VER. 13, 14.] SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN II. 12-14. 393
1 Eemember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions ; according to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, 0 Lord ; ' Job xiii. 26, ' For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me possess the iniquities of my youth.' It will save us a great deal of trouble in age. A good man may remember old sins with new fears, that they are not pardoned. While it is easy to sin, it is not easy to believe the pardon of sin ; but as a man" groweth up into a greater sense and esteem of God's holiness, he will find it more difficult to believe a pardon. Now afflictions may awaken the sense of old sins,- as old bruises trouble us a long time after upon every change of weather.
3. For babes or little children ; they being born in sin, must also be born again. Little children are baptized and washed, for they have filthiness to be cleansed away in the laver of regeneration, as hereto- fore they were circumcised : Deut. xxx. 6, ' And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live ; ' because there is filthiness to be pared away. And many times God shameth old men when little ones get the start of them. Christ inviteth little children to come to him that he might bless them, Mark x. 16. They cannot be brought to him before they are welcome. The great God, whom heaven and earth cannot contain, deigneth to dwell in the hearts of little ones. Surely they that have the education of children belonging to them should season them betimes with good principles ; they find the benefit of it ever afterward. Timothy proved the better instrument because of his good education ; the apostle telleth us, that his ' faith dwelt first in his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice,' 2 Tim i. 5. Certainly it is much to have children brought up in knowledge, and an owning of the power of godliness. Families are societies to be sanctified to God, as well as churches. Governors of them have a charge of souls, as well as pastors. Many offer their children to God in baptism, but educate and bring them up for the world and the flesh ; as the Jews : Ezek. xvi. 20, ' Moreover, thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, which thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them.' The scripture often inviteth us to a careful education of them ; and there be many promises of good success : Prov. xxii. 6, ' Train up a child in the way in which he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.' Dye the cloth in the wool, and not in the web, and the colour is the more durable. God worketh strangely in children, and many times rare things are found in them beyond expectation.
But now in regard of spiritual growth —
1. There is a great difference among christians ; all are not of one stature, strength, and growth in godliness ; as here, there are fathers, young men, and babes. He supposeth the more elderly will be fathers in Christ, and that every one hath profited according to his time and standing. So in the parable of the sower, Mat. xiii., some brought forth ' fruit thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred-fold,' Mat. xiii. 23. There is not only a difference between the good soil and the bad ground, but the bad'soil is not in all places alike fruitful. Every true chris- tian that is fruitful doth not bring forth fruit in a like measure. So
1 Qn. 'good'? — Ed.
394 SERMONS UPON 1 JOHN II. 12-14. [SER. II.
in the parable of the talents, there is five, two, and one, Mat. xxv. 21-23. He is owned as a good servant that brought an account of his gain proportionable to his receipt. So Christ, when he giveth Peter charge of his flock, John xxi. 15, 16, ' Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.' There are varieties of tempers and degrees of strength among christians. Some are weak, or lambs ; some stronger, or sheep : Isa. xl. 11, ' He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom ; and shall gently lead those that are with young.' They all need a ministry to teach, whether lambs or sheep, whether fathers or children. So again, some are weak and some are strong : Rom. xiv. 1, 'Him that is weak in the faith, receive you.' Some need milk, and some stronger meat : Heb. v. 13, 14, ' For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe ; but strong meat belongeth unto them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.' Well, then, you see there is great variety of christians, who differ, not only from the carnal and wicked, but among themselves, in several degrees of excellencies. God created Adam and Eve in their full perfection, but doth not regenerate us into our full stature in Christ.