CHAP. IX.

Of glorifying God in our Family Worship.

MAN

AN's chief prerogative and dignity which he hath to glory of, is this, that he is the only creature in the visible world, made to worship and enjoy his great creator. All other creatures are servants, but man only is a priest to God; they obey their maker, he only worships him. This worship, under the law, was limited to a particular place, to wit, the tabernacle and the temple. But under the gospel, Almighty God has declared that it is his will that Men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or doubting." Almighty God therefore not only allows christians the liberty, but enjoins them the duty of worshipping him with their houshold: And accordingly we find, that religious housholders have, in all ages, constantly and conscientiously performed this duty. Devout Cornelius stands upon record for his family religion, Acts. x. 2. "He feared God, and all his house; that is, he reverenced and worshipped him: It is added, that he " gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." Surely, he that was so charitable at his door to refresh the pinched bowels of his poor neighbours, could not be so cruel to the souls of his relations and servants within his house, as to lock up his religion in a closet from them.

To convince you of the equity and reasonableness of the duty of worshipping God daily, in and with your families: consider,

1. The right which Almighty God has to your family worship, by virtue of that relation which he stands in to your families. He is the founder of your families, the continual preserver of them, and a daily benefactor to them; the very being of your families, as such, is from the Lord: "He builds the house, he setteth the solitary in families." He has owned this domestical society chiefly for his own glory, and next to that for our good and comfort. Your families then are God's by a right of creation, and by a right of preservation also. He made them, and he sustains them: We and ours live upon his bounty, and are maintained at his cost; it is his fleece and his wool which we daily wear, and he giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Now if " the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib," shall a family, which Almighty God doth hourly sustain and nourish, neglect to pay their homage to him, and own their dependance on him?

2. Consider the obligations you lie under to the performance of this duty, both in point of duty, and in point of interest.

As a

In point of duty: (1) As you are entrusted by Almighty God with the care and charge of your children, and servants also; for which reason, every parent, and master is in some measure a prophet, priest, and king, in and unto his houshold. prophet, he is to teach them by instruction and example: As a priest, he is to offer up the daily sacrifice of prayer and praise for them: And as a king, he is to command his children and his houshold after him, to keep the way of the Lord.

In point of interest also; (2) Have you not many family sins to confess, and many family wants to supply? Now is there any that can pardon the one or supply the other, besides God? If thy children want

bread, canst thou put it into their mouths before God puts it into thy hand? If they want grace, can any work it in their heart, but the God of all grace? In a word; do you not daily receive many family mercies from the hand of divine bounty? And is it not reasonable that they which eat of the same feast, should join in the same song of praise to the founder of it? When you awake in the morning and find none of your family dead in their beds, or buried in the ruins of their habitations, but all of you preserved from death and danger, and delivered from the power and malice of evil spirits, and out of the hands of unreasonable and wicked men; is not this a mercy that deserves thy calling thy family together jointly to offer up your thankful acknowledgments to the God of your mercies?

3. Consider that the very heathens at the great day will rise up in judgment, and condemn all such persons as live in the neglect of worshipping God in their families. For even they had their houshold gods, as they called them, unto whom they sacrificed morning and evening, that they might obtain their favour, and be successful in their enterprizes. The old heathens were wont to say, "Now we have sacrificed, let us go to bed:" How many that call themselves christians, say, "Now we have supped, let us go to bed:" O! what shall we think of such persons? are they men, or are they swine? They are sunk not only below heathens, but even as low as brutes who never look up to the hand that feeds them.

Now that your family-worship may be performed in an acceptable and advantageous manner, let the following advice be observed by you.

1. Take care that family-worship be performed constantly and seasonably. By family-worship, I mean especially family prayer, reading the holy scriptures,

&c. Catechizing and instructing children and servants in the fundamental principles of christianity, and praising God in singing. All which duties the family governor is to take care not only that they be performed constantly but seasonably, at such times as are freest in regard of interruption: particularly the morning is the fittest season, when our spirits are fresh and lively, and before a throng of worldly business crouds in upon us: You will find it much better to go from prayer to business, than from business to prayer, in regard to the freedom of your minds from distracting thoughts. So when the evening comes on, delay not the performance of your duty to an unseasonable hour. Some masters call for the cushion to go to prayer, when they are more fit for the pillow, and to go to sleep. But supposing that this should not be thine own case, thou art wakeful thyself, yet thou oughtest to consider the condition of thy poor servants, who work hard in the day, and to take heed that thou dost not expose them to the sin and temptation of a drowsy prayer.

2. Look upon it as thy obliged duty to pray morning and evening in thy family. Many masters pray neither morning nor night with their houshold; some pray at night only, and then so late, that a child is asleep in one corner, and a servant in another, and the master himself between sleeping and waking: Can such hanging down our heads, instead of lifting up our hands, be accepted as an evening sacrifice? Surely we cannot expect it. To convince you how reasonably Almighty God may expect from you a morning as well as evening sacrifice of prayer and praise, consider, (1.) That under the law, Almighty God required thus much, namely, both a morning and evening sacrifice, which was called "the continual burnt offering." (2.) That we have no reason to think or suppose that Almighty God expects less,

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but rather more homage and spiritual worship from us now, having freed us from the burden of such ceremonial observances as they were obliged to then. (3.) That the often repeated commands of the gospel, which require us "to pray always," and to pray without ceasing," cannot be reasonably thought to signify less than praying as often as the Jews offered sacrifice, which was morning and evening. And this may as properly be called a praying continually, as the morning and evening sacrifices under the law were called a continual burnt offering: So that if you do not pray morning and evening, you must suppose that Almighty God will accept of less service under the Gospel, than he did under the law.

3d. Advice is this: Spend so much time in family worship, and particularly in prayer, that those that join with you may be affected, but not so much time as to be wearied with the duty. My meaning plainly is, be neither too short, nor yet too tedious: To rise up from our knees before our hearts are affected either with our own sins, or with God's mercies, is to come away from a duty no better than we went to it: And such an over-hasty brevity argues very little delight that we take in the duty, but shews, that we are very glad to get out of God's presence as soon as we can. And on the other hand, too much tediousness, and length in duty has its inconveniencies, and makes the duty burthensome, and persons the more backward to the performance of it. Let thy prudence then so guide thee in the management of thy duty, that God may have the glory, thyself and others the benefit of thy attendance on him in holy duties.

4. Labour to preserve family peace: If you would acceptably perform family prayer, agree together in love, that your prayers be not hindered. This is certain, that religion and the power of holiness, can