The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-04-11
DR.. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE 5Y THE NOTED
DIVINE.

Subject: The Home Life-It Points Out
the Duty OF Parents and Adtnonishes
the ChiIdren-Don't STUFF the Young
People with Religion.
Copyright lsJqi
WASHINGTON, D. C.-This discourse OF
DR., TuImage Will interest young men, while
t is full OF advice and encouragement to
parent: who are trying 10 bring up their
,hlldre., Alright; text, Proverbs y, L, "A
wise son marketh glud father, but fool
sh son ts the heavlness Of his mother"
In this graphic way Solomon sets forth
;ae idea that the good or evil behavior OF
children blesses or blghts the parental
aeart. know there are persons who seem
20 have no especial interest In the welfare
Of their children. The father says: MY
boy must take the risks took In life. Ii
he turns out we'll, all right. II he turns
out i'll, he will have to bear the conse-
auences He has the same chance that l
mad, He must take care OF himself. A
shepherd might just as we'll thrust lamb
INTO den OF lions and soy, '!Little lamb,
:aka care OF yourself"
Nearly all the brute creation are kind
enough to look after their young. was
zoing through aswoods, and heard a
shrlll cry in d nest. / climbed up to the
0irQ 9 ueSI, duu l lONuh buns sboT SAe
bird had left the brood to'ssarve. But that
"a very rare occurrence. Generally @ bird
will pick your eyes out rather than surren-
der her young to your keeping orsyour
touch. A lion will rend you'll you come
700 near the whelps. Even the barnyard
,owl, with its clumsy foot and henvy wing,
will come at you II you approach its young
100 nearly, and God certainly intended to
have fathers and mothers as klnd Us the
orutes. - 5s. 3
Christ comes through all OUT, households
Today. and he says: You take care OF
the bodies oiyour children nnd the minds
Of your children. What are you doing for
:h cir i'm m ortal sbuls2g i read OF q shlp
that foundered. A life-boat was launched.
Many Of the passengers were In tue waters.
A mother, with.one hand beating the wave
and the other hand holding. her little child
NV chlldl" And that impassioned cry ts
the one that flnds an echo In every pAren-
tai hearth In this land to-day. save my
child" That man out there says: II have
,ought my own way through life, have got
along tolerably we'll, the world has buheted
me, and I.have hid. many hard struggle.
It don't make much difference what hap.
pens to me, but save my child" You see
I have o subject of stupendous import. and
am going, as God may help me, to show
the cause OF parental solicltude and then
the alleviations of that solicitude.
The first cause. OF parental soilcttude,
lhink, arises from the imperfeetton OF.
parents on their own par. We all some-
how want our children TO avoid our faults.
We hope that II We have my exeeilen enees
they will copy them. the prob abiilty
is they will copy ours And omit our
exceliences. ,ohildreH He zery sGpt Ito be
echoes of the pareDtaE lie. Some one
meets lad in the back street. finds him,
,m oktng and says: "Why, I am astonished
at youI What would your father say IL be
knew this? Where did YOU get that cigar?"
"Oh, picked 1t up on the street," what
if they knew this2" sob, "he replies, "that's
nothing. My father smokesl" There IS
not one OF US to-day who would ike to
have our children copy all our examples.
And that is the cause OF the scltctude on
the part OF all OF us. We have SO many
faults we do not want them copied and
stereotyped In the lives and charucters OF
those who come after u.s..
The sollcltude arises from our conscious
insufflciency and unwisdom OF discipline.
Out OF twenty parents there may be one
parent who understands how thoroughly
and sktllsully 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 father who says, II am going to
bring up my children right; my sons shall
know nothing but religion; shall see moth
Ing but religion, and hear nothing but re-
IIeion." They are routed out at o'clock
In the morning to recite the Ten SCom-
mandments. They are awakened up from
the sofa on Sunday night to reclte the
Westminster Catechism. Their bedroom
walls are covered with religious pictures
and quotations OF Scripture, aud when the
bow looks for tho day OF the month he
looks for It In religious almanac. II n
minister comes to the house. he Is re-
quested to take the boy aside and tell him
what a great sinner he Is. It Is religion
morning, noon aud night.
Time passes on, and the parents are wait
lns for the return Of the son at night. 1t
It is 12 O'Clock, it is half-rast 12 o'clock.
Then they hear rnttllng OF the night key,
and George comes In and hastens 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 he has started
Oh the broaGroud 10 ruin for this lie and
ruin for the life to come, and The father
says to his wife, Mother, the Ten Com
mandmepts are failure; no use OF West
minister Catecbism; have done my very
best for that boy; just see how he has
turned out" All, my friend, you stuffed
that boy with religion; you had DO sym.
pathey with innocent hilarities; you had
no common sense. A man at midlite said
to me, II haven't mu oh desire for religion;
my father was rs good man as ever lived,
but he jammed religion down my throat
when was boy until got disgusted
with It, and I haven't wanted any of 1t
since." That father erred on one side.
Then the discipline is an entire failure
in many households because the father
pulls one way and the mother pulls the
other way. Tho father says, "My SOD, I
told you IL ever found you guilty OF false
hood again would chastise yon, and am
going to keep MY promise" The mother
says: Don't! Let him of this time."
A father says, 81 have seen 30 muny that
make mistake by too grent severity In the
rearing Of their children. Now, will let
my boy do rs be please3. He shall have
full swing. Here, my son, are tickets to
the theatre and opera. Ityou want to play
cards, do so; il you don't want to play
cards. you need not to play them Go
when you want and come back when you
want to-. Have good time. Go IT," Give
q boy pleuty OF money aud ask him not
what he does with 1t, and you pny bis way
straight to perdition. But after awhile
the lad thinks he ought to have still
larger supply. He has been treated, and
he must treut. He must have wine sup
pers. There are larger aud larger ex-
penses.
After awhile one day a messenger from
the bank over the way calls in and says TO
the father OF the household OF which am
speaking, 1.-THE officers Of the bank would
like to have you step over minute" tbs
father steps over, and the bank oilicer r
SAYS; sthat Is not my check. I never made
an III In that wny; never put curl to
the ~ in that way. That is not my
writing. That Is not my signature. That
la u nnn nkarioIt GaIfd fnr tha police. !"