But perhaps thy heart is so hard and thy mind so united to the pleasing of thy vile affections, that thou wilt say, “What care I for my servant?  I took him to do my work, not to train him up in religion.”  Well, suppose the soul of thy servant be thus little worth in thine eyes; yet what wilt thou say for thy children, who behold all thy ways, and are as capable of drinking up the poison of thy footsteps, as the swine is of drinking up swill:  I say, what wilt thou do for them?  Children will learn to be wicked of parents—­of professing parents soonest of all; they will be tempted to think all that they do is right.  I say, what wilt thou say to this?  Or art thou like the ostrich whom God hath deprived of wisdom, and hath hardened her heart against her young?  Will it please thee, when thou shalt see that thou hast brought forth children to the murderer? or when thou shalt hear them cry, I learnt to go on in the paths of sin by the carriage of professing parents?  If it was counted of old a sad thing for a man to bring forth children to the sword, as Ephraim did; what will it be for a man to bring up children for hell?  Hos. 9:13.

“And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.”  He lived therefore to see the fruit of his good rule and government in the church, even to see his teachable and dedicated son caught up to God and to his throne.

A good encouragement to all rulers in the house of God, and also to all godly parents, to teach and rule in the fear of God; for that is the way to part with church-members and children with comfort; yea, that is the way, if we shall outlive them, to send them to heaven and to God before us.

If parents carry it lovingly towards their children, mixing their mercies with loving rebukes, and their loving rebukes with fatherly and motherly compassions, they are more likely to save their children than by being churlish and severe towards them.  But if they do not save them, if their mercy do them no good, yet it will greatly ease them at the day of death to consider, I have done by love as much as I could to save and deliver my child from hell.

Let them that name the name of Christ depart from family-iniquity.  There is a house-iniquity—­an iniquity that loves not to walk abroad, but to harbor within doors.  This the holy man David was aware of; therefore he said that he would behave himself wisely, in a perfect way; yea, saith he, “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.”

Many that show like saints abroad, yet act the part of devils when they are at home by giving way to this house-iniquity.  This iniquity meeteth the man and his wife at the very threshold of the door, and will not suffer them to enter, no, not with one foot into the house, in peace:  but how far this is from walking together as heirs of the grace of life, is easy to be determined.  Men should carry it in love to their wives, as Christ doth to his church; and wives should carry it to their husbands, as the church ought to carry it to her Saviour, Eph. 5:  21-28; 1 Pet. 3:  7; and until each relation be managed with respect to these things, this house-iniquity will be cherished there.  Oh, God sees within doors as well as without, and will judge too for the iniquity of the house as well as for that more open.