The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-12-02

to serve him all your dnES. and Win manly
voice he answers II do" There is all April
shower in the pew where father and mother
sit, and a rainbow of joy which arches both
their souls, that makes all differences Of creed
intinitesimal. And the daughter who had
been very worldly, and gay, and thoughtless,
puts her life on the altar of conservation, and
as the sunlight of that Sabbath streams
through the church window and falls upon
her brow and cheek, she looks like their other
daughter, whose face was lumined with the
BRIGHTNESS Of another world, OIL the day when
the Lord took her into His heavenly keeping
years ago.
1 should not wonder if, after all, these
parents pass the evening of their life in the
same church, all differences of church pref
erence overcome by the joy of being in the
house of God where their children were pre-
pared for usefulness and heaven.
But can give you u recipe for running
your children. Angrily contend in. the
household that your church is right and the
church of your companion is wrong. Bring
sheer and caricature to emphasize your opln-
ions, and your children will make up their
minds that religion is sham, and they will
have none of it. In the northeast storm of
domestic controversy, the rose of Sharon and
the lily OF the valley will not grow. Fight
about apostolic succession, fight about election
and free agency, fight about baptism, fight
about the bishopric, fight about gown and
surplice, and the religious prospects OF your
children will he left dead on the field. You
will be Us unfortunate as Charles, duke OF
Burgundy, who in battle lost q diamond the
value of nation for in your fight you will
lose the jewel Of salvation for your entire
household. This is nothing against the ad-
vocacy of your own religious theories. Use
all forcible argument, bring all telling illus
tration, array all demonstrative facts, but
let there be no acerbity, no singing retort,
no mean insinuation, no superclllousness, as
though all others were wrong and you in
fall;bly right
Take hint from astronomy. The Ptole-
maic system made the earth the center OF
the solar system, and everything was thought
to turn round the earth. But the Copernican
system came. and made !he sun the center,
around which the planets revolved. The
bicot makes his little belief the center OF
everything, but the largo souled Christian
makes the Son of Righteousness the center,
and all denominations, without any clashing,
md each ct its own light and III its own
sphere, revolving around it. Over the tomb
of Dean Stanley in Westminster abbey is
the passage of Scripture: "Tly command
ments are exceeding broad" Let no man
crowd us on to path like the bridge Al
Sirat, which the Mohannnedau thinks leads
from this world over the abyss of hell into
paradise, the breadth of the bridge less than
the web of starved spider or the edge of q
sword or razor, Off the edges Of Which many
fall. No; while the way is not wide enough
to take with US any of our sins. it IS wide
enough for all Christian believers to pass
without peril into everlasting safety.
But do hot any Of you depend upon what
YOU call sound creed for salvation. A man
NAV own all the statutes Of the state of New
York, and yet not be q lawyer, and man
may own all the best medical treatises, and
not be physician; and n man may own all
the best works on painting and architecture,
md not be either painter or architect; and a
man may own all the sound creeds III the
world, and yet not be a Christian. Not
what you have in your head and on your
tongue, but i'll your heart and in your life,
will decide everything.
In olden times in England, before the mod
cln street lamps were invented, every house
holf,er was expected to lave Il lantern sus-
pcnded III front of his house, and the cry of
the wdtchmen III London as they went along
ut cventidc was: "IIans out your liShts!'
Instead of tisputing III your home about the
different kinds of lantern, rs Waterman on
I ,f li,rbt
shine before mcn that they, seeing your good
works, may glorify your father which is i'll
heaven" Hang out your lights! You may
have thousand ideas about religion, and yet
not the great idea of partloning mercy. 1t is
not the number of your IDEAS, but the great
ness Of them. A mouse hath ten offspring i'll
her nest, while the lioncSs lIath one in her lair.
All IDEAS about forms and ceremonies and
church government put together arc not
worth the ono idea Of getting to heaven your
self and taking your family with you.
But do not reject Christianity, us many do,
because there are so many sectS. Standing
in Westminster hotel, London, l looked out
of the window and saw three coci;S. as near
as l can remember, one ON the Parliament
house, another on st. MurgoreL's chapel,
another OIL Westminster abbey and they
were ali different One said II o'clock at
noon, another said 1l:55, another said 12:0G.
I might rs well have concluded that there is
no such thing us time, because the three time
pieces were different, rs for you to conclude
that there is no such thing rs pure Christian.
isy because the churches differ in their state
mcnt of it. 1t is about II o'clock noon, of
the glorious Gospel dispenSation, although
the church clocks somewhat dilTer, and under
the present light you have no excuse for
neglecting your dusy because you do not like
this or do not like that How shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation.'
But LET us all rejoice that, although part
of our family may worship OH earth i'll one
church, and part i'll another church, or
bowed at the same altars, it must be i'll a
compromise of preferences, we are, if re-
deemed. on the way to perfect church, where
ull our preferences will be fully gratiiied.
Great cathedral Of eternity, with arches of
aucthysts, and pillars of sapphire, and
floors Of emerald, and windows uglow with
tic sunrise of heaven. What wide aislcs,
.n,,.int,g ruouTh To allow pmuirt,s to putnrt