THE
CHRISTIAN HOME,
on
5eligiau  in qte   lamlIg.
BY THE
REV. JOSEPH A. COLLIER,
KINGSTON, N. Y.
AUTHOR OF "THE RIGHT WAY," (A PRIZE ESSAY.)
-  
PHILADELPHIA:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,
No. 821 CHESTNUT STREET.




A  prize of one hundred and  seventy-five  dollars was
awarded  to  the author of this work, by the Board  of
Publication of the Presbyterian Church.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by
JAMES DUNLAP, TREAS.,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania.
STEREOTYPED BY JESPER HARDING & SON, PHILADELPHIA.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE FOUNDATION, NATURE, AND IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY CONSTITUTION.
PAQE
I. Its foundation in the Divine appointment, and the necessities of
mankind-Its adaptedness to our temporal, social, and moral condition-Its illustrations of spiritual truths. II. Its nature-SacredBinding-Perpetual. III. Its importance, as ordained by God, and
powerful for good or evil.......................................... 
CHAPTER  I l.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BELONGING TO THE FAMILY RELATION.
I. Duties of husband and wife-Affection-The promotion of each other's
spiritual welfare-Seeking the conversion of the impenitent-Motives.
II. Duties of parents to their children. 1. Love-Modes of manifestation, and fruits. 2. Consecrating them to God-Privately-Publicly in baptism-Argument for infant baptism-Its benefits............ 26
CHAPTER III.
PARENTAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, CONTINUED.
3. Government-Extremes to be avoided. 4. Instruction-Importance
of home education-Its themes-Adaptedness of the Scriptures to
childhood-The catechism-Example. 5. Seeking the conversion of
children-Responsibility-Appeal............................................  47
(3)




4                             CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO THEIR PARENTS.
PAGI
1. Love-Its relation to family religion-Its modes of expression. 2.
Respect-Importance of this to society and the church-How to be
manifested-The Divine promise. 3. Obedience-Its characteristics
-Blessings attending it-Motives to early piety.....................;...... 66
CHAPTER V.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MASTERS AND SERVANTS.
The gospel view of social inequalities-Relation of masters and servants.
I. Duties of masters-Justice-Kindness-Promoting spiritual welfare of servants.  II. Duties of servants-Obedience-Fidelity-Patience-Serving in the fear of God............................................ 87
CHAPTER VI.
THE BEST MEANS OF SECURING THE END DESIGNED.
1. Endeavour to realize responsibility. 2. Begin early-Susceptibility
of early childhood-Mistakes upon the subject of early piety. 3.
Make home pleasant and happy. 4. Secure the proper observance of
the Sabbath-Its benefits-Testimony......................................... 100
CHAPTER VII.
MEANS CONTINUED-PARENTAL PRAYER.
Promises. 1. Secret prayer-Special seasons of prayer-Praying with
children-Motives —Encouragements.  2. Family prayer-Its history
-Its appropriateness-Benefits-Method of conducting it.............. 118
CHAPTER VIII.
THI  RELATION OF THE FAMILY TO THE CHURCH.
Inferred from their resemblances-From the covenant with AbrahamDeclared in circumcision and baptism-Recognized by the church in
all ages-Duties involved. 1. Instruction in the Bible and catechism
-Parochial schools-Colleges. 2. Government and discipline-Different views upon this subject. 3. Prayer for baptized children-For
schools and  colleges.................................................................  139




CONTENTS.                                 5
CHAPTER IX.
THE VALUE, DIFFICULTIES, AND AIDS OF FAMILY RELIGION.
PAGE
1. Its value-As promoting happiness and fidelity in duty-Motives
that it furnishes-Results. 2. Its difficulties-The temptations of
the home and fireside-Want of co-operation-Depravity of the human heart. 3. Its aids-Attention to early habits-To the reading
of the family-The Sabbath-school............................................. 166
CHAPTER X.
PLEAS FOR NEGLECT AND DELINQUENCIES, DISCUSSED AND REFUTED.
1. Worldly cares. 2. "I cannot pray in my family."  3. Want of time.
4. Instances of conversion without special parental effort. 5. Plea
that fidelity sometimes fails of its end-Ministers' and Deacons'
children-Aaron Burr-Faithfulness of God-The family re-union in
glory...................................................................................   188
1*








THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
OR
RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.
CHAPTER I.
THE FOUNDATION, NATURE, AND IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY CONSTITUTION.
THE FAMILY! What word in our language is more
suggestive of delightful associations, or more inwoven
with the tenderest thoughts and emotions of the
human heart?  The loved home, the cheerful fireside
group, the fond tones of a mother's voice, the sweet dependencies of childhood, the interchange of confiding
sympathies, the community of joys and griefs, of hopes
and fears-all unite in clothing it with surpassing interest,
and in rendering it the scene to which, of all others upon
earth, the mind best loves to revert. Even apart
from the direct influences of religion, (for there is
scarcely a home but feels those that are indirect,) it is
beautiful indeed in its development of the kindlier affec(7)




8              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
tions of unsanctified humanity. What then must it be,
when thoroughly pervaded by those holy principles that
ally us to Divinity?  Let there be added to its other attractions the charm of piety; let the mother's gentle voice
be linked with memories of childhood's prayers, and the
heart's first thoughts of heaven, until she seems an angel
of the household, alluring us to the skies; let the law of
Christian love bind heart to heart; let the family altar
send up its daily incense, more sweet and grateful than the
smoke of the ancient morning and evening sacrifice; and
we have a scene which, in contrast with the waste, sin-desolated world without, is like an oasis in the desert, a garden in the wilderness.  The Christian family is, or should
be, the very type of heaven.
To promote religion in the family, therefore, which is
the object of these pages, is to minister to the highest
joys of which we are here susceptible, to  add  the
crown of grace to that which is loveliest in nature, and to
exalt and ennoble with heaven's own likeness the fairest
scenes of earth. More than this, it is to promote religion
in every sphere and relation of life; for the family is the
basis of the social fabric, the foundation of the state, the
empire, and the race. All will perceive that if the living
streams of humanity are to be purified and made better,
we can nowhere begin more appropriately than at these
their fountains.
It is necessary, in order to a proper understanding of
our subject, and a correct estimate of its magnitude, that
we consider the foundation, nature, and importance of
the family constitution.
I. Our first inquiry shall be, upon what is itfounded?




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             9
We find it existing as an established institution, and
so, in like manner, did our fathers find it. We trace it
back through the history of the past, until we have gone
beyond the rise of kingdoms, and even the visible organization of the church, and discover it to be the primal
institution of the world, dating back its origin to the time
of our first parents. It was appropriate that this relation,
which is the holiest upon earth, should have been first
formed in Eden, before the blight of sin had fallen upon
our race. There was also a peculiar fitness in the fact
of its appointment by the voice of God himself, uttered
so plainly and authoritatively as to clothe it in all coming time with the sanctions of Divine, unchanging law.
The account of its institution is contained in the second
chapter of the book of Genesis, where we read that the
first woman was formed out of a rib taken from Adam's
side. Adam received the gift as bone of his bone, and
flesh of his flesh; and God there ordained the sacred rite of
marriage, in the words, " Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and
they twain shall be one flesh."  " And God blessed them
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth."
Thus, in the Divine appointment originated the family
relation. It is not, like many lesser institutions, the
invention of man, but, like the Sabbath, is ordained by
God, and, like it, must ever retain the stamp of its great
Author.  "He setteth the solitary in families."
It is necessary that this fact be borne in mind as we
proceed with our subject. For, that which is appointed
by God rises immeasurably in importance above any




10             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
thing that is of merely human device. It will also be
seen that, if Divine in its origin, this relation must be
Divine in its governing principles, and in the ends that
it is intended to subserve; so that whatever be the lesser,
temporary purposes of which it is the providential instrument, we are warranted in looking for higher ones,
which are alike worthy of its Author, and promotive of
man's best and everlasting interests. As the hand that
formed the stars out of chaos has given to each one its
appropriate orbit, so He who created man from the dust
of the earth, has also ordained those endearing ties that
unite the members of the family, and gather a certain
number of individuals about the common fireside; and
we must conclude that in the one instance, as in the
other, this arrangement is intended to further the great
object of all created existence, the glory of God.
It may be further remarked, that while the family
relation is thus founded, primarily, upon the Divine
appointment, it is also based, secondarily, upon the
necessities of mankind.  That God has seen fit to ordain
it, is indeed a sufficient reason for its existence, and a
warrant of its wisdom and beneficence.  Yet as God's
will always coincides with, or rather is itself, the highest
wisdom, we may properly look for that within ourselves
to which this institution is adapted, and which will
furnish powerful reasons for its appointment. We shall
see that it is, in a remarkable degree, answerable to the
deepest wants and the highest aims of humanity; that
while exactly suited to our physical and social condition
in this world, it is also eminently calculated to promote
our best moral and spiritual well being; and that, viewed




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            11
in its grander aspect, from the stand-point of Bible truth,
it occupies an important position in that remedial system
which is intended to elevate the individual man, and
finally to consummate the world's regeneration.
The temporal ends to be subserved by it, are so plain
as to require only a passing notice. It is a well known
fact that the human being is, of all others, the most
helpless in infancy, as well as the longest dependent
upon the kind offices of others. This providential circumstance goes far towards strengthening the tie that
binds parent and child, and also affords the more ample
opportunities for a thorough religious training. How
wise is that provision which throws around the feeble
child the tender, helpful influences of the family, and
thus prepares it, in that gentler inner world, to grapple
successfully with the realities of the sterner world without! And how beautiful are the adaptations of the
family to all the great primary necessities of our nature!
Infidel philosophy-flourishing the most luxuriantly in
a land where the Christian family and the Anglo-Saxon
home are scarcely known-has its theories of socialism,
and community of labour, by which it would constitute
families upon a human, instead of a Divine basis. Its
signal failure is become matter of history.  Its authors
have blindly ignored the fact, which all experience sufficiently attests, that there is the truest philosophy in
this relation as constituted by God. Here is the most
admirable division of labour, combined with community
of interest, that the world has ever seen. Here, too,
are furnished the most constraining mutual obligations,
and the most powerful motives to right conduct; while




12              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
it is governed by the sanctions and penalties of Divine,
unchanging law.
The same is true in regard to our needs as social
beings.  The ill-disguised libertinism  of a certain class
of reformers, "falsely so called," chafes, like a wayward
child, under the wholesome restraints of the family relation. Perhaps the fact that it is assailed by such may
be regarded as no slight proof of the wisdom that devised it. Yet it is impossible to conceive of any system
so well calculated to develop our finer feelings in a way
that shall ennoble, instead of degrading them, or that
shall gratify our social instincts, and at the same time
make them subservient to our higher and immortal interests.  The sweet companionship of husband and wife,
parents and children, brothers and sisters, when sanctified, as it was originally intended that it should be, by
an all pervading piety, and hallowed fellowship with the
Creator, certainly answers to the deepest cravings of the
human heart, and satisfies them as they could be satisfied
in no other way.
It is, however, when we rise to the consideration of its
bearings upon our moral welfare, that we behold under
its grandest aspect the family constitution. All are
familiar with the thought that mankind is here in a state
of pupilage; that every allotment of Providence, as well
as every means of grace, has its part in the great disciplinary system by which God would educate the mind
and heart for his service hereafter.  This being the case,
we might well conclude that so important a sphere as
that of the family, cannot be without its bearings upon
our character and destiny as moral beings.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             13
If the world is a great school where the people of
God are being trained for their inheritance, the family
may be viewed as its primary department. It is, indeed,
a mimic world in itself, where we may see reproduced in
the history of the little child, the same emotions, passions, temptations, griefs, and joys, that agitate the
bosom of manhood or old age.  Who shall say that the
tear dropped over a broken toy, or the word of anger
lisped in childhood's accents, does not express feelings as
deep and real as those vented in after years over a
ruined fortune, or poured out in oaths and curses upon a
fellow-man?  In the same manner the generous self-sacrifice, the word of forgiving love, or the kind action,
which scarcely attracts the attention of older persons,
may thrill the young heart with emotions as truly noble
as ever animated a Howard or a Martyn.
If this Se so, it will be seen that no school is so favourable for the development of the higher affections as the
Christian family. The outer world is not only a harsh
disciplinarian, but its influence is rarely felt until habits
have been in a measure formed, and the character has
assumed a decided hue and shape.  The family, upon
the contrary, exerts its influence upon the open mind
and heart of infancy.  Whether its atmosphere be one
of religion or irreligion, it is sure to be breathed with almost the first breath of life. Whether its culture be for
the better or the worse, it has to deal, not with the
gnarled and crooked tree, that hardly sways to the tempest, and whose roots are deeply bedded in the soil, but
with the tender sapling, that is susceptible to gentlest
influences, and capable of the highest cultivation.
2




14              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
Add to this the unbounded influence of parental affection and authority, when under proper regulation, the
tender interest of each in the others' welfare, the often
recurring opportunities for the exercise of every virtue
and grace of piety, during a long course of years, and we
have an aggregate of circumstances the most favourable
to moral improvement of any that can be conceived.
Now viewing man in his relations to the Creator, what is
more evident than that we need precisely the sphere and
the influences thus hinted at, and that as moral beings
we could ill afford to be deprived of them?
We may contemplate this part of our subject in another light. The family constitution admirably illustrates great spiritual truths, and prepares the mind for
their apprehension. That it is so intended by its Author
is evident from the frequent allusions made to it in the
word of God.  Thus, he is our Father, and we are his
children; the church is beautifully depicted as "the
whole family in heaven and earth;" all believers are
" brethren;" and heaven, after the same figure, is called
our "Father's house," and our "inheritance."  Says a
distinguished writer, " The love in which the family constitution is founded, and all the deep affections which it
develops and by which it is administered, are designed
to aid man in the conception of the Fatherhood, the unknown benevolence of God towards his sinning human
family, and in which the great promise of deliverance
through the self-subordination and voluntary suffering of
another, originated. The child obtains life, and all that
makes life desirable, through another. Indeed the whole
of parental duty is a system of mediation, often attended




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           15
with suffering and self denial, but always impelled by
love." *  The subjection of the child to parental authority gives a point to the Divine upbraiding, "If I be a
Father, where is mine honour?" and educates the heart
for the submissive tribute, "Not my will but thine be
done!" The path of loving filial obedience furnishes the
best possible illustration of the cheerful service which
alone is acceptable to God. The confiding trust of the
child in the parent's loving protection, a trust that is often
exercised blindly and in the dark, affords an insight into
the important truth, " We walk by faith and not by sight."
Indeed, were it not for the analogies thus afforded, it is
difficult to imagine how man could be brought to realize
his relations to his Maker.
Thus do both reason and experience unite in vindicating the wisdom of the family relation, and prove it to be
founded in the most urgent necessities of our nature;
thereby assigning to it a high place in those arrangements
and adaptations of Providence which are working out the
highest good of the creature, and the glory of the Creator.
II. Such being its broad and deep foundation, we may
naturally look for a lofty and noble superstructure. Let
us then contemplate more particularly ITS NATURE, as
set forth in the teachings of its Author, and in the laws
that govern it.
From these we learn that it is SACRED. We know not
what the home of Adam would have been, had it been
perpetuated in Paradise, but we may reasonably conclude
that it would have been a scene that God and angels
* Harris's " Patriarchy."




16              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
would have loved to visit. Its joys would have been hallowed joys, and therefore unmixed with any sorrows.
Its daily round of duties would have resembled the delightful service of the heavenly world. All its intercourse would have breathed the very spirit of love, while
the virtues of forgiveness and forbearance-those flowers
thrown by grace over nature's sad ruins-would have
been unknown, because uncalled for.  To crown all, it
would have been blessed with the felt presence and audible benediction of the Creator, who would have condescended to hold converse with the happy group, even as
He had walked with Adam " in the garden, in the cool of
the day."
Such is the sacred character which the family was
originally intended to possess.  The thought that it
might have been thus, renders yet more dark by contrast,
the realities that so often cloud the domestic hearth.
For now, alas! what forms of sin have degraded this
sanctuary of the heart!  How often God is banished
from it, while all evil passions make it their dwelling
place!  Yet the fact that it was designed to be thus
holy and heavenlike is a gladdening one; for if it is the
Saviour's mission to repair the ruins of the fall, it follows
that the Christian family may realize in kind, if not as
yet in degree, the hallowed delights which this relation
was intended to minister. When, under the renovating
influences of the millennial era, this earth shall become a
second paradise, the promise of the covenant, already
verified in part, shall receive the grander fulfilment for
which it has so long waited, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            17
This view of the nature of the family institution is
fully borne out by the Scriptures. Witness the many
laws and precepts by which its duties are inculcated, and
its rights vindicated.  "The first commandment with
promise" has relation to one class of obligations pertaining to it, and the Mosaic code embraces in its provisions
many rules and regulations that bear directly upon it.
The New Testament confirms the teachings of the Old
upon this subject, and the whole inspired word unites to
invest it with a dignity and sacredness which show, not
only that it is from God, but also that, in its legitimate
aims and ends, it tends to God.
Thus the Bible teaches us that it is sacred in its obligations. These are made a subject of express command;
and its historic records unite with all experience in
attesting that they are not to be violated with impunity.
This is equally true of the lesser and more important
duties; and where right views prevail, and the spirit of
piety is actively present, the whole routine of household care and domestic intercourse will be more or less
sanctified to holy ends. There is no duty of the home
and fireside but may and should be hallowed by religion.
Even those that appear the most insignificant may thus
be clothed with dignity, and we may "eat and drink"
around the family board "to the glory of God."
So, too, this relation is sacred in its rights.  The
claims of the parent upon the child, and of the child
upon the parent; the mutual prerogatives of husband
and wife, brother and sister, master and servant-all are
guarded by divine laws, and vindicated by the weight of
divine authority.
2 




18             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
It is the same in its ends. The fact that it is ordained
by God is a sufficient evidence that it is intended for the
Divine glory. Subordinate to this, however, are certain
lesser ends to which allusion has already been madesuch as the fostering of our virtues and graces under
circumstances the most favourable to their development,
and the education of the young mind and heart in divine
things.  Perverted and abused this relationship may be,
as is so frequently the case in the individual life, but its
true end remains the same.  Whether it be made the
instrument of positive wrong and injustice, or simply
subserve the end, so innocent in itself, of social happiness, it is, in either instance, degraded from its high
purpose, and fails of fulfilling the intention of its Founder. It is the office of Christianity to elevate the aims
and purposes of the family to their proper standard, to
rescue it from the ignoble position to which human selfishness has lowered it, and to make it at the same time
a powerful promoter of the Divine glory, and of man's
best and highest good.  "If the earth is a temple, the
family is its'holiest of all;' and all its divinely selected
arrangements and influences are meant to be ever crying
to each other,'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' as the continuous service of love and worship
trains up its members for heaven."
It follows from what has been said that the family
constitution is BINDING.  Its duties, being imposed
by the Ruler of the universe, and not by the mere
voice of human  authority, assume  the  importance
of high moral obligations.  We may not ask, with
Cain, " Am I my brother's keeper? " nor may the parent,




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            19
like Eli, withhold restraint from his erring children,
without incurring positive and aggravated guilt. Whatever be the responsibilities involved in this relation, they
are necessarily vast and momentous.  Next to those
duties which, as individuals, we all owe to God, or rather
in inseparable connection with them, these of the family
should be viewed as paramount.  The nearness of the
relationship involved, the tremendous bearings of our
right or wrong conduct upon the common welfare, and
the fact that this sphere of influence is especially
assigned to us by God himself, who will require an
account of our stewardship-all prove conclusively that
these duties are the last to be trifled with, and that they
bind us with a power of obligation from which nothing
can absolve us.
There are those who appear greatly to misapprehend
this truth, and who view the duties of the fireside as
secondary to those pertaining to  the world without.
True Christian philanthropy is to be honoured, wherever
met with, and under whatever circumstances; but surely
it was never meant that it should be practised at the
sacrifice of the dearest interests of the parental or filial
heart. While it is true that our out-door deeds of kindness ought rather to be multiplied than diminished, the
parent should yet feel that the claims of his child for
instruction and spiritual training are far more imperative.
It must be but a poor consolation to one whose offspring
are reaping the bitter fruits of parental neglect, and
treading paths of vice and crime, to reflect that the hand
which should have arrested their downward course has
fed the hungry or clothed the naked, and that the voice




20             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
which should have counselled and admonished them has
breathed kind words into the ear of sorrow.
Let it not, however, be inferred from this that faithfulness in the one sphere of duty necessitates any neglect
of the other. Doubtless the proper method is to combine them both.  The most consistent life is that which
blends in beautiful symmetry the activities of the home,
the church, and the world, neither of them conflicting
with the others, but each promoting the efficiency of all
the rest.
This relation is also strictly binding in its ties. How
stringently does the word of God protect the union of
husband and wife; not only guarding it against aught
that could put it in peril, but declaring it indissoluble,
except in instances of gross criminality! Our Saviour
views it as a tie that is formed peculiarly by God, and
which therefore, with the one exception already alluded
to, is beyond the power of man to dissolve: "What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder."  The inspired writers exhibit the Divine estimate of the sanctity of the marriage relation, by employing it to illustrate the union of Christ to his church-a
figure which would scarcely be appropriate, were either
party at liberty to sever it upon slight cause.
It is, perhaps, scarcely worth while to notice in this
connection the views of a class of social agitators of the
present day, who are labouring to undermine this foundation of all society. We will only recur, in passing, to
the well known fact that wherever this bond has been
held in slight esteem, the curse of a just God has been
vividly seen and felt, the flood-gates of every vice have




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            21
burst wide open, and virtue, as if sickened by the spectacle of human degradation, has almost wholly departed.
Providence is continually illustrating the truth, (with
which the world should by this time have become familiar,)
that our social, civil, and religious state is intimately
connected with our views of the sacred, binding character of the marriage tie.
The same may be said of the relation existing between
parent and child.  The wayward youth may escape from
parental authority, but he cannot escape from his relationship to those whose blood flows in his veins, nor
from the duties which that relationship imposes. The
parent may outwardly disown the child, but he can
neither dissolve the ties of nature, nor justly ignore
their existence.
It also belongs to the nature of the family constitution that it is PERPETUAL. The obligation to right
parental influence ceases not with the legal expiration
of parental authority. The Bible nowhere bids us remit
our kind interest in and care for our offspring, at the age
when the law declares them to have become men and
women. It is true that they are then supposed to be
capable of self-government, but although then passing
from under our rule, they should still retain a place in
our solicitude, our counsels, and our prayers.
There are those who deem themselves absolved from
every obligation, natural or moral, towards a member
of the family who errs, and hesitate not, in some instances, to debar him the privileges of the home that he
has disgraced. Without stopping to discuss the lack of
affection displayed by such a course, we simply ask,




22             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
where, in the word of God, is there any warrant for it?
And yet who, but the Creator, can absolve us from a
relation which he has himself ordained? Not thus lightly
can we shake off our solemn duties, and make another's
sin the plea for their evasion. Rather let us throw the
more closely about the erring one the sacred influences
of the Christian home, which, like a guardian angel, may
protect him from the world's temptations, and perchance
win him back to duty. So doing, we may ourselves the
more hopefully seek the Father's forgiving grace when
"overtaken by a fault," and fall confidingly upon the
bosom of Him who welcomes the returning prodigal.
We may remark, further, that this relation is perpetual
as a Divine institution in the world.  God has not abrogated it, nor can the voice of man annul it. The lapse
of ages has in no way affected it, but, like its twin institution, the Sabbath, it belongs to all time and to every
generation. Neither of them shall cease its beneficent
office until they end together in the second Paradise;
the one being merged into the endless Sabbath, and the
other in the united family of the redeemed in glory.
III. Our third topic is the IMPORTANCE of the family
constitution.
The best gifts of Providence are generally those that
men prize the least.  The family, with its delightful
influences, like the free air or sunlight, seems to us so
much a matter of course that we perhaps fail to realize
its value. A little reflection, however, must convince
any one that it occupies a high position in God's moral
government of the world, and is possessed of the most




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             23
momentous bearings upon the welfare of the individual,
the state, and the race.
This may readily be inferred from the fact that it is
specially ordained by God. In architecture, the importance of an edifice is generally proportioned to the depth
and strength of its foundations. We have seen that the
family structure is based upon the appointment of the
Creator, as well as upon the most urgent necessities of
mankind; and we must therefore regard it as rising to a
corresponding height and grandeur of importance.
See, too, what a stress is laid upon its true character
and duties in the Scriptures; how it is environed with
laws and precepts, and made so much an object of God's
jealous care.  This signifies the estimation in which our
Maker holds it, aud which he would impress upon every
mind-just as one's watchfulness in protecting a casket
of jewels would naturally be regarded as an indication of
its value.
Let there also be borne in mind, the tremendous power
of the family for good or evil.  Who can estimate it?
See how characters are moulded, habits formed, and destinies shaped for eternity under its plastic influences.
Contemplate the child whose open mind is receiving its
first, and therefore lasting, impressions of good or evil.
Before him lies a future, that is known only to God.
That voice may yet sway unnumbered multitudes of fellow beings; that mind may influence a nation's councils;
that soul may, nay it shall, thrill through everlasting
ages with the bliss of heaven, or suffer endless pangs in
torment.  We tremble as we try to forecast its destiny,
and think of the wonderful possibilities that lie wrapped




24             THE CHRISTIAN HOME.
within it.  We instinctively ask, What influences are
brought to bear upon this young immortal? We turn to
the family in which his lot is cast.  Is it a godless one?
Shall he grow up as one of an irreligious circle, where
no voice of prayer is heard, where the name of God is
dishonoured and profaned, and holy Sabbath hours are
desecrated?  Sad lot! Divine grace may indeed yet
snatch him from " the burning," but the probabilities are
strong that he will fall a victim-to surrounding influences
-(for how shall the helpless child resist them?) and that
whatever power he may hereafter exert in the world will
be for evil and not for good, while his prospects for eternity are dark and fearful. Or is he the child of pious
parents, early dedicated to the Lord, and growing up
amid religious influences? Happy lot! for, whatever be his
future sphere in life, there is every likelihood that it will
be adorned with lovely Christian graces, that he will diffuse around him the charm of godliness, and that endless
blessedness awaits him hereafter. Exceptions there may
be, and often are, upon both sides, but all will admit that
these are, at least, the probabilities. Judging from experience and the word of God, are we not warranted in
affirming that, had the childhood of Napoleon been nurtured amid the atmosphere of family religion, his manhood might have been that of a Paul; and his career
might have blessed, by its sanctified energies, as many as
it destroyed? So, too, may we not believe that an Edwards, if subjected in early life to the unhallowed influences of an irreligious home, might have employed his
high powers in assailing, instead of fortifying the bulwarks of Christianity? It is true that God is sovereign




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            25
in the bestowments of his grace, and that there is no converting power in even the most faithful religious training,
when viewed by itself; yet there is a heaven-ordained
connection between the means and the end, and of all the
means that are blessed by the Holy Spirit to men's salvation, none are more influential than those lodged in the
Christian family.
With what an inconceivable importance, then, is this
relation invested! Humble and unnoticed it may be by
the world without, but it is the starting point of those
lines of influence that shall reach down through all time,
and far into the coming eternity.  The mother, whose
cares and toils may seem narrowed down to a little circle,
is perhaps wielding, unconsciously, a power grander than
that of any monarch. It may appear to her but a slight
thing to clasp tiny hands in prayer, and teach that expanding mind of Christ and heaven; yet few scenes upon
earth are more truly sublime, and hers is a task that angels might covet.
Well would it be for us, could we better realize the
importance of the family, and the high place that it occupies in the system  of the divine government.  For
then we should hardly dare trifle with its duties, or
evade its responsibilities; but, invoking grace from on
high to assist us, we should aim at the utmost faithfulness. It is only when we rise to the consideration of
its surpassing magnitude, as a powerful means ordained
by God to a glorious end, and as a relation whose
bearings for good or evil only eternity can measure, that
we can duly estimate either the sacredness of its claims,
or the value of its privileges.
3




26             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
CHAPTER  II.
THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES BELONGING TO THE
FAMILY RELATION.
EVERY sphere of influence or action is a divinely ordained sphere of obligation. There are duties pertaining to one's own heart and life, and in close connection
with these-or rather, growing out of them  as the
branches from the tree-are those of the counting-room,
the field, the shop, the church, or whatever position the
providence of God assigns us. It is therefore but reasonable to infer that the family has its appointed duties
and responsibilities, which none can evade without defeating, to a greater or less degree, the ends of its institution, and thereby incurring positive guilt.
Upon this subject the word of God is explicit, and we
have only to turn to its pages in order to discover the
whole of conjugal, parental, and filial duty. He who has
instituted the family relation for his own glory, has himself defined the laws that are to govern it, and with such
an array of precepts for our guidance as the Scriptures
afford, we can easily dispense with those that are of
merely human origin.
I. Beginning with the mutual duties of HUSBAND AND
WIFE, we find that the one requirement which includes




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             27
all others, and without which none can be discharged acceptably, is love.
" Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church, and gave himself for it."  "So ought men to
love their wives as their own bodies." Eph. v. 25, 28.
"Teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands."  Tit. ii. 4.  Thus has our Maker clothed with
all the sanctions of a religious obligation that affection
which affords the only basis of a happy marriage. And
what a powerful illustration of the strength of true conjugal love is furnished in the comparison, "even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it!"
We cannot conceive of a love more mighty, more unselfish than this, which, we are informed, "passeth knowledge;" yet of this the affection of husband and wife is
deemed the most appropriate type. Viewed in such an
aspect, it rises above the character of a mere sentiment,
and is ennobled into an emblem of the outgoings of the
Divine, Infinite heart towards all the redeemed.
The fruits of this affection are as various as are the
duties involved in the marriage relation; for those duties
are only performed aright, when proceeding from this
as their constraining motive. Thus love is ever found
to be "the fulfilling of the law." The obligations of
sustenance, fidelity, and kind care need hardly be urged
upon him who truly loves the partner of his life, neither
is it necessary to remind the devoted and affectionate
wife of her duty to reverence and cherish her husband.
Without pausing, therefore, to dwell upon these minor
requirements, let us turn our attention to a class of
duties which are more commonly overlooked-namely,




28             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
those that relate to the promotion of one another's spiritual well being.
In the government of God the physical is ever held
subordinate to the moral, and the temporal to the eternal. It follows from this that while the rite of marriage
has a partial reference to our welfare as social beings,
it was chiefly in regard to our moral needs that God
said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  When the
true ends of this relation are fulfilled, it becomes instrumental of such a mutual progress in the Divine life as is
rarely attained by any monk or recluse.  Then, each
strengthens the other's hands and warms the other's
heart in their common life-work of glorifying God, and
preparing for his service hereafter; and then, indeed,
each is "something better than a mere self, by becoming
part of a nobler whole."
It is greatly to be regretted that many, from a feeling of false delicacy, or a sense of unwarrantable restraint, fail to make their union thus fruitful of spiritual
good. It seems strange that two children of God, who
are doubly united by the ties of nature and of grace,
while maintaining the closest confidence in regard to
temporal matters, and conversing freely upon every other
topic of common interest, should yet hold but little communion upon the great themes of religion. The temptation to such a reserve should be strenuously resisted.
By the aid of Divine grace it may be wholly overcome,
and the way thus opened for loftier attainments and
richer enjoyments in the Christian life. The heart is
strengthened for duty by the consciousness that another
is deeply interested in its struggles; while the thought




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            29
of the vast influence wielded by the one over the other,
and of the corresponding responsibility for the manner
in which it is exerted, will quicken to faithfulness, and
incite to new spiritual growth. Happy are they who,
cemented by the bond of a common union to the Saviour,
delight in the interchange of holy thoughts and aspirations, each becoming to the other a "help-meet" indeed
for all the toils and trials of the heavenward journey.
"Heirs together of the grace of life," they press, hand
in hand "towards the mark," and enjoy in their sanctified fellowship sweet foretastes of the blessedness that
awaits them hereafter.
But what shall we say of those instances, which, alas!
are by no means rare, in which only one of the parties is
a child of God?  The command, "Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers," is not, perhaps, at this
day sufficiently obeyed; yet it sometimes occurs that the
marriage "yoke" becomes "unequal" by the conversion
of the one without the other, long after the formation
of this tie. In either case, the Christian so situated is
greatly to be commiserated; for what can be more sad
than for one to struggle against the adverse influence of
ungodliness, when put forth by the partner of his or her
life? The upward path, so difficult at the best, becomes
doubly arduous when travelled, not merely in solitude,
but with a hand that we love pulling us back towards
the broad road to death.
The duty of the Christian, under such circumstances,
is plain. He must not allow the love of the creature to
triumph over that which he owes the Creator, nor permit
the dictates of natural affection to overwhelm his con3*




30             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
victions of religious duty. This is emphatically set forth
in our Saviour's words, "If any man come to me, and
hate not"-(that is, in comparison with his love to me)
-"his father and mother, and wife, and children, and
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Luke xiv. 26. In addition to this
negative requirement, there is an imperative obligation
to labour for the conversion of the impenitent one. This
is clearly inculcated in the Scriptures.  Thus Peter
writes, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your
own husbands; that if any obey not the word they may
also, without the word, be won by the conversation of the
wives; while they behold your chaste conversation
coupled with fear." 1 Pet. iii. 1, 2. The apostle Paul,
after exhibiting the duty of the believing husband or
wife who may be wedded to an unbeliever, and showing
that the bond ought not to be dissolved, inasmuch as the
faith of the one parent places the offspring in that relation to God which he styles "holy," (or set apart,
included in the covenant,) adds as another reason for
maintaining the unequal relation, "For what knowest
thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or
how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy
wife?" 1 Cor. vii. 16.
The dictates of natural affection would seem to coincide strongly with these teachings of the Divine word.
If love seeks the best good of its object, how can it, in
the instance which we have supposed, do otherwise than
aim at that richest of all blessings, salvation, in behalf
of one who is destitute of it? To this may be added the
thought of the awful responsibility of a Christian who is




OR RELIGION 1N THE FAMILY.            31
so situated.  We are accountable to God for our every
perversion of influence, or neglect of opportunity for
doing good. When, therefore, we consider the unbounded influence, and the golden opportunities which
the marriage relation involves, who does not see that the
degree of responsibility is well nigh immeasurable?
Another motive which should weigh powerfully with
the Christian parent may be found in the influence of an
ungodly father or mother upon the minds of children. It
is well known that an evil example is much more likely
to be followed than a good one, and that the inclinations
of the human heart, from  earliest childhood, are more
disposed to sin than holiness.  Of what avail, then, is
the instruction or example of the pious parent, when
daily, hourly counteracted by the life of the other who
is ungodly?  Indeed we must regard the piety of both
parents as lying at the foundation of religion in the
family. But more than this, a neglect of the duty
under consideration will always recoil upon the faithless
disciple. It is ever the case, that whether holiness put
forth its power or not, sin is aggressive, and, if not met
with counteracting influences, will imperceptibly sap the
foundations of piety.  Many an one who has hesitated
to urge the claims of religion upon an ungodly companion, and who, for the sake of harmony, has compromised his piety, has in after years reaped the bitter
fruits of habitual backslidings, or become almost irretrievably entangled in the meshes of worldliness. Others,
upon the contrary, more faithful to their trust, have
found the flame of their own piety enkindled anew as
they laboured for souls that were dear to them, and have




32             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
experienced the fulfilment of the assurance, "He that
watereth shall be watered also himself."
It will, perhaps, be objected that the efforts of the
pious wife or husband in this respect are not always
attended with success. While this fact cannot justly be
regarded as exonerating them from their solemn obligations, we may yet suggest the inquiry whether such
efforts are always faithfully and perseveringly exerted?
Certain it is that in this, as in other departments of religious duty, God has connected the means with the end,
and the general rule holds good, "In due season ye shall
reap, if ye faint not." The voice of experience concurs
with the word of God in assuring us that patient, continuous prayer and effort are seldom in vain. No doubt
the great thing requisite is a stronger faith in the prayer,
hearing God, and a more unwearying importunity at the
mercy-seat.
Two pious women, whose husbands were opposed to
religion, agreed to spend one hour daily in prayer for
their conversion, which practice they continued for seven
years without any visible effect. At length, with hearts
full of anguish they met to mingle their griefs, when
they resolved that they would persevere till the end of
life in the course they had adopted, and that if their
husbands would go down to destruction, they should go
loaded with their prayers. Thus they continued for three
years longer. About this time one of them was awakened
in the night by the mental distress of her husband, who
entreated her to pray for him.  As soon as the day
dawned, she went with an overflowing heart to tell her
praying companion that God was about to answer their




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            33
petitions. Great was her surprise to meet her friend
coming upon the same errand.  Thus, as the result of
their ten years' perseverance in calling mightily upon
God, they were permitted to see both their husbands
brought upon the same day to realize their undone condition, and at about the same time to accept the Saviour.
Would that there were more of this spirit of persevering prayer in all the churches! For then the sad spectacle, now so common, of the pious wife or husband
coming alone to the table of the Lord, and contending,
single-handed, against the influences of an impenitent
companion over their common offspring, would be less
frequently exhibited, while it would be found that many
a family, now divided in their spiritual and eternal prospects, would be joined together, husband and wife, brothers and sisters, as partakers in "one Lord, one faith,
and one baptism."
II. Of at least equal importance are the duties of the
PARENTAL RELATION.
It is an awfully solemn thing to be a parent-to be
intrusted with the guardianship of immortal spirits,
just entering upon life, whose character and destiny
depend to so great a degree upon our faithfulness in duty.
What trust can be more precious! What responsibility
more vast!  Yet, when rightly engaged in, there is no
class of duties more fraught with pleasure to the child of
God. Few joys are to be compared with those of the
faithful parent as, day by day, he watches the unfolding
of the tender mind, and impresses upon it those great
truths that are capable of making it for ever blessed.
And if he rejoices "with trembling," he yet "derives




34             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
profound satisfaction from the thought, that as he is instrumentally the source of its natural, so he may become
that of its spiritual life," and that he is the chosen
means through whom that soul, with all its vast capacities, may be added as a rich jewel to the Saviour's
crown.
The obligations that this relation involves correspond
in magnitude and importance with the parent's high
position. Occupying, as he does, a station of commanding influence and authority, like that of a king, or governor, (or perhaps more nearly resembling that of the
ancient patriarch,) he is the repository of vast interests,
and, in a manner, the arbiter of momentous destinies.
Much therefore depends upon his clear understanding of
the responsibilities thus devolved upon him. Happily,
we need be at no loss upon this subject, for the Divine
Founder of the parental relation has given us all the precepts that are requisite in regard to it.
1. The one duty that underlies all others, is love.
The apostle exhorts mothers to "love their children;"
Tit. ii. 4; and if this obligation is not insisted upon in
the Scriptures with the frequency and earnestness that
characterize some others, it is because it was scarcely
deemed necessary thus to enjoin that which is acknowledged by all to be a common dictate of nature.  In
this respect the parental heart is its own law. It may
be taken for granted, that, with those few and rare
exceptions which occasionally send a thrill of horror
through a community, and which we instinctively brand
as unnatural, parents do love their offspring.  Hard as
the flinty rock must be that heart whose affections do




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             35
not flow out in a warm, rich current towards the child
whom God has given it.  There is that in the helplessness, the innocence, the confiding trust of early childhood, which smites the rock of selfishness in the bosom
of the misanthrope, and unseals a tide of fond emotion,
which otherwise would not have been suspected to exist.
All will perceive the wisdom of this provision of our
Creator, and its necessary bearing upon the great ends
of the family constitution. Without it, the most elaborate code of laws would have been in vain; and that
tender care which, however laborious, is still a "labour
of love," would have been irksome, if not intolerable;
while at the same time, however we might have been
constrained by the bare sense of duty to right conduct,
our endeavours would have been far less effective, because
destitute of this energizing principle.
Assuming, then, the universal existence of this.affection, it is obvious that it should habitually be manifested
to its objects, in ways that are calculated to impress
them with a sense of its reality and strength. The heart
of childhood is keenly sensitive upon this subject, and
depends for much of its happiness upon the consciousness of being beloved. That is a mistaken view of the
dignity becoming the head of a family, which regards it
as necessary to disguise the fond heart under an aspect
of cold authority, and whose constant appeal is rather to
the distant reverence than the confiding affection of the
child.  Those nurtured under such chilling influences
may indeed stand in awe of the parent, and be coerced
into a sullen obedience; but let it be remembered that it
is easier for them afterwards to throw off the weight of




36              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
authority than the spell of affection, and that all government in which love forms not a part degenerates into
despotism, while all reverence that is destitute of this
principle becomes simple fear or terror.
Says a writer, "Conversing the other day with an interesting little girl between six and seven years old, I
took occasion to impress upon her mind the gratitude due
from her to her heavenly Parent, for bestowing upon her
so good and kind a father, whom everybody loves.  I
was perfectly thunderstruck at her answer. Looking me
full in the face with her soft blue eyes, she replied,'He
never speaks kind to me.' Perhaps this Christian parent,
harassed with the cares of life, was unconscious that he
had roughly checked the fond attentions of his child; but
could cares, or the interruptions of his child excuse unkindness or a total want of the tokens of endearment?"
It is probable that the larger number of those who err in
this respect, do so unconsciously. Oppressed, perhaps,
with life's sterner anxieties, the parent thinks not that
the hearts of his children are yearning silently for his
look of love or kindly caress, and that the endearing
word, or answering smile, which would cost him no effort,
would thrill their bosoms with joyful satisfaction, and aid
incalculably in their discharge of filial duty. Thus God
deals with his children, blending with the unapproachable
majesty of the Sovereign the grace and love of the fond
Father, at all times smiling upon us, and even when he
chastens, clasping the recreant child yet closer to his
bosom.
It scarcely seems necessary to define the various forms
in which parental love may find appropriate expression.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             37
These will readily occur to the judicious mind. It may
be remarked, in general, that it will prompt to a deep
sympathy in the little pleasures of childhood's heart, and
a feeling of commiseration for its griefs. Our heavenly
Father assumes the existence of this feeling in the parent's bosom, when he says, "Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." There
are countless opportunities in the daily experience of
every family for such exhibitions of tender consideration.
This duty also stands opposed to that hectoring, teasing
disposition which sometimes marks the intercourse of parents with their children, and which is denounced in the
Apostle's exhortation, " Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." An unreasonable rebuke, or impatient word or frown, or a chastisement for which there is no real occasion, may deeply
wound the heart that is aiming at sincere obedience, and
may, if often repeated, crush those tendrils of affection
that were twining lovingly about us, and which it should
ever be our aim  to foster and develop.  At the same
time, however, let care be exercised that this love do not
retard, instead of promoting the great purposes of family
training. For instance, that is a weak overweening fondness, and one indeed that defeats itself, which feels constrained to gratify every caprice of the childish mind.
The same may be said of that which substitutes mere
flattery for judicious approbation, or which visibly attaches to the person rather than the character, or to the
beautiful body rather than the priceless soul.  That is
the purest, holiest affection which is ever held subservient
4




38             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
to duty, and which is willing to sacrifice the present
gratification of its object to his greater good hereafter.
Upon the exercise and intelligent exhibition of parental
love, depends, under God, much of our success in all the
duties that this relation involves. It is to the family
what oil is to the machine; lubricating every wheel of influence or of action, and causing that to move in easy,
silent harmony, which otherwise must jar and conflict.
It is a spell whose sweet influence disarms rebellion, conquers passion, opens the heart to lessons of wisdom, and
thus wins it to paths of pleasantness and peace. Let its
atmosphere pervade the home, and it becomes a type of
heaven, where the Divine Father sways with the sceptre
of his love the hearts of all saints and angels.
2. Another important duty of parents is that of solemnly consecrating their children to God. This was enjoined upon the Old Testament Church in the ordinance
of circumcision, which was the prescribed method of dedication to Jehovah, and the seal of the Abrahamic covenant,
and which was to be administered to the child when he was
but eight days old. Its place is now occupied by the
Christian rite of Baptism, which, being significant of the
same great truths, and the seal of the same covenant, is
equally obligatory upon the pious parent.
The reasonableness of this requirement flows necessarily
from the fact that all that we possess is the Lord's.
Whatever be the offering that we render him, whether
of strength, talents, riches, or our very souls, we may well
say of them as David did in regard to the gifts towards
building the temple, "All things come of thee, and of
thine own have we given thee." The same is eminently




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            39
true of our offspring; and if we are required to dedicate
to him of our worldly abundance, how much stronger is
the obligation to surrender to him those intelligent, living,
active beings, who are so adapted by their nature and the
design of their creation to glorify God! If, in the spirit
of pious consecration, that is to mark the church's latter
day glory, " Holiness to the Lord" shall be written upon
even the utensils of God's house, and the very bells of
the horses, surely it should be inscribed by fond parental
faith and prayer upon the minds that are budding into
immortality, and the hearts that are expanding to the embrace of an endless destiny.
Let it also be borne in mind that these rich treasures
are only given us in trust, and therefore are to be improved to the Divine glory.  Think not, fond parent,
that the little ones who cluster about you, and whose
confiding love sweetens so many hours of life, are merely
sent to confer pleasure upon you! They are a sacred
charge entrusted for a season to your guardianship, to
be trained by you for the heavenly kingdom.  Christ
says of them, "Feed my lambs," plainly implying that
they are his, and are ours only to feed and nourish for
the good Shepherd, being loaned to us for a season for
our good and theirs; and when we sometimes forget this
fact, and selfishly deem them all our own, does not the
Shepherd's voice thrill us with the whisper, "These are
my lambs," as he plucks one and another from our sight,
and transfers them to the fold above? We may not then
keep back these best gifts of God, nor regard them as
exclusively our own.
"These are my jewels," said Cornelia, the mother of




40             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
the Gracchi, pointing to her children. Maywe not imagine
the Saviour, as he turns his dying eye upon us, pointing
with the hand that was pierced for our transgressions to
our children, and saying, " Give me your jewels in slight
return for this loving sacrifice, that I may set them in
my heavenly diadem, where they shall sparkle, undimmed,
for ever! "  And what is the response of the pious heart?
Shall we refuse the Lord that bought us, and say, "We
will surrender all besides to thee, but leave us these?"
Let us rather exclaim, "Accept them, Lord, as our best
gifts-our heart treasures! Let the casket of thy love
enclose them, for there only are they secure!"  Let
every Christian parent adopt from the heart, in reference
to each and every child whom  God has given him,
the words of the pious Hannah, "I have lent him to
the Lord; as long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the
Lord."
As an important motive to this duty, we may add the
delightful fact that all children of believers are included
in God's covenant with his people. The Divine promise
made to Abraham, and which, let it be remembered, lay
at the foundation of God's visible church, was to him
and his seed after him in their generations. The engagements into which God then entered with his people have
never been abrogated, and the great body of the church
in all ages have recognized the privilege of their children as included in his covenant with themselves. Believers are said by Isaiah to be "the seed of the blessed
of the Lord, and their offspring with them."  "The
promise," said Peter, "is to you and your children."
Now what should be the effect of this glorious doc



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            41
trine?  It evidently ought to impel us, first of all, to
the private dedication of our children to their covenant
God. Upon bended knees, under a strong realization
of the solemnity of the act, and in the exercise of a firm
faith in the promise, we should surrender them to God,
recognizing his title to them, pleading his known interest in them, and claiming for them the blessing of his
covenanted grace.
Having done this, the public act of consecration follows, in the use of the ordinance of baptism. This is
not the place for an extended discussion of the question,
whether infants ought to be baptized-yet as there is a
too prevalent neglect of this duty in Christian families,
and as many entertain erroneous views as to its nature
and importance, we shall briefly present the chief arguments upon which this doctrine is founded.
In the seventeenth chapter of the book of Genesis, we
read that God entered into a covenant with Abraham in
which he declared, "I will establish my covenant between
me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee
and to thy seed after thee." Gen. xvii. 7. This covenant includes in its ample scope, not only the lineal
descendants of the patriarch, but the whole visible
church-all professed believers.  "They which are of
the faith," writes Paul to the Gentiles, "the same are
the children of Abraham." Gal. iii. 7.  "If ye are
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. iii. 29. This covenant also
embraces in its provisions both old and young, parents
and children. In confirmation of this, God immediately
k^*




42              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
ratified his covenant by instituting the ordinance of circumcision, and directing its application to infants of
eight days old.
Here, then, at the very first organization of the church
-(for although there were believers in the world previous to this transaction, there were none of the characteristics of a visible, organized church)-we find infants
admitted, by a sealing ordinance, to its membership.
We here find God binding himself in a covenant relation
with Abraham  and his seed after him, or his children,
and therefore with all the members of his church and
their seed-with every circumcised Jew and his offspring,
and, as the church is always one and the same, with
every Christian believer and his offspring, through all
generations.  Now it will be seen that the admission of
infants to the church by the-appropriate rite was as much
a part of the covenant as was the promise that it sealed;
and that to do away with the one would be to abolish the
other. If, therefore, the covenant is still in force, " I
will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee," then
the conclusion is irresistible, that our seed are to be initiated, by the appropriate rite of the Christian dispensation, into the visible church, and to receive the seal of
their covenant relation to God.
That this covenant is still in force is evident from the
fact that the Scriptures nowhere give the remotest hint
of its having been abrogated.  It did not expire with
the ceremonial law, for that was not promulgated until
long after this was established; and was only added to
serve a temporary purpose, having fulfilled which, it
vanished.  Besides, there is no new covenant, and if we




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            43
have not this to rest upon as the ground of our relation
to God, then we have not any; a conclusion of itself
sufficient to establish its perpetuity. It follows from
this that the law of infant church membership is to this
day unrepealed, that the initiatory ordinance is still to
be applied to the seed of believers, and therefore that
baptism, the rite of the new dispensation which answers
to circumcision in the old, and which immediately followed its abrogation, is to be administered to them. In
the absence of any scriptural proof that God has ever
annulled the ancient constitution of his church or forbidden us those privileges which were granted his people until the coming of Christ, the conclusion is unavoidable that infants of believers are to be baptized.
If, then, this is an ordinance of the church, it is imperatively binding upon all who are itsmembers.  The
obligation of the ancient Jew to circumcise his child,
was no greater than is that of every Christian parent to
dedicate him to God in baptism. Indeed, how can he
plead the Divine promise in regard to his offspring, who
by neglecting this duty becomes himself a covenantbreaker with Jehovah?  Upon the other hand, with what
confidence may the faithful parent claim the fulfilment
of those engagements by which God has bound himself
to him  and his seed after him! Having obediently
placed his children within the pale of the visible church,
he may the more hopefully pray and labour that they
may also be inclosed in the inner, spiritual fold of Christ.
For,let none suppose that their position as heirs of the
covenant of promise will, in itself, convert and save
them. No; it rather obliges us to the use of those




44             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
means by which they may be made partakers of the
covenanted grace. It is a woful perversion of precious
truth to evade responsibility upon the plea of the Divine
promise. Its true and reasonable effect will be to incite
us to more earnest diligence in our children's behalf, for
it assures us that they are the Lord's, that to him they
are solemnly consecrated, and for him they are to be
trained and nurtured.
Among the many advantages, near and remote, of a
discharge of this duty may be placed that of its moral
influence upon the minds of the persons baptized.  The
infant may be unconscious of the import of' the sacred
rite, but in after years it becbmes an argument for devotion to God's service, with which no parent or child can
afford to dispense. The thought that solemn vows have
been pronounced over him in the sanctuary, binding him
to the Lord-vows sealed by the symbol of atoning
blood, and for whose fulfilment he is himself become
responsible, is one that may well weigh upon the mind
and heart of the youth, and incite him to duty. The
question with him is, and it must often obtrude upon his
hours of serious reflection, "not whether he shall contract or avoid an allegiance which has hitherto had no
claims upon him; but whether he shall acknowledge or
renounce an allegiance under which he drew his first
breath?  Whether he shall disown the Prince of life,
and waive his interest in his church? Whether he shall
disclaim the God of his fathers, forswear his consecration to his service? Not whether he shall be a simple
unbeliever, but whether he shall display his unbelief in




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            45
the form of apostasy?  That is the question, and an
awful one it is! " *
The mere act of consecration, however, does not fulfil
the parents' whole duty in this respect. This is to be
followed up by an habitual regarding of his offspring as
belonging to the Lord. Consistency would seem to require that, having dedicated them to him, all our subsequent treatment of them be in strict accordance with
that fact. It should colour all our intercourse, point
our instructions, and direct our plans and purposes in
regard to them. When tempted to sacrifice their higher
interests to temporal aggrandizement, or to indulge in
those selfish dreams of the future which excessive fondness may suggest, let the  thought, "they are the
Lord's," recall us to duty and nerve us for its discharge.
Among the papers of the mother of the devoted
missionary Samuel J. Mills, was recently brought to
light a fragment of an unfinished letter, intended as a
reply to her son's announcement of his decision to go
upon a foreign mission. It dwelt pathetically upon the
trial of parting with him, and the dangers to which he
would be exposed.  She had proceeded but a little way
in this strain, however, when the thought that she had
given her son to the Lord overcame the dictates of selfish
affection. Throwing aside what she had written, she
began another letter in another strain, and told her son
to go. The fragment alluded to remains a monument
of her struggle and her triumph.
Much is also to be gained by impressing upon the
* Dr. Mason.




46              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
minds of the young that they are thus set apart to the
Master's service in whatever sphere he may assign to
them, and that, like the holy vessels of the ancient
temple, they cannot be withdrawn from  that service
without the crime of sacrilege. It will be found that
this habitual recognition of the truth we are considering
will aid materially in the task of rearing them for God,
and will give a healthful impulse to right parental effort.
And what a plea is this to present at the throne of grace,
"they are the Lord's!"  In all their devious wanderings
we may say,
"Remember still that they are thine,
That thy dear, sacred name they bear!
Think that the seal of love divine,
The sign of covenant grace they wear!"
This thought will also go far towards inspiring us with
quiet resignation, when God is pleased to transfer them
to his higher and more glorious service. However we
might be disposed to repine at losing our own dear offspring, the thought that they are the Lord's by a stronger
tie than they are ours, being his property, while they
are ours only as a temporary loan, to be recalled at the
Divine pleasure, is calculated to promote a sweet submission as we say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            47
CHAPTER III.
PARENTAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES, CONTINUED.
3. A THIRD duty of parents to their children is that
of government and discipline.
This is frequently enjoined in the word of God.  "He
that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth
him chasteneth him betimes." Prov. xiii. 24.  "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of
correction shall drive it far from him." Prov. xxii. 15.
"Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest; yea, he
shall give delight unto thy soul." Prov. xxix. 17.
These precepts, and other similar ones with which the
Scriptures abound, are founded in wisdom and beneficence, and are adapted to the whole character of the
family constitution. The position of the parent, as set
forth by Him who has ordained it, is one of authority,
while that of the child is one of subjection.  This
authority is delegated by God, and is to be employed in
fulfilment of his will, and with a view to his glory. The
child, with all his endearing attractions, is still the possessor of a depraved nature, and evinces his relationship
to the first transgressor by exhibiting a perverse independence of will and impatience under wholesome re



48              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
straint. If the well ordered family resembles Eden in
its pure pleasures, so, like it, it is not without its wise
prohibitions; and the first impulse of childhood is to
taste the forbidden fruit.
For this reason the first step of the parent may well
be to establish his authority, and form the tender mind to
habits of obedience.  Until this be done, every other
effort will be comparatively in vain. The wisest counsels
are apt to fall unheeded upon one who recognizes no
other law than his own will; while he who is accustomed
to obey is not only a most hopeful subject of parental
instruction, but is the better prepared for the service of
the heavenly Father.  And in speaking of authority,
we use the term in its strict, absolute sense. Were the
child introduced into the world with full grown powers
of mind, and the keen moral perceptions of the matured
and cultivated heart, it would perhaps be proper always
to reason with it, and to substitute argument and persuasion for simple command. It will, however, be seen,
that under such circumstances there would be no occasion for parental influence. The truth is, the mental
and moral faculties of childhood are to be developed by
the parent, and it is as a means to such development that
his authority is to be exercised. We are often obliged
to give and enforce commands, the reasons of which are
above the comprehension of children; and even should
they appreciate them in their full force, they may still
be disposed to follow the bent of their inclinations. We
should indeed recognize their character as intelligent
beings, by generally assigning the motives of our conduct,
and enjoining nothing that is unreasonable; yet they




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            49
should be taught to obey, not merely the voice of argument, but that of authority, and to regard the parents'
will as the law of the household.
This, so far from conflicting with that mutual love which
lies at the foundation of parental and filial duty, is the
rather its appropriate fruit. For he who seeks the best
good of his offspring will endeavour so to govern them,
that the dictates of his affection may be the most effectively carried out; and the child who best loves his parents, and the most confides in their wisdom, will ever be
the most ready to submit to their authority.
Upon this subject, two extremes are to be carefully
avoided.  Some err by an excessive leniency.  To so
great an extent is this carried at the present day as to
have given rise to the sarcastic remark, "It is said that
there is less family government now than formerly. It
is a mistake. There is as much government as ever, with
this difference; the parents formerly governed the children,
but now the children govern the parents."  That is a
mistaken policy which sacrifices the future good of the
child to his present indulgence. It may be pleasant to
avoid the struggle with self-will, and the effort of subduing it, but will it be as agreeable in coming years to reap
the fruits of such neglect in the sad ruin of a son or
daughter?  Painful as it may be to harrow the young
heart with the grief of chastisement, may it not, thereby,
like the harrowed field, be the better prepared for the
"good seed?"
The experience of the world in this respect has amply
verified the proverb, " He that spareth his rod, hateth
his son."  "My father was too easy with me," exclaimed
5




50             THE CHRISTIAN HOTME,
a young man in college, upon being remonstrated with
for the sin of intemperance. He admitted that he was
doing wrong, that he was on the road to ruin; and on
being told that he was not compelled to drink, he answered, "No, not compelled; but you do not know
what it is to get a taste for liquor. I am a miserable
fellow; my father was too easy with me when Iwas a boy."
" He was expelled from college, and died a few years
after. If any change took place in his habits, it was not
known to the narrator."
A most striking case in point is afforded in the history
of Aaron Burr.  As the eldest son of President Edwards
was congratulating a friend upon having a fine family of
sons, he said to him with much earnestness, " Remember,
there is but one mode of family government.  I have
brought up and educated fourteen boys, two of whom I
brought up or rather suffered to grow up, without the rod.
One of these was my youngest brother; and the other
Aaron Burr, my sister's only son-" (both of whom had
lost their parents in infancy)-" and from both my observation and experience, I tell you, sir,'maple sugar
government' will never answer. Beware how you let
the first act of disobedience in your little boys go unnoticed, and, unless evidence of repentance be manifest,
unpunished."  What an awful lesson! The unrestrained
youth above alluded to, became the vile, dissolute, unprincipled man, described by one as " a hater of all mankind, a trifler with all woman-kind, violating all the rules
of hospitality in the license of his behaviour; an infidel,
a blasphemer, and a murderer, cursing the world to the
age of fourscore."  Comment is needless.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             51
Another extreme against which the faithful parent will
equally guard, is that of undue severity.  His authority
is not magisterial, but parental, and its chief appeal
ought therefore to be not to fear, but to love. Where
government and discipline are seasonably commenced and
rightly administered, there will rarely be occasion for
severe measures.  When these are rendered necessary,
it should be shown that they are dictated rather by affection than anger.  As was aptly said by Sir Walter
Raleigh, "A man must first govern himself, ere he be fit
to govern a family." The too frequent use of the rod, or
the resorting to those methods of ingenious torture which
form with some the chief staple of family government, tend
rather to harden than soften the young and tender heart,
and by awakening a sense of injustice, to weaken parental
authority. We need not resort to the rod when a word or
a look may suffice, and should enforce obedience not so
much by the severity as the certainty of punishment. We
should beware of too strongly exciting the fears of children.
Most frightful consequences have sometimes ensued from
thoughtless appeals to this principle.  Says an English
writer, " I knew, in Philadelphia, as fine, and sprightly,
and intelligent a child as ever was born, made an idiot
for life, by being, when about three years old, shut into
a dark closet, by a maid servant, in order to terrify it
into silence." A wholesome, kind, and judicious discipline will be found sufficient for every emergency, and
being once firmly established, will become the basis upon
which to rear the throne of love, and will prepare the
way for affection to exert its constraining power, and
bring its subjects beneath its sway.




52             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
It is also important to an intelligent family government, that the parent consider the wide difference that
exists in the dispositions of children. A course of procedure that would be required in the case of a wilful,
headstrong child, might be highly injurious when brought
to bear upon one who is mild, timid, and sensitive. A
naturally good disposition may be spoiled by mismanagement, and a bad one greatly improved by right training.
Besides the incidental benefits that accrue from a faithful discharge of this duty, and they are many, it will be
found materially to promote the great end of  the
family, which must ever be kept in view, the training of
young minds and hearts to the service and glory of God.
As the essence of sin consists in the opposing of our
wills to that of God, so it is the chief aim of religion to
subdue our wills, and bring them into subjection to the
Divine; and what a grand preparative for this is afforded
in the Christian home! The child who has learned the
lesson of unquestioning obedience is thereby the better
prepared to bow before the will of God. Accustomed
from earliest infancy to "the obedience of faith," there
is that within him which responds the more readily to
the claims of his Maker, when he begins clearly to apprehend them.  Mrs. Wesley, the mother of the celebrated divine, speaking in a letter of the management
of children, says, "I insist upon conquering the will of
children betimes, because this is the only strong and
rational foundation of a religious education, without
which both precept and example will be ineffectual.
But when this is thoroughly done, then a child is capable
of being governed by the reason and piety of its parents,




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            53
till its own understanding comes to maturity, and the
principles of religion have taken root in the mind."
4. Another important duty of the parent is Instruction. This is strongly set forth in the commands of God
to his ancient people. Next in importance to their obligation to heed and obey the Divine teachings was that
of transmitting them to their children. "Teach them
thy sons and thy sons' sons."   "And ye shall teach
them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when
thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deut. iv. 9;
xi. 19. To the same effect are the precepts of the New
Testament: "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to
wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Eph. vi. 4.
God has thus appointed the parent to be the chief
educator of the child, and has made the home the scene
where, most of all, he is to be schooled in Divine truth,
and trained for his service. The genial influences of the
family circle, with its endearing sympathies and associations, and its glad flow of filial love and trust, make it
preeminently the spot where the lambs of the flock are
to be fed and nourished unto everlasting life. It should
be no stranger's voice that instils the first rudiments of
truth into the infant mind; and no parent, who values
his or her privileges aright, will leave to others this
blessed task. For, not only do the simple lessons of
Divine truth possess an added interest and power when
falling from the lips of a fond parent, but who would not
desire that the earliest associations of their child in religious things should be linked in with the loved tones of
5*




54             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
a father's or mother's voice? It is said that Constantine
the Great, though he appointed men of the most approved piety to be the teachers of his children, "was
himself their instructor in Divine things, to lead them to
immortal blessedness."
It is to be feared that the multiplied facilities for religious instruction which exist at the present day have
caused many to lose sight of this important duty, and to
shift upon others the burden of their responsibility.
But we have no right to delegate this solemn trust. The
obligation to the home instruction of their children is
laid upon every parent in the words, " Ye shall teach
them yoxr children, speaking of them when thou sittest
in thine house."  There are some who look upon the
Sabbath-school as a substitute for the good old practice
of our fathers in this respect.  Never was there a
greater mistake. It is indeed a beneficent institution,
and a valuable auxiliary to fireside education, but it was
never intended to supplant it. Let our children derive
from it all the benefit they can, but let the parent also
see to it that they receive at home, under his own eye
and from his own lips, thorough,systematic instruction in
Divine truth.
Would that in all Christian families might be witnessed
the spectacle which in past generations has characterized
the households of faith, and which is still frequently met
with, of the whole family gathered upon a Sabbath evening in a pleasant circle, repeating their lessons from the
Bible and Catechism, and holding delightful converse
upon the grand themes of redemption! Now an infant
voice lisps forth a little hymn; then others recite their




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            55
verses, or narrate some "sweet story of old" gathered
from pages of Scripture-the parents interspersing the
exercises with necessary comments, or appropriate words
of kind counsel; then the song of praise ascends from
the little circle, whose mingled voices symbolize their
glad union of hearts; and then the fervent prayer.
Upon such a scene, we may well believe, the angels gaze
with delighted interest, while the Father smiles on it
approvingly.  Happy is the home that is enriched with
such associations. Happy the child or man whose earliest memories are linked in with such hallowed hours.
They cannot be forgotten, and often they arrest the
wanderer, and are. made the means of bringing him back
to his Father's house.
The proper themes of parental instruction are sufficiently indicated in the precepts already quoted. While
not neglecting those lesser branches of education that
lie at the foundation of all mental and moral culture, let
the chief stress be laid upon informing the mind and
heart in Divine truth. The intellectual ought ever to be
held subordinate to the spiritual; and he who would not
destroy the intended balance of the mental and moral
faculties will be careful how he forces the brain at the
expense of the heart, or makes mere literary attainment an end, instead of a simple means to an end higher
than itself.  Let the mind be cultivated, for it is a
glorious part of our nature, and one for whose improvement or neglect we are justly accountable to our Creator; yet let its culture be made tributary to that highest
wisdom, the glorifying of God, and preparation for eternity. The duty is devolved upon the parent of answer



56             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
ing wisely those great questions, which sometimes will
obtrude even upon childhood's mind-" For what purpose do I live?  What are my relations to my Maker,
and what is my destiny?"
It follows from this that the Bible should be the principal text book in the family. And here we cannot but
recur to the wonderful adaptedness of God's word to the
minds of the young.  "It is too simple, too childish in
some of its parts," says the infidel, "to have emanated
from the Infinite mind, and to bind the faith of cultivated
intellects."  But God is wiser than man, "and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty."  Knowing as we do the
power of early impressions, must we not conclude that if
religion is to prevail among men, it must make its appeal
to the young, and that its truths must be among the first
that address the mind of childhood? It is therefore to
be expected that a revelation from God to man will be
more or less adapted to the tender mind, and that while
containing logical and didactic statements for the mature
intellect, or the "strong meat" of doctrine, it will not
be destitute of its "milk for babes." It is, then, no
slight evidence of the wisdom of the great Revealer,
that his word abounds in those simple narratives, and
beautiful parables which so interest the little child, and
instruct it, in an attractive manner, in the duties and
rewards of piety. The stories of Moses, and Samuel,
and Josiah, and the charming account of "the child
Jesus," have perhaps exerted as powerful an influence
for good as the matchless arguments of the apostle Paul.
The simplicity of the Bible, therefore, and its appropri



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             57
ateness to those whose ignorance or extreme youth ill
qualifies them for processes of abstruse reasoning, affords
as strong a plea for its inspiration as does the opposite
fact, that it contains "things hard to be understood."
In this peculiarity of the Scriptures may be found
strong presumptive evidence of the duty we are now considering. God has placed the Bible in our hands as his
own appointed means of instructing our offspring, and it,
is to be employed accordingly;-the parent drawing
from it as from a full store-house, judiciously selecting
those narratives that will interest and attract, and by
means of them illustrating the truths of religion. By so
doing, the Bible becomes clothed with the most powerful
charms in their estimation, and ever remains associated
in their minds with delightful reminiscences of childhood.  Let them  not, however, be taught to regard it
as a mere story book, but be made to commit to memory
many of its precepts, especially those that fell from the
Saviour's lips. They should also be taught to reverence
its authority as the very word of God, and in the
exercise of that trust which is far more natural than
doubt to the little child, to confide implicitly in its teachings.
The following extract from Coleman's " Ancient Christianity Exemplified," exhibits the practice of the primitive Christians in this respect.  "The tender solicitude
of these early Christians for the religious instruction of
their children is one of their most beautiful characteristics.  They taught them even at the earliest dawn of
intelligence the sacred names of God and the Saviour.
They sought to lead the infant minds of their children




58             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
up to God, by familiar narratives from Scripture, of
Joseph, of young Samuel, of Josiah and of the holy child
Jesus.  The history of the patriarchs and prophets, aposties and holy men, whose lives are narrated in the sacred
volume, were the nursery tales with which they sought to
form the tender minds of their children. As the mind
of the child expanded, the parents made it their sacred duty and delightful task daily to exercise him
in the recital of select passages of Scripture relating to the doctrines and duties of religion. The Bible
was the entertainment of the fireside.  It was the
first, the last, the only school book almost, of the
child; and sacred psalmody the only song with which
his infant cry was hushed as he was lulled to rest on his
mother's arm."
In connection with the Bible, the Catechism may profitably be employed as affording a connected and systematic view of its doctrines. It is sometimes objected that
young children are incapable of fully comprehending the
brief, terse statements of truth which these helps contain. While endeavouring as far as possible to obviate
this difficulty by proper explanations, let it at the same
time be remembered that much is gained by impressing
the mind even with " the form of sound words;" and that
in after years the doctrines thus inculcated may be, and
indeed often are, recalled, with a great power for good.
History has proved that the church has been the most
free from the inroads of error when most closely adhering to catechetical instruction; and it cannot be
doubted that of those families which unhappily become




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             59
divided in faith and doctrine, the greater part are reared
in the neglect of this means of grace.
As is the case with every duty, so with this, much depends upon the manner in which it is discharged.  There
is such a thing as making instruction irksome and repulsive, and thus defeating its true end.  Some persons
grow up with a dislike to the Bible and all religious truth,
which may be partially attributed to the circumstance of
its being associated in their minds with long, weary hours
of childhood's study, or with its burdensome tasks, and
even punishments.  Let us deal with children as they
are, imaginative, emotional creatures, easily interested in
a narrative, but apt to be repelled by bare,lengthy statements of doctrine; and while aiming sedulously at a
thorough, systematic course of training, our task will be
greatly facilitated by the use of illustrations drawn from
familiar objects around them. While insisting upon their
receiving lessons of heavenly wisdom, let the truth be
impressed by every possible means that "her ways are
ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."
Parental duty, however, is not fulfilled by the mere
instructions of the lip or book. Of equal importance
with these is the voice of example. The imitative powers of childhood are too well known to require remark.
The infant tries to copy the very gestures and movements of the parent, and in regard to the young it holds
preeminently true that "actions speak  louder than
words."  This is a kind of education that is carried on by
every parent, whether he will or not. However he may
neglect verbal instruction, he cannot help teaching by his
daily life, nor prevent the predominant features of that




60              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
life from reproducing themselves in his offspring. And
it is generally the case that if the example and precept
materially differ, the triumph will be upon the side of the
former; while if both concur in instilling right principles,
they possess a united force that is well nigh irresistible.
It is related of a young man who was about to be ordained to the gospel ministry, that he declared himself
to have once been nearly betrayed into infidelity, " but,"
he added, " there was one argument in favour of Christianity which I could never refute-the consistent conduct of
my own father."
It is scarcely to be wondered at that the gay and frivolous parent, whose whole career is marked by worldliness
and folly, finds it difficult to lead his children in paths
of piety; for how can they be expected to regard as a
necessity that which they see daily ignored and neglected
before their eyes?  They who would cultivate religion
in the family must assign it its true position in their own
hearts and lives, and thereby not only point to heaven,
but " lead the way."  The most faithful and long continued instructions of the lip may in an instant.be neutralized by an act that is in opposition to tlem. A well
merited reproof upon this subject was once conveyed by
Dr. Dwight, President of Yale College, who was himself
a monument to parental faithfulness. A gentleman who
was calling upon him was so annoyed by a little boy of
the doctor's, that he told him he would give him a dollar if
he would keep still while he talked with his father. The
boy instantly became quiet.  When the gentleman had
finished his call, he was about to depart without paying
the boy; whereupon Dr. Dwight put a dollar into his




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            61
hand, saying, " You promised my boy a dollar for
good behaviour.  Give him that as you promised.  If,
sir, we lie, our children will be liars also."
5. The most important duty of all, and the one to
which every other should be held subservient, is that of
seeking the conversion of our children.
This obligation is implied in all those precepts which
inculcate the duty of religious instruction. We have
not fulfilled the Divine purpose in the education of our
offspring, when we have informed their minds in Divine
truth.  We are not to rest satisfied until we can discern
its workings upon their hearts, and its issue in their lives.
A theoretical acquaintance with the scheme of redemption will not, of itself, save the soul. No truth is so
thoroughly practical in its aims and bearings as Bible
truth, and none can be said truly to understand it, who
know it not experimentally. The chief end of religious
family training is declared in the words of Moses, after
rehearsing the duties of the people: "Set your hearts
unto all the words which I testify among you this day,
which ye shall command your children to observe to do,
all the words Of this law." Dent. xxxii. 46.  That parental government, in its true idea, has reference to the
piety of the children, is evident from God's commendation of Abraham, "For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they
shall keep the way of the Lord." Gen. xviii. 19.
Religion, then, should not be presented to the view
of our children as a mere system of belief, to be simply
understood and assented to, but as a practical, living
reality;-each being made to feel that he has a soul to
6




62              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
save; and all the persuasive powers of the parent being
exerted in impressing from earliest childhood this great
truth.  To aim  at any thing less than their personal
piety is to defeat the very purpose of the family constitution, to pervert its means and appliances, and to abuse
a solemn trust.  The parent may secure the temporal
and social well being of his offspring, may train them
for stations of honour and affluence, and even for a high
degree of usefulness in the world; yet if, with all this,
he has not faithfully laboured for the salvation of their
souls, he is guilty of the veriest trifling. Hie has sacrificed what God designed to be the main purpose of
their lives to ends that are merely incidental; and if
they perish, may not some portion of their blood be
found upon his skirts?
A  parent who once continued for several days in a
state of beastly drunkenness, only came to his senses to
find that his helpless child had starved to death. It will
be admitted that the execrations of the outraged community in which this occurred, could hardly have been
too severe.  Another parent intoxicated, not in body
but in mind, with the ardour of money making, or the
allurements of fashionable pleasure, recovers from his
giddy, lifelong oblivion, to find that his children are
perishing by the horrid " second death," for the lack of
those influences which God had made it his duty to exert.
Now which of these is the worse?  Which is the most
criminal in the sight of God? and whose neglect is
attended with the most disastrous consequences?
It is difficult to realize the awful responsibility of the
parent in this respect, or precisely to define its limits.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            63
When we have to do with imperishable souls, whose value
is so great that, in the estimation of Him who best
knows their worth, "the whole world" is no compensation for the loss of one of them, we may well confess
ourselves unable to calculate the interests involved in the
question of their salvation or damnation. Yet we may
at least conclude that none can trifle with so precious a
trust without incurring aggravated guilt. The thought
that we are in any way accountable to God for the endless destiny that awaits our offspring, would seem to be
enough to humble every parent in the dust, and to incite
him to the utmost fidelity. That we are thus accountable
is implied in the whole nature of the family institution,
and is set forth in the teachings of the word of God.
If it is true that the sins of parents are visited upon
their children, it is also the case that the children's sins,
when resulting from  the unfaithfulness of those who
should have trained them  up aright, are sometimes
visited upon the parents.  Witness the Divine curse pronounced upon Eli, "because his sons made themselves
vile, and he restrained them not:" "Therefore," said
God, "have I sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice or
offering for ever." 1 Sam. iii. 13, 14.
But upon this subject, we may appeal to the dictates
of natural affection. What Christian parent who loves
his child can do otherwise than seek his conversion to
God?  Whatever may be the views of the ungodly upon
this point, the believer in the Scriptures well knows that
no blessing is to be compared with this, and that he who




64             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
dies without it, might better never have been born. He
therefore has no true appreciation of the religion that he
professes, who had rather see his son a Napoleon than a
Judson, or a Croesus or Girard, rather than a Harlan
Page.  And who can contemplate without a shudder
the thought that the young life which we nourish and
support shall employ its strength in opposition to the
Creator, and the soul which we are daily, hourly impressing for good or evil, wail for ever in torment?
Upon the other hand, what thought so delightful as that
of becoming the means of spiritual life and blessedness
to these objects of our hearts' affections? Of all the
joys connected with the family relation, this surely
is the loftiest, that our efforts may be blessed to the
securing of an "eternal weight of glory" to those we so
tenderly love.
Then to this end let the parent devote his best energies.
Surely it is well worthy of all the toil that can be
brought to bear upon it. It is indeed true that human
effort is unavailing, unless it be attended with the Holy
Spirit's influences; yet many are the promises to
parental faithfulness, and experience proves that it is
seldom, if ever, in vain. It is also true that our best
endeavours in this, as in other respects, will fall far
short of our whole duty; yet God mercifully accepts
our imperfect obedience, and is ever ready to assist
those who honestly attempt to discharge their solemn
trust.  He "keepeth covenant for ever."   He hath
said, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my
blessing upon thine offspring."




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            65
The consideration of the means best adapted to promote so desirable, an object, as well as of other parental
duties bearing upon the end of family religion, will
more appropriately claim  attention in a subsequent
chapter.
6*




65              THE CHRISTIAN HOM];
CHAPTER IV.
THE DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO THEIR PARENTS.
III. A THIRD class of duties pertaining to the family,
are THOSE OF CHILDREN TO THEIR PARENTS.
1. It seems scarcely necessary to insist at length upon
so self-evident a duty as that of filial love. It would appear as if there were no virtue which could be more
safely assumed as universally existing, than this. It
would be strange indeed if the child, nurtured from infancy by affection's hand, and instrumentally indebted
for all his joys and comforts to the patient, self-sacrificing devotion of fond parents, could cherish any other
emotion towards them. Yet as the natural heart is
"enmity against God," it is no cause for surprise that
it is sometimes the same in regard to the earthly parent,
whose claims upon its affection and gratitude are so much
less than those of the Divine. Instances there are of filial
hate and ingratitude which may well bring a blush to the
cheek of humanity, and cause us to mourn and confess
the depravity in which it originates. A few thoughts,
therefore, upon this subject will not be deemed inappropriate.
This is one of those obligations that are so deeply engraven by the finger of God upon our hearts, that they




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            67
needed not to be urged with frequency in the written
word. We may, however, regard it as included in the
import of the fifth commandment, " Thou shalt honour
thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long
upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee;" for
love is the basis of true reverence, whether exercised towards God or man, and that is but the semblance of
honour, which is destitute of this principle. The same
may be said of every filial duty. None of them can be
discharged with acceptance to God, or ease and profit to
ourselves, unless their foundation be laid broad and deep
in the heart's warm affections. The human family is in
this respect a mirror of the Divine. No truth in religion
is more plain than that our obedience to God must flow
rather from love than from fear.  "If a man love me,
he will keep my words." " He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings."  And here we have a powerful
motive to parental affection; for if "like begets like,"
the one who exercises and displays it is not only the better qualified thereby to fulfil his own obligations, but is
fostering in the bosoms of his offspring that which will
tend to render them the more dutiful and obedient.
The bearings of this principle upon religion in the family are very evident. While greatly promoting a successful moral training, by inspiring confidence in and
obedience to parental instruction, it also prepares the
heart, in some degree, for the love of its heavenly Parent.
Experience proves that those who are destitute of natural
affection are the least likely of any to love God; while
the affectionate child is, other things being equal, a
more hopeful subject of renewing grace. In that fre



68              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
quent figure by which God compares his love to his people to that of the earthly parent, is also included the
corresponding truth that our love to him resembles the
filial affection of the child. So that this obligation is not
intended to stop short with its immediate fulfilment, but,
in the wise economy of grace, is designed as a preparative for higher duties, and for the fervid outgoing of all
the heart, and mind, and soul, and strength to our Creator.  Thus may the instinctive fondness of the infant,
nestling confidingly in its mother's bosom, be made to
rise, by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, to a sublime
height of love to God and man, and at last repose with
perfect, unclouded affection upon the bosom of the heavenly Parent.  " And," remarks Dr. Harris, " let the
parents remember that from the moment they begin to
point their child to God as an object of reverence and
love, they are pursuing the certain course for augmenting
its moral affection for themselves; while its intelligent
love for them is a valuable means and pledge for its ascending to the love of God."
This affection, when rightly exercised, will display
itself in expressions of gratitude for parental care and
faithfulness, and in those numberless acts of kindness
which the loving child will ever delight to render. It
will prompt to a strict obedience, for the sake of affording pleasure to its objects, and sometimes will even incite
to piety, rather than cause grief. This motive appears
to have weighed powerfully upon the mind of " the judicious Hooker," who was accustomed to say, " If I had no
other reason and motive for being religious, I would
earnestly strive to be so for the sake of my aged mother,




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.              69
that I might requite her care of me, and cause the widow's
heart to sing for joy."
Especially will it display itself in those kind attentions for which the age or infirmities of the parents often
afford such opportunities. When the eyes that so lovingly watched over our early years become dim, and the
hands that so tenderly nurtured us grow weak and trembling, when "the almond tree shall flourish, and the
grasshopper shall be a burden," then the power of filial
love will shine most brightly, and will eagerly render
back something of that care to which it is so greatly indebted, yet which it can never wholly repay. That is a
beautiful providence which so governs the family as thus
to reverse its relative duties and dependencies, providing in the love of the child for the welfare of the aged
and enfeebled parent, and rewarding his former faithfulness in duty by the corresponding fidelity of his offspring.
Not always, however, does the parent reap this delightful "fruit in old age." The selfishness of the human
heart sometimes invades and mars even this sacred relation, and there are those-(may heaven pity them!)who know
t' How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child."
No form of ingratitude, save that of which God is the
object, is so hateful and criminal as this. It betokens a
hardness of heart, a deadness to all sense of duty and
affection, which deserves, as it has received, the reproba



70             TIIE CHRISTIAN HOME,
tion of mankind in all ages. It is a sin which seldom
goes unpunished, even in this life. A wealthy man who
for many years had allowed his widowed mother to depend upon the parish for support, and who St length
consented to give her from  his own purse the slight
weekly pittance to which she had been accustomed, was
made the subject of conversation in a circle of her
friends, who proposed once more to remonstrate with
him.  "No," said an aged minister, "let him alone; if
he dies possessed of the property he is now worth, I
shall be deceived. God will never suffer such base ingratitude to prosper." In a short time afterwards, the
mother was removed to another world.  The circumstances of the son began to change, and though he had
amassed his thousands, he was soon reduced to abject
poverty.
Sometimes the sin of the ungrateful child recoils fearfully upon himself when he becomes a parent. A father
was once emphatically reminded of this by his son. He
had refused to support the grandfather of the child, and
turned him out of the house.  The old man said to his
grandson, "Go and fetch the covering from my bed,
that I may go and sit by the wayside and beg."  The
child burst into tears, and ran for the covering, having
procured which, he said to his father, "Pray, father, cut
it in two; the half of it will be large enough for grandfather, and perhaps you may want the other half when
I grow to be a man, and turn you out of doors." The
unnatural son was so affected by these words that he implored the forgiveness of his father, and was very kind
to him till he died.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            71
In happy contrast with these unlovely traits of character are those that often mark the Christian family,
where the aged grand-parent goes gently down the decline of life, blessed by the tender sympathy and consideration of both old and young, being regarded by
none as a burden, but fondly cherished and reverenced
by all. The trials that are incident to old age are deprived of half their sting by the respect and forbearance of those around, and the absence' of many other
sources of joy is more than compensated by the delights
of a happy fireside.  Upon the other hand a golden
return for this filial affection is poured into the bosoms
of those who cherish it, in the lessons of practical wisdom
and ripe experience that drop from the lips of age, as
well as in the example furnished to the younger members of the family, by which they are likely to profit in
after years.  It cannot be doubted that children nurtured amid such influences are, of all others, the least
likely to bring down the "gray hairs" of their own parents "in sorrow to the grave." Thus is filial piety ever
its own abundant reward.
It may be added that the same spirit of love should
characterize the intercourse of children with each other.
Without it, the home can never be the happy spot that
it is designed to be. That very closeness of relationship
which adds a zest to the joys of affection, also greatly
embitters the evils of hatred and discord. As a means
of happiness, therefore, no less than as a dictate of
duty, the most confiding sympathy should be cultivated
by brothers and sisters. In every family there is much
to be borne with upon all sides, and occasions frequently




72              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
occur for the exercise of patience and forgiveness.
When rightly improved, they become a healthful discipline, and tend to exercise and develop the kindlier dispositions of our nature.  When met with an improper,
unchristian spirit, they mar the peace of the household,
and strengthen evil passions. It is therefore an important question with the young, who are just forming their
habits for life, and taking the impress that shall perhaps
mark them for eternity, whether, in the daily round of
home intercourse, love or hatred, forbearance or anger,
shall obtain the victory. Let none, however, rely upon
any native amiability of disposition, as of itself sufficient
to fulfil this obligation; but rather let all seek the animating influences of that religion, whose essence and
whose fruit is love to God and our fellow-creatures.
The home that is pervaded by the spirit of true piety
will necessarily be marked by a holy affection, that is as
delightful and profitable to ourselves as it is pleasing to
God.
2. Another important filial duty is respect for parents.
"Honour thy father and thy mother," is "the first
commandment with promise;" Ex. xx. 12; Eph. vi. 2;
and fearful are the curses denounced against him who
disobeys it: "The eye that mocketh at his father, and
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley
shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it." Prov.
xxx. 17.
But why is this duty so solemnly enjoined? Certainly
it must be of the first importance, in order to be worthy
of a place in the moral law.  A little reflection will
show that such is indeed the case.  The family is the




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             7foundation of both the State and the Church; and whatever be the duties devolving upon us, either as citizens
or Christians, the home is the school where we are to be
trained for their discharge. For what is the State without a general respect for, and obedience to, its constituted
authorities? Divested of this, the best form of government would degenerate into anarchy, and society would
present a frightful spectacle of insubordination. Yet
how can he who is accustomed to withhold the reverence
due to his parents, be expected afterwards to honour the
voice of civil law? The testimony of many a criminal,
who has publicly referred his whole career of iniquity to
his early failures in this particular, indicates what the
entire social fabric would become, were the sentiment of
filial reverence to be banished from the world.
Of still greater importance is this duty when viewed
in its relation to the principles of true religion. God
justly requires the adoring homage of his creatures, not
only in his character of a King, but also in that of a
Father, saying, " If I be a Father, where is my honour?"
In the wise adaptations of the family constitution, he
provides that this sentiment shall not bean unaccustomed
one, even to the tenderest mind; and that thus, as soon
as we are capable of understanding his claims, we shall,
by the very force of previous habit, be the better prepared to obey them.  The child who disregards the high
and dignified position of his parents (whose voice is to
him in infancy as the voice of God)-will have to pass
through a severe ordeal, ere he can be brought to humble
himself in the dust before his Maker. Upon the other
hand, he who is accustomed to revere parental authority,
7




74             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
when led by the Spirit to recognize that of his Creator,
will be the better prepared to bow with holy awe before
it, and to render that glory to the Divine name which is
the proper object of his existence.  We might pursue
the thought farther, but enough has perhaps been said
to show how wonderful are the bearings of the fifth commandment upon our social and religious well-being, and
that it appropriately occupies the first place in the second
table of the law.
The duty under consideration relates as well to thought
and feeling as to conduct. It requires a deep, habitual
esteem for one's parents, such as will not permit the
child even to think lightly of them, much less in word or
demeanour to show them disrespect. It likewise extends
to both parents, the father and mother being distinctly
specified in the Divine command. It is a remarkable circumstance that while the morality of the most cultivated
ancient heathen nations has only required that children
honour their father, the Divine law demands the honour
of the mother also.
This feeling will find a thousand appropriate channels
of expression; exhibiting itself in the daily conduct, in a
ready obedience to the parental will, and a cheerful
deference to its authority. Its influence will not be
confined to the circle of the family, but it will become
a powerful motive to right conduct in one's intercourse with the world. That is the best tribute of filial
respect, which is rendered by the obedient life; and in no
way can the child so honour a wise and faithful parent,
as by illustrating in his own career the power of his instructions and example. It is mentioned by Miss Pardoe




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            75
that a beautiful feature in the character of the Turks is
reverence for their mother.  "Their wives may reprimand unheeded, but their mother is an oracle, consulted,
confided in, listened to with respect and deference, honoured to the latest hour, and remembered with affection
and regret beyond the grave.'Wives may die,' say
they,'and we can replace them; children perish, and
others may be born to us; but who shall restore the mother, when she passes away and is seen no more?' "
There are many, and powerful motives to this duty,
such as the acknowledged deference that is due from inferiors to superiors, the honourable position of the parents
as the natural head of the family, and the claim that
they have upon the respect of those for whom they have
done so much; but we shall now confine ourselves to the
motive employed by God himself, namely the reward of
those who honour their parents. As expressed in the
fifth commandment, it is in these words, "that thy days
may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee."
This promise, no doubt, referred primarily, to God's
chosen people, who were about to enter the land of Canaan.  So literal, indeed, was its application to them,
that when God threatened the nation with captivity in
another land, the sin of dishonouring their parents was
expressly mentioned as one cause of their calamity.  "In
thee have they set light by father and mother, *  *  *
and I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse
thee in the countries." Ezek. xxii. 7, 15. That neither
the promise, however, nor its implied threatening, was
confined to the Jewish people, is evident from its citation




76             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
by the Apostle Paul: " Honour thy father and thy mother, (which is the first commandment with promise,)
that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live
long upon the earth." Eph. vi. 2, 3. Experience also
proves that there is a special providence connected with
the faithful discharge of filial duty, generally rewarding
it with long life and temporal prosperity; and also that
those who fail in this respect, do often come to an untimely end. As Philip Henry was once speaking of a
wicked son in the neighbourhood, who was very undutiful to his mother, he charged some of his children to
observe the providence of God concerning him.  "Perhaps," said he, " I may not live to see it, but do you take
notice whether God do not come upon him with some
remarkable judgment in this life, according to the
threatening implied in the reason annexed to the fifth
commandment."  He himself lived to see his words fulfilled, not long after, in a very signal providence. It
seems only reasonable and natural that the transgressor of this command should thus reap the fruits
of his impiety. For "the child is father to the man,"
and he who despises authority in the lesser sphere of the
family, is not unlikely to do so in the broader one of
society, and thus to be betrayed into crime and ignominy;
while he who has early learned to defer to superior wisdom, and to control those passions which are the moving
cause of filial irreverence, is likely to become a useful
member of society, and to possess that virtue which tends
to the prolongation of life, and the advancement of his
temporal interest.
All are perhaps familiar with the conduct of Wash



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            77
ington in this particular; yet as it so beautifully illustrates the nature and reward of filial respect, we cannot
forbear quoting it. When quite young, he was about to
go to sea as a midshipman. Everything was arranged;
the vessel lay opposite his father's house, the little boat
had come on shore to take him off, and his whole heart
was bent on going. After his trunk had been carried
down to the boat, he went to bid his mother farewell,
and saw the tears bursting from her eyes. In an instant abandoning his cherished plans, he said to his servant, "Go and fetch my trunk back, I will not go away
to break my mother's heart."  His mother, struck with
his decision, exclaimed, "George, God has promised to
bless the children that honour their parents, and I believe that he will bless you." And blessed he was by
the grateful, affectionate, filial reverence of the -multitudes who afterwards hailed him as "the father of his
country."  He who, despising that mother's tears, might
afterwards have fought against his country's liberties,
by yielding to their appeal, became its deliverer from
bondage. We may not speak too decisively as to what
God might or might not have done in his wonder-working providence, had Washington resolved differently upon
that occasion; but in view of this remarkable circumstance, who shall say that the freedom achieved in the
revolutionary war, and perpetuated to the millions who
now enjoy it, is not, under God, a monument to the
filial piety as well as the wise statesmanship of George
Washington?
We need not multiply instances in support of a truth
which is so uniformly illustrated in the experience of
7*




78              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
mankind.  An intelligent observation of facts that daily
transpire will convince the most sceptical upon this subject, that the Author of the command and promise which
we have noticed is the God of providence.  Let this
motive, then, have its intended effect, and add its weight
to the promptings of affection and of conscience, in inciting the young to honour their parents.
The promise of temporal reward, however, is not the
only incentive to this duty. It is one that is intimately
connected with the higher blessings of religion, and that
is essential to true piety.  This fact is recognized by the
common sentiment of mankind.  "It is remarkable,"
says a learned writer, "that while the duties owed to
other men are termed justice, or charity, or courtesy,
or liberality, or gratitude, those due to parents are, in
most languages, comprised under the title of piety.
Who, indeed, does not feel that it is something more than
injustice to wrong a parent; that it is more than uncharitableness to refuse them succour or relief; that it is more
than incivility to be unkind to them; that it is more than
sordid avarice to withhold aid from their necessities?
Who is not prompted at once to brand such conduct as
impiety?  Indeed the language of inspiration expressly
confirms this view of the subject, "If any widow have
children or nephews, (i. e. grand children,) let them first
learn to show piety at home, and to requite their parents,
for that is good and acceptable before God;" 1 Tim. v.
4; where the term  employed is the proper one for expressing piety "towards God."*  It is not, of course,
* Prof. Bush, on Ex. xx. 12.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             79
meant by this that the honouring of one's parents is the
whole of piety, but that it is one of its most pleasing
and delightful as well as necessary fruits.
3. The duty of obedience to parents is so clearly implied in those that we have already considered, as to
require no lengthened discussion. It is included in the
meaning of the fifth commandment, and is enjoined with
frequency and earnestness throughout the Scriptures.
" Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is
right." Eph. vi. 1.  "Children, obey your parents in all
things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." Col. iii.
20.
This obligation is founded in the relation of parents
and children, and is universally recognized as a perfectly
reasonable one. If it is the duty of parents to govern,
the corresponding duty of children to obey follows as a
matter of course. It is also implied in the position of
the parents as the heaven-appointed guardians and educators of their offspring; it being very evident that the
child who habitually disobeys them, is thereby defeating
their kind efforts in his behalf, and thus depriving himself of the great blessings which it is their duty and
desire to confer.
This obedience, to be acceptably rendered, should be
affectionate, the dictate of love rather than of fear;
should be prompt, not waiting for the second command,
but yielded with cheerful alacrity-for " IHe twice obeys
who obeys quickly;" should be confiding, even when the
reason of the command is not fully understood, yet trusting iinthe superior wisdom of the parent; should be uniform, or rendered at all times, and extending to all




80             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
duties, whether pleasurable or otherwise; and should be
performed from a sense of duty to God, who so earnestly
enjoins it, and in whose sight it is so "well pleasing."
In those instances that sometimes occur, where the parental command is opposed to the word of God, the child
ought clearly " to obey God rather than man;" yet in
all such cases there is need of great caution, and we
should be well satisfied that the thing required is as
plainly forbidden by God, as filial obedience is commanded by him. When these two kinds of obligation
do thus come into conflict, we are not warranted in withholding the respect due to the parent; but must treat
him with kind regard, even when we cannot conscientiously obey.
A beautiful exhibition of this trait was once afforded
by the Rev. Richard Cecil. When quite a little boy his
father had occasion to go to a certain place, and took his
son with him. While transacting business, he told his
son to wait for him at the door; but forgetting him, he
went out by another door, and returned home. In the
evening the mother, missing her child, inquired where he
was, when his father, suddenly recollecting his own directions to him, said, " You may depend upon it, he is
still waiting where I appointed him." He immediately
returned, and found his dear boy on the very spot where
he had ordered him to remain.  "He knew that his
father expected him to wait, and therefore would not
disappoint him."
Perhaps the sublimest display of filial obedience that
the world has ever witnessed, (with the one exception of
Him  who, "though he were a son, yet learned obedi



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           81
ence by the things which he suffered",) was that rendered by the youthful Isaac. We have no record of his
submissive words when bound by his father's hands "on
the altar upon the wood," for a burnt offering, nor when
"Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife
to slay his son;" yet the recorded fact that he was thus
bound, and, to all human appearance, was about to be
sacrificed, shows an obedience to parental authority
which may well command our highest admiration. For
he was not, as is so frequently represented, a mere child,
but was probably at least twenty years of age, and no
doubt strong and vigorous. He therefore could not have
been bound against his will by Abraham, who was now
an hundred and twenty-five years old; but must have
yielded without resistance to the command of his father,
and resigned himself submissively to the Divine will concerning him. As Dr. Kitto justly observes, "he was
grown to strength and manhood, and if he had thought
fit to struggle for his life, we cannot doubt that he might
easily, without violence, have escaped from his father's
hands, and fled away." The fact of there being no recorded conversation between them at this juncture enhances the lustre of his obedience; for perhaps he would
spare his afflicted father the pain of a single reproach,
and forbear inflicting another pang upon his already
breaking heart, by those appeals which he might naturally have made. Be this as it may, he must have
"offered his hands and feet to the cords, his bosom to
the knife, his body to the altar" in obedience to the
paternal will. If the part of Abraham in this transaction was a victory of faith, so was that of Isaac a victory




82              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
of filial piety, and the strength of the one scarcely surpassed that of the other.
As this duty is implied in the requirement of the fifth
commandment, so the blessing there set forth must be regarded as attending its faithful discharge.  Many an one
can distinctly trace his prosperity in life, both temporal
and spiritual, to his early habits of filial obedience.  The
excellent mother of Dr. Timothy Dwight declared a short
time before her death, that she did not know the instance
in which her son had ever disobeyed a parental command,
or failed in the performance of a filial duty! That son,
as is well known, rose to a position of great honour and
influence, and was made a rich blessing to the church and
the world.  Upon the other hand, many a ruined wretch
can discern the first steps of his downward career in the
disobedient acts of his childhood. It was once stated at
a meeting of the American Prison Discipline Society, as
the result of the examinations made by that institution,
into the history and career of the various criminals confined in the prisons of the United States, that " in almost
all cases their course of ruin began in disobedience to parents.  This was followed by intemperance, and that
made way for all other crimes."
The light in which God regards this sin is shown in his
command to the Israelites, " If a man have a stubborn and
rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father,
or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them; then shall his
father and his mother lay hold on him, * * * and they
shall say to the elders of the city,' This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             83
glutton and a drunkard;' and all the men of Israel shall
stone him with stones, that he die."  Deut. xxi. 18-21.
Under the milder laws of the Christian dispensation, we
are indeed spared the necessity of such extreme punishment; yet this ancient law evinces the Divine horror of
filial rebellion, and shows that however the child may be
disposed to regard it, it is, in the eye of God, a crime of
no ordinary magnitude.
Like every other form of sin, this one has its first steps,
against which both parents and children ought sedulously
to guard.  It may appear a slight thing to the wayward
youth to resist, for once, the voice of parental authority,
but let him reflect that, like the first glass of the drunkard, or the first oath of the blasphemer, it is likely to be
the beginning of a downward course which will ruin his
character and destroy his happiness; and which, besides
causing grief to the hearts that love him, may turn the
scale of his eternal destiny. So, also, it may seem but
a slight thing to obey " in all things;" but every act of
true obedience strengthens and confirms the habit, and
throws around the heart the safeguards of virtue, and
forms one of the best preparations for, as it is one of the
most delightful fruits of piety.
There is implied in this duty a disposition to yield to
the instructions, no less than the commands, of parents.
Says the wise man, " My son, hear the instruction of thy
father, and forsake not the law of thy mother; for they
shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains
about thy neck."  Prov. i. 8, 9. And this kind of obedience is not only graceful, but also highly profitable,
tending as well to our greater security as to our guidance




84              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
in right and pleasant paths; "When thou goest, it shall
lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and
when thou wakest, it shall talk with thee."  Prov. vi. 22.
The teachings of the faithful parent are intended to promote the best welfare of the child for time and eternity. He
who listens to them may not at the time comprehend all
their bearings upon his happiness, and they may appear
irksome to the unrenewed heart; yet, if not heeded, the
time will come when they will be seen in their true character, though it may be too late, alas! to profit by them.
The slighting of parental counsels is not only sin, butas is indeed the case with all sin-is absolute folly.
Such is the declaration of God's word, " A fool despiseth
his father's instruction." Happy are they who have attained in early life to the wisdom of a docile spirit, and
who are led by the simple lessons of childhood to sit at
the feet of Jesus and hear his words. In them are fulfilled the assurances of Divine Wisdom, " I love them that
love me, and they that seek me early shall find me."
i For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But," it is added, "he that sinneth
against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate
me love death." Prov. viii. 17, 35, 36.
It is, however, not enough simply to give the attention
of the mind to parental teachings. They fail of their
true effect, unless they also move the heart, and control
the life. The obedience required by God is not alone
that of hearing or reciting lessons of heavenly truth, nor
the mere storing of the memory with words of wisdom,
but the securing of that great end for which the family
is ordained, and which both parents and children should




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             85
alike have in view, the conversion of the young to God.
As no instruction is thorough which has not this for its
object, so no obedience is complete that is satisfied with
anything less than this. The child or youth who enjoys
the prayers and counsels of pious parents is, by that very
circumstance, laid under an added obligation to give his
heart to God, and seek his personal salvation; and fearful are his responsibilities if he neglects this sacred duty.
For, awful as will be the situation of every impenitent
sinner at the last day, surely his guilt will be the deepest,
who has thus sinned against the most light, and neglected
the best opportunities.  And we may well believe that
his misery will be proportionably aggravated. For, next
to the thought of having despised the love of God in
Christ, there can be no reflections more harrowing to the
lost soul than those that are associated with its early,
yet unheeded instructions in piety, with the despised
counsels of a father, or the prayers and tears of a fond mother, and all the hallowed, yet, alas! unregarded influences of a Christian home.
The motives to early piety are many: such as its being
commanded by God, and its being more easily attained,
more pleasing to our Maker, more delightful to ourselves,
and more useful to the church and the world than any
other; but we may urge as a consideration that ought
not to be overlooked, that it is a duty owed to those parents, who have consecrated their offspring to God in infancy, and who labour and pray for their conversion.
The claims of our Creator do, indeed, transcend those of
any creature in importance; but he is pleased to link
them in with those of parental affection, thus strengthen8




86             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
ing the cords by which he would draw us to himself.
We therefore appeal to the youthful reader, who has been
nurtured amid such sacred influences, to heed the voice
which not only addresses him from the throne and the heart
of God, but from the lips of beloved parents who are drawing near the grave, or who, perhaps, are already sainted:
" Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth!"




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           87
CHAPTER V.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF MASTERS AND
SERVANTS.
IV. A FOURTH class of duties belonging to the family
relation are those of masters and servants.
The gospel, while recognizing the essential equality
of the brotherhood of man, does not ignore the inequality of condition and circumstances that so widely exists.
While regarding all classes of men as upon a level in
respect to their spiritual interests, being involved in the
same guilt, and included in the same offers of mercy,
whether "Jews or Gentiles, bond or free," it at the same
time furnishes rules of duty for the king and the subject,
the rich and the poor, the master and the servant. And
it cannot be doubted that religion, in aiming to sanctify
and govern the relations that naturally exist among men,
accomplishes a far nobler work, than if its endeavours
were directed to the equalizing, upon an unnatural basis,
of the whole human family. It does not indulge in impracticable theories of a perfect social state, while men
are imperfect, and, in general, unregenerate; but rather
assigns those duties that shall evolve out of every sphere




88             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
of life the highest good of those connected with it, wisely
directing and governing that which is imperfect, until
"that which is perfect is come," and "that which is in
part shall be done away."
The relation of master and servant has existed from
the earliest antiquity, and must be regarded as an essential part of the family constitution. It is founded upon
that wise provision of the Divine government, by which
the labour of the poor receives its equivalent from the
means of those more favoured in temporal things than
themselves. Its principle is therefore the same with
that of any other department of labour, such as manufacture, or barter, or the services of the professional
man; with the exceptions that the toils of the servant
are generally limited to the demands of one household,
and that his station is, from the nature of the case, one
of subjection and social inferiority. In these respects,
however, the words and example of Jesus have ennobled
the position of those who faithfully serve: "I am among
you as he that serveth."  "He made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant."
The duties and responsibilities of this relation are
various and important, and are set forth in the Scriptures with a degree of clearness that can leave no doubt
as to the light in which they are regarded by our Maker.
1. The first duty of THE MASTER, and one from which
nothing can exonerate him, is justice to those who are
engaged in his service.  "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also
have a Master in heaven." Col. iv. 1. Among the requirements of the Mosaic law, we read, "Thou shalt not




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            89
oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether
he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in
thy land within thy gates. At his day thou shalt give
him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for
he is poor and setteth his heart upon it; lest he cry
against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee."
Deut. xxiv. 14, 15.
Of all forms of injustice, scarcely any is more criminal in itself, or more disastrous in its consequences, than
that of which the poor are the subjects. Dependent
upon their hard earned wages for support, and often debarred by their scanty means, or ignorance, or fear, from
obtaining legal redress, or protecting themselves against
fraud, they may well lay claim to the sympathy, and
much more to the honesty, of those with whom they have
to deal. He who is just, will not only avoid defrauding
them in a pecuniary point of view, but will also be careful to exact no more labour from them than they can
reasonably be required to render. The obligation, "As
ye would that others should do to you, do ye even so to
them," is as applicable to this as to every other relation
in life. The gospel makes no exception, and we can
make none. God, who "judgeth the poor and the needy,"
has evinced his jealous care for them in terrible woes
pronounced against oppressive masters: "I will come
near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness
against  *  *  *  those that oppress the hireling in
his wages, the widow and the fatherless." Mal. iii. 5.
Says an apostle, "Behold the hire of the labourers, who
have reaped your fields, which is of you kept back by
fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped
O*




90              THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth."
James v. 4.  But we need not dwell at length upon a
duty that is so obviously demanded by the voice of conscience and morality, and the laws of God and man.
Mere justice, however, though it be rigidly practised,
can never fulfil the whole of human obligation in regard
to any of our fellow beings. Of equal importance with
this is the duty of love, in its various forms of benevolence, compassion, kindness, and forbearance. This duty
is indeed required by justice itself, for love is rather a
debt that we owe, than a favour we may render, as is
plain from the apostle's words, " Owe no man any thing,
but to love one another."
The head of an earthly household, like the "Master
in heaven," has to do with imperfect, sinful creatures,
and therefore finds frequent occasion for the exercise of
clemency. When we consider, moreover, that the earthly
master, unlike the heavenly, is himself a frail, fallible
being, and a servant of the most High, we have an
added motive to an imitation of the Divine example.
For how can he look with confidence for mercy from
God, who withholds it from his fellow men? The apostle
Paul employs this as a motive to kindness: "And ye
masters, do the same thing unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven, neither
is there respect of persons with him." Eph. vi. 9. The
exercise of kindness and forbearance is so far from being
inconsistent with a proper maintenance of authority, that
it rather adds to its real weight, and secures a cheerful
acquiescence in its claims. That servant is generally
the most faithful who is the most attached to the master.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            91
Thus interest unites with duty, in bidding us make the
law of kindness the law of the household.
Instances are by no means rare in which this relationship is pervaded by a beautiful affection, the faithful servant having a place in the hearts of parents and children, and being, in turn, devotedly attached to them and
all their interests. The trials incident to their lot are
lightened by a mutual confidence and esteem; and as
they grow old, they for whom their best days have been
spent, delight in rendering them kind attentions, and
when they die, they are mourned as beloved friends. A
most touching instance of such affectionate fidelity upon
the part of a servant, is related of a negro woman in
Hayti.  During the occurrence of a dreadful earthquake,
the inmates had all fled from one of the falling houses,
leaving this woman, who was the nurse, with her master's
infant child. She would not desert her charge, though
the walls were even then giving way; but with a noble
heroism, extended her bended form  across its body,
where she was found crushed to death by the fallen roof,
the child lying unharmed beneath her.
Especially let those of our dependents who are of
"the household of faith," be regarded with tender consideration; as Paul bid Philemon receive the converted
Onesimus, "not now as a servant, but above a servant,
a brother beloved."  Where the servant is not a disciple
of Christ, the faithful master will labour and pray for
his conversion. His obligation so to do flows naturally
from his position of influence and authority.  Indeed
his responsibility in this respect is similar to that which
he sustains towards his children. For although these




92             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
relations differ widely, yet they are alike in this, that the
servant as well as the child is providentially entrusted to
his keeping, to be trained for the Divine glory. The
purpose of the family constitution must be regarded as
having reference to every member of the household,
whether they be kindred, friends, or servants.  It
should be the case that for any person to reside temporarily within the influences of the Christian home, would
be synonymous with breathing an atmosphere of piety,
and engaging to some degree in the duties of religion.
Such was undoubtedly the case in patriarchal times.
God said of Abraham, "I know that he will command
his children and his household after him, and they shall
keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment."
Gen. xviii. 19. Upon which Matthew Henry remarks:
"Abraham not only took care of his children, but of his
household; his servants were catechized servants. Masters of families should instruct and inspect the manners
of all under their roof. The poorest servants have precious souls that must be looked after." When Jacob, at
the command of God, was about to go to Beth-el for the
purpose of building an altar to Jehovah, he "said unto
his household, and all that were with him, Put away the
strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and
change your garments, and let us arise and go to Bethel, and I will make there an altar unto God." Gen. xxxv.
2, 3. This would seem to indicate that servants must
be required to attend upon family worship, and, wherever
practicable, follow the master to the house of God.
That the strict observance of the Sabbath is to be enforced upon them, is plain from the terms of the fourth




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            93
commandment: "In it thou shalt not do any work, thou,
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor
thy maid-servant."  In the reiteration of the ten commandments in the book of Deuteronomy, we find this
duty yet more strongly enjoined, it being added, "that
thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well
as thou; and remember that thou wast a servant in the
land of Egypt." Deut. v. 14, 15.  The affairs of the
household should be arranged in reference to this requirement, that the duties of those who serve may be as light
as is possible upon that sacred day. It is very evident
that they who devote holy Sabbath hours to unnecessary
feasting, or the entertainment of friends, violate the very
letter of the law.
We are informed that Cornelius the Centurion " feared
God with all his house, " a commendation that is full of
significance; for, being an officer of high rank, he must
have had many servants, all of whom, we may infer, were
like "the devout soldier of them  that waited on him
continually," (Acts x. 47,) whom  he sent to Joppa.
That is a blessed household of which as much as this can
be said, and all of whose members, from the highest to
the lowest, are united in the fear and service of the Divine
Master.  Such no doubt, was the family of David, who
said, " He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve
me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my
house."  Ps. ci. 6, 7. Such also was the family of
Joshua, who declared " As for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord."
The proper means of promoting the spiritual welfare
of those thus committed to his charge, will readily occur




94             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
to the Christian master. Besides those efforts that are
more direct, such as instruction and counsel, there is great
power in a consistent, holy life, and an habitual recognition of God in the intercourse of the family. These,
with the manifestation of a tender solicitude for their conversion, and the use of the proper instrumentalities,
will seldom fail of impressing their minds, and may be
blessed by the Holy Spirit to their salvation.
In addition to the fact of the master's responsibility,
and the value of the souls whom we may thus be instrumental in converting, there is another motive to this duty
which ought not to be overlooked: namely, the influence
of servants over other members of the family, and especially
over the minds of the young.  While every mother
should be careful that the early culture of her children
be not left to a mere hireling, there yet will be frequent
occasions when they are under the care of the servant,
whose words and conduct they will insensibly imitate.
So powerful is the influence thus exerted, that in some
families the dispositions and habits of the young are
moulded to a greater degree by the nurse than by the parent.
Supposing, however, that parental duty is faithfully discharged, is it not an obligation owed to one's children,
to secure, as far as is practicable, piety in those with
whom they are thrown so much in contact?  If the gardener will'see to it that none shall tend his plants and
trees, who are likely to bring hurtful influences to bear
upon them, and impede their growth, how much more
should the Christian parent study the piety of those who
have so much to do in rearing his precious offspring! A
celebrated preacher, being taunted with the remark that




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             95
his large congregation was chiefly made up of servants
and low people, replied, "I know  it is; my church
is made up of such converts as Jesus Christ and his
apostles gained-and as for servants, I had rather be
instrumental in converting them than their employers,
because they have the care of all the children."
2. The duties of the SERVANT correspond with those
of the master. If the one must be just, the other is required to be obedient and faithful. " Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh,.
with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as
unto Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as
the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart."  Eph. vi. 5, 6.
Neither the demands nor the promises of religion are
confined to any particular sphere of life. The position
of the king is not so high, nor that of the beggar so low,
as to exclude them from its pale, or absolve them from
its obligations. The possessor of one talent was held
equally accountable in fact, though not in degree, with
him  who had five; and, be the circle of one's influence great or small, it must be filled to its outer boundary
with the faithful performance of its appropriate duties.
The fidelity of those in low stations to their appointed
trusts is equally honourable to themselves, and acceptable
to God, with the obedient service of others "to whom
much is given," and of whom " much will be required."
That this is the case, and that God looks rather at our
fidelity in the sphere he has allotted us, than at what we
might possibly have done in some other one from which
in his providence we are debarred, is plain from the Mas



96             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
ter's commendation  of the faithful servant: "Thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee
ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord."  Matt. xxv. 21.  The principle upon which this
plaudit is founded is elsewhere set forth in the words:
" He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also
in much: and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust also
in much."  Luke xvi. 10.  It follows from this, that the
duties of the servant are by no means unimportant, and
that his obligations are as binding, and his conscientious
discharge of them as acceptable as those of any other
person.
Unfortunate,then,as may seem the lot of those who,
by reason of poverty, are reduced to a state of subjection to others, and to persons no better by nature than
themselves, it yet becomes them to be thankful that their
bodily wants are thus cared for, and obediently to serve
those whom Providence has made their employers.  It
belongs to the very relation existing between them that
the master command, and the servant obey, and the service thus rendered is ennobled by the gospel into a religious duty.  Of course, when the thing commanded is
unlawful, or contrary to the word of God, the servant,
like the child, "ought to obey God rather than man."
Instances have been known in which the conscientiousness of the servant in this particular has been overruled
for the good of the master and his household.  Thus
Dr. Jay relates that a servant who had attended a Wesleyan chapel, greatly to the offence of her employers,
was told that she must discontinue the practice, or leave
their service. She received the information with mo



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            97
desty, and said she was sorry, but so it must be; she
could not sacrifice the convictions of her conscience to
keep her place. Having received warning to leave, she
resolved to be more circumspect and exemplary than
ever-being determined that if she suffered for her religion, her religion should not suffer for her. Upon reflection, she was permitted to remain, and such was her
exhibition of the power of true godliness, that her mistress at length said to her husband, " I think that Mary's
religion seems to do her a great deal more good than our
religion seems to do us; I should like to hear her minister."  They went together for that purpose, both were
impressed, and became followers of God, and they set
up the family altar in their house.
But supposing that the master is unreasonable and
tyrannical in his demands-is it still duty to obey? Undoubtedly, if the way be not open for exchanging his
service for that of one more kind, religion demands submission to his authority. Says the apostle Peter, " Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only
to the good and gentle, but also to the froward, for this
is thankworthy, if a man for conscience towards God
endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it
if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye take it patiently?  But if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye
take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." 1 Pet. ii.
18-20.
It is indeed hard to submit in silence to the indignities that are sometimes heaped upon the head of the
faithful servant, to "answer not again," and to yield an
uncomplaining obedience to the caprices of a petty
9




98             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
tyrant; yet rarely does religion shine so brightly as
when it thus triumphs.  Dr. Chalmers eloquently remarks, "The long-suffering of a Christian servant may
in these circumstances look a tame and pusillanimous
thing to those who look at it with this world's eyes, and
pass their judgment on it upon the world's principles;
but I am quite sure that in the high estimate of eternity,
a servant never makes a greater exhibition of character,
or reaches to a nearer resemblance of the Godhead himself, than when he comes off a conqueror from such a
trial of the charity that'endureth'-and when I put
him by the side of the fretful oppressor, who is either so
unprincipled as to defraud him, or so outrageous as to
be ever and anon pursuing him with his restless and vindictive effusions, neither my reverence for his superior
wealth, nor for the chair of little brief authority on which
he sits, can restrain me from offering to the attendant
who toils beside him, the tribute of a more honourable
testimony, and the homage of a profounder reverence."
Perhaps the one duty of the servant that includes all
others, the general rule that should regulate all his intercourse with his master, is contained in those precepts
which enjoin serving "in the fear of God," and discharging his obligations "as to the Lord, and not unto
men," "as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God
from the heart." Col. iii. 22, 23; Eph. vi. 6. In other
words, he is not to forget that the eye of the Divine
Master is upon him, and that a Divine authority obliges
him to a conscientious obedience to that human authority to which he is, for the time, subjected. He should
serve from higher motives than those of self-interest.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             99
The claims of religion press equally upon him and his
master, and it is as much the duty of the one to obey,
as it is that of the other to command, "in the fear of
God."  He who is thus actuated by religious principle
will labour with cheerful fidelity. The consciousness of
glorifying his Maker will add a zest to his most trivial
duties, and the consolations of the gospel will sustain
him under his sorest trials, as he rejoices in being a partaker of that grace, "where there is neither Greek nor
Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all."




100            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
CHAPTER VI.
THE BEST MEANS OF SECURING THE END DESIGNED.
IN the government of God there is a necessary connection and proportion between the means and the end.
So true is this, that it may safely be assumed of any required duty that the means are at hand for its fulfilment. Our heavenly Father is not like the Egyptian
taskmaster, requiring "bricks without straw," or duty
without opportunity. If he bids us work in his vineyard,
he furnishes the moral implements for its culture; if he
requires that we display beneficence, he provides both its
means and its objects; if he commands us to preach the
gospel, he gives the voice to speak, the ear to hear, and
the mind and heart to be impressed. Having seen the
duties involved in the family relation, and the end which
it is intended to subserve, the training of immortal souls
for the Divine service and glory, the question may well
occur, how shall this high purpose be best accomplished?
What are the means and adaptations lodged in the
bosom of the family, which we may seize and apply to
this holy end? It will be shown, as we proceed, that




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            101
God has furnished us with all that could be desired in
this respect, and has endowed the parent with a wealth
of influences and opportunities, that afford the greatest
encouragement to faithfulness, and leave him without
excuse who fails to improve them.
1. As a necessary preparative to the diligent and successful use of these means, it is of the first importance
that the parent endeavour fully to realize his responsibility. This cannot easily be over estimated. No human
mind can grasp it in all its length and breadth; for we
are finite creatures, and the issues of our conduct may
be infinite and eternal. Yet who can contemplate, without a shudder, the thought of standing at the great tribunal, amid the family group that now surrounds him,
and there answering to the Judge of quick and dead for
the manner in which he has discharged his trust as their
teacher and guide in Divine things? More than all, who
can endure the thought of there witnessing the dreadful
doom of even one of those who now gladden his home
and enliven his heart, with the consciousness that it is
the bitter fruit of his unfaithfulness, and that their blood
shall be required at his hands?
Awful as is this responsibility, it rests upon every parent. It is implied in his very position and office, as well
as in the whole tenor of the Divine requirements in regard
to him. It may be treated with indifference, or lost sight
of in the giddy round of business or pleasure, or the attempt may be made to transfer it to others; but it can
no more be thrown off, than one can cease to be a parent,
or can annul the whole course of God's moral government. Despite all efforts at evasion, it must ever rest
9*




102            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
where God has placed it-a fixed, inviolable ordination
of Jehovah, a basis of duty here, and of judgment here.
after.
Solemn thought! that besides those invisible cords that
bind parent and child in a common love and joy, they are
also mysteriously united, while yet distinct and separate,
in their accountability to their Maker! that the precious
gift of God which the fond mother clasps lovingly to her
bosom, not only brings with it a new world of delights,
but a tremendous burden of responsibilities! What reflections may well crowd upon the mind that is conscious
of such a trust as a young immortal, looking up to him
as its law and example, and taking from him its lasting
habits of thought, feeling, and action, while he stands
between it and God, the representative of the Creator,
the dispenser towards it of a moral government resembling the Divine! Well may the parent tremble as he
contemplates all this, and cry from the depths of an anxious heart:  " Who is sufficient for these things?" Well
may such a view  inspire his noblest endeavours, and
impel him to a reliance upon that grace which alone can
sustain him under it.
Yet how often is this aspect of the parental relation
almost or quite overlooked! It seems strange indeed
that so many of those who practically recognize their
duty to feed and clothe and educate their families, can
forget their higher obligations to afford them spiritual
culture, and to clothe their souls with the robe of the Saviour's righteousness. They involuntarily obey that human law which devolves upon them the temporal support
of their offspring; but are the claims of the Divine law




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           103
of less importance than the human?  What a pitiable
folly do they exhibit, who lavish their attentions upon the
dying bodies of their children, at the expense of their
souls, and degrade the high and holy office of the parent into that of a minister to youthful vanity, or a weak
ambition! How sublime, upon the other hand, the position of him who devotes his best energies to the task of
moulding a young heart into a temple of the living God,
and giving a right direction to those powers which shall
survive the body's dissolution, and be drawn out to all
eternity in the love and praise of God! The one is building his house upon the sand, the other upon a rock. The
course of the one is inglorious and criminal, that of the
other is godlike.
And let it be borne in mind, that if the responsibilities
of the parent are vast, so too, if he be faithful, are his
joys. No words can paint the rapture of him who welcomes to the "Father's house" one and another of the
offspring whom God has given him, and finds in their
endless happiness the reward of grace that has crowned
his feeble endeavours.  He who would realize such a
blessedness hereafter, must now realize his responsibilities. Oh that they might so weigh upon every parent's
mind and heart as to impel them to an earnest, conscientious discharge of their sacred trust! We are indeed inadequate to its perfect fulfilment, and he is sure to fail
who undertakes it in his own strength; but the voice of
Him who has imposed it addresses us in words of delightful encouragement, " My grace is sufficient for thee."
2. Having allowed to this and kindred considerations
their due weight, and with the whole heart wrought up




104             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
to a holy resolution, the parent should diligently employ
those means that seem best adapted to promote religion
in the family; of these, one of the most important is to
begin early.
The susceptibility of early childhood to instruction and
example renders it the period most favourable to implanting seeds of Divine truth, and forming character for
eternity. Indeed, as a moral being, the child cannot but
be influenced for good or evil by surrounding circumstances, nor can the parent help impressing him.  So
that the real question is, not whether he shall begin
early to educate him-that is already decided by the
Divine appointment-but whether that early training
which he must, unavoidably, carry on, shall have a right
or wrong direction; whether it shall be marked by the
presence or the absence of religion.  Says a writer,
" Some parents talk of beginning the education of their
children: the moment they were capable of forming an
idea, their education was already begun-the education
of circumstances-insensible education, which, like insensible perspiration, is of more constant and powerful
effect, and of far greater consequence to the habit than
that which is direct and apparent. This education goes
on at every instant of time-you can neither stop it nor
turn its course. * * * Here, then, is one school from
which there are no truants, and in which there are no
holidays."
A mental philosopher has said that character is formed
before the expiration of the sixth year of our existence.
It cannot be doubted that such is generally the case.
Instances, indeed, there are in which Divine grace tri



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           105
umphs over defects of education as well as those of nature, and imparts in after years a character the opposite
of that which is possessed in childhood; but these are
exceptional cases. It is the testimony of experience
that the child, like the young plant, takes on the form
and direction of its whole life, from which it will be difficult to turn when it has reached maturity. Most parents readily acknowledge this fact; but perhaps many
cherish erroneous views as to the proper period of beginning to inculcate the truths and duties of religion, and
thus allow the season of greatest opportunity to go by
unimproved.  We therefore urge the importance of impressing even the infant mind in Divine things.  As
soon as the child is capable of receiving or comprehending an idea, let that idea be of God, of Christ, of heaven.
Let religion be taught as the first and most important
lesson of life, and it will be likely to cling to the heart
with a power that we can hardly realize. If, as Richter
says, "every first thing continues for ever with the child;
the first colour, the first music, the first flower, paint the
foreground of life," how necessary it is that that which
is of the greatest moment to a human being should
occupy the most prominent place among his early impressions!
It is the opinion of some, although it is not, we believe, as widely cherished as formerly, that very young
children are not to be expected to manifest real piety;
that they cannot comprehend the truths and doctrines
of the Bible, or realize their individual accountability.
Perhaps the perceptions of the infant mind may be
clearer than is generally imagined; but be this as it may,




106            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
the affections of the young heart are certainly no less
adapted than those of the older and more hardened, to
the reception and practice of the religion of love. And
what if the child be not versed in all the mysteries of
theological lore?  He can exercise saving faith, even
when he cannot define it, and can confide in his heavenly
Father's word, without the medium of human argument
as to its genuineness and authenticity. He can obey
the Saviour's invitation, and come to him, and be pressed
to his kind bosom, while the man of learning waits to
ponder some abstruse point of doctrine, or to reconcile
some difficulty of revelation.
That there is something in the little child that is in
harmony with the spirit of piety, something that renders
him the more hopeful a subject of renewing grace, is
evident from our Saviour's words, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter
into the kingdom  of heaven." Matt. xviii. 3. Is it
probable that our Lord would select, as a type of some
of the essential features of his religion, those who were
at the same time incapable of embracing it?  But his
own authority, upon another occasion, sets this question
at rest. In rebuking the officiousness of his disciples,
who would have kept young children from him, he seems
to have particularly guarded against the error we are
noticing.  Instead of saying that the young, or children
could come to him, terms which might have been regarded
as indefinite, he takes them up in his arms-(a circumstance which shows that they were quite small)-and
says, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid
them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Mark




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            107
x. 4.  Then hesitate not, 0 Christian parent, to bring
your "little children" to Jesus, nor, by cherishing false
views of their fitness, "forbid" them the joys and blessings of early piety. If the Saviour bids them come, it
is not for the parent, by his neglect or procrastination,
to keep them back.
Perhaps we might learn a lesson upon this subject
from the idolaters of India. It is said that the first
effort of the Hindoo mother, as soon as her child can
speak, is to teach it to lisp the name of its god. A missionary, who was once describing a religious procession
in Madras, stated that as it passes slowly through
the streets, with the idol borne in front, and elevated
above the heads of the people, mothers may be seen
rushing from the surrounding houses, with their babes in
their arms, and then holding them up and directing their
eyes to the image, with expressions of the profoundest
reverence.  And will any say that the pure, simple
truths of Christianity are less adapted to the mind of
infancy, or less capable of impressing it, than the doctrines of Hindooism?
Modern biography has confirmed the teaching of the
Scriptures in regard to the possibility and appropriateness of very early piety, and some of its most delightful
pages are adorned with exemplifications of this truth.
Instances are by no means unfrequent, in which children
of but three or four years old have given good evidence
of conversion, and afterwards confirmed it by the testimony of consistent Christian lives. Not to quote from
the many narratives with which the Christian public are
already familiar, we give the following touching extract




108            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
from a recently published letter upon the subject, by the
Rev. Dr. Plumer.  "'What do you do without a mother
to tell all your troubles to?' asked a child who had a
mother, of one who had not; her mother was dead.'Mother told me whom to go to before she died,' answered the little orphan.'I go to the Lord Jesus; he was
mother's friend and he is mine.''Jesus Christ is up in
the sky,' said the other;'he is away off, and has a great
many things to attend to in heaven. It is not likely
he can stop to mind you.''I do not know any thing
about that,' said the orphan;'all I know is, he says he
will, and that's enough for me.' The little child was
right. Jesus Christ was once a little child. He remembers, and knows how to minister to the sorrows of childhood as well as those of riper years.  It is not six
months since a little child, not three years old, when
dying, said to its parents;'Papa, Mamma, don't cry; I
am going home.' Who can doubt that Christ is with
such little sufferers! Why should it be thought a thing
incredible that the great Shepherd should be very tender,
and peculiarly near to his dear little lambs?"
Were this truth more generally believed and recognized, it cannot be questioned that one important barrier
to parental fidelity and success would be removed. We
need more faith in the word and promise of the Saviour;
a faith such as will not dare assign limits to the operations of his grace, nor say of any whom he has invited
to himself, that they are too young, or too weak to serve
him. Might not the sentence be appropriately inscribed
over many a Christian home, "Ite did not many mighty




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           109
works there, because of their unbelief?"  We commend
these thoughts to the prayerful attention of every parent.
3. As a further means of promoting family religion,
the home should be made pleasant and happy.
If the Christian home is a type of heaven, and a
school where souls are to be trained for its enjoyment,
it is but reasonable to conclude that it should be pervaded by a semblance of heaven's delights. True religion, while sober, is at the same time cheerful; and
family religion, if it be genuine and scriptural, will possess the same characteristics. In urging, therefore, that
the home be rendered attractive to those who dwell in it,
we simply recommend that the claims of piety be cultivated, and religion allowed to exercise its genial sway,
and diffuse its gladdening influences. A happy childhood, passed in a Christian home, is an inestimable blessing; for the memories of our early years are the last to
leave us; and when thus associated with the delights of
piety, they form through life a winning and powerful
plea for the blessedness of serving God. The wanderer
from virtue's paths, who has become hardened against
every other influence, cannot forget his peaceful childhood's hours, and their crowding memories are sometimes
blessed as the means of impelling him to that religion
which constituted one of their principal charms. Upon
the other hand, he has much to contend with, whose
early recollections of religion are associated with a
gloomy, repulsive home, and the forbidding aspect of
stern authority. For the honour of Christianity, then,
no spot where it is claimed to have rule should be cheerless and joyless. The heart is naturally arrayed in suffi10




110            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
cient opposition to it, without being thus prejudiced
against its claims.
Especially ought we to guard against surrounding the
young with such influences as will lead them to think that
piety and happiness are necessarily opposed to each other.
Children are endowed with a strong appetite for enjoyment, and God intended that it should be gratified to a
reasonable degree, and with legitimate delights; and
while encouraged in their innocent pastimes, they should
early be taught the "pleasantness" of wisdom's ways.
Upon this subject, mere lip instruction will not suffice.
It should be confirmed by the example of all around;
should beam in the parent's eye, and glow in his smile,
and be daily, hourly breathed in the atmosphere of home,
until it is seen to be an all-pervading principle, that extends to every duty and trial, and is illustrated in every
incident. Such an influence as this is hard to resist, and
he who is favoured with it in early life, is the more likely
to become, by the Divine blessing, a happy Christian.
It is also an important fact, which many a parent has
learned to his sorrow, when too late to remedy it, that
if happiness be not found at home, it is sure to be sought
elsewhere. Our streets are filled with those who seek
in the company of the vicious and profligate the enjoyment from which they are debarred in the more safe, but
sometimes uncongenial, society of the family. Said a
prisoner to a missionary who visited him in his cell, " It
was my street-education that ruined me. I used to slip
out of the house, and go off with the boys in the street.
In the street I learned to lounge; in the street I learned




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             111
to swear, to smoke, to gamble, to pilfer. Oh, sir! it is in
the street the devil lurks to work the ruin of the young."
Let, then, the home be made the most attractive spot
in the world to its occupants -the magnet, towards which
their desires and affections shall ever tend. Let its pure
pleasures sweeten the hours of childhood, and even become a safeguard against temptation, when they are exchanged for the excitements of more active life.  There
need be ao sacrifice of principle, no conflicting with duty,
in order to attain this end; nor are we warranted in resorting  ) sinful sources of amusement as a means of
securing it. Let affection become the law of the household, and each one aim at contributing his share to the
common fund of happiness; let the parents interest themselves in the little joys of their children; and while firm
in duty, be kind and gentle in demeanour; and more than
all, let the sacred delights of piety be assiduously cherished-and a spell is woven around the young heart
which cannot easily be broken.  Not only is the child
thus held, as with cords of love, within the sphere of parental influence, until his habits are correctly formed;
but he grows up with juster views of the blessedness of
piety, and is the better prepared to embrace that religion
which is not only instilled into his mind, but so beautifully illustrated before his eyes.
4. It is indispensably necessary to the existence of religion in the family, that there be secured a proper observance of the Sabbath, upon the part of all its members.
The two Divine institutions of the family and the Sabbath are, in the appointment of God, closely related to
each other. In enjoining a holy rest from  toil, each




112            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
member of the household is distinctly specified, whethei
parent or child, master or servant. It is to be hallowed
by the family, as such, with appropriate duties and exercises. Now, when we consider the end for which the
family is constituted, we discover the wisdom of this arrangement.  For what can be better adapted to promote
that end, than the appointment of one day in seven, in
which,undisturbed by worldly cares, and with no hour
that is not hallowed to sacred purposes, we may convert
the house into a little sanctuary, and lead the thoughts
and devotions of old and young towards their Creator?
Of all the many aids to family religion that exist, none
can equal this one. If the six days' work of God was
" very good," it scarcely furnished a greater display of
his wisdom than his exemplary rest upon the seventh, and
his consecrating it, for all time, to his peculiar service.
The opportunities of religious instruction upon that
day are evident, and are within the reach of all. No
parent can afford to neglect them.  The sacred character of the day, the holy stillness, the solemn pause of
busy life without and within, the services of God's house,
with its reverent throng of worshippers, all combine to
render it a season most favourable to the inculcation of
Divine truth.  Each consecrated hour, as it passes,
speaks of God.  All nature, left free to utter the voice
which the six days of ahuman art and toil had well
nigh drowned, speaks of God.  The Bible, that third
great gift, which links together the Sabbath and the family, and affords the means of fulfilling the end of both,
speaks of God and Christ, of duty and comfort, of heaven and hell. Now its truths are heard from the family




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           113
altar, now from  the Sabbath-school, again from  the
preacher's lips, and yet again in the instructions of the
fireside.  Who can estimate the tremendous power of a
well spent Sabbath over the family, or its value as a
means in the hand of the faithful parent? It is above
all price, and they know not what they lose, who do not
avail themselves, to the utmost, of its advantages.
We are not, however, to regard this as a means which
we are at liberty to employ, or dispense with, as
pleases us. The obligation to keep holy the Sabbath
day rests equally upon all. We owe it to God, as his
creatures and subjects, that we not only hallow it as individuals, but also secure its strict observance upon the
part of "son" and "daughter," "man-servant" and
"maid-servant."  We owe it to our children that they
be not deprived of their spiritual advantages of the day.
This is not only their privilege, but their right, which, in
the name of Jehovah, they may justly claim  at our
hands.
The connection between filial piety, and the due observance of that day is set forth in the Divine command,
"Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and
ye shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord." Lev. xix.
3. In fulfilment of this duty, the child should early be
impressed with the sacred character of the Lord's day,
and the Divine command concerning it, and be trained
to a holy awe of every thing that would tend to its violation.  These instructions should be illustrated and
enforced by example; and the parent should reflect that
Sabbath-breaking in himself is a double sin, because encouraging it in those who are so ready to imitate his con10*




114            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
duct. Care is indeed to be taken that holy time do not
become "a weariness" to the family, but none are therefore warranted in profaning it. It is only necessary
that instruction be presented in a form calculated to
interest, rather than repel, and pleasure will be mingled
with profit, and both old and young may be led to look
forward to this as the' Day of all the week the best;"
and, by the blessing of God, learn to "call the Sabbath
a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable."
As a necessary part of the due observance of this
day, children should early be led by their parents to the
sanctuary, and be required to attend reverently upon its
worship.  That the act of joining in public worship,
when permitted in the providence of God to do so, is essential to the proper observance of the Sabbath, is plain
from the command of God in which the two duties are
united: "Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my
sanctuary." Lev. xix. 30. A mistake is sometimes made
in keeping young children from the house of God, under
the impression that they may, by their conduct, disturb
others, or annoy the minister. Yet every one who knows
the importance of early habits in this respect, had rather
submit to the restlessness which is not unnatural in a
little child, than have it debarred an attendance upon
means of grace. Especially will the right minded pastor be willing to endure a temporary annoyance from the
lambs of the flock, rather than have them deprived, year
after year, of the privileges of God's house.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           115
It will, however, generally be found that correct habits
may be formed without much difficulty; and that they
who have learned rightly to deport themselves in the
worship of the family, will soon acquire an appropriate
demeanour when engaged in that of the sanctuary.  It
may be objected that young children are incapable of
comprehending a discourse addressed to older and more
cultivated minds. Be this as it may, much is gained by
forming the early habit of attending church. There are,
however, few preachers of the gospel in its purity and
simplicity, a part of whose discourses, at least, are not
adapted to the apprehension of childhood. The perceptions of the little one are sometimes as clear as those of
many an ignorant, illiterate man or woman who may be
found in an ordinary Sabbath congregation.  The gospel is, itself, clear and simple, and he who "gives to each
a portion in due season," will not forget the "milk for
babes."
It is held by some that nothing can be gained by compelling a child to attend chufch against its will. This
principle, if carried to its full extent of application,
would absolve the parent from all religious duty to his
offspring; for what obligation of piety is not more or
less against the will of a depraved and sinful creature?
This plea, however, is sometimes shown to be fallacious,
by the effectual operation of Divine truth upon even unwilling listeners. A pious father asked his refractory
son, one Sabbath morning, if he was going to church.
The child answered that he was not, pleading at the
same time some trivial excuse. "But you shall ride and
I will walk," said the father. The child, being resolved




116            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
not to go, made many objections, which were answered
in a similar way; until, no longer able to hide the opposition of his heart, he exclaimed, "I will go, but I will
not hear one word."  He then went away in a passion.
Now mark the result.  The Holy Spirit not only caused
him to hear with attention, but fastened the truth with
such power upon his mind that he was deeply convicted
of sin, and was unable to leave the place without assistance. After several days of distress, he found peace in
the blood of Christ, and is now a preacher of that gospel which he had so despised, and had determined not to
hear.
It will be comparatively in vain that all other good
influences are brought to bear upon the minds of our
offspring, if this one be withheld. It is God's own plan
for the furtherance of the end for which the family is
ordained, and they who dispense with it must proportionably fail of that end, fall far short of duty, and incur a
fearful responsibility.  The parent who permits his
child to grow up a Sabbath-breaker, is thereby sowing
the seeds of future sin and crime, and need not be surprised if they ripen to a fearful harvest. It will rather
be matter for wonder if those who are thus reared do
not come to some unhappy end.
From the mass of convincing testimony to this effect
which has been spread before the public, we select that
of a gentleman who has had charge, at different times,
of more than one hundred thousand prisoners. Having
taken special pains to ascertain the causes of their
crimes, he declares that he does not recollect a single
case of capital offence where the party had not been a




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.          117
Sabbath-breaker; and that in many cases they assured
him that Sabbath-breaking was the first step in their
downward course. Indeed he says, with reference to
prisoners of all classes, "nineteen out of twenty have
neglected the Sabbath and other ordinances of religion."
A father, whose son was addicted to riding out for pleasure on the Sabbath, was told that if he did not stop it,
his son would be ruined. Instead, however, of heeding
this advice, he himself would occasionally set the example of such desecration. That son, in after life, was
twice entrusted with large amounts of money, of which
in each instance he defrauded the owner, and fled. He
was apprehended, sent to the State prison, and after
years of solitary labour, wrote a letter to his father,
recounting his career of crime, and adding, " That was
the effect of breaking the Sabbath when I was a boy."
Instances of this kind might be multiplied, but these
will suffice. The providence of God unites with his word
in attesting our duty upon this subject. We appeal,
then, to the parent, as he would be faithful to God and
to his offspring, as he would save those whom he tenderly
loves from temporal ruin and a worse spiritual destruction, as he would train his family for honour instead of
shame, for God instead of Satan, and for heaven instead of hell, to promote among them, by all means in
his power, the strict observance of the holy Sabbath.




118            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
CHAPTER VII.
MEANS, CONTINUED.-PARENTAL PRAYER.
V. IT will already have occurred to the Christian parent, that in order to give efficacy to any of the means
that have been enumerated, and successfully to promote
religion in the family, we must employ the instrumentality of PRAYER.
The promise, " Ask, and it shall be given you; seek,
and ye shall find," is susceptible of the widest application. It addresses the burdened sinner as he looks wistfully towards the cross of Christ, and seeks "peace in
believing;" it is a word of encouragement to the afflicted
or desponding child of God; it' is an animating voice to
the toiler in the Lord's vineyard, and to him who mourns
the desolations of Zion; and it is a command of blessed
import to the parent, whose "heart's desire" is bid to
shape itself in " prayer to God" for the conversion of his
offspring. It is as available for others as for ourselves,
and is as necessary to the work of training immortal souls
for the Divine glory, as it is to our individual salvation.
For, notwithstanding all the means placed in our hands,
they are only means to an end which none but God can
accomplish. No degree of fidelity in instruction and discipline, in example and precept, can of itself convert a




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.          119
soul. These are simply the instrumentalities which Divine grace is pleased usually to bless to that end. Everything then depends, after all, upon the blessing of God,
and the influences of his Spirit upon the hearts of our
offspring. How may these be obtained? We reply, and
the whole tenor of God's word, and the voice of all Christian experience, confirm the truth of the statement, in
answer to prayer. The parent must carry the case of his
children to God, just as he has that of his own soul, and
plead for the same grace for them that has blessed him
with the joys and hopes of piety.  Humbly confessing
their depraved and undone condition, and their need of
the blood of Christ to save them, he should crave for
them  the convincing and converting influences of the
Spirit, in the faith that they will be granted.
It would seem as if the Christian parent should be
the last one to distrust the faithfulness of his covenant
God; for the Saviour bids him behold in his own affectionate gratification of his children's wants, an emblem
of the more kind and loving disposition of his heavenly
Father.  He asks, " What man is there of you, whom,
if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he
ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?" And what is the
conclusion which the " sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty" are to derive from this? "If ye, then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto yonr children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give
good things to them that ask him?" Matt. vii. 9-11.
Now what " good things" can we more reasonably ask
than that for which God has made us parents, and entrusted our offspring to us-the enfolding of the precious




120             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
lambs in the flock of the good Shepherd? Perhaps one
reason of our Lord's selecting this illustration in preference to others, was because parents have need of so strong
a faith in prayer.  He would have them conclude that
He who is all good, cannot be less ready than they, who
are "evil," to grant the reasonable request of his children.
With such an evidence before us of the merciful heart
of God, we scarcely need add anything upon the importance of parental prayer. It is enough for us to know
that he "heareth prayer," that he encourages our approaches to the mercy-seat, and will not drive away the
humble suppliant. The truly Christian parent will not
ask, "Is it my duty?" but realizing the blessedness of
enlisting the heavenly Father's aid, and bringing Divine
influences to bear in securing the eternal well being of
his children, will be content to know that it is his privilege to pray for them, in hope of a favourable answer.
1. They who would rightly avail themselves of this
privilege will pray in secret for their children. The retirement of the closet, where no eye but that of Him
"who seeth in secret," is upon us, is most favourable to
the full and earnest outpouring of the heart to God.
There we may breathe forth those desires which words
fail wholly to express, and engage with all our powers
in the work of intercession for those we love, with no
thought of another's criticism to dampen our ardour, or
check our importunity.  There we may wrestle as Jacob
did, until, as princes, we have "power with God," and
"prevail."  Could the success of many a pious parent
be traced to its source, it would no doubt be found that




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.             121
it is not owing so much to any extraordinary qualifications of nature, as to his earnest closet devotions, and to
the grace and wisdom thence derived. He may enter the
retired spot with a heart weary and dispirited, and ready
to fail under the burden of its responsibilities; but as he
waits on the Lord, he renews his strength, and he comes
forth nerved and invigorated for new duties and new
trials.
The parent, however, is not blessed alone. He cries
with Abraham, Let my son, my daughter, "live before
thee!" and as he implores, upon bended knees, the conversion of his children, his is a power, though invisible,
that is superior to that of the world and sin. The sighs,
the groans, the tears that choke the whispered utterance
of the mother praying for her children, exert an influence greater than the decrees of kings, or the movements of armed hosts, for they rise acceptably to the
throne of heaven, and their answer affects the issues of
eternity.  Thus the "still small voice" is ever stronger
than the whirlwind; and in religion, as in the operations
of nature, the most effective processes are those that are
silent, and unobserved by the eye of man. The prayer
of faith, when thus offered, is generally "rewarded
openly" in the ingathering of one after another of the
family to Christ, and their public, consistent confession
of his name.
It also seems appropriate that special seasons of prayer
should be observed in relation to each member of the
family. Allusion has already been made to the duty of
consecrating our children to God by a distinct private as
well as public act. What can be more proper than, upon
11




122            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
such occasions, to wrestle with a peculiar earnestness for
their salvation?  In dedicating them solemnly and deliberately to the Lord, parental faith stands on its highest vantage ground, and occupies a position which it cannot too diligently improve. Then is a time for pleading
the promise of the covenant, and claiming its grace in
their behalf, by entreating that they do, indeed, become
the Lord's, body and soul, for time and eternity. It is
related of the parents of the late Rev. Dr. Finley, that
it was their practice, soon after the birth of each of their
children, thus to set apart a day for special prayer that
it might be an heir to eternal life; and that they had the
happiness of seeing their eight children, seven of whom
were sons, distinguished by their piety in youth, and
growing in grace as their years increased.  "Most of
them lived to an advanced age, were useful in their
spheres, and greatly respected and beloved on account
of their Christian character."
Much is also gained, not only by praying for children,
but with them. Were there no other benefits to be derived from this practice, all will perceive its importance
as a means of instructing them in the duty and proper
method of prayer.  Great as is the value and efficacy of
a father's or mother's petitions in their behalf, they
should early be taught themselves to pray. This end may
be partially secured, by seeing that they offer, each night
and morning, some brief, simple prayer which is adapted
to childhood's mind.  The bearings of this habit upon
the subsequent character of the young can hardly be
estimated.  It is said that John Quincy Adams, during
his long and eventful life, never omitted saying, when he




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           123
retired to rest, that beautiful prayer which his mother
had taught him when a child, beginning,
" Now I lay me down to sleep."
In addition, however, to this, it is important that children be accustomed to hear a parent's voice pleading
their welfare at the throne of grace. In the imitative
spirit of childhood, they will then be the more likely to
pray for themselves and others; while they will at the
same time acquire a better conception of the nature of
prayer, by seeing it illustrated and exhibited before their
eyes.
And what a powerful evidence is thus afforded of the
intensity of the parental desire for their conversion, and
therefore of its importance to them! Counsels and admonitions may fall upon the ear unheeded, but there is
that in the spectacle of a loved mother, wrestling in
agony of supplication for their conversion, which few
minds can wholly resist. It evinces a depth of solicitude
upon her part which is well calculated to lead them to
reflection, and to become a means in the hand of God of
the early fulfilment of the petitions thus offered. Many
a wayward son will confess to an experience something
like that of John Newton.  He "became a wicked wanderer, forsook friends, and home, and every virtue," but
often in his midnight revelry he would fancy that he felt
the soft hand of his mother upon his head, pleading
with God, as in childhood's hours, to forgive and bless
her boy; and that pure memory, clinging to him through
many years of wandering, was at length the means




124            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
blessed to the bringing back of the prodigal, and he became a successful preacher of the gospel.
" My mother's prayers haunt me like a ghost," exclaimed a young sailor who had entered a place of worship, and taken his seat in an obscure corner. It was
in the town of his nativity, which he had abandoned
many years before, leaving his widowed mother, and the
restraints of a religious home, for a career of vice and
profligacy. But he had not wholly forgotten the early
instructions of that mother, nor the importunity with
which she had formerly plead with God for his salvation;
it having been her practice often to arise at midnight,
and kneeling down in the chamber where her little
ones were sleeping, wrestle for them in prayer. That
mother was now dead, and the remainder of the family
scattered.  Returning to his native village, the sailor
felt anxious to learn something of his kindred. It was
a season of religious revival, and he bent his steps to the
church where his mother had been accustomed to worship, thinking there to meet some of her old acquaintances,
who could give him the desired information. The sacred
spot, the thronging recollections, those scenes of midnight prayer, and, more than all, the felt influence of
the Holy Spirit, spoke powerfully to his heart, until,
"unable to quench the fire within, or longer to conceal
his anguish, he exclaimed vehemently,'My mother's
prayers haunt me like a ghost!'"  After several weeks
of distressing conviction, he found peace in Christ, and
became an exemplary member of the same church with
which his mother had been connected.  That faithful
parent had lived and died without witnessing an answer




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           125
to her petitions, but she had prayed in earnest faith, and,
unknown to her, those midnight supplications had fallen,
like successive layers, upon the heart of her child, and
there left an impression which no years of subsequent
crime and folly could erase.
How important, then, it is that the mother pray with
her children, and carefully link in with their earliest
associations this unmistakable token of her anxiety for
their conversion! It will form a powerful and lasting
motive to anxiety upon their own part, and may become
the seed which, though it lie dormant for many years,
will afterwards ripen to fruits of piety and blessedness.
Such exercises, if judiciously conducted, will generally
be as delightful as they are profitable to both old and
young.  Richard Cecil says of his own experience in
regard to them, "These seasons were always pleasant to
us, and we sometimes looked forward to them with impatience."  A pious mother, whose practice it has been
to pray with all her children from their infancy, recently
assured the writer that her eldest daughter, now upwards
of twenty years of age, so delights in maintaining this
habit of her childhood, that she still comes night and
morning, and offers prayer by her side.
Human learning has industriously accumulated a mass
of incontrovertible arguments in favour of Christianity,
but among them we do not remember to have met with
this, which is, practically, one of the most effective-parental prayer.  Yet could we take the sceptic to the
lonely chamber, whose very walls seem consecrated by
the frequent devotions they have echoed, and bid him
look upon the mother or father who kneels there, with
11 




126            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
the whole soul wrought up to a holy earnestness of
desire; could we bid him listen to the pleading tones,
the broken words, and gaze upon the solemn, tearful
countenance, that yet shines as if it had caught some
rays of the light and glory into which the heart was'
penetrating; and tell him that all this is a scene daily
renewed, and that its object is the salvation of a little
child, we think his lips would falter, ere they pronounced
religion a delusion. In the same manner the child will
be led unconsciously to confess the Divine power of
Christianity, when he sees it so moving the parental
heart; and the sound of a mother's voice, engaged in
supplication, will tell more effectively in its favour,
than volumes of abstruse argumentation.
Were there more of importunate parental prayer, there
would be less of scepticism in the world. Let those, then,
who would arm the tender mind against the infidelity
that so alarmingly prevails, be careful not to withhold
this practical refutation of its claims.
Let us not, however, forget the direct object of this
kind of prayer, in the view of its incidental benefits.
Its chief value lies in the fact that it is God's own means
for securing the salvation of souls. Even if it make no
discernible impression, whether immediate or remote,
upon the minds of our offspring, and if we cannot always
trace a connection between it as a means and the desired
effect, it is still a sacred duty, that is incumbent upon all
who sustain the relation of a parent. This is implied in
those precepts which bid us train up our children " in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord;" for the imposing
of any obligation necessarily enjoins the use of the means




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           127
requisite to its fulfilment. Prayer is an indispensable
means to the discharge of parental duty, and therefore is
required of every one upon whom that duty rests. Without it, who is equal to the task of moulding immortal
minds, and rightly exerting those influences whose results may be unending?  Without it, who can so discharge his fearful responsibilities as to remain free from
the blood of souls? How, especially, can any one hope
for the conversion of his offspring to God, a work that is
so peculiarly dependent upon Divine influences, who withholds prayer to that end?
Many and urgent are the motives to this duty. The
temptations to which the young are subjected, the wants
of the church, the pressing claims of the Redeemer's service, the binding character of parental vows, the unerring
faithfulness of the Divine promise, and, more than all,
the value of their precious, immortal spirits, lying under
the curse, unite in demanding that to all other kinds of
effort be added this, of fervent, importunate, unceasing
prayer.
And many are the encouragements to its use.  The
Bible is full of them. As there can hardly be a more
appropriate subject of prayer than this which we have
contemplated, so we must regard all the Divine promises
to prayer as peculiarly addressed to the faithful parent.
It is scarcely necessary to remind the Christian of those
words which have so often fallen, like sweetest music,
upon his heart, forming the sure warrant of his hope, the
undoubted pledge of Jehovah's faithfulness: " Every one
that asketh, receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth."
" Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."




128             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
" He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him; he also
will hear his cry and save him."  "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
Such is the testimony of God, and shall we distrust it?
Is not that heart as unfilial towards its heavenly Father,
as it is unparental towards its offspring, that can, in the
face of such assurances, neglect to pray for their conversion?
The testimony of experience is to the same effect.
Earnest parental prayer is seldom, if ever, known to be
in vain.  The history of the Church abounds in confirmation of this truth. Some of the most " burning and
shining lights" that ever adorned Christianity have delighted in bearing witness to it, and have left upon record
grateful tributes to the efficacy of petitions offered over
them in childhood. Out of a large class in one of our
Theological Seminaries, it was found upon investigation
that all but two attributed their conversion to the prayers
of pious mothers. Says Dr. Abbott, " A few years ago,
some gentlemen who were associated in preparing for the
ministry, felt interested in ascertaining what proportion of
their number had pious mothers.  They were greatly
surprised and delighted in finding that out of one hundred
and twenty students, over a hundred had been borne by
a mother's prayers, and directed by a mother's counsels,
to the Saviour."
The unwritten experience of multitudes is of the same
character.  With a uniformity resembling the operation
of nature's laws, God is seen to hear and  answer
the prayers of the parents for their children. Sometimes, indeed, the answer is long delayed, and faith is




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            129
sorely tried, and hope almost expires; but " Faithful is
he that hath promised, who also will do it." We do not
indeed affirm that all children who are prayed for will
eventually be saved, nor that all kinds of parental prayer
will be answered.  Upon this subject, as upon every
other, there are those who " ask and they receive not, because they ask amiss." The prayer of unbelief, or mere
formality, is always inefficacious. Neither can we reasonably expect that he who is grossly unfaithful in the duties
of family instruction and government, will prevail in
prayer equally with the more faithful parent. It is important that these facts be borne in mind; for there are
those who make the alleged inefficacy of this means in
some instances a reason for doubting the whole course
of the Divine government in reference to it. Such facts
as we have related would seem to indicate that it is still
true that God generally answers earnest parental prayer;
and it remains to be proved that every such prayer
which is not sooner or later answered, is not defective in
some important particular. Until this can be shown, we
must rest upon the sure word of God, instead of an exceptional human experience, and still maintain that
" It shan't be said that praying breath
Was ever spent in vain."
The remark of a Christian friend to whom the mother of
Augustine was bewailing the hardened impiety of her
son, for whom "she gave herself wholly unto prayer,"
was founded in a not unwarrantable faith: "It is impossible that a child of so many tears should be lost."
A mother who was daily expecting the return home




130            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
of her son who was a sailor, heard with alarm that the
vessel in which he sailed had been lost. The next morning her gate turned upon its hinges, the door opened,
and her wayward, yet beloved child stood before her.
"Mother," said he, as the tears coursed down his sunburnt face, "I knew you'd pray me home."  When
wrecked, the thought occurred to him, "My mother
prays; Christians' prayers are answered; I may be
saved."  "This reflection, when almost exhausted with
fatigue, and ready to give up in despair, gave him fresh
strength, and he laboured with renewed courage till the
harbour was gained."  Thus many a parent, whose children, now tossed upon life's stormy sea, shall yet be
saved in answer to their persevering prayers, shall be
greeted on the threshold of the heavenly home by the
returning wanderers, who, next to the ascription of glory
to the Divine Author of salvation, will say, "Mother, I
knew you'd pray me home!"
2. Besides that prayer which is secret, or offered in
privacy with children, it is of great importance that the
parent maintain FAMILY PRAYER.
This practice has existed from the earliest ages. Indeed, previous to the visible organization of the church,
it was the common and approved method of engaging in
Divine worship.  The patriarchs were the priests and
ministers of the Most High to their families, offering
sacrifices, and interceding in their behalf. Abraham,
during all his journeyings, appears to have erected in
every place a temporary altar, upon which to sacrifice
for his numerous household. Gen. xii. 5, 8; xiii. 18, &c.
Jacob summoned all his household to join him in acts of




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            131
Divine worship. Gen. xxxv. 2, 3, 7. Job had his family
altar, upon which, it is probable, he offered sacrifices
daily. It is remarkable that in the inspired delineation
of his character, particular stress is laid upon his fidelity
in this respect, as if it were an indispensable part of
true piety.  Upon occasions of peculiar temptation to
his children, he offered greater sacrifices, and more earnest prayers than usual, saying, "It may be that my sons
have sinned."  "Thus did Job continually," or as it is
rendered in the margin of our Bibles, "all the days."
Job i. 5.  The resolution of Joshua, "As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord," would seem to indicate that the Jewish leader engaged with all his household in frequent, and probably daily exercises of devotion.
Passing to New Testament history, we find frequent
mention of those who served God with all their "house"
-(as in the case of Cornelius, Crispus, etc.,)-an expression which certainly favours the idea that they led their
families in regular, stated, devotional exercises.  For
whatever may have been the piety of each individual
member of those families, they could hardly be said to
have served God in their collective, household capacity,
except they engaged in this united recognition of the
Divine name, and mingled their prayers and praises.
The early Christians, says Coleman, "were examples
of devout piety in their families. There, at the domestic altar, they fed the sacred fire of devotion, which
burned in their bosoms with a triumphant, deathless
flame.  Every master of a family fulfilled within the
walls of his own house the office of private pastor, keep



132            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
ing up in it a regular course of reading, prayer, and instruction to all the members of his household. Thus
every private house was, in the words of Chrysostom, a
church to itself." * These family devotions were always
accompanied by the reading of the Scriptures, and generally with sacred songs.
Thus has the importance of domestic worship been recognized by the most eminent Christians of all ages;
and it will be found that in proportion as it has been
neglected, family religion has descended to a low ebb,
and the standard of vital godliness greatly declined.
Indeed, how could it be otherwise?  Have we any warrant for the belief that God will visit with daily bestowments of grace, those who do not daily acknowledge his
Fatherly care, and confess their need of his blessing?
However the offering of secret prayer may conduce to
individual piety, it is by no means adequate to the great
end of family religion. The Church that craves a peculiar blessing, meets and prays in its capacity of a church.
The State, offering thanks for a year of mercies, brings
us together in our character of citizens. In the satne
manner the Family, whose members are blessed together,
and who, collectively, need peculiar mercies, should assemble as a family, and pray collectively. Nothing can
be more appropriate than for those who are sheltered
under one roof, fed from one table, and protected by one
Providence, to join in one tribute of gratitude to their
common Benefactor.  Their wants, too, are the same.
Alike do they need grace for filial or parental duty, and
* "Ancient Christianity Exemplified."




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            133
strength against temptation. They need the same " daily
bread;" and it would seem  as if our Saviour had the
devotions of the family especially in view, when he
framed the model prayer which says, "Give us this day
our daily bread."  Together, also, do they suffer, and
where one requires the consolations of the Comforter,
all require them.  Shall, then, the hearts that bleed in
sympathy of grief be denied a common solace at the
mercy-seat?  If it is impossible for any member of the
family to isolate himself from the joys or sorrows of all
the rest, why should each remain in a state of separation from the others in this exercise, which adds a zest
to the one, and extracts from the other its sharpest sting?
It will be seen that if identity of interest and of obligation, of wants and of enjoyments forms any motive to
union in worship, there is no social assemblage that has
such powerful reasons for praying together as the family.
Prayer is every where recognized as an indispensable
part of true religion.  It follows from this that in order
to the existence of family religion there must be family
prayer.  The very heathen have their household gods
whom they worship daily.  Shall Christianity, then, be
the only religion that is debarred from the home and
fireside, and confined to the public sanctuary? Indeed,
if the fact be once admitted that the family is a sacred,
Divine institution, all of whose lesser ends are to be held
subordinate to the greater one of glorifying God by
training souls for his service, we see not how any can
escape the conclusion that it should daily engage in this
solemn recognition of Jehovah.
If anything more be needed to establish the importance
12




134            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
of this practice, it is found in the beneficial effects which
it is calculated to produce upon all who come under its
influence. Nothing can contribute more to the peace
and order of the household, or so powerfully affect the
temper and conduct of both parents and children. As
they listen to the words of Scripture, and kneel together
before God, the thought may well take possession of
every heart, " The Lord is in this place." The sinful
thought or action is rendered doubly so by the presence
of the family altar; and besides the grace diffused in answer to prayers thus offered, the very recollection of the
united morning devotions will often suffice to check the
angry word, and banish the thought of unkindness.
When, too, at evening, the assembled household gathers
once more to ask the Divine forgiveness and protection,
the acts of the day pass in review before each mind, its
sins are deplored and confessed, and hearts that had
perhaps begun to array themselves in opposition to each
other, blend sweetly and harmoniously together.  The
sway of love, however it may have been temporarily interrupted, resumes its sceptre, the kiss of affection follows, and heaven smiles upon the happy, united family,
as they securely "abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Nor must we overlook the momentous bearings of
family worship upon the great ends of instruction and
government.  What admirable opportunities are here afforded for inculcating Divine truth, as, morning and
evening, it is derived fresh from its fountain head!
What treasures of Bible lore may thus, in the course
of a single year, be poured into the mind and heart!




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.          185
The religious impressions of the young are by this means
daily renewed, conscience is insensibly being educated
and kept active, the power of temptation is weakened,
the appeals of religion strengthened, and a hallowed influence exerted which forms an invaluable preparative for,
and aid to the service of God, both here and hereafter.
In what a sacred aspect, too, does it clothe the head of
the family, who officiates as its priest to God in offering
the morning and evening sacrifice! The little group,
whose devotions he is accustomed to lead, look up to him
with esteem and reverence, and almost intuitively " honour" that father or that mother, who is the daily representative of God to them, and of them to God.
Now what family can afford to dispense with this
delightful and profitable means of grace? What conceivable circumstances can warrant any parent in
depriving his children of such manifest advantages?
We are forced to the conclusion that such as do habitally neglect it are thereby incurring positive guilt and
misery. We know of no encouragement for them to hope
for their children's conversion. Nay, more than this,
they are not only liable to be unblessed, but exposed to
the peculiar curse of Him  whom  they so dishonour.
" Pour out thy fury," says a prophet, " upon the heathen
that know thee not, and upon the families that call not upon
thy name!"  Jer. x. 25. They cannot justly expect to
be prospered, either temporally or spiritually, who withhold this reasonable acknowledgment of God's providence
and grace. Upon the other hand, God honours those
who thus honour him.




136             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
" His mercy visits every house'That pays its night and morning vows."
The consciousness of the Divine presence, with which
this practice renders us familiar, sweetens every joy, and
lightens every burden. It sanctifies our cares, adds a
zest to the season of prosperity, and when adversity
overtakes us, imparts a happy sense of repose in the pavilion of the Almighty.  It is to the family what the
pillar of cloud and fire was to the Israelites-: in the morning a guide to point out the day's march through the
wilderness, and at evening a token of Divine protection
and defence.  Happy is the household, and likely to be
secure in all their journeyings towards "the place of
which the Lord said, I will give it thee," whose first
glance at dawn of day, and last look through the shadows of the night, is thus earnestly and unitedly bent
towards the Shekinah that dwells upon the mercy-seat.
Perhaps little need be added as to the proper method
of conducting the worship of the family. A selection
from the Scriptures should always be read, in connection
with which, brief comments, or appropriate meditations
selected from the pages of religious literature, are sometimes beneficial.  The practice of reading a chapter
from the Bible in rotation, each person repeating one or
two verses in his turn, often adds to the interest, and
serves to retain attention upon the part of the young.
The prayer should be simple, appropriate, and as comprehensive as is consistent with a due regard to brevity.
The addition of sacred praise assists materially in promoting cheerful devotion.  Indeed, no worship of God
can be deemed complete, from  which this is omitted.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           137
The remarks of the Rev. Dr. J. W. Alexander upon this
subject are forcible and true.*  " We ask attention to the
assertion that there is no argument for sacred music in
the church, which does not hold equally good in the family.  Though this part of the service has fallen out of
the practice of many households, and (strangely enough)
extensively in those regions where scientific music has
been most boastfully cultivated, the judgment of our
church on this subject is explicit. I It is the duty of
Christians to praise God, by singing psalms or hymns,
publicly, in the church, as also privately, in the family.'' "
Care is to be taken that these exercises be not so protracted as to produce weariness, nor so brief and hasty
as to conflict with the solemnity that the occasion demands.
The devotions should be led by the father, or in his
absence, or in a family thlat is widowed and fatherless,
by the mother.  Those parents who, from diffidence or
inexperience, cannot bring themselves to pray aloud before the family, had better use in the beginning some of
the admirable forms of prayer that are prepared for the
purpose, rather than wholly omit so sacred a duty.
These helps, however, ought not to be so much relied
upon as to prevent suitable efforts towards acquiring the
habit of praying extempore. It is generally found to be
more profitable to pray from a full heart, in language
that naturally occurs to us, than habitually to make even
the most finished and appropriate of human compositions
the vehicle of our addresses to the throne of grace.
* Thoughts on Family Worship.
t Directory for Worship. chap. iv. g 1.
12*




138             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
As an important part of domestic worship, and an
appropriate exercise of family religion, may be added the
duty of asking the Divine blessing at table.  This is only
a just and proper recognition of our dependence upon
God; and it savours strongly of ingratitude to partake
of the bounties of his providence without such an acknowledgment of their kind Giver.  The sorrowful inquiry of the little boy, upon an occasion when this duty
was omitted, "Is there no God to-day, father?" might
properly be put to every one who partakes of a meal
which the Divine hand has spread, with no word of petition or thanksgiving to God. It was the practice of the
early Christians not only to offer prayer before meals,
but to recite portions of Scripture, and sing praise to
God, and at their close to return thanks for the mercies
they had enjoyed.  While there may be no necessity of
such protracted exercises, the Christian scarcely needs
to be reminded that God should be honoured in the enjoyment of his blessings. The influence of this exercise upon the family is highly beneficial, connecting, as
it does, the Giver with the gifts, and affording a practical
fulfilment of the injunction, " Whether ye eat, or drink,
or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God."




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.         139
CHAPTER VIII.
THE RELATION OF THE FAMILY TO THE CHURCH.
EVERY part of the Divine government is characterized by a beautiful harmony of adaptation. An endless
series of connections and dependencies is found to exist
both in the domain of providence and grace, linking all
things together as parts of that grand whole which lies
spread out under the eye of God. In successive gradations the physical ministers to the moral, and the temporal to the eternal. Thus the earth was adapted, in the
Divine wisdom, to the man; the body, formed from the
dust, was prepared for the soul that should inhabit it;
the first human pair was the foundation of the family;
and the family, in like manner, was the necessary intermediate step towards the organization of the church.
The connection that exists between these two institutions, and the relations that they sustain to each other
are plain to every reflecting mind. The one is, in a
manner, the basis of the other, not only in a natural
point of view, as furnishing the material of which it is
composed, but also morally, as endowed by God with




140            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
similar features, and ordained for a like end. While differing in many respects, they yet resemble each other in
their main object, which is the culture and development
of man's higher, spiritual nature, and in their means and
appliances, which consist, in both cases, in instruction,
discipline, and worship. These resemblances would seem
to indicate that they are, in the government of God their
Author, closely related, and possessed of important bearings the one upon the other.
That such is the case may also be inferred from the
nature of that Divine covenant with Abraham  which
formed, as we have seen, the organization of the visible
Church. Previously to that time, sacrifices had been
offered, and worship rendered, by families, the heads of
which officiated as priests for all the household. For
many centuries, therefore, the pious family approached
the nearest of any existing institution to the idea of the
visible Church.  When it pleased God to found a church,
with its initiating seal, and covenant of promise, he proceeded upon this principle, which had become so firmly
established, and organized a singlefamily as the nucleus
about which were to be gathered the multitudes of his
professed people in all ages. Nor did he stop here;
but, as if for ever to impress the truth of the connection
between the one and the other, he incorporated into the
constitution of his church the promise:   I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed
after thee, in their generations, to be a God to thee and
to thy seed after thee;" Gen. xvii. 7; and again, "In
thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
We are indeed taught by the apostle that they who




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           141
are Christ's, are "Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise;" yet that the sense of this covenant
was not wholly spiritual, is proved by the fact that the
literal seed of the patriarch did, for so many generations,
constitute the body of God's people upon earth.  The
covenant, then, which lies at the foundation of the visible
church, was not formed with Abraham and other believers,
simply as individuals, but also as heads of families.
"The promise," said Peter, "is to you and your children."  It is true that many, whose parents had no interest in this promise, do yet become converted; as also,
upon the other hand, not all children who are born within the pale of the church, maintain their birthright privilege by a consistent Christian profession. Still the fact
holds good that the church, in its true idea, is an aggregate and succession of pious families, chosen out of the
world as the depositary of the oracles and ordinances of
religion, and in turn transmitting them to their descendants.
This relation of the family to the church is expressly
declared by God in the ordinances of circumcision and
baptism, the administration of which to children is
founded, as we have seen, upon the doctrine of infant
church membership as enunciated in the Abrahamic covenant.  The head of the family, under the Old Testament
dispensation, was solemnly bound to circumcise, not only
each one of his offspring, but also his servants; thus
bringing the entire household into a state of connection
with the visible church.  So when a proselyte from a
heathen nation embraced Judaism, he did not, if a parent, enter into covenant alone, but took his children




142            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
with him  and they all were circumcised as a family.
This precious doctrine was not changed by the change
of its seal, nor were the rights and privileges of the children of believers in any way abridged by our Saviour.
When the parent embraced the Christian faith, and was
admitted to the church by baptism, the household came
with him.  Thus Lydia was baptized, "and her household."  The Philippian jailer "was baptized, and all
his."  Crispus "believed on the Lord with all his house."
Paul makes mention of having baptized "the household
of Stephanas." See Acts xvi. 15, 33; xvii. 8; 1 Cor.
i. 16.
This relationship of the families of believers to the
church has been recognized by the great body of believers from the days of the apostles to the present time.
We discover frequent mention of it in the writings of
the fathers, and in the standards of the Reformed
churches.  The French Confession of Faith (A. D. 1539)
declares that baptism is to be administered "to infants
born of holy parents;" the Belgic, or Reformed Dutch,
(A. D. 1566,) "to the children of the faithful;" the Confession of Helvetia, (A. D. 1636,) "to such as are born
of the people of God."  The Confession of Faith of the
Presbyterian Church says, that "the infants of one or
both believing parents are to be baptized;" and the
Larger Catechism, carrying this doctrine to its legitimate conclusion, defines the visible church as " a society
made up of all such as, in all ages and places of the
world, do profess the true religion, and of their children."
(Ques. 62.)  As defined in the Form  of Government,
(Chap. ii. ~ 2,) "The universal church consists of all




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           143
those persons, in every nation, together with their children, who make profession of the holy religion of Christ,
and of submission to his laws."
Such, then, is the relation of the families of believers
to the church.  Ordained by God at its first organization, it yet remains a token of the Divine goodness and
wisdom, a comfort to God's people, and a blessing to the
Redeemer's kingdom.  Parental faith still claims and
pleads the promise, "I will be a God to thee and to thy
seed after thee," and the church delights in acknowledging the lambs of the flock as her own, by receiving them
within her fold, and pledging to them her prayers and
counsels. What an admirable provision is this for the
mutual good of these kindred institutions! Being thus
closely linked together, the Christian family is made the
means of preparing souls for Christ's service in the
church, and of furnishing those children who shall be
instead of the fathers, in the successive generations of
God's people; while the church pays back an abundant
recompense into the bosom of the family, by cooperating in its work of training young souls for God and heaven. In the Divine economy, each is, when fulfilling its
part, a help-meet for the other. Neither is complete in
itself, but they form, unitedly, a grand and perfect
scheme, exactly adapted to the furthering of the end
which they alike have in view. The one takes the infant in its dawning reason, and consecrates to holy ends
the only influences that can then be brought to bear upon
it. Soon the other steps in with its strengthening and
confirming means of grace. For a season they labour
unitedly, each taking a hand of the tender child, and




144             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
leading him  in paths of piety-each bearing a part in
the task of rearing it in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord-until, in years of maturity, the ties of the
one family being perhaps dissevered, and, by the blessing
of God, its end having been accomplished, the other has
taken its place, and carries on its work. The instruction
and government begun at a mother's knee, is thus maintained to the latest hours of life. The truths that fell
on the quick ear of infancy in the little domestic sanctuary,.still address the ear of age in the house of God;
and the good seed that parental hands had planted with
prayers and tears, is fostered and cultivated by the
church, until it becomes a tree, all laden with fruits of
piety.  Thus the work goes on, until the ripened saint
is gathered to that society where family and church,
having fulfilled their appointed task, mingle for ever into
one, in the upper home and sanctuary, "not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens."
Like every other relation, this one implies certain corresponding duties.  Some of these have already been
adverted to, such as the administration of baptism to all
infants of believers, and the instruction and discipline
of the family.  In addition, however, to these, are the
peculiar duties of the church towards those who are thus
born within its pale. That the church owes certain specific obligations to all its members, is a fact which it requires no argument to prove. As, then, the children of
professed believers are, by virtue of its constitution, its
members, it is only necessary to ask, What are the peculiar rights and privileges to which their membership
entitles them?  Upon this subject many loose and erro



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           145
neous views prevail, which it shall be our aim, as far as
possible, to correct. In some churches, indeed, there is
scarcely any recognition of duty towards baptized children; and the anomaly is presented, (of which the opponents of paedobaptism have readily availed themselves),
of an acknowledged membership that practically entitles
to no privileges, and imposes no obligations. Perhaps
one great failure upon the part of the church at the present day is in this direction. We therefore ask every
Christian who coincides in the premises that have just
been laid down, attentively to consider the necessary
conclusions to which they lead.
The duties of the church in this particular may be included under the general heads of INSTRUCTION, DISCIPLINE, AND PRAYER.
1. Instruction. None will contend that the children
of believers do not need to be taught in Divine things at
least equally with those who are older, nor that it is not
the church's duty to instruct her members.  Why then
should they be denied this privilege who, by reason of
their tender age, so peculiarly require it? The voice of
Jesus to the repentant Peter is addressed to the church
at large, "Lovest thou me?"  "Feed my lambs!"  In
these words our Lord claims a close and endearing relationship to the children of the church. He calls them
his "lambs;" and his they are by a triple tie-that of
creation, preservation, and more than all in their character of "the seed of the blessed of the Lord." This
"threefold cord," that "is not quickly broken," binds
the multitudes of the church's offspring to the throne
and the heart of Jesus; and he justly appeals to our love
13




146             THE CIRISTIAN HOME,
for him as a sufficient motive for feeding them with the
food which he has himself provided.  The lambs of the
flock have, then, a heaven-derived claim upon the church
for spiritual nurture, and we cannot, without violating
our most solemn obligations, withhold it from them.
This duty is also demanded by the very instinct of
self-preservation. The children of the church are, in an
eminent degree, the hope of the church.  God can, indeed, perpetuate his kingdom upon earth without them.
As John the Baptist declared to the boastful Pharisees,
he "is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham."  Yet experience attests that the great body of
believers in all ages are those born within the covenant,
and that it is to our baptized offspring that we are chiefly
to look for our probable successors in the faith. How
important, then, the duty of early indoctrinating them
in Divine truth, of teaching them  "the form of sound
words," and taking all necessary pains towards the rearing of a generation of intelligent as well as earnest Christians! To neglect this duty, is to leave the church open
to every form of error, and to commit its dearest interests to those who will be but ill qualified to maintain and
defend them.  We believe it will be found that in proportion as this obligation has been recognized and faithfully discharged, religion has been preserved in its
purity, while its disuse has ever been one of the most
fruitful sources of heresy and schism.  We are greatly
indebted, under God, to the fidelity of our forefathers
in this respect, for the present prevalence of evangelical
views and doctrines; and upon the church's continued
discharge, or evasion of this duty, will equally depend




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           147
the orthodoxy of the coming generation.  Do we not
therefore owe it to ourselves and our posterity, to the
present and to the future, that we diligently feed Christ's
lambs?
The church at large has always acknowledged the necessity of instructing her baptized children. The primitive Christians regarded them as justly entitled to their
earnest solicitude, and faithful nurture in Divine things.
Augustine says, "Children were presented to baptism,
not so much by those in whose hands they were brought,
(though by them too, if they were good and faithful men,)
as by the whole society of saints.  The whole church was
their mother." Nor did they evade the responsibilities of
this so called maternal relation.  Besides the instructions
of the home, in which the early Christians were remarkably faithful, the baptized children, "in all places where
it was practicable, had, from the very commencement of
the Christian church, the opportunity of attending catechetic schools." The celebrated school of Alexandria,
which is supposed to have been founded by Mark the
Evangelist, was of this character, and embraced in its
instructions both Divine and human learning.  In this
school, Eusebius informs us, Clemens Alexandrinus and
Origea taught.  " Similar schools existed in Rome, Cesarea, Antioch, Ephesus, and  other places."  They
were generally "kept in churches, where they were
erected, or in buildings adjoining to the church; which is
evident," says Bingham, "from  the observation which
Socrates makes upon the education of Julian the Apostate, that in his youth he frequented the church where,
in those days, the schools were kept." In the fourth




148            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
century, Gregory " set up schools in every city, and masters over them by the king's command, to teach the Armenian children to read the Bible."
As the corruptions of Popery increased, Christian
education was more generally neglected; although we
read of cathedral schools being maintained in the seventh,
eighth, and ninth centuries. These, however, as might
be supposed, were attended with but slight success in
either a religious or literary point of view. Indeed the
efforts of the papacy were concentrated against the faithful instruction of the young; and while permitting them
but a meagre education in the most ordinary branches
of human learning, it deliberately withheld from them
the sacred Scriptures, substituting in their place the most
childish fables and traditions. As the heathen emperor
Julian attempted to banish the children of Christians
from the schools of learning, " lest they should be qualified
to argue with the gentile dialecticians," so Pope Paul
II., in his efforts to engraft paganism upon a nominal
Christianity, declared, "It is sufficient for the sons of
Christians that they be taught to read and write."
When the Reformation of the sixteenth century burst
upon the world, its adherents realized the importance of
a return to the primitive practice in this respect, and
thereby availed themselves of a most invaluable method
of extending the knowledge and influence of the truth.
Thus, in the discipline of the Reformed Churches of
France, it was enjoined, " 1. That the churches shall do
their utmost to endeavour to erect schools, and to take
care of the instruction of her youth. 2. Regents and
masters of schools shall subscribe the confession of faith,




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           149
and church discipline, and the towns and churches shall
not admit any one into this office without the consent of
the consistory of that place." In the same book of discipline, " Fathers and mothers are directed to be exhorted
to be very careful of their children's education, who are
the seed plat, and promising hopes of God's church.
And therefore such as send them to school to be taught
by priests, monks, jesuits, and nuns, shall be prosecuted
with all church censures."
The Reformed Church of Holland was also extremely
solicitous for the religious instruction of the young under
proper ecclesiastical auspices; providing not only institutions of higher grade for the education of the ministry,
but also the parochial school for children. The Synod
of Dort, (A. D. 1619,) a convention in which were represented not only the Dutch, but every other Reformed
Church upon the continent, together with the Established
Church of North Britain, decreed as follows: " In order
that the Christian youth may be diligently instructed in
the principles of religion, and be trained in piety, three
modes of catechizing should be employed.  I. In the
house, by parents. II. In the schools by school-masters.
III. In the churches by ministers, elders, and catechists
especially appointed for the purpose. That these may
diligently employ their trust, they shall be requested to
promote by their authority so sacred and necessary a
work; and all who have the oversight of churches and
schools shall be required to pay especial attention to
this matter."  Under the different heads above noted,
we read that the office of parents is, " diligently to instruct their children and their whole household in the
13*




150            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
principles of the Christian religion;" " to prepare them for
being catechized in the schools, and, by attendance on
them, to encourage them, and promote their edification;"
and that "parents who profess religion, and are negligent in this work, shall be admonished by the ministers,
and if the occasion requires, they shall be censured by
the consistory, that they may be brought to the discharge
of their duty." " Schools, in which the young shall be
properly instructed in the principles of Christian doctrine," were to be established, "not only in cities, but also
in towns and country places."  None were to be employed as teachers but "such as are members of the
church, having certificates of an upright faith, and pious
life, and of being well versed in the truths of the Catechism."  Ministers, and, if necessary, elders, were required to " visit all the schools, private as well as public,
frequently."
The Presbyterian Church of Scotland, from her earliest history, established parochial schools, which were
under the direct inspection of her judicatories. In the
reign of James VI., "none were admitted to instruct the
youth, but such as should be tried by the visitors of the
Kirk."  The General Assembly of 1638 "directed the
several presbyteries to settle schools in every landward
parish, and provide men able for the teaching of youth."
By an act of the Assembly, 1642, a grammar school was
erected in every presbytery, seat, and burg. The Assembly of 1700 enjoined it upon all presbyteries "to
take special, particular, and exact notice of all schoolmasters, governors, and pedagogues of youth, within
their respective bounds, and oblige them to subscribe the




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.              151
Confession of Faith, and in case of continued negligence,
(after admonition,) error, or immorality,'or not being
careful to educate those under their charge in the Protestant Reformed religion,' points out the mode in which
they are to be punished."*
Such is the testimony of the church in past ages. It
has ever loved to recognize and act upon the fact of its
relationship to the family, and has felt itself solemnly
bound to the fulfilment of the duties which that relationship imposes.  Nor has the church of the present day
proved recreant to her ancestral faith and doctrine, however derelict she may have become in practice.
In the Form  of Government of the Presbyterian
Church, (Book II. Chap. i. ~ 6,) it is affirmed, "All baptized persons are members of the church, are under its
care, and subject to its government and discipline."  The
Constitution of the Reformed Dutch Church employs
the same language, (Chap. iv. Art. 1. Sec. 3.) Now what
is meant by the "care," and "government and discipline" here so plainly set forth, if not that the baptized
child as well as the adult is to be faithfully watched over,
and admonished in those things that pertain to ecclesiastical oversight, namely, in everything affecting its spiritual and immortal interests? Is not the truth here
clearly enunciated that from early infancy, on through
the intermediate stages of life, "all baptized persons"
are to be instructed in the doctrines of religion, and
* See " Duty of the Church in the Instruction and Discipline of
her baptized children," (Presb. Board of Publication,) in which may
be found more extended extracts from the standards of the Reformed
Churches upon this subject.




152            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
generally influenced for their good in the use of whatever means the church can legitimately employ?  This
will, we think, be admitted by all. The only remaining
question, then, is, How shall the church best exercise this
"care" which she acknowledges to be due from her to
her youthful charge?
She should evidently, first of all, see to it that religious
instruction be faithfully maintained in all her households.
We have already considered at length parental duty in
this respect, and have seen that it is founded upon the
nature and design of the family constitution. We may
add, in this connection, that the same obligation flows
from the relation of the church to her baptized children.
It is only through the medium  of the parent that she
can act upon the mind of early childhood, and it is plainly
her duty to use every endeavour that her infant members be correctly instructed in Divine truth. To this
end, they who have the spiritual oversight of. professing
Christians, may well feel themselves bound to insist upon
the early religious education of the lambs of the flock.
Ministers should present this duty from the pulpit with
frequency and earnestness, and, with their elders, make
it the subject of inquiry and appropriate exhortation
in their pastoral visits among the people.  The truth
ought to be impressed upon every mind that they are
guilty of culpable neglect and inconsistency, who suffer
the children of the church to grow up under their eyes
in a state of spiritual destitution.
"We account ourselves bound," says Hill, in his "Institutes," "to exercise a continued inspection over the
Christian education of those who have been baptized,




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            153
that, as far as our authority and exertions can be of any
avail, parents may not neglect to fulfil their vows." The
family is, in a manner, the repository of the church, the
guardian, to whose sole care she for a season assigns
these her precious, immortal trusts. In correspondence
with this fact, the position of the Christian parent is one
of double responsibility, for he is not only accountable to
God, but also to the church, for his influence upon the
minds of his offspring.
The church, however, has a responsibility in this matter which she cannot consistently transfer to others.
There are years in the career of the child or youth, when
she may appropriately claim  an important part in his
moral training-those years between infancy and maturity, in which the mind is peculiarly susceptible, and in a
state to be moulded for eternity. How, then, shall her
influences be effectively put forth?
Of course the only fountain of truth, whether for the
youthful or adult mind, is the word of God. Whatever
other means be employed, they are only the different
channels through which this living water may be conveyed to them.  The church, then, through her alppointed instructors, should lavishly dispense  to  her
children the pure doctrines and words of the Old and
New Testament Scriptures.  This may be done through
the Sabbath-school, provided that it be under the immediate supervision of the church officers, and that its instructors be qualified, by their sanctified intelligence, for so
important a task.
The experience of the-past has proved that there is also
great moral power in the right use of catechetical instruc



154             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
tion.  Valuable helps to this duty are at hand, which
are the mature fruits of much collective wisdom and
patient effort, and which have proved themselves admirably adapted to this work.  They have been employed by generations of God's people with signal success, and it would be difficult to exaggerate their influence in the preservation of sound doctrine.  They have
been approved by our church judicatories, and are placed
in our hands as important aids to the inculcation of Bible
truth in its order and symmetry. Next to the Scriptures,
for which they were never designed to be a substitute,
but to which they are a most important auxiliary, they
should be faithfully and diligently employed, and should
occupy a prominent place in the church's educational
means and appliances.  In the  early history of the
church, great care was taken that not only the catechists, who were judiciously selected and appointed for
this office, but also pastors, should exercise a close supervision over this part of religious instruction, explaining
and applying the truths thus learned, and making the
catechism an important link of intercourse between them
and the young of their flocks. It is to be regretted that
there has been so wide a departure from this practice of
our forefathers.  To this day the Church of Scotland
adheres to her time-honoured custom of thorough catechetical instruction, under the supervision of the proper
authorities, and as the result of such fidelity, her name
has become synonymous throughout Christendom  with
sound doctrine, and pure, evangelical religion.
As a valuable means of discharging her acknowledged
duty to her children, the church has maintained, from




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            155
her earliest history, Parochial Schools-so called from
being under the control and management of the church
or parish.  In these were employed teachers competent
to instruct in all the ordinary branches of school education, and at the same time qualified by their piety and
familiarity with Christian doctrine, to teach the Bible
and Catechism.  By means of these institutions, the
young are kept under the eye of the church, during that
interesting period which, of all others, is perhaps the
most important in the formation of mental and moral
habits, yet which is too frequently left to the direction
and oversight of the world.  Can it be questioned that
the church ought to make some provision for these
school days, as well as for those of the college, and that
duty to her baptized children demands that religion be
made to enter into and form part of their daily education?
Valuable as are the instructions of the Sabbath-school
or Bible-class, they are apt to be overwhelmed and forgotten, if those of the week are marked by the absence
of religion.
We hear much of a class of professors who are called
" Sabbath Christians," or who carry not their piety with
them into the intervening round of weekly duties. May
we not well fear lest the child or youth who is deprived
of daily religious instruction, if he becomes a Christian
at all, will be one of that character? Let it also be
borne in mind that no studies are so important as those
that relate to men's immortal interests, and it will be seen
that these should run parallel with, or rather be kept in
advance of every other study. That education is incomplete in its most important particular, which develops




156            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
the intellectual part of our nature in a state of separation from the moral and spiritual.  And how are the
two to be effectively combined, if not through the instrumentality of the church?
It is matter for congratulation that Christians of the
present day are beginning to realize these truths, and in
some degree to act upon them.  The parochial school
system is no longer an experiment in our country, but in
many places is working out, by the Divine blessing,
happy results for the church and the world. Where
these, for any reason, are not established, other methods
can be adopted for infusing a marked religious element
into the schools that are frequented by the children of
believing parents.  It may be added in this connection
that Protestants should never remit their efforts towards
retaining in our common schools the reading, and, if possible, the study of the Bible. Many " baptized persons"
avail themselves of the munificent provision afforded by
the State for their education; and we owe it to them, to
the church at large, and to our country, earnestly to
maintain a general, comprehensive system of free instruction which shall not omit this most important feature.
So far as regards the higher institutions of learning,
the church has made many and powerful advances in the
right direction.  Whatever difference of opinion may exist upon the subject of parochial schools, it is generally
conceded that colleges ought to be under immediate ecclesiastical supervision. The years of student life, marked
as they are by the absence of home restraints, and parental inspection and authority, may well be watched
over by the church with a peculiar solicitude. To that




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           157
end, it seems important that none be employed as instructors who are not members of the church, and whose
example is not clearly and unmistakably in favour of
vital godliness. Nor should parents permit their children to enter seminaries of learning that are not thus
characterized. The highest degree of mental cultivation,
if unsanctified by religion, has been compared to the " putting a drawn sword in the hands of a madman," and is
perhaps as likely to prove an injury as a benefit.
Not to dwell further upon this subject, the church
ought plainly to regard herself as the proper instructor
of " all baptized persons" from the earliest dawn of reason to old age, allowing no period of life to elapse without suitable provision for their wants as moral beings.
Were this acknowledged truth to be practically and universally acted upon, it would unquestionably be attended
with glorious results.  Then we might be spared, in a
great degree, the too common spectacle of the children
denying the faith of their fathers; a powerful bulwark
would be erected against the inroads of error; pure
evangelical doctrine would pervade the minds of the
rising generation, and bring forth its appropriate fruits;
and the church, strengthened by the intelligent piety of
her members, would find it more emphatically true than
ever before, that " The gates of hell shall not prevail
against her."
This active, inquiring age is prolific of every form of
heresy. Old systems of error that were supposed to have
fled with the vanishing of the dark ages, are again lifting
up their heads, and he needs to be thoroughly indoctrinated in "the truth as it is in Jesus," who would avoid
14




158            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
being led by them into the paths of death. In imposing
the duty of religious instruction, God has placed in the
hands of his church a powerful weapon with which to
ward off, and finally to conquer this swarming host. Let
it be neglected, and none can foretell the disastrous consequences that may be entailed upon posterity. Let it
be rightly improved, and our sons, and our sons' sons,
as they walk in the steadfast path of righteousness, shall
rise up and call us blessed.
2. Besides the duty that we have just considered, the
church owes to her youthful members that of government
and discipline.
The proper method of discharging this obligation towards adult communicants has long been settled. Not
so, however, in regard to those who are children. It
has been maintained by some that they ought not only
to be admonished, when their conduct renders it necessary, but also, as members of the church, to be held
subject to suspension and excommunication. This view
is founded upon the declaration contained in the Form
of Government, (Book II. chap. i. ~ 6,) that baptized
persons, " when they have arrived at years of discretion,
are bound to perform all the duties of church members."
The practice of the Jewish church is quoted as favouring
this interpretation. At the age of thirteen, as the Jewish
doctors inform us, "the circumcised children became'sons of the commandment,' and were bound to perform
the duties of adult members," among which was the eating of the passover.  Every one who did not observe
this feast was commanded to be "cut off from among
his people."  Num. ix. 13.  Both the Jewish and




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           159
primitive Christian churches inflicted corporeal punishment upon juvenile offenders.  This, however, is now
regarded by all as opposed to the mild spirit of Christianity.
This whole subject is ably discussed in the report of
a committee appointed by the General Assembly of 1811,
to answer the following overture from the Synod of Kentucky:-" What steps should the church take with baptized youth, not in communion, but arrived at the age
of maturity, should such youth prove disorderly or contumacious?"   This learned and interesting document
maintained that baptized children, who have reached the
years of discretion, and yet fail to "perform all the duties of church members," ought to be subjected to the
extremest discipline of the church, should milder measures
prove inefficacious. The General Assembly, having made
this report the subject of discussion in several of its subsequent sessions, at length discharged the committee,
and the subject was indefinitely postponed.  "The Assembly," says the preface to this report, "preferred to
leave the matter as it stood in the standards of the
church, without expressing any opinion."
It will, we think, be generally conceded that the
church should, at least, exercise a degree of watchfulness
over her baptized children, and manifest towards them a
tender care and interest. Whether enforcing strict discipline or not, she may surround them with proper Christian restraints, and impress upon their minds their duty
of reverencing her authority, obeying her counsels, and
fulfilling their vows as her members. The church may
also appropriately take cognizance of those customs and




160            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
practices of society which are calculated to injure the
morals of her baptized children, and, as their spiritual
guardian, may denounce prevailing sins. Whatever be
the method deemed best for the purpose, ought not the
principle to be generally made known and practically
acted upon, that her children are peculiarly under her
care and oversight, and entitled to her special supervision?
3. It is further implied in the relation which we are
considering, that the church pray for her children and
youth. Our remarks upon the subject of parental prayer
will apply here; for the church is, in a certain sense, as
Augustine has said, the mother of all who are born within
her pale. It will be seen that, if she is bound to seek
and promote their piety, she is by that very fact obliged
to use this most effective of all means to that end. She
owes it both to herself and them, that she employ her
interest at the mercy-seat in their behalf. They are
among the most hopeful subjects of prayer.  The very
existence of the visible church is a standing testimony to
the faithfulness of their covenant God, and a warrant for
our firmest confidence. To withhold prayer for them not
only evinces ingratitude, but argues a misapprehension
of the whole character and object of the church upon
earth, and of the promise upon which it rests. In view
of the terms of the covenant, does it not seem as if there
were none who could more justly claim an interest in
our petitions?
Shall, then, every other class of human beings be remembered in the devotions of the sanctuary, and the
dear children of the covenant alone be forgotten? Shall
we embrace in our outstretched arms of faith the wretched




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            161
and the outcast, the blasphemer and the idolater, and
overlook those whom God has placed so peculiarly under our influence, and who are the hope of the church
and the world? No; let them rather be made the subjects of a special importunity.  Let the secret prayers
of the parent be strengthened by the united supplications
of the church at large. In the house of God, in the social meeting, at the family altar, in short, wherever the
people of God assemble, let them engage with earnestness in this work.  What thought can be more delightful to the Christian parent, than that the little one who
is given to God in baptism, possesses, from that hour, an
interest in all the prayers of all the church, and that from
every land there are constantly going up earnest supplications for God's blessing upon it!
Such should be the case; for what is the church but
one great family, made up of multitudes of lesser ones,
who are united under one head, Jesus Christ,-a family
which, like others, has its little children who possess an
equal claim upon her prayerful attention?   We may
multiply other instrumentalities, but without this one they
will be comparatively valueless.  As one may plant a
garden ever so thickly with good seed, but much of it
will be wasted if it be not watered, so the most faithful
instruction in Divine truth will fail of its end, if the Holy
Spirit do not. accompany it to the heart; and how shall
his fostering influences be secured, but in answer to
prayer?
Especially, let the church remember in her supplications her schools and colleges. To pray for them, is, in
effect, to pray for every other interest of Christianity.
14*




162             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
For the college is the source of vast influences for good
or evil. It contains those who are hereafter to stand as
watchmen upon Zion's walls, and adorn other exalted
spheres of life with the graces of piety, or else, who are
to pervert their learning to the prejudice of true religion,
and wield a tremendous power for evil. How fervently,
then, should we implore the Divine blessing upon these
fountains, that, being purified by grace, their ten thousand streams may diffuse moral life, and health, and
beauty in their course! As an illustration of the stupendous benefits which may be conferred upon the
church and the world by our faithfulness in this respect,
we quote the following from Professor Tyler's Prize Essay on Prayer for Colleges:-" It has been estimated
that one revival of religion, which took place in Yale
College, under the presidency of Dr. Dwight, raised up
ministers who were instrumental in the conversion of
fifty thousand souls in one generation."
This duty might be urged upon the ground of the
church's own needs, and of the necessity there is of a
large increase in the ranks of the ministry; and also in
view of the pressing wants of the missionary cause in
this day of rapid providential openings to the truth; but
it is perhaps sufficient to commend it as growing out of
the relation of the church to her families. The college is
a part of the great system of instruction furnished by
the church to her baptized children; and the Christian
parent, whose son is within its walls, has a just claim
upon her prayers in his behalf, that his talents may be
consecrated, as were his body and soul in infancy, to the
Lord's service.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           163
Christians have, of late years, peculiarly felt their responsibility in this respect. About the year 1820 was
established the concert of prayer for colleges, which was
observed at first every Sabbath morning, but finally appointed for the last Thursday of February, in every
year, at which time it is now generally held. As might
have been expected, a marked blessing has followed these
united supplications of the church. It has been estimated that during the first fifteen years of its observance,
" fifteen hundred students were made the hopeful subjects
of grace, in thirty-six different colleges." Frequent revivals of religion have occurred at about the time set
apart for this purpose, and, indeed, in one of the colleges a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place
upon the very day of the concert. It is also an interesting circumstance, and one showing the Divine recognition of the church's relation to the family, that in most
of these revivals a large proportion of converts were
" children of the covenant."  In the Essay of Professor
Tyler, already alluded to, statistics are given, which
show that out of one hundred and fifty-five young men
who were converted in three successive revivals in one
college, there were but eighteen who had not been baptized
in infancy.  These facts are significant.  They are well
calculated to incite parents to the consecration of their
offspring to God, and at the same time furnish powerful
encouragement to the church to pray for their conversion.
Such are some of the chief duties involved in the relationship of the family to the church.  They are imposed by the great Author of these institutions, and can



164             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
not be neglected by either without mutual detriment.
The family that would fulfil the end of its appointment
should realize its obligation, not only to bring its children within the pale of the visible church, but also to
cooperate with her, as its most important ally in the
work of rearing them for God.  The church, upon the
other hand, should ever promote the interests of the family by meeting, as far as is practicable, its spiritual
wants, and inciting to parental fidelity. While prosecuting with energy her aggressive movements upon the
world without, let her not forget to provide liberally for
those of her own household. She is not so straitened in
her means and appliances that in order to the doing of
the one, she need leave the other undone.  More than
this, every effort that is put forth in behalf of her own
children will tell powerfully upon all her benevolent instrumentalities, whether at home or abroad. For it is to
them that she must mainly look for filling the ranks of
her labourers, and carrying the gospel to the destitute.
May we not, then, attribute to a failure in this particular,
the fact that the present supply of ministers and missionaries falls so far short of the demand? In the voice
that comes to us from nation after nation clamouring for
the gospel, may we not hear a providential summons to
peculiar faithfulness in duty towards the rising generation of the church?  When we shall have realized a
higher standard of fidelity in discharging this important
trust, the church and the family engaging hand in hand
in their common work of training souls for eternity, and
rearing a seed for God, it will be found that there is a
tremendous power for good in this too much neglected




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           165
class of obligations; and that the covenant, "I will be
a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee,"-which probably has never yet been understood in its glorious fulness of meaning-affords the true basis for the extension and final triumph of the Redeemer's kingdom in
the world.




166            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
CHAPTER IX.
THE VALUE, DIFFICULTIES, AND AIDS OF FAMILY RELIGION.
I. ITS VALUE.-The zeal with which we labour for
any proposed end is generally proportioned to our estimate of its value. Whatever men exalt in their minds
to the dignity of a hief good, whether it be wealth, fame,
pleasure, or the soul's salvation, is sure to engage their
earnest efforts for its attainment. For this reason, all
argument in favour of the duty of religion in the family
may prove comparatively powerless with those who regard it as of trifling value, while they who realize its
worth will strive vigorously to secure it.  Although,
therefore, this part of our subject has been in part anticipated, we may profitably attend to a few thoughts
bearing upon it.
It may be remarked, in general, that whatever renders
religion a blessing to the individual, makes it the same to
the family. Look at some of its characteristic features.
Does it tend to the fulfilment of the purpose for which
man was created?  So, also, as has been shown, it pro



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            167
motes the end of the family constitution. Does it make
man virtuous and holy in heart and life?  It likewise
secures the virtue and purity of the family that it governs. Does it promote our happiness, by sanctifying the
enjoyments and trials of life?  It affords also the only
enduring basis for domestic bliss, and while sweetening
the joys of the family, furnishes a solace for its griefs.
Does it crown the hopes of the believer with boundless
and eternal pleasures in heaven? So, too, when thoroughly pervading the household, it at last gathers all its
members to the heavenly home.
The godless family is liable to many forms of misery
from which there is no relief save that which religion
furnishes. With all its endearing ties and beautiful affections, still, like the death's head at the ancient feasts,
sin is ever present to mar and embitter them. Witness
the various phases of selfishness, the occasional outbreaks
of passion, envy, and uncharitableness, the acts of disobedience to parental authority, and the general impatience
of wholesome restraints, that pervade many a home that
is destitute of religious influences. It may not be without its joys, but is there not mingled with them a consciousness that one important element of happiness is
wanting, which can be supplied from no earthly source?
that something is yet needed to bind heart with heart in
closer and more sacred sympathy-some governing principle that shall be the law of the household, guiding its
duties and enjoyments, and consecrating them to noble
and worthy ends? In an especial manner does this felt
want impress itself in the hour of trouble. What spectacle, for instance, can be more dismal than that presented




168            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
by the irreligious family when, returned from the fresh
grave of a member, they gaze upon the vacant chair,
and think of the hushed voice, whose tones shall never
more greet their ears: and yet have no hope of rejoining
the departed one in an upper household, and no consoling influences of the Comforter to blunt the edge of
grief!
Now  mark the home where piety exerts its gentle
sway.  The ties of nature are strengthened by those of
grace, and kindred hearts beat with a holier sympathy
because they are one in Christ, and "members one of
another."  A common faith and hope sweetens all their
intercourse, and adds a zest to the daily round of duty.
The animating Spirit of God brings forth his appropriate
"fruit" of "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." And steadily,
surely, the Christian family works out its appointed purpose, and renders its perpetual tribute to the Divine
glory. While the unsanctified household, like a wanaering star, strays from its orbit, that which is governed by
religion is kept by it within its appointed sphere, and revolves harmoniously about the " central sun" of God's
moral universe, the throne of the Redeemer. Bright and
beautiful is its pathway, lit up with the smile of God;
and if clouds do sometimes obscure its horizon, they are
gilded by rays of infinite love. The holiest domestic
scene is not wholly free from sin's ravages. Even the
family at Bethany, who were favoured with the peculiar
friendship and society of Jesus, were called to endure the
anguish of bereavement.  Yet how wonderfully does religion rob sorrow of its sting, and smooth the brow of care!




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           169
Does adversity threaten?  Parents and children study
together the word of promise, and faith triumphs over
anxiety and distrust as they read, " Never have I seen
the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
Does the hand of disease fasten upon a loved form, wasting its strength and beauty?  A  holy place is the
chamber of sickness, when its occupant is a follower of
the Lord Jesus; for religion makes it not so much the
verge of the grave as the threshold of heaven. Its walls
may echo many a sigh, but the submissive tribute also
goes up, "Thy will be done!"-and when the dreaded
blow falls on the stricken group, it falls not like a thunderbolt, crushing every hope, and filling all hearts with
terror, but like the gentle summer cloud that descends
with a blessing in its bosom.  " It is the Lord," goes from
lip to lip, and the sad parting only quickens the efforts,
and renews the diligence of those that remain, that they
may not fail to greet the departed in the home and family
above.
But not only does religion constitute the only true
happiness of the family; it also, and as a necessary
means to that end, secures its fidelity in duty. It makes
better parents, more dutiful children, more faithful husbands and wives, more kind and affectionate brothers and
sisters. It gives sanction to parental authority, and efficacy to its example and instruction; imparts the spirit
of reverence and obedience to the minds of the young;
and clothes with success the whole system of means that
are employed in rearing them  for the Lord.  This it
does by affording the most powerful motives to right conduct upon the part of each and every member of the
15




170            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
household. Let a parent be animated by no higher aims
than this world affords, and he can scarcely resist the
temptation to sacrifice moral duty to temporal interest,
and to be faithless in the discharge of those obligations
which in any way conflict with his views of worldly aggrandizement.  For instance, we cannot look for correct
instruction and discipline upon the part of one who listens
rather to the voice of custom than that of God, and who
had rather see his children applauded by fashion's votaries, than by the Judge of quick and dead. So, too, he
whose whole course of life is bent towards the accumulation of earthly riches, is ill qualified to point his children,
either by word or example, to "treasures in heaven."
Upon the other hand, the child, who has no motive for
obedience other than the parent's word of authority, or
the fear of chastisement, is more likely to rebel against
him, than the one whose mind is plied with the incentives
of piety, and the commands of God. We are forced to
the conclusion that if we would rightly discharge the
duties or enjoy the comforts of the family, it must be
through the instrumentality of religion.  Its worth,
therefore, can only be measured by the worth of the family when rightly conducted, and by the endless results
of blessedness which it is intended, in the mind of its
Originator, to work out.
A slight view of those results will show that the value
of family religion is far beyond the power of the human
mind to conceive or of pen to describe. For, in its true
idea, as influencing every member, and including both
parents and children in the ark of the covenant, it is
nothing less than family salvation! This is its object,




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           171
and this, when it fulfils its whole mission, is its fruit.
What a stupendous blessing!-the enclosing of the
whole domestic circle in the arms of saving mercy, all
being washed in the blood of Christ, and renewed by the
Holy Spirit, and together made " meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light!" If he is not
profited who "gains the whole world and loses his soul,"
how vast must be the worth of a family of souls, all saved
from wrath and made co-heirs of endless life! Eternity
alone can teach us what a priceless treasure those parents possess who open wide their homes and their hearts
to the appeals of piety; and who, by God's blessing upon
their labours, are the means of adding all the children
whom God has given them  as jewels to the Saviour's
crown.  Imagine the blissful scene which is no doubt in
reserve for many a "household of faith" in the heavenly
world, of the glorified parent standing in the midst of a
happy group whom he had led with earnest prayers and
counsels to the mansions above, exclaiming, as when
upon earth they surrounded the family altar after a night
of slumber, "we are all here!"  "Behold, here am I
and the children whom God hath given me."  And in
the new wave of grateful melody that sweeps from their
harps of gold to the throne of the Redeemer, you may
hear a tribute, which all eternity will not exhaust, to the
value of religion in the family.
II. ITS DIFFICULTIES.-The remark is often made,
that it is very easy to theorize upon the subject of family duties and responsibilities, but exceedingly difficult
to put our theories in practice. So far as this statement
holds good in regard to every class of moral obligations,




172             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
we cannot deny its applicability to this one. It is always easier to prescribe duty than faithfully to discharge
it,-"easier to preach than to practise."  Yet it remains to be proved that the difficulties of family religion
are any greater than those that beset the application of
religion to any other sphere of life. Certainly they are
not so vast or insuperable as to be for a moment comp'ared with what we have seen to be its value.
1. One of its chief difficulties is found in the temptations that are peculiar to the home and fireside. What
engrossing cares-what frequent trials of temper and of
patience-what a succession of trivial disturbances to
the even tenor of duty,-and what absorbing pleasures, mark this little world! Is it possible, it may be
asked, to maintain under such circumstances that calm
and equable frame of mind which characterizes true piety?
Is not the task of contending against this combination
of adverse influences, well nigh hopeless? We candidly
admit that it is no slight thing to carry out the demands
of religion in the face of so many temptations, and that
the family who would follow Christ must, like the individual disciple, deny itself, and take up its cross. It is
to be expected that the enemy of souls will intrude into
that spot where characters are formed and habits moulded,
and that he will not permit human hearts, in that period when they are the most susceptible to good or evil
influences, to be wrested from him without a struggle.
He therefore presses his warfare amid the sanctities of
the domestic circle, and makes of even the Christian
home a battle-ground whose every inch he disputes with
our Maker.  He gives to its cares a distracting charac



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           173
ter, and would trouble the parent about the "many
things" that may seem lawfully to engage his attention,
until, like Martha, he forgets the "one thing" that "is
needful."
Yet this difficulty is by no means as formidable as
may appear to the casual observer. The very trials incident to the family relation may be made to subserve,
instead of retard, its spiritual interests, provided only
that they be sanctified by piety, and pervaded by the
spirit of the gospel.  Besides this, none will contend
that the obstacles to religion are nearly as great in the
bosom of the family, as they are in the world without.
Difficult as may seem the task of exerting right influences over the child in his home, is it not far more so to
wield them over the mind that has become entangled in
the excitements of mature life?  Granting, therefore,
the alleged obstacles to exist, even to a greater degree
than is claimed by any, it is still the part of wisdom to
use every endeavour to overcome them, for the reason
that they will rather augment than diminish by the
lapse of years.
Perhaps one reason why they are not oftener overcome
may be found in the partial efforts which many are satisfied to put forth. There are those who think to compromise with this class of difficulties, imagining that it
will be easier to achieve a half way victory over them,
than one that is more complete. Nothing, however, is to
be gained by attempts at dividing the burden of religious
obligation with the world. Let the most thorough, pervasive piety be aimed at-one that shall extend to the
trifles of each passing moment, equally with events of
15 *




174            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
magnitude, and that shall be woven into the web of daily
life, influencing alike the grave cares of the parent, and
the petty trials of the child; and, as we proceed, these
obstacles will one by one vanish, or be converted by sanctifying grace into valuable aids to the work with which
they had seemingly conflicted. Strength is gained by
repeated and hard fought victories, and piety in the family, as in the individual, obtains a stronger hold, and
shines with a brighter lustre, for the very obstacles with
which it has had to contend.
One of the most common difficulties in the way of family religion, arising from thesource under consideration, is thus ably presenti,   Rev. Dr. Nehemiah
Adams, in his work on "The Communion Sabbath."
" The distance between members of the same family with
regard to religious conversation and communion-the
common saying and feeling,'I can talk with every one
else more freely than I can with those of my own family,' is
owing very much to consciousness of inconsistency in
little things which is recognized at home, and to those little differences, or faults, or trespasses which make the
thought of communing together in spiritual things repulsive. Strangers do not know these easily-besetting sins.
But if we, members of the same family, seek sweet counsel together; if brothers, if sisters would accustom themselves to pray together; if during some heavy calamity
which has fallen on the house, or under the influence
of some great blessing, they should begin this practice,
and while their hearts are under the subduing influences
of sorrow or joy, they should together seek God, and become attached as Christians by such communion with




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           175
each other and with Christ, these petty inconsistencies
would be greatly prevented; there would be Christian
friendship in families, beautiful and strong; and that
sad distance and alienation which too often exists among
the children of a family, and extends through life, would
be exchanged for that unity which is described by inspiration as'good and pleasant.' "
2. Another frequent source of difficulty is found in
the want of cooperation upon the part of some member of
the family.
Instances are by no means rare, in which either the
father or mother is com  iled to labour alone for the attainment of this endllK  is a serious obstacle.  The
position of the Christian parent who has not the sympathy
and assistance of his or her companion in this work, is
sad in the extreme, and greatly to be commiserated.
Especially hard does it seem, when the irreligious parent openly opposes the other's efforts, and by both
counsel and example endeavours to thwart them. Here,
truly, is need of strong faith and earnest resolution.
Can family religion be secured under such adverse influences?
This difficulty, so far from discouraging the parent,
ought rather to redouble those efforts which God is accustomed to bless to the end in view. The want of
human sympathy and cooperation should drive us the
more closely to the throne and the heart of Jests, and
deepen our sense of dependence upon God. Especially
should it incite to persevering endeavours for the conversion of the irreligious one, and the enlisting of his or her
example upon the side of piety. The task may be ardu



176            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
ous and protracted, yet if crowned, as in many instances
it is, with success, it for that very reason issues in a
purer and holier joy. So far as regards the offspring of
a family thus divided, God graciously enfolds them in the
covenant with his people, and does not permit the unbelief of the one parent to deprive them of the benefits of
the other's faith. Thus Paul declares, " The unbelieving
husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving
wife is sanctified by the husband; else were your children
unclean," (i. e., without the pale of the church,) " but now
are they holy," (i. e., consecrated, sustaining a relation
to God and his church.) 1 Cor. vii. 14. The believing
parent, then, who is so situated, may still plead the promise of the covenant in regard to his children, and pray
for their conversion in the faith that it will be granted.
Instances are not unfrequent in which such faith has
been crowned with signal success.  Often has the devoted mother, toiling and praying for years, alone and
single handed, been permitted to see one and another of her
children, and the partner of her life, enfolded in the flock
of the good Shepherd.  And here we cannot but remark
that of those parents who are divided upon the subject
of religion, the piety is generally upon the side of the mother-a circumstance which we may regard as not wholly
without design; for it is the mother who, in the early
and more susceptible years of childhood, wields the most
powerful influence, and who possesses the most favourable opportunities for directing the mind towards heaven.
A beautiful triumph of faith over this kind of discouragement is related of a mother who was for many




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            177
years the only Christian in the family, her husband and
nine children giving no evidence of piety. Instead of
yielding to the current, under the plea that resistance
would be unavailing, she felt that God had committed
to her trust ten unconverted souls; and that if any were
lost, it should not be through her neglect of duty. She
aimed, first of all, At leading a holy, consistent life, and
also improved every opportunity for instruction and tender warning.  Her chief reliance, however, was upon
fervent, believing prayer.  She presented each child
separately before the throne of grace, and in due time,
she prevailed with God.  The first convert was her
eldest daughter; the two eldest sons followed soon after;
and successively the whole of the nine children made a
profession of faith. Yet amid all the grateful joy of
that mother's heart, one sorrow for a season remained —
the husband. and father was still impenitent. He was
now advancing in years, and had begun to form  the
habit of intemperance. Might not his harvest be past?
The faithful wife resolved upon one final effort. After
a night of anguished supplication, she plead once more
with her husband, reminded him of her many prayers
for him, of their children's conversion, and of his probable separation from her in eternity-adding, " Do, this
moment, seek the salvation of your soul!"   He replied with significant emphasis, " I will!" and in a few
days that family circle was complete in Christ, for the
father had passed " from death unto life."  " The praying mother still lives," continues the narrator of this incident;' she has seen her children connected with pious
families, and listened to some of them as preachers of




178            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
the gospel.  Most of her grand-children are members
of the church, one a missionary to a foreign land, and
for each of the unconverted she continues the daily
prayer.
Let none, then, regard this difficulty as insuperable,
or hesitate to grapple with it, in reliance upon infinite
grace. Faith can remove even this "mountain." "With
God all things are possible."
3. Not to specify other and lesser difficulties that are
involved in the attainment of the end in view, we may
include them all under one, the depravity and opposition
of the human heart.
It is this that opposes the great barrier to religion,
whether in the individual, society, or the race at large,
and into this, at last, every other obstacle must be resolved.  It causes the commands of God to grate upon
the unsanctified ear; it arrays the heart against him
who would bless it with his love; it gives to the world
its charm, to sin its sweetness, and to piety its fancied
gloom.  It lies at the root of both parental and filial unfaithfulness, and until it be eradicated by converting
grace, effectually opposes the end of the family relation.
Man has no natural relish for piety. Even the little
child, in all his comparative innocence and purity, is
averse to it, and his heart is "enmity against God."
Here, then, in the very nature of the beings whom we
endeavour to influence, lies the most formidable hinderance to the duties which we have contemplated. If regarded from  a merely human point of view, it is not
only difficult to overcome this-it is impossible. No in



OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            179
strumentality that is less than Divine can conform the
hearts of old or young to the dictates of religion. Yet
to those who faithfully employ the'allotted means, and
especially that of fervent prayer, is given the promise
of an Almighty power, that is stronger than our depravity
and rebellion, and which engages to second our efforts
and crown them with success.
This greatest of all difficulties, then, is one that may
be surmounted.  And this being the case, what is there
left to stagger our faith, or paralyze our efforts? For,
if Divine grace be at hand to renew the sinful soul, and
make it a "new creature" in Christ Jesus, it surely is
equal to the removal of all lesser obstacles to piety in
the family.  The power that can convert a child of
wrath, in answer to believing prayer, can readily remove
the most powerful hinderances to its conversion, can overcome the example of an irreligious parent or friend, can
drown the voice of the world, and of temptation, can
counteract all adverse influences, and enable the Christian successfully to combat them.
Thus does our view of the root of all difficulties upon
this subject, remind us of the source of all power wherewith to contend with them.  There is, then, no reason
for discouragement.  Faith may be tried, and the heart
sometimes despond, and circumstances may appear peculiarly unfavourable to our hopes, but let the Christian rest
upon the sure word of promise, and derive courage from
on high. Let him look rather at duty than at difficulty,
and at the blessed result rather than the arduous means,
and he need never despair.




180             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
"Faith, precious faith, the promise sees,
And looks at that alone;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries, It shall be done."
III. ITS AIDS.-While the enemy of all religion is
heaping obstacles in the way of its practice, its Divine
Author affords us many aids towards discharging its duties and securing its blessings.  The different means
provided to this end have already been noticed. It only
remains that we specify some valuable auxiliaries which
come more appropriately under pur present head of
discussion.
1. One of these is a careful attention to the early habits of the family.
These are to a great degree under the control of the
parent, and should ever be made to harmonize with the
requirements of religion. Thus, children may early be
accustomed to pray, to read the Scriptures, to attend
upon family worship, and upon the services of the sanctuary,-all of which will tend powerfully towards keeping the claims of God before their minds, and impressing
them with their importance. Upon the other hand, if carelessly permitted to grow up in the neglect of these duties,
it will be difficult to habituate them to their observance
in after years.  We are all "creatures of habit," and
God does not often reverse that principle of our constitution which makes us such, bit requires that we improve it in furtherance of the spiritual interests of
ourselves and others. Constant care is requisite, in order
to render it conducive to this end upon the part of the
family; for, as every one is aware, it is far more difficult




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           181
to conquer wrong habits than to form right ones at the
outset.
The Christian parent, therefore, should carefully watch
over his children in this respect.  Regarding them in
their true character as members of the church, and as
consecrated to the Divine service, he should guard against
their indulgence in any thing that is inconsistent with
this solemn relationship, or prejudicial to true piety.
For instance, what a blow is inflicted upon the moral
character of the child or youth who is thoughtlessly permitted to associate with evil companions, and to join in
their career of idleness or dissipation! What probability is there of serious impressions being retained for
any length of time by those who frequent the giddy
dancing-school, the soul-enervating ball-room, the demoralizing circus, or the theatre! The practice of attending upon such places is generally formed, and the
taste for them acquired, while under the eye of the parent; and a judicious exercise of authority will generally
suffice to turn the mind to more wholesome and legitimate sources of entertainment.  Many a one who has
fallen a victim to parental indifference, has bitterly lamented that he was not more carefully guarded upon
this point; and in some instances, perhaps in many,
dying souls have attributed their perdition to the mistaken kindness which indulged their youthful follies.
Says a venerable divine, " I was called in the early part
of my ministry to stand beside the bed of a beautiful
young mother, whose life was fast ebbing away. Anguish, deep, hopeless anguish was riveted on her countenance.  I asked her if she was willing that I should pray
16




182             THI  CH1RISTIAN   ROUP)
with her.  Her reply was,'I have no objection, but
prayers will be of no avail now; it is too late, too late;
Imust die; lam lost! lost for ever!'  I prayed earnestly
with her, but her hard heart was untouched; there was
in it no fountain of love to its Maker, and it was'too
late.' She had been, at a very early period of life, seriously impressed,'but,' said she,'my mother sent me
to the dancing-school, and I danced all my convictions
away.'  As she lived, so did she die,-without Christ in
the world."
It may seem a trifling matter to allow a child for once
to mingle in the society of the wicked and profane, or to
taste the tempting wine, or to visit scenes of unchristian
amusement; but let the parent reflect that it is more
difficult to prevent the second step than the first, and
that the child whose principles are not yet matured, and
whose impulses have not been modified by experience,
will quickly acquire those habits which may yet master
him, body and soul, and ruin his prospects for eternity.
" The clay is moist and soft; now, now make haste,
And form the pitcher, for the wheel turns fast."
And " the pitcher, once formed, may be more easily broken than altered."
2. As an important aid towards securing family religion, diligent attention should be paid to the reading of
the family.
The present age is prolific in literature for the young;
and while furnishing much that is of a good tendency, it
also provides a great deal whose influence is only evil.
The character of books intended for the nursery has, of




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           183
late years, changed greatly for the better; yet the wild
romances of past generations, founded upon scenes that
are not only imaginary but impossible, still form, to too
great an extent, the standard tales of childhood. It
appears to be taken for granted in them that the infant
mind is capable only of being amused, not instructed,
and that there can be no harm in filling it with mere figments of the imagination-things that never existed, and
scenes that could never have occurred.
Yet, is it no injury to the child to be entertained with
tales which have no correspondence with real life, and
which only excite and feed a morbid imagination? Is it
not a serious thing for the sentiment of truthfulness to
receive such early and repeated shocks, and for the child
to be led to believe that he must go beyond the actual
world to a kind of dream-land, filled with ghosts, giants,
and hobgoblins, for his mind's proper food?  Says Dr.
Thomas Dick, " When the young mind is just beginning
to expand, instead of being irradiated with the beams of
unadulterated truth, a group of distorted and unsubstantial images, which have no prototypes in nature, is presented to the view of the intellect, as the groundwork
of its future progress in wisdom and knowledge." After
enumerating a few of them, such as Blue Beard, Cinderella, Tom Thumb, Jack the Giant Killer, etc., the same
author proceeds: " And what are the great objects they
are calculated to accomplish?  To exhibit distorted
views of human nature and of society, to foster superstition, to inspire the minds of theyoung with an inordinate
desire after worldly honour and distinction, to set before
them as an ultimate object the splendour of riding in a




184            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
coach and six, and to familiarize their minds with chivalrous exploits, and scenes of butchery and revenge."
Happily, the present generation of children are not
dependent upon this worthless nursery literature. Christian writers have vied with each other in ministering to
their amusement in a way that shall profit instead of demoralizing them, and attractive books are at hand which
the parent may safely place before the young, with no
fear of injury either to their minds or morals.
At least equal care should be taken to provide healthful and instructive reading for those who have passed the
years of childhood.  The press teems with a class of
works whose influence is highly prejudicial to a right
mental or moral culture upon the part of their readers.
Most of the popular novels of the day are a fruitful
source of injury to those who indulge in their perusal, and
ought to be banished from every family which recognizes
the Bible as its law. Besides their enervating effect
upon the mind, and their unhealthy excitement of the imagination, they are apt to beget a familiarity with crime,
and a false sympathy with the criminal and the vicious.
They also excite wrong views of life, and tend to disqualify their readers for its grave realities.  Worse than
all, they are apt to exalt the dreams of fiction above the
pure truths of revelation, and to give a distaste for the
pages of the " Book of books."  Like every other wrong
habit, this one has been known to lead its votaries to ruin.
By frequent indulgence it grows to be a passion as strong
and irresistible as that of the drunkard for his cups, or
the gambler for his cards. An instance was recently
brought to light in which the misery and destitution of




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           185
an entire family in England was clearly traced by the
authorities to the ungovernable passion of the wife and
mother for novel reading.  Though the husband was
sober and industrious, the wife thus became indolent and
neglectful of her family, until one daughter fled from
home and entered the haunts of vice, while another was
found by the police, chained in the house, to prevent
her from following her sister's example. And there, in
the midst of filth and indigence, sat this cause of it, reading the latest "sensation book" of the season!
Such is its tendency.  It is a foe to the healthful
action of the mind or heart, an enemy to peace, and especially to religion. Let the parent guard his children
at this point, and place in their hands judicious selections
from religious and instructive literature; and while not
denying them occasional works of an entertaining character, let them be such as are not unprofitable.  A
proper attention to the wants of the family in this particular will assist materially in the preservation of correct morals, and the prevalence of religion among its
members.
3. Another powerful aid to the Christian parent is
the Sabbath-school.
While affording no substitute for the instructions of
the fireside, this is yet, when rightly improved, a most
powerful auxiliary to them. It provides a thorough and
systematic course of instruction in sacred truth, under
circumstances that are peculiarly calculated to interest
the youthful mind.  The holy day, the assembled numbers, the concert of study and recitation, the chorus of
childish voices joining in appropriate hymns, and the
16*




186            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
kind words of the beloved teacher-all combine to invest
the Sabbath-school with powerful attractions.  Most
children learn to love it as one of their chief pleasures,
and look forward to it with impatience. Whether it
shall accomplish its end in them or not, depends much
upon their parents.  The most faithful teacher, who is
deprived of their cooperation, labours under a great disadvantage.  Care should therefore be taken that children be prepared at home for deriving the utmost benefit
from this institution.
The history of the Sabbath-school in this country has
amply demonstrated its value as a help to the appropriate work of the Christian family. It has been blessed
to the conversion of large multitudes of the rising generation, both of those born within and without the pale
of the church. So manifestly does it bear the stamp of
the Divine approval, and so general is the recognition of
its usefulness, that it requires no lengthened advocacy at
our hands.  It is perhaps enough for our purpose to
name it, and pass on.
Other aids to the object before us might be suggested,
but they will readily occur to one who earnestly engages
in the duties of the family relation. Every proper and
legitimate means of influence should be seized upon, and
made tributary to religion. Slight aids ought not to be
overlooked, nor should anything be deemed trivial that
tends to promote so valuable an end. The little hymn,
learned at a mother's knee, may furnish material for many
a serious reflection. The verse of Scripture, recited, as
was the commendable practice of the early Christians, at
the morning meal, may afford solace for a dying hour.




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.                 187
We know not what means God may bless, and  therefore
it only remains that we diligently improve them all:
" And as the bird each fond endearment tries,
To tempt her new-fledged offspring to the skies;
Employ each art; reprove each dull delay;
Allure to brighter worlds, and lead the way."




188            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
CHAPTER X.
PLEAS FOR NEGLECT AND DELINQUENCIES, DISCUSSED AND
REFUTED.
IN view of the importance and binding character of
family religion, it might safely be assumed that no plea
can justify its neglect. The bare fact that it is enjoined
by Him who has the right to impose it, would seem to be
enough to answer every objection, and to leave its neglecter without excuse. For the most plausible of pretexts cannot divest the evasion of these duties of its true
character of disobedience to God. Yet as, in our Lord's
day, those bidden to the gospel feast " began with one
consent to make excuse," it is not surprising that there
should now be those who claim an exemption from the
obligations and privileges that have passed in review before us. Let us notice a few of the most common pleas
for such delinquency.
1. It is affirmed by some that the burden of worldly
cares renders it impossible for them to attend to the religious interests of the household. It is necessary, say
they, that we provide for the temporal wants of those




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            189
dependent upon us, and if we do this, no time is left for
promoting their spiritual good.
Fully admitting the necessity of those anxieties and
toils that relate to the sustenance of the family, we still
ask whether at least an equal necessity does not exift
for their being supplied with the soul's proper food; and
whether there is any warrant for thus sacrificing the
spiritual to the corporeal, and the eternal to the temporal? What would be thought of the parent who should
permit his family to suffer hunger, cold, and nakedness,
upon the plea that he must provide for their wants as
moral beings, and has no time left in which to feed and
clothe their bodies? Such an instance, it may be said,
was never known to exist; yet when we contrast the
value of the spiritual with that of the temporal, ought we
not to conclude that if either interest must suffer, it ought
rather to be the latter than the former?
There is, however, no need of their thus conflicting;
and we should beware how we thus charge our neglect
of duty upon the providence of God.  It may be questioned whether any care which really hinders the parent
in his appointed work is not self-imposed, and, so far as
it tends to the neglect of higher obligations, unwarranted.
For instance, God nowhere requires that we expend our
time and strength in order to secure the mere luxuries
of life, or to meet the demands of fashionable extravagance, or to maintain a certain social position; but he
does require that we train our children "in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord," and that we meet the demands of the family constitution.  And can there be
any question as to which class of obligations is the high



190            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
est, those of worldly custom, or the law of God? It is,
however, rather the excess of warrantable cares that is
urged in justification of this neglect, and herein consists
the chief plausibility of the plea. How, it is asked, can
the father, who toils early and late to earn bread for his
children, or the mother, busied in constant household
duties, be expected to devote much attention to the
claims of piety in the family?
This, it must be admitted, is at first sight a serious
difficulty; and we cannot withhold the tribute of sympathy from those who labour under it. Yet observation
will show that, so far from its being insurmountable, religion generally shines the most brightly in that class of
families whose circumstances allow them but little leisure,
while the home that is marked by freedom from worldly
anxiety seems not thereby to be in a state any the more
favourable to piety. In fact, a proper degree of industry is an important requisite of religion, and tends much
more to the development of an earnest Christian character than a life of indolence. In addition to this, let it
be borne in mind that the tendency of religion is rather
to lighten than increase the burden of care, and this
plea for its neglect becomes a powerful argument in its
favour.
2. A common plea for neglecting one of the most important of these duties is, " I cannot pray in my family.
I am too diffident," or, "I have not time," or "I cannot
conduct such an exercise to edification."
Yet, are such as would thus excuse themselves, too
timid to ask others for that which will promote the temporal good of their children? Or does their modesty




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.            191
ever form a bar to social enjoyment? And what is there,
we ask, in his own household, that should cause the parent to shrink from leading them in daily devotion? If
it is the fear of criticism, the dread that his children or
friends will sit in judgment upon his words, this is but
an ignoble motive to sway a Christian man, and deter
him, day after day, from  acknowledged duty.  Such a
one may rather blush at the weakness which he thus displays, and the dishonour thus reflected upon the name
that he professes. The fear of God ought certainly to
preponderate over the fear of man, and, viewed in its
true aspect, it savours more of pride than humility to
make use of this frequent plea. Much as any may fear
to undertake the duty of family worship, they should be
still more afraid to neglect it. All can pray to God who
can converse with their friends; and though the petition
be not always clothed in the most polished diction, it may
yet express acceptably the heart's earnest longings, and
become that " effectual, fervent prayer," which " availeth
much.'
Were this excuse to be applied, as with equal reason
it might be, to other branches of religious duty, to what
consequences would it lead us?  With no less propriety
it might deter the preacher from opening his lips in the
pulpit, and might seal the voice of the Christian in the
prayer meeting, or in conversation with the ungodly,
and of the teacher in the Sabbath-school. It is a temptation of the adversary, and as such should be strenuously
resisted and overcome. The chief difficulty lies in the
first effort. If this be resolutely made, in reliance upon
infinite grace, the parent will soon find that which




192            TIE CHRISTIAN HOME,
he had so long dreaded, to be an easy and delightful
task.
The plea of a want of time for this and kindred duties,
requires only a passing notice.  For, why is time given
us, if not that it may be improved for the divine glory in
promoting the end of our existence, whether as individuals or as families? Every precious moment, as it comes
and goes, is the gift of God, and to him it should be
consecrated. He does indeed afford us hours for toil,
and needed relaxation, but we have no right to appropriate
it all to selfish purposes. To do this, is to rob our Maker of his own, and to rob our families, and indeed ourselves, of inestimable blessings. That time cannot be
called gained, but it is rather lost, which is stolen from
the claims of religion. There is deep significance in the
saying of Matthew  Henry, "Prayers and provender
never hinder a journey."
3. The plea is sometimes urged, that there are instances of the conversion of children without any special effort
upon the part of their parents.
That God is pleased, in some cases, to avert the disastrous consequences of wrong doing, affords no palliation
for that wrong.  Such, however, is not the ordinary
method of the Divine government.  Where he has connected a certain means with a given end, he teaches us
that we can only expect that end in the use of the appointed means.  Most remarkably is this principle illustrated in the family. It is governed by natural laws,
which are not unlike those of seed-time and harvest, one of
which is, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap."  And the young heart is a field in which the




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           193
parent is always sowing seed of one kind or another.
He cannot help doing so; and if by his active efforts he
do not implant the good seed, he is, by his very neglect,
sowing thorns and thistles, and the harvest will be accordingly. He therefore runs a fearful risk who wastes
and perverts the spring-time of those entrusted to him,
in the vague hope that God may yet make amends for
his negligence. Certainly such have no warrant for the
faith that their children will be converted, but have
every reason to expect the contrary.
4. Others adduce a plea of an opposite character in
justification of parental neglect, namely, that the greatest
faithfulness sometimes fails of its end.
We hesitate not to affirm that the truth of this assertion has never been proved.  To say that the children
of those who were eminently pious do sometimes become
open and bold transgressors, does not establish it; for
until it be shown that their piety was not deficient in the
particular of home duties, the whole course of the Divine
government warrants us in maintaining that their ill success is chargeable rather to themselves than God. It is
not always the piety that attracts the most attention
abroad, that exerts the most influence in the family.
While we would not be understood as pronouncing harsh
judgment upon any, we may be permitted to suggest
that the very activity in outward religious duties which
commands public attention and admiration, is sometimes practised at the expense of those pertaining to the
family.  The Christian parent may be unconscious of
his mistake, and animated only by worthy and conscientious motives; yet it will be seen that that which renders
17




194             THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
him prominent as a Christian may thus be the reason of
a negligence in the discharge of home obligations, which
will sufficiently account for the sinful career of his children. These two classes of duty need not, indeed, conflict, yet the fact that they sometimes do, will be evident
to every careful observer, and will afford a sufficient
reason for the ill-success in their homes, of some who are
esteemed " eminent" in piety.
There is an old cavil which is often repeated, to the
effect that ministers' and deacons' children do not generally
follow in the footsteps of their fathers. Happily, this has
been refuted by the most conclusive evidence. A gentleman who was anxious to arrive at the truth upon this
much vexed subject, took pains to collect voluminous statistics, of which the following is the published result: " In two
hundred and forty-one families of ministers and deacons,
there were eleven hundred and sixty-four children over
fifteen years of age. Of these children, eight hundred
and fourteen-more than three-fourths-were hopefully
pious; seven hundred and thirty-two had united with the
church; fifty-seven had entered the ministry, or were engaged in their preparatory studies; and only fourteen
were dissipated, about one-half of whom only became so
while residing with their parents. In twenty-seven of
those families, there were one hundred twenty-three
children, all of whom but seven were hopefully pious;
seven of them were deacons, and fifteen ministers. In
fifty-six of those families, there were two hundred and
forty-nine children over fifteen years of age, and all were
hopefullypious."  To this may be added the testimony
of Dr. Sprague's "Annals of the American Pulpit."




OR RELIGION IN THE FAMILY.           195
Of the sons of one hundred ministers whose lives he has
recorded, over one hundred and ten became ministers.
The case of Aaron Burr, whose parents and grandparents were eminently pious, has sometimes been quoted
as a dark and mysterious one. For many years the history of that profligate "child of the covenant" seemed
almost to stagger the faith of some who were familiar
with it, and to afford strong warrant for the plea we are
now considering.  But mark how in this instance, which
was becoming historic, God interposed to vindicate his
faithfulness. The testimony of the eldest son of President Edwards, which we have already introduced in another connection,* has within a few years come to light,
and shown conclusively that Burr, who was early left an
orphan, was   suffered to grow up" undisciplined, and
without that government and training which God's word
enjoins as indispensable to parental faithfulness.
In view of the foregoing facts and considerations, the
strongest warrant is afforded us for expecting a blessing
upon fidelity in the family. Parental faithfulness is, indeed, never what it should be, and we have as frequent
need of the Divine forgiveness for our short-comings in
this, as in other respects. Yet God bears with our infirmities, assists our feeble efforts, and generally guides
them to a happy issue. True, he does sometimes try his
people's faith by delaying the blessing, but he does not
therefore forget his covenant. For mysterious reasons,
he may permit the parent to die with his prayers unanswered; yet even then he can sustain his hopes that the
answer will not always be deferred.
* Page 50.




196            THE CHRISTIAN HOME,
A remarkable instance of faith thus triumphing over
discouragement was narrated by the late Dr. Archibald
Alexander.  Conversing with an aged Christian, an
elder, upon the efficacy of prayer, the old man informed
him that his eldest son, who was a lawyer of some eminence, and of unblemished moral character, was yet unconcerned about his own salvation.  "But," said he,
"I have had such nearness to God, and such liberty in
prayer for his conversion, that I believe those prayers
will be answered in due time, whether I live to see it or
not."  Soon afterwards the old elder was gathered to
his fathers. The son of so many prayers fell into habits
of intemperance, and "in fact, became a mere sot, remaining at home and stupefying himself with alcoholic
drinks every day.  Such a case," continues the narrator, " appeared to me nearly hopeless. I have seldom
known a man thus brought under the power of strong
drink to recover himself. * * * But, behold the truth
and faithfulness of a prayer-hearing God. This man,
after continuing in intemperate habits until the age of
seventy or more, became completely reclaimed; and not
only delivered from that vice, but converted to God. He
not only gave evidence of a change, but appeared to be
eminent in the practice of piety. At this time he was
about eighty years of age. How wonderful are the ways
of God!  His faithfulness never faileth; it reacheth
unto the clouds.'Thy faithfulness is unto all generations!' "
We have characterized this instance as remarkable,yet, after all, is it not in keeping with the known course
of God's dealings with his people? The history of the




OR RELIGION IN- THE FAMILY.          197
church abounds in attestations of the same divine faithfulness as rewarding a proper degree of fidelity upon the
part of Christian parents, and affords all the encouragement that the most trembling heart could desire, to labour and pray for religion in the family.
In refuting the plea before us, then, we are legitimately
conducted to a powerful motive to earnest confidence
and hope.  "He is faithful that hath promised, who also
will do it."  Cast thyself, O parent, upon the sure
word of Jehovah!  Let faith take strong hold of the
covenant, for it is "well ordered in all things, and sure!"
Endeavouring fully to realize the vastness of the blessing
and the divine efficacy of the means, aim at the utmost diligence in that work which surpasses every other in importance,-the training of immortal souls for the Divine
service and glory, —" forasmuch as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord." We live in a dying
world. We are all, whether parents or children, but
"pilgrims and strangers" in the earth.  Time flies apace,
and swiftly bears us beyond these scenes of present duty.
Let it be so improved that the union of loved hearts upon
earth shall be typical of a closer and more holy fellowship hereafter. Then, though there be sad partings, as
one by one the family is transferred to the upper household, the separation shall be but temporary,-the reunion
eternal.
Precious and delightful are those scenes that often
occur in the earthly family, when its scattered members
meet in some dear old homestead, from which some of
them have long been separated, and hold sweet intercourse together; but far more blissful will be the final
17 *




198            THE CHRISTIAN HOME.
gathering of the Christian family in the upper home,
when neither father nor mother, son nor daughter shall
be absent, but their voices shall blend in anthems of praise,
and hand be linked in hand as they tread the banks of
the " river of the water of life," never more to be parted.
Then, amid songs and smiles of rapture shall be seen the
culmination and reward of that RELIGION IN THE FAMILY
which was here nurtured amid tears and prayers; as,
with a holier love than ever before, they worship their
common Father, and with a sweeter, richer sympathy
than they had known upon earth, delight in one another's
companionship, in " the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."