and blessed them. And grant, O most merciful God, that this bereavement may so touch their hearts, that they may have a new sense of their relation to thee, and dependence upon thee, and a new desire to do thy will, and to devote themselves to thy service in holiness and righteousness all their days.

May we all live as those who must die, and who after death must render an account to their Judge. May we enjoy thy mercies and good gifts with gratitude, and resign them with trust and submission. May the sorrows which thou shalt see fit to send

us, be so improved and sanctified, that we may be able to say, It is good for us that we have been afflicted, that we might learn thy statutes. And when thou shalt call us hence, may we be received, through thine infinite mercy, to that world where sorrow is unknown, and joy is eternal, revealed to us by Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

PART I.

Question. Can you tell me, child, who made you? Answer. God made me and all things.

Q. For what did God make you?

A. To be good and happy.

Q. What is it to be good?

A. To love and obey my parents, to speak the truth always, and to be just and kind to all per

Q. What will God do for you, if you be good?

A. He will love me, and make me happy.

Q. Can you do any thing for God, who is so good to you?

A. I can only love him, obey him, and be thankful to him; I can do nothing for him.

Q. Can you speak to

God?

A. Yes; he has bid us to pray to him for every thing which is fit for us, and he is always ready to hear us.

Q. In what manner should you pray to God?

A. Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, has given us a form of prayer, called the Lord's Prayer.

Q. Repeat the Lord's Prayer.

A. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Q. What will God do to those who are not good? A. He will punish them.

Q. Is God able to punish those who are not good?

A. Yes; he who made all things can do all things; he can take away all our friends, and every thing which he has given us; and he can make us die, whenever he pleases. Q. After you die, shall you live again?

A. Yes; God will raise us from the dead, and if we be good, we shall die

no more.

Q. Who has told us, that God will forgive us, if we repent of our sins, and endeavor to sin no more?

A. Many persons by whom God spake, and particularly Jesus Christ. Q. Who was Jesus Christ?

A. The well beloved Son of God, whom the Father sent to teach men their duty, and to persuade

and encourage them to practise it.

Q. Where do we learn what we know concerning Christ, and what he did, taught, and suffered for the good of men?

A. In the bible, which we should diligently read and study, for our improvement in knowledge and goodness, in order to fit us for heaven.

Q. Is there any form of words in which Christians express the principal articles of their belief?

A. Yes; the Apostles' Creed, which was composed in the first ages of Christianity, is such a form.

Q. Repeat the Apostles' Creed.

A. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven;

and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the holy Ghost; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

PART II.

Q. Does the bible inform us what God himself is?

A. Yes; it teaches us that he is a being who had no beginning, and that he will have no end; that he is almighty, perfectly wise, and infinitely good; that he is every where present; and that he never changes in his nature or disposition.

Q. What does God require of us, in order to live and die in his favor?

A. All that God requires of us is comprehended in these two precepts; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart; and thy neighbor as thyself.

Q. In what manner

must we express our love to God?

A. By a grateful sense of his goodness to us; by a constant care to do his will; and by an entire and cheerful submission to all the dispensations of his providence.

Q. How must we express our love to our fellow men?

A. By doing to others, as we should think it right in them to do to us in the same circumstances.

Q. By what methods must we cherish our love to God, and increase our confidence in him?

A. We must frequently consider the benefits he confers upon us. We must also address ourselves to him in prayer, thanking him for the mercies he bestows upon us, confessing our sins before him, and asking of him whatever he knows to be needful and good for us.

Q. How shall we bring ourselves into the best disposition for performing our duty to God and man?

A. By a proper government of our passions,

according to the dictates of reason and conscience; by living in temperance and chastity; and never indulging a proud, malicious, or selfish, temper.

Q. What should we do, when persons affront and injure us?

A. We should not return evil for evil; and if they repent, we must forgive them, as we hope that God will forgive us our offences against him.

Q. In what manner should we treat the inferior animals?

A. We should treat them with tenderness and humanity; and never torment them or destroy their lives to make ourselves sport; because they are the creatures of God, and because God has commanded us to be merciful unto them.

Q. Has God any where delivered distinct directions, concerning the several branches of our duty to him and to our neighbor?

A. Yes, in the ten commandments, which he delivered to the children