THE SIXTH PROMISE ON THE MOTHERS' UNION CARD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9736, 31 December 1909, Page 11

THE SIXTH PROMISE ON THE MOTHERS' UNION CARD.

To pray for our ch ildren , -to teivch , . them to pray and . to observe the Lord's Day." , ..; . •,. , This is what we .pledge ourselves to do as r mothers ana members 1 of- the Soothers' Uniol^ and if we beep the , first part of this beautiful promise the ' ; last two parts will ; follow naturally. > Prayer is the essehpe 6f v our'.lQVe:,fpr our children. We watch them developing froin babyhood to childhood- on ib young men and: women, leaving behind , the temptations of "the past to meet the fresh ones of the new age, and we feel ' v with beating, hearts that; they must go s .. fromj us and we want to guard :them. Then our prayers alone can rea^h •fchem. It is then oui: v prayers and- theirs.' jbinV ed together form that binding , tie . which can never be broken _here ;~ or / : hereaftet.;' 'Prayer is/ the ; great pre- > server from evil, tfie ..great . agaifist the world, ahd the< great''Viriner for thou'ghtaixd- deed.- ■ Everyv true spiritual longing rising; in our "^ leads up to a truer,; better, . nobler life, v c* and "expresses itself; in . prayer; And ' x prayer. costs something ; N it is an* act" of sacrifice of .the will, v for our prayers must all be based uporis" thy will, 'be „ done, "and if we teach our children, ■/ truly '■'- pray, sacrificing the will,' we shall riot hear so much: of the disobedience of children nor of their being sxT' ' self-w,illed- as we do -so "'frequently,: in - the present day. Prayed solves afi tlie difficulties "of.' 'households. VjLetiyour children see your pray, ijind" let them know you pray for thein, and they will be true, and, in the- .crises which come, jn every life will not be overwhelmed. . To observe the Sabbath Etay^ v lt ; is^- a , much, talkedrabput -question 'thfit ,. of, ' keeping the Sabbath Day holy. J^here are some people who \\ ant •$p - do^ Awo'- . . ; things on, Sunday ; they want tb ob- ' v the day a little and" the^r,' want to please self ■ much. So some attend ■ i an early service, using the x reat i of; the day, for amusement or their 6^tl occupations;; some play games' all day and, • 'if not too tired, go to' church in -it-he evening; some say it is a day:sjf rest^ / , and spend a large portion of th^iriorning in bed reading a light novel or fashion paper, while others complain-^pf^tfco dulness of Sunday and, v as Jong- as weather permits, spend the day ing or excursioniijg. And week" by week God's words are being repeated' in our ' empty churches, "Reniepiber to. keep ■' the Sabbath Day noly," and on" -pur book shelves lie the unused >!. Bihles which contain these words.^ '* If thou „ turn away ' thy foot y froin -the / Sabbath from doing thy pleasure bit My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy .of the. "Lord, honourable, and shalt? honour Hiin, not. doing thine own ways nor finding thiiie: 5 pwnl^ pleasure, nor^ ,speaking. thine. v.oyn* " words,- then shall fhou delight A in the Lord, and; I >ill cause; th,ee to ride uppn the high places of the earth.' ' . And yet many delibei^tely put these ' words; on one side, and find their- oWn ■ pleasure and . seek their ; ownways." And while God rested on the Sabbath 'Day. yi r e 'must remember." that he also sanctified it. ■ Surely one day in f the week we can" put a\vay self and its- eiJSJess desires and come face to faoe^.with" ovir souls and their necessities ! The character, of a nation depends on the, ob- ... ; servance of the Sunday,. a4id equal lj r 'W-"'' does 'the character of •*■ the .indiyidliat As to thie dulness of isn't i* our own f jault if we find it dull? Is it dull to begin our Sunday with family prayer? Is it dull to go jk God's house with one's hei&rt full bf- pj-ajse and thanksgiving? Is it dull to think of some act of kindness .and perforjb; it because it is God's day? .Is iit dull to | the,day quietly with one's, f am- / . ily, going to God's house together and '* holding sweet converse .tpgetherf Is it dull ' *to use this p^iuse fbetyyeen' ooe week's toil or -pleasure arid "anbthor ■ ns a time to be spent in' listening ", to; tlio will of God?"" If this is du.ll, .wS'-aie ■,■ very far away from being praying mothers and teaching our children to pray, and we are starving pur fsouls. If we really pray, we shall never rise . . from our knees on a Sunday morning to spend- the day'' in,. pleasure and 6eliindulgence. God's great gift "to .'/nan is this precious gift of the Sabbath, to be used in His service, which givfs rest for the bedy and growth to the' soul. Compare the day spent in God's, service, in laying up treasure in heaven, and^the day spent in sloth' or 6eJf-j»- " dulgence and bodily ease. „ What do we get out of it? Out of the ono a quiet happiness and joy with deep peace N . in our hearts, ai evening falls oir , a day I spent in God's service, and >a feefing of < trust for the trials of the , unseen week. And must there not be from the other a feeling of dissatisfaction, a feeling of unreadiness for Mondayi morning and unpreparedness for; the r du'ties tt^ich I lie before us? Oh ! let us -be very, careful and watchful to guard, our children against the beginnings' of feelf-indul-gence on Sunday, and let us not take the. awful responsibility of handing, on to the coming generation the idea .that it does not. matter what they do on .] Sunday., "Mother "and father don't go to' church, why should I?" .. . and' mother amuse themselves on; Sun- ■ day, why can't I, too?" Terrible is the power of example sometimes. .But a praying, mother wields the strongest \ weapon against these « temptations. Prayer is a great character builder, planning on noble lines* and on'ej of the first signs of its power is the desire to give all honour to God on His day by keeping it according to His commandment. . * ■— j : >■ - ■ i •

The Bishop of London on "The Law of Worship."— r" Tho question ' wliieji I want you to ask yourselves when Sunday comes is, ' "What-' is the. price, ai ivkich I put the unship I am y gdng;to pav my risen Lord?' That ": is the ■ '. point, and it iall conies round to '.that. v . . . The woman . in- the .gospel • brought a very costly box of ointment, and because it was costly she broke, it and poured it upon the head of:, her Saviour. When Sunday- comes, H« , wants to see how much you cafe about -« , Him. Ido not think there is one of. us who woul4 deliberately say that we oxi'e less to Je6us Christ than that w6man did ; but what is th© cost of file bosiof ointment that we are prepared J\ to . j break, and pour upon His head?" , *. .'

A writer in the "EHel&rotechnisbA.. •■■; Anzeiger," citing many fac^s -tn : s>,iVm that electricity, was riot: : unknown s.*» • ., the ancients, and that George Eber's suggestion in a novel ' that l th,e E^ypr '. tians made use of lightning conductors, was well Founded. In^trumehfe much •" like the modern heliograph weravaiaq qsecl, the : writer says, by'vprieste, as a l \ *-„. means of communication • betweeit temples. » There can be np doubtrlib says, as to t v e temple havihof been protected by liehtning rods. The Biblical descriptions show . tjiat the rQof swas provided with metaUip ixrints he?daio£fc bv columns, and that\theE6 no-mterend-ing in chains, terminated in vhst water tanks. " All of whiqh if vouched for in the first bock of Kings and the second book of Chronicles. 1 , 1 . \ .. „■ /