Direct. v. ‘Subdue your own wills and desires to the will of God and your superiors, and be not eagerly set upon any thing, which God or your parents do deny you.' Be not like those self-willed, fleshly children, that are importunate for any thing which their fancy or appetite would have, and cry or are discontent if they have it not. Say not that I must have this or that, but be contented with any thing which is the will of God and your superiors. It is the greatest misery and danger in the world, to have all your own wills, and to be given up to your hearts' desire.

Direct. vi. Take heed of a custom of foolish, filthy, railing, lying, or any other sinful words.' You think it is a small matter, but God thinketh not so; it is not a jesting matter to sin against the God that made you: it is fools that make a sport with sin. One lie, one curse, one oath, one ribbald, or railing, or deriding word, is worse than all the pain that ever your flesh endured.

Direct. VII. Take heed of such company and play-fellows, as would entice and tempt you to any of these sins, and choose such company as will help you in the fear of God.' And if others mock at you, care no more for it, than for the shaking of a leaf, or the barking of a dog. Take heed of lewd and wicked company, as ever you care for the saving of your souls. If you hear them rail, or lie, or swear, or talk filthily, be not ashamed to tell them, that God forbiddeth you to keep company with such as they©.

Direct. VIII. Take heed of pride and covetousness.' Desire not to be fine, nor to get all to yourselves; but be humble, and meek, and love one another, and be as glad that others are pleased as yourselves.

Direct. 1x. Love the Word of God, and all good books which would make you wiser and better; and read not playbooks, nor tale-books, nor love-books, nor any idle stories.' When idle children are at play and fooleries, let it be your pleasure to read and learn the mysteries of your salvation. Direct. x. Remember that you keep holy the Lord's day.' Spend not any of it in play or idleness: reverence the ministers of Christ, and mark what they teach you, and remember it as a message from God about the saving of your

b Prov. xiv. 9. x. 23. xxvi. 19. c Psal. cxix. 63. Prov. xiii. 20. 1 Cor. v. 12. Ephes. v. 11.

xviii. 7.

souls. Ask your parents when you come home, to help your understandings and memories in any thing which you understood not or forgot. Love all the holy exercises of the Lord's day, and let them be more pleasant to you than your meat or play.

Direct. XL. "Be as careful to practise all, as to hear and read it.' Remember all is but to make you holy, to love God, and obey him: take heed of sinning against your knowledge, and against the warnings that are given you.

Direct. x. When you grow up, by the direction of your parents choose such a trade or calling, as alloweth you the greatest helps for heaven, and hath the fewest hindrances, and in which you may be most serviceable to God before you die.' If you will but practise these few Directions (which your own hearts must say, have no harm in any of them) what happy persons will you be for ever.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Duties of Servants to their Masters.

Ir servants would have comfortable lives, they must approve themselves and their service unto God, because from him they must have their comforts; which may be done by following these Directions.

Direct. 1. Reverence the providence of God which calleth you to a servant's life, and murmur not at your labour, or your low condition; but know your mercies, and be thankful for them.' Though perhaps you have more labour than your masters, yet, have you not less care than they? Most servants may have quieter lives, if it were not for their unthankful, discontented hearts. You are not troubled with the care of providing your landlord's rent, or meat, and drink, and wages for your servants, nor with the wants and desires of wives and children, nor with the faults and naughtiness of such as you must use or trust; nor with the losses and crosses which your masters are liable to. Be

thankful to God, who for a little bodily labour, doth free you from the burden of all these cares.

Direct. 11. 'Take your condition as chosen for you by God, and take yourselves as his servants, and your work as his, and do all as to the Lord, and not only for man; and expect from God your chief reward.' You will be else but eye-servants and hypocrites, if the fear of God do not awe your consciences: and if you were the best servants to your masters in the world, and did not all in obedience to God, it were but a low, unprofitable service: if you believe that there is an infinite distance between God and man, you may conceive what a difference there is between serving God and man: your wages is all your reward from man, but eternal life is God's reward: and the very same work and labour which one man hath but his years' wages for, another hath everlasting life for (though not of merit, yet of the bounty of our Lord). Because he doth it in love and obedience to that God who hath promised this reward. "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh: not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ: but he that doeth wrong, shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons"." The like is in Ephes. vi. 5-8. So much doth God respect the heart, that the very same action hath such different successes and rewards, as it is done to different ends, and from different principles: your lowest service may be thus sanctified and acceptable to God.

Direct. III. Be conscionable and faithful in performing all the labour and duty of a servant.' Neglect not such business as you are to do: neither do it lazily, and deceitfully, and by the halves. As it is thievery or deceit for a man in the market to sell another the whole of his commodity, and when he hath done, to keep back and defraud him of a part; so is it no less for a servant that selleth his time and labour to another, to defraud and service which you sold him. it is no sin, to idle away an hour

a Rom. vi. 23.

him of part of that time Think not therefore that which is not your own, or

b Col. iii. 22-25.

to slubber over the work which you undertake to do. Slothfulness and unconscionableness make servants deceitful: such care not how they do their work, if they can but make their masters believe that it is done well: they are hypocrites in their service, that take more care to seem painful, trusty servants, than to be so; and to hide their faults and slothfulness, than to avoid them. As if it were as easy to hide them also from God, who hath resolved to punish all the wrong they do their masters. If they can but loiter and take their ease, and their masters know it not, they are never troubled at it as a sin against God: laziness and fleshlymindedness do so blind them, that they think it is no sin to take as much ease as they can, so they carry it fair and smoothly with their masters, and to slubber over their business any how, so that it will but serve the turn: whereas if their masters should keep back any of their wages, or put more work upon them than is meet, they would easily be persuaded that this were a sin. If your labour be such as would hurt your health (as by wet or cold, &c.) you may foresee it, and avoid it in your choice of places: but if it is only the labour that you grudge at, it is a sign of a fleshly and unfaithful person; as long as it is not excessive to wrong your health, nor hurt your souls, by denying you leisure for your duty to God. The Lord himself commandeth you to "be obedient in singleness of heart, as unto Christ, not as eye-servants; and whatever you do, to do it heartily, knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord "."

6

Direct. IV. Be more careful about your duty to your masters, than about their duty or carriage to you.' Be much more careful what to do, than what to receive; and to be good servants, than to be used as good servants. Not but you may modestly expect your due, and to be used as servants should be used; but your duty is much more to be regarded; for if your master wrong you, that is his sin, and none of yours: God will not be offended with you for another's faults, but for your own; not for being wronged, but for doing wrong and it is better suffer the greatest wrong, than offend God by committing the smallest sin.

Direct. v. 'Be true and faithful in all that is committed d Eph. vi. 5, 6. 8. Col. iii. 23.

c Col. iii. 25.

to your trust: dispose not of any thing that is your master's without his consent:' though you may think it ever so reasonable, or well done, yet remember that it is none of your own; if you would relieve the poor, or please a fellow-servant, or do a kindness to a neighbour, do it of your own, and not of another's, unless you have his allowance. Be as thrifty for your masters, as you would be for yourselves. Waste no more of his goods, than you would do if it were your own. Say not as false servants do, my master is rich enough, and it will do him no harm, and therefore we may make bold, and not be so sparing and niggardly. The ques tion is not, what he should do, but what you should do? If you take any of your rich neighbours' goods or money, to give to the poor, you may be hanged as thieves, as well as if you stole it for yourselves, To take any thing of another's against his will, is to rob or steal: let the value be never so small, if it be but the worth of a penny that you steal or defraud another of, the sin is not small: nay, it aggravateth the sin, that you will presume to break God's law for such a trifle, and venture your soul for so small a thing; though it be taken from one that may never so well spare it, that is no excuse to you; it is none of yours. Especially let those servants look to this, that are trusted with buying and selling, or with provisions. If you defraud your masters, because you can conceal it; believe it, God that knoweth it will reveal it; and if you repent of it, you must make restitution of all that ever you thus robbed them of, if you have any thing to do it with; and if you have nothing, you must with sorrow and shame confess it to them, and ask forgiveness; but if you repent not, you must pay dearer for it in hell, than this comes to. Object.' But did not the Lord commend the unjust steward? Answ. Yes, for his wit in providing for himself, but not for his unjustness. He only teacheth you there, that if the wicked worldlings have wit to provide for this life, much more should you have the wit to make provision for the life to come. It is faithfulness that is a steward's duty'.

Direct. vI. Honour your masters, and behave yourselves towards them with that respect and reverence as your place requireth. Behave not yourselves rudely or contemptuous

e Luke xvi. 8.

f 1 Cor. iv. 2.

Exod. xx. 12. Rom. xiii. 7.