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statutes are no longer binding upon men, is the same as idolatry in its
effect upon the morals of the people. Those who seek to lessen the
claims of God’s holy law are striking directly at the foundation of the
government of families and nations. Religious parents, failing to walk
in his statutes, do not command their household to keep the way of
the Lord. The law of God is not made the rule of life. The children,
as they make homes of their own, feel under no obligation to teach
their children what they themselves have never been taught. And this
is why there are so many godless families; this is why depravity is so
deep and wide-spread.
Not until parents themselves walk in the law of the Lord with
perfect hearts, will they be prepared to command their children after
them. A reformation in this respect is needed,—a reformation which
shall be deep and broad. Parents need to reform; ministers need to
reform; they need God in their households. If they would see a different
state of things, they must bring his word into their families, and must
make it their counselor. They must teach their children that it is the
voice of God addressed to them, and is to be implicitly obeyed. They
should patiently instruct their children, and kindly and untiringly teach
them how to live so as to please God. The children of such a household
are prepared to meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted
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the Bible as the basis of their faith, and they have a foundation that
cannot be swept away by the incoming tide of skepticism.
In too many households, prayer is neglected. Parents feel they have
no time for morning and evening worship. They cannot spare a few
moments in which to give thanks to God for his abundant mercies,—for
the blessed sunshine and the showers of rain, which cause vegetation
to flourish, and for the guardianship of holy angels. They have no
time to offer prayer for divine help and guidance, and for the abiding
presence of Jesus in the household. They go forth to labor as the ox
or the horse goes, without one thought of God or heaven. They have
souls so precious that rather than permit them to be hopelessly lost,
the Son of God gave his life to ransom them; but they have little more
appreciation of his great goodness than have the beasts that perish.
Like the patriarchs of old, those who profess to love God should
erect an altar to the Lord wherever they pitch their tent. If ever there
was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now.
Fathers and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble