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	law_n	sabbath_n	1,963	5	9.4513	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12182	Evangelicall sacrifices In xix. sermons. I. Thankfull commemorations for Gods mercy in our great deliverance from the papists powder-plot. 2. The successefull seeker. 3. Faith triumphant. 4. Speciall preparations to fit us for our latter end in foure funerall sermons. 5. The faithfull covenanter. 6. The demand of a good conscience. 7. The sword of the wicked. By the late learned and reverend divine, Rich. Sibbs. Doctor in Divinity, Mr. of Katherine Hall in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher to the honourable society of Grayes-Inne. The third tome. Published and perused by D. Sibbs owne appointment, subscribed with his hand to prevent imperfect copies after his decease.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1640 (1640)	STC 22491; ESTC S117285	286,033	622

Sophistrie there is no man will goe to Hell without reason take the debauchedst wretch that lives he is mad with some reason and he will be damned with some reason God is mercifull Christ is come and others are as bad as I and I hope in time to repent this vile reasoning must be turned out of a man before he can be saved Then there are proud thoughts what shall I yield to such a one as he I am better then he I understand these things as well as hee As that proud Cardinall in Germany said I confesse these things that Luther finds fault with are naught but shall I yield to a base Monke so men thinke shall I yeeld to a Minister the proud rebellious heart of man is lift up in proud thoughts against God And then there be fore-casts if I do thus this danger will come of it I sha●…l provoke such an Enemy I shall lose such a friend I shal indanger my selfe Now when the truth of God comes downe goes all these sophistries and high thoughts and all these fore-casts they all lie flat when the Spirit of God comes in the power of the word but naturally every man hath these hee builds up some Castle against God hee builds up the wals of Iericho and trusts in them too Thy wisedome hath caused thee to rebell saith God to the King of Baby lon Let not the wise man trust in his wisedome insinuating that wise men are subject to trust in their wisedome and the rich man in his riches and the strong man in his strength therefore God commands that they should not doe so Thy wisedome hath made thee to rebell Let us take notice of this and make this use of triall of it that if by the power of Gods Spirit we can use all outward meanes and not trust in them that we can trust in God and not to our strength then wee have somewhat in us above nature for naturally every man before he be in communion and covenant with God he hath some earthly false support or other to trust on either within him some policie and wisedome or without him some friends or riches some Bulwarke or other and this sets him against God and against the means of salvation till God come in effectuall calling and overturne all but this doth but make way to other things therefore I only touch it The second thing is this that God first or last overturnes all vaine confidence in the creature The wals of Iericho downe they must and whatsoever exalts it selfe against God either it shall end in conversion or confusion because the time must come that God must have all the glory Was there ever any man sierce against God and prospered The rage of man turnes to the glory of God saith the Psalmist There is neither wisedome nor policie counsell nor strength or any earthly thing against the Lord as the Wise-man saith Prov. 6. God will confound all he scattered the proud in the Imagination of their own hearts as the blessed Virgin saith And when they had built Babell to get them a name they found confusion There is a notable place in Esay 50. Behold all you that kindle a fire that compasse your selves about with sparks Walke saith God in the light of your fire and in the sparkes that yee have kindled this yee shall have at my hand yee shall lie downe in sorrow Men that will walke in the light of their owne fire that will have a wisedome of their owne distinct may contrary oft times to Gods Well goe on walke in the light of your own fire that ye have kindled but take this withall with you You shall have this at my hands saith God yee shall lie downe in sorrow What became of Hamans plots what became of Achitophels policie they all turned upon their owne heads although men build up Castles to secure themselves in their earthly defences and munition yet God overturnes all Therefore let us make that use that Ieremy doth Ier. 20. Therefore let not the wise man trust in his wisedome or the strong man in his strength or the rich man in his riches let a man joy in none of these but if he will joy let him joy in this that he knowes the Lord that hee is in covenant with God That for the second briefly The third is this that God doth this by base and weake meanes He confounds great and mighty Enterprises and mighty persons and useth but base and despised meanes As here the wals of Iericho fell downe with the noise of Rams-hornes This I might carry along through all the stories in the Scripture from the creation to this present time to shew how God doth great things by despised meanes sometimes by no meanes at all sometimes cleane contrary to all meanes When our Saviour Christ gave sight to the blind hee put clay upon his eyes that one would thinke were fitter to put them out We see in the storie of the Israelites what an Oxe Goad did and what Sampson did with the law bone of an Asse Wee see by what a trick the Midiani es were put to flight by Gideon In all the Stories wee see when God would doe great matters hee doth it by base meanes when hee would confound the pride of Pharaoh he will doe it by Frogs and Lice and such base creatures that were fittest in Gods wisedome to overthrow the pride of that wretched King God as he over-turnes the pride of men so for the most part hee doth it by weake and despised meanes And the Reason is cleare that he may have all the glory sometimes the meanes that hee useth have no influence at al to effect the thing but are only joyned with the thing as here what influence could poor Trumpets of Rams-hornes have to cast downe Wals they could have none but only it was a thing joyned before the wals fel down they were things that must be used to try their obedience and that they might know that it was not by chance that they fell downe but by Gods power and for other reasons But if there bee any influence from the cause to the effect it is supposed it cannot produce the effect of it selfe therefore I say God doth this that he may have all the glory for that is his end and it ought to be our end we see here though they had silver Trumpets yet they must by Gods appointment use these base meanes Trumpets of Rams-hornes Now they were to use them seven dayes together and therefore on a Sabbath day but it was no breach of the day because God can dispense with his own Law In case of Charity good workes may be done on the Sabbath and in case of duty likewise as the Priests killed the sacrifice on the Sabbath so here was sufficient warrant for them God gave them a command God that made the Law can dispense with his owne

other things that stand between us and heaven all the wals of Iericho all opposition let us set upon them with a spirit of faith in the use of meanes for hee that hath overcome for us as I said will by little and little overcome in us These corruptions of ours shall fall before the Spirit of God by little and little And as Hamans wife could tel him If thou begin to fall before that people th●… shalt certainly fall so if the worke of Grace be begun in us that corruptions begin to fall undoubtedly and certainly they shall fall they cannot stand before the Spirit For grace is in growing and corruption is in decaying continually in a Christian. Why doth not God all at once subdue these wals of Iericho in us but by little and little God will exercise our faith and patience wee are Warriers here in this world our life is a warfare and he will exercise grace in us hee ●…ill have us combate with enemies these in●…ard enemies among the rest Againe he will let us see what he hath done ●…r us If we were not exercised with enemies ●…e should not be thankfull sufficient for victo●…e over the Devill When we have bin vexed ●…ith the Devills temptations then blessed be God and Christ that at last these troubles are ●…ased How much are wee beholding to Christ that hath freed us from the danger of ●…hese we are only annoyed with the trouble ●…his will make us thankfull when wee have ●…arted This keepes us likewise from soule devour●…g sins lesse infirmities in us keepe us from ●…ide and securitie God hath many ends ●…ut to cut off other things because the point 〈◊〉 large I only give a taste Let this comfort us that the wals of Iericho●…hat ●…hat is to say whatsoever opposeth us in ●…ur comming out of the state of nature and ●…ur entrance into the state of heaven whatsoe●…er opposition is between shall fall Therfore ●…et us strengthen our faith in the use of means How shall we strengthen our faith this way Faith is strengthened by the knowledge of ●…he attributes of him whom we lay hold upon ●…hose power doth all the more wee know ●…im the more wee shall trust him Let us la●…our to know God in Covenant to be our Fa●…her and to know Christ as he is in his nature and offices what he is to us to know his wisedome and power and truth that there may be a bottome for faith to build on the more wee grow in spirituall knowledge the more wee shall grow in faith and the more wee grow in faith the more we shall grow in other graces whereby we overcome all our enemies that set against us Againe let us make use of all former experience to strengthen faith Hath God beg●…n the worke doe the wals of Iericho begin to f●…ll He that hath begun a good worke will finish it to the day of the Lord. Let us take in trust the time to come by experience of Gods truth for the time past for the worke of the Spirit is a continued worke The Spirit of God in subduing our corruptions he would not have begun if he had meant to have left off and interrupted the worke The Spirit suffers us to fall sometimes but it is to teach us to stand better afterward he turnes our very fals and slips to our good Let us strengthen faith therfore from former experience as David did we have overcome the Beare and the Lyon therefore let us set on the Philistine And as Ioshua set his foot on the necks of the tenne Kings and said Thus shall the Lord thy God destroy all thine enemies so hath the Spirit of God set his foot as it were upon some corruptions thus shall God deale with all corruptions and temptations at length and never leave the blessed government of us till hee have subdued all Let us rise from one experi●…ent to another to strengthen faith God is ●…like in all truths You know in Iudges 5. saith ●…he holy woman Deborah So let all thine ene●…ies perish The heart of that blessed woman ●…as as it were enlarged prophetically when ●…ne fals they shall all fall there is like reason See how gloriously Hannah in her Song enlargeth her faith by Gods power and goodnesse ●…ecause she had experience in her selfe so ex●…erience in our selves or others will-inlarge ●…ur faith to looke for greater matters stil from ●…ur gracious powerfull God thus we ought ●…o labour to strengthen our faith And the third thing to helpe faith in all spi●…ituall oppositions that we meet with is daily ●…xercise in using it to make it brighter conti●…ually every day by working with it upon ●…ur enemies And in the state of Grace to live by it both for this present life to depend upon God for all things and likewise for necessary grace As the Disciples when they were enjoyned a hard dutie Lord increase our faith say they they goe to exercise their faith upon it If that be increased all is increased And so in our callings exercise it by depend●…ng upon God for strength and successe Saith Peter to Christ Lord at thy word I will cast out the Net though it were very unlikely it should doe any good they had fished all day and catched nothing but yet he would wait and goe on still At thy word I will cast out the Net He did it and the Net brake with the multitude of fish Let us exercise our faith in daily obedience to God depend upon him in the use of meanes And learne this to wait in the exercise of our faith as they that went about the wals of Iericho they did it seven dayes Put case they had done it sixe and no more the wals had stood still He that hath ten miles to goe and goes but nine she shall never come to his journies end When God hath set downe such a time so long thou shalt waite and use the meanes and depend upon me by faith in the use of the meanes if we be short spirited and lengthen and strengthen not our faith in the use of the meanes wee shall never attaine our desire therefore let us labour to wait Here is the difference betweene Christians and others there is no man but he would be happy if so be it were not for this waiting If a wicked man should see Hell open would hee commit sinne if hee should see it present If hee should see Heaven open and Christ comming with his reward with him hee would be godly there is not the vilest wretch in the world but hee would be so if these things were present but because it is only discovered in the word of God and faith must beleeve and wait for the reward and faith must waite all the time of our life here is the trial So that a Christian differs nothing from a worldly man but in a Spirit of faith and waiting and continuance of that faith

there be a sutablenesse of obedience to the word thereafter as the word is Let us have a spirituall desire to these things to imitate the holy man of God as we desire to share in his comforts I will follow this point of the answerablenesse of obedience a little further and then come to the particular of seeking Let our obedience bee every way answerable first let the heart thinke what God saith what God commands and promiseth let the heart take the word of God the second time and ruminate on it and goe over it againe Let us looke into the word and see what is commanded and what is promised and then let the heart goe over it againe And then upon that all eage it to God Put case a man be in trouble Lord thou hast commanded Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will b●…re thee Psal. 50. Let the heart thinke of it and goe over that incouragement it is rather an incouragement then a command though indeed God lay a command on us to be good to our own soules it is a duty to love our selves Therefore he commands us to goe to him to seeke his face as though wee wronged him by disobedience when wee injure our selves by our peevishnesse as indeed we doe God loves us better then we love our selves let us thinke of the command and invitation thou hast commanded mee Lord and incouraged mee to come I am now in trouble experience teacheth me I come to thee thou hast said He that sitteth in darknesse and seeth no light let him trust in the name of the Lord. I am in darkenesse and see no light now I trust in thy name let the heart thinke of the promise and then alleage it to God and come with an obedient answer and cast it self upon him and trust in him We are in want perhaps and see no issue no supply thinke of Gods gracious promise I will not faile thee nor forsake thee I come to thee and claim this promise I am in covenant with thee c. So wee should take the promise thou hast said At what time soever a sinner comes to thee with a repentant heart thou wilt forgive his iniquities and though his sins were 〈◊〉 scarlet thou wilt make them as snow and white as wooll my soule thinkes of that command and I come to thee Thou hast bid all that are wearie and 〈◊〉 laden in soule that are troubled in conscience with the sense of their sins to come unto thee my heart thinkes of thy command and invitation I come to thee I am weary and heavie laden First let us thinke of the incouragement that is our warrant and then yeeld present obedience And then what will bee the issue what will spring from it when the heart and obedience joyn with the command that there is a meeting that they concentrate the heart and obedience God bids the heart obey the heart saith I doe obey when these meet the issue must bee exceeding comfortable it cannot be otherwise When the obedient heart meets God in his command in his promise In all perplexity of busines Commit thy way to the Lord and hee shall establish thy thoughts Prov. 3. Prov. 13. and other places Lord I commit my wayes to thee establish my thoughts and designes agreeable to thy will because thou hast bid mee commit my wayes to thee In the houre of death let us commend our selves to God as to a gracious and mercifull Creator 1 Pet. 4. Lord I commend to thee my soule who art the Creator of my soule and the Redeemer of it here is an obedience answerable what can be the issue of it but comfort Therefore let us learne by the example of this blessed man that when he had but a hint from God seeke yee my face answers Thy face Lord will I seeke Faith will see light at a little crevice when it sees an incouragement once a command it will soone answer and when it sees a promise halfe a promise it will welcome it it is an obedient thing The obedience of faith it beleeves and upon beleeving it goes to God As the servants of the King of Assyria they catch the word presently Thy servant Benhadad so faith it catcheth the word To put God in mind it is an excellent thing with the Prophet whosoever penned the 119. Psalme whether David or some other Remember thy promise wherein thou hast caused thy servant to trust As it is Nehem. 1. Remember Lord hee puts God in mind of his promise and so it is good often to put God in mind Lord thou hast made such and such promises I know thou canst not deny thy selfe if thou sh●…uldest deny thy word thou must deny thy selfe thy word is thy selfe Remember thy promise wherein thou hast caused thy servant to trust If I be deceived thou hast deceived mee for thou hast given me this promise and this command This is an excellent way to deale with God as it were to wrastle with him By t●… promise thou hast quickned me Psal. 119. Whe●… I was dull and dead hearted then I thought o●… such and such a promise I alleage that promise and apply it by a spirit of faith and that quickned me And indeed as I said God hath made us fit to answer him and wee should study in all things to returne unto him by his spirit whatsoever God doth the heart should returne back againe love for love knowledge for knowledge seeking for seeking chusing for chusing He begins with us he chuseth us he loves us he seekes us and wee if ever we intend to be friends with God and to entertaine a holy communion as all that shall be saved must doe we should labour to have our hearts to returne to God what wee find from God first Thy face Lord will I seeke To come more particularly to this seeking which is the particular of the obedience and of the application Thy face Lord will I seeke Seeking implies that our happinesse is out of our selves it implies that there is somewhat in our selves in the application to which there must be some happinesse therefore wee goe out of our selves to seeke It is a motion and it is out of an apprehension of some want a man seekes out of some want or out of some losse or out of some duty Ether hee hath losse and therefore hee seekes or else hee wants and therefore he seeks or else he owes respect and dutie and therefore he seekes it is somewhat without a man that moves his seeking God need not seeke the creature hee hath all fulnesse in himselfe Indeed his love makes him seeke for our love to bee reconciled to him But the creature because his happinesse is out of himselfe in communion with God the Fountaine of all good he must seeke Christians must be Seekers This is the generation of Seekers Psal. 24. All mankind if ever they will