it is evident from the word of God that all such as live and die ignorant of God having attained to years of discretion shall be destroyed for ever without having any mercy shewed to them 2 Thes 1.7 8 9. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power Isa 27.11 It is a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will have no mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour Hos 4.6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge Now if the Lord will condemn our Children and Servants for their ignorance and their ignorance proceed from our neglect of instructing them are not we the cause of their condemnation Such as have the Rule and Government of Families are in the nature and condition of Watchmen as well as those that bear Rule in the Church and must give an account for those souls that are committed to their charge Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the Rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account And as for those that are placed in the condition of Watchmen if any persons over whom God hath made them Watchmen be lost through their neglect to instruct them in their duty or to reclaim them from their sins the Blood of those that perish shall be required at the Watchmans hands Ezek. 3.17 18. Son of man I have made thee a Watchman unto the House of Israel therefore hear the word at my Mouth and give them warning from Me when I say to the wicked Thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thine hand What Inditement is brought in against the Jews Jer. 2.34 In thy Skirts is found the Blood of the Souls of the poor Innocents I have not found it by secret search but upon all these The like may be said of many Masters of Families In their Skirts will be found the Blood of the Souls of their Children and Servants In their Skirts That is it will plainly and evidently appear unto all men at the day of Judgment that they are guilty of the Blood of the Souls of their Children and Servants for want of instructing and training them up in the fear of God VVe cannot possibly be clear from the blood of those that are committed to our charge if either through wilfulness or through sloth and negligence we forbear to instruct them in those things that are necessary to their Salvation but if we do our duty and they perish in their sins their Blood shall be upon their own head Act. 20.26 27. I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the Counsel of God Did Parents and Masters of Families seriously consider what it is to have their Children and Servants die eternally and that through their neglecting to teach and train them up in the fear of God did they also consider what it is to have the blood of Souls laid to their charge it would stir them up to be diligent in instructing their Families unless they be such as have lost all regard to their own and their Families welfare To press home this consideration with the greater efficacy I shall suggest to you three or four things more under this head As 1. The death of a Child goes near a Parents heart Hagar could not endure to see her Child die and therefore when she thought he would die she gets a great way off from him and sat down and wept Gen. 21.16 She said Let me not see the death of the Child and she sat over against him and lift up her voice and wept VVhen tydings came to David of Absolom's death he was exceedingly troubled at it 2 Sam. 18.33 And the King was much moved and went up to the chamber ever the gate and wept and as he went thus he said O my Son Absolom my Son my Son Absolom would God I had died for thee O Absolom my Son my Son VVhen Jacob did but suppose that Joseph was dead though he had eleven Sons living his sorrow was so great that he refused to be comforted Gen. 37.34 35. Jacob rent his cloaths and put sackcloth upon his loyns and mourned for his Son many days and all his Sons and all his Daughters rose up to comfort him but he refused to be comforted and he said For I will go down into the Grave unto my Son mourning Thus his Father wept for him If it be so grievous to Parents to see their Children deprived of their natural life how should it pierce their hearts to have them deprived of eternal Life If they are so grieved at the death of their Bodies how should they lay to heart the death of their Souls How should it wound them to have their Children cast into the lake that burneth with fire and Brimstone which is the second death where they shall be always burning and yet never be consumed they shall be always dying and yet never be dead yea how should it affect them when they consider that they themselves have through their negligence been the cause of their Childrens dying the second death 2. It would pierce a flinty heart to see Children dying in their Parents Arms for want of Bread VVhen Jeremiah saw little Children in the time of Famine some dying in the streets others breathing out their souls in their Mothers Bosoms for want of Bread to sustain their Lives it made him weep till his eyes and his heart failed him with grief Lam. 2.11 12. Mine eyes do fail with tears my bowels are troubled my Liver is poured upon the earth for the destruction of the Daughter of my People because the Children and the Sucklings swoon in the streets of the City they say to their Mothers Where is Corn and Wine When they swooned as the wounded in the Streets of the City when their Soul was poured out into their Mothers Bosom This is a sorrowful sight but it is far more dreadful to see Children perishing to all eternity in their Parents Houses for want of their communicating to them the Bread of Life than to see them die by Famine 3. It is an unspeakable loss for a man to lose one Soul Though he do not lose his Children and Servants Souls though he lose not one Soul besides his own the gain of the whole world will not make up this loss as appears from the fore-quoted Scripture Mar. 8.36 What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and
lose his own Soul If it be such a great loss for a man to lose his own Soul what will it be for a man besides the loss of his own to be charged with the loss of the Souls of his Children and of all that ever were committed to his charge 4. Blood is a crying sin the cry of it reacheth to the Heavens and calls to God for vengeance Gen. 4.10 What hast thou done The voyce of thy Brothers Blood crieth unto me from the ground And bringeth a great curse on those that are guilty of shedding it Vers 11. And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy Brothers Blood from thy hand Vers 12. A fugitive and vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth Although all Blood crieth loud yet none crieth like the Blood of Souls As much as the Soul surpasseth the Body in excellency so much greater is their sin who are accessary to the destroying of Souls than theirs who only take away the life of the Body It is spoken of as a dreadful Judgment to have the Stones and Timber of a Mans House crying out against him which will be the lot of those that get or build Houses by unrighteous means Hab. 2.11 The Stone shall cry out of the wall and the beam out of the Timber shall answer it The man that is in this case can have but little joy in his House either by night or by day But what is this to the cry of such Souls as perish byour means who will be crying out against us to all eternity What Zipporah said to Moses by reason of the Circumcision Surely a bloody Husband art thou to me Exod. 4.25 26. The like will many women say to their Husbands who perish for want of their instructing them Surely a bloody Husband hast thou been unto me and Children will cry out against their Fathers for suffering them to die and be damned for want of instruction Surely a bloody Father hast thou been unto me and Servants will cry out against their Masters Surely a bloody Master hast thou been unto me To undo a man in his Estate by oppression or violent taking away his Goods is a mighty sin there are dreadful things threatned against such as are guilty of this sin Job 20.19 to 29. Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor because he hath violently taken away an house which he built not surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly he shall not save of that which he desireth there shall none of his meat be left therefore shall no man look for his goods in the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits every hand of the wicked shall come upon him When he is about to fill his belly God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and shall rain it upon him while he is eating He shall flee from the iron weapon and the Bow of steel shall strike him through it is drawn and cometh out of the Body yea the glistering Sword cometh out of his Gall terrours are upon him all darkness shall be hid in his secret place a fire not blown shall consume him It shall go ill with him that is left in his Tabernacle the Heavens shall reveal his iniquity and the earth shall rise up against him the increase of his house shall depart and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath To undo a man body and Soul to all eternity in the world to come is a far greater sin than to undo a man in his estate in this world And if such dreadful things are denounced against the Oppressor what shall be done to the Soul-murderer 5. He that neglecteth or refuseth to instruct his Family is as certainly guilty of the Blood of their Souls as he that suffereth his Family to starve by neglecting or refusing to give them that food which should preserve their Lives is guilty of destroying their natural Life for as surely as the Body will perish without its food so surely will the Soul perish without instruction Prov. 5.23 He shall die without instruction Prov. 29.28 Where there is no vision the people perish SECT 3. Instructing our Children out of the Scriptures instils Wisdom into them the Advantages that will come to them by being endued with Wisdom Motive 3 BY instructing our Children and Servants out of the Word of God we shall furnish them with Wisdom and Understanding whereby they will become prudent persons Though they be young and simple yet Gods word will make them wise and discreet Psal 19.7 The Testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple Psal 119.130 The entrance of thy Word giveth Light it giveth understanding to the simple Prov. 1.1 4. The Proverbs of Solomon To give subtilty to the simple to the young man knowledge and discretion Prov. 19.20 Hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end It was by Gods word that David attained to such eminency in wisdom that he became wiser than the Ancients and all his Teachers Psal 119 99 100. No Persons or Nations under Heaven are so wise as they that are acquainted with and give heed to the Word of God Deut. 4.6 Keep therefore and do them for this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the Nations which shall hear all these Statutes and say Surely this great Nation is a wise and understanding People By being acquainted with the word they shall attain to wisdom in Civil Things and Divine in things pertaining to God and to Men Prov. 31.4 My Son forget not my Law but let thine heart keep my Commandments so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and Man Yea by instructing our Families in the knowledge of the Scriptures we shall convey to them the best wisdom that is attained by the sons of men and that is to be wise to salvation 2 Tim. 3.15 From a Child thou hast known the holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus Seeing then that instructing of our Families out of the Scriptures will be a means of enduing our children and servants with wisdom and understanding this may be of great force to stir us up to diligence in teaching them Gods holy word especially if we consider how many and what great advantages come to our children and servants by being furnished with VVisdom and Understanding I will mention a few 1. To leave our Children endued wisdom is better then to leave them great Riches For Wisdom is better than Rubies and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it Prov. 8.11 How much better is it to get wisdom than Gold and to get understanding rather to be chosen than Silver Prov. 16.16 VVisdom is a greater Ornament and a more lovely Jewel than a multitude of Rubies and pretious Stones Prov. 20.15 There is
the very act of sin as they were offering up strange fire fire came from the Lord and consumed them Eli's children were such sons of Belial that their wickedness caused men to abhor the offerings of the Lord 1 Sam. 2.12 17 David met with much affliction in his children Amnon ravished his sister Tamar Absolom killed Amnon when his heart was merry with wine Absolom was cut off in the Act of his Rebellion Adonijah seeks the Crown which his father had devolved upon his son Solomon Our Lord Jesus Christ himself had a select Family consisting of twelve Apostles whom he chose out of all Israel and whom he often instructed with great power for his word was with power Luke 4.32 and yet one of them proved little better than a devil John 6.70 Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil He proved so vile that he betrayed his Master for thirty pieces of silver and then went and hang'd himself and went to his own place Elisha the Prophet had a lying servant Gehazi who went in his Masters name but contrary to his Masters mind to Naaman the Syrian and demanded and received for his own use a great sum of money as much as two men could carry and two changes of Garments 2 Kings 5.20 21 22 23. These examples with several others which might be produced do shew that though it be a great affliction to have evil children and evil servants yet it is a temptation common to men even to good men yea such as have befallen the best men that ever lived upon the face of the earth whose persons have been very dear and precious in the sight of God and their works and labours have been graciously accepted of him And therefore we should not be disquieted or cast down without measure because God doth not bless our labours with the converting and saving of all the members of our families neither should we conclude from hence that either our persons or our labours are not accepted with God III. Our children are Gods creatures as well as our children God hath a greater right to them and a greater interest in them than we have We were but Gods instruments to bring them into the world It was not we but God created and gave them their beings it was Gods hands that framed and fashioned their Bodies when they lay in their Mothers womb Psal 119.97 Thy hands have made and fashioned me 1 Cor. 12.24 God hath tempered the body together It is God that gave them every part of their Bodies as Skin and Bones and Flesh and Sinews Job 10.11 Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh and hast fenced me with bones and sinews And every member of their Bodies as Eyes Hands Feet c. Psal 139.16 Thine eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect and in thy Book all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned whenas yet there was none of them It was God which created their Souls after he had formed their Bodies Zech. 12.1 Saith the Lord which stretcheth forth the Heavens and layeth the foundation of the Earth and formeth the Spirit of Man within him Ezek. 18.4 Behold all Souls are mine as the Soul of the Father so also the Soul of the Son is mine the Soul that sinneth shall die It was God that drew them out of the womb Psal 22.9 Thou art he that took me out of the womb It is God that hath preserved them alive ever since they were born Psal 66.8 9. O bless our God ye people who holdeth our Soul in life And seeing God hath a far greater right to our Children than we have shall we be discontented when he disposeth of them as he seeth good May not he say to us when we repine at any thing that he doth to our children as the good Housholder said to those that murmured at him Matth. 20.13 15. Friend I do thee no wrong Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own And as our children are the works of his hands so his mercies towards his works are beyond our mercies towards those that proceed from our bowels Psal 145.9 The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works He desires their welfare both here and for ever more than we can do Job 14.15 Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands Deut. 5.29 O that there were such an heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always that it might be well with them and with their Children for ever Now if the Lord whose tender mercies are over all his works and who desireth our Childrens welfare more than we our selves do saw cause to cast away the works of his own hands into eternal torments shall we by our discontent go about to controul God in what he hath done as though we were wiser or more merciful than He IV. Though there be a great depth in Gods Judgments and such as we can't search out the reason of them why sometimes he converteth one and leaveth another to perish in his sins although both are born of the same Parents and live under the same means of grace Yet he is always Just and Righteous and True and Faithful in all his ways The Apostle was a man of a deeper insight into the mysteries of the Gospel than we are yet he confesseth some of Gods ways to be unsearchable Rom. 11.34 O the depth of the Riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out Whatever Judgments God inflicts upon Nations or particular Persons though we may not be able to fathom the reason of them yet we must believe that all that the Righteous God doth is Just and True and that he never acts contrary to the Truth of his Word or against the Rules of Justice Rev. 15.3 They sing the Song of Moses the Servant of God and the Song of the Lamb saying Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty Just and True are thy Ways thou King of Saints This Song was sung upon the pouring out of the seven last Plagues in which was filled up the Wrath of God verse 1. From hence it is evident that the Lord doth nothing beyond the Rules of Justice or contrary to his Truth when he poureth out his wrath to the utmost either upon a Nation or upon particular persons When the children of godly Parents sin against God and God casteth them away for their sins he doth not by this act pervert Justice and Equity Job 8.3 4. Doth God pervert Judgment Or doth the Almighty pervert Justice If thy Children have sinned against him and he have cast them away for their transgression Now when God doth those things which are Just and Right we should be so far from murmuring that vve should praise and honour God although vve our selves should suffer deeply by those Judgments After Nebuchadnezzar
against thee As is the Mother so is the Daughter So that if Mothers live religiously and shew a good example to their Children and instruct them out of Gods word there is great hope that their Children will become Religious also It is remarkable both amongst the good and evil Kings that were in Judah and Israel that the Scripture doth frequently record their Mothers names as for good Kings we may see 1 Kings 22.42 43. 2 Kings 18.2 3. and 22.12 And for evil Kings 2 King 8.26 27. 1 Kings 15.2 3. which sheweth that the Mothers example and carriage amongst her Children hath a great influence upon them to make them either good or evil 6. Mothers have greater opportunities to be instilling good things into their Children than their Fathers for they are oftener with them especially whilst they are young as they are dressing or undressing them or giving them meat or sitting with them at work or walking abroad with them they should be talking with them of the word of God Deut. 6.6 7. And every one is to do good according to the opportunities that God puts into their hands Gal. 6.10 7. Hereby Mothers may do great service for Christ in training up Children for the Lord All the good that such Children shall do in their generation shall redound to the Mothers Comfort and Reward The Apostle mentioneth the bringing up of Children by which is meant bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord amongst the first and chiefest good works which women are able to do in their generation 1 Tim. 5.10 Well reported of for good works if she have brought up Children 8. What service women do for Christ he takes as kindly as he doth what men do for him when there was a woman poured upon his head a Box of pretious Oyntment though the Disciples had indignation yet the Lord Jesus took it well from her and said that this act of the woman should be had in remembrance and be spoken of to her praise as long as the Gospel should be preached in the world Mat. 26.13 Verily I say unto you Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world there also this that this woman hath done shall be told for a memorial of her If you that are Mothers teach Gods word to your Children and labour to bring them up in the knowledge and fear of God the Lord Jesus will take this more kindly from you than he took this box of pretious Oyntment from this woman which anointed his body against his burial And that may be evidenced several ways 1. Christ was more pleased with those that minded his word than with those that were at the cost and trouble to provide for his Body as appears from the case of Mary and Martha Mary sat at Jesus feet and heard his word but Martha was cumbred with much serving Luk. 10.38 39. Hereupon Martha complains to Christ that her sister had left her to serve alone and desires him to bid Mary to help her but Christ commends Mary's choice and her work who was employed about his word above Martha's who was employed in preparing food for his Body and those that were with him Vers 40 41 42. 2. The Lord Jesus loves your Childrens Souls as well as he loves his own Body he gave his own Body to be crucified to save your Childrens Souls And therefore doubtless it is as acceptable to see you endeavouring to save your Childrens Souls by instructing and teaching them out of his holy Word as it was to have his Body anointed with pretious Ointment 3. The Name of God and Christ is like pretious Ointment Cant. 1.3 Thy Name is as Ointment poured forth Yea it is more precious than any Ointment in the World And when you bring your Children acquainted with the Name of God and Christ by instructing them out of the Word of God you convey that to them which is beyond all the pretious Ointment in the world 4. The Ointment that was poured on Christs Body did bur little if any thing advantage the body of Christ he accepted it not so much for the advantage he had by it as he did for the Faith and Love which the Woman manifested in this work But by instructing your Children out of the Word of God you shall greatly promote the good and welfare of their pretious Souls If the Lord Jesus did so kindly accept the Womans anointing his body with precious Ointment that he recorded her praise in the Gospel and will have the Memorial thereof preserved in all Ages throughout the whole World Then doubt not you that are Mothers that if you instruct your Children in the knowledge of his Word but he will accept this very kindly at your hands and cause this good Work of yours to be had in eternal Remembrance CHAP. II. Motives to stir up Parents and Masters of Families to instruct their Children and Servants in the Knowledge and to train them up in the obedience of the Scriptures IN the former Chapter I have proved it to be the Duty of Parents and Masters of Families to train up their Children and Servants in the knowledge and obedience of the Scriptures I shall now proceed to lay down some Motives to stir up those that neglect this good work to be diligent constant and conscientious in the performance of their Duty in teaching and instructing their Familier SECT 1. Instructing our Children and Servants out of the Scriptures will be a means of their Conversion Reasons why we should endeavour their Conversion Motive 1 INstructing your Children and Servants out of the word of God will be a powerful and an effectual means to convert and save their souls For The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul Psal 19.7 And The Gospel is the power of God to salvation Rom. 1.16 The Commandment is a Lamp and the Law is Light and Reproofs of instruction are the way of Life Prov. 6.23 Though they be such as walk in sinful and destructive courses by teaching and instructing them out of the Scriptures they may be converted from their sins unto God Psal 5.13 I will teach Transgressors thy ways and Sinners shall be converted unto thee We read of Cornelius that both he himself and all his house were saved by the word wherewith they were instructed by Peter Act. 11.14 Who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved In like manner if Governours of Families did carefully instruct their Families out of the word of God they might in so doing both save themselves and all their house With what diligence with what speed with what alacrity with what a resolved minde to persevere therein under all discouragements should you set upon this work seeing there is hope that hereby you may save your Children and your Servants Souls That this argument may have the greater force to perswade and prevail with you to set your hearts to this work Consider 1. What
great worth and excellency there is in an immortal Soul The Soul of the poorest Child or Servant in your Families is more worth than all the substance in your houses than all the Riches you have gotten or can get as long as you live yea than the whole world Mark 8.36 What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own Soul And therefore you should spend more thoughts and pains about saving your Children and Servants Souls than you would do to gain the whole world if there were a probability that by your care and industry you might get into your possession all the good things that are in the world There is such an excellency in the Soul that when any one sinner is brought to repentance whereby his Soul is put into a state of Salvation all the Angels of Heaven rejoyce at this glad Tidings Luk. 15.10 There is joy in the presence of the Angels of God over one sinner that repenteth 2. By converting your Children and Servants you shall recover their souls from the power of the Devil Before their conversion he rules and carries them captive to this and the other sin as he pleaseth Ephes 2.2 2 Tim. 2.26 But when they are converted they are freed and delivered from the power of Satan The Conversion of a sinner is the opening of his eyes and turning him from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God Act. 26.18 It is Gods delivering of a sinner from the power of darkness and translating him into the Kingdom of his dear Son Col. 1.13 If your Children were under Turkish Slavery would you spare any pains or cost to redeem them from the hands of the Turks It is far worse to have them under the power of Satan than under the power of the Turks Suppose the Devil had gotten possession of your Childrens Bodies and should torture them as he did the woman of Canaan's Daughter who cried out to Christ Mat. 15.22 Have mercy upon me O Lord my Daughter is grievously vexed with a Devil or should rend and tear them as he did that young man whose Father made his moan to Christ after this manner My Son hath a dumb Spirit and wheresoever he taketh him he teareth him and he fometh and gnasheth with his teeth and he pineth away and oft times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him Mark 19.17 18 22. would not this cause you to mourn and fast and pray and to use all means possible to get your Childrens Bodies delivered from the tyranny of Satan And would you not be restless until you had obtained their deliverance To have your childrens Souls under the power of the Devil and to have them drawn sometimes into one foul sin and then into another is far worse and more dangerous then to have their Bodies at his command and yet this is their case as long as they remain unconverted their Souls are under the power of sin and Satan How should this cause you to strive with God in prayer night and day and labour with your utmost diligence in the use of all means to get their Souls converted to God 3. By converting your Children and Servants you shall prevent their dying in their sins and save them from the wrath of God and the torments of Hell Jam. 5.19 20. Brethren if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a Soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins What a great what a good work is this to save a soul from death Shall we think any pains too much to save immortal Souls from eternal Death If you saw any of your Children ready to fall into a fiery Furnace which would consume them to Ashes in a moment you would suddenly lay hold on them and prevent if it were possible their falling into the furnace of fire Hell is called A Furnace of Fire Mat. 13.42 As long as your Children live in ignorance and in an unconverted condition they are in danger every day to fall into this furnace of fire And doth it not concern you then to prevent with all possible speed their falling into everlasting burnings 4. Consider what great pains Jesus Christ took to save and convert Souls The great end of his coming into the world and taking our Nature upon him was to save Souls Luk. 19.10 The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost When he was upon the earth he was so diligent in teaching and instructing the people that he did not omit his work one day Luk. 19.47 He taught daily in the Temple He was so diligent to teach and instruct the people that he could not find spare time to eat his Bread which cansed some of his friends to think and say he was beside himself Mark 3.20 He was not only very diligent in preaching but was content to lay down his life to save our souls Shall not this example of Christ provoke you to give all diligence to save both your own and the souls of all that are committed to your Charge 5. God will give a greater degree of Glory to those that are instrumental to convert and save souls than to other Saints For whereas they shall shine only as the Firmament they that convert others shall shine as the Stars in the Firmament Dan. 12.3 They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever 6. You cannot approve your selves to be Righteous Persons either to God or Men if you do not regard what becomes of your childrens and servants souls A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast Prov. 12.10 If this be true how can they account themselves righteous persons who have no regard what becomes of the souls of their Children If a Beast go astray though it be not our own but our Neighbours yea our Enemies we must by no means neglect to bring it back Exod. 23.4 If thou meet thine Enemies Ox or his Ass going astray thou shalt surely bring it back to him again If we are bound so straightly to bring back an Ox or an Ass of our Enemies when he goes astray then what obligations lie upon us to bring home to God our own Children and our houshold Servants when we see them going astray from the Lord SECT 2. Such as neglect Family-Instruction are guilty of their Children and Servants Blood How great an Evil it is to be guilty of the Blood of Souls Motive 2 SUch Parents and Masters of Families as neglect to train up their Children and Servants in the fear of the Lord and in the knowledge of his word are the instrumental causes of their Damnation and their Children and Servants Blood will be laid to their charge and be required at their hands For
thy self and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things that thine eyes have seen and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life but teach them thy Sons and thy Sons Sons especially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb when the Lord said unto me Gather me the people together and I will make them hear my words that they may learn to fear me all the days that they hall live upon the earth and that they may teach their Children 5. It will be a great support and satisfaction to Governours of Families in a dying hour if their Consciences bear them witness that they have been careful to train up those whom the Lord hath committed to their charge in the knowledge of his word It was a comfort to Hezekiah when he had received the Sentence of Death that he had done that which was good in the sight of the Lord Isa 38.3 Now this is a good thing in the sight of God to bring men to the knowledge of the Truth 1 Tim. 2.3 4. When the Lord Jesus was departing out of this world he mentions twice his giving Gods word to the men that were given to him John 17 8 14. Possibly for this reason to teach us that it will be a great comfort in a dying hour to all such as have had any persons committed to their charge to be able to appeal to God that they have taught and instructed them in the knowledge of his holy word When the Apostle Paul took his leave of the Church of Ephesus and knew he should see their faces no more though he knew that after his departing grievous Wolves would enter in among them not sparing the Flock and also that among themselves some would arise speaking perverse things yet having before been diligent in teaching them the good word of God he doth with a great deal of satisfaction of mind commend them to God and to his word knowing that Gods word was able to build them up under all oppositions and discouragements whatever Acts 20.32 And now Brethren I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified In like manner when Parents have taught their Children the word of God although they fore-see that after their death their Children are likely to fall into many temptations by reason of seducing spirits or other evils yet they may with much comfort commend them to God and to the word of his grace wherein they have been instructed 6. Such Parents as are careful to instruct their Families and to train them up in the knowledge and fear of God shall not only be blessed themselves but they shall be great blessing unto others Gen. 18.18 19. Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him And why The Reason is rendred in the following words For I know him that he will command his Children and his Houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do Justice and Judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him SECT 6. The Evils that arise from the neglect of Family-Instruction Mo ∣ tive 6 COnsider what a great evil it is for Governours of Families to neglect instructing their Families in the knowledge of Gods holy Word 1. They do shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against their Children and Servants For such as do take away the Key of Knowledge do shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against those persons from whom they do take away the Key of Knowledge as is evident by comparing Mat. 23.13 Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men for ye neither go in your selves neither suffer ye them that are entring to go in with Luk. 11.52 Wo unto you Lawyers for ye have taken away the Key of Knowledge ye entred not in your selves and them that were entring in ye hindred What a woful crime is this for a man to shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against his Family 2. Such Parents as neglect to instruct their children are more cruel than the Sea-monsters Lam. 4.3 Even the Sea-monsters draw out the brest to their young ones The daughter of my People is become cruel as the Ostrich in the Wilderness Instruction is as necessary for the Soul as the brest or other food is for the Body Yea they are worse than Infidels 1 Tim. 5.8 If any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own House he hath denied the Faith and is worse than an Infidel The providing those things which concern the Souls of our Houshold is as necessary and the neglect thereof as dangerous as the providing for their Bodies Yea they are more unnatural than the damned in Hell for they are desirous that their Relations should be instructed and that means should be used to prevent their eternal damnation Luk. 16.23 27 28. And in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham after off and Lazarus in his bosom Then he said I pray thee therefore that thou wouldst send him to my Fathers house for I have five brethren that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this place of torment 3. God accounts those Parents haters of their Children that neglect to instruct and correct them Prov. 13.24 He that spareth the Rod hateth his Son but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes Such as do not endeavour to prevent sin in their neighbours do hate them in their hearts whatever shew of love they make in their words Lev. 19.17 Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thine heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer sin upon him If they hate their Neighbours that suffer sin upon them do not they hate their Children that suffer them to live in ignorance of God which is a Soul-damning sin 4. Children and Servants prove great crosses when they are not trained up in the knowledge and fear of God And this comes to pass both by the just Judgment of God who punisheth Parents and Masters neglect of Family-Instruction with the disobedient undutiful carriage of their Children and Servants and also from the power of original corruption which when it is not restrained by good education breaks forth with great violence and causeth persons to be of a perverse and stubborn spirit Eli neglecting Family-Government was punished in his Children by their proving exceeding great crosses to him 1 Sam. 2.33 The man of thine whom I shall not cut off from mine Altar shall be to consume thine eyes and to grieve thine heart And as God dealt with Eli so he ordinarily deals with those Parents that neglect to train up their Children in the knowledge and fear of his Name he suffers them to prove a reproach and
Commandment is for you if ye will not hear if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my Name saith the Lord of Hosts I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings Whether it be a word of Command or Promise or Threatning or an Example of Gods Judgments on sinners or of his blessing bestowed on his servants tell them That these Commandments O my Children the great God that made you and that will bring you to Judgment hath given to you if you obey them he will love you and bless you and give you all good things in this world and great blessings in the world to come But if you will not hearken to his Voice but cast his Law behind your backs he will send many heavy Judgments and great Plagues upon you in this world and if they do not lead you to repentance he will cast you both Body and Soul into Hell Fire And so for the Promises tell them These great and precious Promises shall be your portion if you will believe in Jesus Christ and live holy and godly lives Gal. 3.22 1 Tim. 4.8 Do the like by the Threatnings tell them That these will surely be executed on them if they live in those-sins against which such and such Judgments are threatned For GOD is faithful and able to perform his Word and is no Respecter of persons and there is no lying hid from his all-seeing Eye nor any possibility to escape out of His Hand VVhen you meet with Examples of Gods Judgments on impenitent sinners tell them Those Examples are recorded on purpose to keep them from falling into such sins 1 Cor. 10.5 6. and to lead them to Repentance Luk. 13.1 2 3. And that if they live in the same sins they must expect to meet with the same Judgments And so also the Examples of Gods mercies towards his servants tell them That if they will serve God the same mercies and blessings that God gave Abraham or David or any other of his servants he will give them But of these things I have spoken before more largely in the Third Chapter and it will be needless to repeat them again By what hath been said there it is evident that there is much more work lieth upon Parents besides teaching them to read the Scriptures as VVatching over them Reproof Correction c. SECT 22. Instructing Children while they are young makes eminent Saints Object 22 WE may teach our Children to know and remember the Scriptures but we can't teach them obedience that is Gods work and what good will it do them to know and remember the Word if they do not obey it And besides if they should whilst they are young walk in the ways of God they will forsake them when they grow old and be the worse for their instruction and make good the old Proverb A young Saint and an old Devil Answ 1. It is true that it is Gods work to teach our Children Obedience but we must use the means Shall the Ministers of the Gospel forbear preaching the word because the conversion of souls is Gods work not theirs 2. God doth ordinarily bless the Endeavours of Parents and Masters of Families when they are diligent and faithful in their work not only to the breeding of knowledge but also to the bringing of their Children and Servants to obey the Lord and walk in his ways Gen. 18.19 He will command his Children and Houshould after him and they SHALL keep the way of the Lord to do Justice and Judgment Here God promiseth that upon Abrahams commanding his Children and Houshold they should keep the way of the Lord. And what God promiseth to Abraham he promiseth and will peform unto all that walk in Abrahams steps If persons that have had Religious Education would consult their own experience they will find that generally God instils Principles of Grace into such as are converted by means of their Religious Education 3. That Proverb A young Saint and an old Devil was of Satans coining to deter persons from seeking and serving the Lord for it is contrary to the word of God for that saith Prov. 22.6 Train up a Child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it None prove such eminent Saints as they that begin to seek and serve the Lord whilst they are young I will give two or three instances hereof Josiah was a very humble tender-hearted Prince he wept at the hearing of Gods Law 2 Kings 23.18 19. He was very zealous in the Reformation of Religion and destroying Idolatry Chap. xxiii ver 1. to 25. There never was such a Passover kept either in the days of the Judges or of the Kings of Israel or Judah as Josiah kept 2 Kings 23.22 23. He excelled all the Kings that lived before him and all that came after him verse 25. And like unto him there was no King before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might according to all the Law of Moses neither after him arose there any like him And as he was thus eminent in Godliness so he continued constant to his dying day 2 Chron. 34.2 He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of David his Father and declined neither to the right hand nor left And one reason why he proved so eminent and constant in the ways of God was this He began while he was young to seek after the Lord as is expressed in the following verse For in the eighth year of his Reign while he was yet young he began to seek after the God of David his Father Obadiah who feared the Lord from his youth 1 Kin. 18.12 I thy Servant fear the Lord from my youth attained unto a great measure of the fear of God verse 3. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly He kept his Integrity though he lived in Ahabs House who was such a wicked Prince that he did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord. He was a great shelter to the Lords Prophets when they were persecuted and some of them put to death by Jezabel he hid an hundred Prophets in a Cave and maintained them with Bread and VVater verse 4. David began to seek and trust in God while he was young Psal 71.5 Thou art my hope O Lord God thou art my Trust from my youth And we know he proved a man after Gods own heart the instances of his exemplary piety are so many that it would be too long and so well known that it would be needless to mention them SECT 23. How to deal with Servants that hold Erronious Opinions Object 23 SOme of my Servants are tainted with Erronious Principles which I knew not of when I took them into my Family and I look upon it as labour in vain to instruct persons that are infected with Errors Answ I. It
glory from them that perish page 313. 314. 6. We should consider Gods great mercy in taking our own souls into a Covenant of Life and Salvation page 314. 315. The case of such as are overwhelmed with grief because they fear their Children are in eternal torments Gods justice in punishing sinners to eternity vindicated page 315 to 325. The case of such as are troubled because they conveyed Original Sin to their Children considered page 325 to 327. The case of such as are troubled because their Childrens bloud will be required at their hands considered page 327 to 331. Though it be a great sin to be guilty of the bloud of souls yet 't is a pardonable sin page 329. 330. The case of such as are cast down because God hath not answered their Prayers for their Children or prospered their labours considered page 331 332. The case of such as cannot reconcile the Providence of God in casting away their seed with his promise I will be thy God and the God of thy seed page 333 to 336. A TREATISE OF Family-Instruction CHAP. I. The Evils that arise from the neglect of Family-Instruction Whence it proceeds that Family-Instruction is neglected Five Arguments to prove it to be a Duty The Instructions we give our Families must be drawn out of the Scriptures Servants as well as Children must be instructed Mothers as well as Fathers must instruct their Children THe neglect of Family-Instruction is a great and yet a common Evil The sad effects thereof such as the decay of the power of Godliness gross ignorance undutiful and disobedient Children evil and unfaithful Servants the growth and increase of sin c. are so plain and visible almost in all places that he that runneth may read them Neither is it the present Generation only which is corrupted through the carelesness of those Parents and Masters of Families who neglect to train up their Children and Servants in the knowledge and fear of God but hereby ignorance and iniquity are like to be propagated unto and greatly increased in the Generations which are yet to come For when God shall give those Children and Servants who were trained up without Instruction Families of their own it is most probale that they will neglect to teach their Children and Servants and that the succeeding Generations which shall spring out of their Loyns will tread in their Fathers steps and so vice and ignorance will descend from one Family to an other for many generations If we enquire into the ground and cause of this evil whence it cometh to pass that Family-Instruction is so much neglected I conceive the reason of most if not of all mens neglect of this Duty may be reduced to one of these four heads 1. Either they are not convinced that it is their Duty to instruct their Families Or 2. Though they know it to be their Duty they want an heart to set about the performance of it Or 3. Though they are willing to instruct their families yet they know not how to set about this work at least they know not how to carry it on in an advantageous successful manner and therefore leave it undone Or 4. They have gotten certain pleas whereby they think to excuse their neglect of this work Wherefore in this ensuing Treatise the design whereof is to excite parents and masters of families to train up their children in the knowledge and obedience of the Scriptures I shall do these four things 1. I shall prove it is the duty of parents and masters of families to instruct their children and servants in the knowledge and to train them up in the obedience of the word of God 2. I shall produce some motives to excite those who neglect this work of Family-instruction to be diligent constant and conscientious in the performance of their duty in teaching and instructing their families 3. I shall give some directions how this work of family-instruction may be carried on so as to promote the conversion edification and eternal salvation of such as are under our charge 4. I shall answer the most material Pleas and Objections that are brought against training up our Families in the knowledge of the Scriptures whereby many persons are either kept from or discouraged in the performance of this work I shall begin with the first of these namely to prove that it is the duty of all Parents and Masters of Families to teach the Scriptures unto their Children and Servants and to train up their Families in the knowledge and obedience of the Word of God SECT 1. Scripture proofs for Family-Instruction The Instructions we give our Families must be drawn out of the word of God Arg. 1 WE have many plain and express Commandments from God wherein the Lord straightly chargeth all Parents and Masters of families to teach his word unto their children and servants and requireth them to be very diligent therein I shall mention some places both out of the old and also out of the new Testament where we have express commands from God for the teaching his word to our children and prove that under the name of Children are comprehended our Servants and all the Members of the Family Deut. 6.6 7. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up This being a full and pregnant Text for proving the point in hand I shall observe several things from it 1. What it is which we are to teach our children and that is the word of God These words which I command thee this day thou shalt teach them unto thy Children The Apostle gives this commendation of the Scripture that it is profitable for instruction in Righteousness 2 Tim. 3.16 and intimates to us Rom. 2.17 18. That the Jews drew their instructions which they gave to those whom they taught out of the Law of God Behold thou art called a Jew and knowest his will and approvest the things that are more excellent being instructed out of the Law of God 2. Observe who they are whom God commands to teach his word unto their Children and you shall find that this Charge is not given to the Tribe of Levi but to all Israel The Lord calls out twice to the whole Body of the People Hear O Is ael vers 3. Hear O Israel vers 4. If it had been said Hear O House of Aaron or Hear O ye Sons of Levi we might have thought it had special reference to the Ministers of the Word but when this charge is ushered in with a double Call to all Israel to give audience no man can say This Command of teaching Gods word to my Children belongeth not unto me except he be one that is and resolveth to continue an alien to the Commonwealth of Israel I may adde further that
this charge Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children is given to the same persons that are commanded to love God with all their hearts vers 5. and to the same persons that are enjoyned to treasure up Gods word in their hearts vers 6. So that every one that is obliged to love God and to lay up Gods word in his heart is obliged also if he be one unto whom God hath given Children to teach Gods word unto his Children 3. Take notice what is meant by teaching Gods word unto our Children It implies 1. That we should train them up in the knowledge of the Scriptures To teach is to convey knowledge and understanding Psal 119.66 Teach me good judgement and knowledge and to this effect the Persian Translation renders these words Expones ea filiis tuis Thou shalt expound them unto thy Children thou shalt cause them to understand the sense and meaning of my word 2. To teach our Children the Scriptures is to train them up in the obedience and practice of those things which the Lord requireth of us in his holy word There is a teaching to do as well as to know the will of God Psal 143.10 Teach me to do thy will Matr. 28.20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you 2 Chron. 6.27 Thou hast taught them the good way wherein they should walk 4. Observe in what manner and when we are to teach Gods word unto our Children this work must not be done in a slight superficial manner but with all diligence Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children And as for the times and seasons when we are to teach them Moses intimates that it must not be seldom but this work must be done frequently we should embrace all convenient seasons to be dropping some portion of Gods word into them Thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up 5. We have the persons described whom we are to instruct out of the word of God and they are our Children Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children Now under the name of Children are comprehended our Servants and all others in the Family that need instruction as shall be shewed more fully afterwards Another Scripture wherein God commands us to teach his word unto our Children we have in the Psalms of David Psal 78.5 6 7. He established a Testimony in Jacob and appointed a Law in Israel which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known unto their Children that the Generation to come might know them even the Children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their Children that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his Commandments Here we may observe 1. What it is which Parents are to teach and make known unto their Children The Law and the Testimony that is the holy Scriptures which are often called by this name the Law and the Testimony as we may see Psal 19.7 Isa 8.16 20. 2. We have a strict Command and a solemn Injunction from God given unto Parents to make known the Law and the Testimony unto their Children He commanded our Fathers that they should make them known unto their Children 3. We may take notice that this practice of Parents teaching Gods Laws unto their Children should be continued from one Generation to another unto the end of the world That the Generation to come might know them even the Children which should be born who should arise and declare unto their Children 4. Here are three things hinted that Parents should aim at in making known Gods word unto their Children 1. The bringing their Children to believe and hope in God That they might set their hope in God 2. The fixing and imprinting in their memories the word and the works of God And not forget the works of God 3. The training of them up in the practise and obedience of Gods Commandments But keep his Commandments The Psalmist shews in the eighth verse what the want or neglect of Parents making known Gods Laws to their Children produceth Children prove stubborn and rebellious or if they make a profession of Religion they soon discover their hearts are not right with God And might not be as their Fathers a stubborn and rebellious Generation a Generation that set not their heart aright and whose spirit was not stedfast with God Besides these Scriptures already mentioned I might produce several others where God commands Parents to make known his word unto their Children as Isa 38.19 The Father to the Children shall make known thy Truth By Gods truth which Fathers are here enjoyned to make known unto their Children we may understand his word for his word is called his Truth John 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy Truth thy Word is Truth See also Deut. 4.8 9 10. What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Judgements so righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day Only take heed to thy self and keep thy Soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen and lest they depart from thine heart all the dayes of thy life but teach them thy sons and thy sons sons specially the day when thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb when the Lord said unto me Gather the People together and I will make them hear my words that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the Earth and that they may teach their Children Here we may observe 1. That Gods word was given to the Jews for this very end that they might be brought to fear the Lord and that they might teach his word unto their Children I will make them hear my words that they may learn to fear me and that they may teach their Children 2. The Lord chargeth them very strictly to teach their Children his works which they had seen but more specially his word which he delivered to them in Horeb Only take heed to thy self and keep thy soul diligently teach them thy sons and thy sons sons To these places which I have cited out of the old Testament I will adde one out of the New wherein God chargeth Parents to train up their Children in the knowledge and obedience of his holy word Ephes 6.4 And ye Fathers provoke not your Children but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord The Apostle doth not say And ye Ministers as limiting this work to them but And ye Fathers implying that it is the will of God that all Parents should bring up their Children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But some may say What is meant by the nurture and admonition of the Lord The Greek words are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred Instruction 2 Tim. 3.16 and the instruction the Apostle speaks of there is
to run into all kind of evil let us endeavour to prevent these great evils by training them up in the knowledge and fear of the Lord. 5. If we bring up our Children in ignorance they can have no fellowship with or enjoyment of God who is the chiefest Good For God is Light and in him is no darkness at all 1 Joh. 1.5 And persons that have no knowledge are said to be in darkness Ephes 5.8 Ye were sometimes darkness And there can be no communion between Light and Darkness 2 Cor. 6.14 What Communion hath Light with Darkness Now what will all the good things which we give our Children whilst we live or which we shall leave them when we die avail them if they have no enjoyment of God who is the chiefest Good 6. Without knowledge our Children and Servants cannot obtain salvation but must perish eternally Psal 5.5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight Job 36.12 They shall die without knowledge Prov. 2.16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the Congregation of the dead That is he shall be cast into Hell and abide there among the Devils and damned persons for ever So it is expounded by R. Sel. in caetu gehennae And Menoch Videtur sensus esse cum Daemonibus futuros cum impiis hominibus ad aeterna supplicia â—amnatis That the Hebrew word which is here translated dead signifieth Hell may be gathered from Prov. 9.18 He knoweth not that the dead are there and that her guests are in the depths of Hell 7. Without knowledge our Children will not only be undone in the world to come but they are likely by their folly and indiscretion to undo themselves and their Families in this world either by idleness Eccl. 4.5 The fool foldeth his hands together and eateth his own flesh Prov. 24.30 31. Or by prodigality Prov. 21.20 There is a treasure to be desired and Oyl in the dwelling of the Wise but the foolish spendeth it up Or by Surety ship Prov. 17.18 A man void of understanding striketh hands and becometh Surety in the presence of his friend Or by Law-suits Prov. 18.6 A fools lips enter into contention Or by speaking against persons in Authority Eccles 10.12 The lips of a fool will swallow up himself Prov. 10.14 The mouth of the foolish is near destruction Or by some other rash and indiscreet carriages 8. Instructing our Children and Servants out of the word of God will remove their ignorance and make them of foolish and simple to become wise and understanding persons and so consequently will prevent all the afore-mentioned evils which will accrue both to us and them if they be trained up in ignorance Prov. 12.1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge Prov. 8.33 Hear instruction and be wise Psal 19 7. The Testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple Prov. 1.1 4. The Proverbs of Solomon to give subtilty to the simple and to the young man knowledge and discretion Psal 119.130 The entrance of thy word giveth light it giveth understanding to the simple SECT 4. The corruption that is in children and servants proveth Family-instruction to be a necessary duty Arg. 3 THere is not only much blindness and ignorance in the minds of our children and servants but they have also very sinful and corrupt hearts That we may see and understand what sin and corruption is bound up in the hearts of our children and servants let us consider what the Scripture saith of the hearts of the sons of men The heart of man by nature is void and destitute of all good Rom. 7.18 I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing and full of evil Eccles 9.3 The heart of the sons of men is full of evil Yea the seeds of the foulest sins such as Murder Adultery Blasphemy and the like are in the heart of man which will break out if they be left to themselves Matth. 15.19 Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies The inclinations of the heart to sin even to the worst of sins are strong and violent so that the heart is not only set upon evil but fully set to do evil Eccles 8.11 The heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil There is such a bottomless depth of sin in their hearts that we cannot fathom it it is hard to express yea hard to understand how wicked and sinful the heart of man is Jer. 17.9 The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it And this corruption of the heart begins to work and discover it self very early even whilst we are young Gen. 8.21 The imagination of mans heart is evil from his youth Isai 48.8 I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously and wast called a transgressour from the womb Now seeing there is so much sin and corruption in the hearts of our children and servants from hence it will follow that it is our duty to train them up in the knowledge and obedience of the Word of God whereby their hearts may be purified and sanctified and that it is necessary that we should imploy all the skill and strength that we have in this work for 1. Though their hearts be exceeding sinful as we have heard before yet if we instruct them in the knowledge and train them up in the obedience of the Word of God this will be a means to purifie and sanctifie their hearts and to reform their lives for the word of God hath a sanctifying vertue in it John 17.17 Sanctifie them through thy Truth thy Word is Truth And being hid in the heart it will cleanse the heart and keep a man from sinning against God John 15.3 Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you Psal 119.11 Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee Obeying and practising the word will purifie the heart 1 Pet. 2.22 Ye have purified your Souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit If we can bring our Children to take heed to their ways and to frame them according to the word of God we need not doubt but this will cleanse their hearts and lives Psal 119.9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way By taking heed thereto according to thy word 2. If we suffer our Children and Servants to live without instruction and do not labour to bring them acquainted with God and with his holy word there is no hope that they should be reclaimed from their sins Hos 5.4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them and they have not known the Lord. The Prophet gives this reason why they would not frame their doings to turn to the Lord They did not know the Lord and the spirit of whoredoms was in them By the spirit of whoredoms we may
instrumental to their Regeneration Jam. 1.18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of Truth and the rendring of them fruitful in good works Col. 1.6 Which is come unto you as it is in all the world and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you since the day that ye heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth And be a means of saving their Souls for it is by the knowledge and belief of the Truth that we are brought to salvation 2 Thes 2.13 God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth It is said Prov. 14.25 A true witness delivereth Souls By a true Witness we may understand one that instructeth those that are under his Charge in the knowledge of the Truth The Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render a Witness is sometimes used as Kircher observes pro predicatore for a Teacher and we find the word Witness used in this signification Act. 26.16 To make thee a Minister and a Witness And then the words may have this sence That teaching and instructing persons in the knowledge of the Truth is a means to deliver their Souls from eternal destruction III. Teach them Soul-saving Truths By Soul-saving Truths I mean such Truths as will be a certain and infallible means of saving your Children and Servants Souls if they be rightly understood firmly believed and sincerely practised If you ask What are those Truths which will be a means of saving our Children and Servants Souls if we teach them to our Families I answer Such as these 1. Teach them to know GOD and his Son JESUS CHRIST by so doing you shall guide them into the path of Life For John 17.3 This is life eternal That they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent 2. Teach them their lost and miserable condition by Nature their need of and their misery without Jesus Christ and the way and means by which they may come to be partakers of Christ For if you can draw them to Christ they shall not miss of eternal Life 1 John 5.12 He that hath the Son hath Life 3. Explain to them the Covenant of Grace what great Mercies and Blessings are contained in the Covenant that their Souls may long to be brought under the Bond of the Covenant shew them also how and by what means they may get into Covenant with God for if you can bring them to lay hold upon the Covenant of Grace you shall make them Partakers of Salvation for eternal Life and Salvation is promised to such as are in Covenant with God 2 Sam. 23.5 He hath made with me an everlasting Covenant and this is all my Salvation 4. Shew them the nature necessity and excellency of faith in Christ and labour to bring them to believe in Jesus Christ If they be brought to believe in Christ they shall certainly have everlasting Life John 6.47 Verily verily I say unto you He that believeth on me hath everlasting Life 5. Teach them the nature and necessity of Repentance and press home upon them such Scriptures as may stir them up to the practice and exercise of Repentance if you can by any means bring them to a true and unfeigned Repentance you shall thereby save their Souls Ezek. 33.14 16. Again when I say to the Wicked Thou shalt surely die if he turn from his sin and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live 6. Teach them to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ for he will save all those that obey him Heb. 5.9 He became the Author of eternal Salvation to them that obey him 7. Teach them to love God with all their Hearts and Souls and to love Him above all Persons and Things that are in the world Eternal Life is promised to such as love God Jam. 1.12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him 8. Teach them to fear and reverence the Lord and that you may breed the fear of the Lord in their Souls acquaint them with the Power Holiness Goodness Justice Omniscience and Omnipresence of God and his other glorious Attributes for the fear of the Lord ariseth from and is produced by the knowledge of God Job 37.23 24. Prov. 2.5 and put them in mind of Gods Covenant wherein the Lord hath promised to put his fear into our hearts Jer. 32.40 If you can bring your Families to fear the Lord you shall save their Souls Prov. 19.23 The fear of the Lord tendeth to life Psal 145.19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him he also will hear their Cry and will save them 9. Teach them to hope in God for all those good things which are promised in the Covenant of Grace and to keep up their hope in God under all their troubles and temptations by hoping in God they shall obtain the salvation of their Souls Rom. 8.24 We are saved by hope 10. Teach them the nature of Prayer to whom they must pray and for what and how they must pray if they would find acceptance with God The Lord Jesus taught his Disciples how to pray and John the Baptist did the like to his Disciples Luke 11.1 One of his Disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his Disciples By teaching your Families to call upon God in an acceptable manner you shall promote their salvation For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved Rom. 10.13 11. Teach them to be sincere and to walk uprightly with God for if they walk uprightly they shall be saved Prov. 28.18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved 12. Teach them to wait upon God in all his Ordinances and to wait for the accomplishment of all his Promises They that wait on the Lord are under a promise of Salvation Prov. 20.22 Wait on the Lord and he shall save thee 13. Teach them the way to obtain the Remission of their sins for if they obtain the pardon of their sins they shall be in a blessed condition Rom. 4.7 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven And shall obtain everlasting life Rom. 8.30 Whom he justified them he also glorified 14. Teach them to avoid evil company and to walk and converse with such as fear God that may prove a means of their salvation Prov. 9.6 Forsake the foolish and live and go in the way of understanding Prov. 15.20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise 15. Exhort them to persevere in the faith of Christ and to continue in their obedience of his Commandments as long as they live for in so doing they shall assuredly obtain everlasting life Rev. 2.10 Be thou faithful unto the death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Matth. 24.13 He that shall endure to the end the same
thine heart and tie them about thy neck when thou goest it shall lead thee when thou sleepest it shall keep thee when thou awakest it shall talk with thee 6. The abiding of Gods word in our hearts and memories will help our perseverance 1 John 2.24 If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you ye also shall continue in the Father and in the Son The way to abide in Christ is to let his word abide in us John 15.7 If ye abide in me and my words abide in you 7. It will help forward our salvation to keep in memory the word of God 1 Cor. 15.2 By which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you It is not only useful to such as are in a state of Grace to treasure up Gods word in their memories but also to the Unconverted for it may be a means of their Conversion and turning unto God Psal 22.27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord Seeing therefore it is so advantagious for all sorts of persons to have Gods Word treasured up in their memories cause both your Servants and Children to commit to and keep in memory what you teach them out of the Scriptures and to that purpose cause them often to reherse those Scriptures wherein they have been instructed The Hebrew word which we translate teach diligently Deut. 6.7 Thou shalt teach them diligently to thy Children signifieth also to repeat often one and the same thing to inculcate it again and again with much diligence And let not the rehearsing of the same Scriptures by and to the members of your Family be irksome and tedious to you seeing it will prove beneficial to them For what the Apostle faith of writing the same things to the same persons viz. to the Church at Philippi Phil. 3.1 To write the same things to you to me indeed is not grievous but for you it is safe The same I may say of repeating the same things in our Families it should not be grievous to you seeing it is safe for them SECT 6. The necessity of watching over our Families Direct 6 WAtch over your Families and see whether they live according to those Instructions which you give them out of the Word of God Solomon speaking of a vertuous Woman saith of her Prov. 31.27 She looketh well to the ways of her houshold A Governour of a Family must not only instruct his Houshold but look yea look well to the ways of his Houshold that he may see that none of them live in any vice or in the neglect of their duty to God or their Neighbour We read of a man which sowed good seed in his field but while men slept the Enemy came and sowed Tares among the Wheat Matth. 13.24 25. Though we sow the good Seed of the word in our Families yet if we sleep when we have done that is if we be secure and careless and do not watch over them the Enemy will come and endeavour to sow Tares either the Tares of Error or the Tares of Strife and Dissention or some other evils To quicken you to this duty of watching over your Families consider 1. How prone mans nature is unto that which is evil our proneness to sin is so great that they which have had good and wholesome Instructions given to them are very apt to turn aside and go astray if they be left but a little to themselves A remarkable instance of this we have in the Children of Israel who upon Moses his absence by the space only of forty days fell into the sin of Idolatry and made a golden Calf and worshipped the same for the God that brought them out of the Land of Egypt Exod. 32.1 to vers 9. And yet Israel had received many good instructions from Moses yea they had heard God himself speaking to them from Mount Sinai and delivering his Law to them wherein he had expresly charged them not to make to themselves any graven image c. And to beget the greater Reverence of his Law there were such Thundrings and Lightnings and such dreadful fire as that Moses and all the people quaked and trembled with fear And notwithstanding this solemn delivery of the Law of God they quickly fell into this fearful sin of Idolatry Exod. 32.8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them It was not above six weeks as some compute the time after the delivery of the Law that they made this Calf not above six months after they came out of Egypt as Rivet observes This sin of theirs was the more to be wondered at because they had seen the mighty works of God upon the Egyptians whose gods could not deliver them out of the Lords hand they had also seen his wonders at the red Sea besides they bad in a solemn manner promised obedience to all the Commands of God Exod. 24.3 All the people answered with one voice and said All the words which the Lord hath said will we do And yet after all the Instructions and all the Ingagements that lay upon them to obey the Lord they quickly fell into that foul sin of Idolatry 2. Consider what a mighty charge you have to look after It is beyond Silver or Gold or precious Stones you have the Souls of your Families committed to your charge you have such a charge of them as that you must give an account to God for them Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the Ruleover you and submit your selves for they watch for your souls as they that must give account SECT 7. The Vsefulness of Reproof and Directions about giving Reproof Direct 7 WHen your Children or Servants do any thing contrary to the Instructions you have given them out of the Word of God Rebuke and Reprove them Reproofs grounded upon the Word of God and wisely administred will be a great furtherance of their Souls salvation as you may see Prov. 6.23 The Commandment is a Lamp and the Law is Light and Reproofs of Instruction are the way of Life The sence of which is this the Law of God gives us Light and Direction how to order our Conversations aright and when persons are instructed out of this Law and reproved when they go astray from it this is the way to save their Souls Although some persons in your Families should be addicted to lying and other hainous sins and have been habituated to them for a long season yet you may hope by instructing and reproving them according to the Rules of Gods Word that you shall reclaim them from their Vices and make them sound and sincere Christians The Cretians were notorious Lyars and so given to sensuality that they seemed more like Beasts than Men slothful persons that minded little else but their Bellies yet the Apostle would not have Titus despair of reforming them and making these Cretians sound and good Christians And what course doth he direct
come 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light afflictions which are but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory The glory of Heaven doth so far exceed the sufferings of this present life that they are not worthy to be compared together Rom. 8.18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us 3. It is our happiness and not our misery to suffer Reproaches and persecutions for Christs sake and it should fill us with joy rather than cast us down with sorrow when we meet with any sufferings for Righteousness sake Matth. 5.10 11 12. Blessed are they which are persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall speak all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your Reward in Heaven 1 Pet. 4.13 14. Rejoyce inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of God and of Glory resteth upon you There is a greater excellency in suffering for Christ than in enjoying all the riches of the world and it is far more eligible to endure the sharpest afflictions than to enjoy the delights and pleasures of sin Heb. 11.25 Chusing rather to suffer Affliction with the People of GOD than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season esteeming the Reproaches of Christ even those things that are most hard to be born greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt or all the enjoyments in the World 4. God will not suffer any man to be afflicted for Christ or the Gospels sake above what he will enable him to bear 1 Cor. 10.13 God is Faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able but will also with the Temptation make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it And when we do suffer for Christs sake the Lord will be with us in all our sufferings 2 Cor. 4.9 Persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not in despair Isaiah 43.2 When thou passest through the Waters I will be with thee Psalm 91.15 I will be with him in trouble c. 5. The more we suffer for Christ the more abundant consolation we shall have from Christ 2 Cor. 1.5 As the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our Consolation also aboundeth by Christ And we shall find more delight in our Consolations than we do grief in our sufferings Psal 94.19 In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul Fourthly Put them in mind of the great things which Jesus Christ hath suffered for them He became poor for our sakes 2 Cor 8.9 He gave his Body to be broken for us he made his Soul an offering for our sins c. The consideration of what Christ hath suffered for us and how willingly he suffered for us I gave my Back to the smiters and my Cheeks to them that plucked off the hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting Isa 50.6 will make us willing to suffer for him and keep us from fainting under our Sufferings Heb. 12.3 Looking unto JESUS the Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest you be wearied and faint in your minds SECT 13. The advantage of knowing the state of our Families How we may come to know their state Direct 13 ENdeavour to know the state of every Member of your Families consider who of them are in a state of grace and who abide still in an unregenerate condition As for such as are converted see whether they make any progress and grow in grace or whether they stand at a stay or decline and go backward Prov. 27.24 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy Flocks and look well to thy Herds If a man must be diligent to know the state of his Flocks and Herds whether they be sound or diseased how much more doth it concern him to know the state of his Wife and Children and Servants whether they be in a state of Grace or a state of Nature Estius and Beda and some others apply this passage of the Proverbs to those that have the care of Souls committed to their Charge The Arabian Translation favours this interpretation Cognosce animos gregis tui cognitione perfecta And the Sept. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The knowledge of the state of our Families will help us 1. To instruct them in those things that are most suitable to their state and will conduce much to their edification Heb. 10.24 Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works By considering and observing wherein they are deficient whether in Love or any other Grace as Meekness Patience Heavenly-mindedness Temperance or the like we have an advantage to apply our selves to them in a way suitable to their necessities that we may provoke them to seek after those things wherein they are most defective 2. The knowledge of their state will enable us to apply suitable comforts to them if they be dejected and cast down either by inward or outward troubles Col. 4.8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose that he might know your estate and comfort your hearts 3. It will tend much to our own comfort if they be in a good estate Phil. 2.19 That I may be of good comfort when I know your state 4. It will help us in our Prayers for them and praising God upon their accompt When the Apostle understood the good estate of the Thessalonians it did greatly excite him to thanksgiving and prayer 1 Thes 1.2 3. We give thanks to God always for you all making mention of you in our prayers remembring without ceasing your work of Faith and labour of Love and patience of Hope c. The like we may see on the behalf of the Colossians Col. 1.3 4. If any say How should we come to know the state of our Families I answer 1. By communing with the several members of our Families and examing them whhat workings they have had upon their Souls and whether they have any enjoyment of God in his Ordinances and putting searching questions to them Psal 139.23 Search me O God and know my heart and vers 1. O Lord thou hast searched me and known me As Joseph inquired into the state of his Brethren Gen. 43.7 The man asked us straitly of our state saying is your Father yet alive have you another Brother So should we inquire diligently into the state of our Children and Servants by questioning with them
instil Grace into their hearts and to convert them to God Psal 34.16 Come ye Children hearken unto me I will teach you the fear of the Lord. We should not only teach our Children to know the Lord but we must also teach them to fear the Lord. It may be you will say Can we instil Grace into our Children Can we put the fear of God into their hearts Can we give them Repentance I answer No but we may use the means and in so doing we may hope for Gods blessing If you ask What means should we use to instil Grace into and convert such of our Families as are in a graceless unconverted condition I answer 1. Warn them of the danger of a graceless unconverted condition tell them That except they be converted they cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 18.3 and that if they do not repent they will most certainly perish be cast into everlasting burnings Luk. 13.3 Mat. 13.41 42. And therefore warn them often of the danger of living and dying in an impenitent condition Warning persons of the danger and damnable nature of sin is an effectual means to prevent their dying in their sins and to bring them to repentance and salvation 2 Chron. 19.10 Ye shall warn them that they trespass not against the Lord Ezek. 3.21 He shall surely live because he is warned Ezek. 33.5 He that taketh warning shall deliver his Soul If you find that after many warnings there is no amendment yet cease not to warn them day after day and year after year and that with much tenderness till you see some fruit of your labours Act. 20.31 By the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears 2. Take all occasions to discourse with them about the things of God especially of those things wherein you have formerly instructed them out of the Word of God Good Discourse is a means of conveying Grace to those with whom we converse Ephes 4.29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister Grace to the Hearers 3. Reprove them when they do that which is contrary to the Will of God and if Reproofs will not make them reform joyn Correction with Reproof Reproof and Correction are means of instilling grace into our Children Prov. 29.15 The Rod and Reproof give Wisdom 4. Stir them up to consider their ways how contrary they are to the Word of God and what will be the fruit and effect of their sins if they repent not A serious consideration of our ways is a means of leading us to repentance Psal 119.59 I thought on my ways and turned my feet unto thy Testimonies Ezek. 18.28 Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions 5. Stir them up to read and meditate upon the Word of God that may be a means of converting their Souls Psal 19.7 The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul 6. Cause them to attend upon the Publick Ministry of the Word The preaching of the Word is the usual means of working Grace in our hearts Jam. 1.18 Of his own Will begat he us with the Word of Truth Acts 10.44 While Peter yet spake these words the holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word 7. Exhort them to forsake ungodly company and to walk and converse with them that fear God Prov. 9.6 Forsake the foolish and live and walk in the way of understanding Prov. 13.20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise 8. Be earnest with God to give them saving Grace By prayer to God we may obtain Grace for others as well as for our own Souls 1 John 5.16 If any man see his Brother sin a sin which is not unto death he shall ask and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death Secondly If upon discoursing with your Families you find they profit by the Instructions you give them and that they obey from the heart that Form of Doctrine which you deliver to them and that they grow in Grace and in the knowledge of JESUS CHRIST Then 1. Be thankful to God for blessing your Labours Rom. 6.17 God be thanked that ye were the Servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of Doctrine which was delivered you 2. Love the Lord for causing your Family to flourish and prosper by those instructions that you give them Cant. 7.11 12. Come my Beloved let us go up early to the Vineyards let us see if the Vine flourish whether the tender Grape appear and the Pomegranates bud forth there will I give thee my loves Our Families may be compated to Vineyards the Wife is resembled by the Psalmist to a Vine and the Children to Olive-Plants Psal 128.3 The Governour of the Family is placed in this Vineyard as Adam was in Eden to dress it and to keep it Now such of us as are made keepers of Vineyards should be often looking whether the Vine flourish whether the tender Grape appear and when we go about this work we should call to CHRIST to go with us and assist us And if we find any Grapes though they be but tender yea if we perceive but any Buds any thing that gives us hope of Fruit we should give the Lord JESUS not only our love but our loves that is we should love him abundantly for 't is He that gives a Blessing to our Labours 1 Cor. 3.6 I have planted Apollo watered but God gave the increase 3. Exhort them to look to themselves that they do not lose what you have by Gods Blessing wrought in them that so neither you nor they may lose your Reward 2 John 8. Look to your selves that ye lose not those things which we have wrought but that we may receive a full Reward When Jesus saw some of the Jews believing he exhorted and incouraged them to continue in his word John 8.30 31. As he spake these words many believed on him then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him If ye continue in my word then are ye my Disciples indeed 4. Endeavour to make them more Fruitful Thus God dealeth with his Children that bring forth fruit he teacheth and helpeth them to bring forth more Fruit John 15.2 Every Branch that beareth Fruit he purgeth it that it may bring forth more Fruit. The more fruitful any Christian is the more glory he bringeth to God vers 8. Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit 5. Direct them to the right end in bearing Fruit which is not any selfish interest for that Fruit which is brought forth for selfish ends is in Gods account as good as none Hos 10.1 Israel is an empty Vine he bringeth forth fruit unto himself The glorifying and pleasing God is that which we must aim at in our bearing fruit Rom. 7.4 That we should bring forth fruit unto God 6. Endeavour that they may
that which is lacking in your Faith Phil. 1.4 Always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with Joy He put up no prayer at any time but he remembred them all and it was not irksome to him so to do but he did it with Joy And as the Apostle Paul so also others of the Servants of Christ have been wont to labour and strive mightily with God in Prayer for those whom they have taught and instructed in the ways of God Col. 4.12 Epaphras who is one of you a Servant of Christ saluteth you always labouring fervently for you in prayers that ye may stand perfect and compleat in the whole Will of God He did not only pray but laboured in prayer and that fervently not sometimes but always and that not for his own concernments but for you besides it is not said in prayer but in prayers intimating that he put up a multitude of prayers for them and it was no small measure of grace that he laboured thus earnestly for on their behalf but that they might stand perfect and compleat in the will in all the will of God 3. Prayer will do great things with God for others as well as our own Souls Jam. 5.16 Pray one for another that ye may be healed the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much By praying in faith and with fervency we may obtain converting grace remission of sins and eternal life for our Children and Servants and others as well as those of our own Families 1 John 5.16 If any man see his Brother sin a sin which is not unto death he shall ask and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death This promise may give us great encouragement to pray in faith for the conversion and salvation of such as are visible and open sinners If any see his Brother sin c. If we consider 1. The persons to whom this promise is made and they are every one that believeth in the Name of Jesus Christ It is not a priviledge that did belong only to the Apostles or extraordinary men of God but it is said If any man that is any man that believeth in Christ as appeareth from the thirteenth verse 2. The persons for whom Believers may obtain Life and Salvation upon praving to God for them and they are his Brethren sinning Brethren If any man see his Brother sin he shall give him life for them He first speaks of a Brother in the singular number and then saith Life for them in the plural which shews that the word Brother is to be taken collectively as Beza observes for all or any Brother for whom a Believer shall pray to God If you ask Who is meant by a Brother I answer The Apostle seemeth to use the word Brother in this Epistle in the same latitude with Neighbour which may be proved from several passages in his Epistle as Chap. iii. 14 15 16. Chap. iv 20.21 And Piscator expounds the word Brother Fratris nomine intelligit proximum qui eandem nobiscum fidem ac proinde eundem in coelis patrem profitetur 3. He excepts no sins but the sin unto death that is as most expound the place the sin against the Holy Gaost which is a sin that shall never have forgiveness As for any other sins if Believers ask of God Repentance and Forgiveness of sins for them that have sinned that so they may have Life and Salvation God will grant them their desire Another Scripture that sheweth the efficacy of prayer in order to the obtaining for others forgiveness of sins and Grace whereby they may be qualified to receive forgiveness of sins we have Jam. 5.15 The prayer of faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him Ishmael was a wild Child Gen. 16.11 12. yet when Abraham prayed Gen. 17.10 O that Ishmael might live before thee God answers him verse 20. As for Ishmael I have heard thee And though the Lord adds afterward But my Covenant will I establish with Isaac Yet this as Rivet observes seems rather to be an excluding of Ishmael's Posterity than his Person from the Covenant unto whom the same day that God gave him this answer Abraham administers Circumcision the Seal of the Covenant When the woman of Canaans Daughter was grievously vexed with a Devil her prayer prevailed with Christ to deliver her Daughter from the power of the Devil Matth. 15.22 28. Objection I have prayed often to God to give my Children Grace and to convert and turn them from their sins but I do not see that my Prayers avail any thing with God for my Children they abide still in a graceless condition Answer 1. Do you instruct them diligently as well as pray for them Do you watch over them Do you shew them a good example Do you reprove them Do you give them due correction If you do not use other means as well as prayer possibly that is the reason why your prayers avail not for their conversion The Apostle Paul who earnestly desired and prayed for the salvation of the Jews Rom. 10.1 Brethren my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved joyned with his prayers the use of all means to effect their salvation Rom. 11.14 If by any means I might provoke to emulation them which are my flesh and might save some of them So must we joyn the use of all other means with prayer if we would have our prayers become effectual for the conversion and salvation of our Children 2. Though we see no present return of our prayers yet we should continue praying and not faint or be discouraged until we have obtained what we pray for Luke 18.1 He spake a Parable unto them to this end that men ought always to pray and not to faint Though the Lord may be silent for a season and seem not to regard our Prayers to try our Faith and Patience yet he may purpose to give us all that we pray for He dealt thus with the Woman of Canaan when she came to him with a Request on the behalf of her Daughter at the first he answered her not a word Matth. 15.23 And when the Disciples intercede for her he seems to discourage them from making any farther request for her by saying to them ver 24. I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and afterward when she continued to cry after him he seemeth to beat her off and reject her prayer by telling her Verse 26. It is not meet to take the Childrens Bread and cast it to Dogs Yet she still holding on her suit at length Christ yields her the whole desire of her heart Verse 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her O Woman great is thy Faith Be it unto thee even as thou wilt And her Daughter was made whole from that very hour 3. If God should
labour to grow in grace our selves and to be of savoury spirits to express the beauty of holiness in our Conversations if we would have our Families grow in grace For before God promiseth that such as dwell under Israel's shadow should grow as the Vine he promiseth vers 5 6. to be as the dew unto Israel whereby he should grow as the Lily and that his smell should be as Lebanon and his beauty as the Olive-Tree SECT 21. A godly Life and good Example maketh Family-Instruction powerful and successful Direct 21 IF you would carry on the work of Family Instruction successfully walk examplarily in your Families Be Patterns and Examples to them in Faith in Holiness in Meekness in Charity in good Discourse in Self-denial in Patience in Heavenly-mindedness and in every other good work that your Families may know how to walk so as to please and glorifie God by seeing and observing how you carry your selves in all things They that teach others should labour to carry themselves exemplarily in all things towards those whom they instruct 1 Tim. 4.12 Be thou an example of the Believers in word in conversation in charity in spirit in faith in purity Tit. 2.7 In all things shewing thy self a Pattern of good works Instruction from a good man is embraced more readily and worketh more powerfully than that which comes from one that walketh contrary to what he teacheth Barnabas being a good man was instrumental by his exhortations to convert many to the Lord Acts 11.23 24. He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord for he was a good man and full of the holy Ghost and of Faith and much People was added to the Lord. When Levi who taught the people walked with God he turned many from iniquity Mal. 2.6 The Law of Truth was in his mouth and iniquity was not found in his lips He walked with me in peace and equity and did turn many away from iniquity A good conversation is such a powerful means to convert Souls that some who are not wrought upon by the Word are won to Christ by a good conversation 1 Pet. 3.1 Wives be in subjection to your own Husbands that if any obey not the word they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the Wives When Governours of Families return to God and walk with God the Lord hath promised that their families shall be reformed also and put away iniquity Job 22.23 If thou return to the Almighty thou shalt be built up thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy Tabernacles This latter clause implies two things 1. That it is our duty when we return to God to endeavour to reform our Families 2. That when we do return to God and endeavour to reform our Families God will so bless our endeavours that iniquity shall be put far from our Tabernacles And accordingly we find that when the Master of the Family feareth God and doth according to his duty labour to bring his Family to fear and serve the Lord the Lord hath blessed the whole Family with the fear of his Name as we may see in Cornelius who fearing God and being a devout man all his house feared God also Acts 10.1 2. And when Crispus the chief Ruler believed all his house believed also in the Lord Acts 18.8 Crispus the chief Ruler of the Synagogue believed on the Lord with all his House SECT 22. Family-Instruction must be continued as long as we live Direct 22 COntinue constant and diligent in this work of Family-Instruction as long as you live notwithstanding all the discouragements that you meet with therein The Lord doth not only require of us that we should teach our Children his holy Word but he commands us also to continue so doing as long as we live Deut. 4.9 Only take heed to thy self and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life but teach them thy sons and thy sons sons So also vers 10. Gather me the people together and I will make them hear my words that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth and that they may teach their Children To move you to constancy herein consider 1. That continuance in this work will be a means to promote your own and your Families salvation 1 Tim. 4.16 Take heed unto thy self and unto thy Doctrine continue in them for in doing this thou shalt save thy self and them that hear thee Isa 64.5 In those is continuance and we shall be saved That is by continuing to work Righteousness and to walk in Gods ways spoken of in the fore-going words we shall be saved It is not enough to do well but we must continue with patience in well doing under all our discouragements if we would have eternal life Rom. 2.6 7. Who will render to every man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal Life 2. Consider how earnestly God calls upon you not to be discouraged in the doing of any good work but to be stedfast and unmovable and to abound always in the work of the Lord Gal. 6.9 Let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not 1 Cor. 15.58 My beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 3. Consider how the Lord commends constancy in that which is good Gal. 4.18 It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing And what a great sin it is to neglect doing good works Jam. 4.17 To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is sin To leave off doing good works is the way to run into all evil Psal 36.3 4. He hath left off to be wise and to do good he deviseth mischief upon his Bed he setteth himself in a way that is not good To leave off doing good works will provoke God to send some heavy Judgment upon us Hos 8.3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good the Enemy shall pursue him CHAP. IIII. Objections against instructing our Families in the knowledge of the Scriptures according to the fore-mentioned Directions answered I Shall in the next place answer the most material Objections that are or may be made against Parents or Masters of Families instructing their Children and Servants in the knowledge of the Scriptures In doing whereof I shall remove the principal Discouragements that may keep any person either from entring upon or continuing constant in this work of Family-Iustruction SECT 1. The Plea of such as neglect Family-Instruction because they say they are not able to instruct their Families answered Object 1 I Would instruct my Family in the knowledge of the
me for such a great man as I am to instruct my Family 4. Riches and Honour and worldly Greatness should be so far from taking off any man from any good work that they should cause him to be more abundant in every good work 1 Tim. 6.17 18. Charge them that are rich in this world that they do good that they be rich in good works Jehoshaphat who was a good as well as a great man was so far from neglecting any of the ways of the Lord because of his Greatness that his heart was more elevated and encouraged to lay out himself for God by the Honour and Greatness which God had conferred upon him 2 Chron. 17.5 6. The Lord stablished the Kingdom in his hand and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat Presents and he had Riches and Honour in abundance and his heart was lift up or as 't is in the Margin was encouraged in the ways of the Lord. SECT 11. The Plea of such as say they have no spare time to instruct their Families because they are poor or have much business or are often abroad answered Object 11 THere are many will plead They have no spare time to instruct their Families some because they are poor others because they are often from home a third sort because they are full of business who are ready to say On the week days we must attend our worldly occasions and on Lords days we must attend publick Ordinances and take some time for our private Communion with God so that we can find no time to instruct our Families Answ 1. Do you not find time to eat and drink with your Children If you can find time notwithstanding all your business to eat and drink with your Families if you had as great a delight in the word of God as Job had you would also find time to instruct them out of the word of God for he esteemed Gods word more than his food yea more than his necessary food Job 23.12 I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food Are not your Childrens Souls infinitely better than their Bodies And will you then spend all your time in providing for their Bodies and spare no time to instruct their Souls Your Childrens Souls are in as great danger to perish without Instruction as their Bodies without Food and Rayment their Bodies will die if they have no Food prepared for them so will their Souls if they be without Instruction Prov. 5.23 He shall die without instruction and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray Hos 4.6 My People are destroyed for want of Knowledge 2. Suppose you are poor your Poverty should be so far from keeping you from teaching Gods Word unto your Children that you should be the more diligent to study Gods word your selves and to teach the same unto your Children And that for several Reasons As First Gods Word will help you and your Children to bear your Poverty with Patience and Contentment The Apostle Paul exerercised much patience in his Afflictions Necessities and Distresses and the help which he had to bear his Necessities with patience was from the Word of God 2 Cor. 6.4 7. Increasing in the knowledge of God will strengthen a man with all might to suffer all sorts of afflictions with all Patience Long-suffering and Joyfulness Col. 1.10 11. Secondly If you be poor and can leave your Children nothing you have the more need to leave them instructed in the Word of God and if you leave them well instructed in the Word you leave them a good portion better then if you left them thousands of pounds in Silver or Gold Psal 119.72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of Gold and Silver Thirdly By laying up Gods word in your hearts and teaching it your Children and practising it in your Lives and Conversations you may come to be deliver'd from your Poverty and be blessed with Riches Prov. 10.22 The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich and who are more likely to obtain this Blessing then they that treasure up Gods word in their hearts and teach it to their Children Job 22.22 24. Receive I pray thee the Law from his mouth and lay up his words in thine heart then shalt thou lay up Gold as dust and the Gold of Ophir as the stones of the brook Prov. 24.4 By knowledge shall the Chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant Riches Fourthly If the Lord should see it best for you and your Children to be kept in a poor and low condition and should deny you the Riches of this world yet by conversing much with the word of God and instructing your Children in the knowledge of the Scriptures both you and your Children may come to be rich in faith and by being rich in faith both you and they shall become great Heirs Heirs of a Kingdom Heirs not of an earthly but which is far better of an heavenly Kingdom Jam. 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith Heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him 3. Multiplicity of Business is not a sufficient Plea for the neglect of this duty of Family-Instruction For First Next to the working out of our own salvation we can have no Business of greater importance than the training up our Families in the knowledge and fear of God Secondly A good man must order all his affairs with discretion so as one Business may not hinder another especially that which is of lesser moment must not hinder that which is of greater concerment Thirdly When a man hath an heart for this work he will easily find time to do it Want of time may be pretended but want of an heart to the work is the real cause why it is neglected Fourthly No men can have more or greater Business than Kings who have the Affairs of an whole Kingdom lying upon their hands yet David who was a King found time to teach his Children Prov. 4.3 4. yet he had much other Business besides governing the Twelve Tribes of Israel who were a very numerous People as preparing Materials to build the Temple composing of Psalms fighting of Battels there being both Civil Wars and War with forraign Enemies in his days c. Fifthly They that have most Business if they take a view of their time shall find that much of their time is lost and mis-spent either in idleness or vain unprofitable Discourse or unnecessary thoughts and cares about the affairs of this life or in some other kind Do but spend so much time in Family-Instruction as you have been used to spend unprofitably and you shall find time enough for this work 4. Suppose you be full of Employment that you can find no spare time on the week day to instruct your Families yet on every Lords day wherein you are to lay aside all your worldly Business you may find time and leasure enough to instruct your
may be their Lot was cast under your Roof that you might convert them to the knowledge and belief of the Truth therefore try both by convincing Scriptures and by a convincing Conversation to recover them from the Error of their ways And for your better Encouragement consider 1. VVhat a blessed and glorious work it is to reduce a man from Error to Truth and to bring back a stragling sheep to the fold of Christ by so doing you will be instrumental to save a soul Jam. 5.19 20. Brethren if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a Soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins 2. If you set your hearts to this work and labour diligently in it it is very probable that God will make you successful There is a promise that such as err shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth Isa 29.24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding and they that murmured shall learn Doctrine And what is a more likely way to obtain this promise than to be diligent in using means to reclaim those that err from the Truth II. If you have not parts and abilities sufficient to convince them of their Errors and to perswade them to embrace the Truth get some others that have greater abilities then your selves to deal with them especially some godly Ministers who may be able by sound Doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers Tit. 1.9 III. If they remain obstinate and either will not be instructed or after instruction persist in their erronious Opinions remove them out of your Families 2 John 10. If there come any unto you and bring not this Doctrine receive him not into your House If persons that teach false Doctrine are not to be received into our Houses then such as have embraced false Doctrine and do pertinaciously adhere thereunto are to be cast out of our Houses What the Apostle adviseth concerning Church Censures Tit. 3.10 A man that is an Heretick after the first and second admonition reject The same may suit in this case if your servants hold dangerous Errors and after several admonitions and much means used to reclaim them do obstinately adhere to their corrupt Principles cast them out of your Families lest they leaven the whole Family with their evil Opinions 1 Cor. 5.6 Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump SECT 24. They that neglect Family Instruction are worse than Infidels and Idolaters Though others neglect this work we must not Object 24 NOne of my Neighbours do take this pains with their Families and why then should I Would you have me singular That is the way to be laugh'd to scorn and to be under reproach Answ 1. Take heed of bearing false witness against your Neighbour it may be several of your Neighbours make conscience of this duty of teaching and instructing their Families though you know it not It is a grievous slander to say None of your Neighbours take any care of their Families to teach them to know and serve the Lord it is in effect to say they are as bad or worse than Infidels 1 Tim. 5.8 If any provide not for his own especially for those of his own House he hath denied the faith and is worse than an Infidel The Soul is of far greater value than the Body and if so then the neglecting to provide for the Souls of those of our own House is a greater sin than the neglecting to provide for their Bodies Idolaters train up and employ their whole Families to serve their Idols Jer. 7.18 The Children gather wood and the Fathers kindle the fire and the women knead their Dough to make Cakes to the Queen of Heaven and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods that they may provoke me to anger Here are men women and children all employed about the service of idol gods If Idolaters train up their children to serve their idol gods are not they worse than Idolaters who will not train up their Families to know and serve the true God So that you charge your Neighbours with a very great sin and an high crime when you say that none of them instruct their Families 2. Suppose none of your Neighbours should instruct their Families yet you must instruct yours Joshua resolved that though all Israel should neglect the service of the true God and turn aside to idols yet he and his House would serve the Lord Josh 24.15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord chuse you whom you will serve whether the Gods which your Fathers served that were on the other side of the Flood or the Gods of the Amorites in whose Lands ye dwell but as for me and my House we will serve the Lord. Your Neighbours neglect of their duty will not excuse you at the day of Judgment nor shelter you from the wrath of God nor mitigate your Torments in Hell if you suffer your Families to die in ignorance and so to perish eternally for want of instruction 3. You are not singular in this work for the wisest the most holy the best men that ever lived have been careful to train up their Families in the knowledge and fear of the Lord as Abraham Gen. 18.19 David Psal 34.11 Joshua Josh 24.15 Yea which of all the Saints and Servants of God ever neglected it 4. Suppose your Neighbours should reproach you for instructing your Families and call you by any odions names this should not at all dishearten you from this good work of Family-Instruction For 1. It is a blessed and happy thing to suffer reproach for doing any work that Jesus Christ sets us about 1 Pet. 4.14 If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you on their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified Matth. 5.11 12. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven 2. In this work you do Christ service and those that serve Christ shall be honoured by God John 12.26 If any man serve me him will my Father honour And if God honour you you need not care who despiseth or reproacheth you SECT 25. How to deal with such as refuse Instruction Objects 25 I Would very willingly instruct my Family if they were willing to be instructed but my Family will not submit to instruction and what can I do in this case Answ 1. Enquire whence it comes to pass that God afflicts you with this sore Judgment of rebellious Children and Servants that will not submit to instruction When God makes any members of our Families prove Crosses to us he is usually bringing some sin to our remembrance and
God of his Fathers to shew that his Fathers Instructions were instrumental to bring him to Repentance when he was in his affliction III. Though you should not convert your Children or Servants by the instructions which you give them out of the word of God yet possibly what you do may prepare them for the Ministry of the Word the Seed you have sown may be quickned by the Ministry of the Word to their conversion and salvation And this is no small mercy to be instrumental to plow up the fallow ground and to prepare the hearts of your Children and Servants for the publick Ministry of the Word All that heard John Baptist were not brought to believe in Christ yet was not John the Baptist's labour in vain for John's Labours did prepare them for Christ and when they came to hear Christ the remembring what they had heard from John did help them to believe in Christ as we may see John 10.40 41 42. And Jesus went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized and there he abode and many resorted to him and said John did no miracle but all things that John spake of this man were true And many believed on him there IV. Consider what pains the Husbandman takes in tilling the Earth and what long patience he exerciseth before he reaps any fruit of his Labours He ploweth often in order to the fitting and preparing the Earth to receive the Seed and after his Seed is sowen it lieth buried under the ground and for a season nothing appears after his Seed cometh up it is a long time to the Harvest and many times by unseasonable weather either immoderate Rain or Drought or Blasting or Mildew all his Labour is lost Yet he renews his labour again year after year as long as he liveth and ploweth and soweth his ground in hope of the blessing of God The Apostle puts us in mind of the Husbandmans patience to make us patient in waiting for better things James 5.7 Be patient therefore Brethren unto the coming of the Lord Behold the Husbandman waiteth for the precious Fruit of the Earth and hath long patience for it until he receive the early and latter Rain What though you see no fruit after much pains taken with your Families And after some appearance of fruit there comes a blasting of your hopes yet you must renew your Labours day after day hoping that at length God will bless your endeavours The fruit of instruction in the conversion and edification of your Families is much better than the fruits of the earth and is worthy of more pains and patience than the Husbandman exerciseth for obtaining the fruits of the earth Remember therefore and follow the counsel of Solomon Eccles 11.6 In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening with-hold not thy hand for thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that or whether they both shall be alike good V. Though you should not convert the Souls of your Children and Servants yet you must go on to instruct them for in so doing you shall deliver your own Soul Ezek. 3.19 If thou warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness nor from his wicked way he shall die in his iniquity but thou hast delivered thy Soul And shall be clear from their blood Acts 20.26 27. I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God VI. Though you should take much pains in instructing your Families and should be instrumental to convert none of them yet your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord for you shall have a great Reward from God Your Reward shall be according to your work and pains that you have taken not according to your success Rev. 22.12 Behold I come quickly and my Reward is with me to give to every man according as his work shall be As it is with the Ministers of Christ if they have taught the people diligently and faithfully the good word of the Lord though they have not converted them they shall have their Reward from God and be glorious in the eyes of the Lord Isa 49.4 5. Then I said I have laboured in vain I have spent my strength for naught and in vain yet surely my Judgment is with the Lord and my Work or as it is in the Margin my Reward with my God Though Israel be not gathered yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength So also it shall be with Masters of Families Wherefore do not give over this work through any discouragement but be stedfast and unmoveable always abounding therein inasmuch as you know that your labour shall not be in vain according to what you find recorded 1 Cor. 15.58 Therefore my beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. CHAP. V. Considerations to quiet Parents whose Children died in such an estate as they can have no hope of their Salvation IF any shall demand further Suppose after all our endeavours to teach convert and save our Children and Servants Souls some of them should prove vile and wicked persons and should live and die in their sins and so should perish eternally What Considerations may quiet our minds and support us under such a trial as this to see our Children or any other Member of the Family for whose conversion and salvation we have put up many prayers and have taken much pains in teaching and instructing them perish eternally SECT 1. Answer 1. THough our Children and Servants whom we have instructed and for whom we have prayed should prove very vile and wicked yet we should hope as long as we and they live that God in his due time may hear our Prayers and bless our Endeavours for the conversion of their Souls Eccles 9.4 For to him that is joyned to all the Living there is hope The Lord sometimes gives Repentance unto Life to the worst of men to such as are the Devils slaves and such as are taken captive by him at his will and to such as do oppose the means of their salvation 2 Tim. 2.25 26. And as God calls some of the chiefest Sinners so he calls some towards the latter end of their days Some were called into the Vineyard at the eleventh hour of the day when they had spent all the day in idleness Matth. 13.6 7. About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle and saith unto them Why stand ye here all the day idle Go ye also into the Vineyard If we should die before them and see them continuing in their sins till our dying day yet as Noah though he foresaw that the Gentiles who were the posterity of Japheth Gen. 10.1 5. would continue a long time in their
estrangement from God yet he hoped that God in due time would convert them and cause them to embrace the true Religion which was continued in the Off-spring of Shem Gen. 9.27 God shall enlarge or as the word may be render'd God shall perswade Japheth and he shall dwell in the Tents of Shem. So should we hope concerning our Children that God will perswade their hearts to repent of their sins though we should see them go on in evil and destructive courses a long time together and that because of his promise to circumcise not only our hearts but the hearts also of our Seed to love him with all our hearts and all our souls that both we and they may have everlasting life Deut. 30.6 2. If after all our prayers and tears and instructions and endeavours after their salvation we should see any of our Children or Servants live and die in such a condition as that we could have no hope of their salvation we may quiet our minds with such considerations as these I. Consider Gods Soveraignty He hath a soveraign power over all his Creatures to dispose of their temporal and spiritual estate according to his own pleasure we are in Gods hand as clay in the hands of the Potter Jer. 18.6 O House of Israel cannot I do with you as this Potter saith the Lord Behold as the Clay is in the Potters hand so are ye in mine hand O House of Israel And what is the power the Potter hath over the Clay Rom. 9.21 Hath not the Potter power over the Clay of the same lump to make one Vessel unto Honour and another unto Dishonour Jer. 18.4 The Vessel that he made of Clay was marred in the hand of this Potter so he made it again another Vessel as seemed good to the Potter to make it If it be in the Potters power to make every Vessel as seemeth good to him if he may make of the same lump one Vessel to honour and another to dishonour may not the great God do what he pleaseth with his Creatures May not He make of Children that are born of the same Parents and enjoy the same instructions one a Vessel unto Honour and another a Vessel of his Wrath and Displeasure for ever All Creatures in Heaven and in the Earth and in the Sea and in all other places are disposed of by God according to his will and good pleasure Psal 135.6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he in Heaven and in Earth and in the Seas and in all deep places And shall we think much or repine against God when he disposeth of our Children or any other Member of the Family as seemeth good in his sight When the Lord said to Eli I will judge his House for ever And I have sworn unto the House of Eli That iniquity of Eli's House shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever 1 Sam. 3.13 14. This was sad tidings yet when Eli considered it was the Lord who had power to dispose of him and his Family as seemeth good in his sight he quietly submitted his will to the will of God vers 18. It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good No Parents did ever thirst more after the salvation of their Childrens Souls than Jesus Christ thirsted after the salvation of fallen man yet when he saw that it was his Fathers good pleasure to hide the Mysteries of the Gospel from some persons who were wise and prudent in worldly matters with whom he had taken much pains in preaching the Gospel he rested abundantly satisfied in the will and pleasure of his Father Mat. 11.25 26. At that time Jesus answered and said I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto Babes Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight From verse 19. to 24. Jesus Christ upbraids the Cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not and tells them what an heavy condemnation they should have at the day of Judgment more dreadful than Tyre or Sydon or Sodom and Gomorrah And at that time when he had done upbraiding those Cities he addresseth himself to his Father wherein he declares his perfect acquiescence in his Fathers will Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight although he had hid the Mysteries of the Gospel from the wise and prudent and we know that eternal perdition followeth the hiding of the Gospel 2 Cor. 4.3 If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost and had revealed them only or chiefly at least to such as were in comparison of the wise and prudent men in the world but Babes Now seeing our Lord Jesus did acquiesce in his Fathers good pleasure when he saw many amongst whom he had preached and done his mighty works continuing in their unbelief and impenitent condition and so perishing eternally It concerneth us to submit our selves to the will and pleasure of God if after all the pains that we have taken to convert and save our Childrens Souls he should leave some of them to perish in their sins We must know that he is God and so may dispose of us and all that belongs to us as he pleaseth and howsoever he is pleased to deal with us we must be still and silent under his hand Psal 46.10 Be still and know that I am God II. Others as good and better than we have met with the same trial viz. some of their children and servants have degenerated and proved vicious and lewd persons and have lived and died in their sins notwithstanding all the pains that their Parents and Governours have taken to convert and save their souls Adam had a Cain who murthered his own brother and was a fugitive and vagabond in the earth and hath the brand of a wicked man set upon him by the Holy Ghost 1 John 3.12 as well as righteous Abel Noah had an Ham who saw and divulged his fathers nakedness and had his fathers curse upon him and his posterity as well as a pious Shem and Japheth righteous Lot had two daughters that enticed him to drunkenness and incest Ishmael in his younger time was so vile that Abraham cast him out of his family for a scoffer Isaac had a profane Esau who sold his Birthright for a mess of Pottage a man hated of God Esau have I hated Rom. 9.13 as well as a godly Jacob. Jacob met with crosses in his Children Reuben his first-born defiled his Fathers Bed Simeon and Levi by their cruelty in slaying the Shechemites after they had drawn them to be circumcised made Jacob's name to stink among the Inhabitants of the Land Gen. 34.30 Judah lieth with his Daughter-in-law Tamar supposing her to have been an Harlot with divers other crosses in the rest of his Children as the selling of Joseph into Egypt c. Aaron lost two sons Nadab and Abihu In
Eccles 8.11 They would always have gone on resisting the Spirit of God and doing those things which are grievous in the sight of God Psal 10 4 5. The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God God is not in all his thoughts his ways are always grievous Acts 7.51 Ye do always resist the holy Ghost They would continually have sinned against God in their hearts and lives Gen. 6.5 God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the Earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually Time would have been so far from leading them to Repentance that the longer they had lived they would have been the more subtil and obstinate sinners and would have been longer accustomed to do evil and the longer a man hath been accustomed to do evil the harder it is to bring him to Repentance Jer. 13.23 Is there any inequality in punishing them for ever who would have sinned for ever Now if God hath dealt righteously with your Children why should you fret or be disquieted at the righteous dealings of the Just and Righteous God Was it meet that the Lord should have perverted Justice for your sake or the sake of your Children III. The Lord hath fulfilled his eternal counsel and declared his truth and faithfulness in fulfilling his Threatnings denounced against impenitent sinners by condemning your children who died in their sins unto eternal torments God hath plainly revealed it in his holy Word that it is his eternal and unchangable purpose to cast into eternal torments all wicked and ungodly persons that live and die in their sins without Repentance The Scriptures are full of Threatnings to this effect as Psal 9.17 Luk. 13.3 5. Mat. 13.41 42. Mat. 25.41 Rev. 21.8 with a multitude of other places why then should you fret at Gods fulfilling his eternal counsel and at his faithfulness in fulfilling his word As Bildad said to Job 18.4 He teareth himself in his anger shall the Earth be forsaken for thee And shall the Rock be removed out of his place The like may I say to you Why do you tear your selves in your anger Should the Lord have forsaken his eternal counsels which are more firm than the Earth or Rocks and would have brought greater confusion than the removing the Earth or the Rocks out of their places for your sakes Would you have had him altered the way and course of mans salvation for the sake of your Children Would you have had him proved unfaithful in not fulfilling his word to spare your Children from eternal torments This in effect is to have desired that he would have denied his own Being and ceased to be God rather than to have condemned your Children For if God should depart from his faithfulness he should deny his own Being 2 Tim. 2.12 He abideth faithful he cannot deny himself IV. Murmuring and fretting against God for condemning your Children who died in their sins unto eternal torments is the way to fall into the same condemnation with your Children For those that resemble Dogs by their barking and snarling and being angry at what God doth shall be shut out of heaven Rev. 22.15 Without are Dogs The Apostle cautions us against murmuring lest we should thereby provoke God to destroy us 1 Cor. 10.10 Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the Destroyer And therefore instead of murmuring against God for destroying your Children admire his great and wonderful mercy that you as well as they are not consumed and cast into everlasting burnings Lam. 3.22 It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not V. Your excessive sorrow for your deceased children who died in their sins doth not please God nor any way benefit you or your children It doth not please God he is troubled that you do not joy more in having him for your God and Portion and Saviour than you grieve at the loss of your children but that your grief for your children should swallow up your joy in God and may say to you as Elkanah did to Hannah 1 Sam. 1.8 Why weepest thou And why eatest thou not And why is thy heart grieved Am not I better to thee than ten sons When any affection exceedeth its due bounds it is sinful and that which is sinful displeaseth God Your excessive sorrow will no ways benefit your deceased children If you could shed Rivers of Tears for them they would avail nothing for their Release or the mitigation of their torments Prayers and Tears may do great things for the Living but they are not any way profitable for the Dead And as Prayers and Tears profit dead men nothing so neither can any other work that is done by any man under the Sun be any way beneficial to the Dead Solomon speaking of the dead saith Eccl. 9.6 Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the Sun When once God hath passed sentence upon them for their eternal state no Creature can prevail with him to change his mind Job 23.13 But he is in one mind and who can turn him Not one Soul that is cast into hell can by any means be redeemed from thence again Psal 49.8 For the redemption of their soul is precious and it ceaseth for ever And as your inordinate sorrow doth not benefit your deceased children so neither do you your selves reap any advantage by it it is so far from doing you good that it hurts you both in body and soul and estate It hurts your bodies as it dries and consumes them and hastens your death Prov. 17.22 A broken spirit drieth the bones 2 Cor. 7.10 The sorrow of the world worketh death It hurts your Souls as it hinders your communion with God and your performing that service you owe to God and tends to the destroying of the Kingdom of God in your Souls which consisteth not only in righteousness but also in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14.17 It hurts your Estates as it unfits you for the works of your Calling And therefore seeing that your excessive grief doth not please God nor benefit your Children or your selves nor any other person but you disquiet your selves in vain let this put a period to your immoderate sorrows VI. Turn your excessive sorrowing for the loss of your deceased Childrens souls into zealous endeavours after the salvation of your own soul and the souls of your surviving Children Instead of unprofitable mourning for the dead rise up and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling and save if it be possible all that are committed to your charge As the Lord called off Samuel from mourning for Saul to anoint an other King 1 Sam. 16.1 And the Lord said unto Samuel how long wilt thou mourn for Saul seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel Fill thine horn with oyl and go c. So