“Epworth, August 15, 1706.
“Dear Child,—My last related to that part of piety which is to be exercised between God and your own soul. This will refer to public devotion, which is our due homage to Almighty God, and never ought to be neglected, unless in case of unavoidable necessities, as sickness and the like, and therefore not for taking physic, unless the case be very pressing; for you cannot expect to gain anything in your studies by robbing God of that small moiety of time. I understand you are now under the happy necessity of being always present at public worship, of which I am very glad; but then, you know, it is by no means sufficient to sit as God’s people sit, if our hearts be far from Him. There ought to be a due preparation of mind before you presume to approach the house of God. When you are entering, remember whither you are going; when present, remember where you are, and say, ‘How dreadful is this place!’ Always consider the sacredness of it, on account of its dedication and relation to God, and His presence in it, as well as its sacred uses; for I suppose you are hardly of the same mind with the rebellious assembly of divines, and I hope never will be, who, as impudently as falsely, affirm, that ‘no place is holy on account of any separation or dedication whatever.’
“You will find the firm belief of God’s presence in His own holy house of prayer will be of great advantage to you in fixing your thoughts on the great work for which you come thither; which, as soon as you enter, and when you take your seat, you are to express in most humble adorations of body and mind, accompanied with some short prayer, either mental or vocal, suitable to the occasion.
“When the service begins, you are to join with it, and go along with every part of it, with the utmost intension and most fervent devotion; for which end keep your eye fixed upon your Prayer-book or Bible, and let your eye go along with the priest, which will keep your thoughts from wandering.
“I hope you understand the cathedral service—I mean, understand what they sing and say—which at first is something difficult. Unless you understand what is said, you might as well pray in an unknown tongue. On the contrary, if we do understand the service and go along with it, we shall find Church music a great help to our devotion, as it notably raises our affections towards heaven; which, I believe, has been the experience of all good men, unless they have been dunces or fanatics; nay, even the latter confess the same of their own sorry Sternhold-psalms, which are infinitely inferior to our cathedral music, as well as some thousands of years of later date, not being of two hundred years standing. We are not to think God has framed man in vain an harmonious creature; and surely music cannot be better employed than in the service and praises of Him who made both the tongue and the ear. I hope you are not so weak as to be moved by the wicked examples of idle lads who regard none of these things, or by their scoffs for your doing it.
“You are to be very attentive to the sermon, because you know in whose name and by whose commission it is delivered; and that faith, and obedience too, come by hearing; this being God’s ordinance for the conversion of mankind and the Church’s edification. By practice you will be able to remember the principal parts of a sermon; which, with a little pains, will add an habitual memory to that good natural one wherewith God hath blessed you. When you come home, immediately retire, either into your closet, or else to some solitary walk in the park. There recollect what you have heard, and fix what is observable in your memory, especially what relates more immediately to yourself and to the state of your own soul. This will be of great advantage to you, on more accounts than one, for it will lay a good foundation of divinity, which study you must always have in your eye, as being both designed for it, and, I hope, inclined to it above any other.
“Have a particular respect to the religion of the Sabbath, as all good men have ever had. Value highly that time, for as time, in general, is the most precious thing in the world, so this is the most precious of all others, and not designed for idle visits, but for the concern of our souls, and communion with God in prayer and praise, and other acts of piety and devotion.
“I hope you dare not make any exercises upon it but what are proper for the day, such as Judge Hale did; but then, have a care lest, doing this as a school task only, it may not degenerate into formality. Rob not yourself of so much pleasure and profit as you will find in your translations of the Bible into verse, and Sunday exercises of the same nature, if you are but so happy as to reconcile fancy and devotion, which have too long been enemies.
“I shall not write anything to you concerning receiving the blessed sacrament till towards spring; though I hope you frequently think of it and long for it, as the dearest pledge of your Saviour’s love, especially when you go home from church and see others stay to receive it.
“And thus much, at present, of public worship.—I am, your affectionate friend and father,