Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n
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A04623
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A briefe exhortation to all men to set their houses in order. By William Iones B. of D. Preacher to the Isle of Wight
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Jones, William, b. 1581 or 2.
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1631
(1631)
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STC 14741; ESTC S107460
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9,695
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36
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A BRIEFE EXHORTATION TO ALL MEN TO set their houses in order By WILLIAM IONES B. of D. Preacher to the Isle of Wight 1 COR. 14. 40. Let all things be done decently and in order LONDON Printed by WILLIAM IONES dwelling in Red-crosse-streete 1631. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE RICHARD LORD WESTON LORD HIGH TREASVRER OF ENGLAND CAPTAINE OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT AND TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL THE BARONETS KNIGHTS AND GENTLEMEN AND TO HIS LOVING BRETHREN THE MINISTERS AND TO ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT WILLIAM IONES THEIR DEVOTED SERVANT VVISHETH VVELL-ORDERED FAMILIES ON EARTH AND EVERLASTING HAPPINES IN HEAVEN To the Christian Reader WHEN thou readest this small Treatise take thy pen and blot out what is superfluous and amend what is amisse and supply what wants And if any thing be iudged profitable forthwith begin to put it in practise thy selfe and to perswade others to doe the like So shall wee all have better families and the King better subiects and God better servants Thine in the Lord Iesus W. J. A BRIEFE EXHORTATION TO all men to set their houses in order ISAY 38. 1. Set thine house in order MVsing with my selfe what might be the cause of so many evills and calamities as haue violently assaulted our Land within these few yeares I could impute all to nothing more than to the great disorder that is in all orders from the highest to the lowest And inquiring further how such disorder might haply arise notwithstanding we have many good orders daily established by the care of our Superiors both in the Church and Common-wealth for all estates and Degrees I perceived the occasion of all mischiefe to be the want of good Houshold Government Wherfore I resolved with all my might to presse the Doctrine of Houshold Government upon the consciences of all that shall heare or reade this short meditation I have chosen for the ground of all that I shall say those words I say 38. 1. Set thine house in order These are the words of the Lord of heaven and earth which he commanded Isaiah the Prophet to speake unto Ezechiah the King This King was a great and mighty Prince and abounded with wealth as you may see at large 2 Chron. 32. 27. And therefore there is no man so great but may vouchsafe to bearken unto that which is said unto him This Ezechiah was as good as great For 2 Kings 18. 3. Hee did that which was right in the sight of the Lord so that after him was none like him of all the Kings of Judah nor any that were before him And therefore who is so good and well-ordered that may not vouchsafe to hearken unto these words Wherefore I beseech you all to whom these words shall come hearken with reverence and good conscience unto the same Thus saith the LORD Set thine house in order Thus they are read in our last Translation and in some former Translations and in the margent here and elsewhere 't is noted that the Hebrew phrase is Give charge concerning thy house this comes all to one reckoning For when God saith Gen. 18. 19. that Abraham will command his children and his houshold after him it is that they keepe the way of the Lord and doe iustice and iudgement And this is to set his house in order Some Interpreters both here and 2. King 20. take these words to be a Direction to the King to make his last will and testament But considering that 't is evident that when the Patriarks made their last wills they did not onely dispose of their goods but also gave charge concerning the well ordering of their houses after them this need not interrupt us For my part at this time I will follow the generall meaning of the words as they are translated and doe my best endeavour 1. To shew the necessitie of setting every mans house in order 2. I will declare the best way how our houses may be set in order 3. I will conclude with exhortation Touching the first That it is necessarie that every house be set in order may appeare 1. Because else the Common-wealth cannot bee well ordered For the Common-wealth consists of severall houses and if the severall houses which are so many members be not well ruled how can the whole body be well ordered The body of a Common-wealth may not unfitly be compared to the body of a great Armie Now concerning an Army it consists of many Regiments and every Regiment of sundry Companies which have their severall Captaines to traine them and teach them due order And â—f these private Captaines doe not teach their severall bands due order 't is not possible on a sudden to cast the whole Armie into a great orderly body Even so in the Common-wealth if every Master of a family who is as it were a Captaine of a Companie of souldiers in the Church Militant doe not well order the severall persons committed to his charge how can they observe order when they are called out to serve publickely in the Church or Common-wealth A few bands in an Armie disranked may trouble nay confound the whole Armie Even so a few disorderly families may bring much hurt upon the whole Common-wealth Wherefore as wee tender the good of the whole Land let us every one in his place bee carefull to order those that are committed to our charge in our particular families Againe the necessitie of setting in order our severall families will appeare if wee observe how diligent the men of God I meane the Patriarks Prophets and Apostles yea and the Kings of Israel and Judah have beene to set in order their owne houses Concerning Abraham the Lord himselfe sayes Gen. 18. 19. I know him that hee will command his children and his houshold to keep the way of the Lord. Pererius gives this note that by this it seems to have bin the godly practise of the Fathers to catechise and instruct their families and that this is a worthy peece of service performed unto the Lord may appeare because God alledgeth this as one reason why hee reveales the destruction of Sodome unto Abraham and a motive to bring upon Abraham that which hee had spoken of him before The like course in ordering their families it seemes Isaac the sonne and Jacob the Grandchild tooke For though Isaac had a reprobate sonne Esau and Jacob divers lewd sonnes yet it was not for want of instruction For whence did Joseph who was solde into Egypt when he was young learne his religious conversation but in the familie of his father Iacob But to passe by uncertainties and to hold me to that which is certaine Josh. 24. 15. Joshua makes this protestation As for me and my house wee will serve the Lord. Here you see this great man Joshua promiseth not onely for himselfe but also for his house And doe you thinke hee did more than he needed to doe Doubtlesse he was of another minde than Cain who said Am Imy brothers keeper
and impudent as to scoffe at those that solemnly prayse God at meales and pray for a blessing especially if their Grace bee a little longer than ordinary Doubtlesse this is an evident token of gracelesse men Neither is it any marvell though many use Gods creatures to surfetting and drunkennesse when they make no conscience to have them sanctified by prayer With ordinarie prayer in the familie wee must sometimes joyne singing of Psalmes The chiefe exercise of the Saints in heaven is said to be giving of thankes and singing praise unto God why then should this exercise on earth seeme tedious to any man that hopes to see God as he is in the heaven and beare a part in that celcstiall Queere Moreover besides ordinarie prayer everie day perhaps sometimes it shall be found requisite for the Master of the familie to call to extraordinarie prayer which is commonly joyned with fasting This may be done in a common or private calamity or when some extraordinarie blessing is requested as Nehem. 1. 4. Acts 10 30. Ester 4. 16. Now concerning this blessed service of prayer to be used dailie in everie familie me thinkes I should not neede to use motives considering that God doth so greatlie delight in it and the whole world is not worth this one prerogative of beleevers that they may at all times and in all places make their requests knowne unto the Almightie and aske anie thing of him in the name of Christ and have a promise to be heard If the Lord had commanded us everie day with great cost to offer unto him sacrifices morning and evening would we not doe it How much more when hee saith unto us onelie Aske and have The third part of holie service to be used in private families is wholesome Discipline This must not exceede the bounds A Master of a familie may proceede neither to excommunication nor execution of any of his familie never so wicked The course that Governours of severall houses may take is this First if their children or servants be unrulie they must tell them of their faults in the spirit of meeknesse Secondlie if they doe not amend they must rebuke them sharplie Thirdlie if that will not prevaile they must correct them Fourthlie if private admonition and correction will not bring them into order the Master must require the aide of the publike Magistrate As it is Deut. 21. 18. If a man have a stubborne and rebellious sonne which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother and that when they have chastened him will not hearken unto them Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the Elders of his City and they shall say unto the Elders of his Citty This our sonne is stubborne and rebellious he will not obey our voice hee is a glutton and a drunkard And all the men of the City shall stone him with stones that he dye So shalt thou put evill away from among you and all Israell shall heare and feare Thus it should be But alas how hath foolish pittie thrust out wholesome housholde Discipline Fathers and Mothers are so farre from correcting and rebuking their unrulie children that they are angrie if anie neighbour speake unto them by way of admonition Therefore have we just cause to feare lest the Lord deale with us as he did with olde Ely because hee was too favourable to his lewd sonnes So also for evill servants what Master now adayes will take any paines by wholesome admonition and due correction to bring them into order Some Masters indeede behave themselves like lyons in their houses towards those that will not doe their worke according to their minde but if they will follow their businesse they regard not how lewd and wicked they be otherwise If they will not presenttly serve their turne they will not labour to make them better but turne them away And so it comes to passe that they which are filthie or lazie or ignorant remaine so still and the Land swarmes with a generation of deboshed servants so that t is hard to finde a faithfull servant and all for want of execution of wholesome Discipline in private families Thus much for the former dutie concerning God The second concernes ourselves For the better performing of this dutie note that there are three combinations or couplements in the familie First there are the husband and the wife Secondlie Parents and children Thirdlie Master and servants That a familie may be well-ordered it is requisite that these three couplements which stand in relation each to other doe keepe their ranke The dutie of the husband is that hee dwell with his wife as a man of understanding giving honour unto her as the weaker vessell and loving her as his owne flesh and be not bitter unto her The Wifes dutie is to submit her selfe unto her husband and to doe him good and not evill all the dayes of her life The dutie of Parents is to bring up their children in the knowledge of Gods will and in some lawfull calling wherein they may further the Common-weale The dutie of Children is to obey their Parents The dutie of Masters is to provide for their servants foode and raiment and sufficient imployment they must also take order that they may be instructed and if neede be corrected The dutie of Servants is to honour their Masters though they be but meane men and to obey them with feare and trembling not answering againe but doing service to them in singlenesse of heart as unto Christ. All these points are so plainly set down in the holy Scriptures that they need not explanation but execution And where any of these couplements keepe not their ranke or neglect the forenamed duties the familie cannot be well ordered Wherefore as we love order and reverence the God of order let us set our selves from this day forward every one of us to keepe his owne order that so every severall familie being well ordered the whole Common-wealth may come into good order and consequently that God may be moved to remove from us his judgements of plague famine and unseasonable weather which our manifold disorders have brought upon us There is none of us but now and then cries out upon the disorder in the Land and prayes for reformation But assuredly in vaine doe wee looke for publike reformation unlesse wee will every one reforme our owne families As long then as we live disorderly our selves or keepe any disordered person in our houses whether sonne or daughter man-servant or maid-servant yea or any kinseman or stranger wee are enemies to our owne desires and which is more adversaries to the Common-weale Which imputation if wee doe justly abhorre then let us with all our might endeavour every one of us from the highest to the lowest according to the holie commandement of the Lord of Lords to set our houses in order Deo Patri Filio et Spiritui sancto sit omnis laus honor gloria in aeternum AMEN FINIS