Isaiah 44:3-5 For I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground: I will pour my spirit on your seed… (with Acts 2:39): — Has God given to us any sure grounds to expect the conversion of the children of His people. Note — I. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHILDREN TO THE PARENTS, as it is laid down in Scripture. It is plain that when God becomes our God, He becomes the God of our children. II. CHRISTIAN NURTURE furnishes us with another reason for expecting the salvation of our children. "Train up a child," &c. III. WE MAY FOUND OUR HOPES UPON GOD'S FAITHFULNESS AS A PRAYER-HEARING GOD. Let us not despair if the answer to prayer be long delayed. The Rev. Mr. Grimshaw, rector of Haworth, had but one son, and he did not follow his father's footsteps. After his father's death, he was heard to say, in his maudlin drunkenness, when riding, "This horse once carried a saint; now it carries a devil." Yet, hopeless as this case seemed, he became a true penitent, and one of his deathbed sayings was, "How astonished my father will be to see me in heaven!" (Evangelical Advocate.) Parallel Verses KJV: For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: |
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