The church member and his various relations and duties to his home, his church, and his state

Dedication

Without askiug his permission, this little volume is most affectionately dedicated to the Eev. William H. Groh, the first Reformed minister of whom I have any recollections, and who gave me many kind words of advice and encouragement during the period of my life when I most needed them.

Contents

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I. — The Day of Confirmation and What

Is Now Expected of You 9

Preface

Ever since I began my bumble ministry of love, I bave felt tbe need of some little book, wbicb might be. placed in tbe bands of tbe church membership, which might bring home to them the various duties and responsibilities resting upon them, and thus aid in guiding and leading them to that brighter and better home in heaven.

Nothing, it is true, can take the place of the Word of God as a guide and rule for our faith and practice, yet, in my humble judgment, such a book as this can, with profit, find a place in a Christian's library.

Some of the subjects I have already

Vi PREFACE.

handled in public discourses, others I have thought over for a long time, and now give them to the reader, with the hope and prayer that they may be "seed sown on good ground."

I am conscious of the fact, that much remains to be said on each subject, but I give the result of my meditations to the public with the hope that it may lead many to "think on better things." and thus bring light and hope and joy into darkened hearts and homes.

I must confess that my ideal has not been reached, but if this little book will be the means of cheering some fainthearted Christian traveler, thus enabling him to keep on in the true way; if it will help some parents to reach a higher conception of the sacred responsibility which is theirs; if it will enlighten some hearts; if it will make the arduous labors of my brethren in the ministry less burdensome

PREFACE.

vii and more fruitful, then I will feel myself amply repaid for all the thought and prayers I have given to the several sub jects. With this hope I launch it forth on the sea of life, and may God's blessing go with it. S. H. D., March 20, 1900. Cavetown, Md.

OHAPTEE I.

THE DAY OF CONFIRMATION AND WHAT IS NOW EXPECTED OF YOU.

This is a solemn, a sacred clay, and if you will be faithful to the vows you now have taken, the course, which you now have begun, will bring you a happy and peaceful life, growing more Christlike day by day, until, at last, when this weary life is ended, heaven will be your home for evermore.

There are, indeed, few if any scenes on earth more beautiful and impressive than a Class of young men and women surrounding the Altar, taking the confirmation vows, renouncing the world, the flesh and the devil, and promising to follow Jesus Christ all the days of their life. It is a public confession before the world that they have turned away from the vain things of this life, with its empty bubbles, and have now resolved, henceforth, to live in and for Christ, God being their helper.

Whether or not you could be saved outside of the Church of Christ, I do not propose to discuss here. Let it be sufficient to know that Jesus thought it necessary to leave His throne in heaven and come down among us men to establish a Church, unto Himself, unto which He gave a mission and a work to do, and that "tlwy added daily such to the Church as should he saved" God has made the Church an instrument, in His hands, for the dissemination of Christian knowlege, with the purpose in view of developing Christian character. It is a divine-human institution permeated by the Spirit of Jesus, its Founder, and the duty of the

Church is: to bring moral order out of chaos, to overcome evil with good, darkness with light and error by truth.

It is a divine-human institution established and perpetuated for our benefit; but it only gives us the means of grace and the helps and guidance necessary for our salvation which God for Christ's sake grants us, not by merit, but by grace through faith are we saved.

You join the Church then, in a manner; as you would join a school — for the purpose of receiving help and instruction; and as the school exists for the pupils, so does the Church exist for its members. It is only a help to our salvation. If we wish to learn we must do our part — must study — else the best schools in the land cannot give us an education. So you and I must do our part and use, or appropriate, the means of grace, else we can not be saved in the Church.

You become a member or pupil of a certain school, not because you know all that is taught there, but because you wish to learn what is taught there. In like manner you join the Church of Christ, you become a member, not because you are good, bat because you have resolved to do good, and want all the helps that the Church can give you. because you wish to be obedient to the divine command. And here it is you find men and women of congenial spirits, encouraging and cheering and helping you to live a better and nobler life. 4, They that are whole need no physician."

And remember this fact, my reader; that the Church of Christ does not need you half so much as you need the sanctifying influence that pervades the sanctuary. The Church will stand and flourish whether or not you come within her sacred portals: she is founded on the

Eock, Jesus Christ, and the "gates of hell shall not prevail against her." But it is a sacred duty, which you owe to yourself, to unite with some Church and give your aid and influence for good. God has made you for something worthy, and, if you are unfaithful to your trust, you are unfaithful to yourself. But, I assume that you are a member of the Church of Christ. What now has the Church and the world a right to expect of you? It goes without argument, that faithfulness is one of the necessary essentials to success in any undertaking, and so, my dear friend, if you do not hope to make shipwreck of your faith, I enjoin faithfulness upon you in your Church relations by all means.

If you are unfaithful in your school life, if you neglect to prepare your lessons properly, if you try to pass by unfair means, be assured you will wrong no one so much as yourself. You will be the loser iu the end. You do yourself more harm than any other person. The same holds good in your relation with the Church. By your unfaithfulness, you may bring discredit upon the Church in the eyes of the world. But there are many, who are true and faithful, who will substantiate the high claims of the Church, and you alone will be the sufferer in the end.

Not all who attend school become educated, and not ail who join the Church will be saved,

Connecting with the Church is only the beginning. Many more things must necessarily follow. Not all the grafts that are placed upon a tree will grow; unless they receive the life blood — the sap — of the tree they wither and die. So those who are engrafted into the Church of Christ will grow only when they appropiate to themselves the grace offered by her means.

What, then, is necessary that you may live a true Christian life ? You have now made a profession — a beginning. You will find sore trials and severe temptations before you. However, if, by the help and grace of God, you set your face like a flint toward the heavenly home "looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith," from Whom cometh our help, you will come off more than conqueror. "Pray to the Father in secret and He shall reward thee openly." Do not forget to pray; for prayer is one of the essential weapons in Christian warfare. When our blessed Lord and Savior found it necessary to spend whole nights in prayer; and also taught His disciples that "whatsoever ye ask the Father in My name it shall be given unto you," and when holy men of all ages were moved to resort to prayer as is indicated by the Psalms; Jacob wrestling in prayer, St. Paul ceasing not to pray both night and day for his spiritual children, much more is it necessary for us, poor Christians, to pray for strength, for guidance, and for wisdom, saying: ''keep thou mv wav, O Lord !"

We see the saints of God mighty in prayer. Monica prays for years until her petitions were answered. So must we not fail to pray unceasingly, for it is promised, "ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you," and "the prayer of the righteous man availeth much." Then, my dear friend, do not neglect to ask the Father to lead and guide you, for, though the way may be dark now, in due time He will bring you into the clear sunlight of His plans and purposes.

God will do His part, but do not forget that you also have an important part to perform in ''working out your own salvation." "God only helps those who help themselves." You must, then, not only make your own wants and needs known, but you must also do all you can to better your condition and as far as possible avoid temptations.

Thus, my dear young reader, you see, there are duties and responsibilities which are obligatory upon you. If you want to live a Christian life— a Christ life — then you must do your part. Your former associates may yet be out in the world loving the vain and empty, as well as questionable pleasures of life more than the joys of the Christian, and, if such be the case, then you must abandon the old haunts and associates. You mast turn away from them, for you can never hope to reform your life unless you quit ungodly associates and questionable pleasures; you "can not serve two masters;" you must either serve God or Mammon, no middle ground is possible.

You must leave off the pleasures of sin. This may require a severe struggle, but it must be done to assure your sincerity and security. You must take a firm stand on the Eock, Jesus Christ. Follow Christ, He is the highest possible Model of true manhood. Eead God's Word, and it "will make you wise unto salvation." Thus only can you become an intelligent Bible Christian, and by and by you will become so permeated and filled with Christ thought that you will unconsciously follow Jesus, and then it will be easier to do right than wrong.

But you must also show your love to God and His cause by attending and taking part in all the services in the sanctuary, if possible. These services are for your benefit. The minister selects his themes with the end in view of instructing, inspiring, comforting and helping you. And you should allow nothing, unless it be sickness or death, to detain you at home, and thus cause you to miss the services which are for your soul's welfare. It is so easy to form careless or indifferent habits that we should guard against it. One service missed makes it easier to miss another and thus you become a "stay at home" before you are aware. There are many families with whom the question "who will go to Church today?" is never asked, for it is understood that all will go; with them it has become the rule of life to go up to the house of the Lord regularly. They would no more think of allowing the day to pass by without attending divine services than to do without eating. Let it be the rule of your life to be present in rain or shine, in heat or cold and you will receive blessings for the day of need.

Attend and take part in all the services; be a ivJiole-hearted Christian. Give your aid and influence for good wherever and whenever you can, for, remember, you learn by doing and you grow and gather strength by exercising your powers.

There may be times when matters are not as pleasant as you may wish to see them, but keep on faithfully, hear with the infirmities of others; remember, you too may be in error. Do all you can for the good of your fellowmen and for the glory of God.

And whatever else you do, do not be a fault-finder. They are the bane to any cause. The growlers are never workers and the workers have no time to be growlers. They see the failures and short comings in others, and seldom, if ever, do anything worthy. The\ only make things unpleasant. They are the friction in the machinery, They trouble the smoothe waters. They see the mote in a brother's eye but not the beam in their own. These "are spots in your feasts of charity * * * Clouds they are without water carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots/'

My friends, if you have nothing good to say, seal your lips, for the minister and officers have all the cares they well can bear without hearing of your grievances, isever let your conduct be unbecoming. Nothing is ever gained by being revengeful. It has been the experience of pastors almost universally, that the fault-finders are not the pillars of the Church. They are the weak timbers which make the building insecure. They cool the religious fervor, and cause unpleasantries and sadness. Our prayer is: From all such "good Lord, deliver us."

Again, should members of the church have grieviances, do not allow these petty little differences to interfere with your church. If you and your neighbor, after coming together and praying God to enlighten you, can not agree, then the minister and his officers can not serve as arbiters, either. But first of all, I enjoin upon you St. Paul's advice: "As far as possible live peaceably with all men."

Ever since the little band of Christians, on the day of Pentacost, were organized into a church there have been two kinds of members: — those who help and those who hinder, those who bring sunshine and those who bring clouds, those who warm and those who chill, and you, my reader, belong to one of these classes.

God wants you to be a helper, He has placed you here, in this land of Gospel light, and we have a right to expect you "to walk as children of light."

Yon have too much honor or self-respect to be a "dead-head heating your way"' to heaven; you desire to travel respectably; then be a sincere and conscientious pilgrim traveling to the heavenly Jerusalem. Bring honor to your church. Contribute according to your abilitv for her support. You should have too much pride to leave others pay the bills while you receive the benefits of the church. It is morally wrong. It is unjust to the other members for you to contribute nothing toward her suppoit while you squander, every year, many times more for the luxuries and unnecessaries of life.

If you are rich or poor, your honor and pride should compel you to give according to your ability. As a rule the greater part of the contributions come from the relatively poor. It is they who keep the wheels of the Gospel Chariot oiled; others who come arrayed in purpte and fine linen, driving a span in a fancy carriage, contribute less than some poor washerwomen. But, thank God, there are but few guilty of such base conduct.

And, now, what shall we say, in reply, to those outsiders who claim they "are as good as some in he tchurch?" Their comparisons are always unjust. They compare the worst in the church with the best outside; we frankly admit, to the truth, that there may be some outside of the church as good, in conduct, as some who are in the church — there are some who are good by nature, it comes natural to them and requires no effort, but this does not establish anything against the church as an institution for good. If some members of the church are not what they ought to be, they might still be worse if they were away from the sanctilying influence of the church. The church has a restraining and elevating influence on every one of her members, and there are few persons that are not to some extent, morally and spiritually benefited by their union with church. The tendency of the church is not to make her members bad but good, and. if the good who are outside would enter they would be made still better. But, remember this, the church is not for the perfect, but it, primarily, exists for the purpose of developing a larger and truer life. It enables men to prepare for heavenly citizenship — and as some schools, however good their curriculum may be, fail in making scholars of some who register, so the Church of God can not help the man who will not help himself.

But who made you a judge of your fellowmen? Can you see into the heart and read the hidden motives? Are you

THE CHURCH MEMBER.

omniscient that you can sit in judgment on the members of the church? The church through her influence has done more good for the world than all other forces combined; in fact, she is the mother and pioneer of all benefits and blessings we enjoy today. Her influence is felt in every department of life and you have free speech because the ''truth has made you free."

"Think gently of the erring one!

And let us not forget, However darkly stained by sin.

He is our brother yet.

Heir of the same inheritance,

Child of the self-same God; He hath but stumbled in the path

We have in weakness trod."

Chapter II. The Christian Sox Or Daughter IX The Home

My kind reader, if you are still in the home of your childhood and youth enjoying the love and care of a fond mother and the protection and counsel of a wise father, you are certainly a fortunate child. You still haye the comforts and privileges of home which you can find nowhere else once the old home is broken up, and now, remember, too, that these comforts and privileges, of home, which you are enjoying bear with them grave responsibilities and sacred duties. Your rights are based on your duties and responsibilities. It is because you and I have obligations which we owe to our God and to our fellowmen from which no one can release us, that we have rights and privileges from w r hich no man shall rob as.

Yoa are a member of your household, and all the blessings and privileges which you now enjoy have come to you through the wise management and weary toil of your parents, and those before them. You have been, to them, a source of care and anxiety. Many were the sleepless nights they spent watching over and caring for you during that critical period of your life — childhood. Their own comforts were disregarded for your sake. Their whole life has been spent for you, and if they are Christian parents, by the help of God, they did their best to bring you up in the fear and love of God, so that you might become a noble man or woman who would be a blessing in the home and a benefit to society, and the Church. Now it is with you. Will you be true and noble, and thus bring joy and gladness to their hearts in okl age or will you turn away from their counsel and be wicked, thus bringing premature gray hairs down to an early grave ?

In the providence of God, children were intended to be a blessing to parents, but, at times, that which is intended for a blessing becomes a curse.

We witness the closing scene of Rachel's life. Her life is ebbing away in giving birth to her last child. She knew she must die, and with her last gasping breath says: We will call him Benoni which is ''son of my sorrow," but, after her death, Jacob, who loved his Eachel dearly, thought that, in a manner, the child would make up for the loss — it would be to him a comfort, companion and thus, in a degree, at least compensate for the great loss of the mother — and so he named the babe, Benjamin, which is "son of consolation." Thus every child is, to his parents, either a Benoni or a Benjamin ; either a "son of sorrow," or a "son of consolation. " Which, by God's help, my young reader, will you be?

In the mysterious law of life, the link that unites God and the child is the parents. It has pleased God to place them over us and all we have and all we are now we owe to them.

The great Lincoln only expressed the sentiment of all true and worthy children when he said: "All I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother ; blessings on her memory. I remember her prayers, thev have always followed me, they have clung to me all my life."

Most of the joy comes to fond parents in seeing and hearing of a child's noble conduct in life, and so, on the other hand, the greatest sorrow is to see a child go down the broad way that leads to certain ruin.

IN THE HOME.

Every parent builds great hopes upon his child, and truly: "A wise son maketh a glad father but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother." Bat why multiply quotations from the Word of God which is so rich and full of advice and admonition on the subject ? It is a self-evident fact that a parent is either honored or dishonored by the child.

We have the sad and untimely end of Absalom — a promising young man who had all the privileges aud opportunities of becoming a worthy son of a great father. His father, David, had built great hopes on him, but Absalom did not appreciate the privileges that were his. He became dissatisfied, and wickedly turned against his father and benefactor, which ended in the death" of the rebellious son.

The parable of the Prodigal son leaving a good home, and a kind, loving father, with all the comfort and conveniences, going out into the world and at last reduced to beggary, causing an aged parent sorrow and anguish untold, illustrates the conduct of many a child who does not realize the blessings of a good home until deprived of it.

Oh think of it, my young readers; think of what a debt of gratitude you owe to your father and mother ! Think of their prayers and tears in your behalf and on account of your ungrateful conduct ; and be true and honorable, as God meant you should be. Be kind and considerate for their welfare. Remember our Savior's conduct toward his weeping mother at the foot of the cross. Make your religion a practical thing ! Tour home should be better and happier, your walk and conversation more heavenly, and your parents more joyful because of your religion.

Be true to your home life. Never let your conduct be the cause of sorrow to your fond parents.

"The old man eloquent," John Quincy Adams, said: "If I had no other inducement to live a true life, I would do so because of the joy it brings to my loving parents who spent their best days for me." What a noble son of noble parents ! If every child in the land would entertain such lofty . sentiments, we would, indeed, And few, if any, broken-hearted parents.

Yes, you may have had superior advantages for education ; you may outclass your parents far in book learning, but remember, there are many, very many things which you can only learn as they learned them — by experience — and you will find when you reach their age that your opinions will also be greatly modified, because they have become matured with age and experience.

All great and good men have been obedient and dutiful sons in their home life. There they learned those lessons of industry, obedience, respect for others, in fact, all that goes to make a true and useful life.

Honor your parents, my young friends. Eemember no one ever gets beyond honoring those who were to us a blessing. u The father of our country " — Washington — after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, when the war for Independence was over, returned to his beloved Mt. Vernon home. A large assemblage of his friends and countrymen had gathered at his old homestead awaiting his arrival. They waited long. Morning passed into midday and midday was drawing toward eventide, when amid deafening cheers we see him appear, but, he pays no attention to those about, he presses through the crowd to where his aged mother was seated. He must first pay his respects to her. On being congratulated on her great son, the mother simply replied : "Yes, George always was an obedient child. "

Oh, be an honor to your parents. God meant you should be a joy to them in their declining days. Regard and respect them for what they have done. Be a Benjamin, a "son of consolation," for "the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him."

Remember, you will not always have your home as it is now. The time will come when, one by one, they must go, and if you now do your part faithfully in the home, you will have no cause tor regret in after years when it is broken up.

May God be with you. May the spirit lead you so that your home may be better for your religion is our prayer.

"Do they miss me at home? Do they miss me

'T would be an assurance most dear, To know at this moment some loved one

Was saying, 'I wish he was here.' To feel that the group at the fireside

Were thinking of me as 1 roam! Oh, yes! 'twould be joy beyond measure,

To know that they missed me at home."

Chapter III. The Christian Parent And His Duty In The Home

We assume that we are writing to Christian parents who are teaching their children, both by precept and example, to become God-feariijg men and women.

To become a parent is to assume the sacred and responsible task of the bringing up and training of an immortal being, for time and for eternity, for which God holds you responsible. W e take it for granted that every thoughtful and considerate parent loves to see his children grow up to useful manhood or true womanhood, and hence, they go before them and set an example worthy of emulation. One of the saddest expressions I ever heard — one which would cut the heart of any father to the quick — was uttered by a young man who with tears in his eyes said: "My father never gave me one single example worthy of imitation." Oh, fathers, let this never be said of you. Let not your sins rest upon posterity's head.

When a child comes to your home, it comes with these solemn words from your Heavenly Father: "Take this child and nurse it for me and I will pay thee thy wages." "Take this child and nurse it," that is, educate and bring it up in the way of true manhood or womanhood for me, that is for the Lord, and I, the Lord, will pay thee thy wages. These wages, or reward for faithfulness, come to you, parents, when you see your child do noble in life, for the parent is honored through and by the child. You are proud of a worthy son or daughter — you have a right to be— they bring joy to your soul. This is the wages you receive for doing your duty by them. Ketnember, parents, no matter how brilliant an intellect your child may have, it must be fostered, developed and trained aright, else that which was intended as a blessing becomes a curse. No matter how religiously inclined your child may be, he needs a parent's example and encouragement. Bear in mind that the influence of home training is second to none other. All other forces combined cannot atone for neglected childhood in the homes of our land. The causes of crime are legion, but none weighs so heavily as neglected childhood.

The early impressions can never be eradicated. During the first seven or eight years of a child's life, the training has a greater power to mold the life and character, for weal or for woe, than the training of all subsequent time. Who of us does not remember the friends, the home, and the incidents of the sunny days of childhood more clearly than any since "? "Scratch the green rind of a young tree and it will leave an ugly scar forever." So is it with the first impressions on the young and tender mind of childhood.