with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; and the second is a very loving commandment also; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Now this law we should all obey in our hearts and lives and our first parents, Adam and Eve, lived very happily in the garden of Paradise till they sinned against this good law; and then they were turned out of Paradise, and lost the blessed favour of God.

For the Lord planted in that garden, such rich fruit as never grew in any garden besides, only forbidding our first parents to taste of one tree, that he might prove their love towards him; but through the temptations of the wicked one, who now dwells in hell, they despised the commandment of God, and ate the forbidden fruit; and by this their hearts were given over to be corrupted by sin.

They being corrupted parents, their children were corrupted also; insomuch that we read in the Bible, that their first son Cain became a murderer, and murdered his own good brother Abel, only because he was a better man than himself.

Afterwards we are told how all sinners corrupted each other, and filled the whole world with wickedness; so that God himself, though all mercy and love, was grieved at his very heart that he had made man, and was determined to punish them by sending a most dreadful flood, which drowned every living creature upon the earth.

But Noah being a righteous man, was saved in the ark, which was a very large ship that Almighty God ordered him to build for himself and his family; while all the world of ungodly sinners besides, were destroyed for their sins.

O how dreadful must sin be to deserve such punishment at the hand of God! And as you go on to read the Bible, you will find how soon man's wicked heart taught him to be bad again and how the Lord sent down fire and brimstone from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah;-how he made earthquakes to swallow up wicked men alive;-how he ordered the sea to drown all the rebellious Egyptians, for persecuting and abusing those people that he loved, even Israel that he had chosen ;-how

he has made his angels to strike others dead by thousands, for despising his people, and blaspheming his name;-and how even at this present day, he permits bad men to fight till they cover each other with blood;—and how he lets whole armies go to war till they kill one another by hundreds and thousands without mercy.

Now from the bad lives of mankind, you may surely know that their hearts are bad also; for the wickedness of our actions always come from the wickedness of our hearts: none but the wicked do that which is wicked.

And now dear children, let me see if I can shew you somewhat of the wickedness of your own hearts, that our merciful God may give you repentance for your sins, and bless you with his forgiving love, through Jesus Christ; for all children are born in sin, and therefore cannot be saved without his grace and mercy.

First; you have been taught that you should love the Lord your God, with all your hearts, and souls, and minds, and strength; and how

happy are all they that thus love the dear. Lord, and are beloved by him.

But how is it that many children had rather go to play, than to the Lord's house to hear his word, and sing his praise: and when at the Lord's house, how little do they attend to what is spoken, but often behave indecently, and thereby set an example to other children, to make them as bad as themselves. O did but such children remember that God hears all they say, and sees all they do, surely they would tremble at their sin, and fear, lest his righteous judgment should overtake them!

Why is it that poor children do not look upon it as a great mercy, that they are relieved from hard labour on a sabbath-day, that they may learn to read their Bibles, and be taught thereby the Lord's great compassion in saving vile sinners, through Jesus Christ.

Again, how very much to be pitied those poor children are, whose most cruel and wicked parents teach them to blaspheme and swear almost as soon as they have taught them to talk and what sad hearts must children

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have, that will learn to speak such dreadful words, although their parents set them the bad example; and why is it that other children so frequently say, O Lord! O God! O Christ! in a light and thoughtless manner! Have they not been taught, that those who take God's name in vain, shall not be held guiltless? And if, as our Lord says, from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, sure I am, that children's hearts must be very wicked when their words are so sinful and profane.

Honour thy father and thy mother is another good command that God has given us in his word; and if children have lost their dear parents, yet the Lord has sent others to take care of them; and they for their loving care, should be considered and honoured as their parents: but, O how unkind and unloving, how stubborn and disobedient are many ungrateful children against their parents and friends! It was their parents that brought them into life, and while poor helpless infants, it was their parents that nursed them, and cherished them; it is their parents that give them all,