of to be the first Commandement with promise Mal. 6.6 A son honoureth his Father If I be a Father where is my honour But how should this Honour and Reverence be exprest may some say I answer first in words Secondly in actions and gestures First in words Children must reverence their Parents by using few words in their Parents presence or hearing Silence for the generall well becomes the younger sort before the Elder but more properly Children before their Parents And when they speake to them they must make use of the choicest expression that may be to hold forth their dutifull respect by And for their Action too they must be full of Humility as rising up before them and standing in their presence if they expect it being uncovered so long as they think fit and making obeysance on all occasions by shewing all filiall and Child-like dispositions to them by harkening to all their grave Counsels and Admonitions with diligent attention Prov. 1.8 Chap. 5.1 As also by submitting and subjecting themselves to all their godly reprehensions and by treading in their religious steps and imitating their unblameable examples and by covering all their imperfections and weaknesses as Shem and Japhet did when their Father lay drunke and naked in his Tent. Solomon is a singular example of honouring his Mother in another kind 1 Kings 2.19 The second duty of Children to their Parents In the second place it is the duty of Children to obey their Parents in all things lawfull and that with all readinesse Children obey your Parents in the Lord Eph. 6.1 Children obey your Parents in all things for this is well pleasing unto the Lord Col 3.20 Now this must be a cheerefull obedience without contending Isaac will submit to his Father though it be in matter of death Gen. 22 9 10. And so will the Daughter of Jephtha Judg. 11 39. The Rechabus obey Jonadab their Father in things that required a great deale of selfe-deniall Ier. 35.5 6 7. which the Lord rewards them for in ver 18 19. A Bishop must rule his own house well and have his Children in subjection 1 Tim. 3.4 Now subjection of all Children to Parents is as much a duty as it is in the children of the Ministers of the Gospell And of this obedience unto Parents we have an example beyond all presidents in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ of whom it is said he went down with his Parents to Nazareth and was subject to them Luk. 2.51 Children must not make their own wils a rule of their actions but the Commandements of God and the Precepts of their Parents that are not contrary to the revealed will of God they must also quietly submit to such correction as they shall think fit to inflict on them for their faults In the third and last place it is the duty of Children to their Parents to labour to provide safty for them in the times of danger The third duty of Children to their Parents and competent maintenance in their necessitous conditions to their utmost abilities for the first take a president from Rahab the Harlot which is laid down at large in Josh 2.12 13. where she doth indent with the Spies sent to view the land to save her Fathers house and to preserve her Father and her Mother c. And for the duty of Children to relieve their Parents in their want consider what the Apostle saith in 1 Tim. 5.4 That to requite our Parents is good and acceptable before God When Parents have been at great paines and charge to bring up their Children and then come to poverty which perhaps may be occasioned by such charge it is not only against grace but against good nature too to cast them off without due care to relieve them it was the pestilent doctrine of the Pharisees to maintaine that Children were discharged from their duty herein provided they did offer a gift at the Altar which was indeed but to fill their pouches Mar. 7.11 12 13. Which practice of theirs as well as their doctrine our Saviour there condemnes We may learne a better example from the practice of Ioseph when he was in prosperity and his Fathers house in want Gen. 47.11 12. For he nourished his Father and his whole Family in Ramases which was the most fertile place of all Egypt When Naomi returned very poore out of the Land of Moab into the Land of Israel Ruth 1.21 then her Daughter in Law wrought hard and tooke great paines to gaine provision for her maintenance God condemnes the formall fasts of the Children of Israel as for other things so for this that they did hide themselves from their own flesh Isa 58.6 7. Now Parents may be more truly said to be our own flesh than others in common can be said to be our Saviour in that place of Marke makes it one kind of honouring Parents to relieve them in their want and to honour our Parents you have it proved before to be a duty from children There be other duties which children owe unto their Parents but they may be included in these If these be conscientiously performed they will be all discharged The duties then which children owe unto their Parents which are obvious to your eye are first to reverence them Secondly to obey them Thirdly to labour to preserve them from danger and to maintaine them in their wants In the last place we are to proceed to discusse the duties which servants owe unto their Masters c. and then we shall draw to a conclusion of this poore Treatise and so leave all upon your hearts to practice in your lives The first duty that servants owe unto their Masters The first duty of servants to their Masters c. is the same that children owe to their Parents that is Honour and Reverence this duty all Inferiours owe to their Superiours and therefore it must be a duty here Now that it is so consider the fore quoted place Mal. 1.6 A son honoureth his Father and a Servant his Master If I be a Master saith God where is my feare or Reverence Implying that honour and reverence is a duty servants owe to their Masters and that they are obliged to the performance of it That place in 1 Tim. 6.1 is much to be observed for this purpose where the Apostle requires all servants that are under the yoke to count their own Masters worthy of all honour and then adds a reason for the same which is this That the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphâ—med Then it is very cleare that such servants as make no conscience to performe this duty of giving honour to their Masters do expose the name and word of eternall God to contempt and to be blasphemed and how shall such servants ever be able to answer for this sin of theirs before the great and all-powerfull God who is alwaies armed with divine vengeance to be powred down upon the heads and hearts of
Th' Effigies here on which you looke Contributes nothing to this Booke It 's but a shadow at the most No Body sure much less a Ghost The Booke peruse the faults passe by The rules observe most carefully Which if you doe then you may find Content in Marriage to your mind Conjugall Counsell OR Seasonable Advise both to Unmarried and Married PERSONS Directing the first how to enter into the Marriage Estate And the other how to demeane themselves in the Christian discharge of all such duties as that Estate of life binds them to that God may have Glory the Church Edification and themselves and Families present and future Comfort Tending much by the blessing of God to a through Reformation of all the Enormities of these evill Times By T. H. of Sandwich in Kent Two are better than one Eccles 4 9. Marriage is honourable in all and the bed undefiled but Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge Heb 13.4 LONDON Printed for John Stafford and are to be sold at his House at the George at Fleet-Bridge 1653. Imprimatur JOHN DOVVNAM To his highly Esteemed and very Choicely beloved Children Samuel Mehetabel and Anne Hilder the yearning Bowels and Rowling Affections of your tender-hearted Father wisheth the happinesse of all saving-grace in this life and Eternall glory in the life to come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Right dearely beloved Children THe Great God of Heaven and Earth who is wisdome it selfe and all perfections did not thinke fit to bestow you on me as the fruit of my Youth and the Quintessence of my strength But in my Old Age and when I was a dry stick he made me Bud Bloome Blossomes and bring forth such pleasant Almonds as indeed you are Your bodies are very deare to me I desire your soules may be much more precious The preservation of your Naturall lives is my duty to take care after in a way of subordination to God But the seeking of the good of your soules as an Instrument under God in this life in the state of grace and as the way leading to glory and blisse hereafter is that which I am bound to regard in a more singular and speciall manner My deare hearts I desire Naturall Affection may not so far carry me forth towards you as spirituall and Ardent desires transport me with much enlargednesse of heart and spirit to seeke there all good both of your Bodies and Soules to all Eternity through free grace in Jesus Christ It is said Israel loved Joseph more than all his Children because he was the Son of his old Age and he made him a Coat of many colours Gen. 37.3 Now if because Joseph was the Son of his Fathers old Age was a good Argument to Israel to love him with such a large love Then for ought I know I am not to be blamed if I manifest my love to you in an extraordinary manner having the same reason for it as before exprest True it is I cannot cloath you with Garments of many colours I meane in a rich and costly manner yet I desire to blesse the Lord that not one of you hitherto have known want Ah my soule desires you may be like the Kings Daughter Psalm 15.13 Even all glorious within that your hearts may be beautified with saving grace and cloathed with the Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ My deare Children I cannot out looke upon you as poore fatherlesse babes for 〈◊〉 â—â—lesse the time of my departing is at hand so far as can be thought in all probabiliâ—â— for I have the sentence of death within me I finding Nature spending and wasting peace and divers symptomes of short life Therefore as Isaac desired to bless Esau before his death So I desire yet not as having a spirit of Prediction as Isaac had Gen 27.4 to blesse you before I dye viz. to communicate some Counsell to you from the Word of God that you in following the same may be both blessed here and for ever Now herein I shall proceed by the Lords assistance for the generall in a sententiall way desiring you to make them the matter of your Meditations that so they may be amplified and enlarged in your own thoughts My dearly beloved ones let me in the first place lay to you and to every one of you as David said to his Son Solomon 1 Chron. 28.9 My Children know you the God of your Fathers and serve him with perfect hearts and with willing minds This is your duty in generall But to come to some particulars yet in an abstractive way Take them as followeth that is labour to make God the object of your love and the chiefe of all your desires Psal 73.15 Ibid. 31.23 Marke 12 30. Seeke to have the feare of God continually in your hearts Psalm 86.11 Psal 34 9. but be carefull that it be filiall and Child-like not servile and slavish Remember your Creator in the daies of your youth Eccl. 12.1 Begin your spirituall Race betimes Psa 63.1 Prov. 8.17 And strive to hold out to the end 1 Cor. 9.24 Mark 13.13 Mind your own mortality Heb. 9.27 Ioh. 9.4 Psal 6.5 Put not off working in Gods Vineyard till the Eleventh houre Mat. 20.6 Your Sun may set at Noone as spoken in another case Amos 8.9 Improve all your Talents to the glory of God Mat. 25.20 Mind the account you must pass for you are but stewards Luk. 16.2 Forget not the day of Judgement Eccl. 11.9 Chap. 12. ult Mat. 12.38 Be very strict in the observation of the Sabbath Exod. 28.10 11. Isa 56.2 Chap. 58.13 Prize the meanes of grace Psal 119 70 97. Frequent the Assembly of the Saints Hebrewes 12.25 But mistake not the Sheepfold Cant. 1.28 Labour to live a life of faith against and above sense Gal. 2.10 Hab. 2.4 Chap. 3.17 18. Labour for an humble spirit Micah 6.8 James 4.6 Practice all knowne truths Joh. 13.17 Hold forth the power of godlinesse in your lives 1 Cor. 4.20 2 Tim. 3.5 Keep your hearts alwaies waking Cant. 5.2 for the Times are evill Eph. 5.16 Labour for found principles Tit. 1.13 And stability in them 1 Tim. 4.1 James 5.8 2 Pet. 1.12 Study to be quiet and to do your own businesse 1 Thes 4.12 Keepe within the limits of your Callings 1 Cor. 7.24 Labour to be approved to God 2 Cor. 10. ult Passe not for the judgement of men 1 Cor. 4.3 Yet beware of giving just offence to any Mat. 18.7 1 Cor. 10.32 Shun all occasions of sinning Prov. 5.8 Gal. 5.13 Abstaine from all appearance of evill 1 Thes 5.22 Do not think you can be too strickt in a holy life Eph. 5.15 But alwaies walke by a just Rule Gal. 6.16 Be upright in heart hate hypocrisie Ps 26.1 2. Ioh. 1.47 Follow not a multitude to do evill Exod. 23.2 Be not partakers of other mens sins keep your selves puâ—e 1 Tim. 5.22 Beware of diversity of opinions and divers Doctrines Heb. 13.9 1 Tim. 4.1 2. Rom. 16. Cha. 17.18 2 Tim. 4.3
4 For these various waies are but meere figments and fruits of Addle braines though varnished with some splendent gilt of holiness and denominated New Lights and Divine Revelations I say beware of these for they are but the Devill peeping with a white Vizard to cover his all-silthy and deformed face stand upon your watch-Tower look out sharply lest you be led away by the error of the Wicked 2 Pet. 2.17 My deare Children labour to arme your selves against the croking Frogs of these last and worst times you are borne in an houre of Temptation you had great need to labour to trie the spirits 1 Ioh. 4.1 which that you may do you must follow the Counsell of Christ that is you must daily search the Scriptures Iohn 5.39 Imitate also the example of the Bereans who would not believe Paul and Sylas untill by searching the Scriptures they found the truth of what they delivered Acts 17 11. And the Holy Ghost commends and honours them for the same and this duty God did command his people of Old Isa 8.20 Leane not on your own understanding Pro. 3 5. Be not high minded but feare Rom. 11.20 Let him saith the Apostle that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall 1 Cor. 10.12 For there is a way that seemeth right but the end thereof are the waies of death Prov. 16.25 Beware of other mens sins and punishments Iudg. 4.7 Still walke with God as Enoch did Gen. 5.24 Graspe fast hold on Christ as the Church did and leane upon him Cant. 8.5 You are safe if Christ put forth his hand to you in your times of danger as he did to Peter Mat. 14.31 Endeavour to keepe a good conscience in your whole life Acts 23.1 which will be to you a continuall feast Pro. 15.15 so the Geneva Translation renders it Therefore hearken unto the Checks and Admonitions of it Sympathize with the Church and every particular Member therein in the times of Affliction Neh. 1.1 2 3 4. Amos 6.6 Rom. 12.15 Spend much time in the perusall of Orthodoxe Writers both Ancient and Moderne for next unto the Scriptures in both the Old And New Testament you shall find the most glorious beames and araies of light and truth shining from them to enlighten you in the way of truth and to heat and quicken your Affections to walke in the way that is called Holy I even beseech you to labour to gaine and to maintaine in your dâ—aâ—e hearts an invaluable and incomparable esteem of these Authors here mentioned and 〈◊〉 as they who are indeed all Reverend and sound Divines viz. Mr Perkins Bishop Hall Bishop Usher and in particular his body of Divinity Dr Preston Dr Sibbs Mr Nicholas Eyfield Mr Robert Bouâ—ton Mr Ieremy and Mr Daniel Dike Mr Symonds on the case and cure of a deserted soule Mr Smith on the Great Assize and Ursinus on the Sum of Christian Religion c. But on the contrary take notice it is your duty both to God and your own soules to labour to abhor with a kind of infinite detestation all hereticall and schismaticall yea all fanaticall and whimsicall Pamphlets Treatises and their Authors how specious soever Frontispieces and deluding Titles be for all such are but the Devils Factors Agents and Engins to seduce and poyson the judgements of poore ignorant soules that they may run with a full careere to the pit of hell to the high dishonour of God and their own inevitable destruction both of body and soule unlesse infinite mercy prevent these Vermine aâ—e like the Locusts Rev. 9.7.8 if not the same who have Crowns like Gold not Gold though they glister faces like men and haire like women but teeth like Lions These are Clouds without water c. and wandring stars c. Jude 12 13. These are they whose words fâ—et like a Canker 2 Tim. 2.16 17. These trouble Coasts you may know them by their fruit they still oppugne the faithfull Ministers of Jesus Christ and spit out of their black mouths many opprobrious false and diabolicall calumniations against them but their tongues and pens can be no slanders to them nor cast them out of the hearts of the reall godly party that thereby they may heave them out of the Ministry and make roome for their uncall'd and ungifted fraternity to possess their places if they can bring their cursed designes to passe and by this hellish meanes hinder the propagation of the Gospell and Gospell Ordinances and so foyst in their owne hell-bred inventions These my deare Children are such nonsensicall Ignoramus's and so full of blockish stupidity that they are many degrees worse than those Babel builders Gen. 11. from ver 1. to the end of ver 8. For they did desist from their worke of confusion when God had confounded their Language But these Impostors though the Lord have divided their tongues and so hath answered the Prophet Davids Imprecation Psa 55.9 that they speak not the same things yea and their hearts too that they walke in contradictory waies one from the other and all from the Rule of truth yet most pertinaciously with browes of brasse they proceed to bring paultry trash and filthy Rubbish to patch up their tottering structure founded on the sand to be a habitation for dolefull Creatures c. Isa 13.21 And for such as the Holy Ghost mentions in Rev. 18.2 But downe must their Chaos go Mat. 7.26 27. And all their vile plants must be pluck'd up Mat. 15.13 But to conclude this particular these Sons of Belial are false Meteors and can metamorphose a reall Saint into a Devill and a Devill incarnate into a Saint These persons are good Arithmeticians for they are well vers'd in the rules of Addition and Substraction nay and in the black art of Detraction too and whether they are acute both in the Theory and Practique part of Division or not let all moralized men much more reall Christians judge These persons can and do put darknesse for light and light for darknesse c. In one word their aime is to extinguish the power of godlinesse and to procure liberty for all licentiousnesse which God prevent But to proceed onward Set not your Affections on things beneath but on things above Col. 3.2 For the love of the world and worldly things is an enemy both to God and your own soules Iames 4.4 1 Tim. 6.9 10. But cast your selves in the use of lawfull meanes upon God for all outward things for he careth for you 1 Pet. 5.7 And be content to be at his allowance and with your present condition Phil. 4.12 1 Tim. 6.8 Heb. 13.5 In all your Afflictions exercise much patience Pro. 24.10 Iames 5.10 Heb. 12.1.2 Yet be much in Prayer for deliverance Psal 50.15 Also mind for this purpose the Title immediately before Psa 102. As touching your duties to your Parents I omit the hinting at them here but refer you to that part of the ensuing Treatise where there is something spoken more at
But if by these loving Admonitions thou canst not prevaile thou must then proceed to sharpe â— proofes and rebukes Thou shalt not hate saith God thy Brother in thy heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer sin upon him Lev. 19.17 Now if a man should be tender of the salvation of a Brother and of a Neighbour then much more of the salvation of a Wife who hath a kind of onenesse with thy selfe Rachel was Jacobs best beloved Wife yet when in a discontented humour she comes to him and saith give me Children or else I dye thereby derogating from God and arrogating to her Husband which sin of her we read not that ever before she did commitâ— Yet the Text notes that when Jacob heard iâ— his Anger was kindled and he saith unto her Am I in Gods stead who hath with-held from thee the fruit of the wombe Gen. 30.1 2. The wife of Job bids him curse God and dye which was her fearefull sin her husband replies with a word of sharpe reproofe and tels her that she spake like a foolish woman Job 2.10 When the Tumour is swolne to such a bignesse it is full time to lance it and apply Corrasives to it to eate out the Corruption else it may gangrene to the destruction of the body But herein use thy best wisdome to chuse the fittest time and place to seek to fasten a reproofe on her Now a seasonable and fit time thus to deale with her is when she is out of her passions and free from perturbation of spirit for if she be in the heat of anger and the boyling of her Choler she is very unfit to be dealt with in this way 1 Sam. 25.36 37. Nabal when drunke with wine was full as capable of a word of reproofe from his discreet wife for his churlish and absurd carriage to David as a woman or man can be when drunke with outragious Anger and Passion from the wisest and most judicious â—â—iend they have in the world for indeed thou taking an unseasonable time to reprove thy wife thou dost not only lose thy labour of winning her but thou maiest feare she will be the more incorrigible thereby But if thou take a fit time to deale with her in this kind thou maiest hope through the Lords blessing to see some good effect of thy paines and of the discharge of thy duty Secondly thou must make choice of a convenient place to perform this duty of reproofe which place is a secret and private Roome free from the hearing of any others for if thou rip up her faults in the hearing of others that will be a meanes the more to enrage her and to make her the more obstinate in her evill way and the more refractory against all meanes of good unto her But if she perceive thou dost tender her credit and reputation thou maiest find her more flexible docible than perhaps thou art a ware of But if thou dost yet lose thy labour then in the third place make triall of a more publike way of reproofe to see if she will be ashamed of her vilenesse and labour to reforme If this will not worke upon her for amendment then in the fourth place thou shalt do well to withdraw all appearance of love from her alâ— Amiable deportments and gestures and stilâ— carry thy selfe in an Austere way toward her with knit brows and a restriction of discourse with her so long as she remaines obstinate Now if all these meanes be unavaileable theâ— in the last place shorten her maintenance keep her at bare Commons let her have only foâ— necessity nothing for delight let her know that so long as she remaines an Enemy to Goâ— and to her own soule that she shall not finâ— thee a friend to her unlesse it be to check curb and controule her on purpose to help heâ— out of the snare of the Devill But if none nor all these meanes will do her good to draâ— her from sin to God then her condition is faâ— indeed and doth deserve to be lamented with â—eares of blood and thou hast cause to weepe for her in secret as Jeremy for the obstinate Jewes Jer. 13.17 Truly thou hast cause to â—eare and she much more the Lord hath a purpose to destroy her and so make her punishment like the punishment of Elies Sons who would not hearken to the reprehensions of their Father 1 Sam. 2.25 And let such a woman sadly lay that thundring place in Prov. â—9 1 to heart for she may tremble to read it The words are these that is He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy and let her not be so absurd as to thinke that place concernes not her because it is said He and no mention of the word She for though the threatning be exprest in the Masculine gender yet it shall be made good in the Feminine But thou who hast conscienciously used all these meanes to reclaime thy poore yoak-fellow though they have done her no good yet thou hast delivered thy own soule Ezek. 3.19 But if it please the Lord to blesse thy endeavours and to make thee an instrument to bring thy Wife to a saving sight of her sins of which godly sorrow is a fruit then know thou hast saved a soule from death and hast covered a multitude of sins James 5.20 And thy recocovered wife may even upon her bare knees abundantly bless the Lord that ever she was so happy as to enjoy such a sweet and tender-hearted Companion in the Marriage Estate We proceed to the following duty The fifth duty of the Husband to his Wife It is the duty of the Husband to walke before his wife in all good conversation to give her good examples of encouragement from his own holy course of life It is undeniable that it is the duty of all whom God hath set in Authority over others that they should labour to teach those that are under them both by precept and by example for the first will do no good ordinarily without the other Look at me saith Gideon and do likewise Judg. 7.17 Gideon as a Captaine speakes to his Souldiers being under his Command and Authority to follow his Example Now the Lord hath invested the Husband with as much Authority over his wife as Gideon had over his Souldiers and more Therefore he walking in good waies may say to his wife looke on me and do likewise Timothy having the charge of soules committed to him the Apostle exhorts him to be an example to Beleevers in Word it Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Faith and in Purity 1 Pet. 5.3 1 Tim. 4.12 The Apostle Peter likewise doth exhort the Elders to be examples to the Flock And it is not now to make out that a Husband hath the charge of his VVifes soule committed to him for that point is as cleare as the Sun at Noone so must the Husband be
their exorbitant lust to make them more sit to glorifie God and perform service unto men these and such like ought to be purely your aimes And lastly you must administer this Ordinance in a a right manner that is with lifting up your hearts to God desiring him with the correction to vouchsafe to them Instruction to sanctifie it to them so that it may prove effectuall for their Reformation to make them obedient to God in word and deed and faithtull in the discharge of all the duties they owe unto you Now when your carriage is truely thus in your correcting Children or Servants you may by the blessing of God expect some gracious effects of it except the Lord have a controversie with and against them to harden their hearts by this and other means to their own perdition Thus we have done with the foure general Duties which both Husband and wife owe unto both Children and Servants as first to instruct them in the wayes of God Secondly to pray with them and for them Thirdly to walk before them in good examples Fourthly and lastly to seek to reclaim them from bad wayes Now because the neglect of these Duties is a prime cause of infinite dishonour to God the means of many souls perishing to all eternity and the breeding of multitudes of rotten and vile members in Church and State we shall endeavour with the Lords Assistance to proceed to some reasons inforcing the performance of these Duties by all godly Governours and then come to make some Application thereof Reas 1 The first Reason is taken from the Command of God who requires the performance of all these duties at thy hands for thou hast seen by variety of Scripture Texts that these duties are not Arbitrary or of an Indifferent nature that thou maist doe them or leave them undone at thy own discretion Now as the Promises of God are to be the ground of thy Faith so the Commands of God are to be the ground of thy obedience That God requires these Duties of thee from hence thou maist gather an Argument that thou art bound to set thy selfe with all thy might to the performance of them A good understanding have all they that doe his Commandements Psalme 111. ult If ye know these things blessed are ye if ye doe them John 13.17 The life of a Christian lyeth chiefely in doing What singular thing doe yee Matth. 5.47 for so it is rendred in the old Translation What is the Theory of Religion if the practick part be wanting Now as you would approve your selves to be the Children of God you must obey him in all things for His servants you are whom you obey Rom. 6.16 The second Reason inforeing from you the Reas 2 performance of these duties before mentioned for the good of your children and servants is taken from those bowels of compassions that should be in you relating to the good of their souls for by thy neglect of teaching them the knowledge of God and praying for them and with them and walking before them in good examples and labouring to reclaim them from sinne they may perish in hell for evermore He saith James that converteth a sinner from the errour of his way shall save a soule from death Jam. 5.20 and hide a multitude of sins and what knowest thou but by thy conscionable use of these meanes thou maiest instrumentally do it In Exod. 23.4 the Lord commands that if thou meet thy Enemies Oxe or his Asse going astray that thou shalt surely bring him back againe How much more then oughtest thou to be carefull when thou seest thy Children and Servants go astray from God in the wales that lead to hell to be carefull to bring them back againe and so to secure their poore soules from perishing Now in the way to hell thy Children and Servants alwaies walke when they are in a state of ignorance and in the practice of any sin My people saith God are destroyed for lack of knowledge Hos 4.6 And as for thy poore Children thy own Loynes have been the Conduit-pipe to convey into their hearts and soules from Adam the fountaine all that corruption of nature which is in them and all that propensity to sin which is in their wils Truly it is not only against a gracious principle but against an Humane and Morall one too that thou shouldst thrust thy poore Child into a dangerous quagmire and then deny him thy hand to help pluck him back againe and that thou shouldst give him many a deadly and mortall wound and refuse to apply a plaister for his cure these similitudes are infinitely too short to set forth this case fully Now when thou dost neglect these meanes beforesaid thou dost shew thy selfe to be a cruell and bloudy Man a most savage beast there is no tearmes in the world that can fully set forth the intolerable vilenesse of thy condition be thou amazed and tremble like Belshazzar in another case Dan. 5.6 and set thy selfe to reforme The third reason to quicken thee to the performance Reas 3 of the duties beforesaid is taken from the account thou art to give to God at the great day for those soules that he hath committed to thy charge if they by thy neglect perish thou must be responsible for them at the generall Audit before God Angels and Men. At which time the Lord will not remit thee one graine of the non performance of any one of these or any other duties which thou shouldst have performed to have sought his own glory and the salvation of thy Children and Servants by For in Gods calling thee to be the Governour of a Family he hath made thee a watchman over their soules And consider thou that place for the purpose in hand in Ezek. 33.8 Eli the Priest was by reason of his indulgence to his Children a very defective man this way yet many thousand Millions of men are more He sought to reclaime his Sons from their wickednesse only by admonishing them of it and of the judgments of God for the same which is more perhaps than thou didst ever do but there unseasonably came to a period God punished this sin of his First upon those his wicked and degenerate Sons then on his own person and lastly on his whole house His Sons were slaine both in one day himselfe brake his neck and his house lost the Priests Office 1 Sam. 2.22 23 24 34 35 36. Chap. 4.11 18. Read the Story and lay it sadly to thy heart But the Learned do conceive that the personall punishment of Eli was but temporall because he was gracious though in the case before-mentioned a grievous offender I say read and and consider and as thou likest the punishment so practice the sin it is true God is patient but this his patience if further abused by thee will not prove thy priviledge but thy infinite disadvantage For thou shalt when it is too late find thou art rather reserved for hell than