writes a book, or invents a machine, the law secures to him the right of controlling it as he pleases, and does not allow any one else to interfere with that right. In short, it is a universally received maxim, that what a man makes is his own, and that he has a right over it.

Now the right of the great and good God over us is far superior to that of the artist over his statue, the author over his book, the boy over his top, or the girl over her doll. Because, God has the power within Himself, underived from any one, to form our bodies and to create our minds; but all the skill or power which we exercise is obtained entirely from another—namely, from that same God who has a right over us as His creatures.

It follows, of course, that since God has made us by His own almighty, unaided power, and thus has the entire right over us, we ought, in all respects, to be, and to do, whatever He requires of us. The first question of our hearts should therefore be - What would God have us to do? How shall we best please Him? What is right in His sight? Briefly, what are our duties to Him? And to know and to practise these duties, should be the chief end and aim of our lives.

Second, we owe still further duties to God, because He preserves the life and powers which He has given us. Were it not for His constant

What is said of the right of God over us? Why? What follows from this? What should be the first question of our hearts? What the chief end and aim of our lives?

care and protection, we should lose our faculties of thinking and of remembering; our reason would leave us, and we should run blindfold, as it were, into the fire or into the water; our hand would cease to act in obedience to our wishes in the production of anything to supply our wants, or to gratify our fancy; our bodies would be a source of continual suffering to us, or we should sicken and die.

Third, our Maker not only preserves us, but He does us good continually. He has provided for our happiness in the objects of nature. The world is clothed with beauty for us. The flowers and trees, the brooks and ponds, the moon and the stars, the singing of birds, and the fruits of the earth, all, in many ways, conduce to our enjoyment.

It is God, too, who gives us kind parents to provide us with food and clothing, and to furnish the means for our instruction and improvement. He permits us to enjoy the benefit of teachers in our various studies, and good books are prepared for our use by those to whom He has given knowledge and wisdom.

But, better than all the good things of this life which our Father in heaven so bountifully showers upon us, He makes known to us in His word the reality of a continued existence after these bodies die and are left to moulder in the

Second? Some of the effects of God's withholding his care and protection? Third reason of our duties to God? Other things for which we are indebted to God? But for what more than all?

carth. The child who sees her little brother fall into the sleep of death, so deeply that her loudest calls upon his name bring no answer, and fail to cause him even once more to open his eyes upon her, has yet the means of learning that his spirit still lives, and that, by and bye, if she is truly good, she may rejoin him in a world of beauty and happiness.

Our duties to God may be considered under different heads, -as Love, Gratitude, Obedience, and so forth, and these will form the subjects of the several chapters contained in the First Part.

CHAPTER I.

LOVE TO GOD.

"He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love."

TRUE goodness is a quality more worthy of our love than anything else in the world; and we ought to place our highest affections on those beings, and on those things, in which there is the greatest amount of goodness.

1. God is a Being of perfect goodness, and therefore we should not only love Him, but love Him supremely, above all things, with "all our

Under what heads may duties to God be considered? Subject of Chapter I.? Motto? What is said of true goodness? On what should we place our highest affections? How should we love God? Why?

heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind." Even if He were not doing us good continually, we ought to love Him for what He is in Himself, and simply because in Him is united every possible excellence. He possesses wisdom, truth, justice, purity and benevolence, in far greater degrees than we can comprehend.

2. God is also a Being of infinite love and compassion, and "His tender mercies are over all His works.' It seems natural and right that we should love those who love us, and do us good. We feel that earthly parents, who watch over our tender and helpless infancy, who, when we are sick, attend to us by night and by day, with untiring care,-deserve the full love of our hearts; and that it would be unnatural, and even monstrous, if, for all their kind offices, we returned no glow of affection. Children naturally love those who make them presents, who play with them, or who invent games and sports for their amusement. Even the infant seems to know who loves it, and will go, without fear, to the stranger whose face shows that he loves, and is interested in, the little child.

If we love earthly friends who care for us, how much more should we love God, who loves us far more than we can understand; whose

For what ought we to love God, if He were not constantly doing us good? Some of his perfections? Another reason for our loving God? What seems natural and right in regard to those who love us? How illustrated in reference to parents? To children?

ever-waking eye watches over us while we are in the helpless state of sleep, so that no harm comes nigh us, and we awake refreshed and happy in the light of a fresh day; who preserves us from injury when exposed to the many dangers of travelling, upon water or land, by steamboats, rail-cars, or other carriages; who gives us friends, and everything which makes us happy in this life; who "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life;" and who has revealed to us something of the glories of that world to which our spirits will go when our bodies die, if we have made our duties the rule of our conduct here;- a city which hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it;" where "there shall be no night;" where "there shall in no wise enter anything that defileth;" "where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest;" and where "God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.".

The more we know of God, the more we shall see cause to love and admire Him. It is therefore our duty to learn as much as we can of His character, to study His works in nature, to read the Scriptures which tell of Him, and to improve all our 'opportunities for tracing the marks of His goodness and love.

What are some manifestations of God's love for us? What ought we to learn about God? Why?