Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	conscience_n	good_a	sin_n	3,825	5	5.2827	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12360	Ionah the messenger of Ninevehs repentance Set forth in his calling, rebellion, and punishment. By H.S.; Sixe sermons. Selections	Smith, Henry, 1550?-1591.	1637 (1637)	STC 22677.5; ESTC S112129	35,429	236

would cry but what God had commanded But what did God command him to cry even this Yet forty daies and Nineveh shall bee destroyed yea ancient Nineveh faire Nineveh proud Nineveh must bee destroyed No man sits so high but destruction sits above him Iustice would have come without crying but the mercifull God cryes to them that they hearing his cry might cry themselves and God hearing their cry againe tooke pitty on them Isaiah was commanded to cry Isa 40. 6 7. And Iohn was commanded in the spirit of Eliah to cry and Ionah was commanded to cry and he cryed And all Preachers are commanded to cry aloud and not to spare and to be faithfull in their message 1 Cor. 4. 4. and woe to them that love the pleasures of sinne more then the glory of God For their wickednesse is come up Wee have heard the charge given heavie newes Now the cause is Nineveh hath followed her lusts satisfied her desires forgotten Gods lawes let her therefore prepare for destruction When God sends cryes unto a people it is a manifest signe their wickednesse is come up before him And then if they will not repent while God continues crying amongst them the Lord of Hosts will rise up in armes against them Nineveh was as full of sinne as people prosperity and security kissed each other Nah. 2. 8. Is come up Sinne mounts up on high and carries us up as the Tempter did Christ to the top of a pinacle to behold all the pleasures of the world at once but a grievous thing it is to consider what a man is doing while hee sinnes and what sinne is doing at the barre of Gods just judgement for nothing can stay sinne once committed from ascending up before the face of the Eternall God An arrow is swift the Sun is swifter but sinne is swiftest of all for in a moment it is committed on earth comes before God and is condemned to hell For though Nimrod could not climbe to Heaven yet his sinnes flew up When wee sinne wee are like the shell-fish which the Eagle carries into the ayre le ts fall upon the rockes dasheth in peeces and so devours it So the wrath of God throwes us low upon the rockes of shame and contempt and terror of conscience and then the grave and hell that double death devoures us Is come before me By sinnes comming before God is meant Gods beholding and seeing it Wee fast as before him we pray as before him and doe every good duty as before him because wee doe it freely not caring who lookes upon us but we sinne as behind him as loath to bee seene and we suppose we sinne behind him as if he saw us not saying as Eliphaz accused Iob to have said Iob 2. 12 13 14. Is not God in the height of the heavens and see the highnesse of the Starres how high they are therefore how could God know it c. but then chiefly wee thinke God beholds us not when men cannot see us but be not deceived God seeth not as man seeth Man sees onely the outward act but God seeth the secretest imaginations of the heart Againe Man seeth but one thing at once and cannot see before and behind him with one looke but God seeth all things at all times for when wee speake evill hee is all eares to heare us when wee doe evill he is all eyes to see us Ananias might have gained by his craft if God had not seene his heart Acts 5. Gehezi might have profited by his lye and gained a bribe for his labour if God had not seene his fetches and turned his bribe into a Leprosie 2 King 5. The man that bad his soule bee merry might have injoyed his pleasure many yeares had not God espied his security Luke 12. Achan might have kept his gold had not God seene him Achan would never have stollen nor Gehezi taken bribes had they thought God beheld them will any steale the owner looking on will any speake treason the King hearing it Therefore marke but this part of my Sermon Say when thy hand is at a sinne I will not doe it because the Lord sees me And as hee is all eyes to see sinne and all hands to punish it so if wee repent hee is all mercy to forgive it Now therefore repent of thy sinne hye thee fast to the throne of Grace and try if thy repentance will not as powerfully cry for pardon as thy sinnes did vehemently cry for punishment The Angell cryed not so loud Babylon is fallen Revel 18. 2. as the Spirit of truth shall assure thee thy sinnes are forgiven thee Rom. 6. 14. Psal. 91. 10. 34. 10. 84. 11. Rom. 8. 28. Repent therefore and truly repent by flying all sinne with the occasion and appearances and love the truth and as much as is in you have peace with all men that the God of peace may give you peace in Christ All this is grounded on this that God seeth whatsoever we doe So Rev. 2. 2-9-13 and 3-1-8 I know thy workes is spoken to incourage the Sardians and Laod ceans to repentance knowing that God is a liberall rewarder of them that seeke him Heb. 11. 6. Is come before me Sinne once committed comes presently before God but the carnall hearted man like the faint Spies of Canaan thinkes the way to Heaven hard and the journey further then hee is able to goe all his life but when you send Faith Hope and Love those messengers of truth and peace they will tell you that your fashions pride love of the world and other sins must be put off as unbeseeming the fashion of that countrey so that ere we come thither wee must leave them like the shadow when we goe into the doore wee must shake hands with them and bid them farrewell THE REBELLION OF IONAH VER 3. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went downe to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish So hee payed the fare thereof and went downe into it to goe with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. IT followes now to shew how Ionah discharged the charge given unto him First he neglected it afterwards being chastised and so repenting he faithfully discharged it First of his Rebellion First Ionah was sent to Nineveh to preach against their ungodlinesse to reclaime them that they might repent so the wrath of God be turned away how happy a message should this have beene that brought such blessed effects but still one flie or other spoyles the boxe of ointment Eccles 10. 1. Satan stands up and sends him instead of Nineveh to Tarshish meaning thereby First to put him out of Gods favour to bring upon him torment of conscience decay of gifts and disreputation among the people Secondly to harden the people in their sinnes and against Gods Prophets Thirdly that the most populous and wealthy Citty in Assyria might be destroyed all dying unrepentant

nothing or that which we are not commanded or els otherwise then wee are commanded Sometime most rebelliously wee doe that which wee know the Lord straitly forbiddeth And as Ionah tooke Tarshish for Nineveh so we take the divell for an Angell light for darkenesse c. But no marvell though Ionah fled to Tarshish when hee should goe to Nineveh for his vocation is rejected by the children of this world and every where kickt against so that if you would aske for a painefull vocation this is it if for a thanklesse vocation this is it if for a contemptible vocation this is it for reprooving we are reprooved blessing wee are cursed preaching peace wee make warre proclaiming liberty wee are imprisoned doe what we can we are persecuted and for our worke worthy of love wee receive of most hatred of few yea very few not any more then a cold affection Hereof it hath come to passe that Moses and Ieremy called excused themselves Ezekiel having received his charge went in bitternesse and indignation of his spirit and seven daies neglected his charge as Ionah here doth his and Moses Eliah and Ieremiah at length complained and which to the best men is the greatest griefe it is as easy almost to wash a blacke-moore white as to convert a sinner because Satan is ever crossing men doing Gods will but specially hindring the course of right preaching For the Lord was not so earnest to stop the way of Balaam lest hee should commit wickednesse as the divell is earnest to stop the way of every Ionah lest hee fullfill righteousnes that is cry against Nineveh longing and earnestly labouring to convert it But who would have thought that such a Prophet should flie from the Lord yea and then when he should doe him most service A fearefull example therefore let him that standeth take heed lest hee fall for the way is slippery wherein wee are to walke When thou remembrest the fall of the Prophet then consider that thou art much weaker then a Prophet and therefore the easier to bee encountred and overthrowne and the likelier to have a most grievous fall except the Lord doe mightily uphold thee Secondly if thou see Ionah flie Moses murmur David fall to adultery Salomon to idolatry and Peter to forsweare his Master then learne thou not to trust to thy owne strength for it is weakenesse nor to thy owne wisedome for it is sinfull but seeke helpe and crave strength at the hand of Almighty God who giveth indifferently to every one that asketh which doth not bruise the broken reed nor quench the smoking flax but doth rather increase our zeale then diminish it And judge favourably of such as fall for though Ionah fled yet he returned againe and though David joyned murther with adultery yet he repented And he found a ship going to Tarshish As soone as hee set forward to flie from God Satan seconds his temptation with opportunity hee findes a ship ready hee fits Iudas with money and Ionah with a ship if thou wilt flie from God the divell will lend thee both spurres and a horse yea a post-horse to carry thee hastily and swiftly to all ungodly lusts And he payed the fare This money was cast into the sea many wast their money upon dice and unlawfull games it were good for them if they had not a penny to loose and so men care not what they pay for vanities and braveries this also is cast into the sea but they will give little or nothing to doe good withall So Lazarus can get nothing and David can get no meate shall I give my bread and wine to one I know not saith churlish Naball We can bee content to give and do any thing to win the world but wee will give nothing nor doe nothing whereby to win the kingdome of God Ionah is entred into the ship and sleepes sleepes soundly and being wakened confessed not his sinne untill hee was forced to it by discovery of casting lots Thus God sets out the stubbornenesse and disobedience of Ionah in that this thing was not done upon a sudden but upon deliberation and continuance he had space and ley sure enough to have repented but did not Ionah first liftned to Satans assaults liked them consented to obey them put them in practise fled to Ioppa hyred the ship hoysed up sayles and went to sleepe to shew that sinne runs on wheeles and posts downe hill and never stayes till it arrive even in Hell So sinnes follow one another like linkes of a chaine till the tempest of destruction breake it in sunder but if Ionah had considered the all-seeing eye of Almighty God hee would have leaped out of the ship that carried him at once from God and from his duty since the creature cannot hide it selfe from the Creator All those that pitty Ionah let them pitty themselves our sinnes are as many as his were hee confessed freely and fully so let us for this was written to admonish us that wee may stand where hee fell and when wee fall to confesse freely and fully to God alwaies and to man also when wisdome commands FINIS THE PVNISHMENT OF JONAH IONAH 1. 4 5 6. But the Lord sent out a great winde into the Sea and there was a mighty tempest in the Sea so that the ship was like to be broken c. THe sinne being past the punishment followes Wrath being ever the heavy companion of disobedience He saith not a winde arose but the Lord sent a great winde The winds obey GOD though man will not obey him The Lord sent it Then it was not by chance or witchcraft for the Mariners though Infidels thought it to bee sent by some revenging power for some particular hainous fact and person els why did they cast lots to find out him that had sinned Psal 10. 7-25 to 31. The Lord sent it So the Lord sendeth winds to bring ships to land in safety and the same Lord sendeth winds to drowne and sinke other ships therefore Iob acknowledgeth both Iob 1. 21. if some had so much losse by tempest as Iob they would surely say with Iob Blessed be the name of the Lord but more it is to bee feared would say with Iobs wife Curse God and die Iob 2. 6. And there was a tempest in the Sea God first spake gently to him Arise Ionah goe to Nineveh then he would not goe but now hee sends a strong tempest to compell him to come in that his head-strong sinne might have the foyle and God the victory He that sayles to Tarshish would have as good winde as he that sayles to Nineveh but hee that doth one thing for another shall receive one thing for another as Ahab hoped to goe up and prosper but hee went up and perished So the Spaniards thought to arrive in England but their invincible power was soone destroyed And there was a great tempest in the Sea The ship went on roundly for a time the Prophet sleeping the Marriners