Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-12-04


sinful, ungovernable woman, who will
ultimately despise and trample upon all
pure love. 1t was because Queen
| Agrippina laughed at her little, wiliful
boy, Nero, who doubled up his tiny
| fists and struck at her, that she was
compelled to live to see the day when
the queen mother would have to bare
her flesh for the fatal stroke Of the
royal hirelings who came to do the
bidding Of murderous son. Some
times the unkindest act that a parent
can do to a child Ii to give to the boy
or girl a sugar plum when that child
ought to have, according to the Solo,
monte advice, a good, sound thrashing.
The Sin of Hypocrisy.
| Hypocrisy is the most awful of all
parental sins. No matter what the
father or mother may do, as long as the
child can firmly believe that his par
ents are living consecrated. godly pure
and noble lives, that child Is bound to
the foot of the cross with bands Of
steel, but when the child believes that
his mother and father are leading hypo-
| critical lives, pretending one thing to
the world and living another kind Of
life at home, rs rule, there is very 1T
tie temporal or spiritual hope for the
child. Bad parents generally have bad
children. The sins of those fathers and
mothers are visited upon the children,
even to the third and fourth genera
tons.
Sometimes the reverse Of this rule
seems to be true. Good parents, also.
for awhile may seem to have bad chill
dren, but if you will carefully study
the history Of different Christian homes
you will generally-aye. | believe al
ways-fnd that the children of conse-
Grated, godly parents who have trained
| them up in the way they should go
will always turn out right, while those
hypocritical parents who do not train
up their children right will ultimately
have their children turn out wrong.
Good old DR.. Alexander of Princeton
college once preached upon this text:
Grain up a child in the way he should
go, and when he is old he will not de-
part from IT," He preached to prove
that nearly all the sins which men and
women ractice can ultimately be traced
back to wrong parental training or to the
| hypocrisies of parents who have lived
| in the home a religion Of sham. After
| the sermon was over some Of DIR. Alex
ander's friends said to him: Professor,
it is absurd for you to preach sermon
like that. If what you say is true, then
you yourself have been living the wrong
kind of Christian life or else you have
not trained your children as you should
have done. You know. doctor that
your boy Dick is one Of the worst boys
in all Princeton college. He is as wild
as wild can be-" "Oh," answered the
good old doctor, you did not hear my
text Alright. My text was, Train up
child in the way he should go. and
when he is old Dick is not old yet.
Just wait awhile, and the boy will come
out all right" DR.. Alexander spoke
the truth. Dick did come out all right.
In few years he not only gave his
heart to God, but he went to New York
city and entered business as a Chris
tip layman, and long after his hon
ored father had pillowed his head in
the dust Richard Alexander, the wild
Princeton student, welded a mighty
influence for God and for heaven. SO,
my friends, today, as Christian men
and women, we must realize that the
whole future destinies of our children
are largely dependent upon u.s. If we
! live consecrated, godly lives and train
/ up our children In the way they should
] will oil t<>I
! Christian men and women, and II we
are hypocrtes and do not train them
as they ought to be trained then our
children will also turn out wrong. Bad
parents have bad sons and daughters
good parents produce good children
There is hardly an exception to the
rule.
The Eject of Example.
Parental examples and training in
variably reproduce themselves in the
lives Of children. There is beauti-
| full story told Of noted king in the
| far east who was about to take a
journey into remote part of his king
dom. He therefore sent ahead of him
a trusted minister to build for his royal
mastera suitable palace where the king
could lodge in the far country. When
the royal courier reached the remote
| part of the kingdom, he found plague
raging there and people were dying
by thousands and tens of thousands.
So, instead Of taking the money from
the royal treasury and spending it for
bricks and stones and mortar. the royal
messenger spent it for bread and med-
cine. With it he dug graves and
buried the dead. With it he bought
clothing to protect the living. And
when the king came and found what
his messenger had done, instead Of
Furnishing his minister, he commended
him. He said: "Oh, faithful servant,
you have bulded for me palace. You
builded it in the hearts of my people.
You have builded its white walls out
Of the tombstones which you have
erected over the graves OF the dead.
You have jeweleG it with the tears
you have wiped away. You have made
my palace echo with the sweetest Of
songs; FOR those songs are the echoing
sobs which you have stilled." So, like
the king Of old, who sent his messen-
ger into the far country, God sends US
forth as parents on a most important
mission. BY our examples and self
a