A Treatise of Family Instruction, Chapter 4 · Section 6
SECT. 6. The Plea of ſuch as ſay their Children are too young to be inſtructed, anſwered.
Object. 6 Mr Children are young, and it is too ſoon to begin to teach them the Scriptures; they can't underſtand any thing as yet, if I ſhould go about to teach them; and beſides, I am afraid I ſhould prophane the word of God, and take the Name of God in vain, if I ſhould teach them whilſt they are young; and therefore I will let this work alone until they are grown up unto years of diſcretion, then I will do it.
Anſw. 1. We can't begin too ſoon to teach our Children the word of God. As ſoon as they have learned to ſpeak, we ſhould endeavour to learn them the Scriptures, Iſa. 28.9. Whom ſhall he teach knowledge, and whom ſhall he make to underſtand Doctrine? Them that are weaned from the Milk, and drawn from the Breſts. It is ſaid of Timothy, 2 Tim. 3.15. From a Child thou haſt known the Holy Scriptures—foreign, which is rendred by the Vulgar Latin, Ab infantia, From thy Infancy, and by Schmidius, A primâ infantia, From thy firſt Infancy, the ſame greek word is tranſlated Luke 18.15. Infants, and Acts 7.19. Young Children, Luke 2.12. A Babe. The word imports, that Timothy was taught the Scriptures very early, as ſoon as ever he was capable of learning them. That Precept which is given Prov. 22.6. Train up a Child in the Way he ſhould go, and when he is old he will not depart from it; implies that we ſhould begin betimes to teach our Children the ways of the Lord. The Hebrew word uſed there for a Child, as Schindler obſerves, totam aetatem teneram complectitur, comprehends all a mans tender years, as, Infancy, Childhood, Youth. It is rendred a Babe, Exod. 2.6. The Babe wept; and it is applied to one that hath not capacity to diſcern between good and evil, Iſa. 7.16. Before the Child ſhall know to refuſe the evil, and chuſe the good.—So that when Solomon ſaith, Train up a Child in the way that he ſhould go, this Precept reacheth our youngeſt Children, and intimates we ſhould begin very early with them, to teach and inſtruct them as ſoon as there is any capacity in them to learn.
2. Satan begins betimes to corrupt our Children, and to teach them that which is evil: We ſee many Children learn to lie as ſoon as they can ſpeak, Pſal. 58.3. They go aſtray as ſoon as they are born, ſpeaking lies: Others learn to mock the people of God, 1 King. 2.23. There came forth little Children out of the City and mocked him; Others learn other vices. And ſhall not we begin as early to teach them good things, as Satan begins to teach them wicked and evil things?
3. There is a greater capacity in Children to learn and underſtand, than many are aware of; They are capable of receiving the holy Ghoſt whilſt they are in their Mothers womb, Luk. 1.15, 41. And ſuch on whom God pours out his Spirit whilſt they are Infants, are capable betimes of knowing the things of God. We read Pſal. 8.2. Out of the mouths of Babes and Sucklings haſt thou ordained ſtrength, becauſe of thine Enemies, that thou mighteſt ſtill the Enemy and the Avenger. And we find this Scripture applied by Chriſt to the little Children, who cried in the Temple, Hoſanna to the Son of David, Matth. 21.15, 16. Theſe little Children by the Revelation of Gods Spirit knew and underſtood that Jeſus Chriſt was the promiſed Meſſiah, which thing was hid from many of the Phariſees, who were wiſe and prudent men, Matth. 11.25.
4. Suppoſe our Children ſhould not underſtand for the preſent ſome of thoſe Scriptures which we teach them, yet they may underſtand them, and reap great benefit from them hereafter, it may be after we are laid in our Graves, John 12.16. Theſe things underſtood not his Diſciples at the firſt, but when Jeſus was glorified, then remembred they that thoſe things were written of him, and that they had done theſe things unto him. And in another place we find that the Diſciples after Chriſts death were much helped in their Faith, by remembring a word that Chriſt had ſaid to them in his Life time, about his building of the Temple in three days after it ſhould be deſtroyed, John 2.22. When he was riſen from the dead, his Diſciples remembred that he had ſaid this unto them, and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jeſus had ſaid.
5. It is not a profaning of Gods Name, or of his holy Word to teach our Children the Scriptures whilſt they are young, but it makes much for the glorifying of God. When little Children cried in the Temple, Hoſanna to the Son of David, the chief Prieſts and Scribes were ſore diſpleaſed; but what ſaid Chriſt to this? He juſtifies them, he ſaith it redounded to Gods praiſe: yea, ſo far was he from counting it a profaning of Gods Name, that he calls it a perfection of praiſe, Matth. 21.16. Out of the mouths of Babes and Sucklings thou haſt perfected praiſe. And therefore we ſhould look upon this as a Temptation of Satan, when we are perſwaded to neglect inſtructing our Children while they are young, leſt we ſhould thereby profane the Name of the Lord.
6. Jeſus Chriſt hath given a Charge for the feeding of his Lambs as well as his Sheep, John 21.15. Loveſt thou me? Feed my Lambs. He was much diſpleaſed with thoſe that would have hinder'd little Children from being brought unto him, Mark 10.13, 14. They brought young Children to him, that he ſhould touch them, and his Diſciples rebuked thoſe that brought them; but when Jeſus ſaw it, he was much diſpleaſed, and ſaid unto them, Suffer little Children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of ſuch is the Kingdom of God. It is the duty of little Children to praiſe the Lord, Pſal. 149.12, 13. Both young men and maidens, old men and children, let them praiſe the Name of the Lord.—And how can they do this, except we teach them to praiſe the Lord? Amongſt the Offerings under the Law, we find ſeveral Creatures offered to God very young; Samuel offered a ſucking Lamb, 1 Sam. 7.9. And Aaron is required to offer a young Calf, Lev. 9.2. And they that were poor, and could not go to the price of a Lamb, were to offer two young Pigeons, Lev. 5.7. This may teach us, that we cannot dedicate our ſelves or our Children too ſoon to the Lord; but the younger our Children are, when we begin to train them up in the knowledge and fear of God, the more acceptable it will be to the Lord, who deſireth the knowledge of God more than Burnt-Offerings, Hoſ. 6.6.
7. We know not how little a time we may live with our Children, or our Children may live with us, and therefore 'tis not ſafe deferring this work; for, All fleſh is graſs, Iſa. 40.6. and graſs is of a fading nature, In the morning it flouriſheth and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down and withereth, Pſal. 90.6. Mans life is ſet forth by a more tranſient fading thing than graſs, by the Apoſtle James, What is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vaniſheth away, Jam. 4.16. Whilſt therefore God continueth us with our Children, and our Children with us, we ſhould ſet upon this work of teaching and inſtructing them with all ſpeed, and with all our might, Eccleſ. 9.10. Whatſoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wiſdom in the Grave, whither thou goeſt.