258 "of the life that now is, as well as that which is to "come."

Befides, you all, doubtlefs, with for honeft fervants, and pious children: and to have them prove otherwile, would be as great a grief to you, as it was to Elitha to have a treacherous Gehazi, or David to be troub ed with a rebellious Abfalom. But how can it be expected they fhould learn their duty, except thole fet over them, take care to teach it to them? Is it not as reafonable to expect you fhould reap where you had not fown, or gather where you had not ftrawed?

Did Chriflianity, indeed, give any countenance to children and fervants to difregard their parents and matters according to the flesh, or reprefent their duty to them, as inconfiftent with their entire obedience to their Father and Mafter who is in heaven, there might then be tome pretence to neglect inftructing them in the principles of fuch a religion. But fince the pvws of this pure and undefiled religion, are all

zdim dov, jati and good; and the more they are Goght then duty to God, the better they will perde then duties to you; methinks to neglect the emperment of their fouls, out of a dread of spending wo much time in religious duties, is acting quite evices to your own intereût as well as duty.

Ny wy and balu. If neither gratitude to God, jeve cows, eli öten, common juftice to your fervants, szħut mori prevailing motive, islf-intereft, will were a calderation of the terrors of the te to put in practice the pious refoRemember, the time will come, and Ages were abomah, when you muit all appear Si, grecht dat af Chrii; where are mpf bona mne fuel cost dew we have had ir dus zotredive ramines, ip thứ NOR, Odette 20 jee your chikten is emple to be your fer and 2005 as Carit, com

ing out as fo many fwift witneffes against you; curfing the father that begot them, the womb that bare them, the paps which they have fucked, and the day they ever entered into your houses? Think you not, the dampation which men must endure for their own fins, will be fufficient, that they need load themselves with the additional guilt of being acceffary to the damnation of others alfo? O confider this, all ye that forget to ferve the Lord with your refpective households, "left he pluck you away, and there be none to "deliver you !"

But God forbid, brethren, that any fuch evil fhould befal you: No, rather will I hope, that you havé been in fome measure convinced, by what has been faid, of the great importance of Family religion; and therefore are ready to cry out, in the words immediately following the text, " God forbid that we "fhould forfake the Lord," and again verse 21. "Nay, but we will" (with our feveral houfeholds) "ferve the Lord."

And that there may be always fuch a heart in you, let me exhort all governors of families, in the name of our Lord Jefus Chrift, often to reflect on the ineftimable worth of their own fouls, and the infinite ranfom, even the precious blood of Jefus Chrift, which has been paid down for them. Remember, that you are fallen creatures; that you are by nature loft and estranged from God; and that you can never be restored to your primitive happiness, till by being born again of the Holy Ghoft, you arrive at your primitive state of purity, have the image of God reftamped upon your fouls, and are thereby made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light. Do, I fay, but seriously and frequently refle& on, and act as perfonis that believe fuch important truths, and you will no more neglect your family's ipiritual warfare than your own. No, the love of God, which will then be fhed abroad in your hearts, will constrain you to do your utmost to preferve them:

And the deep fenfe of God's free grace in Chrift Jefus, (which you will then have) in calling you, wil! excite you to do your utmost to fave others, especially those of your own household. And though, after all your pious endeavours, fome may continue unreformed; yet you will have this comfortable reflection to make, that you did what you could to make your families religious: And therefore may reft affured of fitting down in the kingdom of heaven, with Abraham, Joshua, and Cornelius, and all the godly householders, who in their feveral generations fhone forth as fo many lights in their respective households upon earth. Amen.

SERMON XIV.

THE METHOD OF GRACE.

JEREMIAH VI. 14.

They have healed alfo the hurt of the daughter of my people flightly, Jaying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.

A

S God can fend a nation or people no greater blefling, than to give them faithful, fincere, and upright minifters; fo the greatest curfe that God, can poffibly fend upon a people in this world, is to give them over to blind, unregenerate, carnal, lukewarm, and unfkilful guides. And yet, in all ages, we find that there have been many wolves in theep's clothing, many that daubed with untempered mortar, that prophefied fmoother things than God did allow. As it was formerly, fo it is now, there are many that corrupt the word of God, and deal deceitfully with it.

It was fo in a special manner in the prophet Jeremiah's time; and he faithful to his Lord, faithful to that God that employed him, did not fail, from time to time, to open his mouth against them, and to bear a noble teftimony to the honour of that God, in whose name he from time to time spake. If ye will read his prophecy, ye will find, that none spake more against fuch minifters than Jeremiah: and here efpecially, in the chapter out of which the text is taken, he speaks very feverely against them; he charges them with feveral crimes, particularly, he charges them with covetoufnefs: For, fays he in the 13th verfe, "from the

leaft of them even to the greatest of them, every "one is given to covetoufnefs; and from the prophet "even unto the priest, every one dealeth falfely." And then in the words of the text, in a more special manner, he exemplifies how they had dealt falfely, how they had behaved treacherously to poor fouls, fays he, "They have healed alfo the hurt of the daughter of "my people flightly, faying, Peace, peace, when there " is no peace." The prophet, in the name of God, had been denouncing war against the people, he had been telling them, that their house should be left defolate, and the Lord would certainly vifit the land with wår, "Therefore," fays he, in the 11th verfe, "I am full

of the fury of the Lord: I am weary with holding " in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and "upon the affembly of young men together: For even "the husband with the wife fhal! be taken, the aged. "with him that is full of days. And their houfes fhail "be turned unto others, with their fields and wives "together: for I will ftretch out my hand upon the "inhabitants of the land, faith the Lord." The prophet gives a thundering message, that they might be terrified, and have fome convictions and inclinations to repent but it feems that the falfe prophets, the falfe priests, went about ftifling people's convictions, and when they were hurt or a little terrified, they were for daubing over the wound, telling them, that

Jeremiah was but an enthufiaftic preacher; that there could be no fuch thing as a war among them; and bidding people "peace, peace, be ftill," when the prophet told them there was no peace. The words then reter primarily unto outward things; but I verily believe have alfo a further reference to the foul; and are to be referred to thofe falfe teachers, when people were under conviction of fin, when people were beginning to look towards heaven, they were for ftifling their convictions, and telling them they were good enough before. And indeed people generally love to have it fo: our hearts are exceedingly deceitful and defperately wicked; none but the eternal God knows how treacherous they are. How many of us cry, peace, peace to our fouls, when there is no peace. How many are there that are now fettled upon their lees, that new think they are Chriftians, that now flatter themselves that they have an intereft in Jefus Chrift; whereas, if ve come to examine their experiences, we will find that their peace is but a peace of the devil's making;

is not a peace of God's giving; it is not a peace that paffeth human understanding. It is matter therefre of great importance, my dear hearers, to know whether we may speak peace to our hearts: We are all defirous of peace, peace is an unfpeakable blefling: How can we live without peace? And therefore peopic, from time to time, must be taught how far they muft go and what must be wrought in them, before they can Ipeak peace to their hearts. Thisis what I defign at prefent that I may deliver my foul, that I ma be free from the blood of all thofe to whom I preach, thát I may not fail to declare the whole counfel of God. I fhall, from the words of the text, endeavour to foew you what ye muft undergo, and what must be wrought in you, before ye can fpeak peace to your hearts.

But before I come direly to this, give me leave to premife a caution or two. And the first is, that I takę it for granted ye believe religion to be an inward things

believe it to be a work in the heart, a work wrought