Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-03-30
REV. DR.. 1ALMAGE.
THR HMuNKNT pIvNE'S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE
Subject: The Home Life-It Points Out
the Duty of Parents and Admonishes
the Children--Don't Stud tho Young
People with Religion,

the Children--DOn't Stun mo Aouhg
People with Religion.
copyright 1900.
WASHINGTON, D. C.-This discourse OF
Or. Talmage will interest young men, wnile
t is full of advice and encouragement TO
parents who are trying 10 bring up tneir
children Alright; text, Proverbs x, /, "a
wise son marketh glad father, but a fool
.sh son is the heaviness OF his mother
In this graphic way Solomon sets forth
The idea that the good or evil behavior OF
children blesses or blights the parental
heart. know there are persons who seem
TO have no especial interest in the welfare
of their children. The father says: my
how must take the risks / took in life. Ii
he turns out we'll, all right. II he turns
out ill, he will have to bear the conse-
ouences. He has the same chance that l
had. lie must take care OF himself" A
shepherd might just as we'll thrust lamp
INTO a den OF lions and say, Lilo lamp,
lake care of yourself"
Nearly all the brute creation are KIND
CROUCH to look after their young. was
going through woods, and L heard
shril cry In nest. I climbed up TO the
birds nest, and / found that the OLD
bird hal left the brood TO starve. But that
is a very rare occurrence. Generally bird
der her Young TO your keeping or your
touch. lion will rend you II you come
too near the whelps. Even the barnyard
fowl. with its clumsy foot and heavy wing,
will come at you II you approach It's young
too nearly, and God certainly Intended 10
have fathers and mothers as kind as the
brutes.
Christ comes through all oar households
TODAY. and He says: "You take care OF
the bodies of your children and the minds
OF YOUR children. What are you doing for
th cir i'm m ortal souls2" l read OF sup
that foundered. llfe-boat was launched.
Many Of the passengers were In tho waters
A mother, with one hand beating the wave
and the other hand holding her little child
out toward the lifeboat, cried out, save
my child" And that impassioned cry is
the one that finds an echo In every paren-
tai heart In this land to-day. Save my
childp That man out there says: II have
fought my own way through life, have ct
along tolerably we'll, the world has buffetrd
me. and have had many hard struggle.
1t don't make much difference what hap
pens to me, but save my child!' You see
have a subject of stupendous import, ana
[ am going, as God may help me, to show
the cause OF parental solicitude and then
the alleviations Of that sollcltude.
The first cause of parental solicltude, l
think, arises from tho imperfection OF
parents on their own part. We all some
how want our children to avoid our faults.
We hope that If we have any excellonces
they will copy them. But the probability
Is they will copy our faults and omit our
excellences. Children a.e very apt TO be
echoes OF the parental life. Some one
meets lad in the back street, finds him
smoking and says: "Why, am astonisbed
at YOU, What would your father say If he
knew this? Where did you get that cigar"
"Oh, picked it up on the street" "What
would YOUR father say and your mother say
II thew knew this?" ooh, he replies, that's
nothing. My father smokesP There is
not one OF us to-day who would like to
have our children copy all our examples.
And that is the cause OF the solcitude on
| the part OF all Of us. We have so many
| faults we do not want them copied ana
stereotyped in the lives and characters Of
| those who come after us.
The solicitude arises from our conscious
| insuficiency and unwlsdom OF discipline.
| Out of twenty parents thero may be one
parent who understands how thoroughly
and skillfully to discipline; perhaps not
| more than one out Of twenty. We, nearly
| all Of us, err on one side or on the other.
Here is a father who says, II am going to
| bring up my cbildron right; my sons shall
| know nothing but religion; shall see noth'
| ing but religion, and hear nothing put re-
| ligion." They are routed out at Q O'CLOCK
| In the morning to recite the Ten Com
| mandments. They are awakened up from
| the sofa on Sunday night to recite the
Westminster Catechism. Their bedroom
walls are covered with religious pictures
and quotations of Scripture, and when the
bow looks for tho day OF the month nc
looks for 1t In religious almanac. Ii
| minister comes to the house, he Is re-
uuested to take the boy aside and tell MIN
what a great sinner he IL. 1t Is religioI
morning, noon and night.
Time passes on, and the parents are wait
ing for the return OF the son at night. Il
il 9 o'clock. it Is 10 o'lock, it is II O'Clock
| it is IL O'Clock, it is half-past IL o'clock
Then they hear rafting Of the night key
and George comes In and has.ens upstairs
lest he be accosted. His father says
George, where have you been?' He says
"I have been OUT Yes, he has been out
and he has been down. and lie has started
on the broadroad to ruin for this life ant
ruin for the life to come. and the fathe
saws to his wife, Mother, the Ten Com
mandments are failure; no use OF west
minister Catechism; have done my vei'
best for that boy; just see how he Ia.
| turned out" All, my friend, you stuHeo
that boy with religion; you had no sym
pathey with innocent hilarities; you hat
no common sense. A man at midlife said
TO me. II haven't mu ch desire for religion
| nv father was as good man as ever llved
but be TANNED religion down my throa
when was boy until got disguised
with il. and haven't wanted any OF i
since" That father erred on one SIDE.
Then tho discipline Is an entire fallnr'
In many households because the 1atne
pulls one way and the mother pulls III.
other way. The father says, My son,
told you If 1 ever found you guilty OF fqis Sc
hood again would chastise you, ana an
goincto keep my promise" The mothc
saws: Don't! Let him off this Time"
A father says. 81 have seen so many tina
make mistake by too great severity In TN
rearing Of their children. Now, l Will lie
INV bow do as he pleases He shall hav
full swing. Here, my son, are tickets T.
the theatre and opera. Ifyou want to pla
cards, do so; II you don't want to pla
cards, you need not to play them u
when you want and come phck W stiss c yo
a boy plenty Of money and ask him no
what lie does with 1t, and you pay bis wa.
straight to perdition. But after awhll
the lad thinks lie ought to have sti:
larger supply. He has been treated, ant
he must treat. He must have wine sup
pers. There are larger and larger ex
penses. ,.
After awhile one day messenger IRON
the bank over the way calls In and says u
the father Of the household OF winch an
speaking, "Ths officers OF the bank ;, WOW mn
like to have you step over minute. Ca La
father steps over. and the bank once
saws, us that year check?" mo-" b
saws; "that is not my check. never mad
mn II, In that WAY; never put curl I