with those of the blest above, who are represented as exclaiming in rapture of spirit-" Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.-Blessed are they who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" rakuud mod va

LECTURE : XIH.

THE DUTIES OF PARENTS.
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EPHES. VI. 4.

And ye Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

PARENTAL authority is, in its own nature, more absolute, in its proper exercise more gentle, and in its direct tendency more beneficial, than any other species of human government. When administered on principles dictated alike by nature and by scripture, it makes the nearest approach which is possible on the part of man upon earth, to the government of our Father in heaven, whose power none can control, whose goodness none can dispute. That a power so great as that which belongs to parents, is liable to mal-administration, it cannot be denied. There may be too much coercion, or there may be too much indulgence. There may be culpable severity, or there may be culpable connivance. The combination of

gentleness with firmness of control, will be the most effectual preventive of the evil against which Parents are cautioned in our text ;-" Ye Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath." The same injunction is given in the Epistle to the Colossians, and there is added a powerful reason:-"Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." Scarcely need I observe, that the injunction here addressed to Fathers is equally binding upon Mothers; and that the latter part of the text, which inculcates the early training of the mind and heart, is adapted to awaken the strongest and the tenderest emotions of maternal solicitude. It cannot be too deeply impressed upon the heart of a christian mother, that the elements of moral and religious culture belong to the nursery; and that no human being upon earth possesses the power or the facilities attendant on maternal influence. To Mothers, then, no less than to Fathers, let us regard the words of the Apostle, as addressed :-" Provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Let our attention be now directed,

TOT

To the Objects which claim the chief solicitude of christian parents :

The Principles under the guidance of which these objects should be pursued :--and

The Inducements which should secure a due

regard to these Objects and these principles. Contemplate

FIRST, The Objects which claim the christian parent's chief solicitude.

The first object should unquestionably be, to train up a child for an eternity of happiness.

You will not demand of me an argument to prove, that this should be the grand and primary object of parental anxiety. The man who admits it not, must be an infidel in heart; and the man who, admitting it, feels not in some degree its awful and transcendent importance, gives little evidence of natural affection, which deserves the name, even to his own offspring. The training for eternity is the education inculcated in the text. Two distinct parts of this training are specified by the Apostle: the one is "nurture," or, as the word in the original denotes, discipline ; the other is "admonition," or rather, instruction. The precept, then, of the Apostle is ;-" train up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord;"-in the instruction which the Lord has provided, and in the discipline which the Lord has prescribed.

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The instruction must form the basis of the discipline. It must commence in the very dawn of reason, with the simple, and striking, and elementary principles of truth. As soon as the child of your affections can distinguish between right

and wrong in his words and in his ways, endeavour to infix in his conscience the conviction that he is a sinner. As soon as the history of our Lord Jesus Christ can be rendered intelligible to his capacity, direct his attention to the Saviour, and tell him of the Redeemer's wondrous love, and bitter sufferings, and cleansing blood, and precious promises, and condescending regard to the young. As soon as any idea can be formed of things unseen and future, conduct his thoughts to heaven and to eternity. Amidst all the difficulties you may have to encounter, in the effort to bring down the most exalted subjects to the level of the comprehension of a child, you will obtain many a delightful encouragement, in tracing the gradual expansion of the mind, and in perceiving that its interesting developments are both earlier and more rapid, than you had previously been accustomed to expect. And have there not been instances, beyond expression gladdening to the parental heart, in which even "out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God has perfected praise!"

Let the course of instruction be scriptural, in the best and highest sense. Derive from the pure and sacred source of revealed truth your earliest lessons, your most touching appeals, and your most tender expostulations. And when your children can read the book of life, direct them to its most interesting contents; explain its truths in