application of your mind runs upon the World this is a State to be repented of and you must enter upon resolutions of greater care and watchfulness and fervency and having done this you may proceed to the Sacrament without making so long a trial of your selves as in the former case because neither the Church nor your Neighbour can receive any scandal thereby Now beside this part of Examination consisting in an enquiry what sins you have been guilty of or now live in there is a second part of Examination consisting in this enquiry what good you have done what resemblance there is between your life and the life of Jesus your Spirit and the Spirit of Jesus for negative righteousness is not sufficient to make a man a good Christian and though it be true that we are not bound to the highest perfection under pain of damnation yet the love of God the love of Jesus and the hopes of eternal glory do all oblige us to aim at it and therefore we ought to bemoan our non-proficiency barreness and unprofitableness I mean not absolutely such but comparatively with respect to what we should attain to And that you may do this aright demand of your selves what requital have we made our Parents What assistance have we afforded them since God has blessed us What share of what God has prosper'd us with have we given to the poor the hungry and the naked What service have we done for the comfort and support of any that have been any ways distressed After this read with a sober devotion the Beatitudes Mat. 5. and examine the state of your Souls by 'em thus am I poor in Spirit contented in the lowest state resign'd up to God both as to my undderstanding and my will filled with humble thoughts of my own endowments both natural and moral do I mourn under the sense of my past sins and my present defects and infirmities Do I weep in secrets for the sins of my people for the Desolations and Divisions of the Church of Christ for the infidelity of Jew and Gentile and in general for the dishonour God's name suffers in the World Am I of a meek and quiet Spirit peaceable and slow to anger full of humility and reverence towards all but especially my Governours and Masters studying to do my own business and to live quietly in my Station Do I hunger and thirst after righteousnes Is my Soul inflamed with a desire of saying knowledge Do I delight in the meditation of Heavenly truths Am I ravish't with the Loveliness and Beauty of works truly great and truly Christian Am I merciful do I delight to imitate my heavenly Father as far as I am able being bountiful to the needy compassionate to the distressed long suffering towards the offender gentle and easily intreated carefully studying and resolv'dly pursuing the good of all even of mine Enemies and such whose either Ingratitude to me or their aversion to their own good renders the work much more difficult Am I pure in heart Is the World crucified to me Do I account all things but dung and dross in comparison of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord Do I love my God and love my Jesus even to a thirst after a dissolution that putting off the body I may enjoy 'em in Heaven Do I in the singleness and simplicity of my heart pursue the honour of God without regard to any by-interest or corrupt affection Am I a peace-maker content to purchase it for my self or promote it amongst others by any travail or pains and by very great disadvantages to my self Do I pursue peace in the Church of Christ in the State in the Neighbour hood in the Family in my narrow capacity withal imaginable zeal Lastly Am I willing if the will of God so be to part with all and follow Christ to undergo not only reproach and contempt but if need be the spoil of all I have nay Stripes Imprisonment and Death it self These are the heights you are to labour after and though you may fall very short of 'em this Examination will serve to encrease your humility to make you more importunate for the assistance of God and more desirous of being strengthen'd and refresh't by the Holy Sacrament nay it will excite and quicken your graces in you for there is a loveliness in Virtue and therefore the oftner you seriously behold it the more you 'l be enamour'd of it When you have discover'd by this Examination the state of your Souls then proceed to bewail 'em before God thus These and many more which I cannot recollect are my sins O thou Judge of the World and these have all been repeated from time to time so that they now are grown formidable to me for their very number yet besides this how provoking are the aggravations of them that I should sin thus in defiance of the brightest revelation of thy will in contempt of thy long suffering patience and goodness in contempt of thy astonishing love manifested in my redemption by the blood of Jesus in defiance of thy great and precious promises and of all the calls of thy Spirit and of thy Providence nay O my God I have trampled under foot all my most solemn engagements and returned to the commission of sin in contempt even of my repentance my vows and resolutions and canst thou have mercy upon such a wretch as I am I know I have most justly provok't thy wrath and indignation against me my sins are gone over my head as a thick cloud they are a sore burthen too heavy for me to to bear they are more in number than the hairs of my head and my heart has fail'd me but O Lord God I do earnestly repent and am heartily sorry for these my misdoings the remembrance of 'em is grievous to me the burden of 'em is intolerable I am ashamed yea even confounded under the sense of my folly and ingratitude I have consider'd thy terrour and fearfulness and trembling has taken hold upon me I have consider'd thy tender mercies and my Soul is wounded within me for having so falsly and unworthily forsaken and offended thee I have consider'd the humiliation and the sufferings of my blessed Saviour and my Soul suffers an Agony of love and shame with in me for what I have done against my dear Lord. I have consider'd the Beauty of Holiness and I loath my self for the deformity and pollutions of my sins O therefore thou who dost delight to shew mercy to repenting Sinners thou God of love and mercy have mercy upon me and O thou Lamb of God which didst shed thy blood for sinners have mercy upon me thou that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon me and O my Heavenly Father deliver me not only from the guilt but from the power of my sin I tremble indeed at thy wrath and my soul faints within me when I think of being excluded forever from tny
presence but I do also loath and detest my sin O deliver me from it aid me by thy blessed Spirit that I may conquer and subdue all my corrupt affections O let that Spirit which was in Jesus be in me also that the life of Jesus may be seen in all my actions and the image of Jesus may be form'd in my Soul and my conversation may be in Heaven and here O Lord I offer up and devote to thee even my Soul and my body resolving to live a life of Devotion a life of Justice and Charity a life of Meekness and Humility a life of Industry and Watchfulness a life of Purity and Sobriety O Lord strengthen me O Lord establish me by the might of thy Spirit by the power of thy Word by the protection of thy Povidence that I may persevere and be faithful unto the end and so obtain a Crown of Righteousness through Jesus Chirst our Lord. 3dly The Exercise of Charity O my my God thou hast taught me by thy holy Word that thou art love that he only who dwelleth in love dwelleth in thee and accordingly I do find that thou art long-suffering and merciful that thou fillest even the Wicked and thine Enemies with thy goodness and O my blessed Savour and Redeemer I find that in this also thou art the express Image of thy Father and the brightness of his glory for thou camest from Heaven to Earth to die for thine Enemies to reconcile man to God first and then to reconcile and endear us all to one another and has taught us that we cannot be thy Disciples unless we love one another I do therefore most readily forgive all those that have wronged me either by word or deed I do from my heart readily pardon all those who have or do wish me evil or who endeavour or design me any I do earnestly desire to be the Child of my Heavenly Father and the Disciple of my dear Master in this point and therefore being jealous lest my reconciliation should not be sincere or perfect enough I do firmly purpose upon every opportunity to express my Charity towards mine Enemies my acts of Love and Kindness and lest after all I should not be zealous enough to promote that Love and Unity which is so dear and acceptable to my God and my Saviour lest I should not throughly coppy out the Divine pattern that is set me I will not only with unfeigned Humility and Affliction of Soul confess my offence make reparation and beg pardon for any wrong I have done others but I will wooe and importune those who have wrong'd me into a reconciliation For how well must this become me when God himself courts and beseeches the sinner and the Son of God Preach't and Prayed and Wept and Died for those who were irreconcileably set against him To be us'd by such as are conscious of Undutifulness towards their Governours and O my God I do now call to mind how unkindly how unchristianly I have behaved my self towards those who are my Governours in Church and State I have often made false slanderous and spightful reflections upon 'em and have aided and countenanced others in the like I cannot make to them a Personal Acknowledgment of my offences nor sue to 'em in particular for the pardon of 'em Here therefore before thee my God and my Judge whom I have hereby offended I do confess and bewail my sin and folly humbly imploring thy pardon and the assistance of thy Grace that I may henceforth walk in Christian Charity towards those who are my Governours thy Ministers for my good not only forbearing all Disloyalty Disobedience Malice and Uncharitableness my self but also discountenancing and opposing it in all others as far as in me lies O thou God of Love fill me with thy Divine Spirit fill me with Brotherly Affection and with a Fervent Zeal for the good of my Neighbour nor suffer me ever to be wanting according to my capacity to increase the happiness of the Prosperous and the Pious or to relieve the misery of the Afflicted and the Sinner But O my God whilst I pray for a Spirit of Love towards my Neighbour I must not forget to beg and beg earnestly that by the same Spirit thou wouldst shed abroad the Love of thee my God in my Heart O Let me ever remember the great things which thou hast done for me O Let me ever think upon the Patience and Long-suffering which thou hast exercised towards me above all let my Soul ever adore and love and bless thee that thou hast given thine own Son out of thy Bosom to die for me and for all Mankind that whoever believed on him might not perish but have Everlasting Life And O let me ever love and glorifie that Son of thy Bosom who hast loved me and given himself for me and washt me from my sins in his own Blood and O may I ever express this my Love by a frequent Commemoration of it by Devout Addresses to thee my God by a Devout Zeal for thy Glory and the propagation of the Kingdom of my Saviour Amen Amen Fourthly The Exercise of Hope After all these reflections which I have made upon my sinfulness and the Divine goodness upon my guilt and the atonement and satisfaction wrought by the Blood of Jesus I find that as the consideration of the one begets sorrow so doth the consideration of the other beget hope in me and I find the trouble of my Soul clear up into Christian Peace and Comfort My past sins indeed and my present unworthiness fill me with grief and shame and reproach of Conscience but there are other things that lift me up from the Earth that wipe away my Tears and remove the Garments of my mourning and fill my Soul with chearfulness and delightsome expectations such are these when I consider the Divine Nature I am assured that God delights not in the death of a Sinner but delights in exercising Loving-kindness Righteousness and Mercy upon Earth When I consider the death of Jesus I am well assured that it is a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for my sins and the sins of the whole World when I lastly consider the tenour of the Gospel-Covenant as 't is publisht to the World by the Son of God and his Followers I find contain'd in it pardon of sins to all repenting and believing Sinners without Restriction without Limitation without Exception of any Person or Reservation of any case * Math. 11.28 Come unto me all that travail and are heavy laden and I will refresh you * John 3.16 So God loved the World that he gave his only Begotten Son to the end that all that believe in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life * 1 Tim. 1.15 This is a true saying and worthy of all Men to be received That Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners * 1 John 2.1 If any Man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins And now I lift up my Heart O Lord unto thee I approach near thee and Sacrifice to thee in the joy of hope and thankfulness For tho' I do not presume to come to this thy Table trusting in my own Righteousness yet I do firmly trust in the multitude of thy Mercies I know I am not of my self worthy to gather up the Crumbs under thy Table yet I do with all know that the Son of God has died for Sinners and that thou art the same Lord whose property is ever to have Mercy I do not therefore doubt but I shall be a welcome and acceptable tho' in my self an unworthy Guest to this Table and being assisted by thy Grace shall so eat the Flesh of thy Son Jesus Christ and drink his Blood that my sinful Body shall be made clean by his Body and my Soul washed through his most precious Blood and I shall evermore dwell in him and he in me Amen Amen Aug. 5. 1685. Imprimatur Liber cui Titulus The Duty of Servants c. H. Maurice R mo D no. W mo Arch po Cant. a sacris â—INIS There is lately published by the same Author a Book intituled An Enqutry after Happiness c.
religious Lastly O Lord God I resign and recommend these my Children unto thee O be thou their Father take thou the Care of providing for 'em upon thee and do thou so direct the whole Course of their Lives by thy Gracious Providence that every passage of it may tend to thy Glory to my Comfort and to their own Honour and Happiness All which I most humbly and most earnestly beg for the sake of thy dear Son Jesus Christ A Prayer to be used by Children under the Government of their Parents O Eternal God and Heavenly Father thou that art the kind Author of my Being be thou the gracious Guide of my Life my Age is simple and unexperienced O be thou pleased to inspire me with true Wisdom from above I am come into a World full of Snares and Temptations O do thou fill me with the Knowledge and Love of thy Truth that it may keep me from the path of the Destroyer O possess my heart with the Fear of thee and dependence upon thee that I may walk before thee the Almighty God and be perfect that I knowing that thou art my exceeding great Reward may neither be discontented in my present state nor distrustful of a Provision for the future Possess also my heart O my God with that natural tenderness for my Parents and with that Christian sense of my Duty towards 'em that my Language may be respectful my Actions dutiful and my whole Behaviour such that I may not increase the Burden and Care of their Life but prove a comfort and support to ' em O my God possess me lastly with a spirit of Meekness Justice Truth and Industry that by Reverence to my Betters by Courteousness Truth and Faithfulness towards all and by Diligence in whatever I am employed I may grow like a Tree planted by the Rivers of Water my Leaf may not wither whatsoever I do may prosper and I may bring forth my fruit in due season increasing daily in Wisdom and Stature and in Favour with God and Man Hear O hear the Voice of my Petition for in thee only is my Trust through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer to be used by such as are just entring into Service O Almighty God and Heavenly Father who art wont to lead and defend all those who call upon thee be thou pleased to go now and ever along with me and make my ways plain and prosperous before my face Vouchsafe me I beseech thee the Assistance of thy Grace that I may both contentedly submit to thy blessed Providence and also do my Duty faithfully in that station to which thou dost call me Make me always to remember that I do Service to thee my God whilst I do it as I ought to Man and that I am not only to expect my Wages from my Earthly but also my Reward from thee my Heavenly Master And O my God because I know that I am frail flesh and blood I beseech thee to confirm and strengthen me against all Temptations that nothing may be able to prevail with me to deceive the Trust that is repos'd in me Keep me also from all unchristian frowardness and passion which may disturb the Peace and Charity of the Family whither I go Above all keep me from forgetting thee in my Success and Plenty and from preferring my Worldly Interest before thy Favour Let me find Favour in their sight with whom I go to sojourn and bless thou them and do good unto 'em for thy Servants sake Thou art my God in thee is my Trust to thee I dedicate and devote my Life O hear me now and whenever I call upon thee O God of my Salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord. CHAP. II. Directions to be followed in the Choice of a Service The Rules to be followed in this Choice I Do not design here to lay down any Rules of Carnal Policy there are very few so stupid as not to be able to discern what sort of Services do best promote their Worldly Interest passing therefore over these I shall only direct you what way Servants are most likely to secure their Peace and Tranquility and a good Conscience Sometimes the Straits and Necessities of Servants are pressing and the Choice of Services is little or none at all And in this case whoever draws you as the Midianites did Joseph out of this Pit is to be lookt upon as appointed by Providence for your Master provided the Employment be lawful and not repugnant to your Christian Profession for then it is much better to suffer by the want of an Employment than thrive by a sinful one But whenever your wants are not urgent 't is much more adviseable to attend the Providence of God for a more suitable place than out of Distrust to put your selves into men as you must again soon quit not without some guilt of Lightness and Ingratitude or continue in very uncomfortably But you must in this deliberation take care that you do not impose upon your selves and pretend to do that out of Religion which you do really out of Pride or Idleness or Wantonness If several Services be offer'd it is no doubt on 't highly agreeable to Reason and Religion that a Servant should with great wariness proceed to chuse a Master whose Commands must be Laws to him to chuse that company which he must always live in 'T is in a word highly reasonable that a Servant should with good Advice put himself into a Family by whose Orders and Customs the whole manner of his Life is to be regulated and determin'd and both his Mind and Fortune probably to be shaped and fashioned Now that you may not miscarry in this Choice you are in the first place earnestly to implore the Guidance and Direction of God for if he interpose in those things which seem wholly given up to Chance as Solomon assures us * Prov. 16.33 The Lot is cast into the lap but the coming forth is of the Lord. How much more will he be intreated to be present in those Affairs wherein Men proceed by Rules of Wisdom and Religion And if the slightest matter of Life do fall under his notice which our Saviour intimates by telling us that †Matth. 6. The Hairs of our head are all numbred how much more the weightiest 1. Beg Gods Direction Look then up to God and call upon him for his Direction in this matter 't is he who by a secret Providence can over-rule all things 't is he who can give Light to obscure and doubtful things or a more discerning Judgment to weak and simple minds 2. Consult Virtuous Friends In the second place you are to take the Advice of Wise and Virtuous Friends and you are generally to look upon that Advice most sound which presses you most to Duty and Religion and flatters not your Pride nor Sloth In the third place 3. Weigh your own Capacities you must well weigh your own Capacities and
and murmur'd at thy Providence been discontent in my Condition and complain'd of thy Dealings towards me 'T is true O my God that thou of thine infinite goodness hast convinc'd my Conscience of sin affected my Soul with a sorrow for it and wrought in me Resolutions of amendment but oh how many have been my falls how many and grievous have been my Relapses how negligent have I been of the Covenant of my God! Oh how soon have the tears of my Repentance dried up how soon has the flame of my Devotion and Love slackened and even gone out O God thou holy God thou Witness of all my actions and Judge of all my thoughts and affections what would become of me if thou shouldest enter into strict Judgment with me how should I stand before thy Tribunal cover'd with the guilt and shame of so many sins But O thou God of Mercy O thou God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ I know that thou art always ready to pardon poor Penitents Lord I repent increase thou my Repentance trouble has taken hold of me my Soul is cast down and disquieted within me I am asham'd yea even confounded for I do bear the Reproach of the folly and ingratitude of my sins O be thou reconciled to me pardon me I beseech thee by the Merits and Intercession by the Agony and Passion and by all the painful Sufferings of thy Son pardon me O pardon me I beseech thee by thine own boundless goodness by those tender Mercies and Compassion which thou art wont to exercise towards Repenting sinners And Lord not only pardon my sins but deliver me I beseech thee from the Dominion and Power of 'em O assist me to break off those Chains of carnal Lusts and worldly Cares in which I have been held bound I have a false deceitful heart O give me Sincerity and Truth have a sluggish and drowsie body O enkindle in me fervency of spirit I am conscious to my self of great weakness and fraily O do thou confirm and strengthen me who alone canst make me a clean heart O O God and renew a right spirit within me give me a true Faith and enflame my heart with a holy Love that I may delight my self in thy Commandments that I may walk before thee in uprightness and fear diligently seeking thee constantly depending upon thee chearfully submitting to thy Will and doing the Duty of my place in singleness of heart as knowing that I shall be accountable to thee as well for those Duties which I owe Man as for those which are more immediately to be paid to thee O Lord keep me that my foot stray not out of the path of Justice O Lord keep me that I offend not with my Tongue and after I have done all O Lord suffer me not to fall short of my Reward through my pride or ingratitude but make me always thankful always humble neither defrauding thee of the Praise due to thine infinite Bounty and Mercy nor Man of the Thanks due to him for any act of kindness or charity towards me help me O my God to walk thus that my Soul may enjoy a true Liberty that my Life may be full of comfort my Death of peace and my Eternity of glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. And O my God bless not me only but this whole Family thou that art the God of Love the God of Peace sow in all our hearts the seeds of unfeigned Charity that we may all enjoy the comfort of a mutual Affection and of a mutual Assistance and Aid in our several places and Lord possess every Soul of this Family with a just sense of our Duty towards God and Man that all of us may be living Members of thy blessed Son and being protected by thy Providence directed by thy Word and assisted by the Influence of thy Spirit we may all at last meet in the Family of Heaven where we shall adore and praise thee love and enjoy thee to all Eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for the Evening O My God my Strength and the Rock of my Salvation the Day is past and the Evening is come O give me grace to remember that this Life will one time be past and Death will come that I may live so that my work may be then finisht as 't is this day and I may have nothing else to do but go to my Rest where I shall be invested with Liberty and Glory Eternal Eternal O blessed Wages of a short Lifes service how does my Soul praise thee O Lord in Transports and even Extasies thou hast called me indeed to be a Servant but thou hast called me too to be a Son thou hast not indeed given me any great portion of the Wealth or Honour of this Life but thou hast given me the blessed Jesus to be my Redeemer and thy holy Spirit to be my Sanctifier O do but ever continue thus to me the Light of thy Countenance thy Grace and thy Truth and I shall never think my self to stand in need of any thing that the World admires but O my God how often are these my Comforts abated nay even interrupted how often is this blessed this chearful Light obscur'd and orecast by my infirmities and sins my sins the only causes that keep good things from me my sins the only real troubles of my Life Thus O my God though I renew'd my Covenant with thee but this morning though I devoted my self to thee vowing Obedience to thee and faithfulness to my Master yet have I prevaricated my Duty here mention the Errours and Infirmities of the day past have mercy upon me O Lord have mercy upon me and forgive me these and all other my offences and give me grace to keep my self upon my watch and guard against them Enable me sincerely to endeavour to repair and reform 'em as much as in me lies that I may every day grow and increase in goodness and be so much the fiter for Death the nearer I do every day approach to it and whenever it comes let it find me O Lord with my Loyns girt and my Lamp burning in a disposition and frame of spirit fit to die possessed with an unshaken Faith with an humble Resignation and Submission of Mind with a holy Contempt of Earth and a devout Love of Heaven In the mean time thou keeper of Israel thou who never slumbrest nor sleepest watch over me and this whole Family protecting and delivering us in our coming in and going out particularly let thine Angels pitch their Tents about us this night let us lie down securely and let our sleep be sweet to us for thou Lord shalt make us dwell in safety Amen Amen Blessed Jesus If any one expects from me Directions here for Mental or Extemporary Prayers I must tell 'em freely that little less than a Volume much bigger than I purpose this is sufficient for such an undertaking What I have to say in a word here
the nearer any Relation is the stricter is its obligation to those Virtues Two things do evidently aggravate the guilt of a Servants Injustice or Uncharitableness First Trust repos'd in Servants makes it much more easie for them to do wrong and much more difficult for their Masters to guard themselves against it Secondly The Obligation Servants lie under to Gratitude for the Benefits they enjoy and to Fidelity enjoyn'd 'em by the Law of God and Nature must needs render any wrong they do their Masters or Mistresses a more abominable Crime in the sight of God and Man as being not only a sin of Injustice and Uncharitableness which is of it self a sin big enough to damn any man but also of the foulest Ingratitude and basest Treachery and Perfidiousness This I would have well consider'd because if it were it would make Servants dread the commission of some Crimes which they seem not to have that sense of which they ought Such are for instance raising Dissention and Feuds in the Family by lying and whispering Secondly Blasting the Credit and Reputation of their Masters and Mistresses whether by false or true Reports the guilt of these practices will be evident to him who considers The spreading Report though true to another's disadvantage is uncharitableness in any man but in a Servant 't is not only a breach of Charity but of Faith and Secrecy too and the blackest Ingratitude to boot and if it be a sin to spread an Uncharitable Truth how much a greater to forge a Malicious Lye For one Neighbour or one Stranger to belie or slander another by a false Charge is an effect property not only of a mean but devilish spirit what name then can this sin find when a Master or a Mistress is thus treated by a Servant who lies under not only the general Obligations of Charity Truth and Justice but also more particular and if it can be more sacred ones of Secrecy Faith and Gratitude The same thing may be said of kindling strife for if it be a hainous wickedness in any one to stir up Contention by Lying and Whispering how much more in a Servant who is so strictly obliged to preserve the Peace of the Family he lives in The very same is the case of a Servant in all other Injuries committed against his Master they are not only Violations of his Christian Profession as every act of Injustice or Uncharitableness in all other men is but also of the particular Obligations of his Calling and therefore such sins as they have greater aggravations so shall they receive greater punishment than other men's This is extremely necessary to be remembred that as you have easier opportunities of doing wrong so you may also have greater dread and horrour of it as looking upon every Injury that were but a single act of Injustice or Defect of Charity in others as a Complication of sins and villanies in you being a transgression not only of your Duty as Christians but as Servants too Having laid this before you as a strong Engagement to a most strict and conscientious discharge of your Duty I come now in the Second place to consider the particulars of this Duty I might sum up all as our Saviour doth under one Virtue of Faithfulness for he makes a Good and Faithful Servant to be terms equivalent Matth. 25. Well done good and faithful Servant But that you may more fully and distinctly comprehend the whole of your Duty I will speak of it under these three Heads 1. Obedience 2. Faithfulness 3. Love First therefore of Obedience 1 Obedience This is that which constitutes the very nature of Service Right to command makes a Master and obligation to obey a Servant that Subjection which the Centurion describes Luke 7.8 I say unto one go and he goes and to another come and he cometh and to my Servant do this and he does it is an indispensible Duty of every one that professes himself a Servant This Reason teaches us His Servants ye are Rom 6.6 to whom ye obey And the very nature of the Covenant between the Master and his Servant implies this Obedience on the one hand and maintenance on the the other God doth strictly exact this Duty of Servants and that upon pain of damnation to the transgressor and promise of an Eternal Reward to the observer of it Thus Col. 3.22 c. Servants obey in all things your Masters according to the flesh not with eye-service as men-pleasers but in singleness of heart fearing God And whatsoever ye do do it heartily as unto the Lord and not unto men Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ But he that doth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done and there is no respect of persons To the same purpose is Eph. 6.5 1 Pet. 2.18 and innumerable other Texts of Scripture by all this put together you may easily discern how grievous a sin the Disobedience of Servants is 't is a downright contempt of God's revealed Will 't is a violation of the Law of Nature disturbing that just and wise Government which the Providence of God has introduced into the World by that difference he has put between the several Ranks of Mankind 't is a manifest breach of the Servant's Covenant which he entred into with his Master and by consequence the Disobedient Servant has no right to the Bread he eats or to the Wages he receives and he can expect nothing from God who is the Supreme Lord of all and by whose Appointment the Distinction and Order which now is in the World was establisht but some severe Judgment as upon an unrighteous person and a Covenant-breaker and 't is no wonder that God should so strictly exact this Duty or so severely punish the Violation of it for this sin of Disobedience proceeds from Pride or Frowardness or Idleness and ends in Wrath and Contention and Confusion Nor is the Spirit of God in Scripture content only to enjoyn Servants Obedience The properties of this Obedience but it takes care to acquaint 'em what kind of Obedience this must be First It must be in all things that is all things that are not repugnant to the Will of God who is our supreme Master or the Laws of the Land which are stampt with an Authority superior to that of their Master in all things else Servants are not to dispute nor interpret but obey the Commands of their Master for they are not to answer for the discretion or reasonableness of his Commands Their Obedience Secondly must be in singleness of heart not with eye-service as men-pleasers He is a very ill Servant who obeys only when his disobedience cannot be concealed or excus'd for at this rate the Master would be the greatest Drudge in his Family and the Care and Toil of overseeing others in their work would be more intolerable than the work it self Thirdly
there may be some little struglings of good nature and interest in opposition to your Duty in this point the first thing then you are to do is to reprove your guilty Fellow-Servant to lay before him as well as you can the hainousness of his sin together with the danger of it both with respect to his Temporal and Eternal Interest acquaint him with the Beauty and Pleasure the security and advantage of Vertue and the Fear of God advise and exhort him earnestly to expiate his sin by Repentance towards God and restitution towards man mix this Reproof ever and anon with Professions of tenderness and affections for him with expressions of your good meaning and sincere intention which he may discern by your accusing him only to himself and lastly with assurances that if he follow your advice he shall not suffer the least prejudice either in his credit or interest by your knowledge of his fault nay that it shall not diminish in the least your respect or Affection towards him For you are not insensible of the wiles of the Devil and the infirmity of man it being commonly incident to humane frailty to fall into sin and 't is the work of a true Faith to repent of it and therefore as your compassion is kindled in you upon the former account so should you necessarily be ingaged to honour and love him upon the latter now if you prove successful in this you gain a Soul to God a good Servant to your Master and an inseparable Friend to your self and what is more than all you gain peace and satisfaction to your Conscience together with the blessing of God the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the increase of his Holy Spirit Whereas suppose you connive at and he proceed in his sin Ah! How fatal an obligation do you lay upon him You incourage him in his sin and if he never repent you damn his Soul Eternally if he do repent how must he needs condemn you in the bitterness and grief of his Reflections as one false to God and him and no less unfaithful to his Eternal than your Master 's Temporal Interest And what the guilt is that you load your own Conscience with I have shewed you before But if you would do any good this way you must take care that you do it betimes and that you do not let his fault take air before you have thus represented it to him for if you first publish and then reprove his guilt I cannot wonder if he do question either your sincerity or discretion and his doubting of either must needs forfeit in him all respect for your advice or reproof and tempt him rather to stand upon his defence than trust you with his Confession or Repentance If you can effect nothing this way towards the reclaiming your Fellow-Servant you must communicate his offence with some body else as well that you may your self avoid the Imputation of Connivance and Consent as also that you may deliver if possible his Soul from guilt without the ruin of his Credit and Fortune And in the choice of such a Person you are if it may be to find out some one that is considerable with him one whose Vertue and Authority he Reverences and whose Affection and Discretion he can confide in this will make him more apt to be free in his Confession and if he has any modesty any ingenuity left in him he cannot but be wrought by this method into Repentance This very method may be made use of in other cases as well as this as in those injuries you see your Master suffer either by the negligence or wast of your Fellow-Servants only where the matter is little and trifling you are not to communicate it with others for this will look like a formal and solemn impertinence but if he refuse to reform upon your single reproof you are to go directly to your Master or Mistress for a slight wrong repeated daily may grow a very outragious one in time However they are the most proper Judges of what is slight and trifling or otherwise for what may seem to you very inconsiderable may seem otherwise to them who best know their own minds and their own Fortunes The same thing lastly you must do in matters of greater moment when those ways I have prescrib'd you fail you must not provoke God wrong your Master and wound your own Conscience for fear of displeasing nay of ruining your unjust slothful or wastful Fellow-Servant but you must honestly and couragiously do your Duty leaving the issue to God and to the prudencâ— and goodness of your Master and thoâ—… it should end in his ruin or in thâ— forfeiture of your own place or the disturbance of your quiet and peacâ— in it which I can hardly believe if you will pursue this method yeâ— you shall have delivered your own Soul God shall bring forth your Righteousness as the Noon-day whatever calumnies the wit or the malice of your Fellow-Servants raise to obscure it and you shall thrive and prevail in despight of all confederacies against you A second Vice of Servants Of Negligence by which a Master suffers is negligence by which I mean either a total Omission or neglect of Duty or such a careless and lazy performance of it that it were as good left undone as be thus done Or else Lastly heedlesness or want of care Now tho' this be very common you cannot upon due examination of the nature of this fault but confess it a very great one for as to the Master if he be hereby endamag'd is it not the same thing for him to suffer by your negligence as fraud And I need not tell you where there is much trust or confidence on the Master's side and no Industry or Care on the Servant's that all must necessarily go to wrack and ruin Or if he suffer not in his interest he must suffer in the peace and contentment of his mind for there cannot be a greater plague and vexation to any man than a confident and careless Servant Nor is it a small matter that the Master is forced to bear the rudeness and contempt which a Servant's heedlesness and idleness is too plain an expression of 't is a troublesom thing to a man to be levelled with his own Servant yet so he is in this case for if there be no authority in the Master nor fear or care in the Servant if tho' the Master may command the slothful Servant will perform only what he pleases 't is hard to say wherein is the difference and distinction between ' em Is it possible for any Servant to think that this is to do his Duty Can any one think that this is to obey with fear and trembling Can any one think that this sluggishness is any thing better than Eye-Service so much condemned by God Can any one who carries himself thus heedlesly ever persuade himself that he doth service as if he made it to
God not Man Or can he ever have the impudence to expect a reward from God for this kind of Deportment What such a one has reason to expect he may learn from the Parable of the Lord and his Servants Matth. 25. where he is called a wicked and a slothful Servant and adjudged to outer Darkness who had not answered the trust committed to him who had only behaved himself idly and unprofitably tho' he had neither wrong'd his Master by fraud or theft or wast and riot Alas The unprofitable Servant must not flatter himself that he doth his Duty for care and industry are as essential and necessary parts of the Faithfulness of a Servant as truth and honesty and he that any time stands idle can never be excus'd unless he can plead what they in the Market-place did to that question Why stand ye here idle all the day long Because no man has hired us But you are hired you have no doubt work to do for no Master will purchase heedlesness and sloth at the rate of such a charge as a Servant puts him to Nor can I think that a Servant himself would judge this behaviour a good discharge of any man's Duty in any other Station Would he think that Master did his Duty who made no provision for his Family And yet care and industry is as indispensible a Duty of the Servant as provision or maintenance of the Master But I need say no more if nothing else will the effects of this ill demeanour may convince a Servant how great an evil this is for besides the loss and vexation which it creates the Master it begets perpetual quarrels and discontents in the Family for the Fellow-Servants of a sluggard are not only bereav'd of that assistance which they should receive from him but also oppressed by that burden of which he eases his Shoulders the Drone himself is forced upon many Lies and Shifts to excuse his omissions and errors and finally after some time spent in the displeasure of his Master the contempt and hatred of his Fellow-Servants He is at last reproachfully cast off and branded with such a character as makes all that know him shut their Doors against him as unwilling to receive such a trouble and incumbrance into their Families There is a Third vice Of Consumption and Wast which Servants are too often guilty of where the Fortune of the Family can allow it and that is Consumption Wast whether by wantonness and delicacy whether by riot and excess whether by junketting and drinking amongst themselves or also by drawing in others into the Club and Association it matters little 't is a downright injustice committed against the Master 't is every jot as bad as theft much worse than the common theft of poor people for the poor steal to relieve their necessities but these rob to feed their gluttony and wantonness nay 't is every jot as bad as theft in a Servant the guilt of which has been sufficiently display'd to you before for what difference is there either in respect of the guilt of the Crime or in respect of the effects of it towards a Master whether a Servant steal from him out of Covetousness or fear of future want or whether he rob and plunder him out of Luxury and Riot if so then you may be sure that if the wrong be the same in respect of the Master and the guilt the same in respect of the Servant the Temporal ill consequences of it in this Life and the punishment of it in another will be much the same for such Servants must finally without Repentance and Amendment be abandoned and forsaken by God and Man And accordingly 't is generally observ'd and I have mark't it my self that such as have been extreamly Prodigal Wanton and Wastful in their Master's Houses have been afterwards reduced to extream Poverty even to the want of a Morsel of Bread and that which adds to their misery in this state is commonly this that such as have been sharers with 'em in the wast of their Master's goods have been the most apt to reproach their former Pride and Wantonness and to despise their present Poverty and the only Persons from whom they could expect relief have been those very Masters and Mistresses whom they had before abus'd and wrong'd Besides this Duty of Justice in Deed there is another sort of Justice in Word which a Servant owes his Master which is Truth but because this is a common and avow'd Duty between Man and Man I think 't is not needful to dwell upon it here there is no body can be ignorant of the wickedness of this sin which makes one of the greatest Prerogatives of Mankind that is Speech an Instrument of the greatest Mischiefs which is 2dly An Argument of a mean base Spirit and destitute of the Faith and Fear of God which is 3dly The Product and Effect of some sin or other for Virtue never needs the Service or Protection of a Lye which Lastly Prevents Repentance for sin for as soon as men have obtain'd a great slight and dexterity in Lying they grow hard and confident in their faults because they find they can without any difficulty conceal or excuse 'em by a Lye And as no one can be ignorant of the evil of this sin so neither of the evil which will punish it Who knows not how many plagues are denounc'd against it by God What infamy attends it from Man What secret shame and disquiet it tortures the mind with and finally how it certainly involves the Lyar in Temporal and Eternal Ruine Let the Servant therefore as he would avoid all this alwaies keep up to strict Truth in his words if he have committed a fault let him not go about to excuse it by the commission of a greater that is by Lying let him rather chuse to try the goodness of his Master by an humble and honest confession than tempt him to suspicion by frivolous Excuses or barefaced Untruths however if he should think his Master stupid enough to be imposed on by any idle Tale yet let him remember that he has a Master in Heaven who may be conquer'd by Confession and Repentance but cannot be imposed upon or mockt by any slight or artifice of words I have now spoke sufficiently of the Duty of Faithfulness and will therefore pass on to the Third and last great Duty of Servants 3dly Of Love of Masters and Mistresses The Love of their Masters and Mistresses This is a Virtue which is extremely necessary in Servants it being a very difficult matter to do their Duty without it but if this be once implanted in their hearts if the Master be lookt upon as a Father one whose Affection and Esteem for 'em they value as their greatest worldly happiness there will need no other motive either to their Obedience or Faithfulness For what St. John observes concerning the Service of God Eph. 5. that to them who love him
Master the Peace and Virtue of the Family and my own both Temporal and Eternal Happiness I know O Lord that no acts of injustice or unfaithfulness between Man and Man shall go unpunish'd I know that for these things sake the wrath of God is reveal'd from Heaven O what then must be my punishment if I heap upon the guilt of injustice and uncharitableness many others namely of Ingratitude Unfaithfulness Lying Perjury O preserve me therefore O my God from all falshood and wrong and suffer me not to forfeit thy favour and destroy my Soul for the sake of those things that perish O let me be fully convinced that the ways of Righteousness are ways of Pleasantness and that all her paths are Prosperity and Peace that so I may delight my self in the Law of my God and may find comfort and a blessing in the discharge of my Duty Teach me O Lord Humility and Obedience Faith and Truth Care and Industry Charity and Meekness that I may adorn the Doctrine of God my Saviour win others over to a love of Virtue and after an humble and contented tho' laborious life here may enter into Rest and Glory hereafter through Jesus Christ our Lord. A Prayer for Obedience O Glorious and Eternal Lord God who dwellest with those who are of a meek and lowly Spirit behold me I beseech thee and pour into my Heart that Virtue of Humility which is so highly esteemed by thee O Lord my Heart is too too apt to be filled with Pride and Vanity O do thou convince me every day more and more of my own vileness and worthlesness that I may be preserved from self-conceit and wilfulness O give me Grace often to consider the Humility of my Lord and Saviour that I may learn of him and obtain the peace which flows from a meek Spirit and Humble Obedience And O my God because I am to give an account to thee who art the searcher of the Heart and the tryer of the Reins the Judge of my most secret Thoughts as well as my most secret Actions teach me therefore to do my Duty chearfully and in singleness of Heart make me to abominate all Lying shifts and pretences as well as all proud wilfulness and sluggishness Make me careful to learn my Duty sincere in the performance of it patient under reproof and diligent in reforming whatever is amiss thus O my God whilst every part of my Duty towards Man shall prove an instance of my Obedience towards thee I shall enjoy the peace of a good Conscience and the hopes of an Eternal Reward Hear me and answer me O Lord for thy Mercies sake and thy Son Jesus Christs Sake A Prayer for Faithfulness O God thou God of Truth Right and Just art thou and there is no iniquity with thee fill my Heart I beseech thee with the love of Truth and Faithfulness make me true in all my words and upright in all my deeds O teach me to take heed to my ways that I offend not with my Tongue teach me to keep my Mouth as it were with a Bridle while the ungodly are in my sight O make me to abhor the sin of Unfaithfulness and let no such cleave unto me Let no slander or detraction no mischievous accusations proceed out of my Mouth nor suffer me ever to stretch forth my hand to iniquity O let me not fall through Covetousness or Distrust in God and let me never commit injustice to maintain my Pride or Riot or Idleness adding sin to sin If sinners entice me suffer me not to consent to 'em permit me not to have any Fellowship with the Unfruitful Works of Darkness but give me courage and discretion to reprove 'em that so my Righteousness may be as the Noon-day and thou mayest make me to prosper in the Land and I may at last obtain the Blessing Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into thy Masters Joy Amen Amen Blessed Jesus A Prayer for Love O Thou God who art Love give me thy Grace that I may practise more abundantly that Charity which I owe all Mankind towards those of the same Family give me a grateful sense of the benefits which I enjoy under this Roof of the care and kindness of my Master towards me in providing for me both spiritual and bodily Food that so I may make returns to him in the Fruit of Love Obedience and Faithfulness Lord let his interest and his honour let his quiet and content be dear to me as my own that I may not only serve him with Justice but Zeal too And O my God diffuse the gift of Charity through the Hearts of this whole Family that we may all live in Godly love and peace together that our Prayers be not hindred nor we kept back from thy Holy Table or approach it unworthily But that we all enjoy thee our God in the beauty of Holiness enjoy one another in the beauty of Charity and enjoy those Temporal Blessings which thou hast richly bestow'd upon us in the beauty of order and virtue and and all things may finally and uniformly tend to thy Glory and our Comfort through Jesus Christ our Lord. CHAP. III. Of the Duty of Servants § 1st Towards their Masters Children consisting of Affection due Respect Care of their Morals Care of their Honour and Care of their Interest § 2dly Towards Sojourners § 3dly Towards Strangers What the Servant owes his Masters Children WHatever it be that Servants owe the Children of the Family 't is only the result of that Duty which they owe their Master Children are as it were parts of their Parents their Blood and Birth gives 'em a just claim as to the care and love of their Parents so to a proper share of th' Affection and Service and all other advantages of the Family First Therefore a Servant owes the Children of his Master a sincere Affection Affection which will easily be granted if it be but consider'd that 't is impossible for a Servant to bear Faith and Love to his Master and have neither for his Children for Children are the dearest interest and most valuable Treasure of their Parents Children are the joys and hopes of their Fathers they double the pleasure of his prosperity by being sharers in it and ease the toil of his labours by being the Heirs of ' em How therefore can any one pretend to love his Master who hates or despises what is dearest to him Now this affection of the Servant must express it self towards his Masters Children 1st In a due Respect 2dly In his care for their Morals 3dly In a sincere Zeal for their Honour and 4dly For their Interest 1st In Respect Due Respect This their birth Challenges every slight or neglect offer'd the Children by a Servant is some diminution of the Reverence which he owes his Master for the Father must needs suffer in the contempt of the Son and yet this Respect ought to be wisely regulated for
and loving Spirits Now for the Conquest of all these Vices which ingender strife you must observe the same method which is wont to be prescrib'd for the Conquest of any other that is you must lay before you frequently and seriously the guilt and mischief of these sins you must endeavour to persuade your selves of the loveliness and advantage of the contrary Virtues you must carefully avoid all occasions of and temptation to these sins you must watch over the motions of your own Hearts you must resolve sincerely upon reformation and amendment you must call your selves to an account for these your resolutions you must not faint nor be weary tho' you do not presently conquer but you must repeat and reinforce all your vows and purposes and go on patiently till you have brought forth Righteousness unto Victory and with all this you must joyn fervent Prayers to Almighty God for his Assistance A Prayer on the Subject of this Chapter O Lord my God who art the Author of Peace and Lover of Concord enable me I beseech thee to live in that Brotherly Affection Unity and Concord with my Fellow-Servants that we may be a Mutual Comfort and Assistance to one antoher as well in our Spiritual as Temporal concern And to this end subdue in me O Lord all unnatural and unchristian Pride and Peevishness and give me the Wisdom which is from above which is not only pure but peaceable gentle and easy to be intreated full of Mercy and good Fruit without partiality and without Hypocrisie O never suffer me to be guilty of Malice Guile Hypocrisie Envy or Evil-speaking but let my Heart be always tender and affectionate and let the words of Truth and Meekness and Charity proceed out of my Mouth that I may never minister any occasion of strife and contention but way ever preserve and make Peace And O Lord because offences will come make me I beseech thee slow to anger ready to forgive and that from the Heart that I imitating thy Divine Mercy and Compassion may be made partaker of it in the full pardon of my sins and the Salvation of my Soul through him who was also the great Example of Patience and Forgiveness even Jesus Christ our Lord. PART II. CHAP. V. Of the Servants Duty towards himself his Credit which way rais'd and preserv'd the Love of his Master c. how to be abtain'd His thrift c. 'T is certain that every man's Duty is his Interest and that in whatever station a man is there is nothing can render him more prosperous in it or more effectually recommend him to a better than a faithful and conscientious discharge of the Duties of his place Nor did Solomon when he ascribed to Wisdom these glorious effects or fruits length of days Riches and Honour understand by wisdom Subtlety Craft or worldly Policy but purely a sincere performance of our Duty towards God and Man having therefore fully discours'd of a Servant's Duty both towards God and his Master it might suffice here to tell him in general that a sincere performance of this is his only true wisdom his only true policy However that this may more evidently appear and that the Servant may be more sensible of the obligation he lies under to the Duties prescrib'd him I will descend to a particular consideration of his Interest a thing which Servants as well as others are allow'd nay obliged to persue and advance by all fair means It will easily be granted that the Interest of a Servant consists in these three things his Credit the Love of his Master c. the profit of his place 't is therefore a duty which concerns a Servant to consider what course he must take to promote these three The Servants Credit how advanc'd First then if we consider the grounds of a Servant's Credit or Reputation it depends upon an opinion of his Religion or Virtue and of his ability or sufficiency for the place he undertakes As to this latter 't is not my business to direct you in it only I must put you in mind that there are some greneral qualifications such as Truth Industry and Humility which are necessary recommendations to all sorts of lawful Imployments without which whatever skill or experience any man has he is unfit for any service The other Basis or Pillar of a Servant's Credit is Religion and Virtue he that has rais'd in others an opinion of his Virtue hath by consequence rendred himself more valuable and considerable to 'em for such is the Beauty and Majesty of Virtue that it commands from all some degree of affection and respect and such is the manifold use of it in the world that he who is possessed of it is presently accounted of as more worthy and more serviceable than other men which is a Character which commands esteem Now if you would possess men with the perswasion of your Virtue the most effectual way is really to be what you would fain appear to be for a Hypocrite cannot long be concealed and when he is discovered he looks more loathsom than an open sinner besides that a Hypocrite lies under this one great disadvantage that his Dissimulation once prov'd upon him his Credit can never be redeem'd by his following sincerity his very Repentance shall never find Credit with men there being no way left man to distinguish it from a strain of his known Art You must therefore be really virtuous if you would gain a Reputation for Virtue you must endeavour to be most eminent in these Virtues which are proper to your station sobriety industry faithfulness c for these are the Virtues men require and regard in you There is scarce any place wherein there is not an opportunity of practising these in some degree which practice is one way and the best too of raising your Reputation but besides this that you may both confirm and increase these Virtues in your selves and the opinion that you have of 'em in others you must First industriously avoid all vicious company For this if it do not destroy your Virtue which were next to a miracle it will certainly destroy your credit for no wise man will ever believe that you can be otherwise than vicious in vicious Company This is generally the ruine of most Servants 't is here they learn to despise Virtue and their Masters 't is here they learn to love Liberty and Idleness and Finally 't is here they learn those sins which they can neither maintain nor enjoy without the guilt of disobedience and unfaithfulness to their Masters therefore follow the advice of Solomon Prov. 4.14 15. Enter not into the Path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil men Avoid it pass not by it turn from it and pass away where the wise man doth excellently insinuate that he that would be safe can never keep too great a distance from evil company Secondly you must resolutely arm your self against and carefully resist the