present communication, I propose to treat of another branch of worship, not less interesting or advantageous than the other, generally designated family or domestic worship. The principle which enjoins us to perform, at stated intervals, this kind of devotion, appears to me so obvious and simple, and in such perfect accordance with the spirit of our common Christianity, that its general neglect among Christians is as much a matter of astonishment, as it is of humiliation and regret. For what is more consonant with the dictates of enlightened reason, with the teachings of nature around us, with the natural promptings of the human heart, and the very principle of our social condition, than that the various members of a family, united as they are by the most sacred and endearing ties, should meet around an altar, which they have erected in the midst of their habitation, from which ascends to heaven the fragrance of the morning and evening sacrifice? A scene more de

lightful, more truly inspiring-on which angels might even gaze with rapture, and which the God of purity beholds with the approving smiles of his love, the imagination cannot paint the mind itself cannot conceive. How natural, that those whom Providence has united and formed into families, should daily kneel around one common altar, to offer up to the great Author and Preserver of their lives, their praises and thanksgivings. The beauty and freshness of the morning, calls, even from the feathered tribes, the "morning song." The dawn of day, and the rising of the sun, excite even in them the pleasurable emotions of continued existence. And can man, and the families of man, remain insensible to the preserving energy of the Almighty-especially, in a world so beautiful and lovely as our own, where the eye cannot turn without contemplating some object which reminds us of the goodness of Him "in whom we live, and move, and have our being"? Family worship, then, seems to grow out of the condition of our social being. It has no positive commands from Scripture, for it needs none. It rests on that great and all-pervading principle in the moral government of God, on which revelation itself depends-the tendency to promote happiness. I pity those who are always questioning the divine authority, of what is not verbally sanctioned by God; who cannot read in the blessed volumes of his word and works, the primary and all-comprehensive principles of moral and religious duty. Men are too

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slow in learning, that every thing which tends to enhance our virtue and elevate our souls, has, though not verbally, yet virtually stamped upon it, the authority of the Divinity. A religion that shall be permanently beneficial to man, must not consist so much in minute details of what he is to do, and what he is to refrain from doing, as in imparting a light and power to the mind, that shall enable him to develope, progressively, the capabilities and affections of his moral and spiritual nature. For this reason, I am not anxious to show that family worship is an express command of Christianity; indeed, how few things relating to religion are thus authoritatively sanctioned? But if I succeed in showing, that domestic worship is in unison with the spirit of the gospel, and adapted to our present condition, which the above remarks, though brief, I think sufficiently prove, and that it is attended with some of the most important advantages to ourselves and families, you will not, I believe, consider it less imperative as a means or duty, because it is not formally commanded.

One of the chief benefits of domestic worship, I consider to be, its constant and powerful tendency to cherish and keep alive affectionate and devotional feelings in the breasts of a family. We all know-at least all who have paid any attention to the growth and developement of their religious affections-how prone our nature is to suffer our pious and devotional feelings to become less ardent and pure, unless those means which excite and strengthen them are frequently employed. The good impressions produced on the mind by the public worship of the Sabbath, would, we apprehend, suffer great diminution in their vividness and strength, were religion to be wholly forgotten through the week. The worship of the Almighty on the Lord's day only, can never be sufficient to satisfy the longings of the immortal soul. I should have but a very mean opinion of the sincerity and efficacy of that man's worship in the house of prayer, who never prays to his God during the week. It is hardly possible that a truly good man can spend one day-nay, scarcely one hour, without thinking of his religious condition-of God and eternity! How beneficial, then, must be family worship, as the means of creating in us an abiding sense of our Creator, and of giving a practical efficiency to the public duties and instructions of the Sabbath.

Domestic worship has likewise a powerful tendency to

effect that, which alone can fully show the beautiful influence of religion on the whole of human character, by bringing it home to the heart, and of introducing it into the scenes of every-day life. It is by thus welcoming religion into our dwellings-among our children-in our business-that can exhibit how valuable and lovely she is. We all need to correct that delusion of the mind, which, through the world's influence, is so apt to steal upon us, that religion is only a weekly concern. Family worship would at least convince us, that it is a daily concern; and if it was sincerely and heartily performed, we should soon be convinced, under the blessed influences of God's grace, that it was the great concern of our lives.

There is another advantage arising from family worship, which, from its numerous and important bearings, I feel myself utterly incompetent fully to describe. I mean the influence which it has on our children and domestics. I almost fear to touch on a subject so sacred and fraught with consequences to generations yet unborn. I have often thought that religion, in one of its grandest bearings, has not yet received from its avowed advocates and teachers, the full reward to which it has the most indisputable claim. To delineate accurately and fully the whole influence which Christianity is capable of exerting on the formation of human character, is a task, perhaps, that transcends the finite powers of man. But though we cannot measure the extent of its influence, we can, in some degree at least, by attention to our moral state, appreciate its nature and excellence. What a powerful and beneficial influence must religion, in the form of the morning and evening sacrifice, have on the minds of a family? The idea of prayer becomes associated in the mind of the child, with all the pleasing and innocent scenes and recollections of boyhood; and parental attachment, piety, and virtue, grow with his growth, till, at length, when called to act for himself, when, perhaps, he no longer enjoys the unspeakable advantage of a parent's advice, or the solicitude of a parent's care, he finds religion, thus fostered, grown into a principle of action, which forms a component part of his moral nature. Should the demons of temptation in after-life surround him, their darts will fall harmless; for so permanent is the influence of early religious instruction, that the recollection of prayers which an aged parent now no more, offered up for his purity and

steadfastness, will restrain his wanderings and protect his virtue. How many have been brought back, after having partially left the path of innocence and duty, by merely entering again the abode of their infancy and childhood, it is, alas, impossible to tell! The spot is still visible where the family altar once stood, around which were daily gathered so many innocent minds and happy hearts; every thing beside may be changed-a sad picture of human mutability! but the thoughts of former times will rush into the mind-the prayers there once offered will be audible to the excited imagination, though the voice which uttered them be silent in the grave! It is impossible, under the present constitution of the human mind, that the services around the domestic altar can fail to have a favourable, and, in most cases, a lasting influence on the young. But to secure these great advantages, family devotion should be neither formal nor long. In the first case, it is uninteresting and austere in its aspect; in the latter, it becomes tedious and wearisome. Family devotion should be short, simple, and expressive, adapted to the condition and capacities of all who are capable of understanding its nature, and who are expected to join in its celebration. Religion should, to the young especially, be divested of every gloomy appearance; it would then be regarded not as a formal task, the sooner got over the better, but as a sacred and interesting duty, on the sincere and conscientious performance of which, depends the highest happiness of human life. Besides, family worship has a beneficial influence on the minds of servants, for whose moral and religious improvement the heads of families should consider themselves in some degree responsible. When domestic worship is neglected, they are deprived of certain important advantages by the negligence or irreligion of those whose duty it is to conduct it. If the heads of a family make an open profession of Christianity, by attaching themselves to some religious community, and yet fail to observe in their households, family prayer, a case, we fear, by no means uncommon, what is the inference which their domestics, nay, their children, are likely to draw from this much to be lamented fact? Why, that those whom Providence has placed as heads and guardians over them, are either insincere in their professions, or guilty of a gross neglect of parental duty. My friends, you that are fathers or mothers, allow

not, from any kind of indifference or neglect, your children and servants to form an opinion of you so disreputable as this. Be true to yourselves and to your God, and you will be true to them. Your charge is an awful one; many immortal souls are committed to your care; be anxious, then, that none be lost through your indifference or neglect. Family prayer, connected with religious instruction, and the practical reading of the Scriptures, will, by God's blessing, enable you to avoid so dreadful a consequence, and finally to rejoice with each member of your little family on earth, when united to the numerous and happy family in heaven! The union of hearts and souls, in the sacred exercises of family devotion, affords a blessed foretaste of that happiness which shall never end:* "Then kneeling down to Heaven's Eternal King, The saint, the father, and the husband prays;

Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing,'

That thus they all shall meet in future days:

There ever bask in uncreated rays,

No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear,
Together hymning their Creator's praise,
In such society, yet still more dear;

While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere." Farther, domestic prayer is a means of obtaining domestic blessings and domestic peace. He who heareth and answereth the humble prayer of an individual, will not surely turn a deaf ear to the united supplications of a worshipping family. If individual prayer have an enlivening and consoling influence on the mind, and if it be the means of procuring those spiritual blessings, which give a zest to the Christian life, and which could not otherwise be procured-can you, for a moment, doubt that the earnest prayers of a family are available in the sight of God, and promotive of the highest and best interests of that family? It is impossible to know, indeed, to what extent our private or social prayers are availing. On all particulars relative to this subject, we must, from its very nature, necessarily remain profoundly ignorant. But that prayer is efficacious-that it is the appointed

* It is with pleasure, that, among the many useful books on the subject of this letter, I can refer with entire satisfaction, the readers of the Christian Pioneer and the heads of families in general, to a very valuable and practical volume of sermons, expressly designed to be read in families, edited by the Rev. J. R. Beard; a second edition of which is expected to be shortly published, in which will be added to each sermon, an appropriate prayer.