An Order of Household Instruction, Title page – Dedication
AN ORDER OF HOVSHOLD INSTRVCTION: By which eueryevery maſter of a Familie, may eaſily and in ſhort ſpace, make his whole houſhold to vnderſtand the principall and chiefe points of Chriſtian religion: without the knowledge whereof, no man can be ſaued.
Deut. 6. verſ. 6.7.
And theſe words which I command thee this day, ſhall be in thine heart, & thou ſhalt rehearſe them continually vntounto thy children, and ſhalt talke of them when thou tarieſt in thine houſe, and as thou walkeſt by the way, and when thou lyeſt downe, and when thou riſeſt vp, &c.
2. Tim. 3.15.
Thou haſt knowne the holie Scriptures of a childe, which are able to make thee wiſe vntounto ſaluation, thorough the faith which is in Chriſt Ieſus.
AT LONON Printed by the VVidowe Orwin, for Thomas Man, dwelling in Pater-noſter row, at the ſigne of the Talbot. 1595.
TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE, THE LORD ROBERT DEVOREVX, Earle of Eſſex and Ewe, Vicount Hereford, and Bourchier, Lord Ferrers and Chartly, Lord Bourchier, and Louaine, Knight of the noble Order of the Garter, Maſter of her Maieſties Horſe, and one of her Maieſties moſt Honorable priuie Councell: grace and peace be multiplied.
IT is a matter of great waight, and neceſſarie duety, Right Honorable, to conſider wiſely, and to iudge rightly of the workes of God, in the euent of thinges which happen vntounto men. For as it is written in the Pſalmes: aPſal. 145.17.The Lord is righteous in all his waies, and holy in all his workes. And againe: b107.43.VVho is wiſe that hee may obſerue theſe things? for they ſhall vnderstand the louing kindneſſe of the Lorde. And againe: c92.6.An vnwiſe man knoweth it not, and a foole doth not vnderstand this. And ſeeing dRom. 11.36.all thinges are of him, and thorow him, & for him, and e1. Sam. 2.9.in his owne might no man ſhall bee ſtrong: but fPſalm. 75.7. & 33.11.God is Iudge, hee maketh low, he maketh high; and that the counſell of the Lorde ſhall ſtand for euer, & the thoughtes of his hart, Gods prouidence in all things is to be obſerued.thoroughout all ages: eueryevery man ought carefully to regarde the prouidence of God, in the thinges befalling to himſelf and others, which I find very fruitfully obſerued by the holy ſeruaunts of GOD in the Scriptures. As Ioſeph, when he ſawe his Fathers houſe, in the time of the greate famine, to come into Egypt to buy foode, comforteth his brethren, who of enuie had ſolde him thither, with this obſeruation, ſaying: gGen. 45.5.Bee not ſad, neither grieued with your ſelues, that ye ſold me hither: for God did ſende me before you, for your preſeruation. And Dauid comforteth himſelfe, and ſtayeth the rage of his ſeruaunt, againſt the curſing of Shimei, by this conſideration, ſaying, h2. Sam. 16.12Jt may bee that God will looke vponupon mine affliction, & do me good for his curſing this day. So Mordecai encourageth Eſter, to make ſupplication to the king (though it were contrarie to lawe, and in hazard of her life) in the behalf of the Iewes, who were appointed to die by wicked Haman: by ſuch a wiſe collectiō among other wordes, ſaying: aEſter. 4.14.VVho knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdome for ſuch a time? In like ſorte, when I thinke vponupon your honor, remembring what I hauehave heard of your noble Father, that good Erle, in the time of his laſt ſicknes, & of his godly care ouer his children: comparing thereunto how God hath preſerued you vntounto this time, what ſpeciall fauour you hauehave attained before ſo gracious a Prince, in what an high & waigh tie place you are ſet, & in what yeares of your age theſe things are befallen you, together with the bleſſed giftes by which you are fitted thereunto: mine hart is touched with a comfortable hope, that the Lords grace working effectually in you, and his heauenly ſpirite directing you: you might be a worthie inſtrument, in faithfull and wiſe ſeruice to her maieſty for the good of this common-wealth, & the churches of Ieſus Chriſt among vsus. For if b1. King. 18.4.Obadiah vnderunder wicked Ahab, could keepe from Iezebel, and feede an hundreth Prophetes: and cIere. 38.8.9.Ebedmelech could obtaine of that euill king Zedekiah, to deliuer Ieremie out of the dungeon, into which he was caſt by the Princes with the kings conſent: and dNehem. 2.Nehemiah could apply the fauour he had with that heatheniſh King Artaſhaſht, to the building of the walles of Hieruſalem: who can tell? but that much more, ſuch a noble man of Chriſtian knowledge, aduanced by God into the fauour of ſo Chriſtian and religious a princeſſe, may likewiſe performe ſome ſeruice of great importance, to the Church of God and his countrie.
And verily if God ePr…u. 18.4.made all for himſelfe, EueryEvery man ought to ſerue God, according to his place & giftes.and his elect fEphe 1, 6.for the glorie of his grace, gAct. 17.26.aſſigning the times, which were ordained before, and the bounds of mens habitation, that they ſhould ſeeke the Lord: and if he hauehave hMath. 25.14.giuen eueryevery man a talent, whereof hee muſt render an account; then ought euerie man i1. Cor. 7.17.24ſo to walke, as God hath diſtributed to eueryevery man, as the Lorde hath called eueryevery one, and therein to abide with God. Therfore k1. Sam. 15.Saul, without reſeruing of any ſpoyle, by any pretence, muſt bee obedient to the voyce of the Lord, in the vtter deſtroying of Amalecke; becauſe God had annoynted him to be king, & called him thereunto. And Dauid, l2. Sam. 12.though hee were a man after Gods heart: yet becauſe he forgate his aduancement by God, & his great benefits, and by deflowring his neighbours wife, &c. diſobeied God, and cauſed the enemies of God to blaſpheme: was reproued ſharply & puniſhed ſeuerely. And thou O meeke mNum. 30.12Moſes, what kept thee out of the lande of promiſe? And thou O wiſe a1. King. 11.Salomon, what made thy latter dayes troubleſome, and a breach in thy kingdome? And thou O good b1. King. 22.Iehoſhaphat, what brought thy life in hazard? was it not, that God, who exalted you in honour, Who ſo honor not God are plagued.was not ſanctified by your ſeruice? If God thus deale with his owne c1. Pet. 4.17.houſe, where ſhall the vngodly and ſinners appeare? dPhilip. 3.19.whoſe God is their bellie, who eHaback. 1.16.ſacrifice to the net of their own policies, and honour the fLuk. 16.13.God riches, but gExod. 5.2.know not the Lord, who giueth them all things abundantly to enioy? hRom. 1.24.God giueth them ouer to their owne luſts, iIob. 5.14.they meete with darknes in the day time, and grope at noone day as in the night, ſome by k2. Sam. 17.23their policie make an halter to hang themſelues, ſome in the lDan 5.middeſt of their iolitie, hauehave the ioynts of their loynes looſed and their knees ſmitten one againſt another, and ſome are mPſal 53.5. Prouerb. 28.1.afeard where there is no feare, and flye when no man purſueth them. And nEſay 5.24.as the flame of fire deuoureth the ſtubble, and as the chaffe is conſumed of the flame; ſo their roote ſhall bee rottennes, and their bud ſhall riſe vp as duſt, becauſe they hauehave caſt off the lawe of the Lord of hoſts, &c. that it might ſtand as an vnchaungeable decree of the hie God, the poſſeſſor of heauen and earth; concerning the wicked & the true ſeruants of God: o1 Sam. 2.30. The feare of God rewardedThem that honor me, I will honor, and they that deſpiſe me, ſhall be deſpiſed. So did the Lord aduance vertuous pGen. 45.Ioſeph, before all his brethren, he qExod. 1.21.made houſes to the widowes, who feared God in Egypt, and deliuered rIere. 39.16.Ebedmelech in the day of euill. Therefore, for the comfort of all them, that walke according to their gifts & callings with God, it is written: ſPſal. 33.18.Behold the eye of the Lord is vponupon thē that feare him, and vponupon them that truſt in his merciemercy, to deliuer their ſoules from death, and to preſerue them in famine. For this cauſe (right Honorable) hauehave I preſumed to dedicate this ſmall booke to your Honour, not onelyonly becauſe I am perſwaded of your fauorable acceptation, but alſo that by mee being one among many, you might know what hope and expectation there is, among her Maieſties moſt faithfull ſubiects concerning you: that your yong yeres being ſanctified, and ( t1. Ioh. 2.14.as S. Iohn ſaith) being ſtrong & the word of God abiding in you, and hauing ouercome the wicked, you might amōgſt other graue and wiſe counſellors, bee a ioyfull labourer in all good cauſes, and a proſperous furtherer of things concerning God, to the great ioy, peace and honor, of her moſt excellent maieſtie, and that by the mouthes of many her louing ſubiects, prayſes may redound to the glorie of God, and that you may glorie in his praiſe. And here I humblie craue your Chriſtian fauour, to giuegive mee leaue to tell you, what the Lorde ſpeaketh vntounto you. For me thinketh I heare him ſpeake vntounto you, as he did vntounto Ioſhuah and Abraham: aIoſhu. 1.Be thou ſtrong and of a moſt valiant courage, that thou mayst obſerue and doe according to al the law, which Moſes my ſeruant hath commanded thee: thou ſhalt not turne away from it, to the right hād, nor to the left, that thou maiſt proſper whither ſoeuer thou goeſt. I will be with thee, J will not leaue thee, nor forſake thee. bGen. 15.1. & cap. 17.1.Feare not, J am thy buckler and thine exceeding great reward. J am God alſufficient, walke before me and bee vpright. Now this little booke of houſhold inſtruction, I tender vntounto your Honors protection; nothing comparable to the profound works ſet foorth by rare and ſingular men, but as a little candle to bee placed in the midſt of the houſe, to giuegive light to all them that are therein. And as in the worke of the materiall Temple vnderunder Salomon, c2. Chron. 2.2.hewers of ſtones had a neceſſary vſe: ſo this little book may bee ſome good helpe, to prepare the ſeueral members of the familie, for the ſkilfull builders, that is, the d1 Pet. 2.5.faithful miniſters, to be ioined as liuely ſtons in the ſpirituall temple of God. For as the Pſalmiſt doth teſtifie: ePſal. 119.130The entrance into Gods wordes ſheweth light, and giueth vnderstanding vntounto the ſimple. And our Sauiour teacheth, that there is a ſecret working in his kingdom, like the growing of the fMat. 13.3….ſmall graine of muſtard-ſeed, and as a little leauē hid in three pecks of meale: So g1. Cor. 1.27.God hath choſen fooliſh thinges of the world to confound the wiſe, & God hath choſen weake thinges of the world to confound the mighty, &c. And to whom ſhould I offer the booke of teaching the familie? but euen to him, whoſe houſhold being well inſtructed, ordered, & guided, may diuers waies doe good vntounto many of all eſtates and degrees: yea euen to him, who knoweth verie well, how needfull a thing it is in regarde of the Commonwealth: which in troubleſome times doth find, that a Chriſtian Prince cannot be ſure of ſuch a peoples faithfulnes, in dayes of triall: whoſe bellies being fedde with the fatte of the earth, hauehave mindes vnſetled; and for lacke of the knowledge of Chriſt, and the feare of God, are apt to go after the ſway of time, and to bee led as beaſtes by the bellie, where moſt eaſe, gaine, & pleaſure ſhall draw them. Therefore nothing doubting, but that your godly wiſedom, and good knowledge of Chriſt Ieſus, will graciouſly receiue any thing, that may be helpful to Chriſtian religion and godlines: I preſent this little booke vntounto your Honour, with al humblenes and good will in the Lord; leauing the ſucceſſe vntounto him, in whoſe handes are the aPſalm. 31.15.times of all things, and b1. Cor. 3.7.who onelyonly giueth increaſe. Moſt meekely praying his diuine goodnes to make you honorable in this world, in all pietie and Chriſtian vertues, to the glory of his name, the honour of your Prince and countrey, and to the reioycing of all good chriſtians: & in the world to come, to bee partaker of his glory: who ſhall be glorified in his Saintes, and made marueilous in all that beleeue. Amen. At Eaſtwell in Kent this 26. of Februarie. Anno 1596.
Your Honours alwaies to command in Chriſt Ieſus: IOSIAS NICHOLS.