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him, for the Admonition and Warning of his wicked Mother.

Another Woman, not much better than the foregoing, being equally addicted to Paffion and to bitter Imprecations by the Almighty when angry, was yet more feverely punished for it, in the Perfon of her Son. For the poor Youth having fome way. difpleafed her, and being going Abroad, fhe dif miffed him with this Curfe, that he prayed GOD, She might never fee him return alive, to which Hea ven foon faid Amen: For the Weather being then fultry, the young Man being faint with Heat, went with fome of his Companions to bathe himself, and was unfortunately drowned; fo that he never again returned to his wicked Mother, till he was carried to her in that Condition, upon the Shoulders of others. A Judgment, which though it did not fall directly upon herfelf, yet, if she had any natural Affection, when out of her Fury, or any the leaft Fear of God before her Eyes, must render all the Remainder of her Days miferable.

The laft Inftance of this Kind is in fome respects yet much more remarkable than either of the former; inasmuch as the poor Boy who fuffered thereby, lived to be seen, and converfed with by Thoufands. This unhappy Youth, having a Father very paffionate, and who, upon the flightest Provocations, was too much given to wicked Imprecations, happenning one Day not to be fufficiently expeditious. about his Bufinefs, to fatisfy the Impatience of his hafty Parent, I wifb, faid he, thou mayeft never ftir from thy Place; and too foon indeed he had his wicked Wifh. For, fcarcely had he uttered the Words, before the Lad ftuck faft indeed, as if rooted there; fo that there was no Poffibility of moving him by any Means, no, not fo much as to fit, or bend his Body.

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At length, after fome Time, by the Prayers of good Chriftians, his Pains were fomewhat mitigated, though not intirely remitted; and in this terrible Condition did the poor Youth remain, for feven Years, a standing Monument of God's Judgment, upon fuch as are guilty of this abominable Practice; and a terrible and daily Memento to his Father of his horrid Sin, which he faw thus feverely vifited upon his Son; and which he might confequently expect, would be more feverely punished on himself, without a fincere and hearty Repentance! Three Years of the feven, did the poor Youth continue ftanding, without any other Eafe, than the having a Poft placed at his Back to lean against; after which Heaven fo far relieved him, as to restore him to the Power of fitting; and in this melancholy State, now fitting, then standing, did he linger out four Years lon-> ger, when he departed this Life joyfully, nothing weakened in his Understanding, and not doubting of his Salvation through the Merits and Mercy of Chrift.

And in effect, as terrible and awakening as this, Judgment may feem at firft Sight, and as indeed it was, in one refpect, yet, with regard to the Son, it appears only to have been the merciful Vifitation of a loving Parent; who by this ftrong Trial of the Lad's Submiffion and Refignation, was preparing and fitting him for himfelf. This we have all the Reason in the World to believe, from the conftant Deportment of the poor Youth, during the whole Course of this fiery Purgation; no Murmurs, no Complaints, no Repinings were heard come out of his Mouth, but he was continually strengthened, to bear all with unwearied Patience; his conftant Anfwer to all who asked him concerning his Welfare, and what had befallen him, being, That he was afflicted and faftened of GOD; and that it must not be the Help of Man, but the Mercy and Power of Heaven, muft relieve him. And accordingly he was amply rewarded at last for

his exemplary Patience under his momentary and tranfient Sufferings here, by a glorious and happy Immortality.

We have now, as we hope, fufficiently fhewn the full Extent of this divine Precept, as alfo the good Confequences of paying a ready Submiffion thereto, and the fatal Effects, even in this Life, of a contrary Practice, let us therefore go on to the Fourth and laft Commandment of the firft Table.

CHAP. IV.

Of the good and bad Confequences of the Obfervance, or Non-Obfervance of the Fourth Commandment.

Emember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day;

haft to do; but the Seventh is the Sabbath of the LORD thy GOD. In it thou shalt do no manner of Work, thou, nor thy Son, nor thy Daughter, thy Man-Servant, nor thy Maid-Servant, nor thy Cattle, nor the Stranger that is within thy Gates. For in fix Days the LORD made Heaven and Earth, the Sea, and all that in them is, and refted the Seventh Day; wherefore the LORD bleed the Seventh Day, and hallowed it.

Now, though what is required of us by this Commandment is fo plainly expreffed, that it is almoft impoffible to misunderstand it, would not any ferious Foreigner who obferves the Behaviour of the Generality of Perfons of all Ages, Denominations, or Conditions, at Home and Abroad, be tempted to believe, that in Imitation of the Roman Catholicks, who have excluded the Second Commandment out of

their Breviaries and Mafs-Books, we had also givea this the Exclufion, and rejected it from amongst the Number of those to which we acknowledge ourfelves bound to pay Obedience.

In effect, it were much better that we did fo, and erafed it quite out of all our Prayer-Books, rather than let it ftand there, and continue it in our Cormunion-Service, not only to condemn our conftant Practice, but to tempt us folemnly to mock the l mighty, by faying, Lord have Mercy upon us, and incline our Hearts to keep this Law, when, at the fame Time, if we think at all, we know in our own Hearts we do not intend to keep it: Nay, it is a great Chance, if, at the very Inftant of its Recital, and of our fo praying, or rather, feeming to pray, many of us are not actually guilty of tranfgreffing it, by gazing around, bowing, curtfying, handing about the Snuff-Box, or fome fuch indecent Practice, whereby we at once violate both the Fourth and the Second Commandments.

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That this is but too common, every one must be fenfible and that it is exceeding blameable, every one muft acknowledge; but, when notorious, grofs, and open Tranfgreffions of the fame Divine Law are conftantly tolerated, in People of all Ranks and Degrees, when even they, who are in a parti-" cular Manner bound by the Duty of their Office, and by their facred Function, to be watchful over the Obfervance of this Law, not only wink at the public Breach thereof, in almost every Street and Alley, but are frequently guilty of infringing it themselves, it is no Wonder fuch Things, which with moft Folks are fcarce reckoned Offences, fhould be connived at, and overlooked. However, before we proceed to enumerate the various Way's whereby this Commandment is broken, we fhall make fome few Obfervations, concerning the Wif dom, Mercy, and Condefcenfion of the Almighty, I which

which are all greatly confpicuous in the Inftitution thereof.

It will not furely be denied, even by the most graceles, that were any one to bestow on us all Manner of good Things plentifully, for the Suftenance and Enjoyment of Life, that Perfon would justly be intitled, were it only in common Gratitude, to fome fort of Retribution from us, according as it pleafed him to require; but if we. not only held all we had of that Perfon's mere Grace, but even our Life itself, which we had long forfeited unto him, and which he had ftill not only a Right, but the Power to exact from us, whenever it seemed him good, in cafe of Non-Compliance with his Will, would not this greatly inhance the Obligation, and be a ftrong Inducement to us to be very careful in rendering him whatever Acknowledgment he might demand? Surely it would; on all thefe Accounts then, may God juftly challenge our Obedience to all his Inftitutions.

But, had the Lord, when he reprieved us from immediate Death, by virtue of the Authority he referved to himself over us, enjoined us any thing that would have been very difficult for us to perform, and which would have rendered Life uncomfortable; though we could not have difputed his Right, we might have mourned in fecret, hd thought him a hard Mafter, and much more fe, had he required any Thing impoffible. The Ifraelites deemed their Cafe very bad, when they were made to toil hard in Brick and Mortar, but it was infinitely worse, when the Straw was withheld from them, and yet the fame Quantity of Bricks demanded,

Had God demanded a Tribute of Gold or Silver, only the Rich might have been able to have paid it; had he exacted any laborious Task, only the Strong,

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