whatever good the preceding part of the day may have

done.

And as to the taking further liberties of diverfions and amufements, though they are not in exprefs words forbidden, for the defire of them is not fuppofed in the word of God; yet by the laws both of Church and State they are. And what need is there for them, or what good ufe of them? If perfons are fo vehemently fet upon these things, that they are uneafy to be so much as one day in feven without them; it is high time, that they should bring themselves to more moderation, by exercifing some abftinence from them. And if they are at all indifferent about them, 'furely they fhould confider, what must be the effect of introducing and indulging them: what offence and uneafiness these things give the more serious and valuable part of the world; what comfort and countenance to the unthinking and irreligious part; what a dangerous example to the lower part: what encouragement they afford to extravagance, and the mad love of pleasure what a fnare they place in the way of all that think them unlawful; and yet will thus be tempted, to these liberties first, and then to others, against their confciences; and, to add no more, how unhappy they increase the appearance (which, without them, God knows, would be much too great) of religion being flighted and difregarded; especially by the upper part of the world, who fhould be the great patterns of it.

And if this be the cafe of merely unfeafonable diverfions ; imprudent and unlawful ones are still move blameable on this day but most of all, that crying fin of debauchery and intemperance, which perverts it from the fervice of God to the fervice of the devil; and leads perfons, more directly than almoft any thing else, to utter deftruction of body and foul. There fore let us be careful, firft to guard ourselves against these tranfgreffions, then to keep our children, fervants, and dependants from the like, if we make any confcience of doing well by them, or would have any profpect of comfort in them. Nor let us think it fuflicient, to reftrain them from spending the day ill; but to the beft of our power and understanding, encourage and affift them to spend it well. And God grant, we may all employ in fo right a manner, the few Sabbaths,

and

and few days, which we have to come on earth; that we may enter, at the conclufion of them, into that eternal fabbath, that reft, which remaineth for the people of God, in hea

ven.

Heb. iv. 3 9.

LECTURE XXII.

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT.

PART I

AVING explained the precepts of the first table, which

HAVING explained the

fet forth the duty of men to God; I now come to those of the second, which express our several obligations one to a

nother.

Now the whole law, concerning thefe matters, is briefly comprehended, as St Paul very justly observes, in this one faying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself*. Our neighbour is every one, with whom we have at any time any concern, or on whose welfare our actions can have any influence. For whoever is thus within our reach, is in the most important fense near to us, however diftant in other respects. To love our neighbour, is to bear him good-will; which of course will dispose us to think favourably of him, and behave properly to him. And to love him as ourselves, is to have, not only a real but a strong and active good-will towards him; with a tenderness for his interefts, duly proportioned to that, which we naturally feel for our own. Such a temper would most powerfully restrain us from every thing wrong, and prompt us to every thing right; and therefore is "the fulfilling of the law t," fo far as it relates to our mutual behaviour.

But because, on fome occafions, we may either not fee, or not confess we fee, what is right, and what otherwife; our Saviour hath put the fame duty in a light fomewhat different, 3 C 2 which.

which gives the safest, and fulleft, and cleareft direction for practice, that any one precept can give. "All things whatfoever ye would that men should do untoyou, even fo do ye unto them." Behaving properly depends on judging truly; and that, in cases of any doubt, depends on hearing with due attention both fides. To our own fide we never fail attending. The rule therefore is, give the other fide the fame advantage, by fuppofing it your own: and after confidering carefully and fairly, what, if it were indeed your own, you should not only defire (for defires may be unreasonable) but think you had an equitable claim to, and well grounded expectation of, from the other party, that do in regard to him. Would we but honestly take this method, our mistakes would be fo exceeding few, and slight, and innocent, that well might our bleffed Lord add, For this is the law and the prophets.

Yet, after all, there might be difficulty fometimes, especially to fome perfons, in the application of a rule fo very general. And therefore we have, in the commandments, the reciprocal duties of man to man branched out into fix particulars: The firft of which, contained in the fifth commandment, relates to the mutual obligations of fuperiors and inferiors; the rest, to those points in which all men are confidered as equals.

It is true, the precept now to be explained, mentions only one kind of fuperiors. Thou shalt honour thy father and thy mother. But the cafe of other fupériors is fo like that of fathers, that most of them have occafionally the very name of father given them in moft languages; and therefore the regard, due to them also, may be very properly comprehended, and laid before you, under the fame head. It is likewife true, that the duty of the inferior alone is expreffed in the commandment; but the correfponding duty of the fuperior is, at the fame time, of neceffity implied: For which reason I shall difcourfe of both; beginning with the mutual obligations of children and parents, properly fo called, which will be a fufficient employment for the present time.

Now the duty of children to their parents is here expreffed by the word honour, which in common language fignifies a mixture of love and refpect, producing due obedience; but in

* Matth. vii. 12.

fcripture

fcripture language it implies further, maintenance and fupport when wanted.

1. Love to thofe of whofe flesh and blood we are, is what nature dictates to us, in the very first place. Children have not only received from their parents, as inftruments in the hand of God, the original of their being; but the prefervation of it through all the years of helpless infancy; when the needful care of them gave much trouble, took up much time, and required much expence; all which, parents usually go through, with fo chearful a diligenee, and fo felf-denying a tenderness, that no return of affection on the childrens part can poffibly repay it to the full; though childrens affection is what, above all things, makes parents happy. Then, as life goes on, it is their parents that give or procure for them fuch instruction of all kinds, as qualifies them, both to do well in this world, and be for ever bleffed in another; that watch over them continually with never-ceafing attention, confulting their inclinations in a multitude of obliging inftances, and bearing with their perverseness in a multitude of provoking ones; kindly reftraining them from a thousand pernicious follie's, into which they would otherwife fall; and directing their heedless footsteps in the right way; encouraging, rewarding, and, which indeed is no less a benefit, correcting them also, as the cafe requires; full of folicitude all the while for their happiness, and consuming themselves with labour and thoughtfulnefs for these dear objects, to improve, fupport and advance them in their lives, and provide for them at their deaths. Even those parents, who perform these duties but imperfectly, who perhaps do fome very wrong things, do notwithstanding, al, most all of them, so many right and meritorious ones; that though, the more fuch they do, the better they should be loved; yet they that do leaft, do enough to be loved fincerely for it as long as they live*.

2. And with love must ever be joined, fecondly, due respect, inward and outward. For parents are not only the benefactors, but in rank the betters, and in right the governors, of their children; whofe dependance is upon them, in point of intereft, generally; in point of duty always. They ought therefore to think of them with great reverence, and treat them

* See Xenophon's Memoirs of Socrates, 1. 2. c. 2.

them with every mark of fubmiffion, in gefture, in speech, in the whole of their behaviour, which the practice of wife and. good perfons hath established, as proper inftances of filial regard. And though the parents be mean in station, or low in understanding; ftill the relation continues, and the duty that belongs to it. Nay, fuppofe they be faulty in fome part of their conduct or character, yet children fhould be very backward to fee this: and it can very feldom be allowable for them to fhow that they fee it. From the world they should always conceal it, as far as they can; for it is fhocking beyond mea fure in them to publish it. And if ever any thing of this na ture must be mentioned to the parents themselves, which nothing but great neceffity can warrant or excufe; it fhould be with all poffible gentleness and modefty, and the most real concern at being obliged to fo unnatural an office.

3. Love and refpect to parents will always produce obedience to them: a third duty of the highest importance. Children, for a confiderable time, are utterly unqualified to govern themselves; and fo long as this continues to be the cafe, must be abfolutely and implicitely governed by thofe, who can alone claim a title to it. As they grow up to the use of understanding indeed, reason should be gradually mixed with authority, in every thing that is required of them. But at the fame time, children may eafily obferve what they may easily find to be true in daily instances, that they are apt to think they know how to direct themselves, much sooner than they really do; and should therefore fubmit to be directed by their friends in more points, and for a longer time, than perhaps they would naturally be tempted to wifh. Suppofe in that part of your lives which is already past, you had had your own way in every thing, what would have been the confequences! You yourselves must fee very bad ones. Why, other perfons fee, what you will see also in time, that bad, were you to have your way now. are likely to know, agree in, you would believe, and fubmit to. Your parents and governors have at leaft more knowledge and experience, if they have not more capacity, than you. And the trouble which they take, and the concern which they feel about you, plainly show that your good is the thing which they have at heart. The only reafon why they do not

it would be full as And what all who

indulge