Building a Godly Home, Volume 3: A Holy Vision for Raising Children

Building a Godly Home #3

by William Gouge

For years, William Gouge’s 'Domestical Duties' has stood as the foremost Puritan treatment of Christian family life. Yet due to its size and antiquated expression, it has become almost unknown among current generations of believers. To help revive the usefulness of this classic book, Scott Brown and Joel R. Beeke divided Gouge’s work into three manageable volumes, updated the language to modern standards, and have given it the title Building a Godly Home.

In the third volume, 'A Holy Vision for Raising Children', Gouge offers wise and practical advice to both children and parents on how to relate to each other with love and honor. Drawing from a wealth of biblical principles and examples, he fleshes out how a household of affectionate authority provides for children and prepares them to live as God’s servants in the world. Fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters will find much here to challenge and guide them.


William Gouge (1575–1653) was a Puritan minster who served for forty-five years at St. Ann Blackfriars in London and was a member of the Westminster Assembly. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had thirteen children.


“Few issues spell countercultural Christianity as does a biblical view of the home and its various relationships and responsibilities. Those like the seventeenth-century Presbyterian William Gouge, who provided a lengthy exposition of domestic life as outlined in Scripture, got themselves into trouble with those who viewed biblical teaching burdensome (Gouge was vilified by wealthy city women, for example). But domestic reform is essential if we are to reflect godliness in the home, and Gouge’s once enormously popular Of Domestical Duties is without equal in describing what it looks like. A masterful guide, Gouge is pastoral, clearheaded, thoughtful, and eminently Bible-focused as he writes about the tasks, ideals, and problems of Christian family life. Once as popular as Bunyan’s 'Pilgrim’s Progress' and Matthew Henry’s 'Commentary', Gouge’s 'Of Domestical Duties' deserves a central place in the modern Christian home." — Derek W. H. Thomas, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina

Genres: Parenting, Family, Marriage, Theology, Childrens, Christianity

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2014

About the author

William Gouge (1575-1653) was born in Stratford-Bow Middlesex County, England. Educated in Paul's School, London, Felstad in Essex, and at Eton School. He graduated from King's College, Cambridge, followed by a brilliant teaching career there. Following his ordination at 32 years of age, he ministered at Blackfriars Church, London for 45 years. In addition to his great success as a pastor, his mid-week expository lectures at Blackfriars drew increasingly larger crowds. Spirituality and scholarship made his career at Cambridge, his pastoral work and his writings unique. He was renowned as "the father of the London Divines and the oracle of his time." In 1643 he was made a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines by vote of Parliament. His primary works include his Commentary on Hebrews, The Whole Armour of God, and Of Domestical Duties.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of good information here. My biggest complaint is that, as a parent, I would hope to read what a parent can do to parent his children wisely and effectively. There is some of that advice here. However, there is quite a bit of responsibilities of children toward their parents. The best application I could take away from those sections is to view it as a son toward my own parents and hope to implement a godly response to them. It does, however, tend to leave a parent frustrated when Gouge is describing duties due to parents and one's own teenage children are not giving the honor described here. He doesn't give a remedy as to what a parent is to do in such situations. I do appreciate the deliberate attempt by this Puritan to apply the Word of God to each situation he describes and not to revert to modern psychology as so many modern parenting books do.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many helpful principles, but the outworkings of the principles are dated. For instance, it does well to explain how a child should love and reverentially fear their father, but in his application he talks (among other things) about how it is biblical that children wear what their parents tell them to (citing Joseph's and Tamar's examples), and stop speaking to whoever they are conversing with when their father enters the room. Doubtless there have been cultures and times when this is appropriate, but there are so many such examples in the book that it becomes a bit of a tedious read. The book relies heavily on how society functioned when the author wrote (the 1600s) and the Old Testament Jewish society. And as such it has many important and helpful principles for today's parent, is like meat mingled with vegetables.

[Leah Goebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I slowly worked through this book together. There were a lot of good insights in here that have us thinking through how to support our children even into adulthood. I think I most appreciated his direction to parents in helping adult children in a career path and finding a suitable spouse. Todays children when they go off to college it seems parents wipe their hands clean and think their kids will just figure out a career path and find someone to marry- he gives a strong biblical case that it’s the duty of parents to see to it their children are walked through these situations and decisions with care. Lots of other good nuggets of wisdom, too!

[Ben Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greatly enjoyed, and convicted by several things in, this volume. Would recommend with the caveat that some arguments are based solely on antiquated, cultural norms and understandings. Others are reclaiming biblical patterns that have been ousted from our modern sensibilities. Like many Puritans, Gouge is a paedobaptist which is laid out in a large section (found largely unhelpful by this credobaptist).

[Caleb Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gouge systematically knocks it out of the park in giving Biblical advice to parents on their responsibilities in raising their children up under the covenant of grace. Highly recommend!

[Jeremy Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful book. It's very thorough in expounding the duties of parents and children. However, it should be used with discernment because some of it is outdated.