Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-11-12
FAMILY WORSHIP.

No doubt every age, like every individual,
has its besettng sin. Or rather, to speak
more correctly, every age, like every individ-
ual, is more addicted to some particular sin
than any other. Nations have their besetting
sins. The besetting sin of Americans is said
to be profanity; of the English, drunkenness ;
of the French, lewdness and of the Germans,
scepticism. Particular sius mark epochs in
the history of the church. The besetting sin
of the church in our day, and in our country,
is the neglect of family religion BY the word
church, we designate those including all pro-
fessed Christians and by family religion we
mean what is frequently and very appropri-
ately called family worship or family pray
ers To say that every member Of the church
who, if he be the head of a family, does not
pray with and for them, is not Christian, is
conclusion to which charity bids us not to
come. TO brand such individuals as hypo-
critics and selfdeceived persons, would, we
humbly hope, be false This much may safe
ly be said. Every head of a family who neg
lects to pray formally with and for his family,
is not discharging his whole duty, and is de-
priving himself and his family of great
privilege. The head of family who neg
lects to enjoy the precious privilege which
God, in his providence and grace, puts within
the reach of all men, is planting thorns and
thistles in his pillow which may pierce his
soul on a dying couch. Not only SO, but
when such a man goes the way of all the
earth, weeping friends cannot have that full
and comforting hope that they might have
had had he been man of prayer in his fam
lily. GAS for me and my house, said Joshua,
we will serve the Lord" This is the resolve
which is put into practice by every man
whose piety is eminently great. The man
who has no family religion, may have some
piety; but tits not of that marked kind which
makes an individual live by faith and not by
sight, Every parent, and especially every
Christian parent is deeply interested in the
welfare of the different members Of his house
hold. He is more interested in their eternal
than in their temporal welfare. God has so
ordered that blessings, both for the body and
the soul, both for time and eternity, are be.
slowed in answer to terveut prayer. "Ask
and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find,
knock and it shall be opened unto you" How
can the parent who does not pray enjoin it
upon his children to pray? He cannot do it.
1t would be commanding obedience to a pre-.
cept which was disregarded and broken in
practice.
Some parents who do not discharge the
duty of praying with and for their families,
are to be pitied. Naturally easily confused
and possessing but little confidence in them
selves, and at the same time dreading the
criticisms of others, they neglect to do what
they feel to be their duty, and what they in
aome sense desire to do. No doubt there are
many husbands and fathers who do not pray
because they are afraid they would be laughed
at by their wives and children, Such are to
be pitied. They permit their timidity and
modesty to carry them to fearful extent
They dread more the smiles of dear friends
than the frowns of an angry God. Surely
this is strange state of things. Is it not
wonderful that man would be afraid to pray
before his wife and children lest he be laugh
ed at? Is it not marvelously strange that
any wife would be so wickedly giddy as to
smile, even at any blunder her husband might
make, when praying for her and her dear
children? Is not that a deplorable state Of
things when children will laugh at the prayers
of q father? Can it be said that such fam
lily is eminently pious? No doubt such fam
! lilies are fearfully too numerous amongst pro
fessed Christians but truth demands it to be
said, that the fears entertained by husbands
and fathers, of being laughed at by their
wives and children are, in most cases, wholly
imaginary. The fault of not having family
religion in every professedly Christian faml
ly, lies, in most cases, upon the husband, and
not not upon the wife and children. There is moth
ing that wives generally respect more than the
piety of their husbands. There may be ex
ceptions to this statement, but they are few
A prayer meeting is always better attended
by females than by males, and we have every
reason to believe that there are more praying
mothers than praying fathers.