Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	adam_n	law_n	moral_a	4,944	5	10.5377	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33522	A fruitfull and usefull discourse touching the honour due from children wherein both the respective duties of children to parents and of parents to children are cleared from Scripture, together with what may either further or hinder the same ... / by Thomas Cobbet.	Cobbet, Thomas, 1608-1685.	1656 (1656)	Wing C4777; ESTC R29964	162,603	256

Lord is in speciall sort such like as the Jewes to whom this land was first solemnly promulged as in Exod. 20. is expressed who were a people in especiall Covenant with God children of God and of the Church and of the Covenant who professed to look not for a Portion in this world so much as by that Land of promise to be led to a more spirituall and heavenly Canaan and rest of which that earthly Canaan was but a shadow Heb. 4. though this Law being given to Adam in innocency and ingraven in his heart and the rootstep and impression of it being yet left in the hearts of all men by nature and being one of Gods Morall Laws it bindeth all and every Child of man one or other in general and in particular In this promise he doth not say that thy life may be long in the world but that thy dayes may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee which to the Jews was the Land of Canaan to others the Land of their possession wherein if honourers of Parents children shall live long if good for them or if ordered by God to live less while they shall have the blessing of long life And so much for explication of the words the doctrine which we shall through divine Assistance prosecute is this That children Honour their Parents It is a duty The main doctrine The weight of the duty of Honour of Parents proved of greatest moment and concernment Let us first evince the weightiness of this duty and then more fully handle the duty it self Four reasons amongst many may be given to prove the weight of this duty Honour thy Father and thy Mother 1. Because it is placed by the Law-giver himself 1. Because next in order to the Commandements of the first Table and before the Commandements of the second Table immediately next to the commandements of the 1. Table as next in order to them and before all the other Commandements of the 2. Table as in order of duty and dignity preceding the same It is made a sweet closure bond and sementing to both Tables binding and fastning each to other inviolably and inseparably As this is more fast or loose so are mens spirits more girt to the duties of both Tables or more loose from them He that conscientiously honoureth his Parents he is assuredly conscientious of honouring of God in the first place and his Parents for conscience sake unto the Lord Piety to God-ward as a cause precedeth in him to this blessed duty piety towards Parents as to its effect And therefore the Lord doth not without cause stile the duty of Children to Parents by the name of piety 1 Tim. 5. 4. let them learn of shew piety to them at home and to requite their Parents Piety being in the root it is piety in the fruit yea this blessed fruit is a furthering means also to promove all the acts of piety which spring out of that root if Children honour their Parents fully and as they ought they will in observance of their Parents counsels and commands be more carefull of whatsoever God commandeth respecting the first or second Table hence that for the first Table Levit. 19. 3. Ye shall fear every man his Mother and every man his Father and keep my Sabbaths where under the notion of Gods Sabbaths kept not alone the observation of the Sabbath it self is understood but as in Scripture language the whole worship of God is meant So Esay 56. 4. the Eunuches that keep my Sabbaths i. e. observe my whole worship so Ezek. 44. 24. so Ezek. 20. 24. despising and polluting his Sabboths is despising and polluting his worship hence that is there added and their eyes are towards their Idols Observable it is also that in Levit. 19. 2. God saith be ye holy as I am holy and then addeth verse 3. ye shall fear every man his Mother and his Father From that piety originally springeth this yet again annexeth to this ye shall keep my Sabbaths In the Decalogue that is first Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath and then Honour thy Father and thy Mother Here it is Fear every man his Mother and his Father and keep my Sabbaths that Radicall piety being laid in the heart now this other piety exceedingly furthereth the exercise of particular acts of piety towards God one pious towards Parents will be carefull of all naturall worship to call upon God to love him to fear him to put his trust in him required in the 1. Commandement he wil conscientiously observe all Gods instituted worship avoiding all worship of mens inventing according to the tenour of the 2. Commandement he will reverently and faithfully improve Gods attributes titles words and works avoiding the contrary abuse thereof as it is injoyned in the 3. Commandement he will also as faithfully and fruitfully sanctifie the Lords dayes resting from the works of his calling and especially from vain sports which is that which the 4. Commandement requireth the like may be said of the Commandements of the 2. table which will all be duly attended if this duty of the fifth Commandem be faithfully observed both are implyed in that place of which we shall make much use in this discourse Gen. 18. 19. I know Abraham that he will command his children and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do judgement and justice if Abrahams children honour his parentall Authority so that they are at his command then they keep the way of the Lord then they do judgement and justice whatsoever path God chalketh out for them to walk in towards God or towards men they will be keeping in it And indeed who better servants in that relation to Masters then those that were good children to Parents who more obedient subjects to lawfull Authority and Fathers of the Common-wealth then such as learned and practised filiall obedience to Parents at home who more respective to Ministers then those that were and are conscientiously respective to good Parents who more tender of their own and others lives and healths of their own and others chastity of their own and others estates and names avoyding the contrary evills to a very sinfull motion looking that way then such as have been Conscientious honourers of their Parents hence on the contrary dishonour of Parents is made a Ring-leading sin a very spring and root of manifold wickedness Ezek. 22. 7. when the Prophet would charge upon all sorts in Jerusalem their most notorious crimes he beginneth thus In thee have they set light by Father and Mother and then goeth on in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger in thee have they vexed the fatherless and widow Ibid. thou hast despised mine holy things and hast profaned my Sabbaths verse 8. In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood vers 9. In vers 10. 11. he chargeth them with horrid fleshly filthiness in vers 12. with

Bribery Usury Extortion c. if therefore the bond of the fifth Commandement be broken men rush upon breach of the sixth Commandement witnesse their bloodiness mentioned v. 9. upon breach of the seventh Commandement witness their filthiness instanced in vers 10. 11. upon breach of the eighth Commandement witness their oppression usury bribery extortion v. 12. upon breach of the nineth Commandement witness their carrying of tales to shed blood v. 9. yea upon breaches of all the Commandements of the first Table witness their despising the holy things of God and profaning his Sabbaths v. 8. Deut. 21. 20. the Parents are brought in complaining This our Son is stubborn he will not obey our voice he is a glutton and a drunkard It is no wonder that children who honour not Parents are given to those or to any other vices to which loose and lewd companions will readily draw them Surely it is justly to be feared to be too much our case in New England where many of the youth grow so rude and profane so regardless of Superiours in the family as masters in the State as Magistrates in the Church as Elders where many of them are so vainly given so loose in their company so proud and supercilious in their carriages so new-fangled in their fashions and ruffianly in their hair nay jearers many of them at the best persons and things in a word where is so little yet appearing of God or good in too many of them I say it is justly to be feared that children here are not honourers of Parents Here Parents are commonly put more to it to make use of their childrens hands and help and so children here being naturally apt to count too much upon what they do for Parents they are as apt to set the more light by them and by their instructions and admonitions and so an open way is made thereby to any other wickedness amongst them Hence also malefactors when at the Gallows they have made their dying Confessions they have laid on hardest upon this sin as the rise of those which brought them at length to that sad end that they regarded not their Fathers they despised their Mothers were unruly and disobedient Children to their Parents Ah will some then say the good counsels which our fathers or our mothers gave us but wretches that we were we would never hearken to them nor regard them Let all good people take warning by us and let all young men or women that hear us for ever take heed by our example how you despise your Parents or slight their Counsels or rebukes The second reason is taken from the law and 2. Because this is made of such weight by the Law and light of nature and of nations light of nature and nations which have put a like weight upon this duty of Honour of Parents making it as next to the honour of God himself Pythoragus having given the priority to the worship of the Gods as the poor Pagan calleth them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so goeth on speaking of their divine worship and then immediatly addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is in short but thus First honour nour God as by the Law is appointed then hothy Parents And mind his speech that he maketh this by Law appointed even by the Law of nature and nations For no other Law had these Heathens So Phocyllides in his admonitory Poem also saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 First honour God and after that thy Parents So Plato in his booke of Lawes first he provideth for the worship of God and in the next place for the Honour of Parents So Aristotle Eth. l. 8. c. 16. He joyneth Honour of Parents next to that of God and saith That to neither can sufficient honour be given onely he that according to his utmost ability honoureth them he is saith he the truly pious person to God and to Parents So Isocrates in his Admonitory Oration to Demonicus counselleth and chargeth him thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fear God honour also Parents Aelian in his 3. book c. 21. telleth a story that when the Greeks took Troy pittying the miseries of their captives they caused it to be proclamed that every free Citizen should carry out some one principall thing which they should most desire hereupon Aeneas neglecting other matters carried out his Gods as they call them the Greeks liking well his piety permitted him to take some other thing which he should most desire he then taketh up his aged Father and carrieth him out next upon his shoulders with which act they were so affected that they gave him all his goods and treasures also thus by the dim light of corrupt nature the poor Pagan is directed to place Parents honour next to Divine But our glorious Lord and Law-giver to shew the great weight of this duty he will not leave it to be inforced by natures Law or light only but he will adde his morall sanction of it as his own promulged Law and he will not doe it in more obscure termes or so as only to be drawn by Consequence but this shall be expressed in so many words It shall be written as in Capitall Letters that every one that runneth may read it and none may plead excuse or exemption yea the Command it self shall be expressed in so few and so familiar words that the least Child who can remember any thing shall be able to remember this and even with its milk almost drink in this principle of Honour of Parents 3. Because the Lord annexeth no particular promise to any other of the ten Commandements 3. Because a promise is added only to this Commandement but to this In which sense the Apostle speaking of this Commandement saith It is the first Commandement with promise Eph. 6. 2. It s a signe then that this duty above many others is of great account with God and of greatest concernment unto man and that the blessings of promise are wont more manifestly and plentifully to follow the obedience to this Commandement then to any of the rest of the Commandements of the second table at least which have no promise at all 4. Because the blessings promised to this are of greatest moment annexed to them neither generall or speciall 4. Because the blessing here promised and made as the Argument to move to obedience to this Commandement is of so great moment and concernenent as being life it self and the continuance of it and blessing upon it And what more desirable of all temporall blessings then life Skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life What more usefull a blessing then this whereby a man hath so much opportunity afforded and continued to him to get and to do the best and the most good and to bring in the most glory to God What more delightfull a blessing then this the very notion whereof is used in Scripture to expresse the glorious and transcendent