Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1836-01-28

For the Telegraph.
THOUGHTS ON FAMILY WOR,
SHIP.
Is family worship duty? Few pro-
fessors, it is believed, can be found, who
will seriously deny it to be so. Is it a
pririleee? No decidedly spiritual chris
: tan can doubt it. But fit be both duty
and a pririleSc, whence comes it, that in
almost all our churches, some, who are
heads of families, entirely DISREGARD it =
and that others only attend to it. while IN
der the influence of occasional and tempo
rarv religious excitement! You, Mr. Ed
itor, have travelled extensive Y over the
State of Vermont, and have had some op-
portunities to become acquainted with diff
ferent churches, here and elsewhere
Have you ever met with a church, in
which all the members who were heads OF
families, were accustomed to maintain reg
ular family worship? My own limited
observation leads me to suspect that such
churches, if they erlst are extremely rare
| am apprehensive, that in most of our
churches, fathers may be found, who nee,
er pray with their families; or who do it
onl y occasionally on the Sabbath; or,
what is still worse, who perform this SER
vice only when visited by sudden and vio-
lent parorysms of pious feeling, lasting
but few days or weeks, and with inter
walls Ofmonths and years between, should
be happy, indeed to know that this sus-
picion is groundess. Believing family
religion to be one of the most important
means and among the essential means OF
replenishing the church with conscien-
tious, decided, active, and useful members
| should be happy to believe that the dali
ly reading of the scri ptures, and prayer,
was IN general an established regulation
in every family, the master of which pro-
fesses to be christian Facts, however
within my own knowledge, forbid sc
pleasing hope.
Allow me to offer a few remarks or
this momentous subject, in the hope thai
other, and abler writer's may thus have
their attention directed to it.
There is perhaps no positive precept ir
the Bible, expressly enjoining upon chris
tians the observance of family Worship
In nv Judgment. however, there are ma
M passages, which clearly amply that it i:
both duty and a priOiIege At present
| will only advert to single class ofthcse
passa ces,-viz: such as refer to the ex
ample of eminent saints of old. OfAbra
ham, God was pleased to give the follow
ing honorable testimony: "For | know
him. that he will command his children
and his household after him, and they
shall keep the way of the Lord, to do jus
tice and judgment,-that the Lord may
bring upon Abra ham that which he hail
e spoken of him." The promise here re
S ferred to-, was the promise that Abraham
It should become great and mighty nation
= and that in his seed all the nations of tn
: Garth should be blessed; and it stand
/ connected with the fidelity of the patri
y arch in mentioning fomily religion. Cal
= it be. doubted that habitual prayer to Coo
d constituted part of that religion. Ca
- it be doubted that Abraham instructed hi
IL children and household in the duty {
- DrageY, and that he enforced his instruc
r tons BY his own example,? The prom
e. Use, however was not the only evidenc
Ne he had, that his conduct in this respect r.
lie ceived the divine appreciation. In add
10 ton to the assurance that the fruits of h
ID prayers and instructions should be man
I'd fest IN the Invaluable blessings ,whic
re would thence descend upon his pOsterit
he he realized present reward, in the mo-
Sc intimate communion with God, the mo-
- enlarged and explicit knowledge of ,
n designs, and the increased nearness ar
ed freedom of access to the throne of grac
v 10 which; by means of teithfutness In tn
Up particular, he was permitted to attain
i'd His diligence in commanding his chi
en dren and household after him in the rig
ay way, was expressly ssigned as the rease
it, why the Lord revealed to him his pu
nd fpose to condemn with an overthrow ID
n cities of Sodo7n and Gomorrha and tn
Ie revelation, it will be recollected, furnish
lat the occasion for the most striking instan
We of fervent and successful pleading wi
We God IN microscopy prayer, that has ev
en- Ebeen'Fecorded of amy mere man. II
"a limits of a newspaper article, forbid t
as full consideration Of every instructive
lP- ample of family religion in thes2ancIe
saints Were 1t otherwise, we mig
of proftably notice at length the conduct
ere Isaac and Jacob, who wherever they