Treasure and grow never the Richer But so Pray to God That you may find Cause to Bless God for what you have got by the Trade And for that Way of Management I am to give some Advice before I have done But here let me Caution you from making Hasty Conclusions and Denying the Fruit of Prayer only from your present Sense of the Matter For you may have the Benefit which you do not Observe and the Prayers may do you Good many other Ways tho you Perceive not the Good to your Mind in some particular Manner proposed or expected by your selves The Phyâ—iâ—k that makes Sick is yet in order to Health And you must not Look for the Harvest assoon as the Seed is Sown God will Avenge his own Elect that cry day and night to him Tho he bear long with them Luke 18.7 Yea he will do it Speedily That is The very First Fit Opportunity Tho not so Soon as they might make Account And tho you do not now Feel the Benefit you must Wait till you do and Believe That you shall be the Better for Following the Course which He himself puts you upon who has Pleasure in the Prosperity of his Servants and does not bid the House of Jacob nor any House of Yours Seek his Face in vain But after all these Complaints of wanting a Command and Time and Ability and Company and Success There are other Wants that more need to be Complained of for Hindring these Prayers Tho they be Wants here less Observed Even The Want of Wisdom Humility Zeal a Heavenly Mind The Love of God and a Holy Life As I shall shew next in pointing out the Real Causes That Family-Prayer is so much Neglected And these Causes I take to be Ignorance Pride Sloth Worldliness Enmity to God and The Love of Sin 1. Ignorance is a Cause For the Prayerless Families do not Know or they will not See which is the worst Ignorance of all because a Wilful one the Needs of their Souls which should Hasten them to their Prayers Nor see the things of their Peace which should make them Glad to be so Employed Many pass for Knowing men yea Deep and Sharp Shrewd and Politick and they are really Wise in their Generation Who more Cunning to Serve their own Turns and to bring about their Worldly Ends But to do their Souls Good and to render themselves for ever Happy They have no Knowledge To Ingratiate themselves with the Best of all Friends and and to Compass the most Blessed of all Ends in the matters of God's Holy Religion and their own Eternal Salvation Here all their Skill sails them They act as Ideots and Novices and shew the extreme Folly in turning away from the Supreme Felicity And tho they cannot chuse but get some Knowledge of God in his Creatures yet they do not Know him in his Son nor as Revealed in his Word nor as shewing his Power and his Glory in the Sanctuary They do not Know how Great he is or else they would more Fear him Nor how Good he is to his Servants or else they would be more with him when they might Get so much by him And tho they make a Quarrel upon the Charge of Ignorance as did the Pharisâ—es with our Saviour Jâ—h 9.40 Are we Blind They take it heinously that such Pretenders to know more than all the rest should be brought in with their â—â—â—oramus But he told them next ver That as much as they did see only help'd to Aggravate their Guilt and so they but Knew how to Increase their Condemnation and were Witty but to get themselves the more Stripes How many are ready to Brag with Laâ—dâ—â—ea Rev. 3 17. That they are Rich and increas'd with Goods and have need of nothing When God knows They are Miserable and Wretched and Poor and Blind and Naked They do not Know what Case themselves are in They are meâ—e Strangers at Home and have no Good Acquaintance with their own Souls They would Face us down That their Heâ—â—ts are Right and very Good when God's Word pronounces them Deceitful and Desperately Wicked And they never shew us what they are Good for in Pouring out of the Abundance of them before the Lord. David begg'â— hard of God and made this his Argument to prevail and speed For I am Poor and Nâ—edy 〈◊〉 86.1 Tho he were a Wealthy Prince that wanted for nothing of the World yet he was so Wâ—se a Man as to know what Need he had of God And it is this Spiritual Poverty that furnisheth us with the best Sagacity The Sense of Indigence at Home that sets us upon Seeking Abroad Thus the Poor in Spirit tho they may seem to be such as have less Need than some of their Neighbours yet they Pray more and oftner And herein shew themselves the Wiser because they understand their own Occasions better But the Prayerless Families do not know what 's Good for themselves How to Traffick with that Kingdom where is all to be had nor how to get the richest Stock to raise a Fund and Estate Inexhaustible and to make their Fortune and themselves for ever If they well understood themselves indeed they would take their Time while a Price is put into their Hands and not turn their Backs so upon the Blessed Giver of all Good and lose All because they would not come to his Gates nor lye waiting every Day to Receive of his Infinite Fulness They 'd be as forward as any to call Fools where they saw Men thus slight and neglect all their fairest Advantages in this World And what are they better that will turn themselves out of all the Highest Good World without end because they would not set themselves to Ask till the Time when it was too late to be found And then they that thought with themselves We will not be such Fools to lie waiting thus and spend our Time and our Strength in our Prayers shall cry out of themselves We Fools would not take God's Way but made account to do better in our own We mistook our Business and our Interest both in preferring our Humour and our Pleasure before our Conscience and Obedience And now we perceive how the God of this World infatuated our Minds and blinded our Eyes how the Old Serpent was too old for us and his Subtilty out-witted us and made worse than Babies of us to fill our Hearts with deadly Prejudice against Christ's way of receiving the Kingdom of God as little Children And we have refused all the Offers of Eternal Glory We would not Keep in with Him in whose Hands was all our Life and Bliss But we Rawbled from him and took more care for an Inch of Time than for the Never-ending Eternity O whither are we going And what shall we do now for ever Had we Wist what would have been the Issue we would have taken another Course we would have Cleav'd to the Lord and Sâ—uck to our Prayers
few Words of Advice for the Management of it I will add some more of Persuasion to Quicken you to it and constantly to go on and Persist in it In the Reasons for it I would let you see both your Obligation and your Encouragement to it And not only convince you That it is your Duty but Satisfy you That it is also your Interest and every way as Good as it is Needful for you 1. I Argue from the Obligation That family-Family-Prayer is your Duty and the Duty of all Families God having signified his Pleasure to bind you to it Therefore you ought to make Conscience of it And not to look upon it as a matter of Indifferency left at your Choice but of Necessity to Oblige your Conscience The Command and Injunction is so Clear and Frequent for Prayer it self To Call upon the Lord and Bless his Name that I never heard any Dispute it But even they who do nothing at it will yet speak for it and talk of Serving the Lord and Praying to God when yet they neither Mind nor Care How or When it shall be done And the Command is as Express To Pray every where 1 Tim. 2.8 and to Pray Always Luke 18.1 And by this Praying Every Where and Always What can we understand Less Than that we should do it in all Places and at all Times that are Fit and Proper for it Now in your Families Have you not fair Conveniencies for it and inviting Opportunities to put you upon it More and Better I think than any where else unless the Church For there sure Two or Three or more may Meet together in our Lord's Name as well as upon any other Accounts And there 〈◊〉 have the Advantage and Talents put into their Hands which they are bound to Use and Improve to the Honour of their Lord and to the Promoting of their Mutual Salvation And it is their wilful Fault and their wicked Neglect if they let Slip those Advantages and Bury those Talents Sure if they do Regard the great End of their Living They will think themselves infinitely Concern'd to Imploy them to better purpose And not count it more Material to attend their Backs and their Bellies than to serve their God and save their Souls He that in his Providence has so Ordered their Being and the Circumstances of their Living may well expect it from them That they should Recognize and Adore him in their Joynt as well as Single Capacity Not only as Individual Persons but a little Body and Society brought together even for the purpose To joyn their Forces in the Common Service of their great Founder and continual Benefactor and strive Together in Prayer This seems to be given for the main End of their Conjunction in a Family Acts 17 26.-7 God that made the World has determined the bounds of their Habitation That they should Seek the Lord. Not that they should Forget and Disown the Supream Head of the Family and Cohabit as if they had no Relation to him nor Dependance upon him Nor any Homage and Tribute to pay him You Masters have a Power which you ought to use for your great Master in Heaven To Convene your People for his Worship For they are not only Near in Place but stand in Readiness at your Call And you are so Joyn'd in mutual Relations together that it is to be supposed You should be more hâ—â—itily concerned for one another and more forward to Contribute your Assistance in the Service that tends so much to the greatest Good of all your Souls Here then is the Obligation not only of godly Zeal and Piety but of Brotherly Love and Charity lying upon you And though you pretend to Pray every one Apart yet you look like a kind of House-Schismaticks if you cannot Agree to do it in Conjunction and such Joynt-Worship which you should still Covet as much as you can have it To shew that you are for Practising as well as Believing the Communion of Saints You that have the Care of the Rest How can you shew your Care better than in making the best Provision you can for their Souls That these also may have their daily Meals with you as well as their Bodies And if you must take Care that they Worship God May not you be better satisfied to see them Joyn with you than to follow them every one to their Privacies As to which You may Exhort them but there you must be â—â— in to Leave and Trust them You are allowed Teachers in your own Families You have there authority for it yea and a Command to it Deut. 6.7 And how can you better Teach them than in Teaching them to Pray That so they may be all Taught of God And then what so Effectual Method of Teaching them to Pray as to Exemplify it to them in your Daily Practice and to go before them in the way of Prayer I hope you will readily acknowledge That God the Lord of your Family is to be Honoured by you in every Relation and Capacity And that he should not have the less Honour but the more from Masters Because he has Honoured you with that Authority above the rest of the Family And if you must Honour him in the most Solemn and best manner that you are able I shall leave you to judge Whether you do not Visibly pay him the Greater Honour in Falling down to him before your Family and Obliging them all to Joyn and Assist you in the Adoration Than only to Steal into a Corner and do it by yourselves You give Glory to God even in Confessing your Sins And as you Sin together so it looks like a Concern for his Honour Humbly to Confess it all together To shew That though you be all Frail Creatures yet you do not Hold together against him as a Cluster of Rebels But throw your selves upon your Submission before him and make all the Satisfaction that you are able to him And let me mind you to Consider yet further Whether you have not Blessings to the Family as such which therefore you ought to Own all together Even for this very Priviledge and such precious Opportunities as you have to come into the Presence of God and Pour out your Complaints and Desires before him Sure you are bound to Bless and Praise him And can you Live all still upon his Blessings and yet Smother â—il the Kindness of Heaven in a base Disregard Can you Live together and make no Acknowledgments together of your Joynt-Obligations to the Lord When you are all so much Beholden to him that you Live continually upon him Yea are you not all Christians that is Persons Devoted as Holy to the Lord And must not your Houses then and Societies that are made up of such be so Devoted too as a Generation of them that Seek him Psal 24.6 You may read Lev. 27.14 Of a man Sanctifying his House to be Holy to the Lord And the Title of the 30th
Lost upon some Ill men Who from the Eminent Height to which they were Advanced can take the Advantage to Break their Neeks Or Murder themselves in the very Ship that is carrying them over to the Blessed Land But our Lord's Family must not bear the Blame of the Traytor 's Villany For it was not because the Master kept Strict Orders But because the Servant was a Wretch of Incorrigible Manners This Way of Prayer is God's own Appointed Means abundantly to Benefit Souls For this there is an Aptitude in it And all that are Conscientious in the use of it shall find such a Blessing going along with it As the Lord Blessed Obed-Edom and all his Houshold when the Ark that Symbol of his Presence was there 2 Sam 6.11 So shall the Houses be Blessed where Prayer Dwelling Calls in and Prevails with the Blessed God to Dwell there too And thus you may Increase in Riches If you will not be Niggards in the Expence of your Prayers And as you all use to be at it Labouring together to Improve your Estates So all be at it Praying together to Augment your Spiritual Wealth And never fear that it will Hinder your Business or Destroy your Gains to Stay for Prayers Nor be so Hasty to be Rich that you will not Tarry to Pray For what this Stops you one way it will make you Amends the Hundred-fold another way But never shall that Good be for your Good that is not Sanctified to you by the Word of God and Prayer Though so you may Tear and Snatch and get it Yet better you had been without it When it shall Abide by you only to be a Curse to you and to Rise up in the Judgment against you O see here how you may be best Provided of all that shall be Good for you and such Good as shall never be taken from you Ye know how men use to follow and Court the Great Ones that can Advance them and their Interests And how they will Despise those that have no such Friends and Censure the Folly of such as will not make Use of them when they have ' em O may you Learn this Wisdom of the World's Children To Frequent his Gates who before all Friends in the World is Able to do Exceeding abundantly for you even Above all that you Ask or Think That you may not Starve in the midst of all the Fulness Nor let it be said of you Ye have not Because ye Ask not 3. This family-Family-Prayer will be most for the Credit of you and your Houses God will Provide for your Honour when you take such Care of his And you shall be Esteemed then as a People Near and Dear to Him and Great and Intimate with Him Nor can it so much â—â—y you open to the Exceptions and Lashes of some Prophane Scoffers But it will a great deal more Raise your Value with all their Betters Yea the Regularity and Piety of a Sober Religious Family has a Beauty that takes with many who yet will not be at the Trouble to Promote it in their own In Former days it was thought no Disparagement for a great Officer to Give himself to Prayer Nor was his Devotion counted Scandalous but Glorious For Cornelius the Centurion a Devout man and one that Feared God with all his House Acts 10.2 and that Prayed in his House ver 30. Or in his Family for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used Heb. 11.7 and did there Officiate Himself Is said to be a man of Good Report among all the Nation of the Jews ver 22. And as Degenerate as ever the World is grown Sure it sounds more Landable still for a House to be called An Orderly Praying House than a Wild Drinking House And no â—â—ssening Character of any Master To be more for God and for Prayer than for the World and for his own vain Pleasure The Gallantry and Bravery The Furniture and Hospitality I know are the main things Admired and Cryed up by the Epicurean Tribe But Wiser and Better Judges do see the Nakedness of the House through all these And that One thing still and that the Main thing of all is Wanting Where the Care of the Soul is Forgotten and the Lord of all has not so much Respect among them as would be shewed but to any Considerable Man that comes to Visit them He that has more to do there than they all shall not be Regarded at all But it may be written over the Door God is not in this Place His Religion here has no Room Nor his Name unless it be in the Swearers or Scorners mouth And thus the Master Loses himself with all the best of his Friends and more would drop their good Opinion of him if they came better to know him Though a Loose Family may call him a Good Master who does not use to Call them to Prayers Yet what is he Good for that Provides no Better for them than if he were an Infidel When they shall every day be Concern'd with one another in all Business else But no more Correspond in any Joynt Worship of God Than if each of them were to the other a Heathen man or a Publican If St. Paul calls him worse than an Infidel that Provides not for his own House on the Worldly Account I know not what better to Esteem him that will not Provide for them on the Religious Account When it looks Probable by the Lares and Penates their Houshold-Gods That the very Heathens did offer up somewhat like Divine Worship in their Families How can we then Think without a Reflection of Infamy upon any who Name the Name of Christ with whom their Lord stands even for Nothing and they have other matters to mind than ever to think of his Worship O what a House is here kept A Heathenish House The Famed Author of the Whole Duty of Man calls them Part 5. Sect. 11. Are they a Family of Christians where the Worship of God by Daily Prayers Morning and Evening is Neglected The late Archbishop whose Memory is so deservedly Honoured says Serm. of Fam. Rel. He sees not how in Reason they can be so esteemed Or indeed to have any Religion Which they have not so much as the Face of They are more like a Fortress of Rebels Or a Nest of Serpents Spitting Contempt and Defiance at their Maker and Preserver And thy House then is no otherâ— than the Seat of an Usurper And thou there assumest the Glory of God to thy self where thou must be so Uppermost that even He shall not be Owned Above thee And then who dost thou think must Honour thee when thou canst treat the most High with such Contempt Never do thou imagine to keep up thy Authority by Denying his For that Arrogance which makes thee so Topping to set up thy self above thy Sovereignâ— It does but Uncover thy Nakedness instead of Cloathing thee with Majesty and Honour It makes thee the
Service constantly performed Whatever Business else you have be sure still Your greatest Business of all is with Him And all the rest will come to nothing without him And you will be never the better for any thing that ever you do if all your Works are not Begun Continued and Ended in Him If you cannot find time to do the Work of God you 'll one day Curse the Business that took you off and find after all the Bustle you had as good all your Day to have stood Idle as so to fill it up there was no Room left for Prayers You say this must be done and that must be done But our Lord has taught you to say I must work the Works of him that sent me and that must not be left undone If one or the other must needs be omitted the Wise and Faithful Servant of God will quickly determine which shall Truckle and give Place And rather borrow from his Meals or his Pillow than He shall have none of his Time who gives it All yea and renounce that Calling wherein he cannot Abide with God and rather venture himself to be turned out of Doors than grasp so much Business as to Justle Prayers out of Doors But Poverty and Troubles look very ill Excusés to shifâ— off Prayers when indeed they are more in Season than ever For Is any afflicted let him Pray James 5.13 And Call upon me in thee Day of Trouble Psal 50.15 As then you have the most Need of Help so then you have the Thorns in your Sides to Prick you on the more to look after it And in such Times and Cases you are never the worse provided with Sufficiency for this Work which requires not Bodily Strength nor any Money to Raise this Stock And you might be thought as Crasy in your Minds as in your Bedies if you should think fit to let alone your Prayers till such time as you had nothing to Trouble you and no less Idle to put it off till you had nothing else to do For all would pretend some things and some would Enumerate many things still to be done and so there would be no Time at all left for Prayers But some are busy Men and they Love moe than Need to be so They plunge in the Business peradventure to Save themselves from the Prayers They are for hiding in these Thickets and Bushes like Guilty Adam and Eve from the Presence of God They will still find themselves somewhat else to do who cannot Skill of this Work nor Abide it Though they can find Time for a hundred smaller matters they have none for this They have Time to pick up all the Stories of the Neighbourhood and all the News of the Kingdom and so they seem not to have Business enough of their own but must have their Sickle in every ones Harvest and tell what this Man should do and Censure another for doing that And their Tongues run Divisions upon every ones Concerns as if they had nothing else to mind And yet they want Leisure to go speak with God about the most Important Business of their own Everlasting Salvation They Want it and they make themselves want it they will want it But Time should not fall them if their Hearts did but serve them for the Work The poorest Labourers will have Time to Eat and Drink and Sit and Chat and Sleep and Rest And sure those in Wealthier Circumstances have more Command of their Time Or who is to be blam'd if they Impose harder Necessities upon themselves and will not better Consider their own Souls But I shall shew them e're I have done that there is somewhat else and worse yet than the Business lying in the way David and Daniel and others were as much busied as they yet they gave themselves to Prayer and would find time for that whatever became of their other Concerns David had all the Business of a Kingdom to look after yet the Cumber did not so Distract him nor the Pomp so Dazzle him nor the Pleasure so Enguls him as to tun him into forgetfulness of his God and his Duty No he minded a greater Business than the greatest on Earth and left all to go to the God of his Life And so will every one whose Heart is Right with God All the World shall not keep them from it Love and Zeal will make the Way and break throw every Impediment and Despise the Common Pretentions as very Insignificant that are counted the Just Bars and Lawful Hindrances of Prayer to make some Houses Exempted from the Service And I must be bold to tell you That it argues either your silly Improvidence no better to Cast your Time and not leave Space for that which concerns you Eternally Or else your open Ungodliness to Prefer your filthy Lucre or your fleshly Pleasure before the Blessed Communion with your Heavenly Father and not to slight all the World rather than the Supreme Eternal Lord. If you would be less Worldly or more Orderly you should find Time sufficient And take heed that you do not make Diversions as well as Necessities to defraud the Blessed God of his Service and to rob your Souls of 〈◊〉 greatest Advantage Take heed you do not catch hold of any Business to supersede and rid your Hands of somewhat else that is against your Humour For you know well enough what Uses to be done when your Will is to it and your Heart is set upon it You know how you can sit up and Work to Dispatch any Worldly Occasions that you are for Promoting And what is your Beloved Work that shall be even your Every-day's Work nay in the midst of your greatest Business you 'll steal out for a little sweet Correspondence with the Dear Friend that you Love above all when you have him just in the House with you or very near to you And if God be the chiefly Beloved of your Souls you will make such a Loose from all Occasions in the World to get to him and even Force the Opportunity for it rather than want it And would you Adjourn every Business else that his might be dispatched Would you leave all to come to Him when yet so much lies upon you This this would be indeed acceptable to Him and the kindlier taken by Him But amidst all the Business beware that you have not Time for Forgery and Coining false Counterfeit Reasons which you know will never pass with Him to whom you must give Account Do not betray the wretched Hypocrisy of this Pretence at your Idle Times and your Spare Hours when it is Vacation with you and you have even Nothing to do And yet even then no more shall be done for God than when you were never so much taken up Nay when you can be so lavish even of God's Consâ—rated Time and commit Sacrilege upon the Hallowed Season to make it serve for any thing rather than his Holy Service And then it seems you have too
kickest against the Pricks and breakest throw all the Restraints of Conscience to run out after thy Pleasures and Extravagancies thy Idols and thy Harlots a Whoring from the Lord When thou livest Dishonestly or Idly carriest on Base Designs and scornest all Holy Rules When thou liest weltring in Lust swollen with Pride fir'd with Malice eaten up with Covetousness And all thy Sins are in their Power upon thee And nothing but what is Hateful to God is Dear to thee Does he not see thy Ways and count all thy Steps Dost thou not know he is aware of thee And then with what Face canst thou go into his Presence and take on thee to do any thing at Prayer In this Case thou art liker to make a Scoff at it thin to have any Serious Concern in it And thy Companions that know thee would but Laugh at thee to hear of such a one as thee ever offering so to Imploy thy self Thou couldst scarce have the Patience but to Kneel so many Minutes at thy Prayers as thou couldst sit Hours at the Cards or the Drink And when thou so hardenest thy self against the Cries of the Poor How canst thou expect to find any Mercy that wilt shew none When thou canst not Forgive but goest full of Vengeance thou'lt be afraid of Cursing thy self to go over the Blessed Form Forgive us our Trespasses as we Forgive them c. When thou hast been stretching forth thy Hands to Iniquity and Stealing or Cheating sticks to thy Fingers what Hands are those to lift up in Prayer And what a Tongue is that to Bless God that so commonly breaks out to Blaspheme him How canst thou pretend any Adoration to the God of Heaven when thou knowest that thy God is thy Belly Yea how canst thou expect to be ever the better for that Praying which thou canst make the Subject of thy Mocking and Jeering 'T is no Imployment for such a Prophane Wretch No thy very Praying is even as much a Taking of God's Name in Vain as thy Swearing There 's that Abomination in thy Heart which Cramps and Damps every Petition that comes out of thy Mouth Thy Trade of Life alas it stops the Breath and Kills the very Heart of thy Prayers And this is the Reason that many have so soon enough of their Prayers as not finding the Exercise to agree with their Constitution nor with the drift of their Conversation They will not be at the Pains to Cleanse themselves and then they know as good not meddle with the Prayers Nay the Enemies of God which they Reset in their Hearts will never abide it When it brings the Sins to Sight and is a kind of Arraigning themselves at the Bar of Heaven therefore they Abstain from it or are so very Sparing in it not only for Shame that the Holy things may not Confound them but for dread also lest they should Raise the Evil Spirit to Torment them But will this serve the turn And shall they who go on thus perversely in their ways so Guard and Defend themselves in the Pessession of their Sins O silly idle Attempt of Desperate Creatures For all must come out And the Conscience which they now so Strangle and Provoke will one day Return but with the greater Force and Fury upon them 'T is Vain then to Cover your Transgression and think to hide Iniquity in your Bosom or with a high Hand to get the Mastery of your Convictions and make a League and Peace with your Sins that shall hold Inviolable For be sure they will find you out And for all these things God will bring you into Judgment And there is no way for you to Escape the Danger of them but roundly to Judge yourselves for them And if you Seek the Lord to let these go their way And as ever you would see lin with Comfort Cast out the Cursed Things that set him against you And down with those Walls of Separation that keep you and your Prayers from him And away with the Bosom Lusts and Darling Sins that spoil all the Dearness with Heaven and that cut off your fair Correspondence Above O see the desperate Straits into which you run yourselves by continuing under the Love and Power of your Sins For if so you Hold to Iniquity it will certainly be your Ruin And you cannot come out of it without the Help of your Prayers And yet alas what Hearty Prayers can you make against the Sins which you love in your Hearts And let even this turn your Hearts for ever against those Sins that they blast all the Joy and Comfort of your Lives and turn you out of the best Refuge in the World and make that mighty Help of poor Sinners Insignificant and Helpless unto you by keeping you from it or destroying all the Advantage you might get by it and making that Blessed God the Terror of your Souls who should be the only Joy of your Hearts These things considered I hope you will not forsake your Prayers to cleave to your Sins But Fly from your Sins to get such a worthy Peace in your Minds that you may go sweetly on with your Prayers And now before I offer any Advice for the Management of this Duty let me settle some Preliminaries to make the Way for these family-Family-Prayers And I will propose but these Two Things The fixing of some Stated Times for Prayer And also the Frequent Returns of your Prayers That you may make Sure of them and that you may be as Osten as is needful in them 1. Make Sure of some Stated Times for Prayer Though I tie up none to Canonical Hours or to any other Certain Hours in particular yet I would have you to Fix upon some yourselves After you have each consulted your several Conveniencies for the fittest Seasons which you find to be most Proper and Advantageous for the Purpose Determine the Time with yourselves and let your People know that then you Expect their Attendance with you before the Lord. That so all may cast to be Ready and to get all that Hinders as much as they are able out of the way For the Corrupt Flesh will be apt to frame many Evasions to carry you off your Byass with other Matters when you are under no such Rules but only for Praying when the Spirit moves And if you do not fix upon your Times Nam'd and Appointed the thing will be in Danger often to be Forgotten and Thrust out and to slip and drop to the Ground Thus tie yourselves up then where you have not already and keep as near as you can to the Set Times that nothing under such unavoidable Impediments as you could not Prevent or Foresee may put you beside them And that none through their Fault nor unless upon any Just and Needful Account may be Wanting but Ready at Call for the Service Though I deny not but Prayer may sometimes give Place to a less Work than it self when it is a Fit and
Necessary Work and such that cannot be done another Time as the Prayer may Then you may step aside somewhat out of your Way to let the Carriage go by But use not willingly and upon Frivolous Occasions to Break your settled Measures And when you do let it be so That they who know you may perceive that the Interruption is none of your Pleasure but rather Pain and Grief to you But here I would take upon me so far as to recommend to you the Morning and Evening 〈◊〉 the Beginning and the Close of the Day as very Inviting Seasons for your Prayers And such as all the Faithful Servants of God generally every where throughout the World have been us'd to make Choice of And that not without very weighty Reasons Some of which let me here Suggest as Motives encouraging you to be with so much Good Company 1. For the Morning Prayers It may well be called the best Beginning to Begin with him who is the Best of all Beings To have your First Business with God is such a Tincturing of the Vessel as may make it carry a Sweet Savour all the Day After you have been so piously Taken up with the Lord you 'll be the more Meet for an Innocent and Useful Conversation with Men. When first you have been Seeking Directions from Above you 'll better know how to Carry yourselves in all your Concerns First Fruits were of old God's Part. And still we are to Seek his Kingdom and the Righteousness thereof in the first place And this is one way of Seeking the Lord Early when you Resolve with that Great and Holy Man Psal 5.3 My Voice shalt thou Hear in the Morning O Lord. In the Morning will I direct my Prayer to thee and will look up And before you break your Fast or pour down your Morning's Draught it is fit you should break open your Minds and pour out you Sâ—uls to God in your Prayers And this you are to take the more heed of that the World Rush not in to be served before your God and that Bodily Occasions do not get the Start of your Religion so that it never Recover all the Day Some Men are Early up but is only the World or their Fleshly Pleasure that Rouzes them They are in Hosta to be Bustling out and gone before they have asked God's Leave or taken Him along with them Instead of Calling upon the Lord and first of all Securing the Service of God As soon as up they are Calling upon their People and Spurring them on to the Service of Mammon to make Haste and do this and that besure But not a word of the thing that is most Needful of all to be done O what Preposterous Doing is here The Attendance on the Vile Body to exclude all Care of the Precious Soul Earth to be set above Heaven And any paltry Trifles and perishing Trash to take Place of Immortal Glory and the God Blessed for ever To run away with all Speed in the Morning without Him that has brought you to it as if you had no Dependance upon him nor he any Title to you Again I would engage you to your Morning Devotions even for the Decency of the thing And to make some handsome grateful Returns to your Great Preserver who has brought you out of your Sleep as out of the Hands of Death and rais'd you from your Beds as from your Graves and let you see a New Light like a Resurrection to another Life O can you chuse but say with his approved Servant Psalm 139.18 When I awake I am still with thee As soon as I Open my Eyes I cannot but Lift them up to the Lord from whom comes all my Safety and my continual Supply For that I laid me down and Slept and Awaked again What was it but because the Lord sustained me Psalm 3.5 Who did keep you in your Sleep when you were in no Capacity to Look to your selves Who securâ—d you from Dangers and Refresh'd you with a comfortable Rest And is it not worth your Notice and Acknowledgment And will you give him no Thanks and Praise for it O let even common Ingenuity extort from you the Morning Sacrifice And lannch not forth into the Business of another Day Before you have paid your humble Devotions for the Protection and the Repose of the last Night Yet further Let me urge the Necessity as well as Decency of this Duty If ever you would be safe and Do Well Do not Vonture out in the Morning without this Guard and Defence of your Prayers about you For your Souls to go thus Undress'd and Unbless'd into the world 't is worse than for your Bodies to set out Naked in the Sharpest Season You know not what you do So to Expose your selves You know not what Temptations and Perils you shall meet with nor what is near you or just hanging over you In such an Evil Dangerous World wherein you Live Beset with such a Mighty and Deadly Enemy that is still watching and plotting for your Mischief and Ruin And when you are so weak and Insufficient to maintain either your Integrity or your Safety and 't is as much as you can do with all your Prayers to secure your selves O what will become of you then if you get not under the Shelter of the Almighty If you Engage not his Aid in your Defence You are never out of Harms way when out with God However you may Fancy your selves safe and well enough even under the Devil's Power For so he will seek to Humour you into your own Undoing All your Security and Prosperity then Alas it is but a Dream and Imagination when you are out of God's Hands and will not by Prayer commit your selves to his Tuition That which looks for your Welfare then will prove but a Trap And even the things in which you Applaud your selves as Best for you will turn to your Downfall and Ruin Once more You have as much Need of your Morning-Prayers as you have of the Blessing of God upon all your Designs and Labours of the Day For how Vain is it To Rise Early and Sit up Late and Eat the Bread of Carefulness and Sorrow Psal 127.2 If the Lord do not give Success and make your Endeavours Prosperous The best Contrivance and the greatest Pains will never do without his Favour and gracious Influence All your Planting and Watering will signify nothing If he do not give the Increase 1 Cor. 3.7 You may Plough and Sow and Reap the Wind If the kindly Blessing of Heaven do not Rear up and Ripen and Perfect the Fruits of the Earth You may Reckon all Sure and Fear nothing to hinder the Success and yet somewhat be Latent out of your reach to Discern that shall Blast and Spoil all So that you have not only need every Morning To ask your Daily Bread But a Daily Blessing upon that Bread to make it Bread indeed Fit to Nourish and do
you Good And if you are so Intent upon the Business or in such Haste for your Journeys that you cannot stay for Prayers But count that much Time Lost which is so Bestowed You will make too much Haste for the Good Speed and come to know at Last That Prayer never Hinder'd any Good and sitting work But is the Best Means in the world to make it Prosperous And whatever seeming Success you found as good you had never had it if by your Prayers you did not Seek or Sanctify it O then Begin all your Works in God's Holy Name and let your Prayers go before your Labours And never think that all your other Striving will do greater matters than this Striving with God for the Blessing Nor think to Snatch it out of God's Hands and work it out your selves whether He will or no But before you Engage in the Work of the Day Stay to Engage and Pray him into your Interests And instead of fearing any Damage by this Course Expect to Fare the Better all Day Long for your Morning Devotions 2. If you Plead That such are your Occasions your Family uses to be scattered in the Morning And one is Up and gone Another Engaged this way another taken up in that Business So that you cannot have them together to make any thing of the Morning Prayer Though I doubt not but you might order your Affairs for the common prevention of this were you indeed Lovers of God Zealous for the Service and full of Concern to Promote it Peradventure you might amend the matter by going to it a little Sooner or staying somewhat Later Yet in the Evening this Excuse is out of the way For then you are usually all together And as you Joyn in a Body to Sit and Converse and Eat and Talk together So why you should not Joyn together upon the Best and most Needful Account of all I know nothing to Hinder but your own False Hearts and Earthly Minds Contempt of God and Disaffection to his Holy things And if one Steals to Bed before Prayer-time and this and the other Run out and find themselves other Employment It is thy Fault as a Master that thou dost not use thy Authority to Oblige them to better Attendance And see that ye take this fair Leave of one another before you part to call upon the Lord with one Consent and Magnify his Name together That you may not only in a Formality say Good Night but have good Reason to Hope it And be like indeed to find Souls-Rest in your God as well as the Bodily Rest in your Beds And not go away with Regret of Conscience for making your Beds your Lurking Holes where to Hide from the Lord and Out-run your Duty Again If you have Forgot your selves in the Hurry of the Day At Night is the Time of Recollection to call your selves to Account and go Humble your selves to the Majesty Offended And beg his merciful Pardon in Christ Jesus for all that you have carelesly Omitted or wickedly Committed the Past Day For who Can understand his Errors Or know how oft he Offendeth O! which of you can tell how Frequently you Fail and Break with God in your Thoughts Words and Deeds every Day every hour And if you would Lye down in Peace and find your Sleep truly Sweet It concerns you first to Seek God's Peace and earnestly to Sue for Pardon That you may find him Reconciled before you enter the Regions of the shadow of Death And not go into your Beds with all the heavy Load of the Day 's Sins upon your Souls For ought you know Ere next Morning to sink you down too Low for any more Rising And that is yet a further Engagement to your Evening Prayers That you may be Defended from all the Dangers and Terrors of the Night Not only from Fire and Thieves but from the Wrath of God and the Incursions of Devils That the Blessed Keeper of Israel may watch over you when you are not in a Condition to take Care of your selves And that you may be Preserved safe under the shadow of his Wings For O how many have gone to Bed well and slept their Last And from their Beds been Carried to lye in the Dust Never to Wake again till the great Morning of the Last Day And what Assurance has any of you but when you go into your Chambers you from thence immediately go down to the Chambers of Death How do you know but this Night your Souls may be required of you How do you know but it shall be the Last Leave that ever you wâ—ll take of one another And would not you Labour hard with God in your Prayers If you were sure not to Rise and Live another Day And had you not best then be in as good Earnest Because you have no Certainty but so it may prove And let me tell you ye are Fool-hardy and throw a desperate Cast for Eternity To leap into your Beds before you go to your Prayers And as you should be greatly Ashamed to be such Brutes so you should be as much Afraid to run such Hazards And before you commit your Bodies to the Brother of Death Commend your Spirits to the God of your Life And go to your Beds even as to your Graveâ— And then before you lye Down you will think it Good to Kneel Down And never Omit to make this one of your Prayer Times But whatever be your Hours of Prayer 2. Take care of the Frequent Returns of your Prayers That you may be at them Daily and apply your selves to them as oft as is Necessary If you keep not just to such and such Times nor to Solemn Prayers exactly so many Times Yet get such an humble Sense of your Wants and such an high Esteem of the Blessed Freedom with God That you need not be Spurred to catch all the fit Opportunities for it Nor ever run into such common Neglects and long Strangeness to God Till you are Overgrown with your Sins and give Satan even all the Advantage he could wish against your Souls Yea and shewing that you have no Regard of that holy Religion whereof you make Profession For though some no less Silly than Prophane are forward to call Hypocrite when they see a man much Addicted to his Prayers Yet amuch more Competent Judge Job 27.10 makes the Rarity to be a Badge of Hypocrisy Will the Hypocrite Delight himself in the Almighty Will he Always Call upon God No But if he Begin with it and Offer a little at it and carry it on for some Small Time upon some Unusual Account Yet he 'll soon have Enough of it and Flag and fall Back and let it alone As nothing Agreeable either with the frame of his Spirit or the Tenor of his Life He is for another sort of Company and Conversation Than to be Much with God and serve him like Anna Luk. 2.37 with Prayers Night and Day Some Families are for
Prayers only on the Lord's-Day at Night and then the Lord shall have no more of them for a Week They 'll not come near him till that Day Se'nnight again But do not make such Fearful Chasms and Interruptions I beseech you For every Day is the Lord's-Day and a Day of Audience and a Prayer-Day wherein your Heavenly Father Expects you And wherein you I am sure do full as much Need Him And count it as Strange and Unusual with you to Suspend your Prayers as your Meals Yea to have your Prayers at a Stand as to have your Breath stopt For Prayer is the very Breath of Religion without which it is suffocated and stifled and cannot be kept Alive in the Family or in the Soul Nor let the Lord only Hear of you at the Pinch and Extremity when nothing but mere Dread forces you upon it Lest you find the sad Disappointment of Beginning an Acquaintance then and seek in Vain because you would not seek Before But let Prayer be moe in Fashion with you and more Common among you Be Ready to it and Much in it Till you have made you a Frequented Easy Path to the Throne of Grace Let it be even as the Air that you Breathe in and as the Food that you Live on and as the very Pulse of your Souls Carried on even without Ceasing 1 Thes 5.17 i.e. Keep in a Constant Preparation for it and be Ready upon all Occasions to fall into the Actual Exercise of it That it may not be as a Predigious thing to you but an Every Day 's Business and Familiar even as your Eating and Drinking Now to Quicken you to such Frequency of Prayer Do but Consider with me Three Things That this is the Only Time for it That the Oftner you thus come to God you shall be the Welcomer And that your Prayer the more Frequent is the more Excellent 1. Consider That this is the Only Time The Time of Reaching out the Scepter to Invite the Petitioner The Finding-While to Obtain Mercy When Mercy 's Arms are Extended to Receive the Humbled Yielding Sinner But it is but a While and O how Short a While Even as Nothing to the Vast Infinite Duration in which you must take up For ever and ever Can you think much then of your Daily Prayers Or think more than Once a Day too much To Beg and Importune the God of Heaven to have Mercy upon your poor sinful Departing Souls to vouchsafe some Tokens of his Love unto you and to bestow the Riches of his Saving Grace upon you before you go hence and be no more Seen nor Heard among the Living Does the Lord allow you now to Ask Seek and Knock Does he by his Command Oblige you to it And by his Promise of the happy Success Encourage you in it And yet you are Careless and Listless to make your Benefit of it while Time serves you for it O that you would Open your Eyes and see the Gracious Day that yet shines upon you And so well understand your selves as to perceive That it is no hard Put upon you but a Singular Favour offer'd unto you When you are Solicited to make your Frequent Addresses to the Father of Mercies That you may find his Mercy to Eternal Life Find it in the Time of this Mortal Life O could the Damned Pray themselves out of Hell How Hard would they be at it How Incessantly upon it And if by thy Prayers Thou may'st keep thy self from ever Coming there O how well would all the Pains and Expence be laid out though thou shouldst waste thy Lungs and wear out thy Knees in Crying Day and Night to be Delivered from God's Wrath and Everlasting Damnation O will you then Know the Time of your Visitation And if you Know it Use it while you have it And let this be as the Goad to prick you forwards ever and anon to Renew your Prayers To be at them again and again and still Persist in them and never have done with them till your Life is Run out and all your Danger is over O Use your selves now to Cry in Time that at Last you may not Cry in Vain Now Follow your Prayers that then you may not Lose your Prayers For if you do not Begin them till just your Time is Ending even as good you had never begun them O how many that now might Pray and Would not may then find that though they would Pray they Cannot Yea though after a sort then they do Pray there will be none to Regard their Prayers According to that terrifying Denunciation Prov. 1.28 Then shall they Call to me but I will not Answer They shall Seek me Early but they shall not Find me But now you may Prevent the Killing Frustration And if you let the Lord often Hear of you in Your Day you are like to have a Comfortable Hearing with him in His Day And it is the Conscientious Course of your Constant Praying Every Day that will give you good Hopes of Solid and Everlasting Consolation in your Dying-Day And therefore now Give your selves to it and be Often in it that then you may Reap all the Sweet and Blessed Fruits of it 2. Let it Hearten you on to such Frequency of Communion with God That the Oftner you so come to Him the Welcomer you shall be with Him For he is not Weary of Hearing nor Impoverish'd with Granting as Men use to be Sick of Bold Lavish Petitioners and give them not only a Repulse but a Rebuke Upbraiding them with Want of Manners as much as any other Wants they complain of But the Opening of our Mouths Wide has the Promise of God's Filling them And the most Importunate Beggars are his biggest Favourites He is as our Church expresses it always more Ready to Hear than we to Pray And best pleased with those by whom his Gates are most Frequented And though we have something to say to him not only Daniel's Three times a Day but David's Seven times a Day yea though it should come up to the Seventy times Seven He would never be Tir'd with the Repeated Cries nor Frown upon the Endless asking But would Delight in you so Delighting your selves in the Lord and like the Better of you for shewing that Greatest of all Wisdom in coming still to Draw out of his Infinite Fulness with whom is not only the All-sufficient Ability to do for you whatever you can desire but as great an Inclination and Pleasure to do it And your Much-asking is not to make him the more Willing to Give but you the Fitter to Receive When you shew the mighty Value which you have for his Favours that you know how to Prize them and think no Waiting and Begging too much that you may Prevail and Speed at the last 3. Be not ashamed of coming so often not fall into dislike of your Prayers for being so Many When here the Oftener the Better and Prayer the more Frequent the
more Excellent Though some speak of Common-Prayer as a Name bearing a Sound of Contempt Prayer indeed ought to be Common even as our Needs are And the Commonness is its Commendation For the best and most needful things in Nature are most common as the Sun and Air Fire and Water And you must not think that your Prayers shall be more Esteem'd for being seldom Heard As some Princes think to raise their Esteem by being seldom Seen The Offices will not grow more Rare and Worthy because more Rare and Unusual For here the Wealth lies in the vast numberless Sums that make up the Treasure And this speaks not only your Riches but your Honour that youâ— are got into the best of all Correspondence Clad and Adorn'd with these costliest of all Suits the Suits of Prayers even for your Every-day's Dress So Habituated to your Prayers and in Love with them So us'd to the Presence of Majesty even the highest So Great and Intimate with Heaven as there to have your main Traffick and Conversation and to be even All together so Taken up Now after all this Excitation to the Family-Prayer There should be some Direction for the Management of it That is a New and Great Subject which deserves Enlargement upon it by a better Hand But as it is not my present Business so my Shoulders Shrink at the Undertaking Yet now my Hand is in somewhat I must Adventure upon it that all my Design may not be Lost. For to what purpose to Ring the Company in and tell them nothing what to do there Though I set about the Work then with some Reluctance as conscious of my own Insufficiency here to Instruct the World and shall be glad to be Assisted in this my self by such as are able to help me out and would Teach me and others not only from the Notions of their Heads but from the Experience of their Hearts Yet in the mean time I shall hope they will be favourable to my Intention and forgive the Advice which is Below their own Regard Turning it over to others that can pick any Benefit out of it 1. To begin with some whose Superiority minds me to wait upon them first If thou art not thy own Chaplain in the House but hast a Substitute to Officiate for thee do not so turn it over to him as to turn thy self out of the Communion Nor by turning thy own Back upon the Worship of God make it Suspitious that thou art Asham'd to be Seen in it or thinkest thou canst Better bestow thy self elsewhere the while than to come and meddle with it That though for certain Reasons thou dost Suffer it yet for the Thing it self thou dost not Desire it Though thou wilt vouchsafe it a Room in thy Family it shall rather have thy Room than thy Company And thus thou seemest to bring it into thy House only that thou maist have Occasion to Expose it to more Contempt than if thou didst quite turn it out For in so doing thou wouldst give but one great Instance of thy Abhorrence which by the customary Neglect might grow to be less Observed Whereas now even every Day thou Renewest the visible Proofs of thy Scorn when it is so Nigh thee and yet thou wilt Abscond and get out of the way to Save thy self from it Leaving the Inferior Sort as good enough to go through that Drudgâ—ry But to Invite thee in to thy own Prayers which is the Design of this Advice that they may be indeed Thine and not only the Prayers of thy Family Whoever thou art and how Great soever be thy Post and Quality in the World let me make bold to tell thee That the Prayers would much more Honour Thee than ever thou canst Honour the Prayers The Greatest Kings in the World if any of the Best have more Gloried in paying this Service to the King of Heaven than in Receiving the best Service of all their Subjects on Earth Nay I must tell thee Thou art more Obliged to the Attendance than any of the Rest that thou maist not bring it down to be Base with all the Rest yea and tempt some to slight it even for the Pride to be in the Fashion O then let it have not only thy bare Allowance but thy Presence and thy Countenance and thy Inspection and Care to see that all be Present at it and Decent in it And as thou art the Head so shew thy Headship here And be the First and Chief to Lead up all the Company to the Throne of Grace and Present them before the Lord. Yea and take that for a much more Glorious Office than any thou canst bear in the Court or the Camp Nor think it enough there to shew thy self among them but fall down and Worship at the Footstool of thy Glorious Maker and Judge Eternal even as one of them Lay aside then all the Thoughts of thy Greatness and Pre-eminence above them And take thy self there to be upon the same Terms as they and no bigger than the least before the Blessed God most High and Great above all Yea let thy Example shine so Bright before them that looking upon Thee they may see how to Worship God and learn to be all Humility and Reverence and Devotion and Fervency in the Work of the Lord. And then thou wilt think thy self equally concern'd as they or any in the following Words of Remembrance and Advice 2. Look narrowly to your Aims and Designs in the Worship For what Reasons and to what Ends you set about it That it be not only to Rock Conscience a little Asleep and make you think well of yourselves in a wretched Damnable Case or to Compound for your Sins and bear you out in an Ill Course That it be not only to pay a Due to Custom and to escape the Common Odium That it be not for Fear of this Man Or to Recommend yourselves to another Or to get you a Name or a good Word to be seen of Men or to make a shew in the World Though in a Cold Age that so wants Flagrant Examples you may be willing That Men should know it to be Edified by it And when it is not to Glorify you but your Father in Heaven Yet take heed you do not make their Seeing the ultimate End of your doing it But let it be done in the Conscience of your Duty and as the Means of your Felicity Let your Intention be the Glory of God and the everlasting Advantage of your Souls To shape them into a nearer Resemblance of him and to bring you into a better Acquaintance with him And use your Prayers as the Steps of Ascention to raise you up to him and as the Way wherein he has appointed you to wait for Grace from him See that you go to Him as your only Blessed End and Rest because you Thirst after him and cannot be satisfied without him And therefore Seek him that you may know more and have
may pretend to the Reverence within which they do not make Appear and deâ—y us to Judge of their Hearts Therefore leaving to every one the Care of Humbling their Souls before the Lord Let me call upon you all to make the outward Signification of this inward Reverence in your Family Worship That the Quietness and Gravity of your Carriage the Seriousness of your Countenance the Lifting up of your Hands and Eyes the Bending your Knees the Working of your Sighs and Groans and such Fit and Decent Expressions may tell the Company That you have a due Regard of what you are about For there are Rude Creatures whose Presence at the Worship is only a Nusance to the rest Bither Wriggling in a restless manner to shew how Uneasy they are in the Service or Staring idly about them to let us see that they mind nothing less than the Eye of Heaven or using such wanton Trifling Actions as seem to make but a Game of the most Solemn Business And either Gaping and Yawning over it or Blowing their Noses or Raking their Throats and throwing out their Spittle as it were in Scorn and Defiance of the Prayers One would think a little Good Manners here without any thing of a Religious Principle might teach them to Correct such Disorders And not to he seen in the Worship with such an Air of Contempt and Irreverence as only to offer the foulest Indignity to it Though I confess That the Humbling of the Heart and the Abasing of our Souls within us is the main of our Subjection to the Father of Spirits And he loaths the Hail-Master where the Knee is bowed in Mockery He Scorns the Lip-Labour the Formal Cringing and all the Bodily Exercise of Empty Fops that have no Internal Spring of Devotion no Broken Spirits nor Souls that have gone under the Work of a Serious Humiliation Yet that Lowliness and Reverence within will usually be exprest Abroad And the Humble Heart will also pull down the Knees And as long as you have Bodies to attend your Souls in the Service of God 't is fit you should make them know themselves and observe their Distance And remember some Difference between speaking to the Supreme Eternal God and speaking to any Mortal Man upon Earth And never think you can too much Abase yourselves before the Omnipotent Maker of the World the Tremendous Judge of Quick and Dead That the Self-diminishing Postures may do you this Kindness to mind you of the Infinite Disproportion between you and the God whom you Worship and to Preach to you that deep Humility which is the sure and ready Way of rising to Honour and Glory Yet 6. At the same time you remember your Distance that you may not forget your Privilege nor let your Reverence of God swallow up and devour all your Delight in him endeavour to make your Devotions Easy and Pleasant Not a Harsh and Grievous Task but a sweet Heavenly Entertainment and a Labour only of Love And this you may do by going to the Lord as your God by Offering all your Worship in the Name of Jesus and to your Prayers joyning your Thanks and Praises 1. Sweeten your Devotions by having Recourse to the Lord as your God One to whom you bear a near Relation And in whom you have an Especial Interest And therefore may be bold to cry Abba Father and confident to find a kind Welcome It was said of the Renowned Emperor Augustus in whom was such a Mixture of Majesty and Clemency That they who durst Venture upon him did not know his Greatness And they who would not make bold with him did not know his Sweetness So is the Glory of God attemper'd with his Mercy that the bright Resplendent Perfections do not so much Check our Approaches to him as Inaccessible But the sweet Gracious Attributes do as much Embolden our Applications unto him as the Best and Dearest of all our Friends Here the most High Condescends to us who else could never Aseend to Him And this may make us in Love with our Prayers that they bring us to our God and our Father For what a Pleasure do we take to be near to our Great and Sure Friends And to have Free and Familiar Intercourse and Conversation with him And when it is God my God! Then it is Early will I seek thee My Soul thirsteth for thee My Flesh longeth after thee Psal 63.1 Then will I go to the Altar of God to God my Exceeding Joy yea upon the Harp will I Praise thee O God my God Psal 43.4 And though we are involved in Troubles yet we Chear up our dejected Souls as it follows there and bid them Hope in him For we shall yet Praise him who is the Health of our Countenance and our God If the Lord be thy God this will make Amends for all that thou canst Lose or Suffer in the World O how large Expectation mayst thou have from him And what mayst thou not Aâ—k and Have at his Hand who has given thee Himself This puts Life and Heart into thy Prayers and Raises and Engages thy Eternal Thanks That the Lord is thy God and thou hast free Access to him and canst make Bold with him and shall still be Car'd for by him and Receive a Child's Portion from him and be for ever Blessed with him No Cordial in the World so reviving as that Isaiah 25.6 Lo this is our God We have waited for him and he will Save us And Chap. 61.10 My Soul shall be Joyful in my God For he hath Cloathed me with the Garments of Salvation Poor Christian Be thou never so Low in the World Well it is with thee and Happy shalt thou be If so highly favoured with this Blessed Privilege to have the Lord for thy God Take Comfort in it make thy Advantage of it let thy Prayers be Endeared by it and Raise thy Heart in Thankfulness for it My House my Lands my Money my Credâ—t my Friends my Interest in the World All these are Contemptible and nothing to the Bliss of Adoption My God! my God! is worth Infinitely more than them All. And it is as much as all your Prayers are worth to have this Witness of the Spirit with your Spirits that you are the Children of God For then you shall be sure to be Heard and Answered Pitied and Spared Helpt and Relieved by your Father God even your own God shall Bless you And what cannot the Greatest of all Powers and what will not the Best of all Fathers do for you Come what will happen the worst that can Our God is able to Deliver us Our God will Stick to us In Troubles and in Death he will be with us And whoever else Fails us He will never Leave us nor Forsake us Still we may Speak to him yea though he Slay us Trust in him Still our Prayers shall come at him and Prevail with him to bring Good even out of the Evil and to Bless
to us all that befals us that it shall be never the Werse but Happy for us it was so Bad with us Thus Blessed and Blessed again are the People who are in such a Case to have the Lord for their God No Question to be made you 'll say How Sweet and Glorious beyond Expression is the Privilege to them that are thus Invested But do you so Question your own Title to it that this dashes all the Comfort of your saying Our Father which art in Heaven If you doubt still whether the Lord be your God and that Deadens your Prayers and Saddens your Lives Let me then ask you Does it so Trouble you indeed And do you so Prize the Heavenly Gift that you long not so much for any thing in the World Why even that I cannot but take for some hopefull Discovery That either you have it or stand in the fair Way for it For such as have no Interest in it do not use to shew this Concern about it I cannot here run out into the ways of Tryal or the means of Acquisition Only this let me tell you in short and to the present purpose That your very Longing after God in your Prayers you may Reckon as a Good Evidence that he is your God For the Spirit of Supplication is for certain the Spirit of Adoption And what is yet Dubious and Wanting in the Case By this Means you may come to Clear it off and Fill it up For his Promise is To Give the Holy Spirit to them that Ask him And it is by that Spirit you are enabled to say Abba Father So that to go on with your Prayers is the likeliest Course to get above all your Doubts and to setch down all the Comforts And if you will but Persist in them according to the Directions here given I dare promise you That ye shall attain to Answer your own Scruple in the most effectual Manner and not fail at last to find the sweet Satisfaction which yet you Want 2. Offer â—all your Worship to God In the Name of his dear Son For it is through Him that we all have Access to the Father Eph. 2.8 Yea Boldness and Access with Confidence through the Faith of Him Chap. 3.12 Himself is the Way and the Door of our Admission And there is no other way for Sinful Men to get in with a Holy God but by Him that has made the Attenement for their Sins Our Saviour himself has told us John 14 6. No Man comes to the Father but by me How much soever this Way is come now to be spoken against even by some that Name the Name of Christ and are very Industrious to Destroy their own and others Comforts I shall never Trust to all their Wit and Depth to find us out a Betteâ— But above all the rarest Inventions of any Men I admire this Wisest Project I Adore this kindest Design of the most Gracious God And I am Amaz'd and Sorry that any Reputed Christians should be so much their own Enemies as to stand off from Submitting to this Righteousness of God When the very Jews that have since denied the Messias did of old look to God for Acceptance only through Him For what else was the meaning of their Praying still with their Faces towards the Ark of the Covenant But to Express their Faith in God that was to be manifested in the Flesh of whom that Ark was the Type And when Daniel that directed his Face the same way in his Worship Chap. 6.10 begg'd so hard of God to be Heard for the Lord's Sake Chap. 9.17 What Lord could he mean but the same whom David call'd his Lord that is now Sitting at the Right Hand of God You must look then by Faith unto Jesus if you would have God to look with Favour upon your Souls And thus also you may come to get a new Testimony of your Son-ship For to them that Believe on the Name of his Christ he gives Power to become the Sons of God John 1.12 Yea thus for all the Infirmities of your Prayers and the Failings of your Lives yet still you may keep Hope and Comfort alive in your Souls When the Raggedness of your own Righteousness and even the Iniquities of your Holy things Recoil upon you and let you see that your very Prayers and Virtues need a Merciful Allowance and some Worthy Advocate to make them Authentick and Current before the Tribunal of Heaven Here you may see the Almighty Helper of God's own providing at hand to Help you out And may Believe that you shall be Heard though even your Prayers for Pardon be such as need to be Pardoned For when put into his Hands they are accepted for his Sake where they deserve but to be rejected for their Own God has Respect to the Covenant in which you are more than to the Sacrifice which you offer And Christ is the Mediator of that Govenant Heb. 9.15 All the Promises of God are made in Him 2 Cor. 1.20 Yea the mighty Promise which Comprizes all even that of Eternal Life 't was made to him Tit. 1.2 For to whom else could it be made before the World began It was to him in behalf of all the Children which God would give him By him then you are to Offer your Sacrifices Heb. 13.15 And as the men of Tyre and Sidon Acts 12.20 made Blastus the King's Chamberlain their Friend in order to their Peace So make a far greater Friend Even the Son of the King Eternal your Friend in the Court of Heaven And by the Mediation of that great Master of Requests you shall Speed and Prevail for Peace and all that ever you would have The Conscience of Sin and the Experience of your own Inability to do any thing as you ought will pull down your Courage and Nip and Blast all your Comfortable Expectations at the Throne of Grace If you have not one there that Deserves Better than you to be Heard for you But when the Hands are Faint and the Knees feeble and the Burden Heavy Yet there 's a Support yea the matter of Rejoycing even under all the Load of Sin and Trouble That there is the Holy One of God and the Beloved of his Soul Appearing Above on your behalf And he maketh Intercession for the Transgressors And God will not only Glorify his Mercy but his Son In Granting Pardon and all that is asked in his Name granting it for his Sake Do not therefore Despond Because all is Imperfect that comes from you and nothing done by you but what needs Pity and Pardon Nor grow Heartless to use your Prayers Because you can make no Better Work of them and still you find them such poor sorry Services For even the Evil that you see in them mâ—y do you this Good To make you Look beyond them and send you away to the only Saviour for that Rest which is no where on this Side him No not in the best of
of the Lord. And O that you would not here be Euemies to your own Joy and best Delight But take the way to be out of Care and out of Pain The way not only Prescribed by me but by the Apostle Phil. 4.6 7. Be Careful for nothing but in every thing by Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving let your Requests be made known to God And the Peace of God which passeth all Understanding shull keep your Hearts and Minds through Christ Jesus 7. Let your Prayers be made with Zeal and Fervency of Spirit And be in Earnest with them that you may be indeed the Better for them Do not think it enough to Say over so many Words or to Sâ—â—y out such a Time But put forth your selves in the Service As the Greatest Work wherein you can ever be Concerned When there is the Caâ—kass without a Soul The Form of Godliness and nothing of the Power only a Face of Religion but the Life Departed no Fire on the Altar No Hearâ— in the Sacrifice The very Devotion Indevâ—us As Dull as Lead and as Cold as Ice Such an Oblation is not only Vanity but Abomination Ah Lord What a Present is this for the Living God The Searcher of Hearts The great King The Lord of Hosts whose Name is Dreadful among the Heathen Though Zeal does not lye all in Noâ—siness A great Cry and nothing else A Forced Tone and Unnatural Heat Yet when the Words come Warm from the Heart And a Sensiâ—le Heart Pours out its Abundance in a Lively Voice It is very Affecting both to Speaker and Hearers And such Ardour sends up the Incense and makes the Soul Ascend as in a Fiery Chariot But do not count it your Zeal To Huddle over Words as Fast as you can speak And so Hasten to the End as to let your Tongues Out-run your Attention And Baffle the quickest Apprehension for being able to keep Pace It would be more Advisable to have your Words Fewer so that they were Considered better and that you might have more Leisure to Feel and Taste and Digest your Prayers For 't is not to Devour a great deal but to Feed upon as much as you are Capable of I say To Feed upon it and make your utmost Benefit of it And with that Proviso Be as Hot upon it as you can O Stir up yourselves to take hold of the Lord. And shew that you really do Mind the Business that you are about and do Heartily Engage in it Set God and Heaven and Death and Hell before you To Rouze up your Sluggish Hearts and make you Struggle the harder in your Prayers Nay learn from the very Beggers at your Doors to be as Earnest with God in your Houses How hard will the poor Wietch beg but for a Piece of Bread or a Cup of Drink And not give o're not be Quiet till they have got it And does it not much more Concern you to be Importunate for the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation That your poor Souls may not starve and perish for ever But do you think that God will Regard you when your selves do not Regard what you say When you Sleepily tell over an old Tale of so many Words with not half so much Concern as a Beggar will do for a Crust And though you cannot be Intent upon every Word and Particular throughout the Prayers yet see that you keep up a Zealous Concern and a Devout Frame of Spirit quite to the End And let not the Shell and Husk of the Duty content you but press on to the Inward Heavenly Benefit Everlasting And when yâ—â— are to Draw nigh to God let not your Hearts be out of the way but bear the Chiefest part of all in the Service Do not throw the Prayers off so Late at Night till the Hearts that should be lifted up to God be pull'd down with Sleep And one is Nodding here and another there quite gone like so many dead Logs And all Long to have the Hindrance out of the way that they may be gone to their Beds But let Him that gives All have of the Best from you And what you do to the Lord your God do it with all your Heart with all your Soul and with all your Might Whoever make a Jest of your Earnest Scorn the Zeal and call it More Ado than Needs so to Abound in the Work of the Lord And think you would be more Wise if you did Less Crying What a Work is here with their Praying Why cannot they put off God with a Complement as the Common Worshippers do And only Riddle over a sew Words of Course and call that Prayer Sufficient Regard not so much What they say against you who would shew more Wisdom to be Imployed with you As you regard What an All-deciding Judge you attend and what an Important Business you have in Hand 'T is the Judge that must Doom you and all the World for ever And 't is the Matter of Life and Death Eternal And in such a Case you may as much Scorn the Scorner as David despis'd the Taunts of his good Partner When Michal the Wife that was Tok'd with him Drew another Way from him And what was his Meat was her Poyson When she made a Game of his Transport for Dancing with all his Might before the Ark of God and Jeer'd him as you may find 2 Sam. 6.20 How Glorious was the King of Israel to day who uncovered himself to day in the Eyes of the Handmaids his Servants as one of the Vain Fellows shamefully Uncovers himself q. d. 'T was a fine Sight to see a King make such a Fool of himself He told her It was before the Lord and so not his Vanity but his Pâ—ety Therefore her Scoffs should not bring him to confess it a Fault But if that were to be Vile he would be more Vile than so And thus still with Epicures and Worldlings the whole Generation of God's Children go for a Company of Impertinent Busy bodies Yet at the same time their better Practice condemns all the Tribe of Epicures and Worldlings for a Company of Ungodly Truants that stand Stating and Laughing at others Zeal and Devotion when it infinitely Behoves them to shew their Own Go on then with Diligence about your Heavenly Father's Business as those that are Playing a Prizâ— for Eternity And they that now deride your Simplicity shall one day Wish and Wish again that they had born you Company 8. Look to your Conversation as well as to your Supplication See that your Houses be Regular in other Respects as well as in the Periodical Returns of Prayer that your Carriage may be of a Piece with the Worship For when the House is Divided and all in Uproars Torn with Strife and Fir'd with Wrath When it Rings with Peals of Oaths and Cursing Ranting or Scolding When it is Stuff'd with Covetousness or Dissolv'd in Wantonness Set up with Pride or pull'd down with profuse
Consuming upon Lust When the House is like a Hold of Rebels where the Crew of God's Werst Enemies find the Best welcome And from Morning till Night nothing like Holy Religion or so much as any Good Order to be seen among them Good God! What a Prepanation is here to Prayer What Kin is such Wild doing to the Pious Worshippingâ— And well may such Family-Members shark away from the daily Prayers and be ashamed to hold up their Heads before the Lord at Prayer Times when they use him so basely at all other Times I cannot wonder that Men who lead such Disorderly Lives they can but seldom come Home Sober to their Houses if they meet any Temptation by the way that they are so little Friends to Prayers and can neither â—kill of nor away with such kind of Exercises And where all the Sâ—rings are so much out of Tune what Musick are they like to make in the Consort Nay when those whom God hath Joyned together Divideâ— themselves asunder and the Husband and Wife â—ly upon one another like Infernal Furies Or can only sometimes Hit it off as Lascivious Brutes No wonder if by such Living allowed the Prayers be Hindred 1 Pet. 1.7 Yea worse yet when Whoredom takes away the Heart and strange Fires with their Sulphurous Stench prevail over all the Love of God and all the right worthy Affection to Men Their Prayers then if they do make any carry so ill a Savour Noisome to Heaven and Earth that God Abhors them and the World cries Let them amend their Lives or what signify their Prayers And after all that I have said for the Family-Supplication I must tell you That this will be in Vain without Family Reformation Nor will it do you any good to have some Prayers in your Houses Observed when the very Walls of your Houses cry out against you for the Wickedness there Harboured But an Upright Heart and a Godly Life next the Blood of Christ has the most powerful Oratory to prevail with Heaven and will speak Better for you than all the Words of Prayer and all the Importunity of Lord Lord For you may read of those whom he said he would not Hear though they made many Prayers Isaiah 1.15 But you shall find such as never fail to speed in any Requests 1 John 3.22 Whatever we Ask we Receive of Him because we keep his Commandments and do those things that are Pleasing in his sight This Care and Conscience to Please the Lord will give you such a Recommendation with him that you shall never find the Repulse from him But indeed it is much about one whether you have Prayers or no Prayers if you can Reconcile the daily Praying with Ungodly Living and continue as Impenitent in your Sins as Constant in your Prayers O then Repent and Turn to the Lord as well as Call upon his Name And not only down upon your Knees but down with your Sins Cast the Cursed things out of your Houses and your Hearts that will not let the Lord Dwell with you nor look with Favour upon you but make his Holy things Pain and Grief to you His Presence to Dash you and his Worship to â—orment you Though I do not in this Life expect any Conversion without Imperfection or that you should so Turn to the Lord as to Turn all Sin out of your Soulâ— I do not look to find the Families or the Christians without Faults Yet I would have you to Bewall as much as you cannot Cure and not to Beg the Grace which you would not have not Pray against the Sins which you do not mean to Leave I would have your Lives free from open Scandalâ— before the World and your Hearts free from allowed Hypocrisy in the Sight of God And so to Keep your Hearts and Order your Lives that you may not lose all the Labour of your Prayers O Make not Prayers the Asylum to Shelter any Wickedness but the Battery to maul and break it to pieces That in the Name of the Lord you may Destroy it and by his Strength call'd in with your Prayers you may Surmount and get above it And with such Simplicity and Godly Sincerity carry towards the great Overseer of your Heart and Lives that you may be Bold in your God and Delight to come to him and still find the sweet Welcome with him And now having given you the Reasons for your Family Prayers and put to Confusion if not to Silence the Exceptions against them And produced those true Causes of the Neglect which are not for the Credit of any Prayerless Families to be mentioned And having shewed both how it should be Timed and also Managed O that I could Persuade and Prevail with all that knew themselves Faulty to Break the Ungodly Custom and to get over the Barricado's that so long have Stopt and Detain'd them Before the Lord come and stop their Breath and break in with his Fury upon them And when all that any have to Object is so frivolous that I should scarce have answer'd if I had not thought it more to Need than to Deserve the Answer O that you would fall from your Excuses to your Prayers and not stand alledging this and the t'other which you will not dare to mention when your Judge comes to Call you to Account or if you should you shall not then be Heard And should you suffer the deadly Enemy of Souls and of Prayers to Gagg and Muzzle you now you 'll be struck Speechless then For Conscience will tell you what you should have done and what you might have done And being so Self condemned it will be Vain then to Speak But you 'll depart from the Lord and go away with the Curse upon you for a most Silly as well as Ungodly Company that you would not come to Him nor have the Mercy because you would not so much as Ask it in the Time when it was to be obtained O prevent that Desperate Madness with which you will then fall Foul upon yourselves if still you Refuse to make your Advantage of the Price put into your Hands Prevent the dreadful Crying out too Late by Crying mightily to God while he gives you Leave and Opportunity for it yea when he gives you a Charge and Command to it O think it a Happy Word that God should say to every one of you as Agrippa did to Paul Acts 26.1 Thou art permitted to Speak for thy self Then Reckon and Resolve with yourselves we will not lose the Eternal Blessing for want of our Speaking We will Vse our Time and take the Liberty and with all our Souls be Thankful to the Blessed Giver Not flying for Shelter here only in some Dark and Perillous Daye or under such grievous Pressures that Extortâ— it from us But be Constant to it â—s to all the things that we have most Need of in the World Now you do not think a Meal or a Nap once in a Week or once
in two or three Days enough for your Bodies But you are at your Meals every Day and at your Rest every Night and apt to think it much if you want but one Day 's Food or but one Night's Sleep And I must tell you ye are under a wicked Mistake if you do not think your Prayers to be of greater Concern to you than your Diet or your Rayment or your Natural Repose For though Destitute of these you may have God's Love and be Happy for ever But without your Prayers you are without God in this World and like to be Lost Creatures Eternally in the Next Do you sind the Need then of Daily Bread and not of Daily Prayer And what that is Good can you think of yourselves when Hardned in this Neglect Shall Jews have Morning and Evening Sacrifice every Day And shall Christians that are so much more Oblig'd to God have Lâ—ss Nay shall Papists Turks and Ethnicks make their Daily Prayers And shall any that call themselves Reformed and Profess so much a Better Religion lead more Ungodly Lives and make no Conscience of their Prayers We may Protest against such Protestants that are as the Scabs and Botches of our Church and live in it only to disgrace it and to plague it And may you all better Remember yourselves and Return to your Lord and Cleave to Him and Keep in with Him O that you may be here Determined and so Setled in this way of Duty that all the World may not put you beside it And so make it your Custom that you may be Known by it and let all Men know that you will not break it Men use to be Fond and Tenacious of Customs though they be none of the best too often some of the Worst O that you would make your Prayeâ—s so much your Habit that here you may Plead your Custom and set up your Resolution so I have Inur'd my self to do and so I will do I am clearly for it whatever I hear against it Nothing shall Pull me from Jay God In his Service so long I have liv'd and no Cause have I 〈◊〉 to Complain but abundant Obligation to be Thankful No Reason do I find to Desert but the strongest Motives to Persist For never can I Serve a Lord so Good never wait on any that can do for me so Well Therefore what I have Begun I will Carry on And what I have done in the Daily Worship of God aforetime so I will continue to do as long as I have any Time You may read how the Devout Daniel Chap. 6.10 would still go on Praying to his God even in the Face of Danger and just before the Mouths of the Lions Under that Bloody Interdict which made his Duty like to cost him so Dear as his Life yet he would not endure to have such an Embargo laid on 〈◊〉 Prayers nor suffer the severest Menace to Terrify him out of the only Refuge for a distressed Soul but would let all Men see That he did not Serve the God whom he was Asham'd or Afraid to Own Though no doubt but he was sufficiently Tongue-Lasht among the Profane Spectators of his Devotions as a very Silly Ridiculous Precisian that could not forbear his Accustomed Praying at least when such a Mulct and Capital Punishment was laid upon it What does the Man mean so to throw away his Life Or does he think to Court the Lions with his Prayers Or to Blunt the Edge of their Teeth with this Breath of his Mouth Yet all could not take him off but still he proceeded in the wonted way of his Worship Now thâ—s he did in such a Perilious Time And will not some of you be brought to pay your Loâ—â— this Homage in a Time of Safety and Liberty When there is no Lion in the way but of your own Fancy when to do it is not at your Peril but instead of any to Deter you from it you are Solicited and Call'd upon to do it Yea and told what a Shame and Scandal and Danger it is for you to leave it undone How you venture upon the Roaring Lion because you will not Fly for Succour to the God of your Salvation And what will you Answer to him if thus you Persist I say not to Serve him but to Neglect him and to Despise and Slight his Service When you will not Touch the Burden with one of your Fingers which you may have the Honour and Praise for taking up And which others would go away with though it was as much as their Estates and Eâ—ves were worth to bear it And even at this day How many do Smart and Suffer for the Exercise of that very Religion which you are not only Tolerated but Exhorted and Importuned to Exercise yet more and more And it is not the Devil now as a Roaring Lion that Afrights you from it No but the Devil as the Old Serpent that would silly Argue and Cavil you out of it They are such Devils as I have told you of The Devil of Sloth the Devil of Pride the Devil of Prophaneness that puts you out of Conceit with it and makes you ratâ—er Wrangle at it than set about it And that you may not be carried away with the Stream of Custòm down into the Dead Sea of this dangerous Neglect O look not so much upon the Way of the World as to the End of the World For though now you may Account the Jolly Libertines that scorn Prayer Brave and Happy and of the Praying-Families may Think and Speak as Base and Disdainfully yet when you shall come to take your last Leave of this World I know of which then you will like the Better and whether of them you 'll reckon the Happier And when our Lord shall come to Judge the World I know with which Sort you would be glad to be Found However you had rather Live with the One I am sure you would wish to Dye with the Oâ—her O then do not Stifle your Convictions nor lose your Oâ—portunities while they are before you Do not put off the Work of Life till you reach to the very Period and Conclusion of your Lives To let nothing but the Stroke of Death just feizing your Souls drive you to your Prayers and then only to Breathe them out when you shall be Breathing your Last To Defer the Pious Orders of your House till Death is coming to Break up the House But learn Wisdom betimes and Cry now while you may be Heard least you be forc'd to set up the hideous Outery when there shall be no Hearing O see at lâ—st the foul pernicious Error And let me beseech you for your own dear Souls sakes to amend this Matter And let the Sinful Omission be made up by you before the Dâ—â—m of the Slothful Servant be past upon you Let none of your Houses be a Day longer without Gad and without his Holy Fear and his Devout Worstip But Resolve quickly with the Heavenly
as well as Honourable Herbert I and Dear Prayer will together Dwell Admit and Welcome this Guest into your Houses as one of the Best that ever came there And iâ— you look for Everlasting Rest with God now better â—esâ—â—r you for him Humble your Souls before him for Loitering so long and Trifling so much as you have done Confess it and beg Pardon for it And Pray and Resolve and Strive that it may be so no more That you may follow better Examples and yourselves come to set better Patterns And make such Conscience yea and take such Delight to keep up the Daily Worship of God in your several Houses That your Children may Bless God that ever they had such Parents That your Servants may Bless God that ever they had such Mastens And that I may Bless God that I have not lost my Labour nor your Love by this Work And that yourselves when Death comes to shew you the Blessed End whither the Way of Prayer leads may Bless the Lord for Putting you upon it and Keeping you in it And for giving you the Encour ageâ—â—nt to make your Supplications to him that so he might have the Occasion to make you Happy with all the Unspeakable Gifts of his Everlasting Bounty Thus I have used great Plainness of Speech and spent all my Power of Persuasion I cannot tell what will be the Success but am Sensible That I have been Rouzing among many Families where I am like to find small Welcome but as many Complaints of my Over-Officiousness as I have made of their Under-doings From such I may expect to hear Pragmatical and a Busy-Body in other's Matters As much as I call Slothful and Negligent in their Heavenly Father's Business They may ask Why cannot I let them alone And I must Confess I have as much Reason to let them alone as they have to let alone His Work that Maâ—e them But some may Hear more of what they Call this Heavy Cry from me till I Hear more of the Heavenly Cry from them For where I see so many and several of them my Friends Possess'd with such a Dumb Devil I find it very hard to Forbear Speaking Though it may look like the Troubling my self to make others Uneasyâ— I had rather do so than they should be for ever Unhappy The Sound of this Bell though none of the Sweetest but such as will be thought Shrill and Harsh in many Ears yet if it prove but Load enough to A woken such as I intend I have my Design And therefore I would have it Sound not only throughout my Neighbourhood but all over the Land For I have Cried and Cried again to some a great part of my Life And if I can find no better Audtâ—â—â—â— than hitherto I shall leave this Bell to Ring a Peal in their Ears And this little Book like a Spiâ—it to Haunt their Housul after my Death And such a Trouble-House I am contented to be thought if I can but Prevent their Everlasting Trouble But you know one that askâ—â— Art thou he that Troubleth Israel 1 Kings 18.17 〈◊〉 was the greatest Troubler of it Himself And let such as here Complain but Examine themselves for the Causeâ— and they may find a Troublesome Companion in their own Bosoms that will never let them be at Qutet though I should I can heartily say as our Lord Commands Luke 10.5 To whatever House I enter Peace be to this He so But if the Son of Peace be not there i. e. such as are Meet to Receive it I cannot help it And that they no better Know the Way of Peace I am Sorry for it And this is my Desite to Point out that Way to them if they will take it And where I must Lose any of my Priends may it be by this â—â—eedâ—â— and Faithfulness with them and for bestowing such a Labour of Love upon them May no bigger Hurt come to any of your Houses And may they all be as Happy as I do wish them And then I am sure it will be much better with them than any that I here take the Boldness to Capitulate with go the way to make them They are Ruful Dwellings where God is not among them but all that Belongâ— to Him is set at Naught by them And some of the Houses whose Nakedness I have been Survering they are Worse than Mesâ—ch and Kedar 'T is even as the Mouth of Hell to Dwell in such Tenâ—s of Wickedness The Lord be Merciful to them and turn out the great Master of Misrule And take Possession of them for Himself And so New-Model them that he may have some better Service from them and come yet to take Pleasure in them But all the Blessings of Heaven be the Portion of those Families where God is daily and duly Call'd upon My Heart is with them and all the best of my Wishes are for them The Lord Increase them more and more them and their Children May they continue such Shining Lights in the World till they come to Shine as the Brightness of the Firmament in the Kingdom of their Father And may others at these Torches Light their own yea so may this Light be Communicated as the common Light to Propagate itself far and wide throughout the Earth That such as See it may fall in Love with it and be Drawn in by it And say to the Praying-Families as the Gentiles to God's Israel Zech. 8 23. We will go with you for we have keard that God is with you I have done The Lord Prosper my poor Warning with his Heavenly Blessing and Excite and Quicken you to Prayer and Teach and Help you in it and make you Ready and Mighty it it yea well pleas'd and much in Love with it O that it may be the Joyful Sound in every one of your Houses Daily heard among you and Duly made by you That so you may Pray down all your Sins under your Feet and Pray down all his Blessings on your Heads And never leave off to Ask and Seek and Knock till you have Receiv'd and Found and got Heaven Opened and an Entrance made into the Everlasting Kingdom of 〈◊〉 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Where you shall find your Time thus well bestow'd Expiring into the Blessed Eternity in which to Enjoy all the Sweet and precious Fruits of your Prayers and your Redeemer's Purchase for ever Amen FINIS BOOKS Printed for W. Rogers ARchbishop Tiâ—â—tson's Works Folio Price 20 s. Sermons of the Stedfastness in Religion Of Family-Religion Of Education of Children And the Advantage of an Early Piety Twelves Price 1 s. 6 d. Persuasive to Frequent Communion in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Octavo Price Stitcht 3 d. Discourse against Transubstantiation Octavo Price Stitcht 3 d. Two Discourses The First of Evil-Speaking By his Grace John Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury The Second Of the Government of the Thoughts By his Grace John Lord Archbishop of York both Preach'd before Their