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What do you praise God for in this Hymn?
Creation and Providence.

What do you mean by creation?

Making things out of nothing.

What do you mean by Providence?

God's care over every thing that he has made. What was it which formed the mountains, and the seas, and the skies?

"The Almighty power of God."

Where do you learn that God made all things? Gen. i. 1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

What did he make the sun to do?

To rule the day.

What does the moon do?

"Shines full at his command And what do the stars do? Obey his word.

Prove from Scripture that God made the sun and the moon and the stars.

Gen. i. 16. "And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also."

What filled the earth with food?

"The goodness of the Lord."

For whose use did the Lord fill the earth with food?

For the use of his creatures.

And when he had formed his creatures with his word, what did he pronounce them to be? Good.

Prove this from Scripture.

Gen. i. 31. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."

Where do you see the wonders of God's power displayed?

Every where.

If you look upon the ground, what do you see there which makes God's glories known?

Beautiful plants and flowers.

And what do you see in the sky which declare the glory of God?

The sun, and moon, and stars.

What passage of Scripture teaches you this? Psalm ix. 1. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy work." What are all God's creatures subject to?

His care.

Is there any place where God is not?
No.

Prove this from Scripture,

Psalm cxxxix. 7-10. "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."

How does God's glory shine in heaven?

With beams of love.

How is he seen in hell?

With wrath.

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Why does God love all that are in heaven?

Because all are good and holy there.

Why is God's anger seen in hell?

Because there his hatred of sin is shewn in the everlasting punishment of obstinate and impenitent sinners.

What guards you from danger?

God's hand.

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Psalm cxxxix. 3. "Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my

ways.

Who then ought you never to forget?

The Lord.

What does one of the Psalms in our Prayer-book tell us shall be the portion of those in the other world who forget God in this?

Psalm ix. 17. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God."

ON THE DUTIES OF CHILDREN.

FROM the example of Christ we may learn the duty of obedience to parents. St. Paul also in several of his epistles has left us directions on the same subject."Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour thy father and mother." And again, Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord." This sacred duty cannot be too strongly impressed on the minds of all children. God has committed them to the care and government of their parents, whom he has ordered to instruct them, and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The child therefore should pay a willing obedience to the commands of his father and mother. He should feel, and know, that he is weak and ignorant; and should thank God for having given him guides to direct his conduct. He should tenderly love his parents. He should listen attentively to their instructions, and diligently obey all their commands. If a child be so unfortunate as to have an unkind parent, or a severe master, let him never forget his duty to God, which obliges him to submit with meekness. Whatever may be the faults of the pa

rent, they cannot alter the duty of the child. He must take his sufferings patiently, he must constantly endeavour to please by obedience and dutiful submission. Let him pray to God to direct him in the duties he has to perform, and to grant him patience under every trial; and let him look forward to the time when, either in this world, or the next, it shall please God to comfort him. Never let him forget the reverence which every child owes even to the worst of parents. Let him still honour and respect them, let him try to gain their love, and let him pray to God to bless them. In this, as in every thing, let each one consider his own duty, and endeavour to perform it. When a young man becomes capable of providing for himself, let me advise him carefully to guard against any wish to be free from the authority of his parents. We have a most affecting instance of the ill consequence of that wish in the parable of the prodigal son, in the xvth chapter of St. Luke. Tired of the restraints of a regular family, and the gentle control of his father, the young man would be his own master. Trusting to his own judgment, he fell into bad company, and vice, and poverty. He spent all he had in riotous living; and when the season of wicked pleasure was over, he was reduced to such a state of wretchedness as to be almost starved. Then, and not till then, he was sensible of his error, and he was brought to repentance. He went to his father and humbly confessed his fault, saying, "Father, I bave sinned against Heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." Let every young person learn from this story the danger of forsaking the path of duty. When the prodigal left his father he little thought he should so soon be plunged into sin and misery; but he was led on, step by step, till he was on the brink of destruction. Happily for him, his father yet lived

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to receive and forgive him. What must have been the state of the wretched son, had it been otherwise? O ye who are yet under the protection of tender and pious parents, and can receive the benefit of their advice and example, cherish it as the greatest of blessings. Consider such parents as your best friends; assist, support, and comfort them; and then you may hope for their blessing, and the blessing of God. In almost every instance, they are the best and truest friends a man will ever find in the world. He can seldom at any age, be justified in disobeying their commands, unless those commands are contrary to the laws of God, or his country. He should consider it as a great blessing, if his parents are spared till he is in full strength, that he may have the means of proving his gratitude and love, by devoting a portion of his labour to their support, if their wants require it, and by constant and affectionate attention to their wishes. Happy is the man who thus obtains the blessing of his dying parents. But dreadful must be the feelings of him who knows that he has added to the usual sufferings of age, by the want of that duty and affection which his parents had a right to expect from him. Dreadful must be the state of his mind, when his conscience tells him that he has done so, after those parents are removed from this world, when he knows that he can never make them amends for his faults, never regain their love, never obtain their pardon and blessing. Consider, this, all ye whose parents yet live. Reverence your father, and attend to the wishes of your mother; support them in poverty, watch over them in sickness, bear with their infirmities, and let your tender care cheer their declining years. And may the blessing of God be ever with you.

N. L. H.

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