THE CHRISTAIN MOTHER By John Abbot- 1833. Chapter One:Part Three

THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER
by John Abbott, 1833, Worcester, Mass. Published by the American Tract Society

Read: Chapter One: Part One

Read: Part Two

Part: Three:

The Mother's RESPONSIBILITY
"Be an example . . . in speech, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

It is a great trial to have children undutiful when young; but it is a tenfold greater affliction to have a child grow up to maturity in disobedience, and become a dissolute and abandoned man. How many parents have passed days of sorrow and nights of sleeplessness in consequence of the misconduct of their offspring! How many have had their hearts broken, and their gray hairs brought down with sorrow to the grave, solely in consequence of their own neglect to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord! Your future happiness is in the hands of your children. They may throw gloom over all your prospects, embitter every enjoyment, and make you so miserable, that your only prospect of relief will be in death.
That little girl whom you now cuddle upon your knee, and who plays, so full of enjoyment, upon your floor, has entered a world where temptations are thick around. What is to enable her to resist these temptations, but established principles of piety? And where is she to obtain these principles, but from a mother's instructions and example? If, through your neglect now, she should hereafter yield herself to temptation and sin, what must become of your peace of mind? O mother! little are you aware of the wretchedness with which your beloved daughter may hereafter overwhelm you!
Many illustrations of the most affecting nature might be here introduced. It would be easy to appeal to a vast number of living sufferers, in attestation of the woe which the sin of the child has occasioned. You may go, not only in imagination, but in reality, to the darkened chamber, where the mother sits weeping, and refusing to be comforted, for a daughter is lost to virtue and to heaven. Still, no person can imagine how overwhelming the agony which must prey upon a mother thus dishonored and broken-hearted. This is a sorrow which can only be understood by one who has tasted its bitterness and felt its weight. We may go to the house of piety and prayer, and find the father and mother with countenances emaciated with suffering; not a smile plays upon their features, and the mournful accents of their voice tell how deeply seated is their sorrow. Shall we inquire into the cause of this heart- rending grief? The mother would only reply with tears and sobs. The father would summon all his fortitude, and say, "my daughter"—and say no more. The anguish of his spirit would prevent the farther utterance of his grief.
Is this exaggeration? No! Let your lovely daughter, now your pride and joy, be abandoned to infamy, be an outcast from society, and you must feel what language cannot express.
This is a dreadful subject; but it is one which the mother must feel and understand. There are facts which might here be introduced, sufficient to make every parent tremble. We might lead you to the dwelling of the clergyman, and tell you that a daughter's sin has shattered the mother, and sent paleness to the cheek, and trembling to the frame, and agony to the heart of the aged father. We might carry you to the parlor of the rich man, and show you all the elegance and the opulence with which he is surrounded; and yet he would tell you that he was one of the most unhappy of the sons of affliction, and that he would gladly give all his treasures if he could purchase back a daughter's virtue; that he could gladly lie down to die, if he could thus blot out the remembrance of a daughter's infamy.
No matter what your situation in life may be, that little child, now so innocent, whose playful endearments and happy laugh awaken such thrilling emotions in your heart, may cause you years of most unalleviated misery!
And mother! look at that drunken vagrant, staggering by your door. Listen to his horrid imprecations, as bloated and ragged he passes along. That wretch has a mother. Perhaps, widowed and in poverty, she needs the comfort and support of an affectionate son. You have a son. You may soon be a widow.
If your son is dissolute, you are doubly widowed; you are worse, infinitely worse than childless. You cannot now endure even the thought that your son will ever be thus abandoned. How dreadful then must be the experience of the reality!

Continue to read: Chapter One: Part Four

Are Your Children Putting On the Whole Armor Of God Daily? Part 6-The Sword of The Spirit.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
(Ephesians 6:10-17)

Please see:

Introduction

Part 1- Truth

Part 2-The Breastplate of Righteousness

Part 3- The Gospel of Peace

Part 4- The Shield of Faith

Part 5- The Helmet of Salvation



Part 6- Taking up the Sword of The Spirit Which is the Word of God:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)


Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD. (Psalms 149:5-9)

The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit which we are to take up! From the Word of God we learn the great benefits of knowing and learning the Word of God and how to use it as a Spiritual Sword!

Here are a few points that tell us how the Bible is a Spiritual Sword:

We are blessed if we meditate on His Word... He promises that those who meditate on His Word day and night will be prosperous and useful to God!

Blessed is the man that walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalms 1:1-3)

We have victory over the enemy if we look unto the Lord and His Word and wait on Him:

Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. (Micah 7:7-8)

The Lord will fight for us with His Sword:

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. (Deuteronomy 32:39-41

He guides us in the right path as we live this life, as we keep reading His Word:

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

His Word helps us not to sin:

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalms 119:11) Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (Psalms 119:9)



Have you read Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan? We discovered "Little Pilgrims Progress" when my children were yet small, it has been one of our favorite books to read and learn from.
Pilgrims Progress is written in allegory to teach spiritual lessons. To learn more about Pilgrims Progress and John Bunyan go here..also go here.



This section taken from Part 2 of Pilgrims Progress gives a wonderful allegory for using the Sword of the Spirit :




Valiant-For-Truth


Then they went on; and just at the place where LITTLE-FAITH formerly was robbed, there stood a man with his sword drawn, and his face all bloody. Then said Mr. GREAT-HEART, "What art thou?" The man made answer, saying, "I am one whose name is VALIANT-FOR-TRUTH. I am a pilgrim, and am going to the Celestial City. Now as I was in my way, there three men did beset me, and propounded unto me these three things:


1. Whether I would become one of them?

2. Or go back from whence I came?

3. Or die upon the place? To the first I answered, I had been a true man a long season; and therefore it could not be expected that I now should cast in my lot with thieves.

"My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:"
~ Proverbs 1:10-14 ~

Then they demanded what I would say to the second. So I told them that the place from whence I came, had I not found incommodity there, I had not forsaken it at all; but finding it altogether unsuitable to me, and very unprofitable for me, I forsook it for this way. Then they asked me what I said to the third; and I told them my life cost more dear far, than that I should lightly give it away. Besides, you have nothing to do thus to put things to my choice; wherefore at your peril be it if you meddle. Then these three, to wit, WILD-HEAD, INCONSIDERATE, and PRAGMATIC, drew upon me; and I also drew upon them.


"So we fell to it, one against three, for the space of above three hours. They have left upon me, as you see, some of the marks of their valour; and have also carried away with them some of mine. They are but just now gone. I suppose they might, as the saying is, hear your horse dash; and so they betook them to flight."


Great-heart. But here were great odds, three against one!


Valiant. "'Tis true; but little and more are nothing to him that has the truth on his side. 'Though a host should encamp against me,' said one, 'my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident,' etc.

"Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident."
~ Psalms 27:3 ~


Besides," said he, "I have read in some records, that one man has fought an army; and how many did Samson slay with the jawbone of an ass?"


Great-heart. Then said the guide, "Why did you not cry out, that some might have come in for your succour."


Valiant. So I did, to my King,--who I knew could hear, and afford invisible help; and that was sufficient for me.


Great-heart. Then said GREAT-HEART to Mr. VALIANT-FOR-TRUTH, "Thou hast worthily behaved thyself: let me see thy sword." So he showed it him.


When he had taken it in his hand, and looked thereon awhile, he said, "Ah, it is a right Jerusalem blade!"


Valiant. It is so, Let a man have one of these blades, with a hand to wield it, and skill to use it, and he may venture upon an angel with it. He need not fear its holding, if he can but tell how to lay on. Its edges will never blunt. It will cut flesh, and bones, and soul, and spirit, and all.


"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"
~ Ephesians 6:12-17 ~


"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
~ Hebrews 4:12 ~


Great-heart. But you fought a great while, I wonder you were not weary.


Valiant. I fought till my sword did cleave to my hand;

"He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil."
~ 2 Samuel 23:10 ~


and when they were joined together, as if a sword grew out of my arm, and when the blood ran through my fingers, then I fought with most courage.


Great-heart. Thou hast done well; thou hast resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Thou shall abide by us: come in, and go out with us; for we are thy companions.




Valiant for truth used the Sword which represents the Word Of God.... this has been written as an allegory for our spiritual life, for us to apply to the battles in life. When the flesh, the devil, or the World tempts us to sin, we should call to mind the Word of God, which truly is a sharp sword to defeat the enemy of our souls!

After my children and I put on the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, we took up the Sword of the Spirit and I prayed something like this, "Dear Lord Jesus, I take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Please help me to meditate on your word, let it be in my thoughts day and night, and work as a two edged sword to fight against the enemy of my soul. Help me think on you all the day long." then my children would pray and take up the Sword..

Taking up the sword of the Spirit has helped to equip us for this evil day. My youngest children understand the importance of learning and reading God's Word. Now that they are adults they continue to read and meditate on the Word of God, it shows in their daily lives and our families discussions are predominantly on the Word of God, our favorite Book of all.


For more on the Sword of the Spirit, please go to this post: Are Your Children Filled With God's Holy Word? Let us teach our children to fill their minds with the Word of God!



Here is the commentary from Albert Barns about the Sword of the Spirit:



And the sword - The sword was an essential part of the armor of an ancient soldier. His other weapons were the bow, the spear, or the battle-axe. But, without a sword, no soldier would have regarded himself as well armed. The ancient sword was short, and usually two-edged, and resembled very much a dagger.

Of the Spirit - Which the Holy Spirit furnishes; the truth which he has revealed. Which is the word of God - What God has spoken - his truth and promises; see the notes on Heb_4:12. It was with this weapon that the Saviour met the tempter in the wilderness; Matt. 4. It is only by this that Satan can now be met. Error and falsehood will not put back temptation; nor can we hope for victory, unless we are armed with truth. Learn, hence:
(1) That we should study the Bible, that we may understand what the truth is.
(2) we should have texts of Scripture at command, as the Saviour did, to meet the various forms of temptation.
(3) we should not depend on our own reason, or rely on our own wisdom.
A single text of Scripture is better to meet a temptation, than all the philosophy which the world contains. The tempter can reason, and reason plausibly too. But he cannot resist a direct and positive command of the Almighty. Had Eve adhered simply to the Word of God, and urged his command, without attempting to “reason” about it, sire would have been safe.
The Saviour Mat_4:4, Mat_4:7,Mat_4:10, met the tempter with the Word of God, and he was foiled. So we shah be safe if we adhere to the simple declarations of the Bible, and oppose a temptation by a positive command of God. But, the moment we leave that, and begin to parley with sin, that moment we are gone. It is as if a man should throw away his sword, and use his naked hands only in meeting an adversary. Hence,
(4) we may seethe importance of training up the young in the accurate study of the Bible. There is nothing which will furnish a better security to them in future life, when temptation comes upon them, than to have a pertinent text of Scripture at command. Temptation often assails us so suddenly that it checks all “reasoning;” but a text of Scripture will suffice to drive the tempter from us.



Let us teach our children to put on the Whole Armor of God Daily!

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. (Revelation 1:16)

See Three Year Old And One Year Old Quoting Scripture

Are Your Children Filled With God's Holy Word? SEE... God's Holy Word

Here are a Three year old and a One year old saying Scripture by memory that their parents have taught them.
Not only have they taught them all of Psalms 1 and part of John 1 and Isaiah, but have taught them WHERE TO FIND THE REFERENCE IN THE BIBLE!

Praise God!!!!

These loving parents have been reading Psalm 1 to their daughters every evening. Taking TIME
to have them learn the Scripture. The results will be, children that will have these Scriptures in their minds for all of their lives. Tell me... isn't this worth the investment of time? Isn't God well pleased with this?

Yes, Yes, to both questions!

Are Your Children Learning To Pray?

Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

My young ones were 3 and 4 years of age, and my heart was earnest for them to be godly. As I thought on the early Church, I imagined the people gathering together for fellowship and prayer. In my minds eye I saw them kneeling in prayer and worshiping God together for hours at a time, but where were their children? Ah, I thought, they must have been along side their parents on their knees as well, and learning to pray.

Learning to Pray!

The thought alarmed me! So with sober and careful willingness, I began to teach my children to pray.

In the morning after we read the Bible, we got down on our knees together, I began with a prayer of thanksgiving, the children took turns thanking God too, and then we prayed for family and friends, and so on. . . At first I kept the time to 10 minutes and gradually increased it until we were praying together for 2 hours at a time, (I was doing most of the praying.) We didn't pray that long every single day but there were many days that we did, and it was not a burden to them. My grown daughter now tells me that after awhile as time went on and I prayed, she would play with her hands and make up games, but most importantly, she was learning to pray, and so was I! I'll never forget the time after a long prayer session my 5 year old son exclaimed, "Mommy, I feel like gold is being sprinkled all over my head!"And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. (Psalms 35:9). Yes, it was a very joyful time!


This was wonderful but I had to learn another lesson concerning prayer and that is; "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Yes, praying long hours together is good and teaches children the practice of praying together well... but fellowship with God does not stop as we get up off our knees. . . it's a daily and continual fellowship!

Are your children learning to Pray?
Are you?

When we are praying through-out the day; singing prayers to God, praising Him, falling on our knees and calling on Him for help in crisis, we are teaching our children to pray.

When our children have their own "child like" crisis we can teach them that all answers lie in calling on our Lord Jesus Christ. Any form of trouble, sickness, sadness, hurt, problems. . . Where do we teach our children the answers lie? (In man?) Oh, let us teach them to seek God for help first of all! Doing this will train them and teach them that Jesus Christ our Lord is the One they should go to for every need in every situation all throughout their lives!

Oh mothers! Let us teach our children to pray and draw near to God!
Let us pray earnestly for our own dear children, for their salvation and godliness!
God is faithful! We have a noble work to do!

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)