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
A64359	A friendly debate between a Roman Catholick and a Protestant concerning the doctrine of transubstantiation wherein the said doctrine is utterly confuted, and Antichrist is clearly and fully described, and his inevitable destruction predicted : with a challenge to all the Romish doctors that preach and teach the said doctrine, to answer it.	Tenison, Thomas, 1636-1715.	1688 (1688)	Wing T698; ESTC R38802	90,615	48

●●rist's offering up himself a Sacrifice to satisfie ●●●vine Justice and so to make up the breach that 〈◊〉 had made between God and Man and reconcile 〈◊〉 and Man together And this great and only ●●crifice we are in special manner to commemorate 〈◊〉 the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper from them ●●●rds of our Saviour Christ Do this in remembrance ●●●one Why even so the Passover and all the Sacrifices under the Ceremonial Law were instituted and ●●●●●inted by God for a Remembrance that Christ 〈◊〉 to come in the flesh and die in the flesh to re●●●●● fallen Man And here I will shew you the 〈◊〉 over and the Sacrifice both joyned together in 〈◊〉 Antitype or that which they signified unto us 〈◊〉 also the sanctifying purging nature and virtue ●●●●●ysical operation of it in 1 Cor. 5.7 Purge out ●●●●●fore the old leaven that ye may be a new lump as 〈◊〉 unleavened For even Christ our passover is sacri●●●● for us ●●d as there was a Remembrance of Sin in the ●●●●●fices to shew what an evil and dangerous thing 〈◊〉 and how contrary it is to the holy Nature of 〈◊〉 why even so there is a remembrance of sin 〈◊〉 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to shew 〈◊〉 an evil there is in sin and also how contrary 〈◊〉 the Holy Nature of God. 〈◊〉 Sacrifice under the Law and the Sacrament 〈◊〉 the Gospel are like two great Looking 〈◊〉 in which Believers saw the deformity of 〈◊〉 in which they also see the great Love of 〈◊〉 poor sinful Dust and Ashes In the Glass under 〈◊〉 they saw that Christ was to come and be of●●●●● for sin and in our great Glass under the 〈◊〉 we see that Christ hath come and has ●●●●●ered up for sin Sin is such a hainous ●●●●voking thing that nothing short of the 〈◊〉 precious Blood of Christ the spotless 〈◊〉 God could appease or extinguish the 〈◊〉 God that was kindled against sinners and expel the guilt and expiate sin and satisfie the Justice of God and justifie and atone them to God and purchase Eternal Life and Salvation for them at the price of his own precious Blood and copious Righteousness and Alsufficient Merits And he made up the Breach that sin did make between sinful man and that God who is of purer eyes then to behold iniquity with any approbation thereunto For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord And Christ received the wages that was due unto us sinning men and poor sinners receive the gift of God that was purchased by him For although God gives it yet Christ purchases it All the Sacrifices under the Law of Moses no nor all the good works nor pretended sacrifices under the Gospel they all cannot take away nor expiate the least vain sinful thought for all our Righteousnesses are all but filthy Rags Tho it is true we shall not be saved without Good Works and right Gospel Sacrifices yet we shall never be saved by nor for them for Christ saith Luke 17.10 So likewise ye when ye shall have done all these things which are commanded you say We are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our duty to do Eph. 2.8 9. For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of your selves for it is the gift of God No for Faith it self is not of our selves for it is the Gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast For if Man were to be saved by and for his own works he would be proud and make his boast of it For there is not a prouder person upon Earth in the account of God than a Pharisaical self-conceited righteous person is Pray see what is said of him in Prov. 30.12 13. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness There is a generation O how lofty are their eyes and their eye-lids are lifted up And in Isa 65.3 5. A people that provoked me to anger continually to my face that sacrificeth in gardens and burneth Incense upon Altars of brick The Prophet here prophesied of a Generation of pretended Christians Ay and of such as do look upon themselves to be the only Infallible holy Christians and that are Sacrificers in Gospel times Pray mind what he saith of them as followeth Which say stand by thy self come not near to me for I am more holier than thou It must needs be so when they count themselves the only Christians and all other to be Hereticks But see how God accepts these persons and their Sacrifices that are our Gospel Sacrificers viz. These are a smoak in my nose a fire that burneth all the day And no person is pure in his own eyes but the self-righteous person And I pray hear further what is said by our Saviour Christ of such a person Luke 18.10 11 12 13 14. Two men went up into the temple to pray the 〈◊〉 a Pharisee and the other a Publican the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself God I thank thee that I am not as other men are extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this Publican I fast twice in the week It may be that was on Wednesdays and Fridays I give tithes of all that I possess He thought himself Cock-sure of Heaven and did not so much as dream of stopping at Purgatory by the way But see what it all came to at last And the Publican standing afar off would not so much as lift up his eyes unto heaven but snote upon his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted I say again That all the Sacrifices under the Law could not take away nor expiate sin for they were but figures of Christ the great and only Sacrifice that was to be offered up in due time to take away sin from the ungodly and make them holy Pray Sir observe with me these following Scriptures for further illumination Heb. 8.4 5 6 7. For if he were on earth That is Christ he should not be a priest seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law which serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things Mind These Sacrifices were but examples and shadows when they were in force and according to God's appointment before Christ abolished them of Heavenly things that was to come that was the fruit and effect or product of the heavenly things that were transacted between God the Father and Christ his Son in his Eternal Council with the Holy Ghost which proceeds from the Father and the Son in order to Man's Redemption As Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the Iabernacle for see saith he that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the Mount

and look unto the Righteousness and the Blood and Merits of Christ alone for ●ustification Sanctification and Salvation and ●ount all that ye have done to be but silthy Rags ●his is to deny righteous-self Isa 64.6 But we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as ●●lthy rags Joh. 17.10 So likewise ye when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you say ●e are unprefitable servants we have done that which ●as our duty to do So that we cannot merit ought 〈◊〉 the hands of God by doing that which is our Duty to do for it is a contradiction in it self ●●r if it be Duty then it is not Merit but if it be Merit then it is not Duty for when we have ●one all we can do it cannot justify nor acquit a ●oul of the least vain sinful thought For our justification before and in the sight of God cometh 〈◊〉 by the Righteousness of Christ our Redeemer ●●nne without the help of any Copertner or 〈…〉 But the Gospel of Antichrist teacheth men and women to be worse than their own natural dispositions and corrupt inclinations and indulgeth them in all manner of ungodliness and worldly Lusts it le ts loose the Reins to the will of the Flesh and is a spur to iniquity and teacheth men that they shall be justified and saved by and for their good Works joyned with the Righteousness and Merits of Christ therefore neither that Gospel nor that Religion which it teacheth can be true or of God therefore it must be of Satan 2 Cor. 11.3 4. Gal. 1.8 9. Rev. 22.18 19. Tenthly The Gospel of Christ teacheth men to confess their sins to God and to one another and to pray one for another unto God and beg of him to pardon us in the Blood of Christ and that God would give the Grace of Faith and unfeigned Repentance unto us that we may hate sin and forsake all our sins and here you may see what true Repentance is in all the parts of it laid down by the Apostle St. Paul in 2 Cor. 7.10 11. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death For behold this self-same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort what carefulness it wrought in you yea what clearing of your selves yea what indignation yea what fear yea what vehement desire yea what zeal yea what revenge in all things ye have approved your selves to be clear in this matter This is true Gospel Repentance in all the parts of it this is Repentance unto Salvation never to be repented of they are careful to use the uttermost power that God hath given them in the means of Grace never to commit sin more and they clear themselves by confessing their sins to God and forsaking of them and they take up a holy indignation and an implacable hatred against sin and study how to be revenged upon it as a Man doth upon his implacable enemy and he hath a vehement desire after Grace and Holiness and useth all the means of Grace which God hath appointed to that end And by their being hearty and sincere in the work they can approve themselves to God in this matter or appeal to God through Jesus Christ from their Consciences that they are truly penitent and have the evidence of it in themselves And it is said if we confess our sins that is after that manner aforesaid not a bare verbal Confession that God is just to forgive us our sins Now you cannot Pray one among another nor Pray one for another in a right manner but you must confess your Sins to God and to one another for if you confess your Sins and do not pray or if you do pray and not confess your Sins it is neither a right Gospel-Confession nor a right Prayer But if it be done in a right manner and to a 〈…〉 never miss of a Pardon from God in the Blood of Christ because God hath promised it and he will be as good as his Word and therefore he is just to forgive us our Sins But if one man can Pardon another why then he can merit Life for himself and another then we need not to have Christ pleading with the Father for pardoning Grace for Sinners no nor Christ need not to have died that vast cost might have been spared if Sinners can Pardon one another and merit Justification and Savlation one for another But this is just like unto a poor Man that is deeply in Debt to the King for Tribute and he meets with another Man that is deeper in Debt to the King than he and the latter saith unto the other Sir I suppose you are in the King's Debt Yes Sir I am Well do but Confess to me how much your Debt is and give me a small Fee and I will pardon you so he confesseth and he Pardons him as he pretends But the poor Man stands still charged in the King's Books and then he runs on again further in Debt and he goes to his old Friend and confesses his Debt and he Pardons him the King's Debt but he will not forgive him his own Fees no Penny no Pater-Noster no that is a Debt cannot be forgiven and so he goes on in Debt again and again and he pardons him but all this while he hath none of the Kings Commission for so doing But at last the King calls both these Debtors to Account he that pretended to forgive the other his Debt to the King who himself was deeper in Debt to the King than the other that he pardoned and the pardoned man he pleads that he is pardoned who pardoned you Why such a one What had he to do to Pardon you that which you do owe unto me He never had any such Power from me for he had more need of a Pardon for himself did he not owe me enough himself but must he take your Debt upon him too Then the King in a great Fury causes them both to be Seised and clapt up into Prison and never to come out until they have paid the utmost Farthing So will it be with all them which pretend to Pardon other Mens Sins and with them also that rely upon their Pardon living and dying in that Condition it is of no more value than for one Thief or Highway-man to Pardon another of their bloody Crimes none can pardon Sin but God. Good Men may Judg that such and such Men are pardoned upon their Confession or a Church may pronounce in their Cenfure such a one pardoned but none but God can Pardon them Mark 2.7 10. Why doth this man thus speak Blasphemies Who can forgive sins but God that is none have the Power to forgive Sin but God The Jews were right in their Doctrine but they were mistaken in the Person they took our Saviour to be but a meer Man pray mind wh● our Saviour saith But that ye may know that the 〈◊〉