the air, and the lilies of the field, that were to inspire confidence in God; it was the well of Samaria, under a sultry sky, that suggested the Fountain of living waters, "of which whosoever drinketh shall never thirst;" it was the Isthmian games, that were to teach the Corinthians the value of persevering energy. Moral truth, that is thus associated with natural objects or with human actions of frequent recurrence, is rarely forgotten. It becomes a subject of daily thought, and is wrought into the very texture of the mind. It should therefore be our aim, in the instruction we give to children, to imitate our own great Instructer. We should teach them, as he has taught us. It is our object to lay the foundation of a religious character; and the great command of religion is to love God; and the grand motive for the performance of this duty is, that God hath loved us. We are rational beings, and cannot act without an adequate motive. We cannot love God, unless he is presented to our minds under a character deserving of love. Nay, more, we cannot love God with all our hearts, unless his image is presented to our minds in connexion with ourselves. We must feel that he is our God; that we have an interest in his favor; that he is good This principle should never be forgotten in our instructions. When we teach a child to repeat "Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart," can we give him no reason for this command? Will no argument be suggested by what meets our eye, or strikes our ear? Is there nothing in the soft and refreshing green spread over the earth, on which the eye reposes with so much delight; is there nothing in the clear blue sky, which almost bewilders the fancy, and leads us on through trackless space almost to the throne of God; is there nothing in the sounds which at this season are heard from every bush and tree, and which almost thrill the heart with vernal delight; is there nothing in the fragrance which is wafted to us in every breeze, and which brings with it life, and health, and joy ;—is there nothing in all this to prove that God is good? and cannot a child be made to apprehend, that it is God who is giving him these delights? When his cheek glows and his breast pants with healthful exertion, cannot he be taught that it is God, who is supporting his life; that it is God, who is giving his lungs their play, and directing his blood through his veins? When he takes an honest pleasure in the exertion of his faculties, and in exhibiting to you his intellectual improvement, is it not the time to show him that his memory, and judgment, and imagination are all the gifts of God?-that it is his "inspiration that giveth us understanding?" I would have it every hour-and every moment-brought to the mind of a child, that God is every where, and God is good. I am sensible, that in order to produce this effect, even in a small degree, the ordinary mode of instruction in schools must be departed from. It is of very little consequence to give lessons to children in religious books, if pains are not taken to impress those lessons on the heart. There is no magic in the words of the Bible. A man is not religious, merely because he reads the Bible, or is able to repeat any part of it. The whole of it may be commit ted to memory, from beginning to end, and yet not one evil propensity be checked, or one devotional feeling excited. And this for the plain reason, that it may be committed to memory without being understood. One simple truth strongly fixed in the mind, and dwelt upon, and returned to, and associated with external objects, is of more efficacy in religious education, than thousands of chapters, and hymns, and catechisms, and creeds, committed to memory and recited by rote. With us, therefore, familiar conversation must be the great means of religious instruction. And to give it its full efficacy, this conversation must not assume the form of catechism; it must not be a dry rehearsal of religious truths. It must spring naturally from your cir- . cumstances and pursuits. You must give it a wide range. No matter whether it commence with a religious topic or not. If you have fixed in your own minds the principle you wish to inculcate, you can gradually direct your pupil to that point, and when you have reached it, you will find his mind prepared for your instructions. A single instance of success, in this way, is worth a month of ordinary labor. You will not understand me, as intending to undervalue the ordinary employments of the school. Lessons are given, in order to ensure punctual attendance, and regular habits; and lessons are given in religious books, that topics may be suggested, and opportunities afforded, for that conversation which must be the principal means of direct religious in struction. The example I have given of the manner in which the love of God may be gradually excited and cherished in the - heart of a child, will sufficiently show the mode, in which the other grand duties of Christianity are to be inculcated. Next to the love of God, both reason and revelation require of us gratitude to the Saviour. It is a duty which we are all too apt to neglect. We do not think enough of Jesus Christ; or we think of him too generally, too distantly. We are apt to regard him, as a model of abstract perfection, exhibited in other times, to men of different manners, habits, and pursuits from ours. We forget, or at least we do not feel, that he should be our model, our pattern of imitation, that "he hath left us an example that we should follow his steps." And it is precisely for this reason, that Christianity has apparently so little effect upon the great mass of those who dwell in Christian countries, and are considered as professors of the Christian faith. But there is, in the history of Jesus Christ, something peculiarly captivating to the minds of children. He is presented to them in a form which they can apprehend. He is not, like the Supreme Being, something vast and incomprehensible, filling all space and supporting all existence without being seen, or heard, or understood. When they are instructed in the existence and attributes of God, they can bring to their imaginations no visible point, in which they can centre the rays of his glory. The mind is overwhelmed and lost, when it attempts to grasp what is infinite and eternal. But Jesus Christ appeared on earth as one of our own race. He partook of our nature, and when we think of him, we can bring to our minds his person, his deportment, his words, and all the circumstances of his life. This is peculiarly valuable in the instruction of children. Jesus Christ, while on earth, passed through all the stages of human existence from infancy to manhood. He can therefore command our sympathies in every period of our own lives. There is scarcely a social or relative duty-scarcely an act or a sufferingin the countless variety of human scenes, in which we cannot derive instruction and support from his example. The history of Jesus Christ should therefore be indelibly engraved upon the minds of children. They should be made acquainted with it in its minutest details. No opportunity should be lost of associating it with something that they already know or feel. The chords of religious emotion should be so multiplied, that strike where you will in after life, some string shall be touched that will vibrate to him. And here I would observe, that in the religious instruction of children, the perplexed and controverted question of the precise nature of the Saviour's person, should be most carefully avoided. None of our duties, at least none of the duties of children, depend upon our understanding it. The region of religious controversy is cold and barren; distracted by numerous paths; covered with perpetual clouds, and vexed with continual storms. It is our duty in the maturity of our age and reason, when our moral principles are established and our devotional habits confirmed, to explore our way through it. But children should be led only to the hill-side and the valley, where all is calm, and sheltered, and bright; where they may feel at once the warmth and the splendor of the "Sun of Righteousness." Whatever may be our opinions of the personal na |
