Exposition on the Ten Commandments, Commentary on commandments · Commandment 5 (2 of 3)

Exposition on the Ten Commandments · Commentary on commandments · Commandment 5 (2 of 3)

p. 273Secondly, The Account they must render at the last Day is greater, and therefore they more need our Prayers than other Men. What they do is usually of general Concernment, or else of general Influence; and therefore they must answer not only for themselves, but for almost the whole Nation, who either obey the Commands, or follow the Examples of their Governours: We should therefore especially pray for them, that having a greater account to make than other Men, they may at that day appear before the King of Kings with Boldness, and pass from a corruptible Crown, to a Crown of Glory and Immortality.

p. 274Thirdly, Their Temptations are more, and therefore they more need our Prayers than other Men. For having all at Command; the Pleasures, the Splendor, and Gayety of the World, are more likely to be Snares to them than others, who converse not so much with them. And besides, the Devil is more assiduous and subtil in his Temptations towards them than others: because if they can be perverted by him, they will prove great and most effectual Instruments to promote his Kingdom. And therefore in Micaiah's Parable, 1 Kings 22. no sooner had God asked the Question, Who shall perswade Ahab? but there steps forth an evil Spirit, and undertakes the Employment. Satan loves to be busy about Princes and Rulers, because there he thinks he can make the greatest Earnings. To tempt private Persons, is but to tempt by Retail; but to tempt Princes, and to seduce the Rulers of a Land, this is to destroy by wholesale: And therefore as they are exposed to more Temptations, so should they be supported and strengthned by more Prayers.

Let us therefore heartily perform this Duty to them, and for them, a Duty not more beneficial to them, than to our selves and the whole Nation: for if we can prevail for a Blessing upon them, we our selves shall certainly share in it, if by our fervent Prayers we can obtain of God to bestow on them Wisdom and Zeal, Holiness and Piety, Peace and Prosperity. Certainly our own share in these Mercies is worth the Venture we send for them; and we shall then sit safely under the Shadow of our King, and he himself under the Shadow of the Almighty.

I have heretofore told you, that this fifth Commandment comprehends in it not only the mutual Offices between Parents and Children, but generally all the Duties to which both Superiours and Inferiours stand reciprocally bound: And therefore having already spoken of the mutual Duties of Parents and Children, of Magistrates and Subjects; I p. 275shall now proceed to consider the Duties of Husband and Wife: for in this Relation also, though it come nearer to an Equality than the former, there is a Superiority on the Man's part, and Subjection due unto him from the Woman.

And here, whilst I am treating of this Subject, I beseech you give not way to any Levity of Mind, or Vanity of Thoughts; think it not a light jocular thing, as too often the Marriage-Relation, and the Offices that appertain unto it, are accounted; for it is matter of Duty that I am now propounding unto you; and matter of Duty is no less than matter of Life and Death eternal. And therefore I charge you that you attend unto it, not to get Advantages of Sport and Merriment one with another, and to object them each to other in a ludicrous and jesting way, as it is every-where too common a Custom; but attend unto it as a matter of as great Seriousness and Weight, as any that belongs unto the right ordering of your Christian Conversation; a matter that presseth the Consciences to the due Observance and Practice of it; and, if despised or neglected, will press your Souls under Guilt, and sink them under Wrath. And certainly they who are so vain as to think the Duties of this Relation to be of no great Concernment, must needs likewise be so impious as to impute trifling to the Holy Spirit of God, who hath so frequently and with so much Earnestness and Instance, recommended them unto us. There is scarce any one Epistle wherein the Apostles doe not particularly insist on these things; and certainly what was worthy their Care to write and teach, is worthy our Care to learn and practise.

The Duties therefore of married Persons are either special or common: Special, are those which are the Duties only of one Party to the other; and that either of the Husband to the Wife, or the Wife to the Husband. Common, are those which belong to both, and are by both to be mutually performed.

p. 276I shall first begin with those Duties which belong to an Husband towards his Wife. And they are these;

First, Conjugal Love. Indeed Love is a beautiful Ornament to all Relations, but it is the Foundation and first Principle of this: It is Love which ought at first to tie the Marriage-Knot; and it is Love alone that can afterwards make it easy. No other respect whatsoever, can keep it from wringing and galling us. And although want of Love cannot dissolve the Bond, yet it doth the Joy and Comfort of a married State. Now of all the Objects that are allowed us to love here on Earth, a Wife is the chiefest; yea, to be loved above Parents, Children and Friends, and the dearest of all other Relations; Gen. 2.24. Therefore shall a Man leave his Father and Mother, and shall cleave unto his Wife. And if you would know the full measure of this Love, the Apostle hath prescribed it, Eph. 5.28. So ought Men to love their Wives as their own Bodies: and ver. 33. Let every one of you in particular love his Wife as himself; you must be as careful and tender of their Good, as of your own; and resent any Injury done unto them, as much as if it were done unto your selves. And indeed there is great reason for it; for Marriage makes of two, one mystical Person; it doth but compensate our Damage, and restore the Rib to our Side again. And therefore, by Marriage two are said to be made one Flesh; Mark 10.8. They twain shall be one Flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one Flesh. And therefore all Violence and Out-rage against a Wife, (into which the rude and boistrous Fury of some brutish Men doth too often break) is as unnatural, as if you should see a Man beat and wound and gash himself: And certainly they are mad and distracted Passions which take Revenge upon themselves. Ephes. 5.29. No Man yet ever hated his own Flesh; that is, no Man acting rationally and as becomes a Man, but loveth and cherisheth it. So that we are to love our Wives with the same Tenderness and Naturalness p. 277of Affection, as our own Beings, and they should be as dear to us as our selves: And if you would have this high Affection mounted a degree higher; see ver. 25. Husbands love your Wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it. If a natural Affection will not suffice, behold here a supernatural one, and the greatest Instance of Love that ever was expressed or conceived, brought to be the Rule and Pattern of ours. Christ loved the Church, his Spouse; although there were many Spots, Blemishes, and Imperfections in her; he loved her so as to leave his Father, and cleave to his Wife: he loved her better than himself and his own Life, and shed his most precious Blood for her; and rather than the Wrath of God should fall upon his beloved Spouse, he thrusts himself between, and receives these heavy Blows on his own Person: So ought Men also to love their Wives, so infinitely if it were possible, but because it is not so, sincerely. And therefore;

1st. They must love them, though they often bewray many Weaknesses and Imperfections, which they ought meekly to bear with, though they must not countenance nor incourage them. Love will cover a multitude of Faults, and as long as they are but Faults and not Crimes, we ought no more to divorce our Affections than our Persons from them. There is indeed a touchy Love, which will cause great Wrath for very small Offences; but usually such kind of Love turns into Bitterness and Exasperation: therefore Offences of this Nature should prudently be passed by, only with a glancing Reproof, or with a Silence that shall be more instructive than Noise and Clamour: Here the Apostle exhorts Husbands; Col. 3.19. Husbands, love your Wives, and be not bitter against them.

2dly. We should so love them, as not to upbraid them with the Necessities or Incumbrances of a married Life, but be content to abridg our selves of our former Freedom, and to forgo our former Priviledges, either of Plenty or p. 278Pleasure, which we injoyed in a single Condition, without reproaching them with it. Many Fools there are who fancy nothing but Joys and Delights in a married Life; but when they enter into it, and find many unexpected Troubles, and that they cannot live either at so much ease, or with so much Splendour as before, think to right themselves by perpetual Brawls with their Wives, imputing the cause to them, and charging on them all the Burdens and Inconveniences under which they both labour, and of which commonly the Woman hath the greater share. Now this is not to love as Christ loved the Church, who for her sake stripp'd himself of his Glory, and voluntarily humbled himself, first to the Dust, and then to the Death, the cruel and cursed Death of the Cross.

3dly. We ought so to love them, as to interpose and step in between them and Danger, and rather suffer it to fall upon our selves than them; for so Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it, redeeming it from the Wrath of God, by his own undergoing it, and delivering it from Death, by suffering Death for it.

4thly. We ought so to love them, as to indeavour to promote the spiritual Good of their Souls, and by good Counsels and Instructions insinuate into them the Love of Piety and Holiness, that so as Christ sanctifieth the Church his Spouse, we may also sanctify ours, and present them unto God without Spot or Wrinkle, or any such thing.

In these four things we are to love our Wives even as Christ loved his Church, by bearing with and pardoning their Weaknesses, by being willing to submit to many Inconveniences for their sakes, by interposing our selves between them and Danger: And lastly, by indeavouring to promote their spiritual Good and Benefit. And thus much of the first Duty which is Love, on which I have insisted the longer, because it comprehends all other Duties in it. For where there is this sincere and conjugal Affection, although p. 279it may have different Methods of expressing it self, according to the different tempers of Men; yet it will certainly in this, as in all other cases, command the whole Train and Retinue of other Affections to wait upon it, and see that nothing be wanting to the Good of the Object on which it is fixed. I shall therefore be the briefer in the rest.

Secondly, Another Duty of the Husband is provident Care for his Wife: He ought (saith the Apostle) to nourish and cherish her, as Christ doth the Church; he must therefore impart unto her according to his Rank and Ability, whatsoever may be for her Necessity or Comfort, and not waste that in Riot and Excess among his lewd and wicked Companions, Companions that the Devil hath given him, which ought to be for the Support of her whom God hath given him for his Companion; and who in the mean while hath nothing to feed on but her Sorrows, nothing to drink but her Tears. See how deeply the Apostle hath stigmatized such Wretches; 1 Tim. 5.8. If any Man provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own House, he hath denied the Faith, and is worse than an Infidel.

Thirdly, Another Duty that Husbands owe their Wives, is Protection from Dangers, when they are in Jeopardy; and therefore when the Amalekites had burnt Ziklag, and with the rest of the Prey had taken David's Wives; he pursues them with no more than six hundred Men, though they were a great Host, and rescues his Wives from their Captivity, 1 Sam. 30.18. And indeed the Weakness and Feebleness of that Sex being more helpless in Dangers than ours, and less able to relieve themselves, calls for this ready Aid and Succour from us; and he who is so churlish as not to afford it, is so unnatural also as to suffer a part of himself to perish. A Wife is compared in Scripture to a fruitful Vine; now a Vine is a weak tender Plant, and requires Support, and the Husband should be as the House-side for p. 280her Stay and Support; and therefore Woman was at first made of a Rib taken from under the Man's Arm; the Office of the Arm is to repel and keep off Injuries, which signifies unto us that the Husband ought to defend his Wife from all Wrongs and Injuries that she may be exposed unto.

Fourthly; Another Duty is Instruction and Direction. Therefore the Husband is called her Head, the Seat and Fountain of Knowledg and Wisdom, Ephes. 5.23. The Husband is the Head of the Wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church. And therefore as all Direction and Consolation is derived from Christ; so should the Husband likewise derive down and communicate Knowledg, and Comfort, and Guidance to the Wife; called therefore her Guide, Prov. 2.17. And St. Peter requires of Husbands that they should dwell with their Wives according to Knowledg, to be able to advise and inform them in all emergent Cases, especially concerning God and their Souls: Whence St. Paul injoins Wives, 1 Corinth. 14.35. That if they will learn any thing, they must ask their Husbands at home; and therefore much more is it required of the Husband, that he should have laid up a good Stock of Knowledg, and be able to teach them, lest such as creep into Houses and lead captive silly Women, insnare their Wives. For such is the subtilty of Deceivers, following therein the Method of the old Serpent, that they first begin with the Woman, and then make use of her to seduce the Man: for Heresy, as all other Sins, does first inveigle the Affections, and then by them corrupts the Reason. And therefore the Husband should be well grounded and principled with Knowledg, that he may keep his Wife from being led away by the crafty Subtilty of those who lye in wait to deceive, and who by good Words and fair Speeches, affected Phrases, and gingling Expressions, that have nothing in them, but Sound and Errour, pervert the Hearts of the Simple.

p. 281But if (as it sometimes happens) God hath indowed the Wife with a greater measure of Prudence, and solid and substantial Knowledg, than the Husband; it is then his Part to hearken to her Advice, and to yield not indeed to the Authority of the Counsellour, as she is bound to do, but to the Authority of the Counsel: And this she ought to tender him with all Respect and Submission, not having Power to injoin what she knows to be best and fittest, but only with Modesty propounding it, and with Meekness perswading him to imbrace it.

Fifthly; Another Duty of the Husband, is Tenderness and Mildness towards his Wife, not causlesly grieving her either by Speeches or Actions. That is a wretched Family, where those who are joined in the same Yoak, spurn and kick at one another. If the Wife be careful in performing her Duty, there belongs to her a kind and loving Acceptation of it, and Praise and Commendation for it; or, if she sometimes should fail, she ought not to be rebuked with Bitterness, but with Meekness, and in such a way as the Reproof should shew more of Sorrow than of Anger. But perpetual Brawlings and Contentions, besides, that they wholly imbitter this State of Life, and eat out all the Comfort of it, instead of preventing Offences for the future, do usually provoke and exasperate to more, and are perhaps a greater Fault in the Husband, than that which he exclaims at in his Wife; besides, it will certainly indispose them, both to the Performances of those Duties which belong unto them in their general and particular Callings. It will hinder their Prayers; for how can they lift up their Hands without Wrath, as the Apostle commands, 1 Tim. 2.8. when they burn in Choler one against the other? How can they pray to God for Blessings upon each other, when they have been cursing and reviling each other? And as for the Duties of their particular Callings; do we not see, that in those Families where this baneful Contention reigns, they p. 282are commonly neglected, and all runs to wrack and ruine, out of a kind of Revenge that one Party thinks to take upon the other. The Husband out of Discontent will not provide, nor the Wife manage; and so nothing is cared for, but only how they may quarrel and rail at each other. A Misery that many Families fall into, through the indiscreet Heats and Fierceness of the Man upon every trivial Offence of the Wife, though perhaps it was sometimes unthought of, and sometimes unavoidable.

Sixthly; Another Duty of the Husband, is to give due Respect and Honour unto his Wife, 1 Pet. 3.7. Give Honour unto the Wife as unto the weaker Vessel; for being weak, she ought to be used with the more Respect and Gentleness. Think honourably of her, as the Person whom God saw best and fittest for you in all the World; and be not tempted so much as in a Thought, to believe that any other could have been either so proper, or so beneficial unto you: Speak honourably of her, not divulging any of her Failings and Imperfections, to her Discredit; but giving her the due Praise of those Vertues and Graces that are in her. For he that disgraceth his Wife, disparageth himself; and every one will censure him as guilty of Folly, either in chusing or in governing her. Treat her honourably, neither making thy self a Servant to her Humour, for that will dishonour thee; nor making her a Slave to thine, for that is to dishonour her; but use her as thy Bosom-Friend, thy indeared Companion, and in every thing but Authority, equal to thy self.

Seventhly; The last Duty of an Husband, is prudent maintaining and managing his Authority. His Authority over his Wife is God's, who hath intrusted him with it: and our Saviour illustrates his own Authority over the Church, by the Authority of an Husband over his Wife, Ephes. 5. And therefore it is not basely to be betrayed, nor to be maintained with Rigour and a tyrannical Violence. But the p. 283right and most effectual way of keeping up this Authority, is by Prudence and Gravity, by Soberness and Piety, and a staied, exemplary and strict Life. This will cause a reverent Esteem and Veneration in the Wife, and in the whole Family; whereas an humoursom Lightness at one time, and as humoursom Severity at an other, will but expose us to Contempt for the one, and Hatred for the other. It is an hard matter for him to be reverenced by others, who doth not first reverence himself; for he that will prostitute himself by foolish and ridiculous Humours, or by vile and wicked Actions, either Injustice or Intemperance, or Lying, &c. it is impossible but that he must fall under the Scorn of his nearest Relations: And therefore Nabal's Churlishness and Drunkenness, made even wise Abigail to call him Fool, Nabal is his Name, and Folly is with him. But where there is an excellent mixture of Prudence and Piety together, the one to be a Guide, and the other to be an Example, these will make a Man truly awful and reverend, and induce the Wife and the whole Family to esteem, and to imitate him. And thus much for the Duties of the Husband towards the Wife.

Let us next consider the Duties of the Wife towards the Husband, and they are these which follow.

First; Subjection and Obedience: And this is required from them as absolutely and peremptorily as unto Christ himself; Ephes. 5.22. Wives submit your selves unto your own Husbands, as unto the Lord. And again, ver. 24. Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ; so let the Wives be unto their own Husbands, in every thing. And not only doth the Apostle give Authority and Command for it, but inforceth it by sundry Reasons. As,

1st. The Woman was made out of the Man, and therefore ought to be subject unto him, 1 Corinth. 11.3, 8. The Head of the Woman is the Man; for the Man is not of the Woman, p. 284but the Woman of the Man: She is Bone of his Bone, and Flesh of his Flesh; and therefore ought to pay him the Homage of Obedience and Subjection for those Materials of her Being, which she first received of him.

2ly. Because the Woman was made for the Man, and therefore ought to be subject to him: So in the next Verse, Neither was the Man created for the Woman, but the Woman for the Man. She owes her Being to the Man's Necessities and Convenience; and the great End of her Creation, next to the Glory of God, was that she might be helpful and profitable to Man; Gen. 2.18. It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him: And therefore having received their Beings for the sake of Man, they ought to be subject unto him.

3ly. Another Reason which the Apostle gives, is taken from the Priority of the Man's Creation, 1 Tim. 2.12, 13. I suffer not a Woman to usurp Authority over the Man; for Adam was first formed, and then Eve: And therefore in the same Rank of Creatures, it is but fit that he should be first in Dignity, who was first in Nature. And,

4ly. Because by the occasion of the Woman, Sin entred into the World: So ver. 14. Adam was not deceived, but the Woman being deceived, was in the Transgression. And therefore it is but fit and just that she who made all Mankind disobedient against God, should her self be made subject and obedient unto Man. And this Sentence we find inflicted upon her as a Punishment for her Transgression, Gen. 3.16. Thy desire shall be to thy Husband, and he shall rule over thee. Not as though there would have been no Subjection due from her to Man, if Sin had not entred into the World by her means, for the Reasons before alledged do manifestly prove the contrary; but that now her Subjection is a Curse; and whereas before it would have been easy and pleasing unto her, now it is become burdensome and grievous; Man being by Sin made more humoursome, and harder to p. 285be pleased, and she being made less able and willing to do it, God justly and righteously punishing her, by imposing on her a Work which she her self hath made irksome and difficult. And let me add to these Reasons of the Apostle,

5. That the Man's Titles do imply Superiority and Authority over the Wife: Such as Lord, 1 Pet. 3.6. Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. He is likewise called the Head and Guide of his Wife, 1 Cor. 11.3. Prov. 2.17.

6. The Husband represents Christ, the Wife the Church, and that in this very particular of Superiority and Subjection: And therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the Wife be to her own Husband.

And thus we see their Subjection abundantly proved, both by natural and spiritual Arguments.

And in token of this Subjection the Apostle tells us, 1 Cor. 11.10. that the Woman was to have Power over her Head, because of the Angels. Which place, especially the latter Clause of it, is diversly interpreted. But I think all agree in this, That this Power which they were to have on their Heads was a Veil or Covering, which at other times, but most especially in the Congregation, Women ought to wear on their Heads; and which in the Primitive Times covered not only their Heads, but all their Face, as a Guard to their Modesty, and a Screen to keep off loose and wanton Eyes. And this Veil is called Power, to signify that they were under the Power and Authority of their Husbands. But the Men were uncovered in their Assemblies, as the Apostle tells us, ver. 4. to signify that they had nothing over them, but were superiour to all visible Creatures, and subject only unto God. This Power, or Veil, Women were to wear because of the Angels. Not as**Propter Angelos, scil. quos legimus à Deo & Coelo excidisse ob concupiscentiam foeminarum — Debet ergo adumbrari facies tam periculosa quae us{que} ad Coelum scandala jaculata est. Tertul. de Virg vel num. 7. Tertullian did grosly conceive from that mistaken Text, Gen. 6.2. to hide their Beauty from the sight and inspection of Angels (for what Veil could do that, or how can Angels be affected with Corporal Beauty?) But either by p. 286Angels, are meant the Ministers of the Church, before whom they are to shew Modesty and Bashfulness; or else perhaps the Celestial Angels, who are always present and attending in the Assemblies and Congregations of the Faithful; and therefore Women should not do any thing unbecoming and unseemly before them: Or lastly, because the Angels themselves do reverence Christ, who is their Head, and in token of their Subjection unto him,Isa. 6.2.Isa 6:2 are said to veil and cover their Faces: And therefore Women also in token of their Subjection to their Husbands, who are their Heads, as Christ is of the Church, should likewise cover their Heads and Faces with a Veil. So we find Gen. 24.65. that when Rebekah saw Isaac coming towards her, she took a Veil and covered her self, as a sign of her Subjection to him.

And this Subjection is recommended unto them by the Example of holy Women, to whose Practice they ought to conform their own: So 1 Pet. 3.6. Holy Women who trusted in God, being in Subjection to their own Husbands. And St. Paul gives it in Charge to Titus, to exhort Wives that they be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own Husbands, Tit. 2.5. And himself exhorts them to the same Duty, Coloss. 3.18. Wives, submit your selves unto your own Husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

These Commands are so many and so express, that there is scarce any other Duty which the Scripture doth urge with so much Instance and Earnestness, with such pressing Reasons and inforcing Motives, as this of the Wives Obedience. The Duty is frequently exprest, Submit your selves; and the manner of performing it, Be subject as to the Lord; submit in the Lord; which Phrase carries in it three things.

A Motive.

A Direction. And,

A Limitation.

p. 287First; A Motive to Obedience: It is done to the Lord. And tho through the forward and peevish Humours of the Husband, they may have no other Encouragement to observe and obey him; yet to the conscientious Wife this will be Encouragement enough, that the Lord will accept and reward their Obedience; their heavenly Husband Jesus Christ will account it as a Service done unto him. For Marriage being a Type of our Mystical Union unto Christ, he especially is concerned that the Duties of that Relation be performed so, as to bear some Proportion to that Spiritual Mystery.

Secondly; A Direction how to perform it; it must be as to the Lord. She must obey her Husband not only with a design of pleasing him, but the Lord Christ. For were it not that God commands it from them as part of their Duty and Obedience to him, it might sometimes seem very fit that humoursom and self-will'd Men should be crost, and that those who have no other Reason but their Will, should fail of that Observance and Obsequiousness which they tyrannically expect. But then consider, it is not the Husband only that commands, but the Lord, and the Wife must eye his Soveraign Authority, through the Authority of her Husband; and then it will appear, that tho there be no necessity in what is required, yet there is a necessity she should perform what is required.

Thirdly; The words import likewise a Limitation of her Obedience. The Wife must submit and obey, but in the Lord, and as to the Lord: That is, only in lawful things, wherein by her Obedience to her Husband, she may not offend against God. And excepting this, in all other cases the Wife is absolutely bound to obey the Will and Commands of her Husband to the utmost of her Power. 'Tis true he abuseth his Authority, if he command what is unnecessary and unfit; but yet neither her Unwillingness to perform them, nor her judging them inconvenient to be p. 288done, can excuse her, or exempt her from the Obligation that lies upon her of a ready Obedience; nothing can do this but the Unlawfulness or Impossibility of what is injoyned. In all other things, altho they be never so contrary to her Humour and Inclination, she is bound by the Law of God and Nature to obey, and to submit, if not her Judgment, yet at least her Practice to the Will of her Husband, whether she think it fit or unfit to be done, as long as it is not unlawful; unless she can meekly perswade her Husband to revoke his Command, she is obliged to perform it. Otherwise when the Apostle commands Wives to be subject to their Husbands in every thing, it would signify no more than in every thing which they think fit; and this certainly is no greater a Subjection than every Husband would readily yield to his Wife, and falls infinitely short of the Apostle's Intent, who requires this Subjection of the Wife to the Husband in every thing, as the Church is subject unto Christ; which certainly is not in every thing she thinks fit; neither ought she to take upon her to judg, or reject his Laws, but to fulfil them.

This therefore is the first and most comprehensive Duty of a Wife, Subjection and Obedience.

Secondly; Another Duty of the Wife towards her Husband, is Respect and Reverence of his Person, Ephes. 5.33. Let the Wife see that she reverence her Husband.

Now Reverence consists in two things, Esteem and Fear.

First; She ought to cherish an high Esteem of him, if not for his Gifts and Graces, yet at least for that Relation in which he stands to her, as her Lord, and her Head, superiour to her by God's Appointment and Ordinance: Yea, she must look upon him as that Person whom God out of all the numerous Millions of Mankind, hath particularly chosen and selected for her, and one whom he saw fittest and best to be her Head and Guide.

p. 289Secondly; Another part of Reverence is Fear, not a servile slavish Fear, for that is inconsistent with Love, but an awful and a loving Fear, which will shew it self in two things.

1st. In her Care to please him, indeavouring to conform her Actions to his Inclinations so far forth, as they are not repugnant to the supream Duty which she owes to God; 1 Cor. 7.34. She that is married careth for the things of this World, how she may please her Husband: And therefore she will indeavour how to comport her self in her Speeches, and in her Gestures, and in her whole Demeanour, so as may render her most grateful and most amiable to him.

2dly. In her Joy in pleasing him, and Grief in offending him. Indeed a good Wife should be like a Mirror: A Mirror you know hath no Image of its own, but receives its Stamp and Image from the Face that looks into it; so should a good Wife indeavour to frame her outward Deportment, and her inward Affections, according to her Husband, to rejoice when he rejoiceth, to be sad when he mourns, and to grieve when he is offended; this is that Reverence which Wives owe to their Husbands, thinking highly and honourably of them for their place sake, and indeavouring to avoid and shun whatever may offend them: and therefore those who are cross and vexatious, and either by Clamours and contentious Speeches, or by thwarting and peevish Actions grieve and sadden the Hearts of their Husbands; let them know that they highly provoke the Lord, who hath commanded Reverence and Respect to be paid to the Husband as his Type, and as part of that Reverence and Respect which is due unto himself.

Thirdly; Another Duty of a Wife is Helpfulness to her Husband: she ought indeed to be a Help to him in every thing; to his Soul in furthering his Graces, and wisely and opportunely admonishing him to his Duty, at least by an holy and blameless Conversation; so commending the Gospel p. 290of Christ unto her Husband, that at length he may begin to esteem and reverence that Piety which hath so adorned and qualified his Wife: And what knowest thou, O Wife, whether by such an exemplary Life as this thou mayst save thine Husband, as the Apostle speaks, 1 Cor. 7.16. To his Body, by cherishing and tendering of it; to his good Name, by indeavouring to augment and preserve it, reporting well of him, and silencing and convincing any scandalous Rumours that may be spred abroad concerning him; to his Estate (wherein indeed lies her chief Helpfulness, and which she ought to make her constant and daily Imployment) if she cannot bring in, and get any thing to increase the Stock, yet she ought prudently and frugally to manage what her Husband intrusts her withal, and not to waste it vainly and profusely; for let her know that whatsoever is so spent or wasted is but stolen; and if she shall alienate any thing from her Husband contrary to his consent, either expresly declared, or else upon good grounds supposed to be tacitely granted and allowed, it is no better than Theft. And therefore when we read that Abigail, without the consent of her Husband, took a considerable Present to bestow upon David to divert his ireful Intentions; it may very well be supposed that if Nabal had known, as well as she, the Danger wherein he stood, he would have been as forward to incourage her to do it, as she was ready and willing. And therefore here were good grounds to suppose a tacite and implicite Consent unto the Action. The Husband is the true and only Proprietor of all: and though the Wife hath a Right to all, yet it is only a Right of Use, and not of Dominion; she ought not to dispose of his Estate, or any part of it, contrary to his Mind and Consent; her proper Office is providently and faithfully to manage the Affairs of the Family that are committed to her Over-sight and Care: and therefore in the Description of a good Wife given us at large, Prov. 31. from verse 10, to the end, we p. 291find the whole of it taken up in shewing her Industry and Care in ordering the Affairs of the Family.

Fourthly; Another Duty of the Wife is Modesty, and that both in Apparel and Behaviour.

1st. In Apparel; that it be according to her Place and Rank, not affecting Gaudiness or strange Fashions, nor yet affecting on the contrary a Singularity of Obsoleteness and outworn Antiquity; for Pride may be equally shewn either way: The best Temper is for them not to wear Garments to be taken notice of. The Apostle gives them this Rule; 1 Pet. 3.3, 4. Let not the Woman's adorning be the outward adorning, of plaiting the Hair, and of wearing of Gold, or of putting on of Apparel: But let it be the hidden Man of the Heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit, which in the sight of God is of great Price. And so St. Paul, 1 Tim. 2.9, 10. I will that Women adorn themselves with modest Apparel, with Shamefacedness and Sobriety; not with broidered Hair, or Gold, or Pearls, or costly array; but (which becomes Women professing Godliness) with good Works. This indeed is the best Ornament, that which makes them lovely in the Sight of God, and that too which makes them esteemed by all sober and serious Persons. Indeed I do not think that costly Array is in either of these places absolutely forbidden: Doubtless, Gold and Jewels may lawfully be worn, if we keep our selves within our Rank and Quality, and fashion our selves to those who are most sober in that rank, rather than to those who are most light and vain: but the Prohibition is to be interpreted either by the Degree, i. e. be not excessive nor vain in your Apparel, which happens when the Habit exceeds either the Quality or the Ability of those that wear it; or else it is to be interpreted by a Comparison, let not the adorning be the outward adorning of wearing of Gold, or putting on of Apparel; that is, study not so much how to set off your selves in your Garments, as how to p. 292adorn your selves with a meek and quiet Spirit, with Sobriety, Modesty, and good Works, which is the richest and most beautiful Robe you can wear.

2dly. As she must be modest in her Apparel, so in her Behaviour and Deportment; her Countenance, Gesture, and Speeches, must be all fitted to shew the inward Calmness and Serenity of her Mind; and therefore imperious, clamorous, and turbulent Women, who at every Word spit Passion and Poison, are a Torment and Vexation to themselves, and more to their Husbands: The Contentions of a Wife, saith the wise Man, are a continual dropping, Prov. 19.13. And it is such a dropping, as will at last eat and fret through his very Heart, though it were made of Stone.

These therefore are the Duties of the Wife.

There are likewise common Duties to be performed by both mutually: I shall only name them to you. Such are fervent Prayers to God both severally and together, that he would be pleased to pour down his Blessings and his Graces upon them, and give them Wisdom to demean themselves towards each other aright: Conjugal Love, Communion of themselves, of their Estates, of their Habitations, a mutual bearing one anothers Weakness, with prudent and pious Indeavours to heal and remove them; the Nurture and Education of Children, the Government of their Family committed to their charge, for whom they are to provide not only what is requisite for their corporal Good, but much more for their spiritual; in as much as their Souls are much more worth than their Bodies; and therefore they ought to observe constant Family-Duties, and make choice of honest and religious Servants, and as far as in them lies, keep out the Infection of evil Company from entring within their Doors, as carefully as they would the Plague. And whilst they thus live, and thus love, they have good reason to believe, that as they are joined in a near Relation p. 293each to other, so they are both joined in a near Relation to the Lord Jesus, who is the Husband of his Church, and all the Faithful in it; and when Death shall dissolve their Marriage-Union, and separate them one from the other, it is only to bring them to live for ever with that Husband from whom they can never be separated nor divorced.

And thus much for the mutual Duties of Husbands and Wives.

Let us in the next place proceed to consider the Duties of another Family-Relation, and that is between Masters and their Servants; for these also are comprehended under this Commandment, Honour thy Father and thy Mother, siince there is a confessed Superiority of the one over the other; and upon that account (as I not long since told you) Servants have honoured their Masters with the Stile and Compellation of Father: Thus 2 Kings 5.13. When those prudent Servants sought to mitigate the Rage of proud Naaman, who thought his Greatness too much slighted by the Prophet, in that he would only cure, and not complement him; they reverently call him Father; his Servants came near and spake unto him, and said, My Father, &c.

And here, not to discourse of Dominion and Servitude, whether the Original and Foundation of either be in Nature and Institution, nor of the Difference of Servants by War, Purchase, or Compact; I shall only speak of what is more immediately pertinent to my Subject, and what may be more instructive and profitable to you, viz. The mutual and reciprocal Duties that Masters and Servants ought to perform each to other.

The Duties that equally concern them both, consist in the general, either in the right chusing, or in the right using one another.

I shall begin with the Servant's Duty, and that first as to the choice of his Master.

p. 294He ought where his choice is left him free, to chuse a faithful Master, such an one as fears God, and will be willing to promote the spiritual Good and Salvation of his Soul; with such certainly he shall best serve, who do themselves serve God; where he shall have nothing but reasonable and lawful Commands to obey, and pious Examples to imitate. Many poor ignorant Souls have had cause for ever to bless God, that his Providence hath cast them into such Families, where they have received the first Knowledg, and the first Savour of Godliness. But if the Servant be before-hand knowing and religious, what comfort can it be to him to live, where there is a constant Neglect of Holy Duties, nothing but Excess and Riot, and Profaneness, and abusing of the Name of God, and scoffing at his Service and Servants? Certainly Necessity should hardly induce him, much less Choice lead him to be a Servant in a Family, where the Devil is the Master of it. The Psalmist sorely complains, that he was forced to take up his Abode among wicked and ungodly Men, Psal. 120.5. Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the Tents of Kedar.

And as it cannot but be exceeding burdensom and tedious to thee, and cut thy Soul to the very Quick, to be at the command of those who rebel against thy God, to hear his holy Name blasphemed, his Ways, and Worship, and People derided, which are dearer to thee than thy very Life; so is it very dangerous, and full of hazard. It is hard to keep Zeal, and the Sparks of Grace and Divine Love alive, when thou hast the greatest Helps to it that can be administred. How wilt thou then preserve them alive, when thou hast so many quench-coals about thee, when the Flouds of Ungodliness shall compass and surround thee about? Either thou must dissemble thy Piety, (and that is the ready way to lose it, for Grace is like Fire, stifle and keep it close, and it will certainly die) or else thou must put thy self upon the sore Temptation of being mocked and scorned for p. 295it: Thou knowest not how far thou mayest forsake God, and thy first Ways for compliance sake. It is the hardest thing in the World to be religious alone, and to keep up Zeal and Affection for God, when all that we converse with are Wicked and Ungodly. Vice is the most contagious Plague that is; and it will be a very great wonder if those with whom thou familiarly conversest, with whom thou eatest, and drinkest, and sleepest, do not at last infect thee. We see holy Joseph, by living long in the Egyptian Court, had learn'd some of the Court-Fashions, and could readily swear by the Life of Pharaoh.

Venture not thy self therefore into those Familes, where the Governours are either corrupt and erroneous in their Principles, or lewd and dissolute in their Conversation; for it will be hard for thee to swim against the Stream both of Example and Authority. Or if thou shouldst be able to bear up against both, it will cost thee more Pains and Strugling to do it, than all the temporal Advantages thou canst there reap, will be worth to thee.

This is the first Duty that belongs to a Servant, viz. That he chuse a pious and religious Master.

Secondly; After thou hast made thy choice, and art entertained, consider how thou oughtest to demean thy self towards thy Master.

And here, if by what thou shalt hear thy Duty seem very hard unto thee, yet it is no harder than it hath pleased God to make it; yea, and possibly not so hard as thy Master's. For he is bound to give an account for thee unto God; but so art not thou for him. Thy Miscarriages shall be severely revenged upon him, if they have been through his default of needful Instruction, or of Care and Discipline; but so shall not his upon thee. And therefore in this respect, all Inferiours have a mighty Advantage to sweeten the Meanness and Lowness of their Condition, that they shall p. 296not be punished for the Sins of their Superiours, but Superiours may for the Sins of their Inferiours; yea, and sometimes for their due Obedience too, when they command them things, though not unlawful, yet unfit; for that may be a Sin in a Superiour to command, which is a Duty for an Inferiour to obey, when commanded: And certainly in the end, his task will be found easiest, who is to obey, rather than his who commands.

Now here, First; The chief and comprehensive Duty of a Servant, is Obedience unto the Commands of his Master. For this is absolutely injoined them, Col. 3.22. Servants, obey in all things your Masters according to the Flesh: And again, Ephes. 6.5. Servants, be obedient to them that are your Masters according to the Flesh. In all things that are not dishonest, and contrary to the Laws of God, there Obedience is required; yea, although in many things their Commands should be impertinent, or too imperious and tyrannical, yet Servants in such Cases are no more exempted from Obedience, than their Masters shall be from Punishment, for the unreasonableness of their Commands they shall give an account unto God, their Master; and thou for detracting thy Obedience both to them and him.

Secondly; Another Duty is, a patient suffering their Reproofs and Corrections; yea, and so patient are they to be, as not so much as to answer again: Tit. 2.9. Exhort Servants to please their Masters well in all things, not answering again. So strictly hath Religion tied them up to Obedience, that they ought not to reply against a Rebuke, nor to derogate so much from the Authority of their Masters, as to murmur at it: And therefore to use Violence against them, is so high a Degree of Disobedience, that it approacheth near to Sacriledg; yea, and this quiet and silent Submission, is required also not only where the Servant hath given just cause for Reproof and Correction, but although he suffer p. 297from the groundless Rage and Passion of his Master. See 1 Pet. 2.18, 19, 20. Servants be subject to your own Masters, with all fear, not only to the Good and Gentle, but to the Froward also: for this is Thank-worthy, if a Man for Conscience towards God endure Grief, suffering wrongfully. For what Glory is it, if when ye be buffeted for your Faults, ye take it patiently? but if when you do well, ye suffer for it, and take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. See here with what Pressingness the Apostle injoins them this Duty. And indeed a Duty so hard, so contrary unto Flesh and Blood, had need to be prest home upon your Consciences: You ought to be patient not only when you are justly reproved and corrected for your Faults; but if the distempered Rage of a Master should break forth without any Reason, or contrary to all Reason; if he should reprove and buffet you, not for your Faults, but for your Duty, you ought to take it patiently; and not to strike again, no not so much as to answer again; that is, not to answer with Taunts and Invectives, but calmly, and at fit and convenient Seasons, to present unto him the Justice of your Actions, and the Reasons that moved you to them. I must confess, that of all things which belong unto the Duty of a Servant, this is the most difficult; and there is nothing that can sweeten and facilitate it, but only conscience of their Duty, and the Acceptation and Reward which they shall find with God for it; and therefore they had need pray for a great measure of Self-denial, and Mortification of those Passions which will be apt to struggle in them upon this Occasion, and by an Eye of Faith look up to God to support them, esteeming it a Chastisement inflicted upon them by their Heavenly Master; and that, be their Spirits never so high, will enable them to undergo it without any more murmuring than they would use against God himself when he immediately afflicts them.

p. 298Thirdly; Another Duty of Servants is, a reverential Fear of their Masters, Malachy 1.6. A Son honoureth his Father, and a Servant his Master. If I be a Father, where is mine Honour? if I be a Master, where is my Fear? And the Apostle hath commanded Servants to be obedient to their Masters with Fear and Trembling, Eph. 6.5. And again, 1 Pet. 2.18. Servants be subject to your Masters with all fear.

Which Fear is to be expressed by them in their Speeches and Actions. In their Speeches, by forbearing any Clamours or irreverent Muttering in their Presence. Their Words must be few and humble, giving them all those respectful Titles that belong justly to their Place and Quality. Yea, and they must not only speak fair to them whilst they are present, but speak well of them when absent, begetting in others as good an Opinion of them as they may, concealing their Infirmities, and what they cannot speak truly of them to their Credit, therein to be silent. They ought likewise to testify their Reverence in their Actions, comporting themselves with all the Expressions of Modesty and Respect before them, and readily doing not only what their Masters shall expresly command them, but what they judg will be pleasing and acceptable to them; and therefore we have that Expression, Psal. 123.2. The Eyes of Servants look unto the Hands of their Masters, and the Eyes of a Maiden unto the Hands of her Mistress. Intimating to us, that good Servants will not only readily obey when they have a verbal and oral Command, but will be ready to take the least sign, the least beck from their Masters, and strive not only to fulfil, but even to prevent their Commands by the readiness and respect of their Obedience.

Fourthly; Another Duty of a Servant is, diligence in his Master's Affairs. He ought to set his Mind to them, and imploy his time in them. For he is not faithful, who is negligent; and he steals from his Master, who doth not use his p. 299Strength, and spend his time in his Service. Every slothful Servant is a Thief; and so much Advantage as he hinders his Master of by his Negligence and Idleness, of so much he doth but rob him. And therefore in the Parable of the Talents, when the Master takes an Account of every Man's Improvements, he calls that Servant who had not used his Talent, nor been industrious in his Service, not only slothful, but wicked, Thou wicked and slothful Servant. Matth. 25.26.

Fifthly; Another Duty is, Fidelity and Trust in what is committed to their charge; not defrauding their Masters, nor purloining from them the least Value, but serving them with all Faithfulness and Integrity; so Tit. 2.9, 10. Exhort Servants to be obedient to their Masters, not purloining, but shewing all good Fidelity.

And unto this appertains carefulness in preserving their Masters Estate, not wasting or consuming it either by riotous Living, or Negligence. Doubtless many Men have sunk and decayed under the unfaithfulness or carelessness of their Servants, either stealing from them, or prodigally wasting what was theirs. Let such know, that every Farthing stands upon account in God's Debt-book; unless they make amends to their Masters, if ever Providence shall enable them to do it, they must make a punctual Payment to Divine Justice, which is infinitely the more dreadful Creditor.

Sixthly; As Trust in Affairs, so likewise Truth in Speech is another Duty of a Servant. They ought to approve themselves such, that their Masters may repose themselves upon their Words. And as Servants are the Hands and the Eyes of their Masters, so they ought to make no other report unto them, than what is as certain as though they had touch'd it and seen it themselves. We read of Gehazi, that when he was returned from taking a Bribe of Naaman, he stood very demurely before his Master, with a Lie ready p. 300prepared in his Mouth. Whence comest thou, Gehazi? Thy Servant, saith he, went no whither. But this Lie cost him a Leprosy that stuck incurable to him and to all his Posterity after. I am loth to be uncharitable, but I much doubt, that if the same Judgment were inflicted upon every Servant that comes to his Master with a lying Excuse, every Family would be infected, and very few in this Relation escape that loathsom Contagion. Certainly it is only a cowardly, base, slavish Fear that induceth one to this vile Sin of lying. And what? Wilt thou be more afraid to offend thy Master by confessing a Fault, than to offend thy God by committing another to conceal it? What else is this, but to heap up Sin upon Sin, and to make a single Trangression to become two thereby? A Sin the most odious unto God, who is Truth it self, and usually most detestable to Men, and with difficulty pardonable by them; for it imputes a great deal of Folly and Ignorance to them, as such who are so weak that they cannot find out the matter. And therefore the Psalmist saith,Psal. 101.7Ps 101:7 He that telleth Lies, shall not tarry in my sight.

Seventhly; Another Duty of Servants (and it is the last I shall mention) is to serve their Masters with good Will, and in singleness of their Hearts; not grudgingly, as of Constraint, for that is slavish, but readily and chearfully as unto the Lord. Not as Men-pleasers only with Eye-service, being no longer diligent than their Masters Eye is upon them, but careless and negligent as soon as his back is turned; but as the Servants of Christ, doing the Will of God from the Heart, as the Apostle commands and directs them, Ephes. 6.5, 6, 7.

Now to perform Service unto their Masters as unto God and Christ, imports these two things.

First; A serious Consideration that God is concern'd in every thing they do, as the Object of it; so Col. 3.23. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord. And therefore p. 301Servants are commanded to have Respect, not so much unto Men as unto God. This is the way to ennoble thy Service, be it never so mean; it is God whom thou servest in them, that God whom the greatest Princes and Potentates of the Earth ought to serve. And be the Imployment what it will, yet the Greatness and Glory of that Master to whom thou dost it, puts an Honour and Dignity upon it.

Secondly; To do Service as unto the Lord, implies thy doing of it upon this very account, because God hath commanded it. Be the Action what it will be, yet if you can truly say that you do it, not only because your Master hath commanded it, but because God, his Master and yours, hath laid the Authority of his Command and Injunction upon you to obey him, this prefers a Man's Service unto God, and makes it an Action done truly unto him.

And this may be a great Encouragement unto Servants, (for indeed their Condition generally wants Incouragement) that tho their Imployments may be the meaner and inferiour Drudgeries of this Life, and those possibly not very well accepted by their harsh and froward Masters; yet be their Work never so painful and laborious, whilst they perform it out of Conscience to God's Command, it is accounted as done to him, and not to them; they are his Servants more than theirs, and he will kindly accept and bountifully reward them.

We have thus considered the Duties which Servants owe unto their Masters. Let us now proceed to those Duties which Masters owe reciprocally to their Servants. And those consist (as before I noted) either in the right chusing, or in the right using them.

The Master's first Duty is a prudent Care and Circumspection into the Choice of his Servants. And indeed this is a matter of great moment, and that wherein the Happiness p. 302and Comfort, or else the Misery and Trouble of a Family doth very much depend.

Now there are two Qualifications in a Servant, that ought chiefly to be regarded in the making choice of him.

The one is Ability to discharge his place, and manage those Affairs which you commit to his Care and Trust.

The other is Conscientiousness and Piety in doing faithful Service, not to thee only, but to God, the common Master of you both.

And indeed this latter is of more Importance, and of greater Concernment to thee than the former: For when thou entertainest a godly Person, tho possibly not so sufficient for thy Employment as some others, it will be a Commendation of thy Charity, that thou maintainest one of God's Servants in thy Family. But when thou entertainest a lewd profane Wretch, only because he is able to dispatch his Work, thou maintainest one of the Devil's Slaves, and takest into thine House a sworn Servant to the mortallest Enemy thou hast in the World, which is justly reproachable both with Folly and Impiety.

Yet how little is this usually regarded! I know it is the Custom of too many, that if they can light on those whom they think proper for their Affairs, never inquire what their Principles or what their Practices he as to Religion, whether Popish, or Factious; whether for the Mass, or the Meeting; but chuse them as they would do Beasts of Burden, the most strong and able; and account it the only Property of good Servants to be able to perform their Office, and willing to drudg as much as they would have them. But let them know that they make a very unwise and a very sinful Choice. For such Servants will assuredly make much more Work than they dispatch, and leave more Filth in the House than they cleanse out. Tho they be never so able and fit for their Imployments, yet think not such an one fit for thee, who refuseth to serve that God p. 303whom thou thy self art bound to serve; and believe it to be a Design of the Devil to help thee to one who shall do thy Work, but undo thy Family. One vile and wicked Servant is enough to corrupt a whole Houshold; for assure your selves they come there to do the Devil more Service than you, and their lewd Examples and Presumptions will seduce and draw others into the same Excess with themselves. For to this I impute the Rise and Growth of that general Profaneness that is too reigning in most Families, especially in those whose Quality or Estates require a numerous Attendance; they are commonly too careless what Ruffian and debauch'd Servants they entertain; and their Children (which else might be the Ornament and Glory of the Nation) conversing with these, learn from them those first Rudiments of Vice, which afterward their Condition and Wealth enables them to perfect into consummate Villany and Devilism. Here they learnt the first Taste of Excess and Intemperance; here they were taught the first Syllables of Oaths, and instructed how to lisp out Curses and Obscenity, and according to their Proficiency, applauded by these impious Wretches for their gentile Docility and Aptness. Such Servants as these should be rooted out, not only as the Pests of particular Families, but their Influence reaches farther, even to corrupt those who may hereafter have an Influence on the State and Common-wealth; for they serve only to give Youth the first Relishes of Sloth, and Pleasure, and Vice, which by woful Improvements grow at last to be inveterate Habits, and make them only a Shame to their Families, and a Curse to the Kingdom.

So it is proportionable in all meaner Families; where the Servants be wicked, the Children ordinarily will be more ruled by their Examples and Flatteries, than by their Parents Authority and Commands. And therefore it highly concerns you to make a prudent Choice at p. 304first; or if therein you have been mistaken, as soon as you can to rid your Houses of those Vermin and Caterpillars, which else will destroy the verdant and budding Hopes of your Children; and to bring in those who are sober, staid, and godly, who will make it their great Care, first, to serve God, and then you. Take the Resolution of the Royal Psalmist for your Pattern and Direction, Psal. 101.6, 7. Mine Eyes shall be upon the Faithful of the Land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me: he that worketh Deceit, shall not dwell within my House; he that telleth Lies, shall not tarry in my sight. Certainly those will be the best Servants to us, who are faithful Servants to God; or if they should be less fit for thy occasions, yet they will sufficiently earn their Wages, tho they only pray for thee. It is said of Joseph, Gen. 39.5. when he was brought into Potiphar's House to be his Servant, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's House for Joseph's sake: and the Blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the House, and in the Field. Godly Servants bring a Blessing along with them to the Families where they reside; and having such a Servant, thou hast a Friend in Court, one that can do thee kind Offices in Heaven through his Interest at the Throne of Grace. And therefore as it is thy Duty, so it is thy Wisdom and thy Concern to make choice of such; these best know their Duty; these will make most Conscience of performing it; in their Integrity and Faithfulness thy Heart may repose, and they will intitle thee and thy Family to these Blessings which attended them.

That's the first Duty, respecting the Choice of Servants.

Secondly; Another general Duty of Masters is, rightly to use them when they are chosen: And that consists likewise in two things,

Government, and

Provision.

p. 305First; Their Government ought to be prudent and discreet, such as may maintain their Authority, and yet not be sowr'd into Tyranny: And therefore it should be a Master's Care to demean himself gravely and awfully before his Servants; his very Countenance and Comportment should be enough to beget Reverence in them. But when the Master is vain and light, the Servants will grow, first familiar, and then contemptuous.

Government consists in two things, Command and Correction: But that which doth most of all tend to make both effectual, is good Example.

First, therefore, a Master ought wisely to command and enjoyn his Servants what they should do. And herein is required a great deal of Skill and Prudence. For tho Servants ought not to inquire into the Reasons of all that their Masters bid them do, yet doubtless it is a very difficult matter for them to bring themselves to do that which is apparently vain and ridiculous; and by imposing such things upon them, the Master will much hazard the loss, or diminution of his Authority; and therefore in laying his Commands upon them, he ought to have regard both to the Manner and Matter of them.

As to the manner; He ought not to command with Rigour, with ill Language and Revilings, as is the Custom of too many, who when they enjoyn their Servants any thing, preface their Commands with a Reproach, which tends to nothing but to discourage them, to make them hate the Imployment, and him that setteth them about it; and by this means we make our Servants to become our Enemies.Macrob. Saturn. l. 1. c. 11. The Apostle therefore hath given this Caution; Ephes. 6.9. Ye Masters, do the same things to your Servants, forbearing Threatning. Nor yet should they prostitute their Authority by any submiss Intreaties; for it is an Evil which the Earth it self cannot bear, when a Servant reigneth and bears sway over his Master, as the wise Man observes, Prov. 30.22. p. 306But there should be such an equal Mixture of Mildness with Gravity, and Love with Authority, that the Servant should not only be compelled, but inclined by it unto Obedience. Indeed there is required much Evenness of Temper in him that would make a good Master; not to be hurried with violent and causeless Passions, nor to be swayed by irrational Humours; for nothing doth more detract from Authority than Humorsomness; because Servants not having any standing measure of what will please such a Master, will at last grow careless of it, and despise the Commands of him who is as much a Servant as they are Servants; yea, a very Slave to his Passions and Humours, than which there cannot be a baser and a viler Slavery: and therefore those who are Servants to fickle and capricious Masters, though they may seem very obsequious to them, yet cannot but secretly despise them: for Power may indeed make their Commands to be obeyed; but it is Reason only, and Gravity, that can make them venerable and reverend.

Secondly; As a Master ought to respect the Manner how he commands, so likewise the Matter what he commands. And in this take these three Rules.

1st. He ought to command nothing but what is lawful to be performed; for both they and their Servants have a supream Lord and Master in the highest Heavens, whom they both ought to fear and obey. His Service is no farther due to thee, than as it is consistent with the Service of God; and when thou commandest any thing contrary thereunto, thou art not a Master, but a Tempter. It is true he is bound in Conscience to observe thee, yet it is only in those things wherein the Law of God hath left his Conscience free; and therefore where the great and universal Lord hath laid a Prohibition upon him, his Obedience is superseded, and thy Commands do only bind thy self to Guilt, not him to Observance: He is bound to work for thee, but not to lie, or to steal, or to cheat for thee: and if thou art so p. 307wicked as to injoyn him any such thing, it is no uncivil Answer to say to thee, as the Apostles did, Acts 5.29. We ought rather to obey God than Men.

2dly. A Master's Commands must be not only lawful, but possible: to command things impossible, is the heighth of Folly. And therefore when Abraham commanded his Servant to procure a Wife for his Son; he prudently answers, What if she will not come? upon which Supposition his Master acquits him from the Oath of God that was betwixt them; Gen. 24.8. If the Woman will not be willing to follow thee, then shalt thou be clear of this Oath. To command things impossible to be effected, will but detract from the Master's Authority, and lessen his Esteem, and cause the Servant to think his own Discretion to be a better Guide for his Actions, than his Master's; yea although the thing be not simply impossible in it self, but only to the Servant, considering either his Inability or Imployments; or if it be hugely inconvenient, or prejudicial, or unseasonable, the Master ought not in Conscience or Prudence to exact it. For, as to command things unlawful, is Impiety, and things impossible, Folly; so to require things unreasonable and prejudicial, is mere Tyranny: And as such it is recorded in Pharoah and his Task-masters, who to weary and wear out the Israelites, exacted the whole tale of Bricks, but would not allow Straw to make them.

3dly. A Master's Command ought not to be Vain and Impertinent; but he should have some swaying Reason, though perhaps not always fit to be communicated to the Servant why he commands such things from him, Reason sufficient to satisfy his own Judgment, and his own Conscience.

These three Rules ought to be observed by Masters; they ought to command nothing that is unlawful to be done; nothing but what is possible; nothing but what is profitable and useful. And this is the first Part of a Master's p. 308Government, viz. Prudent commanding his Servants.

Secondly, It is the Master's Duty to correct those Servants that are stubborn and disobedient. The wise Man tells us, Prov. 29.19. There is a Servant who will not be corrected with words; for although he understand, he will not answer.

Yet here Prudence must be the measure of what Discipline is fit for them, according to their Age, Disposition, and the Nature of their Offence. A Reproof will work more effectually with some than Stripes; and those who have ingenuous Spirits, though in a servile Condition, will either be discouraged, or exasperated by a too-rigorous Usage. And God hath expresly interposed his Will in this Particular, Levit. 25.34. Thou shalt not rule over him with Rigour, but shalt fear thy God. Indeed no Correction is to be inflicted on them out of Passion and Revenge: But either,

1st. For Reformation and Amendment, that they may be the more wary for the future; Or,

2ly. For Example's sake, to terrify others from the same, or the like Offences.Plato apud Lactant. de irâ Dei, c. 18. Even an Heathen could say, Nemo sapens punit, quia peccatum est, sed ne pelletur: No wise Man doth punish, because the Offence is already committed, (for then it comes unseasonably and too late) but that it might not be committed again.