Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	affection_n	great_a	love_n	1,344	5	5.2785	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30122	The barren fig tree, or, The doom and downfall of the fruitless professor shewing that the day of grace may be past with him long before his life is ended : the signs also by which such miserable mortals may be known / by John Bunyan ; to which is added his Exhortation to peace and unity among all that fear God.	Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.; Bunyan, John, 1628-1688. Exhortation to peace and unity among all that fear God.	1688 (1688)	Wing B5485; ESTC R29145	71,178	194

his Ways and we will walk in his Paths Fifthly This Unity and Peace mainly consists in Unity of Love and Affection this is the great and indispensible Duty of all Christians by this they are declared Christ's Disciples And hence it is that Love is called the Great Commandment the Old Commandment and the New Commandment that which was commanded in the beginning and will remain to the end yea and after the end 1 Cor. 13. 8. Charity never fails but whether there be Tongues they shall cease or whether there be Knowledg it shall vanish away And verse 13. And now abideth Faith Hope and Charity but the greatest of these is Charity And Col. 3. 14. Above all these things put on Charity which is the Bond of Perfectness Because Charity is the end of the Commandment 1 Tim. 1. 5. Charity is therefore called the Royal Law and though it had a superintendency over other Laws and doubtless is a Law to which other Laws must give place when they come in competition with it Above all things therefore have fervent Charity among your selves for Charity covereth a multitude of Sins 1 Pet. 4. 8. Let us therefore live in Unity and Peace and the God of Love and Peace will be with us That you may so do let me remember you in the words of a learned Man that the Unity of the Church is a Unity of Love and Affection and not a bare Uniformity of Practice and Opinion Having shewn you wherein this Unity consists I now come to the third General Thing propounded and that is to shew you the Fruits and Benefits of Unity and Peace together with the Mischiefs and Inconveniences that attend those Churches where Unity and Peace is wanting First Unity and Peace is a Duty well-pleasing to God who is stiled the Author of Peace and not of Confusion in all the Churches God's Spirit rejoyceth in the Unity of our Spirits but on the other hand where Strife and Divisions are there the Spirit of God is grieved Hence it is that the Apostle no sooner calls upon the Ephesians not to grieve the Spirit of God but he presently subjoins us a Remedy against that evil That they put away bitterness and evil-speaking And be kind one to another and tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven them Eph. 4. 30 32. Secondly As Unity and Peace is pleasing to God and rejoiceth his Spirit so it rejoiceth the Hearts and Spirits of God's People Unity and Peace brings Heaven down upon Earth among us Hence it is that the Apostle tells us Rom. 4. 17. That the Kingdom of God is not Meat and Drink but Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Where Unity and Peace is there is Heaven upon Earth by this we taste the first Fruits of that blessed Estate we shall one day live in the fruition of when we shall come to the general Assembly and Church of the First-born whose Names are written in Heaven and to God the Judg of all and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect Heb. 12. 23. This outward peace of the Church as a learned Man observes disti●s into peace of Conscience and turns writings and readings of Controversy into Treatises of Mortification and Devotion And the Psalmist tells us that it is not only good but pleasant for Brethren to dwell together in Unity Psal. 133. 1. But where Unity and Peace is wanting there are Storms and Troubles where Envy and Strife is there is confusio● and every evil Work Jam. 3. 16. It is the outward Peace of the Church that increaseth our inward Joy and the Peace of God's House gives us occasion to eat our meat with gladness in our own Houses Act. 2. 46. Thirdly The Unity and Peace of the Church makes Communion of Saints desirable What is it that imbitters Church-Communion and makes it burdensom but Divisions Have you not heard many complain that they are weary of Church-Communion because of Church-Contention but now where Unity and Peace is there Christians long for Communion David saith that he was glad when they said unto him Let us go to the House of God Psal. 122. 1. Why was this but because as the third verse tells us Jerusalem was a City compact together where the Tribes went up the Tribes of the Lord to give thanks to his Name And David speaking of the Man that was once his Friend doth thereby let us know the benefit of Peace and Unity Psal. 55. 14. We saith he took sweet counsel together and walked to the House of God in company Where Unity is strongest Communion is sweetest and most desirable You see then that Peace and Union fills the People of God with desires after Communion But on the other hand hear how David complains Psal. 120. Wo is me I sojourn in Mesech and that I dwell in the tents of Kedar The Psalmist here is thought to allude to a sort of Men that dwelt in the deserts of Arabia that got their livings by Contention and therefore he adds ver 6. That his Soul had long dwelt with them that hated Peace This was that which made him long for the Courts of God and esteem one day in his House better than a thousand this made his Soul even faint for the House of God because of the peace of it Blessed are they saith he that dwell in thy House they will be still praising thee There is a certain note of concord as appears Act. 2. where we read of Primitive Christians meeting with one accord praising God Fourthly Where Unity and Peace is there many Mischiefs and Inconveniences are prevented which attends those People where Peace and Unity is wanting And of those many that might be mentioned I shall briefly insist upon these nine First Where Unity and Peace is wanting there is much precious time spent to no purpose How many Days are spent and how many fruitless Journeys made to no profit where the People are not in peace How often have many redeemed time even in Seed-time and Harvest when they could scarce afford it to go to Church and by reason of their Divisions come home worse than they went repenting they have spent so much precious time to so little benefit How sad is it to see Men spend their precious time in which they should work out their Salvation by labouring as in the Fire to prove an uncertain and doubtful Proposition and to trifle away their time in which they should make their Calling and Election sure to make sure of an Opinion which when they have done all they are not infallibly sure whether it be true or no because all things necessary to Salvation and Church-Communion are plainly laid down in Scripture in which we may be infallibly sure of the Truth of them but for other things that we have no plain Texts for but the Truth of them depends upon our Interpretations Here we must be cautioned that we do not spend much