Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	according_a	church_n	law_n	1,084	5	4.5241	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34730	A word to the LII London ministers shevving that the most zealous professors of religion in all ages have been the greatest persecutors of Christ and his most spirituall members, illustrated and proved / by Nicolas Cowling.	Cowling, Nicholas.	1648 (1648)	Wing C6514; ESTC R3567	8,345	24

their Sepulchers to have them adorned and had we lived in the dayes of our fathers wee would not have killed the Prophets of the Lord as they did and so the generations successively filled up the measure of their fathers iniquity more plainely this is to bee seen in the dayes of the Lord Iesus Christ if wee consider well how he being so popular when hee came to save his life by the vote of the people lost it so shamefully that a Murtherer was preferred before him and the more strang it is that their affections but two dayes before were so fixt on him that they durst enter into the strong garrison of Ierusalem being then under the command of the Romans Pilate being Governour and there openly to proclaim a new King of the house of David crying Hosanna Alarum sufficient to have brought them to a Councell of Warre and there they might have thrown dice for their lives and yet these men upon serious consideration changed their minds and within three dayes voted him to death But you will say this was a giddy multitude easie to bee drawn by cunning crafty wicked men the Iewish nation were never accompted fooles in worldly wisdome neither were these men prophane but devout in expecting their Mesias and upon that accompt they followed him from sea to sea to hear his Doctrine and see his Miracles and when spies were sent to carp at him none so ready as they to justifie him as when the Christ commeth will he doe greater things than this man hath done And lo on an instant crucifie him away with him he is not worthy to live Le ts enquire into the cause hereof and surely you shall find it not to proceed from lightnesse malice against God or from prophanesse but rather from their zeal unto God and the preservation of his holy Ordinances as appeareth thus Vpon this uproare Caiphas calleth an assembly not of drunkards swearers and prophane persons but of the most reverend Priests a Scribes Pharisees and devout men that walked constantly in the performance of all Religious duties towards God according to the fashion of the Church in those dayes and some of them had walked in all good Conscience towards God as concerning the Law unblameable unto that day Now saith he Ye know nothing at all neither do ye consider that our nation is like to perish if this Iesus remain alive you are so consciencious of shedding bloud least he should be a Prophet and so you thinke you shall thereby fill up the measure of our Fathers iniquitie but we must sometimes act Providentially as well as Piously and Iustly and therefore whether is it better that one man should dye or a whole Nation perish this is now put to the vote and carryed in the affirmative onely two are in the negative Ioseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus but heer is the quaere the people so doate on him that they will stone us we must therefore get him by night and when we have seiz'd him we shall easily draw off the people from him for in deed and truth he is not of God but doth all his works by Belzebub and thus the people shall clearly see when wee have gotten him Christ is now in their hands by the treason of his owne servant and that in the night when the multitude was asleep and now the people are called in having secured his person from their reach and now the high Priest begins to act his part beginning thus or the like brethren you are the Children of Abraham of the noble stock of Israel to whom are committed the Oracles of God and you are all of you devout and zealous towards God as we are this day according to the Law of Moses and the traditions of the Fathers for ye are sure that God spake with Moses but I shall make it appear unto that all that this man hath done is by the power of Beelzebub for you may be assured that whosoever keepeth not the commandements which Moses gave us is not of God and when this doth appeare you will have other thoughts of him call in the witnesses doth this man your great Prophet keep the Sabboth day nothing lesse he works himselfe and justifies others also he made clay for a plaister he allowed his Disciples to gather corn he commanded the impotent man to carry his Bed he cured the withered hand and many more such pranks he doth on the Sabboth day well what thinke ye is he a friend to our nation or doth he not complot with the Romans to destroy us It is very probable for wee desired him to resolve us whether it was lawfull to give Gods peny to Caesar or no he bids us Give unto Caesar the things that were Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods see he cares not how he burtheneth the nation What thinke ye of him concerning the Ordinances and the Temple doth he maintain them here is witness that he did intend to destroy the Temple a very good testimony what sayest thou to all that is witnessed against thee answerest thou nothing for thy selfe we intend to doe nothing against thee but justice nay thou shalt have mercy from us so farre as it may not empeach the glory of God for which our zeale is purely fervent Christ answers nothing as if he were sure the major vote of the people would carry it for him He is now commanded to withdraw and now the Preists turne to the people what think yee is he worthy to live some of the wiser and more conscientious amongst them demur'd upon it the witnesses not agreeing fully in every punctilio to the Articles exhibited against him now the Priest replyes I see a mighty besottednesse upon your spirits the breach of the Sabbath the destruction of the Temple the laying aside of Ordinances is nothing with you I think you will tollerate Blasphemy likewise nay there is no blasphemy proved against him but what if you hear him blaspheme to your faces call him in againe Come sir you have hard thoughts of us as if we intended to take away thy life right or wrong which appeares to us by thy silent carriage towards us but I would have thee know wee are holy consciencious men and do earnestly wait for the Mesiah and if wee were sure thou wert him we would worship thee this set the people right to judge of him now followes the oath ex officio I adjure thee by the living God to tell us whether thou be the Christ the son of the living God Thou hast said nevertheles I say unto you hereafter shall yee see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and comming in the clouds of Heaven Now yee have heard his blasphemy Mat. 26. v. 66 to 68. See then how priest and people though devout were transported into a frantick zeale for preserving God from being blasphemed not being able to bear the appearancy of God in the flesh and so became