will be chargeable to you, namely, the children that are the heritage of the Lord; but the Lord that doth increase the children which are his heritage, he will take care for his heritage, whether that murmuring complaining mind against poor people of having so many children, you relieving them or no, he will take care for his heritage. Blessed be his name for ever. Amen.

'Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A Father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.' Psalm lxviii. The sayings of old, which we have heard, and known, and our fathers have told us, we will not hide them from their children; showing to the generations to come the praise of the Lord.' 'Psalm lxxviii. And David saith, 'Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children, and let the beauty of the Lord be upon us,' &c. Psalm xc. 16, 17.

See what heavenly love he had to children, God's heritage. So they are not of David's mind, who think that they shall be undone by maintaining of poor people's children, which children are God's heritage. And David saith, 'Ye are blessed of the Lord, which made heaven and earth; the heavens, even the heavens are the Lords, but the earth he hath given to the children of men.' Psalm cxv. 16. And the Lord saith to David, 'If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony, that I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon thy throne for evermore.' Psalm cxxxii. 12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise thy God, O Sion; for he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children with thee.' These are they that keep in the covenant, and the testimony that God doth give them, that have his blessings.

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And you may see the tenderness of Joseph to his father, and to his children, and to his children's children, in the days of the famine, when they were in Egypt. Gen. xlv. Here he was tender of children, which are the heritage of the Lord. And the Lord said, Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God of Israel.' Exod. xxxiv. 23. Here you may see the care the Lord takes, that children, which are his heritage, should be acquainted with him, which ought to be the duty of all parents. And the Lord said, 'Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; especially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, (viz. Moses,) gather me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

Here you may see the care of the Lord, to his people, and how they are commanded to teach their children; yea, their sons' sons; that the children that are God's heritage might be instructed by their parents in the things of God. Deut. iv. 10.

And in the Old Testament the Lord God said, 'Thou shalt do no manner of work on the sabbath day, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor the stranger which is within thy gate.' They were all to rest on the sabbath day, in the old covenant; so are all the believers, whether they be masters, or mistresses, sons, daughters, or strangers, to rest in Christ in the new covenant; for he that believeth is entered into Christ the rest, and ceaseth from his own works, as God did from his. Know therefore this day, and consider in thine heart,' mark, in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. So with the spirit of God ye may know him in heaven, and know him in earth. And 'thou shalt keep therefore his statutes and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with thee, and thy children after thee, that thou mayst prolong thy days upon the earth.' Here again you may see what care the Lord takes for his people and his children. Deut. xxxix. 40.

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And you may see in Nehemiah v. 5. how they complained of them and their children; their sons and daughters were brought into bondage 'because of going astray from the Lord's commandments.' And in Nehemiah ix. how they had rebelled against the good spirit of the Lord, that he gave them to instruct them.' And is not this the cause now that christians are in confusion; for rebelling against God's good spirit, though they may make an outward profession of the new testament, as the Jews did of the old?

Thus saith the Lord in Isa. xlix. Behold! I lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people;' and is not this standard Christ? And they shall bring their sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.' And where do they carry their children, and their sons and daughters? Is it not to Christ, who teacheth them and blesseth them? The Lord saith, I will make all my mountains a highway, and my highway shall be exalted.' And is not God and Christ's highway his light? That is the path of the just, and highway to the perfect day. And kings shall be nursing fathers, and queens nursing mothers,' &c. And that will be a happy day when they come to nurse Christ's chickens, doves, lambs, babes, and little children; then persecution will cease for not taking oaths and swearing, and for not paying tithes, and for not going to the worship at 'temples made with hands; and then Christ's doctrine will be obeyed; who saith, Swear not at all, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay,'

&c. And then every one that hath received freely from Christ, will 'give it freely,' as he commands; then every one will know their 'Bodies are the temples of the living God;' and then every one will walk in the light,' God's highway, which shall be exalted; and in it they 'have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Christ, the son of God cleanseth you from all sin.'

And Isaiah liv. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children' that are taught of the Lord. 'In righteousness shall they be established,' that are taught of the Lord. "Thou shalt be far from oppression, thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come nigh thee' that art taught of the Lord. 'Behold, they shall gather, but not by me;' so then it is by the wicked spirit; 'whosoever shall gather together against thee, shall fall for thy sake,' 'that art taught of the Lord.' No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise up against thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn, &c. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.' And in 1 Kings ii. 4. David saith, That the Lord may confirm his word, which he spake concerning me, saying, if thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all their hearts, and with all their souls, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man to sit on the throne of Israel. See that thy children take heed to their way, and walk before me, as thou hast walked before me:' to wit, David.

Now here, you may see, that not walking in the truth before the Lord with all their souls and their hearts, made such confusion among the Jews, and likewise makes, or hath made such confusion among the christians: for not walking before God in the truth, kept them off the throne of Israel. And therefore children are to succeed their fathers' path in the truth, if they will be accepted and exalted by the Lord, and if they do enjoy the comfort of the Lord, as their fathers did, with the promise, as in 1 Kings ii. 4. and viii. 25.

And Micah ii. he declareth against their oppression, and reproves the Jews for their injustice and idolatry, and saith, 'The women of my people have you cast out from their houses, from the children have ye taken away my glory;' to wit, the Lord's; for children are the Lord's heritage, and he hath a glory in them.

And Joel declareth sundry judgments of God, and exhorts the Jews to observe them, and bids the old men tell their children of it, and let your children tell their children, and let their children tell another generation.' See what care was here, and watches set up, that children's children might escape the judgments of God, by their walking in the truth, and keeping to the Lord with all their hearts. And children which were the Lord's heritage, were to warn and tell one another to

walk in the fear and way of the Lord, with their whole hearts, that he might have his glory in them, and their children which are his heritage.

And you may see in Luke xix. 43, 44. the judgments that Christ pronounceth upon the Jews and their children, that disobeyed God, and did not believe in him. And Christ saith, 'While ye have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of the light.' Here Christ encourages his believers with a new name, that believe in the light, to wit, 'Children of the light.' John xii. 36. And Paul saith to the believers in the light, 'Ye were sometimes darkness, (that was, when they did not believe in the light,) but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of the light.' Ephes. v. 8. Ye are all the children of the light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.' 1 Thess. v. 5. These are the believers in the light, as Christ commands.

And John saith, 'My little children (1 John ii. 2.) these things I write unto you that you sin not, &c. and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, &c. [But they must take heed of sinning wilfully.] I write to you little children, because your sins are forgiven you, for his name sake.' Here is a comfort to Christ's little children. Again, John saith to little children, 'It is the last time, and as ye have heard that antichrist should come, even now are many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time; they went out from us, (to wit, the antichrist,) but they were not of us, (to wit, the elect members of the church of Christ,) for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out from us, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of

And these things I have written unto you concerning them that seduce you: but the anointing, which ye have received of him, abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie; and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, (to wit, Christ.) Whosoever abideth in him, sinneth not; whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you, he that doth righteousness, is righteous, even as he is righteous; he that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the son of God was made manifest, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest from the children of the devil,' which is a clear manifestation and distinction.

Again, John saith, My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Hereby we know that we are of

the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.' This is a good trial, little children. 1 John iii. Ye are of God, little children, and ye have overcome them, (to wit, antichrist, and the world and its god,) because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world; (a good reason to little children, the greater to overcome the lesser;) and every one that loveth him, (to wit, God that begot him,) loveth him also that is begotten of him; by this we know we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.' This is a good trial, and a manifestation. 1 John v. 1.

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And Paul saith to the Galations, in chap. iv. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you.' This is a good travail, which should be every true christian's, and not to travail to persecute Christ, where he is formed within his people; for that is a bad travail. And John writes to the elect lady and her children, whom he loved in the truth, &c. and said, 'I rejoiced greatly that I found thy children walking in the truth,' &c. This is cause of great joy to see God's children walk in the truth. Again, he writes; Gaius whom I love in the truth, (said he,) I have no greater joy than to hear that thy children walk in the truth. 3 Epist. of John. Now this is a concern for all true christians, that they and their children walk in the truth, that they may have joy and comfort of them in the Lord and his truth, in this world and in the world to come. And every one that names the name of Jesus, let them depart from iniquity,' and not in iniquity, and to see that their children do depart from iniquity; for David saith, The Lord hates all workers of iniquity,' and saith, Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.' And therefore train up all your children in the nurture and fear of the Lord, that both you and they may all serve God in his spirit, in your creation and generation; for children are the heritage of the Lord, and ought to be trained up in his fear, and serve and worship him in his spirit and truth; for it is the Lord that gives the increase of them all. It is he that brings to the birth, and gives power to bring forth, whether it be natural or spiritual, and the life, and breath, and the souls of all are in his hand and power.

I was by him, as one brought up with him. I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth; and my delights are with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children! for blessed are they which keep my ways. Hear instruction, be wise, and refuse it not.' Prov. viii. Here you may see the eternity of wisdom, which is to be desired, for the blessing it brings.

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The apostle Paul tells the Corinthians, I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.' 2 Cor. xi. 2.