Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	day_n	holy_a	time_n	5,790	5	4.7273	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77155	Zeale for Gods house quickned: or, A sermon preached before the assembly of Lords, Commons, and Divines, at their solemn fast Iuly 7. 1643. In the Abbey Church at Westminster. Expressing the eminencie of zeale requisite in church reformers: / by Oliver Bowles, Pator of Sutton in Bedfordshire. Published by order of both Houses of Parliament.	Bowles, Oliver, ca. 1577-1646?	1643 (1643)	Wing B3884; Thomason E63_6; ESTC R9592	34,766	57

his bold and daring for it cost him his life reproofe of Herod for his Herodias his turning of Mountaines into Valleys his making of rough wayes plaine doe all witnesse The want of zeale in the people in Iehosophats time 2 Chron. 20 33. they having not prepared their hearts to seek the God of their fathers kept up the high places 2 Chron. 29.36 30.1 but in Hezekiah's time the zeale of the people plucked them downe the work was done suddenly for the people were ready of such moment it is that where Church-reformation is in hand a spirit of zeale should run in the veines of the Reformers No such unbesceming evill as when the cause of God lies at stake for men to be cold lukewarme Neuters warping sometimes one way sometimes another In the further prosecution of this truth three particulars doe present themselves 1. Convincing reasons must be rendered why zeale must be present in Church-reformation 2. What influence zeale ought to have in Church-Reformers 3. How Zeale must bee qualified that it may be kept within its bounds zeale not confined is as wilde-fire For the first of these three Reasons doe offer themselves as arising from the nature of the work in respect of its 1. Excellency 2. Difficulty 3. The destructive nature of Church-evills if not reformed The excellency of the work I argue three wayes Reas 1 1. In that the work of Church-reformation is one of Gods speciall favours whereby the Lord would endeare his Church to him Esay 1.25 When after the Churches sad sufferings he would doe his people a speciall favour he tells them that he will purge away all her drosse Esay 54.11 12 13. and take away all her tinne So when the Lord would expresse himselfe in the greatest declarations of his love to his Church Ver. 13. Oh thou afflicted and tossed with tempest I will lay thy stones with faire colours thy foundations with Saphires c. God will set up his ordinances in a more glorious way all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. Accordingly in this latter age of the world what is the great work for which the Church blesses God with the song of Moses and the song of the Lambe is it not the victory over the beast his name mark c. all done by Church-reformation Rev. 15.3 4. Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty c. 2. The excellency of the work is argued jointly from the relations betwixt God and his Church and the office which Reformers do Cant. 4.12 The Church is Gods Garden which being planted with all variety of flowers is apt to be overgrowne with weeds that not only marre the beauty of it but eat out the good herbs Reformers their work is to weed the Lord his garden throw out all those noisome herbs which would have spoiled all the good ones Verse 13. The Church is the Lords Orchard wherein trees of all kindes both for fruit and and medicine grow upon the banks thereof The Master of that Orchard is impatient of any such trees that cumber the ground and after many yeares beare no fruit Reformers their work is to root out the plants that God never planted H●● 3.6 The Church is Gods house where he delights to dwell Reformers are to cast out all the durt drosse and garbage that was odious and irksome to the Master of the house they sweep downe all the cobwebs wherein the Spiders did build The Church is Gods Spouse Cant. 4.12 in whose beauty his soule delights that she should be deformed with strange attire ornaments borrowed from notorious strumpets the Lord cannot endure Reformers they strip her of all her harlotry attire take off all her Iezabel-like paintings and render her to Christ in her native simplicity The Church is the Lords Vineyard Cant 8.12 which he keeps and waters every moment Reformers their work is to take the Foxes that destroy the Vines How welcome should the feet of such be Cant. 2.15 and how should the precious nature of the work in relation to God draw out all our strength 3. That the excellency of the work may be yet further evidenced consider it in the objects whereabout it is conversant that is either Things or Persons Things are Doctrine Worship and Government Doctrine is a ray or beame of supernaturall truth issued out from God as a speciall favour to his people tending to informe them in right notions and apprehensions concerning God Christ our soules and the whole way of salvation This is called the word of life the wholesome word the word of salvation how usefull is this word 2 Pet. 2.1 since men do as surely perish by damnable heresies as by morall vices Doctrine is as the waters of the Sanctuary how great a sinne to puddle or poison these was it not capitall among the Romans to poison the common springs How noisome was that plague to the Egyptians to have all their waters whereof they should drink turned into blood was it not much more as the soule is more excellent then the body pestilentiall to have all the maine Articles of our Religion not that of Justification excepted to be all This Petit. with R●monstr exhibit in Parl. in Ian. 1640. or the most desperately corrupted as may be seene in the Ministers Remonstrance exhibited together with their Petition for Reformation The second particular whereabout Reformation is conversant is worship whereby God and we have communion one with another wee doe in a holy manner trade with God and hee with us This is as Iacobs ladder The Angels of God ascend and descend by it our prayers ascend Gods blessings descend The ordinances are those golden pipes by which the golden oyle empties it selfe into the hearts of Gods people They are the Churches breasts from whence her children suck nourishment They are the Churches barne and her Wine-presse They are on Christs part the kisses of his mouth the mutuall embraces betwixt God and the Christian Soule Dry up all the breasts in such a City as this how great will the cry of the Infants be This mischiefe by the putting down of Preaching and strange Innovations brought and urged upon us in our most solemn worship had in a great part seized upon us and will yet certainly prevaile if the Reformers doe not seasonably and strongly oppose The third particular is Church Discipline or Government all Societies and so the Church is upheld by ruling and being ruled This amongst other benefits it will yeeld That it will preserve the honour of Gods censures and ordinances that great censure of Excommunication which is no lesse then the delivery up of a man to Satan and next the day of judgement it is judicium maxime tremendum it shall no longer Lackey up and down for Duties and Fees as it hath done amonst us and as it did in the darkest times of Popery as Gerson complaines Gers lib de defectib

What manner of persons ought we to be in humbling of our soules before the Lord crying mightily to him who alone keepes the key of the Cabinet unlocks the secrets of his will opens the eyes of our understandings Luk. 24. Can we looke backward to the many brave excellent-spirited and well-parted men who have turned some to Justinian some to Galen some to Litleton others betaken themselves to a retired Privacy which long agoe might have sate in Moses Chaire had there not stood the fiery blade of corruptions in worship and government to keepe them out How many silver Trumpets that might have made sweet melody in Gods house have beene hanged upon the willow trees and all because this worke was not done How many hundreds of worthy learned soule-saving Ministers men excellently fitted for the worke have beene driven out of our Land the Lord lay it not to our charge No small affliction to be put upon the disserting of ones native Countrey and all those Charitates which under God are the life of our life and further to be cast upon forraigne Countries those sometimes unwholesome for our English bodies placed among inhumane people put upon wildernesses wilde beasts savage people and unknowne necessities because by reason of our sinnes this worke hath not beene yet effected they saw no hope of it Oh the swarmes of godly men that like Noahs Dove could find no rest for the soales of their feet being hunted up and down hurried hither and thither and wasted with vexatious suits to their utter undoing who have been in the end forced they and their whole families with heavy hearts and some with poore estates to bid farewell to deere England as never to see it againe these would have beene content to have lived in a smoaky house and a meane condition with freedome of conscience Yea they have beene put upon it to commit themselves rather to the mercilesse rage of the tempestuous Seas to a long tedious and irkesome Sea-journey wherewith they were utterly unacquainted rather then to endure those sad impositions which were charged upon their consciences and now the Lord puts it into the hands of you the right Honorable that sit at the stern in point of reformation utterly to remove What shall I say to those millions of souls who have perished through the negligence insufficiency scandalous and corrupt proccedings of that order of men Bucer inopus In tractatu de vi usu minisleris p. 191. which it is to be hoped if our iniquities doe not hinder will be rectified by that clericalis disciplina which learned Bucer did so often call for in King Edward the 6. dayes To this end I once againe doe humbly beseech you Men Brethren and Fathers that you would take up the practise of such holy duties as may conduce to this so pious so necessary a worke And first let us all stirre up in our selves the gift of Prayer 2 Tim. 1.6 let it be frequent fervent and full of faith you know the efficacy of prayer Esay 45.11 it sets God on worke and that with a holy kinde of command it hath an omnipotency with it it never went of any arrant and returned empty Be confident if God do but stirre up our hearts in prayer hee will come in and helpe us in the worke What if we be weake Psal 10.17 yet he is strong What if wee want in our own apprehension those abilities fit for the work he can lift us up above our selves supply us with helpe What if we want that quicknesse of understanding activity of parts we see in others yet if wee can but assist and encourage others God will accept Only resolve of this never any man a successefull reformer without a spirit of prayer Elias and Luther tell us so much To encourage us Gods promises stands sure ler. 33.3 Ask of me and I will shew thee great and hidden things Prov. 25. which thou knowest not If thou seekest for wisedome as for silver c. if thou cryest after knowledge c. then shalt thou understand the feare of the Lord the knowledge of God We attaine not truth onely by disputing Lact. lib. 7 c. 2. but by learning from him who onely knowes said one of the Ancients Luther And you know who said that prayer reading meditation tentation doe compleat a Divine Secondly that God may impart to us that way of sincerity in his worship that forme of government which may be most according to his will a favour worth the knowing and which God refuses not to acquaint them with that feare him Psal 25. his secret is revealed to such let our study be to be doers of his wil. If the Glasse be cleane and soyle not the cleane water that is poured into it we poure in more if otherwise we hold our hands so the Lord doth with us that bee ministers hee will not poure the sweet water of truth but into the sanctified heart If any man Iohn 7.27 saith the Evangelist will doe his will hee shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or no. Many perplexed disputes much difference there is among Brethren whether this be the forme Christ hath left the distractions are sadly to be lamented Would wee be able to winde our selves out of these Labyrinths of disputes see the good and right way God would have us to walke in take notice of that promise in Ezekiel Ezek. 43.11 If the house of Israel shall be ashamed of their iniquities and of all that they have done I will shew them the forme of the house c. onely here we must beware we dare not to offer to Gods people such a forme as hath not its ground out of plaine places of Scripture but such onely as are Typicall and Allegoricall Allegorica Theologia unlesse the Lord himselfe make the application non est argumentativa It is our errour that oft times we doe afferre sensum ad Scripturam non referre we are oft times in fancying formes of government like that Sect of Phylosophers who having drunke in this principle that all the world was made of numbers where ever they went they thought they saw numbers If the Lord shall but behold us lothing our selves for our wayes that have not beene good disallowing our sinnes personall and nationall Luke 24. setting our hearts in a right frame then wil he open our understandings that we may know the Scripture Thirdly that God may so farre delight in us as to make us Instruments of such a glorious worke as this is let us take all occasions to dispence the holy truthes of God to his people the more wee poure out the more God will poure in the oyle in the Cruse increased by pouring out the bread wherewith Christ fed his followers multiplyed in the breaking 'T is true that this duty hath been looked upon of late as that which had neither forme nor beauty Sess