rather in the Head or Memory as a Set of Phrafes.

How many Perfons are there who have been trained up from their Infancy by religious Parents in the Knowledge of that accurate. Compofition the Affembly's Catechifm, and could repeat it from End to End when they were very young; but they pronounc'd it for the most part like fo much Greek or Hebrew? Perhaps if they had been bred up to read and fpeak Latin from their early Years, they might have fome confufed Notion or Idea of the Meaning of feveral of the Terms deriv'd from the Latin fooner than fome of their Schoolfellows; but there are but few Sentences or whole Answers that they could pronounce with Understanding, or knew what they meant; their Tongues have repeated them every Lord's-Day in a mechanical manner, without a Meaning; nor had they ever acquired any Acquaintance with Religion by all this Labour of the Memory in those earlier Years, had it not been for the Care which their Parents have taken to instruct them by various Methods of Converfation, and by talking with them in plainer Terms and easier Forms of Words than the Questions and Anfwers of that Catechifm, tho' it be fo comprehenfive a Body of Divinity; and the reason is, because it is fitter for Youths, or for Men, than for young Children.

Perhaps it will be urged then, "Why may "not the Affembly's Catechifm be still taught "Children

Sect. VII. to say Prayers in the fame Manner, and do not want to know what the Words mean.

And when Proteftant Children have learnt certain hard Words and Phrases, which were taught them as their Religion, very early, it has been found too often by fad Experience, that instead of learning the true Meaning of thefe Words and Sentences at mature Years, they content themselves with having once learnt the Words by heart, and perhaps entirely forgot them again, for want of knowing what they mean. "Tis five to one if ever they give them felves the Trouble of reading and confidering the Senfe of them, when once all their Leffons are learnt, and they have finished thefe painful Tasks of Childhood. Whereas if they understood the Anfwers of a Catechifm when they had first learnt them by heart, they would certainly have acquired fome real and useful Knowledge of God and Chrift, and Things of Religion, and would much more effectually retain them in Memory all their Lives.

Or if by vertue of a faithful Memory Perfons fhould retain the Words which they have learnt in Childhood, they will vainly imagine themselves furnish'd with a Set of Principles of Religion, tho' they feel no Power of them upon Confcience in the Conduct of Life; and all this because these Articles do not lie in the Heart, or even in the Understanding, as a Set of Principles for Practice, but

rather

rather in the Head or Memory as a Set of Phrafes.

How many Perfons are there who have been trained up from their Infancy by religious Parents in the Knowledge of that accurate Compofition the Affembly's Catechism, and could repeat it from End to End when they were very young; but they pronounc'd it for the most part like fo much Greek or Hebrew? Perhaps if they had been bred up to read and fpeak Latin from their early Years, they might have fome confused Notion or Idea of the Meaning of feveral of the Terms deriv'd from the Latin fooner than fome of their Schoolfellows; but there are but few Sentences or whole Answers that they could pronounce with Understanding, or knew what they meant; their Tongues have repeated them every Lord's-Day in a mechanical manner, without a Meaning; nor had they ever acquired any Acquaintance with Religion by all this Labour of the Memory in those earlier Years, had it not been for the Care which their Parents have taken to instruct them by various Methods of Converfation, and by talking with them in plainer Terms and easier Forms of Words than the Questions and Anfwers of that Catechifm, tho' it be so comprehenfive a Body of Divinity; and the reason is, because it is fitter for Youths, or for Men, than for young Children.

Perhaps it will be urged then, "Why may "not the Affembly's Catechifm be ftill taught "Children

"Children in their younger Years, and let "their Parents expound it to them?”

But I defire it may be confider'd, (1.) That few Parents or Mafters of Families have fuch a happy Skill in Definitions of Words, as readily to explain the Senfe of all the harder Words and Phrafes in that Catechism in very eafy Terms, and to bring them down to the Understanding of Children; they that try will find it no eafy Matter; for if it were so easy for every Parent to do it, why have so many Divines labour'd in expounding it, and publifh'd their Expofitions? (2.) In this Method the young Child will not learn any whole Scheme or Syftem of his Religion in several Years, if he must not arrive at it till he has got by heart all the Answers in the Affembly's Catechifm, together with the Explication and Meaning of all the Terms and Phrases in it; for the explaining of the Answers, to make young Children understand them, will fometimes be much larger than the Answers themfelves. And, (3.) It is furely much better to teach the Child a Catechifm which is fhorter in itself, that he may learn the whole early, and which is composed of fuch easy and familiar Ideas and Terms, as he can understand without so much need of explaining.

But I proceed to the next Inconvenience of teaching Children Sentences so far above their Understanding.

V. Inconvenience. May we not have just reason to fear that the holy Things of our Re

ligion,

ligion, have not only been made the early Averfion of Children, but have been expofed to Difreputation and Contempt, by teaching them fuch a Number of ftrange Phrases which they could not understand? How often have I heard Children at four or five Years old gabble over long Sentences of Divinity in fuch imperfect Words and broken Sounds, that it hath been fufficiently evident it was like a mere Gibberish to them? They were told indeed that this was their Religion; but they muft needs acquire a ftrange Notion of Religion by this Means; they must think Religion a very troublesome thing, which coft them fo much Pains without any Pleafure; and they might early begin to judge that Religion was a very obfcure and myfterious Matter, fince they could understand so little of it; and perhaps under this Prejudice they never took Pains to understand it, becaufe from their In-. fancy they were made to learn fomething as their Religion which they could not underftand.

Now tho' I am firmly perfuaded there are great and glorious Myfteries in our Religion, which could never have been known till they were revealed, and fone of them do now far furpafs our full Comprehenfion; fuch as the Doctrine of the bleffed Trinity, the Incarnation of the Son of God, his Satisfaction for our Sins, and the Operations of the holy Spirit on the Minds of Men, &c. yet in the main I am affured that Religion is a very intelligible