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
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-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
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