THESE are some of the last Words of David, the King of Israel, the LORD's Prophet, and the Father of his People. He spake them to an assembly of the Princes of the Tribes of Israel, their Captains & Officers, whom he had summon'd together to receive his last Will and Charge. The Subject whereon he now discours'd them, was as became [Page 2] a dying King & Saint, the Worship & House of GOD among them; that this might be their Care after his decease, and that with Religion the Favour and Blessing of God might be entail'd upon them, and on their Children after them.

THE Aged King had been very weak and like to die before this, but seems to have some little revival, some return of vital warmth and heat, and thus he improv'd it; he would once more see his Nobles and Officers about him, and give them his last Char [...] and Blessing, and take his last leave of them. So it became the King of Israel to die.

WHEN this illustrious Assembly presented them­selves before him, the King stood up upon his feet, ver. 2. God strengthen'd him for this last and noble Act of his life He had a Message from God to deliver to them, and it became him to shew this reverence. He also honour'd as well as lov'd the noble Persons whom he spake to; and they were worthy of this respect from their King: the Princes of the people of the God of Abraham; his Brethren and the People of his God.

ACCORDINGLY he bespeaks them with af­fection and respect, Hear me my Brethren and my people. Humility becomes and adorns even Kings themselves. It is a truly royal Robe wherewith they should be cloth'd. Nor should it be put on only as a grave-cloth when they come to die, and must be laid in the dust.

THE King inform [...]d his Nobles here of his own good will and desire to have built the Temple of God; an house of Rest for the Ark of his Cove­nant, and for the Honour of his Name; but that [Page 3] God had forbid him and had reserv'd that great and good Work for his Son after him. He informs them however how he had prepared and made ready for the building; that God had chosen Solo­mon for his Successor in the Kingdom, and had promis'd concerning him that he should build his House; had promis'd to be his Father, & to establish his Kingdom for ever, if with a filial piety he con­tinued in obedience to him. This is the short and summary of the King's Speech, to the Words of my Text— Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the Congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God; keep & seek for all the Commandments of the Lord your God; that [...]e may possess this g [...]o [...] Land, and leave it for an Inheritance to your Chil­dren after you, for ever.

THESE Words are a very grave and solemn Charge, whereof we may consider, 1. The matter of it; that they shou'd keep & seek for all the Commandments of the Lord their God. The know­ledge and observance of God's Commandments is the summ of God's Charge and Will left with his People. They must set themselves to keep his Commandments even all of them; and in order [...] this they must seek for them all, to know the whole of their duty, "What they knew they must be sure, to keep, & they must seek for what they knew not.

2. This Charge is deliver'd with much Solemnity. In the sight of all Israel, the Congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God. What could be said more solemn?

1. Sayes the King, I charge you in the sight of all Israel. As if they were all here present, and wit­nesses [Page 4] of what I say: that Israel whose Princes & Officers you are, and as whose Representatives you here stand; as in the sight and hearing of all Israel, to whom the Words which I now speak will soon come.

Moreover, 2. Consider ye that this people is the Lord's Congregation. The greater therefore was the trust and charge of these Princes, the Heads of this Congregation of the Lord; who would be the greater Witnesses for or against their Princes, if they should seek and keep the Com­mandments of God or not do it. But if it were awful to be charg'd as in their sight,

How much more was it for them to consider, 3. That it was in the audience of God Himself that they were now spoken to. In the sight of all Is­rael, and in the audience of our God. HE is pre­sent with us, said the dying King; I speak to you in His Name; HE sees and hears us; He is a witness, and so are his Congregation of what I say to you; and as you fear Him or tender his favour, regard what I say unto you.—To all this Solem­nity in the Words, we must yet further observe in 'em,

3. An Argument referr'd unto, and a Motive added.

1. Here is a great Argument, Reason or Motive referr'd unto. Now therefore; so begins my text. It refers to the preceeding discourse of David's: q. d. Since I have by the direction and favour of God, made such provision for the building a House to his Name and Worship, and since God has cho­sen Solomon to build it, and promised to be with [Page 5] him in it; and to establish his Kingdom for ever-if he and you be constant in his Commandments▪ Now ther [...]fore I require & charge you in the sight of all Israel and in the audience of our God that ye keep and seek for all the Commandments of the Lord your God, &c. As you regard God and his Worship, value his favour, or fear his anger; and as you would have Church and State remain in a flourishing condition; see that you be observant of the Lord's Commands even all of them. The House of God in Israel, and the Kingdom in the House of David depended on it.

2. There is a Motive added in the close of the Text: That ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an Inheritance for your Children after you, for ever. Before they were mov'd from the Ho­nour & Glory to the Name of GOD; here they are mov'd from their own and their Children's tempo­ral welfare. They were possess'd of a good land; they held it by the promise of GOD upon their Obedience to Him; they would desire to keep the possession they had of it, and that their Children should inherit it after them; But then they must needs seek for and keep the Commandments of the Lord their God, if they would have a peaceable & quiet possession of their pleasant land secured to them, or to their Children after them.

THESE are the Arguments and Motives with which the duty required in the text is inforced.

I shall now name some Doctrinal Observations.

I. THAT the People of God in general, the Rulers of a people in particular, and every single [Page 6] person belonging to the Congregation of the Lord, are under the strict charge of GOD to seek & keep all His Commandments.

II. THAT as every Superior in the state or in the Church, is under this Charge himself, so it is his duty to lay it upon all that are under him, and to leave it as his dying Charge with them.

III. THAT we should every one of us seri­ously consider, that it is in the sight of all the Lord's people, the Congregation of the Lord, and in the Audience of our GOD, that we are under this Charge.

IV. THAT the Church, Kingdom and Wor­ship of CHRIST among us, the House of our GOD, depends on our religious seeking & keeping of GOD's Commandments.

V. THAT this is the way to keep possession of this good Land which the Lord our God has given us, and to leave it for an Inheritance unto our Children after us.

I. THAT the People of God in general, the Rulers of a people in particular, and every single person among them, are under the strict Charge of GOD to seek for & keep all His Commandments.

SO they are charged, and this is the Charge in our text. And here I shall say, 1 This is the Charge of the Lord our God. 2 We are all under it. 3. The Rulers of a People are so in an espe­cial manner.

1. THIS is the Charge of the Lord our God, that we keep and seek for all His Commandments▪ [Page 7] We have his Commandments in his Word. They are the Laws, Statutes, Testimonies, and Judgments of the Lord our God; and in short His Covenant with his people. Moses and the Prophets have han [...]ed them down to us; and CHRIST (the Eternal Son of GOD, and Lord of all the Holy Prophets) has confirm'd & ratify'd them. Moses bespeaks the Church for ever in the 4. Chapter of Deut. Behold, I have taught you statutes & judgments, as the Lord my God commanded me: ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it: And what Nation is there so great, that hath statutes & judgments so righteous, as all this Law which I set before you? Now, says the text.

1. WE must religiously keep the Command­ments of the Lord our God. Laws are made, and Gods laws are written to us, to be observed & kept. A Commandment implies Obedience. We must needs be sub [...]ect to the Power that is over us, to give laws and to judge us by the laws, both for wrath & for Conscience sake. The law is to rule & govern us▪ To keep the Commandment is to do it; to observe & obey it with our hearts and in our lives. We must keep it in our minds and hide it in our hearts, that we may not sin against it, transgress and break it, in tho't word or deed. We must therefore keep our Souls diligently that we may keep God's word. The keeping it implies care, diligence, constancy & pleasure. Faith, fear, love, reverence, esteem of the word, and desire to ple [...]se and glorify God, do all meet in every act of accep­table Obedience to God. Deut. 10 12. What doth [Page 8] the Lord thy God require of thee? but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul; to keep the Commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

2. WE must keep all the Commandments. So the text requires. Our Obedience must be uni­versal. What body of Laws is there but Obedi­ence is equally required to them all. What single Law was ever given, but to be obeyed? The same Authority enacts one & another of them. Every word of God is pure; all his Commands are holy, just & good. He that breaks one law is a trans­gressor, and liable to the Judgment. He that of­fends in one point is guilty of all, Jam. 2.18. He might as well offend in another point: He offers indignity to the Power that made the whole law. Obedience in some things will not excuse disobedi­ence in others. Exod. 24.7. All that the Lord our God shall say to us, we will do and be obedient.

3. IN order to this we must seek for them all. Keep and seek for all the Commandments of the Lord your God. We must be careful & inqui­sitive to know the Commands, if ever we would keep them. We must seek the knowledge of them with desire and care and pains. We need not seek jar for the Commands; which we have in our hands and before our eyes: Deut. 30.11, 12. This Commandment which I command thee this day is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off: but the word is very nigh to thee, in thy Mouth and in thy heart; that thou mayst do it. Yet neither must we grudge [Page 9] any pains or labour that is necessary unto our get­ting the knowledge of God's will. It is highly worth the most diligent & laborious seeking. Prov. 2. beg. My son, incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding; cry after know­ledge & lift up thy voice for understanding; seek her as silver & search for her as for hid trea­sure; so shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, &c. We must therefore search the Scriptures which are written for our learning. We must read therein daily; read it in our Closets, read it in our Families. We must seek the law at the mouth of Gods Ministers, whose lips must preserve know­ledge, Mal. 2.7. It was the honour and blessing of Levi, and a Blessing to Israel; Deut. 33.10. He shall teach Jacob God's judgments, & Israel his laws. We must be waiting daily at God's Gates, and at his doors. We must seek unto God by Prayer for his light & his truth; that he would teach us his statutes & lead us into all truth; Psal 119.34. Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Thus we must seek for, if we would keep the Commandments of God.

4. AND lastly, This is the Charge of the Lord our God to us: Now therefore keep & seek for all the Commandments of the Lord your God. The Lord is our God, and it belongs to Him to charge us. He has made us, made us to obey him, made us to be rul'd & govern'd by law: He has given us his Charge, as our King & Lord, and as our Father in heaven. His Commands are his charge to us, and then he has charg [...]d us to keep, observe and do [Page 10] them. Agreably to what we read, Eccl. 8.2. I charge [...] thou keep the Kings Comman [...]ment. The Lord is our King, our Saviour and our Judge, [...] we are under his charge His Charge to us is like that, 1 Tim. 6.13. I cha [...]ge thee before God —that thou keep my Commandments without spot; unrebukable. It is m [...]st good for us to be so charged; m [...]st kind and good in God, that he has laid so strict a Charge upon us to mind our duty and pur­sue our happiness. But it should be also exceeding awful to us to be so required and commanded by God; and we must diligently and obsequiously set our selves to know and do what the Lord our God requires. 1 Kings 2.3. Keep the Charge of the Lord thy God; to walk in his ways, as it is written in his law.

BUT this for the 1st thing; that this is the Charge of the Lord our God that we keep his laws.

2. ALL the people of God together, and every single person by himself, are under this charge of God. So is the text directed, and so are all the Commandments of the Holy Word.

1. TO all of us together, as a people of God, and as the Lord's Congregation. Hear O my people and I will speak! Hear this all ye people, both high and low, rich & poor together. 2. To each Indi­vidual; to every single person; who are as much meant and spoken to as if they were named. For every one is equally known to God, observed by him, and will be bro't into Judgment. So the Covenant of the Lord was with the Children of Israel, with all together, and with every single person apart: Deut. 29.10,—20. Ye stand this [Page 11] day all of you before the Lord your God, your Cap­tains, Elders, Officers and all the Men of Israel; your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is in thy Camp; from the hewer of thy wood unto the d [...]awer of thy water; that thou shouldest enter into Covenant with the Lord thy God and into his Oath, and that he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and to be unto thee a GOD: Neither with you only do I make this Covenant & this Oath; but with him also that is not here with us this day; lest there should be among you Man or Woman or Family or Tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God; and it come to pass when he heareth the Words of this Curse that he bless himself, saying, I shall have peace:— the Lord will not spare him, but the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, & all the Curses that are written in this Book shall come upon him. Thus awfully is a whole place or people, and every particular per­son under the Commandment and Charge of God·

3. THE Rulers of a people are in a particular and peculiar manner, under this Charge of God to keep and seek for all his Commandments. To them David speaks in the text, and by them to all Israel: And unto them Moses deliver'd the Charge and Covenant of God, that they should see it kept by all under them. As the least and lowest in the Congregation are not overlook'd by God, so the highest and the greatest are especially observed and commanded by him.

SO is the King upon the throne, and the Law [Page 12] to him is, Deut. 17.19. That he have a Copy of God's Law with him, and that he read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and to keep all the words of his Law.

HOW much more then are all Ministers of State, Governours, Judges & Officers commissioned by the King, under the Law and Charge of God; to observe his Word themselves, and see it reverenc'd and observ'd by those that are under them. They are to go before their people, leading them by their Example, influencing by their Reputation & interest, and constraining by their Authority and power, to a reverend observance of the Will and Worship of God. To this end Moses gave Joshua a Charge before he died, and commanded the Le­vites; and sent out his Summons, Deut. 31.28. Gather unto me all the E [...]ders of your Tribes and your Officers, that I may speak all these words in their ears, & call beaven & earth to record against them. So Joshua called for the Heads & Elders of Israel to Shechem, & they presented themselves be­fore the Lord, and he set them a Statute & an Or­dinance. So Solomon spake to every Governour in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. And to name no more, So Jehoshaphat commanded the Levites and Judges in his day; — Let the fear of the Lord be upon you, (said he) with whom there is no Ini­quity nor respect of persons; and he charged them, [...]ying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a perfect heart; lest wrath come upon you & on your Brethren: deal c [...]uragi [...]usly and the Lord shall be with the good.— These are the Commandment & Charges of God which Magis­trates [Page 13] and Ministers are yet under, according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, made known unto all Nations for their Obedience.

LET our Rulers therefore suffer the Word of Exhortation, and the Admonition from God to them, that They eminently among the People of God are under his Commandment and his Charge to seek for and keep his holy Commandments. And it is fit that they should be so charged by God for his Glory, whose Ministers and Servants they are, and for the Good of Mankind, whereunto they must Minister according to his Will. It is the peculiar Honour of God to command them, and to be obeyed by them, as also to judge and punish them; and it is a peculiar Honour to them to be Examples of Obedience to God. Psalm. 97.7. Worship him all ye Gods. The Principalities and Powers above do so, and how much more should those on Earth? Eccles. 5.8. He that is higher than the highest regardeth, and there be higher than they.

BUT as a personal Subjection and Obedience to all the Commandments of God is the duty of Rulers, so are they obliged also, both in their Le­gislative, and also in their Executive capacity and trust to seek for all the Commandments of the Lord; That they be all of them made known to the people under their care, and enjoyned on them, and that none be suffer'd in the Violation of any of them This is the Duty of their place, and they should voluntarily but with Solemnity come under this Bond upon their Souls; as the Rulers of Israel did, Neh. 9. ult. We make a sure Cove­nant [Page 14] & write it; and our Princes, Levites & Priests seal to it.

BUT I come to the Second Observation:

II. THAT as every Superior in the State or in the Church is under this Charge of God himself, so it is their duty to charge it upon all that are under them, yea & to leave it with them as their dying charge.

SO David did in my text; and the record of it leaves him as a standing and teaching Example; whether we consider him as a Father, as a Prince, or as a Prophet, or as one full of Dayes, and dying.

SO Parents and Governours of Familys should charge their Children and houshold after them to seek and keep the Commandments of God. So did Abraham; of whom God said, I know him that he will command his Children & his houshold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord. So did Joshua; who declared before all Israel, As for me & my house we will serve the Lord. And the 101st Psalm stands an everlasting record of David's Rule & Government of his own house: I will walk in my house with a perfect heart; my eyes shall be upon the faithful of the Land that they may dwell with me; he that walketh in a perfect way he shall serve me.

I have said before, and have exhibited several illustrious Examples, how Rulers should require and constrain their Subjects to keep the word of God. For this they are invested with their Legislative and Executive powers; and are Or­dained of God; to be terrors to evil doers and a [Page 15] praise to them that do well; to defend the Name, the Word, the Day, the Worship and Ordinanc [...]s of God from profanation; and that all under t [...]m may lead a peaceable & quiet life, in godliness and honesty.

BUT if we consider David as a Prophet his Ex­ample is a law & rule also unto the Ministers of Religion. And none are more obliged than they to lay the Commands & Charge of God before o­thers; and to require all in his name, even the highest with the lowest; to charge them that are rich in the world and them that are poor together, in His Name who is the Maker of them both; to speak, rebuke & exhort with all Authority, & without partiality. Wherefore in Obedience to my text I magnify my Office this day; and being called by the Rulers of my People to speak unto Themselves in the Name of the Great GOD, by Whom they rule; I do in His fear & from His Word lay before Them their Duty, to God & this People; both that they keep the Commandments of God themselves, and charge theirs after them to do so too; yea, and as far as in them lies, to bind their Successors to a faithful adherence to the Cause of God. And herein you must needs obey your Ministers as those that have this Rule; and submit your selves, as unto them that watch for your Souls, and must give account unto God.

BUT then lastly it is to be consider'd, That whoever we are, Rulers, Ministers, Parents, Masters; within a little time we shall have served our Ge­neration, and the time will come that we must die; And if while we live we lay the Charges of God [Page 16] upon them that are under us, and who are like to survive us; so when we are Old & gray-headed, if God spare us to old age; or when the Day of our Death comes on, as it surely will in a short time; Then let us like Jacob & Joseph, like Moses and Joshua, like Samuel & David (by the Grace of God) leave our dying Testimony to the good ways of God, our dying Prayers for the Church & King­dom of Christ in the midst of us, and our dying Com­mandment to our Children & Families, that after our Decease they still seek for & keep all the Com­mandments of the Lord our God.

NOTHING can be either more humane or more pious than this Care for Posterity; Nothing more worthy of us either as Men or as Christians, than this desire to perpetuate the Religion of God, his Worship & Obedience to Him, in succeeding Ge­nerations. God has therefore most strictly enjoy­ned this upon his professing People: Witness that famous place of Scripture, Deut. 6.4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Hear O Israel, The LORD our God is One LORD. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these Words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently un­to thy Children; and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou ris [...]st up: And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy h [...]nd, and they shall be as frontlets between thy eyes: And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

YOU see here that the Care of God is for his [Page 17] own Glory, as in the present so also in the Coming Generation; and that he therefore commits them to us as our special Trust, and charges us with them; that as the Prophet speaks, Isai. 59.21. His Word which is in our mouth may not depart out of the mouth of our seed, nor out of the mouth of our seeds seed, even for ever.

SO David died, and these were his lust Words, who was the Anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet Psa [...]mist of Israel! The Spirit of God spake by Him, and the Word of the LORD was in his tongue; and He expir'd speaking the Words which Israels Rock and GOD had spoke to him. He breath'd out his Soul in that Prayer to God for his People and for his Son, 1 Chron. 29.18, 19. O GOD of Abraham, Isaac & Israel our Fathers, keep this for ever in the Imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart un­to thee! And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy Commandments, thy Testimonies and thy Statutes.

NOW as this has been the noble, generous and enlarged View of Patriarchs & Prophets, for the glory of God and the good of Souls in all times to come; so let me observe to You (and give the Praise to God) that the Fathers of this Country did eminently inherit this great & good Spirit, and herein approv'd Themselves like Judah, ruling with God & faithful with the Saints. They go­vern'd their Houses strictly, they taught their Children diligently, they endeavoured earnestly to instill early into them the highest Reverence of Gods Name, his Word, his Day, his Ordinances, [Page 18] and his Worshipers; They set up Schools, they founded a College, for a succession of Pastors in the Churches and to seek a godly Seed for Christ in this place of their Sepulchres, as long as the Sun and Moon should endure. So they approv'd them­selves the Children of faithful Abraham, the Friend of God, whose Everlasting praise is in the Churches, that He commanded his Children & Houshold after h [...]m, that they should keep the Way of the Lord.

I go on to the third Doctrinal Observation.

III. THAT we ought every one of us seriously to consider; that it is in the sight of all the Lord [...]s people, and in the Audience of our God that we are so charged, taught and warned, to keep & seek for all his Commandments.

THESE are two weighty Motives and power­ful Arguments to quicken and excite us unto the discharge of the duty incumbent on us. They should sink deep into our hearts, and yet ly upper­most too in them, and be ever in our memory, that in the sight of all Israel, and in the audience of our God, we are bound, and have bound our selves, to seek and keep all God's Commandments.

1. IN the sight of all the Lord's people we are so bound, are so charged and have so promised. All the people of God are witnesses for and against one another, that this charge of the Lord is laid and lying upon every Order, and upon every Person among us. So Magistrates are Sworn, in the sight of all the Lords people, even as Moses gave Joshua a charge before all Israel, when he was plac'd at the head of the Congregation of the Lord: Numb. [Page 19] 27.23. And as Jehojada gave to Jehoash the Testimony when he put the Crown upon his head, 2 King. 11.12 So our Kings are under a Corona­tion Oath, to seek and keep the Commandments of the LORD and to govern by his Word. And all our Rulers are sworn to observe it and rule by it. And they should always remember it, that all the People are witnesses of the Oath of God which they are under. It was a Solemnity that not only put honour upon Joshua before all Israel, but which also was to impress him with an awful and reverend sense of his Duty to God and his peo­ple. Said God to M [...]ses, Take thee Joshua and set him before Eleazer the priest and before all the Con­gregation, and give him a charge in their sight, He was charged with the People of the Lord; they were put into his hand, as sheep into the hand of a shepherd; and therefore it was done in their sight and presence: As to express their own Con­sent and Subjection to the Government, so to be witnesses of his Sacred Promise & Engagement to rule them in God's fear and by his word.

IN like manner Ministers are Ordained pub­lickly, and solemnly charged before the Congrega­tion of the Lord, 1 Tim. 6.11, 12. Thou O man of God, follow after Righteousness, Godliness, Faith, Love, Patience, Meekness; fight the good fight, lay hold on Eternal life; whereunto thou art called, and hast professed a good profession before many wit­nesses. Men ought to regard the presence, the knowledge, the testimony and witness of Men. The more Witnesses we promise any thing before, the more we bind our selves to do it. Therefore [Page 20] our solemn & religious Engagements are required and given in the sight of all the people, in the Congregation and Assembly; who are the Lord's witnesses now, and will be so hereafter.

AND so it is with all private Christians. What­ever Charges from God, or Vows to him you come under, you do it publickly and before many Wit­nesses. You worship God in Assemblies, you con­fess Christ before Men, You are preach'd to in the great Congregation, and with them you join in prayer; you Covenant with God publickly; the Assembly saw your Baptismal Consecration to God, and they have heard your good Professions and Engagements to him: The Solemnities of Zion are all open and in the face of the world. The least person in the Congregation, that is come under the Covenant of God, stands bound and engaged in the sight of all Israel, the Congregation of the Lord and his witnesses: for we are all Wit­nesses against our selves, and for one another, That we have chosen the Lord to serve him, Josh. 24.22.

But then,

2. IT is in the Audience of our GOD himself; which is more than the sight of all Israel, that we are charged to keep and seek for his Command­ments, and have bound our selves to do it. Have men seen and heard, much more has GOD, Gen. 16.13. Thou Lord seest me. He is always and e­very where present; especially is he so in religious Assemblies and in the more solemn Assemblies of [...]. We are charged before HIM, whose eyes run to & fro' thro' the earth, beholding the evil & the good; before Him whose eyes behold, his ey-lids try the [Page 21] Children of men. We are charged before HIM who filleth Heaven & Earth with his presence, & from whose presence and Spirit the [...]e is no flying: before Him who searches the heart & trys the reins, & will make all the Churches to know that he does so; and will bring every work into judgment with every secret thing. So we read in the words after my text—, for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and un­derstandeth all the Imaginations of the tho' [...]s.

O how awful should this consideration be to us? according to what we read, Psal. 139. beg O Lord, thou hast searched me & known me. Thou knowest my down sitting, and my up-rising; Thou under­standest my thoughts afar off. Thou compassest my path & my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a Word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind & before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is High & I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven thou art there! if I make my bed in Hell, behold thou art there!—

HOW awful should it be to Magistrates, to con­sider, that they are sworn before & by the great GOD! and that He standeth in the Congregation of the mighty; be judgeth among the Gods; and that he will arise to judge the Earth, for he shall inherit all Nations, Psal. 82.

HOW awful should it be to Ministers to re­member their Charge from God, and in his Name and Presence. 1 Tim. 5.21. I charge thee before [Page 22] God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Elect Angels, 2 Tim. 4.1. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick & the dead at his appearing and Kingdom.

HOW awful should it be to the Lord's People to remember the Words we use in receiving their Covenant Engagements and Profession; — You do as in the presence of the Great GOD profess and promise —. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of GOD is greater: So if the presence of many witnesses on earth is great, how much greater is the single eye and notice of God? Josh. 22.22. The Lord God of Gods, the Lord God of Gods He knoweth; and Israel he shall know. But how small a thing is Israels knowledge, in comparison of His who is Israels GOD?

IF it were only a Stone that stood by, that has neither eye nor ear nor tongue, yet it were eno' in the presence of GOD. As Joshua took a great Stone and set it up by the Sanctuary of the Lord, and said unto all the people, This stone shall be a witness to us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord which he hath spoken to us; it shall be for a witness unto you lest you deny your God. There needs no witness before Him; the very Stones shall be witnesses and bear witness for him; if he please these shall cry out; and so shall these Walls and these Seats; and so shall the Council Board, the Seats of Legislation and those of Judi­cature, for they have heard all our Words to God, and his to us.

NOW let these Motives sink down into our hearts; It is in the sight of all the Congregation of [Page 23] the Lord, and in the Audience of your God, that you are charged and that you promise and profess to keep and seek for all his Commandments.

NOW Vow and Pay unto the Lord your God: He cuts off t [...]e [...] of Princes and is terrible unto the Kings of the Earth. With Him is terrible Ma­jesty. Let his Dread fall on the Greatest and on the least. May the Fathers of the Congregation ever cleave to the Lord, and this People religiously cleave to Them: According to what we read, Neh. 10.29. They clave to their Brethren, the Nobl [...]s; and enter'd into a Curse and into a [...] Oath to walk in God's law; and to observe to do all his Commandments, his statutes and his judgments.

I shall conclude this Head with two very dif­ferent Reflections; the one more pleasant to make, the other more melancholy.

ON the one hand it ought to be the Joy of the Province, and a matter of special Thanksgiving to GOD in our Churches, that we see your HONOUR, ( The Commander in Chief at this day) stedfastly abiding in the Communion of these Churches. God make you always a true Son and a kind Fa­ther to them. It is Your Happiness and Ours, that You serve and We enjoy a KING the Equal and righteous Protector of his Kingdoms and Provinces in their different legal Establishments, for religi­ous Order, Worship and Discipline. This Liberty of Conscience our Fathers sought, and ask [...]d and had a Royal Charter to assure them of, and to se­cure it unto their Children after them. The GOVERNOUR, who is now absent from us, honoured and endear'd Himself to many of us, and very [Page 24] justly, by his zealous Declarations at all times and in all places, for the Preservation of our Li­berties both Civil and Religious. And it is yet our Happiness to see almost all our Councellors and Judges willingly under the Bonds of GOD in our Churches ▪ May He always inspire them with a wise and sincere Zeal for His Name & Truths, as they are professed in them. Thanks be to GOD we yet see so much our Councellors as at the first, and our Judges as at the beginning.

BUT then to pass another, most just but more melancholy Reflection:—What fear & trembling may well fall upon us, and what shame & confusion of face cover us, collectively or personally conside­red, that we have no more observed & kept, that we have perfidiously and presumptuously broken & transgress [...]d, the Commandments of the Lord our God! What shall we say after this? that we have forsaken the Lord's Commandments? after that we have been so bound in his Audience, and in the sight of all his People! Therefore might he be justly angry with us and consume us! therefore shall he be just [...]fied when he speaks & clear be when he judges! Therefore do the Confessions and Sup­plications of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah belong to us! O my God I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my eyes unto thee my God! O Lord, the Great & dreadful God, keeping the Covenant & Mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his Commandments! We have sinned and have com­m [...]tted Iniquity and have done wickedly, and have rebell [...]d; even in departing from thy Precepts and from thy Judgments! Neither have we hearkned to [Page 25] thy servants the Prophets, which spake in thy Name to our Kings, our Princes and our Fathers, and to all the People of the Land! O Lord, Righteous­ness belongeth unto thee, but unto us Confusion of faces, as at this Day! —

I go on to the Fourth Observation:

IV. THAT the Kingdom of Christ, his Church and his Worship among us depends upon our re­ligious keeping and seeking for all his Command­ments.

Now therefore, says my text; i. e. that the Temple of God may be built, and his Worship setled▪ and the Throne in the House of David be continued among you; that the Kingdom may have peace and that the House of God may be more glorious than ever; that Israel may be blessed by its God both in Church and State, both in it's Temporal and Spiritual Interests; keep and seek for the Commandments of the Lord your God. There can be no Religion among a People, nor any Peace to them, without this. This matter first belongs to Ministers and Magistrates, and then to all the people. As they said to Ezra, We also will be with thee. Every Order, Rank & Degree among a people must unite and agree, be one in this thing; every one acting in his place; and we all need one another in it. High and low, rich and poor together. What can inferiour people do, if the Superior will not lead in the fear of God and obe­dience to him? If the Foundations are out of course, what can the righteous do? and what can Rulers do without the people? the Head walks [Page 26] and works by the hands and feet. In a Building all hands must set to work: especially if the building be a Temple of God, or if it be the re­pairing it, or cleansing it, or restoring it, it needs many hands, it deserves every hand. Let not the Religion and Worship of God, his Kingdom and Interest fall thro us, or in our hands. All lies at stake, in our Religion. Wherefore let us rise and act together, with a united force; as Joab said bravely to the Men of Israel in a day of danger; when the Battle was against him before & behind; 2 Sam. 10.12. Be of good Courage and let us play the men for our people, and for the Cities of our God. God calls us to bestir our selves in our respective places, according to our different talents, powers, interests, to minister for his Ser­vice and Glory; for the defence, for the reviving, for the propagating and perpetuating of Religion and his Worship among this People; and he says to us in our places, as David did to Solomon in his high station, in the 10th and 20th Verses of our Con [...]ext; Take heed now, for the Lord calls thee to build his House; be strong and do it: fear not nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, even thy God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee; and behold the Courses of the priests and Le­vites even they shall be with thee.

TRULY the Lord our God is with us if we are with him; as the Prophet of the Lord once said to Asa and to all Judah. If he give us a heart and spirit to stand by his Truths and Wayes, his Cause and Interests among us, he will stand by us in the support and defence of them; but if we [Page 27] forsake him and these he will forsake us. So has he covenanted and threatned. Wherefore let us beg of Him above every thing, a united heart to fear his Name, to love his Ways, and to cleave to­gether in them. Let us show a zealous adherence to the Word and Worship of God. There we must seek for the Laws of the Kingdom of Christ, and the Ordinances of his House. There our Fathers sought them, and have left them to us to keep; have left us to the Law and to the Testimony.

BUT it is time I come to the fifth and last Doctrine, which is the other and concluding Mot [...]ve:

V. THIS is the way to keep poss [...]ssion of this good Land which the Lord our God has given us, and to leave it for an Inheritance unto our Chil­dren after us.

SO says my text; Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the Congregation of the Lord, and in the Audience of our God; keep and seek for all the Commandments of the Lord your God; that ye may possess this good Land and leave it for an Inheritance for your Children after you, even for ever. I will only under this Head consider and compare the State of Israel in Canaan, and ours in New-England; and improve the Dealings and Promises of God to them for our warning.

1. CANAAN was a good Land, and so is ours. This Epithet good is the common one wherein God was won't to speak of Canaan. I suppose there was not at that time a more pleasant and fruitful spot in the whole World. It is described as a Land flowing with milk and honey: A land of brooks of [Page 28] water, of fountains and depths, springing not only from the Vallies but also from the Hills: A Land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees & pomegranates, a land of O [...]-olive and honey; a land whe [...]ein bread w [...]s eat without scarceness, and there was no lack of any thing; a land the stones where­of were Iron and out of whose Hills they dug brass, Deut. 8.7, 8, 9. Again, It was a land that drank w [...]ter of the rai [...]s of heaven; a land which the Lord himself cared for, to water it from above; which his eyes were always upon, from the beginning, &c. 11, 12 Finally, part of it lay on the Sea, and it had its lakes; and it suck'd of the abundance of the sea, it's riches by trade; and of the treasures hi [...] in the sand, the fish which they drew from the bottom, Deut. 33.19. And now you may be ready to think that I have been de­scribing our own Country; which is as likely to be as rich and opulent one as ever the Land of Ca­naan was, if our Sins do not hinder it.

2. GOD gave Canaan to the Children of Israel, and the same God gave this good Land which we now possess un [...]o our Fathers. The God of Israel is the One living and true God, and there is no o­ther but He. He the God of Abraham is our God. The knowledge of Him, his Covenant and his Worship is come to us by his Word. He gave the Land of Canaan by promise unto Abraham for his natural Seed by Isaac; and with a mighty hand and an out stretched arm he bro't them into it. They got not the land in possession by their own arm, neither did their own how save them; but his right Hand & his Arm, Psal. 44. Init▪ He divided the Sea [Page 29] before them, he led his people thro' the Wilder­ness, he smote great Kings and slew famous Kings, and gave their land for an Heritage, &c. And altho' God has never done the like since, or assayed to go and take him a Nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations and signs and won­ders, by a stretched out arm and great terrors, as he did for the Children of Israel; yet the presence of God with our Fathers, (a poor scattered and persecuted people, and but a handful that sought rest and a quiet enjoyment of the Gospel) was very remarkable in bringing them into this Land, ma­king room before them, and driving out the Na­tions that before possess'd it; whose Good and no hurt to 'em our Fathers sought. Indeed we can­not say, that God gave them a subdued and im­proved Land for which they did not labour, nei­ther Cities and houses to dwell in ready built for them, nor Fields & Orchards to eat of which they planted not: But God it was that gave them Wis­dom and Courage and Strength, a heart to subdue a waste Wilderness, and to fill it with Towns & Villages as it is this Day. They built for God with one hand, and held the Weapons of War in the other, and did bravely, and prosper'd, for God was with them and fought for them; and gave them rest.

3. WE enjoy all the spiritual-Priviledges & Ad­vantages of the Church of God in Canaan; his House, Worship & Ordinances; for which it was that God sever'd Canaan from the rest of the World, & for which it was that our Fathers sought & setled this land. It was that they might seek and keep all [Page 30] the Commandments and testimonies of the Lord, and enjoy the pure Worship and Ordinances of the Gospel without molestation, and leave the quiet possession of them to their Children after them. This was their Errand hither, and this their En­joyment here, and this their Legacy to us. This was the Re [...]t they so't, and this made it a Canaan to them; tho' otherwise a dreadful Wilderness. For this they left their pleasant Native Land, and pass'd the wide and dangerous Se [...]s, and planted these Churches of our Lord Jesus; wherein the God of Abraham and Israel is worship'd in spirit & in truth. So that I may say to you as Moses did to Israel; What people is there that has God nearer to them, or more among them, than this people of New-England? or what Nation have statutes and judgments more righteous, or the Ordinances of God more pure, and a more spiritual Worship than this people? What people have the Lord's Sabbath ▪ & Co­venant more shewn to them? or the good knowledge of the Lord more and better taught among them? We have the Ark and Sanctuary of God with us as much as ever it was in Canaan. Wherefore blessed of the Lord is our Land, not only for the precious dews of Heaven over [...], and for the deep that coucheth beneath; but more especially for the knowledge and Good will of him that dwelt in the Bush: He gave his word to Jacob, his Statutes and Judgments to Israel, he has not done so by every People.

4. IT is & should be our care to keep possession of this good Land, and of these spiritual & invaluable Privi [...]eges which the Lord our [...]o [...] has given us. Na­ture & Grace do both teach it.

[Page 31]1. AS to the Soil & Land it self. GOD has given it to our Fathers and we ought valiantly, and diligently to defend it from Enemies. Our fathers got it in possession by the special Provi­dence of God: Not by their own arm & [...], that could not have sav'd them from the surrounding Salvages; but it was God's right hand did it, be­cause he had a favour to them; and a purpose of glory to his Name in these Churches, in these ends of the earth. Now as Jephthay said unto the Messengers of the King of the Children of Ammon, when he sent to challenge a part of the Land of Israel; Judges, 11.23, 24. Now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people, shouldest thou possess it? — Whomsoever the Lord our G [...]d shall drive out before us them will we possess. The French all along behind us do so; and I wish there were not reason to call them, as there is, the Natural Enemies of our Provinces and of our Religion. Our Salvages to the East are poison'd by them, and us'd by them as bloody In­struments of War upon us. They would drive us, if they could off the Land, into the Sea. They distress and straiten, weaken and diminish us in our Borders; as the Remnants of the Canaanites did sinful Israel from time to time; and they are like to be a dreadful Scourge unto our Children after us. We must therefore fight the Lord's Battles, by his help, and defend the Soil; and in fighting for that we also do for the Church and Altar of God among us.— For,

2. WE have our Civil & Religious Liberties also which are the glory of the Land, to defend & secure [Page 32] as far as we are able. I am sorry there should be any among us, I would hope there can be none of us, who bear with grief or ill-will our spi­ritual or Charter Privileges. Our Fathers dearly deserv'd & purchas'd them, by their Estates and by their Lives spent in this Service to Christ and to their King; the subduing this Wilderness and the planting these Churches at their own cost. The Government that then was, the King & his Wise Council, justly tho't so, and gave the humble Privileges which they modestly asked for. None therefore ought to envy to their Posterity what they enjoy and value; without any breach upon the Rights & Liberties of others. They that chuse to come and live among us for their own worldly advantage, ought willingly to leave us in the quiet Possession of the dear Purchase of our Fathers, or of the Royal Favour & Bounty to them. At least we owe this Duty to God, to our Fami­lies and to our Children after us, to endeavour by all just and righteous ways to keep possession of our Priviledges, both spiritual & religious—.

I add therefore,

5. IT should be our earnest desire & prayer, our diligent care and endeavour, to leave this good Land, under it's present priviledges Civil & Re­ligious, unto our Children after us, for an Inheri­tance, even for ever. We can possess it but for a little while. Our Fathers, where are are they? and our Ministers that were before us? They are gone and we are going after them to the grave! O might it be to Heaven the Celestial Ca­naan, where many of them are! We are enter'd [Page 33] into their labours: They wro't for us: We must work for our Posterity, and the Glory of God a­mong them. Our Priviledges were dear to our Fathers; these they left us; and counted that they left us a goodly heritage. This let us leave to and desire to see entailed on our Children after us. Let this be our desire, that these Churches and the Worship of God in them may be enjoy'd by posterity; and that the rising Generation may know & fear, and serve the Lord God of their Fathers; may seek and keep all his Commandments.

For,

1. GOD only can defend and secure to us our Land, our Churches; our civil & religious Rights He gave them to us; in whose hand the hearts▪ of Kings are. As Nehemiah teaches us to give God the glory; Neh. 2.8. The king granted me Letters according to the good hand of God upon me. In his hand too are the hearts of Enemies, and he can turn them; and can chain them up, and de­feat their Counsels. We may and we should look to the God of Heaven as Nehemiah did, and pray to him and trust in him: Neh. 1.10, 11. Now these are thy servants & thy people; O Lord I be­seech thee let thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servants, that desire to fear thy name; & prosper and grant them mercy. Some may laugh us to scorn for these words, as some did them, Neh 2.19. But would we seek now and keep the Commandments of the Lord our God as Nehemiah did, we might answer with his words, — The God of heaven he will pr [...]sper us, therefore we his servants will arise & build.

[Page 34]2. LET it be seriously remembred, considered, realized & believed by us, that God has promis'd his people to defend them in the possession of their Land and of their Religion, and to leave it unto their Children after them; if they will keep the Charge of the Lord, and seek for and keep all his Commandments. The safety of God's people is in his Name & Promise; and this has been his Promise. Deut. 4.1, 40. Now therefore hearken to the Statutes & Judgments of God to do them, that you may live and possess the Land; and that it may go well with thee and with thy Children after thee; and that you may prolong your dayes. This Promise, or if you will this Motive to Obedience, is often repeated and urged by the Holy Ghost; Deut. 12.28. Observe & hear all these Words, which I command thee, that it may go well with thee and with thy Children after thee for ever; when thou doest that which is good & right in the sight of the Lord thy God. To give the utmost force unto this Promise God has confirm'd it to his people with an Oath; Deut. 28.1, 9. If thou shalt diligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe & do all his Commandments, —then the Lord shall establish thee an holy Peo­ple unto himself as he hath SWORN unto thee. A­gain, the Promise is, Lev. 26.11, 12. If ye walk in my statutes and keep my Commandments, I will set up my Tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you; and I will walk among you & be your God, and ye shall be my people. These are the Prom [...]ses of God to his People, and his Covenant with their Children after them, if they [Page 35] will seek and keep his Commandments. And these Promises are true & faithful; He keepeth Covenant & Mercy with his servants that walk before him with all their heart: He will save Zion, and will buil [...] the Cities of Judah, that they may dwell there & have it in possession: the seed of his servants shall inherit it, and they that love his Name shall dwell therein, Psalm 69 35, 36.

3. ON the contrary, God threatned his Peo­ple of old, if they were disobedient & impenitent, if they would not seek & keep his Command­ments, and his statutes, that they and their pos­terity should perish quickly from the good land which he gave unto them. The promise and the threatning agree and do mutually confirm one the other. They are put together in the Word of God and we must not separate them. Deut. 30.15, —20. See I have set before you this day, life & good, death & evil, In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, &c. that thou mayest live & multiply, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee—: But if thine heart turn away, so that thou will not hear, — I denounce unto you this day that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your dayes upon the Land. The like Threatning we have, Deut. 4.26. I call Heaven & Earth to witness, that ye shall utterly perish from off the Land; ye shall not prolong your dayes upon it, but shall utterly be de­stroyed; and the Lord shall scatter you among the Heathen. Heaven & Earth have seen these Threat­nings fulfilled on the People of God; particularly on the Jewish Nation. And these things h [...]pned [Page 36] to [...] Ens [...]mples, and are written for our Admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. Read the Fulfi [...]ment of the T [...]reatning on them, and the Improvement which we should make of it. Deut. 29.25, — 29. They forsook the Covenant of the Lord God of their Fathers,— and the anger of the Lord was kindled against their Land, to bring upon it all the Curses that are wri [...]ten in his Book: And the Lord r [...]oted them out in Anger, and in Wrath, and in great Indig­nation, and cast them into another Land, as it is this Day. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed unto us, and to our Children for ever; that we may do all the words of this Law.

AS therefore we value our Earthly Inheritance, & would leave it to our Children after us; or as we value our Spiritual Priviledges & desire that these may continue with them; & yet most of all, as we would be seeking a better Country, that is the Heavenly Canaan, for our selves and Ours; let us receive the Exhortation now bro't to us in the Name of GOD, — O seek for & keep all the Commandments of the Lord your GOD.

LET me plead with you from the Love we owe to GOD, our Selves, our Children, & our Country. If we have any Concern for His glory from us & ours; if we regard our own and their Welfare, Temporal, Spiritual & Eternal; if we seek the Good of others, as well those that are living with us, as theirs who shall come after us; Let us be observant of the Divine Will and Law, made known to us for our Good; and teach it di­ligently to our Children.

[Page 37]DO this in Obedience, Gratitude, Fidelity to GOD, that your Children may know & love and serve Him, & be to Him for a Name a praise & a glory. Deut. 4.9. Only take heed to thy self, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, & lest they depart from thy heart all the dayes of thy life, but teach them thy sons & thy sons sons. Deut. 31.13. And that your Children, which have not known any thing, may hear & learn to fear the Lord your God. After our selves, our Children are the best and greatest things which we have to render unto God: They are living & spiritual Sacrifices like our own souls; a reasonab [...] Service, holy & acceptable thro Christ. They belong to GOD by Covenant as well as we, & we must shew them his Covenant, and do our best to Establish them in it; that we may leave them as well under the Blessings, as the Bonds of it.

LET us do our part (& surely we have a part to do, one & other of us in our places) that Religion may not die with us or rather before us; but that it may survive with ours after us, & outlive them, & flourish more yet in their times who are not yet born. Like David let us be serving our OWN Generation by the Will of God, & like him let us also provide for that to come. This was his Con­solation & Joy as he fell asleep & was gathered to his Fathers, that he had prepared with all his might for the House of God which his Son should build. He had the happy prospect of this; that the Name of God in Israel was like to be still greater, and the Worship of God more Solemn & glorious in his [Page 38] Sons days than it had been in his. This abiding and increasing Glory of God, in the Church, thro' his means, after his Decease, was David's Crown in Death; and a brighter Diadem it set before him than that earthly one which he was laying down.

YOU know not what Services you are doing to God and men, while you are Educating your Children religiously. They will (you hope) teach their Children, and they theirs, the Word of God, down to many Generations. This is the Spirit of all the Faithful, Psal. 78.4. We will not hide them from their Children, shewing to the Generation to come the Praises of the Lord, and his Strength, and his wonderful Works that he hath done; That the Generation to come may know them, even the Children that shall be born, who shall arise & declare them to their Children.

YOUR Children also may come into those places of Trust, and publick Service, which you little think of, and be of great use in the World; for which you should be now furnishing them, according to the Grace of God given to you. One instructed Child may be an accomplish'd Instru­ment of unknown Good to many, whether he serve in the State or in the Church. So Jacob taught Joseph the fear of God, and God carry'd him to the Government of Aegypt, to save all the Countries round about and the Church that was in his Fathers house. So the Parents of Moses privately taught him the Religion of God, & laid the foundation of all the great Services which he did for God and his People. He is a Benefactor to the World, who educates his Children laudably ‘We can't [Page 39] leave the World a better Legacy than well dis­ciplin'd Children.’

BUT if we neglect our Children, we not only rob God & his Church of them▪ but as it were Sacrifice them to Moloch. So impious are we to God, & barbarous to them. Besides the present Injury to the world from us, the Misery will be to our selves & ours in the Day of Judgment. We shall be found as guilty in that day, as if we had literally built the High places of Tophet, in the vally of the son of Hinnon, to burn our sons and daughters in the fire, Jer. 7.31. We shall ly open to that dreadful Charge, Ezek. 16.20, 21. Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters which thou hast born unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed to be devoured: Is this of thy Whoredoms a small mat­ter? that thou hast slain my Children — I leave it to your Bowels to make answer unto such a Challenge.

MIND how Ezra's love to God wro't? and the love of the pious Jews with him to their Pos­terity; Ezra 8.21. Then I proclaimed a Fast to afflict our selves before our God, and to seek of him a right Way for us & for our little ones: So we fasted & besought our God for this, and he was entreated of us. This was as those that lov'd God and their Country, desirous that their Children should be happy in the knowledge of God and of his wayes. God seeks this godly seed too and their Prosperity: Deut. 5.29. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me and keep my Commandments always; that it might be well with them and with their Children for ever.

[Page 40]Finally, LET the Children & Posterity of New-England be admonished & charged from all that I have now said, in the Audience of the God of their Fathers, and in the sight of all his People, to adhere unto these good wayes of the Lord, & to that Way of his Worship, in which they have been Instituted from the Word of God in these Churches. If you can find the WORD of God more kept to, in Worship ▪ in Practice, in another Com­munion, I am well content that you prefer it. But if you are not likely to find more of the sin­cere Word & pure Institutions of Christ in any other Communion, then abide were you are; and hold your selves bound in Conscience to do so. This is a just and true Principle of the Protestant Religion, and the very Basis of the Reformation from Popery; and it will stand for ever; As the Word of the Lord endures the same, (the only Rule of Faith & Practice, Worship and Manners) while one Generation goeth and another cometh.

YOUR Fathers sought, and found Grace to keep the Commandments of God. Practical Piety was their Glory in the sight of God & Man. And be­ing Dead they yet speak to us, and charge us as David did his S [...]n; Kn [...]w thou the God of thy Fa­thers▪ and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; If thou seek him he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him he will cast thee off for ever. The Grand Legacy of the Fathers of this Country to their Posterity is the Bible. It is the best and rich [...]st that they could leave us. Let us pr [...]se it and keep to it, and it will keep us.

LET none seduce you from that. However [Page 41] zealously any may seem to affect you, it cannot be well, if they would draw you from this One Principle of these Churches. On this Rock Christ has built his Church; and on it stands [...]ll pure Re­ligion and undefiled before God, our Father.

ONLY let your Hearts be right with him, accor­ding to his Word. If ye be willing & obedient ye shall eat the Good of the land. It will avail us no­thing to be right in Principles of Order, & Wor­ship, nor yet in Doctrines of Faith, if we are not gracious in heart & holy in life before him. Our Fathers walked with GOD, and trusted in Him, & were not confounded. And he will be the same to us, if we are such toward him. Only his free & spe­cial Grace can make us so. Seek this of him; and wait on him for it in his appointed ways. You shall not seek this in vain. He will give the holy spirit unto them that ask him. The Promise is sure unto all the seed. They are a praying Seed, and in­stead of the Fathers shall be the Children.

I will only add, and leave with you, that Word of Pro­mise, Isai. 44 1,—5 (which may it please God to speak to us; and fulfil on ours after us) ‘Yet now hear▪ O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen! Thus saith the Lord that made thee, & formed thee from the womb, which will help thee: Fear not, —For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty & floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my Blessing upon thine Off [...]pring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as w [...]llows by the water. Courses: One shall say I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the Name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname himself by the Name of Israel.’ Amen and Amen.