Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A57979
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A sermon preached to the Honourable House of Commons at their late solemne fast, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 1644 by Samuel Rutherfurd.
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Rutherford, Samuel, 1600?-1661.
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1644
(1644)
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Wing R2392; ESTC R25109
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55,797
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70
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God that the flying roll and book of vengeance twentie cubits long and ten cubits broad shall enter into such a mans house and remain in the midst thereof and shall consume it both timber stones Zac. 5. 4. When God declareth himself angry mountains and hils do tremble Psal. 114. 3. The sea saw it and fled Jordan was driven back 4. The mountaines skipped like Rammes and the little hils like Lambs 5. What ailed thee O thou Sea that thou fleddest thou Jordan that thou wast driven back ver. 7. Tremble thou earth at tho presence of the Lord Hab. 3. 10. The mountains saw thee and they trembled That God is now angry it may appeare 1. Because your adversaries never prospered in any warres before and now the Lord hath girded them with strength 2. The godly man is taken away it is cleare then there is evill comming Esay 57. 1. Mich. 7 1. When an old sheep fleeth into an hedge it is like a storme is comming 3. There be more bloud shed then would have recovered the Palatinate 6. We are to tremble when the Lord is like to depart and that Christ and the Gospel shall depart from this Kingdome is intended by Papists and Prelates for the extirpation of Protestants and Protestant Religion is the designe of Babylon and of those in whom is any of her spirit and consider what this is Hos. 9. 12. Though Ephraim bring np children yet wil I bereave her of them that not a man shall be left that is a sad condition but this is a sadder case comming also wo be to them when I depart from them Zach. 11. 9. Then said I I wil feed you no more Nay but say some we are not to tremble at that if the Gospel be removed and Popery come in we shall have the good old world and plenty of all things Take heed of that good old world in these same words I will feed you no more that which perisheth let it perish and that which is cut off let it be cut off and let the rest eate the flesh one of another woe woe to the Land if the Lord depart from us and remove his Kingdome this is worse then the Sword therefore let Christ have welcome in the land and his Throne be exalted and his Temple builded that hee may delight to come and fill the Temple with the Cloud of his Glory That they tremble and feare Darius requireth outward subjection to the God of Daniel even trembling and inward subjection feare and both being put together he then would teach that the true God should have the highest bensill and outmost pitch of the strength of the affections of feare desire joy love c. Hence it may bee questioned whether or no affections in their highest pitch are conducible in Gods Service I answer in these Assertions 1. Assertion Those affections which goe before the deliberate acts of understanding doe overcloud and mist reason and marre the acts of beleeving in God and serving and obeying God Luke 24. 41. The disciples beleeved not for joy and wondered So hungring for Christs presence doth sometime hinder faith and this is seene here tam misere cupio ut vix credam I so eagerly long for Christ that I beleeve never to enjoy him 2. Assertion The more grace the lesse passion I meane the lesse inordinate affection this is cleare in Christ Jesus in whom was the fulnesse of grace and therefore affections in him were rather actions then passions Iohn 11. 3. Jesus groaned in spirit and was troubled {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} he troubled himselfe Christ did call upon sorrow to rise and sorrow in him did not arise uncalled affections in Christ were servants in us they are masters There is mud in our bottome even when our affections are liquid and cleare in the brimme especially the sensitive part is clayie and drimmely water 2. Grace is a good stirseman and overmastereth passion and reason in the renewed man is made a masse of Grace and the most mortified have most reason and strongest light Romans 8. 7. The carnall minde that is the unmortified minde is enmitie with God Philippians 3. 8. Yea doubtlesse and I count all things losse for the super-excellent knowledge of God in Christ Iesus my Lord Then he was dead to all his priviledges that hee might excell in the knowledge of Christ and where there is little or no mortification there is little or no heavenly light therefore 2 Pet. 3. 5. walkers after their lusts and mockers and scoffers at the day of Christs second comming are willingly ignorant and brutish in that which they should know and so there is as much Clay in the Fountaine as Water 3. Assertion The more faith the lesse passion for as some say of the Sunne that light is not an accident of the Sun but the essence thereof so as the Sunne is but a masse and body of pure light so is faith a Globe of heavenly light of reason The beleever is the most reasonable man in the world hee who doth all by faith doth all by the light of sound reason and Paul 2 Thess. 3. prayeth to be delivered from unreasonable men but how unreasonable because verse 2. they have no faith faith is a beame of Heavens light Idolaters are farre from faith and so they are cruell and superlative in passions of anger hatred envie for this cause Babylon is fat with drinking much blood When mortification is commanded Rom. 12. 1. it hath the name to be called reasonable service to God 4. Assertion If the action bee done in faith the more affection in the action the better But if it bee not done in the light of faith the action is the worse Jehu casteth downe Altars from anger and fury not from faith Hezekiah casteth Altars from the light of faith and zeale If a strong ship bee faire before the winde if all other things bee right the more winde the better so two principles of grace in Hezekiah are better then one carnall principle in Iehu In reformers of the Lords house and in those who purge the Temple and cast out the buyers and the sellers there should bee strong affections of love anger zeale but all these are bad principles if there bee not much light of sound faith in reformers yet a caution is here needfull In actions of the second table where our selfe or our neighbour and not God or Religion hath place the higher bent the affection bee the action is the worse duties to Prince parents husband wife children Parliament require not all the love all the feare all the joy halfe love is best here and it is good that love feare joy desire anger goe by ounce weights but Reformation God Religion calleth for all the heart all the soule all the strength Psalme 42. 2. Davids soule and his flesh are allowed in seeking after the living God to long to faint to cry out with a shout for the living God so