will be left you. You will learn not to depend for all your happiness on things which may go away, and leave you miserable; but you will depend on God, who cannot go away from you, and you will be happy in his love, which cannot be taken away from you.

Should you ask the question, What shall I do for God, who is so good to me; who gives me friends to take care of me, and so many excellent and beautiful things to see and enjoy, and who gives me his love, which is better than all? Can I not do something for him? No; you can do nothing for him in the way of helping him; because he is allpowerful, and can do everything, and is allwise, and knows how to do all things right. He does not need your aid in any of his grand operations in the universe. You can only love him, obey him, and be thankful to him. But by doing this, you can, in a certain sense, do something for God. By being good yourselves, you are permitted to do something for God. Yes, even a little child can, in this way of considering the subject, do something for God, because he does what God wishes him to do.

Let us suppose that one of you, after thinking how kind his earthly father had always been to him, should feel full of gratitude, and run and say to him, Father, you are very kind to me, you are always doing me good, what can I do for you? can I not help you in your business or your profession? His father would probably say to him, No, my child, you cannot help me in that way. You are too young and too weak to be able to do anything for me in the business which I pursue; but in another way you can do something for me, and something which I shall be rejoiced to have you do. You can obey me; you can mind what I say to you; you can love your brothers and sisters, and be kind to them, and help them, so that I may have a peaceful, happy family around me, and that will be doing something for me, a great deal for me.

In a way similar to this, you can do something for your Maker. One of the methods which God has chosen in making his human children happy, is by so placing them together in the world, that they may make each other happy. And when they make each other happy, by doing real and lasting good to each

other, they are doing something for God. If you are kind, and benevolent, and gentle, and accommodating to those who are around you, no matter whether they are rich or poor, of this country or that country, you are doing something for God, for they are all his children, and he desires to see them all dwelling peacefully and happily together.

Yes, my children, though God is so powerful, that he does whatever pleases him in heaven and on earth, and keeps all the stars in their stations, and guides all the planets in their mighty courses, and sends the lightnings, and rules over the minds of men and angels, yet you, by your virtues, by your simple obedience, can do something for him. Think of this; and the thought will encourage and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you from disobedience and sin.

Remember, I say again, that even you can do something for the mighty Creator. You can bring him the offerings of your love and your duty. And if you bring them humbly, he will graciously accept them, and count them as of more value than the sacrifices on a thousand altars.

SERMON IV.

YOU SHOULD PRAY TO GOD.

PRAY TO THY FATHER.

CHILDREN, I believe that you like to hear me speak to you of the excellent things of religion; and it gives me great pleasure to teach you what I think will be useful to you. I ask you to listen to me again.

It was the wise King Solomon who said, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." It was a greater than Solomon who said, "Pray to thy Father." It was Jesus Christ who spoke those words to his disciples, or scholars, when he was teaching them how they should pray; as you may find by turning to the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, and the sixth verse. By "Father," he meant your heavenly Father, or God; and God is called your Father, because he made you, and takes care of you, and is kind to you, and loves you. I have already

spoken to you about remembering your Creator; I will now speak to you about praying to your Father.

Praying to your Father is speaking to him, and asking of him whatever is needful and good, for yourselves and for others. And it is right that you should speak to him. It is right that a child should speak to his father. Does not a child take pleasure in speaking to his earthly father, asking him for gifts, and thanking him for daily kindness? Why then should you not speak to your heavenly Father, and ask him for his good and perfect gifts, and thank him for the loving-kindness which he shows to you every day and every hour? It is true that you cannot see your heavenly Father; but that is no reason why you should not speak to him. It is not necessary that you should see him. If he sees you, and hears you, then you can speak to him, and ought to speak to him. And does he not hear you? Certainly he does. I told you in my last sermon, that God always sees you, and now I tell you that he always hears you. Who made your ears, and caused you to hear? It was God. And "he who made the ear,