I tell you, my brother-men, it has become too much the fashion in these latter days to sneer and jeer at the old-fashioned ways of the old-fashioned American household.  Something too much of iron there may have been in the Puritan’s temper; something too little of sunlight may have come in through the narrow windows of his house.  But that house had foundations, and the virile virtues lived in it.  There were plenty of red corpuscles in his blood, and his heart beat in time with the eternal laws of right, even though its pulsations sometimes seemed a little slow and heavy.  It would be well for us if we could get back into the old way, which proved itself to be the good way, and maintain, as our fathers did, the sanctity of the family, the sacredness of the marriage-vow, the solemnity of the mutual duties binding parents and children together.  From the households that followed this way have come men that could rule themselves as well as their fellows, women that could be trusted as well as loved.  Read the history of such families, and you will understand the truth of the poet’s words:—­

  “Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,—­
  These three alone lead life to sovereign power.”

Look around you in the world and see what way it is that has brought your fellow-men to peace and quietness of heart, to security and honour of life.  Is it the way of unbridled self-indulgence, of unscrupulous greed, of aimless indolence?  Or is it the way of self-denial, of cheerful industry, of fair dealing, of faithful service?  If true honour lies in the respect and grateful love of one’s fellow-men, if true success lies in a contented heart and a peaceful conscience, then the men who have reached the highest goal of life are those who have followed most closely the way to which Jesus Christ points us and in which He goes before us.

III.  Walk therein and ye shall find rest for your souls.  Right action brings rest.

Rest!  Rest!  How that word rings like a sweet bell through the turmoil of our age.  We are rushing to and fro, destroying rest in our search for it.  We drive our automobiles from one place to another, at furious speed, not knowing what we shall do when we get there.  We make haste to acquire new possessions, not knowing how we shall use them when they are ours.  We are in a fever of new discoveries and theories, not knowing how to apply them when they are made.  We feed ourselves upon novel speculations until our heads swim with the vertigo of universal knowledge which changes into the paresis of universal doubt.

But in the hours of silence, the Spirit of Wisdom whispers a secret to our hearts.  Rest depends upon conduct.  The result of your life depends upon your choosing the good way and walking in it.

And to you I say, my brother-men, choose Christ, for He is the Way.  All the strength and sweetness of the best possible human life are embodied in Him.  All the truth that is needed to inspire and guide man to noble action and fine character is revealed in Him.  He is the one Master altogether worthy to be served and followed.  Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.