an object of abhorrence even to those who are themselves polluted with every crime; and while many wicked fathers are, by both precept and example, initiating their own sons and other young men into all the elements of irreligion and debauchery, they shudder at the very thought of their wives and their daughters not being under the influence of the religion and the morality of the Bible. If a little of this good thing, then, be of such vital importance, even with those who personally know nothing of its value, of what value must it be, when it shall be the leading and the commanding principle of action in those upon whose fidelity, and activity, and daily and hourly labours, the welfare and the enjoyment of the whole community, must in every generation and in every state of society, from the very nature of things, depend? If a man is to be happy any where on earth, it must be in the bosom of his own family, rejoicing with the wife of his youth. And we repeat it, if a little of genuine piety, or of what may be only the semblance of genuine piety, be of such value in the estimation of those who personally know nothing of it, of what value must that wife be to her husband and to her family, whose piety is always ardent, and incorporated with all her plans and all her movements?

Genuine and ardent piety is of the utmost importance for the personal support and comfort of a good wife. She has, in all her plans and in all her movements, her peculiar difficulties-difficulties which, in many cases, she can communicate to no human being-and difficulties also, which, when known to others, can be removed or alleviated only by the favour and the goodness of the Almighty. To her Father who is in heaven she must often look for direction and assistance, when neither father, nor mother, nor husband, nor any earthly friend can help in the least degree. Every pious wife and mother is familiar with the experience of the Psalmist, "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way

wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me; refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."

Nor can the affection and piety of the husband, however

sincere and ardent, relieve the mind of the wife in numerous cases of anxiety and difficulty. It is written," Confounded be all they who serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols. "Worship him, (that is, Jehovah,) all ye gods." In every case, in exact proportion as the heart of a good wife is given to idolatry, she will be disappointed in the quarter from which she expected deliverance.

Genuine and ardent piety is indispensable in the character of a good wife, for fulfilling the great, and continued, and extended plans of Providence. Under God, mothers form the character and the destiny of the whole human family. As the infant, the boy or girl is, so, with very few exceptions, will be the full grown man or woman. The great and leading features of the mother's character are indelibly stamped upon every son and daughter of Adam. It is the great law of our nature, "Like everywhere produces, and cherishes, and perfects its like." Had it not been for the continued operations of this law, meekness, and gentleness, and goodness, and all the amiable and endearing qualities of humanity, would probably have long ago been extinct, and utterly unknown in all those countries where the Gospel is unknown. And in those countries and districts which have enjoyed the Gospel, the influence of the pious and active wife and mother, has at all times been seen, and felt, and acknowledged by all, as one of the principal means by which generation after generation have served the Redeemer. The prospects of every particular church and congregation, have always been encouraging, as to the continuance of the Gospel among them, just in proportion to the good character of the majority of the mothers.

Nor can there be any other individual so well qualified for forming human character, as a pious mother. Her affection for her own offspring is sincere, and strong, and lasting. She knows the value of the human soul; and is not unacquainted with the state of the world, and the realities of eternity. She has access to the understanding, and to the heart, and to the conscience of her children, as no other human being can have. She knows in her own experience, the truth of God's promise, and the efficacy

which Jehovah has been pleased to attach to the prayer of faith. How often has she the opportunity of whispering in the ear of her child, and into the ear of her God at the same time, "I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; my spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever."

A worthy father in the ministry, who has seen much of domestic society in all the departments of life, has said, that he has yet to find a respectable family of sons and daughters where the mother was an ignorant or imprudent woman; but he has seen and known many respectable sons and daughters whose fathers were worthless, but whose mothers were the excellent ones of the earth.

We now consider,

II. In what respects a good wife is peculiarly and specially from the Lord.

1. The woman was originally formed to be an essential and special help to the man. Read and study attentively,

Genesis, ii. 18-20.

The man was set at the head of the lower world; he was made the lord of the earth, and of all that it contained -was to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; but he could have no enjoyment of any one of these, or of them all collectively, till another being was made. There was not as yet in the whole range of creation, an help meet for him. Hence woman, the last and the best, and the noblest of all that was created, was formed. And was formed expressly to fill up the blank, and to supply the deficiency, and to put man into a situation in which he would be capable of enjoying his ample domain. And infinite wisdom, and infinite power, and infinite goodness adapted all belonging both to the body and to the mind of the woman, to that high and dignified rank, which was originally allotted to her in the scale of being. She commanded the heart of the man, and held in her

hand the property and the destiny of millions upon millions. And if woman has ever been degraded, and rendered unfit for such a dignified station, it has been by the mutual transgression of the man and the woman. It has been because our common nature has lost its original dignity, and has become depraved and corrupted.

2. Almost every pious man can trace very distinctly a special providence, in the arrangement of the circumstances, which connected him with the woman of his choice.

"House and riches are the inheritance of fathers; but a prudent wife is from the Lord." The son may know at a very early period of life, and long before he is of age, what will probably be the amount of his earthly inheritance. But he knows not till he has obtained her, what kind of wife he is to have; and in cases without number this great and important matter is settled very expeditiously, and without much reasoning and reflection—in the common language of men, it is wholly a matter of feeling and of accident; yet the pious man who has been blest with that best of earthly blessings, a good wife, will often review with astonishment and gratitude, the manner in which a vast number of otherwise unconnected contingencies were at that most important period of his sojourn here below, all over-ruled, and all concentrated towards that one object.

Again, "House and riches are the inheritance of fathers; but a prudent wife is from the Lord." It makes no matter how extensive, or how valuable the landed, or the funded estate of the young heir may be. Unless Jehovah in his goodness shall bless him with a prudent wife, it soon may be squandered to the four winds. The destiny of thousands upon thousands in high life, may be appealed to for the illustration of this fact.

What a caution is here suggested to parents, while they are making prospective arrangements for their children! How important also is it that young people should early acquire the habit of acknowledging God in all their ways; and that they be particularly urgent, and make it a matter again and again of special prayer, that they may be di

rected in their feelings and in their social intercourse with one another!

3. It is by the special arrangements of Providence, that a good wife is continued to any man, and continued as a blessing and enjoyment.

When we take into view the daily and nightly fatigues; the cares and anxieties which in many cases fill up the whole life of an affectionate and active wife and mother, it is a matter of astonishment that so many of them maintain their vigour and activity to the last stage of their earthly existence. There certainly is a sense in which the woman is not the "weaker vessel." There is certainly in the very constitution of most women, a something which fits them for enduring labours day after day, and night after night, which would crush in a very short period the most robust constitution known among men.

Consider again, that the whole domestic happiness depends upon an infinite variety of modifications of little things, and that all these little things, in all their various modifications, are agreeable, or disagreeable, according to the temper, and disposition, and habits of the wife. All the world over, just in proportion as the wife is in good humour and has the full command of herself, is the enjoyment of the husband, and of the children, and of all the domestics. But he who commands the heavens and the moving of the mighty deep, can alone effectually command. the movements of the human heart in either man or woHow important then is it, that a good husband should daily and hourly pray for his affectionate and pious wife; and how important is it, that every son and daughter should offer up sincere and fervent, and continued prayers

man.

for their mother!

III. We attend to the practical improvement of the whole subject. And,

1. Some of us once had good mothers, who are now in glory. We knew not their full value when we were under their care and protection. Nor can we at this day form any proper estimate of what we daily enjoy, as the fruit of their labours and prayers. What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits towards us? Let each of us