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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	appoint_v	place_n	time_n	1,168	5	4.4869	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82010	A persuasive to full communion, with the churches of Christ in all Gospel-ordinances and priviledges Containing an essay for the conviction and reformation of such adult, or grown persons who live in the sinful neglect of baptism and the supper of the Lord. Together with an account of the manner of the transition of church-members from their infant to their adult-state, and regular admission to full communion. Written, for the help of such as need instruction in these spiritual concerns, 1 Cor. 12. 13. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be jews or gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. By the late reverend Mr. George Day, minister of the gospel in London-street in Ratcliff / 1697.	Day, George, d. 1697.	1698 (1698)	Wing D461; ESTC R232085	42,081	116

I say it is necessary that we should use the Means appointed by Christ in Order to our Salvation and this is one of them If we would obtain the End we must use the Means it being no better then a Tempting of God to expect the one without the other 3. The neglect of this Ordinance is a Sin being a Disobedience to a plain Command of Christ who says Do this in Remembrance of me and unless God grant Repentance to those that are guilty of it it will prove damnable Now while Men continue in this neglect they do not truly repent of it for there is no true Repentance without Reformation 4. God hath no where promised Salvation to such as Live and Dye in the known and wilful neglect of this or any other Ordinance or Duty but threatens the contrary and who would hazard his Salvation by such a neglect Obj. 10. But say others we have heard of such ill things of some Church-Members that we think it a disgrace to us to Joyn with them though they make Holy Professions yet their Practices are unholy and prophane and scandalous and this keeps us off from their Communion Ans 1. It may be the Report you have heard is false and only raised by some Enemy to Religion and the Professors of it if so you wrong both your selves and the Persons concerned in believing of it before you have throughly examined the Truth of it it is sinful to Take up a Reproach against our Neighbour as Psalm 15.3 2. Suppose the Report appear to be true yet their Church-Membership is not the cause of those Immoralities but the Corruption of their own Hearts or the want of that Grace which they pretend to have 3. Their Sin is to themselves and shall not be charged on those that hold Church-Fellowship with them if they do their Duty in Admonishing and Reproving them for it and do no way Partake with them therein Such a Reproof Prudently and privately given by a Fellow-Member may be Blessed of God to the Conviction and Reformation of a disorderly Walker being a Means of Christs own Appointment to this End If not the Reprovers ought to acquaint the Church with it that they may use Church-Discipline upon them which if they neglect the Reproving Members will have this to satisfie them that they have discharged their Duty and delivered their own Souls as Mat. 18.15 16. 4. The Participation of all Gospel-Ordinances being the Priviledge as well as the Duty of all true Believers to be kept from any of them must be a Loss and Punishment so that if you are such and yet keep your selves off from any Ordinance of Christ because some of those that Partake of them are guilty of scandalous or disorderly Walking you punish your selves for the Faults of others which is Injustice 5. To keep off from any Ordinance of Christ meerly because some unworthy Persons partake of it is to make their Sin in one kind an occasion of your sinning in another kind Their Sin being a Sin of Commission yours a Sin of Omission 6. If all that truly fear God should keep off from Joyning with this or that Particular Church because there are some Members in it that are disorderly Walkers either all such Churches must be dissolved or else they must be made up only of such disorderly Walkers But I suppose no Wise and Good Man will say that either of these ought to be You must know the Visible Church of Christ on Earth hath Hypocrites in it as well as sincere Christians and when the Hypocrisie of any Member appears by their open and scandalous Sins that Particular Church to which they belong ought to use Church-Discipline upon them to bring them to Repentance and Reformation and to keep themselves free from a share in their Guilt But no Christian ought to keep from Joyning with a Particular Church because there are some such Peccant Members in it Obj. 11. But if this Ordinance is to be used only in Remembrance of Christ say some we can remember him well enough without it we think of him every Day the Reading and Hearing of the Word puts us frequently in Mind of Him How can any Christian forget him that hath done and suffered so much for them Therefore we see no such need of this Ordinance for this End Ans 1. This Objection savours rankly of Ignorance and Pride which are very Provoking Sins in the Eyes of God did you well understand the Nature Use and Ends of this Holy Ordinance and the spiritual Benefit of a right Participation of it you would not think it a needless Thing And were you not puffed up with Pride you would not account your selves wiser than Christ himself who Instituted this Ordinance which he had never done had he not intended it for the Spiritual Good of the Receivers Did Christ judge it needful and dare you say it is needless Doth it become sinful Dust contemptible Worms to slight an Ordinance of their Lord and Saviour 2. Though the Reading and Hearing of the Word are useful to put us in Mind of Christ yet the use of this Holy Supper may do it more Effectually For some Truths do more powerfully affect our Hearts when they are conveyed to us by the Eye than by the Ear The Sight of the Execution of a Man usually makes deeper Impressions on our Spirits and moves our Affections more than a bare hearing of it doth Now in this Ordinance Christ is represented as Crucified before our Eyes as Gal. 3.1 And our dull and dead Hearts need the most Heart-affecting and quickning Means and Ordinances 3. Know that this Ordinance is Instituted for other Holy Ends besides that of remembring Christ as to be a Seal of the Covenant of Grace To be a means to nourish and strengthen Grace c. as you have heard before and so is needful and to be used for those Ends as well as for that 4. Gracious Souls have sometimes met with some peculiar Manifestations of Christ and of his Love in this Ordinance and such Spiritual Refreshment Strength and Comfort as they found not in Reading or Hearing the Word For Christ will not be wanting to bless his own Ordinances to their proper Ends and their Experiences should be Arguments encouraging others to use this Ordinance in hopes of the like Benefits Obj. 12. But say others we are so Incumbred and Distracted with the Cares and Troubles of this World that we cannot be enough Composed in our Spirits to approach this Holy Ordinance could we once get well through them we would then endeavour to prepare for it and come to it Ans This is no Just Plea or Excuse for your neglect of this Ordinance for Consider 1. God allows you sufficient Time for necessary Cares about your Worldly Matters and appoints you proper time also for the care of your spiritual Concerns and it is your Duty to see that every Thing be minded in its due Time and Place

the comfortable Priviledge of Christian Parents to bring their Children unto Christ in their Infancy and to see them owned as in the same Covenant with God together with themselves by receiving Baptism the Sign and Seal thereof so it is their unquestionable Duty to instruct them as soon as they are capable to Learn in the Knowledge of God and of the Covenant solemnized in Baptism the Nature Use and Ends of it and the Seals thereof and to acquaint them when grown up to Years of Understanding and competently instructed in the Christian Religion that it is their Duty and will be their Interest to give their own actual and hearty Consent to their Baptismal-Covenant seeing the Consent of Parents in their behalf will serve them no longer then until they are capable to Consent for themselves which if they refuse or neglect to do they forfeit the Benefits and Blessings of the Covenant And that they ought to desire and prepare for the Renewing of their Covenant with God by receiving the Lords-Supper that being the other confirming Seal thereof But alas The Generality of Parents sinfully and shamefully neglect the Souls of their Children and their own Souls too at this Day breeding them up in gross Ignorance of the very Foundation-Truths of Christianity by which means the most of our Youth either regard not Religion at all or only content themselves to be now and then present in our Publick Religious Assemblies to which they are led more by Custom and Example then by any Sense of Religion or Conscience toward God little minding what is said or done there because indeed they understand little of it and so are little the wiser or better for what they hear Continue Strangers to the Life and Power of Godliness lie open to Temptations and are easily carried away to Error or Prophaneness The Lord convince such Careless and Cruel Parents of this crying Sin give them Repentance and quicken them to their neglected Duty toward the Souls of their Children or else I fear the next Age will degenerate into down-right Heathenism and Atheism If any of them shall cast their Eyes on this Paper I intreat them to spend one hour in the serious Consideration of these few Particulars First Consider the preciousness of your Childrens Souls they are Heaven-born Immortal Spirits capable to know fear love and serve the God that made them here and to see and injoy him for ever hereafter And so are more worthy of your Love and care than their Bodies yea one Soul is of greater value than the whole World and should you not be much more concern'd for their present and future Welfare and Happiness What Will you suffer so precious a Thing as the Soul of a Child to be lost for ever through your sloth and carelesness when your Love to them will make you ready to hazzard your own Lives to save their Bodies from a Threatning Danger Secondly Consider the need they have of Instruction for they come into the World spiritually Blind and Ignorant of God and Christ yea of themselves too they know not their sinful miserable and dangerous State by Nature the need they have of a Saviour nor what they must do to be saved The future Happiness of Saints in Heaven nor the dreadful Punishment of Sinners in Hell and that which yet makes their Condition the more deplorable is that usually they desire not the Knowledge of these Things but are rather unwilling to be Instructed and Love Darkness rather than Light Now one would think you that have the Bowels of Parents should Pity the Blind Compassionate your Ignorant Children and do what you can for their Cure though you were under no other Law but that of Nature to do it Thirdly Consider God hath made it your indispensible Duty by his Positive and express Command to Teach your Children his Revealed Mind and Will with the greatest Care Constancy and Diligence Read and weigh those Scriptures Deut. 6.6 7. Prov. 22.6 Eph. 6.4 So that it is no Arbitrary Thing nor left to your Pleasure to do it or not your neglect of it is a direct Disobedience to the Law of God and how will you be able to Answer it to God in the Day of your Account Fourthly Consider God hath intrusted you with Authority over your Children to Command them to Learn the Knowledge of God and of his Will and to obey it and hath commanded your Children to Honour and Obey you herein and expects you should use your Authority over them especially to this End and Godly Parents have so done and are commended in Scripture for it Read and Consider Eph. 6.1 2 3. 1 Chron. 28.9 Gen. 18.19 You Use this Power over them for your selves in requiring them to Obey your Wills and will you not also use it for your God who gave it and for the good of your dear Childrens Souls Fifthly Consider if your Children Live and Dye in Ignorance of Soul-saving Truths they will perish for ever and if they do so through your default or neglect of Instructing them their Sin will hereby become yours and God will require their Blood at your Hands See Isa 26.11 2 Thes 1.7 8 9. Now do you not cry out of those as Monsters in Nature Wolves and Tygers in humane Shape yea worse than Beasts who Murder their own Children and imbrue their Hands in their own tender Infants Blood How much greater Monsters are those Parents who starve the Souls of their Children by with-holding spiritual Food from them and so help them forward toward Eternal Destruction And are you willing to be found in the number of such bloody Parents at the last Day and to have your Portion with them for ever If these Considerations have convinced you how sinful your neglects of instructing your Children and Families have been and impressed your Souls with such a Sense of your Duty that you resolve upon it in the Strength of Christ for the Time to come This will prepare you to accept of and hearken to a Word of Counsel which I will offer you also in a few Particulars First See that you are well acquainted with the Knowledge of God and Christ his Will and Worship your selves that you may be capable of Teaching your Children Remember God requires Parents first to get his Word into their own Hearts and then to Teach them diligently to their Children Deut. 6.6 'T is impossible for you to instruct others in that which you have not learnt your selves It 's very sad to observe that many Parents are but Children in Understanding and that when for the Time they have lived under the Means of Knowledge they might have been such good Proficients or Schollars in the School of Christ as to be able to Teach their Families they themselves need to be taught the first Principles of the Oracles of God as Heb. 5.12 I am perswaded this is the Grand though not the only Reason why Family-duties are so generally disused at

this Ordinance you have no Reason to despair of Mercy as if this did render your Sin unpardonable but your Duty is to renew your Repentance for it to pray for Pardon of it and Power against it and to stand more strictly on your Guard for Time to come Then you have Scripture ground to hope for Pardon 1 John 2.1 2. Psalm 32.5 6. Jer. 3.22 Read and Consider those Scriptures well 5. Beware that it be not a secret Love to some Sin or other and lothness to part with it that keeps you from this Ordinance what ever else may be pretended Be very Jealous of your own Heart for the Heart of Man is deceitful above all Things Examine your selves therefore very strictly least this should lye at the bottom but if you find you are indeed willing to part with every Sin and to obey every Command of Christ though you cannot live a sinless Life yet you have no just Cause to fear coming to this Ordinance Obj. 7. But there are so many different Opinions and Sects among Professors of Religion some saying their Church is the True Church and others saying theirs is so that we are at a loss and know not which to Joyn our selves to Ans 1. It is greatly to be lamented that there are such Differences and Divisions in Matters of Religion among us and Woe be to the Causers and Fomenters of them They will never be able to Answer it to our Lord Jesus in the Great Day for they lay a stumbling-block before the Blind as Lev. 19.14 Making them to wander out of the Way and thereby bring themselves under a Curse as Deut. 27.18 It s to be feared that these Differences may hinder some Persons from Joyning themselves with any particular Church in full Communion though this be the Fruit of their Ignorance Weakness or Prejudice These Differences being no just Cause of nor Plea for the neglect of their Duty For though there be such Divisions among us yet it is certain that some of these Societies of Christians at least 〈◊〉 ●●●ue Churches of Christ tho' some may be more Reformed Pure and Sound than others and it s the Duty of every Private Christian to Joyn himself to some Particular Church and where they have Liberty of Choice to those who are justly esteemed by Persons capable to Judge viz. by wise and Judicious Christians the purest and best or such as keep nearest to the Gospel-Rule both in Doctrine Worship and Discipline 2. Consider for Persons to refuse or neglect Joyning with any Church under pretence of fearing least they should not Joyn to a True Church this is to be Guilty of a certain Sin to avoid an uncertain One and therefore no Wise and Good Man would do thus 3. In what soever Society of Christians the essential Marks of a true Gospel-Church are to be found viz. The Pure Preaching of the Word of God and the due Administration of the Sacraments by a Minister Called Qualified and set a part according to the Rule of the Gospel That Society should be accounted a true Gospel-Church and will be owned by Christ as such Though it may differ from other Particular Churches in some Circumstantial and lesser Things And Private Christians ought not to refuse Joyning themselves to any such Society seeing Christ hath received them 4. It is evident to every Understanding and Impartial Eye That those of the moderate Episcopal Presbyterian and Congregational Persuasions have the Essence of true Gospel-Churches and own the same Doctrinal Articles of the Christian Faith though they differ in Discipline and Modes of Worship Therefore Private Christians may safely Joyn themselves to either of them according as they are persuaded in their own Minds And supposing you have heard the Ministers of each of these Persuasions where you have found the most spiritual Benefit There it is most advisable for you to Joyn if it may be Obj. 8. But says another I am Poor and Low in the World and have nothing to give toward the Maintenance of a Minister and should I seek to Joyn my Self to a Church they may be ready to think I do it only in hopes of a share in their Charity and Reject me for fear I should be burdensom to them this keeps me off Ans 1. This Objection savours of Pride and Uncharitableness which become not any Christians especially the poorer sort Humility and Charity or Love would teach you to think the best and to esteem others better than your selves and to hope that Ministers and Christians do better understand the Will of Christ and their own Duties than to be guilty of refusing Admission of any Person into their Communion meerly for their Poverty and you ought to think thus of them until you find the contrary 2. Were you sure before-hand that they would refuse you yet it is your Duty to offer your self and seek Admission and then if they unjustly refuse you the Sin will lye at their Doors and you will be Free But their Omission of their Duty will be no good excuse for your neglecting your own Duty 3. No faithful Minister of Christ dares to refuse the poorest Christian because he is Poor provided it appears to him that he hath a Gospel-Right to and fitness for Admission to this Ordinance seeing he could not Answer it to our Lord Jesus Christ who refuseth none that come to Him but inviteth all whether Rich or Poor as Mat. 11.28 and John 6.37 And requires his Ministers to do the same Mat. 28.19 and Mark 16.15 16. Mat. 22.9 10. They know that not many Mighty not many Noble are called but that God hath chosen the Poor of this World Rich in Faith and Heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that Love him as 1 Cor. 1.26 and James 2.5 And whom God hath chosen and called they will not knowingly Refuse 4. You ought rather to be Jealous of your own Heart then Suspicious of others and see that you aim at higher and better Ends in seeking to Joyn your self to any Church of Christ than to obtain some worldly Support as knowing those that followed Christ only for the Loaves were justly blamed by Him John 6.26 If your Ends be Right and Good leave God to take care of your Esteem in the Hearts of other Christians Obj. 9. But say others we hope we may go to Heaven though we never Receive the Lords Supper God forbid that all who Dye without this Ordinance should perish Ans 1. Far be it from me to say or think that none go to Heaven but the Receivers of this Ordinance for I believe the contrary Yea I know that some of those who are Partakers of it will perish for want of a Saving Change upon their Hearts as Luke 13.26 27. I freely grant that neither the Participation of this nor any other Ordinance is absolutely necessary to Salvation seeing God doth nothing by Ordinances but what he can do without them if he please Yet 2.