he prescribed the duties which men, as social beings, owe to each other. Though these laws were, in the first instance, expressly delivered to the Israelites only; yet they are obligatory upon all mankind; for they originate not more in the good pleasure of the Almighty, than in solid reason and in the essential interests of morality. Our blessed Saviour, too, has engrafted them upon his Holy Gospel; or rather, he has made them the platform or groundwork of that pure obedience which he requires from his disciples.

The love of God, and the love of our neighbour comprehend the whole substance of the ten commandments; and these, cultivated with diligence and sincerity, and exercised in the constant tenor of our lives, are the tests of our faithfulness as Christians. Without piety and benevolence, our hearts cannot be pure; nor can we possess that temper of humility and self-denial which is the peculiar characteristic of Christianity. The two qualities, indeed, improve and heighten each other. Piety has the effect of purifying our benevolence, and benevolence exercises the kindly feelings of the heart, so as to make our piety more congenial and more lively. They are sister virtues, that guide and animate us in our journey from earth to heaven,-and to those regions they respectively point.

A single family is, in itself, a little community, of which the parents are the head; and, therefore, as possessing the authority, the controul, and the care, they are entitled to honour from all who compose

their household.

Especial honour is due to them

from their children; and for several reasons.

1. The instincts of our nature point to it. Parental tenderness and filial love are reciprocal feelings, and are planted in the human breast as principles independent of the reasoning faculty. The natural authority of the parent, united with a natural kindness, engages, during the helpless season of infancy, the love and fear of his child,-which love and fear, growing into habit, make up together that homage which the commandment requires. Filial piety, indeed, is always natural :-the unsophisticated notions of mankind declare it to be so. It is not destroyed either by time or distance; though by the obstinacy of a misguided cunning, or by a callous self-delusion, it may be perverted and weakened. As the duty,

therefore, arises so easily and spontaneously out of our native affections, we perceive the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty in placing it on such a foundation.

2. Gratitude is another reason for it. One principle of equity, recognized both by reason and religion, is, that where much has been given, much is required in return. Now, with regard to our parents, how can our gratitude be carried too far? To them, under God, we owe the blessing of existence, and the means of its preservation.

Of all creatures, the human species are, in infancy, the most helpless and tender,-requiring a perpetual care and watchfulness to supply their wants, to guard

them from harm, and to preserve their health. This anxious and assiduous task belongs to parents,—who, regardless of their own ease, are led, by the strong sympathies of affection, to perform it cheerfully. How unceasing, in particular, is the mother's care!— and how soothing are her endearments!

We are also indebted to them for our sustenance and education, during the period, at least, of our youth. Their exertions, in this important part of our lives, are, especially if they have been well-conducted, invaluable; but, in every view of the case, they are highly to be estimated. They have to contend with the obstinate strugglings of our youthful tempers,to caution and check us, where our own experience would lead us into danger and mischief,-to direct our minds by wholesome precepts, to furnish us, often at great care and expense, with such skill or knowledge as may qualify us for our respective situations in life, and to endure themselves many inconveniences and privations, that they may be able to make a suitable and decent provision for us.

If they have at all been sensible of their parental duty, considered as an account which they must give to God, they will have taken care to train us up in habits of piety, and in the inestimable knowledge of the Christian faith. To set before us the beauty of the divine law, and the efficacy of true religion, their precepts and their example will have gone together ; so that we shall have seen in their own conduct, as well as in their admonitions, that the fear and worship

of God are essential to human happiness. Their prayers also for our safety, and for our well-being in all its circumstances;-their thanksgivings for our preservation and health;—will have been offered, with the petitions and praises on their own account, to the throne of mercy and grace.

Their solicitude for us does not terminate with our youth or early manhood; but it continues always. They have a livelier and more genuine concern for our welfare, through life, than any other persons can have; for they naturally regard our interests as their own. Hence we may, at all times, rely on their sincerity; and may avail ourselves of their counsel and assistance, in every case in which they are competent to advise or act. Identifying themselves with us, and considering that they, in a manner, live a second time in their children, they extend, for our sake, their prospects and cares beyond the circumstances of their own lives. The hope that, through God's blessing, their family will be benefitted by their exertions, though they themselves may not, makes them regardless of common difficulties, and urges them through trials of their talents, their influence, and their labour, which they would otherwise deem needless and intolerable. Even when this world has lost its attractions, and the approach of death brings eternity within their view, their last hours are occupied with thoughts and prayers for our welfare.

For every one of these reasons, they have a strong and irresistible claim on our gratitude;-and we

shall feel, if we judge rightly, that we cannot honour them too much. And, indeed, if we feel an attachment even to strangers, when they treat us kindly, and to indifferent persons of our acquaintance, when they confer a favour on us;—if we have a friendly affection for those whose good offices or engaging qualities have attracted our esteem ;-how much more ought we to cherish the sentiments of love and obligation towards those, who, next to the Almighty, gave us being,-who in our helpless hours of infancy, in the giddy season of our youth, and in the critical circumstances of our ripened age, have sympathetically studied our welfare and comfort,-whose exertions, prayers, and example, have led us forward to virtue and religion, and whose concern for us extends beyond the limits of their own life!

ence.

3. The interests of society require that parents should be honoured. A family is a school of obediThe fifth commandment is the foundation of all the social duties; for it applies to the first and dearest of our social relations. It prepares us, by virtuous discipline, for those more extensive engagements, which connect men together in the various circumstances of life; and from the fulfilment or the neglect of this commandment, arises much of that happiness or misery which nations as well as individuals enjoy or suffer.

The connection, therefore, of parent and child, does not relax, but it rather strengthens the other social ties. It does not contract our general benevo