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	heart_n	lord_n	1,002	5	3.6719	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A27168	Claustrum animae, the reformed monastery, or, The love of Jesus a sure and short, pleasant and easie way to Heaven in meditations, directions, and resolutions to love and obey Jesus unto death : in two parts.	Beaulieu, Luke, 1644 or 5-1723.	1677 (1677)	Wing B1571; ESTC R23675	94,944	251

to be thine and that thou wouldst own me for thine that so thou mayst be mine to eternity wouldst thou know saith S. Aug. Aliud non quaerit precium nisi te ipsum tantum valet quantum es te da habebis illud Manual what thou must give for heaven give thy self that 's the price nothing less will serve that alone is accounted sufficient heaven is worth just what thou art give thy self and thou shalt certainly have it Do not men seek to serve and oblige great persons expecting to be by them gratified are they not ambitious to wait upon Princes in regard of an Honourable stipend and why should I not count it the greatest Honour and preferment to serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords The salary he pays his servants is infinitely greater than any the greatest Monarch can give they oftentimes cast off with disgrace their most faithful officers my Lord is so far from so doing that he bears with the faults of his meanest servants and never turns out any that will live with him 'T is highly difficult to become a Prince his favorite many spend their time their wealth and themselves and never can get the least share in his affections but I am sure my heavenly Master loveth me I know it by what he hath done by what he daily doth and by what he hath declar'd he would do for me Although he hath bought me and so might well require the utmost I can do without any reward yet he hires me and gives me more infinitely more than I can earn I will therefore be diligent faithful and zealous in fulfilling the work he hath appointed me I will often say to myself I am a servant and a lover of JESUS I am a servant and a lover of JESUS I will every morning consider what can I do this day of what my Lord hath commanded me what duties of sobriety righteousness or godliness can I discharge to make it appear that JESUS is the Master I own and obey Rom. 14.7 8 9. None of us liveth to himself and no man dies to himself for whether we live we live unto the Lord or whether we die we die unto the Lord Whether we live therefore or die we are the Lords for to this end Christ both died and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living §. 8. Our love and obedience God requires This double duty of dying unto sin and living unto righteousness absteining from that which is evil and doing that which is good I am oblig'd to perform by strong and indispensible obligations if I do not I certainly perish When we say in common speaking that we do things out of love we mean that we are free and may chuse whether we do them or no we are not bound to it but here all along where I undertake to discharge the duties of Religion out of love I do not in the least mean so I acknowledge my self under the greatest necessity of discharging my baptismal vow of living according to the Gospel Rule otherwise my neglect of it would be my ruine I should perish in my disobedience Love it self is a duty the first and greatest commandment Mat. 22.37 thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind I recommend love therefore Meliores quos dirigit amor plures quos corrigit timor Aug. as the noblest the most powerful motive to a Religious obedience as that which makes our duty easie and pleasant and gives a value to what we do or suffer for God I know there is those who teach that by our well-doing we must not seek for salvation and that our obedience is not requir'd to our justification but may be a mark or an effect of it faith having done the work before but this groundless and mischievous opinion is contradicted by thousands of plain express Scriptures He that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not is like the man that built his house upon the sand Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven If thou wilt enter life keep the Commandments and innumerable others with all those that affirm that God shall judge and reward every man according as his works have been No the holy Religion we profess requires a conformity betwixt the Holy JESUS and his followers that by a devout imitation we should copy his example that we should be fruitful in good works and by a sincere and universal obedience serve God all days of our life Heb. 2.2 For if the word spoken by Angels was stedfast and every transgression and disobedience received a full recompence of reward 3. how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation by being disobedient to our Lord JESUS who having wrought and reveal'd it offers it to us on the condition of an affectionate obedience to his Gospel Heb. 6.7 c. The earth which drinketh the rain that cometh upon it and beareth thorns and briers is rejected and nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burnt such is their condition who receiving the heavenly dew of Divine Grace in their admission into and profession of Christianity yet still remain barren or bring forth evil fruit But beloved saith the Apostle we are perswaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love which ye have shewed towards his name and we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end He says not we desire that you may be confident and perswaded of your salvation but that by love and diligent obedience ye may ascertain your hope 1 Pet. 1.10 make your calling and election sure as S. Peter speaks for indeed God hath not appointed us to wrath 1 Thes 5.9 10. but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us that whether we wake or sleep we should live together with him Ephes 4.1 in holiness of life worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called for we are Gods work-manship created in Jesus Christ unto good works Ephes 2.10 which God hath ordained that we should walk in them This then is the way wherein of necessity we must walk that as we ingag'd and promis'd when we were Baptized into Christ so we should live ever after which S. Col. 2.6 Paul expresseth thus As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him Col. 1.10 and again walk worthy of the Lord being fruitful in every good work This is the rule whereby we must order the course of our lives Phil. 1.27.3.20 that our conversation be as becomes the Gospel of Christ that our conversation be in heaven whence

1 Cor. 13.5 charity doth not seek her own saith S. Paul we may desire our promised reward and set our affections upon it as it is a demonstration of Gods infinite love and goodness or because it will be the expressing of our duty and thankfulness when we shall love and glorifie and adore God perfectly and for ever or rather because the reward is God himself who will be to every faithful servant his exceeding great reward Gen. 15.4 as well as to faithful Abraham rewarding sincere obedience with the fruition of himself being all in all to his Saints But still I say love is not selfish but free and generous if nothing were to be gain'd by it it would have satisfaction enough in shewing its self 't is an unspeakable pleasure to a devout lover to act and labour for JESUS when he thus thinks with himself by the performance of this duty by this act of vertue by this good work I serve my dearest Lord I oblige my best friend I express my love to him whose infinite kindness to me hath conquer'd my heart whom I love as my own soul and for whom I would willingly die O happy soul who feelest what an exceeding joy it is to love JESUS or rather unhappy soul who canst shew so little love to JESUS Unhappy necessities of a frail body unhappy distractions of a troublesome world Why am I by you depriv'd of the continual pleasure of waiting continually on my Divine and most loving Master But blessed be my gracious Lord that I might have more opportunities of pleasing him and expressing my affections to him he hath made vertues of necessities he hath turn'd nature into grace and of humane duties he hath made acts of Religion in relieving mine own and others wants If I observe the rules of sobriety and charity he takes thence occasion to bless and reward me as if he were thereby glorified in discharging the duties of my place and calling If I am diligent and faithful though my work be never so mean he owns it as a service done to him Servants saith S. Paul obey your masters in all things Col. 3.22 and do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men 23. knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ If I am consciencious in all my ways and works he takes it as a mark of my love and part of my duty to him O that the constant course of my conversation might speak the sincerity of my affection to my Blessed Lord. Dearest JESUS the Cross thou didst bear for me was heavy and painful to extremity but thy yoke is light and pleasant thy service is perfect freedom O let it be my delight and daily imployment as it is my duty to serve and obey thee to follow thy blessed example and be instrumental in winning hearts to thee let me love thee so intirely that I may love nothing but thee nothing but for thy sake Fac precor Domine B. Ansel me gustare per amorem quod gusto per cognitionem sentiam per affectum quod sentio per intellectum Amen §. 6. We belong to Jesus and are not our own Love regards not so much what is commanded as who it is that commands it if it be the Beloved requires any thing love doth it cheerfully without reluctancy another with earnest begging should not have that granted which the least word of a friend shall obtain The commands of Christianity are easie and most rational in keeping of them consisteth our present and future happiness Yet the ture lover of JESUS looks farther he considers that it is his God and Saviour who would have him obey he to whom he belongs to whom he ows himself and infinitely more for every Christian ows JESUS to JESUS who gave himself for him The old saying was emendus cui imperes buy your slaves buy those that will be commanded by you none of us can say so to the God whom we serve for he hath indeed bought us Ye are not your own saith S. Paul ye are bought with a price thence it is strongly infer'd therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods We are not at our own dispose our Divine Master hath a most just propriety in us we are wholly his and would to God we were his as much by affection and resignation as by right the price he hath paid for us is no less than himself he hath given his life that ours might be his We were redeem'd from our vain conversation by the precious blood of Christ who died for us that we might live to him he could get nothing by that dear purchase but our love only for we were his before it is he that made us only we had estrang'd our selves from him and plac't our love upon other things and he could not count us his own while we loved him not §. 7. Meditation our obligation to serve JESUS I must therefore consider whose I am I am Christs by a strong and incontestable title while I serve him I do that proper work which belongs to me whilst I obey what he hath commanded I do what is infinitely my duty what his love to me challengeth and what my love to him desires to return Had I ten thousand years to live and could I serve him all that while and do nothing else I could not repay him for the least part of that great ransom he hath paid for me neither could I deserve any thing of those great wages which he will give me my life is but short and he allows me time for other things even for pleasure and recreation I have therefore a most gracious Master and therefore I resolve and promise to do what he requires of me I will except at nothing he commands it shall be my joy to pay my duty to him and I will make it appear that I serve out of love and affection Vae miserae animae quae Christum non quaerit nec amat arida manet misera c. Aug. Man O my dearest JESUS would my heart did feel what it should would I could express what it feels and would I could perform as much as I express But O my Blessed Lord how frequently and unhappily do I forget that thou art my Master and I thy servant that my chiefest business is to do thy will and that my greatest happiness as well as duty is to obey thee Is it not because I also forget that thou didst redeem me from a most wretched slavery that thou didst pay an immense price for me that thou becamest a servant for me before thou requiredst any service from me and that thou didst first love me before thou did intreat my love O thou great Lover and Saviour of men I wholly give my self to thee body and soul heart and affections I desire to be thine I pray that thou wouldst make me

constitution hence the desuetude of fasting upon appointed days and even of bidding of them and the non-observance of Holy-days and times of solemn devotion hence the slight regard had to the publick worship of God and the seldom receiving of the Lords Supper hence the reservedness unhappy secresie of most people in not acquainting their spiritual guides with the state of their conscience when it needs and not receiving their comforts and directions hence the not sending for the elders of the Church to do their office upon sick persons and the seldom desiring their absolution and hence even in too many of the Clergy the neglect of daily saying Divine Offices as they are commanded and observing other injunctions peculiar to them I may say that it fares with our Church as with some Princes who have their due Sovereignty denied them because they are Christians as if by becoming members and defenders of the Church they were become subject to Pontifical Chairs and Puritan Synods for so many would not have this Church obey'd because 't is Reformed they would not have its laws observ'd because it makes them inferior to Gods as though by not imposing a blind superstitious and oversevere obedience as Rome doth this Church were become uncapable of exercising any authority over her children and requiring any duty from them But I say let those that love JESUS amend this for his sake for the Church is his spouse and hath receiv'd her power from him let them yield a free and Religious obedience to Ecclesiastical injunctions because JESUS hath said he that receiveth you receiveth me It is doubtless our duty so to do and I am sure it will be a good token of a pious heart when we shall obey them in the Lord whom the Lord hath set over us We shall make it appear that we own the Authority of our heavenly King when we are subject to those his officers by whom he now reigns over us to whom he hath given the keys of his kingdom and whom he hath appointed Stewards of his saving Mysteries we shall have a share in the Mysterious representation of the great expiatory sacrifice which by the Church is celebrated in the Eucharist and in those Divine Services and solemn Prayers which the Church offers to God daily and we shall receive the full benefit of being members of the Church and holding communion with it if this were not absolutely requir'd yet I am sure it will be a very acceptable free-will-offering if we do it devoutly and joyfully because we love JESUS and this Christian obedience to the known rational and pious orders of the Church will answer the best part of that ancient and so much magnified self-abnegation vow'd by the Coenobites when they gave up themselves to be in all things rul'd and commanded by their superiors and it will exercise those two heavenly graces meekness and humility which the world despiseth but all true Christians own to be most Divine Mat. 11.29 as they that bring rest to the soul and make us most conformable to the meek and humble JESUS §. 12. Of several voluntary oblations As for corporal austerities commanded or uncommanded I have said something of them already and the chiefest use and design of them is to mortifie sensual lusts and to keep under the body that the spirit may rule and be obey'd yet as they are exercises of repentance marks of the just indignation we conceive against our selves for having displeas'd God as they may effect or express a disrelish of temporal pleasures a longing for heavenly joys and an indeavour to take up our cross and follow JESUS they may be the matter of a free-will-offering and they may find a gracious reward and acceptance in so much as they proceed from a sincere love to JESUS Prayer also thanksgiving reading meditation acts of Religion though as to the substance they be the discharge of the greatest duty God requires of us the worship and adoration of his Divine Majesty yet as to the quantity they may become free oblations the expressions of a greater love He that with devout affections inlargeth his offices or counts the frequency of them by Canonical hours and wish't for opportunities and he that sets apart large portions for religious exercises or in the following of his necessary business doth often lift up his heart and thoughts to heaven and heavenly things makes a voluntary offering of some of his time to him of whose eternity he hopes to be partaker He that defalks some hours from the refreshment of his body to bestow them upon his soul he that chuseth a meaner condition and imployment that having fewer avocations he may spend more time upon Religion and he that bears with some wrongs and injuries that being free from the distractions of quarrels and law-suits he may be the better dispos'd to serve God hath bought the blessed opportunity of attending JESUS and indearing himself to him Charity likewise whether Spiritual or Corporal whether in giving or in forgiving may be carried further than is absolutely required and so become a free oblation He that takes great pains to instruct the ignorant to convert sinners by all means to win souls to JESUS may manifest a greater love than was absolutely necessary to his own salvation and he that makes it his business and delight to prevent quarrels or make reconciliations to comfort and defend the afflicted and oppressed to visit hospitals and relieve the poor and to spend all his substance in pious uses for the honour of God and Religion and for the present and future happiness of men may exceed what God would have rewarded and by shewing so great a love inrich his crown of glory and recompence I only mark the head-springs or store-houses of those arbitrary gifts wherewith men may honour God and enrich themselves the several emanations and offerings which may proceed from them being free and innumerable cannot be specified and should not be impos'd Where there is love there is a willing mind and where there is a willing mind a man in other cases as well as in charity is accepted 2 Cor. 8.12 according to what he hath and not according to what be hath not Some husbandmen sow that they may have wherewith to pay their debts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. S. Johan Clim Grad 26. §. 43. which marks the labours and offerings of penitents who indeavour to make what satisfaction they can for their injuries to God or man Some sow that by the expected crop they may increase their wealth which represents the good works of more innocent persons who aspire to a great reward and a glorious crown Some sow that they may have something wherewith to express their gratitude and make presents to their kind land-lord or benefactor whereby is signified the best of Christians who in all things seek and design the glory and advantage of their Lord. And others sow that they may be thought