His mother is a teacher, that is Solomon's mother, is the teacher on the vocation, the words of King Lemuel, that is Solomon, the prophecy that his mother taught him. Now in chapter thirty he had another teacher, and that teacher was a man, but he was no ordinary man. Here Solomon has a teacher, and it's a woman, but no ordinary woman, because it is his mother. That's very interesting. And of course, in verses one to five, she warns him against wine and women, as we'll know this. The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him, What, my son, and what, the son of my womb, and what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth king. He didn't pay much attention. He had three hundred wives, seven hundred concupines, and they stole away his heart, as the Bible says. So he didn't obey his mother, and he paid for it. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Now he takes up the subject, or he does. in connection with wine being used for medicine. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish. And wine unto those that be of heavy heart. Let them drink, and in this case it's not intoxication. And forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. Now the rest of the chapter he's taking up, or she is taking up the matter of the mother. We'll read verse eight and nine. Open thy mouth for the dumb and the case of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy. Now, I'm not going to read the rest of this chapter in the order it is given. Because now and again, it seems as though Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, she mentions the husband up at the beginning and then she mentions him later on. She mentions the household at the beginning and she mentions the household later on. So I'm going to read it, so we'll take it up in this order. Her husband, what she says relative to the husband, then her occupation, that is the occupation of this unusual woman, then her character, then her household, then her prey. Now we'll look at verse eleven and twelve. The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good. and not evil, all the days of her life. Now notice verse twenty-three. Her husband is known in the gates when he sitteth among the elders or the rulers of the land. Now notice again her occupation. Verse thirteen to ninety. She seeketh wool and plaques and worketh willingly with her hand. She is like the merchant ship. She bringeth her food from afar. She rises also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household. Notice three times the household is mentioned, and apportioned to her maiden. She considers the field, and byeth it, with the fruit of her hands, she planted a vineyard. She girded her loins with strength, and strengthened her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good. Her candles goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaste. Now, you look at verse twenty-four. Come back to her household. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come. Well, if strength and honor are her clothing, Some women today have little strength and little honor because they have little clothing in public. Not this woman. She laughs at the future. She shall rejoice in time to come. So you have her occupation. Now notice her character in verse twenty and twenty-two. She shepherds out her hands to the poor. Yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow, for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple. Twenty-six. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of timeless. Notice down in verse twenty-one and twenty-seven, or verse twenty-one, we've already mentioned, I think, the... Verse twenty one, she is not afraid of the snow for her household. For all her household are clothed with scarlet. Now twenty seven. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Now her final praise. Verse twenty eight, her children rise up and call her blessed. Here's a husband again. Her husband also, and he praises her. And this is what he says. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excelest them all. And the Spirit of God finishes this chapter. Faith is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hand, and let her own works praise her in the gift. And there's her final praise. Now you have to kind of... group these verses together to get the picture of this unusual mother that God describes her husband, her occupation, her character, her household, and finally the praise that is her due. In other words, this woman had a sad background, Bathsheba. You remember how she was seduced by the king. Then her husband Uriah was murdered. Then the son died. And how amazing that God in his sovereign grace should take this woman, Bathsheba, who had had such a background and such an experience, and yet he used her to bring into the world the wisest man who ever lived, that is Solomon. Here is God's grace. You wouldn't think God would take up a woman who had been guilty of adultery, although it was not her fault. It was King David's fault. You wouldn't think he would take up a woman of that background. whose husband had been murdered, and whose illegitimate child had died. But here is God in sovereign grace. He takes her up, and he gives to her this wonderful son Solomon, the one who is a beautiful type of our Lord Jesus Christ. And she has grown in such stature because I believe she had remarkable stamina and character and personality and principle because it comes out in this amazing chapter that she has given to us. She turned out to be Solomon's teacher, and he was the wisest man who ever lived outside of the Lord Jesus. God had given him all kinds of wisdom. He had plenty of wisdom. Yet there were certain things that only his mother could teach him. That's what you have in this chapter. To describe the mother here that God approves, or to comment on this magnificent piece of writing, it's like attempting to paint the lily. You just can't do it. You know, children so often are chips of the old block. As father, so son. As mother, so daughter. Therefore, the necessity, the importance of the life of the mother and of the father, especially the mother. The man saw a boy fishing, and he knew, well, this is the preacher's son, and it's Sunday. I wondered if his father knows about it. And so he goes over and he said, Son, what would your father think if he saw you sitting on Sunday? What do you think he'd say? He says, You can ask him. He's just down the screen there a little way. And father, so son. And that's often the key. And this is the philosophy of the child today. And it's a right philosophy. They have a right to say this. Why, they say, Mother and Daddy, smoke, why can't I? Mother and Daddy swear, why can't I? Mother and Daddy cheat, why can't I? Mother and Daddy drink, why can't I? Mother and Daddy are immoral, why can't I be? Mother and Daddy read bad books, why can't I read them? Mother and Daddy don't go to church, why should I go? Mother and Daddy don't read the Bible, why should I read it? Mother and Daddy don't pray, why should I pray? Mother and Daddy are not saved, why should I be saved? Mother and Daddy are not going to heaven. Why should I go? Mother and Daddy are going to hell. Why shouldn't I go there? That's the final analysis of mother and daughter and father and son. That is, as God sees that final analysis. Because the Bible distinctly says the responsibility for bringing up that child rests with the parent. We thank God for Sunday school teachers, but remember this. No Sunday school teacher is going to take the place of the parent when they meet God. God said it's up to the parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the law. And much of the Sunday school teacher tries to do in the way of teach and build up little ones is all destroyed as soon as that youngster gets home. And about ten minutes of the atmosphere of a broken home in many cases, or a home that is marred by arguing and all the rest that goes along with it, about ten minutes of that atmosphere destroys the whole hour that child had at some distance. And so it's up to the parents to set the cue, especially the mother. Campbell Morgan, that great preacher, I presume he's one of the greatest preachers of this century, he had four sons, all of them preachers. One day a visitor... was at the home, it was invited to come, and at the long table sat Mr. Morgan at one end, that giant in the script. At the other end sat Mrs. Morgan. On that side sat two of his illustrious sons, and on this side two more sons and the visitor. Well, here were five creatures. The visitor spoke up somewhat jokingly, and he said, Well, who's the greatest creature in this family? Three of the boys looked at dad, the greatest preacher they ever heard. The other son looked at his mother. He says if it went for mother, none of us would be preaching. Mother is the greatest preacher all of us all. She's the one who trained us. She's the one who taught us manners. She's the one who taught us how to be courteous. Mother is the greatest preacher of us all. And how often that's the case. I shy away to refer to my own beloved mother who's with the Lord. But I'm going to tell you I owe practically everything humanly speaking to my mother. Though I had a grandfather, I can thank God I treasure his memory. My father didn't smoke, he didn't drink, he didn't gamble, he didn't swear. I never heard him tell anything off-color. He was a hard worker. He slaved night and day for his family. I treasured his memory. But when I would stay out at night, because I was somewhat wild in my early days, father would go to bed and he would sleep like a log until the morning. But not mother. Mother never slept until I came in. If the weather would permit, she'd be down the street, sometimes two or three blocks away from home, and there she'd walk, sometimes to one and two in the morning. If the weather wouldn't permit, she'd be inside the door, waiting for me to come. No sleep through her eyes, through her wandering boy, came home. Many a time she met me with her tears in her prayers at the door. Whenever temptation came to me, and I will say this, I did have a standard of morals. I didn't get drunk. But I was pretty rough on other matters. But whenever a temptation came to me, it was Mother's warning. It was Mother's word. It was Mother's entreaties. It was Mother's pleading. It put the brakes on me. When Mother got old and I used to go home and see her, I often sang that song that maybe some of you know. M is for the million things she gave me. O is only that she's going over. T is for the tears she shed to save me. H is for that heart as pure as gold. E is for those eyes of love like shining. R is right and right shall always be. Put them all together, they spell, mother. The word that means the world to me. Mother, who can take her place? No one. And to your little girl, mother, you're the grandest woman that ever lived. I wonder if she'll have the same impression when she grows up. The first mother in the Bible, and I was thinking on this this past week, considering this mother's day, the first mother in the Bible, the first one mentioned, is over in Genesis chapter three and verse twenty. There's a certain principle in studying your Bible, and that is the law of firstmention. If you find the first time a thing is mentioned in your Bible, you can often take the cue for every subsequent mentioning. The first mention of mother in the Bible is in the trillionth verse of Genesis chapter three. And Adam called his wife named Eve because she was the mother of all earth. Now the background is quite significant. Adam and Eve had sinned at Pallum. And God pronounced a curse upon the serpent. Then he pronounced a curse upon Adam. Then he comes to the woman, and he pronounces a curse upon her. And he says, The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. And he shall bruise thy heel, and speaking to Eve, he says, In sorrow shall thou bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband. You'll take the second plea. from now on. Because of your sin, you are the one that they will use to bring sin into the world. And then God concludes, though three curses upon the serpent, upon Adam and upon Eve, thus thou art none of the dust shall thou return. That's verse nineteen. It's a pretty dark picture, isn't it? A dark picture, death and the grave. That's how verse nineteen ends. But Adam speaks up in verse twenty. What does he say? Against that dark background of hopelessness, he said, E, I'm going to call you by your name, this name. And evidently, Adam gave her that name, because he called all the birds and the beasts and the fishes by their name. And it says, Adam called his wife's name E, because she's a mother of all living. Against that dark background, Adam saw hope. Here's the thing. Because back in verse fifteen, had God not said the seed of the woman, which was Christ, would bruise the serpent, Satan, head. After all, said Adam, there is hope in the midst of death. There is hope. And that hope is to be my wife. She is to be the mother. of all this. Because through her the Redeemer is going to come. And Adam saw hope in Eve. For Eve means hope. Everything went back to Eve. Everything had a new beginning with Eve. Everything took its hope from Eve. The mother of all this. And I want to say this, mothers. There's the potential for better children. better home, better city, a better nation with you. There is the potential and the hope of a better world, the hope of a better city, the hope of a better homeland. That's in many cases with you. He means hope. My think of the poor world we're living in. We're bringing up a generation of delinquents in many cases. Isn't there much for the mothers to be exercised about? What hope have we for better children in the future? What hope has this nation got for a better generation? It is not with the mother. It's the mother's duty to bring in these children that she carries under her heart, to bring them into the world and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that there might be better children, that they might be better citizens when they grow up. And the hope of this nation, the world blessed with the mother, in most cases, in the majority of cases. She's the one who guides the whole. She's the one who guides those little feats in their first infantile movement. She's the one. She forms and passions and molds character. That's the work to the mother. And our hope is in the mother. But let me say this. You can only do that in the measure you know our Lord Jesus Christ. You can't come up to God's standard unless you know Christ as your personal Savior. It's absolutely impossible. So we have the mention of Mother for the first time in connection with Eve. But I thought of another passage of Scripture, the mothers of Salem you read about in Matthew, verses one to twenty-six. And you know a moral problem had arisen. The Lord Jesus takes up the subject of divorce. Quite a passage is taken up with the subject of divorce. Evidently, there was quite a development of divorces in those days. In other words, it seems to me that disturbed Holmes' relationship was quite evident because of divorces. And the Lord Jesus goes into that subject of divorce. And then... Right after that, the mothers of Salem brought their little ones to Jesus. It's quite significant to me. I wonder if these mothers do something of what he was talking about, the breakdown of home life, and the harm that was being done to the little ones for after all when there are divorces and broken homes at the innocent children who suffer. And as the Lord Jesus takes up this horrid situation, of a breakdown of homework. He welcomed those little ones as the mothers brought them to him. I wondered if those mothers thought that when they knew what he was saying was so true. Well, the thing for us to do against the dark background of this breakdown of family relationships, all we can do is bring our children to him. They'll grow up and possibly be different. And the Bible says they brought their children to Jesus. And Mother, I want you to get this. They didn't send them. They brought them. They brought the little ones to Jesus. And how glad he was, said Jesus. That if you want to prevent your daughter and your son from getting into a moral mess and possibly a home like there are thousands and millions of today, your only hope is bringing those little ones to Jesus. But how can you bring your own child to Christ and let you know him yourself? The next best thing you can do is to see that child just under the sound of the gospel Sunday after Sunday. And so you have them. They brought their little ones, did he? How happy he was to take those little ones and put them upon his knees. On another occasion, he took a child and he set the child in the midst and he says, Except ye become a single children. He shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. Suffer little children to come unto me, for I have sucked into the kingdom of God. In other words, he's now speaking to adults. And he said, if you want to be in heaven, if ever you want to be in the kingdom of God, you've got to take your little child. And I want to say God made the lintel of the door into the kingdom of heaven so low that no one can get in unless he stooped to the dimension of a child. except you become as little children. What does that mean? It means to be simple in your faith. A child is very simple. And if you're an adult and you're not a Christian, you've got to take the place of a child and be simple in your faith. A child never, because he hasn't the capacity, he never goes into the kind of faith he's got. Whether he's got enough faith or whether it's the wrong kind of faith. No, a child never deliberates. It never analyzes. A child has simple unquestioned faith. That's what God wants from an adult. Simple unquestioned faith. Again, a child doesn't have any education. Meaning simply this that education won't say. You can go to all the schools, colleges, universities, and the land. That won't say. although we appreciate education and we need it. But education mostly, you go back to when you were a little child and you didn't know A, B, C. And friend, let me tell you this, it's that going back to taking the place of a little child, knowing practically nothing, only that you're a lost, guilty sinner, that brings an adult where he's ready to be saved. Again, in connection with the child, it doesn't have pride. Oh, I know some little missus. Turn up the little noses when they get a cute little dress on. You do find a little pride sometimes among little ones, but very seldom. Pride is not resident in a manifest way in a little child. And if there's any pride in your heart, you're not saved. You're not going to get saved, rather. Sadly, some Christians do have pride. But God never saved a proud sinner yet. unless that sinner humbled himself before the Lord and disposed of his pride, except he become as little children. Oh, the pride in human hearts today, preventing many a one from coming to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, worse, a child hasn't engaged in any work. The Lord Jesus said your works won't save you. You're an adult. And you can look back and reflect upon a life of good works and good deeds, but they won't save you. You can't get into heaven that way, except you become as a little child. Go right back over your life. And just brush aside all your good works and your good deeds as far as purchasing salvation or meriting heaven's concern. You become as a little child. And a little child hasn't developed character yet. A lot of people think if they develop their character, they'll become a Christian if they live for the kingdom of heaven. Friend character doesn't take anyone to heaven. The development of character will take no one to the pearly gate. You've got to come back to what a little child is like. Except you become a little children, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. That's what he said. There's the lesson of the child. So now we come to the mothers of Jerusalem. We've noticed the first Mother Eve and the mothers of Salem and now the mothers of Jerusalem. You know the amazing thing is that you never read in the Bible on record, that is in the New Testament, of any woman being unkind or unfaithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. No betraying. We don't read of a woman betraying. We don't read of a woman mocking him or spitting at him or deserting him. No. The women kissed and washed his feet. The men spiked his hands and feet with the cross. Women anointed his head. Men put crown of thorns upon his head. The women, they cheered him, and they wept with him on the way to the cross. But men jeered him. That's as far as we see in the scriptures. But I want to say this. That emotion was not repentance. That emotion on behalf of these women was not saving faith. As much as the Lord may have appreciated it. It was not repentance of sin, though what a saving faith. It was the overflow of natural healing, tears from tender hearts. That's all. You know, these don't last. Many of those women that walked to Calvary with the Savior and wept as they went along, those tears dried up. Their feelings subsided and they were just the same women. Because such emotions don't last. That's different than conviction of sin. When there's real conviction of sin, and the soul is repentant before God and comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That last. That last. You know, although the Lord Jesus appreciated these women, yet he wants tears of conviction, not tears of pity and sympathy. He wants tears of conviction. What did he say to those mothers of Jerusalem? He says, Weep not for me, Just take your handkerchief out and dry your eyes. Weep not for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. For the times coming when you shall say, Blessed are the wounds that never bear and the past which never gave. What was early forage? The destruction of Jerusalem under Titus, AD, Seventy. And who suffered the most? The women in the church. Under Titus. The eleven were ravaged and raped, and the children were swapped. That's what he was referring to. O ye mothers of Jerusalem, never mind me, my suffering, think of what you're going to suffer unless you do suffer. Think of what your children are going to suffer unless you do suffer. I want tears of repentance. I want a turning from sin. That'll do something. I want to say judgment is coming for this generation. And it's going to be a severe judgment. Are you mothers prepared for it? Are you prepared in a position to prepare your children for what's coming? The Bible predicts some dark days ahead. Jesus Christ says you weep for yourselves. Don't weep for me. Is there just tears of sympathy and tender feeling? Is that just natural affection and emotion? Don't weep. Just stop. You weep for yourselves and you weep for your children. And I'll tell you if ever there's a day when mothers need to weep for their children it is today. To think of the world in which they're growing up and the possibility of the coming again of Jesus Christ and the awful judgments in the book of Revelation. Weep for yourselves and weep for your children. I would beg God that every mother today on Mother's Day would reap tears of repentance and completion before God and come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Then they'd know what it is they're weak for their children, for their children's salvation. Why today mothers think more of their children giving an education than they do becoming acquainted with the Word of God. Some mothers are more interested in getting food for a little dog than they are getting spiritual food for their child. They're more interested in their child or daughter becoming popular than they are that child coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ to see. They're more interested in their child becoming, you might say, a model than a missionary. They're not interested in spiritual things for their children, very few. They want their child to be known and make impressions in this life. Never mind that. The body gets the attention. The soul is neglect. All week long the mother takes care of the body, the little body of those children, and rightly so. But they can't get one hour in a week to get that child under the sound of the gospel. In a Sunday school where they're taught the word of God, where the soul is going to get some consideration and some attention. It's sad. It's tragic when you stop the thing. I trust a few mothers here this morning are taking these things in. I know in many cases today mothers are going to be praised. God bless them everyone. The time has come for some plain teaching and preaching. Because I'm going to say this, although mothers deserve a lot of praise, they deserve a lot of blame too. Because some of our national leaders on this subject say, you trace these juvenile children to juvenile parents. Why is there a breakdown of the American home if there's not some responsibility resting upon the mother? And I trust that you'll take these things to heart. Be the mother you would like to be. To be the mother... you want to be, will I say that? There's a big difference between being the mother you would like to be and being the mother you want to be. There's a big difference. I don't suppose a mother here this morning or in the United States today that doesn't want to be like so-and-so. She'd like to be a better mother. She'd like to be a better wife. The thing is, does she want to be? That's something else. If she wants to be, then there's hope she can do something about it. Do you want to be? To be the mother your children need you to be? To be the mother this wicked age demands you to be for your home's sake? To be the mother that God wants you to be? You need help. And you need a desperate one. Not your own help. You can't do it. No church can do it. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do it. The wonderful thing is He's willing to do it. And He's willing to do it now. He's willing to do it this very minute. The whole thing is, will you take Him as your Savior? As a mother who realizes her need, her spiritual need, oh, I know you love your children. You do anything for your children. He'd be at their side all night long if necessary. There's no sacrifice you wouldn't make for your child. Oh, how we appreciate mother's love. But the sad and tragic thing today, how much are they sacrificing to get that child into Sunday school? Very little. How much are they putting themselves out to get that little one to the sound of the word of God? Sunday morning comes. They'll sit up all night to minister to the body. Sunday morning comes and they'll sleep in. Until it's too late to get the child to Sunday. They're not making a sacrifice then out of it on Sunday morning. No. The spiritual has to go by the board. And yet that's the most important. The most important thing is your child's spiritual wealth. And when the sun has set with old age, and God by the breath of his mouth has swept the constellations abduction from the summer threshing floor, and no star shines in the sky, those little children you brought into the world will be somewhere. And a lot will depend on you mothers where they'll be, in eternity to come. You have a lot to do, whether your child will be in heaven or whether it was. First of all, are you a Christian yourself? If you are, then you've got the answer. If you're not a Christian, you haven't. I wonder if you're going to be the same mother that you left home being the swamp. But are you going back a different mother? Are you going back with a new outlook on life? Are you going back having found Christ in a position to do more for your child than if you had a million dollars? Oh, the parents that have said to me, if I only had the money, I would see that my child got this and got that and went here and went there. Ah, yes. I failed to hear them say, my child would be saved. That's out of the question. And let me tell you, Mother, if you would appoint your little girl to Christ, that's worth more than if you had a million dollars to educate her and let her sail the seven seas for the rest of her life. And see all the world's guts before her. You'd be sure of one thing she'd see the glories of heaven and the person of Jesus Christ, whatever that she never saw outside the city limits of Albany. It's not money to educate. Your children, it's a desire, you don't have to have a penny to do this. You see, your child won the Jesus Christ, a God up in a godly hope, guided by a godly month to a godly life in that child's experience, wherein it will glorify God on earth and go to glory at death. This is the responsibility of you, Mother. Shall we pray? Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to thee at the close of this meeting. We ask thy blessing upon thy word. We thank thee for every mother present. God bless her. Only she knows, as well as thyself, what she has passed through. to bring her little ones into this world. The heartache, the disappointments, the heartbreaks, the helpless, hopeless feelings of time. Only God knows the sacrifices mothers have made. Father, we pray that more consideration be given to the spiritual need of the child. But these little ones may come to know Christ because they're growing up in a wicked, godless world. Oh, that these mothers might be like the mothers of Salem who brought their little ones to Jesus. May it be theirs, Father, to be exercised this day, realizing that the responsibility of their child rests much upon them. We pray that thou would bless these mothers. We couldn't do more than pray that everyone here rededicate herself to thee this day, and those who are not saved open their hearts. and receive the Lord Jesus Christ and go home with heaven's wisdom to bring up the little ones in the new church, an admonition of the Lord. God, this may be this case. We ask it in our Savior's precious name. Amen. Let us sing in closing, two hundred and forty-three, softly and tenderly. Jesus calling, calling for you and for me. See on the portals he's waiting and watching, watching for you and for me. Come home. Come home ye who are weary, come home. Earnestly, tenderly Jesus calling. Calling, O sir, come home. No wandering son or daughter will go away. Without mother would be the first one to welcome that wanderer home. That the position God takes today, the Lord Jesus. He wants you to come forth. If you're not safe, will you come as we stand and sing?