■^mm^ 
 
^ 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OP THE 
 
 Theological Seminary, 
 
 . PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Snelf, /cXZ)^ Section 
 
 Book, No..., 1.... 
 
^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 

LECTURES 
 
 ON 
 
 THE CATECHISM 
 
 ON CONFIRMATION, AND THE LITURGY OF THE PRO- 
 TESTANT EPISCOPAL church; delivered TO THE 
 STUDENTS OF THAT DENOMINATION IN THE PHILA- 
 DELPHIA ACADEMY: 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED 
 
 THE CATECHISM OF SAID CHURCH, 
 
 AN APPENDIX, AND OCCASIONAL PRAYERS, PETITIONS, 
 EJACULATIONS, AND HYMNS; WITH AN ADDRESS TO 
 PARENTS, SPONSORS, AND GUARDIANS. 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE USE OF THAT INSTITUTION, AND OF 
 FAMILIES BELONGING TO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 BY JAMES ABERCROMBIE, D. I). 
 
 one of the assistant ministers of christ church, st 
 Peter's, and st. james's. 
 
 AND DIRECTOR OF THE ACADEMY. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, CONSIDERABLY ENLARGED. 
 
 " Train up a child in the way he should g-o, and when he is old he will 
 not depart from it." Solomw. 
 
 PHILAHELPHIA. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY BRADFORD AND INSKEEP, 
 NO. 4, SOUTH THIRD STREET. 
 1811. 
 
DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, to wit: 
 
 Be it rememberedy That on the twenty-first day of May, in 
 ^/^^^^^7i^ the thirty-fifth year of the independence of the United States of 
 S SEAL. S America, A. D. 1811, i?7'flt//br J c;? /7is^'eep of the said district, 
 ^ .^ have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof 
 
 * they claim ^s proprietors, in the words following-, to wit: 
 Lectures on the Catechism, on Confirmation, and the Liturgy of the Pro- 
 testant Episcopal Church; dehvered to the students of that denomination in the 
 Philadelphia Academy. To which is prefixed the Cateciiism of said Chuixh, 
 an Appendix and occasional Prayers, Petitions, Ejaculations, and Hymns; with 
 an Address to Parents, Sponsors, and Guardians. Published for the use of 
 that Institution, and of families belonging to the Episcopal Church. By James 
 Abercrombie, D.D. one of the assistant ministers of Christ Church, St. Peter's 
 and St. James's, and Director of the Academy. Second edition, considerably 
 enlarged. 
 
 " Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depai-t from it.'* 
 
 Solomon. 
 In conformity to the act of the congress of the United States, intituled, " an 
 act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, 
 and books, to the authors and proprietors of sucii copies during the times 
 therein mentioned." — And also to the act, entitled, " an act supplementary to 
 an act, entitled " an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the 
 copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such co- 
 pies during the times therein mentioned," and extending the benefits thereof 
 to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints." 
 
 D. CALDWELL, 
 Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania^ 
 
TO 
 
 THE RIGHT REV. WILLIAM WHITE, D. D. 
 
 SISHOF OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAI. CHURCH IS 
 THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 |RiGHT Reverend ani> dear Sir, 
 
 My uniform experience of your benevolence encoura- 
 ges im to trust, that you will pardon the liberty I now 
 take of inscribing the following familiar exposition of 
 ^ f>^ Catechism to you. The offering is small; but I am 
 induced to present it— from a sense of propriety in address- 
 ingf as one of your assistant ministers, any Theological 
 Publication^ to the Head of our Church-^-from a con- 
 viction that the weight and influence of your name, even 
 in an Epistle Dedicatory, will excite attention, and give 
 efficacy to the sentiments contained in the subsequent pa- 
 ges — and, from the opportunity which it affords me, of 
 thus publicly expressing my profound veneration for 
 
vi DEDICATION. 
 
 your charactei*^ my respect for your extensive etnidition, 
 and my esteem for that brilliant assemblage of virtues 
 which m YOU so conspicuously adoim and dignify your 
 fii linguished and elevated station. 
 
 With the most ardent gratitude aiid unfeigned affection, 
 
 I am, 
 
 Bight Reverend and dear Sir, 
 
 Your sincere Friend, 
 
 And very humble Servant, 
 
 JAMES ABERCROMBIE. 
 
 Vhilad. Feb. 13, 1811. 
 
AD\ ERTISE^IKNT FOR THIS EDITION 
 
 The very favourable reception which has been 
 given by all the States to the first edition of this book, 
 having exhausted the impression, and a second 
 being called for, I have endeavoured to render it 
 worthy of attention, by some additional questions and 
 answers in the Appendix to the Catechism, and a con- 
 siderable enlargement of some of the Lectures, and of 
 the Address to Parents, Sponsors and Guardians. I 
 trust I have added thereby to its usefulness, though the 
 restriction imposed on me by the nature of the work, 
 which necessarily prescribes the observance of as 
 much brevity as possible in its various departments, 
 prevented that amplitude of discussion which would 
 otherwise have been- proper. 
 
 Fehfuary 13, 1811. J. A. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 The following Lectures were written for the 
 purpose of explaining, and impressing upon the 
 youthful mind, the elementary principles of the 
 Christian Religion, as taught by our Church; 
 though, at the same time, without inculcating its pe- 
 culiar tenets in any way which could influence or 
 give offence to the mind of a youth belonging to any 
 other religious society. 
 
 The infinite value of Revealed Religion, to cor- 
 rect and restrain the turbulence of our depraved pas- 
 sions; to form the human character to habits of vir- 
 tuous exertion; to purify, to elevate, and sublime the 
 human heai't, by awakening the fervour of true 
 devotion; and by thus leading man to a constant 
 intercourse with his God, and preparing his soul for 
 the enjoyment of a superior state of existence, is so 
 evident, that the propriety of instilling its important 
 doctrines into the human mind in early life^ cannot 
 be questioned. 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 Under this conviction, the author considered k 
 his duty, as Director of the Ph i l a d e l p h i a Ac a d e - 
 MY, to blend religious instruction with classical; and 
 to endeavour to bring up his pupils "in the nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord,""^ as well as to teach 
 them those elements of science and polite literature, 
 which would enable them to become useful and orna- 
 inental members of society. He, therefore, has uni- 
 &ycmly called wpon them to recite, every Saturda}, 
 according to their respective denominations, the Ca- 
 techism of tliat association of Christians to which they 
 i^elonged; after which, they are all assembled together, 
 and a short lecture, or explanatory address, upon 
 some of the leading and general principles of Chris- 
 tianity, delivei'edto them. In the course of this in- 
 structic4i he thought it proper occasionally to offer 
 to tiie youths of the Episcopal Church, a concise and 
 plain exposition of t/iei?' formulary of religious in- 
 struction; and the more so, as he is himself a Minis- 
 ter of that Church, and a great majority of his pupils 
 Episcopalians: In doing this, he endeavoured to ad- 
 here, as much as possible, to the generally received 
 iinictcs of failli; and to express the sentiments in 
 laj^uagc perspicuous, unomamented, and accom- 
 modated to the capacities of those to wliom it was 
 
 * Kr)J^. vi. 4. 
 
PREFACE, ix 
 
 addressed. So that the Author can have no motive 
 for now committing it to the press, but the desire of 
 disseminating the great Truths of our Holy Religion, 
 and imbuing the minds of the youths committed to 
 his care with those salutary and blessed principles 
 which are able to make them ^* wise unto salvation."* 
 The Lectures are necessarily short, that the at- 
 tention of his young hearers might not be fatigued by 
 prolixity, or enfeebled by exertion; but that brevity 
 might induce them to listen with composure and 
 earnestness, as well as enable them more easily to re- 
 member the doctrines and precepts delivered; and, in 
 general, they are concluded with some appropriate 
 Collect of our Church. The Scriptural authorities 
 upon which the doctrines are founded, are given at 
 the bottom of the page; and it is earnestly recom- 
 mended to those young persons who read the Lec- 
 tures, to refer immediately to them, not only to be 
 convinced that my assertions are supported by the 
 highest possible proofs, but to confirm thereby their 
 faith in our Holy religion and its doctrines, as held 
 by our Church; and that they may see how ample 
 and explicit the Sacred Oracles are in the declaration 
 of all those truths, our faith in which is necessary to 
 our salvation. 
 
 *2 Tim. iii. 15. 
 B 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 By the frequent recurrence of reflections on the 
 value of time, arising from the uncertainty of human 
 life, the responsibility of man, and the rapid approach 
 of Death, Judgment, and Eternity, it is hoped that 
 the importance of those awful realities will be there- 
 by more forcibly and indelibly impressed upon the 
 youthful mind. 
 
 In the course of these Lectures die Author hath 
 sometimes availed himself of the language of former 
 commentators on the Catechism, in order to render 
 his addresses more impressive and efficacious. And 
 he is aware that it may be asked, " why could not 
 some one of the many expositions of our Catechism 
 which are extant have been adopted!" His answer is, 
 because all which he has yet seen, have been either 
 too elaborate in their explanations, or too minute 
 and dilFuse, and sometimes too metaphysical upon 
 doctrinal points; thereby extending the exposition so 
 far as to render it too large to attract and engage the 
 attention of a youthful mind; and better calculated 
 for tlie closet of tlie student, than the hand and head of 
 the schoolboy. The Author of these Lectures has 
 endeavoured to obviate this objection, by condensing 
 instruction and exhortation upon the most essential 
 principles of our Religion, into very brief and familiar 
 addresses* How t^r he has succeeded in the attempt, 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 the public must now decide. He commits them to 
 his pupils and to their parents, hoping that by the fre- 
 quent perusal of them, the former may be led to the 
 knowledge, admiration, and love of divine truth, and 
 eventually conducted thereby into the Kingdom of 
 Heaven. 
 
AN ADDEESS 
 
 PARENTS, SPONSORS, AND GUARDIANS. 
 
 Professing Christians, 
 
 The general and truly lamentable inattention of 
 parents, with respect to the instruction of their chil- 
 dren in religious knowledge, induces the present pub- 
 lication. 
 
 It is indeed, a subject of very alarming and dis- 
 tressing observation to every serious, every real 
 Christian, that the rising generation are so cruelly, 
 so criminally neglected at home, as to their spiritual 
 and eternal interests; and that in so high a degree, 
 that it requires not the spirit of prophecy to foretel, 
 that unless an immediate reformation of conduct to- 
 wai'dsthem take place, they will be a generation of 
 Infidels. This assertion is founded not merely, 
 upon vague supposition, or groundless apprehension, 
 but upon the irresistible conviction resulting from ex- 
 perience. 
 
x'lv AN ADDllESS, kc. 
 
 Since the first establishment of the Institution 
 over which I still preside, a period of eleven years has 
 elapsed: during which I have been in the practice of 
 examining my pupils once every week in the Cate- 
 chism of that denomination of Christians to which 
 they respectively belonged. The majority have al- 
 ways been Episcopalians; yet of them I have never 
 found, of the aggregate number, five, who, at their en- 
 trance into the Academy, could answer any five ques- 
 tions in the Catechism, or who had received any reli- 
 gious instruction, but that which they had occasion- 
 ally heard in the Church. 
 
 Dreadful, cruel inattention! That in a Christian 
 country, children, many of them youths of fifteen 
 years, the offspring of parents callin.sj themselves 
 Christians, should, at that age, be as ignorant of the 
 principles of the Christian religion, as the savage that 
 roams the wilderness! 
 
 O, PcU-ents, Sponsors, Guardians! Aw^ke fi-om 
 your spiritual lethargy! Rouse yourselves from your 
 infatuated devotion to worldly objects; your criminal, 
 fatal indifference to the spiritual and eternal Avelfarc of 
 those whom Providence hath placed immediately un- 
 der your authority and direction. Blush at your de- 
 ficiency-*-and tremble at the consideration'of the una- 
 voidable, the awful cpnsequenccs which must result 
 
AN ADDRESS, See. xv 
 
 both to you and to them therefrom. Can such mat- 
 tention be reconciled with rec/ affection, do^d a sincere 
 regard for cither their temporal or eternal interest? Re- 
 member, that their souls are in j/our hands — and that 
 their souls are immortal, — Return not the talent un- 
 improved to God who gave it to you. 
 
 « Be wise, nor make 
 
 Heaven's highest blessing vengeance— O! be wise, 
 
 Nor make a curse of immortality. 
 
 Say, know ye what it is?-^or what ye are? 
 
 Know ye th* imfiortance of a soul immortal? 
 
 Behold the midnight glory; worlds on worlds! 
 
 Amazing pomp! — Redouble this amaze; 
 
 Ten thousand add, and twice ten thousand more, 
 
 Then weigh the whole.-— Owe soul outweighs them all; 
 
 And calls th* astonishing magnificence 
 
 Of unintelligent Creation, poor." 
 
 YouNG*s Night Thoughts, N. 7. 
 
 Consider the high degree of responsibility at- 
 tached to your characters-— consider the powerful 
 operation of habit — the important influence of early 
 impressions upon the human mind—- the commanding 
 authority of example, and consequently, awful reflec- 
 tion! that the eternal salvation, or the perdition of the 
 childreti entrusted to your guidance may, and proba- 
 bly will, depend upon the principles and opinions they 
 imbibe in their youthful years: from you they w*ill 
 naturally adopt the opinions and practices which they 
 
xvi AN ADDRESS) 8^c. 
 
 observe in you, and if those are inconsistent with the 
 principles you inculcate, and the precepts you enjoin 
 upon them, your advice, your injunctions, be assured, 
 will prove nugatory and unavailing: for how can a pa- 
 rent with any hope of success require his children to 
 attend regularly upon the public worship of God, or 
 inculcate it as a duty, if by his example he encourage 
 them not to do so? how can a parent reprove a child for 
 taking the name of God in vain, if he accustom him- 
 self to profane swearing? how can a parent verbally 
 recommend to his children prayer, the study of the 
 Holy Scriptures, or the partaking of that spiritual 
 food and sustenance which is offered for our growth 
 in grace in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, if he 
 encourage them to abstain from all by his powerful 
 and fatal example? for 
 
 " As the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." 
 
 Teach them, therefore, in the very dawn of their 
 existence, to fear God, and to keep his command- 
 ments — to love him as the giver of life, and of every 
 good gift to man — Teach them to consider Religi- 
 on as " the one thing needful,"^ " the pearl of great 
 price:"! the cultivation of its principles, the perform- 
 ance of its duties, instead of checking, will heighten 
 their enjoyment of the comforts, the pleasures, the 
 
 * Luke. X. 42. f Mat. xiii. 46. 
 
AN ADDRESS^ &c. xvu 
 
 gaycties of social life, which ai'c suited ta their age^ 
 and which under such guidance they may with safe- 
 ty, with innocence, with propriety, partake of— for, 
 true Religion is not the parent of gloom, but of cheer- 
 fulness ^nd joy. Tell them that they are rational be- 
 ings, and consequently accountable for their thoughts, 
 words, and actions. Tell them that they are 
 immortal beings, that this world is a state of pro- 
 bation, and that their happiness or misery in the next 
 state of existence will depend upon the desires of the 
 heart here, and " the deeds done in the body."* Per- 
 suade and enjoin them to read the Holy Scriptures 
 *' which are able to make them wise unto salvation.*'^ 
 Make them acquainted with the principles, the pre- 
 cepts, the doctrines of our Holy Religion, as well by 
 your own instruction, as by putting into their 
 hands proper books on that all important subject. 
 Teach them religiously to observe the Lord's day, to 
 " call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord"J — 
 and on that sacred day to worship him " with an holy 
 worship II'' — to " enter into his gates with thanksgiv- 
 ing, and into his courts with prayer and praise "^-and, 
 O! neglect not to encourage them to pray, by accustom- 
 ing them to Family Prayer — remember, with re- 
 spect to this essential duty, the examples of Abraham, 
 
 * Rom. ii. 6. f 2. Tim iii. 15. X Isaiah Iviii. 13. 
 
 II Ps. ex. 3. ^ Ps. c. 4= 
 
xviii AN ADDRESS, £cc. 
 
 of Joshua, of David, of Job, of Daniel, of Cornelius, 
 and of many other scriptural characters! and that it is 
 a duty which no truly christian head of a family can 
 neglect with impunity; for it is a mode of worship 
 calculated in a peculiar manner, to induce the favour 
 and blessing of Almighty God; to promote harmony, 
 affection, and benevolence in your domestic relations; 
 and peculiarly to impress your children with a sense 
 of religious obligation, of the omniscience, the om- 
 nipresence and omnipotence of God. Pray with 
 them as well ^sjbr them. Lead them in the way to 
 Heaven. Instruct them by your precepts, and per- 
 suade, support, and animate them by your example. 
 Endeavour to convince them — of the value of Time, 
 of its rapid and irrevocable flight, and the inconceiv- 
 able reward or punishment which will hereafter await 
 the improvement or neglect of so invaluable a talent— 
 That their future respectability or insignificance in 
 society, the comfort or misery of their parents, the 
 soothing approbation or the bitter reproaches of their 
 own consciences, and the nature of their condition in 
 the world of spirits, will probably be derived from 
 the principles they form, and the habits they acquire, 
 at the commencement of the journey of human life — 
 That a compliance with the duties and claims of Re- 
 ligion, is in no degree incompatible with the enjoy- 
 
AN* ADDRESS, &c. xix 
 
 ment of the innocent amusements and virtuous plea- 
 sures of social life, but on the contrary will increase 
 and refine that enjoyment — That the native dignity 
 of Virtue, and the commanding authority of true 
 Piety, will ever procure the veneration, esteem, and 
 affection of the wise and good; and as invariably re- 
 press the insolence of folly, and repel the disgusting 
 ebullitions of vulgarity and vice. 
 
 By frequently offering such suggestions as these,, 
 you will familiarize their minds to the contempla- 
 tion of divine truth, and induce the performance of 
 their religious obligations. 
 
 Thus will you discharge your duty to them, 
 to society, and to God: and thus will you render them 
 blessings to the world, and heirs of eternal felicity 
 and glory. 
 
 One of the leading causes of the deplorable de- 
 ficiency of religious character in our youth is, the 
 general neglect of the proper observance of the Lord's 
 Day, and their absence from the publick worship of 
 God. 
 
 This disregard of so positive, so important a 
 duty arises, 
 
 First, from your cruel omission to instil into their 
 minds proper sentiments of religion, of the comfort 
 it bestows, of the duties it enjoins, and of the inesti- 
 mable blessings which it offers. 
 
XX AN ADDRESS, 8<c. 
 
 Secondly, from the baneful influence of your ir- 
 religious example in absenting yourselves from his 
 sacred Temple on the day which God hath hallowed 
 to his own peculiar service. 
 
 No wonder, indeed, that infidelity and profliga- 
 cy, a disregard of God and an apparent contempt 
 for his public worship, prevail, when parents are 
 many of them rarely^ some of them never seen with- 
 in the walls of the Sanctuary; when on that sacred day 
 they are rioting in luxury, amused by dissipation, 
 dozing in indolence, or immersed in business; at- 
 tending *' one to his farm, another to his merchan- 
 dize"^— -who so far from calling upon their children 
 to accompany them to the house of God, and to unite 
 with them there in prayer and praise, never either in 
 publick or private pray yor them or with them — ^who 
 suffer them^^to grow up " without God in the world;"! 
 notwithstanding the solemn promises made to God 
 at their baptism, that they should be " instructed in 
 all the principles of the Christian faith, and brought 
 up in the fear of God, and to obey his holy will and 
 commandments, "f in order to enable them to resist 
 the allurements of an insnaring world, the wiles of their 
 great spiritual enemy, and the seductions of their de- 
 praved inclinations: for the want of which promised 
 instruction, so nviny '' having no root in them- 
 
 * Mat. xxii 5. t Eph.ii. 12. t See Catechism, 
 
AN ADDRESS, Sec. xxi 
 
 selves/'* are easily borne down by the torrent of sen- 
 suality; and, intoxicated by the inebriating poison of 
 modem philosophy/' deny the faith as it is in Jesus," 
 and thereby 
 
 "Wipe off the blessed Cross as a foul blot 
 
 " From their dishonoured bro\y. 
 
 " If Angels tremblel — 'tis at such a sight." 
 
 Parents, Sponsors, Guardians! Is the Christian 
 Religion a delusion, and the Word of God a lie? 
 Are its promises and threatenings unworthy of your 
 regard? Believe ye the divine authenticity of:he 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ, the declarations of the Son of 
 God himself, of the Law, the Prophets, and the Gos- 
 pel? I know that ye believe: Why then will ye not 
 obey? " Why will ye die?"t Wh}^ will ye be acces- 
 sory to the spiritual death of those committed to your 
 care? Would to God I could persuade you to be 
 Christians, in deed and in truth, as well as by profes- 
 sion! — That I could awaken and direct your atten- 
 tion to the most important — the spiritual interests of 
 your children! — That I could convince you oi your 
 perilous situation, and withdraw you from the preci- 
 pice upon which you are carelessly slumbering. 
 Remember, that however their plea of involuntary 
 
 * Mal'kiv. ir. t Ezek. xviii 31. 
 
xxii AN ADDRESS, kc. 
 
 ignorance, while under t/our care, may, at the inevita- 
 ble day of judgment, induce the mercy of God to- 
 wards them — your voluntary/ disregard of their im- 
 mortal souls will assuredly occasion your condem- 
 nation^ " when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
 Heaven with his mighty Angels, in flaming fire, tak- 
 ing vengeance on them who know not God, and who 
 obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who 
 shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
 the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
 power, when he shall come to be glorified in his 
 saints, in that day."* Remember, O careless, world- 
 ly-minded Parents! that you comply with the least 
 important part of your duty, when you provide for 
 iht external ov bodily wants only of your offspring, 
 and neglect their Great Spiritual Interests. 
 In such case, expect to hear the agonizing reproach- 
 es of your children in the last great day of account, 
 when they will accuse you as the original cause of 
 their condemnation. You, will they then say, were 
 indeed called our parents; but though as such you 
 provided food and nourishment for our bodies, you 
 never taught us to know and to love our great Spiri- 
 tual Parent, and by acquainting us with him, to 
 obtain nourishment for our souls. You indeed gave 
 us "bread enough and tospare"t)y^t suffered our im~ 
 
 * 1 Thess. vii. 10 tLuke xv. IT 
 
AN ADDRESS, kc. xxiii 
 
 mortal spirits to "perish with hunger"^ for want of 
 " that /zt;f«^ ^r^aflf which came down from Heaven, "f 
 You provided us with raiment for our bodies, but 
 never told us of the necessity of arraying our souls 
 in that "robe of righteousnss,"} that " wedding gar- 
 ment"5 of salvation," that, " spiritual armour," || which 
 Christ hath provided inhis Gospel, for those who would 
 travel heavenward through this wilderness of sin. You 
 indeed often washed us with pure water, nay, with 
 the sacred water of Christian Baptism, yet never 
 taught us to purify our hearts with the cleansing, 
 the regenerating influence of the Holy Ghost, to 
 wash them, as it were, in the blood of the lamb which 
 was slain for the salvation of our race — You taught 
 and encouraged us to exert our utmost diligence to 
 procure and lay up for ourselves the perishable trea- 
 sures of earth, but never directed our attention and 
 zeal to the " laying up for ourselves treasures in Hea- 
 ven,"^! which endure forever. You conducted us 
 
 to scenes of festivity and feasting, but never led us 
 either by precept or example, to that spiritual, that 
 heavenly feast, that banquet of divine love, the Sa- 
 crament of the Lord's Supper. In short, through 
 the want of early religious instructions, You suffered 
 usto be ensnared by the wiles of the Devil, the World, 
 
 * Luke XV. 17. f John vi. 41. \ Isa. Ixi. 10. 
 
 § Mat. xxii. 1), '; Eph. vi. lo. 1: Mat. vi. 20, 
 
xxiv AN ADDRESS, kc. 
 
 and the Flesh, and are therefore the cause of our ex- 
 clusion from Heaven, and of banishment from the 
 presence of God, into the regions of misery and des- 
 pair. 
 
 Seeing, brethren, that these things are so; ought 
 ye'not to fear?-ought yenot" to consider your ways?''* 
 — ought ye not to "weep for yourselves and for your 
 children? for, behold the days are coming, in the 
 which," O negligent Parents! "ye shall say, blessed 
 are the barren, and the wombs which never bare, 
 and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall 
 you begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to 
 the hills. Cover us."t 
 
 These remonstrances, I am sensible, are super- 
 fluous, and in no degree applicable to some of the 
 characters who may peruse them; the number, how- 
 ever, oi faithful stewards, with respect to the rising 
 generation, is, I fear, so very small, as to render a 
 discriminating clause unnecessar}'. The assertions 
 are founded in truth: and the unerring voice of Con- 
 science will direct their j&roj&fT application. 
 
 Though many of you may think lightly, or not 
 at all, of the high responsibility of the characters you 
 have assumed of Parents, Sponsors, or Guardians, 
 (perhaps of all those accountable characters combined) 
 I consider and know, that attached to mine, as an In- 
 * Hag. i. 7. t Luke Kxiii. 28-— 30. 
 
AN ADDRESS, kc. xxv 
 
 structorof youth, independently of my clerical charac- 
 ter, as involving very mppientous and extensive obli- 
 gations; and, under the influence of this conviction, I 
 should unquestionably violate my duty, both to you 
 and the juvenile members of our church, particularly 
 those intrusted to my tuition, were I to remain si- 
 lent, or remonstrate, on their behalf, in terms less ur- 
 gent and explicit. The dreadful and alarming nature 
 of the evil I so deeply, so justly lament, requires im- 
 mediate and serious attention. ** I, therefore, accor- 
 ding to mine office, implore you in the name of God; 
 I call upon you in Christ's behalf; I exhort you, asyou 
 regard your owm salvation," and that of the souls com- 
 mitted to your care, that you will no longer direct your 
 assiduity and anxiety altogether to the promotion of 
 their temporal, but extend and apply those principles 
 to their infinitely more important, their spiritual and 
 eternal interests. 
 
 Let a just sensibility of the brevity and uncer- 
 tainty of human life — of the inestimable talent commit- 
 ted to your trust — of the awful and infinitely impor- 
 tant consequences which will result to them and to you 
 from its proper improvement or neglect — induce }'ou 
 to use every exertion, that as they grow in age they 
 may ** grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."* Thus, as they "in*- 
 
 * 2. Pet. 3. 18. 
 D 
 
xxvi AN- ADDRESS, &e. 
 
 crease in wisdom and stature, they will als© incrj^asit 
 in favour with God and man.*" 
 Remember; 
 
 "Time fliesl Death urgesl Knells calll Heav'n invitcsl 
 « Hell threatensl'* 
 
 and, 
 
 " What moment's granted man without accomit?** 
 
 Young. 
 
 With sincere and ardent prayers, that my feeble 
 exertions to promote the salvation of souls may be 
 blessed with success, 
 Ic.m 
 
 your affectionate friend and servant, 
 
 JAMES ABERCROMBIE. 
 
THE CATECHISM 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHj 
 
 AN APPENDIX. 
 
 " There is nothing of so much worth as a mind well in- 
 '^ structed." 
 
 Solomon. 
 
 *^ From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which 
 '* are able to make thee wise unto salvation." 
 
 St, Paid to Ttmotht.'. 
 
TO THE STUDENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY, 
 
 Beloved Youths, 
 
 Convinced that religious principles are the only 
 proper basis of correct and truly useful education; and 
 anxious to promote your most important interests, 
 by impressing upon your minds the elements of that 
 Holy Religion, which alone is calculated to lead us to 
 the possession of real happiness, both in this state of 
 being, and the next; I present you with this manu-^ 
 al: earnestly soliciting your serious attention to the 
 instruction, and your diligent observance of the pre- 
 cepts which it contains. 
 
 Though the short Institute here offered, is that of 
 the Episcopal Church, it is by no means intended to 
 prohibit the use of other Catechisms in the Academy: 
 
XXX DEDICATION. 
 
 on the contrary, every scholar will be required to 
 make himself acquainted with the particular Form 
 of Religious instruction, which is prescribed by 
 that denomination of Christians to which he belongs. 
 With affectionate concern for your temporal and 
 eternal welfare, 
 
 I am your sincere friend, 
 
 JAMES ABERCROMBIE. 
 
 PhUad. Feb,\%\\. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 
 
 Quesh What is your name? 
 
 Ansxu. N. or M. 
 
 Quest, Who gave you this name? 
 
 Answ, My Sponsors in Baptism; wherein I was 
 made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an 
 inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 Quest, What did your Sponsors then for you? 
 
 Answ. They did promise and vow three things in 
 my name: First, that I should renounce the devil 
 and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wick- 
 ed world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh; Second- 
 ly, that I should believe all the Articles of the Chris- 
 tian Faith; And thirdly, that I should keep God's ho- 
 ly will and commandments, and walk in the same all 
 the days of my life. 
 
34 THE CATECHISM. 
 
 Qtiest. Dost thou not think that thou art bound to 
 believe > and to do as they have promised for thee? 
 
 Ansxv, Yes, verily; and by God's help so I will. 
 And I heartily thank our heavenly Father, that he 
 hath called me to this state of Salvation, through Je- 
 sus Christ our Saviour. And I pray unto God to 
 give me his grace, that I may continue in the same 
 unto my life's end. 
 
 Catechist, Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief. 
 
 Answ. 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; He descended into Hell; 
 The third day he arose from the dead; He ascended 
 into Heaven, andsitteth on the Right Hand of God 
 the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to 
 judge the quick and the dead. 
 
 I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic 
 Church; The communion of Saints; The forgiveness 
 of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life 
 everlasting. Amen. 
 
 Quest, What dost thou chiefly learn in these arti- 
 cles of thy Belief? 
 
 Answ- First, I learn to believe in God the Father, 
 who hath made me and all the world. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 
 
 Secondly, In God the Son, who hath redeemed me 
 and all mankind. 
 
 Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth 
 me, and all the people of God. 
 
 Quest, You said, that your Sponsors did promise 
 for you, that you should keep God's commandments: 
 Tell me how many there are. 
 
 Answ, Ten. 
 
 Quest. Which are they? 
 
 Answ* The same which God spake in the twen- 
 tieth chapter of Exodus, saying, I am the Lord thy 
 God, who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, 
 out of the house of bondage. 
 
 I. Thou shalt have none other gods but me. 
 
 IL Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, 
 nor the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above, 
 or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the 
 earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor wor- 
 ship them: For I the Lord, thy God, am a jealous 
 God, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the chil- 
 dren, unto the third and fourth generation of them 
 that hate me; and show mercy unto thousands in them 
 that love me, and keep my commandments. 
 
 in. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
 God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guilt- 
 less, that taketh his name in vain. 
 
3ti THE CATECHISM. 
 
 IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath 
 day. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all that thou 
 hast to do; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the 
 Lord thy God: In it thou shalt do no manner of work, 
 thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant 
 and thy maid- servant, thy cattle, and the stranger 
 that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord 
 made Heaven and Earth, the Sea, and all that in them 
 is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord 
 blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. 
 
 V. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy 
 days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee. 
 
 VI. Thou shalt do no murder. 
 
 VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 
 
 VIII. Thou shalt not steal. 
 
 IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy 
 neighbour. 
 
 X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, 
 thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his 
 servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass; nor any 
 thing that is his. 
 
 Quest. What dost thou chiefly- learn by these 
 Commandments? 
 
 Ansrw. I learn two things; my duty towards God, 
 and my duty towards my neighbour. 
 
THE CATECHISM. sr 
 
 Quest. What is thy duty towards God? 
 
 Answ, My duty towards God is, to believe in him, 
 to fear him, and to love him, with all my heart, with 
 all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my 
 strength; to worship him; to give him thanks; to put 
 my whole trust in him; to call upon him; to honour 
 his holy name and his word; and to serve him truly all 
 the days of my life. 
 
 Quest, What is thy duty towards thy neighbour? 
 
 Answ. My duty towards my neighbour is, to love 
 him as myself, and to do to all men, as I would they 
 should do unto me: To love, honour, and succour 
 my father and mother: To honour and obey the civil 
 authority: To submit myself to all my governors, 
 teachers, spiritual pastors, and masters: To order my- 
 self lowly and reverently to all my betters: To hurt 
 nobody by word or deed: To be true and just in all my 
 dealings: To bear no malice nor hatred in my heart: 
 To keep my hands from picking and stealing, and 
 my tongue from evil speaking, lying, and slander- 
 ing: To keep my body in temperance, soberness, 
 and chastity: Not to covet nor desire other men's 
 goods, but to learn and labour truly to get mine 
 own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, 
 unto which it shall please God to call me. 
 
 Catechist. My good child, know this, that thou 
 
?8 THE CATECHISM. 
 
 art not able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk 
 in the Commandments of God, and to serve him, 
 witliout his special Grace, which thou must learn at 
 all times to call for by diligent prayer. Let me hear, 
 therefore, if thou canst say the Lord's Prayer. 
 
 Answ. 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, forever and 
 ever. Amen, 
 
 Quest. What desirest thou of God in this prayer? 
 
 Answ. I desire my Lord God, our Heavenly Fa- 
 ther, who is the giver of all goodness, to send his 
 grace unto me and to all people; that we may worship 
 him, serve him, and obey him, as we ought to do. 
 And I pray unto God, that he will send us all things 
 that be needful both for our souls and bodies; and 
 that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our 
 sins; and that it will please him to save and defend 
 us in all dangers both of soul and body; and that he 
 will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from 
 our spiritual enemy, and from everlasting death. 
 And this I trust he will do of his mercy and goodness, 
 
THE CATECHISM. 39 
 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ; and therefore I say, 
 Amen. So be it. 
 
 Quest. How many Sacraments hath Christ ordain- 
 ed in his Church? 
 
 Answ, Two only, as generally necessary to Salva- 
 tion; that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Quest, What meanest thou by this word Sacrament? 
 
 Answ. I mean an outward and visible sign of an 
 inward and spiritual grace given unto us; ordained 
 by Christ himself; as a mean whereby we receive the 
 same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.* 
 
 Quest. How many parts are there in a Sacrament? 
 
 Answ. Two; the outward visible sign, and the in- 
 ward spiritual grace. 
 
 Quest. What is the outward visible sign, or form, 
 in Baptism? 
 
 Answ. Water: wherein the person is baptised. In 
 the name of the Father^ and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 Quest. What is the inward and spiritual grace? 
 
 * This definition, being somewhat obscure, would perhaps 
 be rendered more intelligible to the youthful understanding, 
 by thus supplying the elliptical parts. 
 
 " I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiri- 
 tual grace given unto us; which sign was ordained by Christ 
 himself; as a mean, whereby we receive that grace, and a 
 pledge to assure us thereof.** 
 
40 THE CATECHISM. 
 
 Answ. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto 
 righteousness; For, being by nature born in sin, and 
 the children of wrath, we are hereby made the chil- 
 dren of grace. 
 
 Quest. What is required of persons to be baptised? 
 Jnsw. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin; and 
 Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises 
 of God made to them in that Sacrament. 
 
 Quest. Why then are infants baptised, when, by 
 reason of their tender age, they cannot perform them? 
 
 Answ. Because they promise them both^ by their 
 sureties; which promise, when they come to age, 
 themselves are bound to perform. 
 
 Quest. Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's Sup- 
 per ordained? 
 
 Answ. For the continual remembrance of the sa- 
 crifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which 
 we receive thereby. 
 
 Quest. What is the outward part, or sign, of the 
 Lord's Supper? 
 
 Answ. Bread and wine, which the Lord hath 
 commanded to be received. 
 
 Quest. What is the inward part or thing signified? 
 
 Answ. The body and blood of Christ, which are 
 spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 * Viz. Repentance and Faith • 
 
l^HE CATECHISM. 41 
 
 Q^iiest, What are the benefits whereof we are par- 
 takers thereby? 
 
 Answ. The strengthening and refreshing of our 
 
 sonls bj the body and blood of Christ, as our bodies 
 are by the bread -and wine. 
 
 Quest, What is required of those who come to the 
 Lord's Supper? 
 
 Answ. To examine themselves, whether they re- 
 cent them truly of their former sins, steadfastly pur- 
 posiiig to lead a new life; to have a lively faith in 
 God's mercy, through Christ, with a thankful remem- 
 brance of his death; and to be in charity with all men. 
 
 F.XD OF TH© CATECHISM. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The follorwing Qtiestions are added to impress more 
 deeply upon the young mind^ some of the leading 
 principles of our faith. 
 
 Quest. Who created you? 
 
 Answ. God. 
 
 Quest. Who is God? 
 
 Answ. One Almighty, Eternal Spirit, consisting 
 of Three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; The 
 Creator and Sovereign Lord of the universe; infi- 
 nitely great, and infinitely good: and, in this adorable 
 Trinity, die Father is termed Xht first Person. 
 
 Quest. Where is God? 
 
 Answ. Every where: but he is said principally to 
 be in Heaven, w^hencehe sees all our thoughts, words, 
 and actions; and will reward or punish them, accor- 
 ding as they are good or bad. 
 
 Quest. What do you mean by Heaven? 
 
 Answ. That place where God is pleased to display 
 his presence and majesty, in the most conspicuous 
 manner; and though God is present in all places, yet 
 
fie more particularly displa}'S his gloly to biessisd and 
 purified spirits. 
 
 Quest, Who redeemed you? 
 
 Answ. Jesus Christ? 
 
 Quest. Who is Jesus Christ. 
 
 Ansiv, The Son of God; the second Person in the 
 adorable Trinity. 
 
 Quest. Did Christ ever assert his divinity , by cal- 
 ling himself the Son of God? 
 
 Ansiv. Yes; repeatedly. He said that he was one 
 Avith God, and partook of the glory of God before the 
 world was. 
 
 Quest. Can you repeat the passage which contains 
 this assertion? 
 
 Answ. Yes: "And now, O Father! Glorify thou me 
 with thine own self^ with the glory which I had with 
 thee before the world was."-^ 
 
 Quest. Are there any other scriptural authorities 
 of a similar nature. 
 
 Answ. He said, " I and my Father are one.^f ^' The 
 Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into 
 his hand. J" *' What things soever the Father doeth, 
 those also doeth the Son. ^ " " The Father hath commit- 
 ted all judgment unto the Son, that all men should 
 honour the Son even as they honour the Father. |(" 
 
 * John, xvii. 5. t John, x. 30. i John, iii. o'5. 
 § John.v. 19. !i John. v. ^2 
 
-APPENDIX. 4.'^ 
 
 (yluest. What other declarations of his divinity are 
 in the Holy Scriptures? 
 
 Answ, Many. He is declared by the ancient pro- 
 phets to be *^ Emmanuel"* that is, God with us. "The 
 Lord." " Jehovah our righteouness"f " The mighty 
 God J &c. An angel at his birth declared him to be 
 " Christ, the Lord. "§ The devils when cast out addressed 
 him as " The Son of God" i| The Jews condemned him 
 to death, and crucified him, for asserting it: the apostles, 
 after his resurrection and ascension, preached it to 
 the world, declaring him to be " God, manifest in the 
 flesh: "^ *' in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead 
 bodily:"** and many meek and holy martyrs sealed 
 their faith in him as such, with their blood. 
 
 Quest. What testimony does the great apostle of the 
 Gentiles, St. Paul, give of his divinity? 
 
 Answ. He explicitly asserts it in all his Epistles and 
 particularly in that to Titus, he says, "looking for 
 that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our 
 great God and Saviour Jesus Christ". ff 
 
 Quest, How did Jesus Christ redeem you? 
 
 Answ. By descending from Heaven, taking our 
 nature upon him, and (after setting us an example, 
 
 * Isa. vii. 14. I Jer. xxviii. 6. \ Isa. ix. 6. 
 
 11 Mark. iii. 11. If 1 Tim. iii. 16. ** Col. ii. 9. 
 
 § Luke. ii. II. ff Tit. ii. 1 3 That the above is the cor- 
 
 rect and literal trail slation of the original Greek, every scholar 
 who nmlefst.auds tljat language, must kno-\r. 
 
45 y\PPENDIX> 
 
 and instructing us in the nature of a divine life,) sub- 
 mitting to death upon the cross: thereby making a 
 full and perfect oblation and satisfaction, for the sins 
 of the whole world. 
 
 Quest, What offices doth Christ, the Messiah, exe- 
 cute as our Redeemer? 
 
 Answ, Those of Prophet, Priest, and King. 
 
 Quest. How as a prophet? 
 
 Answ, As a prophet he foretold future events; and 
 he instructs us most perfectly by his word* and holy 
 spiritf in the will of God, for our salvation. 
 
 Quest. How doth Christ execute the office of a 
 priest? 
 
 Answ. As a priest, he satisfied divine justice in 
 behalf of mankind, by offering up himself a sacrifice for 
 the sins of the whole worldf; and in making interces- 
 sion for us.^ 
 
 Quest. How doth he execute the office of a king? 
 
 Answ. As a king he established " a spiritual king« 
 dom of which there shall be no end:"|| He rules and 
 defends his church, or those who belong to his king- 
 dom, restraining and conquering all its spiritual 
 enemies.^ 
 
 * John, XV. 15. t John, xiv. 26. | Eph. v. 2. 
 
 § Heb. vii. 25. I! Luke. i. 53. % Cor. xv. 25. 
 
APPENDIX. 47 
 
 Quest. What are the outward means by which 
 Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption. 
 Answ. They are the Holy Scriptures, the two Sacra- 
 ments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and Prayer. 
 These are the appointed channels of divine grace, 
 which if faithfully and devoutly received and exerci- 
 sed, are rendered effectual to our salvation. 
 
 Quest, Does the death of Christ ensure our Salva- 
 tion? 
 
 Answ, Not without our constant endeavours to lead 
 a holy life, by obeying God's holy will and command- 
 ments. 
 
 Quest. How arc we to know God's holy will and 
 commandments? 
 
 Answ. By frequently and diligently reading the 
 Word of God, and the explanation of it by great and 
 good men. 
 
 Quest, What do you mean by the Word of God? 
 
 Answ. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 
 Testaments, 
 
 Quest. How long did Christ live on earth? 
 
 Answ. About thirty-three years. 
 
 Quest, After Christ's death, how long did his bo^ 
 dy remain in the grave? 
 
48 APPENDIX. 
 
 Answ, Until the third day. " On the third day, he 
 rose again." 
 
 Quest. Did Christ ascend immediately into Hea- 
 ven after his resurrection? 
 
 Answ. No. 
 
 Quest. How long did Christ remain on earth after 
 his resurrection? 
 
 Answ. Forty days. 
 
 Quest. Why did Christ remain on eaith after his 
 resurrection? 
 
 Answ. To show that he was really risen, to con- 
 firm thereby his divine authority, and to instruct his 
 disciples. 
 
 Quest. After Christ had remained forty days up- 
 on earth, where did he go? 
 
 Answ. He ascended into Heaven. 
 
 Quest. Why did Christ ascend into Heaven? 
 
 Answ. To resume his eternal glory; to open Hea- 
 ven, and make perpetual intercession for all believers; 
 and to confer on them the gifts and influence of the Ho- 
 ly Ghost? 
 
 Quest. Who is the Holy Ghost? 
 
 Ajisw. TheHoIy Spirit of God, the third Person 
 in the adorable Trinity, and the Comforter promised 
 by Jesus Christ, by whom through Christ, we have 
 access unto the Father. 
 
APPENDIX. 49 
 
 Quest, Why did God send the Holy Ghost? 
 
 Answ, To confer upon the apostles the gift of 
 tongues, and the power of working miracles; and for 
 our sanctification, spiritual strength, and comfort: to 
 be our guide, through the temptations and miseries 
 of this world; and to conduct us, by the paths of vir- 
 tue and holiness, unto Heaven. 
 
 Quest, How can we obtain the assistance and pro- 
 tection of the Holy Ghost? 
 
 Jnsw, By Prayer. 
 
 Quest. What is Prayer? 
 
 A72SW. Prayer is the address of the Soul to God, 
 and the ascent of the mind towards Heaven. 
 
 Quest. Are all addresses to Almighty God of the 
 same nature and efficacy? 
 
 Answ. They are all of the same efficacy if offered 
 with sincerity, but the general term Prayer, or ad- 
 dress to God, is to be taken in several different ac- 
 ceptations, viz. Confession, Petition, Supplication, 
 Thanksgiving, Praise, and Intercession. 
 
 Quest. What do you mean by Prayer when it sig- 
 nifies Confession? 
 
 Answ. When we bewail our sins with sorrow and 
 full purposes of amendment, it is called Confession. 
 
 Quest. What do you mean by Prayer when it is 
 called Petition? 
 
.50 APPExNDlX. 
 
 jlnsrv. It is called Petition, when we implore 
 God's mercy, and desire any favour from him. 
 Quest, What is meant by Supplication? 
 Answ. We are said to offer up Supplication, when 
 we entreat God to defend us from evil. 
 
 Quest. What do you mean by Thanksgiving? 
 ■ Ansiv. Thanksgiving is when we express a grate- 
 ful sense of benefits received. 
 Quest. What is Praise? 
 
 Answ. Weai-e said to offer Praise when we ac- 
 knowledge and adore the Divine perfections. 
 
 Quest. What is meant by the term Intercession? 
 Answ. When in oiu' address to God we beg any 
 thing for others, it is styled Intercession. 
 
 Quest. Doth our Church prescribe any ordinance 
 as intermediate between the two Sacraments of Bap- 
 tism and the Lord's Supper? 
 
 Answ. Yes, I'hat of Confirmation. 
 Quest. What is Confirmation'? 
 Answ. A solemn Rite instituted by the Apostles, 
 the administration ot" which devolved on their succes- 
 sors, the Bishops of the Catholic Church; whereby, 
 with laying on of hands, and authoritative benedic- 
 tion of such as have been baptised, the Bishop im- 
 plores for them an incj'ease of God's heavenly grace, 
 that they may continue his faithful servants forever, 
 and grow in grace, till they are received into glory. 
 
APPENDIX 51 
 
 Quest, What is the end and design of Confirma- 
 tion? 
 
 Answ. That baptised Christians should, when 
 they come to a proper age, by their own deliberate 
 choice take upon themselves those vows and promi- 
 ses, ^vhich were made in their names, by their spon- 
 sors, when they were admitted members of Christ's 
 Church; so that the confirmed person expressly con- 
 sents to the baptismal covenant; and before God, and 
 many witnesses, engages to perform his part of it. 
 
 Quest, What preparation is neccessary before Con- 
 firmation? 
 
 Ansxv. The persons to be confirmed, ought to ex- 
 amine themselves concerning those sins either of 
 omission or commission, which they have been guil- 
 ty of, in thought, word or deed; to express to God 
 their hearty sorrow for them; and earnestly to beg 
 his pardon and forgiveness: to which they must add 
 serious resolutions of living answerably to the Chris- 
 tian profession. 
 
 Quest, What is necessary to enable us to con- 
 tinue in that good way wherein Confirmation places 
 us? 
 
 Answ. A uniform obedience to all God's com- 
 mandments; and, in particular, a frequent and devout 
 
52 APPENDIX. 
 
 partaking of the Holy Communion; for, without ma- 
 king use of the means, we cannot justly expect to ob- 
 tain the end, viz. The Salvation of our Souls. 
 
 Quest. You say, that by Baptism you became a 
 member of Christ's Church: what do you mean by 
 the Church of Christ? 
 
 jinsxv. *' The visible Church of Christ is a congre- 
 gation of faithful men, in which the pure word of 
 God is preached, and the Sacraments are duly admin- 
 istered according to Christ's ordinance."* 
 
 Quest. Who have authority in the Church of Christ, 
 to preach the word, and to administer the two Sacra- 
 ments? 
 
 Answ. " It is not lawful for am* man to take up- 
 on him the office of public preaching, or ministering 
 the Sacraments in the congregation, before he ])e law- 
 fully called and sent to execute the same. And those 
 we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, who are 
 chosen and called to this work by men who have pub- 
 lic authority given unto them in the congregation to 
 call and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard."! 
 Quest. Who have public authority to send them? 
 Answ. " It is evident to all men diligently reading 
 Holy Scripture and ancient authors, that from the 
 
 ♦ 19th Article of Religion. ^ 23d Article. 
 
APPENDIX. 53 
 
 apostles' time there have been these orders of minis- 
 ters in Christ's church, Bishops, Priests, and Dea- 
 cons;" and that these were appointed by Almighty 
 God, by His Divine Providence, and by His Holy 
 Spirit and further, that " no man is to be esteemed a 
 lawful Bishop, Priest, or Deacon in this church, or 
 suffered to execute any of the said functions, ex- 
 cept he hath had Episcopal Consecration or Ordina- 
 tion."* 
 
 Quest, What is the office of a Bisljop? 
 
 Answ. The office of a Bishop, besides the duties 
 which lie on him in common with Priests, is, to go- 
 vern, and unite with his Episcopal Brethren in go- 
 verning the church; agreeably to the laws of God 
 and tlie ecclesiastical canons: to ordain Priests and 
 Deacons: and to administer the holy rite of Confir- 
 mation. 
 
 Quest, Whence does a Bishop receive his au- 
 thority? 
 
 Answ, He receives it in Episcopal Succession, his 
 consecration to the office of Bishop being accompa- 
 nied by prayer and imposition of hands. According 
 to the canonsof this church, there must be the concur- 
 ring act of at least three Bishops in every consecration. 
 
 Quest. What is the office of a Priest? 
 
 * Vi4o preface to Ordination and Consecration Services. 
 
54 APPENDIX. 
 
 Answ* The office of a Priest or Presbyter* is to 
 administer the Doctrine and Sacraments, and the Disci- 
 pline of Christ in subordination to the Episcopal au- 
 thority, agreeably to the laws of God, and to the ca- 
 nons of the church. 
 
 Quest, What is the office of a Deacon? 
 
 Ansxv. The office of a Deacon at first instituted for 
 the distribution of alms, had other ministries assign- 
 ed to it, in the time of the Apostles. In this Church 
 it is defined, to consist " in assisting the Priest in divine 
 service, and especially when he administereth the Ho- 
 ly Communion; in helping him in the distribution 
 thereof; in reading Holy Scriptures and Homilies in 
 the church; in instructing the youth in the Catechism; 
 in baptizing infants in the absence of the Priest; and 
 in preaching, if he be admitted thereunto by the 
 Bishop." 
 
 {^ For afulltr orfilanation of the subjects of the preceding 
 questions in the ('atcchis7u and J/i/iendix, see Thk Lectures. 
 
 * These two words are held in this Church to be synony- 
 mous, both of them havhic; their ctymoh^i^y in the Greek word 
 
 t Ordination Service. 
 
APPENDIX. 55 
 
 A PRAYER BEFORE CONFIRMATIOX. 
 
 Most merciful God! by whose gracious Providence 
 I was born of Christian parents, and early dedicated to 
 thee in holy baptism; make me thoroughly sensible, I 
 beseech thee, of thy infinite goodness in bestowing up- 
 on me the blessed privileges of being made a xnem- 
 ber of thy Church, a child of God, and an inheritor of 
 the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 Grant, O Lord, that, by the assistance of thy Grace, 
 I may carefully and zealously perform all those condi- 
 tions, upon which thou wert pleased to vouchsafe to 
 me such inestimable benefits: that I may renounce all 
 those evil customs and maxims of the world, which 
 alienate men's hearts from the love of God: that I may 
 mortify the inordinate appetites of my own carnal 
 mind: that I may believe all thy holy Revelations, and 
 keep thy blessed Will and Commandments all the 
 daysof my life. 
 
 And now, O Lord, that I am about to renew tlie 
 solemn vows of baptism, and publicly in thy presence 
 to ratify all those things I then promised by my sure- 
 ties; I humbly beseech thee to enlighten my mind 
 with the knowledge and understanding of that solemn 
 engagement which I am now about to confirm; and 
 
56 APPENDIX 
 
 to influence my will and all the faculties of my soul, 
 heartily and sincerely to perform it. Let not the ma- 
 ny and grievous sins both of omission and commission 
 that I have been guilty of, deprive me of those assis- 
 tances of thy Holy Spirit, which I now hope to re- 
 ceive; but, on my true repentance, let the precious 
 blood of my Saviour wash away all my past transgres- 
 sions, and grant that I may be enabled to mortify and 
 subdue my evil propensities for the time to come. 
 And, " forasmuch as without thee I am not able to 
 please thee," increase in me, O Lord, more and more, 
 the gifts of thy Holy Spirit, that I may be wise for 
 eternity, and make it the chief business of my life to 
 please thee in all my actions; that I may love and fear 
 thee above all things, that I may be just and righte- 
 ous in all m}' dealings, and ready to communicate to 
 the necessities of others; that I may keep a constant 
 watch over myself, so as not to exceed the bounds of 
 temperance and sobriety; that no danger or difficulty 
 may deter me from doing my duty in that state of life 
 in which it shall please thy Providence to place me; 
 that no temptation by pleasure or persuasion may make 
 me careless and negligent in the performance of it; and 
 that, under afilictions the most grievous to flesh and 
 blood, I may be entirely resigned, and submit to thy 
 Holy Will and Pleasure. Let thy Holy Spirit, O 
 
APPENDIX. 57 
 
 Lord, so guide and govern me through the ^vhole 
 course of my short probationary life in this world, that 
 I may not fail to obtain eternal life in the world to come, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 A PRAYER AFTER CONFIRMATION. 
 
 Omniscient and Almighty God! who, by 
 the mission, atonement, and intercession of thy bles- 
 sed Son, hast taught us the way to, and enabled us to 
 obtain, eternal life; and, by the influence of the Holy 
 Ghost, the Comforter, dost lead us, when we ask 
 aright, to do such things as shall please thee, and to 
 walk in the path which leads to thy Heavenly King- 
 dom, bless, I most humbly beseech thee, the means 
 which I have now conformed to for obtaining this 
 divine assistance. Strengthen my Faith, enlarge my 
 Hope, increase my Charity, and perfect my Repen- 
 tance. May the late renewal of my baptismal vows, 
 and the consequent dedication of myself to thee and 
 thy service, be ever active in my mind, and make me 
 unweariedly vigilant and diligent in working out my 
 salvation. May the precepts and example of my di- ^ 
 vine Saviour regulate my conduct towards thee and 
 towards my fellow-creatures; and may I become a wor- 
 thy partaker of that Holy Ordinance which he hath in- 
 
t^P APPE>?D)X. 
 
 stituted as an additional means of grace, and in remem- 
 brance of his blessed passion and death. 
 
 As I have now voluntarily taken upon myself 
 those vows and promises which were made in my be- 
 half by my sponsors at the time of my baptism, ena 
 ble me, I beseech thee, so to fulfil them, that I may 
 walk w^orthy of the vocation wherewith thou hast cal- 
 led me. May a constant sense of thy omnipresence, 
 and of the solemn account I must hereafter render un- 
 to thee of my stewai'dship, restrain the indulgence of 
 all inordinate desires, and a compliance with any of the 
 temptations of the Devil, the World, and the Flesh; 
 and may a devout and grateful consciousness of thine 
 infinite mercy, and unmerited bounty to me, both 
 with respect to this world and that which is to come, 
 induce the most ardent love of thee, and the most zeaK 
 Gus obedience to all thy commandments. O God! be 
 merciful to me a sinner? Bless and preserve me from 
 all evil, both temporal and eternal, for the sake of Je- 
 sus Christ, my Saviour and Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 A DAITiY MORNING PRATER. 
 
 O THOU infinitely great, good, and glorious Be- 
 ing! who art the author of my existence, and the giv- 
 er of ev^n^ good gift to man; I, thy sinful creature, 
 
present to thy Divine Majesty, my Morning sacrifice 
 of praise and thanksgiving for all thy goodness to me; 
 particularly for thy preservation of me during the past 
 night, and for bringing me safe to the beginning of 
 this day; but above all I praise thee for the redemp- 
 tion of mankind by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the 
 means of grace, and for the hope of glory. Defend 
 me this day, I beseech thee, with thy mighty power; 
 and grant, that I may not fall into any sin or run into 
 any kind of danger; but that all my thoughts, words, 
 and actions, being regulated by thy commandments, 
 may be acceptable in thy sight. Teach me to re- 
 member thee my Creator in the days of my youth; 
 preserve me from those errors and follies to which 
 through the ignorance and weakness of my youth I 
 am particularly exposed. Deliver me from the cor- 
 ruption of my own heart, and protect me from the 
 temptations of evil company. Enlighten my under- 
 standing, and enable me daily to increase in know- 
 ledge, in wisdom, and in all virtue; and let the blessed 
 influence of thy Holy Spirit continually comfort and 
 direct me. I humbly beg thy blessing also upon my 
 relations, friends, preceptors, and neighbours; grant 
 to them and to me, whatsoever may be truly beneficial 
 to us in this life, and finally guide *us to life everlast- 
 ing, through the mediation pf thy blessed Son Jesus 
 
6# APPENDrX. 
 
 Christ, cur Redeemer, in whose holy name and words 
 I sum up my petitions, saying, 
 Our Father^ &fr. 
 
 A DAILY EVENING PRATER. 
 
 OAl MIGHTY Go D , my Creator and bounti- 
 ful Benefactor! by whose power and goodness I have 
 been permitted to live another day. I beseech thee 
 to continue thy gracious protection to me this night. 
 Defend me from all evil, and grant that I may enjoy 
 such refreshing sleep as may fit me for the duties of 
 the following day. Send down thy blessings temporal 
 and spiritual upon me, my relations, friends, precep- 
 tors, and neighbours; and give us grace to show our 
 thankfulness for them, by a sincere obedience to his 
 laws, through whose^erits and intercession we re- 
 ceive them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. I 
 humbly beseech thee, O Heavenly Father! to pardon 
 whatsoever thou hast seen amiss this day in my 
 thoughts, words, and actions, (particularly*) make 
 me thoroughly sensible of the great weakness and cor- 
 ruption of my nature, and the many, and grievous er- 
 rors of my life. May I be ever mindful of the value 
 
 * Ihrv covfcss every sin which hath been committed during 
 the day iniat: whether lyin^, takini^ God's mime in vain, 
 <3isobf<iici)cc tu purciits, sjtouliiir, (lluuTclii«i,^ or any otlicr. 
 
APPENDIX, 61 
 
 and rapid flight of Time, and of the certainty of Death, 
 Judgment, and Eternity. Enable me by the aid of 
 the Holy Ghost, the celestial Comforter^ daily to in- 
 crease in the knowledge and love of thee, my God. 
 Bless whatsoever good instructions have been given 
 me this day; may I carefully remember and duly im- 
 prove them, that I may be ever growing in wisdom 
 and goodness — Grant my petitions and accept my un- 
 feigned thanks for thy innumerable mercies, for Je- 
 sus Christ's sake, who hath taught me thus to implore 
 thy favour and forgiveness: 
 Our Father, ^c, 
 
 PRAYER 
 
 On Reading the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Blessed Lord! who hast caused all Holy 
 Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that 
 I may in such w^ise hear them, read, mark, learn, and 
 inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort 
 of thy Holy word, I may embrace, and ever hold fast, 
 the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast 
 given us, in thy son our Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. 
 
^i APPENmX. 
 
 Petition 
 
 On Entering the Church. 
 
 Lord! I have now come to worship thee in thy 
 Holy Temple. Let thy Holy Spirit, I beseech thee^ 
 dispose my heart to seriousness, attention, and ardent 
 devotion, for the sake of Jesus Christ thy son, my Re- 
 deemer. Amen. 
 
 i'ETITION 
 
 »4fter Divine Service is ended, 
 
 O God! be merciful to me a sinner! Make me, I 
 beseech thee, a doer of thy word and not a hearer only. 
 Accept the homage which I have at this time offered 
 unto thee, and bless the ministration of thy word and 
 ordinances, that they may tend to the salvation of 
 my soul, through the mediation and intercession of 
 Jesus Christ, thy well-beloved Son. Amen. 
 
 Grace before meat. 
 
 May God give us his blessing with this portion 
 of his bounty, and make us thankful for all his mer- 
 cies; throu2:h Jesus Christ our Lord. x\men. 
 
APPENDIX. hj 
 
 Grace after meat. 
 
 For this and all other instances of his bountiful 
 providence, God's holy name be blessed and praised, 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. 
 
 EJACULATION 
 
 On rising in the morning. 
 
 O Lord! as I now awake from my natural 
 sleep, I must one day awake from the sleep of death, 
 and rise to Judgment. Grant me thy grace so to em- 
 ploy the talents thou hast committed to me, that I 
 may then be received by thee, as " a good and faithful 
 servant!" 
 
 EJACULATION 
 
 Ongoing to bed at night. 
 
 Lord! as I now go to my bed, I must one day 
 go to my grave. O! make me seriously reflect upon, 
 and diligently prepare for, that awful period! 
 
 GENERAL EJACULATION. 
 
 O God! be merciful to 7ne^ a sinner! 
 
64 APPENDIX. 
 
 I have selected tlie four following Hymns, as being 
 peculiarly calculated to impress the youthful mind 
 with sentiments of Pietj^nd Devotion. 
 
 HYMN I. 
 
 The excellency of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 1 Great God! with wonder and with praise 
 
 On all thy works I look! 
 But still thy wisdom, pow'r, and grace. 
 Shine brighter in thy Book. 
 
 2 The stars, that in their courses roll, 
 
 Have much instruction giv'n, 
 But thy good Word informs my soul 
 How I may soar to Heav'n. 
 
 3 The fields provide me food, and show 
 
 The goodness of the Lord; 
 But fruits of life and glory grow 
 In thy most holy Word. 
 
 4 Here are my choicest treasures hid, 
 
 Here my best comfort lies; 
 
 Here my desires are satisfied. 
 
 And here my hopes arise. 
 
 5 Lord, make me understand thy law, 
 
 Show what my faults have been; 
 And from thy Gospel let me draw 
 Pardon for all my sin. 
 
 6 Here would 1 learn hov? Christ has died. 
 
 To save my soul from hell: 
 Not all the books on earth beside, 
 Such hcav'nly wonders tell. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 7 Then let mc love my Bible more, 
 And take a fresh delight, 
 By day to read these wonders o'er, 
 And meditate by night. 
 
 HYMN II. 
 
 For die Mercies of Redemption. 
 
 1 ALL-Glorious God! what hyonns of praise 
 Shall our transported voices raise! 
 What ardent love and zeal arc due, 
 While Heav'n stands open to our view! 
 
 2 Once we were fall'n, and O how low! 
 Just on the brink of endless woj 
 When Jesus, from the realms above, 
 Borne on the wings of boundless love, 
 
 S Scatter*d the shades of death and night, 
 And spread around his heav'nly light! 
 By him what wondrous grace is shown 
 To souls impoverish'd and undone. 
 
 4 He shows, beyond these mortal shores, 
 A bright inheritance as ours; 
 Where Saints in light ©ur coming wait, 
 To share their holy, happy state! 
 
 HYMN III. 
 
 The Christian's Hope. 
 1 When, rising from the bed of death, 
 O'erwhelm'd with guilt and fear, 
 I see my Maker, face to face; 
 O how shall I appear! 
 
66 APPENDIX. 
 
 2 If yet, while pardon may be founds 
 
 And mercy may be sought, 
 My heart with inward horror shrinks, 
 And trembles at the thought; 
 
 3 When thou, O Lord, shalt stand disclos'd 
 
 In Majesty severe, 
 And sit in judgment on my soul; 
 OI how shall I appear! 
 
 4 But thou hast told the troubled mind, 
 
 Who does her sins lament, 
 The timely tribute of her tears 
 Shall endless wo prevent. 
 
 5 Then see the sorrow of my heart, 
 
 Ere yet it be too late; 
 And hear my Saviour's dying groans, 
 To give these sorrows weight. 
 
 6 For never shall my soul despair 
 
 Her pardon to procure 
 Who knows thy only Son has died 
 To make her pardon sure. 
 
 HYMN IV. 
 
 Hotham Tune. 
 
 Christ our Refuge. 
 
 Jesu! Saviour of my soul! 
 
 Let me to Ihy bosom fly, 
 While the foaming waters roll, 
 
 While the tempest still is highl 
 
 Hide me, O! my Saviour, hide, 
 'Till the storm of life be past; 
 
 Safe into the haven guide; 
 O I receive my soul at last. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Other refuge have I none; 
 
 Hanga my helpless soul on thee; 
 Leave, ah ! leave me not alone, 
 
 Still support and comfort me. 
 
 All my trust on thee is stay'd; 
 
 All my help from thee I bring; 
 Cover my defenceless head, 
 
 With the shado^v of thy wing. 
 
LECTURES 
 
 • N THE 
 
 PRECEDING CATECHISM. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 MY DEAR AND RESPECTED PUPILS, 
 
 The most natural and important object which 
 the heart of man can desire, that which is most ardent- 
 ly and universally sought for, is Happiness. The 
 paths, indeed, by which we hope to arrive at the pos- 
 session of this inestimable treasure, are as various as arc 
 the passions, the dispositions, theimagiiiations, and the 
 understandings of men. All hope to obtain it, not- 
 withstanding the repeated, the universal disappointment 
 of those who have gone before them in tlie same paths. 
 In this general pursuit, this eager search, none have 
 ever been known to prove successful, and to have their 
 efforts and perseverance rewarded, but those who have 
 sought for it where nhme it can be found, and by the 
 
72 LECTURES <^N 
 
 path to which the experience of past ages, the sugges- 
 tions of right reason, and the precepts, the persua- 
 sions, and the promises of divine revelation all clear- 
 ly and forcibly point, viz. In Heaven hereafter, 
 through the guidance, the support, and the comfort of 
 TRUE RELIGION herCy which has always communica- 
 ted, and will ever continue to communicate, the highest 
 possible degree of real and of permanent happiness, 
 which man is capable of enjoying in his present im- 
 perfect and degraded state of existence. 
 
 We hcive constantly the most striking proofs be- 
 fore our eyes, that riches, honours, fame, and even the 
 possession of that first of all blessings, health, cannot 
 protect us from the disappointments, the vexations, 
 the losses, and the anxieties to which we are on eve- 
 ry side exposed: and, above all, from sickness, pain, 
 and death, which unavoidably assail every human be- 
 ing. We see and know, that not only few, at the ut- 
 most extent, but uncertain and full of evil, are the 
 days of miserable man: and we are taught by reason 
 and the sure word of God, that our souls, which ani- 
 mate our bodies, are immortal — that we shall exist 
 after our departure from this world, in another , which 
 Avill prove a state of reward or punishment, accordin)^ 
 to the tcnonr of our conduct here. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 73 
 
 Under these circumstances, surely, that which 
 can enable us to support, and can sooth and comfort 
 us under, '^ all the various ills that flesh is heir to," 
 which can convert our sorrows into joys, and which 
 can prepare and qualify us for obtaining the full frui^ 
 tion of eternal happiness among saints and angels in 
 the kingdom of Heaven — surely that which can pro- 
 duce such great, such glorious effects, ought serious- 
 ly to be attended to, and diligently cultivated: and 
 such blessed effects the Christian religion, most assu- 
 redly, ^nd the Christian religion alone, can produce. 
 To be acquainted with its printiples, therefore, to 
 jknow its doctrines, to regulate ourselves by its injunc- 
 tions, and to experience its divine efficacy, is the 
 highest privilege we can possibly enjoy; and conse- 
 quently should be embraced with the most ardent af- 
 fection, and cultivated with the most unremitted assi- 
 duity and perseverance, as our chief good. 
 
 And, as impressions made upon the humaii mind 
 at an early period, are not only seldom, if ever, erased, 
 but continue through life to influence the senti- 
 ments and guide the conduct, it is certainly of the ut- 
 most consequence to the formation of our clxiracters, 
 and to the promotion of our welfare in this state of 
 being, as well as in the next, that the youthful mind 
 should receive correct and useful principles of 
 
74 LECTURES ON 
 
 thought and of action. Hence, brief sketches of the 
 Christian system, containing its leading doctrines and 
 chief articles of faith, have been drawn up, under the 
 denomination of Catechisms, by various Christian so- 
 cieties; and though they may differ from each other in 
 point of form, and some peculiar tenets held by each, 
 yet they all inculcate the essential principles of Chris- 
 tianity. And these it is the duty of parents and of 
 teachers to instil into the minds of those young per- 
 sons who may be committed by Providence to their 
 care. It is, therefore, part of the discipline of this In- 
 stitution, that you Should be required frequently to 
 recite the Catechism of the respective Church to 
 which you belong: and as that of which I am myself a 
 nanister, and to which a majority of the youths of this 
 Seminary are attached, is the Episcopal Church, 
 I shall offer to your attention a course of short Lectures 
 upon our Catechism, in which I shall confine myself 
 to general principles, carefully avoiding any observa- 
 tions which may tend to interfere with the distin- 
 gui^ihing tenets of other Christian societies. And I 
 earnestly and affectionately solicit your patient and 
 serious attention to the addresses which I shall make to 
 you on that most interesting of all subjects, Reli- 
 gion; particularly as they will relate to that most an- 
 
rilK CA IKC HISM. :;, 
 
 imating and sublime system of faith and morals — the 
 Christian Religion. 
 
 Happy indeed shall I consider myself, and well 
 rewarded for my exertions, if I can convince you of 
 the value of time, and of the necessity of preparation 
 for eternity; and pan persuade you to walk in those 
 paths of virtue and piety, which will infallibly con- 
 duct you into the regions of perfect and uninterrupt- 
 ed felicity. 
 
 Consider, my young friends, the high privilege 
 and distinguished blessing you enjoy, in being born in 
 a Christian country, and of Christian parents; where, 
 as soon as you are capable of receiving instruction, you 
 may hear the glad tidings of salvation; and be taught 
 to think and to act so as to please God, and thereby 
 secure the benefits which must arise from obtaining 
 his favour and his love. 
 
 Consider the uncertainty of human life, and that 
 every stage or period of that life has its peculiar 
 duties. That among other duties of youth, is to be 
 ranked, as of high importance, diligence in Acquiring 
 the principles of useful knowledge. And, what 
 knowledge can be more useful, than that which tends 
 to form the character, to purify the heart, to render 
 yourselves esteemed and respected in this worlds and 
 to make a good provision against the time to come? 
 
ro LECTURES ON 
 
 This the Christian Religion teaches; and I therefore 
 earnestly request you to learn its first principles, in 
 your Catechism; and diligently endeavour to practise 
 what you there learn. Thus will you be enabled, by 
 the use of the means prescribed, to grow in grace, 
 as you grow in age; and to obtain the favour both of 
 God and man. 
 
 Consider how acceptable it must be to your 
 Heavenly Father, your Almighty Creator, Preserver, 
 and constant Benefactor, that you should devote the 
 morning of life, and the prime of your years to his 
 service, and consequently to the promotion of your 
 best interests. 
 
 Samuel,* Obadiah,t Josiah,t John the Baptist,} 
 and others, are represented on the page of Sacred His- 
 tory, as brilliant examples of early piety. 
 
 It is recorded, to the honour of Timothy, by St. 
 Paul, who addressed two Epistles to him, " that from 
 a child he had known the Holy Scriptures, which were 
 able to make him wise unto salvation, through faith, 
 which is in Christ Jesus."|| " For," says he, " all 
 Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is pro- 
 fitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in- 
 
 * 1 Samuel, ii. 26. t 1 Kings, xviii. 12. | 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3. 
 I^Luke, l. 6. !!2 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
IHE CATECHISM rr 
 
 struction in righteousness: that the man of God may 
 be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good 
 works."* 
 
 After these preliminary observations, I shall 
 proceed in subsequent addresses to you, to consider 
 the principal parts of our Catechism, according to 
 the order in which they are presented to you. 
 
 And may God of his infinite mercy grant, that 
 the doctrines and precepts which they shall inculcate, 
 '' may be so grafted in your hearts, that they may 
 bring forth in you the fruit of good living, to the ho- 
 nour and praise of his holy name, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. Amen.'* 
 
 *2 Tim. iii. 16. 17. 
 
LECTURE IL 
 
 ON THE PREVIOUS QUESTIONS AND FIRST ARTICLE OF 
 THE CREED. 
 
 The Catechism begins with the question ** What 
 is your name?" meaning, thereby, your Christian 
 name, or, the name given to you when you were bap- 
 tized. This name is given to us by our sponsors, 
 in testimony of our being received into the fold, the 
 flock, or family of Christ, and admitted as members 
 of the Christian Church; and should constantly re- 
 mind us of the priviliges we thereby enjoy, and the 
 duties which result from our thus entering into the 
 Christian covenant. 
 
 It was a practice common among the Greeks, 
 the Romans, and the Jews, to give a new or additional 
 name upon adopting a new member into a family: 
 nay, we read in the Old Testament, that God himself 
 gave an early sanction to this usage, by changing the 
 name of Abram into Abraham, when he formed a co- 
 venant with him, and instituted the riteof Circum- 
 
THE CATECHISM 79 
 
 cision, with which our rite of Baptism corresponds, 
 as the form of admission into the society of the faith- 
 ful worshippers of the one living and true God.* 
 As the Jews were circumcised when they were initia- 
 ted into the Jewish religion, so are Christians baptiz- 
 ed when they are initiated into, or profess to believe 
 the Christian Religion. The nature of this ordinance, 
 I shall more fully explain in a future lecture upon that 
 Sacrament of our Church. 
 
 The appointment of sponsors, sureties, or, as 
 they are more commonly called godfathers and god- 
 mothers, in addition to the parents, though still con- 
 tinued, is not so essentially necessary now that Ciifis- 
 tianity is established in the world, as it was in its early 
 ages, when its professors were not so numerous; and 
 it was therefore necessary, in case of the death of 
 Christian parents, to obtain at the baptism the obli- 
 gation of others^ to instruct and bring up the child or 
 children baptized in the principles of the Christian 
 Faith. The sponsors promise, in the name of the 
 child, three things, viz, 1st. *'That he shall," as far 
 as they are able to instruct and persuade him, " re- 
 nounce the Devil and all his works, the pomps and 
 vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts 
 of the flesh; 2dly. That he shall believe all the arti- 
 
 * Gen, xvii. v 
 
80 THE CATECHISM. 
 
 cles of tlie Christian Faith; and 3dly. That he shall 
 keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk 
 in the same all the days of his life." 
 
 The great privileges secured to us by Baptism 
 are, that we are thereby made members of Christ, 
 children of Gk>d, and, if we perform our parts of the 
 Gospel Covenant as stated above, shall be inheritors 
 of the kingdom of Heaven, after this life, our present 
 period of trial and discipline, is finished. 
 
 Thej^r^^ promise on our part is, that we will 
 renounce or avoid every thing that is sinful; which is 
 meant by renouncing the Devil, the World, and the 
 Flesh; because the Devil, our great spiritual enemy, 
 the follies, the vices and vanities of the World, and 
 the lusts of the Flesh, or our evil and turbulent pas- 
 sions, are the three great sources of temptation and of 
 sin — the tempters who lead us into all kinds of wick- 
 edness. 
 
 The second promise is, that we shall believe all 
 the articles of the Christian Faith which are contained 
 in that excellent summary called the Apostles' Creed, 
 which I shall now proceed to explain to you. 
 
 The third and last promise is, that we shall 
 keep God's holy will and commandments ^ and walk in 
 the same all the days of our life. These I shall also 
 explain to you in some future lectures. 
 
THE C\TECiiISM. 81 
 
 The first article, then,of our Creed, or profession 
 of Christian Faith is, '^ I believe in God, the Father 
 Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earths 
 
 To believe that there is a God, or first cause, and 
 Creator of all things, is to believe the existence of 
 that invisible, eternal, unchangeable, and incompre- 
 hensible Spirit, who is infinite in knowledge, wisdom, 
 justice, mercy, and power; who formed and supports 
 the Universe; and who hath declared unto us, by his 
 revelations, to Moses and the Prophets under the old 
 Dispensation, and by his son Jesus Christ under the 
 new, what is his nature, and what are the duties he 
 requires us to perform, in order to be admitted to 
 the enjoyment of eternal happiness hereafter. The 
 existence of such a Being, an Almighty God, is to 
 be proved by a variety of arguments. First, from the 
 creation of the world, which must have been produ- 
 ced either by design or chance. 
 
 All works of design discover a relation or agree- 
 ment of parts, in order to produce an end. In Avorks 
 of chance, the appearance is just the reverse. When 
 we see stones laid in the form of a regular building, 
 we immediately say, they were put together by de- 
 sign : but when we see them thrown in a disorderly 
 heap, we say, as confidently, they have been thrown 
 so by chance. 
 
82 LECTURES ON 
 
 Noiv, in the world and all its appendages, there 
 is plainly this appearance of design. One part relates 
 to another, and the whole together produces an end. 
 
 The sun, for instance, is connected with the 
 earth, which it illuminates with its rays, thereby en- 
 abling the inhabitants to discern the various beauties 
 of creation, and the rich provision made for their sup- 
 port; while it warms the soil with such a degree of 
 heat as to produce and cherish a profusion of vege- 
 tables, and mature a variety of fruits for their gratifi- 
 cation; at the same time, attracting from the waters 
 such a portion, as, when collected into clouds, de- 
 scends to the earth again, thereby furnishing it with 
 rain and dew. The earth is also connected with all 
 the vegetables, which, according to their species, are 
 provided with proper soils and juices for their nourish- 
 ment; these again are connected with animals, which 
 they supply with a variety of food suited to their dif- 
 ferent natures: while the minerals and stones which 
 are scattered upon its surface, or buried beneath it, 
 supply mankind with innumerable implements for 
 use, and ornaments for decoration. The whole 
 producing the great end of sustaining the lives of in- 
 numerable creatures, and promoting their comforta- 
 ble acconmiodation. 
 
THE r\TECHrSM 83 
 
 Nor is design shown only in the grand fabric 
 of the world, and all its relative appendages. It is 
 equally shown in every part. It is seen in every 
 animal, adapted in all its peculiarities to its proper 
 mode of life. It is seen in every vegetable, furnish- 
 ed with parts exactly suited to its situation, growth, 
 and nourishment. In the least as well as in the great- 
 est of Nature's productions, it is every where evident. 
 If then, the w orld and every part of it be thus mark- 
 ed with the characters o^ design, there ean be no dif- 
 ficulty in acknowledging the Author of such design, 
 of such amazing contrivance and variety, to be a Be- 
 ing of infinite wisdom and power. 
 
 Secondly. If chance could be supposed to pro- 
 duce so regular and connected a work, yet it certainly 
 cannot be supposed that it could continue this regu- 
 larity for any time; but we find, that near six thousand 
 years have made no change in the order and harmony 
 of the world. The sun's action upon the earth is 
 still the same that it ever has been since the creation 
 of the world — ^the production of trees, plants, and 
 herbs has likewise been the same. Every seed pro- 
 duces now the same fruit it ever did. Every spe- 
 cies of animal life is still the same. Could chance con- 
 tinue this regular arrangement? Could any thing 
 form and continue it but the hand of an omnipotent 
 God? 
 
84 LECTURES ON 
 
 Thirdly. The existence of a God is also proved 
 by the general consent of mankind. It is now well 
 ascertained, by the accounts of travellers, that no na- 
 tion hath yet been discovered, among whom the 
 belief in a great first cause, and some traces of religi- 
 ous ^vorship have not been found. 
 
 Such are the principal proofs of the being of a 
 God, drawn from the light of N a t u r e . But, for just 
 ideas of the Deity, his attributes, and operations, 
 we must have recourse to Revelation, The Holy 
 Scriptures alone dispel the clouds of ignorance, and 
 unveil the divine Majesty, as far as it can, or ought 
 to be, the object of human contemplation. There 
 we are informed of the omniscience and omnipresence 
 of God. There we learn that his wisdom and power 
 are equalled by his goodness; and that his mercy is 
 over all his works. In short we learn from Reve- 
 lation, that we are in the hands of a Being, whose 
 knowledge and observance we cannot escape, and 
 whose power we cannot resist; who is merciful and 
 good to all his creatures, and will be ever ready to 
 assist and reward those who conform to his will; but 
 whose justice, at the same time, accompanying his 
 mercy, will punish the bold and careless sinner, in 
 proportion to his guilt. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 85 
 
 This great First Cause, in the Revelations of 
 himself to man, in the early ages of the world — to 
 Adam, to Abraham, to Moses, and the Prophets, 
 vouchsafed to make himself known only as the Crea- 
 tor and Governor of the Universe, without any par- 
 ticular designation of his Nature. In process of 
 time, when he thought proper to give clearer intima- 
 tions of himself, of our duties to him, and of our ex- 
 istence in a future state, our divine Instructor and 
 Redeemer Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, in- 
 formed us more particularly of his nature, and ena- 
 bled us by his communications to consider him as 
 consisting of three persons, in one divine essence or 
 nature: viz. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 
 Such is the doctrine of our Church, founded, as 
 we believe, upon the clear and immutable principles 
 of Holy Writ. 
 
 Under the first of these persons, viz. as God the 
 Father y I have now considered him: and shall, in my 
 next address to you, offer some observations upon the 
 second character in the Holy Trinity, the declarations 
 concerning whom are expressed by our Creed in its 
 second article. 
 
 May God impress upon your minds the senti- 
 ments now delivered, and so '^dispose your hearts and 
 
86 LECTURES ON 
 
 minds towarcjs the attainment of eternal salvation, that 
 amid all the changes of this mortal life, you may ever 
 be defended by his most gracious and ready help, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord," Amen. 
 
LECTURE IIL 
 
 ON THE SECOND ARTICLE OF THE CREED. 
 
 My remarks upon the Second Article of the creed 
 will now be offered to your attention, and will relate 
 principally to the person and character of our blessed 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the second person in 
 the adorable Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; 
 three persons, but one God, the God whom we pro- 
 fess to worship. 
 
 " I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker 
 of Heaven and earth: and, in Jesus Christ his only Son 
 our Lord,"*^ 
 
 A belief in God alone, as the Creator or First 
 Cause of all things which e xist, is induced by the 
 light, or dictates of unassisted reason — Hence among 
 all nations, however rude or uncivilized, the belief in 
 and worship of a Being superior to man, the author 
 ?nd governor of the world, has been found to obtain. 
 
88 LECTURES ON 
 
 In what IS called a state of nature, in those early 
 ages and nations to which no particular revelation of 
 the divine will was delivered, God spake to man by 
 the works of Creation, and the dictates of Conscience, 
 that principle implanted in the human breast, which is 
 ever watchful over our thoughts, words, and actions; 
 approves of such as are good or virtuous, and disap- 
 proves of those which are wicked. 
 
 In the works of Creation, ** the Heavens declared 
 the glory of God, and the Firmament showed his han- 
 dy work."* ** And therefore," said one of the wi- 
 sestand most celebrated of the Heathen writersf *'no 
 nation or people can be so barbarous, or dull of ap- 
 prehension, as not to perceive when they look up to 
 the Heavens, and around them upon the beautiful, 
 regular, and useful operations of nature, that there is 
 a God." In this manner did God speak to the Hea- 
 then. But he hath since spoken to man in terms more 
 express and positive than by the conclusions of rea- 
 son — He made partial declarations of himself to the 
 Patriarchs and Prophets of old; and we find from his- 
 tory, and particularly from that of the Holy Scriptures 
 that wickedness and irreligion have always been pun- 
 
 * Psalms, xix. i. f Cicero. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 39 
 
 ished by him — by the deluge, by the rejection and 
 dispersion of the Jews, and by many other signal in- 
 stances of divine displeasure. 
 
 " Whatsoever things were written," or done, 
 *' aforetime,'* says an holy Apostle, " were written,'* 
 or done, "for our learning,"* our example, our warn- 
 ing. If God therefore spared not those who,, un- 
 der so imperfect and faint a knowledge of his nature 
 and attributes, committed iniquity and disregarded 
 him, " how shall we escape, if we neglect or disregard 
 the great salvationf" offered to us by the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ, who descended from Heaven clearly to 
 explain to mankind the perfect nature of God, and 
 the means of obtaining his favour, and thereby of ob- 
 taining perfect happiness? With evident truth and 
 propriety may we pursue the Apostle's mode of ar- 
 guing with his christian converts: " If God spared 
 not the natural branches, take heed, lest he also spare 
 not thee. "J (i. e.) If the Heathen and Jews have been 
 punished with severity for their disobedience to the 
 laws which were given to them; let us Gentiles be- 
 ware, lest for the same crime we also experience the 
 displeasure of God, according to the declarations of 
 
 * Rom. XV. 4, t Hcb. ii. 3. \ Rom. xi. 21. 
 
 M 
 
90 LECTURES ON 
 
 his Gospel: and it every where declares, that with- 
 out faith in his revelations and sincere endeavours af- 
 ter virtue and holiness, we cannot after this life, which 
 is evidently a state of trial, be admitted into the king- 
 dom of God, notwithstanding the sacrifice made by 
 Christ's death; but shall after death be justly banished 
 to the regions of misery and despair, there to receive 
 the bitter fruits of our disobedience and hardness of 
 heart. For the Gospel, or last revelation of God to 
 man, teaches, that although Christ has put it in our 
 power to obtain future happiness, if we will fulfil the 
 conditions of believing in him, and faithfully obeying 
 his commands, yet, if we neglect to comply with the 
 conditions, we cannot share the benefits of his death 
 and passion: for it is the uniform and invariable law 
 of God, that " without holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord."* The Gospel, or instruction of Jesus Christ, 
 sets before us life and death, points out the infallible 
 means of securing happiness and avoiding misery af- 
 ter death, and, by animating promises, as well as by 
 awful threatenings, urges us to refuse the evil and 
 choose the good. Throughout the scriptures, human 
 beings are considered as free agents, accountable for 
 
 * Heb, xii. 14 
 
THE C;ATF.CHISM 
 
 ?^ 
 
 their actions in proportion to the degree of ligHt and 
 knowledge vouchsafed: and we ought constantly to 
 remember, and seriously to consider, that our bles- 
 sed Redeemer in all his discourses and parables, repre- 
 sents our present condition under the character of 
 stewards and servants; that to every one talents are 
 given to be improved, and that we shall hereafter be 
 rewarded or punished, according as we have atten- 
 ded to or neglected them. Certainly then the cha- 
 racter of this great and benevolent instructor should 
 earnestly be inquired into, and rightly understood by 
 us. 
 
 We are taught by the Christian religion to be- 
 lieve in /* Jesus Christ the only son of God, our 
 Lord." 
 
 He is thus represented to us under a threefold 
 description, 1st. by his nomination as Jesus Christy 
 2dly. by his generation as the Son of God, and 3dly, 
 by his dominion as our Lord, 
 
 The name Jesus signifies a Saviour, or deliver- 
 er; and Christ answering to the Hebrew word Messi- 
 ah, signifies anointed or appointed, which names 
 designate his personal character, with respect to us: 
 that to him alone the character of a spiritual Saviour 
 and a moral deliverer belongs; for it is he alone who 
 can save or deliver us from the punishment due to ou: 
 
92 LECTURES ON 
 
 ans; "hath purchased" the possibility of" eternal re- 
 demption and salvation for us;"* and it is he who will 
 " appear a second time"t ^o be our Judge. We are 
 therefore, called upon to profess and declare, that 
 there is " no other name or character given unto men 
 through whom we can be saved, but that of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ.^t 
 
 We are next taught by the Creed to acknow- 
 ledge his relationship to God, as being hisonly Son: — 
 ** And in Jesus Christ his (i. e. God's) only Son,'^ 
 
 This relationship to God the Father Almighty, is 
 expressly declared in many passages of the Holy 
 Scripture. St. John tells us that " in the beginning 
 was the word, (or Son,) who was with God and was 
 God. "II That " he is over all, God blessed for ever- 
 more."y And Christ himself told the Jews ''I came 
 forth from God."^ ''I and my Father are one."** 
 
 At the time of his baptism by John, a voice from 
 Heaven declared ** This is my beloved Son in whom 
 I am well pleased." ft And in his prayer before 
 his passion he uttered these words, " I have fin- 
 ished the work which thou gavest me to do: 
 and now O Father, glorify thou me with the 
 glory which I had with thee before the Morld was." %% 
 
 * Ileb. ix. 12. t Heb. ix. 28. \ Acts, iv 12. 
 [| Jolm i. 1,2, 3. § Rom. ix, 5. "!! John. xvi. 28, 
 
 ♦* John. X. 20. ft Mat.i, 17. \\ John. xvii. 5 
 
THE CATECHISM. 93 
 
 And therefore, when we declare our belief in his Son- 
 ship, we mean that he is in such sense the only Son 
 of God as no created being can possibly be: namely, 
 by having been eternally with the Father. He is in- 
 deed called the Son of God on other accounts in Holy 
 Writ, as having been conceived in a miraculous man- 
 ner by the Holy Ghost v/ho is God, and having no 
 earthly father; as having been appointed to the special 
 office of the Messiah; as having been *^ declared to 
 be the Son of God with power"* by his resurrection 
 from the dead; and as being appointed by the Father 
 heir of all things, "f But he is most properly and 
 eminently styled the Son of God, as having been 
 [' in the bosom of the Father^f from the beginning; 
 as being according to St. Paul '*the brightness 
 of his Father's glory, and the express image of 
 his person, "§ and having in him *^ all the fulness of 
 the Godhead, bodily. "|| Hence we are also bound to 
 him as our Lord. Such he is towards us as creatures, 
 we as well as all other being subject to his dominion 
 and authority. But he is more particularly our Lord 
 as Christians; being the author of our religion, and the 
 mediator between God and us. We are also dedica- 
 
 * Rom. i. 4. t Heb. i. 2. \ John, i. 18. 
 
 § Heb. i. 3. [! Col. ii. 9. 
 
94 ' LECTURES ON 
 
 ted to him by Baptism, and are in a peculiar manner 
 his subjects, who is ** the head over all things to the 
 Church;"* God the Father having '' highly exalted 
 him and given him aname which is above every name; 
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of 
 things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things un- 
 der the earth; and that every tongue should confess that 
 Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Fa- 
 theT.^t 
 
 Such being the offices and relation of Jesus Christ 
 to us, how thankful should we be for so inestimable 
 a blessing conferred upon us as his mediation — how 
 anxious should we be to obtain his favour — and how 
 diligent in obeying his precepts! 
 
 Be persuaded, my young friends, to attend seri- 
 ously to religion and its duties now, before the vari- 
 ous snares and temptations of the world have had an 
 opportunity of corrupting your minds. Dedicate 
 your early years to the service of your God and Sa- 
 viour; by reading his Holy Word-— by fervently pray- 
 ingfor divine grace and protection— and by a frequent 
 and grateful recollection of the great and glorious be- 
 nefits which are offered to you. O '' Remember, 
 adore and obey your Creator in the days of your youth, 
 
 * Kph. i. 22. t Phil. ii. 9. 10. 11. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 95 
 
 before the evil days^come, and the years draw nigh 
 in which ye will say, ye have no pleasure in them."* 
 Thus will ye enter upon the business of human life, 
 under the peculiar protection and favour of your Hea- 
 venly Father; thus will ye be prepared to meet its va- 
 rious evils, as becometh Christians; thus will ye rise 
 superior to all its dangers and deceitful charms; thus 
 will ye be enabled to endure its afflictions with compo- 
 sure and pious resignation, knowing them to be wisely 
 and mercifully sent for your spiritual improvement 
 and benefit; and thus will ye be prepared, when the 
 short period of human life is over, to give an account 
 of your stewardship with joy, to your Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who will then be your Judge, and will re^vard 
 or punish you according as you have obeyed or disre= 
 garded his precepts. 
 
 Be encouraged by the animating promises given 
 in the Word of God to those who seek the Lord at an 
 early period of life. Consider that you may die du- 
 ring that period; and that, though young, you will be 
 called to answer at the bar of God for your improve- 
 ment or abuse of that inestimable talent. Time. Let 
 the caution of Solomon, the wisest of men, against the 
 follies, the levities, and vices, to which the young and 
 
 * Eccl. xii. 1. t Ecdesiastes 11 9. 
 
96 LECTURES ON 
 
 inconsiderate are generally prone, be deeply impres- 
 sed upon your memory. " Rejoice , O young man, 
 in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days 
 of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and 
 in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, thixtjbr all 
 these things God will bring thee into judgment ^^ 
 ' Remember, therefore the endy and thou shalt ne- 
 ver do amiss.'' 
 
 That you may be enabled diligently to perform 
 your duty while you have opportunity, may 
 ^* The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of 
 God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with 
 you all. Amen." 
 
 * Ecclesiastes xi. 9 f Ecclesiasticus. vii. 36. 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 ON THE SECOND ARTICLE OF THE CSBED. 
 
 Having in my last Lecture, which was upon the 
 Second Article of tlie Creed, namely, " And in Jesus 
 Christ his only Son our Lord," considered the name 
 and character of our blessed Redeemer, his relation 
 to the Father and to us, his Divinity and Dominion; I 
 proceed now to repeat and explain the several parti- 
 culars of what he did and suffered, what he continues 
 to do still, and will finally do " for us men and for our 
 salvation." 
 
 This Article continues to designate his charac- 
 ter, by saying, " Who was conceived by the Holy 
 Ghost, bom of the Virgin Mary." 
 
 That this Eternal Son of God did become man 
 is affirmed, among other authorities, by St. John, who 
 says, that the Word or Son of God, who came down 
 from Heaven " was made flesh and dwelt among us"* 
 —by St. Paul, who declares that, " God was man- 
 ifested in the flesh"! — and by the same author to the 
 
 *Johni. 14, t iTim.iii. 16. 
 
 N 
 
98 LECTURES ON 
 
 Philippians, who says, " Who being in the form of 
 God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, yet 
 made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the 
 form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of 
 man."* And unto the Hebrews he says, that " He 
 was in all things made like unto us his brethren, "f 
 And this is what is meant by the Incarnation of our 
 Lord; that is, his appearance in this world in the ful- 
 ness of time appointed by the Father, and his taking 
 upon him human nature, by his assuming and uniting 
 to his divine nature the body and soul of a man. 
 That Christ had a human soul, as well as body, is evi- 
 dently declared by St. Luke: J and it is a doctrine 
 which was maintained by all the Fathers. 
 
 And as we here derlare our belief of his Incar- 
 nation in general, so likewise particularly of the man- 
 ner of his assuming our nature, which was miraculous. 
 God the Holy Ghost (according to the declaration of 
 the inspired writers^), the Power of the Highest, over- 
 shadowing the Virgin Mary, his mother, she conceiv- 
 ed, in a miraculous manner, and brought forth a Son, 
 who having been from the beginning God of God, 
 and being now born of a woman, is therefore called 
 " Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with 
 us.'^ll 
 
 » Phil. ii. 6. 7. t Heb. ii. 17. % Luke. ii. 52. 
 
 § Luke i. 35. and Matt. i. 18, || Matt.i. 23. 
 
 compared with Isaiah vii. 14. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 99 
 
 By his being born of a virgin, several ancient 
 prophecies made to the Jews concerning their Messiah 
 were fulfilled in him; and by his being born of the 
 Virgin Mary in particular, many others were likewise 
 accomplished, which declared, that the Messiah must 
 be of the seed of Abraham, and, of the house and 
 lineage of David.* And in this article we therefore 
 declare our belief that our blessed Lord was born in 
 such manner and of such a person as the Spirit of 
 God long since foretold of him, and that therefore he ■ 
 appeared by all these particulars to be the Saviour 
 who was appointed by the determinate counsel and 
 foreknowledge of God, to be *' a light to lighten the 
 Gentiles, and to be the glory of his people Israel, "f 
 — And from our belief of his having fulfilled the 
 prophecies in his wonderful conception and birth, and 
 in the person of his blessed mother, upon his entrance 
 into the w^orld, we next proceed to show, that he did 
 likewise as actually fulfil those which related to the 
 manner in which, as man^ he should finally leave it. 
 For he " Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was cruci- 
 fied, dead and buried, he descended into Hell." 
 
 ''The spirit of Christianity," says St. Peter, 
 " which was in the prophets did testify, beforehand, 
 
 * Liikc ii. 4. t Luke ii. 32. 
 
roo LECTURES ON 
 
 the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should fol- 
 low,"* And those things which were so long fore- 
 told, were in him fully accomplished. — He was, ac- 
 cording to the prophet Isaiah, to be ** a man of sor- 
 rows and acquainted with grief, "f And in proof of 
 it his whole state of humiliation, from his birth to his 
 death, was but one continued scene of suffering." — 
 He was, indeed, ** despised and rejected of men. "J 
 And when what is here particularly called his suffer- 
 ing, and by divines generally his passion, began, ne- 
 ver was any sorrow like unto his sorrow. He under- 
 went agonizing pains in the garden of Gethsemane,§ 
 he was betrayed by one|| and forsaken by all his dis- 
 ciples,ir was falsely accused by the Jews, and insult- 
 ed, mocked, buffetted, and spit upon by the common 
 soldiers^* was condemned, though innocent, by his 
 selfcondemnedjudge,tt and, after the most bitter pains 
 of body and anguish of soul, expired on the Cross. Jf 
 Thus did the blessed Jesus most eminently suffer. 
 He was crucified when Pontius Pilate was governour 
 of Judea under the Romans, and exactly at that time, 
 and under such a governour, as several prophecies 
 had predicted. — Daniel's Prophecy of seventy weeks, 
 
 * 1 Pet. i. 11. t Isaiah liii. 3. t Isaiah liii. 3. 
 
 § Luke xxii. 44. || Luke xxii. 47. t Mark xiv. 50. 
 
 **Markxxv. 18.19.20. ft Mark xv. \S.\\ Matt.xxviL 50. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 101 
 
 or four hundred and ninety years, to the death of the 
 Messiah, was, by this means, punctually accomplish- 
 ed.* — And by our Lord's suffering under a Roman 
 govemour was verified his own prophecy, that he 
 should be '* delivered to the Gentiles to mock, and to 
 scourge, and to crucify him."t The manner of his 
 suffering, by being crucified^ is also added to show, 
 that in him was accomplished what the prophets had 
 typified and foretold, both of the painfulness and ig- 
 nominy of his death. By being crucified, the son of 
 man was lifted up, as the serpent in the wilderness 
 had been lifted up by Moses; upon which, whosoever 
 steadfastly looked, was healed of the stings of the 
 fiery flying serpents,f this brazen serpent being a type 
 or figure of Clirist. By being crucified, he suffered 
 the punishment of a common malefactor, and ** was 
 numbered with the transgressors, "^ and '' gave his 
 life a ransom for many."|| He was also " buried," 
 and in such a manner as to fulfil Isaiah's prophecy of 
 him in this particular — for " he made his grave with 
 the wicked and with the rich in his death. "^ With 
 the wicked, in dying as a common malefactor, and 
 with the rich, in that " Joseph a rich man of Arim- 
 athea, begged his body of Pilate, and having wrapped 
 
 * Dan. ix. 24. 25. f Luke xviii. 32. 35. \ John iii. U. 
 
 § Isaiah liii. 12. Mark xv. 28. || Matt. xx. 28. ^ Isaiah liii. 9. 
 
102 LECTURES ON 
 
 it in linen cloths and spices, as the manner of the Jews 
 was to bury, he laid it in a new sepulchre wherein ne- 
 ver man was laid."* 
 
 The next assertion in this article is, that, " he 
 descended into Hell." The original Greek word, 
 Hades, here translated Hell, signifies the place or hab- 
 itation of departed spirits. As our blessed Lord was 
 actually dead and buried, so he continued some time 
 in that state, his body being laid and remaining in 
 the sepulchre, and his soul being all that time separa- 
 ted from it, and continuing in the same state as those 
 ofgood men probably will, during the time of their 
 separation from the body, where they who die in the 
 Lord rest from their labours, waiting for a still more 
 perfect happiness at the resurrection in thelastday.f 
 
 The next declaration of the Creed is, '' The 
 third day he rose from the dead." The certainty 
 of this event cannot be doubted, if the witnesses to 
 it be impartially heard. The necessity and impor- 
 tance of his rising, are most evident, because the 
 truth of his whole Revelation depended upon it; and, 
 therefore, says St. Paul, *' if Christ be not risen, then 
 is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."f 
 
 ♦Luke xxiii. 53. f Rev. xiv. 13. t 1 Cor. xv. 14. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 1Q3 
 
 But the Holy Scriptures are incontestably clear upon 
 this head.* 
 
 As Christ rose from the dead, so he " ascen- 
 ded into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of 
 God the Father, from whence he shall come to judge 
 the quick and the dead." — That is, he shall come 
 from the place where he has been so long hidden 
 from our eyes, and shall appear in the sight and pre- 
 sence of men and angels; and shall call all persons into 
 judgment who ever have lived in the world, not only 
 the quick, that is, those who shall be then alive, but all 
 those likewise who have lived and died in all past ages, 
 from the creation to that time.f 
 
 The solemnity of that day will indeed be very 
 great and terrible; for the heavens shall pass away with 
 a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent 
 heat — and the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Hea- 
 ven with his mighty Angels — and before him shall 
 be gathered all nations and all their thoughts, words, 
 and actions brought into judgment, by which they 
 will receive, according to the strictest equity, reward 
 or punishment greater than we can possibly con- 
 ceive .J 
 
 * Mat. xxviii. Chap. Mark. xvi. Chap. Luke xxiv. Chap. 
 John XX. Chap. 
 
 t Mat. xvi 27. John v. 22. 27. Sec. 
 
 \ Mat. xxiv. 31. I Cor. xv. 52. 2 Pet. iii. 7. Mat. xvi. 27. 
 Rev. i. 7. Rom. xiv. 10. Rev. xxii. 12. 
 
104 LECTURES ON 
 
 Oh! then, my young friends, frequently consider 
 the awful certainty of this event; and so govern your 
 lives by the precepts and example of your blessed and 
 divine teacher Jesus Christ, that you may die in 
 peace, and be so prepared to meet him in the day of 
 judgment, that he may receive you as faithful disci« 
 pies and follovi^ers, and admit you into his heavenly 
 kingdom. 
 
 To which blessed region of perfect and eternal 
 felicity, may God of his infinite mercy bring us all; 
 through the atonement and intercession of his Son, 
 Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen, 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 OJf THE THIRD ARTICLE OF THE CREED, 
 
 I AM now come, in the regular order of explana- 
 tion, to the third portion or division of the Creed, 
 viz. 
 
 ** I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catho- 
 lic Church, the Communion of Saints, the Forgive- 
 ness of Sins, the Resurrection of the Body, and the 
 Life everlasting. Amen." 
 
 Here are six different points of faith declared, 
 which I shall, in this Lecture, endeavour briefly to 
 explain to you. First then, '* I believe in the Holy 
 Ghost." The former articles having expressed the 
 belief of Christians concerning the first and second 
 persons of the adorable Trinity, God the Father, and 
 God the Son, we are now to profess our belief in the 
 thb'd^ viz, in God the Holy Ghost, 
 
106 LECTURES ON 
 
 The Holy Scriptures instruct us with respect ta 
 his Divinity, his Personality, and his Operation — As 
 to his Divinity, he is said to be, both in the Old and 
 New Testaments, one and the same with God and 
 Jehovah* — When Ananias lied to him, he is said to 
 " lie unto God"t — Our Saviour assures us that 
 *' there is a sin against the Holy Ghost which shall 
 not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world 
 to come, "J and we are baptised by command of 
 Christ in the name of the Holy Ghost, as well as of 
 the Father and the Son. The incommunicable attri- 
 butes of the Godhead are also expressly ascribed to 
 him. He is called " The Eternal Spirit" § — 
 ** The Holy Spirit. "|| By his Omniscience and Omni- 
 presence "he searcheth all things. "T[ And his Om- 
 nipotence may be clearly inferred from the miraculous? 
 powers which are said to be bestowed by him. He 
 is, therefore, very God; and our church calls upon 
 Vis, as Christians, so to profess our belief in him. 
 
 * Acts V. 3. 4. Compare 1 Cor. vi. 19. with 1 Cor. iii. 16. 
 17. and 2. Cor. vi. 16. See Luke i 35. 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. 3. Com- 
 pare, also, Exod. xxxiv. 34. with 2 Cor. iii 17. and Isaiah vi. 9. 
 with Acts xxviii. 25. 
 
 t Acts V. 3. 4. I Mat. xii. 32. § Heb. ix. 14. 
 
 !! Luke xi. 13. t 1 Cor. ii. 20. 
 
rin: catkcmism. .v: 
 
 That the Holy Ghost is likewise a distinct per- 
 son from the Father and the Son (not an attribute or 
 power of the Father) is evident, though proceeding 
 from the Father and the Son. The New Testament 
 expressly and repeatedly uses the word he concerning 
 him, which is never used in that manner of a mere 
 attribute or power. It ascribes to him will and. su- 
 preme understanding: it speaks of him as being sent 
 from Heaven as our spiritual guide. When Christ 
 was about to leave this world, he told his disciples, 
 " I will not leave you comfortless, but will send to 
 you anodier comforter, even the Holy Ghost. "^ Nay, 
 he is spoken of as showing himself " in a bodily 
 shape — asadove."t 
 
 His extra6rdmarij operations have been, th/; in- 
 spiring of the prophets of old; his enabling the. apos- 
 ties of Christ suddenly to speak different languages; 
 his guiding them into all the truth, and bringing ail 
 things to their remembrance; and his enabling them 
 to perform signs and wonders, and divers miracles, 
 for the confirmation of the truth of their doctrines. 
 
 His ordinary works, or operations, are those 
 helps, assistances, and comforts, whereby he enables 
 all faithful Christians, in the present and all ages of 
 
 * Johnxiv. 16. 17. 18. f Mat iii. 16. 
 
108 J5.C.ETURKS ON 
 
 the Church, to do their duty as such, and gives them 
 joy and comfort in the discharge of it: this is ex- 
 pressed in the Holy Scripture by " being led by the 
 Spirit,"* and having ** our infirmities helped by 
 him"t — t)y his " dwelling in us as his temples,"J and 
 *' strengthening us with might in the inner man,"§ 
 and by his " filling us with all joy and peace in be- 
 lieving. "|| On this account he is styled the Comforter, 
 who sanctifies us or renders us (if we earnestly pray 
 and desire so to be) holy; and these his ordinary ope- 
 rations are called our Sanctification. By God the 
 Father we are created; By God the Son we are re- 
 deemed, or rendered capable of the favour of God; 
 and by God the Holy Ghost we are sanctified or ren- 
 dered holy, and consequently worthy of that favour. 
 Hence the Holy Ghost, personally distinct from the 
 Father and the Son, is " with the Father and the Son 
 together to be worshipped and glorified,"^ constitu- 
 ting witli them the True God, Jehovah. Three Per- 
 sons, but One God, Such is the doctrine of our 
 church with respect to the name and nature of God. 
 The next points to be considered are the " Holy 
 Catholic Church, and the communion of Saints." 
 
 » Ga'. V. 18. t Rom. viii. 26. \ Cor. vi. 19. 
 
 ^E'^h. iih 16. II Rom. xv. 1-3^ ? Nic^ie QfeK^« 
 
THE CATECniSiM. I09 
 
 Jesus Christ, a little before he left the world and as- 
 cended into Heaven, gave a commission to his apos- 
 tles (as they afterwards did to their successors) to go, 
 teach, and make disciples to his doctrines among all 
 nations.* The apostles as soon as they had received the 
 Holy Ghost, to assist them with miraculous powers, 
 immediately put their commission in execution^ be- 
 ginning, as we are told in the Acts (or history of the 
 lives of the Apostles) at Jerusalem; where they made 
 a great number of converts to the true faith. These 
 converts joining together in one faith and worship, and 
 being united to one spiritual head, their Heavenly 
 King and Governor, were, therefore, considered as one 
 body, and called the Church of Christ,or the associa*- 
 tion of persons believing in his divine character and 
 doctrines. This Church has continued from the 
 apostles' days to our own, and ever will continue to 
 the end of the world; our Lord having declared, that 
 the powers of Hell shall never so prevail against it as 
 to destroy it.f Blessed, therefore, are they who are 
 sincere and zealous members of this Church, which 
 is called holy^ because Christ requires not merely a 
 profession or verbal declaration of faith in him, but 
 that they should be ** holy in all manner of conversa- . 
 
 * Luke xvi.. 15. 16. t Mat. xvi. 18. 
 
1 10 LIXTLKES ON 
 
 tion,"* or uniformly guided by the influence and di- 
 rection of the Holy Spirit of God, whose influence 
 we can obtain by frequent and fervent prayer. And 
 because this Church or association of beUevers does 
 not consist of the people of one nation only, but those 
 of all nations, and in all ages, since our Lord's appear- 
 ance, therefore this Holy Church is likewise called 
 Catholic or universal. Hence all those people who 
 believe his doctrine, obey, or endeavour to obey, liis 
 precepts, ar^d receive his holy Sacraments — all those 
 people collectively considered, are Christ's holy and 
 catholic or universal Church. By the ** Communion 
 of Saints" is meant the fellowship or spiritual con- 
 nexion of real Christians. This expression hath an 
 evident relation to the former, in which we profess 
 to believe in the Holy Catholic Church; which 
 Church is therefore holy, because those persons are 
 such, or ought to be, who constitute its members; to 
 that confession is added this communion, which is in- 
 tended to be explanatory of the former. St. Paul calls 
 all the Christians or the Church, in any particular place, 
 the Saints, or holy persons at that place: thus to the 
 Ephesians he directs his Epistles, "to the Saintswhich 
 are at Ephesus;"t andthat to the Philippians, *^toall the 
 
 * 2 Pet. iii. 11. t Eph. i. 
 
THE CATECHISM. Hi 
 
 Saints in Christ Jesus who ai'e at Philippi,"* and so 
 in many other places. And because these Saints, or 
 Christians, have one common faith, one common rule 
 of life, God's holy word, common ordinances or Sa- 
 craments of our Lord Jesus Christ, and are all united 
 to him their common head; therefore these Christians, 
 when considered as one body, bound together by 
 these ties of union and communion with one another, 
 are in general, properly called the communion of Saints; 
 and in the closest application of the term, those who 
 not only profess the gospel, but also are sanctified and 
 renewed thereby. Nor have such communion only 
 with the saints on earth, but are of one city, and one 
 family with those who are already admitted into Hea- 
 ven, the " spirits of the just made perfect."! Doubt- 
 less they with the Angels exercise that communion 
 towards us; being as described in the Holy Scripture, 
 *'ministring spirits, sent forth to minister unto those 
 who shall be heirs of salvation. "J 
 
 ^' The Forgiveness of sins" is the next declara- 
 tion of a Christian's faith. It is the gospel of Christ 
 alone which brings us the glad tidings of our peace 
 w ith God, and his forgiveness and good will towards 
 man; and teaches us the atonement whereby this peace 
 
 * Phil. - t Hcb. xii. 2 3. .| Heb. i. 14, 
 
112 LECTURES UN 
 
 has been obtained, even by the death and propitiatory 
 sacrifice of the Son of God — as has been already ex- 
 plained. And in this sense we declare our belief of 
 the forgiveness of sins, viz. That in the holy Catho- 
 lic Church of Christ, before mentioned, God is pleas- 
 ed most graciously to convey to us this forgiveness 
 in the first instance, upon our being baptised into it; 
 and afterwards to assure us of the same abundant 
 mercy, if we sincerely repent of those sins which we 
 afterwards commit; and if we embrace by faith the 
 merits of Christ's death, who is the propitiation for 
 our sins. 
 
 As we believe " The Forgiveness of sins," so we 
 are bound to believe '* the Resurrection of the body," 
 or that as it is appointed unto all men once to die, so 
 it is determined that all men shall rise from death; that 
 the souls separated from our bodies, are in the hands 
 of God and live; that the bodies dissolved into dust, 
 or scattered into air, shall be collected in themselves 
 and reunited to their souls; that the same flesh which 
 lived before shall be revived, otherwise the conscious- 
 ness of identity necessary in the succeeding judg- 
 ment on the " deeds done in the body"* would be 
 destroyed; that the same bodies which did fall shall 
 
 * Roin, ii. 6. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 1 1 3 
 
 rise; that this resurrection shall be universal, no man 
 excepted, no one left in the grave; that all the just 
 shall be raised to a resurrection of eternal life and 
 happiness supreme; and all the unjust, or wicked, to 
 a resurrection of condemnation or punishment, se- 
 vere beyond the possibility of human conception: all 
 this is to be performed at the last great day of Judg- 
 ment,* Our blessed Lord, by raising himself from 
 the dead, as has been explained under the second ar- 
 ticle, has given us a most inHillible proof and assu- 
 rance of the certainty of our own resurrection. " For 
 as in Adam all die; even so in Christ shall all be made 
 alive"t — " He,'' saith St. Paul to the Romans, '' who 
 raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken" or 
 restore to life"owr mortal bodies''^ — The gospel is 
 exceedingly clear and express in revealing to us this 
 great truth; that in order to the final judgment, " all 
 that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son 
 ofGod, and shall come forth"§ to the resurrection. 
 That the sea shall give up the dead who are in it, and 
 that our corruptible and mortal bodies shall put on 
 incorruption and immortality: with this difference 
 from what they were at our death, that, as they were 
 
 * Mat. XXX. 31 — 46. t 1 Cor. xv. 22. 
 
 I Rom. viii. 11. § John v. 28. 
 
114 LECTURES ON 
 
 sown natural bodies, in corruption, dishonour, and 
 weakness, they shall be raised spiritual bodies in in- 
 corruption, power and glory. ^ And as this resur- 
 rection will be preparatory to the final judgment, 
 we proceed, in the next and last place, to declare our 
 belief of what will be the consequence of it; viz. 
 '* And the life everlasting"— that is, that after our 
 bodies and souls shall be thus united a second time, 
 and our almighty Judge shall have passed sentence 
 upon us, that then they shall never be separated more 
 — "Death shall no more have dominion over them."t 
 They shall thenceforth exist, either in the most ex- 
 cruciating misery, or the most ecstatic happiness, 
 " according to what we have before done in the body, 
 whether it be good or whether it be evil."J 
 
 I'hese, my young friends, are the fundamental 
 articles of our Christian faith; and from them it is 
 evident, that (as the Catechism teaches you in the 
 next question and answer) what we chiefly leam from 
 these articles of our faith is, the sublime and com- 
 fortable doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity, or, in 
 other words: — 
 
 1st, To believe in " God the Father," whose 
 distinguishing character in the Holy Scriptures has 
 
 * 1 Cor. 15. t Rom. vi. 9. \ 2. Cor. v. 10. 
 
THE. CATECHISM. 115 
 
 been shown to be this, that " he hath made us and all 
 the world." ^ 
 
 2dly, To behevein "God the Son," whose dis- 
 tinguishing character in Holy Writ is, that he hath, 
 by his death " redeemed us and all mankind;" 
 
 3dly, To believe in *' God the Holy Ghost," 
 whose distinguishing character, in the Sacred Wri- 
 tings, is that he, by his grace, " sanctilieth us and all 
 the elect people," of that God, whom we are, there- 
 fore indispensably obliged, with *' the Holy Church, 
 throughout the world," to acknowledge to be — *' The 
 Father of an infinite Majesty; His adorable, true, 
 and only Son; also, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter."^ 
 
 Let the important principles contained in this 
 Summary of the Christian Faith, be deeply impress- 
 ed upon your minds, and produce their proper effect 
 upon your lives and conversation. Remember that 
 you are young, that if it please God to continue your 
 existence here, you will soon be exposed to the tri- 
 als and temptations, and experience some of the 
 various troubles of the world: to support you under 
 which, nothing can have so much efficacy, as the 
 establishment of virtuous and religious principles: 
 these fortify the mind, and guard the soul against the 
 snares of vice; these enable us constantly to consider 
 
 * See the " Te Detini." 
 
116 LECTURES ON 
 
 human life, as we ought, as a state of probation; 
 and, *^ having our conversation in Heaven,"* to look 
 forward to, and diligently prepare for, the awful hour 
 of death, and the still more awful Day of Judgment. 
 " Remember" tlien, adore and obey *' your Crea- 
 tor in the days of your youth."t Dedicate "the whole 
 of the short period of human life to his service, and 
 you will not only be amply rewarded by continual 
 peace of mind, the inexpressible comfort of an ap - 
 proving conscience, but you will have peace at the 
 last, the closing hour of life, which we must all ex- 
 perience: when we shall be fully sensible of the value 
 of time and the importance of eternity; and when if 
 we have neglected to improve the one as becometh 
 Christians, we shall look forward to the other with 
 terror and dismay, convinced that there can be no 
 repentance or reformation in the grave. 
 
 " The thought of Death indulgej 
 
 " Give it its wholesome empire! let it reign; 
 *' That kind chastiser of thy soul in joy! 
 « Its reign will spread thy glorious conquests far, 
 " And still the tumults of thy rufllcd breast." 
 
 Young's Night Thoughts, N. 3. 
 
 May God enable you so to consider the things 
 which belong to your eternal peace, that you may, at 
 
 * Phil. iii. 20. t Eccles. xii. 1. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 117 
 
 the last great day of account, receive the divine ap- 
 probation of your Almighty Judge, and obtain the 
 reward which is promised to the " pure in heart."* 
 And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy 
 Ghost be with you all evermore. Amen. 
 
 Blat. V. 8. 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 ox THE riRST AND SECOND COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 The explanation of the Creed, or fundamental 
 principles of the Christian religion, being finished, 
 the order of our Catechism requires that we should 
 now proceed to the consideration of the Command^ 
 merits. They are ten in number, as delivered by God 
 himself to his servant Moses, upon Mount Sinai; and 
 were brought do^^Ti by Moses from the Mount, writ- 
 ten upon two tables or plates of stone, whence they 
 are called the laAvs of the two tables. On the first Table 
 were inscribed, the first four Commandments, teach- 
 us our duty to God our Almighty Creator, Pre- 
 server, and constant Benefactor; those of the Second 
 Table, beginning with the Fifth Commandment, and 
 ending with the Tenth, instructing us in our duty 
 towards our fellow creatures, or rather, as we are na- 
 turally prone to evil, forbidding the commission of 
 those acts which would be essentially injurious to 
 them. 
 
LECTURES &c. 119 
 
 You are taught in the Catechism, that your 
 Sponsors, or those persons who answered for you, at 
 the time of your baptism, did promise and vow three 
 things in your name, or in your behalf. First, that 
 when you arrived to sufficient age to judge and act 
 for yourselves, you " should renounce the Devil" (the 
 great enemy to our present and eternal happiness) 
 " and all his works; the pomps and vanities of this 
 wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the Flesh." 
 Secondly, that you " should believe all the articles of 
 the Christian faith, as contained in the apostles' Creed; 
 and. Thirdly, that you should keep God's holy will 
 and Commandment Sy and walk in the same all the days 
 of your life." The two first of these promises, I have 
 considered, and explained; and shall now enter upon 
 the third, viz, the Commandments of God, which 
 are the same which God spake, or gave to the child- 
 ren of Israel, his chosen people, (as is recorded in 
 the twentieth chapter of Exodus) declaring himself, 
 at the same time, to be ^' the Lord their God, who 
 brought them out of the Land of Egypt, out of the 
 house of bondage."* And though these Command- 
 ments were thus given to the Jews alone, they 
 are equally binding upon us Christians; because 
 
 * Exodus XX. 2. 
 
120 LECTURES ON 
 
 Christ, the divine author of our religion, who was 
 himself a Jew, hath told us that he came ** not to de- 
 stroy the written Law, but to fulfil and enforce it."^ 
 And also, because God being unchangeable in his 
 nature, must always require the same duties from his 
 creatures in all ages of the world. 
 
 We begin with the First Commandment — 
 ** Thou shalt have none other Gods but me:" which 
 our blessed Saviour repeats and explains in these 
 words — *' Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 
 him only shalt thou serve."! And from these two 
 passages taken together, it is evident, that this Com- 
 mandment contains two things. 1st, It forbids the 
 having, that is, the acknowledging or worshipping 
 any more Gods than onCy agreeably to St. Paul, who 
 says in one of his Epistles or Letters to the Corinth- 
 ians; " We know that there is none other God but 
 one."t And whoever does acknowledge or worship 
 more Gods than one, robs the true God of his honour, 
 and is guilty of the first and most heinous sort of 
 Idolatry, And 2dly, This Cojnmandmenty as expres- 
 sed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and ex- 
 plained by our Church enjoins us Christians to form 
 a true idea of him, who is the tiue God, (that is, the 
 
 * Matt. V. 17. t Mjrtt. iv. 10. I 1 Cor. viii. 4. 
 
THE CATECHISM 121 
 
 same God who brought up the children of Israel out 
 of Egypt) and to pay our duty to him in a manner 
 suitable to those true ideas of him which He and his 
 only and well-beloved Son have given us. Thou shalt 
 know him to be what he is, the Lord thy God, and 
 thou shalt worship and serve him as such; i. e. thou 
 shalt acknowledge him to be under the description of 
 three persons, the one living and true God. Namely, 
 God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and 
 Earth, and of all things, visible and invisible; God 
 the So7i^ who for us men and for our salvation, de- 
 scended from Heaven, took our nature upon him, 
 gave instruction both by precept and example, how 
 to lead a holy life, and finally atoned for the sins of 
 the world by suffering, in his human nature, death 
 upon the cross, and then reascending to Heaven, and 
 resuming ** the Glory which he had, with his Father, 
 before the world was;''* and God the Holt/ Ghost, 
 the Comforter, who is our spiritual guide to the 
 kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 This doctrine of the Holy Trinity is indeed a 
 subject above the comprehension of the human un- 
 derstanding; the feeble powers of our reason are ina- 
 dequate to the full investigation of it. That it is de- 
 
 * John. x>ii. 5. 
 
122 LECTURES ON 
 
 Glared in the Holy Scriptures is sufficient authority 
 for our Faith. As in those Sacred Records, enough 
 is clearly revealed and accommodated to our capa- 
 cities, to convince us of their divine origin, so there 
 are necessarily in them some points asserted which 
 we arc bound implicitly to believe, without examina- 
 tion, in order that our faith may be fully proved and 
 ascertained: and such is the Scriptural doctrine of the 
 Trinity in Unity, as received by our Church, and 
 maintained in her Articles and Creeds. 
 
 This Triune God, or one God of three persons, 
 we are commanded to believe in; that is, to fix firmly 
 in our minds a sense of his existence, frequently to 
 recal to our memories, and imprint deeply upon our 
 hearts, an awful persuasion of the Being and Presence, 
 the Power and Justice, the Holiness and Truth of this 
 great Lord of all; that we fear him on account of his 
 power; that we love him for his goodness, with all 
 our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength; 
 that is, in the most sincere and ardent manner we are 
 able; that we worship him in Spirit and in Truth; 
 for, being a Spirit, he must be worshipped in like 
 manner; that we give him thanks for the daily mer- 
 cies received from him, and particularly for the 
 greatest of all mercies, the sending his Son to redeem 
 our lost and ruined race; that we put our whole trust 
 
THE CATECHISM. \<23 
 
 in him for future supp^ and constantly call upoi> 
 him, in prayer, for his divinb^rotection and assist- 
 ance. So that the First Cominandm^t, as explained 
 in the New Testament, not only forbids Ub that kind 
 of Idolatry which consists in worshipping false gods, 
 but requires us to worship the true God in a true and 
 proper manner. 
 
 The Second Commandment forbids us another 
 kind of Idolatry, which heathen, unenlightened na- 
 tions are always prone to. The Second Command- 
 ment is '' Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven 
 image,'' &c. wherein we are forbidden, in the plainest 
 and most express words, to make any images 
 or representations whatsoever of any beings whatso- 
 ever, in order to pay them any manner of worship, the 
 lowest kind of which is bowing down to them. 
 
 To this gross kind of forbidden outward Idola- 
 try, St. Paul adds an inward or mental Idolatry, 
 which consists in placing our affections so strongly 
 on any earthly thing, as to forsake God, and disobey 
 his laws in order to attain it; which is in reality prefer- 
 ring it before him; and in this sense he commands 
 the Colosslans to avoid " Covetousness, which," says 
 he, '' is Idolatry."* 
 
 * Col. iii. 5 
 
124 LECTURES ON 
 
 And this species of Idolatry, arising from the 
 indulgence of our Passions, it is particularly our du- 
 ty, as Christians, to guard against, not being now 
 from the general external worship of the true God, expo- 
 sed to the danger of the Idolatry particularly prohibit- 
 ed by this Commandment. The spirit of the law, howe- 
 ver, is as much violated by suffering any earthly ob- 
 jects so to engross our affections and attention as to 
 supersede, in any degree, that which we owe to God, 
 as though we were to offer external adoration to it. 
 
 The reason expressed in this Commandment 
 against Idolatry is, that '^ God is a jealous God;" 
 that is, that as men jealous of their honour, will not 
 suffer it to be taken from them without avenging it, 
 so neither will Almighty God suffer us to go unpun- 
 ished if we idolatrously give to other beings, or 
 their representations, the honour due only to his Holy 
 Name; but will visit all such as thus irrationally and 
 impiously insult him, with severe punishments. 
 
 Hence, among the Jews, whose rewards and pu- 
 nishments were all temporal, the children of such 
 profane parents, if they continued to go on to hate the 
 living and true God, i. e. to trust in other gods or 
 idols, and to disregard and disobey him, experienced 
 the most exemplary temporal punishments: whereas, 
 on the other hand, if the fathers and children reve- 
 
THE CATECHISM. i25 
 
 rcnced and obeyed God, his mercy and blessing were 
 promised not only to the third and fourth generation, 
 but to thousands of generations of those who loved 
 him and kept his Commandments, And to this threat 
 of such lasting temporal or worldly evils to such as 
 commit Idolatry, the Gospel adds a much more se- 
 vere, even a punishment in the world to come, or 
 that state of existence which we shall enter upon 
 when we are called out of the present; which is, that 
 " no Idolater will have any inheritance in the kingdom 
 of Christ, and of God;"* or in other words, will be 
 excluded or shut out from the enjoyment of the 
 happiness of Heaven. 
 
 I shall consider in my next, and the following Lec- 
 ture, the two remaining Commandments of the JFirst 
 Table, or those duties which particularly relate to 
 God, viz. The Third Commandment which forbids 
 the taking of God's Holy Name in vain; and the 
 Fourth which points out the high obligation which 
 rests upon us, strictly to observe and reverence the 
 Sabbath day. 
 
 In the mean time. May God bless you, and ena- 
 ble you by his Divine Grace diligently to serve him 
 and faithfully to keep all his Commandments. 
 
 * Eph. V. 5. 
 
LECTURE. VII. 
 
 ON THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 
 
 The next Commandment which the order of our 
 Lectures requires me to comment upon is the Third: 
 viz. *' Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
 God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 
 who taketh his name in vain." 
 
 This is a subject of the highest importance, and 
 most particularly deserves your closest attention; be- 
 cause the habit of profane swearing is a vice so gen- 
 erally indulged and so easily acquired by youth; at 
 first, indeed, from the influence of example in their 
 elders, and from inconsiderateness and ignorance of 
 its enormity in themselves; but afterwar'ds, when es- 
 tablished by habit, so difficult to be overcome, so vul- 
 gar, and consequently disgraceful in its exv^rcise, and 
 so highly criminal in the sight of God, not oi"Jy from 
 the disrespect and insult which the familiar vise of his 
 
THE CATECHISM. 127 
 
 Holy name offers to his Divine Majesty, but from the 
 unavoidable tendency which it has to corrupt the mo- 
 rals and principles of our fellow creatures; and to les- 
 sen that serious and constant regard which we ought 
 always to pay to religion and its various duties. 
 
 The first Commandment haying ^ro\ided that wc 
 should worship only the one true God, and the Se- 
 cond having forbidden the worshipping of him in a 
 manner so unworthy and so dangerous as by Ima- 
 ges; the Third, or that now more immediately before 
 us, proceeds to direct, that we preserve a due rever- 
 ence to him in our whole conversation and behaviour. 
 ** Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God \ 
 in vain." That is, first; Thou shalt not swear by the 
 name of God Jhlselt/. The taking of oaths in a court \ 
 
 of justice, or to establish the truth upon important 
 and particular occasions, is certainly not only lawful 
 but sometimes unavoidable necessary; and is justi- 
 fied by the language of Scripture with respect to God \ 
 himself; particularly, among many other passages, \ 
 we are told by Moses in the book of Genesis, that 1 
 the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of 
 Heaven, and said " By myself have I sworn," saith ! 
 
 the Lord, " because thou hast not withheld thine on- 
 ly Son from me, that in blessing I will bless thee."* 
 
 Gen. xxii. 16. 
 
128 LECTURES ON 
 
 &c. And from the declaration of St. Paul to the 
 Hebrews, that '' Oaths are allowable for confirmation 
 and to put an end to all strife."^ But the deliber- 
 ately taking of a false oath is one of the most shock- 
 ing crimes of which we can be guilty. For, taking 
 an oath is declaring solemnly that we know ourselves 
 to be in the presence of God, and calling him to wit- 
 ness what we speak; it is appealing to him that our 
 words express the very truth of our hearts, and re- 
 nouncing all title to his mercy if they do not. This 
 it is to swear. Think then what it is to swcsly Jalse- 
 ly. In other sins, men endeavour to forget God: 
 but perjury, or false swearing, is daring and braving 
 tlie Almighty to his very face; bidding him take no- 
 tice of the falsehood w^iich we utter, and do his utmost 
 to punish it, if he can. How awfully dreadful even 
 the idea of such blasphemous presumption! Next to 
 false swearing, false speaking or lying, (whether in 
 what we assert or declare, or what we promise) is a 
 grievous sin, and hateful both to God and man. 
 Though we do not formally and deliberately call our 
 Maker to witness, yet he is a witness of whatsoever 
 we do or say; and it is certainly presumptuous wick- 
 edness to utter an untruth in the presence of the God 
 of truth. It is also very hurtful to other persons, and 
 
 ♦Hcb.vi. 16. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 129 
 
 very foolish with respect to ourselves. For they who 
 will lie to conceal their faults, or effect their designs, are 
 perpetually found out, disappointed, and ashamed, 
 and forever after distrusted, and disbelieved even when 
 they speak the truth. ' For, how can any dependence 
 be placed upon the assurances of a person once 
 known to be capable of telling a wilful lie? 
 
 Another very needless and always siriful use of 
 God's holy name is, by the use of oaths in common 
 discourse. Too many there are who fill up with 
 them a great part of their most trifling conversation; 
 especially if the least degree of warmth arise: then 
 they abound with them. Now, it is impossible but that 
 persons who areperpetually swearing, must frequently 
 perjure themselves; but even were it 7wtso, itis certainly 
 great irreverence and an insult to Almighty God to 
 call upon him as a witness to every slight assertion, 
 and to connect his sacred name with the most trifling 
 sentiments or expressions which we utter. And what 
 makes this abominable and impious practice the more 
 inexcusable is, that we can rleither derive any advan- 
 tage from it, nor experience any natural pleasure in it, 
 its indulgence having no foundation in nature, but 
 being always induced by the baneful and contagious 
 influence of bad example. 
 
 R 
 
13=0 LECTURES ON 
 
 Besides, it argues not only a total want of com= 
 mon good manners, but also of respect for religion. 
 For who can believe in God and fear him as he ought, 
 and yet, by the familiar use of his holy name, treat 
 him with disrespect and contempt? The best and wi- 
 sest men in all ages have always worshipped, not blas- 
 phemed their great Creator. Among many others, 
 the great Mr. Robert Boyle never mentioned the name 
 of God, without a considerable pause in his discourse, 
 and the bending of his body in testimony of his res- 
 pect and adoration. Our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ 
 strictly commands us to abstain, not only from false 
 swearing, but from swearing at all in our common 
 conversation, either by God himself, or by any of 
 his works, which is in eifect swearing by him who is 
 the author of them. '' 1 say unto you," said he, 
 " swear not at all," in conversation, '* neither by Hea. 
 ven, for it is God's throne, nor by the Earth, for it is 
 his footstool, but let your communication," or con- 
 versation, ** be yea, yea, or nay, nay, for whatsoever 
 is more than that becometh evil,"* or sin. This is a 
 rule so evidently correct, that even heathens have 
 strictly enjoined and followed it, to the shame of too 
 many who call themselves Christians. 
 
 Together with common swearing should be men- 
 tioned another sin, almost always joined to it; I mean 
 * McOi. V. St. 
 
THE CATFXHISM. ISi 
 
 that monstrous custom of cursing, in direct contra- 
 diction to all humanity, and to the express words of 
 Scripture ' * Bless and curse not. " * To wish the hea- 
 viest judgments of God, and even eternal damnation 
 to a person for the slightest cause of anger, or none at 
 all; to wish the same to ourselves if some trifling thing 
 we are saying be not (which frequently we know to be 
 not) true, amounts to the most desperate impiety, if 
 people at all consider what they say: and if thev do 
 not, it is, even then thoughtlessly, impiously treating 
 God and his laws, and the awful sanction of them with 
 contempt, and blotting out of our minds all serious 
 regard to subjects that will one day be found the most 
 important and awful of all possible things. " His de- 
 light was in cursing," says the Psalmist, '* and it shall 
 happen unto him; he loved not blessing, therefore 
 shall it be far from him."t ^^d though we no way 
 profane his name ourselves, yet if we entice, or make 
 others commit perjury or falsehood, or provoke them 
 to rash oaths or curses, or give them any temptation 
 to blaspheme God, to speak disrespectfully or think 
 slightly oftheir Maker, or his laws natural or revealed, 
 by such behaviour also we break or violate this com- 
 mandment, and rank ourselves with those, whom it 
 expressly declares God will " not hold guiltless;" 
 
 ^ Rom. xii ! 1- PsI. cix. 16. 
 
152 LFXTURESON 
 
 that is, according to the Hebrew manner of speaking, 
 he will not forgive, but very severely punish. 
 
 Oh then, let us be very watchful to preserve con- 
 tinually such an awe of the Supreme Being upon our 
 own minds, and, by our example, upon the minds of 
 all those who are immediately connected with us, or 
 with whom we associate, as may, on every occasion, 
 effectually influence both us and them to give to God 
 the glory due unto his name, both in our more solemn 
 addresses to him, and in our daily words and actions. 
 '* For God is greatly to be feared in the Assembly of 
 the Saints, or righteous, and to be had in reverence 
 of all those who are round about him.''t 
 
 Let me intreat you, therefore, beloved youths, as 
 you regard your own characters, the good of society, 
 the purity of your minds, the composure of your con- 
 sciences through life, and particularly at that awful 
 hour of departure from this world, when you are 
 about to be called upon by God himself to answer for 
 every idle and profane word which you have uttered; 
 and as you wish and hope for happiness in the next 
 state of existence, which we all know will be a state 
 of reward or punishment, abstain with the most rigid 
 and religious caution, from the commission of this 
 abominable and dangerous vice of profane swearing, 
 
 t Psl Ixxxiv ^ 
 
THE (mXECHISM* 
 
 133 
 
 " Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your 
 mouth."* Let a constant sense of God's presence 
 prevent your ever presuming to take his holy name in 
 vain, and, as far as you are able, by your advice and 
 example endeavour to reform those of your compa- 
 nions who may unhappily, at any time, be guilty of it. 
 Always remembering that they who commit this great 
 sin, which is so positively forbidden by God himself, 
 are laying up for themselves, a store of punishment 
 greater than we can conceive, which will most cer- 
 tainly be inflicted when repentance will be ineffectual, 
 and amendment impossible. Think, Oh! seriously 
 think on these important truths. 
 
 To God's gracious protection I commit you. 
 May the Lord bless you, and keep you, preserve you 
 from the temptations of the Devil, the World, and the 
 Flesh, and enable you by his Divine Grace to say and 
 to do such things as shall be pleasing in his sight, that 
 you may enjoy peace and happiness both now and for 
 evermore. Amen, 
 
 * Eph. iv. 29. 
 
LECTURE VIII. 
 
 ON THE rOL'RTH COMMAXDMEAT. 
 
 The subject of my address to you this morning 
 is that very important and necessary duty which is 
 so positively enjoined in the Fourth Cornmandment, 
 viz. 
 
 *' Remember, that thou keep holy the Sabbath 
 Day." 
 
 And to beings such as we are, whose life is of so 
 uncertain duration, and at best of so short continu- 
 ance — who are placed here as in a school, or state of 
 preparation for another and an eternal world, and 
 whose happiness or misery in that world will depend 
 upon the nature of our thoughts, w^ords, and actions 
 in this, surely the necessity of it must be evident. 
 The strictest observance of a command which is so 
 highly calculated to promote our comfort and happi- 
 
, LECTURES, Sec, 135 
 
 ness here as rational and immortal beings, and to 
 secure our eternal happiness hereafter^ if properly 
 considered, cannot but receive the approbation, and 
 meet the most earnest wishes of every sincere Chris- 
 tian. Let us therefore devote a few minutes to an 
 attentive examination of this solemn injunction of Al- 
 mighty God, our infinitely good Creator, Preserver^ 
 and constant Benefactor, who could not possibly re- 
 quire us to do any thing which is not in the highest 
 degree calculated for our benefit. 
 
 The general meaning of the Commandment is, 
 that one day of the week should be set apart from com- 
 mon uses, and be kept holy. The particular day which 
 the Jews were here commanded to set apart was the 
 Seventh. The manner in which they were required 
 to keep this day holy^ was, by spending it in religious 
 works; such as the worshipping of God, and devout 
 meditation on his goodness and majesty; and by re- 
 fraining from all manner of work ^ either of amusement 
 or of business, on that day; and giving the same rest ta 
 their families, their servants, and their cattle. The rea- 
 son given for choosing this particular day is here said 
 to be in memory of the creation of the world; because 
 God was pleased to form this great globe which we 
 inhabit, with all its rich and wonderful variety ofani^ 
 mals and vegetables, for our accommodation and sup- 
 
136 LECTURES ON 
 
 port, not instantaneously, by a single word, which as 
 a Being of infinite Power, he could as easily have 
 done, but by slower degrees, in six days: and he rest- 
 ed on the seventh day, this work of Creation being 
 then completed. Not that this, or any other thing 
 could fatigue or weary him; but the expression means, 
 that having then finished the formation of this world, 
 he ceased from further creation with respect to it, and 
 required men also to cease from their labours every 
 seventh day, in memory of that fundamental article 
 of all religion, that the heavens and earth were made, 
 and therefore are governed, by an infinitely wise, pow- 
 erful, and good Being. And thus was the Sabbath^ 
 which word in the Hebrew language signifies a day of 
 rest, a sign, as the Scripture terms it, between God 
 and the children of Israel, a mark to distinguish 
 them from all worshippers of false deities: but besides 
 this principal reason of the rest for every seventh day, 
 two other reasons are mentioned in the law; that it 
 might remind them of that deliverance from heavy 
 bondage which God had granted them; "Remember,'' 
 said Moses to the Israelites, " that tliou wast a servant 
 in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord brought thee 
 out thence; therefore, he commands thee to keep the Sab- 
 bath Day."* And likewise, that their servants and 
 
 * Deut. V. 15. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 157 
 
 cattie might not be worn out with excessive toil; "that 
 tliine ox and thine ass may rest; and the son of thine 
 handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed."* 
 
 Thus were they frequently reminded of their 
 great deliverer, who had given them that rest; which, 
 contrasted with their former slavery, would naturally 
 impress upon their minds a very lively sense of 
 what God had done for them, and perpetuate the re- 
 membrance of him both as the Creator of the world, 
 and the Redeemer of Israel. 
 
 Such was the state of things when our blessed 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came into the world, 
 as the great deliverer of the human race; when those 
 reasons for the observance of the Sabbath, which re- 
 ferred only to the peculiar circumstances of the Jews 
 were done away, as the appearance of the thing repre- 
 sented rendered the observance of the representation 
 unnecessary. Their deliverance, therefore, out of 
 Egypt by the handof Moses, was no longer to be com- 
 memorated, for behold! a greater than Moses, even 
 Christ, the character whom he represented, was come! 
 The sign of the Covenant between God and them was 
 no longer of any use, nor was that distinction between 
 them and the other nations of the earth now necessa- 
 ry; because the partition wall between Jew and Gen- 
 
138 LECTURES ON 
 
 tile was broken down; and Christ, in whom ail the 
 nations of the earth were to be blessed, and " of whom 
 Moses in the Law, and the Prophets did speak,"* 
 had descended from Heaven, and put away Sin by the 
 sacrifice of himself, to save our souls by a great deli- 
 verance. His disciples, of course, with great propri- 
 ety, changed the observance of the Sabbath from the 
 seventh to thej^r^jfday of the week, in commemoration 
 of the Resurrection of Christ on that day, which then 
 became the great leading object of their faith, the seal 
 of their redempti on; and in thankful remembrance of it, 
 was appointed for the time of public worship among 
 Christians, and is therefore called by St. John The 
 Lord's day, though in common language it is more 
 usually called Sunday, which is indeed a heathenish 
 term, being the day dedicated by them to the worship 
 of the Sun; but it is figuratively so called by Chris- 
 tians, because on it Christ the Son of Righteousness 
 arose, as " a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be 
 the glory of his people Israel."! 
 
 Thus as the Sabbath was before the memorial 
 of a temporal or worldly rest, it now became the me- 
 morial of a spiritual deliverance, of a restoration from 
 a state of sin and spiritual slavery, to the glorious liber- 
 
 ^ John J, Mu fLuke.ji: 32, 
 
ty of the sons of God; of a title of admission into the 
 heavenly Canaan, that promised resty that incorrupti- 
 ble inheritance of the just; while at the same time the 
 general objects of the Jewish Sabbath were as cffe/:- 
 tually embraced. Of the Creation, it was still as 
 much a memorial as it had ever been: for, though 
 the day was not precisely the same, it was still one 
 day in seven, and therefore equally commemorative 
 of that^ while it also commemorated another object 
 more immediately referring to the Christian state. 
 The rest from worldly pursuits, and the consequent 
 leisure v/hich it alFords for devotional exercises and 
 religious duties, the figurative representation of a fu- 
 ture life, and the ease and refreshment of the infjerior 
 animals employed in our service, are equally well ef- 
 fected by it now, as under the former institution. 
 
 Such being the nature of the Sabbath, or Lord^s 
 Day, its importance and its usefulness must be very 
 evident to you. As a day of rest it is intended to 
 take us out of the hurry and temptations of the 
 world, and lead us to that retirement where our minds, 
 composed and undisturbed, may be able to converse, 
 as it were, with God, and to contemplate spiritual ob- 
 jects; for it would be of little use to have a day 
 set apart for religious purposes, in remembrance that 
 the world was made by God and redeemed bv Christ; 
 
140 raXTURES ON 
 
 orto represent the Sabbath, orthe rest of a future'statCj 
 unless the mind be directed by it to the objects it 
 has respect to; and be led by the recollection of them 
 to such devout reflections, pious resolutions, and 
 heavenly dispositions, as the appointment of the Sab- 
 bath was intended to cultivate. Not that religious 
 exercises are to be wholly neglected on other days; 
 particularly our morning and evening sacrifice of 
 prayer and praise; but that that day be regiilarly and 
 altogether devoted to the service of God, and the sal- 
 vation of our immortal souls. It is, therefore, our 
 bounden duty and service to dedicate it to God, to 
 public and private acts of piety and devotion. 
 
 Every opportunity of public worship and instruc- 
 tion we should certainly embrace; the intermediate 
 parts of the day we should employ in recollecting and 
 meditating upon what we have heard; in reading dili- 
 gently the Holy Scriptures, and other books of mo- 
 ral and divine instruction; in private prayer to God, 
 beseeching his blessings and imploring his grace; in 
 reviewing the actions of the past week; in forming 
 such good resolutions, and cultivating such disposi- 
 tions as Avill promote our advancement in piety; 
 and, by giving the influence of our good example to 
 those who may know and observe us. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 341 
 
 Such is the way to *' hallow the Sabbath, as the 
 Lord our God hath commanded as:" and any other 
 way of passing it, unless constrained by sickness, is 
 certainly a wilful profanation of it. 
 
 Take heed, therefore, my young friends, take 
 heed to your ways, and suffer not the influence of bad 
 example, the pleasures of the world, or the delusive 
 and fatal charms of idleness, to tempt you to disobey 
 this solemn and positive command. Reflect upon the 
 inestimable advantages resulting from the proper ob- 
 servance of it; that a due sense of the necessity and 
 importance of Religion, of our dependance upon and 
 obligation to our Heavenly Father, and of the awful* 
 ness of an approaching judgment and eternity is there- 
 by kept alive in the mind; by which our good resolu- 
 tions are strengthened, our minds prepared to meet 
 the various occurrences of this transitor}^ life, as be- 
 cometh Christians, and rational beings; as those who 
 are sensible that they must give an account; and that 
 it keeps up, as it were, a constant intercourse with 
 our Almighty Creator, and Divine Redeemer who 
 will ere long be our Judge, and reward or punish us 
 according to the deeds done in the body. Consider, 
 on the other hand, the inevitable evil which must arise 
 from the neglect or profanation of that holy day. That 
 you must thereby inciu' the displeasure of him ^vho 
 
142 LECTURES O^T 
 
 commanded you to hallow the Seventh Day; that you 
 will soon, by neglecting its proper observance, be- 
 come accustomed to neglect that most important duty 
 of self-examination; that a sense of your dependence 
 upon God, and accountability to him, will gradually 
 wear out of the mind; and, that naturally advancing 
 from the omission of duty to the commission of sin, you 
 will rapidly go on to destruction and misery, both in 
 this world and the next. It is well known that many 
 of the most atrocious criminals who have suffered 
 death as a punishment for their crimes against society, 
 have, in their last moments declared, that the begin- 
 ning of their wicked and fatal course was the neglect 
 and profanation of the Lord's Day. And indeed, if 
 we v/ilfully disobey so positive a command of God, 
 how can we expect his blessing and the influence of 
 his divine grace to purify and to amend our hearts? 
 
 Let it therefore be your constant endeavour to ob- 
 serve this day as the Lord your God hath commanded 
 you. Let nothing but sickness prevent your uniform 
 attendance to worship him in his holy Temple; and 
 employ the intermediate hours of the day in reading 
 the Holy Scriptures, in raising your hearts by private 
 prayer and praise to God for his varions blessings, in 
 devout meditation, and in serious, innocent, and so- 
 ber conversation. Thus will the Lord's Day prove 
 
THE CATECHISM. 143 
 
 to you a delight, and the discharge of its duties your 
 greatest comfort and satisfaction. Thus will you as- 
 suredly grow in grace, and in favour both with God 
 and man, as you grow in age. Thus will you be pre- 
 pared for Death and Judgment, and finally be admit- 
 ted as good and faithful servants into the kingdom of 
 Heaven, 
 
 Let us Pray, 
 
 O God! who declarest thy Almighty power 
 chiefly in showing mercy and pity, mercifully grant 
 unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, run- 
 ning the way of thy Commandments ^ may obtain thy 
 gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy 
 heavenly treasure, though Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 ON THE FIFTH AND FOLLOWING COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 I PROCEED now to explain and recommend 
 to your most serious attention, the Laws of the Se- 
 cond Table, or those which relate to the duties which 
 we owe to our fellow creatures. 
 
 The first Commandment of the SecondTdhlo:, or 
 Xhtffth^ according to the general mode of number- 
 ing them is, 
 
 *' Honour thy Father and thy Mother, that thy 
 days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God 
 giveth thee." 
 
 This promise of long life as the reward of obe- 
 dience, though particularly addressed to the Jews, 
 and refen'ing to the land of Canaan, which was to 
 them the promised land of rest and comfort, and 
 which after their deliverance from Egyptian bon- 
 dage, and journeying through the wilderness forty 
 years, they took possession of, as the promised reward; 
 though at that time, and from its very nature, applica- 
 ble only to the Jews, very strikingly implies, that 
 
THE CATECHISM. U5 
 
 the Commmidment enjoins the discharge of a duty 
 of the highest importance in the sight of God; and 
 which will ever be attended with his blessing. In- 
 deed it is the only Commandment to which the pro- 
 mise of re ward is added, as an encouragement or in- 
 ducement strictly to fulfil it. And it is a Command- 
 ment which should be particularly attended to by you, 
 my young friends, as you are now more immediateh/ 
 under the guidance and protection of your parents, 
 whose happiness and comfort through life, you may 
 very much promote or interrupt, according as you 
 comply with or disobey their requests and injunctions; 
 and if you consider but a moment, that they can 
 have no views or wishes with respect to you, but such 
 as may tend to your advantage and happiness — ^that 
 their affection for you, their experience and know- 
 ledge of the world, particularly qualify them to guide, 
 advise, and direct you — ^that during the helpless pe- 
 riod of infancy and early life, when you were incapa- 
 ble of providing for, or protecting yourselves, they 
 watched over you with the most anxious and tender 
 care, and have conducted you so far on the journey 
 of human life, — ^that they provide not only food and 
 clothing for your bodies, but are anxious to improve 
 and polish your minds by Education, that you may 
 be prepared to enter into society as men of respect- 
 
U6 LECTURES ON 
 
 ability and usefulness, and thereby be the prop and 
 comfort of their declining years; when, I say you con- 
 sider these powerful inducements to an affectionate 
 and respectful submission to your parents' authority, 
 you must be convinced of the propriety, duty, and 
 necessity of always honouring and obeying them with 
 readiness, with cheerfulness, and with fidelity. 
 
 The general duty, then, enjoined by this Co;«- 
 mandment^ is, that all persons honour, obey, esteem, 
 and love their parents; that they support, relieve, and 
 succour them in age or distress; bear with their in- 
 firmities; supply, if possible, their wants; and be de- 
 ficient in no act of grateful attention and kindness 
 which it is in their power in any part of their lives to 
 pay them. "Honour thy parent," saith Solomon, 
 "and forsake him not," &c. And though this Com- 
 ttiandment mentions but one kind of superior, "Ho- 
 nour thy Father dind Mother ^''^ y^t its spirit, or obli- 
 gation applies to all the different classes of inferiors 
 to their superiors, throughout society; because this 
 first and greatest relation to our natural parents is the 
 foundation of all social duties, both civil and sacred — 
 To our ai;i/ parents, the persons who are vested with 
 the authority of governing the people, of enforcing 
 the administration of the laws, and to wliom the 
 Gospel requires us to be subject and obedient, i!s unto 
 
IHE CATKGHlblVl. 147 
 
 " powers which are ordained of God"* — To our pa- 
 rents in sacred things, the Ministers of the Gospel, 
 whom we are required to *' esteem very highly in 
 love, for their works' sake,"t and to obey in all things 
 which they show to be our duty — To masters, ser- 
 vantsowe fidelity, diligence, and subjection; andtoour 
 superiors of any other kind, whether in age or cir- 
 cumstances, such respect and honour, as the nature 
 of their relation to us, and the reason of the thing 
 require. 
 
 The remaining Commandments are so simple, clear, 
 and positive, as to require little or no comment. 
 
 The Sixth Co??ifnandment, " Thou shalt do no 
 murder," shows us our duty with respect to the pre- 
 servation of our own life, and the lives of our fellow 
 mortals. Murder is taking away a person's life with 
 design, and without authority: and is the greatest 
 crime we can commit (towards one another), because 
 it is not to be remedied when once committed; and 
 therefore the Gospel forbids not only murder itself, 
 but all actions, passions, and affections which tend 
 towards it, or may be the means of occasioning it. 
 All hatred, variance, strife, malice, and revenge are 
 ranked among those things which will exclude men 
 from the Kingdom of Heaven; because they lead to 
 
148 LECTURES UN 
 
 the commission of such acts as are injurious to man, 
 and offensive to God. 
 
 Under the prohibition of this Commandment is to 
 be inchided a species of murder of the most atroci- 
 ous kind: viz. suicide or self-murder: and this, 
 perhaps, more frequently occurs in society than the 
 commission of murder upon others*. And thougli 
 the latter can in no respect be palliated or justified, 
 the former appears to possess the highest possible de- 
 gree of turpitude, as being a more deliberate andimpi- 
 ous outrage against the providence and administration 
 of God. A man in the frenzy of rage or resentment 
 may commit an act of violence against another, which 
 in the calmer moments of reflection he would re- 
 probate and deplore. Whereas, absolutely to refuse 
 to comply with the dispensations of Providence; to 
 extinguish that life which God thought proper to 
 give; to defy, as it were, his Omnipotence; to resist 
 his Wisdom, and boldh'^ to rush into his immediate 
 presence, under a refusal to comply with his will, or 
 that arrangement of circumstances which he has 
 thought proper to ordain as a trial of our faith and re- 
 signation; and to preclude, at the same time, thereby 
 all possibility of repentance for so impious an act of 
 disobedience, is certainly a most heinous violation of 
 this precept of the Decalogue, and cannot fail to incur 
 
THH CA'i'ECHIS:\r. U9 
 
 the highest displeasure of the Deity, and the punish- 
 ment consequent thereupon. 
 
 Another species of murder which should be con- 
 sidered as under the prohibition of this commandment^ 
 is that which frcqiientiy occurs from the shocking and 
 savage practice of duelling — a practice hostile to 
 the laws of God and man; as it involves the voluntary 
 disposal of our own lives, and the intended extinction 
 of that of others. This practice is peculiarly disgrace- 
 ful to, and criminal in persons professing Christianity, 
 being diametrically opposed to the general tenor of 
 that religion, and to many of its most positive precepts. 
 We are commanded " to let all bitterness, and wrath, 
 and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put 
 away from us, with all malice."* To "forgive men 
 their trespasses; '-f To ^4ove our enemies;"J To "re- 
 compense no man evil for evil:"^ "Being reviled, to 
 bless;"|| To" be kind one to another, tenderhearted, 
 forgiving one another;'"^ with many more of similar 
 import. 
 
 As the sixth Commandment tends to guard our 
 neighbour's person, so the Seventh, "Thou shalt not 
 commit adultery," proceeds to guard his tenderest 
 
 * Eph. iv. 31. t Mark xi. 25. 26. 1 Malt. v. 44. 
 
 §Rom. xii. 17, ijLukevi. 28. f Eph. iv. 52. 
 
! 5D LECTURES UK 
 
 and closest connexion in the person of a husband or 
 wife. 
 
 As marriage is the closest and most lasting of all 
 human connexions, so the interruption of that harmo- 
 ny and aftection which should subsist between a man 
 and his wife, being broken in upon and destroyed 
 by the commission of adultery, its mischief being of 
 the most serious and fatal kind, and involving the 
 most dreadful consequences, is justly considered to 
 be an act in the highest degree criminal in the sight 
 of God. 
 
 Tht Eighth Commandment^ "Thou shalt not steal," 
 commands us not to injure our neighbour in his pro- 
 perty; and that, not only by taking it from him, xvith- 
 out his knowledge^ which is properly theft or stealings 
 but by depriving him of it unjustly, by violence or 
 fraud. All deceit in trade, with regard either to the 
 value, or price of what is sold — all extortion, under 
 pretence oi power, authority , or law — all advantages 
 taken from the necessities of others — all refusals to 
 pay just de])ts — and all methods of detaining from, 
 others what tliey have a right to demand — all those 
 wa^^s by which we either gain from others more than 
 we ought in justice and equity to have, or keep from 
 them what they have a right to, arc as injurious to our 
 peiehhour. and as offensive to Gnrl. as theft itself: and 
 
THE CAiECHiSM. L5i 
 
 therefore, in order to prevent this, our blessed Lord 
 has given us an infallible rule to direct us in all these 
 cases, and under all such temptations, which is, to 
 '^ do to others on all occasions the same thing which 
 we might justly require, or would wish them to do 
 unto us, if we were in their circumstances and they 
 in ours." 
 
 The Ninth Commandment^ " Thou shalt not bear 
 false witness against thy neighbour," is particularly 
 and closely connected with every one of the four 
 which immediately precede, or go before it, for nei- 
 ther our duties to our superiors, to our inferiors, 
 nor to our equals, could be practised, if they were left 
 exposed to the injuries of a false or lying tongue. 
 
 This Commandment not only forbids the giving of 
 a false evidence against our neighbour in a court of 
 Justice, but the shameful and disgraceful practice of 
 lying upon any occasion, however trifling in itself. 
 This, my young friends, is a most dreadful vice, and 
 one which, I am sorry to say, is frequently committed 
 by persons of your age. I trust, however, that you 
 will have more regard both for your own characters 
 among men, and for the approbation of your Heaven- 
 ly Father, who not only knoweth all your thoughts 
 and seeth all your actions, but heareth your -words ^ 
 and will re^vard or punish you ocrordingly here or 
 
i5:i LECTURES OS 
 
 hereafter — ^}^^ou will, I trust, have more regard for 
 God, for your fellow creatures, and for yourselves, 
 than ever to be guilty of so wicked and scandalous a 
 practice. All liars when fcui d out (and that is al- 
 ways the case at some pe- Icxl or other) are despised 
 and hated. ''The lip of truth," suith Solomon, "shall 
 be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for 
 a moment."* Bewa.re, therefore, of the first tempta- 
 tion to, or beginning of, so great as in; for, if at all in- 
 dulged, it will soon grow upon you, and certainly 
 bring you to shame and punishment here, and occa- 
 sion misery and ruin hereafter; for, " into Heaven," 
 saith St. John, " shall in nowise enter whosoever 
 speaketh or maketh a iie."t '•' Lying lips are an abo- 
 mination to the Lord, but they who deal truly" on all 
 occasions, or speak the truth, " are his delight. "J 
 
 The Tenth and last Commandment, by forbidding 
 us to covet, or desire any thing that is our neigh- 
 bour's, L.bsolutely condemns all unjust attempts to 
 deprive him of Avhat he possesses. 
 
 God is the author and giver of all things, and he 
 requires us to be content ^\ ith what his providence al- 
 lots us. He is infinitely wise, as well as infinitely good, 
 and best knows what circumstances are suited to our 
 
 * Prov. x.ii. 19. t Rev. xxi. 27. \ Prov. xii. 22, 
 
THE CATECHISM. 153 
 
 characters and dispositions. If he has given us much, 
 our obligation is greater to provide for the poor, and 
 perform generous actions — if we have little, wc 
 should submit to his will, and be content with that 
 little; knowing that this life continueth but a little 
 while — that where much is given, much will be re- 
 quired of us — and that we must give an account in 
 the great and awful day of Judgment, of the talents 
 committed to our care. 
 
 These are the Com?nand?nents which God gave to 
 the Jews, and which are equally binding upon us 
 Christians, as they contain the declaration of our duty 
 to God, and our duty towards our neighbour: and 
 hence you very properly say in your Catechism, that 
 you learn from them, or are taught by them, those 
 two great branches of your duty. That your "duty 
 towards God is to believe in him," &c. (see Cate- 
 chism) and that your duty towards your neighbour is, 
 " to love him as yourself," &c. {see Catechism.) 
 
 To this code of moral law given to the Jews, the 
 son of God himself, when he appeared upon earth, 
 added another Commandmoit^ expressly indicative of 
 the benevolent genius of that Religion or divine Re- 
 velation which he communicated, the leading charac- 
 ter of which is Love. — "A new Commandmenty^ 
 
 said he, ** I give unto you, that ye love one another; 
 
 u 
 
154. LFXTURES ON 
 
 by this shall all men know that ye are my diciples, if 
 ye have love one to another."* The great duty of 
 a Christian, therefore, is to qualify himself for admis- 
 sion into the Kingdom of Heaven, by the strict and 
 uniform observance not only of all the precepts of the 
 Jewish moral law, but to regulate his thoughts, words, 
 and actions, by the new commandment^ given by the 
 great Captain of our Salvation, Jesus Christ: and 
 in imitation of him, to embrace, in one wide wish of 
 universal benevolence, the whole human race; inva- 
 riably to act towards our fellow creatures, as we 
 would wish them to act towards us, under an ex- 
 change of situation with them; and uniformly to obey 
 this injunction of the holy Apostle " Let all bitter- 
 ness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil 
 speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and 
 be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving 
 one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath 
 forgiven you."t 
 
 These short rules of life should be ever present to 
 your minds, and be made the governing principles 
 of your conduct. You should, therefore, earnestly 
 pray, that it would please God to have mercy upon 
 you, and to write, as it were, all these his laws upoa 
 
 *Johnxin. 34 35. t Eph. iv. 31,32 
 
THE CATECHISM. 155 
 
 your hearts, that you may obtain his favour and bles- 
 sing; to promote your comfort and happiness both 
 in this world and (which is of infinitely more impor- 
 tance) in that to which we are all hastening, where 
 our condition will be happy or miserable, according as 
 we have obeyed or disobeyed the Commandments or 
 Laws of God here upon earth, where we are placed 
 by him for a few short, yet uncertain years, in a state 
 of trial, with the clearest information of our duty, and 
 the means of obtaining eternal life and happiness here- 
 after. 
 
 " Fear God," therefore, '' and keep his Command- 
 ments, for that is the whole duty of man. For God 
 will bring every work into judgment, and every se- 
 cret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be 
 evil."^ . 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O Almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, 
 we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, both 
 our hearts and bodies in the ways of thy laws, and in 
 the works of thy Commandments^ that through thy 
 most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may 
 be preserved in body and soul, through our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 , Amen. 
 
 * Eccles. xil, Lv. 14. 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 ON THE LOUD S PRAYER. 
 
 The order of our Catechism, and of the Lec- 
 tures which have corresponded thereto, has now 
 brought us to that most expressive and subUme com- 
 position, The hordes Prayer: and it is very properly 
 introduced into this part of the Catechism. For, ha- 
 ving been previously instructed in the nature, or 
 principles of the Christian Faith, and being taught 
 by the promises made in your behalf at Baptism, by 
 your Sponsors, as well as» by the Ten Command- 
 ments, what you ought as Christians to believe^ what 
 you ought to avoid, and what you ought to do^ you 
 must be convinced, that the duties which God, our 
 almighty Creator enjoins on usy his rational, depen- 
 dent, and accountable creatures, are not only very 
 
LECTURES, &:c. lr,7 
 
 important, but very extensive. And that, therefore the 
 utmost and most constant exertion and diligence are 
 necessaiy on our parts, in order to discharge these 
 various duties so as to render ourselves in any degree 
 acceptable to God, or worthy of his divine favour. 
 The natural coiTuption or depra\^ity of the hu- 
 man heart, the violence of our passions, which are 
 constantly urging us to the commission of evil, and 
 the w^eakncss of our best resolutions against such 
 powerful opposition, render some extraordinary spi- 
 ritual assistance necessary, in order to support and 
 comfort us during our pilgrimage through this world. 
 Our best efforts are so feeble that they require some 
 preternatural aid to enable us to go on in our chris- 
 tian course of virtue and of piety, conquering our 
 evil propensities or desires, and purifying our hearts 
 to such a degree of excellence as will qualify us, 
 through the merits and intercession of our blessed 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, for admission into the King- 
 dom of Heaven, and association there with Saints 
 and Angels. This assistance has been mercifully of- 
 fered to us in the influence of the Holy Ghost, or Ho- 
 ly Spirit of God, upon our hearts: but, as we are 
 created free agents, or possessed of the power of re- 
 fusing or following good or evil, this heavenly assist- 
 ance must be solicited, or asked for, by us, before 
 
158 LECTURES ON 
 
 we can enjoy its benefit. " Ask," says our divine 
 Instructor, " and ye shall have; seek, and ye shall 
 find; knock," as it were at the gate of Heaven " and it 
 shall be opened unto you."* 
 
 Hence arises the great duty oi Prayer; by which 
 is meant the raising up, or addressing of our thoughts 
 and desires to God as the Author and Giver of all 
 good. And that we are permitted and enabled to do 
 this is certainly a very high privilege, or advantage. 
 That such sinful, unworthy creatures as i^e'are, should 
 be permitted to approach in spirit, the majesty of the 
 infinitely perfect God, the source of purity and perfec- 
 tion, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, is a 
 blessing and consolation which one would suppose 
 every human being who has had the advantage of re- 
 ligious instruction, would gladly avail himself of and 
 embrace. Our blessed Saviour, therefore, hath left 
 us a form of Prayer (which is on that account called 
 the Lord's Prayer) containing the substance of all 
 other Prayers, and whijch is to serve as a model, or 
 pattern for us in forming our petitions to God. 
 " Lord," said his disciples to him, when he was up- 
 on earth, " teach us to pray." t In compliance with 
 which request, he dictated to them this address: 
 
 * Matt. vii. 7. t Luke. xi. \. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 159 
 
 " Our Father who art in heaven," &c. This 
 Prayer is itself so clear and intelhgible, as to require 
 no explanation; being accommodated to the plainest 
 and most unimproved understanding: I shall, howe- 
 ver, in order to impress it more forcibly upon your 
 minds, comment a little upon the several parts of it. 
 
 It begins with the endearing and affectionate ap- 
 pellation of 
 
 " Our Father^ who art in heaven:" in which few 
 words are contained the chief reasons for which we 
 ought to pray to God, and to him only; and the dis- 
 positions vnih which we ought to discharge this duty. 
 He is our Father^ as " having created all things, and 
 made us,'*'' in particular, " and not we ourselves; "f 
 He is our Father, as having preserved and supported 
 us with a paternal affection; shice it is by him *' that 
 we have been holden up," or supported, " ever since 
 we w*ere born;"J it is he " who hath fed," (or supplied 
 us with sustenance) " all our lives long unto this day. "5 
 And he is our Father in a more particular manner, 
 as Christians, since in the language of the Apostle, 
 " he hath begotten us again to a lively hope," ( of im- 
 mortality and eternal happiness) '* by the Resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus Christ from the dead,"|| and has by him 
 
 IPs], c. 2. t Psl. Ixxi. 6. § Gen. xlviii. 15. j) I Pet. xi. 3 
 
160 LECTURES OX 
 
 called us to be, by adoption, the *^ sons of God,"* 
 and made us meet to be ** partakers of the inheri- 
 tance with the Saints in Light, "f So that the 
 words Our Father express, not only the absolute au- 
 thority, but the unspeakable goodness of God; and 
 the following, " who art in Heaven," acknowledge 
 his glory and power. By his being in Heaven, is not 
 meant his being confiiied to that place, but dis- 
 playing his glory there in the most conspicuous man- 
 ner. He is present in all places as well as there. 
 *' The eyes of the Lord," (saith Solomon, the wisest 
 of men) *' are in every place, beholding the evil 
 and the good; "J but he has chosen Heaven to be his 
 Throne, where he more particularly displays his glo- 
 ry to blessed and purified Spirits; where he receives 
 the adorations of Angels and Archangels; where our 
 blessed Lord resides as our Mediator, till the dissolu- 
 tion of all things: and where his faithful servants among 
 men shall be eternally and perfectly happy in the 
 know^ledge and enjoyment of his perfections. So that 
 we should address him with axve and reverence as the 
 Majesty of Heaven; and with hope, trust, and confi- 
 dence, as the Almighty Father^ who hath created, 
 preserved, and redeemed us. 
 
 * 1 John, iii. 1. t Col. i. 12. \ Prov. xv. 3. 
 
THE CATECiirSM. 161 
 
 The Petition which immediately follows, is, " Hal- 
 lowed be thy name." 
 
 The name of God, means here, God himself: and 
 to hallow his name, signifies to think of him as a Ho- 
 ly Being, and behave towards him accordingly — or, 
 in other words, to pray that it would please God to ex^ 
 tend the knowledge of himself, the only true God,'to all 
 mankind; that every mouth may confess, and every 
 tongue adore and praise him; and that it would please 
 him to assist and enable us, to whom he has vouch- 
 safed that knowledge, ever to retain awful and just 
 sentiments of his Divine Majesty; to treat whatever 
 is immediately connected with him, his Word, his 
 Sacraments, his Ministers, his Temple, with the at- 
 tention and respect which are due to them, on account 
 of that relation: and that we may indulge ourselves 
 in nothing either in thought, word, or deed, which 
 may blaspheme or profane, or by our bad example 
 tempt others to profane or blaspheme, instead of sanc- 
 tifying that Holy Name, by which we are called the 
 sons of God. This is the way, and the only way 
 possible for us truly to honour him, and to be truly 
 good and happy; happy in oiu'selves, and in each 
 other ; in the present world, and in that which is to 
 come. 
 
162 LFXrURES ON 
 
 How shocking, bow impious, how daring a vio- 
 lation of this positive command of Almighty God, is 
 committed by those inconsiderate, unprincipled mor- 
 tals, who presume to insult the Majesty of Heaven, 
 and blaspheme the sacred name of their Divine Crea- 
 tor, by prqfa?ie swearing ytiihcr when undtT the influ- 
 ence of passion, or in familiar conversation; frequent- 
 ly imprecating the vengeance of Omnipotence, and 
 swearing by The Most High God, upon the most 
 trivial occasions! 
 
 Beware, I beseech you, of this heinous crime. 
 Be not seduced by evil example: but wisely, resolute- 
 1}", piously, determine never to mention the name of 
 God, but with the most profound reverence and awe.-* 
 
 The next Petition is, 
 
 " Thy Kingdom come;" where by God's King- 
 dom is chiefly meant, the Gospel of Christ, or the pro- 
 fession of that Holy Religion which is taught us by 
 his blessed Son in the Gospel. God indeed does 
 and must forever reign with absolute and supreme 
 authority as Lord and Governour of every thing that 
 he has made; and " he hath created all tilings, and 
 for his pleasure they arc, and were created."! We 
 
 * For a fuller cliscusion of this subject, sec Lecture on 
 3d Com?nandt)Knfj'pi\'^{i 80. 
 t Rev. iv. IK 
 
THE •CATEclK^M. i03 
 
 must, therefore, be understood, in this petition, to 
 pray for the coming of his Kingdom, as it signifies 
 his reigning in the minds and hearts of those who 
 profess his Gospel; in which sense, his kingdom nei- 
 ther is, nor ever will be, fully come; till the linal 
 consummation of all things. As then we pray in the 
 former petition, that God may be duly honoured and 
 obeyed in generaly we here pray that this honour may 
 be paid to him by the profession and practice of his 
 true religion, agreeably to the knowledge imparted, 
 and the precepts contained in the last Revelation of 
 himself and his divine will to man; that it would please 
 him to extend the knowledge of his Gospel to all 
 the world; that " the earth may be filled with the know- 
 ledge of it, as the waters cover the seas."^ We pray 
 that it would please him to recal his ancient and cho- 
 sen people (the Jews), as well as the Heathen, to his 
 true Faith, so that the whole world ** may become 
 one fold, under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our 
 Lord;"t that all the kingdoms of the world may be- 
 come the Kingdoms of the Lord (in belief and prac- 
 tice) and of his Christ."J And with regard to us, 
 who already do, or those who hereafter -shall, profess 
 
 * Heb. ii. 14. f Collect fdr Good Friday. | Ke^^ xi. 15. 
 
iG^ LECTURES ON 
 
 his Gospel, we pray, that he may reign in the heart, as? 
 well as in the mouth of every member of his Church 
 tliroughout the world, that " all who profess, and call 
 themselves Christians, may be led into the way 
 of truth, and hold the Faith in unity of Spirit in the 
 bond of peace, and in righteousness of life;"* and 
 that when he shall thus have fully established his 
 spiritual Kingdom upon earth, it would please him 
 to hasten the coming of his eternal Kingdom in Hea- 
 ven, that '' we, and all those who shall have departed 
 this life in tlie true Faith of his holy name, may have 
 our perfect consummation and bliss both in body and 
 soul, in his eternal and everlasting glory,"t when 
 " the righteous shall shine forth, as the Sun, in the 
 Kingdom of their Heavenly Father; "$ even that king- 
 dom which was prepared for them from the foundation 
 of the world, *' and shall reign wijth him in it forever 
 andever."^ 
 
 That this may be our happy case, may God, of 
 his infinite mercy grant, through the merits and in- 
 tercession of his blessed Son Jesus Christ, our Divine 
 Mediator; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy 
 
 • Prayer for all conditions of men. 
 
 t Prayer in Burial service. \ Matt. 13. 43. § Rev. xxii.5. 
 
TliE CATECHISM. 165 
 
 Ghost he ascribed, as most justly due, all might, ma- 
 jesty, adoration, and praise, henceforth and forever! 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The remaining Petitions of this admirable Pray- 
 er, I shall consider in my next Lecture. 
 
LECTURE XL 
 
 ON THE lord's TRAYEK. 
 
 The consideration of the two first Petitions in the 
 Lord^s Prayer formed the substance of my last address 
 to you: I now beg your attention to such observations 
 as I shall offer upon those which follow; the first of 
 which is, 
 
 *' Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." 
 By this portion of the Prayer we are reminded of 
 the terms upon which we are to obtain admission into 
 the Kingdom of Heaven: viz, — obedience to the will 
 of God, or, in other words, as we pray in the Jirst pe- 
 tition that all men may truly know God and his attri- 
 butes, and truly worship and honour him; and in the 
 second that all may profess his true religion, and final- 
 ly reap the rewards of it; so in this thirdy our petition 
 
THE CATECHISM. 16/ 
 
 is, that all may act conformably to tliat knowledge and 
 that profession, by approaching as near as may be to 
 the practice of the '^ heavenly hosts," those ministers 
 of God " who in all things do his pleasure."* Not 
 that we here pray to be enabled to arrive at their per- 
 fection here upon earth; this our present state and in- 
 firmities will not permit: but we desire to be brought 
 as near to it as our faculties and capacities, aided by 
 Divine Grace, can advance us. As they readily, con- 
 stantly, and cheerfully, execute his commands, so we 
 pray that we may be enabled to imitate those dispo- 
 sitions, and transcribe that readiness, constancy, and 
 cheerfulness, into our own practice; well knov/ing that 
 not '* every one who merely saith unto Christ, Lord! 
 Lord!" or professes to believe his Gospel ** shall en- 
 ter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who doeth 
 the will of his Father who is in Heaven, "f or, in other 
 words, who obeyeth his Commandment s» Now, the will 
 of God consists in these two things: 1st, That we per- 
 form faithfully what he hath commanded us: 2dly, 
 That we submit with pious resignation to every dis- 
 pensation of his Providence. 
 
 « Thy will be done." 
 
 As God is infinitely just and wise, so also is he 
 infinitely good: he desircth not the death of a sinner, 
 
 * Psl. ciii 21 . t Matt. vii. 2 1 . 
 
168 LECTURES ON 
 
 but that all men should be converted to the practice 
 of true holiness, and thereby be qualified for the en- 
 joyment of eternal happiness in Heaven. His laws 
 are all, therefore, calculated for our benefit, and conse- 
 quently for his glory; and are all laid down in the Gos- 
 pel, in terms so clear and express that they cannot be 
 mistaken. They constitute his written will; and his 
 providential will is no less clear and intelligible. 
 Hence to do the will of God, is in its second sense to 
 bear with patient submission, the unavoidable evils of 
 life, firmly believing that they must be meant for our 
 benefit: otherwise, that God who loves us with pater- 
 nal tenderness, who hath commanded us to call him 
 " Our Father,'* and hath repeatedly declared, that the 
 possession of real, perfect, eternal happiness, is the end 
 for which we were created, would certainly never per- 
 mit them to befal us. Afflictions, my young friends, 
 are blessings in disguise, sent to draw off our affections 
 from the things of this world, and to show us their in- 
 ability to make us truly happy; thereby to fix our af- 
 fections on things above, even on Heaven, where alone 
 true joys are to be found. ** God dealeth with us as 
 with sons, for what son is he whom the father chas- 
 teneth not;"* " and though no chastening" saith the 
 apostle Paul, " for the present seemeth to bje joyous 
 
 ^- Heb, xii. 7. 
 
THE CATEGiilS:>I. 1 69 
 
 but grievous, nevertheless afterwards it worketh the 
 peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are ex- 
 ercised thereby."* {L e, ) to those who receive it with- 
 out murmuring, and rightly consider the end of its in- 
 fliction. 
 
 The next petition is, 
 
 '* Give us this day," or, day by day *' our dai- 
 ly bread;" by which, if the words be token in a literal 
 sense, is meant whatsoever is necessary towards the 
 support of our existence her^, and our comfortable ac- 
 commodation in that state or condition of life, in which 
 it hath pleased God to place us. Thus understood, 
 the daily use of this petition should excite in us a con- 
 stant sense of our dependence upon, and a lively and 
 pious trust in, our Heavenly Father, that *' God who 
 hath fed us all our lives long unto this day."t And 
 this sense of want in ourselves which calls for a sup- 
 ply of daily bread, ought to lead us to perform acts of 
 kindness and charity to our fellow men, who, posses- 
 sing the same nature and wants as we, may not have 
 been blessed by Providence with so large a provision 
 for their support. We are also reminded by it of the 
 shortness and uncertainty of human life; that wc are 
 but creatures of a day, and that the Author of our 
 existence hath not permitted us to ask for provision 
 
 * Heb. x)L 11. t Gon, xlviii. 15. 
 
170 LECTURES OX 
 
 but from day to day, lest \vc should forget that we are 
 mortal, and make no provision for that future and eter- 
 nal state of existence to which we are all hastening. 
 When, therefore:, we feel the necessity of providing 
 for this frail, and perishing body, we should recollect 
 the infinitely greater necessity of providing sustenance 
 for the soul; and pray that God would give us not on- 
 ly temporal, but spiritual bread, that bread of life, that 
 blessed influence of his Holy Spirit which he hath 
 promised to give to all who ask it, and which alone is 
 able to nourish us unto all goodness and enable us so 
 to do his will in this life, that we may finally attain his 
 heavenly promises. 
 
 This interpretation of the petition is, by some of 
 tlie Fathers, or primitive ecclesiastical writers,* and 
 many learned modern commentators, supposed to be 
 its true meaning. " It may be observed," says Dr. 
 Vicesimus Knox in his Considerations on the Lord's 
 Supper, '' that the bread prayedfor in the Lord's Pray- 
 er is the bread which Christ speaks of w^hen he says, 
 " I am the bread of life;" f and signifies that divine 
 influence on the soul of man which feeds and sustains 
 the Christian life, Give us this day the Bread of 
 
 * Jerome, Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyprian, Tertul- 
 
 lian, Aii^iistin, and many others. 
 
 ■r Joh- ' 
 
THE CATEjQHISM. 
 
 Life, the bread necessary to our spiritual existence: 
 (L e.) vouchsafe unto us nourishment to our souls, the 
 influence of the Holy Spirit; without which, though 
 our animal part may vegetate, we are assured by thy 
 Son our Saviour, there is no life in us; none of that 
 life which assimilates us to the divine, and through 
 thy mercy will conduct us to life eternal. Therefore 
 wc beseech thee to feed us with such food, this day 
 and every day. 
 
 " It appears to me," continues Dr. Knox, ** that 
 this mode of interpretation adds greatly to the sublim- 
 ity and significancy of the Lord's Prayer." 
 
 Bishop Pearce, in his remarks on this passage, 
 says, " The sense given to the words daili/ bread by 
 Athanasius and Jerome seems to be the more proba- 
 ble, because no other part of this Prayer has any rela- 
 tion to a bodilt/ want, and this sense of the word comes 
 most naturally after the other petitions." 
 
 I think, therefore, it would be proper to attach 
 both these interpretations to the Petition; thus, '^ Give 
 us this day our daily bread," spiritual SiS well as ma- 
 teriaL 
 
 By the next Petition, " Forgive us our trespas- 
 ses as we forgive those who trespass against us," we 
 are taught to ask forgiveness of our sins, only on this 
 condition, that we forgive all others who have injured, 
 
irJ LECTURES OX 
 
 or trespassed against us. Not that we are to beg for- 
 giveness of our sins with respect to their extent and 
 degree, only as we forgive others, for that would be 
 putting j^w^V^ upon a level with infinite — but the con- 
 dition is to be understood as to our sincerity: forgive 
 us our trespasses with the same sincerity, or forbear- 
 ance of wrath and punishment, as we forgive those who 
 trespass against us: and in no other way are we perr 
 niitted by the Gospel to expect it; " for," said our 
 blessed Saviour to the multitude, immediately after 
 dictatingto them the prayer we are considering, ** if ye 
 forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your 
 Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses;"* *' forgive, 
 therefore, and ye shall be forgiven."! 
 
 This forgiveness, however, does not imply a tame 
 submission to every insult and injury which is offered 
 to us: it does not prevent the just punishments of the 
 law upon offenders against the peace and happiness of 
 society; or of individuals against the unreasonable or 
 improper conduct of those who trespass upon the prin- 
 ciples of morality, decency, and good orden God is 
 a God of justice as well as mercy; and anger founded 
 on justice, differs widely from that which arises only 
 from the violence of passion: the one is guided by rea- 
 son, the other guided by the unbounded freedom of 
 
 * M: tt. vi. 1 5. t Ijike vi. S?'. 
 
THE CATECHISM. irs 
 
 an impetuous temper. " Be ye angry," saith St. Paul, 
 " and sin not."* We may justly be offended at the 
 fault of another, but should never entertain personal 
 hatred, or attempt to punish an offence in a way that 
 is inconsistent with sound reason, or the spirit and pre- 
 cepts of the Gospel. 
 
 The Sixth and last Petition is, 
 
 " And lead us not into temptation but deliver us 
 from evil," which means our desire that it would 
 please our Heavenly Father, either to order things so 
 by his good providence, as not to permit us to fall in- 
 to great temptations, or trials of our virtue, or spiritu- 
 al strength; or else to enable us by his holy Spirit to 
 overcome them, and thereby deliver us from all the 
 wiles and snares of the Devil, the deceits of the World, 
 and the lusts of the Flesh, or, the evil propensities of 
 our corrupt and fallen nature; from the dreadful evil 
 of wilfully transgressing his Commandments^ and con- 
 sequently from the miseries of those temporal and eter- 
 nal punishments which are due to such transgressions. 
 
 This excellent Prayer very properly concludes 
 with an acknowledgment or confession of our belief 
 in those divihe attributes or properties of God, on 
 which all our prayers should be founded. " For thine 
 is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever 
 
 *Eph.iv. 26. 
 
1/4 LECTURES ON 
 
 an-i ever. Amen.^'' His is the Kingdom or government 
 over all the wide-extended Universe; he alone has a 
 sovereign right and authority to dispose of us, and of 
 what we have, as he pleases; and therefore we address 
 ourselves in prayer to him. He alone can hear the 
 words of our lij^s, and look into the thoughts of our 
 hearts at all times, and in all places; and he alone has 
 power, in all possible cases, to grant us what we ask. 
 To him alone is due the honour and glory of whatever 
 we are, or have, or do; and therefore, to him must 
 be given all praise and thanksgiving for the same; for 
 his power reacheth, and his glory cxtendeth fromever- 
 lasting to everlasting. 
 
 The word Amen, which signifies so be it, is ad- 
 ded to this and our other prayers, to signify that we 
 sincerely and heartily wish the accomplishment of 
 those things which we have asked for, if God in his in- 
 finite wisdom should see that they are fit and proper 
 for us. 
 
 Upon the whole then, it will, 1 trust, be evident 
 to you, that the meaning of this Prayer is properly ex- 
 plained by the Church in her clear and comprehen- 
 sive answer to the next question in the Catechism; rzr. 
 ** What desirest thou of God in this Prayer?" Where- 
 in it is declared in the beginning, that we acknow- 
 ledge our Heavenly Father to be '* our Lord God the 
 
THE CATECHISM. 175 
 
 giver of all goodness;" and, in the first three petitions 
 we desire him to *' send his grace unto us and to all 
 people, that we may worship him, serve him, and 
 obey him as we ought to do." In the fourth petition, 
 we " pray unto God to give us all things which are 
 needful both for our souls and bodies;" in the fifth and 
 sixth ** that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive 
 us our sins; and that it will please him to save and de- 
 fend us from all dangers, both of soul and body," 
 which may lead us into sin; or, m other words, <' that 
 he would keep us from all sin and wickedness, and 
 from our spiritual enemy, and from everlasting death." 
 And lastly, by adding this word Amen we declare 
 our trust, ** that he will of his mercy and goodness, 
 through the mediation, and for the sake of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," do what we ask, in case it be really for 
 our good, of which he only is the proper Judge: and 
 we therefore use this word as implying both our own 
 sincerity in offering up our prayers, and our submis- 
 sive dependance upon him to grant them. 
 
 Such, my young friends, is the extensive and 
 forcible meaning of this comprehensive form of Pray- 
 er; which being dictated by the Divine Author of our 
 Holy Religion, should certainly be held in the highest 
 estimation by us, as superior to all other Prayers. 
 Hence, it is generally used by Christians as the con^ 
 
176 LECTURES ON 
 
 elusion, or summing up of all their addresses to the 
 Deitv. And when you consider that Prayer is the 
 immediate channel or means by which we have the 
 privilege of supporting an intercourse with the great 
 and Almighty Author of our being, who hath point- 
 ed it out as the way for our obtaining both temporal 
 blessings, and Divine Grace to enable us to purify 
 ourselves in this world, (this state of trial ordisciphne), 
 that we may be fitted for admission into the Kingdom 
 of Heaven — when, I say, you consider the great ob- 
 jects for which Prayer was appointed, and by which 
 we are to be made wise unto salvation, I trust you 
 will make it the daily and constant exercise of your 
 lives. " Pray w^ithout ceasing,"* says the apostle; 
 that is, without suffering the pursuits and false plea- 
 sures of this world to divert your attention from the 
 interests of your immortal souls. 
 
 " Prayer ardent," says the pious and sublime 
 Dr. Young — 
 
 '* Prayer ardent opens Heaven, lets down a stream 
 " Of glory on the consecrated hour 
 " Of man in audience with the Deity." 
 
 Night Thoughts, B. 8. 
 
 I Thes. V. 17. 
 
IHK CATECHIHM. Ur 
 
 And how delightful the employment, how sub- 
 lime, how rapturous the intercourse, how inestima- 
 ble the privilege to hold high converse with our God; 
 to anticipate the homage, of Heaven; to experience 
 the seniphic comfort of true, of ardent devotion; 
 to escape, as it were, from the fetters of humanity, 
 and to soar on the wings of Faith, Hope, and holy Joy, 
 up to the very Throne of God, and to unite with An- 
 gels and Archangels, and " all the sanctities of Hea- 
 ven," in praising and adoring the Great Supreme! 
 
 Hence, in every part both of the Old and New 
 Testament, the great duty, comfort, and advantage of 
 Prayer is strikingly inculcated. Let it then be dili- 
 gently attended to, and earnestly pursued by you, and 
 you will assuredly find that *' rest unto your souls,"^ 
 which it was the great object of Christ's descent upon 
 earth to procure for us, and to administer to us. 
 
 Let us pray, 
 
 O Almighty God, who hast promised to hear 
 the petitions of those who ask in thy Son's name, we 
 beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ears to the 
 prayers and supplications which we offer unto thee: 
 and grant, that those things which we have faithfully 
 
 * Matt. 11.22 
 
 'Z. 
 
W'S LECTURES, &c. 
 
 asked according to thy will, may be effectually obtain- 
 ed, to the relief of our necessities, and the setting 
 forth of thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Amen. 
 
LECTURE Xir. 
 
 ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM. 
 
 The principal duties which we owe to God, to our 
 neighbour, and to ourselves, having been expla ed 
 to you in the former part of the Catechism, (particu- 
 larly in the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten 
 Commandments), our Church concludes that admira- 
 ble form of sound words, by instructing you in the 
 naure of those two important means of obtaining Di- 
 vJie Grace, which Christ hath most positively enjoin- 
 ed on all the professors of his Holy Religion. These 
 are the two Sacraments of our Church — Baptism and 
 The hordes Supper, And inasmuch as these two or- 
 dinances were instituted immediately by our blessed 
 Saviour, for the comfort and advantage of his disci- 
 ples, to the end of the world, our obligation to con- 
 form to them is of the most serious and unquestiona- 
 ble nature. He hath not burdened his religion with. 
 
iSg LiXTLKKS ON 
 
 many ceremonies; these two being all ^vhich can be 
 proved by Scripture to be of divine appointment. 
 Hence our Church, in answer to the question " How 
 many Sacraments hath Christ ordained in his 
 Church?" says, *' Two only as generally necessary to 
 Salvation: that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of 
 the Lord." They are said to be generally necessary 
 to Salvation, because they are necessary to those, and 
 to those only, who have it in their power to partake of 
 them. Not that our blessed Lord, w^ho will judge 
 the world in equity, will condemn all the Heathen, 
 or others who have never heard of his name, 
 for not partaking of those Sacraments w^hich never 
 came to their knowledge, or that^ he will condemn 
 innocent children w^ho die unbaptized; but that all we 
 to whom the knowledge of these Institutions is cone, 
 and who have it in our power to partake of them, ai^ 
 indispensably obliged to do so, upon pain of forfeit- 
 ing our tide to that Salvation which he has purchased 
 for us. And as, on the one hand, those who are not 
 baptized have no just claim to the very name of Chris- 
 tians, much less to the privileges of the Christian 
 Covenant, into w^hich they thus refuse to enter; so on 
 the other hand, for those who are incorporated into 
 his Church, and profess to believe and obey Christ, 
 for them to suffer their life to glide on in the open dis- 
 
THE CATECHISM. 181 
 
 regard of his express command to partake of the Com- 
 munion of his body and blood, is inconsistent with a 
 true and sincere profession of his religion. It is an 
 apparent contempt of, and a publick indignity to our 
 blessed Lord; and must be highly criminal, since all 
 Christians must allow it to be necessary to obey the 
 Laws or Commands of Christ, His ordinances are 
 the ordinances of God himself; and whoever would 
 partake of the benefits of his mediation and interces- 
 sion, must obey them. He commanded his disciples 
 to " go and baptize all nations in the name of the Fa- 
 ther j and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. "^ 
 Wheresoever, therefore, the Gospel, or the glad ti- 
 dings of Christ's Redemption, is preached, all are 
 bound to be baptized. He hath declared, that " he 
 who believeth and is baptized, shall be saved."! 
 And that, " except a man be born of Water and of the 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. "J 
 He has also expressly commanded us to cele- 
 brate the blessed Sacrament of his body and blood; 
 «' in remembrance of him.'^\ and thereby ^^ to show 
 forth his death till he come,"|| a second time to 
 Judgment, to reward or punish every man according to 
 
 * Matt, xxvii. 10. f Mark xvi. 16. | John iii. 5. 
 
 §Luke xxii. 19. || 1 Cor. xi. 26. 
 
182 LECTURES ON^ 
 
 the deeds done, and the duties performed or neglect- 
 ed, while in this present world. Nothing then can 
 be more plain, than that it is very necessary for all men 
 to be baptized once^ and to receive the Sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper often^ in order to be entitled to 
 that Heavenly Kingdom which he hath purchased for 
 us the possibility of obtaining; and that they who 
 wilfully neglect or refuse either, and die impenitent- 
 ly in that neglect or refusal, will very justly be dis- 
 owned and rejected by him, as persons " whom he 
 knows not;" as persons who though they may have 
 called him " Lord! Lord!" yet have obstinately re- 
 fused to do the things which he has said, and there- 
 fore, as " workers of iniquity."* '' He M^ho know- 
 eth his Lord's will," saith he, '* and doeth it not, shall 
 be beaten with many stripes;"! or, in other words, 
 shall be most severely punished. 
 
 Such is the necessity of the holy Sacraments to 
 Salvation, being the appointed means or channels of 
 Divine Grace to our hearts; and in order to explain 
 more clearly what is meant by a Sacrament^ we must 
 proceed to the next answer, wherein it is defined in 
 the following words: 
 
 * Luke xiii. 25.-27. t Luke. 12. 47 
 
THE CATECHISM. 183 
 
 " A Sacrament is an outward and visible sign of 
 an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained 
 by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the 
 same, and a pledge to assure us thereof." So that, 
 besides the appointment of Christ (which is necessa- 
 ry to make a Christian Sacrament) it must consist 
 first of an outward and visible sign, and, secondly of 
 G7i inward and spiritual grace; and it must have been 
 ordained by Christ both as a means whereby we re- 
 ceive this grace, and as a pledge to assure us of the 
 communication of it. 
 
 The word Sacrament is derived from a custom of 
 the Romans, who, when they enlisted soldiers for their 
 armies, administered an oath of fidelity, which they 
 called Sacramentum, an oath or sacrament; whence 
 the ancient Fathers of the Church have applied the 
 term to Baptism and the Lord's Supper, because those 
 Ceremonies signify, among Christians, an acknow- 
 ledgment of the authority of, an assurance or oath 
 of fidelity and obedience to, the great Captain of our 
 Salvation, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And, 
 as all religions have some rite, by which the indivi- 
 dual acknowledges himself an adherent to that par- 
 ticulai-mode of faith, and is publickly admitted to the 
 fellowship and privileges of that paiticuiai' commu- 
 nity, ho Baptism is a rite, or ceremony, instituted by 
 
184 LECTURES ON 
 
 our blessed Lord, as a publick mode of initiation 
 into the Christian Church — the water used upon that 
 occasion, being a symbol of the regenerating and 
 cleansing influence of the Holy Ghost, upon the hearts 
 of all faithful and penitent Christians. Not that any im- 
 mediate and miraculous spiritual change is eifected 
 by the pouring of water upon the persons baptized, 
 but that they are thereby, after a voluntary profes- 
 sion of their faith, admitted to be partakers of the 
 New Covenant: entered into the family or Church of 
 Christ, and invested with all the privileges of that 
 household: they become members of Christ, by 
 being grafted into that body of which he is the head; 
 children of God by adoption in his Son, heirs of 
 everlasting life, by the same title, and thus put into a 
 state and capacity of enjoying all the blessings of the 
 Gospel, if they do not neglect the conditions which 
 that Covenant requires upon their part. 
 
 In every Sacrament there are two parts; " the 
 outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace;" 
 Thus in Baptism^ the outward and visible sign is, 
 that of being washed or sprinkled with pure water; 
 as the cleansing of our bodies by washing them with 
 pure water, is a very proper representation, or sign 
 of the cleansing of our souls from the pollution of sin. 
 And by being baj)tized in the name of the ever bles- 
 
THE CATECHISM. 185 
 
 sed Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 we thereby acknowledge and adore the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost; as the one God of the Chris- 
 tians — " The God who is over all, blessed for ever- 
 more."* 
 
 " The inward and spiritual grace signified by this 
 outward washing," says the Catechism, " is a death 
 unto Sin; and a new birth unto Righteousness: for, 
 being by nature born in sin and the children of wrath 
 we are hereby made the children of grace." That 
 is — as water cleanseth the body, so doth regeneration, 
 or the new birth unto righteousness, so wash or cleanse 
 our souls from sin (by the death and sacrifice of the 
 Son of God, which alone can take away sin) that we 
 are like newborn persons in his sight. Hence it is 
 very plain, that the end proposed by this Sacrament 
 of Baptism, was the forgiveness, or the washing away 
 of the sins of the person baptized; and that, as this Sa- 
 crament was ordained by Christ, as a means to attain 
 this end, so the institution itself was a pledge to man- 
 kind to assure them of their attaining it. Of the Per- 
 sons baptized is required, *' repentance, whereby 
 they forsake sin, and faith, whereby they steadfastly 
 believe the promises of God, made to them in that 
 
 * Rom. ix 5. 
 
186 LECTURES ON 
 
 Sacrament." So that the efficacy and advantages of 
 that Sacrament depend on our coming to it with the 
 qualifications required; and what these qualifications 
 are has been already explained in the former part 
 of this Catechism. To repent, so as to forsake 
 sin, is, in other words, " To renounce the Devil, 
 and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this 
 wicked World and all the sinful lusts of the Flesh:" 
 and '^ that faith whereby men steadfastly believe 
 all the promises of God, made to them in that 
 Sacrament," comprehends under it all the articles of 
 the Christian Faith, as contained in the Apostles' 
 Creed, which I have already explained. And here it 
 may be proper for me to state to you the precise 
 meaning of two words which when used in connec- 
 tion with water baptism are sometimes erroneously 
 considered as synonymous; but between which our 
 church inculcates a very marked and important dis- 
 tinction. I mean Regeneration, and Renovation. She 
 considers every baptized person as regenerated, or by 
 that external act taken out of a state of worldly or hea- 
 then darkness, and admitted into the pure light of the 
 Gospel, the covenanted means of salvation. In the 
 former state we arc denominated children of wrath," in 
 the latter *^ children of grace." We are thus by the ini- 
 tiatory rite of baptism "called to a state of Salvation." 
 ^^^e enter into the new, the Gospel Covenant, in which 
 
THE CATEClIlSiM. 187 
 
 we on our part, in order to obtain the promised bles- 
 sings, engage to j^rform certain stipulated conditions. 
 This is what we mean by being, through this exter- 
 nal rite " regenerated, and made God's children by- 
 adoption and grace" the term regeneration being al- 
 ways connected in scripture with water baptism. 
 Baptism is a sign of the covenant between God and 
 us, as Circumcision was of his Covenant with the 
 Jews. 
 
 " They who are regularly baptized," says a 
 learned and pious Prelate of our Church,* '' are in- 
 corporated into the visible Church of Christ, and 
 thereby on certain conditions, entitled to the pardon 
 of their sins, and received into the number of the 
 Children of God through Jesus Christ: and as they 
 are dedicated to the Holy Ghost, as well as to the Fa- 
 ther and the Son, so they have a right to expect and 
 depend upon his gracious influences, so long as they 
 do not wilfully violate their baptismal covenant. They 
 are thus horn again^ or regenerated into a new state, 
 entered upon new relations, obliged to live new lives. 
 They are admitted into that body of which Jesus 
 Christ is the head, and in which the Holy Spirit 
 dwelleth, in order to quicken and sanctify, to direct 
 and influence all its members, who do not refuse nor 
 
 * Bishop Bradford. 
 
i<J8 Lfc:CTUKKSUxN 
 
 resist his gracious influences. This is baptismal 
 Regeneration." 
 
 Renovation is that great spiritual change by 
 which we are said " to die unto sin, and to rise again 
 unto righteousness," as the proper effect of that obedi- 
 ence which should flow from our regeneration by bap- 
 tism. Hence St. Paul speaks of the washing of r^- 
 generation^ or baptism, and " the rene^ving of the 
 Holy Ghost. ^^ Our blessed Saviour told Nicodemus, 
 that it was necessary to be born again not only " of 
 water," but " of the Spirit," in order to enter into the 
 kingdom of God.*" 
 
 " The renewed mind" says Bishop Bradford, " dis- 
 . erns more clearly the excellency of piety and virtue^ 
 and the odiousness of wickedness and vice; and the 
 great difference there is between those happy creatures 
 who have constantly adhered to the former, and those 
 miserable beings who have degenerated into the lat- 
 ter. It perceives the excellency of all the Christian 
 precepts, how agreeable they are to reason, and how 
 much they tend to the perfection and happiness of our 
 nature." And again, " This change of heart is the 
 same which St. Paul means in his epistle to the Ro- 
 mans by ' minding the things of the spirit;' by being 
 ' spiritually minded,' by being ' in the spirit; and ha- 
 
 * John iii 5. 
 
rm: CATECIIIS-M. 189 
 
 ving the spirit of God dwelling in them'* and again, 
 by 'being transformed in the renewing of their minds'f 
 this change is what in his epistle to the Ephesians, 
 St. Paul expresses by ' being renew^ed in the spirit of 
 their mind, and putting on the new man, which after 
 God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 'J 
 And in his epistle to the Colossians by ' putting on 
 the new man which is renewed in knowledge after 
 the image of him who created him.'^ But under 
 these circumstances of voluntary contract, of Repen- 
 tance and Faith, it is naturally asked, '' why then are 
 infants baptized, when, by reason of their tender," or 
 early " age, they cannot perform," or even understand 
 " them;" that is they can neither comprehend nor 
 make the professions, nor perform the conditions of 
 the Covenant? " Because," says our Church " their 
 sureties, or sponsors promise them both (that is Faith 
 and repentance) for them;" thus presenting them to 
 Christ, and investing them with the privileges of the 
 Gospel Covenant, by engaging to instruct them in the 
 principles of Christ's Holy Religion, and to bring 
 them up in the fear of God, and to obey his Command^ 
 ments. " Suffer," said our divine Saviour, <* the lit- 
 tle children to come unto me, and forbid them not, 
 
 * Rom. viii. 5. 6. 9. . t Rom. xii. 2. 
 
 I Ephav23. 24. §CoI.iu. 10. 
 
190 LECTURES ON 
 
 for of such is the Kingdom of God; and he took them 
 up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed 
 them:"* therefore the promises thus made in their 
 behalf, in a state of infancy, they themselves are 
 bound to perform, when they arrive at years of dis- 
 cretion. Hence the propriety of the Rite of Confir- 
 mation, or the laying on of the hands upon those who 
 are baptized, and arrived at that age, when they may 
 thus publickly exonorate their sponsors, arid " with 
 their own mouth and consent, openly before the 
 Church, ratify and confirm the same, acknowledging 
 themselves disposed to believe and to do all those 
 things which their sponsors then undertook forthem/'f 
 And these previous ordinances of Baptism and Con- 
 firmation, are justly considered by our Church as 
 necessarily preparatory to that highest and most so- 
 lemn act of Devotion — the Celebration of the Holy 
 Communion: for, as the bodilv life of a child would 
 perish without constant and increased supplies of 
 food, so does the spiritual life, first quickened by 
 Baptism, and afterwards strengthened by Confirma- 
 tion, require for its preservation, increase, and estab- 
 lishment, the spiritual and invigorating sustenance, de- 
 rived from a frequent and devout partaking of the 
 
 * Maik. X. 14. 16. 
 
THE CATECHlSiM. 191 
 
 Lord's Supper; the peculiar nature of which Sacra- 
 ment I will explain in my next Lecture. And, that 
 the order of the Catechism may not be interrupted, I 
 shall in the subsequent Lecture more particularly ex- 
 plain and recommend the sacred Rite of Confirmation; 
 and shall conclude my present address with a short 
 petition to the throne of Grace, that the Sacrament I 
 have been recommending, may be attended with its 
 proper efficacy. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God! Heavenly Father! 
 we give thee humble thanks, for that thou hast vouchsa- 
 fed to call us to the knowledge of thy Grace, and faith 
 in thee: Increase this knowledge, and confirm this 
 faith in us evermore. Give thy Holy Spirit to those per» 
 sons who are baptized into the Religion of thy blessed 
 Son, they that may be born again, and be made heirs 
 of everlasting salvation through the same our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and 
 the Holy Spirit, now, and forever. Amen, 
 
LECTURE XIII. 
 
 ON THE SACRAMENT OF THE lORD^S SUPPEK. 
 
 Th e First of the two Sacraments which Christ 
 hath enjoined on all who receive his Holy Religion, 
 viz» Baptism^ I explained and recommended in my 
 last Lecture. 
 
 I now proceed, in order, to consider the nature 
 and importance of the second Sacrament, or instituted 
 means of grace, viz. that of the Lord's Supper, or Ho- 
 ly Communion. 
 
 This Sacrament is so called, because it was ap- 
 pointed by our blessed Lord at the time of the Pas- 
 chal Supper, a religious Festival among the Jews; the 
 last Slipper which he partook of with his disciples, be- 
 ing just before his arrest and crucifixion: and our 
 Church, in her catechism, teaches us what was the 
 end and design of this Institution of our Lord; what 
 the parts and benefits of this Sacrament; and what 
 qualifications are required of those who would reap 
 these benefits by duly partaking of it. 
 
THECATECniHM. 193 
 
 The first question and answer show us the end 
 and design for which this Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was ordained; namely, " For the continual 
 remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, 
 and of the benefits which w^e receive thereby." That 
 our blessed Lord oftered up himself upon the Cross 
 for the sins of men, has been already sufficiently 
 shown in speaking on the second article of the Creed; 
 and we are here taught that the end of our Lord in 
 ordaining this Sacrament, was, that we should duly 
 and constantly^ remember his death and sacrifice, and 
 those benefits which are derived therefrom by his true 
 disciples, to the end of the world. " Do this in re- 
 membrance of me,"* were the express words of 
 Christ himself; and St. Paul explains this precept by 
 saying " For as often as ye eat of this bread, and 
 drink of this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death 
 till become."! 
 
 After informing us of the nature and design of 
 this Institution, the Catechism proceeds next to ex- 
 plain ih^ parts of it, which, like those of the Sacra- 
 ment of Baptism, are two — an outward and visible 
 sign, and an inward and spiritual grace. The outward 
 part, or sign, of the Lord's Supper, we are informed 
 
 * Luke xxu. 10. t 1 Cor. xi. 26. 
 
HH LECTURES ON 
 
 in the answer to the next question, is " Bread and 
 wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be receiv- 
 ed." The other part of this Sacrament, viz, the in- 
 U'fir/'of part, or thing signified, is, according to the words 
 of the next answer, ** the body and blood of Christ, 
 which are spiritually taken and received by the faith- 
 ful in the Lord's Supper;" that is. the devout and 
 faithful communicant does, by receiving the outward 
 elements of bread and wine, as really and truly par- 
 take of the benefits which were purchased for him 
 by the sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ, 
 which are the things signified by those elements, as if 
 he actually eat the flesh of Christ's natural body, and 
 drank his blood. That is, he reaps the great spiritual 
 benefits of Christ's death and sufferings, he is united 
 to him by faith, and he dwells in us, and is united to 
 us by the Graces of his Holy Spirit, the soul being 
 as truly refreshed, strengthened, and comforted 
 thereby, as the body is, by eating bread, and drinking 
 wine; and as, without its proper nourishment, the bo- 
 dy would decay, and die, so, without *the Christian 
 (iraces, the soul must languish and decline. But these 
 benefits are vouchsafed only to the worthy receiver; 
 and what is necessary in order to our being such, is 
 shown in the ansv/er to the last question, concerning 
 V. hat is required of those who Avould come as tnev 
 
THE CAT.ECHISM. 195 
 
 ought, to the Lord's Supper, viz. *^ To examhie 
 themselves, whether they repent them truly of their 
 former sins, steadfastly purposing to lead a new life; 
 to have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ; 
 with a thankful remembrance of his death; and to be 
 in charity with all men." Examination is required, 
 that men may be acquainted with the true state and 
 condition of their own souls; may not presumptuous- 
 ly approach the Lord's Table without a due sense of 
 their offences against him, but may come with humili- 
 ty, resignation, and peace. This examination consists 
 in general, in comparing our lives with the rule of 
 God's Coimnandments^ and considering wherein we 
 have transgressed them, together with a sincere re- 
 pentance for such transgressions. 
 
 Repentance of our sins towards God, consists in 
 an hearty concern and sorrow for them, an humble 
 confession of them, and the most steady resolutions 
 and endeavours for the future to avoid them. And 
 with regard to our offences against one another, it 
 consists in the saiyie sorrow^ and resolutions of amend- 
 ment, and in making restitution, as far as we are able 
 for the injuries we have done, in proof of the sinceri- 
 ty of those resolutions. 
 
 Faith, Or, as it is here expressed, a *^ lively 
 faith in G.Qd's mercies, through Christ," consists in 
 
\9(y LECTUKES OS 
 
 being firmly and sincerely persuaded of the certain 
 performance of God's merciful promises to mankind, 
 in and through our great Redeemer; in a full convic- 
 tion and confidence that he died for the sins of all men; 
 and that ^.vhoever repents and forsakes his sins, as the 
 Gospel requires, will infallibly receive a pardon for 
 them. — And, therefore, to this faith is added, 
 
 " A thankful remembrance of Christ's death,"| 
 because it is impossible firmly to believe in that mer- 
 cy, whhout being thankful for that atonement by 
 which it was procured. It is impossible for a sincere 
 believer to consider the wonders of our redemption, 
 without adoring the' goodness of our God and Saviour, 
 and without crying out, with the ecstasy of St. Paul, 
 " O the depth of the Riches both of the Wisdom and 
 Knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judg- 
 ments; and his ways past finding out!"* 
 
 The present general neglect of this sacred ordi- 
 nance is, indeed, a source of very sincere regret and 
 lamentation to every devout Christian. 
 
 That a command so positively delivered, under 
 such high authority, and such impressive circumstan- 
 ces of time and place, 'so easy in performance, and so 
 divinely efficacious in its operation, should not be ea- 
 gerly complied with"by all who profess and call them- 
 
 ^ Rom. xi. 53. 
 
THE CATECHISM. 197 
 
 selves Christians, is a defection from the letter, as 
 well as the spirit of Christianity, truly astonishing, 
 and justly and grievously to be deplored. The ex- 
 cuses generally offered for this criminal disregard of 
 so unquestionable, so important a duty, are as frivo- 
 lous, as they are impious; and are frequently founded 
 upon a misconception of its nature. Yet such is the 
 fascinating power of habit, and such the persuasive 
 influence of bad^xample, that the celebration of this 
 holy ordinance is altogether disregarded by a very 
 great majority of the members of our Church: so that 
 this blessed Sacrament, this heavenly Feast, this di- 
 vinely instituted means of Grace, instead of being de- 
 voutly received as in the early ages of the Church, by 
 eroery member of the Congregation, at every celebra- 
 tion of religious worship, is now received but by a 
 very few^ though publickly administered only once a 
 month, and on the annual occurrence of the establish- 
 ed Festivals. To such faithful disciples, however, 
 of our Divine Mediator, as do thus faithfully receive 
 this inestimable blessing, may justly be applied his 
 address to the chosen few who faithfully attended him 
 when on earth: " Yt2irnoi^ little flock, for it is your 
 Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom"* 
 
 * Luke xii 32. 
 
198 LECTURES ON 
 
 of Heaven. To correct, therefore, the prevalence of 
 this general, this criminal inattention, to prevent a fa- 
 tal acquiescence in so depraved a habit, so pernicious 
 an example, be it your ambition to commence your 
 Christian course with zeal and fidelity — to " glory in 
 the Cross of Christ"^ — to " fight the good fight 
 of Faith, and to lay hold on eternal life"! — ^* to let 
 your light so shine before men that they may see your 
 good works,"! and be won by your *' holy conversa- 
 tion, and godliness."^ And, "be not indifferent or 
 ashamed when it concerneth your soul,||" remember- 
 ing the solemn declaration of your Divine Instructor, 
 Jesus Chi'ist, who will one day be your Judge; " He 
 who is ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall 
 the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in 
 his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy 
 Angels. "•![ 
 
 Ol let this awful assurance sink deep into your 
 hearts, and influence your future conduct; and, as 
 soon as the discipline of our Church will permit, ap- 
 proach his sacred Altar! and there, in humble, ardent 
 adoration, present yourselves, your souls, and bodies, 
 to be '* a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto 
 the Lord, which is your reasonable service; and be 
 
 * Gal. vi. U. tl Tim.vi. 12. f Matt. 5. 16. 
 
 § 2 Pet. iii. 11. || Ecclesiasticus iv. 20. % Luke ix. 26, 
 
THE CATECHISM. 199 
 
 not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed 
 by the renewal of your minds, that ye may prove 
 what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of 
 God."* 
 
 Lastly, we are required '* to be in charity with all 
 men;" which is, to forgive all men their offences 
 against us, as sincerely as we ourselves desire to be 
 forgiven; to pray to God to forgive them in the same 
 manner, and to be ready to do them all offices of hu- 
 manity, and charity, which are consistent with our 
 own safety, and with our other duties of life. 
 
 These are the qualifications necessary for the 
 worthy receiving the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper; and the want of them is no just excuse for 
 not coming to the Lord's Table, because they are 
 always necessary and indispensable parts of our Chris- 
 tian duty, and the very things we promised to per- 
 form in our Baptismal Covenant. 
 
 Thus, have I now arrived at the end of the Cate- 
 chism, and endeavoured in the course of my observa- 
 tions on its several parts, to explain to you those va- 
 various lessons of Christian Faith and duty which it 
 recommends; and ** knowing these things, happy 
 will ye be if ye do them."f We all know, by Nature, 
 
 * Rom. xii. 1—2. f John xiii. 17. 
 
200 LECTURES ON 
 
 as well as by divine Revelation, what manner of per- 
 sons we ought to be in this world. Being rational 
 creatures, we are evidently bound to govern our pas- 
 sions, appetites, and whole behaviour by the rules of 
 reason — being social creatures, we are as evidently 
 bound to do whatever will make society happy — and 
 lastly, being creatures capable of knowing our Crea- 
 tor, being Christia?2s, possessed of the clearest revela- 
 tion of God's will, it follows very evidently, that w^e are 
 not to forget him, but to worship him as the Almigh- 
 ty, Allwise, and Bountiful Maker, and Lord of the 
 Universe, acknowledge our dependence on him, be 
 thankful to him for his mercies, and resign ourselves 
 to his disposal. 
 
 Such conduct being unquestionably your duty, 
 I most earnestly entreat you,' diligently to observe and 
 practise it — for, if seeing we see not, and hearing we 
 hear not, to the only good purpose of life, that of be- 
 coming, in heart and practice, such as we ought to be, 
 better, indeed, would it be for us " not to have 
 known the way of righteousness, than after we have 
 known it, to turn from, or disobey the holy coimnand- 
 ment delivered to us."* For, " unto whomsoever 
 much is given, of him," wc are expressly assured, 
 
 * Pet. ii. 21. 
 
TflE GATEeUISM. 201 
 
 " much will be required."^ Nay, even a Heathen 
 smner shall not escape entirely by his ignorance: be- 
 cause, " those who have not the Law given by Christ 
 have a law written on their hearts, their consciences 
 accusing, or else excusing them,"t according to their 
 conduct. Much less can those Christians hope for 
 divine favour or mercy, who hear the word of God 
 frcqucntly explained and recommended to them; who 
 have it at hand, and may read it daily ^ and yet trans- 
 gress it. '^ Verily, I say unto you, it shall be more 
 tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomon-ah. in the 
 Day of Judgment, "J than for such persons. Be as- 
 sured, therefore, that the first, indispensable duty of 
 man is, to leani and know the will of his Divine Crea- 
 tor: the next, to do it; and that nothing can excuse 
 you for neglecting either. Attend, then, I beseech you, 
 to all such means of grace and instruction, as God's 
 providence hatli given you; especially to the public in- 
 structions and devotions of the Church; which be- 
 ing expressly appointed for you, he will certainly 
 bless to you. 
 
 Even these very Lectures, which are given to 
 you at the close of every week, amoiig other things 
 which have been sincerely intended for your spiritual 
 
 * Luke xii. 48. t Rom. ii. 15. \ ISlalt. x. 15. 
 
202 LECTURES ON 
 
 improvement, and eternal benefit, will prove, if you 
 do not apply them to that end, a means of increasing 
 your future condemnation. *' Take heed, therefore 
 how ye hear,"-^ *< Consider your ways,"! consider 
 the certainty of Death and Judgment, and be wise. 
 Endeavour to improve your hearts and amend your 
 hves. Remember that merely hearing or reading 
 "svhat is your duty is nothing: that merely knowing 
 the words of your Catechism ever so well, and the 
 meaning of them, is of no other use than to instruct 
 you in the performance of what it teaches. Have it 
 always in your thoughts, therefore, that practice^ uni- 
 form practice of your duty as Christians is the one 
 thing needful; for, '' not every'one," saith Christ him- 
 self, ^^ who saith unto me Lord! Lord! shall enter in- 
 to the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who docth the 
 will of my father who is in Heaven. ''f 
 
 Finally, be very diligent in the attainment of 
 sound Learning; knowing that your advancement and 
 respectability in society will, in a great measure, de- 
 pend upon the imprpvement of your present time and 
 understanding, and that your future and eternal hap- 
 piness will depend upon your knowledge, experience, 
 and practice of true religion. 
 
 »Luke. viii. 18. 1 W^'z. L J. iMait. vil.^l. 
 
On this head, I advise you diligently to learn 
 your respective Catechisms, and remember particu- 
 larly the information you receive from them, concern- 
 ing your duty towards God, and your duty towards 
 your neighbour; wliich, if you faithfully perform them, 
 will enable you to live in peace of mind here, to die 
 in comfort, and to enter into everlasting bliss after. the 
 short period of your trial in this world is over. 
 
 Think then, I entreat and charge you, seriously 
 and often, of these things; for, 
 
 ^' These are thoughts whicJi make man, man; 
 
 "The wise illumine, agg-rcvnclize the greitt.** 
 
 Young, N. 6. 
 
 and, to remind yourselves of them more effectually, 
 frequently read '* the Holy Scriptures which are able 
 to make you wise unto Salvation."* Be constant in 
 coming to Church on the Sabbath, remembering that 
 God hath expressly hallowed, or set apart, that day, as 
 his own, for the express purpose of such religious 
 exercises as may tend to his glory and i/our eternal 
 salvation. And reflect, O! daily reflect, that you are 
 rational beings; that you call yourselves Christians; 
 
 ^ 2 Tim. iiil5. 
 
that life is uncertain; that though continued to old age 
 it is very short; that you must die; that after death, 
 there will be a general Judgment; that you must stand 
 before the bar of God, to be judged, according to 
 your conduct in the present world, and that your con- 
 dition of happiness or misery in a future and eternal 
 state of existence, will entirely depend upon the 
 thoughts, words, and actions of the present. 
 
 " Seek ye" therefore, *'the Lord while he may 
 be found; call ye upon him while he is near."^ Im- 
 pirovethe fleeting moments of your uncertfiin life, while 
 Time is yours. 
 
 -or, moments ye will wish, 
 
 When worlds want wealth to buy!" 
 
 Young:, N. 2. 
 
 — -When the awful realities of the eternal world, con- 
 trasted with the fascinating delusions of the present, 
 will excite an irresistible conviction of the inestimable 
 value of Time; and when remorse for its absence, or 
 joy unspeakable, from the consciousness of its proper 
 application to the faithful discharge of our various 
 religious and social duties, will render the summons 
 
 * Isaiah Iv. 6. 
 
THE CATECmSM. 205 
 
 of Death an anticipated sentence of condemnation, and 
 banishment to the regions of misery and despair, or a 
 passport of admission into the Paradise of God, where, 
 with the spirits of the just made perfect, with Angels 
 and Archangels, we shall enjoy the uninterrupted glo- 
 ry and felicity of heaven, through the endless ages of 
 eternity. 
 
 Now to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 
 be ascribed, as most justly due, all might, majesty, 
 adoration, and praise^ henceforth, and forever. 
 
LECTURE XIV. 
 
 ON CONFIRMATIOJT. 
 
 My young friends, 
 
 I AM now going to address you upon a subject 
 of very considerable importance in the formation of 
 your Christian character, viz, on the performance of 
 a duty which our Church enjoins on all her members, 
 as preparatory to the highest and most solemn act of 
 devotion — the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The 
 duty which I allude to is, the receiving of the Rite of 
 Confirmation, the nature of which has already been 
 sufficiently explained to you, in the Appendix to the 
 Catechism, and, therefore, need not be explained to you 
 here. Its usefulness and propriety must appear un- 
 questionable on the slightest examination anti reflec- 
 tion. 
 
LECTURE ON CONFIRMATION. 207 
 
 That you should, as soon as you are capable of 
 understanding them, exonerate your Sponsors from 
 those obligations which they entered into on your be- 
 half, when you were incapable of comprehending or 
 performing them, is the dictate of common justice, 
 both towards those sponsors and to yourselves. 
 
 The affectionate solicitude which induced them to 
 initiate you into the Christian Church, thereby enti- 
 tling you, from your earliest years, to the privileges 
 of the Gospel Covenant; and their care to instruct you 
 in those principles, which, if acted upon, will promote 
 your highest happiness both in this world and the 
 next, most assuredly merits your warmest gratitude. 
 In the great scale of creation, man is appointed 
 to occupy a very important station. He is placed 
 but " a little lower than the angels,"* and is endow- 
 ed with the noble faculties of Reason and Free-will. 
 The Holy Scriptures, and the Civil History of man- 
 kind afford incontestible,am.ple, and melancholy proof 
 of the uniform abuse of those intellectual privileges in 
 so high a degree as to forfeit the favour of God, and 
 our consequent capacity of admission into his heaven- 
 ly kingdom, after our present short period of exis- 
 tence has expired. Our merciful restoration to tliis 
 
 ^Ilcb.ii. 7. 
 
208 LECTURE ON 
 
 exalted and inestimable benefit, is the foundation 
 of the Christian Religion, which is a system won- 
 derfully accommodated to our infirmities, our weak- 
 nesses, and our wants. And in this divine and be- 
 nevolent system, *' God dealeth with us" not only 
 ** as with sons"*^ but as rational and free agents: leav- 
 ing it optional with us to embrace or reject those infi- 
 nite advantages which he has offered to us through 
 the mediation of his blessed Son, and that Divine 
 Revelation which he has communicated to us, by him, 
 which is called the Gospel Covenant. 
 
 It is called a Covenant^ because by our volunta- 
 rv performance of certain duties proposed, we become 
 entitled to the great and glorious blessings therein 
 stipulated: viz, the salvation of our immortid souls, 
 and eternal happiness in Heaven. 
 
 The promises made by your sponsors that you 
 should embrace and perform yoiw part of this Cove- 
 nant, arc to be assumed by you in this holy ordinance 
 of Confirmation, Avhen you anive at an age capable 
 of understanding its nature. This period has, by ve- 
 ry judicious Divines of our Church, been generally 
 considered to be at the age of 14 years, presuming 
 upon the previous instruction of your parents in the 
 
 *Heb, xii. 
 
CONPIRxMAriDX. '209 
 
 Catechism, or the elementary principles of our holy 
 religion. Gladly, therefore, embrace the opportunity 
 not only of taking upon yourselves the obligations 
 they then assumed in your behalf, but of thus pub- 
 licly avowing your attachment to that glorious sys- 
 tem, and of qualifying yourselves to become parta- 
 kers of that blessed ordinance, which the Divine- Au- 
 thor of our religion has instituted as a channel of Di- 
 vine Grace to our souls, *' to nourish us to all good- 
 ness," and to keep us in the path which leads to the 
 Paradise of God. 
 
 This holy rite of Confirmation is derived from 
 the practice of the Apostles, and its administration 
 properly descended (according to the testimony of 
 the ancient Fathers of the Church, who immediately 
 succeeded the x\postles) to the Bishops, or Gover- 
 nors of the Church of Christ.* 
 
 The Scriptural authorities for this rite are these: 
 We are informed by St. Luke, that when the 
 converts to Christianity in Samaria had been baptized, 
 the Apostles St. Peter and St. John were sent to con- 
 firm them, (L e,) to lay their hands upon them, that 
 they might receive the Holy Ghost. 
 
 * See Bingham, Vol. 1. p. 454, 
 2v 
 
210 LECTURE ON 
 
 "Now,'' says the Evangelist, ** when the apos- 
 tles w^ho were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had 
 received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter 
 and John: who when they w^ere come down, prayed 
 for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost, for 
 as yet he was fallen upon none of them; only they were 
 baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they 
 laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy 
 Ghost."^ 
 
 We are also informed by the Holy Scriptures, 
 that the converts to Christianity at Ephesus, after 
 they had been baptized, were confirmed by St. Paul, 
 who observing the same form, laid his hands upon 
 them; in consequence of which, they received the Ho- 
 ly Ghost."t 
 
 The ceremony of putting the hands upon the 
 head of the person confirmed, is a compliance with 
 the ancient mode of blessing practised by the Jews, 
 made use of by our Saviour himself, and adopted by 
 the Apostles, with prayer for communicating the Holy 
 Spirit in Confirmation,! which gave rise to the pre- 
 sent Title of the Office in our Prayer Books: viz. 
 
 * Acts. viii. 14. t Acts. xix. 6. 
 
 \ See, among other authorities, Gen. xlviii. 1 4. Lev. viii. 1 4. 
 Numb, xxvii. 23. Deut. xxxiv.9. Mark x. 16. Acts viii. 18. 
 Acts xix, 6. 1 Tim. \v. 14. 
 
COMIRAIAIIUN. 211 
 
 << The Order of Confirmation or laying on of 
 HANDS upon those that are baptized." 
 
 And this " laying on of hands," or Confirmation, 
 is connected by the same holy Apostle with Bap- 
 tism,* as essential or fundamental rites of the Chris- 
 tian Church. These authorities alone are sufficient 
 to establish the usage of the practice of the laying on 
 of hands, after Baptism, by the Apostles, which is 
 what the Bishops, their true successors in the go- 
 vernment of the Church, still do in the solemn rite 
 of Confirmation. It is not indeed considered by our 
 Church as a Sacrament, because it was not " ordain- 
 ed by Christ himself;^'* and therefore professing Chris-- 
 tians, or those who have been baptized, are not pro- 
 hibited from coming to the holy Communion, where 
 the administration of the rite of Confirmation by a 
 bishop cannot be obtained. The examples and in- 
 junctions of the holy Apostles, however, and of the 
 primitive Christians constitute a sufficient rule for our 
 observance of it. 
 
 Tertullian, who lived about eighty years after 
 St. John, and who is very particular in stating the 
 practioe of the primitive Church, tells us, that " af- 
 
 * Heh. vi. 2. 
 
-;i2 LEOTO-RE OX 
 
 ter baptism, succeeds laying on of hands, and by 
 prayer calling for, and inviting the Holy Spirit."^ 
 
 ^ St. Cyprian, who lived about sixty years after 
 Tertullian, when speaking of the Samaritan converts, 
 adds, ** the same thing is practised among us; that 
 they who are baptized in the Church are presented 
 to the governors of it, the Bishops, that by their 
 prayers, and imposition of hands ^ they may obtain the 
 Holy Ghost, and be perfected with the seal of 
 Christ: "t which is, by Confirmation to attain the 
 highest order of Christians. 
 
 St. Jerome, speaking of Confirmation, says, 
 " If you ask where it is written, it is written in the 
 Acts of the Apostles: but if there were no authority of 
 Scripture for it, yet the consent of all the Avorld in 
 this particular is instead of a command. "J 
 
 The Jews had a ceremony similar to our rite of 
 Confirmation; for they brought their children before 
 the congregation when they were thirteen years old; 
 at which period they were required to know the gene- 
 ral principles of the law and to say their daily prayers; 
 upon which they were presented by their fathers 
 before the holy assembly, and there solemnly took up- 
 on themselves the observation of the law, were decla- 
 
 * De Bap. C. 8. f Ep. ^o, % Dial, advers, Liicif. 
 
COKFIKMATION. 2 13 
 
 red sons of the precept y and were thenceforth to an- 
 swer for their own sins, for which before, the fathers, 
 and not the children were responsible: and the 
 rite ended with prayers and praises.* And Josephus 
 tells us, that at that age, their youth " could as readi- 
 ly give an account of the laws and rules of their reli- 
 gion, as to answer to their own names.'*! 
 
 How grievous a reproach is this information to 
 modern Chi'istians! 
 
 Even among Heathen nations, the dictates of rea- 
 son, or the hght of nature, prescribed a similar insti- 
 tution. 
 
 Among the Persians, " the youth at a certain 
 age v/ere required to take a solemn oath to despise all 
 filthy lucre, bodily pleasure, and vain glory; to be 
 emulous of virtue, and honour their parents; to speak 
 truth, do good, and never wilfully to violate any of 
 these things."} 
 
 Among the Mhenians, " when their young men 
 were enrolled, they solemnly swore to observe the per- 
 petual solemnities and received customs of their 
 country, and to defend and reverence the religion in 
 which they were born."§ 
 
 * Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. C. 7. f Lib. 2. conf. Appion. 
 i Isid. Pelus. lib. 4. § Jul. Poll. Oncrmast. 
 
Other authorities might be added, were they 
 deemed necessary. These, I trust, are sufficient to 
 prove that it has always been a general practice among 
 Jews and Gentiles, as well as Christians, for the youth, 
 at some prescribed period, to assume and publicly 
 avow responsibility with respect to their future con- 
 duct. 
 
 Among Christians, they who receive the rite of 
 Confirmation should previously consider its serious 
 and important nature. -^That they are about to en- 
 ter into a solemn engagement with Almighty God, to 
 perform the duties of the Christian Covenant, in or- 
 der to obtain the blessings which it promises; which 
 are, to become " members of Christ,"^ " children 
 of God,"t ^^^ '' inheritors of the Kingdom of Hea- 
 ven. "J Glorious and inestimable privileges indeed! 
 witii which nothing that the world has to offer can in 
 any degree be compared. For, " what would it pro- 
 fit a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose 
 his own soul?"^ And, having heard the glad tidings 
 of the Gospel, if we refuse to comply with its invi- 
 tations, such must be the awful and inevitable con- 
 sequence of our neglect. 
 
 Eph. V. 30. t Gal. iii. 26, i 1 Pet. i. 3, 4. § Mark viii. 36. 
 
CONriRMATiON. 215 
 
 Consider that you live at a very trying and dan- 
 gerous period of time; when the Faith of sincere 
 Christians is frequently exposed to the severest 
 tests — when all the delusions, the artifices, the so- 
 phistry of Infidelity, are set in array against, and bid 
 bold defiance to, " the truth as it is in Jesus!"* 
 
 " Put on, therefore, the whole armour of God; 
 the breastplate of Righteousness, the shield of Faith, 
 the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, 
 which is the word of God, praying always, w^ith all 
 prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching 
 thereunto, with all perseverance, that you may be 
 able to stand against the wiles of the Devii."t 
 
 " The manners and principles of the present 
 times," says the celebrated Dr. Knox, " are unpropi- 
 tious, not only to the due performance of Sacra- 
 mental rites, but to all the duties of Christian devo- 
 tion. 
 
 " As to the manners of the times, it is certain, that 
 Commerce, amidst its many advantages, has introd[u- 
 ced a general spirit of selfishness and avarice, so that 
 the devotional regard which, in days of cotnpara- 
 tive poverty and virtuous simplicity, Religion was 
 w^ont to excite, is paid to money, that idol of tlie 
 
 * Eph. \y. 2). + Eph. vi. 1 1 — \9. 
 
216 LECTURK GN 
 
 heart, on whose altar Truth, Virtue, Freedom are 
 daily sacrificed, with all the enthusiasm of the blindest 
 bigotry. 
 
 " Self aggrandizement, and worldly affluence 
 and honours, become the Chief Good; and those who 
 seek it not, or relinquish it for " the things which are 
 not seen," are accounted in the w^orld's estimate, fools 
 or insane. 
 
 ** As to principle Sy the heart of man, be it re- 
 membered, can scarce admit of two sti-ong attach- 
 ments at the same time. When the World has sei- 
 zed the affections, the unseen Deity, and all the duties 
 which result from an acknowledged relation to him, 
 Avill be viewed with indifference and more than in- 
 difference, even with disgust, because they will 
 often appear repugnant to the favourite pursuit. In 
 this state of the public mind, the voice of Infidelity 
 will be heard wdth eagerness, while religious discour- 
 ses and addresses will be treated with neglect, if they 
 should escape scorn. The affairs of the world, the 
 great prizes which glitter in the eyes of pride, avarice 
 and selfish pleasure, w ill alone be considered as wor- 
 thy the anxious care, the ardent pursuit of a man of 
 sense."* '* The wisdom," however, " of this world 
 
 * Knox'H Conf^idcrations on the Lord's Supper," p. 270-1-271 . 
 
CONFIRMATION. 217 
 
 is foolishness with God."* Remember that " 'tis 
 impossible to serve God and Mammon, "f 
 
 Be it your ambition, then, to be spiritually wise; 
 to excel in every Christian grace and duty; to be 
 conspicuous for virtue and piety. 
 
 O be persuaded to " acquaint yourselves with 
 God, and be at peace. "J Inquire without delay, 
 with the young man in the Gospel " what shall I 
 do to inherit eternal life? "^ Search the Scriptures: || 
 
 " There Truths abound, of sovereign aid to peace: 
 " Ahl donot prize them less because inspired!" 
 
 NIGHT 8. 
 
 — seriously consider the promises made in your behalf 
 at Baptism. — Implore the blessed influence of the 
 Holy Ghost, the comforter — support an intercourse 
 Avith your Heavenly Father by frequent and fervent 
 prayer — and, "be not ashamed of the Gospel of 
 Christ," but '^ knowing it to be the power of God un- 
 to Salvation, to every one who believeth,''T[ gladly at- 
 test your confidence in it, by assuming those obliga- 
 tions, the performance of which will constitute you 
 
 * 1 Cor. iii. 19. f Luke xvi. 13. :j: Job. xxii. 21. 
 
 § Matt. xix. 16. I) John v. 39. t Rom. i. 16. 
 
 2e 
 
218 LECTURE, Sec. 
 
 heirs of eternal felicity and glory; and, having thus 
 
 voluntarily entered into the Christian Covenant, with 
 
 reverence and godly sincerity, approach the Table of 
 
 the Lord, and partake of that Heavenly Feast which 
 
 it is your duty to receive '^ in remembrance of the 
 
 sacrifice of his death, as he himself hath commanded," 
 
 and which is intended to be your " spiritual food and 
 
 sustenance, in that holy Sacrament;"^ that you may 
 
 thereby be '' strengthened with might, by his Spirit, 
 
 in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
 
 by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, 
 
 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the 
 
 length and breadth, and depth and height; and to 
 
 know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
 
 that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God. 
 
 " Now unto him who is able to do exceeding 
 abundantly above all we ask or think, according to 
 the power which worketh in us; unto him be glory in 
 the Church, throughout all ages, world without end."t 
 
 * See the Exhortation in the Communion Service. 
 t Eph. iii. 16.— 20. 
 
LECTURE XV. 
 
 ON^ THE LITURGY OY THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 My DEAR PUPILS, 
 
 Having offered to your attention several Lec- 
 tures upon the Catechism, and one upon the import- 
 ant subject of Confirmation, I shall now conclude the 
 course addressed particularly to the youths of the 
 Episcopal Church, by offering a few observations 
 upon our excellent Liturgy, or Form of Public Wor- 
 ship. 
 
 The use and propriety of established forms of 
 public worship are sanctioned by high and various au- 
 thority. 
 
 By the precepts of Holy Writ. Solomon, the 
 wisest of men, expressly recommends precomposed 
 prayers. " Be not rash with thy mouth," says he, 
 and let not thine heart be /lastT/ to utter afit/ thing be- 
 
220 LECTURE ON 
 
 fore God, for God is in Heaven, and thou upon Earth; 
 therefore, let thy words be few.""* "Before thou 
 prayest," says the wise Son of Sirach, ** prepare thy- 
 self, and be not as one who tempteth the Lord."f 
 We find in the sixth chapter of the book of Numbers, 
 that God himself prescribed th^ Jbrm of blessing that 
 the priests should use. '* And the Lord spake unto 
 Moses, saying, On this wise shall ye bless the chil- 
 dren of Israel, saying unto thern^ The Lord bless thee 
 and keep thee; the Lord make his face to shine upon 
 thee, and be gracious unto thee, the Lord lift up his 
 countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. "J 
 
 And this very form of blessing is prescribed by 
 our Liturgy in the office for the visitation of the sick. 
 And in the same book is recorded the form of bles- 
 sing at the removal and resting of the Ark. In the 
 21st of Deuteronomy is the form of expiation of mur- 
 der; And in the 26th chapter, the confession of him 
 who offereth the basket of first fruits, and the prayer 
 of him who giveth the third year's tithes. To these 
 and other single instances, may be added that rich va- 
 riety of prayer and praise — the whole book of Psalms, 
 which was expressly composed for the service of the 
 Temple. 
 
 * Eccles. V. 2. t Ecclesiasticus xviii. 25. % Numb. vi. 26. 
 
THE LITURGY. 221 
 
 If we tarn our attention to the New Testament 
 we find, that St. John, the precursor of our Saviour, 
 taught his disciples a form of prayer, as the Jewish 
 Doctors had taught theirs; upon which is grounded the 
 application of Christ's disciples to him, as recorded in 
 the 11th chapter of St. Luke's Gospel: '' Lord teach 
 us to pray," or give us some form for our constant use, 
 " as John also taught his disciples." Accordingly 
 Jesus, thereby in the strongest manner possible at- 
 testing his approbation of that mode, dictated to them 
 that admirably comprehensive form called the Lord's 
 Prayer, and enjoined their constant use of it. " And 
 he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father, 
 ^c."* And this is an exact repetition of the same 
 form given upon a similar application as recorded by 
 St. Matthew in his 6th chapter, " But when ye pray 
 use not vain repetitions, as the Heathen do, for they 
 think they shall be heard for their much speaking. 
 Be not ye, therefore, like unto them; for your Father 
 knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask 
 him. Thus therefore pray ye; — Our Father, who ait 
 in Heaven, &c." 
 
 This authority alone is amply explicit, conclu- 
 sive, and sufficient for us. It fully authenticates the 
 
 * Luke xi. 2. 
 
^>-^ LECTURE ON 
 
 propriety of an established Jorm of prayer: which is a 
 mode of public worship universally adopted by the 
 Christian Church from the earliest ages. 
 
 The use of established forms of worship is sanc- 
 tioned by the opinions and practice of holy men of 
 old — of patriarchs, of apostles, of the Divine Author 
 of our Holy Religion, and of the most eminent divines 
 and exemplary Christians of modern days. 
 
 Several forms of prayer, for different occasions, 
 are prescribed in the law of Moses. David's, and 
 Solomon's are recorded. In the Jewish Synagogue, 
 which our Saviour constantly frequented, they used 
 an established form. And that the Apostles and their 
 followers used a form, is evident from the 4th chapter 
 of the Acts; otherwise how could they '' lift up their 
 voices, and say with one accord" the admirable pray- 
 er there specified. ^ 
 
 Innumerable are the forms of precomposed pray- 
 er, adapted to all the circumstances and exigencies 
 of life, which great and good men of our own, as well 
 as of former days, have prepared and constantly used. 
 — Among others, those of Dr. Wilson, the good Bi- 
 shop of Sodor and Man, of Dr. Enfield, and of the 
 great, the learned, the pious Dr. Samuel Johnson, be- 
 ing preeminently excellent. 
 
THE LITURGY. 223 
 
 But the propriety of a preconceived form of pray- 
 er is also recommended by the authoritative dictates of 
 Reason. 
 
 No truth can be more evident tlian that we ought 
 to employ the best exertions of our best powers upon 
 the most important occasions. Now what can be 
 more important than, or indeed, so important as, our 
 immediate intercourse or communication with our 
 Almighty Creator, Preserver, and constant Benefac- 
 tor? And when the best expressions are employed, 
 the utmost exertions of the human understanding 
 made, when we address an earthly Monarch, or any 
 individual of superior station in society, and that in 
 the most careful and premeditated manner; shall not 
 the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the Omnipo- 
 tent Ruler of the Universe, be entitled to our best ser- 
 vices? Shall we dare to approach his infinite Majesty 
 with crude and imperfect performances? Shall we 
 reserve the application of those noble intellectual fa- 
 culties which he hath given us, and, by which we 
 are distinguished above the rest of created beings, 
 for ^very other subject and occasion but the worship 
 of him? Shall we rest the efncacy and propriety of 
 our addresses to the Deity, upon the uncertain, in- 
 considerate, and extemporaneous effusions of an in- 
 dividual, in preference to the deliberate, rational, and 
 devout preparations of retirement and conteninlationj 
 
224 LECTUllE ON 
 
 or to the combined wisdom of those most conspicu- 
 ous for knowledge, judgment, and piety? The an- 
 swer must be in favour of the latter. And the proprie- 
 ty of that decision cannot be more clearly evinced, 
 than by the sublime, appropriate, and energetic ad- 
 dresses in our Liturgy. 
 
 Human Reason, frequently stiled " the Candle 
 of the Lord in man," was given to us to regulate and 
 restrain the operations of passion, and to direct and 
 control the fervours of imagination. It has, therefore, 
 justly been thought expedient by some of the wisest 
 and most pious of our venerable ancestors, to digest, 
 after the most mature deliberation, learned investiga- 
 tion, and truly religious zeal, a form of public worship 
 which should be accommodated to every capacity, 
 and, at the same time fully expressive of all our weak- 
 nesses and v/ants; that every member of our Church 
 might be able to unite in the worship of Almighty 
 God, in such a manner as might most eifectually tend 
 to his glory, and the edification and eternal interest of 
 the worshippers. Hence originated that astonishingly 
 comprehensive and luminous composition — The Lit- 
 urgy of the Church of England; in the formation and 
 improvement of which, the united wisdom and piety of 
 some of the brightest and most exemplary characters 
 that ever adorned society, were engaged. — A Cran* 
 
TPIE LITURGY. 225 
 
 nier, a Latimer, and a Ridley; men who, for extent of 
 learning, purity of intention, and ardour of zeal, were 
 preeminent in their respective stations, and " whose 
 praise is in all the Churches." This admirable 
 " form of sound words" was first compiled, then re- 
 viewed and approved of, by confessors, and martyrs 
 for the protestant cause. It has been deliberated up- 
 on by Councils, confirmed by Convocations, and ap- 
 plauded by the great and good, through a long suc- 
 cession of years. 
 
 This Liturgy (except where local and political 
 circumstances required verbal alterations) the Episco- 
 pal Church in America has adopted, or rather conti- 
 nued to use; it having been our established form of 
 worship before our separation from that'country. We 
 therefore wisely preferred it to any other, because its 
 doctrines and ritual '^ are built upon the foundation 
 of the x\postles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself be- 
 ing the chief corner-stone, in whom the building fitly 
 framed together groweth unto an holy Temple in the 
 Lord."^ And our constant appeal is " to the law 
 and to the testimony,"! in support of that form of 
 public devotion with which it furnishes the household 
 of Faith. 
 
 * Eph..ii- 20. t Isa, viii. 20. 
 
 2 F 
 
Itn LECTURE ON 
 
 The striking and affecting views which it exhi- 
 bits of truths the most interesting to man, in a style 
 of majestic sirriplicity, are well calculated to kindle 
 in the breast a flame of rational devotion; and at the 
 same time they are conveyed in language at once ac- 
 commodated to the most refined taste, and critical ac- 
 curacy, and perfectly intelligible to the plainest and 
 most unimproved understanding: those short, but 
 comprehensive petitions called Collects, breathing 
 throughout the spirit of that divine form which our 
 blessed Saviour dictated to his disciples. 
 
 Prayer (as defined in the Appendix to the Cate- 
 chism)* may be said, according to the various sub- 
 jects expressed, to consist of Confession, Petition, 
 Supplication, Thanksgiving, Praise, and Interces- 
 sion. 
 
 Of Confession, the first address to God in the 
 morning and evening service, is an inimitable exam- 
 ple — ** Almighty and most merciful Father, we have 
 erred and strayed," &c.;t as are also those solemn and 
 truly affecting penitential forms which are to be used, 
 the first after the general Exhortation, and the second 
 immediately before the prayer of Consecration, and 
 the receiving of the elements in the Sacrament of the 
 
 * See Appendix, p. 49. 
 
 ■*■ Sec the Order tor morning iind evening; prayer. 
 
THE LITURGY. 127 
 
 Lord*s Supper, ** Almighty God, Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," &c. and " We do not presume," &c. * 
 For Petition, Supplication, and Intercession, no hu- 
 man mind can conceive, no language express a more 
 elevated, rational, sublime, and universal model than 
 our Litany, t which commences with a devout address 
 to each of the three persons of the adorable Trinity 
 as constituting the incomprehensible Godhead; viz. 
 God the Father; as King of Heaven, our Creator: 
 God the Son; as our Redeemer: and God the Holy 
 Ghost; as our Sanctifier. 
 
 The " Te Deum;' '' We praise thee, O God, 
 we acknowledge thee to be the Lord; " to be used 
 immediately after the first lesson in the morning 
 service, is a most rapturous effusion of adoration and 
 praise: and the general Thanksgiving, at the conclusion 
 of both the Services, a most inimitably energetic ac 
 knowledgment and enumeration of the various bles- 
 sings of Providence, both temporal and Spiritual: 
 *' Almighty God, Father of all mercies," &c. 
 
 Our Church, in imitation of the Jewish ritual, 
 and in conformity to the practice of the primitive 
 Church, directs the constant reading of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, in the celebration of Divine Service, both in the 
 morning and the afternoon. By which, the ignorant 
 
 * See the Communion Service. 
 
 t See the Liturgy or general supplication, after the ordet 
 for evening service. 
 
228 LECTURE ON 
 
 who eannot read the Bible, the ** wise in their own con- 
 ceits," who think it unnecessary, and will not read it, 
 and the industrious poor, who, if they are capable of 
 reading it have not leisure during the week, may have 
 the word of God, the Holy Scriptures both of the 
 Old and New Testament, read and explained to them 
 in the Sanctuary every Sabbath-day. The Fasts and 
 Festivals of our Church, annually commemorating 
 the leading events and principles of our Holy Reli- 
 gion — such as the Nativity of Christ; his Crucifixion, 
 Resurrection, and Ascension, with the descent of the 
 Holy Ghost, frequently call our attention to impor- 
 tant and essential articles of our Faith. 
 
 Thus the pleasing variety and judicious intermix- 
 ture of prayer and praise, of supplication and thanks- 
 giving, of confession and absolution, of hymns and 
 creeds, of psalms and lessons, is admirably calculated 
 to prevent the fatigue, both of mind and body, which 
 must arise from along continued attention to any one 
 subject, and in the same posture of the body. "The 
 frame of our Liturgy," says a pious and learned pre- 
 late of our Church, " is like the frame of the world; it 
 is order in variety; and though all the parts are dif- 
 ferent, yet the whole is consistent and regular." 
 
 The form of our public worship derives peculiar 
 dignity and excellence from its being a mutual ser- 
 
THE LITURGY. 229 
 
 vice between the priest and the people, in which every 
 individual has his particular part to perform. When 
 this is properly done — when the people with an audi- 
 ble voice make the responses appointed by the Ru- 
 bric, then may a congregation be justly said "to 
 worshijp the Lord in the beauty of holiness;"* and 
 how wonderful, how animating would be the effect, 
 how would the sacred fervour of religious zeal ex- 
 pand their hearts, and rise as incense towards Heaven, 
 if the mingled harmony of prayer and praise resound- 
 ed from the tongues of a whole assembled congrega- 
 tion of Christians! How would the most torpid soul 
 be thereby elevated to the highest raptures of true de- 
 votion! 
 
 We are told by St. Chrysostom, who was bishop 
 of Antioch in the fourth century, that when the con- 
 gregation of the church in which he officiated made 
 the responses, and pronounced Amen, it was like a clap 
 of thunder. 
 
 I therefore earnestly recommend it to you to 
 promote the proper performance of our public wor- 
 ship, by always making the responses in an audible 
 voice: and be not deterred from the execution of this 
 duty by observing that your superiors and elders do 
 not conform to it; but be rather ambitious of setting 
 them a good example, that they may be ashamed of 
 
 * Ps. xcyi. 9. 
 
23^ LECTURE ON 
 
 their supineness, and be led thereby to exchange 
 their apparent coldness and indifference for attention 
 and devotion, and thus to reform the errors of their 
 deportment in the house of God. 
 
 Such is the admirable construction of our service, 
 that when properly performed by the alternate praises 
 and supplications of the priest and people, it cannot 
 fail to excite that sympathetic and fervent glow of de- 
 votional ardour which must render it an acceptable 
 service to that great Being to whom it is addressed; 
 whereas, if the congregation remain silent when the 
 responses should be repeated, the sublimity and beau- 
 ty of it are not only obscured, but instead of being a 
 reasonable it is thus rendered an insipid, nay, an ab- 
 surd service. Did the individuals of the congrega- 
 tion always consider that it is a public and not a pri- 
 vate act of devotion which they are assembled to per- 
 form, they would always unite their hearts and voices 
 in the public worship of God. 
 
 Another necessary requisite in the due celebra- 
 tion of our service is, the act of kneeling during the 
 prayers, which is certainly then the proper posture of 
 the body, being most expressive of humiliation and 
 entreaty, and as such recommended to us by the 
 example of our blessed Saviour, who was fre- 
 quently engaged in prayer, and who, we are told, ol- 
 
THE LITUKGY* 2oI 
 
 ways kneeled down when he prayed. And, if we kneel 
 to an earthly monarch, or bow to a fellow mortal in 
 testimony of his superiority, shall we not kneel when 
 we address the King of Kings, the Moparch of the 
 Universe, the Almighty and Eternal God? Shall we 
 not, when we worship, " fall down and kneel before 
 the Lord our Maker?"* Be not, therefore, indifferent 
 on a subject of such infinite importance as the salva- 
 tion of your immortal souls. Prove not 
 
 " Rank coM^ards to the fashionable world; 
 " Be not asha.med to bend your knees to Heav'nl 
 *' Curst fume of pride, exhal'dfrom deepest Hell! 
 " Pride in Religion is man's highest praise.** 
 
 Young, N. 9. 
 
 The union of voices also when called upon to 
 sing to the praise and glory of God, is an essential and 
 important act of public worship, no part of it having a 
 more animating tendency to increase the fervour of 
 true devotion; as the coldest heart will always be ani- 
 mated with some degree of fervour, and glow with the 
 celestial ardour of divine love, when religious aspira- 
 tions are awakened by the stimulating influence of 
 general example: for never is the sacred flame of devo- 
 tion more effectually kindled — never does it blaze forth 
 more fervently from the altar of the human heart — 
 
 * Ps. xcv. 6. 
 
252 LECTURE ON 
 
 never does it ascend to Heaven with more purity and 
 strength, unalloyed by the corrupt and fuliginous va- 
 pours of worldly affections and thoughts, than when it 
 is fanned by the powerful breath of sympathy or social 
 union. 
 
 When these three particulars, the making of the 
 responses, the kneeling at the prayers, and the joining 
 in the psalms are universally observed in a congrega- 
 tion, the perfection of our Liturgy is eminently con- 
 spicuous. That they are not universally observed in 
 our churches, is, indeed, grievously to be lamented; 
 and the more so as every nonconformist loudly con- 
 demns the general neglect, and expresses his willing- 
 ness, nay, his wish to comply, if others would. The 
 deficiency, therefore, arises, not from an absolute in- 
 difference to the proper performance of public worship, 
 not from disapprobation of our Liturgy and' its injunc- 
 tions, but from a false sense of shame, a kind of child- 
 ish bashfulness, a fear of being conspicuous, and 
 suffering the imputation of hypocrisy — motives un- 
 Avorthy of a rational being, and infinitely more so of a 
 rational Christian. What! afraid or ashamed of wor- 
 shipping God? Afraid or ashamed of going to Hea- 
 ven? Let such worldly-minded, nominal Christians 
 remember the awful declaration of our Divine Law- 
 giver, '' He who is ashamed of mc and of my words," 
 
THE LITURGY. 233 
 
 or Worship, " of him will I be ashamed when I come 
 in the glory of my Father.*'^ 
 
 I beseech you therefore, my beloved youths, not 
 to be influenced by, or mduced to imitate bad exam- 
 ple — not to indulge the least degree of indifference or 
 deficiency in a matter of such magnitude and serious 
 consequence: but by your zeal in the worship of Al- 
 mighty God, and your exemplary deportment in his 
 holy Temple, " let your light so shine before men that 
 they may see your good works,"! a^d be led by the 
 excellency of your bright example " to glorify God 
 in their body and in their spirit, which are God's," J and 
 thereby to convince gainsayers that our Liturgy, or 
 order of public worship, is not, as they would insin- 
 uate, a round of insignificant or superstitious ceremo- 
 nies, and the use of it a mere mechanical, unprofitable 
 exercise, but that it is a reasonable service, and pow- 
 erfully instrumental, by the grace of God, to purify 
 our hearts, to withdraw our affections from earthly 
 and sensual, and to direct them to spiritual and hea- 
 venly objects, and to make us abound in all those 
 " fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to 
 the glory and praise of God." ^ 
 
 * Mark Yiii. 38, t Mat. v. 16. :^ 1 Ccr. v. 20. § Phil. i. 11. 
 
 2 G 
 
254 LECTURE, kc. 
 
 Thus will they be compelled to acknowledge that 
 the external order of our worship is wonderfully cal- 
 culated to guard against the presumptions of enthu- 
 siasm on the one hand, and the follies of superstition 
 on the other — that we are taught thereby to " pray 
 with the spirit and to pray with the understanding also; 
 to sing with the spirit and to sing with the understand- 
 ing also."^ That the offices which follow the order 
 for morning and evening prayer, viz. The Communion 
 and Baptismal Services, the Visitation of the Sick, 
 Burial of the Dead, Sec. are perfect models of purity 
 of sentiment, elevation of thought, energy of expres- 
 sion, and elegance of style — In fine, that we " are a 
 people taught of God,"t and that the prayers and 
 praises of our Church, are the sublime effusions of 
 genuine piety, clothed in the most expressive dictates 
 of wisdom and understanding. 
 
 * 1 Coi\ xiv. 15. t John vi. 45. 
 THE END- 
 
LAWS 
 
 Relating to the conduct and behaviour of the Students of 
 the Philadelphia Academy. 
 
 I. Every boy who shall be absent from Prayers 
 and Roll-calling, shall bring a note of apology from his 
 parents, or suffer such punishment as shall be thought 
 expedient. 
 
 II. No boys shall play within the walls of the 
 Academy, before the hours of tuition. 
 
 III. No boys shall continue in the Academy yard 
 after the schools are dismissed. 
 
 IV. No conversation shall be permitted among 
 the boys during school hours. 
 
 V. Any boy who shall mark the walls, cut or 
 notch the furniture of the rooms, the doors, or any 
 part of the building or out-houses, or who shall tear, 
 blot, or scribble in another's book, shall not only be 
 severely corrected, but be obliged to pay for the da- 
 mage, or to furnish the injured boy with anew book. 
 
 VI. No boy shall be permitted to go out more 
 than once in a morning or afternoon, or to stay out 
 longer than five minutes; nor shall more than two boys 
 go out of the room at any one time. 
 
3o6 I.AWS OF THE PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY. 
 
 VII. Every boy under sixteen years of age, shall 
 commit to memory the catechism of the religious so- 
 ciety to which he belongs, and be examined in the 
 same every Saturday morning, it being presumed that 
 boys of more advanced age are acquainted with the 
 leading principles of the Christian Faith. 
 
 VIII. The students of the two first classes shall, 
 each of them in succession, pronounce an oration eve- 
 ry morning in the Hall immediately after Prayers. 
 The succession to begin with the senior class. 
 
 IX. None of the scholars belonging to this scmi- 
 naiy shall make use of any indecent, or immoral lan- 
 guage: whether it consist in immodest expressions, 
 in cursing and swearing, or in exclamations which 
 introduce the name of God. 
 
 X. In case of the transgression of any of the above 
 laws, the transgressor, if he be above the age of six- 
 teen years, shall, for each transgression, be subject to 
 public censure, or suspension, and if under that age 
 to corporal punishment. 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 rage. 
 
 Dedication - - - - - 3 
 
 Advertisement for this edition - - 5 
 
 Preface - _ - , . r 
 
 Address to Parents, Sponsors, and Guardians - 13 
 
 ■ to the Students of the Philadelphia Acadenny 29 
 
 The Catechism - - - - 33 
 
 Appendix containing additional Questions - 43 
 
 A Prayer before Confirmation - - 56 
 
 ■ after Confirmation - - - 57 
 
 A Daily Morning Prayer - - - 58 
 
 Evening Prayer - - - 60 
 
 A Prayer on reading the Holy Scriptures - 61 
 
 Petition on entering the Church - - 62 
 
 after Divine Service - - . t^. 
 
 Grace before Meat - _ . _ if,, 
 
 after Meat - - , . 63 
 
 Ejaculation on going to bed - - i6. 
 
 rising in the Morning - - ib. 
 
 General Ejaculation _ - _ _ /^. 
 
 Hymns - - . - _ 54 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 I. Introductory - - - - 71 
 
 II. On the Previous Questions and First Article of the Creed 78 
 
 III. On the Second Article of the Creed - 87 
 
 IV. On the Second Article of the Creed - 97 
 
 V. On the Third Article of the Creed - - 105 
 
 VI. On the First and Second Commandments - 118 
 
 VII. On the Third Commandment - - - 126 
 
 VIII. On the Fourth Commandment - - 134 
 
■2J^ CONTENTS. 
 
 IX.On the Fifth and following Commandments - 144 
 
 X. On the Lord's Prayer - - - 156 
 
 XI. On the Lord's Prayer - - - 166 
 XIL On the Sacrament of Baptism - - 178 
 XIIL On the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper - 192 
 
 XIV. On Confirmation - - - 206 
 
 XV. On the Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Ghurch 2 1 9 
 Laws of the Philadelphia Academy - - 235 
 
PUBLICATIONS, 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF THESE LECTURES. 
 
 (for the use of the PHILADELPHIA ACADEMY.) 
 
 A Compend of Elocution. 
 
 A Compend of Natural History. 
 
 Murray's large Grammar, with additions and elucidations; 
 
 3d edition. 
 Murray's abridged Grammar, ditto, ditto; 3d edition. 
 The Catechism of the Protestant Episcopal Church, with 
 
 an Appendix containing additional questions and occa- 
 sional prayer and hymns; 5th edition. 
 Charges delivered at the Commencements in 1804, 1805, 
 
 1806, 1807, 1808, 1809, and 1810. 
 Two Valedictory Orations at the Commencements, in 
 
 1809, and 1810. 
 
 ALSO, 
 Sermons — On the Fast of 1 798 — On the death of General 
 
 Hamilton — On the Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal 
 
 Church. 
 
 AND, 
 
 Preparing for the Press, in one volume, octavo , 
 
 The Lectures on the Arts of Reading and Public Speaking 
 
 which have lately appeared in the Port Folio. 
 
¥:^