The Christian father at home

Front matter

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v^

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Preface

I may be allowed to say to my reader, that I have here written down, what I have, as a parent, long felt the want of. in my own domestic instructions. And I am, perhaps, not the only one who has felt the want of something of this kind, in training up his children, in these times, in which God has cast our lot.

In the " LIGHTS AXD SHADOWS OF CHRISTIAN

life," in number fifth of the narratives, entitled, " The Elder's Sox, or the Spoiled Child," I have attempted to exhibit what may be termed the more practical duties of parents to children. In this little volume, the reader will find a doctrinal discussion, adapted, I trust, to regulate parental instruction, on the two grand doctri*

Vlll PREFACE,

nal divisions, of the gospel of Christ; namely,

THE NEED OF A SAVIOUR ; and THE WAY OF SALVATION.

I am more and more convinced, from daily experience, that deep, close, and thorough doctrinal instruction is the only true and substantial foundation of all Christian training, and discipline in a family. The purest and most remarkable reformation times in the Church, and families of God, have been uniformly remarkable for bold, thorough-going exhibitions of gospel doctrines. This, I believe, will be acceded to, by all the different denominations of the Christian Church.

The parent who attempts to instruct, without thoroughly imbuing the youthful mind with Bible doctrine, in detail, is building a house without a foundation. He attempts to rear fruit on a tree, without roots and a trunk. It cannot be done.

It becomes not a Protestant to object that the gospel doctrines are too mysterious, and ob-

PREFACE, IX

scure for children. Parental experience, and the extraordinary success of Sabbath and Infant school instruction, has settled this point satisfactorily. The young mind can apprehend the various doctrines, even the deepest of them, much sooner, and also much easier, than many have been willing to believe. They are very obscure to the mind of the man, whose strong prejudices will not allow the light of their demonstration to pass the threshold of his corrupt heart.

The truth is this : the grand doctrines of the Bible are wonderfully calculated to arrest the attention, and captivate the minds of youth. The fall of man ; its melancholy results ; the condition of an apostate world ; our redemption by no less a personage than the son of God, coming down from heaven, by the act of " taking on him the form a servant ;" by his mingling in his humiliation, with his own subjects ; by his working stupendous miracles ; by his dying on the cross ; by his rising from the

X PSZFACZ.

dead ; by is usee n ling into heaven, to present veJ - I may Bay s bo divinely romantic, and

:.::, : h a I ha man adventures, or

ear:hly acLiever-ier.Ts :.-.::. be raize s: : esting to youth. This truth, I am inclined to

zeliere.

:tt: s: iei :: :

tion of these lofty, and livinc :

ycnng mini.

The bare narrative of these wonderful and miraculous events, and the divine, and most an:r::.a:i::^ ::u::;.s :n:e:~":ven ••:::: ::e:".. :.: r jss-ess s: r: :.. snryissiig

PREFACE, XI

real, or fictitious adventures of man. The former are divine ; the latter, only human.

I am aware of the mortifying truth, that the doctrines of the cross of christ are, by no means, acceptable to men who claim to be of refined taste, and mental cultivation. For refined taste, and cultivation do not remove the fountain of human depravity, and the blinding prejudices of the unconverted heart. Men will hate that which crosses the path of their schemes, and earthy pleasures, and their idol devotion. Men of the world, are, of course, enemies to pure Christianity in its uncompromising war with error and impurity.

But this does not contradict the fact, that the grand historical and doctrinal events of man's Fall, and man's Redemption, do contain the loftiest, and most captivating of all the themes in the romance of real life, or of fiction, which can be placed before an ingenuous and candid young mind.

And it must not be forgotten, that in the

XU PREFACE.

young mind, trained up in God's fear, and urged with affection, to yield unsuspecting belief to the revealed truth of Christ, there is not so much of the resistance of enmity to the Cross of Christ, as there is in those who have long been habituated to the temptations, and crimes, and degrading follies of the world.

' DO

I indulge the hope, that I shall not be thought sectarian, — in the sense, understood by liberal, well-informed, and sound Christians. I shall be grieved to rest even under the suspicion of being sectarian. I am anxious not to be thought so. I shall advocate no doctrine that is not manifestly exhibited in the Holy Bible ; and very plainly set forth in the Canons, Articles, and Confessions of Faith, of the different branches of the Reformed churches. And, as I should humbly conceive, I cannot be convicted of sectarianism, if I shall advocate only those constitutional doctrines, adhered to by all the sections of the Reformed churches. If others, perchance, may have departed from

PREFACE. Xlll

the Bible, and the standards of the churches, it is no reason why I should be blamed for not departing from them, along with innovators. Sectarianism cannot be charged on those who honestly walk on in the footsteps of all those who have gone before us, in " the good old way." I am not, then, sectarian, unoccupying, as I do, the venerable old land-marks, set up by apostles, martyrs, and reformers. They are sectarian, I fear, who have left the holy and consecrated path, and have cut out to themselves a new pathway, which neither we, nor their fathers have trodden.

Should any one object to my manner, that I have brought up the most abstruse doctrines of the Gospel before the young mind : and that I do not mix up enough of the imaginative, with rural description, and narrative : — I beg to say in reply, that I design to write for sober-minded parents, rather than for mere youth. Hence, I did intend to give doctrinal discussions, with some narrative, and rural description. I did 3

XIV PREFACE.

not intend to amuse with romantic narrative, and rural scenes, with merely occasional sprinklings of doctrines. And I hope, I have executed my scheme.

I ought to add, that as in the doctrine of morals, the law of God sets up the standard of perfection ; and we must press up to the grand model of perfection : even so, we must, by persevering diligence, and Christian tact, bring the young mind up in knowledge, to the holy and high standard of the doctrines of the Bible. That man has the fairest opportunity of becoming great,— both in the walks of human life, and in the course of his religious training for heaven, — who resolutely sets up a to himself the highest standard of attainment ; and who rests in nothing short of that high attainment.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is, himself, placed before us as the high model of perfection, which we are to imitate in morals, and holiness. His sublime and heavenly doctrines exhibit the high standard, and model of our knowledge.

PREFACE. XV

And he who begins, in early life, to copy such models of grace, and holiness ; and to follow out such a lofty standard of perfect knowledge, does truly bid fair to be a bright, and shining Christian, before the close of his earthly career.

This little volume forms the first part of my scheme for youthful instruction. I hope to find time to finish " The Christian Youth's Book ; and Manual for Young Communicants." — I have for many years, felt the want of such books, for our young people. If divine Providence permits, I shall endeavour to offer it soon to the Christian public.

W. C. B.

New- York : December. 1837.

THE CONTENTS,

Page The Dedication, ------ v

Preface, - vii

Book I. The Necessity Of Salvation

PART L— Chap. I. II. III. IV. The need of a

Saviour; or, Necessity of Salvation, - 21

From the fact of Man's universal guilt and depravity. Here we carry the young student into the field of actual inspection — to the system of nature — The proceedings of Divine Providence, in the judgments of God upon the earth. — All these clearly indicate that God is angry with us — Hence the need of a Saviour to make an atonement for us.

PART II.-Chap. I. II. III. IV. V. The need

of a Saviour, - - * - - - - 57

We next carry the young student to the Holy Scriptures — Adam our federal head, and representative — An anecdote to illustrate this — Proof of the doctrine of Adam's headship — from Scripture — from God's dispensations in regard to infants — the 3*

XV111 COXTE^TS.

Page reasonableness, as well as truth, of this doctrine — Fatal danger of setting this doctrine aside — Objections noticed — Appeal to the consciences of children.

PART III.— Chap. I. II. The need of a Saviour, 116

From the consequences of Adam's first sin, and our fall in him — The state of man is, — 1st, A state of sin and guilt. — 2d. A state of misery — Two things that will infallibly keep man out of heaven — First, Guilt. — Second, The dominion and pollution of sin — The true idea of pardon — The pardon of God, not like the pardon of a criminal by a civil magistrate — Man's condition of sin and misery beyond the remedy of man. Hence the necessity of salvation, in order to man's peace and happiness.

PART I.— Chap. I. II. III. IV. The way of SALVATION, 145

Salvation not by man's own doings, but by a substitute, and in that mode alone — Explanation of

CONTEXTS. XIX

Page

this — Objections reviewed — On the supposition that man were to enter the arena and satisfy for himself before God — What he behoved to do — Three impossibilities he must encounter — Room was left for the intervention of a substitute — Proof — The truth of substitution shown — An inquiry into the things which our substitute behoved to do, in order to save us — Seven things shown to be essentially necessary for him fully to do.

PART II.— Chap. I. II. The way of salvation CONTINUED, 189

Having shown that a door was opened for the intervention of a substitute, on the most honourable footing, — and having shown what it behoved the substitute to do — it is now shown that the Lord Jesus Christ is that substitute — Proof — A minute inquiry into the various parts of his finished work, — The Seven things that were required of him, it is proved that he has fully accomplished.

PART III.— Chap. I. II. III. IV. V. The way OF SALVATION CONTINUED, - 205

Having shown how Christ opened up the new and living way, — it is necessary to know how we are brought into this way, — and made to walk in it — An inquiry into the mode of the effectual application of this finished work of Christ, to us — Our guilt and pollution — Our utter inability on our part— We have ability, but it is given unto us — God's

XX CONTENTS.

right to command those whose guilt has disabled them to obey by any human effort- View of God's work of grace, — and man's agency in the way of duty — Our regeneration — Our faith — Our mode of justification — Our guilt taken away — The nature of our sanctiiication — Hence the dominion, and pollution of sin taken away — Two parts in sanctification — the agents of it — means of it — Appeal to the conscience — Prayer — Hymn. — The denouement, — the incidents in the life of the members of this family, after the decease of their parents.

THE NECESSITY OF SALVATION.

BOOK I .

Part I

To prepare the young mind, and impress on it the necessity of salvation, we begin with showing the melancholy fact of man's universal guilt, and depravity — no man innocent before God — all condemned. We begin by illustrating this fact, from visits of actual inspection of things around us— from the system of nature — and the proceedings of Divine Providence — in the judgments and afflictions sent upon men of every class, in every nation.

Chapter I

" When he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, — come and see !" — Rev. vi. 3.

"Well, here we are home, at last, Dear Charles, — after our week's adventures," — said Mr. Torwood, as he stepped from the carriage, with his son, an amiable youth of seventeen. * But come, let us seek your mother in the summer-house, where I hear the joyful voice of the little prattlers — your brothers and sisters."

'•The adventures of a week, sure enough !" cried Charles, as he took his father's arm, and walked with him toward the vine arbour.

Mr. Torwood's country residence is situated on one of these beautiful spots on the north side of Long Island, which project into the Sound, and is nearly surrounded by water : a small bay setting up on each side of it, into the land, and forming a peninsula ; adorned with the richest verdure, and presenting the most beautiful scenery : having in front, beyond the charming expanse of waters of the Sound, the most lovely landscapes, — terminated in the distance by the deep green forests, and the blue mountains of New England,

The mansion-house stands on an eminence, embosomed in the shade of lofty oaks and elms, its snow-white turrets forming a strong contrast with their dark waving foliage. From this summit, crowned with the mansion-house, there is a gentle descent on every side of the peninsula, down to the water's edge. The fields are covered with rich verdure, some of them shorn smooth as the velvet : others wave with the luxuriant beauties of the meadow: others are crowned with the glory of the golden wheat and rye : while here and there, are seen, through the green boughs of the trees which skirt the landscape, and stretch their long boughs over the waves, — the white sails of vessels speeding onward in their course to their destined havens.

This spot is just such a retreat, as a refined mind would sigh after, when, having long wandered over distant kingdoms, and foreign climes, and retiring from the bustling cares of business, he woos peace, and contentment in the rural shades.

" I said, if there's peace to be found in this world, It is to be found by the Christian here !"

" Such a scene of adventures, we have had, dear Ma," cried Charles, as he hastened to receive his mother's kind embrace, and kissed all his little brothers and sisters. " Only think of it."

"Yes, Charles," said Mr. Torvvood, anticipating him in his ebullition of youthful ardour. " On former occasions, my dear children, I had taken pains to give you many affecting illustrations of what your mother had laboured to impress on your minds ; namely, that the earth is full of God's goodness. We had laboured so to train your minds, that on what side soever you turned your eyes, you should learn habitually, to see the superabounding goodness of God, lavished on man and on beast. The heavens above you are reared in grandeur, and decked with beauty ; God's glory sparkles in every star. It mildly beams forth in the moon, as she walks serenely in the vault of night. It pours forth its ineffable beauty in the sun ; each cloud wheeling over our heads, reveals his power ; and the magnificent vault of the blue heavens shadows forth his unutterable power and greatness. The earth around us, and under us, teams with the proofs of his presence, and the fruits of his bounty. In every blade of grass, we perceive his all-pervading presence and power, and in each charming flower, which reflects his glory in its vivid hues, to my captivated senses. I see him in the stately oak, and in the elm's towering leafy arches ; and in the beautiful magnolia ; and in the bower of the shady catalpa ; and in the weeping willow, gracefully waving its long limber branches ; and in the hickory, perfuming the grove with its early bud, and tender leaf: and in all the complicated variety of shrubbery, from the dogwood's snowy blossoms which skirt the forest's pathway, to the sassafras, the jessamine, and woodbine. There God is in every variegated form of bough, and leaf, and colour, and perfume.

Our God

Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze ; Glows in the stars and blossoms in the trees*'

26 THE NECESSITY OF SALVATIOX.

Yes, we hear him in the murmuring brook, and in the whisper ng breeze ; in the gentle wind, and in the roaring storm. We see him in the rushing torrent, and the smooth-roiling river. We hear him in the soft dashing wave of that clear sparkling bay, and in the mountain wave of yon dark rolling sea. All these utter the glory of the ever-present Deity ! Each bird and each insect has its own peculiar note and language, to give utterance to God's praise. " O Lord, the earth is full of thy goodness !"

" These, my dear children, are the themes on which your mother has delighted to dwell, as her own gentle and devout soul had sought to melt your hearts into the love of God by admiration of his goodness.

"But, in our week's excursion, my dear Charles," continued Mr. Torwood, " I have taught thee other lessons. And listen to me, all of you, my darlings, while I teach you, also, from their rehearsal. There, as you see, is the deadly hemlock, and the nightshade, as well as the lovely flower. There is around you the deadly miasma, as well as the delicious breeze perfumed with sweetest odours. There are the roaring storms of winter, as well the soft and balmy breath of spring. There are the ravages and desolations of bleak winter, as well as the glories of sweet summer. There are the lightning's gleams, and the roaring thunderbolt, as well as the mellow light, and the reflected influences of the sun, moon, and stars. There is the deadly hissing snake, as well as the melodious birds, which make the forests vocal on every hand. There are the vulture and buzzard, as well as the dove : the lion and tiger, as well as the lamb. In short, death walks forth in the bowers of earth's paradise. Demons lurk around us, seeking whom they may destroy ; as well as angels who minister to us, and keep watch over us, awake and asleep."

" Well I know it," said Charles. " The adventures of a brief week have taught me all these surprising lessons."

" What have you seen, my dear Charles V' said the mother, as the rest of the merry little children gathered round them from their excursions in the adjacent lawn ; each one vying with clamorous rivalship who should present the prettiest flowers and the sweetest roses to their father and mother.

"I wished, my dear," replied Mr. Torwood, again interrupting him, " to impress on Charles's young mind, and also on the minds of all our children, this solemn truth — that God is as just as he is kind ; that he is as holy as he is good ; and as faithful as he is forgiving ; and as awfully severe as he is full of compassion. You have, my dear, with success and propriety, taught them that ' the Lord, the Lord God is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and in truth. 5 It is well : it is a charming theme. But we must speak out to our children the whole truth. I have, therefore, been filling up, as I could, the true picture, and outline of truth ; by showing, through means of facts which strike the senses, that in the material world there are evidences manifold, if we will only study them, that ' God will by no means clear the guilty,' nor permit them to pass the threshold of heaven. I have taught my boy to read, in these strong and deep traces, and clear evidences, that < God is jealous ; that the Lord revenges ; that the Lord revengeth, and is furious ; that the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries ; and that he reserveth wrath for his enemies ;' that justice, holy and inflexible justice, will not permit man to trifle with sin, or make a mock of it with impunity ; that sin, in fact, is the most appalling and most fatal of all evils ! But go on, Charles, and tell us what you have seen, and learned in the instructive lessons given to you in the world around us. T trust you will see, ere long, into the dangerous delusion of those who would persuade you that God is so good and loving, 4* that he will not punish ; and that you are so innocent before God, that you really need no salvation. Let us see if Nature, or Providence reveal any such anomaly as General Mercy in the Deity."

Charles went on : — " Well, Ma, we first looked into a criminal court, and saw the grave judges presiding in judgment. There were many criminals. It was sentence day. And, ah ! dear mother, had you only seen their horror-stricken faces, their emaciated bodies, that had been long pining away in the prison, in rags, and filth, and complicated misery ! A great criminal was led forward, every eye was fixed on him ; the judge pronounced the awful sentence of the law on him, as he stood and held his quivering hand up. He had robbed, and committed murder. All were silent as the grave. The judge was very sorry, he was quite overcome. I thought he wept, as he uttered the fearful doom,-that the prisoner should be hanged bv the neck, until he should be dead — dead — dead ! The officers of the court were all very sorry; they were moved with compassion when they put him in chains. And when we stood, some time after, near the gibbet, to witness the horrid spectacle of the execution of a murderer, all were silent. Each man seemed to hold in his breath, and remained immoveable. The officers of justice were melted ; some of them shed tears ; even the executioner was moved, while stern justice required the victim at his hands. I saw no malice, no indication of revenge. All indicated the calm and composed reign of public justice, exacting full satisfaction to the law, and sustaining the government, and securing public safety."

" It was even so, Charles," said Mr. Torwood — -"And can we doubt that the Judge of all the earth will move on, in his awful judgments, in majesty and purity ? There is no malice, no revenge, nor selfishness in them, after the manner of men. God's anger is nothing more than pure justice inflicting righteous punishment on sinners. God's wrath is nothing more than his calm and unruffled justice, proceeding in its majesty, against highhanded rebels. God's fierce judgments are nothing more than the pure fire of his holiness, burning and consuming vile and unendurable depravity ! In his most terrific judgments, which make the hearts of the hardened to quail, he is set forth as ' jealous, as taking vengeance, and as being furious.' This merely indicates that his law shall be sustained, and its justice have its full course ; while the haughty sinner, and abandoned rebel shall be ground to powder under the irresistible movements of his chariot wheels ! The fire of the Almighty in his natural world, shadows forth the fire of his justice in his moral world. As necessarily and as naturally as the roaring flames consume the dry stubble, swept by a breath of wind into it ; so naturally, and necessarily does divine justice consume the impenitent sinner. And note it seriously in your memory, my dear children : just as certainly will the impenitent be consumed, who walks through life in defiance of his Maker, and walks into the fire of justice at the bar of God, as was that miserable drunkard consumed the other day, who walked into the gulf of flames, in that fiercely burning lime-kiln which we saw, Charles, the other day ! But go on, Charles, with the narrative. "

CHAPTER II. 11 Earth trembled from her entrails, as again

In pangs ; and Nature gave a second groan ;

Sky lowered ; and muttering thunder, some sad drops

Wept, at completing of the mortal sin

Original." milt on.

" As we passed along the Bay, we saw a boat superbly decorated, and crowded with young people, in all the buoyancy of spirits and innocent merriment. In an instant, they were struck with a sudden flaw of wind, and every one of them was thrown into the water. All of them perished, saving a rude, swearing, and drunken sailor. And there w T as deep grief in one family above all others, when it was announced that the only daughter, so young — so blooming — so lovely, had sunk to rise no more !"

" And how mysterious is Providence !" said Mr. Torwood. " God saved the profane sailor from the waves, to smite him by another death. The day after, Charles, you may remember, we saw him dead in a fit of intoxication !"

" The race-course lay in our way, as we rode to the village of Fairhaven. We had not been seated long, when melancholy tidings arrived, that a young man had been killed. His fiery horse had slipped from the line of the course, carried him at full gallop against the extended branch of an oak, and literally dashed him to pieces ! 6 Yes ! God is just and awful in his judgments,' said a venerable white-headed man sitting near us. ' This reminds me of what occurred not many years ago, on a Sabbath day, at our village of Cambridge. As the pastor of the village church passed from the parsonage to the church, three young men, much intoxicated, rode past at a furious speed.

" * I shall not be much surprised, 5 said the minister to those looking on, * should God lay his hands on some of these youth, and strike an awful blow, to teach a fearful lesson to Sabbath breakers and drunkards !' That same evening I remember it well — word reached the village that one of these young men had been drowned, and that the other two had narrowly escaped. They had dashed furiously into the small lake in the town of Argyle, which lay near the road ; and the youth, who was drowned, had been thrown over his horse's head into the waves ; his companions being so intoxicated that they could not bring aid to him."

" And God's judgments," observed another, " do not always single out the most guilty. The tears have not yet been dried up which are shed for the beloved youth of Auburn Theological Seminary, who perished lately, on a Saturday, so suddenly, and mournfully in Owasco lake."

" In the course of our exploring tour, we passed the Hospital, and the Poor House," continued Charles ; " and I can scarcely remember one in a hundred, of the various forms of death, by which disease and poverty are consuming and sweeping away the generations of men. Some, we saw, burning under a fever ; others were chilled by convulsive agues : here, lay a palsied man, quite helpless ; there, was one in a delirium, exerting a giant's strength under the hands of his keepers : here, was one in the beauty of youth, wasting away under consumption : there was a group close by, who were pining away under racking pains, and every form of ghastly wounds. I felt an oppressive sickness coming over me. I covered my face with my hands, and hurried into the open air ; while I laboured in vain to shut out the horrid spectacle from my memory."

" Yes," cried Mr. Torwood, with solemnity, " God is just ; and poor suffering man feels that he avengeth the honour of his law, and insulted government. God carries out the awful exhibition of his penal threatening, — 4 Dying, thou shalt die !' " 5

" A church-yard always exhibits a solemn spectacle to the philosopher, as well as the Christian," said Charles. " We visited one of the oldest in our city. We felt ourselves standing in a vast congregation of the dead. We saw the graves of the aged, and the young, the man of ripe years, and the little babe. On one stone I read the sorrows of a mother, poured unavailingly over her sweet child. There, again, I read the sorrows of an affectionate child over a dearly beloved mother, and father. Under a broad weeping willow stands a snow-white monument : there, a widow records her griefs over one who had been dear to her as the light of heaven to her eyes, — the husband of her youth, cut down in early bloom ! There, a husband has committed to the dust the beloved of his youth, and mingles bitter tears with those of his motherless babes. There, lies a drunkard, who « has not lived half his days.' Here, a whole family is entombed — wife, husband, and their three chiU dren, who had perished in the dark hour of midnight by the rushing in of a sudden deluge upon them, There, is a memorial on that wall, to the memory of some sons and brothers who perished in a shipwreck. The ship went down, and all on board perished. Here, is another memorial to the gallant youth, on board of a national ship, which was sunk in a fatal contest, while grappling, yard arms to yard arms, with the enemy of his country. The foe, watching his opportunity, poured a broadside into it, with a roar louder than the thunderbolt of heaven. And amid the volumes of smoke and fire, it went instantly down. The sea closed over it, and all hands perished ! Close by, another snow-white monument rises over the earthly remains of two young ladies, who had fallen into the canal and perished, while no parent, nor brother, nor lover's hand was near, to rescue them from sudden death !"