Every man, and especially every head of a household, must attend to the duties of religion throughout his life. This has always been the practice of the godly, and it ought to be the practice of all people, so that true religion may remain alive in our homes.
If we consider the example of the early Christians who lived in the days of the apostles, it becomes clear that every man of authority, once he turned his heart toward God, immediately sought to lead his household to do the same (see Acts 10:2; 16:15, 34; 18:8).
Surely, if those who now govern families were themselves firmly resolved to live godly lives, they would, within their own homes and to the utmost of their power, promote all holy practices—to the honor of their Christian profession and the credit of the faith they profess. The beauty and brightness of Christianity has been grievously dimmed through neglect in our families. Indeed, because of the neglect of religious duties in private homes, the very life of religion withers and fades.
Luther once said that faith grows strong by being exercised. In the same way, all true religion flourishes when family worship is regularly practiced—but starves and dies when it is neglected. Many Christians who once thrived in soul are now, because they have abandoned family religion, like Pharaoh’s lean cattle—spiritually thin, weak, and wasting away. They show little life left for God. In our day, both aged Christians and ancient religion itself seem to be dying together.
To revive and preserve both religion and religious people is a work that urgently needs to be undertaken. We must hold fast to something enduring, especially in such uncertain times as these, when we see the instability of so many worldly things. How many honors, high positions, and vast estates have been brought low to the dust!
O let us recover and keep true religion, for religion will in turn keep us. The surest way to keep ourselves in our homes, and our homes safe for us in perilous days, is to keep the worship of God alive within them.
An old story tells of the Palladium in Troy—an image that, while it remained in the city, made it unconquerable. Only when the Greeks stole that idol away could the city be taken. Suppose that to be fable; yet this is a certain truth: cities, towns, and homes are never so safe and secure as when God’s holy service is established within them.
The enemies of peace and purity—those who threaten the safety of the church and state—have discovered a subtle way to destroy both public and private religion: they attack the home first. By undermining religion in families, they weaken the foundation of the whole. Yet even if the public cannot be restored, we can still secure our own houses by being diligent in domestic devotion.
Luther tells of a bishop of Magdeburg who, hearing that the Duke of Saxony was preparing war against him, began instead to reform his family and to correct what was amiss in his diocese. One of the duke’s spies, seeing the bishop make no preparations for defense, asked him whether he knew of the duke’s plans. “Yes,” said the bishop, “I know—but I will attend to my work and leave my defense to God.” When the duke heard this, he disbanded his army, saying, “I am too weak to fight against a man who has engaged God in his cause.”
If only the heads of families would take this same course—faithfully tending to their spiritual duties at home and thereby enlisting God on their side—how secure they would be!
Church history records that during a dreadful earthquake in Antioch, many houses collapsed and the people were terrified. All were ready to flee the city. Then one man had a vision: he saw a messenger who told him to write upon every house, “Christ is with us—stay here.” Those who wrote it were spared.
In the “earthquakes” of our own times, how many homes have fallen through spiritual neglect? Those who would have their houses stand firm must establish the worship of God within them.
To encourage this, I urge all heads of families to seriously consider two sayings of Solomon in Holy Scripture.
“Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds; for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations…You shall have goat’s milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and for the maintenance of your maidens.” (Proverbs 27:23–24, 27)
This counsel applies to every head of a household, for it contains his domestic duty—a duty both commanded and encouraged.
“Be diligent,” says Solomon. The matter of this diligence is expressed in two phrases: “Know the state of your flocks,” and “look well to your herds.”
Who are these flocks and herds? These are not literal animals but the people of our own households. Just as the apostle said, “Does God take care for oxen?” (2 Corinthians 9:9), so here Solomon speaks figuratively of the souls under our care. Our families are our flocks, and our households are our herds.
A learned interpreter of the Septuagint renders it: “Give attention to the souls of your flock.” Not only ministers, but every head of a family has, in a real sense, the care of souls committed to him.
As Eliab once said to David, “Where is the flock you left in the wilderness?” (1 Samuel 17:28), so God will one day ask every master of a house, “Where are the souls that were under your care in the world, for which you must now give an account?”
To “know the state of your flock” means to have an exact and personal understanding of those under your charge—to know their faces, their character, their needs, their temptations, and their spiritual condition.
A good expositor paraphrases it: “Take exact knowledge of all under your care, so as to correct and amend whatever you find amiss among them.”
To “look well to your herd,” says the Hebrew text, means literally, “set your heart upon your herd.” The heart of a good shepherd is wrapped up in the welfare of his flock. Likewise, though our family members may sometimes be away from our physical house, they should never be away from our hearts. Our hearts should continually be turned toward their good—especially their eternal good.
Thus the command stands: “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds.”
The command to be diligent in caring for one’s household is reinforced by two strong reasons:
“For riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to all generations.” (Proverbs 27:24)
Earthly possessions and honors do not last. Families that abandon religion soon lose stability and blessing. Wealth, status, and high positions are uncertain—they cannot be depended upon as the foundation of any home. They are rightly called moveables, for they are always shifting and never secure.
One wise observer noted a difference between earthly and spiritual riches:
Since worldly wealth is so fleeting, Christians ought all the more to pursue what endures. If a man cannot keep the possessions he has, let him lay hold on the treasures of grace that never fade.
“Thou shalt have goat’s milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens.” (Proverbs 27:27)
This is a gracious assurance: those who are diligent in their family duties will not lack what they need. God promises not necessarily abundance, but sufficiency—enough to maintain a household in contentment. If there is contentment in the heart, even modest provision is wealth enough.
Solomon assures that the man who governs his family well will find that both he and his servants are clothed and fed, and all will be content. The ordinary means of life—fields, herbs, lambs, and goats—shall all serve the purposes of those who serve God.
In short, though riches may not remain, God will supply enough for those who labor faithfully in His fear.
The second passage that applies to family religion is found in Song of Solomon 1:6 “They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.”
Here the Church, the spouse of Christ, utters a twofold complaint: first against others who misled her, and then against herself for her own neglect.
“They made me the keeper of the vineyards.”
She laments those who, by their false counsel and bad example, drew her away to attend to their business instead of her own. These are called her mother’s sons—those who claimed to be brethren, but were in truth deceivers and hypocrites.
By their persuasion, coercion, or flattery they led her to keep their vineyards—that is, to labor in their enterprises, inventions, and false religions. In modern terms, she had been busy maintaining others’ causes, churches, and opinions while neglecting her own spiritual responsibilities.
“But my own vineyard I have not kept.”
Her “own vineyard” represents her soul and her proper duties—her own heart, her household, her personal calling before God. Every person’s family may rightly be called his own vineyard, which he is bound to tend with diligence and care.
To keep one’s vineyard means faithfully to perform those duties that plant and nurture religion in the home—to raise young “vines” that will bear fruit for God. It is not trees but souls that a man must cultivate. Through holy duties he must faithfully tend his household, so that it may become a fruitful vineyard for God. A family without such cultivation is not truly a vineyard at all; or if it is, it is one overgrown and neglected, unworthy of a Christian household.
This was the heart of her sorrow: “They made me the keeper of their vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.”
The Church’s sin, which she confesses with grief, had two parts: its substance and its effect.
She had spent her strength on others’ matters—running abroad, managing others’ business, involving herself in foreign affairs—while neglecting her own spiritual life and family obligations.
This neglect left her marred and disfigured, as she confesses: “I am black… Look not upon me, for I am black”(Song 1:5–6). Being so much abroad and so little at home, she had been sunburned, her spiritual beauty faded, her face darkened. Had she stayed within doors, tending her own heart and household duties, she would have remained fair. But neglect brought blemish and shame.
Her grief was deep and sincere. Her heart bled, her face blushed, her soul trembled, and her tongue confessed her fault before God and man. Such sorrow shows her repentance to be genuine.
To chase after new religions and outward forms of worship while neglecting the careful keeping of one’s own heart and home, and the faithful performance of daily duties toward one’s family, children, and servants, and to continue doing so without a sense of its sinfulness, is a grievous sign. It reveals a spirit unsound at its core.
It is the clear mark of deceitful teachers, under fair and persuasive pretenses, to draw people away from the plain, godly exercises of family worship. Indeed, it is the unmistakable sign of a false and shallow religion, however strict or refined it may appear, that it abandons the service of God within the household and forsakes those ancient, holy practices once common in well-ordered Christian homes.
The religion that busies men abroad while leaving them careless at home may wear a fair face, but it carries a sting in its tail. It may please for a season, but it will end in bitterness. One day it will be cause for deepest mourning. My heart trembles to think how many, on the last day, will stand before the Lord and cry out in sorrow, condemning both themselves and others for this very neglect, saying, “They made me the keeper of their vineyards, but I did not keep my own.”
A captain entrusted with the care of a fortress may march out proudly with banners flying, drawing away all his strength to join other forces abroad. But when the day of battle comes, the army is defeated, the soldiers flee, the enemy takes the field—and through his neglect, the captain loses his own stronghold. What then shall he do?
In the same way, God has placed every head of a household as the chief commander of his own “fort”—his family—which he is bound to defend through the daily practice of religious duties. Yet how many in our day march out with banners displayed, leaving their own homes unguarded and spiritually bare, without any care for the worship of God? What will become of such people in the day of the Lord’s dreadful wrath? “Where will you flee for help, and where will you leave your glory?” (Isaiah 10:3).
Dear reader, if anything in this work stirs you to become a faithful keeper of your own vineyard, a watchful overseer of your household, a diligent shepherd of your flock, and a courageous defender of your fort—that is, a steadfast and fruitful doer of all holy duties within your family—then give thanks to God. Let Him have both your praise and your prayers, from one who desires to live no longer than his weak labor may bring honor to the Lord.
June 16, 1655
Phillip Goodwin
Source Note:
This article is excerpted from Family Religion Revived by Phillip Goodwin (originally published in London in 1655 as Religio Domestica Rediviva). The public-domain text has been lightly modernized for contemporary readers, including updates to spelling, punctuation, and some archaic phrasing, while preserving the author’s original meaning, pastoral tone, and biblical emphasis.