Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-11-22

father has not gone in" You can not
push children into the Kingdom Of God
you have got to pull them in. There has
been many general in tower or castle
looking at his army fighting, but that is
not the kind of q man TO arouse enthu-
siasm among his troops. 1t is Garibaldi
or Napoleon | who leaps into the stirrups,
and dashes into the conflict, and has his
troops following him with wild huzza. So
you cannot stand off in your impenitent
state, and tell your children to 90 ahead
into the Christian life, and have them 90.
You must yourself dash into the Christian
conflict; you must lead them and not tell
them to go. Do you know that all the in
structiOns you give to your children in a
religions direction goes for nothing unless
yeu illustrate it in your own life. The
teacher ut the school takes copy-bOok,
writes specimen of good writing across
the top of the page, but he makes a mistake
in one letter of the copy. The boy comes
along on the next line, copies the top line,
and makes the mistake, and if there be
fifteen lines on that page they will have the
mistake there was in the copy on the top
The father has an error in his life-a very
great error. The son comes along and
copies it now, tomorrow, next year,
copies it to the day of his death. 1t is
what you are, not so much what you
teach.
HAVE 4 FAMILY ALTAR.
Let it be cheerful place, the brightest
room i'll your house. Do not wear your
your children's knees out with long
prayers. Have the whole exercise spirit
ed. If you have a melOdian, or an organ,
or piano in the house, have it open.
Then lead in prayers. If you cannot
make prayer of your own take Matthew
Henry'S prayers or the Episcopal prayer
book. None better than that. Kneel
down with your little ones morning and
night and commend them to God. Do
you think they will ever get over it?
Never! After you are under the sod q
good many years, there will be some pow
erlul temptation around that son, but the
memory of father and mother Mt morning
and evening prayers will have its effect
upon him; it will bring him back from the
path of sin and death.
But | want you to make strict mark,
a sharp, plain line between innocent hi
larity on the part Of your children and n
vicious proclivity. Do not think your
boys will 90 to ruin because they make a
racket. \ glum, unresponsive child
makes the worst form of q william. Chill
dren, when they are healthy, always
make racket. want you, at the very
first sign of depravity in the child, to cor
rect it. DO not laugh because it is smart.
If you do you will live to cry because it is
malicious. Do not talk of your children's
frailities lightly in their presence, think
ing they do not understand you; they do
understand. Do not talk disParagingly
of your child making him feel that he is a
reprobate. DO not say to your little one:
you're the worst child | ever knew"
If you do, he will be the worst man you
ever knew.
Are your children safe for heaven? You
can tell better than any one else. | put
to you the question: Are your
children safe for heaven?' | heard
of n mother who, when the house was
atire, in the excitement of the OCCASION,
got out great many of the valuable
things-many choice articles Of furniture
but did not think to ask until too late:
us my child saie?" 1t was too late
then The flames had cncircled all; the
child was gone! o, my dear friend, when
seas and land shall burn in the final con-
fagration, will your children he safe.
| wonder if what have said this morn
ing has not struck a chord IN some one in
the audience who had a good father and
mother, but who is not yet "A Christian?
Is that your history?
Do you know why YOU came here this
morning? God sent you to have that
that memory revived.
YOUR DEAR CHRISTIAN MOTHER,
how she loved you. You remember when
you were sick, how kindly she at
tended you; the night was not too long,
and you never asked her to turn the pill
low, but she did it! You remember her
prayers also; you remember how some Of
vou-I do not know where the man is i'll
the audicnce-how some one here broke
his mothers heart. You remember her
sorrow over your waywardnesS; you re-
member the old place where she did you
so many kindncsses; the chairs, the
table, the door-sill where you played; the
tones of her voice. Why, you can think
them back now. Though they were borne
long ago on the air, they come ringing
through your soul to-day, calling you by
the first name. You are not "Mr.' to
her; it is just your plain first name. Is
not this the time when her prayers will he
answered? DO you not think that God
sent you in to-day to have that memory OF
her revived? If you should come to
Christ this morning, amid all the thrGngs
of Heaven, the gIaddest Of them would be
your Christian parents who are in glory
waiting your redemption. Angels of God,
shout the tidings, the lost has come back
again; the dead is alive! Ring all the
bells of Heaven at the jubilee! Ring!
Ring!