to their parents. Some parents never set themselves to obtain a proper control over their children, and others who set about the task, use not the proper means. Some give commands which are unreasonable; some give too many commands, and some are not sufficiently careful to have their commands properly understood. Many are not careful in correcting rebellion, and the child is ruined for want of the rod. Whenever children are allowed to form habits of disobedience to parents, it will be almost impossible to bring them to obey God. If they are taught to give up their own will to the will of their parents on earth, there is a prospect of bringing them to deny themselves, to please their Father in heaven. But if they are allowed to be masters over the father whose voice they hear, and whose hand they see, it can hardly be expected that they will submit to the authority of that Father whose hand they do not see, and whose voice they do not hear.

Allowing children to spend their nights from home, to keep late hours, and to desecrate the Sabbath, can hardly fail to end in their ruin. Children should be allowed liberty in things innocent and safe, but no liberty should be allowed them to do wrong.

Parents should be easily reconciled. They should never treat sin as a trifle, but then they should be careful also not to treat repentance as a trifle. Children that are wisely trained, cannot endure to be long under their parents' displeasure. They will soon show signs of anxiety to be forgiven, and their appeals to our mercy should be encouraged. Let the tears of the penitent be dried up speedily. It is thus that our Father, who is in heaven, deals with us, and we may safely follow his example.

One cause of children's disobedience to parents, and so of disobedience to God, is the mother's disobedience to the will of her husband. The subjection of the wife to her husband, seems to have been required by God for this, as well as for other useful purposes, to make obedience easy to the children, by placing an example of obedience always before their eyes. It is exceedingly

difficult to bring children to do that for which they have no example; and to obviate this difficulty, God has ordained that the wife shall be “ subject to her husband in all things." If the wife obeys the husband's will, the children may easily be brought to obey her's and her husband's also. If the wife rebels, the children will rebel against her, and ultimately set at nought the authority of both father and mother. All struggles for mastery, therefore, on the part of the wife, should be avoided; and and so should all slowness and reluctance to obey. A want of attention to this matter by mothers, has often proved injurious to the souls of children.

In concluding this chapter let me urge the following counsels:

Resolve to be obeyed, and rest not till your children obey with readiness and pleasure. Let all your commands be reasonable and kind, and let them be properly understood. Never forget your commands till you have seen them obeyed, and never call them back, unless you have found them cruel or unjust. Notice obedience as well as transgression, and be as forward to reward selfdenial as to punish self-will. As your children grow in years, let them understand the reasons of your commands, and let them see that your plan of discipline is meant only for their good. Labour to excel in all goodness and wisdom, that you may be the more beloved by your children. Mix as much tenderness and sweetness in all your discipline as possible. Let not the reins of governinent fall from your hands, till your children are holy young men, or placed by marriage from under your authority. Guard against what tends to evil, as well as evil itself; and endeavour to crush sin in its first beginnings. Be constant in your purpose, uniform in your plan, unchangeable in your affectionate solicitude, and unwearied in your prayers and labours. In all things seek the guidance of the Almighty: ask his blessing on your labours, and " your labours shall not be in vain in the

Lord."

A FEW WORDS WITH A CATHOLIC.

R. WHY are you a Protestant?

B. What do you mean by a Protestant ?

R. A follower of Luther; one who follows Luther's religion, instead of the Catholic religion.

B. Then I am not a Protestant; for I neither follow Luther nor any other man. I follow Christ. Luther held many things which I do not hold, and I hold many things which Luther did not hold. Luther rejected the authority of the pope and of the popish church, and he renounced many of the errors and superstitions of his age so far I hold with him. He was also a very wise and good man, considering the darkness of the age in which he lived, and the unfavourable circumstances in which he was placed; and I therefore admire him. He was also a man of great courage in the cause of truth. What he found to be truth, he published to his fellow men; and was neither to be frightened by the pope, nor by popish princes; nor was he to be bribed to silence by the favours or promises of temporizing friends. He was, in consequence, instrumental in opening the eyes of multitudes of men, and delivering them from their miserable errors and superstitions. He gave an impulse to the cause of truth and piety, which has been felt through the earth, and which is felt to the present times. He had imperfections, but considering the system of darkness în which he was brought up, and the degenerate times in which he lived, it is astonishing that his imperfections were so few and so slight. Even allowing the charges which his enemies make against him to be true, he was still a wonder of goodness. I therefore regard Luther as a very worthy man; I look on him as an instrument in the hands of God in exploding the superstitions and errors of past generations; shaking the strongholds of priestly tyranny; raising the standard of morals, and diffusing through the world the elements of freedom, and piety, and truth.

R. But Luther held very bad doctrines. He opposed good works, and taught that men may be accepted of God through faith alone, whatever be their characters.

B. You do not give a fair representation of Luther's doctrines. He was very far from the truth as taught by Jesus on some subjects, I grant; but when I compare the points on which he was right with those on which he was wrong, I am astonished that he came so near the truth. But, as I said, I am no follower of Luther; I am a follower of Christ. Where Luther agrees with Christ, I agree with Luther; where Luther and Christ differ, I abide with Christ. Many things in the New Testament, which Luther did not understand, are understood now; and my plan is, in all these cases, to leave both Luther and all men else, and go on to perfection. Luther left the pope, and we leave Luther; but we are all in one path, and following, at different speeds, the same Great Light of the world. If, therefore, you mean to prove me wrong and the Catholics right, you must leave Luther out of the question, and either prove that Jesus Christ and his Apostles are in error, or else that we do not follow them.

THE CHURCH.

I VERY much fear that many sects of professing Christians are more anxious to increase their power and political influence, than to promote the regeneration of the world. There seems to me to be a greater desire, among many sects, to increase in numbers, than to increase in knowledge and in true holiness. Many will ask whether a church is increasing in numbers, but few ask whether the members are advancing in the knowledge and practice of true religion. I have felt very uneasy on this head of late. What are large numbers, unless there be a conformity to Jesus Christ? What does it matter what people are called, or under what leader they may be united, if they are still selfish and earthly? I can take little pleasure in seeing members added to our churches, unless they place themselves fairly under the teaching of Jesus Christ, and labour to live as he lived. I had rather be joined with only twenty true Christians, than with a million of mere professors, who would follow Christ no farther than would

suit their own pleasure. Oh, how I should like to see a disposition in all sects, to carry out the principles of Christianity to perfection! What a blessed sight it would be, to see all who bear the name of Christ, disregarding the limits which fashion, and folly, and selfishness have marked out for the mind, and eagerly striving to comprehend the whole truth of God, and get possession of all the love and purity and joy of perfect Christianity! When shall it once be!

THE LAWS OF NATURE.

A GREAT deal is said about the laws of nature, which is calculated to mislead. Infidels have a great partiality for the word nature, and they talk without end about the doings and the laws of nature. It should be borne in mind by young readers, that nature is nothing more than a portion of the whole of God's works;—that the doings of nature are nothing more than those operations of the Divine Being, in which things visible are employed as instruments; and that the laws of nature are nothing inore than the rules according to which God is accustomed to do things.

We are told that it is a law of nature that flame ascends, that water runs down the hill,-that things which are lighter than water will swim in water, and that things that are heavier than water, will sink in water,-and that all men die, and return to dust. But in all these cases the simple truth is, that it is God's appointment, for the present, that, generally speaking, this shall be the case with things. If God should order a change, it would take place instantly. If God should order it to be so, iron would swim as well as corkwood, and stones would fly as well as birds, and water would roll up a hill as well as down. The only law of nature which has any force of its own, is the will of God. What he wills will take place, and take place in just such ways as he wills.

But infidels talk of the immutability of the laws of nature, and of the power and wisdom of nature: this is all delusive and false. Nature has no wisdom, nor any power but what