by the Gospell is preached unto you Say not then in your hearts who shall ascend into Heaven to bring downe the minde of Christ The Word is nigh unto you Oh let it be nearer to you yet let the word of faith which is preached out of this Gospell be a word of faith ingrafted in thy heart thou mayest safely build thy faith upon the holy Scriptures for they are the words of God and though the Kingdomes of the earth be shaken yet the Words of God will stand and stand for ever Be convinced and fully perswaded that this is the truth be not staggered about it but be confident of it If the Word of God faile I will give thee leave to curse me upon thy death-bedde for I can with reverence and confidence appeale to God and say Lord if in this point I am deceived thou thy selfe hast deceived mee Fifthly Abraham was the Freind of God We are all by nature enemies to God we doe naturally conceive an Atheisticall hatred against him onely because he is a God to Truth Justice and Purity and threatens to torment us for those sinnes which we are unwilling to forsake wicked men wish with all their hearts that God were not so pure just and true as indeede he is and must be unlesse they would have him to be no God at all Are you not ashamed of this Atheisticall quarrell Consider that God is truth can an understanding minde hate truth which is the very dareling of the understanding God is goodnesse it selfe and can thy will hate that which is good even goodnesse it selfe infinite goodnesse God is love and canst thou be out of love with love it selfe Doest thou not see that thy nature is extreamely perverted and become even unnaturall but let me tell you that our enmity though thus unnaturally naturall and grossely Atheisticall is highly aggravated by the Love of Christ Christ died to save me though he knew that I would be his deadly enemy and offers me a pardon sealed with his precious bloud and therefore I doe even hate my selfe for hating Christ and am willing to be ordered as well as justified by Jesus Christ Christs minde shall be my minde Christs will shall be my will I desire to be a man according to Christs owne heart I will be a freind to Christ though I seeme to be an enemy to my selfe I professe my selfe a freind to all the freinds and an enemy to all the enemyes of Jesus Christ Oh I feele I blesse God I feele my selfe transported even beyond my selfe with raptures and extasies of love I am sensible of Gods eternall love to me and I cannot be content with any lesse then an eternity to expresse my love to him I will subscribe my selfe the eternall freind of Jesus Christ Sixthly Abraham was a Covenanter a perfect Covenanter Walke before me and be thou perfect or upright and I will make a Covenant with thee saith God to Abraham Gen. 17. 1 2. Walke perfectly in the perfect way of Jehovah as in the presence of Jehovah You must walke by fayth 2 Cor. 5. 7. and by sincere obedience Ephes. 2. 10. Let your heart be perfectly engaged to God and when that is done all is as good as done in respect of Gods acceptance and your comfort Our Saviour concludes his spirituall Exposition of the Law with this Exhortation Be you therefore perfect as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect Matth. 5. 48. to shew that our sincere obedience is called perfect because our obedience in respect of our desire must be as large as the perfection of Gods holy will revealed in his Word nay he must endeavour and not onely desire to come up to the rule in the most nice points in every Iota and Title of the spirituall Law and glorious Gospel they who do ordinarily commit known sins and neglect known duties will not be esteemed Honest Covenanters they who study excuses or frame objections to elude plain Commandments the Wise man saith are prating fools men of great lips and no brains a fool of lips void of heart or brains Prov. 10. 8. 13. Tell these men such a thing is a breach of Covenant such a thing is a dutie such a thing is a sin they say they care not it is a clear case that they despise their wayes and Gods precepts and if they do not repent of their contempt they shall die for it He that keeps the Commandments keeps his own soul but he that despiseth his wayes shall die Prov. 19. 16. 7. Abraham was a good House-keeper he took care of his family and so I passe from Personal Holinesse to Household-godlinesse We must command our children and Houshold to walk in the way of Jehovah The whole family should be perfumed with the graces of the Governor for though all the pious actions which are performed by every member of the family proceed elicitive from that habituall godlinesse which is in that member yet they should proceed Imperative from the godlinesse of the Governor He should command Give me leave to enquire into the state of your families are they Nurseries of Piety do you look upon your heirs as Gods heritage and labour to make them sons of God and heirs of Heaven Do you desire to be spirituall as well as naturall Fathers to all your Children I am as it were born again in my childe oh that my childe might be born again in Christ and Christ in him I see too much of my own image in him oh that the image of Christ might be stamped upon him these are the heavenly ejaculations of holy parents We must say of our children as Jacob did of his These are the children which God hath graciously given oh let them be graciously educated Have a speciall care of your sons they are the support of the family O teach them to support Religion also that they may bear up Christs Name as well as yours Have a tender care of your daughters for by them other Families are linked to yours therfore season them with Religion and you may by them propagate Religion to many Families Would you have your Heirs good Statesmen teach them how to whet their tools at the Sanctuary to oyl their wheels with prayer and steel their Engines with Religion that they may seek the kingdom of God and his righteousnes in the first and highest place and secular advantages in a subservient way But when and how soon should we begin to teach our children why truly when they are able to learn any thing that 's bad it is high time to teach them something that is good when they can stammer out an oath or lisp near a blasphemy it is high time to teach them their Catechisme and instruct them in Principles of Christianity Teach them their Catechisme in A. B. C. The holy Spirit hath composed some Abcedarian Psalms in Achrosticall verses according to the order of the Hebrew Alphabet that children might learn an Alphabet
of godlinesse and parents teach their children the first Elements of Religion as well as Learning the first letters of the verses of certain Psalms the 25. 34. 37. 119. are set down according to the order of the Alphabet and they are all of them choice Psalms full of sweet streins and raptures of devotion Timâ—thy learnt the Scriptures of a childe {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} 2 Tim. 3. 15. a word of a very young signification Childhood and youth are ages of Fancy and therefore certainly parents should set heavenly truths in fresh and lively colours that the phantasie of their children may be taken with the sensible representation of spirituall things God doth reveal heavenly truths in certain apt similitudes which do exceedingly please the phantasie because whilest our soul is joyned to our body nothing can come into the understanding but by the sences and so through the phantasie and therefore a similitude doth exceedingly help the understanding God descends to our weak capacity when he clothes an heavenly truth with an earthly representation Joh. 3. 12. I have told you of earthly things saith our Saviour that is I have represented heavenly truths by comparisons taken from earthly things I have brought down the bough which was out of your reach and put it into your hand and helped you up so that you may now climbe from Earth to Heaven by these similitudes I have used similitudes saith God Hos. 12. 10. and therefore it is an higher aggravation of our unbelief and disobedience if when we have such helps we do not profit by instruction you know the Sacraments help our faithly our sences and so by our phantasie and phantasie will return a quick message to the affections and the affections will sway the will and consequently the whole man and therefore if we can please the phantasie of a childe by representing the joyes of Heaven to him under the notion of a Banquet or a crown of Gold and so invite him to Heaven and sweeten all the exercises of Religion to him and on the other side terrifie him from sin by representing the torments of Hell to him under the notion of fire and brimstone and then shew him that there 's ground for these representations in the Word of God you 'l at once help his understanding and work upon his affections and withall lay a firm ground for his faith that his faith laying hold on the Divine revelation in the Word and his fancie fastening on the sensible representation of that divine truth his understanding may be enlightned his faith strengthned his fancie pleased his affections ordered his will turned 2. Children have very good memories if you make use of them betimes and our memory doth work strongly upon our affections 2. Corinth 7. 15. His inward affection or bowels are more abundant towards you whilest he remembreth the obedience of you all God did empart an history to Abraham to communicate to his children children are excellent at the remembring of stories relate the story of drowning the World and the burning of Sodome to your children such stories will work upon them 3. Children are full of affection and Aristotle saith that the first thing that you should teach children is somewhat that concerns the ordering of their affections what they ought to delight in and what they ought to grieve for and consequently what they ought to love and what they ought to hate Pray for your children as well as instruct them Si nil curarem nil orarem saith Melancthon if you do not pray for your children you do not care for them pray for your children {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} continually that is as some expound it daily the daily sacrifice was called the continuall sacrifice or as others expound it pray for them seasonably upon all occasions Do not onely pray for your children in generall but pray as Job sacrificed for every particular childe according to the number of them all Job 1. 5. As you provide a distinct portion and a distinct suit of clothes for every childe so provide I mean Sue cut a speciall blessing by a distinct prayer for every particular childe You must be jealous over your children with a godly jealousie as Job was If you suspect that they have sinned let that suspition bring you upon your knees and cause you to lift up a prayer for them with all your strength if you do but fear that they may sin labour by good counsell to prevent their sin Finally give good example to your children and take care of them when they are grown up and married from you when Jobs children had houses of their own to feast in yet Job took care of their souls and sent to them to sanctifie themselves which was to prepare themselves for holy service Job 1. 4 5. Do not forget your beloved wife the choicest part of your self and family she will never be at your command unlesse you teach her to be at Christs command The Phylosopher will tell you that souls have no sexes thy wives soul is as manly and as precious as thine own and therefore take care of her precious soul instruct her pray with her dwell with her as a man of knowledge that you may walk together hand in hand to heaven like heirs of grace till you come to be coheirs in glory Command your servants to walk in the way of Jehovah and instruct them in that way Oh do not use your servants as you use your Beasts you work and feed your beasts but never instruct them and you make as very beasts of your servants if you do not instruct them in the way of Jehovah for you do onely find them work and food Tell your family what considerations did at first move your heart and work upon your spirits that the same considerations may by Gods blessing melt and turn their hearts a religious Servant may improve thy zeal and bring a blessing on thy posteritie and estate when thou art dead and gone Set up Houshold-godlinesse in order not in opposition to Congregationall godlinesse Labour to make thy wife the spouse of Christ thy children the children of God thy servants the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and the blessing of Heaven rest upon thee and thine I have not done for I have a farther journey to go the Lord give me the strength and spirit of Elijah that I may not faint by the way I consider that I am bound to speak to that Honourable House which called me hither and never was man called to speak in a more Criticall Juncture of time I have put up many prayers and powred forth many tears for direction to the God of Heaven that I may speak the words of sobernesse and truth my heart tels me that I speak out of love and respect to you and my conscience tels me I speak in obedience to God all the Housholds of the Commons of England are represented
Reformation 4. You have promised us a Reformation 5. And we have payd for a Reformation And 6. You are therefore in debt to us for a Reformation 7. We are bold to chalenge such a Reformation as will quit the cost and answer the price which we have payd and the pains we have bestowed 8. We desire such a Reformation as that we may not be forced to make a Separation that is the language of some that are serious and peaceable Saints and therfore it is the more to be considered 9. By the help of a thorough-Reformation there may be a thorough-Reconciliation amongst all that are prudent pious and charitable all who mind the same things purity and peace and desire to walk by the same rule in faith and love A thorough-Reformation would make us all friends for some of our Brethren tell us that they know not whether or no they can close with us till they see what Reformation will be allowed us There are divisions enough already and I have many things to propose which may unite all that are judicious Christians nothing that may divide them we all desire that the ordinances of Christ may be purely administred that all scandals that threaten us may be prevented and all that disquiet or pollute us may be removed we all desire to walk in the way of Jehovah as it is in my Text 1. In the way of faith our God is a jealous God and he is jealous in point of faith as well as worship The least Iota of divine truth is more precious then Heaven and Earth I blesse God and honour You for expressing your selves so freely in this hereticall and licentious age against Subverters of the Faith There is as much difference between errors as there is between poysons some destroy by heat some by cold some by corrosion but there are certain poysons whose very substance is malignant Physicians say their very specificall Form is destructive and You have furnished us with an excellent Antidote against these subverting errors these hereticall poysons whose very substance is pestilentiall and whose authors and abettors are full of contumacious malignity An Heretique cannot be as the seducers talk an honest man for Heresie is a brat begotten of the flesh by the Devil an heresie is a flood cast out of the Dragons mouth one of the lyes and depths of Satan a work of the flesh What is more precious then Gods truth and our souls Now heresie corrupts the soul and subverts the Faith Heresie is like an Hectique feaver which at first is very easie to be cured but very hard to be known but when once it hath gotten strength and discovered it self by undeniable symptoms though it may be easily known it is hardly cured There are some Errors that have more vanity then malignity in them and yet they may do much mischief if spread abroad 1. Some may be entangled ensnared 2. Others offended 3. The Church divided and rent asunder if these vain Errors come to be professedly taught or divulged concerning these lighter errors I shall say as Hippocrates saith of raw humours they must be ripened and concocted before they are purged unlesse saith he they be stirred by their own violence vain errors have a deluding efficacy in them when they meet with vain men and errors are more stirring and active in pragmaticall busie men then in meek modest men and therefore the advice of St. Jude is seasonable in this point Of some have compassion making a difference and others save with fear plucking them out of the fire the fire of contention keeping them out of the fire the fire of Hell and guiding their feet into the way of peace and truth the way of Jehovah as it is in the Text Obj. But you 'l say if we must all walk in one way of faith then there must be an uniformity and though unity be Christian yet if some may be beleeved uniformity is Antichristian Sol. I am not at leasure to wrangle about words I might distinguish between Vniformiter difforme and difformiter uniforme but I desire to speak plain English when the Apostle exhorts Timothy to hold fast the form of sound words which he had heard of him in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus Was not that a Christian uniformity I mean no more I conceive it is requisite for a Christian State to hold forth the Christian Religion in an wholsome Form of sound words that cannot be condemned that there may be a sweet Harmony between all the Churches of Christ and if a Christian State shall find it necessarie to descend to some disputable points in their Confession that they may top the rising errors of the time I shall never move that learned men of a different perswasion should be forced or by preferment tempted to subscribe oâ—swear to that Form against their judgement to which the Civill sanction is annexed because I know full well what a great temptation it was to young and old in the time of the Prelates reign to subscribe to such forms as they had never throughly examined because they could not be preferred unlesse they Subscribed Yet I humbly move that mens mouthes may be stopped from blaspheming or reviling the truth of God held forth for the encrease of Christian Uniformity It is clear and evident that if a truth may no longer be maintained then till it be questioned it will not be long ere some out of the pride of their wits or wantonnesse of their spirits will be bold to call it into question the Socinians Arminians and some that tread in their steps have taken upon them like those old Heretiques in the time of Irenaeus to be Emendatores Apostolorum the reformers of the Apostles but let not us be afraid to presse those truths upon a * whole Nation which are delivered by God though they be questioned by men for the Gospel is to be Preached to all Nations to every creature Mark 16. 15. Col. 1. 23. 28. 2. We must walk in the same way of Worship I shall not here discourse of Naturall or Civill helps which may some way further us in the worship of God it is clear that the Members of every Congregation respectively are obliged to an Vniformity in respect of time and place they must agree to meet at the same time in the same place to joyn together in acts of Divine Worship The Lords day is not a bare circumstance there is an Institution for it and a spirituall efficacy in it by vertue of that Institution to draw me nearer to God and God to me nay to commend my service to God for the tender of my respects to God in publick is more kindly taken upon that day then upon any other day A Christian State is not at liberty to worship God solemnly in the publick Congregation or neglect his worship upon