PRINCILPES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. LESSON I. Of our nature and its chief happiness. I AM the creature of the Lord, LESSON II. The Sin of our nature confessed. LORD, when my wretched soul surveys The various follies of my ways, Adam, our common head, alas, LESSON III. Growing in life he still was seen, Humble, laborious, poor, and mean, The Son of God from year to year, Did as a carpenter appear. LESSON IV. Of the misery which sin has brought. Before the terrors of his hand! Who can abide God's wrath or stand That ev'ry soul that sins must bleed! O let my longing, trembling ear, Some sound of grace and pardon hear, My soul would the first news embrace, And turn its trembling into praise. LESSON V. Of faith and repentance. Who Christ's salvation would receive, THEY must repent, and must believe, O may thy Spirit faith impart, And work repentance in my heart. The sins and follies I have done, Humble in dust I would bemoan; Now may a life of zeal and love, Who is Christ, and how he appeared So shall thy grace my sins forgive, Jesus shall smile, and I shall live. in the world. JESUS, how bright his glories shine! LESSON VI. Of God's relation to us. At home, abroad, by night, by day, God is my guardian and my stay, And sure 'tis fit my soul should know He is my Lord and sovereign too. LESSON IX. The design of baptism. In baptism wash'd we all must be, In honour of the sacred Three, To show how we are wash'd from sin, And born again by grace divine. For God the Father and the Son, And Holy Spirit, three in one, Glorious beyond all speech and tho't, Have jointly my salvation wrought. Into these names was I baptiz'd; And be the honour justly priz'd; I'll join them in my songs of praise, Now, and thro' heaven's eternal days. LESSON X. The nature of the Lord's Supper. The mem'ry of Christ's death is sweet, When saints around his table meet, And break the bread and pour the wine, Obedient to his word divine. As they the bread and cup receive; So while on Christ their souls believe, They eat his flesh, they drink his blood; Cordial divine, and heavenly food! Well may their souls rejoice and thrive; O may the blessed hour arrive, When ripe in knowledge & in grace, 1 at the board shall find a place! A FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL BOYS, BEING AN AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE NINE CHILDREN. BY GEORGE HENDLEY, I. An account of the death of William Quayle, who died in the ninth year of his age. WILLIAM QUAYLE was born in Douglas, in the Isle of Man, October 21, 1778. He seemed to have the fear of God from his infancy, which produced in him a holy zeal for the glory of God. This he manifested by frequently reproving sinners, especially reproving his mother; telling her, that she ought not to say such bad words as she sometimes did; which reproofs after she was deprived of him, caused her much sorrow of heart, on account of her not having paid greater attention to them. He used also often to tell her, that God would be angry with her if she did not amend. He also reproved wicked children that were playing in the streets. As soon as he was about three years old, he began to pray every night before he went to bed; which he would never do but on his bare knees. He was also very tender-hearted: for if his mother chastised any of his little brothers he would frequently weep over them on account of their folly and suffering. In short, he spent a life, (short as it was) to the glory of God: always serious, and never heard to speak a bad word: but if through any accident or inattention he had done amiss, he would fall down on his knees, and ask pardon immediately. He hated the practice of his neighbour's children, be cause they would not walk in the fear of the Lord; and although he was as a sparrow upon the house top, yet he kept up a steady determination to please God, which was evinced in all his conversation. In September, 1787, he was seized with his last sickness, which continued about a fortnight. While he was ill, he possessed his soul in patience. He never expressed the least desire for life; but rather wished to be removed to his heavenly Father's house: for he said, 'I would rather die than live.' When his father used to express his hope that he would recover, he always replied, 'I would rather die than stay here.' Though a child, he never complained of pain or sickness, but was patient, and always resigned to the will of God. A few minutes before he died, he cried out, 'Father! Father! Mother! Mother! O my heaven! my heaven!" He then sung a hymn, and desired his mother to turn him in bed, and instantly fell asleep in the arms of his dear Redeemer, September 24th, in the ninth year of his age. II.-An account of the last sickness and death of Thomas Banner, a child aged eleven years. HIS mother, who lived in the fear of God, finding in the beginning of his illness that it was likely to end in his death; and desiring that he might die happy, and go to heaven to be with Jesus Christ; often told him that he, as well as other children, was a sinner by nature and practice, and that he could only be forgiven and made happy by Jesus Christ. What she said affected his mind, and he said, 'If it pleased God that he should recover, and the Lord helping him, that he would be a different child from what he had been.' He now began to take pleasure in talking with good people, and reading good books; and when he heard any one swearing, he would say, 'O mammy; you don't know how I feel and tremble every limb. He expressed a wish to see the minister he had heard preach, when he attended divine worship with his mother; saying, he was a good man, and that when he heard him preach, he talked a great deal about Jesus Christ. After the minister had been to see him, he said he loved him, and should never forget what he told him. "That he should be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ." When another gentleman visited him, he said he loved him, and that he was very comfortable in prayer; but he did not tell him that he must be washed in the blood of Jesus. He often spoke of it with delight, that Jesus would pardon him, and wash him from his sins in his own blood; and asked his mother, if in the great day he should appear at God's right hand, and hear Jesus say unto him, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Towards the last, he wished his mother to read to him, and tell him what Jesus had done for sinners. In the former part of his illness, when he was talked to about his state, he would cry and seem terrified; but now this fear was taken away. : A few days before his death, he said that he used to fear to go to bed when his mother had talked to him but now he did not fear to die. His mother asked him why he did not fear now as before? He said he did not know; it was something that God had done for him: he had put some good thing in him that had taken away this fear. After a short pause, he broke out in a kind of rapture, Oh ? mammy, I love God!-I do love him!-I love him from my heart.' He said, that now he could not go to sleep without praying first; and when he could not sleep in the night, he spent the greatest part of his time in prayer. Sometimes when he was in great pain, he would cry, 'Oh dear!' but afterwards would say, 'I will not complain; it is what the Lord is pleased to send, and I will not complain." The morning he died, he asked his mother to move his head, which she did, and he said he should do now, and fell asleep. When he awoke, he asked his sister to move his head, which she did. 'Now Sarah,' said he, 'I am going to die; I shall soon be happy; I shall have something to night that I want.' He then began to talk very fast, but she could not tell what he said: only she heard the word God,' and the last words she heard him say were, 'Good Christ." |