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	parent_n	provide_v	2,735	5	9.0893	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26895	The Christian religion expressed I, briefly in the ancient creeds, the Ten commandments, and the Lords prayer, and, II, more largely in a profession taken out of the Holy Scriptures, containing 1, the articles of the Christian belief, 2, our consent to the gospel covenant, 3, the sum of Christian duty, according to the primitive simplicity, purity, and practice, fitted to the right instruction of the ignorant, the promoting of holiness, and the charitable concord of all true believers ... / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1660 (1660)	Wing B1221; ESTC R25270	38,730	88

now in the end of the world to find out the certain practice of the Apostles better then all the Churches which they planted 53. Seeing the Lords Day is purposely set apart for the celebrating of the memoriall of the Resurrection of Christ and so of the work of our Redemption as the Sabbath was for the Commemorating of the work of Creation the work of the day must be very much Eucharistical and the Church should be taken up in the thankful admiration of the mysterie and mercy of our Redemption and in the affectionate praises of the Lord our Redeemer and an aspiring after the everlasting Rest which he hath purchased and promised and prepared for us with himself 54. Ministers must not only perform the publike worship of God upon this day but also exhort the people to improve the rest of it in private by prayer and meditation and holy conference and calling to mind the Word which they have heard especially the Parents and Masters of families who must instruct their children and servants and watch over them and restrain them from the violation of the day and call them to an account of the doctrine they have heard and the duties to be performed 55. It is lawful and a duty on other daies also according to our necessities and opportunities to Redeem some time for the publike worship of God And whenever the Pastors shall call the Church together to hear the Word or perform holy worship it is the peoples duty obediently and gladly to attend if greater duties do not prohibit them 56. When great afflictions lie upon the Church or any useful members of it or when any great sins have been committed among them it is meet that in publike by fasting and prayer we humble our selves before the Lord for the averting of his displeasure And on such occasions it is the Pastors duty to confess his own and the peoples sins with penitence and tenderness of heart and by his doctrine and exhortation to endeavour effectually to bring the people to the sight and sense of their sin and the deserts of it and to a firm resolution of better obedience for the time to come being importunate with God in Prayer for pardon and renewed Grace 57. Upon the receipt of any notable extraordinary mercies the Church having opportunity should Assemble for publike Thanksgiving unto God wherein the Pastors should stir them up to the livelyest sense of the greatness of their mercies and lead them in a joyful celebration of the praises of their bountiful benefactor And it is lawful on these daies to express our joy in feasting and outward signs of mirth provided that they be moderately and spiritually used and not to gratifie our sensual desires and that we relieve the poor in their necessities which also on daies of Humiliation and other seasons we must not forget 58. It is not unlawful or unmeet to keep an anniversary commemoration of some great and notable mercies to the Church the memory whereof should be transmitted to posterity 59. In all the modes and circumstances of worship which God himself hath left undetermined all Christians must take heed of making unnecessary things to be necessary and laying the unity and peace of the Church on things indifferent and laying snares for the consciences of others but must leave much to the prudence of the particular Pastors that are upon the place to whom it belongs to fit such circumstantials to their peoples state and the Churches in such things wherein they may safely differ must be left to their liberty Long and sad experience having taught us that the violent imposing of unnecessary things is the engine of the Devil to tear the Church 60. The marriage of Christians being a work of great concernment to themselves and meet to be publikely performed and accordingly to be sanctified by the Word and Prayer it is convenient that it be solemnized by the Minister or at least that he counsell and exhort them and pray for a blessing on them being first sufficiently satisfied of their capacity and necessary preparations Herein he is to acquaint them with the Institution Nature and Ends of their Relations and the duties severally and joyntly by them to be performed and the difficulties and temptations to be expected and provided for Especially they are to be directed to live together in holiness as the heirs of life and to be very carefull and diligent in the holy education of their children and governing their families for the Lord and to use the world as not abusing it remembring their approaching separation by death And he is to see that they solemnly enter into the Matrimonial Covenant engaging themselves to conjugal fidelity to each other until they are separated by death 61. The Pastors of the Churches must not only Teach the people and guide them in the publike worship but also must faithfully Oversee them in private endeavouring to know and watch over each member of their flock preserving them from heresies errours and divisions defending the Truth confuting gainsayers and seducers instructing the Ignorant exciting the negligent encouraging the despondent comforting the afflicted confirming the weak rebuking and admonishing the disorderly and scandalous and directing all according to their needs in the matters of their Salvation And the people in such needs should have ordinary recourse to them as the Officers of Christ for guidance and resolution of their doubts and for assistance in making their Salvation sure and procuring maintaining or restoring the peace of their consciences and spiritual consolation 62. Those persons that are known to commit any gross and scandalous sin should first by private reproof and admonition unless where the notoriousness and heinousness of the crime doth presently call for publike reproof be called to Repentance And if they hear not the Reprovers or will not Reform the Church must be told of it and therein it is most convenient that the Pastors be first acquainted with the case to avoid contention and confusion before it be brought into the publike assembly And to that end it is convenient that there be stated meetings where the Pastors and some chosen members of the Church not as Officers but the Deputies or Trustees of the rest should in their several capacities take cognizance of such offences that so a unity and full correspondence may be held between the Pastors and the flock and all things may be done advisedly orderly and concordantly but where this cannot well be done the Pastor or Pastors must do their work without it 63. Those persons that by more private means will not be brought to necessary Repentance and Reformation must by the Pastor be publikely reproved and admonished before the Church and there called to Repentance by the opening of their sin and the judgements of the Lord and pleading with them those Gospel mercies and motives that should melt them into contrition And if the success do not appear it is ordinarily meet that the

Preachers of the Gospel is the word of God as to the Doctrinal sense but not as to the terms or Grammatical sense except when they recite the Scripture words as in the original or translated 8. Baptism is a holy Sacrament instituted by Christ in which a person professing the Christian faith or the Infant of such a Professor is regularly by a minister of Christ baptized in water into the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost in signification and solemnization of the holy Covenant in which as a Penitent Believer or the seed of such he giveth up himself or is by the Parent given up to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost from henceforth or from the time of natural capacity to Believe in Love and serve this blessed Trinity against the Flesh the World and Devil and this especially on the account of Redemption and if he sincerely make this Covenant is solemnly entred a member of Christ and his Church a justified reconciled Child of God and an heir of Heaven all which with the other present benefits of the Covenant he is hereby instated or invested in they being thus solemnly delivered to him by the Promise thus sealed and applyed by an appointed Minister of Christ Or if some of us doubt whether these special benefits of the Covenant are delivered thus to all the Infants that are sincerely dedicated unto God yet we are all agreed that they are assured to them as soon as they believe and in the interim of their incapacity they have a general promise that God will be their God and his mercy shall be to them 9. It is a notable part of the ministerial Office to Baptize and consequently to try and judge of their Profession who are thus solemnly to be admitted into the Church and estated by Baptism in these benefits Therefore hath Christ given the Keys of his Kingdom to their trust both that his holy Church may be preserved from the unjust intrusions of uncapable persons and that the faithful Covenanters may have the fuller consolation by receiving a sealed promise and pardon from the hand of a minister of Christ commanded by him to seal and deliver it in his name 10. We are perswaded that it is the Will of Christ that the Infants of the faithful shall be dedicated to him in Baptism and engaged in his Covenant and made members of his visible Church because we find that under the promise before Christs Incarnation it was their duty to devote and engage their Children to God in the holy Covenant and that God did accept them as visible members of his Church And we never find where Christ had discharged Parents from this duty or turned all Infants out of his Church and reversed this blessing of their Church-membership but contrarily we find him offering to have taken the Jewish Nation to be still his Church if they would have taken him for their Saviour and telling us that it was for Unbelief that they were broken off and that it is but some of the branches that were broken off and we are graffed in amongst them into the same Olive-tree and that all Israel shall be saved when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in And we find Christ rebuking his Disciples for hindering little Children from being offered to him and that he charged them to forbid it no more and that he received and blessed them himself and tels us that of such is the Kingdom of God and we find it the Commission given to his Ministers that they were to Disciple the Nations Baptizing them All which and much more especially having not the least intimation of his Will against that which was even then the Duty and Practice of the Parents and the Infants benefit do deter us from forbidding the dedication of Children unto Christ and receiving them into his Church by Baptism 11. Baptism being so great a work should be deliberately seriously and reverently performed if it may be publikely before the Church where the person or Parent should make their solemn profession and be received with the joy and prayers of the Church whether Infant or Adult 12. The Catholick Church consisteth of all the Christians in the world Those that have the sanctifying Spirit of Christ are the living members Those that openly profess Christianity and enter into Covenant with Christ and are not yet Baptized are visible members initially but the solemnization and investiture is defective If it be where Baptism cannot be had the defect is innocent If where it may be had it is sinful but yet not such as nullifieth the persons visible Christianity And no errours offences or differences do exclude any totally from the Catholick Church while all the essentials of Christianity are kept 13. It is the will of Christ that all Christians that have opportunity be members of some particular Church as well as of the universal that he may have the honour and they the great and necessary benefits that by the Ministry Ordinances and Communion of Saints is there to be expected 14. A particular Christian Church is A competent number of Christians cohabiting who by the appointment of Christ and their own expressed Consent are united or associated under one or more Pastors for the right worshipping of God in publick and the Edification of the members in Knowledge and Holiness and the maintaining of their obedience to Christ for the safety strength and beauty of the society and thereby the Glorifying and pleasing of the Lord It is a Political organized society that is here defined and not a meer Community that is incapable of the Sacraments and other Ordinances and the benefits of them for want of Overseers 15. Those Ministers that are placed in Parishes where are many sorts of people some Ignorant of the essentials of Christianity some Apostates some impious and of wicked lives and some that consent not to be members of their Pastoral charge should teach them all that will submit and learn For we are called to it by the Magistrate and obliged by the publike maintenance which we receive to that end and engaged by the general command of improving our talents and the special opportunity that we have thereunto 16. This teaching of all our Parishioners that will submit must be both personally and publikely as far as we have ability and opportunity The former must be by Catechizing and conference wherein we must teach them first the essential points of Christianity and labour to help them to the clearest understanding of the doctrine of Salvation and press it on their affections and help them to discern their sin and misery and do all that we can to procure their conversion or edification according to their several states manageing the whole work with those holy affections that the weight of it doth require 17. The great necessity of our neighbours and the advantages of this familiar way do tell us that this work of catechizing and conference is so

great a part of our duty that we should do it with much diligence prudence and constancy And the general precepts of doing all to edification and in order oblige us ordinarily to appoint a stated time and place where every family may come in order And if we are able we should go to them that cannot or will not come to us if they will but hear us 18. Those that are Baptized in Infancy and there engaged to God in the holy Covenant should with all possible care and diligence be educated by the Parents or any that have the tuition of them in the Nurture and admonition of the Lord and taught betimes to know the doctrine of the Gospel and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to Love God above all and their neighbours as themselves and to hate iniquity and live to God and first to seek his Kingdom and righteousness To which end Parents should Catechize their Children and daily be teaching them the word of God and acquainting them with his fear and holy worship And ministers must with special care and diligence oversee the several families of their charge and excite the Parents to this necessary duty And also should themselves assist them herein and Catechize such youth as well as all others that are Ignorant as often as they can especially where Parents do neglect it 19. As Infants are by baptism admitted among the Infant-members of the Church upon their Parents profession of Christianity and dedicating them to God so must they personally make a profession of their own faith and own their baptismal Covenant and give up themselves to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost before they are to be admitted into the number and Communion of the Adult members of the Church Which profession is to be tryed and approved of by the Pastors of the Church And so excellent a duty to be carefully and seriously and solemnly performed that the transition into the state and communion of the Adult may appear to be so great and observable a thing as may excite all to an answerable care and diligence in preparation thereunto and to look after that saving faith and holiness which they must so solemnly profess And Ministers should have a special care that they take nothing for a credible profession that is not so and corrupt not the Church by letting in uncapable members that must either be cast out again to the grievous exasperating them against the Church and way of God and so to the apparent hazzard of their souls or else must live ungoverned in their wickedness to the great dishonour of God and the provocation of his wrath against them and the Church 20. For the publike worshiping of God and our own Edification the Pastors where there is opportunity must congregate the people in a solemn Assembly in a convenient place and time And all that can must constantly there attend preferring the publike worship of God before the private much more before their worldly businesses that are not of flat necessity to themselves or others 21. In these publike Assemblies it is lawful for us to admit even Infidels to be present and such Catechumen's as are yet unfit to be members of the Church and there to teach reprove and exhort them and pray for them according to their state though we may not receive them to be members of the Church nor admit them to our special communion 22. Because it is the holy Scriptures that containe that Gospel of which we are Ministers and because the honour of Gods holy word is to be preserved and the people to be instructed in it and taught to know it it is therefore our duty in the solemn Assemblies to read the word of God to the people in a known tongue as Moses and the Prophets were read every Sabbath day in the Synagogues of the Jews Such portions being chosen and order observed as the Pastors discern to be most for edification 23. Our publike preaching of the Gospel should be from faith and holy experience with plainness and perspicuity with reverence and gravity with convincing evidence and authority with fervent zeal and perswading importunity with the tenderest love and melting compassion with faithfulness impartiality and prudence suiting both matter and manner to the necessity of the hearers and with frequency and unwearied patience waiting on God for the success 24. The Pastor is to lead and the people to consent and joyn in heart in the publike prayers and unanimously to pour out their souls unto the Lord in penitent confession of sin and fervent petition and joyful thanksgiving and praise and this according to the direction of the holy Scriptures and especially of the Lords prayer which is the most perfect comprehensive summary form and pattern of our prayers 25. Confession is to be made both of our own sin and the sins of the Church and Nation of Magistrates Ministers and People yet so as that we turn it not into a reproaching and dishonouring of our superiours or an abusing of mens persons by venting our malice or distempered passions or uncharitable censures against them we must confess our original and actual sin The great corruption of our hearts and lives our sinful thoughts affections words and actions our privative and positive sin out omissions and commissions our secret and unknown sins in general and our known and open sins by name our sins of ignorance and sins against knowledge our sins before and since conversion our sins against the Lord himself consisting in our unholiness contrary to the first table and our unjustice and uncharitableness against our neighbour and our folly and injury against our selves The sins of our relations and of our more private life our sins against the light and law of nature and our sins against the Gospel and grace of a Redeemer Against the outward means of Grace and against the inward motions of the Spirit and of our consciences against mercies and judgements against the examples of Christ and his servants and the warning-falls of others especially those sins by which we have most dishonoured God and our holy profession and have most scandalized hardened or tempted others And all our confessions should proceed from true contrition and hatred of the sin 26. Our petitions must be only for things agreeable to the revealed will of God And principally for the hallowing of his name and the coming of his Kingdom and the doing of his will in earth as it is in heaven And therefore we must have compassionate thoughts of the dark and miserable parts of the world where by Heathenism Infidelity and Mahometanism the name of God is grievously dishonoured and his Soveraignty denied or rejected and Satans Kingdom doth prevail and where the will of God is partly unknown and partly willfully disobeyed And our eye and heart must be on the state of the universal Church that all this interest of God-in-Christ may be there preserved and advanced And in order to