Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	apostle_n	child_n	parent_n	1,952	5	8.8211	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29368	The freeness of the grace and love of God to believers discovered in reference to 1. their services and suffering, 2. their consolations, and 3. their salvation and eternal glory : together with the excellency of the fear of God, the goodness and pleasantness of brotherly love, the wisdom of hearing the voice of the rod, repentance the only way to prevent judgements / delivered in several sermons by the late reverend and faithful minister of Christ, Mr. William Bridg ...	Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.	1671 (1671)	Wing B4454; ESTC R19668	79,842	192

shall be filled with joy in the midst of sufferings They went away rejoiceing that they were counted worthy to suffer Fourthly Is it not a great mercy that some shall stand that are likeliest to fall when others fall that were likely to stand Fifthly Is it not a great mercy that those whom the adversaries think shall dishonour and marr the work of God that they should bring more honour to God and suffer more powerfully and strongly for him than others and that they should be used most for God Sixthly Is it not a great mercy that when God seems to have most displeasure against us his Love should be then most set upon us as it is in sufferings Who would but think that when we are given into the hands of wicked men it is from the displeasure of God against us when yet it is from the free grace and great love of God unto us Seventhly Is it not a great mercy to consider that what is our greatest misery seemingly that that should contribute to our greatest mercy Thus it is in our sufferings for the Name of God You see what great and wondrous things were done by the death of Christ and so also what wonders were done by Joseph in Aegypt when he was sold thither by the malitiousness of his Brethren It is the way of God unto his people that the more others work to do them harm the more God doth order it to prove for their good which is only from the free grace love and favour of God We never did any work yet but free grace paid us for it even the work of suffering God payes us for that He was a Preacher to day yet carried to Prison that paid him for it Yea Christians are paid for the work they never did and what is the Reason of it but only the free grace of God Thus you see wherein the free grace of God appeares and shines forth Fifthly Why will God carry on the work of our services and sufferings in the way of free grace Why God will order our employments and sufferings in a way of free grace that we may not be proud of them We are apt to be proud of our employments and sufferings and therefore God will carry on his work so as that he may keep us from the sin of pride and haughtiness when we shall consider it is the free grace of God to single us out to service or sufferings Why should we be proud God loves to confound the wicked and ungodly in the world by making those that are the most unlikely to be serviceable to himself and by ordering their services and sufferings in a way of free grace This God doth to confound the Wisdom and Reason of worldly men Many are called but few chosen God hath set the weak to confound the strong Again God doth dispose of his work in a way of free grace that none may be discouraged from his service or suffering for him If none but great and mighty and holy men were to be used in Gods service then the weak would be discouraged and despised and we should be ready to say I am not worthy Now God doth so order and dispose of his work as not to discourage the weak but to give encouragement to all Well then if so A word for Application Is this a Truth that we have heard that all that God doth either as to the ordering of our services or sufferings is in a way of free grace What have we then to say but as Job The Lord gives and the Lord takes away blessed be the Name of the Lord You say that God chooses whom he pleases to serve him or to suffer for him and that it is out of free grace if so why should not all suffer But you hear it is not all but some that God doth graciously single out to suffer for himself But here some may say I am weak and do not any work for God But give me leave Is Family work nothing The Apostle insists much upon that in his Epistles he calls much upon Parents Children Masters and all to do their duty Reformation work is a great work or else the Apostle would never have spoken so much of it and exhorted so much to it Secondly Is it nothing to do the work of your generation to do the work that is suitable unto your condition All men are not called to all works there is a peculiar work to every man Now is comforting work nothing Is supporting work nothing Is relieving work nothing This comforting work it is Angelical work Is it nothing to improve the Talent that God hath given thee This will be the great Question at the day of Judgement Faithful or not faithful There are none but have Talents more or less which they must then answer for But you may be ready to say I have no work That is a mistake for there are none but have work therefore look unto that which is your work But you may say again Though I have work and service yet my service may be a judicious service or a mercinary service or a providential service Now how shall I distinguish my service Whether it be a providential a judicious a mercenary service or whether God hath graciously singled me out to serve him in a way of free grace and love In answer to this take these two or three things First If it be a work or service given you by free grace then God will lead you more and more and bring you to be acquainted with the design of his work When Peter was called to open the door of the Temple at first he did not know the design but afterwards he was told it So thus it is with thee If God do call thee to work he will acquaint thee with the design of the work Secondly If you serve God in a way of free grace then you will be contented with your work yea you will be contented to be used for God to be laid out for God you will say I am contented because God hath called me Thirdly When God doth make use of a man in a way of free grace then that man doth not make any great bargains for himself they that serve God any other way will make great bargains for themselves make use of his service to encrease their estates But now they that serve God out in a way of free grace will not do so Therefore now you that are at work do you pocket up at work Do you make great bargains for your selves If so this is no free grace work But you will say I am afraid I do not serve God in a way of free grace because I have no success in my work But you may observe in the Scripture that sometimes a man may be called to work by free grace and may have success at the beginning as Joseph had many years and yet the success may leave him As now there are them that preach

countenance upon us Thou hast put more gladness in my heart than in the time that their Corn and their wine increased Now according to the opening and shutting of these things so will your comforts be How is it therefore with you Is there any ebbing and flowing How is the righteousness of Christ How is the light of Gods countenance discovered to you Are they laid open to you Then are you truly comforted in a way of free grace and love That is the second Thirdly If you be comforted in a way of free grace and love then your comforts are true friends to holiness of life That comfort that is wrought by the grace of God without you is the greatest friend to the grace of God within you and to holiness in your lives False comfort is a friend to sin a neighbour a guard to sin but no friend to true and gracious comfort yea those that have this false comfort can indure sins against conscience But now where there is true comfort and comfort from the grace of God there conscience is as the Apple of the Eye and the man cannot indure the least sin he cannot bear the least Mote of sin to lie upon his conscience How is it therefore with you is your comfort a friend to holiness of life and can you say the more comforted I am the more holy I am Then you are truly comforted But suppose I want comfort now and that I am one of a drooping trembling spirit and of an afflicted heart what shall I do that I may be comforted and comforted in a way of free grace I Answer First Go away and be sensible of your unbelief for it is want of believing that hinders our comfort and when the comforter comes he will convince the world of sin and especially of unbelief would you then be comforted in a way of free love Go then I say and be sensible of your unbelief and be humbled for it Secondly Observe what those things are that hinder your spiritual comforts and take heed of them They are many I will only name some of them As First Worldly fears and worldly delights these are enemies to true comfort Secondly Sins against conscience they that sin against knowledge will hardly have peace of conscience nay it is pitty they should have peace lest they be ingaged and incouraged thereby to sin those that sin against Conscience will hardly have peace Do you think to have the Spirit to be your friend whom you grieve so often if then you would be truly comforted you must have a great care of sinning against conscience and thereby grieving the spirit that spirit whereby you are sealed to the day of Redemption Ephes 4.30 would you then be truly comforted Observe I say these things that hinder your spiritual comfort can you think that what you grieve most should comfort you most Therefore as you expect true comfort have a care of grieving the spirit of God Thirdly If at any time God make a tender of grace or offer a word of comfort and peace to you be sure you do not refuse it We are apt to refuse to be comforted but be sure you accept of it especially in a time of Temptation Fourthly Be sure you do not rest upon your own performances in reference to your comforts Brethren and Beloved think on these things and compare them with your own daily experiences I say if you would be truly comforted do not rest on your own performances As we are apt to rest upon our own Righteousness in reference to our Justification so we are apt also to rest upon our own performances in reference to our comforts O take heed you do not go about to establish your own comforts upon the bottom of your own performances for if you do you will not submit to the consolations of God Fifthly If you would be comforted in a way of free grace and love then study much the freeness of the grace of God What is the reason people are no more comforted It is because they see no more of the grace of God the free grace of God the more you look into the riches and freeness of Gods grace the more you will be comforted Sixthly If you want comfort at any time walk graciously in the want of it When you want comfort go to God and say Lord although I cannot see thee yet will I serve thee and although I cannot enjoy thee yet I will obey thee and although I cannot see thy face yet I will follow after thee if by any means I may obtain thee Walk graciously in the want of your comforts Seventhly Set your self to rejoyce in him that gives you comfort Rejoyce in the Lord alwaies and again I say rejoyce saith the Apostle Phil. 4.4 He doth not only say humble your self for sin which is a duty and a great duty but he saith Rejoyce and again I say rejoyce in the Lord Rejoyce in the Lord who gives you comfort freely As much as you have been humbled for sin formerly so much should you now rejoyce that you have been comforted and freely comforted by the grace of God Rejoyce so much in the Lord of your comforts Eighthly To name them only If you would be comforted in a way of free grace and love then be thankfull for your comfort He that is thankfull for a little shall have much be thankfull therefore to God for your comfort Lastly Would you be comforted in a way of free grace and love then go to God for that comfort Friends and Beloved God is willing most willing to comfort and what will you not go to him God is willing to make good his name and his Title now this is one of his Titles I am the Lord that comforteth He is willing to do what Christ was sent to do the spirit of the Lord is upon me to comfort all that mourn Isa 61.2 Is not God willing to do it He hath sent the comforter also to comfort you yea he hath given his Ministers charge to comfort you Comfort ye comfort ye my people Isa 40.1 and are not you willing now to receive what God hath promised I will not leave you comfortless I will come unto you John 14.15 You will be troubled and reason with your selves yet I will not leave you comfortless As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you and ye shall be comforted Isa 66.13 Therefore now O poor drooping soul go to God for he is willing to comfort thee if thou be but willing to go unto him Only in your going to God observe these two or three directions First When you go to God for comfort go to the Office which he hath set up for comfort the Office of the Holy-Ghost Secondly When you go to God shut your eyes and cast your self at an adventure upon the free grace of God Thirdly In going to God for comfort you must stay Gods leasure some come and ask of God and because