no more pretence to this privilege, than any other particular church whatsoever.

And, which is yet more, fome men talk of these matters at that rate, as if a man who thought himself obliged to quit the communion of the church of Rome, fhould happen to be in those circumstances that he had no opportunity of joining himself to any other communion, he ought in that cafe to give over all thoughts of religion, and not be fo conceited and prefumptuous as to think of going to heaven alone by himself.

It is without doubt a very great fin, to defpife the communion of the church, or to break off from it, fo long as we can continue in it without fin: but if things fhould once come to that pafs, that we muft either difobey God for company, or ftand alone in our obedience to him, we ought moft certainly to obey God, whatever comes of it; and to profefs his truth, whether any body elfe will join with us in that profeffion

or not.

And they who fpeak otherwife, condemn the whole reformation; and do in effect fay, that Martin Luther had done a very ill thing in breaking off from the church of Rome, if no body elfe would have joined with him in that honeft defign. And yet, if it had been fo, I hope God would have given him the grace and courage to have stood alone in fo good and glorious a caufe, and to have laid down his life for it.

And for any man to be of another opinion, is just as if a man, upon great deliberation, fhould chufe rather to be drowned, than to be faved either by a plank or a fmall boat; or to be carried into the harbour any other way, than in a great fhip of fo many hundred

In fhort, a good man must resolve to obey God, and to profess his truth, though all the world fhould happen to do otherwife. Chrift hath promifed to preferve his church to the end of the world; that is, he hath engaged his word, that he will take care that there shall always be, in fome part of the world or other, fome perfons that shall make a fincere profeffion of his true religion.

But he hath no where promised to preferve any one

part of his church from fuch errors and corruptions, as may oblige all good men to quit the communion of that part; yea, though when they have done fo, they may not know whither to refort for actual communion with any other found part of the Christian church: as it happened to fome particular perfons, during the reign and rage of Popery in these Western parts of the Chriftian church.

The refult from all this difcourfe is, to confirm and establish us all, in this hour of temptation, and of the powers of darknefs, in the well-grounded belief of the neceffity and juftice of our reformation from the errors and corruptions of the Roman church and to engage us to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: and not only to profefs and promise, as Peter did to our Lord, Though all men forfake thee, yet will not I; but, if there should be occafion, to perform and make good this promise with the hazard of all that is dear to us, and even of life itfelf; and whatever trials God may permit any of us to fall into, to take up the pious refolution of Joshua here in the text, that, whatever others do, we will ferve the Lord.

I will conclude my difcourfe upon this firft particular in the text, with the exhortation of St. Paul to the Philippians, chap. i. 27. 28. Only let your converfation be as it becometh the gospel of Chrift. Stand faft in one fpirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gofpel; in nothing terrified by your adverfaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of falvation, and that of God.

And thus much may fuffice to have fpoken to the first thing in the text; namely, the pious refolution of Joshua, that if there were occafion, and things were brought to that extremity, he would stand alone in the profeffion and practice of God's true religion: Chufe you this day whom ye will ferve: but as for ME, I will ferve the Lord.

I should now have proceeded to the fecond thing, and which indeed I chiefly intended to speak to from this text; namely, the pious care of a good father and mafter of a family, to train up thofe under his charge in the religion and worship of the true God: As for me and MY HOUSE,

We

we will ferve the Lord. But this I fhall not now enter upon; but defer it to fome other opportunity. Confider what ye have heard, and the Lord give you understanding in all things.

I

SERMON L.

Concerning family-religion.

Preached at St. Lawrence-Jewry, July 13. 1684..

JOSHUA Xxiv. 15.

But as for me and my house, we will ferve the Lord.

The fecond fermon on this text.

Shall now proceed to the Second point contained in the text, namely,

The pious care of a good master and father of a family, to train up thofe under his charge in the worship and fervice of the true God: As for me and Mr HOUSE, we will ferve the Lord.

And this is the more neceffary to be spoken to, because it is a great and very effential part of religion, but ftrangely overlooked and neglected in this loose and degenerate age in which we live. It is a great part of religion; for next to our perfonal homage and fervice to almighty God, and the care of our own fouls, it is incumbent upon us to make thofe who are under our charge, and fubject to our authority, God's fubjects, and his children and fervants; which is a much more honourable and happy relation, than that which they

bear to us.

Our children are a natural part of ourselves, and the reft of our family are a civil and political part; and not only we ourselves, but all that we have, and that belongs to us, is God's, and ought to be devoted to his fervice. And they that have the true fear of God themselves, will

be

Ser. 50. be careful to teach it to others; to those especially who are under their more immediate care and inftruction. And therefore God had fo great a confidence concerning Abraham as to this particular, as to undertake for him, that, being fo very good a man himfelf, he would not fail in fo great and neceffary a part of his duty: For 1 know him, (fays God of him), that he will command his children and his houfhold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. God pasfeth his word for him, that he would not only take care to instruct his children, and the rest of his numerous family, in the true religion; but that he would likewife lay a strict charge upon them to propagate and tranfmit it to their posterity.

And this certainly is the duty of all fathers and mafters of families; and an effential part of religion, next to ferving God in our own perfons, to be very careful that all that belong to us do the fame. For every man muft not only give an account of himself to God, but of thofe likewife that are committed to his charge, that they do not mifcarry through his neglect.

In fpeaking of this great and neceffary duty, I fhall do thefe four things.

1. I fhall fhew wherein it doth confift.

2. I fhall confider our obligation to it, both in point of duty and of interest.

3. I fhall inquire into the causes of the fo common and shameful neglect of this duty, to the exceeding great decay of piety amongst us.

4. As a motive and argument to us to endeavour to retrieve the practice of this duty, I fhall reprefent to you the pernicious confequences of the neglect of it, both with regard to ourselves, and to the publick. In all which I fhall be very brief, because things that are plain need not to be long.

I. I fhall fhew wherein the practice of this duty doth confift. And in this I am fure there is no need to be long, because this duty is much better known than practifed. The principal parts of it are these following.

1. By fetting up the conftant worship of God in our families; by daily prayers to God every morning and evening, and by reading fome portion of the holy fcri

ptures

ptures at those times, especially out of the Pfalms of David, and the New Teftament. And this is fo neceffary to keep alive and to maintain a sense of God and religion in the minds of men, that where it is neglected, I do not fee how any family can in reafon be esteemed a family of Chriftians, or indeed to have any religion at all.

And there are not wanting excellent helps to this purpofe for those that stand in need of them, as I think most families do for the due and decent discharge of this folemn duty of prayer; I fay, there are excellent helps to this purpose in the feveral books of devotion calculated for the private use of families, as well as for fecret prayer in our closets.

So that, befides the reading of the holy scriptures, which are the great fountains of divine truth, we may do well likewife to add to thefe, other pious and profitable books, which, by their plainnefs, are fitted for the in ftruction of all capacities in the moft neceffary points of belief and practice; of which fort, God be thanked, there is an abundant ftore: but none that I think is more fitted for general and conftant ufe, than that excellent book fo well known by the title of The whole duty of man; because it is conveniently divided into parts or fections; one of which may be read in the family at any time when there is leifure for it, but more especially on the Lord's day, when the whole family may the more eafily be brought and kept together, and have the opportunity to attend upon these things without diftraction.

re

And, which I must by no means omit, because it is in many families already gone, and in others going out of fashion; I mean, a folemn acknowledgment of the providence of God, by begging his bleffing at our meals upon his good creatures provided for our ufe, and by turning thanks to him for the benefit and refreshment of them this being a piece of natural religion owned and practifed in all ages, and in moft places of the world, but never fo fhamefully and fcandaloufly neglected, and I fear by many flighted and defpifed, as it is amongst us at this day; and most neglected where there is greatest reafon for the doing of it, I mean, at the most plentiful tables, and among thofe of highest quality: as if great perfons were afhamed, or thought fcorn to own from

whence