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
A67875	Laudensium apostasia: or A dialogue in which is shewen, that some divines risen up in our church since the greatness of the late archbishop, are in sundry points of great moment, quite fallen off from the doctrine received in the Church of England. By Henry Hickman fellow of Magd. Colledg Oxon.	Hickman, Henry, d. 1692.	1660 (1660)	Wing H1911; ESTC R208512	84,970	112

but that where any sin is forbidden there the contrary duty is enjoyned is a rule given and allowed by all the Expositors of the Decalogue nor can you instance in any one Moral affirmative Precept of the Gospel which was not Obligatory to believers under the Old Covenant Laud The Affirmative Precepts of the Gospel being propounded in general terms and with indefinite proportions for the measures are left under our choice and liberty to signifie our great love to God whatsoever is over and above the Commandments that shall have a great reward God sorbids unmercifulness he that is not unmerciful keeps the Commandment but he that besides his abstinence from unmercifulness according to the Commandment shall open his hand and his heart and give plentifully to the poor this man shall have a reward he is among those servants whom his Lord will make to sit down and himself will serve him when God in the Commandment forbids uncleanness and fornication he that is not unchast and doth not pollute himself keeps the Commandment but if to preserve his chastity he useth fasting and prayer if he mortifieth his body if he deny himself the pleasures of this world if he useth the easiest or the hardest remedies according to the proportion of his love and industry especially if he be prudent so shall his greater reward be To follow Christ is all our duty but if that we may follow Christ with greater advances we quit all the possessions of the world this is the more acceptable because it is a doing of the Commandment with greater love We must so order things that the Commandment be not broken but the difference is in finding out the better wayes and doing the duty with the more affections Unum Necess 48 49. Pacif. All this goeth quite against the hair with me I do not think that the Affirmative Precepts of the Gospel for the measure are left under our liberty and choice to signifie our greater love Whatever the Law of the Gospel requires us to do it requireth that we do it cum omni valdè in the highest degree and measure Nor doth he keep the Commandment that is not unmerciful for the very Commandment is that a man open his hand and heart and give plentifully to the poor he that sows plentifully shall reap more plentifully than he that sows but sparingly not because he doth more then the Commandment requireth but because that merciful God who hath promised to reward the least grace with Heaven hath yet promised to reserve higher Mansions in Heaven for those that out-strip their fellow Christians in zeal nor is it acceptable to God that a man should quit the possessions of the world to follow Christ except it so happen that a man cannot follow Christ and keep the possessions of the world too and if such a case happen I trow the Law of the Gospel requireth that a man should rather forsake the world then not follow Christ if a man do not follow Christ to the forsaking all he hath when he is by providence called so to do he performeth not all his duty if you gainsay this you introduce counsels of perfection and works of supererogation quite contrary to the Articles of our Church Artic. 14. Voluntary works besides over and above Gods Commandments which they call works of supererogation cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety for by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do do but that they do more for his sake than of bounden duty is required whereas Christ saith plainly when ye have done all that are commanded you say we be unprofitable servants Laud They are highly mistaken that think any thing of this nature is a work of supererogation for all this is nothing but a pursuance of the Commandment but some Commandments are propounded as to friends some as to servants some under the threatning of horrible pains others not so but with the proposition and under the invitation by glorious rewards it was commanded by St. Paul to preach the Gospel if he had not obeyed he should have perished he was bound to do it but he had another Commandment also to love God as much as was possible to love his neighbour which Precepts were infinite and of an unlimitted signification and therefore were left to every servants choice to do them with his several measures of zeal and love p. 49. Unum Neces Pacif. You are well aware thar Protestant ears cannot hear of works of supererogation and therefore you abstain from those terms but in vain is it to disclaim and renounce the name so long as you own the thing What Reformed Divine ever said that there are Commandments which are not propounded under the threatning of horrible pains to those that disobeyed them and repented not of that disobedience Is not the transgression of every commandment a sin and doth not every sin deserve eternal death had not Paul perished if he had not loved his neighbour as well as if he had not preached the Gospel Are there not several measures of affection and zeal in preaching the Gospel as well as in loving God or our neighbours or how are the Precepts of loving God and our neighbour left more to every servants choice as to the degree than the Preaching of the Gospel is But as to this matter I refer my self to what is written by Papists and Protestants about Councils What think you of the possibility of performing the Law in this life Laud To every Christian it is enjoyned that they be perfect i. e. according to the measure of every one which perfection consists in doing our endeavour He that does not do that must never hope to be accepted because he refuseth to serve God by something that is in his power But he that does that is sure that God will not refuse it because we cannot be dealt withall upon any other account but by the measures of what is in our power and for what is not we cannot take care Unum Necess 43. The highest severity of the Gospel is to love God with all our soul i. e. to love him as much as we can love him and that is certain we can do Every man can do as much as he can and God requires no more Unum Necess p. 20. Pacif. That the perfection which God hath promised to accept of lieth in doing our endeavour and stirring up the grace of God which is in us I deny not but I deny that we cannot be dealt with upon any other account but by the measures of what is in our power or that we cannot take care for what is not in our power God may deal with us upon the account of what was once in our power God in the Gospel doth require more than we can do for his Law is regula officii not mensura facultatis it shews what we ought to do not what we can do but yet