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	master_n	servant_n	1,864	5	7.1466	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25421	The right government of thoughts, or, A discovery of all vain, unprofitable, idle, and wicked thoughts with directions for the getting, keeping, and governing of good thoughts, digested into chapters for the ease of the reader : whereunto are added four sermons / by ... John Angel ...	Angel, John, d. 1655.; T. B.	1659 (1659)	Wing A3162A; ESTC R13149	89,280	271

to be found in the word of God As first the rules for our carriage in Directions in relation to men relation to men First that golden one delivered by our Saviour himself Mat. 7. 12. Whatsoever ye would that other men do to you the same do ye to them Mark it is not said What others do to you the same do ye to them for that is not always right but some times crooked but it is said Whatsoever ye would that others should do to you set your selves as it were in their rooms and do ye the same to them that is not what you would or are content in your passions that others should do to you but whatever in right reason upon due deliberation and sound judgement when you are most your selves you would that others should do to you do ye the same to them Secondly remember the Apostolical rule serve one another in love for it is written Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self Gal. 5. 13 14. We must seek not every one his own but one anothers wellfare 1 Cor. 10. 24. A golden rule to be observed in contracts and negotiations to keep us from over reaching any man 1 Thes 4. 6. and not meerly to do things out of respects to our selves but to joyn the wellfare of our neighbour to our own benefit and what we do to them to do it out of love Thirdly let nothing be done out of contention or vain glory but in lowlinesse of mind let each esteem others better then themselves Phil. 2. 3. and let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus verse 9. he never did any thing in all his life out of contention or vain glory and indeed be the matter of our actions never so fair or good yet either of these two contention or vain glory will fly-blow them and corrupt the action Again in all our businesses in relation Speciall rules for our services in reference to God unto God we have these rules First for the end that the glory of God be made the white at which we aim in all our natural civil or religious actions according to that of the Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 31. Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God this must be the Butt that we all must shoot at Secondly for Christ Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of Christ Jesus giving thanks to the father by him Col. 3. 17. that is what others do as men do ye as Christians you must do all in Christ his name that is upon his authority and his warranty in the strength of Christ in confidence upon him for acceptation of the service and praying and invocating the father in his name and giving thanks to God by him Thirdly whatsoever we do to men or towards our selves to do it to the Lord and for the Lords sake looking beyond men and further then our selves so in our almes-deeds to give to Christ in giving to such a man or woman Verily in as much as ye did it to the least of these ye did it to me Mat. 25. 40. So likewise the Apostle prescribes to servants this duty Col. 3. 23. Servants be obedient to your Masters and whatsoever ye do do it heartily to the Lord and not to men knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance and this rule is not to be appropriated unto servants but it reacheth to all masters also yea to all ranks of persons for all the duties of the second table are to be performed to others must flow from our obedience unto God commanded in the first Table so Christ told Peter that his ministerial discharge in feeding of his sheep John 21. 15 16 17. ought to spring from the love he bare to Christ himself Next for our selves take these directions Rules in relation to our selves out of Scripture do nothing with a regreet of heart or reluctancy of conscience but labour first to have a warranty out of the word for your conscience to rest upon a warranty I say at the least of God his allowance of it if not of his command For what ever is not of faith is sin Rom. 14. 23. that is if it be done out of perswasion of heart that it is lawful for the warrant of the action we must do nothing with the check or renitency of our consciences against the dictates of the same blessed is he that condemneth not himself in his conscience in that which he performeth to wit in his actions verse 22. Secondly the end of the commandements is love out of a pure heart a good conscience and faith unfained 1 Tim. 1. 5. where we are to observe that for the matter of our obedience it must be love love to God and love to our neighbour and for the fountain and spring of love in our actions it must issue from a pure heart a good conscience and faith unfaigned otherwise the streams will never be clear Thirdly the prescript of the word is Thou shalt not do that which seemeth good in thine own eies but what the Lord thy God commandeth thee Deut. 12. 8. 32. If any thing at the first blush presenteth it self unto thee with a shew of good presently begin to suspect it as fearing there is some evil couched under it and see what God saith of it in his holy word from which thou maist not turn to the right hand or to the left Fourthly for the manner of our performing the word aright in my text all must be done in humility and sincerity and carried on sutably to the duty which we have in hand it must be done understandingly feelingly fervently if we pray if any man preach he must speak as the Oracles of God 1 Pet. 4. 11 approving themselves to God and the consciences of the hearers so you shall find several directions for several discharges Rom. 12. 8. He that giveth let him do it with simplicity he that ruleth with diligence he that sheweth mercy with chearfulness c. so every one in their relations must mainly look to the Cardinal vertue which turneth about all the rest as let the wife see to it that she reverenceth her husband Ephes 5. ult according as she looketh to that all her other duties do either ebb or flow in her so the husband must be careful of the main of all that he loveth his wife as Christ loved his Church Ephes 5. 25. In one word order your steps so as where God hath laid the fullest and the stricktest charge there be sure to shew your greatest care as in the substantials of religion before the circumstantials or ceremonies mercy before sacrifice and the great commandment of loving the Lord with all our hearts before the rest Matth. 22. 35 37 38. To end this let all our outward discharges spring from an heart rightly disposed else it will prove formality or dissimulation nothing is any

be offered to God for the better direction of us in the ordering of our conversation all the whole day afterwards and that thereby we may fetch in the help of heaven to enable us through our several duties 3dly after our commending our ways and conversations unto God and interresting him with them our prime care must be to begin at the right end as I may so speak and the direction of the word therein Is first to eschew evill then to do good first to cease to do evill then learn to do well Esay 1. ch 16 17. This is the order of the Scripture first to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts then to live righteously soberly and godly in this present world Titus 2. 11 12. otherwise no ordering aright of our wayes but either our confusion or a jumbling of things together promiscuously the race of a Christian in this life Is a passage from sin and corruption to grace and holinesse from mortification to vivification We must not make the first last nor the last first Adam in his innocency had but one task to wit to live holily but we have two First to awake from sin and then to live righteously yea one thing more I will adde we must not only cease from evill and then learn to do well but we must begin to adhorre that which is evill and cleave to that which is good Rom. 12. 9. We must not only leave sinne in outward action but abhorre it in the inward affection not onely do that which is good but cleave to it and affect it otherwise we shall never be constant and cheerful in the doing of good and also we shall quickly return with the dogge to his vomit in the falling upon that which is evill thus a man walking in his calling must first loath the sins incident to his calling and then love to put in exercise the practical duties of the same otherwise his faults will marre his duties but his duties will not mend his faults when men make conscience to avoyd sin that will facilitate and more easily introduce the service of God and here also it must be your wisdom to pitch your resolutions not to give way to harbour any sin be it never so small for whosoever breaketh one keepeth none of the commandements Jam. 2. 10. some think that though they allow themselves in one thing that is evill yet they may order their conversation aright in other matters but what saith Salomon Eccles 10. 1. dead flyes cause the oyntment of the Apothecary to send forth a stinking savour so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour so then as we must make conscience to refrain our feet with David from every evill way Psal 119. 101. that so we may keep Gods word so especially from our darling bosome and predominant corruptions such as our natural inclination or custome our profit or pleasure have made as dear to us as our right eye or right hand Matth. 5. 29. Secondly from secret sins the very shame of men may keep us from open sins but it must be the fear of God that keeps and preserves from secret ones to which none are privie but our own soules Thirdly we must shun not only foul and scandalous sins but even lesser ones as petty oaths foolish jesting merry talking as the world stiles it wherein sometimes there is a great deal of evil mispence of precious time c. Fourthly we must by all means take heed of the sins of the times wherein we live and the sins of our particular callings or else we shall be ensnared before we be aware And as without reservation we must leave all sin so without exception we must make conscience of every duty wittingly and willingly not living in the neglect of any one of them then shall we not be confounded when we have respect unto all Gods commandements Psal 119. 6. some men make conscience to be just in their words and deeds but little care of the duties of piety to God or mercy to wards the poor but the fruit of the spirit is in all goodnesse and righteousnesse so saith the blessed Apostle 2 Pet. 1. ch 5 6. 9. Yea further we must make conscience of the most uncouth and harshest duties such as by nature we are most averse from as loving our enemies blessing of those that curse us praying for those persecute us Matth. 5. 44. so likewise of secret duties Matth. 6. as of private prayer liberality to the poor which give the soundest testimonies to our own soules of our sincerity towards God Luke 14. 13. now that we may do all this Fourthly a great measure of knowledge and skill is required in the Scriptures that we may be able to put a difference betwixt good and evil we must therefore prove what that perfect good and acceptable will of God is Rom. 12. 2. and be much verst in Scripture where the rules and directions for ordering our conversations aright are delivered we must have a care that the word of God dwell plenteously and richly in us Col. 3. 16. else we shall never be able to order our steps in the word which is only the directing of them aright I remember the similitude of Peter Martyr in a Sermon of his which was the means of the conversion of that noble Italian Galeacius Caracciolus Suppose saith Peter Martyr a man were upon the top of an hill and casting his eyes down to the valley should there behold a company of persons frisking and skipping would he not think they were mad and out of their wits but afterwards descending and coming nearer and nearer unto them and hearing the musick and marking how they danced according thereunto and kept their measures and proportions he is much taken therewith and esteemeth that admirable which before he counted folly even so doth the conversation of Gods people looked upon at a distance and and by it self considered seem to many madness and folly and they think it strange that you run not with them into the same excesse of riot and therefore they speak evill of you 1 Pet. 4. 4. but viewing their conversations more closely and exactly and comparing the several steps thereof how sutably it is carried to the word of God and how men dance according to the harmony of that musick then they begin to be much taken with that which before they disliked and do verily think that this is the most glorious life and conversation in the world It pleased God so to affect the heart of that Noble Marquesse forementioned herewith that he resolved to study the Scriptures and to order his conversation thereunto and so was converted from Popery to the true Religion and left his own Countrey and came to Geneva in Calvins daies where he lived holily and ended his daies happily So much for the general directions I come now to the spicial ones and will give you some of the principal of them as they are