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
The Bell Rung to Prayers An Earnest PERSUASIVE TO THE Daily Worship of GOD IN Every FAMILY Calling upon all Houses to be Houses of PRAYER By BEN. JENKS Rector of Harley and Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Earl of Bradford Pour out thy Fury upon the Families that Call not on thy Name Jer. 10.25 LONDON Printed for Will. Rogers at the Sun against St. Dunstan's Church And Benj. Tooke at the Middle-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet 1699. TO THE READER I Thought I had done with the Press and was concluding that I should Trouble it no more But I find yet another Cause to Plead further than my Voice can be Heard And in the Defence of that Cause I send this Sound into the World and would have these Papers to Speak as well as they can even when I am Dead Besides the too Common Neglect of God's Worship in so many Families Observed and Bewailed by all whose Eyes he has Opened which might give sufficient Occasion for the present Exhortation A very Pious Lady for whose Excellent Person and Exemplary Family I have a just Esteem and high Regard was pleas'd to desire this of me That in the next Edition of my Prayer Book I would add more than I had there said in the Preface to put all Families upon their Prayers That I might not only shew such as needed the Help How they should do it But also if possible be Instrumental so to Prevail with them that they might not still leave it Vndone And some late Observations that I have made give me cause to Enlarge the Complaint in that Preface of the Dulness and Indifferency of Sinful Men to that which is best for them and which most highly Concerns them That they are not apt to be Solicitous so as they use to shew themselves in their Worldly Concerns to Seek after the Provisions and Conveniencies for the Spiritual Life unless these fall directly in their way and are set just before them For I find that some will not vouchsafe but so much as to Vse them even when they have them Ready by them Now though the Impression of that Imperfect Piece is gone off yet I am not Determined by those Solicitations which would put me upon Another Because my End being already gain'd in seeing it Communicated and all Hands filled as far as I thought my self Obliged I have no Motive now to be further concerned Unless it were to make such Corrections and to fill up such Defects as might give my self if not others some better Satisfaction in that Performance But what I have here to offer would be too Large to be Inserted in a Preface And the Time also might be too Long to wait for that Opportunity Therefore this Service to Souls I now give out by itself And though I know it might be much better done by many others if they would think fit so to Concern themselves yet in the mean time accept it in such manner as can at present be done by one that is full of Care and Desire to Promote it as far as lies in the Power of Thy B. J. THE CONTENTS A Preparation to the Design Capitulating with Masters of Houses about the Pious Regulation of their Families Page 1 The Recommendation and Pressing of Family-Prayer By Arguments and Motives Page 9 1. From the Obligation to it as a Needful Duty Page 10 2. From the Encouragment to it as making 1. For the Safety Page 18 2. For the Profit Page 19 3. For the Credit Page 23 4. For the Comfort of the Family Page 27 Answers to the Objections made against this Family-Worship to Excuse the Neglect of it as 1. For want of Command Page 33 2. For want of Time Page 36 3. For want of Ability Page 42 4. For want of Company for it 1. The Generality Abroad to Appear in Favour of it Page 46 2. Fit Partners at Home to Joyn and Assist in it Page 50 5. Want of Success this way Page 52 A Discovery of the Real Causes of its Neglect As 1. Ignorance Page 53 2. Pride Page 57 3. Sloth Page 59 4. Worldliness Page 62 5. Enmity against God Page 67 6. The Love of Sin Page 70 A Proposal made to Determine and Fix upon some Set and Stated Time for Family-Prayer Page 75 Some Considerations offered to Promote and Secure 1. The Morning-Prayer Page 77 2. The Evening-Sacrifice Page 81 A Serious Invitation to Frequency in this Prayer Considering Page 84 1. That now is the only Time for it Page 86 2. That the Oftner we thus come to God we shall be the Welcomer Page 88 3. That our Prayers the more Frequent are the more Excellent Page 89 Directions for the Management of these Prayers 1. A particular Advice to Masters to afford their Presence and Countenance and good Example herein Page 90 General Advice to them and All 2. To look narrowly to their Aims and Ends in the Worship Page 92 3. To Remember what a Presence they are in Page 93 4. To Read somewhat out of Holy Scripture before Prayer Page 95 5. To shew a profound Reverence in the Worship Ibid. 6. To Endeavour to make it Easy and Pleasant Page 99 1. By going to the Lord as Our God Page 99 2. By Offering up all in the Name of Jesus Page 103 3. By joyning our Praises to our Prayers Page 106 7. To do all with Zeal and Fervency of Spirit Page 110 8. To take Care of Family-Reformation as well as Family-Supplication Page 114 The Conclusion containing a Renewed Persuasion to the Work Page 117 A PERSUASIVE TO Family-Prayer OR AN Earnest Exhortation to the Daily Worship of God in Every Family MY present Undertaking may seem very Facile and ordinary But I expect to find it exceeding Weighty and attended with no small Difficulty How I shall Acquit my self and come off in the Accomplishment I dare not be Confident to Presage But that I could have no Rest in my Spirit till I had Engag'd in it I am best able to make Report 'T is no New Project that I am upon For Abundance of God's Labourers are afore-hand with me and have here bestowed their Pains over and over The thing has been often done And yet Alas it still needs to be done And whether or no I shall say any thing but what has been said God grant I may say something that shall take Effect I can but use my weak Endeavours and Wait and Beg for the Blessing from Him that has the Power to Persuade throughly where even St. Paul the Chief Speaker can do it but Almost Christians I address my self to you all That as you are called the Lords So you may Call upon the Lord and Approve your selves his true People in being a Praying People and make it appear you are the Children of God by crying Abba Father Yea may not only give yourselves to Prayer and the humble Signification of your Desires to God still for the obtaining of all that you would have
left them at Liberty Now this is a heavy Charge could it be made out And I know from what Quarter this Wind uses to blow But 't is well that if is but Wind and that there is so little Reason for it I am not upon a Disputation but an Exhortation And therefore shall not pretend to an ample Demonstration But besides That I have already prevented my self for proving the proposed Duty to be a needful Duty I believe that the Objectors Cavils are not Reasons that satisfy even themselves But they go conscious that their neglect is more for want of Mind to it than of a Command for it When if there were no Express Charge in Particular yet it is so evident That the whole Drift of God's Holy Word is to set us about our Heavenly Father's Business and to engage us to follow it with all our Might all our Days in all our Stations and Relations And to look upon all the little Time we have here but as a preparing Time for the Place and State where we must abide for ever And still to carry ourselves in this Vale of Mortality as the Candidates and Seekers of a better Câ—untry in everlasting Glory 'T is not only the Letter of Scripture and what is expresly said in it but also the Deductions of Scripture and what may naturally be drawn from it that we are to look upon as Scripture and our Rule to go by We must be determined by Thus saith the Lord though not said in Terminis when it is by plain and easy Consequence Else we might not only turn Baptism out of the Church but the Lord's-Day out of the World as well as Prayer out of the House But besides the Command to Pray every where that is fit for the purpose as you must all own your Houses to be unless you will condemn yourselves as unfit to Lave in them if you make them unfit for it And the Command to continue in Prayer Col. 4 2 which was given particularly to Masters of Families And the Duty which our Lord has taught us in his Prayer to do the Will of God on Earth as it is in Heaven which be sure is with the joint unanimous Adoration of all that Glorious Family God has said enough in his Word to Determine the Practice of all his Dâ—vout Servants and Dear Lovers Though not to satisfy the perverse and disafficted Ill-Willers who use to shew the Mettle that they should spend in the Service to Argue themselves out of it and to Condemn the whole Generation of his Children in all Ages and Places of the World for a Company of Mistaken Zealots to accustom themselves still as they have done to this Family-Worship When indeed the general constant Vsage of these may go for one of the most Authentick Comments upon God's Revealed Pleasure in all such common Practical Cases And the usual Opposers of this Service are too well known to be none of the likeliest Persons to be best Acquainted with the Will of God Nor are they so Tender to consult the Divine Pleasure in any thing that makes for their own Pleasure And what suits with their Humour they do not call for a Text to prove it No they can often force their way through a Hundred Texts that Condemn it But what they have no Kindness for they are not willing to believe themselves Bound to If it go against the Stomach they are forward to Fancy it may as well be let alone In that which is to be done for God they Dispute the Obligation And they 'll put him to make a Distress upon them to get his Rights of them He must go to Law with them but they shall find good Law in abundance against them for that Ungodliness which is the Grand Bar to their Prayers Should an Earthly Prince but give them as much Intimation of his Mind that they should be Welcome with him coming as oft as they would for Riches and Honour A Hint should serve the turn And how soon would they Spell out the meaning And not hang long in Suspence whether they were bound to go or not And if the King of Heaven has given sufficient Indication of his Mind that the Morning and Evening Sacrifice of the Family are such a Sacrifice wherewith he is well pleased What if he would not speak out more particularly that he might trust Love and leave somewhat to the Conduct of that Spirit which is to Lead his People into all Truth And to try the Choice of Heavenly Wisdom whether we will not understand ourselves better thâ—n to Wrangle away the Holy Work which is so much out Blessed Privilege You may rest assâ—â—ed then that here you do well and take the safest part And that when your Lord comes you shall never be Blamed but Blessed to be sâ—â—nd so doing 2. Some plead want of Time to Excuse them from the Work They have all of them their Hands so full so much lying upon them such a Hurry of Business such Multiplicity of Affairs this and the other to be done they know not which first Between the Care of their Families the Burdens of their Places the Ailments of their Bodies and the Crosses and Troubles of the World that they cannot have time to Attend these Family-Prayers They are too much call'd upon themselves to lie Calling upon the Lord. They would do it but they have no Room for it And so they put off their Monitors and seem to Content themselves that they cannot Help it and it 's none of their Fault And 't is well in the mean time if they be not more pleas'd than griev'd with the Hindrance Now though it 's true some have much more and better Leisure than others and so more may be expected from them And the heavier Reckoning remains for them if they throw away those precious Opportunities upon their Impertinencies or in the Devil's Service which God gave them wherein to Glorify him and to work out their Salvation And such as are Involved in more Business and Cumber I shall leave to Examine themselves Whether they do Groaâ— under the Burden of their Apostacy that they must Eat their Bread in the Sweat of their Faces And do not rather Rejoyce that they have got an Evasion to Privilege them from being any more concerned in the immediate Attendance upon their God Yet which of you all can pretend You have no Time for doing that which God gave you all your time in the World to do Or do you think it will bring you off at the last for neglecting the One thing needful that you were so cumber'd with many things else When compar'd with that Alas What are your many things but as so many Rattles which the Children stand shaking or the Dirt-pies that they make or any such pitiful Trifles wherewith they Amuse themselves Unworthy ever to be Named as any Apology why the Great Lord of all should not be duly Attended and his Worship and
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
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