Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A54122
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A commentary upon the present condition of the kingdom and its melioration
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Penn, William, 1644-1718.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing P1268; ESTC R32305
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33,126
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47
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against all assaults of our spiritual Enemies Religion then is an internal exercise to keep the soul pure and free from inordinate desires clean and immaculate from all pollution and so is the Mother of all moral duties It is an Internal life whereby it does deny an external life and abandons not only the enjoyments of the external life but even the desires of them which it only and principally aims at Now let us consider what is Antichristian or Antichrist The Name shews that it is opposite to Christ and somthing set up instead of him or against him And sure if he will answer his name he must overthrow that which Christ hath done and appointed and set up somthing else in the room thereof whatever he has a mind to or his pleasure is to set up that is contrary thereto which he has no other way to accomplish but by bringing this Internal exercise of the Mind to some External exercise and performance For thereby the Mind will forget the Internal work being amused and taken up with External duties Now that he may bring may bring Religion to an external performance he needs no more then with some shew of zeal to excogiâ—aâ—e certain Forms and Ceremonies to set aside such Persons such Places such Times for Religious Duties and when he has done this he may excogitate other things at pleasure and go on till he be able to trample upon the necks of Kings and pretend to dispose of the whole Eaâ—th at his command For from whaâ— we hove said Religion being an Internal Exercise and lying in every mans breast to Repent and Believe It will follow there is no necessity to set aside Men for Religions sake though perhaps it may be done But if Men shall make it necessary then these things will follow that there must be Places for them wherein to officiate necessarâ—ly and there â—s as much necessity that as these men encrease in number that these Places also encrease But these men being idle must have some outward Imployment where we have a foundation for Mâ—ssals Rosaries Prayings to Saints Purgatory c. Likewise they must have a mantainance and will look out to be Great and Glorious as other men and will perhaps as the nature of Men is use deceitful arts for this purpose There is now a necesâ—ity this purpose There is now a necessity that their Places of Officiating be adorned also with Rich and Magnificent Building with Gold and Silver Pictures and Images Their Worship must be suitable to their State and Pomp in other things Thus shall we have in that also a great deal of stateliness Ceremonious Intricacies to amuse mens minds And lastly the Doctrine must not be dissonant from all this but suited to uphold the Fabrick Likewise it will be highly necessary to appoint some days to appear more gloriously than others All men cannot attend every day an external Worship Therefore let some days be set apart wherein it may be cloathen in its best Robes Now in the truth of Religion no Chrâ—stian is free from the duty of keeping his mind pure in any day or time of the day nor in any Place much less ought we to think it is more tyed to one person than another Or that by studying in the Universitiy where foolish Philosophy does add to the corruption of mens minds Men should be freer from this Pollution or fitter to free others there-from and what will follow but that they endeavour to confirm their own Authority and Constitutions by all means possible and avenge the violation of a Crime against this external shew of Worship with the greatest punnishments and rigour But let every one contemn the Internal Worship as he will and be be guiltless So that all External Worship is in some degree or other Antichristian But the least evil is to be chosen in the Constitution of the Church and all things so appointed that there may be least occasion for the growth of this mischief and all things as nearly as may be so ordered as Religion may appear in its native beauty devested of the outward Man in its too much redundancy and thereby somwhat pressed and urg'd more fully to seek the Righteousness of Christ that inward power which worketh all in all These things being thus laid down we shall find what a Christian Church is even the Assembly of such Persons who denying the World and its corrupt Inclinations have believed in Christ and are Regenerate by his Spirit keeping their minds regular and pure from the inclinations to vanity Their Union is Internal through the Spirit of God They are of one mind and in perfect Love being all cemented together by that one Spirit built upon the Corner Stone which is Christ Their Government also must be according to that Spirit being nothing but Unity Love Peace Mutual Assistance and delighting to benefit each other in meekness submitting to each other every Man is Servant to his Brother for his good and he that is greatest is he that is most serviceable All things are done not only with Decency and order but with the greatest sweetness candour and integrity that may be Now because of humane infirmity there will be Lapses Charity will oblige that the offence be covered and the Person offending upon his Repentance privately manifested to any of the Company be restored But if after private and particular admonitions he continue pervicacious and impenitent he is to be secluded and cast off from the Company Here is no External Violence to be used no assistance from the secular arm no imployment for the Mastistrates Sword but a plain and simple shutting him out of the Society that will not be guided by the Laws of it and thereby it becomes his own act and not theirs But our Saviour hath given a greater Power with the Keys not External concerning Wills and Testamenâ—s c. but Internal by the operation of his Spirit whereby any Two of his Disciples agreeing together concerning any matter whatever they establish on Earth shall be confirmed in Heaven be it what it will So that if they ask in Faith of which we have not found any instances as yet we may hereafter The Word is sure and the Promise firm but requires Faith in them that ask it Thus it must needs be that all its Jurisdiction and Power must be Internal since the very design of Christian Religion is to deny outward things But we have been long trained up in a contrary Doctrine the Ministers still placing themselves in the room of Christ will be heads when they ought to be but Members and rule such whom they ought to serve seeking rather the Substance and Goods of the Flock than the good of their Souls This Society then being met together their Exercise and Worship will be as agreeable as may be to their Religion that is Internal I mean there will be not be need of any great pains or study to prepare for to
have been invested with I shall not now trouble the Reader with a particular recitation of those disturbances and molestations wherewith our Kings and Nobles as well as Commons have suffered under Popish Bishops Nor yet the Practices of our late Bishops of the Reformation how they oppressed the Subjects and overthrew all Laws and Constitutions of the Kingdom to set up their own Power and satisfie the lust of tyrannous and absolute Dominion abusing the goodness of our Kings to this purpose which things have been shewed already by others It shall be sufficient to observe that when by the Reformation the Scriptues were opened and put into every mans hands for their Direction there were found very few whose minds were dis-engaged from the Superstition of Popery but manifested an inclination to embrace the Scripture in the true and native plainness of it and to yield obedience to the sincere practical Duties therein contained And at that time it seemed to have an Influence upon the Clergy as well as others who minding the calling the People off from Popery or Confirming them in the Reformed Religion or building them up in Faith and good Works were not much sollicitous of Dominion and Jurisdiction but depended upon the Kings Grace not only for any Authority to be exercised by them but also for their very Lands and Revenues And he that had so boldly spoiled Abbies and Monasteries bringing down proud and stately Fabricks to the dust and Confiscating their Revenues could also upon the least occasion offer'd or tending to oppose his Projects have caused them to taste of the same Lot with their Brethren These two things were concurring the Truth of Christ and Fear of the Prince to whom they were subject must needs make tolerable Bishops though it is probable they were good men notwithstanding But as it was in the Bishops of Rome who of tollerable Bâ—shops at the first when their Fortunes were small and the Secular Authority too Potent to be resisted became intolerable Usurpers of uncontrollable Power when once they had settled their Foot and enlarged their Dominions So likewise the old Serpent had the same Game to play with us For after a little time having settled themselves by Law they began to look about and think of amplifying their Power making all men submit thereto and to suppress all opposition and root it out And now they held no longer of the Kings Grace but Jure Divino still augmenting and riveting themselves by degrees in Secular Authority and exceeding therewth from the Light and Purity of Scripture to a hatred thereof and the Preaching of it and all such as owned it in Publick declaring and teaching it or in private Till at length no Remonstrances or Petitions to the contrary notwithstanding They had erected a Court of Commission and had brought a Spanish Inquisition amongst us and proceeded to other acts by corrupting or delaying Justice that it was hard to say whether the Subject was more opprest by being deprived of the Priviledges the Law allows him or the Bishops more Tirants Usurpers in going so far beyond the limits that the Law had set them every where acting with such a Power as the Effects made appear to be unlimited They having been thus seduced by Riches and Greatness to abandon the Truth and Purity of Christian Religion Yet other Persons wanting that Temptation had no reason to submit to a domineering Lust against the Testimony of Truth and Religion nor lend their assistance to maintain a laizy and usurped authority So that animosities must needs be kindled and as the Bishops grew more in Authority and Dominion and farther departed from this Truth the Malice and Rage of the one increased which added stubborness and resolution to the other These Causes of dissention were kindling and somenting a long while till the Bishops at last so far abused the good nature of K. Charles I. so far to the oppression of the Truth and the mantainers of it and it was but the Name of a Puritan that must make a Man lyable to all the Inconveniences of a tyranical Court to be susspended from his Office and the Benefits of it to have his Study and House ransack'd forced to accuse himself by an Oath Ex Officio and besides waiting upon Vexatious and Dilatory Suits without liberty of Pleading or answering to any thing that was objected against him He must thus spend his Time and his Estate to the Ruine of Himself and his Family These and other things became so general a burden that there was no redress but by taking up Arms against those unjust Invaders of their Liberty whose original Greatness being establisht by Deceit and Falshood their Authority a Usurpation their Government though it had been Legal yet so unreasonably abused to the disturbance of the Peace and Liberty of the Subject It were not in the Kings power though they decoy'd him to their Party nor was it just and right in him to defend or abett them much less to esteem what was done against them to be done against Himself His Royal Crown or Sacred Authority He is to be the Minister of Justice and this must be adherd to though with the loss of whatsoever is most dear to him T is He acts against his own Life Crown He betrays his Scepter and Authority and is guilty of Treason against himself when he takes part with the unrighteous with cruel and blood-thirsty men to disturb the Peace of his true and Loyal Subjects to spoil them of their Lives and Fortunes and leave the Children of Innocent Men to the extremity of Sorrow and Distress Thus were we at length engaged in a Civil War and by a soul and reproachful Disaster contrary to the desires and wishes of the Nation The Hand of the Subject was imbrued in the Blood of his King and shall we think these Men Innocent in all this Then may it be said that he who shall all manner of ways exagitate his enemie and leave no part of malice unattempted to hasten the destruction of him who hath no other quarrel to his Persecutor but the desire of his amendment if he shall drive him to the utmost and last extremity so that he knows not which way to turn and finds no possible means of Recovery and safety but by disarming his Persecutor and captivating that Power that was so unjustly drawn out against him This Person thus disarmed may then complain he is abused and set upon his Life and Fortune assaulted upon no ground or reason he is Innocent and only guilty if that be guilt of endeavouring to bring his Enemy to a right mind that is to be his Vassal that he may set his foot upon the neck of his Enemy and make him know that HE also is a God that ruleth in the Earth The same imbittered Spirit seems to continue still with us and has not been without its Essays of disturbing that Peace and repose which we at present enjoy