in our mouth.

O Lord let the words of Thy Law be pleasant May we know Thy Name, and study Thy Law. Unite our hearts in the love and the reverence of Thy Name.

Amen.

(FOR INFANTS AND FIRST STANDARD.)

I. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.1

These words were spoken by the Almighty to the Israelites, the same people who had been kept as slaves in Egypt, and who, through the mercy and goodness of the Almighty, were now standing as free men round Mount Sinai. Remembering what God did for our fathers at that time, we Jews ought to love God and obey His commandments.

II. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
There is only one God.

In our morning and evening prayers we say, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our

1 A house of bondage is a house in which people are forced to work like slaves.

A

God, the Lord is One."

It is a great sin to offer up a prayer to any other being or to worship it as God. The things so worshipped are called idols, and those who sin in this way are called idol-worshippers, or idolaters, or heathen people.

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

God is Holy, and His name is holy. We must bear this in mind whenever we utter the name of God, whether in prayer, or in reading the Bible, or in our lessons, or on other occasions. The third commandment tells us that we must not swear falsely, or even unnecessarily. If we pray without devotion, or read the Bible without attention, we sin and take the name of God in vain.

IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.

Sabbath is a Hebrew word and means 66 rest" and

day of rest." From Friday evening, when Sabbath comes in, to Saturday night we must do no manner of work. We must not be lazy or idle, but must devote our time partly to prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to religious instruction, and partly to exercise and amusement. Sabbath is to us a day of

holiness and cheerfulness.

V. Honour thy father and thy mother.

Children ought to find it easy to obey this command

ment. They need only think of the goodness of their parents how much they are loved by their parents; what amount of care and trouble the parents take to make their children happy. Children who bear this in mind love their parents, try to make them happy by being good and obedient, and thus please the Almighty, who commanded us to honour our parents.

VI. Thou shalt not murder.

The most precious gift the Almighty has given us is life. To destroy the life of our fellow-man is a shocking thing. We must try our best to preserve and save life; we must nurse the sick, and save those whom we see in danger.

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

This commandment tells us that husband and wife must not be false or faithless one to the other. They must love, respect, and trust each other, and do everything in their power to make each other happy.

VIII. Thou shalt not steal.

We must not take that which belongs to another. It is not only stealing that is forbidden, but all kinds of cheating; finding things lost by another and not returning them to the rightful owner; borrowing things and not returning them; taking things from home secretly without the permission or consent of the parents: all these and similar acts are crimes forbidden by the eighth commandment.