Now the means to cut off the entail of wrath and curfings from a family is, for the fons to disavow thofe fignal actions of impiety, in which their fathers were deeply concerned, or have done fomething of great unworthinefs and difreputation. He who is heir of his father's wickedness, is heir alfo of his father's curse. And a fon comes to inherit a wickedness from his father in fome one or more of these ways, either by approving, or any ways confenting to his father's fin; or by imitation, and direct practice; and especially, by receiving and enjoying the purchase of his rapine, injuftice, and oppreffion; by rifing upon the ruin of his father's foul; by fitting warm in the house, which his father obtained by injury and wrong, and walking in the grounds which are watered with the tears of the widow and fatherless.

Now in all these cafes, the rule holds, If the fon inherits the fin, he cannot call it unjust, if he inherits also his father's punishment. But to break the fatal chain, be must disavow his father's crime.

He must by no means approve of, or confent to, the unjust actions of his ancestors; but, on the contrary, must pray to God to fanctify and forgive them. And to this purpose our church teacheth us to pray, Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers, neither take thou vengeance of "our" fins, that is, of the fins of us and them jointly, in a neceffary gradation from them unto ourfelves.

Much lefs must he imitate his father's crime, by his own direct practice. He that blames the oppreffion committed by any of his predeceffors, and yet shall continue to opprefs his neighbours, and all that are within his reach; this man cannot hope to be eafed from the curfe of his father's fins; he goes on to imitate them, and therefore to fill up their measure, and to heap up a full treasure of wrath.

Above all, he must take care to restore, what his forefathers did ufurp. All poffeffions pass with their proper burdens. If a man's forefathers have tranfmitted the profits thereof to him, it is but reasonable

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he should fuffer alfo the appendant calamity. If we receive good, we must also venture the evil that comes along with it, If our ancestors entered unjustly, there is a curfe and a plague which is due to that oppreffion and injuftice; and that is the burden of the land, and it defcends with it, And the way to take off the curfe, is to quit the title.

And he must himself take care, to lay up in ftore a good foundation against the time to come. Let him ftand firm upon the confidence of the divine grace and mercy; and upon that perfuafion, begin to work upon a new stock. For it is as certain that he may derive a bleffing upon his posterity, as that his parents could transmit a curse. And if any man, by piety, fhould procure God's favour to his children and relations; it is certain that he hath done more, than to escape the punishment of his father's follies. If fin doth abound, and evils are derived from the fin of his parents; much more shall the grace of God abound, and mercy by grace. If he was in danger from the crimes of others,

much rather shall he be fecured by his own piety. For if God punisheth the fins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation, he rewards the piety of fathers, to tens, to hundreds, and to thousands.

And let all parents, and fathers of families, especially be careful in the matter of repentance; that they finish their repentance, and do it thoroughly. For there are certain defects of repentance, which caufe God's anger to be taken from us but imperfectly. And although God, for his fake who died for us, will pardon a returning finner, and bring him to heaven through tribulation and a fiery trial; yet when a man is weary of his forrow, and his humiliations are a load to him, and his fins are not fo perfectly renounced or hated as they ought to be, the parts of repentance which are left unfinished, do fometimes fall upon the heads or upon the fortunes of the children. Thus it was in the cafe of Ahab: He humbled himself, and went foftly, and laid in fackcloth, and intreated for pardon, and God took from him a judgement which was falling hea

vily upon him: But his repentance was imperfect and defective; and the same evil fell upon his fons; for fo faid God, I will bring the evil upon his house in his fon's days. Therefore let us leave no arrears for our posterity to pay; but repent with an entire, a holy, and excellent repentance; that God being reconciled to us thoroughly, he may for our fakes bless alfo our pofterity after us.

And after all this, let a man add a continual, fervent, never-ceafing prayer for his children; ever remembering, when they beg a bleffing, that God hath put much of their fortune into his hands; and that a tranfient, formal praying of God to bless them, will not outweigh the load of a great vice. Nothing can iffue from that fountain, but bitter waters.

And as it would be a great impudence for a condemned traitor, to beg a province for his fon, for his fake; fo it is an ineffective bleffing we give to our children, when we beg for them what we have no title to for ourselves; nay, when we can convey to them nothing but a curfe. The prayer