highest enjoyments in calm and simple pleasures, such as the domestic circle, or the surrounding scenes of nature afford. Nothing is more prejudicial to young persons, than hurrying them about from place to place, and diverting their attention by a variety of objects, upon which they gaze with ignorant wonder, till their senses are wearied, and the faculties of their minds weakened, without their gaining any correct ideas, or useful knowledge.

CHAP.

CHAPTER IV.

Farther Means proposed for carrying on the Re ligious Instruction of Children.

THOUGH I have recommended that children should be at first instructed in the knowledge of the Scriptures by means of Selections, I would not have the BIBLE itself put out of sight; on the contrary, I would advise that on Sundays the Selections be laid aside, and the Bible produced, in which the child should be required to find the Lessons for the day before he goes to church, and to read them to himself after the minister when he is there; he should also be required to look for the texts of the sermons he hears on that day, and in the hours of instruction, he may be examined concerning them; also concerning the Collects, Epistle, and Gospel, and Psalms for the day. I will suppose the day to be the first Sunday in Advent, the first morning lesson for which is the 1st Chapter of the Prophecy of Isaiah. The lesson being found by the child himself in the Bible, let him read the heads of it, that he may carry them with

him in his mind as he proceeds with the chapter, which he should read in portions, stopping at the end of every paragraph, to be questioned concerning it. When he has read to the fifth verse, he may be told, that by the Vision of Isaiah is to be understood the view of things to come, which the Lord gave to this prophet when he inspired him with the words which are here written, and that he is to consider all that this chapter contains after the first verse (and indeed the whole book), as the words of the Lord, written by the prophet, and, most probably, at first, spoken by him to the people of Israel, in the name of the LORD.

He may then be asked, who Isaiah was? What a prophet is? Whether he can call to mind any circumstances concerning the Kings of Judah mentioned in the first verse of this chapter; for instance, how Uzziah was punished for presuming to take the priest's office upon himself*? What_nation paid tribute to Jotham? What sort of a king Ahaz was? What particular abomination he was guilty of? On what occasion the good Hezekiah sent for the prophet Isaiah? What kingdom those kings reigned over? Why the LORD called the Israelites children that had rebelled against him?

2 Chron. xxvi. 16, &c.
Chron. xxviii. 3.

+ Chron xxvii. 5 2 Kings, xix, 1, &c.

Whether

Whether he does not perceive from the reproaches
in these verses that the people of Israel were at
that time
very wicked?

After reading the next paragraph, he may be instructed and questioned as follows-Tell him that by the body which is described as diseased from head to foot, was meant the whole nation of the Israelites, who, from the highest to the lowest, were become corrupt by forsaking the Lord, and worshipping idols. That by the Daughter of Sion was meant the city of Jerusalem, which was built upon mount Sion, or Zion. That what is said of Jerusalem, verses 8 and 9, was a prophecy concerning the destruction which God would bring upon the city, when a small remnant only of the people should be left. The child may then be asked, Whether he remembers in what manner Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed? And why God cut off those nations?

After the next paragraph, observe to him, that the kingdom of Judah must have been dreadfully wicked when God compared it to Sodom and Gomorrah. That though the sacrifices had been ordained by God himself, He was displeased with the Israelites at that time for offering them, and refused to accept them, because they did not make their

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their offerings with religious hearts. He may then be asked, How our Saviour, when conversing with the woman of Samaria, said God should be worshipped? Whom those people are like, who go to church merely for form's sake? Whether this lesson does not shew that it is a mockery of God to do so? Whether he thinks God will accept of prayers offered up in this manner from any people?

After the next paragraph, observe to the child, how gracious and merciful the Lord was to the rebellious Israelites, in inviting them to repentance, after they had so greatly offended; and tell him, that God deals with Christian nations after the same manner. That God does not indeed send prophets now to warn people of the danger of sin; because they may learn from the writings of the ancient prophets, how God will deal with them if they do not take warning, from his threatenings in the Bible, and from the judgments which he sends upon the earth, namely, war, famine, and pestilence. That in the nation he himself belongs to, there is at this very time a great deal of wickedness practised; and God's judgments are in the earth; that he must be careful not to add to the iniquity of the nation, lest he help to bring down God's judgment upon it. Then ask him, What he thinks from the verses he has just read, God