Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	bind_v	law_n	moral_a	1,736	5	9.5201	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04629	The court of conscience: or, Iosephs brethrens iudgement barre. By Thomas Barnes	Barnes, Thomas, Minister of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London.	1623 (1623)	STC 1475; ESTC S114798	47,631	166

doe as they did but to make thee the more obseruant of thine owne waies least that thou shouldest doe as they did For euery fatte stands vpon its owne bottome and little peace wilt thou haue to imitate any mortall man in that which is offensiue to thy God 5. Conclude not that thou wilt but doe the deede once or twice or seldome For sinne is like a serpent if it gets but in the head it will get in the whole body and it is a clinging and encroaching guest whereof thou canst not be so soone rid as thou listest after thou hast giuen entertainment vnto it neither thinkest thou maiest be the bolder because thou art in Gods fauour which can neuer change nor alter thou art not so sure of heauen but that the deuill though he cannot robbe thee of it yet can make thee question it to the perplexing of thy soule Take heede I say that by these steps thou climbest not vp the ladder of presumption for then that there is no greater enemie to an holy and blamelesse life the maintaining of which holy life is the greatest preseruatiue to a good conscience that can be Secondly as thus by presuming thou must not stretch thy conscience Subordinate helpes to the second generall rule So to the end thou mayest not streighten conscience thou must doe three things First get a sound knowledge and right vnderstanding of the binding and subiection of the conscience to wit whereby and how it is bound wherein and how it is to be subiect Now for thy better information in this know that some things binde the conscience immediately or properly What binds the conscience immediately viz. Law Gospell some things mediately or improperly First immediately that doth binde the conscience which hath most absolute power and authoritie in it selfe ouer the conscience and thus the Law and Gospell bindes the conscience or the word of God comprehended in the bookes of the Old and New Testament First for the Law That is three-fold morall iudiciall ceremoniall 1. Law and that either as morall iudiciall ceremoniall The morall Law respecteth the duties of loue which wee owe to God and our neighbour comprised in the first and second table now to know how this binds conscience 1. How the morall Law bindes the conscience these two rules must bee obserued Rule 1 First That the second table must giue place to the first insomuch that if two duties come in opposition one to the other and the first table binds the conscience to the one Two rules to show how the morall law bindes the conscience the second to the other simply by it selfe that duty which is inioyned in the first must be performed rather then that which is prescribed in the second The rule amplified To amplifie it The second table binds me to performe all testimonies of loue to my neighbour the first to execute all offices of pietie towards God Such and such a testimony of loue to my neighbour may in some case not stand with my piety towards God in this case my conscience must submit it selfe rather to the pleasing of God then pleasing of man Albeit in some case we are to neglect some duties to God that wee may releeue the present necessitie of our brother which is warranted by that rule of Christ I will haue mercy and not sacrifice Rule 2 The second rule is this That the generall Law must giue way to the speciall Take an example or two Thou shalt doe no murther The rule examplified Thou shalt not steale are generall lawes Abraham take thy sonne thine onely sonne Isaac and offer him vp in sacrifice x Gen. 22.22 Euery woman shall borrow of her neighbour and of her that soiourneth in the house iewels of siluer and iewels of gold and yee shall spoile the Egyptians y Exod. 3 22. were speciall commandements Both of these euen generall and speciall doe binde the conscience In this case which must Abraham and the Israelites chiefely submit vnto To the speciall he must attempt to sacrifice his sonne notwithstanding this Thou shalt doe no murther They must rob the Egyptians of their iewels and treasures notwithstanding that precept Thou shalt not steale Why because the speciall had at that time more power ouer the consciences of Abraham and the Israelites then the generall 2. How the iudiciall law bindes the conscience From the morall to come to the Iudiciall law which was of vse to prescribe the Mosaicall forme of ciuill gouernment concerning the order offices of Magistrates and Magistracie iudgements punishments contracts difference of gouernment to the end that publike iustice might bee maintained peace continued and the contempt of Gods law reuenged This Law so farre bindeth the conscience now as it is euer duely grounded vpon the morall and where the same reason holdeth thus as it did in them and other nations by the light of nature practised in the same manner 3. How the ceremoniall law bindes conscience Thirdly the ceremoniall Law which treateth of rites and ceremonies enioyned in the Old Testament to be obserued about the outward worship of God is to bee reduced to three distinct times according to which times three rules may bee giuen to shew how farre forth conscience is subiect to that Rule 1 The first rule is this Before the death of Christ the ceremoniall law did binde the consciences of the Iewes and the Iewes onely not of the Gentiles For betwixt Iewes and Gentiles there was a wall of separation Rule 2 The second this From the death of Christ to the ouerthrow of the Iewish gouernment the ceremoniall law lost the force of binding and became an indifferent thing either to be vsed or not to be vsed Hence it was that Paul circumcised Timothy but would not circumcise Titus And the z Act. 15. councell at Ierusalem decreed that the Church should abstaine for a time from things strangled and from blood the cause of which decree was the weakenesse of some who of Iewes were made Christians As yet they did not fully vnderstand the libertie of the new Testament therfore for their weaknesse sake it was granted that they might vse some Iewish ceremonies for a time Rule 3 But thirdly after the euersion of the Iewish gouernment and the promulgation of the Gospell more largely and cleerely the ceremoniall law altogether ceased For from that time the libertie of Christians and freedome from Iewish ceremonies was so conspicuous that none of the godly could alleadge their ignorance heerein Wherefore very well say the Schooles * Leges ceremoniales iam sunt mortuae mortiferae Ceremoniall lawes are now dead and deadly Thus we see the nature of the lawes authority ouer the conscience 2. How the Gospell bindes Now we will see how the Gospell bindes the conscience For the better vnderstanding of which we must know that the Gospell doth not binde the consciences of those that are not