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
A56991	The wise virgin, or, A wonderfull narration of the hand of God wherein his severity and goodnesse hath appeared in afflicting a childe of eleven years of age, when stricken dumb, deaf and blinde through the prevalence of her disease, yet upon her wonderfull recovery was heard at severall times to utter many glorious truths concerning Christ, faith, and other subjects : to the wonderment of many that came far and neer to see and hear her / by James Fisher ...	Fisher, James, minister of the Gospel in Sheffield.	1653 (1653)	Wing R1004; ESTC R204524	88,491	208

so continued his good hand upon her and she encreased in strength daily so that upon the 28th of December the time appointed for the Thanks-giving when we met there she was able to come forth into the Hall to meet and welcome us and we did behold a Miracle it was wonderfull in our eyes so that our hearts did rejoyce with a kinde of trembling at the glory of the Lord which appeared in that Object and it did the more affect because it was more then many if not most of us heard of before we came into the house so that we see God had put still more matter of praise into our mouths when we came together to the duty she came and joyned with us most part of the day but the place where we met being very full of people she towards the close of the day grew somewhat faint and weary and so withdrew but was well presently and much affected was her heart with 〈◊〉 goodnesse of the Lord in the morning before we engaged our selves in the duty of that day she desired that we might sing a Psalme or two which she had made choice of viz. the 103 Psalme or the 118 Psalm which of them the Ministers pleased and in the close of the day the Assembly were desired to praise God in the words of David written in the 118th Psalme and some of the verses of that Psalme which did best suit with the occasion of the day were cull'd out as the six first verses and the 13th verse to the end of the 18th also the 21 and 23 24. and the two last verses In that day as we desired to exalt the Lord in our hearts who had so signally fulfilled divers promises and that in particular Psal 118. vers 15. which had been often urged formerly so were her Parents very solicitous lest they should not render unto the Lord according to his marvellous appearances for them and to them therefore was that promise urged Psal. 50. 15. Thou shalt glorifie me which as was declared to them is not onely demonstrative of their duty but operative to enable them to perform their duty and so we parted with our hearts full of joy and desires that we might be strengthened by the power of the Lords might to walk worthy of these glorious ownings of his poor worthlesse creatures Since this day of Thanks-giving the Lord hath in much mercy increased her strength every day she did not then go so strongly as since she hath done one observable passage there was she was sitting in a Chair and both she and the Chair fell and she hurt her leg but not long after she was observed to go with more strength and nimblenesse then before and God made that fall a means of her rising up to more strength and not onely are her outward parts through the goodnesse of God strengthened but her understanding memory and ripenesse of apprehension are much enlarged beyond what they vvere before her sicknesse which we vvere much afraid had been utterly and altogether destroyed in this sad visitation and as a further addition to make the mercy yet more compleat the Lord hath been pleased to work a great change in the frame and temper of her disposition which formerly by reason of the prevalencie of the Spleen vvhich she is novv vvholly freed from as from all other infirmities vvhich she had formerly vvas much inclined to sadnesse and fretfulnesse but novv she is of a vvondrous meek quiet and sedate temper and vvalks on vvith much cheerfulnesse and evennesse of spirit so that vve may discover much of God in her carriages she is also very diligent in reading and prayer and such other employments as her Mother sees fit to exercise her in so that she may be a pattern for many vvho far exceed her in years and God doth keep her in a wonderful humble frame she is not lifted up vvith her Receptions but desirous to vvalk up to her Mercies she hath not much ravishing joys but God hath made good that promise to her He hath brought her health and cure and hath revealed to her abundance both of peace and truth It hath pleased God since these passages of his Providence again to try that Family in removing from them that precious Gentlewoman Mrs. Fr. Westby Mother to Mrs. Hatfeild and Grandmother to this Childe an ancient Disciple of Christ vvho had gained a great addition to her stock of Graces and comforts by this Childes Afflictions and Restauration She vvas full of the joy of the Lord in the beholding of these vvonderfull vvorkings of God in that Family and is novv translated to Heaven where she is praising God for those many other Mercies in a higher strain then our untuned spirits can reach unto and when God had brought that affliction upon the Family this Childe perceiving her dear Mother to be much dejected vvith that dispensation did much labour to comfort her and amongst other passages this vvas one With tears she spake to her Mother thus Good Mother labour to submit to the Will of God ô labour to submit if vve do not submit vvillingly God can make us to submit I shall shut up the Narrative vvith this passage of this Childes dear Father in the Close of his Relation vvhich he sent to me viz. The povver of the Lord be made knovvn in all his Works vvith thankfulnesse to his glory for ever To which I will adde my AMEN The Conclusion of the NARRATIVE THat Caution which this sweet Childe hinted as was before noted that we should look to a good end in publishing her speeches took such Impression on my spirit that though I was strongly urged to it I durst not venter upon the presenting of these things to Publique view before I had first examined my ends in that undertaking and could through the free grace of God I hope in sone measure approve my Heart to him in that enterprize And since I have undertaken it I am sorry that I could not dispatch it sooner whilest the impressions were fresh upon the spirits of her Friends but my many diversions and interruptions in that populous place where God hath east my lot must be my Apology and I hope the publishing of these things now may serve through the supply of the Spirit of Christ to revive those thoughts and resolutions which I hope wil never be wholly oblitterated That which I shall onely adde is the ends and uses which I conceive our wise God might have and which we and others should make of such wonderfull works of his and I shall refer them to two Heads they are such as concern Either 1 Particularly that Family Or 2 Generally the Nation 1 Particularly that Family and there 1 God did foresee what his intentions were as to that Family in taking to himselfe that precious Gentlewoman Mrs Westby the Grandmother of this Childe she was one of the most affectionate Mothers that I have been acquainted with she had

did serve to awaken them to a more solemn way of seeking his face and it was judged that it was his purpose to have his providential dispensations in relation to this childe more publickly taken notice of that so they might not be hid in a corner but many might behold his glorious goings and bear witnesse thereof unto the world when he should finish his work upon her therefore her Parents did write and speak to severall Ministers of his Word two of which have prefixed Epistles to this Narrative and a Day was fixed to be set apart for Humiliation of which many precious servants of God had notice which was the ninth day of November In which Day the Company being met at Mr. Hatfeilds house and the work entered on but the childe was observed by such as did attend her to be somevvhat unquiet the reason vvhereof they knevv not onely a thought came in that if she were brought into the Room vvhere the Company vvas assembled that then she might possibly be quieter vvherefore her Maid brought her in her armes vvhere she continued quietly all the time vve vvere at the duty not once interrupting us and the eye did serve to affect the heart and to helpe them to vvrastle vvith God more affectionately this passage is the more vvonderful because so farre as could be rationally judged she did neither hear or see or knovv any body and so vve knovv not hovv she should understand that there vvas such a vvork in hand unlesse the Lord should hint it to her as he did many of her Speeches if not all and indeed some of her Speeches the night before and night after the Duty vvas concluded do import such a thing See her Speeches November the eighth vvhere she quotes that Psal 50. 15. and suitably to that she added after Oh let us cry aloud unto the Lord in the time of necessity and he hath promised to give ear to us vvhich vvord did strongly call upon us to cry mightily unto the Lord there are many other passages that night vvhich I refer the Reader to and vve took them as messages sent from Heaven to quicken our hearts in the duty there vvas one passage that night viz. her fourth speech about repentance and faith vvhereby she did direct us hovv to order our Humiliations as desiring they might be Evangelicall not legall the fruits of faith not of slavish feares she vvould have us look on Christ and then mourn believe and then repent and vvhen the duty vvas concluded November the ninth at her usuall time she uttered severall passages vvherein vve might observe God exceedingly ordering of her vvords as the first speech that night and the fourth and the seventh and especially the ninth vvhich was an admirable caution given in to us Novv to return that vvhich vvas in relation to the childe set upon our hearts particularly to ask of God vvas this that he vvould please to quiet her spirit ease her of her pain so that the eares of her dear relations might not be filled vvith such dolefull cries nor their hearts vvith those fears and amazements vvhereby they vvere much unfitted to act Faith or do any duty to God or man extram sadnesse and faintings oppressing and overvvhelming their spirits and in this the Lord vvas pleased graciously to ansvver the desires of his poor Servants through the Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ vvhich vve had notice of at our next meeting and did desire to improve it taking it as a pledge that God vvould do more for us and ovvn us in our Attendances upon him in his ovvn vvay At the end of that day of Humiliation a Motion vvas made that vve might continue once a moneth at least to seek God untill he should be pleased to come vvith healing under his wings Those that vvere engaged in that vvork living at a great distance from one another vve could not vvell meet oftener then once a moneth and vvith that resolution we parted waiting to see what the Lord would do for his Servants in that Family whose condition God did very much assist those who were engaged in that Duty to bear upon their hearts continually with much tendernesse The time appointed for the next day of Humiliation was as I remember the 9 day of December next ensuing But the Lord ordered things so that the childe grew exceeding weak not being able to speak from the 21 of November any more as was before noted so that her friends did think that God was comming to finish his work and her time of warfare here in the body Wherefore her father dispatcht messages to the Ministers and Christians to meet keep a day of Humiliation on Thursday the second of December a week sooner then we thought of and accordingly we met on that day and found her very weak so that she was not brought into the room where we performed the Duties of the day That which amongst other things as particularly relating to her was desired of God was that God would manifest his power in enabling her to speak again that so whilest she lived she might be usefull and instrumentall for his glory her Speeches having bin very powerful upon the hearrs of many we hope to the conversion at least conviction of some and the edification of most that heard them God was also very earnestly intreated with many arguments which his Spirit suggested to raise her up that he perfecting his work might have perfect praises and his work might be cleared to the conviction of slanderous tongues and the further comfort and satisfaction of the hearts of his people the day being finished we departed to our Homes desiring to submit and wait the Lords leasure and if she lived to continue seeking of him But behold God was better to us then we could think and when we had scarce faith to believe what he had in some measure set our hearts a work to ask upon the ninth of December the Day which formerly as I noted we had agreed together to have sought God for her but did perform the duty a week sooner I say upon that day we had as a reall Testimony of her Fathers thankfulnesse to God and reall respects to us the joyfull news of her marvellous Recovery transmitted to us which take as followeth Mr. Hatfield his faithfull Relation of the Lords Work in recovering Mrs. Martha Hatfield his daughter out of her great Afflictions which was by him sent unto the Ministers who had sought God for her upon the second of December 1652. MOre works of wonder from Heaven which may teach us and all that hear of it to depend upon the Lord in the Duty of Prayer and Fasting Since the second of December in which day many sweet Petitions were put up to the Lordon the behalf of this childe we have perceived some Symptomes that God was restoring her understanding as upon the fifth and sixth dayes of December she would have given notice and

be excluded that Gods Name might not be obseured God did all in this businesse and therefore it 's fit that he alone should be exalted Oh let 's give him that little all we have let 's strive to exalt him he may be higher in our hearts though not in himself● and the rather because these Providencies have fruitfully administred varieties of advantages for the raising up of our spirits in the exaltation of Gods glorious Name May not the parents of this childe say with ●onderment God raised up one out of Davids House 2 Sam. 12. 11. who attempted to deprive him of his earthly Kingdome but God hath raised one out of our Family who may be instrumentall to further our enjoyment of an heavenly Kingdom They I know desire that others would help them in endeavouring to render according to the mercies received and how should they or others improve such dispensations but by labouring to act faith at a higher rate then we have done Faith hath two legs whereby it comes to Christ and it 's called a comming to Christ John 6. 35. submission and closing in such mix● providences as these where God checkers his dispensations working Checker-work there will be much use of a submitting frame of heart to submit our selves children and all to the Will of the Father of our spirits Heb. 12. 9. and we should improve this Providence in raising up this Childe by faith for the raising up of the Church from under all her Convulsions and prevailing diseases many other wayes we should improve such Works of God but I have already exceeded the bounds of an Epistle I shall onely urge you and my selfe to suck that sweet brest of the promise Psalm 50. 15. you have prayed God hath delivered and now he expects to be glorified and he promises you shall glorifie me Can then our unbelief our dead sluggish fickle unconstant and forgetfull heart hinder it if God say thou shalt who hath resisted his Will Oh then lie at the pool of this promise untill your unbelieving unthankfull hearts be healed Lie at this beautifull gate untill you receive an almes and a word Come that shall raise up your Spirits that you may walk and leap and praise the Lord. Let me entreat you to review this Childes Speeches but especially to eye God in all his providentiall actings towards her untill your hearts be raised to exalt the glorious Lord in all those Attributes which shine forth in this Scene of his Actings Eye them for the strengthening of your faith to trust God in all your straits to submit to God when he is pleased to presse you down with the left hand of afflictions whilest he writes a fairer copie of his Law in your hearts with the right hand of his holy Spirits powerful● visitations eye them that you may learn to love Jesus Christ with more sincerity and to use the world more cautelously lest it use nay ride you as others with great cruelty eye them that so you may learn to sanctifie God in your hearts who hath diseases and cures at his command who gives the opening of the mouth and causes the tongue of the dumb to sing and the tongue of the stammerers to speak plainly and confirmes the feeble knees all which and more he hath done for this Childe eye them also that your hearts may be brought in love with and confirmed in your love to the precious and yet ô sad despised Ordinances and Institutions of Jesus Christ the King of his Church which God hath opened a Childs mouth to plead for And if you may gather such sweet fruits as these from off the Branches of these providentiall actings of our wise God I shall sit under the Tree rejoycing that God hath made me Instrumentall to call you forth to so good an employment and subjoyn my selfe Your's Through Grace James Fisher Sheffeild January 20. 1652 3. To the godly consciencious READER IT is thy priviledge for soul-advantage that thou livest amongst Sermons and it is a choice mercy in the Saints Count-book that now when so many bid Preaching depart and Ordinances depart and Duties depart yet still the Lord is not wanting to appear in some kinde or other owning his appointments Yea thou mayst observe Jesus Christ to be so desirous of thy Company that he leaves no means unattempted to win thy soul to God for the deare love of Jesus Christ seems to flow and break over the banks of ordinary means that so it may encompass thy heart and fetch thee wholly into the Father Now surely Christian thou wilt confess that it 's a barren soul indeed whom the over-flowings of Christs love will not make fruitful Believe it Gods unwonted layings out of Love are not answered with stinted and wonted layings out of obedience Great cost and little incomes is unprofitable trading When the Lord help● us to receipts we had need beg hard that h● would help us with returns for questionles● God expects those should be Commemoration-dayes whereon his Saints have their exceedings of Love 't is certain Christians when Jesus Christ steps out of his high-road he has some special businesse then with Sinners Now thou to whom this Book shall come the Lord thou seest hath stepped aside to speak with thee take heed how thou refusest to heare the voice that speaks from Heaven Christ sees that Word-preaching will not serve and therefore he sends thee both Word and Work-preaching and all that he may make thee Eternally blessed Oh do thou not still go about to frustrate Christs endeavours in his work of winning thy poore soul 't may be thou hast long stopped thine Eares to his Words but what wilt thou stop thine Eyes to his Works too Oh look to this young Divine to this Child-Preacher or rather to the Lord in this Childe-Preacher and if thou canst not spell Christs meaning by his words yet put together Words and Works and thou shalt soon see what they make if thou canst not know Christ by his ordinary appearings yet oh learn to know him by his Extraordinary for truly it is a brutish thing to bury Christ in his own works Look Christian Here thou mayest see a 〈◊〉 burning and yet not consumed yea a ●●sh burning and yet blossoming Natural 〈◊〉 preserved when natural means of preser●●tion were denied but indeed a few loaves ●●ll feed five thousand when Christ has the ●●oking of them God can make a little of 〈◊〉 cr●eature go farre when he makes it up ●●th a great deal of Christ for we see though 〈◊〉 Commons were shorter then Daniels yet 〈◊〉 finde her very well-liking think there●ore at what Ordinary or rather Extraordinary ●ath she dieted surely she had food we ●new not off Well might she live who fed so ●lenteously on life it self and certainly that ●ife of hers was a happy life which dwelt so ●eer the life of happiness We did not know ●hy the life of nature should be continued except

of him that we should not be so carried away with the vanities of the world but we should give up our selves to ●hrist and make him our Habitation The same night about 12 a clock She had great extremity of pain and as conceived would gladly have spoken ma●ing signes that her heart was in Heaven as was thought by those who were present with her for she pulled at her brest seve●all times and held up her hand as high as she could reach looking up with her ●yes and then after a short space she spake and said Me is not in the hand of mine enemy but ●n the hand of my loving Father he is an ever-living ever-loving and glorious Lord God he is a wise God and he will not give his children one lash more then he sees good for them After this she spake no more until the eighth day of December which was the day after the Lord had graciously given her the use of her Senses and of her Understanding To close up this second part of the Narrative I shall adde this that some of these Speeches she uttered though but few of them will need such Apologie in weaknesse as a childe under such strange distempers as did somwhat confuse and perturbe her intellectuals but other things she uttered thorow the strength of the Spirits assistance extraordinarily guiding her tongue to utter such things as now she cannot tell that ever she did speak them There be some things oft repeated yet because either they are uttered with some variety and were things that it seems her heart was much carried forth to mention therefore I have set them down and hope they will not be tedious but may raise up further thoughts of them when you read them over again and compare them with the Scriptures in the Margin and if you knew the state of the family and the condition of some that came occasionally to hear her you would say there was a Divine hand that guided her tongue and that God was with her mouth adapting her speeches to their necessities And I suppose her heart was more affected with some truths before this ill fit and of those things she makes the most frequent mention But whilest I am Apologizing ●or her Repetitions some may tax me for Omissions some have said that she prophesied and no such passages are here related to which I answer there is no ground for such a report there is one passage related in one of her Speeches October the 19th in the end of page 107 and beginning of page 108. about Raising of the Maid unlesse they fancie this to be a Prophetick foretelling of her Recovery I know not any thing uttered by her nor could upon enquiry hear of any thing that might give ground for such a report but the truth is such Reporters I hear do some of them expect to have the gift of Miracles and it may be of prophesying and seemed to be much taken with Gods dispensations to this Childe hoping it would have conduced something to the promoting of their cause but are disappointed for God hath opened the mouth of a dumb childe to confute their follies It may be they prophesied that she would prophesie and so have proved themselves to be false prophets My hearts desire and prayer to God shall be that these Speeches may take as deep impression upon the hearts of the Readers as they did upon her body who was the Speaker God was pleased to hold her upon the rack for so many weeks nay moneths in which she endured grievous torturings and yet to enable her to speak such things surely so extraordinary a Teacher requires more then ordinary attention When Jonah who had bin so close a student in the Whales belly Colledge came to preach to the Ninevites● the strangenesse of the Relation concerning the Preacher might make his Sermons take more with them Shall not they rise in Judgement against the men of this Generation some it may be with Pharaohs South-sayers will acknowledge the finger of God is in this when his whole hand is visible but if men sleight such dispensations no wonder for if they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead God indulged to the Israelites its thought to enjoyne them Ceremonies of his devising to prevent their use of or hankering after such as were of mans devising God seems to indulge to the weaknesse of some in such extraordinary actings of his Providence in this Instance and a few others which might be mentioned but if the Father of the Family take all this care and yet men are not contented with his established Institutions but they are finding out new Inventions God will certainly correct this wantonizing humour It argues our stomacks are foul and crazy when we must have new dishes every meal and cannot ●eed upon the standing dishes of Gods Ordinances the King of Saints will nor be thus affronted but level and discharge the Ordnance of his power against those that disclaim the Ordinances of his Grace But I hope through the pourings out of the Spirit many shall be so wise as to observe these things and to profit by ordinary and extraordinary dispensations and surely They shall understand the loving kindenesse of the Lord. The third Part of the NARRATIVE Containing The wonderfull Recovery of this Childe of Wonders MAny dayes had been set apart in the Family to seek the face and favour of God on the behalfe of this afflicted Childe which Duties her parents as Obed-Edom the Ark were forward to entertain as at other times so now in this their afflicted condition They have had much experience that God was a God hearing prayer and therefore would not be beaten off from these now alas too much neglected meanes from which they had sucked much sweetnesse having found God sometimes marvellously helping of them till they were strong in the power of his might but alwayes helping them with a little help and bearing up their spirits under the trials though they did not obtain a full enlargement and when one told the father of this childe that the room was not able to bear so many as came to seek God in those duties he replied The more the better so that those who come can pray and believe But yet the Lord in wisdome seemed to us to be as one astonished as a mighty man that cannot save the Childes distempers of body growing more violent she having most terrible crying fits by reason of her extream pain which crying fits continued till she vomited blood and then she was quiet which were very grievous and afflictive to the spirits of all that heard her and the whole Family so continually under sadnesse and their sleep so broken that you might have seen Every one with their hands upon their loines as a woman in travell and all faces turned into palenesse Which dealings of the Lord with that family