to hear his Children Praying our Saviour received little Children in his arms and unto little Children the Kingdom of Heaven belongs And as a good Man saith I had rather have my House filled with my Childrens Prayers than with Diamonds and Pearls Secondly Take heed of telling Lies Lye not one to another saith the Apostle Let your Communion be year yea and nay nay saith our Saviour Remember Lyars shall have their part in Fire and Brimstone Rev. 22.4 Thirdly Delight thy self in Reading good Books read not foolish and wanton Books and Ballads which tend only to the nourishment of Vice. Fourthly Let not thy Children scoff and jeer at the Antient be they never so poor Remember the dreadful Iudgment of God upon those wicked Children in 2 Kin. 2.23 24. who mocked and scoffed at the Propher they in derision called they Propher Bald pate and God in judgment for this wickedness caused two Bears to devour two and forty of them Love the Poor and plead their cause remember what God saith Blessed is he that considereth the Poor and Needy Fifthly frequent the Word of God sleep not at Churth or at prayer for remember whosoever sleeps at Church or at Prayer the Devil rocks the Cradle Sixthly Let thy Apparel be decent and comely take heed of Pride in thy Apparel Remember Jezabel her wicked end how sadly Gon met with her in her Painting those Persons who are so curious in Painting and dressing themselves surely the Devil holds them the Looking Glass Seventhly Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy for surely those Children that Sweat and Lye and break the Sabbath are the Devils Children and they that spend the Sabbath in Playing and Caming have the Devil for their Play-fellow Take heed then I say that you make not the Lords day a day of Sports and Pastime as the Children of the Devil do Remember God hath allowed thee six days do not then be so wicked as to rob him of the seventh but God did not appoint the Sabbath for a day of sporting and pleasure but for a day of Worshipping and serving God a Day for Preaching and Prayer Remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy. Eighthly See that you reverence and esteem the Ministers of Gods Holy Word account of them as they are indeed the Ministers of Christ Remember what our Saviour saith He that despiseth you saith be to his Apostles despiseth me and he that despiseth me shall be for ever despised of God. Ninthly If thou beest a Child of God avoid then the Company of the Devils Children that is such as Swear and Curse and Lye and Steal and use all manner of filthy talk Keep not company with such least thou for thy pains learnest their Vices and so partake of their punishment that so when others shall answer for their idle words thou may'st be rewarded Tenthly Love honour and obey your Parents in the Lord Consider how God hath commanded you so to do and God will severely punish those that dispise their Parents see that dreadful place Prov. 30.17 The eye that mocketh his Father and dispiseth to obey his Mother the Ravens of the Valley shall pick it out and the young Eagle shall eat it Eleventhly Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth Labour to serve God with the strength and best of thy days Live to God whilst thou livest and thou shalt be sure to live with God when thou Dyelt Remember Samuel how he was dedicated to God from his Birth and Timothy how he rejoyed that of a Child he had known the Holy Scriptures Lastly Walk constantly in the fear of the Lord all the day long in the Morning when thou risest bless God for his merciful preservation of thee the night past give him thanks for that he hath given thee to see the light of another day and when thou preparest thy self for thy Bed prepare thy self as for thy Grave remembrings that many go to Bed and never rise again and therefore do not sleep till thou haft committed thy self by Prayer to God forsurely they that go to Bed without Praying the Devil is their Bed-fellow Now that thou mayest carefully perform those things in the first place seek to God by Prayer for God loves Praying Children be sure to pray unto God both morning and thening and when thou prayest say Our Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And sorgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them thay Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom the power and glory for ever and ever Amen This is the Prayer which Christ himself commands us to use and therefore it is called The Lords Prayer the best pattern for Prayer in the whole world Therefore it were to be wished that all Parents would he careful to reach their Children the Lords Prayer as soon as they can be fit to learn it and having learned this by heart then let them use some other and so use both together A short form of Prayer very necessary for Children and Youth to be used in the Morning O Lord our God thou art the Father of Heaven and the Father of mercis by whom alone we live and move and have our being who tookest us out of our Mothers Womb hast ever since preserved us to this day blessed be thy name We bless thee that thou hast safely desended us this night past that thou hast brought us safe to the beginning of another day We pray thee defend us in the same by thu mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin keep us safe from the tamptation of Sathan Deliver us we pray thee from all evil and grant O Lord that we may live this day and all the rest of our days as becometh thy Children in Holiness and true Righteousness bless out Parents O lord give them Grace that they may bring us up in thy Commandments as thou hast made us their Children by nature good Lord make us thy Children by Grace that so we may obey our Parents and serve thee our God all our days that so it may be well with us here and here after Bless O Lord all the rest of our friend O Lord let our friends by thy friends give us Grace to serve thee here with all our strength and with all our might that so when this mortal Life shall be ended we may live and reign with thee for ever in Glory Amen The Lord bless us and make his Fare to shine upon us and the Lord be with us both in our going forth and in our coming in this day and all our days for ever and ever Amen An Evening Prayer for Children O Most holy most gracious and most Glorious Lord God we thy poor Children do here again prostrate our selves before thy Majesty this Ovening humly
They are cast into Hell there to be tormented with the Devil and his Angels Application ANd so I now come in the last place to wind up all in a word of Application both to Parents and Children and then in the first place if it be the duty of Parents to instruct their Children in the fear of God then you may observe from hence the great wickedness of such wicked Parents who instead of instructing their Children in the fear of God bring them up in all manner of sin and wickedness How many such wicked Parents are there in the World who forbid their Children to hear Sermons and to read good Books but on the contrary teach their Children to despise Holiness and encourage them in all manner of wickedness Oh wretcked Sinner hadst thou rather have thy Child the Devils Child then Gods Child will you neither be Holy your selves nor suffer your Children to be Holy Will it not one day he miserable enough think you to damn your own Soul but must you also drive your Children to Hell before you The Lord awaken all such Parents Is it not enough that you have made your Children the Children of Wrath as all Men Women and Children are by nature for as holy David said so may we all We are conceived in sin and in Iniquity were we brought forth But will ye also hinder them from being made Children of Grace are not your Children prone enought to sin of themselves but must you also help on their Damnation are there not Devils enough to tempt them to sin but must you also prove Devils incarnate to them your selves are not your Children always near enough even at the brink of Hell and will ye also seek to tumble them into the Lake of Fire do you think the way to Heaven is to despise Preaching and to mock at Holiness ought not you to be nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers to your Children and will you nurse them up for the Devil Let wicked Parents consider and tremble Secondly Here is also a use of comfort for all Gods Children they that fear God and spend their time in Reading and Praying they shall for ever be Singing Praises and Hallelujahs to God in Heaven where thou shalt be with God and Christ Saints and Angels to all Eternity when those Wicked Children who delight in nothing but Swearing and Lying who despise Holiness and would not walk in thy ways of God shall be sent to Hell with a Go ye Cursed into Everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Ah! poor Creatures they delighted in Cursing and now they are Cursed they despised Holiness but now they are despised themselves this shall he the portion of all the wicked they shall be tumbled into Hell when Gods Children shall be received into Heaven I beseith you then as you love your own precious Souls if you would escape this Hell. if you would enjoy this Heaven then for the Lords sake Children be Holy pray Morning and Evening obey your Parents love God serve him with all your Souls if ye do thus and he thus then blessed shall ye be for Christ shall say unto you Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world unto which Kingdom the Lord bring us all Amen Now for the fuctlerance of Holiness I have here thought fit to insert a very Godly Morning and Evening Prayer to be used in Families A Morning Prayer for a Family ALmighty God most merciful Father we do not present our selves here before thy Majesty trusting in our own meries or Worthiness but in thy manifold mercies which hast promised to hear our Prayers and grant our requests which we shall make to thee in the Name of thy beloved Son Iesus Christ our Lord who hath also commanded us to assemble our selves together in his Name with full assurance that he will not only be amongst us but also be our Mediator and Advocate towards thy Majesty that he may obtain all things which shall seem expedient to thy blessed will for our Necessities Therefore we beseech thee most merciful Father to turn thy loving Countenance towards us and impute not to us our manifold sins and Offences where we may justly deserve the wrath and sharp punishment but rather receive us to thy mercy for Iesus Christ's sake accepting his Death and Passion as a just recompence for all our Offences in whom onely thou art pleased and through whom thou canst not be offended with us and seeing of thy great Mercies we have quietly passed this night grant O Heavenly Father that we may bestow this day wholly in thy service so that our thoughts words and deeds may redound to the glory of thy name and good example of all Men who seeing our good works may glorifie thee our Heavenly Father And forasmuch as of thy meer favour and love thouhast not only treated us in thy own similitude and likeness but also hast chosen us to be Heirs with thy dear Son Iesus Christ of that immortal Kingdom which thou preparedst for us before the beginning of the world we beseech thee to increase our faith and knowledge and to enlighten our hearts with thy holy Spirit that we may in the mean time live in Godly Conversation and integrity of life knowing that Idolators Adulterers covetous men contentious persons Drunkards Gluttons and such like shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. And because thou hast commanded us to Pray one for another we do not only make request O Lord for our selves and for them that thou hast already called to the true understanding of thy Heavenly Will but for all people and nations of the world who as they know by the wonderful works thou art God over all so they may be instituted by thy Holy Spirit to believe in thee their only Saviour and Redeemer But forasmuch as they cannot believe except they hear nor cannot hear but by Preaching and none can Preach except they be sent therefore O Lord raise up faithful distributers of thy Mysteries who setting apart all worldly respects may both in their life and Doctrine only seek thy Glory Contrarily confound Satan Antichrist with all Hirelings who thou hast already cast off into a Reprobate sense that they may not by Seas and Schisms Heresies and Errors disquiet thy little flock O Lord thy people Israel many times by their Sins provoked thine anger and thou punishedst them by thy just Judgement yet though their Sins were never so grievous if they once returned from their iniquity thou recervedst them to Mercy We therefore most wretched Sinners bewail our manifold sins and earnestly Repent us of our former wickedness and ngodly behaviour towards thee and whereas we cannot of our seves purchase us our Pardon yet we humbly beseech thee for Iesus Christ's sake to shew thy mercy upon us and receive us again to thy favour Grant us dear Father these our requests and all other things which are
The School of GRACE Or A Book of Good Nurture for the Admonition and Instruction of Youth and Age in the fear of the Lord. With Godly Instructions Graces Prayâ—rs describing the whole Duty of a Christian By I. Hart B. B. The 19th Edition Fear God Honour the King. Printed for W. Thackeray and I. Par singer Come ye Children hearken unto me and I will teach you the fear oâ— the Lord Psalm 34.11 Ephes 6.1 2 3 4 5 6. â—hildren obey your Parents in the Lord for this is right â—onour thy Father and Mother Which is the first Commandment with promise â—…t it is may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the Earth â—…l ye Fathers provoke not your Children to wrath but bring them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. THe Blessed Apostle in the former Chapter having laid down several Chistian duties in the general comes here to assert and lay down the several Duties 1. Of Husbands and Wives 2. Of Children and Parents 3. Of Masters and Servants These words contain the particular Duties of Children and Parents Children obey your Parent here is the Childrens Duty Secondly here is the manner of performance of this Duty in the Lord Children obey your Parents in the Lord. In the next place the Apostle does lay down several Reasons and motives to encourage Christian Children to this Chistian Duty 1. It is GODS Commandment so to do Honour thy Father and Mother 2. It is very beneficial for Children so to do for first it shall be well with them if they do so and secondly their days shall be long upon the Earth In the second place we have here the duty of Parents First Negatively what Parents should not by And then secondly Affirmatively what they should do 1. Negatively they should not provoke their Children to Wrath. And 2. Affirmatively They must bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. From the words thus opened I gather these two Observations 1. That it is the duty of Children to obey their Parents in the Lord. 2. That it is the duty of Parents to Educate instruct and bring up their Children in the fear of the Lord. Hearken to thy Father that begat thee with Solomon and despise not thy Mother when she is old Prov. 23.22 Train up a Child in his Youth saith Solomon in the way he should go and he will not depart from it Prov. 22.6 Now that I may the better enforce this Duty I shall a little open the particular duties of both For one main reason why Children do so much neglect their Duty is because Parents are so negligent of their own Duties for it Parents did take more care as their Duty is to bring up their Children in the fear of God surely Children would make more Conscience of performing their duty to their Parents And that Children and Parents for the time to come may the better perform their Duties I shall say down sundry Christian and Bodly Directions suitable to all persons upon all occasions and so conclude with some few patierns of Prayers and Graces for the better benesit and Instruction of Children in the seat of God. The first Duty of Parents is That they give their Children Christian Baptism and thereby to Dedicate them unto the Lord. Secondly Give unto your Children good Examples for Children are prone by nature to follow the had Example of any more especially their Parents Thirdly Pray unto God for a Blessing upon thy Children that God would make them his Children by enriching their Souls with Grace Fourthly Learn to instruct them be times by some good Catechisms in the Principles of Christian Religion and to Instruction wisely and Correction For he that spareth the Rod saith Solomon hateth his Child but he that loveth him Chastneth him Fifthly Keep a constant and awful Authority over them not suffeting them to be irrevetent for this end according to antient and laudible custom teech them reverently to ask thee blessing on their Knees Sixthly Labour to suppress all Sin and wickedness in thy Children and to this end suffer them not to lye swear curse or prophane the Lords day else will thy Children have cause to curse thee to all Eternity We find it recorded in Scripture of Goodly Parents Educating their Children in the fear of the Lord Abraham commanded his Children and Servants Gen. 8.16 So likewise Joshua and holy David Job and others The Godly Life of the Child discovers the Godliness of the Parents and thus if thou labourest to bring up thy Children in the fear of God that thy Children may be Gods Children how Gloriously then have you provided for them God is their Father and they that have God for their Father shall never want for as the Apostle saith Godliness is profitable having the promise of the Life that now is and the Life to come Though thou leavess but a little of this World yet remember God hath provided a Kingdom for them that serve him Lastly Cause thy Children friquently to frequent the Ordinances of Christ both publique and private do not only pray with them and for them but cause them to pray for themselves and one for another bring them constantly to hear the publick Preaching of the word of God and be assured by the blessing of God your Children may be inriched with Grace here and filled with glory hereafter and in so doing thou may'st have joy and comfort God may have Glory and honour and thy Children Everlasting life through Iesus Christ Now the Duty of Children to their Parents in the first place you see is Obedience Children obey your Parents in the Lord And this obedience of Children to their Parents you see it must be in the Lord and only in the Lord for if Parents command their Children to do any thing contrary to the Word of God then hey are not to obey them they sin in so doing for remember we must obey God rather than Man. Children are to learn good Instructions from their Parents My Son saith Solomon hear the Instruction of thy Father and forfake not the law of thy Mother Prov. 1.1 c. 3. Children are to honour and reverence their Parents Honour thy Father and thy Mâ—…her saith the Lord Honour thy Parents by thy modest silent humble and respective carriage towards them Fourthly Children ought to be thankful to their Parents endeavouting if need be to requite them for their Fatherly love and care towards them honouring relieving and supplying them in all their several needs and necessities And thus much briefly of the Duries of Parents and Children I come now in the next place to give you some directions and instructions for the better performance of those several Duties And my first advice to Children is that they make daily Prayers to God. How precious a thing is it to hear Children praying and low dreadful a thing to hear them Swearing and Cursing as soon as they can speak God loves