Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A39929
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Eternal glorification begun in regeneration, or, A discourse of regeneration intended for the profit of all, both regenerate and unregenerate persons / by Stephen Ford.
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Ford, Stephen, d. 1694.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing F1508; ESTC R27370
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134,202
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259
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to live always in a dependency on their Creator For although God made Man a perfect Creature filled him with his Grace and adorned him with his Image yet he was but a Creature and he was always to live and have his dependency on God for his subsistance and not to stand and continue in that state from and by himself but to depend wholly on him that made him This he was bound to do not only in point of prudence for his own security and peace but in point of duty as that which he was indispensably bound unto by the Law of his Creation His neglect of his duty in this occasioned his Dreadful Fall which ruined him I mean Adam and all his Posterity The same end doth God Regenerate men for namely that they may believe in Jesus Christ and in God the Father by him Joh. 14.1 1 Pet. 1.21 that they may trust commit themselves to him and live in a constant dependence on him Isa 26.4 Psal 37.3.5 Therefore doth he infuse his Faith into them when he Regenerates them Col. 1.12 and writes this Law in their hearts that they may obey it Jer. 31.33 Heb. 10.16 3 They were at first Created to love God with all their hearts and chiefest strongest and warmest love that they might esteem and love him as their highest and chiefest good and singular Object of all their affections This Law of our Creation we have exprest in Matth. 22.37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind So likewise this is Gods End in his second Creation or Regeneration and therefore doth he circumcise their hearts to love him Deut. 30.6 writes this Law in their hearts and sheds it abroad into them in Regeneration Rom. 5.5 that they may love him aright and that with his own love without which they cannot do it 4 The Lord Created Man to fear him to reverence and stand in awe of him as their great Soveraign Lord and King This Law was created with them and written in their hearts until sin had defaced and blotted it out This Law is also written in the Bible that men may remember what was written in their hearts in their Creation and know their duty and one of the ends for which they were Created how they have lost it and to provoke them to endeavour the recovery of it How often have we this Law exprest in Scripture Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God thou shalt stand in awe and sin not Deut. 6.13.24 Deut. 10.12.20 Psal 2.11 Psal 4.4 1 Pet. 2.17 It is a holy fear not a perplexing and heart-disquieting fear that is commanded it is a fear that is not an Adversary to Faith and Love as the forbidden fear is but it is useful for us and helpful to all other Graces Now in Regeneration God puts this fear into our hearts Jer. 32.39 40. that we may serve the Lord with reverence and godly fear Heb. 12.28 that we may not sin or depart from God Jer. 32. I will put my fear into their hearts and they shall not depart from me But I must hasten 5 God Created Man to obey him and yield him free loving and chearful subjection and obedience He formed them for his Subjects and Children that they should subject themselves unto his Laws and Authority and yield or give to him the obedience of Subjects to their Soveraign and of Children to their Creator and Begetter and accordingly they were Created with the Principle and Power of obedience and to this Created Principle God presently added a positive Law to try and exercise their obedience unto God Gen. 2.16 17. But of the Tree of Knowledge thou shalt not eat of it nor touch it The Image of God in which Adam and we in him were Created was such as fully enabled him and us had we kept it to have yielded all heart and practical obedience unto his whole will he wanted nothing to help him but he had all Grace in perfection to obey and conform to the whole Will of God at all times But Sin rooted the Principle and Power of Heart-obedience quite out of us so that men have now neither will nor power to obey the Will of God until they are regenerated by Grace But that God might not loose this End altogether for which he created Man he is pleased of his meer Grace to Regenerate and renew some of Mankind and thereby frame and mould them to such obedience as he at first intended them for for men cannot neither will they obey until Grace hath restored this old Power and Principle of obedience which they had lost And therefore he Regenerates and infuses this Power and Principle into men to make them willing Subjects and obedient Children 1 Pet. 1.14 Rom. 6.16 17 22. This was Gods End in sending Paul to convert the Gentiles Rom. 15.18 and this is powerfully effected in men in and by the work of Regeneration 6 That they might serve and worship him according to his revealed will God made men to worship and serve him externally as well as internally by loving fearing him and the like Christ mentions this in Matth. 4.10 when the Devil desired external worship from him It is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God They were created in the Image of God to serve him with fear that is to worship God Psal 2.11 Heb. 12.28 Now God Regenerates men that they may by his Grace be enabled to do and perform that worship to him which he at first created them for and the Law of their Creation enjoyns them to that is to worship God in Spirit and Truth for such Christ tells us the Father seeks to worship him John 4.23 24. God works them for this self-same thing though not only for it says Paul 2 Cor. 5.5 Regeneration makes men together with the help of the Spirit worship God according to his own Will and appointment spiritually holily and acceptably through Jesus Christ Heb. 12.28 1 Pet. 2.5 Rom. 12.1 But assuredly there are not any such Worshippers in the World but Regenerate persons for all other men do what they do in the Worship of God without the Grace and Spirit of God and therefore cannot worship him in Spirit and Truth 7 God created Man in his own Image that they might know him and therefore gave them a sufficient light to see by and eyes to use that light revealed and made known himself unto them that they might clearly see him and always have him and his Will in their eyes The Image of God was Light and Knowledge as well as Righteousness and Holiness and therefore Adam knew and saw God so far as a Man was or in that state could be capable of knowing him which as it aggravated his sin so it heightned his happiness while he kept it The knowledge of God was absolutely necessary to help him and us in him to trust love fear and obey him so likewise to
of his glorious Grace namely in the practise and performance of all the Duties he expects and requires of you Your whole conversation before men and the frame disposition and carriage of your hearts before God must of necessity be as becomes the Gospel of Christ Phil. 1.27 All your thoughts cares and abilities must now be exercised in and laid out about your living to walking with and pleasing of God in walking worthy of your high Calling holding up the Honour Glory and Reputation of your New states and conditions and in setting off and commending the excellency of Gods Grace and your Regeneration to all men as you have occasion and opportunity to do You must manifest and declare in the whole trade and course of your lives what and who you are that you are indeed what or that which you seem to be in your Profession You must walk and carry your selves as new Creatures towards all your Relations and towards all such as you converse with and have to do withal Your special and becoming works and carriages must shew and demonstrate whose and what you are to men and your principles ends and frames of heart must declare what your state and condition is unto your own Consciences 2 Cor. 1.12 John 13.35 Now in prosecuting this Head I shall briefly shew you 1. what your Duties are or what frames of heart works and carriages God requires of and expects from you as his New Creatures 2. What Enemies and obstructions you will meet withall to hinder you in your so walking 3. shew you what Bonds and Obligations God hath laid on you so to walk and carry your selves towards God and Men as shall be opened and represented unto you briefly First then I shall shew you some of your â—uties and how you ought to walk in your â—egenerate states and the first that I shall â—ame is Thankfulness Your whole life should â—e spent in praising and thanking God for â—egenerating and making you new Creatures and for those other appurtenances or Mercies that are joyned with and annexed to your Regeneration Your happiness and the love and kindness of God to you in Regenerating you are so exceeding great as that Eternity will be too little to thank and bless God for them Now God hath therefore made you New Creatures and delivered you from and out your old states put you under his Grace and formed you for himself that you should adore and admire thank and praise bless and glorifie his holy Name and his unspeakable grace to you Psal 50.15 Thus was holy David his Trade and Practise as you may find every where in his Psal 10.3 1 2. Psal 89 1. Psal 104 1. Thus. he presses on others likewise Psal 105.1 2 3. Psal 118 1 2. And the Apostle charges us in every thing to give thanks and praise 1 Thes 5.8 and tells us That this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us You must thank God with your hearts as well as your lips and with your works and carriages as well as with your Tongues all must be exercised in and employed about this work You have grace to do it withal therefore you must do it as becomes such A deep sense of your unregenerate states and what the evil and misery of them was Of what you are delivered from and called to in your Regeneration as also a deep and working sense of the exceeding riches of Gods Grace and what he hath laid out and expended on you to put you into a state and condition to thank and praise him acceptably is very necessary for you to quicken and stir up your hearts and open your mouths to this great Work and Duty God minds and takes special notice of what you do in this matter and also how you do it and what your omissions are at any time Hezekiah had received a new life from God and he neglects to praise and thank him he did it not as he might and was bound to have done it This God takes notice of and Records it for our Learning 2 Chron. 32.24 25. Christ healed ten Lepers and takes notice but of one of them that returned thanks and praise to God Luk. 17.17 18. Secondly Make your Regeneration sure to your selves This is your duty and a part of your new work this you must and this you may do God would have you to live in assurance and walk in full assurance of Faith and therefore he hath made it your duty that you must do and your Priviledge which you may obtain and enjoy Examin your selves therefore whether you are in the Faith and under Regeneration or no 2 Cor. 13.5 And give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 Other men do not this work neither indeed can they do it for they want materials to do it aright and to purpose But it must be one of your works and businesses to get and keep Assurance of your new States for is is your work and duty and you will stand in daily need of it to encourage strengthen and quicken to and in other duties and comfortable walking with God as you ought to do God will Seal and confirm his own work in you if he find you dutifully and diligently endeavouring after it For he hath so Sealed and confirmed others Eph. 1.14 Eph. 4.30 And he hath promised to do it for you Hosea 6.3 Pro. 2.1 7. If you live in doubt and walk in darkness in this matter Know that it is ordinarily your own faults which you may and must amend It is because you are negligent careless and do not all you may to get and keep assurance It is because you slight and undervalue it and grieve the holy Spirit who is appointed to be your Regenerator and Sealer Eph. 4.29.30 He doth not will not help you to Assurance because he sees you negligent to help your selves to it Therefore do your duty and make use of his meanes by which he will do it for you and without which he will not but leave you in the Wilderness of doubts darkness fears and heart-wounding distractions and perplexities 3. Fix and resolve on a Trade of Godlyness and universal respect and obedience unto the whole will of God and your duty Mould and form set up and intend in your Judgments hearts and consciences a course way and trade of holiness and walking with God in conformity to his will as such Take heed beware of delusions in your progress You will be tempted and inveagled to take up with Parts and Pieces of your work and duty and to be partial in the Laws of God accounting some duties indispensible and great and others little and dispensible and so of Sins too You will be tempted to look on this Sin as great and therefore you must avoid it that 's well but you will be tempted to look on other Sins as little and next to none and then dispence with the commission of them or not be