“Your letter, dated from Feb. 10th to March 5th, afforded me agreeable entertainment, and particularly your notes on the 2nd Psalm, in which I think I concur in sentiment with you in every line, and thank you. The epiphonema to the 16th Psalm is also very acceptable, and, in my opinion, the Psalms ought to be translated in such a manner for Christian worship, in order to show the hidden glories of that divine posey. I beg leave only to query about the _Sheol_ in Psalm 16, whether that phrase of ‘not seeing corruption’ ought to be applied to David at all, since Peter (Acts ii. 31) and Paul (Acts xiii. 36) seem to exclude him. And though I will not say that your sense of the _soul_, _i.e._, the _life_, may answer the Hebrew manner of the reduplication of the same thing in other words, yet, as David sometimes speaks of the _soul_ as a thing distinct from the body, and may not the _soul_ be taken in this place and _Sheol_ signify _Hades_, the state of the dead? “I am glad my little prayer-book is acceptable to you and your daughter. I perceive you have been also (among many others) uneasy to have no easier and plainer catechism for children than that of the Assembly. I had a letter from Leicestershire the very same day when I received yours on the same subject; and long after this a multitude of requests have I had to set my thoughts at work for this purpose. I have designed it these many years. I have laid out some schemes for this purpose, and I would have three or four series of catechisms, as I have of prayers. I believe I shall do it ere long if God afford health. But, dear friend, forgive me if I cannot come into your scheme of ‘bringing in the creed;’ for it is, in my opinion, a most imperfect and immethodical composition, and deserves no great regard, unless it be put in at the end of the catechism for form’s sake, together with the Lord’s Prayer and Ten Commandments, as is done in the Assembly’s Catechism. The history of the life and death of Christ is excessively long in so short a system and the design of the death of Christ (which is the glory of Christianity) is utterly omitted. Besides, the operations, of the Spirit are not named. The practical articles are all excluded. In short, ’tis a very mean composure, and has nothing valuable—_præter mille annos_. My ideas of these matters run in another track, which, if ever I have the happiness to see you, may be matter for communication between us. I am sorry I forgot to put up the coronation ode in my pocket. I will count myself in debt till I have an occasion to send you something more valuable along with it. Two days (ago) I published a little essay on charity schools, my treatise of education growing so much longer in my hands than I designed. If it were worth while to send such a trifle you should have