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A PREFACE, OR AN EPISTLE to the READER.
THere is nothing in the World (I am very confident) lyes ſo near the heart of a gracious Chriſtian, next to the Glory of God and his own Souls Eternal happineſs, as the Spiritual good of his dear Children: nature binds him to love his own: Chriſtianity regulateth and Spiritualiſeth this love: fondneſs is not true love, but faithfulneſs: love to their bodies is but bruitiſh without love to their Souls: i'ts like a doting on the Caſe, and throwing away the Jewel, the Soul is the man, the unſeen part is the beſt part; where the Soul is lodged, when parted from the Body, there muſt the Body lodg, in Heaven or Hell: Oh that men underſtood and well digeſted this! ſurely they would not ſo unweariedy toil and tread to get Eſtates for their Children, and take no care of their precious Souls, and know not when they Dye whether he that comes after them ſhall be a Wiſe man or a Fool: Eccl. 21.9if he be a wiſe man, a little will ſerve him, with Gods bleſſing: if wicked he puts a Sword into the hand of a Fool to do himſelf and others a greater miſchief: Oh how much better is it for their own peace and their Childrens profit to plead the Covenant, to Inſtruct, Correct, Admoniſh, Counſel, Comfort and incourage their Children in the ways of God, and uſe their utmoſt Endeavour to make them Gods Children: an Ancient thus writes,Sabrian ad Eccleſ. cath. lib. 3. p. 441. [Diſciplinam parentes deus jubet theſauriſare filijs, non pecuniam, perennia praecipit non peritura conferre] God commands Parents to hoard up Diſciplin, not Money for their Children, things of a perpetual not periſhing nature: what a baſe and ſordid thing is it to prefer a Swine to a Son! to provide for a Beaſt and caſt out a Child! and yet moſt Parents beſtow more care of their Cattel than of their Childrens Souls: they give their Children nature, but deny them nurture: Yea they propagate corruption to them, but do not travel over them till Chriſt be formed in them: they glory in being Fathers of their Fleſh, but cry not to the Father of Spirits for the beſt life in their Childrens dead Souls: they promiſe at their Baptiſm, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, but know not what that meaneth, and have no heart to learn, that they may teach: Oh what account will theſe perjured Parents give another day? Remember God will call you to account, what Anſwer will you give, when he ſhall Say? where is the Childs Soul, that I committed to thy truſt? what care haſt thou taken of it? where are thy Tears, Prayers, Groanings, Earnings of Bowels for thine own Bowels? didſt thou not know that thy Child had a Soul? that its Soul was polluted with Sin? that it muſt be born again not only of Water but of the Spirit: or could not be Saved? that though I was to be the Efficient cauſe, yet thou muſt be the Inſtrument to begin and carry on this Work, and haſt thou ſtruck one ſtroke in this work by faithfull endeavours? or haſt thou earneſtly deſired me to do that for thy Child that thou couldeſt not? thou knoweſt thou haſt done neither, and therefore thy Childs Blood ſhall be reqiured at thy hands: what Apology wilt thou then make for thy ſelf? Doſt thou think to come off by Saying, I ſent him to School to learn, or to the Miniſter to be Catechiſed? this is more than ſome will do, but is this all? is not paternal care thy perſonal duty? was not thou charged with thy Childs Soul? may not God juſtly blaſt other teachers pains as a puniſhment of thy negligence? and doth not thy bad Example at home unravel all that others teach them? Wo, Wo be to ſuch wicked wretched Parents!
In the name of God I charge you, as you will not have your Children accuſe and curſe you in Hell for ever, concern your ſelves deeply about their Everlaſting State, think they can never do well, if they do not well for another World: they will never be dutifull to you, till they be Obedient to God: train them up for God and you conſult at once Gods Glory, the good of Church and Commonwealth, your own Comfort, and their Eternal felicity: true Grace qualifys perſons for every condition: for he that is really good will be relatively good: a good King and Subject, Father and Child, Maſter and Servant: Heathens knew this, that the way to form Perſons into a due mould of civil Subjection is a literate and vertuous Education: thus the King of Babylon conquering Judah, ordered the Kings ſeed,Dan. 1.3, 4 and Princes to be trained up in the learning of of the Chaldeans: and our own Hiſtorys tell us, that when the Romans conquered this Iſland, Julius Agricola brought Noble mens Sons to Rome, and cauſed them to be educated in liberal Sciences, whereby they gradually tamed the furious temper of the Brittains, ſo that the Inhabitants here became of gentle ſpirit, and peaceable Subjects: much more will Chriſtianity and true Piety, bring perſons into a regular conformity: it expells Barbarity and produceth Civility, Hoſpitality, Frugality, and yet a diſcreet liberality: a divine Benediction is entailed upon Sincere Religion: Godlineſs is profitable unto all things, 1 Tim. 4.8.having promiſe of the life that now is and of that which is to come: if your Children be Godly they will be fit for any thing, and all things will conduce to their good:
And You, Oh children, ſuffer a word of Exhortation from one that hath had Experience of childhood, Youth, riper age, and is arrived at old age, and hath been a teacher of others above forty years, and may ſay to you as Auguſtus did to his mutinous Army, [Audite me juvenes, quem juvenem ſenes Audierunt] Hear me Young men, whom ſometimes Old men have heard and obeyed: God forbid you ſhould be head-ſtrong ſons of Belial Yoakleſs, and ſo run headlong into the pit of deſtruction: Be not like the wild aſſes colt, break not thro' Parents tears. Prayers, counſels and commands, to Hell: Alas! that any young perſons ſhould deſperatly contradict the perſwaſions of Miniſters, the motions of the Spirit, the checks of their own conſciences, the ſad warnings of their undone companions and the rods of God on their own backs, and haſte through all theſe to the pit, and never ſtop till they be ſwallowed up in that Infernal Lake that burns with Fire and Brimſtone: you will ſay what would you have us to do? I anſwer, Act as Rational Creatures, inure your ſelves to Solemn conſideration: Conſider that you are Creatures of an higher rank than Bruits, that you have Immortal never dying Souls, that God made you to Glorify and injoy him: that he hath given you a rule to act by, in order to another ſtate in the other World, that Sin hath depraved your natures, hath diprived you of Gods Image, brought you under his curſe: that Chriſt came to redeem Sinners, that ſaving Faith doth intereſt Souls in Chriſt: that Faith is the gift of God: that in your Baptiſm you were ingaged to forſake the World, Fleſh and Devil: Conſider your ſins ſince you were baptized, confeſs them to God: review and renew your Baptiſmal vow, actualy renounce all other claimers, and give up your Selves to the Lord, underſtandingly, Deliberately, Ʋniverſally and Perpetually: improve Jeſus Chriſt, as the way, the truth, and the Life: Eſpouſe his intereſt: joyn with Gods People: Obey all his commands Attend on him in all his Ordinances: Be ſure you be ſincere: Exerciſe every Grace: aim at Perfection: keep a conſtant watch over your hearts and ways: maintaining a dayly warfare againſt all Spiritual Enemies: prepare for death: and conſider where you muſt lodg when the King of Terrours lays its cold hand of Arreſt upon you: and make your Accounts ſtreight againſt that great reckoning day: and be ſure you put on Chriſt, and improve him as your Advocate, that he may Anſwer for you at that day.
Theſe things I do but touch: for my great deſign is, the quickening and incouraging of Parents on the behalf of their Poſterity: ſome whereof are left to themſelves by the Lord to go aſtray, which occaſioned Mr. Lawrence's excellent Treatiſe of Parents Groans; nor is it his caſe only, but many others alſo, ſome particular inſtances are freſh in memory, which have brought ſome Godly Parents gray hairs with Sorrow to their Graves: ſome well known Servants of God having never ſeen any hopeful ſymptoms of Grace upon ſome or all ther Children in their Life time, and had ſome ſad temptations to queſtion the truth of of God in his Covenant: yet even in the very pangs of Death reacht to and claſpt hard this Bleſſed Word, dying in the hopes of its Efficacy for themſelves and theirs, and the ſubject being recommended to me, was accordingly treated on in a Funeral Diſcourſe, which upon requeſt, I was willing to tranſcribe, for the incouragement of Poor afflicted Parents, that are bowed down with heart-grief for their offending Children; I confeſs the ſubject is novel and ſingular, and ſuch as I have not ſeen any Treatiſe upon: and having walked in an untrodden path, I hope I may obtain a pardon from God and Man of ſome Erratick motion, whilſt the tendency is Gods Glory and the good of Souls.
I hope none will reject this Treatiſe, becauſe it ſeems a limited Subject, as if they were not concerned in it, for as 'tis handled it is extenſive to all, Parents, Children; yea ſuch as have no Children, are dealt with in this ſmall Treatiſe, for their Inſtruction and Conſolation: ſuch as it is I commend to Believing, Praying Parents, following it with my poor Prayers, that all the Children of the Covenant, may be Covenanted Souls, and that Parents may be comforted in the Grace of God in their Poſterity, and both may meet in Glory; and if any reap and receive any advantage, I have my reward, and do humbly beg the Inceſſant Prayers of all that can Pray
For The poor Servant of Chriſt and the Church O. H.
A General Scheme or view of the Chief Contents of this Treatiſe.
Chap. 1. The Context cleared, the Text explained, 10 Doctrines briefly hinted Page 1.
Ch. 2. The main Doctrin, Propounded, Cleared, Explained, by ſome things premiſed 9.
Ch. 3. What this Covenant is, and who are concerned in it. 16.
Ch. 4. Six grounds of hope which Parents have from the Covenant for their Children. 24.
Ch. 5. Six other grounds of Incouragement to Parents for their ſurviving Children. 32.
Ch. 6. An Anſwer to a great objection, in ſeven particular Conſiderations. 39.
Ch. 7. An uſe of Conviction to Irreligious Parents and graceleſs Children. 48.
Ch. 8. An uſe of Exhortation to Children both of Ʋncovenanted and Covenanted Parents, and to ſuch as have no Children. 59.
Ch. 9. Another branch of Exhortation to all Parents that have Children, ten motives to do their utmost to leave them within the Covenant: what means to be uſed. 69.
Ch. 10. The laſt mean to be uſed for Childrens good is Earneſt Prayer for them. Twelve ſeveral Pleas and Arguments helping Parents in Prayers. Some Caſes of Conſcience anſwered. 79.
Theſe Books Written and Publiſhed by Mr. Oliver Heywood; are to be ſold by Tho. Parkhurſt, at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapſide.
THE Sure Mercies of David; being the fruits of ſome Meditations from Iſa. 55.3.
Chriſt diſplayed as the choiceſt gift and beſt Maſter: from Joh. 4.…0. And Joh. 13.13. Written by Mr. Nath. Heywood, and publiſhed by Mr. Oliver Heywood.
Iſraels Lamentation after the Lord: Being ſome Meditations upon 1 Sam. 7.2.
The Holy Life and Happy Death of Mr. John Angier.
Cloſet Prayer: Or a Chriſtians Duty, from Mat. 6.6.
Baptiſmal Bonds renewed: On Pſal. 50.5.
Meetneſs for Heaven upon Coloſ. 1.12. deſigned for a Funeral Legacy.
Advice to an only Child, or excellent Counſel to all Young Perſons, containing the Sum and Subſtance of Experimental and Practical Divinity. Written by an Eminent and Judicious Divine for the Private uſe of an only Child now made publick for the Benefit of all. Publiſhed by Mr. Oliver Heywood.
Dying Parent's Living Hopes for their ſurviving Children, &c.
2 Sam. 23.5.
Although my houſe be not ſo with God, yet he hath made with me an Everlaſting Covenant, ordered in all things and ſure: for this is all my Salvation, and all my Deſire, although he make it not to grow.