the infinite love of God in fending his own Son into the world to fave finners; and what Jefus Chrift has done and fuffered for their falvation; and how they are to be made partakers of the bleffings which he has purchased by his obedience and death; and the way in which they fhould walk fo, as to please God. While you, teach them these things, it is incumbent on you to fet before them the example of a Chriftian life, to pray with them, and for them, to read the Scriptures, to fanctify the Lord's day, to carry them where the gofpel is preached, and to display before their eyes, in your converfation and conduct, the holiness, humility, meekness and benevolence of a disciple of Christ.

Have you done fo and when you ftand at the tribu nal of the great Judge, (which may foon be the cafe,) can you say, “ Lord thou knoweft it has been our conftant endeavour to deny ourselves, to take up the cross and follow Chrift; and that we have been concerned for the falvation of our childrens fouls, as well as for the health and welfare of their bodies. Thou haft been witness to our prayers and tears, while we were fupplicating mercy for them, and earnefly intreating that they may obtain thy favour and bleffing." Happy are thofe parents who can lay their hands on their hearts, and utter these words.

But while fome can speak thus, many of you cannot : and your own consciences, unlefs they be feared, must accufe you of a dreadful neglect of duty. You are compelled by truth to fay, "We have not attended to the falvation of our own fouls: and our childrens have been likewife neglected. If we could provide for their bodies, we thought we had done all that was required. They are living in ignorance and fin; and, alas! they fee nothing in us but the example of a worldly and wicked life: the reading of the facred fcriptures, and prayer, and pious couversation, they feldom or never hear from us." Your condition is unspeakably dreadful, and how will you be able to answer for your conduct at the judgment feat of Christ? O that God may have pity on you and bring you to repentance, before the things that belong to your peace are for ever hid from your eyes!

Some may fay, "Alas! we ourselves are ignorant, and how can we teach our children? We know nothing about the gofpel, and the way of a finner's falvation : and it is entirely out of our power to give them religious inftruction. Will God require fuch a thing from poor people, that are no scholars !" My heart bleeds for your unhappy ftate. Your ignorance will be no excufe before God; for had you diligently fought him, and improved the opportunities of inftruction which were in your power, you might have known his ways. Do not flatter yourselves; your ignorance will prove deftructive to the fouls both of your felves and your chil dren. Hear what God fays in his holy word to fuch as you, Ifa. xxvii. 11. "It is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will fhew them no favour." Hofea iv. 6. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ;"-and 2 Theff. i. 8, 9. "They that know not God fall be punished with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

"Woe unto us," may fome of you fay, "what shall become of us and our poor children, for we are all undone!" With refpect to yourselves, I intreat you to attend diligently on the preaching of the gospel whenever you can find an opportunity. If the minifter preach falvation by grace, through faith in the atonement of Jefus Chrift, and the neceffity of being born again, and being made a new creature, before a perfon can enter in to the kingdom of heaven, and a holy life as only flowing from these principles, receive him as fpeaking the truth; for he is declaring to you the doctrine of Christ. See John iii. But if you never hear these things from his lips; and if he be not very often telling you how perishing finners may be reconciled to God, and extolling the love of the Lord Jefus Chrift in coming down from heaven to earth, and dying upon the crofs, and purchafing eternal falvation for them; and fpeaking much and often of the grace of the Holy Spirit, in regenerating, fanctifying, directing, aud comforting the fouls of men, flee from him as a deceiver; he is not a minister of Chrift; it is the blind leading the blind, and both

will fall into the ditch, and perifh at laft in their iniquities. But I do not wish you to take thefe things upon my word; examine the facred fcriptures, and I am confident you will find it just as I have reprefented. Befides, if you have any neighbours who every day read their Bible, and pray with their families, and talk much about divine things, converfe with them; for you will find their difcourfe very inftructive, and let them be your chofen companions. Search alfo the Bible for yourselves, and befeech the Lord to open your underftandings, that you may understand the Scriptures, which are able to make men wife unto falvation. By reading them, as we would do any other book, we may indeed attain to a natural knowledge of their meaning; but it is God only who can teach us favingly to know the truth; and will he not give his Holy Spirit for this purpose, to those who afk him?

As for your children, teach them as far as you are able; and beg the favour of any pious people you know, to affist you in this very important work; and by cate. chifms and difcourfe, make them acquainted with the firft principles of the oracles of God. It has pleafed God to put it into the hearts of fome zealous Chriftians to go into the villages to inftru&t children how to love Jefus Chrift, and to ferve God. The things they teach are not the peculiar tenets of any one fect or denomination, but the common principles held by all the true difciples of Jefus, which are abfolutely neceflary to be known in order to falvation. If there be any in your neighbourhood, beg the favour of them (for it is a great favour) to teach your children and to enlighten their darkened minds with the knowledge of divine truth: for by reason of a thorough acquaintance with the doctrines of the gospel, they are better qualified for the work than you can poffibly be. Perhaps fome of your neighbours may perfuade you not to do it. But do not listen to them, It is Satan, who wishes your children to live in wickedness and ignorance, that they may be his flaves forever, who puts that counfel into their mouths to prejudice you against them. Whoever they are that would prevent this, although they may profefs much friendship and affection, they are your and your chil

drens worst enemies. Remember, God has commanded that your children should be taught to know and to fear him. As, from your own ignorance of religion, you cannot do it as it ought to be done, here are perfons defirous to affift you, who take the trouble not from the prospect of any worldly gain, but only for the love of Christ, and of immortal fouls. But if you will not allow your children to go to them, you will be inexcufable in that awful day when you and they shall appear before the judgment feat of Chrift. They, even your own children, will then upbraid you with your negligence, and bring the most bitter accufations against you. "Thefe," will they fay to the Judge," are our cruel parents, who did not teach us the knowledge of God and the Redeemer: and when others would have taught us they would not allow them."—"Ye unnatural monfters, for we may justly call you fo, though ye be our fathers and mothers, ye ruined our fouls, and brought as into this condemnation; and we hail have reason through eternity to curfe the father who begat us and the mother who brought us forth, and the day in which we were born." How will you be able to bear fuch reproaches? You can urge nothing in your defence: you must be speechlefs and felf condemned. What horror and anguish will fill your hearts, when you hear Jefus Christ address yon thus: "Ye wicked fervants, how could ye be fo cruel as not only to ruin your own fouls, but also to murder the fouls of your children, and refufe to let them receive inftruction? Ye thought it not enough to lead a wicked life yourselves; but ye brought up your children to be ignorant and wicked alfo: Depart, accurfed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the de vil and his angels."

That you may escape this dreadful doom, flee without delay to Jefus for divine teaching and pardoning mercy, and fan&tifying grace for your own fouls. Convinced of the importance of religious inftruction for yourselves, you will alfo be convinced of the neceffity of inftructing your children. You will immediately begin to teach them what you yourself know; and you will with thankfulness embrace the help of others who are willing to inftruct them. You will alfo attend, to

gether with your children, and endeavour to affift them in recollecting the truths they have heard. Remember, O parents, that the time is fhort, and that the fashion of this world paffeth away. Soon muft you be called to an eternal, state, and your children must quickly follow. Neglect not, therefore, the great falvation revealed in the gofpel. While you attend to the falvation of your own fouls, God may probably honour you as the means of converting your children.

The importance of the foregoing advices may be confirmed by the following narrative, the truth of which may be depended on.

A husband and his wife were, a few years ago, brought to the faving knowledge of the truth. They had formerly fuftained a decent character in life, and paffed for very good Chriftians among those who conceive a regular deportment to be all that is neceffary to constitute a Chriftian. Providence had committed to their charge a large family of children. While the parents were ignorant of Jefus Chrift, they instructed their family in thofe things only of which they themfelves were informed. As yet they knew not. that "this life eternal, to know the only true God, and Jefus Christ, whom he hath fent." But when "it pleated God to reveal his Son in them," they anxiously endeavoured to communitate to their children "the words of this life." Nor was their labour in vain. They bad the unspeakable comfort of gaining to the Saviour one of their children, a boy, about twelve years of age.

This boy, as might be expected, proved the comfort of his parents. Some time ago, his mother was vifited with bodily diftrefs, which confined her to her room for feveral months. Calling for her one day, the thus addreffed the writer of this anecdotę. 66 I cannot exprefs, Sir, (faid fhe) the comfort I have in my Son. He is the means, in a great measure, of alleviating my affliction. He watches over me with filial, with Chriftian attention.