Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
duty_n church_n day_n lord_n 3,160 5 4.2209 3 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A51819 A sermon on the sincerity and integrity of the heart preach'd before Her Majesty, at White-Hall, February the 28th, 1693/4 / by T. Mannyngham ... Manningham, Thomas, 1651?-1722. 1694 (1694) Wing M500; ESTC R6583 9,885 33

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

may give Alms out of a Principle of Vain-glory make long Prayers as a Preface to Injustice Fast and Mortifie only to appear Devout receive the Sacrament in compliance only with Custom and the expectation of Neighbours They may Read the Bible out of Curiosity or in order to make Objections against it or only to fill their Memories with its Phrases without considering the Wisdom and Holiness of those Writings or without making them a Rule of Faith and a Law of Life And many may come to Church only to make their best Appearance and to be Diverted rather than Edified by a Sermon whereas the only solid and lasting Principle of these and such like Duties is a Sense of our Obligation to God a complying with his Authority and Will a Design of promoting his Glory by our hearty and ready Obedience and of saving our Souls in the Day of the Lord. There are some secular Considerations which may come in as Vnder-Motives to our Duty because God has been pleas'd to make use of them to invite us to Vertue and Holiness such as a good Name or fair Reputation in the World Health and Plenty and Length of Days which are represented in the Book of Proverbs as the Noble Retinue and the Lovely Attendants of true Wisdom and Piety such as serve to make her Amiable and Glorious in the Eyes of all People and therefore must be allowed to have some attracting Force in them and to be inducements to a good Life but then we must take care that they be so in a subordinate manner that they be not the chief and principle Things for which we are willing to serve God for these outward Advantages are but Accidental or the usual Blessings of an ordinary Providence they are not the certain Fruits of Righteousness or its Essential Reward Persecutions Afflictions and a calamitous State of Affairs may hinder us of those Ornaments of Vertue and spoil us of those Motives to Religion but nothing can break our good Purposes when they are Bottom'd upon the true Principle the Authority and Will of God In quiet Times and when the Age is in good Temper Religion may be very profitable even towards the bettering of our Circumstances in this World it may bring us to great Honour and place us in the Favour and Esteem of most People It may be attended by Riches and Plenty and the fairest Accommodations of this Life and all the while none of these splendid things may in the least abate of the sincerity of our Hearts because we are resolv'd to continue in the same design of serving God tho' he should take away the Hedge that is about us And tho' his Providence should deliver us over to bitter Trials yet with Holy Job we would hold fast our Integrity Vertue is always Virtue and Duty is ever Duty to the sincere Christian his outward Condition or his Fortune may alter but his Heart and his good Intentions are still the same His Eye is upon God and his Laws upon his Immutable Nature and Holiness That is his Compass to Saile by in the Voyage of Life and let it be never so Dark and Cloudy he still Steers on All other Motives may vary and change but the Fear and Love of God is our sure Direction and will establish us in the right way As Sincerity has respect to the Principle upon which we are to act so the Integrity of the Heart has respect to all the Commandments of God it will not consist with a Partial Obedience it will not allow of any one Sin tho' mens Constitutions and Natures their Business and Imployments the Examples of the Age and the Vitious Customs of the World plead ever so hard for the retaining of that one Sin for the allowance of any one Sin which we know to be such is a direct Violation of the Authority of God and is inconsistent with a State of Pardon and Grace If we be contented that there remain any way of Wickedness in us we have not yet truly Repented neither can we expect that our Prayers should be heard for if we regard Iniquity in our Hearts the Lord will not hear us What the Psalmist here calls any Wicked way we may understand either of a habit and course of Sin or of any Indulgence to any one beloved Lust or of any secret Design and Purpose of committing any Evil whatever If there be any thing of this Nature permitted to remain within our Souls we have not that Integrity of Heart which God indispensably requires to make our Repentance true and our Religious Service acceptable to him But then we should do well to consider That the Integrity of the Heart is to be judg'd of by the Truth and Seriousness of our Resolutions and Endeavours both to discover what ways of Wickedness there are in us and then to put them from us and to guard our selves against them for the future by an honest and hearty Diligence As to some Remains of Corruption some Tendencies towards Evil some Strivings of the Flesh with the Spirit some sort of Infirmities and Slips which are not seperable from the strictest Life and some Defects and Imperfections in our best Actions These are the Misery and Burden of our Fallen Nature these are Matter for the Exercise of a continual Humiliation and notwithstanding these Infirmities our Hearts may be right with God when we allow ourselves in no way of Wickedness in no Course of Sin in no Indulgence of Appetites in no Design of complying with any evil Thoughts Desires and Tendencies but sincerely endeavour to suppress and weaken the Remains of our Corruption and to perfect Holiness in the fear of the Lord. Thus we see what is that Sincerity and Integrity of Heart which God indispensably requires from all of us to qualifie us for his Pardon and Grace and to make us true and real Christians Sincerity requires that we serve God upon a Right Principle without Hypocrisie and with a due Sense of his Authority and good Pleasure Integrity calls for our Resolution and Endeavour to obey all the Commandments of God without making a Reserve for any way of Wickedness whatever The 2d Thing I propos'd was how we may best judge of this Sincerity and Integrity of our Hearts viz. by examining of our own Consciences to that degree as to be willing to appeal to God's Omniscience in that Matter Search me O God and know my Heart Try me and know my Thoughts The Examining and Searching of our own Hearts is a necessary and a difficult Duty all pretend to it but there are few I fear who perform it thoroughly Most People will allow it to be a requisite Forerunner to the Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament and before the Solemn Festivals they will generally set aside some time to consider of their ways and Lives But do they find it an easie matter to descend into themselves and to search to the bottom of their Souls Is there