Again, God, by the pen of Solomon, has set down a word in the Bible which needs mentioning to-day: "He that spareth the rod hateth his son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." The rod indeed should be used with caution and good common sense, and only in extreme cases of disobedience and wickedness. Parents should be heedful in this respect. When a child does a trifling wrong, not out of malice, but out of mischief or thoughtlessness, parents must not resort to extreme severity. Parents should take the trouble to train their children, to talk to them, to explain what is right and wrong, to get the consent of their will, and persuade them to obey, and it is only after all patience and clemency has been exhausted and the child remains intractable that the rod will come in for its share of training. It is a well-known dictum of Luther, that the apple and the rod must go together, that is, love must be combined with justice, otherwise children feel abused, and become embittered.--But neither must we refrain from using the rod for the good of the child, nor can we begin too early. And one thing more do we emphasize in this important matter of children's training: Keep your child out of bad company. Boys and girls are often allowed to run wild, early and late, with all kinds of companions, in all sorts of places, and this has marked the beginning of many a boy's and girl's downfall. You would not suffer your little ones in the company of children infected with some malignant disease. But some parents seem to dread such ailments more than the vicious and degrading influence of ill-trained children; they never inquire about the character of their children's playmates, about the nature of the games indulged in. On a Sunday morning parents will leave their children at home, feasting on the comic section of the Sunday paper, a flagrant exhibition of the criminal meanness and spitefulness of some bad boy. To pass by other things, the five-cent theaters, or nickelodeons, may present wholesome pictures at times, but enough has been said and written to convince us that the nature of the entertainment offered is in many cases, if not in the most, of a low and trivial order. It is certainly a training in the wrong direction if children can talk fluently about plays, actors, and actresses. Let a child taste that sort of opiate, and life elsewhere will seem dull and insipid, and the outcome far from the paths of righteousness and religion. May God, according to the riches of His mercy, bless the words spoken so that they may arouse us parents to renewed endeavors, multiplied zeal, and irresistible enthusiasm in our duties over against our youth. To His great Parent heart and Parent care we commend them and us. Amen. THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.--_Matt. 25, 40._