Baptists -- Sermons; Sermons, English -- 19th century
May I next ask you to look into _your own house_ and home? It is a
dreadful thing when a man does not cultivate the field of his own
family. I recollect in my early days a man who used to walk out with me
into the villages when I was preaching. I was glad of his company till I
found out certain facts, and then I shook him off, and I believe he
hooked on to somebody else, for he must needs be gadding abroad every
evening of the week. He had many children, and these grew up to be
wicked young men and women, and the reason was that the father, while he
would be at this meeting and that, never tried to bring his own children
to the Saviour. What is the use of zeal abroad if there is neglect at
home? How sad to say, "My own vineyard have I not kept." Have you never
heard of one who said he did not teach his children the ways of God
because he thought they were so young that it was very wrong to
prejudice them, and he had rather leave them to choose their own
religion when they grew older? One of his boys broke his arm, and while
the surgeon was setting it the boy was swearing all the time. "Ah," said
the good doctor, "I told you what would happen. You were afraid to
prejudice your boy in the right way, but the devil had no such qualms;
he has prejudiced him the other way, and pretty strongly too." It is our
duty to prejudice our field in favor of corn, or it will soon be covered
with thistles. Cultivate a child's heart for good, or it will go wrong
of itself, for it is already depraved by nature. O that we were wise
enough to think of this, and leave no little one to become a prey to the
destroyer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account