which the Apostle speaks of in the forenamed place Ephes 6.4 if you take the word in the active sense for it may be taken passively In the further prosecution of this Direction I might much enlarge upon such Heads as these 1. Be sure your admonition be holy and good Take heed of giving bad advice of counselling Children to do what is evil this is dreadful Yet I wish that some Parents were not guilty of it they put their Children upon wicked acts and courses Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah is branded for this 2 Chron. 22.3 His mother was his Counseller to do wickedly Have we not some such amongst us Surely this is the very heighth of wickedness and God will sooner or later find out such Parents and severely punish them Epiphanius hath a pretty observation upon Terah the Father of Abraham For 3332. years Epiphan in Panar Sect. 6. cited in Bish Taylor 's Rule c. of dying p. 32. there was not saith he one example of a Son that died before his Father but the course of Nature was kept that he who was first born did first die you are to understand it of Natural death and therefore Abel cannot be opposed to this observation till that Terah taught the people and his Relations a new Religion to make Images and worship them and concerning him it was first remarked that Haran died before his Father Terah in the land of his Nativity and so God punished him for his sinful counsel by the untimely death of his Son Let Parents look for some unusual remarkable judgment either upon themselves or upon theirs who counsel to sin 2ly Your Admonition being good for the matter of it see that you back it with Scripture and with the most convincing Arguments you can think of for you will find all little enough and good advice without these is but like a bullet without powder 3ly Act Prudence as to the best timing of good counsel If it be given unseasonably it will be taken unsuccessfully 4ly For the manner of it let it be 1. hearty 2. serious 3. affectionate for Love is like the oyling of the key which makes it to open the lock more easily or like the greasing of the nail which makes it to enter with more facility 4. frequent Good counsel must be often inculcated if it prevails not at the first or a second time it must be set on again and again The Iron by often filing grows smooth and bright at last The nail that doth not enter by one or two blows by the reiteration of them is driven to the very head And thus it is in the case I am upon Deut. 6.7 Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children Metaphora ducta à gladio qui dum acuitur saepiùs impellitur ad co tem Innuit studium diligentiam quâ pueris praecepta Dei inculcari debent Vatabl. in Deut. 6.7 Innuitstudium diligentiam quâ pueris praecepta Dei inculcari debent P. Fagius in loc c. In the Hebrew 't is Thou shalt whet them diligently c. Counsel is blunt and ineffective if by frequent repetition it be not whetted and sharpened These are Things that admit of much enlargement if I could dwell upon them but Travellers are loth to make any long stay when they are almost at the end of their journey and so I hope I am Thirdly Back Instruction and Admonition with the putting forth and due improvement of your Paternal Authority This religious Education calls for as well as for the former you have not done all that lies upon you when you have instructed and exhorted God hath put Authority into your hands and that must be imployed and improved to back and second Instruction and Exhortation 'T is not more commonly than truly said by those who write of Oeconomical Duties that a Master of a Family in his House is King Priest and Prophet he hath power and authority there so he is King he is to pray with and for his Family so he is Priest he is to teach and instruct his Family so he is Prophet Now if you would religiously educate those under you you must exert your Authority for religious ends and purposes If you would know how or wherein I will briefly open that to you 1. You must lay your charge upon them that are subject to you that they do what is good David did not only advise but he charged his Son Solomon saying c. 1 King 2.1 Prov. 4.4 Keep my Commandments and live 'T was not bare counsel that he gave but he laid his commandments upon his Son Gen. 18.19 I know him that he will * Vtitur verho praecipiet ut Parentes Superiores intelligant non segniter obiter sed sedulò cum Authoritate inferiores ad Dei timorem obedientiam adducendo faciendum esse officium Pareus in Gen. 18.19 command his Children c. Observe it Abraham would not only perswade and exhort but he would command his Childrens and his Houshold after him c 2ly You must authoritatively restrain them from sin But of this restraining from sin I will speak more under the fourth Head in the next Chapter 3ly You must act your Authority to see that they duly sanctifie the Sabbath This is expressly laid upon you in the fourth Commandment Exod. 20.10 You are to answer for Childrens and Servants spending the Lord's day If they be idle frequent vain Houses spend their time or rather Gods time in playing gaming 's walking in the fields recreations all of which are forbidden on that day you partake of their guilt and must be accountable for it O that Masters in this City would better improve their Authority over their Servants in order to the better sanctification of the Sabbath upon this neglect the Sabbath is greatly profaned and that is no small sin 4ly Your power must be imployed to bring them to the means of Grace to the Ordinances You attend upon them your selves O look to this that yours also attend upon them Possibly some of them may be backward enough to this carnal hearts do not delight in spiritual duties Youth is more for Pleasure than for religious attendance upon holy Ordinances they like playing better than praying their foolish sports better than the serious exercises of Religion Time was when it was just so with some of the best of your selves but 't was God's infinite mercy to you you had Parents who looked after you who would have you to be present at holy Ordinances Do you not bless God for such Parents when ever you think of them And will not you do to yours according to what was done with so much advantage to your selvs Odonot go alone to the means but take your Families your Relations along with you 'T is said of Elkanah that he and all his House went to offer to the Lord the yearly Sacrifice 1 Sam. 1.12 Jess and all his Sons must be
dedication make it the term and object of your dedication instead of the dedicating of it to God you dedicate all to it Have you dedicated your selves to God To you that readily prostitute your selves to a course of sin to all vicious and unholy practices 1 King 21.20 you that sell your selves to wickedness Eph. 4.19 that give your selves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness you that do in effect say to sin we are thine you that are drunkards swearers cursers Adulterers Sabbath-profaners c. Have you dedicated your selves to God To you who are immers'd in the world you that steep your selves in pleasures and sensual delights who mind nothing but eating drinking gaming c. and with-hold not your heart from any joy let it be what it will Eccles 2.10 you that mind earthly things Phil. 3.19 that let the fervor of your spirits the torrent of your desires the strength of your endeavours run out after riches profits honors preferments worldly accomodations you that instead of forsaking the world for God can forsake God for the world as Demas did 2 Tim. 4.10 you that place your happiness in these sublunary things Have you dedicated your selves to God To you who give up your selves to Satan may be you are not by the Church given up to Satan which is usually interpreted of excommunication 1 Cor. 5.5 1 Tim. 1. ult But which is much worse as the disease is worse than the remedy you give up your selves to him you readily obey this Prince of the power of the air Ephes 2.2 that ruleth in the chidren of disobedience 2 Tim. 2.26 you are taken captive by him at his will he bids you go and you go come and you come no sooner doth he tempt but you fall in with the temptation all the day long you are doing his work and promoting his interest in the world Have you dedicated your selves to God To you who go to the Church on the Lords day and attend upon the worship of God on the Lords day Non est vera Religio quae cum Templo relinquitur Lactant. and all the week after neglect God scarce a word of God unless it be in taking his name in vain scarce a secret prayer scarce the reading of one Chapter in the Bible all the week after Have you dedicated your selves to God Away away for shame do not pretend to this high and holy Dedication your case is so evident that you scarce are within the verge or compass of self-examination 't is notorious you have not dedicated your selves pray never pretend to it But there are others who are spun of a finer thread who bid fairer for Heaven they are free from those works of the flesh which are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 manifest Gal. 5.19 and which proclaim to all the world Non-dedication they make a fair profession are unblamable in their conversation make Conscience of performing holy duties and many good things are done by them surely these have dedicated themselves to God O that it was so indeed O that all who carry it fairly in the sight of men were sincere in their self-dedication to God! But are there not thousands that come up to this and are professors and live under Church-priviledges and are well thought of by the people of God and yet for all this their dedication is not hearty and thorough and upon this defect they shall miscarry to all eternity How should this awaken all plausible out-side-Christians with the utmost diligence to search how things stand betwixt God and them as to this matter As to evidences for the help of such as shall desire to fall upon examination I shall not need to expatiate upon that Argument having shown what self-dedication is by that every man may know whether he be come up to it yea or no. Read over the particulars in which it lies and as you go along make such reflexions as these are O my soul tell me have I given my self to God Have I ever by a deed of gift signed and sealed made over my self to God Have I given him my heart my love joy delight desires ah and my life too Is my will melted into his will Is there an obediential submissive frame of spirit in me Am I upon serious deliberation come to an issue to resolve for God Is my resolution like the Laws of the Medes and Persians Esth 1.19 never to be altered Do I carry it as a person who is impropriated set apart for God and his service Have I entred into covenant with God and bound my self to the performance of all the conditions thereof Is the glory of God dear to me â—s this the great end of my life that the great God may be honoured by such a worm as I am O my soul farther I ask thee do I value God more than all and set an higher rate upon him than upon all the world besides Is his favour more to me than life do I dread his anger more than death Is this my greatest ambition to live in the fruition of God and in constant communion with him And for other things can I be content to have them or to want them as God shall see best Do I fear every sin be it never so little Do I baulk no duty be it never so hard Do I shun no cross be it never so heavy when God calls me to it Is it the will of God that hath the regency and superiority in me Will I suffer nothing to stand in competition with my Lord and Master Have I got victory over all my spiritual enemies Is sin mortified self dethroned the world laid low in my heart Can I be do suffer any thing for God and my dear Redeemer Do I like salvation in Gods way and upon his terms Do I cleave to God with full purpose of heart Do I love whatever I see of God and all that belong to God Have I been savingly convinced of the excellency of God and of his ways Have I made over my self to him personally considered to the Father to be commanded governed by him to the Son to be redeemed justified saved by him in the way of faith and obedience to the Holy Ghost to be renewed sanctified guided led acted by him I say thus deal with your souls upon these interrogatories and by the answer of Conscience you will be able to say something 1 Pet. 3.21 as to the thing enquired after whether you have indeed dedicated your selves to God I beg pardon that I pass over these things thus briefly and may be too I have not spoke so distinctly to them as I should have done as to the first I would fain shorten this works as much as I can and I shall have occasion more to enlarge in some other Heads as to the second the enquiring serious awakened Christian minds matter more than Method CHAP. 4. Personal Dedication pressed first
before you Enter into covenant with God and then you may look upon all your mercies as covenant mercies How sweet is it when they are not only common mercies but they are covenant mercies the bread is covenant-bread the apparel is covenant-apparel and so in the rest what a relish doth this give to a mercy when it flows upon us through the Covenant Enter into covenant with God your seed will reap the benefit of this upon your covenanting with God God makes over himself to you and to your seed also Gen. 17.7 In doing this you do that which may be a blessing to your posterity when you are dead and gone Enter into covenant with God till this be done what have you to do with the Lords Supper How dare uncovenanting persons come to that ordinance the end of which is the sealing ratification confirmation of the covenant of grace They that have not come into this covenant surely the seal of it doth not belong to them O 't is an awakening consideration till thou hast struck up a covenant with God every time thou comest to the Sacrament thou makest thy self guilty of the body and blood of Christ and thou eatest and drinkest damnation to thy self 1 Cor. 11.27 29. I intreat you to consider these things and let them prevail with you to yield up your selves by covenant to the Lord. Have you done this already This indeed you professed to do in your Baptism but have you done it in good earnest Are ye agreed with God upon the terms In covenants the parties must be agreed upon the terms or else they will not proceed to covenant Are God and you agreed upon the terms They are these that you should put away your sins break your league with Hell Isa 28.15 submit your selves to God to be ruled by him be holy conform to his laws Do you like these terms It cannot be expected that ever you should enter into covenant with God till you approve of and assent to his terms and conditions Pray like them they are very good there 's nothing to be said against them who should rule you but God Who will rule you so well as God Are not his laws so excellent that you may well be subject to them Is not sin such an evil thing that you may well part with it Have you any reason to be in league with it which will be the ruin of your souls for ever Princes will make their leagues with them that may help them in a strait O can sin the world help you in a time of affliction under troubles of conscience at the hour of death at the day of judgment God will be a good confederate to help in all these Fall upon your sins and so enter into Covenant with God Anciently they used to offer sacrifices when they made their Covenants Psal 50.5 Gather my Saints together unto me those that have made a Covenant with me by sacrifice What 's the sacrifice that you are now to offer up in your covenanting with God Let it be first your selves and then your sins your selves as a living sacrifice your sins as a sacrifice slain The Apostle speaks of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 12.1 a living sacrifice give your persons to God as a living sacrifice but now your sins like the sacrifices in the law they must be slain O crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof Gal. 5.24 Destroy the body of sin Rom. 6.6 let out the very heart-blood of your bosome corruptions This is the way to enter aright into covenant with God As he confirmed his Covenant in the blood of his son so we must begin our covenant in the blood of our sins But I will add no more upon this wherein I have been so large because of the great importance of the matter Dr. Preston of the New Cov. Ball Bulkely Ruther ford Sedgw. c. and yet I must again refer you to our worthy Divines who have pressed this duty upon men much more convincingly than I can do I promised to speak something touching the explicitness of our covenanting with God but I have in part prevented my self as to that in what I have laid down concerning the explicitness of our dedication And if any desire to be further informed about this they may look into that excellent Treatise cited in the Margent Vindic. of Godliness par 1. p. 201. c. where they will find both motives and also directions about express explicit covenanting with God 6. In the sixth and last place I have but one thing more to stir you up to and then I shall close this Use and that is this Devote your selves to the glory of God David here pens this Psalm in order to the dedicating of his House and he begins it thus verse 1. I will extol thee O Lord c. and he would thus extol God not only by praise but in the course of his life this should be his great design and business To be set for the glorifying of God this is a great thing in our Dedication He that truly dedicates himself to God devotes himself to the glory of God I cannot deny but that this is included in what hath gone before yet because 't is not so plain and express there as I would have it it being a point of so great consequence and so inseparable from personal Dedication therefore I will speak to it here distinctly and by it self And I conceive there is not such a coincidence and coalition betwixt this and the foregoing Heads but that there is some difference As for example take subjection to the will of God he that acts in obedience to this and fully resigns up himself to it he may be said to devote himself to the glory of God this being the true way of glorifying God But here I bring in this upon another account which will somewhat diversifie it from the other There you have that which doth materially tend to the glory of God from the nature of the action but here I am considering the aim and the intention of the person He that obeys God doth that which brings glory to him he that devotes himself to the glory of God doth not only do that but this is that which he aims at and intends There 't is finis operis here 't is finis operantis As a worthy person speaks concerning holiness and godliness Dr. Manton upon Jude p. 200. This saith he is the difference between them holiness more properly implieth a conformity to the Law and godliness an aim of the soul to exalt God so here I may distinguish as to that which I am upon but why do I trouble the Reader with niceties To the business in hand In general let me desire you very much to eye Gods glory let it be precious to you and let your hearts burn with an ardent zeal to promote and advance it in the world Doth he deserve the
Dedication This concerns your Children in their Infant-state Doth God bless you with such dedicate them to Him in Baptism As soon as He hath given them to you do you Hannah-like 1 Sam. 1.28 give them back again to him and let them be consecrated to the Lord in this solemn way As to Infant-Baptism I would advise you neither to scruple it nor to neglect it Do not scruple it to me 't is a truth written as with the beams of the Sun yet I know that that may be clear to me which is dark to another and so vice versa and God forbid that I should be uncharitable to those who differ from me herein let them be as harsh and severe as they please to their Children I would be tender towards themselves many of them I verily believe dissenting upon conscientious grounds and motives But let persons go I come to the Thing Should I enter upon the Controversie of Infant-Baptism I should either wrong the Cause by saying too little or the Reader by saying too much The Arguments are commonly known several Books are written about it that one of Mr. * Baxters Plain Scripture Proof of Infants Church-membership and Baptism I should think was enough to give every man satisfaction and therefore if you be dissatisfi'd I remit you to them For my own part so long as I have those Scriptures Gen. 17.7 compared with the 10. ver Act. 2.39 1 Cor. 7.14 Act. 16.15 33. with many others and these two Reasons that the first Covenant-Grant is unrepealed that the priviledges of Believers under the Gospel are rather heightened and amplified then any way curtail'd or diminished I say so long as I have Scriptures and these Reasons I hope I shall never scruple Infant-Baptism But I suppose you to be satisfi'd as to this then I say Do not neglect it or omit it Godly Parents have always made Conscience of this I mean of bringing their Children under the seal of the Covenant when Circumcision was this seal then they would have their Children circumcis'd You may read it in Abraham Gen. 21.4 In Zechary and Elizabeth Luk. 1.59 In Joseph and Mary Luk. 2.21 22. Since Baptism was the seal for there hath been a change as to the external seal though there be none as to the matter of the Covenant it self to which this seal is annexed as persons were brought in to the owning of Christ and of the Christian Faith all along they would have their children baptiz'd Look but into the New testament and you will find plenty of Instances Will you then neglect it Is it not an act of singular Grace that God hath not only provided Ordinances for your selves who are adult but also one for your Children in their Infant-state and will you make nothing of it Is it not admirable mercy that the Lord hath taken your seed into the Covenant too and so will have them to pass under the seal of it Hath God entailed Covenant-blessings upon them this way and will you cut off the entail Is this the first visible Act of God's grace whereby he receives poor creatures into his favour and friendship and the first visible means by which he applys Christ in the merits of his death and blood for sanctification and the remission of sin Doth it please God effectually to work in and by this Sacrament so as to exhibit grace by it as he doth in the pursuance of his own Purpose from everlasting and will you withhold it from your Children Have you been the instruments of conveying the stain and filth and pollution of sin to your Children and will you not bring them to this Heavenly Laver in order to the washing and cleasing of them Is Church-membership a little thing in your eye that you will omit that Ordinance in which your Children are enrolled and admitted as members of the Church will you keep them so far as in you lies in an estate little better than Heathenish and make them only Candidates of Christianity Once more are not delays neglects here very dangerous Gen. 17.14 The uncircumcised manchild c. that soul shall be cut off from his people he hath broken my Covenant Here the punishment is denounced against the child else where against the Parent upon whom indeed the sin lies Moses had almost lost his life upon his omitting to circumcise his Child for the most lay it upon this Exod. 4.24 And it came to pass by the way in the Inn that the Lord met him and sought to kill him O upon this and all the foregoing considerations do not make light of this Ordinance or neglect the administration of it What if your Child should die unbaptised Far be it from me to conclude that therefore 't is damned which was once Austin's opinion whence he was called Durus Infantum Pater yet this I must say this is a very * Nisi forte existimas Christianorum filios si Baptisma non receperint ipsos tantum reos esse peccati non etiam scelu referri ad eos qui dare noluerint maxime eo tempore quo contradicere non poterant qui accepturi erant Hieron ad Laetam sinful omission and you have been very unfaithful to your child and this will lie heavy upon Conscience under such an affliction though I hope the child it self shall not suffer as to its eternal state upon your omission This lying in my way I durst not bawk it though 't is not convenient to make any long stay upon it That which I have most in my eye is Religions Education when your Children are grown up to the use of Reason and this I will first stir you up unto and then direct you about it Surely there 's great need of the first that men should be quickned to the religious educating of those who are under their charge How * Verù Bone Deus quam paucos hodie reperias qui tam soluciti sunt quomodo post se recte honeste vivant filii quamcurant ut illis amplam haereditatem relinquant quâ post obitum ipsorum splendidè otiosè delicientur Muscul in Gen. 18.19 few look after this Look into the most of Houses where will you find Parents or Masters solicitous about good education of Children and Servants Let me come neerer to you in this City Are you so careful in the Religious Education of Children and Apprentices as you ought to be O the sad neglect of this even amongst you What is it that many I fear the most of you do mind to feed and cloth those that belong to you to learn them something of civility and good manners 't is well if you go so far to provide estates and portions for them to breed them up to some calling and therein eying more a subsistance for your Children than the Glory of God this is all that too many of you trouble your selves about and what Tears are sufficient to bewail this O the rudeness