SERMON PREACHED ON THE ISLAND. 293 
she will do him good and not evil all the days 
of her life. She openeth her mouth with 
wisdom ; and in her tongue is the law of kind- 
ness. She looketh well to the ways of her 
household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her 
husband also, and he praiseth her. 7 
"Husbands and wives, excite each other in 
the path of duty. Form the holy resolution, 
that you and your house will serve the Lord; 
and having made this resolution, persevere in it 
till death. Be diligent in reading the Word of 
God, and causing it to be read in your families. 
4 Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye 
have eternal life,' is a precept of our blessed 
Lord; and parents are in a peculiar manner 
bound to instruct their children in the knowledge 
of the Word of God. Family prayer is a duty 
as absolutely necessary as reading the Word of 
God; for prayer is an excellent means to render 
reading effectual. We read that our blessed 
Lord, when He dwelt on earth, promised a 
peculiar blessing to joint supplications: 'Where- 
soever two or three are gathered together in my 
name, there am I in the midst of them.' Add 
to this, that we are commanded by the Apostle 
to 'pray always with all manner of supplica- 
tion,' which, doubtless, includes family prayer. 
" Remember, the time will come, and that, 
perhaps, very shortly, when we must all appear 
before the judgment-seat of Christ, where we 
must give a solemn and strict account how we 
have had our conversation in our respective 
families in this world. How will you endure to 
