Pg. 307

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 307] THE SPOILED CHILD. 19

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 wilt forbear.  It is the command of God to cherish in thy soul the principle of filial affection. ‘Hearken to thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.’ And remember, my child, that the basis of this affection and veneration which you owe your parents, is a holy veneration of God. And O were there a principle of piety toward God in your heart, you would not thus break the hearts of your parents. In pro- portion as a child has the fear of God before his eyes, he is dutiful and affectionate. And in proportion as the fear of God is banished from the mind, the child is unnatural, stub- born, and rebellious. The drunkard and the gambler exhibit a mournful evidence of this: they would shuffle the implements of their folly and crime at a father’s death-bed: they would make their last stake on a mother’s coffin!

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 “In addition to filial affection, I charge you to render a corresponding reverence and honor: carry it in all your looks; be courteous, gentle, and kind; shun petulance and the distressing spirit of contradiction, even when you may be confident that you are in the right. Never utter a disrespectful word of them to others: he who can do this, even when they are in error, lessens the dignity of his family, and detracts from his own honor: like the pious sons of Noah, always throw a veil over their frailties and failings; and always be ready to defend them from the tongue of slander. And in a particular manner show the substantial evidence of your filial reverence and honor, by a dignified deportment before all men, in your intercourse with the world. I would not ask a higher compliment from a child of mine than this, I mean as it regards temporal honors.

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 “In addition to this, my child, God enjoins it on you to render to your parents a prompt filial obedience in all things. Always lend a willing ear to them in all their instructions. Yield up your heart to their injunctions promptly: humble yourself under their admonitions and reproofs: bow down with filial submission under their corrections, whether expressed in words, or in a temporary exile from their presence, or by the rod of correction. Consult with them frankly, and make them your counsellors and guides; especially in matters of such importance as your establishment inlife, the choice of your employment and business, the