Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	child_n	natural_a	parent_n	3,844	5	8.8930	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79525	The danger of being almost a Christian. Shewing, [brace] 1. How far men may go without grace. 2. Why some men go so far. 3. Why they go no farther. 4. The dangerous estate of such persons. / By John Chishull, minister of the Gospel.	Chishull, John.	1657 (1657)	Wing C3903; Thomason E1694_1; ESTC R209426	76,944	179

and offered very fair at Heaven seeing doubtless a great good in salvation but the reason why he went not through with his purchase was this he saw not the supream good in it though he apprehended it a good thing to inheriteternal life yet he saw something which to him was better had this been the chief good in his account it would have been his chief desire And doubtless seeing all have the same stock of these first principles to trade upon by living under the meanes they may be so heightned that they may see what he did a degree of goodness and happiness in the enjoyment of spiritual things and may be induced to do even as he did having a proportionable measure of perswasion to embrace those things and to comply with the means leading to them These are perswasions or else they would not be moved to do any thing they are not ful perswasions for then they would stick at nothing but they are imperfect are more or less according to those apprehensions which they have of the excellency of God and of his ways of which the natural man by the light of nature and the super-added light of the word may have a weak sight but without the work of grace cannot have a true sight such as should draw him out to seek after God with all his heart yet though he sees not all he sees much and though he will not do all that he is commanded yet he wil be perswaded to do many things for though a carnal man cannot apprehend any good in the strictest profession of godliness which is accompanied with the greatest self denial and exposes men to the greatest hazards yet he dos oft apprehend much good in partial complyance with Religion for this he supposes may not spoil his particular interest and yet may attain the end which is true happiness upon this account most men have their measures of perswasion some are greater some less but some do border upon a ful perswasion they are almost perswaded or perswaded to be almost Christians 2 These perswasions do arise from good education in many good counsel instructions being wrought wisely into them by the skil and industry of their Parents and friends these being backt with good examples fenced by discipline many have been drawn by love to entreat or driven by fear into a profession of what is good by long custom they seem to have gotten a nature and they act in a profession as if they were disposed to it by grace whi●es they want the temptations which others have they seem to be fully perswaded to be Christians but when friends or parents are taken away who were as a hedg about them and kept many temptations from approaching neer them or when they are taken from their friends and called to live upon their own stock in some place where they see other examples meet with temptations of all sorts they soon shew what and whence their former perswasions were they shew that ignorance of evil or want of temptations to it only made them seem good But without doubt next unto grace good education dos most of all work upon the spirits of men yea it can do any thing but renew the heart we ●ee how children suck in the opinions and perswasions of their Parents and ordinarily they do more zealously defend what came from them by tradition then what the light of the word afforded them Nay it is no very difficult thing for parents to draw their children to imitate the for the examples of those whom vve love perswade to that which for itself we do not love yea and being drawn once to do any thing in imitation of anot●e whom we honour we continue in it lest we should be a dishonour to our copie and thus by continuance we come to be perswaded of what we do and arise so high in notion and external profession that nothing is wanting but the power of those truths which we assent unto and spirituality of those duties which we perform Thus the Parent or the master makes his child or servant almost a Christian but it s the Lord only can make him altogether such 3. Convictions and perswasions rise high by some special providence God knocks so hard at the door of natural mens consciences by some afflictions or eminent danger of death that although he does not open the heart as he did Lydias yet he makes a breach at which some truth enters which coming in with such conviction and power for the present yea and perhaps for the future makes some changes in the mans apprehensions and resolutions Thus Pharoah himself was convinc'd of the power of God under affliction whom he would not know in prosperity When Gods providences were calm he thunders as if there were none greater then he but when God thunders he is calm and is brought by degrees as the storm did increase to consent to Moses demands though never fully and with all his heart Ahab when he was terrified with the sharp message of Elisha how does he seem as a man changed 1 King 21.27 he puts ashes upon his head girds him with sackcloth as a man mortified and dead to this world yet who that reads the story of Ahabs life judges this to be any more then the lightning which shined in his conscience while the Prophet thundred Thus we see men upon a sick-bed while they are under strong apprehensions and fears of death yea and of hel too promise much to others and resolve much with themselves yea and perswade themselves that they are in good earnest and engage if God spare them that they wil be altogether Christians and give great hopes to others while the least we can judge of them is that they are almost Christians There is no evil that conscience convinceth them of or any friend can mind them of in their former lives but they wil confess lament and covenant against no duty then discovered but they wil assent unto and ngage to take up if God wil try them the terrors of the Almighty are so dreadful that they vvil do any thing rarher then go to hell Thus Francis Spira who deliberately and in cold blood denyed the truth yet when he lay in his bitter agonies he said if he might be but freed from them he vvould despise all the tyrants in the vvorld he vvould never be afraid to profess the truth vvith the greatest hazard When the foolish Virgins were alarumed with the noise of that dreadful cry at midnight Behold the Bridegroom comes they then begin to look to their Lamps and they begin to cry for oyl a thing vvhich they never sought for before when they vvere awakened vvith the terror of the Lords approach then they run too and fro from one to another crying give me a little of your oyl nothing less enquired for before nothing askt for else now though it be a truth that the Judge stands before