Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	action_n	good_a	law_n	1,011	5	4.8972	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89189	A sober ansvvere to an angry pamphlet, or, Animadversions, by way of reply, to Robert Barclays late book (entituled, Truth cleared of calumnies) in answere to A dialogue between a Quaker and a stable Christian by VVilliam Mitchell.	Mitchell, William, 17th cent.	1671 (1671)	Wing M2294; ESTC R43708	69,116	149

discovered by his works like that expression where GODS strength is said ro be perfected in our weakness 2. Cor. 12.9 In answering that place Eccl. 7.20 he brings scriptures to prove that there are righteous men who do good But this was not the thing denyed he should have proved that righteous men on earth do good so purely that there is not the least fault or blemish cleaving thereunto As for that scripture 1. Ioh. 3.9 he that is born of GOD sinneth not it doth not prove an absolute freedom from sin for this is contrary to the experiences of the Regenerat and Saints in all Ages who have bitterly bewailed and ruefully mourned under the sense of their sins the words in the Greek are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is he maketh not sin sin is not his trade Now a man makes a trade of sin when in sinning he is in his Element where he would be there is no work so pleasing to him as the work of sin But this is not the disposition of a Regenerate Person He addeth that the Prophet Isaiah 64.6 saith not all our righteousness which is of thy working in us who are Saints is as filthy rags Answ Neither doth the Prophet say as the Quaker brings him in speaking all our righteousness which we even the best of the Saints can performe of and from themselves are as filthy rags The Prophet speaketh in general and plurally of righteousnessess and that in the person of the whole Church and not relating onely to the wicked and ungodly therefore he useth the word all and our righteousness To affirme the Saints righteousness to be filthy rags is no just ground to make us ashamed for we do not reflect on the holy Spirit of GOD as if filthiness did proceed from him he is good in giving us the least degree of grace not being bound to give us any his work of grace and holiness in us is a special ornament to the soul making it in beauty to resemble GOD but in respect of us imperfection cleaveth to this grace in that it is not all the grace which the Law of GOD requireth of us being commanded to love GOD with all our hearts souls and minds Matth. 22.37 The best action and works done and performed by us as instruments have something of the taint of sin adhering to them where is the soul that is carried out in prayer and other spiritual duties with that love and delight with that purity and fervency of spirit which the spiritualness of the law doth call for Now it is the sin which cleaveth to the Saints good works which is to be throwne away this indeed is not an ornament but a deformity for which we should be humbled and ashamed in the sight of God He saith page 40. 41. that the Saints are subordinate coworkers with Christ but yet it followeth not that his works in them and by them are defiled and though it be said who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean this hinders not but that the Lord can and doth make clean those who have been unclean and so out of them who are made clean can bring forth clean things Answere 1. We grant that there are thousands in Heaven whom the Lord hath made perfectly clean and their actings have not the least impurity in them Heb. 12.23 Revel 21.27 2. We grant that there be many on Earth who are sanctified and cleansed yet their cleansing and sanctification is but in part they are not throughly cleansed and perfectly sanctified there is yet an unclean part in them they have in them flesh as well as spirit and however this unclean part viz. the flesh should be chained and kept down Yet GODS People to their smart and grief find the stirrings and rysings of it and the resistance and opposition it makes whereby they are hindred from doing good perfectly Gal. 5.17 the flesh lasteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would Rom. 7.19 the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do Now men being but in part holy and in part carnal therefore the works which proceed from them have some filth and taint of sin cleaving to them there is sin in the best men to undo them if GOD should deale with them in rigour Psalm 130.3 If thou Lord shouldst marke iniquity O Lord who shal stand 1. King 8.46 for there is no man that sinneth not And yet we deny not but by degrees the clean part encreaseth and the unclean is diminished yea and at last all the uncleanness shal be wrought out there is a happy time coming when the children of GOD shal not have spot or wrinkle or any such thing but this priviledge is reserved for them till they come to Heaven for there is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not Eccl. 7.20 Intimating that the just mans doing good is attended with sin sinfulness cleaveth to his good actions as was formerly cleared by that similitude which the Quaker hath not in the lest weakened of clean water passing through an unclean pipe and thereby receiving a tincture of uncleanness The Gentleman that supposeth himself so well skilled in the outward creation should have instructed me what that outward water is which is not capable of defilment And having first done this he might then the more freely have come to his supercilious application SECT IV. Iustification is not by inherent Righteousness but by the imputed Righteousness of IESUS CHRIST He addeth that justification is taken for the making a man righteous and then it is all one with sanctification Answer Is not this to confound what the scripture distinguisheth Now justification and sanctification in scripture are alwayes spoken of as distinct benefits 1. Cor. 6.11 But ye are sanctified but ye are justified Rom. 8.30 whom he called namely to a conformity to the Image of his Son them he also justified And it is to be observed that we need not contest with Quakers or Papists whether the word justifie signify to make righteous or no Onely we say that the righteousness which doth make a man just or justifyeth him is not inherent in him And to assert justification to be the making of a man righteous by infused inherent righteousness or righteousness wrought in him is to confound what GOD distinguisheth and to alter the scripture sense of the word justify He addeth page 42. that admitting the Apostle Phil. 3.9 speaketh not of his righteousness whilest he was a Pharisee yet he was stil to deny the work and righteousness which was to proceed from his own will and spirit Answere The Apostle in the preceeding verses disclaimed righteousness proceeding from his own will and spirit but verses 8.9 he ryseth higher and goeth a step further even to the present time I account all things intending the present graces

wicked is common but in the Godly is saving and so Christ is in the one as to a common but in the other in respect of a saving operation of light Now when he saith that Christ is in all men if his meaning be that as God he is in all men then we do not control him for thus Christ is every where If his meaning be that as man he is in all men then the Scripture controls him which holdeth forth his Man-hood must continue in Heaven untill the time of the restitution of all things If his meaning be that Christ is in all men to enlighten them that they may believe then his proof is not sufficient which is Ioh. 1.9 compared with 7. for this seventh verse speaketh expresly of Iohn the Baptist the fore-runner of Christ as is evident by looking back to the preceeding verse There was a man sent from God whose name was John the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe Here the Evangelist holdeth forth Iohns calling and the end of it which was to bear testimony concerning Christ This was the special scop of Iohns Ministry to point out Christ in his excellencies and usefulness to lost men and to whom the offer of Christ comes in the Ministry of the word they are called upon to believe in Christ none being excluded SECT V. There is a Consistency between Mans Lapsed State and the Remainders of the IMAGE of GOD in him He asketh how it is consistent to affirme that some remainders of knowledge and principles of good remaine in man after the ruins of Gods Image in him with what we say to wit that there is no good thing at all in men unconverted and that man fell wholly from God as to all things that are good Ans Who of us do say so without adding any limitation And yet there is no inconsistency between these things even as set down by you if rightly understood for though men unconverted have not any saving good yet it followeth not ergo they are destitute of all good The unconverted have precious Souls in them which are of great excellency and worth and there still remains in them some similitude of GOD their Souls being Spiritual and Immortal It is true man by the fall was bereaved of saving graces in so much that true holiness and saving knowlegde he hath not yet he is not denuded of all knowledge In him there are certaine notions concerning good and evil which though they cannot direct to Salvation and Eternal happiness yet if we live not up to them they serve to leave us unexcusable Now it may be demanded whether it be inconsistent to say that a City is wholly demolished whereas there is some rubbish and some foundations of houses still remaining If this be not inconsistent why should it be thought an inconsistency To say that though men be fallen off from GOD yet he retains some fragments and Relicts of the Image of GOD As in very deed he doth for the Image of GOD is the conformity of the creature to the Creatour and the Soul of man is conformable to GOD in its nature as it is a Spiritual and Immortal Substance Likewise man hath not lost all his dominion over the creatures And it is to be observed that though there be light in the consciences of men that are corrupt yet this light is not the corruption of the conscience but it is derived from Christ and cometh from him as a bountiful Creatour and in this respect the light of knowledge reason and understanding that is in man since the fall may be called the light of Jesus Christ for he is that true light that thus enlighneth every man that cometh into the world V. HEAD Concerning the Scriptures SECT I. Shewing how the Quakers vilify the Scriptures Look to page 24.25 And we may easily perceive the Quakers dis-esteeme of the Scriptures though in speaking to people they would beare them in hand to the contrary For 1. They grant that they meet not to read the Scriptures but to waite on the Lord and they meet to worship GOD whose worship is to be performed in Spirit and in Truth and not in External Reading Now do not these mens endeavours tend to disgrace the Scriptures in that they make an opposition between reading the Scriptures and waiting on GOD and Spiritual worshipping of him as if the Lord could not be waited on in the use of reading his Word Was not the Eunuch in the duty of waiting when sitting in his chariot he read the Prophet Isaias This work was so well pleasing to GOD that the Lord encouraged him in it helping him to understand what before he knew not Act. 8.28 Did not the Saints under the Old Testament worship GOD in Spirit and in Truth Surely the Lord required of them sincere Spirit worship which they performed lifting up their Souls to GOD and did not satisfy themselves with the bare outside and carcase of duty Lament 3.41 And yet they were not enemies to external Reading of the Scriptures Act 15.21 Moses of old time hath in every City them that Preacht him being Read in the Synagogue every Sabbath-day And although Reading the Scriptures was a duty done under the Law it doth not cease to be a duty under the Gospel because it is no where repealed but on the contrary as it was commanded in the Old Testament so it is confirmed in the New this being a special means of having the Word of GOD to dwel richly in us Coloss 3.16 It is most agreeable to the Scriptures for a Minister to take the Bible and read a part of it opening and applying it see Nehem. 8.5.8 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people so they read in the book of the Law of GOD distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading Christ himself took a text and applyed it Luke 4.18.21 And albeit Christ did this in the synagogue Quid inde What then did he not likewise Preach in the synagogue And yet Preaching continues to be the Ministers duty 2. Tim. 4.2 As for that Scripture 1. Cor. 14.29.30.31 it conduceth nothing to keep up the successive talking of Quakers For the Prophesying here mentioned was the act of Prophets and it is restrained to them all the Prophets who prophesie Now the Gentle-man will have much ado to prove all his brethren who at their meetings take upon them to Preach or rather to use his owne terme prate one after another to be Prophets especially to prove their women preachers to be in the number of them for their preaching is expresly prohibited verses 34.35 Let your women keep silence in the Church for it is not permitted unto them to speake it is a shame for women to speake in the Church Neither doth the afore-cited Scripture make any thing against our way for Ministers amongst us sometimes speak two or three