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	servant_n	unprofitable_a	1,244	5	10.6349	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61731	A sermon preached at the assizes held at Dorchestor in the county of Dorset, upon the fourth day of March in the year of our Lord 1669 by John Straight ...	Straight, John, 1605?-1680.	1670 (1670)	Wing S5808A; ESTC R9809	21,640	33

less than a body of death from which with the Apostle we may well cry out who shall deliver us If therefore I would justifie my self saith Job mine own mouth shall condemn me if I would be perfect he shall judge Job 9. 20. me wicked And again If God found no steadfastness in his servants but layed folly upon his Angels how much more in them that dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust Well therefore may we pray even the best of Job 4. 18 19 us all with holy David Ne intres in judicium domine Enter not into judgment O Lord with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified For indeed beloved Psal 143. 2. the most perfect keeping of the Law and the exactest observation of Gods commandments that can in this life by any be performed deserveth in it self no reward nor can it of it self profit us to justification for when we have done all those things which are commanded our Saviour Christ himself hath yet wished us to confess that we are still but unprofitable servants And if unprofitable Luke 17. 10 then when we have done all that is commanded us seeing we have done no more than was our duty to do how much more unprofitable how much more undeserving are our weak endeavours which come so short of fulfilling the least commandment Hence Saint Bernard Ber. Ser. 52 Hoc totum hominis meritum si totam spem suam ponat in eo qui totum salvum fecit sufficit ad meritum scire quod non sufficiant merrita This is the whole merit of man if he put his whole confidence in him that saved him it is merit enough to know that merits are not available For grace ye are saved through faith saith the Apostle and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not Eph. 2. 8. of works least any man should boast himself Hence Saint Augustin Saint Aug. Quisquis tibi enumerat vera merrita sua quid tibi enumerat nisi muneratua Whosoever numbreth or reckoneth up his merits unto thee what doth he number or recount to thee but thy gifts unto him Let Papistical merit mongers therefore if they will brag still of the condignity and boast yet of the congruity of their good works we with the Apostle will through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness through faith Let them I say go if they please unto the Allmighty clad in the polluted garments of their own righteousness with a Da mihi quod merui We like true Israelites will expect our heavenly fathers blessing in the perfumed garments of our elder brother In a word let them if they will like superficial Carpenters content themselves with specious structures on sandy foundations we like substantial Builders will comfort our selves with sollid erections on sure foundations Hofm Profecto stulti sunt qui tantum aedificant splendide non utiliter Et stulti sunt qui sibi satisfactum putant si solum numerentur inter Electos etiamsi non numerentur cum electis so Hofmister Truely saith he they are fooles who build only for shew and not for profit and they are fooles that think it enough for themselves to be accounted here of the Elect although hereafter for want of a good foundation they be not numbred with the Elect. It is the root beloved that susteines the tree and the foundation that supports the building Stella Structura quamvis exterius magnifica sit altitudine excellens firma tamen non erit nisi solido firmoque nitatur fundamento so Stella The building saith he be it never so sumptuous never so stately never so lofty yet will it not be stable unless it be grounded on some sollid and firm foundation Our spiritual building in like manner be it never so specious be it never so glorious to the eye of the world yet will it not be 1 Tim. 6. 12 19 permanent except it be grounded on a firm foundation unless its foundation be laid upon a Rock Statuitque fundamentum supra petram And laid his foundation on a Rock Dig not O dig not then to your selves any longer broken cisterns that will hold no water build no longer on sandy foundations that will withstand no weather but fight the good fight and lay the good foundation that when the waters do arise and the floods do beat upon your buildings they may not shake them which is the fourth thing by which a sincere Christian is in my Text described Namely by the perils and dangers immediately ensuing his discretion in laying his foundation on a Rock and comes now next in order to be spoken of And when the waters arose the flood beat upon that House A true Christian can no sooner be built upon the Rock but he must instantly look for storms of affliction a true convert can no sooner be ingrafted into Christ but he must suddenly expect to undergo the Cross Gods Elect children can no sooner lay their foundation on this Rock of Christ but presently the bitter waters of distasteful afflictions will arise yea and the sorrowful floods of horrid tentations will beat upon their buildings Is Saint Paul 2 Cor. 12. 7. Psal 102. 3 4 5 6. John 6. 4. 7 built upon this Rock He shall have a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to buffet him Is David a man after Gods own heart He shall be much perplexed with many miseries Is Job an upright man in the Land of Vz He shall suffer many afflictions In a word as Paul when he came to Macedonia so we even every one of us so soon as we look towards Jerusalem which is above so soon as we make a conscience of sin we shall be troubled on every side fightings without and terrours within fightings without with open and professed enemies to 2 Cor. 7. 5 the truth and fears within from false brethren fighting without by the continual assaults of outward tentations and fears within by spiritual derilictions and conflicts with despair Nunquam bella bonis nunquam dissidia cessant Et quoeum certet mens pia semper habet Prosper With wars intestine are the godly alwayes prest And pious minds with something do contest To such conflicts and assaults the dearest of Gods children are subject in this their pilgrimage here and if you would have a reason for it it is evidently this viz. because they are now become the devils open enemies they must therefore look to be assaulted both by stratagems and violence The devil like a cunning fowler spreads his nets for them only that are out of his clutches not for them that are in his own custody No Prince maketh warre with his Loyal Subjects The wicked are as sure as temptation can make them to them therefore he speaks as freindly as Holofernes sometime did to Judeth Fear not in thine heart for I never hurt any