and the young Lion to lie down together yet the Hearing of the Ear in this is yet of more Benefit than the Seeing with the Eye Indeed the silent Arguments of Example work even upon the Natural Man but Discourse edifies more the Christian by Grace for Faith comes by Hearing And therefore in the Second place one Christian kindles another by Consolation Counsel Admonition Instruction and Reproof which though it be every ones Duty to do yet none performs it but the true Christian he who has a greater Love for other Mens Souls than for their Favour or Esteem For want of the Discharge of this one Duty alone How many Thousand well-disposed Persons are utterly lost who cannot of themselves see the Sin that does so easily beset them Witness David who could not see whilst himself was Party and lived near a Year insensibly under the Guilt of Murther and Adultery Certainly Miserable is the Man that has no such Friend and none can be such a Friend but the Christian for he that does not cast the Beam out of his own Eye before he pretends to take the Mote out of his Neighbours his Reproof will be taken for Envy or ill Nature and so will Exasperate rather than Melt But Thirdly this Christian Conversation might be yet more highly improv'd and render'd much more beneficial to our Souls if we would in conversing together so seriously consider the the Graces we want and the Blessings we injoy as by God's Ordinances of Prayer and Praise and the Reading of his Word to bring Christ into our Company to have Him in the midst of us O how happy would that Meeting be and even this we have his sure Word of Promise for then would our Meetings be every Day for the Better to us and we should rejoyce to come often together and even injoy that Communion of Saints which we hope to be of in Heaven A Zeal for God's Glory a Thirst for his Ordinances a tender Love and Pity to the Souls of Men and a Strictness of Life would then insensibly grow upon us so that we should be habitually prepared for all Holy Duties for the Blessed Sacrament of the Lord's-Supper and even for a sudden Departure out of this World if it should please God so to call us hence and might hope to be reckoned of the Number of those of whom the Prophet Malachi speaks saying Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard it and a Book of Remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his Name And they shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts in that day when I make up my Jewels and I will spare them as a Man spareth his own Son that serveth him I know there are those that would count you Troublesome and Busie-bodies to give them Advice or to pretend to concern your selves about their Souls but however let not this discourage you for of those you give Advice to or admonish if but One in Twenty hears you seriously you have no reason to repent the Loss of your Labour in all the rest Nay if even that it self should not happen yet for Religion's sake you should not hold your Peace for Shall Men be Impudent in the Devil's Service and shall we be Ashamed to own God's Is the Great God and our Maker become so inconsiderable in our Esteem that we dare not stand by Him when Men dare stand up for their Vices Is Eternal Salvation so indifferent a thing that we should be unconcerned for it Do we see the Vices of the Age Growing and Spreading and shall not we stand in Opposition to them Therefore since one teaches another Vice let us teach each other Virtue since one guides another to Hell let us help one another forward in the Way to Heaven and as they make one another Prophane let us teach one another Righteousness in all our Conversation and Friendly Societies and let us incourage others to do the same by our Advice and Example that Religion may once more become a general Practice that our Churches may be fuller and the Publick Prayers more frequented by all that are true Members thereof and those that name the Name of Christ may depart from Iniquity For if it be Charity to direct the Blind in his Way or when we see our Neighbour in danger of being Robbed or his House in danger of being Burnt if to run and help him is Charity then certainly it is greater Charity to instruct the Ignorant by shewing them the right way to Salvation And therefore if you see your Christian Brother your Neighbour or Fellow-Servant in danger of being Ruin'd by keeping ill Company or their Souls in danger of Hell-Fire by Prophaning the lord's-Lord's-Day by Neglecting his Laws and Forsaking his Commandments to help such by Godly Advice and Admonition is a great Deed of Charity nay it is your Duty too for thus saith the Lord Levit. 19. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy Heart Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer Sin upon him Be not Guilty then of this great Crime upon any Pretence whatsoever But Exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardened through the Deceitfulness of Sin knowing that he that converteth a Sinner from the Error of his Ways shall save a Soul from Death and shall cover a multitude of Sins All the Texts almost of the Holy Scripture point to this Duty either by Exhorting or Commanding us to set about this Necessary Work first to lead good Lives our selves and then to incourage others to do the same I do not exhort you to Controversie nor to meddle much with those of another Persuasion for that is the Minister's Work but this is your One thing needful to meddle with those that own the same Church and profess the same Faith and yet act contrary to it in their Lives and Conversations Put these in mind of their Baptismal Vow How they then promised to renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil and yet do live within the Embraces of them all Ask them How they dare blame others for their Unbelief while they live like Atheists themselves How they dare condemn others for separating from the Church when their own Lives and Conversations are quite contrary to the Holy Doctrines thereof How they dare reproach others for want of Seriousness when they live loose Lives themselves and are so far from Remembring their Creator in the Days of their Youth that they forget Him and his Laws all their Days But intreat them to take the Wise Man's Counsel That they make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put it not off from day to day Put them in mind of the great Benefit of a Holy Life and early Piety and what a Pleasure it will be when they come to die to look back upon a well-spent Life and be able to say
thought the most innocent is To divert and pass away the Time But O consider what a sad thing it is to drive away that Time which flies away too fast Consider that your whole Life if you were sure of its duration is but a short time for to fit and prepare your Soul for an Eternity in which if you should miscarry you are for ever Wretched and Miserable That Word Pastime is a Word of the Devil 's making the Holy Scripture says the direct contrary Redeem the Time Consider the difficulty of the Work you are to do and then you will think the Time but too little You are to become a New Creature throughout changed in every respect from your present vain Conversation Your Immortal Spirit came pure out of God's Hand you have here polluted it by the Vanities of the World which are at Enmity with God you must return it to Him either Innocent which is impossible or wash'd with the Tears of Repentance which Repentance does consist in a Change of your present Course and a Turning to God So that your Will must be first chang'd before you can be accepted of Him You are therefore to be renewed in the Spirit of your Mind to mortifie and subdue all those Lusts and Affections you now so study to please you are to root out that Revenge which you Now think so justifiable upon an Affront and to take up that Meekness which you Now so much contemn for Cowardice in others you are to break off that pursuit which you Now make after Riches and instead of being so careful for the Morrow you are in the sober Use of proper Means to cast all your Care upon God to put your whole Trust and Confidence in his Providence and in all your Undertakings contentedly leave the Issue to Him You are to endeavour the Change of your whole Nature to rejoyce in Tribulation which is Now so grievous to distribute liberally the Wealth you Now hoard up to mortifie and keep under the Flesh you Now pamper to merit by well-doing the Hatred of the World whose Applause you Now so much seek to contemn all those Pleasures in which you Now consume your Time and when you have done all this and a great deal more there is yet a bitter Cup of Repentance behind for all those sinful Thoughts Words and Actions which through Frailty or Wilfulness you have through the Strength of your corrupt Nature been drawn into and also for those Numberless Sins of Omission which so few think of This Work of Repentance is so much the Duty of our Lives that it is the very Condition of our Salvation for by it only is Christ's Redemption apply'd to us that is He has by his Death made our Repentance available for the Pardon of our Sins How inexcusable then are we who thus have by God's Grace the Means put into our Hands of qualifying our selves for the Pardon of our Sins and consequently for Eternal Happiness if we shall fool away that Time in which this great Work must be done and then think to set about it when Time shall be no more when all Means of Reconciling our selves to our offended God shall be removed far from us What Multitudes are there now in Hell who sought for Pastime in their Youth and thought to Repent when they grew Old Wo be to them that are with Child in those days when the Days of Tribulation are come upon them that conceive good Resolutions but the Days of Darkness overtake them before they bring forth any thing Consider this therefore ye that forget God lest he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you If you stop your Ear now to his Call and even This is one of his Calls and are resolved to Enjoy the Pleasures of Sin which are but for a Season a very short Season the Time will come when you will call and cry and then He will not hear but then He will laugh at your Calamity and mock when your Fear cometh Would you then escape the Terrors of that dismal Day that Great and Terrible Day of the Lord the Doom of which shall last to all Eternity Be instant in Prayer to God for his Assistance to work that Change in you which I before-mentioned and then set about it your self with the utmost Diligence lose no Time but Flee for thy Life as the Angel said to LOT and look not behind thee Work out your Salvation to Day while it is called to Day before the Night comes when no Man can work for unless you do beget in your Mind a Love to Heavenly things while you are here and which cannot be done all of a sudden Heaven will not be Heaven to you when you come there You will not you cannot then relish what you have been so unacquainted withall and the contrary to which you have been all along so used to and delighted with Now one of the best Means to do all this is To avoid evil Conversation and to seek for Good for as I said before the Nature of Man requires Conversation and Society And in a Christian State he that will travel alone in the Way to Heaven because it is narrow will often want a hand to lift him out of the Mire of Temptation a Companion to support him in the Storm of Persecution and even a Guide to admonish him to avoid the ruggid and rocky Ways of Imprudent Zeal and to help him out of the Thorny Paths of a Scrupulous and Doubting Conscience to all which a Christian Conversation is the greatest Help in this World Christian Society is like a Bundle of Sticks laid together one kindles another and that First even by Example To see an Injured Christian Meek a Rich one Charitable a Great one Humble a Mean and Ignorant one Obedient and Thankful for Instruction an Infirm and Sickly one Thirsting after Heaven and looking down with Pity on the Vanities of this World a Christian can hardly be in such Company without Edifying his Soul thereby Art thou Dejected through Losses or Disappointments in thy Fortune Lo here another much Poorer than thou yet giving God Thanks for his Bounty to him Art thou Tempted by Lust Lo here another Christian Lustier and Stronger who yet by Mortification and Self-denial by Fasting and Prayer keeps his Soul and Body Pure and the Fit Temple of the Holy Ghost Art thou grovelling in the World and eating the Bread of Carefulness Lo here a Heavenly-minded Christian having nothing and yet possessing all things that can say I know how to abound and to be in want yea I count all things but Dung that I may gain Christ. But though this be a great Benefit of Christian Conversation for our Example thus to see in the same Person the Christian Mixtures of Greatness and Humility of Suffering and Meekness of Poverty and Contentedness of Knowledge and Modesty of Pain and Patience which nothing could unite but that which will make the Lamb
A Friendly Letter TO ALL YOUNG MEN Shewing the Benefit of a Religious and Friendly Reproof Conversation Admonition And not only to live good Lives themselves but to incourage others to do the same With a Letter to Masters of Families To which is added A Specimen of the Rules and Orders of the Religious Societies as now Practised in the Cities of London and Westminster The Fifth Edition Remember thy Creator in the Days of thy Youth Eccles 12. 1. LONDON Printed and are to be Sold by W. Downing in Bartholomew-Close near West-Smithfield 1699. THE PREFACE TO THE READER THE Bookseller being upon Printing another Edition of the Friendly Letter to all Young Men I thought it might not be amiss in order to the Increasing these Religious Societies to prinâ— those Excellent Gospel Rules and Orders the First Edition speaks of being such as have been approved of by many Eminent Divines of the Church of England and which are agreeable to the Practice of the best Christians in the first and purest Ages of the Church and such as I hope will induce the Reader to set up such a Religious Society amongst his Neighbours where much good may be done as there hath already been by them in the Cities of London and Westminster and several other Places in this Kingdom as well as in Ireland by which means great Numbers of poor House-keepers have been Relieved poor Children kept to School and after put Apprentices The Bishop of Sarum in his Essay on the Memory of our late Gracious QVEEN page 118. gives this Account of her Opinion and Satisfaction of these Societies in these Words She did hearken carefully after every thing that seemed to give some hope that the next Generation should be better than the present with a particular Attention She heard of a Spirit of Devotion and Piety that was spreading it self among the Youth of this great City with a true Satisfaction She enquired often and much about it and was glad to hear it went on and prevailed Some of these Societies have by their pious Examples influenced Dissenters to come to Church and several Anabaptists and Quakers to Baptism and have been a means of preserving from Popery several Vnsteady and Wavering people in the late times And being not unsensible of their own and others Infirmities they keep up these Societies in meeting together once a Week that they may re-inforce on each others Minds the great Principles of Christianity in order to the carrying on those good Works they are already ingaged in and which I hope will induce the Reader to an Imitation My Design in this little Treatise is only to assist the Ignorant and those who are willing to form themselves into Societies they being so very beneficial to Youth as well as to those of Riper Years For as there is nothing in its self more Excellent than Religion so you cannot imagine the unspeakable Advantages a Pious Youth gains by the Practice of it in these Societies Do but consider how welcome a Young Convert is to God It was to young Samuel that God revealed himself to shew how much He honoured a young Propher 1 Sam. 3. 1. And you know that St. John the Youngest of all the Disciples is the only Person of all the Twelve who was permitted to lean on our Saviour's Bosom at the last Supper as dearest in Affection to Him and who is called the Disciple whom Jesus loved John 13. 23. And this is suitable to that Gracious Promise which God hath made to incourage all Young Persons to serve Him I love them that love me and they that seek me early shall find me Prov. 18. 7. O Young Man whosoever thou art that readest this Promise let it excite in thee a great Zeal to seek God and to seek Him early for if thou dost seek thou art sure to find Him thou art sure when thou hast found Him he will love thee and thou shalt reap all the happy effects of God's Infinite Love and of an early Piety and the Pleasure of well-doing that thou wilt at present feel Think if you can how unconceivable a Joy it will be to you when in your Elder years you can reflect on your well-spent time and the Innocence of your Youth how great a Consolation it will be to you when you come to your Death-bed how easie it will render your Accounts at the great Day of Judgment and how much a whole Life spent in God's Service will increase your Glory in the other World Therefore consider the vast Necessity and the Advantage there is of beginning to be good betimes for we know not but that the next moment may determine our Everlasting Fate and the hopes of Heaven which we have now in our Hands may slip from us before to Morrow Morning and so leave us desperate for Ever Therefore consider what a dreadful venture you run if you delay your Time of Salvation or put it off from Day to Day and the longer you delay the more averse you will be to it for your Lusts will every Day grow dearer and dearer unto you and you will find your selves more and more unwilling to part with them Therefore make no delay but take the Wise Man's Advice and make no tarrying to turn to the Lord and put it not off from Day to Day And let this Consideration ingage you further to think what Engagements you ly under to an Holy Life by your own Profession Promises and Vows for you profess and call your selves Christians Followers of Christ ought you not then to follow his Example and obey his Commands if you will make good that Name You will think it a great Disgrace not to be taken for Christians but for a Turk or Jew Beware then lest you bring this Disgrace upon your self by an unchristian Temper of Mind and ill course of Life for if you are False or Cruel Covetous or Lustful Proud or Revengeful like a Turk or Heathen it matters little what you call your self For he is not a Christian that is one outwardly but he that hath the same Mind and Spirit that was in Christ Jesus For God will not at the Last Day Judge Men by their Names and Titles but by their Hearts and Lives only it will go much worse with a Man that calls himself a Christian and lives like a Turk or Infidel Therefore make no Delay about a Holy Life but strive and use your utmost endeavour to make your self what you will wish to be when you come to die And one great means to effect this will be to keep such Company as are already ingaged in a Holy Life for to hear the Discourse of Religious Men delights us and their Company is the most Beneficial and it is That which I recommend in the following Letter and that I would desire you to read seriously over and over again not as School-Boys do their Lessons but apply it to your self as you read and consider whether you
are of such a Temper or no that this Letter recommends and if you are persevere in it to the end remembring that gracious Promise He that endureth to the End shall be saved if you are not make no delay but strive to find out some of those Men that live good Lives and they will be a Help and Benefit to you But above all acquaint your self with a sober Minister and consult him with the great concernments of your Soul Remember alway that this is a Work that must not be delayed for we know not what a Day may bring forth Therefore take St. Paul ' s Advice with which I shall conclude Rom. 13. 12 13 14. Let us therefore cast off the Works of Darkness and let us put on the Armor of Light Let us walk Honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envying But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfill the Lusts thereof Heb. 13. 20 21. Now the God of Peace that brought again from the Dead our Lord Jesus that Great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant Make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his Sight through Jesus Christ to whom be Glory for ever and ever Amen A Friendly Letter TO ALL YOUNG MEN c. DEarly Beloved Brethren and Fellow-Members of the Church of England it is to you that I now Write as a Friend and a Brother for such we should all be one to another and our Saviour makes it the great visible Badge of Christianity By this saith he shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have Love one for another Now this Divine Grace of Love and Charity being the Foundation of all Religion let it shew its self that it is in our Hearts by a true and sincere Desire of doing Good to one another and to all Men to their precious and Immortal Souls and let us look upon it as our Duty the Endeavouring to save them and the only means whereby to effect that Work is to promote Godliness in the World and Holiness of Life for without Holiness no Man shall see the Lord. Now to the Promoting of Godliness in the World nothing is more effectual than the frequent Conversation of Christians with each other This is a Truth that may be manifested from divers Arguments This is that therefore which in this Letter I would chiefly recommend to you to wit Christian Conversation and Society Man is a Creature made for Society it is by That that he eases his Mind by Communicating his Thoughts it is by That that he receives Comfort by the Counsel of others and gets Wisdom by their Admonition and Advice nay it is by That as an Instrument by which the Holy Spirit does work that he gets Grace For all Conversation is of an assimilating Nature that is it makes Men become like to those they converse withall and consequently the same effect may be reasonably hop'd for from Christian Conversation And this may be further manifested from the Practice of Satan whose Business it is therefore in the first place to divert Men from Christian Conversation and this he effects First By bringing Reproach on such Assemblies as Phanatical and tending to Schism thereby affrighting weak Christians who have not strength to indure Shame for the Name of Christ or that have not Judgment to determine rightly of Enthusiasm and Schism And Secondly by Furnishing of Men with Diversity of other Conversation and for this End he has set up Prophane and Atheistical Clubs in Taverns and Ale-Houses and other Merry Meetings which tend much to the Promoting of his Kingdom because beside other Evils they keep Men from serious and pious Discourse for see what is the Discourse of every Tavern-Club of every Coffee-House-Table of every Merry Meeting What Discourse do you there meet with that is season'd with Grace and to the use of Edifying which the Apostle tells us all our Discourse ought to be It were to be wish'd that it were no worse than Idle and yet for every Idle Word that Men shall speak our Saviour assures us they shall give an Account at the Day of Judgment And if there should be some good Christians among them in such Places yet How are they daunted How little Courage have they to promote any spiritual or savory Discourse How ashamed to reprove any Prophaneness or filthy Talk till by degrees from using to hear such things without Reproving them they grow cold in their Zeal for Religion and at length become insensible so very true it is what the Apostle says that Evil Communication corrupts even good Manners It is like an infectious Disease it gets into our Nature and we know not how and spreads its self into all our Words and Actions This is a true Reason why Christians are so cold in their Devotions so tardy in their Journey Heaven-ward even because they converse too much with the Men of the World which the Holy Ghost assures us is Enmity to God because they are so far taken with one Man's Wit another's good Humour a third's Raillery as to wink at his Prophaneness his lewd Jests his impudent Slander and so by growing cool in their Zeal for Virtue Piety and the Glory of God they at length sink insensibly into an unthinking State whereas if we followed the Apostle's Advice with a Brother that were a Fornicator or a Worldling no not to eat we should then be sure of keeping alive that Fervor and Holy Zeal in our Hearts which alone denominate us Christians Now since it is most manifest That nothing does more promote the Kingdom of Satan than these publick Clubs Why should not good Christians countermine them by making Sober Societies among themselves For in Company with Religious Persons one is tempted to utter those good things which weak Christians are ashamed to speak before the Wicked and we should have great Incouragement to speak what might be to the use of Edifying and ministring Grace to the Hearers and should our selves soon find the Benefit of keeping such Company I am saith Holy David the Companion of all those that fear Thee and keep thy Righteous Judgments Can a Man touch Pitch saith the Prophet and not be defiled therewith Can a Man carry Fire in his Bosom and his Cloaths not be burnt So neither can a Man walk in the Path of the Vngodly but if he hast not out of it he will soon come to stand in the ways of Sinners and at last to sit down in the Seat of the Scornful to mock at all Religion and then his Case is desperate I cannot sufficiently caution you against so dangerous a Temptation as that of Ill Company and especially because there are so many Snares to draw Men into Company in general of which the chiefest and as is commonly
with Hezekiah upon a Death-Bed Remember now O Lord how I have walked before thee in Truth and with a perfect Heart and have done that which was right in thine Eyes And you that have already tasted those Joys which arise from a good Conscience and the Pleasures of a Godly Life and Conversation fall not from your own Stedfastness and since you see Wicked Men take such Pains to serve their Lusts to please their Senses and gratifie their Appetites be you at some Pains also to serve your God to advance his Glory yea and to encourage others likewise to do the same And if there be but Two in a Street that intend really to serve God to frequent the Sacrament and the Prayers of the Church let them make it their Business to perswade Two more to do the same and let your Prayers be frequent and fervent to God that He would increase the Number of true Believers and that it would please Him to bring into the Way of Truth all such as have erred and are deceived This would be one great Means to mend the World and without this it will hardly be done it is not good Books nor good Preaching that will reclaim a Prophane and Profligate Wretch for such Persons will neither read good Books nor hear Sermons they are out of the reach of all other Methods except Counsel Advice and Exhortation and oftentimes they refuse that too But when good Men are as Bold as evil Men are Impudent and as openly Good as others are Bad when Piety has Authority in it and frowns Prophaneness out of Countenance then the World will mend and if not grow Devout yet at least grow Modester and Civiller toward Religion when Virtuous Men give good Evidence that they do believe in good Earnest by endeavouring the Punishment of all vicious and open Offenders as the Law directs And altho Piety is now-a-days laugh'd at and Religion out of Fashion yet that I may now shew you how to Practise what I have been hitherto Recommending I mean a Christian Conversation and Society I must tell you that there are some Christians in this Barren Age and those of considerable Rank and Quality who think it is so far from unbecoming them that nothing is more acceptable to them than Pious Discourse and the Company of such Men as endeavour to make the Word of God their Rule to walk by And I have both known heard of some Numbers of Religious Men in this City who Meet at one anothers Houses usually every Week or as often as Occasions permit and there make it their Business to inforce upon one anothers Minds the great Principles of Christianity to live up to the Doctrines of our Church to frequent the Holy Sacrament every Lord's-Day and the Publick Prayers every Day they having a quick sense of Piety and a great concern upon them for another World they endeavour to preserve this Temper in themselves and to propagate it to others and many good Rules they have among them and by their frequent Meetings they take Notice of each others Virtues and so they strive to imitate each other In one there abounds the Grace of Meekness in another is a great Christian Courage and Zeal to stand up for God's Glory in another Patience in another Self-denial and Mortification in another a Zeal for Peace-making and this makes them the more to desire each other's Company as being Monitors to one another by their Example And this is one of their Rules Never to speak Ill of one another and if at any time they hear Ill of one another or of any other good Christian they first go and see if it be true what envious Men do report of him rightly considering that as one Man may do amiss so may another more easily speak amiss that being the Sin that does so easily beset every Man and also that as Society is the Excellency and great Blessing of Mankind so Slander and Reproach Censuring and Evil-speaking poysons and destroys all Love and Charity in the World But if it prove true that such an one has been overtaken in a Fault they take the Apostle's Advice and restore him in the Spirit of Meekness considering themselves also may be Tempted At these Meetings there is no Discourse of News nor Trade nor Worldly Business or Controversie in Religion but they take care that all their Speech be season'd with Grace and to the use of Edifying and may minister Grace to the Hearers And therefore they apply themselves to the constant Reading and Studying of the Holy Scriptures that the Word of Christ may dwell richly in them that so out of the abundance of the Heart the Mouth may speak They do often at these times confer about the State of their Souls they do examine into the Growth and Decay of Piety in general and also particularly among themselves and each shews what does most affect and influence him and every one does frequently inculcate and stir up to Perfection Those that were Gentlemen and had Leisure made it their Business to order their Conversation so as to adorn the Gospel and publickly to discountenance Vice by the Promoting the Making of good Laws and the Putting of them in Execution knowing that their Example was necessary to influence Trades-Men to be Sober to be Religious and to be Just in all their Dealings and to imitate their Burning and Shining Lights Those that were Masters of Families acted in their Stations like Men that believed in good earnest that there was a Judgment to come a Heaven and a Hell and that God would call all Men to an Account what Good they have done in their Generation This made them never to omit going to Prayers in their Families and telling their Children and Servants what a Benefit it will be to them to live in the Fear of God and serve Him in their tender Years Those that were Officers in the Parishes they lived in would suffer no Disorder in the Streets nor no Night-Walker no Drunkard no Swearer no Prophaner of the Lord's Day to go Unpunished And this was one end of joyning themselves into Neighbourly Societies to consult upon Methods whereby to put a stop to Vice and bring Men to a Sence of their Duty to God and Man And thus they acted like Honest Men in their Offices without Bribes or Feasting upon the Parish Charge There was likewise another Sort of Religious Societies and those were of Young-Men that were Apprentices Servants and Journy-Men and these strived to out-do the rest in Zeal and Piety being not engaged in the World they endeavour to Dedicate themselves to God in their tender Years To this end they joyned themselves into Societies and there met once a Week perhaps in some Upper Room to excite and stir up one another to avoid the Sins of the Age they liv'd in and to imprint likewise upon other Mens Minds a Sence of Religion to this end they set up on the Lord's-Day