ing in a deep fleep; for vifiting thee, when others are pafled by: Be content to have thy fore lanced, and thy towound fearched : Suffer no other plaifter to be applied to it but Chrift's blood: Go not to heal the wound of thy confcience by the works of the law, and thy own duties; for thefe will at best but fkin it over for a while. Neither go to shift off convictions by delays, as did Fedix; for this is the devil's great ftratagem to ruin thy foul.It is with the heart as with melted wax; if you clap the feal to it when it is foft, it receives an impreffon which abides; but if you delay, it foon cools and hardens, fo that prefs on it as ye will, it is to no purpofe. Let us then imitate David, who, when he was convinced of the evil of his ways without any delay turned his feet to God's teftimonies," Pfalm cxix. 59. Put forth thy utmost ftrength, and fir up thyfelf to astorn from sin, and flee to Chrift, while confcience is ftirring, the Spirit ftriving, Chrift waiting, his bowels founding, and his blood pleading; for the lofs of this feafon may be the lofs of thy foul. God faith thrice in one chapter, Heb. iv. Today, to day, to day," but the devil cries, "To-morrow, to-morrow, to-morrow." Surely God is wifeft, and his time fitteft. To-day is thy living day, to-morrow may be thy dying day: Today thou art on earth, to-morrow thou mayet be in hell: To-day mercy is inviting, to morrow juftice may be fmiting; therefore, while thou art called "to-day, hear the voice of God and confcience, and harden not your heart."

IV. Labour to perfevere in prayer this evening; do not faint in it, but endeavour with Mofes, to "hold up your hands this day till the going down of the fun." Our frequency and importunity in this duty is no trouble, but a delight to the hearer of prayer. Christ faith oft this day to the fpouse, "Thy voice is fweet, caufe me to hear it." Continue inftant in prayer this day, wrestling as Jacob, and faying, "I will not let thee go till thou blefs me." And as orators, at the clofe of their fpeech, ufe all their art and skill to move the affections of their auditors; fo do you, at the clofe of the Lord's day, put forth all your grace and fpiritual ftrength in

prayer,

prayer, to prevail with God for a bleffing. Pray this evening, as if it were to be thy laft Sabbath, thy laft night, or thy laft prayer; knowing that, when death comes, thou canft pray no more: For, as death binds up the hand that it can work no more, so it strikes dumb the tongue that it can speak no more; according to Eccl. ix. 10. Ifa, xxxviii. 18.

V. Study to be denied to all your Sabbath prayers and performances. Beware, my friends, of fecret trufting to them, as any piece of righteoufnefs before God; for that will spoil all, like the dead fly in the apothecary's ointment. Say therefore this day, after ye have done all," We are unprofitable fervants." Look above all, as if you had done nothing at all, to the righteousness of Chrift to answer for all. See that you join nothing of your own with this perfect righteoufnefs, in the point of your juftification and acceptance with God; for this is both difhonourable to Chrift, and dangerous to yourfelves: Therefore beware of it. There is a natural popery in the minds of all; we much incline to stand upon our own legs, and to have something of our own to found upon. But is it any other thing than blafphemy, to charge Chrift's facrifice with lamenefs, or his work with deficiency? or to think with our penny to make up Chrift's fum, and with our polJuted duties to add any perfection to the blood of Chrift, which is infinite? Shall not we reft content with that wherewith God hath declared himself well pleased! Let us then with Paul," count all things but dung and lofs for Chrift and his righteoufnefs," and defire only to be found in him.

Concerning Family Duties on the Sabbath night.

IN the next place, I proceed to fpeak of family-du* ties requifite this night, and how thefe are to be per formed.

I. O heads of families, fee that ye be more folemn, full and particular in family-worthip this evening, than at other times: It is pleafant this night to hear univerfally the melody of God's praife in the tabernacles of

the

the righteous. Lay out your family-fins, wants and mercies fully and plainly before God in family prayer.

II. Confer about the fermons, and repeat over what you have heard; for the Lord, Deut. xi. 18. 19. requires you not only to lay up God's words in your hearts, but allo to "fpeak of them when you fit in your houfes, and to teach them your children." You ought alfo to call your fervants and children to an account, as to what they remember, and how they have profited by the fermons. When you fend your fervants to the market, you examine what market they have made: Now, the public ordinances are heaven's free market for their fouls, and will you never enquire what they have gained thereat? This way of rehearfing the fermons, is very refreshing and advantageous, and hereby one of you would be useful to another; for, what one forgets, another may remember.

III. Let parents and heads of families take fome time this evening in catechifing and inftructing their children and fervants in the knowledge of the principles of religion, and of their duty towards God, their neighbours, and themselves. We may obferve, from the iv. of Mark, and xiv. of Luke, that after our Lord had inftructed the people as a public preacher on the Sabbath day, he afterwards did examine and teach his twelve difciples as at private mafter of a familly.

1. Begin with children, as foon as they are capable, and inform them, that there is fuch a Being as God, whom they ought to honour, reverence and love above all things: That they are his creatures, the work of his hands: That he preferves them, and gives them all the good things they enjoy; and that every good thing is to be fought from God by prayer, and thanks returned to him for the fame. Shew them the evil and danger of fin, and how much God hates it: That they have immortal fouls: That there is a life after death in another world, wherein men fhall receive a great and eternal reward, or a fearful endlefs punishment, according as they have done or neglected their duty in this world: And that God loves thofe who keep his commandments and pray to him; but hates wicked men, and those who

do

do not pray. If thefe principles were early inftilled and rooted in children, they would in fome measure stick with them all their days. Likewife, as they are capable, fhew them the great degeneracy and corruption of human nature, derived to us by the fall of our first parents: Alfo, fhew them the way of our recovery from this miferable state by Jefus Chrift, who was fent by God to redeem and five us from the bondage of fin and fatan, and from the damnation of hell.

2, Before they are capable to read, or get and repeat cur Shorter Catechifm, you ought to frame many fhort queftions and answers concerning the forefaid principles, fuch as they are able to mind, and frequently examine them upon them: And, for your help in this matter, you may confult the little catechifm I have published, called The Mother's Catechifm for the young child. But affoon as your children are able to repeat our Shorter Catechifm, injoin them, and your fervants alfo, to commit it to their memories, prefcribing fo much of it to them every week, and duly examine them upon it every Lord's day for it contains an excellent fcheme both of the principles of our religion which we ought to believe, and alfo of the duties thereof which we should practise. And is it not far better to repeat this, than ballads and idle ftories, wherewith many burden their memories?

3. As you ought to learn them to read, fo you. fhould this day folemnly injoin them to read the bible and other pious books, and enquire at them what they have been reading through the day and the bygone week. And because of the natural backwardnefs that is both in young and old to holy duties, you ought to contrive the moft wife and effectual methods you can think on, to engage them to delight and diligence in reading of the bible; fuch as thefe; viz. Teach children the most profitable, pleasant and affecting hiftories and paffages of the bible; fuch as, "the creation of man, Adam's fall, the flood, the deftruction of Sodom, the facrificing of Ifaac, the felling of Jofeph, Pharoh's cutting of the infants, and Mofes's prefervation; Mcfes his going up to the mount, and getting the tables of

the

the law the paffages concerning Samfon's killing the Philistines, and David's killing Goliath; the forty-two children deftroyed by bears; the three children in the fiery furnace; Daniel in the lion's den; Jonah in the whale's belly; Herod's deftroying the young children," and the like. Endeavour to tell them thefe paffages as much as ye can in their own language, and this will engage them to the greater delight and attention, and caufe them to remember them the better; alfo, you would put them to rehearse them over again to you.

Again, caufe them read a chapter of the Bible every night, and tell you fome of the principal things in it before they ly down; or, when you read a chapter in the family, appoint each of them fome one verfe of it to repeat the next day." Moreover, when they come to learn to write, it is a good way to give them paperbooks, to write down what paflages they think moft confiderable in the Bible, or what remarkable fayings and hiftories they find in other books. They might well fpend the Saturday's afternoon this way, when they have moft leifure.

In the next place, it would be of good ufe, when you examine them, to teach them to prove every point of religion by Tome pregnant place of feripture. This would be the way to beget in them firm, ftreng and fixed perfuafions of the truths of Chriflianity. Many, alas profefs Chrifti nity, merely because it is the national religion, and they were fo educate: They build their faith more upon the affertions and teachings of men, than upon the fure foundation of God's word, and all becaufe they were not put to it when young, to acquaint themselves with the fcriptures, or to bring proofs from them for the truths they learned. there many profeffurs of Christianity, who,

the reg

were put to it, could not give one text of fcripture to prove fo much as the great fundamentals of their religion? It cannot be expected that fuch will be clofe adherers to it in a day of trial and perfecution. A good way to mend this fault is, to get the Confeflion of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechilms, which are printed with the VOL. IV. fcripture

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