is not fimply anger that is threatened, but fury, wrath in the greatest height and rage. O let prayerless families through the land tremble at this threatening! I fear, if it were presently executed, it would make thin cities and parishes fomewhere: But though God be patient and long suffering, yet, believe it, there are fecret and invifible curfes which light and lie upon prayerlefs families," and the works of their hands. Neglect of prayer.doth uncover the roof to let God's curfes drop through upon your perfons, children, tables, and all your enjoyments; for you denude yourselves of all fecurity and protection. Family-prayer is an excellent roof to your houfes; it is like the roof that is made of Irish oak, which no venemous spider will touch, nor lodge in. Family-worship, duly performed, diflodges fin and vice; nay, it diflodges the devil alfo: And for these houfes that are haunted with evil fpirits, whatever other reafon may be given for it, no doubt this is one; God's worship hath not been duly performed therein. And though the devil doth not appear in a visible or audible manner, yet he certainly haunts prayerless houses; for he hopes for large draughts out of them. Why? fin and wickedness are fair to reign there; malice, pride, deceit and intemperance will bear fway; fwearing, curfing, and lying, will be the language of the houfe, and the children will learn it betimes. But, when prayer is introduced into a family, thefe vices are banished, and fatan removes: For either prayer will make you give over finning, or finning will make you give over praying; they cannot dwell well together. But the house which the unclean spirit finds empty of prayer, is a houfe fwept and garnished for him and a black train of vices to enter and dwell in. If God's worship be not in the houfe, you may write, "Lord, have mercy upon us," upon the door, as they ufe to do when a houfe is fhut up with the plague. What can we expect in a prayerlefs houfe, but the plagues and curses of God? Ahraham expected no good in a prayerlefs place; therefore fays he of Gerar, Gen. xx, 11. "Surely the fear of God is not in this place; they will flay me, &c. What a miferable place or house must that be, where God's fear is not? Surely it must be a fink of VOL. IV. Hh

fin,

fin, a butt of wrath, a cage of unclean birds, and a habitation of devils. do

O mafters of families, will you pity the fouls of your families? Tremble left their blood be found in your kirts. When a child or fervant dies out of your famiTly it will be fad if confcience have it to tell you,

Here one has died out of your house, with whom you never prayed; you dwelt together, eat together, wrought together many years, but you never prayed to "gether. And what if his foul be gone to hell through your neglect! What if his blood be charged on you ? How will you answer for it? Who knows but if he had feen and heard you pray, your words and example might have moved him to go into a secret corner and pray for his own foul, and fo he might have been finging with the faints in heaven, inftead of howling with the damned in hell?" Som To v

الله

But if the cafe be fo melancholy when they die from you, furely it will be far worse when you come to die yourselves. You have all your days kept your families godlefs and prayerlefs; well, what accounts will you give of your stewardships, when you may be no longer ftewards? and what anguifh do you think will feize on you, when, with Dives, you fhall feel yourfelves in hell, and then begin (not before) to lift up your eyes to heaven, and fee the godly praying ones, whom you defpifed, afar off, and a great gulf fixed betwixt you and them; and alfo, when you shall fee thofe of your prayerlefs families, whom you ruined by your example and influence, brought down to the fame place of torment, to increase your misery, and add fuck to your flames? O masters of prayerless families, think on these things in time. 17211 Babi S. 10 2.75

-Oh! will neither the fear of hell, nor hopes of heaven perfuade you to family-prayer? I am fure får lefs would do it, could I affure you that the daily performance of it would gain you an estate of ten thoufand merks a year: You would try it as you can, and be punctual in ft too; you would no more pretend mul titude of business, want of time, gifts or confidence. And are you fo atheistical, as to prefer a little of the

world

world to heaven Or fuppose there were ftrict laws made, that, for every time you neglected prayer, you should be thrown into a " den of lions," as Daniel was for praying; or that you should lose a finger of your hand, or but pay a hundred merks of fine would you not pray as you can, and find time for it alfe, rather than lofe your life, finger, or money? And are not the laws of God more awful and ftrict than the laws of men? Is not hell's dungeon, or a den of devils, more terrible than a den, of lions? Are not hell's torments more fearful than the lofs of a finger? Is not the wrath of the great God more dreadful than a fine? Oh, will not the fear of God prevail more with you than the fear of man? Remember Daniel's zeal of family-prayer, who chose rather to be caft to the lions, before he would forbear it for for one day: Oh, what shall we lay of those, who will rather venture to be an eternal prey to the roaring lion, than be at this pains for falvation to themselves or their families; but you may hear in their houfes twenty oaths for one prayer! vargow

2. Confider the great fin of neglecting family-inftructions upon the Sabbath, which, alas is fo common, by reafon whereof many children and fervants are igno. tant, prayerlefs, and graceless: Their parents and mafters do not teach them to read, nor instruct them concerning the principles of religion; they neither pray for them, nor direct them how to pray for themselves. Is the knowledge of Chrift a choice and excellent treasure? And will you withold it from thofe whom you love, fecing it will not make you the poorer, but the richer, to communicate it to them? It is the commendation of Abraham, that he both made it his household know God's ways, and commanded them to obey the fame, Gen. xvi. 19,and do you ever think to land in Abraham's boform, that will not treadh sin Abraham's footsteps? Have you no pity or compaffionon them that are bone of your bone, and flesh of your Beth? Where is the yearning of your bowels towards their precious fouls, that are in a starving and perishing condition for lack of knowledge? Will you be like cruel aflriches, Job xxxix. that are" hardened against their Hh 2 young

young ones," and leave them to be deftroyed after they bring them forth? Will you, in like manner, bring forth your young ones, and then carelessly leave them to be a prey to the devil, and eternally to be torn to pieces by him? Are you indifferent about those that came forth of your loins, and whom you profefs to love fo dearly, whether they live with the bleffed Jefus in heaven, or with the curfed devils in hell? Remember, O parents, who neglect the education of your children, God may punish you for it, even in this world, by their unnatural and undutiful, carriage to you in old age, whereby they may bring down your gray hairs with forrow to the grave; and no wonder though they make no confcience of their duty to you, who made no conscience to teach them their duty to God. Remember alfo, how many children have been brought to a miserable end in this world by the negligence and unfaithfulnefs of their parents this way; fome going to the gib bet have bitterly reflected on their parents as the cause of their ruin, for giving them fuch a bad example, and not inftructing them in the time of their youth. But, above all, confider how your children and fervants may rife up and accufe you at the bar of God at the great day, and fay, "Lord, there ftands my father, there ftands my master, he never taught us, prayed with us, or for us; he neglected prayer, he curfed, he lied, he brake the Sabbath, and fo did we after his example. It is true, we are juftly condemned, but yet we perish through their neglect, our blood is upon their heads." O parents, will it not make you speechlefs, and sting you to the heart, to hear your poor children crying out against you in that day, faying, "Had you noticed our fouls as well as our bodies, had you been as careful to teach us the knowledge of God as of such a trade, it had not been with us as it is this day; we had not now stood trembling in expectation of that dreadful doom, which is juft ready to be paft, upon us, Curfed be the man that begat us, and the paps that gave us fuck; it is to you we owe our eternal ruin and mifery."

O negligent

negligent parents, what horror and confufion will then feize you in terrible day of the Lord, to hear fuch a charge from your children! but much more to hear God charge you with their blood, and fay, /0 unnatural wretches, behold how many precious fouls you neglected and ruined, whofe happiness you were bound to procure by fo many ties of duty and af fection They were ignorant, and you inftructed them not, they were prayerlefs, and you taught them not they were Chriftlefs, and you pitied them not: Yea, you not only neglected to give them good instruction, but you gave them bad example; you swore, lyed, spoke obfcenely, broke the Sabbath, mocked religion, &c. and lo, in the fe very practices they have followed you to hell, to be an addition to your torments there for ever."

Would you then prevent this fad reckoning, and be found with your children upon the judge's right hand? fee that you inftruct them and pray for them. O fathers, would you with to have your children well provided, then lay up a stock of prayers for them, both family and fecret prayer: This is a ftock that would not be foon fpent, nay, it will be bringing them in fomething when you are dead and rotten. O mothers, your bo dies travailed in pain at their firft birth, let your fouls travail in pain for their fecond birth: Where is your. motherly tenderness toward the fruit of your womb ? Would you not be forry to hear them fcreeching, or fee them frying in hell's flames, without remedy? Then do what lies in your power, to prevent it, by inftructing them, praying for them, and praying with them.

Thirdly, Beware of neglecting fecret duties this day, fuch as were afore mentioned, and particularly prayer. If thou be one, O finner, that reftraineft prayer before God this day, it is a black mark of a graceiefs heart; for a fpirit of grace and fupplication go ftill together. As difficulty of breathing, and painfulness in speaking, are fymptoms of a fick body, fo averfion to prayer is a fad fign of a fick foul: For prayer is the foul's breath and fpeech to God, Lam. iii. 16. Again, confider the danger of living in the neglect of this duty. "If fatan might have his with against thee, (faith one)

it