The sea, the blue lone sea, hath one- One sleeps where southern vines are drest, Above the noble slain; He wrapt his colours round his breast, And one-o'er her the myrtle showers She faded 'midst Italian flowers, The last of that bright band. And parted thus they rest, who play'd They that with smiles lit up the hall Miscellaneous. FOR THE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. THE CHRISTIAN EDUCATION OF CHIL DREN. Essay I. In offering to the publick, through the pages of the Christian Advocate, some remarks on the trite, but important topick, announced at the head of this paper, the writer wishes to be guided entirely by the oracles of sacred truth. He proposes therefore to attempt little more than to explain, illustrate and enforce, what he takes to be the true meaning of the apostle Paul, in the injunction which he delivers, EPHES. vi. 4. "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture And admonition of the Lord." If it were necessary to assign a reason why this precept is directed to fathers, rather than to parents of both sexes, it might be remarked that fathers are, perhaps, more likely than mothers, to violate the first part of the precept; and that being invested with the chief authority in a family, they are chiefly responsible for the observance of the whole injunction. But the truth is, that the original word rendered fathers in the text, is sometimes used to denote both parents. It is so translated in one instance in our Bibles; and as both fathers and mothers are distinctly mentioned in the precept of the decalogue to which the apos tle had just before referred, perhaps the word would better have been rendered parents, in the text-That it enjoins duties indispensably binding on all Christian parents, there can be no doubt. It is most admirably conceived and expressed, guarding those to whom it is addressed, both against severity on the one hand, and indulgence on the other; and while it equally prohibits each of these extremes, it points out the middle path of duty and propriety-The great object of the whole plainly is, to inculcate the importance and the obligation of giving to children a truly Christian education; such as will be most likely, under the divine blessing, to make them practical Christians. This object, therefore, will be kept steadily in view, in the discussion before us, which, although the subject be copious, must be short, and of consequence general in its nature. It is proposed to attempt to show, very briefly, how Christian parents may guard against each of the extremes that have been mentioned, and then to point out more directly wherein the true Christian education of children consists. I. Parents, in the education of their children, should carefully avoid undue severity-"Provoke not your children to wrath." The distinct meaning of this part of the precept seems to be, that parents are vigi lantly to guard against that system of treatment toward their children, the natural tendency of which is to excite in their minds such anger, indignation and bitterness, as are not only sinful, but very apt to break out at last, into acts of resentment and rebellion against the parents themselves. It should be carefully observed, that our statement is, that we should avoid a system of treatment naturally tending to this effect: For with refractory and disobedient children there ought to be some acts of discipline, which, it may be, will greatly anger them at the time. And yet, if the system of treatment be right, the children themselves may, in their cooler moments, not only acquit the parent of all injustice, but love him the more for what, for a short season, was very offensive. Beside, if the system of treatment be not excessively severe, parents may hope that the imperfection of their administration of discipline in any single acts, in which they may, unhappily, have been incautious, will not leave any permanent effects of an injurious kind on the minds of their offspring. As, however, it is of high importance that parents should avoid all errors on the side of severity, a serious attention is requested to the following directions. 1. Never correct a child in anger. There are some parents who say that they cannot correct, unless they do it in anger. If this were true, it might be very questionable whether they ought ever to correct at all: For there is always danger of excess, and of a thousand errors, when any thing is done through passion. An error in correction is often as clearly discerned by children, as by those of riper years; and it sometimes becomes the means of giving them,ultimately, an ascendency over the erring parent; and in the mean time, they impute their correction, not to their own fault, but to their parent's ill temper. To avoid this, it should be an invariable rule not to chastise in passion, but with such coolness, deliberation and tenderness, as shall leave a child fully impressed with the belief, that his own guilt is the sole cause of his suffering; and that the parent would not have inflicted it, if he had not been compelled to it by a sense of duty. As to the objection that parents cannot correct, unless they are angry, it is, probably, in almost every instance, a mistake, or a mere pretence. That it is highly disagreeable and painful, and that it requires much self-denial to do it properly, is certainly true. But still it may be done, and the very circumstance that it is painful, by being observed by the child, will be likely to give the correction more effect. I add, as a matter of great impor tance, that it gives unspeakable impression to correction, if it be accompanied with prayer. Yes, let Christians, as a general rule, pray with their children, immediately before they correct them.-Pray earnestly, and with tears, that God may give them repentance and pardon for their sin, and may sanctify to them, for this end, the correction about to be inflicted. And hard, indeed, must be that heart, which is not moved at the sight of a pray ing and weeping parent. A small measure of correction, inflicted in this form-with this solemnitywill have infinitely more effect, than the most frequent stripes without it: And unless the mind of a child be most malignantly wicked indeed, he will not be provoked to wrath, but melted into contrition, by such treatment-especially il there be connected with it, as there always should be, faithful and tender admonition. But before leaving this particular, I must remark that the correction of words, as well as of stripes, ought to be guarded. As children advance in age they frequently need reproof, as well as instruction, and to administer it aright is both important and difficult. It ought, if possible, to be so done as to produce conviction of the offence reproved, sorrow for, and hatred of it; and there should be nothing in the matter or manner of the reproof, which may leave the sting of resentment in the mind of a child against the parent himself. There may be children who have become so perverse and unreasonable, as to render this impracticable. But this is not a common case: and in all cases of correction, in whatever form administered, there should always be set clearly before the view of the child, the possibility and the practicability of retrieving his errors, and of reinstating himself in the confidence and complacency of his parent. The door of return to obedience, happiness and favour, should be set wide open before him; that despondence may not discourage exertion, but that hope may conspire with fear, to produce amendment. 2. Parents must be careful not to exact of their children any thing that is unreasonable or excessive. Are our children required to perform labour, in which either the body or the mind is to be employed? We must see that this labour does not exceed their powers, but that with due exertion they can easily accomplish it; otherwise they will certainly be either grieved or discouraged, or provoked to wrath -Or do we require of them evidences of penitence and reformation, when they have grossly offended? Let us demand no tokens of abject submission or humiliation. Let us show them that all we want is, to be convinced of their grief for what is wrong, and their sincere purposes of amendment; and that with this we shall cheerfully and joyfully receive them to our embraces. In a word, let us remember that as, in all government, one great point is, to be careful not to govern too much, so in the government of children in particular, it is VOL. V.-Ch. Adv. of primary importance not to exact too much in any respect-neither too much labour, nor too much submission, nor too much circumspection, nor too much subserviency. Let us be careful of this, because what a parent actually requires, he ought, in all cases, to insist on being punctually, promptly, and fully performed; inasmuch as on this, the establishment of his authority, as well as the benefit of the child, essentially depends. 3. Let us not keep our children at too great a distance from us, by inspiring them with a servile dread of our presence, or with a fear that we shall question them unduly, on topics on which they would wish not to speak. It is not a very easy matter to unite familiarity with dignity, to be free with our children, and yet to maintain our authority and command their respect. This however, is a matter of much importance, which we ought by all means to attempt: For if our children shun our presence, or fear to speak their minds to us with freedom, they may contract the most pernicious sentiments, or enter into the most ruinous schemes or connexions, without our ever having it in our power to correct them, till all attempts may be fruitless. Let us, therefore, as far as we can, gain their confidence, make them our companions, treat their notions with respect, patiently labour to convince them when they are wrong, forbear to press them on points which too deeply interest their feelings; and thus, by securing their confidence and affection, as well as their esteem and reverence, learn the secrets of their hearts, and influence their opinions, sentiments and conduct, on all important subjects and concerns. 4. Much indulgence, tenderness and forgiveness, must be mingled with the discipline of children, if we would not provoke them to wrath. It should be manifest that it gives us far more pleasure to 2 K gratify their wishes than to disappoint and refuse them. Then, if they are not extremely perverse, they will be sensible that every re fusal springs from a strong conviction that indulgence would be injurious. We should even lay hold on some suitable occasions to disappoint their expectations of correction or reprimand, for what they know to have been wrong in their conduct-not failing, however, to let them see that we notice and disapprove of the wrong; but that, in the present instance, we forgive it frankly, in hope that forgiveness will affect them more than punishment. Thus will they be constrained to feel that discipline and coercion are used, solely from a regard to their benefit. In addition to all, there should be a general tenderness, united with delicacy and dignity, in the whole treatment of our offspring; which can scarcely fail, if they possess any sentiments of generosity, to gain their hearts, and to withhold them from being provoked to wrath, when duty calls us to animadvert on their follies or their vices. consigned, who did, or do, not deserve to be sent to hell, but who, nevertheless, are not fit to be admitted to heaven-from which places they could not be released and admitted to celestial bliss, otherwise than either by a personal visit from Christ himself, or by the renewed offering of his sacrifice on earth, by his regularly constituted vicars. As the only information we have respecting these half-way places between heaven and hell, seems to be about as well certified as many romantic stories told us by lying travellers, we feel alike incredulous to both. There is another opinion, which savours somewhat of the former, but is much more partial in its extent. Instead of making this prison, or limbus, a receptacle for all the pious who had died before the coming of Christ, it was " a place of keeping" only for those who were disobedient to the preaching of Noah but who happily repented after the flood commenced, and before they were drowned. Why those persons should have met so singu lar a fate I am unable to see. If true penitents, why were they not congregated with all other true penitents, who had before them entered eternity, or who entered it afterwards until Christ came? If they they distinguished from the rest were not true penitents, why were who died in sin? I suspect that this text does not at all teach that Christ, after his death, visited the abodes of departed spirits, to report to them his triumph, and to effect their discharge. There is one other opinion which has been very generally received, and to the general truth of which no good objection can be made. It is that interpretation which supposes that the Apostle Peter here tells us that Christ, by that Spirit by which he was made alive from the dead, did inspire and influence Noah, and other preachers of that day; and thus may be said to have preached to those who were then disobedient and perished, but who, when Peter wrote, were spirits in the prison of hell. That Christ, by his Spirit, did direct and influence the preachers of righteousness in Noah's day, as well as in every other period of the church, is undeniably true; nor is there any reason to doubt but that they, who then lived and died impenitent, were, when Peter wrote, in the prison of hell. But that this is the special import, and true interpretation of what Peter has here written, may, perhaps, be fairly questioned. Why with such special emphasis and distinction, is he said to have gone at that time, and preached. If he had gone at no other time, or at that time in some special and peculiar way, by such facts the interpreta tion here given might be explained; but such special facts are not alleged, nor is there any evidence on which they could be alleged. A translation and interpretation differing from all those now enumerated, has occurred to the writer of this paper. That the doctrine which this new translation expresses, is in perfect accordance with other scriptural doctrine and facts is confidently believed, even though it should be denied to be the doctrine of this text. It is this-That Christ, when risen from the dead, did proclaim his resurrection, and consequently his divine mission, by spirits, i. e. holy angels, who were on the watch (at his tomb,) to those who had before been unbelieving i. e. the soldiers stationed there; or to his unbelieving and disconsolate disciples, who had come to visit his dead body-not believing that, according to his promise, he would rise from the dead. The text thus translated, would be as follows: , (a) at which time, xa, also, πορευθείς (1) σκηρυξεν, he preached, (a) John v. 7. Mark ii. 19. Luke xii. 1. (b) A pleonasm-predicavit-Ephes. ü. 15. Macknight on the Epistles. τοις πνεύμασι τη Φυλακή, (c) by the spirits on watch, axari, to those who had been unbelieving-(d) 'ore TOTE, as formerly, the long suffering, &c. Or thus:-At which time, having departed (from the tomb) he proclaimed by spirits (i. e. by angels) his resurrection, to those on guard, who had been unbelieving formerly. Or thus:-At which time, having departed, he proclaimed his resurrection, by spirits-i. e. by the holy angels, who first announced it-as formerly in the days of Noah, when the ark was preparing, the long suffering of God waited on the unbelieving or diso bedient, (e) és 'ny,—after which long suffering, few (i.e. eight) souls, were preserved safe, through the water of the deluge: to which a corresponding baptism now saves us, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (not a baptism which consists in removing the filthiness of the flesh,) but the answer of a good conscience toward God (i. e. by a renovated and upright mind)--by the resurrection, &c., who having gone, &c. 1 Peter iv. 1,2. "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh put on, as armour, the same mind; for he having suffered in the flesh hath (f) made an end, or laid a restraint upon, sins (g), that we (c) Schleusner on Ovλann-"Proprie: custodia, actio custodiendi, qua excubia aguntur, ne res aliqua surripiatur, aut et ab Alexandrinis Num. i. 53, xviii. 3, 4, aliquis evadat. Sic sumitur Luc ii. 8, 5, xxxi. 47. (d) Schoetgenius, in Horis Hebraicis, 1043. legi pro ore vult or, quod in edi tione sua Genevense exstet, et codices quidam, teste Erasmo, habeant. Millius unum pro hac lectione adfert. Ex hac lectione"Jam enim semel Deus, temporibus Noachi, pro longanimitate sua, homines invitavit, eorumque pœnitentiam expectavit." (e) is -postquam patientiam. See the following, of many instances in which passive verbs are used with an active signification. Acts xiii. 2, 47; xvi. 10; xviii. 19. (g) 1 Peter ii. 24. |