however exellent his intentions may be, that

he

e will most probably, pass through life, without ever putting them to them to

to the test. There are little sacrifices, of daily occurrence, which, in a series of years, contribute as materially to the happiness of a parent, and which, because they are obscure, and have

: 0907 TO

no swelling sentiments to support them, are more difficult for a continuation than fequ vaunos 21 34

more splendid acti actions. Every man has little infirmities of temper and disposi tion, which require forgiveness; peculiarities which should be managed; prejudices which should be avoided; innocent habits, which should be indulged; fixed opinions which should be treated with respect; particular feelings and delicacies, which should be consulted; all this may be done without the slightest violation of truth, or the most trifling infringement of religion; these are the sacrifices which repay a man, in the decline of his life, for all that he has sacrificed in the commencement of yours; this makes a parent delight in his children, and repose on them, when his mind, and his body are perishing away, and he is hastening on to the end of all things. Consider that he

has been used to govern you; that (howvani nilasing and insllore javawod er you may have forgotten it) the remem

mediant ONE 1975 brance is fresh to him, of that hour, when before him as a child, and he was

you

We en

to you as a God: Bear with him in his old bus and sickness have age; pain have made him what you see; he has been galled by the injustice, perhaps, and stung by the ingratitude, of men; let him not see that old age is coming upon him, that his temper is impaired, or that his wisdom is diminished; but as the infirmities of life double upon him, double you your ozuper dontw kindness; make him respectable to himself, sooth him, comfort him,

od plode dbidw honor your

father, and your mother, that your days may be long, that you may be justified by own heart, and honored by the chilren which God giveth to you. ; boiluzno gora od

your

gati te noddlony Jesudgila odi

31 Parents are honored by the strict and sacred concealment of any faults they may y be discovered to possess. A good son will be loath to tono suppose that his parents have any faults; but he must be the worst, and wickedest of men, who unveils their nakedness, and 4 avails himself of those occasions those occasions which their

protection has given him, to study their weaknesses, and to expose them to a merciless world: Neither is it only the duty of a child not to publish the faults of his parents; let him take every fair, and judicious opportunity, of mentioning their virtues, their justice, their kindness,— their forbearance,-their zeal to promote the welfare of their offspring :-in this way a man is honored by his children; such testimony of children, prudently, and modestly delivered, the world always receives with favor, and esteem, as they ought to do that rectitude of conduct, in the parent, which has impressed itself so deeply on the mind of the child.

I need not add to my explanation of what is meant by honoring a parent, the necessity of obeying him, in all things lawful, of consulting him in all the important proceedings of our lives,-of referring to his advice, and instruction, in every difficulty, of showing that we feel, on all occasions, the strength of that sacred connection which binds us to the authors of our existence.

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No man, perhaps, can feel with sufficient energy all those duties which he owes to his parents, before he himself is a parent, and stands in the same relation to other human beings.-It is then he begins to perceive that the fears are real; that all the watchings, and all the anxieties are true;

is

that God has made nothing so timid, so kind, so good, as the heart of a parent; it is then you will discover why a parent wounded by the slightest neglect, why he is more sensitive in all his joys, and sorrows, why he rejoices in your faintest glory, why he mourns over your least disquietude,-why he follows you from the cradle to the grave with an affection which no labour can disgust, no peril intimidate, and which scarcely the blackest ingratitude can ever dissolve. Even the rebellion of Absalom could not extinguish the affection of David; but his victory was turned into mourning; the King forgot that he was safe upon the throne of Israel, and called night, and day for his son, weeping in the chambers over the gate, and wishing that God had smitten him with death.

-It should be a great incitement to the performance of this duty, that when the time comes for repenting that we have neglected it, when the little personal feuds, and jealousies, which blind our understanding are at an end, and it becomes plain to the judge, within the breast, that we have often neglected the authors of our being, often given them unnecessary pain;-when these. feelings rush upon us, it too often happens that all reparation is impossible; they are gone, the grave hides them, and all that remains of father, and of mother, are the dust,

9750

and the ashes of their tombs: In all other

(bum

injuries the chance of repairing them may endure as long as life itself, but it is the ordinary course of nature that the parent should perish before the child; and it is the ordinary course of nature also, that repentance should be most bitter, when it is the most ineffectual.

This commandment to honor parents may, in fact, be rendered subservient to every virtue, and may be obeyed as the mean of inforcing every law of the gospel,honor your father, and your mother; hono.

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