your interest in them while you have any thoughts of attempting their recovery.

If they withdraw into separate meetings, follow them, and enter into a mild debate as to the lawfulness of it. Tell them that you have a mind to hear what they have to say, and to be among them for their good, if they will give you leave, for fear they should run to further evil. You will thereby prevent much reviling, and the venting of further errors, and by a moderate, gentle opposition of them, may in time convince them of their folly; and by this means, if any seducers come from abroad to confirm them, you will be ready to oppose them, and so you will at least do much to prevent the increase of their party.

Ministers themselves have occasioned many of the divisions in England, by contemning those that have withdrawn into separate meetings, by talking against them, and by reproving them in the pulpit; while they have been entire strangers to them, or have shunned their company, and in the meantime have given seducers an opportunity to be familiar with them, and to do what they pleased with them without contradiction. Oh that ministers had been less guilty of the errors and schisms that they talk against! But it is easier to chide sectaries in the pulpit, and subscribe a testimony against them, than to play the skilful physician for their cure, or to do the tenth part of our duty to prevent or heal their disorders. I am not finding fault with prudent reprehensions of, or testimonies against them in public; but I think too many of us have cause to fear, lest we do but publicly proclaim our own shame by our negligence or weakness, and lest, in condemning and testifying against them, we testify against and condemn ourselves.

12. In order to preserve your church from divisions, and to keep your people from running after irregular, libertine preachers, be sure that you never let these authors of schism outdo you in anything that is good.

As truth should be more effectual for sanctification than error, if you give them this advantage, you give them the day, and all your disputations will do but little good. Weak people judge all by the outward appearance, and by the ef fects, not being able to judge of the doctrine itself; they think he has the best cause, whom they take to be the best I extend this rule both to doctrine and to life: e. g. if a libertine preach free grace, do you preach it up more ef

man.

fectually than he; be much more upon it, and make it more glorious on right grounds, than he can do on his wrong. If on the like pretence he magnify the grace of love, do not contradict him in the affirmative, only in the negative and destructive part; but go beyond him, and preach up the love of God with its motives and effects, more fully and effectually than he can do on the corrupt grounds on which he proceeds; or else you will make all the silly people believe, that the difference between you and him is, that he is for free grace and for the love of God, and that you are against both. So if an enthusiast talks of the Holy Ghost, as the light and witness and law within us, do you fall upon that subject too, and do that well which he does ill; preach up the office of the Holy Spirit, his indwelling and operations, the light and testimony and law within us, better than he does. You must dwell upon these things in your preaching, as well as he; for the people will take no notice of a short concession. I might mention many more instances to this purpose, but these will be sufficient to show what I mean; the sum of which is, that preaching truth is the most successful way of confuting error. Further,

We should be careful that seducers do not excel us in the practice of religious duties, any more than in defending any sacred truths.

Do any of them express a hatred of sin, and a desire of church-reformation? We should much more. Do they, when they meet together, spend their time in religious discourse, instead of vain jangling? Let us do so much more. Are they unwearied in propagating their opinions? Let us be much more diligent in propagating the truth. Will they condescend to the meanest, and creep into houses to lead captive the silliest' of the flock? Let us stoop as low, and be as diligent, to do them good. Are they loving to their party and contemners of the world? Let us be lovers of all, especially of all the saints. Let us "do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith." Let us love an enemy as well as they can do a friend. Let us be more just than they, more merciful than they, more humble, meek, and patient than they; "for this is the will of God, that by welldoing, we put to silence the ignorance of foolish men," 1 Pet. 2: 15. There is no virtue wherein your example will do more to abate men's prejudices, than humility, meekness and self-denial. Forgive injuries, and "be not overcome of evil,

but overcome evil with good." Imitate our blessed Lord, "who when he was reviled, reviled not again." Take not up carnal weapons against your enemies, (further than selfpreservation or the public good requireth it,) but overcome them with kindness, patience and gentleness. If you believe that Christ was more imitable than Caesar or Alexander, and that it is more glorious to be a Christian than a conqueror, or to be a man than a beast, contend with charity and not with violence. Do not set force against force; but meekness, love and patience. If we thus excel these men in a holy, harmless, righteous, merciful, fruitful and heavenly life, as well as in soundness of doctrine, by our fruits we shall be known;' and the weaker sort of people will see the truth, in this reflection of it, who cannot see it in itself. Then our 'light will so shine before men, that they may be led to glorify our father who is in heaven;' and even they that obey not the word, may, without the word, be won by the conversation,' 1 Pet. 3: 1, 2, of their teachers.

6

Oh how happy had England been; how happy had all the churches been, if the ministers of the gospel had taken these courses! This would have done more against error and schism, than all our exclaiming against them hath done, or than all the force of the magistrate can do.

CHAPTER IV.

OF CATECHISING:1 WITH PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS IN REFERENCE TO IT.

[HAVING treated of private and personal instruction, we proceed to recommend one very excellent and useful method of conducting it, viz. by Catechising.] For the better management of this work, the following directions may be of

1 By Catechising, the Author plainly meant, not only hearing persons repeat, and expounding to them, a form of words containing the grand and common principles of religion; but proposing to them familiar questions of our own, in order the better to judge of their knowledge and dispositions, and to be the more capable of suiting our instructions and admonitions to them. And this method he recommends to be used not only with respect to children, but those who are come to years of maturity.

service; they are of two kinds, viz. for bringing your people to comply with your design, and for executing it in the most acceptable and useful manner.

I. In order to bring those persons to comply with this method of instruction, [whom you think proper, thus to instruct.]

It will be a matter of vast importance to behave yourselves, through the main course of your ministry, in such a manner as may convince them of your ability, and your unfeigned love to them. When people are convinced that a minister is qualified for his work, and intends no private ends of his own but merely their good, they will more readily stoop to his advice, and be persuaded by him.

Supposing this general preparation, the next thing to be done is, to convince your people of the benefit and necessity of this method of instruction, for the good of their souls. In order to this, it will be proper to preach some plain and serious sermons to show the benefit and necessity of an acquaintance with divine truths in general, particularly the great principles of religion; and that persons advanced in life have equal need to be instructed in them with others, and in some respects greater. Make them understand that this is not an arbitrary business of your devising or imposing, but that "necessity is laid upon you" to look to every member of your flock, according to your ability, and that if you neglect to do it, they may "perish in their iniquities, and their blood be required at your hands." When this is done, furnish every family with a catechism [where you apprehend they need it] or see that they furnish themselves. Take a cata

logue of the names of all those whom you intend thus to instruct, that you may know whom to expect, and who fail to give their attendance. Deal very gently with them, and take off all discouragements as effectually as you can. Do not insist upon every person's committing the catechism to memory; but, where they labor under peculiar difficulties, only exhort them to read it often, and get the substance of it into their minds and hearts. If any persons will not submit to be thus instructed by you, go to them and expostulate the matter with them; know what their reasons are, and convince them of the sinfulness and danger of contemning the help that is offered them. Souls lare so precious, that we should not lose one for want of labor, but should follow them

while there is any hope, and not give them up as desperate, till there be no remedy.1

II. Having brought your people to comply with this kind. of instruction, the next thing to be considered is, how you should deal the most effectually with them in the work.

And I must say that I think it is a much easier matter to compose and preach a good sermon, than to deal rightly with an ignorant man for his instruction in the principles of religion. This work will try the abilities and tempers of ministers; it will show the difference between one man and another, more than pulpit-preaching can do. Good bishop Usher observes, "As the laying of the foundation skilfully, is a matter of the greatest importance in the whole building, so it is the very master-piece of the wisest builder. Thus the apostle Paul conceived of it when he said, 'According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder, I laid the foundation;' 1 Cor. 3: 10. The neglect of this, is the frustrating the whole work of the ministry." The directions which I think should be observed in managing this work, are the following.

1. When your people, one family or more, come to you, (which perhaps it will be the best for them to do,2) begin your work with a short preface to remove all discouragements, and to prepare them for your instructions; e. g. “It may perhaps appear to some of you, my friends, an uncom

"Ignorant souls (says Mr. Gurnal) feel no such smart as to put them upon inquiring for a physician. If the minister stay till they send for him to instruct them, he may sooner hear the bell go for them than any messenger come for him. You must seek them out, and not expect that they will come to you. These are a sort of people that are more afraid of their remedy than their disease, and study more to hide their ignorance than to have it cured; it should make us pity them the more because they can pity themselves so little. It is an unhappiness to some of us, who have to do with a multitude, that we cannot attend on them, as their needs require but let us look to it, that though we cannot do what we should, we be not wanting in what we may."-Gurnal's Christian Armor, p. 235, quoted by the author at the end of his preface. The whole passage is worth reading.

2 Mr. Baxter, in his preface, tells us what was his method: "At the delivery of the catechisms (says he) I take a catalogue of all the persons of understanding in the parish; the clerk goes a week before hand to every family to tell them when to come, and at what hour; e. g. one family at eight o'clock, the next at nine, the next at ten,

etc."