THE mournful neglect of Family Religion is, I believe, one of the principal grounds of Jehovah's controverſy with us in this day of trouble, of blaſphemy, and of rebuke. To recommend it to your attention is the deſign of this diſcourſe. I wiſh to remind you of a few obvious conſiderations, which could not fail to recur to yourſelves, were you to think ſeriouſly upon the ſubject. Religion has every thing to recommend it to us. It is its own reward. Them, that honour me, ſays the gracious Redeemer, I will honour; and they that deſpiſe me ſhall be lightly eſteemed.

The words of a dear friend, eſpecially his laſt words, make a deep, a permanent impreſſion upon our minds. We remember them with care. We meditate often upon them. The words of my text appear to have been part of Joſhua's farewell addreſs to Iſrael. He ſaw the day of his diſſolution drawing nigh; when he was to receive the celeſtial reward of his ſervices. We are told in the twenty-ninth verſe of this chapter, that he died, being an hundred and ten years old. How impartial is death! The grim meſſenger knows no diſtinctions. The braveſt champions of war fall promiſcuouſly with the ſons of cowardice. Like many, very many parents and governors, the Hebrew General was not unconcerned what courſe his family and followers purſued, after death removed him from them. No. Prompted by the duties of a wiſe commander, and impelled by the feelings of a pious father, he gathered the choſen tribes to Shechem; reminded them of the memorable appearances, which the God of Abram had made for them; and ſolemnly charged them to walk in his ways. How exemplary is his reſolution in my text! As if he had ſaid, "Children! Hearken unto Joſhua your father. Ere long you ſhall ſee me no more in this world. With all the tenderneſs, which the immediate proſpect of our ſeparation inſpires, I wiſh to put you in mind of your duty. Remember, I beſeech you, the one thing needful. There is a neceſſity for you to make, if you have not already made, a choice in religion. How deteſtable is the idolatry of your fathers, who ſerved ſtrange Gods! Renouncing this, fear the God of Iſrael, and ſerve him in ſincerity and in truth.—As for me and my houſe, if I be able to influence their choice, we will ſerve the Lord. I am a veteran in his ſervice. But, inſtead of wiſhing to recant, inſtead of repenting my choice, I would make it a thouſand times, were it practicable; and may my authority and example continue to ſpeak to you, when I am ſleeping in the duſt!"

To excite you, my friends, to ſtudy a humble imitation, if not a holy emulation, of Joſhua's pious example, I will call your attention to the following conſiderations. And

FIRST, It belongs to God himſelf to unite and to diſſolve families.

Says the Pſalmiſt, he maketh him families like a flock. How conſpicuous is divine wiſdom in the arrangement of human affairs! Jehovah, ſitting in his holy habitation, at the helm of the univerſe, does all things wiſely and well. No change, which takes place in either the world or the church, is to be attributed to the caprice of contingency; for, ſtrictly ſpeaking, there is no chance. Is not ſociety, whatever form it aſſumes, under the ſuperintendence of heaven? Is the conjunction of ſuch and ſuch perſons in a domeſtic relation accidental? No. The ſovereign Ruler among the nations determined that they ſhould be born at a particular period; in a particular part of the world, and be connected as members of one houſehold. Is it by chance that a maſter has ſuch a ſervant, or a ſervant ſuch a maſter? No. However inconſiderable and frivolous theſe things may appear to us, as if we preſumed to think them unworthy Jehovah's attention, they were minutely marked out by his expreſs fore-ordination. A hair cannot fall to the ground; or any creature from the ſerpent, that licks the duſt, up to the exalted ſeraph before the celeſtial throne, move his body unobſerved by him, whoſe eyes are like a flame of fire. Hence, if you are comfortably connected with pious relations, or, if otherwiſe, the diſpenſation is of your Father in heaven, who is a God of righteous judgment, as well as tender mercy, and had the wiſeſt reaſons for ordering it ſo! How affecting the conſideration, that perſons, however nearly and intimately related in one family, are ſoon to be ſeparated! Such relations muſt, in the nature of things, be ſhort-lived. If not ſuſpended by ſome providential incidents, which ſeparate the ſons of a father, ordering the lot of one, in one place, of another, in another place, death ſhall, ere long, diſſolve them; and then is the ſervant eternally free from his maſter. How uſeful is it to read often and carefully in the volume of divine providence! Whoſo is wiſe, and will obſerve theſe things, even they ſhall underſtand the loving kindneſs of the Lord. How tranſient is the preſent ſtate of things? Where are many families, on which the ſun of proſperity once ſhone with meridian effulgence? Wherefore ſhould the proſperous, in a worldly view, be elaed? Wherefore ſhould the afflicted be deſpondent? Has not this conſideration a tendency to enforce domeſtic religion; for, as you are ſoon to be ſeparated, ſhould not this induce you to be cordial and active in the ſervice of God?

SECOND, We will not, either as individuals, or as families, ſerve God aright, till he, by his Spirit and grace, incline and diſpoſe us for our duty.

Where is the ſociety, all the members of which worſhip him in ſpirit, and in truth? In how many houſes is the Bible never read but to be turned into burleſque? Is it unlawful for a Mahometan to touch his alcoran with unwaſhen hands? Is their veneration for that ſyſtem of lies, invented by the eaſtern impoſtor, ſuch? Bluſh, Chriſtians! bluſh and be aſhamed. In how many houſes are all the ſecret and ſocial duties of religion totally neglected? Alas! the natural part of the human heart is evil, only evil, and that continually. How many are there, who, if ſome afflictive diſpenſation of divine providence, on account of which their animal ſpirits are depreſſed, does not force them to their duty, lie down, in the evening, and riſe, in the morning, as though their knees were jointleſs and their ſinews braſs? What is the reaſon that we can receive our ſtated meals without ſo much as acknowledging our bounteous benefactor? Or what is the reaſon that we implore a heavenly bleſſing on one meal, not on another? Are not all equally the gift of God? Why are many families not more regular, eſpecially on the firſt day of the week? Is it lawful to give, or to receive viſits from our irreligious acquaintance and friends on that day? In the 12th chap. of Zechariah, we read of every family mourning for their ſins apart, the family of David, the family of Nathan, the family of Levi, the family of Shemei, each apart; and, if it be proper to faſt in a ſolitary way, why not ſequeſtrate ourſelves on the firſt day of the week? Why is our converſation not more ſpiritual; not more in heaven, whence we look for the great God, and our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt? Whether have political news, and foreign intelligence, reſpecting the nations of this world; or whether have the good news, the gladſome tidings of ſalvation a greater tendency to ſanctify the Sabbath? How were the diſciples, going to Emmaus, employed on the firſt day of the week? Did they not talk together of all things, relating to the Redeemer, which had taken place at Jeruſalem? And, teſtifying his approbation of their exerciſes, did he not draw nigh to them? After he left them, they ſaid, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?

THIRD, The duties of family religion are of the ſtated, not of the occaſional kind.

Faſting, under the New Teſtament, is an occaſional duty to be obſerved juſt as circumſtances require. The duties, of which I am ſpeaking, are rather ſtated and ordinary. There are, no doubt, ſeaſons, in which eſpecially, there is a loud call to them. Such is the ſeaſon of adverſity; for, ſays God, I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offences, and ſeek my face; in their affliction they will ſeek me early. But is not the voice of thankſgiving heard ſtatedly in the tabernacles of the righteous? How good is it to ſhow forth his loving kindneſs in the morning, and his faithfulneſs every night; preſenting on the altar of a willing heart a gratulatory ſacrifice to the gracious hearer of prayer! When we read of the daily ſacrifice, which was offered by the pious Jews, why is the time, at which it was offered, mentioned in the New Teſtament, if not to ſhow that it was divinely intended to be a pattern to individuals, and to families in all ſucceeding ages? It is called the hour of prayer. Peter and John, we are informed in the third of the Acts, went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. If we divide the day into twelve hours, beginning at ſix in the morning, the ninth hour anſwers to three in the afternoon; the time when the evening ſacrifice was offered, and the pious Jews went to the temple to be engaged in devotional exerciſes. Should not the Chriſtian's habitation be a Bethel, a houſe of God, a little church, in which the head of the family preſides as the prieſt? Before the commencement of the Levitical prieſthood in the perſon of Aaron, fathers, elder brothers, princes, or every man for himſelf offered ſacrifice; which is evident in the caſe of Abel, of Noah, of Abram, Iſaac, Job, and other. In the New Teſtament, in which the name, church, is to be variouſly underſtood, we frequently read of a church in a particular houſe. One reaſon is, the regularity, the order obſerved in it. The church is called, the houſe of prayer. In her the Head has appointed a beautiful order, which is not to be changed. It is our duty to walk about Zion, and go round about her; to tell the towers thereof; to mark her bulwarks; to conſider her palaces. In a manner equally expreſs, he has required the families of Iſrael to worſhip him. Conſidering this, I beſeech you, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye preſent your bodies, a living ſacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reaſonable ſervice.

FOURTH, As families, we have many mercies to acknowledge, and many ſins to confeſs.

Do not miſtake me. I do not mean that domeſtic religion ſuperſedes perſonal devotion. No. Each of us has many perſonal mercies to acknowledge. There is not a hair on our heads that we can call our own. Each has many perſonal ſins to confeſs. It is recorded of a famous miniſter of the goſpel, that he never ſaw a criminal going to the place of execution, but he ſmote upon his breaſt, and exclaimed, the ſame evil is here! Why ſhould we not, in a ſocial manner, acknowledge our divine benefactor as the giver of all good? Commendable was the conduct of Jacob. Teſtifying his gratitude to his divine deliverer, he made an altar, in Bethel, unto God, who anſwered him in the day of his diſtreſs, and was with him in the way, which he went. He commanded his houſehold to put away ſtrange Gods that were among them; to change their garments; to be clean; and to concur with him in expreſſions of gratitude. How readily did they comply! They gave unto Jacob all the ſtrange gods that were in their hand, and all their ear-rings, which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. What, my brethren, ſhall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards us? Man is a ſocial creature. He was originally intended for ſociety, and fitted for it. Various are the views, in which reciprocal advantages reſult from ſocial connections. Society is a chain of many links. With tender care, the parents rear up the children; and the children, when pious example and education are bleſſed, as the means of ſoftening, and forming their hearts, are a comfort to the parents. The ſervant cannot be without the maſter, more than the maſter can be without the ſervant. Ah! how many family ſins have we to confeſs! How often have the members of thoſe little ſocieties offended againſt each other? Are not huſbands and wives, parents and children, maſters and ſervants culpable, very culpable for neglecting the duties of their reſpective ſtations? In very expreſſive terms, did holy David lament both the irreligion and the adverſity of his family. Although my houſe be not ſo with God; yet he hath made with me an everlaſting covenant, ordered in all things and ſure; for this is all my ſalvation, and all my deſire, although he make it not to grow.

FIFTH, Family religion comes recommended to us by the example of the moſt eminent believers, who lived in both earlier and later times.

Are we not commanded to be followers of them, who have gone before us, and now inherit the promiſes; to walk in the good old path, in which our pious fathers walked? Says the Redeemer to the church, If thou knoweſt not, O thou faireſt among women, go thy way forth by the footſteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beſide the ſhepherds tents. When Joſhua ſaid, as for me and my houſe, we will ſerve the Lord, was he the only perſon who ever formed this reſolution? By no means. A luminous cloud of witneſſes preſents itſelf to our view. Let me remind you of Abram, the father of the faithful, and the friend of God, whoſe faith and obedience are famous in every age; for he has exhibited to mankind a noble pattern of heavenly graces, and virtues. Said the Searcher of hearts concerning him, I know him, that he will command his children, and his houſe hold after him; and they ſhall keep the way of the Lord, to do juſtice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath ſpoken of him. This honorable teſtimony was given by One, who cannot be deceived by any ſpecious appearance, or crafty affectation of zeal. I call it an honorable teſtimony. "I know Abram, that his reſpect for my authority; and his love to my laws, will induce him to command his houſehold to ſerve me; not only the ſtated members of his family, but alſo every ſojourner under his roof." How praiſeworthy is David's reſolution; who ſaid, I will walk within my houſe with a perfect heart! A holy life is emphatically expreſſed by walking with God. Enoch, who was tranſlated that he ſhould not ſee death, walked with him. The phraſe beſpeaks a holy familiary betwixt God and his people, which words are inadequate to expreſs. As if the man according to God's own heart had ſaid, "In the ſtrength of grace, which is made perfect in our weakneſs, I reſolve to ſet a proper example before my family by my pious conduct, conſcientiouſly performing the duties, which are incumbent upon me as the head of it." But, ſay you, "Theſe are Old Teſtament examples. What examples are there in the New?" The moſt illuſtrious inſtance that could be mentioned is Jeſus himſelf, who has left us an example that we ſhould follow his ſteps. He was a father to his diſciples, praying with them like a pious father with his children. We read of a Cornelius, who feared God with all his houſe; that is, I ſuppoſe, his family joined cordially in Jehovah's worſhip, with the devout centurion at their head. Says the Apoſtle, in the laſt chapter of his firſt epiſtle to the Corinthians, Aquila and Priſcilla ſalute you much in the Lord, WITH THE CHURCH THAT IS IN THEIR HOUSE; in the laſt chapter of his epiſtle to the Coloſſians, Salute the brethren, which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and THE CHURCH, WHICH IS IN HIS HOUSE; and, in the ſecond verſe of his epiſtle to Philemon, to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus, our fellow-ſoldier, AND TO THE CHURCH IN THY HOUSE. It has, indeed, been queried what is to be underſtood by a church in a particular houſe; whether the aſſembling of the church, which, in thoſe troublous times, might meet for public worſhip in it; or a private ſociety of Chriſtians, joining together in the duties of ſocial prayer, and ſpiritual converſation; or the members of the family uniting in the exerciſes of domeſtic devotion. This laſt interpretation is adopted by not a few judicious expoſitors, and ſeems the moſt probable. To the honour of the jailor, who was made to exclaim, What ſhall I do to be ſaved? it is recorded, that he rejoiced, believing in God with all his houſe.

SIXTH, Family worſhip is one of the means, by which our Father in heaven is pleaſed to manifeſt himſelf to his people.

This conſideration endears it to the ſaints, who, with joy unſpeakable, draw water out of the wells of ſalvation. What are the ordinances in general, but meeting-places, as it were, betwixt God and his people? If we wiſh to find him, we muſt go into the Galilees, where he has appointed to meet with us. Why ſhould we not embrace every opportunity of holding communion with our God? The church tells us, ſhe ſought her beloved, but found him not. Did ſhe, after the firſt diſappointment, relinquiſh the purſuit? No. Perſeverance was neceſſary. Not having found her beloved in the ſtreets, and in the broad ways of the city, ſhe applied to the watchmen, ſaying, ſaw ye him whom my ſoul loveth? They, it appears, gave her no ſatisfaction. But, adds ſhe, It was but a little that I paſſed from them, but I found him whom my ſoul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's houſe, and into the chambers of her that conceived me. This plainly teaches that God's people, ſometimes, find him in ſecret and private, after their expectations of meeting with him, inpublic, have been diſappointed. We read of an impotent man, lying at the pool, called Betheſda, who had an infirmity thirty and eight years; and, after all, was made whole. Preſumption and deſpondency are dangerous extremes.

SEVENTH, Families are encouraged to worſhip God from the conſideration that many promiſes are ſuited to their caſe.

Has he not promiſed his gracious preſence in the dwellings of Jacob, as well as in the gates of Zion; though he loves the one more than the other? Our bleſſed Lord's words have been juſtly accommodated to the ſituation of a family beginning to perform ſocial worſhip, when he ſays, If two of you ſhall agree, as touching any thing that they ſhall aſk, it ſhall he done for them of my Father, who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midſt of them. How animating is the following promiſe; which has, I ſuppoſe, a primary view to the return of the Jews from their Babylonian captivity; but has a running applicability, and a continued accompliſhment, eſpecially in the New Teſtament times! At the ſame time ſaith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Iſrael, and they ſhall be my people. Says he, in another part of ſcripture, In all places, where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bleſs thee; and is not his name recorded in our habitations?

FINALLY, The neglect of family religion is awfully threatened in the word of God.

What an alarming imprecation is the prophet's! Pour out thy fury upon the Heathen that know thee not, AND UPON THE FAMILIES THAT CALL NOT UPON THY NAME. In ſcripture the name, family, is, I know, ambiguous, and differently underſtood. But, admitting this, the prohet's words apply, in their full force, to the ſubject under review. Families, which neglect the worſhip of Jehovah, and Heathens are properly joined together, for, though the former be profeſſedly Chriſtian, they are practically Heathen families. Hence they are objects of the divine diſpleaſure. The word, fury, beſpeaks an awful degree of diſpleaſure, even indignation; the phraſe, pour out, the tremendous manner in which it is executed. What aggravates their ſin, and heightens their miſery is their knowledge of their duty, while they do not perform it; for, when it is ſaid, the Heathen that know thee not, it evidently implies that thoſe families knew their duty, yet did not worſhip the God of their fathers. Sinners! ſtand aghaſt! Does any hear of the wrath of Almighty God, and his ears not tingle? What! does a family profeſs to be Chriſtian, in which there is not a veſtige of the Chriſtian religion? Tell it not in Gath. Publiſh it not in Aſkelon; leſt the uncircumciſed Philiſtines triumph.

TO CONCLUDE,

FIRST, Does not reaſon, not to mention revalation, teach the obligation, the importance, and the utility of family religion. Does not reaſon teach us to repay a generous benefactor with gratitude? Is not a grateful return of Jehovah's mercies all the return we can make for them; all the return he requires? and why not render him the calves of our lips?

SECOND, The non-performance of the duties of religion is inconſiſtent with a gracious ſtate; and they, who neglect them, muſt unqueſtionably be in the gall of bitterneſs, and bond of iniquity. A graceleſs man may, but a gracious perſon muſt perform theſe duties; for is not prayer the breath of the new creature? and can we live without breathing? Behold he, that is, the new creature, as ſoon as he begins to live, prayeth! Conſider alſo that one of the views, by which our ſanctification is deſcribed, is by writing the law on the heart. This is the covenant that I will make with the houſe of Iſrael after thoſe days, ſaith the Lord: I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they ſhall be to me a people. Hence, if the divine law be engraved on a man's heart, will he not ſtudy to tranſcribe it in his life, and converſation? If perſons be in a gracious ſtate, are not faith in the Redeemer for aſſiſtance, and for the acceptance of both their perſons, and their ſervices, and love to him, as a Sovereign, as well as a Saviour, powerful principles impelling them to perform theſe duties, by which they ſhew their reſpect for the divine authority. The authority of Jeſus commands, his love ſweetly conſtrains us to walk in his ways.

THIRD, Is Joſhua's your reſolution? Be not aſhamed, brethren, of being religious; or, if your religion is yet to begin, be perſuaded now to leave the path, in which deſtroyers go. Come with us, ſaid Moſes to Hobab, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath ſpoken good concerning Iſrael. We are accountabe creatures; and the day of our death, when we muſt anſwer for all the deeds done in the body, is approaching, with rapid, though ſilent ſteps. MASTERS! You have a ſolemn charge of the ſouls of your ſervants; ſuch a charge as a miniſter has of his people. What an eternal diſgrace is it to the Chriſtian name for the head of a family to overlook the morals, and religious inſtruction of any under his roof? What! have not perſons, in inferior ſtations of life, ſouls to be ſaved or damned, to he happy or miſerable for ever? It matters not whether they be black, or white men; for, as men, the poſterity of Ham, are on a perfect equality with other deſcriptions of the human race. It was Cain, that primeval monument of fratricide! who ſaid, Am I my brother's keeper? Nor a few who now ſurround the celeſtial throne, have for a ground of thankfulneſs, and a note, in their ecſtatical ſong, that the God, who ſaved them, ordered their lot in a pious family, where example, which is, often, more powerful than precept, made a good, a permanent impreſſion on their minds. PARENTS! Bring up your children in the nurture, and admonition of the Lord. They are the hope of the church; for families are nurſeries, in which young ones are raiſed up, and prepared for uſefulneſs in public life. Be careful that the ſtream be not poiſoned at the fountain-head. It is eaſieſt to bend the twig when it is green. Impreſſions made in early life are, with difficulty, if ever eradicated. It is dangerous not to raiſe up a ſpiritual ſeed to the Redeemer. Do you not wiſh your children to ſerve him after you have gone to your fathers, and ſleep in the duſt? A pious education is the beſt eſtate you can give them. It has often been remarked by practical writers, on this ſubject, that both defection and reformation in religion commonly begin in families. It is an abſurdity to ſuppoſe that a parent can be righly exerciſed about the intereſts of his own ſoul, if he has not the ſalvation of his children at heart. The Father of mercies does not always anſwer the prayers of pious parents, on behalf of their children, when they are preſented to him; ſometimes not before the parents have gone to the eternal world. Many ſuch prayers, we have reaſon to believe, lodged at the throne of grace, are yet unanſwered; but will be punctually attended to, at the proper time.

UPON THE WHOLE, Had I a thouſand mouths, and a thouſand tongues, I would employ them in recommending the Redeemer's ſervice to you all; old and young. Chuſe ye, this day, whom ye will ſerve. Said Elijah to the people, when the competition was betwixt him and Baal, if the Lord be God, follow him; but, if Baal, who, when his deluded votaries call upon him, is either deaf or on a journey, follow him. How honorable, how eaſy, how delightful is the Redeemer's ſervice! Wiſdom's ways are ways of pleaſantneſs, and all her paths are peace. Then give no ſleep to your eyes, nor ſlumber to your eye-lids, until you find a place for the Lord, an habitation for the God of Jacob.