Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	care_n	child_n	parent_n	3,714	5	8.8140	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97283	The penitent murderer. Being an exact narrative of the life and death of Nathaniel Butler; who (through grace) became a convert, after he had most cruelly murdered John Knight. With the several conferences held with the said Butler in Newgate, by the Right Honorable the Lord Maior, and several eminent ministers, and others. As also his confession, speech, prayer, and the sermon preached after his execution; with several useful admonitions, and excellent discourses. / Collected by Randolph Yearwood, chaplain to the Right Honorable, the Lord Major of the city of London.	Yearwood, Randolph, d. 1689.	1657 (1657)	Wing Y23; Thomason E1660_2; ESTC R209007	51,603	133

men whether would the heart of man run if there were not some rein upon it T is sad the Law of God will not keep men from sin but seeing it will not t is mercy we have the Laws of Man Many are afraid of the Gallowes which have no sense of Hell This great Sinner is represented to you as an eminent instance of the Grace of God and so we hope he was T is very necessary therefore we should here insert a Caveat against the abusing of this Grace of God How apt are we with the Spider to suck Poyson where with the Bee we should suck Honey How many will be apt from hence to encourage themselves in sin and to say Let us sin that Grace may abound Rom. 6.1 Or let us sin for Grace will abound Man is not more prone to any thing then to catch at eminent Acts of Grace and to make that Fewel to his Lust which God intended only to be Food to his Faith And never was there any age wherein there was more of this Spirit of Presumption then this wherein we live insomuch that upon this very account some of us were very inclinable to think That 't was better to have the story of this man suppressed then published But since providence hath so ordered it that it doth see the Light we cannot but annex to it an Antidote against presuming Sinners do not pervert this Grace of God God lets you have it to keep you off from the rock of despair not that you should run upon the rock of presumption Deut. 29.19 20. If you sin you may have mercy but if you presume to sin can you then expect mercy Grace rejected may yet save you though that will cost you dear but oh tremble to abuse the grace of God to incourage you in sins God sometimes gives some rare instances of his grace to notorious sinners that none may despair but he is very choice in these that none may presume T is true upon repentance the greatest sinner shall find mercy but how do you know that God will give you repentance How many are in the same condemnation that this offender was that die without any such work upon them we affectionately beseech you and warn you not to turn this grace of God into wantonnesse These things we hint in general More particularly we shall address our selves to you in the several capacities wherein you stand You the Right honourable Magistrates of the City with all submission and yet with all boldness we exhort you to do your duty T is not enough for you to punish sin when 't is before you but you are to endevour the preventing of it you see what is the sad fruit of Ale-houses Whore-houses and such places we hope your zeal will yet continue nay be heightned in the suppressing of them Down with them Down with them spare them not they are the Divels Shops and let him have no Free-Trade amongst us If you will none shall have so many Customers as he How many Labourers drink that away at these houses which should maintain their wives and children with bread How are the youth of this City debaunched at them where they have their Gaming Cheating Whoring and what not Oh let your Reformation be severe and throughout in this particular But herein blessed be God we have great cause as well to commend as to quicken your zeale We heartily wish that those who have power in the Suburbs of the City would be as active in the restraining of sin as you are that those places and persons which you will not indure in the City the naming of which would soul our pen might not be held up and harboured there otherwise it will be small advantage to smother Whores out of one Hive when they have another ready to receive them We hear and fear t is too true that Priests and Jesuites those Romish Locusts do swarm amongst us in the City and Suburbs We beseech you for the sake of Jesus Christ and for love to the Gospel to put forth your power to the utmost for the discovering suppressing of them And the rather because they and their party are so bold as to intrude themselves upon prisoners condemned to die to pervert them from the true Religion for this attempt they were bold to make upon N. B. before he was executed We should also speak to our selves and to our reverend Brethren in the Ministry Doth not this providence speak something to us Should we not from hence be stirred up in our several congregations more vigorusly to reprove sin and to deter men from sin Whither will sinners go if we let them alone Let our preaching be lively quick powerful by Gods blessing it may be a means to prevent these abominable practises However let 's do this and then let our hearers do what they will their blood shall be required at their own hands Ezech. 3.18 19. We shall be free from it Let us beat down drunkenness Adultery c. and such scandalous sins and while we labour to preach down unbelief let us take heed that presumption and gross sins do not break in upon us with a mighty breach Should we enlarge upon these things we should be tedious Our principal intendment was to speak a word to you the people and Citizens of the place which we shall dispatch with all plainness and brevity And here we will only take the liberty of advising you in the Notion of Governours and Governed You that are Governours we mean Governours of families give us leave to set in with this providence and to stir you up to make more conscience of the Family-duties and engagements that lie upon you in reference to your children and Servants Probably if things be not mis-repesented had there been a consciencious discharge of these duties in the Family where this young man lived he had never come to this sad end But we had rather awaken then censure Was not that a brave resolution of Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord. Josh 24.15 Gen. 18.9 Can you have a better Evidence of sincerity towards God then a faithful comming up to relative and family-Family-duties Do not parents that send up their children to you put a great trust into your hands Are not their children dearer to them then all their outward comforts and shall they miscarry under you for want of care Will not their blood be required at your hands if they perish through your neglect will it not be sad to have children and servanns to rise up in judgment against you and to bring in evidence at the great tribunall of Christ Lord my Father never minded me Lord my master never regarded me I might sin he never reproved me I might go to hell it was all one to him will not this be sad will not this be sweet to you when you come to die to be able to say Lord I have walked in my house with a perfect

unprofitable What will it profit you or yours to hear Sermons and after that never to hear more of them Take heed of ignorance and idleness ignorance in not knowing what ye ought to do and idleness in refusing to take pains with your people Mal. 3.16 Formerly They that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought on his name But now how seldom do we see Families conferring among themselves Husband and Wife speaking of God and of Christ that Children may learn Where is a Master and Mistris or Master and Dame that now adaies drop one gracious word in the hearing of their Servants the whole week or moneth nay it may be the whole year throughout is it any wonder then for young ones and inferiors to fall into evil ways when you that are elder and their Tutors and Governors walk so loosely and unchristianly before them Will you now search the Scriptures and know your work and do it entirely will you be faithful and true to all those Souls the Lord hath entrusted you with and take heed least their present miscarriages and their after-condemnation be and it will be unless you do all that belongs to your part charged upon your account Nathaniel Butler hath given me under his hand that if he had continued with one Master to whom he was turned over he beleeved he never had come to such a pass as he did The day is coming when it will come to pass that God shall set your sins and defaults in order before your faces And dare you then accuse God or can you excuse your selves when in truth it shall be laid to your charge that such a Son such a Daughter such a Man-servant or Maid-servant had never done so wickedly in one kind or other they never had faller into the waies of the Devil nor fallen under the wrath of God if we who had the nurturing over-sight and admonishing of them had done our duty O remember the counsel of Christ in these two Scriptures That of Paul to the Ephesians 5.4 and latter end lately touched upon Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord That is teach them to know and love to serve and fear the Lord give them such nurture and instruction such spiritual matter for their minds to work upon as the Lord prescribeth by the Scriptures The other Text of very great use and service to Masters is in Col. 4.1 Masters give to your Servants that which is just and equal knowing that also ye have a Master in Heaven 'T is not onely just and equal to give food and raiment or knowledge or understanding in a Trade to your Servants but 't is just and equal for you to give good counsel to your Servants to serve God and till this be you are unjust men and unequal in your waies unconscionable as to the souls of your Servants 'T is a very honourable character that the most High himself gives to Abraham Gen. 18.19 For I know him that he will command his Children and his Houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord Abraham did not command his Children and Servants to honour him and serve him onely for so most men are apt enough to lay their commands upon children and housholds but his command required his Relations to walk in the way of God If men would follow Abraham herein what orderly holy and reformed Families would then be found in the Land I hope that these Scripture-passages and passages of providence also one whereof and indeed a very sad one you have seen in the fore-going Narrative will touch your hearts and engage you to look after this that you and your Children you and your Servants be henceforth found in the way of the Lord. Many Masters are very like the Egyptian Task-masters in two respects which are both remarkable viz. 1. The Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in Morter and in Brick and in all manner of service in the field all their service wherewith they made themserve was with rigor Exod. 1.13 14. O the rigor and bitterness that some servants abide during the time of their serving some men how many merciless harsh cruel Parents and Masters are more like Egyptians then Israelites more like Turks then Christians by their cruelty provoking directly against the Gospel-Statute Sons Daughters and Servants to do that which without unreasonable provocation they would never have done 2. Too many Heads and Rulers of houses seem Egyptians rather then Christians not only in exacting service from their inferiours with all storminess and bitterness of spirit but likewise in this sense more wicked then the former that they will not so far are these men from pressing their servants to serve God suffer them to go and serve the Lord do not some upbraid and revile threaten and discourage Servants and Sons and Daughters if they look after goodness and exactness of life Exod. 7.16 And thou shalt say The Lord God of the Hebrews bath sent me unto thee saying Let my people go that they may serve me in the wilderness and behold hitherto thou wouldest not hear I beg of you these two things 1. That you would be content when your children and servants do perform to you reasonable service And 2ly that you would exhort and beseech them by the mercies of God to present their bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is to God-ward their reasonable service But least I should not prevail with you I shall therefore direct my counsel and admonition to children and servants themselves that in case your Overseers see not their duty or do it not yet your selves may make conscience to carry it so towards God and all men that ye adorn thereby the Doctrine of God our Saviour Young people hear what Christ commandeth Eph. 6.1 Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right this is well-pleasing unto the Lord. Gol. 3.20 The Lord is angry at and displeased with disobedient Sons and Daughters Eph. 6.5.6 7 8. Servants saith Paul a servant of Christ be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh for as to soul and conscience Christ only is Lord and Master and in this sense we are forbidden to call any man Master Matth. 23 8. with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ Not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart With good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doth though never so mean a servant the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free Obj. But some servant may say My Master is a very harsh froward man or else I