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A49758 Parents groans over their wicked children several sermons on Prov. XVII, 25, published for the benefit of all, but especially of good parents and their children / by Edward Lawrence ... Lawrence, Edward, 1623-1695. 1681 (1681) Wing L654; ESTC R5524 46,723 144

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3. I shall give you several instances for the confirmation of it 1. I shall only give you two main Characters of godly Parents First They are conscienciously careful for their preservation Secondly For the Eternal happiness and salvation of their Children 1. They are conscienciously careful for the preservation of the natural lives of their Children as trees support and feed the branches that grow out of themselves And as it 's natural to the brutes to defend and keep their own young so nature it self teacheth and inclineth Parents to defend and preserve and provide for the fruit of their own bodies and for this end to supply them with food raiment and physick and to fit them for callings and seasonably to provide for them meet yokefellows and every way to take care that they neither perish or be made miserable but godly Parents in whom natural affections are sanctified and improved by Grace do all these out of a principle of Godliness as persons who have to do with God herein they do it in a sense of their dependance on God and pray for daily bread to feed their Children and are thankful when they feel it come warm from their Father in Heaven they do it in obedience and faithfulness to God and with a design that their Children may live to be born of God and to be a blessing to this world and be blessed in the other world As for those unnatural monsters who feed their lusts with that which should maintain their Children they are so far from being Godly Parents that they are worse than Infidels in not providing for their Families and are like the Devil who as I said is a Murderer of his own Children 2. They are conscienciously careful for the Eternal happiness and salvation of their Children for their natural affections being now sanctified do work in them for the spiritual good and happiness of their Children Prov. 4.3 4 5. I was my fathers son tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother Solomon was his fathers and mothers darling their love did run out exceedingly upon this son and he tells us which way their love and kindness was express'd he taught me also and said unto me Get wisdom get understanding He tells us also how the affections of his good mother did work Prov. 31.2 3. What my son and what the son of my womb and what the son of my vows The son of her womb was the son of her vows whom she had devoted to God those Parents who have known both states the state of Wrath and the state of Grace and have experimentally felt what it is to pass from death to life and from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God cannot but desire that the same change be wrought upon their children And as they who love themselves with a holy love do take God for their eternal life and happiness and Christ for their Redeemer to redeem them from all evil and to bring them to this happiness and the Spirit for their Sanctifier to fit them for this happiness So they that love their children with this holy Love will desire and endeavour that they be partakers with them of the same happiness 2. I proceed to give you three Characters of ungodly Children 1. They are such Children as will not be subject to the authority of their Parents The reverence of Children to their Parents is so incorporated into the whole body of Religion that all Religion is in vain without it this fully appears Levit. 19.3 Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father and keep my sabbaths I am the Lord your God Observe this duty is here joyn'd with keeping the Lords Sabbaths wherein Religion did always very much consist but it 's often seen that disobedient children are great prophaners of the Lords-day they are always bad but usually worst on that day and some of them may remember that their first breaking out into scandalous sins was on the Lords-day We are here further taught That this duty of Reverence to Parents is joyn'd with all Religion to God for saith God in effect it 's in vain for any to pretend to call me their Lord and their God if they do not fear their Parents and theresore wicked children are numbred among the most flagitious and worst sinners Ezek. 22.7 In thee have they set light by father and mother they villified and despised them and made nothing of them such break all the bonds of Religion and many hasten through a shameful and untimely death into a dreadful and tormenting eternity whose wickedness first began in scorning and despising their Parents 2. They are such children as will not obey the Commands of their Parents The godly Commands of Parents are the means which God hath appointed and doth often bless to make the children godly Gen. 18.19 I know Abraham 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 and God commands all children to obey all the holy and lawful commands of their parents Ephes 6.1 Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right It 's the parents right that their children should obey them and it 's Gods right that they should obey them in the Lord and this saith the Apostle Col. 3.21 is well-pleasing to the Lord so that those children do neither fear provoking God nor care to please him who will not obey their parents and so are children of their parents sorrow and of Gods wrath 3. They are such children as are unthankful to their parents the Apostle tells us 1 Tim. 5.4 That it is good and acceptable before God for children to requite their parents and they have great things for which they should labour to requite their godly parents viz. for all their care and cost and pains to keep them alive and for all their diligence and faithfulness in endeavouring to make them blessed and all the requital which the poor parents desire is that their children would but love and obey God and not damn themselves but these ungodly children are so far from requiting them that like so many Dogs and Lyons they tear in pieces the hearts and bowels of their tender parents 3. I now come to confirm this That it 's ordinary for godly parents to have ungodly children and for this end I shall first give you some instances recorded in Scripture 2dly I shall instance in several cases wherein this is verified 1. I shall only give you four instances recorded in Scripture for the confirmation hereof 1. Instance is in Adam and Eve these were both godly parents and therefore in that first Evangelical promise Gen. 3.15 we have notice of the two great parties in the world the one was the Woman and her seed and the other the Serpent and his seed and of the enmity betwixt them and though there is only mention made of the woman yet the man
is also included so that by the woman and her seed we are to understand Adam and Eve and Christ and his Church and by the Serpent and his seed are meant the Devils and all the devils children and forasmuch as we find Adam and Eve of the same party with Christ and his Church and in enmity with the Devil and his seed we conclude them to be godly persons and godly parents Moreover we find Genes 4. that they brought up their children in that Religion and to worship God in the use of those Ordinances which he had then instituted as a means of their salvation these two were the first-fruits of Christ the first persons that ever entered into the Covenant of Grace and Christ might say to them as Jacob said to Reuben Gen. 49.3 Ye are my first-born my might and the beginning of my strength At first the whole Church of God was only in these two persons and yet these are the parents of that cursed and bloody Cain And I shall observe three things in this history that render this case very doleful 1. That Eve was so exceeding glad for the birth of Cain some are of opinion that she thought she had brought forth the promised Messiah and that made her break out with joy saying Gen. 4.1 I have gotten a man from the Lord and yet this is he of whom the Apostle speaks 1 John 3.12 He was of that wicked one meaning the devil This is a common case that parents are exceedingly glad for the birth of a child and call their friends and neighbours to rejoyce with them and yet that sweet and pleasant babe proves the greatest torment to their parents which ever they met with in their whole age 2. Consider his crime he barbarously murdered his own brother Gen. 4.8 Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him He considered not how this would grieve the heart of his good Father and Mother nor that he was the elder brother and therefore ought to have nourished the life of the younger and to have been a pattern of holiness and love to him neither did he consider that he hated and murder'd not only a brother but also a holy child of God and for that which he ought to have honoured and loved him because his brothers works were righteous and he considered not how his brothers blood would cry to God for vengeance against him no bonds or arguments or reasons will prevail with ungodly children 3. Consider the dreadful judgment of God both upon himself and his posterity Gods judgment on his soul was so dreadful that he desperately cries out Gen. 4.13 Mine ini quity is greater than that it may be forgiven he was cast out of the favour of God excommunicated from the Church and all his posterity were excluded from communion therewith they are call'd the sons and daughters of men in opposition to the Sons of God and at last all perished in the deluge of waters and yet I say this bloody and cursed monster was the son the eldest son of the two first godly parents that ever were in the world 2d Instance is in Noah the first instance was in the first godly man in the old world as the ages before the flood are called 2 Pet. 2.5 This instance is in the best man in the new World after the flood this Noah hath a great character in the Scriptures Gen. 6.8 9. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations When all the earth was debauch'd and corrupt Gen. 6.11 12. yet then was Noah just and upright and walked with God it 's he that is called in 2 Pet. 2.5 A preacher of righteousness It is he that was so much in the favour of God that he and his family were singled out to be preserved in the Ark when all the world besides were drown'd and perish'd in the waters yet this holy Noah was the Father of that wicked Ham whom all the waters of Noah as the Scripture calls that deluge were not effectual to eure of his wickedness but he went a wicked man into the Ark and came wicked out insomuch that his own holy Father was inspired by a prophetical spirit to curse both his son and posterity and the crime mentioned Gen. 9.22 25. was his irreverence and disrespect to his father 3d Instance is in Isaac that holy Patriarch who so greatly feared God that his son Jacob gives God that honourable name Gen. 31.42 The fear of Isaac meaning the God whom Isaac feared yet he and that good mother Rebekkah were the parents of a wicked Esau whom God is said to hate Rom. 9.13 I know we read Gen. 25.28 that Isaac loved Esau but we see that children may be greatly beloved of their parents and yet abhorred and cursed of God 4th Instance is in David call'd a man after Gods own heart whom God rais'd up to be king of Israel he was a Pen-man of a considerable part of the holy Scriptures such an eminent type of Christ that Christ himself is often call'd David in Scripture yet he was the tender father of that wicked Absolom who bloodily murdered his brother Amnon and miserably and shamefully dyed in Treason and Rebellion against his Royal Father whose bitter lamentation is yet in our ears 2 Sam. 18.33 O my son Absolom my son my son Absolom would God I had died for thee O Absolom my son my son 2dly I shall further instance in four Cases wherein this is often verified 1. Those Children who are most beloved of their parents do often prove the most wicked Children Absolom was David's darling insomuch that although he set his whole kingdom in a flame and constrained his father to fly for his life yet when David sent out his Army to suppress that rebellion he gives this charge to his Commanders in the audience of the Soldiers 2 Sam. 18.5 Deal gently for my sake with the young man even with Absolom And it often happens that the Children who have most of their Parents love and delight and whose looks and talk they are most taken with and whom they are most apt to boast of and are most unwilling to part with and in whom they promise themselves most content and pleasure do often prove the greatest scourge and torment to their parents for it is not the love of the godly parents but the love of God that makes children holy and happy 2. This is often the sad case of some holy Ministers of the Word I know it 's a Popish and peevish humour in some to say that Ministers children never do well indeed every thing of Ministers is most exposed to the observation of people and therefore the wickedness of their children is most observ'd and talk'd of but the holy learned and every-way prosperous and blessed seed of divers godly Ministers is sufficient to confute and shame the ignorance of people herein and yet it is true that many