Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	child_n	father_n	owe_v	1,517	5	9.5531	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A15003	The nevv birth: or, A treatise of regeneration delivered in certaine sermons; and now published by William Whately, preacher and minisiter of Banbury in Oxfordshire.	Whately, William, 1583-1639.	1618 (1618)	STC 25308; ESTC S103302	103,954	167

that thus make account of the Sacrament of nourishment for themselues there be that haue made so little account of the Sacrament of begetting againe that they scarce haue made one prayer the more for it or been any whit the more carefull to lament their owne originall corruption and their childes which it hath receiued from them O how great a blessing is it to a Father to haue his child regenerated euen from his infancy how great a blessing for the child to be borne againe euen so soone almost as euer he is first borne Why should not a man cry mightily to God for such a blessing Hath not the Lord bound vs to seeke to his ordinance and to bring our children to it Doubtlesse Circumcision was no more needfull for Iewish Infants then Baptisme for ours Why then why do not we seeke to it according to the worth of it and cry to him also to be mercifull to them and vs in washing them with his spirit and with water Sure God hath giuen thee good hope that thy child may be regenerate there and then by calling it to the seale of regeneration wherefore doe thou thy best endeauour to procure that it may be regenerate by begging the performance of what the seale imports Set a day at least some good time apart to seeke the face of God to finde out and confesse thy sinnes chiefly thine originall sinne which thou hast deriued to thine infant lament it in thy selfe lament it in and for him and with the most vehement prayers that thou canst put vp beseech the Lord to accept thee to accept the fruit of thy body to blesse his owne institution to it to wash it with the holy Ghost and to beget it to a new life and to infuse into it that holinesse now by meanes of Baptisme which he can as easily infuse into an Infant as into a man of yeeres I say againe pray for the regeneration of thy childe as well as for thine owne nourishing to obtaine the fruit of Baptisme for it as to obtaine the fruit of the Lords Supper for thy selfe Both are Sacraments both Gods ordinances but the efficacy of Baptisme is more necessary then that of the Lords supper for if one be not borne anew he cannot bee saued hee may bee saued without sensible confirmation And Baptisme cannot be reiterated as may the Lords Supper wherefore what thou canst doe but once for thy child that thou must be carefull to doe this once in the best manner that being well done it may be better then twice done How strong and full hopes of his childs saluation and regeneration might a parent haue if he would thus win them of God by prayer the feruent prayer of a righteous man preuaileth very much Here therfore if in any thing at this time if at any time and for this benefit if for any benefit see that you make your praiers most feruent And so much for those duties which concerne all men to vse both towards all and towards those of their owne families both elder and infants Now I come to those that concerne the Ministers of Gods Word especially The Minister principally by consta●t and plaine preaching In all the former duties they are bound to abound aboue others for their calling affords them more knowledge more opportunities more authoritie But some things they must doe that others may not They must administer the holy Sacraments they must offer vp publike prayers for and with the Congregation they must preach the Word constantly in season and out of season following Christ Iesus whose custome it was to goe into their synagogues vpon the Sabbath day and so to speake as all wondred at his gratious words In truth God would not haue ordained in his Church Pastors that should liue of the Gospell and whose maine work should be to studie and to grow in knowledge but that they should be carefull to speake as beseemed wholesome doctrine euen to speake and exhort with all long suffering and with all authoritie I doe wonder in my very soule how any man dare aduenture to take vpon him the weightiest office and burthen that can bee euen the care of mens soules that knowes himselfe able to doe no more for their saluation then a schoole-boy of a dozen yeres old might doe euen fairely reade them some prayers and a chapter or two Is this the labouring in the Word and doctrine for which Ministers are specially accounted worthy double honour Is this to be a Worke-man that needeth not to be ashamed diuiding the Word of truth aright Who can hold vp his face before God and make answere to these questions so as it shall not inforce him to confesse that if he will be a pastour ouer soules he must be able to doe more for the sheep then many perhaps most of the sheepe are able to doe for themselues The conscience therefore of that pastour must needs beare witnesse against him that dares reap earthly things when he cannot sow spirituall that dare challenge a place of double honour whē he cānot perform a single work Darest thou whosoeuer thou art for a liuing's sake serue filthy lucre in aduenturing on that calling which thou knowest thy self vtterly vnable to fulfill Doubtlesse the time will come when thou shalt wish that thou haddest rather chosen to haue liued any where then at the Altar not being able to doe the seruice of the Altar and then of the Gospell not being able to preach the Gospell O then study day and night and by continuall paines and putting forth thy selfe to all laboriousnesse make thy selfe able to do that which by paines-taking with much prayer to God for a blessing thou maiest attaine vnto I entreate thee to consider the words of our Sauiour Christ whosoeuer is a scribe instructed for the kingdome of God that is a good and fit Minister must not alone haue in his treasure but as a good housholder bring forth of his treasure new things and old Art thou not Gods steward art thou not Gods Embassadour art thou not Gods fellow-workman why doest thou not deliuer thine embassage why doest thou not distribute Gods foode why doest thou not plant and water that God may giue the encrease Consider what a waighty duty what a great honour it is to bee Gods instrument for the regenerating others to be a spirituall father to haue them our spiritual sons in Christ who are Gods adopted sons in Christ Happy is he to whom many men some men one man oweth his title of Gods child and his interest into Gods Kingdome FINIS

labouring to driue into their heads the maine points of Christian doctrine and that in such familiar sort of questioning with them that they may make him perceiue they know what they speake Must not children be brought vp in information of the Lord and how this should be if they be not catechized I thinke no man can conceiue Is not knowledge as necessary for the soule as foode for the body Doubtlesse he must be void of knowledge that will denie it How then shall he not deserue to be called worse then an Infidell that cares not though his peoples soules be sterued You all know that the master is inioyned to looke that his seruants breake not the Sabbath Assure your selues the law of God puts one part of his duty for all parts of the same kind so that hee must as well looke to him that he know God and his worship as that he doe not prophane his Sabbath Salomons mother taught him when he was young Shee may bee a president for all mothers and the father should bee ashamed to be found negligent in that wherein the mother must be forward Abraham commanded his seruants to keepe the law of God How should hee command them to keepe it if he had not taught it them God would haue him that was bought with money circumcised Doubtlesse then he would haue him also instructed in the religion of the Iewes whereof that circumcision was a badge In very deed if this and the former duty be not done by the master he shewes himselfe little to heed the saluation of his family So that whosoeuer doth make conscience of helping his houshold to heauen must leade them the way by seruing the Lord with them and teaching them his waies Thirdly Thirdly bringing them to the Church he must likewise bring them to the assembly of God to heare his word preached and examine them what they haue learnt and remembred For if people be at Church and attend not little shall they get by the word and if they be neuer demanded what they haue heard they will not likely attend but a desire of not shaming themselues by silence to such questions will make them bow their eares and listen Indeed herein the master must consider the capacity of his seruants and encourage those of meane wits in the little they can doe and rather draw them to remember something who are lesse ready for that dutie by louing perswasion then by tartnesse of speech and by commending to them the necessity of remembring the word rather then by speeches of disgrace And if they cannot remember any thing yet he must not desist to examine exhort admonish still for why this is the best meanes that he can doe to make them marke and obserue and hauing done his owne duty he shall bee blamelesse before God though they be negligent And last of al he must not forget to pray vnto God for the regenerating of those vnder his roofe in speciall 4. Praying for regeneration For if Paul did beg of God the saluation of the Iewes his country-men shall a gouernour of a family forget those of his family whom he daily sees and speaketh with In truth of all requests that a man can make for his people this is the most behoofefull and the most necessary This the master that doth shall finde himselfe made louing charitable patient courteous towards his seruants for in exercising Christian charity towards them he shall be sure to find it encrease And if he make such particular prayers either they shall be heard to his great content or at least they shall bee accepted by God as fruits of his charity as much as if they were heard If God be glorified by the conuersion and saluation of our children and seruants as well as our owne and his glory be as it should be deere vnto vs as wel as our owne saluation why should we forget to beg at his hands so profitable a thing for persons so neere vnto vs Wherefore if thou hast formerly been behind hand in mentioning thy wife childrē seruants to God this way now make it one of thy daily harty petitions O Lord be thou intreated to make these my children thy children these my seruants thy seruants let thy spirit work grace in thē that they may be true members of thy family the Church of the sanctified as well as of this my family But there remaineth one peculiar thing in behalfe of Infants Especially for Infants to bring them to ●aptisme in right manner that is not alone to bring them to Baptisme which all do as a matter of course but to bring them to Baptisme with an high esteeme of the ordinance with feruent praiers to God for his blessing vpon it that it may be effectual for their regeneration Doubtlesse Baptisme is the Sacrament of the New birth and looke what efficacy the Lords Supper hath to feed our soules the same I must thinke vnlesse I could see a difference in the common nature of these two Sacraments hath Baptisme to the re-begetting Wherefore it is a most behoofefull duty of the parents not with those publike prayers alone which are made in and by the congregation being very well and fitly prescribed in our Liturgie but with most vrgent prayers at home to beg of God that his Infant may bee washed with the holy Ghost as well as with water Is not a New birth worth asking thinke we thy child cannot aske therefore it is thy dutie as to bring him to be baptized so to striue with God in earnest prayers that his Baptisme may become effectuall For my part brethren none errour seemes to me more absurd then to imagine that the spirit of regeneration is included in water as a medecine in a boxe or so necessarily ioyned to the water as a sweet smell to something that is perfumed that all which are baptized should also bee inwardly and actually regenerated But this I hold that wee should beg the regeneration of each one that is baptized and presume him to be regenerate because wee see the seale of the new birth stamped vpon him But among other causes of the in-efficacy of this Sacrament I thinke one chiefe to bee the parents little esteeme of it that rather doe it as a matter of course then as a thing that shall be behoofefull for them and that they expect Gods blessing vpon for the sealing vp of regeneration God is not for the most part hee is not importuned as he expecteth to be for his co-operation with this ordinance Many and many parents come to the baptisme of their children or cause their children to be brought vnto it without faith without feruent prayer without any care vsed to haue it blessed vnto their children Many a good man would bee afraid to come to the Communion himselfe without some speciall calling vpon God for his heauenly blessing without some speciall care of renuing his repentance but ●uen of those