ARE THESE THINGS SO? by Christian Advocate

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 9, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 48.

ARE THESE THINGS SO?

By Christian Advocate

THEY who worship God in spirit and in truth will worship him both in private and in public. The tendency to be content with the more conspicuous and showy forms of devotion should be scrupulously guarded against by Christians. That this tendency is at work among the members of the various Christian churches there can be no doubt. Secret prayer and family devotion do not receive the attention they deserve, nor are they observed as punctually and generally among Christians as are the public services of the sanctuary. There are many who go regularly to the house of God on the Sabbath, some of them occupying official positions in the church, who habitually neglect the more private religious exercises whereby the saints have been wont to draw nigh to God. Where this is true, there is something wrong, and the wrong is serious.

A correspondent who says he has made inquiries in five different pastoral charges, states that out of twenty-three class leaders, only nine observed family worship in any form. Of fifteen Sunday school superintendents, only four had worship in their homes; of forty-seven stewards, only sixteen pretended to attend to this duty. On another charge there were forty-two families in which both husband and wife were members of the church, and only nine of them conducted worship in their homes. Of twenty-two wives whose husbands were not members, only one held worship in the family; and of twelve widows, only four had family prayers. On another charge four families out of thirty-five were found where domestic worship was maintained; and of twenty-one women whose husbands were not Christians, only one observed religious worship in her family. These facts are not sufficient to enable one to determine the state of affairs with reference to this singularly important duty throughout the entire church; but they cover ground enough to render them peculiarly significant. If a similar condition should be found to exist in all parts of the country among Christian people, the case is alarming. An inquiry on this line should be conducted by each Christian for himself, and the remedy is with those who find themselves delinquent.

Some have been deterred from engaging in family worship by the impression that it is some formidable task which they are not able to undertake. No set form of religious service can be marked out for the household. They may be ever so simple and yet lack nothing in effectiveness. If a lesson from the Bible should be read regularly once or twice a day in the family, and silent prayer offered, the conditions of family devotion would be met. This would be far better than no worship at all. Infinite good would result from this simple plan, which any household could carry out. It would be better still if audible prayer should be offered. This should never be omitted, except in rare cases. Matthew Henry said, "They who daily pray in their homes do well; they that not only pray, but read the Scriptures also, do better; but they do best of all who not only pray, and read the Scriptures, but sing the praises of God." No form of household worship can be said to be complete without prayer, reading the Bible, and singing; but let no one neglect to do what he can because he cannot do all these.—Christian Advocate.