to his Will and Pleasure to do what he thinks best The happiness of Parents does not consist in having Children of this or that Sex Sometimes Sons who are most desired ordinarily may prove useless in the World yea very hurtful in many regards they may occasion great grief of Heart and lasting Anguish and Vexation to their Parents by their mad and foolish Courses and wicked doings And on the other hand Daughters may prove great Blessings in the World great Comforts to their Parents and great Examples of Piety and of Zeal for the honour of God On which accounts Parents ought to resign their will to God and be ready with all gratitude to accept whatever he bestows Secondly When a Child is born Parents ought with all thankfulness to return Praise to God who hath bestowed such a blessing upon them giving them a living Child sound and perfect in all its parts and proportions without either defect of necessary parts or excess and deformity thereof They ought to admire and adore the Powerful and Wise Providence of God which appears in framing and fashioning their Infant so curiously and wonderfully in the Womb in preserving it and making it grow up from a very small and imperfect beginning to such a bigness with all those comely shapes and proportions which they behold and at last in bringing it safely from the Womb which is one of the great and wonderful Works of the Power and Goodness of God tho it be little regarded because it is so common They ought to look upon their Children as given them of God to be taken care of both as to their Souls and Bodies to be bred up in his fear for his Honour and Glory to be made fit to serve him here and to live with him for ever hereafter The Soul being the chiefest part oâ— the Charge committed to Parents â— shall first shew what they ought to dâ— for their Childrens Souls The first Duty of Parents for the Souls of their Children is to Consecratâ— them to God in Baptism First They ought to Consecrate their Children to God in Baptism so soon as conveniently they can They cannot better express their gratitude to God for blessing them with Children than by presenting them to him again in this holy Ordinance that he may set his Seal upon them and admit them into his House and Family that he may bestow upon them the Priviledges of his Children and give them a Right and Title to the Blessedness the Grace and Glory purchased by Jesus Christ. It is for this End that Baptism is instituted not only to be a Ceremony of Admission into the Church but to Seal unto us the Pardon of our Sins to assure us of the Divine Favour to make us Members of Christ Heirs of God and Inheritours of the Kingdom of Heaven if we by wilful impenitency and unbelief do not afterwards hinder and frustrate the Virtue thereof It is not necessary for Parents to enquire how such things are done by Baptism it is enough for them to know That God hath appointed Baptism for those Ends and we are sure that He appoints nothing in vain Our Saviour is said Eph. 5. 26. To sanctify and cleanse his Church with the washing of Water by the Word And Tit. 3. 5. he is said to save us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost And in the 22 d. of the Acts and the 16. it is said by Ananias unto Paul Arise and â—e Baptized and wash away thy Sins And St. Peter having spoken of Noahs being saved with his Family in the Ark he adds 1 Epist. 3 21. The like Figure whereunto even Baptism doth now also save us And St. Paul tells us 1 Cor. 12. 12 13. For as the Body is one and hath many members and all the members of that one Body being many are one Body So also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all Baptized into one Body And Gal. 3. 26 27. He saith For ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ Which words import not only our owning and acknowledging him as the Saviour of the World who alone is able to wash and cleanse us with his Blood but also our Professing our resolution to live holy lives to walk in newness of life according to his Example in token of which in the Ancient Church they who were baptized were presently cloathed with White Rayment to testify their resolution to live in holiness and to put off the Old man that is all their former Wicked deeds and Customs and filthy Practices Likewise Rom. 6. 3 and 4. it is thus written Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his Death Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into Death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of Life These words import not only our belief of a Crucified Saviour who dyed and was buried for sin to save us from it but also our Repentance whereby we renounce Sin as dead and buried to it for the time to come The general Design of this Sacrament being sufficiently plain and clear from these and other Scriptures it is to little purpose and oftentimes it proves to very ill purpose to enquire any further as to particulars for by so doing a great many persons judging of Divine things by their own weak and foolish apprehensions have reasoned themselves if I may so speak both out of their Reason and Religion As to the Right of Children to Baptism It will appear if you Consider that the Covenant Blessing of God's being the God of Abraham and of his Seed Gen. 17. 7. is not only continued to those of the Jewish Nation who are converted to Christianity for if the first Fruit be holy the Lump is Holy and if the Root be Holy so are the Branches Rom. 11. 16. but is likewise extended to the Gentiles who by Faith in Christ are made one Body with the Jews and so have a Right to the Blessings promised to Abraham and to His Children Rom. 4. 9 10 11 12. Cometh this blessedness upon the Circumcision onely or upon the uncircumcision also For we say that Faith was reckoned to Abraham for Righteousness How was it then reckoned When he was in Circumcision or in uncircumcision Not in Circumcision but in uncircumcision And he received the sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Righteousness of the Faith which he had yet being uncircumcised That He might be the Father of them that believe tho they be not Circumcised that Righteousness might be imputed unto them also And the Father of Circumcision to them who are not of the Circumcision only but also walk in the Steps of that Faith of our Father Abraham which he had being yet uncircumcised From
perform these things Consider first it is the Will of God that you bring up your Children in his Fear and acquaint them with his Holy Laws and Commandments He who made you requires you to do this he who preserves you and keeps you alive he who is your King and Lord who has a right to your service to all that you are able to do who is your Father in Heaven who daily takes care of you and Loads you with his benefits who is the God of your Salvation who hath sent his Son into the World to die for you It is even he who saith Deut. 6. 6 7. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine Heart And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up And Eph. 6. 4. And ye Fathers provoke not your Children to Wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 'T is He who Established a Testimony in Jacob and appointed a Law in Israel Which he Commanded our Fathers that they should make them known to their Children That the Generation to come might know them even the Children that should be born Who should arise and declare them to their Children That they might set their hope in God and not forget the Works of God but keep his Commandments And might not be as their Fathers a stubborn and Rebellious Generation a Generation that set not their heart aright and whose Spirit was not stedfast with God Psal. 78. 5 6 7 8. If you then be the Subjects the Servants and the Children of the great God If you love and fear Him as you ought to do you will be sure to make it your Business to train up your Children in true Virtue and Piety to make them what God requires them to be holy as he who hath called them is holy in all manner of Conversation you will excite them to strive to enter in at the strait gate To work out their Salvation with fear and trembling To remember their Creator in the days of their youth Tâ— seek God while He may be found and to call upon Him while he is near To love the Lord with all their heart and theâ— Neighbours as themselves To endeavour to follow the Example of our Blessed Master to Learn of him to be meek and lowly to take up their Cross and to bear it patiently to be zealous for the Glory of God to abound in the work of the Lord not to be weary in well-doing but to grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Secondly Is not this a work worthy of all your care and pains to save the Souls of those who are parts of your selves who derive their Being from you You are the Instruments not only of their being but the means of conveying unto them natural defilement and corruption And therefore you ought with a great deal of Zeal to endeavour to have their pollutions washed off by true unfeigned Repentance and a hearty turning from Sin unto God by their putting off the works of darkness and putting on the Armour of Light by their putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and walking as he walked Are you ready to do all that you can to make your Children Rich and Wealthy Great and Honourable in the World And yet are you at so little pains to do that for them which tends to make them rich in Faith and Heirs of a Glorious Inheritance You endeavour to acquaint them with those who may be useful to them in their worldly Affairs and Concerns And why do you not strive to acquaint them with God their greatest and best Friend who is sure to stand by them to take them up and to take care of them when all forsake them and turn their backs upon them Why do you not with greater earnestness endeavour to procure unto them his Friendship and Love who is infinitely Powerful and infinitely Good and Kind and therefore not only can but will do for them exceeding abundantly above all that either you or they can think or ask Thirdly The doing of this is attended with great Rewards not only in another World but even in this Life You cannot but find unspeakable Joy and Comfort when you behold your Children walking in the Fear of God going from Strength to Strength and from Grace to Grace that at last they may come and appear before the Lord in Sion It will free you from a great many anxious thoughts about them for the time to come when you know that they have God for their Friend who will be a Guide and Buckler to them What a great Satisfaction will it afford you to think that they for whom you make so great Provision and are at so much pains are Good and Wise and in all Probability will make good use of what is given them or designed for them When you see them humble of a mild and gentle Temper apâ— to bear uneasie things Meekly and Patiently when you see them Sober and Temperate Charitable and Compassionate Just and Upright True and Faithful Wise and Prudent Devout and Religious Zealous for the Honour of God and studying daily to grow up in all Virtue and Piety how will this fill you with a Pleasure that cannot be expressed So true is it that is said by the Wise Man Prov. 15. and 20. A Wise Son maketh a Glad Father And Ch. 23. v. 24 25. The Father of the Righteous shall greatly rejoyce and he that begetteth a wise Child shall have Joy of him Thy Father and thy Mother shall be glad and she that bare thee shall rejoyce They who Plant an Orchard are mightily pleased to see the young Trees prosper grow regularly and bear a great deal of good Fruit this makes them reflect upon all their cost and pains with much satisfaction How much greater must their Pleasure be upon whom God hath bestowed Children when they see them growing in Grace as they grow in Years When they behold them straight and upright in their Lives pure and undefiled in the way walking in the Law of the Lord having Respect unto all his Commandments flourishing in the Courts of the Lord bringing forth the Fruits of Righteousness and true Holiness Doubtless there is no Pleasure in any Earthly thing comparable to this of Religious Parents when they are Happy in Pious and Virtuous Children And as such Children are a great Comfort and afford a Mighty Pleasurâ— to their Parents so they are a great Honour and a lasting Ornament unto them What can be more for thâ— Glory of Parents than to have theiâ— Children adorned with the Image oâ— God cloathed with Virtue and Goodness as with a Garment This doth reflect somewhat of its Lusture and Beauty upon the Parents themselves who have been under God the Instruments
to their Fighting and Wrestling against their Enemies and bestowed on them a Crown of Glory and an Everlasting Inheritance when he hath broken their Bonds asunder wherein they were held and kept in Captivity and Slavery and hath put them into a state of perfect and glorious Freedom The consideration of these things should mitigate and asswage your Sorrow and Grief and fill you with unspeakable Comfort and Gladness But some are apt to say I should rejoyce if I thought that my Children who are dead were in Heaven But this I do not know As to this you are not to trouble your thoughts about it for God does not see fit to acquaint you with such things Secret things belong to God and things revealed to us and to our Children Deut. 29. 29. If your Children while they were alive minded good things and if you did your part to instruct them and to make them what God requires them to be you are not to be any further solicitous about their Everlasting state You are to hope that they are very happy and you are to comfort your selves with these thoughts Others are apt to say I am afraid that my Children are not in a happy state they did very bad things and used bad Company and therefore I have cause to fear and to be troubled about them now that they are dead As to such Parents who have had wretched Children they ought not to suffer their minds to be disordered and oppressed with Grief and Sorrow because their Children who died were wicked If they did their Duty to make them better if they advised and admonished them if they reproved them and as was fitting chastened them if they desired others to deal with them to see what they could do towards the reclaiming of them if they prayed to God for them and gave them a good Example They are not any further to be troubled and disquieted concerning them when God takes them into his own hand He is wise and good holy and just he does all things well for excellent and glorious ends and therefore Parents ought to leave them to his Disposal who is the Supreme Governour of the World and Judge of the whole Earth Whatever he does whether in Mercy or Justice is always best The Inhabitants of the other World who are translated into a state of Heavenly Glory are not under the power of such passions and partialities as govern us here below The glorified Parents of damned Children are not under any uneasiness on that or any other account The Will of God and his Glory is their all they know that whatever he does is most perfectly just and good and for his Honour and therefore all things afford them great Pleasure and Delight true and lasting Joy and Satisfaction of mind There 's nothing able to interrupt the happiness and joy of those in Glory They are perfectly and eternally delivered from all sort of evils both of sin and punishment They are placed above the reach of whatever may render them in the least uneasie But there is a third sort of those who are troubled not only because their Children were bad and prophane but because they were so through their example or neglect As for such I have already in general shewed them what they ought to do I shall only add That since they have been so faulty and defective in their Duty towards their Deceased Children they ought to be the more careful of those who are yet alive and to do all that is possible to make them what God requires them to be As to those who have no more Children left them it would be very fit for them to take into their care one or more Children upon whom they may bestow all that pains and care which they should have bestowed in the right Education of their own and endeavour by God's help to make them truly Pious and Religious and Patterns of all sorts of Virtue to others This is an Office which will be very acceptable to God and one of the best demonstrations which Parents can make of the sincerity of their Repentance for their not having done their Duty to their own Children Fourthly Consider that there will be a Resurrection of all those that are dead The mighty Power of God which made all things out of nothing will also gather together the scattered dust of those who are deceased and will reform and rebuild as it were their bodies which are fallen down and consumed He will raise them up again in a more excellent perfect and glorious manner Then shall you meet with your Children and Friends who died in the Lord and behold them after another manner than you saw them here in this World Instead of weak and diseased bodies you shall see them strong vigorous and lively bodies Instead of frail and dying bodies you shall see immortal and incorruptible bodies Instead of filthy and vile bodies you shall see pure and glorious bodies And you shall see them so as to be with them for ever so as never any more to be separated from them by death or any other thing for you and they shall die no more 1 Cor. 15. 42 43 44. So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption it is sown in dishonour it is raised in glory It is sown in weakness it is raised in power It is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body And vers 53. This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality How gladly would poor People part with their dearest Children if they could be assured of seeing them again in an honourable state and condition exalted to great Dignity and Honour And will not you who have the hopes of a glorious Resurrection be comforted in the absence of your Children When their merciful God and Father takes them away from you unto himself not to do them hurt but good to make them happy and blessed with himself for ever to bestow upon them what Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor which hath entred into the Heart of Man to conceive Consider the words of the Apostle to the Thessalonians 1 Epist. 4. 13 14. But I would not have you to be ignorant Brethren concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope For if we believe that Jesus dyed and rose again even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him Fifthly Your giving way to excessive Grief and Mourning can do you no good but will certainly do you a great deal of hurt and mischief in many respects It cannot bring back your Children that are dead Though you should break your Hearts into a thousand pieces by your weeping and mourning and waste and consume your years in constant heaviness and sorrow tho' you should never henceforth allow your selves one moment of relaxation of mind after all you must go to
who practise this Vice have no profit nor pleasure to tempt them thereto that they sell their Souls to the Devil for nothing and that they are so far from having any real gain thereby that they must needs at some time or other find no small inconvenience by it as to their Temporal Concerns for they that are wise and have any sence of Religion cannot chuse but avoid having much dealings with them whom they see to be utterly void of the Fear of God Shew them what a great dishonour 't is to God their great Lord and Master their Creator and Preserver for poor Worms thus to dare to rend and tear as it were his most Sacred and Blessed Name and how much he is provoked thereby to inflict his most heavy and severe Judgments upon such bold Sinners He will not hold him Guiltless that taketh his Name in vain Ex. 20. 7. That is tho' Men pass by such Offenders and do not punish them yet God will look after them he will call them to an Account and be avenged upon them he will not fail to punish them This is reckoned up Hos. 4. 1 2 3. as one of the crying Sins for which God had a controversie with the Israelites and for which he threatened that their Land should mourn and that every one that dwelt therein should languish c. If they are of a very unconstant and unsetled Temper so that they can never fix at any thing nor continue in their Purpose and Resolution strive to fix them and to render them of a more staid and setled Mind If what they have resolved or begun to do be not contrary to the Laws of God and men nor any way Prejudicial to themselves or others it is very adviseable for you now and then to keep them close to their Resolution or Undertaking Though the thing be not worth a rush in it self which they purpose or undertake yet their being accustomed to do what they have once resolved disposeth them to be constant and firm in more useful and excellent Purposes and Designs and besides it makes the performance of any thing a great deal more easie when the Spirits can fix at it until it be accomplished Whereas if way be given to a fickle and changeable Humour it gets strength daily and at last grows so very Powerful and Tyrannical that they who are under its unhappy influence are like a feather driven to and fro with the wind they are never able to settle to any thing tho' never so necessary and important and so very ordinarily prove good for nothing If you perceive them to be surly of a rough and morose an uncivil and disobling Carriage Strive to cure them of such an unhappy Temper Teach them to be Courteous and Affable Civil and Obliging to every body and carefully to avoid whatever looks like neglect and contempt Shew them how useful and serviceable or how hurtful and dangerous the meanest person may be to them at some time or other Tell them the Fable of the Lion and the Mouse How when the Mouse troubled the sleeping Lion and disturbed him the Lion was ready in great Wrath to have torn it in pieces but the Mouse begged of him to spare him for he was but a poor Mouse not worthy of his Wrath and might live to do him some Service The Lion was prevailed with to let him go Afterwards it happened that the Lion was intangled in a Net out of which as great and mighty as he was he could not deliver himself But the Mouse remembring the Lion's Generosity ate aâ—under the Net and so set him at liberty Hence you may infer to them how fit and advantageous it is by a courteous and civil behaviour to oblige the poorest and most inconsiderable Person who once in Seven Years may be able to do them either a very great kindness or a great deal of mischief As you ought to take care that your Children be very Civil and Courteous to all so in a more especial manner to Aged Persons whom God has commanded to be Honoured and Respected Levit. 19. 32. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary Head and honour the face of the Old Man Parents ought to consider that they may live till they be Old if they be not so already and therefore they ought to Teach their Children to Honour Aged Persons lest by permitting them to carry themselves disrespectfully and insolently towards them they themselves should meet with neglect and contempt from them which falls out but too often How worthy of Praise were the Noble Spartans who Honoured all Aged Persons very much One of them being asked why their Young People rose up to the Aged gave this Answer That by being accustomed thus to Honour others they might so much the more Honour their own Parents And here I cannot but mention another very notable instance concerning these Spartans which is this When an Old Man came to see the Olympick Games he went about to look for a Seat but the Graecians neglected and mocked him till at last coming where the Spartans fate all the Children rose up to him and several more Aged Persons gave place to him When the rest of the Graecians who had been themselves disrespectful towards him applauded the Custom of the Spartans and highly commended them for it the Old Man stroking down his Beard said Alas what a sad thing is this All the Graecians know what is Good and Honourable but the Spartans only practise it If you observe your Children to be very apt to quarrel and contend with one another and to fall by the Ears together be careful to remove their debates and to make them love one another By no means wink at their Contentions especially if they be grown up a little When such Relations are at variance together they are of all others the most violent in their Hatred against one another Witness the Rage and Fury of Cain against Abel of Esau against Jacob of Joseph's Brethren against him A Brother offended saith Solomon Prov. 18. 19. is harder to be won than a strong City and their contentions are like the bars of a Castle The Learned Philosopher and Historian Plutarch reckons it among the things which are next to impossible for Brethren once at variance to be afterwards throughly reconciled to one another As one Member of the Body torn or cut off from the other can hardly be glued and joyned together again So says he when Brethren have once fallen from their Natural Affection and are possessed with bitterness and wrath against one another they seldom unite closely any more their Reconciliation is ordinarily but skinned over whereas there still remains under the appearance of Friendship a grievous sore ready to break out How much is it therefore your Duty to prevent all manner of strife and division among your Children and if debates arise among them to do your utmost
fondness to one above all the rest This does not hinder but that Parents may to very good purpose give Rewards to their Children for their Acts of Virtue for their ready and chearful Obedience to their Commands for their diligence and care in performing what was appointed them c. Whereby they who do such things are encouraged and they who do not but are careless and negligent are punished and spurred up to amend their Faults But when such marks of Favour are bestowed 't is fit to let the rest know that if they do as well they also shall have a Reward By which means they will see that Virtue and Goodness are the things which their Parents love and esteem most and for which they are ready to bestow the marks of their Affection The Duty of Parents as to the outward Estate of their Children A Third thing that belongs to the care of Parents is the outward Estate of their Children First When they are fit for a Trade they ought to chuse an honest Employment for them To suffer them to live in Idleness is to ruin them If they have not some useful thing or other to take up their thoughts they are in great hazard of finding somewhat to do which is bad and hurtful both to themselves and others The Devil is always at hand to furnish Occasions to idle People for employing themselves to their own destruction The Athenians who for a great while were reckoned amongst the wisest People in the World were so sensible of the necessity and importance of Childrens being bred up to some Lawful Trade and Employment that by their Laws they obliged them to maintain their Parents and to supply them in their old Age only upon this supposition that their Parents had been careful to teach them an honest Trade Otherwise by their Laws Children were not bound to provide for them Tho' this is not to be brought into Practice amongst Christians it being contrary to Christian Principles for Children upon any Pretence whatsoever to neglect their Parents in distress Yet this Example sheweth how great a Crime it was reckoned amongst the wiser Heathens for Parents not to breed up their Children to some honest Employment As to the particular kind of Employment wherein Children are to spend their days it is to be left to the discretion and prudence of Parents They are so to instruct and dispose the minds of their Children that they may be ready to be determined to any Trade or manner of Life that 's honest which their Parents think best and meetest for them to follow But yet a great regard is to be had to the particular Genius and Inclination of Children which ordinarily disposeth them more for one sort of Employment than another It will make them more diligent in learning their Trade when they have a delight in it Otherwise if they are put forth to a Trade against their minds they are more likely to neglect it or to break off from it Seldom do such Persons attain unto great Perfection in their Employment who follow it against the Grain As for those whose great and plentiful Estate in the World doth raise them above the necessity of putting forth their Children to a Trade they ought notwithstanding to be careful to bring them up not in Idleness and Vanity but in such Studies and Exercises as are most proper for them and which tend to make them serviceable in their Generation When God created Adam after his own Image and placed him in the Garden of Eden which no doubt was the most Honourable State that ever Man was in upon Earth yet he did not suffer him to live in Idleness He appointed him an Employment to wit to dress and keep the Garden The greater that Mens Possessions are they ought to be so much the more concerned in the right Education of their Children that so they may be made the more fit to Inherit their Wealth and Riches How much reason had the Philosopher Crates to say that if he might he would go up unto the highest place of the City and there bespeak the Citizens in this manner O Men what mean ye to be 〈◊〉 so much pains and so incessantly to busie your thoughts how to heap up Wealth and Riches and yet to take so little care of your Children to whom you are to leave all these things Upon which Plutarch hath this wise Reflection That such Parents are very like those Foolish People who have a great deal of care of their Shoe but none at all of their Foot Great and Rich Men therefore ought to be very careful that their Children be well Educated that they be instructed in useful Arts and Sciences which may not only afford Pleasure and Delight unto their minds but may be of use and advantage to them in their Conversation in the World Above all they ought to endeavour that their Childrens minds be possessed with a lively sense of Religion with sincere Love to God with a fervent Zeal for his Glory with a great delight in all those things which are truly Noble and Worthy which tend to the Honour of God and the Benefit of Mankind and with an utter abhorrence and detestation of all wicked Practices of Prophane and Atheistical Company and of every appearance of Evil they ought to train them up in useful and pious Actions and Designs which may be of Advantage to Church or State that so they may prove a Blessing to the World and Pillars of that Society to which they belong Great care ought to be taken to make them understand the Vanity of Riches and Honour the great uncertainty and mutability of the things of this World and the many Tentations and Vexations which attend a plentiful Estate and great Fortune Endeavour to make them sensible that no Earthly Enjoyments are capable to satisfie their desires that as the wise Man saith Eccles. 5. 10. He that loveth Silver shall not be satisfied with Silver nor he that loveth Abundance with Increase And that they are so far from satisfying the mind that they distract it and oftentimes fill it with greater uneasiness that they occasion Cares and Fears and Temptations and Sorrows Shew them likewise that these outward and perishing things add nothing of real worth unto them that a Hundred or a Thousand a Year cannot make them one whit either wiser or better that their Estates cannot keep off Sickness or Pain nor sad and sudden Accidents and that they cannot defend them so much as one moment from the approaches of the King of Terrors Shew them what was the Psalmist's Opinion of outward Greatness himself being one of the greatest Men of his time and therefore able to judge o◠the matter Surely says he Psal. 62 9. Men of high degree are a Lye to be laid in the Ballance they are altogether lighter than Vanity Grea◠Me◠are a Lye that is they are not either what their own Vanity would
Ecclesiasticus 33. 18 19 c. Hear me O ye great Men of the People and hearken with your Ears ye Rulers of the Congregation Give not thy Son and Wife thy Brother and Friend power over thee while thou livest and give not thy Goods to another lest it repent thee and thou intreat for the same again As long as thou livest and hast Breath in thee give not thy self over to any For better it is that thy Children should seek to thee than that thou shouldest stand to their Courtesie In all thy works keep to thy self the Preeminence leave not a stain in thine Honour At the time when thou shalt end thy days and finish thy Life distribute thy Inheritance 4 thly 'T is the Duty of Parents to have their Will and Testament in readiness They ought while they are in Health to determine the several Proportions of their Worldly Goods which they intend to bestow on their Children and not to leave the doing of this till the very immediate approach of Death A wise Man ought so to dispose of his affairs in time that when he comes to die he may have as little work to do as is possible 'T is very unfit on many accounts to leave the ordering of those things which relate to a Man's Estate unto the last hour For 1. No Man knows if he shall have a leisurely Passage out of the World so as to have time to settle his affairs a thousand Accidents may prevent this of which see Discourse about the right way of Improving our Time Motive 2 d. 2 dly Tho' you should have time on your Death-Bed for ordering your Temporal Affairs yet what signifies Time considered abstractly and separately if you are not fit to use it For ought you know your Sickness then may so affect your Head that you shall not be able to act any longer as rational Creatures but must be governed and taken care of by others as if you were Children upon the Breasts or perhaps as Persons in a much more sad and lamentable condition Now therefore it is fit for all who are wise to provide against such Casualties and not to delay so important and necessary a work to an uncertain Moment 3 dly Supposing you have a leisurely passage out of this Life together with the use of your Reason all the while yet consider that you are likely to have enough to do in your last hours tho' the ordering of your Temporal concerns do not then lie upon your Hands Your Spiritual Enemies will very probably at that time muster up all their Forces and use their utmost Effort either to conquer you or to frighten and disturb you You will then find that all your Preparation is little enough that you may finish your course with Joy The sight of Death will make you see a great many things far otherwise than you saw them in time of Health The things of this Life will then appear very little and inconsiderable and Eternity will appear as a vast and boundless Ocean Your good actions will appear but very few and imperfect and your Sins and Follies very many and great Thus it is generally with the best and most Holy Persons and therefore 't is your wisest and safest course to dispatch not only as much of your great Business as you can before the approach of Death but likewise to dispose of your Worldly Concerns in such a manner that they may not prove a hindrance and a burthen to you at that time when you are to have a sharp Conflict with the King of Terrors But besides all these Considerations which ought to excite you to put your House in order in time of your Health consider farther that by so doing you will prevent a great deal of Trouble and Confusion and of Strife and Division which oft-times happen amongst Children when their several Portions are not assigned them by the Will of their Parents How sad is it to reflect upon so many Instances of this kind as have happened in our days It cannot but be look'd upon as a great Reproach to our Holy Religion to see Brethren and other near Relations contending and going to Law with one another and thereby laying the Foundation of lasting Variance and Discord of Bitterness and Wrath of Anger and Clamour of Malice and Envy c. which too often are concluded with the Desolation and Destruction of one or other of the contending Parties if not of the whole Family How needful therefore is it for Parents to make their Will in good time when they are in Health when their Understanding is good when their Memory is perfect when they are able to think of Business and to judge calmly and discreetly of what they do when they can call to mind what they owe and what is owing to them And because of the great Falsehood and Wickedness of the World by which it often happens that the true sense of Mens words are perverted it is likewise very fit that Parents in setting their House in Order have the advice of those who are Skilful Upright and Faithful Persons by whose Assistance their Will may be framed in such Terms and Expressions as may so far as is possible prevent the Cavils of Crafty and Ungodly Men. As Parents ought to use a great deal of Caution and Circumspection in all things relating to their last Will so particularly in the choice of Guardians for their Children who after their own Decease may act the part of Parents towards them and may promote their Happiness and Welfare both in Temporal and Spiritual things If you know amongst your near Relations those who are Wise and Prudent True and Upright Persons who fear and love God and of whose sincere kindness you have had long experience 't is very reasonable to prefer them before Strangers But if you have found others more sincere and upright more prudent and discreet more kind and loving more constant in their Friendship and more faithful to your true Interest than your nearer Relations have been you ought rather to entrust your Children to their care than to those who tho' your Kinsmen have given you no great ground to expect much kindness and faithfulness at their hands towards your Children If they have not been very faithful to you 't is but madness to expect that they should prove more Faithful to them Tho' they may grow better yet no wise Man ought to trust so great and dear a concern to such an uncertainty Thus I have shewed you what are the principal Duties you owe to the Souls and Bodies of your Children and what you are to do for them as to their outward Estate The above mentioned particulars earnestly recommended to Parents FRom what hath been said you may see what a weighty and difficult Charge you have the sense whereof should excite you to beg of God earnestly every day that he would direct and assist you to perform the Duties that belong
M Vendor â—ucht scul Printed for J Taylor J. Eueringham A NEW Family-Book OR THE True Interest OF FAMILIES BEING Directions to Parents and Children and to those who are instead of Parents shewing them their several DUTIES and how they may be Happy in one another Together with several PRAYERS for Families and Children and GRACES before and after Meat To which is annexed a DISCOURSE about the Right Way of Improving our TIME By JAMES KIRKWOOD Rector of Astwick in Bedfordshire With a Preface by Dr. Horneck The Second Edition Corrected and much Enlarged LONDON Printed for J. Taylor at the Ship-in St. Paul's Church-Yard and J. Everingham at the Star in Ludgate-Street 1693. To my Honoured Friend and Patron Thomas Brown of Arlsey Esq and to Mrs. Mary Brown his Wife ALL who have a right Sense of Things and understand but a little of the State of Religion in the World cannot but see and lament the great decay thereof every where amongst us Atheism and Irreligion are become too much in fashion and have too many Votaries and Followers It has not been known in any Age that such sort of Men or rather Monsters for Man is too Honourable a Name for them have been so numerous so daring and impudent and so successful Who could imagine that in a Christian State there should be such Persons who are at great pains to propagate Atheism and to run down if they were able our most Holy Religion As the neglect of Educating Children aright contributes too much to this degeneracy so the most likely Remedy of this dangerous and spreading Distemper is a due care in Parents and others who have the Charge of Children to train them up in the Knowledge Fear and Love of God To do what in them lies to fortifie their Minds against those Snares and Temptations to which they are exposed and to shine before them in the Practice of sincere Piety themselves Tho' too many on whom God has bestowed Children are so far from doing their Duty for their Souls that they corrupt and utterly ruin them which one of the Ancients calls a greater Cruelty than if they killed their Bodies Yet blessed be God there are some who consider it as their main Business with Relation to their Children to make them wise and good Lovers of God and Haters of every Evil Thing Amongst those who are governed by this Religious Principle God hath made you my most Honoured Friends great Patterns As he hath blessed you with a numerous offspring so he hath given you of the Wisdom from above to know how to Train them up in Piety and Virtue The happy mixture of Kindness and Severity which you use towards them makes them not only to stand in awe of you but to love you I might be allowed on this occasion to say somewhat in Commendation of those Excellent Qualities which God has blessed you with and which appear not only in your way and manner of Educating your Children but in other things likewise The many and great Expressions of your kindness for me ever since I had the Honour to be known to you require the most publick Testimony of my grateful Resentment thereof But 't is one of your Virtues that you chuse rather to be concealed than to make any great noise in the World I shall therefore restrain my self from what otherwise not only Gratitude but the great and just Esteem and Affection I have for you do mightily tempt me unto And shall conclude this Address with my Prayers to God for you That he would increase his Grace in you more and more that you may abound in all the Fruits of Righteousness and true Holiness until you obtain the End of your Faith the Salvation of your Souls I am Tour most Affectionate Friend and most Faithful Servant James Kirkwood THE PREFACE THE Author of the ensuing Treatise having thought fit to recommend his Papers to my perusal I was willing to usher them into the World with some remarks upon his pious design The Welfare of a Common Wealth doth in a great measure depend upon the Duties of the Relatives here treated of and did Parents and Children conscientiously discharge all the Obâ—igations incumbent upon them by the Law of God and Nature the World could not be so wicked as it is Education makes the first impressions upon the Souls of Men and were care taken that the Ground be impregnated with good Seed such a Harvest might be expected from it that Posterity might be the better for it I am sensible that Conversation and the Humour of the Age is apt to make strange alterations in the Principles we imbâ—be yet something will stick and when the thoughts are cool and Men come to reflect the Principles they have learned when the wax was soft will recoil and oblige them to return to their Duty Of this we have experience and though there is no Rule so general but admits of exceptions yet it 's enough that this effect doth frequently appear which is no inconsiderable Motive to the serious consideration of a thing of this importance It was a wise answer which one of the LXXII Interpreters gave to Ptolemaeus Philadelphus who asked him what was the greatest negligence The neglect saith he of the good Education of Children It is so and the hurt that 's done by it both to them and to the Publick is unspeakable Whence is it that there are so many Prodigals that so many come to an untimely end that so many run into excesses which destroy both Soul and Body From want of pious Education It was a severe Censure which Carneades the Philosopher passed upon the Children of Rich Men that they learned nothing but to ride well Indeed it is to be wondered that Rational Creatures should be so careful to breed up their Progeny to sensuality and neglect the cultivation of that which makes them differ from Bruits and shews they are Creatures of a nobler extract Can any thing be more reasonable than Virtue and the fear of God Is not this it which both Scripture and Philosophy teaches Do not we our selves confess so much and do not most Men acknowledge it when they come to dye And yet that we should make this the least part of our care in the Education of Youth is wondrous strange Some seem to fancy that sending their Children to School or to teach them their Catechism is all the Care that is incumbent upon them Though I cannot say but that this is a Duty yet it is so imperfect that I can scarce honour it with the Title of doing it by halves it being but the beginning or the least part of it Instruction Precept and Example are the mighty Engines and Instruments in the promoting and accomplishing this Work and perhaps nothing hath a greater influence than Example for all the Moral Precepts of the Parents are like Water spilt upon the Ground where Example doth not concomitate the instruction How
but did it not they punished him severely for they judged that they who were unthankful would also neglect their Duty to God to their Parents their Country and Friends Amongst other things to be suggested to your Children to stir them up to be Thankful you may represent to them what a shame it is for them to be unthankful when the very Beasts both Tame as may be seen every day and wild as several Authors tell us do things which look like a grateful acknowledgment to their Benefactors If you find them to be of too Prodigal a Temper apt to be too profuse in their Expences ready to throw away their Money upon Trifles and when there is no reasonable occasion for it you ought by all prudent and proper Methods to endeavour to make them a little more discreet and careful That they waste nothing in vain that may be of use to poor People That they do not throw away that which may do good at some time or other Suggest often to them that we are Stewards of whatever God bestows upon us that he will call us to an Account and that therefore we ought to employ to good purpose all those good things he gives us Shew them what our Saviour said to his Disciples after he had fed five thousand men with five Loaves and two Fishes Joh. 6. 12. When they were filled he said unto his Disciples Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost He would not have any thing lost 〈◊〉 thrown away unnecessarily whi◠might be useful afterwards to one 〈◊〉 other If you find them of a Covetous Temper endeavou◠to enlarge their thoughts b◠the Principles of Christian Charity Shew them what an excellent thi◠it is to do good to shew mercy an◠kindness to make Peoples hearts glad◠Accustom them to the doing such kin◠and charitable Offices for which en◠give them now and then money an◠other things to bestow on those wh◠are poor and needy Shew them th◠evil of Covetousness that it 's the ro◠of all evil that it take◠the heart off from God an◠rendereth it unfit for th◠consideration of Divin◠things and for all worthy and useful designs that it disposeth◠man for the basest and vilest action◠and undertakings as it did Judas to betray his Lord That it bereaves him of true repose and satisfaction of mind and pierceth him through with many sorrows 1 Tim. 6. 9. 10. If you perceive them to be naturally melancholy and fearful of every little thing endeavour to chear up their Spirits Suggest to them such considerations and possess them with such Maxims and Principles as tend to fortifie their minds against those things which are apt to make them uneasie and are the occasion of their fear If their distemper proceed from some bodily indisposition as oft-times it does use such helps as are necessary When such evil habits of body are once rooted and strongly fixed and when the blood and spirits are deeply infected therewith they are a very grievous clog to the Soul and a great hindrance to that chearfulness and liberty of Spirit wherewith people ought always to endeavour to serve God If you see them to be of too gay and airy a Temper so that they cannot fix and be stayed at any time you are to use a great deal of prudence and discretion to compose and settle their Spirits See that they use their Wit and Fancy without giving offence and that they hurt no body by indecent reflections Let them by no means take liberty to indulge their humour in jesting about things that are Sacred or that have any relation thereto But you are to take heed lest your endeavouring to cure one fault occasion another lest your striving to deliver them from one extream drive them to the contrary that is lest instead of their being too gay you make them melancholy and dull Their Wit and Spirit is not to be rooted out but reformed and rightly managed for this may be of use for seasoning and sweetning Conversation If you observe them to be rash and forward ready to speak and act without due consideration strive to make them more cautious and circumspect to reflect and think a little more on what they say and do lest otherwise they fall into a habit of speaking and acting impertinently and indiscreetly When they say or do a foolish thing for lack of consideration then take occasion to make them sensible what a shame it is for them to do so what a reproach to those who are reasonable Creatures to speak and act like Fools without Reason and Understanding Shew them some of the bad consequences which attend speaking and acting in this manner Particularly that such Persons not only expose themselves to Contempt and Scorn but likewise to a great deal of danger and trouble Tell them how a great many by their rash and unadvised though not ill intended Speeches and Actions have not only highly exasperated their Enemies but also provoked their Friends and forfeited their kindness which thereby has been changed sometimes into the utmost Indignation and Hatred Shew them how some by this means have lost their Estate their Honour and Life it self and not only have ruined themselves by their rashness and folly but likewise a great many of their best Friends and dearest Relations A due sense of these things ought to excite all Parents to do what they can to render their Children very considerate and wary in whatever they say or do And because for lack of knowledge and experience they are in hazard to fall into many miscarriages and to commit great absurdities if they govern themselves wholly by their own fancy and apprehension or by their inclinations and desires therefore direct them to ask you or to ask others whom you recommend to them whether it be fit for them to do this or that which they have a mind to do It will be of unspeakable advantage to them all their Life long to learn this piece of Wisdom betimes to wit to be jealous and not too confident of their own Apprehensions and Opinions and to have a great regard for the Judgment and Opinion of others Solomon makes this a distinguishing Mark betwixt a wise Man and a Fool that the way of a Fool is right in his own Eyes and therefore he scorns to ask the opinion or to follow the advice of others but he that hearkeneth unto Counsel is wise Prov. 12. 15. Thus you are to make it your Business to watch over your Children and to consider what are their defects and faults and to do all that you can to cure them thereof and to direct them in the ways of Wisdom and Virtue You are careful to pluck up the weeds in your Gardens while they are yet young and not deeply rooted lest otherwise the good Seeds should be choak'd up with them How much more careful ought you to be lest the Souls
and to do The careful and Religious use of it would tie Children more strictly to mind the great concerns of their Souls it would afford them occasion to consider what it is to have been Baptised and to be a Christian It would work in them a more Powerful Sense of the Obligations of Christianity and make them more careful to live up to that Holy Religion whereof they made so publick a Profession It would make them more afraid to do bad things against which they had protested so solemnly And not only fear but shame in this case would restrain them from doing wickedly This would be to young People a great defence against Temptations Bad Men would not so boldly ask them to sin if they knew they had openly and Solemnly disowned and renounced them and all their wicked Courses and if they were tempted they would be more apt to say in their own minds Shall we do such wicked things and run the hazard of being Covenant-breakers and Perjured Persons Shall we commit such Villanies and practice such Abominations and thereby break our Solemn Vow and Engagement Shall we by our Folly and Impiety give occasion of Offence and Scandal to the Church of Christ which he hath purchased with his Blood Shall we renounce the Captain of our Salvation and prove Deserters who have so lately vowed to renounce the Devil and all his Works What a mighty defence would this be to your Children when Assaulted by the fiery Darts of the Devil the Vanities of the World and the Lusts of their own Deceitful Hearts to consider that by their own actual Consent they have renounced all these and given up themselves into the Hands of God to be kept by his Mighty Power through Faith unto Salvation They have Vowed and they ought to perform it to keep his Righteous Judgments These things being impartially considered should mightily excite Parents to see that their Children do openly and Solemnly proâ—ess their Faith in Christ Crucified their Resolution to Obey him to Serve him and Love him to fight under his Banner against Sin the Devil and the World and to continue his Faithful Souldiers and Servants unto their lives end Is not this your Glory that your Children are Christians And do you think it a Shame or Dishonour for you or them if they make a Solemn Profession of their Christianity that they avoâ— their Religion and will by God's help make good the Promise which was made in their Name in Baptism Of so great Importance is this Custom that the greatest Men amongst the Reformers did highly commend it and did earnestly wish that it might be restored as a thing of great use towards the reviving the true Spirit of Christianity 8. Duty to encourage them to come to the Lord's Table Eightly When they are fit for it you should encourage them to come to the Table of the Lord that they may be strengthened in their most Holy Faith and further assured of the Love of God that they may make a publick Profession of their Christianity of their Love to their Lord and Master Jesus of their Charity to all Men and of their sincere Affection to those who are Christ's Members and Followers They ought to make use of this Holy Sacrament that their Love to their dearest Lord and Saviour may be kindled and enflamed by remembring his Love and shewing forth his Death that they may bind themselves more strictly to Serve and Obey him and to fulfil their Baptismal Engagement How glad should Parents be to see their Children advanced to this Honour to eat and drink at their Lord's Table to partake of so great a Testimony of his Kindness and Friendship How earnestly should they encourage them to embrace this opportunity of renewing their Covenant with the Lord to live and to die his Faithful Servants Do you not desire to have them saved to have them delivered from their Lusts and Passions their Pride and Vanity their Bitterness and Wrath their Malice and Envy and from all manner of Sin and Folly To be made pure and clean in Heart and Life to be made meet for that Holy Place where no unclean thing can enter Do you not desire that their Sins may be blotted out that they may be washed with the Blood of their Saviour And yet do you not advise and entreat them for their Souls Health and Safety to come to the Holy Communion which is designed as a means for these excellent and great Ends and Purposes to as many as are qualified according to the Terms of the Gospel that is who unfeignedly repent of their Sins and believe in the Lord Jesus with all their Heart But alas how far are too many Parents from doing this for their Children How many do either wholly or for the most part neglect and slight this Holy Ordinance themselves as if our Lord had without any just or necessary ground appointed it How can such Persons expect the precious Fruits of the Death of Christ who will not remember his Death when he so lovingly and kindly calls and invites them to do it Do this says he in remembrance of me What a great Argument is it of a wonderful decay of true Piety and Religion in the World when Men do thus despise and set at naught the kindness of their Lord and Saviour When they refuse to do a thing so just and reasonable and so easie as this is which tends so much to his Glory and their own true Happiness and Welfare both here and hereafter 9. Duty to take care that they accustom themselves to Self-Examination Ninthly When they are fit for it see that they accustom themselves to Self-Examination that they spend a few Moments every Night if another time of the Day be not more convenient for them to do it in in calling themselves to an account that they may see what good or what evil they have done that they may give Praise and Thanks unto God for any thing they have done which was good and right and that they may confess their Sins and Follies begging his Gracious Pardon and renewing their Purposes and Resolutions to do better for the time to come But besides these daily short Reviews of their Heart and Life 't is fit to call â—pon them when they are well advanced iâ— Years to a more strict and Solemn Examination of themselves to Prayer and Fasting as their Age and Strength can bear it This may be done at first once a Month or once iâ— two Months or once a Quarter at least but after some time it may be done oftner according as your necessary Affairs and your Circumstances in the World will permit They who are Great and Rich ought so much the more frequently to call upon their Children to those private extraordinary Excrcises of Devotion because their outward Estate in the World does ordinarily afford them enough of time and leisure for such Performances if they will but redeem it from Idleness and
consider that they are to be employed in the greatest the most painful and most dangerous work in the World and therefore 3 dly They ought to do all that in them lies to fit and prepare such Children that they may undertake this Sacred Employment as they ought to do More than ordinary care is to be taken that their minds be furnished with good Impressions that they be inspired with a great Love to God and with a mighty Zeal for his Honour and Glory They must be daily trained up in the Practice of Humility of Meekness of Patience of Temperance of Charity and of all other Virtues and Graces they must be kept from seeing and hearing bad things so far as may be their minds must be strongly fortified against Temptations and all that is possible must be done to keep them from the danger that comes from evil Company and corrupt Example They must be entrusted to the good Conduct of Excellent and Worthy Persons by whose means they may be formed to as high a sense of true Piety as may be that so when they come abroad into the World their light may shine before others If Parents who dedicate their Children to the Holy Ministry would in this manner endeavour to act the part of Men who have a lively sense of God upon their Souls who are possessed with a mighty Zeal for his Glory and are earnestly desirous to promote the Kingdom of Jesus Christ we might hope to see very speedily the Blessed Effects of their Pious Endeavours Religion would flourish more than it does at this day and Impiety and Irreligion would not so much Triumph as alas they do Secondly When they are fit for Marriage Parents are so to dispose of them as that in all likelyhood they may be happy in such a state of Life They are not to constrain then to marry against their Will for such Marriages are seldom Happy they end too often in somewhat or other very Tragical and Calamitous to one or t'other Party if not to both Great care is to be taken that there be not too great inequality of outward state and condition for that occasions often neglect and contempt of the Person that is Inferiour to the other in some External Advantages Nor yet too great Inequality of Years for that doth likewise sooner or later cause an Abatement and Decay and sometimes an utter Extinction of that Respect and Love which is necessary to make those who are Married Happy Parents are not in disposing of their Children in Marriage to govern themselves wholly by their respect to Riches and Honour but are to have a regard to Virtue and Goodness so far as to prefer one who is Discreet and Wise of a Virtuous and good Disposition to another that is foolish or indiscreet and Prophane and Atheistical tho' attended with greater degrees of Wealth and Earthly Honour 'T is reported of Themistocles a Famous Athenian Captain that when several young Men came iâ— Suit of his Daughter he preferred one who was a Wise and Virtuous Person to another that was very Rich. When some People wondered at this choice he told them he had rather have a Man without Money than Money without a Man What a great reproach is it to our Religion to think that so many Parents in disposing of their Children only consider how much Wealth they may have and what Friends and Alliances they may make by marrying into such a Family or what Profits and Preferments may be expected thereby As for any other thing they do not much trouble their heads about it They know no other Happiness but in the things of this life and therefore they seek nothing else for their Children but to make them Great and Wealthy by which means it often comes to pass that they bring their Children into a most miserable and unhappy state of life in which they must pine away their days in Sorrow and Grief in the company of Foolish and Wicked Wretches who are often in a fury and rage who spend their time in Gaming and Drinking in Cursing and Swearing in Quarrelling and Fighting in Whoring and Ranting and such like woful doings which cannot but prove to those who have any the least degree of real goodness so very uneasie and afflictive that Wealth and Riches can make no amends for them Such unfortunate Persons cannot but often envy the happiness of those who are in a very poor and low Estate and Condition but yet live in Peace and Quietness in Love and Concord and in the fear of Cod and so enjoy real satisfaction and contentment and have a great deal of Comfort to sweeten their outward Wants and Necessities For as the Wise Man says Prov. 15. 16 17. Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great Treasure and Trouble therewith Better is a Dinner of Herbs where Love is than a stalled Ox and Hatred therewith But besides all this it too often falls out that they who are given in Marriage to Vicious and Profligate Persons are sooner or later involved in those Judgments which are caused by the Sins and Follies of the Persons to whom they are matched 'T is true such Persons have a great deal to support their Spirits if they have not been Partakers with them in their works of Darkness In this case there is no doubt but their Merciful and Gracious God will order what they suffer for their good But alas it too often comes to pass that they who are unequally yoked either with Persons of a false Religion or of a Wicked Life do by degrees degenerate from their strict and Virtuous Education Tho' formerly they seemed to have a right sense of Religion and a great Inclination to the best things yet sooner or later by the Example and Perswasions of their Irreligious and Atheistical Relatives they lose all sense of God and give up themselves to all manner of Wickedness 'T is said of Jehoram who was Educated under a Religious Father Jehosaphat 2 Chron. 21. 6. That he walked in the way of the Kings of Israel like as did the House of Ahab for he had the Daughter of Ahab to Wife c. Where 't is very observable that this unequal Marriage of Jehoram is noted as the cause of his great Wickedness And from the following Verses it appears how many heavy Judgments fell upon him for his Impiety To what hath been said may be added that the hurt and inconvenience attending such Marriages does not only affect the Married Persons themselves but likewise extends to their Off-spring and Posterity who are in great danger of being corrupted as to their Religion and Manners by the Influence and Example of their Parents 'T is observed as one principal cause of the Wickedness of Rehoboam 1 Kings 14. 21. That his Mother was an Ammonitess which is repeated v. 31. to shew us that 't is a matter which deserves to be taken notice of To the same purpose 't
7. 12. All things whatsoever ye would that Men should do to you do ye even so to them Some Motives to excite Guardians to do these Things The first thing which should stir up Guardians to perform their Duty towards their Pupils is A Sense of Justice When they are chosen for this End if they have no mind to undertake such a Charge or if they cannot attend it they ought to declare so much and peremptorily to refuse it that so care may be taken to get some other Body who will undertake it But when once they have undertaken it they ought to make Conscience of it and to do all that is in their power for the Childrens welfare and happiness in every thing 'T is both their Duty and Interest to fulfill their Ingagement and to act that part which they have undertaken which if they perform wisely and faithfully then they may expect the Praise Love and Esteem of not only the Children themselves and of their Relations but likewise of all good and worthy Persons who see or hear of their Fidelity and Carefulness for the benefit of their Pupils If Care is not taken in this manner to fulfill what is undertaken to be done and if there is no respect had to Covenants Trusts and Ingagements then the very Foundation of the Happiness of Society is subverted If there is no regard to Truth and Justice what a miserable thing must it be to live in Society To be united by any civil â—yes to those whose Promises and Ingagements are worse than none at all 2. Does not A Sense of Honour oblige Guardians to be careful of their Pupils and true and faithful to them 'T was the Opinion of their kindness and faithfulness and of their fitness and worthiness for such a Charge which made them be chosen before others And therefore if they have any thing in them of true worth if they have any sense of Honour they must needs strive to answer the Expectation of those who have testified so great a value and esteem for them 3 dly Does not Charity oblige Guardians to do these things Orphans have always been reckoned amongst the greatest Objects of Charity especially when they are very Young and are not able either in respect of Body or Mind to do any thing for themselves So great is God's Compassion and Tenderness towards such Children that he has been Graciously pleased to declare himself to be The Father of the Fatherless 'T is therefore the Duty of All who are Followers of God as dear Children especially of those who are chosen to perform so Charitable an Office as this I say it is their Duty to omit nothing that is needful to be done for the benefit of Fatherless Children both in their Spiritual and Temporal concerns We see a very worthy President and Example in Mordecai Esth. 2. Esther's Father and Mother being dead Mordecai took her and she was to him as his own Daughter How careful was he both of her Soul and Body How well did he instruct her As may be easily gathered from her Wise and Pious Carriage and Behaviour And when she was taken from him we find he was still mindful of her for v. 11. 't is said Mordecai walked every day before the Court of the Womens House to know how Esther did and what should become of her We find him likewise from time to time giving her his best Advice how to carry her self and how to glorifie God in that Honourable State to which it had pleased him to raise her How worthy is such an excellent Pattern as this of the imitation of all those who are called to be the Guardians the Guides and Defenders of Fatherless Children And for their encouragement let them consider how richly God did reward the Charity and Piety of Mordecai not only in raising him up to great Honour by Esthers means but also by making her the Instrument of preserving his Life and the Lives of all the Jews who were in the Provinces belonging to Ahasuerus From what hath been said it appears how great Reason there is for Guardians to be true and faithful to the Interests of their Pupils and to do all that ever they can for their Spiritual and Temporal Advantage Now if it be their Duty to do so what shall be said of those who are not only careless of seeking their good but do likewise too successfully seek their hurt and ruine As to their Souls they corrupt and poyson them by their wicked Example and by Atheistical Principles which they instill into them they breed them up in all manner of Licentiousness As to their Bodies they either too far gratifie their vanity and folly or they are too niggardly towards them in withholding from them not only Conveniencies but Necessaries As to their outward Estate they either suffer them to live idly or they put them forth to some Trade or other very unfit and unsutable to them And when they are fit for Marriage they force them to Marry as they think good according as they see it will best serve their own private and worldly base and vile Interests without ever regarding the Happiness of their Pupils As for their Patrimony and Inheritance they are so far from improving it that they impair it wofully and sometimes quite consume and waste it they study a great many Arts and Wiles to ruine the poor Children whom they have got into their merciless hands Instead of proving their Guardians they prove their Robbers instead of being as Parents to them they prove betrayers of them and their most Dangerous and Cruel Enemies But shall they escape who do such things No They shall not He who is the helper of the Fatherless will plead their Cause and will avenge them of those Treacherous and Perfidious Persons For He beholdeth mischief to requite it Ps. 10. 14. I shall conclude this Advice with what is written Ex. 22. 22. c. Ye shall not afflict any fatherless Child If thou afflict them in any wise and they cry at all unto me I will surely hear their cry And my wrath shall wax hot and I will kill you with the Sword And your Wives shall be Widows and your Children Fatherless And Prov. 23. 10 11. Enter not into the fields of the Fatherless for their Redeemer is mighty He shall plead their Cause with thee PRAYERS FOR FAMILIES A Morning Prayer for Parents or Masters of Families with their Family O Most Gracious and Merciful Lord God who affords us thy unworthy Servants the Honour and Liberty of drawing near unto thee Assist us by thy good Spirit to Worship thee with sincere Devotion to lift up Holy Hands without wrath and doubting We acknowledge O Lord we deserve not to appear in thy sight for we are not only Vile and Sinful by Nature being the corrupt Posterity of Sinful Parents but likewise we are Guilty of a great many actual Transgressions in our Thoughts Words and Deeds