In the autumn of 1817, Mr. Gray became more deeply engaged in the service of his divine Master; and notwithstanding he had now a family, and but little property, he could not be dissuaded from the attempt to prepare himself for the gospel ministry. After his steadfast determination became fully known, some exertions were male to assist him. In the spring of 1819, he removed to a neighbouring town, where he was employed by a destitute congregation, as a lay reader. In this service he continued for more than two years, diligently engaged in improving his mind, and in doing good among the people. Towards the end of 1821, he presented himself for deacon's orders; and, though his literary acquirements were scanty, yet such were his endowments of nature and grace, that there was no hesitation in admitting him to the sacred office. Within a few months from the time of his ordination, he was settled in the parishes of Berkshire and Montgomery, in the north part of the state, and soon assisted in organizing another parish in the adjoining town of Enosburgh. In this situation he had laboured but little more than a year, when, in the height of his activity and usefulness, and while enjoying the full confidence and affection of the people under his care, he was suddenly removed from his earthly toils to his heaven. ly rest. On the 7th of April last, being called to attend the funeral of a child at some distance from home, he had occasion to pass a considerable river, which was much raised by a recent freshet, and the bridge carried away. With two other men, and a lad of about fourteen, he attempted the passage in a small canoe. As soon as they reached the main current of the stream, they were all thrown instantly into the river. The other two men, with some difficulty, reached the shore; and it appears probable that Mr. Gray, if he had been unencumbered, might have done the same. But, as he fell into the water, the boy clasped around him, and both soon disappeared. Nearly six weeks after the melancholy event, the body of Mr. Gray was taken up about two miles down the river; but the body of the lad had not then been found. Thus a faithful and promising young clergyman has been suddenly taken away; three parishes, that had anticipated much prosperity under his care, are left destitute; and, what is above all things affecting, a wife and two children, who had a fair prospect of a competent and respectable support, are thrown into complete indigence, and must depend on friends for subsistence. The time is short. Let ministers improve the moments as they pass; and let the people profit by the ministry of the word, and the means of grace; for soon all these privileges will be taken away, and every one's account will be sealed up for judgment. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Lines to the Evening, with to the Morning Star, and several other communica tions, are unavoidably deferred. THE GOSPEL ADVOCATE. No. 33.] SEPTEMBER, 1823. [No. 9. Vol. III. THEOLOGICAL. TO THE EDITOR OF THE GOSPEL ADVOCATE. I SEND YOU for insertion in your miscellany, if you shall approve of them, two addresses, delivered in St. Paul's church, Boston, on Monday, June 30, 1823; the first to the members of the congregation and the instructers; the second to the children of the parish who were members of the Sunday school. S. F. J. An Address, delivered in St. Paul's Church, Boston, Monday, June 30, 1823, P. M. at the Anniversary of the Sunday School; to which is added, an Address delivered from the Altar to the Children of the School. MY CHRISTIAN BRETHREN, On this day, three years ago, these walls, for the first time, re-echoed the prayers and praises of the assembled worshippers; and we are now met to offer to our divine Lord the first fruits of the Christian education of our children; an offering, most grateful, we humbly trust, to the divine Majesty; an offering, the fragrance of which, we have reason to hope, will ascend as the odour of sweet incense before the mercy seat of heaven. The design of thos conducting the religious education of your children has, from the first moment in which I became your pastor, been an object of attention and of deep solicitude. But it was my wish to proceed in this, as in every thing else, under the direction, and with the spiritual advice, of our bishop, to whom, as the apostolick centre of our common unity, it is right that every minister and every congregation should pay that respect and reverence, which is due to his high and holy office. The plan, to which I am happy to say he gave his sanction, had for its design, to divide all the children of the parish into classes, according to their ages and proficiency, from four or five, to fourteen or fifteen. This would make the course of religious instruction occupy a period of ten years in the life of every young person in this parish; and this, it is conceived, will be sufficient, under the Divine blessing, to train them up in the way in which they should go, that when they are old they will not depart from it. May that divine Spirit, without whose aid nothing is strong, nothing is boly, and without whose care, we plant and water in vain, direct and guide all our purposes for the good of souls, and the glory of his great name. The school commenced on the first Sunday in Advent, and has now been in operation thirty Sundays. During that period there has been 34 GOSPEL ADVOCATE, VOL. III. a gradual increase of the number of pupils. The present number is twenty-seven males, and forty females. These have been instructed by ten ladies and five gentlemen of this congregation, whose zeal and fidelity in this arduous, but best of Christian labours, demands our warmest thanks, and exceeds our highest praise. It is one of the characteristicks of the Christian life, that no one should live for himself. Our religion is a system of mutual charities, intended to cultivate in our hearts that benevolent spirit, by which we become assimilated to the almighty Benefactor of the universe-that God, whose essence, and whose substance is "love." Go on, then, benevolent Christians, and show that you resemble your Father in heaven, by the solicitude which you feel, that not one of these little ones should perish. In the very nature of things, it could not be expected that a design of such recent institution, could at once be brought into regular form, or to the highest degree of improvement. And when it is considered, that our parish itself is but of three years duration; that most of its members were previously unacquainted with the institutions and ordinances of the Church, and consequently that the children had not received that early instruction at home, in the catechism and use of the liturgy, which is common where the Church is more known and longer established; when all these circumstances are considered, it will be seen at once, that a perfect arrangement was impossible, because the oldest as well as the youngest of the pupils had to pass through the same elementary studies. Another difficulty which has impeded our course, has been the want of a proper series of elementary books. These, we have reason to hope, will be supplied, before the time shall come for re-assembling our pupils. It has been the care of the bishop and the convention of the Eastern Diocese, to provide such a series, for the use of all our churches. Measures of the same kind have been taken in other dioceses; and there is some ground for the expectation, that at no very distant day, the subject will come under the grave deliberation of all the fathers of the American Church, and be brought to maturity by the energy of their united wisdom. Under such favourable auspices, and with such cheering anticipations, we may confidently hope that the institution which we have commenced will be productive of constantly increasing good. As it is now only begun, and the classes are not yet arranged, any examination of the pupils, any designation of peculiar excellence, or any rewards for learning, industry, and good behaviour, would be premature. I shall merely observe, therefore, that the pupils, in general, have distinguished themselves by their good conduct, and that they have greatly endeared themselves to me by their docility. But, my brethren, while I look forward to the permanent operation of this Sunday school, as a most powerful instrument for the promotion of sound religion, you will permit me to observe, that its success will depend, almost entirely, upon the promptness, the zeal, and the stability, with which you may second my endeavours. If the parents will not encourage their children to learn their lessons, or if there shall be any reluctance to undertake the labour of instructing, you will at once perceive that my exertions will have a very limited influence. Allow me, then, to ask your attention to some few remarks on the importance of catechetical instruction to your children. "That habits," says a sensible writer,*" are most easily and strongly contracted in infancy, appears plain from the universal sense and practice of mankind; who in all things initiate their children, in their tender years, where they intend they should arrive at any tolerable proficiency. Experience demonstrates the propriety of this conduct. In learning of languages. in reading, in writing, in bodily exercises, or manual arts, how ready, how graceful, and complete are they, who have been bred to them from the first stages of life? How imperfect and uncouth are those, who have not begun their progress till arrived at the maturity of age? The same distinction holds in morals. Our habits of thought and action, of love or hatred, forgiveness or revenge, gentleness or impetuosity, sincerity or dissimulation, when once established by early and long continued custom, do so take possession of the soul, and so strongly run on in their confirmed course, that we shall in vain endeavour to divert them from it; after all our labour, they will overwhelm our endeavours, they will bear down every mound which fruitless art can erect; and, in spite of us, return to the channel which they at first possessed. "This farther consideration must be added, with regard to vicious or virtuous babits; that we cannot live in a state of indifference between these ; as we often may and do, with respect to habits of other kinds. "Thus, though you have not learned the arts of reading, writing, walking, riding, yet it is posssible, nay probable, that no contrary habit may have taken place, so as to be inconsistent with, or destructive of these: you still have it in your power to acquire them, though in a more imperfect degree. But it is far otherwise with regard to the mind of man, and the operations of his heart. These will inevitably catch immediate impressions from every surrounding object and thus inclinations and opinions, of one kind or other, will certainly be implanted and take root, in spite of all possible care taken to prevent them. If a child is not taught to love truth, and to speak it, he will inevitably learn to tell a lie, whenever his passions or bis interests shall prompt him if he gains not a habit of being benevolent in his infancy, he must gain a habit of being selfish: if he be not habitually taught humility and obedience, he will probably grow obstinate and proud. In a word, his passions and desires cannot long remain in a torpid state of indifference and inactivity: if he acquire not virtue in his infancy, the condition of human nature inevitably leads him to acquire that which is destructive of it." My brethren, is not this equally true with regard to religion? If your children do not obtain religious habits, they will obtain habits which are destructive of all religion. There can be on this subject no neutrality. In this respect, he that gathereth not with Christ, scattereth. ❤ Sermons on various subjects, by John Brown, D. D. vicar of Newcastle. pp. 8-12. He that is not for his Saviour, is against him. How immensely important is it, then, that you begin early to form the religious habits of your children! Habits of some kind they will have will you hazard the salvation of their immortal souls, by leaving them to form such as may be the result of accidental circumstances, and from the acknowledged propensities of the human heart, such as are most likely to make them "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." If the dangerous experiment of leaving children to form their own religion in after years, could be in any case harmless, it would be in that of your daughters. There is a tenderness in the character of woman, a quickness of feeling, a moral sense, if we may be allowed the expression, which often supplies the place of reason, and leads, with much greater rapidity than is usual in the other sex, to a proper course of action. Her habits are those which tend to nourish reflection. The peculiar dangers to which she is exposed lead her to realize more fully the uncertainty of human life, while the retirement of her domestick employments is peculiarly well fitted to nourish a spirit of fervent piety. But all these excellent qualities have their attendant dangers. Woman is more susceptible to impressions made upon her feelings, and those impressions may be either right or wrong. The apostle has therefore cautioned females, with peculiar emphasis, to guard against the seductive influence of those false teachers who creep into houses and lead them captive. To guard her against these wiles, woman must be informed; and if, to all her tender sensibilities, she adds an accurate knowledge of Christianity, she will be secured against all the insidious arts of errour, and her influence will irradiate and fertilize that whole creation of which she is the luminous centre. Ye parents, will ye not provide for her this knowledge in her earliest years! Will ye not begin, at the first dawn of reason, to imbue her soul with that sovereign antidote which will guard it against even the most subtle poison of impurity or errour! 66 Trace the footsteps of your daughter, till she herself becomes a mother, and you will perceive, still more clearly, the importance of your present care. "As we call our first language," observes the eloquent bishop Horne, our mother tongue, so we may as justly call our first tempers our mother tempers. As the health and strength, or sickness and weakness of our bodies, are very much owing to their methods of treating us when we were young; so the soundness or folly of our minds are not less owing to those first tempers and ways of thinking, which we eagerly received from the love, tenderness, authority, and constant conversation of our mothers."* Behold, then, the immense importance of your present influence over the minds of your daughters! You are sowing seed which will produce a harvest of spiritual benefit to mankind, when the hand which scattered it is You are mouldering in the dust. planting the acorn which is haply to thrive and expand in another generation, and to scatter from its prolifick branches a new succession of germs, till the individual becomes a forest."t 66 * Bishop Horne's Sermon on the Female Character. |