falvation of others; they must be perfuaded SER M. that the fupporting, and encouraging, and XVII. promoting the intereft of it, is one of the moft acceptable works to God which they can do.. It must be a great comfort to them to fee numbers of poor children, who but for their bounty would have had no religion at all, come duly and orderly to church; to appear there in decent cloathing; and with an awful and reverent behaviour, fuch as becomes the houfe of God; to hear them join in our prayers and praises to God, and fhew as much attention and devotion as can be expected from their tender years. This, God knows, is fadly overlooked and neglected by parents of a higher rank in their children; who for want of being used from the first to a conftant attendance upon the service of God, and to the joining with devotion in the publick worship, for the reft of their lives come to church to

lean, or gaze, or make their bows and compli ments to one another, even in the midft of the moft exalted parts of divine fervice; or for any other purpofe rather than to fay their prayers with zeal and fervency, or bear a part in finging the praises of God.

I must not omit here that what is given upon this occafion, is for healing those rents and divifions which are made in the church, and a moft effectual means of promoting peace and unity among chriftians. As too many who up for learning and refinement do run into infidelity; fo on the other hand, ignorance is

fet

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the

SER M. the mother of enthusiasm; and this begets a XVII. race of berefies and fchifms, which are in a

great degree prevented by instructing children not in the words only, but in the fenfe and meaning of the church catechifm; making them acquainted with it's doctrines, and principles, and liturgy; and creating in them a reverence for all things and perfons dedicated to the more immediate fervice of God. This ever after prevents in them that indifferency to their own religion, and lukewarmness fo exprefsly condemned in the church of Laodicea, and which is fo fatally prevailing in our own: O! may God avert any farther parallel in the judgment likewife threatened, Rev. iii. 16. for that prevailing hypocrify. This will keep them from being toffed to and fro', and carried about with every wind of doctrine; and from any affectation of that shameful halting between two opinions fo much in vogue and fashion: So that they will walk uprightly, without a conftant turn of the head, and a fide look ever towards feparate and contrary communions. This will lay a foundation for that peace and unity, that brotherly love and chriftian charity in the next generation, which is fo notorioufly wanting in this; for these poor children will have this advantage over thofe of perfons of greater fortune and quality, that they will grow up without any feafoning of party prejudice, and prepoffeffion.

4. In the laft place, it is worth confidering how many and great the fecular advantages

of

of fo well placed and prudent a charity are to SER M. the state. It is contributing to the common XVII. good and benefit of mankind. It is not only for the inftruction of children in divine knowledge, for the falvation of their fouls; but to learn them fuch things as fhall firft qualify them for it, and then to bind them out to trades or callings. This renders them useful to themselves and to the commonwealth; this rescues them from contracting fuch inveterate habits of idleness at firft, which they can never after wear off; and puts them upon getting their living by an honeft industry. This will confiderably leffen that great multitude of vagrant and wandering beggars which upbraid us to God and the world, and daily multiply, to the difgrace, as well as curfe of the nation; and unless the further growth of them be prevented by charity-fchools, and wholesome laws for that purpose, may be the means of bringing down judgments upon us.

This will be found the most effectual means of converting the Irish Papifts of this kingdom; a work which hath been too long neglected, and the omiffion hath met with its punishments in those rebellions and maffacres they have been hurried on to, by a favage nature, and more favage and bloody principles. Experience hath fhewn that all other means without this are like to prove ineffectual; the prefent generation have no more even of a bad religion than their giving up their fenfes and their reafon, which makes it almost impoffible

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for

but a

SER M. for them ever to embrace the true one; XVII. general and united endeavour of fetting up thefe fchools for their children through the nation, before they have their eyes put out, and are grown up meer ideots in chriftianity, could not but have a great effect in a little time; and is the more likely to meet with a bleffing and fuccefs, because of its being performed by methods of charity.

By feafoning fo many children with an early fenfe of religion, and taking them off from a whole life of idleness and want, how many immoralities do we hinder, which they would otherwise be guilty of, and what a flood of iniquity do we ftem? How many cheats and thefts, and whoredoms, and robberies, and murders, will be effectually prevented, which experience fhews us it is not in the power of humane laws to restrain? All which, though committed by the lowest rank of people, yet come into a general account with God, and are added to that mass of fin which ripens a nation for divine vengeance. How How many will by this means be relieved not only from ignorance, and cold, and nakedness,; but from publick fhame, and prifon, and exemplary and untimely deaths? And is any thing more common, than for fuch as are brought to this, in their laft dying words at the place of execution, to lay all their wickedness and mifery upon the want of fome care and instruction in their childhood?

What

What need I fay more? Whatever is given SER M. on this occafion is for reforming the world, as XVII. far as lies in each of us, and laying up a store both of temporal and fpiritual bleffings for pofterity. It is for making many, who would otherwise never come to any fenfe either of natural or revealed religion, good chriftians, and good members of the commonwealth good parents, and good children,; good mafters and miftreffes, and good fervants; and in short, good in every relation of life. It is not only for redeeming multitudes from prefent fin and mifery, who would be otherwife trained up and exercised from their infancy in all kind of villany; but enabling them to convey the many bleffings they receive, to those who come after them; and they again will transmit them farther downward; which is doing good through many generations: And thus a man may be the inftrument of unspeakable good to perfons who fhall be born long after he is dead; he has difperfed abroad, he has given to the poor, his righteousness, even in this fenfe, remaineth for ever.

If it should come into any man's heart to think that these are great things indeed in imagination and theory, but may prove little in the real effects and confequences of the intended charity; and that if they could be fure of the event, they would fpare no cost, but contribute with great freedom and alacrity. Then let me ask them, how far do they think widow's farthing could go in the reDA

this poor

pairs