receive the law from his mouth, and to keep it in store till others should crowd into his kingdom; so almost as soon as they were clear from the pursuit of their taskmasters, and avenged on their adversaries, he proceeded with impressive signs and awful solemnities, such as on no other occasion were ever displayed to the earth, to establish the directions of his will, directions from the first unchangeable, and in time to be universal. These rules, called ever after, by way of excellence and distinction, the Ten Commandments, were written, as we are told, by the hand of God on two tables of stone. The very first sight of them shews that they form themselves into two portions, most readily to be separated and distinguished, the first four commandments prescribing the conduct of man towards the Lord his God, the remaining six regarding his actions and feelings towards his fellow creatures. Thence we commonly speak of them, represent them, and ourselves write them, as if the original division into two tables was according to this design. We cannot indeed say that they were given out exactly in this form of distribution, but it is convenient and allowable thus to class them; so when we speak of the commandments of the first table, we mean the first four, and regard them as shewing the principles of

our duty towards God; and in the same way, by the second table we intend all after the fourth, and allow them to be the main fixed rules of our duty towards man.

As to the simple letter of the commandments themselves, I mean the plain first sense of their words, there is scarcely room for difficulty or perplexity to the youngest or most uneducated mind, but as here I wish to be listened to by the veriest children, I will go back, as well as I can, to my own first childish recollections, of which I bear in my mind, that the only point where I felt at a loss, was about the connexion and bearing of the word "thousands" in the second commandment, where God declares that he will "visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him, but shew mercy unto thousands in them that love him, and keep his commandments." I remember, I say, that as a mere child, I did not at first see that as his wrath was threatened but for three or four, so his mercy is held forth for thousands of generations, and that this word, namely generations, is the word with which the sense is to be filled up. A very slight advance in years and information was enough to remove this only perceived difficulty.

Do not let it be thought trifling, that one who would enter into the minds of children, should tell how he himself thought as a child; if this petty trouble ever crossed the young spirit of any among you, it must have vanished, if you have elsewhere found, and noticed both for understanding and for comfort, the knowledge "that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth to a thousand generations, covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments." If there are other obscurities as to the mere construction of words in the laws of the two tables, I confess myself not aware of them, but it is not to be presumed that the full and thorough force of every expression is so readily at once to be discerned; for such complete understanding some care, thought, and comparison are required; still I regard the great leading sense as mainly and sufficiently to be perceived at first sight. My design in these few lectures is, as I again repeat, rather to lead you to notice the broader features of a system, than to dwell, more than is unavoidable, on every smaller portion.

When it is asked of the child "What dost thou chiefly learn by these commandments?" An answer is provided according to the above described division of the tables, "I learn two things: My duty

towards God and my duty towards my neighbour." This distribution of duties, and the words expressing them, are further derived from the declaration of Christ, that on the two commandments of love to God, and love to our neighbour hang all the law and the prophets. Duty to God is thus set forth in the catechism. "My duty towards God is to believe in him, to fear him, and to love him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength: to worship him, to give him thanks, to put my whole trust in him, to call upon him, to honour his holy name and his word, and to serve him truly all the days of my life." (There is scarcely, I trust, need that I should take up much time to tell you again, that it is chiefly for the sake of the very young and the imperfectly informed that I continue to repeat in your hearing what so many have in their memories, though of the most advanced in knowledge I ask reflection on these their stores of truth.) In the above summary of duty to God, we do not indeed very plainly discern particular commandments to which we can assign its different respective heads, but it is quite clear, and quite enough, that it breathes the general spirit of all the commandments, and moreover is expressed as nearly as may be, in the very words in which scripture in various places

enlarges on these duties, when their principle has been comprehensively stated. To feel this, it is enough that you should recollect how the opening words of this declaration are derived from the sayings of the Lord Jesus, who, when asked, "which is the great commandment in the law?" replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy -mind. This is the first and great commandment."

We may pass on to our duty towards our neighbour, of which the learner is taught to say that on the whole or in general: "My duty towards my neighbour is to love him as myself, and to do to all men as I would they should do unto me." These expressions, you know, are from God's word, for who among you, that in years and sense is able, has not learned from the lips of the Saviour, that like unto the first great commandment there is the second-" Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" and "all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them?" It is very plain indeed for the learner to bring under their proper commandments among the ten, the several branches of his duty to his neighbour; thus to the fifth commandment which connects the two tables and is at the head of all