DIVINE

SONGS

ATTEMPTED IN

EASY LANGUAGE

FOR THE USE OF

CHILDREN.

"Out of the Mouths of Babes and Sucklings thou hast

"perfected Praife."

MATT. xxi. 16.

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PREFACE,

To all that are concerned in the Education of CHILDREN.

I

MY FRIENDS,

T is an awful and important charge that is committed to you. The wisdom and welfare of the fucceeding generation are intrusted with you beforehand, and depend much on your conduct. The feeds of misery or happiness in this world, and that to come, are oftentimes fown very early; and therefore whatever may conduce to give the minds of children a relish for virtue and religion, ought, in the first place, to be proposed to you.

Verse was at firft defigned for the fervice of God, though it hath been wretchedly abufed fince. The ancients, among the Jews and the Heathens, taught their children and difciples the precepts of morality and worfhip in verfe. The children of Ifrael were commanded to learn the words of the fong of Mofes, Deut. xxxi. 19, 30, and we are directed in the New Teftament, not only to fing "with grace in the heart, but to teach and admonish one another by hymns and fongs," Ephef. v. 19. And there are these four advantages in it.

I. There is a great delight in the very learning of truths and duties this way. There is fomething fo amufing

O 3

amufing and entertaining in rhymes and metre, that will incline children to make this part of their business a diverfion. And you may turn their very duty into a reward, by giving them the privilege of learning one of thefe Songs every week, if they fulfill the bufinefs of the week well, and promifing them the book itself, when they have learnt ten or twenty fongs out of it.

II. What is learnt in verfe, is longer retained in memory, and fooner recollected. The like founds, and the like number of fyllables, exceedingly affift the ręmembrance. And it may often happen, that the end of a fong running in the mind, may be an effectual means to keep off fome temptations, or to incline to fome duty, when a word of fcripture is not upon their thoughts.

III. This will be a conftant furniture for the minds of children, that they may have fomething to think upon when alone, and fing over to themfelves. This may fometimes give their thoughts a divine turn, and raise a young meditation. Thus they will not be forced to feck relief for an emptiness of mind, out of the loose and dangerous fonnets of the age.

IV. Thefe Divine Songs may be a pleasant and proper matter for their daily or weekly worship, to fing one in the family, at fuch time as the parents or governors fhall appoint; and therefore I have confined the verse to the most ufual pfalm tunes.

The greatest part of this little book was compofed feveral years ago, at the request of a friend, who has

been

been long engaged in the work of catechifing a very great number of children of all kinds, and with abundant skill and fuccefs. So that you will find here nothing that favours of a party: The children of high and low degree, of the church of England or Diffenters, baptifed in infancy, or not, may all join together in these fongs. And as I have endeavoured to fink the language to the level of a child's understanding, and yet to keep it, if poffible, above contempt; so I have defigned to profit all, if poffible, and offend none. I hope the more general the fenfe is, thefe compofures be of the more univerfal use and service.

may

I have added at the end, fome attempts of Sonnets on Moral Subjects, for children, with an air of pleafantry, to provoke some fitter pen to write a little book of them.

May the Almighty God make you faithful in this important work of education; may he fucceed your cares with his abundant grace, that the rising generation of Great Britain may be a glory among the nations, a pattern to the christian world, and a bleffing to the earth.