Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	command_v	law_n	precept_n	1,277	5	9.1164	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33961	Defensative armour, against four of Sathan's most fiery darts viz. temptations to atheistical and blasphemous impressions and thoughts, self-murther, despair, and presumption : wherein is discoursed the nature of these temptations, the several tempters to these sins, the arguments ordinarily used by the tempters in the inforcing of them, and some proper advice is offered to those who are exercised with them / by J.C. D.D. ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1680 (1680)	Wing C5312; ESTC R12985	145,095	356

and yet not eying the Command of God be carried out to it from other Motives Now this is no Obedience no keeping of the Commandements of God 4. That no Obedience is true but what is Universal I do not say perfect for who liveth and sinneth not but Universal There is an equal respect to the whole Law of God Psal 119. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed saith David when I have respect to all thy Commandements The Reason is plain because who so doth or avoideth an Action purely upon this Reason because God hath commanded or God hath forbidden it will find himself under the same Obligation to do whatever God hath commanded and to avoid whatsoever God hath forbidden yet is not a Christian to measure his Obedience from his performance but from the regard which he hath in his Heart to the whole Law of God conjoyned with a proportionable endeavour tho our Corruption will sometimes be too hard for us 5. If a Man or Woman hath built up his Hopes as to the remission of Sins of which he as yet hath no Assurance and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eternal Life upon this that God having in the Gospel made a Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ as he upon whom he hath laid the Salvation of Men and having wrought in his Heart a firm and steady Assent to what God hath there revealed and inabled him to accept of this Salvation and to close with Gods way of Salvation casting all the Concerns of his Soul for Pardon and Salvation upon Jesus Christ and that he hath by his Spirit made a change in his Heart that he now hateth all Sin and loveth God and the Commandments of God and hath a regard to them all desiring to do whatsoever God hath commanded and to avoid whatsoover he hath forbidden and that because he hath commanded the one and forbidden the other and accordingly endeavoureth in his whole Conversation though he be many times over born with Temptations and finds a Law in his Members rebelling against and prevailing against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin This Man now builds his Hopes not presumptuously but upon the clear Revelation of the Will of God in his Word But less than this is no better than Presumption from false Notions taken up of Regeneration Conversion Repentance Saving Faith and True Holiness Yet further In order to the avoiding of this Temptation take heed of taking up scanty and narrow Notions of the Law of God It is indeed a snare unto a Soul so to interpret the Divine Law so as to doubt and fear Actions that are lawful as if they were forbidden But it is a more dangerous Rock for a Man to dash upon so to interpret Gods Law as to make those things lawful which God hath forbidden or to undeestand those things as unlawful or at least indifferent which God hath commandeded but I hinted it before to you and I now tell it you again There is none that is but moderately acquainted with the Srriptnres and with the Writings of the Popish Casuists but will plainly see that it hath been the great Design of their Divines for a long time to interterpret the Law of God so as Men might keep their Lusts and yet keep the Commandments of God according to the sense they have put upon them In short Obedience to the Church is almost with them The whole Duty of Man There are some others that came too near them making strange loose Interpretations of the Law of God The precept for not taking Gods Name in vain they say is onely to be understood against Perjury The 4th Commandement onely commandeth the keeping such days holy as the Church appoints These and such like Interpretations serve for nothing but to help a Soul to presume And indeed this loose Interpretation of the Law of God is necessary to all such as maintain the Justification of the Soul not by the Righteousness of Christ but by a Righteousness of our own And that Man hath a Power in himself to do all that God requireth of him I say it is necessary for those Men to interpret Gods Law into a consistancy with Mans Power But let all good Christians that value their Souls take heed of those Interpretations Let them but Interpret the Commandements so as by them shall be commanded and forbidden whatsoever is commanded and forbidden in the Word of God and then they will easily discern these fallacies and so they must interpret them or they cannot conclude that the Ten Commandements contain the sum of all that God hath commanded us to do and avoid for it is most certain that the whole Scripture is as much the Revealed Will of God as the Ten Commandments and hath equal Authority with us Be acquainted therefore with the Scriptures and call that Obedience and Holiness which that calleth so and be assured that let Men tell you what they will without that Holiness that Obedience no Man shall see God I have dwelt a little the longer upon this head because indeed the great mistakes of Men are upon these points that Men fancy that their case is good that they believe enough and are holy enough to go to Heaven nay to plead their Holiness as a Righteousness in which they shall adventure to appear before God 6. A Sixth Notion which I instanced in of this mischievous tendency Is the Power of a Priest or Minister to give Absolution So as if while they live the Minister hath absolved them or if when they come to die they can but Receive the Sacrement be absolved they conclude their Case is good enough The Opinion is in its Original perfectly Popish but founded on that Text Whose Sins soever you remit they are remitted and whose Sins soever you retain they are retained John 20. 23. The words are spoken to Christs Disciples upon whom he breathed v. 22. and said Receive you the Holy Ghost then he adds Whose Sins soever you remit they are remitted and whose Sins soever you retain they are retained And this Power saith the Papist every Priest hath he deriveth from the Apostles and hath the same Power given to him which Christ gave them And there is a Tincture of this Doctrine upon the Spirits of some that are no professed Papists and I perswade my self that many less knowing People peniciously rest upon it I shall therefore a little inlarge upon it 1. In the first place That God onely can forgive Sins is a Principle so consonant to Reason and so abundantly Confirmed in Holy Writ that certainly none can make the least doubt of it Sin is a debt a debt to the Justice of God Christ hath taught us to pray with Reference to it Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors Now Reason tells us that none can discharge a debt but he onely to whom it is owing it is an injury done to God and who can forgive it but

as he tells him was ready to have done greater things for him against all this he sinned in the matter of Bathsheba and in the matter of Uriah It is true this cost him many Tears many Prayers yet he obtained Mercy Peter was a Man of great Light and had been made the Object of great Love Christ had said to him Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church yet this Peter cursed and sware and denied his Master and after this when he had gone out and wept betterly Christ remembred him and I doubt not but you believe Peter is in Heaven Thou canst not say that thou hast sinned against greater Light or greater Love than these two eminent Saints in Glory sinned against To have sinned out our Light indeed that is to such a degree as we have no more Checks no more Rebukes of Conscience this is very sad and the Interpretations of it be to the Enemies of God To be past Feeling that is sad but by thy Trouble and Complaining it appeareth that is not thy Case but it is plain that many have sinned against Light much Light and against much Love too whom God hath from the infiniteness of his Mercy forgiven and rereceived up to Glory 3. Temptation But will such a Soul say It is true had I in time turned unto God there might have been hope but alas time is past time is past with me had I turned to God in my Youth but I am in the declining part of my Life God hath said His Spirit shall not always strive with Man The Fig-tree was Cursed after Three years in vain expecting Fruit. God hath a long time been looking for Fruit of my Soul and hath found none I have sinned wilfully after I had received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth now I fear no more Sacrifice of Sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgement and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries Heb. 10. 26 27. To which I say 1. This is indeed a very sad and bitter Reflection and I desire that such Complaints as these when we hear them may be sanctified to all that have time before them to take heed how they mispend it and trifle it away but where this Counsel is too late the Question that we have in hand is Whether there be a sufficient Warrant for a Souls Despair 2. The sadness Secondly of this Case is aggravated from the appearances of Scripture for this Temptation It is generally held by Divines That as Countries and Nations have their Periods of Grace so particular Persons have their Days of Grace too and Periods beyond which Gods Spirit shall not strive with them and it appeareth by that Text Heb. 10. That there is a wilful Sinning after the Knowledge of the Truth after which there will remain no Sacrifice for Sin But what that degree of wilful Sinning is and how it must be circumstanced that is another Question But to speak more directly to the Temptation 1. In the first place I would have thee scriously consider Whether the Freeness of Divine Grace in the Remission of Sins be duly thought of by thee who objectest thus against thy self Take heed thou hast not some Thoughts within thee that thou shouldest recompence God by thy future Holiness for thy past Provocations and whether that which discourageth thy hoping in God and looking up unto him for Mercy be not a prospect that thou art not like to have time enough to make this Recompence If thou hast any such Thoughts as these thou dost not well attend to the Promise of Pardon which runs thus I will blot out thy Transgressions for mine own Name sake and we have Redemption even Forgiveness of Sins through his Blood The end which God aimeth at in the Forgiveness of any Souls Sin is his own Glory the glorifying of the riches of his Grace not receiving the Homage of an Holy Life though that be thy Duty and what God requireth of thee yet I say that is not Gods great and ultimate end He will have Mercy on whom he will have Mercy and extend Compassion to whom he will extend Compassion The Consideration upon which God doth it is the Price paid and Satisfaction given by the Blood of his Son It is not for our sake nor for our future Works sake but for his own Name sake and for his dear S●n's sake that he granteth unto any Pardon and Forgiveness of Sin Now although the time of thy Life yet to come in probability will not be commensurate to the time of Life which is past and spent in Sinning and Dishonouring God yet why may not the great God glorifie the Riches of his Grace in the free Forgiveness of thee Why may he not exalt the Blood of his Son in washing thy Soul 2. Secondly It is not for us to know times and seasons which are in Gods Power onely It is true God seemeth to have revealed that every Soul hath a set time beyond which be will shew it no favour and that this is not onely the end of our Life but may be sometime before our dying day but we know not what time that is and therefore it is rashness for any Soul to conclude my time is past Where have we any Directions from the Word of God to fix any such time or to conclude it as to any period of time We know the Master of the Vineyard called to some to come and Work in his Vineyard at the 11th hour and we know also that the Thief upon the Cross was told in the last hour of his Life that he should that Night be with Christ in Paradise Secret things belong unto God Revealed things onely to us and to our Children Unless we had some certain Rule to determine the Time to us we have no Reason to determine it our selves to discourage us from what his Word commandeth us as our certain Duty 3. Thirdly Supposing there be an heart found in us to be sorry for our Sins humbled for them and to turn from them to God and to accept of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Salvation tendred unto us in the Gospel it is certain our time is not yet past The Reason is because the promise of Pardon and Salvation is made unto such So that no Soul hath reason to conclude there is no hope for him in God but that Soul that laboureth under impenitency and hardness of heart and findeth in it self a resolution yet to go on in its sinful courses And therefore you shall observe in that dreadful Text Heb. 6. the Apostle saith of them that have been once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly Gift and the Powers of the World to come and have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost c. if they fall away it is impossible they should be renewed again by Repentance if they could Repent it were not impossible they should be Pardoned or obtain Eternal Life and Salvation but