+I. The natural desire of a moral instructor.+ Every teacher desires that his pupil should remember his instructions, and unless that which has been given is remembered it is useless to carry him further on. Memory holds a very important place in the formation of moral character. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you; . . . by which also ye are saved, if ye _keep in memory_ what I preached unto you" (1 Cor. xv. 1 and 2). Paul likewise exhorts his son Timothy by means of his memory (2 Tim i. 6). See also Hebrews x. 32; 2 Pet. i. 15, iii. 1, etc. Solomon knew that his son could only profit by his counsel so long as he remembered it. +II. When the memory does not retain moral teaching, it is a moral rather than an intellectual fault.+ "Let thine _heart_ keep my commandments." We find it difficult to forget where we love. If a child loves his father, he is not likely to forget his words. Christ reminded his disciples that they did not "remember" because their _hearts_ were hardened (Mark viii. 17, 18). +III. When the heart keeps the Divine Word, mercy and truth will not forsake the character.+ Where God's precepts find a place of abode, there will likewise be found a merciful disposition towards men, and a truthful and sincere piety before God. If a tree has its roots in the waters, we know that its greenness will not fail: "its leaf shall not wither." The freshness and beauty of the foliage is the necessary outcome of its roots dwelling in the stream. The mercifulness and the truthfulness of a man's character will be in proportion to his affection for, and consequent retention of, the words of God.