Holy Dedication Both Personal and Domestic, Part 2 · Chapter 5

Holy Dedication Both Personal and Domestic · Part 2 · Chapter 5

p. 44CHAP. V. The Particular Branches of Houſe-Dedication urged.

1. FIrſt therefore, Enter upon your Houſes by ſolemn Prayer and Praiſe. Theſe two are (as it were) the ſtaple Duties of Religion; In the One, we acknowledg what we want, in the other, what we have; In the one we teſtifie our own emptineſs, in the other God's goodneſs; In the one we take from God, in the other we give to God. But 'tis not for me to run out upon theſe, in the general nature or notion of them; I am only to ſpeak to them, according to the preſent conſideration. That which I have to do is this; to exhort you, (as the good Providence of God ſhall fix you in New Habitations), that you would make your Entrance by Solemn Prayer and Praiſe. (You know what I p. 45mean by Solemn Prayer and Praiſe, that hath been already opened): You muſt have the foundations of your Houſes twice laid; they are firſt laid by your workmen, in a common and literal ſenſe; then they muſt be laid by your ſelves again, in a ſpiritual and religious ſenſe, by Prayer and Praiſe: And indeed the first laying is not ſafe or firm without this. In our entrings upon New Houſes we have ſeveral civil rites and cuſtoms; there are**Many open Houſe-Dedication by theſe Feaſtings. See Mariana and others cited in Lorinus upon Deut. 20.5. Dedicari res dicitur, quan. do cum ſolenni aliquo ritu, vel convivio rei uſus inchoaatur Menoch.Deut 20:5 Feaſtings, great Entertainments; Friends come and rejoice with us, and ſend in their Proviſions to be merry with us; and this they call Houſe-airing, or Houſe-warming: I have nothing to ſay againſt this uſage, provided, 1. That this be ſoberly and temperately managed; 2. That the main duty to God be not neglected. But the miſery of it is this, we have theſe external expreſſions of Love and Joy, when the religious part is omitted. This I find former **Nos hodie Conviviis Domos nostras Dedicamus, parum expenden. tes divinum beneficium. Muſcul. Nunc ferè res tota verſa est in luxum Conviviorum & plurimas Helluationes. Moller.Writers much lamenting. O let not your Dedications lie in eating and drinking, (much leſs in intemperance p. 46and inſobriety), but in Prayer and Praiſe. 'Tis obſerved of the**Hoc etiamnum fit à Judais, ſed helluando, pergraecando, ludendo, aliiſ que oblectamentis, potius festum agitant, quàm ſeriâ ad Deum gratiarum actione, ob reportatam ab bostibus victoriam. Buxtorf. Synag. Judaic. cap. 23. Jews, that they yet keep the Feaſt of Dedication; but how do they keep it? In ſwilling, drinking, immoderate uſe of the Creatures, and the like; but as for the ſerious remembrance of God's mercy, vouchſafed to their Nation (upon which that Feaſt was grounded), that is loſt. O that it was not thus amongſt Chriſtians, upon other Accounts! what feaſting are we like to have in this City, as perſons ſhall come into their New Habitations? Pray take heed of exceſs; do not ſo ſoon forget Gods puniſhing of you for this, (which I look upon as one of the Cities ſins); and withall make Conſcience of the main. As ſoon as you are ſetled in your Houſes, dedicate them by Prayer and Praiſe. David here as ſoon as his Houſe was built, (for ſo I told you ſome Expoſitors time the words), he falls upon the dedication of it by Prayer and Praiſe. I beſeech you, do you do as he did.

p. 47A word to each of theſe; Firſt for Prayer. That's a duty always ſeaſonable but in the preſent caſe very ſeaſonable. Howſhall our dwellings be**Peccatis polluuntur, precibus ſanctificantur aedes. Scultet. ſanctified, but by Prayer? This is the Sanctifying Ordinance, 1 Tim. 4.5. As ſin defiles the Houſe, Prayer ſanctifies it: How will you teſtifie your dependance upon God, for mercy in your Houſes but by Prayer? How will you own God to be your Chief Landlord, Dei ſe inquilinos eſſe fatebantur. Calv.that you hold all from him, that you are his, and your Houſe is his, and your All is his? I ſay, how will you own God thus, if you do not enter with Prayer? Will you ſettle upon your Houſes, and not ask God's leave? You will not enter into your Neighbours Houſe, but you will ſay firſt, By your leave; Is not your Houſe, Eſtate, Goods, All, the Lord's? and will you invade his Bleſſings without his Leave? Do you expect Protection from God, that he will keep your Houſes day and night, and will you not in a ſolemn and ſpecial manner pray for this? Can you look for any bleſſing, but in the way of Prayer? O ſet ſome time apart for the ſolemn performance of this duty: Oh, let your p. 48Prayers enter Heaven, as ſoon as you enter into your Houſes; and plead with God, thus: Lord, I juſtifie thee in thy judicial diſpenſations; thou waſt juſt in turning me out of my former Habitation, for I did not pay thee my rent for it; I did not only deſerve to have my Houſe in Flames, but to have my Soul to burn in Hell for evermore: Notwithſtanding former forfeitures, preſent unworthineſs, thou haſt provided another Houſe for me and mine; Lord, I am leſs than the leaſt of all thy mercies; but ſince out of thy free mercy thou haſt made this proviſion for me, help me to own thee in it, to carry it better than formerly I have done; Let my Houſe and Heart, and all be ſanctified; let me live and walk in it with a perfect heart,; Let me devote it, and all in it, to thy glory; let thy ſpecial preſence be with me, and thy ſpecial providence over me; Secure me from all evil, and from miſchievous men, who are ſet on fire with Hell; Let not my Houſe be good, and my Heart naught: As my Houſe is new, let my Heart be new alſo: Lord, I here dedicate my Houſe to thee: I and my Houſe will ſerve thee. But I muſt break off from this; the Spirit of God will direct p. 47you and aſſiſt you, when with ſincerity you ſet upon the Duty.

And then, as to Praiſe. In antient Dedications they uſed to give gifts and to offer Sacrifices: In the dedicating of your Houſes to God, let your Gift and Sacrifices be Praiſe; this is more to God than all Legal, or Moſaical Sacrifices, Pſal. 50.13.14. Pſal. 69.30, 31. 'Tis of great advantage, for men to enter upon their Comforts with Thanksgiving; **Non potest fieri, utqui Donum Dei gratus agnoſcit, illo abutatur. Muſcul. Minemur hinc pro omnibus rebus, & pracipuè cum primùm quid in uſum venit, Gratias Deo agere: inde ſane mens amore Dei as ita ad oinnem magis pietatem accenditur; ſimulqueadmonemur, at De… ̄ Donis quàm castiſſim? utatur; Quis enim re abutatur ad luxum, pro quo jam Deo gratias egit. Bucer.We do not ſo eaſily abuſe mercies, which we ſolemnly bleſs God for Get ſuch a ſenſe of the goodneſs of God upon your hearts, as to call upon your ſelves, to bleſs God; Ah, and to call in others too, to bleſs God for you and with you; This was David's practiſe, (as I might ſhow you in ſeveral places); and in the managing of this, I would have you in a ſpecial manner to fix upon thoſe mercies which have a more immediate reference to the occaſion: As for example, your Houſes were burnt, but (as to the most of you), a conſiderable part of your Eſtates was preſerved; however your Lifes were not touch'd. Indeed this was admirable, that in ſo fierce, ſo terrible a fire the Lifes of more p. 48were not deſtroy'd: It might have been with us as with Sodom, our perſons as well as our Houſes and Eſtates might have bin conſumed; but the merciful God ordered it otherwiſe. Lot own'd it as a ſingular mercy, (though he loſt much) that his Life was ſpared, (when Sodom was burnt), Gen. 19.19. 'Twas mercy that when we were in flames, we were not in blood too; that 'twas not killing and murdering, as well as burning; Bleſſed be God,Pſal. 76.10.Ps 76:10 who reſtrained the remainder of wrath. 'Twas mercy, that he provided other Habitations for you, in your great ſtraights; That ſo much of the City was ſpared, to be an Harbour to you: That many of you, who have been thruſt into very incommodious places, have yet enjoy'd as much health as ever you did in the midſt of your beſt accommodations; that after a long and ſad war, it hath pleaſed God to reſtore again the bleſſing of Peace to us, (without which this poor City muſt yet have continued in its aſhes): That ſo good and ſo full an Act hath been paſſed by the Supream Authority of the Nation, to further the repairing of our breaches: That God hath bleſſed p. 49you with ſuch a proportion of eſtate, that you are in a capacity, either to build or to take new Houſes; that after a ſhort ejectment out of your old Houſes, God hath provided others for you, and brought you into them, (as your true**Of the Roman's Domiducus Deus, vid. Dempsterum Antiq. Rom. C. 2. f. 187. Domiducus Deus): There are many other mercies that I am ſure do occur to your thoughts: O let God in your Re-entrys have ſome ſolemn acknowledgment of theſe ſignal bleſſings. And when you are upon this duty, I would commend three things to you. 1. Seriouſly enquire whether in that great diſtreſs, that was upon you in the late Fire, you did not make ſome ſolemn Vows and Promiſes to God, in caſe he ſhould do thus and thus for you; If ſo, be ſure (without delay) you make them good **Sacrificium ſeu Hostiam Pacificorum. Hebraei vocant Se bach Shelamim, Sacrificium Pacis ac Salutis; Erat que nunc ſpontaneum, quod exanimi devotione, nullâ urgente neceſſitate offerebatur; nunc Votivum, quod reddebatur ex pacto, i. e. quod quis in periculis & I neceſſitatibus constitutus Deo ſe in Eccleſiâ oblaturum ſiliberaretur promiſerat. Gualt. in. Mar. 12.33.Mark 12:33. O do not forget the vows that you made in the day of your diſtreſs! Pſal. 76.11. Vow and pay unto the Lord your God. Pſal. 66.13, 14. I will go into thy Houſe with Burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my Vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath ſpoken, when I was in trouble. Eccleſ. 5.4, 5. When thou voweſt a Vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleaſure in p. 50Fools; pay that which thou haſt vowed: Better it is, that thou ſhould'ſt not vow, than that thou ſhouldſt vow and not pay. (My Friends), I leave it with you in your own Conſciences to conſider, whether under the late amazing, terrible Providence, you did not enter upon ſome ſolemn Vows and Promiſes to the great God; if you did, do not forget, or falſifie them; Sincerity in vowing, lies in fidelity in performing: When the Emperor Sigiſmund, (being in a ſore fit of ſickneſs, and making then high Promiſes of Reformation, in caſe he ſhould recover) asked his Confeſſor, how he might know, Whether he was ſincere or not, in his Repentance? the Confeſſor anſwered him, If (ſaith he) you be as careful to make good in your health, what you now promiſe, as you are forward now in your extremity to promiſe; then your Repentance is right. So here I ſay, ſhould any of you ask me, (we had great convictions and terrors upon our ſpirits, when the City was in flames, O we vow'd and promis'd thus and thus to God, ſuch ſins we would leave, ſuch duties we would perform), Were we ſincere in all this? Anſ. If p. 51you now make good, what then you engaged to do, then you were; but otherwiſe not. Men are very forward to promiſe in a day of affliction, but very backward to perform in a day of comfort. 'Twas Pliny's wiſh, Ʋtinam tales eſſe ſani perſeveraremus, Epiſt. 26.1.7.quales nos futuros profitemur infirmi; And 'tis mine; O that we were the ſame under mercies, that we are under judgments! that we were as good at performing under the former, as we are at promiſing under the later. I did not think, to have ſaid ſo much upon this, but I fearthere's need of all this, and of much more: O do not think, that God will be put off with your Praiſe and Thanks (when you enter into your new Houſes) if you do not pay what you vowed when you were in trouble.

2dly. When you are bleſſing God, for what is preſent, do not forget what is past; whilſt you acknowledg his goodneſs in your New Habitations, do not forget his ſeveritie, in what befell your Old Habitations. As Judgments muſt not joſtle out the remembrance of Mercies, ſo Mercies muſt not joſtle out the remembrance of Judgments. Iſrael's forgetfulneſs of the works of God, is p. 52often charged upon them, Pſal. 106.13. They ſoon forgat his works; (& paſſim). Are not we herein too guilty alſo? O the great things, that God hath done in our Age, (an Age made up of wonders)! but how ſoon are they forgotten by us. That his gracious works ſhould be forgotten, that is not ſo much to be wondred at, (our curſed Natures being ſo apt to forget mercies); but that, judicial, and ſuch judicial works of God, ſhould ſo preſently be out of our thoughts and memories, this is very ſtrange. I will inſtance only, in the late Plague and Fire. Good God! How many perſons were ſwept away by the one, how many Houſes laid deſolate by the other! and yet how ſoon are both forgot! Theſe were Judgments very hardly to be parallel'd, either at Home or abroad; God (ſcarce ever) did the like before, (and I truſt will never do the like again); but they are paſt and gone, and men ſcarce ever think of them. O that London's Flames that were ſo hardly extinguiſhed, and put out with ſo much of difficulty, ſhould ſo eaſily be put out of the thoughts and memories of the moſt. 'Tis but yeſterday p. 53ſince this poor City, was nothing but a furnace of Fire and Smoke; ſince this raging Element waſted all before it, (ſcorning all checks and controuls, laughing at our poor Ladders and Buckets); ſince it came upon us, and went on with that fury, as if our Tides of Water had been turn'd into Tides of Fire: O the beautiful Churches, the magnificent Buildings, the convenient Houſes, that it (with the greateſt impartiality) laid deſolate in a few dayes! O the many Families that were utterly undone! O the hurries and diſtractions that it cauſed amongſt us! O the dreadful proſpects that I had then in my eye, the dreadful noiſes that I had then in my ear, (by the crackling of the Tiles, the falling and blowing up of Houſes), ſhall I ever forget them? O the ringing of Hands, the paleneſs of Faces, the weeping eyes, the great diſtreſs of poor Citizens that then I ſaw, ſhall I ever forget it? I believe, you ſaw the ſame too, and yet we do forget? Ah, if London was built again, and the Ruines and Rubbiſh but a little out of our eye, I fear all that God hath done, would in a little time be remembred no more. A Pyramid p. 54will not be enough to perpetuate the memorials of this, if we be left to our ſelves. I therefore entreat, and beſeech you, (the Citizens of London) to keep freſh in your memories, the late terrible outgoings of Providence, both againſt your ſelves in particular, and againſt the City in general: and in the day of your Praiſes, and in the midſt of all your rejoycings for preſent mercies, O remember what is paſt. How that ſhould be remembred, and how the remembrance of it is to be improved, I cannot here inſiſt upon; I deſire to ſhun prolixity, and yet I am guilty of it.

3dly. In your initial Thanksgivings, do this alſo; Where God hath bleſſed you, with conſiderable Eſtates, ſee that you ſet ſomething apart for charitable uſes. Let your Thanksgiving be Thanks-doing; Do ſomething towards the relief of them that are in want, of them, that were great Sufferers by the late Fire; and towards others too, who are great objects of Charity. Hath God yet ſpared you an Eſtate? O devote it to his glory, and the good of his poor neceſſitous ſervants; Liberality to ſuch, p. 55is an excellent concomitant to the duty of Praiſe, and a very high Teſtimony of the reality of your Gratitude. I leave this with you, and (for ſome reaſons) I will not further enlarge upon it. So much for the enforcing of the Firſt Branch of Houſe-Dedication.

Secondly, In the Dedication of your Houſes to God, I adviſe, Fiducially commit them to God. This implies,

1. A caſting-off of all Creature-props and dependancies for ſafety and Preſervation.

2. A flying to God for his Protection.

3. A reſting or relying upon God, for this mercy.

Commit your Houſes thus to God; and if you would do it, in a ſolemn explicit way, when you enter into them, and then keep the impreſſion of this upon your Spirits all along, it would be of great uſe to you. The poor Heathens had their Tutelar Gods, upon whom they rely'd, for the keeping of their Houſes; (Theſe were the Lares, Penates, foreign, Domeſtick Gods), (of whom the Philologers write much). The True God muſt be by you owned and reſted upon, for the preſervation of your Houſes. Alas, where can we be ſafe, or our Houſes be p. 56ſafe, but under the ſhadow of the Almighty? (Pſal. 91.1.) What can ſecure us but that providence, that is always waking and watchful? Pſal. 121.4.Ps 121:4look to your perſons, what a world of accidents are you liable to; each of which is enough to make a ſpeedy diſpatch of you: When you are at home, 'tis but the breaking of a beam, and you are gone; when you walk in the Streets, 'tis but the falling of a Brick, or a Tile, or a wall, or the breaking of a wheel (when you are juſt by a loaden Cart), or an hundred ſuch Caſualties and contingencies, and there is an end put to your Life. How many in this City, every week are taken away by ſad and ſudden Accidents! and indeed I wonder 'tis not more. We live inviron'd and ſurrounded by Deaths, that may come upon us in ways that we never dreamt of. Little did the Poet Aeſchylus, when he was ſitting in his Yard, think that there he ſhould receive his mortal wound; but ſo it was, for (as the ſtory goes) he ſitting there, with his Hat off, an Engle hovering over his bald head, and miſtaking it for a ſtone, let fall an Oyſter, (hoping by the fall to break p. 57the ſhell), which falling upon this poor man's head, pierced his skull, and ſo he dy'd. And thus it happens in a thouſand caſes. What need have we therefore, to live in a conſtant dependance upon God for his Protection? And ſo as to our Houſes; how many unſeen dangers do hang over them, if God do not keep them: All your care, preventions, ſignifie nothing without this; Set your Watches, build in Brick, look to your Fires and Lights, this will not do your work, without God's keeping. Except the Lord build the Houſe, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the City, the watchman waketh but in vain, Pſal. 127.1. I would not take you off from the uſe of means for your ſafety, but do not trust here; 'Tis God only that makes you to dwell in ſafety, Pſal. 4.8. And therefore dedicate your Houſes to God, (that is) commit them to his vigilant and Holy Protection; and then fear not. I know (upon what is paſt) thouſands in this City, riſe up in in the morning, lie down at night full of Fears; O that we could quiet our hearts by holy Truſt; what we put into the hands of God, is above the p. 58reach of man; He that hath the Protection of Heaven, needs not fear the malice of Hell. Saints may encourage themſelves in the midſt of all dangers and enemies whatſoever, from the conſideration of that tender and gracious Providence, which is over them, for the preſerving of their Perſons, Eſtates, Habitations, and all that belongs to them, Pſ. 121.3, 4. He that keepeth thee will not ſlumber. Behold, he that keepeth Iſrael ſhall neither ſlumber nor ſleep. The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy ſhade upon thy right hand; The Sun ſhall not ſmite thee by day, nor the Moon by night; The Lord ſhall preſerve thee from all evil, he ſhall preſerve thy Soul; The Lord ſhall preſerve thy going out, and thy coming in, from this time forth and even for evermore. Pſal. 145.20. The Lord preſerveth all them that love him. Iſa. 4.5. Ʋpon all the glory ſhall be a defence. Job 1.10. Haſt thou not made an hedge about him, and about his Houſe, and about all that he hath on every ſide? Prov. 12.7. The Houſe of the Righteous ſhall ſtand. Read Pſalm 91. 'Tis an excellent Pſalm for the ſupport of Faith, as to Perſonal and Houſe-preſervation. Now p. 59upon ſuch encouragements as theſe, be perſwaded, to commit your Selves, and your All to God; Put all into his Hands, fiducially reſt upon him, and you engage him to take care of you, and to ſecure you from all evil. Prov. 29.25. Whoſo putteth his trust in the Lord, ſhall be ſafe? Pſal. 17.7. Shew thy marvellous loving kindneſs, O thou that ſaveſt by thy right hand, them which put their truſt in thee, from thoſe that riſe up againſt them: If the Promiſes of Protection, and preſervation be not literally accompliſhed, as to the keeping off ſome particular evils, they ſhall be made good ſome other way, which will be better for you; O therefore truſt God, and do not give way to Fear: when you firſt enter upon your dwellings, commit all to God; and every morning, every night, renew this act of truſt, and it will be well. You may be called the Houſe-keepers, but in truth God is the Houſe-keeper, (both as to Proviſion, and alſo as to Protection): and they muſt needs be well kept, if the Almighty God be the keeper of them. Men and Devils can neither touch an bair of your Heads, nor a p. 60tile of your Houſes, but firſt they muſt have his permiſſion, which he will never grant them, but upon very wiſe and weighty grounds.

Thirdly, Set up, and advance Religion in your Houſes: This is the principal thing in this Houſe-dedication, and this I ſhall ſpend much time upon. I ſay, ſet up Religion in your Houſes; this is, To dedicate them to God. Some talk of Religious Houſes, (they do but talk of them, their practices are known well enough); let yours be ſuch in good earneſt, let them be Religious Houſes indeed. What is the Houſe without Religion? ſurely a very ſad and diſmal place! 'tis better to be, where there is no light, no food, no external conveniencies, than where there is no ſenſe or due owning of God. Homer ſpeaking of an Houſe, where the Huſband or the Wife, or the Maſter, or the Miſtreſs is dead, he calls it, foreign, an Houſe that is but half-perfect; becauſe a principal member is wanting: What is that Houſe, where Religion is wanting? That's indeed foreign, (for there the main thing, the one needful thing, is not). 'Tis ſaid p. 61of Constantine (that bleſſed Emperor), In every room in his Houſe, he had the Name and Title of his Saviour, written in great Characters; to note, that his Houſe, and every part thereof, was dedicuted unto Chriſt: Would you thus do? do not ſet up Names upon your walls, but ſet up Religion in your Families. And 'tis recorded of that eminent Martyr, Biſhop Hooper, that in every corner of his Houſe, there was ſome ſent of Godlineſs: O that it might be ſo in yours! Tremellius ſpeaking of Famous Cranmer's Houſe, he ſays, It was Schola & palaeſtra Pietatis & Literarum; A School, a Nurſery, a place ſet a part for the exerciſe of Religion, and Literature: Might your Houſes be ſuch, what a bleſſed thing would it be! then they would be Bethels, (as Jacob called that place, where God appeared to him, Gen. 28.19.); not Beth-avens, (Houſes of vanity), but Bethels, the Houſes of the Lord. Let me allude to that of David, 1 Chron. 29.1. The Palace is not for man, but for the Lord God. Your Houſes are not only for you to dwell in, but God muſt have a room, manſion, reſidence in them; and p. 62how can that be, if Religion be not advanced there?—What (ſaith the Apoſtle) have ye not Houſes to eat and to drink in? 1 Cor. 11.22.1 Cor 11:22And (ſay I), have ye Houſes only for this? that there you may eat and drink, and trade, and mind your Secular affairs? ſurely, ſomething more muſt be done; they muſt be conſecrated to God, Religion muſt have a throne in them, and be ſet up in them.

This might be urg'd upon you, from ſeveral Conſiderations; Some might be taken, from that intrinſick excellency, that is in Religion: O look upon it as it is in it ſelf, 'tis a glorious and excellent thing. 'Tis the Creatures due reſpect to his Creator; it ſpeaks a due ſenſe of God, that the ſoul is in a right frame and poſture towards God. 'Tis the ſumme of all; All Graces, Duties, are ſumm'd up in this one word, RELIGION. 'Tis Man's higheſt advancement; what a poor thing is Man, if he be not a Saint; what is Reaſon without Religion!—This is a point as vast as the Ocean, if I might launch out into it. It being thus, Shall not Religion be promoted, advanced in your Houſes? All ſpeak well of it in the General, but when it p. 63comes to particular practice and application, there they diſcover but low thoughts of it. Beſides this inherent excellency in Religion, pray, conſider the bleſſed advantages and benefits, that go along with it, and flow from it. 'Tis the great prop and pillar, which ſuſtains Houſes and Families; take away this, the Houſe falls, (as that did, when Samſon had pull'd away the pillars of it):Judg. 17.29.Judg 17:29 Prov. 24.3, 4. Through wiſdom is an Houſe builded, and by underſtanding it is eſtabliſhed; and by knowledg ſhall the Chambers be filled with all precious and pleaſant riches. Surely, the Wiſe man doth not ſo much intend here moral, as ſpiritual and religious wiſdom: and by this, he tells us, the Houſe is,

1. erected;

2. eſtabliſhed;

3. enriched.

What a gainful thing is Religion! 'Tis the very Nerves and Sinews, the bond and ligament, the Cement of all Societies; Kingdoms, Cities, Families, are all jointed, faſtned, ſupported by this: 'Tis foreign, (as Plutarch ſpeaks); and (as the**Arist. Politic. Philoſopher tells us), the proſperity of all depends upon it. This is that which lays the foundation of all Bleſſings; Houſe-dedication p. 64(in the ſetting up of Religion in it) is always accompanied with God's benediction: O, Religious Houſes are bleſſed Houſes; God bleſſed Obed-Edom for the Ark's ſake, I Chron. 13.14. His bleſſing upon Perſons and Families, commences from the very day and hour, in which Religion is ſet up. Hag. 2.18, 19. Conſider now from this day, and upward; from this day will I bleſs you. How exact and punctual is God, in his rewarding of Piety. O mind the intereſt of Religion, you will never find it, to be a vain or unprofitable thing; all bleſſings lie in the womb of it; Mercies here, mercies hereafter; the Mercies of the Throne, and the mercies of the Foot-ſtool, all grow upon this fruitful root, 1 Tim. 4.8. Godlineſs is profitable unto all things, having the promiſe of the Life that now is, and of that which is to come. Will you not encourage, and mind, and promote Religion in your Houſes?

I might enter upon Particulars; Would you have your Habitations bleſſed? ſo as to be ſecured from all evil, filled with all good? ſo as to be made delightful and comfortable to p. 65you? Let Religion be there; would you have a bleſſing upon your Children, your Poſterity? Be religious your ſelves, and ſet up Religion in your Houſes, Pſal. 112.2. His ſeed ſhall be mighty upon the Earth; the Generation of the Ʋpright ſhall be bleſſed. Prov. 20.7. The juſt man walketh in his integrity, his Chilaren are bleſſed after him. Deut. 5.29. O that there were ſuch an heart in them, that they would fear me, that it might be well with them, and with their Children for ever. The Poſterity of Obed-Edom, was bleſſed for the Ark's ſake. See it 1 Chron. 26.8. Firſt, God bleſſed this Obed-Edom, with a numerous Progeny; you read there of Three-ſcore and two, who deſcended from him. 2dly, Theſe were all imployed in the Houſe of God. 3dly, They were enabled to diſcharge their imployment. 4ly, They were advanced to great dignity; they were made Rulers and Commanders, through the Houſe of their Father. (Theſe things are obſerved to my Hand,Biſh. Brownrigge, Serm. 1. p. 12. by an Eminent Perſon). So that, as you love your Children, and would entail God's bleſſing upon them, let Religion be regarded p. 66and promoted by you. Would you have a bleſſing upon your Families? let Religion be there, 1 Chron. 13.14. The Lord bleſſed the Houſe of Obed-Edom, and all that he had: 'Tis more expreſs, 2 Sam. 6.11. The Lord bleſſed Obed-Edom, and all his Houſhold. O who would not entertain the Ark in his Houſe! That precious O intment, that was poured upon the head of Aaron, Pſal. 134.2.Ps 134:2it went down to the skirts of his Garments: If you be faithful in the buſineſs of Religion, God will pour down his bleſſings upon your ſelves, and they ſhall run down alſo upon all that belong to you. All in a Family fare the better for Religion. Would you have a bleſſing upon your Eſtates? look to Religion. Piety, the Fear and Worſhip of God, owned and farthered by you, are the beſt way, both for keeping and encreaſing theſe outward enjoyments, Prov. 15.6. In the Houſe of the Righteous is much Treaſure, but in the revenues of the Wicked is much Trouble. Prov. 13.22. A good man leaveth an inheritance, to his Children's children; and the wealth of the ſinner is laid up for the juſt. Holy Job, thus dedicated his p. 67Houſe,Job 1.10.Job 1:10 and therefore God made an hedg about him, and about all that he had on every ſide, [and bleſſed the work of his hands, and increaſed his ſubſtance.] The Jews have a ſaying, that Decimae are ſepes Divitiarum; Tythes are a fence or heag to guard and ſecure all that a man hath. O, would you have your Eſtates ſecured? do you ſecure and exalt Religion, and that will ſecure you and yours. You ſee, here is bleſſing upon bleſſing, in the diſcharge of this weighty and fundamental Duty: But what if men will yet neglect this? and ſuffer Atheiſm, irreligion, profaneneſs, wickedneſs, to be in their Houſes? what? O let ſuch know, they are under the curſe of God; they and their Houſes are liable to the dreadful curſes, which the Word denounces: And what are all Comforts in the Houſe, when the curſe of God is upon it. God's bleſſing ſweetens all, his curſe imbitters all; Wo to them whoſe Houſes are under a Curſe! Prov. 3.33. The curſe of the Lord, is in the houſe of the wicked: but he bleſſeth the Habitation of the juſt. Zach. 5.4. you read of the Curſe entring into the houſe of the Thief; it ſhall p. 68remain in the midſt of his houſe, and ſhall conſume it, with the timber thereof, and the ſtones thereof. O let Atheiſtical Maſters of Families, that never mind Religion in themſelves, or in their Houſes, tremble upon the conſideration of that flying roll of Curſes, that hangs over them. O you Citizens, Merchants, Tradeſmen, (whatever your rank or occupation is), if you love God, if you love your Selves, your Children, your Servants, your Eſtates, let this be the firſt thing you do, Set up Religion in your Houſes. This was kept up in the time of the Patriarchs, altogether by what they did in their Families (for their Families then were as ſo many Domestick-Churches, Familiae Patrum erant Domesticae Eccleſiae. Pareus in Gen. 18.19.Gen 18:19and all the Churches that were then in being). And Religion now riſes or falls in the world, as men regard it in their Families. How many might you bring in to God, did you thus dedicate your Houſes? how many might be converted, by living in religious places? what a mercy would it be to poor Creatures, to live under your roof, if you would but do your duty herein? whereas upon your neglect of it, what p. 69a grievous thing is it, (to perſons that have any ſenſe of God) to live with you? Pſal. 120.5. Wo is me, that I ſojourn in Meſech, that I dwell in the Tents of Kedar. To be in your Houſes, and there to ſee nothing but Epicuriſm, Worldlineſs; u there to hear nothing but curſing, ſwearing, ſcoffing, at the ways of God; nothing that hath the face of Religion to be found there, O 'tis an Hell upon earth to live with ſuch. Be perſwaded therefore to do what I have ſpoke ſo much to; the fewer come up to this, the more pleaſing to God, will your zeal and obedience be: you may meet with ſcoffs and deriſion from the world, but 'tis a poor thing to be derided of men, if you may be approved of by God. Let all this (like oyle caſt upon the fire) make your zeal more intenſe and fervent; and ſay, If this be to be vile, 2 Sam. 6.22.2 Sam 6:22you will be yet more vile. This in General, as to the Third Branch of Houſe-Dedication.