ESSAY 1X. i<35 'palate is so much disgusted with this sort of entertainment before 'Wind, that heeither disrclishes or neglects whatever solid and wholesome food is set before him in the sermon that follows ; I will not say there is nothing of this folly owing to the. influences of his education ; but it is hard, if not impossible, to amend or prevent all the faults of this kind in the education of children, by the best and wisest of parents*. ,r Since I have occasion, in this place to mention the education of children amongst the persons of the established church, and chose that have separated front it, I could scarcç excuse it to myown conscience, if I shouldneglect to make thib solemn remark on both, viz. that there is something very dangerous that is early impressed .on the minds of children of the one party and the other, and they un- happily learn it from the different respective 'catechisms, in which they are iu- strutted. The children who are educated'in the church of England, as soon as they Lave learned' to answer " what is their name ?" they are immediately told in the next auswee, that in their baptism, "they are made the members of Christ, the children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven." This arises from the doctrine they are generally taught, that baptism and regeneration are much the same thing, or that all'meaare regenerated by being baptised; whereas in scripture, baptism is but án emblem and representation of such a change of the heart, as regenration requires and jmpliea ; and for want of this distinction, the children usually grow up through all their stations in life, without enquiring whether they have had any such real change in their souls, as includes it, it re- pentancefor sin, and a turn of soul towards Grid and godliness, whereby a man is born again and becomes a new. creature. And this necessary change, upon whiéh'the favqur.of God, and an interest in the salvation of Christ, and the king - domof heavendepend, is very grossly and shamefully neglected by them through. their whole lives, they always supposing as they have- been taught, that all this Mork is done in baptism. . And for this reason many divines of the church of England have heartily wished that either these words in the catechism Were a little altered,' or. that this answer should never be taught to children without explaining the meaning of it, Amongthe dissenters, one partof the education is usually learning the catechism, written by the assembly of divines at Westminster, Now in the 19th answer' it is said, " That all mankind by their fall, are under the wrath and curse of God, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever :" And some `persons have been so grossly unwise, as to assert under this influence; that there are children of a span long suffering the ven-.. geance of God in hell, for their interest in the Sin of Adam. Now the very hint of such a notion frights children terribly, and while they are required to lore God with all their hearts, it gives them a very% terrible and cruel ootion of thegreat and blessed God, who has ordained young children to these everlasting torments forthe sin of Adam. There are some that deny this answer, and renounce this doctrine roundly. Indeed there is one author that has endeavoured to explain it in a moderate w v, and to make ajust distinction upon this subject, and that is in the last question of a book called the "ruin and recovery of mankind." There it is chewo that all good Christians, by their faith in Christ, are become the children of Abraham, and that they and their infant childrenhave an interest in the promise matte to Abraham, Gal. iii. 26, 29. vie. that God would betheir God, and the God of their seed," which gives abundant hope for the children of good parents dying in in- fancy, that they are translated to the blessedness of heaven, and the hope of a' joyful resurrection by the covenant of Abraham. And it is the children of the . wicked, who have never accepted of the. covenant of grace, are left under the curse, that is, of temporal death, which Adam had incurred for himself and his posterity, and that without anyprediction or promise of any resurrection at all. Now I speak of those who never sinned actually, nor enjoyed a state of personal trial for themselves in this world. "See the original writer." When these things will be corrected in the education of children, of the une side or the other, it is may the providence of God can determine.
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