The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-08-31
Family Worship.

1t matters not what societies and
organizations there may be for the
nurture and development of Christian
life, there is nothing to take the place
Of the Christian home, and there is
nothing in the home to take the place
Of family worship. Other things be-
ing equal, there Is most Of piety and
strong character to be expected from
that home In which Gods word Is
read daily and prayer offered to God
by the united household. Out Of such
homes go men and women to walk
r%everently and obediently before God
to do His will, and to serve Him In
their generation.
A community can be no better than
Its homes, and a church often lacks
spirituality because its homes are de-
icient in divine grace. Where parents
lead their children to serve God, the
pastor can lead the community to fol-
low Him. But, however good and
pious the pastor may be, he is sure to
be weak If the parents are not up
holding his hands by piety in the.
home, as Aaron and Hur upheld the
hands Of Moses.
If the people of this age want a
real revival let them commence work
Ing for 1t and praying for it at home,
with their children gathered about
them in the exercises Of family
prayer. God blessed the house OF
Obededom while the ark Of the COW
snant abode under their roof, and He
will still bless the homes where He Is
loved and honored. The Jewish ia
theirs were to hold the Passover SER.
vice in their homes and they were to
explain to their children what they
meant by the service, and out OF that
fact grew up a whole nation that was
knit together as one great homoge-
neods people.
Many ' fathers excuse themselves
from holding family worship by say,
ing that they are so hurried that they
do not have time. There is certainly
some time during the whole twenty
four hours of each day when the en-
tire family could be gathered to-
gether for FIVE or ten minutes. Pre-
sumably it Is just before breakfast or
Just after the evening meal. Let all
assemble gravely for a little time
Let a passage Of Scripture be read
aloud by the father, and then, kneel-'
ing down, let a short prayer be adj
dressed to God, thanking Him for
His mercies and beseeching Him for
continued protection, forgiveness,
guidance and grace.
Such scenes as this made Scotland.
great as a God-fearing people, or oc-
Cured because her people were and
have been God-fearing. We must
make a new effort to establish, or q
establish, family worship in all our
families. We cannot afford to do
without it In one single Christian
home.-Herald and Presbyter.
What United Effort Can Accomplish.
A bad situation was PECULIARLY
and successfully met by brains and
energy. The Newfo midland sealing
steamer Viking ran on a sand bar
one night recently. The vikings
master is Captain Bartlett, father OF
the commander Of the Arctic steamer
Roosevelt. He foated his stasmae by.
a unique method. At high water
during the night he massed MS crew
of 100 on one side of the ship and
directed them to rush in a body to
the other side; then back again, and
so on. This maneuver caused the
steamer to roll violently and she
finally worked off the sand bank and
proceeded to st. Johns, Newfound-
land, apparently uninjured.
Complete cooperation develops q
force in every sphere of mental or
physical action. If n~inety-ive of the
men had run one way and at the
same time the other ninety-fVe had
run the other way, there would have
been equilibrium, and If 125 of them
had run. one way and the others had
run in the opposite direction at the
same time, it is improbable that the
ship would have foated.
Many a church is in the condition
Of NUM-. bers running in opposite direc-
tons, but no church will fall IL all,
with one accord and all their ener-
| gies. endeavor to save 1t and promote
it's real interests. Christian AdYo.
cate.