our great End so that true Rules of Policy are no where more successfully to be sought than in that Book which contains all the wise Rules of every Imaginable Duty If these things be rightly consider'd there is no man can ever justly think himself excus'd for his Folly or Irreligion by the meanness of his Birth his Fortune or his Education there is not one Christian Servant but may prove an Epictetus or something much greater * 1 Pet. 2.9 a holy Prophet a Royal Priest He may in a word be truly wise and truly good 2 Objction want of time answer'd As to the second Objection want of time When I think upon Epictetus his Lamp and Cleanthes his Labour who wrought and earn'd by night what might maintain him in the study of Philosophy by day when I observe how indefatigable Ambition is how wakeful Covetousness how restless and obstinate all our Lusts and Passions are I cannot but blush to see how lazy our Religion is your Meals your Sleeps your Divertions your Talk and Chat for there are few Servants who spend not some portion of their days and nights in these last can lend you time for Reading and Devotion He can never want time who wants not Zeal for the Service of God But besides this I must tell you the Religion of all Christians in general if it be perfect consists more in practice than speculation and yours no less in the faithful discharge of the Duties of your place than in acts of Devotion towards God but I know how apt weak people are to run from one extream to another and therefore I will not insist longer on this Argument lest I should be thought to place the Religion of a Servant merely and solely in the Duties of his Service There are many ways by which Servants may redeem time and consecrate it to the Interest of their Souls and the Honour of God namely by exalting their minds to Heaven in frequent Ejaculations by Pious and Religious Discourses to one another by easing and assisting one another which will make the burden of the Family lie easier on all and gain time to each Having thus shew'd the Obligations Servants lie under to Religion and answer'd the little Pretences by which they endeavour to palliate their Coldness and Negligence I proceed to consider the Duties wherein their Religion towards God consists which are First such as may be called Instrumental or Relative as Prayer Hearing and Reading the Word and Receiving the Sacrament Secondly Trust in God Thirdly Contentment And Fourthly Fidelity to their Masters The Duty of Reading the Word I will begin with Reading the Word The Book of God is a Legacy of that value containing not only the Wisdom of God but the ravishing expressions of his Love too and in a word the only way to Life and Immortality that no one can be guilty of the neglect of it but at the same time he must be guilty of the most ingrateful Contempt of God and the most sottish Contempt of his own true Interest This therefore is the Book which the Servant must endeavour to be familiarly acquainted with with some portion of this he should begin the Morning and close the Evening Hence is that Wisdom to be learnt of whose manifold use * Prov. 6.22 Solomon speaks in those few but weighty words When thou goest it shall lead thee when thou sleepest it shall keep thee and when thou awakest it shall talk with thee No Guide no Guard no Company no Divertion is wanting to any one who is instructed as he ought to be in the Book of God Now if you would read profitably you must observe the Direction of St. Peter * 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere Milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby When you set your self to read endeavour to banish all unruly Lusts and Passions all worldly Cares and Distractions and to possess your Soul with an humble Awe and Reverence for the Word as the Word of God and with a devout thirst for it as the Word of Life Secondly Be not more fond of strong Meat than of Milk of Mysteries than of practical Truths chuse especially to read those parts of the Bible which are most plain most practical most moving and affecting Thirdly Propose this as the chief nay sole End of thy Reading that thou mayest grow thereby that is that thy Conscience may be more and more awakened that thy Resolutions of Obedience may be more and more strengthen'd that thy Heart may be more purified thy Affections more exalted and in a word thy Faith may be more confirm'd and thy Love of God thy Love of Jesus thy Love of Heaven and thy Love of Righteousness may be more and more quickned and enflam'd If your leisure will permit and you desire to joyn the reading of other Books with the Bible let 'em be but very few very plain and very practical and such if you can find 'em as concern more particularly the Duties of your station or the particular state of your Soul for 't is good Advice especially to persons in your circumstances in Spiritual as well as Temporal Affairs * 1 Thes 4.11 Study to be quiet and to do your own business The Catechism of Our Church is an excellent Abridgment of Christian Faith and Practice 't is a compleat System of all necessary Catholick Doctrines not as some others are of the Controverted Opinions of a Sect and Party I would therefore recommend this to you as being plain short and free from dispute and if well digested you will not want any necessary Instruction The same Rules The Duty of Hearing the Word with little variety are to be observed in Hearing which were prescrib'd in Reading the Word rising something the earlier on the Sunday that you may the sooner dispatch your necessary business and be the freer from any distraction retire and consider with thy self the great End to which God has dedicated that day namely to bless and praise him for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus to commemorate that his bitter Death and Passion in the Holy Sacrament to prepare our selves for a Holy Death a glorious Resurrection and a Kingdom wherein dwells Righteousness to glorifie and honour God by a solemn and publick Worship of him that so his Name may be honour'd upon Earth and finally to hear and learn his blessed Will and to be strengthened and comforted in our Warfare upon Earth by his heavenly Truths and by his great and precious Promises and then earnestly beg of God to dispose thy heart into such an humble and grateful frame that thy praises and adorations may be acceptable to him to possess thee with such a due sense of thy wants and infirmities and with such a devout thirst after the Grace of God and his Truth that thou mayest pray with a steady fervency and hear the Word with pure
and murmur'd at thy Providence been discontent in my Condition and complain'd of thy Dealings towards me 'T is true O my God that thou of thine infinite goodness hast convinc'd my Conscience of sin affected my Soul with a sorrow for it and wrought in me Resolutions of amendment but oh how many have been my falls how many and grievous have been my Relapses how negligent have I been of the Covenant of my God! Oh how soon have the tears of my Repentance dried up how soon has the flame of my Devotion and Love slackened and even gone out O God thou holy God thou Witness of all my actions and Judge of all my thoughts and affections what would become of me if thou shouldest enter into strict Judgment with me how should I stand before thy Tribunal cover'd with the guilt and shame of so many sins But O thou God of Mercy O thou God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ I know that thou art always ready to pardon poor Penitents Lord I repent increase thou my Repentance trouble has taken hold of me my Soul is cast down and disquieted within me I am asham'd yea even confounded for I do bear the Reproach of the folly and ingratitude of my sins O be thou reconciled to me pardon me I beseech thee by the Merits and Intercession by the Agony and Passion and by all the painful Sufferings of thy Son pardon me O pardon me I beseech thee by thine own boundless goodness by those tender Mercies and Compassion which thou art wont to exercise towards Repenting sinners And Lord not only pardon my sins but deliver me I beseech thee from the Dominion and Power of 'em O assist me to break off those Chains of carnal Lusts and worldly Cares in which I have been held bound I have a false deceitful heart O give me Sincerity and Truth have a sluggish and drowsie body O enkindle in me fervency of spirit I am conscious to my self of great weakness and fraily O do thou confirm and strengthen me who alone canst make me a clean heart O O God and renew a right spirit within me give me a true Faith and enflame my heart with a holy Love that I may delight my self in thy Commandments that I may walk before thee in uprightness and fear diligently seeking thee constantly depending upon thee chearfully submitting to thy Will and doing the Duty of my place in singleness of heart as knowing that I shall be accountable to thee as well for those Duties which I owe Man as for those which are more immediately to be paid to thee O Lord keep me that my foot stray not out of the path of Justice O Lord keep me that I offend not with my Tongue and after I have done all O Lord suffer me not to fall short of my Reward through my pride or ingratitude but make me always thankful always humble neither defrauding thee of the Praise due to thine infinite Bounty and Mercy nor Man of the Thanks due to him for any act of kindness or charity towards me help me O my God to walk thus that my Soul may enjoy a true Liberty that my Life may be full of comfort my Death of peace and my Eternity of glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. And O my God bless not me only but this whole Family thou that art the God of Love the God of Peace sow in all our hearts the seeds of unfeigned Charity that we may all enjoy the comfort of a mutual Affection and of a mutual Assistance and Aid in our several places and Lord possess every Soul of this Family with a just sense of our Duty towards God and Man that all of us may be living Members of thy blessed Son and being protected by thy Providence directed by thy Word and assisted by the Influence of thy Spirit we may all at last meet in the Family of Heaven where we shall adore and praise thee love and enjoy thee to all Eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for the Evening O My God my Strength and the Rock of my Salvation the Day is past and the Evening is come O give me grace to remember that this Life will one time be past and Death will come that I may live so that my work may be then finisht as 't is this day and I may have nothing else to do but go to my Rest where I shall be invested with Liberty and Glory Eternal Eternal O blessed Wages of a short Lifes service how does my Soul praise thee O Lord in Transports and even Extasies thou hast called me indeed to be a Servant but thou hast called me too to be a Son thou hast not indeed given me any great portion of the Wealth or Honour of this Life but thou hast given me the blessed Jesus to be my Redeemer and thy holy Spirit to be my Sanctifier O do but ever continue thus to me the Light of thy Countenance thy Grace and thy Truth and I shall never think my self to stand in need of any thing that the World admires but O my God how often are these my Comforts abated nay even interrupted how often is this blessed this chearful Light obscur'd and orecast by my infirmities and sins my sins the only causes that keep good things from me my sins the only real troubles of my Life Thus O my God though I renew'd my Covenant with thee but this morning though I devoted my self to thee vowing Obedience to thee and faithfulness to my Master yet have I prevaricated my Duty here mention the Errours and Infirmities of the day past have mercy upon me O Lord have mercy upon me and forgive me these and all other my offences and give me grace to keep my self upon my watch and guard against them Enable me sincerely to endeavour to repair and reform 'em as much as in me lies that I may every day grow and increase in goodness and be so much the fiter for Death the nearer I do every day approach to it and whenever it comes let it find me O Lord with my Loyns girt and my Lamp burning in a disposition and frame of spirit fit to die possessed with an unshaken Faith with an humble Resignation and Submission of Mind with a holy Contempt of Earth and a devout Love of Heaven In the mean time thou keeper of Israel thou who never slumbrest nor sleepest watch over me and this whole Family protecting and delivering us in our coming in and going out particularly let thine Angels pitch their Tents about us this night let us lie down securely and let our sleep be sweet to us for thou Lord shalt make us dwell in safety Amen Amen Blessed Jesus If any one expects from me Directions here for Mental or Extemporary Prayers I must tell 'em freely that little less than a Volume much bigger than I purpose this is sufficient for such an undertaking What I have to say in a word here
what is worse contrary to the will of his Father all the rest seem to be but single sins but this is a complication of all mischiefs together the Child's Virtue Honour and Interest are all betrayed at once whereas other instances of negligence or unfaithfulness did hazard 'em but single and alone otheâ— mischiefs are capable of a Reparatioâ— but this very seldom if ever A Chiâ—â— may be recover'd to the Duty aâ—d Virtue which he had forsaken â—â—…e may be restor'd to the favour 〈◊〉 his Father and the interest he haâ— forfeited the Honour which he â—ost by any single fault may be repaired by the Merit and service of his following actions but this an unhappy Marriage sticks fast like Hercules his poison'd shirt he may tear away his flesh but not the evil Not to aggravate the matter 't is a mischief very seldom retriev'd and no wonder for down what a precipice must a raw Youth tumble that renounces First his reason then his Duty that quits the Government of his Father and the conduct of God that sells his Inheritance his Father's and God's blessing to gratifie a dishonourable affection or it may be a Phantastick Passion or it may be something worse than both a dishonourable Lust What Bridewell nay what Gibbet doth not that Servant deserve â—â—t aids the poor Creature thus to â—â—â—o himself nay it may be not himseâ—â— only but his Father and his whole Faâ—â—ly too § I pass on now to the Duty of Servâ—nts towards Sojourners Sojourners Servants Duty towards Sojourners â—ho ' they are not natural branches as the Children yet seem they to be grafted into the same stock and to constitute one Family with them and therefore they have in their Place a Right to their proportion of all the advantages of the Family they have in their degree a claim to the love and care of the Master to the Brotherly Affection of the Children and to the Respect and Duty of the Servants I need not therefore repeat here all the Duties of the Servant which are all of 'em in their time place and degree due to these whom the Master hath Adopted into his Family and made members of that body whereof he is the Head so that 't is impossible that the Servant can wrong them but that the injury must reflect and rebound on the Master 'T is true there is great variety in the case and circumstance of Sojourners and by consequence in the Duty of Servants towards them so that 't is hard to fix a constant and general Rule by which it may be measur'd and regulated unless I should say that since whatever degree of Duty is owing 'em springs from their Union to the Family and Relation to the Master of it therefore the Service and Respect towards them is to be proportion'd to the degrees of that Union which is between them and the other Members of the Family and the dearness and tie there is or ought to be between them and the Master of it This Rule I think will generally hold good or at leastwise a very little discretion will inform any Servant what variation must be observ'd in this point But here to compleat the Servants Instruction I must put you in mind of two Rules more First That you must avoid all occasions of difference between you and the Servants of Sojourners contending rather in courtesie to ease and assist 'em than putting off what is your business and Duty or any part of it upon them and you must abhor to be any way instrumental to breed misunderstanding between Sojourners and your Master for this is the unkindest Office you can do both Secondly You must never go about to endear your selves to Sojourners by any Unfaithfulness to your Master that is by entertaining 'em with the faults or secrets of the Family or by preferring their Honour or Interest or Humour before your Masters For in all this you are ungrateful and unjust and will finally forfeit that esteem which you endeavour thus to raise For how can those which you caress at this rate believe that you 'l be kinder and trustier to Strangers than you have been to those to whom by the Law of God and Nature you owe Obedience Faithfulness and Love § 3. Besides these Boarders Servants Duty towards Strangers there are others which tho' they are not of the Family may be consider'd as having some Relation to it such are Visitants Guests Strangers now the Rule Servants are to observe here are such as concern discretion and good manners in the First place courtesie civility and respect towards all is an indispensible Duty of every Servant and reflects an Honour on the Government of the Master and the breeding of the Family but as to the degrees of these a discreet Servant should behave himself as if he were acted and inspir'd by his Masters Soul and moved by his affections shewing an extraordinary chearfulness and even zeal to serve those the Master calls his Friends civility towards his Acquaintance coldness tho' not rudeness towards Intruders and downright Aversion towards such as the Master looks upon as dangerous hangers on Spies Parasites Suckers and such like which are to a House what Moths are to a Garment they stain the Honour and consume the substance of it Secondly 'T is a piece of justice to right such as are traduced to your Master and to convey to him the knowledge of all either kind expressions courteous or generous actions which are design'd on purpose to pass an Obligation on the Master and so it is to represent any Errand or business truly and seasonably to him the neglect of which is not only a discourteous contempt of the Stranger but also Unfaithfulness and an affront to the Master But yet as to neglect an Errand or business you charge your selves with is unjust and discourteous so to obtrude your selves upon the affairs of Strangers or to lie in wait for the secrets of your Master or his Friends is insolence and immodesty and as great a folly as rudeness and commonly unfaithfulness is join'd with this and the Servant who takes pains to discover doth generally take as much to vent a secret and all finally tends as much to their own disgrace as their Masters disquiet There is but one thing more that I would mind you of on this occasion and that is your behaviour upon a day of any Solemn Entertainment Your Masters and your own credit as well as the satisfaction of his Guests are nearly concern'd in it the decency of your attire the diligence and chearfulness of your attendance the order and silence of the whole management being not only one of the fairest Ornaments of the Entertainment but also a good mark of your breeding and of your Masters prudence and good Government as well as an addition to the satisfaction of all entertain'd by him But above all nothing savouring of rudeness immodesty excess or any other immorality must be practised
reproach of Sloth and the Plagues of Nastiness and Ignorance When you have laid this to heart consider too the infinite kindness of God who fills or is ready to fill all things living with his Goodness Consider his Alsufficiency and Power that 't is he * Psal 75.7 who pulleth down one and setteth up another There is no Cottage so retired which God does not look into and regard no Condition so desperate so destitute of Friends and all means that God cannot redress and relieve it He that called his People out of the Brick-kills and from between the Pots and chose Herdsmen and Shepherds for his Prophets and Princes this God can never want means to raise or provide for such who call upon him and serve him Thus if you lay to heart your Quality and Condition in the World if you demand each one of himself Who am I What am I born to What Station has God assigned me in the World This will soon convince you that you have nothing to trust to but God and your own Virtue And if you lay to heart in the next place the Goodness and All-sufficiency of God you 'l easily conclude that they who have him for their Friend and Patron can want no Encouragement no Assistance that they who serve him and depend upon him * Psal 34. shall lack no manner of thing that is good and so all together will put you upon the practice of Virtue and a dependence upon God in which consists almost the whole Preparation I am treating of Having advanced thus far Children must accustom themselves at home to the Duties they must practise in Service your next business will be to learn and accustom your selves to those Duties as far as you can in the Family of your Parents which you must practise afterwards in that of your Masters Above all practise those Virtues which you shall find useful and necessary wherever you shall come such are Industry Humility Contentment and the like First Industry for why should you not ease and assist your poor Parents who with much Affection Care and Trouble nurst and succour'd you when unable to help your selves Or why should you indulge your selves in Idleness who cannot live but by taking pains Secondly Humility for why should you not pay that Respect to those who are your Parents which you are to do to those who will be your Masters to those whom the Law of Nature has set over you which you must to those whom your Necessities will set over you Or how will you learn the Humble and Respectful Language or Demeanours of a Servant who accustom your selves to nothing but Rudeness Disrespect and Undutifulness towards your own Parents whom though you which you ought not it may be fear less yet sure you love more or ought to do so Lastly Contentment in your state for you are unfit to be Servants if you are wanton and discontented Children your Dyet it may be and such other Circumstances may be better'd by the exchange of a Father 's for a Master's House but there may be other things which may be more insupportable than your Parents Poverty something every where must be borne with and therefore inure your selves betimes to Contentment in the meanest Condition without which you shall never be happy in the best In a word if you would prove good Servants you must first prove good Children look upon your Parents not only as your Father and Mother but Master and Mistress too Let not the meanness of their Estate tempt you to slight 'em 't were a sin in a Neighbour or a Stranger to despise them for their Poverty but 't is a Crime a Crying wickedness in you their Children Make no use of the Indulgence and Fondness of your Parents but only this to inform your selves of 'em more freely what you are to do and more carefully avoid doing amiss and more chearfully to reform what is amiss for if you have no sense upon your minds of Duty and Kindness you will never make better than Eye-Servants whom God as well as Man detests Thus prepar'd The Resolution fit for such as are entring into Service as soon as you are invited to or have your selves found a fit Service fortifie and confirm your selves in this Resolution that you will perform the utmost that you undertake at least and whatever more you can that you will do your Duty with Chearfulness and with all your Might and with all imaginable Faithfulness and singleness of Heart as doing Service to God not Man Look upon your Master and Mistress as your Adopted Parents resolve to love and serve 'em as such and never to be persuaded that your own Interest can be divided from theirs Ah! would you but go thus qualified to Service you would find it indeed a state of True Liberty not Slavery you would not be driven to poor and dishonourable shifts ever and anon you would grow up and thrive in the Affections of your Masters and Mistresses and your Interest would ripen with their Affection and Value for you they would be your Adopted Parents you their Adopted Children as necessary and dear to 'em as their Feet their Hands their Eyes Fraught with these Virtues and Arm'd with these Resolutions enter into the World and prosper having first begg'd your Parents Blessing and Advice and devoted that little time between your being hired to and entring upon Service to Prayer and the consideration of these things A Prayer to be used by Parents fitted to this Duty O Almighty God Father of the Family of Heaven and Earth possess my Soul with a tender sense of the Duty of a Parent that I may not be bereaved of the Peace and Satisfaction which springs from a faithful discharge of it nor of the Pleasure and Advantage which Wise and Virtuous Children bring their Parents nor of that Blessing which thou dost bestow upon all such as train up their Children in thy Holy Faith and Fear O suffer me not instead of all these Advantages to fall into that wretched state wherein my Conscience shall be tortur'd and my Soul afflicted by the sense of my Childrens Ruin my own Guilt and thy heavy Displeasure Suffer me not O Lord to imitate that wicked One the Devil who delights to betray his Children into Sin and Ruin but make me to imitate thee my Heavenly Father who dost fill all things with thy Goodness whose merciful Providence is over all thy Works who providest for all thy Children both spiritual and bodily food and art most infinitely kind and gracious even to the undutiful and ungrateful O Lord open thou my mouth that I may pour forth Instruction O Lord purifie and sanctifie me that if I be slow of speech and unlearned they may yet learn from my Life more than they can from my Tongue But above all O Lord pour forth thy Grace in their hearts that they may be meek and teachable industrious and dutiful devout and
Use and Necessity of those Virtues that qualifie 'em for it they do not feel the want of Spiritual and Inward Pleasures who are wholly taken up with Carnal ones they need not the support of Faith or the Belief of another World who are more than well enough content with this they see not the Use of Dependance upon God who have goods laid up for many years and are secure in their hearts as if their station were such that they could defie the common Events of Providence to reduce 'em to Necessity What business have they for Patience Industry Moderation where every thing not only obeys their Will but flatters their Fancy and their Wealth is sufficient to support Idleness and Riot too But in the condition of Servitude all is the quite contrary they cannot only not live happily in another World but they cannot live pleasantly in this without Virtue the Peace and pleasure of their Minds is necessary to compensate the Travail of their Bodies the belief of another Life to render this tolerable and easy Patience Meekness Industry is absolutely necessary in them to render them contented and satisfied in their station The Reason's plain without these they cannot be good Servants and every Service is a burden and slavery to an ill one So that Virtue is as needful to the Happiness of a Servant as his Food or his Wages his state is slavish unsupportable without it free and easie with it I will take upon my self the person of a Servant that I may the better express the force and strength of these Arguments which I have made use of to persuade Servants to become Religious I see my Condition my Parents are unable to serve me I have no Friends none that can or none that will be of any considerable use to me What shall I do I have but one way to render my self dear to God or valuable to Man and that is by living religiously and virtuously if I do otherwise God will cast me off I shall meet with Contempt from Man and what is worse I shall deserve it I shall ever be a slave and ever deserve to be so Pity and compassion is the highest honour and favour from Man that I must ever aspire to and when my strength for drudgery fails that it may be will do so too and then Beggery and Reproach must be the Portion of my decay'd Age. I can never think on these things but I am filled with blushes and disdain surely I have a Rational and Immortal Soul as well as the Rich and Wealthy and sure the Incense of Virtuous Actions and devout Prayers would smell as sweet to God if offer'd up by me as by a more Fortunate Man and if so what Reason have I to distrust but that God who is rich in bounty towards all would be so towards me too Well then I am stedfastly resolv'd that I will lead an unblameable life and whatever my Fortune be the World shall see I can deserve a good one and by this if I do not thrive and prosper and get in time into a better station I shall obtain this unspeakable Advantage that I shall render my present one both honourable and easie 'T is not a servile Birth nor servile Fortune but a servile Mind that makes a Man contemptible a Mind that has no Faith no Truth no Courage no Industry no Gratitude that is in one word no Honour in it But if I have all these and if together with all this Moderation so that I am my own Master though another's Servant I am in such case full of Honour no Cloud of Meanness can obscure or conceal me I am a Star visible by my own Light a Gem valuable for my own intrinsick worth I shall be beloved and respected wherever I am for Virtue how ever it be clad has beauty and majesty on its forehead nor is this all my station will be full of ease as well as credit for what should trouble me The Travail and Care of my Place Alas this is but pleasure to the industrious the displeasure of those I depend upon Alas I shall never fall under it or at least I shall never deserve it and then the peace and the satisfaction of my mind will more delight me than ever their weakness can disturb me Finally what can it be that can trouble me The uncertainty of a Servants station why while I live virtuously I can never want whatever betides me I have a God an Almighty God that cares for me and if the worst comes to the worst my trouble can be but short my Life and it will end at least together and then Glory and Eternity will receive me Thus I hope I have convinced Servants of the many Obligations they lie under to be Religious I have insisted a little largely upon this because I have ever found it a harder Task to persuade people to do their Duty than to teach 'em what it is But against all that has been said two things are wont to be objected First The meanness of their Capacity or at least Education And secondly their want of time or opportunity for Religious Duties Objection of the Servant's Incapacity answer'd but both these are mere shifts and pretences for as to the first their Souls are endow'd with the same Faculties and Capacities they have the same Reason Courage and Immortality with the Rich or Mighty as 't is evident from innumerable Instances of men who ascending from the lowest to the highest station have not only filled but adorn'd it too As to Education here I confess there is some difference between those of a higher and lower Rank but as 't is generally manag'd it consists in such poor punctilio's such trifling and slight Accomplishments that 't is not easie to say on which side the Advantage lies But omitting this I will put you in mind of one thing that will silence all excuses of this sort The Philosophy of Christianity which is the only true Wisdom doth not require a learned Education a poor Fisher-man now as well as formerly is as capable and fit for it as he that is bred up at the feet of Gamaliel The Belief of another Life depends not on niceties and subtilties of arguing but on the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead not the acutest Philosopher but the best liver has the fullest Convictions and the most lively and transporting Representations of Divine Truths * John 7.17 If any man will do his will he shall know of my Doctrine whether it be of God One thing further I am to put you in mind of that the Book of God is the great Rule and Standard of Discretion as well as Duty and that Religion naturally tends to make men wise as well as good There is no action of life so indifferent but it has in some part or other of it a Connexion with or Dependance on our Duty some degree or other of Service or Dis service to
This Obedience must be perform'd from the heart the Servant must not only do his Duty and do it honestly but he must do it willingly and chearfully without this he will not be like to be very prosperous exact or diligent in his Service nor can his Service prove very acceptable to his Master for to all ingenious Tempers the Affection and Zeal of a Servant is as valuable as his Service so that for want of this he will incur two great Evils his Labour will be harder and his Reward will be less To all this must be added Fourthly Humility Self-conceit and Impatience are the most improper qualities in a Servant imaginable for what can be more absurd than Pride and Wilfulness in one whose very profession 't is to obey These are grievous sins in any Fortune but more extremely grievous in a low one The Scripture therefore doth not permit the Servant to answer again when reproved or blamed nay what is more it commands him to behave himself respectfully towards the froward and peevish as well as mild and gentle Master and to * 1 Pet. 2. suffer patiently when he suffers wrongfully That you may perform this Duty as you ought Means of performing this Duty you are to endeavour to persuade your selves that an humble honest and chearful Obedience is the glory of a Servant that this is as much the honour of your station as Prudence Liberality and Gentleness is of the Masters That the meanness of any business you are imploy'd in cannot so much disparage you as Murmuring and Pride for 't is the Master's not the Servant's dishonour if he exacts what is not fit or becoming at the hands of his Servant No Servant can ever loose himself by his Humility for he may with expressions of respect and kindness quit his Service when he will and so avoid any Rudeness or Indecency nor can I possibly conceive that this course can be prejudicial to any Servant for let the Servant be of the highest Rank and the business commanded of the lowest and meanest any man may do that once or twice out of Humility which yet he cannot take upon him as his constant work without the imputation of Pusillanimity or meanness of Spirit Secondly The Servant must endeavour to entertain a good Opinion of and Value for his Master for otherwise it will not be easie to obey those whom you can think reasonable to despise Thirdly And above all the Servant must persuade himself that he obeys God in obeying his Master he must look upon himself as placed in this station by God and he must look upon his Master as invested with Authority over him by God and this will be an encouragement to him to do his Duty and a comfort and support to him when he suffers wrongfully A second Duty which a Servant owes his Master is Faithfulness 2 Faithfulness a Duty without which 't is impossible that the Master can enjoy any real pleasure or satisfaction or the Servant any peace of Conscience for how can the Master's mind be at ease if he be not secure of the Faith of those of his own Family but must needs suspect those whom he must needs trust and what an ulcer'd gauled Conscience must that Servant have who dwells continually under the Roof and eats daily of the Bread of that man whom he wrongs and injures where every thing he doth or sees calls his sin to remembrance and every Benefit every Favour is a Reproach and a stab to his Soul Now this Fidelity is to be practised in all those things wherein the Master is capable of receiving any Benefit by the Faith or suffering any wrong by the Falshood of his Servant and besides this it ought to be understood that Fidelity obliges the Servant not only not to do his Master any wrong himself but also not to suffer any others to do him any Fidelity taken in this large extent compreprehends a great many Duties of the Servant towards his Master As for Example Fidelity towards his Master's Soul First That he endeavour as far as it lies in him to promote the Virtue and procure the Salvation of his Master for this is his truest and greatest Interest This he may effect partly by Prayer to God for him partly by Advice and good Discourse if his Master give him any such opportunity or admit him into any such freedom Partly like Serapion by the Example of an excellent Life but if he cannot serve him this way he must at least take care that he be not guilty of the contrary he must not be an Incentive to or Instrument of his sin he must not be a Contriver of or Purveyor for his Lust he must not flatter and applaud him in his wickedness for this is the worst sort of unfaithfulness the betraying the very Soul of his Master and how wretched a state doth the Servant reduce himself to by this perfidiousness if his Master never repents he has drawn upon his own Soul the guilt of his Damnation if he do repent he draws upon himself his Masters perpetual contempt and aversion Secondly Towards the Peace and Honour of his Master The Servant must endeavour to preserve the Peace and Honour of his Master for these things are or should be dear to every one next to his Soul and Virtue Now the Peace of a Master may be disturb'd either by the Contentions of those of his Family amongst themselves or by their unkindness and undutifulness towards himself the Servant therefore who by lyes or slanders by vile whisperings and informations doth alienate the Affections of the Family or any Member of it from their Head or sets them at variance between one another is guilty of the blackest treachery for he perfidiously robs his Master of the Peace of his mind and the Affections of those of his Houshold than both which nothing can be dearer to him Nor is this all the aggravation of this sin for it loads the perfidious wretch with all the guilt of the numerous and great mischiefs which always may and very often do ensue upon the Contentions and Divisions of Families In a word such a one draws upon himself the Wrath of God and as soon as he is discovered the displeasure and hatred of the whole Family As to the Honour of their Master or Mistress it may be wounded by the Servant two ways First by speaking ill of 'em either abroad or at home or else Secondly by promoting that Immorality in the Family which must necessarily tend to their disparagement and scandal They therefore that will be Faithful in this point must be so far from making the faults of their Master or Mistress publick that if it be possible they must not see 'em themselves they must be so far from making 'em the subject of their discourse abroad that they must vindicate 'em all that possibly they can nay they must not endure any such sort of Talk at home
Master the Peace and Virtue of the Family and my own both Temporal and Eternal Happiness I know O Lord that no acts of injustice or unfaithfulness between Man and Man shall go unpunish'd I know that for these things sake the wrath of God is reveal'd from Heaven O what then must be my punishment if I heap upon the guilt of injustice and uncharitableness many others namely of Ingratitude Unfaithfulness Lying Perjury O preserve me therefore O my God from all falshood and wrong and suffer me not to forfeit thy favour and destroy my Soul for the sake of those things that perish O let me be fully convinced that the ways of Righteousness are ways of Pleasantness and that all her paths are Prosperity and Peace that so I may delight my self in the Law of my God and may find comfort and a blessing in the discharge of my Duty Teach me O Lord Humility and Obedience Faith and Truth Care and Industry Charity and Meekness that I may adorn the Doctrine of God my Saviour win others over to a love of Virtue and after an humble and contented tho' laborious life here may enter into Rest and Glory hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for Obedience O Glorious and Eternal Lord God who dwellest with those who are of a meek and lowly Spirit behold me I beseech thee and pour into my Heart that Virtue of Humility which is so highly esteemed by thee O Lord my Heart is too too apt to be filled with Pride and Vanity O do thou convince me every day more and more of my own vileness and worthlesness that I may be preserved from self-conceit and wilfulness O give me Grace often to consider the Humility of my Lord and Saviour that I may learn of him and obtain the peace which flows from a meek Spirit and Humble Obedience And O my God because I am to give an account to thee who art the searcher of the Heart and the tryer of the Reins the Judge of my most secret Thoughts as well as my most secret Actions teach me therefore to do my Duty chearfully and in singleness of Heart make me to abominate all Lying shifts and pretences as well as all proud wilfulness and sluggishness Make me careful to learn my Duty sincere in the performance of it patient under reproof and diligent in reforming whatever is amiss thus O my God whilst every part of my Duty towards Man shall prove an instance of my Obedience towards thee I shall enjoy the peace of a good Conscience and the hopes of an Eternal Reward Hear me and answer me O Lord for thy Mercies sake and thy Son Jesus Christs Sake A Prayer for Faithfulness O God thou God of Truth Right and Just art thou and there is no iniquity with thee fill my Heart I beseech thee with the love of Truth and Faithfulness make me true in all my words and upright in all my deeds O teach me to take heed to my ways that I offend not with my Tongue teach me to keep my Mouth as it were with a Bridle while the ungodly are in my sight O make me to abhor the sin of Unfaithfulness and let no such cleave unto me Let no slander or detraction no mischievous accusations proceed out of my Mouth nor suffer me ever to stretch forth my hand to iniquity O let me not fall through Covetousness or Distrust in God and let me never commit injustice to maintain my Pride or Riot or Idleness adding sin to sin If sinners entice me suffer me not to consent to 'em permit me not to have any Fellowship with the Unfruitful Works of Darkness but give me courage and discretion to reprove 'em that so my Righteousness may be as the Noon-day and thou mayest make me to prosper in the Land and I may at last obtain the Blessing Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into thy Masters Joy Amen Amen Blessed Jesus A Prayer for Love O Thou God who art Love give me thy Grace that I may practise more abundantly that Charity which I owe all Mankind towards those of the same Family give me a grateful sense of the benefits which I enjoy under this Roof of the care and kindness of my Master towards me in providing for me both spiritual and bodily Food that so I may make returns to him in the Fruit of Love Obedience and Faithfulness Lord let his interest and his honour let his quiet and content be dear to me as my own that I may not only serve him with Justice but Zeal too And O my God diffuse the gift of Charity through the Hearts of this whole Family that we may all live in Godly love and peace together that our Prayers be not hindred nor we kept back from thy Holy Table or approach it unworthily But that we all enjoy thee our God in the beauty of Holiness enjoy one another in the beauty of Charity and enjoy those Temporal Blessings which thou hast richly bestow'd upon us in the beauty of order and virtue and and all things may finally and uniformly tend to thy Glory and our Comfort through Jesus Christ our Lord. CHAP. III. Of the Duty of Servants § 1st Towards their Masters Children consisting of Affection due Respect Care of their Morals Care of their Honour and Care of their Interest § 2dly Towards Sojourners § 3dly Towards Strangers What the Servant owes his Masters Children WHatever it be that Servants owe the Children of the Family 't is only the result of that Duty which they owe their Master Children are as it were parts of their Parents their Blood and Birth gives 'em a just claim as to the care and love of their Parents so to a proper share of th' Affection and Service and all other advantages of the Family First Therefore a Servant owes the Children of his Master a sincere Affection Affection which will easily be granted if it be but consider'd that 't is impossible for a Servant to bear Faith and Love to his Master and have neither for his Children for Children are the dearest interest and most valuable Treasure of their Parents Children are the joys and hopes of their Fathers they double the pleasure of his prosperity by being sharers in it and ease the toil of his labours by being the Heirs of ' em How therefore can any one pretend to love his Master who hates or despises what is dearest to him Now this affection of the Servant must express it self towards his Masters Children 1st In a due Respect 2dly In his care for their Morals 3dly In a sincere Zeal for their Honour and 4dly For their Interest 1st In Respect Due Respect This their birth Challenges every slight or neglect offer'd the Children by a Servant is some diminution of the Reverence which he owes his Master for the Father must needs suffer in the contempt of the Son and yet this Respect ought to be wisely regulated for
Temptations of the Family you are in let not the Authority of great examples delude or deceive thee let not any prospect of Interest insnare thee let not the solicitations of thy fellow Servants perswade thee let no opportunity betray thee into sin for thou dost purchase thy profit or the favour of man at too dear a rate if by the loss of thy Virtue thy Soul thy Heaven thy God Never be ashamed of singularity where thou canst not be virtuous unless singular * Eccles 4.20 21 22. Observe the Opportunity and beware of evil and be not ashamed when it concerns thy Soul for there is a shame that bringeth sin and there is a shame which is glory and grace Accept no person against thy Soul and let not the Reverence of any man cause thee to fall For thou mayest assure thy self that Virtue is never more honourable than when it stands the shock of Temptations and despises the allurements of Opportunity and that whatever profit or honour sin may flatter thee with it will prove shame and bitterness in the latter end Thirdly besides the practice of Religion in private and the frequenting the Sacrament in publick as often as you have Opportunity you must conscientiously attend to Family-Duties for this peradventure is the only Rule by which your Master will measure your esteem for Religion and your esteem for Religion is the only thing or at least the main thing by which he will judg of your Truth and Faithfulness Not that this should be your first and chief motive to it for that must be not the opinion of others concerning you but the Honour of God and the improvement of your Soul There lies upon you more than common Obligations to these Duties for your absenting your selves from 'em is not only a slight put upon the Worship and Truths of God but also an Act of Disobedience to your Master In the second place the meaner your Education is the more ought you to covet these opportunities of instruction and the less your time for Religion is which you are often wont to pretend at least the more carefully ought you to embrace this time of Worshipping God Thus much of the First thing wherein the interest of a Servant doth consist which is his Credit or Reputation The Second is the affection which his Master and others bear towards him of which now And here 't is certain that the surest Foundation of this affection or love is the merit of your Service The Affection of the Master how attain'd a Faithful that is honest and careful discharge of your Duty but besides this there are some qualities that do more immediately tend to recommend and endear a Servant such are First an humble and chearful temper which always puts 'em forward even beyond the bounds of their indispensible Duty makes 'em ready to undertake even more than they are bound to if they think it tends in the least either to the interest or satisfaction of their Master and in doing this they must appear glad of the opportunity desirous of purchasing their Masters favour at any rate and this is such an obliging temper that 't is almost impossible to fancy a Master so stupid or ungrateful as not to take notice of Love and Reward such a Servant Secondly He that will win the affection of those he serves must make it appear that he loves 'em he must rejoyce in every good that befalls 'em and be afflicted in every evil he must be extreamly tender of creating 'em trouble or disturbance not so much out of the fear of any damage growing from it as out of a filial delight in their satisfaction and a filial affliction in their trouble besides all this he must always speak well and kindly of 'em he must look upon it as a lucky accident when ever he has opportunity to check the ingratitude of a Fellow-Servant towards 'em or to vindicate their Reputation against the calumnies of a Stranger and if he will take my advice he must not only speak well of his present but his former Master For I can hardly be persuaded that a Servant will speak well of me when gone from me who speaks ill of him whom he served before but if there be nothing good which he can speak of him yet at least let him never speak any ill of him unless he be unavoidably forced to it Nor let the Servant only speak well of his former Master but let him serve him to the utmost of his power for gratitude to a former is the Servants highest merit with his present Master Lastly That the Servant who desires to be belov'd keep at the greatest distance he can from all sorts of quarrels and contests in the Family let him never make any himself nor be a party in those made by others and let him be so far from insinuating himself into those things which his Superiors or any others would keep secret that on the contrary he must rather fly from the knowledge of a secret which others would disclose to him unless they have some good use to make of his trust all this that I have here directed I would have performed not with art and skill but sincerity for a Servant cannot counterfeit an obliging temper long if he do not endeavour to possess himself really of it He must endeavour to love his Master truly and heartily or else it will be very hard for him to make a good shew of that love which he has not and he must be finally endow'd with an humble and quiet spirit or else it will be a very difficult task for him to stand neuter amidst the quarrels of others and to close his Eyes and Ears against the secrets news and tattle which most are so naturally inquisitive after The third thing on which the interest of a Servant depends is the profit or gain of his Place The Servants Profit how advanced And here I need not tell you that a Faithful discharge of your Duty serves most to promote this for this as you have seen gains you affection at home and credit abroad and the Master will certainly give most countenance and encouragement as far as he is able to the Servant he loves best and every Member of the Family will favour and assist such a one as far as they can and if there be no ground for a rational expectation of reward from those he serves his own credit will in a little time open the way to it an extraordinary Virtue can be no more conceal'd than the Light the meanest and most private Imployment is Theatre enough to an excellent Person but what is most considerable of all he that serves faithfully in any Station has God for his Spectator and Patron There is therefore one thing only which I am to put you in mind of and that is that you be good Husbands of what you gain I mean that you do not wast and lavish it out in
unnecessary expences whether in fine Attire or the extravagancies of gaming or entertainments And to this good Husbandry you lie under the strongest obligations that can be for First By these ways you bring into question not your Discretion only but your Virtue too For if a Servants expences look bigger than his gains it cannot be thought uncharitable in the Master if he do not only condemn his folly but also enter into a suspition of his unfaithfulness to him or else his engagement in some unlawful course or other for the supply either of his Pride or Prodigality But Secondly The loss of your credit is not the only evil you are to apprehend from this Folly but also Distress and Poverty one time or other For Alas The Revenue of a Gentleman is not able we see by dayly experience to support the folly of a spend-thrift and how much less the narrow salary of a Servant 't is true indeed 't is the extremity of unkindness in a Master to turn a faithful Servant to the Common after he has spent his strength and youth in his service but I think it is extremity of folly in a Servant to expect that his Master should be kinder to him than he is to himself or to eat the bread of his old age at the Courtesie of others when if he pleases he may eat his own This cannot but prove a very strong engagement upon Servants to thrift especially if it be consider'd that they are more unable to sustain the wants and hardships of Poverty than Common Day-Labourers are for he generally has not the same palate who is accustom'd to feed at his Master's Table that the poor man has who feeds at his own But whilst I recommend Thrift to you and a regard to your own profit I would not have you make use of this advise for a pretence to justifie either your want of Charity or your quitting a service wherein you have been highly obliged upon the least shew of a little more gain in another For first as to Charity it is the Duty of Servants as well as Masters The Servant's Charity God requires of every man in proportion to that wealth which he gives him a part of it for the poor and if the reward of the Servants Mite cast into the stock of the Poor shall be as great as that of the pounds of the Rich no doubt the punishment of his uncharitableness shall be as great as that of their's For the refusal of contributing this his Mite can't but be judg'd an extream wickedness if it be consider'd that he may spare it easily and that the reward of it is no less than a Heaven A Servant must not for a slight gain quit the Service where he has been long instructed and born with As to the second thing the quitting a service wherein you have bin obliged upon shew of a very little gain 't is an action of extream folly and ingratitude for a raw and untutoured Servant after he has bin formed and shaped and fitted for service immediately to relinquish that Family where he has bin thus instructed in prospect of a slight gain is extream ingratitude for certainly he ought to think his service most due to those who have made him a Servant and taught him how to perform it they have done more for him than they who after he is well qualified give him larger wages I do not know whether I may not add that this is Injustice in a Servant for surely he that plants and watereth a tree has best claim to it's fruit and that Master who has born the trouble of a Servants Ignorance has the best right sure to his better service which is but the fruit of his own Care Patience and Instruction Nay 't is easie to be conceived that this is due to him by a Tacit Pact and Contract for the Servant cannot but think that no Master would give himself the care and trouble which the instruction and Patience to be used towards a raw Servant requires did he not propose to reap some ease and fruit from it afterwards to defraud him then of this rational expectation doth look extreamly like Injustice as well as Ingratitude Nor is the folly of this action generally less than the ingratitude for Masters generally love most and confide most in those whom they have themselves bred up and fitted so that generally such a Servant may thrive better by keeping than quitting his service But if this once grows to an humour of flitting and shifling from place to place then the folly of it is remarkable even to a Proverb A Roulingstonce never gathers Moss for whatever good Qualities such a Servant may be possessed of they cannot turn much to his profit because he does not allow time for the raising of his Credit or the establishing a value of and affection for him in any Master and these are the usual seeds of a Servant's gain The Conclusion Thus I have given you a short but I hope a clear and full view of your Duty some of you may peradventure fancy that I have bound a heavy burthen upon you but I must tell you 't is no heavier than what God lays upon you than what the reason of every one of you if you would make use of it would lay upon you than what lastly the necessities of your place and station and your own Interest doth indispensibly require of you Nor have I only presented you with a draught of your Duty but I have also pressed and recommended every part of it by such reasons as may convince you of the truth of what I have last said namely that your Interest your Conscience and our God exact the observance of those things I have here perscrib'd you there is therefore less need of of any pathetick address to you here by way of Conclusion However I cannot forbear putting you in mind briefly of two things First The great and many evils the neglect of your Duty is the cause of Secondly The great and many benefits the right performance of it will procure both to your selves and others The First thing is too sadly and notoriously evident to be denied who can reckon up the Children who have been corrupted or betrayed the Families whose Fortunes have been subverted by the falshood or negligence of Servants Who knows not how often the love of the Master and Mistress has been dissolv'd and their Honours blasted by the lying and deceitful Tongues of those of their own houshold who knows not how miserably the peace and quiet of Families has been disturbed the beauty and order of 'em deform'd and confounded and the Religion of 'em obstructed and their substance consumed and exhausted by the pride and peevishness by the sloth and carelesness by the lavishness and unfaithfulness of ill Servants And can you think that these and innumerable other mischiefs which your transgression of your Duty creates the World shall go unpunish't
Shall not God who in his compassion hears the cry of an injur'd Servant in his Justice behold the wrongs and crimes of an evil one Shall that God who will not wink at the transgressions of the Rich and Mighty the Monarch and the Potentate pass over and connive at those of the Servant No no assure your selves you shall be as accountable to Almighty God for your negligence falshood for your disobedience unfaithfulness and discontent as the rich and great shall be for their Luxury or Covetousness for their Ambition or Oppression for their Mutinies Factions and Disloyalty For these your sins are but a Copy and Transcript of their's tho' in an humbler stile and less character according to the circumstances of your Fortune and Station and when God shall enter into Judgment with you for these things it will be well for you if he punish you only with Temporal Chastisements you will escape well if your Pride end only in contempt your Frowardness in a general hatred and aversion your Carelesness and Wastfulness in Want and Beggary and your Unfaithfulness in indelible Reproach God will I say be extreamly tender and compassionate in distributing Justice if this be the worst that befals you if you buy repentance at so cheap a rate as the suffering any or all of these evils and yet how dreadful these appear to you I appeal to your own thoughts for I believe a sluggish and evil Servant can hardly read this without Impatience and Murmuring against me because I do not prophesie to him smoother things but alas I have not half vented the Burden which the Lord has charg'd me with against wicked and unfaithful Servants for I must tell you Tophet is ordain'd of old as well for undutiful Servants as tyrannical Kings for as your sins are sins of accumulated aggravations your acts of injustice and uncharitableness when they are put into the ballance being pressed down not only by their own weight but that also of Ingratitude Lying breach of trust an impudent contempt of all restraints and a bold defiance of all the necessities of Virtue which God's providence imposed upon you Your sins I say being of such an accumulated guilt you cannot but in reason expect that your punishment shall be laid on in good measure pressed down heap't up and running over Ah poor Souls my bowels are mov'd my compassions are kindled towards you when I consider this your wretched Fate must you pass from a state of travail and meanness to a state of Eternal Pain and Eternal Reproach Must your servitude end in a Hell at last and can you be content it should do so But that I may not seem to delight to prophesie evil and not good concerning you let me beseech you that you would deliver the World and your selves from all these evils with which your miscarriages plague and threaten them and you Let me beseech you that you would rescue your selves from the contempt from the insolencies and severities with which not your Fortunes but your Vices now oppress you and that you would by sincere and Christian Virtues recommend your selves to the love and esteem of Mankind and make your selves an useful and considerable part of the World as good Servants indeed are O redeem at least your Souls from slavery let not your Unfaithfulness and Pride your Disobedience and Frowardness your Loosness and Carelesness exclude you from Heaven and bereave you of Crowns and Glory which the meanness of your Birth or Fortune never can No no God is not such a fond accepter of Persons as partially to condemn any of his poor Creatures to meanness here and misery hereafter Your Service is but an opportunity of Merit and of Glory it puts you into a capacity to do and suffer more with design that you should receive more too than other men in another World at least proportionably to those hardships you undergo and these Virtues which you practise in this And the blessed Jesus who took your Form and Character upon him did not disdain the lowness of your condition but shed as much Blood for you as for the Rich and Noble he purchas'd for you the same Peace of God the same Favour the same Kingdom all that is requir'd of you is that you should live in those Virtues that are suitable to your condition that you should do the Duty of your Station when you are assured you shall have your Reward from God which shall be nothing less than a never-fading Crown of Righteousness Besides the love and esteem of Man and a Provision of all things necessary made for you by the blessed Providence of God nor let it seem strange to you that your Service in so low a Station should entitle you to such great Rewards your Virtue is as necessary in the World as that of Men in a higher Station the motion of the Feet and motion of the Hands is as necessary to the Body as the direction and guidance of the Eye 'T is by you the order and beauty of the World in a great measure subsists for were there no Servants there could be no Masters 'T is by your Travail that not only the necessities of Mankind in general are supplied but also the Pleasure and Grandeur of States supported for neither would the Earth bring forth it 's increase nor would our Tables be cover'd with the Fish of the Sea the Beasts of the Earth or the Fowl of the Air without your Ministry and Attendance nay farther 't is by you that we enjoy the Studies of the Learned and the Prudence of the States-man for the necessities of Life would so wholly take Men up that they would have little time for these Nobler Works were not those lower Cares devolved on you If we come to more particular effects the Prosperity the Virtue the Peace the Unity of Families depends not a little upon you Thus you see you are not the least useful Members of the Community and therefore 't is not to be wondred at if the Rewards design'd you should be proportioned to the Service requir'd of you Acquit your selves then like Men like Christians you serve God while you serve Man Faithfully and of him you shall receive your Reward A Prayer O Lord my God thou hast made and dost dispose of all things in a wise and excellent order thou hast placed me in this Rank of Mankind thou hast appointed me this my Station O grant that I may discharge the Duties of it Zealously and Faithfully enable me to imploy and improve the Talents thou hast intrusted to me and make me useful and serviceable in my Place Lord let not my Soul lie under the guilt of the discontent or ruin of any Family or Person but make me an instrument of Peace and Prosperity where I am I know O Lord that Humility and Industry are Virtues that are not so pleasing to a Carnal Mind but Lord make me sensible how great the recompence of my self-denyal
ours you are become one with him and he with you and with us all for in Jesus Christ there is neither bond nor free you all sit equal guests equal favourites at this table O let not the humility the condecension the love of Jesus be slighted and despis'd by you ah how trifling a favour in comparison of this conferr'd upon you by your Master or any body else wherein you value as supposing him rich and great would transport you into all the heats of thankfulness and put you upon any task how hard or how mean soever by which you might do him honour I 'le insist no longer on this point I 'le only mention the little and mean objections against this Duty Objections Answer'd with which you are nevertheless wont to content your selves you have you 'l say so much business so much work that you have no time to prepare for the Communion You do then serve not only a very hard but a very foolish Master so foolish that I can scarce believe there is any such for who can be such a sott as to be unwilling to give you time wherein you may give him the greatest security the surest pledge of your Fidelity Industry Humility and all other Virtues of a good Servant that his heart can desire Can any man be such a sott as not to give a bad Servant time to reform in or a good one time to repeat his Vows and Resolutions of his perseverance and to fortifie himself in his Duty by fresh engagements And this benefit certainly every Master reaps by his Servant's conscientious frequenting the Communion and yet after all let your Master be never so unreasonable towards you or ungrateful towards God for he is both in this I must tell you to your comfort no Servant is rendred unfit for the Communion by doing the Duty of his place the discharge of your Duty towards man is a part of your Religion towards God this peradventure may render your preparation less solemn and laborious but never less acceptable a sincere sigh or groan from you in such a case as this if such a one can be supposed shall be admitted for as good satisfaction as the most solemn confession consisting in a particular enumeration of every sin and an act of sorrow appropriated to each when perform'd by others who are Master's of their own time a Devout Ejaculation shall be accepted from you as well as the most careful trimming of their Lamps the most studious dressing of their Souls from others But here let me beseech you that you do not abuse that unto a plea for your negligence and security which I have taught you only as a comfort under the necessity of your circumstances For when you have time for more solemn preparation you must not out of presumption or laziness content your self with this but this I must leave to your own consciences and to God the searcher of hearts to determine this then that you have no time is a vain excuse but you 'l say you are ignorant and unlearned and do not understand the nature of this Duty why do you not then consult those that do Is it so that there is no good Christian in the Family Is there no Pastor in the Parish Is it possible that in these days of light any though the meanest of the people should perish for lack of knowledg But you are unworthy to approach that table and are you resolv'd that you 'l ever continue so If by unworthiness you mean any course of sin break it off speedily lest you perish in it peradventure this call to the Sacrament may otherwise be the last Invitation to Repentance the last tender of mercy that shall be ever made you but if by unfitness you mean Frailties and Imperfections Defects and Weaknesses if this should make us unfit who then could be fit If this should make us unworthy who then could be worthy Sin and folly would be a qualification for the Communion if none were fit for it but such as were arrogant enough to think themselves so for that in this sense of fitness were to think themselves void of defect and frailty which were flatly repugnant not only to Humility but Truth too But you 'l lastly say you are conscious to your selves of great weakness and are afraid of entring into Engagements which you have much ground to fear you shall not be able to perform If you prove unable it will not be your sin but misfortune but I am afraid you mean which you shall not be always willing to perform And if so I must confess I fear you are not fit for the Communion for this insinuates that your Heart at present is not sincere that your meaning is not right and that you have some darling sin or at least some remainder of sin which you cannot yet be fully perswaded to part with If it be otherwise the weaker you are the more need you have of that Sacrament by which you will be confirm'd and strengthen'd if you are sincere you are always safe PART III. CHAP. II. Directions for the Servants Worthy Receiving the Lords Supper Contemplations tending to stir up a Devout Conviction of this Duty in the Soul OUR Savour's Institution of this Sacrament is thus related Our Lord Jesus the same Night that he was betray'd took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave it to his Disciples saying Take eat this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me Likewise after Supper he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to 'em saying drink ye all of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me Out of these words our Church forms that excellent Prayer Almighty God our Heavenly Father who of thy tender mercy didst give thy only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our Redemption who made there by his one oblation of himself once offer'd a full perfect and sufficient Sacrafice Oblation and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole World and did institute and in his Holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious death until his coming again hear us O merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ's Holy Institution in remembrance of his death and passion may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood On the parts of this Prayer you may descant thus O my God and my Father didst thou give thine onely begotten Son to suffer death upon the Cross for my Redemption what then was my state that it was capable of no lesser Redemption than the bitter death of thy Son A state of sin and misery a state of bondage