1 Chronicles 28:9-21 And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind… I. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN CHILDREN RECOGNISING GOD AS THE GOD OF THEIR FATHERS? 1. That they stand in a covenant relation to God through His promise to their fathers to be their God and the God of their seed. 2. When children are required to recognise God as their father's God they should recall to their minds the pious instructions which their parents have communicated to them. 3. When children are required to recognise God as their father's God, this should remind them of the many instances of God's faithfulness, and kindness, and mercy which their fathers have experienced at God's hand. II. THE EARNEST DESIRE OF GODLY PARENTS FOR ADVANCING THE SPIRITUAL AND ETERNAL INTERESTS OF THEIR CHILDREN. 1. It is necessary that children should know the God of their fathers. 2. There is nothing on which the heart of a pious parent is more deeply fixed than the religious interests of his children. III. THE MOTIVES AND ARGUMENTS BY WHICH THIS DUTY OF CHILDREN IS ENFORCED. 1. Youth is the most advantageous period for entering on a religious life. In every science or profession early application is deemed necessary to future excellence. 2. The children of godly parents have pre-eminent advantages above other young persons for entering on a religious life. 3. The obstinacy of young persons who have been religiously educated, and after all forsake the God of their fathers, is especially criminal, and attended with great aggravation. 4. That those young persons who have been religiously educated, and forsake the God of their fathers, are in danger of greater punishment than other men. (James Hay, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. |
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