THE METHODIST MAGAZINE, FOR SEPTEMBER 1812. BIOGRAPHY. AN ACCOUNT OF THE REV. PHILIP HENRY, CHAP. IV. His Marriage, Family, Family Religion, and the E removed from Emeral, to the houfe in Worthenbury, which the Judge had built for him, in Feb. 1658; and had one of his fifters with him to keep his houfe. No fooner had he a tent, but God had an altar in it, and that a smoking altar. There he fet up repetition on Sabbath evenings, and welcomed his neighbours to it. His chriftian friends often, and fometimes his brethren in the miniftry, kept days of fafting and prayer at his house. He used to tell people, when they had built new houses, they muft dedicate them, referring to Deut. xx. 5, and Pfal. xxx. 12. Providence having thus brought him into a house of his own, foon after provided him a help meet for him. After long agita tion, April 26, 1660, he married Catherine, the only daughter and heir of Mr. Dan. Matthews, of Broad Oak, in the township of Ifcoyd, in Flintshire. Mr. Matthews was a gentleman of a good eftate; this was his only child; very fair and honourable overtures had been made for her difpofal; but it pleafed God, fo to order events, and to overrule the fpirits of those concerned, that she was referved to be a bleffing to this good man, in things pertaining both to life and godlinefs. His purpose of marriage was published in the church three Lord's-days before; a laudable practice, which he greatly approved, and perfuaded others to adopt. The day before his marriage, he kept as a day of fecret prayer and fafting. He used to say, those who would have comfort in that change of condition, muft fee to it, that they bring none of the guilt of the fins of their fingle state with them into the married state. And the presence of Chrift at a wedding, will VOL. XXXV. SEPTEMBER, 1812. turn turn the water into wine; and he will come, if he be invited by prayer. He took all occafions, while he lived, to exprefs his thankfulness to God, for the great comfort he had in this relation. "A day of mercy," fo he writes on his marriage day, "never to be forgotten." "God had given him one," as he writes afterwards, " every way his helper, in whom he had much comfort, and for whom he thanked God with all his heart." He writes in his Diary, April 26, 1680, "This day we have been married twenty years, in which time we have received of the Lord more than twenty thousand mercies to God be glory." Sometimes he writes, we have been fo long married, and never reconciled; that is, there never was any occafion for it. His prayer for his friends in the married state, was according to his own practice in that ftate; that they might be mutually ferviceable to each other's faith and holiness, and jointly ferviceable to God's honour and glory. In eight year's time, Mrs. Henry brought him fix children; the two eldeft, fons, named John and Matthew; the other four, daughters, named, Sarah, Catherine, Eleanor, and Anne. His eldest son, John, died of the measles, in the fixth year of his age, and the rest were, in mercy, fpared to him. The Lord having built him up into a family, he was faithful in making his ordination vow, "that he and his house would ferve the Lord." He would often fay, we are really that which we are relatively. It is not fo much what we are at church, as what we are in our own houfes. Religion, in the power of it, will be family-religion. In this his practice was very exemplary; he was one who walked before his houfe in a perfect way, with a perfect heart, and great wifdom. His conftant care and prudent endea vour was, not only to put away iniquity far from his tabernacle, but that where he dwelt, the word of Chrift might dwell richly. He made confcience of closet-worship, and did abound in it. He has this note in his Diary, upon removing his closet from one room in his house to another; "This day, my new closet was confecrated, if I may fo fay, with this prayer, that all the prayers that ever should be made in it, according to the will of God, morning, evening, and at noon-day, ordinary, or extraordinary, might be accepted of God, and obtain a gracious answer." He usually advised his friends and children, "be fure you look to your fecret duty, keep that up, whatever you do; the foul cannot profper in the neglect of it. Apoftafy generally begins at the clofet-door; fecret prayer is first neglected-then carelessly performed-then frequently omitted-then wholly caft off-and then farewel God, and Chrift, and all religion." He also advised, that secret duty be performed fecretly, which was the admonition he fometimes gave to those who caufed their voice to be heard on high in that duty. Befides Befides this, he and his wife conftantly prayed together, every morning and evening; and never, if they were together, at home or abroad, was this practice intermitted; and from his own experience of the benefit of it, he would take all opportunities to recommend it to others in that relation, as conducing very much to the comfort of it, and to their furtherance in that, which he would often fay, is the great duty of yoke-fellows; and that is, to do all they can to help one another to heaven. He would say, that this duty of husbands and wives praying together, is intimated, 1 Pet. iii. 7, where they are exhorted to "live together as heirs of the grace of life, that their prayers be not hindered;" that nothing may be done to hinder them from praying together, nor to hinder them in it, nor to fpoil the fuccefs of their prayers. This fanctifies the relation, and obtains a bleffing upon it; makes its comforts the more sweet; its croffes the more eafy; and is a most excellent means of preserving and increasing mutual affection. Many to whom he has recommended the practice of this duty, have had caufe to bless God both for him and his advice. When he was abroad, and flept with any of his friends, he would remind them of his rule," that they who lay together, muft pray together." Befides thefe, he made confcience, and made a business of family worship, in all the parts of it; and in it he was uniform, fteady, and conftant, from the time that he was first called to the charge of a family, to his dying-day; and according to his own practice, he took all occafions to prefs it upon others. He would fay fometimes, if the worship of God be not in the house, write, Lord, have mercy upon us, upon the door, for there is a plague, a curfe in it. It is the judgment of Archbishop Tillotson, in that excellent book which he published a little before his death, upon this fubject, "That conftant family-worship is fo neceffary to keep alive a sense of God and religion in the minds of men, that he fees not how any family that neglects it, can, in reason, be efteemed a family of chriftians, or indeed to have any religion at all." How earnestly would Mr. Henry, reafon with people about this matter, and tell them, what a bleffing it would bring upon them, and their houses, and all that they had. He that makes his house a little church, fhall find that God will make it a little fanctuary. It may be of use to give a particular account of his own practice in this matter, because it was very exemplary. As to the time of it, his rule was, "the earlier the better"-in the morning before worldly business crowded in, and in the evening before the children and fervants began to be fleepy. He induftriously contrived the circumftances of his family- worship, fo as to make it the most folemn, and most likely to answer the end. He always made it the bufinefs of every day, and not as too many make it, a by-business. This being his fixed principle, all other * 4 M 2 affairs affairs must be fure to give way to this. And he would tell thofe who objected to family-worship, that they could not get time for it; that if they would but put on chriftian resolution at first, they would not find the difficulty fo great as they imagined; but after a while, their other affairs would naturally and easily fall in with this, especially where there is that wisdom which is profitable to di rect. Nay, they would find it to be a great preferver of order and decency in a family, and it would be like a hem to all other bufinefs, to keep it from ravelling. He was ever careful to have all his family prefent at family-worfhip; though fometimes, living in the country, he had a great household; yet he would have not only his children, and fojourners, and domeftic fervants, but his workmen and day-labourers, to join in this fervice. The performances of his family-worship were the fame morning and evening. He began with a fhort, but folemn prayer, for the Divine Prefence and grace, affiftance and acceptance; particularly begging a blessing upon the word to be read. He next fung a pfalm; believing, that a fcripture ground for finging pfalms in fa milies, might be taken from Pfal. cxviii. 15, "The voice of rejoic ing and of falvation is in the tabernacle of the righteous ;" and that it is a way to hold forth godliness to fuch as pafs by our windows. He next read a portion of Scripture in order; for though one ftar differeth from another ftar in glory, in the firmament of Scripture, yet wherever God hath a mouth to fpeak, we should have an ear to hear; and the diligent fearcher may find much excellent matter in these parts of Scripture, which we are sometimes tempted to think might have been fpared. How affectionately would he fometimes blefs God for every book, and chapter, and verfe, and line in the Bible! He would sometimes blame those who only pray in their families, and do not read the Scripture. In prayer, we fpeak to God, by the word he speaks to us; and is there any reafon why we should speak all? In the tabernacle, the priests were every day to burn incenfe, and to light the lamps; the former, figuring the duty of prayer, the latter, the duty of reading the word. Sometimes he would fay, "Thofe do well, that pray morning and evening in their families; thofe do better, that pray, and read the Scriptures; but thofe do best of all, that pray, and read, and fing pfalms." What he read in his family, he expounded; and he exhorted all minifters to do so too, as an excellent means of increasing their acquaintance with the Scripture. His expofitions were not fo much critical, as plain, practical, and useful, and such as tended to edification. And herein he excelled, performing that daily exercife, with fo much judgment, and, at the fame time, with fuch facility and clearness, as if every expofition had been premeditated and |