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<DATE>2010-05-05</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B100411.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<VID>160484</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>DIRECTIONS OF THE GENERALL ASSEMBLY Concerning Secret and Private <HI>WORSHIP,</HI> and mutual edification, for cheri&s;h|ing Piety, for maintaining Unity, and avoyding Schi&s;m and Divi&s;ion.</P>
<P>WITH An Act for ob&s;erving the&s;e <HI>Directions,</HI> and for cen&s;uring &s;uch as u&s;e to neglect <HI>FAMILY WORSHIP.</HI></P>
<P>AND An Act again&s;t &s;uch as withdraw them&s;elves from the Publick Wor&s;hip in their own CONGREGATIONS.</P>
<P>Printed at <HI>Edenburgh</HI> by <HI>Evan Tyler,</HI> Printer to the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maje&s;ty. 1647. And Reprinted for <HI>Robert Bo&s;tock</HI> at the Kings head in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard, 1647.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="act">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD><HI>Edinb. 24. Aug. 1647. Se&s;&s;. 19.</HI> Act for ob&s;erving the following Directi|ons, and for cen&s;uring &s;uch as u&s;e to neglect Family Wor&s;hip.</HEAD>
<P>_THe General A&s;&s;embly, after ma|ture deliberation, doth approve the following Rules and Directi|ons, for cheri&s;hing Piety and pre|venting Divi&s;ion and Schi&s;me, and doth appoint Mini&s;ters &amp; Ru|ling Elders in each Congregation to take &s;pecial care that the&s;e Di|rections be ob&s;erved and followed; As likewi&s;e that Presbyteries and Provincial Synods enquire and make tryal whether the &s;aid Directions be duly ob&s;erved in their bounds, and to reprove or cen&s;ure (according to the quality of the offence) &s;uch as &s;hal be found to be re|proveable or cen&s;urable therin. And to the end that
<PB N="4" REF="3">
the&s;e Directions may not be rendred ineffectual and un|profitable among &s;ome through the u&s;ual neglect of the very &s;ub&s;tance of the duty of Family Wor&s;hip, The A&s;&s;emby doth further require and appoint Mini&s;ters and Ruling Elders, to make diligent &s;earch and enquiry in the Congregations committed to their charge re&s;pe|ctively, whether there be among them any Family or Families which u&s;e to neglect this nece&s;&s;ary duty; And if any &s;uch Family be found, the head of that Family is to be fir&s;t admoni&s;hed privately to amend this fault; And in ca&s;e of his continuing therein, he is to be gravely and &s;adly reproved by the Se&s;&s;ion. After which reproof, if he be found &s;til to neglect Family Wor&s;hip, Let him befor his ob&s;tinacy, in&s;uch an offenc,e &s;u&s;pended and debarred from the Lords Supper as being ju&s;tly e&s;teem|ed unworthy to communicate therein till he amend.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A. Ker,</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="act">
<PB N="5" REF="3">
<HEAD>DIRECTIONS OF THE General A&s;&s;embly, concerning Secret and Private Wor&s;hip and mutual edification, for cheri&s;hing Piety, for maitaining Unity, and avoyding Schi&s;m and Divi&s;ion.</HEAD>
<P>_BE&s;ides the publick Wor&s;hip in Con|gregations, mercifully e&s;tabli&s;hed in this Land, in great purity; It is expedient and nece&s;&s;ary, that Secret Wor&s;hip of each per&s;on alone, and Private Wor&s;hip of Families be pre&s;|&s;ed and &s;et up, That with National Reformation, the profe&s;&s;ion and power of Godline&s;s both Per&s;onal and Dome&s;tick be advanced.</P>
<P N="1">I. And fir&s;t fot Secret Wor&s;hip; It is mo&s;t nece&s;|&s;ary, that every one apart and by them&s;elves be given to Prayer and Meditation; The un&s;peakable benefit whereof is be&s;t known to them who are mo&s;t exerci|&s;ed therein; This being the mean whereby in a &s;pecial way communion with God is entertained, and right preparation for all other duties obtained; And there|fore it becometh not only Pa&s;tours, within their &s;e|veral Charges, to pre&s;s Per&s;ons of all &s;orts to per|forme
<PB N="6" REF="4">
this duty Morning and Evening, and at other occa&s;ions, but al&s;o it is incumbent to the head of eve|ry Family, to have a care that both them&s;elves and all within their charge be daily diligent herein.</P>
<P N="2">II. The ordinary duties comprehended under the exerci&s;e of Piety, which &s;hould be in Families when they are conveened to that effect, are the&s;e: Fir&s;t, Prayer and Prai&s;es performed, with a &s;pecial reference as wel to the publick condition of the Kirk of God and this Kingdom, as to the pre&s;ent ca&s;e of the Family, and every member thereof. Next, Reading of Scrip|tures with Catechizing in a plain way, that the un|der&s;tandings of the &s;imple may be the better enabled to profit under the publick Ordinances, and they made more capable to under&s;tand the Scriptures when they are read; Together with godly conferences ten|ding to the edification of all the members in the mo&s;t holy faith: As al&s;o, admonition and rebuke upon ju&s;t rea&s;ons from tho&s;e who have Authority in the Family.</P>
<P N="3">III. As the Charge and Office of interpreting the holy Scriptures, is a part of the Mini&s;terial calling, which none (how&s;oever otherwi&s;e qualified) &s;hould take upon him in any place, but he that is duly called thereunto by God and his Kirk: So in every Family where there is any that can read, The holy Scriptures &s;hould be read ordinarily to the Family; And it is commendable that thereafter they confer, and by way of conference make &s;ome good u&s;e of what hath been read and heard: As for example, if any &s;in be repro|ved
<PB N="7" REF="4">
in the Word read, u&s;e may be made thereof, to make all the Family circum&s;pect and watchful again&s;t the &s;ame; Or, if any judgment be threatned or men|tioned to have been inflicted in that portion of Scrip|ture which is read, u&s;e may be made to make all the Family fear, le&s;t the &s;ame or a wor&s;e judgment be|fall them, unle&s;s they beware of the &s;in that procured it: And finally, if any duty be required, or comfort held forth in a promi&s;e, u&s;e may be made to &s;tir up them&s;elves to imploy Chri&s;t for &s;trength to enable them for doing the commanded duty, and to apply the offered comfort; In all which the Ma&s;ter of the Family is to have the chief hand, And any member of the Family may propone one que&s;tion or doubt for re&s;olution.</P>
<P N="4">IIII. The head of the Family is to take care that none of the Family withdraw him&s;elf from any part of Family wor&s;hip; And &s;eeing the ordinary perfor|mance of all the parts of Family-wor&s;hip belongeth properly to the head of the Family, The Mini&s;ter is to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">r up &s;uch as are la&s;ie, and train up &s;uch as are weak to a fitne&s;s for the&s;e exerci&s;es. It being always free to per&s;ons of quality to entertain one approved by the Presbytery for performing Family exerci&s;e; And in other families where the head of the Family is unfit that another con&s;tantly re&s;iding in the Family approved by the Mini&s;ter and Se&s;&s;ion, may be im|ployed in that &s;ervice; Wherein the Mini&s;ter and Se&s;&s;ion are to be countable to the Presbytery. And if a Mini&s;ter by divine providence be brought to any Family, It is requi&s;ite, that at no time he conveen
<PB N="8" REF="5">
a part of the Family for Wor&s;hip &s;ecluding the re&s;t; Except in &s;ingular ca&s;es; &s;pecially concerning the&s;e parties, which (in Chri&s;tian prudence) need not, or ought not to be imparted to others.</P>
<P N="5">V. Let no Idler who hath no particular calling, or vagrant per&s;on under pretence of a calling, be &s;uffer|ed to perform Wor&s;hip in Families, to or for the &s;ame; Seeing per&s;ons tainted with errors or aiming at divi&s;ion, may be ready (after that manner) to creep into hou&s;es and lead captive &s;illy and un&s;table &s;ouls.</P>
<P N="6">VI. At Family Wor&s;hip a &s;pecial care is to be had, that each Family keep by them&s;elves; Neither requiring, inviting, nor admitting per&s;ons from divers Families; Unle&s;s it be tho&s;e who are lodged with them or at meal, or otherwi&s;e with them upon &s;ome lawful occa&s;ion.</P>
<P N="7">VII. What&s;oever hath been the effects and fruits of meetings of per&s;ons of divers Families in the times of corruption or trouble (in which ca&s;es many things are commendable, which otherwi&s;e are not tolerable) Yet when God hath ble&s;&s;ed us with Peace and the Pu|rity of the Go&s;pel, &s;uch meetings of per&s;ons of divers families (except in the ca&s;es mentioned in the&s;e dire|ctions) are to be di&s;approved, as tending to the hinde|rance of the Religious exerci&s;e of each Family by it &s;elf, to the prejudice of the Publick Mini&s;try, to the renting of the Families of particular Congregations, &amp; (in progre&s;s of time) of the whole Kirk; be&s;ides ma|ny offences which may come thereby, to the hard|ning
<PB N="9" REF="5">
of the hearts of carnal men, and grief of the godly.</P>
<P N="8">VIII. On the Lords day, after every one of the Family apart, and the whole Family together have &s;ought the Lord (in who&s;e hands the preparation of mens hearts are) to fit them for the Publike Wor&s;hip, and to ble&s;&s;e to them the Publike Ordinances; The Ma&s;ter of the Family ought to take care that all with|in his charge repair to the publike Wor&s;hip, that he and they may joyn with the re&s;t of the Congregation; And, the publike Wor&s;hip being fini&s;hed, after prayer, he &s;hould take an account what they have heard, And thereafter to &s;pend the re&s;t of the time which they may &s;pare, in Catechizing and in Spiritual Conferences up|on the Word of God; Or el&s;e (going apart) they ought to apply them&s;elves to reading, meditation, and &s;ecret prayer, that they may confirm and increa&s;e their Communion with God; That &s;o the profit which they found in the publike Ordinances may be cheri&s;hed and promoved, and they more edified unto eternal life.</P>
<P N="9">IX. So many as can conceive Prayer, ought to make u&s;e of that gift of God: Albeit the&s;e who are rude and weaker may begin at a &s;et Form of Prayer; But &s;o, as they be not &s;luggi&s;h in &s;tirring up in them&s;elves (ac|cording to their daily nece&s;&s;ities) the &s;pirit of Prayer, which is given to all the children of God in &s;ome mea|&s;ure. To which effect, they ought to be the more fervent and frequent in &s;ecret Prayer to God, for en|abling of their hearts to conceive, and their tongues to
<PB N="10" REF="6">
expre&s;&s;e convenient de&s;ires to God for their Family. And in the mean time, for their greater encouragement, let the&s;e materials of Prayer be meditated upon, and made u&s;e of, as followeth.</P>
<P>Let them confe&s;&s;e to God how unworthy they are to come in his pre&s;ence, and how unfit to wor|&s;hip his Maje&s;tie; And therefore earne&s;tly ask of God the &s;pirit of Prayer.</P>
<P>They are to confe&s;&s;e their &s;ins, and the &s;ins of the Family, accu&s;ing, judging, and condemning them&s;elves for them, till they bring their &s;ouls to &s;ome mea&s;ure of true humiliation.</P>
<P>They are to pour out their &s;ouls to God, in the Name of Chri&s;t, by the Spirit, for forgivene&s;&s;e of &s;ins, for Grace to repent, to believe, and to live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly, and godly; and that they may &s;erve God with joy and delight, walking before him.</P>
<P>They are to give thanks to God for his many mercies to his People, and to them&s;elves, and e&s;pe|cially for his love in Chri&s;t, and for the light of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>They are to pray for &s;uch particular benefits, Spiritual and Temporal, as they &s;tand in need of for the time, (whether it be Morning or Evening) as health or &s;ickne&s;&s;e, pro&s;perity or adver&s;ity.</P>
<P>They ought to pray for the Kirk of Chri&s;t in general, for all the Reformed Kirks, and for this Kirk in particular, and for all that &s;uffer for the Name of Chri&s;t, for all our Superiours, The Kings Maje&s;tie, the Queen, and their Children; for the Magi&s;trates, Mini&s;ters, and whole body of
<PB N="11" REF="6">
the Congregation whereof they are members, as well for their Neighbours ab&s;ent in their lawful af|fairs, as for tho&s;e that are at home.</P>
<P>The Prayer may be clo&s;ed with an earne&s;t de&s;ire that God may be glorified in the coming of the Kingdom of his Son, and in the doing of his will; And with a&s;&s;urance that them&s;elves are accepted, and what they have a&s;ked according to his will &s;hall be done.</P>
<P N="10">X. The&s;e Exerci&s;es ought to be performed in great &s;incerity without delay, laying a&s;ide all Exerci&s;es of worldly bu&s;ine&s;&s;e or hinderances, Notwith&s;tanding the mockings of Athei&s;ts and profane men; In re|&s;pect of the great mercies of God to this Land, and of his &s;evere Corrections wherewith lately he hath ex|erci&s;ed us. And to this effect, per&s;ons of eminencie (and all Elders of the Kirk) not onely ought to &s;tir up them&s;elves and their Families to diligence herein; But al&s;o to concurr effectually, that in all other Families where they have Power and Charge, the &s;aid exerci&s;es be con&s;cionably performed.</P>
<P N="11">XI. Be&s;ides the ordinary duties in Families which are above-mentioned, extraordinary duties both of hu|miliation and thank&s;giving are to be carefully perfor|med in Families, when the Lord by extraordinary oc|ca&s;ions (private or publick) calleth for them.</P>
<P N="12">XII. Seeing the Word of God requireth, That we &s;hould con&s;ider one another provoke unto love and good works; Therefore at all times, and e&s;pecially
<PB N="12" REF="7">
in this time wherein profanity abounds, and mock|ers walking after their own lu&s;ts think it &s;trange that others run not with them to the &s;ame exce&s;&s;e of riot, Every member of this Kirk ought to &s;tir up them&s;elves and one another to the duties of mutuall Edificati|on, by in&s;truction, admonition, rebuke, exhorting one another to manife&s;t the Grace of God, in denying un|godline&s;&s;e and worldly lu&s;ts, and in living godly, &s;o|berly and righteou&s;ly in this pre&s;ent world, by com|forting the feeble-minded, and praying with, or for one another: Which duties re&s;pectively are to be per|formed upon &s;peciall occa&s;ions offered by divine pro|vidence; As namely, when under any calamity, cro&s;&s;e, or great difficulty, coun&s;ell or comfort is &s;ought: Or when an offender is to be reclaimed by private admo|nition; and if that be not effectuall, by joyning one or two more in the admonition, according to the rule of Chri&s;t; That in the mouth of two or three witne&s;&s;es every word may be e&s;tabli&s;hed.</P>
<P N="13">XIII. And becau&s;e it is not given to every one to &s;peak a word in &s;ea&s;on to a wearied or di&s;tre&s;&s;ed con|&s;cience, It is expedient, that a per&s;on (in that ca&s;e) finding no ea&s;e after the u&s;e of all ordinary means pri|vate and publick, have their addre&s;&s;e to their own Pa|&s;tour, or &s;ome experienced Chri&s;tan: But if the per|&s;on troubled in con&s;cience be of that condition, or of that &s;ex, that di&s;cretion, mode&s;ty, or fear of &s;candall requireth a godly, grave, and &s;ecret friend to be pre&s;ent with them in their &s;aid addre&s;&s;e, It is expedient that &s;uch a friend be pre&s;ent.</P>
<P N="14"><PB N="13" REF="7">XIV. When per&s;ons of divers Families are brought together by divine providence, being abroad upon their particular Vocations, or any nece&s;&s;ary occa&s;ions, As they would have the Lord their GOD with them whither&s;oever they go, they ought to walk with GOD, and not neglect the duties of Prayer and Thank&s;giving, but take care that the &s;ame be perform|ed by &s;uch as the company &s;hall judge fitte&s;t: And that they likewi&s;e take heed that no corrupt communicati|on proceed out of their mouth, but that which is good, to the u&s;e of edifying, that it may mini&s;ter grace to the hearers.</P>
<P>The drift and &s;cope of all the&s;e Directions is no o|ther, but that upon the one part the power and pra|ctice of godline&s;&s;e among all the Mini&s;ters and Mem|bers of this Kirk, according to their &s;everall places and vocations, may be cheri&s;hed and advanced, and all im|piety and mocking of Religious Exerci&s;es &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; And upon the other part, that under the name and pre|text of Religious Exerci&s;es, no &s;uch meetings or pra|ctices be allowed as are apt to breed errour, &s;candall, &s;chi&s;me, contempt or mi&s;regard of the publick Ordi|nances and Mini&s;ters, or neglect of the duties of parti|cular Callings, or &s;uch other evils as are the works not of the Spirit, but of the Fle&s;h, and are contrary to Truth and Peace.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A. Ker.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="act">
<PB N="14" REF="8">
<HEAD>Act again&s;t &s;uch as with-draw them&s;elves from the publick wor&s;hip in their own Congregation.</HEAD>
<P>_SInce it hath plea&s;ed God of his infinite goodne&s;&s;e to ble&s;&s;e his Kirk within this Nation with the riches of the Go&s;pel, in giving to us his Ordinan|ces in great purity, liberty, and with|all, a comely and well-e&s;tabli&s;hed or|der: The A&s;&s;embly, in the zeal of God, for pre&s;erving Order, Unity &amp; Peace in the Kirk, for maintaining that re&s;pect which is due to the Ordi|nances and Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for preventing Schi&s;m, noy&s;ome Errours, and all unlawfull practices which may follow on the peoples with-drawing them|&s;elves from their own Congregations, Doth charge e|very Mini&s;ter to be diligent in fulfilling his Mini&s;terie, to be holy and grave in his conver&s;ation, to be faithfull in preaching, declaring the whole coun&s;ell of God, and as he hath occa&s;ion from the Text of Scripture, to re|prove the &s;ins and errours, and pre&s;&s;e the duties of the time; and in all tho&s;e, to ob&s;erve the rules pre&s;cribed by the Acts of A&s;&s;embly; wherein if he be negligent, he is to be cen&s;ured by his own Pre&s;bytery. As al&s;o ordains every Member in every congregation, to keep their own
<PB N="15" REF="8">
Paroch Kirk, to communicate there in the Word and Sacraments: And if any per&s;on or per&s;ons &s;hall here|after u&s;ually ab&s;ent them&s;elves from their own Congre|gations, except in urgent ca&s;es made known to, and ap|proven by the Presbytery, The Mini&s;ters of the&s;e Con|gations whereto they re&s;ort, &s;hall both in publike by preaching, and in private by admonition, &s;hew their di&s;|like of their withdrawing from their own Mini&s;ter; That in &s;o doing, they may witne&s;&s;e to all that hear them, their due care to &s;trengthen the hands of their fellow-labourers in the work of the Lord, and their de|te&s;tation of any thing that may tend to &s;eparation, or any of the above-mentioned evils; Hereby their own Flock will be confirmed in their &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e, and the un&s;table &s;pirits of others will be rectified. Like as the Mini&s;ter of that Congregation from which they do withdraw, &s;hall labour fir&s;t by private admonition to re|claim them; And if any after private admonition given by their own Pa&s;tour do not amend, in that ca&s;e the Pa|&s;tour &s;hall delate the fore&s;aid per&s;ons to the Se&s;&s;ion, who &s;hall cite and cen&s;ure them as contemners of the comely Order of the Kirk; And if the matter be not taken order with there, It is to be brought to the Presbytery: For the better ob&s;erving whereof, the Presbyteries at the Vi&s;itation of their &s;everal Kirks, and Provincial A&s;&s;em|blies, in their cen&s;ure of the &s;everal Presbyteries, &s;hall inquire hereanent; Which Inquiry and Report &s;hall be regi&s;trate in the Provincial Books, that their diligence may be &s;een in the General A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>A. Ker.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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