Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A29255
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A circular letter to the clergy of Mary-land subsequent to the late visitation.
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Bray, Thomas, 1658-1730.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing B4291; ESTC R26553
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7,779
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8
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their Clergy come not near them tho it should be so that they either warp of themselves or are seduc'd by others as the contrary is most evident Nay why then with greater Reason should not every Parochial Minister be always present with and preside at their Religious Conferences This My Reverend Brethren I do conjure you to do and as I lay my Heart upon no one thing so much as your forming these Catechetical Societies within your respective Cures as the only means to train up a better Generation than the wretched one now in being so having found the extent of your Parishes to be vastly too large to have all such Youth meet you at one place whether at the Church or elsewhere I desire you to quarter out your larger Parishes into as many Districts as you shall find necessary for their convenient Meeting together and to appoint so many several Days and Places for em to meet you every Sunday in the Afternoon at Church being always one of your Days and Places and this if you shall do tho' I have seem'd in the following Catalogue to provide only Books for one or two of those Classes in each of your Parishes yet you shall not want the like number of Books for as many Catechetical Societies as you shall be able to raise And the Good God to the terror of Satan and all his Adherents succeed you in these your Labours and Endeavours To Second you in which I have sent you a Pastoral Letter perswading Youth both to an early Entertainment of Religion and in order to that to put themselves under the Conduct of their respective Ministers And as I would have you to give these Letters into the Hands of the most serious Youth in your Parishes and such as are likeliest to be influenc'd by them in order to form them into such a Class or Society of Catechumens so I beseech you to apply to them to this purpose by these Letters with all possible Expedition least that one of these poor Souls for want of our securing him to God betimes be pre-engaged to the Powers of Darkness And because I am absolutely of your Opinion that could you procure some skilful Person in the Country to teach your Catechumens to sing the Psalms Artificially as set to the most approved Tunes and Mr. N. S. and Mr. T. P. being both skilful in Church-Musick will soon train you up one or two Masters for the purpose the Entertainments of Psalmody especially according to the New Version would wonderfully invite the Young People both to enter into a Catechetical Society and would charm them into a constant attendance on it I would therefore have you make it part of your Business at those Meetings of the Youth to have them first taught to Sing by Note and then afterwards I would have you both open and close up your Catechetical Conferences with a Psalm This is with St. Paul to Catch them by Guile and I am sure will be an innocent and unsinful pious Fraud And as for the Psalms themselves you have a sufficient Delectus for your purpose to begin with at the end of the Baptismal Covenant And I will take care to send you a more compleat Collection afterwards And when upon the whole you shall hereby have train'd up a considerable number of the Youth of your Parishes to a very good pitch of Knowledge and shall have seasoned them by your Religious Discourses with them and Pious Directions given them so that they become both Knowing and Devoat Christians immediately upon that I beseech you according to your last Resolution upon this Head to appoint your Monthly Sacraments and to make it your special Care to have all the Catechumens of the Superiour Class constant Communicants Hereby your Youth will be happily pre-engaged in the Service of God And from them you will be always sure to have Guests at the Lords Table And if you can instruct and prepare some of the poorer Negroes so far as that they may joyn in Communion with you at the Supper of the Lord as our Brother Mr. Colbatch has so worthily done methinks the Diversity of Complections will add a Beauty to the Spiritual Entertainment And it may rejoyce our very Hearts to behold Minds so enlighten'd in Bodies so Dark The remaining part of your Visitation Acts relate to Preaching to private Application and to such Methods of Discipline as are most necessary to be maintained among your selves And I shall at my first Leisure reflect likewise upon those Parts successively in the same manner as here I say in the same manner as here for I shall not offer to lay heavy Burthens upon you and not touch them with one of My Fingers but as with Relation to the Catechizing of all the degrees of Youth Care shall be taken to furnish you with Catechisms and Expositions for them so with reference to the two remaining Parts I shall industriously endeavour to provide you with such necessary helps as I can possibly contrive that so there may be no want of means to any of you to Execute the most difficult of all your Resolutions and nothing to urge in Excuse as to the impracticableness of any one of those Particulars you have so well so much becomming your Function Resolved upon For this you may assure your selves that I am as Reverend Sirs Your most Affectionate Brother so your Faithful Fellow-Labourer Thomas Bray Cursus Catecheticus AMERICANUS Consisting of Books more particularly fitted for the Vse of the Three several Classes of Catechumens in order to season the growing Generation with the Principles of Piety and Virtue Pursuant to the Resolutions made to that purpose the Second Day of the Visitation in Mary-Land May the 4th 1700. I. For the First Class of Catech 〈…〉 consisting of Children under the Age of Nine THE Church Catechism Together with some of the most Apposite Texts pertaining to the several Doctrines and Duties contained therein with a Form of Morning and Evening Prayer for Children As also a Grace before and after Meat 20 These to be given to so many as will make a Class II. For the Second Class of Catech 〈…〉 An Exposition of the Church Catechism with Scripture-Proofs fitted for the second Class of Catechumens in the Plantations Divided into four Parts and subdivided into 52 Lessons one for every Sunday in the Year in which are explain'd the peculiar Terms in Divinity And in which are given the Elements of Christian Knowledge both in the General Doctrine and Particular Articles of the Covenant of Grace 20 These to be lent to so many as will make a Class III. For the Third Class or the Society of Catechumens to be fitted for the Blessed Sacrament either of Baptism if Adult or the Lord's Supper if formerly Baptiz'd Preparative to the forming and engaging of which Catechetical Society A Pastoral Letter from a Minister address'd to the Young Persons of his Parish shewing them the Necessity and Advantage of an early Religion in order to perswade the Youth of each Parish in the Plantations to enter themselves into a Religious Society of Catechumens under the Conduct of their respective Ministers 20. These to be put into the hands of the most serious Youth in a Parish in order to form them into such a Class or Society of Catechumens And to which is added the better to engage them to meet at such Catechetical Conferences An Introduction of the New Version of Psalms into General Use both in Families and Churches being a sufficient Collection of such as are proper to be sung in either Set to the most approv'd Tunes which are in use 20 These to be sung both at the beginning and end of the Conference And then for the proper Instruction of these Persons A Short Discourse in the Doctrine of our Baptismal Covenant proper to be read by all Young Persons in order to their understanding the whole Frame and Tenour of the Christian Religion and to their being duly prepared for Confirmation with Devotions preparatory to that Apostolick and Useful Ordinance 20 Common Prayers 20 These to be lent to the superiour Class of Catechumens during the time they shall attend upon their Catechetical Conferences That they may be then throughly directed by the Ministers respectively in the Vse of the Common Prayer pursuant so what has been propos'd in that Matter in the Preface to the Discourse en the Baptismal Covenant FINIS