Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A44507
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A sermon preached at the anniversary meeting of the Eton-scholars at St. Mary le Bow on November 18, 1679 by Thomas Horn.
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Horne, Thomas, 1627?-1688.
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1680
(1680)
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Wing H2813; ESTC R30339
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15,428
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36
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A SERMON Preached at the ANNIVERSARY MEETING OF THE ETON-SCHOLARS At St. Mary le Bow on November 18. 1679. By THOMAS HORN Fellow of King's-College in Cambridge and Chaplain to the Right Honourable HENRY Earl of St Albans Published at the request of the Stewards London Printed for Samuel Carr at the King's-Head in St. Paul's Church-yard 1680. PROV 22.6 Train up a Child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it IT is delightful not only to me but I believe also to every one of you worthy fellow Scholars as you have lately given me leave to call you to behold the luster of this solemn day The intent of it is so commendable the circumstances so harmonious and beautiful Behold how good and pleasant a thing it is to see Brethren to dwell together in Unity So many Brethren of one fruitful Mother the Daughter of a King to see them so well united to pay their Gratitude and Honour to that Pareut in the face of the World a work so becoming her Children especially to see them begin with a dutiful acknowledgment to the great God in whom all gratitude should terminate a design so worthy the nurture of our pious Mother I was glad as the Royal Prophet speaks when they said unto me Let us go into the house of the Lord glad to see that thither the Tribes go up to give thanks to the Name of the Lord. And now since you have assembled and met together to render God thanks for that blessing of Education and all other benefits that we have received at his hands and to beg his blessing upon us I hope this pious Beginning will give an auspicious influence upon the following part of your Solemnity Especially seeing that you seem to revive in some measure the Primitive Feasts of Charity I intend therefore to improve as much as I can these your Religious and grateful purposes by offering to your consideration some of those blessed advantages which a careful Education affords according to the intent of the Text that you may more effectually pursue your design of being in this House of God rendring to him all the Glory of all the gains you have made in that Royal Seat of Literature When Solomon says Train up a Child in the way that he should go we may understand the catechising and informing him in the way of Religion in which every one should go And also the training him up in other profitable Learning and Skill suitable to his state his capacity his way of life that he is to follow as the Margin says in his way By training him up when a Child he seems to mean the taking the first opportunities of infusing into him each part of Wisdom as soon as he appears capable of receiving it And to encourage the Parent in this care of his Child he adds and when he is old he will not depart from it The weight of which seems to consist in this That the advantages of Education are unquestionably great so great that the duration of them is as much as need be added for encouragement for who is so solicitous about the continuance of a trifle But as any thing appears valuable our fears of the losing it are anxious and our thoughts are busie about the preservation of it so that the greater the benefits of Education appear there is the more force in that consideration that they will last 'till old Age. Wherefore the more fully I can represent the advantages of Education first in Religion and then also in other commendable knowledge especially when it is early the more fully will both the Exhortation of the Text and the Argument of it be answered and the design of our being here satisfied First Part And as we have begun our Solemnity with God so let us take our first considerations from him who is the Fountain of all Wisdom and whose Fear is the beginning of it 1. First The teaching us to remember our Creator in the days of our Youth lays that great Foundation of Wisdom The designing a good end of all our life the preferring the best End and prudence to choose and persue the directest means to that End lest we should snatch up vile designs or live we know not why or ramble in our pursuit of that which is good This makes all our Actions regular and uniform tending all to the glory of the Creator as the circumference of an Arch to the Center which is both the beauty and strength of it under all pressures This persuades us to value our time and improve all our Powers with oare as Talents once to be accounted for It teaches us to request comfortably the blessing of God upon all our endeavours that Dew of Heaven that enriches all And when we succeed it invites us to return all to his honour which makes the knowledge of nature and all other skill truly useful subservient to a great purpose and sanctifies all our temporal Affairs 2. Secondly 'T is of great use through all our life to have the Foundation of Religion the Christian especially laid even because the more lofty and magnificent the Building is the more remarkable a flaw in the top does a little error in the Foundation make They that have been taught the great ends of Religion who know which are the weightier matters of the Law of God and which are the less weighty which are to be preferred which are to be subservient to a farther end will not be scrupulous or troublesom to themselves and the World about Mint and Cumin and neglect Judgment Mercy and Faith They will not be led away with any Religious pretence that overthrows the grand Ends of true Religion and his full wicked and secular Design They will be apt to search the Scriptures for that End for which they were written which brings them to the Native sense and pious use of them in their life and conversation This will not let them dare to vex any portion of Sacred Writing wresting it to serve a turn and keep up the opposition of Doctrine falsly so called Finally this prevents dishonourable thoughts of God and the superstitions or presumptions consequent thereto 3. Thirdly The initiating Youth in the Principles and using them to the practice of Religion is the most approved Antidote against the infections of bad conversation and other manifold Temptations which a young Man meets with when he first enters into the World And he had need put on the whole Armour of God to stand against so many importunate persuasions so many bad Examples such secret allurements to wickedness He had need be well persuaded of the value of Innocence and excellence of Piety He had need be fully resolved in his Heart not to depart from the fear of his God lest the rampant importunities of profane wretches in their full cry silence the softer whispers of his Conscience For how cheap a prey is a young unsetled