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CEASE, MY SON, TO HEAR THE INSTRUCTION WHICH CAUSETH TO ERR FROM THE WORDS OF KNOWLEDGE.

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HE fear of the Lord is the beginning of know"ledge." To hate knowledge is the fame as not to choofe the fear of the Lord. "My fon, if thou wilt "receive my words, and hide my commandments "with thee; fo that thou incline thine ear unto wif "dom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, "if thou crieft after knowledge, and lifteft up thy "voice for understanding-Then shalt thou understand "the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of "God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his "mouth cometh knowledge and understanding, The "knowledge of the Holy is understanding. Buy the "truth, and fell it not."

From these various expreffions it appears, that by the words of knowledge true religion is intended. The inftruction which caufeth to err from the words of knowledge therefore means inftruction opposed to the doctrines and duties of religion-inftruction in whatever is fubverfive of religious faith or practice. The teachers of errour are frequently more attended to than the teachers of truth.

The fources of errour are bad company and bad books. In my laft difcourfe, our young people were furnished with cautions against the former. The defign of

the present difcourfe is to guard them against the baneful inftruction, contained in books calculated to pervert their understanding, and corrupt their hearts.

The books in my view are of various description. One clafs would make you infidels in practice; another class would make you infidels in fpeculation as well as practice. Their inftruction alike caufeth to err from the words of knowledge. When the erroneous instruction they contain hath been pointed out, the reafons will be offered which enforce the advice of the text, peculiarly on the rifing generation. Ceafe, my fon, to hear the inftruction which causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

The books which contain this inftruction are the light and frivolous-the licentious, coarse and obfcene -those which refine upon vice and impurity-thofe which make ridicule the ftandard-and those written with much labour and fophiftry, in support of univerfal fcepticism and fatality.

First, the light and frivolous.

.. Of these there are a great variety. They have no useful object in view--no certain end, unless to avail the authors of the foible of that large clafs, who read merely to find fomething novel and ftrange. Filled with "trifles light as air," they exhibit no other than utopian ideas of life, vifionary characters, vifionary blifs. If they may afford a few moments' amusement, amidst serious ftudies and occupations, it is the moft that can be faid of them. The writers who furnish the materials of this amufement, have little or no claim on the gratitude of mankind, their object not being general utility. They caufe to err from the words of knowledge, by preventing the acquifition of it, filling the mind with vain imaginations, and confuming the time which fhould be applied to real improvement. With no other than fuch reading, you will" die with“out inftruction, and in the greatnefs of your folly go "aftray." But " a wife man will hear, and will increase learning."

Secondly, Another class of books we call licentious, coarfe and obfcene.

These, much more than the first mentioned, cause to err from the words of knowledge. Some of them are the groffeft vehicles of impurity. The authors, with a brow of brafs, and an heart which is a fink of pollution, have fet themselves to excite lufts, which otherwise might never have been conceived-paffions which never might have been excited-lufts and paffions fubversive of all order and peace; which violate all the dearest interests of individuals, families and communities. Such books are more deftructive than the witle wafting peftilence. They cannot be read in company, but at the expence of all decency; nor in the closet, without opening the heart to every foul fpirit. They proftrate the foundations of fociety, and make man like the beafts which perish.

Some may think that publications of this kind should never be fuffered to proceed from the prefs. The only effectual way to reftrain them may be not to read them. Let them lie on the shelves of the authors and publishers, and they will ceafe to be printed. No care of the education of youth will avail, if fuch books are in their hands, and read with any fatisfaction.

Immodeft language in converfation is an infult to decent company; and in books, it is an infult to the public: It is appearing abroad in a drefs, of which one fhould be afhamed at home.

But fome authors have a talent of refining upon vice and impurity. Their indecency is polished, and not of the gross kind juft mentioned. These constitute a third clafs of bad books.

Can the ornaments of ftile change the nature of things? make darkness light, and light darkness ? make evil good, and good evil? make bitter fweet, and fweet bitter? If not, then language thus abufed is a proftitution of talents given for a better ufe. The allurements of ftile may enfnare minds, which would

not be corrupted by grofs obfcenity. Immoral books, written in infinuating language, do more extenfive in jury to the caufe of truth and virtue, than those diftinguished for impudent and shameless ribaldry. The latter may be read by the coarse and ill-bred; the former are defigned for polished life. Many ufeful obfervations on life and manners are intermixed with inftruction which caufeth to err from the words of knowledge. Writers of fplendid talents, when their object is to please, rather than to improve the mind or the heart-when their real wifh is to give currency to diffimulation, impurity and excefs, have influence, above all others, in feducing into the paths of errour. CHESTERFIELD ranks first among writers of this defcription; as STERNE does, in fome of his writings, among the grofsly obfcene.

A fourth clafs of books make ridicule a ftandard? They aim to bring truth and virtue to this test.

This is a powerful weapon. Those who cannot be reafoned out of their principles, may be laughed out of them. Men who are averfe to cool reflection, and have not a talent for found difcuffion, may be prompt at a jeft and farcafm-may know how to pick flaws, to feduce the simple and unwary. A great part of the writers against revealed religion have adopted this mode of attack, with a fuccefs to be much regretted. If mifrepresentation, fneer and contempt, lewd and profane wit, and every fpecies of obloquy, could have borne down and extirpated Christianity, it had been rooted out in the apoftolic age: It was every where Spoken against: Its author was reproached as the fon of a carpenter, a Nazarene ; and its difciples, as Galileans. They were accounted as the filth of the world, and offfcouring of all things. No exertions were spared to expofe him and them to popular scorn. Nor are any attempts of this kind wanting in our own times. Every part of Chriftendom, this country in particular, is filled with publications calculated to make Christianity

appear ridiculous-yea, publications which are a bur. lefque upon virtue, and renounce all pretenfions to it as hypocrify. This indeed is inftruction which causeth to err from the words of knowledge. Are truth and fincerity-all ideas of moral government and accountableness, to be scouted down by impious jefts? Books which would teach you to deride the difference between truth and falfehood, right and wrong—to deride all principle of confcience and moral obligationto deride death and judgment, heaven and hell, can be read only by fuch as hate the truth, and have pleasure in unrighteousness.

The laft clafs of books, against which I would caution you, is, Those which are written with great labour and fophiftry in defence of infidelity.

They undertake to appeal to your reafon and underftanding. They would perfuade you that nothing rational or folid can be faid in behalf of the gofpel-that it is founded in impofture; is, in its internal frame, a contradiction to reason and natural religion, altogether unworthy of the wisdom of God; and, in its external proof, without any folid fupport-that the miracles, faid to have been wrought in confirmation of it, never were wrought-that the Spirit of prophecy was merely a conjecture; or, inftead of being a prediction, is only an history. Uniform experience is oppofed to both, especially to the miracles. It is urged that philofophers and learned men have in general agreed to reject Chriftianity; and that it is fit to be embraced only by weak minds, incapable of research.

This description of writers do not defcend to the buffoonery of the former: They are cool, deliberate and fophiftical defenders of scepticism and universal fatality. They ftudiously cherish fentiments oppofed, not only to Christianity, but to natural religion. Through the pride of their countenance, they feek not after Godthey pay him no acknowledgments. While they take much pains to pull down and destroy, what do

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