·' Dire/1.2. <.t. Direll· 3• Dirtll·4· Dir:a.&. Fhw Q>ildrw anJ .Ser'llants muft be Taught. CHAP. XXII. Vir!Elions for tl>e rigl>t Teaching of Q>ildrm tmd Ser1Ja11ts, Jo as may be moft like~ to baw Juccefs. I Here fuppofe them utttrly Jtntauzh~ that you have lo do.with, and _thmfore ihall direct you what to do, f rom the very hrll begmnmg of your Teachmg and th<Jr learning: And I befeech you lludy thiS Chapter more than1flany of the reil; for it is an unfpeakable lofs that befalls – the Church and the fouls of men, for want of sl<JU, and ,.;u, and diligence, in Parents and Ma- , flers Jn this matter. . · P· 1- OjreGt. lo c•• [e your youngtr Children to learn tbt rflords, _tb~uzb they be Hot yet capable of undtrft.andmg tht matter : And do not thmk as fomc do, that this tS but to mak! thtm Hypocritu, a_nd ro ~each them to ta~t God1 N.Jmt in v11in: For it is neither V11nity nor Hypocrifie to help thr:m lirll to undf'flland the words and figns, in order ID their early underllanding of the matttr and jignifi· cation. prherwife no man might teach them any language, nor teach them to rud any wordsthat begood, beCJufe they mull firll underlland the words before the meaning: If a child learn to read in a Bible, it is not· taking Gods Name or Word in vain, though he underlland it not: For it is ; 11 • order to his learning ,to undertland it : And it is 11ot vain which is to fo good a U[e: Ifyou Jeave them untaughc till they come to be rwcnty years of age, they mull thu learn the rPords befOre they can underfiand the matter. Dn not therefore leave them the children of darknefs, for fur ofmake-. ing them hypocri~cs. It will be an q,cellent way to redeem their Time, to teach them tirll thar wh_ich they are capable of learning': A child of live or fix years old can learn the words of a Cate- · chif\l)e or Scripture, b.efore they are c.pable of underllanding them. And then when they come to yen< of underilanding, that part of their work Is done, and they have nothing to do but to lludy the m~aHiHg and Hji of. thofc words which they haye learnt alread~: ·Whereas if rou leave them ut– t<rl(~ntaught till, then, t'hcy mull then be walling a long time tQ learn the fame ,.ordJ which the): mighthave lear~t before : And t~e \ofs 'of f~ ?'uch ~il1)5 is no fmalllofs or fin. · 9· z, D ·reCl:. 2. tbi mofr natural ''"Y of teachmg chtldren the Mean;Hg of Gods Word, at?ll tl!< Matte~s of th,t!r falvati,on, i1 hy fa_milia;; talk... w..i(b.~bcm, fuittd to. their capacitiu: Begin tbil betimu .O_ith, tilem while th<j are on their Mothers laps; anil uji !t fr<quemly. For they arc quickly cap•ble o_,F ~•.. underlfancl(n~ a~out great~r. l"a.ttersas.'~cll _ as about l'cfs. :' And knowledge mull come in by lhw drg<ees: Stay not till their minds aro~rep'oil'ell with vanity and royes, Prov. 2J· 6. 9· 3· DireCl. 3• By all meanr let your childrot learn to reaJ, though yore bt never fo poor, whatever foift y ,u mak._t: And if you have ft.rvants that cannot read, let them learn yet (at fpue hours ) if they be of any capJcity and willingnefs. For it is avery great mercy to be able to read the holy Stripeme and any good Books themfelves, and avery greatmifi:ry to knownothingbut what they hear from ethers. They may read almofi at any time, when they cannot htar. 9· 4• Direll. 4· Let yourchildren rPhtn thry are little on(S read much the Hiftory of the Script•ru: For though thi< of it ft!f is not fufficient to breed in them any faving lznowlcdge, yet it enticeth them ro delight in reading the Bible, and then they will be often at it when they love it : fo that all thde benefits will follow. I• lt will make them Love the Boolz (though it be but with a common Love ). 2: It will make rhem fpend their time in it, when tlfe they would rather beat play. 3· It will acquaint them with Scripture-Hillory, which will afterwards be very ufcful to thtm 4· lt will lead them up by degrees to the knowledge of the dsllrim, which is all along in– terwoven with the Hifiory. §. 5· Dinet. 5 Ta/?...t heed that you tHrn not aU your f4mily inftrullWns into a ctt}lom~Sryformal courfl, by b.Jrt n~di1t.(! and rtpetJting Sermons from dt~y today; rvitiJout familiar per{on11l applicatWn: t·or it is ordin.1rily feen that they will grow as ilccpy, and ienfelcfs,and cufiomary under (u'ch a dull and dillant courfe of duty (though the matter be good ) almoll as if you had faid nothing to tl\_',fflt ·1~ou.r bufinefs therefore mufi: beto get within them, and awaken their confci~nc:s to ~now tha-t "the matter doth moft nearly concern them, and to force them eo make application of 1t to thtmfl l Vt'So ~ 6. Dire6t. 6. Let none •ffell a form.zl Preaching way to their Jamiliu, except they be Pruchers tbcmftlva, or mtn that are able for tbe Miniflry: But rathtr fpmd the time in E.eading to them the powe,fuL'ejf Bo !l?.f, and fpeahing to thtm more f.zmiliarly about the ft~te and matter 1 of their .JD.ulJ. Nor thlt I think it unlawful tor a mm to preach to his family in the fame Method that aMtmfi:cr dQ[h ro his people: For no doubt but he may teach them in the profitablefl manner he c.m : A:nd that which is the bell Method for a fet fpecch in the Pulpit, is ufually the bell Method in a famTiy. B"t
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