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"not do it, he makes even children the in- DISC. "struments of shaming and confounding the "adverfaries of his truth: out of the mouths

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of babes and fucklings he perfects praise, or, as it is in the original Hebrew, ordains, appoints, conftitutes ftrength, to fill the enemy and the avenger."

The propofition arifing from the text, is evidently this; that God is pleased to esteem himself honoured, when children are taught to confefs and to praise his holy name. A few confiderations fhall be offered, touching the grounds and reafons of fuch propofition, whence an application will follow to the charity which this difcourfe is defigned to recommend.

On hearing, that "out of the mouths "of babes and fucklings God ordains ftrength to still the enemy," the thought which first strikes us is that fuggested in another paffage of Scripture, wherein he says, “My strength is made perfect in weak"nefs." This is the circumftance which distinguishes

DISC. diftinguishes the works of God from the works of man. When man has an end to accomplish, he must employ means originally and in themselves fuited to that end. The materials and the perfons who use them must be every way proper, and equal to the work. By him who is building a house, great preparations are made, plentiful stores of every thing neceffary laid in, skilful and able artificers provided: and we know beforehand, that, by a due application of the causes, the effect may be produced. In the works of God it is otherwife. Means unlikely and improbable are chofen, perfons weak and naturally unable felected, that the power may appear to be not in them, but in him. In this way he delights to fhew forth his glory through the whole creation. At the beginning, light shone out of darkness, order out of confufion, and all the beauty and fulness of the world which we behold arofe from a chaos" without "form, and void." By a filent, unfeen, myfterious procefs, the fairest flower of the garden fprings from a small infignificant

feed,

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feed, the majestic oak of the forest from an DISC. acorn, the strongest and wifeft man from a wretched, helpless, and fenfeless infant; the holy and exalted faint from a miserable finner. A prophet with great justness and propriety styles this," the hiding of the di"vine power." And thus, upon the fame plan, when the Gospel was to be preached, and the world faved, not a company of philofophers, or an army of heroes, but a few illiterate Jewish fishermen were sent forth, to accomplish the mighty work. Hear with what force and energy St. Paul treats this point. "The foolishness of God is

"wifer than men; and the weakness of "God is ftronger than men. For you fee

your calling, how that not many wife

men after the flesh, not many mighty,

not many noble are called. But God hath "chosen the foolish things of the world, to "confound the wife; and God hath chosen "the weak things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty; and bafe

things of the world, and things which "are despised, hath God chofen, yea, and

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things which are not, to bring to nought

things that are." Then follows the reafon; "that no flesh should glory in his pre"fence." The cafe of the children in the temple confounding by their Hofannas the pride and malignity of the enemies of Christ, was, therefore, by no means fingle. It was upon the general scheme of the divine proceedings, as the power and skill of the artist are always proportionably manifested by the meanness and weakness of the instruments employed to effect his purpose.

But, fecondly, God is ftill farther honoured when children are taught to confess and proclaim his truths, because hereby it is fhewn, that his truths are such as children may confess and proclaim. All may receive the faving doctrines of our religion, and learn it's wholesome precepts. Over the door of the school of the celebrated Plato, we are told, was written a fentence, importing, that no one muft prefume to enter there, who had not first studied and rendered himfelf master of geometry. No fuch requifi

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tion is made by our bleffed Mafter of those DISC. who mean to enter themselves in the number of his scholars. In other refpects learned or unlearned, wife or unwife, noble or ignoble, great or small, young or old, come who will, and he fhall be inftructed in all things neceffary for him to learn, in order to his falvation; in a day, in an hour, he shall know more than the fages of antiquity were able to discover, from the difperfion of the nations at Babel to the coming of Christ, or would have discovered, from thence to the confummation of all things. This is a very wonderful confideration; and we must dwell a little upon it, for the honour and praise of Revelation, and of that Being who vouchsafed it to man.

"In the beginning God created the "heavens and the earth." A child easily repeats and understands thefe few words of Mofes. But the child who does fo is at once in poffeffion of a truth, which heathen philosophy, for ages and generations, fought in vain; none could then with any degree