that are now Children and Servants may become Parents of Children and have Servants under you being built up in Families of your own Now the better you are at present in your private Station the better you may be when advanced to a more publick Capacity For to Obey well is the way to Govern well So that setting of you right for the present may be a Means of regulating your Families for the future and those who shall receive holy Instructions from you may afterward convey the same to their Families And who knows but as there shall ever be a holy Seed raised up to praise and serve the Lord so there may be a Succession of Religion in those that descend from you till the coming of Christ to Judgment It is observable That though God calls home to himself some who were far off and he will yet more eminently do so when all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him Psal 22. 27. Yet Religion hath been much propagated through the Loins of the Faithful And it hath been observed That when Grace gets into a Family ordinarily it doth not soon take its leave of it But though there may be some sad Interruptions yet it appears many times again in Grand-Children or Great-Grand-Children and if not in the direct Line yet Collaterally as the Rivers of Water run thorough the Valleys though not in a direct Course but with many Windings and Turnings and various Branchings so that we are many times ready to be at a loss in following them Of this the Scripture doth and our own Observation may furnish us with Instances Now may I not begin my Address to you as St. Austin one of his Sermons Ad vos Juvenes mibi sermo flos aetatis periculum mentis Aug. de Temp. O Young Ones my Speech is to you who are in the flower of your Age but peril and danger of Mind Or with very little Variation as St. John that bosome Disciple of our Lord I have written unto you fathers that you may know him that is from the beginning I now write unto you little children that you may know the father I write unto you young men that you may be strong and overcome the wicked one and that the word of God may abide in you 1 Joh. 2. 12 13 14. Therefore Come ye children hearken unto me I will teach you the fear of the Lord Psal 34. 11. I shall give you the sum of my Advice in the following Particulars 1. Consider seriously what kind of Creatures God hath made you and learn to set a due value upon your own beings The very Frame of thy Body which is wonderfully and fearfully made and curiously wrought Psal 139. 14 15. speaks something extraordinary But then thy Soul is Heaven-born a Spiritual and Immortal Being capable of the Knowledge and Enjoyment of God himself and by what Bonds and Tyes this Material Body and Immaterial Soul are united and linked together thou do'st not know So that thine own Being is above thy Conception St. Austin Aug. Confes wonders that Men admire other things and leave themselves unadmired Consider thou art not a lifeless Rock or Stone a senseless Plant or Tree an irrational brute Beast but a Creature endowed with a rational and immortal Soul capable of knowing and enjoying God here and hereafter Yea thy mortal Body shall at the last day be raised to an Immortal State Remember thou art a Creature made for Eternity 2. Seriously lay to heart your State of Sin and Misery How you are tainted with Adam's first Transgression The Scriptures of Truth acquaint us That in him all sinned and therefore death came upon all men Rom. 5. 12. And in Adam all died 1 Cor. 15. 22. Consider further how your whole Nature Soul and Body every Faculty of the one and Member of the other is vitiated and defiled with the Leprosie of Sin Thou hast within and upon thee a compleat Body of Sin and Death Rom. 7. 24. with all its Members Even the youngest Children have old Adam in them Infants themselves are not innocent Thou hast that Corruption within thee which is sufficient to betray thee to the greatest Sins and expose thee to the greatest Sufferings Yea thou art guilty of manifold actual Sins of Omission and Commission and these cloathed with various Aggravations O! Consider how thy excellent Being is debased by Sin and how thou hast plunged thy self into unspeakable yea unconceivable Misery 3 See that thou be regenerate and born again without which thou shalt never enter into the Kingdom of God Thou art by Nature a child of Wrath and Heir of Hell Thy Nature must be changed by renewing Joh. 3. 3. 5. Grace before thou canst be a Child of God and Heir of Heaven And this know and remember that the New Birth is of the whole Man as the Natural is if it be a living Birth Remember your solemn Dedication to God in Baptism obligeth you to secure your Regeneration improve it therefore accordingly If taken out of the World by Death before thou art taken out of the World by Grace it had been good for thee thou hadst never been born for thou art undone to Eternity Woe to thee if thou diest before thou art alive to God for on such the second Death shall have Dominion and they shall be kill'd with Death 4. Have and maintain an inward Value and Esteem of your Parents Masters and Governours Yea tho' they be not so great or rich or wise or obliging as some others Esteem them as those set over you in the Lord and as obeying the Lord in so doing I have heard of a Wife who said she could be Obedient to her Husband but he was such a one as did not deserve it It was reply'd But the Command of God is worthy to be obey'd and shew your Obedience unto that So in this Case The Yoke will gall if it be not lined with Love but Love will cover a multitude of Faults Beside the Sin of Undutifulness we profit little by those whom we do not much affect 5. Study the Duties of your particular Places 1 Thes 4. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Relations and conscientiously practise them Many study other Duties and neglect their own They spy a Mote in anothers eye and cannot see a beam in their own Do you especially study and perform your own Duties Let your words looks gestures actions be such towards Parents and Superiours as they ought to be Let their Cautions restrain you from all Vanities their Counsels set you upon the Practice of what is Duty Yea tho Parents and Masters do not perform their Duty to thee yet thou must perform thine both to God and them You must be subject with all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward 1 Pet. 2. 18. their Sin can be no
the Talent is so the Account will be great It is worth while to perform Duty though without Success Yet who knows what blessed Success may attend sincere though weak Endeavours You may thus early prevent those youthful Extravagances which like Errors of the first Concoction in the Body Natural once admitted are seldom cured If any belonging to your Families are in a course of Sin who knows but a little Advice faithfully given may be to them like the Remora a little Fish which they say if it stick to the greatest Ship will put her to a stop when under full sail Admitting some be Angling for the World thy heavenly Counsel may be like the Torpedo which it is said in a secret way transfuseth its Vertue to the Rod and so to the Hand of the Angler and makes him let it fall Who knows but by this means those of thy Family may be made knowing methodical well grounded steady practical Christians here upon Earth and at last become glorious Saints in Heaven What a Blessing had that good Man who could comfortably say I have had Six Children and I bless God for his Mr. Eliot of New-England free Grace they are all either with Christ or in Christ and my Mind is now at rest concerning them I can yet condescend to offer Arguments of an inferiour Nature if by any means I may gain some The Books recommended for your Assistance in Catechising are very good yet very cheap very full yet very brief very deep yet very plain These Catechetical Exercises will tend to sweeten the very Humours of the Family they will mend the Discourses of the Family at other times They will improve your Children's Understanding advance Parts and accidentally fit for Employments in wordly business and converse This will tend to make them better Husbands and to keep use and improve their Estates the better It will be a means of encreasing Family-Love and promoting Obedience Your Children that are in danger to become Rods yea Scorpions to you may by this means become a Staff in your Hand It is said That eminent Family in Rome received the Name Scipio from one of their Ancestors who was Scipionis vice as a Staff to his Parents Such may yours be The Regulation of Christian Families will give a Set-off to Religion and commend it even to a carnal World When the Queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built and the meat of his table and the sitting of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel and his cup-bearers also and their apparel and his ascent by which he went up into the House of the Lord there was no more spirit in her 1 Kings 10. 4 5. In a word by this means may be raised up more accomplish'd Instruments in Church and State and both dearly need such You that are Children and the govern'd Part of Families hearken to that Counsel that out of meer good Will is given you by one that wisheth your Welfare here and hereafter It has been observ'd by my intimate good Friend who is now with God How Mr. Joseph Whiston of Lewes in Suffex the Privileges of the Infant Seed of Believers has been asserted and pleaded for by himself and some others who had no Children So here you have the good of Children and Families sought and endeavoured by one that hath neither Child nor Family Do not hearken to the destroyer of Souls and turn a deaf Ear to such as desire your Salvation Read with fear and trembling Prov. 1. 20. to the end Prov. 5. 11 12 13 14. with other the like Scriptures Many bewail these neglects and the sad consequences of them on the Rack of Conscience on a Death-Bed and some in Chains and at the Gibbet Yea Hell in all the Caverns of it is filled with horrid Echoes of the doleful Yellings of those who in vain torment themselves with severest Reflections on their Youthful Miscarriages If you will rant away your time and opportunities here you also shall roar it out there to all Eternity God's Prison will hold you if nothing will restrain you short of it Grinaeus rejoyced when he saw any young Persons improving and was wont Melch. Adam vit Thed to say That more worshipped the rising than the setting Sun O what great things may you do for God your own Souls and the succeeding Age Others must quickly sleep with their Fathers The Children of this Age must be the Men and Women of the next 'T is in and with you that Religion must live or dye There is a Promise Instead of the fathers shall be the children whom thou mayst make princes in all the earth Psal 45. 16. I have been bespeaking no less of you than to endeavour after a truly sanctified saving Knowledge but if I must not prevail in that yet let me desire you to get at least a notional Knowledge and it may be Grace may come afterward And here I shall take leave to recover from Oblivion a Passage that I do not know is preserved by any publick Print I have heard of one who being Servant in a Family of good Order did while there submit to Family-Catechising and thereby obtained a form tho' only a form of Knowledge After his removal thence he fell into ill Company and Courses and at last committed some Fact punishable with Death Being apprehended and committed to Prison the Poor Creature at once saw Death and Hell before him and began to bethink himself how tho' he must lose his Life he might save his Soul His time was short he was shut off from all Advantages abroad and shut up with Company more like to harden than soften his Heart In the Multitude of his hurrying Thoughts within him he begun at last to reflect upon that good Family he once lived in and he seriously recollected the good Things he then obtained some Notion of and it pleased God that his Knowledge issued in Conversion And when he came to dye by the Hand of Justice this was part of the good Advice he gave to those who were Spectators That they would get Knowledge tho' they did no more for that the Truths stored up in their Heads might afterwards fall down on their Hearts This he said was his case or else he could not with such comfort go thus out of the World Let me in the close importunately beseech Magistrates Ministers the Masters and Mistresses of Schools all Heads and Members of Families effectually to set upon promoting this and other parts of Reformation as they would escape those most fearful Judgments which will else as certainly befall one and all of them as there is a Righteous God in Heaven and wicked Sinners on Earth God will pour forth his fury upon the heathen that know him not and on all the families that call not on his Name Jer. 10. 25. It is said of a people of no understanding that he
Dispensation or Absolution to thee 6. In every Employment aim principally at the Glory of God If thou learnest learn for God if thou workest work for God In the choice of a Calling be for that in which thou mayest most Glorifie God Yea let thy very Recreations be such and so timed as may subserve this great end If thou unbendest the Bow and oylest the Wheels let it be to fit for Service 7. Let thy whole self be found in all those religious Duties which God requires You are to read meditate and pray in Secret Saith our Saviour Thou when thou prayest enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut the door pray to thy father which is in secret Mat. 6. 6. Now remember to bow thy Heart as well as Knees Who is this that engageth his heart to approach unto me saith the Lord Jer. 30. 21. Offer not the Sacrifice of fools without an Heart God will not accept of an heartless Sacrifice He is a Spirit and will be worshiped in Spirit as well as in truth Joh. 4. 24. And for Family-Worship while the Word of God is reading or Prayer made let not thine Ear be listning or Eye wandring after other things nor thy Heart be with the fools in the farthest parts of the Earth Let not the Lord be nigh in thy Mouth and far from thy Reins but set and keep thy heart to the duty When Psalms are singing make not thy self a Mute since God hath not made thee so Let not a dumb Devil possess thee but tune thy Heart and thy Voice unto God's praises So when present at God's Publick Worship let not thy better part be absent 8. Submit willingly and conscienciously to Family-Catechising and Instruction When Parents and Governours of Families have overcome their own inward Discouragments let them not meet with new Conflicts and Discouragements from thee Be ready to learn submit to Examination study the Sence and Meaning of what you learn ask questions for your farther Instruction of these Elders or more expert than your selves Enquire of your Parents or Governours or Ministers or any other able to instruct you It is observed That those who are much in moving pertinent Questions make the best Scholars 9. Carefully avoid all Sin and especially watch against those Sins that you may be most in danger of Saith the Apostle Flee youthful lusts 2 Tim. 2. 22. Among these let me caution you 1. Against Lying Dare not to use it either to cover a Fault or gain a seeming Advantage The Lyer is not true to himself his Heart and his Tongue are distorted one from the other He deceives his Neighbour directly opposeth the glorious Attribute of God's Truth makes a deep Wound upon his own Conscience and without repentance will meet with his Reward in Hell 2. Dread Swearing Cursing taking the Name of God in vain and all evil speaking Remember your Tongues are not your own but God is Lord over you and them Let that Scripture be engraven on your Heart But I say unto you That every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the day of Judgment for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned Mat. 12. 36 37. 3. Avoid all Pride in Heart Life and Attire Be cloathed with Humility God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble 1 Pet. 5. 5. 4. Shun idleness How canst thou have nothing to do who hast a God to serve and a Soul to save When idle thou temptest the very Tempter and if thou findest nothing to do he will find Employment for thee 5. Keep thy self free from Injustice and Defrauding It is a great sin will make a great clamor when Conscience is awakened and to make restitution tho a necessary is a very hard Duty and therefore avoid the occasion The unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 9. Let no sin of this nature seem little to thee St. Austin was brought to Confession for robbing his neighbour's Pear-Tree Aug. Confession Which sin he greatly aggravates as also his Cousenage in youthful Sports and Recreations Take heed thou indulgest not thy self in those Tricks of Youth which will afterward prove Sins of Youth either here in the Day of Conscience or hereafter at the Barr of God 6. Take heed of the Sin of wantonness even to a lascivious Look yea Thought and be not by Speech Garb or Gesture an Occasion of Temptation to any We must not only avoid the Snare our selves but be carefull we do not spread Nets for others 7. Be carefull thou dost not drown thy soul in a Life of Pleasure Voluptuousness and Excess Be not of those who are Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God 2. Tim. 3. 4. 8. Take heed of Worldliness It is a sin prodigious in Youth increaseth with Age and will at last drown the Soul in perdition 1 Tim. 6. 9. 10. 9. Beware of a Spirit of Obstinacy and Incorrigibleness This remember If thy Spirit get above the reach of Parents and Superiours yet thou art not out of God's reach who will take the work into his own hand and will certainly meet with thee to thy greater trouble here or eternal sorrow hereafter In many places of the World at this very day God is fatning the ground with the Blood and Carcasses of children of Disobedience The Lord has said That the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away because they cannot be taken with hands but the man that shall touch them must be fenced with Iron and the staff of a spear and they shall be utterly burnt with Fire in the same place 2. Sam. 23. 6 7. 10. As you would avoid all other Sins avoid evil Company He that walketh with the wise shall be more wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed Prov. 13. 20. 10. Finally from an inward Principle of Religious Fear of God practise universally as becometh such an one as is a Christian indeed Let Religion run thro your whole Conversation Be that in your Bed in your Closet in the Family in the World that your Holy Profession obligeth you to be Whatever you do in word or deed do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Col. 3. 17. Walk always as under the Eye of God and with serious Thoughtfulness of Death Judgment and Eternity Thus I have finished my Advice to you who are the Governed Part of Families CHAP. VI. Some Motives to the Govern'd Part of Families to submit to the Directions prescribed I Will subjoin a few Motives to induce the governed Part of Families to receive and practise the Instructions I have given you and particularly as to submitting to Family-Catechising and Instruction 1. Consider how ignorant and destitute you are by Nature of all true spiritual Good how prone and inclined unto all Evil Vain man would be wise but he is born like the wild Asse Colt Job 11. 12. Now