the Station and Condition of life that God hath called you to seek not great things for your self and quarrel not with Providence albeit the Event of your lawful Endeavours should not answer your expectation for our God doth and certainly will make every thing turn to the advantage of such as fear and love him SON I Have no desire to enlarge much in writing to you and has in these few Lines I have last written minted at saying what might be the Subject Matter of a large Discourse and I require you may at suitable Occasions make the ground of your Meditation to be the Obligation you ly under to Frugality and Honesty to diligence in your Station and Profession and a contented and submissive frame of heart under all the Dispensations of God to you-ward 27. Evidence in all your Behaviour a heart-hatred to Intemperance in Meat or Drink for as being given to a luxurious Desire of eating much or of things pleasing to the Appetite is hateful even to persons that upon a moral Principle only values their Honour much more is it to be hated by such as profess to be Christians yea the Misery attending it even in this World is apparent from Prov. 23.21 For the Drunkard and the Glutton shall come to Poverty and the Apostle in Phil. 3.19 describing the Enemies of the Cross of Christ holds them forth to be such Whose end is destruction and whose god is their Belly 28. Drinking to Excess may be said to be the Mother of almost all Vices for as there is in every humane Creature when born a natural propensity to Evil so were it not the common Influences of the Grace of God even to all Mankind enlightening their Reason in so far as may let them see the Iniquity in breaking of the the most of His Commands and were not also restrained from the apprehension of temporal Punishment frail wretched man would always be committing every wickedness within his power Ought we not then to fear lest we should provoke God to give us up to our selves which is the worst of Evils when by intemperate drinking we not only cloud but destroy our Reason which as it is given us principally to distinguish us from Bruits and enable us to glorifie our Creator even so that we may thereby see the filthiness of Vice and fear the punishments justly due to it History doth plainly make appear its being hateful even to Heathens and the many and dreadful Judgments that hath befallen miserable Wretches given over to that wickedness and the Holy Spirit of God holds forth the folly and misery of that Sin as in Pro. 20.16 Wine is a Mocker strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise And the great misery attending it is apparent from Prov. 23.29 30. And as being abominable to Almighty God it is put into the Catalogue of grievous sins that secludes from the heavenly Kingdom 1 Cor. 6.10 nor Drunkards nor Revilers c shall inherit the Kingdom of God 29. What I have said before this of Idleness and now of Intemperance brings me to disswade your being guilty of the beastly and to be hated sin of Uncleanness whereof they may be truly said to be Parents It is indeed most hateful and to be abominate and I intreat you may be earnest with God that He for Christ's sake by His Grace may prevent the very beginnings of and inclinations to that silthy sin for in every sin and especially this wherever Satan prevails but to a beginning or tendency thereto it is impossible without the special Grace of God of His great Mercy bestowed to prevent the being given over to the practise of that wickedness which is almost irrecoverable as in Pro. 2.19 None that go unto her return again neither take they hold of the paths of life Ye would not only forbear any Action or corrupt Communication that tendeth thereto but in your very heart entertain no thought that has any prospect to that Sin for albeit ye should forbear the grosser Acts of Uncleanness yet if you do with any delight entertain such sinful Thoughts and Fancies It is to be feared your forbearance flows not from a principle of the fear of God or love to Him and that your lodging such filthy Suggestions will bring you under great danger of being guilty of the gross Acts of Uncleanness which are utterly destructive to Man even in relation to his temporal Beeing Curses following that Sin being plain from Scripture Prov. 6.26 For by the means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread and the Adulteress will hunt for the precious life yea Wrath and eternal Judgment is frequenly denunced against it as in the 13. Heb. 4. But whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge The Body is called the Temple of the Living God and the Apostle in the 1 Cor. 3 17. peremptorly threatens destruction to the Defilers thereof If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is holy which Temple ye are And it does eternally exclude from the presence of God Eph. 5.5 For this ye know that no whoremoonger nor unclean Person shall enter into the kingdom of God And how great will the stupidity and beastliness of Sinners appear even to themselves in that day of their standing before the Tribunal of God Almighty when they shall find from their being guilty of that beastly Sin that they are for ever secluded from his presence and kingdom 30. Swearing and Profaning the blessed Name of God is an evil directly contrair a positive Command and it 's being of the Devil is obvious I intreat you guard against all tendency thereto for God does often give over to themselves such as are usual Swearers and Profaners of His Name and leaves them to fall into that to be lamented State of constant Swearing where they have no Temptation nor the least pretence to any Advantage thereby Remember the Account you must make at the great day of your appearance before God's Tribunal and if they shall not escape who have spoken idlely and vainly how terrible shall their Judgment be who profane and abuse the Name of the most holy God Accustom your self to a most awful Dread of His Name and never pronounce the same in word or have it even in the thought of your heart but with due Reverence for he has expresly said He will not bold them guiltless that taketh his Name in vain 31. Lying is by every one known to be so inconsistent with Honour or any thing desireable As I think few Arguments may serve to diswade your being guilty thereof It 's Effects among such as ye converse with will be not to be believed when ye speak truth and Experience sheweth that any person being found to ly they are with difficulty after that believed but considered as void of Credit and very worthless As you respect your Honour and Reputation but above all your Souls eternal Interest and Well-being accustome your self to Truth in
infinite in Power and all his other Attributes to be our Pay-master and as there are in very many Parts of the Scriptures holden forth the great advantages of this Duty so also there are therein correspondently grievous Punishments denounced against the Transgressors thereof as in Jam. 2.13 He shall have Judgement without Mercy that sheweth no Mercy and Job 20.18 19. That which he laboureth for he shall restore and shall not swallow it down according to his Substance shall the Restitution be and he shall not rejoyce therein because he hath oppressed and forsaken the Poor You see here this Judgement is denounced not only because he hath unjustly oppressed but because he hath uncharitably forsaken the Poor And as your Charity must be with a full heart extended to all in Want so especially to such who can be judged to have an Interest in our Blessed Lord for in the Gospel it is plain the value our Saviour puts upon this Duty by telling us in Mat. 25.35 That the Blessed of His Father would be such as gave Him meat when he was hungry and drink when thirsty c. And that on the contrare these doing otherwise would be found to be the Cursed of God on the left hand and He plainly declares what is done to his Poor ones to be as done to Himself But mind in this or whatever duty ye go about that Applause from men or any other self-end have no weight with you and that all that is possible for you to perform is unexpressibly short of meriting in the sight of God 40. Endeavour with discretion and as you have access without an officious and undiscreet obtruding your self to make your neighbour perceive the Error of his Conduct and if your Knowledge and Opportunity enable you to the doing any thing for the good of his Soul lay hold upon the occasion with all cheerfulness 41. Beware of Oppression yea of the least of Injustice to your Neighbour in his Goods or otherways especially the Poor or such as may be unable to defend themselves for the grievousness of that Sin is manifestly held forth in Scripture and many are the Precepts expresly discharging it The Prophet Zechar 7 10. Requires that the Widow the Fatherless the Stranger and the Poor be not oppressed and that none imagine evil against his Brother in his heart And the Prophet Malach. denunceth Judgments and declareth God will be a swift Witness against the Sorcerers and against the Adulterers and false Swearers and against these that oppress the Hireling in his Wages the Widow and the Fatherless and that turn aside the Stranger from his Right and fear not me saith the Lord of Hosts Yea our blessed and everliving God does so far take the poor under his protection as he says Prov. 14.31 He that oppresseth the Poor reproacheth his Maker but he that honoureth him bath mercy on the poor And he is said in the 23 Prov. 11. To be their mighty Reedeâ—â—ner and that he will plead their Cause with their Oppressors 42. I have confidence I need nothing diswade your stealing or taking unjustly what is not your own and shall only tell you that you be careful that the Right to what you have be suelâ— as not only secures from a civil Inconveniency but so as ye may be found in the sight of God to have a just Title thereto of which ye would be very circumspect for every person is too ready in in any debatable Matter to determine to his own Advantage Yea if you shall find any thing that is lost your retaining and not restoring it to the Owners if possible they can come to your knowledge does directly break the eighth Command and where the Owner cannot be found you are to consider the Poor the Proprietar thereof and dispose of it or it's Avail to such as truly are in want 43. I have hinted something to you of the inconveniency of Detraction it is a Crime albeit amongst the Basest yet very ordinary with many persons and it is palpably observable that the most of People does evidence a delight in telling and devuâ—ging the Faults of others which directly speaks their being in so far of the Devil and not of God for Satan endeavours and delights in the death of Sinners But our blessed Lord has said that he takes no pleasure therein do not you from any finistruous design enquire into the Actings of your Neighbour and thereby evite what is but too ordâ—â—ar that custom of enquiring us News or for diversion at idle Hours what is the Carriage of 〈◊〉 Neighbours in their private Concerns I am sensible it may be in some persons their Duty so to do but then the end therein is sincerely Gods Glory in their Neighbours welfare and such will be far from receiving a Report to the prejudice of any with the least of Satisfaction or at all to divulge it but as a necessar Mean to reach the end for which they enquire after it It is indeed a wonderful and irrefragable Evidence of the intire Corruption and Depravation of the Nature of Mankind that we should delight in evil without any imaginable prospect of Satisfaction or Advantage to our selves or others whereof this Practice is an instance And it is but too frequent for without much noticing it may be observed in almost all Companies that the Faults and Infirmities of others are oftner and with greater pleasure discoursed upon than any thing tending to their Advantage It is true almost all Mankind has more of what is Foolish and Sinful in their Carriage than what can be spoken of to their Commendation Yet I tell you it is your Duty in discretion as a Neighbour and above all as a Christian in the sight of God to refrain from the speaking to the prejudice of any and where you cannot with truth speak to their Advantage let your silence evidence that you have a sense of its being Duty neither to enquire into or speak of the Failings of others unless called thereto by your Station and therein sincerly designing God's Glory in your Neighbours well-being 44. As I do intreat ye may foresee the great 〈…〉 in bringing your self under Debt 〈…〉 any of Ingenuitie there can be no greater worldly Trouble especially where they are not able to â—â—tifie the just desires of these to whom they are indue So if Providence shall tryst your being engaged let it be your greatest worldly Satisfaction to discharge your self thereof and freely to give when it is required even to every person you are indue to but especially to such as cannot subsist with the want thereof I beseech you let not the Hire of the Servant or Labourer be in your hand when they need it for severe is the Curse pronounced against the Withholders thereof and consider no kind of Goods to be the Propriety of your self or Children as coming from you so long as you are Debitor to any person and that all you have in the first place is
larger then was intended yet I have this day before its coming to your hand received the Lord Capels Apothegms or Contemplations and am so satisfied with concise Sayings of that Kind that I recommend your reading them and the like as very conducive to the improving of and rectifying the Judgment their Brevity Independance one upon another the Quaintness and Pertinency of Expression being not only Taking to Readers but to Persons not intent upon reading and but of ordinar Comprehension and Memorie more easily comprehended and some of them with some others written by other persons which I desire ye may imprint in your Memorie I have herein set down that as you read what I have written in thir Sheets they may be the more obvious to you 1. Nothing can hurt us but Sin and that shall not hurt us if we can repent of it and nothing can do us good but the Love and Favour of God in Jesus Christ and that we shall have if we humbly and in sincerity seek it 2. So much Sin so much Sorrow so much Holiness so much Happiness 3. Make thy Sin thy greatest Sorrow so shall Sorrow never hurt thee make Jesus Christ thy greatest Joy so shalt thou never want Joy 4. It may be learned by experience that seriousness is the greatest Wisdom Temperance the best hysick a good Conscience the best Estate and the time will certainly come that Men and Women will repent of all their life but that part they spend in Communion with God and doing good 5. There is an odious Spirit in many who are better pleased to detect a Fault than commend a Vertue 6. Such a man is to be honoured and imitated that will rather suffer Injurie than do it 7. Wise and happy is that Man that will not be drawn to commit either an undecent or dishonest Act for Love Hatered or Gain 8. A wise Man will not speak the Truth at all times nor an honest Man speak an Untruth at any time 9. A wise Parent more patiently suffers the death of his Children than their wicked and debauched Actions 10. Moderation in Dyet Sleep and Exercise are especial means to prolong and make healthfull our days 11. It is worth the Observation to hear the labouring man sing at his Plough and the Rich man fret in his Palace this shows it is the Mind not Riches that makes us happie I thought to have sent you some more of these but the Paper of this sheet being ended I shall delay it whilst after this I write to you SON I Have Reason as minding I am in the presence of my good God to acknowledge the great Corruption and Pravitie of my nature and unfitness for performing of any Duty required of me yet have I ground to bless his Name that there is in my heart any earnestness of desire that he may be glorified in the Salvation of Sinners I do seek of him in Christ Jesus that he may bless you so as your Lot in the World may be comfortable not in having great Riches which does but too often nourish Corruption and destroy Souls but in your having such competent means of Subsistance and that without perplexed involving your self in worldy concerns as may enable you to live with a comfortable Tranquilitie of mind in the Station that he shall call you to live in but above all the earnest desire of my Soul in your behalf is that Christ may be your Portion and that in Him and through his Strength you may so live in this World as that when death comes you may immediately beholding his Glory live with him to all eternity I have in the Sheets I wrot for your use given you such Directions as did occur to me and minded you of your Engagments to serve God which I intreat may be your great work indeed the generallitie even of such as owne themselves to be Christians does directly in all their Walk speak forth their misbelief of the manifest Truths contained in God's Word but go not you in the broad way with the Multitude for it undoubtedly tends to Destruction Our God in the Scriptures has plainly held forth the Duty of Man and if we could come cordially to resolve to close with him in the Terms offered therein we would see the Conditions of our Salvation in and by Christ to be neither unintelligible nor unpracticable In order to your so doing I desire your Diligence in improving the Means ye are trysted with I intreat you rejoyce in your enjoyment of Sabbaths and so live on these days as may evidence your heart being filled with the fear of and love to our great God who set a-part the seventh Day for his Service when you approach him in the publick Ordinances have your heart intent upon the Duties ye go about especially Prayer and Praise indeed wandering of heart whilst we pretend to hear the Word preached is grosly sinful in the sight of God but in prayer or Praise our hearts going out after any other Object is a direct contemning of Him and a dreadful Mean for drawing down his everlasting Wrath and Curse I advise you to follow my Directions anent your meditating upon what you have heard so soon as ye can have occasion after Sermon and write the same in so far as your Memorie will serve you and that what ye write of that kind may be useful for your own reading at other times and that I may be satisfied of your diligence herein when I see you I desire you buy for your self a Quair or half Quair Book bound in a long Octavo and write thereupon not in time of Sermon but after the ending thereof the day of the Month the Preacher's Name the Text and whatever you are able to remember of the Sermon write it so as it may be distinctly read be diligent and attentive in hearing mind the Doctrines raised and and forget not the Uses and Application thereof endeavour with all your might to see your Sins whereby your Condition is for ever lost and undone without Christ and with humility of heart depend upon God that he may direct and strengthen you to every Duty I have been sometimes much inclined to wonder at the Actions of almost all Men in their whole Converse and dealing that does constantly sin in Thought Word and Actions and very often without any reasonable Prospect of the least even shadow of temporal Advantage But this is the Effect of our dreadful Fall in our first Parents which Fall did so much destroy the Original Purity of Mankind and fill him with an unresistable Inclination to every Evil that the wonder is that all of us are not always committing the worst of Evils which that we do not is of Gods great Mercy I obtest that the consideration of your miserable State through Sin and of God's wonderful Condescension in offering Mercy in and through Christ may stir you up to a Christian-walk which I humbly for Christs sake beg of
every circumstance of your Speech and Actions for as Lying is so obviously hateful to every person but pretending to Honour and Honesty so it is abominable to God Prov. 12.22 Lying lips are abomination to the Lord and a Lye being in the mouth of any Person does prognosticate the Devils being in the heart for lying may properly be said to be his Language he being the father of Lyes And ye find in the 22. Rev 15. such to be debarred from the new Jerusalem as loveth and maketh a lye 32. As you are to abominat that dishonourable Vice of Lying so ye would forbear what has any likelyhood to or appearance thereof Beware of reporting Stories having any thing of incredulity in them since you may thereby soon procure to your self such a Stain of dishonour as even your after-life albeit of great prudence and veracity will with difficulty delet I hope my confidence in your being nothing inclined to this Vice shall not deceive me and I give you this Caution lest by unnecessar reporting of Truths which has any appearance of impossibility you begin to weaken your Credit for I think any at least whilst they are entering upon the World and whil'st their Solidity and Veracity be nottour should be cautious they do not in Discourse or otherwise what may have a tendency to weaken their Reputation 33. Being talkative and a love to Discourse much has many inconveniencies attending it and however some persons truly of Worth may be inclined thereto yet has it ever to me most usually proclaimed their folly Whil'st ye are in company of any Superior it will be Wisdom to speak but when required unless it be with modesty in few and apposite Words to evidence some desire or seek to be resolved of some Question and in all Companies whatsoever shun the taking upon you of much Discourse as what is not only Nauseating but often in the abundance thereof is something said which the Speaker or such as is concerned in him would heartily wish were not said And Solomon in the 10. Prov. 19. Holdeth forth to you that in the multitude of Words there wanteth not sin but he that refraineth his Lips is wise And the 17.28 Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is counted wise and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a a man of understanding 34. I have told you ye are to evite Idleness and so live as to be useful in your Station and that you may continue the more fitted for so doing Recreation both to Body and Mind is necessary but your Care must be that it be allowable both in Quality and Quantity Let it be what is suitable to persons in your Station and by not exceeding in the use thereof free your self from that too epidemick Fault of making Recreation as if it were your Calling Surely it is most irrational that men should so little value precious time as the most of their Thoughts should be how they shall cheat themselves of what they would find to be Irrecoverable and for which to have it redeemed from the Wickedness and Folly of our vain way of living would willingly be given all within the power of wretched Man Forbear such Recreations as may be sinful or offensive I shall not determine anent the lawfulness of Games wherein there is Lottorie knowing that some good Men have allowed thereof but many are of the Opinion of their being unlawful and since you may have suitable Diversions without using such it is surely safest to forbear And it is evident that the playing at Cards and Dice from which I absolutely disswade you is obviously accompanied with such sinful Inconveniencies as the advantage of the Recreation of your whole life will be dearly bought by any part thereof I shall not say but it is possible to use that Diversion with moderation yet seldom are Youth enabled so to do and to me it is not the least Argument against that and some other Games there being not much allowable that there is not only upon the most of persons using them a kind of bewitching Inclination to the frequent doing thereof but often are these given up to their immoderate use so far deserted of God as they are otherways in their conversation Offensive Yea I may say there are not many that uses them without what is very sinful for if they be not as the most are tempted to Swear and Curse do they not at the best in the practice of that Exercise evidence such an intent and serious diversion of mind as is inconsistent with Recreation and disables from Duty 35. As you would not do what is offensive to all good Men and above all sinful in the sight of God frequent not wicked and sinful Company let not their complacency or any other inducement from their Converse overcome you for the Frailty of man is most likely to prevail under the temptation of evil Company I intreat your ordinar converse be with such as may rather further than hinder you in the ways of Godliness and endeavour to frequent such Company as you would desire to be found with at the day of Death or your appearance before God's Tribunal You find by Psal 119.63 That David was a Companion of all them that did fear God and did keep His Precepts And Solomon in Prov. 28.7 Telleth that who so keepeth the Law is a wise Son but he that is a Companion of riotous Men shameth his Father I acknowledge whilst men are in the World it may be said to be impossible to be altogether out of the Company of the Prophane but let it be evident from your whole Conversation that your delight is not in any such Fellowship for undoubtedly a young man's frequenting evil Company is an Evident and undenyable Demonstration of his beginning to be such as the Company he keeps if he be not already come their height 36. Having in what I have written minted at directing you in some things that hath relation to your self in the discharge of your Duty God-ward and in the beginning thereof urged your making conscience of Prayer Yet such is the unvaluable Gift of God in allowing Sinners to come to Him as I shall before I say any thing to you that concerns your Duty to your Neighbour again intreat your Diligence in drawing near to him which you must do in Faith under a sense of your very many Wants your great Unworthiness and apprehending and taking up God as able to help dreadful in his Justice yet wonderful in Mercy and accessible to lost Sinners in Jesus Christ and as we are called in whatever we do to consider aright the motive to and the manner of our doing Duty so I desire it may be your care to prevent your Guilt in either of these Your motives to Duty would be allowable in His sight who not only allows of but requires our concernment in our selves and others which may