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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	good_a	great_a	read_v	3,182	5	5.8148	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85259	Friendly advice in the spirit of love unto believing parents, and their tender off-spring in relation to their Christian education. By J.F. and R.S.	Field, John, 1652-1723.; Scoryer, Richard, 1648?-1715.	1688 (1688)	Wing F864; ESTC R177042	8,569	23

Cloathing nor rich Apparel but in all things did the Will of His Heavenly Father that sent him Therefore take Him for your Example and obey your Parents and be subject to them in all things that they Advise and Counsel you for your good here and hereafter for what will all the finery avail when you come to dye and why should any be so concerned to finifie a little Dust and Ashes or House of Clay which may fall in a moment or twinkling of an Eye and neglect chat which tends to their Souls everlasting good Oh! therefore let me in treat you to mind the holy fear of Almighty God which will preserve you out of these things and have regard to the Holy Witness Light Grace and Spirit of God in your own hearts which will let you see that you should not be Heady High Minded Willful Surly or Stubborn but Meek Lowly Humble and Submissive and then you 'l be ' liker Christ But the Heady High Minded Wild Wanton and Proud they are like him that is the King over all the Children of Pride Job 41.34 And it was he that lead the Daughters of Zion into Haughtiness and taught them to walk with stretched forth Necks and Wanton Eyes walking and mincing as they went whereby the Lord was so displeased as to threaten to smite with a Scab the Crown of the Daughter of Zion and to discover their secret parts But as you mind and have regard to the Light and good Spirit of God and learn of it you will be taught to deny these things and be preserved as you abide in it from saying any bad Words telling any idle and false Stories or speaking any Untruths altho it were to excuse your selves Oh! therefore I beseech you have regard to it do not dispise it nor quench the motions of it and then you will be a Comfort to your Parents a rejoycing to your Friends and good Examples to other Children with whom you converse or are among and will cause the holy Truth to be well spoken of and make the Profession of it more to shine But if you flight the Counsel of your tender Parents Tutors and Friends Remember a day of Calamity will come and that you must one day appear before Him that will bring every work to Judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil and for every idle Word you must give an Account in the day of Judgment as Christ said Mat. 12.36 And if then thou art found of that Number that have set at nought God Counsel immediately by his Spirit in thy own heart and instrumentally through thy Parents Tutors or Friends and would not regard any of their Reproof Then the Lord will mock at thy Calamity and laugh when thy fear comes when Distress and Anguish cometh upon thee the Lord God Almighty therefore incline more and more the hearts of them that are young and tender unto him and to stand in his awe and holy fear that so you may lack no good thing but may dayly know the Lord to lead you in His way that you may find Rest and Peace to your Souls Eternally when ever it shall please the Lord to take you hence CHAP. III. An Exhortation to Children tenderly Advising them to improve their pretious time and to avoid the reading unprofitable Books and telling idle Tales as also to read and learn the Holy Scripture according to the Examples of Ancient Protestants ANd this is in my Mind in much Love and Tenderness by way of Counsel further to add to you who are the tender Off-spring of believing Parents that you may be careful to improve your pretious time which comes upon you with a silent foot and swiftly passes away And therefore may out daies here be aptly compared to a Weavers Shuttle and our Life to a Bubble in the Water which suddainly rises and in a Moment is down and no more to be seen so it may be said of all Mankind the young as well as they of riper years they are here to day in a Mortal State and to morrow may launch out either into Eternal Happiness or everlasting Wo. And therefore let me intreat and perswade you for your present good and future happiness not to spend nor squander away your pretious time in Wildness Vanity or Foolish Delights neither in the Hearing Telling or Reading any idle Tales false Stories lying Histories or foolish Verses that tend not to any Godly Edifying or informing your understandings in that which is good but rather to the filling your Minds with unprofitable matter which often occasions such like Discourse for out of the Abundance of the Heart the Mouth speaks and that commonly which Peoples minds are most filled with and taken up with all that they mostly talk of and discourse about let me therefore prevail with you frequently to Read the Holy Scriptures and learn to say some Chapters thereof without looking on the Book For the Waldenses who were a Religious People in their days and great Sufferers for their Religion took more care to have their Children Read and learn the Holy Scriptures then to gratifie their vain Minds and Childish Humors for in the History of the Waldenses Book 1. c. 5. P. 29. it s said as touching Erudition Rainerius hath said that they teach their Children yea even their Daughters the Epistles and the Gospels Jacobus de Riberia saith that they were so well instructed in the Scriptures that he hath heard a plain Country-man repeat the Book of Job Word by word and divers others that could perfectly repeat the whole New Testament And indeed it is much better to spend your time thus and will be more comfort to your honest Patents and rejoycing to your Friends that heartily wish and pray for your Welfare then to see you play it away in Wildness and Vanity and letting out your minds and lustings after the foolish fashions and vain Customs of the World which will never procure any comfort to your tender Parents Therefore once more I earnestly intreat you in unfeigned love to relinquish forsake and deny your selves of those things that tends to your hurt and let not the subtil Enemy that lies in wait to Ensnare Captivate and draw away your minds from the Principal of Truth the Light and Spirit of Christ in your hearts and Consciences or prevail upon you with any of his suggestions that such an one doth so or thus and why may not I and such an one hath come to Meetings long and is esteemed an honest Friend and he or she wares this speaks that or doth the other thing and they should be our Examples and therefore why may not I. These often are the suggestions of Satan to draw and allure the minds of the young and tender from Truth in themselves and to strengthen them in that which many times they know they ought not to do and believe would be better if they did not and by these and such

like allurements of Satan they are sometimes drawn away to their own Souls hurt and grief of their tender Parents and Friends And therefore lend not an Ear to him herein for Satans design is only to draw thee into and continue thee in Sin that thou might be hardened against God the reproof of his Spirit in thy heart and the reproos and Counsel of thy Friends and tender Parents and you may read the fearful portion of such Prov. 29. 1. But if thou stand in awe of God and abides in his fear thou wilt be preserved out of these and all evil things and will be taught to deny them and wilt receive Wisdom from God who is the fountain of it to order thy Affairs with discretion and will learn by it to honour thy Father and thy Mother according to Gods Command to be subject to your Tutors respectful to your Elders loving to your Friends and Companions and this will close that evil Eye Which Satan is ready to open in you to look at this thing in one and that in another and to make an ill use thereof And therefore live in Gods fear that preserves you out of these things and you will have Gods blessing obtain his Favour feel his Presence be servants in his House yea heirs of his Kingdom and inheritors among the Saints in Light and receivers of a weighty Crown of Glory as ye live and dye in Gods fear And therefore this is the summ and conclusion of the whole matter as Solomon said fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man. So in that true love and tenderness in which I began I shall conclude with hearty desires that you all may love and imbrace that good Spirit of God in your own hearts that inclines to love Vertue Temperance Meekness Gentleness Humility and the fear of God and will if you 'l love and obey it bring forth in you the fruits of his Spirit which is in all goodness and then you 'l not reject this Counsel and Advice of him who is your real and allured Friend John Field POSTSCRIPT ANd to shew that it hath been the care of reputed Heathens as well as Christians that their Children might be well Educated and gave their Advice accordingly Take these following Instances Plutarch a Heathen School-Master to the Emperiour of Trajan in his Book concerning the Education of Children before he proceeds to many good precepts for the vertuous Education of Youth more grown up Advises that even Nurses retrain from telling Children Fables And Phocylides also instanced by him saies that one ought to teach one even when a Child things that are good History Walden Book 1. of their Doctrine c. 3. p. 22. We must serve our Fathers and Mothers with all out Power never debatinging or question with them with hard and bitter Speeches but we must answer them humbly and hearken lovingly to their Reprehensions we must likewise honour them by Administring unto them things necessary for this Life For Fathers and Mothers have nourished their Children with their own Flesh their proper substance and Children nourish their Parents with that which is without their flesh being impossible they should restore to them those benifits they have received of them And touching the Instruction we have received of our Parents we must obey them in whatsoever shall tend to our Salvation and to a good end And p. 38. of the same Book a certain learned Father saith that costly Apparel Superfluity in Diet Flay Idleness and Sleep fatten the Body nourish Luxury weaken the Spirit and lead the Soul into death And therefore they commend a spare Diet Labour short Sleep and poor Garments Oh! that all People and Children and especially those that profess the Holy Truth would follow the good Counsel and take the wholsesome advice of these People who were under such a Godly care for their tender Offering Surely I may say of them they would not adorn their Daughters with Gold or put them on Gold Chains nor their Sons into slanting curled Periwiggs who gave this Christian Advise which indeed that Truth which Almighty God hath blessed a Remnant with the knowledg of answers unto and will no doubt lead all them that heartily love and saithfully follow it into that Plainness which becomes them that are of Jacobs the Plain Mans seed and preserve every such one from going into or practising those things that the unchangeable Spirit of God in and through the Apostle of Christ advised unto as in 1 Pet. 3. 3 4. Dear Friends MY sincere desire and earnest breathing unto God hath been is and I hope ever shall be that we may every one both Male and Female of all degrees who have received the Truth in the love of it encrease in faithful obedience unto the same so shall our strength in the in ward man be renewed and our understanding more and more divinely opened and kept open by which we shall be in a fit Capacity to see and discern the deep workings of the Mistery of Iniquity at all times who is not wanting now in a season of outward Liberty to use his endeavours to draw forth the mind from its inward retirements and constant watchings in the Spirit Light and Life which we have in Measure received from the Father of Lights into a careless easeful state to whom the wo is and a standing idle in this day to lose our reward Now this I can truly say that the Lords Arm of Power is not shortned that it cannot save but as we have known it revealed for our deliverance and have in Measure witnessed Salvation by it so it is the same now as ever it was ready and able to preserve the mind and keep it out of the snares which the Enemy lieth to catch us in But this Principally I have to signifie that the Enemy is not contented to seek our hurt alone but also he hath a deep design upon our tender Children the Off-spring of our Bodies endeavouring to corrupt them by drawing forth their Minds after the Vanity and Folly Customs and Fashions that is found without in the World that lieth in Wickedness that so he may thereby harden their hearts and turn them against the appearance of Truth within themselves that so the holy seed which God hath sown may not spring up in them to prepare them in their tender years as Vessels for the Lords own use nor to know and remember the God of their Fathers and that they may not succeed them as true Heirs of the blessings of the most High nor be faithfull witnesses in their Generation in a Holy Life and Conversation Of this I am deeply sensible and have more then an Ordinary exercise for the youth of our time because of which I am drawn forth in Bowels of tender love earnestly to intreat and beseech all believing Parents to put too their help as the Lord shall enable who is ready and willing as we breath to him with might and power to work against this Enemy and endeavour to undermine his wicked designs First in being good Examples of Vertue and Piety to our tender Children and shuning every appearance that tends to the contrary And secondly not to be overcome with an extream of love or fondness because thereby many times and too often such things are overlookt and past by which in the very bud ought rather to be discountenanced with reproof or correction as tending to the strengthening of the Enemy in his wicked designs as above mentioned Oh that there were not cause for me to break forth into a Lamentation for the sake of many poor Children who are hurt through their Parents extream love or foolish fondness over them but Oh! my Soul hath and doth lament over them Saying if there be any Truth in this Proveth that it is possible to kill with kindness I am sure with grief do I mention it that many tender Children are like to be distroyed by this extream Fondness from their fond Parents except it be prevented by a timely Moderation And sure I am the Lord is displeased with such Parents whoever they are whether Rich or Poor for he is no respecter of Persons for tho this Proverb shall be no more used Jer. 31. v 29 30. In those days they shall say no more the Fathers have eaten sower Grapes and the Childrens Teeth are set on Edg But every one shall dye for his own iniquity every man that eateth the sower Grapes his Teeth shall be set on Edg. Yet where Parents through neglect of their duty of being good Examples to their Children in a holy life and Conversation in the fear of God to give good Counsel and instruct their Children in that which is good and encouraging them therein warning them of evil reproving them and correcting for the same I say where Parents are thus negligent of their Duty to their tender Children the Enemy doth prevail and bring to pass his designs leads them down to the Chambers of Death and Darkness where the Wo and Misery is the blood of such Children will be required at their hands Eze. 3.18 When I say unto the Wicked thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the Wicked from his wicked way to save his life the same Wicked Man shall dye in his Iniquity but his blood will I require at thine hand But when Parents performs their Duty towards their Children by letting their Light shine forth before them in a Holy Life and Conversation not sparing good Counsel and Instruction in that which is good warning and correcting them for Evil yet notwithstanding their Children turns their back on the good Counsel and persist in their Iniquity and turns not from it they shall dy therein and their blood shall lie at their own Doors and their Parents shall be clear Eze. 3.19 Yet if thou warn the Wicked and he turn not from his Wickedness not from his Wicked way he shall dye in hit Iniquity but thou hast delivered thy So●● From one that hath an exercise in body and spirit for the sake of such Parents and Children as cause the Truth to suffer in themselves and others because of their undutifulness to God and each other Richard Scoryer Wansworth the 15th 7th Month 88. THE END