nothing more is required, than is requisite for her own respectability and happiness. How many homes are rendered wretched by their absence! A wife who devotes herself to fashion; who is never less happy than when at home; who, in domestic duties, is peevish and fretful; who exacts more from her husband than she is willing to concede; whose demeanour to domestics is overbearing, and to her children harsh, or what is equally injurious, criminally lenient; who is wanting in discretion and common sense, converts home into a paradise lost. A wife who knows what a wife should. be, will not fail to perceive the necessity of divine guidance, and will pray earnestly for the wisdom which is profitable to direct.

Do I stand in the marriage relation? How important my position! The world is composed of families; and as are the families, so is the world. Thus I am entrusted with the training of at least a portion of the great world, and as the head of a family, their good conduct and final destiny materially depend on my management. As a steward of God I am required to occupy until he comes. My sphere may be limited, nevertheless it is important. The dear ones with whom I am connected, look to me for counsel and example; and shall I not feel my responsibility, and study the duties of my station? Shall I not so learn to improve and control myself, that I may exert a happy influence on the members of my household? How greatly do I need the grace and teachings of God! Without them I can do nothing efficiently. Let me settle it then in my own mind, that I must begin with the fear of God, and in every succeeding step feel the necessity for divine help.

REPROOF.

A REPROOF entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

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Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction. but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

He, that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.

BLAME-WORTHINESS is the just ground of reproof. It may be administered by superiors, equals, or inferiors; its poignancy depending principally on its relevancy, and not wholly on the character of him who administers it. There is certainly more propriety in the reproof of one who is careful of his own conduct, and whose general correctness exempts him from retort; and yet occasions may exist in which the righteous may incur the reproof of the wicked. As all men are imperfect, all are exposed to reprehension; and they are generally most deserving of it who most bitterly complain and most fiercely resent it. To imagine that there is nothing in us worthy of blame, is a strong proof of ignorance and self-conceit.

Reproof may be administered by actions as well as words. The example of a good man is a lively reproof of the wicked. No language of rebuke could have more deeply entered into the soul of Peter than did the look of his Lord. Gentle, yet reprimanding,

it spoke in a voice not to be misunderstood, to the conscience of the backslider, and brought his sin to painful remembrance. Reproofs given in anger are seldom efficacious, but when conveyed in kindness and faithfulness, they may prove eminently serviceable. Pride may render them unpalatable; but like a nauseous medicine, they may reach and counteract the disease.

The state of the heart is best tested by the effect produced on it by just reproof. To be restive, indignant, and retaliatory under reprehension, is good evidence that it is deserved. The good man whose mind is in an holy and humble frame, will be submissive, if not thankful, when his faults are reprehended. It will afford him some hint to be improved; induce closer self-examination, and lead to greater circumspection. Where, however, reproof is most needed, it is generally least acceptable. They whose faults are most manifest, hate the vigilance that detects and the boldness that rebukes them. The friendly advice and warning are interpreted as officious intermeddling; and where kindness is intended, they pretend to see only hostile feeling. Thus transgressors harden themselves, and while they hasten to the dangerous precipice, they repel those who would interpose a barrier between them and ruin. It is a mark of their mad infatuation to hate reproof, and a sad prognostic of their inevitable fate. It is the special duty of the ambassador of God to reprove the wicked, and to do it with all long-suffering; in hope that the arrow may sooner or later reach the mark, and induce the sinner to reflect and amend his ways.

My soul, remember that while he that hateth reproof shall die, he that heareth it, abideth among the

wise. If called to administer it to others, do it from affectionate concern for their interests; if exposed to receive it, know that it is well to be corrected for thy faults. Especially when God reproves, reverently submit, and turn from the sin which awakens his displeasure. Thou hast greatly erred from thy youth until now; and yet, through divine forbearance, thou hast escaped the just desert of thy sins. Wilt thou not therefore receive with docility the reproofs of God's providence and word, which are designed for thy good? Remember and be warned by the fate of those who harden themselves in their sin, and will not be admonished to forsake it. Earthly friends and counsellors advise, and the Lord from heaven rebukes; but although often reproved, they harden their neck, and then they are suddenly destroyed, and that without remedy.

FALSEHOOD.

LYING lips are an abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.

A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it: and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.

Excellent speech becometh not

a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

SOME have made it a grave question in morals, whether falsehood can, under any circumstances, be justifiable. The suggestion of such a possibility is itself an absurdity, inasmuch as the God of truth has settled it beyond dispute, that a falsehood is a violation of the law of rectitude, and can therefore be only a wrong, which admits of no justification. Extreme cases have been supposed in which a momentary departure from truth might prove a security to life; but if in the providence of God such cases do occur, a direct infringement of the divine law would be a singular mode of invoking God's protection. There is an eternal and unchangeable distinction between truth and falsehood; and plausible sophistry, however it may obscure, cannot destroy it. God is a God of truth, and the dignity, happiness, and safety of the creature depend on his conformity to this high standard.

A sacred regard for truth should be a fixed principle in every mind, and whatever approaches to a deviation should be vigilantly guarded against. Independently of the divine penalty which is incurred