The Tradesmans Calling, Chapter 5 · Section 6
SECT. 6. Of Religiouſneſs in a Trade.
THE Sixth Requiſite for a Tradeſman in his Calling is Religiouſneſs, or true Piety and Godlineſs. This compleats him, this crowns him. Here,
I. I ſhall ſhew the Nature of it.
II. The Inducements unto it.
III. The Exerciſe of it.
IV. The Ʋſe and Application.
I. For the Nature of it. I do not conſider it in this place in its utmoſt Latitude, for ſo it comprehends all the before-mentioned Duties. It teaches a Man to be wiſe, diligent, juſt, true, and contented; but here it denotes only a Man's Behaviour towards God; and we may deſcribe it to be, A due reſpect to God in Heart and Life. The Scripture in the Old Teſtament deſcribes it by walking with God: Gen. 6. 9. And Noah was a juſt Man, and perfect in his Generation; and Noah walked with God: He was not only juſt and exact towards Men, but alſo he walked with God; that is, he lived in that Reverence and Reſpect to God, as if God had walked with him upon Earth; or, as if he had lived and walked with God in Heaven. In the New Teſtament it is called a walking in the Spirit; Gal. 5. 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us alſo walk in the Spirit: that is, if we (or ſince we) live a Spiritual Life, if we have a diſtinct Principle of Life, beſides that of Nature; let us walk by the Quickning and Conduct of that good Spirit; as on the contrary, to walk after the Fleſh, is to be acted and guided by the Motions of our carnal Concupiſcence. And we find, that the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation, teaches us to live not only ſoberly, and righteouſly, but alſo godly in this preſent World; Tit. 2. 12. So that it is not enough for a Tradeſman, that he be diſcreet and juſt, &c. as before; but if he deſign to be a happy Man here or hereafter, he muſt be a religious Man, an holy Man, and that both in Heart and Life.
II. And for Inducements hereunto:
1. Nature teacheth it. Religion is as natural to Man as Reaſon: It is a Principle ſo firmly ſix'd in the Soul of Man, that he can ſcarce poſſibly raze it thence. And tho ſome barbarous Nations, have miſt of the true God; yet there are none ſo ſavage, but that a Senſe of Religion cleaves to them. Cicero an Heathen, could ſay, Nulla eſt gens tam fera, nemo omnium tam immanis, cujus mentem non imbuerit Deorum timor. So that he muſt deveſt himſelf of Humanity, that denies the Obligation of Religion. It is this that doth moſt clearly diſtinguiſh Men from Beaſts, who have ſome ſhadow, ſome approaches to Reaſon, but they are utter Strangers to any thing of Religion. It's true, Education doth cheriſh and ripen theſe natural Notions; but if we could conceive a Man to be brought up from his Infancy, without any Society or Inſtruction from others; he would no ſooner reflect upon himſelf, and imploy his Faculties, but he would be ſenſible of a Power above him, and of a deep Reſpect thereunto. So that this is no precarious Buſineſs, we need not to inlarge at all, when we propound Religion to a rational Creature: He muſt be a Brute that denies it. Now if all Mankind agree to it, the Tradeſman muſt not think that he is exempt from it, whom we muſt ſuppoſe to be ſomewhat refin'd from the Dregs of Mankind.
2. The Scripture teacheth it. It is the great deſign of the Scripture, to make Men Religious. And to this end, the Holy Ghoſt doth therein lay down the cleareſt Rules, propound the moſt excellent Examples, produce the ſtrongeſt Arguments, and provide the moſt effectual Means and Helpes, that the Wiſdom of God could deviſe, or the Heart of Man deſire. And as Piety and Religion is there urged upon all Men in general; ſo alſo it is preſt upon Men, as they are diſtinguiſhed by their particular Callings. So 1 Cor. 7. 24. Brethren, let every Man wherein he is called, therein abide with God. Mark, let him ahide with God; that is, cleaving to God ſtill, to whom by his religious Allegiance he is obliged: Or, not imagining but that he may be godly in it: Or with God, as if God look'd at him, and at his Carriage in his Place: Alſo with God, that is, in a godly manner, looking at him and walking with him. So that this Text which muſt needs include the Tradeſman, doth lay an unqueſtionable Obligation upon you, to add to your Vertue Godlineſs. Hereupon it is that the Scripture checks thoſe ſeverely that ſay, To day, or to morrow we will go into ſuch a City, and continue there a Year, and buy, and ſell, and get Gain: Jam. 4. 13. without taking due notice of God. Theſe are ſome of thoſe Words by which you may be ſaved, and by which you muſt be judged at the laſt day.
3. Reaſon teacheth it. For,
(1.) Religion is the trueſt Wiſdom: When that wiſeſt of Men, Solomon, had ſearch'd in vain to find out an Happineſs for Man, in all th… Honour, Riches, and Pleaſures which the World could afford, (and what can the Man do, that cometh after the King?) he concludes the whole matter in theſe words, Eccleſ. 12. 13. Fear God, and keep his Commandments; for this is the whole of Man. This is his real Wiſdom, this is his grand Duty, this is his only Happineſs. For indeed there is nothing doth ſo conduce to our Happineſs in this World, as true Religion. It is the moſt certain way to Health, to Safety, to Plenty, to true Pleaſure, and to true Honour. Nothing doth ſo much perfect, and regulate the Faculties of the Soul, nor crown it with that Peace and Tranquillity, as the Fear of God and true Piety; and then it's plain, that it and it only leads us to the Fruition of Eternal Happineſs both in Soul and Body: Therefore unto Man be ſaid, Behold, the Fear of the Lord, that is Wiſdom, and to depart from Evil, is Ʋnderſtanding: Job 28. 28. And therefore let every Tradeſman be truly Religious.
(2.) There is the higheſt Equity in it: And that upon the account of all the Favours and Bleſſings which you have receiv'd from God, and which you now poſſeſs. Did not that God (whoſe Fear and Service we are now perſuading) place you in theſe your Callings? Did not he preſerve you in your Apprentiſhips from many Dangers, Diſeaſes, and Temptations? Hath not he ſupported you in your Trades, when many that had better Foundations have bin ruin'd? Hath not he given you all that Eſtate ye have? and if that be too little, is not he ready to give you ſuch and ſuch things? Hath not he pluck'd you out of divers Dangers, Pains, Diſeaſes, and kept you alive, when ſome of your Neighbours round about you are hid in the Grave? Beſides the great things which he hath done for your Souls and for your Families. Now for all this, what doth the Lord your God require of you? Only fear the Lord, and ſerve him in Truth with all your Heart, conſidering what great things he hath done for you: 1 Sam. 12. 24. So that in point of Gratitude, it behoves the Tradeſman to be truly Religious.
(3.) There is the ſoundeſt Comfort in it. There is, it's true, a kind of Pleaſure in ſinful Ways, which bewitches thoſe that follow them; but as it cannot affect the whole Soul, for there is Conſcience in the moſt profligate, which as it is vexed in them, in the midſt of their Follies, and conſequently their Satisfaction cannot be intire; ſo it leaves a Sting which is both inſeparable, and unſufferable; and when all is done, this Pleaſure is mortal, and commonly is but momentary; it is but like the crackling of Thorns under a Pot, which makes a great noiſe, but is ſoon extinguiſhed. But now Religion as it doth permit to you all innocent Pleaſures, you may have an equal Liberty with others, to all that is worth the having in them; ſo it fills the Soul and entertains all the Faculties thereof, with thoſe Delights, that are moſt congruous to them, and alſo feaſts it with the ſweet review of an holy Life. The Fear of the Lord is clean, rejoycing the Heart. It affords Laughter without a Sting, Mirth without a Reckoning. It will ſupport and comfort you under your Loſſes, and give you Songs in the Night, while others are eaten up with their Cares, or wallowing in their Puddle. And therefore it is your real Intereſt to be truly Religious.
(4.) There is the greateſt Neceſſity of it. Our wiſe and bleſſed Saviour told Martha, Luke 10. 41, 42. Thou ant careful, and cumbred about many things; but one thing is needful, which you ſee was the buſineſs of Religion; hearing the words of Eternal Life. For as ſure as you have mortal Bodies, ſo ſure it is, that you have immortal Souls; and as ſure as there is (you ſee) a viſible World with reſpect to the Body, ſo certain is it, that there is an inviſible World for the inviſible Soul. Now if you muſt needs care and labour to ſuſtain the Body, and it is your common cry, Rent muſt be paid, Bread muſt be had; ſo let me oppoſe, our muſt againſt yours; God muſt needs be ſerv'd, the Soul muſt needs be ſaved; and in order to it, Knowledg muſt needs be got, Sin muſt needs be pardon'd and mortified, a new Heart muſt be procured, and a new Life led; and here's Religion.
Yea it is neceſſary for the procuring a Bleſſing upon all your Affairs; for Godlineſs is profitable to all things, having the Promiſe of the Life that now is; 1 Tim. 4. 8. If you will truly ſerve him, he will certainly bleſs you. He will eſtabliſh the Work of your Hands upon you, yea he will eſtabliſh it, if you earneſtly ſeek it: Pſal. 90. 17. All that he doth ſhall proſper; Pſal. 1. 3. Survey the Book of God, and you will generally find, when the Kings were moſt religious, they were then moſt proſperous; 2 Chron. 26. 5. And as long as Uzziah ſought the Lord, the Lord made him to proſper: See the whole 112th Pſalm. Indeed one may proſper by other Courſes, but that Gain is clear Loſs, and the Proſperity of ſuch Fools ſhall deſtroy them. And you ſhould do well to conſider, whether many of your Loſſes, and Croſſes, and Decays be not the juſt Puniſhment of your Neglects in Religion. For when the People of God of old neglected God's Service; Hag. 1. 6. He that earned Wages, earned Wages to put into a Bag with Holes. God can eaſily blaſt your moſt effectual Endeavours about this Life, if you be negligent about the things of a better, and ſo you may come to loſe two Worlds, for want of one Religious Heart.
Object. 1. It may be you will object the Difficulty of Religion, that the Leſſons of it are too hard, and that the way to Heaven is too narrow for you.
Anſw. But I anſwer. There is nothing ſo hard in Religion, but the Grace of God will make it eaſy. Your Trades ſeemed very hard at firſt, but now you find them eaſy enough. As a new Suit of Cloaths pincheth you a little at firſt, but in a few days they are eaſie enough; ſo being a while habituated to a godly Courſe, the Difficulty will vaniſh, and the Suavity will abide. To live in Idleneſs and periſh for hunger, looks eaſy; but who will therefore chuſe it? No, you'l work, and ſweat, and die with Labour, rather than live in want. And why ſhould Difficulties in Religion only fright you? But if you will believe God, you muſt acknowledg, that his Yoke is eaſy, and his Burden is light; that his ways are ways of Pleaſantneſs, and all his Paths are Peace. Or, if you will credit thoſe that have tried them, they will unanimouſly avouch, that there is more Comfort in the Hardſhips of Religion, than in the Pleaſures of Sin. But what do we diſpute about Difficulty, when Neceſſity is in the caſe; you muſt be holy now, or miſerable for ever: and you that cry, how hard a thing it is to get into Heaven, will find it an harder matter to get out of Hell.
Object. 2. O but (you object) it will be prejudicial to us. It will take up our Time, hinder us in Buſineſs, and cut off ſome ways of Gain, which now we live by. We would gladly read ſuch a good Book, go and confer with a good Miniſter, but we have not time for theſe things.
Anſw. This is but the old Song, when Iſrael ſhould go to ſacrifice, than Pharaoh calls to work. But 'tis a meer Evaſion, how much time do many of you ſquander away in ſleeping, eating, ſmoaking, and viſiting? You can ſtay with any body, but with God; and can find time for any thing, but the ſaving of your Souls. How buſy ſoever you are, your Work on Earth will be done beſt, when your Work in Heaven is done firſt. You would not like it, that your Apprentice ſhould tell you, he could not do your Buſineſs, becauſe he had ſome Buſineſs of his own to do. You are the Lord's, and your time is his, and to poſtpone his Work for any thing elſe, is a far greater Affront to him. And tho the Fear of God may check you in your indirect ways of Gain, yet it will make you treble amends, by drawing down a Bleſſing on your well-gotten Eſtate, and entayling it on your Poſterity.
Object. 3. But I ſhall be ſingular herein. I ſee few that make any buſineſs of Religion, and why ſhould I be alone?
Anſw. You are ignorant and uncharitable in ſo ſaying. There are hundreds, tho you know it not, that make Religion their great Buſineſs; that both trade more, and read, and pray more than you: but they do not ſtand praying in the Street, nor expoſe their Piety to all Mens view. And then, there is a ſober Singularity and a ſuperſtitious. To be hypocritically or ſuperſtitiouſly ſingular is not more abominable, than a Scriptural Preciſeneſs is neceſſary. No doubt, the wicked Sodomites laid this often in the Teeth of Lot, when his Life and Way ran counter to theirs; ay, he is an Hypocrite, I warrant him; he is wiſer than all his Neighbours! his very Sons in Law minded him not: and how did the ungodly Crew about Zoar in all probability triumph at his fall in the Cave? Yes, here's one of your Religious Men, that ſeem'd to be mightily grieved at the Wickedneſs of Sodom, but trace him into private, he lies with his own Daughters. They are all ſuch, I warrant you, preciſe and ſevere to others, but looſe enough themſelves. And the wiſe God doth ſometimes permit ſome of his own Children to fall, that thoſe who ſeek occaſions, may find occaſion to ſtumble at true Godlineſs, and be hardned in their own Wickedneſs. For no body makes ſuch wretched Conſtructions and Inferences, but ſuch as are already bent to be wicked. And for all the ſad Fall of Lot, yet his Singularity in Sodom was no Crime. As it is better to walk alone in the Field, than to be accompanied with a Croud to Tyburn: ſo it is better to go towards Heaven with a few, than with a multitude to Hell.
Object. 4. Yea, but there may be Danger in it. A ſerious courſe will expoſe me to Scorn at leaſt, and perhaps to greater Troubles: I love to be quiet, and to keep out of harms way.
Anſw. But did Jeſus Chriſt, or his Apoſtles, or the Primitive Chriſtians ſtand upon this? Are Men, who at moſt can but ruin and kill thee, more to be dreaded than God, who, if thou liveſt not in his Fear, can and moſt certainly will damn thee? Is the Fire of Hell cooler than one of Faggots? Do not imagine it. However, practiſe thou firſt all that Religion, that may ſafely be done within doors, and then we'l diſcourſe further about the reſt. Hath not God ſaid, Truſt in the Lord, and do good, ſo ſhalt thou dwell in the Land, and verily thou ſhalt be fed: Pſal. 37. 3. Hath not he ſaid, Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 1 Pet. 3. 13. It would be a ſad Brand upon the Age, if it were any crime among Chriſtians to be a Chriſtian: and we preſs you to be nothing elſe. No, no, theſe are but the Sluggards Excuſes; Prov. 26. 13. There is a Lion in the way, a Lion in the Streets. But aſſure your ſelves, that thoſe who dread a Lion in the way to Heaven, will meet with a worſe Lion in the way to Hell.
Object. 5. Yes, but you ſay, This is needleſs for us, for this is the Work and Care of Miniſters; what do we ſupport them for, but to manage theſe matters for us, and it is ſufficient for us to mind our Buſineſs?
Anſw. I have evinc'd the neceſſity of being truly pious before. Certainly the End is need… the great End of Man, which is to be happy for ever: if it be indifferent whether you be ſaved or loſt, nothing is neceſſary. And the means is equally neceſſary: for there is no taking of Heaven without Violence. Inquire concerning the Sufferings of Chriſt, were they needful? and doth not that require your Care, which required his Blood? Ask all the Saints of God, were your Prayers, and Tears, and Diligence n…edleſs? The Apoſtle Paul ſaid, This one thing I do, &c. Phil. 3. 13. as tho he intended nothing elſe, and is it come now to be needleſs?
And then; as to God's Miniſters; Wo to us, if we preach not the Goſpel, but we cannot do your Work: we can execute our Commiſſion, but we cannot change your Hearts: It is needful for us to open the Doctrine of Salvation; and it is needful for you to imbrace it. It is needful for us to give Vertue and Vice, Godlineſs and Ungodlineſs, their true Colours, and to deſcribe to you Heaven and Hell; but it is needful for you to fall to practiſe. God is our witneſs, we chuſe the fitteſt Texts we can find, we produce the plaineſt Scripture, the ſtrongeſt Arguments, the ſoundeſt Directions that we can; but if you do not concur to the ſaving of your own Souls, all our Labour is loſt, and you are loſt. We are not ſatisfied with your Approbation or Applauſe, we long for your Amendment; we wait to know what good Anſwer we may return to him that ſent us. It grieves us not to ſee you ſo diligent, ſo juſt, ſo rich; but that you ſeek the Kingdom of God with the leaſt Care, and in the laſt place; that you neglect the Subſtance for Accidents, for Shadows: We would have your Credit to be good in Heaven; we would have you to be rich towards God.
III. And ſo I come to the third thing under this Head, which is to ſhew wherein the Practiſe of this Godlineſs lies in the Tradeſman's way. And that is;
1. In maintaining a Religious Frame of Heart. There is the Fountain, there's the Root that muſt feed all the Branches of a Religious Life. In vain will ye rectify ſome Diſorders in your Actions, unleſs ye begin your Reformation at the Heart: Make the Tree good, and the Fruit will be good. Your great Care muſt be to get, and keep an holy Heart; that i…,
(1.) An Heart bent againſt Sin; for any allowed Sin will be a continual Thorn in you Conſciences, and a Canker in your Eſtates. You know who ſaid, I alſo was upright before him, and I kept my ſelf from my Iniquity; Pſal. 18. 23. Conſider therefore what Sin it is, to which you are moſt eaſily inclin'd, what Sin you find hardeſt to reſiſt, what Sin you are lotheſt to leave, what Sin ſtar'd you in the Face in your laſt Sickneſs, what Sin your Conſciences do pitch upon when the Hue and Cry is ſent out in the Miniſtry of the Word, and what Sin you would moſt carefully conceal, or at leaſt excuſe, (they are excellent Mr. Bolton's Marks) And ſet your ſelves againſt that Sin; for that's the Sin that threatens your utter ruine. It may be conquered, it may be mortified, and you will have more Comfort in its Overthrow, than ever you had in its Tyranny. And,
(2.) You muſt have your Heart ſet upon that which is good. Abhor that which is evil, but that's not enough, you muſt alſo cleave to that which is good; Rom. 12. 9. You muſt ſet your Affections on things above, not on things on the Earth; Coloſſ. 3. 2. When the Soul leans thus the right way, you will be ready to every good Work, it will be a marvelous Advantage to you upon every occaſion. How often might you have opportunities to meditate or pray, or to reprove a Fault, which you will loſe for want of an honeſt frame of Heart? And this is a thing too much neglected; People think it ſufficient to obſerve their Words and Actions, but few do mind the Temper and Frame of their Souls, as they ought. Our Converſation, ſaith the Apoſtle, is in Heaven. We are Citizens of another and better City, and we muſt be always driving a Trade there. No ſight to ſuch a Soul, like a Throne in the Clouds: No Muſick like the Arch-Angel's Trumpet; no Song like, Awake ye Dead, and come to Judgment.
2. The Tradeſman's Religion lies in the due Exerciſe of Faith: Without this you can no way pleaſe God in your Calling. If you have not a Ground, and an Heart to believe, that your Calling is pleaſing to God, every ſtep you take in it, is guilty. Hereby you believe that there is a Divine Providence, which governs all Men, and all their Actions; which will quiet you in all Events whatſoever. When others fret and fume under their Loſſes, or ſwell and ſtroke themſelves in their Succeſs; this will diſcern the Hand of God both in giving and taking away, and ſo quiet and fix the Soul aright: Thou wilt keep him in perfect Peace whoſe Heart is ſtayed on thee, becauſe he truſteth in thee: Iſa. 26. 3. Hereby you will be able to live upon God's Promiſes for outward Supplies, and will be incouraged to uſe the means to obtain them; yea, when the Providence of God ſeems to contradict his Promiſes, when all things ſeem to conſpire againſt you, by Faith you will ſee a Bow in the Cloud, God's Promiſe and Covenant to do you good by all: 2 Sam. 23. 5. Altho 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, altho he make it not to grow: Whereas if ye only depend upon Second Cauſes, you ſhall ſee what you may expect: Jer. 17. 5. Curſed is the Man that truſteth in Man, and maketh Fleſh his Arm, and whoſe Heart departeth from the Lord: When a Man works and cares ſo as if he had no need of God, he ſhall be like the Heath in the Deſert, and ſhall not ſee when good cometh, as it follows there. He that truſts in Man, makes him God; he that diſtruſts God, makes him Man.
This Faith will free you from that Anxiety, which torments carnal Men; who have perhaps the greateſt part of their Eſtate floating upon the Sea, and therefore can ſcarce eat, or drink, or ſleep by reaſon of their unworthy Fears. Now Faith depends upon God, is not afraid of evil Tidings: for his Heart is fixed, truſting in the Lord; Pſal. 1 12. 7. I'l do my Duty, and let God do his Will. And then for Spiritual Mercies, which the Tradeſman hath daily need of, Faith is all in all. What's the Scripture, or God, or Chriſt, without Faith? How ſhall he obtain Mercy and Pardon, or find Grace and Comfort in time of need, without Faith? In a word, the Chriſtian Tradeſman muſt live by Faith, and breath by Prayer.
3. The Tradeſman's Religion is to be exerciſed In the right Performance of Religious Worſhip. For the ſame Light of Nature, Scripture, and Reaſon, which prove there is a God, do with equal ſtrength evince that he is to be worſhipped. He that doubts of this, diſputes againſt Principles. The Tradeſman is obliged to this, as well as other Men. How can he be ſaid to abide with God in his Calling, that comes not near him. By Prayer we approach to God, and by his Word he comes near …o us. The Tradeſman muſt know that he hath two Landlords, one on Earth, and another in Heaven; that he holds his Houſe and Shop of Man, but he holds his Health and Life of God: to whom a due Rent of Prayer and Praiſes muſt be daily paid. Rouze up your ſelves therefore in the Morning, and lay the Scripture next your Hearts, read ſome part of it with Underſtanding and Application; and then kneel you down, and lift up your Hearts to God in ſincere and ſerious Prayer.
And at the fitteſt hour, but the ſooner the better, let you whole Family come together, (unleſs any be unavoidably hindred) and there let a Pſalm and a Chapter be read, and then joyn together in Prayer: And the like courſe hold at Night, withal remembring to ſing the Praiſes of God, and let no Company or Buſineſs (unleſs of preſent neceſſity) tempt you, either to omit theſe Duties, or to do them unſeaſonably. Reckon that Almighty God is ſtaying for you at your due hours, and will not excuſe your neglect, unleſs you can conclude in your Conſcience, that he himſelf by his Providence with-holds you. Do you think in earneſt, that when your Family at eleven or twelve of the Clock at Night, are ſome of them in Bed, and the reſt half aſleep, it will ſatisfy an all-ſeeing God to hear you excuſing your ſelves with a ſtory of ſuch Company that held you, or ſuch unſeaſonable Recreation kept you from his Service; or any other Buſineſs which might have been diſpatched, or deferred to another time. Say not, that ye want time for this Work, for a Man muſt have time to eat and ſleep, and pray, whatever other Buſineſs ſtays. And all this excellent Work needs not go away with an hours time in the whole day; for it is not the length, but ſtrength of Devotion that carries it with God. Be but ſerious and ſincere, God will accept a little from you, that have not time for more.
Plead not your Wearineſs in your Calling, that you are quite tir'd before Night, (remember you cannot plead this in the Morning) that you have no Strength nor Spirits left you. For immoderate Labour may be ſinful as well as immoderate Meat or Drink. God requires no more, nor accepts, nor will bleſs ſuch toiling as is inconſiſtent with the Ability of your Bodies, or the good of your Souls. You ſhould Reaſon thus with your ſelves, Have I taken pains all day for a little Money, and ſhall not I ſtrain my ſelf a little at night for Pardon and Grace? If I have tir'd my Legs about the Earth, ſhall I not weary my Knees to get to Heaven? If I have wearied my Arms to get a Living here, ſhall I not ſtretch out my Hands to get a Crown hereafter? O if you had but a ſpark of Zeal, you would anſwer your ſelves. Zeal revives the languiſhing Spirits, infuſes new Spirits, makes a Man all Spirit for a time. This in a falſe Religion will raiſe up a Man to his Oriſons at Midnight, will ſend him ſome hundreds of Miles on Pilgrimage, &c. It's true, it works more languidly in a true Religion; Men ſwim faſter down than up the Stream; yet when a Man conſiders, that the ſucceſs of his Affairs depends upon God, and that he cannot keep Friendſhip with him, if he hold not Correſpondence; and that moſt certainly he can and will make the Tradeſman amends by the Years end, for every minute that he ſincerely devotes to his Service: This ſhould bear down all Difficulty, and oblige him to the conſtant Worſhip of God.
4. The Tradeſman's Religion is exerciſed, in Obſerving a right Rule and End in all his worldly Affairs. And here he guides not his Behaviour by the Example of others, nor of his Maſter that went before him, nor by the current of his particular Humour, Appetite, or Intereſt, but by the holy Word of God, and ſuch Dictates of ſound Reaſon that are agreeable thereunto. You muſt not conclude, thus and thus I'l do, for ſo do others, or ſo did my Maſter before me, or it is my Humour, or it is for my Intereſt: but what ſaith Moſes and the Prophets? what ſaith Chriſt and his Apoſtles? and what would they do, if they were in my place? and this muſt be your Rule. And in caſe of doubt and difficulty you muſt conſult the wiſe and honeſt, and ſo be determin'd. They asked Counſel at Abel, and ended the matter; 2 Sam. 20. 18. And this Care and Pains before, is much better than to wound your Conſcience, and give ill Example to others: He that doth Truth, cometh to the Light, that his Deeds may be made manifeſt, that they are wrought in God: Joh. 3. 21. Your Deeds muſt be wrought in God.
And Religion muſt teach you the like care in the End which you ſhould aim at in all your Buſineſs; which ſhould be to pleaſe and glorify God. For none of us (Chriſtians) liveth to himſelf, and no Man dieth to himſelf; and indeed, he that liveth to himſelf, will be likely to die to himſelf. But whether we live, we live unto the Lord: Rom. 14. 7. This is Man's greateſt Duty, this is his higheſt Priviledg. We reckon it a great Honour to that Nobleman, that ſhall put the Crown upon the Head of a King: O how much greater is it, to put the Crown of Glory upon God's! But of this before. Only you may ask, May not a Man aim at Riches by his Calling, that he may have Eaſe in his old Age, &c. Anſw. An End is ſubordinate, or ultimate; a next end, or a laſt end. You may deſign to get an Eſtate, but not meerly for your own ſake, but chiefly for God's ſake; not ſo much that ye may live at eaſe, but that ye may do good thereby. A Man may deſire a good Horſe, or a good Boat to carry him to his Friend. Every ſtep of a Religious Tradeſman, being trac'd to the utmoſt, ends at God. He would not care for himſelf, but that he may be of uſe to glorify God.
5. The Tradeſman's Piety is ſhewed, In ſpiritualizing his Calling. There is in every Calling a Temporal and a Spiritual reſpect. The outſide of them is the Object of Senſe; a brutiſh Man may comprehend that, and get his Living by it; but there is an inſide, which only the gracious Eye can read. There is ſcarce any thing which you trade in, but a Religious Heart may learn ſomething of God out of it. And this (ſurely) is one end of Similes and Compariſons, ſo frequent in the Bible, not only that God may come down by them to us, but that we may by them aſcend unto him; he hath tranſlated the World into the Scripture, that we may think of the Scripture in the World. This is the ſafeſt and richeſt Chymiſtry, whereby you may extract the pureſt Spirits out of the groſſeſt Bodies. As the Bee can gather Honey out of every Flower, yea, out of the very Weeds; ſo may and ſhould the Religious Tradeſman gather ſome Spiritual Leſſons, out of his temporal Wares and Imployments. Thus the Merchant may learn ſomething from Mat. 13. 45. And all that buy and ſell from Mat. 25. 16. and Luk. 29. 15. The Writer from Pſal. 45. 1. They that work in Wooll from Iſa. 1. 18. and Pſal. 147. 16. The Apothecary from Eccleſ. 10. 1. The Carpenter from Iſa. 10. 15. and Zech. 1. 20. The Founder from Jer. 8. 29. The Refiner from Mal. 3. 2, 3. The Baker from Hoſ. 7. 4, 6. The Fiſher from Jer. 16. 16. and Mat. 4. 19. The Weaver from Job 7. 6. The Potter from Iſa. 6. 8. and Jer. 18. And I think theſe are all the Trades expreſly mention'd in Scripture, by which the Holy Ghost directeth us to ſpiritual things.
There are alſo mention'd the Goldſmiths, Neh. 3. 8. The Silverſmiths, Acts 19. 24. The Spice-Merchants, 1 King. 10. 15. The Maſons, 1 Kings 12. 12. The Mariners, Ezek. 27. 9. The Calkers, Ezek. 27. 9. The workers in fine Linnen, 1 Chron. 4. 21. The workers in Needle-work, Exod. 26. 36. The Smiths, Iſa. 54. 16. The Ingravers, and the Imbroiderers, Exod. 35. 35. The Tentmakers, Acts 18. 3. The Tanner, Acts 9. 43. The Copper-ſmith, 2 Tim. 4. 14. The Cook, 1 Sam. 8. 13. The Barber, Ezek. 5. 1. The Fuller, Mark 9. 3. In general, the Chapmen, 2 Chron. 9. 14. and the Cunning Artificers, Iſa. 3. 3. And thoſe are (as far I can find) all the Trades mention'd in the Scripture. But as it is ſaid, Iſa. 28. 26. concerning the plain Husband-man, His God doth inſtruct him to Diſcretion, and doth teach him; ſo will the Spirit of God teach the ingenious Tradeſman to learn ſpiritual Leſſons from his Temporal Calling. An ingenious Head indeed is a great help herein, but an heavenly Heart is all in all. This inſpir'd our bleſſed Saviour to make a Sermon out of a Vine, Joh. 15. 1. and to raiſe Inſtruction from a barren Fig-tree. As we ſee on the contrary, how wickedly witty a naughty Man will be, to collect baſe and ſinful matter out of the Objects that come before him, and turn all to Poiſon; ſurely it is as poſſible, and much more noble, to extract the Gold, than the Droſs. Do but keep open the Eye of Faith to ſee Inviſibles, pray for Skill, and fall to Practiſe, and it will come. The Profit will ballance the Pains. He that turns Earth into Heaven, hath an Heaven upon Earth.
6. This Religion will teach the Tradeſman, To obſerve the Chriſtian Sabbath in a holy manner. Indeed this is one of the firſt things that God's Grace reforms in a ſerious Chriſtian. No ſooner doth he begin to look towards Heaven in ſober Sadneſs, but he begins to value, and uſe the Lord'sday in another manner than before: Hence, Ezek. 20. 12. I gave them my Sabbaths to be a ſign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that ſanctify them. Remember the Sabbath before it comes: And, if poſſibly you can, diſmiſs your Affairs a little the ſooner the day before, that you may have time over night, to reflect on your Works the Week paſt, as God did on his at the ſix days end, and to bewail your Sins therein; that you may have time to conſider, what Mercies you have to acknowledg, and what Bleſſings to beg on the Day following; that you may ſolemnly renounce all your Sins, and wholly diſmiſs all your worldly Buſineſs, and the thoughts thereof, till the Sabbath be paſt. Let not the Guilt, nor the Love of any one Sin enter with you into the holy Ground; but waſh you Hands in Innocence, and ſo compaſs the Altar of God.
And tho upon that holy Day you may be innocently chearful, and rejoyce in the Bleſſings of God; yet you ſhould not only abſtain from any vile Thoughts or Words, but even from vain and fruitleſs ones: Iſa. 58. 13. Thou ſhalt call the Sabbath a Delight, the Holy of the Lord, Honourable, and ſhalt honour him, not doing thine own Wayes, nor finding thine own Pleaſure, nor ſpeaking thine own Words. Yea, your Hearts muſt riſe againſt all unfit Diſcourſe, and with a Chriſtian Dexterity, endeavour to carry the Stream of ſuch Diſcourſe another way. Be not aſhamed to ſpeak of God and Heaven, ſince ungodly Men have the Impudence to ſpeak of Wickedneſs. See that ye riſe early, and work hard that day in your heavenly Trade; that ſo you may be able all night to give as clear an account of what you have gotten, as you can on other days.
Let no worldly Buſineſs be contrived or mention'd or done that Day, which might have been done before, or may be done after without plain Prejudice. It was the Men of Tyre that ſold their Wares on the Sabbath, whom Nehemiah repreſt, Neh. 13. 16, 20, 21. and command your Families from ſtragling, or fooliſh Sports that day: beware how you give them Liberty that Day, becauſe you can beſt ſpare them, to ſee their Friends, or to be out of your ſight; for that Day, and that Way, multitudes of them are undone; but let them ſpend that Day in God's Houſe, and in your own. Examine them of the ſtate of their Souls, of their Proficience that Day, and ſcriouſly catechize the younger ſort in the Principle; of Religion. O let not your Childrens Souls be neglected, while you pamper and deck their Bodies; but ſhow them the evil of Sin, and the beauty of Holineſs; convince them of their woful State by Nature, and mind them of the Vow which they are under in their Baptiſm; let them ſee you in the Pangs of Travel for them, till Chriſt be form'd in them: you have time for this upon this Day; and you are bound in Equity and Piety, to recover them out of that Condition, into which you have brought them: put good Books into their Hands and talk with them about Regeneration, and explain the Catechiſm to them; that, being well grounded in the Principles of Religion, they may rationally imbrace the Practice of it.
And then for your Servants, both Apprentices and others: Do you think it is ſufficient, that they do your Work faithfully? Have not they moſt precious Souls? and have not you the charge of them? can you find in your Hearts to ſuffer them to live, and for ought you know die, in a State of Ignorance and Unregeneracy? Where are your Bowels of Compaſſion? Alas you ſhould have the ſame care of their Souls, as you have of your own Children! You allow to your Beaſts Food and Lodging for their Work, and will you treat Chriſtians no otherwiſe? on this day you have time, if you have but Hearts, to call them to you, and to enquire into their Spiritual Condition: and never to give them reſt, until you have (with God's help) cur'd their Ignorance and Vices, or find them incurable. Loſe not therefore a minute of that precious Time, make it as long a day as any of the reſt; and when it is done, long for another Sabbath. And heartily bleſs the Lord, that he hath given you ſuch a merciful Releaſe from the Labours of your Body, and the Cares of your Mind, and withal bleſt you with a Market-day for your Souls. I ſay, bleſs him, and let the Voice of Praiſe and ſinging Pſalms be heard in the Righteous Man's Dwellings. A joyful Sabbath is the Suburbs of Heaven.
7. This Religion will oblige the Tradeſman to the practice of conſtant Watchfulneſs. Which is a continual care to pleaſe God in your Thoughts, Words, and Actions, and that you offend him not in any of them. And herein lies much of the Eſſence and Life of Practical Religion; as preventive Phyſick is much better than curing, and Obedience better than Sacrifice. For they that have ſuch ſinful Hearts within them, and ſuch a wicked World, and malicious Devil without them, had need to watch, as well as pray againſt Temptation. Above all keeping, keep the Heart; Prov. 4. 23. quench the firſt Sparks of Sin there, O quench them quickly! and know, that as Light only excludes Darkneſs, ſo it is impoſſible to keep out bad Thoughts, without the Prevalence of good ones. Watch over your Words, and conſider what, and how, and why you ſpeak; and indeavour not only to ſpeak what is lawful, but what is uſeful; remember that Words are like Arrows, when once out, you know not where they may light; eſpecially be careful of them before your Children. And for your Actions, take a wiſe Man's Counſel, Prov. 4. 26. Ponder the Path of thy Feet, and let all thy Ways be eſtabliſhed.
And eſpecially watch againſt the Temptations of your particular Calling; for every Trade hath ſome particular Snare, as every Conſtitution hath ſome particular Sin, and it is the Wiſdom of a Man to keep conſtant Watch againſt it. But the Temptations that are moſt common to all Trades, are either Debnuchery on the one hand, or Worldlineſs on the other. Your greateſt Temptation to the former, beſides what is common to you with other Men, is the obliging of your Cuſtomers or Chapmen; when to get or keep them, you will break with God, diſtemper your Body, Head, Hear, tand all: Now how can you expect that Gain to be bleſſed, which is procur'd by Sin? No, no; if you deal with wiſe Men, it is the Punctualneſs of your Word, the Goodneſs and Cheapneſs of your Commodity, that will oblige them ſufficiently; and ſooner or later, I am ſure, this will do the buſineſs▪ but if you deal with Fools, whom Wine and Drink do chiefly oblige, they'l diſappoint you at laſt, and leave you in the lurch.
And on the other hand; Take heed of Worldlineſs, beware of the love of Money, or of loving the World for its own ſake. For the love of Money is the root of all Evil, 1 Tim. 6. 10. It is not the greatneſs of an Eſtate, but the nearneſs of it to a Man's Heart which ruines him. The Water under the Ship makes it ſwim, Water within it makes it ſink. They that buy, ſhould be as if they poſſeſſed not, 1 Cor. 7. 30. for the time is ſhort. And worldly Wealth will not ſtay long, nor ſatisfy the Soul while it ſtays. Hearken to the Voice of God, Prov. 23. 4, 5. Labour not to be rich: ceaſe from thine own Wiſdom: Wilt thou ſet thine Eyes upon that which is not? For Riches certainly (mark that, certainly) make themſelves Wings, they flee away as an Eagle towards Heaven. What Wiſe-Man will fall in love with a Bird on the Houſe-top? and ſuch are Riches. Unleſs you find, that you are ready according to your ability to any good-work, and that you can find in your Heart to eat and drink, and wear Apparel ſutable to your Eſtate; the World is in your hearts, and you muſt ply the work of Mortification quickly, and lift up your Affections from things below, to the better things that are above.
8. The Religion of the Tradeſman is to be exerciſed in the frequent uſe of holy Ejaculations. An Ejaculation is the darting up of the Heart unto God, in a ſhort and lively Prayer. And they may be uſed, either by way of Confeſſion, as that, God be merciful to me a Sinner! O wretched Man that I am, who ſhall deliver me from the Body of this Death? Or, by way of Petition, as that of Neh. 13. 31. Remember me, O my God, for good: Or, by way of Deprecation, as David; O Lord turn the Counſel of Achitophel into Fooliſhneſs: Or by way of Interceſſion; as, O that the Salvation of Iſrael were come out of Zion! Or, by way of Thanksgiving; as that of Chriſt; I thank thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, &c. Now this is the excellency and advantage of theſe kind of Prayers, that as they will diſpatch much buſineſs in Heaven, ſo they will hinder no buſineſs upon Earth; they are like a well-plac'd Parentheſis, they hinder not the Senſe; they may be interlin'd not only in a Sermon, but in the throng of your Imployments. Nehemiah could liſt up ſuch a Prayer, while the King and Queen were all in Preſence, Neh. 2. 4. Eſpecially you that are Artificers, whoſe Imployment lies in manual Operation; what excellent opportunities have you to ſtep often to Heaven, by theſe kind of Prayers and Praiſes!
And that you may ſee, this is not a new Invention, or piece of modern Preciſeneſs; hear what holy Auguſtin ſays, De Opere Monachorum; As vain Men have their Fables and filthy Songs at work; quid ergo impedit▪ Servum Dei manibus operantem in Lege Domini meditari, & pſallere nomini▪ Dei altiſſimi—Cantica divina cantare, etiam manibus operantes facile, poſſunt, & ipſum laborem tanquam divino celeumate conſolari: that is, God's Servants ſhould, while they are at work, ſing the Praiſes of God. When the Heart is inditing a good matter, the Tongue will quickly be, as the Pen of a ready Writer. By theſe you will keep in the fire of Grace between your ſet-times of Prayer; by theſe you may meet with and quench a Temptation on the ſudden. When Satan is at his Injections and Injaculations, have you recourſe to your Ejaculations. When you feel the Guilt of Sin to pinch you, or the Senſe of any Mercy to affect you, or of any Danger or Difficulty to affright you, this will be a preſent Relief, till you have opportunity of more ſolemn Prayer. And as no Ship is ſo laden, but one may thruſt in two or three ſmall Jewels into it; ſo no Man's Buſineſs is ſo throng, but he may interline an holy Ejaculation. And of the like nature are Soliloquies, wherein we ſpeak to our own Souls; either to rouze up our dull Spirits, or to revive our drooping Souls, as we find holy David frequently, Pſal. 42. & 62, &c. Hereby you may make Company of your ſelves, when (as in ſome Callings) you are working alone all the day; and it is a ſad thing, that a Man ſhall know how to confer with Men, yea how to converſe with God, and yet cannot tell how to commune with his own Heart.
9. This Religion or Godlineſs in a Tradeſman is ſhewed, In exerciſing of Grace in his Calling. It is not enough to have all Organs of a human Body, without a vital Principle, and vital Acts; what's a Hand, if it work not, or an Eye if it ſee not? and what ſignifies your Grace within, if it be not actually imployed? Joh. 4. 14. But the Water that I will give him, ſhall be in him, a Well of Water ſpringing up into Everlaſting Life. A Well is always ſpringing up, and true Grace ſhould be ſtill in Activity. Moſt Men act only according to their natural Humour all the week long, and others conſult only their worldly Intereſt; but the Chriſtian Tradeſman hath not ſo learned Chriſt. He muſt every day act the Graces of Spiritual Wiſdom, Zeal, Self-denial, Patience, Charity, and particularly that Truth, Juſtice, and Contentedneſs which hath been deſcribed to him: you will have more Comfort in the review of this, than of all your other Gains. You will be frequently provoked by your Servants and others, here ye muſt act both Wiſdom and Patience; you will ſee too much Sin and Diſhonour done to God every day, here's Work for your Zeal; you will be often preſented with poor Objects, there's occaſion for your Charity.
In ſhort, you will have occaſion to buy or ſell every day, there's Work for your Veracity and Equity: And the acting of theſe Graces is ſo neceſſary; that you are but dead Chriſtians without it; and ſo pleaſing to God, that every ſuch Act both ſtrengthens the Habit, and opens the charitable Hand of God to give you more: And without theſe you will be but the World's drudg here, and that's ſad, and the Devil's hereafter, and that's worſe. A pious Tradeſman may act Grace, as much as the greateſt Rabbi. Famous is the Story of a Primitive Saint in Egypt, Who having for many Years retired himſelf from the World, and chiefly imployed himſelf in the Acts of Mortification and Devotion; and being thereupon tempted to think himſelf among the holieſt Men on Earth, and long'd to know who ſhould ſit next him in Heaven, was warned to inquire for a Man in Alexandria who was holier than himſelf; and who ſhould that be but, when he had found him, but a poor Cobler, that work'd hard moſt of the day, but was ſo circumſpect in his Life, ſo juſt in his Dealings, ſo thankful with his Wife for his mean fare, and then ſo truly devout in the Worſhip of God, that the poor Hermite return'd creſt-faln to his Cell, and found that the honeſt Tradeſman was like to ſit above him in Heaven. So that the Exerciſe of Grace ſhould be no uncouth Buſineſs to a Chriſtian Tradeſman.
10. The Tradeſman's Piety muſt be ſhewed, In the ſincere promoting of Goodneſs, and diſcouraging of Sin. As it is the Honour of God, that he is good and doth good; ſo he ingraves the ſame image upon his Children. Whatſoever doth regularly tend to the advancing of God's Honour, or the Spiritual and Temporal Good of Mankind, Religion inclines the honeſt Tradeſman to further it to his utmoſt Ability. It is that ingages him in Conſcience, if he have any concern in the Plantations beyond Sea, no way to incourage that ungodly Trade of ſpiriting away either Chriſtians or Infidels againſt their Wills, but rather to indeavour the Inſtruction and Converſion of the poor Negros, who have Souls as precious and immortal as his own; and not to be indifferent about their eternal Salvation, much leſs to hinder their Inſtruction, as ſome are ſaid wickedly to do, to the great affront of the Chriſtian Religion: No, he knows that no Gain can countervail the Loſs of a Soul; and that where Chriſt gains, he can never be a loſer. This true Piety guides him in giving his voice in any Election; neither any private Reſpects, nor Inducements from others; neither the Frowns of one, nor Smiles of another ſhall ſway him, but his fixed Deſign directs him which is the Glory of God, and the common Good. This makes him to run among the firſt to further any Pariſh Buſineſs; this makes him ready to promote the good of his Company, to draw out his Purſe for the Maintenance of godly Miniſters, and to relieve the Poor. And if he be not the firſt, he will readily ſecond any good Work: And if things go well with him, the Country ſhall fare the better for it, his Charity ſhall be accordingly. For he knows that pure Religion, and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: Not only to be frequent and devout in the Worſhip of God, but, To viſit the Fatherleſs and the Widows in their Affliction, and to keep himſelf unſpotted from the World, Jam. 1. 27.
And the like Zeal he will expreſs in diſcouraging Sin; for he that cannot indure it in himſelf, cannot indure it any where elſe. He firſt drives it out of his Family: to this end, reads often the 101ſt Pſalm, a Pſalm it is for Houſhoulders, and there you'l find that a truly Religious Man, hates the Works of them that turn aſide, cannot abide a froward Perſon, will not know a wicked Perſon; indures not a Slanderer, a Liar, a deceitful or a proud Perſon. If he be inveſted in any Office, he takes that opportunity to expreſs his hatred to Sin by due execution of the Laws againſt it; for he conſiders, that he may never have the like advantage again to ſerve God and his Generation. He ſets himſelf to detect and root up all Frauds, all Debauchery, and whatſoever is contrary to Juſtice and Holineſs. By this indeed he runs a hazard of contracting ſome illwill from ſome ill Men; but that he ſtill expreſſes a Friendſhip to their Perſons, and lays all fitting Obligations upon them; that ſo they cannot but ſee, that it's Iniquity which he only diſlikes, and that he only proſecutes a common Enemy: When they come to themſelves, they will give him Thanks; and if they do not, his Witneſs and his Reward is above. The beſt of Men will applaud him, and the worſt of Men will reverence him.
Now to further a Tradeſman in this his heavenly Trade, it is very convenient that he be furniſhed with ſome good Books; with which this Nation (praiſed be God) is richly ſtor'd. Theſe will be Entertainment for him in vacant Hours, and on Winter-Evenings; and ſo preſerve him from Idleneſs, and from vain Imaginations, and from fruitleſs Company. Here he may inrich his Underſtanding, inſtruct his Conſcience, warm his Affections, and increaſe his Graces: your Shop-Books may help you to be rich for a while, but your Cloſet-Books will help you to be rich for ever.
But herein take Direction, 1. How to chuſe them: Be well-adviſed, not to buy every Book that you fancy, nor every Book that is commended to you, nor that hath a taking Title, nor that hath a great Bulk and ſmall Price. But conſult your faithful Miniſter, or ſome judicious Fri…nd in the buying of your Books; unleſs you have a mind to throw away your Money, and which is more, your Time, yea and your Souls too, which is moſt of all: For, as ſome have been corporally poiſon'd by reading a Letter, ſo many have been ſpiritually poiſon'd by reading infectious Books. Neither be covetous after more Books, than will comport with your Eſtate to buy, and with your time to peruſe: Too much variety confounds; a few Books well choſen, and well read, will make you ſolid Chriſtians.
Above all Books, read the Holy Bible; let no day paſs without taſting of ſome heavenly Manna thence. And to aſſiſt the Frailties of your Memories, buy a Concordance. Downham and Wickens are the leaſt; Cotton, or the Cambridg-Concordance are larger and better; whereby, if you remember but one Word, you may find in what Book, Chapter, and Verſe the Sentence is: And then to open to you, what is difficult in Scripture, buy Biſhop Hall's Parephraſe on the hard places of Scripture, or, which is fuller, the Dutch Annotations. To ground you and your Family in the Chriſtian Doctrine, you may have the Aſſemblies Confeſſion and Catechiſms; to which you may add, Mr. Ball's Catechiſm, with the Expoſition, or Biſhop Ʋſher's Body of Divinity, and alſo Dr. Gouge on the Lord's-Prayer, Dr. Pearſon on the Creed, Mr. Dod on the Commandments, and Mr. Vines, with Mr. Dolittle on Sacrament; and then, the Practice of Piety, and the Whole Duty of Man will be very uſeful both for your Inſtruction and Devotion: Mr. Dent's Plain Man's Path-way to Heaven, Mr. Shepherd's Sound Reliever, Mr. Baxter's Call to the Ʋnconverted, and Mr. Allen's Vindiciae Pietatis, will all of them be of great uſe, for the promoting the Work of Converſion in your ſelves and Family: buy alſo Dr. Gouge's Book of Domeſtical Duties, whereby Husband and Wife, Parent and Children, Maſter and Servant will be inſtructed in their Relative Duties; read alſo as many of the Lives and Letters of learned and holy Men, as you can, whereof you have a large Collection in Mr. Clark's Lives, and Martyrology: You ſhould alſo have Mr. Perkins, Dr. Ames, or Biſhop Hall's Caſes of Couſcience, to which you may reſort in dubious Caſes for Direction; Biſhop Jewel will largely, and Mr. Pool's Dialogue will briefly ſufficiently arm you againſt Popery. And then, for Practical Divines, theſe following are the beſt I remember, Dr. Preſton of the New Covenant, and on the Attributes; Mr. Perkins, Mr. Hilderſam, Mr. Rob. Bolton, eſpecially his Directions for a comfortable walking with God, Mr. Tho. Hooker, Mr. Fenner, Mr. Scudder's Daily walk, Mr. Capel of Temptations, Dr. Harris, Mr. Reyner, Dr. Reynolds, Mr. Gurnal his Chriſtian Armour, Dr. Tho. Goodwin, Mr. Baxter's Directory, and everlaſting Reſt, Dr. Manton's and Dr. Tillotſon's Sermons. And becauſe you ſhould have ſome Diverſion: For Hiſtory, read Mr. Fox's Acts and Monuments, Dr. Fuller's Church Hiſtory of England. And for other Hiſtory, you may have Mr. Speed's Hiſtory of England. (The wealthier may add to theſe, Cambden's Britannia, Sir Rich. Baker's Chronicle, Iſaackſon's Chronology, and Plutarch's Lives and Morals.) And having the preſent State of England, and of London in particular, and a Statute-Book, you are competently provided for Books in the Engliſh Tongue. Tho you may read, yet you need not buy many more. That Money which others ſpend in ſuperfluous Treats and Vanities, will in a ſhort time furniſh you with theſe Companions…; and that time which they beſtow in doing nothing, will ſerve you for this Employment, which will advance both your Intellectuals and your Morals here, and your Eternal Happineſs hereafter. But then you muſt learn,
2. How to uſe theſe Books when you have them. They muſt not lie by you in the duſt, but they muſt be read, and read throughout, not by parcels here and there; and yet not too much at once, for the Mind and Memory are frail and finite; and you ſhould leave them, as you ſhould your Sermons and Meals, with an Appetite. But beſure you read with a deliberate Attention, and Application of what you read to your own Souls, and as occaſion is offered, interline holy Ejaculations to God, to bleſs what you read unto you. If the Excellency or Difficulty of matter require it, grudg not to read it twice or thrice: and if you have time and convenience, extract and tranſcribe thoſe things which moſt eminently concerns you; or make ſome Index whereby to find them again. Lend them alſo to any that will be ſure to read them, and reſtore them; ſo you may have a Trade going of ſaving Souls when you are aſleep. Finally, let not your reading intrench upon your neceſſary Buſineſs, nor make you more contentious, proud, cenſorious; but more holy, and humble, and uſeful; that the Divinity of your Books may be read in your daily Practice, and that your Works may commend your Authors.
IV. Ʋſe. 1. Then I pray caſt back your Eye, and review theſe ten Particulars, and then turn your Eyes inward upon your ſelves, and your behaviour in the Premiſes. Thus ſaith the Lord of Hosts, Conſider your Ways, Hag. 1. 5. Hath the Fear of God accompanied you into your Shops, to the Exchange, every where? What hath been your inward frame? How have you exerciſed Faith? What care hath been taken of God's Worſhip? What Rule have you obſerved, and what Ends have you propounded? What ſpiritual uſe have you made of earthly things in your Callings? How have you kept the Sabbath? what Watchfulneſs? what Ejaculations? what Exerciſe of Grace? what Good have you promoted, or what Sins have you proſecuted? Of theſe things you will be examined, when you cannot avoid anſwering. It were better to judg your ſelves, than to be judged by the Lord. The Day is at hand, when the Secrets of all Hearts, and the Ways of all Men will be diſcovered, and impartial Sentence pronounced. And if you do reflect in good earneſt, I conclude that you will ſee cauſe to abhor your ſelves, and to repent in Duſt and Aſhes. You will find that ſome of you have been ſo far from being religious in your Callings, that you have been earthly in your Devotions: there you can ſpare ſome Looks and Thoughts about the things of this World, when in your Vocations, you will ſcarce lift up one Look or Thought to a better; inſtead of mixing Prayers with your Cares, you have mingled Cares with your Prayers. Nay in many of your Houſes no Prayers at all; leſt you ſhould be accounted Fanaticks, you chuſe to be Profanaticks. Where's any conſtant praying? If every Door were but mark'd, where there is no Prayer within, I fear many Houſes would ſtand croſt as for the Plague, with a Lord have Mercy upon us, written upon them. We have had the Goſpel in Power and Purity now above an hundred and twenty Years, and there is yet ſo much bare-fac'd Wickedneſs, and ſo little of the Power of Godlineſs, that the Lord may juſtly ſay to us, as he did to the old World, Gen. 6. 3. My Spirit ſhall no more ſtrive with Man.
We preſerve the Name of Chriſtians, Reformed Chriſtians, but we diſhonour that worthy Name, by which we are called. How do we trifle in Religion! God and Chriſt, and Satan and Death are all in good earneſt, and we our ſelves do but dream. O the beſt had need to repent and amend: What then will become of them that hate and oppoſe all that's ſerious, that ridicule all Religion, tho under other Pretences; they diſlike the Men, not the Religion; or only their Sins, not their Sanctity: and too much occaſion for that Umbrage is given by many; and wo to them by whom Offences come; yea, and wo to the World, becauſe of Offences, both thoſe that Give Offence, and thoſe that Take and improve it to the Prejudice of Religion are in a woful Condition: For why ſhould not a great deal of Goodneſs in a pious Man, cover a little Evil, as well as ſome little Goodneſs in others, ſhall cover a great many Faults? Let a Religious Man have never ſo many vertuous Qualities, and let him have done never ſo many good things; yet if he have any one Fault, as if he be too paſſionate, or too worldly; all the worthy things in him, or done by him, are buried, and he only hears Hypocrite, and all that's naught on both Ears. But if a wicked Wretch have never ſo many ill Qualities, and have lived in Sin all his days; yet if he have but one good Property, as to be good humour'd, charitable, or the like; all his Faults are paſs'd over and buried in ſilence, and he ſhall be excus'd them all, and cry'd up for a very fair condition'd Man. Now is not here rank Partiality? Do not theſe Men ſhow hereby their Hatred to God? Yes, yes, the Malignity is at God himſelf. If good Men were leſs like to God, they might ſleep quietly with their other Faults. Who ever affirm'd that the moſt ſober and religious were without Sin? and muſt they, and Religion alſo, be therefore hooted out of the World? Who throws Stones at the Moon, becauſe there be ſome dark parts in it? I would adviſe ſuch to beware, for Religion is the Cauſe of God, who is a jealous God: and if he damn them that are without it, what will become of them that are againſt it? Theſe Arrows do penetrate Jeſus Chriſt himſelf, whom you might hear, if you had an Ear to hear, ſaying, I am Jeſus, whom thou perſecuteſt: it is hard for thee to kick againſt the Pricks. Acts 9. 5. Dread therefore hereafter (as Saul there did) to open thy Mouth againſt the unqueſtionable Duties of Religion, and betake your ſelves to the Practice of that Piety, without which, you can neither comfortable live, nor ſafely die.
But more particularly, I cannot chuſe but lament and reprove two great Omiſſions of too many Tradeſmen: And the one is, of Family-Prayer; which is wholly neglected by many, partially practiſed, that is, at night only by ſome, and unſeaſonably performed by others. Aſſuredly, Sins of Omiſſion deſerve Condemnation, as you may ſee, Mat. 25. throughout, and all your other Profeſſion or Vertues, will not compenſate for one wilful Neglect: Jam. 2. 10. For whoſoever ſhall keep the whole Law, and yet offend (or ſtumble) in one point, he is guilty of all. If the Fear and Love of God did induce you to other good Duties, they would alſo oblige you to this; and you would no more plead Inability, Baſhfulneſs, or Buſineſs, but ſeriouſly ſet about it. Till then you live in danger of that Fury, which is prepar'd for the Heathen, and for the Families that call not upon his Name; Jer. 10. 25. Better were it for you, to break through theſe petty Obſtacles, and either with a Book or without it, render to God a Morning and Evening Sacrifice with your Families: For tho you may perhaps read and pray alone, yet 'tis great odds, ſome others, who are under your charge, have no time or mind to it, and ſo live without Prayer and without God in the World.
And then, why will you that pray with them only at night, thereby curtail half the Homage and Rent that is due to God? Doth not the ſame Scripture that commands the Evening Sacrifice, require the Morning Sacrifice alſo? Exod. 29. 38, 39. Now this is that which thou ſhalt offer upon the Altar: two Lambs of the firſt Year, day by day continually. The one Lamb thou ſhalt offer in the Morning; and the other Lamb, thou ſhalt offer at Even. And have not you as much cauſe to bleſs the Lord together for your Sleep and Safety in the Night, as for your Mercies in the Day? Nay, have you not greater need to beg divine Aſſiſtance, Protection and Grace, when you go out into the World, than when you only go to bed? Think of it, and anſwer theſe things in your Conſciences, if you can.
And then, how unfit are you and the reſt of your Houſhold for any lively and earneſt Prayers, at unſeaſonably late hours? Do not you come to them at ſuch times, rather as to an unwellcome Task, than as to a gracious Priviledg? and accordingly they are performed; one ſleeping in one corner, and another in another; God hath no Honour, you no Edification by them, which ſhould be great Ends of all Religious Duties.
And the other grand Omiſſion of the Tradeſman, is of the Lord's-Supper. Some of them can live to thirty, forty, fifty Years of Age, (I ſpeak what I know) without ever once approaching the Lord's Table. And yet that bleſſed Saviour of ours in his laſt Will and Teſtament (and dying Commands are uſually obſerved) commanded the frequent uſe thereof, to all that expect benefit by his Death. If, Do this in remembrance of me, be not a plain Command, nothing is plain in the Scripture: How can ye ſatisfy your Conſciences in ſuch a palpable Diſobedience? Beſides, you loſe unſpeakable Comfort and Strength, which is conveyed into the Soul of the true Beliver therein. Say not, you are not worthy, but labour to be worthy, and let your godly Miniſter be judg in the caſe; certainly, that Unworthineſs which keeps you from the Sacrament, will alſo keep you out of Heaven, and where are you then? Plead not, that you are unprepared; for that is your Sin, which you ſhould not ſleep in another Night. How long, I pray, will you be preparing? No, no, the plain truth is, you are loth to be at the trouble of Self-Examination, loth to be diſturbed in a ſinful and ſlothful courſe, loth to ſettle to the Practice of ſerious Piety, loth to forgo the Sin you wot of, and here it ſticks: but (Sirs) theſe are the Suggeſtions of your Enemy. He commonly tells Men, it is too ſoon, till at length it be too late: If you could make a Covenant with Death, and eſcape the Judgment that follows, it were another matter. But Sin muſt be repented, Grace muſt be obtain'd, Heaven muſt be enſur'd; and how ſhall theſe things be, unleſs you buckle to it, unleſs you uſe the means, whereof this is one? I do therefore earneſtly adviſe and perſwade you, to take a ſpeedy courſe to come, and come worthily to the Lord's Table. Read ſuch good Books as may direct you, apply your ſelves to ſome faithful Miniſter, who will gladly aſſiſt you, and above all, beſeech the Lord to help you; to pardon your great Neglect, to cloath you with neceſſary Graces, and to welcome you afterward with a Bleſſing.
2. Let all Tradeſmen be hence exhorted, to introduce Piety into their Callings. I beſeech you to abide with God in your Callings. You cannot be truly rich, you cannot be ſafe, you cannot be happy without it. It is a poor Houſe that hath no Fire in it; it is a poor Shop that hath no Goods in it: but tho you have Fire and Meat enough in the Houſe, and Goods ſufficient in your Shop, yet it is a miſerable, a curſed Houſe and Shop that have no Religion in them. You may, I grant, get Eſtates, diſpoſe your Children, live deliciouſly, &c. Go on and proſper, but you will die like Fools, and theſe very Eſtates (as you have been often told) will help to ſink your Poſterity in the ſpending, that have ruin'd your Souls in the getting of them. Remember your Profeſſion, remember your Baptiſmal Vow, remember Eternity, and be wiſe for your own Souls. If you abide with God in your Calling, he will abide with you, and then you ſhall be happy here, and happy for ever. Happy are the People that are in ſuch a caſe; yea, happy is that People whoſe God is the Lord: Then will your Callings be better for you, and you will not be worſe for your Callings. Say not again, it is impoſſible to be religious in your Calling; for tho it be more difficult to walk with God in ſome Callings; yet it is poſſible to do it in any. In the Apoſtles times, they that were Servants, yea, Slaves to very Heathens, are required to abide with God even in that Calling. There is no lawful Calling under Heaven, but there have been holy Men in it; and if you be not ſo, it is the fault of the Perſon, and not of the Calling.
To this end, be reſtleſs until you have a ſenſe of Religion in your Hearts: Embrace Chriſt there, yield up your Souls to him, take his Yoke upon you. Accept of him in all his Offices, and reſign your Souls to him with all its Faculties, and then you are paſt the ſtrait Gate. It is ſaid Mat. 22. 5. They made light of it and went their ways, one to his Farm, another to his Merchandize. Miſerable is that Merchandize that keeps Men from Jeſus Chriſt: If you are too buſy to go to Heaven, your Money will periſh with you. But if laying aſide every weight, and the Sin that doth ſo eaſily beſet you, you immediately ſet upon the Work of Repentance and Holineſs, you will have Fruit unto Holineſs, and the end Everlaſting Life. Prov. 4. 7. Get Wiſdom, get Ʋnderſtanding. You are all for getting; here's Gain without hazard, a great Bargain without Money. And now what ſay you? What Anſwer ſhall I return to him that ſent me? As the Levite ſaid of old, Conſider of it, and take Advice, and ſpeak your Mind. And the Lord incline your Heart to true Wiſdom! And ſo much for the Sixth Requiſite, and alſo for this Head about the right managing of a Trade or Calling.