Selected quad for the lemma: father_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
father_n	holy_a	son_n	trinity_n	43,281	5	10.4568	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43569	Advice to an only child, or, Excellent council to all young persons containing, the summ and substance of experimental and practical divinity / written by an eminent and judicious divine, for the private use of an only child, now made publick for the benefit of all.	Heywood, Oliver, 1629-1702.	1693 (1693)	Wing H1758; ESTC R18548	63,918	191

God for you is that you might be saved and thereupon I do Travel in Birth for you till Christ be form'd in you Wherefore as Paul wrote to Philemon though I might be bold in Christ to enjoyn you yet for Loves sake I rather beseech you being such a one as your Father the Aged and a Servant of Jesus Christ I beseech you not as he for an One Simus but for your self whom I have begotten and O that I could say had begotten again though it were in my bonds and so could in this respect further say in the words of that Apostle there Thou owest unto me even thine own self yea Daughter let me have joy of you in the Lord refresh my Bowels in the Lord which you will do if I may have confidence in your Obedience that you will do what I say which I may the more expect from you sith the Counsel I here give you is no other than what I have received from mine and your Heavenly Father and therefore I may say confidently of it what was said of Ahitophels that it is as if one had inquired of the Oracles of God for it is such as I had from the Word of God which is called the Oracles of God And though I be your Father yet I could willingly go down upon my knees to you begging of you for your Souls sake that you would embrace it which if you do then blessed are you among Women for God will guide you with his Counsel and afterwards receive you to Glory But if you refuse it you reject the Counsel of God against your self and this paper will rise up in Judgement against you CHAP. I. Of Covenanting with God in Christ 1. IN the first place I do beseech you in the Bowels of a tender Father and as you will answer the denyal of so reasonable a request at the Tribunal of God before the Soveraign Judge of Men and Angels that you would seriously intirely and unreservedly make an oblation of your self in Covenant a solemn Dedication of all your faculties both of Soul and Body to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost as your only God Redeemer and Sanctifier binding your self thereby to forsake that malicious Trinity the World the Flesh the Devil Resign up and make over your self wholly and intirely to the Lord to the obedience of him Subscribe to all his Laws bid an utter defiance to all his enemies out-brave all opposition and Triumph over all in the Lord. 2. Here let me remind you that this is that which I solemnly Covenanted in your behalf at your Baptism and you being come to Age are bound to perform and make good which if you should not do but recede from that engagement I should tremble to think how sad your case would be Had you died in your Childhood as my other Children did then you had reaped the benefit of the Covenant according to the faith of your own Parents but now you must stand or fall by your own faith sincere consent thereunto as the Child while an Infant is carried in the Mothers or Nurses Arms but when grown up must stand upon its own legs 3. I intreat you therefore I warn you as a Father do that first which must needs be done and is of greatest Importance the most momentous concern be sure that your Soul be safe and secure as to its everlasting condition Act Maries part by looking after the one thing necessary and therefore get to be in Covenant with God in Christ by your hearty consent thereunto for this is the true condition and certain evidence of your interest in the Covenant your Title to all the rich Legacies thereof as namely to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost as your Reconciled God and Father Redeemer and Sanctifier and consequently to all the saving Blessings and Priviledges both of the Kingdom of Grace and Glory which are all couched therein In the Covenant God the Father consents or enters into Bond in the sight and presence of Angels and glorified Souls to be our God Jesus Christ to be our Saviour and the Holy Ghost to be our Sanctifier in which compendious and immense grant all things are comprized that you can ask or think If you then reciprocally consent and engage your self to take God the Father to be your only God the Son to be your Saviour to save you from Sin as well as from Hell and the Holy Ghost to be your Sanctifier to make you by degrees perfectly holy then the Covenant is complete your Interest therein secure and your Title good to all the rich Blessings laid up in this Ark of the Covenant provided your consent be such as doth blossom forth into the duties which you consent unto and produce a renouncing of the World the Flesh and the Devil which is involved and enwrapped therein for you do not take God to be your God if you take him only to receive his pay and not to fight under his Banner against those his malicious enemies You do not take him to be your God unless you take him to be your All and be ready to renounce and forsake all for him and prefer him in your love and esteem above all things so as to let him turn the ballance and his interest to weigh down the Scales against all the World and unless you set him alone in the Throne in the highest Chariot to ride Triumphantly in the Soul over all enemies How readily doth the Wise Merchant in the Gospel sell all for the Pearl that is more precious than Rocks of Rubies and Mountains of Diamonds Thus it will be with you if your Covenant consent be not weak and languid but strong and well fixed Indeed a small rub may turn aside a Bowl that hath but a weak Byass but if it hath a strong one it will recover and get into its way again See then that your consent be so strong and full as may pass you under the bond of the Covenant and carry you over to God and Christ against all opposition But think it not enough that this Covenant be once made it must be often renewed and followed with an answerable practice 4. This is my first and grand advice yea the very Abridgment and Summ of all your duty this entring into keeping faithfully the Baptismal Covenant is your very Christianity real Godliness it 's your building upon a Rock your doing the one thing necessary and your giving to God the things that are Gods It 's a denying of your self taking up the Cross and following the Lord Jesus it 's a delivering of your self over to the Lord Jesus to be Married to him a taking him as your Husband to Love Honour and Obey him above all And to this Match you have my full and free consent yea my daily prayers for it O that as a spokesman for Christ I could tell how to woe for him and use such Rhetorick that I might prevail look

much delighted with the praises of his People he likes well a thankful frame of heart and indeed the heart is never in a better frame than when it 's tuned into a thankful Note 3. Labour very much to get your self moulded into this excellent frame of a thankful and praiseful spirit Do you love and affect mirth and pleasure let me then prevail with you to endeavour seriously to get this Truth engraven as a Principle in your breast that you will never find more pure and clarified pleasure more sweet delight more ravishing joy than when you are in a God-praising and a Christ-admiring frame David's mouth is filled as with marrow and fatness i. e. with the most sweet and delicious pleasure when he praises the Lord Psal 62.5 Yea this will be blessedness to you Blessed saith that holy Psalmist are they that dwell in thy house for they will be still praising thee Psal 84.4 By being thus employed you will hold a Consort with Heaven and fill up the Musick there 4. And because you are unable by all your Songs of Thanks and Praise to reach unto that height of Praise which the Love and Mercies of God call for from you even a Note above Ela such a high Note as would crack all your Strings all your Faculties to get up unto therefore call to Angels and Arch-Angels and all the Quire in the Cathedral of Heaven to sing glory honour and praise to him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever CHAP. XII Of Humility 1. LEarn to live humbly before God This will help very much to advance that Praise and Thankfulness that I have now been praising to you The humble Canaanitish how thankful would she be for a Crum falling from the Table of Mercy Matth. 15. A dram of Mercy will then weigh very heavy with you when you look upon your self as the very dust of the ballance 2. The Prophet Micah chap. 6.8 declaring what is good and what the Lord requires of us gives this Instruction Walk humbly with thy God We put on our best Robes when we are to be taken into familiar converse with great persons And therefore that you may walk with the great God and converse with him be clothed with Humility as the Apostle Peter exhorts 1 Pet. 5.5 This is a plain but a very comely and neat Sute of Apparel The Greek word that the Apostle useth in that place seems to allude to the Knots or Ribbands that Women tie about them for Ornament Humility is an excellent Ribband that doth not only adorn the Soul but ties all the Graces together on a knot it 's the string of all those precious and goodly Pearls which if it break they are all scattered If you suffer Pride to break this string your lose all your Virtues When the low Violet of Humility withers all your other Flowers will die Hence Bernard who calls Faith the Mother stiles Humility the Nurse of all Graces God will give all Grace to the humble 1 Pet. 5.5 The richest Wine is laid up in the lowest Cellars The graces and comforts of the Spirit are not laid in the high and lofty heart It 's said of Sancta Clara that she was but once in all her life tickled with the thoughts of Pride and she felt not the comforts of the Spirit of twenty years after Without this Garment of of Humility the Soul is naked and thread-bare It 's a Grace of the greatest worth and yet it will cost you the least to keep it 9. Shew your Humility by your sweet contentedness with that condition which the Wisdom of God shall assign you shew it by your being so far from over-valuing your self that you do entertain mean and low thoughts of your self and let it also appear by your setting light by the esteem of others and by patient bearing all their slights It 's hard indeed to be cut in this Vein and not to bleed very sore if not deadly Shew your Humility also by abandoning bravery or costliness of Apparel for ostentation 4. Now that you may become humble and keep your self so study much the Corruption of Nature and to know your self Say often to your self O what a vile sinful Nature have I how full of corruption which makes my life full of sin how empty am I of all good in what a Bankrupt condition is my poor Soul And if you would in this case take a right and impartial view of your self there is one false Glass which you must avoid which is the Glass of Self-love this will represent all fair to you and make you seem to your self better than you are This is it which makes ones own pride and vanity and unbelief and unholiness seem to be a little sin a tolerable fault and not to deserve damnation It will make every common Grace appear to be saving Grace and a state of Godliness and every Duty a true mark of Regeneracy CHAP. XIII Of Meekness 1. EXercise a meek spirit in all your converse in the World Would you be richly adorned the Apostle Peter will tell you how it may best be and what is the best fashion and that is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit 1 Pet. 3.3 4 5. You may perhaps think that such a meek deportment would be a derogation from your Credit but see there how God counts it an Ornament better than that of wearing of Gold or putting on of costly Apparel yea such an Ornament as is in his sight of great price And it is the best fashion also v. 5. for so holy women of old adorned themselves 2. Gratifie me your Father in this small request Never provoke others unto Passion neither be you by others provoked thereunto But what shall I be trampled upon no it will be your greatest glory and honour to pass by an affront A cool spirit is an excellent spirit according as it is in the marginal reading of Prov. 17. v. 27. But shall I not then be accounted a Fool No it will be your best Wisdom For the Wisdom which is from above is gentle peaceable easie to be intreated Jam. 3.17 A gracious meek spirit will put up many an affront and never rage Full Vessels will bear many a knock and stroke and yet make no noise But if there be envying and strife in you are you not carnal 1 Cor. 3.3 This wisdom comes not from above but is earthly sensual devilish Jam. 3.15 These overflowings of the Gall are caused by corrupt and noxious humours within Let me perswade you then to take this gentle Medicine this grace of Meekness which will stop those bitter overflowings and effectually cure the burning Feaver of Passion which is caused thereby and readily heal an angry Sore This cool spirit will either prevent sparks from kindling or soon quench them Meekness is a soft and gentle breath a smooth and pleasant fann that cools the Passions It 's soft Wooll that breaks the force of

Cannon-shot that damps the fiercest anger CHAP. XIV Of Living in Love and Charity to all 1. LIve in Love and Charity to your Neighbour Be careful to get this grace engraven on your breast and as it were moulded into your very Nature Live in this Element of Love let the acting thereof be so natural and familiar to you that he that runs may read this New Commandment which Christ left of loving one another written in you as it were in Letters of Gold Oh how main a part of Religion and Holiness lies in this duty of Love I do not know through all the New Testament any one duty so much inculcated and prest on as this of Love no string so much beat upon as if it made the best Musick and sweetest Harmony in Christian Religion 2. You must love all even the most wicked in the World as having the natural Image of God or the marks of his Perfection in the Rational Soul David indeed profest his hatred of God's Enemies but it was according to the ordinary gloss of their sins not of their persons That effect of Lightning in breaking the Sword and not bruising the Scabbard is accounted as one of Natures great Mysteries But this heavenly flame of Love and Charity seems much more mysterious and admirable in its operations whilst it would by all means keep safe and preserve the person of our vicious Neighbour and Enemy when it hath a deadly hatred unto and a desire to destroy his Vices 3. Though you love all yet your best and choicest Love must be to the Saints in whom the Moral Image of God which consists in righteousness and true hollness and is the special Loadstone of Love doth shine and sparkle forth In the parallel Lines which are drawn from the Circumference to the Center they all draw to it and the nearer the Center the nearer they are to one another God is the Center of Love and the nearer we come to him the nearer are we to one another in spiritual Affection There 's a Consanguinity of Graces among the Saints and therefore the greatest Love as there is among persons of the same blood and kindred They are all the Children of God by Faith 4. Let this Love put you upon being ready to do all the good you can as you have opportunity but especially to those that are of the houshold of Faith Let the Errand on which Jesse sent David be your great business in the World Look how thy Brethren fare Consider the Poor so as to relieve them Deny your self Superfluities that you may supply the Poor with Necessaries The Poor are God's Wardrobe you cannot hang up your Riament in a better place CHAP. XV. How to manage your Converse in Company 1. LET that grace of Love and Charity commended to you in the former Chapter steer and influence you in your Civil Converse in all Companies Let it be as a bridle to your tongue to restrain your speaking evil of others and to curb all censuring Take him saith holy Mr. Baxter that speaks evil of another to you to be Satan's Messenger intreating you to hate your Brother or to abate your Love Let me then warn and caution you not to run upon Satans Errand or to do his Message And consider that this speaking evil of others is the great Make-bate the grand Incendiary that raiseth up flames kindles hatred and malice and damps all Love and Affection It 's the Sluce of dissention and discord the great Inlet of jarrs and animosities of quarrels and contentions in all Companies And as for censuring of others how familiar is it with those of your Sex when they come together to run division in the Censures of other persons either for their entertainments their garb and dressing their outward behaviour and gestures or some such trifles alway finding fault and often making as Coneys do holes in the Rocks where they cannot find therefore do you mind your self only look within your self within your own heart in this respect keep at home like a good Huswife be much within doors within your own bosom to spy what fault there is and go not abroad in uncharitable Censures of others In the Twilight we can see to read without doors when we cannot within We cannot see the swellings in our own hearts when we can easily spy small Pimples in another we can see the Mo●e in anothers Eye when we cannot the Beam in our own 2. Be watchful when you are in Company that you contract no harm thereby The Bee in the midst of the Hive full of clinging stuff yet keeps her wings untoucht with it Indeed vain Company hath usually a very strong force to make us imitate their gestures words and actions we usually learn our Pronunciation our Shib●●●●th and our Gestures and Gate by our Company You can scarce come any where but there is some white Wall or some black Hood so that you shall carry something away with you But the greatest danger is from carnal Friends and Relations these indeed are the great Impediments in the way to Heaven Many in all probability had been holy and gracious persons if they had had better Kindred and lived where Godliness had been encouraged and good Examples given thereunto O it is a very sad thing to be near to them whose nearness will remove you further from God! Be therefore exceeding careful to keep your spiritual Watch in your Company and labour so to live in the World as not to partake of the corrupt and sinful humours of it As Mother Pearls live in the Sea not taking in one drop of Salt Water into their Shells 3. But yet as much as possible may be avoid joyning your self with any Acquaintance except such by whom you may be made better The Royal Psalmist begins his first Psalm with the blessedness of that person who hath not walkt in the company of the ungodly Diamonds will not cement with Rubbish 4. In all Converse in any Company let some good words fall from you that may tend to make them better Let your Lips like the Spouses in the Canticles drop as the Honey-comb distil some sweetness some savoury and wholsom words A word spoken in season may thro' God's blessing tend to the eternal welfare of a Soul A good Woman riding with her Husband in a great Thunder which much affrighted him and being askt by him what the reason was why she was not at all afraid returned this sweet and holy Answer Because it is my Fathers Voice And this one seasonable word proved the occasion of his Conversion to God 5. Be sure to avoid all vain discourse and idle chatt which is the feminine malady and let your words be few and well considered before you speak Remember that astonishing speech Mat. 12.36 That of every idle word that you shall speak you shall give an account thereof at the day of Judgment CHAP. XVI How to manage Solitariness 1. VVHen you are solitary and alone