Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	call_v	day_n	sabbath_n	2,551	5	9.9293	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A91004	Syneidēsilogia ̇or, The doctrine of conscience, framed according to the points of the catechisme, in the Book of Common-Prayer. / By the Right Reverend Father in God, John Prideaux, late Lord Bishop of Worcester, for the private use of his wife.	Prideaux, John, 1578-1650.; N. Y.	1656 (1656)	Wing P3436; Thomason E1697_2; ESTC R203209	47,433	193

therefore the breach of these is accounted rather dishonesty then rude perjury Where 2. notice is to be taken that the party swearing be not uncapable by reason of infancy madnesse or distemper to take an Oath for the actions of such come not under the censure of the Court of Conscience 3. such usual forms of speech as these God is my judge God knowes I meant no harme before God I had no such thought or the like must be reckoned as Oathes whereas by my Faith or Troth or of my Soul or Honesty or Salvation or the like be but serious asseverations of respecting which religiously a Conscience must bee made Whence that Amen Amen verily verily must not be accounted an Oath of him that gave in charge in common conversation not to swear at all 4. Besides here the swearing by Creatures is no way approved by a Papist and discovers the heedlesse vanity of a Protestant worthy to be punished though not for Perjury yet for peevish profanesse As by the Heavens by our Lady by the Masse or by my George which binde yet make guilty the swearer in relation the Creatures have to the Creator 5. In regard whereof neither Pope Prince or Potentate hath any power to dispense for such cases are reserved onely to God whose interest Man must not presume to intrench upon except he will deal as the Devill did with our Saviour and take upon him to give all Kingdomes who had interest onely in Hells Dungeon 6. When therefore a contract by Oath is between Superior and Inferior Prince and Subject or Equall bargaining one with another or promises are made on conditions or by parties not in their owne disposition if the Superior dye or cease to be such or the parties concerned give up their interest or condition at first possible but after the contract prove unpossible or of scandalous or damnable consequence or the act of the party under government be disallowed by his lawfull Guardian the Oath may be truly said to be void and the Conscience disburdened of it not by mans dispensation or relaxation but by Gods disposition who hath appointed oathes as a part of his worship to end controversies not to intangle consciences 7. Lastly an oath taken to performe that is wicked as that of the Jewish Zealots to kill S. Paul or to abandone that which is good As a man to sweare he will never serve his Prince come neer his wife help his children or friends which by all tyes of religion and morality he is bound to doe the band lyes still upon his conscience to expiate his damnable rashnes in taking such an oath with all conscionable repentance not to execute that which he hath sworne lest by thinking to decline perjury he incurre a more damnable abomination Herod had better have broken his oath then so barbaroussly have murdered John Baptist And David blessed the advice of Abigail that was a meanes to put him off from that he had vowed to God to performe And Saul was content with the peoples mutiny in a manner that plucked Prince Jonathan away from undergoing the doome of fury under Zeales vizard C. V. Touching the fourth Commandement with what conscience can any say Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keepe this law when it is confessed that the day is changed and the praecise observation of the letter would necessarily cast us back upon the observation of the Jewish Sabbath turning our Sundayes into Saturdayes there being neither praecept nor promise to direct us otherwise D. In the Sabbath two things are considerable 1. the day and 2. rest The day by the analogy manifested in the commandement is to be one in seven according to the patterne given by God The rest is opposed to such worldly labour as might any way hinder it but not as though it were set aside to all employment or might be spent in sleep or idlenesse or that which we call pastimes but employed it must be in workes of sanctity not to be diverted or retarded by our selves or any that belong unto us in businesses of our ord●nary vocation This rest must ever be taken for morall for all mens consciences will give them that publick worship is as due to God and should be performed with more solemnity then private This cannot be done without time place so set that the assembling may be certain But the duty still remaining the day was alterable especially by him who professeth himself Lord of the Sabbath Mat. 12.8 Matth. 12.8 and therefore might well substitute the Lords day instead thereof This day the acts of the Apostles confirmed by the keeping of it and their successors have continued it as of divine ordinance in all Churches which so must stand Heb. 4.10 till it bring us to the perpetuall Sabbath of the Church triumphant When we say therefore at the recitall of this commandement Lord incline our hearts to keep this law our meaning is the morality of this law which is an enlivening as it were to all the rest not as the day was set the Jewes to be the seventh from the creation but as it was altered by our Saviour and his Apostles practise in regard of his glorious resurrection from that resting in the grave to which the Jewish Sabbath had reference So that typicall Saturday might well give place to that Sunday For which change those that call for a precept must learne that patternes may be as warrantable in matters of order as precepts in the Articles of the Creed the acts of the Apostles being as canonicall as the foure Evangelists In the same commandement C. VI. the text expressely giving in charge six dayes shalt thou labour and doe all that thou hast to doe what warrant may a pious conscience finde for keeping any holidayes any time of the weeke and sometimes with greater solemnity then the Lords day it self is celebrated D. Those words are not to be taken as a command but to be received in this sense I have allotted thee a vocation in whatsoever condition thou art and allow none to be idle but to walke as I have called him To performe which duty for thine owne occasions six dayes are allotted thee But the seventh I refer wholly for mine owne service and command all thy secular businesse to be laid aside the more punctually to attend on it Where we find that of the time left to our dispose if we upon good grounds for extraordinary blessings appoint a day or more for prayer praise and thanksgiving we have the patterne of the old Testament and the practise of our Saviour who honoured with his presence and preaching the feast of the dedication Jo 10.22 Macchab. 4.59 ordeined by the Machabees And for that we are taught and know that right deare in the sight of the Lord are the death of his Saints as their lives have been honourable And the righteous God hath so done and doth his marveilous

converted and then baptized as Infidels heretofore have been a cunning artifice of Satan to destroy Christianity by making it a sinne to engage any early to the service of Christ Wherein the Prince of this world hath managed his businesse with as much subtilty as when he set Julian on work to plunder the Church of their revenue both equally tending to the destruction of Christian Religion the one cutting off the branches as the other did hew up the root Whether the signe of the Crosse C. IV. according to the order in our Liturgy may be lawfully used in the administration of Baptism Not onely to the Jew is the Crosse of Christ an offence D. but we have those who though nothing can seem more odions unto them then to be said to put Christ to death yet crucifie his members in revilings and disgraces and amongst other reasons they pretend this is not the least because they are for the Crosse in Baptisme and defend the Liturgy in the lawfull use thereof But to passe by these Sons of thunder Those that are more moderate will rest themselves satisfied with the reason given by our Church-book why that ceremony is used as also for the lawfulnesse thereof if they will allow the Church what St. Paul giveth to her a power to enact laws concerning decency and order and then consider too that it hath been a laudable rite and very antient in the Church of Christ taken up in defiance of the Pagans to tell them wherein the glory of Christians did consist even in the Crosse of Christ which by them was accompted the shame and disgrace of their profession And though it may be objected now that the cause being taken away 't will be useless if not superstitious to keep it on foot still yet may such remember 1. that all things whose use doth cease are not presently to be taken away and destroyed witnesse the brazen Serpent which was reserved till the dayes of Ezechia as a monument of Gods mercy to which purpose also the pot of Mannah and the rod of Aa●on were preserved 2. Though we have not Pagans to deale with yet 't is to be feared there are too many amongst those who take upon them the profession of Christianity who though they will not endure to be called enemies yet are despisers of the Crosse of Christ 3. That it doth serve us as a memoriall to put us in minde of our duty and profession Neither can it weigh with any rationall man what is buzzed in the ears of men to amuse them that it is an Idol and hath been abused to Idolatry in which charge the Popish Crosse is concerned not ours 'T will be no good reason because the Papists have abused the Crosse to Superstition therefore we should be denied the lawful use thereof Beside the Sun and the Moon were worshiped by the Heathen Paul and Barnabas deified by the men of Lystra the bread in the Sacrament adored by Papists yet I hope upon this bottom none will be so indiscreet as to adjudge them to eternall destruction Neither can they be led thereunto from that instance so much used of the Brazen Serpent whence it may onely be inferred that the same individuall thing idolized is to be destroyed but not their whole kind We may not burne all trees because one tree or grove hath been abused to Idolatry What is to be done C. V. that one may worthily receive the Lords Supper Observe that rule of the Apostle D. 1 Cor. 11.28 But let a man examine himselfe and so let him eate of that bread and drink of that cup. To doe which rightly it is requisite he make a twofold inquiry into himself 1. concerning his Faith 2. his manners 1. For his Faith that he hath a competent and right understanding of the principles in Religion particularly concerning the doctrine of the Sacraments so as to be able to render some account thereof as also to discerne the Lords body which last upon no terms he can be said to doe who maketh his approach to this Holy Table with no other devotion then if he came to sit down at a common repast the vice not onely taxed but punished in the Corinthians 1 Cor. 11. To satisfie his Conscience therefore in this particular let him remember 1 Cor. 11.29 1. it is the Lords body he is invited to a most high and mysterious mistery yet such is the love of Christ to him that he is permitted not only to look thereinto but to partake thereof 2. He prophane it not as the Corinthians did with their owne Feasts so with irreverence and indevotion 3. 1 Cor. 11.31 He judge himselfe most unworthy of so high an entertainment and favour a sinner the chiefest of sinners Now II. for his manners he is to make inquiry whether he hath lived according to the rules and doctrine of the Faith he professeth to which there is required though not exact yet sincere obedience If in either of these he prove and not approve of himself he ought to abstaine from those holy mysteries till such time he hath either informed his knowledg or reformed his manners at least in a resolution and serious purpose of Holy living For as to be qualified to receive this Sacrament worthily knowledge is necessary to instruct the head so likewise is repentance to purifie the heart both which must be rightly prepared for this work Neither the ignorant nor the unholy person being fit guests to sup with Christ But yet there is one more beside our selves concerned in this worke which is our neighbour towards whom we must he affected with Charity which is the Simbol or badge of a Disciple of Christ and is the cement to ioyne and knit the Communicants together whence the Sacrament may in a most sweet and genuine sense be termed a Communion without it being rather a disunion then so to be called Indeed this is the salt of the Sacrifice without the which nothing is to be offered as well under the Gospel as the Law Whether any one who hath a suit at Law with his neighbor C. VI. or is at private difference with him may with a safe conscience come to the L Table As to private differences D. the case is quickly resolved It being manifest that this Holy Feast was instituted by our Saviour not only to shew forth his death but also to be a Signe and Symbol of Love with which they ought to embrace each other that doe partake thereof 1 Cor. 10.17 And as a commentary to this Text you have the Practise of the Christians in the primitive Church who before they received the Eucharist did greet one another with an Holy Kisse to signify not only their Communion in faith but union in heart likewise and therefore immediately after it was celebrated began their agapae or love Feasts None therefore are to adventure to offer Their gift on this Altar Mat. 5.23.24 whose