CHAP. I. Of Preparation for Service, as 'tis the Duty partly of Parents, and partly of those Young People who resolve upon Service.

THERE is scarce any parti­cular Work, The Neces­sity of Pre­paration. or any single Action that is well done, unless by such who are train'd up to it, or fitted for it, either by an actual or habitual preparation; how can it then be imagin'd, that Ser­vice, which is a state of Life, of so great importance, to the welfare of [Page 2] all the other members of a Family, as well as that of Servants themselves, should be wisely entred into, and happily discharg'd without any Prepa­ration? Many and important are the Duties of Servants, great is the Trust repos'd in 'em, the Estate, the Honour of their Masters and Mistresses, the Peace, the Happiness and Virtue too of the whole Family, doth very often depend much upon 'em; and can any one question, whether such a Charge, such a Trust as this does not require many Virtues and Excellent Quali­fications? and these cannot be ob­tain'd without due Preparation; for as no man is happy, so neither is any man wise or virtuous by chance.

The Quali­fications of a good Ser­vant.Now the Qualifications which make a good Servant, are such as these; Fear of, and Dependence upon God, Contentment in their Condi­tion, Love of their Masters and Mi­stresses, Humility, Meekness and Pa­tience, Faithfulness, Industry and Discretion: These I confess, are emi­nent Virtues; and though they are necessary in this lower station, they [Page 3] make men fit for, and worthy of the highest: These will make a Servant both happy and considerable in de­spite of the meanness either of his Birth or Fortune; and happy must those Masters be, who are serv'd by Persons of such Virtues: Since there­fore the Trust is so great which is re­pos'd in Servants; since the Virtues necessary to make a good Servant are so many and great; and since the fruit of their good Service is so ex­tremely profitable to themselves, and the Families they are Members of, it doth naturally follow, that they should with great Care and Pains be train'd up, and fitted for Service.

Now this Duty of Preparation doth in the first place belong to such Pa­rents who are of that Rank in the World, that they have no better way of providing for their Children, than by Service. And next 'tis the parti­cular and immediate Business of such Children before they enter upon this state. This Pre­paration in part the Duty of Parents.

First, 'Tis the Duty of Parents. Every Parent is by the Law of God [Page 4] and Man, bound to make provision for their Children, and then sure they who can make no other provi­sion for 'em, are much the more bound to be diligent and zealous in their Education. Motives to the Parents Care. There are indeed some sorts of Skill necessary to quali­fie Men for some particular sorts of Service, which cannot be obtain'd without Charge; the poorer sort may peradventure look upon them­selves excus'd from bestowing this sort of Education upon their Chil­dren by its expensiveness; but the Education I require of 'em, consisting in the Fear of God, Truth, Industry, Humility, and such like, is no way expensive; the Poor as well as the Rich may resolve with Joshua Josh. 24.15., I and my House will serve the Lord. Good Example, good Instruction, and good Government, does not cost much, nor does it put 'em to any Charge to ac­quaint their Children frequently with Instances of God's Goodness and Power in providing for all those that depend upon him in these ways of Humility and Industry; and if Ex­amples [Page 5] of this sort be pickt out in the Neighbourhood, such as their Chil­dren are well acquainted with, men whom their own Industry, and God's Blessing has raised from little, this will be very apt to affect 'em, and to teach 'em the Excellent Lessons of Contentment and Trust in God: Parents by this Labour bestowed up­on their Children, will reap this great advantage; their Children will be more serviceable and delightful to 'em, their mean Condition will be more easie and honourable, being freed from the two Plagues of Pover­ty, Disorder and Sloth: Their Chil­dren again will reap a double Ad­vantage; first, in being fitted to en­counter every Fortune; and next, this Piety and Religious Wisdom, vi­sible in the Family they are of, will give them very great Credit and Re­putation; such a House will be lookt upon as a Temple consecrated to Re­ligion; and he that takes a Child from hence, will believe that he re­ceives a Guardian Angel into his Fa­mily, or at least one whom God will [Page 6] bless in all that he does, and for whose sake he will bless all that be­longs to him. Thus a good Edcuca­tion is both a delightful and provi­dent work; 'tis a good Estate to Children, recommending 'em to the Favour both of God and Man, and making 'em worthy of the best For­tune, The Mis­chiefs which pur­sue the neglect of this Duty. and able to bear the worst: These are the Advantages which Pa­rent and Child reaps from this sort of Education, but this is not all the Motive to this Duty; for there are as mischievous Effects which attend the neglect of it, as there are good ones which attend the performance. How can the careless Parent answer for his neglect to God, to himself, or to his Children, since by it he betrays the Honour of God, the Happiness of his Children, and his own Peace and Comfort? What shall those wretch­ed Children do? Whither shall they go who are as destitute of good Edu­cation and Virtue, as of a Mainte­nance and Provision? Whither shall they go? to Service? they are unfit for it, and uncapable of obtaining it: [Page 7] For who will receive into his Family one o'respread with the Leprosie of a Slothful and Vicious Education? Shall they stay at home, the shame and burden of their Parents? Alas, there they must perish through want of Bread, or abundance of Idleness: What remains then for 'em to do? they must either betake themselves to unlawful ways to get a Mainte­nance, or else miscarry through the Vices of their Education in lawful and good ones: Who have these poor creatures to complain of in the day of their misery or of Judgment? Shall they complain of God? he gave 'em Health, Strength and Un­derstanding: Shall they complain of themselves? 'Tis true, they will have Reason, for they preferred Ignorance and Idleness before the means and op­portunities of Grace, which have been provided for 'em in Publick at least, but most of all must their Com­plaints be levelled against their Pa­rents, who suffer'd 'em to perish for lack of Knowledge, who suffer'd 'em to fall into the bondage and mischiefs [Page 8] of sin, before they were throughly in­structed, what sin was, nay prompted 'em, and I had almost said, compelled 'em into both by the lewdness of their own Examples: Let me speak to such Parents, with what hearts must you, if you have any sense re­maining, behold your Children lost to Virtue, engaged in sinful and de­structive Courses, and finally plunged into the misery that attends them; when you shall reflect and consider that they have been abandoned, be­trayed and debaucht into all this, by you your selves? With what face can you beg of God for 'em the assi­stance of his Grace, which you have your selves bereaved 'em of, or at least refus'd to contribute what lay in you to implant it in 'em? Or how can you finally beg of God support and comfort under the Calamity which you have brought upon your selves? Go wretches, hide your selves from the sight of those Children which you have undone, and if you can, from the sight of God, whose Trust reposed in you you have be­tray'd!

[Page 9]Having put Parents in mind of this Duty of Preparation, The Chil­drens Duty in this point. as far as it concerns them, I must now address my self to Children and Young Per­sons of the Rank and Quality sup­pos'd all along; for the Duty of Pre­paration is not so to be cast off from your selves upon your Parents, as if no part of it lay upon you. Motives to it. As soon then as you come to years of Discre­tion, your first business is to consider the Condition and Fortune of your Birth; you are seriously to consider the narrowness of that Portion God has allotted you, and with what pains and travail your poor Parents pro­vide this; you see you are not sent into the World to take your Plea­sure and Pastime therein, but you are born to take Pains and Care, or else you must ever suffer the straits of Poverty, the reproach of Sloth, and the Plagues of Nastiness and Igno­rance: When you have laid this to heart, consider too the infinite kind­ness of God, who fills, or is ready to fill all things living with his Goodness. Consider his Alsufficiency and Power, [Page 10] that 'tis he Psal. 75.7. who pulleth down one, and setteth up another: There is no Cottage so retired which God does not look in­to and regard; no Condition so despe­rate, so destitute of Friends, and all means, that God cannot redress and relieve it: He that called his People out of the Brick-kills, and from be­tween the Pots, and chose Herdsmen and Shepherds for his Prophets and Princes, this God can never want means to raise or provide for such who call upon him, and serve him. Thus, if you lay to heart your Quali­ty and Condition in the World; if you demand each one of himself, Who am I? What am I born to? What Station has God assigned me in the World? This will soon con­vince you, that you have nothing to trust to but God and your own Vir­tue: And if you lay to heart in the next place the Goodness and All-suffi­ciency of God, you'l easily conclude, that they who have him for their Friend and Patron, can want no En­couragement, no Assistance, that they who serve him, and depend upon [Page 11] him, Psal. 34. shall lack no manner of thing that is good; and so all together will put you upon the practice of Virtue, and a dependence upon God, in which consists almost the whole Preparation I am treating of.

Having advanced thus far, Children must accu­stom them­selves at home to the Duties they must practise in Service. your next business will be, to learn and ac­custom your selves to those Duties as far as you can, in the Family of your Parents, which you must practise af­terwards in that of your Masters: Above all, practise those Virtues which you shall find useful and neces­sary, wherever you shall come; such are Industry, Humility, Contentment, and the like. First, Industry; for why should you not ease and assist your poor Parents, who with much Affe­ction, Care and Trouble, nurst and succour'd you, when unable to help your selves? Or why should you in­dulge your selves in Idleness, who cannot live but by taking pains? Secondly, Humility; for why should you not pay that Respect to those who are your Parents, which you are to do to those who will be your Ma­sters? [Page 12] to those whom the Law of Nature has set over you, which you must to those whom your Necessities will set over you? Or how will you learn the Humble and Respectful Language or Demeanours of a Ser­vant, who accustom your selves to no­thing but Rudeness, Disrespect and Undutifulness towards your own Pa­rents, whom though you (which you ought not,) it may be, fear less, yet sure you love more, or ought to do so? Lastly, Contentment in your state; for you are unfit to be Servants, if you are wanton and discontented Chil­dren; your Dyet, it may be, and such other Circumstances, may be better'd by the exchange of a Father's for a Master's House; but there may be other things which may be more in­supportable than your Parents Po­verty; something every where must be borne with, and therefore inure your selves betimes to Contentment in the meanest Condition, without which you shall never be happy in the best. In a word, if you would prove good Servants, you must first prove [Page 13] good Children; look upon your Pa­rents not only as your Father and Mother, but Master and Mistress too: Let not the meanness of their Estate tempt you to slight 'em; 'twere a sin in a Neighbour or a Stranger to de­spise them for their Poverty; but 'tis a Crime, a Crying wickedness in you their Children: Make no use of the Indulgence and Fondness of your Pa­rents, but only this, to inform your selves of 'em more freely, what you are to do, and more carefully avoid doing amiss, and more chearfully to reform what is amiss; for if you have no sense upon your minds of Duty and Kindness, you will never make better than Eye-Servants, whom God as well as Man detests.

Thus prepar'd, The Resolu­tion fit for such as are entring in­to Service. as soon as you are invited to, or have your selves found a fit Service, fortifie and confirm your selves in this Resolution, that you will perform the utmost that you un­dertake at least, and whatever more you can, that you will do your Duty with Chearfulness, and with all your Might, and with all imaginable Faith­fulness [Page 14] and singleness of Heart, as do­ing Service to God, not Man. Look upon your Master and Mistress as your Adopted Parents; resolve to love and serve 'em as such, and never to be persuaded that your own Inte­rest can be divided from theirs. Ah! would you but go thus qualified to Service, you would find it indeed a state of True Liberty, not Slavery; you would not be driven to poor and dishonourable shifts ever and anon; you would grow up and thrive in the Affections of your Ma­sters and Mistresses, and your Interest would ripen with their Affection and Value for you; they would be your Adopted Parents, you their Adopted Children, as necessary and dear to 'em, as their Feet, their Hands, their Eyes.

Fraught with these Virtues, and Arm'd with these Resolutions, enter into the World and prosper; having first begg'd your Parents Blessing and Advice, and devoted that little time between your being hired to, and en­tring upon Service, to Prayer, and the consideration of these things.

CHAP. II. Directions to be followed in the Choice of a Service.

The Rules to be fol­lowed in this Choice.I Do not design here to lay down any Rules of Carnal Policy, there are very few so stupid, as not to be able to discern what sort of Services do best promote their Worldly Inte­rest; passing therefore over these, I shall only direct you what way Ser­vants are most likely to secure their Peace and Tranquility, and a good Conscience. Sometimes the Straits and Necessities of Servants are pres­sing, and the Choice of Services is little or none at all: And in this case, whoever draws you, as the Mi­dianites did Joseph, out of this Pit, is to be lookt upon as appointed by Providence for your Master; pro­vided the Employment be lawful, and [Page 21] not repugnant to your Christian Pro­fession, for then it is much better to suffer by the want of an Employ­ment, than thrive by a sinful one: But whenever your wants are not urgent, 'tis much more adviseable to attend the Providence of God for a more suitable place, than out of Distrust to put your selves into men, as you must again soon quit, not without some guilt of Lightness and Ingratitude, or continue in very un­comfortably: But you must in this deliberation take care that you do not impose upon your selves, and pre­tend to do that out of Religion, which you do really out of Pride or Idle­ness, or Wantonness. If several Ser­vices be offer'd, it is, no doubt on't, highly agreeable to Reason and Reli­gion, that a Servant should with great wariness proceed to chuse a Master whose Commands must be Laws to him, to chuse that company which he must always live in: 'Tis, in a word, highly reasonable that a Ser­vant should with good Advice put himself into a Family, by whose [Page 22] Orders and Customs the whole man­ner of his Life is to be regulated and determin'd, and both his Mind and Fortune probably to be shaped and fashioned.

Now, that you may not miscarry in this Choice, you are in the first place earnestly to implore the Gui­dance and Direction of God; for if he interpose in those things which seem wholly given up to Chance, as Solo­mon assures us, Prov. 16.33. The Lot is cast into the lap, but the coming forth is of the Lord. How much more will he be intreated to be present in those Af­fairs, wherein Men proceed by Rules of Wisdom and Religion? And if the slightest matter of Life do fall under his notice, which our Saviour inti­mates, by telling us that Matth. 6. The Hairs of our head are all numbred, how much more the weightiest? 1. Beg Gods Direction. Look then up to God, and call upon him for his Di­rection in this matter; 'tis he who by a secret Providence can over-rule all things; 'tis he who can give Light to obscure and doubtful things, or a more discerning Judgment to weak [Page 23] and simple minds. 2. Consult Virtuous Friends. In the second place; you are to take the Advice of Wise and Virtuous Friends, and you are generally to look upon that Ad­vice most sound, which presses you most to Duty and Religion, and flat­ters not your Pride nor Sloth. In the third place, 3. Weigh your own Capacities. you must well weigh your own Capacities and Abilities, comparing 'em with the business that you are entertained for; for if you undertake what you are unfit for, 'tis impossible that your Master should reap any thing from your Service but Vexation, and it may be Damage, or you your selves any thing but discredit; so that this is both sin and folly, a downright deceiving others, and betraying your selves: Sometimes indeed there is not so much Regard had to your Ability, as Chearfulness and Industry, and in this case, if your Capacity come not up to their Expectation, you wrong 'em not; but then, they lay upon you a double Obligation to good Na­ture and Diligence; for 'tis mon­strously ingrateful, if you force 'em [Page 24] to bear not only your Ignorance, but your Idleness and Ill Nature too. In the fourth place; 4. Chuse as if you were never to change. you are to chuse a Service, as if you were to make your Fortune in it, and as if you mist there, you could hit no where: For if you only design it as a Refuge for your present want and pressing necessity, if you only put in there, as into a Port, to avoid a Storm, being resolv'd to hoise up Sail to the next fair Wind, you will be shrewdly tempted to do your business very negligently and carelesly, and so besides the guilt of Ingratitude, you will incur that of Injustice too. A Religious Family the best Ser­vice. In the last place; in­stead of all further Rules, take this; You are to account that Family the best for you, which is in it self the most Religious; the best for your Temporal, and the best for your Eter­nal Interest. First, for your Tempo­ral Interest; good men, if they are able, do generally more than they promise; wicked men much less: Good Christians will look upon you as their Fellow-Citizens, nay, Fellow-Servants, for you have one Master; [Page 25] nay, what is more, members of the same body, for you have one Head Christ Jesus; and therefore such will treat you with Charity and Gentle­ness, and will as heartily seek your Interest as their own; for 'tis impos­sible but that a good man should make much of them that fear the Lord. But besides that gain which you will reap from the Countenance and As­sistance, or receive from the hand of a Religious Master, there are two o­ther Advantages which the Religion of any Family gives the Servants of it, Credit and Reputation in the World, and the Blessing of God, which how much they conduce to your Worldly Interest, I need not, I suppose, ac­quaint you.

But, suppose this Choice of a Re­ligious Family did not serve your Worldly Interest altogether so well as the Choice of some other perad­venture might, yet surely it best serves your Eternal Interest; and therefore a Religious Family is to be preferr'd, especially by people of greener years. 'Tis true, a good man, [Page 26] like Joseph, may serve the God of Is­rael in the House of Potiphar; but sure, nothing but Necessity, not his own Choice, shall bring him thither; the Salvation of the Soul is the Luke 10.42. one thing needful, and therefore this is the Interest that is first to be secur'd. They have certainly but little Vene­ration for Religion, who will prefer the gain of two or three Crowns in a year, with the hazard of their Vir­tue, before all the Advantages of a Religious and well-govern'd Family. They are certainly very little sensible of the danger of Temptations, and the weakness of Human Nature, who for a very inconsiderable profit are rea­dy to expose themselves to the Infe­ction of ill Company, to the Corrup­tions of ill Example, which are much more apt to affect you, when Autho­rity and Interest is joyned with the Deceitfulness of sin, as in the Ex­amples of Masters and others whom you depend upon and respect. 'Tis an unspeakable disadvantage to your Virtue and Religion, to be in a Fami­ly where you must wholly want the [Page 27] common means of Grace, I mean the Reading of the Word of God, good Instruction, Prayer, and a Christian Discipline in the Family: But how much greater disadvantage when these are not only neglected, but con­temn'd and derided? To live bereav'd of the Means of Grace in a mere Dearth of Spiritual Food, is an un­happy state; but to live amidst daily Temptations, and even Solicitations to sin, is an unhappier still. If young unexperienced people are apt to for­get God, even in those Families where they are often put in mind of him, how will they remember him where all forget him? If they can hardly be preserv'd by the Care of a Religi­ous Master, and the conscientious ob­servance of Religious Duties, how will they be secur'd in a Family where there are no opportunities or means of Virtue? and not only so, but where there are all opportunities and means of Vice, and where Vice is countenanced and encourag'd by common practice?

But in all this, let me not be mista­ken, [Page 28] when I say, What Fa­mily to be accounted Religious. that Family is to be chosen by Servants which is the most Religious; I do not mean that they should measure the Religion of the Master by mere words, or mere Opi­nions, but by the orderly Govern­ment of his Family, by the conscien­tious Practice of Family Duties, by the peaceableness and gentleness of his Conversation, by the Justice and Charity of his Actions; for this is true Religion and undefiled before God.

CHAP. I. Of the Servants Duty towards God; their Obligation to Religion; Directions for Relative Duties, Reading, Pray­ing, &c. The Virtues God requires of 'em; dependence upon him; Content­ment; Faithfulness to their Masters.

ONE Luke 10.40. thing is needful, said our Saviour to Martha, when she was cumbred about much serving, when she was careful and troubled about many things, and that is Religion. Religion is as necessary for a Servant as a Gen­tleman, for a Peasant as a Prince; for Salvation is of equal importance to both, and I cannot see, but that those of the meanest Rank lie under as strong Obligations to Religion as any other men do. If the Condition [Page 32] of a Servant be well weigh'd, A Servant is less liable to Tempta­tions than others. it will be found, that he has fewer Tempta­tations to, and consequently excuses for sin, than any other sort of men; for he is restrain'd and kept within the bounds of a Regular & Civil Life by the necessities of his Fortune, by the confinement of his Duty, and by the indispensible Attendance of his Place: Ambition, Idleness and Luxu­ry, which are the great Incentives to sin and folly in other men, are not ordinarily incident to the state of Servants: Besides, that Labour and Care is a sort of good Discipline to the body, and keeps it more modest and humble in its Appetite. 'Tis true, there are a sort of Servants which serve rather for grandeur, than any necessary Duty, who are only the state of the Hall and Antichamber, and the Ornament of Coaches; such are generally too well fed, and too little imploy'd, and consequently, they are expos'd in a state of Servi­tude almost to all the Temptations, that men of the highest Rank are; it were heartily to be wisht, that such [Page 33] as these would rescue themselves from this worst sort of Servitude, by betaking themselves to something that might consist with their Service; and it highly concerns the Masters of such, as they would avoid the guilt of their Servants Ruin, to find out some ways to employ them; in the mean time, they are to stand like Souldiers on their Guard, and while they keep with Sobriety and strict Attendance to their Pòst, I hope they may be said to be upon their Duty, and in their Im­ployment, and may be so accounted by God. But to pass on from the Consideration of this Case, which is not altogether so common, and to re­turn to the Ordinary sort of Servants, besides the Restraints which Servants lie under, which are so many Guards and Fences of Virtue, besides the Tra­vail and hardship which the Body un­dergoes, which is a sort of Discipline to it, they are restrained from sin by the narrowness of their Fortune, which should reasonably, nay must necessarily keep 'em from expensive sin, (and almost all sins are such,) and [Page 34] by Hopes and Fears more peculiar to this state than any other they dread, or at least should do so, not only the displeasure of God, but of their Ma­sters too: Their good Fortune de­pends directly and immediately on their good Behaviour, and 'tis next to an impossibility, that they should fall into Vicious Courses, but that they must at the same time fall into Ruine as well Temporal as Eternal, being discarded, disgrac'd, and not only re­proachfully thrust out of their pre­sent Service, but thereby made in­capable of another. To all these Considerations, I might peradventure add one more, that sin in it self is not so taking or luscious to a Servant, as to those of higher quality: The World doth not court them in so much Pomp and Lustre, as it doth the Rich and the Great: Tempta­tions are not set off with so many Beauties and Ornaments, when dres­sed and prepar'd for the Servant, as when for the Master; and as this Rank of People doth not encounter the same force and allurement in [Page 35] Temptations; so they have more Al­lays, Fears and Checks mixt with their sinful Enjoyments, than others have; so that upon the whole, I may conclude, that the Servant who lives in any Course of Vice, is of all Sots the most desperate; he breaks through more restraints to commit sin; he runs more hazards to be damned than any other man whatever; he sets his Soul at a viler Rate than any other Mortal, and rather than not be ruin'd and be damn'd; he will be both without Temptation, and without Pleasure: Ah infatuated wretch! that will be miserable in despight of God and Fortune too! that will be vicious and wretched in despight of so many difficulties and discouragements, and are content to be ruin'd rather than not be damn'd! A man would think Damnation had Temptation in it, for the poor despicable sins, by which these wretched creatures incur it, have none.

That station is very commodious for Virtue, A Servant enjoys ma­ny peculiar Motives to Religion. which has in it no Temp­tations to Vice: But besides this Ad­vantage, [Page 36] Service contains in it some Incitements to Holiness, almost pecu­liar to this state. A mean Fortune, like Calamities, whets and sharpens those Minds that have any sparks of honour or courage in 'em; he may be thought justly to deserve a mean Fortune, and a servile Condition, who does not labour to qualifie himself for a better. Virtue then is wholly necessary to redeem mean persons from Servitude and Contempt, and therefore, if a Servant had any Soul, it should, methinks, be enkindled with an honest Ambition of coming up, though not to the Fortune, yet to the Merit of those above him; he should be zealous to compensate the meanness of his Birth and Condition, by the Virtue of his Life, and the goodness of his Actions: This is that which will set him on the same level with the Rich and Mighty, if any thing will; for whatever loose and vain people may talk, great Virtues are excellent Qualifications, and ren­der Men extremely serviceable and necessary in the World. 'Tis very [Page 37] rare that any man does long want a higher station, who has Ability enough to fill it; however it be, he is as truly great who truly meriteth Greatness, as he that possesseth it. Besides this, that Virtue is the most natural way to advance a mean man's Fortune; there is in this state one further Motive to Virtue, which is, that a Servant stands almost in daily need of it: So many and vari­ous are the Pleasures of the Wealthy and the Great, that while these last, as they desire not to exchange their Paradise for a Heaven; so they do not discern the Use and Necessity of those Virtues that qualifie 'em for it; they do not feel the want of Spiritual and Inward Pleasures, who are wholly taken up with Carnal ones; they need not the support of Faith, or the Belief of another World, who are more than well enough content with this; they see not the Use of De­pendance upon God, who have goods laid up for many years, and are se­cure in their hearts, as if their sta­tion were such that they could defie [Page 38] the common Events of Providence to reduce 'em to Necessity. What busi­ness have they for Patience, Industry, Moderation, where every thing not only obeys their Will, but flatters their Fancy, and their Wealth is suf­ficient to support Idleness and Riot too? But in the condition of Servi­tude, all is the quite contrary, they cannot only not live happily in ano­ther World, but they cannot live pleasantly in this without Virtue; the Peace and pleasure of their Minds is necessary to compensate the Travail of their Bodies, the belief of another Life to render this tolerable and easy: Patience, Meekness, Industry is abso­lutely necessary in them, to render them contented and satisfied in their station: The Reason's plain, without these they cannot be good Servants, and every Service is a burden, and slavery to an ill one: So that Virtue is as needful to the Happiness of a Ser­vant, as his Food or his Wages; his state is slavish & unsupportable with­out it, free and easie with it. I will take upon my self the person of a Servant, [Page 39] that I may the better express the force and strength of these Arguments which I have made use of to per­suade Servants to become Religious. I see my Condition, my Parents are unable to serve me, I have no Friends, none that can, or none that will be of any considerable use to me. What shall I do? I have but one way to render my self dear to God, or valu­able to Man, and that is by living re­ligiously and virtuously; if I do otherwise, God will cast me off, I shall meet with Contempt from Man, and what is worse, I shall deserve it; I shall ever be a slave, and ever deserve to be so: Pity and compassion is the highest honour and favour from Man that I must ever aspire to, and when my strength for drudgery fails, that, it may be, will do so too; and then Beggery and Reproach must be the Portion of my decay'd Age. I can never think on these things, but I am filled with blushes and disdain; sure­ly I have a Rational and Immortal Soul as well as the Rich and Wealthy: and sure the Incense of Virtuous [Page 40] Actions, and devout Prayers, would smell as sweet to God, if offer'd up by me, as by a more Fortunate Man; and if so, what Reason have I to distrust, but that God who is rich in bounty towards all, would be so towards me too? Well then, I am stedfastly re­solv'd, that I will lead an unblame­able life, and whatever my Fortune be, the World shall see I can deserve a good one; and by this, if I do not thrive and prosper, and get in time into a better station, I shall obtain this unspeakable Advantage, that I shall render my present one both ho­nourable and easie: 'Tis not a servile Birth, nor servile Fortune, but a ser­vile Mind that makes a Man con­temptible, a Mind that has no Faith, no Truth, no Courage, no Industry, no Gratitude, that is, in one word, no Honour in it: But if I have all these, and if together with all this, Moderation, so that I am my own Master, though another's Servant, I am in such case full of Honour, no Cloud of Meanness can obscure or conceal me, I am a Star visible by my [Page 41] own Light, a Gem valuable for my own intrinsick worth, I shall be beloved and respected wherever I am; for Virtue, how ever it be clad, has beauty and majesty on its forehead; nor is this all, my station will be full of ease as well as credit, for what should trouble me? The Travail and Care of my Place? Alas! this is but pleasure to the industrious! the dis­pleasure of those I depend upon? Alas! I shall never fall under it, or at least, I shall never deserve it! and then the peace and the satisfaction of my mind will more delight me than ever their weakness can disturb me! Finally, what can it be that can trouble me? The uncertainty of a Servants sta­tion? why, while I live virtuously, I can never want; whatever betides me, I have a God, an Almighty God that cares for me, and if the worst comes to the worst, my trouble can be but short, my Life and it will end at least together, and then Glory and Eternity will receive me.

Thus I hope I have convinced Ser­vants of the many Obligations they [Page 42] lie under to be Religious: I have in­sisted a little largely upon this, be­cause I have ever found it a harder Task to persuade people to do their Duty, than to teach 'em what it is. But against all that has been said, two things are wont to be objected; First, The meanness of their Capacity, or at least Education: And secondly, their want of time or opportunity for Reli­gious Duties; Objection of the Ser­vant's Inca­pacity an­swer'd. but both these are mere shifts and pretences; for as to the first, their Souls are endow'd with the same Faculties and Capacities, they have the same Reason, Courage and Im­mortality with the Rich or Mighty, as 'tis evident from innumerable In­stances of men, who, ascending from the lowest to the highest station, have not only filled, but adorn'd it too. As to Education, here I confess, there is some difference between those of a higher and lower Rank, but as 'tis generally manag'd, it consists in such poor punctilio's, such trifling and slight Accomplishments, that 'tis not easie to say on which side the Advan­tage lies: But omitting this, I will [Page 43] put you in mind of one thing that will silence all excuses of this sort. The Philosophy of Christianity, which is the only true Wisdom, doth not require a learned Education; a poor Fisher-man now, as well as for­merly, is as capable and fit for it, as he that is bred up at the feet of Ga­maliel: The Belief of another Life depends not on niceties and subtilties of arguing, but on the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead; not the acu­test Philosopher, but the best liver has the fullest Convictions, and the most lively and transporting Repre­sentations of Divine Truths. John 7.17. If any man will do his will, he shall know of my Doctrine whether it be of God. One thing further I am to put you in mind of, that the Book of God is the great Rule and Standard of Discretion as well as Duty, and that Religion natu­rally tends to make men wise as well as good: There is no action of life so indifferent, but it has in some part or other of it, a Connexion with, or De­pendance on our Duty, some degree or other of Service or Dis service to [Page 44] our great End; so that true Rules of Policy are no where more successfully to be sought, than in that Book which contains all the wise Rules of every Imaginable Duty. If these things be rightly consider'd, there is no man can ever justly think himself excus'd for his Folly or Irreligion by the meanness of his Birth, his Fortune, or his Education; there is not one Christian Servant, but may prove an Epictetus, or something much greater, 1 Pet. 2.9. a holy Prophet, a Royal Priest: He may, in a word, be truly wise, and truly good.

2 Objction, want of time, an­swer'd.As to the second Objection, want of time: When I think upon Epicte­tus his Lamp, and Cleanthes his La­bour, who wrought and earn'd by night what might maintain him in the study of Philosophy by day; when I observe how indefatigable Ambi­tion is, how wakeful Covetousness, how restless and obstinate all our Lusts and Passions are, I cannot but blush to see, how lazy our Religion is; your Meals, your Sleeps, your Divertions, your Talk and Chat (for [Page 45] there are few Servants who spend not some portion of their days and nights in these last) can lend you time for Reading and Devotion: He can never want time, who wants not Zeal for the Service of God: But be­sides this, I must tell you, the Reli­gion of all Christians in general, if it be perfect, consists more in practice than speculation; and yours no less in the faithful discharge of the Du­ties of your place, than in acts of De­votion towards God; but I know how apt weak people are to run from one extream to another, and therefore I will not insist longer on this Argu­ment, lest I should be thought to place the Religion of a Servant mere­ly and solely in the Duties of his Ser­vice. There are many ways by which Servants may redeem time, and con­secrate it to the Interest of their Souls, and the Honour of God, name­ly, by exalting their minds to Hea­ven in frequent Ejaculations, by Pious and Religious Discourses to one ano­ther, by easing and assisting one ano­ther, which will make the burden of [Page 46] the Family lie easier on all, and gain time to each.

Having thus shew'd the Obligati­ons Servants lie under to Religion, and answer'd the little Pretences, by which they endeavour to palliate their Coldness and Negligence, I pro­ceed to consider the Duties, wherein their Religion towards God consists, which are, First, such as may be cal­led Instrumental or Relative, as Prayer, Hearing and Reading the Word, and Receiving the Sacrament. Secondly, Trust in God. Thirdly, Con­tentment. And Fourthly, Fidelity to their Masters.

The Duty of Reading the Word.I will begin with Reading the Word. The Book of God is a Le­gacy of that value, containing not only the Wisdom of God, but the ravishing expressions of his Love too, and in a word, the only way to Life and Immortality, that no one can be guilty of the neglect of it, but at the same time, he must be guilty of the most ingrateful Contempt of God, and the most sottish Contempt of his own true Interest. This therefore is [Page 47] the Book which the Servant must en­deavour to be familiarly acquainted with; with some portion of this he should begin the Morning, and close the Evening. Hence is that Wisdom to be learnt, of whose manifold use Prov. 6.22. Solomon speaks in those few, but weighty words, When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. No Guide, no Guard, no Company, no Divertion is wanting to any one who is in­structed as he ought to be in the Book of God. Now if you would read profitably, you must observe the Direction of St. Peter, 1 Pet. 2.2. As new born babes desire the sincere Milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby. When you set your self to read, endeavour to banish all unruly Lusts and Pas­sions, all worldly Cares and Distra­ctions, and to possess your Soul with an humble Awe and Reverence for the Word, as the Word of God, and with a devout thirst for it as the Word of Life. Secondly, Be not more fond of strong Meat, than of Milk, [Page 48] of Mysteries, than of practical Truths; chuse especially to read those parts of the Bible which are most plain, most practical, most moving and af­fecting. Thirdly, Propose this as the chief, nay sole End of thy Reading, that thou mayest grow thereby; that is, that thy Conscience may be more and more awakened, that thy Resolu­tions of Obedience may be more and more strengthen'd, that thy Heart may be more purified, thy Affections more exalted, and in a word, thy Faith may be more confirm'd, and thy Love of God, thy Love of Jesus, thy Love of Heaven, and thy Love of Righteousness may be more and more quickned and enflam'd: If your lei­sure will permit, and you desire to joyn the reading of other Books with the Bible, let 'em be but very few, very plain, and very practical; and such, if you can find 'em, as concern more particularly the Duties of your station, or the particular state of your Soul; for 'tis good Advice, espe­cially to persons in your circumstan­ces, in Spiritual as well as Temporal [Page 49] Affairs, 1 Thes. 4.11. Study to be quiet, and to do your own business. The Catechism of Our Church is an excellent Abridg­ment of Christian Faith and Practice, 'tis a compleat System of all necessary Catholick Doctrines, not as some others are, of the Controverted Opi­nions of a Sect and Party: I would therefore recommend this to you, as being plain, short, and free from dis­pute, and if well digested, you will not want any necessary Instruction.

The same Rules, The Duty of Hearing the Word. with little varie­ty, are to be observed in Hearing, which were prescrib'd in Reading the Word; rising something the earlier on the Sunday, that you may the sooner dispatch your necessary busi­ness, and be the freer from any di­straction, retire, and consider with thy self the great End to which God has dedicated that day, namely, to bless and praise him for the Redemp­tion of the World, by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, to commemo­rate that his bitter Death and Pas­sion in the Holy Sacrament, to pre­pare our selves for a Holy Death, a [Page 50] glorious Resurrection, and a King­dom wherein dwells Righteousness, to glorifie and honour God by a solemn and publick Worship of him, that so his Name may be ho­nour'd upon Earth; and finally to hear and learn his blessed Will, and to be strengthened and comforted in our Warfare upon Earth by his heaven­ly Truths, and by his great and pre­cious Promises, and then earnestly beg of God to dispose thy heart into such an humble and grateful frame, that thy praises and adorations may be ac­ceptable to him, to possess thee with such a due sense of thy wants and in­firmities, and with such a devout thirst after the Grace of God and his Truth, that thou mayest pray with a steady fervency, and hear the Word with pure attention, and devout af­fection. Enter into the Church as in­to the House of God, and the place of his more immediate Residence: In hearing, attend to the great End, that is, that thou mayest grow thereby, that some Infirmity may be cured, some Virtue improv'd, some fresh Resolu­tion [Page 51] form'd, and in a word, thy Soul rais'd into a more heavenly and holy frame; being return'd home, as soon as thou canst find an opportunity, bless God that he has spoke to thy Soul, that he has affected thee by his Word and his Spirit, and endea­vour by a solemn Review and Consi­deration, of those things by which thou wast most affected, to fix 'em better in thy memory, I should have said, in thy heart; and then lay all thy Desires and Resolutions in de­vout Prayers before God, and earnest­ly beg and depend upon his goodness for the obtaining the one, and his grace for the performing the other: In the evening, the last thing thou dost, call thy self to an account, look back on every part of the day, examine thy behaviour, bewail thy defects, bless God for all thy spiritual Advantages of the day, and thou shalt find unspeakable comfort and peace, thy delight in spiritual things will encrease, and thy hopes will grow up, thou wilt begin to re­lish and anticipate the joys, and [Page 52] long for the possession of Heaven.

The Duty of Prayer.Another Duty we owe to God is Prayer, concerning which, a Servant is to observe these three or four things; First, you must endeavour to awaken a steady Devotion in your heart, by imprinting in it a holy Re­verence, and awful Dread of the Di­vine Majesty, by these or the like thoughts; O God, thou art the Eter­nal God, the Almighty Lord of Heaven and Earth, all things are upheld by thy Power, and filled by thy Goodness; at thy Rebuke the foundations of the Earth will tremble, and the Heavens at the Voice of thy displeasure; all the Na­tions upon Earth, are but as the Drop of the Bucket, and the Grain of the Bal­lance before thee; Oh what then am I a poor, despicable, sinful, and extremely small part of 'em! O suffer me not to forget thy Majesty, suffer me not to for­get my self. Or thus, O just and holy God, thou art the Creator and Redeemer, thou art the Judge of all Mankind, thou art the Searcher of the Heart, and Trier of the Reins; O suffer me not to be cold or careless, much less hypocritical in my [Page 53] Addresses to thee; for not only Eccl. 16.11. mercy, but wrath is with thee; and as thou art mighty to forgive, so art thou too to pour out displeasure. O suffer me not there­fore rudely and inconsiderately to stretch forth my hands towards thine Ark, the place where thine Honour dwelleth, lest I be smitten like Uzzah, and perish in my folly. Or thus, O Lord, thou art MY God, by thee have I been holden up ever since I was born, thou art my God, and I will praise thee; I will love thee, O Lord my God, for thou hast redeem'd me, O Lord, thou God of Truth, thou Rock of my Salvation; my Soul thirst­eth after thee, open thou my mouth, that I may praise thee in the joys and trans­ports of my Soul; enflame my heart, that I may cleave to thee by the Embraces of Love, that I may wrestle with thee by unfeigned Faith, and devout Desire, and not let thee go till I have obtain'd a Bles­sing: for still I have many Infirmities that will separate between thee and me, O let me never be divided from thee; Lord, save me, or I perish. Secondly, See that thou do nothing that is repug­nant to thy Prayers, for 'tis in vain [Page 54] to beg of God that which thou de­niest thy self; nay, 'tis extreme Hy­pocrisie to importune God for that Grace which thou dost manifestly re­sist, or incapacitate thy self for by thy actions; if God or his Prophet bid thee wash and be clean, 'tis mere pre­sumption to expect the Cure of thy Leprosie without the use of the means prescrib'd. Thirdly, Mark the Issue and Return of thy Prayers, that thou mayest be thankful as thou hast been importunate for a Blessing, or if thou receive it not, that thou mayest correct and reform what is amiss; it may be, thy Prayer wants Sincerity, or it wants Faith, or there is a Baby­lonish Garment, and a Wedge of Gold hid in thy Tent, some darling Lust conceal'd in thy bosom, or thy Peti­tion it self is a foolish Lust, or wan­ton Passion, and 'tis well, if it bring not down a Curse instead of a Bles­sing: As to your Prayer, I think it matters not much whether it be a form, or a sudden Effusion, provided it have in it a steady Faith, and humble Devotion, which is the Life [Page 55] and Soul of Prayer: But as far as I am able to see, good forms fitted to their necessities, are most useful for Servants, because mental Prayer, e're it can be such as it ought, requires good ability, solemn preparation, or at least an habitual exaltation of mind, and takes up much time: Par­ticular Forms suited to particular oc­casions, I have endeavour'd to pro­vide in this Treatise, for general ones, Morning and Evening, you may use these which follow.

CHAP. II. Of the Servant's Duty towards his Ma­ster and Mistress, consisting in Obe­dience, Faithfulness, Love.

I Think, Injustice or Uncha­ritableness in Servants implies a double guilt. nothing can be more evi­dent, than that every Servant owes his Master and Mistress in the first place all those Duties, at least, which every Man owes another, whe­ther he be Friend or Enemy, Neigh­bour or Stranger, namely, Truth, Ju­stice and Charity; nay, I believe, all will readily confess, that the trans­gression of these Duties in Ser­vants towards their Masters and Mi­stresses, has many more and greater Aggravations in it, than any Errour of this kind, in one Man towards another; for the nearer any Relation is, the stricter is its obligation to those Virtues. Two things do evidently aggravate the guilt of a Servants In­justice or Uncharitableness: First, Trust repos'd in Servants makes it much more easie for them to do [Page 84] wrong, and much more difficult for their Masters to guard themselves a­gainst it. Secondly, The Obligation Servants lie under to Gratitude for the Benefits they enjoy, and to Fide­lity enjoyn'd 'em by the Law of God and Nature, must needs render any wrong they do their Masters or Mi­stresses, a more abominable Crime in the sight of God and Man, as being not only a sin of Injustice and Uncha­ritableness, which is of it self a sin big enough to damn any man; but also of the foulest Ingratitude, and basest Treachery and Perfidiousness: This, I would have well consider'd, because, if it were, it would make Servants dread the commission of some Crimes which they seem not to have that sense of, which they ought: Such are for instance, raising Dissen­tion and Feuds in the Family, by ly­ing and whispering. Secondly, Blast­ing the Credit and Reputation of their Masters and Mistresses, whether by false or true Reports; the guilt of these practices will be evident to him who considers. The spreading Report, [Page 85] though true, to another's disadvan­tage, is uncharitableness in any man; but in a Servant, 'tis not only a breach of Charity, but of Faith and Secrecy too, and the blackest Ingratitude to boot; and if it be a sin to spread an Uncharitable Truth, how much a greater to forge a Malicious Lye? For one Neighbour or one Stranger to belie or slander another by a false Charge, is an effect & property not on­ly of a mean, but devilish spirit; what name then can this sin find, when a Master or a Mistress is thus treated by a Servant, who lies under not only the general Obligations of Charity, Truth and Justice, but also more particular, and if it can be more sa­cred ones, of Secrecy, Faith and Gra­titude? The same thing may be said of kindling strife; for if it be a hai­nous wickedness in any one to stir up Contention by Lying and Whisper­ing, how much more in a Servant, who is so strictly obliged to preserve the Peace of the Family he lives in?

The very same is the case of a Ser­vant in all other Injuries committed [Page 86] against his Master; they are not only Violations of his Christian Profession, (as every act of Injustice or Unchari­tableness in all other men is) but al­so of the particular Obligations of his Calling; and therefore such sins, as they have greater aggravations, so shall they receive greater punishment than other men's: This is extremely necessary to be remembred, that, as you have easier opportunities of do­ing wrong, so you may also have greater dread and horrour of it, as looking upon every Injury that were but a single act of Injustice or Defect of Charity in others, as a Complica­tion of sins and villanies in you, being a transgression not only of your Duty as Christians, but as Servants too. Having laid this before you, as a strong Engagement to a most strict and conscientious discharge of your Duty, I come now in the

Second place, to consider the parti­culars of this Duty. I might sum up all, as our Saviour doth, under one Virtue of Faithfulness, for he makes a Good and Faithful Servant to be terms [Page 87] equivalent, Matth. 25. Well done good and faithful Servant. But that you may more fully and distinctly com­prehend the whole of your Duty, I will speak of it under these three Heads; 1. Obedience. 2. Faithfulness. 3. Love.

First therefore of Obedience: 1 Obedi­ence. This is that which constitutes the very na­ture of Service: Right to command makes a Master, and obligation to obey a Servant; that Subjection which the Centurion describes, Luke 7.8. I say unto one, go, and he goes, and to another come, and he cometh; and to my Servant, do this, and he does it, is an indispensible Duty of every one that professes himself a Servant. This, Reason teaches us, His Servants ye are, Rom 6.6. to whom ye obey: And the very nature of the Covenant between the Master and his Servant implies this, Obedience on the one hand, and maintenance on the the other. God doth strictly exact this Duty of Servants, and that upon pain of damnation to the transgressor, and pro­mise of an Eternal Reward to the ob­server of it. Thus Col. 3.22, &c. Servants [Page 88] obey in all things your Masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart fear­ing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men: Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the Reward of the Inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ: But he that doth wrong, shall receive for the wrong which he has done; and there is no re­spect of persons. To the same purpose is Eph. 6.5. 1 Pet. 2.18. and innu­merable other Texts of Scripture; by all this put together, you may easily discern how grievous a sin the Diso­bedience of Servants is, 'tis a down­right contempt of God's revealed Will; 'tis a violation of the Law of Nature, disturbing that just and wise Government which the Providence of God has introduced into the World, by that difference he has put between the several Ranks of Man­kind; 'tis a manifest breach of the Servant's Covenant which he entred into with his Master, and by conse­quence, the Disobedient Servant has no right to the Bread he eats, or to [Page 89] the Wages he receives, and he can expect nothing from God, who is the Supreme Lord of all, and by whose Appointment, the Distinction and Order which now is in the World was establisht; but some severe Judg­ment, as upon an unrighteous per­son, and a Covenant-breaker; and 'tis no wonder, that God should so strictly exact this Duty, or so se­verely punish the Violation of it; for this sin of Disobedience proceeds from Pride, or Frowardness, or Idle­ness, and ends in Wrath, and Conten­tion, and Confusion.

Nor is the Spirit of God in Scrip­ture content only to enjoyn Servants Obedience, The pro­perties of this Obedi­ence. but it takes care to ac­quaint 'em, what kind of Obedience this must be: First, It must be in all things, that is, all things that are not repugnant to the Will of God, who is our supreme Master; or the Laws of the Land, which are stampt with an Authority superior to that of their Master in all things else. Ser­vants are not to dispute nor inter­pret, but obey the Commands of [Page 90] their Master, for they are not to an­swer for the discretion or reasonable­ness of his Commands. Their Obe­dience Secondly, must be in singleness of heart, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers. He is a very ill Servant who obeys only when his disobedience cannot be concealed or excus'd; for at this rate, the Master would be the greatest Drudge in his Family, and the Care and Toil of overseeing others in their work, would be more into­lerable than the work it self. Thirdly, This Obedience must be perform'd from the heart; the Servant must not only do his Duty, and do it honestly, but he must do it willingly and chear­fully, without this he will not be like to be very prosperous, exact, or dili­gent in his Service; nor can his Ser­vice prove very acceptable to his Master; for to all ingenious Tem­pers, the Affection and Zeal of a Ser­vant is as valuable as his Service; so that for want of this, he will incur two great Evils, his Labour will be harder, and his Reward will be less: To all this, must be added Fourthly, [Page 91] Humility; Self-conceit and Impatience are the most improper qualities in a Servant imaginable; for what can be more absurd than Pride and Wil­fulness in one whose very profession 'tis to obey? These are grievous sins in any Fortune, but more extremely grievous in a low one. The Scripture therefore doth not permit the Ser­vant to answer again when reproved or blamed; nay, what is more, it commands him to behave himself re­spectfully towards the froward and peevish, as well as mild and gentle Ma­ster, and to 1 Pet. 2. suffer patiently when he suffers wrongfully.

That you may perform this Duty as you ought, Means of performing this Duty. you are to endeavour to persuade your selves, that an hum­ble, honest, and chearful Obedience, is the glory of a Servant; that this is as much the honour of your sta­tion, as Prudence, Liberality and Gentleness is of the Masters: That the meanness of any business you are imploy'd in, cannot so much dispa­rage you, as Murmuring and Pride; for 'tis the Master's, not the Servant's [Page 92] dishonour, if he exacts what is not fit or becoming at the hands of his Servant: No Servant can ever loose himself by his Humility, for he may with expressions of respect and kind­ness quit his Service when he will, and so avoid any Rudeness or Inde­cency; nor can I possibly conceive, that this course can be prejudicial to any Servant, for let the Servant be of the highest Rank, and the business commanded of the lowest and mean­est, any man may do that once or twice out of Humility, which yet he cannot take upon him as his constant work without the imputation of Pu­sillanimity or meanness of Spirit. Secondly, The Servant must endeavour to entertain a good Opinion of, and Value for his Master, for otherwise it will not be easie to obey those whom you can think reasonable to despise. Thirdly, And above all, the Servant must persuade himself, that he obeys God in obeying his Master; he must look upon himself as placed in this station by God, and he must look up­on his Master as invested with Au­thority [Page 93] over him by God, and this will be an encouragement to him to do his Duty, and a comfort and sup­port to him when he suffers wrong­fully.

A second Duty which a Servant owes his Master is Faithfulness, 2 Faithful­ness. a Du­ty without which 'tis impossible that the Master can enjoy any real plea­sure or satisfaction, or the Servant any peace of Conscience; for how can the Master's mind be at ease, if he be not secure of the Faith of those of his own Family, but must needs suspect those whom he must needs trust? and what an ulcer'd gauled Conscience must that Servant have, who dwells continually under the Roof, and eats daily of the Bread of that man whom he wrongs and in­jures, where every thing he doth or sees calls his sin to remembrance, and every Benefit, every Favour is a Re­proach, and a stab to his Soul? Now this Fidelity is to be practised in all those things, wherein the Master is capable of receiving any Benefit by the Faith, or suffering any wrong by [Page 94] the Falshood of his Servant; and be­sides this, it ought to be understood, that Fidelity obliges the Servant not only, not to do his Master any wrong himself, but also not to suffer any others to do him any. Fidelity taken in this large extent compre­prehends a great many Duties of the Servant towards his Master. As for Example, Fidelity towards his Master's Soul. First, That he endeavour, as far as it lies in him, to promote the Virtue, and procure the Salvation of his Master, for this is his truest and greatest Interest: This he may effect, partly by Prayer to God for him, partly by Advice and good Discourse; if his Master give him any such op­portunity, or admit him into any such freedom: Partly like Serapion, by the Example of an excellent Life, but if he cannot serve him this way, he must at least take care that he be not guilty of the contrary; he must not be an Incentive to, or Instrument of his sin; he must not be a Contri­ver of, or Purveyor for his Lust; he must not flatter and applaud him in his wickedness; for this is the worst [Page 95] sort of unfaithfulness, the betraying the very Soul of his Master, and how wretched a state doth the Servant reduce himself to by this perfidious­ness, if his Master never repents, he has drawn upon his own Soul the guilt of his Damnation; if he do re­pent, he draws upon himself his Ma­sters perpetual contempt and aversion. Secondly, Towards the Peace and Honour of his Mas­ter. The Servant must endea­vour to preserve the Peace and Ho­nour of his Master, for these things are or should be dear to every one next to his Soul and Virtue. Now the Peace of a Master may be di­sturb'd either by the Contentions of those of his Family amongst them­selves, or by their unkindness and un­dutifulness towards himself; the Ser­vant therefore who by lyes or slan­ders, by vile whisperings and infor­mations doth alienate the Affections of the Family, or any Member of it, from their Head, or sets them at va­riance between one another, is guilty of the blackest treachery, for he per­fidiously robs his Master of the Peace of his mind, and the Affections of [Page 96] those of his Houshold, than both which, nothing can be dearer to him: Nor is this all the aggravation of this sin, for it loads the perfidious wretch with all the guilt of the nu­merous and great mischiefs which always may, and very often do ensue upon the Contentions and Divisions of Families. In a word, such a one draws upon himself the Wrath of God, and as soon as he is discovered, the displeasure and hatred of the whole Family. As to the Honour of their Master or Mistress, it may be wounded by the Servant two ways. First, by speaking ill of 'em either a­broad or at home; or else Secondly, by promoting that Immorality in the Fa­mily, which must necessarily tend to their disparagement and scandal: They therefore that will be Faithful in this point, must be so far from making the faults of their Master or Mistress publick, that if it be possi­ble, they must not see 'em them­selves; they must be so far from making 'em the subject of their dis­course abroad, that they must vindi­cate [Page 97] 'em all that possibly they can; nay, they must not endure any such sort of Talk at home; they must no more connive at a Fellow-Servant that wrongs their Master or Mistress in their Honour, than if they did wrong 'em in their Goods; they must ex­cuse whatever will admit of excuse, what will not, they must hate but not spread or censure; by doing this, a Servant shall gain true Honour to himself, while he preserves his Ma­sters; for though the ill temper of some people be such, that they are pleased with malicious Informations, with spiteful and slanderous Discove­ries, yet I never knew any temper so bad, that loved the Informer, if a Servant; for they cannot but judge Ingratitude and Treachery as odious Vices in him, as are any that he con­demns in his Master. Towards the goods and posses­sions of his Master. The Third and last thing wherein the Faithfulness of a Servant is required, is the goods and possessions of the Master; in these the Servant must not wrong his Ma­ster, neither by theft, nor fraud, nor wast, nor must he suffer others to do [Page 98] so, for all this is downright Injustice, and expresly forbid by Almighty God. Thus Titus 2.10. They are for­bid to purloin, as being directly con­trary to that Faithfulness which they are commanded to shew; nor is the consuming the Master's goods by Riot and Intemperance, by unneces­sary Wast, or by Sloth and Careles­ness, one jot a less sin than Theft or Fraud. The unjust Steward in the Gospel, Luke 16. is accused, that he had wasted his Masters goods; and un­der the Law, if Parents had brought a Son before the Congregation, and accused him of these Crimes, he was to be stoned. Deut. 21.20. This our Son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our Voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard; and all the men of his City shall stone him with stones that he die. And surely a wick­ed and slothful Servant is no less pu­nishable than a wicked and slothful Son. I will insist a little longer upon the Servant's Duty in this point of Justice, both because the Servant is more apt to offend this way, being betrayed by the Temptation either [Page 99] of profit or pleasure, and because the Master is wont to resent offences of this nature most heinously, and to ac­count 'em as the worst of Injuries he is capable of suffering by his Servant, not (I hope) that he doth esteem his Goods above his Soul or his Honour, or above the Virtue and Peace of his Family, but because he is less able to secure the one than the other a­gainst the perfidiousness of Servants; for if he be a good man, he will easi­ly be able to secure himself and his Family against the slander by which any Servant endeavours to blast his Honour, or against the Lies and Whispers by which he endeavours to breed discontent, or against the In­fection of his ill Morals; but there is no way to secure himself against the wrongs which he may suffer by the Fraud and Purloyning, by the Wast and Riot, or by the Sloth and Negli­gence of an unfaithful Servant.

First therefore of Purloyning. of Purloin­ing. By this is to be understood, the conver­ting the goods of your Master to your own use; you cannot be so ignorant [Page 100] as not to know, that this is down­right Theft, and forbid by an express Commandment, Thou shalt not steal: Nor can you be ignorant, that Theft is a Crime of the foulest nature, as being not only repugnant to the ex­cellencies and perfections of Christia­nity, but even to the common Mora­lity of Heathens, to the natural Law of Justice, Thou shalt do to others, as thou wouldest be done by; and you can­not but know, how outragiously you would your selves resent such an In­jury; for if you love the World so well, as to venture the being damn'd for it, 'tis easie for me to conclude, how grievously you would take it, to be robbed of it by another. How vile a sin this is, in the Opinion of others, may easily be inferr'd from the inde­lible stain and infamy which sticks upon it amongst all people, and from the severe punishments pronounc'd against it in all civiliz'd Nations; but most of all, from the punishment which a wise and a merciful, as well as just God adjudges it to. The pu­nishment in the Old Testament, you [Page 101] may read, Exod. 22. But that which most concerns you, is that of the New, which is exclusion from the Kingdom of Heaven, and Eternal Im­prisonment in Hell, in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone for ever. 1. Cor. 6.9.10. Know ye not, that the un­righteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither For­nicators, &c. nor Thieves, nor Covetous, nor Drunkards, nor Revilers, nor Extor­tioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God. How grievous a sin this is, all this may sufficiently convince you, and should methinks strike a guilty Soul with horrour and amazement; but some peradventure make less Con­science to rob their Master than ano­ther man: How impudent a folly is this? Can you think, that he by be­coming your Master forfeits his Right and Property, and is no longer under the fence and protection of the Laws of God? or can you think, that you, by becoming a Servant, gain a Li­cence to commit that sin with Impu­nity, which you could not have other­wise done without incurring Damna­tion? [Page 102] Is not the Injustice the same? Is not the wrong the Master suffers notorious? Nay, I must be free to tell you, that though the Injustice and Wrong be the same, the guilt and sin of Theft is not the same in a Stranger and a Servant: Or dost thou think that base Ingratitude, and perfidious breach of Trust, adds no­thing to the guilt of the Injustice? Poor creature! Dost thou not see, how vile a sin thou dost commit, a sin that nothing can attend, if it have it's due, but reproach and infamy, bodily punishment according to Law, and, if not repented of, Eternal Damna­tion? Nay dost thou not discern what a heap of sins thou art guilty of in one, Ingratitude, breach of Trust, Lying, and, it may be, Perjury together with Injustice in every single act of this sort of Theft? And what art thou to gain by all this? What is it that thou ex­pectest as the price of thy Honour, thy Life and thy Soul? 'Tis very of­ten something so little, that were it not for fear of thy being plung'd by degrees in greater mischiefs, thy Ma­ster [Page 103] would hardly think it worth his taking notice of: But be it what it will, it can be but some small portion of thy Master's Wealth, and art not thou a poor and desperate Slave in­deed, who art content to sell, not thy Strength and thy Liberty, but thy Credit, thy Blood and thy Soul at so vile, so cheap, a Rate? After all, do but consider, what it is that moves thee, that draws thee on to this sin, and thou shalt find, that it is to gra­tifie some other as bad as it self; for what is it that thou dost want? Food and Raiment is provided for thee, thou must therefore either steal to gratifie thy Covetousness, and this is downright Idolatry in thee, or thou must steal out of distrust, and to secure thy self against thy Infidel fears of Poverty hereafter. Unhappy creature! who canst not relie upon God, even when thou art provided for! What couldst thou do worse than this, if thou wert destitute of any provision? How great a distrust of God, how vile and impious a piece of Infidelity is this? And how great [Page 104] is the sin of Distrust and Infidelity without any extraordinary aggrava­tions? Revel 21.8. The fearful and unbelieving, &c. shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone. Or Lastly, Thou must steal to feed some other Lust, such as Riot, Un­cleanness, or the like, and then in what a course of wickedness art thou engag'd? Thou art then to satisfie, not only the Extravagancies of thy own, but of others Lusts, and thou makest thy self a Slave to all that are thy Confederates in sin; nay, they are the Masters of thy Reputation, thy Fortune, and thy Life; and when thou considerest what loose and debauch­ed wretches thou dost trust these thy dear Concerns with, thou canst not but think thy self as desperate a Fool, as thou art desperately wicked: So that, as to this end of thy Theft, the gratifying some wild and lewd Affections, the more thou dost suc­ceed in it, the more desperate and deplorable is thy state: The two other ends, namely, the satisfaction of thy Covetousness, or thy security [Page 105] against future want, are in all proba­bility subverted and defeated by that very sin, by which thou dost endea­vour to attain 'em: For thy Theft forfeits the favour and patronage of God, thy distrust, and this course it puts thee upon, is an open renoun­cing and relinquishing the Care and Providence of God over thee, so that though thy sin, should be conceal'd from man, thou canst expect no other, than that thou shouldst be curst in all thou settest thy hand to, and that thy fairest Hopes should be blasted; but if thou art discover'd, the least that can befal thee is the Restitution of thy Unjust Rapines, and a brand or mark of Infamy fixt on thee, which will render thee uncapable of any Trust, and expose thee consequently to unavoidable and perpetual want and beggary: Ah the wretched Life of an infamous and beggarly Theif, forsaken and abandoned by God and Man!

I have said enough, I hope, to make any one sensible of this sin of Pur­loyning; yet I am almost afraid, lest [Page 106] my Design may be in some part de­feated, by the foolish Collusions, and trifling Excuses of such, who though they cannot deny Purloyning or Theft to be a damnable sin, yet they commit the thing, and deny it to be Theft; just like men that acknow­ledge Rebellion a sin, but will not own taking up Arms against the Su­preme Magistrate to be Rebellion: Give me leave therefore to tell you, that when I make Theft to be the converting your Master's goods to your own use, I understand by it all acts of yours, by which your Master suffers detriment and wrong. For In­stance, not only the deceiving him in what is in your own Trust, or the pil­fering what is in anothers, or the tak­ing to your selves any way unjustly what is his, but also the giving away to others without his knowledge, or contrary to his will any part or por­tion of his, than which, nothing, I hear, is more common; Servants as well as Masters, having their atten­dants and hangers on, their Parasites and Flatterers, who at once sooth [Page 107] them in their Pride and Vanity, by fawning and flattering, and cherish 'em in their Idleness by doing their business. I must put you in mind further, that I mean by your Master's goods, whatever he possesses, what­ever it be wherein he can suffer, or you commit wrong. And in the last place, I must put you in mind, that you are guilty, not only of the wrong and injustice which you personally commit, but also of whatever is com­mitted by any other, if you consent to it, and connive at it, even though you should receive no benefit by it: For thus far I conceive the Reproof of the Psalmist may be extended, Psa. 50.18. When thou sawest a Thief, thou con­sented'st with him, which is there look't upon as an abominable wick­edness, and surely the commands of God, Thou shalt not suffer sin in thy Brother, but by any means reprove him, and Eph. 5.11. Have no fellowship with the un­fruitful works of darkness, but rather re­prove 'em, do nearly concern a Ser­vant in this case, as he would avoid the guilt of the sin which he doth not [Page 108] reprehend, for the neglect of Re­proof is here a tacit approbation of the sin, and tho' peradventure this sort of theft be not to be loaded with all the Aggravations of the former, yet the least that can be said of it, is, that it is a down-right injustice, a breach of trust, and extream un­faithfulness towards the Master: But you'l demand of me, how is a Ser­vant to behave himself towards his guilty Fellow-Servant, that he may, in such a case as this, acquit himself with a good Conscience towards God and Man? If he conceal his fault, he is unfaithful to his Master, if he dis­cover it, he is unkind to his Fellow-Servant: He must betray the one or the other, if he do not reveal the wrong [...] he sees his Master suffers, and, what is more, his Conscience must suffer too; if he do, he shall be hated and persecuted by his Fellow-Servants as an Informer, nay perad­venture, what is worse than this, he he that is accused shall out-wit him, or shall be able to form a Combina­tion against him, and so find more cre­dit [Page 109] with the Master, and by conse­quence the good Servant shall by his Integrity and Justice forfeit his Place, and it may be, his Reputation, or at least live uneasily, persecuted by the vexatious Calumnies, affronts and unkindnesses of those others that are combined against him. To this de­mand take this answer, I should never have fancied this Objection, had I not been extreamly sensible of the frailty of Man; for, whence should any one doubt, whether he should preserve his Faith and Duty to his Master, or commit a sin to oblige a Fellow-Ser­vant? Whence should spring this question, whether you should sup­port and cherish a wicked Fellow-Ser­vant in his Vice, or whether you should preserve a Master, (to whom you ow Fidelity, Truth and Love,) from injuries and wrongs? How fi­nally should a Man come to be trou­bled with this scruple? Whether he should preserve his Integrity, a good Conscience, and the Favour and Blessing of God by doing his Duty, or, by deserting it, run the hazard of [Page 110] the worst that the wit or malice of his wicked Fellow-Servant can bring upon him? These you must readily acknowledge are doubts and scruples, which do not become the sincerity and Faith of a good and honest Chri­stian: However, you shall not want here the best advice that I can give you, for I know, there may be some little struglings of good nature and interest, in opposition to your Duty in this point; the first thing then, you are to do, is to reprove your guilty Fellow-Servant, to lay before him, as well as you can, the hainousness of his sin, together with the danger of it, both with respect to his Tem­poral and Eternal Interest, acquaint him with the Beauty and Pleasure, the security and advantage of Vertue and the Fear of God, advise and exhort him earnestly to expiate his sin by Repentance towards God, and resti­tution towards man, mix this Re­proof ever and anon with Professions of tenderness and affections for him, with expressions of your good mean­ing and sincere intention, which he [Page 111] may discern by your accusing him only to himself, and lastly with assu­rances, that, if he follow your ad­vice, he shall not suffer the least pre­judice, either in his credit or inter­est by your knowledge of his fault, nay, that it shall not diminish in the least your respect or Affection to­wards him: For you are not insensi­ble of the wiles of the Devil, and the infirmity of man, it being com­monly incident to humane frailty to fall into sin, and 'tis the work of a true Faith to repent of it, and there­fore, as your compassion is kindled in you upon the former account, so should you necessarily be ingaged to honour and love him upon the latter, now if you prove successful in this, you gain a Soul to God, a good Ser­vant to your Master, and an insepa­rable Friend to your self, and what is more than all, you gain peace and satisfaction to your Conscience, to­gether with the blessing of God, the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the increase of his Holy Spirit. Whereas suppose you connive at, and [Page 112] he proceed in his sin, Ah! How fa­tal an obligation do you lay upon him! You incourage him in his sin, and, if he never repent, you damn his Soul Eternally; if he do repent, how must he needs condemn you in the bitterness and grief of his Reflections, as one false to God and him, and no less unfaithful to his Eternal, than your Master's Temporal Interest? And what the guilt is, that you load your own Conscience with, I have shewed you before: But if you would do any good this way, you must take care, that you do it be­times, and that you do not let his fault take air before you have thus represented it to him, for if you first publish, and then reprove his guilt, I cannot wonder, if he do question either your sincerity or discretion, and his doubting of either must needs forfeit in him all respect for your ad­vice or reproof, and tempt him ra­ther to stand upon his defence, than trust you with his Confession or Re­pentance.

If you can effect nothing this way [Page 113] towards the reclaiming your Fellow-Servant, you must communicate his offence with some body else; as well that you may your self avoid the Im­putation of Connivance and Consent, as also that you may deliver, if possi­ble, his Soul from guilt without the ruin of his Credit and Fortune: And in the choice of such a Person, you are, if it may be, to find out some one that is considerable with him, one whose Vertue and Authority he Reverences, and whose Affection and Discretion he can confide in; this will make him more apt to be free in his Confession, and if he has any mo­desty, any ingenuity left in him, he cannot but be wrought by this me­thod into Repentance. This very me­thod may be made use of in other ca­ses as well as this, as in those injuries you see your Master suffer, either by the negligence or wast of your Fel­low-Servants, only where the mat­ter is little and trifling, you are not to communicate it with others, for this will look like a formal and so­lemn impertinence, but if he refuse [Page 114] to reform upon your single reproof, you are to go directly to your Master or Mistress, for a slight wrong repeat­ed daily may grow a very outragious one in time; However, they are the most proper Judges of what is slight and trifling, or otherwise; for what may seem to you very inconsiderable, may seem otherwise to them, who best know their own minds and their own Fortunes. The same thing lastly you must do in matters of greater mo­ment, when those ways I have pre­scrib'd you fail, you must not pro­voke God, wrong your Master, and wound your own Conscience, for fear of displeasing, nay of ruining your unjust, slothful or wastful Fellow-Ser­vant, but you must honestly and couragiously do your Duty, leaving the issue to God, and to the prudenc [...] and goodness of your Master, and tho [...] it should end in his ruin, or in th [...] forfeiture of your own place, or the disturbance of your quiet and peac [...] in it, (which I can hardly believe if you will pursue this method) ye [...] you shall have delivered your own [Page 115] Soul, God shall bring forth your Righ­teousness as the Noon-day, whatever calumnies the wit or the malice of your Fellow-Servants raise to obscure it, and you shall thrive and prevail in despight of all confederacies a­gainst you.

A second Vice of Servants, Of Negli­gence. by which a Master suffers is negligence, by which I mean, either a total O­mission or neglect of Duty, or such a careless and lazy performance of it, that it were as good left undone, as be thus done: Or else, Lastly, heed­lesness or want of care. Now tho' this be very common, you cannot, upon due examination of the nature of this fault, but confess it a very great one; for as to the Master, (if he be hereby endamag'd) is it not the same thing for him to suffer by your negligence as fraud? And I need not tell you, where there is much trust or confidence on the Master's side, and no Industry or Care on the Servant's, that all must necessarily go to wrack and ruin: Or if he suffer not in his interest, he must suffer in the [Page 116] peace and contentment of his mind, for there cannot be a greater plague and vexation to any man than a con­fident and careless Servant: Nor is it a small matter, that the Master is forced to bear the rudeness and con­tempt which a Servant's heedlesness and idleness is too plain an expressi­on of, 'tis a troublesom thing to a man to be levelled with his own Ser­vant, yet so he is in this case, for if there be no authority in the Master, nor fear or care in the Servant, if tho' the Master may command, the sloth­ful Servant will perform only what he pleases, 'tis hard to say wherein is the difference and distinction between 'em. Is it possible for any Servant to think, that this is to do his Duty? Can any one think that this is to obey with fear and trembling? Can any one think that this sluggishness is any thing better than Eye-Service, so much condemned by God? Can any one who carries himself thus heedlesly e­ver persuade himself, that he doth service as if he made it to God not Man? Or can he ever have the im­pudence [Page 117] to expect a reward from God for this kind of Deportment? What such a one has reason to expect, he may learn from the Parable of the Lord and his Servants, Matth. 25. where he is called a wicked and a slothful Servant, and adjudged to outer Darkness, who had not answer­ed the trust committed to him, who had only behaved himself idly and un­profitably, tho' he had neither wrong'd his Master by fraud or theft, or wast, and riot. Alas! The unpro­fitable Servant must not flatter him­self that he doth his Duty, for care and industry are as essential and ne­cessary parts of the Faithfulness of a Servant, as truth and honesty, and he that any time stands idle can ne­ver be excus'd, unless he can plead, what they in the Market-place did to that question, Why stand ye here idle all the day long? Because no man has hired us. But you are hired, you have no doubt work to do, for no Master will purchase heedlesness and sloth at the rate of such a charge as a Ser­vant puts him to: Nor can I think [Page 118] that a Servant himself would judge this behaviour a good discharge of any man's Duty in any other Station: Would he think that Master did his Duty, who made no provision for his Family? And yet care and indu­stry is as indispensible a Duty of the Servant, as provision or maintenance of the Master: But I need say no more, if nothing else will, the effects of this ill demeanour may convince a Ser­vant, how great an evil this is, for besides the loss and vexation which it creates the Master, it begets perpe­tual quarrels and discontents in the Family, for the Fellow-Servants of a sluggard are not only bereav'd of that assistance which they should receive from him, but also oppressed by that burden of which he eases his Shoul­ders; the Drone himself is forced up­on many Lies and Shifts to excuse his omissions and errors, and finally after some time spent in the displeasure of his Master, the contempt and hatred of his Fellow-Servants: He is at last reproachfully cast off, and branded with such a character as makes all [Page 119] that know him, shut their Doors a­gainst him, as unwilling to receive such a trouble and incumbrance into their Families.

There is a Third vice, Of Con­sumption and Wast. which Ser­vants are too often guilty of, where the Fortune of the Family can allow it, and that is Consumption & Wast, whether by wantonness and delicacy, whether by riot and excess, whether by junketting and drinking amongst themselves, or also by drawing in o­thers into the Club and Association, it matters little, 'tis a downright in­justice committed against the Master, 'tis every jot as bad as theft, much worse than the common theft of poor people, for the poor steal to relieve their necessities, but these rob to feed their gluttony and wantonness, nay, 'tis every jot as bad as theft in a Ser­vant (the guilt of which has been sufficiently display'd to you before, for what difference is there, either in respect of the guilt of the Crime, or in respect of the effects of it towards a Master, whether a Servant steal from him out of Covetousness or fear of [Page 120] future want, or whether he rob and plunder him out of Luxury and Riot, if so, then you may be sure, that if the wrong be the same in respect of the Master, and the guilt the same in respect of the Servant, the Tem­poral ill consequences of it in this Life, and the punishment of it in another, will be much the same; for such Servants must finally without Repentance and Amendment, be abandoned and forsaken by God and Man: And accordingly 'tis generally observ'd, and I have mark't it my self, that such as have been extream­ly Prodigal, Wanton and Wastful, in their Master's Houses, have been afterwards reduced to extream Po­verty, even to the want of a Morsel of Bread; and that which adds to their misery in this state, is common­ly this, that such as have been sharers with 'em in the wast of their Master's goods, have been the most apt to re­proach their former Pride and Wan­tonness, and to despise their present Poverty, and the only Persons from whom they could expect relief, have [Page 121] been those very Masters and Mistresses whom they had before abus'd and wrong'd.

Besides this Duty of Justice in Deed, there is another sort of Justice in Word, which a Servant owes his Master, which is Truth; but because this is a common and avow'd Duty between Man and Man, I think 'tis not needful to dwell upon it here, there is no body can be ignorant of the wickedness of this sin which makes one of the greatest Prerogatives of Mankind, that is, Speech, an In­strument of the greatest Mischiefs; which is 2dly, An Argument of a mean base Spirit, and destitute of the Faith and Fear of God; which is 3dly, The Product and Effect of some sin or other, for Virtue never needs the Service or Protection of a Lye; which Lastly, Prevents Repentance for sin; for as soon as men have ob­tain'd a great slight and dexterity in Lying, they grow hard and confident in their faults, because they find they can without any difficulty conceal or excuse 'em by a Lye.

[Page 122]And as no one can be ignorant of the evil of this sin, so neither of the e­vil which will punish it: Who knows not how many plagues are denounc'd against it by God? What infamy at­tends it from Man? What secret shame and disquiet it tortures the mind with? and finally, how it cer­tainly involves the Lyar in Temporal and Eternal Ruine? Let the Servant therefore, as he would avoid all this, alwaies keep up to strict Truth in his words; if he have committed a fault, let him not go about to excuse it, by the commission of a greater, that is, by Lying; let him rather chuse to try the goodness of his Master by an humble and honest confession, than tempt him to suspicion by frivolous Excuses, or barefaced Untruths; how­ever, if he should think his Master stupid enough to be imposed on by any idle Tale, yet let him remember that he has a Master in Heaven who may be conquer'd by Confession and Repentance, but cannot be imposed upon, or mockt by any slight or arti­fice of words.

[Page 123]I have now spoke sufficiently of the Duty of Faithfulness, and will there­fore pass on to the

Third and last great Duty of Ser­vants, 3dly, Of Love of Masters and Mistresses. The Love of their Masters and Mistresses: This is a Virtue which is extremely necessary in Servants, it being a very difficult matter to do their Duty without it; but if this be once implanted in their hearts; if the Master be lookt upon as a Father, one whose Affection and Esteem for 'em they value as their greatest worldly happiness, there will need no other motive either to their Obedi­ence or Faithfulness: For what St. John observes concerning the Service of God, Eph. 5. that to them who love him, his Commandments are not grievous; the same is true of the Ser­vice of Man, the burden of it is very light, if Love help to bear it; for how natural is it for a Servant to obey when he is as fond of the Love of his Master, as of his own Interest? and how natural to be faithful, when he loves his Masters Interest as his own? He will abhor to see him wrong'd in [Page 124] his Goods, or disturb'd or disquieted in his Mind, since if he loves him, he cannot but in every evil that befalls him, suffer with him; how sacred will such a Servant esteem the Ho­nour of his Master? How much will he be concern'd for the Virtue of his Children, the good behaviour of his fellow-servants, and the success of his Enterprizes in the World? Such a Servant will not stand upon Puncti­lioes, and nicely weigh his Duty by grains and scruples; but he will think all his Duty (whatever it be) where­in he can serve his Master: And what­ever he does, he will perform with that delight, that care and chearful­ness, that one would think that he were like Eliezer to Abraham, rather an Heir of his Master's blessing, and his own labours, than an hired Ser­vant; such a one will not stay to ex­pect commands, where his Master's interest requires his Service, much less will he be solicitous, which way he may be excused from his Duty, for he accounts nothing more disin­genious than to stand in need of an [Page 125] excuse. Finally; how easy will it be for such a Servant to receive direction humbly, to bear any infirmity of his Master patiently, to answer respect­fully, to remember heedfully, to re­form carefully, and to do all out of singleness of Heart?

How many and great the advanta­ges of this Virtue are, both to the Master and to the Servant, both in point of credit and delight, both in point of Religion and Interest, is ve­ry easy to be discern'd; the Master will have his business done, and that very prosperously; he sees nothing miscarry under the hands of his Ser­vant, he hears no discontent nor contention in his Family, he sees that his Servant is a good example and guide to his whole Houshold; in a word, he meets with nothing to dis­please him when at home, nor is he disturb'd by any suspicions or fears when abroad; for he can as entirely confide in his Servant's Faith and Af­fection as in himself; how will such a man be ready like him, who bought Diogenes to run out into the [Page 126] Exchange and Market, to publish to the World that a Guardian Angel is come into his House? Without any Amplification of the matter, such a Master, if he be not savage and inso­lent as well as stupid, must confess that he enjoys a great blessing, that he cannot set too high a value upon his Servant, and by consequence, he is in Honour and Justice bound not only to treat him with courteous words and kind looks, but to reward him too, and this cannot but tend to the honour and interest of the Ser­vant, which cannot but reflect advan­tagiously upon the Master, for to have good Servants, and to do well for 'em, is, I think, in the opinion of ju­dicious men, no small argument of a good and wise man: But to proceed, not only the credit and interest, but even the content and Religion of Fa­milies is highly concern'd in the love and Duty of Servants; for Love is the Parent of Unity and Peace, and it Nurses up the Children it brings forth, it maintains and preserves the quiet which it procures, and in a Fa­mily [Page 127] where Charity and Content­ment reign, where order and peace dwell, how necessarily must Religion thrive and flourish? They will watch over and assist one another, they will affectionately give, and meekly receive advice, they will not want time for Religious Duties, nor a sedate com­posure of mind to make the best use of that time; no one's Prayers and Reading will be rendred useless through discontent and distraction: No one will be kept back from the Sacrament by confusion of business, or disturbance of mind: If all this be put together, I need not trouble you with many motives or inducements to this Duty of Love, for what grea­ter blessings can a Servant desire than those are, which this gives him? 'Tis a help to him in the performance of his Duty, lightens the burden of his Service, it gives him the love of his Master and the Family, peace at home, credit and reputation abroad, both which are the most solid foun­dations of a Servant's interest imagi­nable, unless it be the favour of God; [Page 128] and this behaviour gives him a right claim to that too; for whatever is a work of Religion, as this indeed is, whatever procures men more oppor­tunities of grace, and whatever pre­pares and disposes 'em for the best use of 'em, must needs very much pro­mote our Heavenly Interest, and I have sufficiently made it out, that all these are the blessed fruits of this Duty. To all which I will add but one consideration more to convince you of your obligation to it, which is this, that you cannot without monstrous ingratitude be guilty of the contrary: Do you think, that you owe no affection to your Master and Mistress, who have receiv'd you into their House, reposed a confidence and trust in you, who are very soli­citous to inform and instruct you, who not only bear long with your Ignorance, but wink at many other infirmities in you, who provide for you in your health, and are tender of you in your sickness, who are desi­rous to oblige and encourage you, and rejoice when you behave your [Page 129] selves so as to deserve it? Is there no­thing due to 'em for their compassi­on for your Souls, for their watch­fulness over your manners, for their care in providing for you spiritual as well as bodily food? You cannot be guilty of hating or despising these who have deserved so well of you, nay you cannot be guilty of what is less, the not loving 'em, but you must be profligately ingrateful, you must be stupid and base to a degree that bruitish Creatures have never yet been guilty of; For the Ox knows his Owner, and the Ass his Master's Crib: Nay there is no beast of the Field, or of the Desart so fierce and salvage, but he has been tamed and obliged too by repeated courtesies and bene­fits,

CHAP. III. Of the Duty of Servants. § 1st. Towards their Masters Children, consisting of Affection, due Respect, Care of their Morals, Care of their Honour and Care of their Interest. § 2dly. To­wards Sojourners. § 3dly. Towards Strangers.

What the Servant owes his Masters Children.WHatever it be that Servants owe the Children of the Fa­mily, 'tis only the result of that Du­ty which they owe their Master: Children are (as it were) parts of their Parents, their Blood and Birth gives 'em a just claim, as to the care and love of their Parents, so to a pro­per share of th' Affection and Service, and all other advantages of the Fami­ly. First. Therefore a Servant owes the Children of his Master a sincere Affection, Affection which will easily be gran­ted, if it be but consider'd, that 'tis impossible for a Servant to bear Faith and Love to his Master, and have neither for his Children; for Chil­dren [Page 137] are the dearest interest and most valuable Treasure of their Parents; Children are the joys and hopes of their Fathers, they double the plea­sure of his prosperity by being sha­rers in it, and ease the toil of his la­bours by being the Heirs of 'em. How therefore can any one pretend to love his Master, who hates or despises what is dearest to him? Now this affection of the Servant must express it self to­wards his Masters Children. 1st. In a due Respect. 2dly. In his care for their Morals. 3dly. In a sincere Zeal for their Honour; and 4dly. For their Interest.

1st. In Respect. Due Re­spect. This their birth Challenges every slight or neglect offer'd the Children by a Servant, is some diminution of the Reverence which he owes his Master, for the Father must needs suffer in the con­tempt of the Son; and yet this Re­spect ought to be wisely regulated; for as it ought not to be so slight as to reflect any disadvantage on the other, so on the other hand, it ought to be so moderated and temper'd, that [Page 136] [...] [Page 137] [...] [Page 138] the Son be not to soon set up for a young Master, and so soothed and fooled into Pride and Vanity, and the Father forfeit his Authority by de­riving too much of it upon his Son; for a foolish Child is too too apt to assume and forget himself, and take as his due what he possesses but of Courtesy, I mean of his Father; and a foolish Servant is too apt to for­get his Reverence to his old Master out of Complement to his young one.

Care for their Mo­rals.2dly. Servants must express their Affection to their Masters Children by a tender Care for their Morals, I do not mean, that they should be Spies upon their Faults, but Mini­sters and Assistants to their Virtues; This your Aid is to be afforded according to the Age and Capacity of the Children, they may instil into 'em early Instruction, in their green years; they may suggest to 'em their Duty, and excite and per­swade 'em to it, as they grow up to Estate of Reason; and all along they must take care, that they be no ex­ample [Page 139] of any Vice to them; neither of frowardness, nor lying, nor diso­bedience to those of Tender Years; nor of Riot, Intemperance, Idleness, Pride, Prodigality and Wilfulness to those of Riper; for all are much apter to imitate Vice than Virtue: But in stead of performing this ex­cellent Service to their Master, it often happens that some Servants are the Corrupters of their Children's Youth; they mislead 'em by their Examples, and prompt and instigate 'em to Sin both by word and deed: They fawn and flatter 'em into Ar­rogance and Self-conceipt, they not only conceal, but applaud their Errours, they instruct 'em how to play the loose Gallant, and the diso­bedient Child, and are in a word ever ready to advise 'em not what is consonant to their good, but to their humour and fancy. But you will ask me, how shall a Servant acquit himself, if his Masters Child should take ill courses. What shall he do? If he oppose and resist the Child what in him lies in the Progress of [Page 140] his Sin, he incurs his hatred; if he favour him in it, and aid him by secrecy and shelter, or any other way, he is unfaithful to his Master: there is no upright man who measures his Obligation to a Duty by the Event and Success of it; every man that will have a peaceful Conscience, must do what becomes him, and leave the Issue of it to God, but how­ever, he must do it with all the dis­cretion he can too, and his Duty will direct him here how to perform another Duty which seems harsh and hazardous; for Instance, in this Case Charity to the Son will so regulate the Servants Faith to his Master, that he shall not only do his Duty, but do it with true discretion: Thus Charity will di­rect him, First as to the nature of the Childs offence, that he is not to take notice of little frailties, and inconsi­derable defects, much less to com­plain of 'em to his Parents; for this were, if not a peevish malignity of Spirit, yet at least, a busie and officious piece of Impertinence not [Page 141] without some mixture of defect of Charity, but such matters wherein the Virtue, the Honour, the Health, the Interest of the Child, and conse­quently the happiness and comfort of the Parent is concern'd, deserve the Servants Care and Faith: but Secondly in Errours of this nature, Charity will teach him to distin­guish between a slip or fall, and a set­led depravity of mind, or Vicious habit in the Child, so that, as he will not complain at all, of little and trifling Errours, so neither will he too soon of greater: and in the last place when he shall be convin­ced of the Indispensible Necessity of making known the fault of a Child, Charity will teach him, that he should proceed in this with all ima­ginable mildness, not aggravating or amplifying the Crime, and that he should use all imaginable Caution both to prevent any mischievous effect of such discovery, and to secure as much as in him lies, the good success of it. And here Cha­rity seems to me to point out the [Page 142] way to this, and to tell you that First you are to try what you can effect your self by a modest humble & affectionate Representation to your young Master of the sin and hazard wherein he is engaged, for if this may prevail, it were not so Charitable to bring him into peril of his Fathers displeasure or disesteem; but if this sort to no good end, you cannot be bound by Faith and Secrecy to your Young Master to betray your Faith and Duty to your Old, for this is in effect but to betray both: You must therefore either make known the Son's ill Courses to his Father, or if there be apparent Reasons to ap­prehend no good effects of this way, but rather ill ones for want of a well poiz'd judgment, or tolerable temper in the Father you must then put the business into the hands of some faith­full and discreet Friend, whose Au­thority and good nature may so far mitigate the Violent Choler, and sweeten the Implacable temper of the Father, that the Son's Virtue may be repaired without the Ruin [Page 143] of his Fortune. I have in this Advice insinuated, that as a Servant ought not to be peevish and impertinent in complaining of trifling faults, so neither ought he to be too forward in revealing greater, much less ought he to exaggerate and exul­cerate the Crime: but my mean­ing is not, that his Information should want any one grain or scru­ple of truth necessary to give the Friend or Father a right notion of the offence, nor yet that he should delay the discovery of a fault, where the concealment breeds Dan­ger, but if he cannot trust his own Judgment in this point, and the Issue of his delay seem doubtful to him, he must then consult some body else, whose Judgment he may better relie upon, and whose affec­tion both to Father and Son, he can be very confident of. The Ser­vant who behaves himself thus in this case, acquits himself with a good Conscience towards God and Man, he doth Both very considera­ble service, for there can be nothing [Page 144] more acceptable to God, than the converting a sinner from his evil way, nor to a Father, than the Pre­servation of a Child just on the brink of misery, nor indeed to the Son, than the restoring him to his Virtue, & the preserving to him that Honour and Fortune which were both ready to suffer wreck: So that this Servant will hereby procure to himself the everlasting good-will of his Master and Child, the Peace of his own mind, and the Blessing and Favour of God. James 5.20. * He that converteth a sinner from the Errour of his way, shall save a Soul from Death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Nor is he far remote from that blessed reward mention'd Daniel 12.3. They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament; and they that turn many to Righteousness; as the Stars for ever and ever. Whereas on the other side, that Servant who either cor­rupts his Masters Children, or af­fords 'em his Aid and Assistance, his Shelter and Secrecy in their Vicious Courses, betrays Man, falsifies his [Page 145] Faith, not only to his Master, but his God; he doth the drudgery of his Master the Devil, who imploys all his Slaves in propagating sin, and shall certainly one day receive the wages of his wickedness, even that Death which is denounced a­gainst men of the most abominable Character; men Rom. 1.32. who not only do the worst of things themselves, but also have pleasure in them that do 'em.

I have said enough to convince the Servant that he is to be careful of the Morals of his Masters Chil­dren, but there are two Virtues which he ought to have more espe­cial care of, being those two which every Child should be eminent in, which are in some sort the Founda­tion and Guard of all the rest, name­ly, a filial and dutiful Love of his Parents, and hearty affection to his Brethren; the Servant therefore, if there happen any breach or inter­ruption of this mutual and Reciprocal Kindness between Father and Son, or Brethren, must do all that he can to repair it and make it up: [Page 146] But at leastwise if he cannot close, he must not widen the Breach; Peace-makers are blessed, Math. 5. and shall be cal­led the Children of God. But they who sow strife and contention, are the Children of their Father the Devil; 'tis the Villanous Practice of some Servants to enkindle Emulation and Strife amongst Brethren, and to take a side and party, when they have created a Faction to over-value one Child to the disparage­ment of the rest, and sometimes to fill their Ears with Lyes and Tales, that they may alienate their Minds from their Brethren: And some­times the very same method is made use of to withdraw 'em from the Love and Duty which they owe their Parents, by possessing 'em of the partiality of the Father and Mother, amplifying their kindness towards one even to fondness and dotage, and aggravating their unkindness to ano­ther even to coldness & hatred: One while they will not stick to insinuate the peevishness or jealousi'e of a Pa­rent, another while they will mag­nify [Page 147] the Fortune of the young Heir, they will provoke him by laying be­fore him the Liberty and Fineness of this or that Young Gentleman who is of a meaner Fortune than he, they will impute the strictness and care of Parents to the Niggardliness of their Temper, the narrowness and Antiqueness of their Education, or to the natural Austerity of old age, and thus they delude and be­tray the silly and unexperienced youth, and make him cease to be a Child to his Father, that he may be a slave to his Servant. Now I would earnestly intreat Servants to lay this sadly to heart, that these and such like Practices are an abomina­tion to God, that the more successful they are in 'em, the more fatal they'l prove to 'em, for if they be not chas­tis'd in this world, they will be damn'd for 'em in another. Amongst those things which Solomon tells us, the Lord hates, and are an abomina­tion to him, you will meet a Lying Tongue, Prov. 6.17. and verse 19. A false witness that speaketh Lyes; and [Page 148] him that soweth discord among Brethren; Nor is it to be wondred at that God should abominate such a sin as this is, for the mischiefs that very commonly ensue upon such divisions and animo­sities between Brethren, or between Parents and Children, are not to be expressed: St. James tells us briefly, ch. 3. v. 16. Where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. And he certainly who alienates a Child from his Parent, thrusts him headlong into sin and Ruine, and creates the Parent insufferable vexa­tion and discontent. But suppose God would not exact an account of you for this sin, what is it a Servant can propose to himself from all this mischief? He may flatter himself with strengthning his Interest, or raising his Fortune, but generally, it hap­pens quite otherwise, for that dear­ness and Familiarity between a Child and Servant which is founded in the contempt of Faith and Truth on the one side, and natural affection on the other, can never be firm and stea­dy, any little accident will undo all; [Page 149] Nature in the Child will return to it's bent, some little Obligation past upon him, or wholesom advice in­sinuated in a fit season will awaken his natural affection, and then he'l make no scurple to redeem his Er­rour towards his Father or his Bro­ther by the discovery, that is, the Ruine of a perfidious Servant. But suppose this Combination or Conspi­racy should hold some time, how can a Servant rationally expect a constant Friendship from him who upon very slight and trifling pre­tences could be divided from his Fa­ther and his Brethren, and tempted to forget the Duty he owed the one, and the affection he owed the other.

I have spoken of the main care of the Servant towards the Children of his Master, namely, his care to secure their good Morals; he that neglects this, or what is worse, ministers to the corrupting of Chil­dren, is guilty of the most fatal un­faithfulness to his Master: for he who betraies the Virtue of the Son, [Page 150] destroys the happiness of the Father: But he that performs this, performs a service that can never be sufficiently rewarded, not only, because a Child is the greatest Blessing of a Father, and Virtue the greatest Blessing of the Child, but also because he has hereby laid the best Foundation of the Child's Honour and Interest, Care for their Ho­nour and Interest. which puts me in mind of another care a Servant is oblig'd to, namely, for the Honour and Interest of his Master's Children; whereever you can advance these, you are to refuse no pains, no hazard: The least you can do, is to conceal Their defects, or excuse 'em, to lay hold on every opportunity to speak honourably of what is Virtuous and praise-worthy in 'em, to increase the number of their Friends, and to be wanting neither in advice nor travail to pro­mote their Interest: Nothing therefore can be more repugnant to this Duty in a Servant, than to entertain their acquaintance with spiteful stories of the silliness or viciousness of their Master's Children, or to raise a sus­pition [Page 151] of faults in 'em, where there are none apparent, or to lessen by any suggestion whatever, the esteem of their Virtue, Parts or Person, or the Credit and Reputation of their E­states; but of all the mischiefs, a Ser­vant is capable of doing his Ma­ster's Son, The Ser­vant must not pro­mote the secret Mar­riage of the Child. there is none I think grea­ter than the assisting him in a con­ceal'd Courtship, or aiding him in carrying on a Marriage without the knowledge, or what is worse, con­trary to the will of his Father; all the rest seem to be but single sins, but this is a complication of all mis­chiefs together, the Child's Virtue, Honour and Interest, are all betrayed at once; whereas other instances of negligence or unfaithfulness did ha­zard 'em but single and alone, othe [...] mischiefs are capable of a Reparatio [...] but this very seldom, if ever: A Chi [...] may be recover'd to the Duty a [...]d Virtue which he had forsaken, [...]e may be restor'd to the favour [...] his Father, and the interest he ha [...] for­feited, the Honour which he [...]ost by any single fault may be repaired by [Page 152] the Merit and service of his following actions, but this, an unhappy Marriage sticks fast like Hercules his poison'd shirt, he may tear away his flesh, but not the evil: Not to aggravate the matter, 'tis a mischief very sel­dom retriev'd, and no wonder, for down what a precipice must a raw Youth tumble that renounces, First his reason, then his Duty, that quits the Government of his Father, and the conduct of God, that sells his Inheritance, his Father's, and God's blessing, to gratifie a dishonourable affection, or it may be a Phantastick Passion, or it may be, something worse than both, a dishonourable Lust: What Bridewell, nay what Gibbet doth not that Servant deserve, [...]t aids the poor Creature thus to [...]o himself, nay it may be, not him­se [...] only, but his Father and his whole Fa [...]ly too?

§. I pass on now to the Duty of Serv [...]nts towards Sojourners. Sojour­ners, Servants Duty to­wards So­journers. [...]ho' they are not natural branch­es as the Children, yet seem they to be grafted into the same stock, and to [Page 153] constitute one Family with them, and therefore they have in their Place a Right to their proportion of all the advantages of the Family; they have in their degree a claim to the love and care of the Master, to the Brotherly Affection of the Children, and to the Respect and Duty of the Servants: I need not therefore repeat here all the Duties of the Servant, which are all of 'em in their time, place and degree, due to these whom the Ma­ster hath Adopted into his Family, and made members of that body, whereof he is the Head, so that 'tis impossible, that the Servant can wrong them, but that the injury must reflect and rebound on the Master. 'Tis true, there is great variety in the case and circumstance of Sojourners, and by consequence in the Duty of Servants towards them, so that 'tis hard to fix a constant and general Rule by which it may be measur'd and regulated; unless I should say, that since whatever degree of Duty is owing 'em, springs from their U­nion to the Family, and Relation to [Page 154] the Master of it, therefore the Service and Respect towards them is to be proportion'd to the degrees of that Union which is between them, and the other Members of the Family, and the dearness and tie there is, or ought to be between them and the Master of it.

This Rule I think will generally hold good, or at leastwise, a very lit­tle discretion will inform any Servant, what variation must be observ'd in this point: But here to compleat the Servants Instruction, I must put you in mind of two Rules more. First, That you must avoid all occasions of diffe­rence between you and the Servants of Sojourners, contending rather in courtesie to ease and assist 'em, than putting off, what is your business and Duty, or any part of it upon them; and you must abhor to be any way instrumental to breed misunderstand­ing between Sojourners and your Master, for this is the unkindest Of­fice you can do both. Secondly, You must never go about to endear your selves to Sojourners by any Unfaith­fulness [Page 155] to your Master, that is, by entertaining 'em with the faults or secrets of the Family, or by prefer­ring their Honour or Interest, or Hu­mour before your Masters: For in all this, you are ungrateful and unjust, and will finally forfeit that esteem which you endeavour thus to raise: For how can those which you caress at this rate, believe that you'l be kin­der and trustier to Strangers, than you have been to those, to whom by the Law of God and Nature, you owe Obedience, Faithfulness and Love?

§ 3. Besides these Boarders, Servants Duty to­wards Strangers. there are others, which tho' they are not of the Family, may be consider'd as ha­ving some Relation to it, such are Vi­sitants, Guests, Strangers; now the Rule Servants are to observe here, are such as concern discretion and good manners; in the First place, courtesie, civility and respect to­wards all, is an indispensible Duty of every Servant, and reflects an Ho­nour on the Government of the Ma­ster, and the breeding of the Family; but as to the degrees of these, a dis­creet [Page 156] Servant should behave himself as if he were acted and inspir'd by his Masters Soul, and moved by his af­fections, shewing an extraordinary chearfulness and even zeal to serve those the Master calls his Friends, civility towards his Acquaintance, & coldness, tho' not rudeness, towards Intruders, and downright Aversion towards such as the Master looks up­on as dangerous hangers on, Spies, Parasites, Suckers, and such like which are to a House; what Moths are to a Garment, they stain the Ho­nour and consume the substance of it. Secondly. 'Tis a piece of justice to right such as are traduced to your Master, and to convey to him the knowledge of all either kind expres­sions, courteous or generous actions, which are design'd on purpose to pass an Obligation on the Master, and so it is to represent any Errand or busi­ness truly and seasonably to him, the neglect of which is not only a discour­teous contempt of the Stranger, but also Unfaithfulness, and an affront to the Master: But yet as to neglect an [Page 157] Errand or business you charge your selves with, is unjust and discourte­ous, so to obtrude your selves upon the affairs of Strangers, or to lie in wait for the secrets of your Master or his Friends, is insolence and immo­desty, and as great a folly as rude­ness, and commonly unfaithfulness is join'd with this, and the Servant who takes pains to discover, doth ge­nerally take as much to vent a secret, and all finally tends as much to their own disgrace as their Masters disquiet.

There is but one thing more that I would mind you of on this occasi­on, and that is, your behaviour up­on a day of any Solemn Entertain­ment. Your Masters and your own credit, as well as the satisfaction of his Guests are nearly concern'd in it, the decency of your attire, the dili­gence and chearfulness of your atten­dance, the order and silence of the whole management, being not only one of the fairest Ornaments of the Entertainment, but also a good mark of your breeding, and of your Masters prudence and good Government as [Page 158] well as an addition to the satisfaction of all entertain'd by him: But above all, nothing savouring of rudeness, immodesty, excess, or any other immo­rality, must be practised by you that day: For this must necessarily bring you and the Discipline of the Family into contempt, nothing being a more certain symptom of Folly or Loosness, or Poverty, or at least Meanness than this is.

CHAP. IV. Of the Servants Duty towards his Fel­low-Servants, consisting in Justice, Charity, Concord, Mutual Assist­ance: The Grounds of Discord be­tween Servants.

THE Duties which Servants owe one another, are the very same with those which all Mankind are mutually oblig'd to, that is, Justice and Charity, only their nearer Relati­on to one another ties this Obligation faster upon them, by adding new motives and incitements to these Du­ties. Of Mutual Justice be­tween Ser­vants. Thus, First for Justice, they are oblig'd to it towards one another un­der pain of Damnation, and by the hopes of Salvation, as all other men are. But then, they must further [Page 161] consider, that they are bound to it not only as Christians, but as Fel­low-Servants, in which Relation, the more indispensible necessity of Justice increases their Obligation to it, and renders the Transgression of it more unpardonable. Fellow-Servants are so necessarily exposed to the injuries of one another, and those daily one's too, that their life would be intole­rable, without a strict observance of Justice. I need say nothing of the in­justice of pilfering and stealing, eve­ry one being watchful enough to se­cure his own; but there are other sorts of injustice, to which Servants are more prone, and against which they are less able to defend themselves, such are for instance, Laziness in one, Insolence in another, and Lying in a third; the sluggish Servant shifts the burden off himself, and this must lie somewhere; now this is the high­est injustice, for 'tis to ease one's own trouble by increasing anothers. A se­cond error to which Servants are prone, is Insolence; there are no Ma­sters so tyrannical and domineering [Page 162] as is one Servant over another; and this is commonly the use a disingeni­ous Servant makes of that Authority, which the favour or trust of the Ma­ster confers upon him, namely, to op­press, insult over, and despise his Fel­low-Servants; methinks it should now be difficult to convince any of you of the injustice of this behaviour; for how can any one of you be so stupid as to think that behaviour just in him towards his Fellow-Servants which he would think, were not to be endured in his Master towards him­self? besides, I cannot tell whether the folly of this carriage be not grea­ter than the injustice, not only, be­cause such a Servant forgetting his own quality, upbraids himself, whilst he insults over his Fellow-Servants, and renders the worst usage his Ma­ster and Mistress can treat him with, just and reasonable, for he has no rea­son to complain of his Superiors for that usage, which he is guilty of to­wards his Equals; but besides this, such a Servant must expect to be un­dermined at home, and most cer­tainly [Page 163] defamed abroad, and when a­ny ill accident befalls him, or lessens his interest in his Master, he must expect the just return of his insolence in contempt and hatred. I would have such Servants as these, call to mind what our Saviour saith of that Ser­vant, who being by his Lord made Ruler of his Houshold, Matth. 24.49.50, 51. Began to smite his Fellow-Servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken: The Lord of that Servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not ware of: And shall cut him asun­der, and appoint him his Portion with the Hippocrites: There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth. Now, tho' you should not eat and drink with the drunken, yet if you smite your Fel­low-Servant, you shall have your share of this punishment in propor­tion to your guilt, or if you do not smite with the Hand, yet if you smite with the Tongue either by bitter and reviling Language, or by froward or malicious accusations of your poor Fellow-Servants, to their Master or Mistress, your guilt is much the [Page 164] same; he that doth the one, doth not want Pride or Uncharitableness enough to do the other, but is held in by some other motive than Justice or Charity. A Third sort of Injustice incident to Servants, is belying one another, which whether it be by li­bellous discourses abroad, or unwor­thy and base detraction in private at home, which is a common Artifice to make parties, and set one Servant against another: Or whether it be lastly by sly insinuations or malicious accusations to the Master, it matters little; this is in each instance the fruit of a naughty and wicked Heart, Matt. 15.19. For out of the Heart proceed not only Murders, Adulteries, &c. but also e­vil Thoughts, false Witness, Blasphe­mies; And these are the things which de­file a Man. 'Tis strange to observe, that if this sin were to be estimated by the practice of Servants, 'tis so common, one would be tempted to think, it were no sin at all: And yet if it were to be estimated from the word of God, one would be tempted to think it were the greatest of sins; [Page 165] for I do not know, whether there be any sin against which more judg­ments, more curses, are denounced, or which is represented more detesta­ble to God than Lying Lips, a Lying Tongue, a spiteful and a malicious Heart. There is indeed a sort of Ly­ing by way of Recrimination and Self-defence, which is generally thought to have something of exte­nuation in it, and something indeed it has, but not enough to excuse it, for the best that can be said of it is this, it may sometimes have some­thing less of Malice and habitual Ran­cour, but it has never less of false­hood and injustice, and therefore, is vile and dishonourable in the sight of Man, and damnable in the sight of God. One sort of Injustice more, I must just touch upon, and that is Envy; weak and base minds are ex­treamly subject to this, such as are too sluggish to have any Merit, and too self-conceited to see their want of it; these, and these only are apt to be envious, and such a one will count every excellence in his Fellow-Ser­vant [Page 166] a disparagement to himself, and every favour vouchsafed another an injury to him: And this stirs him up to detract from anothers good Ser­vice, and to supplant anothers inter­est by all imaginable Arts, which shews the hainousness of this Crime consisting in the utmost contradiction to Justice and Charity, but this sin is so great a Plague and Torment to ones self, that methinks, there needs few motives to persuade men not to entertain it, or to get rid of it. Thus much I thought necessary to speak of this Duty of the Justice of Servants towards one another, and were this well observ'd, this would lay a sure Foundation for Charity, and this a­gain for Mutual Assistance and Con­cord; for if you would not wrong one another either in word or deed, all occasions of debate and conten­tion would be cut off: It were very happy for you your selves, and for your Masters and Mistresses, if you could advance thus far, if you could come up to the pitch of honest Hea­thens, but this is not enough to [Page 167] make you perfect Christians, there's something more requir'd of you, if you'l be the Disciples of our dear Lord and Master, than meerly not to do wrong. I will proceed there­fore to the second Duty of Servants towards one another, namely Chari­ty.

I need not insist on the necessity of this grace in general, Mutual Charity be­tween Ser­vants. you well enough know, you cannot be saved without it; the heart that is void of love, is void of God, for 1 John. God is Love; if you be destitute of Charity, you can­not be the Children of God, or the Disciples of Christ. 1 John 4.20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his Brother, he is a Lyar. And our Saviour saith, hereby shall I know that ye are my Disciples, if ye love one another. This is an irresisti­ble motive to every one that believes and weighs it, but there are others which being more peculiar to your state, ought to prove strong engage­ments to it; for instance, how uncom­fortable must strife and hatred render your service? it must needs be extreme­ly troublesom to be condemn'd to the [Page 168] company and conversation of those you cannot endure, nor will this only bereave you of the pleasure you would take in one another, but of the assi­stance you would afford each other, if you did love as Brethren: nor is this all, your discontents do generally rebound upon those above you, and you grow by degrees as uneasy and unaccepta­ble to your Masters and Mistresses, as you are to one another; nay any dis­creet man tho' he could brook the trouble of your quarrels and discon­tents, yet to deliver himself from the disparagement & scandal of 'em, will judge himself obliged to discard all peevish & contentious Servants, what over other good qualities they may have: And then another ill conse­quence is, you lose your good name, and lie under such odious characters, that being cast out of one house, no other will receive you; for who can be fond of noise and mischief? This little, if it be seriously consider'd, is sufficient to convince you of your obligation to Charity, and Brotherly affection to­wards one another. I will now go on [Page 169] to shew you in what instances you must express this affection, having first only put you in mind that your Charity must be real, and not feig­ned, that you must love not in word, but in deed and in truth; for Hypo­crisie and Dissimulation is as sinful and mischievous, and in common account at least more odious and despicable, than professed hatred or open conten­tion. Having premised this, I proceed; there are two waies by which you are to express your mutual Charity, First, by the mutual assistance you are to afford each other. Secondly, by pre­serving constant peace and unity amongst your selves. 1. If you be pos­sessed with Charity towards one an­other, it will shew it self in the good turns you will do one another, in the assistance you will yield to each other, and here sure, the Soul of your fellow-Servant deserves your aid in the first place, if he be ignorant & unacquain­ted with Religion, and not only so, but incapable through the meanness of his education to inform himself in it by reading, for if he be not igno­rant, [Page 170] but what is worse, viciously inclined, if he know God, but do not fear nor glorifie him as he ought, you cannot do God or him a more emi­nent service than by endeavour­ing to instruct and inform him, reading to him, and teaching him to read, or by endeavouring to con­vince his Conscience of his Duty, and to make him sensible of the ne­cessity and happiness of a Religious and holy life. Next to the ignorance of Religion, and Immorality, a Servant's ignorance in his business, requires your compassion and aid, and what help you afford him in this, is a work of excellent Charity in you, and ought to be acknowledg'd not only by your fellow-Servant, but your Master too, as an obligation; for 'tis a Real be­nefit to both: To be brief, if you'l be­have your selves with that goodness, gentleness and sweetness, that may evidence your love to one another, you must in a literal sense bear one anothers burthens, you must pardon and forgive one another's infirmities, you must excuse and conceal one anothers [Page 171] Errours, unless they be such, as im­ply manifest unfaithfulness to your Master, in which case, they are no longer Errours and Frailties, but Crimes. Concord, which was the se­cond instance of Charity I recommen­ded to you, is the natural result of all this. For these mutual Assistances and Obligations can never miss of pre­serving a right Understanding, and nourishing a sincere Friendship be­tween you; but yet because Concord must be preserv'd, where Friendship sometimes cannot, and you must wish well to, and carry your selves fairly towards some Servants whom you can­not fancy, whom you cannot take any complacency or delight in: therefore I will say something of this.

I need say nothing more to con­vince you of the necessity of Concord, than what has frequently been insinu­ated all along this Treatise; only I will remind you how great the evils of Discord and Contention are; perpe­tual Vexation and Disturbance to the Father of the Family, who must either with great prejudice to order and go­verment [Page 172] dissemble his knowledge of your misdemeanours, or to the les­sening of his Authority become a par­ty in the quarrel, or else seem guilty of that severity which is very uneasy to every good Temper. The next evil that attends Discord, and that a very sore one, is, it generally infects the Family with a peevish and fro­ward disposition, and by degrees sours the most sweet and obliging humour. A Third evil is confusion and disorder in all business, for mu­tinous and quarrelsom Servants are like factious men in a State, instead of assisting, rather than not cross one another, they will obstruct the busi­ness and good of the Family. The Last evil of Discord is this, that it utterly indisposes you for Religious Duties; and this is a sad considera­tion, that by your brawls and quar­rels, you not only afflict and vex, but damn one another; these and many more being the mischiefs of disa­greement, 'tis plain, that you are to purchase Peace almost at any Rate; it will not then seem hard to you [Page 173] that I should prescribe you two things for this end. First, that you would not suffer your selves to be easily provok't, much less, be rude or irreconcileable upon any provocation; if you can maintain Peace with none but those who are exempt from faults, you must converse only with Angels, not Men: And if we are all liable to Er­rours and Offences, we must be all alike forward to bear and pardon 'em, which, methinks, should be no very difficult matter to one who considers the Long-suffering and Patience of God towards him; I beseech you to remember, what sentence was past upon that wicked Servant who would not use that goodness towards his Fellow-Servant, which his Master had shew'd towards him. Matth. 18.32, &c. O thou wicked Servant, I forgave thee all that debt, be­cause thou desiredst me, shou'dst not thou also have had compassion on thy Fellow-Servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him to the Tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him: So likewise saith our Saviour, shall my Heavenly Father [Page 174] do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses. This is a dismal Issue of contentions, he is miserable who doth wrong, how much less miserable is he who doth not pardon it? the wrath of God will swallow up both. Secondly, that you may preserve Peace, you must often do more than is your business to do, nor can this seem an unreasonable advice to him that shall consider, that the trouble of that work he doth a­bove his own, is not half so great as the trouble of quarrel and contention which he prevents by it: Nor can you possibly take a more ready way to rid your selves of a slothful and quarrel­som Fellow-Servant; for the more di­ligent you are to supply his Errours and Defects, the more confidently will he commit 'em, growing every day more negligent and intolerable, till his sloth, and folly, and your Industry and Prudence can no longer be unknown to the Master. I have but one thing more to recommend to you in this place, and that is, that you should be very tender of one anothers credit and [Page 175] reputation, for this is the Livelihood and estate of a Servant, it is become fashionable with men of all ranks, to make other's faults the subject of their discourse and entertainment, and the meaner a mans Education is, the more subject is he to do this; but the com­monness of the sin doth not lessen it, much less excuse it. It is the Cha­racter of one of the worst of men, Psal. 5.19, 20. Thou givest thy Mouth to evil, and thy Tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy Brother, thou slanderest thine own Mother's Son. Nor is the folly less than the guilt of this sin, for thou teachest others an evil Lesson against thy own Soul, and dost justifie the worst practices thine Enemies can devise to defame and disparage thee.

I had design'd here to discourse of the grounds and causes of strife and contention, but this labour is preven­ted by what I have said upon the Du­ties of Justice and Charity, where you may easily discern, what are the gene­ral springs and causes of Discordn, ame­ly, Laziness, Lying, Envy, and such like, [Page 176] and how great the mischief and guilt of these is; but besides these, there is a proud, froward, and churlish Tem­per, which renders some Servants ut­terly unfit for Conversation, makes 'em apt to do wrong, without any motive to it, and apt to be pro­vok't without any ground for it: this is a temper directly contrary to Charity, and therefore is by a neces­sary consequence sufficiently con­demn'd already under that Head: However, I cannot be too careful to secure you against this sin, and therefore it will not be labour lost to take particular notice of it here: Pride and Frowardness are the dishonour of the greatest Men; how intolera­ble then must they appear in the mean­est? They are indeed vices, which one would think, the frailty and con­temptibleness of our nature would easily restrain us from, for proud and haughty wrath is unbecoming a poor sinner, a corruptible mortal Crea­ture; what should such a one be proud of? or what can inspire him with the arrogance of frowardness? [Page 177] Now if there be in the nature of every man, let him be never so high, Ar­gument enough for Humility, ground enough to shame him out of Pride and Peevishness; what excuse can there be for either in that man, where the meanness of his nature is rendred yet more contemptible by the meanness of his Fortune? But what do I talk of? these are mean, impotent and beggarly vices; these are weeds which grow no where but on dung-hills. A proud and peevish Temper is generally the symptom of a foolish understanding; a low birth, & a lower Education: For the wiser any man is, the better born, and the better bred, the more cour­teous and the more humble he is, a consideration which methinks, should make you extreamly sensible of the dishonour and scandal of this Tem­per: But after all, there is another Argument behind which should even scare and frighten you into meekness and humility, and that is, that a proud and froward heart is an abomi­nation to the Lord; to be hated or despised by man, which is the gene­ral [Page 178] fate of all such tempers is an un­comfortable state, but to be hated by God, this is infinitely more dreadful and astonishing: As then you value, I will not say, your Service, but your Salvation, subdue this devilish Dis­position: for assure your selves, who­ever is unfit to live peaceably in any Family, can never enter into the company of Angels and Spirits of just Men made perfect: For all these are meek and gentle, kind and loving Spirits.

Now for the Conquest of all these Vices which ingender strife, you must observe the same method, which is wont to be prescrib'd for the Con­quest of any other, that is, you must lay before you frequently and serious­ly the guilt and mischief of these sins, you must endeavour to persuade your selves of the loveliness and ad­vantage of the contrary Virtues, you must carefully avoid all occasions of, and temptation to these sins, you must watch over the motions of your own Hearts, you must resolve sincere­ly upon reformation and amendment, [Page 179] you must call your selves to an ac­count for these your resolutions, you must not faint nor be weary, tho' you do not presently conquer; but you must repeat and reinforce all your vows and purposes, and go on pati­ently till you have brought forth Righteousness unto Victory; and with all this, you must joyn fervent Prayers to Almighty God for his Assistance.

PART II.
CHAP. V. Of the Servants Duty towards himself, his Credit, which way rais'd and pre­serv'd; the Love of his Master, &c. how to be abtain'd. His thrift, &c.

'Tis certain that every man's Du­ty, is his Interest, and that in whatever station a man is, there is no­thing can render him more prospe­rous in it, or more effectually recom­mend him to a better than a faithful and conscientious discharge of the Duties of his place. Nor did Solomon, when he ascribed to Wisdom these glorious effects or fruits, length of days, Riches and Honour, understand by wis­dom, Subtlety, Craft or worldly Poli­cy, but purely a sincere performance of our Duty towards God and Man: having therefore fully discours'd of a Servant's Duty both towards God and his Master, it might suffice here to tell him in general, that a sincere [Page 182] performance of this, is his only true wisdom, his only true policy. How­ever, that this may more evidently appear, and that the Servant may be more sensible of the obligation he lies under to the Duties prescrib'd him, I will descend to a particular consideration of his Interest, a thing which Servants as well as others, are allow'd, nay obliged to persue and advance by all fair means.

It will easily be granted, that the Interest of a Servant consists in these three things, his Credit, the Love of his Master, &c. the profit of his place; 'tis therefore a duty which concerns a Servant to consider what course he must take to promote these three. The Ser­vants Cre­dit, how ad­vanc'd. First then, if we consider the grounds of a Servant's Credit or Re­putation, it depends upon an opinion of his Religion or Virtue, and of his ability or sufficiency for the place he undertakes; As to this latter, 'tis not my business to direct you in it, only I must put you in mind that there are some greneral qualifications, such as Truth, Industry, and Humility, [Page 183] which are necessary recommendations to all sorts of lawful Imployments; without which whatever skill or ex­perience any man has, he is unfit for any service. The other Basis or Pil­lar of a Servant's Credit is, Religion and Virtue, he that has rais'd in others an opinion of his Virtue, hath by consequence rendred himself more valuable and considerable to 'em, for such is the Beauty and Majesty of Virtue, that it commands from all some degree of affection and respect; and such is the manifold use of it in the world, that he who is possessed of it, is presently accounted of as more worthy and more serviceable than other men, which is a Charac­ter which commands esteem. Now if you would possess men with the perswasion of your Virtue, the most effectual way is really to be, what you would fain appear to be; for a Hy­pocrite cannot long be concealed, and when he is discovered, he looks more loathsom than an open sinner: be­sides that a Hypocrite lies under this one great disadvantage, that his Dissimulation once prov'd upon him, [Page 184] his Credit can never be redeem'd by his following sincerity, his very Re­pentance shall never find Credit with men, there being no way left man to distinguish it from a strain of his known Art: You must therefore be really virtuous if you would gain a Reputation for Virtue; you must en­deavour to be most eminent in these Virtues which are proper to your sta­tion, sobriety, industry faithfulness, &c, for these are the Virtues men require and regard in you. There is scarce any place wherein there is not an opportunity of practising these in some degree, which practice is one way, and the best too of raising your Reputation; but besides this, that you may both confirm and in­crease these Virtues in your selves, and the opinion that you have of 'em, in others, you must First industrious­ly avoid all vicious company. For this, if it do not destroy your Virtue (which were next to a miracle) it will certainly destroy your credit; for no wise man will ever be­lieve, that you can be otherwise than vicious in vicious Company. This is [Page 185] generally the ruine of most Servants; 'tis here they learn to despise Virtue, and their Masters; 'tis here they learn to love Liberty and Idleness; and Finally, 'tis here they learn those sins which they can neither maintain nor enjoy without the guilt of disobedience and unfaithful­ness to their Masters, therefore follow the advice of Solomon, Prov. 4.14, 15. Enter not into the Path of the wick­ed, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away; where the wise man doth excellently insinuate, that he that would be safe, can never keep too great a distance from evil company. Secondly, you must resolutely arm your self against, and carefully resist the Temptations of the Family you are in; let not the Authority of great examples delude or deceive thee; let not any prospect of Interest insnare thee; let not the solicitations of thy fellow Servants perswade thee; let no opportunity betray thee into sin; for thou dost purchase thy profit or the favour of man at too dear a rate, if by the loss of thy Virtue, thy [Page 186] Soul, thy Heaven, thy God: Never be ashamed of singularity, where thou canst not be virtuous unless sin­gular, Eccles. 4.20, 21, 22. Observe the Opportunity, and beware of evil, and be not ashamed, when it concerns thy Soul; for there is a shame that bringeth sin, and there is a shame which is glory and grace: Accept no person against thy Soul, and let not the Reverence of any man cause thee to fall. For thou mayest assure thy self, that Virtue is never more honourable than when it stands the shock of Temptations, and despises the allure­ments of Opportunity, and that whatever profit or honour sin may flatter thee with, it will prove shame and bitterness in the latter end. Third­ly, besides the practice of Religion in private, and the frequenting the Sacrament in publick, as often as you have Opportunity, you must con­scientiously attend to Family-Duties, for this peradventure is the only Rule by which your Master will measure your esteem for Religion, and your esteem for Religion is the only thing, or at least the main thing, by which he will judg of your Truth and Faith­fulness: [Page 187] Not that this should be your first and chief motive to it, for that must be not the opinion of others concerning you, but the Honour of God, and the improvement of your Soul; There lies upon you more than common Obligations to these Duties, for your absenting your selves from 'em, is not only a slight put upon the Worship and Truths of God, but also an Act of Disobedience to your Master. In the second place, the meaner your Education is, the more ought you to covet these oppor­tunities of instruction, and the less your time for Religion is (which you are often wont to pretend at least) the more carefully ought you to em­brace this time of Worshipping God. Thus much of the First thing, where­in the interest of a Servant doth con­sist, which is his Credit or Reputati­on. The Second is the affection which his Master and others bear towards him, of which now.

And here 'tis certain that the su­rest Foundation of this affection or love, is the merit of your Service, The Affe­ction of the Master, how at­tain'd. a Faithful, that is, honest and careful [Page 188] discharge of your Duty; but besides this, there are some qualities that do more immediately tend to recommend and endear a Servant, such are First, an humble and chearful temper, which always puts 'em forward even beyond the bounds of their indispen­sible Duty, makes 'em ready to un­dertake even more than they are bound to, if they think it tends in the least either to the interest or satis­faction of their Master, and in doing this, they must appear glad of the op­portunity, desirous of purchasing their Masters favour at any rate; and this is such an obliging temper, that 'tis almost impossible to fancy a Ma­ster so stupid or ungrateful, as not to take notice of, Love and Reward such a Servant. Secondly. He that will win the affection of those he serves, must make it appear that he loves 'em, he must rejoyce in every good that befalls 'em, and be afflicted in every evil; he must be extreamly tender of creating 'em trouble or dis­turbance, not so much out of the fear of any damage growing from it, [Page 189] as out of a filial delight in their satis­faction, and a filial affliction in their trouble; besides all this, he must al­ways speak well and kindly of 'em, he must look upon it as a lucky acci­dent, when ever he has opportunity to check the ingratitude of a Fellow-Servant towards 'em, or to vindicate their Reputation against the calum­nies of a Stranger; and if he will take my advice, he must not only speak well of his present, but his for­mer Master: For I can hardly be persuaded that a Servant will speak well of me, when gone from me, who speaks ill of him whom he ser­ved before; but if there be nothing good which he can speak of him, yet at least, let him never speak any ill of him, unless he be unavoidably for­ced to it. Nor let the Servant only speak well of his former Master, but let him serve him to the utmost of his power, for gratitude to a former, is the Servants highest merit with his present Master. Lastly, That the Ser­vant who desires to be belov'd, keep at the greatest distance he can from all [Page 190] sorts of quarrels and contests in the Family, let him never make any him­self, nor be a party in those made by others, and let him be so far from in­sinuating himself into those things which his Superiors or any others would keep secret, that on the con­trary, he must rather fly from the knowledge of a secret, which others would disclose to him, unless they have some good use to make of his trust; all this that I have here directed, I would have performed, not with art and skill, but sincerity; for a Servant cannot counterfeit an obliging temper long, if he do not endeavour to pos­sess himself really of it: He must en­deavour to love his Master truly and heartily, or else it will be very hard for him to make a good shew of that love which he has not; and he must be finally endow'd with an humble and quiet spirit, or else it will be a very difficult task for him to stand neuter amidst the quarrels of others, and to close his Eyes and Ears against the secrets, news and tattle which most are so naturally inquisitive af­ter.

[Page 191]The third thing on which the in­terest of a Servant depends is the pro­fit or gain of his Place: The Ser­vants Pro­fit, how ad­vanced. And here I need not tell you, that a Faithful discharge of your Duty serves most to promote this, for this, as you have seen, gains you affection at home, and credit abroad, and the Master will certainly give most countenance and encouragement as far as he is able to the Servant he loves best, and every Member of the Family will favour and assist such a one as far as they can; and if there be no ground for a rational expectation of reward from those he serves, his own credit, will in a little time open the way to it, an extraordinary Virtue can be no more conceal'd than the Light, the mean­est and most private Imployment is Theatre enough to an excellent Per­son, but what is most considerable of all, he that serves faithfully in any Station, has God for his Spectator and Patron: There is therefore one thing only which I am to put you in mind of, and that is, that you be good Husbands of what you gain; I mean, [Page 192] that you do not wast and lavish it out in unnecessary expences, whe­ther in fine Attire, or the extravagan­cies of gaming or entertainments. And to this good Husbandry, you lie under the strongest obligations that can be, for First, By these ways, you bring into question not your Discre­tion only, but your Virtue too: For if a Servants expences look bigger than his gains, it cannot be thought un­charitable in the Master, if he do not only condemn his folly, but also enter into a suspition of his unfaithfulness to him; or else his engagement in some unlawful course or other for the supply either of his Pride or Prodi­gality. But Secondly, The loss of your credit is not the only evil, you are to apprehend from this Folly, but also Distress and Poverty one time or other: For Alas! The Revenue of a Gentleman is not able, (we see by dayly experience) to support the fol­ly of a spend-thrift, and how much less, the narrow salary of a Servant: 'tis true indeed, 'tis the extremity of unkindness in a Master to turn a [Page 193] faithful Servant to the Common, af­ter he has spent his strength and youth in his service, but I think it is extremity of folly in a Servant to expect that his Master should be kin­der to him than he is to himself, or to eat the bread of his old age at the Courtesie of others, when if he plea­ses he may eat his own. This can­not but prove a very strong engage­ment upon Servants to thrift, espe­cially if it be consider'd, that they are more unable to sustain the wants and hardships of Poverty, than Com­mon Day-Labourers are; for he ge­nerally has not the same palate who is accustom'd to feed at his Master's Table, that the poor man has, who feeds at his own.

But whilst I recommend Thrift to you, and a regard to your own profit, I would not have you make use of this advise for a pretence to justifie either your want of Charity, or your quitting a service wherein you have been highly obliged upon the least shew of a little more gain in another: For first as to Charity, it is the Duty [Page 194] of Servants as well as Masters, The Ser­vant's Cha­rity. God requires of every man in proportion to that wealth which he gives him, a part of it for the poor; and if the re­ward of the Servants Mite cast into the stock of the Poor, shall be as great as that of the pounds of the Rich, no doubt the punishment of his unchari­tableness shall be as great as that of their's: For the refusal of contribu­ting this his Mite, can't but be judg'd an extream wickedness, if it be consi­der'd that he may spare it easily, and that the reward of it is no less than a Heaven. A Servant must not for a slight gain, quit the Service where he has been long in­structed and born with. As to the second thing, the quitting a service wherein you have bin obliged upon shew of a very little gain, 'tis an action of extream folly and ingratitude, for a raw and untutou­red Servant after he has bin formed and shaped, and fitted for service, im­mediately to relinquish that Family where he has bin thus instructed in prospect of a slight gain, is extream ingratitude; for certainly he ought to think his service most due to those who have made him a Servant, and taught him how to perform it: they [Page 195] have done more for him, than they who after he is well qualified, give him larger wages: I do not know, whether I may not add, that this is Injustice in a Servant; for surely he that plants and watereth a tree, has best claim to it's fruit, and that Mas­ter who has born the trouble of a Servants Ignorance, has the best right sure to his better service, which is but the fruit of his own Care, Patience and Instruction: Nay 'tis easie to be conceived, that this is due to him by a Tacit Pact and Contract; for the Ser­vant cannot but think, that no Mas­ter would give himself the care and trouble which the instruction and Patience to be used towards a raw Servant requires, did he not pro­pose to reap some ease and fruit from it afterwards, to defraud him then of this rational expectation, doth look extreamly like Injustice as well as Ingratitude; Nor is the folly of this action generally less than the ingra­titude, for Masters generally love most, and confide most in those whom they have themselves bred up [Page 196] and fitted, so that generally such a Servant may thrive better by keep­ing than quitting his service: But if this once grows to an humour of flitting and shifling from place to place, then the folly of it is remark­able even to a Proverb, A Rouling­stonce never gathers Moss, for what­ever good Qualities such a Servant may be possessed of, they cannot turn much to his profit, because he does not allow time for the raising of his Credit, or the establishing a value of, and affection for him in any Master; and these are the usual seeds of a Servant's gain.

The Con­clusion.Thus I have given you a short, but I hope a clear and full view of your Duty; some of you may perad­venture fancy, that I have bound a heavy burthen upon you; but I must tell you, 'tis no heavier than what God lays upon you, than what the reason of every one of you, if you would make use of it, would lay upon you; than what lastly, the necessities of your place and station, and your own Interest doth indispensibly require [Page 197] of you: Nor have I only presented you with a draught of your Duty, but I have also pressed and recom­mended every part of it by such rea­sons as may convince you of the truth of what I have last said, namely, that your Interest, your Conscience, and our God, exact the observance of those things I have here perscrib'd you; there is therefore less need of of any pathetick address to you here by way of Conclusion: However, I cannot forbear putting you in mind briefly of two things: First, The great and many evils the neglect of your Duty is the cause of. Se­condly, The great and many benefits the right performance of it will pro­cure both to your selves and others: The First thing is too sadly and noto­riously evident to be denied, who can reckon up the Children who have been corrupted, or betrayed the Families, whose Fortunes have been subverted by the falshood or negli­gence of Servants? Who knows not how often the love of the Master and Mistress has been dissolv'd, and their Honours blasted by the lying [Page 198] and deceitful Tongues of those of their own houshold? who knows not how miserably the peace and quiet of Families has been disturbed, the beau­ty and order of 'em deform'd and con­founded, and the Religion of 'em ob­structed, and their substance consum­ed and exhausted by the pride and peevishness, by the sloth and careles­ness, by the lavishness and unfaith­fulness of ill Servants. And can you think, that these, and innumerable other mischiefs which your trans­gression of your Duty creates, the World shall go unpunish't? Shall not God, who in his compassion hears the cry of an injur'd Servant, in his Justice, behold the wrongs and crimes of an evil one? Shall that God, who will not wink at the trans­gressions of the Rich and Mighty, the Monarch and the Potentate, pass over, and connive at those of the Servant; No, no, assure your selves, you shall be as accountable to Almighty God for your negligence & falshood, for your disobedience, un­faithfulness and discontent, as the rich and great shall be for their Luxury or [Page 199] Covetousness, for their Ambiti­on or Oppression for their Muti­nies, Factions, and Disloyalty: For these your sins are but a Copy and Transcript of their's, tho' in an humbler stile, and less character, ac­cording to the circumstances of your Fortune and Station; and when God shall enter into Judgment with you for these things, it will be well for you if he punish you only with Tem­poral Chastisements; you will escape well, if your Pride end only in con­tempt, your Frowardness in a gene­ral hatred and aversion, your Care­lesness and Wastfulness in Want and Beggary; and your Unfaith­fulness in indelible Reproach; God will I say be extreamly tender and compassionate in distributing Justice, if this be the worst that befals you, if you buy repentance at so cheap a rate as the suffering any or all of these evils; and yet how dreadful these appear to you, I ap­peal to your own thoughts; for I believe a sluggish and evil Servant can hardly read this without Im­patience [Page 200] and Murmuring against me, because I do not prophesie to him smoother things: but alas! I have not half vented the Burden which the Lord has charg'd me with against wicked and unfaithful Ser­vants; for I must tell you, Tophet is ordain'd of old, as well for undutiful Servants, as tyrannical Kings; for as your sins are sins of accumulated ag­gravations, your acts of injustice and uncharitableness, when they are put into the ballance, being pressed down, not only by their own weight, but that also of Ingratitude, Lying, breach of trust, an impudent contempt of all restraints, and a bold defiance of all the necessities of Virtue which God's providence imposed upon you: Your sins, I say, being of such an accumulated guilt, you cannot but in reason expect, that your punish­ment shall be laid on in good measure, pressed down, heap't up, and running over. Ah poor Souls! my bowels are mov'd, my compassions are kindled towards you, when I consider this your wretch­ed Fate, must you pass from a state [Page 201] of travail and meanness, to a state of Eternal Pain and Eternal Reproach? Must your servitude end in a Hell at last; and can you be content it should do so?

But that I may not seem to delight to prophesie evil and not good con­cerning you, let me beseech you, that you would deliver the World and your selves from all these evils with which your miscarriages plague and threaten them and you: Let me beseech you, that you would rescue your selves from the contempt, from the insolencies and severities, with which, not your Fortunes, but your Vices now oppress you, and that you would by sincere and Christian Vir­tues recommend your selves to the love and esteem of Mankind, and make your selves an useful and con­siderable part of the World as good Servants indeed are: O redeem at least your Souls from slavery, let not your Unfaithfulness and Pride, your Disobedience and Frowardness, your Loosness and Carelesness exclude you from Heaven, and bereave you of [Page 202] Crowns and Glory, which the mean­ness of your Birth or Fortune never can. No, no, God is not such a fond accepter of Persons, as partially to condemn any of his poor Creatures to meanness here, and misery hereaf­ter: Your Service is but an opportu­nity of Merit and of Glory, it puts you into a capacity to do and suffer more, with design that you should receive more too than other men in another World at least, proportiona­bly to those hardships you undergo, and these Virtues which you practise in this. And the blessed Jesus, who took your Form and Character upon him, did not disdain the lowness of your condition, but shed as much Blood for you as for the Rich and No­ble; he purchas'd for you the same Peace of God, the same Favour, the same Kingdom; all that is requir'd of you is, that you should live in those Virtues that are suitable to your condition, that you should do the Duty of your Station, when you are assured you shall have your Reward from God, which shall be nothing [Page 203] less than a never-fading Crown of Righteousness: Besides the love and esteem of Man, and a Provision of all things necessary made for you by the blessed Providence of God; nor let it seem strange to you, that your Ser­vice in so low a Station, should enti­tle you to such great Rewards, your Virtue is as necessary in the World as that of Men in a higher Station; the motion of the Feet, and motion of the Hands, is as necessary to the Body, as the direction and guidance of the Eye: 'Tis by you the order and beau­ty of the World in a great measure subsists, for were there no Servants, there could be no Masters: 'Tis by your Travail, that not only the ne­cessities of Mankind in general are sup­plied, but also the Pleasure and Gran­deur of States supported; for neither would the Earth bring forth it's in­crease, nor would our Tables be co­ver'd with the Fish of the Sea, the Beasts of the Earth, or the Fowl of the Air without your Ministry and At­tendance; nay farther, 'tis by you that we enjoy the Studies of the [Page 204] Learned, and the Prudence of the States-man, for the necessities of Life would so wholly take Men up, that they would have little time for these Nobler Works, were not those low­er Cares devolved on you: If we come to more particular effects, the Prosperity, the Virtue, the Peace, the Unity of Families depends not a little upon you: Thus you see; you are not the least useful Members of the Community, and therefore 'tis not to be wondred at, if the Re­wards design'd you, should be pro­portioned to the Service requir'd of you: Acquit your selves then like Men, like Christians; you serve God while you serve Man Faithfully, and of him you shall receive your Re­ward.

CHAP. I. The Servants Obligation to Receive the Sacrament.

General Obligati­ons.THE Obligations to Commemo­rate the Death of our blessed Lord, which arise from the conside­ration of his great Love in dying for [Page 207] us, and the great benefits we are made partakers of in that Holy Com­munion; and from the need we stand in of the Grace and Mercy that is conveyed and sealed to us in this Sa­crament; these and such like are Universal Obligations, and equally concern all Mankind, the Servant as well as the Master, the Poor as well as the Rich, for the Son of God has died for all alike; Mercy to pardon us, and Grace to assist us is tender'd to all alike, and all do alike stand in need of both: And of this sort of Obligation is the command of Christ, and the practice of the Primitive Church, and the nature of the Duty, as 'tis the renewing of our Covenant; all these do oblige all Men alike to fre­quent Communion; for no sort of Men were excepted in the command of our Saviour, no Rank of Men were excluded in the practice of the Church, and since 'tis a publick own­ing of our Covenant, it seems to me that it cannot be utterly neglected, much less contemn'd without Relin­quishing the Communion of Saints, [Page 208] Renouncing the Faith, and falling al­most into the guilt of open Apostacy: All these Arguments and Motives to the frequent use of the Sacrament do as strongly bind, and forcibly press Servants, as any other sort of People whatever. Obligations peculiar to Servants. But besides these, there are some considerations which may more peculiarly concern Servants than others, and which seem to render the neglect of this Duty more inex­cusable in them than in any others. As First; As they enjoy not the plea­sures which Men of plentiful Fortunes do, so neither are they distracted by the cares which Masters of Families may reasonably be supposed to be: Nor are they engag'd in so many con­tentions as the many designs and in­terests of their Superiours do necessa­rily expose them to; they live, if it be not their own fault, by constant Rules, they have all the advantages of retirement in the midst of the World, lying under no pressing Temptation either to care, or contest, or sensuality: So that unless they be extreamly careless of their Souls, un­less [Page 209] they be extreamly insensible of the love of Jesus, they must live in an habitual preparation for the Sacra­ment, or at least they can have no tolerable excuse for the neglect of it. It deserves well to be further consi­der'd, that the great stress of business which lies upon many Masters of Fa­milies, in their Trades and Imploy­ments, lies not alike upon them, or if it do, it may indispose and incapaci­tate the Master for the Communion, and yet not the Servant: 'Tis the Masters choice, but the Servants ne­cessity that puts him upon it; 'tis often the Masters Ambition and Co­vetousness, but 'tis the Servants Obe­dience and Faithfulness that engages him; so that the weight of business which may be the Masters fault, is the Servants Duty; and therefore tho' it keep the one, it must not the other from the Sacrament; for 'tis impossible that any one should be made unfit for the Communion by doing his Duty. 'Tis true, (to ad­vance a little further) that the love of Jesus in dying for us was equal to­wards [Page 210] all, for all were subject to the punishment of sin; but if there were any difference, the obligation would be greater on the poor and mean in one respect than on the rich: Because such do need the support and comfort which they derive from this Blood, not only to uphold 'em a­gainst the terrour of another Life, but also under the troubles of this; and certainly the more low and mean any mans State in this present World is, the more unpardonable in him, is the love of this Life, or the neglect of another: for the less pleasure we enjoy from without, the more natu­ral is it to seek the pleasures of Reli­gion, the pleasures of Faith, the plea­sures of the mind, from all which, it necessarily follows, that a Servants coldness towards his blessed Lord and Master, has something less of excuse in it than any other Mans: For in what Heart shall the blessed Jesus find an Entertainment, in what Soul shall he find place to dwell, unless in that which has no Temptation to love the World? Where should the [Page 211] love of Heaven, the love of Jesus, and the love of Virtue, take deeper Root than in that Heart which hath ra­tionally no Foundation, no place to raise any other hopes on that are considerable? Where might our dear Lord expect sooner to be receiv'd with open Arms, and the whole Heart, than by these who have no other Friend, no other Patron to trust to? According to this discourse, this was the success, the real issue of things in the first times. The Poor had the Gospel Preach't unto 'em, that [...], these (generally speaking) were the only Men which were affected and wrought upon by the Preaching of the Gospel. But now, ah now! The times are inverted, the Servant and the mean Man appears as much more stupid and negligent in the things of another Life, as he has less share than others in this; they seem to be sunk as much beneath the Virtue, as For­tune of their Superiours, and being freed from the Cares and Emulations, from the Ambition and Designs of those above 'em, their Souls seem to [Page 212] be grown so unactive, so thoughtless, so dark, that they carry not one Me­ditation beyond the works of their hands, like him in Ecclesiasticus, Chap. 38.25. How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough, and that glorieth in the goad, that driveth Oxen, and is occupied in their Labours, and whose talk is of Bullocks? For shame shew your selves men, and convince us that you have Rational and Immortal Souls: let me intreat you, consider how great a dig­nity you are advanced to, how great an honour you are vouchsafed by God in being invited by him to this feast: you do here more nearly ap­proach God, you are feasted and en­tertain'd by him as his Children, you are united in the closest Ties and Bonds with your dear Lord and ours, you are become one with him, and he with you, and with us all, for in Jesus Christ there is neither bond nor free; you all sit equal guests, equal fa­vourites at this table, O let not the humility, the condecension, the love of Jesus be slighted and despis'd by you; ah how trifling a favour in [Page 213] comparison of this, conferr'd upon you by your Master, or any body else, wherein you value as supposing him rich and great, would transport you into all the heats of thankfulness, and put you upon any task how hard or how mean soever, by which you might do him honour. I'le insist no longer on this point, I'le only mention the little and mean objections against this Duty, Objections Answer'd. with which you are never­theless wont to content your selves; you have, you'l say, so much business, so much work, that you have no time to prepare for the Communion. You do then serve not only a very hard, but a very foolish Master, so foolish, that I can scarce believe, there is any such: for who can be such a sott as to be unwilling to give you time wherein you may give him the greatest security, the surest pledge of your Fidelity, Industry, Hu­mility, and all other Virtues of a good Servant, that his heart can de­sire? Can any man be such a sott as not to give a bad Servant time to reform in, or a good one time to [Page 214] repeat his Vows and Resolutions of his perseverance, and to fortifie him­self, in his Duty by fresh engage­ments? And this benefit certainly every Master reaps by his Servant's conscientious frequenting the Com­munion: and yet after all, let your Master be never so unreasonable to­wards you, or ungrateful towards God, (for he is both in this) I must tell you to your comfort, no Servant is rendred unfit for the Communion by doing the Duty of his place, the discharge of your Duty towards man is a part of your Religion towards God; this peradventure may render your preparation less solemn and la­borious, but never less acceptable; a sincere sigh or groan from you in such a case as this, (if such a one can be supposed) shall be admitted for as good satisfaction, as the most solemn confession consisting in a particular enumeration of every sin, and an act of sorrow appropriated to each when perform'd by others who are Master's of their own time; a Devout Ejacu­lation shall be accepted from you as [Page 215] well as the most careful trimming of their Lamps, the most studious dres­sing of their Souls from others: But here let me beseech you, that you do not abuse that unto a plea for your negligence and security, which I have taught you only as a comfort under the necessity of your circumstances: For when you have time for more solemn preparation, you must not out of presumption or laziness con­tent your self with this, but this I must leave to your own consciences, and to God the searcher of hearts to determine: this then, that you have no time, is a vain excuse; but you'l say, you are ignorant and unlearned, and do not understand the nature of this Duty, why do you not then consult those that do? Is it so that there is no good Christian in the Fa­mily? Is there no Pastor in the Parish? Is it possible that in these days of light, any, though the mean­est of the people, should perish for lack of knowledg. But you are un­worthy to approach that table; and are you resolv'd that you'l ever con­tinue [Page 216] so? If by unworthiness, you mean any course of sin; break it off speedily, lest you perish in it, per­adventure this call to the Sacrament may otherwise be the last Invitation to Repentance, the last tender of mer­cy that shall be ever made you: but if by unfitness, you mean Frailties and Imperfections, Defects and Weak­nesses, if this should make us unfit, who then could be fit? If this should make us unworthy, who then could be worthy? Sin and folly would be a qualification for the Com­munion, if none were fit for it, but such as were arrogant enough to think themselves so, for that in this sense of fitness, were to think themselves void of defect and frailty, which were flatly repugnant not on­ly to Humility, but Truth too; But you'l lastly say, you are conscious to your selves of great weakness, and are afraid of entring into Engage­ments, which you have much ground to fear you shall not be able to per­form: If you prove unable, it will not be your sin, but misfortune, but [Page 217] I am afraid, you mean, which you shall not be always willing to per­form: And if so, I must confess, I fear you are not fit for the Commu­nion; for this insinuates that your Heart at present is not sincere, that your meaning is not right, and that you have some darling sin, or at least some remainder of sin, which you cannot yet be fully perswaded to part with: If it be otherwise, the weaker you are, the more need you have of that Sacrament by which you will be confirm'd and strengthen'd; if you are sincere, you are always safe.

PART III.
CHAP. II. Directions for the Servants Worthy Re­ceiving the Lords Supper. Contemplations tending to stir up a De­vout Conviction of this Duty in the Soul.

OUR Savour's Institution of this Sacrament is thus related. Our Lord Jesus the same Night that he was betray'd, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his Disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you, do this in remem­brance of me. Likewise after Sup­per, he took the Cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to 'em, saying, drink ye all of this, for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins. Do this, [Page 219] as oft as ye shall drink it, in remem­brance of me. Out of these words, our Church forms that excellent Prayer, Almighty God our Heaven­ly Father, who of thy tender mercy, didst give thy only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our Redemption, who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offer'd) a full, perfect and sufficient Sacra­fice, Oblation and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole World, and did in­stitute, and in his Holy Gospel com­mand us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious death, until his coming again; hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech thee, and grant that we receiv­ing these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine, according to thy Son our Sa­viour Jesus Christ's Holy Institution, in remembrance of his death and pas­sion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood: On the parts of this Prayer you may descant thus, O my God, and my Father, didst thou give thine onely begotten Son to suffer death upon the Cross [Page 220] for my Redemption! what then was my state, that it was capable of no lesser Redemption than the bitter death of thy Son? A state of sin and misery; a state of bondage and fear; a state of darkness and affliction; a state of wrath and death, death, e­ternal death; and shall I be so fond of this state, as to continue in it, after thy Son has shed his blood to redeem me from it? Shall I despise this Redemption, and not hasten to be partaker of his Blood, and all the benefits of his death and passion? O my God, and my Father, it was an act of the most tender mercy in thee, to offer up thy Son to death for me. Ah what Ingratitude must I be guilty of towards thee, what cruelty towards my self, if I neglect this great salvation, if I renounce, or at least forget my Saviour, and ex­clude my self from any Interest in his death? O blessed Jesus, didst thou by thy one painful oblation of thy self upon the Cross, make a full, perfect & sufficient Sacrifice, Oblation and Satisfaction for the sins of the [Page 221] whole World? and can there be any thing more dear to me than the me­mory of this thy love, more worthy of my remembrance than the re­demption of the whole Word? Re­demption! ah blessed word! What happiness, what Heaven doth it im­port to be redeem'd by Christ, is to be translated out of darkness into a marvelous light, out of the Regions and shadows of death, into the glory of the Sons of God, out of a state of bondage, into the most perfect liberty, out of a state of wrath, into a state of Love and Mercy, out of a state of Dread and Terrour, into a state of Peace, and Joy, and Hope, or at least, into a capacity of all this! and doth not all this deserve, that I should ever commemorate this thy Redemp­tion of me and of the World, with devout joys, with humble transports, and the most grateful passion? Didst thou need, O my Blessed Saviour, to institute, and in thy Holy Gospel com­mand me to continue a perpetual memory of that thy precious death until thy coming again, lest I should [Page 222] forget it? Ah wretched nature! Ah wretched state! Can there be any temptations that can betray me into so vile a baseness? Can the love of the World, a false deceitful World, make me forget thee, thy Agonies, thy Wounds, thy Death, thy Love? Ah my dear Saviour! can it be so hard a matter to keep my remembrance and love of thee awake, alive, that thou shouldst need to command me thus to commemorate thy death in the lively symbols and representations of it, and to enforce thy command by putting me in mind of thy coming again? Methinks, without all this, my love for thee should have been so bright and flaming, that I should have despised all things as dung and dross in comparison of thee, and have desired to have known nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified! methinks I should have lived in the devout contempla­tion of thy great & excellent actions, and thy great sufferings, till I had been weary of this World, and of this body of this poor Beggarly and Im­perfect state, and have long'd for my Dissolution and Entrance into thy [Page 223] presence! this, thy love deserv'd from me, even though I had been en­compassed with the pleasures, and crown'd with the honours of this World; how inexcusable then must I be, who am one of the meanest of the people, who have no allure­ments, no temptations in my Fortune, if I forget thee and for­sake thee! Ah! how shall I stand before thee when thou comest again. How shall I behold thee in the glory of thy Father, and on this tribunal, if I should now forget thy sufferings for me, forget thy love of me, and neglect thy last, thy dying commands, the highest token of thy passion for me, shewing how solicitous thou wast lest I should lose the bene­fit of thy blood, when thou hadst shed it! ah! with what, not shame and blushes, but horrour and amaze­ment would my guilty Soul be cove­red at thy appearance! but this shall never be my Crime, this shall never be my state, never shall my Soul be guilty of such ingratitude to the Ten­der Mercys of my God, or the tender love of my Saviour: No; my sor­rows [Page 224] overflow me, my heart is wound­ed within me, that I have forgot thee so long already, that I have re­membred thee so seldom, that I have turn'd my back so often upon that Holy Sacrament, wherein thy passion ought to have been commemorated by me; O pardon, pardon, blessed Lord thy unkind, thy unfaithful Disciple: I come to thee, I come to confess thee, I come to worship thee in the troubles and desires of a broken Spirit, a contrite passion, a restor'd Faith, and a Revived affection. O receive me, cover'd with my tears, and with my shame, but ravish't with thy love too; henceforth, O my Saviour, I will live with thee, nothing shall divide thee from me; not Business nor Interest, not Rela­tions nor Friends, not the sluggish­ness of the body, nor distractions of the World, not life nor death it self; I will live with thee in devout Prayers and Holy Meditations, and with an impatient passion, I will hast to meet thee in the Holy Sacra­ment which thou hast appointed as [Page 225] the representation of thy death, the pledge of thy love in the symbols oif thy extraordinary presence: And, O blessed God, who of thy tender mercy didst give thy Son to suffer death up­on the Cross for my Redemption, out of the same tender mercy assist me with thy grace, that I may comme­morate that his death, with that Faith and humble gratitude, that I may be made partaker of the Redemp­tion wrought by it; help me so to approach these Holy mysteries, so to receive these Elements of Bread and Wine, that I may be made partaker of the most precious body and blood of my Saviour, that so being wash't from my sins by his blood, united and incorporated with him by Faith and Love, I may be strengthen'd and sup­ported, govern'd and protected by him, while I am in the body, and may meet him at his coming again with unspeakable rejoycing, and be acknowledg'd by him as his Faithful Disciple and Follower. Amen, A­men, for the sake of the same my crucifi'd Redeemer and Saviour Christ Jesus.