and to exercise great and constant care in their education; and to conduct so, as to be worthy of love, respect, and honour from their children. And an awful curse is denounced upon those children who do not obey this command, "Cursed is he that setteth light by his father or mother."* And God made a law, which, if observed, did effectually prevent any disobedient children living in the congregation of Israel. For if parents had a disobedient child, they were commanded to bring him forth to the elders of the city, and witness against him, and he was put to death. This law was suited to awaken, and keep alive the feelings of pious parents towards their children, and excite a great concern and unremitting care and exertion, early and constantly to govern them, and keep up their authority in the wisest and best manner, suited to form them to love and obedience; and to instruct, admonish and warn them; and educate them in the best manner which shall tend to promote their obedience and true piety; having the awful event constantly in view, which might be the consequence of their neglect, and would certainly take place, if their children should grow up ungoverned and disobedient.

And this law had a mighty tendency to impress the hearts of children with a sense of the evil consequence to them, of disobedience to their parents and to guard them against the least degree of a disposition to disregard and slight them; and to excite them to a constant care, and resolution to attend to the instructions, and admonitions of their parents, and strictly obey all their exhortations and commands. In what an important and interesting light does this law, and the other directions and precepts which have been mentioned under this head, set the wise and faithful education of children; and their obedience to the instructions and authority of their parents! It is suited powerfully to turn the heart of the fathers to the children; and the heart of children to the fathers.

And under the gospel dispensation, the faithful and pious education of children, and their obedience to parents in all things, are strictly enjoined. The command † Deut. xxi, 18, 19, 20, 21.

• Deut. xxvii. 16.

is, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right. Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath : But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."* And no man who had a family could be an officer in the church unless he was "One that ruled well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity," even faithful or believing children.†

3. Since the faithful, prudent, and religious education of children, is of such vast importance, and so necessary for their good, and the good of the church, according to the natural course of things, which God has constituted; and since this is so strictly enjoined upon the people of God, and so much inculcated in divine revelation; it may hence be inferred, that God has set before parents the strongest motives, and the greatest encouragements to be faithful and laborious in their duty to their children, and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and which will have the greatest tendency to animate them to engagedness and perseverance in this difficult work, in which they will meet with much opposition, and many discouragements, from themselves, the world, Satan, and their children. This may be reasonably expected, especially in the covenant of grace, or that gracious covenant which God makes with believers, as it respects their children, and their duty to them: For the greater the blessings are, which are promised to their offspring; and the greater the motives and encouragements are to do the duty enjoined. or perform the condition on which the blessings are suspended, the more grace is contained and exhibited in the covenant.

4. A promise that the children shall be blessed with spiritual blessings and salvation, on the parents' faithfulness to them, and bringing them up for God, affords the strongest motive, and gives the greatest encouragement to pious parents, to be faithful and perform the condition of the covenant, as it respects their children, that can be thought of as possible; and renders

VOL. II.

Eph. vi. 1, 4. Col. ii. 20.

41

† 1 Tim. ii. 4. Tit. i. 6,

the covenant, in this respect, in the highest degree, a covenant of grace.

If pious parents felt as they ought, and had exercises which might be reasonably expected towards their children, their greatest concern would be that they might be sanctified and saved. This they would desire for them unspeakably above all other things. To have them live and die in sin, is, to such parents, infinitely dreadful. They had much rather have no offspring, than to bring forth children for such a death, even eternal destruction. If their children may not be holy and saved, they have nothing to ask or desire for them; their existence, and all they can have and enjoy, is, on the whole, worse than nothing; infinitely worse! Therefore, that they may be holy and saved, is the great object of their desires and prayers. And what can be more agreeable and pleasing to such parents, than for God to take their children into covenant with them, and to say, "If you will be faithful to your children, and treat them as becomes pious parents, and bring them up for me, I will be their God, and they shall be holy and happy forever: Therefore, let all your concern for the good and salvation of your children, excite and animate you to proper exercises and faithfulness, with respect to them; for they are committed to you, to bring them up for me; and if you will do this faithfully, they shall be blessed, and saved?" What christian parent is there, whose views and feelings are in any good measure answerable to his character, who would not admire the condescension and grace of such a promise; and rejoice to enter into such a covenant and promise, through Christ's strengthening him to perform the condition of the covenant, and give his children to Christ, and have the seal of the covenant put upon them?

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And upon this ground, the children of believers are holy, and numbered among the saints and the saved. Holiness and salvation are secured to them, by divine promise, on condition, the parents are faithful in the cov enant, which they solemnly profess and engage to be. The church, relying on their profession and engagements, that they will be faithful and keep the covenant, as it respects their children, consider them, receive and

look upon them, as holy, and those who shall be saved; so they are as visibly holy, or as really holy in their view, as their parents are.

But here several questions, which may be suggested, from what has been said, on this point, must be answered.

QUESTION I. Is not this doctrine, that the covenant of grace contains a promise of the holiness and salvation of the children of parents, who are faithful in their duty to them, and in educating them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, contrary to known fact and experience, in that so many children of pious parents appear as destitute of holiness as other children, and are of a contrary character, when they are capable of discovering their disposition by their conduct; and many of them appear to live and die so: And there are many known instances of children, whose parents appear to be eminently pious, and careful to educate their children well, who yet appear to have no piety, but are openly and notoriously vicious, and appear to live and die so? And how can all the children of professors of religion, who enter into covenant with God, be considered, as really holy, or how can it be expected that they will grow up pious children, and be saved, when this does not appear to be true in fact, in so many instances; but the contrary.

Answer 1. It does appear from fact, that the education of children, if in any good measure practised, and so far as it has taken place, has a great influence on children in general; and many of them who have had any degree of a pious education, do themselves become professors of religion, and appear to be holy. How much greater and more universal might be the good effect of such education, if parents were more faithful and thorough in this branch of their duty, than they generally are, even as diligent and faithful, as might reasonably be expected, considering the importance of the case, and the motives and encouragements they have!

This leads to

Answer 2. Parents who have been professors of religion, and have entered into covenant with God, have been, in general, grossly negligent of their duty to their

children, and have lived in the constant violation of the covenant as it respects their children. This will appear to every one, who will consider what is implied in bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, as it has been briefly stated above; and judge what might reasonably be required and expected of parents, in this important and interesting matter: And at the same time, will, in the light of this, observe how the children, even of the professors of religion, are in general educated. He will be sensible there is but little wise and prudent government, steadily and perseveringly maintained from the early days, in which children are capable of discipline and government, until they cease to be minors: And that much of the contrary generally takes place, which is suited to weaken all parental authority, and tends to ruin the children. He will find few instances, if any, of that careful, wise and constant instruction, assiduously endeavouring to instil into their young minds, the principles of true knowledge and wisdom, and watching over them, to guard them from wrong notions, errors and delusions, in things of religion, which are most reasonable and important, and which we find so strictly enjoined in the Bible. And what bad examples, of evil speaking, and back biting, of vain, trifling conversation; of passion; of covetousness, and worldliness; of great indifference, and neglects respecting the exercises and practice of piety, in reading and studying the Bible, and the worship of God, are to be found among professors in general, which have a great and destructive influence on the minds of children? And how few are there who are not greatly deficient in the example they set before their children, which could not take place, were they not grossly negligent in their duty to them, and had they a reasonable and proper concern for their good? How little is done or said by parents, in general, which is suited to excite and maintain a proper and faithful education of children, in all the parts of it? How little do they appear to regard or understand their covenant engagements, or the nature of the covenant into which they have entered, and the encouragements and promises made to faithfulness in keeping covenant; and the infinite importance of this to