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Counsels for the Church
the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice. The wife and
children should be encouraged to unite in this offering and also to
engage in the song of praise. Morning and evening the father, as priest
of the household, should confess to God the sins committed by himself
and his children through the day. Those sins which have come to
his knowledge and also those which are secret, of which God’s eye
alone has taken cognizance, should be confessed. This rule of action,
zealously carried out by the father when he is present or by the mother
when he is absent, will result in blessings to the family.
To the man who is a husband and a father, I would say, Be sure that
a pure, holy atmosphere surrounds your soul. You are to learn daily of
Christ. Never, never are you to show a tyrannical spirit in the home.
The man who does this is working in partnership with satanic agencies.
Bring your will into submission to the will of God. Do all in your
power to make the life of your wife pleasant and happy. Take the word
of God as the man of your counsel. In the home live out the teachings
of the word. Then you will live them out in the church and will take
them with you to your place of business. The principles of heaven will
ennoble all your transactions. Angels of God will cooperate with you,
helping you to reveal Christ to the world.
Do not allow the vexations of your business to bring darkness into
your home life. If, when little things occur that are not exactly as you
think they should be, you fail to reveal patience, long forbearance,
kindness, and love, you show that you have not chosen as a companion
Him who so loved you that He gave His life for you, that you might
be one with Him.
It is no evidence of manliness in the husband for him to dwell
constantly upon his position as head of the family. It does not increase
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respect for him to hear him quoting Scripture to sustain his claims to
authority. It will not make him more manly to require his wife, the
mother of his children, to act upon his plans as if they were infallible.
The Lord has constituted the husband the head of the wife to be her
protector; he is the house-band of the family, binding the members
together, even as Christ is the head of the church and the Saviour of the
mystical body. Let every husband who claims to love God carefully
study the requirements of God in his position. Christ’s authority is