regard for you as a parent; one who wishes to promote your present happiness and eternal felicity My sons and daughters, attend to me, for I assure you that I take a great interest in your welfare: I am very much concerned for the salvation of your souls: My heart's desire and prayer to God for you is, that you may be saved:' I have been young myself, I know the temptations to which the young are exposed, and the snares into which you are most likely to fall: I feel for the dangerous condition in which you are the paths you walk in, are full of traps and snares: Among the various instruments which Satan employs for the ruin of your characters, your bodies, and your souls, there are none more dangerous, or more successful, than bad companions. Listen therefore to the advice of Solomon, and regard the caution which he gives you, with attention.

II. Hear, my young friends, and attend to Solomon's general character of bad companions; he calls them sinners; you often read and hear this word, sinner; but few of you, if any, have considered, or know what it means. All children are sinners, by nature; but there are some children who are greater sinners than others, by practice; I mean, some children are worse than others in the sight of God and man. A sinful child is one whose heart is wicked, whose actions are sinful, whose words are idle and filthy, whose thoughts and imaginations are continually evil. Wicked children, such as So

it was a Bible! which hs esteemed so much, as to run the risk of his life to save.

One

II. I will endeavour to show you why you should search the scriptures, or, I might say, and perhaps you will understand me better, if I say, why you should read your Bibles. After having told you what you are to search, or read; the next thing is, to give you some reasons to urge you to search the scriptures: and I assure you I can give you some very good ones. reason is, because it is not only the best book, but it is God's Book. If you were at a distance from home, and your parents sent you a letter, would you not read it? O yes, that you would, I am sure; and will you not read what God has written for you? A little girl once said, that the Bible was God's word, and that the catechism was the Bible's word.

Another reason is-because you do not know what the Bible contains; and if you are ignorant of the important and glorious things which are in the Bible, you are strangers to the only things which can make you happy in this life, and happy forever in the world to come. Let me briefly tell you what things these are, which you ought to know. The scriptures will tell you who and what God is that he is a Spirit; that he is eternal, holy, wise, powerful and good: They will tell you what you are that you are all sinners, born in sin and shapen in iniquity: that your thoughts and imaginations are evil from your youth; that you go astray from the

womb, speaking lies; that childhood and youth are vanity; that your hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; that your natures are depraved, your understandings darkened, your passions sinful, your affections earthly, and your souls exposed to the wrath of God; that your bodies were formed of dust, and will return to dust again; but that your souls are immortal, and will live forever.

The scriptures tell you what is your duty to God and man: That thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and that thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: on these two commandments, said Christ, hang all the law and the prophets.

The scriptures tell you of a Saviour, who was God; but came down from Heaven, and became man, that he might save your souls from the wrath to come; they tell you that he suffered hunger and thirst, temptations and trials; that he became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; that he was sold by Judas, denied by Peter, and forsaken by the rest of the disciples; that he was falsely accused, unjustly condemned, buffetted, scourged and spit upon; that he was crucified on the cross, and gave himself a ransom for you: He suffered, that you might be happy; he died, that you might live forever.

The scriptures tell you the way to Heaven: That Christ is the only way to God the Father;

that whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life: They tell you that he is gone to Heaven, to prepare a place for all those dear children who serve God, and love his Son Jesus. They tell you that it is on account of what Christ has done, that you will be admitted into Heaven, and not on account of any thing that you can do.

The scriptures relate to you, the history of the creation of the world; the fall of Adam; the flood; the building of Babel; the plagues of Egypt; the giving of the ten commandments; the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness, and the miracles attending it: There are histories of good and of bad children, as well as of wicked and of holy men; but, above all, there is the history of Jesus Christ, his birth, his life, his miracles, his suffering and death.

The scriptures give you the real characters of Cain and Abel, of Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, Jabez, Samuel, Abijah, Josiah, Obadiah, Solomon, Timothy, Mary, Martha, Dorcas, Lydia, Phebe, Priscilla, Rebecca, Sarah, Abigail, Hannah, Esther, Ruth, and the elect Lady. My dear little girls, will read and learn the thirty-first chapter of Proverbs, from the tenth verse to the end.

The scriptures speak of God's punishing wicked children. God set a mark upon Cain; denounced a curse upon Ham; commanded the stubborn son to be put to death; caused the

children who mocked the prophet Elisha, to be torn in pieces by the bears, and Absalom to be hung in the boughs of an oak, for his undutiful conduct to his Father.

The scriptures give you an account of some remarkable prayers.-The prayer of Jabez, the prayer of Solomon, the prayer of Auger, and the Publican's prayer, which is very suitable for every child-" God be merciful to me a sinner."

The scriptures tell that little children die. David's child died; the Shunemite's little boy; and the Ruler of synagogue's beloved daughter, all died when they were very young:

The scriptures declare," That the dead, small and great, shall attend before God; that he will bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil; that the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

Thus, I have very briefly told you of a few of the good things, which this precious book contains. But who is it that speaks these words" Search the scriptures?" It is Jesus, it is Christ the Saviour, your best Friend: it is his desire, it is his command: and if you love him, you will keep his commands. And Jesus himself gives you two every important reasons; "for in them ye think ye have eternal life;' that is, the scriptures show you how to obtain it; "and they are they which testify of me;" that is, the prophets bore witness to his coming,