houfe: Let them have your prayers as duly as their meals. Is there any of your families but have time for their taking food? wretched man! canft thou not as well find time to pray in? Secondly, Settle it upon your hearts, that your fouleare bound up in the fouls of your family; they are committed unto you, and if they be loft through your neg... lect, they will be required at your hands. Sirs, if you do not, you shall know that the charge of fouls is a heavy charge, and that the blood of fouls is a heavy guilt. O man, haft thou a charge of fouls to answer for, and doft thou not beftir thyself for them, that their blood be not found in thy fkirts? Wilt thou do no more for immortal fouls than thou wilt do for the beafts that perish? What doft thou do for thy children and fervants? Thou provideft meat and drink for them agreeable to their nature; and doft thou not the fame for thy beafts? Thou giveft them medicines, and cherisheft them when they are fick; and doft thou not the fame for thy fwine? More particularly, 1. Let the folemn reading of the word, and finging of pfalms, be your family-exercises, John v. 39. Pfalm cxviii. 15. See Christ finging with his family, namely, his difciples, Matthew xxvi. 30. 2. Let every person in your families be as duly called to an account of their profiting by the word heard or read, as they be about doing your own business: This is a duty of confequence unfpeakable, and would be a means to bring those under your charge to remember and profit by what they receive. See Chrift's example in calling his family to account. Matthew xvi. 11, 13, 15. 3. Often take an account of the fouls under your care, concerning their spiritual ftates, (herein you must be followers of Chrift, Matthew xiii. 10, 36, 51. Mark. iv. 10, 11.) make inquiry into their condition. Infift much upon the finfulness and mifery of their natural ftate, and upon the neceffity of regeneration and converfion, in order to their falvation. Admonish them gravely of their fins, encourage their beginnings, follow them earnestly, and let them have no quiet from you, until you fee in them a faving change. This is a duty of very great confequence, but, I am afraid, moft fearfully ne glected: Doth not confcience fay, "Thou art the man?" 4. Look to the ftrict fanctifying the Sabbath by all your houthold, Exodus xx. 10. Leviticus xxiii. 3. Many poor families have little time elfe: O improve but your fabbath days as diligently in labouring for knowledge, and doing your Maker's work, as you do the other days in doing your own work, and I doubt not but you may come to fome proficiency. 5. Let the morning and evening facrifice of folema prayer be daily offered up in all your families, Pfalm xcii. 1, 2. Exodus xxx. 7, 8. Luke i. 9, 10. Beware ye be not found among the families that call not upon God's name; for why should there be wrath from the Lord upon your families? Jer. x 25. O miferable families, without God in the world, that are without family prayer! What, have you fo many family fins, family wants, family mercies; what, and yet no family prayers? How do you pray with all prayer and fupplication, if you do not with family prayer? Eph vi. 18. Say not, "I have no time." What! halt thou not all thy time on purpofe to ferve God and fave thy foul? And yet is this it for which thou canft find no time? Find but an heart, and you will find time. Pinch out of your meals and fleep, rather than want for prayer. Say not, My bufinefs will not give me leave:" This is the greatest bufinefs, to fave thyfelf and the fouls committed to thee. Bufinefs! a whet will be no let. In a word, the bleffing of all is to be got by prayer, Jer. xxix. 11, 12. 2 Sam. vii. 29. and what is thy bufinefs without God's bleffing? Say not, "I am not able;" ufe the one talent, and God will increase it, Matthew xxv. 24, &c. But if there is no other remedy,. thou muft join with thy abler neighbour; God hath fpecial regard to joint prayer, James v. 4-12. As xii. 59 10, 12. 2 Cor. i. 11. and therefore you muft improve family advantages for the performing of it. 6. Put every one in your families upon private prayer. Obferve whether they do perform it. Get them the help of a form, if they need it, till they are able to pray without it. Direct them how to pray, by reminding them of their fins, wants, and mercies, the materials of prayer. This was the practice of John and of Jefus, Luke xi. 1, &c. 7. Set up catechifing in your families, at the leaft once every week. Have you no dread of the Almighty's charge, that you fhould "teach thefe things diligently to your children, and talk of them as they fit in your houfes?" Deut. vi. 6, &c. and "train them up in the way wherein they should go?" Prov. xxii. 6. Hath God fo commended Abraham, that he would "teach his children and houfhold," Gen. xviii. 19 and that he had many inftructed fervants, Gen. xiv. 14. (see the margin) and given fuch a promife to him thereupon, and will you not put in for a fhare, neither in the praise nor the promife? Hath Chrift honoured catechifing with his prefence, Luke ii. 46. and will you not own it with your practice? Say not, "They are careless, and will not learn: ". What have you your authority for, If not to use it for God, and the good of their fouls? You will call them up, and force them to do your work: And should you not, at least, be as zeȧlous in putting them upon God's work? Say not, "They are dull, and are not capable;" If they be dull, God requires of you the more pains and patience; but fodull as they are, you will make them learn how to work: and can they not learn how to live? Are they capable of the myfteries of your trade, and are they not capable of the plain principles of religion? Well, as ever you would fee the growth of religion, the cure of ignorance, the remedy of profanenefs, the downfall of error, fulfil you my joy, in going through with this duty. Will you anfwer the calls of divine providence? Would you remove the incumbent, or prevent the impendent calamities? Would you plant nurferies for the church of God? Would you that God fhould build your houfes, and blefs your fubftance? Would you that your children fhould blefs you? O then fet up piety in your families, as ever you would be bleffed, or be a bleffing: Let your hearts and your houfes be the temples of the living God, in which his worship (according to all the aforementioned directions) may be with conftancy, reverently performed, Prov. xxix. 1. "He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, fhall fuddenly be deftroyed, and that without remedy.". O be wife in time, that you be not miferable to eternity! 1 CONTENTS. AN earnest Invitation to Sinners to return to God, in order to their eternal Salvation CHAPTER I. Shewing in the negative what Converfion is not, and correding fome Miftakes about it CHAPTER II. Page 7 10 |