SUSANNAH ANSLEY WESLEY

Part II

Susannah Wesley was the wife of the distinguished preacher Samuel Wesley. Of 19 children, they reared 7 --the only ones to live to adulthood. Among them, however, were John, the founder of the "Methodist" movement; and his brother Charles who wrote some 6500 hymns.

The Scriptures declare, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth HIS MOTHER to shame."--Proverbs 29:15. As Martin Luther observed, "When parents do not educate their children in the ways of the Lord, there is such a perversion of nature as when fire does not burn, or water wet." Susannah Wesley applied this divine truth with respect to her family.

HOW DID SHE TEACH THEM? She held a one-half hour weekly conference with each child which was also a time for prayer. This was in addition to a nightly conference with each child, as time would permit. --

Each evening following school, the children went two by two; the eldest went with the youngest who could speak. In their private rooms they read a chapter in the New Testament and a Psalm. In the morning, the children followed the same fashion but read a chapter from the Old Testament and a Psalm. Private prayers were observed before breakfast or before they came into the presence of the family.

THE SECRET OF HER SUCCESS: She was successful because SHE WAS IMPARTIAL. She was no Rebekah having a favorite Jacob.

She was successful because SHE REACHED THEM BEFORE THEY COULD SPEAK. "Some parents talk of ‘beginning’ the education of their children," observed Christopher Anderson. "The moment they were capable of forming an idea, their education was already begun --the education of circumstances... insensible education, which like insensible perspiration, is of more constant and powerful effect, and of far more consequence to the habit than that which is direct and apparent.

This education goes on at every instant of time: it goes on like time itself; you can neither stop it nor turn its course.... Here then is one school from which there are no truants, and in which there are no holidays."

"Childhood," said Mr. John Kirk, "is the most impressible period of life. Every object soon becomes a book; ever), place a school-house; and every event plows in some winged seed which will be bearing their appropriate fruit for thousands of ages yet to come. The young plant is bent with a gentle hand, and the characters graven in the tender bark grow deeper and larger with the advancing tree. Parents, in their religious teaching especially, should seize upon these golden hours of prime, so hopeful and important. If they wait for intellectual development and delay to cast the good seed of the Kingdom into the virgin soil, the enemy will sow his tares and preoccupy the ground."

CONCLUSION: We will conclude with three quotes:

"There is a grave dereliction of duty and violation of solemn responsibility when parents transfer the task of religious training to a stranger." --John Kirk

"When parents do not educate their children in the ways of the Lord, there is such a perversion of nature as when fire does not burn, or water wet." --Martin Luther

And, it was Susannah Wesley herself who confessed, "It is better to mourn ten children dead than one living; and I have buried many."

AN EXPOSITION

Text: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto Whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." (Psalm 32:1,2)

This Psalm introduces a new division of the Psalms: the Maschils. These are intended to give instruction. There are 13 such "Maschils." But it is also one of the 7 Penitential Psalms.

It is the first Psalm since the first to begin with the word "Blessed." In the First Psalm we have the "Blessedness of Innocence". Here, we have the "Blessedness of Repentance," and we instructed that the truly "blessed" man finds his happiness not in beauty, nor in honor, in money, but in the forgiveness of his sin.

"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven..." In the Hebrew the word "blessed" literally means "Oh how happy!" The reason for such happiness is seen in the Greek translation of the word: "makarios" is a compound Greek word "ma", meaning "not" and "kar", meaning "death." "Not death" --thus the man who is truly blessed is the man upon whom death no longer has dominion.

"Transgression" ("pesha" in the Hebrew) is defined as "passing over a boundary doing what is forbidden" and may involve our failure to do those things it was our duty to do, as well as those things we have done that we had no business doing. Transgression (Rebellion) must be forgiven--"nesui" --it must be borne away as by a vicarious sacrifice.

"Sin" ("chataah") is defined as "missing the mark" and refers to those things into which we have fallen when we sought to do good. Sin must be covered --"kesui" --that is "hidden from sight" as a thing odious, abominable, despicable.

"Iniquity" ("Avon") refers to anything "turned out of its proper course," and therefore refers to all things morally distorted or perverted. It may refer to immorality, an inordinate love for money, or the like. It has reference to a nature inclined to evil. Iniquity must not be "imputed:" ("lo yachshobh") --it must not be reckoned to our account. The Greek "oo ma logidzetai", "must not be logisticated or calculated" to us.

"Guile" (remiyah) is defined as "fraud, deceit" and refers to such as have "lying lips" and to those who "borrow and pay not again." Guile must be rooted up and discarded from our souls.

Now Forgiveness is an act of God’s free grace. Paul cried, "I obtained mercy", that is, "I was be-mercied." (I Timothy 1:13). He was strewn with mercy. In Forgiveness, God remits not the penalty only but the guilt as well, and is possible only on account of His shed blood.

Grace is the Cause of our Forgiveness, and the blood of Christ is the Merit of our Forgiveness.

Before the Forgiveness of sin can be realized, however, it must be repented of because Repentance and Remission are inseparable. As Siamese twins, where the one is found the other is also to be found. But though Repentance is a qualification for our experiencing God’s Forgiveness, it is nevertheless not the cause of it: God’s undeserved mercy is the Cause of that. And, God having forgiven us, He will call it into remembrance again NO MORE. As there is no Joy but what is EN-joyed; there is no enjoyment but what is felt. And there is no feeling but what is possessed, so there is no possession without knowledge. Where, therefore, there is no knowledge of God’s Forgiveness, there can be no true joy.

The man whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is hidden; whose iniquity and perversion is not reckoned to his account; and whose guile he is busy discarding --that man is necessarily a happy man. Upon this man’s sins God does not think, He does not regard them --instead he reckons them as though they were not. Behold Christ’s Suffering --behold our Impunity! Behold His Bonds --behold our Freedom! Behold His Chastisement --behold our Peace! "What Thou, my Lord, has suffered was all for sinners’ gain: mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain; Lo, here I fall, my Saviour! ‘Tis I deserve Thy place; look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace." --Bernard of Clairvaux