the Lord Jesus Christ." There is a peace that does not come from that source-a. peace that comes from the devil, a moral stagnation of soul, something like the stillness of that murky atmosphere that nurses and forbodes the thunder, the lightning, and the hurricane which spread devastation over sea and land. 'l'he peace of God is: (1) Peace of an approving conscience. (2) Peace of conscious security. (3) Peace of accordant affections. (4) Peace of hannonions activities. 2. A confunction of love and faith. "Love with faith." There is a love and also a faith that are not of Heaven. Divine love and faith are always united in a good man. Divine faith "works by love," works by love as the labourer works by the sun. These are the blessings spiritual benevolence desires for men, and they are in truth the germs of all good. Give me these, and I want no more. Out of them my Paradise will bloom; they are the nebulre which will one day encircle me with the brightest of heavens. Give the race these, and soon all crimes, sufferings, discords, miseries, will cease. III. A TYPE OF CHRISTIAN CATHOLICITY. "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus "-love him purely, love him iu reality, love him as he ought to be loved. Wherever they are, in whatever land, of whatever tribe or kingdom, happiness to them. The language of modern sects is-Grace be to all them that are Baptists, Methodists, Independents, Episcopalians, etc. The language of the true Christian catholicity is -" Grace be to all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ," of all creeds or no creed, Churches or no Church. CoNCLUSION, Here end our reflections on this wonderful Epistle. Our walk through this section of the great garden of truth, whose aromas have refreshed, whose beauty has charmed, and whose objects have challenged our thoughts and excited our devout admiration, is now ended. Should others follow our footsteps with keener eyes and finer senses, more apt to discover the beautiful and the good, they will be able to discover for themselves, and reveal to others, much more than we have done. ·when we began our walk we were afraid that we should meet some of those grim Calvinian dogmas which certain theologians assured us were there, but we never met their shadow. '!'here are no theological weeds and thistles here. All is free and fresh as nature, as fitted to the human soul as light to the eye and breath to the lungs.-D. T. Vere. 1--4.-0hildren a.nd parents. Christianity purifies aud elevates family lifr. It is supremely natural, orderly, and reasonable in the treatment of domestic affairs. We meet with frequent allusions to families and households in the New Testament. The order and health of the home are clearly recognized as of primary importance. This is seen in the treatment of parental relations. I. THE DUTIBS OF OHILDREN To THEIR PARENTS. 1. The duties. (1) Obedience. A condition of subjection is necessary and right for childhood. Children must be taught to reverence an authority above them and to yield their will to a higher will. Thus the first principle of what, in after life, must be the fundamental relation to God, i~ instilled. Children should obey, for the very sake of obedience, orders for which at present they see no reason, and from which they can foresee no good results. But thero is a limit to obedience. "Obey your parents in the Lord." When parents command what is plainly contrary to the will of Christ, disobedience becomes a duty, (2) Honour. It is not enough to obey in act. Love and reverence should he found in the heart of children. It is most injurious for children to lose reverence for their parents. '!'hey are themselves degraded when this is the case. 2. The grounds on which these duties to parents are enforced. (1) It is right. '!'his comes first. It is au appeal to conscience, No obedience or honour can be of worth when only low, selfish motives prompt the performance of filial duty. (2) It is profitable. In the long run the principle that underlies the ancient promise of the fifth commandment is abundantly exemplified. Family life is the root of social order. When this is corrupt that will be upset. Good domestic habits are the safeguards of the best kind of conservatism, The most frightful revolutions are those that begin at the family hearth, II. Tm: DUTIES OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN, The family relation is reciprocal, anrl so are the duties of parents and children, It is most unreasonable to expect tho children to discharge their share of domestic duty if parents, who have so much larger knowledge and experience and whose example is tho most powerful instructor of their children, fail in theirs. 'l'o stern Roman fathers the Christian view of parental duty Tirn EPISTLE TO 'l'IIE EPHESIANS. [OH, VI. 1-24.
was novel. Even now it is too little re,,"'Mlled. 1. The negative dvty. " Provoke not yonr children _to wrath." W11ile strictly enforcing n~essary commands, parents should be most caretul not to lay on the shoulders of their children unnecessary burdens. Ol>< dience is hard_ e~ou~h _tm~er the best of circumst.ances. Especially is it desirable 0
not to provoke chlld1sh 1mtat1on by hasty, harsh manners when a wiser kinder method might be more effiCRcious in securing obedience and respect. 2. Th~ positive duty. "~~rture the~ in the _chas~uing and admonition of the Lord." The parent is the ~pmtual guard11m of his children. He cannot delegate to another the responsibility that God will some day call him to account for. In caring for their children's health, happiness, and worldly prospects, etc., parents are often least anxious about the most essential point, the spiritual welfare of their family. Let it be remembered that the first requisite in training children for Christ is that the parents should be themselves his disciples.-W. F. A.