by only providing them food and habitations, but to take care of their minds; and by reason and admonition, to form them to habits of sobriety, diligence, and good behaviour. And if it is your duty to instruct them, it is certainly your duty to pray for a blessing upon your instructions: and to do it with and before them, that it may have greater weight upon their minds. Your acquaintance with their temper and conduct gives you great advantage to direct your petitions accordingly. Thus should every head of a family show this concern for the good of all under his dominion. I argue further from your love to your family. And here, there would be less occasion to make distinction between your children and servants, if you consider the souls of your apprentices and servants as committed to your care, as well as the souls of your children ; as in all reason you ought. Your interest in your children and servants, and near relation to both, claim this at your hands. You will not deny, that it is your duty to take care, that they have food convenient for them; and is it not equally your duty to take care of their souls? Doth not faithfulness require the latter of you, as well as the former? A sober heathen would provide food and raiment for his children; food and wages for his servants; but can you be kind and faithful to them, if you neglect the care of their souls and providing, for their spiritual

welfare, the meat that endureth to eternal life? And can this be done without leading them in the worship of God? And though it may be supposed, they are capable of praying for themselves, yet not equally so in general with those that have authority over them, and have enjoyed superior advantages for the knowledge of God and religion. Besides, as we shall afterwards show, family worship will give weight to all your admonitions. In short the light of nature plainly suggests, that God hath given you authority over your families, and implanted in your hearts a love to them, for their good, as well as your own comfort and advantage. As they have souls as well as bodies, these, in all reason, ought to be part of your care; and as you can neither procure food nor grace for them without the blessing of God, he ought to be daily and fervently worshipped. You can never reconcile it to wisdom, good sense, faithfulness or humanity, to act as if you were indifferent whether they were saved or perished. Again, the reasonableness of family worship will appear.

4. From the relation of families to the world.

You will not deny that it is fit there should be religion and the worship of God in the world. Are families then, as such, no part of the world? Or a part, from whence no worship is due? It is surely reasonable, that

every family should contribute to the publicgood, and be as useful as possible to mankind. They do contribute to this, as far as they are laborious and diligent in their lawful occupations; but how are they useful as rational, immortal creatures, but by manifesting wisdom, piety, justice, meekness, and charity? by being examples of peace, good order, and regularity? And can this be expected from them, unless the worship of God be maintained? For it is, in its own nature, an admirable means to promote all such social virtues, and make a family, in which it is maintained, an excellent example to all the neighbour. hood. But this point will come more naturally to be considered under the head of the advantages of family worship. I add once. more, these reasons are illustrated and con-firmed,

5. By the practice of the heathen.

For "when the Gentiles which have not a written law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written upon their hearts." It is evident from ancient history, that, besides their public worship in their temples and/ groves, they had family devotions.

They had not only the tutelary Deities or protecting Gods of cities and kingdoms, but their household-gods called Lares or Penates. Some of

the richest sort had them in little chapels, or particular apartments of their houses; and others upon the common hearth, to which the whole Family offered prayers and sacrifices, or showed some religious regard. Of this nature, it seems, were the Teraphim, or idol gods of Laban and Micha, which we read of in Scripture. After their solemn sacrifices, they used to carry part home and eat it as a religious feast in their families. There seems to be a reference to some domestic worship of the heathen, in a passage of the prophet Isaiah; where, after several instances of public Idolatry, which the Jews learned from them, had been mentioned, it is said, "Behind the doors also and the posts, hast thou set up thy remembrance," or memorial; thy idol god, or some object of veneration. The prophet Ezekiel,† likewise speaks of the worship used by "every man in the chambers of his imagery," his domestic chapel, or bed chamber, as some old versions read it. Now, though all this was idolatry, yet it proves it to be a dictate of reason, that there should be family worship. And this they substituted, not in the place of no religion, but in the place of true religion, and worship, offered to the living and supreme God. The history of modern nations, particularly in both the Indies, shows, that they have the same idea of family religion. The Pagans have some.

object, image, or picture in their houses, to which they pay some kind of devotion, besides their more public worship. These dumb

idols and their worshippers will cry out against those, who, with superior light and knowledge, neglect this reasonable service. These then are the arguments which reason suggests for the duty I am recommending. Nor let these arguments be despised or thought lightly of; for the voice of nature is the voice of God; and what reason dictates, is as much a law and command of our Creator, as any thing contained in the Bible. I shall not proceed further in the subject at present, but recommend these thoughts to your serious reflection; heartily praying, that they may be the means of promoting religion in all your families, and so diffusing it into the next generation, and those

that are to come..