I. To obey is a child’s duty.

Exod. xx. 12. Eph. vi. 1. Col. iii. 20.II. This obedience should be—

1. Implicit.

2. Unquestioning.

3. Immediate.

4. In manner, and spirit.

5. From love.

6. In absence, as well as presence.

7. To the mother as well as the father.

Prov. i. 8; vi. 20; xv. 20. Lev. xix. 3. e.g. Luke, ii. 51.

This is most important. In the Bible no difference is drawn between the authority of the father and mother.

III. A promise attached to obedience.

Exod. xx. 12. Eph. vi. 2. Jer. xxxv. 18, 19.

IV. To disobey is sin.

Deut. xxi. 18, 21. Ezek. xxii. 7. Rom. i. 30. 2 Tim. iii. 2. 1 Sam. ii. 25.

V. A punishment attached to disobedience.

Deut. xxvii. 16. Prov. xxx. 17.

VI. It is a parent’s duty to enforce obedience. Allowed disobedience brings misery into the home. 1 Tim. iii. 4; v. 4.

Eli. 1 Sam. ii. 23.

David. 1 Kings, i. 6.

How solemn then, Mothers, is your responsibility.

How earnest should be your prayers that your commands may agree with God’s. Gen. xviii. 19. Deut. xxxii. 46. Eph. vi. 1.

Seek for wisdom in commanding.

Firmness in insisting.