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his future caft of temper and behaviour. He will be imperceptibly corrupted, if his opening fenfes are not kept from infectious objects, his yet-fpotless mind from polluting images, and his lifping tongue from debafing language. It is hard to fay, how foon bad impreffions begin to fix their ftain. They flow in under the easy vehicle of fenfible images, which are ever crowding in upon the mind: whereas the ideas of virtue are of a more refined and abstracted nature; to be excited only, where there is fomething of reflexion, by careful instruction.

WHEN the mind has been thus guarded against bad impreffions, and begins to open, and obferve, good principles are then to be gradually inftilled. We are born without any actual knowledge: we are formed only, as the earth is with respect to useful feeds, with a capacity, fitness and difpofition to receive it; care and culture muft implant it, and raise it up to maturity. Vices indeed X

grow of

them

themselves in a fpontaneous manner: their feeds are scattered every where around us in the common objects and customs of a wicked world: we cannot converfe with the world, without taking them in, at fome bufy fenfe or other: the rank foil of human corruption favours their growth. It requires the affiduous hand of moral culture to weed them out, and raise up useful virtues to any perfection.

Ir might be expected indeed, that nature had done as much for man, as fhe has for the inferior creatures. Their inftincts, we fee, ever faithful and infallible guides, direct them to all the purposes of their being. But it is not fo with man. All his instincts require Benevolence, undirected, defeats its own purposes, mistakes its objects, hurts focial life as much as it benefits, and deftroys itself. Self-love draws every thing into its own narrow vortex, is at war with all around

direction and restraint.

it,

it, and arms the keeneft paffions against the peace of the world. The love of the fexes is a vagrant appetite; undirected, it knows no focial distinctions, and has no taftes or fentiments above the beafts of the field. The awe of a Supreme Being (which I take to be a natural impreffion) knows not, what he is, and where to direct its homage. The fense of moral decency and fhame are equally blind habit perverts them and fixes them upon improper objects. And reafon and religion, which are defigned to regulate and direct these blind principles, if not cultivated very foon, will lofe their ufe: bad habits will have formed themselves, and fuch instincts, as predominate in the constitution, will have taken a wrong direction, and acquired an afcendency, beyond the reach, perhaps, of future inftruction.

II. THE inftru&tion, therefore, of -children, (to apply these general obferX 2 vations)

vations) though a great object of parental care, yet is too important a concern to be left folely to fuch an inadequate provifion. Every wife state has confidered education, as a public concern. Some have even torn children from the too indulgent arms of parental fondnefs, and put them under public tuition.

A HAPPY medium is obferved in the christian inftitution of BAPTISM.* Parents have their private rights preferved to them;

*BAPTISM being intended for the fign and means of our purification from fin; water, the proper element for purifying and cleanfing, is appointed to be used in it. There is indeed a fect, fprung up amongst us within a little more than an hundred years, that deny this appointment: and make the christian baptifm fignify only the pouring out of the gift of the Holy Ghost upon a perfon. But our Saviour exprefsly requires that we be born of water, as well as of the Spirit, to enter into the kingdom of God. John iii. 5. And not only John, his Forerunner, baptized with water. Mat. iii. 11. but his difciples alfo, by his direction, baptized in the fame manner, even more than John. John iv. 1, 2. When there

fore

them; but are reminded at the fame time, in the most folemn manner, of their duty to the public and to God. This at once confults the tender feelings of

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fore he bad them afterwards teach all nations, baptizing them. Mat. xxviii. 19. what baptifm could they underftand, but that, in which he had employed them before? And accordingly we find, they did understand that. Philip, we read, baptized the Samaritans: Acts viii. 12. not with the Holy Ghoft, for the apostles went down some time after to do that themselves: Verfe 14, &c. but with water undoubtedly, as we find, in the fame chapter, he did the Eunuch: where the words are, Here is water: what doth hinder me to be baptized? And they went down to the water: and he baptized him. Verse 36, 38. Again, after Cornelius, and his friends, had received the Holy Ghoft, and fo were already baptized in that fenfe, Peter asks, can any man forbid water, that thefe fhould not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghoft, as well as we? A&s x. 47. When therefore John fays, that he baptized with water, but Chrift fhould bap

tize with the Holy Ghoft. Mat. iii. 11. he means, not that christians should not be baptized with water, but that they should have the Holy Ghoft poured out upon them alfo, in a degree that John's difciples had not. When St. Peter fays, the baptifm, which faveth us, is not the washing away the filth of the flesh. i. Pet. iii. 21. he

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