ADVICE TO CHILDREN.

CHA P. I.

My DEAR CHILDREN,

§. 1.

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OT knowing how long it may please God to continue me amongst you, I am willing to embrace this opportunity of leaving you my advice and counfel, with refpect to your Chriftian and civil capacity and duty in this world: and I both befeech you and charge you, by the relation you have to me, and the affection I have always fhewn to you, and indeed received from you, that you lay up the fame in your hearts, as well as your heads, with a wife and religious

care.

§. 2. I will begin with that which is the beginning of all true wildom and happiness, the holy fear of God.

Children, Fear God: that is to fay, have an holy awe upon your minds to avoid that which is evil, and a ftrict care to embrace and do that which is good. The meature and ftandard of which knowledge and duty, is the light of Chrift in your confciences, by which, as in John iii. 20, 21, you may clearly fee if your deeds, aye, and your words and thoughts too, are wrought in God or not; for they are the deeds of the mind, and for which you must be judged: I say, with this divine light of Chrift in your confciences, you may bring your thoughts, words, and works to judgment in yourselves, and have a right, true, found, and unerring sense of your duty towards God and man. And as you come to obey this bleffed light in its holy convictions, it will lead you out of the world's dark and degenerate ways and works, and bring you unto Chrift's way and life, and to be of the number of his true felf-denying followers, to take up your crofs for his fake, that bore his for yours; and to become the children of the light,

putting it on, as your holy armour; by which you may fee and refift the fiery darts of fatan's temptations, and overcome him in all his affaults.

§. 3. I would a little explain this principle to you. It is called light, John i. 9. chap. iii. 19, 20, 21, and chap. viii. 12. Eph. v. 8, 13, 14. í Thef. v. 5. 1 Epiftle of John i. 5, 6, 7. Rev. xxi. 23. because it gives man a fight of his fin. And it is alfo called the quickening Spirit; for fo HE is called; and the Lord from heaven, as 1 Cor. xv. 45, 57, who is called, and calls himself, the light of the world, John viii. 12. And why is he called the Spirit? Because he gives man fpiritual life. And John xvi. 8. Chrift promised to fend his fpirit to convince the world of their fins: wherefore that which convinces you and all people of their fins, is the Spirit of Chrift: this is highly prized, Rom. viii. as you may read in that great and fweet chapter, for the children of God are led by it. This reveals the things of God, that appertain to man's falvation and happinefs, as 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11, 12. It is the earneft God gives his people, 2 Cor. v. 5. It is the great end and benefit and bleffing of the coming of Chrift, viz. The fhining forth of this light, and pouring forth of this fpirit. Yea, Chrift is not received by them, that refift his light and Spirit in their hearts; nor can they have the benefit of his birth, life, death, refurrection, interceffion, &c. who rebel against the light, "God "fent his Son to blefs us, in turning us from the evil "of our ways:" therefore have a care of evil, for that turns you away from God; and wherein you have done evil, do fo no more: but be ye turned, my dear children, from that evil, in thought, as well as in word or deed, or that will turn you from God, your Creator, and Chrift, whom he has given you for your Redeemer, who redeems and faves his people from their fins, Tit. ii. 14. not in their fins, read Acts ii. and Heb. viii. and the Christian dispensation will appear to be that of the Spirit, which fin quenches, hardens the heart against, and bolts the door upon. This holy divine principle is called grace too, 1 Tim. . 11, 12, there

you

you will fee the nature and office of it, and its bleffed effects upon thofe that were taught of it in the primitive days. And why grace? Because it is God's love, and not our defert, his good-will, his kindness, "He "fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten "Son into the world, that whofoever believeth in him "fhould not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. And it is this holy Son, that in John i. 14, 16. is declared to be "full of grace and truth," and that "of his grace we receive grace for grace;" that is, wę receive of him, the FULNESS, what measure of grace we need. And the Lord told Paul in his great trials, when ready to ftagger about the fufficiency of the grace he had received to deliver him, "My grace is fufficient for thee." 2 Cor. xii. 9. O children, love the grace, hearken to this grace; it will teach you, it will fanctify you, it will lead you to the reft and king, dom of God; as it taught the faints of old, firft, what to deny, viz. "To deny ungodliness and worldly lufts;" and then what to do, viz. "To live foberly, righteously,

and godly in this prefent world," Tit. ii. 11, 12, And he that is full of grace, is full of light; and he that is full of light is the quickening Spirit, that gives a manifeftation of his Spirit to every one to profit with, 1 Cor. xii. 7. And he that is the quickening Spirit, is the truth."I am the way, the truth, and the life," faid he, to his poor followers, John xiv. 6. "And if "the truth make you free," faid he to the Jews, " then

are you free indeed," John viii. 32, 36. And this truth fheds abroad itself in man, and begets truth in the inward parts, and makes falfe, rebellious, hypocri tical man, a true man to God again. Truth in the inward parts is of great price with the Lord. And why called TRUTH? Because it tells man the truth of his fpiritual ftate; it fhews him his ftate, deals plainly with him, and fets his fins in order before him. So that, my dear children, the light, fpirit, grace, and truth are not divers principles, but divers words, or denominations, given to one eternal POWER and heavenly PRINCIPLE in you, though not of you, but of

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God,