we our selves do but dream O the best had need to repent and amend What then will become of them that hate and oppose all that 's serious that ridicule all Religion tho under other Pretences they dislike the Men not the Religion or only their Sins not their Sanctity and too much occasion for that Umbrage is given by many and wo to them by whom Offences come yea and wo to the World because of Offences both those that Give Offence and those that Take and improve it to the Prejudice of Religion are in a woful Condition For why should not a great deal of Goodness in a pious Man cover a little Evil as well as some little Goodness in others shall cover a great many Faults Let a Religious Man have never so many vertuous Qualities and let him have done never so many good things yet if he have any one Fault as if he be too passionate or too worldly all the worthy things in him or done by him are buried and he only hears Hypocrite and all that 's naught on both Ears But if a wicked Wretch have never so many ill Qualities and have lived in Sin all his days yet if he have but one good Property as to be good humour'd charitable or the like all his Faults are pass'd over and buried in silence and he shall be excus'd them all and cry'd up for a very fair condition'd Man Now is not here rank Partiality Do not these Men show hereby their Hatred to God Yes yes the Malignity is at God himself If good Men were less like to God they might sleep quietly with their other Faults Who ever affirm'd that the most sober and religious were without Sin and must they and Religion also be therefore hooted out of the World Who throws Stones at the Moon because there be some dark parts in it I would advise such to beware for Religion is the Cause of God who is a jealous God and if he damn them that are without it what will become of them that are against it These Arrows do penetrate Jesus Christ himself whom you might hear if you had an Ear to hear saying I am Jesus whom thou persecutest it is hard for thee to kick against the Pricks Acts 9. 5. Dread therefore hereafter as Saul there did to open thy Mouth against the unquestionable Duties of Religion and betake your selves to the Practice of that Piety without which you can neither comfortable live nor safely die But more particularly I cannot chuse but lament and reprove two great Omissions of too many Tradesmen And the one is of Family-Prayer which is wholly neglected by many partially practised that is at night only by some and unseasonably performed by others Assuredly Sins of Omission deserve Condemnation as you may see Mat. 25. throughout and all your other Profession or Vertues will not compensate for one wilful Neglect Jam. 2. 10. For whosoever shall keep the whole
Duty 87 2. Of Safety ib. 3. Of Benefit 88 4. Of Comfort 89 4 Vse 1. Repr Of Idleness 90 2. Exhort 1. To this Diligence in your 91 Particular Callings Cautions herein 92 2. Much more in your Heavenly 93 Sect. 3. The Third Requisite in a Trade is Justice 1. The Nature of it 96 2. The Necessity of it 1. It is your Duty 1. By the Law of Nature 97 2. By the express Law of God ib. 3. By the Law of Christ 98 2. It is your Interest ib. 3. The Extent of it 1. Performing lawful Promises 99 Of paying your Work-Folks 101 2. Paying due Debts 102 Of breaking upon design 103 3. Vsing exact Weights Measures and Lights 104 4. Right working of Manufactures 105 5. Making Conscionable Bargains 106 viz. 1. Content with reasonable Gain 107 What is the best measure of a Tradesman's Gain ib. 2. No Advantage of anothers Necessity 109 3. Nor of their Unskilfulness 110 4. Deal not for stollen Goods 111 5. Vse an honest Plainness 112 6. Defraying lawful Impositions ib. Against stealing of Custom 113 and starving of Ministers 114 7. Paying due Respects to the Orders of your Society 115 8. Having an equitable Regard to Fellow-Traders 116 Particularly to Partners Against Engrossing 117 9. Having a paternal Care about Apprentices Warning against too much 118 1. Rigor 119 2. Indulgence 120 10. Making due Provision for Wife and Children 122 11. Shewing Mercy to the Poor 123 Objects of Charity specified 124 4. Use 1. Of Reflection 125 2. Of Comfort 126 3. Of Conviction 127 4. Of Exhortation 1. To proceed by this Rule 2. To Restitution 129 This your 1. Duty 2. Interest 130 Object 1. Of Inability Answ 131 2. Fear of Shame Answ 133 3. Absence or Death of Parties Answ 134 3. Take the safer Path in doubtful Cases 135 4. Prevent others from doing Wrong 136 Sect. 4. The Fourth Requisite in a Trade is Truth or Veracity Where 137 1. It s Nature is described ib. 2. Your Obligations to it demonstrated 1. From the Light of Nature 138 2. From the Light of Scripture 139 3. From the Light of sound Reason ib. There 's 1. Equity in it 141 There 's 2. Commodity in it 142 There 's 3. Ingenuity in it 142 There 's 4. Policy in it ibid Object 1. From Examples of the contrary Answ 143 2. From the smallness of the Sin of Lying Ans 144 3. From the pretended Necessity of it Answ 145 3. Instances wherein it is to be exercised 1. Not concealing what you should discover 146 2. Shunning all unjust Commendations of Commodities 147 3. Avoiding all unjust Disparagements thereof 148 4. Abhorring any Untruths in or about your Bargains 149 5. Forbearing all Equivocations 150 6. Restraining multiplicity of Words 151 4. Use 1. Of Reflection 153 2. Of Reproof 154 3. Of Exhortation to Veracity 155 Means 1. True Faith and Fear of God 156 2. A truly tender Conscience 156 3. A real Love of your Neighbour 157 Sect. 5. The Fifth Requisite in a Trade is Contentedness 158 Where 1. The Description of it 2. Reasons for it 159 1. In respect of God 1. His Command 161 2. His Providence 162 3. His Glory ibid 2. In respect of our Selves 1. Our Deserts 163 2. Our Mortality 164 3. Our Comfort ibid 3. The Practice of it 1. In chearful undergoing the Inconveniences of it 165 A list of some Inconveniences in a Trade 166 2. In a thankfull acknowledgment of the Excellencies of it 169 A Discourse of the Excellencies of a Trade 170 3. In a patient bearing the Losses c. in it 172 4. In watching against the contrary Temptations As 1. Ambition 175 As 2. Envy ibid As 3. Covetousness 177 As 4. Despondency 179 As 5. Invading other Callings 180 In what case one Man may have several Callings ibid 5. In a steady Continuance in it 181 4. The Use 1. Of Repr The Evil of Discontent 2. Of Exhort to Contentedness 183 Means 1. Faith 184 2. Humility 3. Prayer 185 Sect. 6. The Sixth Requisite in a Trade is Religiousness Where 1. The Nature of it 186 2. Inducements to it 1. Nature teaches it 187 2. Scripture teacheth it 188 3. Reason teacheth it It being 1. The truest Wisdom 189 2. The highest Equity 190 3. The soundest Comfort ibid 4. The greatest Necessity 191 Object 1. From the Difficulty Answered 192 Object 2. From the Prejudicialness Answ 193 Object 3. From the Singularity Answ 194 Object 4. From the Danger Answ 195 Object 5. From the Needlesness Answ 196 3. The Exercise of it 1. In maintaining a religious frame of Heart 197 2. In the due Exercise of Faith 199 3. In the right performance of Religious Worship 200 4. In observing a right Rule and End 203 Whether a Man may aim at Riches in his Calling 204 5. In spiritualizing your Calling ibid A Catalogue of all the Trades mentioned in Scripture 205 6. In the holy Observation of the Sabbath 206 7. In the Practice of Watchfulness 209 8. In the use of holy Ejaculations 211 9. In the exercise of all Grace 213 10. In promoting Goodness and discourag Sin 215 Some Directions for the. 1. Chusing some good Books 217 2. Vsing them 220 4. Use 1. Of Lamentation and Reproof 221 Particularly the Omission 1. Of Family-worship 223 Particularly the Omission 2. Of the Lord's Supper 225 2. Of Exhortation 226 CHAP. VI. OF the Finishing of a Calling 229 Conclus A Man cannot lawfully leave his Calling till God doth discharge him 230 He doth this 1. Immediately ibid 2. Mediately 1. By the Hand of Man 231 2. By his own special Providence 1. Disabling the Mind 232 2. Disabling the Body 233 Whether a Man may withdraw from his Calling and live upon his Estate 234 3. Disabling a Man in his Estate 235 4. Summoning him by Death 236 Here Advice to Tradesmen 1. To set their Souls in Order 237 2. To set their House in order 238 ERRATA SOme literal Mistakes have past the Press For others that are more material read as followeth Page 91. line 1. for I was read I went P. 93. l. 15. f. then r. thee P. 119. l. 31. f. own r. owe. P. 120. l. 28. f. incur'd r. inur'd P. 128. l. 8. f. Wrath r. Wealth P. 207. l. 25. f. all night r. as night THE Tradesman's Calling CHAP. I. Of the Nature and Kinds of Callings A Calling is some kind of Life to which we are called of God Now all Christians are called of God to know and believe in him to love and serve him and at length fully to enjoy him And besides this Calling and subordinate to it God doth call every Man and Woman as if he call'd them by Name to serve him in some peculiar Imployment in this World both for their own and the Common-Good And hence ariseth that Distinction of a General and of a Particular or Personal Calling they might with more clearness be stil'd our Spiritual and our Temporal Callings but
the Tradesman's the Well-being of Man's Life The Substance and first Principles of our Food and Rayment are conveyed to us by the Care and Labour of the Husbandman the Tradesman moulds and fits them for our immediate Use and Service 4. Some again are imployed for Man's Delight and Convenience as Musick and divers other Arts wherein also several Trades have some Concern 5. Some Callings there are again which are conversant about the Defence of Mens Bodies and Estates such as Souldiers and all those Imployments that relate to Military Affairs And lastly some are imployed for the Publick Peace and Safety of Mankind as Princes and Magistrates of all kinds and degrees whose Calling also is of God for there is no Power but of God the Powers that be are ordained of God Rom. 13. 1. And here let us make a stand and behold 1. The Folly of Man in reference to what hath been said 1. Of those that mind neither their Spiritual nor Temporal Callings As for their general Christian Calling they were born and bred in it it is true and so do profess it and if they had received their Birth and Education under Paganism or Mahumetanism they had yielded up themselves to those Religions For as they have never searched into the Foundations and Reasons of Christianity so they never study nor set themselves to the Practice of the great Duties of it but their whole business is to please their Appetite and to promote their Interest in this World and do wholly neglect the World to come A lively Faith sound Repentance constant Holiness Self-denial and undissembled Love to God and Man they are Strangers unto and some of them for Temperance Justice Patience Friendship might go to School to Heathens and have only to support them a Form of Godliness but in the mean while they deny the Power thereof And the same Persons are equally mindful of any Temporal Calling that is they no way promote the Good of Mankind they have Parts but improve no Science with them have Strength and Health but use no Art or Faculty Talents but hide them in a Napkin O how will these give account to the Judg of Quick and Dead Do ye think that he will never reckon with you because he delays his coming Or that he will be put off with the Story of your Extraction or Education You have Abilities to ridicule Religion and to do Mischief you have Strength enough to drink to hunt to whore ye are only wise to do Evil but to do Good ye have no Knowledg Wo to you if ye reform not ye have a long Arrear and he that is gracious and merciful and slow to Anger yet by no means will clear the Guilty And therefore bethink your selves grant your selves but Leisure to consider what ye have done for God what for Mankind and what for your own Souls and upon a serious Reflection you will find that ye have been all this while asleep in a pleasant foolish Dream and that it is high time to awake to Action and Imployment who knows but that you may receive your Penny tho you come into the Vineyard at the eleventh Hour 2. Their Folly is here taxed that neglect either of their Callings Perhaps they are very diligent in Reading and Hearing in Prayer and Fasting and do run from one Sermon to another all the Week long but do nothing in any Particular Calling they serve God but serve not their Generation by the Will of God as David did Acts 13. 36. and as they ought to do But these People live as if they were all Soul and no Body or as if they were born only for themselves and for no body else And if some of their Ancestors had taken no more care of them than they do for Posterity they must have fasted out of necessity instead of fasting out of choice Against such as these holy Augustin wrote a whole Book of old who are but a sort of Secular Monks and Nuns that forget the old Canon 2 Thess 3. 10. That if any let them be who or what they will will not work being capable of it they should not eat On the other hand there are a far greater number that are very diligent in their worldly Imployments that rise early sit up late and eat the Bread of Care Labour and Sorrow but apparently neglect the Welfare of their Souls and the Care of the World to come No labouring to get Knowledg Faith or Holiness no reading or hearing of God's Word or Prayer but only such as is meerly superficial and customary busy at the Exchange at Noon but sleepy in their Prayers at Night exhausting all their Strength and Spirits in their Shops and quite heartless in their Closets and Families that live as if they were all Body and no Soul or as if after this short Life there were not a far longer to come yea the very Sabbath that Sacred Day of Rest which should be a Delight is a Grief to them and in their Hearts they cry When will it be over that we may to our worldly Business again yea in that very Day tho the Law doth bind their Hands from Labour yet their Souls are filled with Cares and Contrivances about temporal things But why do ye separate those Callings which God hath joined what Blessing can you expect upon an Estate that is gain'd without Godliness or What will it profit you to gain the whole World and lose your own Souls You might work hard and pray hard also you may gain enough of both Worlds if you would mind each in its place whereas if you neglect the main God may justly as he hath frequently rent away the Earthly and lock'd up the Heavenly Riches from those who value not a grain of Grace above a world of Gold Trust him therefore who never deceived you saying Seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all other things shall be added to you Mat. 6. 31. 3. Their Folly is manifest who respect not the Author of their Callings to wit Almighty God That seek not his Advice that mind not his Blessing It is most certain that all Persons and Things are governed by the Providence of God that there is nothing so great nor any thing so small which is not directed thereby Now if this be really believed surely it concerns all Men in their weighty Affairs to have recourse to Him to consult his Will and to crave his Blessing else we neglect him we make nothing of him and he may very justly neglect us and be unconcern'd about our Welfare Learn of Abraham's Servant Gen. 24. when he went about his Master's Son's Affair how earnestly he craves the Direction of God in that matter and how well he sped thereafter Learn of Jacob Gen. 28. when he set forth into the World how he prays and vows and how the Lord blest him exceedingly And that Apostle who forbids distracting Care in any matter commands that in