THE DISCIPLINE OF CHILDREN: THE PURPOSE
Text: "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."--Proverbs 25:13,14
Christian parents do not always recognize the Scriptural standard of discipline. The rule is notwithstanding all pleas of pity and fondness--withhold it not. Do the work wisely, firmly, and lovingly. Persevere notwithstanding apparently unsuccessful results. Correct with prayer, faith, and careful instruction.
We admit that it is revolting to give pain and call forth the tears of those we so tenderly love. If it be asked, "Will not gentle means be more effectual?" had this been God’s judgment as a God of mercy, he would not have provided a different regimen. Eli tried them, and the sad issue is written for our instruction. "Must I then be cruel to my child?" No--God charges you with cruelty, if you withhold correction from him. Except he be restrained, he will die in his sin. God has ordained the rod to purge his soul, and so deliver him from Hell. What parent then, that trembles for the child’s eternal destiny, can withhold correction? Is it not better that the flesh should smart, than that the soul should die?
-Charles Bridges-
"False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother. But in mine adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth."-Psalm 55:11-16.
13, 354--Aurelius Augustinus, generally known as Saint Augustine, is born. He will become the greatest single preacher since the Apostle Paul. Orthodox Christianity will follow his Bible teaching.
13, 1618--The States General of Holland convenes a council in the city of Dort consisting of 84 members and 18 secular commissioners. There are 27 delegates from Germany, the Palatinate, Switzerland, and England. In 154 sessions, lasting 7 months, the last of which convening on May 9, 1619, they will summarize the doctrines of orthodox Christianity.
The 5 points of Arminianism as presented by the Remonstrants was unanimously stricken down as Unscriptural, and in their place 5 points, and for want of a better name were called "Calvinism", were adopted. The Remonstrants had submitted their 5 points in 1610 to the Church of Holland in opposition to the Heidelberg Catechism. The Council of Dort after examining the Scriptures decided in favor of the doctrines they believed were the summary of Biblical Christianity and dubbed them the 5 points of Calvinism after John Calvin whom they believed expounded the Gospel better than any man outside of Holy Writ.
14, 1741--George Whitefield, aged 26 years, will be married to Mrs. James, who is a 36 year old widow. She lives in Abergaverny, Wales. John Wesley declares her to be "A woman of candor and humanity."
19, 1862--In a log cabin near Ames, Iowa, Billy Sunday is born. It will be his preaching and that of others like him that will convince Congress to declare the prohibition of liquor.
20, 1847--In Mentone, France, near the city of Nice, Henry Lyte dies. Tuberculosis has taken its toll. He has left behind his well-known poems, "Abide With Me," and "Jesus I My Cross Have Taken" which he penned after having visited a dying brother-minister. His last words will be "Oh, there is nothing terrible in death. I have both peace and hope." His epitaph reads, "Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me."
23, 1572--John Knox is dying. He cries out, "If any be present, let them come and see the work of God."
23, 1697--Edward and Elizabeth Gill give birth to a baby boy. They name him, John. The place is Kettering, England. He will write the only set of commentaries on the Scriptures that deal with every verse in God’s Word.
23, 1873--Edinburgh, Scotland is the scene of a mighty revival. The preacher is Dwight Lyman Moody and the song leader is Ira Sankey.
24, 1572--John Knox will die at about 11:00 at night. Falling into unconsciousness, his secretary will ask of him a sign for proof he is trusting Christ. John Knox will raise one hand and enter into glory.
25, 1748--Isaac Watts, aged 75 years, will be buried at Bunhill Fields near the grave of John Bunyan. He is well known as a prolific hymn-writer.
28, 1628--Thomas and Margaret Bunyan have a baby boy today. They call him, "John." He will spend two periods of 6 years each in jail for the crime of preaching the Gospel, but he will leave behind the greatest allegory ever written, THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS.
30, 1852--Mrs. Cecil Alexander has written the hymn, "Jesus Calls Us", for her husband’s sermon this St. Andrew’s Day morning. She will pen more than 400 additional hymns.
31, 1873--Horatio Spafford, a Chicago lawyer, has lost all his possessions in the great fire of 1871. His wife and four children have left New York aboard the French liner, "S.S. Havre" on a cruise to Europe. Today, he will receive word from his wife that while in mid ocean, the ship collided with an English iron sailing vessel, the "Lochearn." Mrs. Spafford gathered her children on the deck and prayed with them. The ship sank in 15 minutes. Mrs. Spafford was rescued and taken to Cardiff, Wales where 9 days later she has cabled her husband, "Saved alone." In December, while on board ship, Horatio will pen the 5 stanzas which begin, "When peace like a river attendeth my way; when sorrows like sea billows roll--What ever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say--’It is well, it is well with my soul.’"