holiness are identified in the child's mind, with the father's piety, and his heart is drawn to reverence and love and imitate his parent with stronger cords than ever.

Example assists the mind in comprehending the meaning of instructions and directions, and without example it is difficult, and frequently impossible, to make our meaning understood. It is by example that all the arts and businesses of life are taught, and there is no other way in which they can be properly taught. The farmer may give his son lectures about farming for an age together, but if he gives him nothing more than lectures, his son will know but little more of farming, at the close of the age, than at the beginning. If he would have his son to understand the business, he must show him how to do, as well as tell him; and he must let him see the things he talks about, as well as hear them described. The farmer's language may be very plain, and the plan of his lectures may be very good, but it will all be of no avail without example. Show him a plough, and one sight of it will teach him more about it, than all the descriptions in the world. Let him see you fence, and sow, and reap,-let him see you put all your rules into practice before his eyes, and all the mystery that hung about the art is gone, and all the difficulty of learning it has passed away.

It is the same in every calling. Whether it be in surgery, or chemistry, or "arts mechanical," the learner must have examples in every thing. No man ever learned to make a shoe, or weave a piece of cloth, or make a pot, or build a house, by means of lectures only. If the shoemaker wishes to teach a child his business, he takes him into his workshop, lets him see him cut his leather, fit it to the last, and stitch the parts together. If the potter wishes his son to learn his art, he takes him to the place where the business is carried on. He gives him no long lectures about flint, and clay, and moulds, and wheels; he lets him see them all, and examine them for himself. He lets him see the flint ground down, the clay mixed, the wheel turned, the kiln fired, and the whole process orderly gone through. The weaver and the builder do the same. And if we want our children to be well instructed in religion, we also must take the same course. Religion is a

business; the business of pleasing God, and benefiting men, and living for eternity; and, like husbandry or manufactures, it must be taught by practice. To make our children understand this business, and lead them to be proficients in it, we must show them every thing concerning it, and let them see how every thing is done. We must not only tell them what it is to pray and to give thanks; but we must let them see us bend the knee, and hear us call on God, and offer up to him our thanks and praise. We must not only talk to them of benevolence and charity, but we must let them see us deal our bread to the hungry, and spend our money, and employ our time and influence in the cause of human happiness. We must not only explain to them the rules of temperance, but we must let them sit with us at a frugal table, live with us in a humble habitation, be clothed in modest apparel, and see in us a contempt for every thing like carnal and selfish indulgence. Without this, all verbal instruction will be but empty and uncertain sounds. But show them the virtue you describe, and they will understand it at once; practise before them the rules you give, and let them try to practise after you, and the work is done.

The Almighty himself makes use of examples in all his endeavours to instruct mankind. . When God would make us acquainted with himself, he does not enter upon a long and abstract discourse upon his attributes, but gives us a history of his works, and so exhibits his perfections to our view at once. He does not enter into lengthened statements respecting his power; but simply tells us, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." He lets us see his power in action. And God said, "Let there be light and there was light." He does not tell us that he is good, but he lets us see his goodness, in creating a thousand living things to fill the earth, and air, and sea, and in providing for their welfare and enjoyment. He gives us instances of his goodness towards man, in making him after his own image, placing him in Eden, making him lord of the world, blessing him with a companion like himself, and conversing with him as a man converses with his friend.

He does not tell us that he hates sin, but he punishes the murderer Cain, he sweeps away the wicked generation with a flood, and destroys the guilty cities of the plain with fire and brimstone out of heaven. He teaches us how pleased he is with piety, by avenging the death of Abel, by translating Enoch, by preserving Noah from the deluge, and making him the father of a new world, and by delivering just Lot from the ruin of the ungodly." He gives us the history of his saints, that we may have our duty made visible, and he gives us the history of his enemies, that the deformity of sin may strike us more, and sooner fill us with horror and abhorrence. Thus does the Almighty teach all things at first by facts. He give us a history of his own conduct, and exhibits himself as a pattern of holiness, and mercy, and beneficence; and under the New Testament, he becomes visible in the person of Jesus Christ, that we might have before us always a full, a lovely, a most instructive and affecting example of all obedience towards God, and of all benevolence towards men. When facts are not at hand, God teaches us by parables, the semblances and images of facts.

(To be continued.)

WHY PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED.

"Ye have not, because ye ask not; ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss."-James.

ONE of the principal reasons why men do not obtain answers to their prayers is, they do not accompany their prayers with suitable exertions. Though God has promised all kinds of blessings in answer to prayer, he has not promised them in answer to prayer alone. He has enjoined other things as well as prayer, and if we neglect those other things, however much we may pray, our prayers will be of no avail. He has promised wisdom in answer to prayer:- "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James i. 5. But God has also commanded us, if we desire wisdom, to "search for it as for silver, and to dig for it as for hid treasure.” He has commanded us to search the Scriptures; to let the

word of Christ dwell in us richly; and to take heed to what we hear from the ministers of truth. These duties are as plainly enjoined as prayer; and without attention to them, no man has any right to expect that his prayers for wisdom will be answered. But many attend to the former, who neglect the latter. They pray daily, but never read or study the Scriptures, or exercise their minds. They want wisdom to be rained upon them like showers, while they are indolently asking for it. They. are under a mistake. They will not obtain wisdom so easily. They will have to dig, as well as beg; they will have to search, as well as ask; and unless they can muster resolution to read and think, they must remain strangers to true wisdom to the last.

So with respect to other blessings. God has taught us to pray for the conversion of our families, of our neighbours, and of the whole world; and he has promised to answer our prayers. Nothing can be easier than to ask God to convert the world, and there is not a professor of religion in the land, perhaps, who does not daily repeat the petition, "Thy kingdom come: thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Still the work of the world's regeneration goes but slowly on. The prayers of men seem to be in a great measure unavailing. What is the reason? Men do little or nothing else but pray. They pray, but they do not labour. They ask God to convert their children, but they do not bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. They pray for God to convert their neighbours; but they do not instruct and reprove them; they do not talk kindly to them; they do not let their light shine before them by their good examples. They pray for the conversion of the world, but they do not send the necessary missionaries, and teachers, and books. They spend their money in fine houses and ornaments, and in luxurious eating and drinking. They pray for the salvation of the rising generation; but instead of building schools, and providing teachers, they dig a fish-pond, or plant a flower-garden, or spend their money in filling their houses with needless and expensive furniture. Prayers are cheap; and if prayers alone would convert the world, they would

have it converted without delay. But God requires labours and sacrifices, as well as prayers, and here they fail. They are willing to talk, if God will do the work; but they do not like to be put to any trouble or expense. God will not hear the prayers of such people; it is unreasonable to expect it. He will make them ungrasp their covetous hands; he will make them exert their indolent powers; he will oblige them to think, and plan; and he will oblige them to work, and give, and deny their fleshly lusts, and come boldly forth to take up the cross; or instead of answering their heartless and selfish prayers, he will punish them for their hypocrisy.

Labour is necessary to obtain all spiritual blessings. If we want to be kept from temptation, we must not only pray, but use our understandings to discover temptation, and carefully avoid it. If we want victory over our spiritual enemies, we must not only pray, but fight. If we want comfort, we must not only ask for it, but keep a good conscience, contemplate God's goodness, meditate on his promises, hold intercourse with our fellow Christians, and be busily employed in doing good. If we want more faith, we must not only pray, but search the Scriptures, contemplate the evidences of religion, attend to the suggestions of God's spirit, and act in all things according to the truth as we already understand it. If we want more abilities to do good, we must not only ask for them, but faithfully use what we have, and embrace every opportunity of improving them. In a word, we must join

labour with prayer in all things.

We do join labour and prayer in reference to temporal blessings. We pray for daily bread; God has told us to do so; but we do not content ourselves with praying. We know that if a man will not work, he shall not eat; and according to the appointinent of God, we labour with our hands, that we may procure things honest in the sight of all men. The farmer prays for good crops, but he knows he would never have them, if he were to do nothing more than pray. He knows that God has appointed him to till the ground, and earn his bread with the sweat of his brow. He knows he must scatter his seed, and manure his grounds, and fence his fields, and