Imatges de pàgina
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temptations and dangers, and pray for pardon and di vine help. There let him, who feeth in fecret, witnes your penitence, humility, faith, unfeigned piety, and devotion, that he may reward you openly. Let young people early begin to feek the Lord in fecret. Let them remember their Creator with love and holy fear, in the days of their youth; and delight in drawing near to him in fecret places, and in pouring out their hearts before him. Let them, like Ifaac, be found meditating in the fields, in their clofets, and in fecret places, at even tide. Youth is the best and moft fuccefsful time to feek the Lord. He hath faid, I love them that love me, and those that feek me early shall find me. [Prov. viii. 17.] Praying to God in fecret, prepares men to pray in the family, and in public. Early piety and prayerfulness prepares men for distinguished usefulness in families and in the church of God. He pours upon them a spirit of grace and fup plication, and, by habituating, themfelves to prayer and communion with their Creator and Redeemer, they obtain a holy boldness and freedom in their approaches to him, and, like Jacob, Mofes, Samuel and Daniel, become eminent for prayer, piety and usefulness. In this way they, by the grace of God, obtain great peace in life and in death, and are diftinguished for dignity, and happiness forever. The Lord hath faid, Them, that honor me, I will honor, and they, that defpife me, fhall be lightly esteemed. [1 Sam. ii. 30.] If thou feek him, he will be found of thee but if thou for fake him, he will caft thee off forever, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9.]

Let all heads of families pray morning and evening in their families, and read the holy fcriptures. Let them attend with great diligence to the inftruction of their fam ilies. Be concerned early to devote your children to God, to catechife and inftruct them in the great princi ples of religion. Teach them the holy fcriptures, to pray to their Creator, to love and fear him, to fanctify his fab bath, and to reverence his house and ordinances. Teach them love and obedience to their parents; obedience to magiftrates and all in authority; always to fpeak the truth, to be righteous, chafte, temperate and peaceable to love their country, and do good to all men as they.

fhall have opportunity. Reftrain them as far as poffible from vice, and from the company of corrupt and vicious men. Set them good examples, knowing that these are more forcible than precepts. Thefe all belong to that nurture and admonition of the Lord, which God has fo abundantly enjoined. Do thefe things immediately, and with all your might; knowing that you are mortal, and that your children are mortal; and that you may foom die, or that they may foon be taken from you, and there may never more be an opportunity to do any thing for their inftruction and falvation, Confider what comfort

it must give you on the bed of death, that you have devoted them to God, and educated them for him; and to leave them in the hands of a covenant God and Father. What pleasure muft it give you, that they are the children of your vows, for whom ye have addreffed thou fands of prayers to the throne of grace? How pleafing must be the hopes, that, having trained them up for him, he will be their God, caufe them to fet their hope in him, and walk in the way in which they fhould go; and, after they have acted an honorable and ufeful part in life, will bring them after you to his heavenly kingdom, and admit you to the enjoyment of himself, and of one another forever in his glory. Should you be called to clofe the eyes of those dear enjoyments, and follow them to the grave, what consolation, in the midst of sorrow, must it afford you, that you had performed your duty to them; that you had feen in them the early buddings of piety; and hope that the God, to whom you devoted them, has received them to his mercy, and numbered them among his jewels? On the other hand, how dreadful must it be to reflect when you die, that you have wholly neglected your duty to them; that by your neglect and examples you have destroyed their fouls and your own? How muft this give a wonderful poignancy to your forrows when you follow them to the grave? How tremendous must be your profpects of meeting them as your accufers and tormenters, in the eternal world? How muft reflections and profpects like thefe harrow up your very fouls? Make no delay therefore with respect to thefe duties. By all means be conftant in your attendance on the

public worship. Be inftant in feafon and out of feafon, *to offer your prayers and praises in Zion; to hear the word preached, and to attend all the public inftitutions of religion. And be no lefs zealous that your children atted conftantly, than to attend yourselves. Some heads of families, and even profeffors of religion, who are zealous to attend the public worship themselves, have not the fame care and zeal for the conftant attendance of their children and other members of their families. In this they are altogether inconfiftent and blame worthy. The fouls of their children and fervants are no less precious than their own: public inftruction is no lefs important to them, than to parents or mafters. It is often, if not generally, more fuc cefsful with refpect to young people than to others. One important advantage of a good, religious education in the family, and in schools, is that it prepares them to attend the public worship with much greater pleafure and profit. It has been obferved by fome of the best divines, that one great reafon why the preaching of the word is fo unfuc eefsful with many, is for the want of a good education. They are fo unacquainted with the fcriptures, and with the doctrines and duties of religion, that they can receive but little advantage by the public worship and ordinanc es. But an early acquaintance with the fcriptures, and with the first principles of religion, will be of peculiar advantage with refpect to their understanding and profiting by the preaching of the word, and the other public inftitutions of religion. Private and public inftructions exceedingly aid each other; and they both belong to that nurture and admonition in the Lord, in which heads of families are commanded to bring up their children and others under their care. But how can they receive this public benefit, or be trained up in the way in which they should go, unlefs heads of families will be careful and zealous to fupport the public worship, and to engage them in a constant attendance on the preaching of the word, and unless they habituate them, to it in childhood and in youth.

While with unremitting care and diligence ye attend to thefe duties, be conftant in the acknowledgement of God at your tables, and by continual mental petitions

and thanksgivings, maintain an uninterrupted courfe of communion with the Father of your fpirits.

Let christians, whose hearts are warmed with divine love, be encouraged and quickened, by this addrefs, to pray more abundantly and more fervently for themselves, their families and the church of God. Be entreated also, dear brethren, to apply yourselves with greater exertion and dilligence to the religious inftruction and education. of those whom God hath committed to your care. Do ye hope that he hath washed your polluted natures, that he hath forgiven all your offences, and made you the heirs of his kingdom? Have ye profeffed his name, and bound yourselves by the bonds of his covenant, and will ye not be laborious and perfevering in these important duties? Do you know the worth of immortal fouls, and the fublime pleasures of religion, and will ye not do all in your power, that your children and neighbors fhould be faved, and participate with you in thofe divine enjoyments? Have ye experienced in your own fouls the benefits of prayer? Have ye been relieved and comforted by it, when pressed with guilt and fear? In the dark day of affliction, when almost overwhelmed with forrow? Do ye experience a daily ferenity, peace and joy in drawing near to him, and cafting all your cares upon him, which the world can neither give nor take away? Is it a privilege of which ye would no tbe deprived for a world of temporal good, and will ye not employ all your exertions, opportunities, and influence to teach and perfuade thofe under your care, and all with whom ye have influence, to pray always? And to engage all men every where to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting? And as ye may be greatly affitted in the religious education of your children, by good schools, religiously conducted, will ye not be zealous in inftituting and fupporting them? Will ye not employ your influence that prayer be daily made in them? That the inftructors be men of good morals, able and difpofed to teach them? Should ye be encouraged and quickened to the duties recommended by this address, should it in your opinion be convincing, impreffive, and calculated to do good, will ye not pray for its fuccefs, put it into the hands of others and

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fpread it far and wide, that they may be quickened and benefitted with you; that there may be a general awaking to duty, and as far as may be, a general and united exertion to promote a spirit of prayer, and zeal to educate your offspring for God. Is it not a time of great temp. tation and danger? Are not the enemy coming in like a flood? Are not numerous and fatal errors almost every where broached and spread abroad? Was there ever a time when conftant watchfulness, fervent and perfevering prayer were more neceffary than at prefent? Was it ever more neceffary to revive family religion and government ? Or Or to inftruct and establish our youth in the doctrines and duties of our holy religion? Does not God expect that his own children will be interceffors and reformers? That they will arife and stand in the gap, and make up the hedge? Should not they be zealous for the Lord of hosts, and lead in the way of reformation and duty; If there be therefore any confolation in Chrift, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, [Phil. ii. 1.] be entreated, dear brethren, to exert yourselves, with the utmost zeal and diligence for thefe noble purpofes. Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not filence, and give him no reft till he ftablish and till he make Jerufalem a praife in the earth. [Isaiah lxii. 6, 7.]

Efpecially, let those who have always been in a ftate of rebellion against God, cafting off fear and reftraining prayer before God of practically faying, What is the Almighty that we fhould ferve him, and what profit fhall we have if we pray unto him, be convinced of their great fin and danger, and now arife and call upon God, that they perish not. Let them awake alfo to the duties of family religion and government. This addrefs will doubtlefs find its way into many prayerlefs families; into the hands of many parents who have neglected the religious inftruction and government of their houfholds; into the hands of individuals who pray not in fecret; and perhaps very inconstantly, if at all, in the house of God. Are you not in this way, dear friends, expofing yourselves and families to the judgments of God in this world, and to his endless difpleafure in the world to come? Are ye not finning aSainst the cleareft light and evidence of your duty? Does

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