Man ashiv le-Yahoweh, or, A serious enquiry for a suitable return for continued life, in and after a time of great mortality, by a wasting plague (anno 1665) answered in XIII directions / by Tho. Doolitel.

SECTION X.

* 1.1 [ I] SEcondly, The Duties wherein you should wor∣ship God in your Families, are such as these;

* 1.2In Praying unto God, and that (1.) ordi∣narily: And, your ordinary Praying unto God in your family should be daily, and, that at least twice

every day; every Morning when you rise, and every Night, before you dismiss your Family to their rest and sleep. Exod. 29.38. Now, this is that which thou shalt offer upon the Altar; Two Lambs of the first year, day by day continually. Vers. 39. The one Lamb thou shalt offer in the morning, and the other Lamb thou shalt offer at even: Though the Ceremonial part of this be abolished, yet the Moral abideth, and is perpetual: and, the reasons for daily Prayer in your families are per∣petual; as,

(1.) * 1.3You have daily family sins, and therefore in your family you should daily confess them, and beg the Pardon of them; that you and your fa∣mily might not go about your necessary occasi∣ons all the day, nor to your necessary rest at night, with the guilt of sin upon your Soules. (2.) You have every day daily wants, therefore you should daily beg supplies for your family: and, Christ bids you pray, Give us this day our daily bread. (3.) You have family business every day, and you should pray to God daily for his blessing upon your endeavours, for the good of your family. (4.) You have every day family mercies, and should daily bless God for them: when you wake in the morning and find your house not fired in the night, is not this a family mercy? and, should not your family be called together to bless God for this mercy? in the morning you find your family all in health, none of them dead in their beds: and, should not you, since you all live, all come together, and bless God, that sleep was not turned into death, nor the darkness of

the right into the darkness of Hell to any of you? And, have you not many mercies every day, you went out well about your imployment, and you returned well, and God hath blest your endea∣vours with success; and, should not you give to God the praise of his Mercy before you sleep? or, if you have sustained some Losses, should not you pray to God to sanctifie them to you, and in∣able you patiently to bear them, and submit to the will of God therein?

(2.) Or, family-Prayer is sometimes extraor∣dinary, when your family lies under some extraor∣dinary affliction, or wants some extraordinary mercy, or have had some extraordinary delive∣rance from evil and danger, then should you in your family send up extraordinary Prayer and P••aises unto God: so did Esther and her Maidens fast and pray, Esther 4.16. And I could wish that families apart were more acquainted with, and more frequent in this du••y.

[ II] * 1.4In Reading the Word of God: This would be bet••er then Cards and Dice. But, in many Fa∣m••l••es the Bible lies upon the shelfe all the week long, and scarce h••ve it in their hands but when they take it to go to Church, and many scarce then neither.

God hath commanded you to acquaint your fa∣mily with ••he wo••d of God, and, how will you do it, if you never Read it to them, nor Discourse of it with them? Deut. 11.18. Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart, and in your soul,

and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontless between your eyes. Ver. 19. And ye shall teach them your Children, speaking of them, when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way; when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. View this Scripture well, (ye Masters of Families) and be ashamed of your neglect of reading the Scripture in your houses; you should talk of it at home and abroad, morning and night when your Familie should be with you. You should read the Scripture to your Family for these Reasons:

1.* 1.5 Because the Word of God is the spiritual food of the souls in your Family. It is the bread of Life. It is milk for the nourishing of their souls, 1 Pet. 2.2. It is to be preferred above their necessary food, Job 23.12. Now will you give them bread for their bodies, and deny them bread for their souls? Their souls can no more live without spiritual food, than their bodies can without corporal. Take heed you deny not bread to your children and servants souls.

2. Because the Word of God is the spiritual Armour for the preserving your Family from be∣ing robbed by your spiritual Enemies, the Devil, Sin, and the World; You will have some weapon in your house to defend your self f••om thieves. Why, the Devil will play the thief in your house, and will steal away the souls of your Children, and will steal away the souls of your Servants, and will you not put so much as a Weapon into their hands to defend themselves? Your Chil∣dren and Servants will be stollen away by the

Spirits, if you arm them not with the Word of God, which is the Sword of the Spirit, Eph. 6.17.

3. Because the more you read the Word of God to them, the better they will be to you, and the better perform the duties of their Relation: You complain of disobedient Children, why do not you read the Scripture to them more, to teach them that God requires them to be obedient to you? You complain of bad Servants, why do not you then read the Word of God to them more, that they may know their duty better by reading the Scripture to them? Make them but good Christians, and then they dare not, but be good Children, and good Servants.

4. Because the Word of God is able to make them wise unto Salvation; You would have your Children wise to live in the World; you would have them wise to get Riches, and a great Estate; You would have your Servants wise to do your work, and to go about your business: And would you not have them wise for their souls? Would you not have them wise for heaven and the Life to come? If you would, then acquaint them with the Word of God, 2 Tim. 3.15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And he is wise in∣deed, that is wise enough to save his soul.

[ III] * 1.6In repeating what you hear in the publick Congre∣gation, in discoursing to your Family what sin

was reproved, and what duty was inforced, and what were the Arguments and Motives thereun∣to. What Christ preached more publickly, he repeated to his Disciples (which were as his Fa∣mily) more privately, Mar. 4.10. and 7.17. Mat. 13.36, 37. and the Apostle commanded Wives to ask their Husbands when they came home, the things that were delivered in the Con∣gregation, 1 Cor. 14.34, 35. This would keep your Children and Servants better imployed on the Lords day, than to be standing Idle at your doors, or walking sinfully in the fields. This would make them profit more by the Word preached, if you would repeat it to them, and use them to give account of what they hear.

[ IV] * 1.7In Catechizing of your Family, and teaching them the Principles and Fundamentals of Reli∣gion: Mans Innocency by Creation, Mans mise∣ry by the Fall, Mans Recovery by Christ, and the terms of the Covenant of Grace; the meaning of the ten Commandments, what sin in them is forbidden, what duties are required; this is Gods plain Injunction that you should do so, Deut. 6.6, 7, 8, 9. and the meaning of the Sacra∣ments, Exod. 12.25, 26, 27. (1.* 1.8) To Teach them while they are young is a good means to make them good when they are old, Prov. 32.6. Train up a child in the way he should go when he is young, and he will not depart from it when he is old: but if you let them alone till they be accustomed to do evil, it will be hard to reclaim them, Jer. 13.23. Quo

semel est Imbuta recens, &c. (2.) This will be an effectual mean•• to keep them from being seduced, and led away with E••••ours and false Doctrine. (3.) It will be great cruelty to the souls of your Children and Servants to neglect it. Will you carry your self towards your little ones, as the Ostrich doth towards her young ones, Job 39.14. Which (speaking of the Ostrich) leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust. Ver. 15. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. Ver. 16. She is har∣dened against her young ones, as though they were not hers.— (4.) It would be to break your Vow which you made when you brought your Children unto Baptism; Did you not promise they should for∣sake the Pomps and Vanities of this World, and that you would bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and will you dedicate them to God in Baptism, and leave them to the devil all their life after?

Consider I beseech you, it may be God in mer∣cy and pity to your Childrens and Servants souls hath spared you in this Late-great Mortality; and consider whether your conscience doth not ac∣cuse you of great neglect towards some of your Children and Servants which are now lying in their Graves; it may be there hath dyed a poor servant out of your house, which you never spake to in good earnest about the matters of his soul; or doth not your heart wish that he were with you again, that you may instruct and teach him, and will you do so to those that do remain? it may be some of them that have died out of your house

are gone to hell through your neglect, and will you have no more pi••y upon those that yet are with you? The other, now are out of the reach of your Counsells and Instructions, but these are not, what was wanting in you towards those that are dead and gone, make up to those that live and do remain.

[ V] * 1.9In singing forth Gods praises, in Psalms, and spiritual Songs; this is an Ordinance of God, Eph. 6.19. Jam. 5.13. You must sing with grace, Col. 3.16. Exercise your grace of joy in God, in commemoration of Gods benefits, of holy de∣sires, of Godly sorrow, as the occasion and the matter of the Psalm require; this is the sweetest Harmony in the ears of God. You must sing with understanding, with sense and feeling, and to the Lord, to his glory, as in his presence; this would be more sutable for your Family, than Ballads, prophane and lascivious filthy Rymes, which you should not suffer under your Roof.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Wherein
• * 1.2

  In pray∣ing.
• * 1.3

  Four Rea∣sons for daily pray∣er in fami∣lies.
• * 1.4

  R••adi••g the Word of God.
• * 1.5

  4 Rea∣sons for reading Scripture in Fami∣lies.
• * 1.6

  Repea∣ting things delivered in pub∣lick.
• * 1.7

  In Cate∣chizing.
• * 1.8

  4 Rea∣sons for Catechi∣zing in Families.
• * 1.9

  In sing∣ing Psalms.