An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eleventh, twelfth, & thirteenth chapters of…

Now how this is set forth we shall speak to presently, only for the scope of the Prophet in these three Verses read unto you we take notice only of this one instruction.

That it is a great upbraiding of children that are wicked, to ¹hear of the graciousness of their parents, and should be a matter of much humiliation to wicked children to hear of ⟨p. 218⟩the relation that their parents had to God, and what worshippers of God their parents were: children that have had gracious parents should look upon it as a shame to them when at any time the graciousness of their parents is but mentioned before them. I remember I have read of a King of Poland, that was wont to carry the picture of his Father in a plate of Gold about his neck, that he had honourable esteem of, and when he was to do any matter of great importance, he would take this picture and kiss it, and use these words, God grant that I may do nothing now remissly, that I may do nothing now unworthy of my Father; because his Father was so good a man. Oh! you that have had gracious Ancestors, think often of them, and when you are tempted to sin, think this, Is not this unworthy of my Ancestors? would they have done thus? Children should so walk as the virtues of their Fathers should not die in them, but they should hold them forth. As Ambrose in an Oration of his upon ²the Commendations of Theodosius, saith he, Though Theodosius be gone, yet surely so long as his Son lives, Theodosius will live among us. He meant thus, that the virtues of that virtuous Emperor would certainly live in his Son that was so hopeful. Oh! it's an excellent thing when the virtues of gracious parents do live in their Children; and it is a very evil thing when the Parents are dead, yea, and their virtues are dead in respect of their children, there's nothing of them appears in them; they love to inherit their Lands and Estates, but it was a great deal better to inherit their virtues, and their godliness. But the people of Israel did not inherit the godliness of Jacob, and did not so much take to heart the goodness of God towards their Father Jacob, that the Prophet doth here now lay open before them, and to that end he makes use of three Histories. There is three famous Histories in the two first verses that I have read to you that the Prophet here makes use of, and there's