A PLAIN DISCOURSE OF The Mercy of Having GOOD PARENTS With The Duties of CHILDREN that have such Parents Written by M. G. Train up a Child in the Way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it Prov. 22.6 Printed in the year 1668. To the Honourable the Lady A. W. Madam YOur Honors constant and chearful attendance to these plain Truths when delivered in your Family did then incourage me in that Work and now to present them to your Honour not doubting but you will cordially receive the Truths though covered with an ordinary dress judg of them according to the End for which they were written which was the good of yours your sweet Childrens Souls and the sincere desires that accompany them that they may prove effectual to that end What I have here written your Honour can much more perfectly teach us by your own experience the Lord having by his gracious Providence made you the Daughter of holy Parents who prayed for you instructed you and from a Child made you acquainted with the Scriptures and blessing their Endeavours made you a godly Child and gave you the same unfained Faith that dwelt in your Father and Mother and made you now the gratious Mother of many sweet Children whom I hope the Lord will bless with his Grace according to your earnest desires and endeavours Be incouraraged to trust God with them to believe that he will bless them being your Children and the Grand-children of those eminent godly Persons and bring them to know him that they may be blessed for ever Now the Lord bless you and the fruit of your Womb that all your children may fear him grant that his grace may run in your Family for ever and that you and all yours may be eternally happy shall be the prayers of him that desires an Interest in your prayers and shall for ever be Madam Jan. 1. Your Honours most faithful obliged Servant M. G. 2 Tim. 1.5 When I call to remembrance the unfained Faith that is in thee which dwelt first in thy Grandmother Lois and thy Mother Eunice and I am perswaded in thee also CHAP. I. The Text opened and an Observation raised and proved THe words you see are a part of Pauls Epistle to Timothy his Son in the faith 1 Tim. 1.2 which words may be considered in two respects First Relatively and that either 1. In respect of the words foregoing and then they are the cause of Pauls Joy in the fourth verse Paul remembring the unfained faith of Timothy was filled with Joy From whence observe That Believers do exceedingly rejoyce especially those that have been Instruments of their Conversion when they see the Reality of Grace in the Souls of others Or Secondly They may be considered in relation to the following words and so they are the reason of that Exhortation in the sixth verse from which you may observe these two things 1 Observ Paul had not exhorted Timothy to preach to others but that he was perswaded of his unfained faith 2 Observ Before you teach others you must see that you have unfained Faith your selves Secondly Positively as they are in themselves and then the words contain these two things 1. Pauls remembring the unfained Faith of Timothy 2. That it dwelt first in his Grandmother and Mother which he mentions first for the comfort of Timothy and his establishment and secondly for the honour of the Family The end of the whole Discourse is to comfort and strengthen Timothy and to prepare him for the following Exhortations I shall now open the words Call to remembrance That is When I think of or remember thy faith Vnfained Faith That is real or sincere faith faith without dissimulation You have the same word used in several places as 1 Tim. 1 5. Of faith unfained that is not hypocritical 2 Cor. 6.6 By Love unfained that is sincere Love So 1 Pet. 1.22 Vnfained Love And Rom. 12.9 Love without Dissimulation or pure Love the same is spoken of the Wisdom of Christians Jam. 3.17 without Hypocrisie So that you see that the word notes a real sincere Faith without hypocrisie or dissimulation Which dwelt c. Not the same numerical faith but the same specifical or kind of faith as if he had said Thy Grandmother Lois and thy Mother Eunice had the same sincere unfained faith From the words thus opened I shall raise several Observations The first shall be from the Apostles mentioning the faith of his Grandmother and Mother Whence observe Obser 1. It is a very great Mercy to be the Child of Godly Parents of such as have unfained Faïth And that for these following Reasons The first Reason It is a great mercy to be the Children of believing Parents because there are many Promises made to such which they may lay hold on and plead with God and it is a very great mercy to have a Promise to plead with God but the Seed of the Righteous have such Promises Exod. 20.6 But shewing Mercy to thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments That is the Lord will be merciful to the Children of those that love him So Isa 44.3 I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine Off-spring The Righteous may plead this Promise for their Children and so may their Children for themselves and is not this a great mercy You might have been the Children of such as have an interest in nothing but curses upon them and their Seed but you have blessed Promises to plead with God Therefore it is a great Mercy to be the Children of Godly Parents CHAP. II. Reasons to prove the Doctrine Godly Parents pray for their Children Instruct them in the Scripture and incourage them in all good The second Reason IT is a great mercy to be the Children of godly Parents because such Children have many Prayers for them and are dayly dedicated by their Parents to God a godly Parent considereth the state of his Child and prays earnestly for him he cries unto God as Abraham did for his Son I shmael Gen. 17 18. And Abraham said unto God O that Ishmael might live before thee so saith a Godly Father or Mother O that such a Son or such a Daughter might live before thee and though God bestows Graces upon some of their Children yet they still continue praying for the rest as Abraham did for Ishmael though he had a Promise that the Seed of Sarah should be blessed Gen. 17.16 A Godly man will not cease from praying till all his Children be gracious but cryes out to God to bless all his Seed and that for ever as 2 Sam. 7.26 Let it please thee to bless the House of thy Servant that it may continue for ever before thee and with thy blessing let the House of thy Servant be blessed for ever that is bless all my Seed for by house is meant those that are born in his house that have
a relation to him and he prays that as long as any of them dwell upon the Land of the Living they may be blessed So doth Godly persons pray for their Children is it not a great mercy to have Parents that will daily offer Sacrifice for us as Job did for his Children Job 1.5 You might have had Parents that would never have prayed for you or if they had had no Interest with God but you have such as pray often for you it may be when you cannot or do not pray for your selves and is not this a great mercy While wicked persons dedicate their Children to the service of Satan Godly Parents when God gives them Children dedicates them to the Lord and by Faith give them to be his Children for ever as Hanna did Samuel 1. Sam. 1.26 27 28. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth That is the Child that God hath given me I give to God to Worship him for ever Thus do all godly Parents when God gives them Children they give them to Worship and serve God This will appear to be a very great mercy if you consider how acceptable the Prayers of the Righteous are to God The Prayers of the wicked are an Abomination but the Prayers of the Righteous are a sweet smelling savour before him Prov. 15.8 God rejecteth the Prayers of the wicked but receives the Prayers of the Godly the fervent Prayer of the Righteous a vaileth much with God God is far from wicked persons but he heareth the Prayers of the Righteous Prov. 15.29 Therefore it is a great mercy to be the Child of such Parents The third Reason It is a mercy to be the Child of godly Parents because such Children are Instructed in good things especially in the knowledge of the Scriptures and the Fundamentals of Religion As soon as the Child is capable of Instruction they begin to Instruct him and acquaint him with good things presently fall to Instruct them in the Truth of God and to make them acquainted with his mind they readily obey that command Deut. 6 6 7. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy Children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up Deut. 11.19 Psal 7.4 5 6. that is thou shalt take all opportunities to Instruct thy Children a wicked man that rejects the Commands of God out of his heart is not like to teach them his Children but godly Parents that hide the Commands of God in their hearts will be ready always to teach them to their Children the love they have to the Souls of their Children doth oblige them so to do besides they have a love to the commands of God that engageth them to spread them abroad as much as they can They deal with their Children as godly Eunice did with her Son Timothy make them from their Childhood to know the Scriptures 2 Tim. 3.15 And that from a Child thou hast known the holy Scriptures Consider that the Scriptures contain the whole Mind of God and have in them every thing that concerns our Salvation that they are the words of Eternal Life and that they are able to make you wise to Salvation 2 Tim. 3.15 Wicked Parents leave their Children in Ignorance or Instruct them in Superstition and Vanity but the godly Instruct their Children in the Scriptures Is it not then a great mercy to be the Children of such Parents CHAP. III. They are instructed what sin is made acquainted with Christ with Gospel Duties with Heaven and Hell GOdly Parents in instructing their Children in the Scriptures do take special care to teach them the fundamentals of Religion and those Truths that are most necessary to Salvation and these they paticularly instructs them in and they are such as follow I. They make them acquainted with sin they do not lead them into sin but they teach them First what is sin that they may avoid it they shew them the Law of God and acquaint them with what is evil They tell them that to lie is a sin to swear is a sin c. and bid them avoyd them And this is a mercy Secondly They do not rest there but they tell them also what an evil sin is they open to them the nature of sin that it is a transgression of Gods holy Law that it is that which is contrary to God They shew them also the danger of sinning and the fruits and effects of it that it is that which made God cast our fore fathers out of Paradise and it is that which made glorious Angels become Devils It is that which makes God cast his Creatures to Hell for ever It is that which brings all the misery that is in the World Sin was that that destroyed Sodom and drowned the old World and it is that that will destroy every one that walks in it it is a mercy to know this betimes Thirdly They acquaint their Children with their natural Pollution and tell them what their condition is by sin that they are all under sin and by nature in a lost condition and if they do not get from that Condition they will be undone for ever and so put them upon looking after deliverance and is not this a great mercy for wicked Parents do neither tell their Children what is sin nor what an evil sin is nor what their condition is by sin till they drop to Hell therefore it is a mercy to have good Parents II. Godly Parents when they have acquainted their Children with sin acquaint them also with the Way and Means to be delivered from sin they tell them that there is a Fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness and that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the World to save his people from their sins Mat. 1.21 That he is able to save all those that come to him and will most certainly save them if they believe in him they describe the excellency of his Person that they may be taken with him and lay open his Offices before them shewing that he hath satisfied for sin and hath conquered all the Enemies of our Salvation and that there is strength to be had with him to overcome sin they are always speaking to them of Christ and of his love to sinners Shewing the riches and freeness of his Grace and what perfect Salvation is to be had and these things take the hearts of their Children whereas many Parents never speak of these things to their Children Therefore it is a great mercy to have good Parents III. The Children of godly Parents are made acquainted with Gospel Duties and Ordinances their Parents teach them which are the duties of the Gospel believing and obeying and shew them the necessity of performing them For he that believeth not is condemned already the fruitfulness and pleasure
a gracious Soul-satisfying Redeemer they tell them that they never saw the Righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread Psal 37.25 They tell them what joy and pleasure they have found in holiness and experiences are very prevalent to perswade Souls Wicked Parents have no such experiences to teach their Children therefore it is a mercy to be the child of good Parents CHAP. VI. Other Reasons they have such as make Conscience of providing for them they are both spared and rewarded for their Parents good their estates got honestly The Tenth Reason TO be the Children of Godly Parents is a great mercy because such make conscience of providing for the good of their childrens Souls and Bodies they are conscienciously bound to educate their Children in the fear of God and to match and settle them so as they may be incouraged in those hings And so also to provide for their bodies to breed them in honest Callings and to leave them as much outward Estates as they can they are conscienciously bound to Improve their Estates in an honest way for for their Children Prov. 13.22 A Good man leaveth an Inheritance to his Children strives so to do however his Holiness and Sincerity is an Inheritance to them Believers consider that place seriously 1 Tim. 5.8 But if any provide not for his own and especially to those of his own house or kindred he hath denied the Faith and is worse than an Infidel Infidels have a natural tye on them to provide for their Families but Believers have both a Natural and Conscientious tye to provide for theirs Therefore it is a mercy to be the Children of such The eleventh Reason It is a great mercy to have godly Parents because God oftentimes rewards Children for the good of their Parents and with-holds Judgments from seizing upon them upon the account of their Parents Lev. 26.42 I will remember my Covenant with Jacob and I will remeber the Land verse 44. and I will not cast them away neither will I destroy them utterly that is upon the account of their Godly fore-Fathers 1 Kings 11.34 Howbeit I will take the whole Kingdom out of his hand but I will make him Prince all the dayes of his life for David my Servants sake whom I chose because he kept my Commands and my Statutes How is a Judgment with-held and a Mercy bestowed upon the account of the Godliness of a Father so 2 Kings 10.30 Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes thy Children to the fourth Generation shall sit on the Throne of Israel so Prov. 20.7 The Just man walketh in his Integrity his Children are blessed after him that is on the account of his Integrity Personal goodness is a good means to bring Safety Honour Wealth and many comfortable blessings on Posterity Therefore it is a mercy to be the Children of such The twelfth Reason It is a mercy to be the Children of godly Parents because their Estates come with a blessing they are gotten honestly and so God blesseth them and a little with a blessing is better than a great deal that the wicked bath Psal 3.7 A little that a Righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked because God blesseth the one and curseth the other the one is got justly and the other unrighteously Prov. 15.16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great Treasures with trouble That which is gathered in the fear of God though little is better then great Possessions got wickedly for usually it comes to nothing having a Curse going along with it therefore it is a mercy to be Children of godly Parents CHAP. VII Other Reasons there is a curse on the wicked and their Seed and the children of Believers have an interest in the Covenant The thirteenth Reason 'T Is a great mercy to be the Children of good Parents because the Seed of the Wicked are under a curse and God often-times pours down a curse upon them on the account of their Parents Exod. 20.5 Visiting the sins of the Fathers upon the Children As for eternal Judgments every one suffers for his own sins but for the Fathers sins the children are often punished in body in goods and other things which they had and derive from their Parents Numb 14.33 And your Children shall walk in the Wilderness forty years and bear your whordoms So 1 Sam. 15.3 Smite Amaleck and utterly destroy all that he hath and spare them not but slay both man and woman infant and suckling Ox and Ass Camel and Sheep Amaleck sinned and his children suffer So that you see it is a mercy to be the children of good Parents The fourteenth Reason It is a great mercy to be the children of Godly Parents because such have an interest in the Covenant of Grace the Covenant belongs to the Faith 〈…〉 their Seed Gen. 17.7 〈…〉 will establish my Covenant â—â—…een me thee and thy Seed after thee in their Generations for an everlasting Covenant to be a God to thee and thy Seed after thee Jer. 32.39 where the Covenant is mentioned it is said to be for the good of them and their Seed after them And although there are none saved but the faithful children of Believers yet all the children of Believers have an interest in the external part of â—â—e Covenant They are to be baptised Many of Gods people are not 〈◊〉 my mind in â—â—is but I hope â—â—ey will not be â—â—nded with 〈◊〉 for declaâ—â—g my mind they have a foederal holiness and that gives them a title to baptism for that does seem to be the direct â—â—eaning of that place 1 Cor. â— 14 For the unbelâ—eving â—usband is sanctified by the â—elieving Wife and the unbeâ—eving Wife is sanctified by â—â—e Husband else were your â—hildren unclean but now are â—â—ey holy This husbands sanâ—â—ifying of the Wife or the â—â—fe the Husband is not â—â—…ant real sanctification for that they do not always do though God makes them instrumental to it sometimes nor are their children made really holy and gracious but faederally holy so that they may be baptized which the children of unbelievers have no title to and this is a great mercy Therefore it is good to haue godly Parents CHAP. VIII Some Uses of the Point by way of Information and Exhortation USE I. THese Reasons that I have given to prove it a great mercy to be the children of godly Parents do contain in them the duties of Parents Therefore let all Parents look to it that you pray for and instruct your Children and provide for them and educate them in the fear of the Lord will it not be a sad thing when you come to die to think that you have children that are no instructed in Gods ways or to see your children die ignorant of Christ Therefore look to it USE II. That we should all of us take special care to bring our selves under the Covenant How can any think of
marrying till you are married to Christ and of having children till you are sanctified Therefore strive to be holy that your children may have this mercy USE III. Let such as are Parents walk holily before the Lord lay up your prayers for your children in heaven Leave them holy examples You have given them a sinful nature and have brought them to a sinful world do what you can to make them gracious and and answer the desire of the Spirit of God Deut. 5.29 O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep my Commandments that it might be well with them and their children for ever USE IV. Do not be discouraged to breed your children in godliness though it may seem contrary to their outward profit for the greatest good you can do them is to 〈◊〉 care them the fear of the Lord â—â—ov 14.26 In the fear of thâ— Lord is strong confidence anâ— his Children shall have Râ—fuge CHAP. IX Another Use The evil of a fained Faith shewed in several Particulars USE V. LEt me exhort all Parents to take great care that their faith be sincere for as the unfained faith of Parents is a great mercy so a fained faith of Parents is a great Judgement both to themselves and children And that for these Reasons The first Reason Because this brings them under a curse Hypocrites are accursed and they bring their Children under a curse therefore if thou lovest the Souls of thy children be real and sincere The second Reason Because the faired faith of Parents do prejudice them against Religion they see a contradiction in their profession and practices and this prejudiceth them against Religion and though it will not excuse them at last yet it is a great Judgement therefore let parents be sure to live up to that they profess or else they may prejudice their children against Godliness for ever The third Reason The fained faith of Parents is a great evil for it breeds a searedness of Conscience in them always seeing nothing but the outward shew of Religion and being brought up onely in the outward form of it never seeing any thing of the Life and Power of Godliness they grow secure and seared and this is a very great Judgement The fourth Reason It breeds a fained faith in them therefore it is a great Judgement to have Parents that have a fained Faith only Hypocrisie is a Leven Luk. 12.10 Reware of the Leven of the Pharisees which is Hypocrisie and levens a whole Family and runs from one Generation to another and when the Parents are hypocritical the children are apt to be hypocritical too The fifth Reason It is a great Judgement to have Pâ—rents that have fained faith onely because the children shall see an end of their faith and usually a sad end running to open sin and profaneness and this doth the children more hurt than their profession did good Upon all these accounts you see what reason Parents have to look that their faith be not fained but real and sincere Try then the reallity of your faith look to the object of it that the things you believe be right and true or else you will run your self and lead your children to an error look to the nature of your faith that it be sincere and real or else you deceive your selves and â—â—umble your children CHAP. X. Other Uses Such should bless God and labour to Improve this great Mercy The sixth Vse LET all the Children of such admire the Provi-of God and bless him for it you might have been borne under a curse and have had such Parents as would have neglected your Souls and Bodies and have breed you in the way of sin and have laid wicked Examples before you but you have Parents that pray for you instruct you and lay Holy Examples before you Therefore bless and praise God for his good Providence USE VII Let the Children of good Parents labour to Improve this mercy Directions to improve this mercy The first Direction Improve this mercy by being willing to be Instructed pray to God for a teachable heart take fast hold of Instruction keep her and let her not go for she is thy life Prov. 4.13 be not weary of Instruction Read these following Scriptures Prov. 5.11 12. and .8.33 and 12.1 and 13.18 and 15.32 Therefore be Instructed The second Direction Improve this great mercy by a Cordial receiving of their lawful Commands and Corrections do not let thy heart rise against the corrections of thy Parents but be ready to obey and submit Read these Scriptures Ephes 6.1 Prov. 15.10 and readily embrace the commands and corrections of your Parents The third Direction Improve the mercy by following their examples in what is good as they lay Holy Examples before you so be you Holy in Words Conversation and Heart you see them praying much and doing good and hating sin so do you also The fourth Direction Improve this mercy by avoiding all their weakness covering them knowing that they are such as they will be ashamed of and humbled for The fifth Direction Improve this mercy by being thankful to your Parents always ready to serve them and help them in what you can and by being thankful to God for them The sixth Direction Improve this mercy by taking care and by using all diligence to get the same Faith that your Parents have And so I am come to the second Observation CHAP. XI The second Observation Reasons why the Children of Believers should take care to look after the same Faith I Am come now to the second Observation from the Text Obser 2. It should be the care of the Children of godly Parents to get the same unfained Faith with their Parents This was Timothies happiness that he had the same unfained Faith with his Parents you would not come behind your Parents in Estates Honour and the like Be sure then to be Good and Holy as well as them and as you would have their Estates so get their Holiness and that for those Reasons The first Reason Children should take care to get unfained faith because the Faith of their Parents cannot save them although the Faith of their Parents may bring down many outward mercies upon them and with-hold outward Judgments from them yet it cannot hinder Eternal Judgments from seizing upon them if they walk in sin and iniquity Esau a wicked Son of a Godly Parent must go to Hell notwithstanding the Godliness of his Parents and so must all the wicked Children of godly Parents if they dye in their sins every one is saved by his own Faith and as a wicked mans Child shall be saved if he Believe for see Acts 13.39 for by him all that Believe are justified whither they be the Children of wicked or good Parents so no good mans Child shall be saved without Faith see Joh. 3.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he
believeth not on the Name of Christ Whosoever is saved is saved by Faith and that his own Faith not the Faith of his Parents Therefore let the Children of Believers use all diligence to get the same unfained Faith with their Parents The second Reason The Children of godly Parents should take care to get Faith because Faith is not entailed on the Children of Believers they do not convey Grace as they do corruption on his Children for Faith is the gift of God and although godly Parents are often Instruments of working Faith in their Children yet it is given by the special hand of God neither is God bound to give Grace to Children for the godliness of their Parents although he often Sanctifies such and hears the Prayers of Parents for their Children yet he is a free Agent and bestows Grace on whom he pleaseth and therefore we see that godly Parents sometimes have wicked Children and wicked Parents have godly Children Ephes 1.5 Having predestinated us to the Adoption of Children by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will the will and pleasure of God is the rule of his bestowing Grace Therefore let the Children of Believers be careful to get Faith The third Reason The Children of good Parents should be careful to get Faith because this great mercy we enjoy of having Parents that are godly that pâ—ay for us instruct us correct us bring us to the Ordinances and give us holy Examples if we do not receive Instruction increase our Condemnation at last Therefore be careful The fourth Reason Such Children should be careful to get Faith for if they miss of it they will be without excuse they cannot say but they have been offered Heaven and called upon to walk with God for ever they cannot say but they have been Instructed reproved exhorted to Good Incouraged in it and told of the evil of sin and dâ—horted from sin Therefore see you get grace or else you will be without excuse and miserable CHAP. XII Other Reasons an use of reproof the several ways that godly mens Children forfeit their mercy The fifth Reason GODLY mens Children should be very careful to get Faith because Satan is most busie with such he sees your Parents use diligence to save you and sees you are nearer Heaven therefore he will bestir himself and use all means to make you miscarry and he is a cunning Adversary Therefore it concerns you to be careful The sixth Reason Such Children should take care to get unfained Faith because they are apt to rest in the form and outward Profession of Religion being bred up civilly and not suffered to run to any outward evil and used to Ordinances Satan perswades them they are well and makes them rest in a Form of Godliness without the power of it therefore let all such take care and not trust in the goodness of their Parents nor outward Profession but get an unfained Faith your selves Vse If the Children of Godly Parents should be so careful to get unfained Faith this sadly reproves such as neglect it and continue in sin though they have Parents that hate sin how many such are there If there be any weakness in their Parents they will Imitate them in that but never look after their good they slight the Mercy of having good Parents as if it was of no value hath God given you these Mercies and will you abuse them Are you so fair for Heaven and will not you strive to enter God offers Heaven and will you refuse it There are three ways that I find in Scripture and Experience that the Children of godly Parents depart from God and abuse this mercy which I shall lay down that you may avoid them 1. Way Where the Children of godly Parents do not prove godly they often prove to be Mockers and Persecutors of Godliness see Gen. 21.9 10. Ishmael the Son of Godly Abraham mocked Isaac that is persecuted him We have many sad Experiences of this and is it not a sad thing to see persons Educated righteously persecute Religion Certainly their condition is sad Take heed then of this 2. Way When godly mens Children do not prove godly they gâ—ve themselves to Worldly Pleasures Esan the Son of godly Isaac sold his Birthright for a mess of Pottage Gen. 25.31 How many Examples have we of godly mens Children selling Heaven and all their Priviledges for the pleasures of this world for that is to loose everlasting pleasures and to purchase everlasting so row 3. Way Many godly mens Children not proving godly do grow confident in their own righteousness and trust in their own gifts and priviledges resting in a Form of Godliness without the power of it we may say of many as of them Rom. 10.3 For they being Ignorant of Gods Righteousness and going about to establish their own Righteousness have not submitted themselves to the Righteousness of God It is Ignorance that makes any trust in their own Righteousness this we are all apt to aspecially such as have the form of Godliness therefore beware of this and if thou art in any of these ways Consider these following partculars CHAP. XIII Fourteen Considerations to the Children of Godly Parents that are ungodly Consid 1. Let all the ungodly Children of godly Parents consider that God never rejected them but they despised the Covenant neither was there any necessity laid upon them of departing from God Consid 2. Let such consider that your own Consciences will condemn you those Consciences of yours that are now seared will one day condemn you and make you say Prov. 5.12 How have I hated Instruction and my heart despised reproof Consid 3. That all these mercies the Instructions Examples and Ordinances which thou enjoyest will rise up in Judgment against thee and increase thy condemnation Consid 4. Let the wicked Children of Good Parents consider that they shall hardly escape a curse here for usually such as are bred in a godly manner if they be wicked and persecute Gods Children or prophane God overtakes them with some sad Judgments here Consid 5. However such may escape here they will be sure of the lowermost part of Hell hereafter for such usually know much And he that knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many Stripes Luke 12 49 Consid 6. All men in their hearts will hate you though wicked men endeavour to draw you to sin yet their Consciences tell them that your Fathers ways were right and and that you should be as they were Therefore when you grow Prophane you will be hated and slighted of all Consid 7. That you once stood fair for Heaven you had the means of Grace and by sin you have forfeited all your mercies and chose Hell rather then Heaven Consid 8. Let such consider the difference that will be between them and the godly Children of good Parents The Lord receives them into inward Fellowship so that they are Justified by Christ Sanctified