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be much better than this, and Christianity would then begin to florish again, and appear in its native beauty and lustre. And verily, whatsoever some may think, such especially as were never catechized themselves, this is as great and necessary a duty as any that is required in all the bible; for God himself, by his apostle, expressly commands all parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; that is, as I have showed, to catechize or instruct them in the principles of the doctrine of our Lord Christ. And therefore they who do it not, live in the breach of a known law, yea, of many laws; there being many places in God's holy word, where the same thing is commanded in other terms by Almighty God himself, saying, These words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, Deut. vi, 6. And again, Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes, and ye shall teach them your children, Deut. xi, 18. This is that which he commands also by the wise man, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. The word in the original, which we translate train up, signifies also to dedicate or devote a child to the service of God, by instructing him how to do it, and exercising him continually in

it;

and therefore in the margin of our Bibles it is translated, catechize a child: so that we have here both the necessity and usefulness of this duty, the necessity, in that it is commanded to train up or catechize a child in the ways of God, and the usefulness, in that what a child is thus taught will remain with him all his life long.

Seeing therefore that God hath laid so strict a command upon all parents to bring up their children in the knowledge of himself and of their duty to him they can expect no other, but that he should take particular notice whether they do it or not, and reward or punish them accordingly. As we see in Abraham, what a special kindness had God for him upon this account. Shall I hide from him, said the Lord, that thing which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and

mighty nation, and all the nations upon earth shall be blessed in him? But why had he such an extraordinary favor for Abraham above all other men? God himself gives us the reason of it, saying, For I know that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord. This was the reason that Abraham was so much in favor, that he was called the friend of God.

And how much God is displeased with parents neglecting to bring up their children in his true faith and fear, and suffering them to grow up and go on in a course of vice and profaneness, appears sufficiently from that severe judgment which he inflicted upon Eli and his whole house for it, saying to Samuel, For I have told him, even Eli, that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever, 1 Sam. iii, 13. The execution of which dreadful judgment is left upon record in the holy scriptures, as a standing monument and caution to all parents to take heed how they educate their children.

Be sure the saints of God in all ages have taken as much care to bring up their children well, as to live well themselves; making as much conscience of this, as of any duty whatsoever which they owe to God; that the children which he hath given them may answer his end in giving them; that they may not be insignificant ciphers in the world, or as fruitless trees that serve only to cumber the ground, but that they may serve and glorify God whilst they are upon earth, so as to be meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

And verily all parents would make this their continual care and study, if they minded either their own or their children's good. Many complain, not without cause, that their children are disobedient and undutiful to them; but the cause is chiefly in themselves. When they have neglected their duty to their children, how can they expect their children should perform their duty to them? They were never taught it, how then can they do it? If there

fore they prove stubborn and obstinate, if they give themselves up to all manner of vice and wickedness, if instead of a comfort they be a grief and trouble to their parents, their parents must blame themselves for it; and when they come to reflect upon it, their sin in neglecting their duty to God and their children in their education, will be a greater trouble to them than any their children can give them. Whereas when parents bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, if their children notwithstanding happen to miscarry afterwards, they have this to comfort them, that they did their duty, and have nothing to answer for upon that account.

But what a mighty advantage would it be to the children themselves, to be thus continually put in mind of their baptismal vow, the articles of their faith, the duties of religion, and what else is contained in the catechism, from their childhood all along till they come to be men or women! Their minds would be then filled with such divine truths and with so great a sense of their duty, that there would be no room left for heresy or sin to enter, at least not so as to get possession and exercise any dominion there. The first impressions that are made upon us are not soon worn out, but usually remain as long as we live. As the wise man observes, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. When one hath been all along from his childhood brought up in the knowledge of God and his holy will, it will stick by him so as to be a constant check upon him, to keep him within the compass of his duty in all ordinary cases; and if any thing extraordinary happen to draw him aside, it will make him restless and uneasy, till he hath recovered himself and got into the right way again; and so it will either keep him innocent, or make him penitent. In short, by the blessing of God attending, as it usually doth, this great duty, when it is conscientiously performed, it is the best means that parents can use, whereby to breed up their children for heaven, to make them fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, both in this world and for ever. Wherefore, if we have any regard either to our own or to our children's eternal welfare, let us set upon this duty in good earnest; let us bring up our children so long in

the nurture and admonition of the Lord, till they fully know him, and all that he would have them believe and do, that they may be saved. But we must be sure to teach them by our example as well as instructions. We must not tell them one thing, and do another ourselves; but show them how to keep the faith and laws of God, by keeping them ourselves before their eyes, all the while we live together upon earth; that when we are all got, one after another, out of this troublesome and naughty world, we and our children may at last meet together in heaven, and there praise and glorify Almighty God, we for them, and they for us, and all for his grace and truth in Jesus Christ our Lord.

After this general instruction in the principles of our holy religion, it will be necessary, as soon as our young Christian is capable of it, to inform him more particularly in the nature of God, and the great mystery of the Trinity, into which we are all baptized; which therefore shall be my next subject.

ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

THOUGH religion in general be a thing that all men naturally agree in, yet there is nothing, I think, that men differ so much about, as about the particular acts and exercise of it; for all nations in the world have some religion, but there is scarce two amongst them all that have the same; yea, in one and the same nation too, there are divers modes of religion professed and practised. No nation or country in the world but will afford us instances of this, and our own, I think, as many as any other whatsoever; for could we but cast our eyes into the several corners of this land, at this very moment, what variety might we observe in those acts which the several parties among us account to be religious! Some we should see sitting silently for a while together, without either speaking or hearing a word spoken; until at length up starts a man or a woman, or some such thing, and entertains them with a discourse made up of censures and malice, blasphemy and nonsense; and this is all the

religion they pretend to. Others we should find crowded together in several corners, sometimes praying, sometimes discoursing as it were, sometimes arguing the case with Almighty God, and acquainting him with what happens in the world, and that with as much confidence and malapertness, as if he were their fellow-creature; and then very gravely walk home, and please themselves with a vain conceit that they are more religious than their neighbours. Another sort of people there are amongst us, who are as superstitious, as the former were slovenly and irreverent in their devotions; for these having been sprinkled with a little holy water, and performed their obeisance to a crucifix or picture, presently fall a pattering over Ave Maria's and Pater Nosters to themselves, as fast as they can; whilst the priest, in the mean while, says something too, but the people generally know not what it is, nor indeed what themselves say, it being all in an unknown tongue. But howsoever, though they know not what they say, they think that God doth, and therefore satisfy themselves that they have said something, though they know not what, and think that God is well pleased with what they have done, because themselves

are so.

Others there are, and, by the blessing of God, far more than all the rest, in this nation, who present themselves before the great Creator and Possessor of the world, in that solemn and reverent manner as the constitutions of our church direct, humbly confessing their manifold sins against God, begging mercy and pardon from him, imploring his favor, and praising his name for all the expressions of his undeserved love to mankind; and all this in our vulgar tongue, that we all understand; and so perform a reasonable service unto God.

And, verily, if we consider the institution itself of that religious worship which we thus perform, it is certainly the best that ever was prescribed by any church, as being most consonant to the general rules of devotion laid down in scripture, as also most conformable to the discipline and practice of the primitive church. But we must not think that we serve God aright, because we

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