214 ON INSTRUCTION BY CATECHISMS. afterward ; and hereby they will have a form of soundwords treasured up in their memories, which may be of use to them when they come to know their meaning. Now to answer this objection I will spend some time in shewing the great ineonve- niences and disadvantages of this way of catechising,.or of pre- tending to teach children religion by catechisms which are far above their understanding. I. Inconvenience. Then the littlecreatures will know almost nothing but words : They will be ignorant of the great and necessary things of religion till several years after, when they come to understand what is the sense and signification of so many hard words and phrases. And can your consciences be satisfied to treat your'offspring at this rate ? Shall their whole childhood be spent till eleven or twelve years of age, or perhaps longer, without any real or substantial knowledge of divine things, resting and feeding almost only upon sounds ? Is this the best and happiest way to instil principles of godliness early into tender minds, viz. to teach them words which they cannot understand,-in hope that they will come to understand them hereafter ? Wordsare but, as it were, the husk or shell of this divine food, whereby the souls of children mist be nourished to ever- lasting life. .Though the food is divine, it is possible the husk may be toohard for them to open. Is it the best method for the feeding and nourishing the bodies of youngchildren, to bestow upon them nuts and almonds, in hopes that they will taste the sweetness of them when their teeth are strong enough to break the shell ? Will they not be far better nourished by children's bread, andby food which they can immediately taste and relish ?' And do you not think that 'those children who were taught such plain and easy principles of religion as they can under- stand, will grow up to sincere practices of piety much sooner than others,- who till eleven or twelve years old know little more than hard words? And a few hard words is almost all that they will know unless you have taught them these di- vine things in some plainer words, and by particular expli- cations ? Let us take notice how exceeding solicitous the apostle was that the Corinthián converts, who aböunded in' the gifts of the Spirit, should understand every thing that was spoken in their assemblies ; and with what a sacred severity he satyrizes the practice of speaking divine things without teaching themean- ing ofthem. Read his own words; 1 Cora xiv. from the first verse to the 28. Hear how he' exposes that unreasonable con- duct, even of men inspired with gifts. If thetrumpet give an uncertain, sound who shall prepare himself to the battle? And so you, except ye utter by the tongue things easy to be under
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