and Country claim a fhare in us, whofe Good and Welfare we ought to confult together with our own. Now this cannot be, without fome particular Calling or Course of Life, wherein to employ ourselves for the Publick Good. God Almighty hath placed Mankind in a mutual Need and Dependence on each other; infomuch, that as the Members of the Natural Body are all helpful and ferviceable to one another, fo all the Members of the Politick Bodies of States and Kingdoms are to be aiding and affifting to every Part for the Good of the Whole: And therefore the Apoftle wills, Ephef. 4. 28. All Men to work with their Hands the thing that is good, that they may have to give to him that needeth.

Not that every one is requir'd to engage in manual or mechanical Trades, and literally to work with the Hand but that they are, in fome honeft way or other, to be employ'd for the Benefit of Mankind: for fome may work with the Head, and affift with their Counsel and Advice others may be Eyes to the Blind, to direct them in their way, or Feet to the Lame, to help them forward in it. But ftill every one must have fome Way or Profeffion in which he is to go, otherwife he is an unprofitable Burden of the Earth, and doth but cumber the Ground on which he treads; yea, fuch a one is not only an unprofitable, but a pernicious Member of the World: for he lives only upon the Spoils of the Creation, and brings Ruin both on himfelf and others. Moreover,

Thirdly, The End of thofe Gifts and Talents we are intrufted withal, is, that we fhould employ and improve them too, in fome good Profeffion, or Courfe of Life. God Almighty, like the Houfholder in the Parable, hath committed fundry Talents to his Servants and Followers, as those of Health, Wealth, Wisdom, Time, Strength, and other Abilities: tho fome have more, and others lefs, yet all have fome for which they are accountable, according to the Measure and Proportion they have receiv'd. Now thefe are to be exercis'd and improv'd in fome particular Calling or Profeffion, that they may efcape the Doom of flothful, and receive the Reward of good and faithful Servants. Befide,

Laftly, The many fad and doleful Effects of Idleness may convince all Men of the Neceffity of a particular Trade or Calling, wherein they are to go; without which, they wander and fall into many unfpeakable Evils, by wafting their Time and Subftance, by abufing their Parts and God's Creatures, and perverting the End of all his Gifts, to their

great

great Trouble and Difquiet here, and to the final Ruin at laft both of Body and Soul.

But as there is a particular Calling, wherein every one is to act for their bodily Suftenance; fo there is,

II. A general Way of Religion, wherein they are all to walk as Chriftians for the Salvation of their Souls: And tho the tormer be various, according as the different Inclinations and Abilities of private Perfons, and likewise the various Neceffities of the Publick, require; yet the latter is but one, wherein they are all to go hand in hand together, without Difcord or Divifion, for their common Salvation. This is the way of Chriftianity, which is fometimes call'd à Race that every one is to run; sometimes a Warfare which we are all to accomplish, before we can attain to the Prize of the high Calling of God in Chrift Jefus.

Now this way of Religion confifts chiefly of what we are to believe, what we are to practife, and what we are to pray for in order to our Salvation: the first of which is briefly fumm'd up in the Apoftles Creed, the fecond in the Ten Commandments, the third in the Lord's Prayer; which, together with the Doctrine of Repentance, and the Holy Sacraments, are the principal Heads or Parts of the Church-Catechifm.

Thus having directed to the Way that we fhould go, together with the two great Paths of it, that lead to everlafting Life, I proceed to the

Next part of the Wife man's Advice, which is to train up Children betimes in this Way: That is, to train them up in the Knowledge of the Mysteries of a Trade or Profeffion, that they may live honeftly and comfortably here in this World; but chiefly to train them up in the Knowledge of the Mysteries of Religion, that they may live happily for ever in the next. Both thefe are inculcated by many Precepts and Examples in Holy Scripture: I know, fays God concerning Abraham, that he will command his Children, and his Houfbold after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do Justice and Judgment, Gen. 18. 19. Joshua refolv'd, that be and his Houfe fould ferve the Lord, Jofh.24. 15. The Ifraelites were commanded to teach their Children the Ged of their Fathers, and to remember the wonderful Things that had been done for them, Pfal. 78. In the New Teftament, Parents are requir'd to inftruct their Children, and to bring

them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. St. Luke confirms Theophilus in the Certainty of thofe things in which he had been inftructed, Luke 1. 4. And St. Paul commends Timothy, that from a Child he had learn'd and known the holy Scriptures, 2 Tim. 3. 15. The holy Scriptures abound with Precepts and Examples to this purpofe, requiring Children to be train'd up in the Knowledge and Fear of God.

·་

This Solomon would have done betimes; Train them up, faith he, betimes in the Way they should go And that, first, because they bring into the World with them ftrong Propenfities to Evil, and great Averfenefs to that which is Good; which things are to be corrected in the beginning, by an early and pious Education, before they grow headftrong, and improve into vitious Habits and Customs. If the Seeds of Virtue be not fow'd betimes, Vice will foon get ground, and the Mind, like a neglected Garden, will be over-run with Weeds and Briars. And therefore Virtue fhould have the start, and Children fhould fer out betimes in their Chriftian Courfe; in which, because they are like to meet with many Difficulties and Temptations, 'tis good to have their Hearts eftablifh'd with Grace, and their Minds fortify'd with the Knowledge of Chrift, that they may the better withstand them. And as Children have great need to be thus timely inftructed, fo is Youth the fittest Season to inftil it into them; for Religion never thrives more kindly than when 'tis planted betimes, and the Foundation of it laid in an early Piety. Youth is the Age of Ductility, when the Mind is foft and tender, and like Wax capable of any Impreffion; which makes it of confequence to ftamp it with the beft: And being like a Twig apt to bend, great care is to be taken to bend it the right way.

Parents then, and Tutors, fhould carefully improve this time, and inttil good Inftructions, when the Mind is fo. pliable and fit to receive them. By this means they may eafily infinuate and plant good Principles in them, which will take off the Difficulties of Religion, and infenfibly reconcile them to the fevereft Acts of a good Life; infomuch that what seems hard to an over-grown Sinner, will be found eafy and pleasant to one that imbib'd these timely Inftructions.

Childhood then, and Youth, are the Times of entring Men into the Way that they fhould go, before evil Counfel and Example clap a wrong Biafs upon them, to turn them

Out

Part I. out of it: And being thus initiated betimes, the Wife-man here adds, that when they are old they will not depart from it. Which is the

Laft Thing to be fpoken to, viz. The Incouragement here given to the Catechizing or Training up Youth, from the lafting Impreffions it leaves behind it: When they are old, &c.

There are two ways of departing from the Way we fhould go, either by falling into Idlenefs and Debauchery, on the one hand; or by falling into Sects and Divifions, on the other By the one we depart from the Way of our Calling, as Men; by the other, from the Way of Religion, as Chriftians. Now the well-training up of Children betimes, is the best Preservative against both: For,

:

First, The inuring them in the beginning to the Bufiness of a Calling, will arm them against Idlenefs, and the many Evils and Debaucheries that flow from it; the Work and Bufinefs which to others is irkfom and tedious, will become eafy and delightful to thofe that are train'd up and accuftom'd to it, and by that means keep them from departing from it.

Again, The well-grounding of Children in the Principles of Religion, will in a great meafure arm them against the Wiles and Artifices of Seducers; this will help to keep them found and ftedfaft in the Faith, and not to be eafily led away by the Error of the Wicked.

For when Truth hath taken the firft Poffeffion of the Mind, Errors and falfe Doctrines will find no Admiffion. The true Reason of that Inftability in Religion as well as Corruption of Manners, that abound in the prefent Age, is the lack of Catechizing, and training up Children in the way of Religion, in the which they fhould go for where this is neglected, or the Mind poifon'd with evil Principles, it either cafts off all Religion, or embraces a very bad one.

Hence our Saviour compares fuch as lay a good Foundation of Inftruction betimes, to a wife Man that built his Houfe on a Rock, which remain'd firm and unfhaken, and ftood the fhock of the greatest Tempeft. Whereas they that lay none, or bad Principles in the beginning, are refembled to the foolife Man that built his House on the Sand, Mat. 7. 27. which was fhaken with every Wind, and could not ftand the force of the flightest Storm.

From

From this whole Difcourfe we may, Firft, Lament the lack of this early Inftruction, which is the great Cause of all the Looseness and Immoralities, and likewife of all the Errors and Divifions of the prefent Times.

And, Secondly, we may exhort all Parents and Mafters to be mindful of this great and weighty Duty, to catechize their Children and Servants, and train them up betimes in the Way they fhould go. And fince the firft Inftructions take fuch faft hold, and make fuch deep and lafting Impreffions on the Mind, they fhould be careful to feafon their tender Years with good Principles and an early Piety; left Children, instead of a Bleffing and a Comfort to their Parents, prove, thro' their own Neglect, only a Curfe and Grief to them.

DISCOURSE

ACTS xi. 26. latter part.

II.

And the Difciples were called Chriftians first at

H

Antioch.

AVING fhew'd the Nature, Neceffity and Usefulness of Catechizing, I come now to the Catechifm itself; where the first Question is, What is your Name? To which the Anfwer is, N. or M. Sc.

The Defign of this Question is,

1. To comply with the Weakness of Children; and by an easy and familiar Question at first, to draw them on to learn and receive Inftruction: their Name being the first thing they learn or remember, by giving a ready Answer to that, they may be encouraged and emboldened to rehearse more; whereas a harder Queftion in the beginning, might be apt to puzzle and difcourage them from going any farther. Again,

2. This Queftion is defign'd to lead them on to the Knowledge and Remembrance of their Baptifm; which being the first and greatest thing that was done for them, ought to be firft learnt and minded by them.

Laftly, Becaufe together with our Name we receive our Christianity; the Defign of this Queftion is, to put Chil

dren