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	parent_n	word_n	3,980	5	4.9332	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13926	A pithie and short treatise by vvay of dialogue, whereby a godly Christian is directed how to make his last will and testament to dispose well and wisely of his temporall goods; and how to prepare himselfe to the Lord, to depart this world peaceably and comfortably, committing himselfe in soule and body, into the hands of God, his faithfull Creatour.; Pithie and short treatise by way of dialogue, whereby a godly Christian is directed how to make his last will and testament.	Jones, William, b. 1581 or 2, attributed name.	1612 (1612)	STC 24229.5; ESTC S119355	9,151	34

A PITHIE AND SHORT TREATISE BY VVAY of Dialogue whereby a godly Christian is directed how to make his last Will and testament to dispose well and wisely of his temporall goods and how to prepare himselfe to the Lord to depart this world peaceably and comfortably committing himselfe in soule and body into the hands of God his faithfull Creatour ESAY 38. Put thine house in order for thou must die LONDON Imprinted for WILLIAM IONES 1612. To the Reader THE holy Patriarch Iacob being demanded by Pharaoh how old he was answered his daies were few and euill and yet the time of his pilgrimage had bene an hundred and thirty yeares welnigh double mans ordinary race in this latter age Holy Iob also out of his owne sense experience witnesseth in these words Man that is borne of a woman is of short continuance and full of trouble Our daies are few and euill and full of trouble to weane vs from setting o●● affection and loue vpon this life which is subiect to so much vanity and molestation and to teach vs to employ and vse well and wisely the short and vncertaine time that is lent vs being so deare and precious as being once past cannot at any rate be recouered and got againe and therefore while we haue time so to bestow it as not onely our selues may be benefited our soules comforted our calling and election assured but also God himselfe glorified and our brethren and neighbours by our good example prouoked and by our good instruction allured to religious and holy duties And this duty of drawing others to God and godlinesse as it concerneth the Ministers and teachers of Gods word publickly so parents and maisters of families priuately The father saith the Prophet Esay shall declare thy truth to his children and so likewise the maister who is the father of the family is to performe the like dutie to his seruants Oh that all whom it concerneth would be carefull in this case and shake off that carelesnesse security and forgetfulnesse of this duty which too too much preuaileth in these daies Then would they bestow more time than they do in instructing gouerning and bettering themselues their charges and their families in the knowledge seruice and obedience of God and so should they rightly answer their name of Paterfamilias be true fathers of their families Great wil be the anguish sorrow griefe perplexitie and distresse that the neglect and omission of this duty may hereafter procure vs vpon our death-beds by a gnawing and griping of consciēce for our failing herein on the other side great is the comfort ioy peace solace quiet of conscience and tranquility of mind that the godly and conscionable performance hereof will bring vs in that day when we shall lie vpon our bed of sorow as Dauid calleth it Psal. 41.3 in the greatest extremities paines and pangs of death As it comforted Iob in his most grieuous calamity that he had not cōcealed or denied the words of the Holy one A full certaine assurance hereof to the conscience at that day will be more worth then all treasures of gold and siluer This might be confirmed by many places of Scripture and illustrated by many examples but we a●● in a preface and not in a treatise and therefore vnfit to be long and tedious and the rather because the treatise it selfe is so short and cōpendious Yet as short as it is you shall finde therein the performance of this duety laid forth in very excellent manner which many serue both for prouocation to moue vs vnto it and for direction to enforme vs in it It is quickly read being so short not hard to be practised if God giue grace The God of grace from whom cometh euery good and perfect gift enlighten our vnderstandings that we may know quicken and stir vp our affections that we may desire direct our actions that we may do those things that are pleasing in his sight that after his short and miserable life is ended we may liue in heauen where in his presence is all fulnes of ioy and pleasures for euermore Amen Christian Instructions giuen by a faithfull Pastor to one of his flocke concerning making his Will Minister I Am come to see how you do good neighbour hearing of your extreme sicknesse that if it please God to take you out of this life I may set you right in the way to heauen as I haue endeuored to do hitherto since I came to be your Pastor How do you man how feele you your selfe Christian. I thanke you good Sir for this your great loue and kindenes and also for all the cōforts I haue had by you since your first coming hither I thanke God I am wel in soule through the washing and purging by the bloud of my sauiour Iesus Christ which through Gods superabundant mercie cleanseth me from all my sinne but sicke in body I am so sicke as that I suppose my death dissolution is neere to the finishing of this life of misery and the entring and establishing of me in the blessed life of glory which Lord I beseech thee to hasten for thy Christs sake Amen And now I am most glad that you are come now to helpe me and direct me to the right end of my iourney desiring your assistance by Gods word in euery duty yet to be performed by me both to God and man And then with ioy I will bid the world farewell for I feele death aproach I beseech you therefore to be as briefe as you may and by Gods word direct me first for the disposing of my worldly goods lands and other things for that it is vndone Minister I am glad to see you so strong in the Lord deare brother and most willingly I will do that you request but I must tell you by the way that you haue done full euill in not making your will in the time of your health seeing your old age so to approach that by the course of nature your daies could not be long and if God should haue taken you away sodainely as he doth in mercy some of his deare seruants then should you thereby haue bene perhaps the Author of bitter strife and contention amongst your children which is one of the things so abhominable hateful in Gods sight namely to raise contentions among brethren And how you can auoide that yet though God in mercy do giue you time in this your sicknesse to make your will I know not except your children be the better disposed and louing one to another and you distribute so equally vnto them that none of them haue cause to finde fault But if in the time of your health you had disposed of your goods and lands then should you haue seene perchance whether any would haue bene discontent with your equall distribution and they that had without iust cause bene offended might by you haue bene depriued of that which otherwise they

should haue had The feare of which would haue bene haply one motiue to moue them all to haue bene content But seeing it is otherwise I will aduise you what is best yet to do in this case first you shall do well to call all your children together and such else of your friends as you would haue present Christ. Should all my children be present at my last Will or testamēt making Min. Yea surely for these causes principally first that all of thē might haue your blessing with incouragement in all good and Christian duties wherin they haue walked and reprehension with admonition for their euils Secondly for the auoiding of strife and the establishing of peace and loue amongst them which is a thing much to be respected amongst all much more of a father amongst his childrē Thirdly all that a father shall say at that time to his childrē in reproouing and rebuking of sin allowing and commending of vertue shall be the more deeply imprinted in the hearts of his childrē being so solēnly done and the last words as it were of their father vpon his death-bed yea we see often that they which are farre from being godly disposed do by the light of nature much respect the things giuen them in charge by their father vpon his death-bed Therefore it is meete that all your children should be present and all this must be performed by you with fatherly wisedome and iudgement without partiality not punishing a small fault with a great punishment nor a great fault with a small punishment but proportionable to the offence must the punishment be for so doth God alwaies deale with his children and so must earthly fathers with their children A notable president of all this we haue in that holy Patriarch Iacob and his sonnes wherewith I know you are well acquainted Gen. 49. Christian. But what if some children be so euill disposed that for that cause they should be thought not fit to be present at their fathers Will Minister That any be so is one principall reason that they should rather be there than the other better disposed for that as before is said they should be bettered by their fathers last sharp reprehension if any thing will preuaile with them And this doth that former instāce of Iacobs sonnes plainely set forth for Ruben was present though he had a curse for lying with his fathers concubine Symeon and Leui though the like for their cruell murthering the Sichemites all the ten sonnes of Iacob beside Ioseph and Beniamin though treacherously they had dealt concerning Ioseph and sold him Therefore they must be there the rather Christian. But what if distance of place do let that some cannot be present Minister Such necessity then must be considered and those absent the more carefully not the lesse respected Christian. Hauing but one small possession of land and that in my power to giue to whom I will who should by Gods ordinance be mine heire Minister Your eldest sonne for he is the beginning of your strength and your first borne Deut. 21.15.16.17 Christian. What if he be an euill and disobedient child and likely to sell it Minister You may tye him in some couenants best to preuent that But if he be so dissolute you may quite depriue him Christian. Is there any warrant of that in Gods word Minister Yea plaine Ruben before mentioned and Adoniah whom Dauid his father did disinherite and made godly Salomon his heire whose words to Adoniah his elder brother are words to be written with the pen of a Diamond in the heart of euery father that he may so giue warning to his children If thou wilt shew thy selfe a worthy man there shall not a haire fall from thy head but if wickednesse be found in thee thou shalt surely die But this must be carefully looked vnto that so great a punishment as the depriuation of an inheritance be not inflicted for too small offences especially if the party offending be one that truly and vprightly feareth God and those offences haue bene but slips of infirmitie He that for a small fault in this kind will disinherit his heire may looke himselfe to be by his heauenly Father disinherited of the kingdome of heauen And this is most fearefull against those fathers which do least esteeme or rather hate any child that shall incline himselfe truly to feare the Lord and euery slip or small fault of theirs shall be esteemed great and great offences indeede in others shall be counted nothing yea those that are best disposed many times haue that which is due to them giuen to those that are meerely carnall Christian. What is to be done with the rest besides the heire Minister All being alike godly and dutifull euery way and of like estate in wealth or want to haue like portions giuen them Christian. What if some be in good estate to liue already others poore yet not through any default of theirs Minister The poorest must accordingly be holpen and the richer must haue the lesse for God commandeth all to pittie and relieue the poore and there shall be iudgement mercilesse to him that is not mercifull to those that are distressed any manner of way especially mercy and charity must be extended to those that are neare of kin And fearefull is it for any child to couet that which belongeth to another for Gods curse not his blessing shall be sure to go with that And most vnnaturall were that father that would procure a curse vpon his child with his gift of some worldly thing which by right according to Gods word and will belongeth to some other yet is it too cōmon that many children care not so they may haue all or the most part though some other farre better godlier then they do want and are ready to beg with pouertie and they therewith get the fearefull curse of God vpon themselues and all that they haue yea and their posterity also Christian. This were very fearefull for any fathers or children indeede But now for children that haue had stockes already as daughters to their mariage or sonnes for lawfull and honest vses in their trades or the like they hauing had portions already are to rest satisfied Minister All this is rightly to be considered and they all in some proportionable measure to be equalled at the last as their estate with the other circumstances as is before mentioned do require But for daughters if any part remaine vnpaid of that portion promised to their mariage it must be satisfied For in that aswell as in all other things no wrong must be done nor any neither neere nor farre off defrauded for the Lord is an auenger of all such things And they that regard not to deale vprightly with all much more with those neere vnto them do come within the compasse of those wrong doers and promise breakers that shall not inherite the kingdome of heauen Psalm 15. Christian. May one sinne then