be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." This is as much as to say to parents," Only give your children this religious instruction from supreme love to me, and I will show them mercy and grant them every temporal and spiritual good, which infinite wisdom and goodness shall see fit to bestow. And can you desire that I should treat them in a better manner? I lodge the holiness and happiness of your children in your own hands and hearts. It depends upon your fidelity, whether you shall see your children holy and happy, in this world and the next." Can parents reasonably desire any greater encouragement to give up their children to God, to give them a religious education, to set before them an amiable example of piety, and to carry them to, God, and pray, "O that our children may live before thee?" On the other hand, what could God say more directly suited to prevent parents from being unfaithful to their children, than to tell them that, if they are unfaithful, he will visit their iniquity of unfaithfulness upon their children and children's children, unto the third and fourth generation? How can they bear to see the fatal consequences of their unfaithfulness in the sin and misery of their children? If any motives can deter parents from neglecting their duty towards their children, it would seem that the motive which God sets before them in the second commandment, must have this happy effect. In a word, we cannot conceive that God could have established a wiser or better mode of conduct, than his blessing and punishing children for their father's sake. It is suited to promote virtue and restrain vice in both parents and children, from generation to generation, to the end of time.

5. It appears from what has been said, that children have great reason to be thankful for pious and faithful parents. All children have derived, or might have derived great spiritual and temporal benefit from the faithfulness of their parents; and all pious children are thankful to God for parental faithfulness. They are thankful that they were given up to God in sincerity, that they were instructed, advised, admonished and restrained by their pious parents. They are thankful for their example and prayers, and for all that they have done to draw down divine blessings upon them in time and eternity. Moses was thankful that God was not only his God, but his father's God. "The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation; he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him." But whether children are gracious or graceless, obedient or disobedient, they ought

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to be thankful for the fidelity of their pious parents. Their ingratitude and disobedience, under faithful parental instruction, are extremely sinful and displeasing to God. They abuse one of the most rare and distinguishing privileges. But few children enjoy such precious privileges, because there are but few faithful parents. It is one of the most ominous marks of deep depravity in children and youth, to despise and abuse pious parental instruction; and it is generally followed by a very vicious and abandoned life. Those who break over a pious and religious education, generally break over all other restraints and become prodigies in wickedness. But were children and youth ever more disposed to despise and abuse pious parental instruction, than at this day? Where is pious parental instruction and faithfulness more despised and abused, than in this place? Is there scarcely a pious child or youth to be found, even in religious families; or any in irreligious families? What is to be expected, if God does not visit the iniquity of fathers upon themselves? Will he not visit their iniquities upon their children, unto the third and fourth generation?

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6. From this subject, we learn the solemn importance of parents being religious. They are expressly required to bring their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They are bound by the supreme authority of their Creator and Lawgiver, to give their children a pious and religious education. But are graceless parents prepared to give their children such an education? While they neglect to give up themselves to God, will they not neglect to give up their children to God? While they neglect to give their supreme affection to God, will they not neglect to teach their children to remember and love. their Creator supremely? While they neglect to obey God's commands, will they not neglect to command their children and households to keep the way of the Lord and obey his commands? While they neglect to pray for themselves, will they not neglect to pray for their children? Just so long as parents remain destitute of grace, they will remain morally incapable of giving their children a pious and religious education; and suffer them to walk in the way of their hearts, and in the sight of their eyes, in the broad path to endless ruin. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. The indulgence of unholy parents to their children is extremely cruel; for it exposes them to sin and misery in this world, and in the world to come. And can it afford them consolation to expect that God will spare them, and visit their iniquities upon their children, whom they love as their own souls? Can they bear to see their children sinking in sin and wretchedness? But how can they prevent these dire evils? God tells them how. He requires them to

love him with all their heart, and with all their mind, and with all their strength, and to teach their children to keep his commands; and he will show mercy to thousands of such dutiful and obedient children. To how many parents does this subject apply! How many are there that have not given their hearts, their names, their children, and their lives to God! How ungratefully are they treating God! How unkindly are they treating their children! And how unwisely are they treating themselves! Will not God visit them for their negligence? Or, if he does not visit them, will he not visit their children, and their children's children?

Finally, uninstructed, unadvised, undedicated and unrestrained children and youth are to be pitied. They know not what they do, while they pursue vanity, and indulge the corruptions of their hearts. They are ringleaders in every sinful and soul destroying practice. If they are condemned and reproved, they have able defenders-their unfaithful parents. They are out of the reach of all who wish and endeavor to instruct and reform them. But while they are to be pitied, how justly are those children and youth to be condemned, who follow their example, instead of following the instructions and admonitions and examples of their own pious parents!

SERMON XVI.

HERESIES.

FOR there must be also heresies among you, that they who are approved may be made manifest among you. -1 CORINTHIANS, Xi. 19.

THOUGH the church of Corinth came behind no other church in respect to the variety and richness of spiritual gifts, yet they were unhappily divided in their religious sentiments, which produced unchristian animosities and contentions which the apostle entreats them to lay aside. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment." Among other erroneous opinions and practices, he mentions in the chapter that contains the text, their unworthy views and unchristian conduct respecting the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. He says, "Now in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." Here the apostle first mentions divisions, and then also heresies; which plainly implies that heresies are distinct and different from divisions. Though divisions in a church may flow from heresies, yet they may flow from other causes. Both divisions and heresies have been in the Christian church from the beginning, and the text intimates that they must still be in the church. This, then, is the truth which now lies before us :

That it is necessary that there should be heresies in the church of Christ. I shall,

I. Explain heresies;

II. Show that they have been hitherto in the church of Christ;

III. Show in what sense it is necessary that they should be in the church of Christ; and,

IV. Show why they are necessary in the Christian church. I. Let us consider what heresy is. There are but two dif ferent opinions upon this subject. One is, that it means a schism in a church, or a bitter contention, which brings about an unhappy and unchristian separation. But the apostle in the text and in the verse before it, makes a distinction between divisions or separations, and heresies. After mentioning divisions, he adds, "There must be also heresies." By heresies, all denominations of christians mean such great errors and false doctrines, as they consider contrary to, and subversive of what they call the essential or fundamental doctrines of the gospel. The apostle, in his epistle to Titus, represents a heretic as a man who maintains and propagates corrupt and dangerous doctrines; and not as one who is only contentious, and causes animosities and disputes in a church. "A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." A heretic avows his false and corrupt sentiments, so that the church have no occasion to prove that he is a heretic, but only to censure him for his heresy; he having condemned himself by openly acknowledging and propagating his errors. The apostle gives the same description of heretics in his epistle to the church of Galatia. "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel; which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." That is, let him be anathematized, or excommunicated for his heresy. As there are various essential and fundamental errors which would pervert the gospel of Christ, so all these errors are so many heresies in a scripture sense. Though every error is not a heresy, yet every error which subverts the gospel is a heresy. Heresy essentially consists in any religious errors which are inconsistent with, and subversive of any of the first principles of the oracles of God; and heretics are those who openly avow and propagate such false and dangerous doctrines. I proceed to show,

II. That heresies have been in the christian church from the