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a house the same first day he rose, and not in the Jews' temple or synagogues.

And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem,' &c. Jer. i. 2. And the word of the Lord came again to Jeremiah, saying, 'Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim, and say, hear the word of the Lord, ye that enter in at the gates to worship the Lord, amend your ways and doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.' Jer. vii. 1, 2, 3. Here you may see Jeremiah preached in the gate of the temple, which is called the Lord's house.

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And the Lord said to Jeremiah, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, &c. Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sits upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates, thus saith the Lord, execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoil out of the hand of the oppressor; do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless and the widow; neither shed innocent blood, &c.; but ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.' Jer. xxii. 1, 2, 3. 5. Here you may see Jeremiah went and preached at the king's house.

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Thus saith the Lord to Jeremiah, Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them, diminish not a word.' Jer. xxvi. 2. Here you may see Jeremiah preached in the court of the Lord's house.

And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Go into the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers.' Jer. xxxv. 1, 2, to 19. And here you may see by the obedience of the Rechabites, Jeremiah condemns the disobedience of the Jews, and God blessed the Rechabites for their obedience. And here you may see Jeremiah preached to the household of the Rechabites in the chamber. So here is no strange thing to preach in houses, chambers, schools, highways, hedges, streets, mountains, ships, deserts and wildernesses, in gates, and in the templedoors, the law and gospel, though they that did so were cast into prisons, as Jeremiah in the prison, and in the dungeon; and the apostles were cast into prison, and into the stocks, for preaching Christ Jesus, who preached him in such places, as before, and many for preaching Christ in such places, have been since cast into prisons and dungeons, by them that are called christians, who could not own their synagogue and temple-worship, but worship God in spirit and truth; which worship Christ set up above sixteen hundred years ago. G. F. Kingston, the 23d of the 5th Month, 1684.

The state of the birth Temporal and Spiritual, and the duty and state of a Child, Youth, young Men, aged Men, and Fathers in the truth.

Also, showing that Children are the Heritage of the Lord, and that he hath a glory in them. By G. F.

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THE state and duty of a child, youth, and young men, and the state of aged men and fathers, it is the Lord that doth bring to the birth. David saith, My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, &c. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there were none of them; for thou possessed my reins when thou covered me in my mother's womb.' Here you may see God's infinite and all-seeing eye, work, and providence. The darkness nor secrets hide not from God, but the night shineth to him as the day, and the darkness and the light are alike to his allseeing eye, who made both; and therefore all are to consider how God hath made them, and fashioned them. Psalm cxxxix.

And the Lord saith in Isa. lxvi. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth, saith the Lord? Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb, saith my God?" So here you may see, it is the Lord that fashions in the womb, and brings it forth, both the natural birth and the spiritual birth, and opens the womb and shuts the womb, both the womb of the morning, and of eternity, and of the natural.

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And the Lord said to Jeremiah, in the 1st chapter, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest out of the womb, I sanctified thee,' &c. And so here all may see, and consider, and know themselves to be the great work of God; that when God that forms and fashions you in the womb, and brings to birth, and hath brought you forth, that you may choose the good and forsake the evil; that you may remember and consider, that you are the work of the Lord, and remember your Creator, and who hath fashioned you and formed you in the womb, and hath brought you to a birth, and hath brought you forth to fear, and serve, and worship, and honour him that hath made thee, and brought thee forth. For as Solomon saith in Eccles. xii. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, whilst the evil days come not, or before the evil days do come.' Now this is the duty of all youth, let them be males or females, to remember their Creator, and let him not go out of their memory, so that they may be fitted to stand in the evil days when they come; for when they grow up to be young men, then the evil days will appear, in which they may be tempted to 'adultery, fornication, drunkenness, theft, murder, lying,

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cozening, cheating, unrighteousness, ungodliness, lightness, wantonness, pleasures,' and other evils, by which they may forget their Creator by going into such evils, when they are tempted to such things. The evil days are come to try youth, for they that yield unto such evils before mentioned, forget their Creator, and forsake him; for Solomon saith, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.' Prov. xxii. 6. Here is the duty of parents, and the duty of children, which is to be practised and followed. Now here is the duty of youth, to remember his Creator in the days of his youth, before the evil days come.' But what must we do when we come to be young men? What is their means and duty? David declareth in Psalm cxix. 9. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his ways? By taking heed thereto according to thy word, &c. Thy word I have hid in my heart, and do meditate on thy word, that I might not sin against thee.' So now, for all young men to take heed to the word of God in their hearts, and hide it in their hearts, and to meditate upon it; for the word is called a hammer, and a sword, and a fire, to hammer down, and cut down, and burn up that which would defile them in their ways, words, and hearts.

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And the apostle saith, that the word of faith which he preached, was in their hearts and mouths, to obey it, and to do it.' Rom. x. And 'the ingrafted word was able to save their souls,' James saith. And Peter saith, that they were to feed upon the sincere milk of the word; but they which are hearers of the word, and not doers of the word, deceive their own souls.' And Christ said to his disciples, Now ye are clean through the word,' &c. So this word will keep the ways and the hearts of young men clean, the word of God, which is a sanctifying word, a reconciling word; and Christ told the Jews, his word had no place in them.

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And again, he told the unclean Jews, Ye have not his word (to wit, the word of God) abiding in you.' So these Jews made a great profession of the scriptures, but had not the word of God abiding in them; John v. then they were not like to be made clean by it.

And Christ said, 'Sanctify them through thy word, thy word is truth.' (To wit, his disciples and believers.) And again Christ saith, I have given them thy word, and they have kept thy word,' (namely, his disciples,) to wit, the word of God. John xvii.

Now here you may see the disciples kept the word of God, which was the means to keep their hearts, ways, and words clean; but the Jews, priests, Scribes and Pharisees, that made a great outward profession of the scriptures, whose ways were unclean, and mouths full of foul unclean words against Christ, Christ told them, that the word of God did not abide in them.' And therefore, though they had the

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scriptures, and made an outward profession of them, like the professors of our age, and others who go from the means, the word of God in their hearts, to keep their ways and lips clean, and to sanctify them; therefore they plead for a body of death to the grave, and a purgatory when they are dead, who live in a profession of the letter without the word. And John saith, I have written unto you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you; and you have overcome the wicked one,' viz. the devil, by the word of God, which was before the devil was. So here you may see, what is the means by which the young men's ways are cleansed and sanctified, and what makes them strong, and to overcome the wicked one-the word of God abiding in them. And therefore, every young man, and all young people are to love, and obey, and do the word of God, by which their ways, words, and hearts, and all may be kept clean; for the word of God is a hammer and a sword, to hammer down, and cut down the devil and his works, and a fire to burn them up. So it is the word of power, the word of wisdom, the word of reconciliation, and the word of patience, by which they overcome.

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Now concerning aged men or fathers in the truth, John saith, I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning,' to wit, Christ Jesus. And John writes as a father himself, who saith, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life; for the life was manifested and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.' 1 John i. 1, 2.

So here you may see, not only John in his epistle, but also John in his evangelists, declares Christ in the beginning, and saith, 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and God was the word; the same was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made; and the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.' John i.

Now, here you may see how John writes as a father, that knew Christ as he was in the beginning; and he writes to the fathers that knew Christ as in the beginning. So the fathers knew him in the glory that he had with the Father before the world began; and that all things were made by Jesus Christ. So they knew him as he was God, the word. They knew Christ, as he was man: The word was made flesh, &c.' They knew Christ in the promises and in the prophecies; they knew him in the figures, types, and shadows made under the law.

They knew him, and of whom he was to be conceived, to wit, the virgin; they knew him in his birth, life, doctrine, preaching, miracles, sufferings, death, grave, resurrection, and ascension, into the glory with the Father, and at his right hand; yea, the glory which he had with the Father before the world began. So the fathers have known, [mark, have known,] Christ from the beginning. 1 John ii. 14.

So, here you may see the state of the birth temporal and spiritual, and the duty and state of youth, the duty and state of young men and young people, and the state of fathers in the truth.

Kingston, the 10th mo. 1684.

G. F.

DAVID saith, 'Lo children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemy in the gate.' Psalm cxxvii.

'Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways; for thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands. Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house; thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord; yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and the Lord shall bless thee out of Sion.' Psalm cxxviii.

Now all you that do murmur against people that have many children, and do complain and say, 'that they do fill your towns, cities, and countries with children;' and many times you that do so complain have few or no children; and you are afraid that they should come to want, and that then you must be fain to relieve their necessities. And what then? What you do give to the poor, you lend to the Lord, and he will repay it to you again, if they cannot. And this wanting mind, is for want of faith in God, who gives the increase of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him. And the Lord would have you to take notice that children are the heritage of the Lord. And so, what you do give to the breeding, and nursing, and relieving of children, you do it to the heritage of the Lord; and the Lord hath many adopted sons, that he hath taken to be his, that have received the adoption of sons.' Gal. iv. And what if you that have no children should do so? It was but a cross to the grumbling or murmuring self, which many times have no children, and are discontent with the poor that have many; and do think much either to adopt them to yourselves, and are afraid that they

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