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neighbourhood, or in the nation; and by this means, often drew together large congregations; and he never failed to offer them, and press upon their attention, the great blessings of religion with considerable

success.

"His love to his brethren in the ministry, and especially to his colleagues, was sincere and ardent. In publishing for preaching, which he usually did after the sermon, he generally seized upon some particular feature in their ministry which was excellent, to recommend them to the attention of the people; and if ever he showed anything like severity, it was when he thought he saw anything in them like want of zeal in the work of God."

The following testimony is borne to the varied excellencies of the character of Mr. Pinder by Mr. Taylor, the last colleague with whom he laboured in the ministerial work ::

"He was truly humble: pride seemed to be abolished, self to be annihilated. The improvement, usefulness, and happiness of others were sources of great joy to him. Envy had no place in his breast. He seldom spoke of himself, but he delighted to dwell on the excellencies of others. He loved to preach; for he deemed it his highest honour to proclaim Christ to perishing sinners: but when thus engaged, only Christ was held forth; the servant retired behind his Master. His piety was uniform and ardent. There was a delightful oneness about it: he lived in a state of habitual and joyful communion with God. He possessed a peculiar talent for drawing instruction from passing events, and this was sanctified to the best purposes. Having his own thoughts constantly engaged on heavenly subjects, he delighted to direct our minds heavenward. He was a man of strict integrity; in all his transactions there was a delightful simplicity and sincerity; he was without guile.

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"In prayer he was remarkable. It was evidently a talent which had been much cultivated; it was the element in which he lived. was often closeted with his God; and seldom left his family till he had commended them unto the Lord; so that it was no unusual thing for us to have family prayer three times a day. On these occasions the kindness of his tender and sympathizing spirit was eminently manifest. Possessed of a peculiar talent for introducing the states of others, he habitually remembered any whom he knew to be passing through the furnace of affliction.

"His zeal was ardent. In attending to his regular work, he was punctual and diligent; but he often went beyond himself. He felt for souls; and being warmly attached to that work to which he was called, all his energies were devoted to it. He knew not how to spare himself. Often did he preach four times on the Sabbath,-twice in the chapel, and twice out of doors. I remember him with admiration; for his increasing years served to call forth increasing zeal in his Master's service. "His love was pre-eminent; it was the ruling principle in his character

Under the most painful provocations, he knew not how to show resentment. As a Pastor, he was most tender and sympathizing; but in his own family he shone with peculiar lustre."

DIVINITY.

THE DUTY OF PARENTS IN TRAINING UP THEIR

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CHILDREN:

SERMON:

BY THE REV. JOHN BROWN, SEN.

"Train up a child in the way he should go." Prov. xxii. 6.

Ir will not be doubted, that parents are especially addressed in this text, as the persons who are responsible for the training up of their own offspring. "Ye fathers," saith the Apostle, speaking to fathers as the heads and governors of their families, "provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Eph. vi. 4.) Thus also saith Moses, "These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children." (Deut. vi. 6, 7.) To which we may add the words of the Psalmist, "He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known unto their children." (Psalm lxxviii. 5.) David furnishes an instance of parental care; and by his example we learn also, that our attention to the public services of the sanctuary furnishes no excuse for the neglect of domestic duties; for after he had spent the day in bringing up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom, offering burnt-offerings, peace-offerings, and blessing "the people in the name of the Lord of hosts," the sacred penman remarks, "Then David returned to bless his household;" that is, to perform the part of a parent in his own family. (2 Sam. vi. 20.) Almighty God thus commended Abraham: "For I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him:" and the fulfilment of the covenant which God made with his servant depended on his children's obedience; for it is added, " And they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." (Gen. xviii. 19.) From hence we may conclude, that it is under the domestic roof, by the parents themselves, that children must be trained up to secure his blessing, who has promised to show mercy unto thousands of them that love him, and keep his commandments."

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An inquiry may naturally arise: "In what light then is Sundayschool tuition to be viewed?" I answer: As a merciful provision made by the zeal and benevolence of pious persons, not to supersede parental training, but to supply, as far as possible, the want of it,

arising from the negligence of undutiful parents; for did all parents, as they are bound, fulfil, to the letter of the law, their duty to God and their own offspring, there would remain no destitute and uninstructed children in our land. When parents who have both the ability and opportunity of training up their own children, with a view to ease themselves, send them to a Sunday-school, they take an undue advantage of a public charity, which is not intended for their use; and throw on the laborious and benevolent Teacher an unnecessary burden and responsibility: but even those parents whose children are the proper and legitimate objects of Sunday-school instruction should never lose sight of their personal obligations, nor imagine that by placing their young charge in a Sunday-school they can transfer their duty to another, or render themselves less responsible to their Creator and Judge for the training up of their own offspring.

To parents, then, I would address myself; and I urge this duty on your consideration, because the moral and religious character of our country depends, in a great measure, on the training up of children. Parents are called to be the great national reformers. They have the opportunity of poisoning or healing society at its source. On them it depends to prepare, for the succeeding age, godly Ministers, pious Legislators, and men of integrity and probity to fill the various offices of state; to raise up good masters, dutiful servants, affectionate husbands, faithful wives, wise parents, and obedient children; to model the face of civil and religious society, and cover our land with a Christian population: or, on the other hand, by the neglect of parental duty, to "let loose" (using the words of Saurin) "madmen against the state;" to send forth a generation of transgressors, who, in defiance of all laws, human and divine, shall spread the bane of iniquity through the various gradations of society, overturn moral, social, and religious order, and convey their vices to their posterity. In some ancient nations, children were considered state-property, and taken from their parents to be educated at the public expense. This was a very striking acknowledgment of their persuasion of the fact, that the welfare of the state is deeply affected by the way in which its youthful members are trained up; and though it did not furnish a sufficient reason for unloosing the natural tie between parents and their children, yet it may serve to show to parents their responsibility; and the general conviction, that the welfare of the government under which they live, and of the country where they dwell, must be affected by the way in which they perform their duty to their offspring.

Your happiness, and that of your children, depend very materially on your performance of this duty. It may be possible for one who has received every attention in early life to go astray: this, however, we believe, is the exception, not the rule; yet "a foolish son is a grief to his father, and a bitterness to her that bare him." But should you neglect your duty, and your offspring fall into sin and misery, the

recollection that you have not done what you might to prevent this, but have left them open to temptation, and indirectly contributed to their ruin, must plant a thorn in your conscience, and embitter your life, whilst the sad fruit of your negligence is before you, or presses on your remembrance. How many delicate Rachels, smitten with inward anguish for their own neglect, weep for their children because they are not;" not in the house of God, nor among his people; but abiding in the tents of wickedness! And how many Davids mourn over the untimely fall of their untutored and neglected offspring : "O Absalom, my son, my son! would to God that I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" Can that tender mother, who nourishes at her bosom her lovely infant, and tends his cradle with so much anxious solicitude, carry her thoughts forward, and contemplate, without apprehension and dread, her darling entering on the busy scenes of life, a stranger to God, and unacquainted with the duties of religion? Or can she think of the anguish of a fond parent, who witnesses the disgrace or ruin of her own child, without feeling her zeal quickened, her heart drawn out in prayer, and renewing her resolutions to train up her offspring in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Or how shall the fond father meet, in another world, the child whom he has suffered to perish by his neglect; or, what is still more, whom he has helped to ruin, by his own example and influence? And how shall he bear to hear such cutting reproaches as these?" Unhappy parent! was it not enough for thee to have communicated to me thy own original depravity; but must thou also, by thy neglect, leave all its motions unchecked; nay, by thy influence and example, encourage me to sin, and hasten my destruction? Hadst thou but performed the part of a Christian parent towards me, how different might my situation have been! Instead of suffering the torments of hell, I might have been reaping the joys of heaven. But woe is me! My day of trial is past, and my damnation irrevocably sealed. See here these chains that bind me! the fire that consumes me! the worm that gnaws me! the devils that torment me! the indescribable horrors that still urge on my hopeless spirit! and learn, from the sufferings that overwhelm thy child, the dire consequences of parental negligence."

If it be the duty of parents to train up their children, we may also remark, that both parents are equally responsible for the fulfilment of their proper share of the required labour. As it devolves on the father, generally, to carry on the business of life, and provide for his family, so is he necessarily more from home than the mother. And as children, during the years of infancy, are, generally, the almost constant companions of their mother, and require from her those tender offices of love which she only can render, so a much greater share of attention and care, during this period, falls upon her. Still the father is not at liberty to withdraw his shoulder from the burden, or to refuse to take his proper part in the work of training up his

offspring, but is bound, according to his ability and opportunity, to aid his partner, and to lighten her toils. There should be a full understanding, and an entire agreement, between father and mother, on the methods to be pursued in training up their children; and, as far as possible, a perfect harmony in their views and feelings on all points relating thereto. Never should the one contradict what the other commands, command what the other forbids, approve of what the other condemns, or condemn what the other approves. Should any difference happen to arise between parents on any point relating to domestic discipline or training, this should be carefully concealed from their children, and adjusted in private. The want of harmony will totally defeat their great object; and if children are allowed to witness the disputes and disagreements of their parents, they will learn to despise the authority of both father and mother, and grow up headstrong, self-willed, and disobedient.

Let both parties cheerfully set about the discharge of their respective duties, and unite to strengthen each other's hands. Let not the mother allow her children, of whatever age, or however stubborn, to break from under her control; nor let her, through unwomanly weakness, refuse to administer, with her own hand, the necessary discipline. To refer the infliction of punishment entirely to the father, and to pass over offences by the threat, "I will tell your father," is the way to lose her authority, and to bring it into contempt; and when a child has been allowed to proceed so far as to despise his mother's authority, it is to be feared that but little will be effected by the interference of the father. Let then the father employ his influence, and authority too, to establish and uphold his wife's authority. He should make it appear, that her views are his views; her will his will; and all that she does, in the great duty of domestic discipline and training, is sanctioned by his full and hearty concurrenee. Never should a child be allowed to appeal from the authority of one parent to that of the other; nor to make common cause with one parent against the other: this would amount to domestic rebellion, and exhibit the spectacle of a house divided against itself, that cannot stand. The family is but one, and the authority that rules it should be one, without discord, division, or difference of opinion. The mutual wishes of parents for their offspring's welfare, the difficulties that attend the work in which they are engaged, and the evil consequences likely to result from disagreements between themselves, should lead them carefully to avoid whatever might interrupt the harmony of their views and feelings, or destroy their union in prosecuting their great object.

I wish briefly to point out an evil which I think I have seen prevailing, to a certain extent, even amongst zealous professors of religion. The husband spends his Sabbath from home, engaged, as he may sincerely believe, in doing his duty, by attending prayer-meetings, VOL. XVII. Third Series. JANUARY, 1838.

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