ath of his
childhood.

PUBLIC WORSHIP.

Make the sabbath a day of religious activity. First of all, of course,
is attendance at public worship. "There is a discrepancy," says John
McNeill, "between our creed about the sabbath day and our actual
conduct. In many families, at ten o'clock on the sabbath, attendance
at church is still an open question. There is no open question on
Monday morning--'John, will you go to work to-day?'"

A minister rebuked a farmer for not attending church, and said, "You
know John you are never absent from market."

"O," was the reply, "we _must_ go to market."

Some one has said that without the sabbath the church of Christ could
not, as a visible organization, exist on earth. Another has said that
"we need to be in the drill of observance as well as in the liberty of
faith." Human nature is so treacherous that we are apt to omit things
altogether unless there is some special reason for doing them. A man
is not likely to worship at all unless he has regularly appointed
times and means for worship. Family and private devotions are almost
certain to be omitted altogether unless one gets into the habit, and
has a special time set apart daily.

A REMINISCENCE.

I remember blaming my mother for sending me to church on the sabbath.
On one occasion the preacher had to send some one into the gallery to
wake me up. I thought it was hard to have to work in the field all the
week, and then to be obliged to go to church and hear a sermon I
didn't understand. I thought I wouldn't go to church any more when I
got away from home; but I had got so in the habit of going that I
couldn't stay away. After one or two sabbaths, back again to the house
of God I went. There I first found Christ, and I have often said
since,

"Mother, I thank you for making me go to the house of God when I
didn't want to go."

Parents, if you want your children to grow up and honor you, have them
honor the sabbath day. Don't let them go off fishing, and getting into
bad company, or it won't be long before they will come home and curse
you. I know few things more beautiful than to see a father and mother
coming up the aisle with their daughters and sons, and sitting down
together to hear the Word of God. It is a good thing to have the
children, not in some remote loft or gallery, but in a good place,
well in sight. Though they cannot understand the sermon now, when they
get older they won't desire to break away, they will