therefore, however right, fo far as it goes, doth not go far enough to entitle us to reward, or even to secure us from punifhment; which nothing can more justly deserve, than to have little or no fenfe of filial affection to our heavenly Father, and of thankful love to our crucified Redeemer and gracious Sanctifier, who have the highest right to the utmost regard that our fouls are capable of feeling.. You must resolve therefore, not only to be Chriftians externally in your lives, but internally in your hearts. And, let me remind you further, you will refolve on neither to good purpose, if you truft to yourselves alone for the performance. You will contrive, perhaps, great schemes of amendment and goodness, but you will execute very little of them; or you will do a good deal, it may be, in fome particulars, and leave others, equally neceffary, undone or you will go on a while, and then fall, when you thought you were fureft of standing: or, what seeming progrefs foever you may make, you will ruin it all, by thinking too highly of yourfelves for it: or fome way or another you will certainly fail, unless the grace of God enable you, firft to be deeply fenfible of your own guilt and weakness; then to lay hold, by faith in Chrift, on his promised mercy and help; in the ftrength of that help to obey his commands; and, after all, to know that you are ftill unprofitable fervants*. Now this grace you may certainly have, in whatever measure you want it, by earnest prayer for it, humble dependance upon it, and such honest and diligent use of the lower degrees of it, as he hath promised to reward with higher degrees; and you can have it no other way. If ever therefore, when we exhort you to duties, moral or religious, we omit to mention the great duty of applying for more strength from above to be given you, not for your own fakes, but that of your bleffed Redeemer, in order to practise them, it is by no means because we think fuch application unneceffary; but because we hope you know it fo well to be abfolutely neceffary, that we need not always remind of it, But if we are, at any time, wanting to you in this refpect or any other, be not therefore wanting to yourfelves, but work out your own falvation from this motive, which alone will procure you fuc *Luke xvii. 10. you cefs, cefs, that God worketh in you both to will and to do*. And I pray God to fanctify you whelly, and preferve your whole fpirit, foul, and body blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift+. Having faid thus much for you all in general, I defire you, children, to take notice of what I am going to fay, in the laft place, to you in particular. Your condition is of the lower kind; but your inftruction hath been better than many of your fuperiors have had. If therefore your behaviour be bad, your condemnation will be heavy; and if it be good, you may be to the full as happy in this world and the next, as if you were of ever fo high rank. For true happiness comes only from doing our duty, and none will ever come from tranf grething it; but, whatever pleasure or profit fin may promife, they will foon turn into pain and lofs. Remember therefore, as long as you live, what you have been taught here. Remember particularly the answers to those two main questions: What is thy duty towards God? and, what is thy duty towards thy neighbour? And be affured, that unless you practise both, when you go hence to fervices and apprenticeships, all the money and labour, that hath been spent on you, will be spent in vain; you will be a difgrace to the education and teaching that you have had; you will probably be very miferable here, and certainly fo for ever hereafter. But, if you practise both, you will make an honeft and grateful return for the kindnefs that you have received from your benefactors; which I hope you will never forget, but imitate, if God enables you to do it; you will be loved of your Maker and fellow-creatures; you will live in peace of mind, you will die with comfort, and be received into everlafting blifs. Think then, I entreat and charge you, ferioufly and often of these things. And, to remind yourselves of them more effectually, be diligent in reading fuch good books as are gi ven you at your leaving fchool, or otherwife put into your hands; be conftant in coming to church, on the Lord's day at leaft: fuch of you as go away before you are confirmed, take the first opportunity, after you are fourteen, to apply to your minifter, wherever you are, that you may be well inftructed for Phil ii. 12, 13. † 1 Thell. v. 23 for that holy ordinance, and then admitted to it. Within a reasonable time after this, prepare yourselves, and defire him and your friends to affift in preparing you to receive the Lord's Supper concerning which you have heard very lately, how exprefsly it is required of all Christians, (a name that comprehends young as well as old) for the means of improving them in every thing that is good. And may God give his grace to you and to us all, that by the help of those means, with which he hath fo plentifully favoured us, we may each of us improve daily in the knowledge of his truth, and the love of our duty, till at length we come unto the measure of the ftature of the fulness of Chrift*. *Eph iv. 2. VOL. IVI ΑΝ R MAYHEW's * book is written, partly against the Church of England in general; partly against the conduct of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, in fettling minifters of that church in the Maffachusetts and Connecticut; partly against appointing bishops to refide in his Majefty's American Colonies. The first, though not formally proposed by him as one head of his work, appears to be in his view throughout the whole of it. And if fatisfaction be previously *The quotations out of Dr Mayhew's obfervations are taken from the English edition, which contains 147 pages. The American hath 176 pages. vioufly given to candid perfons on this point, they will be better prepared for confidering the other two. He objects against the Conftitution and Worship of the Church of England, as unfcriptural *. Now, even had he attempted to brig proof of this, it would only lead into a long difpute, very little connected with his profeffed fubject, and into which, he declares, it was by no means his defign to enter. But, inftead of proofs, he contents himself with bold affertions, reproachful names, and ludicrous reprefentations; a likely method indeed to please the prejudiced, and carry the thoughtlefs along with him, but not to prefuade the confiderate and judicious. Whatever the Doctor may think of our church, it hath ever been highly honoured by foreign proteftants. The Lutherans prefer it to the Calvinist communion, the Calvinifts to the Lutheran, the Greeks to both: which may fufficiently juftify the expreffion, understood in a latitude not uncommon, that all other perfuafions efteem it next to their own . And further, moft, if not all of them, blame the Englifh Diffenters for feparating from it. The Doctor seems to entertain the worse opinion of it, because the members of the Church of Rome likewise esteem it more than they do others §. But we have to reply, that they hate it more also, as the most dangerous enemy to their caufe, and ftrongeft bulwark of the Reformation. If there be fome appointments in it, which the fcripture doth not require; fo have their been from the first in the Church of New England too, as may be seen in the appendix to the hiftory of that country, written by Mr Neale, a diffenting minifter: and fo there are in all the churches of the world. Ours hath not many things of this kind, nor lays great ftrefs upon them: and to think indifferent things unlawful, is as unreasonable and fuperftitious, as to think them neceffary. He speaks with horror of its enormous hierarchy, afcending by various gradations from the dirt to the skies and refembling that of the Romish Church, in which one great Prelate prefides over the whole ¶. What he means by the former words, befides indeterminate abufe, perhaps he could not eafily explain. That there are different ranks of men in civil 3 T 2 govern * Page 128 Page 126. Ibid. § Page 127 Page 128 ¶ Page 67% |