ADDRESS TO THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION OF THE NEW CHURCH.

(Delivered at the Annual Meeting, June 25th, by the Rev. E. D. Rendell.)

A DESIRE for the superior education of the people is one of the characteristics of our age-a desire not simply to educate them for the performance of their duties as men of the world, valuable as that most certainly is but to devele humanity that is in them, and to put them in possession of principles that will conduce to their happiness in the life to come. The establishment of Sunday Schools is one of the forms in which this benevolent sentiment has displayed itself. Institutions so called are now to be found in connection with every religious denomination. It is seen that Christianity must be made intelligent; and that to accomplish this purpose the basis must be laid in the minds of the young, by bringing them within the sphere of the church upon that day which the Divine Providence has caused to be set apart for the purpose of edification.

But although the usefulness of those institutions is everywhere acknowledged; and although the fact of their peculiar usefulness demonstrates their true relation to Christianity, it is not to be supposed that they have displayed all the capabilities which, under wise and judicious direction, they are destined to unfold. Their superior usefulness has yet to be developed by the energy and talent of those who have [Enl. Series.-No. 20, vol. ii.] 2 U

undertaken to conduct them. Their real mission is much higher than that to which, in most cases, they are devoted. A time is certainly advancing when the mechanism of learning, to which so much time is devoted to so many scholars on the Sunday, will be obtained more efficiently through the week. So long as that is neglected, it will be the duty of the teachers of Sunday Schools to struggle on with this department of education. But when the scholars entrusted to their care are better instructed through the week, a superior plane will be prepared for what we conceive to be the more legitimate operation of Sunday School tuition, and, consequently, give occasion for the development and display of higher uses than those to which such institutions are commonly devoted. The circumstances out of which Sunday Schools originated are passing away, and it is reasonable to contemplate a period when all the scholars introduced to them will be able to read the Word with facility: this we think to be essential for bringing into existence the proper function of those institutions.

It ought not to be forgotten that those institutions are Sunday Schools, and therefore that the education imparted upon that day should be in conformity with the purposes for which it has been providentially set apart. It should be of a religious and spiritual nature, and thus somewhat different from that to which attention has been directed in the previous portion of the week. If this be done interestingly, the expectation of its continuance will stimulate the scholar with affection to be present: whereas the fear of being compelled to resume the learning of that, on which they have been more or less engaged on the six preceding days, induces dislike, and leads them to remain away. The superior value of the new and higher education given on the Sunday, if imparted with piety and earnestness, will not fail to be attractive. By these observations we do not mean to intimate that such education has not been attended to; on the contrary, we feel assured that great efforts have been made to realize some of its uses. Our chief object in these remarks is to say that such uses ought every where, and at all times, to be kept in view for their more efficient development.

We have said, it ought not to be forgotten that the institutions of which we are speaking are Sunday Schools. Now the Sunday is "the Lord's day;" as such it may be considered the Sabbath of Christianity; and therefore it ought to be dedicated to the performance of spiritual We have no sympathy with the opinion of those who sometimes speak of the Sunday as not having any more sanctity than any other day. We acknowledge, indeed, that considered in itself, and in the sight of God, it is no more holy than any of the rest that he has made;

uses.

but we believe, when it is regarded in connection with the uses thereon to be performed, that it was designed by God to be a portion of time peculiarly serviceable for promoting the actual holiness of men. This appears to us to be the view in which it is presented by an authority whom we are all disposed to respect. He tells us that "the Lord's day [which is the Sunday] is the day of the Sabbath, and the Sabbath in the ancient churches, which were representative churches, was the most holy of all worship, by reason that it signified the union of the divine and human in the Lord, and hence also the conjunction of His Divine and Human with heaven; but after the Lord united his Divine with his Human [and thus began the Christian dispensation], then that holy representation ceased, and that day was made a day of instruction."-A. E.

Now a day of instruction is what? a day of instruction in secular learning? Certainly not; but a day of instruction in those spiritual things which are contributary to our eternal welfare. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that Sunday Schools ought to be regarded as institutions for the special education of the young in the principles of religious Truth and Goodness; and, consequently, that every teacher should be as a minister to his class who has specially prepared himself for the free and familiar performance of the duty which he has undertaken. By being as a minister is not to be understood that he should preach to his class, but that he should qualify himself, by intellectual acquirements and moral influences, to talk to them clearly, earnestly, and interestingly upon subjects relating to the affections and sentiments of Scripture doctrine and religious life. Experience has proved that more real interest can be excited in, and more actual information conveyed to a class of Sunday scholars in half an hour's clear and sensible talk from the teacher, than would be acquired by them through a whole day's reading. There is a remarkable power in the living voice to arouse thoughtful attention; it reaches the minds of others through their ears, and thus the teacher gains access to the understanding of his pupils through a higher faculty than that which the written instruction, or the book, has the opportunity of addressing. The book, in the first place, addresses itself to the eye, and unless the mind is awake, the words may be read without any information being obtained; but the living voice goes direct to the ear and arouses the attention; the language employed by the teacher conveys an idea, while the intonation and emphasis by which it is uttered, cause the pupil to recognize an affection as well as to perceive a thought. Moreover, the eye is sure to be alive when the mind is interested; and thus oral

teaching has the advantage of calling into the action of learning more senses of the scholar than that of mere reading; and consequently this effort to advance him must be the more successful. It is also to be remarked, that it was by the living voice that the prophets were instructed in the Revelations they had to write.

In noticing what is considered to be the superiority of oral teaching over that which is derivable from reading, especially in Sunday Schools, we do not mean to intimate that reading should not constitute any portion of Sunday School instruction: what is meant is, that the scholars in the school should read only for a short and stated period, and that the teacher should regard it as subsidiary to his oral instruction, always remembering that the book may be read by the pupil at home at his leisure, or at his pleasure, but that what the teacher has to communicate can only be received by the pupil coming into his society at a special time and a proper place. And moreover, his oral teaching should be such as to encourage his scholars to read, and when practicable, to provide for them something suitable for the purpose.

Doubtless these hints are acted upon in most of our schools, but we are not sure that they are always filled with energy and light. They are common-place remarks, which must have been suggested to all prac tical teachers; and we have not undertaken to say anything that is new upon the general subject. We do not know that this is necessary; much upon this subject that is old, is good; fill it with zeal and intelligence, and satisfactory results must follow. New courses of action will be devised when the necessity for them has been developed.

There are some persons who think that all things undertaken by the New Church should be new. We are not of this opinion, nor are we aware of anything in the writings of the New Church by which such a conclusion can be maintained. On the contrary, we are expressly informed that after the accomplishment of the Last Judgment, and the commencement of the New Jerusalem, the state of the world would be altogether similar to what it had been heretofore; for the Great Change which took place in the spiritual world, will not produce any change in the natural world as to its external form; and therefore there will be the same order in civil concerns as before: there will be treaties of peace, and also wars as before; and other things which relate to the general and particular government of societies. Even the church will be similar as to external appearance; thus there will be distinct churches as before, their doctrines will be taught as before, and there will be the like religious worship among the Gentiles. But that which is new, and to be brought about by the circumstances which have

ushered the New Church into the world, is, a freer state of thinking about matters of faith, and, consequently, about spiritual things which pertain to heaven, because spiritual freedom is restored; for all things are now reduced to order: and it is because spiritual freedom is restored, that the spiritual sense of His Word has been discovered. (See L. J. 73.) Thus, then, that which we have to bring to our Sunday School operation which is really new, relates not so much to external management and discipline, as to the enlightened exercise of our spiritual freedomto the elevation of our religious motives, and to the rational value of the religious subjects which have to be taught. And in carrying out those privileges, a variety of opportunities will be presented for the religious improvement of the earnest teacher.

Every teacher who has accepted a class in a Sunday School, and who conscientiously performs the duties of his office, must be aware of the opportunities which have thereby been presented to him for his private study and instruction. He might, indeed, have been tolerably acquainted with the letter of the Word, and also with the leading and other doctrines of the church; but experience must have taught him, that this general information required simplification, and particular adaptation to individual wants and cases, in order that his pupils may be instructed. He must also have observed the diversified character of mind and temper by which the several members of his class are distinguished; and this also must have afforded him the occasion for seriously reflecting upon the various phases of human life and disposition, the guidance which they require, the dangers which they intimate, the fears which they suggest, and the hopes which they engender. Other materials for the mental culture of the teacher are presented in the impetuosity of soms pupils and the sluggishness of others; in the eagerness with which some pursue their instruction, in the quiet solidity with which it is received by others, and in the different degrees of dulness, vacancy, and inattention evinced by many. Facts of these kinds occur, to a greater or less extent, in every class, and no sensible teacher can observe them, without reflection which may be turned to his own improvement. Incidents are also frequently occurring among the scholars which deserve particular attention: sometimes they exhibit features which are hostile to propriety and truth; sometimes selfishness, stubbornness, cruelty, and a disposition to resist admonition and defy authority, are displayed; at others, quaintness, humour, generosity, intelligence, and affection are observable; and all these traits of cha racter passing under the eye of a firm and sensible teacher, will be