Imatges de pàgina
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Haft thou been unconcerned for their welfare, and deftitute of natural affection towards them?

HA

The duty of a wife to her husband*. AST thou refufed to comply with thofe commands, in which God requires thee to obey and ferve, to love and honour thy hufband?

Art thou loving to him, and defirous to render his life as eafy and comfortable as thou canst?

Haft thou provoked him, or published his faults?

Haft thou spoken ill of him?

Haft thou borne with his infirmities? Haft thou given him caufe of jealousy, or been unfaithful to his bed?

Haft thou been frugalin the management of thyexpenfes, with refpect to the circumftances and condition of thy hufband?

Haft thou fquandered away thy hufband's fubftance?

Haft thou kept thyfelf within thofe bounds which both reafon, religion, and the condition of thy husband require? Or,

Haft thou been indifferent and careles in thy carriage towards him, not forecafting to do what thou didft or mighteft know would oblige and pleafe him?

Haft

*This duty may be found explained at large in the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 9. Section 11. se

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Haft thou been unconcerned in his joys and forrows?

Haft thou neglected to recommend him to the grace and protection of God in thy prayers?

The duty of a husband to his wife*.

H

AST thou been faithful to the folemn contract and engagement made in the prefence of God, at the entering upon the state of matrimony?

Doft thou love thy wife, and fhow it in a kind, tender, and gentle behaviour towards her?

Art thou faithful to her bed?

Haft thou neglected to defend and protect thy wife, to maintain and provide for her? Haft thou been peremptory, rigorous, and magifterial in thy commands?

Haft thou omitted to pray for her, and to fhare with her in all her reafonable joys and forrows?

HA

The duty of afervant to his master or mistress†. ASTthoubeen faithful and industrious in ferving thy mafter and miftrefs? Dolt thou obey them in all lawful commands cheerfully, and in obedience to God, whole providence hath fet them over thee? Haft

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*This duty may be found explained at large in the New WHOLE DUTY OF MAN. day Sectons IV. and V. This duty may be found explained at large in the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 9. Section VIII.

Haft thou purloined, or ftole, or any way defrauded them of their goods, or been careless and wafteful of them?

Doft thou nottake the advantage of their abfence, to be idle, or unjuft to them? Haft thou any ways injured them in their reputation?

Haft thou, as much as in thee lay, lived quietly and peaceably with thy fellowfervants?

Hait thou not been fpiteful and malicious against them?

Haft thou exercised that tenderness to the children in the family, that was juftly and reasonably expected from thee?

Haft thou prayed for thy mafter and mitrefs, and the reft of the family, in thy private prayers?

The duty of a mafter or miftrefs to a fervant*.

H

AST thou treated thy fervants as a Chriftian, and like one who believes that he has a mafter in heaven, to whom he muft render an account?

Haft thou performed the condition thou waft obliged to, when thou tookeft them into thy fervice?

Haft thou taken care of their bodies, by providing what food was fitting for them?

Art

This duty may be found explained at large in the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 9. Section IX.

Art thou reasonable and moderate in the commands which thou layeft upon them? Doft thou admonish and correct them with calmness and gravity, when they tranfgrefs their duty?

Haft not thy feverity put them upon cheating and lying for that will make thee a partaker with them in their fin. Haft thou been remifs in fuffering them to neglect their duty to God?

Halt thou afforded them time and opportunities for the fervice of God in public and private?

Doft thou let them an example of fobriety and godliness in thy own life and converfation? and doft thou encourage their living foberly and religioufly, by proper marks of thy kindness and favour?

Haft thou been conftant in thy daily devotions with thy family?

HAS

The duty of a magiftrate*.

AST thou made it thy endeavour to be a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well?

Haft thou not been more intent upon thy own private intereft than in advancing the common good?

Haft thou endeavoured to inform thyself

of

This duty may be found further explained in the NEW WHOLE DUTY OF MAN, Sunday 8. Section III.

of the duty, in order to the doing of it, when thou haft been called to the office of conftable, church-warden, or any other public office?

To these duties, in general, we might add the particular duties of the people to their prince, and the luity to their ministers; but to prevent tediousness, which often cools devotion, I shall refer those that desire information upon these heads, to the NEW WHOLE DUTY OFMAN, Sunday 8. Sections 1. II. and IV.

Directions.

When you have once thoroughly examined yourself, and made. a particular confession of the sins of your whole life,and begged pardon, there is not the same absolute necessity of such a labo rious examination, at your next communication; especially if you examine yourself carefully every night, and daily repent of the evil of the day past, and are not conscious to yourself of any great and notorious sins, since your last confession: for if you are not, the examination and confession only of what past since your last communicating, together with a general confession of your former sins, and a solemn renewing of your former acts of repentance, may serve the turn. But if your conscience accuses you of any culpable neglect in your last examination, of any great relapses, or of any wilful violations of your last cows and resolutions; in these, and the like cases, it is the surest way to begin all your repentance again.

I am sensible it is not easy to enumerate all the instances of duty reducible to these three heads, concerning GOD, one's neighbour, and one's self; nor to set down the several branches and violations of them: but the method here proposed, will, I am persuaded, (if carefully attended to,) assist any one in getting a competent knowledge of his own state and condition. And as the foregoing examination of our lives, is in order to the confession of our sins, and that such a distinct sight and consideration of them may breed in us humble and contrite hearts; so when we are come to a sufficient knowledge of our sins, by the foregoing method of exa mination, our next step is to repent of them; and the first part of our repentance is to make an humble confession of our vileness and unworthiness in committing them.

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