The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1901-11-14
The FAMILY BIBLE
Of = Well.worn Cory ofthS .,
..a,... Old Book,

was us indispensable ina well-or
dered household as the dinner tabl'
or the kitchen stove. II was thu
daily companion in family worship
and words read from it's large page
seemed to come with certain au
gust official character that attached
to no other copy of the Scriptures
As the father opened the big volume
and searched for the passage for thu
day, as he closed it silently before
kneelWg in prayer, the children
gazed upon the holy book as sacret
oracle. It was their Sunday after
noon treat to be allowed to look a
the quaint cngrayings in the biz
Bible. to pore over the views o
Moses in his floating cradle, ant
Joshua bidding the sun stand still
and Solomon in his temple, ant
Jesus blessing little children. The
romantic stories of the apocrypha
books. not found in other editions Of
the Bible. Opened new and strange
world of oriental fancy and Jewish
history, The mctrical versions of the
Psalms with their curious tlrns OF
speech were an interesting study
Over AT the back of the book was
the family record, extending back
sometimes for two or three genera,
tions. where the light hearted boy OF
girl might read the annals of birth
aud marriage and death in he fading
ink and he pr'm scrip, of other daS -;
lines traced in gladnrss, in hope, in
sorrow, in despair, by hands long
since withered to dust. This pom
derou~ Book descended from father
to son. and was treasured rs pre-
cionS legacy. an heirloom hearing
with il an echo of the God-fearing
generations gone before.
God in the home is the message
of that faded volume. Some little
child, seeking the way to God, has
shyly searched these timc-staincd
pages for promise of the Saviour.
Some weary mother has found here
II sola"e for disappointed hope and
unavailing suiTeriig. Some aged man.
his failing sight no longer tit for the
typ" of the old pocket Testament,
has here found words of grace writ
ten large and clear. Here he has
pondcrtd over the mysteries Of
providence, TIT goodness of the Shcp-
herd, the heavenly mansions faircr
than any dream. the ''rcSt for the
weary" that is drawing near. The
old book is mirror of the genera
tions, a panorama of quaint old par
Tors and laircIolh furniture. of the
dagnerreotypc era and the civil war.
of wax flowers under glass aud
worstcd m!n'tos. Of stern, >iuewy
pioneers and "hitr-capped grand
mothers and chubby children
Such images rs these are called up
10y the sight of the family Bill" in an
old ho.nr. lis record of finished lives
and triumphant deaths makes it
dnubly Il holy book. other Bibles
may bear with them ome,l.ing more
of personal Suggesliven"sH. their
heavily marked pages aud marginal
notes bearing witness to the spirit,
ual history Of some single soul; birt.
this binds together the fnlth. the
hope, the charity of whole family
of Gods children. now Scattered far.
aud. past earthly reunions. Reading
the words Of Jesus, the promises of
prophets and apostles, in such II vcr-
sight into their meaning than all the
reNi2rrS and commentators can give
us. II is to the discerning eye a
encyclopedia Of answered prayers. u
Of Heavens vovabu.ary. a
golden treasury Of faiths victories
and loves best lyrics. And all be-
cause God has dwrlt among men and
women in some LITTLE farmhouse
among the Hills when the century
WAS Young and followed with His
pracc-those men aud women as they
wandered and toilrd and suffered and
died, and their children after ,hrm; :
their help IN ages past, their shelter
'rd sure support. and at last their ,
'tcrnaI ho,nc
I'M n time when family religion ,
seems TO be declining, when the fam. ,
~ Bible has been prononrcrd old.
fashioned and baniShch from the ,
rarlVr 10 the attic, when family -,
PRAYERS are forgotten aud the fam. ,
ly pew at church is seldom filled, j.
nay God guard lhesc sacred inter.
stS upon which rest the foundations ,
If the Christian home. II is not !,
nOugh that the father and the j,
no! her are church members. tha, he !,
hi|drfn one by one come into for =,
nal fellowship, ard so the family is ',
'ominaly one in the Lord. Some J.
hing more vital more enduring. must -
lind them if the circle Of the family
5 To remain one in heart throughout:
he years. The home must be kept
rom all careless speech and niif. \
rrcnt prayer and ncgir i Of The II
rriptnrcs and of the Lords day s.
uiei hours. If the family Bible as u
ook must 90. at least let us keep j. Il
oreycr as a law and Gospel writ I,
N upon the hearts of the children II
nd bound together with the double =,
nnds of human and divine love. 81
Perhaps family prayers and grace h
meals and "Now lay me" and the,
g Bible are out of date and old
lShioncd and bad form" Pcrhaps
iod bless our home" as sentiment II
as hackncyed as the worStcd pat II
rms il used to he worked in and the Is
amrs that used to surround the
otto. But IL II be so. then there has III
)nc out of our modern life some u
ling which we would fan get back tt
I'd guard most sacrcdly against 10