The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-11-29
The PubliShmcnt OF Parental Sins,
BY I. c. CuYIER, d. u.

age - true rs to our own experience
but if we study carefully the word of
God, we can follow, rs it were, in the
wake Of many other voyages, and get
the benefit Of the light they cast upon
the waves
i'y striking occurrence we have two
domestic histories uniolded side by side.
One Is tie story OF wise parental training,
rs illustrated in the case of Elkanah and
Hannah. the father aud mother Of Sam
url The other is the tragic story OF
Eli, the father Of those two Escape
graccs," llophui and Phincas. This
latter story is beacon Of warning
against parental indulgence Of sins com
mttcd 10y those who are entrusted to us
As the trustees of their spiritual welfare.
The character Of Eli is singularly
compounded it is u combination of ex-
cellcnt traits and of most pitiablc weak
neSscs. The iron aud the clay are
strongly intermingled. II VIC look on
the best side Of the man, we discover the
following exccllcnccs. lie loved God 3
service, and gave himself to the duties
of tho high priest hood with diligence.
a rare magnanimity WAS shown by him
in references to the youthful Samuel.
Eli also had the courage to listen to
truth, even the most painful truth.
Eli also exhibited wonderfully beau.
iiiul submissivcness 10 the will of Gud
under mos; Eumilialng trial. ut is
the Lord let him do what scemeth him
good" We do not exaggcrate when We
affirm that, if looked ut only on tho
bright side Of his character, Eli would
be niIc of the most admirable men in the
Ola Testament picture gallery.
But the attractions OF tho bright side
only deepen the darkness of the dark
side. There was lamentable lack of
will-power. When warned of his weak.
nesscs and Of the calamities that would
follow them, he did not grasp hold OF
duty with resolutc hand and carry
it through with promptncss and thor.
oughness.
There are too many such people now. q
days and women of good impulses
but of weak performance. They lack
spiritual force and fibre; when the strain
comes they snap.
The one vital point in which high
priest Eli broke down most disgraccfuiiy
was in the management Of his own
household The first description we have
of llorhni and Phncas has a terrible
teraeness: "Now the sons of Eli were
sons of Bclial." Having photographed
the characters Of llophni and Phineas
III this one vived line, the sacred nara.
tive goes on to specify their peculiar
transgrcssons.
TIE verdict against the suffering old
mal- was that he did nothing efectual in
the way of hndrance of his sons inioui-
ties; there was no wholesome and pow.
criul restraint. 1t is not by main force
that the wayward son is to be kept back
flom sin--not by huring terrific threats
in his face or by bombarding him with
irritating ccnsurc and launts. Restrui ut
is the application of truth in love. 1t
reasons rs well as rebukes. 1t appeals to
conscience. and sets God before the
tempted youth. 1t employs authority,
but authority Inmixed with passion and
resentment. When it says, "My son,
thou shalt nnt," it means what it says ;
and If punishment is nccdful to enforce
that word mot" then it Furnishes. But
with its righteous displeasure it mingles
lis hearty and spontaneous approval of
every right step Il son can take. My
dear fellow parents, to restrain" our
children is not merely to pull them back
from evil it is to draw them t. yard the
right.
Ellis miSgovcrnmcnt of his children
had two cardinal faults. One error was
tha. he reLuked Lis Sons too late. This
WAS the fatal blunder of the father who
should begin to dissuade his sou from the
vine bottle when the young man had
already became an inebria.e
The other error Of the weak back ed
Eli was that, having postponed his cor
rcction Of his dissolute sons until they
became hardened in vice, his words of
rebuke were as weak rs water. AS
quaint old Matthew Henry remarks:
"There was no edge to his reproofs. He
was not only too late he was too lenient.'
Ellie wretched failure was the failure
of millions of fathers since his day
when bis children were young he would
mol restrain them, and when they grew
older he could not.
Whatever "fires the father kindles,
the children gather the wood" If the
father sets Il decanter on his table the
boys soon practice at the glass large
percentage OF all our drunkenness il
hereditary. If the father goes on Sab.
bath drive the children must have q
seat. If he says on the Sabbath, II 20
fishing" The boys reply, I'VE go with
thee" If he lounges away the Lords
day over his Sunday Herald or Tribune,
then Harry and George are apt to study
police reports and walking matches far
more keenly than their lesson for the
Sabbath school even if they 60 to Sab.
bath school the home school pulls down.
ward more strongly than the Sabbath.
school pulls upward. Pulpit invitations
and pulpit warning, however faithful,
are drowned not amid the din of an ir.
religious home. A happy Christian
home is the surest antidote for evil
amusements. But If father hears the
clock strike eleven in the theatre or in
his clubhouse. he need not be surprised
if his sons hear it strike twelve in the
drinking saloon or the gambling room or
the haunts Of the profigatc
But Eli, you may say, was servant OF
God. SO he was, in his way, but there
are two very different types of paternal
religion. One parent prays at his family
altar for the conversion of his children,
and then does his utmost to secure what
he prays for. He surrounds his home
with Bible restraints against sinful temp.
tations. He aims to make both his re.
ligion and his home attractive.
Yet | fear that certain fathers are
guilty Of Ellis folly and fatal blunder
They busy themselves with certain words
and acts Of religious observance they
try to serve God in certain directions
they even pray, formally, for their chill.
| dren 3 conversion. But their daily ex.
ample, their conduct and the whole trend
OF their Influence are not an effective 70.
straint against sin; they do not draw
their children toward Jesus Christ and
his commandments rs the law of life. II
! IL Il 4